Grain & Blood | A Hunger Games collection

The bloodbath

The plate rises into the arena and after a few seconds of darkness, there is light again.
First think I notice is the lack of life. It's a sort of desert around us, all small rocks and sand, and that we're at the top of a hill and the cornucopia is in a valley below us.
Robin is 7 plates to my left, which I make a mental note of before changing my gaze to that of the cornucopia.
Lots of supplies and weapons lie on the ground in front of the mouth, which I would have gone for if I didn't have the minute to get anything I need.
In the mouth is a vest, equipped with knives of all shapes and sizes. If I get to it first, I can probably put it on, slide some more knives in and get backpacks and go.
A loud bang pulls me out of my thoughts. 3 plates to my right, a girl, I think the one from 12, has jumped off early. Maybe she wanted to die, or maybe she was trying to get a head start? I stop for a second. The hill is steep enough that if you jumped when the countdown hit two, you would land when the gong went off. Is that what she was trying to do?
I just hope it works.
The countdown is at 10. Just 8 seconds to go.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
I jump high of the podium and land just as the gong sounds. I roll with the impact, and start running as fast as I can towards the cornucopia. I pull on the knife vest I located earlier, slide another 20 or so knives into the pockets before grabbing a pair of backpacks from the very back, and an couple of oranges, a cereal bar and back of beef jerky and slide them into my pockets. They'll be good for the journey.
I stand back up, sling the packs onto my shoulders, and make towards the mouth.
I stop for a second, mesmerised by the carnage, until I notice someone in front of me. The boy from 11, a spear ready to plunge straight into my heart.
Jonen.
The one word seeps into my head with a memory of training back at home.
I flip backwards and spin his own spear right into his heart.
The boy is dead in seconds.
I know that my minute is up, but I still want to get away. All the careers are in the mouth now, picking their weapons and supplies. Any moment now they'll see me, and I'll be dead.
Unless I can distract them, of course.
I grab an axe from one of the racks and start running out. The first human thing I make contact with has the axe swiped into their leg.
"Hey!" Shouts a male voice.
I keep running, up the hill and down the other side, across a stream that circles the cornucopia hill. My feet carry me across the stones and sand, crunches coming from underneath my feet.
A couple of minutes later, I stop running and change my pace to a fast walk. I need to find Robin before the sun reaches its midday position, the sun will be overwhelming then and he will possibly die from the heat.
The Bloodbath cannons start sounding, an echo in the still air. 10 of them, each symbolising a fallen tribute, one of which killed by me. 5 minutes later, another sounds.
And through the dust and the haze, I can almost hear whoops and cheers, and a voice shouting, "11 down 13 to go!"

DAMN IT WAS HOT WHEN I WROTE THIS- but then school buses can be. I know this wasn't very long, so I'm going to update twice tomorrow, in the morning and the afternoon, because it's the weekend and I have time. 
Random fact! You can hold your breath for the rest of your life.
Thanks for reading, pls vote.

-Katherine