The 275th Hunger Games

~The Games-Day Ten~

Cami Pendleton - District One

"I'll head into the forest to get some things," I tell Rowan and Reese. "Okay," says Rowan.

I walk into the forest and quickly get some berries and greens from nearby for lunch. I head back to Reese and Rowan. Reese starts a fire. She cooks some meat and I get out some greens to go with it. We spilt the turkey evenly and eat that along with the greens. After I get out my spile from my pack. I stick it into a tree and get a container to put the water it. It slowly trickles out and we take turns sipping from it.

For the rest of the day, we sort the food and our supplies out. When we finish that it's almost time to eat dinner.

"Let's have duck and some berries for dinner," suggests Rowan. Reese and I agree. We cook some duck over a small fire, and I get the berries out. I realize that we don't have enough berries for everyone, but I'm in the process of cooking the duck so I ask Rowan or Reese to do it. Reese says she'll try and go get some. I tell her what kind of berries to get. She goes into the forest with a spear while Rowan and I stay here. She soon arrives back with berries in her hand. I glance at them and say, "Those look good." She nods.

We all sit around the fire on logs. Reese hands some berries to each of us. I do the same with the meat.  I set my berries aside and eat my meat first. Halfway through my duck, I decide that we should have some water with our meal. I dig around in my pack for my spile.

"Hey guys, let me go get us so-," my sentence trails off when I hear two cannons go off. I stand up, confused. "Do you guys know who it was?" I ask stupidly. I mean how would they know? I turn around, and I see the worst possible thing ever.

Rowan and Reese, slumped over their logs, still.

I rush over to them and kneel down by their sides. I begin crying. How did they die? How was this possible?! I think about all the ways they could've died. Then it hits me.

Berries! The berries were poisonous! But they looked like the berries I always get! I'm so confused. Maybe they were different berries? But they look like the berries I get! I walk over to my ration of berries. I wipe at my eyes. I look at the berries closer. They're purple and round and small, just like the ones I get. But as I look closer, I realize they have little blue splotches on them. Oh, I know! Coco warned me about these berries, they're poisonous! I begin crying even more.

This is my fault. It is. Reese is the one who got the berries, but I'm the one who told her they were good and safe. I should of made sure. I should of looked closer at the berries and made sure they were good. I hold my head in my hands and cry some more.

Reese and I swore we would do anything to keep Rowan alive. She needed to make it back to her mother and sister. But she's dead now. And Reese did so much for us. They didn't need to die. I should've been more careful!!

After a bit, I need to move on. I put Rowan and Reese's packs in mine and walk away, crying a little. I cared about Reese and Rowan so much. But I can't stay crying forever. I need to move on. I settle down in a meadow. I take my water bottle out and sit down, taking a few sips.

In a few minutes, I see Jacklyn, Sky, Holly, and Cove walking towards me. I wonder what they're doing. I have a knife in my bag, and even though I don't know how to use it I grab it and stand up.

"Cami we're here to help you," Holly says. "Oh...okay?" I ask confused. "Just follow us, you'll be okay," Sky adds. I nod and follow them into a grassy field with trees. They have their stuff there.

"What happened to you?" Jacklyn asks. I tell them all about our alliance and Reese and I's secret pact and how they died from the berries.

"We can help you. Holly helped me when my allies died, then we helped Jacklyn, then Cove, and now we'll help you," Sky tells me. I smile and say, "That's nice of you guys. Really. Thank you." Holly smiles back.

"Okay, so now since we're a big alliance, there's only North and Alora left," Cove says, breaking up the lovefest. We all laugh. "Yeah, we can do this," agrees Jacklyn. "Only one more person has to die. Let's hope it's either North or Alora. We should stick together," Sky says. We nod.

"Let's tell each other our weapons or strengths," suggests Holly.

"Mine is edible things. Berries, plants, roots, nuts, greens," I say. "I can do camouflage and painting. Doesn't really help but we might need to blend in with something," offers Holly. "I can use spears and knives," Sky informs us. "I can fish," Jacklyn adds. "And I can use a knife," finishes Cove. "I think we can all use our strengths to help us," Holly says. We all agree with her.

For the rest of the day, we practice our weapons/strengths. I collect edible things from the forest to eat and I get a lot of things. Sky practices throwing spears and knives with trees as her targets. She hits the tree every time. Jacklyn uses her fishing gear and gets some fish from the lake for us. Cove heads into the forest with her knife and get some meat. Holly practices her camouflage on Sky and Cove and she's really good. At the end of the day, we've got a lot done.

We eat fish, meat, and greens for dinner. It's a lot of food and for the first time in a while I feel full at the end. Afterward, we sort out our supplies. I use my spile to get us some water. We each fill our bottles with the water.

The anthem soon plays in the sky. There are two deaths tonight, Rowan and Reese. I get a little sad when I see them. North and Alora are still alive, and so are we. And we're staying alive.

Deaths of Day Ten

•Rowan Jenners - District Five
•Reese Blaine - District Seven