The Hunger Games

Chapter One

Katniss watched the projection of the Hunger Games, focusing on one person. Ellie Greystone. She and other tributes ran through the woods, fire in the shape of a Mockingjay on their heels. Not only was Ellie running from the fire, but the other tributes that had teamed up to take her out.
The Mockingjay flapped its wings, two fireballs thrown at them. Ellie and the others ducked and rolled out of the way as the blazing hot orbs passed them by. The sheath of arrows on Ellie's back jiggled as she avoided balls of fire and the other tributes targeting her.
She miss judged a fireball, the flames scorching her leg. She bit back a scream as she ran into the bushes of the jungle. She found a boulder and jumped over it and hid behind it. The caremas in the arena focused on Ellie's bleeding leg as she looked over the rock to see the Mockingjay stationed outside the jungle, the orbs of fire aimed at the trees but the flames hit what seemed to be an invisible barrier. Like a forcefield.
Ellie heard rustling in the bushes and scrambled to get up. She hid in some nearby bushes, nocking an arrow and pulling back the string. Katniss watched Ellie intently as she released the arrow, a boy with sandy blonde hair tumbling out of the ferns. The loud boom of the cannon concluded that the boy was dead.
Ellie waited a few more seconds before limping towards the boy, reaching for his backpack and the arrow in his chest. She stuffed the arrow back into the quiver and rummaged through the pack. She found bottled water, rope, and a hunter's knife. Ellie stuffed it all back into the bag and took off before more people found her location.
Ellie heard the running of water and followed the bubbling sound. The calm stream turned into a rushing waterfall as Ellie approached the cliffside. The view was stunning. A circular hole at least fifty feet down, a gushing waterfall falling into a pond at the bottom. Down below, there were caves shattered on a rocky and sandy shore. Big jungle trees loomed in the distance, lined with ferns and bushes.
"Well, well, well." Ellie spun around to see Hamza Strickland with two other tributes. Hamza held a spear while the two teens behind him held hunting knives. Ellie froze. One of the teens, a girl with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun and olive skin stepped closer to Ellie. She took a step back and the girl in front of her matched it, keeping the same distance between them. Pebbles dropped off the edge as Ellie came to the edge of the cliff. "Nowhere to go but down." Hamza mocked, he and his other goon closing in. Ellie drew her bow and the girl launched at her, the two of them falling over the edge punching and kicking at each other as we hit the water.
Katniss bit at her nails as Prim hugged her as a cannon went off. Both of them watched, only seeing the foam from where Ellie and the other tribute fell in when familiar blonde hair and brown leather jacket burst out of the water. Ellie wiped hair out of my face as she scowled up and Hamza and his buddy, the two boys clearly ticked that she had survived. Katniss and Prim let out a breath that they had been holding when they saw Ellie swimming to shore. Hamza disappeared into the trees as Ellie vanished into one of the caves, out of sight. "Haymitch!" Katniss called. The long blonde haired man peered into the room.
"Send in the gift. She got hit with one of the Mockingjay fireballs." Katniss explained. "We only get to use one." He reminded. Prim huffed. "I can't do anything for her." She said, sadness in her voice. A carema in the cave picking up Ellie took a pin from her hair and cut a frayed string from her sleeve using her hunting knife.
She threaded the string through the pin and sharpened the edge of the pin. When it could cut, she began stitching her leg. Ellie tried not to scream as she cut the string, her leg stitched. It wasn't great to look at but it did its job. "What would Katniss do? What would Katniss do? Come on! You watched her play twice. Hell, you played with her." Ellie paced --limping and wincing-- as she thought about what to do next. Katniss rested her chin on her hands as Prim sank deeper into the couch.

Ellie sat on a rock inside the cave, shivering in her damp clothes. 'I'll freeze to death if Hamza doesn't kill me first.' Ellie thought as she rubbed her hands together. Rustling from outside made her jump and reach for her bow. A little girl peered into the darkness, Ellie being the only one who could see outside.
The girl's name, Grace Montgomery, had been one of the few people Ellie had watched Caesar Flickerman interview before the games. She had been picked out of District 11 and had volunteered for --she was guessing-- her best friend.
Ellie looked at Grace, lowering her bow as the girl stumbled forward. Ellie got there just in time and Grace collapsed in her arms. Ellie picked up Grace and carried her into the cave --bridal style-- her leg throbbing with the extra weight. She laid Grace on a flat rock and saw a gash across the girl's mid section. Ellie took off her jacket and put it on the wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.
Seeing this act of trust made Katniss think of Rue, a girl who had helped her in the 74th Hunger games before she was shot and killed. Katniss hadn't gotten much sleep since Ellie was shipped off to the Capitol and she could say the same for Prim. Haymitch and Effie didn't look great either. Gale and Peeta came over sometimes, usually to get Katniss for their daily hunt and then would leave her alone with Prim.
Ellie looked out of the cave to make sure that Grace wasn't followed and returned to the rock she had been sitting on. She rubbed her arms, even colder now that Grace had her jacket. She thought about making a fire but didn't want to risk being found since twenty-one other tributes wanted her dead. Grace rolled over, groaning. Ellie turned to see the girl trying to sit up, wincing in the process. Ellie crossed over to the young girl, helping Grace to her feet. She flinched at Ellie's touch.
"Hey, hey. I'm not going to hurt you." Ellie promised. Grace avoided her eyes and handed her the brown leather jacket, smeared with dry blood. Ellie had been shivering but saw Grace's body shaking from the cold. Ellie placed the jacket around Grace's shoulders, the blood on the back of the leather. The jacket was two sizes too big but Grace didn't care. She slid her twig-like arms into the giant sleeves and zipped up the jacket, the jacket hanging below her waist, the sleeves covering her hands.
She gave a shy smile toward Ellie as she sat beside and looked out at the stars outside the cave.
She looked out at the water, the moon reflecting off the water, the ripples making it look like it was wobbling in the sky. The moon was full and Grace clutched Ellie's arm when she heard a howl in the distance. "You've got to be kidding me." Ellie and Katniss said at the same time. Prim looked at her with confused and questioning eyes.
The blonde realized what was happening when a tribute was mauled on one of the squares showing him the boom of the canon startling Ellie and Grace. A growl came from outside the cavern, Ellie loading her bow and pulling back the string.
Grace scrambled to get behind her as a huge beast with orange topaz eyes and gleaming teeth entered the cave. It pounced, Ellie releasing the arrow, the dog going still. Three more wolves came, their orange eyes hungry. Ellie fired two more arrows, the third dog jumping on top of her, knocking her and Grace over. Ellie cried out as the wolf slashed her arm as she stabbed an arrow into its flank.
The dog whimpered before it stopped moving and breathing, dead. Ellie dropped her bow and fell to her knee, the weight on her wounded leg too much to handle. Grace helped her lean against a rock, Grace sitting on the stone and sandy floor next to her. She flinched as Grace lifted up her sleeve.
"I'll be right back." She whispered, leaving Ellie before she could protest. Grace tore a piece of fabric off her oversized pant cuffs, and soaked in the river. She rang out the cloth and jogged back to Ellie. The damp cloth hit Ellie's skin and Grace covered her mouth before she could scream. The howls faded and Grace slowly removed her hand.
Ellie had stopped screaming, the only sound was her whimpers and moans of pain as Grace applied more pressure. "Sorry." Grace said, gingerly patting Ellie's arm with the red streaked fabric. Grace took the hunters knife out of Ellie's bag and cut Ellie's sleeve, wrapping it around the cuts. The pressure and tightness earned Grace another groan.
"Your leg isn't bad. My mom was a doctor so I picked up a few things." She gave the knot one final tug, Ellie wincing. "Thank you." Ellie said, looking at the four dead wolves in the cave. Grace nodded and stood, laying down on the floor, attempting to sleep. Ellie tried to do the same- no such luck.

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