The 750th Hunger Games

Day 5 (Lana's POV)

We wake up early and sneak through the trees, our eyes sharp. Tomasž, who is in the lead, gestures for us all to get back, and surround the hollowed out tree in which Thor, Enmity and Milo are sitting, eating. We all look at Caspar, who gives the countdown, and then we're running towards them. Thor stands up and wields a razor sharp knife, I don't know where he got that. Emilé reaches him first, with Caspar close behind. Tomasž sits, observing from a tree, and will signal if anything goes wrong. Kain goes for Milo, even though she isn't confident with weapons. I whip round to see Christov squashed beneath Enmity, and race towards them. I knock Enmity onto the floor, pin his hands down with my knees, and strike the death blow to his head. He goes limp. BOOM! BOOM! Another cannon goes, and Milo lies dead, a wound to his chest. Thor glances around, knowing he has lost. Then he sprints through the trees.
BANG! There is a thump behind us. Tomasž lies on the ground, a sword in his chest. There is nothing we can do to stop the life flowing out of him. Christov races to his side.
"Come on bro, we can do this."
"We beat them." Tomasž says managing a small smile. But Christov is hurriedly searching for something.
"Blue stars, blue stars," he mutters. At last he plucks a flower from the grass and begins to chew it.
"No!" Tomasž says desperately
"Yes. Your life is more precious than mine." Christov applies the juice of the blue flower to Tomasž's chest, taking the knife out carefully, and the wound begins to heal itself. Whilst we all watch in awe, we don't notice Christov collapse to the floor, his eyes glassy.
"Christov," Tomasž whimpers, and we realise it's too late for him. BOOM! As Christov's cannon goes, Tomasž sits up, full healed.
"Erm, what just happened?" Casper says, looking puzzled.
"The blue star can be applied to any wound, no matter how deep, and it will heal. However it must be chewed by someone, and for them it is lethal. When that person's heart stops beating, the other person will be fully healed. I took my own brothers life!" He sobs, but then he regains himself. "We have to win for him. All of us." The rest of the alliance know that isn't possible, but we don't say anything. We all trudge back to the camp, despite the victory, we are exhausted, and sad at the loss of Christov.
"Ok. Kain, Emilé, go hunting. Lily stay here with Christov," Caspar says as he goes back through the entrance, holding his spear in one hand and his knife in the other.
"Where are you going?" I ask. He can't be leaving the alliance can he?
"Thor will pay for what he's done." With that, he sprints off into the trees, without looking back. I choke back the lump in my throat. Despite our differences, he is still my district partner, and I care about him. I know he's strong and skilled, but Thor is quicker, more nimble, more cunning. I trail back into the tunnel, praying for him to be ok.
It's about an hour until we hear a cannon go off. And then another and then another. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! I become frantic, what is one of those was Caspar. I only expected one cannon, but 5? But I know there's nothing I can do except sit here and wait.
Emilé and Kain return from the hunting patrol, holding two more birds. They seem worried about the cannons too. But we're probably being paranoid. There could well be a fight going on else where. Quite a lot of cannons go each day, and we've learned to block them out.

It's getting dark when an exhausted and soaked through Caspar comes flying through the entrance, gasping for breath.
"We need to move." He says,"now!"
"What- " I say, but he cuts me off.
"I will explain. Hurry!"
I race out the entrance. Caspar points into the sky.
"Oh!" Is all I can manage. Because thousands of tiny mooted rocks are raining down on us. Lava spills from the volcano. And the alliance turns and runs in the opposite direction. I've always been quite good at running long distances, and Tomasž is actually pulling ahead. Emilé and Caspar are slower than us, and Kain is lagging behind. The small rocks are raining down. They are like hail, not too painful, but the lava is catching up with us fast. Wee come to the edge of the forest and reach a decision to make. On one side is a field full of long, golden corn, and in the other is a large expanse of flat stone, at the end of which is a huge gorge. We could probably jump across, and the lava won't get to us there. But it looks too, well, difficult. Jumping across that gorge could be much more difficult than it looks. The others seem to see what I think, and we all turn towards the corn field.
"Stop!" A girl comes racing toward us, her waist length hair flying behind her.
"Anouk." Caspar says impatiently "we need to move."
"You can't go that way. The corn is dry, and you'll all set on fire."
And even from here, I can see she's right. I think Caspar notices too.
"Ok! Everybody move!" We all sprint in the direction of the gorge. Two cannons go off, and then two more. We reach the gorge, the lava only about 5 metres behind us.
"Caspar, you go first, Kain, Emilé, Tomasž, Lana, me." Caspar leaps, and apsafely reaches the other side. But the lava is gaining on us fast. Kain, Emilé, and Tomasž jump. Then it's me. I take a deep breathe, and jump, shutting my eyes and preparing for instant death. But it never comes, and I feel the soft sandy rock beneath my bare feet. I look back and see Anouk getting ready to jump. I don't think she realises that the lava is centimetres away from her bare feet. I look over at the corn field, which is now one massive ball of fire.
"Anouk!" I scream, as she jumps short of the cliff, and falls onto the jagged rocks at least 100m below. I can't see her, but I can image her body, broken and wrong. We have no time to grieve. Out of nowhere, a figure appears. He is sprinting through the lava, which comes up to his ankles, screaming with pain. He leaps, across the gorge, and jumps, also slightly short of the rock. Caspar grabs his dirty hand, and the boys dangles over the side of the cliff face, breathing heavily. He has cuts and bruises all over his face, and his black hair is matted. It's Thor. Despite his state of pain and despair, I can still see the hate glistening in his eyes.
"You won't kill me. You're too scared."

Caspar's POV
"You won't kill me. You're too scared."
I look at this boy, I see the people he has hurt, the things he has done. Why don't I just let go? But I don't want to be a killer. Christov's words ring in my ears, and I remember what he died for. I shut my eyes, and let go. I hear the thump as he hits the rocks below.
I lie back on the smooth rock, panting, the tears slipping from my eyes. The Capitol anthem plays, and the pictures shine in the sky. I'm not ready for this.
2 kids from district one. 2 from district 2. 4 from district 4. That's the whole career alliance wiped out. I think their camp was just next to the cornucopia and more importantly, the volcano. One from seven. Anouk. 2 from 10.
"We're the only ones left." Kain says suddenly. "Everyone was wiped out in the lava."
As I look around I realise I can't do this. I can't kill anyone from my alliance. So I make my decision. I walk to the edge of the cliff, feeling the wind against my face one last time. Then hands grab me back.
"No. We're in this together."
We all stand at the edge of the cliff. I reach for Kain's hand, who reaches for Lana, who reaches for Emilé, who reaches for Tomasž. I feel the impact, and go still, as something sharp cuts through my arm.