Pyromania | The 60th Hunger Games

FOURTEEN

"Twiggy!" I hear her yell, indicating where she was and allowing Martial and I to follow her further into the trees.

"Cedar?" Comes a yell in the distance.

We continue to run towards the sound of twigs snapping but I fall backwards when I spot the tip of a knife peeking from behind a tree and the arm swings out. The blade lingers in the air where my throat would have been had I not fallen. There's a silent lull as the tribute realises I wasn't hit but, when she peeks out from the tree, she's quick to lunge for me. Grunting, I twist and roll sideways to stand.

Martial, who had started towards us, falls to the ground with a hmph when another tribute charges at him. And then chaos ensues.

The girl, Cedar, throws herself at me without much care for the knife for the time being. I scramble backwards until my back hits a tree. I try to stand but she charges again, knife raised.

She slashes at the air, catching my sleeve when I dodge and gasping when I use the tree to put more power into my kick at her stomach. Using her inhibition, I lunge for the next tree and quickly scramble up it. Sure, she's proven she can climb, but I can have the advantage for now. I can't help but scream when the knife skims past my face and bounces off the tree just above my head. Its path as it fell nearly forced me to let go else I would get hit but, thankfully, it simply tore another rip in my jacket and sliced my arm.

Pulling myself into the canopy and the cover of the leaves, I move a tree over and take a moment to examine my arm. Hissing when the blood weeps from the wound and over my fingers, I glance through the canopy at the scene below.

Martial and Twiggy, who I vaguely recognise to be the boy from Seven I had shown up on the first day of training, were rolling in the grass, yelling and trying to land a hit on each other. Cedar, however, was prowling around the trees, the knife on the ground behind her, glinting in certain lights but otherwise hidden from view. As far as I can tell, she doesn't know where I am.

I manoeuvre through the canopy to the best of my ability, keeping my steps light and cursing as the blood on my fingers makes my grip looser. Nonetheless, I drop down on a branch just above Cedar's shoulder and she looks up at the movement but has little opportunity to react as I drop from the tree and land on top of her.

She groans as I do and I roll towards the bush where the knife had landed. Yelling in frustration when she grabs my ankle and drags me back across the ground, I kick back and hit her shoulder. Crawling across the dry ground, I reach out and grab the hilt of the knife as she grabs at my ankle again. This time, her strength is in her favour and the dirt and twigs tear at my back as she drags me closer. I wince when she steps on my foot and reaches up to wrap her hands around my throat. Her grip is tight and I struggle to hold the knife in my bloody hand but, when she leans closer with a grimace on her face, I stab the knife into her neck.

Eyes wide with shock, I shut my eyes and purse my lips when blood drips from the wound and onto my face. She drops on top of me as the cannon goes off and I shove her away, trying to put the most distance between us.

Twiggy yells at the cannon but Martial takes advantage of his distraction and twists his head swiftly, the echo of the crack being muffled by the second cannon.

Martial steps away, looking down at the boy for a moment before dragging his eyes away. Our chests rise and fall heavily, seeming to work overtime for the chests of the two whose lives we had taken. I can feel the wound on my arm, stinging and hot, weeping so that my eyes don't have to. Think, Terra, think clearly. Panem is watching. I look down at the bodies of the tributes from District Seven. Panem is watching.

Shrugging off my jacket, I tear off a sleeve and tie it tightly around my arm.

"Martial," I say sharply, gaining his attention as well as his gaze, "give me his jacket."