The End of Innocence: The 72nd Annual Hunger Games

Preparation to End

"Greetings Tributes!" A voice booms over me. I wake up, my eyes crusty from all the crying. I think it's Vickin going to finish me off and I look around me, but it isn't. I wipe my face that's numb from the weeping all day. It's now coming into the evening time. I thought if I stayed put for the day they'd kill me and leave the two from District 2 to kill each other. That would make more of a finale wouldn't it? District partners having to battle it out. It would make more sense wouldn't it? I sit up to listen to the voice.

"Congratulations on making it to the Final Three! Well done representing your Districts by getting it this far in this years Games! You have all been rewarded, that's the good news..." The cheerful voice pauses. "And the bad news..." What bad news? What could be bad? I've been contributing more entertainment than them both put together, the crowd love me, what else could they possibly throw in?

"The bad news is that anyone who ate any animals or other edible food in the Arena within the past forty-eight hours have a deadly acid in their stomach that will release a deadly toxin in the brain, that will make the consumer go into shock and die! 

"Some of you have already seen this toxin in use at the start of The Games. The symptoms include paranoia, schizophrenia and anxiety. There was no cure then, but tomorrow at sunrise there will be an antidote at the Cornucopia. You all have an equal chance to get it, except it can only be consumed by one person."

I pause in fear. I... I... That explains the lifeless rabbit. They deliberately wanted us to eat so we'd all be poisoned. I-I'm poisoned? I should have known! They want these Games to end already. What does he mean by some of us have already seen this at the start of The Gam-

Coil.

That's what happened to Coil. The berries. Maybe Lesa? No. Ion? No. Coil, yes. That's why he went mad, crazy, insane. He was speaking a bunch of nonsense the night before he died. Is that what will happen to all of us? What if this is a trick because they want me to believe? What if we're not poisoned? Was that me going crazy back there with the girl from 12?

"No Tribute is allowed to be within one mile of the Cornucopia before the antidote is released. As I said previously, you all have to have an equal chance to get this. We will see you there. Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favour!" Then his voice disappears, the voice echoing through the entire Arena. Leaving me in darkness under the absent mooned sky.

I inhale and look up to the stars. "How the fuck am I going to do this?" I ask myself. I take my bag off my back and take out Lesa's crackers. I sigh as I take a bite out of the plain, dry cracker. One's already gone out of the packet, her hands were the last ones to touch this. I smile knowing she's out of this shithole, but the memory of that knife slitting her throat open is jammed in my head. Plus the image of me bashing District 12's skull open...  And hitting District 7 over the head with her bat... And me throwing Coil into the acid w-

I shake my head. I continue shaking until l I start to go dizzy. I heard this kills brain cells, it might kill the memory of me ending four children's lives. I killed four kids. Kids. Four. If I win I'm going have to go on the Victory Tour and visit District 1, 3, 7 and 12. Starting off with 12, the girl's district who I didn't even know her name, the girl who I sent home without a head. Coil. The boy who I burned his skin off. District 7, the girl who's head is bashed in. And Greyson, the boy who's insides were ruptured with a knife. God. Somehow I'm going to have to finish off two more. I am ruined.

I take a gulp of water to wash the cracker down when I'm finished. The warm-ish water rushes down my throat as the heat hits me. It's nighttime, possibly the last time the stars will shine in this place. My head hits off the tree, I try to stop the tears but they keep flowing down my cheeks. The Capitol are probably laughing at me. Back home they're probably laughing at me, all my courage and strength is gone. I don't have any reason to continue. I'd stay against this tree if I knew I could, but the Gamemakers want me to play the Game. They want to either see me get slaughtered by two older, more able, teens. Or they want to see me succeed, and I can't tell what one is the dominating choice.