The Hanging Tree. *ON HOLD*

Chapter Fourteen ~ The Cornucopia

Chapter Fourteen ~ The Cornucopia 

Prim’s POV

Everyone started running. The tributes on either side of me jumped down from their pedestal’s and began sprinting towards the huge cornucopia which I hadn’t noticed before even though it was huge and held all the weapons and survival kits I needed. Correction, we needed.

‘PRIM!’

I spun around when I heard my name and I saw Finn staring at me desperately, wondering why the hell I was just standing there doing nothing. I wondered that myself. I caught Finn’s grey eyes and, in a way only siblings communicated, I managed to tell him what we were going to do. I’m going to run to the cornucopia and grab whatever I can, you cover me. I’ll give you a signal (still got to work that out) and we go into the house. Avoid picking a fight. He nodded like he got what I was trying to say and I did the same. We jumped down and started running towards the cornucopia which was filled with kids screaming bloody murder, and committing bloody murder. The grass around the huge metal mouth was already stained a dark red. I could feel Finn’s panicked gaze fixed on the tributes. My own heart was going at a million miles per hour. But I didn’t stop, stopping meant dying. I was already thoroughly surprised that nobody had approached me or Finn swinging a weapon and trying to kill us. Or that a mutt hadn’t appeared out of the ground and swallowed me, just to make sure I didn’t have any chance of winning the games. That would be the kind of thing Snow would do. I was pretty sure that-

‘PRIM!’ I heard my name being shouted once again, but this time it was worried and frightened. I spun around just in time to feel a body barrelling into mine. We hit the ground and I let out a groan as all the air was knocked out of my body. But I didn’t have time to get my breath back. I pushed the body of me wondering why on earth the person wasn’t fighting back. Then I realised. I saw the dark red mark spreading on the person’s chest. This person was already dead. I managed to resist the urge to throw up and started sprinting to the cornucopia. Finn was already there, fighting with a dagger he must have found on the ground. Come on Prim! I willed myself to go faster, to speed up, and to do anything to help Finnick.

‘ARGH,’ I heard a huge shout behind me and before I could turn around I felt a knife whistle past my ear. I kept sprinting, terrified. The sounds of a cannon were audible and I knew that every shot meant that a child had died, and I prayed to God that it wasn’t Finnick.

Blood was rushing in my ears; unpleasant shots of adrenaline were coursing through my body. I could see Finnick fighting a losing battle with the District 10 girl, Sage, and already the toughest group of people had formed allies and were cheering Sage on. I didn’t have time to make out who formed the group but I did notice that there were 7 of them, including Sage.

I kept running and running and running until the cornucopia was 5 metres ahead of me. I wanted to stop running, breath and laugh with relief but I couldn’t. I grabbed the first object I could find and shoved it into the waist of my trousers. Then I noticed a backpack and ran towards it slinging it on my back along with another knife and a bottle. I guess the group of careers hadn’t had the sense to guard the rest of the supplies that were essential to them. I saw a bow and a sheath of arrows 10 metres ahead of me and looked around me. No one had noticed me, lucky me. I ran towards it and breathed a sigh of relief when I managed to grab it. I turned, determined to go and help Finnick, and was met with the rugged, cruel face of 17 year old, District 9, Jaxon, who had been staring at me all those days ago.

‘Why hello there pretty Primrose.’ He said smirking.

‘Jaxon,’ I said shortly.

‘No need to be rude my dear Primrose, you and I could get on very well.’ Jaxon started making his way towards me, his green eyes glittering with malice and something that highly resembled insanity.