𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 → 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗀𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 ¹

𝑶𝟏𝟐. 𝗇𝗎𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾

     when i was seven years old, i had a serious accident. at that time, i was climbing trees like no other. i was the one who always went the highest in the branches, the one who always won when i raced with my friends, the one who was not afraid of anything.

     then, one day, a branch broke under my weight.

     this kind of accident is not rare in my district, but i had always been careful where i put my hands and feet. i had always been careful about the branches i chose to climb.

     when the wood cracked beneath me, an intense terror came over me. the whole time i was falling went by in slow motion, and when i crashed to the ground, i broke a leg, an arm, and a few ribs. never in my life had i been so scared. so scared that once i was back on my feet, i didn't climb a tree again for a very long time.

     terror had taken away what i loved to do most in the world.

     however, this fear is nothing compared to the one i feel at the moment when the gong resounds in the plain. but i don't hesitate for a moment and run directly towards the cornucopia.

     i've always been a good runner, but the adrenaline increases my abilities tenfold.

     i'm running faster than i've ever run before.

     i bend down to retrieve the largest backpack in my path, a dark brown one, and slip it over my shoulder as i continue my run. i have my eye on an axe, short but with a shiny blade that looks perfectly sharp, lying carelessly on the side of the cornucopia. i won't venture inside the big golden conch, but i can grab the hatchet before running away.

     i speed up, reach for the handle ; and for the first time, i hear the screams.

     i only had my heart beating in my ears until now, but, as if a cork had just been pulled out, everything going on around me is audible again.

     and the screams i hear would almost freeze me on the spot if i wasn't trying to save my skin by all means. the bloodbath has begun, the first tributes have arrived at the level of the weapons and are rushing at those who wanted to try their luck.

     i turn my head towards the others, prey to a morbid curiosity, at the exact moment when a girl - from the five ? the six ? in the heat of the moment, i don't even remember her - runs at me, knife in hand.

     she thought she'd tip me over with her momentum, but i'm bigger and stronger. if i hadn't seen her, she might have succeeded ;

     but i did see her.