The Hunger Games - PRIM EDITION

Chapter 11 - Shooting Star

Fear rushes through my body, making everything go in slow motion. I watch as various people are thrown to the floor by an airborne knives or arrows or axes. I see Peeta grabbing a back pack and running into the trees. I watch as Glimmer, a Career, charges towards me, knife held securely in her hand.

I am pulled to my senses, and am suddenly in control of my body again. I gather myself together and run towards the trees, flat out. I have never run so fast in my life, but somehow I have a new trait now that my life depends on it.

I hear the sound of a cannon booming, representing the death of another tribute, urging me on. I'm nearly at the trees, and nearly safe, when I hear a whistling noise coming from behind me. It sounds as though something is being thrown. Oh God.

I feel the air blow gently on the side of my head, as the knife flies past me and falls to the floor in front of me with a thud. As I pass, I pick the knife up, knowing that it will come in handy when I am attacked. But I do not dare stop running, I can still hear heavy footsteps behind me. I try to ignore the stabbing pains in my legs as I urge them to keep going, but it is becoming too much. I need to stop.

But suddenly, I spot a small bank at the side of the track. It's my only hope. I glance behind me to see how far away Glimmer is, and notice that I have begun to outrun her. I set my eyes on my exit, and go for gold. My muscles scream at me to stop, but I ignore it, focusing ahead.

With one last glance behind me to check on my predator, I jump to the side, tumbling down the bank. I block out the scratches I feel on my face from the brambles, and the stings of nettles on my arms and legs, just letting myself roll.

I finally come to a bumpy landing at the bottom of the bank, and lay dead still. I hear a snigger coming from the top of the bank.

"Tough luck, Twelve!" giggles the voice of Glimmer. I hear her running away, back to the other careers, no doubt. I sit up, rubbing my head and looking around to see if there's anyone around. I can't help but smile to myself, thinking that I just more or less outsmarted a career.

I find myself in a small clearing in the trees, where the sun shines through a bit. For a moment, I just stare up at the trees, admiring the beauty of it all. But I suddenly remember where I am, and why I am here, making me suddenly very aware of my surroundings. Every snap of a twig or slight movement in the trees, which are probably just down to animals and birds, make me flinch.

I use a nearby tree to help myself up, leaning on it momentarily to get my balance. I didn't realise how dizzy I was until now.

I stumble out of the clearing, going deeper into the trees where people are less likely to find me. I am going to look for water, so at least I will have more chance of surviving a little bit longer.

However, after two hours of walking aimlessly, there is still no sign of water. I decide to stop looking for today, and instead I set out to look for a place to stay the night, thinking that I could maybe climb a tree, but none of the trees around here seem climbable. I finally settle with a big bush, deciding that its density will conceal me from any passers-by.

After spending the best part of an hour covering my face in mud, as a camouflage, I find that I have become quite tired. The sun has started to go down, making the forest shadowy, which makes me more vulnerable.

I climb clumsily into the bush, finding an area where the ground is a bit less bumpy, and lie there, staring at the sky. When I think about it, this morning was ages ago. The journey here is like a memory of years ago, and I very faintly remember how getting my tracker injected felt.

I have survived the blood bath. I escaped. Only very nearly, but I am still here, still breathing, still able to look at the darkening blue sky. I wonder who is dead. Is Peeta still alive? Is Rue okay? How many people survived the blood bath? These are questions with answers I can only guess at until midnight, when they show each dead tribute's picture in the sky.

~

I have been lay here for ages now. Countless hours of doing nothing, which makes me feel lazy. All I have done for the past god-knows-how-long, is stare at the sky through the leaves, watching it get darker. There are stars visible now, twinkling like diamonds in the pitch black sky.

I see a shooting star falling, and remember how my mother always used to say to me and Katniss that whenever we see a shooting star, it is our father watching down on us. This gives me hope, knowing that he is there for me too. I make a wish; I wish I could see Katniss and my mother again.

All of a sudden, the Capitol seal appears in the sky, and the anthem blasts through the arena. I watch nervously as the faces of the fallen tributes flash up. For some reason, I am petrified of seeing Peeta or Rue's face appear up there.

To my relief, neither of them do, making me relax a tiny bit. I counted eleven. That is just thirteen people that have survived the first day, and I am lucky enough to be one of them.

*Katniss' POV*

I have been worried sick for the past few days, I can't get my mind off Prim. All I can think of is her petrified face when we went to see her after the reaping. I still can't believe that it was her. There was a one in a million chance of her name being chosen, it was virtually impossible, and yet the impossible had happened. And so, here I find myself; stood outside the justice building, watching Ceasar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith chattering excitedly about the 74th Hunger Games.

"So, Claudius!" Ceasar says excitedly, facing the little man next to him. "Five minutes to go!"

"Yes, that's right!" he replies, looking directly at the camera. "Ladies and Gentleman, in four-and-a-half minutes, this year's tributes will be released into the arena, and we will be a step closer to fiding our victor!"

I'm not really listening, just waiting. Waiting for the moment I get to see my sister. I wonder how she coped once she got to the Capitol. What did she do in training? What weapons can she use? How has she coped with today?

All of these questions and more fly through my head for the next few minutes, until suddenly, it's time.

The tributes appear out of the ground, and I search desperately for Prim. The camera finally shows her. She looks so pale and nervous, looking around and taking in her surroundings. She looks thinner than she did before – not by much, but I can still notice.

When the gong sounds, she just stands there, eyes wide and scared. I urge her to run, and luckily she does, because there is a career chasing her.

My eyes are pinned to the big screen, as I watch the knife narrowly miss her head, but the cameras only stay on the cornucopia where all of the action is happening.

I hope and pray that she is okay, but there is no knowing until the blood bath is over.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know if you liked Katniss' POV at the end! I may do it again if you liked it! I would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to EVERYONE who is still reading, it means a lot!!! :) x