² SECOND CHANCE ─ the hunger games

twenty-one - death?

— CADENCE —

THE ARENA is still silent as the Sun rises in the arena, marking the beginning of Day 5.

I can't believe it's been five days that I've been in the Hunger Games. Everything has passed so slowly, yet so quickly, and I'm really happy to see that everything is ending soon. One more step and we're out of here. And I can bring all of my friends back.

I look to my side to find that Aiden has disappeared, but his supplies are still here. The warm wind blows into my face, and I raise my head to see Aiden sitting on a tree, and I scale it, plopping down on a nearby branch.

I awkwardly turn to face Aiden, who's staring into the horizon, watching as the pink sky fades back to blue.

"Do you think we'll actually get out of here?" he asks softly, as if afraid speaking louder would hurt the truth. "We will," I answer and smile, hoping that it'll give him some hope.

"But even if we survive, what about the rest of our friends? My classmates, your classmates, and everyone else who died in these Games? We'll never see them again, will we," Aiden says, and I bite my lip, because he's just said the things I think of.. every night.

I exhale. "I know how you feel right now, Aiden. When you lose someone who's been close to your heart for a long time, all of this that has been speeding by slows down and finally seems real." I stare into his distant eyes, now back in focus. "You have to trust me, and together we'll find a way out of this. "

Aiden looks down, and we sit in silence for a couple of minutes. Then his eyes lock with mine again and this time, they're full of fury and determination. "I trust you, Cadence. You're our only hope of getting out of this mess, and I don't care what it takes, but I need to win now. For Andy, for Anson and for Rylie, we will win these Games. I don't care if anyone tries to stop us, but if someone does, I'll  be the one making sure they die."

I cock my head sideways at Aiden's sudden change of heart and a sly grin creeps onto my face. 

"I'll think of a way, Aiden. Trust me. But first, we should start off by killing Eunice."

We sit in silence until the sun rises up high above and starts shining brighter, and we jump off the tree together, packing our supplies in silence. 

We plan to head further towards the East Area in hopes of finding Eunice and being a bit closer to getting out of these Games.

We walk for what seems like ages, until we reach a riverside, and stop for a short break, plopping down on the river bed.

I sip some water from my bottle, and tear open a packet of dried fruit. We take a big bite of our snacks, and suddenly, Aiden crumbles onto the ground.

"Aiden?!" Just as I crouch down to shake him and slap his face, I look around in panic as everything around me starts to spin, and I become incredibly dizzy.

Am I dying? I think to myself. But I'm not 'me' anymore.

I'm a cold-hearted murderer, one who mercilessly kills for the sake of her own self. And just like in every fairytale, the villain receives karma for their actions.

Except this is no fairytale, and karma is equivalent to death.

Everything goes black, and I fall down into the mud.

— EUNICE —

I haven't eaten in a day. I take small sips from my bottle and take up my bow and arrows. I'm going to go out and hunt today, perhaps for some fish in the river, and also find the other tributes.

I take one step out of my cave and immediately freeze in my tracks.

Cadence and Aiden- they're talking by the riverside. I haven't heard any cannons today, but perhaps they can be the first two.

My footsteps take me there - I start to run towards them, but suddenly, they fall down dead and two cannons sound consecutively.

I trek away, leaving their dead bodies behind.

Two down, two more to go.