Sunshine - A Hunger Games Story

13| Security

***A/N - TBH: I find this chapter to be a little cringey in my opinion. But I'm not going to change it yet. Just be warned and don't let it deter you from the rest of the story. Thank you lovelies :) ***

The next day nothing happens. Nor on the day after that. On the 9th day, two cannons go off. I guess the dipstick squad decided to start doing something. I think I liked it better before. It turns out the two dead were the boys from 3 and 10. Two more days pass with little to no activity. On the 12th day we found the girl from 10 bleeding all over and couldn't save her. The 13th and 14th days pass with little action.

With all of the time on our hands, we discover that the forest can rain a muted acid that seems to only sting skin and cause blisters. We raid the cornucopia for more supplies after our discovery. With the new quantity of supplies, we set up a camp. The tarp that was from my original bag is nailed up against 4 trees along the bank of the river to protect us from the rain. We make a better version of my water filter to get drinkable water more efficiently. We blocked off the side of our camp and set our traps for both animals and humans in the surrounding trees.

A wave of insects swept through our area on one of the days as the game maker's warning to keep it interesting or else. As a result we found a camera in one of the trees that our tarp was nailed into and hosted a fake interview for each other. It was nice to bring some happiness into these horrid circumstances. Some highlights are...

"So 9, what is your plan to win this deadly game?"

"I don't plan to win. I plan to survive with y'all till the end and then kill everyone including myself to get Henri home. I don't want to live with blood on my hands."

"Same goes for me with Sydney. May the best looking win," cough, "me" he coughs again.

Or...

"Trident boy, why do you call everyone by their district number?"

"So I stay unattached and so it will be easier to kill you when the time comes." Henri, Sydney and I 'awe' as the 'crowd'.

And my favorite:

"Kiss Marry Kill: Ayesha, me, and Rhett," Sydney asks Henri.

"Kill Rhett, Kiss Ayesha, and Kiss you." Henri blushes.

After our days of gathering, assembling, hunting food, and entertaining, we are cursed with unexpected surprises. After all, this is a game of death.

Today is the 15th day. We are aware of the girl from 12 nearby, watching us stock up food and filter water. Faith came up with the idea of leaving camp for a few hours to lure her in and kill her when we catch her stealing from us. I guess it's easier to kill for some, more so than for others.

I can barely wrap my head around killing anyone. My gut turns, but I push the thought away telling myself that it will be over before I have to suffer the consequences.

Our group leaves our camp unattended and heads down the stream. Rhett and Faith are at the front of the pack, Henri and Sydney in the middle, and I am taking up the rear. The lush green trees of the forest slowly turn into dead tree skeletons. Our feet crunch on dry leaves, fallen sticks, and what I hope are acorns.

When I am scanning my surroundings for trouble, observing the new biome, I hear Faith gasp. Looking over at her, my eyes are drawn to a rush of water coming from the edge of the arena. The water rushes down the stream, unnaturally staying inside of the river's boundaries, and filling up a 30 foot tall water wall. As far as I can see, the same thing happens all the way across the arena.

"Get back," Rhett says, putting his arms in front of Faith and Sydney, backing up at a slow speed.

All of a sudden, the water wall comes crashing down. The water spreads out, eating us up and sending us to the bottom of its stomach.

I don't know how to swim. We don't have many lakes in district 9 and the ones that we do have are far from my home. My arms and legs thrash around trying to get upwards. Mom told me once about the people in district 4. What did she say?

"How do they stay on top of the water?"

"They kick their feet and push down with their arms. I don't know much more than that sweetheart."

Push down with your arms and kick your feet. I manage to get closer to the surface but still I am not close enough. My lungs burn. A hand grabs onto my outstretched arm and pulls me up and over to the beach.

"The water was pulling you under. They must have a strong drain at the bottom," Rhett explains as I suck in a large breath.

"They don't really have any pools in 9." I look around to see that everyone else has already made it onto the beach. "How do you guys know how to swim?"

"Faith works at the dam, we're district 4, and 8's luck he knows how." A cannon fires.

I see the river slowly recede until It is nothing more than a tiny stream of water in the middle of a large chunk of sand. Speaking of sand, the dead trees around us are no longer there. Instead, there is a large dry desert.

I find my sword laying over the stream and go to pick it up. Looking towards our camp a few miles away, I see a crane pick up a body from near our camp. "Guess they don't have pools in 12 either," I say. "Everyone still got their stuff?"

"No, we left most of it back at camp. The only stuff we did bring was the two swords, the trident, and a small bag of berries."

"2 weeks and only 10 tributes dead. What a waste. IF YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US, DO IT FASTER!" Faith yells.

"I guess we should get going then. Not much is going to be left at camp, maybe we can find someone and start wrapping things up faster."

Everyone nods their heads or uses some other method to agree with Rhett as we all head off into the desert. The green trees are a mile or so away and a big stone wall is off in the other direction, leaving me to believe that's the end of the arena.

Sand hits the back of my legs as it is picked up from my wet shoes. My wet tank top clings to my chest from the river water and my jacket weighs down my legs as it is, apparently, extra absorbent. Looking up at the sky, I'd say it's about 2, maybe 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The sun has been setting around 7 and the anthem plays at 7:30 -ish every day for the past two weeks.

So far as a participant of the 68th annual hunger games, I have eaten more than I normally get at home. Half a squirrel or rabbit every day along with the occasional berries. I have even made some of mom's grass and meat soup for everyone after we raided the cornucopia. A little less water than at home, but still the approximate amount of food I would be eating if I were still at home. I'd rather be at home. If I was, then I would be able to make sure that my mom is still alive. I wouldn't have to see blood spill out of my best friend's mouth over and over in my head like a broken record. If I was back at home, I wouldn't have to scrub my hands every night to try and get blood off of my fingers from the mutts, the girl from 10, and the blood from food. I had tried to save the girl from 10, but Rhett thought it would be better if we just ended it for her. I don't have it in me to win the Hunger Games. I don't see how anyone could. I guess that's why it is honorable to die at the cornucopia in 9.