Sunshine - A Hunger Games Story

18| Sacrifice

The 24th day is a mixture of grief and fear.

Rhett mutters most of the day. Sometimes it's about having volunteered to save his sister. Other times he mutters about not having a purpose. Henri and I are quick to correct him. Though our motivations fade as he persists.

Every once in a while, either Henri or I will shush the boy from 4 to stay aware of any threats. We don't want to attract 2-6-8 to our position.

"I can't do it. I'm just useless, dumb and full of shit. All I was supposed to do was keep her safe. She needed to win. It's supposed to be Sydney. Sydney was going to live. Not me." He whispers the last sentence.

"Rhett. You're not dumb. You didn't do anything wrong. You couldn't do anything. Don't give up, think about your family. You have to get back to them so they don't lose two kids in so little time. Think about them."

"I can't," He replies before turning over on his side and muttering quietly to himself.

The sun flashes in my eyes, waking me up on the 25th day. Rhett is already up and pacing back and forth in the grass. "We're going to get them. They killed Sydney, so they are going to pay," he says once he sees I'm awake.

Henri, as a light sleeper, gets up when Rhett speaks. "We're going to find the Careers. Hurry up and get all your things." Rhett already started moving by the time I stopped talking.

Good think Rhett's hair sticks just above the prairie grass, otherwise, we would not be able to find him.

Henri is still sleepy and stumbles over the weeds at his ankles. Plus, Trident Boy is taking way longer strides than us, causing me and Henri to fall behind. This is a bad idea. Only bad can come from this.

"They couldn't have gotten far," he yells back at me in the afternoon.

"Doesn't mean they're close."

"Or that we should go find them," Henri pipes in.

As we are walking, I notice a few red dots in my new bandage. I guess that medicine wasn't meant to last forever. My arms also have little cuts from tree leaves and prairie grass. That jacket would have helped if I still had it on. Darn bugs. At least Sydney got out without any—

—Sydney! She's not here anymore. That's such a weird thought, that she just doesn't exist anymore. Her consciousness isn't on this plane of existence.

Don't think about that Ayesha. It will only bring you down.

My hands are still stained with Faith's blood. Faith. I can finally think the name. My mind instantly plays the memory of her death. Faith's porcelain skin is even paler, bright blue eyes covered in tears. Her brown wavy hair is tangled and a growing stain of red on her shirt.

I shake my head, wiping the memory from my mind.

As we are zigzagging through the large area in which 2-6-8 might be, the sun starts to set. Yellows, oranges, pinks, purples and blues stream across the sky.

We keep walking. When stars are visible, scattered across the sky, we keep walking.

Around 1 o'clock, I caught all the way up to Rhett and pulled him to a stop. "We should rest."

"No."

"We can't fight if we're tired."

"They'll be tired too, so I'll have the advantage."

"Except you won't. It will be one against 3 if we don't stop and rest. I'm not getting Henri killed because of your stupidity. Okay, Trident Boy?"

"I thought you were the stupid one," he smirks, bringing up our conversations from the chariots. I almost forgot that I volunteered to be here. It makes me almost want to take it back. Almost. "Fine. We can rest and you guys can get your beauty sleep. Wake me at 3 to take watch.

I spend my watch braiding several strands of prairie grass and wildflowers together into an intricate bracelet that fits around the sheath of my sword. My mother taught me how to do so when I was a little girl. Right after Isaak was born, food was even scarcer. In order to take our mind off of our growling stomachs, mom would teach me to bread bracelets out of the grass that grew outside of our house. It's actually what my token is from.

At 3-ish, maybe after, I wake Rhett up and fall asleep.

"Hey, you should get up so we can go," Henri whispers in my ear, waking me up. I stand up quickly, then stretch out my limbs and back.

"We're going?" I yawn.

"Yeah, 9. I was promised revenge." Rhett has large bags under his eyes. I probably do too.

For hours, we weave through the terrain trying to find the kids trying to kill us. I work myself up to the idea of killing someone, because they deserve it and it has to happen some time. Around 10, 11 maybe, we find them.

In a section of the tall grass with lots of purple, yellow and blue flowers, the voices of two girls and a boy drift past us. I clutch my short sword in my hands, preparing myself for killing. Rhett tiptoes close to them. When he gets close enough to make out their positioning, he lets out a battle cry and runs forward with his trident held high.

I run after him. I see the three of the pseudo-careers scurrying around to get their weapons. Rhett starts battling Katy as she tries to block his attacks with her katana. The sword, she must have killed Sydney. I see the girl from 2 go to grab a spear. My fist quickly connects with her temple, sending her temporarily unconscious on the ground.

Thank you Hunger Games Instructor that I never bothered to learn the name of. Apparently knowing where to target puts you at a 2,000% advantage.

I quickly glance at Rhett. He might have rage and knowledge, but Katy is cool and collected in stressful situations and is good with her hands and on the spot thinking.

The boy from 6 gets an odd squiggly sword from the grass and charges at me. I am quick to react and block his attack. He swings at me again with lots of power. I duck out of the way, not wanting to try and out muscle him. He swings a third time and as I block it, I kick his shin and duck my head as he overpowers my sword. He shifts his weight giving me time to swipe at his left shoulder. All thoughts of ethical repercussions of killing, gone as I'm in the midst of a fight.

11 takes a jab at my body. I step back, but not enough, and it cuts against my shoulder. While he is drawing back his sword, I swing at his chest. A large horizontal line cuts open from his jacket with blood spilling out. Stunned, he drops his sword and stagers.

A cannon goes off.

The boy from 11 reaches down to pick up his sword with his left hand while his right hand presses against his chest, but with his injured shoulder, he stops and gasps. Standing upward again, he opens himself up to a final attack. As I am drawing back my sword, 3 trident prongs poke through his upper chest. The boy falls to the ground towards me, making me take a step back.

A cannon goes off.

I look up at Rhett just in time to see the girl from district 2's spear go right through his heart. Without a weapon, the girl flees.

A cannon goes off.

I run towards Rhett, and crouch down next to his body. Another corpse to be sent to the Parkers. A heavy weight lays on my chest. My hands slip around the front of the spear and carefully lift it up and out of his body, relieving him of the weight. His coffee brown eyes stare up into the sky, I slide his eyelids down gently. Blood flows out of his partially opened mouth and his sense of confidence and strength, gone. The tall, strong boy from district 4 who never takes any help is gone.

Thinking of it quickly, I slide the bracelet I made that night off of my sheath and onto his wrist. For his family as a sorry. From under his shirt peaks a locket. His poor family, having to lose both their 18 year old son and young daughter.

I slowly back away, taking Henri's hand as he comes out of the grass where he was hidden. We both watch as a hovercraft takes his body. Another friend is gone. It's only us now.

"Goodbye Trident Boy," I whisper.