𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

[24] - A Silent Scream

^Here is little Russell Thorsby from District Four!

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For the fifth time, I'm blanketed in a suffocating veil of silence as night falls; instinctually, I open my eyes to see the fallen tributes in the sky above me. Once again, the dreaded words appear above me... No Fallen Tributes.

I sigh, leaning back against my forearms. Will these Games ever end, or will the thirteen of us just stay in here forever? How much longer can we really last? The way the last few days have been going, I don't even know how much longer my own alliance can last.

I glance over at Clay and Sienna, and my heart nearly stops. The spot where the two of them sat just minutes ago is now empty.

Now alert, I sit up. It's hard to see through the deep red forest, but I can make out one sleeping body nearby - Damien. Where the hell are Clay and Sienna?

I hope I'm just being paranoid, but I can't ignore the feeling that something is wrong. Something happened to Clay and Sienna in the last few minutes, and it happened right next to me. I slowly curl my fingers around my knife, looking around my dark red surroundings. Where could they be?

That's when I see them. Not Sienna and Clay; someone much, much worse.

Midas grins as he locks eyes with me. Before I know it, I'm on my feet. My heart is racing; I try not to collapse as I stand, holding my knife at my side.

Behind Midas, Trent notches an arrow into his bow with lightning speed, pointing it right at me and releasing...

I dive to the ground, and the arrow sails over my head, burying itself in the tree that was behind me just moments ago. Finally, the boys reach the clearing, and there's nothing I can do but gawk at them. They look even taller and stronger than I remember; despite the darkness, I can still make out the smile on Midas' face.

Then I realize my mistake... At Midas' feet, Damien lies, still sleeping. Trent takes out his knife, but Midas laughs, pushing his brother to the side. He raises his blade, ready to strike...

I scream so loud that I can feel my throat ripping itself apart. I call out to my brother as Midas' sword descends upon him, but there's nothing I can do. I scream and scream, but nothing breaks through the silence of the night. Midas' blade reaches Damien's chest and passes straight through it. Damien's eyes open for a split second, fluttering as they lock on mine. On his face is an expression of pure shock, of betrayal. And then it's over. Midas pushes Damien's body off of his blade with his foot, and then he turns to me.

If Midas looked scary before, he looks even scarier now with the blood of my brother on his blade. Only one thought flutters continuously through my mind - run - but somehow, I can't. I'm frozen in shock, hoping that somehow, I'll wake up from this horrible nightmare. Damien can't be dead, he can't be. But his body lays right there in front of me. This is real, and I'm next.

Trent strings another arrow from behind his brother. He lifts the bow at my frozen body, aims, and fires.

And once again, my reflexes kick in. I roll to the side, and the arrow sails over me. I glance up at the boys; they look frustrated now. Midas lifts his blade and charges at me, a look of biting fury on his face.

Finally, I come to my senses. I need to get out of here now. My mind scrambles for a solution, but only one comes to mind: the river. Without hesitation, I tighten my grip on my knife, turn to the riverbank, and dive.

The water is freezing against my skin, and it shocks me back to reality. Two trained murderers are on my trail, and they killed Damien. They killed my brother... Damien...

I can't think about that right now. I need to get out of here. I turn to float on my back as the river carries me downstream, away from the Careers. One glance behind me tells me that the boys decided not to follow me.

All the tension leaves my body as I float down the river. I'm going to be okay...

After drifting for a few minutes, I crawl out of the river on my hands and knees. The feeling of the mossy ground makes me collapse; I'm freezing cold, starving, and brotherless. My allies are gone, my brother is dead, and I'm lost in the middle of a forest full of people who want to kill me. Could this get any worse?

As I finally rise to my feet, wiping the tears from my face, I realize that it can, in fact, get worse. Because I left my shoes by the river to dry, and they're now sitting a few miles up the river. I didn't even get to grab my bag, which has most of our berries in it.

I'm so brutally confused that I feel like exploding... finally, I vomit into the river, but that doesn't help my confusion much. How could things have gone so badly so quickly? What happened to Clay and Sienna?

My heart drops at the thought of Sienna. Did the Careers kill her and Clay before they came back for Damien and me? Am I the only member of my alliance left in here to fight the Careers alone?

I feel completely and utterly hopeless. Damien, the only person who I knew could protect me, is dead. Sienna, my closest friend in this Arena, is gone. There is nothing left for me to do now is die... maybe I should have just let Trent kill me right there. I would've died with the others, and this all would've been over.

In the silence of the night, I can cry as loudly as I want, so I do. I cry all night, and my tears spill down the riverbank, mixing into the river below me.