The 95th Hunger Games

Chapter 4

 The tube rises. I try to keep balance. My eyes dart up at the pink petals flying overhead. The tube finishes rising. I see the timer. 60. 59. We seem to be in a divot in a fantasy land. One half has Dark blue forest while the other is a pink forest. I look to my left and I see Magnolia pointing to the Cornucopia. I see where she is pointing. There is an ax next to a backpack. I should go for that. My mind starts to race again. The Capitol is gonna kill me for what I have done. 30. 29. To my right is Beatrice, from District 8. She seems very calm. My hands begin to shake. I feel the adrenaline pulse throughout my body. 10. 9. Everyone gets in their running stance.8.7.6. Magenta was going to kill me.5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

The horn blows. I take off to the bag. I throw my body on the bag. I grab the ax and start to head out. Envy, from District 11, stabs Beatrice, making her fall over. I begin to run, but someone trips me. Victor puts a knife to my throat. I begin to squirm. He puts his second hand on my shoulder to keep me down. He throws his arm back and uses all his force to get the knife in my throat. I wince from the shot. I blink open and see him rolled over with an arrow in his side. I grab my ax and sprint into the pink forest.

I run for a while until I get to a place where I can rest. I lay down my stuff and try to think about what just happened. Beatrice is dead. I almost died, but someone saved me from Victor, the guy from District 1. Magenta. Her image of her face against the glass still sticks in my mind. She was gonna kill me if she broke the glass. I was gonna die before this nightmare. I would rather have that.

BOOM! One cannon. BOOM! I grab a small rock and scrape it into a larger rock. I tally only four. There are twenty survivors. So much for a bloodbath.

I bring my backpack and ax to a nearby lake. My reflection in the water already looks dead. I rummage through my bag. A knife, a canteen, and water purifier tablets.

Hours have passed. The beautiful cyan sky changes to shades of purple and dark pink. BOOM! Another one is gone. Nineteen survivors. The anthem plays and I move to a spot where there is a space through the trees to see the Fallen.

District five male, Sy. District eight female, Beatrice. District ten female, Anna. Both of District ten's tributes, Ashton and Autumn. That's it. They are dead and gone.

It's officially night. I'm wide awake, so I get my stuff and take a hike. I see smoke through the magenta leaves. I stealthily crawl over to see if the Careers will show up. I climb up a tree to get a better view. It's Sickle, Graham, and Tessa. Graham and Sickle are from District 9, and Tessa is from District 5. Tessa is the youngest tribute and her partner is already dead. She is a goner, but I can't let that happen.

I hear footsteps and cracks of twigs. I know the Careers are coming. It happens every year. A fire attracts them. I pick up a branch and throw it at Sickle. She turns around in a panic. I climb down.

"The Careers are coming." I whisper. Tessa, Graham, and Sickle are all scared by my entrance but now are even more scared. They grab their stuff and book it. They are closer. The footsteps grow. I won't make it. I jump back into the tree.

"FOLLOW THEM!" Victor screams. The six Careers stomp over the fire and run where the others went. Victor holds his right side, where the arrow hit. Do I save them? Or do I stay? I can't let Tessa die in such a harmful way. I have to.

I crouch below eye level and hide in bushes. I get close enough to understand what is happening. The Careers surrounded them.

"Please. Don't kill us." Sickle begs.

"What's in the bag?" Athena points at the bag Graham is holding.

"Food. Take it. All of it." Graham's voice shakes. He throws the bag at Athena's feet.

"Give me one reason to not stab all of you." Drifts says while cleaning his trident.

"We can get you food and water." Sickle blurts. All six of them laugh. They start to move farther in. What should I do?

"Please!" Tessa screeches. The Careers begin to laugh more. They jump at once. Siren holds Tessa's arms behind her back. Drift rubs his trident against Tessa's face, brushing her tears.

Athena and Bishop use their swords and stab Sickle together. Tessa's screams grow. Radiance and Victor run to Graham, but his fist flies into Siren's face causing her to fall. BOOM! Sickle is officially dead. Eighteen. I grab my knife and hold it tight.

I'm going. Because I stole food for my family. All for them. I throw a knife in anger. It strikes the tree. Bark falls off. I throw a second. It lands right above the first knife. And a third goes a foot below, cutting deep into the tree.

My eyes lock on Drift. The anger builds inside me. Graham jumps on Siren and repeatedly punches her in the face. All of the Careers, besides Drift, grab Graham. I have to. I crouch a little higher. I let my right arm back. Drift grabs Tessa. He puts the trident close to her. No. I control the anger and my vision onto his face. I flick my arm forward letting the knife fly.

Drift lets out a scream before he falls. I grab Tessa and put her on my back. I push the ground and sprint through the trees. Seconds later, I hear them after me. My feet continue to push off the ground with great force. I reach the lake. I sprint to my right and set Tessa in a tree along with my bag. I put my finger up to my lips to tell her to be quiet. The Careers continue to run after me. I run around the lake to direct the attention from the tree that Tessa is in to me.

Eventually, I don't hear the Careers around me. I catch my breath and crawl back to where I left Tessa. BOOM! I don't hear or see anything. I run a few yards and wait, but nothing. I see the lake. I reach for Tessa and pull her out of the tree. I wipe the tears off her face and put the bag on my back. I hold her hand and we find a place to hide out. She falls asleep immediately. I don't wanna sleep. I don't want her to die. Tears fall down my face. I don't wanna die.