The 95th Hunger Games

Chapter 5

My eyes open to light shooting into my eyes from my spot through the forest. It's quite beautiful. Tessa is still sleeping. Food. I find a bush with strawberries and pick most of them. They taste amazing. Tessa will enjoy them too.

The image of Magenta appears in my mind again. Why was she rabid? Stabbing at the glass. She killed two Peacekeepers with a knife alone. She will stop at nothing to kill me.

The footsteps and twig snapping starts again. But this time it is quick. I hide behind a large tree. It's the Careers chasing some animal. It looks like a bunny. I begin counting the Careers I see. Their rapid movement makes me lose count multiple times. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Only five. There is only one guarding their stuff.

I tap Tessa slightly. Her blue eyes blink open. I point behind her to the Careers. I grab her hand and we jog away.

We make our way back to the Cornucopia. Drift is the only one there. He seems to be holding something to his face. Dried blood on his face. Forty yards to my left. I see Magnolia and three others running towards the Cornucopia. It's literally only day two.

Drift runs towards them, dropping his medicine. He holds his trident out. Tessa and I sprint to the pile of supplies. We throw food and supplies into my bag until it's full.

"HELP!" Drift shouts. I grab Tessa's hand and run towards Magnolia and her group. Magnolia and her group run. They were a great distraction for me. Drift throws the trident into someone. Magnolia and two others get away.

BOOM! I push Tessa's face away from Xavier's corpse and push through the pain to save us. I hear the trident fly through the air. He's aiming at us. I drag Tessa to the ground. The trident stabs the grass in front of us. I sprint for the trees, Tessa right behind.

I follow Magnolia far into the blue trees. We make it to a cave and follow them in. Magnolia is with Aaron and Miles, the tributes from six.

"Sawyer!" Magnolia shouts. She gives me a big hug. I meet Aaron and Miles.

"Sorry about the chariot ride mishap." I joke.

"That was crazy. I'm happy we are okay now." Aaron says.

"I agree. Strawberries, anyone?" I ask. Everyone digs their hands into the pile of strawberries I found.

The rest of the day flies. Laughter and memories. Aaron talked about her father and how he taught Aaron to use a sword. Aaron likes her father, but he is addicted to morphling. Miles talked about his two younger brothers. Tessa brought up her parents. Magnolia mentioned her best friend, Ivy. She described her in a way I never saw her. Ivy was a hero and selfless.

We meet outside of the cave when the anthem plays. From District three, Xavier. District nine, Graham and Sickle. Sixteen left. Everyone goes back inside to sleep.

I see a bow and arrows next to Magnolia. She must've saved me. Even though I ruined her many times before. I need to repay the favor somehow.

Days three and four are boring. No deaths. We find berries to eat and use my water purifier tablets. We continue to talk about our families and lives on day five.

"Yeah, my brothers are probably watching the television, hoping for me to win. They see the Hunger Games as a game show or something. They don't really think about the deaths." Miles explains. That's sad. They won't understand if Miles dies.

"Wait, I have a story," says Aaron. Everyone leans in. "The reason why Miles and I both volunteered was because we were done living in a household where everyone used morphling. It was out of hand and we got little to no food, water, or care. Miles had to take care of his two brothers. I did most things with no one or Miles. We did this Hunger Games together, because we couldn't live without each other."

"Wow. I'm sorry." Magnolia says.

"It's okay. I'm sad to leave my brothers, but they will understand." Miles utters. So Miles is just gonna leave his twin brothers to join the Hunger Games and die as well. That's horrible, he should've stayed. And Aaron should've stayed as well. What were they thinking?

The conversation fades and everyone lies down to sleep. I'm wide awake once again. Magenta. Tessa. Aaron and Miles. My family. I can't take it. I get up and step outside for fresh air. Magnolia joins me.

"I need to tell you something." Magnolia says in a soft tone, " Pearl told me some tips before I went into the game."

"Of course Pearl was there. I thought at least one person would care for me." I blurt.

"Magenta was with you."

"She tried to kill me."

"What? She did?" Magnolia gasps.

"Yes. She killed two Peacekeepers." I notice a camera inside of a tree pointing right at me, "she used a knife and continues to stab at the glass tube to murder me."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I can't believe Magenta would do that."

"It's okay, it's over. What did Pearl say?"

"I have to tell you in private."

"We are."

"Like private, private." Magnolia eyes the camera pointing at us. I move closer for her to whisper, "Pearl is planning for us to escape."

"What?" I blurt.

"Shh," Magnolia continues, "she wants us to get a big group of people. There's a break in the barrier. It's in the middle of the blue and pink trees. It's where the Cornucopia's horn is pointing." I can't believe it. We will actually live.

"When are we doing this?" I ask.

"She said she needs time to clear the area near it, so no guards see it. She said when there are around six people or less."

"That's it? Six?"

"Yeah. That could be us five."

"Okay." I'm not gonna die. We're not gonna die.

The next day I decided to leave to look for more water. The rest are looking around for tributes.

Now, it's around noon. I find a small pond. I fill my canteen. BOOM! The first cannon in days. Could it be Tessa? Aaron? Miles? Magnolia?

"Tessa! Magnolia!" I scream. I sprint back to the cave. What if they are in danger? What about the plan? "Magnolia!" I keep sprinting, but I trip on a rock. A tree starts spitting green gas in my direction. I accidentally breathe some of it. I get up and continue to sprint. I feel the gas in my lungs. I feel it in my thoughts. I feel dizzy. Nauseous. I begin to run in a zig-zag. I stumble over my feet. "Aaron! Miles!" I knock my right foot on a large rock causing me to lose my balance. I hit the ground. Everything goes black.

"Sawyer!" I wake up in the cave surrounded by everyone.

"What happened? Who died?" I scream. My eyes dart looking for Tessa.

"Just Quill from ten." Says Aaron.

"You missed the Fallen." Adds Miles.

"How did he die?" I urge.

"The Careers got him, I think." Answers Magnolia.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" Asks Tessa.

"A green gas sprayed on me. I don't know what it was, but I freaked out." I try to stabilize my thoughts. Everything feels like a blur.

"Okay. Let's sleep." Magnolia yawns. Everyone settles in and sleeps. I don't feel tired after sleeping for the whole afternoon. I go outside and think. Think about Magenta again. Omega. Tessa and her life. Sickle. Graham. Quill. Beatrice. Aaron and Miles. Pearl's escape plan. This feels like a nightmare.