The 95th Hunger Games

Chapter 7

A cannon hasn't sounded for many days now. It is day ten. We've made it so far. There are fourteen people left. We will make it.

"Shhh!" I look in the direction of the whisper. Around twenty to forty yards from our base. There must be someone spying on us. I walk over to the area where the voice came from.

"Who's there?" I call out. I get closer and hold my ax in front of myself. Then, I see a young girl. I bounce back and stare.

"Can I have some food, please?" Tessa asks kindly.

"Tessa?" I murmur.

"No. Can I have food?" It's Lilac. From District eleven.

"Run, kid!" I yell. I hold up my ax to threaten her. I can't have another kid lose because of me. She begins to scream and run. Envy appears from the other side of the bush. Oh no. He jumps out at me.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't gonna hurt her." I plead.

"Don't do that ever again. Give us food." Envy sticks his sword to my throat. I gather crackers, fruits, and bread to give to them. I sprinkle Magnolia's nightlock berries in the mess.

We gather around Magnolia firing arrows into a tree. She shoots one hard enough to tear the bark off.

"Look, there's sap!" Aaron exclaims. She takes a large amount of it with her finger and swallows it. That smell. It's familiar. Aaron begins coughing. I look at the leaves of the tree.

"It's Vampire Tree sap. It's a Capitol thing. It's very poisonous unless you let it sit in garlic. It's dinner," my mom says.

I look at the leaves. They have jagged edges and a dark green.

Dark green jagged edges.

"Aaron! The sap is poisonous!" I scream. We all surround her. Giving her water and food. Her face goes pale. She struggles to breathe.

"Please, stay. I can't lose you." Begs Miles. Seeing Aaron like this makes me feel nauseous. She is the strongest person I know. She's dying. A single tear runs down Aaron's face. Hives show. Her skin continues to swell.

"We need a sponsor," Miles shouts, "someone, please! Help! Poisonous sap! Please get us a cure! Please! Anything! Please!"

Miles needs anything to bring him hope. He'll do anything for her. A parachute ascends from the sky and lands next to us.

Miles rushes over and instantly makes Aaron drink the serum. We await her reaction. Aaron's eyes fade. Her head rolls down.

"No, it should be working!" Miles yells. I pick up the note in the sponsor,

"Congrats, careers. Here's some wine for your reward. Now is your time to kill him. - C"

"This wasn't for us." I say. They look at the note and back at Aaron. Miles's breath picks up. We hear chatter and noise. BOOM!

We run to our camp. Throw everything into our bags and run the opposite way. Miles and Magnolia take off. I hide behind a tree and watch. I pick up a knife that Aaron used.

The Careers laugh about Aaron, but seem upset about the wine. I aim to strike Drift one more time with a knife. They turn around and start to walk. I let go of the knife. Drift turns his head slightly. The knife stabs him in his throat. Drift falls to the ground. Siren wails. The others get their weapons ready and chase me. I climb up the trees and jump to each, avoiding the Careers.

I see Magnolia and Miles I run to catch up. BOOM! I dive down a hill and land next to them. They seem to be sobbing.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"No. I can't keep doing this. Everyone is dying. I-I can't." Magnolia weeps.

"What about Tessa?" I wonder.

"What?" Magnolia shoots a stare at me.

"What about Tess-"

"She's dead! Don't you get it already? Stop living in this fake reality! Tessa has been dead for days now. She died in the green fog!" I fall down. Look at the fake stars. I feel nothing. "Do you know what you've done? You are making this hard for everyone."

The Fallen. District four male, Drift. District six female, Aaron. It's not true. Tell me I've been lied to. Aaron and Tessa. Gone. She's actually dead. Tessa is gone. How am I alive? I shouldn't be.