The Great War.

XI

"Marionettes."

We spend hours running and walking through the forest, trying to cover as much ground as we can. We don't come across a single tribute along the way: they've either gone far or are good at hiding; fortunately, we all have decent endurance from the training in our respective districts, so maintaining the pace isn't an issue for anyone, including the boy from District 12, despite his slight limp from the beating inflicted by Cato and Marvel. We're taken aback by the boy from District 12's knife skills; he's not that useless after all.

In the late afternoon, I started hearing the cannon blasts. Each shot represents a dead tribute, most likely from the initial bloodbath. This occurs near the end of the first day of the Games because deaths are so close together, making it difficult for the Gamemakers to keep track. From now on, the cannons will sound at the moment the killings occur. We pause and count the shots: eleven dead, twelve to go.

We settle in a clearing to rest. Nobody wants to run out of energy before the actual hunt starts. I decide to sit down near the base of a tree, then I get my water bottle and sip slowly and deliberately to make it last, because we won't go back to the day until tomorrow. We all gather around, forming a circle.

"I have no idea how many I killed at the Cornucopia," Cato says, "but I think it must have been three or four tributes."

"I got two," Marvel announces, "although with all the adrenaline, I don't remember it very well."

"I killed a girl," Glimmer looks annoyed, "that bitch put up a fight and punched me in the face."

"I took down a girl and a boy," I say nonchalantly, not giving it much thought as I recall how the girl from District 12 escaped so easily. "Not that bad, I guess."

Tara hadn't killed anyone; she injured a couple of tributes, but Marvel finished them off. The boy from District 12 still had no blood on his hands.

I think about the twelve remaining tributes that I have to eliminate to get out of here. Five of them are sitting beside me. I want to get rid of them as quickly as possible, but not before one of them kills Thresh.

With six of us in the group, we split into pairs to explore the arena. The boy from District 12 and Cato lead the way, followed by Glimmer and Tara, while Marvel and I bring up the rear. It crosses my mind to form a secret alliance with Marvel since we're together at the back. We could come up with a surprise attack and kill the others effortlessly. However, finding a moment alone is impossible, and I can't talk to him. So, I'm left relying on the hope that he might be thinking along the same lines as me.

We'll stay here until nightfall, so I lean against the trunk of a large tree and close my eyes for a few minutes. I need rest since we'll be hunting until early in the morning. It's easier to catch the other tributes off guard while they sleep. Following the same logic, I don't allow myself to sleep deeply. Since all of my allies are considerably bigger and stronger than I am, I am totally dependent on my knife skills in order to survive. I need to keep my guard up high.

Tara takes the first watch for a couple of hours, and while the rest of the group can easily lay down to rest, I find it difficult because it makes me feel exposed and susceptible. I have to be ready to get up and run at any moment. As night gradually descends, the hoots of owls and distant howls reach my ears. Have the Gamemakers released wild animals, or is it just another game they're playing?

I button up my jacket all the way to my neck as the temperature drops drastically; the cold wakes up my allies, who had managed to fall asleep. Cato takes out a couple of torches from a burlap bag and quickly lights them up.

The anthem resonates throughout the arena, and a silent hovercraft appears above our heads, projecting the Capitol symbol. The music ends, and the sky darkens briefly. They must be witnessing a rerun of all the killings in District 2. We don't get to see that. However, the surviving tributes are already aware of our abilities, and they must also assume that we were responsible for all the deaths today.