The Hunger Games - PRIM EDITION

Chapter 16 - The Finale

The day goes by slowly, the only disturbances in this nearly empty forest being the wildlife that occasionally rustles some leaves. It's about noon, when the sun is at its highest in the sky, when the cannon booms. It drags me suddenly from my stupor, and I look across at peeta, who has the same knowing yet wondrous expression as I do.

The obvious question to think would be; 'I wonder who's dead?' But my immediate thoughts are; it's the final two. It's Peeta and I against whoever is still alive. The fact that daunts me is that in twenty-four hours, I'll either be alive and in the capitol, or dead.

"I wonder who that was?" Peeta breaks the lasting silence.

"I don't know, but you know what it means, don't you?" I reply, raising my eyebrows questioningly.

"It's the finale." Peeta says, looking up at the sky. It is a pale blue, with beautiful looking white clouds dotted around like sheep in a field, and a small wind is blowing through the leaves of the trees, sending a shiver down my spine.  

"Yup." I say, dread seeping through me as I think about what awaits us. I can't even believe that I am still alive. I think back to the reaping, and it feels like years ago; like one of those childhood memories which you somehow remember in vivid detail. I remember how shocked I was as the wave of terror came over me. Tripping up the steps outside the justice building feels like something that happened in a past lifetime, despite it being just about two weeks ago. I feel like a different person since then; I feel like a stronger person, mentally and physically, and looking back at my weak self before, I'm glad I have changed.

All of a sudden, the bright, midday sky, gets darker. I watch as it changes from bright clouds and blue, to a dark blue blanket, a strip of orange lighting the horizon where the sun is. Peeta stares at the pretty colour around the sun for a moment, before he is startled, like I am, by the sudden capitol anthem sounding through the arena, and the seal I the semi-dark sky.

The skinny face of the district five girl shows in the sky, and everything goes silent once more.

"Just us and Cato." I say, in a surprisingly strong voice, considering my insides have literally reduced down to a nervous nothingness.

"Yeah." Peeta speaks quietly, every tone in his voice sounding like how I feel. I follow his eyes to the sunset, and for a moment I just appreciate it. Everything about nature suddenly seems so magnificent now that I am faced with the thought that I could be dead very shortly.

As we sit in silence, my ears pick up a small sound. It sounds like water boiling, but there is no water around here to be boiling, and even if there was, it's too cold.

"Do you hear that?" I ask Peeta. He holds his breath and listens carefully, tilting his ear towards the floor.

"Yeah..." Peeta says in a mystified voice. "Sounds like something down there." He says, pointing down and squinting to try and see through the mass of leaves in the tree.

"Hold on a second." I say, lowering myself to a lower branch so that I can get a better view. I peer through the branches to see something completely un-expected: it is the ground beneath us that is making the bubbling noise. There is a line of grass which seems to be moving slightly, and the line is slowly but surely moving closer.

"Peeta, quickly!" I hiss up the tree, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Grab the bag, we need to go!" there is sudden movement above me, and two seconds later, Peeta arrives, carrying our little range bag which he decorated with mud to camouflage it.

"What is it?" He asks, sounding and looking alarmed. I point towards to line of grass, where the bubbling noise is coming from. "Oh, okay! Jump down!" I jump down to the ground, which feels strangely warm, and Peeta lands beside me. The moment our feet touch the ground, the line of fizzing ground speeds up, gaining on us at more of a pace.

Momentarily grabbing Peeta's arm, I start to run away from the ground, which seems to have started bubbling now, too.  For some reason I know exactly what to do; whatever the bubbly ground is, it is chasing us to the cornucopia, where everyone watching will have a clearer view of the final battle, without the trees getting in the way of the cameras.

I am taken over by a sudden wave of adrenaline, and my legs seem to go faster. I run faster than I knew I could run, and faster than I have ever run before. I am in my own little world, and so distracted that I almost forget that there is someone with me.

There is a sudden small yelp from behind me, and I am pulled from my trace. I turn on my heels to see Peeta, sprawled out on the floor, as the bubbles approach him.

"Peeta!" I shout, a little too loudly. "Quickly! Run!" he scrambles to his feet, but not quick enough. His foot is submerged in the mud, which close up, smells horrid. Peeta lets out a scream of pain as he struggles to get free of the bog. I grab his hand, and together, we manage to help him out.

"It burns!" Peeta gasps, as we continue to run away from the bog, which seems to have sped up since Peeta got stuck in it. We run as fast as we can, and my lungs feel as though they are on fire. I genuinely think I am going to have to stop, but then I see the cornucopia, its metallic surface shimmering in the semi-dark sunlight.

Luckily, I see no sign of anyone being there, meaning that we have beat Cato here. If we can get on top of the cornucopia, then at least we will have a better view.

Panting, and with the bog rapidly catching up with us, we arrive at the Cornucopia. Peeta scrambles up first, and then helps me up, just in time as the bog closes in a tight island around us.

I am suddenly knocked to the floor by a huge blow to the head, and pain shoots through my brain. I gasp with shock as I turn to see, through blurred vision, two figures fighting. It dawns on me that the two people are Peeta and Cato, and both boys' weapons lay aside.

Even through my blurry vision, I see fists flying in all directions, as both of them try helplessly to kill the other. I try to move toward the knife that is lay forgotten on the golden floor, but my head throbs and my eyes threaten to black out.

But Peeta manages to beat me to the knife, using all of his strength to push Cato off for a moment. In the time Peeta has grabbed the knife and stood up, Cato has done the same. For no more than two seconds, the two boys stare into each other's bloody faces, before they charge at one another, weapons held high.

I watch helplessly as they charge, and listen to the yelps of pain from both of them. My face is splattered with something, and the thick metallic smell of blood fills the air. I hear two thuds as the two bodies hit the Cornucopia, and from the pain in my head and the shock, black spots cover my vision and everything goes black.