Born to Die || Hunger Games x Reader

The Explosion

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"Blood // Water — grandson" 
01:50 ━━━━─●──── 03:37

ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑

Y/N POV

Once my vision has cleared I can see that Lucia was right. I am standing on a pedestal in the middle of a giant, scorching desert. A large golden horn in the centre — the Cornucopia — shelters various useful items from the beating sun. Among them is an axe, but it is too far to run in the sand.

There is a large rock formation in the distance, and when I look behind me I can see a vast tropical jungle. A small oasis with some palm trees is to my right. The Careers will claim that along with the cornucopia, no doubt. There are also some large sand dunes to my left. Other than that all I can see is sand, miles and miles of it. It could pose a disadvantage, as it may make it easier for the Careers to track me, or it could slow me down. Unless I run into the jungle, but that could be dangerous. I look up and see something flying overhead, but the sun prevents me from seeing what it is. Probably just a big bird.

The tributes are arranged in a circle around the Cornucopia. With thirty seconds left on the countdown I look around, trying to spot Cole. To my right is the boy from District 5, and on the other side is the girl from District 7. The girl from 7 is nervously playing with a small wooden ball, which must be her district token. I see Finch and Valerie on neighbouring pedestals to my left, and Emily to my right. There is no sign of Cole, which means he must be on the other side of the Cornucopia.

I make eye contact with Finch at twenty seconds and he quickly nods to the jungle, indicating he's going there. After nodding back to show that I understand, I make eye contact with Emily and relay the message. I see nod and her turn to someone out of view, presumably Cole, and do the same thing that both Finch and I did. When the gong goes off I will run into the jungle with them. 

Suddenly, I hear a small shriek from my left.

And then there is a ground shaking explosion. Something warm and sticky splatters on my face. There are little chunks too. I whip my head to the side and immediately regret it as a sickening feeling overcomes me. The girl from District 7, who was playing with the wooden ball — she must've dropped it, which set off the mines around her pedestal. I wipe my hand down my face and it comes away bright red. The realisation dawns on me that the warm and sticky substance on my face was blood. Her blood. Which means that the chunks were...

Oh god.

I fight the urge to vomit, determined to last at least until the countdown ends. When the gong goes off I can't even hear it over the sharp ringing in my ears, I just see people run. It takes me a moment to realise what is going on before I am flying across the blood soaked sand too. But instead of heading towards the jungle, like I was going to originally, I am running towards the Cornucopia.

The sand is flatter here than elsewhere in the desert, but it still engulfs my shoes, slowing me down. I look around wildly, but nothing makes sense. The explosion and panic must have left me disoriented. Then a body crashes into me, knocking me over. It's the boy from District 8. He's just as strong as he looks and he has a large knife in his hand. He charges at me again, swinging wildly, but he falls over before he gets to me, dead with a knife buried in his skull.