Ashes in the Snow

Twenty-One

I see the light creeping into the cave, which causes my eyes to flutter open. I didn't sleep that well. I dozed off here and there, but I mostly sat there in silence, in the dark alone with my thoughts. Wondering when this is going to end.

When the games first started they didn't last very long. It was a small arena where there was no where to hide. It usually only lasted minutes. But within the last few years their technology has advanced, so they try to create different arenas. Because of the advancement of technology, the games have been going on longer. They usually last a few hours to a few days now. So it's no surprise that I've been in here for two nights.

I finish the rest of my broth, which is cold now. I still have some water left that I have been saving. At some point I will have to try to find food. So far I haven't seen any animals in here. I don't know if that was on purpose to try to end the games sooner or if there are animals and I haven't seen any yet. I will have to go out and scope the area.

I decide to take my axe and come out of the cave, but I don't plan on traveling too far.

———-

I have been walking in the woods for hours and haven't seen anything. This is unbelievable. Not a squirrel, nothing! I also check the berries and mushrooms and of course they're poisonous.

They're doing this on purpose. They don't want the games to run long. They just want to watch us kill each other and be done. I wonder if Coriolanus had a say in it. I wonder what ideas were his.

I see a trail of berries and decide to follow them. I have my axe out, prepared just in case someone is there. I look around the bushes and see one of the fallen tributes from last night. I suspect the other tributes already discovered what I just did. I wonder how they're doing, they must be starving. I think someone will give and end up killing the others, wanting this to end.

I hear the sound of people talking. I think I found the pack. I walk closer quietly, still hidden from their view behind the trees. I see they have a fire, they're cooking something. How did they find food? I have found absolutely nothing. I walk closer, trying to get a better look at what they're eating. I look and I can't even process what I see.

I see a tribute laying on the grass, dead. It's a girl, I can tell from her blonde hair. I also notice both of her legs are missing...

They are cooking her legs over the fire.

I look away and puke up my broth I had this morning. My stomach is very uneasy. All around I feel uneasy and sick. They have resorted to cannibalism. I look one more time before I leave and see Allen eating a part of her by the fire, he's sitting on a log. I decide to see who the fall tribute is. Who this poor girl is. I take another step forward, trying to see if I recognize her face. I notice that I recognize those eyes...

It's Bianca.

The horror I feel runs through my body. I gasp, covering mg mouth and take a few steps back, tripping, falling on to my butt. A twig snaps and I can see them through the trees. They hear the twig and stand up immediately, looking around on alert. I keep my mouth covered, trying to control my breathing. I can feel a panic attack coming on. I see Allen throw the part he was eating to the side, grabbing his spear.

This angers me. He threw her away, like she was trash. They're treating her like she's not even a person. They butchered her and decided to eat her, like she is nothing but cattle. She was a person. She had a family, she had a lover, she had a life. She was somebody.

She was my friend.

I can feel my humanity shutting down. I'm able to turn it off.

I feel numb again.

I don't feel anything. I don't feel any fear, any sorrow, any happiness. I don't even feel angry, not anymore. My mind knows it has a mission though, and that mission is to kill them. To avenge Bianca.

I slowly get up and firmly grab my axe. I stare straight ahead and take a step towards my mission. I walk out of the woods towards the pack. They all see me now. The girl from district 8 runs towards me with her sword. She charged towards me and raises her arm, ready to slice me open. But I take my axe and I swing, slicing her open. She falls on her knees and I see her guts spew open. I swing again, slicing her head off.

I feel the blood splatter all over me. Another one dead. I see Allen walk towards me with his spear. His walk is very confident. He thinks he's going to kill me. I have my axe ready. He tries to stab me with his spear, but I dodge it. I kick his legs up from beneath him and watch him fall on to the ground. A move Bianca taught me. And I take my axe and plunge it into his stomach. I watch his life leave his eyes and the the blood everywhere. I am covered in blood.

I look up and see Tate. The one who betrayed us, and because of her Bianca died. I can see the fear in her eyes. She starts to walk backwards knowing she doesn't stand a chance. I walk towards her, my eyes locked on to hers.

"Please, please don't." She cries. "I did what I had to."

I don't care. Her words don't penetrate my body. I don't feel anything. I see her looking around for her trident. I look down and see it right in front of my feet. I look up at her and she looks at me, knowing her fate.

I continue walking towards her and have my axe, ready to swing.

"No!" She screams.

I swing and slice her in the stomach. I watch her fall down on the ground, bleeding out. Then I swing again and again and again, until she is nothing but mush and blood.

This was personal.

I look into the sky, knowing I'm being recorded by the capitol. And I let out a hurling scream, covered in blood, with my bloody axe in one hand.