𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐍 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀

FOURTEEN

For the first time since the games started, laughter and chatter fills the air as we continue hiking up the mountain. It's slowly getting steeper and I can tell we're getting close to the top. It seems as though there are no more tributes on the island, which is weird as Alvise has seen most of them escape to this one. Maybe they were on the other side of the island or had moved on to the other ones.

My lips are chapped and my throat is itching for water which I try my best to ignore, not wanting to slow the rest of the pack down. The sun is shining relentlessly on us despite it not even being midday yet, still, we continue hiking up the mountain.

"Can someone climb up the tree and check where on the island we are?" Alvise sighs as he looks around, "maybe it's time we went to the other side."

"I will," the words leave my mouth without permission or hesitation and it doesn't take me long to realise what I had put myself in. "The others must be on the other side or maybe they've escaped to the other islands," I continue saying, trying to mask my annoyance with myself as I prepare to scale the tree.

I'm perched on the branch like a hawk as I look around the arena. So this must be what it's like to be a bird in the arena. I can see the island with the Cornucopia and the other surrounding islands– three to be exact. The other islands are all slightly different from one another– the one towards our left has meadows of flowers followed by huge hills, the one directly opposite of us has a huge mountain which peak can be seen even from here as it buries itself in the clouds, the one to our right has caves and forests. Each one of them seems to have their own benefits and dangers which haven't been revealed yet, although the list of the potential dangers seem to be endless. I turn my head to look behind me, the rest of the island seems undiscovered but it also seems like a great place for hiding.

"See anything?" Briar shouts.

"No!" I shout back before climbing back down, "the rest of the island is worth exploring, though, let's head west."

Alvise nods and we switch directions, continuing to make our way through the woods. I'm starting to wonder when the gamemakers will throw in some twists and turns as they always do whenever the games are getting boring and now seems to be a perfect time. Briar is still in a good mood, her recent kill seemingly giving her a serotonin boost which has brought her on a high.

The heat is horrible as we hike through the woods although, thankfully, it doesn't get steeper. We're on a downhill path, almost as if we're about to return back to shore but I don't question where Briar and Chase are leading us to as Alvise seems to have given up on keeping them to whatever plan he had. I'm starting to feel tired and weak for no reason but continue pushing on, following their lead as I walk in front of Gill who keeps a watchful eye on me. It starts to feel like forever since we had started going in an opposite direction and now silence falls upon all of us except for Briar who is still buzzing from this morning.

Then, in the distance, the rustling of leaves can be heard and all of our attention is immediately averted towards the direction. We stay still momentarily and become quiet, trying to figure out if it was one of us or if there was another tribute present.

"There!" Giselle shouts, sprinting as fast as she can towards the left.

We all follow behind her, running as fast as we can. Eventually, we spot the tribute– a boy with dark brown hair who's attempting to outrun Giselle. He's carrying a small dagger in his hands as he runs downhill, occasionally turning around to look at us as we chase him through the forest.

"Come here, you menace!" Giselle shouts, eventually managing to catch hold of his hood and pulls him violently, causing him to slam loudly against the forest floor.