The Capitol Games

13: The Capitol Games

"Katniss?" I squeak as soon as I'm in the tube to put me in the arena.
"Aria, don't be nervous. You'll win. I promise," she smiles. The tube shuts.
"Goodbye, Mockingjay," I whisper. The platform begins to rise, and I swallow a huge breath. The hot sun hits me like a punch to the face, and I look around. An abandoned, burned village. The Cornucopia gleams in the sunlight.
"Welcome to the Capitol Games. May the odds be ever in your favor," says a robotic female voice. A digital clock begins to display numbers.
60.
59.
58.
57.
I spot an axe by a sword. Just what Treva and I need.
56.
Dis can use anything. She's proved it.
55.
I find a bag with my initials on it. There's 11 other bags with my competitors' initials on them.
54.
I look strait back from where the axe is. I see a big figure way back.
53.
I take a deep breath. I can do this.
52.
My eyes dart around for Treva.
51.
Treva.
50.
Dia.
49.
Cecile.
48.
I find a house we can use. Barely touched, very secret.
47.
Covered by trees.
46.
45.
44.
43.
42.
41.
40.
I can do this.
39.
38.
37.
36.
I can, right?
35.
34.
33.
32.
31.
30.
Half a minute to go. Half a minute til fear takes over, til my life is forever changed.
29.
28.
27.
26.
25.
24.
23.
22.
21.
20.
Will someone step off the pressure plate? It'll explode or something still, probably.
19.
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12...
Almost ten seconds. I watch the clock tick by, and when a horn blares, adrenaline fills me. I race to the axe and my bag and Kreiger tried to fight me for it. I take a whack at his legs, and he falls. I take the chance and run.
I see the rock begin to become more into vision. I run around the side and lay low behind. After a few minutes, maybe two, someone sneaks up on me. I ready my axe, but it's only Treva.
"Treva!" I whisper, pulling him on the ground with me.
"I'm here," he smiles. I pull him into a hug.
"Wait for Cecile. Did you tell Dia?" I ask.
"I saw her in the elevator last night. She waited for a little while to go back up," he mutters.
"Okay, good. We can go into that brick house over there. It's safe," I instruct. We sit silently until Cecile creeps over and Dia straggles in. "That brick house is where we're going."
We swiftly make our way over to the house and open the door. It opens with no noise but a puff of dusty air. I look it, and a torch sits on the wall. I slip my pack off and see matches. I light one and light the torch.
"This place should be fine," Dia mutters. I spot a cupboard, a bed, a rusty old sink, and a pile of sticks.
"Do the victors feel so bad that they had to put a bed in here?" I ask.
"Maybe. This could be a trap," Treva suggests.
"I don't think so. Why don't we just stock the cupboards with whatever we've got in our packs. I'll go hunt," I offer. I leave my pack with my team and grab my axe to run into the woods behind our house. I hear footsteps behind me and I ready my axe like a bat.
It's Treva again.
"For God's sakes! Stop scaring me like that!" I say, shoving him. He smiles.
"I figured I'd help," he whispers. He holds his sword in his left hand and sits on a fallen log. "If we're quiet we'll find something," he adds. I sit next to him and after a while, a rabbit crosses our path.
"Are you sure about this?" I ask.
"The team's making a fire as we speak. I brought your bag as a game bag," he whispers, handing me my bag.
"Thanks," I mutter, and I bring the axe down. After we hunt and clean three rabbits, we take them back. "How do you know how to clean them?"
"I learned while you were out," he explains.
"Okay then."
"Well, if we use portioning, a meal a day, we should be go-" Treva begins, but a scream comes from out house. We run from the woods to our house, where the hovercraft must've just been, Cecile is nowhere to be found, only Dia, staring in shock.
"What happened?" I demand.
"I came in and Cer was here and I could only fight him off until he cut Cecile," Dia cries. I start to feel tears well in my eyes. Cecile was close to me and she's gone right of the bat.
"A-are you okay?" I manage.
"Yeah. I got Cer's weapon before he could leave. Gave him a nasty bruise with the butt of the sword," Dia tells, showing the sword. All the swords look similar in the Games, so it could easily be hers. There's blood on the tip and a little on the end of the hilt.
I'm starting to think it could've been her, she went crazy on Cecile before. She could've again.
"Well, let's start a fire. We should do it in here because if we do it in the fireplace, the smoke'll rise and that's basically saying 'here we are!'," Treva insists.
"But the smokestack's covered, Treva!" Whines Dia.
"Dee, we can't risk it," Treva retorts. Something in her eyes looks like failure. Maybe she's planning against us?
"Fine," she sighs and piles the sticks up, only about four. I grab the torch and light it. I find another stick and use it as a roasting stick. I sit down by the shattered window and spot Marsh.
"Treva, I don't wanna become some bloodthirsty monster, but I want to win. Marsh is in the next house," I hiss.
"I'll stay here. Go with Dia," he urges.
"I- I'll go alone. He was close to Cecile. We should let him be an ally," I insist. Treva ponders the thought.
"Fine," he says, grabbing me my axe. I don't intend to use it unless I get attacked. I sneak out and cross broken street swiftly and silently until someone creeps up and puts a knife to my neck.
"One last call?" Kreiger asks insanely.
"Not today," I say gruffly, bringing my foot up from between his legs. He lets go of me but slightly cuts across my neck. I swing the axe at his legs again and run to where Marsh stares at me, and the cannon booms again. I bust through the door and Marsh jumps up, spear in hand, raised to throw at me.
"What do you want?" He growls.
"I just want to talk. I swear," I say, making an immediately regrettable decision. He takes the opportunity to throw the spear at me. I jump out of the way and grab my axe as the spear sails over my head. I feel and hear the wind whistle too close to me.
He lunges at me, and I take a chop at his arm. I leave a nasty cut, but nothing that looks serious. He screams and I take the chance to run. I hear a cannon boom, and the hovercraft dips into the Arena. I know there was a button to press when you think you can't go on anymore, so he and Cecile must've pressed it.
I sprint across the street, close the door, and find Treva alone in the house, roasting the meat.
"Where's Dia?" I gasp. He shrugs.
"She heard Cer outside and went for it," he mutters. "I take it Marsh didn't accept the offer?"
"He tried to put a spear through my head, yeah. He didn't take it," I say.
"So, what happened? I saw what happened with Kreiger a little, but I trusted you. Did you take them both out?" He asks. A ball of guilt builds in my stomach.
"Two out of the three-" another cannon booms, "four, now, have been from me. That's half," I cry.
"It's okay. You did what you had to do to protect yourself," Treva comforts me. I sit on the bed and notice that all the packs are on the counter, and mine over the sink. Dia's is gone. "I got the sink to work. I'm gonna boil some drinking water soon."
"Thanks. Why would Dia need her bag?"
"I don't know."
"I think she's betraying us, Treva."
"Possible. Very possible. Why don't we just unpack the food and stuff and see what time of day that brings us to?" He suggests. I grab the food and open the cupboard.