The Quater Quell: 50th Hunger Games

Chapter 16

        On my way to the mountainous terrain another cannon had went off. That makes 21 dead already. Only 27 of us are left. What has it been, two days or so?

          I keep my eye on the mountain ahead of me. Hopefully I can melt the snow and drink it. Hopefully, it's not poisonous. The trek through the woods was nice. This arena was like heaven on earth. The temperature was just right; the scenery was like that of a post card with the mountains, valleys, waterfalls and the meadow of flowers. The animals were plentiful and didn't seem afraid of humans. It was peaceful. It's too bad that there were tributes lurking about trying to kill you. All things aside, this was a nice place to die.

           A branch snaps behind me. I pause. I whip around with my knife in hand but it is too late. The other girl from 12. She was about sixteen and had me beat by about 50 pounds. She was the heaviest person I have ever seen from an outline district, let alone form District 12. Everyone knows they are the poorest of the Districts and usually die from starvation. So, how this girl is on the heavy side beats me.

         The girl pounces on top of me and holds me down. She uses her knees to pin me down. She has a pair of Sai's. She grins, showing all of her teeth like a caged animal. She raises her Sai's up into the air and brings them down. I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the pain to come.

        They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die. But that didn't happen to me.

          The girl's weight shifts, and she rolls off of me. I open my eyes to see the heavy girl clenching her throat. Something has sliced her throat clean open. Blood gushes out and she gurgles on her last few breathes she has. Her chubby fingers covered in blood point to the sky above.

          At first, I thought she would be pointing to another tribute, the one who killed her but I see nothing. Then, I see it. A long, needle-nosed bird is flying through the air. It's heading straight for me. Could this bird really have sliced her throat open?  I don't want to stay and find out. I run away from the mutationus bird. A cannon booms in the distance, signaling the girl from 12's death.

         My feet carry me as fast as I can go but it is not enough. I white hot pain burns through my shoulder blade. I cry out in pain as the bird grasps onto my shirt and withdrawals his needle. He pierces me again and again. I attempt to swat the bird away and spin in circles but it does not work. The bird continues to penetrate the flesh and muscles in my back.

          "Ahhh! Get off of me!" I scream out of anger and pain. I can feel that the killer bird is getting closer to my spinal cord. I only have a few seconds left until I am either dead or paralyzed. In my attempts of spinning like a wildling and thrashing, I do not see the drop off ahead of me. I fall down the steep slope rolling and rolling. I reach out for any branches or roots but my fingers do not find any. I hit a tree on my way down which slows me down some but not enough. I continue to barrel roll down the slope where I crash into another tree and land into a pile of thorny brambles.

         I lay there a few minutes trying to recollect and assess myself. The killer bird must have died in the fall. I can still feel a sharp pain nested deep in my back. His barb must have broken off and still lay in my back. Great. That could lead to an infection. I sit up to look at my surroundings but wince in pain. I must have cracked a few ribs somewhere in my fall. I want to give up and cry but I know that every screen has probably panned on me since the fight scene with the girl from 12. I grit my teeth and force myself to sitting position. I slowly rise my feet and break a limb off of a nearby tree to forma walking stick.

       I snack on a few beef strips and dried fruit. I was starting to suffer from the early stages of dehydration. My vision was getting harder to see and I was suffering from cotton mouth. I could feel my body getting weaker by the minute. If I don't find water soon, I will be dead before night fall. Where are my sponsors? Do I even have any?