Could We Burn, Darling?

"D-Drew?" He asked. He sounded deranged, like he had been through hell. "Kier, they chose you on reaping day?" He shook his head, holding Lila tighter. "The day your little friend Sarah came home, they killed your mum and they brought me in. They hate our god damn district, Drew." I gulped. "Even if you do make it out alive, they'll kill you the minute you're home. They'll probably kill me when I make it out.. If i make it out." Kier's hands loosened a bit and Lila slipped out. She fell to the floor and sucked in as much oxygen as she could, grasping her neck. Kier fell to his knees. "Go on." He said, dropping his bag from his back. "Kill me." He tilted his head down to the ground in anticipation of what I'd do. I looked over to Barrone, who seemed to have passed out, then to Lila who was crawling over to him. Back to Kier who had his back slouched and his head still down. I took a step forward, knife in hand, he flinched but remained looking at the ground.

That's when I heard something, we all heard something. A crackle, a spark. I started smelling something burning - but this wasn't just your average smokey smell, it was the smell of plants and trees and animal bodies being burnt alive. Still no sign of what we were all afraid of seeing, until the crackling sound started getting louder. Kier lifted his head and looked up at me, in hopes that I would know what to do. I looked at Barrone - still out cold; Lila, holding his hand and gently stroking his hair. I gritted my teeth when a tree behind them immediately went alight. Kier and I looked up quickly, the flames had creeped up along the back of the trunk and the leaves were now ablaze. The fire started spitting at us. "We need to move." I turned to Kier, then to Lila "what about Barrone?" She asked. I looked up at the fire that started getting bigger. "I've got him." I walked towards him and pushed Lila aside. I picked him up with all my strength and lifted him over my shoulder. My knees were weak as I bent them over; Barrone was substantially bigger than me and his bag wasn't helping the situation at all.

"Let's go!" I yelled as loud as I could. Lila and Kier started running, I went as fast as i could with Barrone on my back. The blood from his leg, dripping down my back. "Come on, Barrone, wake up." I whispered in his ear. The fire suddenly surrounded us and there was only one clear way of getting out and it was closing, fast. I moved faster and caught up with Lila and Kier. We continued running through the fire until we got to the place where everything started. The place we jumped off our pedestals; the place where Sarah went home and Kier went in. The place I saw my mother kill herself. Blackened. The terrain was black, the sky was dark and thick with ash, the pedestals were nowhere to be found.

I analysed it carefully then grabbed a stone from the ground. "Stay back." I said as i moved forward to the edge of the terrain that was once a field. I lifted the stone and threw it as far as I could. The stone landed a split second before the terrain spat itself up, fire bursting out of the ground. The mines were still there from the first day. We had to trudge carefully, the fire was catching up and there was no way else. "Let's go." I said, staring straight ahead. The tone of my voice was foreign to me. I sounded nearly brave for once. Lila was being quiet, then I heard coughing. I turned around to see that it was Barrone, I ran towards him and knelt down beside him. "Barrone, can you hear me?" I nearly yelled with adrenaline. "Barrone are you responsive." I checked for a pulse - of course there'd be a pulse, he was coughing but i was stuck for things to do. "Get your hands off me." He whispered with his eyes half closed and fluttering. The biggest smile came across my face as i bent down to hug him - that's when Lila pushed me over and took my place. "Barrone, you're okay, thank god, I was so worried, I had to carry you here, I did everything I could to help you" I looked over from where I was now lying from getting pushed in disgust. I turned to Kier who shrugged his shoulders. From the corner of my eye, I saw the fire getting closer - this was no place for the smackdown I was ready to have with Lila.

"Let's move." I said with a stern tone. I was ready to walk across the terrain, I was ready to get myself killed. I was weak and miserable, there was no point left in living, but I had to put on a god damn brave face for Kier. He was two years younger than me. He wasn't even allowed to be entered into the Games. I looked up at the arena dome and narrowed my eyes, they wanted me to suffer because Sarah went home. It was sick.

"Barrone can't walk, Drew." Lila yelled behind me. "I'm fine, Lila." He answered. I took a deep breath and turned to see how he was doing. Lila was grabbing hold of him in anyway she could. "Hey, guys I've got him." Kier said rushing over and placing himself under Barrone's arm to hold him. "You guys go ahead, we'll be fine." Kier's nearly optimistic voice made me feel calmer, I turned to Lila who looked back at me and sighed. "Okay, let's go."

We were ahead of Kier and Barrone when Lila broke the silence between us. "So, let's say we kill the little one." She whispered, looking back. "What?" I huffed, looking back to see Kier, still smiling, happily helping Barrone stand straight. "Well, you know, one less person to be left with. There will be no mercy, only slain bodies and taken souls right." I stopped in my tracks. "Did you just quote a wrestler?" She slanted her lips and shrugged. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. She caught up with me and pushed my shoulder. "Don't-" "What's your problem? I could have killed you the minute I had the chance but I didn't. I helped you through your loss, so the least you can do is show some fucking respect." She said the word 'loss' with spite and sarcasm and raised her hands and made quotation marks with her fingers. I stopped walking and faced her. "You know what, Lila?" I took a step towards her and analysed the ground behind her. "You should have left me there, you should have just let me die when I wanted to - but no, you made my life hell for this short time we've been forced together." I took another step forward. "But you know what, we're in the Hunger Games. We're in the god damn Hunger Games - and the Games fucking change people. You said so yourself."

I half smiled as I stared deep into her eyes. "What do you mean.." She edged backwards. I repeated the words she had said to me "There will be no mercy, only slain bodies and taken souls" I enclosed the distance between my lips and her ear and whispered. "right." the same icy tone she had done with me and pushed her as hard as I could onto the terrain behind her which I knew contained a mine. Sudden realisation flashed before her eyes, she gasped in mid air and fell with a short thud. The ground was silent for a split second. I turned my head to Barrone and Kier who had just witnessed the scene. I was suddenly pushed back with the force of what felt like a machine gun, onto the floor behind me. I heard the sound of her shrill-shrieking pain until my ears started ringing, my eyes went black, I stayed where I was on the floor and waited for god knows what to happen to me.

Excrutiating pain was needling my entire body but I didn't care. I knew she was dead. I knew she was in more pain than me, if I were to die, I'd die knowing I took her down with me.

I heard muffled voices around me a short while later. I couldn't understand a word, but I knew Barrone and Kier were with me. They were safe and alive. I didn't know how Barrone would react; I also didn't know how we'd get out of the arena without killing each other first - all I knew was that I couldn't kill anymore.