The Hunger Games: Retold

Chapter 13

Fire! Marvel is on his feet, kicking the others awake and into action. The wall of flames is unnaturally straight and high, I guess this answers my question about whether the Gamemakers were growing bored yesterday. As the flames roar closer we scramble to grab the most essential provisions and run. We stumble blindly, without direction, just away. The heat is overwhelming and my throat and lungs begin to feel scorched. I pull the collar of my shirt over my mouth and nose and grope my way through billows of smoke.

Clove is pulling at me, her red streaming eyes are following a flock of birds as they wheel away from the flames. She coughs and gags but points at them and I nod and reach behind me to grab Glimmer and haul her around to follow us. Marvel, Ailis and Cato stumble along too as we careen in the direction the birds were going. Smoke is burning my eyes, my throat, my lungs. I try taking shallow breaths, but I'm gasping and can't get enough air. The flames are catching up, are all around us. A tree shrieks a mighty groan and crashes to the ground right beside us, showering sparks into the air. I think of Cinna's friendly, buzzy imposter flames and suddenly I panic.

Katniss! Where is she? In my alarm I pull a huge breath to scream for her and immediately I double over, gagging and retching, feeling like my seared lungs are going to come up with the hacking. It brings me back to my senses though. I'll be useless to her if I lose my head now. We can barely see in the thick smoke, but we have to get away from what feels like the center of the fire. I pull Glimmer forward and stuff a handful of Clove's jacket into her fist. Then Cato, then Ailis, Marvel, and me. Holding onto each other, we stumble along after Clove as she lurches in the direction the birds showed us.

I think we must be getting close to the edge of the inferno when from my left I hear an odd hissing noise. I turn toward it just in time to leap away from a sputtering fireball flying at my head. It explodes against a tree trunk next to me in a scream of sparks. The group panics and begins diving for cover in all directions. It's mayhem as we all dodge the blazing missiles that appear to be firing randomly, from where is impossible to tell. It seems to last for hours, but it can't be. My eyes are burning and my throat feels charred, we have to get away from here. Ailis stumbles over a tangle of roots and falls to her hands and knees. I throw myself in front of her as a hiss starts off to my right and I'm rewarded by a lick of flames across my chest. I grit my teeth against the pain and help Ailis to her feet. The arenas are usually rigged in hazard zones. If we can get out of this zone, we can escape the raging fireballs.

We? I leap and twist away behind a giant boulder as a crackling explosion bursts against the bulk. My immediate instinct is to try and get everyone out, but is this a chance to reduce numbers? I feel sick considering it, but it's stupid to think otherwise. I'm an idiot if I do my best to save these people who will kill Katniss the instant they have the chance. The huge rock covers me for a minute as I cough and hack through the collar of my shirt. I peer around the edge, I can see daylight through swirls of smoke ahead and to my right. As quietly as I can, I slip around the boulder and alone, head for the light.

I've made it about 20 feet when a hand claws at my jacket. Cato grabs onto my belt and hauls Glimmer along behind him, croaking for Marvel to follow him. The others begin to rally around our little group and I lead us all, choking and gasping, into the field next to the lake. We collapse on the grass as the fire roars itself away from us. Fantastic, I led the Careers to safety.

Most of us are in fairly good shape, besides being smoke-ravaged. Ailis has a mild but bloody burn across her shoulders and Marvel rips away his still smoldering jacket. My chest has an angry looking sear all the way across that aches like hell. Running up to us with dripping water bottles, Link looks ready to sob with relief. "I didn't know where you were!" he cries. "I didn't know if you were okay!"