Rising Flames

Chapter 16: Cannon Fire

The timer goes off, but I stand frozen for a moment, unable to believe what just happened.
Heather had stepped off the platform before the timer was done. She'd known what she was doing, and she knew what was going to happen.
I choke down tears and leap off my pedestal into the water below me, swimming for shore, for temporary safety. Crawling out onto the sand of the beach, I hear the noise of fighting coming from behind me: clashing weapons; shouts, shrieks and the occasional scream.
I scuttle into the woods that cover the perimeter of the beach and climb up a tree. Hiding in the dense branches, I rush from tree to tree, the way people from District 11 taught me when I was younger, trying to find somewhere I could hide in peace.
Reaching the mountainous slopes was easier by tree, and I could see the other tributes - who were beginning to flee from the bloodbath that was the Cornucopia - beneath me, screams still being heard as tributes chase one another, like predator and prey.
Just on the edge of the tree line, closer to the cornucopia than the mountains, I can see a huge tree, branches reaching outwards and entangling with each other to create a sort of bowl. Scrambling to the tree, I see that there are very few holes in the 'floor' of the bowl, and a wide covering of leaves, allowing sunlight access in a paint-splatter sort of way. Nodding to myself, I set off in search of food and water.

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Night falls sooner than I would have hoped, but I have collected food stuffs and set countless traps throughout the rainforest with vines and branches. Clambering back into my treehouse I place the remainder of my collections in a shaded spot I had set apart earlier for food, and climb back down my tree and wander along the tree line warily in the shadows, as another scream fills the air from the mountaintop. Taking a deep breath, I wander out into the open and walk along the rocky platforms that lead to and from the island in the middle. When I'm about halfway across, the cannon fire begins, ringing through the air, bouncing off the water around me. I stand there, out in the open, counting the cannon shots. 11...12...13...
And that's where it stops. 13. Unlucky number, as it is said, and it was very unlucky indeed today. 13 deaths. 13 out of 72 gone, 59 left.
Realising  that I'm standing in one of the most deadly places in the entire arena as I know so far, I rush over to the cornucopia and look through it, searching for anything useful, when I spot a bow. Silver in the light of the waxing moon, it's beauty shines more than its deadliness. Reaching for it and it's quiver companion, I see another, hidden behind other weapons.
Picking up weapons and a backpack or two, I head back out into the night, hurrying back to my tree, and depositing my new found 'toys', hearing the Capitol anthem playing outside. Climbing higher through the branches, I see the Capitol Seal emblazoned in the sky, and the faces of those who died today being projected through the air. Eventually, after the other 12 who passed, Heather's face lit the night sky, a slight smile on her face in the image. The seal reappeared and then the night sky was empty except for starts and the moon once more.
Sitting down in my enclosed tree-lair, I finally let the tears begin to fall as I sob myself quietly to sleep.

Okay, I just want to say, I'm sorry for Heather, honestly, I was almost crying when I wrote it, but I just thought it would be good story wise. Sorry. But I love all of my readers, however many people actually read this. I hope you enjoy this story anyway. :)
~ Melody