Kai From Four

Arena: Day 2

As soon as I realized I was sleeping, I forced my eyes open and untied myself. It was early in the morning. The air was fresh and cool. Gentle rays of golden sunlight filtered through the treetops overhead. Everything was peaceful, giving off the illusion of safety.

However, I wasn't fooled. While other tributes might have fallen for the illusion, I knew the arena was never safe, never peaceful. The arena was for war. Blood. The sickening sound of bone snapping. Anguished howls of loss and revenge as death cannons fired.

That was the true brutality of the Games, and what the Capitol was looking out for. It was only a matter of time before the arena's true colors were revealed in full.

Footsteps suddenly marred the silence, quietly crunching twigs nearby. I crept to the end of the limb I was on and peered out at who it was, hoping it was Artemis.

It wasn't.

The tribute had wavy, bleach-blonde hair. She wore a small athletic bag with black drawstrings, and was coming from the direction of the castle. Her porcelain doll-like face seemed a bit sunburnt, indicating she'd spent time in the desert. She must have decided to return to the castle in the morning to go after supplies. Smart.

I went back to where my backpack was tied and grabbed a couple of knives, leaving the third inside the pouch. Then I crawled back to the edge. The tribute—I recognized her as Ally from District Five—had come closer and was about to pass directly under where I was crouching.

I aimed silently as she passed by. Every tribute who died increased the odds that I would win, and I couldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into the morning air.

Ally looked up, admiring the way the light reflected off the leaves. Then she wandered off near a flowering bush. For a couple of seconds, she stood still, touching a tiny pink flower.

I threw the knife.

Thunk.

She froze, the handle of the blade protruding from her back, the point puncturing her heart. Her hand remained outstretched as she toppled into the bush, the thin leaves encasing her body with a gentle whish.

Her cannon fired.

Bile threatened to rise, but I took deep, quiet breaths and calmed down. I started to climb down from the tree. Before a helicopter showed up, I needed to take her supplies and my knife back.

More footsteps stopped me. I climbed back up so I wouldn't be seen, and grabbed my last knife from my backpack so I had two weapons ready.

The sound of the bush being pushed aside alerted me to the fact that whoever the tribute was, he or she was taking Ally's supplies before I could. The tribute, I assumed, was hidden from view by the bush. I waited, but couldn't hear any more rustling. Was he or she still there?

I looked back down, only to see the tail end of black boots disappear beneath my tree. My breath halted as the tree began to gently shake. I'd been spotted, and the tribute was coming for me. I slowly descended to a lower level of the tree. I didn't need to worry about being seen since the tribute couldn't see me while climbing up until he or she climbed through a layer of thick, leafy branches. The best course of attack would be direct and as soon as the tribute came up.

A second later, a branch moved aside, and I slashed at the tribute underneath. Clang. Metal met metal, and with a surprising amount of force, my knife went flying out of my hand and embedded itself into the tree trunk behind me.

I threw the knife in my left hand to my right just in time to parry a swift attack from the side. Everything became a blur as I focused on the blade before me. Block, block, stab, block.