Kai From Four

Arena: Day 3

Artemis had definitely drawn the short end of the stick.

The idea of marching across dunes upon dunes of hot sand for hours on end with nothing but the sun to keep one company seemed more a nightmare than anything else to me. I couldn't see how she was willing to go, especially with the black clothes, shoes, and camouflage jacket the Capitol had given us. Compared to her task, which was to scout, hunt, and gather anything helpful there, mine seemed so much simpler.

Fill the canteen. Take out any tributes you see along the way.

Out of the two parts of this plan, filling the canteen was by far the easiest. On the way to the thin stream that Artemis and I had found earlier, I didn't come across anyone, which made me feel both relieved and paranoid. Returning, however, was different. A lot different.

An Oh-no-there's-a-crying-tribute-in-the-clearing-in-front-of-me different.

She was tall, lean, and obviously upset, but carried herself with pride. Her blonde hair gleamed as if it were a golden shield. Right away, I recognized her as Pinocchio Meister from District One. A Career. She was a tribute who wouldn't hesitate to kill me on sight. I made sure to keep myself out of her line of vision so that didn't happen, which was easy to do since her eyes were downcast and swollen with tears.

In this state, she's an easy kill. I have to end her before her allies show up. I'd seen her with Cayden and Lenna, the Careers from Two. They were a fearsome trio, so dividing and conquering seemed the best bet for my odds.

I steadied my knife arm and aimed.

The bush next to me rustled, diverting my attention and giving me a split-second warning before a girl, Lenna, flew out from behind it and barreled toward me with a spear.

Remember your close-combat training. Here, if you lose, you die. Don't let yourself lose.

I ducked to avoid her attack and sliced my knife across her left shin. She gasped, but kept quiet for the most part. Smart. She didn't want to alert anyone but her allies of her location.

Blood dripped from the gash in her jeans, but she kept a stony face and jabbed at my chest. I turned to the side, the spear brushing the front of my jacket, and whipped the knife at the middle of the spear. Crack! Lenna was left holding the lower half. She stared at the remains in shock. Taking advantage of the distraction, I swiftly brought the knife to her neck.

Lenna's expression remained fixed, her eyes wide. She didn't seem to be paying attention to the fight. I didn't know why she was—

Bzzz. A mosquito landed on my shoulder. It hopped once, as if deciding where to bite, and fluttered on the back of my neck.

I slapped at it with my free hand, and felt its body crush beneath the blow. Too late. The damage had been done; the bite throbbed. Whatever the mosquito had been carrying was now coursing through my veins. No doubt this was the Capitol's doing.

The knife that rested against the side of Lenna's neck pressed in, drawing minuscule beads of bright red blood. A long but superficial cut—it likely wouldn't even scar. Do I want to take the time to kill her? A Capitol mutt bit me. Her allies are still around. No, it's too dangerous to stay here any longer.

An iron fist clamped around the insides of my throat, squeezing until my vision started to blur. I retracted the knife and ran. Away from the mosquitoes, away from Lenna, away from the clearing, away from the forest.

Horns sounded, signaling an announcement. I kept running.

"Tributes. Our warmest congratulations on making it this far in the 73rd Hunger Games."