Forever And Always - A Hunger Games Story Inspired by Suzanne Collins

Ch 12

Ch. 12

I blinked in the sudden sunlight that was glaring off of the snow. The goggles helped a bit but it was still blinding. As my eyes adjusted I oriented myself. Ben was three pedestals to the left, the giant cornucopia sparkled in the sun. It was a silver color this year, probably to blend with the snow. The timer was counting down. Only 25 seconds remained. 20 seconds. I looked at Ben but he was focused on the cornucopia. 10 seconds. What do I do? 5 seconds. Adrenaline was pumping through me. A bong sounded and I took off running. I had no plan but acted instinctively. I dashed forward 10 meters and grabbed a grey backpack and a sword that was laying close beside. I sensed a movement behind me and whirled. The boy from 5 was standing behind me with a spear raised. Without thinking I slashed at him with my sword and took off running. I was almost to a ridge that dropped off when I felt a searing pain in my upper arm. I stumbled and almost fell. I glanced at my arm and saw a dart sticking out of it. I mentally sighed and kept running. I swung myself down over the ledge. There was a ten foot drop into soft powdery snow that absorbed the impact but also buried me up to my waist. I dug myself out as quickly as possible and strapped the sword onto my belt. I didn't think anyone would come after me but I needed to keep moving just in case. I looked around. The arena was a giant basin. It was shaped like a bowl and I was standing a little below the rim. I could just see the opposite side. It would take me about three days to walk over there. I looked around and saw a slit of shadow a few miles around the edge. It could be a crevice that I could use as shelter. I looked around once more to make sure that no one was following me and set of towards my only hope of concealment on this barren wasteland.