The Hunger Games | Rilaya

The Tracker Jackers

It's dawn when I wake up. Believe it or not, but the first thing that I notice isn't the pain in my leg. No, because no matter what I do, I can't help but look back at Riley, who was slumped awkwardly on the ground, looking like she literally just fell asleep. But that couldn't be the case...right?

I glance to my right, eyes flickering past what I believe were the eyes of some wild animal. Wait a second. I prop myself up on one elbow to look closer. Those weren't animal eyes at all, it was Auggie.

He stares at me for a while before pointing to something above my head. I follow his finger and nearly scream when I see a wasp nest hanging above me. After watching many years of the Hunger Games, I know these aren't ordinary wasps. They could only be one of the Capitol's mutations, tracker jackers.

I look back at Auggie for help but he doesn't move, meaning that I was on my own for this one. The nest was my only chance of escaping. If I could just drop it on the Careers, I'll be free. But how many stings will I suffer before I do?

It doesn't matter though, because the way I see it, if I don't at least try, I'll be dead anyways by the hands of the Career. The only question is which way would be the more peaceful and painless way to die.

Before I can make another move, something small drops down next to me, startling me and nearly making me fall out of the tree.

My eyes widen in surprise when I see a small plastic pot attached to a parachute. It was my first gift from a sponsor; Shawn finally came through. I unscrew the lid and can immediately tell that it was medicine.

"Oh, Shawn. Thank you." I whisper as loud as I dare, hoping that the cameras were able to catch my words and broadcast it back to Shawn in the Games Headquarters.

I gently spread the medicine over my leg, sighing in relief. This had to be high-tech medicine made by the Capitol. I close the lid and put the pot into my pack, feeling much better without the injury weighing me down.

I look back at the tree where I saw Auggie, planning to warn him about what I was about to do. But I can't find him. I call his name in a hushed whisper and with the lightest of rustling, he appears. I hold my knife up and make a sawing gesture, pointing to the nest and then back at the careers.

His eyes widen but then he nods and disappears.

The sun is starting to rise and I know that my time is almost up. Quickly and swiftly, I climb the tree, making my way up the branch that holds the nest. I take a deep breath and start to saw the branch, moving in a back and forth motion.

Fear rises through me when I see the tracker jackers come out of their nest. They begin to sting me but I ignore the pain, focusing on cutting the branch. Just as the knife cuts through, I shove the branch as far away from me as I can, making it crash onto the ground and splitting open, the tracker jackers bursting out.

The Careers all jolt awake, starting to drop everything and run. "To the lake! To the lake!" Cato shouts, gesturing in the lake's direction. Guilt floods through me when I see Riley running off, the tracker jackers right behind her. I quickly shake it off. She deserves it, she was the one who betrayed her district.

Glimmer and the girl from District 4 aren't so lucky though. Glimmer looked like she was going mad, shrieking and trying to swat the wasps away. The girl from District 4 tries to stagger away but couldn't even make it five feet before she collapsed to the ground.

I haul myself down the tree, my vision woozy. In my confused mind, I still manage to remember about the bow. It was currently lodged in Glimmer's hands and I shudder when seeing the glazed look in her eyes, knowing that her death was about to come.

Two cannons fire, signaling Glimmer and the girl from District 4's death. I struggle with grabbing the bow but eventually manage to do it, just as I hear footsteps.

The Careers have come back, either to kill me, get their supplies, or both. It's too late to run though. I try to use the bow as defense but it's useless, my double vision preventing me from arming myself. The first person crashes through the bushes and I close my eyes, dropping to my knees, waiting for the blow to come.

But it never does.

I open my eyes to see Riley, spear in hand, shock on her face. Why hadn't she killed me yet?

"What are you still doing here!?" She hisses at me. "Are you crazy!?"

She grabs me by the waist, boosting me up. I collapse on her, finding it hard to stand on my own.

"Maya." Riley says softly, picking my hand up to see all the tracker jacker stings. Suddenly, her body tenses. 

"Run." She says with urgency, roughly pushing me away. "Get out of here!"

I stumble forward a bit, nearly falling back to the ground. What was happening? Was this a hallucination?

"Run!" Riley shouts again and I have enough sense left to do as she says, almost tripping several times as I try to keep my balance.

The last thing I see is Cato slashing his way through the bush, a menacing look on his face. I hear the clash of metal and even in my befuddled state, the heart-breaking, soul-crushing scream that comes out of Riley's mouth is enough to make me want to run back to her.

But I don't, still stumbling my way through the woods, panic rising through me. Was this all real? I can't tell anymore.

Dizzy and disoriented, I have one last thought before I finally black out.

Riley Matthews just saved my life.