Scars That Never Fade- A New Generation of Hunger Games

Chapter 17

I closed my eyes as the vessel rose, fear consuming me. Once I reached the outside, I was greeted by a freezing, biting wind. I looked around as the countdown began. Snow, everywhere was snow.

Fifty-five, fifty-four, fifty-three...

I took a look at the cornucopia, not too far off. Food was at the very center, and backpacks were scattered around. I searched frantically for a bow and arrow, or at the very least some weapon I was comfortable with. I did see one, but it was towards the center and worried that it was too much of a risk.

Thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine...

My competition made a large half-circle around the cornucopia. I stared at each individual, some with looks of great fear upon their faces. Others were confident and eager to go, and some (mainly Blaise from Nine,) were somewhat indifferent to what was happening. No matter what their expression, it didn't change the fact that in a matter of seconds several children were about to die.

Eighteen, seventeen, sixteen....

I took a deep breath. I was fast. I was hard to catch, or so I thought. You can do this, you can do this. Oh no. Romy. Romy, Romy, where was she?

Ten, nine, eight....

I saw her, looking prepared and determined to run into that cornucopia. I tried to catch her attention, but it was no use.

Five, four, three...

No. No. This couldn't be happening.

Two.

One.

I ran towards Romy, screaming. She looked at me, but kept going.

"Romy! Run! I will get you supplies, don't worry! Just run! I can find you!" She looked unsure, but followed my directions and ran.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Four cannons. I changed for the cornucopia now, picking up two small packages as I ran. A spear whizzed by my face. It was Phoebe, who was readying another spear. But this one was knocked out of the way by Wake. He tossed me a backpack.

"Go!" he cried. Why would Wake be saving me? Wouldn't it be smarter to kill me now? But I didn't question it further. I took off running through the snow in the direction Romy had gone. I searched for Volker as well, but he was nowhere to be found. I hoped he wasn't killed in the bloodbath. He would've been an excellent ally.

BOOM. Another cannon. I could only hope it wasn't one of my allies. I decided against calling Romy's name because I didn't want to attract any attention to myself or her. Harsh winds bit at my hands and face, tiny flecks of snow stung me. I constantly looked around for someone, whether it be an enemy or ally. I did eventually.

A rustle of pine nettles alerted me someone was there. It was Mayara, hiding in a snow-capped tree. I motioned her to come down, but she stayed put.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," I said, "Remember I asked you to join my alliance?" She nodded, but didn't budge.

"I'm just going to wait until someone finds me or I die," she said plainly, "whichever comes first."

"You're not going to get any sponsors with attitude like that," I said annoyed, "Please come with me."

"No."

"Fine!" I snapped, "If you want to die, that's really great!" I began walking away. "Really great," I muttered guiltily. BOOM. I heard a second rustle of the tree, and when I turned around, Mayara was on the ground walking towards me.

"Good choice," I said. She didn't say anything. Mayara and I continued on for the rest of the day, only seeing one other person. It was an older boy from Six, and he was bloodied with a limp. Something told me he wouldn't make it too much longer. As it got dark outside, Mayara and I found a hollowed log. It was small, but it could certainly help keep us alive through the night.

I searched through the backpack and small packages. We decided to eat small portions of the food we had, and eat some of the snow. As the light left the arena, we heard another cannon.

"I think I should keep watch," I told Mayara, "then maybe we can switch off later."

"How do I know I can trust you?" she said skeptically.

"Because I haven't killed you yet!" I snipped.

"Sounds good to me," Mayara replied, shivering. She must've not been too used to this weather. I had grown up around harsh winters in District 2. As she settled down with a blanket from my backpack, the Panem anthem played. I crossed my fingers, thinking not Romy, not Volker, not Romy, not Volker.

The boy from Two had died, but Romy, it seemed was still alive. The girl from Three, the boy from five. Both from Six, which I thought was odd. They had gotten pretty decent scores, and were the oldest pairing from all the tributes. I recognized the girl from Seven, poor, timid Linden, and the girl from Ten. The anthem played once more. Volker was still alive. I breathed a sigh of relief, but also fear. The entirety of the career pack was still alive. Hopefully that would change soon.

Mayara was asleep, leaving me awake to be on the lookout. There was nothing, no noise for a long time. I rested my aching legs. After a long while of resting, I heard running footsteps.

"Mayara," I whispered, shaking her slightly. "Mayara, wake up, someone's here." Her eyes opened sleepily. "Someone's here," I repeated. She scrambled out of her sleeping position. The person's footsteps got louder, and they were muttering angrily to themselves. The muttering quickly turned to screaming. What was going on?

I took a quick peek out of the log. It was Blaise, who was having morphling withdrawls. I had seen it many times before. Many veterans of the second rebellion got this way. My father, thankfully, wasn't one of them. Blaise held a machete in one hand, still screaming.

Mayara gasped, and like an animal stalking its prey, Blaise's eyes locked on us. Without hesitation, she charged towards us.