Scars That Never Fade- A New Generation of Hunger Games

Chapter 18

Mayara scrambled to her feet as I stuffed the blanket in my backpack frantically. There was a dagger in it.

"Fern!" Mayara screamed, "run!" I grabbed the dagger and dashed away from Blaise. But Blaise was moving fast. She chased us, screaming. We kept running, over boulders and small creeks. The "sun" was beginning to peak out from a mountain up ahead, and we entered a thick forest of trees. I panicked, Blaise was gaining on us. As I looked behind me she swung the machete wildly. Hopefully she would get lost in the trees, but her scream kept getting louder and louder, closer and closer.

Mayara and I climbed up a steep hill covered in snow. Blaise continued to pursue us. We saw a gleaming frozen lake up ahead.

"Do you think it's safe to walk on?" Mayara asked.

"I'll check," I said. I stepped cautiously onto the ice. It seemed thick, and I took a few more steps. "I think it's safe, I reassured Mayara. She nodded. Blaise screamed loudly. Maybe she was getting closer.

"We should hurry," I told Mayara. We both walked quickly on the ice. A blood-curdling cry sounded from where Blaise was, echoing through the arena. We broke into a run. Blaise's screams stopped, but we didn't. When we were halfway across the lake, I heard a loud thud behind me.

Mayara had fallen on the ice. I heard a crack. She looked up at me, saying nothing. Her long black hair hung in front of her face as she moved slowly, trying to get up. Another crack. I could hear my heart beating in my chest. All of a sudden, the ice cracked right under me. I felt myself lose balance. Without a second to react, I fell. But I didn't hit ice, I hit water.

"Mayara!" I screamed, choking and gasping on freezing cold water. "Mayara!" I heard a cry, muffled by rushing water. I paddled around wildly, trying to find something to hold onto. Then I saw it. A rope. If I could just swim to the other side, I could get that rope and pull Mayara out. I took large strokes toward it, shivering as I went. My whole body was beginning to go numb. I wanted to give up, but I had to get Mayara out.

Finally, I reached the edge of the lake, where I pulled myself out. I ran for the rope and picked it up quickly with my numb hands.

BOOM. No, no! I looked in the water, but Mayara was still thrashing violently. I ignored what had happened and focused on the task at hand. I ran back to the edge of the lake. The water was freezing over again. I threw the rope to Mayara, but it was too late. The water had frozen over her.

"No!"

BOOM. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I wiped them away. There was nothing I could do. This was the Hunger Games. There was no mercy. I ran away from the lake, searching for Volker or Romy. It was terribly hard to see, most everything was covered in a white blanket. I trudged through acres of deep snow, suffering and shivering still from the wetness of the frozen water that lingered on my skin and drenched my clothes. My body was shutting down, I could feel it. I had to keep going.

Out of the woods, I saw a tall and lanky boy running, looking quickly around. It looked like Volker, but I couldn't be sure. As I grew more and more delirious, it was hard to be sure of anything. I had to make a choice, and quick. Either call out his name, and hope it was Volker, or give up and freeze to death.

"Volker!" I cried, "Volker..." my voice grew weaker. My head spun, and the sky, the trees, and the snow spun together into one. And I don't really remember anything after that.