The Real Threat- The Story of Foxface

The Scream

I wake up in a pool of my own blood. How long have I been asleep? I look down to my leg to see if it's okay. It's wrapped in long leaves. It's tied together with a vine. Who did this? Who was so nice and selfless to help me? Suddenly, I see a child's boot disappear into the trees.

Rue.

"Rue?" I say in a weak voice. Her frightened face turns back to me. "Please don't hurt me." She squeaks. "Of course not. I just wanted to know... How long was I out?" I ask. "Only a day. The girl from 7 died." She said. "Thank you. And thank you for patching me up." I say. I see that she only has a rick at hand. "Do you want my knife?" I ask. "No, thank you. I can't do anything with knives. I'll probably just end up losing it. Thank you, anyway." She says. She disappears into the thick foliage of the forest. I wonder how many people sponsor her. I would if I were a sponsor. I wish I were a sponsor.

No one sponsors me. I'm fine with that. I don't really think I need any. I know I can't do fine on my own. But I'll try. I decide to head west and spy on Peeta Mellark. I'll see how he's doing, then I'll spy on the careers. Katniss Everdeen. Anyone I really need to keep an eye on. Katniss, she's strong. Peeta has a real advantage of camouflage. I mean, really- You're just standing in the forest, all alone, when suddenly a tree stabs you. And the careers, well, they're careers. Then, I hear the careers's voices. I climb a tree, and hide in the leaves, not making a sound. There's the careers. Glimmer. Marvel. Clove. Cato. The District 4 girl. Someone with blonde hair and deep blue eyes comes out, following them.

Peeta.

How is he a career? Peeta Mellark- a career? "I think she went this way." He says. Oh, so that's why.

They're using him.

They want to find Katniss. They want to kill her. I drop from the tree and sprint ahead. Katniss. She's splashing around in the water. She looks dehydrated. I scramble up a tree. Glimmer lets out a whoop. Katniss looks alarmed. She climbs out of the water, revealing a large burn on her calf. How'd she get that? Then I remember the forest fire. "Oh. She got it from the fire." I whisper. She climbs up a tree, her heavy backpack behind her. "Hey!" Cato shouts. "Hi. How are you?" She says, smiling. She's doing it for the cameras. You can tell. "Good." Cato says, perplexed. "Great. How's the weather down there?" She asks. He looks sick of it. He tries climb the tree, but fails. Glimmer has a bow and arrow, and tries to shoot Katniss with an arrow. She must not have a lot of skill with it. It sticks on the tree above Katniss's head. She plucks it and waves it tauntingly. "Let's just wait her out." Peeta suggests. They agree angrily. I decide to leave now. I need water. The lake Katniss found is around, but too close to the careers. I need to get it from the lake near the cornucopia. I run away swiftly. The lake comes into view. Water. I grab the canteen and fill it up. I put the drops of iodine in the canteen. Now I have to wait for it to purify. Something red catches my eye.

Ammosia!

I'm so hungry. I put the canteen down to let the water purify. I take the berries and a large maple leaf. I fill myself up on ammosia, then put the remaining berries in a leaf. Mmm. I can't hunt, so roots and berries are a good diet for me. Sweet relief. Water, berries, roots. As soon as the water is done purifying I open the canteen and let the cool water trickle down my throat. I hear footsteps and climb a tree. A boy is now getting water, stupidly drinking it straight from the lake. A girl comes right up behind him. She stabs him in the back, and he falls into the lake. The water is stained red with blood. A cannon sounds. The boy is dead. Floating in the water. Dead. I just watched a boy be killed. There's a scream in the air, ringing in my ears. I look around, wondering who's around. Then I realize...

That was my own scream.

It didn't sound human. It didn't sound like me. I watched tributes be murdered at bloodbath. No I didn't. No. I didn't. I looked to the ground, only looking at dead bodies that I came across. Only stealing their things. I didn't look up until I came to the forest. I just watched someone die. I just watched a girl thrust a knife into his back. I just watched him fall forward into the lake, floating as she ran away. I just heard his cannon sound.

I just watched him die.

I pick up my leaf full of ammosia, my canteen full of water. I stumble to the forest. I collapse in the branch of a tree. Thresh came running. He must be looking for me. "I'm up here, Thresh." I say, weakly. He looks up. "I thought you were dead, Foxface. You have a chance of winning, remember? Why did you scream? Someone could have heard you. Do you want to die, Finch?" He says. "No, it's just that I watched someone die." I say. "Why are you so worried?" I ask. "Because I want to keep people alive. I don't know why- I just do." He says. I nod. I understand. I don't want to watch someone die as much as he does. "I know. Thresh, you have to keep alive, too." I say. He nods. "I know. I just don't want anyone to die. I don't want Rue to die. I don't want Katniss to die. Hey, I don't want the careers to die." He says. "Yeah. It's weird- everyone has a life and everyone wants to get home. But to return to our life we have to destroy everyone else's." I say. He nods. "I'd better get going, Finch. Bye. Remember to find me if you need help." He walks away.

I agree- I don't want anyone to die either. I take a sip from my water. It's getting late. I decide to get a vine and tie myself into the tree. The anthem plays. I see the boy in the sky. The boy who died at the lake. Then, I see the girl who killed him.

But not in the sky.

Right in front of me.

"Thresh? Thresh! Thresh!" I scream. I can hear his footsteps in the distance. He's too far off to come in time. I pick up my knife and she takes out her axe. She has a twisted smile on her face. She swings her axe at my side, only missing by a little. My eyes widen. I try to thrust my knife into her eye, but miss. She laughs loudly, and Thresh's footsteps are getting louder. I try to scream, but no sound comes. She swings her axe, but she's not very strong. Her axe cuts a rip on the side of my shirt, but she doesn't cut me. Her axe swings at my head, cutting my cheek. Before it can swing anymore, she falls to the ground. Thresh's sword is in her side. There's no cannon. Does this mean I have to... Finish her? No, no I don't. The cannon sounds and the anthem plays again, showing her face momentarily, then fading away. "Thank you, Thresh." I say. His eyes are wide, and a single tear slips down his face. "I killed her." He says quietly. The conversation we had earlier slowly comes back into my brain. He never wanted to kill anyone. He never wanted to end someone's life. He never wanted to make a family cry.

Neither of us wanted that.

"I'm sorry, Thresh. I should have just killed her myself. I shouldn't have relied on you." I tell him. "No, Finch. I told you to find me if you were in trouble. It's... It's alright." He says. "I'd... Better get going, Foxface." He says, walking off into the distance. The girl lays dead at my feet. I grab my things and leave. Another tree. Tie myself into another branch. I wonder how Marvel's doing. I haven't seen him since training. Hopefully, he's okay. He's with careers... They could get him any second. I touch my cheek. The cut isn't deep. I'm not losing a lot of blood. A dry, red line is on my cheek where a thin stream of blood trickled down my face. The cut will heal soon. I lie down on the branch, facing the trees, as I shiver from the cold.