The Hunger Games

Chapter 26

          I hear a soft humming noise as I begin to wake, but I don’t open my eyes. I refuse to. I let the noise fill my thoughts, and into my dreams as I begin to fall asleep again.

          My dreams are filled of happiness, back in the meadow in the forest beyond the fence of District 12.

          I’m running along the grass, while the Mockingjays sing. The tune plays in my head, over and over. I seem to keep running. I don’t know where I’m going. I just seem to keep on going, to a happy place, unaware of any dangers that might be ahead.

          Suddenly, blood stains are on the ground. I’m in the forest, the forest in the arena. I see myself, with blood plastered all over. Cuts and bruises all over my body. I’m lying on the ground, not moving. I hear a laughing. I then see someone walk up to me. I can’t seem to notice who it is. But there are two boys.

          I recognize Danny, but he looks pretty beat up, nearly dead too, and the boy next to him is laughing, laughing like a murderous maniac.

          I’m then back in a first person view, where I don’t see myself, my just the area around me. I’m still dreaming, I know I am, but this all seems so real. I look over at Danny and the other boy. I now recognize him. Someone I know, or knew from my childhood. Someone I used to call friend, but now call enemy. His slick black hair and light gray eyes, tense mussels and olive skin, I would recognize anywhere, though I’ve tried hard to forget about him, the person who sworn to kill me after I turned my back on him, forever.

          Grim Carter.

          I wake up instantly and sit up, breathing hard.

          “Hey,” Danny says, putting his arm around me. “What’s up with you?”

          “Nothing really, just a bad dream I guess.” I respond quite nervous. I don’t want to talk about the dream, especially to Danny. He and Grim go long back, along with me. They hate each other. Grim and I used to be friends when we were six. Not good friends though, just friends. When I was seven, I caught him beating up Danny on the field in school, so I physically attacked Grim. Since then, I hated Grim. Wanted nothing to do with him, but why would I have a dream, that involved him? I shake my head. Things just get weirder and weirder.

          “You want to talk about it?” He asks me.

          I shake my head, feeling uneasy. He would freak out even if I just mention Grim’s name. “No thanks. It’s nothing really, just another bloody dream.”

          He nods. “Okay then. So, want to hunt? I’m getting pretty hungry.”

          I nod. “Sure I guess. Just let me wake up a bit.”

          Danny looks at me and smiles. “Great.” He gets up and hands me my bow and arrows.

          I take them and put the knife in my pocket. “You want to hunt in the same places as yesterday?” I ask him.

          “Sure.” Danny says. “See you later.” He then kisses my cheek and walks away.

          I walk into the forest to hunt. All seems quiet, until I see a fat rabbit from behind the bushes. I walk up to it, and it seems to have noticed me, so I end up chasing it. I run deeper into the thick, dark forest, chasing the rabbit. I then lose it, but I keep going where I saw it go. I stop when I see it dead, lying on the ground. I walk up to it carefully. I look in front of me. I then pick up a small rock and throw it in front of me. It bounces back and hits me in the stomach.