Hope In Our Eyes #GoldStarAwards2017Winner

Games (Aspen)

It doesn't make sense. It isn't fair. All of a sudden everyone's just dying.

It started with... well, you know. And that... it broke me. And now Mackenzie is lying there in a pool of smoldering blood, muttering about stars and fading fast. Earlier, Lily told us the cannon that went off earlier yesterday had been Sam, her district partner. Ash died too, and came back?

None of this makes sense. None of it. These... Games. Stupid, awful, confusing Games.

"Let's go," I say. "We can't save her." The others just nod. Hazel is still crying; I think she and Mackenzie were pretty close.

We turn away from the mess of melted flesh and blood that is Mackenzie and walk for a while. It's been probably five minutes when we hear a cannon. No one says anything. We just keep walking. Just keep walking.

-

"So... what now?" Eisley asks. Lily glares at her. "What?" Eisley furrows her brow as she sees Lily's face.

"Can't we just take a minute, Eisley?" Lily grumbles. "We've experienced three deaths in two days, plus two mutts. Give your need to run around all day a damn break."

"I'm sure the Gamemakers will let us sit for a bit." I say, trying to lighten the mood. Eisley nods grimly, not looking that mad, more like... frustrated with Lily.

I look over at the dark shape that I know is Hazel. She hasn't said anything since what happened with Mackenzie. She's shivering, and I don't know if it's from the cold, because we couldn't stand to make a fire, not after Mackenzie, or if she's shuddering from crying. I stand and walk over to her.

"Hazel," I say. I try to think of something else, but can come up with nothing, so I just say, "Hazel," again. She doesn't speak, just stares down at the empty spot where a fire would be. I put my arm around her and she leans her head on my shoulder tentatively.

At that moment, I realize, and I think she may realize, how small she really is. She's younger than Olive... was. She's just a kid. Yet she seemed to be the strongest of us. Now though, I think she's starting to lose hope. Starting to get scared.

"Aspen." She whispers into my shoulder.

"Hazel," I sigh. "Don't give up. You're strong-stronger than all of us, even if you don't believe it right now. And Hazel?" I pull away a little so she can look up at me and I down at her. "Have hope... hope," I say the word again, some sort of omen passing through my lips. "It is the only thing stronger than fear."

-

We see Mackenzie's face in the sky tonight, it seems to almost haunt us.

I look around, then look down. How long have we even been here? Four, five days? And already... I count out the tributes I know to be dead in my head. It's more than ten, definitely. That's a lot. I'm five days. It's all very frightening.

"Guys," I say suddenly. "We know we're not getting to sleep. Why don't we do something?"

Eisley sits up. "Okay," she says. "Like what?"

"I don't know... why don't we play a game?"

"A game?" Lily asks, rising slowly to a sitting position.

"Yeah, like... I don't know-"

"There's a game we used to play back at the orphanage in Twelve. If we have a ball." Hazel says, cutting me off. She bites her lip.

I look around. We don't have much, we've actually lost more than we've gained from all the running-away-from-monsters and such. I look around. There're two backpacks, a bit of food, knives, swords, Eisley's axe, and-aha, a canteen.

"Would this work?" I ask, pulling the canteen out.

"Yeah." Hazel says and takes it from me. She's quiet for a minute as she recalls the rules of the game, then she starts,"Okay, so one person is 'it' and they stand... over there," she points to s spot between two trees. "And they throw the ball-canteen- towards the others, which are standing over here," she gestures to the space we're standing now, across from the two trees. "And they have to try and catch it. If they do, they try and run past the 'goal'; the trees, while everyone else tries to tackle them and either take the ball-canteen- and run it themselves or make the person drop it before they can get there. And if they get there, they're it next," Hazel furrows her brow. "I think that's it."

"Okay," I say."Lets' play." Eisley says, smiling a little.

"I'll be it." I volunteer.

I walk over between the two trees with the canteen in my hand. Hazel, Lily, and Eisley stay by the supplies. I rear back my arm and chuck the canteen in their direction. Eisley grabs for it but fumbles. She groans and tosses it back. I throw the canteen again and this time Hazel catches it, but when she's about halfway to me, Lily comes out of nowhere and snatches the canteen away. She runs for me, grinning and laughing. I find that I'm laughing too as I brace myself, then leap at her just before she reaches me. We tumble to the ground and I roll on top of her, both of us laughing wildly.

"Gotcha." I say, realizing how dumb it sounds after he fact.

"Whatever," she laughs, then her laugh dies in her through as she looks into my eyes and I into hers. "H-hey." She says.

"Hey." I say.

"Guys! Are we still playing, or...?" Eisley yells.

I slowly get off of Lily and help her up, glancing at Eisley. She gives me a sad smile. I take the canteen from Lily and throw it again.

And there we are, laughing and yelling and tumbling over each other, playing games, and for a moment we can forget about all the friends we've lost and focus on, we'll, nothing at all.