The Hunger Games (Writing Contest) [CLOSED]

Asher's Version

↠↠↠dragon_mind  ↞↞↞

Survival is, not surprisingly, a fickle mistress. For days I had tiptoed around her carefully. No risks taken, no exciting near-death experiences. It was a relief, really, the feeling of being in control once again coming back to me since I've been thrown in this hellhole.

Surviving is like treading on eggshells. However, the eggshells scattered metaphorically around this room looked brittle, much more so then the shells in the room I daily strolled through in District Four. At least there I knew where the creaky floorboards and trapdoors were located, along with what sounds that aggravate Mistress Survival to avoid.

Here, every step was a gamble for my life with no garaunteed outcome. For a long time, I kept the Mistress off my back with the water from my pond and the protection from the Sun the cave provided. But today, she came at me with a different problem.

Hunger.

My face burned. I raised a shaky hand up to my cheeks, running my fingers over the heated skin. For some reason, I knew the skin was tinted a bright red.
Fingers traced their way up to my hair that felt hot to the touch. I was surprised the silver strands hadn't burst up into flames. Maybe they were in flames and I just couldn't see the world burning through violet eyes that blinked tiredly as they watered like mad with the roaring Sun above beating down on them until the balls were dry and crusted. For all I know, my mom could have been not ten yards away, waving her arms above her head to get my attention.

You don't look too good, the voice in my head noted.

I rolled my eyes, immediatly closing them with a hand to my mouth as a tsunami of nausea hit me. And to top all of my misery off, tears squeezed past my gritty eyelids, my tear ducts working on double time.

An eyelash found its way into my eyes, riding on the stream of tears and latched on to the most annoying place it could possibly be. An eyelash is my last defense against unwelcoming stuff, but when an eyelash gets in my eye, that's betrayal! You were my last defense, eyelash! Why have you forsaken me?

Well, that's eyeronic.

This is just peachy, I grumbled. Hunger. Why hadn't I thought to look for food before isolating myself to my little pond and cave?

My stomach gave a lurch in response to my woes, reminding me that that particular mistake was in the past and now I had to go make things right with Mistress Survival before she sent for Mistress Death in a fit of rage.

I sighed with a small mental encouragement, and quickly pushed off my knees at the side of the pond. My vision reeled and the world spun in and out of focus. Blurry images of what I'm hoping were trees and clumps of bushes — was that a unicorn? — swam and bled together before my eyes.

"Oh," I think I mumbled. "Oh no."

Woah, what's going on out there? the voice demanded, its pitch rising with every panicked word.

"We're experiencing some technical difficulties."

Don't say it like that!

"It's okay," I managed to stutter.

Balancing on unsteady legs and feet and a voice in the noggin screeching unholy words I shall not repeat for fear of the little ones' mothers, I took one, rumbling, bumbling, "Oh my goodness, the world is ending" step. And then one step became two, and then three, and then four, and then there was a butt on the floor. That's right. I fell.

Tremors of gnawing pain ripped through my growling stomach and I curled my knees up to my chest. The Sun, unobstructed by the treeline a few more steps away or the cave roof, glared down on me with a smug heat to its rays.

You'll get dehydrated if you stay here for much longer.

"Let it kill me."

I would if I could but, unfortunetly, if you die so do I.

"First, rude. And second, don't you like reincarnate in some other person's mind?"

Nah, it's all you, buddy.

"That really sucks for you, I guess."

I know! It's aw—. Do you smell that?

I narrowed my eyes quizzically, mouth quirking up in amused confusion. A leg twitched as I sat up and replied, searching the air for any particular scent discreetly. "Well, we're basically using the same nose so I don't see why I wouldn't."

My head gave a small twinge, the mental version of an exasperated shove to the shoulder. I grinned a little while I inhaled harder. It was all pretty normal. The smell of water in the air seemed stronger and different then what would normally come off the pond, like rain or some precipitation in the distance. A fresh mix of mist and plants flowed out of the cave but the woodsy aroma of the forest and a slight whiff of smoke that came from the plants burning in the hard Sun was the same.

Head towards that tree with the forked branch hanging down.

My eyebrows raised but I nevertheless followed directions, treading lightly. For the fifteen minutes I walked, I was grateful for the distraction my mind was providing from the hunger prowling in my stomach. An endless string of chatter accompanied us all through the forest as I blindly obeyed orders.

I stopped suddenly. I could smell it now and so could my stomach. It growled at the very welcoming sight of a cracked melon, the bright pink of the insides a deep contrast from the green skin sitting daintily in a small clearing.

"Oh, sweet mercy."

Well, it's not the five course meal I was smelling but I guess it'll do. Now, take it — yo, heY WAIT!

By then my claws were already tearing apart the fruit. Silver flashed out from my belt to my hand and suddenly I was shoveling melon into my mouth by using my blade as a spoon. Soon, juice was dripping down my face so thickly it felt like blood. My stomach gave a gruff grumble and I threw the conpletely clean melon skin to the side, a new hunt for another one commencing. As my fingers wrapped around the new treasure, I heard a shuffle behind me.

I spun around, still in a crouching position. A female froze, three melons balancing precariously in her arms, favoring huge, leaking gash in her shoulder. We stared at beach other for a moment. I slowly swallowed the bit of melon still in my mouth.

"You could've just politely asked, y'know. Stealing isn't nice."

She didn't say anything for second, a blank look before it morphed into affrontion and she quickly retorted, "I found these first. You're the one stealing!"

She has a point. If you think about it, that was a very interesting spot for a split fruit to be in.

"My apologies."

She shrugged, a small wince at the shoulder movement. "You still stole. I might have to... punish you."

She took a threatening step forward.

And I threw the melon. I legitimately threw a whole, ten pound melon at a girl that was approaching me. And it hit her in the head! Her head snapped back and she stumbled into a tree, the force of it causing leaves to shake loose and the bark to split open. I winced at the crack that her skull made against the trunk. She stood there for a minute, just staring at me blankly, before her eyes glazed over and she fell like a stone.

There was a pause. And then a Well, I guess that's one way to do it.

"I panicked, okay?!" I shot back, rushing over to the girl.

Clearly. So, is she dead?

"You can't just stay stuff like that!"

Why not? It looks to me like she—.

A loud bang rang through the arena, jolting through me and making my teeth chatter.

I guess there's my answer.

"You are literally the worst."