THE 69TH HUNGER GAMES - Book 2: Trainer

Chapter 20 - My Last Thought is of You (Dean POV)

My eyes flutter open, as I lay on the cold wet grass. The little patch of forest around me is silent and serene. Nothing can ruin this beautiful moment, except for the fact that there is a blistering desert with a lunatic tribute out to kill me.

I get up from the grass and pack my measly belongings into my now tattered backpack. I grab my knife and sling my backpack over my shoulder. As I wipe the grass off of my pants, I notice the sound of the National Anthem. The Capitol emblem appears in the sky, and then shows the image of Farro Barley.

“Great,” I sigh, “It’s me against Phoebe.”

I know that Phoebe is a killer. I should be prepared for this.

I decide to walk out of the forest to see how the desert was looking like. I push through a punch of bushes before finally seeing the desert. I gasp at the sight in front of me. The desert is still the same, except there is no blistering sun. The air is cold, and fog lingers throughout the entire arena. This just makes visibility extremely difficult.

I make my first feeble step onto the cold sand of the desert. I continue heading out into the endless fog. The silence is too eerie. I can hear every breath I take, the sound of my clothes rubbing against my skin as I walk, the crunch of my footsteps. My senses are heightened.

“Urgh, give me a sign,” I mutter quietly to myself as I hope for some guidance from above; and by ‘above,’ I mean my mentors. Where the hell is Mark and Hyora when I needed them most.

I continue walking through the foggy expanse, until I finally reach a cluster of boulders. I sit down with my back resting against the cool surface of one of the boulders. I open my bag and take a sip of the remaining water I have. It tastes kind of gross and muddy, but I gulp it anyway.

“Hyora,” I gasp.

I know she can hear.

“Hyora!” I gasp again, feeling extremely dehydrated. She is supposed to be watching over me; sending me gifts; helping me.

That same moment, I hear shuffling behind me. I peer around the boulder, but don’t see anything. I turn back around and jolt as I suddenly see the silhouette of Phoebe.

“Urgh, die!” Phoebe shrieks in sheer insanity, as she throws a rock towards my head.

I dodge the rock and roll over, before springing to my feet.

“Whoa, Phoebe, calm down!” I exclaim.

Phoebe looks absolutely insane and full of desperation. She’s desperate to live.

Phoebe pulls out an axe and swings it in the direction of my torso, but I dodge it in time. I pull out my knife and get it poised.

“Phoebe, think about what you’re doing for a second,” I murmur calmly.

“Think about this?” Phoebe laughs crazily, “you fool! We’re the remaining damn tributes! Only one of us leaves this arena!”

Phoebe then thrashes her axe towards me again. It misses, but then she swings a punch at my head and it hits me right by my ear. I fall to the ground with a thud. I clutch the side of my head due to the pain. 

“How’s that?” Phoebe shrieks insanely, as she kicks me in the stomach.

I get up and in a desperate attempt to save myself; I thrash my knife in the general direction of where Phoebe is. I manage to hit the blunt edge of my knife into her shin.

A deafening shriek escapes Phoebe’s mouth as she clutches her injured shin. This gives me time to get up and get my knife poised. I prepare to throw the knife at her, but she lunges towards me, grabbing my by the neck and tightening her grip.

The gargling sounds which my throat makes due to the chocking frighten me. I claw at Phoebe’s hands, in the hopes that she will let go, but that never happens. I then kick at her injured shin, which causes her to shriek even louder and fall to the ground. Once her hands release from my neck, I begin coughing, while crouched on all fours. I allow time for air to enter my lungs. A brief relief from the hell I am currently witnessing. Before I can get up, I feel Phoebe’s hand grab at my collar and slam me onto the boulder. Phoebe has her hands grabbed onto my collar, lifting me against the cool surface of the rock.

“This is the end, Dean,” Phoebe snarls with vengeance.

Phoebe is probably right: this is the end. I suddenly think of Hyora Coco; The girl who won the Hunger Games last year. My last thought will be of you, Hyora Coco.

The thought of Hyroa Coco gives me the motivation to continue fighting. I kick Phoebe’s side, causing her to drop me. She falls to the ground gasping for air, while I brush the dirt off my clothes. I kick her again, causing her to howl in pain. I look around for my knife and find it nestled beside the boulder. I go to pick it up, but Phoebe gets up and punches me over the head again. I topple over, clutching my knife. She kicks me continuously. Kick after kick, and the pain suddenly becomes more and more unbearable. I gasp and choke in pain, as the intensity of each kick grows.

“Argh, stop!” I plead, while using my arms to shield my body as Phoebe continues to kick me.

Blood begins to bleed from my nose as she manages to kick me in the face. I lie on the ground in complete agony as the career tribute continues to kick me.

“Die!” Phoebe shrieks with pure fury.

She and I both know that only one of us comes out of this alive, and she’s as desperate to win as I am. I continue to plead for mercy, but that proves to be useless. My vision becomes blurry as she continues kicking me. Is this what it feels like to die? This is most likely my end. I just hope my friends and family back at home don’t get too affected by this, and move on gracefully with their lives.

“Stop,” I manage to wheeze through my mouth.

Phoebe finally gets tired, but continues kicking me while crying.

“I... I...” Phoebe sobs while weakly kicking me.

I know what she’s feeling. She’s upset that she has to kill me, but she knows it is the only way for her to return home.

“ARGGHHH, I’m so sorry,” Phoebe cries in emotional pain.

The pain engulfing me is almost unbearable. I just try my best to ignore it. I just try to phase out of everything and think of the things that matter to me most. Like I mentioned before, my last thought is of you, Hyora Coco.