Annie Cresta in Her Hunger Games |Fanfiction

Chapter 1: The Games

I hear the footsteps getting closer. Im running at top speed now, through the forest, dodging trees, logs, and anything else that might be in my way. My legs feel like they're going to give out at any moment, but I keep going.

'You have to win," I think to myself, and it keeps me going. When I absolutley can't run anymore, I duck behind a nearby tree. I wait for footsteps to go running past, but they never do. I lost my ally, Otillie from district 7, when the boy from District 2 came running at us.

I sink down the tree trunk until I'm sitting down in the moist dirt. I take off my backpack and eat the leftover bread from lunch. My eyes start to close, but I force them to stay open.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzes through the trees, missing me by only a couple inches. I drop the bread and start to run, but my legs are weak and I'm running very slowly. Then an arm reaches out from a large tree, pulling me out of the path of my predator. I whip my head around to face the person who saved me.

"Otillie!" I whisper-scream, pulling her into a hug. She's only 15, and I can feel her ribs.

"Annie! I was so worried!" she says, but then a look of panic crosses her face. She starts running in the other direction, and before I know it, the boy from 2 runs right past me, chasing after Otillie. I have no weapons, but I know if I try to save Otillie I will die too.

My eyes fill up with tears, and I slowly walk forward, toward the sound of footsteps on dry leaves. As I slowly approach, I hear Otillie scream, and I fly forward, and hide behind a tree, watching.

What I see next almost makes me brake down. Otillie is laying on the ground, among logs and fallen leaves, and the boy from 2 is plucking his spear out of her chest. She's dead.

I hide in some tall grass while the boy runs past, heading back to his fellow careers. I hear a cannon blow, and even though I know it's too late, I run up to Otillie's body. I cradle her in my arms, and her bodies cold.

I place Otillie down, and I start running. I don't know where I'm going, but I run. I trip over a log, and I don't feel like standing up, so I just lay there.

"WHY?!" I yell, looking at the dark sky, where I bet there's a camera. "THERE ARE INNOCENT CHILDREN IN HERE!" By now tears are streaming down my face, and I taste the salt in my mouth. I scream and cry some more.

The Careers, led by the boy from 2, approach me, snickering.

"I don't care if you kill me. I have NOTHING left anymore!" I scream at them. "If you say so," says the boy from 2, stepping forward and raising his spear. I brace myself for the attack that never comes.

I look up to see that the girl from 1 stopped the boy from hurting me.

"Let me do this one," she says, holding up her bow and arrows.

"Fine, but we don't know how long this is gonna take, bows can be risky, so we'll be back at camp," says the boy from 1, and the Careers disappear down the path.

I just stare up at the girl blankly. She reaches a hand out to me.

When I don't take it, she says, "C'mon, it's just a hand." I grab it, and she pulls me up so I'm standing.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" I ask, the waterworks starting up again.

"Nope. Never was. I hate killing people, and I hate the Careers," she replies.

To my surprise, I blurt out, "Wanna team up?!" Then I automatically cover my mouth and say, "Just Kidding, why would someone like you want to be an ally with someone like me?"

"No, no, I want to be your ally! You seem kind enough not to kill me in my sleep," she says with a snort.

"Okay," I say slowly, "but I'm trying to find my district partner, Talon, right now. Wanna search?" I ask her, and off we go.