The 25th Hunger Games (fanfic)

Chapter 47: The Games

Author's Note: Hey! Dedicated to Katniss_Everdeen. Thanks for fanning me. Like? Leave a comment!

I aam running. Running through the orchards, blindly swatting at the falling branches. The leaves make a crunching sound underneath my feet as I run. My bow is already loaded by my side, just in case. Just in case I see Cody. If I see him, I will shoot him without a thought in my head. He killed Crystal. Now I kill him.

It's about sunset. I have been running since after noon. I'm sweating like a dog now. But I haven't slowed down once, haven't even stopped for water yet. The thought of Crystal, lying in her bed right now is what keeps me going. 

I am chasing Cody. He escaped, but his footsteps were washed out by the rain. It's not raining anymore, but the ground is squishing beneath my feet. It's odd. The leaves on the ground are dry, not soaked in rain. So when I step, my foot sinks in, but the leaves crunch. 

I might attract Brook, or maybe even Cody if I'm lucky. But if I see one of them, I will shoot them without half a heart. I don't have any mercy left in me. Not after Crystal's death. When I get out of this arena, I will rebel. I vow myself to it. I will rebel against the Capitol and show them that we will not tolerate this. We will not lounge around and watch as little girls are slaughtered. It's time for the Districts to rebel again. A second rebellion. Perfect.

The heat scorches my back. My tongue is parched, and I am desperate for water. I'm forced to a stop near a skinny, tall tree. I sit back against it and rest, catching my breath. Still no sign of Cody. Wherever he is, he can't hide forever. I pull out one of the water bottles and drink the remainder of it. I don't have enough energy to dig a hole in order to get some water. I'm not nearly quenched, so I drink half the other bottle. 

I'm about to get up, and begin running again, but I decide against it. There's no point to it. Soon, it'll be too dark to see anything, and I'll just be blindly running in the dark. But still, the thought of sleeping out here in the orchards at night, all alone, scares me. I've seen those horse spiders, those snakes, and they don't look friendly.

I lay down my sleeping bag on the ground. I would climb up a tree, but I'm afraid I would fall out in the middle of the night. I don't have any rope to tie me down, and I'm a restless sleeper. I guess the ground will do. And besides, I have on that full-body armor to protect me from anything that attacks me. And I'll wake up before anything gets too near. 

I settle down into my sleeping bag, looking around at my surroundings. It's so ironic. I'm so far from home, yet here I am in District 11. But this place isn't real. It's an arena. And now matter how hard it is to really believe that, I have to. I snivel and put my head in my arms, closing them. Tears drip out. 

But here I am. I'm in the Hunger Games. Only three of us left. I'm close to getting home. In just a matter of days, I'll be in recovery, healing from these scars. I only have to face two more tributes. Brook and Cody. That's it. I have actually done it. I'm so close I can already picture myself arriving at home...

But I haven't done it. No. My goal was not to win the Games. It was to keep Crystal alive, but it's too late for that now. I snivel into my arms. I'm a failure. I can't bear to think of her. The thought of her tears me to shreds. I love her so much, but she's dead now. How can this be?

The anthem begins to play. I look up, surprised. It's dark out already. I must have been crying for a long time. I'm surprised I'm not all cried out yet. I don't dare look into the sky. I know what I'll see. Crystal's innocent face, staring down at me. I can't look at her. Shame fills my body. I shiver and crawl into my sleeping bag. I'm cold. I'm scared. I'm nervous. 

The anthem comes to a stop. I look up at the sky now, and find stars. Thousands of stars. Crystal's face is now out of the universe forever. All I see is stars. I begin finding the constellations. Big Dipper, Little Dipper. It helps me not think of Crystal. I begin counting the stars. This causes me to drift asleep. I close my eyes and settle down in the sleeping bag, but all that comes are dreams of despair and hopelessness.