The 71st Hunger Games (ON HOLD)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

I frantically make my way higher up into the tree, Iris racing ahead of me. Almond and Sylvia are racing up the tree as well.

Gulping, I take a risk and dive into the next tree over, and continue to make my way upwards.

My fingers wrap around the bumpy surface of the branch of the oak tree, my legs supporting me fully. Bryce and Trixie are attempting to hurl knives at us.

Bryce is below the tree I am in, launching daggers at me, infuriatedly, while Trixie has an evil smirk on her face, who has Iris almost on the forcefield. Trixie knows there’s a forcefield and she’s only throwing daggers to get her closer to the forcefield. No. I think. If Iris hits the forcefield, she’ll be knocked out in seconds, and Trixie is bound to finish her.

“Almond!” Trixie hollers. “Hurry up!”

My eyes dart to Almond’s arm, with only one more mighty pull up and he’s onto the same branch as Iris is.

Rip! The material of my waterproof parks has been ripped on my left arm, with Bryce still chucking daggers at me.

I turn to face the tree Iris is in, with Almond struggling to pull himself up, and Iris having nowhere else to go, being at the peak of the tree.

Caleb runs towards Almond, grabbing hold of his ankle and twisting it so hard, Almond shrieks in pain. Fuming, Trixie picks a knife and aims directly at Caleb’s thigh, and I watch it impales deep inside Caleb’s leg. Slipping onto the ground, Caleb remains silent, taking out the knife and clutching onto it.

“You’re pathetic.” Trixie spits. She attempts to snatch the bloody knife off of him, but he jerks backwards. She forgets him and continues to assist the tributes from Two.

I hear Bryce’s cries from below the tree, screaming how he can’t believe he hasn’t killed me yet. Fed up, I take a blade from my pack and fling it effortlessly to slice his top eyebrow. The blade hits the forcefield opposite and glides back into my direction. I catch it safely, my hands wrapped in my waterproof jacket so that I don’t cut myself.

The panicked yelps from the tree next to me is from Iris, who has Almond on the same branch. Before Almond can even think to stab my ally, I’ve cast Sylvia’s spear into his abdomen, as he goes crashing to the ground. Iris looks relieved.

“That’s my spear!” Sylvia says, hurrying beside Bryce and immediately climbs my tree.

Trixie, who looks quite irritated at the career’s stupidity, violently rips the knuckledusters off of Saffron’s hands and whacks the tree base so hard, I collapse to the ground, but luckily, on my feet.

Sylvia yanks my hair in a feminine fashion. I slap her with all my power and she tackles me to the ground. I try to get her down on the ground, as I slash her with her own knife briefly on the lip.

I release my grip on her arms, and she releases hers, too. We’re next to the twinkling lake. With my eyes composedly fixed on hers, I glimpse the tiny sapphire jewels in the lake. Curious, I shift my sight directly to the lake, and realise, from all my experience, that the lake has been created to have no end. It is the deepest lake possible. You could easily drown in it. I study the lake more intently, and on the edges of the lake, there are bubbles effervescing off of the mirroring sheen of the lake surface. Piranhas.

Sylvia throws herself at me, her knife cutting my arm and my legs deeply, and she hits her head on mine. Dizzy, I spin around and use my resources. My backpack and the lake. The heavy weight of the backpack collides with hers, as I shove her into the neverending lake fiercely.

I turn, expecting the tributes to have been watching the drama, but everyone is glued onto the fight between the tribute from Nine, timidly fighting back vicious Trixie.

“Estella!” A voice above me screeches. The freckly faced, small boy from Nine is shouting. He is in the highest tree, at the peak, and no one else is bothering with him. “Estella!”

I sprint up to the same tree as the boy, and go close to the forcefield to test it’s weakness. It’s still quite strong, but weaker than before. The tribute from Nine kneels beside me, shaking, like he is having a spasm, almost like a Tic.

His partner, Estella, is killed instantly with a bundle of knives lodged around her body by Trixie. I do not dare to look back at her limp body, so with a fizzle, I hear the forcefield break off and so does the boy beside me, Iris and I.