"We are simply ash."
•••
It had been five years since Autumn's Hunger Games. She now lived with visions and voices that haunted her every night, watching her district partner die right in front of her eyes. Only one good thing came out of the Games...
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•••
Autumn stood on the platform, feeling the heat of the sun and smelling the salt of the water. The large body of water that surrounded her and the other tributes looked deep.
Autumn looked around her, seeing the tributes next to her. On her left side was Peeta with a rock path separating them. In Autumn's own little section, to her right, was the District Ten male tribute, although Autumn never learned his name.
Autumn looked around, desperately, for Finnick but she couldn't see him and assumed he was on the other side of the cornucopia along with Katniss. Autumn looked over at Peeta and gave him a small smile and a nod to show him that they were allies. Peeta returned the gesture and both looked straight ahead, back at the cornucopia in front of them.
If Autumn only swam to one of the rocks, then she would most likely be slowed down running by how slippery the water would be. Autumn then decided that she would just swim all the way to the cornucopia as it would take less time.
"Five, four, three, two, one," the gunshot sound went off and Autumn leapt from her pedestal and into the water.
A surprising calmness over took Autumn as she swam as fast as she could. Instead of images of her Games flashing before her eyes, images of home replaced them. This was almost worse, however, as this distracted her.
She pushed the images away and kicked her legs as fast as she could, nearing the cornucopia.
She grabbed onto the rocky side of the cornucopia and hoisted herself up, trying her best not to slip on the water that was looking off of her body.
Autumn ran up the side and entered the mouth of the cornucopia, finding another knife filled vest almost identical to the one she had in her first Games.
Autumn heard a battle cry from behind her, earning her to turn around as she took a throwing knife out of her vest. Autumn saw the District Ten male running at her with an ax. Autumn threw the knife through the air. The knife impaled deep into the tribute's neck. He fell to the ground, dead, with blood pooling around him.
A canon went off to symbolize the District Ten tribute's death.
"Autumn!" Finnick yelled, panicked. Autumn ran out of the cornucopia to find Finnick and Katniss. Finnick let out a sigh of relief when he saw Autumn. He ran up and hugged her quickly.
"I'm going to go find Johanna," Autumn spoke before letting go of Finnick and running around the other side of the cornucopia.
Autumn looked everywhere but she couldn't find Johanna or Wiress it Beetee. They may have already left the island.
Autumn ran along the rock bridge that was next to her pedestal only to see two figures fight in the water. It was Peeta and the man from District Nine. And the man from District Nine was winning.
Autumn went to work, quickly unzipping the knife vest and throwing it off, onto the rocks. She took a single dagger out of the vest, watching out of the corner of her eye as Finnick and Katniss came running up to her.
Autumn wasted no time as she dove into the water, knife in hand. She watched as Peeta was dragged under. She dove under the water, disappearing from Katniss's and Finnick's sight.
Autumn opened her eyes, ignoring the sting, as she dove deeper and deeper into the depths of the water. She saw Peeta continue to struggle in the tribute's hold.
Autumn swam up behind the man from District Nine and saw Peeta had wrapped his arm around the man's neck. He was about to pass out, but so was Peeta.
Autumn took her knife and stabbed the man in the stomach, reed water swirling around her an Peeta. She took the knife back out and grabbed Peeta's arm, both of them swimming up to the surface.
Autumn looked down to see the body of the man from District Nine fall into darkness. She didn't like taking his life or the life of the man from District Ten, but she had to keep Peeta, Katniss, and Finnick alive.
Autumn and Peeta broke the surface of the water, taking in deep breaths. Finnick was also in the water, only a few feet from Autumn and Peeta.
Relief flooded through Finnick when he saw Autumn as it did for Katniss when she saw Peeta was alive. Katniss made a mental note to forever be grateful to Autumn for saving Peeta.
"Thank you," Peeta smiled at Autumn as they began to swim back to the rock bridge.
