Interactive Hunger Games 5

Day 4, Pt2: Hope And Fear

(This gon' be a long one, 2x the length of other chapters. Grab your popcorn, or your bathroom break.)

- A B B I E - T O R R E S -

I walk outside of the horn, looking for Colt and Nich. The ground to our south had stopped burning, but Nich and Colt hadn't come back yet. They'd went to look for Luke, and I had began to get worried.

It was beginning to dawn on me that I had no virtually no support from outside, while the inside was only getting worse. I didn't have any guarantee that my parents were rooting for me. They'd sold me to the Capitol so that they could feel a little safer. Never mind That they were the ones who made people hate them.

As for the inside, the weaker tributes were mostly killed off. Besides Sephora, Kasi, and Clyde, everyone else was strong and mostly bloodthirsty. Us four were the only underdogs left.

It seemed like us Careers were getting weaker and weaker too. Only half of us were left, after all. With Roux and Kayden on the prowl, I felt like us Careers weren't safe anymore. It was crazy, since we were the Careers. The untouchables.

Suddenly, there's rustling in the tree line. I stand up, extending my sword, but am relieved to see Colt and Nich walk out. Colt deactivates his sword, and the center slowly loses its red glow.

"Oh, thank god." I say, collapsing my blade. "You're back."

"It would've been better if Luke's Head was here too." Nich states, rolling his eyes.

"At least you two have yours." I say, extending a hand for Nich to bumb. He ignores it, however, and walks straight past me. Colt sees this, obviously annoyed. He motions for me to follow him, and I oblige with little hesitation.

"He's a bit of a dick, huh?" Colt says, walking with me to the woods. I look back quickly, making sure we weren't being followed. Nich was looking on, and he shakes his head with a scowl. I look away, walking past the tree-line.

"Y-Yeah." I reply with a bit of a stutter.

"I'm understating it." Colt says, almost talking to himself. He then turns to me, sitting on a log. "You know, we've got a chance at winning this. You and I."

"YOU do." I correct him, and he sits back. "I volunteered for something I shouldn't have. I need to accept that."

"You need to start believing in yourself." Colt suggests, looking me dead in the eye.

"How can I when I can't even count on my parents to root for me?" I say, trying to hold back tears.

"Because I do." Colt says, teaching over and wiping a tear off of my face. He looks at me again, with all of his seriousness manifesting itself in a nice and caring package. I'd never seen it before. "Look, Abbie. I want you to get out of here. I'm rooting for you."

"Thank you." I say, trying to compose myself. This was more direct and emotional than anything with my parents. Ever.

"Listen to me." He tells me, and I look up again. "Am I Right that your goal is to show everyone up that doesn't believe in you?"

"Mostly." I say, composed.

"Ok." Colt begins. "I want to get back to my family. Let's work with each other to get out, Alright? Two will win this year, after all."