The 70th Hunger Games

Chapter Nine

My trance is broken by Chris calling my name. I blink and then jumping off the platform I run through the bodies to meet him.

"Annie," Chris yells. I look up. 4

He's running towards me, handing me a spear. "You okay?" he asks.

Well, we're standing in the middle of a bloodbath pretending to be Careers while children die around us, but apart from that I'm fine, I feel like saying but I don't. Instead I smile slightly. "Better now."

"Oi. Come on. We have kids to kill," Tiger calls from the Cornucopia.

I look at Chris. "Your fine," he whispers. Then he stabs the sword behind me, killing a fourteen year old that was about to stab me in the back. I spin around, staring at the boy that falls to the ground, almost feeling sorry for him, but Chris nudges me and I'm back in the zone. Spinning round I head towards the Cornucopia. With Chris got my back, I manage to make it there in safety. Inside I load up on knifes, find spears and even pick up a bow and quiver. Better that then leave it to waste. I even find some survival packs nearer the back. We should be fine. Chris calling my name lets me know I'm safe to emerge. "District 4. Didn't do much killing there did you?" says Marla.

"I was checking out the packs," I say.

"Besides, didn't you see her kill the boy from 6?" Chris lies. I'm not entirely sure I've convinced them, but I don't have the chance to worry. From round the Cornucopia a girl emerges and no sooner has she raised her knife than has the spear Chris handed me entered her body. Butch nods in approval. Even I'm impressed. That, and totally horrified, but I hide that as best I can.

"Wow 4. Didn't think you had the guts to do it," she smirks. The cannon booms twelve times. Twelve of us gone, twelve to go.

There's a silence as we look from each over to the blood stained grass, to the bodies and back again. "What do we do now?" asks Vine

"We should hunt," Butch offers.

I don't know if he means for food or tributes but I don't care. I have other plans. "Shouldn't we collect the supplies, stop the others from getting them?" I ask.

The four of them turn to me and stare. Clearly none of them had thought of that. Especially not Marla, who seems like she's going to explode. Instead she manages to stay under control. "Fine. You two stay here. We'll hunt. Doubt you'll be of much use anyway," she snaps and that's when I know that I'm not excepted as a Career like Chris has been. In fact, the only reason I'm here is because he insisted I was.

He doesn't seem to mind about staying either. "Sounds good. Someone's got to guard the food right?"

More like me. Someone's got to protect me. We watch them leave the clearing, giving them thirty seconds to properly enter the woods, and as soon as they're out of earshot Chris pulls me in for a hug. "Bruises, bumps, cut? Tell me now," he demands.

"Not a scratch thanks to you," I smile coyly.

"I could say the same. So we're all okay?" He asks and I realize he's discreetly asking about the baby.

"Absolutely," I say, trying to hide my smile. He's not doing this just for me. He's doing it for my baby.

"Listen, go you think we should tell them?" he says. The cameras will defiantly be on us now. What's the big secret we're hiding? I know what Chris means. The baby. And the Careers.

"Not yet. It can be our little secret," I smile. I lean in and kiss his cheek. "Don't be afraid to show the audience that you love me though," I whisper.

"We better get to work. The sooner we get done the sooner you can rest," he says.

So I nod and begin gathering up the weapons and backpacks scattered around the cornucopia. I push them to the back of the horn. And then I have a look through. There's many flasks but no water, and one or two packs of food though not enough to keep us alive. I quickly gather the flasks and then gather some of the flasks in one bag. "I'm going to fill the flasks up by the lake," I say.