Of Victors and Tributes

Chapter 11: District 10

A sharp cry escapes my victim. My vision adjusts and I find myself facing the younger of the District 10 tributes. The sword I hold has struck Briar, the 12-year-old girl from 10, in the neck. Surprised by what I've done, I drop the sword and it slips from her neck, causing a spray of blood. She clasps her hand over it, and so does Colt, who she seems to have allied with. I had no idea it was them. I guessed that it was a Career searching for a kill, but no. It was only a child. Two children. The blood streams in between her fingers, dripping down her hand and wrist. She can try to stop the blood flow, but she won't survive for an hour. These are her last moments, and I brought them upon.

Colt is too focused on her, so I decide to make my escape. I grab my sword and slip away in near-silence. I'll leave it to the Capitol to decide why I didn't finish off Colt while I had the chance. They can figure that Briar won't survive. As I'm running in the opposite direction of my thicket, towards the mountains, I hear the loud cannon that signals the end of Briar's life.

I can't pretend that I knew her, but I do know that she was young. She had a family. And I killed her. I killed a twelve-year-old girl, and my entire family watched it happen. How will I look Lacey in the eyes on the day of her first reaping, knowing that I killed a girl her age years ago? How will Twine accept me as his brother after I've conceded to the same game that got our brother killed? But that's only if I make it out of this arena without succumbing to guilt. It's not as if we didn't watch Weaver kill a tribute or two three years ago. None of them were young, though. His age or older, and he did so in sadness. In fear.

I'm tired, but now I have a new enemy. Colt. He had nothing with him, that's true, and he's four years younger than me, but I killed his friend. If he gets a weapon, he'll come for me. Only if he has the mind to, though. If he's anything like the Careers, he will be right on my trail. But if he's like me, he'll turn around and steer clear. But he's seen me kill his district partner. Hopefully he'll understand that he has no chance. I'm bigger, I have a sword, and I have supplies necessary to save myself if it comes down to it.

Exhausted and having come to some sort of dip in the ground with giant walls of rock behind me, I decide that I've found a nice place to rest. I need to sleep, if only for an hour, or I will have no energy to go gathering tomorrow. I burrow into somewhat of a cave, pull myself into a slightly uncomfortable position behind a group of rocks, and use my bag as a pillow. The Capitol will be whispering of me now, my family horrified by what I've done. What can I do besides try to sleep?

I awake to a bird chirping outside of my cave. It whispers to me, almost a warning. Are there other tributes outside? No, I don't hear anything moving. For now, I'm safe. I get up and stretch out my limbs, which are sore from my awkward sleeping position. I find that I have a few minor cuts on my body from fighting through the woods and the thicket that was almost my safe place. I sit down on the ground, sword beside me, and eat the rest of my bread. I'm not hungry. I force myself to drink some water, then pack everything up again, and stand once more.

Tomorrow I will go back to the field and hope that the only things I find are my allies. I will follow along my stream, and if I come across none of them then I will go to the other streams I saw. The Careers will have nestled somewhere near the Cornucopia. If I were them, I would be inside that little circle that's surrounded by fire. That way, they'll know who's coming and they can be ready. Getting rid of them will be hard. Hopefully they'll get rid of themselves first, or the other remaining tributes will.

I carefully and quietly exit my cave. When I am sure no one is around, I check my watch. According to the watch, it's 8:36, but I don't know if the time is correct or not. I must have gotten a few good hours of sleep. I wonder if anybody was killed during my rest? Maybe one or two. Even though it's a child's life, it would be good for me if one of them died. Then I wouldn't have to do it, and the Gamemakers would leave us alone.