| FINALE | Interactive Hunger Games 6

Night Three: Undetected

- R A E G A N - S P A R K S -

     I ultimately decide on using a boat to get to Reine. Now, that was a very noisy option, so I'd need a distraction and some ready running feet. This beat swimming or steal thing across, though. I only had one problem - how to drive a boat in the first place. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

     I sneak to the back side of the island, back towards the bridge and into a small hut. These little houses lined this island. They were pretty cozy, honestly - if we weren't in a death game.

     There was a boat where I just acme from, so I could run straight there and be undetected. As long as this distraction was good enough, I could really outmaneuver the Careers. That would be insane. If I was already being sponsored a PDG for simply surviving, then I actually had good chances.

     I knew exactly what to do for a strategy, as well. I found it bewildering that people didn't know this very simple skill, and yet I knew it like the back of my hand. Fire-starting. A nice, thick smoke column would certainly draw the Career's attention.

     I grab some small pieces of woodwork inside the hut, setting it into a pile and readying my priming stick. Rubbing it back and forth, a spark is eventually caught on a small piece of grass. From there, it begins its spread.

     That was the easy part.

     I go as fast as I could now, sneaking around the edge of the island back to where the boat was. By the time I made it, I could just make out the Careers stalking towards the fire. They surely thought they'd get someone easily.

     I enter the boathouse quietly, hopping onto the boat quickly. It was a relatively simple craft, with a centrally located console and small, uncomfortable seating ringing the outside.

     The key was already in the ignition, so that was another thing I didn't have to look for. I knew this next piece would have to be quick. But, I wonder for a minute - why not just use the bridge now? They were distracted, after all. I push it out of my mind, though, deciding I needed to be committed to my decisions.

     I fire up the boat, and instantly hear a small scream from the far side of the island over the motor. They absolutely knew. It was time to go. I floor the craft, and lurch backwards.. that's not right. In my panic, I'd forgot to select forward.

     I hear crunching towards the back, and I push the button to switch to forward motion. It lurches forward this time, but yet again, something was wrong. Now, I could hear water in the back that was coming in, but it was such a short distance that it didn't matter.

     No, the nose was rising much too quickly. This boat was on a 45 degree angle, and I could see nothing of the incoming terrain. I let go of the throttle, hoping not to launch myself off by crashing into the mainland.

     There were no brakes to a boat, though. I knew that much. I stand up, letting the nose drop a bit. I look back, seeing the two Career men standing on the edge of the water. I had outrun them, at lea-

     The boat slams into the shoreline, and I fly forward off of the craft as it tears up the boardwalk and goes underwater. I'm barely able to see it, though, as I fly through a wooden wall of a hut.

     When I land, my body is in all kinds of pain. I cough, cringing at the cuts I'd gained. Getting oneself to launch through a wooden wall wasn't easy, I could see. It takes me a minute or two, but I manage to stand up, trying to get back outside. I still somehow had my supply pack, and hadn't broken any bones as far as I could tell.