Wasteland - The 89th Hunger Games

Beyond The Hills - Day One Part Two

The way back from the cornucopia was allot harder than it was to swim there. Luckily, Alfie had managed to get there before a career, and had managed to escape just as Carter arrived. The two bags and the axes weighed him down as he waded through the lake in the direction that his plate had been, the two had planned for something like this, as the gong went off Pablo was to try and find Alfie's plate as fast as possible, and luckily that had been right next to each other. Alfie finally made it to the edge of the lake, and as he was climbing out, Pablo was by his side, taking one of the backpacks from his shoulder. Once Alfie was out of the lake, he quickly unties the pouch of shurikens from his belt and passes them to Pablo, who quickly attaches to his belt. Before Alfie can say anything, Pablo sprints off towards the green hills that rise up behind them, Alfie pauses for a moment before sprinting after him. Alfie had no idea how fast Pablo actually was, by the time Alfie reached the base of the hill, the smaller boy was already at the top, staring over at whatever was on the other side. As Aflie scrambles up, he hears Pablo let out a groan of frustration.

"You better look at this," Pablo says. Alfie doesn't reply as he nears the top of the hill, and appears beside Pablo with a confused expression, but gasps as he sees what lies behind the green hills. Death. That's all Alfie can think to describe the land. There was no plant life, there were dead trees everywhere, and the dirt was gray and covered in ash, the place looked like a fire had raged through it. A faint fog sat amongst the trees, and the thought of going down there made Alife shiver, but he had no choice. After a few moments of waiting, Pablo began to walk down the hill, and as the two crossed over from the green grass to the grey dust, Alfie felt an instant change in temperature. It wasn't pleasant anymore like it had been in the centre of the arena, instead it was muggy. The air tasted fowl, and dust rained over him whenever he or Pablo took a step. The arena must be massive, because the area in the centre was as big as some arenas that have been used in the past. The two boys walk in silence for what feels like hours to Alfie, but each time he looks up at the sun he sees it has barley moved. Maybe he should have tricked the careers into thinking he was one of them, right now he just wished he could return to the cool air of the centre area. Alfie knew that they would have to at one point, he doubted there was any source of water here, and even if there was it was probably poisonous. Why couldn't they be in an arena where there was a forest, or an ocean. The odds just weren't in his favour.

Three canons had already fired once Phoenix finally spotted Yasmin wading through the water towards him. He almost jumped for joy, but the sound of a fourth canon brought him back to reality. He quickly rushes over to the edge of the lake, and helped Yasmin out. She passed him a bag, and then chucked him a pouch which he hoped contained throwing knives, but he didn't bother to check.

"Ready?" He asks Yasmin as he slings on his backpack.

"Yeah, let's go, it won't be long until someone like Marge or Henry are here," She says, and Phoenix nods. The two quickly race towards the green hills, running through a large cluster of trees as they do so. Phoenix wonders how large the arena actually is, the centre area is huge, and who knows what lies beyond the hills. As the ground starts sloping up, Phoenix can't get rid of the feeling something bad or sad is happening, and his thoughts are confirmed when the fifth canon fires. This pushes Phoenix forwards, and he picks up his pace and speeds ahead of Yasmin, making it to the top of the hill. His hopes of finding a good place to rest die as he sees the dead waste land that lays before him.

"Whats up?" Yasmin asks in a concerned tone as she scrambles up the hill beside them, and Phoenix hears her breathing slow as she sees the wasteland. There was no way they could survive in that.

"The trees," Yasmin says excitedly, and Phoenix glances at her in confusion. The trees were all dead, what could she be talking about. He sees her facing back towards the green area, and Phoenix realizes she's talking about the small cluster of trees at the foot of the hill.