ODDS

the dark

𝓜𝔂 𝓮𝔂𝓮𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭 against the blackness of the air. The wind howled in my ears, deafening and freezing. Snow piled the ground and fell quickly from the sky.

They put us in a blizzard.

A freaking blizzard.

I let a curse slip under my breath as I pulled the beanie lower over my face. My ears stung already from the cold. My cheeks began to numb and my nose began to run. I probably looked like a little six year old. That is, if the cameras of the Capitol could even catch me through this storm. Surely they could. What would be the point of this if they couldn't?

I heard a faint boom, then another. Perhaps someone had stepped off of the pod too early. I strained to listen for any sign that the games had begun. I couldn't see or hear anything. The snow gathered in my eyelashes, making my eyelids heavy. I sniffed lightly, hoping to fix at least one of my problems.

I stood for what seemed an eternity, waiting. When would it be safe to move?

I saw something in the corner of my eye. Did they put bears in this arena? Would we have to worry about being killed by animals, too? The figure came closer, still blurred by the snowy storm which surrounded us.

Before I could realize what was happening, the figure launched itself at me. Being thrown off of the pod by the sheer force of the figure, I fell face first into the snow. I lifted my head, already miserable and hating the snow, and spit the dirt and snow combination that had made its way into my mouth. I turned to face the figure, still laying in the snow. I came to notice the clothing, the furry lined parka, and dread made the pit of my stomach collapse into an abyss.

Another tribute.

He stood tall, most likely a foot or so taller than me. His arms were thick, full of muscle. He was probably used to tearing little girls like me apart. He was the boy from Two, which made it all the worse.

A knife came down towards me, and I escaped from my daydreams to realize he was trying to kill me. Of course he was. We were in the arena, after all. That was our main function at the moment.

I rolled over to the side, missing the blade by a mere few centimeters. He was good. If I wanted to live past the first day, I would have to be better. He came down again, using more force this time. He missed and fell over, burying his own face into the snow. I realized that he wasn't used to the terrain just as much as I wasn't.

I forced myself up, my knees feeling the weight of the swirling air. I stumbled through the snow, trying to lose Two in the snow. I fell onto my knees, losing what little balance I had.

That's when I felt it.

A hot, searing pain tore through my left shoulder.

I cried out in pain, though my voice couldn't have carried far through the thickening swirl of weather. I looked back to see my coat torn and a knife covered in blood sitting on the ground. The boy from Two was dead. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but then I saw her.

It was Opal.

Her face held a murderous look, and her eyes shone with anticipation.

I had to move.

I stood, the pain of my wound making its way to the back of my mind as I continued to tumble through the storm. There was no way I was dying by her hands, and I knew that fighting her in my weakened state would only be beneficial for her. I had to lose her now, or I would be dead in seconds.

"Hey, Mermaid girl!" She called, taunting. "I told you not to show me up! Now you're going to pay!"

She trekked quickly through the snow, gripping a knife in each hand. I wished that I'd heard the sound of the canon, starting the games. Maybe then I'd have a better advantage. I wondered how Opal had even heard it. Had some of the tributes been granted a pod closer to the Cornucopia?

A knife flew past my head, nicking my ear in the process.

I had no idea where I was going. I couldn't see much further than three feet ahead of me, and I worried that I would fall over a cliff or something. What if I ran into another Career? What would I do then?

I fell to the ground again, the force of something behind me sending me flying. I heard a grunt and a yell. I couldn't tell if it was from me or Opal. We had made it to a downward slope, and we were picking up speed. I felt my body tumble and hit the cold, hard ground. My body felt flimsy, as if it had already given up the fight. My brain fought against it, screaming at my body to do something. Anything.

Eventually, the slope evened out, and my body came to a halt. I let out a small whimper, the fire-like pain of my wound gaining strength. I knew I had to get up. If I didn't Opal would kill me without so much as a flick of the wrist. I would be dead.

Despite every aspect of my body being plagued with pain, I stood, stumbling a little. My mind became fuzzy as I looked around me. The snow hadn't stopped, but it wasn't as thick as before. I turned my head towards Opal, but she was nowhere to be found. Secretly, I felt relieved. I would have to face her eventually, but at least I had some time. Maybe another tribute would get to her before I could.

I gritted my teeth at the fact that I was hoping someone would kill her. The Capitol had already turned my mind into a killing machine. I was doing just what they wanted. I didn't have much of a choice, I tried telling myself. Regardless, I felt guilty. I felt like a piece of me had been taken away.

I trudged through the knee-high snow, sniffling once again. I couldn't get used to this weather. I found myself missing the shores of District Four more and more. I missed the sun on my back, the heat burning my skin red. I missed home.

I fell for the millionth time in the little time I spent in the arena. This time, I had no energy to lift myself up again. I laid in the snow, my eyes heavy from the debris. My muscles ached and my shoulder twitched. I had never felt so much pain or been so tired.

I looked up, the sky clearing for the first time. The dark clouds disappeared as if they had never been there in the first place. Blue painted the sky and the sun came out, rays reaching my numb cheeks. I thought I heard a bird chirping in the distance.

And I let the abyss of darkness take me once more.