The End of Innocence: The 72nd Annual Hunger Games

The Attack and the Plan

A sudden tug on my neck drag me from my slumber. My eyes are stuck together, and I'm still half asleep. I have no clue who's the source of the tugging. The tugging gets harder and soon, whoever it is, they grab my hair, dragging me across the top of the hill, scraping the back of my neck against the sharp grass.

Even half asleep, I know not to scream out. There could be more in the area and it'll only draw more attention. One of my hands is grabbing the forearm of the person dragging me, and my other is rubbing my eyes to see properly.

I reach for my knives in my belt, but they're all missing. I begin to kick the culprit in the leg. They're a huge black mass over me, and I still can't make out who it is. I kick again and that stops them for a minute, helping me regain a bit of composure about the situation. As soon as I open my eyes, my vision goes black yet again when I'm hit in the head with something heavy.

I drop to the wet grass and hit my head hard off the ground. My vision is going fuzzy, but I can still see a little bit. It's early morning, but the dark sky still covers the Arena.  I look up and see the silhouette of a person looming over me. I immediately crawl away and over to where I see Lesa and Ion sleeping.

On all fours crawling over to them to wake them, a kick goes to my belly. Fighting in silence is the best option going through my head right now, screaming will just be worse in the long run. It annoys me that I can't see. Adrenaline surges through my veins as I try to make sense of this chaos.

I spot Lesa's machete only a few meters away from me. I know I can get it if I run. As the figure lingers behind me, I get up and ignore the pain in my head. I don't know if they want to fight or their aim is to kill me instantly. I pick up her machete and turn to slice the person attacking me in one fluid swipe. Instead of the machete slicing through them, I get stabbed in the left shoulder, it's not too deep, but it's a shock nonetheless.

This, I can't ignore and I let out a sudden yelp. I turn to Lesa and Ion in hopes they heard me, but of course they're fast asleep, I am very sure the last few days have taken a toll on their energy levels. "Fuck off!" I snarl at the person, to which I get no reply. The pain is getting too much. Blood trickles down my jacket and I feel the warm liquid oozing down on my skin towards the ground.

This time, I'm too angry to even care or to get stabbed again. Adrenaline comes over me and I begin slicing the air until I hit the person in the chest. They drop instantly in defense. The sun is rising over the treetops. 

I prance over to them in a quick run and kick them straight in the face. They let out a little wheeze, and from the way I hear it, it's a boy. That's when I realise I didn't spot Coil asleep or on watch. 

"Coil?" I ask, and back away holding my shoulder. This only gives him time to stand up and run at me, but I have the upper hand against a little knife which he holds hard in his left hand.

I raise the machete behind my ear and slice diagonally across his body as he advances towards me. Unfortunately, it doesn't penetrate his jacket, it only stops him for a few seconds. I kick him in the groin as he tries to recover, making him drop yet again. He begins to crawl away. Once he reaches the corner of the hill, I run at him getting ready to push him down it. 

But of course, running at someone isn't the best idea. He raises his legs and takes my arms, taking me down with him. We begin to roll and roll down the steep hill. He bites my fingers as we tumble, drawing blood. I try to pierce his body with the machete, but the pain in my fingers stops me. I can't think properly throughout this ordeal, all I know is I want him dead.

When we roll to the banks of the river, he stands immediately, leaving myself still lying down. He raises his hand, getting ready to come down on me with the knife but I'm quicker, and he knows this. I grab the machete and slice his right leg, ripping the fabric and drawing blood. He drops into the muddy banks of the river. This time, he is the one who screams. This gives me time to stand. I scream loudly as I shove him with all my might in the water to stun him.