Humanity- A Hunger Games fanfic

Part 16- Solo

In the morning, we go up the mountain range. We have food, sleeping bags, water, a tent, and we're ready. We go up quickly at first, but slow down as we approach the top. It's steep-ish, and pretty high. It's not massive, though. In comparison to other mountains, anyway. Not that I've seen any in real life, just on TV when Mother turns on the news whilst she cooks. There's mountains behind what was District 13. We see it on the news sometimes. Bombed. Always the same angle. It's probably the only angle of District 13 that looks okay. Plus I can see the mountains. I could never imagine something so high, made by Mother Nature, compared to the flat District 4, but I'm here now, I guess. I could never imagine being so far away from the sea, so high up from the ocean, the big, gaping ocean, so full of possibilities, yet I never thought what the world far up there could be like. Is it just blue sky forever? I'll never know. This mountain is the closest I'll ever get.

We don't stop, and eventually we get to the top and we see the whole arena. I feel like I'm flying, but a different sensation from the flying feeling of swimming. Behind the mountain is a massive lake and it glistens like glitter. Clear, silver. There looks like some people down there, but we'll kill them, easy. We run down diagonally as it's less risky. We get down and fill up the 3 empty bottles and look up to see the boy from 12, the girls from 11 and 5, and the menacing face of Titus's enemy.

We just invaded Dominic's camp.

We run towards each other and Evangeline sends an arrow into the heart of the girl from 11. Boom. Rose... Wenda... It's not time to think about that. Dominic throws a spear towards me. I duck, and Titus runs to pick it up. He sends it towards Dominic. He ducks it, making the spear enter the head of the girl from 5, who was unluckily behind him at that time. Boom. Then Dominic gets Bruce in the chest.

The two boys run up the mountain as quick as they can, but they may as well have walked. We're all distracted anyway. I sink to Bruce's side, repeating his name over and over. This feels like I'm losing Casp, losing a brother. I feel myself choking up, feeling dizzy. Nothing feels real, but knowing it is weighs me down,

"Brianna, hey, it's okay. I signed up for this. I volunteered,"

"But-"

"No, I'd rather me over you. It's not your fault you're here. Just, when you go back, hug my family for me,"

"I'm not going back,"

"Yes, yes you are. Just float me in the water, like they do at home, okay?" He holds my hand tight, until his grip loosens and I'm holding a dead man's hand.

This can't be real. I hate this place. I didn't know it would hurt this bad, like losing a brother. All i can do is just repeat his name over and over. It's the only word i'm capable of saying right now

We carry him to the water. Mars hugs me, like I did for him, and he kisses the top of my head. We can't stay here. It just feels wrong. Besides, we're done here. We camp out at the edge of the woods. The seal lights up the sky. Bruce, the girl from 5, and the girl from 11. We're down to the final 8. They'll be interviewing our families now, and we can expect a feast pretty soon.

~

Final 8. It's now or never. If I don't leave, we may be the only ones left, and I don't think i have the strength for that

"Can I leave? Go on my own? It's just, what if we're the last left?" I ask in the morning,

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mars asks, staring into my eyes,

"I'm sure,"

We get a sponsor gift of another tent, for the other three, and they take the extension too. We split all the supplies in half, as there's three of them, and I collected most of it,

"Goodbye, 4," Mars hugs me,

"Don't die, well, try not to," Evangeline smiles,

"If we all die, you'd better win. If Dominic wins, I'll never rest in peace," Titus jokes. They set off for the cave. We have a non verbal agreement not to kill each other, i just know it. But i'm still on my own.

I go to the stream and decide to stay in the woods. I don't do anything much the whole day. There's 8 left. 6 days. Tomorrow makes a week in this damn arena. The first couple of days didn't feel like the arena. I wasn't scared. It just felt like a camping trip with friends, but now, the full reality has just slapped me in the face.

I have no idea where Dominic and the boy from 12 are. But if it comes to it, Dominic will kill him. The other three are going to the cave, and I'm here, so that makes 6. That leaves the pair from 7. I rack my brains trying to remember them. They're twins, 17 years old and handy with axes. I think they got a 7 or 8 in training. In the bloodbath, I think I saw one of them swiftly decapitating someone. Come to think of it, why didn't we think of them sooner? I remember them going towards the mountains, so the boy from the second day must have gone into their territory. Who knows where they are now, though. We should have focused on them.

I'm completely alone. No one with me. And then the full force of the past couple of days hits me. Bruce and Em are gone forever. No one will ever see them again. Their short existence is eradicated, no coming back. I break down crying. How could I have been so naïve? This isn't a game. It's a slaughterhouse. It's an arena. We're all supposed to die in the end, they don't really care who, it's entertainment. I hate the idiots who created this. I take my anger out on a tree as the sun sets. All I have is knives so I throw them, swing them. It doesn't help. The faces of Bruce and the girls from 5 and 11 show up in the sky and I get into the tent with my sleeping bag.

I'm woken up by twigs cracking. I don't know how far away they are but i won't take any chances. I fold up the tent and shove the sleeping bag into my bag and head up the easiest tree I can find. I'm just off the ground when the people come to where I was. I climb up, not looking back, and sit my bag onto a fork in the tree. I sit on a sturdy branch and turn back around, peering through the leaves to see who it is. It's the boy from 12 and Dominic.