Seducing the Careers

Winner

I wipe off my tears and take Clove's knife so no one else would.

I wish her body would be honored, but I know the Gamemakers are just gonna pick up her body. And right now, I don't have time to stay for long.

I kiss her on the forehead, grab the medicine I needed, and hobble back to our cave. Our cave. I guess it's just mine now.

I manage to get back before the others get to the cornucopia.

I pace around the cave, trying to not cry and to focus myself.

Suddenly, I hear a cannon go off. I wonder whose it was.

I guess I'll find out tonight when I see their face in the sky. Along with Clove's.

A parachute floats in from outside the cave. I open the package to find a bottle of water.

But as I look outside the cave, I see nearby trees burning.

Beetee must've seen that I hadn't noticed so he timed this parachute to get my attention.

"Shit" I mutter to myself. They were trying to push us into the center.

The Games had gone on long enough and they needed a winner.

I grab all my things and abandon my cave.

Knowing Cato, he'd be in the Cornucopia, a familiar place. Also knowing him, he probably rallied the others to take me out.

Not that he needed to. Anyone could probably take me out right now because of my leg.

My suspicions were proved right when I saw Cato, Lumen, Foxface, and the guy from 10, together in the Cornucopia.

No Thresh. He must've been the cannon I heard earlier.

I hid in the forest outside the cornucopia, waiting for them to go to sleep. They were probably planning on hunting for me tomorrow.

Then once they got me, Cato and Lumen would undoubtedly kill the weak links and then fight each other for the winning spot.

Unless of course, I did something. Something now.

Night comes around and Clove's face flashes up in the sky.

As I look up, I try to remember every detail on her face. So that my memories of her would stay forever.

Sure enough, Thresh's face comes up after hers is gone.

After a while more, I see the group sleep. They have the district 10 male keep watch, probably because he was the "weakest" and they didn't want anyone to kill them in their sleeps.

Maybe if I got lucky, 10 would fall asleep too. Like Glimmer did that first day. When the attacker Jackers killed her and nearly killed all of us.

I wonder if there are more nests around. I could use them to kill the others. Tracker Jackers are deadly.

I think back to history class. During the First Rebellion, the Capitol used Tracker Jacker nests like land mines, strategically planting them around the districts of Panem.

This makes me remember the land mines we'd been warned about before the Games.

There were land mines under each platform at the start of the Games. They killed on impact but were disarmed once the initial countdown ended.

I go around to the other end of the huge metal Cornucopia, where 10 couldn't see me.

I go to one of the platforms and pull a serrated knife out of my bag. One good for digging.

I don't think about the consequences. About how the Capitol might punish me or my family. All I think about is staying alive and winning this stupid game.

So for the next hour, I quietly dig.

I dig three up and analyze them.

I hadn't worked with this specific make of mines, but it seemed to resemble the mines I'd learned about and worked with in 3.

It had a U-shaped safety clip, fitted around the pressure plate.

To rearm it, I just had to remove this clip and then rotate the arming switch so that it's set over the head of the fuse.

When pressure is applied to the plate, the spring and its firing pin are driven down into the detonator, which then detonates, firing a booster charge beneath the fuse, which then sets off the main charge, likely some sort of mixture between TNT and RDX.

The only question now was how I was gonna set them off.

Sure I could rearm them, but I can't bury them back into the ground. And just out in the open, no one's gonna touch them.

I had to trigger them myself. But from a distance.

I figure that I can probably shoot my knives into them to set them off.

With the sun nearing its rise and the sound of animals closing in towards the center of the arena, I decide I have to make my move now.

I shoot my digging knife into the forest to lure away 10, who was annoyingly still awake.

While he leaves, I quickly place my mines near the tributes and scurry off.

I reach a safe distance, but I think 8 heard me running.

I dig through my pack to find knives I can use when I come across something I didn't think could ever be so useful.

Dry shampoo.

Insulting gift to get in this arena, but useful nonetheless. Flammable.

It's a basic gas law that an increase in temperature causes an increase in pressure.

All aerosol cans contain flammable chemicals that can ignite in the pressure filled, hot canister, turning it into a bomb.

I scramble for a match and a piece of rope, which I then use to secure the can onto a knife, so the aerodynamic knife can allow the can to get further.

To think that it would all come down to a knife throw.

I look over to see 10 waking the others, saying he heard running.

"We're gonna have some fun before we kill you!" Lumen yelled out, knowing I could hear him.

I knew I had to hurry.

I prepare my stance, knowing I needed power to get the can close enough. I remember meeting Clove and training knives with her, and a tear rolls down my face.

"Okay, Clove. Let's see if I still remember this" I whisper.

I strike the match, light the can on fire, and then throw the knife.

It lands near their feet.

For a second, nothing happens. I fear it didn't work.

"You misse—" Cato begins taunting me but is cutoff by the can suddenly exploding.

The explosion causes a large burst of air which immediately sets off the pressure plates of all the mines, which subsequently go off as planned.

The sound of their cannons going off were drowned out by the louder sound of the explosions.

In a matter of seconds, everyone was dead. Blown to pieces. Everyone but me.

All I can hear is a high pitch ringing.

Until a feint voice arises beyond it.

"Ladies and gentlemen. May I present the winner of the 73rd Annual Hunger Games, Antoinette Hart"