Annie Cresta: 70th Hunger Games

Chapter 1: I Am A Victor?

"Stop!" I shout, and try and yank myself free. "Oh, god! Please, stop!" I'm being hysterical, my chest feels weird, and my head is pounding. The tribute holding me, Shine, won't let go. And Samantha, the tribute from 2, is holding Merrick, my district partner.

Merrick means 'protector of the sea'. He's only twelve. Samantha whips out a sharp blade. My eyes widen and I pull and try to wrench myself from Shine's grasp. Samantha just laughs, and, fast as lightning, slices her knife deeply into Merrick's neck.

And now I'm screaming my head off and tears pour out of my eyes as blood rushes out of the wound. It's embarrassing, because Merrick isn't acting as crazy as I am, and he's the severely injured one. He's going to die. I can't stand this.

"STOP!"

Shine's grip tightens. And to my horror, Samantha pulls her sword back and forth through Merrick's entire head. It falls to the ground, and my eyes widen, for this is the most horrendous thing my eyes have had the displeasure to see.

"Are we going to kill her now?" Samantha asks.

"Nah, she'll just commit suicide 'cause of the stupid kid," Shine says, and they both laugh. She lets go and I fall to my knees, into a pile of blood on the gravel surrounding the Cornucopia. Merrick's metallic-tasting blood splatters my face. My hands go to my head, which is pounding. I'm hearing voices screaming around me, but it's not real. And when the cannon finally goes off, I squeeze my eyes shut tight.

The legs that once could support me go weak instantly and I fall into this huge pool of blood. I must be mad, because the world is rumbling like an earthquake.

Yes, I'm insane.

After a minute, the shaking hasn't stopped. My eyes fly open and I jump to my feet. And when I see Shine trip to the ground a hundred feet away, I know this is real. A crack opens just next to me, and my toes fall into the crack.

I'm shaking so bad that I trip over a rock and start to fall into the abyss crack. Screaming, I know nobody will come to help me.

This is when and where I'll die.

My arms reach up and I grab the sides. But it's not enough. They've grown weak from starvation, and they won't be able to support me much longer.

I can do this. I know I can.

Push, yourself, Annie! You've always been a fighter! Never give up!

And, even though I've lost my fight, I push and heave and manage to get to my feet. And that's when the crack starts getting bigger as the still shaking earth gets worse and worse.

What I'm doing now, I don't know. Around the arena there are screams of, "RUN! RUN!" Feet scramble and trip. And that's when I feel something cool and salty running around me, wiping flawlessly around my ankles in a splash-splash movement.

I look down, and it's saltwater. Swimming. Swimming. Yes, Swimming. I can do this.

And, as the water gets higher and higher, all I can think of is how there's a very little chance anyone is a better swimmer here than me. It's higher than me now.

"You can do this, Annie!" My father says. "You're three now, it's time to learn how to swim. Just get into the deep water, wave your arms wide, and towards your back, and rotate your feet and ankles back and forth under the water."

"I'll try, daddy," I say. I hold my breathe.
"Don't jump in without breathing out your nose first!" He warns as I go under. And I wave my arms and push my feet back and forth, and I'm doing it, I'm swimming. I'm finally worthy of being in District Four.

The memories surface my brain, and I push my feet back and forth, and wave my arms towards my back. And, of course, I'm swimming.

"Shine!" I hear, and a large splash. A cannon goes off. The earth shakes and shakes and refuses to stop.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It's like a riptide in the water. At first I try to fight it, just nature to do so.

"Annie, this is lesson 2. When you're in a riptide, don't fight it. It'll just suck you away and under. Just stay calm."

I close my eyes. I've been in riptides before. Yes, I'm good at being calm. But for some reason, this isn't the same. Why? It's the arena. I'm not in an ocean in District Four, I'm in an arena where people could grab my ankles and drag me under and force me to die with them.

"The mountain!" I hear a cry. "Get to the-" The sentence gets cut off as the owner of the voice getting dragged under the sea. But I hear paddles that will do next to nothing and maybe even footsteps. Yes, I want to go to the mountain and be safe. No, wait. That wouldn't be safe. The others could easily kill me on land, but not here.

The water rises. I dive underneath and open my eyes. I can make out several bodies on the ocean floor, one of whom belongs to Shine. Being completely honest, this water is at least 45 feet deep.

And finally, more screams. Because the water's reached the highest peak in the arena. They can't run anymore. They have to swim. Which obviously isn't their specialty, because another cannon goes off only a minute later.

My feet want to just give up, to just let themselves sink to the bottom and die, which is better than hearing other children's screams for help, and doing nothing, because it's not allowed and I can't reach them and I just want to help.

Keep Swimming. Paddle harder. Move those feet 2 seconds faster.

I certainly feel mad, and tired. And I'm hating this moment, hating the 70th Hunger Games. And hate is a word I barely use, because I'm pretty much never a hateful person.

But I hate this.

Then another cannon goes off, and I start to cough as I get saltwater down my mouth.

How many more could be left? Not too many, certainly. Is there only one person left besides me? Or what?

My fingers curl and shake, and my feet move swiftly through the water, but I hear no more cannons. Why not? Why not? Is there possibly another person here who can swim? If there is, they can swim pretty damn well.

Trumpets blare, and my eyes widen. I know what this means.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Victor of the 70th Annual Hunger Games, District Four's very own Annie Cresta!"