The Wunder Games 21

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Are you here? 

Are you with me as I walk alone?

I promised I would carry you home.

And home you will be. Soon you shall see.

But you're going to have to go, to go without me.

I'll meet you there soon and you won't be alone.

May the arms of an angel carry you home.

I remember my mother singing these words when my father died. He had no funeral. He has no grave. His name is not even carved in a rock somewhere out there. She just stood out on the beach, with sand beneath her bare feet, hair whipping in the whistling wind, facing the salty sea. And she sang.

I learned these words not too long ago. My mother had never intended to teach me these words. But when she became lonely for Father, she sang this song while cradling me in her arms. We cried together. This happened so often that the words were hammered into my head forever.

I sang this song everywhere I went, as it was the only song I knew. The other girls at school heard me in the bathroom, crying and singing for my lost father. They tormented me for several days.

"We heard you!" they would say, "We heard you singing about dead people!" This gave them another excuse to think I was possessed and trying to recall ghosts from their graveyard. 

I walk alone now, missing Brit's company terribly. Her cannon has sounded and by nightfall, her picture will appear in the sky. There are three things on my to-do list.

1. Find Hunter and makes sure he knows every detail of how Brit died. 

2. Find Ilslie, who apparently is with Daze and Karine. Get Karine out of the arena alive.

3. Kill the president.

The third one will come in time. I'll begin with goal #1.

I eventually find my way back to camp. No traces of Hunter remain. He must not be back yet. Tonight, he will figure out Brit has passed away. I set down my quiver and Brit's pack. What roots are left are gone by evening. I haven't eaten in a while.

The sun is beginning to sink deep behind the ocean when I hear footsteps. I hide my belongings, string my bow, and dunk behind an overgrown wood fern.

Hunter bursts out into the camp. His shaggy hair is sticks every which way and his jacket is dark with dirt. His pack looks fairly empty, slung on his back, and he holds Karine's slingshot in one hand. He looks around, confused.

"Hello?" Hunter calls out into the wind, "Brit? Olivi? Anyone here?"

"Might not want to talk that loudly," I say, coolly, stepping from my hiding place, "Someone could hear you."

"Olivi," Hunter breathes a sigh of relief, "Phew, I thought no one was here. Where's Brit? I've got the medicine. I did it, Olivi! I found the Careers' camp and stole the medicine right under their-" He falls silent at my expression.

"She's not here, Hunter," I explain, "She's gone." Hunter looks shocked.

"What?" he whispers, "She's gone? No, no, this can't be true!"

"You'll see," I say, pointing to the sky. Dark has fallen and the Capitol anthem sounds loudly throughout the arena. Hunter and I look up into the night. Pictures appear. The first photograph is the girl from District Three. About seventeen years old with long auburn hair and pale skin. She must have died during the earthquake.

Hunter sobs when Brit's picture lights up the sky. She is not smiling in the photo. Then the Capitol seal appears and it's done.

"So it is true," Hunter croaks, "Did she die in the earthquake? Or was it her wound?"

"Neither," I tell him, "We escaped the earthquake. The Gamemakers sent birds after us, though. Huge black birds with razor sharp bronze beaks. They---they attacked Brit and killed her."

"Did you even try to save her?" Hunter growls.

"No, I didn't!" I snarl, sarcastically, "Of course I did, you jerk! Why would I let her die? I just couldn't help her on my own! I needed your help! And where were you in our time of greatest need. Off on an adventure! Safe and sound as a skunk!"

"I would have come back if I could!" Hunter yells at me, "I would have! This isn't my fault! It's yours and the Capitol! The Capitol for sending those stupid birds at her and you for not defending her! You don't even care that she died! You wanted to work alone from the first day! You let her die!"

"You're an idiot!" I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, now. I don't care if the Careers hear me. Let them come! "You're an idiot to think that I would let Brit die! I loved her more than you! You're the one who left her for four days!" 

"I left her to try and save her!" Hunter roars, "I'm the one brave enough to go out and find the medicine! Don't you dare talk about me like that! If you don't like what I did, maybe you should just get up and leave!"

"Maybe I will!" I shriek, "Maybe I will leave!" I grab my quiver and snatch the slingshot right out of his hand, thrusting Brit's pack into his arms instead. I storm off into the woods. Hunter never liked me. He never liked Brit either. My mind is too clouded with hatred and regret to think about anything else. 

I'm such easy prey, stomping through out the woods, making a louder racket than a hunger lion. The Careers could swoop down upon me and easily take me out any minute now. It's late at night, now, and I feel like I'm about to fall over.

I keep on walking, kicking leaves and pebbles, muttering under my breath, until sleep overtakes me in the gnarled roots of a mighty oak tree.

Are you here?

Are you with me as I walk alone?

I promised I would carry you home.

And home you will be. Soon you shall see.

But you're going to have to go, to go without me.

I'll meet you there soon and you won't be alone.

May the arms of an angel carry you home.

Father floats through my dreams tonight. So do other rebel soldiers. They all look so somber and solemn. I look through the crowd and spot the boy from District Ten with short dark hair and ashen skin. I see the girl from District Three with her auburn hair swirling in the chilling wind.

This is everyone killed at the Capitol's hand. Millions of souls stand before me. Their wails ring through the night.

"Brit!" I call out, "Brit! Brit! Where are you?"

"I am here, Olivi," she says from behind me. I turn around.

"Brit," I whisper, "I'm so sorry."

"Do not regret, Olivi," Brit tells me, "You have nothing to be sorry for. And do not blame poor Hunter, either. He is still my friend. He loves me and tried to save me."

"No!" I scream, "He's not your friend! He ran away from danger!"

"He did not know what was to come, Olivi," Brit explains, "And neither did you. It is only the Capitol's fault. Many more children will die before they are crushed." She begins to float away, singing my mother's song.

"Come back!" I call after her, but all that responds to me are ghostly wails and faint singing.

I enter the real world at the crack of dawn. The fake arena sun is just peaking over the trees, blasting pink and orange colors across the sky. What a beautiful fake sunrise.

It's time to be moving on now.

******************

Dear Reader,

Thank you for putting up with the sadness. I love you all. Keep reading! It will get better and better, I promise! Are you noticing several similarities between the first and the seventy fourth Hunger Games? I hope you are!

Thank you again,

glimmerolympian8

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