The 25th Hunger Games (fanfic)

Chapter 32: The Games

Author's Note: I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry for not uploading! I'm in Canada right now and have a 5 and 3 year old cousin, so I rarely have time to just write a chapter. Tomorrow, (July 5). I'm going to a cottage for a week, so I can't upload. But when I get back in late July, I promise to finish the book and upload a lot more frequently. Dedicated to WritingCraze. Thanks for voting my chapter! PLEASE VOTE!

I stare up at Gret’s eyes, only a few inches from my face. My fate, whether I die or survive, rests in the Lovebirds’ hands. I watch as she evilly grins down at me, slowly pulling something out of her back pocket. Oh, why was I happy that they survived?

The sun glints off the metal blade, and before I can react, the knife is centimeters from my head. I try to sink into the ground, but I can’t anymore. I close my eyes, not wanting to witness my own death. I try to make myself appear back home, back in the town square, even back to my Capitol dorm, but nothing works. I’m still under Gret’s will. But, to my surprise, she begins to laugh.

“Gotcha!” she shouts, laughing. I stare up at her as she buries the knife back in her pocket. I’m still stunned, still trying to understand what is happening. Cody suddenly runs over to us, high-fiving Gret.  He’s also laughing his heart out.

“You should have seen your faces!” whoops Gret, bending over with laughter. Suddenly, I realize that they were playing with us. They were joking, just for a good laugh. Conflicted emotions run through my body, battling within me. I’m angry at them, for scaring me to literally death. But, I’m more than relieved to be alive. I even touch my arms and face, telling myself I’m not dead. I gasp for breath and sit up, confused.

“Why didn’t you kill us?” I ask, utterly confused. Why would they just let us live? Sweat is dripping down my face, making it hard to think clearly. Is there something I’m missing?

“Isn’t it obvious?” states Cody, no longer laughing. “I mean, if we were to die, then we want you to win.” I just look at them like they’re crazy. But I keep my mouth shut to prevent any death. I should just be happy that I’m still alive.

“So then why did you chase us for so long? Now we’re lost!” I spit into their faces, angrily. I realize that they could kill me right now, but I’m exhausted and sweaty and panting and confused and I just have to spit out my anger at them. This takes them aback, and they look around.

“We wanted to team up with you,” mutters Gret, looking ashamed and embarrassed. She looks up at me, with big eyes filled with sorrow and grief, just like a puppy begging for food. How can I kill that face? I sigh and make my decision.

“OK,” I sigh. “Well, we’ve got to find shelter. It’s past noon by now, and we’re lost in these orchards.” I trail off, back from the way we came from. The entire way, we’ve been cutting turns and changing directions, making it impossible to find our way back home. I trudge along, the others walking behind me. I search the ground for footsteps, without luck. I groan as I remember that we deliberately did this, trying to escape. Well, our plan backfired. Now we have to go out of our way just to find our own footsteps.

Finally, about 10 yards away, we spot a few footsteps. They’re fairly large, so I guess that they’re mine. I begin on my way, following my own footsteps. Nobody says a word, they just walk behind me, silently. But if they had said a word, they would have been able to tell me that I was following the wrong footsteps. But how were they supposed to know these footsteps weren’t mine? Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. Little did we know that we were walking into the Careers’ camp.

We only make it five minutes before we suspect something is wrong. I've been following what I think are my footsteps, but if that's the case, where are everyone else's? I don't see Veronica's, Crystal's, or the Lovebirds' anywhere.