The 150th Annual Hunger Games

Death Toll (Day Nine)

Janice Senn's P.O.V. (D3)

I gasp as I open my eyes and jolt into a sitting position. The whole room around me is pitch black, but a thin ray of golden sun seeps through the edges of the slightly-opened door. I feel around for something to help pull myself to my feet.

I find the wooden bench and slowly stand up, looking around in confusion.

Where's Harper? What happened? Why was I passed out?

Oh...right...

My heart rate quickens as I frantically check my surroundings for any signs of whatever it was I saw earlier before I passed out, but nothing is there...no one.

The light from the doorway reaches the shining metal of an object in the corner. I walk closer to investigate, only to find that it's Harper's trident.

"Harper?!" I call out, starting to feel panic settling in as I check the house again.

I run to the door and throw it open the rest of the way. Immediately, I notice a limp figure on the ground in the middle of the street. A few arrows are strewn about, drops of blood stain parts of the ground, and the dirt has been brushed around from a struggle. I run up to the figure, realizing it's Harper. Blood trickles down his temple where a large bruise has formed. Other than that, he looks unharmed.

I shake him gently several times before he finally stirs. His eyes open slightly, but open the rest of the way when he sees me. Instantly, Harper sits up and looks around, tensing up as if he was preparing to continue the fight.

"They're gone, Harper," I assure, "What happened?"

"It was Wes and Emma... They were going to break into the house, so I attacked them..."

"And?"

"I managed to get an arrow in Wesley's shoulder, but Emma took over before I could finish him. He won't be able to do too much though, I'm sure. They left a good bit of his arrows behind too, so they might come back for them..." Harper explains as I help him to his feet.

"You're okay, then?" I ask, looking him up and down again. He nods and wipes some of the blood off his face.

He looks me over now, "Are you okay? You were out cold all day after whatever it was that happened this morning. I think I deserve an explanation."

I look at the ground, my eyes shifting around uncomfortably as I recall what happened, "Harper...I saw something, or rather, someone..."

Harper frowns, "Who? Kara? If you're worried about her, don't be. I promise I won't let her get near you."

I shake my head dismissively, even though Kara does unsettle me, "No, I saw...Steve."

Harper raises his eyebrows and repeats, "Steve? But-"

"I know, it doesn't make sense. He was just standing there, in the middle of the street, staring at me."

"Did he say anything to you?" Harper questions.

I shake my head again, "No, but it couldn't have been the real Steve. It just couldn't have. He looked dead, emotionless, detached. But there was something about it that froze me. I couldn't pull my eyes away. It petrified me, I guess. After he disappeared, I felt like I had been drained of my energy, and it was so surreal that it made me black out."

Harper pinches his chin with a frown as he takes in everything I say.

"It must be some sort of an illusion the Gamemakers created as a special attraction to make things more interesting. It's the only reasonable explanation, unless that is, you truly did see the ghost of Steve, which is highly unprovable. I guess we'll know more about it if I end up seeing someone. For now, I suppose you should try to forget about it. It's just a trick to throw you off your game, to make you lose concentration, and that's the last thing we need when we're this far through the Games. We need to keep our guards up now that we've entered the point where mainly the big threats remain."

I nod as he talks, "Okay..."

He sighs, "Okay, well let's rest up. Tomorrow could need a lot of energy. And there's no need to wait up for the Death Toll, nobody died today unfortunately. I believe this is actually the first day that nobody has died."

I shrug and start walking back to the house, where I set up our sleeping bags as Harper gathers the arrows Emma and Wesley left behind.

I'm almost asleep by the time Harper comes in, but I hear him get settled in his sleeping bag just before I close my eyes.

~~~~~

Hey, sorry for another wait on this chapter. I didn't have a lot of time this week to get it done because I managed to get a little behind in school when I was sick, so yeah... I know, I know, it definitely wasn't worth the wait, but I promise action (and possibly another death) in the next chapter, so that's something to anticipate and be anxious about. Eheh

So anyways, this is the unedited version, but you could still vote if you actually want to. I can understand why you wouldn't want to if you don't lol, so it's okay!

Feel free to correct any mistakes and leave feedback!

~MK