The Hunger Games- Prim's Story

Chapter 11

We have sixty seconds to wait before we can step off our pedestals. If anyone steps off the pedestal a second before the gong sounds, they'll be blown to bits. One year, a girl from District 5 dropped her token on the pedestal and got blown up. My father covered my eyes but I heard that they had to clean parts of her off the ground. The silver Cornucopia sits in the middle of the field. The supplies are scattered around, with the best being right inside the horn. The value decreases as they get closer to the pedestals, for instance, almost right next to me is a metal water bottle with the cap off, showing no water inside.

The sun shines bright in my eyes and I have to squit to see anything. To my left, there's a huge forest, which offers protection and possible food. There's a huge lake to my right and behind the tributes across from me, I can see nothing. The grass beneath me is beautiful- bright green and healthy. The grass in the Seam isn't like that, we don't get much rain so it grows in small patches, and with coal dust practically infused into the soil, the grass seems grey, much like everything in the Seam. Haymitch says I'm not supposed to run into the middle, I'm young and small. Tributes could either pass me up and have faith that I'll die on my own, or they'll take it into their own hands. What's a small little girl to them? 

I don't have much time to decide. I hear the countdown, and then the gong. I'm momentarily distracted, as if my brain has only now processed that I'm here and that I'm going to die. I jump off the pedestal and grab the water bottle. There's a small backpack, about five feet to my left. Another girl, with chesnut brown hair, is running towards it. She's from District 10 I think, but I never bothered to learn her name. She's closer to me, but I have no time to waver. I started running and I'm going to get it. She grabs the bag and frantically looks around for a place to run. This is my chance, but before I can run at her, another girl, from District 2 throws a knife in her back. She looks at me with fire in her eyes and I think I'm her next target. No, I know I'm next. 

Adrenaline and fear pulse through me as I run for the bag that she's still holding. I grab the bag but the girl still has life in her and isn't going down without a fight. She's scrambling to get up, and I rip the bag from her, which makes her fall back down onto her face. I don't have time to feel bad though, because I have to run. I don't look back and I'm positive someone's right on my tail. I sprint to the woods and run until I can't see the Cornucopia anymore. My legs ache and beg for rest but I can't stop. I cautiously look around and make sure no one's near. I see a tree with branches fairly close together. I can climb that easily.

I climb about thirty feet and settle myself on a branch. I hear bugs buzzing, the leaves rustling in the breeze, and the occasional bird song. I can almost forget that I'm in the Games. I can almost relax. No Prim. Stay focused. The little voice inside of me chides. I can take a good look at the bag now. It's a reddish-brown color, which will be easy to camouflage if needed. I still have my water bottle, and inside the pack is a small black blanket, made from the same material as my jacket, so I assume it might reflect my body heat. It'll keep me warm at least. I have a small pack of crackers and some matches in a box. Not the best, but pretty good. 

I stuff everything back in the bag, not taking the time to fold up the blanket and look with contempt at the water bottle in my hand. It didn't take much for them to fill it with water and put the cap on. It really is just a game to them. I need water, and I didn't stop to look for any while I was running. What if the lake is the only source of water? They do that sometimes, to drag us in, to make us fight. What if they do that now? I have to think straight, or I'm going to go crazy with all my worries. There has to be some other place to find water because when I look down, I see a rabbit poking its head out of some leaves. That cutie has to drink and from what I saw of the lake, I didn't see any animals drinking there. 

It's late afternoon now, and I start hearing the cannons. One, two, three... and so on until they reach eleven gongs. Eleven people dead. Eleven people never to walk this Earth again. Eleven children never see their families again. The thought makes me sick and I have to push it out of my mind. I swing from the branch and climb down. I still don't feel totally safe, but there's no telling if I'll ever feel safe, even a little bit, for the rest of my life. I make my way straight ahead, veering to the side if I hear so much as a rustle. It starts getting dark and I know that the night will be worse than the day. In most of the Games I've seen, the Careers always end up stalking their prey at night, sometimes waking the victim up just to kill them. I'd rather die in my sleep, and I'm sure they would too.