The Incoming Storm: The Tale of the 325th Hunger Games

Chapter 29

 "WAKE UP!" Ross screams, "CAREERS!"

My one machete is in my hand in seconds, luckily I was sleeping with my backpack on and my other machete was clipped to my belt so I don't need to reach for it. Pix and I scramble to our feet. Coming up the rocky shore of the beach are Jib, Phlo, and Clementine. We have seconds to act.

We hustle out of the hideout and dash across the rocks, the careers are close behind. Ross, who was leading the group, stops. "Go!" he yells. He clenches his machete and sprints towards the careers.

"What are you doing?!" I shout, but it is too late. Jib and Ross swing their machetes, there is a shower of blood, and both drop to the ground. In one fateful motion, both boys had struck each other's necks. Pix grabs my hand and pulls me into the woods. I have trouble moving my feet properly. I can hear Clementine and Phlo behind us, taunting us.

My feet move, jumping over logs and rocks, untangling themselves from bushes, but they don't feel real. The explosions of blood are etched into my mind. Two cannons fire back to back indicating both Ross and Jib are dead.

Pix keeps holding my hand, her grip is surprisingly strong. She darts around trees, I realize she must be zigzagging and changing directions in order to lose the two careers. Eventually, I don't hear Clementine's laugh anymore, and I know we must have escaped. We slow down to a jog, not daring to slow down too much. Ross is dead. Ross is dead. Ross is dead. Spoola is dead. Ross is dead. Bran is dead. Ross is dead. Every one of my original allies is dead.

By the time we stop running the sun is high in the sky. The ambush was several hours ago, but my heart is still hammering in my chest. It all happened so fast.

Why did Ross do that? He could have left both Pix and I behind. He didn't even know Pix. I'll never know, but something tells me that he gave up when he saw Spoola's portrait in the sky.

We find a small cave to rest in. Pix holds both of my hands tight, it reminds me of something Spoola would have done. "Are you okay?" she whispers.

I nod silently. "We lost the first aid kit," I whisper a few moments later.

"It's okay, we'll be okay," Pix says, her voice quivering.

At some point, I doze off, and when I wake it is late afternoon. Everything from the morning feels like it happened in a dream, one of the awful dreams I've been having recently. Pix sits up against the cave wall, machete in hand. "How do you feel?" she asks.

"Not great," I say, pulling myself up against the wall. "How long was I out?"

"Few hours," Pix says. "Nothing happened though, and I could tell you needed the sleep."

"Thanks," I say, reaching for my bag. Pix and I go through our supplies, the only other things missing are the plate, glasses, and silverware. Not the worst loss.

"It's been 14 days in here," Pix says. I stare at her. Two weeks in the arena. It feels like a lifetime since those first few days since then 19 people have died.

"So who's left?" I say, "Me, you."

"Phlo, Clementine," Pix adds.

"And Lex," we say together.

"I wonder what she's been up to," I say, "She must be pretty good to survive this long." During the interview, she said she was going to camouflage, and she must be doing a pretty great job.

"Who knows, the arena is huge, she could be anywhere," Pix says.

"I'm surprised the Gamemakers never forced her to interact with anyone," I say.

"You dunno that," Pix says, "She might have snuck out of the encounter or something."

"Smart," I say. I wish I could have avoided some of the encounters I had during these games, I wouldn't have had to kill Adore or watch Bran fall into that waterfall.

"So that's three groups, us, the careers, and her," I say.

"Yep, close to the end," Pix says.

"The careers are going to be hunting us," I say, "We should hunt them back."