The Second Annual Hunger Games (Book 2)

Eleven

"I- I don't know."

They are both quiet for a moment, their weapons still pointed at each other. "What now?" Terra asks. "Allies?"

"I don't want any allies. There can only be one winner."

She nods. "Right. Then there's only one way this can go." She throws her knife at him and moves to the other side of the fire. He tries to dodge, but the knife cuts his shoulder.

He winces and looks up at her. She has one more knife hidden away and she keeps it that way, instead picking up a stick from the fire. He charges around the fire, but she runs away, keeping it between them. Rendwick starts going one way but turns quickly and catches her in the leg with the sword.

Terra grits her teeth and shoves the stick towards him, burning his sword hand. He drops the weapon and she kicks it away from him.

"No!" he yells.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want that?" She tackles him and they stumble around, getting dangerously close to the fire.

Rendwick finally gathers some strength and pushes her off him and into the flames. She lets out a bloodcurdling scream and rolls out of the fire and into the water. The relief is short-lived; Rendwick is soon on top of her shoving her head under the water. All her air escapes her as she struggles against him.

She pushes him over and crawls toward the land, but her burns won't allow her to leave the water. She rests her head on the dirt and stares at Rendwick as he stands. He quickly finds his sword and points it at her once again.

She shakes her head. "Go ahead," she almost sobs. "You win." He raises the sword for the killing strike, but pauses. "Just kill me Rendwick. You don't have long; someone must have heard that scream. Either I'll die or both of us will."

He inhales deeply. "I'm sorry."

A tear rolls onto her cheek. "You were just playing the game."

He gulps and raises the sword again. She closes her eyes just before the sword is buried into her chest. Rendwick collapses next to her and whimpers. He takes the sword out of her chest then stands. The fire goes out as he kicks dirt into it. Faint voices sound in the distance. Rendwick takes all of Terra's supplies and leaves in the opposite direction.

The voices turn out to be the two tributes from 4. They see the fire first and then the body. Orchid stays back while Yohan inspects Terra.

"Looks like she got burned." He looks at the fire and then back at Terra. "And stabbed."

Orchid studies the area around them and sees Rendwick's footsteps. "That way. He couldn't have gotten far."

Yohan goes to stand next to her, but he shakes his head. "I don't want to chase him down tonight. He's probably wounded. Someone else will find him."

Orchid nods. She must know the real reason he doesn't want to go is that he doesn't want more blood on his hands. She doesn't want it on hers either. They walk away and the camera cuts to Tiberius.

"Well that was very exciting! The tributes have all settled down for the night and you should do the same. Tomorrow morning we'll show any highlights you missed during the night, so be sure to tune in!" The anthem plays and the screen shows the Capitol's seal.

Tullis stands. "Thank you all for coming tonight! We're so happy that our tributes from 11 have made it through the first day!" The room cheers. Tullis smiles. "Alright, have a good night everybody!" The room claps for a moment and I hesitantly join in.

I stay seated as the partygoers make their way to the elevator, a few bidding me farewell. Inala stays seated next to me. Once they are all gone she stands.

"Well I'm probably going to hit traffic, so I'd better head home." She hugs me and whispers, "Hang in there, girl." I nod and she moves to thank Tullis. Then she leaves.

"I think that party was a success!" Tullis says, collapsing next to me.

"I think so too. Good job, Tullis, and thank you. If it was just me... well I don't think they'd get any sponsors."

"Oh nonsense. You know, when I took you to the Twist you were quite a natural with my friends. It's shocking that you didn't have any experience before then."

I smile and stand. "Well, thank you anyway." She smiles back. "I'm exhausted. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, go to bed. Tomorrow we'll have a quiet day, just you and I watching the games. If you want... we can just watch the highlights. They're about once every two hours. I know it brings back bad memories for you." For a moment, Tullis doesn't smile and I can see her eyes clearly. She's from the Capitol, but those eyes hold pain.

I bite my lip before speaking. "Tullis, do you have a husband?"

She swallows. "I did." She tries to smile and hold in her emotions. "He died in the war."

I blink. I hadn't thought much about how the war affected people in the Capitol. I never realized that they lost loved ones just like we did. I look at the ground. "I'm sorry." I see a tear slip from her eye and I almost cry as well. "Goodnight."

I go to my room and take deep breaths. The war was horrible for the Districts, and it must have been the same way for the Capitol. Their men were out there dying; their hearts were breaking with ours. The war didn't benefit them like I always thought it had. It only benefitted one person.

Dane. The man behind it all. The president of a nation divided in two, with cracks on each side. He stands in the middle, unharmed. But he needs to pay. I want to make him pay, but there's nothing I can do. I can't change my plan now. I have to get out of the Capitol while I still can.

Hello! So the first day of the games is over, what did you think? Was Rendwick right is thinking that he can't have allies because there's only one winner? What do you think of the careers being so hesitant to kill people? What did you think of the party in general? And what about Tullis' past, is it right for her to try and put on a happy face all the time? Tell me what you think in the comments, and please vote if you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading!