The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Torn Apart

Maia Kentner, 16, District 5 Tribute

I stand there, horrified, as the knife digs into my flesh. I can feel the blood pouring down my face, but I'm in too much of a state of shock to do anything. We're the final two. Me and Afya. The last remaining tributes in the arena. This fact only came to light less than two minutes ago, but already, Afya's turned on me.

"Afya, what was that for?!" I screech, ignoring the blinding pain as the knife falls to the ground. Considering the situation, it would probably be best if I pick it up, but I'm paralysed by the shock of all this.

"Look, Maia," Afya says coldly as she retrieves her knife, "I don't know about you, but I want to come home. And we both know the only way home is to kill the other. Please don't take this personally." As she finishes that statement, she rushes at me with the knife, and I turn and run, tears flowing down my face.

This can't be happening; we're allies. And close allies like that. I glance behind me, and see that Afya's catching up with me with remarkable ease.

"No!" I cry as she attempts to plunge the knife into my back. But before I am caught by the knife, I throw myself to the floor, barely avoiding rolling down the mountainside to my certain doom. I quickly scramble to my feet desperately, and sprint forwards once more, Afya right behind me. I can't keep running forever, though, and looking at the continually increasing amount of flowing rivers of molten rock that run around like veins on the mountainside, I won't have many places to run to.

Suddenly, a brassy sound explodes throughout the arena, and I duck to the floor in terror, thinking it's the volcano exploding once more. But a melody echoes out, and an eerie light shines down on us, contrasting from the glow of the rivers. It's the anthem of Panem, and I turn to look up to the sky. It seems that Afya's doing the same, which makes me safe for the moment, but I gape in horror at the amount of tributes that perished today.

Both from 1, both from 2, the girl from 3, the boy from 4, both from 6, the boy from 10, and the girl from 12. Eleven. Eleven of us have died today. That's more than the bloodbath itself, and by sunrise, a twelfth face will join them. But I don't know which face will be joining them. I don't want it to be me, but the thought of Afya dying does not sit well with me.

I hear the sound of footsteps rustling the grass, and turn to see Afya running towards me. I don't have the time to escape from her grasp, and I'm thrown to the ground. But alongside my fear, a crushing feeling in my heart is also prominent. She betrayed me.

"We were friends!" I yell at Afya as she pulls out her knife, and begins to press it against my throat. Wasting no time, I headbutt her, and she recoils in pain, rolling off me. I quickly climb to my feet, looking at Afya. But I feel immense guilt from doing this to her, and I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from apologising. Instead, I remorsefully look away, and run down the mountainside, towards the trail.

As the soft grass becomes hard stone, I begin to realise something that I never in a million years thought that I would think of. I have a huge chance of coming home. But at the same time, there is no way that I could ever kill an ally. It's just wrong, and I don't think I would be able to live with the guilt.

Taking one last look at the mountainside, I notice Afya running down. My eyes widen in horror, and I begin to run down the trail, extremely thankful that she doesn't have her bow any more. If she had that, I would have been dead the moment the last three cannons sounded out. Picking up my pace, I run down the path faster, when I notice a corner. Quickly, I dart around it, and to my surprise, find a small cave.

I leap inside the small cave, and curl up at the back as Afya walks past it. She didn't notice me. I let out a sigh of relief, but as soon as I do, she's at the mouth of the cave. She runs in, and pushes me to the back wall, tears staining her face. I struggle to pull out my knife, but when I finally get it out, I slash it across her arm. She screams in pain, and staggers backwards, and she draws her own knife, swinging like a maniac as she tries to get me. I nearly get out of the cave when she slashes the knife across my back, causing me to fall to the floor in agony. I can actually feel the blood pouring from the wound.