The 69th Hunger Games

Chapter 7

I awoke to the sound of canon fire. I panicked, checking to see where the trio was. They were still under the sleeping bag, their bodies huddled together. The pain in my knee was back, probably aggravated by the running I'd done. Or maybe almost falling off a cliff. I rubbed it, trying to massage the aching. I wondered who had died. Maybe the Careers started turning on each other. The thought made me smile.

I looked over at the trio again, Termalyne staring back at me. She stood up carefully to not disturb the others and sat next to me. The sun was already up and the woods were getting hot. The Gamemakers were probably turning up the heat to drive everyone to the stream. For all I knew it was the only water source in the arena. Our little shelter was perfect. It was right on the river with one opening that allowed me to see anyone coming near.

If more people didn't start dying, the Gamemakers would have to step it up so the audience wouldn't get bored. There were 11 of us left.

"You stay here." I told Termalyne. "And I mean stay here." I warned; she nodded. I picked up my spears and exited the shelter, checking to see if anyone was around. No one.

I walked through the woods, checking my snares, resetting the ones that had been set off. I caught a squirrel and a good sized raccoon. I started skinning them when someone broke through the trees.

It was the girl from District 3. She was clutching her arm, blood dripping to the ground. She looked at me frantically then down at the knife. She took a step back and stopped, looking behind her. She ran past me and into the trees. Someone was chasing her.

I picked up my kill and ran back to the shelter. I threw the food to the ground, the trio looking at me with scared eyes. I motioned for them to stay quiet, the blood on my hands smudging on my chin. There was running outside, not far from the rocks. They got closer and closer until they were right above us. I held my breath as more footsteps approached. There was a struggle and the sound of gurgling. Someone laughed then walked away. A drop of blood fell through a crack in rock onto my cheek and I wiped it away, disgusted. A canon boomed and the sound of a hoovercraft meant the body was gone. 10 of us left.

"Who killed her?" Termalyne asked.

"Careers." I answered. Then, I got an idea. Maybe I could follow the killer to their camp and kill them before they could kill us. "Can you skin these?" I asked pointing to the kill. She nodded. "Stay here and et the food ready. I'll be back." I grabbed my spears and quickly picked up their trail. I followed them down the stream about half a mile until we reached a clearing. They had two tents set up and all the supplies from the Cornucopia stacked up.

The killer had been the boy from District 3.

Jimmias and Florencia sat around a fire, eating some kind of fruit. Alton emerged from one of the tents and joined them around the fire. He looked as if he had been kicked around; I smirked. They must've beat him up when they learned I was still alive, but why did they keep him alive?

The girl from District 4 emerged from the other tent.

"Only 10 left." Florencia said.

"Only 5 left to find." Jimmias added. I hadn't even seen the boy from District 2. Maybe he was the one the canons fired for in the morning. Or there was the boy from District 11.

I left my look out spot and went back to the shelter. Termalyne had already cooked the food, saving me a good amount.

"I found their camp." I whispered. "It's about half a mile up the stream." we ate in silence, night falling fast. We all sat near the mouth of the shelter and watched as the anthem played and the pictures of the girl from District 2 and the boy from District 11. So he was the one who died. Probably trying to get food from the Career's camp.