When We Drown~Finnick Odair {Book 1}

Chapter Sixteen

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A light breeze rushed past Autumn as she and the rest of the tributes were elevated into the arena. At first glance, the landscape around them was beautiful.

Autumn was in a trance as she stared at the dam holding back rushing water in the distance and the forest around them. At least that means there's water there. But it could easily be poisoned.

The climate was warm and the sun was high, although it was still mid-morning. That means the Game Makers would probably speed up the days.

Autumn was one of the first tributes to break out of the trance of the beautiful arena, focusing back on the cornucopia before her. Finnick warned her what would happen if she ran into the bloodbath, but he also warned her what would happen if she left the arena and not grab anything.

Autumn looked for Tyson, who was thankfully only a few tributes away from her. When he looked at Autumn, she nodded her head towards the woods, reminding him of their plan. He would run towards the woods, maybe grab a backpack, and hide until she got out of the bloodbath. And if she didn't, Tyson would run.

The clock reached ten seconds and Autumn knew she had to make a decision. All of the careers were in the other side of the cornucopia, besides Arnis who was off to Autumn's right. But he wasn't a big problem. If Autumn could get to the front of he Cornucopia before the other career tributes and grab some supplies then run away before they even saw her. She was fast. She could do it. And she would.

Autumn went into a haze as the clock reached zero. She forced her legs to take her off of the pedestal as she ran for the Cornucopia.

Autumn saw Tyson run off towards the woods out of the corner of her eye, a backpack in his hand. She continued to run, teaching the Cornucopia in a matter of seconds. She blocked the screams of death and terror out of her mind as she looked around for knives or a spear. Autumn quickly decided that she just didn't have enough time and needed to grab what she could.

Autumn grabbed the first backpack she saw, watching as the girl from District Eight ran toward her with a knife. Autumn swung the backpack, hitting the girl in the head with it before Autumn slung it over her shoulders. She then rushed over to a rack of swords and grabbed one, taking it for Tyson. The girl from District Eight was now getting up, continuing to attempt to attack Autumn. Autumn swung the sword, cutting the girl across the stomach. Blood squirted from her wound and the girl fell to the ground.

Autumn started to rush past the girl's body before noticing the black vest that was thrown from the girl's hand. She must've not had enough time to put it on. Autumn noticed the handles of throwing knives and daggers sticking out of the pockets of the vest. Without a second through, Autumn grabbed the vest and ran.

She ran faster than ever before, one hand holding the sword and one gripping onto the knife vest. Autumn had almost made it out of the circle of pedestals that the tributes had stood in only moments ago when she was tackled to the ground.

Autumn fell onto the grass with a body on top of her, the sword thrown from her hand. Autumn was rolled over onto her back to see the girl from District Seven on top of her.

"I guess we're not friends anymore," Autumn spoke as a way to distract the girl for a split second as her hands wrapped around the handle of a knife from the vest.

Autumn thrust the knife upward and into the girl's neck, slotting her throat. The girl's body fell off quickly, making little blood spill on Autumn.

Autumn stood up and grabbed the vest, running off into the woods, not noticing the sword she accidentally left behind.

Autumn felt relief as she broke through the tree line of the woods, but she didn't slow down. She would meet Tyson half a mile into the woods, straight ahead from the way he had entered.

When Autumn was sure she had ran the half mile, she stopped and sat down on a log, catching her breath. She and Tyson had decided that she would not yell for him but he would come out and find her.

A whistle echoed through the trees, making Autumn smile. She whistled back. Autumn watched as the body of Tyson climbed a small way down from a tree and came to meet her.

Autumn stood up, quickly, dropping the backpack and vest on the ground as she pulled the boy into a hug, squeezing her arms tightly around him. He returned the hug, just as relive to see her as she was to see him.

When they broke, Tyson noticed the surprisingly small amount of blood on Autumn's clothes, which now were on his due to the hug.

"You're wounded?" Tyson asked, suddenly very worried. Autumn smiled and shook her head.

"No. This is the girl from Seven," Autumn explained. Tyson nodded, surprised that Autumn had killed someone so soon.

"Did you grab a sword?" Tyson asked. Autumn shook her head once again.

"I had one and the girl from Eight attacked me. I killed her with it. Then the girl fro Seven attack and I lost it. I had to leave it behind, I'm sorry," Autumn apologized. Tyson let out a small laugh.

"I'm just glad you're alive," Tyson told her. "Sword or no sword."

Autumn smiled at the boy once again, trying not to think about the two lives she had just taken. They both had attacked her first, which brought her comfort. But Autumn knew the seriousness of what she had just done. She had killed not one but two children and she was a child herself. But Autumn supposed that that wasn't true. She was no longer a child. You can be a child if you have blood on your hands.