Author Games - Ghost Town

Task 4 - Female Entries

Caella Sillows

I had taken the deaths of my allies harder than I expected. Since Nettie died I had barely stopped crying and I hadn't spoken to any of my allies. I don't know why I felt so disturbed and upset by her death, I wasn't close to her. But it was always nice to know that someone would be there yo protect me. I mean, Flora and Clement and Clara were still here, but the numbers of our alliance were slowly beginning to decrease.

For the first time that night, I looked up to see the sky. The capital anthem began to play loudly, hurting my ears. The first face to flash through the sky was Vernettia, which caused me to burst into tears, almost like her victims would burst into flames. I ignored the weird glances my allies shot me. I would miss Nettie dearly.

The next death Phineus, the boy from district four. He was Clara's district partner but I doubted she cared about him. I watched the sky coldly, shivering in fear as a chilling breeze wrapped its icy fingers around my body. The next face to show was Jadine, the girl from district eleven. I didn't really care about her, to be honest. But it pained me to see another young girl dead- what if that young girl was me? I didn't doubt that I would soon be a face in the sky, whether I liked it or not.

The final face of Crescentia from district twelve closed up the faces of the dead. Four died today and six yesterday. That meant there were ten tributes dead and only fourteen alive, one of which who happened to be me. I crawled underneath the cornucopia as Winter took watch and fell asleep. For possibly the last time.

I woke up to light streaming through the cornucopia. I yawned and sat up, cracking my fingers and stretching my arms. I glanced around. Clara and Flora were playing playing some kind of game that involved slapping each other's hands and a rhyming song. I never knew Flora had a bright side.

Clara waved at Winter and I. "Come join us!" She invited. Winter sighed and walked over to sit with the other girls. I followed and Clara adjusted us into a small circle where our fingertips touched. Flora quickly adjusted my hands so my palms were facing up. Clara and Flora slowly began to sing some song that I could hardly remember.

"Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky,

Where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky,

With a hip, hop, hippity, hop,

Leap off a lily pad and go KERPLOP!"

The sang, and at the end Clara slapped my hand. "If you are the last one at the end of the song and your hands get slapped you are out." Clara explained, before adding; "But this was just a practice round. I started to get the hang out it as we went around in a slapping circle.

"Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky,

Where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky,

With a hip, hop, hippity, hop,

Leap off a lily pad and go KERPLOP!"

I slapped my hand across Flora's, and she stood up with a sigh before stepping back to watch as we continued our game happily. Flora had changed, some other side of her was showing. Maybe she wasn't such a gloomy, dark murderer after all.

"Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky,

Where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky,

With a hip, hop, hippity, hop,

Leap off a lily pad and go KERPLOP!"

Clara slapped her hand across mine but I managed to slap Winter, who slapped Clara again just as the song ended. With a sign Clara stood up and walked over to sit with Flora.