Against All Odds (A Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

15. It's Only Just Begun

15. It’s Only Just Begun

       The gong sounded immediately one second after Claudius Templesmith’s voice echoed in the arena. The gong released twenty-two tributes from their platforms.

It was a madhouse. All of us bolted from our platforms as if they were to detonate at any second. I heard Johanna’s voice barking at me: Grab the pack closest to you and make a run for it! Don’t stick around unless you have a death wish! Immediately I thought back to Bernard and how he so easily walked off the platform before the sixty seconds were up.

            I sprinted to the pack closest to me only to find Jillian had snatched it. To hell with that, I wasn’t going to back away from her. She had no weaponry on her. I could just tackle the kid and rip it from her grasp.

That’s exactly what I did.

As everybody fought close to the Cornucopia, I lunged for Jillian, taking her out by the legs. She yelped. I scrambled over her and snatched the bag. She grabbed my leg tight; I tried to shake her off. I ducked as the District 8 girl tried to grab my head in a headlock. I kicked Jillian in the face and got her off me. It wasn’t even five seconds later that I was forced to the ground and rumbling around with the District 6 girl. She had a mad glint in her eye as she rustled for the pack I just claimed. I scratched her face with my nails. She screeched like a madwoman and clawed at my face in return. I kicked her off me and quickly got on my feet again.

 I hightailed it for the woods…but not before Kaya had a shot at me. She gave a battle cry behind me, and I ran even faster. I never turned to look at her, because I knew she was pursuing me. Her voice was the loudest amongst the battle cries, the yowls of pain, and the screams of terror. It was like a war had erupted in the arena; the only difference was that there were no guns allowed.

            I leapt into the bushes of the woods, not looking back. I had actually made a cleaner getaway than I had thought I would. It wasn’t that hard to get away with the backpack. I didn’t hear any pursuers, but I wasn’t about to slow down or stop to see if they were being stealthy. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

            “You’re mine, District Seven!” Kaya roared. Her voice certainly could travel.

I didn’t hear Kaya come after me, so I assumed she turned her attention to the other vulnerable, stupid tributes that thought they could salvage something from the Cornucopia. Good, get distracted by them. I’ll lose you.

            I ran like hell, tripping myself by accident. I scrambled, the pack beat against me as I ran. I huffed; I had to slow down soon. If I used all my energy now, I’d have none left should a tribute come and pounce on me when I’m catching my breath.

After another few minutes of running, I convinced myself I had run pretty deep in the woods. I panted, bending over to catch my breath. The pack hung from my arm. I could barely hear war sounds now. I had run far already and didn’t even realize it. Better see what’s in the pack. Hope there’s something useful, I prayed. If there was something, I’d have good luck. I got lucky in getting away with barely a scratch on me.

Well, that’s not true—the District 6 girl gave me a few scrapes on my cheeks, but it wasn’t like she managed to draw blood or anything. Of course, I guess I hadn’t really attracted much attention to myself since only a few tributes tried to attack me for a pack.

I sat on my knees, unzipping the pack quietly, as if someone happened to be nearby and heard me. The pack wasn’t totally worthless. I managed to gain a canteen of water, some fruit, and a black blanket. That was all that was inside the bag. Of course, I got nothing useful like a hatchet or something that I could use as a weapon, nor did I get medicine in this pack in case I had a nasty cut or sting. Then again, I bet medicine was a rarity in a backpack when the Games first start out.