the games ~ kiribaku

[9] forest fire.

12 days, that's how long we have been trapped inside this hellhole. The squirrels have run out, and there are none in this area, either. We've been checking places for food and it feels like we're starving to death. Water is on the low, the river has somehow disappeared, and I have no idea what to do. Currently, I'm coughing like crazy, my mouth is dry and my stomach is rumbling. Mina is crying with no tears while her stomach aches for food. A tribute died last night, the District 12 girl, Ochaco Uraraka. It seems that Mina and I are next. Ochaco Uraraka is the only one who has died this past week, it seems that the tributes aren't moving.

I hear a bell, a weird bell sound. When I look up to inspect the sound, there is a sponsorship box falling from the sky. Yamada, that amazing bastard. I smile and grab the box from the tree it landed in. I cracked it open to see a bowl of soup and a large flask filled to the brim with water.

There was also a note. 'You got this, Eijiro. Don't die on me.'

I put a thumbs up to the nearest camera and created a fire. Mina was sleeping next to me. I cooked the soup until it was warm and shook her awake. I shoved a spoon into her hand and kept mine. She looked amazed, and I smiled at her reaction.

"Yamada got us a sponsor," I said.

She smiled and started eating the soup with me. It tasted amazing and my stomach was clearly happy with the food. I grabbed the flask and slowly took off the lid, taking a big sip. I gave the rest to Mina, who gulped it down within a second.

"Awe man, that was great," Mina said, holding her stomach and smiling.

The canon fired once again.

'The fallen' screen had shown up for the first time in a week.

Denki Kaminari, District 5. Death by fire.

Ochaco Uraraka, District 12. Death by starvation.

The District 5 boy was killed by fire? What on earth? It would have said killed by Kyoka Jiro if she pushed him into the fire, so he must have accidentally fallen or something. Mina and I hear a snap of a twig, then a falling tree, then a scream. Our eyes both snap to the forest fire which is quickly spreading and moving towards us. I grab my axe and spear and grab Mina's arm. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to grab the flask, because soon it was engulfed into the fire. We ran for our lives. The fire spread quickly, chasing us down.

Mina fell over a dead branch, hitting her head as she did so. I tried to pull her up, only to realize that she was unconscious. I had to think fast. I grabbed Mina and slung her over my shoulder with all the strength I could muster. I ran, slower this time, carefully and skillfully dodging the trees. An arrow hit the tree that I was going to pass. It landed in front of my face, so close that it could have taken my nose off. I looked towards the direction of where the arrow was fired, only to see a puff of gelled blonde hair, running away. I couldn't examine the tall boy, I simply didn't have enough time, but after enough thinking, I realized it was Neito Monoma, the District 2 boy who must be very angry at the fact Mina killed his teammate.

I took off running once again, the fire on my tail. Mina was still over my shoulder, and she was beginning to stir awake. I focused on her, a big mistake really. I tripped over a branch, much like Mina did. I felt the heat of the fire come closer as I got up. I dragged Mina away from the fire. Blood dripped from my forehead as the fire approached rapidly. As I walked backwards, pulling Mina, I fell over the final branch as I got to the bloodbath. I was out in the open, but I was partially safe. 

I sat up quickly and pulled Mina once again, out into the open, far away from the dispersing forest fire. Mina's legs were burnt, she couldn't get up, let alone walk. I picked her up bridal style, looking around quickly before realizing Kyoka Jiro's eyes directly on me. My heartbeat had risen, and I ran into the nearest forest I could.

"Get back here, shit head!" She yelled.

I hid Mina under a crooked tree while I ran. I couldn't run properly carrying her, so I had to let her go and distract Kyoka Jiro. The pink-haired girl breathlessly called to me, holding her arm out. She didn't want me to leave her, but neither of us had a choice. After about 5 minutes of running, I ran out of breath. I carefully took breaths as I pulled out my axe, examining the unexplored territory.

A canon went off.

It was as if my soul left my body. I ran back in the direction I came, ignoring my lungs screaming for air. When I got to her, she was laying weak over the body of a girl. A girl with black hair and thin features. District 3's Toru Hagakure.

"Holy shit, thank the lord you're alive!" I exclaimed, helping the weak girl to her feet.

She pushed me and held her blade to my neck. "You left me to fucking die."

"No! I promise that wasn't what I was doing. I was going to run off and distract the District 6 girl from finding you. You're too weak to run and I can't carry you forever!"

She eyed me suspiciously before groaning and falling backwards. She slumped against the tree and held her burnt legs. They didn't look pretty. The burns had wrinkled her skin. They were dark red and there were yellow bubbles in certain places.

"Come on, let's go and get water," I say.

I go on my search for water with Mina limping and holding my shoulder. Looking in every direction, I eventually found myself looking at a waterfall. There were rocks around the pool of water that was a crystal blue, birds chirped over the sound of crashing water and everything looked so magical. Mina flopped next to a tree. I grabbed my smaller flask and walked towards the fascinating place. After filling the smaller flask, I took one last minute absorbing my surroundings. Mina seemed to be crawling and scrambling away. Confused, I turned around to get up, only to be met by Kyoka Jiro, holding a sharp sword to my chest.