𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬; 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫.

chapter 9 - Ally

"Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin."

My first instinct is to shield my eyes from the bright sun that floods my vision as I'm lifted out of the tube. Sixty seconds. That's how long I have to decide what I'm going to do. Sixty seconds until we're set off of our metal plates and the games begin, truly.

Sixty seconds to get a scope of the tributes that surround me. To decide whether I will run into the cornucopia , a golden horn that spills with weapons and supplies. Food, water. Things that could mean the difference between getting through the first night or having your picture projected into the sky.

The supplies decrease in value the further away from the horn you get.  For instance , to my immediate left is a ball of plastic material , what I think may be a sleeping bag. Littered toward the entrance are packs, and the horn of the cornucopia spills with weapons. 

Laying on top of a crate of sorts , probably filled with food, is a small wallet looking thing , with small pointed tips poking out of it. A sheath of throwing knives, at least ten. That's mine, I think. It's bait. They're probably for the girl from Two , who threw knives like she'd being doing it her whole life in training. They want me to head in there, it's a trick.

I look back to the projected timer above the horn, thirty seconds. 

I look at the tributes on either side of me. On my left is the injured boy from Ten , and my right is the fox faced girl from District Five. I know that the boy won't be able to go after me if it comes to an altercation. I don't trust the red head. She was too sly in training, showing no physical strength but managing to score a nine. I'll try and grab a pack, then sprint to the woods that surround us.

Fifteen seconds , and I'm preparing for a short sprint to an olive green pack about twenty five metres away in front of me. It's fair in size , and has a wide width. Maybe there's a knife in there.

Ten seconds , and I spot Marvel across from me. He has a smile on his face , like he's about to compete in a school sports event and not a death match. Glimmer has the same look on her face as she stands beside the small girl from District Eleven.

Five seconds , and I take a deep breath.

The gong sounds , and I make a dash for the green pack. Once I reach it , I waste no time in slinging it over my shoulder, sparing a millisecond to get a sense of any signs of danger. There! In the distance , sprinting into the forest with a black pack is an unmistakable flash of auburn. Good , Tiernan is safe for now.

A silly mistake , really, to waste even a split second of time looking at him, as the girl from Ten, a tall girl with straw blonde hair, reaches for my pack on my shoulder. I struggle for a moment , before she splutters blood all over my face. Behind her is Marvel , fresh spear in hand and he's running toward me. Everyone around us seems occupied , and I stumble as I try to get to my feet. The girl from Ten fell on top of me. 

Before Marvel throws his spear directly into my stomach, his arm shifts up. The sound of a body hitting the ground behind me is enough to bring me to my feet in no time , as the boy from Five lays with a spear in his heart. I look to marvel quizzically. He throws three knives to my feet. They're like the first three I shot in training.

"Run now and I'll tell them you got away." he says , a snarky smile on his face.

I don't say anything back, just scoop up the knives and attach them to the loops in my belt. I sprint with every bit of energy my body can manage , and reach the edge of the forest without looking back. I go until the trees have concealed me , putting enough distance between me and the tributes hacking away at one another as I can, before switching to a steady jog that I can maintain for a while.