Her eyes were fixed on the tree line while her arms pumped at her sides. Adrenaline was a powerful drug and she used it well to pull herself into a large tree.
When she looked out into the clearing her stomach turned.
It was a blood bath indeed. The grass was stained with crimson and limp bodies.
She spotted the careers quickly. They all seemed to have found their weapons of choice as they struck down the remaining tributes.
Eve itched for the spear Marvel held in his blood stained hands.
Clove had knives lining her belt and fingers, expertly throwing them at her targets.
Glimmer had a bow held relaxed in her hands and Cato was twirling a shining sword in his.
It was strange watching Cato kill. Eve knew he could and she knew he could easily. But there was something she couldn't have prepared herself for when she watched his face.
Eve's hands clung tighter to the branches around her as she watched the concentration molded into his features. His wide eyes seemed to gleam as he took life after life.
She couldn't understand how he could do it. She tried to remind herself that he had been manipulated since birth. That he was made into the killing machine she saw now.
But when she watched him strike down a girl with her shaking hands raised over her face, she knew it didn't matter. He was a monster.
The group of four talked loudly amongst one another as they secured the cornucopia.
Goosebumps covered her arms as she heard her name fall from their lips. Their voices were muffled and she wanted desperately to get closer, but fear kept her hidden among the branches.
They were in no hurry to track her down as they picked through the supplies and bodies of those who had fallen.
Eve looked for red hair among them, but found none. She sighed. Both Ethan and Finch must have made it out.
There was plenty of brown hair in the mix, but she couldn't identify any of them as Katniss. She hoped one of them was.
With the career's thirst for blood returning, they all soon ventured into the forest.
Eve waited in the tree for as long as she felt she could for fear of their hasty return. The last thing she wanted was to be caught out in the open field.
Confident the coast was clear, she lowered herself to the ground and with quiet feet she passed through the brush into the clearing.
Her heart was racing as she ran past body after body to the cornucopia. She didn't look at them for fear of having to go the rest of her day on an empty stomach.
She needed to look strong. She got a 12 and if she wanted sponsors she needed to look like she earned it.
In the cover of the small building she felt safe and her hands finally stopped shaking.
She looked past the blood on the walls to the wide array of weapons. The Gamemakers didn't skimp on giving their players options to choose from.
On the floor shining like a silver beacon was a beautiful metal spear. With a smile she picked up the lightweight weapon and thanked her maker.
Feeling light as a feather she turned on her heals, ready to scavenge for more supplies.
She froze.
Any joy she had ever felt in her life faded when she was met with a pair of glazed over green eyes and messy red hair.
Eve barely registered the sound of her spear as it fell loudly to the ground.
"No." She wasn't sure if she spoke aloud as she moved with quick feet to the boy she had shared an apartment with.
A sharp pain spread from her knees as she fell beside him, but she didn't care. She picked up his limp body, setting him in her lap.
Her hand trailed down to the blood covering his chest. It was sliced clean open.
She knew the only person with enough strength to cut straight through his ribs.
"Damn him." She spoke through the lump in her throat. "Damn all of them."
She barely heard the whirring of the large ship as it flew overhead. It pulled her teary eyes from the boy below her and to the opening of the cornucopia as a claw came down, retrieving body after body.
Eve knew she couldn't leave Ethan inside to rot.
With stiff legs she stood. He couldn't have weighted more than 125 pounds and she carried him into the clearing.
She placed him gently in the grass as the ship whipped the air around her. It pushed more hair into her face, but she didn't care.
She closed the boy's eyes and placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. She told herself it was better this way. His suffering was over.
But she knew the truth. She knew he didn't need to die. When she looked at his pale face she understood why her parents did what they did.
She stepped back into the cornucopia as his body was lifted into the blue sky.
She looked through the different backpacks quickly. She wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as she could.
She shoved the best supplies she could find into a single black backpack.
It wasn't much. An empty canteen, a small blanket, a few protein bars, a collapsible shovel, and two knives.
She stilled at the sound of heavy footsteps on the other side of the wall. Her eyes followed along the metal as they ran closer and closer to the opening in front of her.
She took a step back as a boy with dark black hair and pale skin stopped at the entrance.
He grinned when he saw her and light flashed from the axe he spun in his hand.
"Are you gonna kill me?" She asked. If he wasn't a threat she had no plans on taking the boy's life.
His eyes gleamed. "It's either now or later, right?"
Her eyes scanned the room for her spear. It was laying on the floor farther than she could reach. "Right."
His neck tensed as he threw his axe. It spun quickly towards her and she ducked below the table she was standing in front of.
It sailed past her and slammed into the wall covered with knives. They scattered around the room while Eve crouched behind her cover.
A knife slapped against her boot and she didn't hesitate to wrap her fingers around the cold blade.
She stood up and threw it at the man.
He leaned to the side, letting it sail past him.
"You didn't get a 12 from throwing knives, did you?" He laughed, stepping closer as he pulled a second axe from his waistband.
She needed her spear. That was all she could think.
Eve didn't have to try hard to allow her face to morph into fear as she stumbled away from the boy.
She fell backwards, letting her butt hit the ground while her hands searched for her spear.
"Please." She whimpered, running her hands quickly over the floor while she kept her eyes locked with his.
She couldn't let him see what she was doing.
"Everyone knows how you got that score." He hummed.
Her fingers met the familiar cold metal, but she didn't let it show on her terrified face.
She pushed herself to her feet, keeping her fear front and center in her eyes as she held her weapon behind her back.
He didn't notice, being too busy dragging his eyes over her body to see the weapon she would use to take his life.
"You're the capital's whore." He smiled. "Maybe if you flash me too I'll let you go."
"That's not very nice." She dropped her act faster than she threw her spear.
The boy gasped for air as his lungs filled with fluid. She watched him choke against his own blood as it leaked out of his mouth.
His axe clanked against the metal floor and she took hold of the spear from its place lodged in his chest.
"Thanks for making that easier on me." She said, ripping it free.
A final sputtering cough left his mouth before he dropped to his knees.
The killing wasn't hard, but what came after was. She thought about his family. She thought about what he was feeling. He had to be scared.
She stared at the boy until the canon boomed overhead.
She grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the small room.
Once he was laid in the grass she ran her fingers over his eyes, closing them.
She didn't care what he said. He was a child who didn't deserve to die there.
She retrieved her bag and tightened its straps around her shoulders before stepping into the warm sun.
Her jog for the tree line was cut short when four bodies emerged from the brush in front of her.
She stopped in her tracks, coming face to face with the one person she hoped she would never see again.
"Look who it is!" Marvel yelled with a wide smile.
She stepped backwards as the careers stalked towards her.
Eve waited for Cato to step forward and tell his friends to lower their weapons. That she would be a good addition to their team. Anything to keep them from killing her where she stood.
Instead, Cato laughed. "You know, we made a little bet on whether or not we'd find you here."
She used to enjoy the sound of his laughter, but now it left a sour taste in her mouth. "I said you weren't stupid enough to come back."
"What's that on your spear?" He smiled, gesturing to the blood dripping from its blade. "Did you find it like that or was it all you?"
She didn't answer.
His smile widened as he looked down at her. "Congrats on your first kill."
"Did you kill him?" Her voice was somehow steady against her pounding heart.
"I killed a lot of people." He laughed. "You're gonna need to be a little more specific."
"The boy from my district." Her knuckles turned white against her spear. "Ethan."
"Yeah." His smile turned sinister. "He was calling your name for help before I did it too."
Her stoney exterior cracked as she sucked in a quiet breath. He was lying. He had to be. She wouldn't be able to bare it if he wasn't.
Tears sprung at the corners of her eyes as she thought harder about Ethan's final moments. She shouldn't have let him eat that ice cream. She should have made him train.
But then again, what difference would it make? They were both as good as dead the second their names were called.
"Aww, she's gonna cry!" Marvel laughed.
Her eyes were locked on his as the thought of crying became a distant memory. All she could think about now was driving her spear into his eye. Let him cry blood.
"Go head, Clove." Cato said, pointing his sword at the girl from District Four. "You were right about her being here. She's all yours."
Eve looked over the pointed tip to Cato's cold eyes. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She could barely move.
Clove's small eyes narrowed on Eve. "Gladly."
Her body finally decided to dive out of the way as a blade whizzed past her head.
She rolled over her shoulder, landing with one knee in the grass.
With a grunt Clove threw another knife.
Eve's spear sliced through the air, knocking it off course. Back home she'd hit countless fish far smaller than the knives Clove threw her way.
Her hand closed around the knife laying in the grass and she threw it blindly at the group.
"Ow!" She recognized Glimmer's high voice as she hissed in pain. "That bitch!"
Eve didn't wait for her retaliation before she ran towards the tree line. Their yells behind her got closer and closer and her body pushed her harder towards the dense forest.
She crashed into the woods, not bothering to keep her noise down.
"We're right behind you!" Cato called.
"Just give up!" Glimmer screamed.
Eve's lungs were strong from living half of her life under the waves and her endurance pushed her ahead. She didn't slow down as their voices grew distant.
Her racing heart stopped when she saw the rocky ravine in front of her.
A slow moving creek split the large expanse of tan rocks twenty feet below her. She ran straight into a dead end.
"You've got to be kidding me." Her words came out quick as she turned to go back the way she came.
Once again the careers were there to block her escape with their bloody weapons and bright smiles.
"What're you gonna do now?" Cato cocked his head to the side. "Huh? You got any tricks up your sleeve?"
She had two options. Fight and die or try to make the jump.
Without much of a choice she ran for the ledge. The closer she got the greater the distance seemed to be. With her life on the line she leapt from the hard rocky surface.
She felt like she was in the air for far too long and she accepted her death. But soon enough the world came crashing back down.
She cried out at the feeling of her ankle bending unnaturally to the side as she rolled across the smooth sandstone.
Eve dragged her foot behind her as she laid behind a boulder.
She peaked out from behind her cover, coming face to face with one of Clove's knives.
She ducked, letting it hit a rock a few feet from her head.
She grabbed it and threw it into the woods in front of her. She didn't care if it could be useful to her someday. All she cared about was keeping it far away from that psycho.
"Maybe you should throw a few more!" Eve called.
"Go after her!" Cato ordered.
"I can't make that jump." Clove's mellow voice echoed across the rocks. "We'll go around."
"I think you should try, Cato!" She yelled. "You're not gonna let me show you up, are you?"
"You're dead." He rumbled back.
She wished she could see the look on his face.
"All of Panem is watching!" She yelled. "Big bad Cato can't make a little jump."
"Keep talking." He called across the ravine. "You're gonna make killing you so much more enjoyable."
Eve knew what she was doing was dumb. But she didn't care. If she was going to die, she wouldn't be remembered cowering down to him.
"Oh yeah I'm scared now!" She laughed from behind the safety of her rock.
"Guys!" Marvel yelled. "Look who it is!"
"Lover boy!" Cato called.
"What about her?" Glimmer asked.
"She's got a bad leg." Cato said. "She won't make it far. We'll put her down after."
"I'm not a dog!" Eve yelled.
"Might as well be!" Glimmer laughed. "Bitch!"
Eve listened as their footsteps disappeared down the bank.
Her hand drifted to her ankle. It was already beginning to swell.
Through the pain she poked and prodded her injury.
"It's not broken." She sighed, speaking not just to herself, but the audience as well.
She pushed herself to her feet, fighting the pain shooting through her leg. "They can't get me that easy."
"This is what I was talking about." She spoke into the open air. "I need your help."
"I think they deserve a fair fight." She bargained. "If you guys fix my leg I'll give it to them."
She leaned against her spear as a makeshift crutch. "All I need is a pill for the pain and I'll be back in no time."
Oh no what's gonna happen next