#task submission

☾ ✦ ⋆＊✩ ║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█ [ TASK 001 ] :

CHARACTER STATS SHEET:

Name: Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. Age: 33. Pronouns: he/they. Birthplace: Crystal Cove. Height: Tall. Weight: Light on his feet, heavy hitting when he needs to be. Build: Muscular. Quite thin in his youth, bulked up in his 20s. Tattoos: None. Piercings: Single lobe earrings. Clothing Style: Staples with very little variation, propensity for green and dusty orange. Usual Expression: Facial, amused and a little in-the-clouds. Gender, dresses in mostly streamlined flat masculine clothing, but occasionally wears floor length skirts at home.  Distinguishing Characteristics: Beard and height. Eye Color: Dark brown. Hair Color: Black. Occupation: Running for his life. Bait at Mystery Incorporated. Living Arrangements: Expensive. Languages Spoken: English, French, Chinese.

FAMILY BACKGROUND:

I am whisked off to the Capitol, to get ready for the Victor’s Interview. Capitol people clean up my wounds and my appearance. Soon enough, I see Eric and he is holding a beautiful purple dress. He is wearing a smile. I bet he’s happy I won the Games. I feel... different than before. I feel clean and I feel like a Capitol person. Treated with respect and it’s like I've lived in the Capitol all my life. I greet Eric with a smile as he pushes the glamorous dress into my hands. It feels very fine material. Eric then hands me purple sparkly heels to go with it. I am then taken into a room where I am to get changed. When I am alone, I hold up the dress. It goes over 1 shoulder and is very long. On the shoulder strap, it has some beautiful sparkly flowers. I carefully put it on, trying not to damage any of the fine material. I twirl around as I look at myself in the mirror. I don’t look or feel like a poor District 7 girl. I walk out of the room then more Capitol people explain that I am to be taken to get my hair and make-up done. I follow them and they take me to my stylists where they do my hair and make-up. After 10 minutes or so, I am told to walk out of the room, as I do so, I find Tom waiting for me.

‘Congratulations’ says Tom as he gives me a hug. ‘You look beautiful.’

‘Thanks’ I say with a smile. Tom then holds out his hand and I recognise what he’s holding. It’s my district token, my bracelet. I had forgotten all about it! I hold out my wrist and Tom puts on the bracelet.

‘Time for your interview...’ Tom says as he guides me to the edge of the stage where Caesar eagerly awaits me.

‘Did you all enjoy this year’s Games?’ he says. There is a very loud cheer. ‘Well, we have a real treat for you tonight. With us tonight is the victor, she’s been through the Bloodbath, beaten creatures that would've ripped her to shreds and she’s survived the toughest test of all. Ladies and gentleman, please give a very warm welcome to Natasha Meadow of District 7!’

Caesar spreads his arm out to imply which direction I will be joining the stage on. I walk confidently and give a smile to the whole crowd. I wave my hand as I walk. My heart is beating so fast. There are so many people in the crowd, and many more watching at their homes in the Capitol and the Districts. Caesar outstretches his hand out to me and I put my hand in his. He kisses my hand and then tells me to take a seat. I sit on the red comfy chair. I sit up with my back straight and wait for Caesar to talk. He hushes the audience.

‘Natasha, welcome and firstly, congratulations! And second, I must say that you look absolutely stunning tonight! Wouldn't you agree?’ he says with a smile as he addresses the audience. The audience cheer once again and quieten when I speak.

‘Thank you.’ I say shyly as I try to smile.

 ‘So, Natasha, how did you feel when you were standing there, on your pedestal, waiting for the countdown to end?’

‘Well... I was feeling very nervous, as anyone would be. I thought I was going to die in the Bloodbath... I thought that my last moments would be of someone slaughtering me! It wasn't pleasant, but I kept focussed and managed to get out alive and with a dagger.’

‘I think you were very lucky to get out alive. You got in a fight with that girl. She hurt you in some way...if I remember correctly.’

‘Yes, she did. She punched me in the jaw.’

‘Did it hurt, you seemed rather.... unfazed by it.’

‘Of course it hurt! But you can’t stop and think about the pain you’re in, all you want to do is get to safety as quickly and as safely as possible. I too think I was lucky to get out of that.’

‘Moving on now, how did you feel when you were attacked by the gator?’

‘I felt like my life was definitely going to be over. I could see no way of getting out alive. It had somehow attacked my foot as well, which didn't help me at all!’

‘But then Noah came didn't he? And he saved you from the mutt.’

‘Yes, he did, and I am so grateful that he killed the gator then decided to be allies with me, he could've killed me there and then... but he didn't  and that’s when I knew that he wasn't selfish, or greedy... he was genuinely a nice guy...’ I say sadly as I recall Noah’s life and how we met.

‘I'm sure he was...’ Caesar says sympathetically. ‘Then you got your parachute, the parachute that made a difference.’

‘Yes, I got my bow and arrows at that point and I felt no longer weak, I felt strong...’

‘As we saw, you have very good aim. We also know you got a score of 10 in training, did you show how good your aim was?’

‘Ah... well, I did the best I could...’

‘How did you find the Feast? Of course, you couldn't really participate in it could you, because of your leg.’

‘I helped out my allies as much as I could, I guess I knew I was going to live as the others couldn't really get to me.’

‘You and Noah got the food, medicine and the falcon from the Feast. I'm guessing you felt very pleased at what Noah got.’

‘Yes, well, I wasn't really sure of what to expect, but because we got the food, we didn't need to hunt and it was 2 against 1 so we had the upper hand.’

‘When the cannon sounded to announce Richard’s death, how did you feel at that point?’

‘Well, at first, I was really happy, but then I realised that Noah or I would have to kill the other, and by the way he was talking, he was making it sound like he wanted to die and give me the victory.’

‘It must've been a really tough time for you both.’

‘It was, when we reached our decision, I just couldn't bring myself to kill him, even though I had to.’ I feel tears in my eyes. I would let them fall if they wanted to, just because it would show what a true friendship we had.

‘And when you finally shot him...’ Caesar suddenly stops talking. I'm sure he’s noticed the tear that’s fallen down my face. ‘You had a true friendship with him didn't you...’ he says softly.

I just nod, as I fear I’ll make a fool of myself if I speak. I hear a few ‘awws’ in the audience. I try to smile.

‘I wish you a happy life, back in Victor’s Village in your District, and I hope to see you again sometime.’ Caesar says with a smile.

‘Thank you.’ I say with a smile.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Natasha Meadow of District 7, this year’s victor of the Hunger Games!’ I take his hand as I stand. He raises it in the air as the audience cheers. I am told by Caesar to walk off stage and I wave goodbye to the audience as I do so.

Once offstage, I am then rushed to the Capitol train station to get on a train to my District. I am still dressed in my interview clothes. I sit on the train in a little room with a bed. I slip my shoes off, lie down and close my eyes. I have been through so much in the past few weeks. A knock on my door stops my thoughts.

‘Natasha...’ It’s Eric

‘Yeah..’

‘I've brought you your clothes that you’re going to wear for your appearance in your District.’

I get up and walk towards the door. I open it a little to see Eric smiling at me. I smile back and take the black dress and black heels with a little bow on the front.

‘Okay, thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’

I close the door as he turns to walk away. He’s being so much kinder to me now that I've won the Games. I sit back down on the bed and put the shoes to one side. I hold up the dress infront of me. It’s a very pretty dress. It’s low cut with lace on the sleeves. I take off my delicate purple dress and put on the black lacy one. It just goes below my knees. I look at myself in the full length mirror on the door. I look very pretty. I slip on the black heels. I lay the purple dress neatly on the bed with the shoes next to it. I walk out of my room and enter the main area where I find Tom and Eric chatting. Tom notices me.

‘Hey Natasha.’

‘Hiya.’

‘We've almost reached 7... there’s just enough time to fix up your hair and make-up.’

‘Your stylists are waiting for you in the room on the left over there’ Eric says as he points to the direction of the room.

‘Okay.’ I say as I walk in the direction of the room.

I enter the room to find my stylists busying me into a chair. They rush around me, sorting out my hair and make-up. After what seems like a minute, they are done. They are all saying how I look gorgeous. I then go out of the room and sit with Tom and Eric for about 5 minutes. Then we arrive in District 7.

I am lead by peacekeepers to the Justice Building. I get up onstage and wave at everyone from my District. I smile, wave at total strangers, but then I spot Katie, Katie’s parents, Ryan and my mum. They seem so happy. They smile, cheer, wave. I give them a huge grin. I scan the crowd again and see that boy, who before the Games, told me he loves me. He must be happy I'm still alive. I am District 7’s 2nd victor and I get a house in Victor’s Village next to Tom’s house. I continue to wave and smile until I am told by a peacekeeper to make my way to Victor’s Village. I make my way offstage, waving to everyone as I go and I make my way to Victor’s Village. It’s quite a quiet journey there as everyone seemed to cram near the Justice Building to see me.

‘Morning,’ I whisper.  I take the faintest of steps near Natasha, and sit next to her. ‘Today’s the final day....’

‘I know... I never imagined it’d feel like this or if I’d even be here.’

‘Me neither... you hungry?’ I unfold myself and collect the resources bulging out of the bag, and I pass the food across to Natasha. Silence...

And then we hear a sound, quite a sinister sound, something to expect on the last day in the arena.

‘Zippy, kill the bird in the sky.’ I announce, he observantly follows my commands, and flies upwards with his beak darting through the cloudy breeze. As the massacre above tries hard to distract us, we’re sunk into the feelings of despair and desperation... We were so desperate for a life out of the games or so desperate for life to end. We were desperate to escape, but we knew that only one could win. I hear the rattling of the roofs as the stomps shatter through the lands of the arena. Its back, it’s marching towards us. Its mouth is sweating for energy. I push Natasha out of the way and the mutt pounds me to the ground, its razor claws dancing in front of my eyes, taunting me aimlessly. I could feel the wet slime on my arm from its mouth as I shook from its heavy figure moulding me into the shape of the roof. The chaos felt like it lasted a lifetime, but the warm droplets of redness smeared across my neck told me its current life form. Natasha rolled the body to the edge and tossed it over to the sea, as a party of piranhas twirl around it. Natasha collapses to the ground, her back towards me with her head falling into the palms of her hands. What had just happened?

‘You were amazing, Zippidy. Remember that we love you.’ She whispers to him as she let tears fall down her face.I set out a neat preparation of fabrics to lay out for Zippidy, he's gone. I take a final stroke at his prickle strands of hair shuffled across his face messily. The silence falls, and so does the sun.

Are you feeling better?’ I ask. ‘Yeah, I think so.’ Natasha replies. ‘Good, but we both know what’s coming next...’ My head rolls to the direction of the floor.

‘There’s no way we can get out of it. Only one comes out...’ ‘My life means nothing to me...’ I whisper in a melancholic manner.

‘No... You can’t...’ She shakes her head. ‘It’s easier if I die.’ ‘No, there has to be something for you back in your District, there has to be.’ ‘Nope, nothing.’ ‘Your family... they must realise how strong you are for getting this far.’ ‘I’m not strong, people have just sacrificed my life for me, I don't know why - and it wouldn’t change things at home.’ ‘How do you know? They could be willing you to kill me and come home.’ ‘They won’t be... they haven’t cared for me my entire life; I doubt they’d want to care now, and anyway, your life is more important. You have something to fall back to, a new chapter that’s waiting to unfold in your life.’ I smile. ‘But yours could be more important...’ ‘If I go back, I could be going back to a world that shoved me in a corner like before. But if I go now, then I get to see my friends again. I’ll tell them all about you...’ ‘Stop...’ ‘No, you need to realise you have a life that is waiting for you outside of here. If I win, I’ll just be a sad, lonely victor.’‘ ‘Don’t talk like that...’ ‘Well, it’s true. I’ll die. That’s what I want - my last request.’ The tears build in her eyes. She always knew this wasn’t going to be an easy day. ‘I guess arguing will get us nowhere.’ She tries to smile. ‘No... It won’t’ I tilt my mouth, trying to smile, digging my teeth into my bleeding gums to prevent the tears from escaping my eyes. Natasha stands, not replying in any physical way.

‘I guess I should do it myself.’

‘I just can’t... We’ve been through so much.’ The tone of desperation rolls up my heart like a piece of scrap paper.

‘I know.... but we can’t argue forever and one of us has to go home...’ ‘I’ll do it...’ I hear a whisper.  We embrace in a hug for the last time. It is a tight hug. Like saying ‘I never want to let you go’. I am crying so much now. I must have cried a river with all the tears I’ve wept today. I move away, knowing what I have to do next. 

I get out my scythe and i raise it to my head. ‘They want an interesting death, don’t they?’ I try to laugh, but I’m just shaking, my blood shivering uncontrollably.

‘Do it, slice my neck, and push me off.’ I whisper close into her ear. I hear the weeping, the fatigue in her cries. I know it kills her now, but soon, she’ll smile. We stand at the edge, her hands slowly folding across my body, her left arm cradling my back tightly. The other, taking the scythe from my palms and slowly dragging it to the floor, then it rises. I smile. I feel the coldness of the blade barely touching my naked neck. I hear the wind echoing the sounds of birds singing stressfully. I can smell the perfume of dry blood scattered across the arena. I can see Natasha, her face marked with creases and oiled with salty tears. “Any last words?” She asks - her throat barely capable of projecting the voice inside of it. “Bye...Have a great life – you deserve it.”

‘Goodbye, I’ll never forget you’ 

I wake up early the next morning. Noah isn't awake yet. I move across to the edge of the rooftop and sit there cross legged. There’s a nice breeze up here. It’s very refreshing. Today is the last day of the Games. There’s only Noah and I left. One of us will die and one of us will live and return home to our family. I can’t even begin to imagine what today will bring and how many tears I’ll cry. I stay strong though. Keep the tears inside for now. I see something in the corner of my eye. It’s Zippidy.

‘Morning Zippidy’ I say as I stroke his fur. Zippidy and I sit on the rooftop in silence. I can hear lots of different birds tweeting and singing their morning tunes. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Anything can happen today. I open my eyes as I shiver. I am just realising how cold it is, but I'm okay, I've been through worse.

‘Morning.’ It’s Noah. I don’t turn around. Noah comes and sits beside me. ‘Final day today...’

‘I know...’ I reply ‘I never imagined it’d feel like this or that I’d even be here.’ I turn my head to face Noah. I give him a half smile. He must know what I know. Only one comes out.

‘Me neither... you hungry?’

‘A little.’ I say as Noah goes and sits with our supplies. I watch him open the bag of Capitol food and take out some pots. This is probably our last meal in the Games. I stand up and walk over to him, telling Zippidy to follow. I sit down opposite Noah, we each take a pot and start to eat. We give Zippidy some crackers and bread. We eat in silence, there’s no need for conversation as the emotion on our faces says all we’re feeling. Sadness, anxiousness and fearfulness. Suddenly, we hear a noise above. Noah and I look up immediately. No, it’s not the sound of the tweeting birds, this bird is stronger, fiercer and ready to kill. Noah gets his scythe as I get my sheath, fling it over my shoulder, grab my bow, prepare my arrow and point it to the sky. The bird is moving way too fast for me to shoot it down. I lower my bow.

‘Zippidy, kill the evil bird in the sky.’ I hear Noah say. I look towards Zippidy and watch him fly up into the air and fight the bird in the sky. To any normal person, they could be fighting for a meal, but this isn't one of those situations. Then Noah and I hear another noise, a growling kind of noise. Our eyes dart around the rooftops. A few buildings away is a four legged mutt. It can jump from building to building, so it must have a good spring in its step. It’s so fast. It’s now on the adjacent building to us. I raise my bow and just as it’s jumping over to us, I shoot it down, placing another arrow into my bow, just in case I missed, but I didn't  The creature falls in between the buildings and into the water. I peer over the edge of the rooftop. The piranhas from yesterday are still there, but it seems there are a lot less today. They eat away at the mutt. I take a look at the sky. The birds are still fighting. Zippidy looks weak and appears to be tiring, but still fighting. Unexpectedly, Zippidy then retreats to us by crashing into the rooftop. I grasp the medicine bag as I rush over to aid Zippidy and drop my bow to my side. I open it and quickly get some kind of medicine into Zippidy’s wounds. I don’t know if it will work, but I'm trying. I'm really panicking. I want Zippidy to stay alive. I quickly look up to Noah. He’s running towards me with his scythe. I feel as though he is going to kill me, but I notice that he isn't running fully towards me, he’s running just to the side of me. I look to the side to see the other bird accelerating quickly towards me. I close my eyes tight and brace myself for impact, but it doesn't come. I open my eyes to see Noah, slicing his scythe into the bird, and then kicking it over the edge. I smile and then look back to Zippidy. The medicine I hurriedly gave him isn't working. He’s breathing heavily. Noah joins me as we both try and save Zippidy. After a few minutes of trying, we realise that nothing can be done. Even though we have all of these medicines from the Capitol, Zippidy took serious damage from that bird and even if we do find the cure, we’ll get it to him too late. Tears fill up my eyes, Zippidy has been a perfect ally to have, and to lose him now is heart-breaking.  We watch as Zippidy takes his final breaths and then passes out, as his body can take no more. I carefully pick him up and hug him close to my body.

‘You were amazing, Zippidy. Remember that we love you.’ I whisper to him as I let tears fall down my face. Noah’s by my side with the fabrics we use for sleeping in his hands. He looks as sad as I do. We have lost a friend today. Noah lays fabric on the rooftop floor and I carefully place Zippidy onto it. Then, I watch as Noah wraps Zippidy up in the colourful fabrics. There’s nothing more we can do but cry over the death of our beloved eagle and say few words about Zippidy’s life.

‘Zippidy... you were a perfect ally’ Noah says. ‘We’re going to miss you.’

Noah says what I can’t so I just nod as tears stream down my face. We say sitting on the rooftop for a while, doing and saying nothing. It’s too silent in the arena. The arena is never this silent. I grab my bow and stand up. ‘This is The Hunger Games.’ I remind myself ‘Be prepared for another attack.’ Noah doesn't question my sudden movement, just watches me as I shoot an innocent bird in the sky. I can’t say I feel better after that kill, but I feel as though a weight has lifted from my shoulders. The Capitol killed Zippidy, I killed one of their creations, even if it was harmless.

‘Are you feeling better?’ Noah asks

‘Yeah, I think so.’ I reply.

‘Good, but we both know what’s coming next...’ Noah says as he stands and walks over to me.

‘There’s no way we can get out of it. Only one comes out...’

‘My life means nothing to me...’ Noah says

‘No... you can’t...’ I shake my head.

‘It’s easier if I die.’

‘No, there has to be something for you back in your District, there has to be.’

‘Nope, nothing.’

‘Your family... they must realise how strong you are for getting this far.’

‘I'm pretty sure they don’t care.’

‘How do you know? They could be willing you to kill me and come home.’

‘They won’t be... they haven’t cared for me my entire life, I doubt they’d want to care now, and anyway, your life is more important.’

‘But yours could be more important...’

‘Natasha, we've been through this. I don’t mind dying to save you. Your life is far more important and valuable than mine could ever be.’

‘What if you go home and realise that I was right?’

‘Stop...’

‘No, you need to realise what your life could be like...’

‘“Could” be like, what if I go back and nothing’s changed, I'm just a victor, a sad, lonely victor.’

‘Don’t talk like that...’

‘Well, it’s true. I’ll die. That’s what I want. My last request.’

I feel tears fill up my eyes again. I always knew this wasn't going to be an easy day. ‘I guess arguing will get us nowhere.’ I try to smile.

‘No... it won’t’ he half-smiles back.

We stand in silence for about a minute. We just look at each other. Tears are falling down my face now. I don’t know how I am going to do it... I can’t. I shake my head.

‘Then I’ll do it myself...’ Noah says. I shake my head once again. Noah can’t kill himself and I can’t kill him. I know I’ll probably have to, but I don’t want to.

‘I just can’t...’ I sob. ‘We've been through so much...’

‘I know.... but we can’t argue forever and one of us has to go home...’

‘I’ll do it...’ I whisper.

We embrace in a hug for the last time. It is a tight hug. Like saying ‘I never want to let you go’. I am crying so much now. I must have cried a river with all the tears I've wept today. I move away, knowing what I have to do next. Noah stands right at the edge of the rooftop. I know what he’s doing. I place an arrow in my bow and raise it to Noah’s heart. I see Noah close his eyes. I then see a bird fly behind Noah. I raise my bow higher and shoot. Direct hit on the bird. Noah opens his eyes and looks confused.

‘Just teasing.’ I tease and I see Noah smile. ‘Any last words?’

‘Bye... have a great life... you deserve one...’

I raise my bow again. This time I’ll do it properly.

The crystals fade as my eyes open clearly, a new day has begun. My arms are left empty as the ones that were once close to me are now probably the furthest away from me, not even in this realm. My arms try to hug a pillow, never forgetting the memories I had with these people. As I roll over, I see a briefly familiar face. It’s Natasha, and I wake her up. Today could be our last day in the arena... Who knows? We gnaw at the bag of capitol food, as the sun disappears from all existence. Silence is the only sound to be heard, the only air to be consumed. Natalie and Arrian are gone, only one person can win. There’s a high chance that one of us will win, but then again, someone could die easily. My mind settles its way back to the time where I was laying across the crimson stained grass, being pounded to the ground by a guy spitting like a dog. I guess everyone knows I’m weak... They don’t know that really – they can think it though. I shiver as the solitary floorboards cry at my  cold ankles. I don’t make much contact with Natasha, the time is ticking away, but I don’t want to kill. Why should I continue to kill, when ending lives brings so much pain into my life, it’s not worth it. I’m the reason that Arrian is dead. I could’ve ran back and saved him, but I didn’t. I could’ve saved Natalie too, if I never ran into the feast aimlessly. The floorboards shiver this time, and so does the earth around the building. It’s alerted us, and Natasha gets up to her feet, her leg recovering nicely. “I’m guessing your legs better, then.” I whisper. She nods her head.

“It doesn’t feel safe around here anymore, Noah.” Her voice raises through the room.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you just hear that?”

“The shaking of the floor?”

“No, Noah the shaking of the arena,” I can feel my eyes bulge out, gasping uncontrollably.

“I think we need to get as far away from the cornucopia as possible. And that river, we need to get away from it.” She points to the window, her leg shaking slightly. And as I look towards the window, I see a large bird moulded into the colour of the brown shredded wallpaper.  I forgot about winning the bird yesterday, and to be honest I don’t see how it’s going to be helpful at all.

“There he is! It’s Zippidy! Yay!” Natasha’s clapping to herself amusingly.

“Zippy? Is that his name now?”

“Zippidy you mean! Yeah, it always has been!” She gently lays out her hand to the falcon and his feet delicately roll onto her fingertips, twitching its head. Since when did we name it Zippidy?

I mutter to myself, putting all the food into our sacks and collect the fabrics and materials for sleeping with. I still hold them all; just to be sure that Natasha doesn’t have any problems with walking. She knows where we’re going, after all.  Each cautious step finally leads us to a long and tall building, and we enter it, with Zippidy obediently swishing his head in all directions.  The building was like all the others we’ve been in before, and when we got to the top we felt another shake. It was stronger this time.  The shaking was over. “Richard must still be alive...” I say.

“Richard, how do you know him?”

“We saw him during the training results in the capitol, remember?”

Natasha is looking outside the window now, her head following the rhythm of the waves.

“Where are the cannon blasts? These waves are just too hectic...” Her voice is barely audible over the river flowing wildly around the arena.

“I’m not sure...”

“Oh, I have an idea!” Natasha runs over to Zippidy and whispers in his ear and he flies through the window.

“What did you do?”

“Zippidy will find out where Richard is. He’s quite an observant falcon if you haven’t noticed.”

I give Natasha a confused look, but then I realise what she’s done.

“Wow, that’s the best idea i’ve ever heard!”

“Haha, well thank you!” She gives a toss with her hair and looks at the water, it’s only rising.

A noise pierces through the atmosphere, it sounded like a gun.

“He has the gun...” I whisper.

Did Richard shoot Zippidy?

We wait in the long silence, hoping for a cannon blast to fill the noise, but it doesn’t, and then we hear the flapping of a wing appearing by the window.

“Zippidy, oh gosh... Your wing!” Natasha’s cradling the falcon in her creased hands, her palms slowly stained by the bloody wing of the bird. The creature is hiding between the holes of Natashas fingers, twitching at the horrendous wound splattered onto its wing. Natasha heals it, and after a while the bleeding stops and its head rises. Relief has grown onto our faces, and I notice its wet body.

“It must’ve made contact with water,” Natasha feels at its damp arm.

“That must mean Richard is on the river....”

“But how, I mean to be in a place like that, you can’t survive without ... A boat.”

“He must be on a boat then! The game makers might’ve placed one in a hidden place, just incase everyone gets affected by it.”

“Noah, if we stay here then we’re gonna be affected by the river...”

I look out at the window, the water is rising, and I climb out, groping onto the end of the roof to find a stable concrete platform above me. “We can climb up here!” I shout.

We roll onto the roof of the building and as Natasha is trying to get up I hold her hand to help her. The falcon is by our side, gradually flapping its wings at a faster pace, trying to recover. The waves crash and fly throughout the arena. Groups of trees and buildings and plants are mixed in with the sea as it only grows larger.

“Look, doesn’t that seem odd?” Natasha points to the sea, and we see grey sparkles in the glimmering water, swimming violently.  I look closer at them.

“What is that?” The group multiplies each few seconds, building an uncontrollable army.

“They’re piranhas, can’t you see the way they move and group together? Apparently, a hint of blood makes them go crazy; we don’t wanna be going in that river anytime soon.” I look at Natasha, who is glaring at the sea, and I notice that her skin is growing pale. I cover her in fabrics from the seats I found in the subway.  And as I notice a spot of blood on her shoulder from the falcon, it hits me.

“I know! This may seem a bit odd, but just pass me that bag over there.”  Natasha gives me a concerned expression, and slowly picks up the bag with a spare hand, letting it dangle towards me. I eagerly open it and take out the cup I found from the bloodbath in the arena. I get out Natashas dagger, and I scrape at my arm.

“Noah what are you doing?!”

I hush at her, “Be quiet, we don’t want to alert him.”

I manage to pierce the knife into my arm, and the hot red mess drips out into the cup and onto the roof like it’s dancing to the beat of a melancholic melody.

“Come here Zippidy.” I say, and I attach the cup onto its legs.

“Be careful, and put this onto Richard’s boat.” I point at the cup patronisingly, and it barely manages to fly away in the distance, twitching at the stench of fresh blood.

“The boat... So you want the piranhas to eat at the boat?” Natasha’s voice echoes through my bristle ear.

“Yeah – hopefully him too.” 

“Here, let me fix up your arm.”

The time progresses slowly, as me and Natasha were desperate to hear the sound of the cannons. The water splashing together has become a relaxing sound and the sun is out surprisingly, turning a jubilant red.

“I wonder what’s gonna happen after the games?”  It’s Natasha. Her voice sounds peaceful, and quite sympathetic. The waves must have been too overwhelming for her to handle.

“Well, you’ll get to meet your family again, and that boy you told me about - the boy who you can live the rest of your life with. You can live the rest of your life a happy and normal life.”  

“But what about you?” The question makes me hop about like a bunny escaping from its predator.

“I don’t know, I guess nothing really,” Natasha’s eyebrows fold over her eyes, she looks confused.

“I don’t think I’ll have a purpose after the games, oh well.”

“No not oh well, Noah you can’t think like that.”

“I’ve thought like that my whole life, not much will change.”

I wake up to Noah, shaking me awake. I feel that everything is fine, but then I realise there is only 3 of us left. My time in the Games will be over soon. Noah takes the bag of Capitol food we got from the Feast and we eat some of the glorious food. We still have quite a bit left. We sit on the floor in silence as we fill our stomachs. It’s a calm silence, not so much spooky or scary. I think about all I've been through, the reaping, the training, the Games... all of it I've done for Katie. I just know she misses me as much as I miss her. Her life wouldn't be complete without me. Neither would it be if Katie was in the Games and died.... my life wouldn't be the same. I bet she’s watching my every move, Ryan, that boy who loves me and my mother too. Oh, I wish I could be at home right now, I miss District 7, I had a nice life until Katie got reaped. I'm so close to victory now, I could be home tomorrow.... Suddenly, the building shakes. I immediately feel uneasy. I look at Noah and then stand up.

“I'm guessing your leg’s better then...” he whispers.

I nod my head, I'm not sure if I should make a sound or not, that rumble could've been anything and I don’t want to take any chances. “It doesn't feel safe around here anymore, Noah” I finally say.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn't you just hear that?”

“The shaking of the floor?”

“No, Noah, the shaking of the arena.” It can’t have been just the floor... it just felt too big and the Gamemakers could throw anything at us at this late stage of the Games.

Noah gasps, I don’t know why, but I think he underestimates the Gamemakers and what they can actually do to us.

“I think we need to get as far away from the Cornucopia as possible.” I say “And that river... we need to get away from it.” I point to the window. I can feel my leg shaking, I don’t know if it is nerves or that it is still slightly in pain. Noah looks out of the window to where I'm pointing. I turn back to the window and see Zippidy, our brown falcon that we got from the Feast yesterday. I love Zippidy, he’s like a new friend, like an ally and a crucial member to our little team. “There he is! It’s Zippidy! Yay!” I clap to myself and walk over to Zippidy.

“Zippy? Is that his name now?”

“Zippidy you mean! Yeah, it always has been!” I lay out my hand to Zippidy and he steps onto my hand. He looks extremely healthy. Noah mutters something I can’t quite make out and then he starts putting all the food into our sacks and collects the fabrics we use to sleep with. Noah demands that he carries our supplies as we relocate, but I make sure I carry my bow with an arrow already placed in it so I can be ready if we are attacked by the other tribute or something the Gamemakers throw at us. I walk infront with Zippidy on my shoulder, only because I've been this end of the arena before, at the beginning, just after the Bloodbath.

We eventually reach a building which is just like all the others. Just before we walk in, I whisper to Zippidy “Look for danger”. As we walk in, Zippidy and I look for any signs of danger on all the floors. We reach the top floor, finding no danger on our way and when we think we’re safe, we feel another shake of the earth beneath and all around us. Zippidy flies off my shoulder and on to a nearby desk. This shake is so much stronger than the one earlier. Whatever’s coming is coming closer. After about 5 seconds, the shaking is over.

“Richard must be still alive....” Noah says, I wasn't really looking out for him on our journey here, but I'm glad he’s still here and his voice tells me that he was fine on the journey.

“Richard.... how do you know him?”

“We saw him during the training results in the Capitol, remember?”

I look outside the window. There are waves outside now, yes I had seen the training results, but no, I do not remember everyone’s scores and names. I was more concerned with my own... “Where are the cannon blasts? These waves are just too hectic...”

“I'm not sure...” Noah’s replies quickly

“Oh, I have an idea!” I shriek as I run over to where Zippidy stands and I whisper into his ear. He obeys immediately and flies through the open window. I smile to myself.

“What did you do?”

“Zippidy will find out where Richard is. He’s quite an observant bird if you haven’t noticed.” I see Noah give me a confused look, but then suddenly, that look disappears and is replaced with a smile.

“Wow, that’s the best idea I've ever heard!”

“Haha, well thank you!” I toss my hair as I look at the water, it’s rising slowly. Then suddenly, a noise pierces through the arena. What does that sound like? What does Richard have?

“He has a gun...” Noah whispers.

I'm dreading the worst. I think of all the bad things that could happen now that we know that Richard has a gun. We wait in silence. It’s an eerie silence, definitely not the same feeling as earlier. Then we hear a flapping by the open window. Zippidy has come back. I rush over to Zippidy.

“Zippidy, oh gosh... your wing.” I am deeply concerned about the state of Zippidy. I pick him up and I feel a liquid substance fill my palms. I dash over to our supplies and carefully place Zippidy on the floor. I quickly open the medicine bag and use some of the medicines to heal Zippidy and stop the bleeding. After a while of cleaning up blood, it stops pouring out and Zippidy raises his head. I look at Noah, we both look relieved.

“He must've made contact with water...” Noah says as he notices drops of water over Zippidy’s body. I feel Zippidy’s wing, it’s damp. “That must mean Richard is on the river...”

“But how?” I say hastily “I mean, to be in a place like that, you can’t survive without... a boat.” I say the last words quietly, he has something we don’t. He has the advantage in these conditions.

“He must be on a boat then! The Gamemakers might’ve placed one in a hidden place, just incase everyone gets affected by it...”

“Noah, if we stay here, then we’re gonna be affected by the river...” We both look out of the window. The water is definitely rising and if we don’t get on higher ground, then we will be trapped in here. Noah climbs out the window, trying to get onto the roof I think.

“We can climb up here!” he shouts.

I throw up our supplies to Noah, as we move out of the top floor and onto the roof. Then, I try to get up onto the roof with Noah. Noah holds my hand as he pulls me up to higher ground. Zippidy is up here too. He’s still out of breath, but he tries to flap his wings to regain energy and strength. We see the waves dance, fly and crash around the arena. I notice that the water doesn't look like normal water.

“Look, doesn't that seem odd?” I say as I point to the water. We see some weird grey sparkles, they look to be lively and vicious. We both have a closer look, then I realise what they are. I don’t know how I know, it’s just something we’re taught about in District 7. I never realised it could help me if I got reaped or volunteered for the Games.

“What is that?” Noah asks as we see the sparkles multiply.

“They’re piranhas, can’t you see the way they move and group together? Apparently, a hint of blood makes them go crazy, we don’t wanna be going in that river anytime soon!” I glare at the water and feel scared. Noah gives me some fabrics as comfort, I think.

“I know!” Noah exclaims “This may seem a bit odd, but just pass me that bag over there.” I'm puzzled about what Noah has planned in his little mind, but I reach down and slowly give the bag to him with my free hand (the other holding my bow). Noah takes the bag and quickly opens it and takes out a cup he got from the Bloodbath and my dagger. Then, he scrapes his arm with the dagger.

“Noah, what are you doing?!?” I know my voice sounds startled as I really don’t want him to hurt himself for no reason.

“Shh...” Noah whispers “Be quiet, we don’t want to alert him.” I obediently be quiet, even though I do not 100% trust him about what he’s doing and am not sure exactly what he’s doing. Noah rips his skin open with the dagger and his blood pours out. He manages to get it to drip into the cup, however, some of it pours onto the rooftop.

“Come here, Zippidy.” He says and Zippidy obediently flies over to him and sits on the roof by our feet. Noah bends down and attaches the cup onto one of his legs. “Be careful, and put this onto Richard’s boat.” Noah then points to the cup and Zippidy flies away into the distance.

“The boat...” I say hesitating. “So you want the piranhas to eat the boat?”

“Yeah... hopefully him too”

I understand and then I realise that Noah’s fresh wound needs to be seen to. “Here, let me fix up your arm.” I reach into the medicine bag once more and dig out some medicine and bandages. I fix up his arm as time progresses and Zippidy still hasn't returned. Noah and I begin to feel worried as we are desperately waiting for a cannon to blast through the arena. The water has stopped rising. We are safe on the rooftop. After a while, I decide the silence has been too long and I need something to take my mind off of the current situation.

“I wonder what’s going to happen after the games...”

“Well, you’ll get to meet your family again, and that boy you told me about, the boy who you can live the rest of your life with. You can live the rest of your life... a happy and normal life...”

We both know life can never ever be normal with The Hunger Games in this world.

“But what about you?” Surely, there must be something for him back at home.

“I don’t know, I guess nothing really...” His reply make me feel sad and that he can’t just give up his life for someone he barely knows. “I don’t think I’ll have a purpose after the Games, oh well...”

“No, not oh well, Noah, you can’t think like that...”

“I've thought like that my whole life, not much will change.”

Noah and I wake up startled by the sound of Claudius Templesmith. ‘Tributes! Commencing at noon, there will be a feast. To make the feast more exciting, we want people to actually fight for what could help them the most. Each group of tributes will receive a parachute in about 20 seconds. That is all.’ What could it be? I look at Noah, he looks as confused as I do. In 20 seconds, a parachute flies down and greets us. Noah gets up and opens the small box to reveal the contents.

‘They’re bullets...’ he says.

‘Bullets? Like for a gun or something?’ I say.

‘Yeah, I guess...’

‘Well.... there’s obviously going to be a gun in the feast.... don’t go for it’

‘Why not?’ Noah asks

'Tributes will obviously fighting for it... and it’s a way to get killed....’

‘Oh yeah.... how’s your leg?’

‘It feels much better...’ I try to stand without support, but I can’t, as it is slightly painful. I use the tree for support. ‘But I can’t put much weight on it...’ I sit back down under the tree and Noah joins me. I then take the pot of medicine and apply some more onto my leg.

‘You can’t participate in the feast’ Noah says

‘I know.... are you going to go?’ I ask

‘Of course! We need all the help we can get if one of us is going to win this!’

‘Well at least let me help you stay alive’ I plead

‘Okay, but how? If you come on the ground with me then you’re going to get killed because you can’t run and if you get caught off guard you’re going to die..’

‘I don’t know...’

We stand in silence for about a minute, until Noah has the answer.

‘I KNOW!’ he exclaims, but then realises that was a mistake and anyone near could've heard and could be on their way to kill us. He reduces his voice back to normal ‘You could be on the top floor of one of the surrounding buildings and have the window open and you could be armed with your bow and arrows to help out if I get in any trouble...’

‘That’s perfect!’ I smile.

Then we hear the rustling of the bushes, and then a faint voice. I grab my bow and prepare my arrow. I aim it at the rustling. The voice becomes slightly clearer.

‘Noah...’ it whispers.

I glance at Noah, he looks confused. Then we hear the voice again.

‘Noah...’ whoever it is, they are closer this time. Then the person comes out of the bush and shows her face.

‘Don’t shoot!’ Noah exclaims. I lower my bow, looking confused. ‘She’s my District partner!’ Noah then gets up and hugs the girl.

‘Hi Noah’ she says. Her voice is soft and calm. She looks very relieved to see Noah.

Noah breaks from the hug. ‘Natalie, this is Natasha....’

‘Hiya’ I say with a smile.

‘Hello, what happened to your leg?’ she asks curiously.

‘Oh, it got attacked by a mutt croc thing, it’s getting better though.’ I reply.

‘Okay.’

‘Natasha can’t walk.’ Noah says ‘Are you going to the feast?’

‘I was thinking about it, but I didn't think I’d have much of a chance of surviving it...’ Natalie says quietly.

‘Oh don’t worry, Natasha’s going to be in a surrounding building covering me...’ Noah says with confidence.

‘I know... I heard... that’s how I found you and knew it was you....’ interrupts Natalie.

‘You can be like my on the ground back up, if you want...’ Noah suggests.

‘Yeah, okay. Sounds great’ Natalie says with a smile.

‘What kind of weapons do you have?’ I ask.

‘Well, all I have is poison.’ Natalie says sadly.

‘Oh, that’s okay, we can always just poison the top of my arrows...’

‘THAT’ Noah says loudly, but then again realises he didn't mean to be so loud. ‘Is a brilliant idea!’

‘Okay, so we probably have a few hours til the feast so... what do we do in the meantime?’ Natalie asks.

‘Well, we have to get me on the top floor of one of the buildings that surround the cornucopia.’

‘Noah, can you shoot?’ Natalie asks.

‘I'm okay’ he replies.

‘Good’ she says as she takes my bow and arrows from me and gives it to Noah. We gather our supplies and then Natalie gestures me to stand and I do so by leaning on the tree. She then puts my arm round her and puts her arm around me. ‘Okay, are we all set?’ she asks.

‘Yes.’ Noah says.

‘Ok, let’s go.’ Natalie replies. ‘Noah, you go in front of us.’

Noah leads us to what hopefully is a building which overlooks the cornucopia. Natalie helps me along on our journey. It seems like a pretty short journey, but with the help I need, it takes a little longer than expected. After a bit of a struggle, we arrive at a very long building to our right, and a shorter one to our left. We decide to go into the slightly shorter one. We enter the building, with Noah on guard for any possible attacks. There aren't any. We make our way to the top floor. Luckily there are no attacks on any level of the building. Natalie and I are out of breath when we reach the top. The struggle here was almost unbearable, but at least we made it. Noah takes a look out of the windows while Natalie and I catch our breath.

‘The cornucopia’s out here’ Noah says as he tries to open the window. He opens it slightly and then closes it. ‘You can cover us from here.’

We spend the next hour or so chatting and having a laugh. This might be the last time I see them. In a moment of silence, Natalie gets up and looks out of the window.

‘The bags are there on a table.’ She says. ‘We should begin to make our way down to the bottom floor.’

‘Okay.’ Replies Noah

We dip the arrowheads in poison and carefully place them in the sheath. Afterwards, I stand up, using a support beam for support.

‘Good luck – ‘

‘Don’t you mean, ‘’may the odds be ever in your favour?’’’ interrupts Natalie.

‘No, I really mean good luck. I want to see you again, both of you... I really mean it!’ I reply

We embrace in a group hug and I watch Natalie and Noah go down the stairs, Noah with his scythe and Natalie with my dagger. ‘It’s down to them now’ I think.

I hobble over to the window and open it as wide as it can go. It opens quite wide. I sling my sheath over my body and get my first poisoned arrow ready in position. I wait perhaps 10 minutes until the first move is made. It is made by Noah, I see him dart out of the building, running as fast as he can towards the table. Then I see Natalie follow about 5 seconds later. Then, coming straight for Noah, was the remaining male career tribute. He takes Noah down and they wrestle with each other. The career sees Natalie coming and as she is almost upon them, he pushes her away with his free hand and she hits the ground hard. I can tell that she is in pain. Then, in the corner of my eye, I see the remaining female career tribute run into the action towards Natalie. ‘She’s probably there to finish Natalie off’ I think. I position my bow at Natalie, I won’t shoot her of course, but I will protect her from the career. The female career gets on top of Natalie and I see her raise her sword. ‘Now’s my chance.’ I think. I aim my arrow to the girl and with no hesitation, I shoot my arrow. I immediately get another ready for fire. I see the girl fall to the ground. She’s dead. The male tribute looks up and sees what happens as Natalie gets up and takes the girl’s sword. The boy realises it is now 3 against 1. He backs up and then runs to the table. Noah and Natalie follow. The boy only takes 2 of the 5 bags on the table and runs off into the distance, away from the building I am in. I put my bow down, there is nothing else I can do. Noah and Natalie take the remaining 3 bags and dash off to meet me in the building that I am in.

In a couple of minutes, they reach the top floor, and I greet them at the top of the stairs. We embrace in another group hug and then we go and sit down, in the little camp that we've made on this top floor. Noah and Natalie escaped with a few bumps, bruises and scratches, they should be okay. We each take a bag and take it in turns to open it. I go first as I let them catch their breath. I open the bag and I am confused at what is in the bag. In the bag is an orange inflatable thing. I take it out and unravel it, unsure of what it is.

‘It looks like......’ I start

‘A lifeboat?’ suggests Natalie

‘Maybe’ I reply. ‘What’s in yours?’

Natalie opens her heavy bag and she takes out all kinds of tubs of different sizes. She then opens one.

‘They’re medicines....’ she finally says.

‘BRILLIANT!’ shouts Noah.

‘Come on’ Natalie says ‘Last one’

Noah opens the heaviest bag. He takes out all kinds of Capitol foods and then finally, a huge container which contains a lot of water.

‘This is amazing!’ I say enthusiastically and with a smile.

‘Yes it is!’ Natalie smiles back.

We all smile at each other. There is so much emotion on our faces, it is so hard to contain!

‘One of us is going to win this!’ Noah says positively.

‘I can’t even believe I've got this far!’ I say.

‘Neither can I!’ says Natalie

‘Or I!’ says Noah

‘Oh, and thanks Natasha.’ Natalie says. ‘Thanks for shooting her.’ She gives me a hug.

‘It’s okay’ I say. ‘We’re allies remember, and allies look out for each other.’

‘Tributes! Commencing at noon, there will be a feast. To make the feast more exciting, we want people to actually fight for what could help them the most. Each group of tributes will receive a parachute in about 20 seconds. That is all.’ We look at the sky as the echoes die down. It’s just me and Natasha, now. No more Arrian. As the sun twirls through the trees, I think back to the last time I saw Arrian. Turning my head as I ran away from his corpse, my feet moved to the rhythm of the cannon blast. The heavy panting noises fled my mouth as I heard the last sound ever to be heard of him. “Noah! Run!” The ringing in my head won’t go away. Something appears in front of me and Natasha, the parachute. I turn my head at her, and I make my way to the parachute. Opening it I let the bullets pour into my hand. “They’re bullets...” I stare at them - why bullets?

‘Bullets, like for a gun or something?’  Her hands are buried in her stomach and she shakes her head slightly.

“Yeah, I guess...” As I slowly enter back into the realms of reality, the bullets in my hand roll around like they’re participating in a race.

“Well.... there’s obviously going to be a gun in the feast.... don’t go for it’

“Why not..?” I reply hastily. Shouldn’t getting a gun in a feast be a good thing? I clench my fist, covering the small pebble-like figures cradled in my palms and I turn to Natasha again.

'Tributes will obviously fighting for it... and it’s a way to get killed....’

“Oh yeah, how’s your leg?” She’s holding it securely, as if it would fall off if she let go.

‘It feels much better...’  Natasha holds herself up barely, grabbing onto the flaky trees as she shakes uncontrollably, then falls back down like an anchor dropping into the sea.   ‘But I can’t put much weight on it...’

‘You can’t participate in the feast’ I announce, stating the obvious. I need to be sure that Natasha realises that going into the feast won’t only be the death of her but it could also be the death of her family also. I’m not sure her loved ones at home could handle a life without her. The best thing would be for her to stay as far away from the feast as possible. I glance at her leg delicately painted with ointment, the wounds are healing but they’re still bulging brightly across her pale skin.

‘I know.... are you going to go?’ 

“Of course, we need all the help we can get if someone’s gonna win this!” And then it hits me. Only one can win. My smile melts instantly and I run my hands through my knotty hair.

‘Well at least let me help you stay alive’

‘Okay, but how? If you come on the ground with me then you’re going to get killed because you can’t run... and if you get caught off guard... you’re going to die..’

‘I don’t know...’ The voices are silent now, and the wind is flying through the ruins cautiously.

“I know!”  My voice rises higher than the clouds on a sunny day. My head falls, in shame, if we die, then it’ll be all my fault.

‘You could be on the top floor of one of the surrounding buildings and have the window open and you could be armed with your bow and arrows to help out if I get in any trouble...’  I suggest - my voice turning into a gentle whisper.

‘That’s perfect!’ She smiles gracefully, and then it disappears.

The deafening sound of the bushes swishing together alerts us, and we gather our weapons.

“Noah...” The whisper can barely be heard of the crunch of sticks appearing now and again.

“Noah...” The voice repeats, in a more desperate tone. Who the hell could it be, how do they know my name?

Her face travels past the shining leafs and I wave my hands in front of Natasha’s bow.

“Don’t shoot,” The arrow is lowered, and her life is safe.  “She’s my district partner!” I shoot up and my arms are around her, it’s Natalie, My district partner.

‘Hi Noah,’ her voice is memorable and it’s a nice sound to hear. It reminds me of my life a few days ago – I miss that.

‘Natalie, this is Natasha....’ I move my body for her to see the injured girl, looking confused and mislead, then the smile recovers back onto her face,

“Hiya,” She limps slowly, and then decides to stop.

“Hello, what happened to your leg?” she asks curiously.

‘Oh, it got attacked by a mutt croc thing, it’s getting better though.’

“Natasha can’t walk,” I say, stating the obvious like always.

“Are you going to the feast?”

‘I was thinking about it, but I didn’t think I’d have much of a chance of surviving it...’ Her voice is confused, but weirdly collective.

“Don’t worry! Natasha’s got our ba-,” I grin, seeing Natalie has really lightened my mood.

‘I know... I heard... that’s how I found you and knew it was you....’ she interrupts.

“So, do you want to join me in the feast?”

“Yeah sure,” she replies, coolly.

‘What kind of weapons do you have?’ Natasha asks.

‘Well, all I have is poison.’ She drags out the bottle of weirdly coloured liquid and plays with it dully in her hand.

‘Oh, that’s okay; we can always just poison the top of my arrows...’

“That’s-!” I scream unconsciously.

“A great idea!”  I say a little quieter this time.

‘Okay, so we probably have a few hours til the feast so... what do we do in the meantime?’ Natalie rubs her sore neck, showing the dirt marks all over her dry arms. The state she must’ve been through...

‘Well, we have to get me on the top floor of one of the buildings that surround the cornucopia.’

  ‘Noah, can you shoot?’ Her head turns slightly, and I reply.

“I’m alright, I guess...”

‘Good’ she says as she takes Natasha’s shimmering bow and arrows from her and plants the equipment into my hands.  We gather our supplies and then Natalie lifts Natasha up, holding her tightly. Once we’ve made sure that our supplies have all been gathered, we make our way to the building.

We see two buildings after an eventful journey and I decide to turn left, after all, making the right option is always wrong. I raise the bow, aiming through the suspicious holes and gaps through the building. The wind is carefully watching are footsteps, moving silently because it doesn’t want to alert us. We are eventually welcomed to the top floor of the building, the fact that we didn’t see a single person or creature frightened me. It made me think that something demonic is going to come, and it’s not going to hold back for anything. I peer through the shattered window and I hear heavy breathing behind me coming from Natalie. “The Cornucopia’s outside this window,” I whisper. The window opens and shuts barely; I guess it still fulfils its purpose in a way. “You can cover us from here” I smile softly, time was slowly ticking away. I join them on the floor, and we talk about our past, the future. We give each other subliminal messages of our opinion on the Capitol and we spend the rest of our time laughing quietly.

“The bags are on the table,” It’s Natalie, appearing by the window. “ We should begin to make our way to the bottom floor.” I choke on the bile in my throat, trying to escape. I stand up slowly. This could be the last time I see Natasha, and I’ve already lost Arrian. I could lose Natalie, too. I could lose myself. I’ve already lost myself, I’m dead in my mind, and I’m not me anymore, really. We dip the arrows in the poison and prepare them in the best way for Natasha to wield them with her bow. We spare our final goodbyes with a heartfelt group hug, and then me and Natalie leave Natasha behind, with her arsenal.

The building is a blur, and Natalie is constantly groping at her hair nervously. I take the lead, and we leave the building to Cornucopia. Everything should be alright I mean Natasha’s covering us, but... What if the rest of the tributes have figured out our plan? What if we’re being followed? I mean Natalie easily found us, I’m sure someone else could’ve heard and watched from afar. I kick the dirt on the ground and walk faster. We decided that I should make a run to the table, with Natalie running behind me. The time was ticking and we could easily die. We had to be careful. The cameras are probably rolling on the tributes, and the world is probably watching nervously, I definitely would. I see the table. There’s no time to waste in a place like this, and there’s no point in waiting for someone to make a move. I run. The parcels on the tables covered in leaves and broken pieces of pine are my target, if I just get there and grab what I can then run back everything will be fine. I turn to check if Natalie is still alive. Her face widens as I turn around to find a boy throwing me down to the ground, the vulgar aroma of his bloody arms mark me. I try to push him out of the way; I try to get rid of his knife smiling at my neck. I see his hand hit at Natalie, and she screams into my ear and I hear her pound into the ground, moaning in agony. The cold knife is strangling me, and I try to plant my head into the ground. Through his teeth I can hear him growling, spitting like a wolf. “Are you ready to die, be humiliated like in the training room?  You’re lucky to be alive. You rotten bastard, when you die I hope everyone sees how much of a selfish bastard you are. You’re a rotten bastard!” He sniggers, growling at me, making my death as traumatic as he wants it to be. He’ll do anything to gain attention. A scream startles him, interrupts him from his ‘show’. Someone’s been hit. If Natasha’s missed, and hit Natalie, then I’ll be dead in three more seconds. One... The moaning continues. Two... I can hear the rustling of footsteps, and the boy starts to choke me with his knife. Three... I can’t breathe. I’m struggling for a gallon of delightful air; I can feel myself blacking out. I’m safe. He runs away as he realises that his partner has been hit, and I’m picked up by Natalie. I cough at the ground, and I wipe the dry spit off my face. Natalie picks me up again and we slowly limp towards the parcels. We pick the three remaining boxes up and make our way back to the building. I shake and my neck is throbbing as we reach the top floor.

A group hug reveals that we’re all alive, but I can’t get Arrian’s face out of my head, is that how he felt, the last second before he died? I was on the brink of it, I knew it, I could feel the life escaping out of my body, but I got saved. I hide my neck to the others, pretending to stroke the back of my shoulder every now and then, and covering the mark with my shirt. We’re safe. We open up the bags, and find gifts of all sorts. Medicines, food from the capitol and water come gushing out the bag - everything to want from a feast. And then Natasha opens up something peculiar, a lifeboat. We gasp in excitement and talk about our hopes and dreams, all feeling the guilt in the back of our minds. Only one of us will win. We spend the rest of the night talking and eating and this night was probably the most luxurious night in the arena. Time goes ever so fast when you’re having fun, but it went quite slow for me at times. The food reminds me of the time in the Capitol when I first met the members who’d help me get sponsors and I wonder if Hadrian has forgiven me. If I had a chance, I’d tell him how sorry I was. I fall asleep hoping to feel how I felt the second before I almost died.