Liberosis - The Hunger Games

13

The chill of the water shocks me as all the breath in my body leaves my lips, the bubbles around me seem so entrancing that it takes me a moment to remember where I am. Once I do remember where I am, I swim like hell. I'm glad for the strength that District Four has given me as I kick through the water, arriving at the cornucopia in little time. Thorn pulls up for air at the same time I do and blasts straight towards the stash of weapons. I run to the pile, pulling out a backpack and a small knife when I feel a blade against my neck. It's the guy from District three, holding a knife against my neck.

I clench my teeth together when I hear the sickening sound of a sword entering his stomach, blood spits from his mouth and directly all over my face as Thorn stands behind the body, pulling out his sword as the boy drops to the ground, the first kill of the games. "Run!" He exclaims, I shake off any impulsive thoughts and sprint. I'll come back for anything that's left later when I've got Viva and Tiberius.

All hell breaks loose once the Careers make their way to the island, throwing themselves at anyone willing to get in their way. Tiberius runs into the fight headfirst, pulling two axes from the pile and the centre and throwing one directly into the body of the girl from District Eleven. My next move is to find Elsie, who I haven't seen since the jump. Had she made it to shore? Or had she drowned in the water, me frantically swimming to the island had left her splashing around without any ability to swim.

I find the Viva down the side of the cornucopia, pulling knives from a dead kid's body, her red hair looks even more intimidating when you can't tell if the red is blood or her natural hair colour. "Where's Elsie?" I call to her, dragging her off the cornucopia and onto the island.

"I told her to run to the mouth of that river you spotted," She pants, cleaning off the blades on the side of her pants, "She'll be halfway there now."

"Go find, her, circle back through the edge of the trees, don't come into the clearing until you hear the cannons," I instruct her, she doesn't argue with me, probably something to do with the blood from the District Three boy's mouth still sprayed all over my face. For now, I need to find Beck and Thorn.

I sprint straight back into the action; I can almost hear the distressed screams of Finnick and Mags telling me not to. I ignore the lingering voice of my best friend in my head and I run directly toward the bloodbath. A majority of the tributes have either cleared out of are dead, only the career tributes and a select few other members remain. Beck has a slash mark on his right bicep from a knife or sword when I reach him, he's managed to salvage a few knives from the cornucopia, a pack on his back. I take him by the hand and pull him out of the violence, holding out my knife protectively and ducking at the spear thrown my way by the District Two tribute.

"What the hell are you doing?" Beck hisses as I drag him down the sand.

"Saving your ass, now shut up and be grateful about it," I hiss back, pulling him into the trees. I put a finger over his lips, telling him to be quiet as we watch the rest of the bloodbath, "Everything's on track so far," I whisper to myself. I notice a long stick on the ground, sparking an idea in my head, I pull a vine from a tree and begin to tightly tie the knife to the stick with a vine. It wasn't a trident, but I was better with a spear than a knife.

"What's on track?" Beck whispers to himself, clutching his knife so tightly that I can see the white of his knuckles. He doesn't trust me, that much is clear, I know he won't trust me until Viva arrives with Elsie. I forgot that only Viva, Tiberius and I were in on it, it didn't snap in my mind that he wouldn't have any idea what I was talking about.

"You just need to trust me, wait till the cannons blow," I hiss in response, I pray that it will work. We're virtually defenceless without any of the weapons, the Career pack this year is strong enough without the excess equipment.