The End of Innocence: The 72nd Annual Hunger Games

Announcement

I begin to walk, I get about 100 meters from where we split when I feel the flood of tears rush down my face. I can feel that this cry is going to be a big one. I begin to kick at the muddy-leafy ground, sending pebbles and dirt flying. I start cursing God again and begin hitting trees until my knuckles start bleeding. I don't care what the cameras are seeing. I'm alone now.

Standing and listening to the birds above, their songs make me think they're laughing at me. They're all in flocks, together, and I'm standing in unbearable heat crying my eyes out. I realise that I am at the final eight. This means the three Careers are hunting me, now along with Lesa and Ion, there's also two other useless tributes, the girl from 12 and her district partner. I have to find them, and kill them before the Gamemakers decide to kill me off. Lesa told me already they're beginning to kill us off, so I don't want to be the next one to go. 

I inhale deeply, take out my knives from my bag and hook them into my belt. I take one and hold it in my hand, four left. I crack my head back and continue walking through the thick trees. The sky's getting dark, very very dark, the blue in the sky is fading every second, and then suddenly I see the stars shining through. It must be about nine. The birds stop chirping and the wind stops almost immediately, letting more dry, humid air down on me.

"You'll be fine." I say to myself, rubbing my knuckles. "Only seven left besides you, you can wait it out."

After I get about another hundred meters I realise that Lesa didn't exactly say we had to continue walking. Eventually I'll whack into the forcefield or even worse, into someone. I stop. I don't have a clue where I am, everything looks the same. The feeling of emptiness and the lack of people around me gets me weary. The menacing treetops taunt me with their rustling, making me think they're one of my enemies. The fact anyone could be around me makes me scared out of my wit.  I've lasted this long, District 12 are weaker than me by a mile. The only ones who are strong and able are Lesa, myself and Ion and obviously including the Careers. They may be stronger and quicker, but we've proved we're able for them, besides, they're one hundred percent injured from the bear attack.

The darkness is so unsettling. In a heartbeat I'd illuminate this place, the rising moon is doing nothing to aid my walk with the treetops covering me. It's scary, I've been afraid of people the most, not animals or mutts, even with the bear attack I feared humans more. Tributes are unpredictable, I can tell what an animal will do next. I am contributing to this Game. I killed two people, maybe three, I don't know the state of Vickin or Cleeara at this point. I am definitely doing better than most of the others, although we haven't a notion if the remaining Careers killed the other Tributes or not.

I look up at the sky and the stars twinkle, they remind me of my old home where I grew up in, only about half a mile from my current one. We had a hole at the back near the kitchen and John's bed used to be there. I'd lie there if he was staying in another person's house or was out somewhere. The stars reminded me of cameras. I used to talk to myself and pretend to be a TV presenter like Caesar Flickerman. I used to long to be on television, to have everyone applaud my presence and to have everyone idolise me. Now all I want is to be off it and never to see one until I die.

Lesa told us The Cornucopia is South of here. I stop dead in my tracks, turn my heel to my left and begin to walk. The heat drops suddenly, all the other nights, the cold was manageable, so I hope they don't try to kill my team off this way. The most reasonable temperature is the middle, where the Cornucopia is, I suppose that's where I should go. Hopefully Ion and Lesa haven't thought of that already.

I wonder how the other Tributes managed to stay alive. None have found the lake the past few days because Lesa would have killed them, she never said how the others died now that I think of it. She wouldn't. Not on watch for me. The other Tributes must have found another source of water, or maybe Sponsors. Water isn't an abundance here but they were kind enough to give us all these weird creatures and bushes that wouldn't live normally in this environment