Hunger Games (DNF)

Part 2, Chapter 36: nightmares

George POV.

I slept for hours, maybe even a day. My dreams were plagued with memories of the arena, of the other tributes hunting me down. I was running down the hill towards the river. The cornucopia was behind me and I heard shouts from all around me as the other tributes chased me like predators chasing their prey.

My body was bathed in sweat as I tripped over every rock I passed, stumbling down towards the sound of rushing water. From between the trees on my left and right I saw people running. Some held swords, others held axes, all of them seemed ready to kill me.

Eventually I reached the water, and I paused for a moment to regain my breath. The tributes behind me were still closing in, I could hear them getting closer. Their yells of excitement as they chased me. Their footsteps as they ran down the hill.

My eyes scanned across the water, and on the other bank of the river was a path, leading away from the water and between tall grey buildings. It was familiar, my home District. For a moment I just stared at the familiar sight, before snapping back to reality as the tributes continued to close in.

I began wading into the water, it’s cold temperature immediately chilling my bones. Ignoring my constant shivering was a hassle, but the water was too deep, and instead of wading I had to start pathetically paddling.

Before this I had never swum anywhere and so I tried desperately to stay above the water. The river seemed to grow longer as I swam, I went further away from the river bank behind me. The water continued to grow deeper as I went though, and if I stopped or turned back the rapids would pull me away.

Suddenly something wrapped around my leg, and I began freaking out, thinking it was a mutt, or another tribute. When I looked down through the rapids I saw a forest of kelp snaking up through the water trying to wrap around my limbs.

One long one managed to grab me and wrap itself tightly around my leg and up to my hip. It began pulling me under the water and I screamed as I tried taking in more oxygen. After a few moments of struggling the kelp managed to pull me under, more long strands of kelp wrapping around my other legs and arms to keep me there.

I tried to scream, hoping that someone, anyone would help me, but it was pointless. My lungs started to burn, begging me for more fresh air but I couldn’t. I opened my eyes and looked up through the water hoping for a final glimpse at the sun before I died.

As the last bubbles of air escaped me and floated up to the surface I allowed my eyes to flutter shut. I stopped struggling altogether and felt myself drifting into unconsciousness. I felt more things wrapping around my body and I assumed it was more kelp, holding me tighter as it dragged me to my watery grave, but then I got pulled upwards.

I felt my body get flung out of the water and it landed on the ground. Eagerly I began taking in more oxygen, and felt the water on my clothes and body dry in an unnatural way. When I finally opened my eyes I saw a faceless man standing over me, but when I looked again I realised it wasn’t faceless, it was the face of the head gamemaker.

He gave me an evil grin before looking at someone out of my line of sight. “Foolish, can you send a mutt over to the District 3 kid, he’s poking around in the forcefield.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out what he was saying. The gamemaker walked off and left me there on the ground alone.

A familiar hiss sounded out and I saw one of the moss covered mutts making its way towards me. I tried to sit up and run but my clothes had dried and baked into mud. How is this even possible? I wondered as the creature made it’s way over to me, it’s dark soulless eyes staring into mine.

After struggling enough I managed to push off the dry mud and sat up, immediately backing up as I saw how close the creature was to me. When I felt like I had made enough distance between the two of us I stood up and began running towards a treeline off to my left.

It was more of a stumble over a straight sprint though, somehow my feet managed to catch on every rock, tree root, and ditch I came across. I was certain I had reached safety when I made it to the forest but found I was mistaken.

On my left a flying blue and grey mutt swooped down and let out a screech as it attempted to grab at me. Once again I changed direction, heading back out of the treeline and avoiding the two different mutts.

Ahead of me was a path leading into the streets of a District. I didn’t care where I was as I ran up the path, gaining ground as I got further ahead of the 2 mutts. People were in the District, all faceless and unrecognisable as they watched me. None of them seemed to notice the mutts as they stared at me without eyes.

A lot of them even seemed to make an effort to get into my way, or leave stuff in the road for me to trip over, and for the most part I avoided them, dodging between them as I ran down the unfamiliar streets with the mutts about 30 or 40 feet behind me.

In a particularly crowded street I had to slow down, so that I wouldn’t crash into someone or something. It was a crowded atmosphere as the faceless people walked around doing whatever they normally did. They kept bumping into me and pushing me over and it was only a matter of time before I lost my footing, falling forward onto the dirt path.

I just stayed there, my eyes watering from the stress as I stared at the ground beneath me. People seemed to stop moving as fast to watch me, some of the faceless people made comments, but I couldn’t understand them. All I knew is that what they were saying wasn’t nice.

Maybe I should just give up… I definitely considered that. I seemed to be able to hear the moss covered mutts footsteps approaching from behind me, and the swoop of the blue and grey flying mutt’s wings overhead.

“Georgie, why are you lying down on the ground?”
I looked up to see a blond looking at me with a playful smile, and my face lit up from joy. Clay…
He offered me a hand up which I took, the blond pulled me up and I glanced back at the mutts before looking at him again.

But he’d started running. “Come on George!” he called, and after a moment's hesitation I ran after him.
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