Liberosis - The Hunger Games

21

District 1, District 2, District 4- that was all that was left. Today marked my ninth day in the area, I could already feel the sweltering heat as my eyes shot open from my unsatisfying sleep. During the night, Thorn had gone back to search for our supplies, though there was only a single pack left, with a small medical kit and some dried fruit, Elsie's pack. "They're closing in on us," Thorn stated, as I cleaned the large wound on his chest, "They want us to become desperate,"

"Let's not give them that satisfaction," I had told him late at night as I bit into a piece of dried apple.

We received a sponsor in the early us of the day, an ointment for our wounds, It must have been a combination of the sponsors from Districts 12 and 4, two notes were found at the bottom of the canister. One smelled faintly of the strong liquor my father drinks, in messy scrawl were two words Thank you.

The second note was from Finnick, a short and frenzied message, 'Mags is sick, recovering now. Look out for each other- Finn.'

I felt a pit in my stomach at the message, hopefully, Mags will have recovered by the time Thorn get home. Assuming Thorn gets home. I tried to drown out my pessimism with the knowledge that the ties between the other Careers must have been degenerating. They understood only one could come out alive and Clovis was going to try his best to make sure it was him. Since the incident at the creek, I had not seen much of him, keeping a low profile was his best strategy in the games- though careers are known for their extravagance in accordance with the games, they were not stupid. Clovis knew there was some true competition to run against this year- he would not destroy his chances by showing off.

With Viva and Tiberius dead, the odds were not in our favour- but I had a small dose of optimism. After stealing their supply packs on the first day, the Careers would require their survival instincts. Sage had said it herself, they had to put in the hard yards. By hunting primarily at night, with little to no protection, they must have been exhausted and with exhaustion comes weakness.

That was my best hope surely their performance level would have decreased as the games went on, I knew mine had. My mental fortitude had additionally decreased as I slowly felt myself combusting under the pressure of the games. Thorn appeared in no better state than I, remaining almost completely silent throughout the course of the day.

I could feel something in the air, an unexplainable presence, as though chaos and I were on the same wavelength. It called to me, waving a bony finger in front of my face, taunting me, telling me everything I had planned was about to go wrong. I ignored the feeling, lying flat on my back on the cool cave surface and thinking of home.

I imagined myself climbing to the cliff's edge along the cove, my sisters not far behind me. Finnick and Andante had raced to the top, readily anticipating diving off the cliff face. I remember holding a nervous Addison's hand as the pair of us plummeted into the ocean below. We would clamber out of the water to find my mother and father set up with a picnic blanket splayed out in the white sand, fresh fruits covering its surface and gone within a minute.

I imagined myself at the wedding of the Mayor's son, the cold waves rolled over my ankles as the bridal party danced in the shallow water, spectators clapping on and cheering for the couple. Finnick takes my hand after the official dances and we twirl around as the music plays late into the night. The water clung to the bottom of my dress as we dance, fabric sticking to my ankles, Finnick had rolled up the hem of his pants to ensure he was not getting his pants wet, I had teased him, calling him a baby. He tackled me into the water, and I had pulled him along with me.

And then I remembered the worst, Clementine. On the day of the attack, Finnick tried to resuscitate the girl as the rosiness of her cheeks was now a dull white. Addison cried for weeks; I can only imagine how she is acting now.