Black Bird

29

Sorry for no updates! I messed up my knee and have been focused on that but the next few will be intense

I tried to go to sleep earlier that night. We all had climbed back into the tree due to the rain. The anthem started to play and I his my head underneath my sleeping bag, I didn't need to see who died. I witnessed it. Seeing Hallen's face would just bring everything back up, I have to move on. The truth about these games are that they rip everything from you, family, friends, your old life, and feelings. I'm losing my ability to feel anything emotionally and I know it.
The anthem fades and I finally feel myself settle.
"Lightning is still alive." I hear Alice say.
"Mhm." another voice says.
Brandon had watch tonight, I asked to take it but he insisted I slept, that I had a long day. I guess I needed the sleep though especially for tomorrow. Tomorrow. Half of me was excited to just get everything over with tomorrow and the other half of me wanted tomorrow to never come. What if something went wrong? What if they knew, somehow. They couldn't. But they could. It's possible, they could know more than us and that's what scares me..

"Phoebe." I hear a voice say, my eyes flutter open and I'm blinded by the light of the sun.
"She's up."
"Great, get her out of the tree. We have to move."
"What?" I ask adjusting to my surroundings.
"Get up Phoebs." Brandon.
"Do we have too? Maybe we shouldn't." Melanie.
"I'm up." I say finally awake.
"Great, let's go while Its still early." Alice says.
We all slowly get down from the tree, the wet bark made it hard to grip onto and it stuck to my hands. I wiped them off when I was on the ground.
"We're not coming back here so grab everything." I say. Hard to believe that we'd all be on our separate ways after this.
"Do you have it?" Alice asks.
I put the canister into my bag and nod, "yep."
"Does everyone have everything?" Brandon asks minutes later as we start to leave.
"Think so." Melanie shrugs.
"Well, lead us to the careers." I say to Alice.
We start to walk away from out old camp.
"I'll miss it." Melanie says.
"I won't." I say catching up to Alice.
"Hey Brandon what do you want to be when you grow up?" Melanie asks.
"Not to sure actually. I'll probably take over as mayor, but I want to be a writer." He replies. I didn't know that.
"Fascinating," Melanie gasps, "Personally I want to make music. I love music, maybe have my own music store. How about you Alice, what do you want to be?"
"I want to take over my mom's old bookstore, it would mean a lot to me if I do. She died, so me and my dad have been taking care of it but I want to take it over for myself." She says.
"I'm sorry." Melanie says.
"It's fine." Alice smiles but you could tell she was fighting tears.
There was silence.
"What about you Phoebe?" Melanie asks.
I shrug, "Haven't thought about it."
"Come on you have to have something in mind." Melanie smiles at me.
"Umm. I don't know, I'd probably follow my dad's footsteps and work for the mayor." I say.
"Nice." She says.
"Shh." Alice speaks.
We quiet instantly.
"This is it." She says.
I quickly grab the canister from my pack.
"You know the plan." I whisper.
Everyone nods.
"Listen for the signal." I say, "I love you guys."
We all hug. I just hope this goes to plan.
"Good luck." We all say splitting up. Me up a tree, Brandon, Melanie and Alice surrounding their camp behind the bushes.
So there I was crouched in a tree, I had perfect sight of the sleeping careers. I positioned the canister so that it would fall right in the middle of them. Then I dropped it. I watched it fall praying it wouldn't get stuck in the branches until it did. I mentally groaned and climbed down the tree a little to where it got stuck. The canister was to far. I'd have to saw off the branch. Quietly I grabbed a knife from their spot in the holder on my leg and started to saw. Luckily the branch was thin and it didn't take long. I grabbed the branch so it didn't fall on the careers and threw the canister down. I watched as it fell, it rang as it fell. Rucker was the first to wake, he quickly shook Nicky awake, along with Gerard and Lilly.
"There's a parachute!" He says excitedly. Its happening.
"What?" Klinton says awaking. Janice woke up shortly after.
"Berries?!" Nicky exclaims as Rucker opens the canister.
"Thank god, we have no food." Gerard adds raking a berry. I watch intensely as him and Nicky each plop ones in their mouths. The rest of the careers take one as well.
"This is good." Nicky says. Then boom, her and Gerard fall over. Dead. I slowly climb down from the tree as the rest of the careers scream frantically.
"Oh my god what happened?!" Janice screams.
"Its night lock." Lilly says.
There are 2 booms, Nicky and Gerard had died.
The signal! Quickly I let out a whistle and Alice, Melanie and Brandon burst out of the bushes. I follow but I'm behind everyone
"I knew it!" Klinton yells grabbing his sword and jumping to his feet. The remaining careers follow his lead.
"We could do this the easy way or hard way." Rucker says.
"Hard way." Alice says and she charges, so does everyone else. I have to take this opportunity, I grab a knife and throw it, it hits Rucker in the back and he falls to the ground Alice finishes up the job and stabs the knife further into his back.
"Alice!!" I scream but I'm to late Klinton had reached her, he races his sword and brings it down. Boom. The cannon sounded, Alice had died.
I didn't take any seconds to think I quickly gave Melanie and Brandon a sign to run away and we ran out of the careers base.