Panem Forever

Chapter 10

At the Academy, every mentor was on the edge of their seat. The only one who seemed remotely calm was Festus Creed, Coral's mentor. Every time she or her alliance killed, he had a tiny celebration, high fiving himself or woo-hooing quietly. It annoyed the other mentors tremendously, with one even telling him to shut up numerous times. Coriolanus was unnerved. His odds of winning the Plinth Prize seemed less and less likely every time there was a kill. If it was down to Coral and Evelina, he's fairly certain Creed would be taking home the money.

He also couldn't deny his feelings of worry for Evelina. He watched as she dodged axes, and fell out of trees, narrowly missing death around every corner. His anxiety had grown over the next few hours. The Hunger Games hardly ever lasted this long, and the waiting was horrible. Even the Capitol was starting to get bored, wishing one of them would step up and kill the rest of the tributes. It was agonizing for Coriolanus. He wanted that money, but he also wanted Evelina out alive. He wanted her by his side as he rose to power.

He could imagine it. The two of them as Mr and Mrs President of Panem. They would be unstoppable.

He tried to focus on what was really important; winning the money. But every time Evelina's face came on screen he found himself completely enchanted by her. She was ethereal, even with dirt and blood smeared across her sweaty skin. He couldn't look away. Still, he was angry with her for not doing as he said. He watched as she ran toward the center, scooping up a bow, and almost being killed instantly by Coral. He should have warned her more, instead of just hanging out with her. He would never forgive himself if she died in that arena.

꧁༒☬.☬༒꧂

Evelina scrambled to her bow, barely missing a tossed knife from behind her. Coral's laugh sickened her. The other tributes weren't allowed to attack Evelina. "Mine!" she had sneered, closing in on the trembling girl. Finally, Evelina grabbed her weapon. She groaned when she realized the arrows were about ten feet to her left, out of reach. Desperate, she took a small rock and placed it against the string. She rolled over, her back against a thick trunk, and pulled. Just before Coral was about to throw another knife, Evelina let go of the string. The rock went flying, smacking Coral straight in the mouth. She howled, and grabbed her face in pain. Exasperated and bleeding, Evelina sprang up and ran in the other direction. There wasn't anywhere else to hide. The other tributes were not far behind her, their heavy breathing and loud footsteps echoing throughout the dome.

In a split second decision Evelina climbs a tree, just like she did the first day. Everything hurts; the sweat is running in her eyes and her bones ache. She pushes through the pain to reach the larger branches. She looks down, and is quickly surrounded by the other two members in Coral's group. Only two- the other one must have been killed off. Suddenly, just as one of the kids below is about to shoot her with her own arrow, a drone soars through the trees and smashes into the arrow, both being destroyed in the process. The drone was carrying a glass bottle, which Evelina assumed was full of water. The bottle breaks too, shards of glass slamming into one of the tributes. She falls instantly, blood seeping from her wounded stomach. Evelina felt bile growing in her throat again. Seeing another person die made her sick. Then, more drones appear out of thin air. Two slam into the curly haired boy, his spear flying into a nearby bush. He writhed in pain on the forest floor. Next to him, Coral cursed, her eyes surveying the area.

"Come out, come out wherever you are, little mockingjay," she chanted, turning her trident over in her hands like she were juggling. Evelina held her breath, realizing Coral never saw which tree she had climbed because she was too busy with the rock Evelina had launched. Evelina watched in disgust as she spat out a tooth. It must have broken from the stone hitting her. This satisfied Evelina for a moment. She could play the game, too.