The Hunger Games: Camden Shepard

Chapter 6

I woke up to the sound of a canon going off and the smell of smoke. I sat completely still and listened for a minute. Once I was sure that there was no one on my floor I began packing my blanket back into my bag. After packing, I very slowly climbed out from under my desk, making sure to be wary of my surroundings before allowing myself to fully stand. I wondered who had died. Suddenly my stomach was gripped in fear. What if it was Jack or Layla. What was the smoke? My head whipped around as I tried to determine if it was from my building. As I looked around my eyes caught sight of something in the next building over. The two tributes from eleven were scaling the side of the building next to me. I hadn't paid much attention to them, but I knew that eleven was agriculture so it made sense that they were exceptional climbers. What was unusual was the volley of flaming arrows being shot after them. About halfway down the wall beneath them somethings was on fire. I shuddered as I realized it was a tribute, but realized that the body was too big to be Layla's and too small to be Jacks and breathed a sigh of relief. They were still alive. I walked over to the window and tried to see who was shooting at them. The girl from five had the bow and was firing madly away while both tributes from one and a boy from two were lighting the arrows on fire. The girl from two was also with them, holding a massive sword and keeping a lookout. Eventually, the girl from five decided the tributes from eleven were out of range and stopped firing.
"Well at least I got one of them." Said the girl from five. She was nearly six feet tall and slender, making her look even more intimidating than she already was. Her long brown hair blew in the crisp morning wind.
"You hit the guy from your own district, Amiya, that's cold." The female tribute from one said, laughing. Then she gave Amiya a high five. I shuddered. I couldn't imagine killing anyone, let alone the boy from my own district, regardless of whether or not it was Jack. Suddenly images of Shilo filled my head. I had already killed someone and it had been easy. I'd even taken pride that I'd followed through on my promise that he had died first. I shook my head. What was happening to me? How could I take pride in killing? It was the Games getting to me, I decided.
"Hey look! There's another one!" The girl from one was pointing up at me and shouting. The tributes from eleven were almost to the top of their building, nearly the same height as mine, putting them eye level with me. Both of them turned and looked at me.
"Help!" The girl screamed. It was obvious she was panicking. I didn't even think. I ran over to the fire escape and pulled open the window. Arrows were lodging in the wall of the building next to me sending sparks dancing under the feet of the tributes from eleven. The girl couldn't have been more than fourteen and the boy looked sixteen at the most. I didn't remember much about them from training, but that didn't matter to me anymore. I wasn't going to let them die because of me. I held my trident steadily in my hand in case they tried to attack me once they were inside. My backpack was already on my back so that I could run without having any problems.
"Jump!" I yelled as their building caught fire. The boy jumped first and barely caught the railing. I stepped out onto the ledge and tried to grab his shoulder as he struggled to find his footing. Then the building caught fire. The girl from eleven screamed and tried to push off the building but didn't jump out far enough. She fell far below to the cold ground as the Career pack laughed.
"No!" The boy screamed. "Mia!" He screamed again. A canon went off.
"She's dead! Come on! If we don't hurry, we're next!" I yelled at him, the sick feeling of watching the girl die was replaced by immediate fear as I watched the Careers run into my building. "They'll be here any minute!" I yelled at him. The building next to ours was completely on fire now. The boy from eleven was crying, but composed himself long enough to slide into the enclosed fire escape. I heard the Careers on the stair case and began looking around desperately. There was still the girl from two below us, wielding her sword and beginning to climb up the fire escape.
"The ladder, quick!" I decided and mounted the ladder that led to the roof the boy followed after slamming the window shut behind me.
"Are you crazy! We'll be trapped!" He yelled after me.
"We'll have the high ground!" I yelled back. That answer seemed to pacify him and we climbed silently until we reached the roof. The smell of smoke was overpowering as the building next to us was completely engulfed. We took a position just above the stairs, my trident at the ready along with his sickle.
"A sickle?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Cuts hay and heads." He whispered. He was still crying.
"Did you know her before?" I asked. He shook his head.
"No. But she was a piece of home." He responded. I nodded and stuck out my hand.
"Cam." I said. He shook it.
"Ben." He replied. I studied him for a moment. He was much taller than I was and much stronger. His skin was dark, like most of the people in eleven, but he had bright green eyes and short brown hair. He would make a good ally. The voices were closer now. Ben raised his sickle expertly. I aimed my trident. The two tributes from One poked their heads out of the window and grinned evilly up at me. Then Ben swung the sickle and the boy from Ones canon went off. The girl ducked back inside as Ben wrenched the sickle out of the dead boys skull, barely pulling his arm back before the Amiya sent a round of arrows hurtling up at us. A hovercraft had arrived to attempt to scrape off the burnt remains of the boy on fire and Mia, along with the newly killed boy from One. The hovercraft was between us and the building on fire, it's long mechanical arms attempting to peel the burnt boy off the wall and Mia off the ground. Amiya was still firing off shots making it impossible to fight back, at least until she ran out of arrows. Ben and I had pulled back, but I could hear someone climbing up the ladder. I looked around, there was no where to run. I looked at Ben and he nodded. We were going to have to fight without the advantage of high ground as long as Amiya had her arrows. The girl from one hauled her tall frame over the top of the ladder and dove immediately under Ben and I as we each attacked with our respective weapons. Ben went high and I went low. I barely managed to cut her leg before she was on her feet and swinging her own jewel encrusted sword. It was thin and light, unlike my much heavier trident, making her blows faster and more precise. Luckily, Ben was with me and caught her sword in the crook of his sickle as she attempted to stab me. She nicked his cheek as he drew her sword away from me. I swept her feet out from beneath her with the back of my trident. She fell hard, but managed to roll away as my trident impaled the ground where she had just been. She was clearly more skilled at fighting than either Ben or I. She was back on her feet, though clearly trying to regain her balance. Ben took the opportunity to swing again, this time for her neck, and I drove my trident towards her stomach. Instead of blocking she allowed herself to fall onto her back, avoiding both of our weapons. Then she swung with her sword, connecting with Ben's left leg and leaving a massive gash along his calf. He called out in pain. The girl from one grinned at us. Ben had dropped his sickle and was holding his leg, bent over from the pain. She swung for his head. My trident was too heavy for me to block in time. I pulled the dagger from my boot and swung with all my force, slicing her wrist and forcing her to drop the sword. The girl from one cried out and Ben hopped backwards, towards the side of the roof. With my left hand I brought my trident down and another canon went off. The first hovercraft had disappeared and another one took its place for the boy from one. Amiya screamed from the top of the stairs now and started firing her last remaining arrows at me. I stuck my dagger back in my boot, grabbed Bens sickle and grabbed Bens hand, dragging him behind me as I ran. The girl from two was also on the roof, charging after Ben and I. The hovercraft had just lowered its mechanical arm to retrieve the boy from One when I threw myself off the roof, one of Amiya's arrows hitting my left shoulder, and grabbed hold of the arm. Ben had jumped to avoid the arrows and caught the arm just below me. The arm buckled, clearly not used to the extra weight of three full grow tributes, and began to slide towards the ground. Amiya and the girl from two were still on the roof as my feet reached the ground, though now they were scrambling down the fire escape. The hovercraft took off and I was sure the pilot would be killed for allowing tributes to use his vehicle as a means of escape. After all we were here to die, not escape a fight. I grabbed Bens hand and we ran down the streets of the city away from the burning building and the two remaining Careers.
After running for a few minutes, with Ben hobbling close behind me, a deafening noise echoed through the city. We turned to see the building we had just escaped from collapse straight down into a pile of dust and fire and smoke. A canon went off.
"Maybe it was Amiya." Ben said. I nodded.
"Let's not wait around to find out." I replied. I looked down at Bens leg. The skin on his calf was open and his leg was exposed down to the bone. I glanced behind us. He was leaving a blood trail. "Come on." I said, pulling him towards the building next to us.