The Very First Hunger Games

Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Day Twelve in the Arena

I rack my brain, trying to figure out how I'm going to help Jake without getting myself killed in the process. If I could get April to come running through the trees, I could hide and impale her when she least expects it. Maybe I could shout something and hope the Jabberjays copy me? Maybe I could sing something? I can't carry a tune but if the Jabberjays like to imitate my tortured screams then surely my singing won't any different.

Remembering the old English nursery rhyme that I was taught at school, I start singing at the top of my lungs:

"Oh, the grand old duke of York,

He had ten thousand me,

He marched them all the way to the top of the hill,

And he marched them down again"

The birds don't stop to listen, they continue tweeting, and some fly away, uninterested. April, however, is very interested. She turns her head round and smiles. She dislodges her machete from Julietta's stomach and saunters in my direction.  But she hasn't spotted me. Yet.

If April does end up killing me, then at least my death won't be in vain. I will have saved Jake. For now.

I start to back away slowly. My feet itch to run, but exhaustion makes that impossible, so I continue my song.

"And when they were up they were up,

And when they were down, they were down,

And when they were only half way up,

They were neither up nor down"

April bounds towards me. I hold up my harpoon, ready to impale her, then I remember how Eric looked when I  killed him; the shock on his face, the light drain out of his eyes, the hovercraft carrying his lifeless body away...

I swing my weapon round and the blunt end of the harpoon slams into side of April's head.  She staggers to the side and falls into a pile of sodden leaves. She isn't unconscious but she is a little blindsided, which gives Jake enough time to scamper away. It's too late for Julietta though, the large of pool of blood surrounding her indicates that she is on the verge of death. At least if she dies now April won't be able to inflict anymore pain on her. Me on the other hand...

"Is that the best you can do?" April snarls.

She wobbly tries to pick herself of the ground, but ends up tripping on something that is hidden by the leaves. April looks as shocked as I am as she looks down to assess her leg. Her foot is caught in a rope made into a loop by a complicated knot. She tries to pull free from the noose, but this only tightened its grip on her ankle.

I can almost hear the audience urging me to spear April's heart. I want to, but then I remember the crushing guilt from Eric's murder that threatens to bury me and I can't bring myself to do it.

April flounders and flails but it doesn't make an impact on the snare; it has a firm hold on her and isn't prepared to let go. I almost laugh at how funny the situation is; April, feared by all, favourite to win the Hunger Games, ensnared by a few meters of rope.

April can't kill me. The best she can do is throw insults at me.

"You got what you wanted April" I say tossing my harpoon to the side, but not within April's reach. "Go on, kill me. It's what the Capitol wants you to do"

This could be suicide, or it could save my life. April looks taken aback. Good.

"I'm not doing anything for the Capitol" April exclaims, looking disgusted.

"Not true. You're giving them a good show. After all that's what the games are about. Who gave the best performance? You're certainly taking the lead" I say.

An angry flame flares up in her eyes, as she speedily searches for a small knife, anything she can hurl at me before I jeopardize her rank in The Hunger Games any further. The only weapon on her belt is her machete, which would be too heavy to throw with accuracy. 

"This is not an act. Don't doubt for a second that I would chop your limbs off without hesitation" April growls.

Every word strikes terror in me, but I can't back down now.

"Ahh yes. The tough girl attitude is sure to win over the audience. Surely you're the favourite to win. Well, unless you did something that made the Capitol turn against you. Like kill one of the other favorites?" I say.

"You're think you're one of the Capitol's favorites?" April laughs.

"Those gifts didn't come from nowhere" I lie.

April narrows her eyes. My voice is noticeably trembling and I'm not even fooling myself.

"I don't care what the Capitol thinks of me" April spits.

"You should. It's your life in their hands"

"Shut up! You're almost begging me to kill you" she screams.

I wouldn't have to beg.

"Maybe I am." I say, attempting to swallow my fear. "It's not like I'm likely to survive anyway. Probably for the best, I wouldn't want to live and become the Capitol's pedigree."

Then something remarkable happens. I see fear in April's eyes. She knows I'm right. The Capitol owns her. Every time she kills someone, she is doing the Capitol's bidding.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for." April grins. "You almost had me there. Did you expect me to believe you were one of the Capitol's favourites?"

"I'm still alive aren't I? That harpoon didn't come from nowhere" I argue.

This makes April laugh even more.

"You know, you're a lot like me" April says, attaching her machete back on her belt.

"I'm nothing like you" I whisper harshly.

"Shame, we could've made a great team" she says slyly.

"No thanks. I'd rather not be killed in my sleep".

"You think I'm that cowardly?" April exclaims.

But I'm already walking away, which is what I should've done in first place, but I got caught up winding April up.

"Hey, come back here!" she shouts.

April continues to yell profanities at me but no amount of abuse from April is going to make me slow down. The canon booms and I taste sickness in my mouth. Julietta must be dead. A death I could have prevented if only I thought faster.

Just when I thought I'd lost April, but she soon darts out the trees, machete in hand. My heart rate accelerates and sweat pours over me. This is it.

Before I get the chance to move, April grabs my shoulders and hauls me it the ground with a painful thud.  She raises her machete and brings it down, making it land a few centimeters from my head, clipping my ear.

"Don't try that again because next time I won't miss" April threatens.

She then pulls me back on my feet, snakes her arm round my throat and drags me through the forest. No amount of screaming, kicking or pleading loosens her grip.  

Once we arrive at wherever April plans to kill me, she slams my head into a rock making the edge of my vision go black.

I'm semi-aware of April pulling me through cold hard sand, and then tying my hands together with some rope. When I try to move my hands I realise they are secured to a tree branch.

"Doesn't feel nice to be trapped does it?" April says. "No, I'm not letting you off. I am going to kill you, I just want an audience."

An audience? The whole of Panem is watching.

I have no idea what she means. The pounding in my head makes it harder to think. It feels like the world is tipping to the side. The only thing I register before I black out is April strolling away.