The 25th Hunger Games

Day 4

I was almost able to forget the terrible combination of guilt, sadness and hopelessness when Ginger and I finished our float to the top of the pillar. The familiarity of it reminded me that I had made it. It was almost like nothing had even changed since yesterday. When the water came in, it could turn back time.

Ginger didn't seem to agree with this philosophy as she grumpily unpacked her tent. I wanted to ask her what was bothering her, but I already knew the answer. She lost a lot yesterday. Much more than I lost.

Instead, I asked neutrally, "How's your calf doing?"

"Fine," she mumbled back, unwrapping the strings of the tent. I nodded.

"That's good to hear." The sentence trailed off, making me wish we weren't all alone out here. Polite conversation was never my strong suit. I would rather bond over complaints. "There aren't many tributes left. Maybe five others." Exactly five, actually. Three boys and two girls.

"Yeah," Ginger agreed, "but most of them are the Careers. Do you think we could take them if we ran into them?" Ginger said it like it was completely hypothetical, like it wouldn't happen anyway, but I knew there was always a chance.

I hesitated to answer her. After all, we couldn't even take the little girls hiding in bushes. Midnight told me once that we were as skilled as any of the Careers. Today, I would disagree. "We'll do what we have to. Try our best to beat them." Like this was a game and the worst we could do was lose.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Ginger gazed on, her thoughts floating to other things.

What was she so worried about? Ryker? I knew well enough that dwelling never helped. Still, this arena gave everything, even death, a bit of a surreal quality.

Or maybe she was more worried about other things, like her own life. Before yesterday, I believed I could hold my own in a fight. Now, it seemed to be dependent on the circumstances.

At even the mention of yesterday, my head started to spin. So much had happened in such a short time and I never really got a chance to reflect on it. I pressed my eyes tightly closed, trying to pull together all the tiny bits of memory I had. Now that my head was a little clearer, I could really consider what I saw yesterday.

The first thing that came to mind was the girl on top of me. Anita, I knew now, who ended up dead by some means. She left a stab wound in my face before her death, though. Then Anita was off of me, and Ryker and Midnight got into a fight. Not just a fight, they got to the point where both of them ended up dead. I recalled the knife in Ryker's side, blood covering everything, me being sure he was dead, and then Ginger bringing him back only briefly. Midnight died long before, when she fell off the side of the pillar. Diana, I was less sure about at the time, but Ginger claimed she was killed by Anita just before Ginger got to her.

So those were all the pieces of the puzzle, plus the fact that Anita's ally managed to escape us. She was still out here on her deflating raft, I was sure.

This recap left me with a few lingering questions. I stole a glance at Ginger with the hopes that she could help me, only to remember that Ginger was in the dark, too. I was still technically lying to her about Ryker and Midnight.

With only seven of us left, it was very possible Ginger and I could die within twenty-four hours. If she died before I told her, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. And if I died...I would go down with that on my conscience. Without much rational thought, I opened my mouth. "I need to tell you something," I blurted to my ally.

She looked at me questioningly, as if asking me to continue. I did, despite my better judgment. "It's about yesterday. The fight. I know how Ryker died. It's all a bit hazy, but I know."