The Very First Hunger Games

Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Day Fifteen/Sixteen in the Arena

Stars explode into the most vibrant colours – all the colours of the rainbow. Blue and pink and yellow and purple and then muddy brown. The muddy brown of a dilapidated shack, with windows caked with the dirt and the roof tiles falling off. It's my house, but it's not my house. It's too bright, too shiny, like the gleam of the sunlight bouncing off a mirror.

Mother, father, Laurel and Luca – they all lie in a pool of blood on the living room floor. I scream at them, begging them to wake up – they don't. I spin round and catch my appearance in a dusty mirror that I've never notice before propped against the wall on the mantelpiece.  I'm caked in blood head to toe. Even my spear. Looking back down at my dead loved ones, I notice they all have identical gaping holes in their sides.

The sound of the spear clattering to the ground reverberates through the room as I take it all in. The people I care most about in the world have been murdered and the evidence points to me. I couldn't have. I wouldn't have. A sob creeps up my throat and threatens to choke me. I hope it does. I'm a monster.

As if I wasn't confused enough, Cleo chooses that moment to skip through the room, take my hand and lead me through to the bathroom. Her straight blonde hair turns into dark curly hair and her face somehow morphs into Alexis's. This doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy. My brain is so frazzled I can't think properly.

 I attempt to run away Alexis grabs my hair and shoves my head into the bathtub. I thrash in the tub until she releases me. Just before I can regain my breath, Antonio appears and forces out the open window. Landing with a soft thud, I access my injuries. The pain is surprisingly minimal.

When I manage to rise to my feet, Eric bounds towards me and hurtles me to the ground. He pins me to the ground and stabs me repeatedly in the chest. It's long and excruciating. Something's wrong. I should die, no human being can withstand this much pain and blood lose - not to mention major organs being punctured.

Eric finally stops when Coral's giggling starts echoing through the neighborhood. He releases me and runs off to apparently find his sister. Coral isn't in whatever direction Eric is headed - she is at the bottom of the street, beckoning me to join her.  When Coral realizes I can't, she becomes aggravated and stomps away.

I don't want to be alone. Death is near. I can feel its dark presence hovering over me. No wait; that's the girl from district 11. I drag myself away from her hatred filled glare, but she crawls after me, her limbs jutting out awkwardly.

"I'm dead because of you" she hisses.

"No" I croak. 

My denial seems to infuriate her more. So much so that her eyes roll to the back of her head and her skin turns scaly. Her limbs dissolve into her body and she transforms into a giant slithering creature of darkness. Something inside my head is screaming at me to run. But I can't. I'm paralyzed with pure terror. There's nothing I can do. She spits green froth, slithers towards me and swallows me whole. 

I wake with a start. It was just a nightmare, but the fear is still coursing through me. Where am I and how am I still alive? This is no time to panic. I must access my surroundings and figure out how to get back to my camp.

There is a burning agony in my hand that seems to spread throughout my whole body. I roll over with a groan.

"Hey. I wondered when you were gonna wake up" Alexis laughs.

At the sound of her voice, I jump up, despite the dizziness making my head swim. The blurriness has taken over my vision so I have to force my eyes to focus on Alexis.  No snakes for hair, no claws for hands – she looks completely normal.