Story Ideas

A Rose's Snare pt 5

In the morning I am dressed into a simple dress to wear to the catacombs under the arena. I don’t see Gale and when I ask Cinna he just shakes his head.

I frown as I am guided onto the roof and hovercraft appears. A ladder is let down and Cinna directs me to get on.

I obey and I am frozen to the ladder as it pulls me in. But I am still frozen to the ladder. A lady appears and tells me to stay still.

I feel a sharp pain as she inserts the tracker deep into my arm so that I can’t be lost in the area.

The ladder releases me and I am directed to a dining room filled with food. I nervously begin to eat till Cinna joins me. He frowns as he sits at the table and picks at a biscuit.

Look up and sigh. “Is Gale in another hovercraft?”

Cinna nodds. “With Portia. They are fine. You will see him again in the area. Remember to not to step off the platform too soon.”

I nodd and eat slowly. The windows turn black after awhile so I guess that we are nearing the arena.

The hovercraft lands and Cinna and I go back to the ladder. We are lowered into the launch room where I will get ready and dressed for the games.

Everything is brand-new and never used. Cinna shakes his head as he shows me to the bathroom. There, I shower and brush my teeth and any other things I can do without help.

When I finish, I walk out in a bathrobe and Cinna hands me the package with my clothes for the area. After I am dressed in tan pants, light green shirt, and a black hoodie he hands me my Mockingjay pin.

I look up at him in surprise. “How did you find this?”

Cinna smiles slightly. “You left it on the dresser in the train. I had to pass it as your token even though it was difficult because of the sharp point.”

I nodd and pin it to myself. “Thank you Cinna.”

Cinna nodds and sighs. “The jacket reflects heat so expect some cold nights.”

After while we sit on a couch and wait for the time to go above ground. It’s quiet and so I start to chew on my lip nervously.

Cinna notices and shakes his head. “Wanna talk?”

I shake my head no and we sit in silence. Finally a female voice comes over and tells us to prepare for launch. I walk over and stand on the metal plate.

Cinna smiles weakly. “Remember. Find water first. Don’t worry about anything else.”

I nodd and a glass is lowered over me to keep me on the platform. I wave to Cinna as I am lifted.

I am in darkness for a few minutes before I see a blinding light. I let my eyes adjust as I look around and see a forest in behind me.

I start to look for Gale as Claudius announces, “Let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”

At were standing here for 60 seconds, I can’t find Gale so I take in the surroundings. To my right there is a lake and my left and back is the forest. In front there is either a cliff or a slope. In front of me, in the middle of the circle of tributes is the Cornucopia.

I have the urge to run away right now but I know that I’ll need some kind of supplies to survive out here.

I begin to scan the packs lying around till I see one a few feet away that looks like it has a bunch of first aid.

When the gong rings I dash forward and grab it at the same time that a little boy from 6 does.

But I’m a little bigger so I yank it from him and run toward the forest. I hear my named yelled behind me and on instinct I duck. A throwing knife digs into a tree a few feet ahead of me. I grab the hilt and yank it out as I run.

I keep running till I can’t run anymore. Finally I stop and look around. There is a small cave nearby and a few climbable trees. I start to crawl up one and finally make it up high enough after nearly falling three times.

I take the belt of my waist and put my back against the trunk of the tree and strap myself to it. I then open the backpack and start looking through it. Some of the first aid must’ve fell out when I yanked it from that boy.

I pull out a cloth wrap, a bottle of itch ointment, and a bottle of clear liquid for infections. After I put those into my lap I notice that there is still more in the backpack. I pull the stuff out and look at them. Pair of glasses, an empty water jug, a bottle of solution for purifying water, a bag of edible berries, and dried meat. I stuff all the supplies back into the bag and cut a piece of cloth off my jacket and tie the knife to the bag.

I look up to see the sun starting to set. I better find some water before it’s too dark to see.

I untie myself for the tree and crawl down. I start to walk with my back to the sun so that it doesn’t blind me.

Using my knowledge of medical plants, I look around for plants that need to be near water. After a few hours of wandering I find a few of them and start walking in that direction.

Finally as the last few bits of sunlight start to disappear, I nearly trip into a small stream. I pull out my water jug and fill it up and drip some of the solution into it. I shake it up with the lid and drink most of it. I fill the jug up again and after purifying it, I put it in to my backpack.

I turn and scan the area for any kind of hiding place. But this time there are no trees or caves I can get into. I huff and start to walk downstream.

Finally I find a small cave that I crawl into. I set my backpack down and sigh.

I realize that I didn’t even stop to count the cannon shoots earlier. I frown at myself but when the anthem plays, I crawl out of the cave and look at the sky as I watch the pictures of who died flash through the sky.

The girl from district 3, the boy from 4 and 5, both kids from 6 and 7, boy from 8, both kids from 9 and the girl from 10. Eleven from the first day.

I smile a little to myself as I understand that my allies are still alive somewhere. I start to crawl back into the cave but a light catches my attention. I look to see it flicker showing that it must be a fire.

I panic as I realize that if it’s not someone to kill me it will attract someone who will want to kill me. I grab my backpack and start to run but I hear yelling and a cannon fire. I start to look around to see a tree with a low branch. I quickly crawl up and break a fee branches on my way up.

When I’m safely at the top I tie myself to the tree using my belt and take a deep breath.