A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

thirteen

Seven days, six tributes left. I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it was time for them to conduct the final eight interviews. Except there would only be six, since the number of tributes went from nine to six rather quickly.

My parents, Kit, and maybe some friends from school would be interviewed. Would Luke? I doubted it. Most of District 9 knew we were friends, but I don't think that knowledge existed outside of our district. Luke was also my mentor, so he might be interviewed anyway.

Seven days. A week had gone by in the arena, and already we were down to the final six. The Capital wouldn't like it. Sure, there was probably a lot of "excitement", but they usually preferred the games to last over two weeks. Anyone who has ever watched the Hunger Games would expect there to be a big finale.

I was back in the forest. I was naturally drawn here, where I was most comfortable. Besides, there was nowhere else to go. There was nothing to do except blindly stumble around until I came across another tribute. Then, it was kill or be killed.

My stomach was no longer growling. I had my first decent meal in weeks, and strangely enough, I owed it to Cliff. I also tended to most of my injuries, and it turned out I had a lot more than I thought. I assumed the adrenaline blocked out most of the pain I felt.

Most of the morning was spent getting away from the Cornucopia. I didn't realize the mistake I made until it was too late; I should have left before the sun had risen. I could have been easily spotted by another tribute, and they could be tracking me right now. That thought made me hobble faster through the trees. I was hindered by my newly bandaged knee, which I had scraped against the rocks on the first day. I hadn't paid it much attention, which was stupid of me in hindsight. I got pain medication from the Cornucopia, but I didn't want to look weak. Another stupid mistake on my part.

I stopped in the middle of the forest and pulled my pack around to the front, thinking I could quickly pop in a pill to get me through the rest of the day. I let my guard down for a second and next thing I knew, I was grabbed from behind.

My shriek echoed throughout the forest and I began to thrash uselessly against my captor. The knife belt was unsnapped from my waist and it fell to the ground, out of my reach. I silently cursed myself for not holding at least one in my hand. Had I learned nothing from watching the Hunger Games?

"Shh, calm down Julsey. It's just me." Atlas' breath was hot against my ear. His words didn't comfort me, but instead made me thrash even harder. I bit down hard on his arm, causing him to pull away in shock. I fell to the ground, my knee burning as it hit first. My fall reopened the scab on my forehead and blood began to trickle down my face. I scrambled forward, putting as much distance between me and my attacker as possible. I heard the crunch of leaves underneath his feet as he stepped toward me and cursed under his breath.

I kicked my leg out hard, feeling satisfied when I connected with his ankles and knocked his feet out from underneath his large body. While he was distracted, I blindly pawed at the ground, trying to find my knives while wiping the blood away from my eyes.

"Want to play hard to get? I see how it is. Trying to put on a good show." He was on his feet quicker than I anticipated and stood over me.

I wouldn't be able to run, not with my freshly injured knee. The only option was to fight, but not without my knives. I could certainly try, but I would never be able to beat Atlas in a fist fight. My fingers had previously been numb from the cold, but now my entire hands felt completely frozen. I crawled forward quickly to gain time, but I wasn't fast enough. He grabbed my leg and yanked me backward. I yelped in shock but was able to throw up my good leg and kick him in the face.