The 70th Hunger Games- Fliss' Story

28

When the sun rises the rain has cleared and the arena is surprisingly still. We decide to swim. The morning goes past in a flash and we have a lunch of marshmallows. It is late afternoon when we stumble upon to figures locked in battle. Crystal and Rowan.

Crystal is wielding an impressive sword. Rowan is holding her back with a spear. Both have wounds and it's clear this will be a fight to the death. Just as I'm thinking it could go either way Crystal is disarmed. Rowan sweeps on leg around and knocks Crystal to the floor. As she is going down she knocks a punch onto Rowan's balls.

Although he is wincing in pain he will not let her go. He pins her down and goes to shove the spear into her skull. I wince as the spear butt hits the rock. At the last minute Crystal jerks her head to one side to miss the blow.

She is fighting back hard. Struggling to get out of Rowan's muscular hold. He teasingly cuts Crystal's check with the spear head, it draws blood but it can't hurt that much. She is still struggling and it appears she has worked an arm free.

Rowan doesn't notice as she reaches above her head and tries to hook her hand over her sword handle. By the time Rowan notices it is too late. He sees her hand and starts to bring the spear down towards her stomach for the death blow. Crystal with awesome force swings the top half of her body up and buries her sword into Rowan's head.

The echo of the cannon thunders round the arena.

It's only now I can turn away. I have been watching the fight with fascinated horror. As I face Ash his face is pale. I glance back at Crystal standing triumphantly over the body.

"It's only a matter of time before she moves on. Come on lets go back to our cave, we'll be safe there." Ash gently pulls me away.

I don't know how we make it back to the cave but the next thing I know is that I'm sat on the cave floor in the sleeping bag. I finish the rest of the chicken, but it tastes of nothing and I feel like I have to chew every bite at least three times over before it actually goes down.

I take the first watch. I start at every noise, every flicker of light, every gust of wind. I am alert to everything and anything. Ash wakes up and takes the next watch. I fall into a light sleep, tossing and turning, haunted by the images of my gruesome end.

I wake with a jolt my hand gripping a weapon. I relax when I see Ash's face in front of me. I suppose it would always come down to this. Crystal and I. I can't take this waiting.

It soon becomes clear that we won't have to. Far on the horizon, but rapidly approaching, is a massive wave. I've never seen anything like it. An impenetrable wall of water. Its job is to do one thing, to drive us together.