Together Again

5 of Us Left... (Birch PoV)

I slowly uncover my eyes. 5 cannons. 5 more cannons. 10 to 5. 5 people dead. 5 more tributes dead. Marble is one of them.

I choke back a sob and decide to get some sleep. I'll make a plan tomorrow, but now, I need sleep. I need water. I need food. I need peace. But what I need most of all, is to get out of here.

I curl up into a ball and am almost asleep when I hear the National Anthem of Panem. I look through the cave opening and see all the pictures in the sky. I'm in tears as soon as I see Marble smirking at the camera, his eyes focused on me.

He's telling me to win. And go back home. For him. And Cato. And Clove. And for myself. Don't let them win.

I head back inside and fall asleep from exhaustion. I wake up to birds chirping, which is odd. I walk out of the cave slowly and start to make a plan. After a few minutes, I work out all the kinks and have a solid plan.

1. Figure out where I am.
2. Get weapons.
3. Find food and water.
4. Track down and stalk the Careers.
5. Make sure to split them up or have them die, somehow.
And 6. Win the Games and go home

It's a lot, but I think I can manage. I start out at 1. I make a small map of where I came from and how far away that was from the Cornucopia. I know where that is now. But to double check, I walk to the edge of the cliff and look out. I can see the whole arena. I need to head back towards the edge of the forest and then get closer to the Cornucopia, which I assume is where they are.

I start to climb down the cliff. I head towards the forest and I find some weapons that the other tributes must have dropped. I pick up a knife, and an axe. Along with a backpack. Which, luckily, has food and water in it.

I smile to myself and put the backpack on and look for anything else that can help me. I find a few more knives and I shove them in my pockets and put two in my backpack.

Walking towards the forest munching on some food, and sipping on some water, I watch for tracks or anything that can help me find the Careers. I hear laughing and I quickly bolt up a tree with a lot of leaves, so I can hide.

I hear Diamond laughing obnoxiously. Johnathan rolls his eyes and looks like he wants to kill her. Shark looks bored, as always. Coral looks beaten up. Tired, her breathing is uneven and raggedy. She has a limp and dried blood all over her.

I cover my mouth with my hand. I know it'll be easiest to take her out first. I just have to follow them and see what happens. Luckily, they aren't worried about anything. Out of nowhere, Johnathan slaps Diamond. Her mouth is hanging open and she growls and attacks him. Shark steps back.

Johnathan glares at Diamond and pulls out a dagger. He rolls his shoulders back and she falls on her butt. He drops down to one knee and puts his hand under her chin. Looking into her eyes, he laughs. "Pathetic," he spits.

She whimpers in fear and Johnathan gets up and turns around. Shark smirks and Coral looks furious. She charges at Johnathan, fishing line ready to be used. He whirls around and stabs her in the stomach. Her eyes go wide and she looks down at her impaled stomach.

She drops to her knees and her head falls in Diamond's lap. Diamond shrieks and Johnathan rolls his eyes again. He motions to Shark and Shark smirks. He kneels down and pulls out a sword. He makes one clean cut and Diamond's head comes rolling clean off onto the forest floor.

BOOM! A cannon goes off for Diamond. Shark and Johnathan walk off and I jump down after a little while. Coral grabs my wrist and guides my hand to her heart. I shake my head, tears pooling by my eyes.

I close my eyes and she helps me push the knife into her heart. I shudder and hear, BOOM!, the cannon goes off. I quickly turn around and free my knife. Johnathan is standing in front of me. I quickly move my knife in front of me.

"Stay back!" I say loudly, knowing he won't listen. He snickers. "You're adorable. We all know you won't use that. You're too scared to. And we all know it."

I know he's right. And I know it shows. I've never been good enough. I've never been enough. I've never done enough to be noticed. And I finally let it all out.

Johnathan and Shark move towards me. I run towards a tree and they tear after me. I just have to take care of them now. I skirt around a fallen branch that is huge.

Using my size to my advantage, I sprint into the open, brambles and thorns scratching my skin. I roll towards the Cornucopia and get up quickly, still running at full speed. I scramble up the side of the giant metal horn. Looking down, I ready my knives to throw at them. I don't dare to breathe.

I see Shark out of the corner of my eye and I duck as a dagger whooshes past my ear. I take a shaky breathe and hear a scream. I twist my head to see the dagger impaled in Shark's arm. I slide over to where he's hanging onto the Cornucopia and kick him in the face.

He lets go to try and grab my feet, but he falls off the side and I hear a thud as his gigantic body slams on the ground. I shudder. I forgot about Johnathan and all of a sudden I feel my arm getting yanked and twisted behind my back. I groan in pain and I hear Johnathan laugh. I can feel his smile.

I close my eyes and wait for him to do something. I count to myself. 3. 2. 1. I whirl around and untwist my arm, slapping Johnathan. His eyes widen in surprise. I shove him off the Cornucopia and he lands on Shark's injured arm. I hear Shark scream and peer over the edge.

I jump down and smirk. I kick Johnathan in the chest and kneel down. "Disappointing," I say, grabbing his chin.

I push him to the ground with my foot on his chest. His back dogs the knife deeper into Shark's arm and he keeps screaming. I hear what sounds like a mechanical door opening and I see a door open and a panther leaps out. Before it can see me, I bound to the top of the Cornucopia, leaving them behind.

Shark screams and the panther pounces. Shark is gone first. I cringe and cover my ears. Johnathan is pinned to the ground. I can't look away as the panther scratches his face and he moves his head around.

The panther growls in annoyance and as a warning. Johnathan doesn't stop. The panther gets fed up and finally scratches him up at his chest. He starts getting dragged around very fast by the panther.

I hear a BOOM! as Shark finally died. I still can't look away from Johnathan and the panther. It becomes dark and that's all I listen to at night. Until, at dawn, after an eternity, the final canon sounds.

I see the panther look up at the Cornucopia. It nods and I swear it winks at me. I stare in shock. I hear Ceaser's voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The winner of the 73rd Hunger Games! Birch Jones!"