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Silence
Twenty
I had less than a minute to take in my surroundings, and then I would be in the thick of it all. We were in a small circle, enclosed by looming mountains, taller than possible to climb. The ground was covered by a clean sheet of ice, and several snowflakes were fluttering to the floor. I panicked, fearing being closed in such a small space with twenty two people wanting to kill me. But then I noticed them. Twelve tunnels leading through the mountains, placed fairly exactly half way between each tribute podium. I had no idea where each would lead, but I figured anything was better than being trapped in the frozen circle. I twisted the ring on my finger to stop myself from screaming.
It didn’t much worry me that the floor would be slippery, as I thought I would be able to handle it, but then I realised Logan might not. What if he falls and is killed?
Gong! There was no time to worry about him. I slid reasonably gracefully as fast as I could towards the Cornocopia. Fortunately, the shoes I wore had little grip, and I was making good process. Quickly snapping my head to the right, I saw Clementia running, her hair flying out behind her. Then, one false step, and she fell to the floor. The ice cracked around her, but she got up and carried on as best as she could. Many of the other competitors also seemed to be struggling, wobbling precariously whilst trying to regain speed and balance. It reassured me somewhat.
Though the air was cold, the sun glinted off the surface of the golden horn known as the Cornocopia in the centre of the circle, winking at me and luring me towards the bounty. I bent my knees slightly, still sliding smoothly, and grabbed a small backpack to my left without stopping. I reached the mouth and grabbed as many knives as possible, placing one between my teeth, and attaching the rest to my belt. I had been one of the quickest, and no one had attacked me yet. However, it bothered me that I couldn’t see Logan. Then I spotted him, around twenty metres away, stumbling with District 9’s girl hot on his heels. I was about to shout a warning to him, when he spun around and punched her so hard, she fell backwards to the ground and hit her head hard on the ice. It made me smile, though not for long. A small girl slammed into me, knocking the wind out of me. She had a horrible, menacing grin on her face that no girl so young should have. She reached for her spear to finish me off, and with all the power I could muster from my winding, I shoved her off me, removed the knife from between my teeth and plunged it into her stomach. She coughed gruesomely, spraying my face with her blood. Roughly, I shoved her out of my way so I could retrieve her spear. She hit the side of the Cornocopia, her blood leaving a trail on the white ground. Trying not to think about what I had just done, I grabbed another pack and slung it over my shoulder. Moments later, Logan reached me, panting hard and trying to stop a flow of blood from his arm.
“Where to?”
I selected a tunnel and gestured to it. Around us, a war was raging, tributes hacking at each other, oblivious to me and Logan.
“That one. Take the lead. I’ll run behind in case anyone follows. When we find some place safe, I’ll tend to your arm.”
And so we ran. One knife still in hand, I used it to skewer a loaf of bread, which I stuffed into my pocket. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it might burst. We ducked in to the tunnel, but kept going, unsure whether it was safe to stop. I wanted to make sure Logan’s arm was alright, but I knew that if we stopped, we could be putting ourselves in danger. So as we ran, I asked him how it was. He said it wasn’t bad, and that the cut wasn’t very deep. This made up my mind to keep moving, so that’s what we did. Several minutes in to the run, the ceiling began to get lower and lower, until it was too low to stand. I called for Logan to stop, and we crouched uncomfortably, considering our options.
“We can’t go back. We’ll be slaughtered,” I pointed out.
“I agree, but what if there is a dead end?”
“I think it’s a risk we’ll have to take. I guess we could try a different tunnel…”
“No, let’s continue with this one. There has to be an end at some point. I hope.”
Silently, we both began to crawl again. The ceiling was still getting lower, but I tried not to let it bother me. At least we were away from the other tributes. In front, Logan shouted that we’d have to slide on our stomachs the rest of the way, but that he could see a light ahead.
“It might take us a while to get through.”
“That’s OK. Keep going.”
I heard him shuffling, and I followed, trying to ignore the dusty atmosphere and the insects crawling around me. I was on my stomach, ready to shuffle, when someone grabbed my leg.
It didn’t much worry me that the floor would be slippery, as I thought I would be able to handle it, but then I realised Logan might not. What if he falls and is killed?
Gong! There was no time to worry about him. I slid reasonably gracefully as fast as I could towards the Cornocopia. Fortunately, the shoes I wore had little grip, and I was making good process. Quickly snapping my head to the right, I saw Clementia running, her hair flying out behind her. Then, one false step, and she fell to the floor. The ice cracked around her, but she got up and carried on as best as she could. Many of the other competitors also seemed to be struggling, wobbling precariously whilst trying to regain speed and balance. It reassured me somewhat.
Though the air was cold, the sun glinted off the surface of the golden horn known as the Cornocopia in the centre of the circle, winking at me and luring me towards the bounty. I bent my knees slightly, still sliding smoothly, and grabbed a small backpack to my left without stopping. I reached the mouth and grabbed as many knives as possible, placing one between my teeth, and attaching the rest to my belt. I had been one of the quickest, and no one had attacked me yet. However, it bothered me that I couldn’t see Logan. Then I spotted him, around twenty metres away, stumbling with District 9’s girl hot on his heels. I was about to shout a warning to him, when he spun around and punched her so hard, she fell backwards to the ground and hit her head hard on the ice. It made me smile, though not for long. A small girl slammed into me, knocking the wind out of me. She had a horrible, menacing grin on her face that no girl so young should have. She reached for her spear to finish me off, and with all the power I could muster from my winding, I shoved her off me, removed the knife from between my teeth and plunged it into her stomach. She coughed gruesomely, spraying my face with her blood. Roughly, I shoved her out of my way so I could retrieve her spear. She hit the side of the Cornocopia, her blood leaving a trail on the white ground. Trying not to think about what I had just done, I grabbed another pack and slung it over my shoulder. Moments later, Logan reached me, panting hard and trying to stop a flow of blood from his arm.
“Where to?”
I selected a tunnel and gestured to it. Around us, a war was raging, tributes hacking at each other, oblivious to me and Logan.
“That one. Take the lead. I’ll run behind in case anyone follows. When we find some place safe, I’ll tend to your arm.”
And so we ran. One knife still in hand, I used it to skewer a loaf of bread, which I stuffed into my pocket. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it might burst. We ducked in to the tunnel, but kept going, unsure whether it was safe to stop. I wanted to make sure Logan’s arm was alright, but I knew that if we stopped, we could be putting ourselves in danger. So as we ran, I asked him how it was. He said it wasn’t bad, and that the cut wasn’t very deep. This made up my mind to keep moving, so that’s what we did. Several minutes in to the run, the ceiling began to get lower and lower, until it was too low to stand. I called for Logan to stop, and we crouched uncomfortably, considering our options.
“We can’t go back. We’ll be slaughtered,” I pointed out.
“I agree, but what if there is a dead end?”
“I think it’s a risk we’ll have to take. I guess we could try a different tunnel…”
“No, let’s continue with this one. There has to be an end at some point. I hope.”
Silently, we both began to crawl again. The ceiling was still getting lower, but I tried not to let it bother me. At least we were away from the other tributes. In front, Logan shouted that we’d have to slide on our stomachs the rest of the way, but that he could see a light ahead.
“It might take us a while to get through.”
“That’s OK. Keep going.”
I heard him shuffling, and I followed, trying to ignore the dusty atmosphere and the insects crawling around me. I was on my stomach, ready to shuffle, when someone grabbed my leg.