The End; Always the End

Chapter five:

I rub my eyes, and I look at Alla, the one who was waking me up! I was supposed to stay awake! She could've killed me, are you serious, self??????!@!!!!!!

"Get up, you rat," Alla said to me, as she was waking me up. I scowled at her, making her edge back a little. I got up, and I rolled my sleeping bag up. The other careers were doing it as well, but Adscoper wasn't. He was - what it seemed to be - in deep thought. His sleeping bag was already rolled up, and he was playing with wire. I crawled over to him to see what he was doing. Since he's from district three, he might be up to a plan to make the others well, die.

"What are you doing?" I ask him. It almost looked like I startled him, but he was fine.

"It doesn't matter," He said to me glumly. "Maaden won't go with my plan."

I'm confused. Plan? Is he talking about the wire? And why would Maaden go down with an offer to get rid of some tributes. In training, he didn't seem like he wanted to do training, he wanted to go in. And I also know he's one of those people that are the main killers that you have to watch out for. "Why didn't he?" I ask, wiping my mind of those thoughts, to get the real answer.

"He said that it would take too long, and we might be killed, and that you really should kill with swords and knives and bows and arrows, etc, instead of electricity." Ah, I see now. He just wanted to stab them so it would get all bloody. It's not a surprise. He's from District one, a career district! What're you to expect, him to be a pacifist?

"I'm hungry," Alla complains, "Shouldn't we go hunting?" She grabs onto Maaden's arm and hugs him. He kisses her, which almost makes me hurl. Malishi shoots a lookat Alla like 'stop.' But, the usual Alla, she doesn't stop, she just keeps annoying on.

"Yes. Who wants to guard?" Adscoper, slowly comes towards him, still looking upset - and - angry? Maybe, but Maaden must watch his back with him around.

"I'll 'guard'." he says quietly. Maaden doesn't seem bothered,but I am. I haven't seen him fight, and I'm not sure he can guard our stuff as good as we expected. I'd think (even though I don't like her) Alla could guard, and that would make it better so I don't have to deal with her.

"OK then. Let's go." Maaden takes some knives, and hands them to us. I get a bow and arrow, because I'm the only one who knows how to shoot.

As the morning dew comes in, it gets hot as we walk on, really hot. And once we get our clothes off, it gets cold. I don't know what the Gamemakers are playing at, but I certainly don't like it. Why can't they just do normal temperture? Oh,I forgot, they want a good game. Soon, the grass is gone, and it's deserty, and we haven't found any meat. My hunger increases, knowing we didn't bring any apples or bread or ANYTHING.My eyes spot movement, as if someone was running away, and then I see why. They're running from the sandstorm! "Sandstorm!" I shriek, but it's making us go even farther from base then we were. I can't see, and I don't know where the others are. I trip over - it doesn't matter - and I fall. I try to get up, but I don't know where I'm going, and I see the world getting blurry. I'm dead. I'm certainly dead. There must be acids in this......

"Wake up! All of you!" Alla's voice rings through my head, bringing a wave of dismay upon me. Why does she have to wake us up.

I rub my eyes, and I don't remember where we are. I look at the others, and they look as confused as me. "Do you hear that?" I ask, as a rustling noise rings my ears. Someone's here. The rustling continues, and I'm full on my feet.

I hear a voice, "Josh, I don't want to be in the games!"

"Yaya, it's Ok," I run over to them, but my eyes start to realize, faster then my brain, what has happened. Yaya, the girl, is all bloodied, and Josh is soothing her. Should I kill them? I can see the fear in Joshua's eyes, the same with Yaya.

"Josh," she whispers faintly, "Win." I see a tear roll down his cheek, and he looks at me.

"You heard her, don't..please...don't..." I look at my knife, and back to Josh. But it's too late. A knife whizes past my head, hitting Joshua in the chest. The cannon fires for Yaya, and the hovercraft comes for both of them. I'm sad, and I look at Trishia, the one who threw the knife. She was grinning, and I didn't like it. I really didn't think of her as "dangerous" but now I have to rethink this whole thing.

"Why did you do that?" I ask her.

She smiles, whichmakes me sick again. "It's less competition. You need to realize it, 2."

"I have a name!" I snap.

But I realize what I must do. I know now that I must leave the Careers for another ally . . .