Careers!

Nine whimpers as blood splatters from his mouth below and falls to the soil.

Just who I thought... Stella. She erupts from the group of unintelligible faces.

"Please don't... Please!" Stella plays around with the sword on her hip as if she actually reconsiders and gives the struggling boy one final chance before stabbing him right in the stomach.

I pinch my eyes closed and plug my ears... The body below makes my stomach churn before I remember the deadly group standing just beside it who can smell fear.

The group begins to walk away, laughing as if someone just told a joke.

"Please don't kill me! Please!" Stella mocks the body laying on the ground and turns to one of the careers behind her, than bursts into laughs. I overlook the group trying to recognize the faces... Stella, Marielle Johnson, the boy from Stella's district, Marius, some boy I hear them call Jackson, and that Ella girl. There is one more blending into the crowd... the smallest of them all, she has what looks like bright red hair and pale skin from her hand intertwined in a tight grip with Ella's. She carries a crossbow, and Ella carries a spear, careful to keep it from the little one. The little one flashes her eyes in my direction but just to stare at a fly by Mockingjay... Her green-blue eyes pierce mine as I recognize the small figure.

Molly.

Molly? How did Molly get in with them?

"Ellie, I am scared... Stella said there could be anyone anywhere... I don't wanna die." Molly looks sincere and I believe her... She is scared. In the little we spoke during training and such she acted nervous than usual... The Molly I know before a school speech or something... Not the usual Molly.

"It's okay Moll girl... No one can hurt you. Stay in the middle of the circle okay?" She gives her a tight hug and helps her to the middle of the circle.

"Ella do you really expect her to make it through these games, huh? What happened to 'I'm the winner of these games and no one can stand between us.' What happened to that Ella?" Stella buds in.

"That was before Molly was hurt... Before the flowers tapered with her system... She was simply hiding from you and those flowers grew deadly to touch... I can show you the scars, is that what you want?" Ella moves in front of Molly, protectively.

"Calm... Come on Stell... You grab the scrawny one and walk or your out." Marius begins to grow angry before Stella comes up behind him and pecks him on the lip seductively.

"Now, now... Marius... You didn't volunteer to get mad now did you? You wanted to protect me, so protect and lead us to the boy." Stella says.

"Maxwell went this way." He comments.

"You sure this will work, that Rose girl will come to the rescue for her little boyfriend and they'll be over?" Ella asks.

"Positive." Jackson replies.

I hold my breath waiting for them to walk away... They finally do and when they do I exhale, closing my eyes and steadying my breath.

The canon sounds and the body gets pulled away from a hovercraft above.

I twiddle with the pin on my jacket after snuggling into the sleeping bag.

The dried fruit went down easily... But I can still feel dehydration creeping in closer and closer.

Right when I feel my body becoming helpless the anthem begins to play... The same anthem they played in all the previous games.

The sky goes dark and I direct my attention to the capitol sign projected in the black skies.

I hold my breath hoping the worst isn't the truth and watch as the images of all the dead tributes fly across the sky... The boy from 1,The boy from 2, and 10... Both from 7... The girls from 8,10, 12, 9, and 5 and the boy from... Finnick Jr... District 4.

My heart skips... The one person I have entrusted my life on since I wasn't even old enough to walk. And the worst part is... I don't even have Max to fall back on... For all I know he could be anywhere from here to the last tip of the forest... and the careers are following him.

Eleven dead on the first day and Max could be the twefth.

I decide to rest... Instead of doing something rash by following the careers.

When dawn comes I will begin my search for water and then look for Max.

A Sleepless night doesn't help anyone... So I make myself comfortable and close my eyes till sunrise ensuring myself Max will be... Safe and Sound until tomorrow.

***************************************************************************************************************

My eyes fly open to the morning sun beating down on my face.

I blink my eyes letting them adjust than begin to pack.

Once my bag is swung around both shoulders I pull my map from my pocket.

It is an hour walk at most to the small river... same to the falls, and I have to get there fast... Max's life depends on it.

I grab my bow and jump out of the tree... I turn towards the direction of the river and begin.

***************************************************************************************************************

The stream was closer than I'd expected and clear as crystal.

It's soft rejuvenating fluids cleared my hands of dirt and worked well as a cleanser for my dirty arrows and pin.

The cool fresh water skids down my throat slowly.

I flash back to me and Max hunting i the woods the day before the reaping... Our Bows secrets and our parents secrets... But something catches my eye while I am daydreaming... Something I hadn't came across while I was drinking. My bow is literally iridescent... I can see straight through the thick metal when I hold it to the light... And when I do I notice a formation or object in side the clear solid... A Mockingjay.

I think back to my very own bow back in District twelve and how it buzzed when I spoke to it... How Haymitch knew I was handy with a bow and placed one right under my nose before the games... I think back to my parents in the games discovering the capitol always has more... always.

"Good Morning." I whisper as soft as possible to the bow, hoping the thousand cameras aimed directly at me woon't pick up my voice.

The soft low hum is hard to hear at first but when I put my ear to the surface I can feel the deep vibration... Thanks Haymitch... Guess there is more to everyone than what meets the eye.

I take at least a hundred gulps of the smooth cold water before continuing in the direction Max went.

***************************************************************************************************************

The dark shadows of the trees make it hard for me to see the trail ahead but the careers will kill Max if they find out I have been on there tail so I have to take the trail through the darkest part of the forest.

I hear footsteps pounding towards me and climb a tree as fast as possible... I cut my knee on a sharp branch and wince at the pain.

The footsteps grow louder and I can feel my heart race faster and faster.

"Help... Help!" I can hear the nongendered voice breathless just out of my view.

I hear them pick up the pace and than fall, but shuffle back up... Until the figure comes into view.

"Help!" the voice sounds again, now right below I recognize the voice too much.

"Max!" I shout crying tears of joy.

I take no time to jump straight out of the tree landing right on Max, who is now laughing.

We roll and roll over in joy on the ground laughing so hard, like two children who fall down a hill.

"Are you hurt?" He is now above me, where we landed after bonking straight into each other for the second time, when we stopped rolling.

"No not anymore... Now that your here." I laugh at the cheesy joke and for the first time since we entered the arena I feel at home.

"Get off of me fatty!" I kick him of of me, before I can hear more footsteps coming at us like a herd of cows. I grab his hand, "We need to go! Come on!"

We run through the woods till we can't here the careers footsteps anymore and we stop. I point to the nearest tree, so we climb as high as we can. Stopping at the top to rest.

He winces and I can tell he is in pain...

"Where are you hurt?" I ask concerned.

"My, my rib... I think I broke it... And Stella got me with her sword on my thigh." He replies holding back tears.

"Oh okay... Um." I feel his head and find it is burning and not just from running a few miles here, "Max you are burning up... We need to wrap them and clean the wound. Before it gets infected."

"Okay."

I rip of a piece of my shirt with the knife and wrap it tightly around the wound on his thigh... over the pants. It seems I am much like my mom in the sense I can't handle people nude in front of me. Max even offered to do it himself but... just the thought of being stuck in a tree for a second with a naked person makes me shiver. Max does but not for the same reason.

"There in the morning we will make our way back to the river... are you hungry?" I ask.

"Yes." He smiles a sort of crooked smile and I just stare back for a minute before handing him some dried fruit.

"What happened out there Max?" He looks at me like I ripped off his scab.

He leans in cupping my face until his lips touch mine... I jump at the electricity but soon find myself crawling deeper and deeper into kissing as passionate as sin. I find myself gasping for air when we release but I just lean in for more... Slight whimpers make it out of my mouth... He bites my lip and I wonder if he also feels the pleasure I do. He leans back closer to the trunk of the tree and I crawl the branch we are on just to bring my self closer to him.

I feel like I am flying by the time I find we have began standing moving towards the thicker upper branch... I hit it and lay down, out of breath, but he bends down, over the branch, like he is bending over a bed. I feel like sleeping beauty in the way that I jerk up when he kisses me because of the shock, I never felt until I had a chance of losing him.

Max pulls away and smiles. I lean back in for a short but sweet kiss... That makes me jump again.

***************************************

"You feel that?" I nod in my place snuggled up to his body in the tight sleeping bag, "it's our hearts beating in sync like they were meant to."

"Kiss my forehead." I reply.

He does as said.

"Now my nose." I say.

He does so.

"Now my lips." I command.

He does, sending me jerking being shocked by him.

"Did you feel that... The electricity? It is cause we were made for each other. Good night Max."

"Goodnight Rosie."

The anthem begins, just as I begin to believe I am still at home.

I stare blankly into the images of those deceived, until the sky goes blank. No one I know. Luckily... Guess Molly is safe with the careers, but I fear for Jonny, out there on his own.

I let myself trust him that he will keep himself safe.

I close my eyes letting myself fall deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. Max's arms wraps around my body an I scoot backwards a little on the branch remembering we are like twenty feet off the ground... I remember my belt, and take it off... I ask max to hand me his... But he just nods and than moans but manages to unwrap his still under the sleeping bag.

I connect them and wrap them around us to catch us if we fall.

I decide to snuggle back up to Max and he calmly wrapped both his arms around my waist.

I close my eyes and await morning in the arms of someone I trust.

authors note:

I am sorry i would make it longer but it took me a week to write this already I have been crazy with skool and such! I miss being able to write 24-7! but anywho, I have been performing a lot and a bunch of other stuff! I have an F for are you FLIPPING kidding me in my Science class and a C for what the CRUD in my Social Science class... I wish I was home schooled! Haha anyways love you all! May God Bless your lives... Bye!