My mom had shoved the item into my hands before I’d left.

A pocket-bello. My mother hadn’t told me how to use it. She just said “to blaze a trail to victory”. I had thanked her before the peacekeepers dragged me onto the train where i locked myself in my room and cried.

And now I stood on the podium as they counted down.

20.

Should I run to the cornucopia?

15.

No, to the forest.

10.

If there’s something on the way, grab it.

5.

I.

4.

Have.

3.

To.

2.

Win.

1.

I ran. Faster than the others. Faster than the wind. Faster than the weapons that soared past me. Faster than the racing heart in my chest. Faster than the seconds ticking down my life.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

I could see Death beckoning me to his malicious arms, “I have your sister, your brother, your father and soon I’ll have your mother.”

Not today, Death, not yet.

And so I ran faster than Death. Past his arms and glowing eyes.

I had picked up a knife on the way. Only me, the knife, the pocket-bello and the woods. I could hear screams of pain behind me and infront of me.

Where to go go go? Where to run run run? Where to hide?

There was a tree large enough for me to climb. I climbed until I was on the highest branch that could hold me.

I sat on that branch until night when I heard the cannon go. 16 blows. 16 dead.

6 left to kill.

There were 4 careers that were camping underneath my tree. They still haven’t figured out how to get up to me.

And then there was the ring of a gift. It hit me smack on my head before I could grab it.

I opened it to find three small embers and a note from Carmen, my mentor, “Never breathe in”.

I looked at the embers and what I had. Maybe I could drop the embers on the heads of the careers and give me enough time to run? Or maybe.

“To blaze a trail to victory”.

Maybe I could pull the gift from my mom and blow out. Not in.

I pulled out the straw-like item and pulled it out longer before putting one end into the embers.

I blew out, making them ignite.

I dropped two onto the pack of tributes. The fire happily spread, eating at their clothes and the leaves. I dropped onto the ground as they panicked and rolled.

Someone fell on a sword and blood splattered. I felt no remorse as I left them burning.

That night 4 cannons fired.

There was one other person.

I didn’t know them, a district five tribute.

I still had one ember. And so I started.

I built a huge fire away from a tree using my mother’s gift and the last ember. I grabbed a few embers, hoping beyond all hopes that the last tribute would show.

I climbed into a tree and watched as the brush burst into flames around the boy. I’d seen him before? Where had I seen him?

My best friend’s boyfriend. No.

I was screaming then. Screaming for it to stop. I didn’t mean to kill him. She would hate me. Ella would hate me. And I would hate me.

I watched him collapse from the smoke intake. I heard the cannon blow. I had just killed my best friend’s boyfriend. I just killed the guy I loved who never knew. My forbidden love of the past 6 years.

I was crying as they collected me. A shell of what I used to be.

I had blazed a trail of victory. A trail marked by blood