Lifes an unfair game (Moss vs latch crab)

Alone
I am utterly and completely alone in this arena. Aurora is dead and so is Luke, now it’s just me. I have never liked being alone, it unnerves me and makes me feel vulnerable, I always find myself drawn to other people like a Moth to a flame but right now, I will have to rely on myself because the two people I trusted are no longer here. I let her die, I was powerless to stop the poison from flowing through her veins and killing her before my very eyes. The powerlessness I felt watching her lying there slowly dying I cannot explain. ”I’m sorry Rora, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” My voice shakes as I lift my face to the rapidly darkening sky. I need to leave this damned cornucopia, the ground upon which both of my allies have died. I just want to go home, I hate this place but I can’t go home yet, I have to fight, I have to survive, For Luke, for Aurora, for the life growing inside me, for Briar and Lark and Aspen and Colin and my mom, for district eleven. (Keep going Moss, for your family.) For once, I welcome Iris’ presence. I find it oddly comforting to have her here with me, experiencing the same things I do.

Feet dragging, I walk towards the eastern part of the arena, that part I believe has water in it if I’m not mistaken. I rely more on my sense of hearing than on my sight because the twilight is making it hard to see where I’m putting my feet in front of me. When I used to work in the orchards, especially during harvest time, sometimes I would have to work after dark and so I learned to trust my other senses, also frequent headaches have made my other senses stronger. Suddenly, cold water splashes onto my tired, aching feet. Relief from the soreness washes through me and I sigh softly, smiling. The moonlight shining down on me is bright enough that I can see the black water stretched out in front of me for miles. My whole body feels sore and tired and I just want to sleep but I can’t let my guard down, I have to be careful, especially now that I’m all alone out here.

Looking down at myself, I realize that I am absolutely filthy, from my face which is still spattered with Hannah’s blood to my earth caked feet. Scanning the area, I decide that for now, I am safe to bathe under the moonlight without drawing too much attention to myself. I wonder what Rora’s doing right now up there. Is she happy? Has she found Luke? Stripping down, I self-consciously let the gi fall to the ground, leaving myself completely in the nude. Everyone can see me, most likely I have cameras on me at this moment. My cheeks burn for a moment before I realize that I probably won’t be alive long enough for anyone to ever see me like this again, the only person I’ve ever let actually see me like this would be Luke but he’s dead now so I guess he no longer counts. I timidly step into the water and wade in, feeling the seaweed wrap around my body like a blanket but this blanket holds no warmth as I bathe in the cold water and scrub the blood from my face.

Once I finish my bath in the water, I get out and pad to where I left my filthy gi in the sand. I should wash it, get all the earth and blood and filth off it. A memory of my mother teaching me to wash my clothes flits through my mind.

My eyes gaze up at my mother as she washes our clothes in a wash bin, her hands working tirelessly to get the stains out of them. I peer over the side of the wash bin, looking at the bubbles in the container and look back to my mom. ”Here, Moss, this is how you do it” taking my hands in hers, she lifts me up so that I’m sitting in front of her and she shows me how to wash my clothes using the wash board.

I don’t have a washboard but I have the two sides of the gi and those will have to do. Scrubbing them together, I work to get all the earth stains out of them and the blood stains. It takes about half an hour but I don’t mind, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight anyways. It keeps my mind busy from thoughts that would otherwise make the pain unbearable. Looking up at the sky, I realize how close to dawn it’s getting. I have pulled an all-nighter, something I probably can’t afford but I don’t care, I’ll be dead soon anyways. I can sleep plenty when that time comes.

Once the gi is clean, I lay it out on the sand to dry, now feeling more comfortable in my own skin, and retrieve my water bottle from my rucksack, I might as well fill it now, who knows when I’ll find water next. I fill the water bottle and put it into my bag. I can’t drink it now, it’s not purified and I’ve seen far too many past tributes die from bad water to know that I can’t trust the water in the arena. Even trying to keep a level head, I can feel the rising bubble of sorrow creeping into every motion, all the pent up feelings I’ve had over the last forty-eight hours I can feel trying to escape as I sit in the sand. I failed both of my allies, I let both of them die. There are two things at this moment that I am certain of; first, both my allies are dead because I couldn’t save them and second, Hannah is dead because I helped kill her. These thoughts swirl around inside my head. I am going to die soon, I can feel it, as to when I will die, I have no idea but I don’t think it will be worth going home if these are the kinds of things I will have to live with.

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I watch as the sun rises above the horizon, it’s a new day and I am exhausted. My gi, now dry, slips over my skin as I put it back on and look around, wondering what the game makers have planned for me today. Yesterday, they sent those mutts after Aurora and I, who knows what I’ll be put through today. I just hope that whatever it is isn’t an alliance, I am in no condition to fight or defend myself. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I see a crab like creature, I have seen this mutt before, in past games. They are latch crabs and their shells are explosive if lit on fire. They are designed to latch onto tributes and not let go until they either cut the limb the crab is attached to off or try to set it on fire to kill it. Judging by the crab, this is going to be what the game makers throw at me. Can’t I just have a day where I don’t have to suffer? Please. (Of course not Moss, what do you think this is?)

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