Water.

It’s all around me. I can’t breathe. I am enclosed…. surrounded… drowning.

I don’t know how long I’ve been in this state, but it feels like it has been days.

I try looking for a way out, try swimming up… but of course there isn’t a way. Who knew that Reyna
Black, District 4 would die by drowning? I sure didn’t.

Two shadowy figures appear at the surface above me. I swim up towards them, but they keep getting
further away. “Reyna…” they call. The voices are familiar. One male and one female. ‘Christian and
Mum,’ I think. I hear my name once more. My lungs start filling up with water. Since there is no air,
there is no survival.

They call my name once more.

The voices have changed this time. A girl calls out. Her voice is panicked and scared… almost desperate
as well.

The scene goes black around me and the voice becomes really clear: It’s Emma.

“RUN!! FIRE!!” She screams to the top of her lungs. My eyes snap open and I realize that drowning was
only just a dream…

Correction: Nightmare.

My chest still feels like it’s in so much pain. Maybe it’s all the smoke fumes I’ve inhaled. I pay no more
attention to it. I pack up my backpack, being careful of the slits on my wrist, and I sling it over my
shoulder. I clench my teeth in pain, as I forgot my injured shoulder was the one I just hurt. Again.
Come on, Reyna. Be more careful!

I grab my trident and I start running, Emma trailing behind. I look back to see she’s just staring at me.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE!! HURRY UP!!” I yell to her. She sprints towards me and we start running.

We run through the forest, escaping burning branches and falling trees. Emma screams for Rae as we
run. I look over to Emma as we run to try and decipher what she’s thinking. She is obviously scared,
maybe of dying, maybe not.

“Rae!” Emma screams. My voice fills the air as well, as we call for Rae. I don’t know where she went
exactly… all I remember was falling asleep. And water. A lot of water. We’ll need to get some when we
escape this fire.

When.

I scream for Rae again, and a beat after, a cannon sounds. I look to Emma, who looks at me alarmingly. I
shake my head at her. It isn’t as bad as she thinks.

“Come on,” I exclaim, “We need to go. We’ll find Rae on the way.” I don’t like assuring people things
only to get their hopes up, but she looked so panicked. I had to. Emma agrees with me right away and
we run. We sprint as fast as we can, outrunning the fire.

As we run I keep my eyes peeled, as does Emma. Rae needs to be around here somewhere. She just has
to be.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a girl with her leg caught underneath a fallen tree. I stop abruptly, and
I feel a wall of heat hit me. My head gets a little disfigured as I start to lose vision and senses. I look back
at the girl to see my mother. She has her long, chestnut brown hair braided down her back with her foot
caught under a tree, screaming for help. I blink once more and now the girl is Rae. I jump.

“Emma!” I scream, causing her to stop, “I found Rae!”

I run over to Rae, drop my trident and inspect her leg. Emma tries lifting the fallen branch from off of
Rae, but it’s too heavy. Rae screams in pain. I look to Emma who is thinking on her feet. I don’t
understand how she can think at all; my head is hurting with all this heat. We need to get out of here
now, before we burn to death.

Our fate is in the hands of the Gamemakers, and clearly they want us to live, because a path clears up in
the fire. Maybe they don’t want to kill us, they want a show. Like Emma, I think on my feet. I help Emma
lift the branch and Rae pulls her leg out. I grab her backpack and help her up. I pick up my trident,
gripping it tight as I make a B-line for the exit.

I turn back to see Rae and Emma moving, but not as fast as they need to be. “Come on! Quickly!” I
shout. The fire is closing in around us; we need to move before we get caught. “We can still get out!”

I feel like that statement was unfair of me to say. They won’t think much of it right now, however that’s
all I’m thinking about. All three of us can’t get out. Only one of us can. We can escape the fire, but we
can never escape the games… ever.

I use my trident to cut away some burning branches in our way. Unfortunately in doing so, a branch gets
caught on my arm, burns part of my jacket and through onto my skin. I peel it off with my hand and
clench it tight. It’s not bad; it is just the initial shock. I pay no mind to it. We’re almost at the clearing. I
can see it. We can get there.

The forest takes a drop downwards, as do I. After hitting every one of my limbs on a rock or a stump or
even ground, I finally stop falling. I drop my trident next to me and I look back up at the fire to see it
dying out.
My body is screaming in pain, the heat is slowly diminishing, and I’m not sure if I can make it any farther.
I mean, yes, physically, I am in a better state then Rae, however mentally… I feel lost in limbo. I sigh. I
know I have to push through it, but I don’t know if I can.

I know I can’t… but I will. For my family.

I’m coming home.

Cast:

Reyna Black- Zoey Deutch

Emma Shields- Emily VanCamp

Rae Marx- Elizabeth Gillies

Kamaia Black (mother)- Zooey Deschanel