𝟔𝐚𝐦, 𝐣𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝐬𝐭, 𝟔𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

Kai Marsh

In merely three days, the tributes for the 69th annual hunger games will be selected, and 24 children from Panem will never be the same again.

"You think the fish feel pain?.. like when you stab them and they die do you think they're suffering." My friend perched on the pier asks curiously, inspecting the dead fish I just tossed to her from the water.

A couple of her long brown curls slip out of the chaotic ponytail, bouncing freely beside her razor sharp jaw. Her tranquillising eyes flick between me and the fish guts sprawled across the pier. The green doe eyes that seem to spark a fire in my heart any time they even glance at me.

I sigh, having not built up enough energy for the day to even attempt to answer that question. Whilst most kids are spending the days building up to the reaping cramming in some last minute  training, I'm here in the water, catching my load of fish for the day.

"I can imagine so. I mean, how would you feel getting stabbed and plucked from existence when you're just trying to swim?" I grunt back, heaving my spear into the water and catching at least three more.

"Well technically for them, they aren't swimming, they're just walking. Wait.. do you think they call swimming walking and walking swimming?" Lyra gapes wildly in thought.

"I don't think they call anything anything, because they are fish and don't speak English." I eye my friend as I continue my scavenging around the water. 

"Well in their fish language, maybe their word for walk is swim." She huffs, clearly unhappy with my answer as she folds her arms and tosses the fish she was playing around with back into the barrel. 

"Maybe." I relent, sighing. 

There's a moment of silence, which is rare for Lyra Dawn. Her toes dip into the crystal like waters, gently making little ripples.

"Hey, Kai?" She asks, pulling her legs into her small chest on the pier as she watches me intently.

"Yeah, Lyra?" I huff back, not fully paying attention as I attempt to spear a chinook salmon that's swimming in circles just to rub it in.

"I have a bad feeling." Lyra tells me worriedly. "You have a bad feeling every year, Ly." I scoff, groaning as the salmon wriggles around my spear yet again.

"This time it's really bad." She hums anxiously. "It's really bad every year." I sing, reminding her of her promise every year that her instincts have to be right this year. 

"Well it's really really bad this time, K." She huffs dramatically, kicking her feet around the surface of the water to splash the cold saltwater around her calves. 

I sigh, forcing myself to give up on the pesky salmon to comfort her. "Really really bad? Why didn't you say sooner? You're definitely getting reaped." I tease, approaching her and placing a comforting hand on her knee.

"Kai, I'm being serious. I'm 16, I just have a really bad feeling about this year and I think this is the one." She coos with devastation. 

"What do you want from me. I can't promise you won't get reaped. I won't lie, because there's always a chance, denial won't get us anywhere. The odds are never in our favour. But I can promise that no matter what happens, I'll be right here." I offer, stroking her leg up and down to provide comfort. Goosebumps grow beneath my fingers, her lip quivering with worry.

"Don't cry." I hush, sighing as I push myself out the water and sitting beside her. I pull her into my side and let her sink her face against my chest as she shakes against me.

"C'mon, I still have fish to catch." I nudge her gently, seeing her smile grow faintly as she pulls away from me and shoves me back in. "You know, one of these days you could help." I hum begrudgingly, biting back a grin. "Nah.." She trails off, knowing as well as I do that I'm bitched, and will be collecting her fish for her until we're on our death beds.

"Do the thing." She smirks cheekily. "The thing?" I raise a brow. "Do it." She pokes her feet out to kick me teasingly. 

I scoff, slipping my shirt over my head as per her request. I toss it back to her on the pier as she squeals and goes crazy, whistling jokingly as I flex my muscles and pose.

"Pervert." I call back, turning around to catch more fish, but more so in order to hide my giddy smirk. 

"Love you!" Lyra Dawn calls across the water to me, sounding hopeful. "Yeah, questionable at times." I call back, a coy grin as I lob a slimy fish at her, the blood barely touching her skin yet still managing to make her scream like a baby.

"You didn't say it back!" She accuses, begrudgingly scooping up the fish I through her way and loading it into a barrel with disgust. "I don't feel it back, loser." I snort. She doesn't take it personally, knowing as well as I do I'm too in love with her to even function. 

"Love you!" She emphasises yet again, making sure I hear it. "What you said." I give in, but she proceeds, "I need it in words!"

I just ignore her, having refused since the day I met her to say those three words. Not because I don't, but because when Lyra Dawn wins, you don't want to be the loser. 

...