Short Story: The Hunger Pangs (Part Seven)
We’re almost to the exciting conclusion! Prior parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Part Seven: Beaver Fever
I lost my ally so I just walk in the forest, awaiting any other dangers. My one ear is still deaf, so I make sure to be extra careful. Then I arrive at a stream, where I take a nice long drink and fill my Barbie water bottle.
“Baby, baby, baby …”
I hear Pita. I look around the stream, and sure enough, I see Pita lying on top of a dam surrounded by beavers.
“Pita!” I shout. He stops singing.
“Katnip!” he says gleefully. “Come meet my beaver friends. They love my singing.”
I walk over to him and he doesn’t look good. He has a cut in his leg from the batarang and it’s oozing pus. Red lines spread out from it. He must have a blood infection. The beavers huddle around him, keeping him warm.
“Pita, you need medicine.”
“I know, I’m having these singing outbrea—I need somebody to loooove!” Pita sings.
I feel his forehead, and it’s dangerously hot. Then, I feel Pita’s lips on mine. Eeeww! I squeal in my head. I play along, though. Maybe we can get sympathy from the audience.
“There’s gonna be one less lonely girl, one less lonely girl,” he sings once he breaks away.
“Pita, it seems you have Bieber Fever,” I say. I look at the beavers. “Or beaver fever.” I hear a voice in the sky.
“Attention, tributes,” the voice says. “By the Cornastupia, there are backpacks with your district’s name on it, containing something you need.”
I’m already racing for the Cornastupia. Once I arrive, I see Baito running for the backpacks along with the huge guy from District 11. I grab Pita’s bag and I run for it, but the guy from District 11, Plush, is in front of me. He slams my head with his Tonka truck. I ignore the blinding pain and spring for the forest. I hear Plush scream until he falls silent. Plush is dead.
I see the stream ahead of me, and I hand the pack to Pita. I plunge my head beneath the freezing water to numb my injury. I grab a beaver and put it to my head. The beaver doesn’t protest.
Pita takes out a CD player and an AC/DC CD. He inserts the disc into the player and puts the headphones over his ears. The red lines emanating from his cut dissipate, and soon the cut is just a scar.
“Pita?” I check to make sure he’s okay.
“I’m alright.”
“Are you sure? You won’t sing Justin Bieber anymore?”
“Nope,” he tells me. “’Cause I am TNT, watch me explode!” he sings. Oh lord, now it’s AC/DC. At least it’s not as annoying as Justin Bieber. “I’m joking, Katnip.”
I sigh in relief. “Oh good!”
“Today’s announcement is brought to you by Oxi Clean!” the voice in the sky says. I look up, and there’s a projection of Billy Mays smiling next to a bucket of Oxi Clean. “Right now, the only tributes left are the District 2 contestants, Baito and Blove, and the District 12 contestants, Pita and Katnip. May the odds be ever in your favor!” Then, there’s a slideshow of the dead.
I turn to Pita. “Let’s run.”
* * * * *
Stay tuned for Part Eight: The Hunger Pangs is a Lot Better than Narnia.
