text:
Hey, so the first 998th HG were a fail so here. :3
President Rain took his spot on the balcony overlooking the huge Capitol audience, as his daughter, Evaline, walked up beside him in her frilly blue dress. She smiled at him warmly as she picked up a small wooden box, nervously scanning the area with her eyes.
"We're live..." President Rain whispered to her, then he started his speech. "Welcome, Panem! As you all know, each year, we celebrate the peace that we have maintained for years. For 997 years, that is. And, as you also know, it is time for the 998th Hunger Games in just a few days. But, it is also close to the 1,000th Hunger Games. The 1,000th Hunger Games are not just another 100 year mark... this will be 1,000 years. So, instead of having a twist only on the 1,000th Hunger Games, there will also be twists leading up to the big finale in the 1,000th Hunger Games, as long as twice as many tributes to celebrate."
The audience hooted and hollered, while the districts probably sat frozen in shock and fear.
He turned to Evaline, who opened the box, which contained 3 slips of paper. He carefully opened the one marked "998" and read aloud...
"...the twist for the 998th Games, is not so much of a twist, as it is a reminder to all of Panem, that they were the ones who decided to turn a peaceful paradise into a chaotic nightmare during the first and second rebellions. To show this, the arena will be specifically designed."
- No fighting, complaining, ect. Be a nice person or expect your tributes to be killed off!
- Stay active!
- Please don't be sending advice constantly, as most of this will probably be written a little ways in advance. The only times you should send advice is when I ask users to send advice.
- Please follow the template below
- Please don't get upset if your tribute dies. All but one of them will!
- Have fun. That's an order.
- Please answer any polls at the bottom of the page
- The tribute limit is five per person at the moment; this may change
- First come, first serve!
- Reservations last 4 days
- Wikia Contributors can join in you have a name to go by
- No Troll Tributes or joke tributes please. They'll be declined
The Tributes
|Cassius Luppe
|Glaive, throwing axe, spear
|Emil Grace
|Trident, sword
|Amity Grace
|Trident, bow
|Aurora Grace
|Trident, throwing knives
|Ryan Duke
|Sword, dagger
|Ajax Orbit
|Sword, spear
|Audrey Lancaster
|Axe, knife
|Summer bee 13
|Ashylnn Mauntell
|Bow, combat, intelligence
|Thamos Keeper
|Can't think on a decent username right now
|Cameron Vice
|Bow, cleaver
|Blissfully Mine
|Jaclyn Brooken
|Scythe, sickle
|Blissfully Mine
|Emilia Oswald
|Trident, bow, blowgun
|Summer bee 13
|Dennis Rystentia
|Knife, kukri, sickle
|Akumai "Tenshin" Kubaya
|Greatsword, throwing knives
|Janine Taylor
|Blowgun, knives
|Allium Arcson
|Knife, bladed weapons
|Manta Li
Poinson darts, sickle, sword
|Leon Aslan
|Trident, spears
|London Ashcraft
|Spear, throwing knives
|Chasodie Melon
|Trident, twin swords
|Blissfully Mine
|Jason Bark
|Trident, knife, poison darts
|Drake Lesley
|Knife, blowgun, slingshot
|Luna Isis
|Throwing knives, axe, spear
|A Wikia contributor(Wolfgirl23)
|Ivanka Nyomi
|Battle axe, hatchet, knife
|Saerin Vrox
|Wheeler Light
|Dagger, spear
|A Wikia contributor(Wolfgirl23)
|Amy Light
|A Wikia contributor(Wolfgirl23)
|Mona Redwood
|Euan Lorelle
|Axe, knives, throwing knives
|Terrence Birch
|Throwing axe, battle axe, knife
|Rosita Peletier
|Bow, katana
|Melina Woods
|Axe, tomahawk, throwing axes
|Can't think on a decent username right now
|Caleb Viika
|Kukri, bow, tonfa
|Thesil Jacobs
|Axe, mace, Throwing knives
|Delila "Lila" Greenwood
|Throwing knives, sword
|Wendy Shrullex
|Spear, blowgun
|Jamie Flip
|Harvest Cropper
|Sickle, scythe
|A Wikia contributor(Wolfgirl23)
|Kasha Rye
|Beauty, bow, sword
|Hazel Maize
|Sickle, bow, knife
|Jamieson Erie
|Sword, blowgun
|Summer bee 13
|Jakub Kunnson
|Sword, studded gloves
|Xia Rose
|Spear, linked mace, dagger
|Blissfully Mine
|Irene Watson
|Curved sword, butcher knife, throwing knives
|Summer bee 13
|Tobias Drew
|Sickle, wire
|Summer bee 13
|George Grain
|Sickle, sword, scythe
|Reeva Olympia
|Curved sword, bow
|Lacey Zale
|Knife, sickle
|Juniper Twist
|Javelin, spear
|Clive Nightshadow
|Blossom Breeze
|Throwing knives, blowgun
|Cassidy "Cassie" Mason
|Spears, hand-to-hand
|Niels Warner
|Radiant Tayz
|Throwing knives, fists, combat knives
|Gamma Fission
|Spear, war scythe, glaive
|Artemis Moonsliver
Current Alliances
Bold: Leader
Italics: Co-Leader
(Parenthesis): Soon to join
Careers: Jaclyn Brooken(2), Leon Aslan(4)
The 2 and 4 Alliance: Thamos Keeper(2), Chasodie Melon(4)
Traitors (W/ Rylynn): Ryan Duke(1), Ashlynn Mountell(1), Emilia Oswald(2), Melina Woods(7), Terrence Birch(7)
Anti-Careers: Allium Arcson(3), Akumai "Tenshin" Kubaya(3), Amy Light(6), Irene Watson(10), Radiant Tayz(13)
The Grace Siblings: Aurora Grace(C), Amity Grace(C)
Euia: Euan Lorelle(7), Xia Rose(10)
District 6 and 8 Alliance: Saerin Vrox(6), Caleb Viika(8)
Loners: George Grain(11), Reeva Olympia(11)
Original Alliances (Before Games)
Bold: Leader
Italics: Co-leader
Careers: Cassius Luppe(Cap), Ajax Orbit(1), Ryan Duke(1), Audrey Lancaster(1), Thamos Keeper(2), Emilia Oswald(2), Jaclyn Brooken(2), Chasodie Melon(4), Leon Aslan(4), London Ashcraft(4), Jason Bark(5), Ivanka Nyomi(5), Niels Warner(13)
Anti-Careers: Dennis Rystentia(3), Allium Arcson(3), Akumai Kubaya(3), Thesil Jacobs(8), Hazel Maize(9), Radiant Tayz(13), Gamma Fission(13), Artemis Moonsliver(13)
The Girls Alliance: Janine Taylor(3), Mona Redwood(6), Rosita Peletier(7), Delila "Lila" Greenwood(8), Wendy Shrullex(8), Kasha Rye(9), Reeva Olympia(11), Cassidy "Cassie" Mason(12)
Wolfgirl Alliance: Luna Isis(5), Amy Light(6), Wheeler Light(6), Harvest Cropper(9)
The 5 and 11 Duo: Drake Lesley(5), Lacey Zale(11)
The Grace Siblings: Emil Grace(Cap), Aurora Grace(Cap), Amity Grace(Cap)
Euia: Euan Lorelle(7), Xia Rose(10)
The 10 and 12 Alliance: Irene Watson(10), Jamieson Erie(10), Blossom Breeze(12)
District 6 and 8 Alliance: Saerin Vrox(6), Caleb Viika(8)
District 7 Alliance: Terrence Birch(7), Melina Woods(7)
Loners: Ashylnn Mountell(1), Cameron Vice(2), Akumai "Tenshin" Kubaya(3), Manta Li(4), Jamie Flip(9), Jakub Kunnson(10), Tobias Drew(11), George Grain(11), Clive Nightshadow(12), Juniper Twist(12), Radiant Tayz(13)
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Training Scores
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING TRAINING SCORES: I tried to look at the tributes more like a Gamemaker would, so Careers will generally have better scores than those from poorer districts, and young tributes might have lower scores than older tributes.
12 is the best training score as always, 1 is the worst. 0 is impossibru ;3
1-1 is the best odds (but also imposible, so technically 3-1 would be best), the lower, the worse.
Predicted placings kinda speak for themselves...
|Training Score
|Predicted Placing
|Emil Grace
|Cassius Luppe
|Amity Grace
|Aurora Grace
|Ryan Duke
|Ajax Orbit
|Ashlynn Mountell
|Audrey Lancaster
|Thamos Keeper
|Cameron Vice
|Jaclyn Brooken
|Emilia Oswald
|Dennis Rystentia
|Akumai "Tenshin" Kubaya
|Janine Taylor
|Allium Arcson
|Leon Aslan
|Manta Li
|Chasodie Melon
|London Ashcraft
|Drake Lesley
|Jason Bark
|Luna Isis
|Ivanka Nyomi
|Wheeler Light
|Saerin Vrox
|Amy Light
|Mona Redwood
|Euan Lorelle
|Terrence Birch
|Rosita Peletier
|Melina Woods
|Caleb Viika
|Thesil Jacobs
|Delila "Lila" Greenwood
|Wendy Shrullex
|Harvest Cropper
|Jamie Flip
|Kasha Rye
|Hazel Maize
|Jakub Kunnson
|Jamieson Erie
|Irene Watson
|Xia Rose
|Tobias Drew
|George Grain
|Lacey Zale
|Reeva Olympia
|Juniper Twist
|Clive Nightshadow
|Blossom Breeze
|Cassidy "Cassie" Charm
|Niels Warner
|Radiant Tayz
|Gamma Fission
|Artemis Moonsliver
The Arena
The Arena
The arena this year will be in a glorious mountain range. There will be four or five mountains in it, each with waterfalls and beautiful scenery; blooming flowers of all kinds, green grass, streams and rivers, tall trees with leaves flowing in the breeze. The cornucopia will be on top of one of the mountains. There will be a few gamemaker-made traps, but not very many. A few of these might be mutts, and natural disasters, but I can't give too much away!
The cornucopia this year will be very different, though. It will be diamond-shaped, with entrances on four sides, which means the pedestals will be in a full circle. The cornucopia will look like a shimmering, clear jewel, catching sunlight and bouncing it back off towards the tributes. The cornucopia will be surrounded by a small, shallow circle of water. Inside the cornucopia will be supplies and weapons, and to get away from the cornucopia, tributes will have to get down from the mountain – but don't fall… and watch out for the rocks.
Arena Outfits
The arena outfits this year will be similar for both boys and girls. The outfit will consist of a cream-colored shirt with a white, thin jacket to go over it with the tribute's district number printed in black on both sleeves. Tributes will be wearing grey jeans, and have black boots to finish off the outfit. Girls will have light, silver and/or black makeup on. The idea behind this outfit is that as the arena twist starts to take effect, tributes' outfits will reflect the dying and dirty arena around them.
The Twist
The twist this year was said to be lying inside the arena plan. Which of course, it is. The twist is that each time a tribute dies, and after each day that passes, the arena will slowly die and wither away. Trees with shrivel and die, flowers will lose their petals, the exotic animals will all die while the mutts thrive, streams, rivers, and waterfalls will dry up, the grass will disappear and reveal the dirt ground. While everything in the arena dies, the place will become more dangerous for tributes. When trees die, they might grow thorns sharp enough to kill, dead animals can spread diseases. The only way to escape the dying arena is to emerge as one of the victors. In other words, the sort of "paradise" the tributes think that the arena is will in fact prove to be an illusion.
The Twists
Twist 1
See "arena".
Twist 2
3rd Person President POV – Capitol – Morning
As President Rain took his place once again on the podium, his daughter standing with a small box near him yet again, the Capitol audience was cheering and screaming out for him. He smiled warmly to all of the citizens, but knew that the districts must have been having a different perspective right about now.
"Hello, citizens of the Capitol, citizens of Panem!" He spoke into the microphone. "We have almost reached the half-way point in the Games! Are you excited to see who emerges victorious this year?"
The Capitol audience cheers again, and his daughter shifts her feet nervously, this time wearing a bright pink dress with her dark hair – just like her fathers – tied up in a bun with bright pink ribbons hanging out. She opens the box nervously as an announcers whispers to them, "the arena can hear you, now."
President Rain nods.
"And now…" The Capitol audience dies down, anxious to hear him. Screens show up behind the audience and behind President Rain showing clips of what is happening in the arena at the time. The screens switch constantly to show all of the different tributes who still stand strong.
"And now, to the tributes in the Games. You have fought hard, and those of you who still remain will have to fight even harder. As the end of the Games approaches faster each day, each hour, each minute, each second, you will have to fight to gain your spot as victor."
"Here you go, Daddy." His daughter Evaline lifted a small piece of paper out of the box.
He nodded and smiled, and opened the paper. The whole audience took in a sharp gasp, and the screens changed to depict the thirteen other districts watching this same thing unfold in their own district squares.
"For there is a second twist." He said with a sly smile, opening up the piece of the paper. "To show the Capitol and Districts of Panem that to overcome the rebellion, we fought alongside each other to overcome those struggles, not on our own, there will be two victors this year. The last two tributes standing will be crowned victors."
As the audience was left in a confused, joyful, or angry uproar (it was different for every citizen), President Rain finished, "and as always. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The microphone was shut down, and like the rest of the citizens in the Capitol and the districts, Evaline and the President were left to watch the reaction of the remaining tributes. President Rain took his daughter to his office and together they sat on a fancy Capitol couch and watched.
For a few tributes, it was obvious they were joyful. Euan(7) and Xia(10) even kissed when they must have known they were on camera, which made Evaline giggle and say, "eew!"
Something, for a few seconds, flashed in Ryan's(1) and Ashlynn's(1) eyes. A few of the loners, like Manta(4), seemed to see this in a neutral point of view. They had no allies or lovers to be attached too, but it would increase their odds of winning. The Girls Alliance seemed confused. It was clear they were forming tight bonds, but only two of them could emerge – if they lasted that long. The Anti-Careers also saw this almost the same way. Radiant(13) tries to be optimistic, but Allium(3) just shakes her head. It's clear she's made friends by now, and just letting a few of them go will be too hard. The Careers all somehow can have a poker-face attitude, but everyone knows what they think. Usually, as a default, Careers want to win on their own. They don't want to share the glory.
Terrence(7) and Melina(7) just smile at each other. "We can win together."
Saerin(6) and Caleb(8) have a similar reaction. It's clear that they are friends by now, and though the Capitol would prefer for a pair of lovers to win, a pair of friends would be a sweet ending, too.
Finally, the Grace Siblings couldn't be more heartbroken. Emil(Cap) keeps saying that if one of them dies it should be him so his sisters can go on.
"Sisters?" Evaline asks, surprised. "But Aurora is four grades ahead of me and Emil is her daddy. Amity is her mommy."
Amity just watches her two siblings with a stone-cold expression, and Aurora can't think of anything to do but cry. With that sad note, the broadcast ends, the pictures of the arena fading away, and President Rain's own voice doing a voice-over that was prepared before the twist announcement. "This was a Capitol Announcement for the 998th Annual Hunger Games! Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win? As always—"
"Happy Hunger Games." Evaline said along with it as the Capitol symbol appeared, "and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Twist 3
To be announced on Day 7 or 8
- Each day (in real life), you can pledge up to two tributes, only up to one of your own
- Those tributes will then recieve $50 (because I only have $ signs on my keyboard XD)
- Each tribute starts out with $100
- You can't take money from another tribute - dead or alive - and give it to your own. Money only comes from pledges.
Note: if you want a personalized item that is not on the list, I will offer a price and you can decide whether to get it for your tribute or not. I will then add it to the list!
Sleeping Bag: $80
Blanket: $50
20oz Water Bottle (full to the rim <3): $60
15oz Water Bottle (full to the rim <3): $45
Small Coil of Wire: $20
Fishing Pole (with small can of bait): $60
Rope: $60
Warm Knee-High Socks: $40
Flashlight (with battery): $60
Bandana: $20
Extra Clothes/Outfit: $70
Gasoline: $175
Matches: $60
Short Sword: $50
Long Sword: $60
Curved Sword: $50
Dagger: $30
8 Throwing Knives: $55
Cleaver: $50
Bow with sheath of 14 arrows: $60
Crossbow (with 14 Bolts): $65
Spear: $50
Trident: $70
Slingshot (with 8 rocks): $40
Normal Knife: $30
Pocket Knife: $20
Axe: $55
Hatchet: $50
Blowgun (with 14 darts): $65
Scythe: $50
Vial of Poison (good for four uses before empty): $40
Mace: $60
8 Throwing Stars: $55
Morning Star: $50
Sickle: $60
Pike: $50
Javelin: $50
Warhammer: $65
Metal Claws (5 claws; meant to put on one hand): $80
Whip: $55
Spiked Whip: $80
Machete: $50
10 Arrows: $45
Falcate: $70
Tell me if I missed any weapons, and I will add them asap.
Bread: $45
4 Pieces of fruit (either apples, oranges, pears, or a cluster of grapes): $50
Quart of Milk: $55
Chicken Breasts: $45
Chicken Wings (just two): $40
Turkey Breasts: $45
Breakfast (scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, a small amount of milk to wash it down c: ): $100
Bowl of Rice Pilaf (IDK I love rice pilaf): $40
First Aid Kit: $100
Bandages: $80
Antipoison: $110
Burn Medicine: $30
Wound Cream/Neosporin (helps heal wounds better, faster and easy. lol sounds like a comercial): $50
Sponsor Table
Throughout the rest of the games, you can send up to two items to each of your tributes.
To be added ;-;
Tribute Stats
|Weapons and Supplies
|Amity Grace(Capitol)
|Mt. 2
|Backpack, bow and arrows(x12), feast item(x1)
|Aurora Grace(Capitol)
|Mt. 2
|Bandages, wound cream, throwing knives(x8)
|Leg wound
|Ryan Duke(1)
|Top of Mt. 2
|Backpack, sword, sleeping bag, dagger(x2), extra outfit, poison, milk, feast item(x1)
|Ashlynn Mountell(1)
|Top of Mt. 2
|Bow, arrows(x16), candied apples(x2), feast item(x1)
|Thamos Keeper(2)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Bread, sword, medical kit
|Jaclyn Brooken(2)
|Top of Mt. 1
|Backpack(x2), flail, sword, gasoline
|Emilia Oswald(2)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Bow, arrows(x10), feast item(x1)
|Akumai "Tenshin" Kubaya(3)
|Mt. 3
|Sword, feast item(x1)
|Allium Arcson(3)
|Mt. 3
|Sword, feast item(x1)
|Leon Aslan(4)
|Top of Mt. 1
|Backpack, feast item(x1)
|Chasodie Melon(4)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Trident, feast item(x1)
|Saerin Vrox(6)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Sleeping bag, cotton swabs(x4), bread rolls(x2), hatchet, ultimate feast item(shared with Caleb)
|Amy Light(6)
|Mt. 3
|Backpack, dagger
|Euan Lorelle(7)
|Xia(10) ;3
|Bottom of Mt. 3
|Throwing knives(x3), blanket, loaf of bread(half), waterbottle(full), apples(x4)
|Terrence Birch(7)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Axe, bandages, candy bars(x5), feast item(x1)
|Melina Woods(7)
|Unknown >;3
|Arm wound(critical)
|Caleb Viika(8)
|Bottom of Mt. 2
|Small backpack, knife, falcate, wound cream, anti-poison, breakfast(yay), crossbow, bolts(x13) ultimate feast item(shared with Saerin)
|Irene Watson(10)
|Mt. 3
|Flashlight, sleeping bag, chocolate bar, pain killers
|Xia Rose(10)
|Euan(7) ;3
|Bottom of Mt. 3
|Sleeping bag, band aids(x3), pocket knife, kukri, throwing knives(x6), rice, wound cream
|George Grain(11)
|No one
|Mt. 2
|Sickle, breakfast, bandages
|Reeva Olympia(11)
|Bow, arrows(x5)
|Radiant Tayz(13)
|Mt. 4 Forest
Death Chart
Updated a while after each update so you actually have to read the POVs, smart-alek.
|Jamieson Erie
|Chasodie Melon(4)
|Speared with a trident
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Cassius Luppe
|Ashlynn Mauntell(1)
|Arrow through the neck
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Cameron Vice
|Hazel Maize(9)
|Stabbed with an arrow multiple times
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Artemis Moonsliver
|Ryan Duke(1)
|Dagger to the neck
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Hazel Maize
|Ryan Duke(1)
|Stabbed, bled to death
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Thesil Jacobs
|Leon Aslan(4)
|Neck snapped
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Wheeler Light
|No one
|Fell of a cliff, died from the fall
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Tobias Drew
|Delila Greenwood(8)
|Axe to the back of the head
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Kasha Rye
|Audrey Lancaster(1)
|Spear through the neck
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|Mona Redwood
|Ivanka Nyomi(5)
|Axe to the side
|Day 1/The Bloodbath
|London Ashcraft
|Audrey Lancaster(1)
|Injected with poison
|Day 2/Morning
|Ajax Orbit
|Audrey Lancaster(1), Ryan Duke(1)
|Bled out from multipe wounds
|Day 2/Morning
|Rosita Peletier
|Gamemaker Trap, Reeva Olympia(11)
|Fell into acidic water, "burned", arrow through the chest by Reeva
|Day 2/Afternoon
|Clive Nightshadow
|Caleb Viika(8)
|Stabbed multiple times in the neck
|Day 2/Nighttime
|Juniper Twist
|Tracker jackers
|Stung to death
|Day 3/Morning
|Janine Taylor
|Tracker jackers
|Stung to death
|Day 3/Morning
|Ivanka Nyomi
|Chasodie mutt
|Trident through the chest, bled out
|Day 3/Morning
|Blossom Breeze
|Bunny mutts
|Bitten, scratched, "eaten" (eww), bled out
|Day 3/Afternoon
|Gamma Fission
|Akumai Kubaya(3)
|Neck accidentally slashed
|Day 3/Afternoon
|Jakub Kunnson
|Crushed by boulder
|Day 3/Afternoon
|Lacey Zale
|Crushed by boulder
|Day 3/Afternoon
|Jason Bark
|Jaclyn Brooken(2)
|Pushed off the edge of the mountain during landslide
|Day 3/Afternoon
|Delila "Lila" Greenwood
|Cassidy "Cassie" Charm(12)
|Dagger in the back
|Day 4/Morning
|Jamie Flip
|Reeva Olympia(11)
|Shot in the neck with an arrow
|Day 4/Morning
|Luna Isis
|Jaclyn Brooken(2)
|Flail to the head
|Day 4/Morning
|Audrey Lancaster
|Niels Warner(13)
|Scythe through the back
|Day 4/Morning
|Drake Lesley
|Jaclyn Brooken(2)
|Sword through the back
|Day 4/Morning
|- - -
|- - -
|- - -
|Day 5/Nighttime
|- - -
|- - -
|- - -
|Day 5/Nighttime
|Day 5/Nighttime
|Day 5/Nighttime
|Day 5/Nighttime
|Day 5/Nighttime
|- - -
|- - -
|- - -
Day 1 - The Bloodbath
Saerin Vrox – District 6 – Launch Room
60 seconds, until launch.
I fold my hands and set them in my lap, looking at the floor of the launch room. The baby blue color, if you stare at it too long, can melt into a murky white, and I have been staring at it for too long.
My mentor has gone off to see Wheeler(6) leave, since he is definitely the favorite from District 6. With his sister, and his odd condition, he's the favorite. But me… who would ever love a weirdo like me? I'm just stuck with my stylist, who is sitting next to me in silence, not helping at all. A single, hot tear falls from my eye and onto my lap. I sniff back more tears, at the thought of death coming upon me today. I can't… "I can't do this."
"Yes you can." My stylist says quietly. She looks at me, her curly green wig bobbing back and forth. "You've always been my favorite." She gives me a kiss on the forehead, and I can feel my face heat up.
"You… really believe in me?" I squeak.
She nods, her wig jerking to the side.
10 seconds, until launch. The monotone voice comes over the speaker, and I start to shiver, moving in jerking movements as I stand up and pace around the launch room. I can almost hear the Capitol crowds cheering from here; cheering for the careers, cheering for death, cheering for the Hunger Games. The Games that I will take part of.
As I step into the launch tube, the countdown starts to go. 5, 4…
As the glass closes around me, I hug myself, starting to cry. I really can't do this… my stylist is saying something to me, but I can't hear her. I shake my head, and she smiles at me, a warm smile that somehow melts through the misery I feel right now. As the launch tube rises into the arena, and the burning sun fills my vision, a sinking feeling fills my whole body. The bright sun may as well be the last thing I ever see.
Emil Grace – Capitol – The Countdown
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls…! Let the 998th Hunger Games… begin!"
I look around desperately for my sisters, shielding my eyes from the burning sun. The arena is breathtakingly beautiful… I remember living in District 4, and in the Capitol, where the city lights and shining ocean are said to be pretty, but this… this is amazing! The cornucopia is surrounded by a small pond, and the cornucopia itself looks like a diamond, reflecting sunlight, and blinding us all. Birds are chirping, flying through the air, and perching on top of trees. The leaves may as well be cotton candy, the trees lollipops, and the cornucopia rock candy. But this is no heaven.
I take a deep breath, readying myself for what is about to unfold. Jaclyn(2) is on the podium next to me, and she keeps shooting bloodthirsty glances at me and the girl next to her, Rosita(7). Rosita looks very scared, but I try to keep my cool. Amity(Cap) is straight across the cornucopia from me, and she keeps giving me nervous glances. Aurora(Cap) is positioned between Dennis(3) and London(4), so she isn't in much danger… unless London is capable of more than I think.
There, at one of the four entrances of the cornucopia – the one closest to me – is a trident. If I can just get that, then find Aurora and Amity, and maybe get a backpack, and then we can all leave this horrid place.
All the tributes look either scared, about to burst into tears, or psychotically happy. The countdown continues as we all sit in silence, for what feels like the longest minute of our lives…
Irene Watson – District 10 – The First Bloodshed
This is it, this is what might be the biggest moment of the games. The beautiful scenery does nothing to help the situation, except district a few tributes. One of which is my own stupid district partner, Xia(10). At least she's safe from falling off her platform, she's glued to her spot…
Take a deep breath…
Calm down…
Find your allies…
Get supplies…
I rush to the cornucopia, not wasting any time. The nearest entrance for me is crowded with tributes, some of which are careers, so I steer away and go to another. There, I run into one of the girls from 5. Luna, I think. I shove her out of the way, and she makes some weird growling noise before attempting to knee me in the stomach. I dodge, falling to the ground, but quickly regain myself. She throws a punch at me, and I raise my foot straight into her no-no zone, and she curls over from the pain. I rush in to the cornucopia, and grab the backpack, then duck behind a crate, hoping other tributes won't be able to see my reflection from the glistening wall of the cornucopia.
I peek out and see Blossom(12) crouching along the outskirts of the cornucopia, and then hear a familiar voice, begging for mercy. Right as it dawns on me who it is, cruel laughter rings out, and then a body hits the ground right in front of. I scream, frozen to my spot.
The first blood of the games is my own ally, Jamieson(10).
Chasodie Melon – District 4 – The Bloodbath
I yank my trident out of the District 10 boy's stomach, and turn to my allies.
"Nice one, Chas." Jaclyn(2) says, grinning.
I giggle. My allies are paying a lot of attention to me! I love it! And, I got the first kill of the games… I could care less who did, but that is sure to gain me Capitol favoritism. I think.
"Did you hear that?" Emilia(2) asks.
"Hear what?" I ask.
"That scream."
I look down to where Jamieson fell, just in time to see Irene(10) running off with her little ally from 12, one of them with a dagger and one with a backpack. There's no point in going after them now.
I turn to my fellow Careers. The cornucopia is very big this year, with lots of supplies, either in backpacks or crates. There isn't food lying around, like loaves of bread, so I'm guessing that they are in the backpacks. There are also lots of weapons, and they look shinier and sharper this year… it's perfect. I smile, and grip my trident. The Careers are forming some sort of circle around the cornucopia, so I stay inside to greet anyone who wants to try and go for a certain pile of backpacks. There are five backpacks, so I might as well take one…
My ally Cassius(Cap) seems to have the same idea about staying inside the cornucopia, and so does London(4). I look around, as tributes dart in and out of the cornucopia. There goes Emil(Cap), grabbing a backpack and a trident quickly, while his sister, Amity(Cap) I think – or Aurora? Whatever, the older sister – darts in quickly and grabs another backpack before the two run off with their little sister. They're not much of a threat right now. Anyone who runs away from the cornucopia that quickly isn't worth wasting time on.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Cassius standing, and then from the outside of the cornucopia, a blonde girl drawing her bow back, aiming straight at Cassius. "Cassius!" I gasp, "look out!"
He turns just in time, and the blonde girl shoots the arrow, hitting Cassius right in the neck. He falls to the ground, gasping for air. London(4) rushes over, but her expression is unreadable. "See if you can help him." I tell her.
That girl who shot Cassius was the one from District 1, Ashlynn. She didn't ally with the Careers. What a traitor! I take a nearby knife as she darts in to the cornucopia and picks up a bag of apples, and I throw the knife at her. It grazes her neck, and a few strands of a hair fall to the ground before she runs off. I shake my head, then look to Cassius and London.
"He's dead." London bounces up to her feet again.
London sure is weird…
I take my spot again, and shrug it off. One more ally dead is one less enemy in the end… right?
Artemis Moonsliver – District 13 – The Bloodbath
The Anti-careers are meeting up near the outskirts of the cornucopia, hidden behind some bushes. I duck behind, and join my allies.
"Is it time to strike yet?" Hazel(9) asks curiously.
We don't have an official leader, so we're all quiet for a while, waiting for someone to answer. Finally, Allium(3) answers. "We should. Before the Careers get too confident in themselves. There's less of us, but that doesn't me we can't take them."
Dennis(3) shrugs, and I look to my alliance members. I nod, a determined look on my face. "Let's go. Which entrance should we use?"
Thesil(8) points to one entrance, where one tribute is. It's Cameron Vice(2), the young boy from Two who didn't ally with the careers. He's the only one there, currently.
I nod. "Once we get inside, get supplies and run?"
"Yes." Allium replies. She counts off, and then we all run to the cornucopia. Thesil(8) goes inside the cornucopia and hides behind a crate, taking a small dagger. Allium(3) and Dennis(3) run for backpacks, and I stay beside Hazel(9). Cameron sees us two coming, and takes out a bow and arrow. Hazel ducks, and I dive out of the way as one arrows pegs itself into the ground behind us. Cameron fires another arrow, and this one hits me in the arm. I scream out, and fall to the ground, just barely holding on. Hazel glances at me pitifully, and nods. I curl up on the ground, and try to take the arrow out of my arm. I can hear a scream from where Hazel ran, and turn to see Cameron lying on the ground, Hazel stabbing him with one of his own arrows. I smile at Hazel weakly, before closing my eyes, and trying to regain myself. I hear footsteps, and turn over to look and see not Hazel, but one of the boys from District One. He has a dagger in his hand, and doesn't hesitate before bringing it down towards me. I barely have time to scream before pain erupts in my neck, and bursts of black fill my vision… the pain continues, until almost everything has gone black, and I can barely hear Hazel yelling my name…
Ryan Duke – District 1 – The Bloodbath
Artemis(13) curls up on the ground, and I watch her. A shiver comes over me as I take my dagger out of her neck, the blood pooling up around her. Hazel(9), one of the other Antis, is running at me. I gasp before throwing my dagger at her. It hits her in the shoulder, and she gasps in pain. I run at her, kicking her to the ground, taking my dagger and then stabbing her near the neck over and over again.
I finally stop, gasping for air, and then start to shake. My allies… they must need me… I can't… have I really killed two tributes… Artemis is curled up into a tiny, motionless ball some ways away from me, but Hazel is still breathing. I step back, putting my dagger into my belt.
"Hazel!" Dennis(3) looks from Hazel to Artemis to me, and then his eyes fix on me, filling with tears. I run to the cornucopia, back to my allies. The antis are huddled around Hazel, until Allium(3) stands up and leads then away, Dennis still covering his eyes.
Thesil(8), also one of the antis, is still trying to get out of the cornucopia. Leon(4), possibly the best out of the career alliance, walks up to him slowly before putting his hands around Thesil's neck, then twisting it, giving Thesil a quick death.
Drake(5) darts in to the cornucopia, and I want to attack him, but can't bring myself to it, so I just watch as he grabs a backpack and a small pack of throwing knives. His ally Lacey(11) manages to get a small bag, that looks like might be filled with fruit.
I stay close to my allies, but stay near London(4). She seems nice, and she hasn't done much attacking so far. We stand next to each other in silence, as she holds her trident, and I drop my dagger for a decently sized scythe.
The small alliance made up of Xia(10) and Euan(7) approaches the cornucopia, and Xia is shaking, while Eaun is trying to look brave. He darts in to the cornucopia, staying low, so that no one will see him. I pretend not to, but London knows better. She runs towards Eaun, thrusting the trident towards him. The trident misses by about an inch, and Eaun gets up, running for the nearest weapon, which happens to be an axe. Being from District Seven, he must be dangerous with it. He swings it at London, and she tries to dive out of the way, so it grazes her stomach, making a red gash appear on her white clothes. She clutches her stomach, and I run for Eaun, pushing him to the ground, swinging my sickle at him. He runs off with his axe, picking up a backpack and a knife on the way, and meeting up with Xia, still on the outskirts of the cornucopia.
I bend down to London, who starts to moan. "I'll help you." I whisper, and look around for a first aid kit, for something…
"What's going on?" Ivanka(5) and Niels(13) come up to us.
"Take our spots." I say. "I'm taking London somewhere safer… I'm going to try and heal her.
Ivanka tosses me a box, and I open it to see that it's full of medical supplies. "Thank you."
Ivanka nods. "Good luck."
I pick up London and rush to a hiding spot in the bushes, opening the box. I might not have much experience, but I need to save London.
Amy Light – District 6 – The Bloodbath
Wheeler(6), Harvest(9) and I watch as Luna(5) approaches the cornucopia. Since she is apparently a trained assassin, she insisted that she take on the cornucopia. She disappears into the cornucopia, and Wheeler gasps.
"She'll be fine." Harvest says, but even he sounds worried.
When Luna comes out with two backpacks, a sword, and a mace, unscathed, we all smile.
Luna keeps a backpack, hands one to me, and the other to Wheeler. She hands Harvest the mace, since he's pretty much the only one who can hold it, and keeps the sword for herself.
"Let's go." I say quickly, and we all walk away from the cornucopia, Harvest keeping guard from behind, and Wheeler and me leading the way. We're walking casually, when suddenly, Wheeler screams.
"What is it?!" I ask. Panic washes over me. Is he getting sick this month… oh no, please not now!
But when I look down, I can see what was the big deal. It's a cliff.
"Could we go somewhere else?" Wheeler asks quietly.
Wheeler is a horrible climber, so I don't want him to have to go through this. I look around, but other tributes are escaping down other sides of the giant mountain that we are apparently on. "We'll run into tributes if we go any other way."
"I can do it." Wheeler takes a deep breath, before the four of us start to climb down the mountain.
Luna climbs down the mountain almost like a spider; quickly and efficiently. It's almost scary. Harvest is bigger than the rest of us, so it takes him a little longer, but eventually, he makes it down. I stay with Wheeler, and we make our way slowly down the mountain.
"Put your foot there." I tell him, and he does so. "Now lower your hand…" The mountain is getting steeper, and there are less things to hold on to. Even I am getting scared. Wheeler lets out a whimper, and then yelps when his foot slips, but regains himself. "You're getting it!" I tell him encouragingly.
He looks down, and that is when panic sets in. It hits me like one of the high-speed Capitol trains that we used to help build back in District Six, and that moment freezes for what seems like forever. For when Wheeler looks down, he falls.
"Wheeler!" I scream, tears springing up in my eyes. I climb down as quickly as I can, but we're still so high up. Wheeler falls onto a tree that's sticking out of the side of the mountain, and I gasp as he hits another tree, then another, until he's almost out of sight.
I start to cry, and make my way down the mountain as fast as I can. When I reach Luna and Harvest, I start bawling. "Where d-did he l-land?!"
Luna shakes her head and tells me to sit down. It's clear that he landed somewhere far away from us… somewhere where no one should land. He probably died from the fall… "Kill me now. I want to be with him."
"Amy?" Harvest asks quietly, putting a hand around my shoulder. The bright green grass feels unnaturally soft under my feet, and it feels like I could sink into the ground it's so soft. This arena… it feels like it is mocking me. I lost my brother to this beautiful place… now I want to lose myself to it.
"Kill me." I beg Luna, "just do it. It's just one more number to your list of victims." A Cheshire grin creeps up on my face, framed by my tears and blushed cheeks. "Come on, then I can be with my brother again! That's all I want!"
"No!" Luna pushes me away from her. "I won't let you die! Do you think Wheeler would want you to just give up like this?! I won't let you. You need to win. For him."
Rosita Peletier - District 7 - The Bloodbath
The girls alliance has gathered, and we are all deciding what to do right now. The careers are still guarding the cornucopia, but by the looks of it, they're not very good at it… a lot of tributes have gotten past them. I am small and agile, so my alliance agreed that I should go first. My stomach feels empty as I approach the cornucopia, taking small, soft footsteps. Everyone seems so distracted by what they are already doing to pay attention to me. Melina(7), George(11), and Jamie(9) seem to be in a fight as I approach one of the entrances. I gasp as Jamie is flung to the ground, clutching his arm, and then runs off with a backpack. Melina and George fight for a while, George with a sickle, Melina with her axe, and Melina retreates when George slashes her leg with his sickle, giving her a deep gash. My heart beats even louder, as I watch George run off with his sickle.
Finally, I dash in to the cornucopia, and peek out to where my alliance is hiding. I give them the signal, and they split off. We're all invading from different entrances, hopefully we will get some backpacks and weapons. I find a dagger on the floor and stuff it into my belt, then dart for a backpack, but run into someone on my way. As I fall to the ground, the wind gets knocked out of me, and when I open my eyes, I see Tobias(11).
He is the one that was acting menacing in training, and I never wanted to get into a fight with him. He has a flail in his hands, and raises it to swing it around in the air. Too scared to move, I sit there, frozen. That's when he falls to the ground, and Delila(8), my own ally, is standing behind him. Her face is drained of color as she yanks her axe out of the back of Tobias' head. I rush to her and give her a suffocating hug.
"I was worried about you, Rosita." Delila says, and then drags me out of the cornucopia. "That place is too dangerous for you. You're so young and I don't want you to get hu—"
"I can fight." I say, but even I doubt it.
Delila squeezes my hand, and then points off into the distance. "Do you see that small forest down there? Go there. We'll meet up with you later."
I nod, with tears in my eyes. "What if… what if someone finds me?"
"They won't." Delila gives me one last hug before running back to the cornucopia, to fight with our allies. A sinking feeling fills me, and for a moment, I feel lightheaded. I turn to where Delila pointed. Down a steep hill, there is the small forest she pointed to. Near it is a glistening waterfall, with crystal-clear water. Suddenly, I feel very thirsty. I look down the hill. Grass. I smile, getting ready to roll down the hill, just for fun. I steady myself, making sure my dagger is in a safe position so it won't hurt me, but right as I start to roll down the hill and giggle, a scream rings out from back at the cornucopia.
When I reach the bottom of the hill, I sit up, dizzy, and walk towards the forest. I was told to meet my allies in the forest, but it won't hurt to go to the waterfall… will it?
End of the Bloodbath – 3rd Person POV
As Kasha Rye(9) fell to the ground with a spear in her neck, her ally Mona(6) begged for mercy from the careers. Ivanka(5) raised her axe with a malicious grin, swinging it into Mona's side.
The Careers celebrated the small victory against two members of the girls alliance, as the rest ran off with some backpacks and some weapons. Akumai runs from the cornucopia, with a sword in his hands, and as Radiant leaves, he picks up Tobias' flail, running down the hill side of the mountain. Clive(12) leaves, sadly, with nothing, down the steeper, cliff side of the cornucopia mountain, and Juniper(12) manages to escape with a stray arrow and a ripped backpack. As the other tributes disperse, the careers are left alone.
The Careers decide to move into a different part of the arena. The beautiful landscape is luring tributes in to other parts of the arena. London(4) is carried along with her allies, as all careers choose a weapon and take any leftover backpacks, and move down the least steep part of the mountain, as the hovercraft comes to pick up the fallen and lifeless.
Just as the Careers vanish off of the mountain and into a meadow at the base of the mountain, the first cannon echoes throughout the arena.
Blossom Breeze – District 12
Irene(10) and I finally stop running when a cannon booms throughout the arena. I jump, clutching my dagger close, as we both stop in our tracks. We found a stone staircase leading up to a waterfall, and thought it might be a good place to stay for the night, looking out on the arena and trying to see where others are.
Two. I start to count in my head.
"That means ten dead tributes." I whisper.
Irene just nods and keeps walking up the staircase, until we find a small alcove, with a rock ceiling. It's very well hidden, I have to say. We both squeeze in, and Irene opens her backpack. Inside is a flashlight, which we turn on, so that we can see in the small, rocky "cave" we're sitting in. A sleeping bag, some pain killers… the real surprise, though, is three candy bars. The wrappers read: "Hershey's".
Irene squeals, and immediately tries to bite into one.
"STOP!" I yell, and she drops the flashlight. I pick it up after it rolls across the ground, sending light beams in every direction. "It might… the Capitol might have poisoned it!"
Irene laughs, and says, "stop being so paranoid!" When she bites into it, her face lights up with joy. I take out a candy bar myself, and have the same reaction. After pigging out on our chocolate bars, we save the last one to share later.
Irene curls up in her sleeping bag, and I curl into a ball, rubbing my arms and trying to stay warm. "You know what, Irene?"
"I've never actually had a Hershay candy in my life."
Irene giggles. "It's pronounced Hershey. And that's the brand of candy. It's actually chocolate. I thought you said you were rich back in District Twelve?"
"Still, candy can be hard to come by."
We're silent for a moment, and I'm still savoring the taste of my chocolate, trying to keep it in my memory for as long as possible, when the muffled anthem comes on. We peek out of our hiding place to see who are among the fallen:
Day 1 – The Fallen
The Capitol
Cassius Luppe
District 2
Cameron Vice
District 6
Wheeler Light
Mona Redwood
District 8
Thesil Jacobs
District 9
Kasha Rye
Hazel Maize
District 10
Jamieson Erie
District 11
Tobias Drew
District 13
Artemis Moonsliver
Oddly enough, not a single District Twelve tribute is in the sky. Usually, we lose one or both on the first day, and the other dies soon after. Hopefully we're luckier this year, and one of us gets to survive longer. Or maybe even win.
Day 2: Part 1 - Mistakes
Melina Woods – District 7 – Early Morning
I wake up with the sound of chirping birds filling my ears, and it takes me a second to realize where I am. At least, I remember when the pain shoots through my arm.
I gasp, and look down. Sure enough, I'm still in the tree I climbed last night. It was hard with an injured arm like I have, so I didn't make it far, but it was far enough upwards to get out of sight of anyone who might be below me.
I slowly climb down, and almost fall to the ground. I look at the big gash on my arm, still oozing blood. The blood from last night is dried up on my sleeve, which I had ripped up to wrap around the wound. A small river is near the bottom of the cornucopia mountain, where I am, so I had put some water on it. Normally, I would worry about the water not being safe, but it was so clear, and there was barely any dirt in it, so I even drank some of the water.
I sigh and look around me. The land around this mountain looks almost like a peaceful meadow, with the mountains all around it, and flowers blooming. I go to one pretty, white flower, and put it in my hair, just because. Still being in nature helps me feel more comfortable, since nature is where I've always lived.
I walk along with my axe, looking around. This place is pretty, almost too pretty… almost distracting…
A searing pain strikes my arm, and I fall to the ground, with tears in my eyes. I can't do this… my arm needs to be healed. I look up to where the cornucopia is, on the tallest mountain. If there are medical kits up there… I could try getting up from the side of the mountain that's not as steep, as climbing isn't a very good idea right now.
The pain pulses through my arm again, and I sit down in the flowers, closing my eyes. If only I hadn't gotten into that fight… if only I could have run away from the cornucopia… I'm a failure to my district…
Audrey Lancaster – District 1 – Early Morning
The color drains from my face, as I stare at London's(4) glazed over eyes.
All I can hear is my own heartbeat, as I turn to Ryan(1), who looks as shocked as I feel.
I had woken up early to help Ryan take care of London. I don't know why it was me who was helping, out of all people in this alliance; I barely know anything about medicine and healing.
London was still asleep when we started, but then, she started crying from the pain. It was clear Ryan doesn't know much about healing, either. We had wrapped up London in some thick bandages, to try and stop the bleeding and we had given her some pain killers, but whoever made this medical kit was not very generous. Basically, there are a few band aids (which would only be good for a small cut when you don't want an infection), the thick bandages we've wrapped London with (which are completely blood-soaked), a small bottle of pain killers…
And then there was a syringe with liquid in it. Ryan had thought we shouldn't have tried to use it, but I wanted to saved London so badly.
Now, I see that was the worst decision ever. London is motionless, and that cannon could only mean one thing. As I slowly take the syringe out of London's flesh, I realize, I've just accidentally killed my own ally.
Ryan seems scared, too. Now the careers will think we're traitors. Ryan gets his scythe, my backpack and my axe, and gives me my stuff. "What are we doing?" I whisper hurriedly.
"Oooooooh, lookie here!"
Both Ryan and I turn to see Ivanka(5) has woken up, observing the scene. Her eyes flicker from London, to Ryan, to me, and then to the syringe in my hand. "Did you kill the little girl?"
Tears start to fill my eyes. I would never want to kill one of my own allies, and now I'm the bad guy, who accidentally fell for the Capitol's little medical kit trick with the syringe.
Ivanka gets her axe, and smiles at us. "I'll save the rest of this alliance from you two traitors!"
At that, some of our other allies wake up. Ajax(1) is one of those tributes, and he looks at us, not even asking what's going on. He gets his sword and runs at Ryan and me. I can't believe this! My own district partner is trying to kill me! Anger starts to boil up inside of me, and as he swings his sword, I block it with my axe. I yell for Ryan to come and help. Ajax slashes the air with his sword, and I block it as many times as I can, but it's hard to maneuver with an axe.
Something red flies at me, and I shield my eyes with my hand, holding my axe out in front of me. A warm liquid drips down my arms, and when I open my eyes, I see that it is actually blood. Ajax's(1) forehead has been slashed open, and Ryan is battling him with his scythe.
Ivanka runs at me, giggling. I block her axe with my own, and kick her to the ground. She's not the threat right now, Ajax is. Just as Ryan aims his scythe at Ajax's neck, I bring my axe back and aim for his side.
At the same time, our blows hit Ajax, and he falls to the ground, the blood pooling up around him. My own clothes and Ryan's are bloodstained.
A few seconds later, a cannon shakes the arena, and a few dead leaves fall off of the trees near us.
I don't even bother to look back at our allies, I start to run. Ryan is running with me, clutching Ajax's sword, dropping his scythe on our way. When we're far from our old alliance, we stop to catch our breath.
Just when I think I'm safe, Ryan punches me in the gut, and I double over. "W-what was that for?" I gasp.
"I was supposed to stay loyal to our alliance!" He hisses at me.
"I'm sorry…" I say, tears stinging my eyes. "I never meant to kill London(4), and I never wanted to hurt Ajax(1). I'm the worst District One tribute ever."
Ryan helps me up, blushing. "Sorry I did that to you. On the bright side, I have a sword now."
I laugh half-heartedly. "Where should we go?"
Ryan looks around. "Well, not to our old alliance. We're somewhere between all of the mountains right now. Let's go there." Ryan points somewhere beyond a blooming flower field, to where a small mountain is.
"Sure, let's go." I say. Right now, I want to be anywhere except near my old allies. I look back, though, and can see the hovercraft coming to pick up the newly fallen. All because of me.
Day 2: Part 2 - The Way Through the Water
Euan Lorelle – District 7 – Morning
The sound of the hovercraft is what wakes me up. I look down to see that the careers below seem to have been devastated. Two bodies are picked up, then the hovercraft disappears. The fun thing about being on top of the second mountain, is that there are beautiful cherry blossom trees, and no one knows we're up here. It was hard to get Xia to come up the mountain, as she was scared of climbing it for some reason, but now we're here.
Xia(10) is snoring some ways away from me, and I smile. It's a good thing no one knows we're here, because Xia's snoring would give us away. She's sleeping in her sleeping bag, on her side, facing away from me. She mumbles something and turns over to face up.
I decide to make "breakfast", by cutting the loaf of bread I have in two. I then decide to save some bread, so I cut one half again and tuck the other one away in my backpack. I look around on top of the mountain, and find a bush of berries. They're edible; I've seen them before in District Seven. I put some on each part of the bread, and then go back over to Xia.
"Psst." I whisper in her ear, "rise and shine."
She keeps snoring, so I shake her arm a bit. "Xia? Come on, wake up!"
"Aah!" She opens her eyes and then sees me, and squeals. "You scared me!" She looks around and paws frantically for her glasses, and when she finds them, she puts them on, and then sees the food I made.
"Is that for me?" Her whole face turns a bright red. I'm guessing she hasn't talked to boys much. Wouldn't it be funny to mess with her… just a bit?
"Yep, it's for you." I smile and sit next to her, and she turns even more red.
"Uh… uh, thanks." She says quietly, and eats her food quickly.
"You're funny." I say, giggling a bit.
"What do you mean?!" Xia squeals, her mouth still full with the bread I gave her. "Aw woo tryin to trick meh?"
I laugh a bit, and Xia swallows her food, joining in with some awkward giggling. She stands up and takes the hair-tie out of her hair. The Capitol had put it up in a very messy bun, which just adds to her awkwardness.
"It looks better up." I tell her, crossing my arms, a playful smile on my face.
Xia makes some annoyed noises at me, before trying to put it back in a bun, but just tangles up some of her hair. I go over to her and put it in a nice ponytail for her.
"How are you so good at doing hair?" She asks, a crooked grin on her face.
Now it's my turn to blush. "I used to try and do my little sister's hair, but… she's cocky and stubborn, and no matter how many times I tried to do her hair for her, she always took it out and did it herself."
Xia smiles at me, and for the first time, she isn't blushing when she's near me.
Xia is definitely the perfect ally. She's smart, funny, and awkward, which makes her fun to be around. And with her hair up in a neat ponytail and a smile on her face, she's actually kind of… cute.
"What should we do today?" I ask, banishing all thoughts of cute girls from my head. Xia is just my ally, nothing more.
Xia shrugs and then suggests, "we could spy on other alliances? The careers are down there, and we have a birds-eye view of the tributes down below.
I look over the edge of the mountain, and can see little specks down in the arena below. "Come see this Xia, it's amazing!"
I look back to Xia. "Come on, there are waterfalls, forests, flower fields…"
Xia just shakes her head, her face turning red again. "I can't, I might fall!"
Xia sure has something with heights and climbing. I sigh and sit next to her. "Then what are we going to do?"
"Pick berries." Xia gets up quickly and I follow her, packing up our things. We pick the berries for a while, and I see Xia sneaking a few as we pick. I pretend not to notice it, since it's funny, and she's really bad at hiding it. I just smile to myself and let her keep doing that. Somehow, soon, I'm going to break Xia out of her shy, nerdy shell. Somehow.
Rosita Peletier - District 7 - Afternoon
As I approach the waterfall, I smile. It is so pretty!
A pool of water lies where the waterfall meets the ground, with dirt surrounding it. I bend down to the water and look at it. It's so clear that I can almost see all the way through it to the dirt below, just like it's glass. The waterfall seems to be coming from the second mountain, and I know tributes are there.
I look around, before pulling down my sleeves to take a drink of the water. Something deep inside tells me to stop. Water isn't supposed to be this pretty, this clear, this serene, it just isn't. Everything beautiful is a trap. But the rest of me just listens to the chirping birds, the gushing of the crystalline waterfall.
I dip my hands into the water, and immediately take them out. An odd sensation stings and bites at my hands, but I can't decide exactly what it is… it feels like… burning. My hands start to turn red, and it feels like they've been set on fire. I search somewhere for something to help, to stop this burning sensation, as it keeps hurting more and more each second. I whimper, and start to cry. The only thing I can think of that would help would be water, but isn't that what caused this?
Panic starts to take control of me. Suddenly, this beautiful, serene world melts into a nightmare. I dip my hands in the water again, and scream when the burning feels worse.
"ROSITA!" A voice from the woods calls for me, but I'm blinding by tears and pain. The water must be dangerous in some way. The chirping birds flutter down from the trees around me and sit in the grass near me, giving me questioning looks. I shake my head, wanting to yell at the them to leave.
There has to be safe water somewhere! Something that can help. The Gamemakers set this cruel trap for us. Everything beautiful is dangerous.
I whip around, and scream out for my alliance. Something falls out of my belt, and I turn to see, though clouded by my tears, a dagger. A shiny, beautiful dagger.
I pick it up with my shaking, burning hands, because I can only see one escape from this pain. I stagger backwards, and drop the dagger. No… I'm too weak, too cowardly to do it.
Something comes crashing through the trees, and I can see one of my allies yelling out for me. I yelp and stagger backwards even farther, before my foot slips on something, and slowly, I get another sensation.
Slowly, I can feel the ground slipping out from under me, before I fall into something wet. Instantly, the burning starts all over, and I shut my eyes and close my mouth so that it won't get into those places, but I hurt beyond words.
I push myself up towards the surface of the water, struggling to move. When my head pops up, a few of my alliance members cry out for me or scream. What do I look like?! What do they think is happening?!
I open my eyes just in time to see Reeva(11) pull back her bow, and with tears in her eyes, let the string go. It's for the best, isn't it? I'm out of my misery.
As the arrow finds it mark near my heart, I fall, slowly this time, as I go numb all over, letting the water pull me in…
Cassidy "Cassie" Charm – District 12 – Afternoon
Reeva(11) slowly lets go of her bow, with shaking hands. I put my hand on her shoulder, seeing the tears form in her eyes.
"What happened…" Janine(3) starts, sniffing. "What happened to Rosita?"
We all watch as Rosita's body floats to the top of the water, her face turned down. I shiver, but carefully make my way towards the water. Picking up a stick on the way, I bend down and poke the water with the stick. A strange sizzling sound can be heard, and bubbles come up from the water where the stick is. I take it out, and the end has seemingly almost "melted" off.
My allies all look to each other, with horrified looks on their faces.
"Rosita…" Reeva starts, sniffing.
I give Reeva a soft hug. "It was for the best. She would have suffered if you didn't."
"We better go." Wendy(8) says, and we all head off into the woods. We're all deathly quiet, until we set up camp. Reeva goes off with her bow and arrow to go hunt, and brings back some squirrels. We roast them over the fire, before it can get too dark outside, so no one will notice that we are here.
We're all still hungry, but instead, I look up to the sky. The sun is going down, leaving the sky tinted orange, pink, and a bit of the bright blue still shines through.
We all go to sleep eventually, but I can't sleep. Oddly, in training, and for the time when I was in the Capitol, I had such peaceful dreams. But now that I'm here, I keep dreaming that one of us is getting killed by the Careers, or that it was me instead of Rosita. I stay up, and keep guard of my alliance, since anything is better than my nightmares.
Ashlynn Mountell – District 1 – Nighttime
The sky is getting dark, and I walk along through the flower field, looking up at the sky every once in a while, expecting the anthem to come on at any moment. The Gamemakers must be waiting for something, because it's very dark out now, and usually they would have shown the fallen images by now.
The tiny scratch on my neck from the bloodbath is just about healed by now, so I'm not injured. However, with only 6 candied apples – which are good for a boost of energy since they are sugar, but not very nourishing – and a bow and arrow, I might need some more supplies.
I sigh and sit down among the flowers, watching them sway back and forth in the breeze, when I hear footsteps. I get up quickly and look around, getting an arrow ready in my bow.
There, are two of my district partners! They must be coming for me since I didn't ally with them and the other Careers. It's clear that the careers hate me. I raise my bow and quickly shoot an arrow, but the girl dodges it, and screams out for me to stop.
I keep my bow up, as they both start talking.
"Umm, do you remember our names?" The boy asks.
"Ryan and Audrey, right?" I ask through gritted teeth. I don't want to trust them.
Audrey picks up my arrow, which has pegged itself into the ground near her, and walks slowly up to me, before giving it back. "We want to ally."
"Why aren't your own allies with you?"
They both hastily explain their story, and I'm still wondering whether or not to trust them. But we're both Career split-offs, so we both kind of are in the same situation. I agree, and we all sit down and talk for a while.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Ryan asks.
"I was going to go tribute hunting." I answer, "but it will probably be better with three of us than one. I'm not sure who to go after, since this arena is so big and I have almost no idea who's near me and who's not."
"We can look tomorrow." Audrey says, yawning.
Ryan and Audrey seem nice, but I'm still ready for them to turn on me at any moment. We all curl up to sleep, and oddly enough, even though I want to stay up, I think I'm the first to drift off…
Caleb Viika – District 8 – Nighttime
I stare up at the sky, looking at all the different patterns in the stars. Somehow, both Saerin(6) and I have survived another day in the arena. Oddly, I've noticed that trees are starting to lose leaves, and some leaves are looking a little brown and withered away. The trees seem to be dying, and in the stream near us, there's been a little more dirt than usual. But just when I think the arena is about to die, I blink my eyes and everything looks beautiful again.
Saerin(6) is fast asleep, barely making a noise. You'd think he was dead with how quiet he is… she is? I still mean to ask Saerin that question, but since he was reaped as a boy tribute, I think I'll just call him male for now. Saerin is nice, but very quiet and shy, so it's hard to make conversation.
I close my eyes, and am almost ready to drift off, too, when I hear the grass rustling near me. I open my eyes and look up at the stars and the trees above, and whisper Saerin's name.
"What?" Saerin asks quietly.
"Is that noise you?"
"No." Saerin answers, then adds self-consciously, "at least, I don't think so."
I sit up and look around. My heart starts to race when I see it. A tribute, picking up my backpack, and reaching for Saerin's. I clutch my knife (which I keep by my side at all times), and shout out for Saerin.
Saerin wakes up and reaches for his hatchet. I run at the mystery tribute, and tackle them. They punch me in the face, hitting me right across the nose, and immediately blood pours out. I cover my nose and kick the tribute in the stomach while they try to get up and run away. I throw my knife at them, and it hits them in the right arm.
Saerin comes up and swings his hatchet, but his attack just falls short and the axe buries itself into the ground.
I run up take my knife out of the enemy's arm, and kick them to the ground again, my heart racing as I plunge the knife into their throat multiple times, blood spraying up out of the wounds.
A few moments later, a lone cannon goes off. I shakily get up and wipe the blood from my knife onto the grass, and look at the tribute that I've just managed to kill. I don't even know who it is, until the hovercraft comes to pick him up after I've gotten the backpacks from his cold, limp hands. It's the boy from 12, Clive. He had no weapons or supplies, only ours. I wish we could have negotiated with him and become allies, but instead I was stupid and chose to attack.
"You're wounded." Saerin says quietly. He gets his backpack from me, which used to hold his sleeping bag, but now has his other items in it. A small packet of cotton swabs, two rolls of bread. He takes two cotton swabs to me and I try to only use one, but my nose is bleeding so much I end up using two, anyway.
"Thank you." I say. On the inside I feel drained. I killed another tribute when I could have allied, or done something… but that's what this is all about, isn't it? The heartless killing that the Capitol wants, the manipulation and the death.
The anthem comes on, and I try not to think of anything as the fallen images appear in the sky.
Day 2 – The Fallen
District 1
Ajax Orbit
District 4
London Ashcraft
District 7
Rosita Peletier
District 12
Clive Nightshadow
Day 3: Part 1 - Is That Really You?
Radiant Tayz – District 13 – Morning
"Attention, tributes, attention."
I open my eyes and groan, sitting up from where I was laying down in the soft, green grass, surrounded by some trees. I'm currently on an overhang on one of the mountains, with a good view of the rest of the arena.
I try to listen to the gamemaker announcement as closely as possible, but I'm still tired from lack of sleep. As if being in the Hunger Games once wasn't bad enough, it had to happen to me again?
"Today, one each of the four mountains, a horror will be unleashed. What they are, well, we're not telling you! That's part of the fun. Have fun guessing! First, the danger on mountain one will be activated, then mountain two, and so forth. Those who escape will be… rewarded after the events of the day are over, not only with life, but with something more special than that… those who don't escape, well, you can guess what awaits them!
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor…"
I look around me, at the other mountains. None of them look like they could be active volcanoes, and that also might be too predictable for anyone who has seen a re-run of the 50th Hunger Games, but you never know. I'm guessing that mutts will be released, but who knows? I wonder if those below the mountains will be safe at all…
I get up, picking up my flail, and prepare to get a move on. One of my best hopes might be allying with other tributes, which means joining an alliance. The Grace siblings seem like a fine choice, but Aurora(Cap) might be a bit of a hassle in a life-or-death situation, and Amity(Cap) doesn't seem very useful. As for the Careers, out of the question. The girls' alliance probably won't be too welcoming, and I could ally with Lacey(11) and Drake(5), or Saerin(6) and Caleb(8), but I need a stronger alliance than that.
The Anti-Careers.
They're short on numbers, so they could use an extra ally. I smile as I make my way down the mountain and into the valley below. The first mountain must be the cornucopia mountain, where we all came up into the arena in the first place. My best bet is to stay far away from there, and find the antis. I saw them, on a mountain near the one I'm on.
Hopefully, I can get to them in time, and they're as friendly as they seem.
Terrence Birch – District 7 – Morning
Being at the bottom of the first mountain, this doesn't seem like a very good situation for me. I look up towards the mountain, but don't see anything happening yet. Whatever it is, I have a few guesses. If there are mutts, then whichever tribute is up there would get full blast of the attack.
I jump when the first scream rings out, and it seems awfully close to me. I pick up my axe and walk away slowly from the base of the mountain. The Girls Alliance is not far from me, hiding in the small forest between the first and second mountains.
Then I see it. The boy from District 9, Jamie, I think, running down the side of the mountain, and into the forest where the Girls Alliance is. Following him are bright yellow wasps. Only those aren't wasps… I've seen a rerun of the 74th Hunger Games before, and the brutal death caused by tracker jackers. I run off into the meadow, knowing that the tracker jackers will likely follow Jamie into the forest, and after that, it's not my problem.
More screaming erupts from where I'm running to, and I feel trapped. Until someone slams into me and knocks me to the ground. With my axe flung out of my hands, I reach for it, but quickly notice that whoever knocked me down was not going for an attack. It's Melina(7). And her arm is hurt.
"Melina?" I ask quietly.
She looks to me, shaking her head furiously, her words coming out in short gasps. "There's. No time. Come."
Somewhere, a tribute has just died. I hope that Melina is leading me away from that, if she knows where it came from. She takes my arm and leads me away, and on the way I can see the boy from District Twelve, with giant welts all over him from getting stung by the tracker jackers. A few of the bugs still linger, but oddly, they leave the two of us alone and fly off in random directions. "Wait, Melina!" I tell her, and bend down and take the boy's backpack. "This might have something in it that we could use."
Melina nods, and the two of us run off together. We stop when we reach a small field of grass dotted with bushes at the foot of the second mountain. Melina sits down, panting and exhausted. Her arm has blood clotted up along the wound, but it still looks incredibly painful. I sit next to her and unzip the backpack, looking through it.
"Melina." I say to her, and take out a small roll of bandages and a bottle of pain killers from the backpack.
She sighs, and thanks me as I wrap up her arm. We don't have anything else, so this is the best I can do for her. She then takes the pain killers, which the bottle is small so there are only two, and she insists on taking both. I save the bottle, though, since I'm sure that it could have another use if we need it.
Melina gasps when we can hear screaming coming from the small forest we ran away from.
"It's okay." I tell her. "We're safe now."
"Not entirely." She tells me. "Whatever the casualty for the second mountain is, we have to be aware for it."
"Right." I tell her. Escaping the first mountain must have been our luck, but whatever is coming next, I will be ready to face it.
Another cannon sounds off in the distance, and the screaming dies down. I can see the Girls Alliance emerging out of the forest in the distance; one of them looks badly injured, and the other three are helping her, but I know that there were four of them earlier. The girl from District Three is gone.
I look down at the ground, and as the cannon shakes the arena, I can swear that the bushes and grass both start to wither away slightly…
Amity Grace – Capitol – Afternoon
Aurora(Cap) trembles in my arms, and I hold her close, telling her to quiet down. It will all be alright. But I know it won't, and she does too. Someone is going to get hurt today, or die, and all I can do is just hope it won't be me or one of my siblings.
Emil(Cap) twirls his trident in his hands, and we all wait. It's probably stupid of us, but that's all we can think to do right now.
We're near the top of the mountain, sitting among some flowers and dying grass, and I occasionally pick some flowers and put them in Aurora's braided hair. She smiles and so does Emil, but it's a broken sort of smile. Insincere.
I jump and gasp when a painful cry breaks the silence, and a squirrel near us darts away. The cries continue, and I listen closely. They are feminine cries, and they're coming from below us. I peer down the edge of the mountain, just in time to see the careers running away. Ivanka(5) is lagging behind, and someone is chasing her. Chasodie(4)? Ivanka screams again, and Chasodie silences her with her trident. A quick blow to the neck, and Ivanka is laying on the ground, twitching.
Chasodie then looks around, before darting up the edge of the mountain.
I turn back to Aurora and Emil, and I must look scared, because Aurora whimpers and asks what's wrong. I shake my head. "Something isn't right." I tell them quickly what I saw happen, and how the careers ran off towards the fourth mountain, all of them but Ivanka.
"So? Chasodie is a strong tribute, she and Ivanka both are." Emil points out.
"That's not my point." I say, shaking my head. "Ivanka is allied with the careers. So is Chasodie. Why would Chasodie kill Ivanka? The only reason would be because she is a threat, but Chasodie is better off with the careers than by herself, so—"
I turn my head just in time to see Aurora backing away slowly from Chasodie. Chasodie has a big grin on her face, and lets out a soft giggle, swiping the trident at Aurora. I dive in and latch on to Aurora's arms, dragging her away, but not before Chasodie can give her a deep cut to the leg. Aurora starts to cry, and Emil takes her, the both of them backing away from Chasodie.
"Please." Emil tries to be brave, "we don't want to hurt you!"
"Oh, but…" Chasodie delicately holds her trident in her hands, admiring the sharp tips of it as a drop of my own sister's blood falls to the ground, staining the dying grass. "But I want to hurt you…"
My own sister's blood…
My little sister.
My little sister is hurt and bleeding.
Anger fills my head, and I can't think straight. Emil shields Aurora, ready to sacrifice himself for her, but I won't let him do that. I dive in for our trident, and pick it up.
Something is definitely wrong, and I smile as I point it out. "Chasodie wouldn't kill her own ally." I look her up and down, as we both circle each other like cats, thinking of how to deliver the first blow. "You're clothes are too clean to have been in this arena for two days already, and you got up this mountain fast… too fast."
A look of confusing crosses "Chasodie's" face before I wind up and thrust the trident into her chest. "YOU'RE NOT CHASODIE!"
She falls to the ground, with blood spurting out of her wounds. Aurora keeps crying, and Emil is silent, probably looking away. I watch, with a cold expression as the blood quickly drains out of her body, almost enough to drown herself in. I know she must be dead by now, but no cannon goes off.
I smirk, and snarl, "Nice try, Capitol. A mutation that looks just like a career… you can't fool me."
I chuckle a bit, yanking my trident out of the dead mutt. For one second, I hold the trident up to my face, and a small grin crosses my face. The trident is so shiny and perfect, and I just saved our lives! Killed a mutt!
I turn back around, my smile dissolving. Aurora is now backing away from me. What did I do…?
"Aurora?" I ask her, dropping the trident to the ground and stretching my arms out. She runs to me, and hugs me. "Is something wrong, Aurora?"
Emil joins us in a group hug, and Aurora says, "for a second, you looked just like the fake Chasodie did. Staring at your trident. Right at where the blood was."
I tighten my grip on my siblings, but I'm shaking. Did I look just like the Chasodie mutt? I couldn't have. I don't like death. I don't like killing. But when we all sit down on the grass to treat Aurora's wound, I look back to the Chasodie mutt, and get her trident. I look at her body, splayed out on the ground, lifeless and limp. And for that one second, I start to question my own sanity.
Emilia Oswald – District 2 – Afternoon
As my alliance runs away, we're all confused. Chasodie(4) is running along beside us, but wasn't that her back there that had killed Ivanka(5)?
Chasodie seems angry that The Capitol would create something – a mutt? – that looked just like her, to chase after our own alliance. I can imagine why, but it's kind of funny to see her so frustrated.
We finally stop running when we reach the foot of another mountain. I sit on the ground, catching my breath.
"Now that that is out of the way…" Niels(13) says, rolling his eyes. "Where are we?"
Chasodie looks around, crossing her arms. "No idea. The second mountain should be 'infected' right now, if that's the word I'm looking for. But which mountain is that?"
"Let's just stay here until mountain two is finished, and then let's go." Thamos(2) suggests.
I nod. "Sounds good, since we don't know exactly where is safe and where isn't."
Leon(4) mumbles something, and then sighs. "I guess."
Though we all had an input, really, we were all waiting on him since he is the leader. Chasodie, being co-leader, also has more of a say, but she seems to agree with all of us, too.
We start to climb the side of the mountain, which is surprisingly steep. It's covered in rocks – giant boulders to small pebbles. As we climb, I'm next to Leon, and I think I can hear him mutter something about a stupid plan, and that the rocks might be dangerous.
Yeah, some of these rocks are big. As I'm lost in thought I almost slip, but my ally Jason(5) catches my foot. I thank him, and then keep thinking… what could be dangerous? Maybe we should stop climbing, something might at the top of this mountain.
"I'm just paranoid." I whisper to myself as I keep climbing, careful where I put my feet. I take hold of a small rock ledge with my hand and hoist myself up. We're all sitting on that ledge, now, and it has quite the view! From here, we can see exactly where the other mountains, tributes, and horrors will be.
I sit down with my alliance, and sigh, smiling. I am just paranoid! Besides, with a view like this, who can't be happy?
Xia Rose – District 10 – Afternoon
Below Euan(7) and I, we could hear screams, but no cannon, I'm slightly scared, but don't want to let that show, so when Euan looks at me with concern, I just give a small smile. He smiles back warmly, and I feel horrible, since mind was a fake smile and his is sincere-looking.
Euan gets up without warning, and says in a very serious tone, "let's go. "We're at the top of the mountain, and the tributes who were screaming aren't very far below us. Whatever it is that is on mountain two, it can't be good."
I just sit in the grass, watching the bright blue sky – which looks less bright than it has the past few days, and right now, seems to cast a sinister mood on everything – while Euan gets up and takes his throwing knives, giving half of them to me. "But Euan, I already have a kukri…" I tell him quietly.
He just shrugs, and puts two of his knives in his belt. "I… want you to be safe, in case we get split up."
I blush, but smile and giggle like an insane little girl. "Thank you." I've never really known how to talk to boys, but for some reason, besides from my old friend, Euan is surprisingly easy to talk to sometimes. Euan makes me feel happy, and sometimes fills my stomach with butterflies. It makes me nervous, but at the same time, I like the feeling.
Euan starts to show off, grinning like a fool and twirling one of his knives in his left hand.
"Euan!" I giggle, "you could accidentally throw that and then I'd get hurt. Show-off…"
"Would I ever hurt you?" Euan asks, and I want to giggle again before I realize that he's completely serious. His expression has hardened, and he's looking off into the distance with a strange look in his eyes…
"Let's go." Euan says again, and I follow him this time, with my throwing knives tucked into my belt, and my kukri in my hand. We walk down the side of the mountain with surprising speed, and when I start to get nervous, I take hold of Euan's hand. I look away from him, nervous, with my hand loosely in his. But then he tightens his grip on my hand, and I look down at the ground, with its beautiful but dying flowers, and smile. I feel safer when Euan holds my hand.
Euan stops suddenly, and looks around frantically. He almost lets go of my hand, but I squeeze his hand tight so he can't let go. "Euan what's wrong?" I say quickly.
"I thought I heard something." He answers, but then shakes his head. "We need to get out of here. There might be someone else here."
My heart starts to pound frantically in my chest, and then, Euan starts to run.
Letting go of my hand.
"Euan!" I scream out, running after him. But being the clumsy girl I am, somehow, I trip over a rock and send myself tumbling down the side of the mountain. I yelp as I roll over another small rock, and finally stop when I run into something else. A tree. With the breath knocked out of me, I get up, and look around. "Euan?" He's nowhere to be seen. Only a small clearing surrounded by trees, with a few white flowers poking up from the grass here and there.
I walk into the clearing, but nothing can stop my shaking, my fear, my feeling of hopelessness. I've lost track of Euan. "Euan?!" I scream out, shaking, putting my hands up to my head. "Euan?! WHERE ARE YOU! EUAN PLEASE! I… I need… you…"
Without Euan, I'm lost in this arena. I'm dead already, because I've lost Euan… I sit down on my knees, covering my ears with my hands, and start to cry, watching my tears bead up on the grass and seep into the hard dirt.
I turn around and stand up. "Euan?"
He smiles at me, and I run at him, reaching out to give him a hug, and tell him what he needs to know. Euan, I love you… wait, no, I should say… Euan I can't stand to be without you… "Euan, I—"
When I get closer to him, he reaches his arms out, too, but instead, smirks and pushes me away. The fall to the ground doesn't hurt so much as it does in my chest. Does Euan not love me? I should have known… maybe he was just playing to my sympathies…
"But Euan…" I sniff the tears back, and back away from Euan. "I was just going to say… I was meaning to tell you that…"
"Oh, there's no need to do that." Euan says, with a voice surprisingly cold. "I know you love me. A nerdy little schoolgirl like you? What could have made it more obvious?!" He sounds… angry? No! I thought he loved me, too.
"Euan please, this isn't like you!" I yell at him, and finally, the tears spill out. "Euan you have to be lying right now! Please! I just want my Euan back!"
Euan chuckles, and takes out one of his throwing knives from his belt, twirling it around like he had done earlier. "Oh, Xia… who could love you? You're weak." He turns to face me fully, and throws the knife at me. I scream and hold my breath, but the knife hits the ground only centimeters away from me.
"You're worthless!" Euan continues, throwing another knife.
I want to get up and run, but something keeps me glued to the spot. I am weak. I am worthless.
"You're not worth my time. Or my heart."
The way I'm crying, you'd think my eyes were waterfalls. I can feel the ground below me growing wet, and I just sit there, covering my eyes, waiting for Euan to throw his last knife. But when I look, he isn't getting his last knife ready, he's just picking up his other two knives.
"Euan?" I ask, and he turns around, his eyes seemingly emotionless. "Aren't you going to kill me? It's the least you can do, for a broken little girl like me." Cold rejection, turned down by the one person in this arena I care about – or did care about. I cackle like an old witch. "It's the least you could do…" I continue, like a mother soothing a hurt child, "for a weak, worthless girl who isn't worth your time. Otherwise, who would break my heart?!" I find myself reaching for a throwing knife, my heart beating fast and my breath coming out in jagged gasps between laughter. "YOU'VE BROKEN MY HEART! WHY NOT BREAK THE REST OF ME, TOO? I'M HOPELESS ANYWAY! I CAN'T MAKE IT WITHOUT YOU!"
Euan grins, and I reach for my own throwing knives and he gets his, twirling it around in his right hand like he has all the time left in the world. "You'd never throw that knife at me." He says in the same, almost soothing voice. But now it seems that he is mocking me. "You don't have the guts. Besides, where would you be in this arena without me?"
I almost lower my hand, but try not to let the defeat show on my face. Where would I be without him? No matter. I could throw a knife straight at his head, his heart. His heart. I will throw this knife at his heart! I giggle insanely, still shaking. "Oh my aim will be a bit off, but I will throw this knife!" Straight at his heart. It will penetrate his heart, and break it, just like he's done to mine.
It's so easy, to throw this knife. To end a life, one of many who will be ended anyway. In the end, we all die, don't we? Just like Veryn. Veryn… my only friend besides Euan, and both of them have left me!
Xia the killer! Xia the killer! Xia the killer!
Memories flash into my head, all in a fast blur. The pained cries of Veryn's friends and family, myself pleading everyone to believe me.
You are a murderer!
"I did not kill Veryn, my best friend. I'd never, ever even think of hurting him...I didn't do anything…"
Xia the killer!
I never killed Veryn, but now? Now I'll be a murderer! Now the Capitol gets what they want! Everyone gets what they want! Everyone back home will finally be right… Xia the killer.
"It's so easy… to throw this knife, to end your life." I say it almost like a rhyme. "The boy who broke my heart? You're going to die!"
As I let go of the knife, everything happens in slow motion. As if the knife is being thrown at my own heart, and I know that I'm about to die, everything flashes in front of my eyes. Varyn, the loss of my friend… Euan, the loss of the one whom I loved… "I'd never, ever even think of hurting him…"
Oh, what have I done?
The reality hits me just when the knife does. It's surprisingly on target, right where Euan's heart would be. The blade buries itself into Euan, and I start to cry. I went insane, I went totally insane. But didn't Euan deserve it?
"Xia?" I think I can hear Euan's voice. I must be going crazy. I'm a murderer, a cold-hearted murderer. "Xia where are you?!"
"Euan…" I answer weakly, looking at his dead body. "Euan I'm right here, don't worry."
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I went insane, and I thought you didn't love me. You broke my heart, and I broke yours… but maybe I did less damage. You're gone, I'm still here. Now I have to live with two broken hearts…"
I stop mid-sentence, staring at the carmine red substance staining the grass, the ground, the beautiful white flowers. "I have to live with two broken hearts now, yours and mine…"
I watch, hopelessly lost now, as Euan's blood drains out of his body, staining his white arena outfit. It seeps all around him, drying up in his beautiful brown hair, and those eyes that I used to want to look at all the time, are now glazed over. A single knife in his chest. I take his three knives. Oh, with a heart as cold as mine, who can't already see me as a victor? The Capitol cheering for me, cheering for how I killed an innocent boy and probably countless others to come.
I turn around to in the direction of the calls, see someone running at me, and I don't do anything to stop it. I stand up, and let them run at me, they could be a killer, or not. I wait for Euan's cannon. It has to come sometime.
But it doesn't.
"Xia!" The person who was running at me is no longer running, but… embracing me?
"Xia, I was so worried, I didn't know where you were…"
"Euan?" I ask. That's Euan's voice! What's happening? Is this what happens when you go crazy?! "Euan I killed you, what are you doing here?"
"What…?" Euan backs away from me, and we stare each other in the eyes. Sure enough, his eyes… aren't glazed over because he's dead, but instead, they're shiny with tears. Mine must be, too. I don't even care to explain why I "killed" Euan, we just stand there in the clearing, hugging each other and crying.
"I was so worried about you, I thought I had lost you… I'm so glad I found you."
"Euan, I thought…" I start shaking, beginning my thoughts but then trailing off. "I meant to tell you… you, you attacked… me…"
"Would I ever want to hurt you?" Euan asks.
I shake my head, pressing it up against Euan's warm body, and open my eyes to see "Euan" still lying there, dead. I'll need to explain it soon, but right now, I don't want to trade anything for this moment.
For when I meant to confess my love to Euan, I can tell that without words, we both know.
And we both love.
Blossom Breeze - District 12 - Afternoon
Irene(10) and I are both still hiding in our little alcove, waiting for something to happen. We figured we would be safe here, but I'm very scared that something bad can happen to the two of us.
Irene is just staring at the rocky floor with a cold expression on her face. I want to say something to cheer her up, but I can never seem to think of anything good enough to say.
Suddenly, Irene gets up, getting her stuff. I do the same hastily, and ask her, "where are you going? What are you doing?"
"I want to get out of here." Irene shakes her head, and crawls out of our little alcove, looking around quickly, a worried expression on her face. "I feel like… something bad is going to happen.
I follow her, keeping my dagger close to me. I look around at the same beautiful scenery that has surrounded us, except now, something seems a bit off. Every time a cannon had gone off, the small cherry blossom trees would lose some of their pink flowers, now tinted a mucky brown at the tips, the petals curled inwards near the top. The grass also seems to be curling over, dirt showing between blades of grass in some spots. The only thing that looks the same as it had before is the stone steps that led to where we had hidden. A bunny hops a ways away from me, and I smile. What cute animals in the arena. I feel almost at home, but something sinister seems to be lurking at every corner, though I've seen nothing of the sort yet.
Another bunny shows up next to the first one, and they both hop towards Irene and I as we walk down the steps.
Irene scoffs looks away from the animals, but I bend down to pet one. It sniffs my hand and then hops away, scared of me.
More show up, and I grin. "Irene, they're so adorable!"
"They're annoying!" Irene shouts. "Ugh! I wish they'd get away!"
"They're not going to hurt you." I giggle, and pet one of them. It turns its soft white-furred head towards my hand and sniffs it, its pink nose rubbing against my skin. That's when it's teeth sink into me.
I scream and flail my hand around, stepping backwards into Irene. I make a fist with my other hand and hit the bunny, and it falls to the ground, but I can't tell whether it's dead or alive.
More of them leap at us, and I try to protect us with my dagger, but I can't… I can't… do it… I can't hurt these animals. A few tears escape my eyes, as they all start biting and jumping at us. I whip my dagger around in the air, hitting one rabbit in the neck. It falls to the ground, blood seeping onto the stone and filling the crevices between stones.
"Irene! Run!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Irene shouts, tugging at my arm. "These can't kill you, anyway!"
Irene tries to drag me with her, but her hands are so sweaty that when she thinks she has me by the arm, when she runs off, her hands slip away, and I fall face-first onto the stones.
I look down at myself. My arms are bleeding from scratches and bites, and my legs are stinging in places where the bunnies attacked me. What a silly death this must be… everyone in the Capitol must be laughing at me right now, and my unfortunate death by evil, mutant bunnies. Why? Why would they laugh at someone who is dying?
Why would they do this to me in the first place?
I look up to see a ring of rabbits standing around me, and for a second, I feel like maybe this isn't the end. Besides, what are they really going to do. But one of the scratches at the stones with its claws – long, sharp claws – and opens its mouth, revealing long teeth. They all jump at me, biting me, and it stings. One of them bites a chunk of my flesh off of my back, and I try to get up and run, but my legs hurt too much. I wish I could have gotten a less painful, less hilarious death, but who cares? Soon… it will all be over… all of it…
Saerin Vrox – District 6 – Afternoon
I jump as another cannon goes off. Another tribute dead, and surprisingly, it wasn't me. I never thought I'd last so long, but most of it is probably because of Caleb(8). I can barely even use my hatchet, but Caleb has been helping me practice with it.
"I wonder if that was from our mountain?" Caleb asks.
I shrug. I'm not in the mood for talking.
"Should we leave?" Caleb asks.
I nod. It would probably be best for us to leave, since by now mountain three is probably going to be hit by whatever they decide to send after us. We walk away from our small campsite. I ask quietly as we go, "where are we headed?"
Caleb shrugs. "Maybe… maybe to a mountain we know is safe? Mountain one? The cornucopia is there. We can search it for supplies."
I stop when we reach a spot near the bottom of the mountain. I can hear voices, and I motion for Caleb to stop.
"The Careers are over at that mountain." I hear one voice say. The voice sounds feminine.
Someone else speaks up, a boy with a high-pitched voice. I don't focus on what he says, but instead, the direction of the voice. It's coming from the left of the mountain. I point to the right side, not wanting to say anything. Caleb nods, and we head that way, towards the cornucopia. A place we haven't seen since the start of the Games.
When we're out of earshot, Caleb says, "I wonder what alliance that was?"
"I don't know." I mumble.
If Caleb heard, he doesn't show it. We just walk in silence towards the cornucopia. I think of the items that could possibly be there, and wonder what I should get. It's a good way to get my mind off of the current situation.
At that moment, I realize, I've never really talked to many people. Caleb is the first person I can remember talking to more than once, and not briefly. I smile as I remember training. I was struggling at the plants station, and so was Caleb.
"Hey, you wanna be allies?"
"S…Sure. I might not be very useful… I'm Saerin."
"Male from Six?"
"I guess."
"Caleb Viika, District Eight. Nice to meet you Saerin."
I wonder if Caleb and I are friends? It seems nice to have a friend, someone you can count on, someone you can talk to. I've never had a friend before.
Akumai Kubaya – District 3 – Afternoon
I've been headed for the Anti-Careers for a while now. If I remember correctly, they were at the third mountain. Fourth mountain? Ugh, who has time to number mountains?! I should just hope that there is no danger, and that they greet me as a friend and accept me as an ally, not an enemy.
As I'm running towards where I think they are, a flash of orange blocks my vision before I run face first into someone or something. The force of the blow thrusts me to the ground.
I open my eyes, and put my hand up to my forehead where I collided with this other tribute. Apparently, from the sounds they're making, they're hurt, and they're a tribute. What awesome observation skills I have.
The other tribute opens her eyes, and when she sees me, she gasps and starts to back away on all fours. She has no weapon ready, and when I look down to her belt, I see she has no weapon, unless it's hidden somewhere else or in her backpack. She sees my only item, my sword, and shakes her head, clearly scared.
I wonder if I should kill her? She could be a possible threat, or… a good ally.
She gets up to run off, but I yell at her. "WAIT! Do you want an alliance?"
I keep my sword down at my side as to not look hostile, but just in case she attacks… she might be good at hand-to-hand, who knows?
"Yeah, I…" she has tears visible in her eyes, and tries to sniff them back. "Both my allies are dead."
"I was heading for the Antis." I tell her. She nods nervously. "You wanna come with?"
She nods again.
We walk together silently, until I decide to introduce myself. The girl is obviously very nervous. I wish I knew who she was, she's kinda hot, but I've never been good with names. And with the amount of tributes in the arena, how am I supposed to know?
"I'm Akumai." I tell her with a chuckle, "but you can call me Tenshin. And there's no need to be scared."
She lets out an uneasy laugh, and replies, "Well, nice to meet you. I'm Irene, District Ten."
"Wait." I say, and hold my breath. I can hear voices! I might not know names, but I can recognize those voices from training, and from their interviews. Plus… they're my district partners. I can remember them at least. Dennis(3) and Allium(3).
"Be careful." I tell Irene, and walk towards where the voices are coming. When I get closer, I can see what's left of the fragile alliance that was called the Anti-Careers. What a lame alliance from first sight. They could use someone like me, and maybe Irene, if she's useful enough.
"Hello?" I say, creeping up behind them.
Dennis yelps and jumps, and Allium swings around and delivers a strong punch right across my face.
Shocked at her sudden act of violence, I stagger backwards, and she kicks me to the ground, pinning me down. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
There's an edge of nervousness to her voice.
"I came to ally." I tell her, and she loosens her grip.
"We both did." Irene says quickly. "Please, we want to ally."
Allium seems suspicious, but she lets me go. I glare at her, and she gives me a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Just taking extra precautions."
"Extra indeed." I roll my eyes, but can't help but smile.
Harvest Cropper – District 9 – Afternoon
Luna(5), Amy(6), and I have been searching all over for the Anti-Careers. Finally, it seems we've found them.
A small, make-shift alliance, they seem like they weren't doing very well the past few days. Allium, the girl from Three, and her two district partners Akumai and Dennis are there, along with Gamma, the girl from Thirteen, and Irene, the girl from Ten. Considering they're all from non-Career districts (which goes with the name Anti-Careers), they're not so bad. But they're all from "weak" districts. So is my alliance.
Slowly, I approach the alliance. "Hey, there!" I say in what I hope is a friendly tone.
Allium turns around quickly, but Akumai and Dennis hold her back.
"Looking for an alliance?" Irene asks.
Amy clutches my arm, obviously scared.
"Don't worry." I whisper to her, "Luna and I will protect you."
"We are." Luna replies.
"We've just joined." Akumai says, pointing to himself and Irene.
"Well, the alliance has definitely grown." Allium giggles, seeming a bit happy. "This is actually pretty awesome."
Dennis nods. "Welcome to the Anti-Careers."
"Before all of you joined…" Allium starts, and we all sit down in a circle. "Before you all came to ally, Dennis, Gamma and I were trying to make a plan to take out the careers."
"We shouldn't go now." Amy reasons. "They might be at a mountain that hasn't been hit yet, and if we go tomorrow it will be safer."
"Good idea." Allium nods.
"By the way, speaking of the horrors." Dennis says, a confused look on his face. "Shouldn't this mountain get hit soon?"
At that moment, a small rabbit hops up next to me. I glance at it, and then push it away.
"Umm…" Gamma says nervously, "this doesn't look good…"
Irene screams. "The bunnies! Run, they're mutants! They killed my ally Blossom."
I immediately take Amy's hand, and those who have weapons take them out. When a rabbit jumps at us, Akumai slashes at it with his sword, and it falls to the ground, limp.
Allium is the first to run, and then Luna. I follow close behind, but make sure that Amy is in front of me. Irene and Akumai are by my side. Without saying anything, we all run towards a small flower meadow near the second mountain. When a rabbit jumps at Amy, she stops running and tries to shake it off of her. I punch it, and it falls.
Gamma is being attacked by the majority of the rabbits. We're all trying to fight the rabbits and get them off of her. Those of us with weapons, including me, try to hold off the wave of rabbits, while others try to free Gamma.
Akumai is helping, and when one jumps at Gamma, he swings his sword at it. It hits the rabbit, but in one split second, has continued through the air, until it hits Gamma in the back of the neck. Akumai screams out that he didn't mean to do it, and my allies try to save Gamma, pulling her to safety. He head hangs at an unnatural angle, and I know she's already done for.
"Leave her behind." Luna says.
We all run for the meadow, and I glance behind to see where the rabbits are. They stay near the mountain were at. Right! They were assigned as the horror to that mountain. Now that we're near the foot of the second mountain, they can't come near us.
"So…" Amy says, panting. "What's left?"
"Mountain four." Dennis replies.
I glance towards mountain four. "That's where the careers are. Hopefully, some of them get wiped out."
Drake Lesley – District 5 – Afternoon
As I sit with my ally Lacey(11), a rumbling noise can be heard from up above us, and I look around.
"What was that?" Lacey asks.
"I don't know." I answer. "But it doesn't sound good…"
Lacey looks around. "Should we be going?"
"Maybe." I answer. We sprint down the side of the mountain, and as we go, I can see another tribute running near us. Jakub(10).
As the rumbling noise continues, a big boulder falls down the side of the mountain. I scream at Lacey, "LOOK OUT!"
She dives out of the way, and so does Jakub, to the other side, as the boulder goes by.
The rumbling noise grows louder, and another boulder comes tumbling at us. I try to get out of the way as best as I can.
One boulder comes tumbling straight at Jakub, and then another, and I turn away along with Lacey as a cannon sounds off. We run the other way, but now, smaller rocks are falling, too, making it harder to walk. This landslide is obviously gamemaker made, and made to be hard to survive.
"We're almost there." I tell Lacey, but I've almost lost faith in our survival.
"LOOK OUT!" I scream, and drag Lacey to the side as another big boulder comes at us. We both fall to the ground, puncturing our hands and legs on the sharp, small rocks that cover the side of the mountain.
Before I can know what is happening, one last boulder comes, and there's no way to avoid it. It comes right at Lacey, and goes right over my leg.
"LACEY!" I yell out, and reach out for her, but it's too late.
As the landslide stops, a few more small rocks tumble at me, but it doesn't matter anymore. I've lost my ally, and my leg is injured.
The cannon seals my fate. I'm injured, and I'm a loner… I limp to the side of the mountain, where no rocks miraculously fell. I sit there, and hope that someone with a little sympathy might sponsor me. In the meantime, I try to ignore the pain. Not just in my leg, but by the loss of my ally.
Oddly, my leg doesn't seem too injured, but it definitely feels broken… or just really painful. I take a few deep breaths, just before more screaming from the other side of the mountain can be heard.
Leon Aslan – District 4 – Afternoon
All of my allies and I cling on to the side of the mountain as more large boulders fall down at us.
I'm the only one right now that is climbing down the mountain. Careful to make sure to get good grips on the side of the mountain, I take a deep breath every time a cracking noise of a rock can be heard. A smaller rock falls down at my hand, and I move it quickly so it doesn't get hit, then find a new place to put my hand.
I look up to see that Thamos(2) and Emilia(2) are still standing on the overhang. Thamos is barely holding on to the side, dangling over the edge of the mountain. Emilia pulls him back up, and then the two start climbing down.
"Be careful." I warn them.
While I want to help protect my allies, something tells me I shouldn't. Though they are useful, I can't just kill them. Yet. But this is a good way to eliminate possible competition later. So right now, I'm all for myself as I climb down the mountain.
As rocks keep falling down at us, I observe my allies. Chasodie(4) seems to be doing fine, and so does Niels(13). Thamos and Emilia are helping each other still, and Jason(5) is the one having the hardest time.
A boulder falls at Chasodie, and she somehow gracefully dives out of the way.
"I never knew you were so good at climbing." Jaclyn(2) says, a jealous edge to her voice.
Chasodie scoffs, and giggles. "I'm not good at climbing, I'm just graceful."
Jason finds a handhold right next to Jaclyn, and I can hear her swear at him. "You're going to push me off! Get away!"
"Better you than me." He grunts, finding the same foothold as her.
Jaclyn screams when he pushes her foot off, and I watch from below them, still climbing down, as Jaclyn stomps down on Jason's foot. He gasps, and Jaclyn lets go of one of her handholds for a split second to push Jason off-balance.
It's all that's needed to cause him to fall, and Jaclyn to regain her own balance. I can see a smirk on her face and she quickly makes her way down the mountain.
A clever, strong ally. But also a threat… everyone in this alliance is a threat.
And there goes Jason.
When I reach the bottom of the mountain, I'm out of breath. Chasodie makes it down second, and she bends over, putting her hands on her knees, taking a moment to catch her breath as a few small rocks tumble down next to her.
Thamos and Emilia make it down along with Jaclyn, and finally, Niels.
"Everyone is here." Thamos says.
"Except Jason." Jaclyn snarls, and calls him multiple names. "Tried to push me off the mountain." She giggles.
I look around. "Well, congratulations. You survived Day three."
Day 3 - The Fallen
District 3
Janine Taylor
District 5
Jason Bark
Ivanka Nyomi
District 10
Jakub Kunnson
District 11
Lacey Zale
District 12
Juniper Twist
Blossom Breeze
District 13
Gamma Fission
Day 4: Part 1 - Another Twist
3rd Person President POV – Capitol – Morning
As President Rain took his place once again on the podium, his daughter standing with a small box near him yet again, the Capitol audience was cheering and screaming out for him. He smiled warmly to all of the citizens, but knew that the districts must have been having a different perspective right about now.
"Hello, citizens of the Capitol, citizens of Panem!" He spoke into the microphone. "We have almost reached the half-way point in the Games! Are you excited to see who emerges victorious this year?"
The Capitol audience cheers again, and his daughter shifts her feet nervously, this time wearing a bright pink dress with her dark hair – just like her fathers – tied up in a bun with bright pink ribbons hanging out. She opens the box nervously as an announcers whispers to them, "the arena can hear you, now."
President Rain nods.
"And now…" The Capitol audience dies down, anxious to hear him. Screens show up behind the audience and behind President Rain showing clips of what is happening in the arena at the time. The screens switch constantly to show all of the different tributes who still stand strong.
"And now, to the tributes in the Games. You have fought hard, and those of you who still remain will have to fight even harder. As the end of the Games approaches faster each day, each hour, each minute, each second, you will have to fight to gain your spot as victor."
"Here you go, Daddy." His daughter Evaline lifted a small piece of paper out of the box.
He nodded and smiled, and opened the paper. The whole audience took in a sharp gasp, and the screens changed to depict the thirteen other districts watching this same thing unfold in their own district squares.
"For there is a second twist." He said with a sly smile, opening up the piece of the paper. "To show the Capitol and Districts of Panem that to overcome the rebellion, we fought alongside each other to overcome those struggles, not on our own, there will be two victors this year. The last two tributes standing will be crowned victors."
As the audience was left in a confused, joyful, or angry uproar (it was different for every citizen), President Rain finished, "and as always. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The microphone was shut down, and like the rest of the citizens in the Capitol and the districts, Evaline and the President were left to watch the reaction of the remaining tributes. President Rain took his daughter to his office and together they sat on a fancy Capitol couch and watched.
For a few tributes, it was obvious they were joyful. Euan(7) and Xia(10) even kissed when they must have known they were on camera, which made Evaline giggle and say, "eew!"
Something, for a few seconds, flashed in Ryan's(1) and Ashlynn's(1) eyes. A few of the loners, like Manta(4), seemed to see this in a neutral point of view. They had no allies or lovers to be attached too, but it would increase their odds of winning. The Girls Alliance seemed confused. It was clear they were forming tight bonds, but only two of them could emerge – if they lasted that long. The Anti-Careers also saw this almost the same way. Radiant(13) tries to be optimistic, but Allium(3) just shakes her head. It's clear she's made friends by now, and just letting a few of them go will be too hard. The Careers all somehow can have a poker-face attitude, but everyone knows what they think. Usually, as a default, Careers want to win on their own. They don't want to share the glory.
Terrence(7) and Melina(7) just smile at each other. "We can win together."
Saerin(6) and Caleb(8) have a similar reaction. It's clear that they are friends by now, and though the Capitol would prefer for a pair of lovers to win, a pair of friends would be a sweet ending, too.
Finally, the Grace Siblings couldn't be more heartbroken. Emil(Cap) keeps saying that if one of them dies it should be him so his sisters can go on.
"Sisters?" Evaline asks, surprised. "But Aurora is four grades ahead of me and Emil is her daddy. Amity is her mommy."
Amity just watches her two siblings with a stone-cold expression, and Aurora can't think of anything to do but cry. With that sad note, the broadcast ends, the pictures of the arena fading away, and President Rain's own voice doing a voice-over that was prepared before the twist announcement. "This was a Capitol Announcement for the 998th Annual Hunger Games! Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win? As always—"
"Happy Hunger Games." Evaline said along with it as the Capitol symbol appeared, "and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Reeva Olympia – District 11 – Morning
The arena isn't half as beautiful as it used to be.
With almost half of the tributes gone, something has happened… is the beautiful environment dying? The trees are losing their leaves, and by now, the leaves are looking shriveled and brown like they would in the winter before the snow comes to cover them up. But the grass is also going away, leaving dirt exposed. The streams, rivers, and waterfalls are beginning to get filled with muddy water. It's not clear anymore. Even the clouds in the sky look like they're ready to dump buckets of water on us. I can't remember the last time I've seen an animal.
I noticed this ever since the second day. Everything's slowly fading; dying. And so are we.
My alliance is low on numbers and weakened, and Delila(8) has tracker jacker stings from yesterday. Currently, she's the only one who's still asleep. The sun is just peaking up over the horizon.
"The arena looks so different since yesterday." Wendy(8) comments. I can see sadness in her eyes. Maybe the arena was just so breathtaking to her that she doesn't want it to leave.
Cassie(12) looks a bit down-beat, too. "If I have to die, I'd rather die somewhere pretty."
I shake my head. "The arena's still pretty. Just in a sort of twisted way. It's… sinister."
Delila makes a sudden noise, and we all turn to her. She seems to be sleeping soundly, for the most part, except for sudden movements and loud outcries every once in a while. No one can seem to tell what she's saying. But everyone in Panem has seen the 74th Hunger Games, and they know the effect of the tracker jacker's stings. Delila won't be having a fun time, and we've searched the arena for the plant which supposedly heals the stings, but every plant in this arena seems to be foreign; gamemaker made.
"Should we kill her?" Wendy whispers.
My heart jumps at the thought, and I shudder. I remember Rosita, the first out of our alliance to be killed by another member. It was to put her out of misery, but is Delila really in that much danger?
"Don't you think she can make it?" I ask. "Come on… maybe there's a sponsor item that can—"
"We might not even have sponsors." Cassie groans. "Come on. Who would sponsor us? We're four, weak girls who stand almost no chance. Even if two of us can get out alive, who would want it to be one of us?"
I consider replying with: we would care, but Cassie has a strong opinion on this. There's no point in arguing against her.
It almost seems selfish. We have weapons, and we have supplies, but Delila could possibly bring us down. She will hallucinate, and who knows what she might do? Maybe she'll forget who we are. But it seems so selfish to kill her just because of what might happen.
"Should we?" Wendy whispers.
"I vote for it." Cassie says.
Wendy looks confused, almost, and I have no idea what to do.
"No, we can't do it." I say, but Cassie is already looking for something to use to kill Delila. I grab her arm, and look her in the eyes. "Ugh, get off me!" She says.
I let go, but talk to her anyway. "You can't do this. Delila might not even be in pain! Isn't this what the Capitol wants? For alliances to betray, for selfishness and greed to take over? You have to see past this?"
Cassie laughs mockingly. She fishes around in Wendy's backpack and pulls out a dagger, examining the blade. I start to shake. Cassie really wants to do this.
"Cassie please!" I cry out, reaching for the dagger. She stands up and backs away from me, pointing the dagger out in front of her. This is the only weapon our alliance currently has except for my own bow and arrows. "Cassie this isn't like you! You're a sweet, caring girl and I know you don't want to hurt anyone… please don't do it."
Cassie just glares at me. Any trace of pity, innocence, or sweetness is gone. "Don't make me kill you, too."
"Don't fight!" Wendy screams out, and runs for Cassie as I pick up my bow and load an arrow. If Cassie wants a fight, let it be this way. Better her than me. This is about survival. It wasn't ever about friendship, was it? Did we ever even have a friendship? If we did it's gone, now.
All of our yelling has woken up Delila, who is now looking around, confused. Cassie turns to her, and in one moment of time, everything happens so quickly.
Delila sees Cassie's dagger pointing at her, and Cassie throws the dagger at her. Wendy backs away to not get hurt. I stand there, still shaking, with my bow in my hands.
Delila falls to the ground, and in one instant, everything seems colder. Not just the air, but the atmosphere seems cold and quiet. A small trickle of blood falls from Delila's mouth, and the dagger, lodged in her back, glistens with blood in the sunlight.
I turn to Cassie, and her eyes reflect the fear in my own. While Wendy is trying to save Delila, a cannon shakes the arena, and more leaves fall from the trees. I raise my bow, full of anger, hatred for my ally – if she even deserves that name. Without her dagger, she's helpless, isn't she? I raise my bow, and she seems ready to run, but for some reason, is glued to the spot. There's a rustling in the trees behind her, and my fingers fumble, letting the arrow fly.
It whips past Cassie, who screams out, and flies into the trees, where someone else screams. More leaves rustle, as they fall to the ground. Wendy, with the bloody dagger in hand, runs to investigate while Cassie stands there, frozen by fear. I walk slowly towards Wendy, who lets out a yelp. "It's Jamie(9)!"
Cassie slumps to the ground, staring off into the distance. I look down at her, and so does Wendy.
"Who…" Cassie looks up at me, her expression unreadable. "Who were you aiming for?"
"I don't know." I tell the truth, and then spit back at her, "I guess it's just that hard to figure out who the enemy is right now."
I know it hurts her. But it hurts us all. Because with betrayal, death, and weakness on our side, the selfishness and new cruelness of our alliance is tearing us apart – from the inside out.
Ryan Duke – District 1 – Morning
After two cannons, I know the competition must be getting tighter already. There are still plenty of weaker tributes, but when they die off, and the stronger of us remain, I have to make sure that that means me and Ashlynn. Ashlynn seems like she's trying to hide something from me, but I'm not that stupid. She can try to hide her feelings, but I know. And I think she knows that I know.
From our current location, we decide that we should stay near the base of this mountain. It's steep, and yesterday a rockslide happened here. While that was the "horror" for this mountain, Audrey(1) is somewhat paranoid that it will happen again.
At the foot of the mountain, there used to be a beautiful flower field, but some of the flowers are dead by now.
All of us are sitting down right now, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see someone running by. I look around, but there are some trees and foliage around us, and even though they seem to be dying quickly, the tribute I saw can still find a hiding space behind them if they don't want a fight.
I draw my sword, and Ashlynn rushes up next to me. "What's wrong?" She asks.
"I thought I saw someone." I answer.
As soon as I say that, they jump out from behind the trees and bushes and jump right onto me, pinning me to the ground. Being from District One, though, I know some of these tactics. Whoever this is didn't quite get both of my legs pinned down successfully… I raise my knee into his butt and catch him by surprise, then give a quick punch to get him off of me.
Ashlynn backs up a ways out of fear. Audrey appears by her side. "Ryan!"
Ashlynn raises her bow, but as I and this new enemy throw punches at each other, she knows that if she shoots, she might get me. She decides to stay out of the fight, which is probably the best for the whole alliance.
When this guy pinned me down, I let go of my sword. I look around quickly for it, but he punches me in the face when I do. Then, I see it. My sword! I pick it up and swing it at him, but he avoids it by an inch and rushes back to the trees. Ashlynn fixes her arrow at the point right where his head should be. Right when she's about to shoot, a trident comes flying out of the trees, aimed straight for me. I duck and it misses me just as my sword had missed him. Who is he, even? Not one of the careers. They would attack in a pack. Whoever he is, he's strong.
I rush for the trident, but he seems to appear right next to it, ready to throw the trident again. If he can throw it just right, I'm dead. But I'm faster, and I have a sword!
As we both raise our weapons, his eyes catch sight of Ashlynn and Audrey. His hands loosen on his trident, before fear crosses his face. "Crap! I didn't know you were an alliance." He says quickly, lowering the trident and backing off slowly. "Y'know, you can, umm, just forget I was ever… well… here."
What a coward! "You wanted to fight, so fight." I say through gritted teeth.
At the sound of Ashlynn's voice, we both turn towards her, right as the arrow flies between us and pegs into the ground. It hits right near the boy's foot, and he backs off a ways.
"You're not going to fight." Ashlynn insists. "Come on, that's stupid." She looks me straight in the eyes when she says, "one of you could die. So instead, since you surrendered…" she turns to our attacker, who gives a sheepish smile. How can he go from fighting mode to friendly? "Since you surrendered, Ryan wins. And the price of your loss is to join the alliance."
"What?!" I exclaim.
"Yeah!" The boy exclaims, relieved, he takes Ashlynn's hand and shakes it. "I'm Manta, District Four. Sorry I tried to kill you guys, I thought Ryan was alone and that I could kill him and take his stuff."
"You have no tact." I say, rolling my eyes at him.
"What?" Manta replies with a laugh.
"Welcome." Ashlynn seems a little taken aback by his sudden friendliness, as was I… is this just an act? He seems so eager to meet us though, but something has to be hidden behind that smile.
"So… before you tried to kill me." I give him a sarcastic smile, "what were you doing?"
"Plotting to take down the careers, even though I couldn't have done it myself." He answers casually.
"We were thinking the same." Audrey cuts in. "How… how would we do it?"
At that moment, a low beeping noise rings out. We all know what that means: sponsors!
"Ryan!" Ashlynn grins, "we have sponsors!"
I smile back at her, and when the packages float down to us, one goes to Ashlynn. She opens it, and inside are ten arrows, two chicken wings, and a box of matches with a note that says: "for Audrey". She gives them to Audrey, and then I open my own package. Inside is an extra outfit, two daggers, a sleeping bag, poison, some milk (my sponsors are really generous!), and at the very bottom… gasoline?
"Oh…" Audrey gasps. She holds the box of matches out next to the gasoline I've been sent. My face goes pale. Would this work as a career take-out plan? Burning them to death seems a bit harsh, but they are trying to kill us. With how powerful the careers are, we better have something powerful on our side.
And it looks like that will have to be fire.
Day 4: Part 2 - The Massacre
Jaclyn Brooken – District 2 – Morning
It's still morning, and the sun is casting bright, golden beams onto the arena. From my alliance's place near the bottom of this mountain, we can't see much of the rest of the arena since there is a thick forest near us, and a stream not far from here.
"The water isn't very clear anymore." Niels(13) says as he comes back from the stream. "We would have been better off getting water earlier – like, a few days earlier."
"Shouldn't we get water anyway?" Chasodie(4) asks, looking downcast. The poor girl, without water her lips will get chapped and her skin all rough...! She isn't the type to want to be dirty, or slightly unattractive at all. Her radiant whitish-blonde hair is now dirtied, tangled, and greasy, but I embrace the filth of this arena. My white arena outfit is stained with dirt, yes, and my hair is a mess, but when I put it in a ponytail, I look like a warrior. This is the Hunger Games, who cares about getting dirty?
"We should go tribute hunting." Leon(4) suggests.
Thamos(2) nods, and so does Chasodie(4). They glance at each other quickly, before looking back at the rest of us.
"Let's go." I say with a smile.
"No, you stay here. Along with Thamos and Emilia." Leon says, looking at us.
"I'm staying with Thamos." Chasodie says, and sits down next to him.
"Fine." Leon shakes his head. "You stay here, you three, and guard camp. We'll be back later."
I hate to be excluded from tribute hunting, but I guess having the co-leader here is a good choice. Maybe I should get rid of Leon and then I can lead all by myself…
I sigh, sit down, and rest my shoulders on my knees, closing my eyes. Everyone else is quiet, except for a rustling in the grass near us. Wait… no, that's coming from the direction of the forest. I open my eyes. The forest lies straight ahead, and though the trees are dying and losing leaves, it's still nearly impossible to see through there. Then, I can see the outline of a figure, just a slight silhouette through the dying branches of the forest.
I feel like I should tell my allies, but then a surge of happiness goes through me. A tribute, all alone, that I can attack and kill. Maybe they have an ally, but even if they do, they're nothing against me. I shouldn't get too confident, but it's hard not to.
"I'm gonna go check something out." I tell my allies, and walk towards the forest, my flail in hand. I've never used a flail before, except for once at a career academy. It's not the best weapon for fighting multiple people and I don't have much practice. I look inside my backpack and get my dagger, keeping that in my belt.
Slowly, I walk towards the forest, pushing some branches aside. The silhouette freezes in a position where it appears they are ready to run. Quietly, careful not to step on any twigs, I walk towards the silhouette, until I can see who it is. The girl from District Five. I grin. Oh, she should be an easy victim!
I scan the area for allies, but see none. She must be alone.
Now I freeze. I look down below me. Crap. I snapped a twig. Now she knows I'm here. The silhouette turns, until it seems to be facing towards me, a sword by her side. She approaches me quietly. "Who is it? Is that you, Harvest(9)?"
Oh, so she does have at least one ally.
I stay quiet as she continues. "Melina(7) and Terrence(7)? Don't you remember the plan?"
Melina… Melina. The girl from Seven. I try to recall her voice from training, but I can't imitate it, so I just use my own voice, stepping carefully towards the girl, glancing at my flail, the spiked ball swinging by my side. "I'm not Melina. I'm not Terrence. I'm not Harvest. I'm not your ally."
I start to run towards her, but she's closer to me than anticipated. She darts out of the way, and I trip over a fallen branch, landing on my hands and knees, sprawled out on the leaf-covered ground. She swings her sword down, but she's clearly nervous, and she misses me by about a centimeter. When the sword pegs into the ground, I take it in my other hand. With the flail and sword, she knows she's a goner!
She lands a punch quickly on my stomach, and I gasp, startled. Filled with rage, I swing her sword at her, and it slashes her across the stomach. She falls backwards, slumping against a tree. Blood stains her shirt, and I smile down at her.
"My allies…" the girl says, "my allies are going to come for you. They won't let me… they won't let me…"
"Oh, they won't let you what, sweetie?" I use a voice like a mother that wants to calm down a child, but with the malicious grin on my face and my head tilted to the side, it's clear I don't care. "Would you rather I let you bleed out and let your allies find you, or should I end it right now?"
"Let me bleed…" she rasps, coughing. "My allies won't let me die in vain."
"Well, they can't stop you from dying, now can they?"
"They can heal…"
"But they can't heal someone who's dead, now can they?"
With a small giggle, I raise my flail and swing it in the air, using all of the strength I can muster, and before she can scream, I bring it down right onto the top of her skull.
Radiant Tayz – District 13 – Morning
My whole alliance stands still as a lone cannon goes off, shaking the arena. A few dead leaves fall onto my head, and I brush them off, watching them join the other leaves on the ground.
"Who do you think that was?" Allium(3) whispers.
We had met up with the traitors after we had gained yet another member, Drake(5), after he had lost his alliance member Lacey(11). The Traitors, a powerful alliance that has what's left of District One, was going to take out the careers. When we had met up with them, we truced, and agreed that for today, we would work together. We only have one aim. To kill the careers.
We had sent Luna(5) ahead since she claims to have previously been an assassin. Hopefully, she will come back and tell us if the coast is clear. But for some reason – and I don't feel like telling my allies – I feel that the cannon belonged to Luna.
A loud cackling rings out from somewhere ahead us in this dense, dead forest. We all hold our breath. Some draw their weapons; I keep my flail close by my side, ready to swing at enemies and protect my alliance.
"LEON!" A voice screams out. "CHASODIE, EMILIA, THAMOS, NIELS! COME BACK QUICKLY!"
"Leon…" Allium stares off into the distance, thinking.
"Chasodie." Dennis(3) adds. "Isn't she from District Four?"
"Emilia? Thamos, Niels…" Melina(7), a newly gained member to the Traitors puts the rest of this information together. "That was definitely one of the careers screaming out for allies."
"That voice sounded female." Allium cuts in. She's the smartest here, so we all have a sort of respect for her, so we let her talk. "We have to be quiet… but that girl must be from the careers, and alone right now if she was calling out for allies. Why would she call out for allies? Maybe she fought Luna."
"Does that mean…" Amy's(6) eyes well up with tears, and she sniffs them back.
"I'm sorry, Amy." Harvest(9) pulls her into a brotherly hug, and she weeps as quietly as she can.
"One more reason to take them down." Audrey(1) hisses.
Allium nods, and continues. "If she's alone and calling out for allies, they can't be far from here, now can they? We need to get rid of her, then hide, and when the rest of the careers come, ambush them. But we can't take her on alone. If she could get Luna on her own, we need… maybe three of us to go and take her on."
"We can go." Ryan(1) volunteers, pointing to himself and Audrey. "We might be able to catch her by surprise. We left the careers, and she might not expect to see us again by now."
"I'll go, too." I say, walking over to them.
"Ryan don't go without me." Ashlynn says quickly. "You might do something stupid, just like when you fought Manta."
Manta just chuckles. We all turn to him, giving him disapproving stares. He smiles sheepishly, and we all turn back to Ashlynn and Ryan.
"I won't. And I promise I'll come back in one piece." He gives Ashlynn a brief hug, and she blushes, before wrapping her own arms around him.
"Oh, how cute." Drake snickers. "Good luck, you three."
"We'll give a signal when we're done." I say. Hopefully, all three of us can come back in one piece…
Making our way through the forest, we come across a clearing where a girl is standing. She's looking up at the sky with a smile. That's when I notice just how equipped for fighting she is. She has a flail in her hand, which somehow looks even more lethal than mine. I can see a dagger in her belt. But there's something else. Luna's sword is in a sheath, on the girl's back, and two backpacks are strewn by her feet. The Careers must have a lot of supplies if she can be so careless as to leave what she has on the ground where anyone could sneak in and steal it.
She sighs, putting a hand on her hip. That's when I see it. The flail glints in the bright sunlight, and I grow cold as I realize… that's blood. Carmine red liquid dripping onto the ground. I can only guess who it used to belong to.
"She's going to die." I growl. "Follow me."
I take a deep breath before charging out at the girl, my flail held high up in the air, ready to pound down on her head. She yelps, and dives out of the way, rolling across the ground and ending up in a crouched position. She puts the flail away and draws the sword, in a sort of warrior-like pose.
The flail would have missed anyway. It falls to the ground, and I yank it back out. This girl is the one from District Two if I remember correctly. Not Emilia, but… Jaclyn, I think it was. The unforgiving girl who always seemed so bloodthirsty.
"I met your little friend Luna." She says, a light, almost innocent sound to her voice. "She said you guys wouldn't let her die in vain. Yet," she tilts her head a bit, giving me a feigning look of pity, "I believe that you can't stop me."
I try to match her cockiness, her level of seeming superiority. "I believe we can."
Audrey and Ryan must have heard our conversation, because it's right at that moment when a dagger comes flying out of the trees, missing Jaclyn by a centimeter, flying straight past her face and pegging into a tree nearby. She gasps, and that's when I see the blood seeping from a cut on her cheek. It didn't miss, but it did just barely hit.
We both run for the dagger, and she manages to get it first. I back up, but she kicks me in the gut and I fall over, the wind knocked out of me.
Ryan runs out of the woods, and Jaclyn gasps. "YOU?! UGH! Get away from me!"
Ryan takes his sword and slashes it at Jaclyn, and soon, the two are in a sword fight. Jaclyn drops Ryan's dagger, and I run for it, right as Audrey runs out of the woods, at an attempt to get Jaclyn from behind with her axe. I watch as Audrey runs, and then falls face-first onto the ground, a startled look on her face. Someone is standing behind her. Niels(13). He holds a scythe in his hands, now covered in blood. He sees me and gives me a cold stare, before turning over Audrey. He acts as if I'm not even here.
Then, behind Niels, another person appears. Leon(4). This… this is the careers.
"Radiant." Someone hisses from behind me. I whip around with the dagger in hand and my flail by my side.
"I'm going to join your alliance." Emilia says. "I'll help fight against the careers. Don't worry."
Niels runs at me, and Emilia jumps between us, shooting an arrow at Niels. With newfound hate in Niels' eyes, he swings his scythe at Emilia.
"The flail!" Emilia says to me. I hand it to her, and she starts to defend herself with Niels with that. With my dagger, I turn back to the clearing. The Traitors and Antis are now here, and everyone seems to be in combat but me… wait. Where's Amy?
That's when I see her. Harvest is supposed to be her protector, but he's fighting Leon(4) right now. I run to Amy, and crouch down next to her. Her face is stained with tears, her eyes bloodshot and red.
"Don't worry." I whisper to her. "Listen."
She nods, trying to hold back more tears.
"I want you to go into the forest, and wait for us there."
"What about Harvest?!" Amy sobs.
"Shh…" I calm her down, and she hugs me. Crap, I'm not good with kids… "Harvest will be fine. He's big and strong. He's strong enough to protect you, right? He can win this fight."
She nods, and looks towards the clearing. I feel like shielding her eyes with my hand, but instead, turn that way too.
Niels and Leon are fighting side-by-side, against Melina, Terrence(7), Manta, Emilia, and Akumai. Dennis and Allium are hiding in the forest, ready to jump out in case something goes wrong. Irene, Drake, and Ryan are fighting Jaclyn, who runs off into the forest, leaving the three in confusion. Amy only gasps when Jaclyn reappears behind Drake, before sticking her sword through his back, the cannon going off soon after, as she disappears again. I need to help someone. But where's Harvest?
That's when I see him. Harvest is lying on the ground off to the side, a large gash on his side, bleeding badly.
"Harvest!" Amy screams, running for him.
"Amy!" I shout, trying to stop her. But she's too fast.
That's when everything seems to stop. Amy, the only twelve-year-old here, has just appeared in the battlefield. A Cheshire smile appears in the trees, and Jaclyn jumps out gracefully, almost like a ballerina. She walks slowly up to Amy, a smile on her face.
For some reason, everyone has stopped fighting. It's as if even the careers are too scared to hurt Amy somehow.
Then, Leon pushes his way through the crowd, going straight for Amy. I jump out of the trees. Even with this dagger as my only weapon, I have to protect Amy. Leon pushes me to the side, and goes up to Amy. Amy screams when she realizes that he's right behind her, before he traps her in a headlock, taking Jaclyn's sword from her. Jaclyn tries to protest, but she tells her to shut up, only with… some harsher words than that.
Holding the sword to Amy's neck, he shouts out, "you all better get lost. We don't have time to mess around with idiots like you. Now go, before I slit this girl's throat!"
"Leon!" Even Jaclyn, who has just hurt Harvest and killed Luna and Drake protests against the idea of killing this twelve-year-old girl.
Amy starts to cry, and Leon presses the sword against her neck slowly. A single bead of blood appears on the blade.
"Let her go!" I shout. "Let her go, then we'll leave."
Leon shakes his head.
The Traitors, the Antis… they all run, except Harvest, who can't walk, and me.
"Let her go." I say.
Harvest moans and turns his head to look at Amy.
Amy starts bawling, and the Careers just stand there silently.
Just when another bead of blood appears on the blade of Jaclyn's sword, Leon lets her go. Amy runs straight for me, and I catch her in a tight hug. I let her go, and she backs away from everyone as I pick up Harvest. Emilia has my flail, so all I have to worry about is Harvest and Amy. I help Harvest up, and hold Amy's hand with my other hand, and the three of us leave as fast as we can, running for our allies.
Day 4: Part 3 - Summary
Not much happened after the Antis and Traitors vs. Careers fight.
- Ryan(1) said sorry to the Antis about what had happened at the bloodbath, when he killed their alliance members, though he knew it would be hard for them to forgive him. In the end, the Antis and Traitors left their seperate ways, and everyone got their weapons and supplies back that were theirs. Audrey's(1) matches went to Ryan; they were the only thing of Audrey's the alliances had left..
- Thamos(2) and Chasodie(4) had safely made it away from the Career attack before anything started happening.They took their weapons and supplies and made it safely to the bottom area of mountain three.
- George(11) planned an attack on the Grace Siblings(Cap), but decided to wait until they were weaker. For now he's still planning. Let's see what the feast brings... >;3
- Saerin(6) and Caleb(8) trained with their weapons. Caleb taught Saerin how to use the axe better, and though Saerin wasn't good with much of anything, he taught Caleb what he did know. As an alliance, they are doing fine.
- Euia(7 & 10) was fine. That's all. You can imagine that they were all romantic and crap.
- However, after the events of the morning, the Girls Alliance was falling apart completely. Who knows what will happen at the feast?
- All tributes recieved their sponsor items!
Day 4 - The Fallen
District 1
Audrey Lancaster
District 5
Luna Isis
Drake Lesley
District 8
Delila Greenwood
District 9
Jamie Flip
(Goodbye District 5!)
Day 5: Part 1 - Come One, Come All (To the Feast of the 998th Hunger Games)!
Jully – Friend of Melina Woods – District Seven
Packed into the town square, I watch the giant screen that's been put up in front of the citizens of District Seven. Apparently another announcement will be made this morning, and I shudder to know what it will be… I've already had to watch Melina get injured, taken in by an alliance, and so much else. She's made it far, and I wonder why she wants to. Just to live? For me? She doesn't have a family that cares about her, so maybe… maybe she wants to win to see me again.
I look down at my feet, remembering Melina's voice ringing out in the square as she screamed out after my name was called.
"My name is Melina Woods. I volunteer as the second female tribute."
What did I do? I stood there in silence. I hadn't seen Melina in so long, but I still remembered playing hide and seek out in the woods together. Childhood friends never last very long, and even though we almost forgot about each other, Melina volunteered. I was too late to bid her goodbye before she left for the Hunger Games, too. I wonder if she thinks I still care?
Everyone hushes down as the Capitol seal is shown on the TV screen, and the president's voice comes on. "Hello, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying this year's Hunger Games so far!"
Who could?
"Let's take a second to look at the popularity of the tributes in the Capitol."
A chart shows up, with the remaining tribute's portraits, their name, district, gender, and their amount of sponsors. I gasp when Melina's face shows up at the top of the chart, followed by the remaining District One female. I don't care who else is being sponsored, but Melina is in first? The Capitol must like her mysterious attitude. Or maybe they see nothing but a pretty face.
"Now, for the special announcement everyone – even the tributes! – are tuning in for today! The screen changes to a shot of the president sitting in a chair, his daughter on his lap, swinging her feet. "Today, at sundown, there will be a feast at the cornucopia. Tribute attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended.
"Those who do attend will have a real treat in store! Inside the cornucopia, a glorious feast will be set up for tributes to share. In the center of the table, there will be ten bags. Nine of them will have something small inside of them, but don't get this wrong, they will be very useful later on! In the tenth bag, there will be a bigger surprise. I'll give only a hint: whoever gets this will be very. Dangerous. Certainly no one to mess with! However, each tribute may only get one bag from the feast. Retrieving more than one will result in receiving an electrical current through the tracker; which will result in death.
"Good luck to those attending the feast! And as always, happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor."
With that, the anthem plays in the background, the Capitol seal can be seen one more time, and the screen goes black. Tonight, my friend Melina might die. A feast always results in lots of death, and I'm just hoping Melina won't be a victim.
Amity Grace - The Capitol - Before Sundown
The sun is just beginning to dip behind the mountains when Emil(Cap), Aurora(Cap) and I reach the top of the mountain. We seem to be some of the first ones there, but I ready an arrow to my new bow. It's got a bit of a harsh draw-weight for me, but I can deal with it. And it makes me feel more confident to know that I have sponsors.
As the crystalline cornucopia comes into view, I shudder to remember the events of the bloodbath. If I can survive at the cornucopia one more time… hopefully I can carry on and help one of my siblings to become a co-victor.
"Aurora shouldn't go in." I say.
"I can help." Aurora says.
I bend down and smile at her, giving her a hug. "I don't want you getting hurt, so listen." Aurora nods, so I go on. "I want you to stay in the bushes. Emil and I will be just fine. When we come out, we're all going to run off together, just like at the bloodbath, okay?"
Aurora nods, but I can see the uncertainty in her eyes. Emil and I hug her one last time, and stay with her in the bushes for a little while, before leaving, as to not attract attention to where she is. Out of the three of us, I think Emil and I both know that she has to emerge victorious, no matter what it takes. Too much innocence left in her for her own good.
Emil and I wait around the cornucopia. We decide to enter through the entrance closest to Aurora. Through the walls, I can see distorted images: a table, some fancy chairs, and silhouettes of tributes. The sunlight catches the walls of the crystal cornucopia, and I watch the beams of light dance meaninglessly on the grass. It might be the only beautiful thing left here.
As the sun lowers even more, I ready myself to defend my life once more. If the bloodbath wasn't hell, this surely will be.
Niels Warner – District 13 – The Feast
As the time approaches, what's left of our shattered career alliance is waiting in the trees near the cornucopia. When the time comes, we'll dash in and hopefully get the best of what's in there. I can smell something from here, and if I can remember right, it smells like a soup I ate in the Capitol when we were staying at the training center. There's food in there, too! Hopefully there'll be time to grab some before we have to go.
Jaclyn(2) and Leon(4) seem almost ecstatic for the feast to come, and I can see the bloodthirst in Jaclyn's eyes as she holds her mace by her side.
As more tributes appear on the horizon, on all sides of the mountain, I know that this is it.
Then, the voice of President Rain rings out, and Jaclyn grins wider than she ever has before.
"Tributes, the feast will begin soon. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Then, a countdown starts, just like at the bloodbath.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
No gong sounds out, but instead, Jaclyn springs forward, running for the nearest entrance to the cornucopia. I follow close behind, and soon, all three of us are in there. I keep my weapon ready, and look around. The place looks… pretty. Like the Capitol. A long table draped in white is in the center, and some chairs are surrounding it. Twenty-nine chairs. One for each of us. On the center of the table, surrounded by Capitol delicacies, is a giant cake platter. Nine small, white bags are on each small cake platform, but at the very top, a foot or two above the rest, is a big, golden bag.
Before I can take it all in completely, I know that there are others here.
The Antis were here even before we were! How clever of them…! Irene(10), I think her name is, darts directly for the table, but I step in front of her, and she crashes to the floor. She looks at me with rage in her eyes, and backs away. Her alliance members, Radiant(13) – one of my own district partners – and the trio left from District Three all appear by her side.
Leon walks up besides me, a certain look in his eyes. "Is the poor little girl too traumatized to face us again? What about her brother—"
"Don't you dare mention Wheeler!" Allium(3) yells.
"Not him, the boy from Nine. What was his name?" Leon asks through gritted teeth. "Has he died by now."
None of the Antis move. More tributes pour in – Ryan(1) and some of his allies, the Grace siblings – but none of us do anything. We all stand there, as if all of us are too scared to move. The last ones to make it in are the duo from 6 and 8, and they hover around in the corner before disappearing. The cornucopia seems so huge when we're all in here at the same time.
Then, a loud slamming noise rings out. A few tributes jump, as we realize what's happening. The doors to the cornucopia are closing. Instead of the beautiful, crystalline structure of the cornucopia, the doors look metal. We aren't meant to leave so easily.
That's when the faint sound of classical music comes on. It sounds so peaceful and carefree, which is hard to believe when all of us are covered in dirt, bruises, scars, and even blood. After a minute, it's clear that this music will be mocking us the whole time.
When everything is quiet and still, and it seems like the whole world is frozen, that's when Dennis(3) rushes forwards and leaps onto the table, taking the first feast bag. Immediately, everything erupts into chaos.
The feast has begun.
===Reeva Olympia – District 11 – The Feast ===
When Dennis grabs the first feast bag – a small one, thankfully – that's when I take my brand new blowgun and point it straight at Dennis. Before I know what I'm doing, I fire it, and a dart rips through his neck. My blood goes cold as I shoot one more time, just to make sure that he's dead. I don't want him to suffer any more.
One of his allies comes and takes the bag, then turns to me and my ally Cassie, who is standing directly by my side. Dennis' ally – I think it's Radiant(13) – as he goes up to Cassie and takes the bag, I kick him in the stomach, but I stumble a bit.
He turns around and waves his flail around the in the air, and I scream, knowing this is it.
At that moment, right when Radiant brings the flail down, Cassie screams out my name and jumps right in front of me. I cringe and cover my face with my hands, and warm liquid splatters onto the back of my hands. My heart beats faster and faster, and I shiver. When I open my eyes, the bag is gone. The antis have it. And my ally is gone, too.
"Cassie…" I whisper, looking at her broken body, the dent in her skull looks like such a deadly wound. And there's so much blood, I know she's done for.
I look for a place to hide in the cornucopia, but everyone seems to absorbed in their own fights. I can see George(11) fighting Niels(13), and I dive under the table. Maybe I can take some food and then run when the whole thing is over. Right about now I regret coming to the feast. But my alliance was so fragile, and we were all falling apart so quickly, maybe I'm better off alone.
I watch, silently, as Niels backs into the corner, his arm wounded. George takes his sickle and aims one slash at Niels' neck, and I close my eyes just as Niels falls to the ground.
I turn around, looking to see if there is anything I can take. George has run off with Niels' supplies, except for his scythe, which Jaclyn(2) takes, looking for a victim. I duck under the table, trying to catch my breath, when I turn around. A small scream escapes me as I see the faces of two other tributes.
One of them, with trembling hands, brings a hatchet up into the air. "I'm so sorry." They whisper, and just as I can see them bring down the butt of the hatchet, right before everything goes black.
Terrence Birch – District 7
As the chaos unfolds, I try to stick with my allies. Our original plan can't work properly now that the cornucopia doors are shut, but Ashlynn(1) and Emilia(2) are safely outside, hiding in the bushes. They're probably worried for our lives right now, and we've made it too far to die during the feast.
With so many tributes running around the cornucopia, it's hard to tell who's trying to kill and who's trying to run. No one has touched the bags on the table, yet, though. It seems all of us are waiting for the first person to try and take one.
Melina(7), Ryan(1), and Manta(4) are all waiting beside me. I take Melina's arm, and Ryan's, and run towards the table, ducking down to the floor and hoping no one can see us. Manta awkwardly follows suit. It seems that without words, we all know what I'm thinking.
At least one part of our original plan can still work. The gasoline. Ryan hands it to me, and I carefully jump up towards the table, and reach for the feast bag on the very, very top, and just before I can open it—
My hands grab nothing. The big feast bag has already been taken. I curse under my breath, and instead, reach for one of the small bags. I toss it down to my allies, and am taking the contents from another small feast bag when someone else's hand flies out towards it. I look up to see Wendy, the girl from 8 who's lost most of her allies by now. Her eyes are filled with fear, and for a few seconds we grapple over the feast bag, before Wendy gasps, and bends over forwards. I take the bag, and quickly empty its contents, throwing it to my allies, who put it in the other feast bag. I glance over to Wendy again, to see her coughing up blood. Jaclyn giggles and raises her new scythe, blood dripping from the blade, and brings it down swiftly across Wendy's stomach. I turn away and stuff the gasoline into the feast bag. Hopefully, this can fool someone.
When I try to put the bag back, a small pain erupts in my wrist. I drop the bag, and clutch my wrist, seeing blood pouring out of a small cut. Jaclyn triumphantly takes the bag from me, and looks at me for a second, a disgusted expression on her face. I run towards my allies, not ready for a fight.
Ryan is holding the feast bag when I get over to my allies.
"Did you get the other contents?" I ask.
"It's in here." He replies. "What of the gasoline?"
"I took care of it. Jaclyn must think it's a treasure. I've got the careers fooled, at least.
The four of us try to find somewhere to hide, but it's hard when everyone is out in the open like this. Hopefully the two items we got, we won't get punished for. There's six of us, so the two items should only count for two of us.
I watch as Jaclyn takes the feast bag I put the gasoline in back to her ally. Leon takes another bag for himself, and the two of them seem to disappear into the crowd.
Amity(Cap) seems to be running up to the feast table, but just before reaching it, catches us out of the corner of her eye, and turns towards us. I expect her to attack, but instead, she goes for the feast table, and someone else jumps at us.
It's her brother, Emil(Cap). He reaches for the feast bag, but Manta quickly kicks him away. Both of them have tridents, and for a minute they begin to battle. Amity, with a feast bag in hand, turns to look at her brother, and seeing him in such a fight, she quickly gets an arrow in her bow.
"MANTA WATCH O—" I scream.
Everything happens at the same moment: Manta glances towards Amity and throws his trident, and Amity quickly fires two arrows, straight in a row. Both Manta and Emil fall to the ground; Emil with a trident through his chest, and Manta with one arrow straight through his neck, and another through where his heart is.
Amity gasps, and runs over to Emil, dragging him away from us, leaving a thick trail of blood in her wake. He moans, and Amity screams out his name. He's not going to make it; I know that.
"Manta?" Ryan asks.
It looks like Manta isn't going to make it either. The tip of the arrow shows through the other side of his neck, and a small trickle of blood seeps out.
I look to Ryan, and both of us are silent. Ryan sighs and closes his eyes. He must be trying not to show weakness. But when your ally is dying, it's kind of hard not to.
"You were a good ally, Manta." I say to him, and watch as his chest heaves up and down one more time before stopping.
"I still have the feast bag." Ryan whispers to me.
"We better get out of the way." I tell him, and we find the corner of the cornucopia, waiting for it all to come to an end…
===Caleb Viika – District 8 – The Feast ===
Still hiding under the table, Saerin(6) and I hear a peculiar sound. A scraping sound… I cover my ears and flinch; it's loud and almost like nails on a chalkboard.
"Look." Saerin says quietly, and we both peek out from under the table. The metal doors that went down when the feast began are beginning to go up again. The smaller tributes slip right under the doors, but others have to wait.
Saerin and I take our chance, and run out of the cornucopia. However, Saerin bumps into someone on the way.
"Saerin!" I gasp.
But the girl he ran into only looks at him as he backs away from her on his hands and feet, sprawled out on the ground.
"What are you doing?" She asks through gritted teeth. She turns to me, and then looks at the feast bag in Saerin's hands. "You better get going before someone kills you."
I yank Saerin up to his feet again, and we run away, down the side of the mountain.
"We should go there." Saerin points towards the second mountain.
"Okay." I answer. As we run, I ask, "do you know that was?"
"I'm pretty sure that was the girl from District One." Saerin answers.
We slow down near the bottom of the mountain, and walk together. Saerin puts the feast bag inside his backpack, and I get out my weapon, just in case anyone feels like jumping out at us.
"I still can't believe we made it." I say quietly.
"Does anyone else know we did?" Saerin asks cautiously.
"I don't think so." I answer. "And…"
"Good job back there."
"Thank you. But you know I'm good for nothing."
"You're the one who got the big feast bag without anyone noticing."
We both turn to each other, and smile.
Chasodie Melon – District 4 – The Feast
Quickly, Thamos(2) and I rush into the cornucopia. Sure enough, two feast bags are still there. I run for one, darting up onto the table, knocking some food over along the way, before getting a feast bag. I reach for the second, but bump hands with another girl. Ashlynn(1). She glares at me and punches me off the table, taking the other bag.
"Ugh!" I shout at her. But there's no use. I get up and run out of the cornucopia with Thamos. "I hate her so much!" I say to Thamos. I start fantasizing ways to kill her later.
"Look." Thamos says to me.
There are the boys from 6 and 8, running down the side of the mountain. The one with blue hair, though… has something in his hands. I gasp. It can't be…!
I look at the feast bag I managed to collect, and then back at the one the boy from District Six was holding. That was definitely the tenth feast bag. The one with a bigger treasure inside.
"Them?! Out of all tributes?!"
"Calm down." Thamos says, and he chuckles. "They won't be easy to defeat, now will they? We can easily take everything they have."
Thamos is right… we slowly start to follow after the pair. We can take whatever they have, and… I can get a kill or two along the way…
Ashlynn Mountell – District 1 – The Feast
My allies and I rush out of the cornucopia, and look around. Melina(7) should be somewhere…
"Where's Melina?" Ryan asks.
"I don't know…" I answer, truthfully. "I told her to wait here while I went to find you guys. But I could also ask you the same."
"Manta… died." Terrence(7) replies.
We're all silent.
Together, we begin to make our way down the mountain.
===Amy Light – District 6 – After the Feast ===
I'm sitting next to Harvest(9), looking at the treetops, when cannons start to sound.
Six died at the feast.
"Our allies should be coming back soon." I tell Harvest.
He manages a small smile.
Everything is silent, except for the crickets soft chirping.
That's when the ground begins to shake. I've heard of earthquakes before, but never known what they felt like. Is this one of them?
A large, rumbling noise starts to come from the mountain, and I get up.
"Harvest, I think we should go."
That's when I remember his wounds. I'm not strong enough to lift him; I'm only a small little girl. However, I can at least help him up.
He winces at the pain when I do, but together, we slowly try and make our way from the mountain.
That's when a big bursting sound fills the air, and I halt in my tracks. Should I turn around? Or should I keep going?
Slowly, I turn around, to see rocks flying out of the top of the mountain, and shortly after… red liquid. It flies up into the air and down the side of the mountain, and I scream. We're not far enough away to survive.
"Harvest we need to go!" I cry.
"I'd never make it." He collapses to the ground.
"I'll stay with you." I whisper.
"No, Amy." He pulls me into a hug, then quickly pushes me away. "You have to win. For your brother. Find your allies. Win for both of us. Got it?"
I can't hold it back anymore. Tears start to poor from my eyes, and I need to think of my last thing to say to Harvest. But I can't. I can't find it in me anywhere.
So, I do the last thing I can do. I run.
I run from the erupting mountain, from Harvest, and I don't look back. Choking on my own tears, I run as far as I can. I wonder if my allies are even coming back for me by now.
Eventually, I hear a cannon, and collapse to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. The whole arena can probably hear me by now. On my hands and knees, I look down to the ground, a puddle of tears welling up. Everyone I knew is gone. I wouldn't mind dying right now.
"Congratulations to all of those who have survived!" The voice of the head-gamemaker rings throughout the arena. "As you probably have all seen, the fourth mountain has erupted. Now that there are less of you, I doubt you need that much ground to hide on, now do you? Well, the next day or two will progress as usual. As always, happy Hunger Games!"
"May the odds be ever in your favor." I whisper to myself.
I fall to the ground, allowing myself to go limp. A ringing noise starts in my ears, and I try to keep crying, so I can know I'm still alive and not about to die. But no more tears can be shed; I've cried all of them already.
"I-Irene…?" I ask weakly.
"It's Amy."
Was that… Akumai?
"Where's Harvest?" Allium. That must be Allium.
"Remember where we left them?"
"Amy, are you okay?"
"No." I whisper weakly. "I'm not okay…"