GALIA
59…58…57…56…55…54…
It's actually happening. The game of slaughter. I start shaking very visibly. I look around frantically to see if anyone is as nervous as I am.
EVALYSE
46…45…44…43…42…41…
I notice the girl from 2 shaking. Then I realize I am too. Why is she shaking? She's trained for this, you'd think she'd be more confident like the other Careers.
TRISTESSA
37…36…35…34…33…32…
I keep my eyes fixed on the Bow and the Quiver inside the Cornucopia. Then I notice the body of water between our pedestals and the supplies.
SYNYEED
24…23…22…21…20…19…
I look behind me and I see the a line of trees. That's where I'm going, I think. Then I hear one of the loudest sounds someone could hear, I whip my head back towards the Cornucopia and see a huge fire starting 7 pedestals to my right. Someone stepped off…
17…16…15…14…13…12…11…10…9…8…7…6…
GALIA
5…
With one less Tribute to compete with, I don't know if I should be happy or worried. One less means less I have to deal with, but it also means the quicker the other Careers will pursue me.
EVALYSE
4…
With Aeden gone, I have only one person I can trust. Aret. I'm a bit sad that Aeden went out like that, but at least it means I don't have to kill him myself.
TRISTESSA
3…
Now 23 Tributes to compete with for supplies. The idiotic boy from District 8 blew himself up, on top of it, his pedestal was right next to mine. A hear the ringing sound that's typical when near explosions. I sure hope it stops in the next 2 seconds…
SYNYEED
2…
I turn back to the tree line and get into a running position.
1
GALIA
It's complete chaos as most the Tributes hop off their pedestal into the water separating us from the Cornucopia. I practically fall into the icy water, and skittishly start swimming. I catch a glimpse of Cara and the girl from 11 jumping off the side of their pedestals that face away from the Cornucopia, the side facing land. When I finally reach the land in the middle of the lake that holds the Cornucopia, I pull myself from the water, still shaking, and grab a turquoise pack. I see the only Bow and Quiver for the first time. I look back at the water and notice the girl from 12, the only other person capable of using a bow, is still swimming.
I'll make life easier for her.
I sprint to the Bow, then make my way to the Quiver, which was at least 10 feet from the Bow. The girl from 12 apparently saw me. Disappointed she grabs a pack and begins swimming away. I begin to follow her. She doesn't seem to notice me until she hits land. She drags herself out of the water and starts running the 20 yards to the tree line. When I get to land I begin to pursue her, trying as hard as I can to keep up. My goal is to pass her. When I'm about 2 feet behind her she notices I'm still following her. She picks up her pace, and so do I. I eventually pass her, only 8 feet from the tree line. I get a few feet ahead and drop the Quiver, then the Bow. I turn around, noticing she had stopped, and I smile to hopefully let her know it was intentional. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a knife flying toward me. I spin around and catch it, inches from my face. I stumble, then both me and the girl from 12 notice Shayn running toward us, obviously me being her first target. She'd take out 12 next. I spin back towards the forest and run. I'm so focused on running that I lose track of the girl from 12, even though she's probably still behind me. I stop once I reach a hill about 15 yards from the edge of the forest that overlooks a river about 5 yards wide. I feel something hit me in the back, I realize it's the girl from 12, and the two of us begin toppling over each other down the slope. We stop rolling before we hit the creek, but we're close enough that a lot of my hair ends up in it. Great, now I'm even wetter than before. And that means if there isn't a sleeping bag in my pack I could potentially freeze. Me and 12 quickly stand up, the Bow firmly in her hand and the Quiver on her back along with the pack she grabbed. We both eventually have a silent agreement of ''I don't kill you, you don't kill me.'' And we run in opposite directions.
EVALYSE
When the gong rings, I completely freeze on my pedestal. The boy on my right, Daymin from 4, smirks at me then jumps into the lake. The water makes a huge splash, getting me soaked. He's going to go for one of the axes. I take note of the objects in the Cornucopia. A Bow, a Quiver, 2 swords, about 15 knives, an axe, a sickle sword, 2 packs of Throwing Knives (the Gamemakers must've known I wouldn't stand a chance against Shayn so they pitied me an put 2 in there) and about 48 backpacks. Why are there so many packs? There's only 24 (scratch that, 23. Aeden blew himself up.)And most of us are dead when the gong starts (in a sense) Why put so many? Well I eventually decide to jump into the lake. I begin to swim towards the small island holding the Cornucopia. I drag myself from the water, and dodge the girl from 5's falling body. The girl from 3 apparently had killed her with the sickle sword. She notices me and begins to raise her weapon to kill me. A knife comes hurling from nowhere and stabs her in the back before she even got the chance to impale me. Looks like Shayn has grabbed one of the packs already. I spot the other one and run to it. Then I grab the nearest survival pack and make my way to the edge of the island. I dive into the water and begin swimming. I hit land and pull myself out of the water and begin to run to the woods. The ground becomes uneven and my foot slips. I twist my ankle and fall over. Great. A twisted ankle on the first day. Fantastic.
TRISTESSA
The ringing in my ears continues, but I dive into the water anyway. By the time I reach the Cornucopia, the ringing has stopped, but I see the girl from 2 grabbing the Bow and Quiver. Ugh. I grab the closest pack to me and get back in the water. I swim, and once I reach land I notice the girl from 2 is pursuing me. I get up and run, and she still is following me. She eventually passes me, and she drops the Bow. I stop, nearly tripping over my own feet. She drops the Quiver, turns back to me, smiles, then catches the knife that suddenly started flying toward her. I look in the direction it came from, and see the girl from 1 running toward her, or me, or whoever. Me and the girl from 2 run into the woods. Now it's my turn to be the stalker. She stops abruptly and I bump into her, than the two of us starts rolling down a hill. I land about 4 feet from the creek at the bottom, but the girl from 2 isn't so lucky and lands inches from the edge, her hair getting soaked by the passing water. The two of us shoot up and then run in different directions.
SYNYEED
The gong rings and I shoot off my pedestal into the woods. I run as fast as my legs will carry me. My feet get tangled in some brush, and I fall over. I untangle the plants and get up again. I run, not entirely sure where I'm going. I see another Tribute, the 12 year-old from 4, and I veer right. Honestly, a 4'8'' girl of age 12 doesn't scare me. But I'd rather not have any contact with the other Tributes. I come to a hill, and slowly and carefully make my way down it. At the bottom is a thin creek. I attempt to jump over it, but I land in the middle instead. Luckily I land on my feet. I jump the rest the way in one go. About now would be when the non-Career Bloodbath survivors would be coming. I continue to run.
GALIA
After running for what seemed like hours, even though it was only 5 minutes, I hear the cannons go off. 8 deaths. If Chasen is still alive, I have to find him. He won't last long by himself if he's still alive. I come to a river, and start to wonder why there's so much water in the Arena this year. The Gamemakers probably expected some Tributes to drown or something. Then I realize that I promised to find Cara after the Bloodbath. I either look for Chasen, or I look for Cara. I decide to look around and whichever I find first I'll ally with. I run along the river to look for a thinner part. It's too wide here.
EVALYSE
I get up and limp the rest the way across the uneven ground. A twisted ankle is gonna screw me. I sit on a nearby log and listen for the cannons. 1 cannon, that would be Aeden's. Another cannon, the girl from 5. A third, the girl from 3. After that there's 5 more cannons, and I begin to narrow down who I know got away from the Cornucopia alive. Well, me of course, the girl from 4, the girl from 11, the boy from 12, and the girl from 6 all ran when the gong sounded. Both from 2, the girl from 12, the girl from 9, and the girl from 7 all ran in got supplies and ran out, so they're still alive. The Careers are still out there too. So that means that Aeden, the girls from 5 and 3, the boy from 10, the boy from 7, the boy from 5, the boy from 11, and the boy from 9 are all dead. That means there's 16 left… Wait, where's Aret? I saw him get away alive, but who knows how long that will last?
TRISTESSA
I have to find Fen, and fast. Sure he's tall, and somewhat muscular and strong, but the Careers put together are like 70 times more. I saw him run from the Cornucopia, and right now the Careers were probably be deciding who to hunt down and kill. Probably the girl from 4, or the Tributes from 2. The girl from 4 and the boy from 2 aren't very old and would be easy to take down, so the Careers would probably go after them first. Then the girl from 2 because she's a threat, and because she didn't join their pack. I doubt Fen or I would be very high on the list of priorities, but we're definitely on there somewhere. I listen as the Bloodbath victim's cannons. 8 people died.
SYNYEED
I begin to wonder how I'm going to survive without supplies. How am I going to get meat? Yeah, I can find berries. There's plenty of them around here, but how am I going to get meat? I went to the trap setting and the knot tying stations, but that knowledge won't be too useful when I have no supplies. The cannons for the Bloodbath's victims sound, and I know immediately that Trevon is dead. He's the kind that would run straight to the Cornucopia. Plus, I got a glimpse of the boy from 4 hitting him in the leg with his axe and then the boy from 1 running over to him with a sword before I got to the woods. How does anyone that isn't a Career even win? Oh right, when the Careers have no food. That's when.