Co-written with marinawings
For a prequel to this story or to get more familiar with the characters, read The 71st Annual Hunger Games. You don't have to read that first, but it gives a lot more background information on the characters.
Chapter One
Liam, District 8's male Tribute, takes a deep breath as the cylinder he is standing on rises upward into the Arena. He savors the taste of the air. It could be one of his last breaths.
Within minutes, the 71st annual Hunger Games will begin.
Liam blinks as his cylinder rises into the light, and he sees that he and the other Tributes are arranged in a circle around the Cornucopia, all dressed in simple black tank tops and leather pants and clunky boots. It's appropriate that they're all in black, Liam reflects with a wry smile. They'll all be dead soon, anyway. All but one.
Liam also notices that they're arranged randomly, no two Tributes from the same District beside each other. The sixteen-year-old scans the circle for his fellow Tribute from District 8, Kylie. He finally spots her. She's standing next to that handsome fellow from District 7, the one the girls all went crazy over-Tristan, with the black hair and blue eyes.
Kylie notices Liam and gives him a quick smile. Her dark eyes are kind, and somehow, she reminds Liam of the girl he likes back home in 8. He thinks this might be the last time he sees Kylie again. In a way, he hopes it is.
Liam turns his eyes back to the Cornucopia, which is located in the middle of a wide patch of barren land. Liam can see trees in the distance. His eyes are drawn to a large canvas backpack near the very edge of the arrangement of supplies. It's close to him, and he thinks he might be able to get to it before the others. As his main skill is tracking, he is not quite as drawn to the variety of weapons strewn across the area.
Liam has never killed anyone or anything. He has never harmed anyone or anything. He works in a spinning factory all day and likes to walk in the woods in the evening. He built a tree-house a few summers back, and last summer, he held Shyra's hand…
The required 60 seconds end abruptly, and Liam's heartbeat skips painfully at the sound of the gong. His instincts kick in, and he runs with all his strength for the canvas pack. He reaches it at the same time as another boy who is perhaps a year or two younger than him-Jerry, from District 3. Jerry's pale, youthful face twists in a grimace, and suddenly, the two boys are engaged in tug of war over the bag.
"Let go, man!" Liam shouts. "I don't want to hurt you!"
He hears shouting and clanging all around him.
"I got here first!" Jerry insists, tugging hard.
Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Liam tugs hard on the bag. There is a swooshing sound, a thump, then no resistance, and Liam stumbles backward. As he falls, he looks up at Jerry and sees that the younger boy is staring, mouth opened, blood pouring down his face. An arrow protrudes from Jerry's temple. Liam scrambles back, insides twisting with fear, as Jerry collapses to the ground right beside him. He looks up to see the beautiful blond girl from District 1, Sunshine, he thinks, snatching up another arrow.
Sunshine stretches out one lean, strong arm, extending a black bow.
Liam knows he needs to move, knows that next arrow is trained on his heart. In seconds, he'll be as dead as Jerry if he doesn't move. But he can't.
"Oh, God, please." The words fall unbidden from his lips, and his knuckles whiten around the handle of the canvas sack.
All of a sudden, a hand closes around his arm, and he is yanked to his feet.
"Come on, Liam!"
Eyes wide, Liam nods and let's his rescuer drag him away from the Cornucopia. He looks over his shoulder to see an arrow embedded in the earth where he had been lying, right beside the body of Jerry, Jerry who is staring at nothing, whose face is stained with his own blood. Sunshine is narrowing her eyes on him and reaching for another arrow.
"Liam!" His rescuer yanks hard on his arm.
Liam turns and sees that it is Kylie who has saved him. Her dark hair streams behind her as she drags him toward the nearby woods.
"Thank-thanks!" Liam gasps out as he and Kylie reach the edge of the forest.
"Back here!" Kylie jerks him down behind a wide oak tree, and they kneel beside it.
Liam leans his head against the rough bark. It feels cool on his hot face. He reaches up and rubs his itching eyes. His eyes are wet. I've been crying!
"Are you okay?" Kylie asks gently.
Liam wipes his eyes fiercely and nods. He notices that the dark-haired girl is carrying a long, slender weapon. "You found a sword?"
"Yes." Kylie smiles. "My best skill is the sword, you know. I think we're safe for a while."
They peer around the tree trunk. Liam sees fighting in the distance-two people in close combat-but he can't tell who they are. "No one else came this way?"
Kylie shakes her head. "Not yet. They all broke for the larger forest. That way." She points.
"East. There's a larger forest to the east." Liam sighs and leans back against the tree.
Kylie raises and eyebrow. "So you are good with directions?"
"Tracker." Liam grins proudly and pats his chest. "That's about all I'm good for."
"Well you got us a pack." Kylie nods to the backpack.
Liam had forgotten about the canvas bag until now. He looks down at his hands. They're still clenched tight around the strap. He shudders, remembering his fight with Jerry, remembering Jerry's swift end… "That boy… That cheerful kid from 3..."
"I know. I saw." Kylie presses her lips together and is silent for a moment. "That's what happens in the Games, you know."
"At least… At least it was quick," Liam says quietly.
"Yeah. That's about all you can hope for here," she replies.
"Do you think…?" Liam trails off, not sure what to say. He wants to live. He can't imagine dying. But now he doesn't want to think about Kylie dying, either.
A cannon booms.
Tristan, blue-eyed, 18 and a son of District 7, snatches up the small hatchet he'd had his eyes on as soon as he saw the Cornucopia. Its balance is fairly good, and that's good enough for him. Now he knows he has to get away from the Cornucopia before he is sliced to ribbons. Someone nearby screams, and Tristan turns toward the south-at least, he thinks it's the south-where high grass waves in the breeze.
A blond boy with a spear-Tristan thinks it's the District 11 boy-jumps out in front of him, and Tristan easily shoves the kid aside. He doesn't look back to see how much damage he's done or to see if the boy is tossing the spear. District 11 boy didn't seem to know how to hold one properly.
Tristan hears footsteps alongside him and turns to see the tall girl from his own District beside him-Maryssa, a tall girl with dark blond hair. He makes a face at her. "This is really fun, huh?"
"Nothing better," Maryssa pants, grinning. Her face is flushed.
Tristan and Maryssa had been ordered by their trainer to work together, to use each other as allies. If the Careers could do it, why couldn't they?
Maryssa seems strong and eager-maybe a bit too eager, Tristan thinks-to fight, so he doesn't have a problem with calling her an ally for a while. Of course, that will only make things harder if it comes down to the two of them…
Together, they jog deep into the grasslands, leaving the sounds of battle behind them. They reach a large rock and hunker down behind it.
"What did you get?" Tristan asks. He's barely out of breath. He has always been in good shape, made tough by his work as a woodcutter.
"A hatchet, of course, and this." Maryssa holds up a small plastic bag that's painted to match the colors of the forest, a bit darker green than the grassland area. "I'm not sure what's in it."
Tristan takes the bag from her, ignoring her narrowed eyes, and opens it. "Good work. We've got food and clean water." He smiles at her and hands it back. "I got this." He holds up his hatchet.
"Of course." Maryssa stands, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "We should probably swing around to one of the forests now. We're more familiar on that sort of terrain."
Tristan stands beside her and shades his eyes, looking back toward the Cornucopia. No one has ventured this way so far. "There's a small forest west of here. We can head that way."
"Good idea." Maryssa smiles at him and holds out a hand. "Lead the way, Tristan."
"Thanks. I believe I will." Tristan smiles back at her and turns west, and Maryssa falls in behind him. He swings the hatchet in his hand, getting used to the weight and balance of it. He has a feeling he'll have to use it soon.
"Hang on a minute, Tristan."
"What is it?" He starts to turn around.
"No. Stay right there." Maryssa's voice is strangely intense. And then…
Something hard slams into Tristan's back, and pain ripples through his body. He cries out and collapses to his knees, starts to turn, then falls into the grass as a boot shoves him down from behind. He hears laughter from above him.
"That was so easy," comes the voice of his betrayer.
Tristan opens his eyes and sees that his hatchet has fallen about a foot from his outstretched right hand. He reaches for it, but the pain in his back flares up again, and he clenches his teeth to keep from screaming.
Maryssa crouches down beside him and holds her hatchet blade close to his face, slowly wiping off his blood with one finger. She pops her finger in her mouth, then grimaces and jerks it back out. "Yuck! That doesn't taste as good as I thought!"
"Are you crazy?" Tristan hisses, breathing hard through the pain. He coughs and tastes his own blood. He doesn't much like the taste, either. Did she nick my lung! "We're supposed to work together! Candell said-"
"I don't care what Candell said," Maryssa snaps. "I'm going to win this, and nothing is going to stop me-not the Careers, not the other worthless Tributes and certainly not some dumb alliance with you. So what if you scored a 9 and I scored a 7? I think I've already proven that I-"
Tristan has had enough of her mouth. Ignoring the agony in his back, he reaches out and grabs hold of her ankle, jerking her off balance. She shrieks as she falls onto her back in the grass, and Tristan moves with as much speed as he can muster, grabbing his fallen hatchet and swinging it in an arc.
With a thunk, the blade slices into Maryssa's chest, cracking into her breastbone. Maryssa screams, eyes wide, jerking off the ground, then falling back down, arms twitching. Tristan drags himself up onto his knees, watching with disgust as Maryssa gasps for breath, the hatchet handle quivering with every heave of her chest. Her eyes stare up at the sky, shocked, and she coughs, then chokes, blood welling up in her mouth.
Tristan winces and looks away. He doesn't want to watch her die… especially since he's killed her. He feels suddenly nauseated and hunches over, clutching his twisting stomach.
"Tristan," Maryssa chokes out.
Tristan looks at her. She has turned her head and fixed her wide, pained eyes on him. Blood spills from her mouth onto the ground.
"Win this… For District… For District 7." She closes her eyes finally, whimpering and gasping. Her body gives a final shudder, then she is still.
Tristan stares in shock for a moment, then turns his head and vomits. When he's finished expelling his body of everything he's eaten in the last day or so, he turns back to Maryssa and grabs hold of the hatchet in her chest. Closing his eyes, he tugs, grimacing at the squishing sound the blade makes as he pulls it out the dead girl's body. He picks up her hatchet as well and takes the bag from her shoulder, slipping it over his own.
Then he stands. For a few seconds, the grasslands around him seem to spin, but he sets his jaw, steels himself and begins walking westward, blood soaking the back of his shirt.
The boom of a cannon echoes across the grasslands.
As Caspian stood watch for Wren-his fellow Tribute from District 12, as well as the girl he loved-he reflected that it might have been a blessing to have received such low scores from the Gamemakers. The other Tributes have largely left the two dark-haired, gray-eyed District 12 Tributes alone.
Caspian stands beside Wren as she gathers supplies from the Cornucopia. His only weapon is a long knife. The Careers had snagged most of the weapons. He watches as both District 1 Tributes gather at the edge of the Cornucopia with the District 2 Tributes and the boy from District 4, that likable Ian fellow. Caspian wondered if they could have been friends, if not for the Hunger Games…
Caspian frowns. Where is the girl from District 4? Has she been killed? Or is she stalking the District 12 Tributes?
"Caspian?" Wren's soft voice draws his attention.
"It's alright. Keep gathering supplies. See if you can find any fresh water or food or medicine," he tells her.
"I've got a little of all of that."
Caspian turns to her with a smile. He loves this dark, slender girl, with her bright smile and warm heart. He plans to protect her, to keep her safe. And at the end, to take his own life. This dagger should do the job nicely. He wonders if Wren suspects his plans or has similar plans of her own. He doubts it. Wren is sweet, and he loves her, but she is naïve at times.
"Have they even noticed us?" Wren whispers.
"Yes, but I don't think they're worried about us for now," Caspian replies. His attention is drawn to the north, near what appears to be a large forest.
The short, blond girl from District 4 is following closely behind the tall, lanky fellow from District 5, a friendly-seeming young man named Carl. Caspian had talked to him during Training. Behind him, the Career girl is tiptoeing, carrying a net.
Caspian almost shouts a warning, but realizes that to do so would draw attention to him-and more importantly, to Wren. So he watches, sickened, as Carl's doom approaches from behind.
The District 4 girl flings the net forward, spreading it wide. It floats down over Carl, and the Career yanks it, jerking Carl off his feet. The lanky boy tumbles to the ground with a cry of alarm, instantly beginning to struggle. The Career wraps the net tighter around him, and Caspian can hear her laughter from yards away.
The District 4 girl looks toward the other Careers. "Lilly! Come help me with this one!" she calls.
The redheaded girl from District 2, apparently named Lilly, jogs out of the wasteland area and joins the District 4 girl at the edge of the forest. Caspian can see that she is carrying a long knife similar to the one he found. He watches, chilled, as she casually kneels beside the netted Tribute.
"Oh, no. Oh, Carl…" Caspian murmurs.
All of a sudden, a tall, dark-skinned shape bursts from the trees, knocking the District 4 girl to the ground, then turning on Lilly. Caspian sees that it's Gia, Carl's fellow District 5.
Lilly swipes at her with the knife, but Gia is quick and grabs hold of Lilly's wrist. The girls are struggling over the weapon when the boy from District 2, the Tribute with the highest ranking, comes up behind Gia, carrying a spear.
Again, Caspian wants to shout a warning, but he clenches his teeth and watches.
The District 2 boy thrusts his spear in an upward motion, and Gia freezes as it stabs into her back. Lilly jerks her arm back and stands back to watch, laughing.
The District 2 boy twists the spear, and Gia screams. Caspian covers his ears at the terrible sound.
Then the Career boy lifts Gia off the ground. She is still screaming, her feet kicking as they leave the earth. The District 2 Tribute gives the spear a jerk and it slides all the way through Gia's back, bursting through her chest. Her screams end, and she slumps on the spear.
The District 2 boy lowers the spear and kicks Gia off of it, then nods to Lilly, who twirls the knife in her hands. She nods to him, then turns back to the netted Carl, who is shouting and struggling with the net. She kneels beside him as the boy from 2 helps the girl from 4 to her feet. The girl grabs hold of the net again, securing Carl.
Lilly's blade glints in the sunlight, and Carl's struggles become suddenly more violent, something dark squirting into the air above the net. Carl's shouts turned to a gurgle. Lilly and the other Careers laugh triumphantly when Carl's motion abruptly stills. Hailey releases the net, and Carl flops to the ground, still wrapped inside it.
The two Careers shake hands, then walk back toward the Cornucopia.
Caspian backs up and motions to Wren. "We'd better hurry," he tells her quietly.
Wren looks up, gray eyes wide. "What is it?"
"I think-I think I just watched those girls slit Carl's throat. And Gia was stabbed," Caspian says, his voice catching. "We need to get out of here before they see us."
"Oh no! Not Carl and Gia!" Wren's eyes shine with tears.
Caspian gently takes one of the bags she is carrying. "Come on." He links his fingers with hers and they slip off toward the hills to the east.
Two cannons boom.