Chapter One
May Apple
I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. I can't see straight and I'm surprised I haven't fallen over yet. I'm clenching my jaw so much that it hurts and I know it can't be safe for my heart to be beating this fast. I guess that's what happens when you know your life could be over in just 60 seconds. I could consider just giving up like other tributes have done in the past. No. I have to do this. I have to win for Max. For Rue. For Marco. For Chaff. For District eleven. We haven't had a victor for quite a few years so all the weight is on my shoulders. Well there's also Cyrus. But he never knows when to shut up and I doubt he knows a thing about surviving in the wild.
I can't even imagine how Max is taking all of this. I'm the only family he has left and now I'm getting ready to enter the slaughter house. There's a one in twenty-four chance that I make it back to see my little brother again. Less than that because I don't have the training, the size or the heart to kill. I may be the fastest girl in District 11 and I may be able to throw knife and a few punches, but some of these kids have been training their whole lives for this moment. Some of them volunteered. That makes me sick. So many of us would do anything to prevent us from being selected but these kids would kill to get the chance to die. Sure there's eternal glory and riches to those who win but I'd rather be poor and alive then chance it. But it's far too late for me. I'm already about to die. I'm just glad Rue and Marco will be there to take care of Max when I'm not there for him anymore. Dang… I really need to work on this whole positive attitude thing that Rue always talks about.
Instead of freaking myself out further, I survey the competition. There are the obvious Careers, the brawny blonde who's sporting a smile, the curly blonde haired girl who looks perfectly harmless, but I know better, and there's the deadly looking ginger. I struggle to remember their names… Mitch, Nelly and Alicia I think. All I have to do is make it to the golden Cornucopia before them and make it out alive. Sounds easy enough…
There are a few other kids that caught my eye in the interviews and training… The twins, the incredibly small twelve year old, some kid that looks like a walking corpse and this giant brute that has a tattoo of a cat on his left foot. This one boy, I believe his name was Tal, struck my interest the moment I saw him. He played the 'I don't care about winning or losing I just wanna have fun' role during his interview. It's obvious he's lying and too proud to admit he's scared out of his mind. He's a district 12 and has less of a chance of winning then I do, so he knows he's gonna die. But I do envy that he's seemed to master the whole positive attitude thing, even if I suspect it's a fake.
I realize I probably have only fifteen seconds until the gong rings so I replay the words of my mentor, Chaff, again and again. "Run as fast as you can, grab a weapon then get yourself under cover. Trees, bushes… anything." We went through the plan for the bloodbath and the events following it countless times. Knives, run, water, live. Knives, run, water, live. That's all that's going through my mind. I could cross the river behind the Cornucopia into what looks like just a swamp, but that would take far too long. My only choice is to run into the thick pine trees.
When the gong sounds, everything turns into complete madness. I realize quickly that the chaos is greater in person then on the screen at home but I seem to out run everyone to the Cornucopia, leaving most of the madness behind. The few tributes that weren't delayed by oncoming attackers or who instantly ran away are on my tail. I manage to grab a pack of throwing knives then make a break for it. Mitch already has a spiked mace and is beating down a pig like girl who was grabbing a backpack. I can already tell the Capital will love him. In the corner of my eye I notice the ginger Career running towards me. I grab the kid closest to me by his backpack and use him as a shield, blocking her knife. Poor kid. Swinging his backpack over my shoulders, I run into the woods.
Dan Gibson
I don't expect myself to win. I may never miss a target with my bow but I'm not a Career and I'm certainly not in the best shape of my life. It's not like I'm fat or anything… In fact I'm skinny. So skinny that my skin forms a tightly fitted sheet around my ribs. But ever sense the accident, I've never been able to do much. Sure I made a full recovery, but it's the addiction that really hit me hard. It's easy getting a hold of morphling when you live in District 6. The dealers will sell to anybody. Even a seven year old kid who sells his mothers necklace. That's right. Seven. At first I needed the morphling for the pain, but I got addicted to it fast. Five years later and here I am. Still craving morphling (even though I've been trying to quit), looking like a walking corpse and occasionally shivering uncontrollably. My mentor is completely a nutter. He's been a morphling addict since he was 15 and he's 35… That's part of the reason why I stopped. I've seen the lasting effects of morphling. Thankfully I don't have the yellow, saggy skin and my brain isn't muddled. I know it's bad for me but I got addicted. But that's in the past. And since I know I don't have much of a future, I better focus on the present.
The second the gong sounds everyone is off. People sprinting to the forest, idiots running to the Cornucopia and a few getting slaughtered right off the bat. I wait a few seconds then run straight into the trees, grabbing nothing.
Even though I'm a morphine addict and look dead, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I can climb trees in an instant and I can stay perfectly still… except when I shiver. I also remember everything. I don't know if I have some supernatural ability or I just have an exceptional memory. It's probably the latter… but I can dream can't I? No. Actually I'm pretty sure all dreams and hopes went away with my family's love. My only hope is to not die too painfully because if I did, I'd be craving morphling on my way out. That's not how I want to go.
Most tributes would run as far away from the carnage as possible but I prefer to watch, learning as much as I can about my enemies. I bet none of the tributes know who I am, let alone noticed my escape. But I might as well wait and listen instead of fight right?
I can tell immediately who the Careers are. Mitch Renteria, a ruthless, typical Career. Nelly France, the not-as-sweet-as-I-look girl. And Alicia Wade, the one whose eyes give away that she's silent but deadly. There's another boy that I probably with the Careers. They always have a strategist and they rarely win in the end. This time it's Forrest Miller.
I analyze each tribute carefully, making mental notes of where they all went, whose still alive and what weapons they have. The Careers are currently killing the last tribute left at the Cornucopia. Kevin Robbins lets out a scream before they deliver the final blow. The Capital must be going wild. I wonder if I've gotten any screen time. The idea seems doubtful, but you never know. The twins- Dean and Emily Hampton- have taken off into the woods. It must really suck to come here with your twin. What are the chances…? But at least they know they have at least one family member that loves them when they die.
There are nine bodies littering the ground, bathing in their own blood. Nine lives gone forever. Nine families grieving. Nine cannon shots. It's really sick. I do my best to suppress a shiver, but it's no use. Thankfully the Careers don't notice the closest tree shake slightly seeing as they're too busy taking jackets and supplies from the dead tributes. I wonder how they can do it… kill all these people and still be able to treat their corpses like dirt. Nelly kicks aside the body of a once pretty girl, but now her face is covered in blood and her body mangled. Mitch spits in the face of Bobbie Page, my fellow District 6 tribute. Oh well… I never really liked her. She looks (and smells like…) a pig.
So there are 9 down, 15 to go. Well fourteen and a half. The district four girl, Melissa was stabbed in the stomach by Nelly but she made it away. I doubt she'll make it to morning. I stand up in the tree, jumping tree to tree farther into the woods, looking for Melissa. When she dies I want to be there because I'm fairly positive she grabbed a backpack.
It may seem weird that I can jump from trees silently without anyone noticing but to me its second nature. My light weight helps a bit but I've always been agile. My mother hates this about me. I'm always able to get away from a well deserved beating.
When I find Melissa, she's in a worse state then I imagined. Not only is she forced to hold in the contents of her stomach, but she's also lying in a puddle of blood. She's going to bleed out in no time. All that's left to do is to wait, something I'm very good at.
A/N:
I worked a long time on this story, planning it and deciding how to make all the characters. It was weird to finally be writing it. This is my first (non harry potter) fanfiction so I hope you guys all like it! I wanted to make it from the point of view of two tributes instead of just one because I LOVE Dan. I was originally going to focus on May Apple but I realized I liked him He's really fun to write! And I know… May Apple is a strange name. But I have my reasons..
Let me know what you think! It means so much to me if you tell me if you hate it or like it or whatever! And thanks for reading!
Redvines714