So I was bored randomly at a sleepover, and I began to conjure this up. So now you guys have ANOTHER fic from me. Also, to my 225th HG readers, I promise I'll update as soon as I can.
Her stylist, Cochea, waved a teary goodbye, and the tube shot up from underground to the arena, carrying sixteen year old Sina Reyye along with it, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. As soon as her platform settled down in its position, the countdown began at 60 seconds and Sina carefully analyzed her surroundings. The arena was a vast grassland with no visible hiding possibilities. There were a few trees but nothing else in sight. The grasslands at least reminded her of home, though.
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Sina bit her lip at the sight of the golden Cornucopia and the massive amount of weapons and supplies strewn around it.
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Her eyes darted to her sides. The District One girl was placed next to her right, much to Sina's dismay. The District Three boy, Techno, was to her left.
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Sina couldn't see her ally, Micah anywhere near her. She groaned. Of course the Gamemakers wouldn't put her near Micah, all the more "fun" for the Capitol. Sina suddenly regretted her actions in front of the Gamemakers during her training examination. Her score of 7 was definitely going to make her a target for the Careers. Sina gulped worriedly.
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Sina began to focus on her target at the Cornucopia, a sheath of knives only 20 meters away. A small orange backpack lay nearby it. She wondered what was inside it.
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Run in, grab the supplies, get the hell out of the area. That was her plan.
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She turned to look behind her, but the grasslands seemed to stretch in every direction. Sina shuffled around on her platform a bit, careful to abide by her escort Shimm's careful directions NOT to step off the plate before the gong went off.
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Her muscles tensed in anticipation, her heartbeat growing faster by the second.
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Sina's head whipped to the side as she heard a loud boom a few plates away. An exploded tribute's remains was strewn across four plates, resulting in four equally disgusted faces.
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The gong went off and the announcer's booming voice rang across the arena, "Let the 33rd Hunger Games begin!"
Sina took off on a fast, calculated sprint towards her desired weapons and backpack.
A boy Sina didn't recognize, almost immediately tried to push her down to get the supplies himself, but he was small and wiry and she shoved him away with ease. Hah. Sucker.
Sina avoided any more conflicts and grabbed the sheath and the backpack. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and ran in the opposite direction of the Cornucopia, stooping down to grab a lone apple from the ground a few inches away from a dead body, frozen in a terrified stance. Sina shuddered, but consoled herself with the fact that it was one tribute closer to getting back to District 9.
Sina didn't dare look back at the sight bestowed behind her. She knew what was there and she didn't want to see it. She just kept running.
Truthfully, she was surprised that nobody besides that boy tried to attack her. Especially since she got so many supplies. But she decided not to question it any further, and to try to focus on finding Micah.
Sina slowed to a jog once she felt that she was far enough from the Cornucopia and the Careers, but it bothered her that there wasn't anywhere to hide. She had only passed three trees, and the rest of the territory was tall, dry grasses. Hiding in a tree was not an option, it was an obvious hiding place. She would be unprotected in the grass, so that was out.
She glanced up at the sky. The sun was at around midday. She still had plenty of time. Sina glanced behind her, and breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one following her. She narrowed her eyes forwards, and peered into the distance.
Trees.
She saw trees. Lots of trees.
A forest!
Sina hurried excitedly towards the forest, glad that the Gamemakers at least gave her some shelter. She instinctively raised the apple to her mouth for a bite, but restrained herself after she remembered that she was in the Hunger Games, and that there was a good chance that the apple was all the food she had. Besides, she wasn't that hungry. She could survive for a few more hours.
Sina disappeared into the forest, immediately getting out a knife, and gripped it in her right hand tightly, just in case. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of movement.
She wandered further into the forest, marveling at its beauty. The forest was full of oak and birch trees, with lush green leaves and small branches poking out. Mushrooms hid under fallen leaves, but Sina identified them all as poisonous. She could hear squirrels skittering in the canopy above, and birds twittered and cheeped from all directions. Otherwise, it was quiet.
Too quiet.
Sina was feeling very wary of her surroundings. She doubted that the Gamemakers would let out a mutt on the first day, but they were all very unpredictable. The general silence was very eerie.
She heard a crash behind her, and whipped around immediately. Then she saw a dazed-looking squirrel lying next to a broken branch on the ground. Sina breathed a heavy sigh of relief, grateful that it wasn't anything too dangerous.
Sina continued on her way, trying not to make any noise, as to alert any tributes that might be nearby. She checked behind her systematically, and listened carefully for any movements. The forest seemed to be endless. Time ticked by, and the sun drooped lower and lower into the sky, nearing dusk.
Sina was finally beginning to get tired of walking. There was a large boulder to her right and she circled around it, bending her knees slightly, as she went down off the path. She sighed gratefully when she found that it was an overhang to a small cave, with a soft, grassy patch lining the ground. Sina climbed under it, tossed her backpack to the side and relaxed for a few minutes.
Once she got her energy back, she sat up, and much to her surprise, didn't bang her head on the roof of the rock. She glanced up and saw that there was a few inches left above her.
"Yesss!" she thought, and fist-pumped the air.
She then turned to her supplies lying next to her. She hadn't had time earlier to figure out what she had, and now was the perfect time. One apple, she already knew that. Her sheath of knives contained a set of nine sharp throwing knives, and a large hunting knife. When she opened the bright orange backpack, she found a useful utility belt with a small flashlight and a lighter attached to it, along with a small package of beef jerky and a small bottle labeled "Iodine". As she dug further into her backpack, she found a tin canteen, a length of rope, and finally, a small, folded-up blanket.
Sina grinned, and scooched forwards, out of the cave. She stood up, and attached the utility belt to the cargo pants that the Capitol had issued to her. She clipped the hunting knife to her right side, and slid each of the nine knives into a large pocket on the side of her left hip. She glanced up at the darkening sky and retreated back into the overhang.
Sina was just getting comfortable when she heard a branch snapping from behind the boulder. All movements stopped. She stopped chewing on the small piece of jerky that was in her mouth, her breathing quieted, and her body completely froze. Sina carefully, silently slid her left hand into her belt pocket and retrieved one of her knives. She slowly transferred it into her right hand, holding it tightly.
Sina recognized the sounds as footsteps.
They were getting louder, which meant they were getting closer.
Sina took a sharp intake of air, and stiffened. She had been too loud.
Was this really going to be how she dies? Because she breathed too loud? She cussed mentally at herself for her stupidity.
Sneakers emerged at the edge of the overhang, and a face popped up right in front of Sina.
Sina screamed.
And I'm ending it with a cliffhanger. Suckers.
~Ash out.