Wish Quarral
Throw the knife and don't miss. Climb the tree and don't fall. Kill your opponent and don't hesitate.
The same words that had been drilled into my brain since I was 11, echoed through my head, bouncing off walls and slapping me in the face.
I'd been in the local training academy for hours, throwing weapons, running harsh training drills and thinking of nothing but the fact that today was the reaping.
I remember when I was twelve, when my name was first entered out of thousands into those big glass balls, and how I got so nervous I threw up. Not pretty. But now I was seventeen and I was ready to take on the Hunger Games and what it would throw back at me. I didn't care if my name wasn't picked, I was volunteering.
End of story.
I picked up a tiny knife sitting on a metal table beside me and twirled it around my fingers, never letting the point of the blade pierce my skin. Smirking, I flung it across the room towards a dummy hanging by the ceiling, straight through the eye.
To be honest, I knew I had a good chance of winning. I was the best in my class, faster than all the other girls and stronger. I trained two hours a day and I knew I'd get sponsors. The Capitol loves us.
I was just about to start running a ropes course, when I checked my watch. It was seven-thirty and mother would want me home to get ready for the reaping at nine. Sighing, I pulled my red hair back into a bun and headed for home. There were many people out and about as I took the shortest route back to my house. A little boy ran past me yelling, "Hunger games! Hunger games!" Whilst his mother ran after him, smiling broadly.
This year, I would be District one's tribute and I would leave AND return with my head held high. If I'd put in the effort I knew I was capable of, I was sure to become a victor. If not, then I'm dead. Literally.
When I returned home from the training centre, as expected, my mother was frantic. She was waving her arms around madly, shrieking at my younger twin brother and sister (who were turning 11 this year) for getting dirt on their clothes. I don't think she even noticed me come in so I grabbed a bread roll from the kitchen and headed of to my room to get ready.
Our house was large. It was two stories with five bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room and a very large bathroom. Compared to the other districts, ours was the richest by far. The only other district I had been to is 10. Although travel between the districts is only for officially sanctioned duties, my father was delivering some furniture to our cousins and I was allowed to go. It was a pretty rotten district compared to District 1. Just saying.
It took me a long time to get ready.
As I was volunteering, I thought I'd impress my stylists by already being perfectly clean. I waxed my legs, I cleaned the dirt out of my nails, I cleaned my hair better than I usually do and when I was done with all that I pulled out the nicest looking dress I could find. And it really was a nice dress. It was a soft, green silk that matched my eyes and looked gorgeous against my bright red hair, which I decided to leave out.
The dress fitted my shape well and came down to the middle of my thigh. I decided to wear a pair of black sandals that had the tiniest heel, to go with the dress. Satisfied, I turned to take what might be the last look at my room. No I told myself. You're going to come home a victor. Not in a wooden box.
"Wish! It's eight thirty we have to get going!" my mother called from downstairs.
"Coming!" I called back, taking one last glance at my reflection before bouncing happily downstairs. My mother was waiting for me at the door, holding one twin in each hand. She smiled, "You look beautiful sweetheart." The admiring look on her face made my stomach turn. I hadn't told her that I was volunteering but she'd find out soon enough.
Honestly, I was kind of relieved that my brother and sister weren't being entered until next year. Yes, most of the time they were a pain in the arse but I didn't want them to die this young. And I'm not saying that out of lack of faith but of reason. They'd only started running drills last month.
When we arrived at Town Square I walked eagerly over to the table where you enter your name. The woman who took my blood asked if I wanted to enter a tessera and I shook my head proudly. Our family didn't need it.
My father was the richest man in the district. He designed the interior for homes and although he was hardly ever home, the money he earned made up for only seeing his family once every two months.
I kissed my family goodbye then pushed my way to the front where the seventeen-year-old girls were waiting. There were at least four thousand boys and girls already here and cameras were being set up everywhere. I flattened my hair down and turned to a random girl standing next to me and started talking like we were best friends.
Our mayor (a pudgy man who didn't look too happy about being up at nine in the morning) gave his annual speech on how Panem was raised from the ashes, the long list of victors and what an honor it was to be chosen as a tribute and I found myself nodding in agreement. It was an honor, an honor that would soon be mine.
When they mayor finished his speech, District one's escort Valeria Xeniac glided over to the microphone, her bright blue wig matching her glittering blue lipstick and her heels looked at least ten inches high but she walked in them as if they were sneakers. Valeria Xeniac was the daughter of Glasson Xeniac who was the previous District 1 escort and managed to escort tributes for nearly forty years. But now, her daughter was taking her place and although this was only her second year, the district already loved her. Valeria tapped the microphone lightly.
"Welcome! To yet another year of Hunger games, District 1!" Her voice sounded sweet and artificial and the crowd cheered wildly. "Now, let my begin by saying how honored I am to be escorting District one for this years hunger games!" Another roar of cheers. "But now, we mustn't waste time! ladies first!" She shuffled over to the big glass ball and stuck her hand in, right to the bottom.
Everything was silent; I could hear Valeria's fingers against the paper. She pulled out a slip and my stomach jolted. Walking back to the microphone she cleared her throat.
"Lissa Prickart!" She said clearly. There was a loud, drawn in breath from behind me and I looked back to see a small girl who I'd never seen before, shuffling towards the stage. This was it.
Valeria held her arms out warmly to Lissa, who looked about ten and like she was about to burst into tears.
"Any volunteers?"
"I VOLUNTEER!" I cry out, pushing my way past the other girls to get to the stage.
"Oh wonderful!" squeaked Valeria, pushing aside Lissa and pulled me forward. "Any other volunteers?" Thankfully, no one else did. "Lissa Prickart, do you give this girl permission to take your place in the 71st Annual Hunger Games?" Lissa's eyes were wide and she looked so vulnerable. But she gave a shaky nod and without another word, Valeria clicked her fingers and she was dragged offstage and thrust back inside the barriers by Peacekeepers.
All attention was now on me.
"What's you're name dear?" She asked me. Up close, she looked a lot like an ice princess. Her skin was white, her lips looked like a coat of blue sparkles and her body, god, it was perfect. The tight turquoise dress she wore showed off every inch of her curves. But of course, you have to look good for the cameras . . . the cameras! I was on camera! And I wanted to make a good first impression right? So, putting on my best smile I took a step forward and said confidently. "Wish Quarral."
"Well! Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a round of applause for District one's volunteer tribute, Wish Quarral!" The thousands of people looking up at me cheered wildly and I waved back at them, smiling. I sought out my mother and siblings but couldn't find them.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Valeria said, quieting the crowd. "And now, the young man who will represent District 1!" She pulled a slip out of the boy's glass ball and read it out: "Gladius Flinch!"
Oh no. Gladius Flinch was eighteen, although he looked at least thirty. He was strong, fast, everything a brought up future victor should be. He strode on stage confidently, his blonde hair perfectly combed.
"Any Volunteers?" A shaggy looking boy volunteered but Gladius didn't give him permission to take his place. Of course. I had a feeling that Gladius would have volunteered even if he wasn't chosen.
"Let's give a hand for our two District one tributes, Wish Quarral and Gladius Flinch! Shake hands you two!" I turned to shake Gladius' hand to find him looking at me like I was a piece of meat. I raised my eyebrow incredulously, but held my hand out. He took it and I squeaked as my fingers were crushed beneath his. He smiled at me as if to say: What's the problem?
I pulled my hand away and scowled.
The anthem plays but as soon as it's finished a group of Peacekeepers come marching in and lead us towards District one's Justice building. Gladius and I are put in separate rooms with fancy lace lounges and white velvet carpet. I wonder if my father designed this room too.
The doors burst open and my family came running in. My brother and sister instantly run to my side and start sobbing their eyes out, begging me not to go. My mother's face was like ice. Hard and white.
"I have to," I say gently, stroking their hair. "I want to."
"You want to?" My mother whispered. She didn't come to comfort me. She kept her distance and looked at me like I was some sort of feral animal. "Wish how could you? Why on earth did you do that?"
"Because I know I can win." I replied, trying to keep my voice from wobbling.
"Oh you do, do you? Did you see that boy!" my mother started crying. "Wish you're going to die! Oh why did you do this? Why!" She buried her head in her hands and crouched down to the ground but I had no sympathy. Actually I was kind of surprised at her lack of confidence. She'd seen me train; she knew how good I was.
"I thought you'd be proud of me." I mumble, just as the Peacekeepers tell my family to get out. My mother looked up, her eyes red. Talking a step towards me, she lifted up a shaking hand and stroked my face. "Oh Wish . . . I am proud of your bravery," She dropped her hand from my face and pulled my brother and sister off me. Walking back to the door she looked back at me one more time. "But ashamed of your stupidity." I sat there, numb and surprised by how much that hurt.
After my family left, I had one more visitor: Lissa Prickart.
I don't know why she came but she did.
"Um," She shuffled in, her chocolate colored hair was tied back in a braid and she looked no older than ten. "I-I just wanted to say thank you. For volunteering for me."
I scoffed. "I didn't volunteer for you. I volunteered for me." She blinked, a bit taken back.
"Oh. Well, th-thanks anyway," She turned to leave but then stopped and reached into her pocket. "Here," she handed me a necklace silver necklace with a glistening ring attached to it. "This was my mother's. It protected her from the reaping and now, it protected me. But I want you to have it." She threw it in my lap.
"I don't want it." I said, handing it back to her. She took a step back and didn't take it.
"Please. It'll keep you safe."
"But I-"
It was too late, the Peacekeepers opened the doors and she was gone. Great.
I held the necklace up to examine it and up close, it really was beautiful. The ring's rim was decorated with tiny glistening diamonds. Shrugging I put it around my neck, for good luck.
As expected, my prep team were a bit taken back on how perfectly groomed I was. The only things they did to me were fixing my eyebrows, fill my nails and soften my skin so than when I ran my hands over my arm it felt like silk. My prep team chattered a lot but a bit to fast for me to actually understand what they were saying. So I laughed when they did and answered their questions with enthusiasm. However, when they stripped me naked and started rubbing me with a fluorescent blue paste all they said, when I asked them what they were doing, was, "Taurus's orders."
Taurus. The legendary, Taurus.
Taurus had been the stylist of District 1 for at least thirty years. He was famous for bringing the most beautiful, yet unique chariot and interview costumes to life, illuminating the tribute and grabbing the attention of many sponsors. If I was in the hands of Panem's most successful stylist than I knew better than to ask questions.
So my prep team rubbed me down until every part of me was the colour of a frosty blue. I wanted to see myself fully but they refused to show me a mirror and before I knew it, I was being taken to a room, completely naked except for a pair of underwear and completely blue. My prep team led me to a small room, where the lights were slightly dimmed and there didn't seem to be anyone there.
"Good luck." One of them whispered in my ear before I was thrust inside and the doors were shut.
For some stupid reason, my pulse started to race.
I tried to make it stop, remembering that I was in the Hunger Games and in less than four days I would be in an arena fighting to the death, but I couldn't.
I waited for something to happen. For the lights to come on, for my prep team to come back, for Taurus to stride through the door and turn me into a sponsor magnet.
And as if on cue, a hand grabbed my shoulder and out of pure instinct my fist flung out and the person who grabbed me was on the ground. I pounced on them, trapping their hands and feet with my strong grasp and putting one arm up against their throat. The lights were still dimmed quite dark so I couldn't see the persons face, but from their tall muscular figure, I could tell it was a man.
"Now, now Miss Quarral, the games have not started yet," I froze. In the light I could make at a sparkling pair of pearl white teeth flashing inches from my face. "And if you'd be so kind as to let an old man get to his feet." I sprang away from the man and as soon as I was off him the lights came on fully and I was blasted with rays of white light.
It look me a while to adjust to the brightness but when I could see again, I saw that the man I had attacked looked something like a rainbow candy you would buy from the store. Artificial, sweet and colourful.
But there was something off about him, like he'd been altered too much. His lips were too full, eyebrows too perfectly shaped and his skin looked stretched and worn out from being dyed, clipped and pulled to perfection. He looked around forty-five but I'm sure he was much older. He had a thick head of chestnut hair and his eyelashes were extremely long. He was a little bit broad around the middle but the slick, gold suit he wore covered up most of his belly.
"I-I'm so sorry,' I stuttered. "I didn't know what was happening and I thought something-"
"It's quite alright Miss Quarral," he said, cutting me off. "You have reflexes and skills that will help you marvelously in the games."
"Thank you sir," I said, beaming. "Are you my stylist?"
"The one and only," he said, stretching his hand out to me. "Taurus."
I hesitated for a split second, wondering if his hand will leave some sort of coloured stain on my skin. "Wish Quarral." I took it anyway.
"So I've heard. Now Miss Quarral, as I'm sure you know my designs have been the most successful out of all the Districts." He said, walking around me in a circle and examining my body.
"I do sir."
"And now, I'm not one for rules Miss Quarral but I have one rule that if broken could reflect quite badly on your outcome,"
I swallowed hard and nodded my head. This man wasn't fooling around, he meant business. He looked at me directly in the eyes. "I ask the questions. You do not ask questions, no matter how odd something may seem, ask no questions." That's it?
"Of course sir."
"Good. Now lets get started." For the next few hours, Taurus worked on my chariot costume. Another one of the 'Taurus traditions' was that I wasn't allowed to see my costume until it was complete, so he added layer upon layer of fabrics, make-up and more weird fluorescent paste. It felt hot and uncomfortable on my skin and wanted to do nothing but take it all off.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I was taken to a mirror.
Oh. My. God.
The girl looking back at me was unrecognizable. Even if my mother or siblings looked at me they wouldn't know who I was, except maybe for my eyes.
I wont go into too much detail but I will say that in general, I looked stunning.
I was wearing a blue-laced top that came out to my wrist and the neckline just above my cleavage. On the bottom half I wore a dark blue skirt that contained some sort of wire, which made it stand upwards on the end and curve outwards. My hair had been dyed white and had been frizzed up so that it was only up to my shoulders and I was wearing glistening little crystals all over my face, tracing the lines of my eyes and nose, which made my features stand out even more. Everything was perfect.
Except I was still blue.
I turned to Taurus, who as soon as he saw me open my mouth, raised an eyebrow.
I shut my mouth quickly and in response, He chuckled softly.
"All in good time my dear," an excited glimmer came across his bright blue eyes. "All in good time."
As predicted, Taurus didn't disappoint.
As soon as Gladius and I emerged there was an enormous roar of applause. I was relieved to see that Gladius was also blue and that he was wearing pretty much the same as me, except his chest was bare apart from a blue strip of lace going across his chest and he was wearing pants of the same fabric that puffed out and came just above his knees. His hair was also white and had been sprayed upwards so there would be no flicking action tonight. The look on his face told me he wasn't too happy about this.
And for some reason, I loved the fact that he was uncomfortable.
I waved and smiled, did everything a District 1 volunteer was expected to do. But before we went out to the world, I got a look at some of the other tributes. I remembered a tiny girl from District 3, a hollow looking girl from 8 and a girl from 6 who was crying. Too easy.
The ceremony ended and Gladius and I were taken to the training centre, which was our home until the games started. We were on the first floor and as soon as we were inside I sprinted to the shower. I had to get this paint off me.
The water came out fast and strong, washing away the paint along with about three layers of skin. I lifted up a few strands of hair, relieved to see it back to its normal colour.
"THROW!" I flung the throwing knife, piercing the dummy's heart.
"DIVE, ROLL, THROW!" I dived onto the floor, rolling so that my head was protected and then threw another knife. "GET DOWN!" I was on my belly, knives at my fingers.
"Very good Miss Quarral."
It was the final day of training and I was feeling more confident that I had when I first came to the Capitol.
I'd made no attempt to hide my skills, throwing perfectly, doing the most dangerous stations and stepping over the other districts. Gladius was doing the same, although after three days of watching him, I knew that his strongest skill was strength and his weakest skill was stealth. I'd watched others too.
The girl from 2 could slice off a manikins limb with a giant sword like she was cutting through bread and the boy from two could hit a spear through the hear every time. I'd thought about confronting them and forming an alliance and decided now that I would. I would get them to trust me, and then kill them in their sleep. Easy.
There were survival stations, which I ignored since I wouldn't need them, and some huge, steep climbing thing which was compulsory. That was probably the only thing I had trouble with whilst others, like the two tiny girls from District 3 and 4, practically floated to the top, effortlessly.
Deciding it was now or never to try and talk to the other careers, the girl from 2 was at a knife throwing station so I wondered over and waited behind her. Her hair was in a very tight, slick ponytail, whilst mine was in two messy braids. Taking a few steps forward I stood next to her and felt somewhat – slack in comparison. She noticed me, and pursing her lips threw a knife at one of the targets, which missed the centre but wasn't far off. She glanced at me, smirking.
"Nice throw." I said, picking up a knife of my own and examining the blade.
"Thank you." She replied, her voice thick. I decided on the target furthest away and the knife whistled as I threw it, hitting it right in the centre. The girl's eyes widened and her face was blank. But then it shifted and became something else. She turned to me and smiled.
"My name is Ayanna," She said, holding out her hand. "District two."
"Wish, District one." I took her hand, trying to sound friendly.
"Wish? That's a lovely name." she smiled even wider.
"Thanks . . ."
We talked for a while, and by the end of the day Ayanna, Gladius, the boy from 2, the boy from 4 and myself had made a strong alliance.
And I could not wait to get into that Arena.
"Wish Quarral. District one."
I breathed out a long, slow breath before entering the training centre for my score evaluation. I was first, which put me under a bit of pressure to create a high standard. I walked in, and the only thing running through my head was: Throw the knife and don't miss, climb the tree and don't fall, kill your opponent and don't hesitate.
The Game makers looked down on me from their platform, awake and alert.
"Just do your best Miss Quarral." One of them said, smiling. I nodded and headed over to the knife throwing station. Focusing all my attention of the manikins in front of me, I picked up four throwing knives in one swift motion and threw them all at four different manikins. They all hit the exact centre except for one, which landed a bit to the right. I then turned and sprinted over to a ropes course, throwing myself through hoops and crawling under tricky obstacles, holding knives in my hand at the same time. And finally, for the big finally, I threw all my knives at one manikan, hitting the centre of its head, chest and stomach. Panting, I walked over to the Game makers who were nodding in approval.
"Thank you. You are dismissed." They said.
I left, smiling broadly and smirking at all the terrified looking tributes waiting for their turn.
"From District one, Wish Quarral," My stomach was on fire. "With a score of . . ." Everyone drew in a short breath. "Ten."
A ten? A ten? I gave the performance of a lifetime and they gave me a ten?
"Ooooo, congratulations Darling!" Valeria cried, jumping up and clapping her hands.
"A ten!" I stood up, furious. "I deserved a twelve!"
"No one has ever gotten a twelve." Silvia (my 'mentor') said, who had finally made an appearance. She'd been an awful mentor, sitting in her room staring at a wall mostly, offering no help at all and only coming out of her room at meal times. But I was too angry to be bothered with her so instead; I sat down roughly, crossed my arms and used all my willpower not to cry. Valeria tried to talk to me but I ignored her.
Gladius got a 10 as well and was just as outraged as I was with his score.
Ayanna also got a ten, the boy from her District a 10 and from there, it just went down hill. The girl from 3 got a 4 the boy from 4 an 8, which wasn't too bad I guess. On and on it went, the girl from 6 got a 2 (easy kill) and the girl from 10 . . . wait.
"From District ten, Zinnia Quarral," I made a noise that resembled somewhat a dying whale. "With a score of six." Zinnia stared back at me from the screen her blue eyes wide and terrified.
"Zinnia . . ." I squeaked. I knew I had family in District 10 and I knew that one of them was called Zinnia. And those blue eyes were hard to miss. I turned to Valeria furiously. "Why didn't you tell me?" Valeria gaped. I doubt she'd been yelled at by a tribute before. Actually, I doubt she'd ever been yelled at.
"We didn't want to take your mind off things." Silvia said, watching me closely.
I let out a long frustrated sigh and felt a hot, wet tear roll down my cheek. I dabbed at it like it was blood. "It's fine." I said stiffly, getting up and heading to my room.
But it wasn't. It meant that one way or another; al least one member of the Quarral family wasn't coming home.
On the final night before the games started, I couldn't sleep. Partly from excitement that the Games were finally starting the next day, but also from nerves. Ayanna and the boy from 2, whose name I found out was Alto, were both extremely good. The other tributes were sloppy and had terrible technique, but the other careers? They were my main concern.
I spent most of the night thinking of the arena. The possible surroundings, if I'll be in a desert of a swamp, what weapons would be there, how many others I would kill . . .
I made a target for 6.
And then there was Zinnia. If the time came and we were face to face, would I actually kill her? She was my cousin after all, and my family would hate me.
But I guess that was the price you have to pay for being a volunteer. Everyone expects you to be some sort of animal who won't rest till your hands were covered in blood. I rolled over, the huge bed in my room lumpy and uncomfortable. It made me think of my bed at home. It was the perfect shape, soft and relaxing for me to come home to after training. This bed was just hard.
After tossing and turning until my hip was sore, I got out of bed and started pacing, the thing I always do when I get agitated and need something to distract me until I forget. And eventually I did.
Forgetting all about my uncomfortable bed, I slid in, my eyes drooping. I shut my eyes and dreamt of home . . .
When I was awake I was in a hovercraft.
Sure, I had gotten up hours earlier than that, blurry and muffled from my bad night's sleep but when my tracking device was injected into my arms, jabbing my right arm with pain, I was really awake.
Ayanna sat next to me, her face alert and focused. She looked at me and grinned. "Let the fun begin." She said deviously. I smirked.
"Miss Quarral," Taurus was waiting for me, his arm outstretched in what was supposed to be a warm greeting. I shook his hand and smiled.
"Sixty seconds." A woman's voice told me.
This was it. Finally, after years of training, the glorious day had arrived. I was going into the arena in less than sixty seconds.
"Turn around." Taurus whispered. I did and at one he started doing stuff with my hair, which until now, I hadn't realized was out. It took less than ten seconds before my hair was in a tight bun in the centre of my head.
"What's this?" Taurus said, pulling at something on my neck. I reached up to it and realized it was the necklace Lissa had given me.
"My token." I replied, hiding it under my shirt.
"Thirty seconds."
I turned to Taurus who was beaming at me. "You'll be fine. You'll be sure to win it, unless that boy from your District gets ya. He's a piece of work isn't he?" I nodded, staring at nothing. Taurus chuckled softly.
"Ten seconds." I breathed in and out deeply, walking over to my tube. I glanced back at Taurus who gave me a small bow.
"Till we meet again." The ways his eyes glinted gave me the feeing he thought we wouldn't. I raised my eyebrow.
"Taurus?"
"Yes dear?" He smiled.
"Just one question." His smile vanished. "How many tributes have you watched die in the arena?" His face darkened.
"Thirty seven my dear. It seems like each year, they get even more pathetic."
I didn't look back at him when I stepped onto the tube and was instantly overcome with the feeling of being pushed upwards. Which I was. The room with Taurus was going further and further down and the lights above me were becoming brighter and brighter. I closed my eyes, letting the sensation sink in. And when I opened them I was there.
My first reaction was surprise.
In front of me was not the cornucopia but a large slab of steep land that was covered in snow. I looked behind me, being very careful not to step off the plate and saw that there was a ring of huge, sharp rocks circling the other tributes and myself. You could climb over them if you were careful, and I was guessing you had to because behind the rocks was an endless stretch of trees and rocks and snow. A lot of the trees were topped in white snow and there were many clumps of ice here and there. I was next to the boy from 6 and the girl from 11. They were both looking confused as well.
And then it hit me.
All that steep hill training, the giant block you had to run up at the training centre. The cornucopia was at the top. Which meant there was no way but up.
"Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight, forty-seven . . ." The clock ticked away and for thirty seconds, I heard nothing but my mothers voice. But ashamed of your stupidity . . . ashamed . . . ashamed . . .
I snapped out of itfocusing all my attention on that hill just as the clock started to count down from 10.
Throw the knife and don't miss, climb the tree and don't fall, kill your opponent and don't hesitate.
And the games began.
I lunged forward, scrambling for the cornucopia. But the snow was cold and slippery and I found myself tumbling down right back to where I started. Starting to panic, I dig my hands into the snow looking for something to use to climb the hill with. I found a stick as big as my arms and snapped it in half. Using the two half's as pegs, I pulled myself up the practically vertical hill. And it worked.
I was halfway up when I glanced over at the girl from 11 who was doing the same thing, except was going much faster than I was. Furious, I clawed my way up faster, using all my strength. After at least five metres I was level with her so I clawed across so that I right next to her. Glancing across at her, I smiled coldly before punching her hard in the face. I heard a crunch, which I guessed was her nose, and down went the girl from 11. She rolled and rolled until finally she hit the rocks. She smacked into them headfirst and even from where I was I could hear the crunch of her scull. She crumpled to the ground, motionless.
Swallowing hard I pushed on up the giant hill, my throat burning with the desire for water. I had only a few more metres to go before I reached the cornucopia and I could see the golden horn. My lungs felt hot and exhausted and my arms and legs felt like they were going to collapse at any moment. But I knew I had to keep going, I was almost there . . .
And I was at the top. There were about a dozen other tributes already there, Ayanna, the girls from 3 and 4 and the boy from 8 were a few of them. The other tributes obviously hadn't thought of using sticks as pegs.
There were back-packs, rope, spears, knives, clubs, and a sword that Ayanna had already grabbed a sword and was using it to stab other tributes trying to get to the cornucopia. I panted furiously, stumbling over to the throwing knives, grabbing a set of 10 and stuffing them in my pockets and holding a few in my hands. The girl from 3 had already grabbed a green backpack and a few knives before sprinting off down the other side, closely followed by the girl from 4 who had a fluorescent yellow backpack and something else in her hand. The boy from 8 wasn't so lucky. He was just about to run down the hill before my knife was in the back of his head. He fell, dead.
As most of them started to gradually come up, I threw knives and guarded the rest of the knives that I didn't want anyone else to touch. I had killed 2 tributes, both boys, when Zinnia popped her head up. I stopped dead.
Zinnia saw me and froze, her blue eyes widening. I tried not to look at her eyes as I lifted my arm to throw knife number 4 . . . but I couldn't. I couldn't do that to my family. I dropped my arm, defeated. She saw that I'd backed off and scampered up into full view, sprinting for the cornucopia. I followed her with my eyes and for a few seconds I just stood there like a dumb idiot. And that was all it took.
A pair of thick, heavy hands fastened tightly around my neck, crushing my windpipe. I gaped, trying to breath and at the same time swiping at my attacker madly. The tribute laughed cruelly in my ear and whispered, "You careers think you can step all over us?" my access to air was dimming. "Well now it's my turn to step on you." The huge tribute threw me on the ground and I sank into the snow, sucking in a desperate breath of frozen air. The boy from district 12 stood over me, a spear in his hands. I tried to scramble between his feet but he put a huge, heavy foot straight down onto my chest, knocking the little air I had left out of me. He grinned cruelly and lifted the spear, ready to strike it through my heart.
Until another spear went straight through his.
The boy from 12 fell, and I cried out in alarm as he dropped the spear he was holding onto my head. One of the ends scraped against my cheek and I could feel warm, wet blood seeping out onto my face. I sat up to look for whoever just saved my life and saw the boy from 4. I nodded at him in thanks.
I could hear grunts and cries in every direction, while I lay there to stunned to move. Only when someone ran past me, flicking cold, wet snow in my face did I snap out of it and leap to my feet. Most of the tributes had already gone or were lying dead on the ground. There were about seven dead tributes. I stood up, a bit shaky from what had just happened. What had just happened? Swallowing, I realize that I had nearly died.
Alto, the boy from 2, came over to me. He looked perfectly fine, like he'd just gone for a stroll.
"Are you alright?" He asked me.
I nodded, refusing to look him in the eye. I was so ashamed, a District 12 tribute had nearly killed me within the first ten minutes of the games. Feeling nauseous, I walked over to the Cornucopia, examining the tools and weapons. There was a bag full of knives with different blades that I took smugly.
"Look through all the bags." Gladius barked. "We have to be down the hill before the hovercraft comes." He kicked the boy from 11 who was lying on the ground, making no attempt to hide his disgust. Boy, the people of District 11 must really hate Gladius and me now, considering I killed the girl and Gladius just kicked the boy.
The four of us gathered up as much as we could that was left on the hill and timidly, slid down it. The snow was wet and icy against my body as I slid down the hill and the hovercraft appeared. It picked up each dead tribute, whilst the others and myself watched from below. I couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic limp bodies of the dead tributes, but I also kept an eye open for any with red hair. But thankfully, I saw none. When we reached the bottom, the cannons started to fire: 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 11 times. Only 11 tributes had died at the bloodbath. Wonderful.
The rest of day one, I spent mostly doing trips with the others to bring all the supplies and weapons down from that bloody hill, and looking for a suitable place to start a fire and set up camp. But climbing that hill however many times is not as simple as it sounds, even for me. It took many hours for us to go up and back. A: That hill was slippery and steep and incredibly high. Climbing up it took a lot of energy, especially since we'd done it how ever many times before that. B: Sliding down it was even more dangerous than climbing up. The snow was wet and soaked through to my skin, causing a wave of goose bumps all over my body. Then there was the fact that one wrong movement and down you went, plummeting to your death. My hands full of things from the cornucopia, I would slide down, an inch at a time
Alto found a tent that was just big enough for two people, and the boy from 4 found four sleeping bags. Making the most of our daylight, we set up camp and got the fire going.
"You know you're bleeding," I looked up from where I'd been going through a backpack. Ayanna was standing next to me, holding a small first aid kit. I lifted my hand up to my cheek, surprised to find it still oozing blood. I had been at least two hours since the cornucopia bloodbath and the cut wasn't that deep. "Here." She handed me a wipe and a band-aid. "You should go inside the tent and lie down for a bit."
"I'm fine." I snapped, getting up and walking away from her. I hated being treated like I couldn't take care of myself.
The boy from 4 was examining a bag full of rope, wire, nets, a lot of things you would need for traps and snares. He was looking through all of the boxes, a happy, eager look on his face. Curious, I wandered over to him.
"What's your name?" He looked up, surprised. His haired was flowing with different colours of blonde and brown, sticking up like it had been styled a few minutes ago.
"Tiberius." His voice was low and (dare I say it) . . . sexy.
"Whoa. That's a name." He blinked, oblivious to my comment.
"What?"
"Nothing. What are you doing?"
"I think I might go and set up some traps." He looked eagerly at the net he was holding. I snorted.
"It's going to be dark in a few hours, you'll get lost." He laughed.
"I didn't mean tonight, I meant tomorrow morning. I'm not that stupid," His eyes swiveled to the cut on my cheek and I looked away, embarrassed. "I killed that boy from 12 you know."
"Good for you."
"I don't get a thank you?"
"Can't imagine why you would need one."
A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. "If you say so." He picked up the bag of goodies and wandered off towards the others who were just starting a fire. If Tiber- well, what ever his name was, wasn't going to die, I think I might have liked him.
Darkness came faster than expected and the other tributes and I were soon shadowed in the evening's rays. We'd smoothed out some of the snow at the bottom of the hill and had laid down a huge sheet of tarp to stop the snow from seeping through. But that didn't stop the temperature being a few degrees over zero. The five of us were crammed into the sleeping bags, Ayanna and I having to share one because we were the smallest and there was only four. It was freezing, and being in only 2 layers of clothing didn't help.
Alto and Gladius stayed in the tent first, which meant Ayanna, Ti – Ti . . . The boy from 4, and I were on first watch. It was a quiet night, and I kept an eye out for any signs of fires or tributes thinking of attacking us, although I doubt they'd be able to. But as it got darker and darker, the temperature kept on dropping. We stayed as close to the fire as we dared, not really saying much. But really, what was there to say? How was your day? How's your mother? What's you're favorite way to kill someone?
We stayed out there until it was pitch black, and the only thing we could see was the fire's flame.
And that was where we stayed until the anthem started to play. Laughing like we'd just gotten off a ride, we laid our heads down on the tarp and looked up at the sky. Gladius and Alto came and joined us as well. We laughed and pointed as the show of dead tributes appeared, occasionally shouting out "That one was mine!" So far, it was the boy from 3, the boy from 5, the boy from 6, both from 7, the boy from 8, the girl from 9, the boy from 10, the girl from 11 (That was mine) and both from 12.
A huge part of me was relieved to see Zinnia was still alive.
"That wimp from 6 survived." Gladius snorted.
"Yeah, she got a one? Two?" Ayanna added, laughing.
"She'll be dead by tomorrow." Gladius said, biting into some sort of fruit he'd grabbed from our food supply. He didn't even bother to check if it looked dangerous or harmful. He probably just presumed anything from the cornucopia was safe.
We stayed outside for a little bit longer, listening to Gladius boast about how he pushed the girl from 9 down the hill using only his thumb, but after listening to the same story five times, I'd had enough.
"Alright that's it, Gladius, since you're so eager to go jab someone with your thumb, stay on guard whilst we-" I gestured to Ayanna and myself, "Get some sleep." Gladius laughed, jumping up and slipping out of his sleeping bag.
"Oh? And who says you can tell me what to do? Last time I remembered you were too pathetic to even defend yourself from that kid from twelve. Imagine what you'd be like against me."
I gave a harsh laugh. "You'd be dead before you even looked at me."
"With your appearance, I'm sure I will be." I flushed. I always took pride in my appearance and I always hated it whenever someone discriminated it. And to make matters worse, it on national television and I'm sure our little conversation was the highlight at the moment.
When I didn't reply, I'm guessing he took that as a victory and smirking, headed for the tent.
"Unless you're scared." Gladius stopped walking and turned around so fast, he was suddenly right in front of me, eyes flashing dangerously.
"I'm not scared of anything." He growled, the look in is eyes making me flinch.
"Good. You're on guard till morning. Goodnight." And without waiting to hear any protests, I turned as best as I could in the sleeping bag, Ayanna pressed awkwardly against me, and headed for the tent. It was warmer inside, but only slightly and it took me a while to stop my body from shaking and close my eyes. Sleep came, and for the first time in my life, I dreamt of home.
I woke to the sound of a scream.
It was loud, and high and . . . close.
My first reaction was reaching for my throwing knife, but then I realized I had an awful lot of space to move and reach for my knife.
"Ayanna?" Light was streaming through the tent, which meant it was some time in the morning.
"She's out here." A voice that sounded suspiciously like Alto's spoke from outside the tent. Swallowing, I slipped out of my sleeping bag and stepped out of the tent.
Oh. My. God.
No. This wasn't true. It couldn't be? Surely, surely I was still asleep, dreaming of this because it was too unrealistic to be real. Gladius was a God when it came to fighting. Hell, I was a God too but I knew I was going to win the games and I'm sure he thought that too.
Yet, here he was on the ground. Dead.
His throat had been slit and his eyes were open and wide, like he couldn't believe what had just happened. I couldn't stop staring at his eyes. So blank. So full of dead potential.
"Who did it?" Alto said, examining the cut. I didn't answer; I still couldn't believe Gladius had died with in the first 48 hours. The cannon must of gone last night and I was too zoned out to hear it. I scowled at myself for not being more alert.
"I have an idea. Look." The four of us shuffled over to where Tiber- face, was pointing. Bending down I saw a 6 had been carved onto his cheek. The cuts were dry so I was presuming it had happened last night. Gladius must have fallen asleep and whoever killed him must have slit his throat before he could open his eyes. Although they were certainly open now. Empty. Shocked.
And that's when I got it.
"Six . . ." I mumbled, eyes wide with realization. "The girl from six." The others gave me puzzled, sidelong glances. "Don't you see? She killed him! She killed Gladius!" More puzzled faces. I rolled me eyes and pointed at the 6 carved into his cheek. "Who else would of done this?"
"The boy." Ayanna suggested. I shook my head.
"He was killed remember? And the girl wasn't. I bet . . . I bet she heard him talking last night. You know, about how she wouldn't last tomorrow?"
Their puzzled faces turned to one of realization. "That little bee . . ." Ayanna whispered.
We all looked back at Gladius' dead body and swallowed. "I have a feeling she didn't earn that two on purpose." Alto said quietly.
"But why would she tell us it was her? We still don't even know it was the girl from 6. Maybe someone did this to make it look like she did."
"I guess . . . I still think it was Bloodwen." We all looked at Tiber-face.
"Who?"
"Bloodwen. That's the girl from six's name. I remember from the interviews." The interview was another highlight of my time spend in the Capitol. I was wearing a blue dress, the same colour my skin had been for the chariot rides. I'd smiled and laughed and did everything I was supposed to. The crowd was practically crying when I left the stage. At least, I'm pretty sure they were. Gladius had charmed the crowd even more that I had, and I saw envious looks being given off from some of the other tributes, like Ayanna. Ayanna.
"Ayanna?" I said suddenly, cutting her off from whatever it was she was saying. She gave me a puzzled look.
"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow at me, like she knew exactly what I was thinking. Glancing down at Gladius I studied his throat. The slit was perfectly straight and this could only be accomplished from years of practicing. Slitting someone's throat wasn't like cutting a piece of bread. I'd never done it, but I'd practiced it many times on the incredibly lifelike manikins back at home. You had to cut through the nerves and tissues and doing it perfectly straight is a hell of a lot harder than you think. I'd seen Ayanna with knives and she was nowhere near as good as me, but she wasn't awful with them either. But if Ayanna had wanted to kill Gladius quietly, she would of used her bow.
"Nothing."
Once the hovercraft came and picked up Gladius' body, the rest of us decided to go scout the area for any tributes. I was paired with Tiberi – well, you know, and it was our job to look for fires in the woods or anything else remotely suspicious. We ate and drank from the supplies at the cornucopia (Many supplies had mysteriously gone missing) before setting off.
The rocks were tall and black, sticking out in various directions, yet still forming a ring. The textures of the rocks were black and rough. Falling on them meant a wicked bruise and a few layers of skin being ripped off.
"What's your name again?" I asked. It had been bugging me the whole morning.
"Tiberius."
"Tiber-what?" he glanced at me impatiently. We were crossing through the rocks, which required a lot of concentration in order for our heads to stay attached to our necks. We also each had on a backpack full of supplies and weapons and I was holding a knife in my hand. So, with all the pressure not to slip and crack our heads open on these rocks, and me asking how to pronounce his name, I could understand his frustration.
"Ti-be-ri-us." He spelt it out for me like I was 5.
"Alright, alright I get it."
"What's my name?"
"Tiberius."
"Good."
"What's my name?" I teased, jumping from rock to rock with ease.
"Quarral." I stopped landing on a rock a few behind him.
"My name's not Quarral."
"Sure it is. Wish Quarral." I was kind of surprised he knew my whole name.
"How do you know that?" He looked back at me and shrugged.
"I pay attention to things. I listen. I look at people and I look at the biggest threats. And since Gladius is gone, you're at the top of the list Wish Quarral." Well, he certainly elaborated on that question more than I expected.
"Should I be scared? Or take that as a compliment." He gave me a playful smirk.
"Both." I smiled to myself, and didn't say anything else after that. We reached the end of the rocks and I got a look at the arena for the first time.
Honestly, It was beautiful.
The vast stretch of land was covered in an everlasting sheet of white. Everywhere I looked, was covered in snow. There were at least 100m metres of snow, before it came in contact with a huge spread of tall trees that stood up everywhere. The trees were about 10 times the height of myself.
"Wow." Was all I managed to say. The trees shaped themselves around the ring of rocks, much like they had with the hill. And circling the trees were mountains. Huge, towering slabs of land that were the only things not completely covered in snow. Only the tops of the mountains were topped with snow.
"I doubt you'd be able to start a fire from scratch in those woods." Tiberius said. The other careers and I had made a fire, but we had tools.
"Then how did so many of them survive through the night?" I said. He didn't reply.
The distance between the rocks and the woods was at least 100m and all of that was just snow. Tiberius and I trudged through the snow, searching for any signs of a fire. There was no smoke in the air and if there was any life, they did a great job of not showing it. Everything was so quiet. And still. It made me hold onto my knife even tighter. For many hours, Tiberius and I circled around the rocks and woods, examining and signs of a fire, snares, anything really. So far, we'd found nothing. The circumference of the rocks was huge; so it took us the whole day just get half way around it.
Throughout the day, we heard only 1 cannon, which meant 1 more dead tribute. Somehow, I think my chances of for filling my ambition of being responsible for the death of 6 tributes were diminishing, along with my ego. We found nothing, except some footprints that had been covered in snow, so I assumed it was due to the fact the prints were made a long time ago. They were useless to follow, especially when daylight was quickly falling. We returned to camp, madden and tired at our tragic find. Tiberius got a fire going, and within at least an hour, Alto and Ayanna returned.
"Did you find anything?" Alto said, throwing down his spear and grabbing a box from our supplies.
"Nope. Did you?"
"Yep. Ayanna killed one and we found the girl from ten," I froze. "But she got away," Thank God.
"Aren't you two related?" Tiberius said, sitting down next to be and adding more wood to the fire. I'd been avoiding this topic for as long as I could.
"Yeah, I know her." I said, trying to make it sound like it was no big deal. I grabbed a slice of bread from the food crate Alto had got. Realizing that was all I was going to say, the others let the conversation drop and it turned into the excitement of searching the woods. The sun had disappeared and darkness smothered us.
"So I heard this noise, and it didn't sound like an animal so I loaded my bow," Ayanna was enlightening us on her kill, much like Gladius had last night. "But when I had by bow loaded, there was no more noise. Alto wasn't with me since we'd split up so I was on my own. I lowered my bow, thinking it was just the wind, when suddenly, someone pounced on me from behind," Tiberius let in a short breath besides me. "The shock caused me to drop my weapon and the tribute had a knife. They tried to get their hands around my throat but I kicked them from behind and managed to wiggle my way out of their grasp. I picked up my bow just as they lunged for me again. They tried to pin me down, but I was stronger and in an instant, I was on top of my attacker, which turned out to be the girl from eight, my bow pointed over her skull," She gave a quick laugh. "The look on her face: priceless. I was just about to shoot her when another tribute grabbed my shoulder and jerked me backwards with a force, even I didn't expect. It was the boy from nine, and before I had time to react, he hit be on the head with a rock," I glanced up at her head, surprised to see it covered in slick, dry blood. How could I have not noticed this when she first came back? Ayanna shrugged. "Sure, It hurt for a few seconds, but after he hit me . . . he didn't hit me again. He saw the blood on my head and, I don't know, freaked. He just froze, and that was all I needed. I shot him in the neck and just as I turned to finish the girl from 8, she was gone. But," Ayanna pulled something out of the pocket in her jacket, "She dropped this." I reached for the little thing and realized it was a gold cross, attached to a golden chain.
"It's her token." I said, passing it to Alto.
Ayanna scoffed. "So what, she's some religious freak. She's gonna die anyway." I smiled at Ayanna just as the anthem started to play. We all stayed perfectly quiet and yes, there was Gladius. His smug expression was still plastered to his face and all I was thinking was, I warned you. I told you, you weren't going to win. That you were going to die. After Gladius, as promised, was the boy from 9. Wow, there was hardly any boys left in these games and it was only day 2.
Sleep that night was just as agonizing as the night before. I was frozen to the core, but I did get my own sleeping bag. Reanalyzing, I asked myself if that was even a good thing. Sleeping back to back with Ayanna meant preserved body heat, but barely any room to move. Now I had room, but no body heat. Hmmm.
I was also on watch for the first half of the night, so I sat outside the tent with a torch, my head pounding and frozen. The wind blew harshly at my cheeks and lips, breaking the skin. I touched my lips sheepishly, to find them chapped and dry. I blew out puffs of air to see my breath crisp and cold before me.
Nothing interesting was happening and my eyes were starting to droop, so I turned off my torch and started heading back to the tent to switch with Alto. Then I stopped dead.
Squinting, I crouched down to the ground and pulled out my knife. Yes, there was definitely a shadow moving through the snow. I crouched down even more so that I was lying flat in my stomach. The shadow moved closer and closer but from the way they were moving, it didn't look like they were worried about being seen. In fact, they might have even been trying to be seen. Not even daring to breathe, I crawled forward the tiniest inch and squinted at the shadow. It was heading for the tent I think, from where I could see. I wanted to do something, but . . . I didn't know what to do. Attack? Simply stay put and hope she didn't notice me? I shrugged off that idea immediately. I came here to kill and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Crawling a few metres forward I lunged for the shadow. I'd been counting on the element of surprise but this tribute was fast. I barely had time to react before her fist collided with my face. I flew backwards, my head hitting the snow hard and causing a few seconds of dizziness.
But I shrugged that off, my adrenalin overpowering the sick pain in my nose and sprang out of the snow, my knife poised and ready to strike. But she was on me again (and I could tell it was a girl, because when she'd lunged for me, her hair had whipped me in the eyes, blinding me for the slightest moment, which was enough time for her to pin me to the ground and yank my hair backwards) She slammed me down hard and my eyes saw stars. I felt warm, wet blood seeping through my scalp.
But before I had time to even comprehend the pain, I was greeted with a new sort of pain, but this time on my leg. I heard a huge riiiip and the fabric of my tights was torn away. I squirmed and kicked but she'd pinned me down to hard. She tore away the fabric of my other legs tights and I cried out in pain, but this was the situation I'd been taught to handle and my instincts were good.
Wiggling my body as best as I could, I stretched out my hand for a knife sitting a few centimeters away from my fingertips.
Riiiip more fabric is torn away, this time from my jacket.
I'm so close.
The snow is ice on my skin.
Just reach a bit further.
Riiip.
The knife was in my hand before she had time to react and the next thing she knew, my knife was in her eye.
She squealed, not exactly a warrior cry, and jumped off me, clutching her eye. I leapt up after her, getting a better look at her face.
The girl from 6, Bloodwen.
She screamed and screamed, tenderly touching around the area where the blade pierced her eye. I smirked, stepping forward and grabbing her neck.