Chapter 1: Glimmer
Mild panic. This was not what I had trained for. We were supposed to band together as a select group of tributes, defend the Cornucopia against those who wished to rob it, and methodically hunt down the other tributes.
The minute I had emerged out of the tunnel into the arena, my glass case had been accosted by a rotting corpse, held upright on unsteady legs that revealed bone and reeking of decay. Its eyes were oozing black liquid, deflated inside their sockets. Its nose appeared to have been picked away by birds and lips were also eaten away to reveal grey, chipped teeth in a permanent grin. A scream to my right seemed to draw its attention away from me, and it lumbered away toward a girl huddled against the wall of her tube, uttering an eerie groan that could be heard over the girl's hysterical shrieks.
Could they be killed? They looked already dead.
The Cornucopia was stocked with its usual supply of weapons, I even saw several guns in the mix, unusual since they killed too quickly for sport. Above the tree line of the forest surrounding the clearing we were in, sitting on top of a hill, I saw a large house with a barn. The area appeared to be fenced in, and seemed to be the only location free of the infestation of dead things, to which I had given the name Shufflers.
The gong rang out, and, as the glass around our platforms dissipated, I made a mad dash for the Cornucopia. One thing was very clear to me, I would not be able to kill the dead as easily as the living tributes. The female tribute from District 10 got into my way, and I shoved her into a nearby dead thing; her screams quickly cut off by the hoard that descended on her. They seemed slow, which made dodging around them easy. The Cornucopia was surrounded by dozens of them, but my allies were rapidly figuring out that they coudl be killed. By the time that I arrived at the golden horn, heads littered the ground, mouths still snarling and teeth snapping.
I pulled back my leg to kick one away from me, when I felt a bite on my ankle. One of the heads, unnoticed by me, had latched onto my leg, tearing away at the skin and muscle. I could even see it trying to swallow. Picking up a machete sitting nearby, I slammed the blade against its skull, splitting through to the brains, which oozed out in bloody, black chunks. Pulling the head from me, I threw it as hard as I could away, bending to inspect my wound. It didn't look too bad, and I could still hold weight on it. I turned to the other disembodied heads, and quickly smashed out their brains, finally halting their movements. I saw Cato, a small distance to my left, still hacking off heads with glee, keeping count of each of his "kills."
"Stop that you moron!" I shouted at him angrily. "They don't stop moving until you smash through the brain."
"Whatever you say, gorgeous," he shouted back, exhilarated. I did notice him aiming for the heads instead of just chopping them off, however.
After about 30 minutes of fighting off the more foolish tributes and an endless stream of Shufflers, we were starting to tire, and Clove was running out of knives.
"Let's make for that house on the hill up there," I shouted to the group. Hearing a collective agreement, we gathered what supplies we could carry, and ran for higher ground. As we approached the fence surrounding the farm, gun fire erupted around us, several bullets hitting the ground in front of me and spraying dirt in my face. Ducking back into the forest, we realized that the area already seemed to be occupied. Eyeing the herd of Shufflers limping toward us, I suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from my bit ankle. Thinking it was another loose head, I kicked out again, and managed to connect with Marvel's shin.
"What the hell was that for," he hissed at me, not daring to yell.
"I felt something bite me again!" I screamed.
"Shut up!" Marvel clamped a hand around my mouth, but immediately let me go when I attempted to bite him.
"She's burning up," Marvel said, disgusted. "She'll just slow us down; let's just leave her here."
I could suddenly hear and see the blood at his neck pulsing. I needed to bite him. It would make the burning throughout my body go away, and take away this sudden hunger that had grasped me. I lunged toward him, mouth gaping hoping to be able to tear at something bloody. I managed to tackle him to the ground before a sharp blade pierced my head, and the world darkened.
Author's Note: Poor Glimmer, she always has to die in some weird funky haze. Reviews are always appreciated!