Bloodbath
As the gong sounded to start the games, the tributes had no choice but to head straight towards the island that held the cornucopia. From there it was their decision as to when they left the island by one of the four wooden bridges.
The former alliance of 'the careers' headed straight to the cornucopia, reaching it first with their choice from the unusually small amount of supplies. Sterling grinned as he spotted a beloved machete and lunged straight for it, he felt indestructible when it was in his hands. Rose was happy that she had a range of small daggers, she was very skilled. As Carrie turned away from the island, Rose threw a dagger with perfect aim straight through Carrie's back. The cornucopia seemed perfect for the careers as Leo found a cutlass, the weapon he had fallen in love with and perfected in the training centre. Meanwhile his district partner, Lori, grabbed a sword, the type was unknown to her, but she stained it almost immediately with the blood of Noah. The ropes and spears pleased Douglas and Ariel as they turned to join the fight. The careers had decided to fight and inflict fear until the island was empty, before supplies were claimed.
As Scott opened his eyes he searched around for the other 13 year olds he had made an alliance with; Jack and Errica. He spotted Jack a few platforms away from him, they looked at each other and nodded, they were going to grab a backpack each and head to the tail of the cornucopia to meet up with Errica, whom neither of them could see. When the gong sounded, Jack blocked everything out, swallowed his nerves, and ran towards the mouth of the cornucopia, knowing he would most likely meet the careers. His eyes fell on a medium, grey pack at the edge of the mouth, this was his. Keeping one eye on the careers, who hadn't seemed to notice him, he dived for the pack. Scott was nearing a small, black pack as a baseball bat slammed against his body. As he fell to the floor, he caught sight of Jack who had just escaped with a medium sized pack. Scott's attacker seemed to have disappeared, so he tried moving back to the pack, which was still untouched. As he moved, he felt a rush of pain spread through his chest; if he hadn't broken any ribs, he was definitely badly bruised. Trying to ignore the pain, he dragged himself to the pack, grabbed it and tried to stand up. When Errica, at the tail of the cornucopia, saw Scott struggling, she took Jack's pack and sent him to help Scott. She had a soft spot for the sweet, blonde boy. Jack half carried, half dragged Scott over to Errica where she then took the other side of Scott and the trio escaped off the north bridge and made it past the trees to safety.
Petunia stood on her platform, scared and shaking, as she watched her district partner get a sword through his chest. She willed her legs to run, do something. In her moment of doubt, an arrow appeared out of nowhere and slid through the centre of her forehead. Petunia's body splashed right into the crystal lake, scarlet blood seeping from her head.
Sky trained his eyes on the mouth of the cornucopia, which he was almost directly opposite. He had made previous allies with Coral, Jay and Ryan. Their plan was to think like careers and get their weapons, killing anyone in the way. Right as the gong sounded, Sky ran as fast as he could towards the cornucopia.
As they wait on their platforms, Jay and Ryan look at each other; they are at the tail of the cornucopia, most the careers are at the mouth. Ryan looks around to see if he can spot Sky or Coral, their allies. Both are near the mouth of the cornucopia, staring intently at it. He nods to Jay and they make a silent agreement that they will wait at the tail for the others. When the gong sounds they head straight towards the tail, unknowingly running into Errica, a 13 year old. Jay and Errica trained together in the centre, so they agreed that they wouldn't try and kill one another there. So Jay and Ryan ignored Errica (and vice versa).
BONG! The gong sounded and Coral rushed off her platform, straight for the closest weapon she could see; and axe. After narrowly missing Leo's cutlass, axe in hand, she swiftly stuck to the inside edge of the cornucopia, looking for her allies. About 10 meters away from the mouth she saw Sky headed towards some form of spear. He looked safe as he was about to dive for it, deep with a career mindset, until a large hand came down on his head; the matching one grabbing the sword. Frozen with fear, Coral could not move to try and save him. She watched helplessly as her friend was sliced up by the spear holder; Douglas. Tears pricked her eyes as she saw the ground around Sky turn red. Coral had to fight within herself to move and search for Jay and Ryan, before any careers got to her. Keeping close to the outside of the cornucopia and on high alert, she edged her way round just as one of Rose's daggers grazed her left arm. At least she wasn't dead.
Worried about Jay and Ryan, Coral picked up her speed, relieved to find them at the tail of the cornucopia. After one look, the boys knew Sky was dead. With one weapon they decided to risk it and headed east off the island.
Ramona looked around the arena, searching for her new friend, Willow. They met in the training centre at the camouflage station, Willow helped her with weapons, and she helped Willow with traps. They agreed to be allies, even though they knew their friendship couldn't last. There is only one victor. The odds that one of them would have to kill the other were very low if they allied.
Two platforms down, Willow could see Ramona looking for her. She locked eyes with her, confirming their strategy plan. They had the luck of being just to the left of the cornucopia mouth, in sight a few packs and an axe, a clear run to some useful supplies. They would grab what they can and run south. As soon as the gong sounded Ramona headed towards a small, black backpack. Keeping a watch on Ramona, Willow saw the blonde boy… Scott, also head for the backpack. Picking up the closest weapon, she whacked a baseball bat with all her might at his torso and continued towards the axe. Ramona was stunned, but as Scott was still moving, she took the next best thing; a loaf of bread wrapped in a sheet of plastic. As she looked up, the towering build of Sterling blocked the sun. He has an evil grin on his face and no weapon in his hands. Fear sparked inside her, spreading quickly; she knew what was coming. Back in the training centre, she outsmarted Sterling, embarrassed him, time to regret that. She could see his hands tighten in a fist, muscles tense and rippling. She was frozen, fear overtook her mind, and there was nothing she could do. A fist rose up. The grin broadened. The fist fell down. Right to the centre of her head. Pain shot through her. She collapsed to the floor, broken. But that wasn't enough. He bent down over here, looked into her eyes as she slipped in and out of consciousness, and broke her neck. Ending her life.
Willow's attack on Scott meant that she was too late to get to the axe; Coral had already grabbed it and disappeared. Grabbing the nearest sword, she turned back to find Ramona, just in time to see Sterling over her, breaking her neck. Anger built up inside Willow, but she knew she couldn't take on Sterling, so she carried on with her strategy and headed onto the south bridge.
June stared at the tail of the cornucopia with intent, trying to work out a strategy. She couldn't decide whether to head to the mouth or to escape. In a surge of adrenaline, she headed for the mouth as soon as the gong went. Knowing she was risking her life, she ignored the doubts and rushed into the open for a javelin. She was filled with a false sense of security as she grabbed hold the javelin. Ariel, who had been hiding in the cornucopia, knotting some ropes and making nets, appeared out of nowhere with a cleverly constructed noose. She slipped it over June's neck and tightened it, almost cutting off her breathing. However, as if to taunt her, Ariel left her alive as Rose came over to join her. Selecting a sharp knife she brutally cut June to the death.
Stiles opened his eyes just before the gong. He had been brave up until now, strong and confident. But arriving in the arena shook him. He wasn't sure what to do. Looking to his left, he saw that stuck up girl, Petunia. She looked just as scared as he felt. He stepped of his platform at the gong, standing on the almost invisible bridge, forming a plan. But nothing came to him. A splash at his left made him jump, he could just see Petunia's body landing in the lake, an arrow in her head. He looked around for the shooter, spotting Jude with the bow, just before an arrow sliced through the space between his eyes. A repetition of Petunia's death.
Summer was confident, she hadn't received a high training score, but she wouldn't let that get her down. She thought that if she could, she could. Daring herself further, when the gong went, she set off towards the mouth of the cornucopia in search of weapons and supplies. She had a slight disadvantage of her platform being at the tail of the cornucopia. By the time she got to the mouth, where every thing was, the games were in full start. She could see a few bodies on the floor, but not as many as previous years – not much of a bloodbath. Hearing a high pitched squeal, Summer paused and glanced to her left, the large tribute from district one, Sterling, was standing over a limp body. Summer acknowledged the body as Ramona from three. Knowing what was coming; she looked away and carried on her mission. But that moment of pause cost her, deeply. Agonising pain shot through her chest, cutlass had been dragged across her chest, leaving a deep wound. She fell to the floor as her breathing became ragged; it felt like her chest was burning. Her attacker seemed to have disappeared, possibly assuming she was dead. She felt it. As she lay there, waiting for death, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her up. With no energy to open her eyes, she wondered who might have her. Maybe it was a career. Until she heard a familiar raspy voice in her ear. JUDE! The boy from nine she met in training. The cute, strong, flirty guy she had spent every moment of training with. He had saved her, she thought, why?
Jude had managed to grab a machete, bow and arrow and a pack from the cornucopia, and prised a few stray arrows off Rose's targets. After shooting two tributes, he turned to leave. He was just about to make his way off the west bridge when he saw the girl he was immediately drawn to; Summer. She was on the ground, bleeding from her chest, he couldn't leave her there. He couldn't let her die just then. Anyway, he would last longer with an ally. So after carefully placing his items, he ran, grabbed Summer, and took her off the west bridge and past the woods, not looking back to the cornucopia once.
This was it, this was his time, and Theo was ready. He had been focused hard in training, paying close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the other tributes. Theo was at an advantage; his body type was large, mostly from muscle. He was a quick learner and had become skilled with many new weapons and survival. Theo's main goal wasn't to win the games, he didn't mind, but to do all he could to make sure the careers went down quickly. Many people in his district said he had a very big, soft heart. He always looked out for weaker, younger people or anyone in more need than him. He had formed a strong hate to the careers because they had an overly arrogant air about them. This was why he would run straight to the cornucopia, grab all he could, and fight.
When the gong sounded, Theo made his way round the cornucopia, to the mouth, where he retrieved a pack, but could not see any spare weapons. The Gamemakers must have wanted more physical fighting. And that's what Theo would give them. From the corner of his eye, he could see Rose running at him with a dagger. Sticking out a large arm, he turned to face her, his fist slamming right into her chest as she fell to the floor. Alive, but injured. The other careers began to notice him there. Leo ran into his side, tackling him to the floor. As they both got up, the large boys uninjured, Leo swung a fist at Theo. He narrowly dodged it, swinging back at Leo. Anger rising, Leo twisted his leg up to Theo's stomach and gave a forceful kick. As he was about to retaliate when Leo was flung aside and a new opponent thrust himself in front of Theo. Sterling. Theo wasn't sure how to get out of this. Distractions were limited as the cornucopia was emptying. In a moment of idea, he backs away from Sterling. Sterling throwing punches at Theo, with him blocking and replying, the two make their way round to the tail of the cornucopia. Theo had been strategically saving his energy for a big surge at the tail where he grabbed Sterling's head and slammed it against the tail. A slight dent formed on his head, his nose started to bleed, perhaps broken, and he was knocked unconscious. With a pack on his back, Theo left via the north bridge, deciding to set up camp and rest before starting tomorrow.
The cornucopia island was empty except for the careers, all the other tributes had spread across the north, south, east and west sections of the arena. As the afternoon turned to night, more was still in store for the tributes