Chapter 2: Will this be my last
Bryant' POV (District 2 Male)
There was a riot last night after the interview finished, the audience was balling and wanted to come talk to the tributes. Peacekeepers were literally carrying us to the elevators and then throwing us inside. Stacy and I are okay though, that's what matters. I've already told her she will win, for our babies. People live their entire lives with just a mother; it's easier than living with just a father. We slept in the same bed last night, although maybe sleep isn't the best word, more like cuddled and cried together, enjoying what could well be the last time we saw each other alive.
Our stylists are now taking us to the hovercrafts that will take us to our murders…I mean deaths… I mean the arena. Oops sorry capitol, did I say that? Whatever, they're going to kill me anyway, and they can't read my mind. I need to shut up now, I've always talked to myself and it scares me.
Patricia dresses me in the clothing provided, baggy pants green cargo pants covered in pockets, sensible black trainers, a white shirt, and a black zip up hoodie. There is also a strange purple belt that's made of big circles and is squishy.
Patricia laughs at me when I freak out at being frozen on the ladder, and I grump and mumble obscene words in her direction the entire time we are eating breakfast under the arena. As pay back I eat her breakfast too, she can always get more, I can't.
Finally, it's time to go. I step onto the plate and Patricia waves at me as I rise through the ceiling. The sky greets me, a bright, pure blue like my son Michael's room. My platform is touching a cliff, but floats in midair about fifty feet above a roaring river. I can't see anything but sky behind me and assume it's the force field that helped that kid win last year. That would also explain why even if I threw something it wouldn't hit the force field, once must have been bad enough for the capitol.
I seem to be at a point, land juts out in front of me and I can see the girl from ten on my right, and the girl from one on my left. I know I could never kill these two, the one girl is too sweet and innocent, and the ten girl is pregnant. I may want Stacy to win, but I still have some morals at this point, especially since these girls pose no threat, at the moment. I take in my surroundings more and yet all I can see are trees everywhere, some are huge; I think back to the tunnel we went through in the mountain on our way to the capitol; the tunnel could fit in these trees. Other trees are normal size or smaller, there are bushes and flowers, birds, bugs, and all the normal forest things. In fact, it almost looks too normal, it takes me a minute, but I realize I can only see the three of us, where are the other twenty-one tributes? Where is my wife at, and is she okay? There is also no cornucopia, will there be no weapons?
I have no means of getting answers though because the gong rings out and we're off, racing through the woods at a sprint. The ten girl surprisingly is keeping up with me pretty well, I remember distantly her saying that she was only a few months along. She starts to pass me when all the sudden she doubles over and vomits up whatever she ate this morning. Instincts kick in and I stop, walking over and holding her hair back with one hand while soothingly rubbing her back. After three kids, I knew what made a pregnant woman feel better when she was at her worst.
"Thank you." She tells me, straightening up and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. I just nod and watch her for a minute before extending my hand.
"Bryant." She smiles and accepts it
"Lilac." She says, my chest constricts painfully and I let a single tear fall for my daughter I will never see again. She smiles sympathetically at me and then drops her hand.
"I'll help you find your wife, if you help me find my partner." I just nod my head and we take off at a gentle jog, trying to find someone else. After about an hour of this we spot another platform that once held a tribute, but who is long gone by now.
"If they're this spaced out, I wonder how big the arena is." I wonder out loud, Lilac just shrugs and continues on. She's thrown up three more times in the last hour and I worry she will starve herself and the baby, so I have her chewing on mint leaves, not sure if it helps but maybe the after taste was making it worse? I don't know, I've never been the pregnant one. We're getting bored after a while and so I suggest we play a game, I already know I can't kill her, what will it hurt to get to know her better?
"Never have I ever, twenty questions, or would you rather?" She asks, I think about this for a minute, and then decide on the safest one.
"We both have children, so we don't have much we've never done," I tell her, laughing "and we're in the hunger games, and so it's going to be real life would you rather. So let's go with twenty questions. You first though."
"What was it like, holding your baby for the first time?" She asks quietly, I just smile and look at the sky as memories flood through me, warmth spreading to my toes and fingertips.
"It's like you've been inside a house your whole life at below zero temperatures, than you walk outside and feel the warmth of the sun grace your skin, the melody of the birds meets you, and there is this tiny bundle in your arms you love more than anything, you just want to hold them and never let go, it feels like the love will overflow and I'll admit I have cried every time I first held one of my children." Lilac wipes away a tear and sniffs loudly.
"That was beautiful." She told me.
"Thank you. How did you get pregnant, besides the obvious of course?" I tease her. She blushes deeply and playfully slaps my hand away.
"Back in district ten I work on my daddy's ranch, there's a stable hand there that's really cute, and sweet. One day during a storm we were the only two in the barn when the street flooded. We were stuck there for fourteen hours." By the end of this her entire face is bright red from embarrassment.
"Awww, how cliché." I tease again; she sticks her tongue out at me but laughs. We stop in front of one of the huge trees and stare up at it, confused.
"Is there a cave in that tree?" I ask in disbelief, she just nods, cocking her head to the side.
"Want to go in there?" She asks, her voice shaking. I consider it for a minute, than shake my head, we've been pretty safe down here and I don't want to think of what would live in that. We continue on, but just a few minutes later we find ourselves climbing a very tall and steep hill. There are no trees here, but the higher we go, the more of the arena we can see. We're almost at the top when I feel Lilac's dainty hand pulling me back sharply.
"Look out for that giant hole." She warns sarcastically, I glance down to see a hole that has to be at least ten feet in diameter. I was so busy looking for Stacy I didn't even notice I was about to walk into it. We sit down a few feet from the hole and rest for a little bit, taking in the arena. We can see until a large river, but after that nothing.
"Thank you!" Lilac sequels suddenly, I look over in confusion to see her clutching a package attached to a silver parachute. She holds it up to me and I see a large bottle of pills labeled 'The Morning Sickness Cure'. She pops one in and instantly two other parachutes descend on us, one with water, and another with a fruit basket. I have never seen gifts sent this early, and no one ever gets three at once. If Lilac is doing this well, I hope Stacy is doing better. We each finish off a water bottle, leaving three more, than have a banana and an apple, leaving some grapes, an orange, and a few other fruits I can't name.
We begin walking again, this time going down the slope towards the river, the sun is now blazing overhead and I hope desperately that someone else is being interesting because I am extremely bored, and I'm sure the audience is too.
Lilac and I have moved on from twenty questions to what to name her baby.
"I really think Tundra would be sweet, great for when they get yelled at, it fits with most cuss words." Lilac just stared at me in disbelief for a minute, trying to see if I was joking or being serious. I winked at her and started cracking up, her eyes narrowed and I noticed how beautiful she was. Even in the arena, the pregnancy glow triumphs all else. She has short blond hair, clinging to her scalp not even reaching her ears; she has large blue eyes and a button nose with dainty lips. In fact, most everything about her seems dainty, I'm almost afraid the walking will break her.
When the sky begins to darken we break free of the trees and find ourselves on the bank of the river we had seen earlier. There, sitting on an island in the middle, is the cornucopia.
Lilac informs me that she cannot swim, so I tell her to hide in a tree, as high up as she can safely go, and hand her all the food before jumping into the water. I'm surprised to find it's actually nice and warm, not cold like I was expecting. It doesn't take long before I am pulling myself onto the beach and staring at all the supplies spread out before me. I take a huge backpack and begin to shove things inside of it, weapons, food, clothes, blankets, everything. There doesn't seem to be anyone here, but I freeze when I hear a splash of water to my right. I turn slowly and see the girl from district nine.
A/N: So, I realize that this was just a filler chapter, and no one died! No blood bath this year lol, or at least… not yet ;) please review and tell me what you think so far, I know it's not going too great yet, but I promise it will get better.
Who is your favoirite tribute so far? (Even though you haven't met them all)
Who do you think will die first?
Please, love it, hate it, have advice, or just want to tell me why it sucks, review so I can make it better!
