Chapter 4: Christine
I hope everyone remembers the strategy. Hopefully, Conrad or Annabeth didn't think of anything like it. If everyone remembers, none of us should die. At least, none of us should die in the Blood Bath. I step into the tube nervously.
I feel a whooshing sensation throughout my entire body, and soon I'm standing in a cold, icy area. By the looks of it, we're at the foot of a snowy mountain. Great. Now Elsa and Marina have an advantage.
I shiver, suddenly longing for a warm mug of cocoa. A voice booms throughout the arena, about to count down. I glance over at Elizabeth and she nods.
10… Hannah O. looks nervous while she twists her jacket in her fingers.
9… I scan the other tributes. Some of them look scared, some of them look confident, and some just have a face of stony determination.
8… I know that Piper and Five will probably fly up for supplies. As much as I know I might have to kill them, I can't help but hope Piper survives. Conrad probably set up an extravagant strategy for them
7… Hannah K. spots me and gives a reassuring smile, like Don't worry, we won't die 6 seconds from now.
6… Everyone is getting ready to run. Marina is probably going to use her super speed, or use telekinesis to float the materials to her. Dang, the Loric have a huge advantage here.
5… I brace myself for a run.
4… If someone attacks me, I hope it's not my own older sister.
3… I inhale deeply, remembering the training at track.
2… The tributes get ready.
"1! Let the 24th Fandom Games begin!"
At that, Elizabeth breaks into sprint, zipping through the Cornucopia, startling everyone. After she has 2 backpacks and a bow and a quiver full of arrows, she zooms towards me and hands me a bag. The other tributes recover from their 2-second shock and all Hades breaks out.
"Come on, come on!" yells Elizabeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Five ambushing Tris and Uriah. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again. Elizabeth sprints towards Hannah O. and hands her the archery set. Grinning, Hannah sets an arrow and backs up, pointing the arrow at anyone who dare goes near her.
I watch in horror as Neville lunges himself at Luna as Octavian throws a dagger at her. His chest spurts blood, and a cannon fires in the distant.
"Let's go now!" I shout, and we all start running. I hear another cannon boom. I don't want to think of everyone who died.
Suddenly, a scream pierces the air. I turn around. Hannah K. is caught by Five's telekinesis. We can't leave her to die. Me and Elizabeth both turn to the other Hannah.
"Fine," she mumbles. She nocks an arrow at Five's arm, right before he stabs Hannah K. Great. Now we've got his attention.
But before he can attack us, Elizabeth's pulled out a wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!" she yells, aiming her wand at Five. He falls to the ground, helpless.
We start running again, not bothering to look behind us. We run and we run. Surprisingly, no more cannons fire.
Once we're far enough, I notice a change in the weather. It's warmer now, and no more frost or snow lies on the ground. I take off my jacket.
"Hey," I say, kneeling down. "Look at the ground."
The others look down. The soil is now rich and brown, and flowers and grass grow in the forest.
"We should set up a camp and then take inventory," I suggest. The Hannah's and Elizabeth nod. We wander for a bit, and choose a nice spot. It's close to a clearing with a grotto, and also near a cave if we need to hide.
Once we settle, we check the bags. Inside are 4 more wands, some ambrosia and nectar, a water purifier and canteen, some dried fruit, and a box of matches. Plus, there's Annabeth's Yankees cap.
"Bingo!" Elizabeth exclaims. She grabs the cap and places it on her head. She immediately disappears. "Am I invisible?"
"Yeah," Hannah K. replies. Elizabeth takes the cap off and sighs.
"So what do we do now?" she asks. "I mean, besides battling for our lives." Hannah O. scans the forest.
"We hunt." I make a face.
"That's disgusting!" I say.
"Well, if you want to starve, be my guest." I grumble.
"Okay then, I'll go hunt for food, and one of you come with me to find some nuts and berries or something." I volunteer to come with her, and we both grab a wand before we leave. Hannah K. climbs a tree with the supplies so it'll be harder to catch her, and Elizabeth sits beside it, invisible, to look out for intruders.
Hannah and I walk deeper into the woods. The trees get thicker, and suddenly, Hannah stops.
"It's Angel and Gazzy," she whispers. "If they attack us, try not to cast a spell too bad. Maybe Petrificus Totalus or Tarantallegra or something." I nod. They could probably hear us, with their enhanced senses and all.
"Walk around," Hannah hisses to me. I can now feel their eyes on me. I can also feel Angel trying to hack into my mind and control me, but it doesn't work. Being a demigod/wizard probably helps.
"Don't even think about attacking us. We're actually a lot stronger than you think," I hear in my mind. Angel's using her telepathy (Sorry I forgot to add that earlier.).
"We didn't underestimate you. We both know how you're genetically enhanced and about your wings," I think back. I glance at Angel and I see a shocked face. She's probably now telepathetically telling Gazzy that they should attack us.
"Hannah, stop," I say. "If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll have." Her face looks pained. I knew that it was going to be hard for her to hurt anyone.
"Fine," she grumbles. "But still, no Stupefys or Confundos." Angel and Gazzy look confused, not used to spells. I nod. Before I can say anything else, Angel ambushes me.
Like described in the book, they were super fast. And strong too. First, Gazzy flies up and grabs an arrow from Hannah's quiver. But before he stabs her, I cast a Full Body-Bind spell and he falls down.
"Angel," Gazzy says, his voice muffled from the ground, "Keep fighting them. I'll be fine." Angel takes his word and continues to punch me, making my spells miss her and nearly making me drop my wand. I try to kick her, but she flies up and dodges. Pain sears my stomach.
"Ha—nnah—cast—a—Tarantallegra," I stammer.
"Tarantallegra!" Hannah exclaims. Instantly, Angel stops and her feet start dancing. She shoots us a deadly look and continues to dance. Hannah rushes over to me and casts a healing spell. Instantly, my stomach burns and feels like it's freezing. Then the sensation stops and it feels normal again.
However, the battle isn't over. Just as we're about to walk away, there's a rustle in the trees and Five flies into the scene.
"Too bad that it was me that you guys that attacked me," he says, smirking. "You wouldn't want to." He laughs. "Tell me, are you also a magic-using witch like that other girl?"
"N-no," I say, pouring fake fear into my voice. "I-it's o-only her." Hannah gets the message and makes a scared face, and we both stow are wands somewhere where Five can't see them.
"Scared?" Five asks, smirking again. I want to slap him in the face. "You should be. But if you're lucky, I'll kill you quickly." The audience is probably sitting on the edge of their seats, craving blood.
He starts walking towards us, and I pretend to run, buying a few seconds. Five runs after me.
"Stupefy!" Hannah yells, using the distraction. The spell hits Five square in the back, knocking him out.
"See?" Hannah asks, looking at the camera. "Don't underestimate us. We won't be dying today, or anytime soon. I wouldn't bet against it." And with a flourish, she walks away, dragging me along.