Hey everyone! Credit for the idea of this chapter goes to finnickandannieforever. She came up with a unique arena, which is an ENORMOUS part of the chapter, just so I don't give any spoilers. So, thank you finnickandannieforever! And also, thank you to everyone who reviewed! Especially Grace, since I can't send her a PM. You rock! Thanks so much!
The 7th Hunger Games
Calvin
District 6
I try hard to conceal my despair as my pedestal clicks into place. I wanted to prepare myself for everything I could see when I rose into the arena, but I never anticipated the scene before me. It's a barren desert, stretching out as far as I can see. Not a tree in sight. But that isn't the worst of it. The Cornucopia is completely empty.
"What is this?" says a voice from a few tributes over. It's one of the Career tributes; the boy from 4. He looks furious. All of the Careers do. Most of the others just look shocked. We needed those supplies. Isn't this breaking some sort of rule? No, that's not right. The Hunger Games has no rules. The Cornucopia is just a trap to lure all of us tributes into a fight. A bloodbath. The Gamemakers must want to try something new. And I would hate them for it, if I didn't already hate them for so many other reasons.
The gong sounds and I nearly fall flat on my face as I try to dismount the pedestal. With no supplies to tempt us into battle, everyone scatters immediately. Only the Career tributes run towards the Cornucopia, where they find absolutely nothing, of course. One of them, the boy from 1, tries to chase after a few of the tributes, but he doesn't catch them. I hide nearby, behind a sand dune. I don't believe this! There has to be something there! One backpack? A single box of matches? I have to find water, at least. The Careers all leave eventually, on their daily hunt for tributes, and I come out of hiding.
There must be something inside. It can't just be empty. I half run, half slide down the dune and make my way to the Cornucopia. There's nothing inside, except for a few grains of sand. I walk around the giant gold horn, but I don't find anything. I sit down on the ground. It's hopeless. What am I going to do? I absentmindedly draw lines a patch of wet sand with my finger.
When you're making a sandcastle, you have to find the perfect mixture of wet and dry sand to build it with.
I remember my older brother's words, on that warm summer day when we went to the seaside. If you tried to build a castle with only dry sand, it would crumble to dust easily. But if you used wet sand…wet sand. I look down to the ground. Of course! I start digging into the ground with my hands. A small mountain of sand starts to form behind me. Suddenly, I find it. A water bottle! And it's full! The top has unscrewed slightly, and the water is spilling out. Wet sand. I screw the cap back on and keep digging.
Next, I discover a weapon. It's a throwing knife. In a matter of minutes, I dig up half a dozen more. The supplies are all underground! I'm overjoyed by this discovery. Not only have I found the supplies, but I'm the only one who's found them. I have them all to myself! I could have a chance in these Games yet.
I dig up a backpack full of food and a first aid kit before I hear the Careers. I haven't heard any cannons, so I suspect they were unsuccessful in their hunt. I start to frantically fill in the holes I made. When I'm done, I throw some sand over my footprints and run back to my hiding place.
All six Careers seem frustrated, the boy from 4 most of all. He keeps pacing around the camp, and yelling all sorts of profanities at the Gamemakers. I smile.
Poor Careers, I think mockingly, Wouldn't killing tributes be so much easier if you had weapons? I'm not afraid they'll find me. I don't think they could imagine a tribute would dare to hide close by. The Capitol seal appears in the sky before long, and the anthem begins to play. But no faces appear in the sky.
When I wake up the next morning, the Careers have already left. They don't leave behind a guard, probably because they think there isn't anything here to guard. After a breakfast of dried fruit and beef jerky from my pack, I head down to the Cornucopia. I get to my knees and start digging again.
It's exhausting work, excavating all the supplies from the ground. I dig up a few more weapons, which I stack into a pile behind me. I arrange a dozen water bottles in a line, right in front of a row of backpacks. I look up from the sand only when two cannons sound, one after the other. I guess the Careers managed to kill without their weapons. I push aside the frightening thought and continue digging.
I've just unearthed an impressive weapon with a jagged metal blade when I hear a noise behind me. I turn around to see the boy from 4 standing less than two feet away. He's holding a sword from my pile of weapons. The rest of the Careers are standing behind him, all of them smiling at their good fortune.
"What do we have here?" asks the boy. His allies snicker. "Looks like you've found our supplies." There's nowhere to hide. What am I saying? There's nowhere to run. All I can do is raise my weapon and fight. Unfortunately, that's just what they want me to do.
FATE: Calvin did not win this fight. The Career tributes dug up the rest of the supplies and put them back in the Cornucopia, where they belonged. A few other tributes discovered the stockpile, and kept themselves alive by stealing food and other supplies.
Hope you liked it :D Sorry it's so short :( Thanks again to finnickandannieforever! Please review! I love reading your comments, and I really want to know if you liked it :D
