FlyingPenguin98- I felt like he was the most misunderstood character of the book and wanted to add an undercurrent of humanity to his character. I'm glad you have a soft spot for him now :)
A.N- The games finally begin. This chapter features the events before the beginning of the Games and the bloodbath. I hope you like it! Tell me what you think of it, folks! Enjoy reading!
Chapter 9-
I woke up with a start. Shuddering and sweating, I looked around my surroundings. No, it wasn't just a nightmare. I was the female tribute of District 7 for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. I would probably die within the next few hours. I looked at the clock on the wall to check the time. The Hunger Games usually began at 10:00. It was still 5:30. With the feeling of grief of my impending death, I looked at my options. I didn't want to die. I wanted to fall in love, get married, and have children. Things every girl dreams of since she was a little child. I probably wasn't the only one with this feeling of impending doom in the building. The Capitol was snatching away 23 futures and 23 lives for their entertainment. So they can lounge and party while we fought with each other and the elements. I didn't want Sam to die either. Thinking about the slim chances either of us had of surviving this made me feel sick. I needed to get my mind off this.
I walked into the dining table and found Johanna and Blight already sitting across from Sam. The silence said it all; we were all frightened of what was to come. We slowly ate without saying a word to each other. Once we finished, I found the courage to speak up.
"Johanna, Blight, I know circumstances forced us to mingle but you have been much more than my mentors in these impending days, you've become my friends. I will never forget either of you, even where I'm going after this, I will remember you. Sam, you've become my brother. I will do everything in my power to bring you back home. And I will never stop loving you. Forever and always." My voice had cracked at the end and tears were streaming down my face.
"Gwen, don't you dare talk about dying for me. I will do everything I can to bring you back home. There's no way I'm letting my sister die." He said hugging me in the end.
"I won't let you die for me, Sam." I said sobbing.
"Let's not talk about this for now, okay?" He asked, wiping the tears from my face.
"Okay." I said.
"You have been two of the best tributes we have ever trained. We will try to help you as much as we can. And we won't ever forget you either." Blight said, his voice wavering at the end.
"Don't let them change you in there. Stay true to yourselves." Johanna said trying to choke back a sob.
We finally all embraced each other in a group hug. Finally, we had to break apart to get ready for the games. One last time, we reviewed the strategies we had thought up during our time here. Finally, we were sent back to our rooms to try to get some more sleep before the games.
"I'll see you in the Arena, okay? When we're raised from the stockyard, we find each other first, alright?" Sam asked.
"Okay. See you later, Sam." I said.
I'd fallen asleep only to be abruptly shaken awake by Pepper. She led me to the roof where a hovercraft was awaiting us. After she explained to me that she'd see me later, I got onto the ladder which held me in place by some sort of electromagnetic force. I sat down next to Sam and saw that we were the first ones to arrive.
"I'll get the weapons, you get the baggage." I whispered into his ear.
"But you'll be in danger then, Sam" He said worriedly.
"Don't worry about me, I'm a fast runner." I said and kissed his cheek.
Soon, the hovercraft began filling in. Cato sat on my other side which immediately caused a tense atmosphere. It took all of my willpower not to slap him right across the face for his behaviour that night on the roof. A capitol attending took my arm and shot something into it. It hurt so badly.
"What the hell is that?" I gasped.
"It's a tracker, dear." She said and moved on to Sam's arm.
Soon, we were lead into the stockyard. A pair of peacekeepers led me into my room where I saw Pepper waiting for me. I showered and wore my undergarments. I then wrapped a robe around my body as we awaited the Arena attire's delivery. When it did arrive, I observed that it was a dark green jacket with a brown undershirt. The pants were dark green as well and the boots were supple and treaded. Pepper told me the jacket was made of heat reflecting material and warned me to expect cold nights. Finally, she urged me to eat and drink as much as possible to ensure that I wouldn't go hungry atleast for today.
Once I finished stuffing my face with food and water, my hands began fidgeting again. Pepper took both of my hands in hers and made me look into her eyes. "Hey! Don't worry, okay? I know you'll do wonders. Don't start doubting yourself." She said in a motherly tone and pulled me into a hug. I didn't want to let go and she seemed to understand that. She held me in her arms until it was time to go.
"Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin! Tributes, please enter the launching pad in 4, 3, 2, 1" A mechanised voice announced. I reluctantly let go of Pepper and stood inside the launching pad. A glass tube began descending upon me. Pepper looked at me with tears in her eyes and kissed her hand and brought it to mine which was clutching the glass walls.
The pad slowly began rising and I was hit by the sudden, blinding light. Once my eyes adjusted themselves, I looked at my surroundings. There was a wooden forest towards my right with a large lake on the outskirts of it. Some of it was inside the forest as well. I saw that Sam was 4 pads to my left. I instantly made eye contact with him and pointed to the direction of the lake with my eyes. He nodded and understood that that was the direction we would be running towards. I then gestured the bags surrounding the cornucopia with my eyes and he nodded again. He was responsible for the bags. I saw a tomahawk and an axe lying side by side at the edge of the cornucopia which were surrounded by a belt of knives. I knew I had to get them. The gamemakers set them there for me.
Then I heard the final countdown begin.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2.
1.–Honk-
I ran at the top if my lungs towards the weapons I'd spotted earlier. I heard feet behind me but they were a few seconds away. I instantly threw the belt of knives over my shoulder and carried the axe with my left hand and the tomahawk with my right. I then looked around and saw Sam run towards the lake with two big bags. Precious seconds were wasted due to this. An arrow lodged itself near my right ankle and the boy from District 8 charged towards me with a machete. Instantly, I grabbed the arrow and stabbed his ankle with it. I then ran off towards the lake. I couldn't help but feel guilty. I had just given that boy a death sentence. The careers would kill him. Shaking the thought away from my mind, I saw Sam.
"Here's your axe." I said and gave his axe to him. I strapped the belt of knives onto my waist and grabbed a bag. Knowing we'd probably not see water for a long time, I opened my bag and urged Sam to do so to see if we had any containers. I had two canteens and Sam had two as well. All four of them were empty of water. I ran to the outskirts of the lake and filled all four of them. We then screwed the caps on and began running away from the Cornucopia towards the edge of the Arena.
We had survived the bloodbath.
Cato P.O.V-
I woke up gasping for breath. There was blood everywhere in my dreams. I was the proprietor of all that bloodshed. I was a monster. I had woken up from one nightmare to another. My life had always been this way. I had nightmares as well as waking up to a dreadful life. The only time that wasn't the case was when I dreamt of Gwen. But that's all that we would ever be, an illusion. She hated me. She didn't know that she once gave me hope of a better life. But that wasn't possible due to the Hunger Games.
Today was the day I'd turn into a cold blooded murderer. The thought of killing children made me want to gag. I never wanted any of this. I wanted to be a blacksmith, not a child murderer. Randall was the one destined for glory in our family. I was happy in his shadows. But he died in the games and all that responsibility fell on my shoulders. I never appreciated how much he protected all of us from the wrath of father's drunken outbursts. I never knew what I had until it was gone.
I woke up and went to the dining table where Enobaria, Brutus and Clove were talking animatedly about the different ways you can kill someone. The way they talked so excitedly made me feel repulsed. It was like every shed of humanity was ripped from them. I immediately brought up my walls and ate my food in silence, occasionally adding into the conversation.
Once I re-entered my room, I saw Tyron sitting on my bed. He took me to the roof where a hovercraft awaited all the tributes. I caught hold of the ladder and it hoisted me up. I saw Gwen kissing her district partner's cheek once I entered. I was jealous of him. I knew she thought of him as a brother, but I was still enraged. I sat down next to her and looked down at my hands. I saw her's tightly gripping the handle of the seat. She had a ruby ring on her hand. Perhaps that's her token.
Once the tracker was injected into our arms, we were lead into the launch rooms. I took a shower and ate my food while Tyron and I were waiting for the area attire to arrive. When it did arrive, I saw that it was a burgundy red jacket and a grey undershirt. The pants were black and there was smooth, treaded boots to wear. Tyron told me the material was heat reflective.
We then waited until it was time to be launched into the Arena. Tyron finally decided to break the silence and speak up.
"You can win this, champ." He said in a fatherly manner and gave me a man hug.
"Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin! Tributes, please enter the launching pad in 4, 3, 2, 1" I entered the launching pad and a glass tube descended down on me. The light was blinding when we were initially raised into the arena. I looked around me and noticed that Gwen was to my right. Clove was directly opposite to me while the rest of the career pack was scattered around. I saw Gwen making eye-conversations with her district partner.
I turned my attention away from her and looked around my surroundings. There was a forest to my left and a wheat field to my right. In the cornucopia, I saw a broadsword. I knew that the gamemakers had kept it there for me. I saw a couple of spears at the edge of the cornucopia along with an axe, a tomahawk and a belt of knives. I focused on getting the spears first and then getting the sword.
I then took a deep breath in and dethatched my emotions. Then, I heard the final countdown begin.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 –Honk-
I ran as fast as I could to the cornucopia. Gwen was running past me at an incredible speed. I saw her sling the pack of knives on her shoulder by the time I reached the spears. I knew that I wouldn't be able to kill her without living the rest of my life in regret, so I ignored her presence and turned my attention to the rest of the tributes around me. The girl from District 3 ran towards me with a knife. Without thinking, I plunged the spear into her stomach. Her eyes were hauntingly sad. She looked at me accusingly as her eyes glazed over.
I took a deep breath and removed the spear from her stomach. The boy from District 5 ran towards me with a machete and he looked confused which I plunged the spear into his stomach. His eyes glazed over as the life left his body. The boy from District 8 was desperately trying to limp away from the cornucopia but had an arrow sticking out of his leg. Out of pity, I slashed his throat as I knew that if anyone else from the pack got to him, they would torture him. I guess this is what Gwen meant that day by merciful killing. The girl from District 9 saw me approaching her direction and threw a rock at me, out of instinct; I threw the spear at her and saw it plunge into her stomach. The accusing look in her eyes which asked me why I had taken her life away made me feel disgusted of myself.
Finally, I looked around and saw that no one else was around. I looked at the bodies, and discovered that Gwen and her district partner were alive. So was fire girl, lover boy, District 11 and the little girl. There were eight bodies. I had killed half of them. I was disgusted with myself. I knew father would be roaring with happiness and so would Brutus. How does mother feel now that her son is a child murderer? Would she still love me? Or would she hate me?
The accusations in the eyes of my victims haunted me. I ordered my pack to organise the items at the cornucopia when out of nowhere, lover boy waltzed into the clearing. Clove raised her knives to kill him, but I stopped her to hear what he had to say about himself. He offered to help us finding fire girl in exchange for entering the pack. I agreed to his offer as we knew nothing of fire girl and he probably knew her better than anyone else in the arena.
A few hours later, the boy from District 3 walked in to the clearing timidly and explained how he could help reset the bombs if we allowed him into the pack. I found his plan intriguing and allowed him access to the pack. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep only to be woken up by nightmares of accusing eyes.
