"Good morning tributes! I hope you're all doing well. Obviously, for those of you still alive, the odds have been in your favour. However, we have noticed that some of you still lack something rather important. Therefore, this is to announce that all sources of water within the arena will become acidic once the anthem is played tonight. So some of you had better get moving! And once again, may the odds be ever in your favour."
I disregard the announcement, because I should be fine for water if what I collected yesterday lasts me a few days. It must be about 10 a.m., judging from the sun's position, but telling the time via sun has never been a great skill of mine.
The long walk last night has definitely taken its toll on me. Every muscle in my body aches. Considering I trained for this, I'm still not quite as cut out for the walking as I thought I'd be. I would have slept last night, but the adrenaline took control. I'm still walking.
At some point during the night, a parachute materialised and fell near me, with a sticky pink cream for my shoulder, with a note from Charon. I applied the cream generously while I read.
"You're doing fabulously, sweetie. C x"
I spent ages trying to work out what he meant with the 'x', but decided it was one of those weird Capitol traditions they tried to bring down from the past. By the time I came to that conclusion, my shoulder wound had closed up completely, and I slipped the small pot into one of my bags.
I've walked back and forth beside the railing, overlooking the large expanse of water, about ten times now. It's tiring, but at least I'm not stuck in one place for too long. I assumed the park would become more dangerous during the night so I decided not to venture back inside.
However, I am going back in today. I have to find something important, something that will help me prove a point.
I spend a couple of hours scouring every bush, the base of every tree, to find the plant I'm looking for. It must be around midday when I find it. Kava, the sedative. I drop all my bags and weapons and pull the plant from its root. It takes a minute or two, but soon I've got the entire kava plant out of its home. I lay out the small piece of tarp I found in my smaller backpack last night, and get to work straight away.
Using the hatchet carefully, I cut the roots away from the rest of the plant. Then I cut those into tiny pieces and leave them to dry.
The potentially artificial sun is at its highest point in the sky. I wipe the sweat from my brow as I leave the roots to dry out by the railing. I lean against it and admire my near-complete work. I've got to wait a while, so I take a chance and rest. I'm bound to hear someone coming anyway.
I drift off quickly, which shouldn't be surprising. The sun definitely has an effect on my dreams, because all I feel is heat and my dreams circulate around fire. My house is burning down, and my family are all trapped inside. Thaddeus tries to call for me but the smoke chokes him, and I can't do a thing to help. Every time I run towards them, a wave of heat flies out and throws me back. Eri is crying, he's failed our family. I want to tell him it isn't his fault, but there isn't a part of me that can be sure. I love him, but I don't know what caused this fire. They're going to die.
"Help, please! Help!"
My mother is screaming, shouting from a window on the first floor.
"Help! District Four, is that you? Help!"
Then something yips and snarls. What the hell?
I snap awake, uncertain of what beast could be attacking my family. But none of them are there. Just the sun, blinding me. And my mother, screaming again.
"Help me, PLEASE!"
But that's not my mother.
The District Five girl is running in circles through the trees of the park. I can just make out something chasing her, but it hasn't seen me yet, and I doubt it'll spare both of us if given half the chance. It's bright orange, with an electric blue patch on its many tails. It looks almost like something I saw on the outskirts of the district, once, outside the barrier. I think Eri called it a fox. But that one only had one tail. One word springs to mind when I spot the creature bounding out from behind another tree: mutt.
Confirmation comes when it growls again and a green substance flies from its mouth. It comes into contact with the girl's skin and starts to sizzle as she screams and stumbles. That's her final mistake, because in the second she took regaining her balance and crying for my help yet again, the fox mutt is on her.
Pinning her down, it scratches her face. The sickly green goo seeps from its teeth into her wounds, making her weep in pain.
This whole time I've just sat and watched, done nothing to help her. My face shows no emotion, for as much as I'd love to help her, I know I shouldn't. The sooner she dies, the sooner I can go home.
But she doesn't die soon, not at all. The fox nips and tears at her for what feels like days, even though it is merely hours. After a while, she's drained herself of tears, and gives up resisting. The mutt has ripped her skin to shreds, but no cannon has sounded. I don't know how, but this girl is refusing to give up. She can't fight back, and yet her body is doing it for her.
Eventually the contrast-coloured mutt leaves the girl to bleed out, her thousand wounds beginning to fester from its venom. She's just laying there, deteriorating. Maybe the mutt did tear her vocal chords out? But surely it would have had to have torn her whole throat out to do that. The District Five girl is dying in silence.
She can move, though. I can see her trying to move her legs and arms, wincing as she does.
That's when I decide I have to do something. This is too much to watch, now.
I snatch up the now-dry, chopped kava roots to create a powder. A bowl like the one the instructor used in training would have been nice, but a girl can't have everything.
Perhaps a sponsor heard my thoughts, because something silver floats down in front of me. I'm guessing they think I'm preparing a poison, because when I unwrap the package from the parachute I'm presented with a pair of small syringes, and a medium-sized cup.
I take some of my water and tip some into the cup, grab a pinch of the kava powder and mix it around with my finger. The syringes will help, I guess, because then I could use it as a local anaesthetic on each of her wounds. It'll ease the pain until she passes.
Holding a syringe, leaving the other filled up by my possessions, I check my surroundings to make sure the mutt isn't lurking. Luckily, it appears to have lost all interest and the girl from Five is semi-squirming alone. I kneel at her side, and she manages a small smile.
"Took your time."
I take in her injuries. Every inch of her arms, legs and torso are torn, bloody and discoloured. A couple of fingers lie in the grass a little off to her side. Her hair remains intact. I hadn't noticed before, but it's a lovely bright red, like the fur of the fox, yet more pure. She coughs, and blood leaks from her mouth. I don't reply, but I hold up the syringe.
"Lyra Moon, District Five."
BOOM.
She's gone.
I didn't even get to administer her a relief from her pain, and she died suffering. I let this happen.
Maybe I am a monster. I may not have killed her myself, but I didn't help her either, I just let that thing ruin her.
But maybe in those last seconds she was happy, or perhaps she was remembering a wonderful memory. I wonder what her family thinks of me, the girl who did absolutely fuck all to help their daughter.
It's happening again, my emotions are revealing themselves when they shouldn't. The tears start to flow and I get up, syringe in hand, and run back to my things. I drop the syringe next to the other and lean over the railing, letting the slices of bread I ate during the night fly into the water.
But a monster would be unfazed by death.
I've got to get myself together. I told myself I would win and prove something to the Capitol by it, and that's what I'm going to do.
The hovercraft comes to collect Lyra's body, while I collect my own belongings and leave the scene. I carry on next to the railing, the path I'm so used to now.
It takes longer than it had last night, and the sun is setting again by the time I'm there, but I reach the cross I made with a couple of twigs. It had been my stopping point, until now. I step over it and keep walking.
Fortunately, I don't encounter any other tributes here. The sun goes down, and I can sense it'll be another restless night. I watch the stars again, as I walk, and they seem to dance for me. In this horrifying could-change-at-anytime place, they're a beautiful constant.
I'm so lost in my stargazing, I almost miss the anthem.
Lyra's face is shown, and no others. The Gamemakers won't like that. But it is only the second day, they can't complain after their, probably satisfactory, nine deaths yesterday.
Then I hear a bubbling noise, and look to my left. There is steam rising from the water and bubbles up and spits occasionally. They weren't joking – it's acid.
I ignore it and carry on walking. I've got enough water for a while now, I'll be fine. For the first time today, I wonder how the others are doing.
Piccolo will have grouped with Moira and Anton after the bloodbath, no doubt about that. Judging by the lack of their faces in the sky, they're alright as they are. Maybe they're looking for me. Little worried about what Moira might do when she sees me, though.
The Careers will probably be at the Cornucopia. Hopefully Liza still isn't fully healed. That memory floods back to me, and makes my shoulder ache a little. Capitol medicine doesn't erase memories, it seems.
Unless Beta grouped with anyone, she's on her own. That just leaves Fleur from 6, Cedar from 7, the boy from 9 (whose name still eludes me), Tilman from 10, and little Lovett from 11.
Ten down, thirteen left to die.
I try to take my mind off the thoughts of the possible ways in which these kids might die. It's weird, not long ago I'd have been happy to think of murderous plots and ways to kill them. But now I can hardly bear to dwell on it for too long.
The bubbling dies down, leaving the water cool and steady. The Gamemakers probably used the bubbling as a signal, and now anyone that didn't see it, nor listen to the announcement earlier today, will assume that it's just as it was yesterday. Sneaky bastards.
Off across the water, the fog gets thicker, but stops just before it reaches the stars. If I stare hard enough, I can see a dim green glow. It's not scary, so I want to be able to check that out before I get out of here. Hopefully there'll be something there to help me win, or at least keep me alive a little bit longer. But I'd have to figure out a way to get across the water if I were to do that. Great plan, Mags.
I pull a bag of the dried fruit from one of my bags and munch as I walk, strapping my axe to my bag so it doesn't drag and attract attention. One or two of the roads have flickering streetlamps along them. I'm almost certain I spot things leaping in and out of the light, and I'm not willing to find out what they are anytime soon; especially if they're anything like that thing from earlier.
The stars are such a distraction, it takes me a while to realise that there's no moon visible in the sky. Perhaps it's behind one of the still enormous buildings, but I doubt it.
My rustling bag of fruits must have caught something's attention, because I haven't long passed the emerald-esque fog when it speaks.
"Hello, Four."
A/N: Any guesses who it is? :D Sorry if this seemed a little short! The chapters in the Games will all be varied lengths, depending on how eventful they are, obviously. I hope you liked this, and I hope Lyra's death wasn't as emotional for you as it was for me. Reviews are always welcome *hint*.
