10
It's fascinating.
Before me is a field of flowers. Every type I've ever seen shoots up from the ground, and they all have bright colored buds on them. I look from left to right in amazement. There is a large forest to my left, and to the right is a huge snow peaked mountain. It's by far the best arena I've ever seen.
One of the best parts is the smell. I can't explain it. It's like all the good things ever made mixed into one. I know that sounds like a terrible smell, but it actually makes for a fantastic odor. The smell clouds my mind and I feel very heavy, like someone stuffed me with cotton.
The golden Cornucopia shines in front of us, but it is so out of place in here. My brain tries to wrap around the idea of such a large thing being here. My mind finally clears, but it still takes me a minute to regain my composure. That's when the gong goes off.
No one moves at first, we all just stand on our platforms. Then I see movement to the right. It's Haymitch; he runs towards the Cornucopia at full speed, reaching it in less than a minute. That is when I kick into action, but unfortunately, so does everyone else. We all race towards the Cornucopia; the mass of teens is almost mind boggling.
Haymitch has climbed to the top of a large stack of supplies and had his own pick of the peck before we reach the halfway point. He hops off the stack and races into the woods, alive and unscathed.
I reach the outer sections of the Cornucopia and stop in my tracks. I look around me and see that many of the other children have already reached the Cornucopia and have obtained weapons. I decide that going in any farther would be too risky. Reducing my standards, I race to a loaf of bread on the ground ahead of me. I reach down to grab it, and that's when I feel something fly over my back, sending a gust of air up my back. I whip around and see a Career walking towards me, his eyes alight with blood hunger. He grips about five small spears. I loose grip of the bread and run. Only I accidently run into the fray. I am in the center of the Bloodbath, and now everyone is my potential killer.
I turn to see if anyone is still behind me. The Spear Career seems to have taken liking to the thought of killing me, and approaches me. He tosses another spear, and I barely have enough time to hop out of the way before it flies by me. I roll and grab the first thing I find, which happens to be an axe. But it's light, and could easily be thrown with accuracy; I just need to add in the handle weight.
I asses the amount of turns the axe will need to revolve before hitting the Spear Career. I jump to my feet and have to jump back as someone falls into my path. I look up one more time, and then throw the axe. It flips through the air between the Career and I, but at the last minute, he steps to the side and it grazes his arm.
Seeing my chance, I run in the opposite, making small zig-zag line. I lean down and grab a small black bag at the last minute, and then I race off into the forest. I secretly hope I'll find Haymitch waiting for me, but I don't find him, and even if I did, anything that doesn't have bark on it is an enemy to me. I run in so many different directions that I don't know if I'm going in a circle or not.
I slow after a long time, but then I continue to walk. I don't hear any screams anymore, so I figure I'm a far length away from the Cornucopia. I finally collapse from exhaustion in a small cluster of bushes. The emotions that run through my mind at that point are haywire and sporadic. First I smile with relief of being alive, then I think of all the children that died, and are dying; I slap my hand over my mouth as I sob.
Soon I calm down, but the screams of the dead teens lingers in my ears. I keep myself busy so that I can focus on something. I pull the small black pack off my back and unzip it. I first pull out a little bag of dried meat. It smells like salted beef. Next I pull out a small bowl that will be good for harvesting water, a thing of matches, and a small wooden box. I open up the box and find a long hollow tube that has a thin mouth piece on one side, and a barrel shaped end on the other. Under it is about two dozen darts.
When I see the darts it all comes together in my mind, a blowgun. It should be pretty easy to use I think. To test it, I push a dart into the barrel and place my mouth on the other end. I blow, but nothing happens. I take another breath and blow again. This time the dart falls out the end of the barrel and falls to my feet.
Perturbed, I pick it up and try again. This time, I extract every bit of air from my lungs and diaphragm. The dart shoots out the end and sinks into a tree about three feet away from me. I smile. I will practice until I can direct it into my opponents flesh with complete accuracy.
At that moment, the cannons go off, signaling the end of the Bloodbath. I count with the cannons. …four…five…six… I count up and up and up. I feel like the counting is never going to end, but then it does. Eighteen…Eighteen? Unheard of! I think of how on a normal year, that would leave only seven tributes, but in these Games, there are 30 more tributes. I feel light-headed at the thought.
I decide that this is as good as any place to set up camp. I stand and walk over to some bushes. They seem pretty brittle, and are easy for me to break the brush off. I lay them in a hidden spot between a thick bush and a tree. Next I grab as many large rocks as I can find. I set them around in a circle and they make a pretty good fire pit. I know that I won't be able to use except at dawn and dusk when it's already hazy out, but I know that at some point, I'll have to cook food. I hope that this place doesn't drop below freezing at night, or else I'm a corpse.
Next I get what little supplies I have to work with, which is basically just the rare elements around me, and I make a fairly decent trap for food. Making use of some of my darts, stick them through a bunch of woven branches, and then I put a piece of dried beef under it so that when an animal tries to take it, the dart filled branch will fall onto it.
It's about sunset when I finish this, and the crickets are starting to chirp. The Anthem plays, and I look up to the sky to see who died today. The faces start to appear: A boy from One, both girls and one boy from Three, one girl from Four, a boy and girl from Five, both boys and a girl from Six, all from Eight, A boy and girl from Nine, One girl from Eleven. That's seventeen, which means someone from Twelve has died. I hate myself for it, but I secretly hope it's Elder.
The number twelve appears, and above it is May Lilly's face. My mouth emits a gasp before I know it does, and all I can see is May Lilly's face; her smiling at a joke, scared of the Capitol. All she wanted was to go home. A hate for the Capitol boils in my veins, and I grip fist full off dirt, tearing grass from its roots.
The anthem finishes, and I hold my hands over my mouth, trying to silence the sobs. I tell myself over and over that it is for the best, that I will have a better chance getting home without wondering if I need to kill her. I lie down on the ground and close my eyes. It's weird how after you cry your brain basically shuts down into sleep to save you from grieving for a time. I fall asleep sometime later, my mind drifting to a better place.
Hey Everyone! I am sooo sorry that I haven't posted a new chapter in over a year. I had been caught up doing the Bound By Blood 24 - 24 story, but now that it is on a permanent hiatus I have found time to start this up again! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll have more to come.
Chapter 11
BANG!
It sounds louder than the cannon did, but I know that's just my nerves. Never the less I stand up and collect my things. If someone besides the Careers herd me, all they have to do is wait for me to fall asleep, and then I'm dead.