AN: It's time for the bloodbath! If you are still reading thank you! I'm going to try my hardest to keep the chapters upbeat and action packed. I hope you enjoy!
Bloodbath
Lex POV
The countdown from sixty took so long. I stand on my pedestal and glance around on the ground closest to me. There was no way I'd go near the cornucopia, which is a giant metal structure on the other side of the river. A single bridge crossed over to the cornucopia. I won't even go near the bridge. Luckily a few backpacks are scattered across the ground on their side of the river. I quickly count twelve, half of the tributes could get a bag on this side. The countdown hit zero and I run. The girl from District 8 runs toward the same bag as me. I barely beat her there. I grab the bag with my left hand and turn to head toward the forest behind the pedestals. The girl from 8 must realize the bag I am holding is her only hope because she stays on my heal. She grabs for the bag, missing and grabbing my jacket sleeve. Luckily they are tight material so she can't get a good grip. Only a few feet later I'm pulled backward and the girl runs into me. We both fall to the ground. She grabs the bag with both hands and pulls at it. Since I can only hold on with my left hand I swing my right elbow around and make contact with her nose. Her grip loosens and I manage to pull the bag out of her hand. I jump back onto my feet and feel her clawing at my arm again. I run, faster than I ever thought I could, into the forest. The ground rises quickly and soon my legs are tired. I slow my pace, the girl from 8 didn't follow me into the forest. She must have decided to try for another bag. I look for a good place to rest and look in my bag. Thermal socks, those can come in handy, a bag a dried fruit, I'll figure out how to ration it in the morning, a small box of matches, not to be used at night, an empty water canteen, I should find water tomorrow morning as well, a carving knife, good for cutting food (and I guess people if necessary), and a some water purifier, very useful. I pack everything back up into the bag and continue to walk.
Billi POV
A river. Perfect. I'm joined with the Careers. It'll be easy making it to the cornucopia. The others will take care of any of the other tributes trying to make it across the bridge, I'll simply swim across. That's what these water suits must be for, right? The countdown is on ten seconds and I ready myself. The river isn't flowing very hard, if I swim at a slight angle I'll go straight across in a few seconds. I don't even hear the gong, I hear the rush of the wind in my ears as I bolt toward the river. I'm not the only tribute with the idea not to cross the bridge, I see a young girl from District 9 heading toward the river as well. Why would she head toward the cornucopia? I dive into the river with my hands in front of me. Once my whole body is submerged in water I push my arms back, the undercurrent is stronger than I expected, and I must swim at more of an angle than I want to. I push my arms back again and angle myself upward. I reach the surface and see I'm only three feet from the edge. I quickly cover the distance between myself and the bank and start to pull myself up.
"Help!" I turn to see the young girl from 9 struggling to stay above water. She's only about halfway across the river. She's pulled under again and seconds later she immerges above water a few feet farther down the river. She's caught in the undercurrent. I pull myself completely out of the river, I can't take my eyes off the drowning girl. She goes under again and I lose sight of her. I stand frozen for five full seconds. She hasn't come back up yet. Another blood turning scream comes from the other side of the river pulling me out of my trance. It almost physically hurts but I make myself turn away from the river and jog toward the cornucopia. But I know I will never get the imagine of that little girl drowning out of my mind.
Stiles POV
Excitement burst through me. In thirty seconds all of Panem will see how amazing I am. I'll no longer be the boy who talks confidently, but fights confidently as well. 5...4...3...2...1...0! I jump of my pedestal and head toward the bridge in front of the cornucopia. Other tributes head toward the bridge as well, but I'm quick, I bolt past the boy and girl from 7, easily shove the boy from 10 out of my way, and make my way onto the bridge. Jasper is right behind me, I hear his laugh as he shoves another tribute into the water. The boy from 12, I believe. I make it to the mouth of the cornucopia and rush inside. I hear a scream from outside. It sounds like an angry scream. For some unknown reason it makes me smile.
I look around at all the weapons. Swords, spears, knives, brass knuckles, blades I've never seen before. I instantly run for a large knife. It's as long as my forearm and the blade is sharp. I grin. Jasper is picking weapons of his own, as I rush out of the cornucopia Madeline is running in, her lip was split open and she's bleeding. Someone must have dared to take her on. I rush back outside, other tributes rushing over the bridge in attempt to get a weapon and supplies. I rush toward the boy from District 8. He'll be an easy kill, he only scored a four. He sees me rushing toward him and turns quickly, but I'm faster than him, I catch him quickly. I grab his arm and yank him backwards. He screams as I raise the knife and slide it easily across his neck. His face turns pale as blood flows from the cut. I grin and drop him. The first kill of the 30th Annual Hunger Games belongs to me. And soon, the last kill will as well. I turn, looking for another tribute to get out of the way. I see Jasper stab his knife into the boy from 12's chest as he tries to crawl out of the river. The girl from 12 is running from them, tears already streaking her face. I rush her, she won't even know what hit her. As she reaches the bridge I come up from the side and thrust my blade in front of her. She screams, but they are cut short as she gasp for breath. The blade sliced into her ribcage, she'll be dead in a few seconds. I yank the blade back out and casually wipe the blood off on my pants. The sponsors will see I'm calm, not worried at all.
I watch as Penny easily takes out the girl from District 11. I realize the two people I have eliminated had lower scores. I must find someone with a higher score to prove myself more. I turn looking for someone, where is Topanga? By now most tributes have made their way to safety, only a few rush to get away. I spot the tall girl from District 10 running down the bank of the river about fifteen feet away. I rush to her. She hears me coming and dives into the water. I jump in after her. This would normally be Billi's forte, she was the best swimmer out of us Careers. But I know I can do it. I swim toward her, she starts to panic as she sees I'm going to catch her. She splashes wildly in the river, it only slows her down. I reach her and she screams. It's hard to stab at her while keeping myself from being pulled under by the current. I managed to grab onto her arm and she yells at me, her screams turn into coughs as she swallows some water. We are pulled down the river farther as she kicks at me under the water. She pulls me under and I'm temporally blinded as my eyes burn from the water. She grabs my hair and pulls. I hold back the yell as I'm pushed near the bottom of the river due to her weight. I did not get a good breath before I was pushed under the water, and now my lungs scream for air. I push up with the knife the best I can. I feel it make contact with her side. She lets out a scream and air bubbles burst around my face as she lets go of my hair. I push my way to the surface and gasp as the air reaches my lungs. The girl comes out of the water feet away from me, she's still screaming, she splashes her arms around wildly. Finally she runs out of energy and stops flapping her arms. Slowly the water around her turns red, and I know it's from the cut I put on her side. She lets out one last desperate sob before her head is submerged in water once again.
Zila POV
5...4...3...2...1...0. The buzzer sounds and I bolt straight for the forest behind us, most everyone else heads toward the bags on the ground or the bridge over the river to the cornucopia. This is the bloodbath, I'm not going to be anywhere near it. I'll steal from others once they get their supplies. I'm The Human Chameleon, aren't I? They won't even see me as I steal their stuff right from under their noses.
Topanga POV
It's countdown time and I still don't know what my best move is. The Careers will be after me for scoring so high, but I also need weapons. All the weapons are on the other side of that damn river, only a few backpacks lay on this side. Will they have anything useful? The gong sounds and I force my feet to move forward. I don't move as quickly as I should, I let the Careers reach the bridge first, I realize it's a wise choice as the Male Tribute from 1 pushes the male from 12 off the bridge. I see a bag a few feet in front of me, that will be good enough. I run toward it. The girl from District 1 trips me, I'm laying on my stomach before I even realize what happened. Then something solid collides into my left side, it happens again and I can't breathe. Again the solid object slams hard into my ribs, and I fill them break. But she keeps kicking. I yell and swing my elbow backwards, it connects with something but does nothing. Then she is gone. I force myself to sit up, she was running toward the bridge. That was simply a warning. I scream. Anger suddenly taking over. I scream louder than I should, my throat turning sore. She turns to look at me, a grin on her face. I'm up on my feet and running at the bitch, my body working faster than my brain. I don't notice the pain in my side. She waits for me, laughing slightly. She swings out and punches my face, but I don't stop running. I head butt her big fat lips and we both fall onto the bridge. She swings and punches my broken ribs. My vision clouds and I fill like I'm going to throw up. She shoves me off her. Fear takes over. She's going to push me into the river. I'll never be able to swim in this pain. But she doesn't. She spits some blood on me then turns toward the cornucopia. Three seconds, I can only lie here for three seconds. I push myself up, black spots in my eyes as pain shoots through my ribs. I stumble back toward the forest, no supplies in hand. I watch as the Career boy from District four snaps Jared's neck. I sob, no longer able to hold the tears back. Run you idiot. I do. I force myself to run even though the pain in my side is screaming, burning, threatening to make me black out.