It is really hard to find the motivation to keep updating this story. I mean, everyone has already read it and we all know how it ends (um, duh), but if you're reading this for the first time, can you be a nice person and review? Please? :)
Taylor, Age 14, District 12
I wake up and stretch. My stomach growls and I glance around, trying to find food in my tool shed. Unfortunately I have no such luck. There is officially no food in here. Sigh. I grab a pitchfork which I can use as a weapon if I need to and step outside into the cold morning air, the snow crunching under my feet and my breath billowing before my face. I've only taken two or three steps outside when a parachute lands in front of me on the frosty ground. I pick it up and find a small slip of paper with the words action reaps rewards written on it. I open the metal container and find a coconut filled with orange juice inside! Epicsauce. Taking out my coconut, I toss the parachute onto the ground and head deeper into the forest. Towering pine trees grow around me and birds chatter endlessly in the treetops. I try to look like I'm doing things like tracking tributes or something, but all I really want is another coconut. My stomach growls again and I'm reminded that orange juice isn't food. Hmm… this might be harder then I thought.
I walk for about half an hour before I reach a river. Settling down beside it, I kneel down to splash its ice-cold water on my face to keep me awake. I woke up early this morning, it was around six AM when I left my tool shed. I lift the water up to my lips to have a drink, but I notice something downstream caught on a rock just as I'm raising my hands to my lips. Splashing through the shallows towards it, I lift it out of the water with two fingers and study it carefully. It's a plastic bag filled to the brim with multicolor pills. What is it? I assume it's a gift from a sponsor, meant to keep me awake or perhaps something even better. But is this how sponsors deliver their gifts, randomly leaving them in the arena in plastic bags for their favorite tributes to find? I'm not really sure, I don't really watch the Hunger Games, just the stuff that's mandatory or, whatever part of it happens to be on while I'm walking past the TV. I decide to trust that its from a sponsor. Shoving my hand into the bag, I pull out four of the pills and swallow them in one gulp.
Suddenly, the world turns into rainbows.
Vencitiy, Age 17, District 4
I sit on the edge of the courtyard, squishing berries up so I can use their juices as eye shadow. I can't have myself looking bad! I mean, we are on camera constantly here. Everyone is in the mansion getting ready to go. Of course I woke up the earliest, I always do. Once my makeup is done I head back into the mansion. It must have been so beautiful long ago, now it's all shabby and covered in dust. Ew. I'm not entirely sure which room is which so I open one at random. Stepping inside, I find myself in a huge dinning room with tables full of food. I see a lobster, which I my favorite food, and sit down in the chair in front of it. Placing a napkin in my lap and taking up the utensils in my hands I lean forward, ready to take a bite.
"Don't eat that," I hear a deep voice say from the doorway, making me jump. Oplarran is at my side almost instantly, pulling me out of the chair and away from my meal.
"Hey," I complain, glaring at him. "That's my breakfast!"
"Yeah, and it's your last one, too," He replies blankly.
"What are you…?" I trail off as he rips open the lobster. Hundreds of black widow spiders spill out of it, heading straight at us. I scream and race away to the doorway; hiding behind the frame and watching Oplarran follow a little slower. The second he steps out of the room I slam the door behind us and try to calm down.
"Hey," he says casually. "Where's Jess?"
"Probably still sleeping," I say. "I'll go wake her up."
"Well, I saw smoke over in the Northwest side of the woods," Oplarran says. "You guys can take your time, but I'm going to head over there."
I walk down the rest of the hallway until I thankfully find a familiar room. Gleam, Jess and I slept in here last night. I open the door and step inside, Oplarran hanging out in the hallway. There are three beds in the room, with a dresser and a walk-in closet that contains old dresses that I would be wearing if they weren't half eaten by moths. Gleam is gone but Jess lays on her bed, her sheets and comforter in a tangled mass and spit dripping out of her mouth and onto her pillow, her hair fuzzy and knotted. "Jess!"
"What?" She groans.
"Get up," I say. "You have to get ready."
"I don't wanna…" She grumbles and then throws a pillow at my head. I dodge it easily and advance.
"Okay," I say. "So you don't want to go searching the mansion?"
Her eyes flash open. "I never said that…"
"Good," I smile. "Then get up and let's go."
Ryden, Age 18, District 10
Sky and I wake up to another cold morning, the grey sky dotted with fluffy clouds and the birds twittering away in the trees. We sit up and are discussing breakfast when we see something dangerously nearby: smoke.
"We need to go, now," I say, throwing our stuff into the backpacks and slinging mine over my shoulder while tossing Sky hers.
"Why?" She asks, crossing her arms. "If those idiots want to get themselves killed, how is it our problem?"
"Because," I say slowly. "When the other tributes get here they are going to be searching the surrounding area to make sure that no one was with whoever is over there. Guess where we are Sky: the surrounding area!"
"Oh," She frowns, picking up her own backpack. We set off heading in a direction that I think is east. As we progress we begin to see more rocks until we are climbing over outcrops almost every other minute. We emerge in a huge clearing, colorful flowers breaking through the snow to reach towards the late-morning sky. A huge mountain towers directly to our left, its jagged hands scrapping the sky. "Wow…" Sky breathes.
Eclipse, Age 17, District 6
I sit at the base of my pine tree, trying desperately to get warm next to my fire. I must not have tucked in my hands last night or something, because my fingers are slightly blue. I hold them beside the dancing flames and will them to warm my hands. The ice that is streaming through my veins is ever so slowly fading, but I have never felt this cold in my life.
Thaddeus, Age 16, District 3
I was on my feet the second I saw the smoke. I stalk through the forest on silent feet. I'm out for blood. I stick to the shadows as I approach the location of the fire, and hid behind a bush when I hear raspy breathing and the crackling of flames. Parting the leaves with my hands, I peer threw. Eclipse sits next to the source of the smoke, holding blue hands to the flames. It must have gotten colder here then it did in the rest of the arena. I guess the gamemakers don't like him.
Pulling out the only weapon I got from the bloodbath, a dagger with a curved blade, I ready myself before lunging at him from the bushes. I catch him by surprise and my dagger sinks into his shoulder. We roll away from his supplies sitting next to the fire. His strength surprises me and he throws me off. Pulling the dagger out of his shoulder he slashes out at me and it barely misses my neck. Leaping towards him again, I knock the dagger out of his hand and watch in frustration as it skids away into a small stream and is carried down river. You've got to me kidding me.
Eclipse and I wrestle on the ground for what must be three minutes before, for a brief moment, I finally get the upper hand. I have him pinned, but I know I can't hold him long so I have to act fast. Grabbing at the closest thing I can find, I rip a clump of clovers out of the ground and, prying his mouth open with my fingers, shove them down his throat. Leaping off him, I watch as he grabs at his neck and his face gradually turns a shade of blue. His cannon sounds and I hastily snatch all of his supplies. Two swords, that's a nice score. I'm not as good with them as I was with my dagger but since it was just washed away, this is the next best thing.
I need to get moving before other tributes that were looking for the tribute that started the fire show up. As Oplarran erupts form the bushes, however, I know it's too late for that. Leaping out of the way, I stick my foot out and he trips over it tumbling to the ground. I'm pulling my double swords out of their sheaths when he smashes into me again, but they weren't out all the way. They clatter to the ground and the two of us wrestle in the opposite direction. I made him drop his weapons as well when I tripped him; he was to intent on getting to me before I took out my swords to pick them up again. It worked out in his favor, he's huge and I'm just average size. As he pins me to the ground it is obvious he has the upper hand. He picks up the nearest rock he can find and raises it about his head, ready to crash it into mine.
For a brief moment I find bliss. I'm going to see my angel again.
That's about when Peregrine leaps out of the bushes and cleanly slices his head off with a hatchet. His cannon sounds and I push the dead body off of me, diving for my swords and preparing myself to fight the emotionless tribute. I fling myself at her, one of my swords aiming for her throat and the other for her heart. She deflects both with a hatchet in each hand and kicks me in the stomach, sending me falling over backwards. She has me pinned instantly and knocks my weapons away from me.
"You really should work on keeping a better hold of those," She says casually but without any expression.
"Of course," I grumble. "I get trapped by the tribute that enjoys playing with her food."
"I don't feel enjoyment," She reminds me, picking some dirt out from under one of her nails. She looks at me blankly. "We should be in an alliance." That is quite possible the most insane thing that I have ever heard since I was born. Except maybe some of the things that I heard while I was a druggy, but looking back at that now I realize what an idiot I was and the fact that I cannot trust anything that I saw or heard while I was high… and that rules out a lot of time.
"Why on earth would I trust you?" I reply coldly. "How do I know you aren't just trying to trick me into trusting you, just so you can kill me later?"
"Because," Peregrine says slowly. "If I wanted to kill you I could have done it already."
"Oh," I grumble. "But why do you want to be in an alliance with me?"
"We aren't like the others," She explains. "We don't feel guilty about killing, me because I feel no emotion and you because you want revenge. Without guilt and morality holding us back, the two of us could accomplish much more; more then we could if we were hunting down the other tributes."
"Fine," I say. "Allies."
Roshan, Age 13, District 9
Remember that poultice that one of our sponsors sent Velvet and I for her wound? It sure worked! It's just the next day and it looks like it's been a week since Eclipse slashed her hip with his sword. As I sit here eating a pile of edible berries that I gathered a little while ago, Velvet's eyes flash open. She sits up instantly and hits her head on a branch.
"Hey be careful," I say, pushing her back down into a laying position, she looks at me fearfully and instinctively reaches for the spot above her shoulder where her quiver usually is, but its not there. I took it off of her when we got here so that she could lay down better.
"Where is my bow and quiver," She demands, propping herself up on her elbows and glaring at me.
"Right over there," I say pointing at her weapons a few feet away. She dives for them, loading an arrow into her bow and aiming it straight at my head. "You know, you could at least thank me for saving your life before you kill me." Slowly, she lowers her aim.
"You saved me?"
"Yep," I say proudly. "I pulled you all the way to here from the courtyard and even hid you from the Careers! I though that when Hunter finally found us that he'd be happy to see you're here since he likes you, I think, but he's with the Careers now for some reason so I'm not sure-"
"What do you mean he's with the Careers?" She interrupts confusion on her face. "And what day is it?"
"It's just day two," I answer. "And I don't know, he was hunting tributes with them. He saw us in this bush but he told them that there was no one here. I don't know… But since Hunter is abandoned me, I'm kind of all alone…" I say quietly. The idea of being alone in the Hunger Games isn't a good one.
Roshan sighs. "Don't worry. I'll stay with you."
Jessamine, Age 18, District 2
As Vencitiy and I head down a hallway we chose at random she starts talking. "So, Jess, do you have a boyfriend at home?"
"No," I reply honestly. "But there is this one guy…"
"Tell me," She says eagerly, reminding me of a puppy who just noticed that you had a doggy biscuit.
"His name's-" I say but then cut off abruptly. "I'm an idiot; the whole of Panem is watching this. I'm not going to talk about this now!"
"Oh," Vencitiy says looking disappointed. "Right…"
Walley, Age 14, District 7
I peel off my shirt and jacket and kneel down besides the stream. Cupping my hands, I let the cold water flow into them. I shiver as I splash the water onto my injured shoulder and my breath billows in the air in front of my face. I shake myself dry, almost like a dog would, and quickly throw my clothes back on.
Suddenly, I freeze in my tracks as I hear a deep growling coming from behind me. I turn around slowly to find a huge bear standing behind me, its yellow teeth bared. "Nice grizzly," I say calmly, taking a step back. I snap a twig under my foot and the bear rears up on its back paws, towering to twice my size, and lets out a mighty roar that must have been heard throughout the entire arena. I turn and flee, splashing up water behind me. I have a head start and manage to leap into a nearby tree, my shoulder muscles creaming with effort. The bear races up to it, placing its front paws on the trunk and glaring up at me. "Ha, loser! What are you gonna do now, huh?" I taunt. As if he heard me, the bear sits down at the trunk of the tree not taking its eyes off of me. Great… this is going to be a long day.
Gleam, Age 17, District 1
I sit in the courtyard with my legs crisscrossed and my head propped up on my fists. I'm thinking. Strategizing, really. It's been a few hours since Oplarran left; I can only assume that after he killed the first tribute whose cannon sounded earlier today that he picked up the trail of another and is following that now. The number of tributes is dwindling at a surprisingly fast rate. That's good, I'll be home sooner. I can't help but wonder who has died so far. Thaddeus probably overdosed on drugs, he was most likely the first one to go this morning. Walley probably died as well, he couldn't have done much with that kind of injury.
As for my Tanner situation, I'm going to keep playing the same card. He is so stupid to believe for one second that I actually like him. He is annoying and retarded. Case closed. Anyway, I don't know how he convinced Vencitiy not to murder me whenever she sees me with him but honestly I don't really care. Everything is working out and Tanner is still in the Career alliance.
Hunter has definitely made us stronger; we needed his skills and talents. Sure Raith is good with spears but arrows go further then they do and Hunter's accuracy is unrivaled. Well, perhaps the Velvet girl is almost as good as he is… but she would never have joined us, she is too arrogant and unpredictable. Hunter was the best choice.
Sky, Age 16, District 10
Ryden and I wander through the field, admiring the scenery. We've been here since this morning, its one of the nicest places I've ever seen in any of the Hunger Games arenas. There is a small river cutting through it that we have our stuff sitting next to. I see something moving in the grass and crouch down, thinking it's a rabbit or something. I crawl closer to where I saw the movement and suddenly a wasp-like creature flies out at my face, stinging me right on the tip of my nose. OW! I yelp out in pain and swat the thing away. I've never had a wasp sting that hurt so much.
"Sky, what's wrong?" Ryden demands, at my side almost instantly. I know he's trying to make up for last night, how he didn't instantly invite me into the sleeping bag with him, but I don't blame him. It's the first day in the arena, everyone was tired and scared, his brain just wasn't working right, and mine wasn't either. I keep telling him it isn't his fault but he won't really listen.
"Something, just…" I say my speech slowing and my head feeling dizzy. "That wasp… just stung me…" My head feels fuzzy. I point at where it sits on the ground, its life ebbing away after I wacked it with my hand.
"Sky, that's not a wasp!" He exclaimed.
"What?" I mutter in confusion.
"That's a Tracker Jacker!" These are the last words I hear before I loose consciousness.
Abby, Age 14, District 11
Sterling and I sure had a pretty fun morning, if you know what I mean.
Now I sit outside the cave, eating some edible roots I collected and watching the Careers down in the courtyard. Oplarran left to go tribute hunting ages ago and still hasn't come back. It's almost five o' clock in the afternoon now, with the sun lowering in the sky and the birds starting to decrease the amounts of their singing. I'm more of a morning person, too.
"Hey gorgeous," Sterling says seductively, coming up behind me from where he was in the cave. He sits down next to me and follows my gaze. "The careers are really boring…"
"Yeah," I agree. "Gleam has been sitting there for ages. Oplarran left awhile ago to go tribute hunting, though, and he still hasn't come back."
"Good," He nods. "Maybe he died."
"I hope so," I say halfheartedly. I know that this is the Hunger Games and I will end up having to kill people in the end anyway, but that doesn't mean I want people to die. I can tell Sterling doesn't care that much, that's the only part of him that I don't like, he's a little spoiled. Okay, well, a lot spoiled. But I could never bring myself to tell him that because… well… I think I love him.