Happy birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday, Lauren!
Happy Birthday to me!
I am writing this chapter a few days after my birthday so it may be late... oh it will be late!
Anyway please review any improvements blah blah blah, you know the drill
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the Hunger Games! (Sadly)
Now on with the chapter!
Chapter 10
Hell
Bella Swan P.O.V
The tube, which was steadily rising, filled with fresh air and I was in the arena.
The first thing I notice was how modern it was.
The city was war torn like a bomb had dropped on it. The buildings were ripped apart and the road looked like the ground had exploded. The giant gold horn stood in the middle of the square with all the tributes in a even circle around the horn. Several tributes were looking around in a daze, others were ready to run, either to the horn or away. The horn was surrounded by weapons, bags and food.
The gong went off with a bang breaking the deathly silence.
In that second the square was hell on earth. The fastest tributes were already at the horn, already tributes were falling to swords, knifes and ax's. All soaked in blood.
It took me only seconds to get to the first ring of supplies, a minute to get to the middle.
My eyes locked on a black backpack which looked stuffed with stuff and a cleaver. The cleaver was a long blade with a curved end (Rena's weapon in Higurashi). It sat just outside the main ring off weaponry, on top off the pile. I reached over to grab it along with the backpack which was already in my hands. As soon as they were firmly on my person, I ran.
I ran like the wind blowing through someone's hair. I ran like a wounded animal from the hunter. I ran from the blood bath that now swarmed the arena.
I didn't stop for signs of pursuit though I doubt that the alive tributes would come after me. They were too busy fighting for their own lives.
I looked around for Alice trying to spot her pitch black hair in the steadily decreasing light of day. I saw a flash of white skin but it was too fast for me to tell who it was even though their was no over vampires other than her.
The darkness was falling quick like a cape covering the play box of a lunatic.
I ran into a broken building, much like a office, and climbed the tall wooden supports up to a large ledge. After checking that no one could get in I relaxed. I was hidden and wasn't going to die just yet.
I took this time to sort my supplies, the backpack first. It's bulging form was fulled to the brim with stuff. A knife, black jacket, water bottle, a bag of bread and apples, sleeping bag, and finally a pair of black glasses. I had know idea what they were for but their purpose would reveal itself so I left them alone for now.
I placed the small sleeping bag on the rough floor and placed my cleaver next to my hand for easy access. I felt the darkness pulling me under and I fell to it and let the dreams take me.
Anju (Last name unknown) P.O.V
There had been screams.
Begging. Pleading.
Agony.
Then silence.
Around four hours since the games began the gongs had ended, signalling the end to the bloodbath. Shortly after that the screaming wound down and soon there was silence. No more voices. The only sound were the crickets and wind echoing through the rafters.
I was hiding in a barn, just off the war torn city. I had ran a mile, hard to tell in the arena, to the farm house surrounded by corn plants but when I had arrived I knew it wasn't safe. Whatever happened to the tributes who had fought at the horn was happening to other tributes around the arena as the Careers spread out in a pack. The house would be the first place they'd search if they came for me.
Scratch that. When they came for me.
It was just a matter of time.
I had stood out side of the house wondering what to do. I hadn't taken long to decide the barn. I had plenty of time to regret the decision. I could off ran to the fields of corn and taken refuge their, it would of been better in the long run.
Because I knew the second they finished at the house they would come to the barn.
Stupid Stupid! Stupid!
I was trapped. The time to run had been when they were busy at the horn taking out tributes left and right. The house was right on the edge of the city. They'd be getting right close by now.
How many of them were there? I had been too panicky to count. There had to be at least five, maybe more.
But every time I tried to convince my brain of logic to move, my legs refused to do what they were told.
Dear Sam, remember last summer before you were kidnapped from District 7? You told me if there was a time I needed help I could call you and you would beat them up. Your tough baby sister isn't as tough as she thought she was and could use a body guard right now.
If only telepathy worked.
What was that stupid mantra mother was always chanting? Sticks and stones may break my bones but insults will never hurt me.
A cracking noise outside the barn and my heart took off. Someone was standing outside the doors.
They's found me.
No, they hadn't found me. Stop overreacting. I needed to get control of myself otherwise I'd jump up the minute they walked through the doors.
Remain calm. Count backwards from twenty to try to slow my breathing. Push my heart back down my throat and force it to be quiet. I could do this. My hiding spot in the corner was good. I'd managed to cover myself with hat and a old blanket. On first glance I'd look like a big pile of nothing. Didn't the hero hid in the rafters in horror movies? Staying on the ground would allow me to run as soon as they reached the dead end. Out of the doors and into the night before they knew I was gone.
They had guns, swords and knives. I was fast but not faster than a bullet.
The noise came again. A bang and a crunchy on the gravel outside. The sound of a hand sliding open the doors. Footsteps along the wood. I couldn't tell if it was one person or two.
From my hiding spot I could see three feet in front of me. Why hadn't I hid in a place were I could see the door better?
The person began moving towards the middle of the barn. They were taking their time, small unrushed steps, obviously in no hurry to kill me. They had to know I was here. Maybe they could smell my fear?
The person began to whistle.
Oh, my darling,
Oh, my darling,
Oh, my darling,
Oh, my darling, Anju.
Oh how I hated that song. Sam and Clementine used to sing it to me whenever they wanted to annoy me.
I should off grabbed a weapon. Anything. There was so many other courses of action I could off taken. Instead I'd pretty much served myself on a silver platter. I really was living up to that blonde- cheerleader stereotype.
A few weeks ago someone had emailed a joke questionnaire on how to survive a vampire attack. (I got one off those once... scored quite high myself:) Oh the irony!) I'd scored quite high. Of course I'd stated I'd head down to the local weapon store and arm myself before holing up in a isolated cabin in the north. OK, so it wasn't the best of comparison to how well I could do in a real life emergency situation but the whole concept kept creeping into my mind. What a joke. I couldn't even survive a few hours up against blood- shed craving humans.
The whistler moved slowly and steadily across the barn. At least I'd been smart enough to hide in the corner. As he passed me, I fought the urge to move. I was like a mouse being hunted by a eagle. I needed to stay still and not jump up and flee. Running blind never served the mouse justice and it probably won't work for me.
Funny how my legs had refused to work earlier and now they were itching to kick.
Dear Sam, you were right. If I get out of this alive, I'll take those tae kwon do lessons you said a I needed. Just promise me you'll be here to help me get those punches right. Give me a sign to let me know you're not just a figment of my imagination and still alive somewhere in this destroyed world. It'll give me the courage to kick ass. I promise.
I needed to stop this. Talking to my maybe/ more-than- likely dead brother wasn't going to help the situation. Meanwhile the whistler had grown quiet. I strained my ears, listening. Was he gone? Had he slipped back out through the door when I was making all my imaginary resolutions?
No, there it was again - the sound of a boot scraping against the wood from across the barn. My assailant was climbing the ladder to the rafters. All I had to do was wait until he reached the top and I could get out. Moving as slowly as I could, I pushed the blanket of my head to get a better view. The doors to the barn were wide open. I could slip out without making a sound.
My assailant swung his foot over onto the beams. The creaking noise above was the signal to move. It was now or never. Carefully I pulled back the blanket and scanned the area. The barn floor was empty. I didn't even look up at the rafters. I forced myself to walk quietly instead of running, fully aware that my back was now a perfect target if the tribute chose to look over the beam onto the first floor.
There were no shouts or sudden footfalls. No one rushed forward to claim a defenseless tribute. I moved quickly but carefully. No point running only to alert the whole area that I was here. Might as well put a flashing light above my head saying, I'm here!
Outside I tasted the air once more. I had forgotten how to breath. The air was fresh and smelt like the bright green woods if District 7. But memory's of home did not wipe the fact that a tribute that would kill me if he/she got a chance was right behind me. As soon as I was sure the tribute hadn't seen me, I was running.
It didn't take long to reach the corn fields and the the woods. It was nice to hear the sounds of the woods. If you listened carefully you could hear the insects chirping.
But that peaceful atmosphere was shattered as I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I was spun around to see a large tribute with the biggest muscles I have ever seen. It took a second to see he held a spear.
I screamed.
Alice Cullen P.O.V
The screams had lasted a eternity.
A continues string of ear-splitting screams. The screams that cut of suddenly.
I was in a abandoned street in the middle of the city. The Game Makers had made it really realistic. Over-turned cars stood in the way, making travel hard. Doors were swung open on hinges and the eyes stared at you.
Countless glazed eyes filled every inch you could see. Countless dead bodies littering the streets, some looked like they had been killed by some savage animal. Others were decaying, from whatever event that had caused all the deaths though I knew what it was.
The Dark Days. When America was in chaos. The war had lasted five long years. Countries turned on each other. Japan launched a bacterial weapon called 'The Syndrome' which made people go crazy and turn on each other, eventually ripping out their own throat. The attack had been on Asia where students had attacked teachers. Families ripped apart.
Since Asia had the most weaponry at the time, they caused the spread off the disease. Causing world wide murder. Carlisle had been working in a hospital in New York when a bomb went off causing him to nearly die. All of the workers and patients had been killed but Carlisle had been able to heal himself before the services had arrived. He was the only survivor
It was pure horror, the shear amount of death. Did human kind have any limits? They watched the poor beg and starve whilst themselves grow fat. The rich watched as the poor died slow and painful death's. Where was the mercy? The human species had started to cannibalize from the inside. Breaking out to cause the deaths now lying in front of me.
I had watched from a tall building, the horror at the horn. Watched the blood of 10 spill on the cold hard tarmac of a broken world. The surviving Careers knitting together and set up a camp in the middle of the square. Able to see any sign of attack far before they got close enough to do any damage.
Was it right to defend such monsters?
Luke Smith P.O.V
Sometime after the bloodbath, my cousin drew her last breath.
I was holding her hand when she left. I'd been sitting by her side all night as the surviving tributes slumbered. How could I sleep whilst my sister died?
10 tributes had died in the past 24 hours. Maybe even more. I'd heard some Careers talking about it nearby. Most of all the tributes from District 5 to 9 were dead. Except the tributes from 7. I had seen their faces in the night sky. Besides I didn't know anyone. The death of strangers didn't fill me with a lot of sadness.
But the bottom of my world dropped out from underneath me when my cousin joined them.
She had been the only kind one among a family of abusive parents. They made us work none stop for hours at a time fishing or weaving. She had left with her grandmother for District 9. She would of taken me too if not for the law. I couldn't go any where without my parents permission, and of course they didn't let me go.
None of that mattered to me as I held the cooling hand of my cousin.
My friends were all dead. Only a handful of teachers got out but later died. Even Mr Yuan with his wrecked Land Rover.
Something truly bad was happening but at that point I was too numb to care.
I remembered taking a taxi to the destroyed school next to the sea. I had been off sick when it had happened. The sky overhead was thick with smoke and dust. The air burned my throat when I breathed it in. It had made me light headed and I had tripped over the curb twice until my lungs and brain got time to get use to the low amount of oxygen.
The remains of my high school was out before me, a pile of rubble and fire. No one had even noticed when I had crossed over the barrier set out for crowd control and moved towards the Gym. The firemen had been busy and the police officers were over by the growing crowd of panicky parents and curious onlookers. Ambulances and paramedics rushed about but there had been no survivors left to take to the nearby hospital. Not like that would save any off them.
Chaos.
There was already a memorial section and I'd moved among the candles, flowers and pictures of my friends. I had seen Tom's dad talking to a doctor while his mother sobbed. I had moved quickly then, not wanting to explain why I was still alive.
The Gym had been at the back of the building and I had slipped away from all the noise, ignoring the heatwaves that radiated from the destroyed structure. What had I been looking for? I couldn't answer that. Maybe for some tiny ray of hope that one of my friends had survived. But had I been really expecting them to had been pulled from the rubble?
"I just need to see," I had spoken aloud.
The parking lot had been empty of people. Hundreds of cars, my own somewhere in that sea of metal and concrete. If someone had stopped me then I would of said I was just picking it up. Holding the keys had helped.
There had been no blood stains on the concrete. No bodies piled up to go the the morgue. No half-burned books or belongings that might of been thrown through the air during the explosion.
Had I been expecting that?
There had been no evidence that bodies were waiting underneath the rubble. No proof at all that my school was now a tomb. I had left after that. Driving around until my car's fuel tank had been nothing but fumes. Had stopped to refill and eaten crisps I hadn't tasted. After I had taken sometime to get some fresh air, I had driven back to my home to suffer another round of punishment.
Her hands were freezing and her blonde hair covering the wound in her head and neck. She slipped away at midnight, I felt her go. Her body went limp and her breath stopped. The Careers had come for me then, saying I was useful because I killed the tribute who killed my cousin.
They wrapped her in cloth and set fire to it. I had screamed for them to stop, to put it out but they did nothing. They had then dragged me to a mat in a broken house were the Careers had made camp.
My hands were cold and my face relaxed as sleep entered me. Begging me to go to the land of dreams.
I could feel the thrill as I had stood over a dying female tribute and watched her blood stain the pavement red. Hear her screams as the knife slipped through the soft flesh of her throat. She died by my hands.
I could never forget her last words.
"Papa..."
Her father watched her own daughter die. Was he mourning now?
The countless family members who were now crying for their lost sons and daughters.
Their screams would haunt me forever.
So.. how was it?
I won't be able to update till next week due to me going on a school camping trip to the Lake District! So please review and I might get a chapter out as soon as I get back:)
Ciao everybody!
P.S: Chapter will be longer as I have more ideas for the end and middle!
P.S.S: Did you like the arena?