Again, when I wrote this chapter I was stupid and didn't put the song lyrics in until it was on Fanfiction, and thus I don't have the version with the song lyrics. It doesn't matter, though! Just listen to the song Thanks For the Memories by Studio All-Stars while you read this! Or don't. Whatever.
Tanner, Age 17, District 4
Oplarran's face was in the sky last night. I wonder who killed him. Jessamine is pissed, she's still ranting about how he was the 'only normal one'. I think Raith may punch her any second.
"He was the only one with any sanity," Jess murmurs under her breath.
"Will you please shut up?" Raith snaps. She glares at him.
"I think we should go look for who killed him," She announces. All of us are hanging out in the boy's bedroom not really doing much except chilling. Ven is on my left and Gleam is on my right, I have one arm around both of them. Hunter is leaning against the wall next to the window not saying anything except numbers which he mutters under his breath. Raith sits on one of the beds with a scowl on his face, while Jess paces back and forth, twiddling her thumbs.
"Why?" Gleam asks. "What's the point?"
"We can avenge his death," Jess explains. "And kill more tributes in the process."
"She's got a point," Hunter says, taking a break from counting for a moment. "Besides, we've been here to long."
"Alright," Raith grumbles standing up. "Let's go then."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Gleam says. "Who put you in charge, exactly?"
"Get over it, Gleam," I say gently, not wanting a fight. "Come on, let's just go."
"Fine," She hisses and stomps out of the room, the others following. We get as much equipment as we can while Hunter finds the tracks. We follow them into the forest, ready to face whatever we may find.
Velvet, Age 16, District 8
As Roshan and I slowly make our way through the forest, I have to stop every few minutes to rest because of my injury. Even when I'm barely walking it hurts, and Roshan says that if I don't go slowly then it might reopen. I've already lost enough blood without loosing more. I lean against a pine tree, gasping for breath.
"Velvet," Roshan says. "If you aren't strong enough today then we can wait until tomorrow."
"No," I argue. "We need to move. I'm fine." It feels weird to be being taken care of by a thirteen year old, but I appreciate her help. I mean, if she hadn't helped me, I'd be dead.
"We should rest for awhile though," She insists. "You need to keep your energy."
"Alright," I nod. I slid down the trunk of the tree so that I'm sitting on the snow-covered ground. A blue bird twitters in the tree above me. Pulling out my bow and arrow I shoot it to the ground and Roshan goes to collect it.
"Right in the eye," She notices. "Nice shot."
"Thanks," I breathe.
Sterling, Age 16, District 8
I watch as the Careers collect some of their things and leave the mansion behind. I can't believe this, I had thought that they'd stay there the entire time and I wouldn't get a chance to go inside. Mansions are my natural habitat, after all, and I'm desperate to get away from all this dirt and filth that Abby keeps calling nature.
"Abby," I say. She pokes her head out from behind the vines curiously. She's so beautiful. "The Careers left."
"They left?"
"Yes," I nod. "They left the mansion; they are going into the forest. They took a bunch of stuff with them I don't think they'll be back for awhile, if they even come back at all."
"Then what are we waiting for?" She asks excitedly. "Let's go!" We grab our spears and race down the slope. Reaching the courtyard I'm out of breath but Abby is as energetic as ever. She throws open the doors to the mansion and we step inside. It's almost as huge as my mansion back in District Eight, with a towering dome ceiling and marble floors. The entire thing, however, is covered in dust as if no one has been here for centuries. I hate dust.
"Gross…" I grumble as I follow Abby down a long hallway. She stops to admire a portrait of a beautiful garden hanging on the wall and I throw open a random door. Instantly, a huge axe swings down from the ceiling straight towards me. I yelp and slam the door shut, the blade appearing only centimeters to the left of my head, leaving a huge hole in the door. "Abby, I think this place is…" I trail off as I realize that she's not standing there anymore. "Abby?"
Walley, Age 14, District 7
That bear… that stupid bear… has been sitting at the bottom of this tree since yesterday just staring at me and salivating like I'm going to be its next meal. "You don't want to eat me," I tell it. "I'm chewy and don't have much fat." It lets out a roar in response and I groan and bang my head on a tree branch out of annoyance. I'm going to die in this tree if something doesn't happen.
Deciding that it'll be more entertaining then just sitting here doing nothing, I break off a small piece of the tree and load it into my slingshot. Taking careful aim, I shoot it down at the bear and it bounces off his head. He growls at me. Suddenly, I have an idea. I get another shard of twig and let it fly. It hits the bear right in the eye. It lets out a terrible roar before taking off into the forest. I sigh with relief before climbing down from the branches. My body is stiff and sore from spending the night in the tree and my eyelids feel heavy because I didn't get much sleep last night at all. Could you if you knew that there was a bear below you and if you fell it would rip out your intestines and make them into spaghetti? I don't think so.
Stepping onto the solid ground again for the first time in over twelve hours, I pull off my shirt and jacket, exposing my bare skin to the bitter wind. Slowly, I unwrap the bandages and find that my injury has turned a sickish green color. That is not a good sign. Not wanting to look at it, I wrap it back up and throw my clothes back on. I decide to head east. I reach the creek where the bear first ambushed me and glance around nervously to make sure that it isn't hiding in the shadows before continuing on into the forest.
Ryden, Age 18, District 10
"Ryden…" Sky murmurs, sitting up slowly, and one hand on her forehead which is probably throbbing. I'm at her side instantly. She glances around. "What happened?"
"You got stung by a Tracker Jacker," I explain. "But you'll be fine."
"Where are we?" She asks, looking around. We are on cool brown stones, blades of grass growing up in the cracks and as a hawk flies overhead the arena looms below us, slightly shrouded in morning mist.
"I took you up the mountain when you passed out," I explain. She looks confused so I keep talking. "You know, from the Tracker Jacker sting. I figured that none of the other tributes are up here, most likely, so I thought it would be a nice place to stay while you recover."
"Ryden…" She says slowly. "What do you mean… other tributes?"
"The other tributes," I repeat, a little perplexed by her behavior. "You know the people we are fighting to the death…"
"What are you talking about?" She asks, frustration growing on her face. "I was just at the Reaping, how did I get stung by a Tracker Jacker right in the middle of District Ten? And why would you take me up here if I did? Where are we even? There are no mountains in Ten."
"Sky," I whisper, my eyes wide. "You were reaped; we're in the Hunger Games."
"No," She says, standing up and stepping away from me. "No, that isn't possible. I don't know what you're talking about."
"That was no Tracker Jacker…" I breathe. "That was something else. Sky, you've lost your memory."
Thaddeus, Age 16, District 3
"There were tributes here," Peregrine announces, standing up from where she crouched down. "Two of them. They went that way." She points off in a random direction.
I nod and ask, "How fast?"
"Just walking," She says with her usual blank expression.
"Let's go," I say and we take off at a jog, but suddenly, I feel incredibly tired. "Peregrine, wait… lets… rest here… for awhile."
"What's wrong?" She asked, not really concerned.
"I don't know…" I mutter. My throat is soar and I feel hot, which isn't normal considering there is snow on the ground and I can see my breath. "I feel horrible."
"You're suffering withdrawal," She notices. "From the drugs."
"This is horrible," I groan, feeling sick to my stomach. I throw up and Peregrine just sits there watching me with her usual poker face. When I finally stop I study her curiously. "So… you feel… no emotions?"
"I feel nothing," She replies almost robot-like.
"Then why did you volunteer?" I ask.
"I want to feel something." She explains.
"So then you do feel something?"
"No,"
"But you said you wanted to feel something," I say. "And wanting is an emotion." She seems to drift off into her own thoughts so I drift off into mine. If I didn't feel any emotion I wouldn't have stopped taking drugs, I wouldn't have started them to begin with. I wouldn't have gone to that party with the drugs because I would have thought it would be pointless and I would never have fallen in love with Madilynn. I wouldn't feel all this pain that I do now. How different would my life be… if I wasn't me?
Taylor, Age 14, District 12
Oh my god, the kittens are attacking me! AH! I have to run, I have to get away from them and their rainbow laser beams. Ow! One of the beams hits me in the shoulder and I fall to the neon orange ground. Slowly, the orange fades and the world returns, except for the fact that its still spinning and my head is throbbing like I got hit in the head with a tractor. Wait… That laser beam wasn't a laser beam, it was an arrow. And the kittens aren't kittens… it's the Careers!
Hunter, Age 18, District 9
My arrow hits Taylor in the shoulder and he falls to the ground. His world seems to clear as I rapidly approach and he stumbles to his feet and runs in the opposite direction. I roll my eyes and keep going, my feet slapping against the icy ground. Jessamine races through the forest a few yard to my right, two knives clutched in each of her hands. I can see Taylor darting through the woods, running into trees every now and then. He's not very fast, and I would have captured him easily but it doesn't matter. Vencitiy comes out of nowhere, leaping down from the trees and pinning him to the ground in a matter of seconds. When I catch up, I see what lies in front of us. A huge cemetery stretches from horizon to horizon, grey tombstones sticking out of the ground, cobwebs stretching between some of them and an eerie mist hanging over the whole scene.
Gleam arrives and grins at the horror movie setting in front of us. Grabbing Taylor by the neck of his tribute uniform she pulls him off the ground and drags him into the cemetery. They rest of us looks at each other nervously before following.
"Um, Gleam," Tanner says uncertainly, glancing around anxiously. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She ignores him and roughly throws Taylor to the ground before pinning him and whipping out a knife. The poor kid is still too confused to really be able to do anything. She holds the knife above his eyes and shows him the blade with a demented smile on her face.
"I'm not watching this," Jessamine announces, heading off in a random direction. Turning around she adds, "Come get me when it's over." Raith follows her.
"What do you know?" Gleam asks Taylor with narrowed eyes.
"What are you t-talking about?" He squeaks.
"You were good friends with Sky and Ryden during Training," She says. "I bet you know where they are…"
"Gleam," I speak up. "His footprints were the only ones, he's alone."
"You don't know everything," She snaps at me before turning back to him. Quickly, she flicks her knife and leaves a three inch cut on Taylor's cheek. He grimaces in pain. "Tell me, coconut boy, what do you know about this Game?"
"I don't know anything that you don't," He replies quietly. Angered, Gleam slices a long cut on his upper arm, staining his white uniform red.
"You're lying…"
Abrielle, Age 14, District 11
I walk down another corridor, curiosity getting the best of me. I know I left Sterling behind, but come on, how dangerous can a mansion be? I don't need his protection constantly. In fact, if anyone needs protection it's probably him. Opening a random door, I step inside. It's an empty room with white walls and a white floor. I hear the door close behind me and in disappointment I turn around to leave. I try to open the door… its locked.
Suddenly, I hear a grinding noise. Turning around, the walls begin moving. THE WALLS ARE MOVING! They are closing in on me, moving closer and closer to each other. I need to get help. Banging on the door I scream and shout, not caring who hears.
"STERLING!" I shriek as the walls get ever closer. "SHERMAN! ANYONE! HELP!" They are getting closer. When Sterling finally throws open the door, they are pressing on each of my shoulders. He grabs my arm and pulls me out, scrapping up my shoulders in the process. The second I'm outside, the walls change direction and keep going until they reach their original position. Sterling closes the door and he holds me for a few minutes before the two of us continue on down the hallway, not saying anything.
I open another door but survey it before stepping inside. It seems safe. We're in a large bedroom with a chest of drawers, a few bookshelves, a wardrobe and a king-sized bed that sits smack in the middle of the room. I glance at Sterling and he puts on a devilish grin that makes my heart flutter.
Jessamine, Age 18, District 2
I walk around the cemetery and study the names. They all seem so familiar. The tombstones here aren't like the ones that we have in the Districts, they have just the names of the people on them and that's it. Finally, I find one tombstone that answers all of my questions.
It reads Cameron Mason.
I knew that I knew these names from somewhere. I should have seen it before. All these tombstones read the names of tributes that have died in the past. That is why there are so many of them, twenty-three for ever Hunger Games that have ever taken place. I kneel down besides my brother's grave and stare at the ground. I can't help but stare at the ground wondering if his remains are actually down there, even though I knew they aren't They are safely back in District Two… aren't they?