A/N- You guys can sponsor a Tribute if you want too. Since this is my first fic, I'm not going to be picky about the whole thing. Meaning, I'm not going to do the whole money stuff. Basically, all I'm going to do is that if you review or PM me saying that you want to sponsor this Tribute and send them a gift, I'll consider their situation and how I want to go about with the story line and I'll PM you telling you if your gift has been accepted or not.
Just a hint. If you review telling me what you want to sponsor, there's a higher chance it'll be accepted.
Maybe.
On with the story.
Love, ForeverAdrian.
Day three.
Juanita Alba POV.
I'm the first one to immediately hear the rustling of leaves and heavy breaths outside my tent. I grab a particularly large knife out of my pack, and without even bothering waking up Julietina, who is snoring like a 40 year old man, I start crawling out of my tent, fully alert.
Since it's been a slow last couple of days, my thirst for blood is at its highest peak. I want to make this death interesting, some of it for show, but most of it for my personal satisfaction. I need to kill; we've been lazing around here for days. We are probably losing sponsors by the minute, and our reputation as careers is probably diminishing every day that goes by without a fresh kill.
I step outside and look around. A small fog crawls out of my mouth with every breath I take. There is no way this person could have made it far enough for me not to see them anymore and it's not like I was being loud enough for them to hear me and run away.
Something not right here. It must have been an animal then, because whatever was just running outside just a moment ago is gone.
I curse under my breath and put my knife in my pocket. I can't let another day go by of us just lazing around here. We need to pack up camp and look for Tributes, if not, were going to be here forever, because I'm sure as hell none of the other Tributes are going to kill anybody. Or, if that doesn't happen, I'm sure the Capitol will send some strange Mutts after us as punishment for not fulfilling our duties as careers. I can't let that happen to us, or more importantly, me.
I let out one more icy breath before I turn around to crawl back in the tent, and when I do, I suddenly wish I hadn't.
"Hi um… can you please help me?" The girl standing behind my tent says as the blood dripping from her fingers makes a popping noise when it hits the tent.
I stand there for a moment, completely shocked and appalled from what I see before me.
"What… happened to you?" I say in horror, not even trying to speak in a French accent.
"Please help me." The girl laughs for a moment, just one single laugh, and then suddenly starts crying and walking towards me. I step back, horrified.
This girl… something attacked her. The skin from the bottom of her eyes, all the way down to her chin is almost all gone. Her nose is hanging off by a piece of skin that's barely holding it to her face, and her arms have these deep claw marks that go down from her shoulder, all the way down to her wrist. Deep, gushing cuts that's I'm sure no one can survive with. I think I might be able to see a little bone.
"I- I can't help you." I say, stepping back even more. I pull my knife out immediately and hold it in front of me. The girl starts sobbing now. Should I kill her? Yes, I should, but how am I going to even get close to her. I feel like I want to vomit a hundred times over right now. I've never seen such a thing ever in my life, especially in The Hunger Games. This girl should be dead; there is no reason for her to still be living. For God's sake, me killing her is going to be a favor.
I lunge towards her as she starts to realize her nose is hanging off by a thin strip of skin off her face. She doesn't scream, just closes her eyes as I plunge my knife deep into her throat. The stench of blood is powerful and metallic, and by the sight of it, her skin is starting to rot too. I can't hold it in anymore.
I pull my knife out right when the cannon sounds. I run over to the nearest tree, bend over, and puke my brains out.
This is all too much for me; I never thought it would be this way. I never in my life would have thought I would see something like that, let alone experience it in real life. I thought killing would be easy, which it was, but if that's what some of us are going to look like by the time this Game is over, I want out.
I'm just so sick and repulsed by what I just saw I don't even realize the hovercraft come and pick her body up. I just want to know what the hell happened to her! It had to have been a Mutt, no tribute can leave someone with claw marks like that, especially as deep as they were. Her face was so incredibly torn up too I don't even know how she survived as long as she did.
"You okay?" I hear Maximillium ask from behind me. I don't turn around right away, scared that he might see the fear and disgust in my face.
"Oui. Everything perfect." I say in my accent. I can't believe I lost control and spoke perfect English to that girl, now everyone in Panem is either going to call me a fraud, or look the other way. It doesn't matter, I know for a fact I've lost sponsors.
"Then why are you standing out here by yourself? You sound sick. And I think I heard a hovercraft too…"
"I am fine. Believe in me." He doesn't say anything back at first, but I know he has many questions lingering in his mind. "No hovercraft here."
There's complete silence among us for a moment.
"You're hiding something." He says coldly. "Don't make me lose my trust in you Juanita, it'll be the biggest mistake of your life." I hear him start walking away, maybe to start waking everyone up. I don't know, I haven't turned around. I can't face him. I'm so horrified with what I just saw that I'm going to be thinking about it for hours, days, maybe weeks.
If he sees how weak I am, he might kill me. I need to avoid him for at least the rest of the day. I'll have to avoid everybody. I need a day of solitude, so I can empty my mind from everything I saw. I need to get a grip, this is not what a District 1 Tribute acts like, especially one that has to win.
I really have nothing to lose at this point. All I have to do now is forget.
Arnaldo Armani POV.
The light… it's so bright.
My whole body is numb.
I'm so incredibly thirsty.
Water.
Water.
I don't know how I'm still alive.
My knee. It hurts so bad. Is it even still there?
I should be dead. Why am I still alive?
I can't think anymore. My tongue is dry.
I need water.
Water.
My bones feel like concrete.
I can't stand to be in this position anymore.
I feel like road kill.
Road kill that hasn't been killed yet.
I hope my family isn't watching.
I hope the Peacekeepers have told them that it's alright not to look anymore.
Because I'm as good as dead.
I can barely breathe.
My chest barely moves.
Water.
I hear voices.
I've been hearing voices this whole time.
But these voices are getting closer.
They're shouting something.
Maybe they have some water.
Water.
I close my eyes.
They won't have anything for me.
I hope they kill me.
That way my family will be put through their misery.
But I feel someone grab my arm.
They're saying something to me.
But I don't listen.
All I want is some water.
"We're going to help you."
One of them says.
That makes me smile.
But I don't want to be helped.
All I want is some water.
As my smile fades, everything turns to black.
Maybe in heaven they'll have some water.
Water.
Sarah Morford POV.
I've been alone all this time, which is okay. I don't mind it one bit. I haven't been in much trouble at all while I've been here either, just the powerful hunger and thirst that comes over you once you've been in the arena for more than one day. I'm trying to avoid confrontation as much as possible, but that's not to say I won't fight if I have to. If I feel threatened by someone, I'll kill them, but I'm not going to go on killing people randomly like a fucking psychopath just because I feel like it. I'm not going to scoop down to a careers level, I'm better than that.
Surprisingly enough, the career pack has been very quiet since we've started. They killed a couple people in the blood bath, that's all I know of, but I'm sure they've killed more since then. Two cannons have gone off since the beginning, so it's possible that they were the cause of those deaths, but I wouldn't know. I've been in this exact same spot since the Games have started.
I'm surprised the Gamemakers haven't sent some crazy mutt after me yet. Usually when a Tribute that has potential to fight doesn't do so, they send some mutt after them to get the Games moving and more exciting, but they haven't done that with me, so I'm guessing they don't consider me a valuable enough Tribute to go waste their mutts on.
I wonder what my mom is thinking right now. She's probably thinking about how much of a lazy ass I am, even in the Hunger Games. No, No, No, she's probably thinking why it's taken me so long to get killed, yeah. That sounds more like her.
I used to hate thinking about my mom, but that's all I do now that I'm here. It's funny, just the thought of her doing something stupid or accidentally setting herself on fire just entertains me for hours. She's the last person I would have thought I was going to be thinking about in the Hunger Games. It's weird how things work, but that's just how life is I-
I hear a twig snap.
I feel a surge of adrenaline shoot through my body as I'm suddenly completely alert to everything in my surroundings.
I know someone's there. Only a human foot could have made a noise that loud. Or maybe the Gamemakers have finally sent one of their filthy mutts after me. Both are equally likely. I guess making it through the Games without a fight was just too good to be true.
"I heard you. Now come out." I order to whoever's out there.
No one shows their face, so I say it louder.
Still nothing.
"Let me make this easy for you. If you come out now, maybe I'll think twice about your death. I might even over look it for now. It's a limited time offer." It may sound like I'm taunting whoever is out there, but I'm not. I'm being completely serious.
"Well then, I guess I might have to take you up on that offer."I hear someone whisper in a snake like tone. I let out a loud gasp and spring forward, and then turn around to face my threat.
I recognize him almost immediately. It's Halloween Meyer. District 12, got a nice 12 on his Training score. He could probably kill me in a second if he wanted to, but I'm not going to let him know that. If I show my fear, he'll know I'm easy prey. And I do not want to fall prey to him.
"What do you want? Is there a reason you were following me?"
"Yes. There is." He replies, stepping forward. I immediately step back. I don't like were this is going.
"What do you want?" I ask him again, now with an angrier tone to my voice.
"I could want a lot of things, Sarah. I could want your food, I could want your water, I could want your weapon, or, I could want pieces of your flesh in my hands. The possibilities are endless." His "S" trails off just like a snake. He's trying to scare me, I'm no idiot, but I can't help but think that he's winning. This kid frightens me more than anything right now, but I'm sure that if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it already. He doesn't seem like the type to play with its food.
"You don't want anything, do you? You're just doing this because I caught you."
His evil grin fades into a smile, but he still keeps circling around m like a fucking hyena.
"That's where you're wrong. I've been following you this whole time, Sarah. Looks like you're the idiot for not noticing."
"If you're going to kill me. Do it now. Don't waste my fucking time."
He chuckles to himself.
"Oh, you give up so easily, Sarah. That's such a disappointment. I thought you were better than that. I just might have to kill you after all." His smile turns into a grin again as he pulls out two small oval shaped pieces of metal from his pocket. He presses a red button at the very bottom of them, and then suddenly, the metal bars start transforming into what I think are ninja stars, very, very big ninja stars.
I could run now, but I wouldn't make it far. He's probably much faster and stronger than me, so running away from him would be a pathetic attempt in desperation. I have nothing to do, so I might as well play along with his stupid little game.
"You're not going to kill me. If you were going to, you would have done it a long time ago." I say, slowly bending down and picking up my bat.
"You know, that bat is futile. I could throw my ninja stars at you right now and you'd be dead in a second. I wouldn't even have to move." He gives me a devilish smirk and steps closer, but this time, I don't step back.
"Then do it then. Kill me Halloween. I dare you." He turns his head to the side, like something a confused dog would do. He smiles from ear to ear, showing all his teeth.
"I am going to kill you, Sarah Morford. But not now. You are after all my biggest competition right now, so if I kill you off, I could end this thing in a week tops, and I'm just having way too much fun here to end this so quickly."
He presses another button on the ninja stars and they automatically start closing up again.
"I only have 16 other people in this arena left to kill Sarah. If I were you, I'd start practicing with that bat. Don't make me regret keeping you alive."
And with that said, he runs off.
Derek France POV.
I'm pretty sure that… thing killed Desiree. She fell flat on her face when we all ran, and I was going to help her, I really was, but things just got so… scary, and that thing was running straight towards us, so it was either risk my life for a girl I barely even know, or just look away and run. The last thing I saw before I ran off was that thing digging its claw into her arm.
I don't know what happened to Glenn, but all I can hope is that she ran with the others. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I found out she was out there all by herself. She's an easy target, and ever since the beginning I felt like I needed to protect her, and I've failed.
God, stupid me! I can't do anything right, I swear.
She probably hates me now, for not staying by her side, but that was just so fucking chaotic back there, I didn't know what to do! Oh, and to make matters worse, I have no supplies at all. Nothing! No water, no food, no weapons, no anything! Ugh, this is not good. I'm prolly gonna die soon, and it's going to be a really painful death, just like Desiree's, because karma is an even bigger bitch than my mother.
It's getting really cold right now. I never noticed it could get this cold here. It's prolly like what, 10 degrees right now? Wow, great. I might freeze to death. That is so awesome. Just the way I wanted to go. Woho, I'm gonna be a human Popsicle in less than 24 hours, yeah!
No, I can't let that happen. Aside from all jokes, if I don't start a fire soon, I will freeze to death. Yeah, it's that cold.
But how do you start a fire? Don't you need like wood and a rock or something? I wish I would have paid attention during the Training sessions, they probably mentioned how to do this about a million times. I was prolly too busy staring into Glenn's beautiful hazel eyes. Or maybe I was too busy listening to her soothing laugh, or maybe I was too amazed by how soft and gentle her skin was…
CONCENTARTE DEREK, CONCENTRATE!
You should be thinking about how to build a fire right now, not Glenn's eyes, laugh, skin, etc! If you don't do this, you'll die, and then you really won't be able to see Glenn again.
I feel something suddenly bump into the top of my head as I'm about to bend down to pick up some sticks.
"What the…?"
I look down to the ground and see a square silver box just laying there. I step back a few steps, not knowing what it is or what it could do. I pick up a particularly long stick and slowly poke the silver box with it.
Wait, a sliver box? A silver box, it was floating, it has a tiny parachute tied to the top of it, and it hasn't blown up yet. Isn't that what a sponsor gift looks like?
…
A SPONSOR GIFT!
I let out a small laugh before I basically throw myself on top of the gift. I rip it open, not even trying to be careful with it, when the first thing I see inside of it is a tiny box of matches! Yes! Just what I needed! But right below the box of matches is another thing.
A note?
I slowly open it up, having no idea what it could be. Maybe instructions?
"It's time to get serious Derek, stop playing around. Here-, use this to start a fire. They won't let me give out any information, but let's just say it's going to get very cold, very soon. Please try not to start a forest fire bobo, momma loves you!"
My mom… wrote me that? I didn't even know you were allowed to send notes to Tributes if you were sponsoring. Wow, I wonder how much that cost.
"Love you too Mom!" I say out loud as I start opening to box of matches.
Okay, so maybe my mom isn't that big of a bitch.
She practically saved my life.
I wipe away a small tear from the corner of my eye and smile.
Alright, enough of that. I have a fire to start.
The Tributes.
D1:
-Juanita Alba
-Maximillium Rochester
D2:
-Glenn Elizabeth
-Sapphire Amely
D3:
-Sarah (Smo) Morford
D4:
-Julietina Fox
-Corrosive Tanner
D5:
-Alexander Pastrana
D6:
-George Seibert
D7:
-Ann McDermott
-Derek France
D8:
-Hazel Nguyen
D9:
-Penelope Starr
-Manchester Emilio
D10:
-Arnaldo Armani
-Cookie Hannah
D11:
-Rosalina DiCaprio
D12:
-Halloween Meyer