A/N: A big thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story.
I think it's safe to assume that the Guest who has left multiple reviews is the same person, so thank you!
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, places, or quotes. These belong to Eric Kripke and Suzanne Collins.
The tube rose steadily. I didn't acknowledge a speed. It was neither fast nor slow. I was dreading the inevitable. The light increased suddenly and I realized I was approaching the surface. I then saw the shiny metallic cornucopia directly in front of me. Bobby had told me the best items were inside, but I wasn't risking that. I scanned the items up front, and a black backpack and a set of sparkling knives caught my eyes. Doing my best to see inside I saw something duller than the Cornucopia, but still shiny. It was an axe, and I knew Jo was going to go for it.
The plan was not going to work. We weren't going to stick together, and we probably wouldn't manage to find a way to escape either.
I had fully risen and the countdown began. "60... 59... 58..." A booming voice said. I looked around trying to focus instead of freak out. The Cornucopia was in the center of the tributes who were arranged in a circle. Encompassing us was forest. I couldn't see far into it, the foliage was too thick and dense. I glanced over at Jo and she winked and nodded at me. I glanced at Castiel, and he was getting ready to run. "19... 18... 17..." The voice counted down. I got ready to run for my life and grab the backpack and knives. I saw a clearing in the forest I could escape to if our plan didn't work.
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Go!" I ran as fast as my legs could go. I reached the backpack and snatched it. There was a flurry of other kids. Some of the Careers had already grabbed weapons. I heard a cannon go off, indicating that someone had died. Already? The knife kit seemed so far away, but I managed to run and get it. I heard two more cannons go off. I frantically looked about for Jo. Where could she be? I couldn't stay out in the open for long. I already saw someone coming for me with a sword.
Another cannon went off as I sprinted towards the opening in the forest, the exhaustion of my last sprint became replaced with adrenaline. I wasn't going down on my first day. Suddenly the tribute chasing me grunted and a canon went off. I kept staring straight ahead, and wouldn't allow myself to look back. I ran through the opening at full speed. Branches scratched me and got caught on the backpack, but I didn't care.
I eventually slowed down to a walk, but another canon sounded it, and I continued to run. When my legs were begging for me to stop, I slowed down to a walk. I cautiously explored, and found an area hidden between trees and covered with vines. It could use a little more camouflage, but I wanted to know what was in the bag first.
I pulled out a poncho which would be useful. There were two empty canisters which could be used to store water and food, and in the very bottom I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a black .40 Smith and Wesson. There was also a note.
"Don't worry Dean," it read, "there are other weapons like this too. Not an unfair advantage, but not a fair one either. With love, Gabriel." His note told me there would be other guns in the arena as well. This is the first year using guns in these games, and guns are strictly prohibited. It's safe to assume I'm the only one who knows how to use it.
I decided to check the weapon for bullets. I pointed the barrel at a tree. I didn't want to come this far with a great weapon and shoot myself, and safety is always important. I recalled everything my dad taught me as I pressed the button on the side of the hand grip which ejected the magazine. I also checked the chamber for a bullet, and there was none. Inside the magazine there were bullets. Something seemed wrong about them though. I pried the bullets out of the magazine, and then I realized I shouldn't have to pry the bullets out. These are the wrong bullets. I sighed as I continue to pry the bullets out of the gun. It would be dangerous to fire these bullets out of the .40 Smith and Wesson. I could actually be killed. The bullets would not be useless however.
I put all the supplies back into the backpack, including all but one of the knives. I decided this area would be a good place to rest for the night, but would need some work. The very back was rocky and there were only two entrances. The main one, and a narrow opening barely big enough for a person to get in and out. I began pulling off large leaves and vines from surrounding plants and draped them over the opening doing my best to make it look natural. I also looked around for food and water, but found none. My throat was parched from the running, and I was already beginning to feel the effects of not having any of the Capitol food to eat.
I heard some screams. They were high in pitch, most likely belonging to a female. I didn't recognize the voice as Jo's, but I still wanted to help. Helping would most likely get me killed, and night was falling. Even if I managed to save her, she might kill me, or I might get lost. I jogged back to my makeshift camp trying to conserve energy. I heard a cannon as I crawled in.
The Capitol theme played as I peeked through the vines. The faces and district numbers flashed on the sky. There had been 7 losses in total, and I was relieved to see that Jo and Castiel hadn't been any of them. It was hard to this almost one-third of the tributes had already died. I moved next to the wall, and attempted to get some sleep while I could.
A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter. Next Sunday is the day before school starts again, so I might upload the next chapter earlier than that. Anyhow thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: The part earlier describing about unloading the gun should not be used for reference. I did research this for the sake of writing this, but it was for the sake of writing that part. I have never held, fired, nor unloaded a gun before. Please be careful!