Moray Melbourne, District Four POV
I woke up to the sound of the waves beating against the shore. I walked outside for a breath of fresh air, and noticed that it looked like the island was getting closer. I blinked. Was that even possible? I decided to ignore it and woke up Fletcher.
The cave was beginning to light up with the rising sun, so I gently awakened Fletcher so as not to scare him. "Fletcher," I whispered. "Time to get up."
He blinked his eyes blearily, as if forgetting where he was. "Five more minutes," he groaned.
I rolled my eyes at him. "No. You're getting up now." He bolted upright. "Finally," I muttered.
"The Games," he said.
"Yep," I replied, confirming his unasked question. "Day Two."
"Okay," he said. "We know where we stand."
"We do?" I asked, confused.
"We do," Fletcher replied. "Let's go out to the beach, maybe venture over to the fields a little bit, check out our surroundings. If we end up getting low on food before we move, we should know where to find it. Did you get edible plant training?"
"Only a little," I admitted.
"That's okay," he said. "I got plenty."
I laughed. "That makes one of us." We exited our cave after securing it with a woven wall of ferns and branches we had made last night. We strolled for a while, not really talking, just looking. Fletcher pointed out some bushes and plants here and there. To be honest, I just enjoyed his company. Fletcher and I got along better than any other person I'd met. Maybe it was because he accepted me as a girl. I wasn't a clumsy boy, or a weird looking girl. I was just Moray to him.
When we got back to our cave, I was a little tired from our excursion. We sat against the wall on our blanket. The temperature today was moderate, unlike yesterday's chilly temperatures, so we didn't need the blanket yet. We were, however, holding hands, making the room much warmer.
He sighed. "So, tell me about yourself."
I laughed. "You sound like Caesar."
"Sorry," he replied, shrugging.
"Well, I'm an orphan. And my adopted dad, Series, he's really my only friend. He apprenticed me as a diver for his company because he said I showed promise."
Fletcher looked impressed. "Wow. I take it you're a good swimmer, then."
"Good?" I laughed. "I'm excellent." I took this as an opportunity to tease him. "I bet you're horrible."
"I'm actually a good swimmer, thank you very much," Fletcher replied indignantly.
I mm-hmm-d him casually, making him think that I doubted his claims.
"I can!" he insisted.
"Sure," I appeased him. "So tell me about you. How'd you learn to swim?"
He relaxed. "Well, I used to live in a wealthier part of my District, and we had a small pool at the neighborhood playground."
"Wealthier?" I said disbelievingly. "That would've had to have been the Mayor's own house. After all, District Nine is one of the poorest-" I cut off. "Sorry," I whispered, ashamed.
Fletcher chuckled. "No, no. It's fine. We did live in a very wealthy portion of our District, but we couldn't afford it for long, so we moved out. I did go back with my friends, though. Anyway, I have a mom and dad, and one brother, Myles. People say he's much nicer than I am."
"Nicer than you? But you put up with my moods and ramblings!" I protested.
That got a full-on laugh out of him. "I do," he admitted. "But only because you're cute when you ramble." I blushed. "Most people, well, I just don't get along with most people. There's just so much bad in the world that it crushes the good like a cold wind blowing out a bright flame. When I find the good, it gives me hope."
"Wow. That sounded really philosophical," I said, a bit awed. Fletcher looked at me, as if he expected me to run away scared. I broke our hand hold by reaching up to brush my auburn bangs out of my eyes.
"Sorry."
There was a moment of silence, and then I smiled. "Nothing to apologize for."
He returned my smile, and we went back to holding hands.
Ivy Fields, District Eleven POV
After a small breakfast, I decided that two of us should go out and look for food sources. The loaf of bread was quickly disappearing in a group of four. "Who wants to go with me?" I asked. When Juliette raised her hand, I quickly shook my head no.
"I'll go," Ben volunteered. Juliette got a look of panic in her eyes, and everyone noticed it.
"No, no," Jack said. "I can go. I want to get out there, anyway. And you'll be better guarding the camp."
Ben shot him a grateful look, and I resisted the urge to smile. "Alright then, Jack, come with me and grab a knife or two." I already had the short sword with me. He armed himself accordingly, and then stood with me at the edge of the clearing. "We'll be back soon," I told the others. "You guys have a knife to defend yourselves, and we won't be far away. Goodbye, now."
Juliette gave me a small wave, and we made our way through the long grass. As soon as we were out of hearing range, I gave a small smile and laughed a little bit.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked me.
"Nothing," I said, pressing my lips together.
Jack shrugged and examined his knife. Before we knew it, we stumbled upon a berry bush. I cursed under my breath.
"What's wrong?"
"Juliette knows all the plants. She had all the plant training."
Jack laughed at me. "So did I. I pretty much went wherever she did for the first two days."
I let out a breath. "Thank God. So, are these safe?"
"Safe? They're virtually the safest berries you can eat. You should know that, they grow these in District Eleven."
"Well, I assume they do, but I wouldn't grow them. I work in herbs, not berries."
"Oh, okay then. Let's gather these and take them back. There's a ton here, and they grow back really quickly. See these buds? They'll sprout again tomorrow morning." Jack gave me a quick lesson on the berries, which were called everberries. We quickly grabbed all we could and brought them back to camp.
Juliette's face lit up when we arrived. "Everberries!" she exclaimed. "And you weren't gone long, so they must be close. Those are an-"
"Excellent food source," I finished. She gave me a puzzled look. "Jack gave me a lecture on the value of these berries and etcetera."
"Well, let's eat!" Juliette said. I put my supply of berries down on the sleeping bag and we divided them between us. Each person got at least nine or ten berries, and they were very filling. "This was really good luck." Juliette commented for the thousandth time.
"I know," Jack responded. "We'll go back tomorrow morning, too. And every other morning we're here, I guess."
I nodded, my mouth full of berries. This was the best thing that could have happened to us.
Marissa Lionheart, District Four POV
I awoke to Adam gently shaking me awake before moving on to Rose. "Wake up, everyone," he said. "It's a brand new day in the Hunger Games and we've got people to eliminate!"
Rose laughed and stood to stretch. Yawning, she started to give orders. "Diana, Rain, start breakfast. Use whatever we have, or go out and hunt for it. If you need to go out, let me know and take Saul with you. Kale, Adam, start searching the perimeters around the Cornucopia. If you find traces of people living there, report back immediately. Marissa, you and I will continue to sort through the Cornucopia."
No one questioned her orders, though I did feel like grumbling a little. I had just gotten up, and now she was giving orders. Ugh.
"What about me?" Stark asked from his position in the corner.
Rose sighed. "I don't know. Join whatever group you want."
He scrambled up to join Adam and Kale on their way out. Adam groaned, but Kale gave a good-natured smile at the boy. He had been the one to initially invite him into the group. I had to admit, he was a funny little fellow, and quite handy with knives and any manner of sharp objects. Kale had nicknamed him the Snake, and it had stuck.
I ruffled his hair on his way past, and he gave me one of his cute little smiles. Then he, a slightly disgruntled Adam, and an affectionate Kale disappeared behind long, tall grass.
Diana, Rain, and Saul went in the direction of the beach, where there was a small forest of palm trees and other trees, hoping that there would be some game.
With everyone gone, I felt a little nervous that Rose and I were alone. She and I weren't enemies, but she was dangerous. So was I. That made me feel slightly better. As I dug through the Cornucopia's remains, I thought about my family back home, and my watching father.
Surely my mother wouldn't be letting Millie and Brady watch the Games. For their sake, I hoped not. Annabeth would be childishly reveling in my torture, for sure. Azure . . . oh, Azure. I volunteered for her, and I could just hope that she didn't feel any pain. I wasn't sorry that I did it. She was the only one of my step-siblings that liked me, so I could at least be sure that she was watching tearfully. I sent her my love.
Caspian, Remus, and Romulus were most likely all glued to the TV. As my real brothers, I could imagine that they would feel worried . . . Skylynn was a question mark. She may or may not have been watching, for all I know she didn't care. I shrugged it off and threw another axe down to the pile.
"That should be good," Rose remarked, dusting off her hands as Rain burst back into the clearing. Saul and Diana were on her heels.
"Mutts," Rain gasped.
Rose and I exchanged a glance, before grabbing our weapons. She started barking commands. "Saul, climb on top of the Cornucopia. Aim at the mutts from above and surprise them. Rain, go for a direct hit with your arrows. Diana, just throw stuff." I backed up, holding out a spear that I would throw if necessary.
It was then that Adam, Kale, and the Snake came back. "Snake!" Rose said. "Join Saul. Use your . . . sharp object skills."
Stark did as she asked, and Adam and Kale joined Rose and me in the line behind Rain and Diana. The mutts came charging into the clearing, and I had to force myself to stay put. They were some of the scariest things I had ever seen. They were people—almost. Each of them was hooded in long, black cloaks with white hands. That alone wouldn't have been bad if they didn't have faces.
There were simply dark abysses where their faces should have been. I saw Rain shoot an arrow right into one of the creature's hearts, and it fell down. The creature standing next to it went down from a knife thrown by Saul, and three in a row done in by the Snake's daggers. That kid was deadly.
"Marissa!" Saul shouted from on top of the Cornucopia. "Behind you!" Without realizing what was behind me, I whirled around and jabbed my spear into the unknown assailant. It was another creature. It dissipated into dust, and my confidence returned.
After five minutes of fighting the creatures, their numbers thinned, and the reinforcements coming out of the forest dwindled. We were all fighting our best, but suddenly I heard a scream. I didn't stop to see who it was, when I heard a different scream. I finished off the mutt I was fighting and noticed that there were no more. They were all crowded around two bodies.
I looked around the clearing. Diana was missing, but no one else was. The pack huddled together, weapons at the ready. The mutts, satisfied with their kill, left, and I noticed that they had blood dripping from their hoods.
"They drank her blood," Rain said weakly. "I think . . . I think she's dead."
We rushed over to Diana's body, and found it to be lifeless and weak. I looked at Rain, but she was doing her best to fight tears.
"So who's this?" Adam asked, gesturing to the body beside Diana.
Stark studied the face. "I think it's that loner, Anna, from District Ten."
"Oh."
"I saw her run in. I think she was being chased by the mutts, too."
"Oh."
There was silence. "Well, I guess we'd better leave for a few minutes so the hovercrafts can pick up the bodies," Rose said. "Did you guys catch anything for breakfast?"
"We found these plants that Rain said are edible," Saul told her, holding up a fistful of something green.
"Yes, we can cook them," Rain commented.
"Alright, let's go." And with that, we were off. I couldn't help but think that from what I had seen so far, the arena was a horrible place to die.
A/N: So, I've decided to split Day Two into two parts just so I could give you guys an update. I would really appreciate it if you reviewed!
Special thanks to…
Lostliveson4eva for being my beta!
MockingjayForever21, Europa22, and Bumblebee27 for being my only reviewers. You guys rock, thanks for being with me.
Finally…eulogy time!
Diana Ross~ You were interesting to write, especially with the Career girls intimidating you, but for the sake of plot, you had to die. Will you come back? Maybe. Will you be alive and sane? Probably not. Bye, have a nice afterlife :)
Anna Moore~ You hated Zander, and he died last chapter, so I guess you got to be happy for a day. It was kind of stupid to follow the mutts…but we'll see more on that next time. Maybe people will feel bad, maybe they won't. Either way, please refrain from being mean in your afterlife. Bye!
Peace, Love, Happiness, Summer Days,
~DG~