A/N: ESP0JO3P[QV21K0C-I3QOIEKOSMVHIP3QMC9R0=1 p;a'cr 3p2]q. I love you guys. Seriously. All of you who review/favorite/alert/read are awesome. As always, enjoy!
Sixty seconds. For sixty seconds I can see the tributes standing there, taking everything in. A few are perched, ready to burst forward and grab the horde of weapons and food that are placed temptingly in the mouth of the Cornucopia. They are spread away from the mouth, but not very far away. The farthest thing from the Cornucopia is a canteen for water that's about fifteen feet from the mouth. Still no where near Damian or Calliope. My eyes seek them out. Suddenly, I spot Damian, near the edge. But Calliope must be on the other side, because I can't see her. Then the camera flashes to another view, and I can see the other side. Calliope is directly across from Damian. I realize the bell must be about to chime, and silently wish it would go back to the other side. A second later, it does.
The moment the camera turns back to it's previous view of the mouth of the Cornucopia, the gong is hit. And all hell breaks loose.
Of course, the several Careers that I can identify- the big boy from One and the muscular girl from Two- rush to the Cornucopia along with several others who may or may not be Careers.
Most of the other tributes are racing around the Cornucopia as well, searching for things far enough from the Careers to grab but useful enough to need. As soon as they are armed, the Careers strike out. I see Calliope has found Damian in all this mess. I can see the boy from District Four make his way over to Calliope and Damian, as well as the ten year old girl from District Eleven. I can't help but wonder where the others are. The man from Eleven runs over, holding two backpacks. They sprint towards the woods, following one of the streams. They are obviously anxious to get away from the carnage.
"Why aren't they waiting for the girl?" I ask Haymitch out of the corner of my mouth, not taking my eyes off the screen.
"She's not going to be any help, sweetheart." Haymitch says.
I automatically look towards the Careers, thinking that maybe she joined them. Halfway there my eyes find her body. A spear is imbedded in her eye socket. Blood surrounds her. I look away before I notice anything else I don't want to see.
The cameras flash to a view of Calliope, Damian, Eleven and Four walking through the woods. Then it changes to the other escapees- The five year old from District Five walking with the 25 year old from District Ten. I wonder why he didn't join the Careers- they would've easily let him in. The sixteen year old girl from Ten and the 27 year old woman from Five have joined them. There are more big groups then usual this year, but I don't stop to wonder why.
I realize something. I lean over and tap Haymitch the shoulder urgently. "Haymitch," I say. "I don't even know their names."
He goes through all the ones he knows with me. Grove and Ambrosia are the tributes from District Eleven. Leaf is the male tribute from District Four. Justice and Stone are from District One, and Clydell is the male from District Ten. Glade is the female from Ten, and Lake and Ash are from District Two. The five year old is named Orville. He doesn't know the rest of them.
I nod and turn my head to the screen, trying to keep the names straight in my head. "We should have told Calliope and Damian," I say.
"I already did, sweetheart."
"When?"
"When do you think I told them our allies?"
I decide to ignore it, and focus on what's happening in the arena. Their group walks on for awhile, but I can only tell roughly how far, because the screen keeps flashing between them, the bloodbath, and the other large group. Occasionally it will throw in a picture of another lone tribute just to let you know they're alive.
Their climb starts to slant upward. The river runs flat, and slowly they are rising about it as they walk on the hill next to it. Gradually, the ground gets more rocky. It's more like they're perched on a small cliff then a hill.
There are no trees in the direct vicinity to hide them, but the boulders next to the river partially obscure them. I silently pray that they don't get caught by the Careers.
"We should figure out what supplies we have," Damian says onscreen.
Ambrosia and Grove each pull out a backpack, and Leaf has two knifes, a spear, and two water canteens, as well as a square of tarp.
I didn't notice them pick anything up, but Calliope has two loaves of bread in her backpack as well as a hat and a canteen for water. Damian has a knife, and I take a moment to feel thankful he has a weapon.
"We almost have enough for everyone then," Leaf says, and I start to wonder how they got so much stuff. Everyone but Damian has a backpack, and even he has a knife.
They put all their things back into their backpacks, except for Leaf, who gives Grove and Calliope knifes and keeps the spear for himself. He also gives Damian a water canteen. Calliope passes Leaf a loaf and Ambrosia passes him a package of matches. He nods to each of them and stuffs them in his large backpack.
Its odd watching the Games just like I do every year at home. For some reason, I expected it to be different. The constant flashing between camera views is annoying, as we don't always get to watch ours, and I start to wonder why they don't just show you your tributes at all time.
They head down the other side of the hill, avoiding rocks and various other obstacles. They stick to the river, and continue walking. Suddenly, cannons puncture the air. I can see Calliope stop to listen. "Six," she says as soon as they stop. No one needs to ask what she's talking about.
Near to dinner time, a cannon goes off again. It's from the female from District Six. I watch the Careers slice her in half. They soon flash back to the tributes. About the same time, they break out a loaf of bread, which they give part of to Ambrosia. Damian finds a patch of berries and passes some out to everyone. He also finds some nuts which he gives to Calliope and Ambrosia.
Soon the sun begins to set, and Damian shows Leaf how to set up a trap in the woods. They use some twine District Eleven sends down. Four sends down some crackers and non-perishable food that Leaf puts in his backpack. Haymitch sends down the blow gun for Calliope, which she puts in her find pack. They a small collection of rocks forming a cave similar to the one I hid in last year, and they all squeeze in. There are gaps in the rock above them so they can see the sky.
Slowly, the Capitol seal appears. Then the faces of the dead tributes appear. First comes the female from Four who died in the bloodbath. That means all of One, Two,and Three are alive. Then both of the tributes from six, and both from seven. Then comes the male from eight, and finally, the female from nine.
Everyone I know the name of is alive. Calliope turns to look at Leaf, who is lying next to her. "What was her name?" she asks quietly.
"Daisy," he says. Before he rolls over, I think I can see a tear glistening in his eye.
The camera flashes to the Careers for the Capitol anthem, and then to the other group of tributes afterward. By the time it switches back, they're all asleep with Grove on watch.
"We should go to bed too, sweetheart," Haymitch says.
"But what if something happens?" I ask.
"Finnick is going to stay up until midnight, and he'll wake up the female mentor from Eleven, who will wake up me at four o'clock. Tomorrow, Mags will stay up, wake up the male mentor from Eleven, and then wake up you. That way, if something happens we all know.
At one in the morning, I am shaken awake.
"It's not my turn yet," I mutter, still half asleep. Then I realize what's happened. I sit up immediately, running into the other room. Haymitch follows. But the screen is black.
"We're all watching in Four. It's the biggest room."
I run down the hall. On the featured screen, the tributes are in the middle of a wildfire. They are standing on top of the rock formation they were sleeping under. They can't climb a tree because most of them are on fire. A few trees begin to fall. The fire uses them as ladders, and begins to climb up.
I'm worried in a moment someone will be gone.
"What can we do?" I ask desperately.
"Nothing," Haymitch says.
"But we can't just let them all die!"
"They won't kill them all so early in the Games. They probably are waiting for someone to die or get injured, and then the Gamemakers will stop the fire."
We wait and fire grows higher. Soon it has reached the level of the rocks the tributes are perched on. In a moment, they will be consumed by the fire.
The fire crawls up, using a branch as a stepping stone. It catches Grove's pant leg, and soon his entire leg is on fire. The shriek that rings through the air is short lived. He falls quickly, not having a leg to keep himself up. Soon afterwards, the fire dies. A cannon booms. Calliope hides Ambrosia's eyes as the hovercraft appears.
I sigh and sit back in my chair. It takes me a moment to realize that someone is crying.
It's the female mentor for District Eleven. She has her head in her hands. Nobody does anything. The sound of her crying is sharp and metallic, and a reminder of how cruel the arena can be.
I don't know what to do. I close my eyes, and her crying begins to dwindle off. I look up and see the other mentor from Eleven has his arm around her. He leads her up and out of the room.
I turn to look at Finnick and Mags. Although they lost a tribute earlier today, they are fine. I don't understand why the woman is cut up about the tribute dying.
Mags clucks her teeth and I turn to look at her. "Door thung." It takes me a moment to understand what she's saying. "Der grandsun, dat was."
"That was her grandson?" I ask. Mags nods. The chances of her grandson getting in the Games are almost nonexistent. The Games must be rigged. But then, I already knew that.
"Come on, sweetheart. We better get some rest. This is enough for one night."
"What if something happens?" I ask again, but I let him lead me back to the room. Unwillingly, I yawn.
"Nothing is going to happen. They already have enough extra things to play in the morning for everyone."
I lay in bed, but I can't get to sleep. My mind is consumed by the image of Grove, writhing on the ground, burning. I realize they must still be playing with the 'Girl on Fire' thing from last year. Or maybe they used it from this year too. I can't remember what we did one the chariot rides. It takes me a moment to remember where I was when they happened- wandering the halls and crying in my bedroom about Peeta.
I am disgusted with myself. I have been treating everyone like they are below me, like I went through more then they did. I haven't been focused at all on trying to keep Calliope and Damian alive- it's been all about dealing with Peeta's death and feeling sorry for myself about Gale.
I toss and turn, but I can't get to sleep. I keep thinking about District Eleven. The mentor must be a mess. If she kills her grandson, then Ambroisa will live, but if Grove lives, the Ambrosia will die. I guess the Games figured it out for her though. I wonder if they will for me.
I was so caught up with Calliope and Damian, I completely forgot everyone else. Even if one of them wins, not only will the other one die, but so will the little five year old, Ambrosia, and everyone else too. No matter what I do, there will always be death and carnage.
I finally fall asleep when Haymitch gets up at four o'clock to watch. But that night when I dream, my mind is filled with dragons made from fire. They spit fireballs and my leg burns. Soon my whole body is covered in flames. They feel like fury.
They don't go away when I get up.
A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)
EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)