Day Eight:
Mars Poole (D2 M 18)
I decided to start a fire up a few minutes ago to heat up my machete blade. It will be more satisfying if I kill the zombies with a red-hot blade. Hopefully, it will sizzle as it passes through the zombies' skulls. That would be extremely satisfying.
At last, I hear the zombies shuffle out towards me. I count four today. A fifth zombie heads for the cliff; the one that looks like Gemma. Since the other zombie's not there, I'm assuming it was for the boy from District Ten. I don't remember much about him from training, but he was big; the only possible threat left. Obviously, that girl from District Nine can't beat me because she's a girl, and I know I can defeat Smoky easily. These remaining days will be a walk the park.
As the first zombie approaches, I raise my machete and behead it. I'm happy to hear it sizzle. I behead the second and the third quickly too. The fourth zombie dodges my first swipe. However, I send my knife into his forehead, right in between what's left of his eyes. Feeling accomplished, I pull my sizzling knife out of the zombie and head for Smoky's tent. "Wake up, sleepy head!" I shout. "Time to take watch!"
Smoky stumbles out of his tent, and picks up his spear. He does a double take when he notices my campfire. "You trying to set the arena on fire?" he yells.
I shrug. "Why?"
"Well first of all, you built it on dry grass. You didn't put it in a pit. Second, you didn't clear the surrounding area of debris." He motions at a few sticks, leaves, and pieces of trash that are sitting on the ground. I shrug again. Smoky sighs. "Elementary campfire safety, Mars. Now go to bed, you genius." Slightly taken aback, I head for my tent. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Smoky fixing my fire. I smirk and climb into my tent. Machete in my hand, I fall asleep.
Carmen Sylvester (D9 F 17)
Now that I know how to kill the zombie, it's a lot easier today. When the zombie approaches, I just pull back my spear and chuck it into its head. It collapses, so I run to retrieve my spear. It pains me a little to see the deformed face of Gemma, the girl I killed. However, the arena is not a place for softness. I yank the spear out, and walk back to my cave.
Now that I have supplies piled up around every wall of the cave, I have less room to stretch out and sleep. However, I'm not complaining, because I'd rather have supplies than have a comfortable shelter. I seriously have enough food and water to feed a small army. There's also plenty of medical supplies; some of which, I used to patch up the small cuts all over my body. Even though the supplies came with a price, it's a good thing I have them. You can't take any chances in the final eight.
Speaking of the final eight, I wonder how the interview went with my family. They probably did them yesterday afternoon, after the boy from District Ten died. Hopefully, no one said anything stupid. Hopefully, I've gained some sponsors, just in case my supplies run out. As all these thoughts run through my head, I find myself becoming sleepy. I close my eyes, and fall asleep in no time.
Kat Stanley (D6 F 15)
I wake up to the sound of trickling water. It startled me, but I soon realize it's just Ciera filling our water bottles with the spile. "Morning," she says when she notices I'm awake. I just nod back. Lately, I've been becoming more and more worried about our alliance. Pretty soon, we may have to call it quits. It would stink if it came down to just me and Ciera. I don't know if I'd be able to kill her. I feel guilty for thinking it, but I kind of hope Ciera is killed soon, and the girl from District Three. Those are the only two I'd refuse to kill. The others, well, I'd probably try to kill them, but I don't know if it would work. I think I'd have a chance against both of the District Eleven tributes, but the other three would pose a problem. The boy from One, the boy from Two, and the girl from Nine all have more experience than me. I doubt they think I'm a threat to them. Well, I'll prove them wrong, soon enough.
My mind drifts, and I begin to think about who I'd want to win, if I died. Obviously, I'd want Ciera to win, but that girl from District Three deserves to as well, after what she went through during her childhood. The girl from Eleven seemed nice enough, but I really didn't know her that well. However, something tells me it will probably come down to the two careers and the girl from District Nine. Between those three, I think I'd want the girl to win. It would be nice to see a non-career win, even if she did have training.
Ciera caps the final bottle and turns to me. "Ready to go?"
"Sure," I say. I grab our backpack and hop out of the tree. Time to go hunting and gathering. I'm hoping for some meat, but I'll be find with just something to munch off. We set off into the seemingly endless forest, and begin our daily search.
Smoky Willis (D1 M 18)
I am completely ecstatic! I can finally run again! I dash around the cornucopia, jumping for joy. I feel unstoppable! Now that my ankle is back to normal, my chances of winning have skyrocketed upwards. Pretty soon, I'll be known as Smoky Willis, victor of the 125th Hunger Games. I can't wait!
Mars jolts me back into reality. "Ready to go hunting, Skipee?"
I stop skipping. "Of course," I say. "And I wasn't skipping."
"Yeah, whatever," he says sarcastically. "Now let's go."
"So we're both going to go?" I ask. "We're not going to leave a guard?"
"That's correct," he confirms. "I don't think anyone would steal from us. No one's that close to us. They're all deep in the woods, so by the time they'd find their way back to the cornucopia, we'd be here too."
"Okay," I say. I guess what he's saying sort of makes sense, for once. I pack a bag with some food, water, and supplies, just in case. I grab my spear, and head over to the cliff, Mars behind me. I'm happy when I discover that scaling the cliff causes me no pain at all. This feels wonderful.
I reach the top and start jogging into the forest. "Wait up," Mars says from behind me. "There's no need to run."
I laugh. Tough old Mars can't handle a little bit of physical activity? "Come on you slowpoke!" I shout back at him. "Time to kill some tributes!"
Piper Hagen (D11 F 14)
Stupid careers! I chuckle as I climb down from my tree. Did they honestly think no one would touch their supplies? Well, they thought wrong. I reach the edge of the cliff and begin to climb down. It actually feels nice to get some exercise. I haven't stretched my legs since yesterday. Before I know it, I've made made my way down the cliff. Now, it's time to dig through the supplies.
I find two empty backpacks by one of the tents, and begin to fill them up with all the necessary supplies. I gather five bottles of water, two cans of soup, five packages of dried foods, a sleeping bag, a first aid kit, a pair of night vision goggles, a pack of matches, a flashlight, and a knife. I also stuff in a blow gun and a dozen darts. I was pretty good with these during training, and it will be nice to be armed, if I'm attacked.
Once I zip up my backpacks, I walk back over to the cliff, and begin my ascent. It gets easier and easier, every time I do it. Pretty soon, I've pulled myself up to the top of the cliff. I walk back to my tree, climb up it, and sit on my favorite branch, which holds my length of rope and nearly empty jug of water. I wipe the sweat off of my face with my sleeve. I swear, it's been becoming hotter and hotter in here every day. I decide that now would be a good time for a nap. All this climbing has tired me out. I close my eyes and fall into a wonderful, dreamless sleep.
Jillian Perry (D3 F 13)
As the pair of us wander around the woods, I spot a clump of berries, which I'm pretty sure are edible. I point them out to Thurmond, and he nods. "Yep, those are edible." I pick the purple, plump berries off of the bush, and place them into my pocket. I eat a few as well. I don't feel guilty about eating these, since I found them myself. Although, Thurmond did point out the fact that they were edible. Nevertheless, I eat them anyways. They taste delicious. I remember eating these back in District Three, but I forget what they're called.
All of a sudden, I hear the sound of leaves rustling, and loud voices. That could only mean one thing; the careers! Before I can react, Thurmond yanks me behind a thick tree. So far, the careers haven't noticed us yet. As I hold my breath in anticipation and fear, I catch what they're saying.
"I don't know why we haven't found anyone today," the first one says. "There's plenty of weak ones left."
"Yeah," the second one replies. "There's still the midget from Three and the weaklings from District Eleven."
"Yeah," the first career agrees. "I honestly don't know what those three are doing. Maybe they're allied together."
"Don't be ridiculous, Smoky," the second career says. "I'd would be pretty hard to hide three weaklings together. They're probably split up, starving, begging their mentors for food and water. Food! Water!" He shouts in a mocking voice, while the other career, Smoky, laughs. "Mummy I want my blankie!"
At this point, neither of the careers can control themselves. They collapse to the ground, laughing. I look at Thurmond, who's face is bright red. It takes me a second to realize that it's because the careers were making fun of us. After all, I'm used to it. What the careers said is mild, compared to what people have said to me at the community home. Thurmond takes a step out from behind the tree, but I grab his shirt and pull him back. Luckily, the careers are too caught up in their laughter fit to notice anything. I pull Thurmond's face close to mine. No! I mouth. He seems to get the message. I can see it in his eyes. Thurmond sighs and gets rid of the menacing facial expression. I release his shirt, and we watch as the careers slowly get up and saunter away, still smiling.
Once he's sure the careers are gone, Thurmond turns to face me. "Thanks for what you did back there. If you hadn't pulled me back behind the tree, I'd probably be dead." I just shrug. "No, seriously," he says, looking into my eyes. "Thanks." When I shrug again he embraces me in a hug. "You're impossible," he says, and even through I can't see his face, I can tell he's smiling.
Mars Poole (D2 M 18)
I can't believe we didn't catch a single stinking tribute today. We haven't caught one for days, so I'm getting kind of antsy. When we reach the cliff, I kick a loose rock over the edge in anger. If we don't find one tomorrow, I may have to kill Smoky to satisfy myself. He has been a valuable ally, but I volunteered for the Games to kill, and if I don't get what I want, he may be next on my list. Besides, we're down to the final eight anyways, so I'll have to kill him soon anyways.
We climb down the cliff in silence. It isn't a very long silence, because before I know it, we're at the bottom. I head over to my tent and sit down. Funny; I could have sworn I put two empty backpacks here yesterday. However, that isn't the point. I look over at the setting sun. A few short minutes and I'll get to sleep. I don't even know why I'm bothering to wait for the Panem Anthem. There was no deaths today anyways. I guess I just want to be sure I didn't miss anything.
Just as I predicted, no faces are displayed in the sky tonight. When the anthem ends, I walk over to Smoky. "It's your turn to take first watch today," I say. "Your ankle's all better, so you'll be able to fight off the zombies." He just nods. I turn back to my tent and climb in. Within no time, I'm wrapped up in sleep.
No Deaths
Remaining Tributes (8):
D1:
Smoky Willis (D1 M 18)
D2:
Mars Poole (D2 M 18)
D3:
Jillian Perry (D3 F 13)
D6:
Kat Stanley (D6 F 15)
D7:
Ciera Dawson (D7 F 17)
D9:
Carmen Sylvester (D9 F 17)
D11:
Piper Hagen (D11 F 14)
Thurmond Richard (D11 M 16)
Kills:
Mars: Violet, Alfred, Jorge, Lexiana
Gemma: Savannah, Noel, Roland
Lexiana: Eli, Lynette
Troy: Geoffrey
Carmen: Gemma
Levi: Jonas
Alliances:
Smoky/Mars
Jillian/Thurmond
Kat/Ciera
Carmen
Piper
No deaths today, which means that there'll be some tomorrow! I'm already planning out the rest of the Games in my head, so vote in the poll so that I don't get rid of your favorite tribute! :-)