Hi all! Sorry for the delay in posting this latest chapter. I was enjoying an overdue vacation and took some time off. To make up for it, I wrote this exrta special and exciting chapter of the Games. Enjoy!
Juliette POV (District 10)
It's been a busy few days since the Bloodbath.
More than half of the tributes are already dead, yet I'm surprisingly still alive. It hasn't been an easy road though. After a tough battle and fight at the Bloodbath, Payton and I have been hiding in the forest, away from all the chaos in the mansion. If it wasn't for that crazy girl Claudia (District 2), I don't know if I would have made it through the first day. Every now and then, we hear screams coming from inside the mansion and we know that a couple of tributes had to have been killed. Three nights ago, the faces of the tributes from District 2, 4, 5 and 8 appeared in the sky, marking that only 12 of us were left. It only seems like yesterday that 24 of us were standing around the Cornucopia and ready to fight to the bitter end.
Up ahead clearing the path, my cousin Payton is scanning to check that no tribute is hiding in the trees or preparing for a sneak attack. Payton doesn't like me – I've known this the minute that we met at his parent's wedding. He finds me to be annoying while I think he has a huge self-inflated ego; a complete farmer's son that thinks he can control everyone around him. Luckily I've had my family and friends to spend time with back in District 10; I think that is why Payton resents me so much. The fact that there are people back in District 10 willing to help me if I ever asked for their help. What he doesn't know is that I don't hate him, if he ever asked for my help... I would have my cousin's back in a second. He dislikes me but it was a bit of a surprise when our district mentor Fauna convinced Payton to work together in the Games. She said it was because our story of "family bonding" would help get us sponsors, but I think it was his way of needing my help without asking for it so Fauna did it for him.
Night has come to the arena and no faces appear in the sky. The gentle and sincere side of me is happy that no one has lost their life but the competitor in me is worried. Death means excitement and programming for the Capitol citizens; without any recent deaths and reports, the Gamemakers must be preparing for something devastating. My gut is telling me a weather attack but with the sounds I've been hearing in the forest, it must be an animal. Payton cuts through a shrub and we end up at the beach.
"Let's make camp here tonight. The surrounding area looks fresh enough; no other tribute has been in this part of the arena."
He drops his bags on the ground and I nod in agreement. Rest is always a privilege in the Hunger Games and we need to take advantage of it before an enemy heads our way ready for a fight. Payton starts to work on fixing our camp and I take a moment to look out towards the sea. Waves are gently moving sand out towards the water, nothing tells me that a menacing weather attack is coming our way. I'm about to head back to the camp site when I notice something sparkling to my right in the distance. At first, I think it might be a fire or a tribute setting up their own camp but the light is moving around.
"Payton, come here quick!"
"What is it?"
"Tell me, can you see that. It looks like a light or a fire?"
"I think that's what people used to call a lighthouse..."
"No, it's too small to be a lighthouse. Should we go see it?"
"Grab the bags and weapons. We'll go check it out."
We hurry to pick-up our supplies and arm ourselves with weapons. If it is a trap, we won't be defenceless against any sneak attacks. There are three Careers left in the arena and we need to be on the lookout for them, the boy from District 4 seems like a nice guy but the two tributes from District 1 could be serious threats. Payton could fight them off and I might be able to deal with Emerald (District 1) – let's hope it's too nothing scary.
The sand is still wet under our feet as we run to the mysterious object. We run through the beach, looking over our shoulder every so often to make sure no one is behind us. Whatever the moving light is, it's nestled at the end of a long lonely path off the forest and beach. Payton jumps over a rock and scouts the area ahead... I'm not the best with climbing but I manage after a minute or two to join my cousin at the structure. From a distance, the source of the light seemed to be a large building or lighthouse but up-close, the glowing stand barely reaches over my stomach. Light is spinning down the sides and on top there is a single button with the words, PRESS ME. Payton is hesitant to press it, but I'm curious to see what the button actually does.
"I want to press it."
"Don't! It could be something that could work against us. The Gamemakers obviously set this up to kill us."
"Or it could be something good? The Games are about taking risks and this could help us in the long run. You don't want to press it but I do..."
Before my cousin can object or try to reason with me, I slam my hand on the button. He ducks to the ground, thinking something with fly out and kill us at that very spot... but nothing happens. We stand at the small glowing structure and wait for something (anything really) to happen. Whatever this switch is used for, it's not happening near us.
Merrick POV (District 7)
My friends back home in District 7 would never believe this: I'm running away from a weaker tribute.
I'm one of the strongest this year and no one could match my strength in training, except maybe the District 2 boy (when he was still alive). For the last couple of days, I've been hiding out in the mansion and setting up my camp in case the Career tributes headed my way. Autumn (District 7) was supposed to follow me but I think she got scared during the opening Bloodbath and ran into the forest. Seeing her face in the sky was hard, especially since I promised to protect her back on the train ride to the Capitol. All that's left now is winning the Games and making it back to my district. Nothing should be able to get in my way, except this tribute chasing me. When I was out trying to find another water source, Dante (District 12) surprised me with a sneak attack. He was carrying an axe and took a few swipes at my arm, knocking the sword out of my hand. Dante is younger and a little faster than me; he kept blocking all of my attempts to recover the sword. My only alternative now was to run and try to ditch him but he has kept a pretty tight tail. If I don't find another weapon soon or get him to drop his axe, I know I'm a dead man.
Dante makes another attack but I dodge it. He's gaining some traction and could catch up to me any minute. We run through an archway and end up in a strange glass room. The ceiling and walls are nothing but windows and there are plants everywhere in equally shiny glass containers. Back in District 7, I would have considered this to be a greenhouse or a conservatory to enjoy the plant life without actually being outside. I race down the steps and accidently stumble on a glass chair, knocking it over and shattering it to pieces. Dante slowly walks down the steps and arms his axe, ready to strike and finish this battle once and for all. I can only inch away from him and crawl in fear; however, we both stop to hear something. He processes the sound for the second and I realize what it is... it's ticking. The sound getting louder and louder after each second, Dante refocuses on me and is ready to strike – raising his axe for a devastating blow.
"Wait! The ticking has stopped..."
It wasn't a lie or a last-minute distraction... the ticking disappeared. At that moment, Dante stops and finally listens to me. Whatever that mysterious sound was, there was only silence left in that one fleeting moment before he would resume trying to kill me. Suddenly, the mansion begins to shake and we hear an explosion off in the distance. Plants are rattling in their glass cases and the windows in the room are starting to crack. There's another explosion nearby but this time the entire room shakes and Dante falls to the ground. He tries to get back up; however, one of the back walls in the conservatory explodes and fire spreads quickly throughout most of the plant life. Dante loses his grip on the axe and it slides across the room towards me; the look on his face is pure fear. Another explosion rocks the mansion and he tries to quickly shuffle out of the room away from me – this is my only chance!
Fire is spreading quickly and the glass objects in the room are shattering on the floor. I reach for the axe and grab it before one of the flaming plants falls to the ground in front of me. Dante is still barely in the room when I rush to him and tackle him to the ground. Glass shatters underneath him and I notice one of the large flowing ivy archways is covered in nothing but flames. He tries to grab the axe away from me but I won't give it up that easily. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that he picked up a loose piece of glass from the broken vase next to him. He thrusts the sharp glass at me and stabs me deep into the side of my chest. Screaming in deep and immense pain, I fall over and try to keep pressure on the wound while taking note that if Dante doesn't kill me with his next blow, the fire in the room will finish me off. He quickly moves of his back and is ready to make a fatal stab once and for all. I grip the axe and swing at Dante with all the force I can muster. He falls hard to the ground and it doesn't take long to realize he's dead.
Boom!
An explosion rocks the room and I can't tell if there was also the sound of the canon as well. The flaming archway crashes to the ground and smoke is quickly filling up the conservatory, if I don't get out of this room soon I'm going to die. I grab the axe and force myself to gain balance and walk out into the hallway. Pain is searing down the side of my chest but I can survive if I keep running away from the fire. Most of the rooms and hallways in the mansion are dealing with their own sets of catastrophe; some are covered in flames while walls and windows are crumbling with each new explosion. I'm about to enter into a room when the ceiling caves in and the rubble crashes through the floor, cutting off a familiar path I followed in our chase. I rush down a different hallway, trying not to breathe in the thick smoke when I hear a girl screaming in the distance. I run in the opposite direction and try to make my way down a flight of stairs, grabbing on to the railing and forcing myself to deal with the pain. A nearby explosion shakes the railing and I roll down the steps in time to see the entire staircase collapse in on itself. The Gamemakers are destroying this mansion and if I don't get out of here in time, I'm going to be coming down with the house too.
I search for my axe in the confusion and can't seem to locate it with all the surrounding mist – it must have fallen with the pile of rubble that used to be the staircase. Fire is spreading throughout the house and I think I'm close to leaving the mansion. I pull myself through a room but stop when I see what's waiting in the next hallway – it's the girl tributes from District 3 and District 6. Lucy (District 3) is petrified with fear while Seraphil (District 6) has turned to stare at my stomach. Blood has covered my entire shirt and I can barely stand up, they inch away from me... obviously scared of my appearance and training score. I fall into the room and lift myself off the ground, ready to run away from them when I hear something up above. Dust sprinkles onto my shoulder and I look to the ceiling in time as the large crack finally breaks and caves in around me.
Seraphil POV (District 6)
Boom!
Lucy turned away while I watched the entire scene play out. Merrick, obviously bleeding from a stab wound, fell into the room when the ceiling collapsed on him. We can't see him in the rubble and the canon fire only cemented what was painfully obvious: he was dead and we can't save him. I shake Lucy back to refocus as we hear the sounds of another ceiling cave in.
"We need to get out of here!"
"We can't leave without the others. Where are they?"
"They're waiting for us down the hall. Let's go!"
I pull her by the arm and we race throughout the mansion. As each room we pass, I can see a mixture of fire and rubble spread across the floor. We enter into a small room where Kieran (District 3), Dylan (District 4) and Hannah (District 9) are packing the remaining supplies to take with us. Dylan hands Lucy a large backpack of supplies and he runs out of the room first with a large sword – he signals that it's safe to leave. Lucy and Hannah run out together while Kieran and I carry the remaining supplies, we can just about make it if we keep running. Another explosion shakes the house and all the remaining windows down the side of the hallway explode, sending glass flying out towards us. Hannah and Lucy get knocked back by the glass and Dylan helps them get their footing to stand back up. He helps carry Lucy and I move to join beside Hannah. Kieran arms his knife and moves forward to take the lead of our group. The smoke is now spreading on the upper floors and we only have a few minutes left before this entire building is up in flames.
After two minutes of helping, Lucy and Hannah are able to walk on their own again. Kieran is still leading the group while Dylan is checking our backs for a sneak attack. Since our last encounter with the Careers, Garrett and Emerald took off to their base at the Cornucopia and gave up on trying to seek revenge. Bryson (District 2) was their best defence weapon and now that he's gone, they have to rethink their attack strategy with "weaker" tributes. Hannah is getting a little worried and I don't blame her, things are crumbling around us and it's only a matter of time before this house comes down. Another explosion shakes the mansion and the room in front of Kieran bursts into flames. I scream out to him to stop but he's too far away from the group to hear me. He stops in front of the room just as a huge burst of fire erupts and covers Kieran and the surrounding hallway in flames. Lucy drops her bags and tries to run to him but Dylan holds her back. The fire is too wild to stop it from killing Kieran.
"Kieran!"
"It's too late!"
"Get out of my way! I can stop it! I can put out the fire, I can put it out!"
"No, the fire's got him."
Kieran's charred body is sprawled on the ground in front of the room, a burned shell of his former self. In the distance, I can hear a faint sound of the canon going off to mark his death but there's no time to process this. Dylan picks Lucy up over his shoulder as she's clawing to break free and head back to Kieran's lifeless body. Hannah runs off ahead and I take a last moment to say goodbye to good friend and a great ally. Behind me, the others are out of view already and I try to catch up to them. Suddenly, I can hear the sound of faint cracking and wood falling to the ground. I look up to make sure it's not the ceiling but I realize that the wood-panel flooring is falling behind me. Kieran's body falls through the open ground and I make a run as the floor behind me continues to crumble and catch up. I drop my supplies and run faster but the sinking is speeding up after me. Where have the others gone?
Turning a sharp corner, I slip on a loose piece of wood and fall to the ground hard. I pull myself up in time as the flooring behind me breaks apart and falls down below. Luckily, my hands are grabbing on to the edge and with some help, I could pull myself up. If no one comes, I'll fall and I don't know how close the landing below me is.
"Help! Someone please help me!"
My hands are getting a little slippery and I keep calling out for help. This might be it, no one will come back to save me and I'll die in this house. Suddenly, I can hear the sounds of little feet coming my way and I can see the scared little expression of Hannah coming towards me. Who knew this little girl would help me in a time like this?
"Hannah! Thank you for coming back to save me. Where are the others?"
"They ran off ahead into the forest. I didn't see you following us anymore so I came back to check and I heard you screaming. How did you fall?"
"It doesn't matter right now! Please help me up, the floor is about to give way."
Hannah came over carefully, not wishing to destroy the floor below her and she grabbed on to my hand. I try to lift myself up but I don't have the energy or the footing to move up. She pulls on me for a little bit and stops as she stares behind me into the darkness that must be the floor below the main level. I urge her to focus and to keep pulling me up, but she moves in a little closer and whispers something to me.
"I just wanted to say something to you Seraphil."
"Hannah, we don't have time for this! Help me up!"
"Thank you..."
"For what?"
"Thank you for helping me reach the Top 8. Without you and your friends, I don't think I would have made it this far."
"The Top 8? There are only nine of us left in the arena."
"Not anymore..."
It only takes five seconds for me to process what she meant. Hannah lets go of my hand and kicks the other that was holding on to the edge of the floor, making me let go and fall into the darkness. I scream in terror as I fall through the air and collide to the ground. The concrete floor and the little pieces of burnet and broken wood are waiting for me on the ground floor. Pain is all I can feel at this point. I can barely make out the room that I'm in – I think people would call this the mansion's basement. Up above, I can see the path of falling wood, rubble and fire in the distance... Kieran's body must be somewhere around here, hidden under a pile of wood and rubble. I never would have guessed that sweet and innocent Hannah would have tried to kill me. Luckily my survival from the fall only means that she won't be scoring a mark for my kill. Too bad for her and any hope she had of encouraging help from sponsors.
I move my feet but the pain is searing every muscle in my body. At this point, I can only rest here and wait for the pain to subside for me to exact my revenge against Hannah.
Tick!
There's that strange ticking sound again.
Tick!
It got louder that time. I thought the ticking stopped after the first explosion and set of attacks. Why can't the Gamemakers just stop?
Tick!
Wait... that's not the same ticking sound from before. It's a countdown...
Tick!
Hannah POV (District 9)
I don't know if she's dead or alive. I don't have time to look back.
Seraphil was a great friend and I would have never thought about killing her, I never would want anyone to die. Seeing Kieran die and Seraphil hanging on the floor, it hit me that there are only a few of us left and someone could win shortly. It could be me!
I hurry through the hallways and make my way out of a broken window. The others are waiting by a large tree when I arrive and they can tell that Seraphil isn't behind me anymore. Lucy is still crying from Kieran's death but Dylan is looking at me in confusion, does he know I killed her? No. He's confused and worried, if I cry a little and play this up, I could pull it off.
"Hannah, where's Seraphil?"
"I don't know! She was right beside me when we were running and then she disappeared."
"Then what took you so long? Did you go back and check?"
"Yes, but the entire floor was gone. It looked like the ceiling and ground caved in. I don't know if she fell or if she's still inside running around."
"Fine, I'm going after her."
Boom!
That wasn't a canon fire. We turn to the direction of the sound and we see fire erupting from the mansion into the sky. Smoke is making its way into the air and surrounding the clear blue sky with thick black smoke and ash. Dylan, Lucy and I run in the opposite direction with our supplies, looking back every now and then to see fire burst through walls or pieces of the mansion implode. We reach the edge of the woods into the clearing and see the horror that we had experienced up-close. The mansion is collapsing in on itself in a ball of fire and ash. Walls and ceilings have crumbled, leaving nothing but a burnt pile of rubble. Anyone left inside the mansion would most likely be dead. If not for the initial explosion then it would be the fire or the smoke or the cave in. Seraphil is definitely dead and I'm still alive, I wonder who else is left alive?
I guess we'll find out later tonight.
TRIBUTES LIST
Emerald Gattes - District 1
Garrett Perryl - District 1
Lucy Watts - District 3
Dylan Port - District 4
Hannah Karlyle - District 9
Juliette "Julie" Spencer - District 10
Payton Huxley - District 10
James Mara - District 11
09. Seraphil "Sera" Jakoby – District 6 (Killed by explosion)
10. Kieran Lux – District 3 (Killed by fire)
11. Merrick Millweed – District 7 (Killed by falling rubble)
12. Dante Rye – District 12 (Killed by Merrick Millweed – District 7)
13. Bryson Nash - District 2 (Killed by Lucy Watts – District 3)
14. Addison Frost - District 5 (Killed by Bryson Nash – District 2)
15. Sutton Rayne - District 4 (Killed by Emerald Gattes – District 1)
16. Capricorn "Capri" Armstrong - District 8 (Killed by Garrett Perryl – District 1)
17. Autumn Birch - District 7 (Killed by Sutton Rayne – District 4)
18. Elijah "Eli" Auckland - District 6 (Killed by James Mara – District 11)
19. Miles Crescent - District 8 (Killed by Bryson Nash - District 2)
20. Claudia Sinclair - District 2 (Killed by Payton Huxley -District 10)
21. Samuel "Sam" Egan - District 5 (Killed by Claudia Sinclair - District 2)
22. Marcus Rhodes - District 9 (Killed by Miles Crescent - District 8)
23. Ember Alcott - District 12 (Killed by Merrick Millweed - District 7)
24. Arden Cutler - District 11 (Killed by Garrett Perryl - District 1)