Night Before the Games:
Kay Stark- District Ten Mentor:
If only Kay hadn't been searching for Nova that night. Nova had disappeared right after the interviews, and even after searching every inch of their floor, they found her nowhere. Kay was getting increasingly worried about the little girl. Sure, Nova had spunk, but spunk would get her nowhere if she was found trespassing.
Little did Kay know what a surprise she was in for.
The plush carpeting of the halls of the presidential quarters muffled the sound of Kay's heels. The President stayed here during the training days, and would move back to his palace when the Games began. This was adjacent to the training centre, separated by only a wall. This wasn't the most likely place for Nova to have been, but Kay didn't know of any other place they hadn't already searched.
She didn't want to call out, for that would've drawn attention to both her and Nova. Usually this place would've been crawling with Peacekeepers, but since this was the night of the interviews, more Peacekeepers guarded the Training centre.
The lighting was dim, the hallway illuminated by some fancy yet dull bulbs. Kay looked into every branch of the hallways, but often found herself staring at a grey wall; a dead end. It wasn't until she came to what she assumed was the President's room itself, that she saw the sight of another human.
She was about to call out to her, but she stopped. The girl standing outside the President's room, listening intently to what the people inside were saying. Kay could hear muffled voices from where she stood. The girl looked to be around Nova's height, but Nova's hair wasn't so long, and was much darker. Nova had a wiry build, not delicate like this girl. She almost thought this was Lisette from Six, when the girl turned to face her.
Kay was looking at the scared yet confused face of Regina Anna Pasternack of District One.
For a moment, Kay was rooted to her place. She honestly didn't know how to react in this situation. She could've turned around and ignored the girl. She could've walked away. But one look at the girl's face and Kay knew that wasn't what she was going to do. As softly as she could, Kay treaded over to Regina, who kept her eyes on the elderly woman, petrified. As Kay came up to a stop beside her, she opened her mouth to speak, but Kay clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Shhh..." Kay whispered as softly as she could. The door was slightly ajar, and she could hear two distinct voices come from inside. She would've slunk away with Regina, had the next two words not reached her ear.
"…District Thirteen." She made out Bruce Heathers' voice saying. Regina, who too was listening to the conversation drew in a sharp but soft breath.
Good Lord… Kay thought. Regina must've gotten lost, and ended up here. From what she could understand, Regina's curiosity had been peaked when she'd heard voices, and she'd stopped to listen. What she heard must have truly terrified her. But Kay couldn't move after hearing Thirteen's name. She had to know what these people were saying.
"Sir, the virus is kept in a vault. The combination to that vault is something only I know. To be absolutely safe, I have kept no digital record of it, for computers can be hacked. I've even disabled all the cameras in this section, so that there is no record of this conversation. I wanted only you to know the combination to that safe besides me." Bruce said. Kay's head was spinning. What virus? What safe? What in the world was going on?
"Right, Bruce. Of course. So, what is the combination? If you haven't kept any records, I sure hope to God the combination is memorable." The President's voice sounded firm. Kay listened closer. Soething told her this was unimaginably important. Bruce cleared his throat.
"It's the day the very first victor was announced, Sir. It's-"
"HEY!" Kay heard a loud voice come from behind her. She felt Regina tense up beside her. Kay could feel her heart hammering in her chest, as she turned to face whoever had yelled. In the hallway stood a white-uniformed Peacekeeper, his gun notched towards Kay and Regina. The voices from the roo had ceased, and Kay could hear footsteps.
She did the only thing that came to her mind. She bent down and in a swift movement, removed her left heel and hurled it at the Peacekeeper. The action unsurprisingly startled the man, and he stumbled backwards. This was their opportunity.
"Run!" Kay yelled, shoving Regina forward. She removed her other heel as well and ran as fast as her aged legs could take her. Her speed wasn't what it used to have been. The ran past the Peacekeeper and into the main hallway. "Run Regina! Get out of here!" Kay ordered. She had no idea why she was protecting this girl, but she knew she had to. Perhaps she reminded Kay of her own daughter. Milanee was very similar to Regina. Without any argument, Regina bounded off towards the door that was the exit, just as the Peacekeeper came around the corner. He was about to load his gun when Kay dashed forward.
The Peacekeeper obviously hadn't expected an 'elderly' woman to have been so fast, so Kay had the element of surprise at her disposal. She knocked the gun out of his hands and landed a hard kick where the sun didn't shine too brightly. The Peacekeeper collapsed on the ground, and Kay took this opportunity to scoop up his gun. Without any hesitation, she planted the end on his chest and pulled the trigger thrice.
Blood splattered across his uniform as the Peacekeeper's corpse fell back. Kay heard footsteps coming towards them, probably Leor and Heathers, and she knew it was time to go. She dropped the gun and bolted for the door. She yanked it open and leapt to the other side, but not before Leor and Heathers appeared around the corner. She could hear them gasp as they recognized her. She shut the door and leaned against the metal surface, shutting her eyes tight.
She needed to find Stark.
Siobhan O'Brian(17)- D2 Female:
I adjusted the hem of my shirt, for it had gotten caught onto the knife I'd nicked from the training centre. Yes, I'd nicked a knife. No, I wasn't planning a murder. The knife was simply a shiny toy, and I liked shiny toys. Plus I was sort of hoping I'd run into the little sweetheart from Five. I'd give him a small taste of what his demise would be like.
I was never this bloodthirsty. But in this case, I couldn't help myself. Dane Evans had killed my brother. Now, I was going to kill his own tribute in front of him, so that he could see how much it hurt to see people you cared about die on a screen as you watched. I would finally get y revenge for Stefan.
I turned the knife in my hands, thinking about tomorrow. Many people would probably die. I knew who I was aiming for. The first person I wanted to get was that boy from Ten. Once he was dead, I'd go for the girl from Three. Raymond would have to wait. I wanted to make his death special, only for Dane. I almost growled in frustration. How dare that Ten boy get more than me in Private sessions!? I was Siobhan O'Brian. I was a career. I didn't know what he'd done, but now he'd have to pay. Seeing the expression on his face as I slit his throat would be priceless.
Without even realizing it, I'd gotten into the lift. To my surprise, the lift was already moving up, even though I hadn't pressed a button. I was way past my floor. Someone from somewhere up must have called the lift. Oh well, looked like I was going to have to wait until I got back to the comfort of my bed. I just wished this person would hurry up; I needed a good night's sleep before the Games.
The lift stopped on the roof, and the doors slowly opened. When I saw who'd called the lift, the thoughts of getting a good night's rest went flying out of my mind.
I was looking right into the eyes of Dane Evans.
I froze completely for a moment, and so did Dane. His eyes were slightly moist, so I couldn't really tell what he'd been doing. He stepped back on seeing me. That snapped me out of my state. I sneered and moved out of the lift, turning our position in such a way that his back was to the wall beside the elevator and I was backing him up to it. I took ran my finger along the edge of my knife.
"Well well well, would ya' look who it is? Dane Bloody Evans, just the person I wanted to meet." My voice came out vicious. I couldn't even look at Dane without Stefan's face flashing in front of my eyes. I wanted to slit his throat here and now, but I couldn't. I was so helpless.
Dane simply looked at me with so much guilt in his eyes, that I almost believed it. Almost. It wasn't so easy to fool me. "Siobhan…. I don't really know what to say… I-"
I cut him off by pushing him up to the wall and pressing the blade of my knife to his throat. I leaned in closer, even though he was at least a good three inches taller than me, and brought my face up close to his. I could see every speck of blue in his blue-gray eyes. The very eyes that had watched my brother die.
"Shut up." I whispered. "You have no idea what its like. Watching a family member get murdered? I broke our television. I cried for weeks. And you think you can win me over with those pathetic guilty looks of yours?" Dane shut his eyes tight, and I could see a tear roll down his cheek. This unsurprisingly startled me. I hadn't expected Dane to cry. The Psycho of District Five, crying?
"Siobhan, I can't pretend to know what it felt like. And I know no apology will be enough. But for all it's worth, if I could go back in time and reverse what I'd done, I'd do it. No one deserved to die. Not Stefan, not Sean. And I'm sorry." Dane's voice broke. I pressed my knife harder to his throat, and I could see a drop of blood forming at the edge. Dane flinched but didn't say anything.
How could he be doing this? Acting all weak and sweet when he'd killed my brother? I wasn't going to fall for it. I was never going to fall for it.
"Oh yeah? Well, since you don't know what it's like, I think I'll change that. Watch, Dane, as I murder your tributes right in front of your eyes. You seem to be pretty fond of them. I wonder what you'll do when their cannons ring. That's when you'll know Dane. That's when you'll know what it feels like." I snarled. Dane still didn't open his eyes; in fact, he only scrunched them tighter together. "Siobhan I'm sorry." He managed in a weak voice. That drove me over the edge. How dare he played the sympathy game!?
"Shut UP! I'm not going to be fooled by that act of yours. I'm getting Raymond if it's the last thing I do, and then, Dane, you'll see what it is like. I'll snatch your tributes away from you in front of your eyes. There's nothing I want more than to stab those eyes of yours out, but I want you to break first. I'll have revenge for Stefan, that I can tell you." My voice was practically a growl. I pressed the knife deeper, and the drop turned to a steady stream. Dane still refused to protest or fight. I knew he could fight me off if he wanted to, and it shocked me to great lengths that he made no such move.
I opened my mouth to yell some more, when a voice somewhere off to my left cut me off.
"HEY!"
Frankie-Leigh Volts(17)- D5 Female:
My hands were on my hips as I glared at the girl from Two digging the knife into Dane's throat. If the knife hadn't been there, I'd have thought something else, but with the blood slowly dripping into Dane's shirt, I knew what the matter was. This girl was crazy. As soon as I yelled out, she tore her gaze away from Dane and looked at me. Dane's face was simply terrible. I could tell from the way his eyes were shut tight and the way his tears trickled down his face that he was in pain. He could have shoved Siobhan off if he wanted to, but he wasn't. Of course. Dane and his way of feeling as though everything was his fault. Well, I want about to let some crazy nut case from Two kill the one possible friend I had in this place.
I walked up to them and yanked Siobhan off of Dane, who finally opened his eyes and gave me a startled look. "Frankie, what-?" I gave him one of my trademark glares. Then the glare turned to Siobhan.
"Get your prissy butt back to your room, Two." I snapped. She grinned. "Oh, would ya lookie here? Our little miss spitfire, who flipped off Bellona and Law. Bellona's out for ya. You really want my name added to the list too?" She threatened. I laughed.
"That crackhead didn't scare me, and neither do you. I don't care what you say. Get the hell back to your floor, because we here don't like dealing with psychos." I shot back at her. Her smile melted into a snarl. "You don't know what Evans has done. He killed-"
"Your brother, yeah, you've said it enough times. We all know that Dane's killed your brother. But I'm sure in these Games, you're gonna kill a few people too. How'd you feel if their brother or sisters came after your life wanting to kill you because of what you did? Yeah, I'm gonna guess not so good. So unless you want me to shove that knife of yours down your throat, I'd suggest getting the bloody hell outta here."
Siobhan glared at me some more, but she must've figured she was getting nowhere. She threw her knife at the wall beside Dane's head, and smiled another twisted smile. She blew a kiss in our direction and disappeared down the stairs. As soon as she was gone, I rounded on Dane.
"Fight back sometimes, would ya?" I yelled. Dane seemed shocked into silence. "You… stood up to… why?" he stammered. I rolled my eyes. "'Cause you're my friend, idiot. I don't want some weirdo from Two threatening my friends. And if you don't stop blaming yourself for every death you caused in there, I swear I'll kill you myself." I snapped.
"Frankie, I… they didn't deserve to die. No one did." Dane said weakly. I huffed in frustration. "Dane if you hadn't killed them you wouldn't be alive today! I don't know whether or not I'll make it out of that damn arena, but I know for sure that in order for me to try to do that, I'll have to kill people. So snap out of it!" I slapped his face. Then, before he could recover, and before I even knew what I was doing, I yanked him into a hug.
Just as soon, I pushed him away. "Don't blame yourself. Got it?" I ordered, as spun on my heels and started walking away. I felt Dane grab my hand from behind. I turned to face hi with eyebrows raised. He looked at me with a sort of helpless tinge in his eyes.
"I've lost too many people Frankie. I don't think I can stand losing another friend."
Colt Marshall(17)- D10 Male:
"One thing! I tell you ONE THING and you don't listen to it! WAS I FREAKING SPEAKING LATIN!?" Stark was losing it. Big time. Nova tilted her head towards me and rolled her eyes. I simply shrugged. I'd never seen out mentor act like this, and now that he was, I had no idea what to do.
"Stark, just calm down. I honestly don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this…" I said, my voice growing softer as Stark fixed me with a glare. "Big deal? Don't attract attention, I said! Don't make yourself a target for the careers, I said. And what do you do? Just the bloody opposite!"
"How do you know they'll aim for him anyways? Many people got good scores. Hell, that creep from Eight got a bloody Eleven! Colt's nine kinda merges into the background." Nova pointed out. I wanted to second that, but Stark's expression made me hesitate. I had no idea what Stark could do when he was angry, and I honestly didn't feel like getting my butt handed to me the night before the Games. So I shut my mouth.
"Yes, Nova, but they're not gonna go after some psycho in the bloodbath! I can see the girl from Eight coming right at you, Colt! And even you, Nova! You've managed to put on a nice little show at the Reapings and get into a fight with an elder tribute. That makes you their target too."
Stark collapsed on the sofa adjacent to ours. He massaged his forehead with his fingers. "You're score isn't high enough to get you sponsors, and charm isn't going to work for you while that Four guy is around, and neither will spunk, because the girl from Nine's about to steal all of that. You've just set big fat targets on your heads.
Nova and I exchanged glances. As much as Stark was acting weirdly, I could tell he was really stressed out about us. And without Kay here, Stark was getting frustrated. He'd gone from yelling at Nova for getting lost to yelling at me for getting a Nine within a matter of minutes. I actually sometimes wondered if this guy had all his marbles intact.
Kay had been missing from a long time. She'd gone off to search for Nova, like Stark and I. We'd found Nova lying unconscious on the floor of the training centre. According to her, she'd gotten lost in the halls, and someone from behind had knocked her out. Wed been fairly suspicious at that point, but Stark was fuming, so we needed to get back to our room. Nova's head was currently bandaged.
"Stark, relax. I'm sure Kay's fine. She might just be-" the sound of the thudding of footsteps cut me off. The three of us turned to look at the door, just as it burst open and Kay ran inside, her hair messed up and her heels missing. Stark leapt up from where he'd sat down. "Kay!"
Kay seemed out of breath. I could tell that whatever had happened was not good. She didn't even bother asking about Nova, as she laid eyes on us. Stark seemed rooted to his spot. "Kay, where've you been?" he exclaimed. Kay's eyes were wide with terror.
"Stark, you have to listen to me! This is very very important. I can't say it here and now, but you have to listen!" Kay cried. Stark looked at Nova and I. I took the hint. "Right. I'll just go to-" my speech was once again cut off as the lights everywhere went out, plunging us into total darkness. I was blinded. I couldn't even see the outline of the structures in front of me. I felt Nova's smaller hand take mine, as I blinked frantically, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
That's when the blood curling scream rang throughout the room.
At first it was a shocked sound. Then it escalated into screams of pure terror. And I recognized the voice. It was Kay. Stark must have too, for he called out to her, but his voice was just about drowned out by Kay's screams. I heard the sound of something crashing, and knew Stark had found the location of the furniture the hard way.
And just as suddenly as they had gone out, the lights came back on. The moment they did, Kay stopped screaming. Her screams were cut off, as though something as clamped her mouth shut. I blinked again, trying to get my vision correct in the blinding white light. I slowly walked forward, Nova in tow. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw what lay in front of me. And I wished immediately that I hadn't.
Kay wasn't even looking human anymore. She lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood, her limbs twisted at odd angles. But that wasn't even the worst part. Kay's face… it was beyond recognition. Her features had been mutilated. Her nose had been smashed, and her bones were obviously shattered. And her eyes… they seemed to have…
Then my eyes travelled down to her throat, and bile rose to my own. Her throat had been sheared apart, and veins hung out. That's why her voice had stopped suddenly. Someone had torn her throat apart, probably yanking out her vocal cords as well. The whole scene was so utterly gruesome and horrifying, that I couldn't get myself to move. However, when I finally did, I can't say I was proud of my actions.
I simply puked. No thought of valiantly standing beside Stark who seemed to be shocked out of his skin. No shielding Nova from the terror, for she was covering her eyes. Nope. I simply puked.
I emptied the entire contents of my stomach, as Nova screamed once she'd taken her hands off her eyes and seen the body. She staggered back onto the sofa and continued screaming. I coughed up the last bits of food and stumbled back myself, not wanting to look at our mentor's corpse.
"Stark…" I managed. Who could have done this? Why would anyone want to kill Kay? I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even in the Games and I'd already seen somebody be mutilated in front of me. I stepped up to where Kay lay. If I hadn't emptied my stomach earlier, I'd surely have puked then as well.
Kay's fists were bloodied, so she must have hurt her attacker. One hand was outstretched, dabbing in blood. As I looked closer, I saw that she was trying to make something with the blood on the floor. I made out three symbols. D-I and after a little space I.
"D I I? What does that mean? Stark? Stark? Stark, answer me!"Nova demanded. I marveled at the way she wasnt completely going out of her mind. I put an arm around her and she was shivering. Stark looked up at us as Peacekeepers flooded the room. "Move away from the body." The ordered curtlym we backed up. Stark did too, and he fixed us with a stern look. "This isn't for you to be present around. Get back to your rooms. I'll come meet you after a while. No questions." He told us, as I opened my mouth to ask something. Stark's look told me he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
I nodded. I slowly turned, taking Nova with me. We walkes away, Nova still shivering. As I stopped in front of Nova's room, I knelt in front of her. She looked right into my eyes. "Colt, I just..." she sighed. I figured I should let her continue. "If I don't make it out of the bloodbath tomorrow, I just want you to know that you've been the best ally and district partner I could've asked for." She said all of it at once as though letting go of something she'd been holding in. I smiled.
"You'll make it. I know you will. Now try and get some sleep. And don't let the bed bugs bite!" I said. Everett used to say this to me when I was younger. Nova didn't say anything, only pulled me into a tight hug. She pulled back and managed a weak smile. She went inti her room and shut the door. I stood up and sighed. Kay's smashed face flashed in front of my eyes.
I wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.
Anna Austen(17)- D4 Female:
"Kyle? Kyle, are you there?" I called out as my voice echoed around what seemed to be the empty training centre. I wiped a drop of perspiration of my brow. I was getting increasingly worried and scared. Worried because I couldn't find Kyle, and scared because this place creeped me out big time.
"Kyle, if you're hiding here, lemme tell you. It's not funny!" I whined. No answer greeted me. I ade my way over to the sword fighting station and searched the place. This seemed like the most likely station for Kyle to be at, though I couldn't pretend to know what he wanted to be doing here at this hour.
"Kyle?" I called out for the third time. Suddenly, y ears picked up as I heard footsteps behind me. Elated, I started turning around to see who it was, confident that it was Kyle, when a hand came from no where and slapped me hard, across my face. Before I could recover, My head was yanked back and I felt y mouth being covered by cloth.
My mind was reacting a bit slowly. I hadn't even comprehended the whole situation, when I felt the cloth being tied into a tight knot at the back of my head. Finally coming to my senses, I thrashed against the person who was doing this to me. In the darkness I could see nothing, only make out that the person was a guy, and he was fairlu tall and well-built. The first person who came to mind was Lawson, but that couldn't be. Lawson may have been a lot of things, but he respected my space. He wouldn't be gagging me like this.
Strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me against their own body, forcing me to stop my thrashing. Slowly, a hand let go of my waist and reached up to brush my hair away from my ear. I could feel their hot breath trickling the skin of my ear as he whispered two words.
"Ice princess."
I froze completely. No. This couldn't be. I knew who this was. Right now, the whole of Panem knew who this was. I broke out a cold sweat as fear gripped my entire body. My breathing became ragged. The boy spun me around roughly so I faced him and yanked me towards him again, making sure I could see his face clearly. See his sneer, and the malice in his eyes. See the cruelty which decorated the gray in what I could barely call human features.
Ruben Van der Valt had never looked more terrifying.
I tried screaming, but I was gagged. I kicked him, but he easily swerved his way out of the path. I thrashed against him as hard as I could, but he overpowered me in brute force. I was trapped, and he seemed to be enjoying the way I struggled. He laughed. "Really, princess, I'd love to remove that gag and hear you scream, but we'll have to save that for the arena. Right now, I'm just gonna give you a taste of what I can do." he said. He pulled me forward by my hair and smashed my head into a wall.
A strangled cry escaped my throat as I could feel the entire room darkening around me. I fought to stay conscious. Never before had I felt so afraid than I did now. Ruben was certifiably insane. And I was at his mercy. He pinned me against the wall and leaned in close. He held up an object beside his head, and my fear only intensified when I saw the knife gleaming in his hands. He couldn't kill me now, could he? Why hadn't any Peacekeeper come to my rescue yet? What was going on?
But these thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind by my terror. I felt the hot tears rolling down my cheeks. I shook my head, begging hi to let me go. He only seemed to enjoy it further.
"I'm going to love this, Ice Princess." He said, as he touched the tip of the knife to just below my ear. I let out another cry as he dug the tip deeper, drawing blood that slowly trickled onto my dress. He traced out my jawline with the tip, keeping it below my face. I felt my tears become steady streams. I was in pain, but I felt numb from fear. I was going to die, right here, right now. Ruben dug the knife deeper and laughed.
But I still had some fight left within me. I steadied my breathing. I knew what to do. I looked Ruben in the eye, and smashed my head onto his. Startled, he stumbled back. I took his surprise as a weapon and pushed him away. I yanked off my gag and made a dash for the door, screaming the name of anyone that came to my mind.
However, I hadn't made it more than four meters when Ruben grabbed me from behind once again and pinned me against the wall.
"Let me GO!" I yelled in his face. He sneered. "I'm afraid I cant do that. I have some unfinished business with you." He dropped his voice low. He brought up his knife again, and dug it into my forehead, tracing out something. I could feel the blood drop into my eyes as I screamed my head off.
I
C
E
P
He touched the tip to my skin once more, but before he could do anything, I felt him being tackled off of me. I collapsed forward right into someone's arms. They pulled me close. The embrace felt like the one my brother Thomas would give me, and I almost called the person that. I looked up to see myself looking at Almiro's concerned gaze. I loked forward, already anticipating what I was going to see.
Kyle had Ruben pinned on the ground, and he sat on top of him, as he landed punch after punch on Ruben's face. Ruben threw Kyle off of him with a mighty yell, But Kyle just came at him again, as he smashed his fist into Ruben's gut.
"Kyle! Enough!"Almiro yelled out. Kyle threw Ruben against the far wall and stormed up to me. He pulled me away from Almiro. He cupped my face in his hands, and the anger in his eyes only grew. He glared at Ruben what I thought was the worst glare I'd seen anyone give someone.
"If this wasn't the training centre, you'd be effing dead." Kyle snarled. Ruben wiped a drop of blood off his chin and sneered. "Oh clam it Four. I just wanted to have some fun." Kyle stepped forward, but Almiro stopped him.
"If you don't wanna be killed right now, I'd suggest you get the hell out of here." he warned. Ruben simply sneered wider. He fixed his gaze on me.
"Four won't always be around to save you. And when that time comes, I suggest you watch your back, Ice Princess. Because I'll be the one to thaw you."
Kyle glared even harder. "You touch her, and I'll make sure you're head is shown in the sky that night." He threatened. Ruben let out a laugh, and shaking his head, walked away from us. I watched him disappear behind the staircase, and I turned to Kyle and Almiro. Almiro looked at me, concered. "We need to get you to a doctor." He stated. I shook my head "Tide's good with this stuff. I'm sure he can help me. Besides, it's not as bad as it looks." I told them. Kyle only snorted.
"Yeah, right. You're bleeding through your neck, Anna, and you have the letter I-C-E-P written on your forehead with blood. I'd say its pretty bad." He told me. He took my hand and wrapped his free hand aroud me. Almiro started walking ahead of us. "Kyle was getting worried about you, so we searched the whole place. We started from the bottom, when we heard you screaming." He explained. Kyle nodded. "It was Almiro, really. He managed to track you from the screams."
Almiro shook his head. "It was both of us." He said. Kyle and I exchanged glances. Almiro was being his usual modest self. He stopped in front of the elevator and turned to us with a smile. The first smile I'd seen on this features, and it was aimed at Kyle and I. "On second thoughts, I'l take the stairs."He said. Kyle went red, and if I wasn't in my current situation, I'm pretty sure I would've blushed too. Almiro walked off just as the elevaor doors opened.
Kyle led me inside, his arm still around me protectively. Once inside he pressed the button to our floor and turned to me. He wiped off the blood from my face. "I'm not letting him hurt you." He said, a tone of finalty in his voice. A small smile appeared on my lips. "Thanks Kai." I managed. He smiled and reverted to our original position.
In this lift, movin upwards with Kai's arm around me, I almost felt safe. But Ruben's words echoed in my ears.
You better watch your back Ice Princess.
Because I'll be the one to thaw you.
Launch:
Dwayne McCane(16)-D11 Male:
I woke up in a cold sweat. No thrashing, no screaming. I simply woke up. Dread settled down on me. Today was the day. The day of the bloodbath. The day I would go into the Games, and maybe even the day I'd die.
I slowly made my way to the washromm ad splased the cold water in my ace. I seaeched my reflection for any signs of reassurance. I found nothing. For the first time, I was truly scared. I quickly washed up and brushed my hair. As I walked out, an Avox was laying my clothes on my bed for me. I shot her a small smile and she nodded at me before rushing out. My smile faded. She's almost looked sorry for me. Great. Now even she was confirmed that I wasnt going to come back.
I slid into it and headed out, as I met up with Chaff, who pulled me into a hug. He informed me that April had already boarded the hovercraft, and I needed to get there quickly. He looked into my eyes, wishing me luck silently.
The next few things were a blur. Boarding the hovercraft, the Peacekeeper injecting the tracker into my arm. The only one from my alliance who shared the craft with me was Lisette. I caught her looking at the boy from Two, but when she saw me, she flashed me a reassuring smile. I returned it.
Before I knew it, I was sitting in my rolm looking ahead at the uniform on the bed. The tube stood in front of me, seeming strangely intimidating. I heard Tania come in behind me and wrap me in a hug. She was elderly for a stylist, but extremely sweet. I buried my face in her strawberry colored hair.
"You can do this sweetie. I know you can." She said. She pulled away and kissed my forehead. She smiled and led me to the uniform. I quickly put on this year's tribute uniform. It consisted of a dark colored shirt and camo-pants. A jacket was laid out which had quite a few pockets. I smiled. At least sonething was considerate this year.
Tania smiled. "This is one good uniform. I'd say that pretty girl who's always with Thaddeus had some hand in this." I barely heard her over the ringing in my ears. My heart was hammering in my chest. I could feel my hands become clammy. Tania gave me another hug before fastening my bandana to my head.
"Tributes please enter your tubes." Came the voice.
My hands were literally shaking as I made my way over to the tube. I stepped onto the playe as prayer after prayer fled up from my spirit. The glass came down around me and I turned to face Tania, who smiled at me. My eyes were moist. This was happening.
I felt a jolt as the plate started moving up. My hammering heart sped up. This was it. I was going into the Games. I took a deep breath as the tube surfaced.
Rubble. Thats what surrounded me. Broken structures, asbestos everywhere. What was this? Was this our arena?
As my mind took in my surroundings, I realized this wasn't a normal city. There was no glass. This was an ancient city. One that had been destroyed aeons cornucopia stood in the centre of what looked like a temple. The tributes were arranged in their usual circle around it. I waited for the countdown to begin.
It never did.
Instead, Head Gamemaker Bruce Heathers' voice rang out through the arena which seemed to be a destroyed city with patches of forest amidst its rubble.
"Welcome, tributes, to the fifty-seventh Hunger Games!" Heathers exclaimed. I focused on what he was saying, ignoring the frightened look Ott gave me from my right, nor the angry concentration that apread across Nick's face on my left.
"You might be wonderng what caused the absence of the countdown! Well, the answer is, I needed to give you a little... backstory of our beautiful arena."
"Look around you tributes. Rubble. This is the remains of an ancient city, which prospered to great length aeons ago. What destroyed the city? Natural disasters. One of the worst disasters known to mankind, followed by a devastating earthquake."
"However, this city will now hold the Games of the sixtieth anniversary! And we've decided to recreate the disasters for you. May the odds be ever in your favor tributes, because trust me when I say, you'll be needin them on your side."
"What is the name of the city, you ask?" Bruce seemed to have read the question on our minds. I could almost see him smirking through his words. "This city was destroyed by the very disasters we'll recreate for you. Its name..."
As he paused, the atrangest and most terrifying thing happened. All around the arena, in what looked to be a ring, with a radius of a mile, and the cornucopia gleaming at its center, red hot lava shot into the sky, painting it red in its fiery glow. I felt the heat even from a mile away. The lava dropped back to the ground, leaving ashes in the sky, as Heathers spoke again.
"Was Pompeii."
~.~.~.~.
A/N: YES. THAT IS CORRECT. WE ARE INTO THE GAMES. OHMYGOOOOODS I AM SO EXCITED I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M WRITING! YESSSSSS!
Yep. I killed someone before the Games started. Hehe. Kay's incident will be an important part in the Games. And Thaddeus will be an important person in the story, along with Dane, Heathers and many other people. So, yep!
Please tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! I kmow I'm not that amazig an author, so I'd love to hear how I can improve! And he support you guys've given me is so freaking awesome I cant even say! I mean, 292 reviews before the Games!? YOU GUYS ARE DA BEST!
I can't believe I haven't given this person a shout-out yet. If you haven't, go check out Reader Castellan's story, Surviving the Sea: the Sixtieth Games. Reader is one of te best authors I've ever come across and they manage to make the tributes alive. And they're SUCH AN AWESOME PERSON! SO GO CHECK EM OUT!
What did y'all think of the whole Ruben-Anna thing? And also, WHAT DID Y'ALL THINK OF THE ARENA? If it wasn't clear, for which I apologize, the arena is a replica of Pompeii, after it was struck with the volcanic eruption which also caused an earthquake. The arena will be explained further in the future chapters, so will any loose ends in this chapter. Mam, I seriously hope y'all enjoyed! I loved writing this! Tell me wht you thought! Updates will be a bit sporadic, but I'll try my best! :D
Oh and over the next few days I'll be puttingup two very important polls, so keep an eye out on my profile! And be sure to vote! The bloodbath depends a bit on that! Also, I won't be killing too many people in the bloodbath, because I have a lot in mind for them. But there's gonna be some hella action in the bloodbath. At least, that's what I hope. :P But yeah, please vote! :D
Until next time then...