Here is chapter 26 everyone! Please enjoy and review!
Rwanda Cattlecope, District 3 POV
Luca and I were slowly walking through the woods that seemed to be whispering. Everything was dark and we couldn't see more than fifty feet ahead of us. The only thing you could hear was the sound of our boots as they walked slowly through the snow.
Luca had dried off finally after he got drenched in that pond. I gave him his coat back, but his shirt was still very wet so he didn't have anything on under his coat. He gave me my coat back as well and I was glad because I think I was starting to catch a cold. Luca seemed lucky though since he didn't catch a cold at all. I would have thought he would have caught one after being wet and being in the snow.
The knife wound on my waist didn't seem to be getting better at all. My wound was actually getting gradually worse. We had stopped the bleeding, but my skin was all different colors around the wound itself. It seemed to be infected, which was never a good thing. It would only hurt every once in a while, but not all the time. It was starting to hurt again though, and I needed to sit down. Luckily, there was a big rock ahead.
"Hey Luca." I said weakly.
Luca looked at me as we kept walking through the deep snow.
"What is it Rwanda?" Luca asked. "Is it your wound again?"
"Yeah." I said silently. "I need to sit down. I think I need to sleep for a while actually."
"That's fine." Luca said. "I think you need to sleep too, but just for a while. We need to get moving again soon."
"Okay." I agreed. I slowly sat myself down on the big rock we had reached. I lifted my shirt and coat a little and I slowly put my hand on my wound. I suddenly hissed in pain and pulled my hand back. It was hurting so much right now that I just wanted to cry.
"You need to stop touching it Rwanda." Luca said suddenly. "It will only make it worse if you do."
"Sorry Luca." I said. "I don't think it matters though. It's getting worse Luca. I don't know how much longer I can last."
"Don't say that Rwanda." Luca says quietly. "You'll make it. I know you will."
I don't reply but I nod my head. I look into the darkness of the woods and I close my eyes for a second. I open my eyes again and look at the ground. I think of the girl from District four. I don't think she meant to hurt me that bad, but I think she did more damage than she intended to do.
I suddenly look up towards the sky as I hear the familiar sound of the anthem. The woods were sense and the trees were all packed closely together. I couldn't see the Capitol seal at all, but I could see the words "The Fallen" through the trees. I looked at Luca who was looking up towards the nighttime sky as well. I looked back up again to see the words change so it said "District 4", but I couldn't see the portrait of the dead tribute. Luca and I knew it was Pivon's portrait though. He was killed by Luca earlier in the morning.
The words disappeared once again and I couldn't see anything but light illuminating from the tops of the trees. The anthem finished playing and the sky went dark again. I looked over to Luca who was still looking towards the sky. He slowly lowered his head and looked at the ground. I felt bad for him. He had to kill someone in order to stay alive.
"It wasn't your fault." I say.
Luca looks at me with tears in his eyes. I didn't notice that he had started crying. The sight of him crying started making me tear up a little, but I needed to stay strong for him. I know he was older, but I knew he was the one that needed to be comforted right now.
"But it was Rwanda." Luca said sadly. "I killed him myself."
"You didn't have a choice though." I said weakly. "You were just protecting yourself."
"That still doesn't change the fact that I killed him." Luca said as he continued to silently cry. "Did you see how sad Aeriel was when she was him floating in the water dead? I don't think I can handle killing anyone else."
"You'll have to if you want to win." I say. "It's kill or be killed."
"That's a horrible thought." Luca says as he turns his head away from me. I look at him for a second and wait for him to say something else, but he doesn't.
"It's the truth though Luca." I say. "And sometimes the truth can hurt."
"I know." He says as the tears start to fade from his face. "But in all honesty, I think I would rather die than kill someone again."
"What about Valentina?" I ask. His eyes find mine again and he stares at me with a saddened expression on his pale face. "What about your sister? Don't you want to see her again?"
"Well of course I do Rwanda." Luca says.
"Well if you decide not to kill anyone and die, then you'll never see her again. She'll never see you again. She will be stuck living with your aunt for the rest of her childhood."
"I-I…" Luca stutters.
"Luca." I say quietly. "Just think of everyone else as an enemy. They will do everything they can to kill you and stop you from returning home to your sister."
"I know." Luca says. "But that makes you an enemy too Rwanda."
"Hmmm." I say silently. "It does, but sometimes enemies band together to take down an even bigger enemy."
Luca smiles and I smile slightly as well.
"What about you though Rwanda?" Luca asks.
"What about me?" I ask.
"Your family." Luca says silently.
It takes a second for what Luca said to sink in. I feel tears begin to form in my eyes again, but I refrain from crying again.
"My mother is dead." I say.
"But the rest of your family isn't Rwanda." Luca says.
"I know." I say quietly.
"And the other tributes." Luca says. "They all have families and friends back home as well. They're all watching us struggle and fight for survival. They're watching us all slowly change."
"Change?" I ask confused.
"Yes." Luca says. "People change. Some change faster than others. I've watched the Hunger Games many times Rwanda, and the Games seem to change people faster than anything. I would be surprised if someone hasn't gone crazy yet. Or if someone who once had hope, doesn't anymore. The Games change people, and they always will."
I frown as I begin to stand up slowly. Luca looks at me with confusion written all over his face.
"They won't change us." I say. "Let's promise each other Luca. This horrible Game won't change us. They might change everyone else, but not us."
Luca smiles for the first time in hours and I smile back at him. Luca nods and looks away from me.
"Okay." He says. "I promise."
Andrew Truarkk, District 12 POV
Damian and I had been spying on the Careers for a long time now. We were waiting for them to go off somewhere where they wouldn't return for a long time. We were following them for quite a long time and I was surprised they didn't notice.
We heard them talking about how they were going up to the mountain in search for tributes. We followed them for about another hour until they actually did start to go up the mountain. Damian and I knew they wouldn't be down for a while so we decided to go back to the cornucopia and steal some supplies. Every time we tried to get to their camp, it only seemed to end wrongly for us. Not this time though.
"Finally." I said as we walked out of the woods. "We're almost there now."
We started climbing up the big (but not steep) slope that led to the plateau where the cornucopia was. It was the middle of the night so it was really dark. I was guessing it was about two or three in the morning. Day five had started at midnight and I was actually surprised I made it this far. I honestly thought I was going to be a bloodbath tribute, but I managed to get away. At first I was happy that only five tributes died in the bloodbath because usually eight to twelve tributes died then and there. My spirits were crushed though every time I heard another cannon. I was especially sad when Sapphire's cannon shot out.
We finished climbing the snowy hill and the ground flattened out. I saw the golden cornucopia shine brightly even though it was completely dark outside. Damian and I jogged slowly to the stack of supplies that was placed inside the mouth of the cornucopia. I could run if I wanted to, but the harder I tried, the more my arm would hurt. There was still a visible gash on my arm that I got from that crazy girl from District ten. It was fine though on the bright side. I don't think it cut deep enough to damage me permanently. It wasn't infected either so I was glad.
"What are we looking for again?" I asked Damian as we both rummaged through different bags and crates.
"Just more supplies." He said. "We need a lot of food and first-aid equipment."
"Okay." I say. "Is there anything in particular we need?"
"I don't think so." Damian said. "But if something looks like it will come in handy then you should get it."
"But won't the Careers notice we took their stuff if we take too much?" I ask.
"Who cares?" Damian says as he laughs a little. "They're going to try to kill us whether we take their supplies or not. So why don't we just take as much as we can?"
"Sounds like a plan." I say as I laugh a little too.
I continued to search through all their supplies and I find some pretty useful things. I find a flashlight that would definitely come in handy during the night. I also find a blue backpack stuffed with food and two water bottles full of water. I find some rope, some matches, a coil of wire, and a blue sleeping bag. I then open a small box and discover five or six pairs of glasses. I take a pair out and put them on, but everything just looks blurry and unstable. I take the glasses off and look at them angrily.
"What useless glasses." I say. "Why would we want these?"
Damian looks at the glasses and only laughs at me.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
"Those are night-vision glasses." Damian says. "There should be a switch on the side."
I look around and see a little black switch. I slide the switch up and I hear a little buzzing sound that lasts for about two seconds. I put the glasses on again and look around. Everything is green and black, but I can clearly see everything.
"How awesome are these?" I ask as I grab another pair and toss them to Damian. Damian puts his on as well and smiles.
"These will sure come in handy." He says in his Irish accent. "Well we have enough things now. Let's get going."
Damian starts walking out of the cornucopia and I watch him with interest as I gladly admire the technology I am currently wearing on my face. I look around again and pick up a small sword. I run out of the cornucopia with the night-vision glasses still on my face. I now have two backpacks on my back and the blue sleeping bag is tied at the bottom of one of the backpacks. I have at least five small blades in my olive colored cargo pants and I now have a small sword in my hand.
I see Damian standing by the side of the cornucopia. He had a green backpack with a yellow sleeping bag tied to the bottom like mine. He had his spear tied horizontally on his bag and still had the trident he got from Pivon in his hand. It was weird how Pivon was dead now. We saw his face in the sky earlier, but we didn't think much of him.
I noticed Damian was looking at something on the ground, but I couldn't make out what it was. I finally get to his side and look down at the pile of bodies. Almost all the tributes that were dead were right her. I didn't see Pivon so I guess the Careers hadn't collected his body yet. I looked and saw many other bodies though. I saw the burnt body of the girl who was unrecognizable, but her rust red colored coat told me it was the girl from District two. Both from five were there and the girl had no legs anymore. The body of the girl from District six was all covered in bumps. The two lovers from District eight were lying side by side, and the boy from nine had his head smashed in by something. When I saw Sapphire, I started frowning. How could the Careers just put her in a pile to rot? It made me want to kill them, even though they didn't kill her.
"Are you ready to go?" Damian asked as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah." I said as I turned to look at him. He was slightly smiling and was wearing the black night-vision glasses like I was. "Let's go."
We both turned around and started jogging across the snow. We passed the pedestals where we first came up into the arena and started making our way to the ice caves again.
Aeriel Pavorotti, District 4 POV
I was sadly reminded of Pivon when I saw his face in the sky. I didn't know him that well, but he was my District partner and my ally. The anthem played about five or six hours ago, and I was guessing that morning was almost upon us.
The woods were still dark, but the arena was slowly lighting up. I had cried for at least an hour after Pivon's cannon fired. I eventually left the glacier though and I started walking through the woods. I didn't blame Luca for killing Pivon. He was only trying to protect himself and Rwanda. I still felt bad about stabbing Rwanda in her side. I meant to just harm her, but I had a bad feeling that what I did was something worse.
I was now heading back to the ice caves. I figured no one would be there. The last time I was in the ice caves there was still nineteen of us left. As we continued traveling through the ice caves though, the number dwindled to thirteen; and now it was eleven. Less than half of the tributes were now dead. Raphony, Tetra, and Barndo were all still alive though, so that made me feel uneasy knowing they were still out there and alive. I knew Luca and Rwanda were still alive too, but I didn't know how much longer Rwanda would last with her wound I gave her.
I didn't think about who the other five tributes were. I could probably figure out who they were, but I wasn't really in the mood. I then stumbled a little as I looked down at the ground. I looked to my left to see the big hill that led up to the cornucopia. I didn't need supplies, so there was no need to go back up there.
I changed direction as I started heading south towards the caves. I could see the entrance to the caves about 200 yards away or so. There weren't many trees between here and there so I could see it. Plus, I had really good eyes sight.
As I walked, I remembered a certain memory. It was a memory of Serrena and I. It was a nice memory. My mother and father were out of town, and somewhere else in the District. That left Serrena and I on our own for a day. My parents never left town so we never got to take the day off. When they were home, we were usually always working.
The sun was bright in the blue sky as Serrena and I sprinted along the seashore. The water only went up to our ankles and the wet sand below felt soft and cold against the bottom of our feet. Water splashed every time our feet hit the water. We were laughing as we raced each other to "Codstone Cave."
Serrena ended up beating me because she had longer legs than me, and probably because she was older. I suddenly stopped running as I reached Serrena's side at the mouth of the cave. I was out of breath, but I was laughing.
"I guess you win." I say as I look up to her laughing.
"I guess I do little sister." Serrena said back, but I could tell she was out of breath too. We both looked into the dark cave to see the familiar, but mysterious light shine somewhere within the caves' depths.
"I wonder what that light is?" Serrena asked. "No one has ever reached the end of the cave."
"That's because the entire cave is booby-trapped." I say. "Remember when that one kid tried to get through the cave with his friends a few years back? His friends were okay, but they came back with his body. There were at least four arrows in his stomach. They told everyone the cave was booby-trapped and it was impossible to get to the light."
"It can't be impossible." Serrena said.
"Well those kids said that no matter how far they went, the light never seemed to get closer." I say.
"Weird." Serrena says. "Well I guess some mysteries are better left unsolved. Are you ready to race back to the house?"
"Of course!" I beamed. "I'm winning this time though!"
"You're on!" Serrena said as she started running without me.
"Cheater!" I screamed as I started sprinting after her.
Serrena ended up winning again, but I accused her of cheating. We then spent the rest of the day together while we ate pineapples and coconuts. We finished the day watching the sunset gleam and the ocean reflected its' light in many colors.
That will be a day I will always remember. I was in the Hunger Games now though, and I feared that I wouldn't get another day like that with my sister.
I stopped walking as I looked down at the body of the District ten girl. She was snoring loudly and an axe was on the ground next to her. The axe was covered in blood, but I didn't care. I had seen so much blood already. I bent down and picked up the axe. I had a spear already, but I felt like I needed another weapon in case something happened to my spear. I decided not to kill the girl because killing someone when they're sleeping is unprofessional and cheap. It was also cruel killing someone without giving them a change to fight back.
I continued walking with my new weapon (which was now firm in my grasp) and entered into the dark gloomy cave. I felt a rush of cold air hit my face as I stepped inside and I felt so cold all of a sudden. This was an arena full of snow though, so I guess I should just expect to be cold all the time.
Barndo Deletush, District 2 POV
It was now morning time and the three of us were still going up the mountain. We had already searched the first two caves we had gone through, but we didn't have any luck finding anyone. We were now entering the third cave, which was about half way up the mountain.
We walked about fifty feet through a straight tunnel until we came to a large room. We all looked around for a moment to observe our surroundings. There wasn't anything here except some big boulders and a small pond of water. Water was slowly dripping from the ceiling and the sound of it hitting the ground seemed to echo throughout the entire cave.
"Well we've gone up half way." Tetra said sounding annoyed. "And still no sign of any tributes. Things aren't looking good for you Raphony."
"Shut it." Raphony spat at Tetra. "Like you said Tetra, we've only gone up half way. We still have from here to the summit to find a tribute."
"Whatever." Tetra said. "I still don't think there's anyone up here. Can we please just keep going?"
"Yeah." Raphony said as he and Tetra started walking away.
"Wait." I said.
They both turned to look at me. They seemed surprised that I was actually talking. I haven't been talking as much anymore ever since Millicent died.
"What is it?" Raphony asked as he eyed me with hatred.
"Can we rest a little?" I asked. "We've been walking nonstop and my legs are worn out. I need to sit down."
Raphony looked at Tetra. After about ten seconds she nodded her head in approval. I suddenly relaxed and put my supplies down next to a rock. I sat on the rock, which was actually a boulder because of how big it was. I let my shoulders sink down and I inhaled deeply through my mouth. I then exhaled through my mouth and then smiled. It felt nice to relax for a minute.
"We're leaving again in ten minutes." Tetra said. "So get all the rest you need."
"Yeah okay." I said.
Raphony and Tetra then sat down as well. They were both sitting as far away from each other as possible. I looked at Tetra and she was looking at me with hatred. My mood suddenly changed as I remembered our little conversation we had on our way to the mountain.
Tetra had found me training at night (which I wouldn't normally care about), but she heard me say "Killed you Raphony" when I hit a tree trunk with an arrow. She figured out I was planning on killing Raphony. She didn't care because she hated Raphony as well, but she kept warning me that I shouldn't mess with him.
I sat back further on the boulder, but I accidentally fell off the boulder and landed on my back with a thud. I had closed my eyes before I hit the ground, but I opened them and gasped in shock. Two girls were kneeling right next to me with widened eyes and scared expression on their faces. I noticed them as the girl from District nine, and Cherri.
My face flushed with both anger and excitement as I realized they were hiding behind the boulder the entire time. How hadn't we noticed them?
"Hey!" I screamed.
They both got up to their feet and started sprinting away as fast as they could. I shuffled to my feet as fast as I could and I heard Raphony swear in frustration. I got to my feet and picked up my bow and arrows along with my backpack. I watched as the two girls disappeared from sight as they ran the other way. I saw Raphony and Tetra zoom right pass me with their weapons held high.
"I told you there were tributes!" Raphony screamed at Tetra. "Here I come Cherri!"
I then started running behind them and a smile appeared on my face. I hadn't seen any action in a while, and I was ready for more. Hopefully another tribute would die today after this.
End of Chapter 26
There is chaper 26 people! Hope you enjoyed it! I would like to hear what you guys thought of this chapter, so please review! That leaves a total of 19 more chapter and 17 more chapters until the Victor is crowned. So I hope you enjoyed and please please please review! Until next time everyone! Have a good day! Also my birthday is on Sunday! Yay! I'm turning 19! My birthday is September 9th! 9/9/93. I had a golden birthday when I turned 9. That was random. Anyways, the next chapter should be up on sunday a.k.a my birthday. Character death next chapter also...
District 1
-Raphony Timplesmet
-Tetra Merribrown
District 2
-Barndo Deletush
-Millicent Sanrain (blade thrown into back by Chaelleigh and then thrown into boiling lake by Iris where she boiled alive)
District 3
-Luca Vassera
-Rwanda Cattlecope
District 4
-Pivon Ghoown (Killed by Luca by getting head smashed against a ice rock and then drowned in a pond)
-Aeriel Pavorotti
District 5
-Wattson Draindrop (Killed by Barndo by arrow through neck)
-Chaelleigh Surgelect (Killed by Raphony who cut off her legs and then died from loss of blood)
District 6
-Kriston Heslop (Killed by Raphony by sword through the stomach)
-Sarahna Arleston (Killed by tracker jackers)
District 7
-Jacko Fernas (Killed by Raphony by sword through the stomach and side)
-Cherri Noirson
District 8
-Kitt Lonell (Killed by pink colored birds who skewered his throat until they killed him)
-Auburn Orttos (killed by Spade with a poison dart in the back of her neck)
District 9
-Spade Winvester (Killed by Kitt by getting a mace to the head)
-Grace Jaelson
District 10
-Denvin Surices (Killed by Tetra by knife attached to her whip which slit his throat)
-Iris Matthews
District 11
-Damian Platurkk
-Sonny Mauver (Killed by Millicent by poison knifes which made her heart stop)
District 12
-Andrew Truarkk
-Sapphire Luvally (Electrocuted to death when she raised her blade up to the sky in the electricity filled wasteland.)