Day Ten
Sheen Carver, D1
I rise up on my elbows. I look around a little dazed. It's daylight and the sunlight reflects off the snow outside and my eyes have to adjust. I spot Relic leaning against the wall of the Cornucopia holding his spear in his hand. I was shocked to find him inside the tube. I wanted to head back to Florence right away but he wanted to catch up for a bit. Somehow the day passed in a blur and we talked about all sorts of things; about our childhoods, his games, what's happened in my games. I didn't even notice how much time had passed before the sun started to set. Relic requested I'd get some rest because I didn't get much sleep the night before and that he would stay on watch. I expected him to wake me up before midnight and then we could move on. I didn't expect him to stay up all night. I sling my pack on (I was using it as a pillow) and I grab my hammer and walk to the front of the Cornucopia. Relic turns around and smiles.
"Good morning, buddy! Sleep well?" Relic says holding out a granola bar.
"Uhh, yeah. I thought you would have woken me up earlier; it's not fair for you to stay up all night. Where did you get this?" I take the bar and start to munch on it.
"It's no big deal trust me. I knew you needed a good night's rest, and the granola bar was a sponsors gift."
"Huh, I wonder who's in charge of that, now that you're here."
"Celeste," he says quickly.
I give him a curious look, it's almost as if he was waiting for me to ask that. I shake away the thoughts. "Okay well we should hurry up and get to Florence...and I guess Suede as well if he was inside the tube."
"Yes...you're right we should probably get going. Maybe we will run into some tributes along the way." Relic says brandishing his spear.
"Yeah there may be some, I think most of the alliances are broken up at the moment so most of the remaining tributes are loners," I add going over the remaining tributes in my head along with their tribute scores and initial odds of winning. "I just realized something, Relic, I'm the only male tribute left in these Games."
"It doesn't matter who's left as long as you win and I help you win. Now let's go find tributes...er Florence!" Relic flashes a smile and heads off down the boulevard toward the City Circle. I follow behind him and can't help but to think that something is off about him.
Anya Evans, D5
"We should head to Section Seven with Cyrus gone I'm sure Hope is distraught." Jacqueline states.
"No! Who cares about her! I'm not going to be part of your "fake" career alliance and you can't take Parker with you." I say grabbing Parker's arm.
"Why do you get to decide that. He is his own person he should be able to choose and if he's smart he'll want to come with me." Jacqueline says pulling Parker towards her.
"Now ladies, you both need to calm down. Let's talk this out." Parker says stepping between us, but Jacqueline and I continue to argue. "Both of you shut up!" Parker shouts.
Jacqueline and I both stand shocked. Parker is typically calm and passive. "I think both of you have good points for both of your individual strategies. Unfortunately, there is only one of me. I say we scout around here a bit and then this evening, I'll decide on who I think I need to stick with. Sound good?"
I nod my head. "Hope needs me now. She doesn't have Cyrus and Topher is dead as well. I need to be with her...but I can wait until this evening I guess." Jacqueline says with a huff.
"Then it's settled. Hurry up and gather your supplies we're going hunting." Parker says.
It only takes a few seconds for us to get our few supplies all together. Parker leads the way. The ground is sloshy and muddy from the snow and the remnants of the water left. We climb up on docks and walk on. We criss-cross back and forth over the docks and end up on the northern end where an abandoned fishing shack stands. All three of us race over to it. Inside we find some rotted nets along with some fishing line and hooks, nothing of much value.
"Guys, look! There's someone out there," Jacqueline says pointing.
Sure enough, standing on the rocky beach and heading this way is a figure.
"It's a girl," I say.
"Well, that narrows it down to who it could be," Jacqueline says sarcastically.
The girl continues to get closer. "I think that might be Codi Watts," Parker says.
"That may be a good thing, maybe she'll want to join us since her tributes are all gone." Jacqueline states.
"I highly doubt it, she'll be trying extra hard to do as much damage now that there isn't any hope for her," Parker says.
Before I can ask what that exactly means, Parker leaps over the bar and out onto the dock. "What are you doing?" I ask in a harsh whisper.
"Protecting you girls," he says.
I look down the dock and Codi pauses. "What is she going to do, sing Parker to death?" I ask.
Jacqueline shakes her head at me, "She's one of the strongest outlier tributes of the past decade. I'm more worried about Parker, he barely won his Games."
Codi removes an ax from her back and grimaces.
"Stay hidden girls," Parker says to us.
Codi charges forward and swings her ax down. Parker is sluggish but manages to deflect the blow with his scythe. He uses the butt of the scythe to knock Codi backward. She's quick and catches herself, she swings her ax again and this time it lands in Parker's thigh. He gives an animalistic yowl.
"We have to help him," I say standing up but Jacqueline grabs my shoulder and pushes me back down. "Wait."
Parker gnashes his teeth and swings downward with his scythe. Codi doesn't get out of the way in time and the blade slices across her abdomen. Her intestines fall out onto the deck and she falls face first. Parker finishes her off by plunging the blade into Codi's school.
Jacqueline and I whoop. Parker turns and smiles at us. He takes a step and crumbles to the ground with a moan.
"His leg!" I say. Jacqueline and I race out of the shack to help him.
Aster Oakley, D11
I follow behind Ida as we march through the orchard. I have a theory. That she is not actually the real Ida Williams. My first realization that something was off is when I opened the tube and the first thing she said was, "Wow look at the snow. It reminds me of my Games!". She said this quite cheerfully for a woman who typically despised the cold. The second thing to catch my attention was that she wasn't wearing her gloves, leaving her three prosthetic fingers out in the open for the world to see. I didn't even know she had prosthetics before she showed them to me after my interview. My final realization was that she stayed up all night on watch and doesn't have any bags under her eyes and she also doesn't have any extra makeup. Ida would have at least brought her new eyeshadow palette as a token. Even though I have decided that she must be some type of Capitol mutt I've decided to also play it cool. Waking up to a granola bar and getting a good nights rest is worthy enough to keep her around.
I pluck an apple from a tree and take a bite of it. Ida turns around and smiles. "Do you want a bite?"
"No thank you," she says. Interesting.
"Are you sure? You haven't eaten anything since you got here."
"Trust me. I'm good."
She turns around and we keep walking. We're heading to the barn of Section Ten. I don't like being in the orchard it reminds me too much of home. The barn will provide shelter and is close enough to the orchard that I can gather food and water from the stream when needed. The silence between us is unnerving so I ask something that I wouldn't dare ask the real Ida. "So, Ida, do you mind telling me about your Games?"
She doesn't even flinch, "It's my greatest triumph. It wasn't a very memorable Games other than the intense cold."
"Give me details. I don't know much about your Games."
"Well, I scored a six which isn't bad for an outlier if I do so say. I had one ally going in and that was Junia Skeeter of District Six, she died in the Bloodbath. I managed to get a sleeping bag and some food. The Games went on much longer than anyone expected, thirteen days. I made my first kill on day four. I used a rock to kill Porter Kayne of Nine. I got a sponsor gift of throwing knives from that one. Day ten I ran into the girl from Twelve, Kendra Shale, an easy kill with my knives. The finale was interesting; ice wolf mutts moved us together after a snowstorm that had lasted for two days ended. It was me, Rojan Belten of Eight, and Gastin Shive of Six. Gastin took out Rojan and then I used my knives to take out Gastin. And, that's how I won. Oh look, there's the barn just over there."
She points towards the horizon and sure enough there it is. After hearing her story along with the specific details, I know that this must be some Capitol trick.
Florence Javier, D8
I pace back and forth across the second floor of the textile factory.
"Where could they be? Maybe they got hurt, maybe we should go look for them?" I say taking an aggressive bite of my granola bar.
"It's your decision," Suede says calmly.
I roll my eyes. I finish off my granola bar and throw the wrapper across the room. I don't even understand why I got sent a granola bar, I received a basket full of food and water two days ago and still have plenty supplies left. I rub my forehead, "Okay we should stick here for today. If they're not here by tomorrow morning then we'll look for them."
Suede huffs as if this wasn't the answer he was hoping for. I shrug it off and go to a window. It faces south towards the woods of Section Seven. Once Sheen shows up I'm going to ask if we can go to Seven as a whole we haven't done much traveling in the southern sections of the arena. Hell, this is the first time for me to come to Section Eight. I go to move to the other side of the building when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I unsheath my sword. It could be Sheen but you can't ever be too sure. I smile when I see Sheen and Relic come through the doorway.
"Florence!" Sheen says happily.
"Sheen!" I say back. I move across the room to give him a hug but Suede blocks my way.
"Get back!" Suede says holding out his mace towards Sheen and Relic.
"What are you doing Suede?" I ask.
Relic moves quickly. He pushes Sheen aside as Suede charges towards them. Relic thrusts out his spear and it impales Suede in the chest. I scream as Suede falls to his knees and Relic removes the spear with a sickening shloop. Relic starts to walk towards me. I don't understand what's happening but I hold my sword out in front of me prepared to fight. I hear a thud as Sheen smacks Relic in the back of the head with his hammer. Relic crumbles to the ground with a large dent in his skull.
"Well that was interesting," Sheen says with a weak smile.
"What the hell just happened?" I shout.
"Calm down, Florence," he says.
"Calm down? Two of the strongest victors in these Games are dead! We had a for sure chance of winning! And now...now they're dead and...oh god they're dead."
"They're not real," Sheen says flatly.
"What do you mean 'not real'. I see them here right now," I say flailing my arms out.
Sheen comes over and grabs my hands, "Didn't you realize Suede acting strange? Did he stay up all night and didn't seem tired this morning? Did he give you a granola bar that just appeared?"
"I...he..." I take a deep breath, "You must be right. I asked him about Twyla's condition and he looked at me as if I didn't know what he was talking about."
"See! They must have been some type of mutt, a Gamemaker trick. They weren't necessarily sent to help us out but to hunt down the other tributes."
I nod my head. Sheen is probably right, as usual.
"Let's get going I don't want to stick around here long," Sheen says.
Sheen helps me gather my supplies, "Let's go to Seven," I say.
"Sounds good to me," he says. He motions to the door and I lead us down the stairs and towards the forest of Section Seven.
Valentine Ford, D6
The day has passed slowly. I spent the night restless and sobbing. I had a bad feeling all day, I knew that Miles was one of the cannons. Seeing his face in the sky broke me. Margot was able to tell me the early morning cannon was his when she came out of the tube. It crushed my heart and I blamed myself. I convinced him that splitting up was the best and now he's dead. Margot said it was the boy from One, Sheen. Other than our short greeting not much has been said between Margot and me. She stayed on guard all night and this morning she gave me a granola bar. She has stayed towards the front and I've been huddled in the back of the Cornucopia. I don't know if she's gotten any rest. I wipe the tears from my face. I knew that Miles would have to die in order for me to win. I'm used to death, I've seen death in the streets of Six. I need to shapen up, I've spent all day moping and now it's time to do something. I get my pack all together and grab my knives and head to the front of the Cornucopia.
"Hey," I say quietly.
Margot turns around and smiles, "How are you feeling?" she asks.
I don't think I've ever seen her smile. "Do you want to get going soon? I don't like it here in this dump," I say motioning to the disaster zone around us.
"It's getting dark, so we should just stay here and then leave in the morning," she says.
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yes, maybe a tribute will venture through here sometime tonight. Then I can use this."
Margot pulls out a black pistol from her waistband.
"Woah, where did you get that from?" I ask reaching out for it.
Margot snatches her hand back and puts it back in her waistband. "The Capitol gave me the weapon that I used in my Games. There's only one bullet so we have to be careful with it."
"Let me see it. It looks similar to the ones back home." I hold my hand out.
"No, it's mine. You can't have it," Margot says sternly.
"Okay, fine, I understand. I bet I could just beat you up like I did Carson and get it from you," I say jokingly. She doesn't laugh but gives me a confused look. "You know, on the train."
She continues to give me a weird look and an awkward silence falls between us. I start to head to the back of the Cornucopia.
"Get some rest, I'll stay on watch," Margot says.
I don't respond back. Something strange is going on here.
Jacqueline Voltage, D5
Anya and I managed to stop the bleeding from Parker's leg. We pulled him into the old the fishing shack and went straight to work. Neither one of us had any medical experience but we knew we had to stop the bleeding. Using the old fishing nets we managed to make a bandage, it probably wasn't the most sanitary decision. The wound was about six inches long and cut nearly to the bone. Parker passed out "mid-surgery" and hasn't woken up since. Beads of sweat line his brow and upper lip. I can't believe no one has sent any medical supplies. He's a Victor, I'm sure plenty of people would be willing to sponsor him. Unless of course the Victors aren't allowed to be sponsored.
I look over at Anya. She sits across the shack. Her eyes closed and her head resting against the wall. "Do you think he'll be alright?" she asks not opening her eyes.
"I have no idea," I say back.
"This freakin' sucks," she groans.
I give a soft laugh. "I'm sorry it's not funny," I say.
"But isn't it?" She says opening her eyes, "We get the opportunity of having a protector and yet he gets injured first thing."
"He's a person too, Anya. His life is just as valuable as ours."
She doesn't say anything else. The national anthem plays and the trumpets sound. I stand up and look out at the sky. The first face is Relic followed by Codi and then Suede.
"Who was it?" Anya asks.
"Relic, Suede, and Codi."
"Interesting...so I guess you'll be going now."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Aren't you going to Seven. Trying to go find Hope."
I look over to Parker. Although he is my mentor and I just told Anya how important his life is, I have to find Hope. I have a better chance of victory with her than with Anya. "Yeah, I guess I need to go."
Anya doesn't say anything but she does give me a glare. "So, you're going to leave me here with him," she says pointing to Parker.
I pick up my pack and knives, "Sorry, Anya but I have to. Good luck."
I expect her to attack me, to start yelling at me, to do anything but instead, she just stands there and does nothing. I leave the shack and I don't look back. I quickly run across the docks and make it to Five. The dam is a crumbled mess and there is still standing water in the valley. I trudge through the water and make it to the junkyard of Six. There are no longer towering piles of debris but instead smoothed layer. It's actually quite dangerous to travel across in the dark. Thankfully, the full moon reflecting off the snow provides some light. I spot what must be the Cornucopia but I travel on, the forest of Seven is only about a half mile away. I move as quickly as possible. I gunshot rings across the arena. A searing pain floods through my body and I fall to my knees. My hands and knees land in a pile of broken glass and I bite my lip from screaming. I put my hand on my left arm. My hand comes back bloody. I think I just got shot, but they don't have guns in the arena. I try to inspect my wound. I think the bullet only grazed my arm. I curse under my breath and look back at the Cornucopia. I see two figures and they seem to be arguing. It could be Florence and Sheen and if so I want to get out of here. I move as low and as quickly as I can towards the forest. I finally make it to the edge and climb up a nearby tree.
Thanks for reading guys! What did you think about this chapter? There weren't any tribute deaths but a lot did happen. I'd love to hear what you have to say! Thanks again for sticking around and I'll try to update as soon as possible. I'm on winter break now so I'll try to get as much done as possible.
Location of Tributes Mentor Mutts
Careers- Forest in Section Seven
Sheen Carver, D1
Florence Javier, D8
YC Alliance- (Separated)
Hope Wilde, D7- Forest in Section Seven
Jacqueline Voltage, D5- Forest in Section Seven
Loners (no alliance)
Anya Evans, D5- Docks in Section Four w/ Parker Knoppe
Valentine Ford, D6- Cornucopia in Section Six w/ Margot Bendetti
Aster Oakley, D11- Barn in Section Ten w/ Ida Williams
Eulogies
Deaths
24. Richmond Clarke, 12, D9- Head Trauma Induced by Aspen Harper, D7
23. Wallace de Brugge, 13, D10- Burnt Alive by Harmony Haven, D3
22. Doe Galloway, 15, D10- Burnt Alive by Harmony Haven, D3
21. Leaf Sarill, 13, D7- Stabbed in the back by Anya Evans, D5
20. Sage Stone, 14, D12- Chest slashed by Florence Javier, D8
19. Gadget Mordhix, 17, D3- Arrow shot into head by Cyrus Bronze, D2
18. Luke Melilot, 12, D7- Knife thrown into back by Aster Oakley, D11
17. Wanda Butron, 12, D12- Ax chopped into back by Hope Wilde, D7
16. Catclaw Ruddock, 15, D7- Drown
15. Aspen Harper, 17, D7- Drown
14. Yvonne Esmeralda, 12, D12- Drown
13. Gabriel Amarillo, 18, D8- Ax chopped into back of head by Valentine Ford, D6
12. Marina Walters, 14, D4- strangled by Harmony Haven, D3
11. Harmony Haven, 14, D3- stabbed in the chest by Ezekiel Pierce, D2
10. Miles Tuure, 18, D12- head smashed by Sheen Carver, D1
9. Ezekiel Pierce, 16, D2- chest slashed by Codi Watts mutt
8. Cyrus Bronze, 14, D2- stabbed through the heart by Topher Matthews mutt
Kills
Aspen Harper, 17, D7 (1)- Richmond Clarke
Harmony Haven, 14, D3 (3)- Wallace de Brugge, Doe Galloway, Marina Walters
Anya Evans, 15, D5 (4)- Leaf Sarill, Catclaw Ruddock, Aspen Harper, Yvonne Esmeralda
Florence Javier, 18, D8 (1)- Sage Stone
Cyrus Bronze, 14, D2 (1)- Gadget Mordhix
Aster Oakley, 16, D11 (1)- Luke Melilot
Hope Wilde, 15, D7 (1)- Wanda Butron
Jacqueline Voltage, 16, D5 (3)- Catclaw Ruddock, Aspen Harper, Yvonne Esmeralda
Valentine Ford, 17, D6 (1)- Gabriel Amarillo
Sheen Carver, 17, D1 (1)- Miles Tuure
Mutts (2)- Ezekiel Pierce, Cyrus Bronze