Oakley Gunderson, 16, District 7 Female


I started to get worried when I saw those heavy gray clouds loom over the sky. More rain, I thought. Me getting wet, again. I really had no cover besides a few trees, but it looks like the cave system Grover and Tiger and I took refuge in on the first day is still perfectly intact. As much as I wanted to stay away from that place it looks like I have no choice but to go back.

Much to my surprise, and even pleasure, when I begin trekking to the caves what I thought was going to be heavy rain turned out to be flaky and puffy snow. Some of it sticks on the ground right away. I always perked up when I saw the white stuff outside falling slowly from the sky. Sometimes they would cancel school and work when it snowed, and it would turn out to be a cozy and relaxing day. But my happy memories of the very snow that's falling on my head vanish when the snow starts battering on my face.

When I take off my hood, harsh howling beats into my ear. I struggle the hood back on, pressing the cloth against my face in a desperate attempt to keep it somewhat warm. I can already feel my fingers becoming icicles, and my toes are woefully numb. I'm just lucky the wind isn't blowing against me, and I can still cover some ground. I feel like it's only been a few minutes but the snow is already to my knees. Now I'm dragging my weight through the snow with all my might, hell-bent on making it to that mountain.

After a long and painful walk which included stopping to dump the melted snow out of my boots several times, I'm right below the very mountain I wanted to be at. But sadly for me, it looks like an exhausting climb is going to be needed to reach my destination. Frozen tears drop off my face, but I quickly wipe them away and carefully walk up the steep trail that I had worked my way up just fine before with some help. But now that I'm by myself, I'm skidding up the rock like a cat, hanging in for dear life onto some stray tree branches and roots. The nearest cave doesn't seem to be nearly as big as the old one but it will have to do. I step inside the damp cave, which is still somewhat dry, and I say somewhat because the floor is soaked. I don't mind it though, it's better than being outside, at least.

My pants are already getting pretty wet at this point, and I don't have anything to sit on besides the ground. I would go out and try to find at least something but snow is already blocking parts of the cave. I take in shaky breaths, trying not to cry as it begins to spill into my cave. I push myself against a far corner of the cave, screaming when I find a bone. I scoot over to the other side, shivering. The entrance of the cave is completely blocked at this point by the snow, shrouding me in darkness. I start singing myself nursery rhymes in a feeble attempt to calm myself down, but I can't get more than a few lyrics out of a song Father used to sing to me.

I shriek when some of the snow starts to reach midsection. I'm standing as high as the cave will let me to avoid being submerged. It doesn't work for very long, though. Soon I'm pressing my face against the rocky ceiling of the cave. I try one last desperate attempt to escape, realizing my foolish mistake of coming here in the first place, but I can barely move from the numbness. All I can do is curl up in a ball and try to keep shivering and think warm thoughts.


Calix Livianus, 18, District 2 Male


I grimaced as I saw the snowstorm coat the ground in a thick layer of white puff. The inside of the Cornucopia itself might even be colder than the outside. I must admit that sitting here, covered in blood, doing nothing is started to bore me immensely, but I know I have no other choice. I tried to get up earlier but ended up falling over like a coward. And I ran out of gauze yesterday, but that can only do so much. What I actually need is stitches, but haven't the slightest clue how to apply them. And with no one to help me, I'll just have to wing it and hope I don't bleed myself out.

Almost as if on cue, a silver parachute rains down from the sky, sort of blending in with the grey sky. The box nearly falls off the cliff from the heavy winds but I crawl over and save it before it tumbles off. Limping back inside, I tear open the package and find a steak. It's raw, though, which makes t kind of inedible since there's no way I'm lighting a fire in this weather. I just set the steak on a box, still sitting on it's plastic tray. Sitting criss-cross in the Horn, I let out an exasperated sigh as boredom begins to set in yet again. But the few minutes of sitting is interrupted by deep growling.

An involuntary scream escapes my mouth as a pack of vultures circles around me. Their fangs are razor-sharp, as well as their claws. I don't know why the Gamemakers are so eager on tormenting their future Victor. But it turns out the vultures aren't really interested in attacking me. Instead, they swarm the Cornucopia, one clasping its beak around a dagger and one taking the rest of my iodine. But when a bird manages to down my entire steak in one gulp, that's when I get angry.

Screeching, I cleanly slice the head off one of the vultures, causing the others to squeak in fear and frantically fly away. I toss a throwing knife at another escaping bird, and it hits the thing right in the back of the neck. Luckily they're all pretty much gone by now, save for the couple of grounded corpses. I'm glad the things are gone, but now I don't have any food. Save for some rotten fruit that will most likely poison me.

Looking at the vulture and then back my sword, I come to the conclusion that this vulture is breakfast. Butchering was never my strongest subject at the academy, I remember nearly tearing my hair out as the other boys had a perfectly cut chicken in front of them while I had a bloody mess, but that low grade only slightly lowered my average as I excelled in weapons, combat, and even some other areas of survival. Only slightly remembering the first steps, I slice the bird open and remove all of its vital organs and guts. After that, I'm stumped. Tearing out the bird's leg from the socket, I remove its feathers and hide, leaving a bloody pulp. Carrying the body with the tips of my fingers, I wrap the mess in aluminum foil, dreading the moment I have to cook that nasty thing.

I wonder why those humanoid Mutts haven't come back to torment me yet. I know it's only been a day but the anticipation is killing me. Every time I hear even the slightest noise I jerk my head back to see if they've come back to finish me off. If I killed the boy from 5, the girl from 5 should be paying me a visit sometime soon, right? It's just a question of when. Not being able to let my guard down at any point is something I've started to get used to. I can't wait until this is over. I won't have to think about the Games ever again in my life.


Citlali Kenyie, 16, District 9 Female


My eyes burst open, and I start extending my arms and yawning. I wrapped myself in this thick quilt I found late last night as the temperature started to drop. I must admit, being in a stone castle isn't the best option to stay warm, but I didn't have the energy to go and find someplace else. There's even a fireplace here, but even if someone won't see the fire, they'll see smoke coming from wherever the chimney is. Do castles have a chimney?

My throat has started to dry out. I was getting scared when I noticed that I was down to the final sips of my last canteen, but lit up when I saw the snow outside. I can just eat the melted snow to my heart's desire. The flakes themselves are quite thick, and almost the size of a cherry. They splat on the ground, stacking and stacking and stacking to form a layer of snow. After around five minutes, it begins to fall less gracefully and is whirling around, greatly reducing visibility.

By now I think it's safe to say that a blizzard has started. I didn't really worry at first, I had actual shelter, although the battering on the ceiling worried me slightly. The horses and men didn't even show up today, which was a disappointment, but I don't see how anyone could sport in this weather, much less survive.

BOOM!

I jump out of my chair as I hear that awful cannon again. I press my face against the window as I see the hovercraft extract a body from a cave, picking them up like a ragdoll. The aircraft whooshes away, vanishing in the castle-filled skyline. Fear begins to peak in my stomach as I notice that the snow has piled all the way up to the door. I rush downstairs and slowly crack open the door, but the moment I do, snow bursts through the tiny crack and it gets all over the floor. Cursing, I retrieve my backpack and spear, accidentally leaving behind my dagger in the room I was residing in. I consider going back for it, but at this point I'm waist-deep in snow and it could fill up the entire house. I force the door open, pushing against the wind, and find myself in a harsh flurry.

Pushing my way through the snow, I sigh in relief as the snowfall stops after only an hour or so, and I head to another stone castle sitting atop a hill, untouched. Shaking, I open the door of the house, but I instantly scream in terror when I see five skeletons laid out on the floor, and another on the couch. Two of them are wearing crowns, and the others are wearing glasses. I can't tell if they're fake or not, so I bound up the stairs to avoid the image, finding myself on the top floor of this new castle, where I can hear faint giggling.

I try and tell myself to toughen up, and that everything will be just fine. With that cannon earlier I'm in the Final Four tributes. There is a one in four chance I'm going to go home, that I'll be able to live on my own out of the orphanage. My life was sad and gloomy before and it's almost better now that I'm in the Games.

I actually have a small glimmer of hope, I can make a better life for myself. But I still have to kill everyone else to win. Or maybe they just all kill themselves and I can get off easy. But what was so bad about killing? I killed someone, and I still feel like I have emotions. Maybe I'm the only sane one left. Maybe I'm everyone's best choice for a Victor.


Eulogies

Oakley Gunderson, District 7 Female, 4th, Hypothermia, Day 7

I always liked Oakley, even though she was sort of the weak link in her group. She never gave up even towards the end, despite her natural fears of the unknown. This girl was actually going to place much lower, but I didn't want to do that because I had grown to like her a lot. She will be missed. Thank you IlluminatingSpirit for Oakley, and I sincerely hope you continue with your own SYOT!

Tributes remaining:

Calix Livianus, 2M- At the Cornucopia

Tiger Kaley, 4F- At Cornwall Village

Incense Vasquez, 8F- At Hatfield Manor

Citlali Kenyie, 9F- At Castle Moor


ANOTHER death today! It's getting harder and harder to let my babies go... but we're in the TOP 4! I am so excited :D but also kinda sad that the story is gonna end soon. I dunno, I've really come to adore it. I've been reading some of the reviews lately, and I know some of you have differing opinions in terms of Victor, but please note that I haven't even picked one yet XD Choosing one might come into play... later. I have something planned that will help me make a final decision when there's just two left, involving the readers, so stay tuned! As always, review! ;) I'll see you guys next time.

-Ruby