Day Thirteen
Anya Evans, D5
I wake up to the sound of my stomach growling. the night had passed slowly as I drifted in and out of sleep. I uncurl myself and stretch out on the ground. The sun has already risen and it must be around mid-morning. I look out across the muddy plain that used to be the ocean. A large concrete wall stands a few miles out as part of the Arena border. It was used to hold the water in but maybe I could make it out. I laugh at the thought. I scan the area again and don't see any signs of other tributes. There are only four of us left and the arena is large so I doubt that any of us are close to each other. Unless the Gamemakers lead us together, which I doubt will happen at this point or until they want the finale to begin.
I open up my pack and pull out my canteen, I take a few sips and then it's empty. I screw the cap back on a throw it back into my pack. The only other item in my pack is a granola bar which I greedily devour. I'm sure the finale will either be this evening or tomorrow so I'm not worried about rationing food or water. I even decide to desert my pack. It'll be easier for me to carry my knives on my belt rather than lugging them around in my pack. I manage to climb back on top of the docks and start to roam. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be doing at this moment. Should I be preparing for the finale? I mean I'm as prepared as I'll ever be. Should I try to hunt down other tributes? I guess I could but everybody else is better at weaponry than me. Which means how am I supposed to win the finale without a plan. I need to come up with a trap or something because unless the other tributes are mutilated by mutts I'm not going to have much of a chance.
My stomach growls again and I groan in annoyance. I look at the scattered shacks lining the docks, maybe there is some food hidden in one of them. I make my way across the docks to the nearest one. There must be a can of tuna or something in here. I make it to the door and try to open it but it doesn't budge. I throw body against it but to no avail. I start my way around to the front of the shack so that I can maybe climb over the counter. I make it to the front and as soon as I place my hand on the counter to jump over I see a movement in the corner. Aster jumps out from behind a pile of netting and flings a knife. I duck below the counter and the knife sails over my head. I waste no time to think and I start to sprint down the docks.
Aster Oakley, D11
I leap over the counter and chase after Anya. She's smart, she zigzags across the docks making it hard to aim for her. I throw another knife. It misses her left shoulder and lands in the wood of the dock. As I run by I lean over and pull it out. Anya continues to run but she's slowing down, she's gotten weaker in these Games. I continue to chase after her, I start to gain ground. Anya pauses for a second before turning left and heading to a cluster of shacks. I throw another knife this one cuts across her right leg and ricochets and falls to the muddy ground below. I curse I only have three knives remaining. Anya tries to climb over a counter into a shack but I make it to her in time to grab her by the shoulder and pull her back to the ground. I remove another knife from my vest (a sponsor gift I got this morning).
"Please don't!" Anya cries holding out her arms protectively.
I look down at her in pity. She looks a mess; her once round face is now long and hallow, her hair is a twisted mess. "Why should I?" I ask; my voice a lot shakier than I would like.
"Because...because I need help...and I don't want to die yet. I'm sorry that I left you and I know you need help just as much as I do." Tears start to stream down her face. For the first time Anya seems truly afraid.
"It seems like you need a lot more help than I do right now," I say spitting at her. Rage fuels inside me. She had deserted me and she deserves to die.
"You know that there's no way you can win this on your own. Not against Sheen and Valentine."
I look down at her. She does need help but I was never the one to offer help. I start to raise my knife, Anya closes her eyes and grimaces. I think back to our time in training and how we had bonded but it was all trick. Anya deserves to die, she has down horrendous things. But haven't I also and no matter how much I hate her Anya is right. I won't be able to take on Sheen and Valentine by myself.
I lower the knife, "Okay fine, but we're sleeping in different shacks and I'm hiding your weapons."
Anya slowly stands up with her hands in the air. She motions her head down to her belt and I remove the two knives from their sheaths. "No funny business. If I feel uncomfortable at any time I won't hesitate to kill you."
Anya only nods her head in agreement.
"So what's the plan to save my ass?" I ask putting her two knives in my vest.
"I was thinking...nets," she murmurs.
I fake a cheesy smile, "Enlighten me, please."
Valentine Ford, D6
I grab a handful of berries and start to slowly pluck each one into my mouth. The day has passed slowly. All I've done is pick more berries, soon there won't be any left. There hadn't been any cannons or signs of tributes. I woke up this morning expecting to be lead to the final showdown by some mutt or trap but the Gamemakers seem to be holding off for some reason. Maybe a pair of tributes are close to each other and they're waiting to see how it will play out.
I look around, maybe that tribute is near me. I'm not too worried. I have my ax and two daggers, I feel prepared for a fight. I think the only threat left is Sheen. I don't remember too much about him from training. He wasn't as bold or cocky as some of the other Careers. I do remember that his preferred weapon was a war hammer. A strong choice. It would be good in close combat but ineffective against long-range targets. Then there's the girl from Eleven whom I would never have thought would make it this far. I think she scored fairly well in training but I never saw her as a threat. The girl from Five, Anya, I think is the last tribute. I also didn't expect her to make it this far. I figured that the Careers were strong enough that they would control the whole game up until the finale. The sound of screeching catches my attention, I whip my head around. Perched on a branch nearby is a Jabberjay. A very rare mutt to be seen in a Games. It opens its mouth letting out a higher pitch screeching noise. I quickly gather my ax and pack and start running in the opposite direction. I don't know what's happening but I don't want to stick around to find out.
I sprint through the forest not quite sure which direction I'm heading in. The screeching of the Jabberjay seems to be following me. Is this it? Is this going to be the finale? I continue sprinting the leaf-covered ground starts to fade away and turns into cobblestone. I've run all the way to Section One. The screeching of the Jabberjay stops. I look up and down the empty boulevard. Shops line the edges, advertising everything from cupcakes to exotic pets. I creep down the street with my ax in hand. I keep my eyes alert but don't see any signs of tributes or other mutts. I come to the end of the boulevard. A fountain bubbles in the center of the cul de sac and on the edge rests a Cornucopia. Streetlamps that line the sidewalks flicker to life as the sun starts to set. I head towards the empty Cornucopia and decide to stay here for the night and get some rest before tomorrow.
Sheen Carver, D1
I wake up early in the morning and decide to leave the forest of Seven and to head northwest towards Eight and then travel around the arena in search of tributes. I'm expecting to be lead towards the finale but it seems that the Gamemakers don't want it to happen yet. Sometimes they decide to wait until the final three or even final two. In a few games they never lead the remaining tributes together and instead let them search for each other. I think this year's arena is too large for the Gamemakers to be doing that strategy. My best guess is that two tributes are near each other and the Gamemaker are waiting to see what happens between them. Maybe then I'm close to another tribute.
I head out of the woods of Seven and go into the cotton and lavender fields of Eight. I head to the large textile factory set in the middle of the field. I search around there for about an hour but don't find any tributes. The factory reminds of Florence so I don't stick around for long. I then move on to Nine which is nothing but a few miles of charred earth and wheat. The landscape becomes more hilly and I reach the pastures of Ten. I have to climb over a few fences to get to the also burnt barn. The roof has collapsed in and the walls are barely standing. I take a few minutes to search around but there aren't any tributes here either.
I then go on to the orchard of Eleven. I spend the rest of the day here roaming around. As the sun sinks over the horizon the anthem plays but no faces flash across the sky. There weren't any deaths today, which is a little unusual but I bet the Gamemakers wanted it this way. I decide to not go hunting for tributes and instead climb into a nearby pear tree to get a good night's rest before what I expect to be the finale tomorrow.
Wow, look at me go; lying about having a death this chapter. Well, I did have that planned initially but when writing this I decided to change it. So I'm not going to tell you who I initially had winning between an Anya & Aster showdown but I would like to hear your thoughts about who you think would win. Valentine and Sheen's POV were boring but I wanted to give them a little bit of spotlight this chapter because next chapter will be the FINALE! The finale chapter will be different than most other chapters but I will say that it will be similar to the bloodbath chapter so maybe y'all can figure out what that means. The reason I had the Jabberjay to chase Valentine out of Twelve was to make it more likely that Sheen wouldn't find her when he goes hunting because I didn't (and the Gamemakers) didn't want any action until the next morning. I want to thank all of you for reading this far and sticking with this story. We're so close to the end! Let me know about your predictions for next chapter, so please review!
Location of Tributes
Sheen Carver, D1- Orchard of Section Eleven
Valentine Ford, D6- Boulevard of Section One
Girl Power 2.0- Docks in Section Four
Anya Evans, D5
Aster Oakley, D11
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
7. Hope Wilde, 15, D7- head smashed by Sheen Carver, D1
6. Jacqueline Voltage, 16, D5- throat slit by Valentine Ford, D6
5. Florence Javier, 18, D8- knife thrown into chest by Ida Williams 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 (2)- Gabriel Amarillo, Jacqueline Voltage
Sheen Carver, 16, D1 (2)- Miles Tuure, Hope Wilde
Mutts (3)- Ezekiel Pierce, Cyrus Bronze, Florence Javier
