Naomi Sakura, District 4 (17)
"Why isn't she dead yet?"
I rolled my eyes as I watched Sierra pace up and down in front of the fire, angrily kicking up dirt as she walked. The District 2 girl was red in the face with anger, or maybe it was from pacing up and down for the last two hours. Either way, I was enjoying the view.
"Well maybe if you let me deal with her," I said, my voice sweetly sarcastic, "then I'd have done the job properly and we'd have seen her little face in the sky last night."
I ducked quickly as she threw a stone at my head. "Shut up, Naomi," she spat, going back to her pacing. "I don't need your input here."
I just shrugged. "You asked."
"Just let her be, Naomi," sighed Nic from a few meters away. "There's no reasoning with her when she's in this kind of mood-hey!"
He only just managed to get out of the way as Sierra hurled another stone in his direction.
"I don't need your input either!"
Nic sighed again and, picking up the knife he had dropped when Sierra threw the stone at him, went back to carving a small figure out of a piece of wood he'd found earlier. I craned my neck to get a better look.
"What you making there?"
Nic looked up, surprised at my interest.
"It's a cat," he replied simply, holding it up for me to take a look at. "See."
"Nic's always had a strange obsession with cats," sneered Sierra. "It's quite weird actually."
"I like cats," he said to me, ignoring Sierra's comment. "They're nice, friendly, and really good listeners."
"Yes Nic, because that's what you do all day back at home. Poor out your soul to a cat."
Again, Nic ignored his sister's comment.
"I've got three at home," he continued. "All rescued off the street. And despite what she might say," he shot a look at Sierra, "my sister loves them too."
"Oh please, I just tolerate them to keep you off my case."
"And that's exactly why you let Whiskers sleep on your bed every night."
Now Sierra ignored him.
"I like cats too," I said, smiling at Nic as Sierra continued to pace. "There are loads down at the docks in District 4, but both my parents are allergic so we've never been able to keep one."
"That's too bad," replied Nic, giving me a sad look.
"Yeah, I real shame," Sierra added sarcastically, sneering again.
"I'll tell you what," said Nic, putting down his knife. "You can have this cat, since you've never had one before." He tossed the small wooden figure at me. "Here, it's all yours."
I looked down at the statue that had landed neatly in my lap. It was tiny, only a few centimetres in length, but beautifully detailed all the same. Nic had even managed to scratch a few whiskers onto its miniscule face.
"Thank you," I said gratefully. "It's beautiful."
Sierra made a gagging noise, but otherwise ignored us.
"You're most welcome."
In all honesty, it wasn't just the cat that I was thanking Nic for. What Nic had shown me the most today was kindness, something I didn't get very much of back home. My oldest sister made sure of that every day of my life.
"Naomi? Hello? Are you all right?"
Blinking back the small tears that had formed in my eyes, I looked up to face Nic, hoping that he hadn't seen anything.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, the question sounding more like an accusation that anything else.
"Sorry, you just looked a little sad."
"But I'm not, got it?"
"You guys are weird," said Sierra, stopping her pacing long enough to glare at both of us. "Like a bunch of little girls. Grow up."
"Shut up, Sierra," Nic and I said in unison, and then laughed. Sierra didn't find it funny and sent two more rocks flying our way.
"I wonder what happened to Maddie," said Nic suddenly, frowning slightly. "It's strange not having her around."
"I hope she gets eaten by some huge beast soon," Sierra muttered angrily. "How dare she reject our invitation to join us again! We were offering her a life-line! She's so dead next time we see her!"
"How many people have rejected you now, Sierra?" I asked innocently. "There's Maddie, that District 11 girl-"
"-That handsome boy from the Training Academy-"
"Oh you two are just so funny," Sierra replied, smiling sarcastically. "Well I'll have you know Nic, Hunter didn't reject me. No one rejects me."
"Well Maddie and the District 11 girl sure did."
This time Sierra's rock made contact with his face.
Vitz Morales, District 6 (18)
The cold morning air hit me like a ton of bricks as I wriggled out of my sleeping bag to relieve Lexi from her night-watch shift. I wanted nothing more than to climb back in and go back to sleep, but I knew Lexi would be mad if I didn't take over from her soon. She'd been up for hours and must have been exhausted by now.
Stuffing my hands into my jacket pocket, I turned to look for Lexi, quickly finding her leaning against a tree stump a few meters away. She took no notice of me as I walked towards her and just continued to stare straight ahead.
"You're free to go now," I said as my teeth started to chatter. "Go enjoy your warm sleep while I freeze to death out here. I'm beginning to regret agreeing with Lee about the whole 'no fire at night' thing."
Lexi ignored me.
"Lexi?"
"Is it mean to say that I regret coming here?" she asked suddenly, still not looking at me.
"Um, no?" I replied, confused. "It's not like us outer-district kids ever have a choice about entering the Hunger Games anyway. We have no choice."
"I did. I volunteered to save Rebecca."
Oh, right. I had completely forgotten that Lexi was a volunteer, choosing to save her cousin's life over her own. I didn't know Rebecca personally, but I'd heard a lot about her from other guys I knew who had "employed" her "services". The whole concept of this sweet young girl selling herself for money really sickened me, but Corolla told me not to judge so I didn't. It just made me sad to think about what kind of desperate situation the poor girl lived in to be forced into that.
"Answer me Vitz."
I sighed. "I don't know, okay? Would you be happier if Rebecca was here and you were at home watching?"
There was a slight pause. "No. I wouldn't."
"Well I'd sure be happier at home."
Lexi smiled slightly and moved over so that I could sit down next to her. Putting her head on my shoulder, she said, "I wish we were home too."
We didn't speak for a while after that. Lexi closed her eyes and soon her breathing became even and rhythmical, like one's does when you're asleep. I just sat there, watching my breath mist out in front of my face every time I breathed out. Despite the cold, it was quite peaceful sitting there with Lexi.
"My daughter was due today," I said quietly to Lexi's sleeping form, not knowing if she could hear me or not. "Corolla wanted to name her Ava, after my late mother, but I liked the same Celica better. She agreed with me eventually."
Lexi didn't reply, her even breathing the only noise in the quiet night.
"Corolla was afraid to give birth, you know," I continued, looking down at the sleeping girl leaning against my shoulder. "I don't even think she wanted a baby in the first place. We didn't plan to be parents; it just happened." I paused. "But on the bright side, I've learned that people are more likely to give you a job if you tell them you have a baby on the way."
There was still no reply from Lexi, not like I was expecting one anyway since she was asleep. I chuckled. She sure was easier to get along with when she was asleep.
"I was going to have a kid too," said a voice from my left. "But then all this happened."
I jumped in surprise. "Lee, I didn't know you were awake."
"It's kind of hard to sleep with your constant chatter," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Now scoot over. I don't want to be left out of this DMC."
"DMC?"
"Deep meaningful conversation. Come on Vitz, move up."
I shifted over slightly to make room for Lee against the tree stump. Lexi grumbled slightly in her sleep as I moved her, but didn't wake.
"How can you have a child?" I asked, frowning at him as he sat down. "I thought you were...liked guys."
Lee chuckled. "There's more than one way to get a kid, Vitz." He sighed sadly. "My boyfriend, Rye, and I always knew that we wanted kids. We decided that once we were older and had a stable income, we were going to adopt children. Rye had the whole thing planned out. We were going to get a daughter first, a pretty red-haired child named Oak, and then we were going to adopt a son. We hadn't got around to thinking of a name for him yet. Looks like we never will now."
"Looks like I never will either."
"Or me." Lexi had woken up now and was staring up at us, her blue eyes sad. "That's something I didn't want to miss out on."
Silence again.
"This conversation is getting really depressing," sighed Lee, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep out the cold. "Can we please talk about something else now?"
"How about your plan, Lex?" I asked, changing the subject quickly. "I think we should put it into action now. What do you say?"
Lexi sighed. "The whole point of the plan was to take out the Careers in the beginning of the Games to give the other, untrained, tributes a better chance at survival. Only half of us are left now. What's the point?"
"Well we could give that other half a better chance. Including us."
"Do you think it would work now?" Lexi asked, looking up at me. "I mean, they know what we are planning, right? That traitor Braxton must have told them when he joined."
"I don't think they're expecting us anymore," said Lee thoughtfully. "Maybe they thought that we'd given up on that idea after we lost Zach and Evelyn. Or that we changed our plans once Brax turned on us?"
"Possibly," Lexi yawned, stretching her arms up above her head. "So what, you guys think we should try it?"
Lee and I exchanged glances before nodding. "Yes, we should."
"But tomorrow," added Lee, mirroring Lexi's yawn. "I'm too tired to talk strategy now. Night night guys."
"Night."
After Lee got up and left, Lexi rested her head on my shoulder once again.
"Do you think we will win?" she asked quietly, a hint of doubt in her usually strong voice.
"I really don't know," I replied, resting my head on top of hers. "We'll just have to see."
Lara Anders, District 11 (17)
"Lara, can I ask you a question?"
"Depends."
"Where are we going?"
I glanced over my shoulder to where Shay was packing the last few items from our camp into her backpack, making sure she was well out of ear shot before I answered Vee's question.
"We're going to a new camp," I replied evenly, looking away. "It's too dangerous to stay in one place, you know that."
"I'm not stupid, Lara. I know when something's up."
Casting another look at Shay, I turned quickly and grabbed Vee's arm, pulling her towards me.
"Don't ask me this now," I hissed into her ear. "They can hear us."
Vee frowned, but said nothing. She seemed to understand who I meant by "they".
The District 12 girl was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for, or maybe I was just too caught up in my plan to notice that she was catching on. I'd thought that I was being discrete, but apparently not discrete enough. I guess waking up before sunrise every day to travel in the exact same direction might cause suspicion in someone who in naturally untrusting, like Vee for instance. Well, it didn't really matter if she knew what was going on anyway; she'd probably want to help, being Vee and all. Everything would work out as long as they didn't realise what was going on.
I was only eight when my older sister, Liza, was reaped for the Hunger Games. She was just a kid herself, having turned twelve a few weeks previously, and honestly didn't stand much of a chance at all. She was one of the first to die.
After Liza's death I retreated into my own mind. I became depressed, withdrawn, and just generally angry at everything. I wanted revenge for my sister, and for my mother too, who hung herself a few weeks after Liza was killed. Thanks to the Capitol, I'd lost half my family in the space of three weeks, so when Thistle Brooke approached me with her plan after I was reaped, I couldn't refuse.
Thistle Brooke was the third victor for District 11; having won her Games when she was sixteen-years-old. Now, Thistle has been mentoring for nearly twenty years and hasn't had a single victor for our district. You can imagine how difficult that is to go through; getting two new, innocent children every year only to watch them die soon afterwards. She was Liza's mentor, and mine too.
It's no secret that Thistle hates the Capitol. She certainly doesn't hide the fact that she thinks they're disgusting, but President Snow doesn't take her too seriously because most people write her off as crazy. But I didn't. And now we're going to show the Capitol what we're made of.
My mentor approached me in the Justice Building after my teary-eyed father said his goodbyes. She said that she had been watching me for a while and knew all about my life, ever since the deaths of my sister and my mother. She said that I was exactly the kind of person that she was looking for to do this very special job, which made me wonder if she'd arranged for my name to be pulled out of the reaping ball. Shay would say that it was God's will, but I'm going to call it fate. It's my destiny to do this.
Thistle told me that she wasn't the only victor against the Hunger Games. There's a group of them who want to put a stop to them at all costs, a group who needs the help of a tribute on the inside of the arena. A tribute like me. A tribute who isn't afraid to die.
I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket and felt it close around my small district token. My token, a smooth stone carved into the shape of a bird in flight, actually wasn't from my district at all. It was specially engineered in District 3, by one of their top scientists who happened to be the brother of another past victor. It was created to be a tiny, but extremely powerful, atomic bomb, virtually undetectable by technology unless you know exactly what to look for. It was so easy for the district token of a lowly outer-district girl to be over-looked. If all went according to plan, I'd reach the edge of the arena tomorrow afternoon and activate the bomb. The force field around the arena would amplify it, killing everyone inside instantly and taking the surrounding Gamemakers with it. The 49th Hunger Games wouldn't have a victor. Instead, a statement would have been made about how wrong these Games really are. Thistle and her allies would take credit for the act and, with the help of the districts, lead a rebel force against the Capitol to put an end to their horror once and for all. Well, that was the plan anyway. It would be a pity that I wouldn't be around to see it, but I know my death must happen to set the plan in motion. Maybe this is why people think Thistle is crazy. In my opinion, she's a genius.
Creating an alliance with Shay was a mistake. Even though I knew that we were all going to die anyway, I couldn't leave her at the Cornucopia on the day of the bloodbath. She reminded me too much of Liza, and I would have given anything for someone to have saved her during her Games. For all I knew, Shay has a little sister too, praying and waiting for her to come home, just like I was when Liza was taken away. This just goes to show how little I knew about my ally, but I still think the less I know, the better. I was already feeling guilty about leading her to her death and I didn't want to have to think about her family back in District 10 too. I knew that her father was a priest, and that information was enough already. Betraying the little girl's trust like this hurt, even if it was for the greater good. I just hoped that she'd understand when the time came.
Vee was another story. I didn't want to form an alliance with her either, but after Shay insisted I started to see how she could be useful. I remembered the defiant look in her eyes that day I saw her get off the train in the Capitol, a look that said that she wanted to be more than just a little piece in their Games. She's smart and will see things from mine, and Thistle's, point of view when the time came. She could be a powerful ally.
"Ready to go?"
I looked down to see Shay standing at my shoulder.
"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "I'm ready."
Vee said nothing and started to walk, already knowing which way we'd be going since we went the same way every day. I wondered if she knew that we were going to the edge of the arena. She suddenly slowed down and fell into step besides me.
"I want to know what's going on," she whispered through the corner of her mouth, staring straight ahead as to appear not to be talking.
"I'll tell you during the anthem," I answered, equally quiet. "We can't be heard then."
Vee just nodded.
We walked straight on through the heat of the day. No one complained. In fact, no one spoke at all. Shay seemed to have sensed the tense atmosphere between Vee and I, and had decided to stay silent throughout the whole trip. We breaked for lunch under a tall, thorny tree and continued on our way a few minutes later, ignoring the heard of buck that seemed to have appeared around us. It was when the sun had finally started to set when we saw the girl.
"Oh my God," whispered Vee, putting her hand over her mouth as she noticed the small figure propped up against a tree. "Are those arrows in her stomach?"
I nodded. "I think so. It's a miracle she's not dead."
"How do you know?" asked Shay, squinting at the body. "How can someone possibly survive that?"
"She isn't surviving it," I said sadly. "She won't be able to hold on much longer."
Before I could stop her, Shay had started running towards the girl, dropping her pack in the process. Vee and I just looked at each other before following. We both know that Shay would want to save the girl, even though it would be impossible at this stage. We'd need a hospital to successfully remove the arrows from her stomach, something that you don't get in the middle of the Hunger Games. She was as good as dead.
Shay was kneeling besides the girl when we reached her, brushing a few strands of jet-black hair of her sweaty face. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she grinned weakly at us.
"This is probably the strangest thing you've ever seen, right?"
Vee nodded, returning the weak grin. "Probably."
The girl smiled. "Yeah, me too." She looked down at the two arrows sticking out of her stomach. "I don't think I'm going to be able to bounce back from this one."
None of us replied. We just all looked down sadly at the girl, Shay even reaching out and stroking on of her small hands.
"I thought it would hurt more," the girl said, closing her grey eyes again. "It did an hour ago, but now I don't feel anything."
"That's good I guess," Vee replied, smiling sadly. "You wouldn't want to feel those two arrows anyway."
"Not the arrows. Dying." She looked up at us again. "That's what's happening, isn't it? I'm dying?" She sniffed, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I don't want to die. Is that so selfish? I want to live."
"Shhh," said Shay soothingly, gently squeezing her hand. "You're not being selfish. Not at all."
"I'm scared."
"Don't be. It will just be like falling asleep, I promise."
The girl blinked back her tears and looked up at Shay. "Do you believe in heaven?"
Shay smiled. "Yes, I do. Do you?"
"I want to."
Now Shay was blinking away tears too. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and then continued to speak.
"Heaven is a wonderful place, you know. There's no pain or suffering there and everyone is happy. Nothing can ever hurt you there. And it's beautiful too. Very green and full of life, with every kind of animal you can ever dream of. Not to mention the food. You'll never be hungry again."
"That sounds nice," sniffed the girl. "I want heaven to be real."
Vee and I knelt down too, silently surveying the scene before us. Shay was kneeling besides the girl, smiling slightly while grasping both of her frail hands between hers. The girl was smiling up at her, content with listening to every word Shay said. She looked happy.
Then Shay began to speak again:
"The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me besides quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in the path of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and staff,
they comfort me."
I looked over at Vee to find there were tears in her eyes too. I was surprised to find them in my eyes as well. The simple beauty and kindness of Shay's tribute was so touching, it even moved me.
The girl was smiling now, her eyes staring beyond Shay and into the distance. Whatever she was gazing at, it made her happy.
Boom.
Another tear rolled down Shay's cheek as she let go of the girl's hands, crossing them over in her lap. Vee reached forward and closed the girl's vacant eyes, trying not to cry herself as she put an arm around Shay. Neither of them had known the girl before today, and yet they were both so saddened by her death. Things should never have to be this way.
The black-haired girl's death was a reminder to me about exactly why I agreed to do what Thistle planned. These "Games" just make the innocent suffer and it's not fair. That little girl didn't deserve to die leaning against a tree with two arrows sticking out of her stomach, far away from home. Nobody deserves that.
Which was why I was going to put a stop to it.
Is it just me, or is Lara sounding like a suicide bomber?
Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual. The real world can be so demanding at times.
It's been a while since I've posted, so here's a quick update on things you might not remember (because I've been so bad at updating).
Alliances:
Careers: Sierra (D2), Nic (D2) and Naomi (D4). They're still camping by the river and have finally gotten rid of their thief problem (RIP Angela). They haven't been very successful with hunting, so I dare sat that they're getting quite frustrated with their lack of killing lately.
Anti-Careers: Lexi (D6), Vitz (D6) and Lee (D9). They've finally decided to make their move on the Careers. They certainly have waited long enough!
Lara (D11), Shay (D10) and Vee (D12): They're still moving to the edge of the arena, but could the Gamemakers get suspicious like Vee did?
Capri (D7) and Lance (D4): Everyone's favourite "couple" is still doing okay, and being as charming as ever. It's like they're living in their own little bubble at the moment, away from all the drama in the arena. But of course, it's going to have to pop some day.
Maddie (D1): She certainly has been very quiet lately. She's doing a great job of flying under the radar for the moment, but she's going to have to make an appearance sometime (most likely soon).
Hopefully that refreshed your memory about who's still alive and kicking. Just a warning, the death rate is going to pick up from the next chapter. The anti-career confrontation is not to be missed! 12 tributes down, 11 more to go!
Thanks for reading and please review :)
