Hi guys... second part of Day 1 of the arena. Hope you all enjoy, and let me know what you thought!
Once they had escaped the bloodbath, Alex and Natasha had decided to head to the valleys. This part of the arena was beautiful, with green hills surrounding the District 12 pair as they walked along a pathway. Once they had been on the move for an hour, they finally decided to take a break.
"You alright?" Alex asked.
Natasha was not alright. The news of Paddy's death had hit her badly, and it was all she could think about at this moment. "Alex… what happened to Paddy?"
Alex looked at her, stony-faced. "Why do you care so much about that brat?"
"Alex!" Natasha exclaimed. "How can you care so little? He was our friend!"
Alex growled. "I only care about you Natasha. Everyone else in this arena has to die."
Natasha looked away angrily. "Tell me how he died."
Alex hesitated. "That District 4 career, Salton, got him with an arrow. I don't have a clue how he didn't get me too."
"Lucky, as usual." Natasha muttered.
Alex glared at her. "What is up with you? I'm starting to think you care more about that Paddy boy than me!"
"Of course not!" Natasha replied hotly. "It's just… that poor kid. He was only thirteen."
"You've got to forget about it Natasha." Alex growled.
"I can't!" Natasha shrieked. "This is so much harder than I thought it'd be…"
Alex grabbed her angrily. "We've got to look after ourselves Natasha! You've got to make it home to District 12."
Natasha pulled away from him in annoyance. "Just leave me alone Alex." She said bluntly, before running away from him through an opening between the raised hills of the valleys, making sure that she was a good distance away from the boy.
It was then that she saw it.
A few metres in front of her was Paddy, who appeared to be floating in mid-air. He looked the same as ever, with his fiery red hair and freckles. Natasha couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
"P-Paddy…?" Natasha asked timidly.
The spirit of Paddy did not register her, with its eyes staring at the ground in front of him.
"P-Please Paddy… I'm sorry." Natasha said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Paddy turned to look at her with its dark, cold eyes, devoid of any youthful innocence they had possessed when the boy was alive. Natasha froze, unsure of how to react. "What… what are you doing?" She asked.
"I was only trying to help." Paddy said. "I just wanted to save Alex."
"W-What.. what do you mean?" Natasha asked.
Paddy looked at her with sad eyes. "Fight… tried to help. With knife. But an arrow…." The spirit of the young boy looked down at the ground tearfully.
Natasha began crying. "Please Paddy… I'm so sorry!"
"Natasha!"
Alex came running over to Natasha, who was a complete wreck by this point, sobbing into her hands as she kneeled on the ground. He pulled her into a hug, and tried to comfort her. "Natasha! What's wrong?"
Natasha tried to fight back her tears. "Can't you see him…? Paddy…"
Alex looked all around him. "What are you on about Natasha? Paddy's dead!"
Natasha continued to sob. "He's not… I saw him. The spirit of him. Alex, please!"
Alex was completely confused, not knowing what to do as he held her tightly. They remained like that for a few minutes, until Alex spoke. "Natasha… I understand that you're upset about Paddy."
Natasha had finally calmed down by this point. "Something he said… tried to help? With a knife?"
Alex froze, guilt washing over him as he remembered the bloodbath. Paddy running over to him, knife in hand, as he fought Medusa. Then Salton appearing, firing an arrow…. "He tried to help me Natasha. Tried to fight off Medusa with me. But Salton got him." Natasha looked at him in anger. "There was nothing I could do!" Alex shouted.
"You could show some fucking compassion." Natasha snarled. "That brave boy died trying to help you, and you don't even care."
"I do care!" Alex said. "Don't make out like I'm always some being devoid of any human feelings!" Natasha looked away from him, not replying. Alex put a hand on her shoulder. "Look… I know that boy was brave."
"Paddy. His name was Paddy." Natasha growled.
"I know that Paddy was brave." Alex said. "And I'll never forget him for trying to help me. But he's dead now. And we've got to move on if we're going to survive this."
Deep down, Natasha knew that he was right. "Fine… so what next?"
Fenella was walking through the village, admiring the houses around her. They really were beautiful, with their wooden structures and chimneys. One thing that confused her, however, was that none of them seemed to be accessible. She had tried a few doors now, and none of them had budged. She had given up after a while, deciding that they must be just for decoration. Fenella had had a relatively peaceful time since the bloodbath, not having encountered any tributes, with the day drawing to a close. She was not feeling too happy however, as she had proved unlucky with the rucksack she had picked up. It had not contained much food, only some climbing equipment, which Fenella had seen no use for so far.
Fenella sighed as she continued exploring the village, hoping to find something that would help her. As she walked, her thoughts drifted back to her sister. It pained her to think of little Skye back in District 9, probably watching her on the screen set up in the town square right now. If Fenella didn't make it home, she knew that Skye wouldn't survive on her own. She'd most likely be picked up by some gang and forced to work for them, eventually being made into a prostitute.
As Fenella turned another corner, she saw a different looking building to the rest of the village. It was still a half-timbered medieval style, but it wasn't a house, and as she curiously approached the building, she saw a sign hanging above the door, that said 'SHOP'. A bell rang as Fenella opened the door, which made her jump into a defensive stance. Nothing happened, and Fenella saw with relief that the bell had been activated by the door. It was then that she saw the most marvellous sight.
At the far end of the shop, was a beautiful wooden counter with a till on top of it, and inside and upon the counter were rows of delicious food. Loaves of bread, cakes and rolls, real Capitol-standard food. Fenella couldn't believe it, there was enough food here to last her the entire Hunger Games. She approached the counter, taking a moment to inhale all the wonderful smells, before noticing a sign next to the till, which read: GONE FOR BREAK. BE BACK IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. DO NOT TOUCH.
Fenella laughed at this, not quite knowing what to make of it. There were never other people in the arena apart from the tributes, so she had no idea who was supposedly going to be back in fifteen minutes. Probably one of the other tributes trying to scare people away from all the food. She shrugged her shoulders, and began scooping food as fast as she possibly could into her rucksack, wanting to get away quickly, just in case another tribute would return soon. She didn't fancy an encounter with the careers.
As she turned around to leave, she stopped in surprise. A black-feathered bird was flapping in the air, floating in the middle of the shop. Fenella recognised it instantly as a Jabberjay, used many times before in the Hunger Games. As she moved forward, the Jabberjay spoke, in a booming voice.
"Fenella Reed from District 9. What are you doing with that food?"
Fenella froze on the spot, completely taken aback by the Jabberjay asking her a question. She was certain that they had never behaved like this in past games… other tribute's voices, sure. But not an original voice.
"I will ask you again, Fenella Reed. What are you doing with that food?" The bird queried again.
"Erm… I was just… " Fenella stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"Can you not read Fenella? Didn't you see the sign?" The bird barked, still floating in the same spot.
"Yes I did… but… "
"Do you think that taking Capitol food without permission is acceptable Fenella? The sign was there for a reason."
Fenella opened her mouth to form a response, but couldn't find the words. The Jabberjay wasn't finished, however.
"Fenella Reed from District 9. You have been found guilty of theft against the Capitol. You must now pay for your crimes." And with that, the Jabberjay flew off out the shop.
Fenella was completely confused, but she wasn't given any time to gather her thoughts. A low growling sound was coming from behind her, and as she turned round, her eyes widened with fear. Three dog-like creatures with shaggy black hair and gleaming red eyes had appeared out of nowhere, and were looking right at her, licking their lips like a hunter about to catch its prey.
Fenella dropped her rucksack and sprinted out the door, with the three mutts right behind her, snarling and snapping at her heels. They could easily catch her any time they wanted, but it was all about the show for the Capitol. The mutts kept a steady pace behind her, forcing Fenella to wear herself out as she sprinted through the village in the direction of the valleys.
Fenella then stumbled over in exhaustion, and the mutts finally struck. One of them went straight for her left leg, biting deeply into it as she tried to pull herself up. The girl screamed in agony as the mutts' teeth sunk deeper into her leg. It had her trapped, with the other two mutts circling her, waiting to pounce. One of them finally did, biting into her right arm, which made Fenella scream even more. The first mutt had now released her leg, and there was a substantial amount of blood seeping out of the deep wound.
The third and final mutt was standing in front of Fenella as she weeped in agony, and as she looked into its evil, shining red eyes, she knew this was the end.
"I'm so sorry Skye! I'M SORRY!" Fenella screamed.
She then felt nothing else as the mutt sank its teeth straight into her neck.
The Capitol anthem sounded, making Murray jump. The District 5 tribute had taken refuge in a small shed he had found tucked away in a corner of the village, and he had had a horrible first day in the arena, the thoughts of his dead friends and him killing Bluebell not leaving his mind. He looked up in the sky, waiting to see the official list of the dead. He was sure at least seven had died in the bloodbath, and there had been another cannon today as well.
Bluebell's face appeared first, and Murray felt a pang of anger as he saw the face of the girl who had killed Mimi. But even though she was a career, these feeling of anger were mixed with pangs of guilt. Murray hadn't wanted to kill anybody, and all day long he had felt some kind of presence near him, as if someone was following him. But he hadn't seen anything. It was as if something was haunting him.
Runyon's face was next, his death would surely be the biggest shock of today. Murray couldn't help but care very little for the brutish District 2 boy's demise, especially since he knew what was coming next. Mimi's sweet face looked down at him from the sky, still looking as pretty as she ever did. Murray had mourned greatly for his district partner, having become quite attached to her over the last few days.
If only i'd been quicker… Murray thought to himself sadly.
Nash appeared next, and tears began to form in Murray's eyes, finding himself unable to accept the fact that his whole alliance was dead. Nash's face was followed by Paddy's and Fenella's. Murray continued to be strong, wanting to to see his friends out of respect for them, as Morris appeared, with Karina straight after. The anthem finally ended with Vern's face, his brown eyes full of sadness.
"I'm sorry Nash. I'm sorry Morris. I'm sorry Karina." Murray said out loud, looking up at the sky. "And I'm sorry Mimi…"
9 dead. 15 tributes remain.
R.I.P Fenella... I did like her character, she was very strong in a not too aggressive way, and she could've made it far if the mutts hadn't got her. However, I do feel as though not many people will be surprised by her death. I'm sorry you won't make it home to Skye...
