Hello, my dearest marshmallows...
How are you all?
I don't own the Hunger Games or any characters but Emër, unless you count Arafaye. Oh, and a few of my new characters back in 12, like cousins/ random 'friends'...
The words echo over the square. "Let the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games begin!"
The dreaded words are followed by a countdown as the minute of safety for the tributes starts ticking away. I can see my sister, standing tall (or small?) and proud on her pedestal, surveying her surroundings and preparing to run. Next to her is that evil girl from Two. I swallow audibly. My mother grips my hand and glances at me. I can feel someone resting their head on my shoulder. A glance away from the screen - now displaying Rue and a crippled boy - reveals my little cousin, Sage. Willow stands next to her, cuddling her stuffed rabbit.
I return my gaze to the screen again. The countdown has reached 40 seconds. The camera lifts upwards, giving us a birds-eye view of the arena. It seems good this year - a lake, a forest with some creeks and streams, a meadow in which the Cornucopia is positioned, and a grain field. The weapons are also less evil than I'd feared - barely anything that requires smashing-power. There's even a silver bow with a matching quiver - I'm sure Katie has seen it.
I just hope she can reach it in time.
I blink in the sudden sunlight.
Sun. Good. We're not in a Winter Horrorland. That's always good.
I try to catch a glimpse of my surroundings. Water is sparkling to my left. A lake. Also good, but it might be useless if the Careers take control of this area. Behind me and circling down to my right is dense forest, seeming to cover half the arena. Brilliant. Beyond the Cornucopia,I can see golden fields. Grain? Who knows. I don't want to go there, so I'm glad I'm on this side of the Cornucopia.
On my left is Clove. I look away before I can catch her eye. To my right stands one of the boys, from 6 I think. Marcus.
I focus my attention on the Cornucopia. The objects are laid out in a peculiar manner - good stuff in the mouth, useless stuff near the tributes. Practically next to by foot is a sheet of plastic. A few metres away is a small net. That might be useful, better than the plastic anyway. And, directly in line with me and the cornucopia, sits an impeccable silver bow. If I just got my hands on that, I would have a chance to win these Games, I really would. But it's too far in. Haymitch said to run away and find water. I can survive in the forest, but I'll need at least something.
I check the countdown. Twenty seconds left. My heart rate speeds again. I take a deep breath, draw up a mental image of Prim to give me strength, and focus on what I have to do now.
I can't get the bow. What I can do, though, is run halfway. There seem to be somewhat useful items on the way to the bow, and if I need to dodge or change my course I'll run past more. I need everything I can get, although it's not worth hanging around here for too long for. Ten seconds. My hand drops to my wrist and fiddles with the charms there. I ready my running position, angled slightly away from Clove. I'll go for the net, maybe the plastic and that large green backpack. I'll grab the plastic on the way out, it's just a waste of time to pick it up on the way there. Five seconds.
Oh dear god.
Three.
Two.
One.
There's the sound of the gong, ringing over the arena, and I'm off, bounding over to the net and wrapping it around my arm once as my head whips up to scan for predators and secure my next trajectory path. I take off again, heading for the green background, when I'm slammed into from the side. It's district 7 - the eighteen-year-old buff girl. She has me down in a strangle hold, eyes wild. I reach behind me blindly for anything that might serve as a weapon. My hand closes around some sort of handle - that'll do. I whack her on the head with my new possession and she rolls off me.
It's a frying pan.
Oh.
I gasp for breath and then sprint again, going for the nearest pack I see, as the green one's been taken during my wrestle. The pack I spot is smaller, and bright orange. I sling it around my wrist and head for the woods when Seven pops up at me again. I use the frying pan to ward her off, accidentally knocking her into some large male tribute.
Poor thing.
The boy from nine dives for the plastic just as I run to scoop it up. We get in a grapple and he shoves a blade from a pair of scissors into my arm. I wince and tug hard at his ear, then elbow him in the stomach, trying desperately to get away. He sticks the scissors in my cheek and is about to pierce my neck when an axe cuts half of his back off. I clutch my arm and run.
I've just gone past the tribute circle line when I feel, rather than see, a knife coming in my direction. I spin and knock it aside with my frying pan, scooping it up and heading for the woods. Before I disappear into the trees, I turn and smile at Clove, waving cheerily at her with my lovely new knife. She scowls and plunges something sharp into a young boy's face.
Time to go.
I run for about ten minutes, then slow to a jog. Nothing so eventful has really happened, except that I almost ran into the crippled boy from ten. I didn't have the heart to kill him, not on the first day, so I just kept running in a slightly different direction. As per Haymitch's instructions, I keep a sharp eye out for water, although I'm not thirsty yet.
After an hour of running, walking and jogging, I take a break to examine my items. First, I look through the things I picked up off the ground. My knife - it's an excellent one. Thin and deadly sharp on one side, with teeth like a saw on the other half of the blade. Perfect for chopping up wood and things. Then there's my plastic. I fold it up and slide it into my coat pocket. Not too interesting, really. I regard my frying pan. It's slightly dinted from being whacked around like a tennis racket, but it seems watertight. That's good because otherwise it's useless, except maybe as a shield from flying sharp objects. And as a weapon. And even possibly a shovel. That's everything I picked up singularly, so I turn my attention to the backpack. It's bright orange, and will need to be camouflaged. I realise I still have the net on my arm, which may be useful for camouflaging the backpack if I have nothing else. On the side of the pack is a water bottle. I shake it; empty. Oh well, if I can find a source of water it should hold a fair amount.
I unzip the bag and delve through my new possessions. There's wire, rope, a few painkiller pills, dried meat, one apple, a small container of iodine and a black sleeping bag. At second glance, there's a chocolate bar wrapped up in the wire, which amuses me.
I'm interrupted from my examinations by a cannon. Then another nine. That's ten. I pack my stuff up and start to walk. Another cannon means another death. That makes 11.
I continue walking for hours, then when it gets dark I scale a tree, tie myself in and hope for a peaceful night.
I forgot about the anthem. Just as I'm drifting off to sleep, a crash of drums followed by the sweet high notes of flutes and violas alert me to the daily death count. The first face is the girl from 3. Then the boy from 4. (This causes me to nearly fall out of my tree for the second time in about 20 seconds.) The boy from 5 - no surprise there. He was pretty slow. Faye's face doesn't show up that night. I can't help feeling glad. Next are both from 6 and the girl from 7, making me feel guilty since she might have gotten away if I didn't push her into someone with a weapon. Next up are both from eight, the boy from nine and both from ten. I'm astonished and glad that all of 11 and 12 are still in the running.
Now I can try to sleep.
There you are, a pretty long chapter. I hope that's up to standards. Remember: Waffles are secretly plotting to take over the world, so we'll have to eat them before they can do that. Reviews are welcome!
