Wait and Bleed

Day Five

District Four

Sedna, 18

Water surronds me in an ocean of dark cloudy water I can't see the bottom of. District Four; the smell of sea salt and fish clog up my senses. It is easy to forget the fact I know deep inside me somewhere this isn't right. I swim moving my arms and feeling the comfort of moving through the water pushing myself forward until the empty landscape of sea now has a distant view of a sandy beach at the horizon.

I swim quickly, I am not sure how I just know I reach the beach rather quickly and give a push to walk through the waves to get onto the beach. "Hello Sedna." A twisted sounding voice says.

I know that voice, spinning around I see none other than the witch of Four whose spot I stole to volunteer. Monica. She wears a white dress that flutters in the wind and a white sunhat covering her hair. She doesn't look up. How did I not see her before hand? It doesn't make sense but I don't question it. I freeze up.

"Monica." I manage though my voice feels strange and to just manage the words is painful.

She lets of a crackle of a laugh walking forwards slowly step by step her white clothes slowly burning away to a shade of black like a pit. The white layer of clothing just ash that clogs up my throat as she speaks to me, "Poor little Sedna. Don't you know Fisherman's daughters never win?" She says in a fake pity voice as she reaches closer and closer to me.

I can't move. I can't speak. I just watch it happen.

Her eyes are covered with sunglasses. I see that now. Her skin with ash still on it in various places and she removes the sunglasses almost in slow motion and underneath are two ruby red eyes of fire. She lets out another laugh making her look and sound even more wicked as she shoves me into the water.

"Time for you to die Sedna." She mocks me as I still paralyzed sink further and further in the dark ocean seeing the water filled with all things dead. Cars and animals. Worst of all I see the bodies of all the others who have died. Frank. Hazard. All of them.

My eyes snap open. It isn't hard to figure out I was just dreaming, but it has the effect as if it really happened. It was just so vivid. I try to break my train of thought away from the dream.

The Gamemakers seem to have some kind of love for turning the lights off on us. Ten got away. The District Seven boy and girl got away. We should have had them; they just slipped from our fingers. It was a bit disappointing. But maybe part of me is glad it is one less person's blood on my hands.

"Are we really just sitting here?" Peridot says looking a little twitchy that must be from a nightmare she experienced. I can't stop staring at the X on her face. Jacinth did choose a pretty darn good way to be remembered. He isn't dead obviously. We would have seen his face on the wall last night. It was that Zai boy who was the cannon. That leaves only so much of us. Soon before we know it, it will be the final eight.

I am alive, that is nice. But I just can't help but wonder for how much longer. Especially with my mind on edge from those dang nightmares.

I just want a break from all of this.

District Ten

Cassandra Walker, 15

A bad situation went to a very bad situation very quickly. Chased by a mutt? Terrifying? Crashing into a glass a wall and having the glass shatter everywhere? Lot worse, especially with that thing still on our tail. Letting out a scream I suddenly realize that things can always get much worse.

Anthony had his shoes off. He hurt his leg and had his shoes off so he could pull up his jeans to get a look at the bruise. He was running from this thing in socks. And now he just had glass shatter all around us.

"Anthony!" I screech looking at him blood already pouring from his feet his oh so pale skin covered in blood and his eyes look up at me more than ever they seem to match the color of blood. I need to act quickly. The mutt is still chasing us.

He cries out in pain stumbling and as quick as possible I walk over the glass so happy for the boots on my feet and wrap my hand around his waist and wrap his arm around my neck trying to support his waist.

"We need to get moving." I say.

"No…" He says. "I can walk." He says seeming out of it. Please don't loose too much blood, please don't.

"Come on we need to get somewhere safe." I say my legs burning in pain from the glass shard that hit my leg. Up ahead I see a bathroom sign. A bathroom? I walk forward to it hearing the sound of the mutt. I open the door as I hear the sound of footsteps and shut the door close as a body hits it. I keep it close and check the door. There is a lock. I lock the door. It is a one-person bathroom luckily which means it does have a lock. I turn around to look at it. I see a toilet and a garbage can along with a counter with a sink. A little too much luxury for the Hunger Games. I don't have time to question it. I place Anthony on the counter as the pounding on the door continues.

The door looks strong, I have to hope it will hold.

"It will all be okay." I tell him trying my best to sound as sure about it as possible.

He laughs, "First get yourself cleaned up." He tells me and I blink but nod bending down and pull up my jeans just enough to see the glass shard and reluctantly yank it out cringing as a little bit of blood appears.

"We don't go long without getting injured do we?" I say. I stand back up realizing how much my motherly nature has taken over. I let it absorb me as I start to work on Anthony. Pulling up his jeans I stare at it for a second unsure what to do before remembering my backpack. Panicked I take the bag off my shoulders and remove the first aid supplies we managed.

I go to the sink turn on the sink expecting water only for crimson liquid to pour from the sink and yelp turning it quickly off. Of course, what did I expect? I sigh and take the water canteen and risk our water pouring a bit on the blood trying to clean it up.

"Here," Anthony says still out of it and removes his shirt.

I sigh and take it not taking time to care, it doesn't matter if he shirtless or not it just matters if he can live. I use it to wipe some of the blood away and remove a piece of glass and as soon as it starts to bleed a push the shirt against it to stop the bleeding and then pour a bit of rubbing alcohol on the wound and then either place a bandage if it was a small cut or if a worse one gauze.

By the end all our bandages are gone along with our water and rubbing alcohol. Only a bit of gauze left.

Letting out a sigh relief when the last cut is cleaned up I come back into reality no longer hearing pounding on the door from the mutt and I look up to see Anthony sleeping. It worries me. For one thing nightmares are an unavoidable thing and another thing is he might have passed out from blood loose or pain and things could get much worse but I can't worry about it. I can't let pessimistic thoughts of what could be wrong run through my head. I just sit on the counter next to him leaning against him and try to calm myself down.

District Seven

June, 15

"So now what?" Peytro asks me.

"We follow through." I tell him. I made a mistake and now they know about us. They say us watching them. And it was my fault they saw us. What happened, happened but I refuse to let that stop us.

"They know, they must know we are going after them by now." Peytro says.

I smile, for once I can be the one that has to encourage him. It is about time I am not the one moping. "So? We just need a really amazing plan. We can't wait anymore." I tell him.

He smiles, "So what is this amazing plan you have?"

"Hey aren't you supposed to be the brains of all this?" I ask him with a smile.

"We have a lot to do today." He says with a sigh and leaning back against the wall. It isn't much of a fabulous hideout. Just a room we found that actually had a lock (which was rare) it was empty and we just sat on the ground with our backs against the ground.

"We need to find somewhere to lead them to." Peytro says.

Nodding my head I turn to look at him. "Any place come to mind?"

He looks at the wall in thought the look of struggle to think apparent on his face. "No I don't know a place in mind, but I will." He says a smirk on his face.

"You better, we need to act quick. Like tomorrow." After all we don't know how much longer we have here. That sort of thinking has become much more common than I would like. It is bothering me, but I am too exhausted from all of this to worry about it.

"I will go right now." He says getting up giving me a pat on the back. I get up a give him a tight hug.

"Just in case." I say stepping back. My mind is on edge, but I consider Peytro a friend. Nothing more but I don't want him to go out there and to die and our last interaction to be him giving me a pat on the back.

He nods before stepping away and before I know it he is gone. I really hope he doesn't die, my mind is slowly slipping away from me but something that keeps me pushing forward is the fact I will loose my mind with someone else.

District One

Peridot, 17

"Peridot I swear if you don't shut up I will make you shut up." Sedna growls at me through teeth giving me a death glare. I let out an annoyed sigh.

"Well I am just trying to get a point across." I say part of me pleased they are annoyed. But I do have a point. Those two tributes were watching us. Pretty creepy and even the idiot I embrace knows that. I need to win these Games and I can't have two little outer District tributes ruining it for me. We need to act now.

"What is your point Peridot, please just tell us instead of rambling for an entire day." Maria says folding her arms frustrated.

I don't plan them for being all on edge since the entire day was us sitting around doing nothing all day. It has been boring but we needed a break. But man this is boring!

"Why do you think those two kids were watching us for?" I say pleading my case. "Do you two really want to just die how those two from District Two died last year? Do you want them to kill us?" I ask. To be honest I really do want them to hear me out. I don't want to die.

"So what is your brilliant idea Perry?" Sedna asks me.

"Peridot." I correct her on the strange sounding nickname. "And I don't have a plan that is why I am bringing it out we need to find make up a plan."

"We do have weapons and they don't." Maria points out.

"They stole a weapon." Sedna says and we both painfully remember our mistake.

"We aren't going to just let them scare us with one weapon are we?" Maria asks standing up. "We can stand tall. But a plan is in order." She says.

I smile folding my legs. "Then lets start planning!"