Here is chapter 35! Yes! The story continues! Sorry it took like three 1/2 months to update! But the story goes on!
Grace Jaelson, District 9 POV
I keep walking through the dark woods at a slow but constant pace. The seventh day here wasn't really interesting. I had been alone all day with nothing to do and no one to talk to. These Games were taking far too long to end; even though past games had lasted much longer. I guess time just seemed to go by slower if you were the one who was actually in the arena instead of just watching the games.
This day was pretty much over with. The anthem would begin at any minute now. The woods were very dark and I was frightened. A little girl like myself wasn't meant to be in the woods all by herself. I was very aware of what was happening around me at all times. I couldn't let my guard down. I saw many tributes in past games let their guards down, and it always resulted in their death.
There were still six other tributes out in this arena with me. I had heard a cannon go off about two hours ago. The thought of that cannon being for Cherri was horrible. It probably wasn't for her though considering how good of a fighter she was. I couldn't be sure though. A Career usually wins the Hunter Games, but every once in a while someone else from another District will win. The girl from District one, the girl and boy from District two, and the boy from District four were all highly skilled fighters, and they were now all dead. Even the best tributes will die in the Hunger Games.
I continued to walk through the dark woods. I could hear a faint crashing sound in the distance. I guess I was getting close to the ocean. The ocean would probably be a nice place to make camp for the night. I would make camp about a hundred feet from where the beach met the woods. I couldn't just be out in the open for someone to see me.
I continued to walk to the ocean, but I was still another ten minutes away. I couldn't help but think of all the victors that came from District nine. District nine didn't have many victors. It was probably the District that had the least victors besides District twelve that is. Usually both tributes from District nine and twelve always died in the bloodbath, but not this year. The girl from District twelve and my District partner were both dead now anyways. It's only a matter of time before the boy from District twelve dies or before I die myself.
District nine actually had a victor about eleven years ago during the 156th Hunger Games. I remember watching how a sixteen-year-old boy named "Tarch" won. He pretended to be dead at the bloodbath so the Careers left him alone. When the Careers were off hunting for other tributes he grabbed supplies and an axe and ran off. He managed to be left alone until the final five and he had to fight off two Career boys at a feast. He killed both of them easily. He won though by tricking a girl. He let her chase him until she stepped on a spring mine he had set up. The girl was blown to pieces and he was declared the winner.
I stepped out of the woods and onto the dark beach that was barely visible due to the moonlight. I looked out into the ocean. The moonlight was reflecting off the top of the water and I gaped in awe. I had never seen the ocean before. It was a beautiful sight to behold. My ears suddenly twitched and my attention went to the sky. The anthem was playing and the seal shone down on me just like the moon did.
The face of the boy from District twelve suddenly appeared and I felt sad. I knew that boy would eventually be killed. He was pretty old, but that didn't mean he would win. Even though another life was taken I smiled to myself. Cherri was still alive. She was out there somewhere. I needed Cherri to protect me. If I ever met another tribute I wouldn't be able to hold my own. I couldn't win these Games. I could only stay alive for so long. I could get to the final two, but what would I do then?
Raphony Timplesmet, District 1 POV
It was now at least four in the morning. It was now day eight and it was still very dark out. I watched the sky earlier and noticed that the boy from District twelve was the one who died yesterday. I didn't expect him to last long. The last time I saw him he had a pretty good gash on his arm. I wonder how he died? It didn't matter now though. That kid was dead now and no one could do anything about it.
I continued to walk through the forest. The forest was quiet now and something seemed off. I couldn't really tell what was wrong, but the atmosphere of the place just seemed different that it had previously been. All the animals in the woods were pretty much awake right now, which didn't make sense. You would think they would all be sleeping or something.
As I walked to nowhere in particular I started to think of my fellow Careers. Pivon wasn't really a Career since he didn't join with us, but he could still fight like one of us. I was really confused when I saw his face in the sky. I wonder who had the strength to kill him? He was really arrogant, but he was still a nice person. Did he really deserve to die?
My mind wandered to Barndo. He was only fourteen years old, but he proved to be a strong Career. He really shocked me with his skills with a bow. I remember glancing at him when he shot the boy from District five at the bloodbath. In the end though he was killed because a little girl tricked him. It took me a while to realize it, but that little girl only screamed so she could start an avalanche. Could Cherri and that girl have planned that? I know they did and it worked. Tetra told me how she watched Barndo disappear under the wall of roaring snow.
My sword was slightly dangling from my cold shaking hand, and I could see my breath escape from my mouth every time I exhaled. It was getting colder in the arena and I only laughed at the idea of freezing to death. The Gamemakers wouldn't just let the rest of us freeze to death. It would be considered boring and dull in the Capitol.
I remembered the night back at the boiling lake. I was too distracted fighting Chaelleigh and the boy from District eight to see what Millicent was doing. It was at that moment when Chaelleigh escaped from my grasp and she threw Millicent's own blade at her. I remember hearing her scream in pain as the crazy girl from District ten threw her into the boiling lake. She was probably the best Career besides me, and she was dead.
Spade wasn't really a Career, but he sure did act like one. I liked him, but he proved he wasn't strong when he died the second day. He didn't even make it to the top sixteen. I think he could have made it further though if Tetra didn't betray him like she did. I was mad at first when I found out, but I slowly learned not to care about him anymore.
I stepped out of the restless woods and I stared at the hill that led up to the cornucopia. I didn't want to come back here, but I guess I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I walked up the hill slowly, and the silence of the night continued to echo through my ears. I reached the top and looked around. I could tell that other people had bee here since I left, but everything was still the same. I looked over at the log Tetra and I used to sit on. It was now burned and almost completely black and charred.
I thought of Tetra again. She was my District partner, and even though she was annoying she was still a great friend. She had ditched me though, and she was killed because she didn't have me to protect her. She deserved to die, but I still felt guilty for her death. She was still an innocent kid, just like we all are and were.
Aeriel was the only Career left besides me, but I hadn't seen her since the bloodbath a week ago. I really wondered how she made it this far. She was probably the weakest Career. I slowly put my supplies down on the ground at the mouth of the cornucopia and I sat down. I put my back against the wall of the cornucopia and I closed my eyes. I really didn't care if I died right here and now, but I still wanted to win these Games. No one would dare come back to the cornucopia knowing that I could be lurking about.
Iris Matthews, District 10 POV
I happily skipped through the snowy forest as sunlight crept in between the trees. It was weird though because there was no sun in the sky. This arena was like a mysterious wonderland that one would only stumble upon by accident. It was still early in the morning, but I didn't really care much about my sleep schedule. My body clock was completely messed up now since I arrived in the arena about a week ago.
I looked around my surrounding with wide eyes, but there didn't seem to be life anywhere around me except for the trees of course. The squirrels were no longer hoping around in the branches, and the birds weren't anywhere to be seen either. It's like all the wildlife had just vanished into thin air. Well at least those devil children are no longer flying around trying to attack me.
I could hear a distant crashing sound somewhere close, but I couldn't see anything around me. I stopped skipping and listened for a moment. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound that kept echoing through the cold air. I instantly thought of the ocean. I remember seeing the ocean when I first rose up into the arena. It was vast and beautiful. I still hadn't been to the ocean yet. District ten was just farmland and rolling hills that seemed to stretch on forever.
I opened my eyes and looked in the direction to where the sound was coming from. I quickly started jogging because I wanted to make my way to the beach. Maybe I could see the ocean just once before I died. Maybe I would find Trixie there. Trixie was still missing, but I had gotten over her now. It would still be a good thing though if we joined together again.
After about fifteen minutes of jogging I finally crept my way out of the trees. I stopped as soon as I saw the ocean. My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. My mouth even hung open ever so slightly. The ocean was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my entire life. I took my first step onto the white sandy beach. The sand was really hard, but I guess that made sense because it was so cold here. There were even patches of snow here and there.
I looked to my left and to my right. The beach seemed to extend forever in both ways, but I knew it ended somewhere. I bent down and scooped some sand into my hand. I examined the grains of sand very carefully. There were so many of them, and they were so little. I remember my friend Cecil told me something interesting. She said there were more stars in the sky than there were grains of sand in the entire world. I stopped thinking about it though because I was thinking about it too hard. My brain wasn't fully functioning right now.
I suddenly looked to my right because I heard something. My eyes widened in both surprise and excitement. I silently rose to my feet and faced the tribute that didn't seem to even notice me. The tribute was a little girl, and she was sitting on the beach staring out into the endless ocean. She seemed to be talking to herself about something, which I thought was odd. Why would someone talk to themselves? Maybe she had gone crazy. I know I haven't gone crazy yet so that was a good thing.
The little girl had blonde hair that was braided into two pigtails, and her coat was a bottle green color. I think that meant she was from District nine or something. I think I also remembered that she was only twelve years old. This was really good for me. There was no way a twelve year old could kill an eighteen year old like myself. I silently reached into my coat pocked and pulled out my box of matches. These were the only things I could think of to use as a weapon.
I silently put the box back into my pocked and I started to silently run towards the girl. Trixie always complained how there was never enough blood, and now she was going to miss out on a whole gallon of it. The girl finally seemed to notice my presence and she stumbled to her feet quickly. She pulled out a blade and chucked it at me with all her might, but I easily dodged and the blade soared past my head. I started to laugh a little as I realized that was her only weapon.
The girl then started to run and I only laughed out loud. I loved a good chase sequence, but the girl didn't seem too fast. I was quickly catching up to her. My boots splashed in the water as I chased the girl along the seashore, and my hands were shaking in anticipation as they waited to do some good damage. I could hear the girl's heavy breathing, and I could also hear the loud sobbing sounds she was making. My excitement only grew as I realized how scared this girl actually was. This was going to be fun.
I was now right behind her and I quickly lunged forwards at her short legs. I quickly wrapped my arms around her twig-like legs and we both fell face forwards into the cold shallow water. She started to kick at me, but I held on tight. I then dug my nails into her legs with all my strength, and she only wailed in pain.
"Get off of me!" the girl screamed loudly.
"No way little girl!" I said happily. "This is going to be the end of the line for you!"
"No it isn't!" the girl screamed louder as she kicked me square in the face. I grunted in pain and I only grew frustrated at the girl.
"That wasn't nice." I say. 'How do you like this one?"
I quickly sunk my teeth into her leg and she screamed louder than before. I kept biting harder until I tasted blood. I finally let go and the girl was now crying very hard. This was turning out to be very satisfying. I quickly got up and then slammed my body down onto hers. She had managed to turn around onto her back, but I quickly pinned her arms underneath myself. She started to struggle and tried to get me off of her, but it was useless. I then reached into my coat pocked and pulled out my matchbox. The girl watched my every move. I quickly opened the box and took out a match.
"W-what are you doing?" the girl screamed loudly.
"I'm going to torture you." I said gleefully. "I like to extend the suffering. If I remembered correctly you were the little girl who was always obsessed with her hair. So I'm going to start off by burning your perfect precious hair off your head!"
"No!" The girl screamed.
I quickly struck the match across the matchbox and a single flame appeared. I looked into the girl's widened eyes and I could see the flame reflecting from within them. This girl was now staring at the flame, and she now knew that her own flame was about to burn out forever.
Cherri Noirson, District 7 POV
It was day eight now and everything had suddenly died down. Everything was quiet and all the animals were nowhere to be found. The boy from District twelve apparently died yesterday. I didn't really think much about him. He was dead now though and there wasn't much I could do about it. I was just relieved that I saw his face instead of Graces'.
I continued to silently follow the girl from District ten. We were in the woods now and sunlight was creeping through the branches. I still don't know how there is no sun, yet there is sunlight. Whatever. I had to jog silently because the girl was skipping through the woods quite fast. I was out of breath a little and I continued to grip the expensive blade from my own District in my left hand that I had gotten from a sponsor gift. My axe was in my right hand so I was pretty well prepared if the girl attacked me.
I soon stopped jogging as I realized the girl had stopped skipping. She was standing still and her eyes were closed. I hid behind a tree and I peeked from behind it. Maybe it was time to kill this crazy weirdo. This girl was a dangerous threat and she needed to be dead already. I silently made my way out from behind the tree. I gripped both weapons in my hands and I silently made my way behind her.
I suddenly stopped and froze in place as the girl started to move again. I only stared as she started to disappear into the far woods. I quickly snapped out of it and started jogging after her again. I continued to follow her for about ten or fifteen minutes and I realized I had followed her to the ocean.
I quickly hid behind another tree as I watched the girl step up to the Oceanside. She was muttering something but I couldn't make out what she was saying. She bent down and scooped up some sand into her hand. She then let the sand fall back onto the ground and she stoop up and looked out into the ocean. Okay this is my second chance to get her. I barely moved a muscle before the girl suddenly jerked her head to the right. I stopped moving again and only grew confused as the girl started to run down the beach.
I quickly turned my head to see where she was running and my eyes widened in fear. Grace was sitting on the beach and she seemed to be unaware that someone was running at her. I didn't see any weapons on the girl from District ten, but that didn't mean she wouldn't still try to kill Grace. I quickly darted out of the woods and started pursuing the girl from District ten. I was a good fifty or sixty yards away from her but I was fast. I would catch up eventually.
It seemed that Grace had finally noticed the girl and had gotten to her feet. I saw her throw something and the girl from District ten moved to the side a little. I ran faster as I heard Grace scream and saw her start to run. I still didn't think either one of them had noticed me.
After about thirty seconds of chasing them I finally saw Grace get tackled to the ground by the other girl. "No!" I screamed loudly, but the two girls were too busy fighting each other to notice my scream of terror. I watched both of the girls kick and scream and my heart was beating really fast. It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest at any second.
I saw the girl finally pin Grace to the ground and Grace started screaming louder. I wasn't going to let Grace die by the hands of a crazy whore. I quickly, but silently, made my way behind the girl from District ten after I had caught up to the two of them.
"If I remembered correctly you were the little girl who was always obsessed with her hair. So I'm going to start off by burning your perfect precious hair off your head!" the girl form District ten yelled at Grace.
"No!" Grace screamed as she struggled to get free. I then saw the girl strike a match and a single flame came to life. I suddenly grew irritated and angry. I wasn't going to let Grace suffer. I quickly dropped my axe and grabbed my blade out form my left hand. I quickly got down behind the girl and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me." I said plainly. The girl suddenly turned around and only stared at me with big bloodshot eyes.
"That's my friend you're trying to silence." I say. "Too bad she has me to look after her."
I quickly swing my arm out at her and my blade slices across the girl's throat. The girl screams loudly and quickly drops her match in the water. She brings both her hands to her throat as she tries to stop the blood, but it's useless. She starts coughing up blood as she crawls off of Grace. I watch as she slowly crawls away in the shallow water.
"Cherri!" Grace screams as she gets up and jumps at me. I smile and start to laugh as we embrace each other. Grace is crying into my shoulder and I start to silently cry to myself. It seems like forever, but we finally let go of one another.
"I knew you would find me." Grace said as we looked into each other's eyes. "I knew you would protect me."
"Grace." I say silently. "I will always protect you. Don't you ever forget that."
"I won't!" Grace says as she hugs me again. We let go of each other again and the sound of a cannon booms loudly throughout the arena. Grace and I both look at the girl from District ten and she way lying about fifteen feet away from us in the shallow water.
We walked up to the girl and the water was all bloody where she was lying. The girl's eyes were open, but they seemed to be staring into the vast unknown. Her hands were bloody and were lying in the water at her sides. Blood was stained across her throat and mouth, and her body seemed to be still and cold. She was dead.
"I didn't even know she was following me." Grace silently said.
"She wasn't." I say. "I was following her."
"What?" Grace asked confused as she looked at me, but I continued to look at the girl's bloody lifeless body.
"I was following her so I could kill her." I say. "She wasn't following you. She only saw you on the beach and noticed that you didn't notice her."
I turned my head to Grace and looked into her eyes. "Lucky for you I was following her, or that cannon might have been for you."
"Oh." Grace says. "Can we get going? I don't want to stand her and just stare at a dead body."
"Okay." I say. "Let's get going then."
We both start walking up the beach and Grace picked up her blade that she threw at the girl. We enter into the woods again and I realized that there were only six of us left now. I had gotten so far, but I now knew that I wouldn't win. I couldn't let Grace die. I was going to help get her to the finals. I was going to try my hardest so I would always be able to protect her.
End of Chapter 35
There is chapter 35! Hope you enjoyed it everyone! Sorry it was so so so so so late! Haha I shouldn't be laughing! Anyways there is only 8 more chapters until the victor is announced and only 10 more chapters until the story is finished! Oh! The final six tributes! I wonder if there will be a feast soon? Hmmm I wonder ;) So I am so sorry again for this chapter being so late. It was being written for like three months haha! Well I have been working so much! I have been working at my job for 3 years now and I finally turned in my 2 weeks notice so I'm going to be done working for a while, and no school too, so you guys can expect an update every three days! This story should be finished in about a month or so! I'm so excited for these final 10 chapters! Hope your favorite characters don't die, but like always all must die except for one! Until next time everyone have a good day! PLEASE REVIEW I WILL LOVE YOU...4EVA
District 1
-Raphony Timplesmet
-Tetra Merribrown (blinded by a flash bomb and then speared through the heart by Aeriel)
District 2
-Barndo Deletush (killed in an avalanche)
-Millicent Sanrain (blade thrown into back by Chaelleigh and then thrown into boiling lake by Iris where she boiled alive)
District 3
-Luca Vassera
-Rwanda Cattlecope (died from her infected wound)
District 4
-Pivon Ghoown (killed by Luca by getting head smashed against a ice rock and then drowned in a pond)
-Aeriel Pavorotti
District 5
-Wattson Draindrop (killed by Barndo by arrow through neck)
-Chaelleigh Surgelect (killed by Raphony who cut off her legs and then died from loss of blood)
District 6
-Kriston Heslop (killed by Raphony by sword through the stomach)
-Sarahna Arleston (killed by tracker jackers)
District 7
-Jacko Fernas (killed by Raphony by sword through the stomach and side)
-Cherri Noirson
District 8
-Kitt Lonell (killed by pink colored birds who skewered his throat until they killed him)
-Auburn Orttos (killed by Spade with a poison dart in the back of her neck)
District 9
-Spade Winvester (killed by Kitt by getting a mace to the head)
-Grace Jaelson
District 10
-Denvin Surices (killed by Tetra by knife attached to her whip which slit his throat)
-Iris Matthews (Killed by Cherri when Cherri sliced her throat open with a blade)
District 11
-Damian Platurkk
-Sonny Mauver (killed by Millicent by poison knifes which made her heart stop)
District 12
-Andrew Truarkk (stabbed in the back by Aeriel)
-Sapphire Luvally (electrocuted to death when she raised her blade up to the sky in the electricity filled wasteland.)