Sorry that I haven't updated! I've been gone quite a bit, and it's taken me a while to get around to it.
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The Second Night in the Arena
Rya Jonet D9F POV
I got a monkey, some kind of tropical bird, and a common rat. I guess Zain and I will find out what they taste like when I get back. I'm looking forward to a real meal. This whole time in the arena, I've run on adrenaline and an empty stomach, which is not a great combination.
I hope that Zain isn't worrying about me. It's gotten pretty dark out and it's hard not to stumble around. I know that there can't be anyone nearby since I've gone so far to the north of the arena, but I still clutch my scythe in fear. Maybe I should have let Zain come with me.
I fall down over a tangle of roots and pick myself up. Just as I do, the capitol anthem begins to play and from my spot on the jungle floor, I look up. District 9, Zain Griffen. Dead. And I fall over the roots again, stunned. I just sit there. And then the sobs come. Sobs so deep, they wrack my body and cause it to hunch over. I pound my small fists in my lap. "Why?" I scream to no one in particular. I don't even care, I don't care if anyone hears me. Zain is gone, I will never see him again. That kiss we shared, it was our first and last. I remember the rapture and purity of that moment. Zain's life is gone, and there's nothing I can do. No more will breath come out of his lips. He's dead.
"He's dead, he's dead, he's dead," I say slowly and then more rapidly. "He's dead, dead, dead, dead… he's…dead!" I scream at the end. "Ah!" come the sobs again. I curl up in a fetal position. The flashes in my head, remembering things that no one, let alone a child, should ever have to see. The terrible cruelites that occurred in my district. I cry for Zain. I cry for us. I cry for my family. I cry for my past. I cry because I could end up just like him. Sent back in a coffin to my district.
I lie there shaking for a considerable amount of time, but then I realize, I have to pull myself together. For the sponsors, for myself, and who knows if anyone heard me? I'm a good distance away from the cave, so anyone that was there must not have heard me, unless they are in pursuit. It had to have been the careers. They were they only ones that wanted him dead, and must have wanted it pretty badly. They must be waiting for me there, waiting for me to fall into their trap. I won't give them the satisfaction.
I pick myself up and brush myself off. I wipe the tears from my eyes with a uniformity and resolution. There's no doubt about it, I'm going to have to kill all of them. I don't care if they by far outnumber me, I know I can do it. I'll do it for Zain.
I make quick progress through the jungle, and in about 30 minutes I arrive near the place of our campsite. I see a place for me to climb on the outcropping of rock, and make my way up. This way, I'll remain out of anyone's reach and may even get the jump on them. I steady myself as I walk across the ledge. I try not to allow my pack and its contents to clang as I tiptoe. I have my scythe in my hand and many knives in a belt. All that controls me is a fighting rage that burns in the pit of my stomach. The trick now is not to let that consume me by making a stupid mistake.
Now I'm above the cave. I listen quietly as I rest my head on a large rock above it. They are definitely all inside, I quickly determine. They were probably wanting to surprise me as I came back. I don't know who could be in there. Marlin, Hade, Grundam, Adira? At this point, I don't even care. But how to confront them? I don't think that even with my knife skills I could take all three on, so that means I need a craftier option. One that may not involve fighting, as much as I would like it to.
My breathing quickens along with my nerves, and I clutch the big rock even tighter. It feels very unstable, as if it could tumble down at any moment. The rock! If I could force it down to the mouth of the cave, they would have no way out. And what better way to make them die than slowly and desperately. I grab on tighter to my scythe and wedge it under the rock, which seems to have many other little rocks supporting one side, and therefore, the reason of the instability. Easily, with one heave, the rock comes down.
It crashes with a thud at the entrance to the cave. Already I hear their shouts of confusion and fear. Total darkness. Good. Now they can feel what I feel, deep, deep, down in my soul. The light is gone, along with Zain.
Adira Lépou D2F POV
The cave becomes pitch black with no warning. The little light of the moon we had, extinguished.
"What happened?" I ask.
Marlin, who's still wearing night vision glasses, moves towards the entrance to the cave.
"It's blocked, by a rock or something," he says.
I put on a pair of the glasses and see that he's right. Marlin moves his hands along the rock to see if there are any weak points that we could push on.
"Here, I'll help," says Hade.
Both boys push against the rock. But it's with little success. That's saying something since both of them are very strong physically.
"Wait!" I say. "Let's try wedging things around it a bit first before pushing. Otherwise, the other rocks will only support it."
Both of them glare at me, which almost makes me laugh. I know they're only glaring because they didn't think of it themselves.
"Yeah, sure," says Hade.
We begin to do as I suggested with little success. "Let's just try it tomorrow when we're all rested. Besides, with this as barrier, we won't need a guard. And if Rya's not here by now, she probably isn't coming at all," I say. Again I receive the glares, proving that I'm the smartest in the group. But they don't object, and readily begin to rest.
As I lay on the hard cave floor, I think of all of the casualties. Thankfully, none of the deaths were caused by me… yet. It's not that I won't kill, I'd just rather do the least amount possible.
I wonder if my family is proud of me. Was it smart to go in these games against Hade? Do they despise me for it? No. I think not. The Lépou's recognize the competitive spirit in each of the members of the family. And besides, no one seemed to angry with me as we said goodbye. Except maybe Grandma. But I wouldn't call the look in her eyes anger, more of it was a deep hurt. Was she sad about losing another grandchild? After all, Hade was always her favorite.
I remember when he was young, after the beatings that he received for anything less than perfection, he would run to Grandma's house and she would comfort him. She would take him outside to her garden and they would talk and have cookies. I think that he cried after the beatings for more years than he ever would have, had he not had the promise of Grandma's hugs and cookies. But one day, it all stopped. He became the ruthless killer he is now.
I look over in his general direction, my sight provided by the night vision glasses I was to wary to take off. He lies there peacefully but with his hand clutching his sword. I wonder if he would have a moment's hesitation before killing me. Could I kill him? I look at his massive body, his dark brown hair and training scars well known to me.
I move over to where he lays and I lay there next to him. This may be the last time we will ever be so close without a threat of one killing the other.
As I drift off to sleep, I say a prayer for the families of the dead tributes. For all of those gone on the first day and for the boy from 9 that I saw so cruelly killed before my eyes. But I slip in a prayer for my own family too. Who knows what the next day might bring?
Grundam Warbert D11M POV
What's to keep me here? Seeing Zain's face in the sky means that they've accomplished their mission. If I leave, will they set out with the same mission for me? Abandoning all of their supplies and taking off without warning would make me a target. But at the same time, with the tensions running high between us, how much longer will it be before they feel I'm no longer worth it? It seems to leave now would be the perfect opportunity. I would get my pick of the supplies and I would be sure to escape free and clear. I need to stop second-guessing myself and just do it.
The moon shines brightly, reflecting on the nearby water as I gather together a number of important things. I grab some night vision glasses, a pack full of food, a sleeping bag, a large jug of water with iodine refills, some bandages, a spear, and a sword. All of it is very heavy, but being a very strong man, I can heft it. Only, where do I go?
I saw the 1, 7, 12 alliance swim out of my grasp on the first day. As I try to think back, I only recall the death of the little boy from one, which means the others are still out there somewhere. They could have found some kind of land, or something entirely different. Whatever it is, they are living, and maybe it's the best place for me. I know that Janim is nowhere near there, and the farther away I am from her, the better. She might want me to ally with her, and that in itself could be a death sentence.
I strap my posessions tighter to me as I prepare to dive into the tepid water. I do so and begin to dog paddle, which isn't very pretty, but gets me moving. I haven't ever looked too pretty anyways and am not much of a ladies man. The scar prevents me from being so, and I don't really have any desire for it anyway. I'm just glad that while I've been here, my eye hasn't gotten irritated, which is just another cosmetic problem to deal with.
Chaff must be having a fit right now. He really wanted me to hang with the careers, but it's my life and I'm going to make my own decisions. Which reminds me of life back home. They never wanted me in these games, but I had to do it. And I honestly think I can win them. I'll give the capitol and the game makers a run for their money, because I am determined to make it back to Gilles. I remember him begging me not to volunteer, and me giving the harsh truth to him. This is really for him. But this is also for that boy that I saved. I watched back on the reaping tape, his name is Colin Forge. I bet he's back home watching me and thinking how it could have been him, but it isn't.
All of a sudden, I hear a hissing sound and feel myself being pulled by the leg. I don't panic, but instead, pull out my spear, and skewer whatever it is before it can do any damage. When he surfaces I see his hideousness. With ghastly green scales and giant sized teeth he looks like a menace. But it's really the eyes, red as if reflecting a sea of blood. I shudder to myself but keep on swimming, hoping that he didn't have any buddies.
All of a sudden, a land mass, resembling an island appears. Only something that could be game maker generated. I see that there's a fire lit and the light bounces off the little hut and the shadow of the tribute guard, who looks to be very small. And that's when I see the movement.
Mystic D8F POV
I clutch the canteen that was sent to me just minutes ago. The refreshment is instant. I know that without it, I couldn't have gone on much longer. I know that I need it for tonight, I need all of my strength.
Tonight is the night for my attack. I can easily take down the little boy that sits as a guard. As soon as I kill him, the rest won't be alerted, and will be easy pickings. This is my time for blood, to avenge my father's death, no matter who the victim is, someone has to pay. I load my bow and go silently charging onto the beach.
I sneak up nearby the tent, out of the reaches of the warm glow of the fire and detection. He sits there so peacefully, not realizing his impending doom. I let the arrow loose. It finds it target, the boy's head.
Boom
Crap. Forgot about the cannon. I hope they're light sleepers. My hopes are dashed as I see the girl from 12 run out of the tent. "Copper!" she screams.
I draw my bow, ready to let loose, but then I hear a voice behind me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," someone says. It must be a girl, but I don't turn around to look.
"Oh yeah, what's to make me do otherwise?' I ask.
"I like to think that this knife says a lot," she says.
Before we can talk any longer, a spear makes an appearance as it just barely misses the twelve girl, who now also has her bow loaded and trained on me.
"Am I too late to the party?" a boy says. I see that as he emerges into the firelight it's the eleven boy. He drips with water, which means he's just swam in. What's he doing away from the careers? That was a gutsy move, to miss the girl on purpose, but it brings a show. And that's what this is going to be, a showdown. He stands, closest to the water, armed to the teeth with weapons. A spear at the ready for any target. The twelve girl has her arrow trained on me and I on her. Apparently there's a girl with a knife behind me as well.
"No, I'm glad you could make it," I say.
"Yeah, the more the merrier," says the twelve girl. Her eyes never leave their target. Me.
All of a sudden, the boy from eleven falls face first onto the ground, an axe lodged in his back. The seven boy stands behind him.
Boom
"What?" he says with a playful voice, "I couldn't let you guys have all of the fun without me," he says.
That's when I feel it, the knife in my back. The pain of death, and the sweetness of life all intermingled into one. The flashbacks. The light. The oblivion.
Boom
14th Copper Brody D12M/ killed by Mystic D8F
13th Grundam Warbert D11M/ killed by Scotch Pine D7M
12th Mystic D8F/ killed by Isis McKinney
Just to clarify, all of these deaths took place at night, but it was the third day technically.
Olive Brody was also sent rope this chapter, but didn't have a POV
Updated Sponsorship List
Sword- 151
Spear- 121
Trident- 121
5 Knives- 121
10 Knives- 227
Bow- 76
5 Arrows- 60
10 Arrows- 114
Axe- 114
Mace- 114
Burn Medicine- 227
Cut Medicine- 227
Canteen of Water- 39
Jug of Water- 76
Small meal (1 sitting)- 39
Medium meal (3 sittings)- 114
Large meal (6 sittings)- 227
Thermal Blanket- 60
Tent- 114
Canteen- 15
Electric Coil or Wire- 151
Rope- 91
Survival backpack (it could be a really good one or not, it's a risk)- 151
Iodine- 75
Bandages- 75
Night vision glasses- 151
Light sweatshirt- 45