Red is the color of the blood that will shed
Green is for the poison which will be spread
A quick, painful death is vowed by blue
While white bestows
Eternal rest
That can't
Undo
-:-:-:-:-:-
Maya Ryder's POV (D6 Victor)
Coffee and adrenaline. They are the only things keeping Theo and I on alert for sudden deaths or injuries. My hands are trembling and sweating, gripping the sleek handle of the mug with a fierceness that couldn't be placed…
"Maya," Theo echoed with such quietness that anyone who didn't know him would think he was naturally a very calm person, but I knew better. He was terrified.
"...was it a mistake to save that boy, Astor?"
My heart raced. My eyes kept flickering around, unable to control the unsteadiness within me. "No. Of course not. It's never a mistake to save a person's life." Hah. Lies. Look at me, the girl who supposedly saved Peeta. The girl who supposedly won a Games before the 75th Hunger Games, yet no one could recall which one I won.
The only female Victor from Six died nineteen years ago. The Capitol can't make any mistakes, they said. So they took me from my home, killed anyone who had any relation to me because the Capitol couldn't trust them to blab out that I wasn't a real Victor. They shoved me into the Games, and expected me to die in the Bloodbath.
No. But I didn't. I survived, and soon people started recognizing me as the underdog tribute. Of course no one believed I would win; the President hates underdogs; but they fed me and gave me water to humor themselves that I could actually win these Games.
I always knew I was destined to die. They told me so during training, the only thing I could do was paint. District Twelve's mentor, Haymitch had told me to sacrifice myself for the rebellion. I agreed fiercely, there was nothing back home for me anyways. In addition to that, I hated the Capitol with a passion. They took away everything I had, and soon my life was just going to be added into the horrid mix of it all.
I believed that I wanted to die. Until the monkeys came.
Right then, I only had once instinct; survival. I wanted- needed to live more than anything. Peeta dying is just a casualty, I thought to myself at that time. The Rebellion was going to fail anyways.
And fail, it did. Because of me and my selfishness. So now, as expected, I was going to raise up the rebellion once more. It wasn't just because of my hatred for the Capitol; now it was to avenge Peeta.
I hadn't known him very well, but I was "willing" to risk my life for him. But that didn't happen. I was going to recover the loss I had made.
My eyes fall in a droopy haze. No. No! I need to watch. Watch TV.
I look over my shoulder, only to find out Theo is snoring. "Theo. Theo!" I flick his forehead, which causes him to wake up wincing. "Has anyone died? HAS-"
"No, no one's dead. But we have to keep our eyes peeled for it."
The screen is on Bailey's group. They're talking about getting supplies and food. They agree on Autumn and Bailey going out the next day.
Since there's not much going on with them, it moves on to the next alliance. Isabelle is looking superior, and complaining about how Astor was useless. Jacob and Pheobe are lounging on the rocky, stone floor, balling their eyes out at Isabelle's ranting.
"We all gotta be real though," Isabelle rolls her eyes dramatically. "Astor was a burden. I didn't like him, you guys didn't like him-"
"I liked him," Pheobe says defensively. Jacob looks a bit hurt for half a second, then regains his arrogant look.
"Sure you did, Pheobe. Look, I'm going to scout around for tributes. You guys can stay and make sponsors happen so we can have food."
"Hey!" Pheobe crosses her arms. The Career's dynamic is much more friendlier than most years. The 25th Hunger Games had Career feuds all around, and no one liked each other. Mainly because of that girl from Two.
Apparently the Capitol gets bored with the friendly banter and moves on to… Atalanta! She's darting around, looking warily for food. She already has two squirrels in her pack, although very messily killed. Atalanta's holding up her boomerangs in a guarding posture, when all of a sudden a mutt comes out of the trees.
Oh, shoot! It's the snake mutt, the least harmful of them all though still quite deadly. Its scales are a fierce red, and its body is curved into a poised structure, almost about to strike-
The reptilian body falls in a heap, with its head decapitated by the boomerang. It's still slithering around, and I know Atalanta's trying not to puke. She gapes at what she's done, and runs away.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Atalanta is alive. Still alive.
Next on the screens is Wesley. He hasn't been very productive, just wandering around and eating raw squirrel meat.
Now, Coro's alliance is on. I feel really bad for them, it's just a band of twelve year-olds who are stuck in the most deadly part of the arena. Including the fact that they're starving and thirsting to death, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them collapse.
A sponsor gift alerts them. Amber opens the bag panting eagerly, and the three of them cheer over three water bottles.
After about five minutes, Coro says, "We should get moving. I don't like this place." Amber and Mia both nod and head on their way, drinking their water bottles as they go.
Apparently this was going to be an uneventful day. No major mutts have appeared, and not many normal mutts have been sent after the tributes either. Unable to stop myself, I drift off into a dreamless sleep.
Head Gamemaker Eliah's POV
"Where has Astor's body gone?! FIND IT!" I flip over one of the mahogany tables, pens clattering and notebooks falling onto the floor.
Eliah, stop. There's no way a proper Head Gamemaker would let this foil the Games. I have to stay calm and focus on killing tributes.
I breathe out deeply. The tributes can have their well-earned rest day today, but tomorrow they're in for a huge surprise.
Alliances:
Either Lesbian or Abused: Nikki, Omri, Bailey, Autumn
Fun-Sized: Coro, Amber, Mia
We're Mental :D: Cooper, Elena
Star-Crossed Butthurts: Robin, Colton
Not Even Good Careers: Isabelle, Jacob, Pheobe
Loners:
Wesley
Atalanta
Tomer
Nathaniel
Deaths:
Astor: Coakum
Vials: Taimi
Cooper: Isa
Mutts: Assist on Isa, "Astor"
Ember: Shane
Hunger/Thirst: Ember
I'm sorry that this chapter is so short ;-; Think of it like, I don't know, a filler chapter. There are no questions today, so feel free to say what you want to say (don't you always?) and other random things. Thanks for reading and YOU'RE AWESOME! Vote on the poll so your tributes don't die!