Caves of Discovery (Day One): Kizzy Ericssen, District Six Female Tribute
Once I finally got out of the maze-which really wasn't much of a maze, as it was just a giant hedge-lined path spiraling outward from the Cornucopia that made you pick an exit-I decided that I liked the part of the arena that I was in. In front of me appeared to be: nothing. Right where I was standing and just a few yards in front of me, there was a relatively flat, rock type of ground. And then it dropped off completely in to what seemed like a giant hole, the rock wall going down and around all of the edges, just carved enough to be able to climb. There, a repeat of what was up here-just rock. Except it led in to what seemed to be the beginning of a cave, going in to the rock wall on the other side. To my left and right were what seemed to be different parts of the arena that I didn't bother paying attention to.
I had shoved all of my supplies in to the backpack that I got from the Cornucopia, and I tried to think of how to get it down to the bottom of this cliff with me. I wasn't too high up-could I throw it? I hesitated on that one-I didn't know what was in the bag, if there was anything that I could break, and I didn't want to just waste my time standing here and going through it.
It wasn't ridiculously heavy, so maybe I could've just worn it and climbed down. But what if it got caught on something? That was a risk that I was just going to have to take. I took two seconds to take my knife out of the backpack, putting it in a more conviniently located outside pocket so I could get to it easily if I met any challenges. And with that, I started to climb.
Now, let me tell you, easing yourself over the edge of a cliff is not as easy or fun as it may sound. It's quite terrifying, in fact. Nothing compared to the initial bloodbath, but, still. Once I was over the edge, though, it got a bit easier, as if a bit of weight had been lifted from the task. I glanced down to see that I was just a few inches above a rather large ledge, and I lifted my feet from the parts of the rock that I had planted them in and gradually let my fingers slide from the edge, which I was still clinging to. I hit the ledge just a bit harder than I'd thought I would, but, hey, I was still on my feet and alive, so I guess that it wasn't a total failure after all.
I continued down for the next twenty or so feet, and then I was at another ledge hanging just a few feet over the ground. I just jumped, landing semi-smoothly, knees stiffly bent to take the weight of the fall. But just as I was about to let out a breath of relief, my backpack came slamming down on to my shoulders after me, dragging me to the ground.
"Oof." The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, but I stood as quickly as I could, not wanting to be caught by another tribute being vulnerable. Taking one last glance up at the bright blue sky, I set out in to the darkness of the cave.
Darkness. Just pure, solid black accompanied by silence. It was hopeless-I just couldn't see two feet in front of me. "Uh... hello? Gamemakers? Lights would be nice right about now!" Not like I expected anything to happen, but it was worth shot.
And, guess what: it worked. The rock surrounding me all started to glow. Yes, glow. What, were these sound activated or something? "Thanks a lot!" I called, as sarcastically as I could, not even caring if there were any other tributes around. The soft, sort of green light gave me confidence. However, the lights did not also activate any sort of heating system, so it was still freezing in there. I pulled my district token, my old jacket, a bit tighter around myself.
I decided to just keep moving forwards. This was the only place in this section that there could've been hiding one of the five objects. So I had to be going to the right place. Whenever I reached a place that I absolutely had to turn at, I went right. I figured that that way I'd know how to get back out again. If I ever got back out. But I knew that I would. I had to. I'd find this object and then go. And that would be that.
Finally, I decided that I had traveled far enough for one day. I just wasn't in the mood to keep going, and I hadn't run in to anyone yet, so what was the point? I went in to the nearest little, cut-off corner that I could find and sat down on a boulder. Weird to sit on something that was glowing? Yeah, definitely.
I took the backpack off of my shoulders, sighing at the slight relief that it brought. I went through all of my outer pockets first, emptying them completely. I found only my knife. I placed it lightly on the ground nearby, still where I could grab it at a second's notice. Finally, I opened the main pocket with a bit of apprehension. Whatever was in there would be the only supplies I had other than the clothes on my back, the knife, and the bag itself. But it had been heavy enough that I knew that there had to be something worthwhile inside.
I opened it up all the way and started to pull out the supplies. There was a loaf of bread, a flashlight, (thank you, irony), a basic first aid kit, and a water bottle that was... dead empty. Wonderful. There had to be water in here somewhere, though. It would be an uneventful Games if any tribute that came in to this section died of thirst within just a few days. And we just couldn't have that, now, could we?
