Hayley Onyx, District 4
Hayley stands on the beach, looking out into the water. She uses the quiet to collect herself from the bloodbath, and creates a game plan.
The cannons begin firing. 18 in total. 18 dead, 30 left.
Out in the distance, Hayley can see the faint distinction of an island. Not a large island, but there's definitely one. Based on the lack of supplies in the cornucopia, the boat, and this island, Hayley knows it can only mean one thing.
"What are you looking at?" Tristan asks from behind. She turns to face it. With a cocky smile on her face, she responds.
"My dear Tristan, I'm looking at sweet victory." She winks at him before walking past him. The temptation to take the boat and leave by herself is strong, but she wants to talk to Maeve first. Out of everyone in the Careers, Hayley respects Maeve the most.
"Hey." Hayley calls out to Maeve. Out of her peripheral, she can see Tristan has followed her, clearly not content with her answer on the beach. She rolls her eyes.
"There's an island out in the distance. I want to take the boat and see what's on it." She says. Maeve looks out at the ocean. She squints, but Hayley knows she won't be able to make it out. Unlike Hayley, Maeve hasn't spent her entire life around the ocean.
"Okay. The boat is big enough to hold two. You and I can take it over there." Maeve suggests. Hayley nods. She's about to speak up when Tristan butts in.
"We should let Alexandrine know. She might want to send someone over as well." He says. Hayley rolls her eyes.
"Finders keepers, Tristan. Do you want throw out our advantage?" Hayley tries to explain.
"It's unfair to leave them in the dark. How would you feel if they did something and didn't tell us?" He says, clearly irritated at Hayley's lack of honor. The two of them look towards Maeve for answers.
"Tristan is right. I'll let Alexandrine know. She can elect to send somebody, or we can stick to the original plan." Hayley is about to open her mouth, but Maeve cuts her off, "The games just started, we aren't going to win any favors by going behind their backs immediately." And with that, Maeve walks away towards Alexandrine. Hayley lets out a sigh. She glares at Tristan, irritated at him for opening his big mouth.
Mako Swanson, District 4
"I don't like it." Minnow whispers to her twin. After Maeve told Alexandrine about their plan, Alexandrine immediately told Maeve she was sending someone. After a long deliberation, she decided it should be one of the twins, as they are the best at swimming in case something goes wrong. Mako was elected as the one who would accompany Hayley.
"I know. But don't worry. I can take her." Mako reaffirms his safety to his sister. Minnow rolls her eyes.
"You better come back alive." She gives him a hug.
"Let's go, we're losing daylight." He hears Hayley say. He pulls away from Minnow, pretending to shoot himself in the head with his fingers. Minnow laughs.
"Go, you idiot." He boards the boat alongside Hayley and the two of them take off into the water.
They paddle towards the island, realizing it was a bit further than they thought. Minutes pass, and the two sit in silence. Mako tries to break it.
"What do you think we'll find over there?" He asks her.
"Focus on getting there and we'll find out." Hayley snaps back. It doesn't bother him. His opinion of her won't be changed by a conversation on the boat.
The two arrive at the island. Mako can see supplies spread out around the sand. He sees knives, bread, apples, and water. He thanks the Gamemakers in his mind.
He walks over to a sword, picking it up to examine it. He swings it in the air. It's a little smaller than he'd like, but its a large improvement from the nothing he had prior.
"Grab the valuables and load up the boat." Hayley demands. Mako turns to face her, sword in hand.
"Listen, just because we're from the same district does not mean I won't slice you open with this sword." He snaps. Hayley crosses her arms, unintimidated. Maybe she should be, but that's not quite her style.
"We're wasting time." Hayley pushes past him and grabs a large bag from the ground. She fills it up with a number of supplies.
How easy would it be, just to kill her right now. Mako can't help but think to himself. But that won't bode well, especially on the first day. So he follows her lead by grabbing a bag and filling it up with a variety of food and weapons. He feels relief that the Careers have the upper hand.
Let the games begin.
Eros Herier, District 10
Adonis and Eros traverse through the large forest in front of them. They've seen a brief glance of a tribute here and there, but they've always been far enough away to not see the brothers or not care.
"What are we looking for?" Eros asks his brother. His body is still on high alert from the bloodbath, the anxiety has not suppressed. Maybe its the lack of weapons, or the idea that nearly two dozen tributes want him dead. Regardless, walking around in a forest is not helping his anxiety.
"We're looking for a water source, and shelter. I might be able to craft a knife, or spear, out of the fallen branches, but we need to keep moving. We need to get away from the Careers base." Adonis answers.
"I doubt the Careers will stay in the Cornucopia this year. There's no supplies, so there's nothing tying them there." Eros says. Out of habit, he turns to look over his shoulder. He doesn't see anyone.
"Eros, look." Adonis says softly. Eros turns back around. He is shocked to see a small building situation in front of them. He gets excited, and for a moment he forgets about the wandering threats in the arena.
Eros runs up to the building. He slowly opens the door up, peaking inside. The room is extremely small, holding only a bed and a trunk.
"It doesn't look like anyones been here." Eros tells his brother. The two of them enter the cabin. Eros takes a seat on the bed as Adonis opens up the trunk to see whats inside.
"Oh my god." He says softly. Eros leans in to see what his brother found. What he sees shocks him. In the trunk sits one small satchel, a knife, and a water bottle.
"I guess we're not out of the game yet." Eros says, laughing with relief. His brother grabs the satchel and puts the empty water bottle inside.
"Now all we need is a water source. We can hunt with this knife, and sleep here if we need to." Adonis says. Eros nods. He's about to speak up when the creaking of the door takes his attention.
Standing at the door is a small boy. Eros doesn't know the boys name, but recognizes him from training. He's from Five.
The boy doesn't even try to run. He stands there until Adonis shoves the knife into his heart. He collapses on the floor of the cabin. Eros stares in shock at the body on the floor. He can't speak, can't find the words to say anything. It's his brother that breaks the silence.
"Come on, we should go."
Ari West, District 9
BOOM!
The canon startles Ari. He walks along the beach, trying to put as much distance between him and the Careers. He didn't feel too comfortable trekking around in the woods. Less of a chance of someone sneaking up on him.
The canon firing might have been a victim of the Careers, leading him to believe they are out hunting. This causes him to increase his walking speed.
In the distance, he sees a lighthouse. He hopes that will provide the safety he desires.
He gets to the base of the lighthouse. He walks around it a few times, looking for a sign of another person. After he's confident no one else has been there, he enters the lighthouse. The bottom floor is empty, other than a spiral staircase that leads up to the top. He closes the door behind him and locks it. Hopefully if anyone else comes by it they won't try to break in.
Ari climbs his way up to the top. When he gets to the top, he is surprised to see a bed and a chest sitting on the top floor. Beside that is the lamp that he assumes will illuminate at nighttime. Windows surround him, giving him a good view of those outside, but the height of the lighthouse leaves Ari confident no one will see him looking out.
He allows himself a brief moment to relax. He lays on the bed, surprised at how comfortable it is. After a week on a Capitol bed, it doesn't quite compare, but Ari expected most of his nights would be spent on the floor, so this is a pleasant surprise.
He peeks out the window over his bed. He looks out into the ocean, that seems to stretch further than the eye could see. He can see an island in the distance, but only the one. He saw the boat on the beach by the cornucopia, so he knows that the island will belong to the Careers. He doesn't think a person could swim there without drowning.
A movement near the beach catches his eye. As he expected, the Careers gather around the boat. They seem to be helping two Careers out of the boat. He can just make out two backpacks, and one of them carries a sword. It takes him a moment to put two and two together.
The island is full of supplies. And they all belong to the Careers. The thought makes his heart sink. He thought the lack of supplies in the cornucopia would tip the odds in his favor, in everyones favor besides the Careers. But watching tributes starve or dehydrate to death is frowned upon in the Capitol. Of course the Gamemakers would provide supplies, even if it's unconventional.
Ari watches as two different Careers board the boat. They take off back towards the island. Ari watches them for a while before remembering the chest in his own room. He opens it up and gasps. Inside sits two loaves of bread, three packs of berries, and a pack of jerky. There's also one full canteen of water and a medium sized satchel. Ari grabs the canteen and takes a few sips, only now realizing the extent of his thirst. He drinks sparingly though, as he doesn't have a permanent water source. He wonders what the Gamemakers put in the arena as a source of water. Maybe there's a lake in the forest. Maybe the ocean is secretly fresh water.
Ari allows himself to relax on the bed, letting his mind wander.
Alexis Clafin, District 6
Alexis and Romeo have been traveling through the forest all day. Alexis can't get her mind off of the bloodbath. How jarring it was to escape with nothing. How Romeo killed another boy without a single hesitation. On the surface, she knows it was inevitable. Dozens more have to die before she has a chance of returning home. But the thought still bothers her.
They find themselves closing in on the mountain.
"Should we go in?" Alexis asks warily. The idea of being trapped inside a mountain does not sit well with her.
"I'd say so. The less visible we are, the safer we'll be." Romeo explains. He takes a step in an opening and Alexis follows behind.
For the most part, the cave system only has one path. After about half an hour of searching, they come across a split in the path. They decide to take the left passage, keeping a mental note to loop back and take the right passage later. Deeper they go into the cave, which is illuminated by torches nailed into the wall. Romeo spent some time trying to take one down, but they're too strongly bolted in place.
A noise catches Alexis's attention. She turns in the direction she hears the noise. She comes across another split in the path.
"Do you hear that sound?" She asks Romeo. She can't quite make out the sound, but she knows she hears something.
"No, what sound?" Romeo responds. She motions for him to keep quiet as she listens harder. She realizes the sound is coming from the left path, so she moves in that direction. The passage comes to and end, but not before it opens into a wide formation of water. Alexis runs to the edge of the water. She dips her hands in and brings them to her face.
"It's not salt water." She says with relief.
"It might not be completely safe to drink, at least not without purifying it." Romeo says halfheartedly.
"I know, but we don't really have a lot of options." Alexis says.
"I know. How about we only drink a little? Enough for us to not be thirsty. After we get some rest, we can try to find supplies." Romeo suggests. Alexis agrees, not really having another option. She allows herself to slowly drink the water, trying to block out the bad thoughts.
Yeong-Ja Song, District 3
Yeong-Ja walks through the forest, finding herself walking without a purpose. She can't get over her guilt of losing her ally immediately. She wanted to save them, she truly did. But when she saw the Careers had gotten to them first, she had to make the split second decision to take flight rather than fight. She's not proud of herself. She knows Eddie's family will be cursing her as they go to sleep, knowing their son will never return home.
Yeong-Ja wipes the tears out of her eyes. She refuses to be seen as weak, not now when it seems like her only chance of getting supplies is through sponsors.
A snap of a branch causes her to jump around. A boy, one of the boys from Eight stands and stares at her, eyes wide. He looks around, and Yeong-Ja can tell he's deciding whether he should run or not.
"I won't hurt you." Yeong-Ja says softly. She kneels to one knee to appear less threatening. "Yeong-Ja. What's your name?"
"Thread." He says so quietly Yeong-Ja has to take a second before she understands what he said.
"Well Thread, my ally died. I was hoping someone could have my back out here in the arena."
Yeong-Ja can see the uncertainty in Thread's eyes. She doesn't blame him. There are dozens of other tributes out there that would kill him, that would kill both of them, in a heartbeat to return home.
"Okay." Thread says. Yeong-Ja nods. Standing from her kneeling position, she looks around the woods.
"So, do you know how to navigate this place yet?" She asks. Thread shakes his head.
"No. Everything looks the same." Thread says.
"It does. Why don't we keep walking away from the cornucopia and hope something better appears?" Yeong-Ja suggests. Thread nods his head in agreement and together, the pair heads off deeper into the woods.
Pepper Lokma, District 7
Pepper sits at the top of the tallest tree she could see. She didn't put too much distance between herself and the cornucopia, but the tree she's in is high enough and well covered enough that she knows no other tribute will ever see her.
Night falls on the arena. Pepper feels a hunger in her stomach. Wishing it would go away, she chews on some of the leaves that surround her. She doesn't recognize this type of tree, they must be so far away from District 7 that these trees don't grow in that climate. Regardless, they give her mouth something to do and help distract her from the pain.
Pepper isn't sure what to do anymore. She and Holly had a game plan, and even if it went sideways Pepper was confident they would figure something out together. But now Holly is dead and all the tributes lack supplies. And Pepper can't figure out why.
The sound of the anthem blasts through the arena. Pepper looks up to see the seal projected into the sky. She waits for the faces of the dead to appear.
Along with the picture of the tribute and the district number, the Capitol has been kind enough to put their name alongside their district number. Pepper knows they didn't do it for them in the arena. No, she's sure it was done for the Capitol citizens who couldn't distinguish two tributes from each other.
Pepper watches the first face fade in and out; Ferris. Ferris is followed by James, Max, and Nat. So many tributes.
Pepper watches Holly's face fade in and out of the sky. She realizes Holly is the only death from her district. Ash and Marshal made it.
Pepper wonders if they would be worth seeking out. But then she remembers their third ally, and the idea leaves her. Pepper doesn't want to ally with someone like that girl. She feels safer alone.
Pepper adjusts herself on the large branch, positioning herself so there's no room for her to fall. She shuts her eyes and prays night comes quickly.
Evan Floyd, District 1
Evan works with Alexandrine to separate the supplies retrieved from the island equally between the two groups. Despite the lack of hunting, much to many of the Career's irritation, the newfound weapons will certainly give them the advantage over the rest of the tributes.
"How many swords do you have?" Evan asks Alexandrine. She looks over her supplies.
"Three." She says. Evan nods, adding it to his own groups pile.
"Three medkits aren't going to split evenly." Evan says. Alexandrine shrugs.
"I'll take the two. You take this." Alexandrine hands him a large spear, the only one of this size.
"How is it going over here?" Maeve enters the cornucopia. She looks over at both Careers piles.
"It's going. Not everything can be split evenly, but I'd say we both have a good amount of supplies." Evan says. Maeve looks over his pile, her groups pile. Two swords, six throwing knives, an axe, two spears, six full water bottles, two dozen bread rolls, a dozen apples, half a dozen pack of berries, and four sleeping bags. Alexandrine's pile is similar, but Maeve notices she has something they don't.
"What's with the net?" She asks Alexandrine.
"The twins wanted it to fish. They were going to take it out on the boat in the morning." She says flatly. Maeve slowly nods.
"Alright. Thanks, Evan. You can go." Maeve takes Evans spot by the supplies as Evan goes to leave. He takes a moment to stretch out his back.
Outside the cornucopia, Casper has set up a fire most of the Careers are settled around. Some, like Mako and Minnow, are engaged in conversation. Others, like Blade and Hayley, are doing their own thing. Evan walks up to the fire and takes a seat next to Tristan.
"Good job today, with the supplies." Evan says to his ally. Tristan shrugs.
"No need to thank me. I was simply doing my job." He explains. Evan leans back.
"You must feel at home here, on the beach." Evan says. Tristan looks out into the ocean.
"Yeah. I guess." He says. Evan understands the feeling. Homesick.
"Tomorrow will be more exciting, I guess. Maeve is going to send people out hunting." Evan says. As boring as it may be to stay put in one place all day, Evan hasn't mustered up the stomach to hunt for other tributes, for other children.
Evan knows there's no way to avoid killing, unless you want to be killed. But he doesn't want to engage yet. He doesn't want to lose himself, to become someone he hates, like so many victors before him. No, he refuses to see that happen to himself.
Here is day one in the arena! I can't promise every day will have 8 POVs, but it'll be between 4-8 depending how much action and how many tributes are left.
Don't forget to review!
ALLIANCES
Career Pack #1: Alexandrine Laurent, Blade Saito, Lancia Audren, Casper Chevallier, Minnow Swanson, Mako Swanson
Career Pack #2: Crystal Vine, Evander Floyd, Maeve Landstone, Crane Bavari, Hayley Onyx, Tristan McKnight
Alliance #1: Alexis Clafin, Romeo Ford
Alliance #2: Eros Herier, Adonis Herier
Alliance #3: Ashley "Ash" Oak, Marshal Woods, Elise Linderman
Alliance #4: Yeong-Ja Song, Thread Hawkins
Alone: Hodaka Granger, Burgundy Mulligan, Ari West, Clemencia Leocadia, Warren Faulkner, Ashleigh Caine, Mathias Hayes, Pepper Lokma
DEATHS
48th: Nat Ali (D5F)
47th: James Holden (D3M)
46th: Max Wingfield (D3M)
45th: Pandora Vivenne-Sherman (D8F)
44th: Tatum Murray (D9F)
43rd: Travis Arbroath (D9M)
42nd: Aeryn Malvo (D6F)
41st: Quinn Effex (D5F)
40th: Aaran Surge (D6M)
39th: Casper Seabird (D5M)
38th: Magnolia Appleton (D11F)
37th: Filly Detroit (D11F)
36th: Fawn Hill (D12F)
35th: Clyde Fermini (D12M)
34th: Holly James (D7F)
33rd: Ivy David (D11F)
32nd: Ferris Marlowe (D3F)
31st: Zay Gaura (D11M)