A/N: COVID-19 has me stuck inside. Not gonna lie, feeling pretty terrified and hopeless at the moment. In a moment of boredom I pulled out this chapter and finished it off. Writing is already making me feel better, so the first parts of Day 2 should ideally come soon. Hope you guys are all healthy and safe. Happy reading!
Breakfast at Tiffany's and bottles of bubbles,
Girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble,
Lashes and diamonds, ATM machines,
Buy myself all of my favorite things.
Jade D'Amore, 18 / DefoNotAFangirl
District 1 Female
"Well, that's officially the most frivolous sponsor gift in history."
"Shut up, Kennedy." I fit the leather gloves onto my hands, letting the sharp metal claws fall into place over my fingers. I bring my right claws to a light rest on my opposite hand and jump from the pain of impalement: these things are seriously sharp. A lethal weapon.
"It's a trick, Jade," Midas says. "You're going to stab yourself a million times before we ever come across some opportunity to use those. Your spear is always a better bet."
In a situation like this, most careers would lash out with anger. While the sensation of being armed with my cat claws makes me a little trigger-happy, I resist and just smile menacingly. I don't really mind the others poking holes in my plans as long as they don't poke holes in me.
Midas groans from his resting position, clearly pissed. "We have to get moving soon."
"No we don't." Kennedy puts her hands on her hips. "It isn't like we have to get back to the cornucopia by dark. We aren't gonna die if we rest for more than ten minutes."
Midas sits up. This is serious business. "We have to find somewhere to rest more permanently. When the sun is gone, we may as well be wearing blindfolds. Good luck stumbling around this hellhole at night while I'm already safe in hiding."
Is Midas threatening to split?
"He's just trying to intimidate you," Kennedy says, staring straight at me.
"Well, I'm not easily intimidated." I raise my claws.
Midas gets to his feet, wiggling his spear a little so that it shimmers in the blue light. "Says the girl with the pet cat named Princess."
"Fuck princess."
"Fuck you."
Midas turns around. "Follow me if you want. Or stay behind and keep exchanging your fashion accessories, I don't care."
Kennedy is already running after him. I hate to give Midas but he wants, but I'm not stupid enough to run off into the arena alone, so I rejoin the group. It's already darker than it was when we first spotted the silver parachute, so dark that when I hold out my hands only a portion of my arms are visible. The night's darkness is like a cloak, settling down and fitting itself over the stone landscape as the fog thickens.
bite my tongue, bide my time
wearing a warning sign
wait 'til the world is mine
visions i vandalize
cold in my kingdom size
fell for these ocean eyes
Kennedy Coil, 16 / MonkeyPower435
District 2 Female
I stand in silence, waiting for Midas' shout. The world spins around me. It all happened so quickly. The blast. The smoke. Being thrown against the rocky ground. The taste of blood.
We all agreed in the training center: if we're ever scattered by a threat and need to reunite, Midas will shout out his location.
It takes me a while to realize I'm actually lying down, and I laugh to myself. Of course I'm lying down. It's several moments before I have strength to move. It's very comfortable and safe down here. I might just stay down here forever. What's the point of even trying to move?
"Kennedy!" Jade's voice. But that's not right. I don't know Jade. I don't know who that is. Who's the other boy I'm allied with? Gold? No, that's the victor of the twenty-second games. Eventually, everybody morphs into the same person in my head, the same memory: the memory of companionship, long since discarded.
"Kennedy! Hold your breath!"
Kennedy. That's my name. It's a nice name I think. I'm a very nice person. The world starts to fade around me. I hope my dreams are quiet. I'm very, very, very tired.
"Kennedy, I swear to Stinn, if you…"
Stinn. President Stinn Hawke. I still remember him, of course I do. President of Panem.
Suddenly, as the dark wave of nothingness is about to wash over me, a cold hand grabs my wrist. "Kennedy, get up! Get up and run! We need to find Midas!"
Next thing I know, I'm standing. The air has a very peculiar smell to it, an exotic smell, a smell that reminds me of a cave, a river, a fresh book, a crackling log fire.
Kennedy—I remember her name now—is coughing. I'm coughing too. "Breathe, Kennedy," she urges. "That gas just blew out of the ground. You need to get it out of your system before you forget everything."
I turn around and see the cloud of purple. My heart sinks as the memories, the puzzle pieces of my mind, come crashing back into place. "Oh, shit."
"Oh, shit," Jade agrees. "We aren't leaving Midas behind! Now come on! Pull your shirt over your mouth!"
"What the fuck?" I scream. "The gas is spreading. It could cover the whole arena for all we know. We have to run!"
"No!" I can tell Jade is crying. "We aren't leaving him behind! He'd do the same for me!"
"No, he wouldn't!"
"Are you in your right mind? You…"
She must have gotten the gas back into her system.
"Come on. Right now, we have to run," I say. "Midas is following us. We can meet with him later." Which is a lie, but for now, I need to get Jade back to her senses. Killing your allies and letting them die is all fun and games, but not this early in the competition. I can't be the only career. That isn't how you win.
I hope if I can make Jade start running, she'll breathe faster and fill up with normal oxygen. A minute later, the glint of self-control returns to her eyes. "Damn. Damn, Midas... are we leaving him?"
I surprise myself a little when I shake my head no. Goodbye to him means goodbye to well over half our sponsors.
The silver parachute hits my foot a moment later. I snatch it up and tear off the cover. One gas mask.
"I'm going in. Stay right where you are unless the gas spreads to you."
I run into the cloud of purple gas before Jade has time to protest.
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep.
'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere.
Midas Sinthra, 18 / Darkdemon27
District 1 Male
Blast, noise, pain. Sprawled on the ground. Purple air, the sparkle of the stars. Darkness of Orion, Cassiopeia, worlds. My breath mists above me. Why not endless, to the farthest star? I call it back to me, filling me with more of the purple.
Noise: hissing of the river, first faint sound of running water. Dislodged stone earth, gas spraying like water from a hose. Billowing, curling. Laughing, giggling before long. I giggle too, safe, warm, blanketed in the night.
Calls from the darkness: are you there, my love? To feel your embrace
Silence again, another thick blanket. I close my eyes and ears, whisper of the sky, whisper of the stars. Safe and sound, come morning light. Raging war, rushing water outside. Hiding inside during a thunderstorm. Here I am safe.
More calls: mighty
Answers: only echo. Mighty me. That's me. She comes to get me, to save me. Pristine white wings, green eyes, dark hair: desire and sanctuary.
Fading colors, fading noises. Flashing stars. They are my friends, the archer, the crab. They stay while all else changes, looping in their cycle. Wheel. When I was born: sign of the twins.
Mighty.
Midas.
I rise in the darkness. Heart thumping in line with the stars. The girl joins me, grace immeasurable. Mighty. She runs. Call her back to me, form of my form. I follow her. Footsteps in the darkness. Focus on her hair, aroma of sleep and blood.
Blood: only exists in the world I have left. I am returning. I fight against it, but I am entranced by the girl. Follow her. I return to the world of blood.
The purple is gone. Now there is only black.
"Deep breaths, Midas. Deep breaths. Get that shit out of your system."
"What's going on?"
"Shut up. Just keep breathing."
"Who the hell are you?" She's at least twenty times uglier than she was ten seconds ago.
She groans. "That gas makes you forget. Please don't tell me you're gone."
A cloud of distant memories floats past. I grab onto some of them, focus on them, and pull them back into my mind. I am in the Hunger Games. My name is Midas Sinthra. I am from District 1. I volunteered to be here. The Capitol is great.
Now there are two girls standing over me. The other one is much shorter and prettier. Seeing her brings back a white, fluffy memory. "What's up with him?" she asks.
The tall ugly girl sighs. "We might need to fill him back in on a few things."
"Cornucopia!" I shout suddenly. "I remember the cornucopia. A spear, I remember that too."
Tall And Ugly sighs again. "More than I thought. I'm Kennedy. This is Jade."
"Are we safe?" I ask.
"Funny you bring that up," Jade says. "Let's run for a while longer."
His hair has gone grey,
He passes every day,
They say he walks the length of the city.
You knock me out, I fall apart:
Can you imagine?
Arien Whicker, 13 / Writer207
District 10 Male
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Turner, happy birthday to you!"
"Make a wish," Dock sighs. "Don't tell us about it or it won't come true." His voice rings with sarcasm.
Turner squeezes his eyes shut and then blows out the candles.
"Well, how does it feel?" I ask. "Being fourteen?" I try to sound cheerful. Really, I'm thinking about Gary. It's much quieter without him. He was a great friend and I miss him more than I can describe.
"Just like being thirteen," he says. "How much of the cake should we eat now, and how much should we save for later?"
"One slice each for now," Dock says. "This is not a holiday. We can't lose sight of our goal all because of this stupid celebration."
"Lighten up a little."
"Arien, you've got a lot to learn."
Turner shines a light on the cake, a beautiful cake that makes my mouth water: vanilla, frosted extravagantly with stripes of black and magenta. Words are written in dark purple icing on top: Happy birthday, Turner. We love you more than we love ourselves! -your biggest fans. The cake comes on a silver platter with a knife, three forks, and three glass plates. There's even a little cardboard stand for the cake to sit on. You'd think we were at a real birthday party, not crammed into a little cave in a dark arena while a chilling drizzle falls outside.
I feel the warmth of the cake when I take my first bite: fresh from the oven. Without a doubt the best food I've had in a long time. The taste brings back so many memories, but I try to cast them away. Thoughts of home just hurt.
Moments after I finish my slice, the anthem begins, and an unfamiliar feeling of solemn dread hits my throat. Not fear for myself, but for those with no hope of seeing their families again. The bloodbath victims.
The boy from 2, the boy from 3, the girl from 4, the girl from 6, both from 7, the boy from 8, both from 9, the boy from 11. Ten down, fourteen of us left. I feel terrifying little when the sky turns dark again. The games are already changing me.
Remaining Tributes (14): Jade, Midas, Kennedy, Monita, Dock, Gwyneth, Newton, Rocky, Blu, Bryndle, Arien, Fawn, Heather, Turner
Alliances:
Careers: Jade, Midas, Kennedy
Anti-Careers: Monita, Rocky
The Guys Next Door: Dock, Arien, Turner
Mosaic Broken Hearts: Gwyneth, Newton
NASA: Fawn, Heather
Loners (For Now): Blu, Bryndle
