It's time!
Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise
Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday
You got mud on your face, you big disgrace
Kicking your can all over the place, singin'
We will, we will rock you
We will, we will rock you
I nearly throw up my breakfast the next morning as Rhiannon rubs a warm hand over my shoulder. Once I've stopped dry-heaving and hunching over the toilet, she fetches me a glass of water and refuses to let me out of the bathroom until I've downed half of it.
"Hun, I need you to calm down-"
I begin to hyperventilate as another panic attack takes over. "I can't."
"Yes you can..."
"No! I can't."
My breathing continues to quicken as I turn back to the toilet and spit into it. Rhiannon hands me the water glass and I slowly down what's left, but it doesn't help. I'm too scared to think straight. All I can do is try not to throw up. I hate throwing up.
Rhiannon gently twirls her bright pink streak of hair around her finger. "Do you feel better now?"
"I don't know..."
"Are you at least calmer?"
I'm back at the Reaping, fully breaking down because the little slip of paper between Rhiannon's fingers has my name on it. I was such a mess then and I'm not doing much better now. But knowing that I have someone who wants me to feel better allows me to take a little more control of my breathing and slowly, my body stops shaking.
"Rhiannon, I'm scared."
"It's okay, hun. It's okay."
Empty words. We both know it's not okay.
When the Peacekeepers come to take Whyllis and I away, I've never been more scared in my life. It's like marching to a death sentence. The hovercraft looks cool from the outside, but I feel so claustrophobic in it, that I just can't focus. Everything is a blur to me, from the take-off, to the large needle pressed into my arm, to the landing and more Peacekeepers marching us off.
I'm brought to a dimly lit room where Kanaya is waiting for me, holding a bag that I guess contains my arena outfit. She gives me a small grin so I just nod at her, flexing my fingers.
"Where's Diamond?"
"I convinced my superiors that I should be with you instead. I figured you'd be much more comfortable around me."
Kanaya helps me get dressed. The arena outfit is surprisingly simple. Tight black pants with a single white stripe running down either side. An orange tank top with the number 10 over my left breast. I pull on a thin jacket in a dark shade of orange and slip on some bulky boots.
"Climbing boots," Kanaya muses. "The arena terrain must be very rough. And it's clear that you might not have to worry about the temperature dropping too low either. Everything is so thin that it might be pretty warm in there. As for orange, that has always been District 10's colour."
"Right." I have the jacket over my shoulders. "Kanaya...thanks for everything last night..."
"TRIBUTES! PLEASE PROCEED INTO YOUR TUBES!"
"I'll see you on the other side!" Kanaya says in a positive tone. That makes me worry. What if I don't come back?
I step into the tube. That's when the glass door closes behind me, leaving me trapped inside. The glass and smooth and cool to the touch. No way I'll ever be able to climb out of here. Underneath me is a metal plate that suddenly beings to lift me up towards the arena.
A bright orange light shines over me and I can feel myself inching closer and closer. That's when everything suddenly starts to feel really hot and sticky. A few beads of sweat drip down the side of my face. When I finally surface I can see why.
This arena is a literal hell.
I've always heard descriptions of such a place being hot and covered in fire. My little metal plate protrudes from some reddish-blackish rock. The things covers every single spot of land I can see, except for the parts which are filled with lava lakes instead. The rock forms crevices, caves, and towering mountains that could easily bury us all if they fell. The sky is clouded with thin smoke, a bright blazing orange that doesn't feel the least bit welcoming.
And it's hot.
The Cornucopia is a gleaming silver, which really makes it stand out among all the red and orange. It's got a lot of stuff packed inside. Crates. Sleeping bags. Racks and rows of all kinds of weapons. And sitting on top of a box of dried goods, is a silver bow and a quiver of arrows.
I need it.
I need it if I want a chance to win.
The countdown has started. I don't move and neither does anyone else. I remember a Games I saw a while ago, where a tribute jumped off her pedestal to get a head start on the supplies and she was blown up almost instantly. It was such a gruesome and disgusting sight to see. I have to stand and wait like everyone else.
All I can think about is getting that bow. It's a dangerous risk, but it might be worth it all.
I want the chance it can give me to survive.
If I can just grab it and get out of here alive.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
The gong sounds and it catches me off-guard. Everyone bursts off their pedestals at the same time. The only one who doesn't move is Bartleby, standing on his pedestal stoic as ever and watching his allies run for the goods. Gayle is the only one who tries to run in the opposite direction. Flynn grabs the first thing he sees, a coil of wire and a spear, and they both take off.
I turn around and the bow is gone.
Whyllis has several spears themself and for a brief moment, we both look each other in the eye. I just shake my head, while they nod and turn away.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Abril grab Teff and throw her directly at Quincy, before she freezes up as Karen jumps at her and shoves a dagger into her stomach. Teff falls too, as a knife is thrown directly at her by Quincy. The first kills of the Bloodbath have officially happened.
Shit, where is that bow?
I grab the first thing I see, a tiny grey backpack. I can see Leo running up to me, aiming for the same supplies, but he slumps over as Cindra practically slices through him with a sword. Her eyes fix on me. I got to get out of here, fast! I sling the bag over my shoulders as Cindra gains up on me and-
Ellie bumps into me as all the supplies in her hands spill out and she crashes against the rocky ground. I turn to run. I don't even wait to stick around and see what happens to her.
The bodies start to pile as more and more tributes fall at the hands of other. I trip over Karen's body, her entire chest having been torn open. Jane is being chased around by Anthony, until she sneaks up on her confused district partner and gives him a shove. Anthony cuts down Basil instead as Jane begins to run. As Basil falls, Maryann begins to sob while Sitka grabs her hand and tries to pull her away.
I should get out of here now. But I don't want to leave without that bow. I can't find it anywhere!
Cindra is on the other side of the Cornucopia, standing over the body of Magaz, the only tribute so far who's taken down a Career. Tyrone has a blowgun; wait what!? A blowgun!? He aims it at two tributes who smash into each other trying to escape. Tyrone's dart lands in Delta's brain while Whyllis jumps onto Damask and shoves a spear into his chest. I see Ethan trying to lug a crate over his shoulders before giving up and throwing it to the ground.
Somehow, Ellie is back on her feet, curled up behind a crate, slowly crawling somewhere. I see a brief flash of something long and silver before Opal is suddenly shoving me to the ground. My knees bump up against the hard rock. Ouch. They're probably bruised. But as I stumble to my feet, I come to a dreadful realization.
I can't find the bow anywhere. I missed my chance to grab it and it's gone.
More screams as tributes chase each other, attack each other, and fall to the ground, dead. I take off to run, but I need to get past Bartleby, who hasn't moved at all. I don't want to face a Career, especially without a weapon to defend myself with. But he just raises his eyebrows at me and shrugs. What's he doing? Is he going to try and kill me?
"Hey!"
Wouldn't you know it, it's Jane. She too is no longer hanging around for all the chaos, but I can see her limping as blood drips from her ankle. She has a small red satchel in her arms and gives me that annoying smirk of hers, opening her mouth to probably sass me again-
When Whyllis's spear suddenly pokes through her chest.
More blood begins to drip from her mouth, but she twists her body around at the very last minute and hunks a large gob of bloody spit into Whyllis's face. They jump back, obviously startled, as Jane begins to crawl away. I can hear her hysterical laughter from here as it's suddenly cut short when Whyllis spears her a second time. I snatch up her little red satchel by its strap.
And now I'm running.
I'm too numb to feel my legs carrying me somewhere far away from here. My heart pounds like never before. I'm tired, too tired to continue. I keep running anyways. To where? I'm not sure. All I know is that I don't want to be here anymore. I've seen so many die in the span of a few minutes in the hell of a nightmare.
Bartleby didn't continue after me, like I expected him to. Maybe there's more temping victims still inside the Cornucopia. By now, everyone who's not dead must've fled, right? How many have died so far? It's such a blur. For all I know, twenty tributes could've fallen at each other's hands. Maybe less?
I think of Whyllis, shoving spears through bodies like a second nature. Just last night, they were so much calmer. What has snapped in them to lead to them taking people out like that? Something about this arena and these Games changes us from normal kids to bloodthirsty murderers in only a matter of seconds. It turned Whyllis from a heartbreaking drummer to one of the deadliest tributes in the game.
My throat hurts and my eyes are burning. I want something to eat, something to drink. I want to sleep. I want to hide away and pretend everything is normal. I'm not in the Hunger Games. I'm not going to panic. I will not. I can't! I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't...
I lean up against a jagged rocky surface as tears run down my face. Truth is, I'm scared.
I can't hear anything, except for faint bubbling, small pebbles tumbling down those giant mountains, my own pants as I catch my breath. Now would be a good time to sort out my supplies. I open Jane's satchel first, because it feels almost empty. But there's something inside. I hope it's useful.
I flip over the satchel, shake it, and out falls a lighter.
A lighter.
I am going to cry, but out of frustration this time because are you kidding me!? This arena is made out of fire! What good would a tiny little lighter do for me!? What good is it worth. I toss the satchel aside and open up my backpack. There better be something better in here.
A canteen full of water. A roll of bandages. Three packs of dried meat. A second lighter. A pair of socks.
Well, that's pretty good.
I pack everything up, stuffing the two useless lighters into the satchel. That's when I hear the cannons fire, signaling the Bloodbath is over. Nine. Nine in total. Nine tributes lost their lives today.
It's painful to think about.
What will the following days bring?
Current Alliances:
Careers: Bartleby, Troy, Cindra, Anthony, Quincy
Mad Scientists: Gayle, Flynn
The Sole Anti-Career: Opal
Cute and Traumatized Beans: Sitka, Maryann
Brute, Bitter, and Bloodthirsty: Tyrone, Whyllis
Somehow not dead?: Ellie
All of his alliance got nerfed in like the first twenty seconds feels bad kid: Ethan
The protagonist could really use a hug right now: VR
Kills:
Cindra: 2 (Magaz, Leo)
Anthony: 1 (Basil)
Quincy: 1 (Teff)
Karen: 1 (Abril)
Tyrone: 1 (Delta)
Magaz: 1 (Karen)
Whyllis: 2 (Damask, Jane)
24th place: Abril Schumacher, District 6. Stabbed in the stomach by Karen.
Abril's form said that she would try to sacrifice a younger tribute to save herself in the Bloodbath, and the temptation for her to die afterwards as retribution for that was just too tempting. However, I also received word that she had apparently been resubmitted shortly after I accepted her to another story. My rules on resubmissions dooms her to this fate, but she still was such an interesting character with a dramatic backstory. Thanks for her, MRKenn!
23rd place: Teff Bran. Knife to chest by Quincy.
Having been put in a compromising position by her ally is what did Teff in. I liked her because she was very sweet little girl, but could easily fall victim to such a ruthless maneuver. She was realistically vulnerable, and just had a pretty bad hand coming into the arena. Thanks for her, NamelessPanda!
22nd place: Leo Pamtorth, District 12. Run through by Cindra.
And for the first time, we finally see just what Cindra is capable of. Reading Leo's form reminded me of the stereotypical lazy and rebellious teenager, which is always fun to have. In comparison to his alliance, he definitely wasn't as well-behaved and pretty capable of stirring up some chaos if he really wanted to. Unfortunately, he was caught off-guard by one of the deadliest Careers in the story. Thanks for him, James!
21st place: Karen Angenellis, District 5. Chest torn open by Magaz.
Karen was hilarious. A spunky, overconfident girl who tried way too hard to become a Career and actually succeeded for a short period of time. She was so much fun to write, because she was so egotistical and a sore loser. Plat, this is probably a bit surprising that she places here and not Troy, but I had plans for him whereas I couldn't see her going too far before she eventually fell from grace. But thank you so much for her!
20th place: Basil Garland, District 11. Throat slit by Anthony.
It was fun to write Jane and Basil's behind-the-scenes spats, because he was stickler for authority, she thought he was ruining her fun, and they didn't share the same sense of humour. Of course, that's what Jane told us. I had a feeling Basil wouldn't make it very far and truth be told, I didn't really have any plans for him, unlike the rest of his allies. So RIP little buddy. Thanks for him, Pi!
19th place: Magaz Hector, District 9. Stabbed repeatedly by Cindra.
What happens when you kill a Career in the middle of the Bloodbath? Her ally avenges her by killing you! Despite being a big, older dude, Magaz was a gentle giant of sorts, and pretty friendly. His plan was to ally with everyone so they'd become too emotionally attached to kill him, which is very clever and original. Thanks for him, TheOriginalCin!
18th place: Damask Weave, District 8. Speared through the chest by Whyllis.
Damask definitely got a bit unlucky here. I always enjoyed writing out his alliance in comparison to Whyllis and Tyrone, another pair of older tributes, since he and Magaz were a lot calmer and gentler. Unfortunately, it's a case of wrong place in the wrong time. Thanks for him, NamelessPanda!
17th place: Delta Marris, District 3. Blowdart to the head by Tyrone.
Unfortunately, Delta was very lowkey and didn't seem to stand out a lot. Then again, she was always very sullen, quiet, and closed-off, which was an interesting contrast to her ally, Ellie. I don't have anything against that, since I find that to be pretty realistic, especially in her situation where she's trapped in the arena with a bunch of strangers. Thanks for her, justanotherwriter02!
16th place: Jane Dough, District 11. Speared by Whyllis.
Was this a big surprise to anyone? I'm not entirely sure. But as much as I loved Jane, I knew that her antics would catch up to her eventually. Realistically, her odds were pretty low since she goofed off a lot during training. But she still brought so much flavour to the story, a hilarious dynamic with so many tributes, and she goes out in a blaze of glory. Thank you so much for this mischievous little doughnut, Plat!
So there was the Bloodbath! What did you think? Did the number of deaths surprise you? How about VR's situation?
Sponsoring is now open! PM me a sponsor gift to send to any tribute in the story! No limits on what can be sent, but each person can only send one gift per chapter to keep things from getting way out of control. And the dead tributes probably won't open any gifts you send to them, of course.
I'll see you all next chapter!
-Vr
