(Pre-A/N A/N: Oi Oi lads, I decided to split the first day of the Games in half because it was nearing 8000 words and that's crazy, so I hope you the first day part one... also I know I am behind on a load of reviews for SYOTs/other story's and they are coming I promise!)

Hello. Sorry for that long absence after posting two chapters in a row. I have no excuse other than writing the actual Games was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Finding the correct balance between action and character development is something that I'm struggling with, but I'll work it out. For now though, I think I'm going to stick to like a 500-750 word segment about each alliance group per chapter. Knowing me, this will change but I hope I can stick with it for at least a bit.

So, this chapter deals with the fallout from the Bloodbath and is a lot less... deathy (?) but I can promise you this won't last, so enjoy Day One of the Games and the calm before the storm...

Day One

Salome and Locke

"I swear to God. Don't test me Dad, I'm holding a hammer." Salome muttered under her breath as she did one final lap of the Cornucopia. She and Locke had been the last two tributes left here, and they saw no point finding another camp, for now at least. They had a water source next to them, although it was tainted by the blood of the fallen District Four girl, and Salome was sure they could find at least a scrap of food in the only pack that had been left behind. It was the perfect place, in the centre, sheltered and they had the immediate upper hand of the assortment of weapons the other tributes hadn't picked up. Despite losing her closest friend, Doug, in the Bloodbath, Salome was feeling quietly confident about her chances in the Games. She knew that the other tributes would never have stuck to their rules of not fighting, but the extent of death that she had seen was almost too much to bear.

To say the day had been eventful so far would be the understatement of the century. The hovercrafts had only just left, taking away the eight casualties from the Bloodbath, or rather, six, there was nothing left of Vivian or Dina to retrieve. Salome took a shaky breath, bowing her head in silent prayer to the ones they had lost, thanking whatever God that was watching over her for sparing both her and her father.

That brought Salome back to the only problem she was facing, obviously aside from the dozen people who were out there preparing to hunt each other down. Her father. She had never agreed with his callous nature and whilst she had always known he had the power to kill, actually watching him do it was something else entirely. To know he had had the choice between saving a life and taking a life and that he had chosen the later, worried Salome beyond belief. How far would he go to make sure they survived?

"Salome." Locke spoke now in a louder than normal whisper, beckoning his daughter over. For a second, her heart stopped, the last thing she needed was another fight today, she had seen enough death to last her a lifetime. As she approached her father, however, all she could see was the smile on his face, and all fears of another attack today began to fade. He was holding a bar of chocolate out to her, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. And in this place, it was. The chances of getting something as rare as chocolate were very low, and the fact that they had it all to themselves gave Salome the boost she needed to get through the day. "We also have some crackers, half a loaf of bread, some bandages, an empty canteen and whatever weapons are here."

This was good. It wasn't Locke's original plan, but it would serve them well. It wasn't the large career back he had hoped to align both himself and Salome with, but at least there wasn't a career pack they had to be fearful of. They had supplies and shelter, and most important of all, they had escaped the Bloodbath without even a scratch. Life wasn't good, but it wasn't as utterly hopeless as it could have been.

"I'm sorry about Doug." Locke blurted out suddenly, looking everywhere apart from at his daughter, so she would not be able to see the way he lied. "I knew you two were friends, he was a good kid, he didn't deserve that." That part was true, Doug really did deserve a shot at the Games, not to be killed by the Capitol before the thing had even started, he could have gone far. The lie was that Locke wasn't exactly feeling bad about it, he was almost relieved. Doug may have been strong and his skills were improving, but there was no doubt that he would have dragged the group down. He needed them much more than they needed him, not having him tag around would almost ensure the father-daughter duo made it all the way in the Games, in Locke's opinion.

"It's okay, Dad." Salome shook her head. She hadn't thought about Doug at all, not because she was especially sad about his death, they had been friends only for a few days, but because the person that got shot could easily have been her, or her father for that matter. It served as a constant reminder that the Capitol was in control, that they could serve them with delights such as chocolate, but also snatch away every little thing, including life. All her life Salome had been controlled by her parents who decided how she trained, where she went, what she did with her hours, and once she had escaped that beast, it was just replaced by the Capitol. It was so God damn unfair.

Jordan

Jordan's first stop was the mountains. He hadn't seen anyone head up this way, and whilst his aim for the Games was to kill as much as possible, he knew that if he started too soon, he would become the main target, he had to play it safe. So, Jordan's intention was to hide out for a day, let the other tributes settle in and find their camps and tomorrow he would strike.

He had ended up climbing halfway up a relatively small mountain, only stopping as the sun began to set, and taking up residence in cove on the side of the mountain. As Jordan settled down, swinging the pack he had obtained earlier in the day from his shoulders, he allowed himself to examine its contents for the first time. He had a full water bottle, silently thanking the Gods, he had yet to come across a water source in the arena so far aside from the one next to the Cornucopia, this may be his only life line. There was a sleeping bag and a box of matches, but aside from that, the bag was empty. Not exactly what Jordan had been hoping for, but he had seen tributes escape with a lot less than him, so for that he was thankful.

Unpacking the sleeping bag and fitting it into the tightest corner of the cove, Jordan allowed himself to take a small sip from the water, moaning as the freshness relieved his parched throat. What he could do with now, however, was some food. Just thinking about a burger, or even just a slice of stale bread made Jordan's mouth water. It hadn't even been that long since the man had last eaten, and he knew that if he wanted to survive far into the Games, hunger would have to be something he became accustomed to. But it had been a trying day, Jordan had climbed and walked longer than he had ever done before, his body wasn't used to the sudden increase of movement. He briefly remembered passing a berry push about five minutes before he came to a stop, at the time he had dismissed it, assuming there would be food in his pack, but now it seemed like his only hope. Reluctantly, Jordan left the comfort of his sleeping back, taking the risk of leaving his belongings behind, before taking hold of the biggest knife he had acquired and picking up his now empty backpack, which he intended to fill with fruit.

As Jordan approached the bush, he became more and more wary of his decision. He recognised the berries from one of the bks he had been studying frantically in the days before the Games. They were small, and Jordan could easily crush them between two fingers and a very dark blue, he had almost mistaken them for black. It wasn't just the books Jordan knew the berries from, he was sure he had seen them at home in District Twelve. He had always avoided eating berries in favour of stealing, never knowing which ones were poisonous. Now, though, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice. He held the fruit in his hand, rolling them about in his hand, debating whether or not he could take the risk. It wasn't really much of a debate. Jordan was already beginning to feel the effects of the hunger. His body was shaking and the light headedness that had begun to set in a few hours earlier was becoming too strong. He had been in the sun for hours, climbing and sweating, whatever energy he had stored from the mornings breakfast was all but gone. He needed food, and he needed it now.

"Well, here goes nothing." Jordan gave the berries one final look before chucking then to the back of his throat. He had to fight the urge to spit the fruit back out. Jordan hadn't known what to expect but it certainly wasn't this. The berries were almost too bitter to stand, and the man had to force himself to swallow them. "Fucking hell." He breathed out. "I didn't expect caviar but couldn't you have done slightly better than this?" He screamed at the sky, knowing the Capital would be watching. After sitting for a few minutes, Jordan realised that the berries were having no adverse effects on him, despite the awful taste and he began to slowly fill up his bag with the food, trying not to think about the fact that his diet may only consist of these for the next few weeks. "Better than starvation. But barely." He spoke to himself, as he threw the back pack over his shoulders and headed back up the mountain in the direction of camp.

Jordan never made it back to the security of his sleeping bag, as the weak form of Nightlock began to shut his body down from within.

Flynt and Lilac

"This is our forever, isn't it? These Games are all that is left for us." Lilac rested her head against Flynt's shoulder. The sun was only just beginning to set but she was already so tired. It had been a long day. After entering the snowy wilderness, the group had walked for about an hour before settling in a small cave that sheltered them at least from the harsh winds. It was still cold though, freezing almost and they had all accepted that there was no way they would survive the night without a fire. Between the four of them, they had two sleeping bags, a blanket, a weapon each and various items of food and drink, that they knew were precious goods. Most importantly, they had a box of matches. Flynt and Lilac sat currently at the opening to the cave, wrapped in whatever clothes they had, huddled under the blanket, keeping watch whilst the other half of their alliance searched for the all important wood. It had been around four hours, and although the trek to the forest was a good few miles, every second Florence and Lya were away built up fear within the lovers.

"Funny how forever could only be a few hours, though." Flynt chuckled humorlessly, receiving only a light smack on the arm from Lilac. "What? It's true." He protested, wrapping his arm around Lilac. "At any minute one of those other tributes could come charging in and slit our throats." He regretted the imagery he had created almost as soon as he said it, even more so after Lilac pulled away from him. "Sorry." He muttered, going through a range of emotions in a matter of seconds.

"Don't apologise, Flynt." Lilac moved so that she was sitting in front of the more muscular boy, leaning across to kiss him gently on the lips. "I just want the others back, I'm worried about them." She sighed, confused over how attached she had become to this group of people over the short time they had known each other. "Also I'm cold. Flynt, so cold." Lilac placed her hand against her boyfriend's cheek, and she felt him flinch against her icy touch.

For just one second Flynt let himself panic, she was so cold, they needed a fire now. Or they needed to leave, but the thought of abandoning Florence and Lya was out of the question. They would just have to survive and pray that their allies came back soon. Panicking never got anyone anywhere, Flynt knew that. He needed a plan. He knew there was nothing much he could do, aside from hold Lilac close to him. Sitting by the cave entrance wasn't helping them much either, they were still at the front of the harsh weather. Could they chance moving back, and just hoping the other tributes were done fighting for the night? To save Lilac, he would risk anything.

"Come on." He stood up, scooping Lilac into his arms and carrying her further into the cave, where their food and water had been stored. He dropped her lightly onto the ground, going back to retrieve their weapons and sleeping bags. Then, Flynt set about wrapping the small girl up in the blanket and other cloth, before enclosing his arms around the girl and letting her head fall on to his chest, the gentle rhythm of the rise and fall of his chest sending her to sleep.

"Don't you dare die on me, girl."

Newton and Alfred

"Oh my God. They're all dead because of me." Newton had been sobbing for at least the last half an hour. After the events at the Cornucopia, the only two that remained from their alliance had run off into the forest, desperately searching for somewhere away from everyone. They were in luck, as after a long walk, they came across a small clearing, sheltered by the leaves from a willow tree. If anyone looked hard enough they would be visible, and they knew it was only a temporary place, but it served them well enough for now.

Alfred was almost ready to give up with Newton. His non-stop crying was making an impossible situation even worse. He was a caring boy, but that only went so far, and apparently the Hunger Games was where it stopped. Still, the last thing he needed was to upset his only living ally. And, if Alfred was honest, having Newton be an emotional mess took his mind off of everything else. If it wasn't for looking after Newton, Alfred was sure he would be exactly the same. He had lost Diva, the person that has shown him there was more to life than being introverted alone and scared. She had given him the confidence to talk to people and make friends, and Afred knew that without her he probably wouldn't have been alive, he would have forced himself to jump off the podium and end it all before anything really bagen. What had stopped him was the thought that they all needed each other. And now she was gone.

"Newton. It wasn't your fault, it was an accident. Arbor killed Diva, not you. You need to let it go." Alfred repeated for what was probably the hundredth time that day. He knelt down next to where Newton sat slumped against the tree trunk and placed his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "But you need to pull it together. I've lost Diva, I can't lose you too." Alfred lent backwards, pulling one of the packs they had acquired earlier and rifling through it. He pulled out a bottle of water, a rarity he assumed as they still had yet to find a place to fill it up, and raised it to Newton's lips, forcing him to take a few small mouthfuls. "All the crying is making you dehydrated." Next, he grabbed some strips of dried beef from a small bag and handed them to Newton, keeping one back for himself. The boy reluctantly took it, his tears beginning to stop. "We need to move from here, Newton. We need to find some place more secure to spend the night, and try and find more water."

"I'm sorry for being so useless." Newton spoke, causing Alfred to look up in shock. It was the first time all day he had said anything other than how guilty he felt. "And I'm sorry you lost Diva, I knew the two of you were close."

"We were." Alfred nodded, pushing himself up from the floor and holding out a hand for Newton. "But I've still got you, haven't I?" He asked as he pulled the other boy to his feet, picking up the backpack and swinging it on to his shoulders.

"Always." He replied, taking hold of the other bag and the spear, the only remaining weapon they had. "But I think it's better that you hold on to this." Newton handed the spear out to Alfred, making sure the point was facing down, a small half smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." Alfred concluded, bumping shoulders with the District Five boy.

Florence and Lya

"There is someone over there." Lya hissed, pulling Florence back behind a large tree. It didn't exactly hide them from their opposition, but it made the girl's feel better. "What do we do?" Lya hadn't expected to be such a mess at the sight of other tributes, she had assumed she would be able to handle herself well. She could fight and most of the time she was level headed, but now the calm and collected approach she had always adopted was failing her, almost non-existent in the moment. "Seriously, Flo, what do we do?" She tugged on the sleeve of her ally, desperately pleading for the girl to make a move. If they were being sensible about it, the pair had a 12/14 chance of being okay. The only tributes they really had to worry about were Jordan and Hypatia. But the time for sensible thinking was over, now there was only panic.

By now, the other tributes had stopped, obviously having spotted the very badly hidden girls. "Okay. Options." Florence whispered. "We run and pray they don't follow, or we jump out and pray they don't attack and that they run away." She held the handle of the sword she had taken tighter in her hand, despite having no intention to use it. "Personally, I like the first one." She smiled to hide the fear she had, pushing back her long dark blonde hair, wishing she had cut it before the Games. "Hold on a second…"

Without warning Lya, Florence stepped out from their cover, and approached the two boys that were standing not far in front of them. "Alfred? Oh my God? I didn't see you leave the Cornucopia, I assumed you were dead. No offence…" She gushed, running forward and hugging the boy, forcing him to drop his spear in shock. "Wait…" Florence took a few steps back, falling in line with Lya who had emerged from behind the tree. "You're not going to kill us, right?" She hated that the Games were doing this to her. She had considered Alfred a friend just a few hours ago, and now she had to consider the possibility that he was about to end her life. It was sick.

"Well considering you two both have weapons and the only one we had is on the floor… I feel like we're the ones that should be asking that question." Alfred laughed. "But for the record, no."

Lya lowered the bow and arrow she had pointed at Newton. "We have no intentions of killing you either." She smiled, noticing for the first time that their alliance had lost Diva. After debating bringing it up, she decided to say nothing, the last thing she needed was to accidentally make an enemy.

"We're looking for some firewood." Florence butted in before Lya could speak. She knew exactly what the girl was going to say, she had been thinking exactly the same thing. Diva wasn't here, and all they could do was assume the worst. "We have a nice set up just outside the forest, some food and water, you could join us if you wanted?" Florence was a strong believer of safety in numbers, the more tributes that stuck together the less threat there was.

She could tell that Alfred was debating the options, Florence had done exactly the same before she had extended the olive branch. Together they would be safer, but at one point, there would have to be a winner, the fewer tributes there were to decide between, the better.

"I don't think that's the best idea." Newton voiced exactly what Alfred had been thinking but didn't have the heart to say. "More mouths to feed, and all that?" He shrugged awkwardly, none of them wanting to say the real reason: that at one point, whether they wanted to or not, they would have to kill each other, the less friendly they were, the better.

Alfred looked sadly down to his feet, for the first time in his life he wanted friends, he wanted people around him, and even better than that, he had found the confidence to actually speak to them! But he couldn't have it, and that was the cruelest thing about the Games. "He's right. But we can still help you. About five minutes in that direction," He paused to point towards the willow tree he had previously sheltered under. "There were loads of branches, it might help your fire."

"Thank you Alfred." Florence was on the verge of tears, saying goodbye was always something she hated, especially now as it could easily be for the last time. "Promise me you'll keep yourself safe?"

"Promise." Alfred smiled, turning away to leave.

Before the boys could get too far, however, Florence had raced up behind them. She tapped on Alfred's shoulder, causing him to spin around quickly. She threw her arms around him, pulling him close to her and resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Please don't die." She sobbed, pulling backwards, before leaning in and kissing him gently on his cheek. Alfred's face automatically turned pink, and Florence thought she had taken it too far. She took a step backwards, to head towards Lya, but Alfred's hand found her's pulling her back to him.

Alfred hugged Florence tight to him, trying his best not to cry. "You too, Florence. Stay alive."

Did I cry writing the bit between Alfred and Florence? Yes I did. Did my mum think I had finally lost it? Yes she did.

So there we go... both the District Twelve tributes are in trouble (dead? who knows? i mean i do, but suspense and all that). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are ready for the second half (on Sunday hopefully!).

Okay random request. I've been trying to listen to more musicals during lockdown and I wondered if anyone had any recommendations? I've listen to quite a few so obscure/less known ones would be great! My current favourites are Hamilton, Falsettos, Bare: A Pop Opera, 36 Questions, Six and Waitress.

That's all for now, hope you are all doing well and keeping safe and thank you for all the love.

Until next time,

Alice xxx