"I fell in love with love with love everlasting, but love fell out with me."
-Richard Rodgers, "The Boys from Syracuse"
Julius Helios (18) POV
District 1 male
Topher comes back to the mouth of the Cornucopia where most of the rest of us are waiting. We're all here at this point except Linda. Knowing her, she probably chased some other, weaker tribute off.
"Linda's dead," Topher says, wiping the blood off his spear. "I saw her lying on the ground with her throat slit when I was coming around."
My blood turns cold. Linda's dead? District 1 doesn't die in the bloodbath, ever. How could Linda be so careless? I risk a look over at Penny, who looks as upset as I am.
"Does anyone know what happened?" I ask. "I mean, did anyone see anything? Obviously none of us would do it, so if there's someone out there strong enough to take down Linda, we need to know about it."
"I did," Terry says. "I saw, I mean. Linda was looking around for someone and the guy from 9 came up right behind her and just grabbed her and slit her throat. Um, luckily I was right there, so I threw a knife at him. Got him right in the temple."
"Well, at least he's dead, too," Penny says, taking those God-awful ribbons out of her hair. Congrats on getting a kill, Terry. I didn't think you had it in you."
I can tell Penny's heart isn't really in it when she said that. Not without her partner in crime. I get the feeling she's going to tone it down, now that she's the only one left that has a problem with Terry.
"While we're on the topic, who did everyone else get?" Dustin asks. "I got the boy from 12."
"Girl from 11," Alecto says. "She got 9."
"That little girl from 11 killed the girl from District 9?" Topher asks. Alecto nods. "I got the boy from 3."
"Girl from 7," Penny says.
"I got the boy from 11, and then the boy from 5," I say. "Wait, that's only nine. There were ten cannon shots."
"So, who was the tenth death?" Terry asks.
"I guess we'll find out tonight," Topher says. "I think we should go hunting tonight. It's never too early to start narrowing down the pool. I'm thinking it should be myself, Alecto, and Julius. The rest of you can stay and keep guard. Maybe check out the dollhouse."
"Works for me," I say.
"Same," says Alecto.
"Fine," Penny says. "But I get to go tomorrow, understand?"
"Yeah, no problem," I say. "Can we all agree right now to keep the hunting rotation relatively equal?"
We all agree, which I'm thankful for, and we decide to pass the rest of the time before we go hunting taking inventory of the Cornucopia, though we'll no doubt have more than enough of everything.
Calico Jones (16) POV
District 8 female
It's honestly a miracle I managed to make it out of the bloodbath at all, much less with a backpack. I haven't had a chance to look inside of it yet. I'll open it up once I get far enough into the arena to make sure I'm alone. It's not so much that I'm hiding because I'm afraid to get killed. I know that I'm not going to win this thing. I'm just hoping that when I do die, I can at least go out in peace.
After a couple of miles of walking, the grassy area becomes forest, and I decide that I'll have to settle someplace in here. I walk around for a couple more minutes before stumbling across a cave, hidden in a clump of bushes. I clench my fists and look inside, figuring it would be just my luck for another tribute to already be in here. Thankfully, it's empty, so I head in.
I sit down on the ground, leaning against the wall and finally stretching out my legs. I place my bag on my lap and carefully take everything out. A box of six assorted granola bars. A quart of strawberries. A thick wool blanket, easily big enough to completely wrap myself up in. A small water bottle with a dropper bottle of iodine. But miraculously, at the very bottom of the bag is a box of 50 matches. That's just about the best thing I could have hoped for.
Delighted, I start to really set up camp. I spread the blanket out so it covers the ground, then fold it in half. The bottom layer will keep me from laying directly on the ground, and the top layer will keep me warm. I keep all of my supplies out of my bag and in the back corner of the cave. The bag itself, I fold in half and place on the blanket so that I can use it as a pillow. Lastly, I take off my stockings and shoes, remove the ribbons from my hair, and untuck and unbutton my shirt.
Satisfied, I pull out my pack of cigarettes from my skirt pocket, strike a match, and light one up. When I'm done, I climb into my makeshift bed and shut my eyes. The anthem will no doubt be loud enough to wake me up so I can see who died in the bloodbath. As I'm dozing off, I spare a passing thought for my District partner. I wonder if he made it.
Rowan Griffey (16) POV
District 10 male
Somehow, not only did Tessa and I both get out of the bloodbath alive, but we both got supplies and I made a kill. As soon as we found each other, we ran from the Cornucopia, and once we got a safe distance away, slowed our pace to a walk and began talking.
"What do we do first?" Tessa asks.
"We should find water," I say, already panting. "There was a lake over by the Cornucopia, but that's gotta be dominated by the Careers. I don't want to risk it."
"We should probably get up high, then," she says. She takes her bag off of her back and hands it to me. "Hold this, I'll climb that tree."
Tessa climbs the tall tree in front of us, getting way higher up than I could have, since she's so much smaller. She eventually gets up so high on such thin branches, I'm afraid it might snap and cause her to fall.
"See anything?" I call up to her.
"Yeah, there's a river over there," she says, pointing in the direction we were headed anyway. "Okay, I'm heading down!"
She shimmies back down the tree, then takes her bag back from me. "Let's go," she says, taking my hand.
Together, we walk for about an hour until we reach the river (which, in truth, is more of a creek) that she saw. Figuring this was as good a place as any to set up camp, we find a dense clump of bushes about a hundred yards from the river's edge, sit down, and begin going through our supplies. I had picked up three daggers at the bloodbath, and Tessa grabbed a hatchet, but what's in our bags remains a mystery.
We open up mine first and find a large pot with a lid, a big blanket, fishing line with no pole, iodine tablets, six red apples, and six granola bars. Tessa's bag contains an empty gallon-sized water bottle, a compass, a length of rope, a coil of wire, a small bag of popcorn, and a quart of strawberries. The only thing we don't have that I really wish we did was matches or a lighter. It won't be a huge problem to purify water, since we have the iodine, or to keep warm, since we have the blanket, but it would be nice to have a way to cook meat if we find it. We're not going to be able to live off of snacks and fruit for very long.
"We should probably fill up my water bottle," Tessa says. "It'll take about a half hour for the iodine to purify it completely."
"Good idea," I say. "You fill up the bottle, I'll get some of this fruit ready for us to eat. The strawberries won't keep for very long, especially in the heat."
I kiss her forehead quickly before she goes. As I'm spreading out the blanket for us to sit on and pulling out several strawberries for each of us, I get to thinking about our dynamic. I definitely don't have any romantic feelings for Tessa- hell, I don't even really like her as a person- and I'm afraid it could be showing to the audience. If people don't buy that we're in love, not only will our chances of sponsors go away completely, but people might start to suspect things about me.
We haven't had a real kiss yet, just short pecks on the forehead and cheek. It hasn't come up naturally, and to be honest, I've been expecting Tessa to initiate it. She hasn't, though, so I'm realizing that it's probably going to be on me. I just have to wait for the perfect moment.
Brian Spencer (18) POV
District 6 male
"Do we have to keep walking?" Edison whines.
"Do you want to be safe or not?" I ask. He doesn't say anything. I can tell he's upset about losing two of our allies in the bloodbath, but I'm honestly a bit relieved. The pair from District 3 were really just going to weigh us down. Edison seemed sure that they would be smart because they were from 3, but I wasn't convinced. "I just want to find a thick clump of trees to settle down in, then we can go through everything."
"Okay," he says, still pouting.
Once we're about five miles from the Cornucopia, we come across a dense bunch of willow trees that almost completely conceal us from vision. I poke at the leaves from the outside using the short sword I picked up at the bloodbath, and once I'm certain there's no one hiding inside, we go in. This is exactly what I was looking for, and Edison is relieved that we can finally stop walking.
"You ready to go through our supplies?" I ask. He nods, and we sit on the ground with our packs in our laps. My bag has a packet of dried fruit, a sleeve of crackers, a small coil of wire, matches in a waterproof case, a dropper bottle of iodine, and a quart-sized water bottle, as dry as a bone. Looking over, Edison has a flashlight with extra batteries, a sleeping bag, a length of rope, a packet of beef jerky, and a box of six granola bars.
The sun is beginning to set, and hunger and thirst are setting in. I can feel it myself, and I know it's hitting Edison as well.
"Shouldn't we look for water?" he asks.
"We'll look for it in the morning," I say. "The sun's going down, so the Careers are probably out hunting now, looking for people stupid enough to not be making themselves scarce. You can be thirsty for twelve more hours. It's better than being dead."
"Okay," he says, seeming to genuinely understand. "Can we at least eat something?"
"You can if you want to," I say. "I'm just not going to because it'll probably make me thirstier."
Edison looks through the food carefully before deciding on the dried fruit. He picks out a couple of dates and strawberries, chewing them slowly.
"The fruit helped," he says. "It's still a little bit juicy."
"Really?" I ask. He nods. I take out a few pieces of what looks like apricots and find that he was right. I savor the handful of fruit I have, knowing that it'll be all that I eat tonight.
"Why don't you sleep?" I ask Edison. "I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you when they're about to show the dead."
He doesn't need any more convincing. He pulls out the sleeping bag, climbs in, and is out light a light in seconds.
Clio Paxton (17) POV
District 5 female
My first day in the Games has been an overwhelming success so far. I was expecting to just run away from the Cornucopia immediately, as Alicia had advised, but there was a bag just ten feet from my pedestal. I figured I was in no real danger, so I grabbed it. After I grabbed the bag, I noticed a dagger closeby, so I grabbed that as well. No one really noticed me, and I was able to make a quick getaway completely unscathed.
Once I feel like my legs physically can't take me any further, I sit underneath the nearest tree, leaning against the trunk, and decide to go through my bag. At the very top is a loaf of bread wrapped in plastic, and a block of cheese in a plastic box. I'm delighted about the food. I've practiced throwing knives, but I'm not confident in my ability to hit an animal with a knife and not cause major damage to the body. Beyond the food is a small first aid kit, a coil of wire, a bottle of iodine, and a sleeping bag.
I decide to settle in for the night, vowing to look for water in the morning. It takes all of my effort to climb the tree about 15 feet up. My legs and feet have never been this sore in my life. I get in my sleeping bag and cross my ankles around the bottom of the branch, hopefully to keep me from falling out. Just as I'm taking the ribbon out of my hair and combing it through with my fingers, I hear the snap of a twig beneath me. I clutch my dagger in my hand, prepared for the worst, and look down.
It's Alayne, the girl from District 6. She's running around frantically, choking back sobs. What could have happened to her to get such a reaction out of her? Sure, being in the Games is upsetting, but not so much so that she should be calling so much attention to herself. She needs to pull it together.
Out of nowhere, I hear voices.
"Did you hear that?"
"Over here!"
"This way!"
This cannot be happening. Alayne's crying has attracted the attention of the Careers. I pull up my sleeping bag over my head, trying to conceal myself as much as possible. I strain to see what's going on beneath me. It hurts my eyes to be looking at such an extreme sideways angle, but if I try hard, I can see her.
Alayne must be so consumed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the Careers coming for her. I desperately want to call down to her to be quiet and hide, but I know that doing so would be certain death for me. The Careers enter my peripheral; the boy from District 1, and both from 2. I hope this means that the rest of them were somehow killed in the bloodbath, but the logical part of me knows that the rest are probably just guarding their camp.
While Alayne's back is turned to them, the girl from District 2 picks out a tiny throwing knife, and throws it at the girl. The knife lodges in the back of Alayne's neck, and she falls to the ground instantly. A cannon sounds.
"Do you think she's alone?" asks the boy from District 2.
"Yeah, she's alone," says the boy from 1. "Penny and I killed her allies earlier."
"Sh-should we look… look for more?" the girl from 2 asks.
"It's gonna be dark soon," her District partner says. "We should really get back to camp before they show the faces."
As quickly as they came, three of the most dangerous tributes in the Games are gone. And I'm safe for another night.
Conn Rainier (17) POV
District 8 male
After the bloodbath, I took my sword, shield, and bag, and made camp in a clump of trees within eyesight of the Career camp. It's risky, but it gives me easy access to the lake, and I figure no one would think anyone would be dumb enough to camp so close to the Careers. My bag had a packet of dried fruit, a bag of popcorn, an empty pot, fishing line, and a flashlight with batteries.
My arm where the girl from District 10 hit me with her throwing knife hurts, but it's not unbearable, and it's mostly stopped bleeding. All I really think I need to do for it is clean it and get it covered so it doesn't get infected.
Around early evening, I see half of the Career pack leave, probably to go hunting, and the others go to inspect the dollhouse. I decide to try something risky. After ripping off part of my tall sock, I walk out of my willow and into complete vision of anyone who decides to look in my direction. I take my pot and lid and try to move quickly. I run over to the Cornucopia and rifle around silently until I find a lighter and a bottle of iodine. Carefully, I pocket it and sprint over to the lake, filling up my pot and soaking the ripped part of my sock in the water. I take the water back to my willow tree, slower, to keep it from spilling, and set out to purify it. I don't want to light a fire, so I add what I think is the correct amount of iodine, cover it, and wait.
While the water is purifying, I press the damp cloth to my arm and soak up all the blood I can. Then, I cut off the same length from my other sock, and use the dry fabric to cover the wound. Once my water is purified, I drink about half of it, then cover it back up with the lid to keep bugs out. I also allow myself to eat a couple of pieces of dried fruit. Tomorrow, I'll find food that's more filling.
I hear a cannon go off, and this snaps me back into defensive mode. Eleven people have died so far. For all I know, I could be next. Clutching my sword in one hand and my shield in the other, I sit against the tree trunk facing the Career camp, just in case. After what feels like about two hours, the three that went out hunting come back Shortly after, the anthem starts to play. I walk around to the other side of the tree trunk so I can peek out at the sky without being seen, and try to keep track of who's died so far.
First is the girl from District 1. That's surprising. District 1 usually lasts a really long time. I can't help but wonder what happened to her. After her is the pair from 3, and I'm sad that I'm not surprised. They were just kids. The boy from 5. The girl from 6. The girl from 7. Both from 9. I get sad when I see Marsellus, thinking about his death. For a sick second, I'm glad that the girl from District 1 is dead, since she's the one that killed him. Both from District 11. The boy from 12. The anthem finishes, and the sky goes completely dark.
Seeing all of the deaths was way more emotionally exhausting than I thought it would be. My last thought before dozing off on the ground is that I'm glad Calico is still alive.
14th: Alayne Suzuki, District 6 female, killed by Alecto's knife.
Remember to vote on the poll if you haven't already! Your votes may help me decide who's going to win.
1. Whose POV was your favorite?
2. Who do you think will die next?
3. Who are you rooting for?