Rudi Carlson, 16
District 9 Male
I woke up with a yawn, blinking the dim sunlight out of my eyes. The rain that had lasted through most of the night seemed to have stopped. I sat up, hitting my head against one of the tree branches I'd draped my jacket over.
Most of my clothes were soaked through and I was freezing. The biting wind still hadn't died down. I'd spent the night using my backpack as a pillow, but the lumpy supplies inside gave me a sore neck.
I crawled out from my makeshift tent and pulled my jacket back on. Then I sat on the roots of a pine tree and had a quick breakfast of dried fruit.
After I ate, I hiked my pack up and began to wander. I had nothing to do in mind, but going back to the Cornucopia to get a sword was probably a good idea. The issue was, I had no idea where it was. I didn't remember where I'd stumbled through last night.
The sound of footsteps reached my ears and my muscles tensed. I crouched down and waited, listening to the boots. It seemed like whoever was there was walking away from me.
I chanced peeking out of the undergrowth and saw Cloelia and Wavecrest heading away. An idea popped into my head and I smiled. Carefully, I followed them back to the Cornucopia.
When we were almost there, I darted around them. Neither of these girls had long-range weapons, so I'd stand a chance. I fastened the clips on my backpack across my chest and sprinted for the Cornucopia.
I could see a sword leaning inside, and I snatched it just as Cloelia shouted. I whipped around to face the two of them. Cloelia came at me with a swinging fist and I slashed the sword down her arm. She yelped and crumpled.
I turned to face Wavecrest, who came at me with her fists ready. I sidestepped her punch and slashed the back of her leg before sprinting out of the Cornucopia area.
My breath came in short pants as I sprinted through the woods. I'd done it! I'd managed to snag a sword from the Cornucopia despite facing off against two Careers. Clearly, they'd been a little bit scared of me. Or a lot.
When I stopped running, I realized I had no idea where I was. But I was safe, and armed. I would be coming home to my mom soon. And when I was a victor, no one could touch me.
Candela Watkin, 17
District 5 Female
When I woke up, it was already late in the day. I'd spent most of last night crying myself to sleep, replaying Pascal's gruesome death in my mind over and over again. Just thinking about it made tears spring to my eyes.
A part of me felt like there was no point in trying to win. I couldn't continue on without Pascal. But Millie was back in 5, now an orphan without a big brother to look after her. I had to make it home to her.
I forced myself to stand. Step one was finding food. I hadn't managed to grab anything at the Cornucopia, so I was supply-less. My stomach growled as I climbed out from among the roots of the tree I was sleeping in.
My back hurt from the uncomfortable position and I stretched, letting the bones pop. Then I shook myself and turned to look at the tree. It was a pine. In training, we learned that the inside of pine bark was edible. I scrabbled at the tree with my nails until the fleshy white bark was revealed. It was chewy and gross, but I did feel a bit more full afterwards.
Thunder rumbled in the sky. When I looked up, I could see the dark storm clouds closing in. A few drops of rain spattered my nose and I wrinkled it. My hair, tied in a tight, messy braid, began to frizz and curl, just due to the weather.
I wandered through the woods, tired and sore. My limbs ached. A branch snapped behind me and I froze, closing my eyes and praying silently that it was just an animal.
No one approached me, so I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder. A large, silver-gray wolf was crouched, ready to spring. Its teeth were bared and slobber dripped from its jaws.
With a scream, I took off running. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I tore through the stormy air and thick undergrowth, stumbling over roots and ducking past rocks.
The wolf ran after me, snarling and yipping. A chilling howl rang out from somewhere on my right and I immediately veered left. Another two sets of pawsteps joined the first wolf, but I didn't dare look back.
I rushed past a large boulder, but my foot caught on a root and I fell face-first into the mud. I tried to scramble to my feet, but teeth sank into my ankle and I screamed in pain.
I kicked without thinking and the wolf yelped, jumping away from me. But the other two threw themselves onto my back and tore in. I screamed and screamed through the pain, but eventually, everything felt numb.
'I'm sorry Pascal, I'm sorry Millie', I thought as everything went black. 'I should have done better.'
Asha Morrow, 17
District 12 Female
The sound of a cannon firing made me jump. Mason looked up from beside me and narrowed his eyes at the sky for a moment, blinking away the rain.
"Who do you think that was?" I asked. Mason shrugged.
I frowned. He'd been quieter since we'd entered the arena. Something was clearly bothering him.
"Mason," I said quietly. He turned to look at me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said, shrugging my hand off of his shoulder.
"Mason," I growled. "This really isn't the time to be hiding things from each other. We're a team."
"That's the issue," he sighed. "What happens if it's just you and me at the end?"
I stared at him with wide eyes, but then I shook my head.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," I told him. "For now, we'll stay together and support each other."
Mason smiled.
"Thanks Asha. We do make a pretty good team."
"Of course we do! Hey, the rain is lightening up."
We looked to the sky as the rain finally stopped and the Capitol anthem played. Candela's face appeared in the sky, and Mason and I exchanged a look. So she was the one who died. Good to know.
Mason offered to keep first watch and I rested my head on our backpack, curling up to try and stay warm. Mason leaned against a tree and whispered something I couldn't hear, but instead of questioning him, I rolled over and fell asleep.
Author's Note
Another shortish chapter, and again, not my best work. I've been really tired lately, and hyper-focused on Dungeons & Dragons. I'm writing my own campaign! It's super fun.
But please tell me what you thought of this chapter in a review! Rudi certainly had a narrow escape, didn't he?
Eulogies
13th: Candela Watkin - Killed by wolf mutts
Candela was never going to make it far, especially since Lothario and his team knew she was a rebel. Poor Millie will be left with no one, but Candela had to go. I'm sorry Retronymph. She was a delight to have in my story.
Alliances
The Careers: Hiro Kuromori, Kalmin Brykman, Cloelia Ferro, Wavecrest Lore
Best Friendos: Ceras Ambrette, Hollie Loveland
District Pride: Mason Ambers, Asha Morrow
SOLO (not an alliance): Seraphine Devereaux, Anastasia Valor, Rudi Carlson, Christa Hewey
Kills
Hiro: 1
Seraphine: 1
Kalmin: 1
Cloelia: 1
Lir: 1
Wavecrest: 3
Ceras: 0
Hollie: 1
Anastasia: 1
Rudi: 0
Christa: 0
Sasha: 1
Mason: 0
Asha: 0