Paradise: The 72nd Hunger Games (SYOT!)

by JStar14H

Every year, the Arena and the challenges within it change. This year, the Tributes will fight in an Arena that looks like a Paradise, but with challenges that will take away what they hold dear. And maybe sharks. Or maybe not sharks. Probably sharks. Will there be sharks? Read and find out! Closed SYOT, but, please, still read! This year promises to be as exciting as the past two!

29. Day One

Paradise: The 72nd Hunger Games

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Day One

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Violence exists in them. You have been warned.

Back in the Capitol, in the Gamemaking center, Gamemakers were busy at work, following Tributes with cameras both on drones, wires, in various objects and the sky, and in mini-submersibles. Lucy Snow stood at the center, taking in the scene. She had at first been disappointed by the low amount of bloodshed in the Bloodbath, but then realized that it only meant more opportunities to torture Tributes later. Oh, and that boy had gotten the machete she left for him. Yes, she couldn't wait to see what he did with it… she smiled as she rubbed her hands together with glee. Peter Mallard glanced over at her, and, seeing her smile, felt a shiver go down his spine.

I do not, he decided, want to get on her bad side.

Dante Myers –13- -D6- POV

"Where are Heller and Griffin?" I ask the obvious question when the rest of our group is assembled on the shore of the island we were aiming for and have been waiting for five minutes. Our clothes were wet but have dried some since we've been standing in the hot sun for five minutes. At least as good as it'll get.

"I don't know," Ollie says. "But I heard two cannons go off. My guess is that it's them." The rest of the group nods.

"Yeah," I say. "You're probably right." My goodness. Two dead already. And it's only been what, ten minutes? This is not going well.

"We should get moving," Ollie says. "We're too exposed here on the shore like this."

"Yeah, I agree," Olivia says.

"Doesn't our whole plan rely on the careers seeing us?" Alita asks.

"Yes, but not before we're ready," Valencia says, looking around at our group. "And we're certainly not ready."

"What exactly is the plan again?" Nessa asks.

"Nessa," I say, "we've been through this. The plan is to get to that mountainous island over there," I point in the distance as we start to pick up our stuff to start walking inland, "and set up a static defense. We'll need to make sure that the careers follow us as we get there so that they won't be destroyed too early by someone else or themselves."

"Why?" Nessa asks.

"Because if the careers don't come to kill us, the Gamemakers will. And we have a chance against careers. We don't have one against the Gamemakers," I say. "So, we need to be obvious about where we're going and make sure the careers follow us. Once we get there, that won't give us a lot of time to prepare a defense, but I think that I and Luz can handle it. Right, Luz?"

She nods.

"But if we're being obvious about where we're going and where we are, what's to prevent the careers catching us early?" Nessa asks.

"Because," I say, "we'll send out scouts to go behind the group and make sure they're not too close. If they are, we can walk through the night, which they certainly won't do."

"This sounds like a risky plan," Nessa says.

"It's the Hunger Games," Ollie chimes in. "Everything is risky. Come on guys, once we're a little further into this forest, we can stop for a bit and layout our gear, figure out what we have."

Ollie Rousseau –17- -D8- POV

When we get further into the forest, it turns out that we have a total of eight daggers, two swords, a device presumably supposed to be used to dry our clothes, a net, some fabric, about a day of food and water for each of us, maybe, a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a pack of throwing knives. I and Olivia take the swords, and Valencia takes the bow. Everyone else takes a dagger, and Nessa takes the throwing knives. Once the equipment is dived up, we start walking. I walk with Olivia and Dante, Alita trails not far behind with Valencia, with Eve, Luz, and Nessa taking up the rear.

"How are you doing?" Olivia asks me.

"I'm doing fine," I say. "Not a scratch on me." She looks at me. "I know, I know. I mean, I feel bad for Heller and Griffin, but…" I shrug. "Not everyone can survive." She nods.

"You're right," she says. "I just wanted to make sure." I nod. She turns to Dante.

Dante Myers –13- -D6- POV

"So, Dante, are you sure you can prepare us a defense?" Olivia asks.

I nod. "I think so. I mean, I don't honestly know, but I can tell you that I'll do my best. And," I say, looking up at the sky, where the invisible cameras watch. Where, somewhere back home in District Six, Layna is watching me. "I learned this stuff from the best. She's going to be a world-class engineer someday." I just wish that I would get to see it. Even as just a friend. As her best friend. I can make that happen. I have to make that happen, right? I think of her strawberry smell and her smile and –

"That's good to hear," Olivia says, snapping me back to reality. I look at her, annoyed. She takes a verbal stop from whatever she was going to say and instead says, "Oh. Sorry. She isn't, uh, the girl you mentioned in your interview, is she?"

"Yeah, she is," I say. "She is. She's the one. Er, the girl I mentioned in my interview, that is."

"I get it," she says. "She doesn't feel the same way, huh?"

"Yeah," I say. "But it's not like that. She just isn't that sort of person, and I get that. Honestly, now I just want to get back to her at all. To just be her best friend, you know. I… yeah." I'm not going to say… that to someone who I'll need to die in the next few days.

"I know," she says. She slows a little to look me in the eyes. "Hey, Dante. I know that it didn't work out the way you wanted, but at least you asked. Trust me, it's worse if you don't. At least you're not stuck asking what if. And I know you don't want to hear this right now, but if you do make it back, you'll find someone who you're meant to be with."

"Thanks," I say. "No, really, thank you, Olivia. I wouldn't suspect someone like you to be so knowledgeable about love."

"Someone like me?" She asks as we pick up the pace again.

I blush. "I just, uh, meant that, well… you're a bit of a flirt and all that. You don't seem like someone looking for love."

She smiles. "I know exactly what you meant. But I like seeing people squirm. I know I certainly don't look like it but trust me, I wasn't always like this."

"Oh?" I ask. But she doesn't respond, and we continue walking in silence.

Valencia Bisset –16- -D3- POV

We're walking through the forest when Alita comes a little closer to me and speaks in a low voice.

"Valencia."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that this plan really stands a chance of working?" She asks.

"What do you mean?" I reply.

"I mean this whole run from the careers and then trap them thing," she says. "It seems a bit sketchy. I mean, our trappers are literally twelve and thirteen."

"Yeah, they are, but they're the best we've got," I point out. "And besides, neither of them seem exactly like normally twelve or thirteen-year-olds. Also, we might think they're young now, but it wasn't so long ago that we were their age, was it?"

"I guess," she says. "I'm still not so sure about it."

"Well," I say, "if you've got a better idea, I'm open to it. Other than that…" I shrug.

"I get it," she says. "I get it." She drifts away, and a few minutes later, Nessa comes up to me.

Vanessa "Nessa" Vandermeer –15- -D8- POV

"You volunteered for another girl?" I ask Valencia.

"Yeah," she says. "I mean, you heard my interview. I love her. What else could I have done?"

"I know, it's just… it's amazing to me that you could have done that. I don't know if I could have volunteered for anyone," I say.

"I'm sure you could have," she says. "You seem brave enough. But yeah, I guess it's not a normal thing. But I had also been training for a bit, so I felt confident enough."

"Yeah," I say. "Still, it's just so cool what you've done."

"Thanks," she says. I fall back in our small line again to check on Eve and Luz.

Luzson "Luz" Byrne –12- -D7- POV

"Hey. How are you two doing?" Nessa asks us, drifting back from Valencia and Alita. Eve looks at me, motioning for me to answer. I had also found a small notebook and pencil in one of the bags I grabbed, luckily for me.

I'm doing okay, I write.

"Even with what happened?" Nessa asks.

I wasn't that attached, I say. I mean, I feel bad, but… it was going to happen at some point. I didn't really know him.

"I gotcha," she says. "Eve?"

Everest "Eve" Asher –12- -D12- POV

"I don't know," I say. "I mean, I feel like I should feel bad for Heller, but as Luz said, I didn't really know him and he's just one more person in the way of getting home."

Nessa nods. "Good. I just wanted to make sure that you two were alright."

"Yeah, we're fine," I say. "Thanks for checking though."

Olivia Dean –18- -D11- POV

We reached the end of the island around lunchtime and took a short break to eat before making the crossing to the next island in our direction of travel. I thought I saw something lurking around under the water, but maybe it was just my imagination. We also discovered the biggest problem with this Arena – that the water stays in your clothes and makes you cold. Luckily it's warm right now, so we air dry fairly quickly. But that means no night swimming without that device that Dante has – he says that it warms up your clothing artificially, that it's essentially a big electric heater. Hopefully, we won't need to swim in the night. By the time dusk comes around, everyone is tired of walking and we've reached the beach of the second (or third, if you count the Cornucopia) island today. We decide to make camp and start a fire. A key part of our strategy is making fires big enough to be spotted by the careers so that they'll know where we are. I gathered some firewood with Dante and Luz as the others took some water from the ocean and set up camp. We don't have any sleeping bags or even a tent, so I guess it's lucky that we have this nice, soft beach to lay down on. After a short, uneventful dinner, we all fall asleep, except for me, as I have first watch. Right before that though, our thoughts are confirmed when we see Heller and Griffin's faces in the sky. Poor guys. But, this is the Hunger Games, I suppose.

Eric Torres –17- -D2- POV

"There!" I shout as I see a plume of smoke in the dusky sky.

"Where?" Sabine asks excitedly.

"There," I repeat, pointing to the giant plume of smoke. "That's in the right direction, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," says Ariadna, raising her head only slightly from her sleeping bag. "Tomorrow, we go there."

"Yeah," I say.

"How stupid are they?" Blaze asks. "A big fire with big smoke? They must know they'll be there."

"Yeah, I don't know," I agree. But what if they aren't being stupid? What if they know we're coming? What if it's a trap? "We set out tomorrow. Until then, I'll take first watch."

"No arguments from me," Ariadna says with a yawn. "Night all."

"Goodnight," various people respond.

Ariadna Starsgaard –16- -D4- POV

I wonder if the Outliers really are that stupid. I feel like they might be, but then again, they do have Valencia. She can't be that dumb. Or maybe she can. I guess we'll just see. As I drift off to sleep, I realize that by tomorrow, I'll be seventeen. Seventeen in the Hunger Games. I'm already two steps closer to winning, to getting what I need. Just twenty-one steps left.

Blaze Herrscher –18- -D1- POV

We had essentially sat around all day, waiting for the Outliers to give us a sign of where they were, as we weren't able to see where they swam off to from the Cornucopia. If they didn't leave some stupid trace like they did, we would have conducted a grid search starting tomorrow. I have to admit that waiting for so long irked me, but it makes sense. No use heading off if we leave in the opposite direction from where they're going. And we do need to kill them first. As much as none of us will admit it, they could be a threat to us if they stay organized. I just need to get home to help Wonder. I just need to get home.

Aislie Dellarouse –18- -D1- POV

Waiting for this long sucks, but I know it's necessary if we intend to win. After all, we need to take out the Outliers first, they could be a threat. Maybe they'll kill themselves first, but I doubt it. That would be too easy. And not as much fun.

Sabine Allaire –18- -D2- POV

A day with careers is certainly – interesting. No one makes small talk or really chats at all, apart from what is necessary. It's clear that we are enemies, only working together temporarily for a common goal. Soon, we will be killing each other. We're not friends, and there's no need to pretend that we are.

Aphelios Asturias –18- -D4- POV

One boring day has passed. I still haven't killed anyone. But soon. Tomorrow, we start the hunt for the Outliers. Tomorrow, the real Games begin.

Mouse "Mo" Conen –18- -D3- POV

I walked inland on my island a bit, getting into the thick forest, before setting out camp. With the knife, I quickly managed to grab the materials for a small fire, to be lit later when I need it. Then I laid out the sleeping bag that comes with the survival kit and, although I have enough food, decided to do a small bit of hunting to pass the time. Returning to my camp with two small rabbits, I cooked one and ate it for dinner before falling asleep. So far, this isn't hard. It seems like it'll be easy for me to get back home with all the money I could ever need.

Casca Ishtar –15- -D5- POV

I can't stay on this island, I decide as I look around at the small, sandy island. There is no cover and I can still see the Cornucopia from here. I can also see the other side of the island from here. Standing here is just asking to be shot by someone with a bow, and I would rather not have that happen. So I walk over to the other side of the 'island' and take another dive into the water, headed in the general direction of 'away' as I don't see any other islands in the immediate area. After swimming for a few minutes, I see what looks like land further away. Hmm, I should check that out. As I get closer to it, I begin to see something ringing the island. It's… what do they call those things again? I struggle to recall an unimportant piece of knowledge from school. It's – a coral reef! Right, a coral reef. Small fish swim around the brightly colored reef, darting away as I approach. Hmm. Easily scared fish, I guess. As I approach the reef further, I notice the small waves that break on the reef, making the landing on the soft, sandy beach further in relatively calm. I decide to stop for a second and turn around, trying to gauge how far I've come. Hey, what's that? I spot something gray in the water moving towards me. Slowly, almost as if it's stalking me. It's a triangle, like a – crap! It's a shark! I feel my heart rate spike and the shark must know it's been spotted, as it darts towards me. Crap! Crap! I reach for my dagger, fumbling at first, but eventually managing to grab it. I take a deep breath and plunge below the water to face the shark head-on.

And I am greeted by the shark head-on. Its face seems only inches from me, artificially blue eyes glowing at me in a way that sends shivers down my spine. It opens its mouth and I can clearly see the rows of artificially sharpened teeth. It's clear that this shark is no natural beast, but instead a mutt, some horror dreamed up by the Gamemakers. And, I realize, that instead of chomping of my leg, it's going to chomp of my head, now that I've conveniently stuck it right there. I lash out, stabbing the shark in the roof of its open mouth as it swims towards me. It's evidently shocked and I pull the dagger out as blood begins to flow from the wound. Ow! My arm got caught on a tooth and now I'm bleeding, as well as the shark. The shark had stopped its attack momentarily from the shock of being stabbed, but now my blood seems to have reinvigorated it. I dive downwards as the shark approaches, banging my arm on some coral as the shark flashes past above me. It realizes it has missed though, and, right as I turn around to face it again, it swims at me, blood still trailing from its mouth. I'm pretty sure that most sharks would have given up by now, but this one is, of course, designed to fight until the very last drop of blood has drained from its veins. I can already feel myself getting low on air, a problem the shark doesn't have. I raise my dagger again as it swims at me, calculating to hit it – yes! My dagger hits the shark right in the eye and goes in. Blood spurts from the eye and I continue, driving the dagger further in and twisting until the shark stops swimming. I attempt to yank the dagger free of the bleeding and now slowly sinking shark, but I'm unsuccessful and eventually just give up as my lungs scream for air. My arm is still bleeding, in two places now. One, a large cut from the shark, and another, smaller cut from the coral.

I surface, taking in large gulps of air. My eyes burn, I think there's blood in them. Both the shark's and mine. It's hard to see and they tear up in an attempt to get the foreign substance out. My hair and clothes are completely soaked and the cuts are starting to burn. Shore. I need to get to shore. Looking at the blurry picture of the world I can see through my teary eyes, I start to swim, lopsided and weak, towards the island that was my original target. Right as I think I'm close to the shore, I feel something scrape my leg but ignore it. My guess is that it's coral close to the shore, or maybe a particularly sharp shell or rock. I swim onto the sandy beach, flopping down on my back once the water no longer covers me. Then I realize that a wave must have just gone out as another one comes in and washes over me. I swear they added salt to this water, my cuts are burning like crazy. I slowly roll over and begin to climb up the beach until I'm past the point where the waves come in. I hear a noise, a soft scuttling, and look up slowly. A crab stands in front of me, looking at me, almost with curiosity.

"Hey," I say to the crab. "If you're here to kill me, go for it. I'm not going to put up a fight right now. I can't even reach my weapons." I motion weakly to the kit strapped to my back, which, in addition to my survival gear, contains my throwing knives, the only weapons I have left.

The crab clicks its claws together as its only response.

"What's your name?" I ask.

More clicking is my response.

"I'm going to call you Bob," I say. "You like that?"

Bob the crab clicks one last time and scuttles off.

"I guess that Bob is some sort of insult in crab language," I mutter. I have no desire to get up right now. I'm in immense pain and, now that the adrenaline has worn off, immensely tired.

I don't know how long I lay there, but my guess is that it's only a few minutes before the tiredness wears off and the pain comes front and center. But, in the end, I didn't get up because of the pain. I got up because of the cold. The water that drenched my clothes and was stuck to my skin was making me freeze in the relatively colder air. So I decided to get up. I stumble up the hill of the beach until I reach the forest, grabbing some small branches from around the area and throwing them into the pile. Then I throw off my backpack (the survival kit conveniently comes in backpack form), and grabbing the flint and steel from the pack. Using that, I light the small fire, feeling the warmth soak through my body. It's not quick enough though and I'm still shivering, so I take off the shirt and pants, thoroughly soaked from my swim, noting that the right arm of my shirt is almost completely red, as is the left pant leg. Crap. Laying out the clothes on the floor to dry, as I don't have anything else (who thought cotton would be a good idea?), I examine my wounds and figure out why they had started to burn. Sand. The darn sand had washed up into the cuts, causing the burning sensation. As I look through the kit for some medical supplies – I need to disinfect and bandage the cuts –, I notice something else. Everything else is soaked through. If I had any hopes of finding a towel (which I did), they're gone. I lay out the soaked sleeping bag and note that at least the food and water bags were waterproof, but the pack itself and the pack of throwing knives are a complete loss as far as being waterlogged goes, they'll need time to dry off. At least the medical kit is also waterproof. I open it and clean my wounds, then bandage them. I've still lost a good bit of blood, but with the fire going, I'm finally dry and warm, apart from where my hair hits my back. Grabbing a knife and the bloody arm of my shirt (debatable if I should cut that arm off or not. Is it sanitary to wear something soaked in blood?), I make a quick hair tie to get my hair off my back. It won't dry, but I can now. Then I grab a quick bite of food and then hold my clothes over the fire to dry them quickly – and even then it takes a good five minutes and they almost put the fire out with dripping. Once that's done, I cut off the arm of the t-shirt before putting it back on. Looking up at the sky, I see that it's almost nighttime. Well, time to go to sleep, I guess. Is the sleeping bag dry? Yeah, not really. I also dry that over the fire, careful not to let it fall in. Once that's done, I curl up inside it right before the Anthem plays. The boy from Twelve and the boy from Seven. Makes sense. Tomorrow, I'll need to get a more permanent camp set up and do some hunting. Hopefully, I'm far enough away from the Cornucopia to not be bothered for a bit. Hopefully.

Levi Nasue-Keenly –15- -D5- POV

I look around the island I've landed on. Nice enough place. It seems fairly big and to be of a moderate climate. I see a forest inland and to my right, a large open field inland and to my left, and another forest on the far left side of the field. I decide to head into the closest forest, walking a moderate distance before deciding to set up camp and see what I have. Opening the backpack, I find three ration bars and eight small packs of water. Nice. I eat one of the ration bars before grabbing a throwing knife and using it to cut down some small branches from the nearby trees, which is harder than one would think. By rubbing the sticks together, I eventually get a fire started, which is good, considering that I'm shivering by this point. I realize that my clothes are part of the problem (another part being that I'm not in sunlight. Had I stayed on the beach, that might have been a better idea from a drying perspective, as this shade isn't helping.), as they're water-soaked and cold, so I take them off, drying them separately before returning them to my body. Why didn't they give us wet suits or something that wouldn't get soaked? Whatever. Anyway, I do a quick bit of hunting, returning with a squirrel, before dinner (squirrel, yum), and bed. I notice that the boys from Seven and Twelve are dead. Only two down. Twenty-one to go if I want to win. My goodness.

Miria "Ria" Wallace –16- -D6- POV

I feel like I did the right thing by not staying in the water too long, because my clothes are barely wet when I get out again, laying on the soft, hot sand to dry them before continuing on. Wet clothes in a dark forest is a very bad idea because they'll stick to your body, trapping the water and the cold. Anybody who's been swimming knows that as soon as you get out of your swimsuit, you dry much faster and are immediately warmer. That's not really an option here, so getting the least amount of water is key. After that, I make sure that no one from the Cornucopia can see me, as I'm not that far away, and, once confirming that no one is looking my way, I dart into the forest of my chosen island. Unlike some of the other ones, which resemble temperate forests or rain forests, this forest almost resembles a cold-weather forest, with tall trees with thin canopies, leaving large gaps in the canopies as I walk past giant trees. It's actually sort of cool, very atmospheric. I decide to walk for as long as I can, grabbing a ration bar when I feel hungry. I'm stopped at dusk, which is probably a good thing anyway, when I reach something very awe-inspiring. I mean, incredibly dangerous, but also very inspiring. At the other edge of the island was a chasm. I mean, like a chasm. The ground falls off suddenly, at essentially a vertical slope like a cliff. Except that at the bottom of this long fall past gray rock is not more rock or forest, but instead a fast-rushing river. On the other side of the gorge, a waterfall runs from the other island down the sheer cliff face on that side, combining with the current from the ocean to make a rushing, tumultuous river. Sharp, gray, rocks occasionally peek out from under the surface of the water, probably more than eighty feet below. If you could survive the fall and managed not to land on one of those rocks, already an unlikely proposition, then you would almost certainly die from being smashed against one or more of them. I can hear the river rushing past below, and see the pristine greenery and beautiful forest meadow that sits directly across the perhaps only thirty feet wide river. Only thirty feet away, but still very impassable. I have an idea to cross it, but as it was getting dark, I decided to set up camp for the night, quickly making a fire from the wood laying around and on the trees, and eating a ration bar before going to sleep right after the Anthem (Poor Griffin and Heller. Then again, I guess that if I want to win, they have to die. Why does it have to be this way?). The sound of the rushing river and the beauty of the forest lull me to sleep quickly.

Toby Green –17- -D9- POV

In the backpack, I found a small amount of food and water. After that, I decided to explore the island. It turns out that I had chosen, of all places, a desert island to swim to. At least I was nice and warm. It had a small desert forest, similar to that of the 70th Games, and some small wildlife. I killed an easy hare with my machete before making the decision of whether I should stay or go. I eventually decide to stay. After all, I can't take the hare through the ocean and I doubt that anyone really wants to come here, so I should be safe for now. Until the Gamemakers decide to come get me, that is. But I'll just have to move by then. But for tonight, I'll stay here. So, I make a small camp and have some hare for dinner before heading to sleep on the hard desert floor. Two Tributes down. I wish it was more, because the more people are eliminated, the quicker I can see Lola again. Do I feel bad for them? Of course. But, they had to die at some point. Maybe it's better that they got it over with quickly. Ugh. This is horrible, this whole thing. I'm going to sleep.

Freya Huede Swindlehurst –15- -D10- POV

"Well," I say to Rudolf once we've arrived on our island. There's a forest to our left and inland, a large, open field inland and to our right, and another forest to the right of the large plain. "What now?"

"Let's head inland," he says. "Get out of sight."

"Good idea," I say. "I just hope we'll dry off soon. I'm freezing."

He nods as we start to walk into the treeline. Once we're there, he rummages through his bag. I have to admit, he looks sort of cute with his hair all wet like that. "Ah-ha!" He says, pulling out a rough piece of fabric. "A towel!"

I look at the piece of fabric skeptically. "Are you sure you want to use that on your skin?"

"Hey, I never said you have to," he says. "If you don't want to use it, I'm happy to." I shiver again and notice him doing the same.

"Nope, I'll take it," I decide. I grab the towel from him and quickly dry my skin under my clothes, then try the best to get the water out of the soft fabric weave. Unfortunately, it doesn't come away very easily, but I get enough of it out not to freeze to death before handing the towel to Rudolf. "Oh, wait!" I say, snatching the towel back and quickly drying my damp hair as best as I can. "I need a hair tie," I mutter. Rudolf laughs as he takes the towel back and starts to dry himself.

"Why?" He asks. He lifts his shirt to stick the towel under and I catch a glimpse of his abs, forcing myself to glance away quickly and not stare. "You look just fine."

"My hair's wet and this way it'll make my whole back wet," I explain. "If I could put it up, that would fix the problem, but I need a tie or a clip or something to do that, and I don't have anything like that."

"Ah, I see," he says. "See, the nice thing about being a guy is that we don't have to worry about that stuff as long as we keep our hair short."

"Yeah," I mutter. "There are a lot of nice things about being a guy."

"Really?" Rudolf asks. "How so?"

"You guys get the easy part of kids, for starters," I say. "Us women have to do all the work if we want kids."

"Fair point," he says.

"Besides, you all have much lower behavioral standards. You know how good I have to be?" I ask.

"I don't think that's a fair assessment," Rudolf replies. "I've known some girls who did some pretty bad stuff and never got punished for it. And if I step one toe out of line, my dad will come down on me like a thunderstorm."

"Okay, fair point," I say. "But still, sometimes it feels like women get the short end of the stick."

"But you get all the beauty," Rudolf replies.

"What?" I ask, fighting a blush.

Rudolf Urs Huber –16- -D10- POV

"I, uh, just meant, that, uh, you know, I, uh… I don't know," I collapse. There's no good answer to her question. I had said it stupidly because I was thinking of how cute she looked and that I'm just, well, me. Of course, women think men are attractive too, so there's really no difference there. I'm sure everyone has thought that someone is else is beautiful and they're just them. And I can't answer her question without revealing my original thought. "Let's just, uh, catalog our gear and set up a camp, okay?"

She laughs. A nice sound. I don't think I've heard her laugh too much before. "Uh-huh. Let's."

We turn out to have about a day of food and water each, a large knife, which I take, a small knife, which Freya takes, and the towel. We do a quick bit of hunting, I kill a rabbit, which Freya butchers as I gather firewood. We make a small fire and eat rabbit for dinner, before watching the sky.

"The boy from Seven and the one from Twelve," I say. "Only two so far. A slow Games, I guess."

"Yeah," Freya says. "I guess that's a good thing."

"How so?" I ask.

"Oh, uh, uh, nothing, I guess," she says. "Goodnight, Rudolf. Wake me up in six hours."

"Will do, Freya. Goodnight." She lays down on the forest floor, and after a few minutes, she's asleep. Her face relaxes and she looks like a beautiful angel as she sleeps. I smile, leaning back against a tree for my watch.

Freya Huede Swindlehurst –15- -D10- POV

What I meant was that a slower Games means that there will be more time with Rudolf before… well, I don't want to think about that.

Elias McKellen –12– -D11- POV

I find that in my backpack was only one tiny ration bar and a small pack of water. On the forested island I landed on, after I air dry quickly (I hadn't been in the water that long), I go out hunting, killing a small squirrel. I decide not to make a fire though and just keep walking, carrying the dead animal, until sunset, when I finally make a small fire and eat the squirrel for dinner. I see a plume of smoke in the direction that I was traveling and decide not to go that way anymore when I set out again tomorrow. The Anthem plays right before I go to sleep. Two Tributes down. Only twenty-one to go. I just hope that I won't be among the twenty-one dead.

A/N: This chapter honestly turned out longer than I expected it to, but I'm happy with that! Let me know what you guys thought, I hope you liked reading it as I liked writing it! Day Two coming soon! (TM)

The Fallen:

24th: Heller Horvath, 14M, D12. Killed by a sword through the heart by Eric Torres.

23rd: Griffin Jefferson, 14M, D7. Killed by a trident through the chest by Ariadna Starsgaard.

Capitol odds as they appeared at the end of Day One:

Blaze Herrscher: 1:6

Aislie Dellarouse: 1:6

Sabine Allaire: 1:6

Eric Torres: 1:6

Mouse Conen: 1:22

Valencia Bisset: 1:14

Aphelios Asturias: 1:6

Ariadna Starsgaard: 1:6

Levi Nasue-Keenly: 1:66

Casca Ishtar: 1:110

Dante Myers: 1:34

Miria Wallace: 1:22

Griffin Jefferson: 0:0

Luzson Byrne: 1:44

Ollie Rousseau: 1:26

Vanessa Vandermeer: 1:26

Toby Green: 1:26

Alita Whicker: 1:26

Rudolf Huber: 1:30

Freya Swindlehurst: 1:28

Elias McKellen: 1:220

Olivia Dean: 1:26

Heller Horvath: 0:0

Everest Asher: 1:33