Night 4: Your Greatest Fear
Lola Hadley 13 District 9
The sun is shining today. The first time it has really done so since we dropped into this awful place.
"Wow that does seem like a long time ago" I say out loud
"What?" Boule asks
"The first day" I reply
"And this is only the fourth day!"
"Well it has been a pretty crazy three days, that's for sure" he remarks
You can say that again.
After a few hours of walking while trying our best to stay hidden from tributes, we come across an abandoned warehouse.
"This looks like a good place to lay low" Boule says
I agree and we head inside however we freeze in shock to find that this place is already occupied! That big alliance that formed during the training is here and there is like 5 of them!
Never the less I take out my nunchucks and prepare to fight!
"Why shouldn't we kill you?" the boy from 5 asks
He is very tall and has a mean expression on his face that I don't like.
"Please! This is my little sister don't hurt her!" Boule pleads
Boule sends me a cheeky wink like he did back in the shop on the day of the reaping's. He knows that will work.
The pretty girl from 5 takes her District partners arm
"I think we should let them stay…what harm would it do?"
Everyone else seems to agree accept the boy from 5.
The pretty girl steps forward
"You can join our alliance" she says
"Thanks! You won't regret this!" Boule exclaims
Aluma Nirel 13 District 11
The sound of the horn echoes through the city again. Night time has come and with it the nightmare dimension has opened! I follow Marshall into the nearest building.
"Get inside" he yells
I'm really getting sick of Marshall. I'm going to ditch him soon but I need to pick the right moment otherwise he will just come after me.
We find ourselves in some sort of reception area with a corridor leading to another room to my right.
Maybe this is my chance to escape?
"I'm just gonna go and see what's in that room" I tell Marshall
I start making my way down the corridor. The lights start to flicker weirdly and the walls turn a plain white.
I notice blood splattered all over the walls, fear floods through me as I see my father's body lying face down on the floor with a gunshot wound in his head! I fall to my knees…unable to move! All I am able to do is just stare at my dead father with the sound of my baby sister crying in the background. This has to be a nightmare! It can't be real!
I pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming but I can feel it! Its real!
Then I see the Peacekeepers that killed my father heading towards me with their rifles aimed at me! My panic attack prevents me from moving! I'm just stuck on my knees on the floor!
I close my eyes
They didn't kill me before and they won't kill me now!
With a push of strength, I hurl myself in the opposite direction to the Peacekeepers back down the corridor.
"Peacekeepers are coming!" I yell to Marshall
They begin opening firing on us as we rush out the building towards to building opposite…
Rayon Ward 14 District 8
The all too familiar horn sounds again as me and Maria wonder the streets of this city to find some shelter from the nightmare dimension. I am glad to have Maria as company rather than the careers. My anxiety has dropped to the point where I feel like I'm not going to have a heart attack any second.
I've found out a lot about Maria during our short time together. About how her family owns a farm and how she names all the animals and all their personalities.
There's Abby, Bert, Gus, Louis, and Francene, oh and carrot-sticks the cat
I've heard you're supposed to count sheep to help get to sleep but it looks like tonight I'll be counting cows.
I also learned about the time she was locked into a cupboard which apparently was the worst experience of her life (yes worse than this!)
We find a small shop that it looks like we can hide in. I push my hand against a door into the shop and it easily cracks open. Inside we find a vast antique shop with various places to hide. Straight away Maria manages to smash a valuable bowl by knocking it off the shelf
"Sorry!" she says
"He need to try and stay quiet" I tell her
I set my stuff down behind an old piano with Maria just behind me.
"Rayon where have you gone?" I suddenly hear a panicked Maria say
I turn around
"I'm right h…"
All I see is a tight metal cupboard about the size of a small child in the place of where Maria was! She's trapped!
"Help let me out!" she screams
I rush over to try and unlock the door
"Just hold on!" I yell
I try to yank the handle but it won't budge…all while Maria is getting more and more panicked!
"Wait here!" I tell her
I run to try and find something to smash it open with when I stop dead in my tracks…
There is a man standing in front of me…he's wearing a balaclava…that's impossible! It's the kidnapper!
"Hello Rayon…it's been a long time" he says
I fall down in terror and smash into some of the antiques on the way down all the while Maria is still screaming
"No! You're no real! This is the nightmare dimension!" I shout
He steps closer to me
"How could you say that about your own father?"
With that he removes the balaclava to reveal the face of my father!
"No!" I scream
With that my body takes control again and I push myself to my feet, charging towards the door however before I am able to get to it two more tributes burst through! It's a young boy and girl I think from District 11 and 12.
The boy shoves me out the way and then I see what they are running from! Two Peacekeepers begin open firing at us! I throw myself to the floor and feel the pieces of the shattered antiques landing on my body.
Then I feel someone grab hold of me!
"How could you abandon me?" my dad snarls
He begins choking the life out of me! I try to yell out for help but it is pointless…I feel around until my hand has a big piece of glass and stab it into my dad's neck! He releases me and groans in pain before fading into dust…
"No…you abandoned me…" I mumble
I'm not really sure what happens next. I can still hear the shooting and chaos. I hear a cannon fire. Next I see the dark skinned boy from 12 above me. He lifts up a knife and prepares to kill me…I have no strength left to fight back… its over
Suddenly a pot smashes over his head and he falls down sideways to the floor, dropping the knife. Standing in his place is the girl from 11. Then I think I pass out…
Maria Marris Morgrove 12 District 10
With a yelp I smash all my weight against the cupboard door in a final ditch effort to escape. Surprisingly it actually comes open and I feel the biggest sense of relief I have ever felt!
It is short lived though because in the next second I hear the sound of gun fire followed by the feeling of pain as I am riddled with bullets. I slouch down onto the floor and everything goes dark…
Maibee Turkish 18 District 14
Angels dead, Devar ditched us and Rayon ran off. This alliance is shrinking all the time and an aura of distrust is building every second! No one trusts each other in this alliance! I don't trust Sahara, she killed Angel, Adonis and Aaron are hiding something and Wolf's ok I guess. Oh yeah and then there's Alayna who looks like she always wants to take my eye out!
We are still held up in the same tower as last night. I know we should start hunting down tributes tonight but everyone is scared of the nightmare dimension (I mean that is kinda the point of it).
"Do you guys hear that?" Aaron asks
"What?" I respond
"It sounds like a…it can't be…" he murmurs
"What?" I repeat
"A snake…its giving me the shivers" he replies
Then I hear a loud hissing! Everyone stands up in panic to see a huge snake curled around the stairs! Its scales are dark green in colour and when it opens its mouth it reveals fangs that must be the same size as my head!
Aaron lets out the an extremely high pitched scream for such a muscly boy which almost makes me burst out laughing if it wasn't for the situation. He collapses on the floor!
"Snake!" he screams
The snake lunges at us sending us scurrying apart from each other in chaos.
My wild dash is halted at the sight of the girl from 6! The girl that I killed on the first night! She is not doing anything…just standing there staring at me.
"Why did you kill me?" she questions
I almost burst into tears
"I'm so sorry…I didn't know" I cry
"Didn't know what?"
Then she transformers into a man…my sadness turns to anger. I know this man! He killed my parents and he took my arm! He raises his gun to shoot me however I let out a cry of anger and slam my metal fist into his chest, he flies back through the glass onto the street outside!
I observe my cybernetic arm
"Maybe this thing isn't so bad after all" I say to myself
Casey Hermes 18 District 6
I turn a street corner, hurrying to get back to the hotel where I have been staying for the past 4 days. Normally I get back before the sound of the horn but I took a wrong turn today so I've ended up in a bit of trouble. Still at least I managed to get a sword.
I reach the steps that lead up to the door of the hotel that I have been staying in but I freeze at the sight of people at the top of the stairs! Who is it? The careers?
It can't be! It's my worst nightmare! It's the gang that attacked and almost killed me all those years ago! There are about 8 of them dressed in dark cloths as usual, armed with knives, crowbars and bats!
My flight instinct takes over as usual and I take off in the opposite direction!
I turn a corner and find myself in a familiar secluded, dimly lit alleyway and of course the metal fence that got me last time! However, this time I am faster than the gang…I toss my sword over the fence and leap onto it just as the gang catch up to me! I haul myself over the fence and hit the cold pavement on the other side before making my escape…
Cordelia Wattson 15 District 3
Sadie is sitting on her own on a crate, starring at the floor. She has been unusually quiet since Prince died. I think she is blaming herself.
I sit down next to her
"Hey" I greet
"Hey" she murmurs
"You know what happened to Prince wasn't your fault right?" I say
"Of course it is…if it wasn't for me he would still be alive"
"You know sometimes things that happen in life are just supposed to happen" I reply
She looks at me like she is surprised that is coming out of my mouth. Yes I quoted Acer.
"That's what I tell myself anyway"
"Fate?" she asks
"Yeah"
Suddenly there is the sound of thunder in the air! Sadie stands up in panic, suddenly she is breathing heavily…
"Lightning!" she screams
"What's wrong?" Rye asks her
"I got hit by lightning before" she exclaims
"I was in a coma for 2 days!"
"Don't worry…the chances of getting hit by lighting are extremely low" I reassure her
Just as I say that a lightning bolt hits the top of the warehouse burning a hole in the roof! Then dozens of birds flood in through the hole. As they get closer they resemble rats…but with wings…
Bastion yelps and dashes for the exit as they swoop down to attack. I follow him outside whilst receiving several bites on my face and body.
"Wait Bastion" I yell
I follow him down the street into a small convenience store where he has taken cover behind the counter.
"Get down" he whispers to me
I hide behind the counter with him
"I always knew birds were just rats with wings" he shivers
"Wait you're afraid of birds?" I ask
He nods
"This all makes sense now…the nightmare dimension is putting our own fears against us" I say
Bastion Oppenheim 16 District 5
Me and Cordelia waited behind the counter until the birds were gone and I mean they had to be 100% gone!
"Come on we need to see if the others are ok especially Sadie" Cordelia tells me
I reluctantly agree and we crawl out from behind the counter. I slowly push the door open and we walk out onto the street. The birds are definitely gone…
I hear some voices
"Do you think we lost it?" A girl asks
"I don't know" a boy responds
I know the girls voice! Its Sahara!
"It's the careers!" Cordelia panics
She pushes her way back into the convenience store and I follow her however it is too late because they spotted us.
Sahara pushes her way into the store with her tall, platinum blond haired district partner. I think his names Wolf. He also has a shotgun in his hands.
I grab a long dagger that I left on the counter.
"What should we do?" Cordelia whispers to me
I don't respond and step out to face them
"Bastion?" Cordelia whispers as she follows me
Wolf aims his shotgun on us. I take my dagger and slash it across Cordelia's throat…she looks at me with shock and betrayal on her face as blood gushes out of her neck.
She begins choking and drops onto the floor face first…a cannon fires
"Well done Bastion" Sahara says
"Remember our deal?" I reply
She rolls her eyes and sighs
"Akosua stays alive" I state
"For now" she agrees
She walks closer to me and brushes her hand under my chin
"You did well to gain their trust Bastion…you acted like a career would have done which, is more than can we said about most of these guys"
She glances at Wolf
"No offense"
"It was as easy as you said it would be" I reply
She smirks
"Did you actually care about any of them?" she asks
"One of them" I state
"Of course…"
"Akosua is your weakness" she states
I shrug
"Maybe"
She goes back towards the door
"So you're going to lead us to the rest of them then?" she asks
"Wait" I say
She turns back to me
"What?"
"The two from 9 joined us earlier…you will need more people" I say
"Alright then… tomorrow lead them to the big tower in the centre and in the meantime…thin the herd a little bit if you can" she says
I nod
She exits the store with Wolf behind her
"See you tomorrow" she calls
Sadie Tempest 17 District 12
I am still sat on a crate, shaking in panic as Rye and Akosua try to comfort me…
"Rye you stay here with Sadie…I'll take Boule and Lola to try and find them" Akosua says
"Is that really a good idea?" he asks
She puts her hand on his shoulder
"Just trust me" she says
Just as they are about to leave the door comes swinging open. Bastion enters with a few cuts a scratches on his face.
"Bastion!" Akosua exclaims
She runs and hugs him
"Where's Cordelia?" I stutter
He sighs and looks at the floor
"She didn't make it…"
A mournful silence fills the room…I stand up and kick the crate in anger!
"What happened" Boule asks
"The careers found us...they killed Cordelia but I managed to lose them" he replies
"I'm…sorry"
Akosua takes him by the hand
"Hey...don't blame yourself" she reassures him
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the twist this time was the tributes greatest fear came alive. Also the other twist was Bastion being a double agent I guess.
Eulogies
Day 1 – Real world
26th: Whisper Collins (District 10 male) Killed by Wolfgang Othello Kelar - Impaled through radio tower.
25th: Satin Tellresh (District 8 female) Killed by Sahara Chrystal – Stabbed in the throat.
24th: Demetria Anderson (District 6 female) Killed by Maibee Turkish – Impaled with katana.
Day 2
23rd: Angel Terminus (District 4 female) Killed by Sahara Chrystal – Shot in the head.
22nd: Acer Lynx (District 3 male) Killed by Akosua Haynes – Stabbed in the eye.
Day 3
21st: Prince Malvanu (District 14 male) Killed by Dexter Cutting replica – stabbed in the chest.
Day 4
20th: Maria Marris Morgrove (District 10 female) Killed by Peacekeepers – shot in the torso. Poor Maria. I felt bad killing her but some people had to die this chapter and unfortunately she was one of the best candidates to die. Sorry Professor Boo.k.
19th: Cordelia Wattson (District 3 female) Killed by Bastion Oppenheim – Throat slit. Cordelia was becoming one of my favourite tributes to write but I didn't really have any plans for her after this. Sorry Andii99
Alive tributes: 18
Deceased tributes: 8
Remaining tributes
District 1
Male: Wolfgang Othello Kelar – 1 kill
Female: Sahara Chrystal – 2 kills
District 2
Male: Adonis Quincy
Female: Alayna Styx
District 4
Male: Devar Wildres
District 5
Male: Bastion Oppenheim – 1 kill
Female: Akosua Haynes – 1 kill
District 6
Male: Casey Hermes
District 7
Male: Aaron Holloway
Female: Bria Goodwin
District 8
Male: Rayon Ward
District 9
Male: Boule Hadley
Female: Lola Hadley
District 11
Male: Rye Kaiet
Female: Aluma Nirel
District 12
Male: Marshall Dust
Female: Sadie Tempest
District 14
Female: Maibee Turkish – 1 kill
District placements
6th: District 3
7th: District 10