Azo Cashmere, 16: District 8 Female
Some things don't work
Some things are bound to be
Some things, they hurt
And they tear apart me
The sun finally starts to illuminate the arena once again, marking the end of my watch. One by one, I wake up Isaak, Tomaz, and Tyler. They all groggily sit up, rubbing their eyes and stretching. Tomaz looks especially funny with his hood over his head, strings pulled tight, only leaving his eyes and nose visible as he leans against the wide trunk of a tree. He removes his hood, revealing his now messy red hair.
"Good morning," I say just loud enough for the three guys to hear.
"Mornin'," Isaak huffs, grumpy as usual.
"Good morning to you too," Tyler says, already up and alert.
"I guess we're going to be on the move again soon?" Isaak says, looking in Tomaz's direction.
"Dude, I'm barely even conscious," Tomaz says, yawning again. "I'm not going anywhere until I actually wake up for real. Plus I'm hungry."
"Well, this is the Hunger Games," Tyler jokes. I giggle a little bit, but it's clearly too early for either Tomaz or Isaak to find anything remotely amusing. They both simultaneously roll their eyes.
"Anyways," Isaak starts. "Get some food in you so you don't starve or whatever."
"You do the same," Tomaz says. "Starving would be an embarrassing way to go out."
We all take about ten minutes to eat breakfast before packing up our things. Then we're on the move once again. Every time we've trekked through the arena, I've noticed that we haven't run into any other tributes. I don't know whether to credit that to the size of the arena or if everyone else is just staying hidden. Or maybe Tomaz's plan is actually effective. Well, at least part of it. Constantly being on the move has helped us avoid confrontation, but I don't think it's going to keep the gamemakers interested like Tomaz said it will. The Capitol loves drama, and we haven't been in any sort of drama since the bloodbath. The gamemakers might be holding off right now, but it's still only the third day. After a while, even they will get bored. Then they will start trying to put us in danger so they can keep the rest of the Capitol entertained.
Who knows when it'll happen? They might already be getting bored. They're always watching us, and they probably already have something planned for us. They could very well just be waiting for us to walk right into it. As much as I hate to admit it, the District 3 girl, Arti, dying yesterday could've saved us. It might take something else like that happening again today to keep the Capitol audience engaged and the gamemakers at bay. Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't involve us.
Kaven Brock, 15: District 10 Male
You've got one time to figure it out
One time to twist, and one time to shout
One time to think and I say we start now
Sing it with me if you know what I'm talking about
Another morning has been spent doing absolutely nothing. It looks like I'm spending another day just sitting here, staring at the same person who held me back as the girl from 6 killed Kaliah. But Callum could also be the reason that I woke up today. I guess his little spiel the other day may have actually had some semblance of truth to it. It sounded like something that Clint would've said. I guess it just took experiencing how quick someone's life could be taken away for me to understand that I'm not untouchable like I thought I was.
I reach out and grab the water bottle we've been sharing since day one. I notice that it's nearly empty. If I finish the rest of the water now, not only will I be hydrated, but we'll have to get up and move. I quickly chug down the rest of the water with a few big gulps. When I'm done, I stand up and walk over to Callum, trying to look as disappointed as I can be given the fact that I'm more than happy that we'll finally be doing something besides sitting around like a lame duck.
"Callum," I sigh. "We're out of water."
"What?" He responds. "We shouldn't already be out."
"Well, we are," I say.
"Did you drink it all?" Callum asks.
"Maybe," I say. Callum's expression morphs from surprised to irritated.
"Kaven, you're joking right?" he says.
"What? I was thirsty," I say in defense.
"But what if I get thirsty?" he asks. "Did you ever think about that?"
"You'll be fine," I say. "We'll find some more water."
"There might not be any water," Callum says.
"You won't know for sure unless we look first," I say. Callum puts his hand on his chin, thinking about what he should do.
"Let's go," he says.
"Sweet!" I say, maybe a little too loud based off of Callum's slight wince. I march ahead before he even stands up.
"Kaven, slow down," he says.
"Nah man, you need to speed up," I say, not even turning around to check if he's behind me. I hear his footsteps though, so there's no need to look.
We walk through the forest for a good twenty minutes, passing by gigantic tree after gigantic tree. With every one of them looking almost the exact same, it's hard to keep track of where we are, but I'm just happy to finally be up and moving for once. When I finally look back, Callum doesn't look happy at all, but that's his problem. Callum got to have a day and a half of doing what he wanted to do, so I think it's only fair the we do what I want today.
"Kaven, I don't think we're going to find any water," Callum says. "If you wanted to move you should've just told me."
"We'll find some water," I say. "Just hold on."
I keep pressing on through the forest, now somewhat regretting downing the rest of our water. Maybe I should've just told Callum like he said. But I can't let him know that I'm having second thoughts now. Who knows what he'll say to me if I do that?
Just when I start seriously considering telling Callum that I had a bad idea, the tree cover starts becoming more spread out and the ground begins to slope downward. Not long after, we approach a clearing in the trees. There's a huge lake right in the middle of the clearing, filled with water that looks safe enough to drink. I look back at Callum with a huge grin on my face.
"Told you we'd find it."
Ancatha Adrienez, 18: District 2 Female
Oh here, oh here
I ask myself, what am I doing here?
Oh here, oh here
And I can't wait 'til we can break up outta here
Alto slams his free hand on the Cornucopia wall as I change the bandages on his wrist. His lips curl inward as he shuts his eyes when I clean the wound. He hisses and tries to pull his arm away, but I have a tight grip on him. He still tugs his arm to his body in an attempt to stop me from wrapping the wound again.
"Hold still," I say, tightening my grip on his wrist. "You're only going to make it worse."
"But it fucking hurts," Alto says, still trying to pull away.
"No shit it hurts," I say. "You took a crossbow bolt to the wrist and another to the shoulder. You're not invincible."
"But I'm not a fucking pussy either," he says. "I don't need it wrapped anymore."
"If you don't keep it wrapped it'll get infected," I say. "Then we'll have to chop it off."
Alto immediately stops pulling away. I guess he doesn't want to lose an arm after all. I finish wrapping up his wrist and shoulder with the rest of the roll of tape. Soon after finishing, Jason walks up and sits down next to Alto.
"So you know this means that you're not leaving here for a few days, right?" Jason says.
"Like hell I am," Alto says. "When we go hunting today I'm going right for that bitch from 11."
Jason scoffs at Alto's rash statement.
"Just so you know, that 'we' doesn't include you," he says. "You're staying here. End of discussion."
"Fuck that shit," Alto says, starting to stand up. Jason shoves his shoulder. Alto lets out a yelp of pain as he's forced to sit back down.
"Like I said, you're staying here," Jason says. "Ancatha, do you mind staying back with me to make sure Alto doesn't run off?"
"Sure, that's fine," I say. Although I really would prefer to get away from Alto, I'm not going to go against what Jason says. At least he'll be here with me to keep Alto in check, which is never a one-person job.
"Jason, we're going to go now," Cyrus says. "We'll have Annese take us to the river. If we see 6 and the elevens, we'll take care of them."
"Oh, come on," Alto interjects.
"Shut up," Jason says. "You guy go on. And come straight back if you don't find anyone or if something goes wrong."
Alto glares at Annese, Cyrus, and Cece as they leave the Cornucopia and into the woods. I hope they all come back in one piece. After what the girl from 11 did to Alto, I'm not so certain that the outer district tributes are afraid of us, and there's no good possible outcome if that's the case.
Taj Pavonis, 17: District 6 Male
I want to taste your content
Hold your breath and feel the tension
Devils hide behind redemption
Honesty is a one-way gate to hell
Only one cannon has gone off since the bloodbath, that cannon being the one for the District 3 girl as I remember seeing her face in the sky last night. It's a shame that such a young soul had to go, but that's the way of the Hunger Games. Twenty-three people have to die in order for me to return home.
I squat down by the river and take a few sips of water. I splash some on my face a few times to wipe off some of the dirt and grime off of my face. I'm a decent distance from where I set up camp, and I don't really have anything to defend myself with in my backpack. For that reason, I plan on keeping my trip to the river short. In fact, it's about time for me to go now.
I'm walking along the bank of the river when I hear some rustling in the bushes. Through the bushes, I can make out the figure of someone moving. In a move that is probably the worst decision to make in the Hunger Games, I pause and watch as the figure makes its way through the bush. When they get to the other side, I meet the icy blue eyes of the District 1 girl. Right behind her are her district partner and the girl from District 4. I waste no more time people watching. I take off running in the direction of my camp.
The girl from 1 is right on my tail, but she and her allies are falling behind. I'm a little bit faster than all three of them. I know I can make it back to my camp before they actually get me. Hell, I might be able to lose them, but then I wouldn't be able to go straight back to my camp. I can't afford to be lost, especially not in this arena where everything looks the same.
The Careers are still giving chase as I approach the hill that my camp sits atop. In a final burst of speed, I sprint up the hill. The District 1 girl is still following me close behind. When I get up to top of the hill where the ground is flat, I have a few more steps to prepare to launch. When I am right in front of the logs that I laid on the ground, I jump, clearing the row of dead tree branches on the forest floor.
The District 1 girl doesn't jump. Instead she keeps on running right onto the logs on the ground. The logs roll under her feet, uncovering the deep hole I dug into the ground. She falls in, and as she reaches to grab something to hold onto and prevent her fall, she hits the bottle of alcohol I placed next to the hole, knocking it over. The bottle fall into the pit with her, spilling its contents all over her skin and clothes. She hits the bottom of the pit, letting out a scream the indicates that she's hurt in some fashion. Good fortune couldn't have struck at a better possible time.
Remembering that her allies aren't far behind, I take the matchbox I kept in my back pocket out and pull out a match. I strike it, lighting a small flame at the end of the matchstick. Just as the two other Careers crest the hill, I drop the match into the pit. The pit is immediately engulfed in flames. The girl from 1 starts screaming a terrifying, disturbing scream of extreme pain. By the sheer volume of the shrieks, she has to be shredding her vocal cords. The girl from 4 and the boy from 1 both start trying to make their way around the fire, but I quickly grab the Molotov cocktail I prepared earlier this morning.
"Stay back!" I yell over the screams of the District 1 girl. "Or you'll burn too."
The two Careers stop dead in their tracks, slowly backing away before turning around and running back the way they came. A small smirk creeps up on my face as I sit down on the ground. I watch as their precious little ally gets consumed by the fire. She's still screaming at the top of her lungs. I even see her hand reaching up out of the flame, the exposed skin layers completely destroyed and falling off. I can even see some of the muscle and bone. The sleeve of her hoodie has partially burned into her flesh, creating an interesting patchwork of olive green and pale white. I have to applaud her for her resilience in the face of certain death, but when fire decides to take a victim, it never loses. It will consume them much like a human will consume a meal. The flames dance a sick but fascinating dance as the girl struggles against it. But her struggle is futile. The flames always lead the dance, no matter how much one struggles against it. I have long come to terms with this. If only she too would accept this fact of life. Then maybe she wouldn't have to die in so much pain and agony.
A minute later, the District 1 girl's screams started to get quieter. Her hand disappeared into the flames once again. I guess she finally understands that there is nothing that can be done to save her. It's always refreshing to see others relinquish their sovereignty to the flames. The girl's screams have stopped completely now.
BOOM
Now satisfied, the flame starts to disappear. I watch as the dancing streaks of red, orange, and yellow become no more, revealing the charred remains of the girl from District 1. I leave my camp once again, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air as I walk away. I'm confident that the other Careers won't come back for me after the 1 boy and 4 girl tell their other allies what happened. Even if they do come for me, I can rest assured that while I might not with these Games, the flames will always prevail.
André Barley, 18: District 11 Male
Let's get lost and let the good times roll
Let smoke rings from this paper doll
Blow sweet and thick till every thought of it don't mean a thing
I got some color back, she thinks so too
I laugh like me again, she laughs like you
That was the second cannon to go off since the bloodbath, and the ninth overall. It should've been the tenth cannon, but after Niobe shot and injured Alto, my cannon was left to fire off another day. That day might come soon, considering my vulnerable state. My right leg still hurts a lot. I hardly got any sleep last night because of the intense, searing pain. It's wrapped up in medical tape and healing okay, but I still can't put any weight on it. The only good thing I got out of this is an extra knife. I wanted to let Niobe have it, but she said that I should keep it in case I have to defend myself. Like I'd ever use it on someone. I try to get up, putting most of my weight on my left leg, and hobble over to sit on a large rock. I hiss at the pain of even just dragging along my injured leg.
"André, are you good?" North asks.
"About as good as I can be with a bum leg," I reply.
"Does it still hurt?" she says.
"Fuck yeah it still hurts," I snap. "There was a knife in my leg less than twenty-four hours ago."
"Damn André, chill out," North says. "I was just checking on you."
"Guys, don't start," Niobe says. "I'm tired of listening to y'all argue all the time."
"Whatever," I say.
"André, you need to fix your attitude," Niobe says. "I don't care if you're hurt, but North is only trying to help."
"Well— "
I'm cut off by the sound of something similar to chimes coming from the sky. North, Niobe, and I immediately stop our conversation and look around for the source of the sound. Niobe has her crossbow ready just in case we're in some sort of danger. However, to everyone's relief, the familiar metallic shine of a sponsor's gift catches our eye, floating down seemingly from the treetops attached to a parachute. It hits the ground about ten feet from where we're sitting. We all just stare at it for a moment, surprised that someone would actually want to sponsor one of us.
"I'll go get it," North says, standing up and walking to the container. She brings it back over to us and opens it. Inside is a small slip of paper on top of a plastic bottle.
"What does it say?" Niobe asks.
"It says to take two pills a day for pain relief," North says. "It must be for you, André."
"Really?" I ask incredulously.
"Well, shit," North says. "You're the only one of us that's hurt."
North grabs her backpack and fishes out her water bottle. She opens the medicine bottle and pours out two pills. She holds out the water bottle and pills. I take them and quickly gulp down the meds. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for it to kick in.
"Feel any better yet?" North asks.
"No, not yet," I say. "I'll let you guys know in a few minutes."
I stretch my leg out so that it's resting straight out in front of me. While the pain is still there it's already dulled down significantly. I wiggle my foot a little which makes it hurt a little more, so I'm not going to try moving it for a while. But in its resting state, the pain slowly starts to fade away. Soon enough, there's no more pain.
"Guys, I think the medicine is working."
Tomaz Wellflower, 12: District 5 Male
The pain is deep
A silent sleeper, you won't hear a peep, peep
The girl he wants don't seem to want him too
It seems the feelings that she had are through, through
The arena is dark once again. We haven't moved much today, which is fine since we haven't run into anyone yet. Plus, the cannon that went off a few hours ago may indicate that other tributes could have confronted each other today. Even if there was no confrontation, the Capitol audience still got their entertainment for the day, which might be part of the reason we were able to stay out of harm's way.
We've been speculating who died since the cannon fired this afternoon. Isaak thinks it was a Career, while Tyler is adamant that it's another outer district kid. Azo says it could've been anyone, so she's just waiting for the Fallen display. I personally couldn't care less who it was. Since it wasn't one of us, all it means is that another opponent is dead. Another threat has been eliminated.
Like clockwork, the national anthem of Panem begins playing throughout the arena at the same exact time it did the two previous nights. The words 'The Fallen' are projected up in the night sky. The text fades away and is replaced by the face of the girl from District 1. Azo and Tyler share a collective gasp, while I just look up at the image of the girl in the sky.
"Called it," Isaak says. "The first Career to go."
I know I said that I didn't care who died, but I'm pretty glad that it was one of the Careers. They're the biggest threats in the arena by default, but now that one of them is gone, they're slightly less of a threat. I never really had any encounters with the District 1 girl. Hell, I don't even remember the girls name. That doesn't really matter now. She's dead and gone, probably already in a casket back in District 1. Another victim of the Career districts' own stupidity, I don't feel bad for her in the slightest.
"Serves her right," I say. "It was her choice and she's dealt with the consequences."
"Don't you think that's kind of harsh?" Tyler asks.
"Yeah, but it's the truth," I say. "They all think they're untouchable when they volunteer. When the first one of them drops, reality finally sets in. But there are still a select few that still won't get it."
"What do you mean?" Tyler asks.
"You saw how the District 2 boy has been acting like he's all high and mighty," I say. "It's the ones like him who won't understand until right before they're dead. They always have their guard down because they think they're invincible. That's probably why I got away from him at the bloodbath. It'll probably happen again when he's up against someone or something. It'll be his overconfidence that kills him."
"How do you know that?" Tyler says. "He seems pretty strong."
"I've seen it happen to someone firsthand, unfortunately," I say. "In fact, it was someone I knew."
"I'm guessing they weren't that good of a person then," Tyler says.
"No, they were actually great person," I say. "They were trying to protect me."
"Who was it?" Tyler asks. His question takes me back to that awful night, when my brother, my best friend and protector, was shot down in cold blood by a peacekeeper.
"Isaac," I croak out, voice cracking.
"Tomaz, I'm still here, buddy," Isaak says, obviously confused.
"I wasn't talking about you," I say, keeping my head held down to hide my pained face.
"Then who are you talking about?" he asks.
"My brother."
Hello again! I hope you enjoyed reading day 3. I don't really have much to say other than that now that I'm done with the semester I'll be able to write more, so expect updates to come more frequently.
Eulogues:
16th: Annese Dior, burned to death by Taj-Annese's death is one of the first deaths I had planned, and quite frankly I am horrified with how sick and twisted it turned out. I was able to disconnect for the while I was writing her death, but towards the end, I realized how absolutely fucked up my writer's brain is. Nonetheless, Annese was an interesting character to write. She was that complete bitch that every Career pack needs, and she played that role perfectly. Unfortunately, I just couldn't see her going on that far. I really hope I made up for it by giving her a spectacular death (or at least what I think is a spectacular death). Thank you theflowercrowns for your submission.
KILL COUNT:
Alto-2
Cyrus-2
Ancatha-1
Jason-1
Cece-1
North-1
Taj-1
Alliances:
Careers-Cyrus, Alto, Ancatha, Jason, Cece
Team Wholesome-Tomaz, Tyler, Isaak, Azo
Bad Bitch Party +1-North, Niobe, André
Lesson Learned-Kaven, Callum
Loner-Taj
See you on Day 4!
Until next time,
Ty