Isaak Monroe, 15: District 8 Male
I fell down to Earth
From a hundred miles away and somehow
I still make it work
But it's overrated and somehow played out
There was no way I was getting any sleep after the bomb Tomaz dropped on us last night. He really spilled everything. From how his brother died trying to get him to safety, how his parents blamed him for his death and beat him nearly every day for it, and how he stopped looking up to people like his brother because of what happened that night. The way he thinks and acts is starting to make sense now. All those times he brushed off the Careers like they're nothing, the way he just stares at everything with that same neutral expression; all the dots are connecting now. He's already lost the one person that he actually cared about and then he had to take the blame for it. He's seen a human drop dead in front of him. There's no fixing that type of trauma. Tomaz is just dealing with it the best he can.
"You're up early," Tomaz says as he faces away from me, drawing swirls in the dirt with one of his throwing knives. Azo and Tyler are still fast asleep. Neither of them will probably wake up for a while.
"I never really went to sleep," I say.
"Something told me that you never did fall asleep," he says. "There was too much tossing and turning. You normally sleep like a rock."
"I know." Damn, I knew I was a deep sleeper, but a rock? I must look like I'm dead when I sleep. "But I had a lot on my mind last night."
"Sorry about that," Tomaz says.
"Hey, don't be sorry," I respond. "I can't let you take the blame for that."
"But it's totally my fault though." Tomaz turns around to look at me, pushing his hood off of his head. "I said a lot of things last night."
"You sure did," I say. "Are you sure you're okay? I never would've thought you had been through so much shit."
"I'm about as okay as you can be," Tomaz says. "It's nothing I'm not used to by now."
"The problem is you shouldn't be used to it." Tomaz sighs and slowly nods in agreement.
"You're totally right," he says. "But it is what it is."
"I have to give it to you, Tomaz. It takes someone really tough to handle it as well as you have." I put my arm around his shoulder.
"I wouldn't say I'm tough," Tomaz says. "Just numb to it all."
Even Tomaz knows that he should be somewhat affected by all the things he's been through. Or maybe he is affected, and this is his way of coping. I can see it in his eyes, there are feelings in there somewhere. He just says he's unbothered by everything as a way to protect himself from getting hurt again. It's upsetting to watch, but at least he's starting to open up a little more. I see a good kid underneath that cold, unreachable façade. It's just going to take some coaxing to get it out of him.
Alto Keenwood, 17: District 2 Male
Look out to the future
But it tells you nothing
So take another breath
Your hands protect the flames
From the wild winds around you
Everyone's been really quiet since Annese died. When I heard the cannon fire yesterday, I had thought that my allies had finally done something useful for once. But of course I had to be let down when only Cyrus and Cece came back. I still can't believe that Annese let herself die at the hands of the boy from 6 who only scored a 4 in training. That's beyond pathetic no matter how you look at it. She's supposed to be a fucking Career. Careers don't get killed by weak tributes. That means Annese was never a true Career to begin with.
I told Jason that he should've let me go hunting instead of Annese. I would've killed that worthless District 6 boy and at least three other tributes. But no, I have to stay here because I'm "injured". My wrist and shoulder don't even hurt anymore. They probably don't even need to be wrapped up. I should be back to full mobility by now anyways. I reach for my knife and pull it out of my belt loop and walk out of the Cornucopia.
"Alto, what are you doing?" Jason says. "You're not going anywhere. You're nowhere near fully healed."
"Bullshit," I say. "I'm ready to go hunting right now. Just watch."
I take an attacking stance with the knife in my "injured" hand. I take a swing, cutting through the air. Searing pain shoots through my entire arm, forcing me to drop my knife. I clutch my shoulder and grimace in pain as I crumble to the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jason walking up to me. He squats down and looks me in the eyes.
"Are you done being a dumbass for today?" he asks with that annoying little smirk on his face.
"Stop being a dick and help me up," I spit. "Or just get the fuck out of my face."
Jason stands up and spins around, choosing the second option. As he walks away, I stand myself up. I make sure not to push off with my hurt arm. I walk back into the Cornucopia with my head held down, not wanting to look at anyone else. I thought I was tougher than that, but a simple swing of my arm practically incapacitated me.
I swear that bitch from District 11 is going to get it as soon as I'm back at full strength. If it weren't for her, I would be tearing through this arena right now. And then she had the audacity to tell me to back away from her pathetic district partner. If it weren't for that girl and her damn crossbow, I would've killed their entire alliance singlehandedly. I swear as soon as I'm back out hunting again, this Career alliance is going to with they never held me back.
Niobe Anicello, 16: District 11 Female
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light
It's nearly been two days since we had our little encounter with the Careers. All three of us were fully expecting them to come back yesterday, especially after what I did to the District 2 boy. But I guess we caught a break when they lost the girl from 1. It's rare for a Career to die this early into the Games. Usually about half of the tributes are dead before the first one of them is taken out. It only leaves me to wonder who or what killed her, and if it could come for us next.
On the bright side of things, André is up and moving again. That medicine he got must be really strong. He can put most of his weight on his leg and he doesn't seem to be in that much pain. He was actually eager to get back on the move again. We all agreed that it might be time to cross back over the river again, just in case the gamemakers get the idea to trap us here somehow.
"Y'all ready to go?" I ask, gathering my things and walking up to North and André
"I've been ready," North says. "I was just waiting on one of y'all to say something."
"Well, let's get going then," I say. "André, are you sure you feel good enough to walk?"
"Yeah, I'm good," André answers. We start our walk back to the river, albeit a little slowly to accommodate for André. Slowly but surely, we follow the sound of the river's rushing water. We reach the river again, but things don't look quite the same as they did when we crossed the first time. For one, the river is flowing faster and there seems to be more trees closer to the bank. There's a bridge, but it's longer and curves up higher than the one we crossed the other day.
"I don't know what it is, but something don't look right," North says.
"This isn't where we crossed before," André says.
"No, it's not," I say. "But it's still a bridge, and it looks stronger than the other one."
"Are you sure it's stronger?" André asks.
"It has to be," I say. "Remember how flimsy the other one looked? Besides, we need to cross over anyways."
"Niobe's right," North says. "Let's go."
North marches ahead of me and André stepping onto the bridge. It even sounds sturdier than the other one. It isn't creaking under North's feet.
"C'mon," North says. "It's holding up fine."
André and I catch up with North and we make our way across the rest of the bridge. We are hardly ten feet away from the bridge when something catches our eye. An orange figure is squatting by the river. It's the same shade of orange that North is wearing.
"Hey, North," I say. "Is that—"
"Taj?" North says. They stand up, facing towards us. Lo and behold, it's North's district partner.
"Oh, uh… Hi," Taj says, backing away slowly.
"Calm down," North says. "I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."
"That's a relief," he says. "What were you guys doing back there?"
"Well, we had a little run-in with the Careers the other day and we took a little damage," I say, gesturing to André's leg. "But we're fine now."
"What a coincidence," Taj says. "I ran into three of the Careers yesterday. They took a lot of damage."
"What do you mean by that?" André asks.
"I killed the girl from 1." Everyone's jaws immediately hit the floor.
"Yeah, I burned her in my fire pit," he says. "I came down here yesterday while the hovercraft picked up her body and just decided to stay for the night. I'm going back up to my camp now, you guys are welcome to come and stay the night if you want."
"I think we'll take a hard pass on that," North says.
"Alright, that's fine," Taj says. "I'll be on my way now."
Taj turns and walks in what I'm guessing is the direction of his camp. After he disappears into the forest, both André and I turn back to North.
"Holy shit he's fucking crazy," I say.
"I told y'all," North says. "Now y'all know why I don't want anything to do with him."
I always knew there was something up with Taj, but I never saw that coming. He burned one of the strongest tributes in the arena to death and then talked about it like it was just another everyday thing. I don't even think the Careers are the biggest threat anymore. It just might be Taj.
Cece Sandwell, 18: District 4 Female
It'd be to my brother, 'cause we have the same nose
Same clothes, home grown a stone's throw from a creek we used to roam
But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered
Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter
After Annese's death, we all made the executive decision to only send out two people each day. It's too much of a risk to keep sending out three at a time. With only two people out hunting, we can keep up with each other better, which might help us avoid another situation like what happened to Annese. Jason and I are the ones on the hunt this evening in the southeastern corner of the arena. We know that there are tributes in the southwestern corner by the river, but that includes the boy from District 6. After what happened to Annese, we came to the decision that it's probably in our best interest to leave him be for now.
As we move farther and farther away from the Cornucopia, the terrain slopes upward. We've noticed that's how it is throughout the arena. The Cornucopia seems to lie in a valley of some sort, with the forest surrounding it getting higher in elevation the further we go. I bet we would be able to see the Cornucopia from this elevation, but the trees that dominate the landscape obstruct it from view.
This part of the arena seems to be much quieter than everywhere else we've gone, which seems to disappoint Jason. However, after what happened to Annese, I'm grateful that there doesn't seem to be anything going on here. The only things that seem to inhabit this area are gigantic trees, small birds, squirrels, deer, and the occasional bat. It's peaceful, and if it weren't for the fact that we're in the literal Hunger Games, I probably would enjoy hanging out here.
Then that all changes. The squirrels on the ground start running past us, scurrying up the tall trees with a speed and urgency that I can only call primal. The deer sprint away as fast as they can. The birds and bats start taking off from their perches, frantically flapping their wings as they escape from whatever danger is afoot.
"What the hell is going on?" Jason asks, looking around at the fleeing animals.
"I don't know," I say. "There must be—"
The strained cry of a deer in distress as it falls to the ground cuts me off mid-sentence. Its attacker is a bobcat of unusual size. Bobcats sometimes roam the inland portions of District 4, and none of them are nearly this big. It's definitely a gamemaker's creation. The bobcat bites at the deer's neck, tearing off a huge chunk of flesh. Blood is sprayed all over the cat's face as it devours its prey. Then it pauses and raises its head, looking right at us.
"What do we do?" Jason whispers.
"Don't run," I say. "Just back away. Don't break eye contact either."
Jason and I start taking slow steps backwards, staring back at the bobcat. It keeps its eyes fixed on us, with the corpse of the deer pinned under its front paws. After a few more steps, the bobcat turns its attention back to its prey, ripping off and consuming more deer meat. It looks like we just might be in the clear.
Crack
Jason and I both look down as his foot rests on a newly-broken stick. The bobcat lets out a sound that's a cross between a hiss, a growl, and a roar. Then it charges. Forgetting everything I had just said about backing away slowly, Jason and I both turn tail and take off running. We run with every last bit of energy and adrenaline in our bodies, speeding down the sloped ground of the forest floor. I can hear the bobcat quickly gaining on us, I turn back just in time to see it leap at me, claws primed and teeth bare. This is it. This is how I die.
I brace for the bobcat's landing, but it doesn't come. It hits what seems to be an invisible wall and falls to the ground. It stands back up, lunging at me, but it can't get past what I can only assume is a forcefield set up to mark off its territory. Eventually, the bobcat gives up and walks away, probably going back to finish eating its successful kill. I thank my lucky stars that I live to breathe another breath.
"We're going back to the Cornucopia." Jason just looks at me with concern. "Now."
Another day, another chapter. Y'all should get used to it because I'm on break now and I'll be uploading with the quickness. I don't have much to say since this is a slow day, but I hope it's a welcome change of pace after the fuckery that was Day 3.
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 5!
Until next time,
Ty