Hello! Jim here, and welcome to my first SYOT! I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope everybody reading this submits! I would really appreciate it! I've been a part of this fandom for about 4 months now, and with so much free time on my hands I decided that there is no better time for me to write a story! Maybe you've seen some of my characters in other SYOTs, maybe not. Either way, I'm glad you're here now! Ok, that's enough from me, onto the first chapter!
Chapter 1: Live and Let Die
*?'s POV*
A short and petite 16 year old girl can be seen dangling dangerously from the vines. Her blonde hair full of knots, the strands intertwining with leaves, twigs, and vines. Her perceptive blue eyes scan the jungle for people, and she sees fighting. A decent-sized male seems to have chosen a fight with a much larger tribute, and it already looks like he's regretting that decision. Shrill screams can be heard ringing throughout the invisible dome they reside within. A cannon boom can be heard resonating in the dense jungle, signifying the smaller boy's death. And then there were three.
Just two weeks ago, Yelsa could not imagine making it this far. Even to this day, she wonders how she somehow outlasted almost the entire career pack, the crazy boy from 12, and her district partner from 10. Bennie died protecting her, and she would not let his death be in vain.
She has spent the last day roaming the canopy of the tall jungle trees, swinging from vine to vine, avoiding contact with the other tributes below. Yelsa's gymnastics background has played a crucial part in her run thus far, and she knows how lucky she got with the choice of arena. But now, it's the top three. Confrontation could no longer be avoided. She had to make her move.
Yelsa slowly but surely made her way down the towering trunks, utilizing the various branches and vines at her disposal to hasten her descent. Her forearms were burning, and her hands were screaming in pain, but she could no longer feel the pain. She is now numb to it all.
Her feet make a soft thud as she hits the jungle floor. Using her machete, she begins to hack through the thick foliage. The machete works like a charm. She got lucky with her choice of backpack at the cornucopia.
'I'm really starting to get tired of these fucking plants,' she thinks to herself. It's become sort of routine for Yelsa. Raise the machete, swing forehand, swing backhand, rinse, and repeat. The repetitive motions have become second nature to her, and Yelsa doubts she'll ever look at plants the same way again. Especially not after what happened to Bennie.
*2 Days Earlier*
The pair from 10 was sprinting through an already cleared out section of the jungle floor. Behind them, the boy from 12 chases them with an axe, a maniacal grin plastered on his dirty, bloody, and bruised face. His long legs make him a fast sprinter, and he is gaining on the pair.
"Bennie we have to move! He's catching up!"
"I'm running as fast as I can Yelsa, but my damn leg is bothering me more than usual," Bennie replied. One look at his right leg can tell a person all they need to know. The makeshift bandage they placed on it was peeling off, revealing a gnarly wound that spat out blood and appeared to be infected. A significant limp could be seen in Bennie's run, which slowed him to a jogger's pace. His brown hair was caked with dirt, and Yelsa saw the discomfort in his hazel eyes. Bennie was in rough shape.
It was only a matter of time before he caught them. The boy from 12 already had seven kills, and was looking for two more. It is currently the top eight, and he was looking for "ultimate victory".
Yelsa heard a groan of agony from behind her. She spun to see that Bennie had collapsed onto his knees. Some stray vines had clung to his leg and squeezed his gash, causing excruciating pain.
"Oh no you don't! Get up! We need to keep moving!" Yelsa hacked at the vines and freed Bennie's leg, but the unbearable pain remained.
"I can't go any further Yelsa, it hurts too much," Bennie said through choked sobs. He hasn't cried this entire time, but now was sobbing like there's no tomorrow.
And for him, there would be no tomorrow.
The boy from 12 buried his axe into Bennie's skull, instantly killing him. Bennie's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he was thrown to the ground after Snare kicked him to remove his axe.
Yelsa screamed, and Snare laughed. She hadn't remembered his name until then, but those five letters would haunt her for the rest of her days. Snare looked up, and saw the horrified look on Yelsa's face. A twisted smile crossed his lips, and he licked the blood off the blade of his axe. Yelsa turned to run, only to find her foot ensnared on some uncut vines.
She was dead meat, easy pickings for one of the craziest, deadliest tributes the games had ever seen.
Until she wasn't.
Luck seemed to be on her side. As Snare went to step towards her, he yelled out in pain. Dropping his axe, he looked down to see a knife lodged deep in his ankle. Apparently, Bennie had stabbed him with his final eruption of energy. His achilles tendon had been exposed, and for the first time in these week long games, Snare felt something he never expected to feel. He felt pain.
Unable to walk on the critical wound, Snare fell to the floor and grasped his ankle. He reached for his axe, which had become stuck in a strange position just out of arm's length.
Yelsa grabbed her machete and chopped the vines off her legs, freeing herself. Unable to move, Snare begged for his life.
"Please! Have mercy! I promise I can help you!"
Yelsa was appalled he would stoop to this level after all he had done. She showed zero remorse. His death came in a quick slice across the neck. He grasped at the wound as blood spurted from his jugular. He bled out in no time.
"Live and let die, motherfucker."
*Present*
Yelsa quietly roams the jungle, keeping her eyes open for the other two tributes. She thinks only the boys from 1 and 6 remain along with her. The boy from 1 is a large boy, well trained in the art of murdering other children. 'Then again, isn't that what this is all about?' Yelsa thinks to herself. As for the boy from 6, he is a bit of an enigma. Like her, nobody expected him to make it this far. He is a much smaller boy than most of the others, but has an incredibly clever and intuitive mind. He always comes up with elaborate plans to get him out of difficult situations, which is how he's made it as far as the top three.
She approaches the edge of the tree line before a break in the foliage, and she sees them both fighting one another. They are facing off against each other in what looks to be the only open clearing in the entire jungle, metal clashing with metal as they grunt due to exertion and yell battlecries. Her luck couldn't be any better! This is a one-way ticket to the final two. She's hoping they can both injure one another to make her life easier.
The boy from 1 has the upper hand, and appears to be taking control of the confrontation, his halberd glistening in the open clearing. She watches closely, waiting to see what the outcome would be, and how this would play out. The boy from 1 is stronger and has better training, but there must be a reason the boy from 6 has made it this far.
'There!'
Yelsa sees his trump card, a hidden blade underneath the smaller boy's forearm, hidden by what looks like a bandage. She knows better than that though, he isn't really injured. Yelsa can tell by his fluid movements that he is fighting at full strength, but the boy from 1 is focusing too much on the fight to notice it.
"Kid's a genius," Yelsa whispers aloud, "he doesn't even see it!"
And that turns out to be the larger boy's downfall. The boy from 6 blocks his halberd using a sword with one hand, then lunges straight at him with his left side, plunging the hidden dagger deep into his heart. A cannon boom can be heard in the background. It is an instant death for the larger boy, and the underdog from 6 still refuses to go down. He did not escape unscathed, though. He has a large cut in his right arm due to the overwhelming power of the boy from 1. It's hurting him, Yelsa can tell that much.
And then the boy from 6 did a curious thing. He has been so smart and clever all throughout training and the games, but decides to turn his back to Yelsa and sit down to assess his wound. In the middle of an open clearing. With no cover to speak of. The perfect opportunity to strike.
'Here's my chance! I have to take it now!'
Yelsa burst into the field, machete raised high, and swung down, only to hear the unmistakable clash of metal.
"Wha-", Yelsa was unable to finish, as the boy from 6 turns on her with his sword, swinging high and missing. He somehow made an incredible blind block with his sword, and is able to scramble to his feet to try and put the pressure on Yelsa. He has known she was there the whole time.
'That clever bastard knew what I was doing!' Yelsa can not believe it. She tries to think of ways to escape a direct confrontation, but fails. It's now or never.
She knows about the hidden blade, so he is unable to use that. One less thing to worry about. Yelsa swings her machete at the boy's neck, only to have her blade flung to the side once again. His deflections are precise and flawless. He must've been working on that for the entirety of training.
One thing she has over him, though, is durability. It is only a matter of time before his injury begins to hamper him, slowing him down significantly and giving Yelsa the edge. After that, finishing him off is child's play.
One swing of Yelsa's machete sends his sword flying, and the next was the decisive blow. She swung over her head and brought the sword down with so much force that it shatters his collarbone and breaks a couple of ribs. Not wanting him to suffer too much since he was a nice boy during training, she finishes him off by stabbing him through the heart, killing him for good.
As she plunges the blade into his chest, Yelsa leans in and whispers in a soft, somber voice, "I'm sorry Remy, I have to do this. I have to go home."
Like Snare and Bennie, Remy is another name that will haunt her forever. She will never forget the look on his face as life left his body abruptly and before his time should've been up.
A loud cannon booms through the arena, the final one of the games. The final one of her games.
A voice comes over the intercom:
"Ladies and Gentleman, may I present your Victor of the 173rd Hunger Games, Yelsa Phinistry from District 10!"
That's it for the first chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you guys think of it! Do you like Yelsa so far?
The Tribute Submission Form is on my profile, as well as some of the rules for submitting, so go check it out! I'd really appreciate it if you all submitted!
One more thing, I'm only accepting submissions via PM, so please refrain from using reviews to submit. Thank you for understanding! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!