The First Annual Hunger Games

by Callidora Medea

Following the Dark Days, the President of Panem announces the beginning of the Hunger Games. District 4 girl, Cass, District 1 girl, Silver, and District 7 girl, Oak, are all thrown into the turmoil that is the first Hunger Games, and must choose their alliances; decisions that can mean life or death in the arena. All intend to win. But there can be only one victor.

26. Chapter 26- The Bloodbath

Chapter 26.- Silver Bellcreek

The gong sounds and I'm sprinting for the Cornucopia as fast as I can. I reach it before anyone else and grab a bow and a quiver of arrows, and a knife. Someone else starts barrelling towards me; it's the District 6 boy. Instinctually I throw the knife; it lodges in his chest and he collapses. I stagger backwards; I just killed someone. I look around me in shock; I see Buck from 11 kill the boy from 8, see Beade stab a knife into Osa from 10. All of a sudden all I can think about is Osa coming up to me at the Tribute Parade.

Beade runs over to me. "We need to get the rest of them away from the Cornucopia. That's our base," she says in gasps. I nod shortly. The ground has at least five bodies on it already. I see the girl from 12, her hair spread out on the grass, her eyes empty, staring. Her limbs spread out like she was a dropped rag doll. "Duck!" Beade shouts at me, and I drop to the ground. She throws the spear in her hand and it hits home with a sickening noise. I look behind me and see Tulsee, the brash and arrogant girl from 6, topple. I glance over to the meadow and see the girl from 7 just standing there. Carefully I notch an arrow, aim it at her, and let it fly. It doesn't make it as far as where she is, but she starts running into the trees and I don't see her anymore.

I turn my gaze to where Glow is; he's just slashed Cinder from 10; Cinder collapses, his life streaming out with his blood. Curia hits the District 3 boy in the neck with a knife; he pulls it out with his last dying movements, then drops to the ground, twitches once, then dies. I'm too shocked to do anything but stand there and watch. I watch several other tributes disappear into the trees, not even trying to come to the Cornucopia.

The bloodbath is over quite soon, the tributes either dead, fled, or with my alliance. Glow comes over and says, "Look at this stuff! We'll be fine for weeks!" Finally I turn from the gore and look into the Cornucopia. There are weapons, food, tents, blankets- everything we need to survive. Curia and Lar follow Glow over and look too. "We're well set, aren't we?" Curia says with a grin. I nod. "Hey, what's up with you?" she asks and pushes my shoulder. I stagger to the side. "Oh, go lie down," Lar says. I nod weakly and go collapse on a pile of blankets. "What's wrong with her?" Curia asks the others. "Shock I think," Glow answers. Curia snorts. "Weakling."

The others go off to pull together some wood for the fire tonight while I stay behind. I jump when the cannons go off, seven in all. Then a bird sounds one high note and a hovercraft appears high above me. Its claw comes down seven times and picks up the dead tributes one by one. The last to go up is the District 12 girl, so small in death. The last thing I see of her is the glint of her yellow hair, then she's gone, and the hovercraft disappears. Leaving me alone again. And so I wait for the others to return.