Indie Rayne (15) D12F

The Arena seemed reasonably large, but it definitely wasn't huge. I had to find a hiding spot with easy running, and I had to find one fast. The Careers were heading for supplies, but I knew it wouldn't be long until they were on the hunt. I had to be as far away from there as possible, and I was already getting to that point. I had cleared a whole bunch of the Arena in what had to have been minutes, watching as aisle after aisle flew past me and ignoring anything that didn't seem important.

I passed row after row of groceries, figuring other tributes would be there quickly. I ignored the snack foods after grabbing a couple of bags, figuring a little stash of supplies would be useful, and I ran right past all the books I saw. No one else would be there, but I wasn't really seeking out books to stay in. I needed something slightly useful, just nothing so important that everyone would flock to where I was. I needed a hidden supply, something nobody would consider.

There. My eyes locked on rows of pet supplies, gross things nobody would want anything to do with. I saw potential I hoped nobody else would. There were cat toys made of rope. There was cat food that was "Made with 100% real meat!" There were sunflower seeds for birds and peanuts for rats. Most importantly, though, there were fish tanks full of exotic fish, fish that I hoped were edible. They were hidden from easy sight, tucked into the back nearby a bathroom. Nobody would go there right away. At least I hoped they wouldn't.

Much to my surprise, while I was still setting up camp, finding places to stash the bits of food I had grabbed, I heard a dainty tinkling come from above me. I looked up to see a silver parachute falling down above me, delicately coming to rest beside me. I couldn't believe it. I was a fifteen-year-old from Twelve, but I had sponsors. That seemed impossible, but I would take it. I was going to need all the help I could get to win the Games.

I ripped open the sponsor package to find a black lacquered box with gold engravings. I opened that to find a bowl of rice, chopsticks, a roll of rice with fish in it, and some raw fish laid across more rice. It looked surprisingly tasty for being nothing but raw meat. I picked up my chopsticks and immediately tore into eat, shoveling stickful after stickful of rice and meat into my mouth. That wouldn't stay good long. It was raw meat. I had to get it gone fast. Especially since I could feel the fish I was sitting next to judging me with every mouthful.

Rhiannon Raimers (16) D6F

It was hard to run with a backpack slung over my shoulders, but I knew I had to. I ran across the rows of cash registers, cutting straight past a couple aisles of chocolate. Of course, I snagged a couple handfuls of candy while I ran, but I refused to really slow down. Anything that couldn't be grabbed in a fraction of a second was something that could be ignored instead. I figured the Careers were running the other way, heading to where I saw piles of meat, but I couldn't be too sure. I had to get a lot of distance between myself and them before I could think of slowing down.

After running and running past aisles of makeup and toys, I found something of interest. In front of me there were bows and arrows, knives, and guns. They were locked behind glass, but it would be an easy task to shatter it. I took the crossbow and its bolts before turning, not willing to lurk in one spot for too long just yet. I slung the bow over my shoulder, making it virtually useless for the time being but unable to carry it in another way. There wasn't any good way to carry the bolts, either, so I shoved those into my backpack.

Jackpot, I thought when I saw what was directly behind me. Mostly, there was toys, totally useless stuff that would be ignored by a tribute. More importantly, there were bikes. Most of them were half my size and basically worthless, but a couple were adults sized, useful even to a girl who was six feet tall. I decided to make camp right there, carrying a bike and hiding behind the weapons section. I could safeguard those and be hidden from the Careers, ready to speed off in an instant if I had to. I was the best set tribute in the Arena.

Because I had so many supplies, I didn't know what to expect when I heard a sponsor gift float down above me. I looked up and grabbed the silky prize, excited to see what could be in such a small package. I hoped it would be food, though I was certain I could grab some at another time. I could fly past anyone who was guarding it on my bike, snagging a bit before zooming past. That was good, since it wasn't food. It was a key.

A note laid beside the key. "When you are grateful - when you can see what you have - you unlock blessings to flow in your life." ~Suze Orman I had no idea what that meant, and I didn't particularly care. I already smashed the lock, I thought to myself, staring at my "treasure" in wonder. Why would you waste your money on a key I don't need? I decided that didn't matter. Someone wanted me to have a key, so I key I would keep.

Lumara Hansen (17) D10F

We didn't know where we were going. Nobody did, since the Arena was new to all of us, but that didn't make it any less true for us. We were running to nowhere in particular, hoping none of us got stabbed in the back before we got somewhere useful. I could see my allies looking for somewhere useful, considering the grocery aisles before changing their minds. The Careers were definitely going to be going after those. While we outnumbered them, and we could probably take them down, we all knew that there would be casualties on both sides. None of us were willing to be the casualties.

We flew past rows of other things we saw to be useless. Craft supplies blew past us, and we ignored them. Party supplies weren't worth noticing, nor were the aisles of toys. We needed food or weapons. Once we had secured one we could focus on the other. But they didn't seem to want to pop up anywhere except for the grocery aisles, which monumentally ticked me off. There was plenty of food where we couldn't go.

A jug of something caught my eye, and I let it flit there, settling. "We're headed there," I said, pointing to multiple rows of car supplies. I wasn't really the leader of the alliance, but nobody was. I would do it if I had to, and I could fake total confidence in myself until then. People accepted anything someone confident said.

"Okay, but why?" Jacob asked, ducking into the aisles with the rest of us. I ran in slightly ahead of him, getting a little extra excited when I saw a bathroom.

"Why here?" I asked rhetorically, ready to begin a grand explanation. "Because there's probably water in that bathroom, but, more importantly, there are tires. Do you see all of them? We could use those to make a fortress. And there's oil, which is crazy flammable. And there's other fluids we could use to trip up other tributes."

I was cut off from explaining when a parachute tinkled down above me. I caught it just before it landed on my head, as confused as possible when I saw the 10 engraved on it. I opened it, unaware as to what it could be, and found a chest. It was locked, making it virtually useless, and it was made of metal. Well screw me sideways. I slammed it against the wall anyways to see if I could shatter it, but all I got from that was one very sore wrist.

"Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy."

~Lao Tzu a note read, not giving me any useful insight whatsoever. I threw it to the ground and decided to ignore it. Why did I care what some Tzu guy said? Answer: I didn't. I needed to work on some traps.

All right people! This is going to be my last update for the month. School just got out and I'm trying to get myself off the computer more often :D I won't abandon this or anything, but you don't need to check in for at least thirty days.