Adair Brites (16) D5M
Not allying was not the way to go. Of course, nobody could have known that before the Games began. I didn't need to always be near people with the threat of a knife at my back. I figured I would grab some small supplies and hide in a tree. I couldn't have accounted for the fact that all the supplies were brightly labeled, and people with alliances had dibs on them. I couldn't have accounted for the fact that I would be running away from the supplies, hoping there would be some unlabeled water somewhere. That just wasn't supposed to happen.
Restrooms, a sign in front of me read. It was a ways off, but I was running right for it. Restrooms meant water, assuming the Capitol wasn't being a total jerk this year. Other tributes might want the bathroom too, but I figured anyone I couldn't fight was elsewhere, where there were water bottles and normal food. If a tribute wasn't in an alliance, odds were, I could take them.
Before I reached the bathrooms, I reached the books. The bathrooms were tucked behind multiple rows of books, more books than Five's library had. I looked at each of them passively, acknowledging the ones I knew and noting the ones I didn't. Books would be a good place to make camp. They were dense, making it hard for projectiles to go through them, and they were slippery when opened. If I was attacked, I had tens, maybe hundreds, of books to throw at my assailant. It would be easy to defend myself.
Right after the books, I reached the bathroom. I ran into it, breathing heavily but not willing to stop. There was a small employee door, giving customers a warning to stay out that I was definitely going to ignore. There was also a door marked "Men," which I went into. It was closer than the women's restroom. I was greeted with lines of sinks when I walked in, and I immediately ran my hands past them, noting that they were motion-activated. The first one didn't work. Neither did the second, or the third. The fourth, however, let out a dazzling, beautiful spray of water. It was all I could possibly hope for, leaving me with the knowledge that the other sinks probably worked. They were just fussy.
I sat down in the bathroom, trying to make note of what was around me, when I heard a parachute coming down. It was dinging quite quickly, and I looked up to see not one, but two. I grabbed the lower one first, ripping it open to find a small box lunch and a dagger. It contained no note and needed none. With that parachute, I had all the supplies I needed. I had food, water, and a lethal weapon. I could defend myself in the bathroom, not needing to worry as much about who would find me.
The second parachute was smaller than the first, and I opened it to come face-to-face with a book I hadn't seen on the shelves. It was signed by the author, or signed by me. It was likely worthless, but only three books like it existed in Panem. Attached to it was a note. :(
Rio Ryine (15) D4M
The Careers were all optimistic. We had lost one of our own, yes, but none of us were too worried. We had plenty of food, and any Career who died via outlier, during the Bloodbath, wasn't a Career they considered all that useful. I was a little sad to see her go, because Tina was always so nice, but I wasn't going to risk piping up in a situation where I was already the odd one out. Being fifteen was one weakness. Letting the Careers think I was stupid? That was signing my own death notice.
"I made sandwiches!" I called out instead, having sneaked off while the others were doing inventory. They were counting how many pounds of salami, ham, turkey, chicken, and whatever else was in the deli we had. I was pilfering the cakes I saw and making delicious sandwiches, some of every meat. Since I didn't have any mayonnaise, it wasn't like they were going to go bad too quickly. Stupid mayo, not being kept in the deli.
"Oooh, what kind?" Cassiopeia asked, instantly reaching out for one. They were all on simple bread, since I had wanted to save the buns for a better day, when we needed more of a morale boost. Sure, we had more garlic bread than we could eat, and we had dozens of donuts, but the Games could last a while, and people ate a lot of donuts when sad.
"Every kind!" I said back, gesturing to the sizable stack behind me. Sure, some of the sandwiches had slices of banana in them, and one was laced with a peach. The others could handle that, or I assumed they could. Surely no one would commit murder over some fruit in their sandwich.
We sat and ate, each of us willing to abandon our stations since we were sitting in a circle. I took a turkey sandwich, happy to have something that tasted exactly 0% like fish, and Prosper took a ham one. Cassiopeia chose salami, Alexandria chose turkey, and the look on Gallant's face told me he had selected the banana one.
I was certain I was going to get a funny reaction. Gallant spat out part of his sandwich, and instantly, everyone turned on me, worried I had, for some reason, poisoned exactly one sandwich. I jumped up backwards, not wanting to get stabbed by one of my own allies over what was supposed to be a harmless prank, and we almost didn't hear the footsteps behind us over Gallant loudly explaining that he hadn't been poisoned. He just didn't like bananas.
Jade Hart (15) D9F
Everything was going perfectly. I had sat in the bathroom, squatting, for what must have been hours, but I didn't mind. It gave me time to admire a small slice of graffiti and add on a bit of my own, utilizing a small stick of charcoal someone had sent me. I couldn't imagine who. Few people knew about my love for art, but I was going to leave my mark eternally in the Arena. Even if the Capitol washed it off, though, it gave me something to do while I waited.
When the Careers began to argue, I saw my chance. On the one hand, they wouldn't take long to argue. On the other, I was only about a hundred feet away. It wouldn't take me long at all to get in and get out. I hopped up, scaring away Mr. Rat, the cute little rat that had perched on my foot and waited with me for food, and started my tense, silent walk to the deli.
The walk there was the second easiest part, only behind the wait. I made it without a single error, grabbing bits and pieces of what I needed. One slice of ham slipped into my hands, as well as three cheese curds. One chicken breast and a slice of turkey appeared in my pockets, and I prepared to make my retreat. I knew how to be as silent as a mouse, making no sound while I left the deli. No one could possibly have noticed me. Yet somehow, the Careers did.
Gallant noticed me first, taking enough time to nod to me, muttering, "Company." The Careers around him tensed, and I took in the situation. I relied on being unseen. I relied on hardly existing at all, a wisp of knowledge, a prickling of the hairs on a neck. I was being seen. That was problematic in its own sense, but also, I was being seen by five people, each larger than I was, each presumably faster than I was. I was going to need some form of diversion, but I was in a deli. The place wasn't riddled with traps.
I took what I had. I yanked the meat slicer, disconnecting its cord from the wall, and threw it at the Careers before hopping over the counter, making a break for it. The slicer slowed down Cassiopeia, whose arm it sliced, and Prosper, who took the weight of it, but Rio was on me in a second, the closest Career of them all.
Halfway to the bathroom, I knew I was going to be caught. I turned and threw a slice of ham at Rio's face, slicing him with a pocketknife I had pilfered from the Cornucopia during the Bloodbath. He was on me in a second, taking me down easily via a weight advantage. I fumbled with my knife, slamming it into his side over and over again. He retaliated easily, slipping the knife from my hands and breaking a finger in the process.
I knew long before Rio killed me that I was going to die. It was only a matter of time before I became a ghost, haunting the land that had killed me. But I also knew I was going down petty. Rio easily stabbed me in the throat. I reached up, ignoring the pain in my broken fingers, and dragged him down farther. His neck was painfully exposed, and my teeth clamped down hard, leaving me with the taste of blood.
I'mmm back! My updates might be a little sporadic for a while, because I'm not really in the groove, but at least I haven't disappeared from the face of the earth anymore (: Enjoy drama.
18th Place: Jade Hart - Throat slit by Rio
Jade was an interesting character. Her ghostly nature was interesting to play around with, but I couldn't see myself developing her well and thoroughly, or using her as a good Victor. She was supposed to raid the Cornucopia, but silent in Nine is not silent to the Careers. Thank you to abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz005 for a character who certainly did leave a mark on the Arena, and for having a really long username.
17th Place: Rio Ryine - Throat removed by Jade
I've been planning a double death for a while, and Rio just happened to be the target. He was a cool kid, but he was also fifteen and dumb. He wasn't the strongest Career, but he happened to be the one close enough to Jade to attack. Rio was fun enough to have around, but again, I couldn't see myself doing much with him. Thank you to Anna Banana for Rio, who would have made an amazing citizen, and for having a short name.
Yo random note, but if I kill your tribute, odds are there's nothing wrong with them. I either didn't happen to like them or I knew I couldn't do much with them. That being said, anyone who I kill has complete permission to submit their tributes to another story, in case any of you have been eyeing up another story that requires permission.