Shine
Chapter 27
Day Three
Warning: This chapter contains depictions of violence and death because it's the Hunger Games. I also do not own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does. Now, on to the story.
A/N: Many Tributes will die today. Prepare yourself.
The Capitol
Peter Mallard –36- -Capitol Resident- -Head Gamemaker- POV
"We are planning to kill the pair from Three, the ones from One and Two, the girls from Four and Six, the girl from Nine, the boy from Five, the girl from Eleven and the boy from Seven," one of my assistants tells me.
"The ones from One and Two will kill each other today, and we'll let whichever one wins live," I say. My assistant nods. "Kill the pair from Three unless they do something, but we all know that's not going to happen. The boy from Five has been working on something, he might live. The ones from Eleven and Seven might die already, but you can kill them if they don't. But killing the girls from Four and Six might be a problem. Snow wants to kill them… in another manner. The girl from Four… she asked out that other girl, right?" The assistant nods again. "Good. Tell her that that counts for her."
"And what of the girl from Six, Sir?" The assistant asks.
"Give her a challenge to prove herself. And if you must kill her… make sure the one from eight doesn't get caught up in it somehow," I say.
"Yes, Sir," the assistant says. He walks out. Balancing Snow's demands with the card has been hard this year, but I think I did a well enough job of it.
Diamond Knowles POV
We had set up camp last night, not too far from where I know that Tribiani girl has to be. So, during my watch, in the early morning, I sneak out of the camp. After only a few minutes of walking, I see a fire burning. Half an hour later, and I'm within visual range of the camp. I see the Tribiani girl sitting by the fire, with her back to me. Yes. Her ally is asleep. I walk quietly, sneaking up behind her. I'm good at sneaking, and she's almost asleep. I put my hand over her mouth and pull her up. She tries to scream but can't. She kicks and squirms, but she's not going to get free of me. I carry her far enough away that her screams won't be heard and throw her on the ground.
Bri Tribiani POV
I should have woken Aster up. I should have. I knew I was getting sleepy, but what were the odds that someone would actually come? Pretty high, apparently. I was just sitting by the fire when somebody put their hand over my mouth and pulled me up. I tried to kick at my attacker, to bite them, but it didn't work, and soon I was far away from my camp. She – I can see her face now, it's the girl from One. She grabs her knife and tears a piece of fabric off of the arm of her shirt, shoving it in my mouth. I see that she prepared well for this, as she grabs a piece of rope to tie me down with. I try to scramble to my feet, but she throws a dagger at me, landing in my stomach and incapacitating me from the pain. She grabs the rope again, from where she had dropped it on the floor. I'm in great pain, but I scramble backward. I reach down to my stomach and grab the dagger. She looks up at me.
"You won't just die, will you?" She asks, almost screaming her words.
I don't bother to respond. I just grab the dagger, pulling it out of my stomach to another round of pain.
"Fine then. Have it your way," she says. Before I can act, she pulls another dagger out of her pack and throws it at me. It lands square in my chest, and I drop my dagger. I hear a cannon shot in the distance before I drift off.
Diamond Knowles POV
She won't die! I had this all planned out. I would torture her. She would scream, and it would be beautiful. I would shout at the cameras, telling that Athena b-h that it's what she deserves. Then I would go kill that boy and kill all the other careers, and then I'd be one giant step closer to winning. I would see her blood on the forest floor, she would scream, I would love it. Her blood would blend with her hair. But she wouldn't just die. She had to fight back. And now she's dead, without me being able to torture her. She forced me to kill her. And I'm not satisfied. It's not nearly as satisfying to see her dead as I thought it would be. It's because I didn't get to torture her. That's why. That's why. But as I stare at her body, at the pools blood below her, I start to cry. I'm not happy because she's not Athena. She's not Athena. Killing this poor girl from Eleven doesn't kill Athena. And even if that b-h was dead, it wouldn't bring Topaz back. Killing anyone doesn't bring anyone else back. If I was in Athena's position, I would have done the same thing. She didn't do anything wrong. But I did. I killed this poor girl who never did anything to me. I stalked her and killed her, and I wanted to torture her. And no amount of torture or death would bring back Topaz. I'm a horrible person. And I know what I need to do. I start to head back to Bri's camp as the hovercraft comes to take her body. My vision is cloudy from tears, but I know what I'm going to do.
Lustero Aldor POV
Wow. Diamond just killed that girl. Giselle was right to have me monitor her. Now she must be going back to kill the boy – wait, is she crying? I need to get the others. I run back to our camp.
"Ares! Giselle!" I shout as I enter camp. "Wake up, come with me!" They emerge from their tent.
"Diamond?" Giselle asks.
"Yeah," I say. "Let's go." I lead them back to what used to be Bri and Aster's camp but is now just Aster's camp. We watch as Diamond walks into the camp.
Aster Ochs POV
The cannon shot woke me up. I scoured the camp for Bri, but she was gone. I began to fear the worst when I saw movement at the edge of the camp. The girl from One walks into the camp, with her hands up. I grab my ax and heft it at her.
"Aster," she says. "I'm not here to hurt you." Is she… crying?
"Where's Bri?" I ask. "What did you do with her?"
"She's dead," she says. "I'm sorry. I killed her."
"Why shouldn't I kill you?" I ask.
"You should," she says. "But not yet."
"Is this a trap?" I ask.
"No," she says. She slowly takes off her backpack and throws it on the ground at my feet. I grab it and rifle through it. She has rope and two daggers in the bag. "I'm unarmed," she says. "Just let me – let me talk, okay? Then kill me." She walks towards me.
"Don't get closer," I say. She stops. "Fine. Talk. I'm listening." I don't have time to process that Bri is dead. This is a potentially dangerous situation.
"I… I killed her. But it wasn't how I imagined. She fought back, and I didn't get to torture her like I imagined. But after I killed her, I realized something. I wanted to kill her in revenge for Athena killing Topaz last year. But I realized that killing her doesn't kill Athena. And that even if I killed Athena, it wouldn't bring back Topaz. And that more death isn't the answer. It never is. I'm a horrible person. My whole plan was to kill her, then you, then all the other careers. To kill so many people… it's wrong."
"You'll have no argument from me here," I say. "Why are you here? To tell me that you got over your compassionate side and you'll kill me anyway?"
"No," she says. "To tell you that you can kill me. I want you to kill me. I don't deserve to live." She walks closer to me and falls to her knees, with her hands still up.
"You're not going to get an argument from me," I say. "So if you're trying to get sympathy for yourself, if you want me to give you mercy, I won't."
"I don't want mercy," she says. "I want to die. And I know you and Brianna were together, so you should be the one to kill me."
"I'm happy to," I say, and raise my ax.
"Wait!" She shouts. "Please, don't kill me with an ax. Use one of those daggers, slit my throat."
"Whatever," I say, but I drop the ax and grab one of the daggers from her bag. I look at her, on her knees with her hands behind her head in front of me. "Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yes," she says.
"Okay then," I say. "For what it's worth, you did the right thing." I take the dagger and slice her throat in one swift motion. She falls forward towards me, and I push her backward onto the ground.
Diamond Knowles POV
Aster runs my dagger (or really Giselle's, I had stolen all of their daggers) across my throat. I feel a hot pain across my neck, and he pushes me backward onto the ground behind me. I feel cleansed, somewhat cleansed of my wrongdoings.
Giselle Serpentine POV
I look at Ares after witnessing Diamond's sacrifice.
"Time to go kill the target?" I ask Ares.
"Definitely. Time to execute," he says. Our words mean two things. One, what Lustero also knows. Time to go and kill that Aster boy. And two, time to kill Lustero and then each other. After all, soon we'll start feeling the effects of our trackers. So it's time to kill everyone.
"Let's go then," I say. We run into the camp. Aster is surprised, that's for sure. I take the lead, swinging my sword at him.
Aster Ochs POV
Three careers run into camp. Diamond's former allies, I guess. The girl swings her sword at me. I raise the dagger to block her strike, and she knocks it out of my hand. This fight is over before it even began. Or maybe not. I start to drop down to my knees, but her sword, meant to stab my heart, catches me through the neck. She pulls it to one side, and I feel a sharp pain.
Giselle Serpentine POV
The boy is dead. My sword, meant for his chest, stabbed him through the neck, releasing a spurt of blood. Now, after pulling it to the side, his head hangs off one side sickeningly. I kick the corpse to the ground and hear a cannon fire. Now for Lustero. Ares is already ahead of me though. His sword clashes with Lustero's. To Lustero's credit, he doesn't look surprised, already parrying the strike and preparing to counter-attack.
Ares Moretti POV
Giselle easily dispatched the pathetic boy from Seven. Now it's time to deal with Lustero. I turn in my tracks and strike at him. He parries my strike and counters me. I parry him. This could go either way. If not for Giselle. Lustero gasps as Giselle's sword runs through his ribcage. He drops his sword and I stab mine through his heart. Another cannon fires. Giselle and I take out our swords from him and look at each other.
"Will?" I ask.
"I need to kill you," she says. "And you need to kill me. A fair fight?"
"If by fair you mean unfair, then yes," I say.
"Sure," she says. "No weapons?"
"No weapons," I say. We both drop our swords to the ground.
Ding. Ding. "Giselle Serpentine and Ares Moretti have committed extraordinary acts of love and bravery. Have fun."
"Will," I say, "at least whoever wins won't have to worry about dying."
"That's definitely a plus," Giselle says. "Start on 3."
"Sure," I say.
"3. 2. 1," Giselle says. "Go."
Giselle Serpentine POV
"Go," I say. I race forward and under Ares and kick him in the crotch. He reels back and I kick him in the chest. He falls backward to the ground. I walk next to him and kick him in the ribs. I step on his neck with my foot. "I learned how to defeat you from all of our fights. Good job though. You were a fun person. A nice person. Anything you want to say?"
"G-o-od j… ob," he chokes out. I push down on his throat. It almost feels unsatisfying. Until his hand reaches out and grabs my leg. He pulls me down and rolls on top of me, trying to choke me. I reach my hands up to choke his throat. It all comes down to who will pass out first. But I have an advantage because he was already starved for air.
Ares Moretti POV
Giselle learned, maybe too much. I should never have agreed to fight her without weapons, but my pride got the best of me. I could have run her through with my sword easily. But my pride got the best of me. Grabbing her leg was grasping at a straw. She's still choking me, and I've almost passed out. I feel froth coming to my lips as my vision tunnels onto her pretty face. The last thing I see is one of her hazel eyes staring right at me.
Giselle Serpentine –16- -D2- POV
Ares's cannon fires. His body went limp several seconds ago, but I kept squeezing until the cannon went off. Can't have him waking up. I push his body off of me. The look in his eyes mirrors that in Camelia's, Aster's, and Lustero's. And as I walk back to camp, I can't get the images of their faces out of my head.
Thia Zollis –16- -D4- POV
I wake up to Harper screaming. I look over to see – what exactly is that? It looks like – no. It can't be. I blink to clear my vision. No, it is. It's a giant spider. What in the heck is going on – Gamemakers. I try to move to grab my bow, but I can't. Crap.
Harper Satin POV
Why did I have to be on watch when the giant spider came? And why aren't the other two waking up? Is this my punishment for not being brave or whatever? But I was supposed to have until the end of today! Either way, the giant spider came up to the camp right in front of me, so I grabbed my knives and threw one at it. Apparently, the thing moves fast. It tackled me almost immediately. Now I'm stabbing it from the bottom. Luckily, it seems to have a problem eating me, which is good. I stab it repeatedly. I scream, trying to wake the other two up. Suddenly, my knife pierces through the skin of the spider, causing blood to squirt all over me. I push the knife up, and the spider screams, before falling onto me. As I try to extract myself from the dead spider, I hear a ding.
Ding. "Harper Satin has committed an extraordinary act of bravery."
Peter Mallard –36- -Capitol Resident- -Head Gamemaker- POV
As I stand in the ring in the center of the Arena Control Facility or ACF, I allow myself a brief smile. I may not like the girl from six, but she did well against the spider mutt. Henry, we call him. We hadn't used any of the spiders since the 55th Games, and I wanted to get Henry, one of the last ones, out of storage to make space for a new breed of mutt. I do love what our bio-engineers create.
"Good job, ladies, and gentlemen," I smile. "Now get ready to see how our friends from three hold up."
A chorus of "Yes, Sir"s resounds from around the room.
Thia Zollis –16- -D4- POV
I'm finally let up after Harper defeats the giant spider, only to hear another ding.
Ding. "Thia Zollis committed an extraordinary act of love on Day One. Congratulations, Thia."
Will, okay. I'm not going to complain about my life being spared.
"You alright, Harper?" I ask.
"Just fine," she says. "A little help her, though?"
"Oh, of course!" I shout and run over to help her get free of the spider. "Rhylee?" I ask.
"Coming!" She shouts. When we get the spider off of Harper, she's covered in blood, that I'm pretty sure is the wrong color for a spider, but that's probably because it's genetically engineered.
"I'm wondering," Harper gasps, standing up, "if I should stop washing this shirt!" We all laugh at that for some reason. Nervous energy burning off, I guess.
"Breakfast?" I ask, once our laughter has died down.
"Sounds good," Harper says.
We eat our breakfast and try to decide what to do for the rest of the day.
"We have food," I say.
"We have water," Harper says.
"And we have enough shelter," Rhylee says.
"I guess we just wait, then," I say.
"For what?" Harper asks.
"For someone to attack us, I guess," I say. "We could try to build something if you want."
"That's crazy," Harper says. "What could we build in the time we have?"
"Fair point," I say. And so our day is relaxing until lunchtime.
Harper Satin –16- -D6- POV
At lunchtime, we realize that we only have enough food to last for the rest of the day, most likely. So we decide to head out hunting again. Thia ends up killing another rabbit, and I and Rhylee find some berries in the nearby bushes.
Rhylee Kaski –16- -D8- POV
Today was uneventful, and I can't help but wonder if that's a good thing or not. Sure, none of us died today, and apart from the giant spider, there were no real threats. We mostly found food and talked all day. But part of me wonders about what will happen tomorrow. As we eat dinner over the fire, the Anthem comes on, and faces show in the sky.
Becquerel 'Bec' Grey –15- -D3- POV
I wake up on the morning of the third day to an itch in my arm. This must be what the Capitol talked about, the pain from the trackers. I start to get up to look for food, but I realize that it would be pointless to get up, as Clear is still asleep. I think we both fell asleep, forgetting about watches last night because we're both so hungry. But I can't leave Clear alone. Suddenly, she jerks upright, screaming.
"What is it?" I ask, scrambling over to her and holding her in my arms. She stops shaking and breathes heavily before answering.
"Just… a sudden pain in my arm, that's all," she says. "It really hurt though."
"It's the Gamemakers," I say. "It's our trackers." I direct my words up at the sky. "And it's unfair! We haven't even been given a chance to prove ourselves!"
Thirty minutes later, and Clear shouts out in pain again as we try to find anything to eat nearby. I also feel a stabbing pain in my arm.
"You good, Clear?" I ask when it's passed.
"I'm fine," she says. Then I hear something else.
"You hear that?" I ask.
"Yeah," she says.
"Get back to the fire," I say, and I run back to the fire too, grabbing my spear. Clear shows up a few seconds after me. "Get behind me," I say as I hear the sound again. It's a growl. A wolf's growl. Clear does, without hesitation. "Grab your dagger," I say, and she does.
"I'm scared, Bec," she says.
"We'll be fine, Clear," I say. "Just stay behind me." I see the wolves emerging from the forest around us, in a half-circle around me. Their eyes glow unnaturally as they study me, making slow, careful moves forward on their four paws. Their eyes are green, their fur a light gray. One wolf bares its teeth, revealing them to be unnaturally sharp and pointed. It growls at me again and steps forward. I raise my spear at it. It lets out a small bark and charges forward. The other wolves follow behind it, clearly content to let it get the first kill. There are three wolves in total, that I can see. As the wolf nears me, it braces its haunches to launch itself into the air. Its plan is to jump on me and rip me apart. If it does that, not only will I die, but it will throw me on top of Clear, pinning her helplessly under me. When the wolf jumps, I ready my spear. As the wolf nears me, I thrust my spear outward, catching it in the chest. Blood spurts from the wound and the wolf lets out a whimper. I push the spear forward, driving it through the wolf, before pulling it back out and letting the carcass lie on the ground in front of me. The second wolf growls and charges. It attacks smarter than the other wolf, crouching and coming at my legs, planning to rip me apart from the bottom. I stab my spear through its neck, and its blood spurts upward, blinding me until I wipe my eyes, clearing the blood from them. The second wolf lies dead at my feet. The third wolf is apparently not stupid, as it runs off after seeing its companions die. I find it odd that the Gamemakers would have it do that, but I'm not going to complain. As the wolf runs off into the forest, I hear the signature ding.
Ding. "Becquerel 'Bec' Grey has committed an extraordinary act of bravery."
"You good, Clear?" I ask. I hear no response, so I turn around to see Clear holding her head in her hands, her dagger on the ground. She's crying silently into her hands. "Clear?" I ask, pulling her hands away from her face and hugging her tightly. "It's alright, Clear, it's alright. We're okay. You're going to be okay." I rub her back gently, something I've never really done. She pulls away from me forcefully and rubs tears away from her eyes angrily.
"Don't you see, Bec? That was our chance. You asked for it, a chance to prove ourselves. That was it. And you did, you proved yourself worthy. You proved that you deserved to live. And what about me? I proved that I don't deserve to live, that I'm a coward who will just hide when faced with danger," Clear says.
"That's not true, Clear," I say.
"You know it is," she says. "And I'm going to die."
"No, you're not," I say.
"Yes, I am," she says.
Clear Palatino –12- -D3- POV
And for the next few hours, it seems that I'm right. It's easy to measure time with the Gamemaker implant giving me increasing levels of pain every half hour. Bec tries to find food for us, as we're both still hungry but decides to spend his time with me once the pain becomes so bad that I almost pass out. Clearly the Gamemakers had no intention of making it fair after you passed the two-day mark. Your implant might give you so much pain it was impossible to do anything that qualified to get it to stop. Or it might be a minor annoyance, like Bec's. Either way, it's not fair, and they like it that way. By noon, I'm writhing in pain for ten minutes from every shock. Bec is trying his best to comfort me, but there's not much he can do. Or so I think. In my twenty minutes of clarity, I see him stand up, drop his spear, and look up at the sky.
"Hey!" He shouts. "Are you listening? I have something I want to do."
A ding answers him.
"Great," he says. "I… Can I transfer my Shine moment to Clear?"
Peter Mallard –36- -Capitol Resident- -Head Gamemaker- POV
"Sir, the boy from Three just asked if he could transfer his moment to his sister," a tech from the circle of desks tells me.
"Yes, I heard. Put it on the main screen, will you?" I ask distractedly. Should I allow this? That is a good question. You know what, I think I will. With one caveat, of course. "Transfer control of that boy's tracker to my station," I say to no one in particular, sitting down in my chair.
"Yes, Sir," someone says from across the room, and I have control of the boy's tracker.
"And patch me through to that area of the Arena," I say.
"Yes, Sir."
Bec Grey POV
"Becquerel. This is the Head Gamemaker," a voice comes from all around me after I've made my request. Clear is silent, but she looks at me like I'm crazy. Because I am, I guess. I know I'm going to die if they say yes. But I can't just sit by and let Clear die. So that's alright. Because if I die, she lives, and she's more important. She's younger and sweeter and better. So I'm going to die. I'm terrified, but I'll do what needs to be done. Especially because I doubt I have a choice now. "We have carefully considered your request-" in thirty seconds, apparently "-and we will let you transfer your moment to your sister if you wish. Before you make the request, you should be aware that we will kill you now if you decide to do so. Do you wish to proceed?"
I look down at Clear. "Bec, no-" she starts to say, but I speak over her.
"Yes. Proceed," I say. I hear a ding.
Ding. "Becquerel Grey has committed an outstanding act of bravery and love for his willingness to put his sister's life above his own. This bravery will be transferred to Clear Palatino, per his request." I feel an intense pain starting in my arm and radiating outward. I scream.
Clear Palatino –12- -D3- POV
I instantly feel reinvigorated. It's as if the Capitol had been dulling my senses, slowing my thoughts. Which they probably were. But Bec on the other hand – as soon as the announcement finished, he started to scream. His arm is starting to glow. As he screams and writhes, the glow spreads to his whole body. He falls to his knees, still screaming. I have to look away. The look in his eyes isn't Bec. It's an animal pain, that's how bad the pain is. I cover my eyes with my hands. Eventually, the screaming stops and I look back up. Where Bec used to be, a charred corpse lies. He's little more than a skeleton. Looking at the eye sockets covered in charred brown flesh is too much for me and I turn around, vomiting on the ground opposite his corpse. A cannon fires and I hear the hovercraft coming in the background. After the hovercraft leaves, I wipe my mouth and spit disgustedly. I turn around, still tasting vomit in my mouth, to the spot where Bec's body was. It's gone now. I hear another ding. This time, no announcement follows. A small box floats down on a parachute. When it gets to the ground, I tear it open. Inside is a small bar of food and a flask of water. I quickly tear open the bar pack and eat half of it before I can't eat anymore –what's in this – before noticing the note inside. I grab it and read it as I take a small sip of the water.
Clear,
You need to walk – as far as you can.
No signature. They probably figured I wouldn't know their name anyway. Just a short note, but it can still be useful. I quickly grab my bag, stuff ration bar and water pack in it, and grab my dagger. I won't need the primitive, blood-stained spear. I doubt I could even use it. I start walking in a random direction. I walk until I find a river to set up camp next to. I greedily drink some of the water and eat another few bites of food before the Anthem comes up in the sky.
Serena Holden –16- -D5- POV
Today – for the Hunger Games- is fairly uneventful. After breakfast, I help –or hover over uselessly, depending on who you ask – Andrew with the remaining two pieces of armor until Val suggests that my help might be more appreciated helping her and Falcon roof the main room of the cabin. And so I do that for most of the day until lunch, by which time the roof is completed. Then I sit around twiddling my thumbs until dinner, where I manage to coax another kiss out of Andrew. Shortly after, Falcon's armor is completed (Val's was done around midday.), and then it's time for watching the Anthem and bed. I have to admit that even though I never know when a giant wolf is going to come out of the forest and eat me alive, I could get used to this. Gradually trying to teach Andrew what being a couple is all about, talking and working with Val and Falcon. If I had a few months, I could probably do more than just snuggle with Andrew, although it would take a few months. What's bad is that with every day we spend here playing house, I grow more and more attached to these people – Andrew especially. And the less I'm okay with the idea of killing all of them or letting all of them die to win the Games.
Andrew Spayler –16- -D6- POV
"It really fits!" Val says.
"Of course," I say, as I step back to admire my handiwork. "Like a glove. Like it?"
"It's awesome. Thank you, Andrew," she says. She gives me a hug and walks away. Later in the day, Falcon is less obvious about his appreciation.
"He says, 'Thanks, Andrew,'," Val says. "And that he's not going to hug you." I laugh at her joke.
"Good to know," I say. "Will, sorry I kept you up. You two can head to bed now, I just wanted to make sure that it fits tonight since I was almost done with it."
"He says, 'Of course. I would have done the same thing. Thanks again, Andrew," Val says.
"No problem," I say.
Later that day, after Serena has fallen asleep, I consider what's going on. I've found someone who likes me. Romantically. That's weird, and a new feeling. And I think I might be getting attached to her. I don't know what this means for winning, but then again, I never had very good odds. Did I?
Falcon Lockdust –17- -D4- POV
You're getting really good at this. You're pretty much fluent by now, I tell Val after lunch.
Thanks, she says. What did you think of doing the roof today?
It wasn't hard, I say. I'm amazed that we haven't had to fight anyone yet.
Me too, she says. Let's hope it stays that way for a while.
Let's hope so. I wonder how many by the end of the day.
We'll see, she says.
Vallory 'Val' Stensland –17- -D7- POV
And see we did. First the girl from Eleven, Brianna. Then the girl from One. Then the boy from Seven, Aster. The boy from my District. I didn't really know him, but I still feel bad for him. And now all of District Seven will be rooting for me. Yay. Then the boy from One. Scratch District One for winners then. It's interesting to think that there are whole districts for whom this whole competition is nothing but an academic exercise for already. Seven is not one of them, luckily. Of course, I wouldn't really be around to know if it was. Heh. Then the boy from Two, but not the girl. So she must have won the career fight. I think about asking Falcon if he's happy he's not with them, but then I'm distracted by the next face in the sky. Probably best not to ask anyway. The boy from three, Becquerel. I guess that's what happens when you 'transfer' your act of bravery, which I didn't realize we could do. Good thing I don't need to. Nor does anyone else here. The last face is-
Athena Rye –14- -D9- POV
I wake up to a stabbing pain in my arm. Crap. I haven't been brave or whatever. And I have less than twenty-four hours to do it, although I doubt that they'll actually give me that long. I get up and start to look for food as I consider how to do something brave or whatever. But I just don't know, and the pain every half hour isn't helping. Halfway through the day, after managing to scrounge up some more berries, I hear a sound from behind me. I grab one of my knives and turn around. I put my back up against a tree trunk. I see bright blue eyes staring at me from the trees around me. Just one set. They're not human, I can tell that. Those eyes are scary, but whatever it is, there's only one of them. I get the knife ready to throw and – the creature charges at me. I freeze for a second, taking the creature in. At first glance, it looks like a wolf. It has brown fur and those piercing blue eyes (which I now think might be computerized). Those aren't the scariest features about it. It's maybe one and a half times the size of a normal wolf, with giant sharp claws and two rows of sharp teeth. I bring my knife to bear and – again, the creature surprises me. Its mouth opens and a spurt of flame bursts out. Crap. I'm temporarily blinded, and I throw my knife wildly, in what I think is the direction of the mutt. Either it doesn't land, or it doesn't do enough damage, because a second later I feel paws on me, claws ripping my skin, and as my eyes adjust, the last thing I see is the things piercing blue eyes. I hear a scream – most likely my own – and a cannon shot.
Vallory 'Val' Stensland –17- -D7- POV
The last face is the girl from Nine. The boy was yesterday, today it's her. I feel bad for her too. But then the Anthem is done, and it's time to go to bed. I snuggle with Falcon as I wonder about what tomorrow holds. And what my ever-increasing feelings for him mean for my survival.
Silk Daisly –16- -D8- POV
I wake up on the morning of the third day. What to do today? I decide to try to find some more food, some big game. Unfortunately, not only do I not find anything to eat besides berries and small game, but I also lose track of where my base is and am forced to set up camp in a random part of the woods. I'm annoyed at myself for letting myself get lost, but it is what it is, I guess. At least I'm not one of the ones who's dead because I wasn't brave or smart enough. I counted seven cannons today, so now only thirteen Tributes remain. If one more person dies, I'll be in the top half. Of course, the only place that matters is first. I see the faces up in the sky, and while I do feel bad for them, I'm happy I'm not up there. And then I fall asleep, with a full stomach and a warm body in a new spot of the woods.
Giselle Serpentine –16- -D2- POV
I packed up what I needed and could carry from our camp then set off in a direction that I think should bring me some kills the soonest – the direction I had seen three Tributes run away from the Cornucopia in. That night I eat well before I go to sleep next to a small fire. The faces of the people I've killed lit the sky, and now, as I try to sleep, I can't get their faces out of my head. Their dead eyes looking at me. In my dreams tonight, they're not alive and killing me anymore, anyone who could hurt me is already dead. Now they come towards me as their dead selves, eyes not seeing, not hearing anything except my screams as they rip to my shreds. Before every attack, the ask why. "Why Giselle? Why did you kill us? You could have let us live. It's all your fault, Giselle. Why?" And when I can't explain to their satisfaction, they attack me, ripping me to pieces. And in the dreams, I can't fight back. I can't do anything except watch as they tear me apart and consume pieces of my dead body. And then, when one is done, they put me back together and start the process all over again for another one. I wake up screaming again that night, except that this time, there's no Ares to comfort me.
Emery Colt –17- -D5- POV
Today was uneventful for us. Not so much for the seven people who died, I guess, but personally, I didn't do much. We got up, ate, and – oh that's right. I did almost die. I felt a sharp pain in my arm during breakfast. Kayne and Tontu looked at me when I winced, worried.
"It's my tracker," I explain. "No Shine moment yet. Which reminds me," I go over to the bushes and rustle out the project I've been working on. "Tontu, I know that this can never rival what Noami made you, but I made you a little notebook." I hold the book out to him. It's simply dried reeds flattened out to make pages with holes I poked in them with an arrow through which more reeds run as binding, but I spent the better part of the past two days working on it. Tontu takes it and flips through it. Then he pulls out his pencil and writes something.
Thank you.
"No problem," I say. "Happy to help."
Ding. "Emery Colt has committed an extraordinary act of love."
"Awesome," I say. "But I don't love you. Not like that. Like a friend, I guess."
Thanks. You too. Tontu writes.
Tontu Heinburg –18- -D11- POV
I spent most of the third day testing how well Emery's new notebook worked. Then I wrote another note.
Noami,
I think I'm going to use Emery's from now on. This is because if I die… I'm going to write another note to you on the pages I keep free in this book. I want you to get it, I don't want to have to erase it to talk. So I'll use this for now. I hope that my note gets to you. I love you, Noami.
Love,
Tontu
And I do write her another note, one I hope she'll never have to see.
Kayne Lytch –13- -D10- POV
After Emery gave Tontu his notebook – which is pretty cool of him – we went out for a quick hunt. I shot a deer with my bow, which I'm pretty proud of. We had venison for lunch and dinner. Tontu spent most of the day writing in his notebook, and I heard Emery humming for most of the day. At the end of the day, the Anthem comes on.
Once it finishes, I say, "That's that girl we couldn't kill. The girl from nine. Athena."
"Yeah," Emery says. "It's sad that she's dead, but..." he leaves the rest unsaid. It means we don't have to kill her, and she can't kill us. And with those sobering thoughts, I and Tontu try to fall asleep.
Peter Mallard –36- -Capitol Resident- -Head Gamemaker- POV
"The test worked beautifully, Sir. She was ripped apart and the cameras got every moment of it," the young Gamemaker says, holding up a tablet with footage from the attack in mention.
"Thank you," I say. "Tell Mr. and Mrs. Presley that I'm very proud of them and their work. And tomorrow morning, right in our prime viewing time, set as many of them as we can without making it look rigged on the target."
"Yes, Sir," the Gamemaker says, leaving my office. I sigh heavily as I pull up the hologram of the target. A pretty little girl. Why did she have to cause so much trouble back home?
Somewhere in the Arena, a trapdoor opens, and a cage is pushed up through a tube. The door opens automatically and the cargo is released. The wolves scan the area around them with their blue eyes, although there isn't truly a need for it, as they are being fed detailed data about where they are in relation to their target and everything in between from the sensors lining the Arena. They set off at a slow walk towards their intended destination. They only need to be there by around nine tomorrow. Almost ten hours. The pack of five trots slowly through the woods, avoiding contact with anything that could prevent them from getting to the target.
A/N: So many dead Tribute notes today, it's a little sad. Let's go.
Bri: I do feel bad for her. She was just the target of Diamond's misguided anger, and she paid with her life for it. Then again, she had no illusions about her odds, and she's happy that she enjoyed her last few days as much as she did. At least her spunk saved her from a more painful death than what she got. RIP Bri.
Diamond: I don't feel that bad for her. She was misguided from the very beginning, believing that killing Athena would somehow bring back Topaz. I'm all for revenge, but in this case, Athena did nothing wrong. She simply did what needed to be done to save her own life. At least Diamond finally realized this and repented before she died. RIP Diamond.
Aster: Poor Aster. He was an interesting guy with an interesting backstory. (He's bi, which I'm pretty sure never came up because of his relationship with Bri. Just an interesting fact about his character.) I wish he could have gone further, but sadly his relationship with Bri doomed him. At least he got to be happy with someone like him before he died. RIP Aster.
Lustero: Lustero was a fairly normal career. He didn't want to cause that much pain to people, which was nice. Unfortunately, with the other careers, I felt like he just faded into the background. And with Diamond dead and Giselle and Ares working together, he never stood a chance. RIP Lustero.
Ares: It was always a toss-up if Ares or Giselle would win their inevitable fight, but I sort figured it would be Giselle, considering that she managed to win most of the time. She's also just faster and more maneuverable. Ares was a fun character to write, he really was. He may have been a bad guy, but he was unapologetic about that. I liked that we got to see all sides of Ares in his relationship with Giselle. At least he got to spend his last days with someone like him, and someone nicer than Selene. :) (Which the submitter asked for, I understand and hope I satisfied.) RIP Ares.
Bec: He was never going to win if we're honest about it. He would have always let Clear win, that's just the kind of guy he is. The only way he could have won was if somehow Clear died and he didn't, but if he could prevent it, that would never happen, and if he couldn't, he would hate himself for the rest of his life. He didn't have particularly happy last days, but he did give his life for someone he loved. He's a good guy at the core of things. RIP Bec.
Athena: I really feel bad for her. I actually really like her and her character, and in another Games, she could have gone far. If the requirement of a Shine moment wasn't there, she could have been a winner. Sadly, it was, and she wasn't. The Capitol also needed someone to test their new mutt on and figured that if she lived it would give her a Shine moment. I really liked her, especially her relationship with Isaiah. RIP Athena.
The Fallen:
24th: Kayra Dawnbreeze, 13F, D10. Killed by a sword through the side from Ares Moretti.
23rd: Camelia Lloha, 12F, D12. Killed by a sword through the heart from Giselle Serpentine.
22nd: Char Alfand, 14M, D12. Killed by a knife through the heart thrown by Silk Daisly.
21st: Isaiah Lemont, 15M, D9. Sacrifice. Killed by a spear through the heart thrown by Tontu Heinburg.
20th: Brianna 'Bri' Tribiani, 16F, D11. Killed by knives through her heart and stomach thrown by Diamond Knowles.
19th: Diamond Knowles, 18F, D1. Mercy Kill. Killed by having her throat slit by Aster Ochs.
18th: Aster Ochs, 16M, D7. Killed by a partial beheading by Giselle Serpentine.
17th: Lustero Aldor, 17M, D1. Killed by swords through the side and heart by Giselle Serpentine and Ares Moretti.
16th: Ares Moretti, 18M, D2. Killed by choking by Giselle Serpentine.
15th: Becquerel 'Bec' Grey, 15M, D3. Sacrifice. Killed by tracker after transferring his Shine moment to his step-sister, Clear Palatino. Killed by the Capitol.
14th: Athena Rye, 14F, D9. Killed by being ripped apart by a Capitol mutt. Killed by the Capitol.
A/N: And that's a wrap on Day Three. This has been the bloodiest day so far. I hope that your favorite Tribute isn't dead, but if they are… it is the Hunger Games. So, what do you think will happen next? Do you think Clear will be able to make the most of Bec's sacrifice, or will she die like so many others? Will Giselle overcome her trauma or will it overcome her? Who do you think will win? Let me know, I'm curious how many of you are right. ;)
