Day Seventeen, chilluns! Woot woot!
I'd recommend not skipping to the bottom. Just saying.
Note: The first chapter of Ladies First: The 7th Quarter Quell is finally up! Forms are on my profile, etc. Submissions are currently slated to close October First, depending on how well submissions goes. I currently have 5 total.
Man, taking a sick day at work really helps you get an update out! Unless you're actually sick, which I am. But hey, I got it out!
Thanks to TheUltimateBookworm1234, dreams and desperation, and roses for the reviews!
Cheyenne Bruno, Age 13, District 10
District Ten Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
It's today, I'm sure of it. The day we've all been dying to reach, the day some of have already died trying to reach. Day Seventeen. The day of reckoning. Today, District Ten will be on the edge of their seats, praying that I outlive the other three tributes. All of Panem will be watching me.
They'll be watching the others, of course. Two and Six and Eight will be hoping as much for my death as Ten is waiting for Aran, Henry and Cassia's. Three and Twelve might be supporting me; their tributes were my Allies at one point or another. One is likely backing Two, and Four is probably split between Cassia and Henry. Most of the other Districts, Five and Seven, Nine, Eleven and Thirteen will likely care little, unless one of the others killed their tributes. Henry and I are likely the only ones with clean hands this late in the Game, so perhaps we have some sympathy fans.
As I march through the jungle, I hold the metal canister tightly in my left hand. My right side is mostly healed by now, though that doesn't mean I'd like to try carrying a bomb on that hand for who knows how long. Trekking through the dense foliage is difficult enough without having to worry about blowing myself skyward with every step.
"I wonder where the others are." I say to myself. Are they close? Will the Gamemakers be kind enough to bring them to me, and I can spring my trap? Or will they wait to see what becomes of somebody else, far off on the other side of the Arena? When it comes to the twisted minds that have ruled over my life the past few weeks, I can't be sure of anything. With them at the helm, anything can happen.
I keep walking, though I'm sure to listen carefully. While I'm fairly confident that I won't be killed because of my plan, it could easily backfire and literally blow up in my face. The Gamemakers may want to give them their explosive ending to their little Games. Or they may worry I'll ruin everything.
My family must be so worried. My parents have likely thrown all their cash at the Capitol representatives in an attempt to get me some more Sponsor money. Charlotte may be wishing the Quell rule wasn't a restriction on age, something we fought over for the three months leading up to me getting Reaped. My little sheepdog Lassie probably sits by the front door every day, waiting for me to come home.
Faye and Rachelle are probably together, hiding between blankets and sneaking peeks at the screens, not wanting to watch but also unable to look away. They were always such good friends to me, even if Rachelle and I quarreled over the dumbest things.
They all seem so distant now, like a dream rooted deep in my childhood. It's difficult to imagine life outside of the Arena, with survival being the only thought on my mind.
If my plan goes well, I will leave the Arena and see them again.
That's a big if, Cheyenne.
Shut up.
Cassia Lyra Maurise, Age 18, District 2
District Two Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
You've got to be kidding me.
I woke up this morning feeling remarkably well-rested and ready to finally get these Games over with. I went through my normal routine of relieving myself before packing up camp, doing a final sweep of the area to remove all traces of my presence. It's likely a useless precaution now; with Mera dead, there's nobody to track me, save maybe the pig from Ten. Not that she could do anything to harm me.
After packing, I began trekking toward the volcano, knives held ready in case I came across any of the others earlier than I had anticipated. The Gamemakers typically don't bring the tributes together until after 11 in the morning, but they never want us complacent, especially when one or more of the tributes have such an in-depth understanding of the Games such as myself.
It's the stillness in the jungle that alerted me. Everything got quiet; the birds stopped singing, the insects stopped their chatter, even the mosquitos and gnats began to leave me alone. I paused, focusing. I see the darkness of the undergrowth, feel the eyes of something watching me from that darkness. My eyes finally zero in on two glowing orange eyes peering out from the upper boughs of a mangrove tree, a brown-spotted golden tail curling and uncurling.
Mutt.
I back away slowly, watching the beast. It doesn't move at first, watching me carefully as I retreat. When I can't see it anymore, I whirl around and start to run.
A loud THUD from behind me tells me that the creature is on the ground, likely pursuing me. I don't look back, focusing instead on the foliage and racking my brain for ways out of this. I could resort to fighting, but that thing probably has two hundred pounds on me if previous Games are anything to go by, and its teeth are likely sharper than my blades. A jungle cat is not something I want to trifle with, not unless I have no other option.
I hear the roar ringing in my ear, and the adrenaline pushes me onward. Weaving around bushes and trees, I sprint through the jungle. My heart pounds in my chest, and my vision is getting hazy. My adrenaline keeps me going, however, even though my body doesn't want to comply. This is, perhaps, the first time I've really been in danger.
To my right, the plants rustle, and I quickly turn in the other direction, though not before I catch a glimpse of the massive jaguar. Her muscles stretch and contract beautifully as she thunders through the brush, and the image imprints itself in my mind as my gaze returns to the dark jungle.
Once, I might have admired its beauty. The way a huntress such as herself could be so effective, so deadly. I barely think on this with it chasing me, however, and I nearly stumble as another roar pierces the air, loud and terrifying.
You've got to be kidding me.
Aran Quade, Age 17, District 6
District Six Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
I lost control yesterday. With the Four girl, I became so angry that I attacked a girl who was already wounded, bringing her more pain than she deserved, even for a Career. How can I claim to be better than her when I'm willing to bow to her level before brutally murdering her? Could I really be so heartless?
How would I have been able to look Reyna in the eyes if I had done something so atrocious? If Henry hadn't stepped in and ended her suffering as he had, I might have gone through with it.
In my hatred and frustration, I might have tried to kill him too.
He was gone when I returned to the ruins of Laya and I's old camp. Most of it had been destroyed as the hovercraft collected the Four girl's body, taking with her the supplies and the arrows I had left in her leg, assuming Henry didn't collect them himself. I doubt he'd have been able to get the pack off the girl's shoulders without cutting the straps, but he could have opened the bag and stashed some things in his own.
I have little of value left with me now, with the finale so close and the Games about two and a half weeks in. Aside from the bow and half a dozen arrows, I have only a half-filled bottle of water and a nearly-empty bottle of iodine. If Henry was still with me, I'd still have the three or four filled bottles he has, and I'd get the spear back.
Maybe I should hunt him down. I decide. At best, I can recruit him. At worst… well, I'm better with a bow than he is with that spear. It is the Hunger Games. I'll make it quick if it comes down to it, though I hope it doesn't. I don't want to kill him unless he's the only one standing between me and going back home to Six. My main focus should be on removing Cassia from the equation. With her gone, the Games are mine.
Over the corpses of the girl from Ten and Henry. Is there no way to avoid killing one of them without letting Cassia win? Maybe she'll kill one of them while I shoot her? That's assuming I can get into a position where I can use one of them as bait, which neither of them seem dumb enough to do. Not with their lives on the line.
How am I supposed to do this? The options aren't good no matter which way you look at them, and fewer have any chance of succeeding. Have I come so close only to die anyway? It doesn't matter how long you survive in the Arena unless you win. At the end of the day, twenty-five tributes go home in boxes and one goes home.
One goes home…
Henry Reynoso, Age 14, District 8
District Eight Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
I've been preparing all morning.
Since I saw Aran the way I did yesterday, I decided that I couldn't trust anybody anymore, not Aran and especially not Cassia and not even Cheyenne. Now that we're all as far as we are, I doubt any of us would hesitate if it came down to backstabbing treachery. Which means I have to be willing as well.
I've spent much of today gathering, from poison frogs to nuts and fruits to animal scat. It isn't quite what grandmother taught me back home, but it should do.
Mashing a ton of the substances together, I created a paste that kills quickly and painlessly. Their deaths won't be like Devon's, where I strung her around for a few days before she succumbed to the poison. Rather, I will give any tribute in my way a little cut, then just have to survive their attacks until they fall unconscious.
In theory, this is perhaps the most painless way to kill someone. They won't know what hit them, figuratively, and all I need to do is not get gored on my own spear or a knife or an arrow. And I need to hit all the tributes.
This would be better with a blowgun; there are seldom darts in the Arena, and I doubt there were any this year. If I had the time, I could make one and a few darts, striking my targets from a distance, but I don't have the time nor the patience. My knife and spear, gifts from Aran Quade, will have to do. Once in the tribute's bloodstream, it should take only minutes for the tribute to die. In addition, I have some glass vials that I've extracted some frog venom into. Every plan needs a backup, after all.
The paste doesn't irritate my skin as I apply it to my weapons, a fact that worries me. Normally, a substance such as the one I have aimed for would sting a little or redden the skin. My fingers are dry and clean, however, after washing them off in the river and examining them for several minutes.
What if it doesn't work?
I shake my head. There's no way to find out, unless a tribute with a death wish is willing to let me test. Or an animal bigger and easier to strike than a small bird.
The solution comes to me as a mighty roar reaches my ears. How close is it? I think frantically in fear, before I realize that the Gamemakers may have given me an opening. If that creature is revealing itself from as far off as it is, then perhaps it's after one of the others. Maybe, just maybe, I can test my formula while still ensuring that one of the others falls.
I shake my head slightly, grinning. I am either very much insane, or incredibly confident. Hiking up my supplies, careful to make sure the knife at my waist won't cut me, I sprint into the jungle, after the creature's cries.
The end has arrived.
Cheyenne Bruno, Age 13, District 10
District Ten Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
The first roar of the jaguar has me frozen to the spot, hands shaking as the memories return. In the past, my first reaction was to run, a reaction that saved my life, but fear keeps me rooted in place. I remember, in that moment, things that I've tried to forget for the past two weeks, and it all seems to come crashing down on me.
A small creature with golden fur slips silently out of the undergrowth, walking right into Denny's back. The cub, her golden fur shining even in the boy's shadow, mewls softly.
I jump to my feet, looking around wildly as the kit captures Denny's attention. The boy loves animals, I remember faintly. Of course he'd fall for an adorable kitten.
A roar tears through the jungle, and I break into a sprint. Away from my Ally and the cub, away from the roars. There's crashing through the jungle behind me, but I don't look back. Another roar, a heavy crash. Denny screams, he screams and screams and screams and then he stops and I'm still running and BOOM fires the cannon.
"Denny…" I whisper, tears trailing down my face.
The roar comes again, and finally I run, the same coward I was two weeks ago. Trees whip past, and every other step increases the pain in my side, the burns angry at my attempts to live. I hear crashing through the bushes behind me, the panting of the devil's cat. When I can't take it anymore, I leap behind a mangrove, expecting the jaguar to barrel past me. It doesn't.
"Come out, little tribute." A voice haunts the grove of trees, feminine and cold. "Let's not make this any more difficult than we have to, eh? I'll make it quick, I promise."
Against my better judgement, I peek around my tree, hoping to catch a glimpse. I recognize that voice, don't I? Back in training, hers was a voice to bow to, her presence overwhelming and terror-inspiring. Clutching the bomb to my chest, amazed that it hadn't quite gone off, I catch sight of the Two girl. For one reason or another, her back is to me, and I make the most of the opportunity. Ducking back behind my tree, I open the panel on the device, setting the trigger to impact. One toss to her feet should do it.
All at once, I leap out from my refuge, stumbling slightly as I face the older girl. I raise my left arm to throw, muscles tense.
She widens her eyes in surprise. "Oh, my, a gift for me? Ten, you shouldn't have!" In a flash, a knife is in her hand and cutting the air as it seeks my heart.
The blade seems to slow, dragging out the agony of watching it strike my flesh. Without realizing it, I bring my left hand down to my chest, the hand with the bomb. Holding it carefully in the knife's path, I watch Cassia's eyes widen as the hilt of the knife strikes the metal canister.
Cassia Lyra Maurise, Age 18, District 2
District Two Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
In my sprint, I barely notice the movement in the trees ahead of me. I raise my blades to defend myself, but nothing attacks. I continue forward, not stopping until the crashes behind me stop entirely.
I must have found one. I think giddily. The Gamemakers have led me straight and true.
I walk forward a few paces, knives held ready as I search for my prey.
"Come out, little tribute." I say, letting my voice drip with sweetness. "Let's not make this any more difficult than we have to, eh? I'll make it quick, I promise." Yes, I have no desire to waste time on this tribute than I have to. The last ones will be the ones I have fun with, but I can't have this one getting away.
There's a sound like a cracking twig behind me, and I whirl around. I see nothing, but hunting by sight alone isn't very effective in a huntress.
I walk back in the direction I came, watching carefully for signs of the jaguar or a tribute. I find nothing and decide to return to where I had been led. The tribute must be there.
When I find the grove again, I'm surprised to find a small girl waiting there for me, her hair wild and her eyes determined.
The surprise wears off quickly as I catch sight of a metal canister in her left hand. "Oh, my, a gift for me? Ten, you shouldn't have!"
In one fluid motion, I have a love dagger in my hand, reared back to throw. In another, the knife is cast at the smaller tribute, silver blade seeking her heart.
Her first reaction, unexpectedly, is to bring her arm down into the knife's path. Most people try to run or otherwise dodge, but this girl uses her arm to defend herself. In a moment, the silver canister creates a small shield over her chest, the knife arcing straight into it.
The hilt strikes the canister, and the dark jungle explodes white.
I shut my eyes tight as the force of the explosion tosses me back, though the blinding flash is still seared into my vision. My head strikes something hard, and the blinding white quickly fades to black.
Henry Reynoso, Age 14, District 8
District Eight Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
I'm waiting in the darkness under a mangrove tree when they first appear. The girl from Two, knives in hand, eyes wild in panic. She's sprinting as hard as she can, and she surely can't go like that much longer. On her tail is the beast whose cries I heard earlier, a jaguar with powerful muscles and a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.
My spear is ready as it becomes evident that their path will just barely pass by my hiding place. I have little time to think on my luck before Cassia is passing my tree. My spear lunges out at her, but my reaction was too slow, catching the jaguar behind her instead. The weapon is jerked from my grasp, the clattering eclipsed by the frustrated roar of the cat.
I look up as it recovers its footing, glaring at me in hatred. Its eyes are violet, its fur shining as it passes through a patch of light. It snarls at me, turning from side to side as it examines me.
I don't get a good glimpse of the wound I gave it, though I see the black blood running down its left foreleg. I definitely scored a hit, but was it enough?
As the creature stalks toward me, I reach into my pants pocket, fingers wrapping around a glass jar from the kit Velvet sent me so long ago. The jaguar lunges suddenly, and I throw the vial with all my might, right into the cat's face. The glass shatters, shards cutting open the cat's face as the tree frog venom blinds it and enters the bloodstream. The venom won't be effective on the cat, but it should be blind, at least for a while.
The jaguar mewls in pain, paws swatting at its face as it stumbles around. I leap to my feet, running to retrieve the spear before taking refuge in a thick clump of bushes some meters away. The cat dances around in pain for barely a few more minutes before collapsing to the ground in a heap.
I jump up, fist in the air. It works! I almost scream, before remembering the Two girl passing by only moments ago. Will she return to see what happened to her pursuer?
Quickly, I smear some more paste on the spear before setting off in the general direction Cassia had gone. I try to avoid her trail, jumping around trees and trying to get a look at her before she knows I'm here.
A twig snapping under my foot undermines my attempts at stealth, and I drop to the ground, expecting knives to fly over my head. None come, and I sit there, shaking, for several minutes.
Finally regaining my courage, I stick my head up, looking around. Slowly, I stand again, continuing my march toward certain doom. I stop when I hear a voice.
"… for me? You shouldn't have!"
There's a sound like thunder, a bright light in the jungle ahead. I proceed with caution, knuckles white around the spear. Are the others all there? Have I finally reached the end?
Two cannons break the air.
Final Two?
Aran Quade, Age 17, District 6
District Six Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
It's the explosion that draws me, like a moth to a flame. Arrow nocked, I scan my surroundings for any danger, but I see none. What could that have been? Some trap set by the Gamemakers? What happened?
BOOM
BOOM
There's your answer, I think, pondering.
It's easy enough to find the source of the explosion; it appears as though it ripped through the trees it was next to, pushing everything else outward. Flecks of metal are embedded in the trees, and there's blood everywhere, though I don't see a corpse. Must have ripped them apart.
I stop short when I catch sight of the red jacket of the Twos, and I carefully creep toward the corpse of Cassia Maurise. Her limp form rests against a mangrove, blood flowing down the side of her head and around her ear.
I'm about to fire an arrow into her stomach for good measure when something crashes into my shoulder, splattering into my neck. I whirl about, eyes resting on Henry Reynoso hiding behind a splintered tree.
In an instant, I have an arrow flying toward him, but a sudden pain in my neck makes me cringe, lowering the bow a fraction and messing up the shot. Henry sprints toward me before I can reload, Malaya's spear in his hands. He levels it at my throat as he charges, but I deflect it rather easily and the boy's momentum sends him sprawling.
I draw an arrow from my quiver, brandishing it like a sword. Henry rolls away, nimbly regaining his feet. Laya's spear slips easily back into his grip.
"I just want to go home, Eight." I say, staring him down.
"That's all any of us wanted." He grunts.
DING
Henry's eyes widen at the sound, and I hit the deck, arrows scattering around me. There's a sickening SQUELSH, and Henry collapses beside me.
"A couple of boys having all the fun? Please. Let me show you how to have fun."
To those naughty children who skipped to the bottom, HA! I TRICKED YOU!
To the good little children who refrained from skipping, I'm sorry. Not really.
Individual Placings!
26th: Sparky Montgomery, Age 12, District Thirteen Male
25th: Kenzi Williams, Age 16, District Seven Female
24th: Tulle Salane, Age 15, District Eight Female
23rd: Thorn Ashbury, Age 13, District Eleven Male
22nd: Keola Foeba, Age 13, District Twelve Female
21st: Harvest Miller, Age 14, District Nine Female
20th: Rebelle Rine, Age 13, District Thirteen Female
19th: Soot Maloy, Age 13, District Twelve Male
18th: Denny Rico, Age 14, District Ten Male
17th: Marcus Caelum, Age 17, District One Male
16th: Jetta Carter, Age 17, District Six Female
15th: Darius Line, Age 17, District Five Male
14th: Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District Three Female
13th: Willow Orchids, Age 13, District Eleven Female
12th: Logan Woodson, Age 16, District Seven Male
11th: Jasper Blue, Age 16, District Four Male
10th: Thanatos Rize, Age 15, District Nine Male
9th: Cordin Bolt, Age 16, District Three Male
8th: Mason Lepodolite, Age 18, District Two Male
7th: Malaya Garnet, Age 17, District One Female
6th: Devon Cynthia Rose, Age 17, District Five Female
5th: Esmeralda Annalise Dawn, Age 18, District Four Female
Kills!
Malaya Garnet: 1 (Logan Woodson, D7M)
Marcus Caelum: 1 (Kenzi Williams, D7F)
Cassia Lyra Maurise: 2 (Thorn Ashbury, D11M; Sparky Montgomery, D13M)
Mason Lepodolite: 5 (Malaya Garnet, D1F; Darius Line, D5M; Jetta Carter, D6F; Tulle Salane, D8F; Keola Foeba, D12F)
Esmeralda "Mera" Annalise Dawn: 4 (Infiniti Reagan, D3F; Thanatos Rize, D9M; Soot Maloy, D12M; Rebelle Sunflower Rine, D13F)
Devon Cynthia Rose: 1 (Jasper Blue, D4M)
Darius Line: 1 (Harvest Miller, D9F)
Aran Quade: 1 (Mason Lepodolite, D2M)
Henry Reynoso: 2 (Esmeralda Dawn, D4F; Devon Rose, D5F)
Thanatos Rize: 1 (Willow Orchids, D11F)
Other: 3 (Marcus Caelum, D1M (Sepsis); Cordin Bolt, D3M (Hellhound); Denny Rico, D10M (Jaguar))
Alliances!
N/A
Loners!
Cassia (2)
Aran (6)
Henry (8)
Cheyenne (10)
Questions!
IT'S HAPPENING GUYS! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
Seriously tho. What's going on?
R&R and submit to LADIES FIRST,
Z
