What you gon' do when there's blood in the blood in the water?
When there's blood in the water
When there's blood in the
When there's blood in the water
Gena Cooper
District 9, Female, 12
(Day 4)
...
I wake up to the sound of birds chirping in the trees, I clench my fists in fury.
"Who the hell are you chirping at?" I scream at them and they burst out of the trees, flying away. "That's what I thought, fuck off!"
I hear a groan from under me, Tenzin blinks a couple of times to adjust to the morning light before sitting up and leaning against a tree. We've been in the same area for a couple of days now, waiting it out until it's just left. I know that's not what is going to happen though, sooner or later, one of them is gonna get greedy for this Game to get faster and I won't be sticking around to find out when that is.
"You woke me up." Tenzin murmurs and I look at him disgustedly, he's constantly getting on my nerves and reminds me of my brother - Adam. Unfortunately, my parents are here to protect me from his maliciousness. My mind constantly flutters back to Adam laughing at the reaping, I really can't believe he wanted me dead, sure, I didn't like him. But to find joy in him being killed? I guess he is just as bad of a human being as I always thought he was.
"Shut up." I snap at Tenzin, usually, him even talking would make me scream and cry but The Arena has made me realise that not everyone will respond to a tantrum the way my Parents do. He rolls his eyes at me and I roll mine back before turning around to face away from him, thinking about ow much I'm going to enjoy running away from him in the middle of the night. I'll have to take both Tenzin and Cyra's things with me, I have nothing right now but it should be easy enough to sneak off with the backpack.
"Morning." Cyra yawns, I ignore her.
"Morning. When do you wanna go down and get water?" Tenzin asks.
"How about now? The sun isn't too bad at the moment but it'll get worse as the day goes on." Tenzin nods his head and I turn back around, shrugging.
"Come on then." I say as I stand up and begin to walk toward the body of water we had found a couple of days ago, it hardly tastes nice but it gets rid of the sticky feeling in my mouth and that's all that really matters right now.
The walk is along a rocky path surrounded by trees and fields, it feels a lot more unsafe compared to the shelter of the trees which hide us away from the other tributes. We walk in silence, all three of us tired, thirsty and hungry but fighting the feelings. Suddenly, something breaks the silence, it's a loud squawk like sound that comes from above. I look up to see a large eagle soaring through the sky, directed right at me and I scream. It darts onto my face, scratching with it's long and sharp talons, I attempt to push it off with my hands but nothing works.
It flies away again and all three of us begin to run, I run as fast as I've ever ran before - knowing my life depends on it. However, flight is faster than sprinting and it dives, swooping down onto my face and claws my eye out, I scream the loudest and shrillest I've ever screamed before. I watch through my left eyes as Tenzin slices the head off the large bird but all I can really focus on is my right eye that now hangs out of its socket.
I barely feel the pain for the first few minutes but I drop to the floor as it suddenly comes to me, my hand holds it and stops it from falling off completely but it only increases the searing pain now building up. "Help me." I manage through a sob stuck in my throat and Cyra and Tenzin both lay me down, Cyra takes something out of her backpack which look to be bandages.
"This may hurt, I'm going to put it back in and wrap this around it." She whispers.
"Just do it." I groan back and she does as I say, she uses the bandage to pop the eye back in, it still doesn't feel right whatsoever but now the bandage holds it in place and at least that means it's not hanging out anymore.
Suddenly, I faint.
Lira Wesley
District 1, Female, 17
(Day 4)
...
You're fine, Lira. You're fine, Lira. I chant in my head as we move through the trees, however, my mind constantly goes back to the face of Andromeda, to the face of Ashanti. They're both dead and I couldn't save them, I volunteered for this Game simply so they could die. Tears roll down my face for probably the twentieth time today and I feel Eric's hand gently hold onto mine.
Daniel walks ahead, silently. I don't think any of us want to kill or enjoy it very much, I had never really thought about if before volunteering. All I had thought about was winning and making my family proud, not killing innocent people. Innocent children. Now, I'm not so sure I can do this, I'm not so sure I want to do this. Eric gets it, he blames me for nothing and he is gentle and kind with me. However, I know Daniel secretly blames me for the loss of the cornucopia, because I couldn't get myself together and instead sobbed over Andi's body as they were threatened.
Daniel hasn't spoken to me since. None of us has really spoken, it's almost as if we've come to a mutual agreement not to become close because we know what will happen in the end. I'm okay with it but I hold no weapon in my hands, my bloody sword sticks out of Eric's backpack and I take a peek at it. I know I shouldn't have, the memories already come flashing back and I see Ashanti's shocked face as I stick it through her stomach ruthlessly.
Never again will I take an innocent life, if I do win these Games, it won't be because I fought for it. We walk for another couple of hours before taking a break and sitting in a field, I cross my legs and take tiny sips of water from my bottle. I don't feel thirsty but Eric reminds me that I'll die without drinking so I abide. I'm not sure I'd mind dying, definitely not of thirst, I'd want it to be quick and thorough, something that I'd only feel for a second.
At the same time, the idea of death scares me because it would mean departing from my friends and family forever and I don't know if I could do that to myself, I don't know if I could do that to them. I lay down and stare up at the sky, the sun beats down on my face and causes me to sweat but I could hardly care. Eric gives me a couple crackers which I nibble on but they aren't very tasty, nor am I very hungry. After a few minutes, we get up and continue walking, entering another large forest of trees. As we get further in, we begin to hear talking, I stand frozen but Daniel and Eric jump into action as they run toward the sound.
Oh no, it's happening again. Someone's about to die. I gulp and walk slowly forward, peering around trees, everything is quiet and I find myself near a little river where a boy seems to be filling up water bottles. It's the boy from Eleven, that must mean the girl is nearby and Daniel and Eric have probably already found her. "They're coming." I squeak to him and his eyes dart around him, finding me peering out from behind a tree.
"Fuck." He shouts and he begins to run but he's too late and a scream sounds in the distance, followed by the sound of a cannon. He begins to run and I go after him, maybe I can stop Daniel and Eric from killing him too. I could convince them he would be a good addition, he seems strong. Soon enough, we come to the body of the girl from Eleven on the floor, the grass stained with her blood. He drops to his knees and strokes her hair, tears rolling down his face. I just stand and watch, Eric and Daniel aren't around but the wound looks very similar to that of an axe.
"I loved her." He sobs and he stands up, turning around to face me. "You did this. You people who volunteer for these sick, sick games just for fun. This is all your fault." I stand in shock. He's right, though, I've been telling it to myself for the past few days. I feel his sword pressed against my neck.
"You're right." I whisper. "Please. Do it."
With that, I feel the word slice open my neck and my vision goes blank.
Emerald "Emmy" Silore
District 5, Female, 13
(Day 4)
...
I shake, the knife, that I received earlier from a sponsorship, in my hand. I look over at Charity and she holds a wobbling finger over her lips to signal me to be quiet, I nod and my eyes are filled with tears. They had just come storming in, we barely had time to react before the axe had been thrown into Carina's stomach. Charity and I had just run, we are swift and fast but they are also fast.
Another cannon sounds and I jump, a stick snapping under my feet. "Over there!" I hear someone shout and I don't even think, I just run, I can't tell if Charity is behind me but I hope to myself that she is. I suddenly see a small house in the distance and push myself to run toward it, I slam open the gate and rush inside. Charity dives into the back room before I slam the door shut.
It's a small room with no furniture but the floor has a stain of blood on it. Someone must have died here. I cover my mouth with shock and manage my breathing, I hear voices and my heart stops for a second. "Get behind the door." Charity hisses and I rush over, the door soon slams open and almost hits myself and Charity in the face. We hardly squeeze the both of us behind it and hold our breath.
"I told you they didn't come in here." The boy with the axe snaps and he angrily runs out. The boy from Four stays, though and I watch him come into view with his back faced to us. My knife wobbles with my shaking hands but I take a step forward, I could stab him in the back now and it could all be over for him. The boy from Seven is already off looking for us elsewhere, he probably wouldn't even know the cannon was him and we'd be gone before he found out.
I tell myself in my head that it's okay to kill, that is the only way I'm going to get home. I take a deep breath but before I can even get close enough to stab him, he turns back to me and our eyes lock. His eyes sparkle with tears and sympathy, he stares back at mine which I imagine shine with pleading and fear. He turns back and walks out the door, I drop to my knees and cover my mouth to stop myself from letting out a sob.
Charity sits beside me and wraps her arms around me, we stay in this position for what feels like hours and the only thing either of us can bring ourselves to do is silently cry. Carina is dead and I can imagine that the second cannon was Vinicio, as the usual Capitol trumpets play outside to alert people of the faces, I get up and walk solemnly out of the house. Charity follows me and we hold hands as we watch the night sky, I hold my breath and sigh with relief as the girl from One shows up in the sky. Vinicio is still out there. Then, Carina's face shows up and I stare into her caramel brown eyes. She could've survived today if it hadn't been for those Careers, I can't imagine how Vinicio is feeling right now. At least I have Charity, he is all alone, probably sitting in the spot of Carina's death.
I hug Charity again, appreciating her company more than anything before we walk back into the house and make ourselves comfy on the hard wooden floor, Charity gives me her backpack to use as a pillow and I fall asleep within a minute of closing my eyes.
A/N: We're back with Day 4 and 2 more deaths...Only 11 remain and District 9 is the only District with a pair still alive. This chapter was quite action-filled which is quite exciting, I'm not an amazing action writer but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
Alliances
Eric and Daniel
Tenzin, Gena and Cyra
Emerald and Charity
Silver and Kathryn
THE FALLEN:
13th Place - Carina Tatiana Delgado (D11F). Axe into the chest by Daniel Muller (wiifan2002). Submitted by curiousclove.
Damn Carina. You were such a layered character with all the struggles you went through, your journey to find self-love after heartbreak was absolutely beautiful and I wish The Games weren't as fast-paced so I could've explored it more. I loved you and Vinicio together, though, and I think this will definitely either make or break Vinicio which will be interesting. I thought of you as Victor at times but I decided this place was a good one to finish off your storyline while effecting so many others. RIP.
12th Place - Lira Wesley (D1F). Throat slit by Vinicio Santiago Huerta (curiousclove). Submitted by chcolate.
I enjoyed writing Lira so much, a girl who never thought ahead and only thought of fun who found that she never really was made for The Hunger Games and she simply didn't know this because she had never thought about it. Lira effected the Career Pack and the story completely and I loved every minute of writing her emotional and fun character. She was such a fun tribute to explore but I always felt she'd rather die on her own terms than on somebody else's so I think this was a good place to let her go. RIP.
KILL COUNT:
Silver - 3
Andromeda - 2
Vinicio - 2
Daniel - 1
Eric - 1
Kathryn - 1
Lira - 1
Charity - 1
- Neb