Alysanne Audren, 17, District 6 Victor
My jaw drops as I take a first glance at what the tributes have risen into. A glittery, indigo-coloured night sky overlooks them, even though it is technically daytime. The moon is animated and cackling, with blood running from the corners of its twisted mouth. Colourful comets and shooting stars are raining down the horizon, some bursting in an explosion of multi-coloured sparkles mid-air.
I notice the floor. The area surrounding the Cornucopia is plush, and not very stable looking. Things like overnight bags and pillows litter the outer ring of the Cornucopia, while the sleek, purple-tinted weapons are piled at the mouth. Most of the weapons seem to have gold moon accents. Outside of the ring of pedestals, however, dark grass sprouts from the ground to give the tributes more solid ground to run on.
Becky, who is gripping my hand, and Lacey, who seems very focused on the moon medal in Esther's hand, are holding their breaths as the countdown reaches under thirty seconds.
Dream Weaver
24
Lilac nervously searches for Ryker and, more importantly, her brother. If nothing else, she needs the both of them to make it out alive. Best case scenario, all three of them make it out intact, but I honestly doubt that'll happen.
23
Damon finally catches his sister's glances eight pedestals down. Ryker's next to the girl from Six. If only they could get his attention. Ryker seems to be in a sort of daze, trying to clear his head for what is sure to be a traumatizing next couple of minutes.
22
Sixtine just gives Andrew, who was next to her, a mischievous and knowing smile. She tries to steady her breathing, still not completely at peace with the fact that this is happening to her.
21
Andrew's legs were shaking. He was captivated by the beautiful night sky but his heart was pounding out of his chest. I knew that he was nervous, but part of me worries that he's going to fall off his platform! Wouldn't that be nice.
20
Salalai, newly medicated, seems calm. I expected her to be a sobbing mess but she is breathing normally and has a serene expression on her delicate face. Since this girl is probably in her final moments, I can respect her for keeping her cool.
19
Ryker's head is pounding. He hopes and prays his siblings aren't watching. Little Emilia and Tyler are most definitely glued to the screen, partially wanting to see what will happen to their brother while also not wanting to see him die. Part of me thinks he'll be fine.
18
Nerezza, grinning, looks around as her pyjama blouse sways in the gentle breeze. I know she isn't scared. I'm sitting atop the Cornucopia, and she is directly in front of me, paying me no attention. She thinks of herself as being better than everyone else, but she's going to find out very soon that she's just like everyone else.
17
Altaïr, trembling and afraid, has to use all his power to not cry. I always feel bad for younger kids. His chances are basically nothing. Still, I sort of want him to be an underdog. He's only five years older than Aemma. He might actually be some fun to talk to, unlike the usual gloomy kids.
16
Brocade just sinks down on his platform, sobbing. I hold back laughter at the sight.
15
Esther is holding the medal. Brilliant. This is all going to plan.
14
Magnolia seems a bit uncertain. They are eyeing a hatchet directly in front of them. Sadly, Vinna Hegarty is right next to them. They'll have to be quick or hope Vinna doesn't notice. Magnolia got a high score so that probably isn't going to happen.
13
Garrett's big, deep breath slowly devolves into quiet sobs, and he hugs himself in a desperate attempt at comforting himself. Geez, he might as well wet himself. Some of these younger kids need to face their fate with dignity.
12
Aston seems content. She isn't a complete wreck either. She is smiling blissfully, almost, as if she was perfectly fine with her prediciment. I hope she runs off. She's toast if she goes into the bloodbath.
11
Indy's shivering, even though it's hardly cold. The night air was crisp at best. No, Indy's shivering with nervousness. He seemed like a capable enough boy, from what I observed of him. He's nodding at the young boy from 5.
10
Pontiki is irritated that she has to deal with this. I don't really blame her. Imagine having to be in the Hunger Games of all things. Maybe her deadly glares will get her a couple kills in these Games.
9
Ethan has found his ally, Indy. I honestly doubt both boys will make it out alive.
8
Azure is shooting daggers at her district partner four pedestals away. She has an almost psychotic glint in her eye. I'm still mad at Aslan for ripping my head off, so if I can't return the favour myself, I hope this girl will do it for me.
7
Mean old Aslan. I swear, this boy is no fun. He's cool and composed, befitting a Career. He's the leader of the Pack, so it will be up to him to make sure the bloodbath is nice and bloody. I hope he delivers, because although I dislike him immensely, I still want some good opening entertainment before I get to work.
6
Sophia is smiling confidently. Her district partner/boyfriend Albert is next to her. They're giving each other loving glances, probably taking in their last moments together. They might be widowed in the next few minutes, or both dead.
5
If Albert is lucky, he could make it out of the frenzy alive with him and his girlfriend intact. He feels like the responsibility to keep her safe is his only purpose in the Games. See, this is why showmances suck. You stop thinking about yourself, but in the Games, you have to think about yourself, and yourself only. He held the sun medal in his clammy hand, unsure of its purpose and a little apprehensive to find out. Oh, boy.
4
Coilee tries to put on a brave face but I can tell she's faltering. While she had some impressive shows of strength throughout the week, her lack of academy experience could show in the next few minutes.
3
Kyle looks crazed and ready to kill. Oh, are these kids about to be in for a surprise.
2
Vinna, as composed as ever, looks like a war goddess about to go into battle. Her beauty masks the fact that a cold-blooded killer sat ready to snuff out some lives with glee. Boy, am I glad I'm not a tribute.
1
Armahni is halfway off his platform, leaning, in a ready position. These tributes are listening for the sound of the gong, but there is no sound. Confused, they all look around, until I snap my fingers to initiate the first twist.
The sky above flickers between a bright, lavender sky and the night sky the tributes rose into. It goes back and forth with almost disorienting speed before slowing down. The medals flash too, with the cadence of the changing sky. Albert and Esther, the respective owners of the first medals, look horrified and completely dumbfounded. I cackle as the speed slows to a near halt until settling on a time of day.
Daytime. A purple sky and giggling sun is now visible, and the nighttime medal in Esther's hand began to pulse. Panicking, she sends the medal flying out of her hand with impressive reflexes, and it detonates just as it hits her district partner, Brocade, sending different bloodied parts of him flying in the air. Kyle from Two, who is next to Brocade, is unfortunately included in the blast as well, though because he is farther from the center of the explosion, only his upper body is blown clean off, and his lower half sinks off the platform. I growl. The victim was meant to be just her, obviously, but before I can explode her pedestal, the much-awaited gong sounds.
Gong!
The tributes all leap off of their platforms almost in unison, save for Aston, Indy, Salalai and Andrew who bolt into the northern area, a forest with the red trees Aemma dreamt about often. Everyone else, on the other hand, headed into the fray. Screams began to pierce the air almost immediately, and I grin widely as the bloodbath of the 138th Hunger Games begins.
Coilee Undergaze, 18, District 2 Female
I'm still reeling after seeing Kyle get blown to bits. I'm barely able to register that my district partner is already dead. I hadn't really been close to him but that's one less Career. I suppose I should be glad I don't have to deal with him anymore.
Vinna is sprinting to the centre to retrieve her slender spear and a handful of throwing knives. I grab a spear as well off the same rack Vinna got hers from and twirl around as the boy from 5 tries to take it from me. I struggle a bit with the weak boy before sinking the spearhead into his throat, and he falls to the ground a gurgling, bloody mess.
See, I made a kill. I'm not completely weak. I'm not a total liability.
I can start to hear the screams in the air as the other Careers make quick work of the weaker tributes. The girl from 11 tries to run, but she isn't fast enough to outrun the dual threats of Vinna's throwing knife through her chest and Aslan's trident in her back. Seems like there's a lack of communication amongst the Careers already. I jog around the area, setting my sights on the girl from 9, Nerezza. She hisses at me, and we standoff for a bit before something hits me with brutal force. I flop to the ground, realizing I was hit with one of the bags. It's the boy from 9. Altaïr, I think… he caught me by surprise. How embarrassing.
He doesn't injure me any further and instead scrambles off with the bag and sprints the other way, to a glittery mountain range in the distance. Cursing, I attempt to scramble to my feet before falling back on my stomach, my head spinning. It takes all my willpower to get up again.
Aslan Dreadstorm, 18, District 4 Male
Sixtine's body is still twitching when I pull my trident out of her back. Everything's happening extremely quickly, and my eyes are struggling to pinpoint a target. All I'm aware of is that Kyle is dead, as well as the girl I've just killed. I can't possibly leave the bloodbath with just one kill. I need to make a larger impact.
Vinna's already chasing the girl from 7, who then grabs their hatchet and starts to fight against Vinna and her spear. Turning away from that battle, I finally lock on the boy and girl from 3. They're each carrying bags and look horrified as I smirk at them, the eye contact probably shaking them to their core.
They sprint away, and the boy is faster than the girl. This is all too easy.
I take off towards them, and they do the same, running for their lives. They aren't even running in zig-zags, which would make it a bit harder for me to spear them with my trident. So, I decide to toy with them.
Albert Hade, 16, District 3 Male
My heart is pounding at a thousand beats per minute. Sophia and I decided to take the tactical risk of each grabbing a bag of supplies from the Cornucopia. We wrestled a bag away from the boy from 10, but in the end we each managed to get something and now we've gotta get out of this clearing. It seems to be made of pillows, based on how difficult it is to run on. It feels like my ankles are going to give in with each stride I take, and Sophia is hissing as her awkward footing is starting to cause her grief.
My blood turns to ice when he stops in our tracks. I don't even know his name, but I know he's from District Four. He's got a wicked, soulless grin on his face, and I know he doesn't mean well. He starts to rush forward at us, and with a horrified look, I turn to Sophia.
"Run."
We dash away, still unable to take completely clean strides. The boy, on the other hand, is almost gliding across the ground. He's making substantial progress on us and throws his trident at Sophia, and it buries itself deep in her back. It feels like my whole world is stopping as she lets out a little mewl of pain and sinks to the floor.
"I love you," she squeaks out before her eyes roll to the back of her head.
Vinna Hegarty, 18, District 1 Female
Magnolia escapes, the coward. I turn back to Aslan's pursuit of the Threes and laugh out loud when he gets the little blonde-haired girl. I'm about to advance on her district partner with Aslan when, out of nowhere, a searing pain erupts in the back of my leg, and I turn to notice the girl from 12 burying a rather small throwing knife into it. I elbow her hard in the face and she yelps, falling to the floor before getting up and scurrying in the other direction.
I notice the Three girl's district partner has vanished. Aslan loses him when he is suddenly attacked as well, with the boy from 12 leaping onto Aslan and putting him in a chokehold. Aslan is struggling to breathe, and I use all of my strength to grab my spear and whack the boy on the side of the head, hard. I didn't turn it around to the spearhead-side in time, and he was struck with the pole. He shouts in pain and scrambles to his sister and Ryker, the boy from 10.
Aslan and I help each other up, cursing under our breaths. We barely have time to recuperate before we notice Coilee engaged in battle with Magnolia.
Magnolia Salix, 18, District 7 Female
Coilee's form with the spear is unrefined, and her lack of skill is apparent even to someone like me, who has very little combat training. It's almost a result of the environment I was raised in, as well as instinct, that allows me to properly hold an axe. I parry Coilee's attempted blow to my abdomen, and it's starting to show that a spear is not meant to be a melee weapon used in close-combat. We continue to go back and forth and I can feel myself tiring a little, but Coilee looks downright exhausted.
Finally, the opportunity presents itself. She drops her defensive stance and leaves her stomach exposed for just half a second, and I sink my axe deep into it, causing her to wail loudly. Coilee's mouth opens and closes like a fish, and I release the blade from her midsection with a burst of blood that coats the front of my shirt, dying it purple. I sprint away on the pillow-covered floors with my weapon and knapsack, adrenaline coursing through my system.
I decide to head for the most wooded area, although I'm not sure they are trees. They almost look like licorice candy with branches. Oh, well, it'll keep me hidden well enough.
Pontiki Aror, 16, District 5 Female
A moon-shaped bag. For some reason, I'm drawn to it. Running across the gory, rained down remains of the boy from 8, I scoop it up and turn on my heel.
Suddenly I feel a searing pain in my back, and I notice an arrow sticking out of my shoulder, courtesy of Armahni.
I scramble away, somewhat unable to gain any good footing on the cushy, pillow-covered floor. I'm hissing at the injury but keep hold of the knapsack. No matter what, I can't let it go, because I was hurt in the first place trying to get it. I don't want to be in pain for nothing.
Suddenly I trip over something heavy. I scream upon seeing the mangled, topless body of the boy from 2 at my feet. I suppress the urge to vomit at the sight and keep running. I can't lose focus. I can't.
There's many landscapes in the distance, but I head for the one that looks to have the most protection; a strange forest with wiry red trees. Looking behind me, I see no one following me. The bloodbath seems to be 'winding down', with only a few weak screams from the dying. I can't find Aston anywhere among the bodies, so I hang on to the hope that she made it out.
Then, as if on cue, I see her. She's huddled behind a colourful flower bush, trembling, but she lights up when she sees me. I help her up, imploring her to hurry, and we escape the scene, desperate to be away from all that death.
My entire body is begging me to rest, but thankfully, my brain is saying to keep running. I know I can always count on it.
Azure Copenhagen, 18, District 4 Female
There's only one left in the area who has not escaped or died. Nerezza stands near her pedestal, looking to the sky with a large grin. Her palms are raised upward. I'm amazed no one has noticed her yet. Vinna and Aslan are somewhat incapacitated, and Armahni's grumbling over his lack of kills inside of the Cornucopia already. I can't find Coilee. I hope she didn't run away. I want her to witness me carving out Ash's eyes, because I was going to present them to her as a gift.
"I am ready," Nerezza declares to the heavens. "Take me back home so I can face the demons."
Somewhat confused, I creep up behind the girl slowly. I raise my arms, prepared to quickly snap her neck. Without warning Nerezza whips around and punches me in the nose, hard. I can feel the cartilage crunching under her fist. She gives me a cold, unfeeling look. Her eyes look dead already.
"Now, that was not nice," I chastise, approaching her with my small switchblade. "I'll have to punish you for that." Before she can react I slash the blade across her throat, and she crumbles to the ground silently, almost elegantly. Her expression is incredibly serene as she takes one final breath. At least I put that weird girl out of her misery.
The bloodbath is over. I'm pleased with my performance, even though I know I could have done better. I'm basking in the moment before Aslan's voice calls for me, his tone already giving me uneasiness.
"Azure, you might want to come look at this."
I look in shock and horror as I slowly pace towards what I now know is Coilee's whimpering, broken form. Not a weakling. Not an outlier. Coilee. The silent fury begins to rise up inside of me as she gives me a desperate, almost animal look.
"Tell me who did this," I whisper to her, my fists clenched. As we're focusing on Coilee, I hear whimpering from the back of the Cornucopia.
Vinna has no interest in Coilee and is all too willing to find the source of the sound, the snivelling boy from 7 who begins to panic as Vinna brings her knife down on him slowly. The screams didn't stop for at least five minutes.
Well there you have it! I'll be doing eulogies for those submitted to me by other authors even if they are non-POV.
24th: Brocade Mora (8M) - Exploded by the moon medal
23th: Kyle Connor (2M) - Exploded by the moon medal
22nd: Ethan Myriah (5M) - Speared by Coilee
21st: Sixtine Shogana (11F) - Impaled by Vinna/Aslan
Thank you Treble-Notes for Sixtine. She definitely had an interesting backstory, and I'm sorry she didn't make the final cut of POV tributes. Her last hurrah with Andrew by pranking the Head Gamemaker was certainly memorable. She's just a nice, normal girl with a crazy backstory, and that doesn't always guarantee success.
20th: Sophia Varity (3F) - Killed by Aslan
Sophia :( you were such a strong-willed girl who may have even had more resolve and motivation than Albert. You definitely could have made it far but part of me knew you weren't making it past the bloodbath. Thank you Kathy for this lovely girl!
19th: Nerezza Elsera (9F) - Throat sliced open by Azure
Aw Nerezza. To be honest I had you making it to the finale in the early stages of planning but as time went on I started wondering how exactly I would develop your arc properly, and I wanted to do you justice. I think Nerezza is content with going home, where she feels she belongs. A goddess can only be on Earth for so long. Thank you Dawn, I enjoyed writing this little enigma.
18th: Garrett Higashioka (7M) - Tortured to death by Vinna
Kills
Vinna (2): Sixtine (assist), Garrett
Coilee (1): Ethan
Azure (1): Nerezza
Aslan (2): Sixtine, Sophia
Tributes remaining:
Vinna (1F), Armahni (1M), Coilee (2F), Albert (3M), Azure (4F), Aslan (4M), Pontiki (5F), Aston (6F), Indy (6M), Magnolia (7F), Esther (8F), Altaïr (9M), Salalai (10F), Ryker (10M), Andrew (11M), Damon (12M), Lilac (12F)