Chapter 6: An Uncertain Fate
A/N: And so, this will be THE chapter. The 100th Hunger Games has begun. This chapter might swap views between tributes, and it will be indicated. Enough of my rambling. Into the tribute tubes, (or sitting in the Capitol crowd) and away we go!
DISCLAIMER: The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.
Rain Orion's P.O.V.
It was finally time. Time to go to an uncertain fate.
I met up with my stylist, Cinna, and the prep team. They dressed me in a black crew neck t-shirt, a fur-trimmed thin jacket, cargo pants with as many pockets as you could ever need, knee high socks, and leather combat boots that sat just below the knee. Between the jacket and t-shirt, was a vest. A belt held up the heavy cargo pants.
The two peacekeepers took me after I finished dressing, and I just went along with them. The hovercraft was waiting. Some of the mentors were there, to see their tributes off. Katniss stopped me as Iris was talking to Haymitch.
"Kiddo. When you're in the arena… you had better remember who the real enemy is."
I nod at Katniss, knowing who… no, what she was referring to. She wasn't referring to the Careers. She gave me one last piece of advice, echoing her mentor.
"Stay alive."
She ruffled my hair. I smile at her, knowing it's the last time we'll see each other, barring a miracle.
With that, we boarded the Capitol aircraft with our fellow tributes, and trackers were injected into our respective arms. I get it injected into my left arm, unable to move.
We landed after a brief flight, and two peacekeepers escorted each tribute. I looked to Iris, and we mouthed "Good luck" to each other before we headed into the Arena catacombs.
The two peacekeepers escorted me through, and shoved me through a door, which shut behind me when I entered.
I stepped into the Launch Room, also known as the "Stockyard" by the districts. I exchanged a few words with Cinna, who helped me get dressed, and I ate a quick meal with him. When I stood up after finishing the food, he remarked:
"We of the Capitol must look despicable to you."
I looked down at him, with a shocked look on my face, but a voice, presumably a Gamemaker, interrupted my thoughts.
"1 minute left. Please get to the Tribute tubes."
I got up, and Cinna followed me right to the tribute tube. I was about to step in, but Cinna stopped me. He pinned something on my coal black jacket. It was the legendary mockingjay pin.
It was used before by Maysilee Donner, Haymitch's ally in the 50th Hunger Games. It was then passed on to Katniss, who wore it into the 75th Hunger Games, by Madge Undersee, or now, Mayor Undersee. The two women were still close to this day, having known each other for a long time. Now, it was in my possession.
"30 seconds left. Please get into the Tribute tube."
"Katniss told me to give it to you. As a saying of good luck," Cinna said, answering my unspoken question.
I nodded and stepped into the tribute tube, and turned around. Cinna gave me one last smile, as I was blinded by the light. It was probably the last time I would ever see him. When the light was gone, I heard a loud voice- Julius Templesmith. Once again, he sounded just like his father and predecessor, Claudius, with that booming voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Let the 100th Hunger Games- the 4th Quarter Quell, begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor!", Julius' voice rang out.
The pedestal finally clicked into place, and looked around me. On my left was the girl from 6, on the boy from 10 was on my right. Iris was a couple pedestals away from me, and she blushed when I looked at her. I could hear a voice, slowly and agonizingly counting down.
I took a look at the arena itself. On my left, was a forest. Beyond the Cornucopia, was rocky terrain with a waterfall crashing in the distance, filled to the brim with cliffs. To my right, highlands, with tall hills and open fields. It extended to behind me, with a river running through it. It seemed to flawlessly transition into the woods.
45 seconds to go.
I looked over at the Cornucopia's gaping mouth. In it, was likely all the good supplies. I spotted a set of knives and a retractable spear. I might go for those. There's also a sizable backpack right by the sword.
30 seconds to go.
I ready myself to run, and make my peace. It's now or never.
15 seconds to go.
For my brother. For my family. For… … ..
"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.", a loud gong sounded, and the 100th Hunger Games began…
Location: The 100th Hunger Games Arena
Day 1
I made a mad dash for the Cornucopia, being the second there, the blood pumping through my veins. Someone was already inside.
The first one there was the bulky 17 year-old male tribute from 10. He took a backpack, a knife, and made a beeline for the highlands. Nobody tried to stop him.
I grabbed the retractable spear and the backpack I saw earlier, and ran out of the Cornucopia.
I saw the girl from 7, Acacia, lunge and tackle Sophia, who was distracted after she stabbed Jeremy, the boy from 3.
Acacia had Sophia pinned down, and my instincts kicked in. I ran in and grabbed Acacia, shoving her off Sophia. I gave Sophia a smirk after saving her, and I began to run in the direction of the woods.
Acacia's district partner, Jose, charged at me with his axe. I quickly parried with the spear's shaft, but he managed to knock it out of my hand. However, the spear drew blood with the tip, stunning him. This gave me enough time to pick up my weapon and flee for my life.
I watched from afar as District 2's male tribute, Cyrus, killed the girl from 8 by stabbing her multiple times.
The girl from 4, Aileen, was grappling with the girl from 5, Jacqueline, over a backpack. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone approaching.
The boy from 5, Isaiah, attacked me with his sword, and narrowly missed my head in a surprise attack, but scraped my shoulder. I flinched in pain, grasping my shoulder. I sidestepped as he swung again, and drove my spear through his stomach, and he coughed blood, staining the ground. He fell with a thud, his lifeless eyes staring directly into mine. I felt shocked and horrified, but snapped out of it and ran to the metal pedestals where we started, and stopped to look.
I looked around for Iris, but I couldn't find her, despite Katniss and Haymitch telling us to stick together. I decided that I had enough. I dashed for the woods, leaving the horrible screams behind.
Location: Cornucopia, after the Bloodbath.
Velvet Ritchson (D1 Female)'s P.O.V.
I rendezvoused with my fellow Career tributes at the entrance of the Cornucopia. I witnessed the boy from 12 participate in the bloodbath, it was rather surprising to see such a tribute from a poor district such as 12 to perform so well. I was snapped out of my thoughts by my district partner, Vulcan.
"Velvet, stop daydreaming, and focus. Let's see how many are down..."
I dumbly nodded. I recounted the corpses now surrounding the Cornucopia. The boy from 3, Jeremy. He was killed by Sophia, my District 2 ally. His partner got away though. Both from 5. I saw the boy from 5 getting impaled by the boy from 12, likely in self-defense. The girl from 6, a 13-year old called Cassie. I witnessed Adrian kill her as she was trying to run for the woods. The girl from 8, by her jacket color. The boy from 7 got away, but the boy from 12 wounded him, so he just might die anyway. Both from 9, I killed them when they ganged up on me, and ended up with knives in their hearts. The girl from 10 was lying dead with a slash on her abdomen, courtesy of Vulcan's zwëihander. The 12-year old boy from 11 was dead too, killed by Adrian's sheer brutality
CORNUCOPIA BLOODBATH DEATH TOLL: 9, ALIVE: 15
Adrian Bismarck (D4 Male, 18)'s P.O.V.
I hear the cannons sound.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
That was nine cannons, and they matched up. Both from 12 got away, much to my chagrin. Everyone was accounted for. Despite the 12s getting away, Sophia seemed slightly happy and not upset. I glanced over at her, and she assumed her usual stoic expression that she always wore during training.
We clear out to let the Capitol hovercraft take the bodies, and return after they finish the job.
"Alright, we need to get going here… someone needs to gather the remaining supplies, test that water at the river… and someone to stand guard." says Vulcan, the boy from 1.
Velvet chimes in with an idea.
"We should also make camp here. All the stuff is already in the Cornucopia; we'll camp right by it."
The rest of my alliance agreed with Velvet's idea, and we split into groups to maximize the efficiency of our group.
Vulcan and Sophia started gathering and organizing the supplies, Cyrus and Aileen worked on the camp, while I went with Velvet to test the water, and brought the canteens we collected from the goods at the Cornucopia. The water tasted fine, considering that we were still alive. We headed back to the base after filling all the canteens with water, and examined the supplies Vulcan and Sophia had organized.
Some of the supplies were taken by the rest of the survivors. Those included the girl from 3, Ellie, the drugged out boy from 6, Vincent, the wounded boy from 7, Jose, his district partner, Acacia, the tall boy from 8, Roy, the muscular boy from 10, Robert, and the sneaky girl from 11, Linde. Both from 12 got away, and they were the damn poorest district! How could they…?!
Cyrus started talking after the camp was fully set up, and the supplies organized.
"Alright, we should get going to kill the survivors that might be nearby. I say the highlands is where we search first."
"Why there? Most people likely went into the woods", questioned Vulcan.
"Easy. There's little cover in the highlands, so anyone that went there will be easy pickings!"
Aileen shot back.
"No, if we went into the highlands, we could be easily ambushed, since we're a big group. We should stay here for at least a night. The supplies don't have legs of their own; it won't go anywhere."
"Yeah, Cyrus. I think it's better to stay put for the night," says Sophia, supporting Aileen.
Cyrus relents, as he began picking supplies he wanted from our trove of loot, and the others joined in, including myself.
Vulcan kept his sword, Velvet received throwing knives, Cyrus decided on an axe, and Sophia went with a sword. Both myself and Aileen managed to get tridents in that mess.
There were other things, such as food, bandages, iodine, and sleeping bags for everyone. We started setting up camp, and waited for the sun to set.
Time: 9:00 P.M.
By the time we sorted out everything, it was time to sleep. I took first watch, as I saw the faces come into the sky . The boy from 3. Both from 5. The girl from 6. The girl from 8. Both from 9. The girl from 10. The boy from 11.
After two hours of standing watch, I woke up Velvet, the girl from 1, and told her that she was to guard the camp now. I went to sleep in my sleeping bag, although with one eye open. I couldn't trust anyone.
Rain Orion's P.O.V.
Despite my searching around the forested area of the arena, there was no sign of Iris. However, she is alive, since her face didn't show up in the sky when the time came.
It was finally nighttime, and I'm up in an extremely tall tree that seemed to be able to support me. The backpack I managed to grab from the Cornucopia contained a full canteen of water, a folding knife, meat, bandages, and rope. I also still have my retractable spear, which could convert into a cylinder for storage. My wound from Isaiah's sword swing has healed for the most part, and was a minor scrape.
After finding some suitable branches that'll hold my weight, I hear footsteps coming from below. I remain silent as possible, as to not draw any unwanted attention.
"Where is he? I heard footsteps earlier around here..."
"I don't care if it takes all night. I'll find him, and take him down. Serves him right for wounding me."
It's the pair from 7. They look around, but don't look up. The boy, Jose, has a bandage on his face from when I indirectly attacked him. After looking around for a bit, he groans in frustration and stomps off, with his district partner following close behind. They're both armed with axes: no surprise there.
I breathe a sigh of relief on the inside, not wanting them to hear and come back. I adjust myself in the branches, and pull my jacket a little up to let my head lay on the fur trim. I allow sleep to claim me, but I sleep with one eye open… just in case.
A/N: So, how was that? I hoped you liked the chapter, and met your expectations. I'll state right now who's still alive.
District 1 - Vulcan Prisma & Velvet Ritchson
District 2 - Cyrus Rankine & Sophia Kirhart
District 3 - Ellie Volicy
District 4 - Adrian Bismarck & Aileen Kendari
District 5 - (none)
District 6 - Vincent Crox
District 7 - Jose Aspen & Acacia Mossalia
District 8 - Roy Angora
District 9 - (none)
District 10 - Robert Leiden
District 11 - Linde Huskor
District 12 - Rain Orion & Iris Nilo
Now, for the fallen…
Jeremy Ackler (D3, BB, killed by Sophia Kirhart via broadsword)
Isaiah Moglibi (D5, BB, killed by Rain Orion of D12 with a lance)
Jacqueline Remburg (D5, BB, killed by Adrian of D4 with a trident)
Cassie Heidler (D6, BB, killed by Adrian Bismarck of D4 via stabbing)
Calico Casem (D8, BB, killed by Cyrus via stabbing)
Stella Lapworth and Dagan Tien (D9, BB, both knifed in the heart by Velvet Ritchson of D1)
Marisa Geillo (D10, BB, killed by Vulcan Prisma of D1 via slash from his zwëihander)
Morro Rossa (D11, bashed against the Cornucopia by Adrian Bismarck of D4)
And, that's a wrap for today. See you around!
