Day One, 1:45 PM.
Location: Southern Bridge.
Jasper carefully stepped onto the bridge, gingerly putting his weight onto the crumbled stone structure. It seemed to hold him, so he took another step, and another step, slowly moving forward until he was nearly halfway across. He couldn't bring himself to look into the water below, squeezing his eyes shut anytime he caught a glimpse of it through the large missing gaps in the bridge.
The task was daunting, but Jasper would keep pushing forwards, one careful step at a time.
Eventually, Jasper found himself on the opposite side, giving him a clearer look at the rest of the Arena. It was almost park-like with overgrown greenery, rundown pathways, and a large river winding through the middle. There were even twisting plastic slides scattered about in the distance; while the colours were somewhat washed out by the sun, they were still bright enough to be a landmark on the horizon. Jasper wasn't a fan of heights- he much preferred to keep his feet on the ground- so rather than study the structures, he kept walking, eyes locked on his feet.
Why had he helped Mor? She didn't need his help; it was likely he'd only made whatever tenuous relationship they had worse. Her problems shouldn't have been his concern in the first place. What's more, they'd likely never cross paths again; Jasper needed to stop worrying about a girl he barely knew.
And yet Jasper couldn't help but feel that he hadn't seen Mor for the last time.
Jasper walked along following the river, which curved just so that it put Jasper out of sight of anybody that might've been following behind him. He'd been nervous about travelling along a main path in the first place, but it was either that or brave the thick forest that surrounded him. As he came around the gentle curve of the river something caught his attention- a large, dock-like structure. It stretched about a quarter of the way across the river, and at the end of the dock lingered a large white and red boat. It was as tall as the nicer houses in Twelve, although faded somewhat, the paint chipping and peeling in spots. It was just like the boats Jasper had seen in the books his parents used to read him- nothing like the sleek, functional crafts of District Four, but a real boat nonetheless.
It was beautiful to Jasper. Regardless of its condition, he'd never seen something so wondrous in his life.
At least Jasper could find a few small comforts here.
Carefully stepping onto the dock, Jasper watched his steps as he pushed forwards. A few of the boards creaked suspiciously beneath his weight, and here and there were a few gaps big enough for his foot to go through. He could see the water through the gaps, lazily running along beneath the dock. The current certainly wasn't fast enough to sweep him away, but Jasper had never been the strongest swimmer, and he certainly didn't want to find out what could be lurking beneath the surface the hard way.
Soon enough, Jasper found himself at the ramp leading to the deck of the boat. There was a railing running up either side, which Jasper held onto as he made his way up. As he set foot on the deck, he paused, noticing just how odd the sensation of standing on a boat was. The structure rocked beneath his feet and Jasper couldn't help but feel off balance, as if he'd trip and fall at any given moment.
Having never seen a boat before, much less a boat as big as this, Jasper took a moment to look around. The deck was spacious, with benches scattered around and even a few lounge chairs. In the middle of the deck was a set of stairs, which Jasper ascended. The height of the upper deck unnerved him somewhat- he could see all the way down the river from where he stood at the top of the stairs. He clutched onto the railing tighter, turning his gaze to the floor.
As he idled for a moment, Jasper heard something strangely familiar. A loud clattering noise rang through the boat, similar to the noise the chains in the elevators in the mines made. A few beats later the boat lurched forward, nearly sending Jasper flying. Jasper scrambled down the stairs, his grip iron on the railing as he ran to the place where he'd gotten on. But the dock was behind them now, steadily moving further from reach. There was no way Jasper was attempting to jump the gap.
What had he gotten himself into?
Jasper could barely wrap his mind around his dire situation. He was stuck here indefinitely, or at least until the boat stopped- unless he could figure out a way to stop the boat himself. He doubted it would be possible, but Jasper had to try. He backtracked to the stairs he'd gone up before, noticing a door next to them and pulling desperately on the handle. It opened with surprising ease, revealing a set of stairs lit by a single light on the ceiling above, leading down deeper into the ship.
Jasper had to go down the stairs. And yet he couldn't bring himself to. What would Ethan or Morgan do? They'd just go down without thinking. But Jasper wasn't Ethan or Morgan. Jasper couldn't help but fear the dark, fear what lurked in the shadows, feared what was unknown.
Jasper took a deep breath. This Arena was made of things he didn't know. If he wanted to survive, he had to discover what secrets it held.
Taking the steps one at a time, Jasper carefully made his way down into the dark. Despite leaving the door at the top open, the darkness surrounded him on all sides, swallowing him up. Jasper took a step, and another step, pausing to listen after each. But there was nothing except his own steady breathing, the unsettling creaking of the boat, and the water that washed against its sides. Jasper swallowed hard, each step as unsure as the last as he tried to figure out where the next stair was. He nearly tripped forwards searching for another step, until he thankfully found himself on flat, solid ground again.
Fumbling in the dark, Jasper found himself rewarded with a doorknob. This one wasn't locked either- all it took was a twist and a push, and the door opened with a creak, letting the damp smell of mildew and decaying wood wash over him. Carefully, Jasper wedged himself through the door, finding himself in a long corridor, dimly lit by an old light which flickered occasionally. As Jasper paused for a moment, he could hear something distant- a sickening, slithering scraping noise somewhere further down the hall, from behind one of the doors on his right.
Jasper didn't stick around to find out more. He spun on his heel, running back through the door and slamming it shut behind him. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could manage without falling. In seconds, Jasper found himself back out in the warm sunlight on the deck. He doubled over, hands on his knees as he heaved deep breaths, his panic slowly overtaken by dread as he realised the extent of his predicament.
Jasper was stuck here, on this boat, with whatever that thing was down there, with no way off that he could find.
Maybe the world was even crueller then he'd thought it was.
Day One, 3:33
Location: East Pools
Nugua held a hand to her eyes, squinting to block the sun out as she looked out across the land in front of them. Scattered about were what used to be several large pools, barren and dry but similar in shape to the ones she'd seen on TV in the Capitol.
"What do you think of this?" Nugua asked, turning to Alfie. He stood perfectly still at her side. "Do you wanna explore?"
"Dunno, I don't really mind," Alfie shrugged, his voice soft. It was nearly impossible to hear him over the whistling of the wind.
"Exploration it is then!" Nugua said, pushing onwards.
As she walked, Nugua tried to ignore the sound of broken tiles crunching beneath her feet. The Arena had proved to be rather odd thus far. Nugua hadn't known what to expect, since it changed every year, but this wasn't like anything she'd seen before. It unnerved her somewhat to be unable to pinpoint what exactly was going on in the Arena, but Nugua would never let that show.
She had to stay confident. After all, the entire nation of Panem was watching, and if she dropped the face of confidence she held, who knew what they'd think of her? Maybe they'd think she was nothing but weak, pathetic compared to the barbaric Careers. All that seemed to matter in the Arena was how well you could fight, and yet Nugua intended to wage an entirely different kind of war with the tributes who accompanied her now though, Nugua needed to remain strong, so those watching wouldn't lose whatever faith they'd built up in her.
"What's that?" Alfie asked, pointing ahead of them. He'd been quieter than usual even since the Bloodbath, but Nugua didn't mind. He was good company, and despite the circumstances, she was glad they'd been brought together again.
Sometimes the most unlikely people came around when you needed them most.
Nugua squinted in the direction Alfie was pointing. In the distance, through a fence, Nugua could just barely see what looked like a small body of water.
"Oh, huh," Nugua said, blinking the bright spots out of her vision. "Well it can't hurt to go over there, right? Maybe we can fill up our water bottles."
"Yeah," Alfie nodded. They continued along the path, eventually arriving at the fence which, despite its height, had a number of tribute-sized gaps riddling the bottom. Nugua tossed her bag under the fence first, then followed it to the other side. Alfie did the same, wincing slightly as Nugua offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet.
"You alright?" Nugua asked, eyes narrowing as she noticed the wince.
"Fine," Alfie replied, brushing her hand off.
"Are you sure?" Nugua pushed.
"I am. We shouldn't slow down," Alfie whispered, as he continued onwards without waiting for Nugua.
There had to be something wrong with Alfie. Nugua could tell that much. There was something running deeper within him- perhaps more than just the situation at hand. And Nugua intended to find out exactly what.
Turning, Nugua followed Alfie through the path he was creating in the tall grass. It was an odd sensation, almost as if she was wading through water. She soon came out the other side, standing on the edge of what seemed to be a beach, a wide bank of sand between them and the water.
"Wow," Nugua sighed as she spun around to take in their surroundings. It was nothing like anything in Nine. At home, the closest they had were ponds on the edges of the District. But this was a real beach, like the ones from Four she'd seen on TV. Nugua took a few steps forwards onto the sand, and it curiously shifted beneath her feet, startling her somewhat. Alfie followed behind her as she made her way to the edge of the water; she knelt down to examine it closer, sticking her hand in. As she did, something moved beneath the surface of the water. Nugua leaned in closer, trying to get a better look.
"Get back," Alfie hissed suddenly, grabbing Nugua by the arm and pulling. She landed square on her back, nearly knocking the air out of her lungs. Nugua looked up to see Alfie, his back to her, standing squarely between her and whatever was in the water.
"How about you get back," Nugua replied as she crawled to her feet. "You're not gonna do yourself any favours getting killed."
"I know. Stay back," Alfie replied, his voice as sure as she'd ever heard it.
As Nugua brushed the sand off her jacket, she looked down, spotting something curious- a thick, almost rope-like thing curled around Alfie's ankle. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the boy in front of her was yanked off his feet. Alfie went down hard, yelping as he hit the ground. Nugua lunged for him, grabbing him by the arm as more of the dark coils wrapped around him.
"Let me go," Alfie grunted. Nugua tightened her grip on his arm. She could barely tell if this was happening, really and truly, or if this was nothing but a horrible nightmare.
"What- no," Nugua replied, gritting her teeth.
"Nugua! Let me go," Alfie insisted. Nugua tugged, trying to pull him back out of the water, but she was quickly losing ground.
Nugua couldn't let him go so easily. She refused to. She couldn't let him go just yet, she wasn't ready.
"No!"
"Fine, then," Alfie sighed. "Make it home. Take care of them for me."
With that, Alfie wrenched his arm out of her grasp. Nugua lunged for him again, but to her horror, this time she wasn't quite fast enough. The last thing Nugua saw before he went under was a look of peace crossing his face. Then Alfie was dragged down, disappearing beneath the surface, the single resounding cannon only solidifying what Nugua had been scared of for so long.
For the first time in her life, Nugua Meng was truly and utterly alone.
Day One, 5:39
Location: Central Fountain
"Well, it seems like we're getting there," Chiffon said, pointing to the looming steel and plastic structures that blocked out the sky. "Look how close they are."
Dean came to a stop next to him, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked upwards. "You're right, that is closer."
"Aren't I always?"
"What, right?" Dean asked. "No, but if you want to think that I won't stop you."
Chiffon laughed awkwardly as he held a branch back, letting Dean pass beneath it as they trekked down the path. There was something strange between the two boys now. It was something about the lack of Cecil's presence, Chiffon figured . He certainly didn't mind the absence of the younger boy, but Dean did mind- a lot in fact. As far as Chiffon was concerned, it was a waste of time and energy to worry about him. But Dean couldn't seem to figure that out. Chiffon wasn't sure whether Dean refused to see what a waste it was to think about Cecil, or was completely blind to Cecil's shortcomings- which were more apparent now then ever.
Maybe Reign hadn't been so wrong about Cecil.
"So, this place isn't so bad is it?" Chiffon chattered. Dean had been quieter than usual since the Bloodbath, and it was beginning to unnerve Chiffon. "I mean, it's pretty cool actually. I've never seen anything like this."
"Why would you call it 'cool' when it's so hot in here?" Dean replied, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"It's cool like… not like that kind of cool," Chiffon sputtered. "Like it's interesting to look at, right? Have you ever seen anything like it?"
Dean paused for a moment, looking around at their surroundings. "No, I haven't," Dean said, shaking his head.
"That's what I thought!" Chiffon exclaimed, shaking Dean by the shoulder. "Cmon, I know this isn't a great situation, but what's stopping us from having some fun with it?"
"This isn't the place for fun," Dean replied, smacking Chiffon's hand away. "I killed somebody, Chiffon, ended a life. This isn't a place where people have fun."
Chiffon stopped, his hand still aloft, as he blinked at his ally. "What did you expect?"
"What?"
"I said, what did you expect," Chiffon repeated, lowering his hand. "You knew what you were getting yourself into. You trained for years for this, so what did you expect?"
"I- I don't know," Dean said. "I don't know what I expected."
"Well then, get it together," Chiffon said earnestly, placing his hands on Dean's shoulders. "I'm not here to lose, and neither are you, so don't go quitting on me now."
"I'll be fine, Chiffon," Dean insisted, his voice steady as he spoke. This time, as Chiffon looked into Dean's eyes, he actually believed him.
"Good," Chiffon affirmed. He paused, cocked his head, then turned away abruptly. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Dean said softly.
"That's running water, isn't it?" Chiffon mused.
Dean lifted his head, listening as well for a moment. "I think so."
"We can fill up those empty bottles then," Chiffon said, grinning. "Onwards it is!"
Chiffon pressed down the path, Dean following close behind. They rounded a corner on the path, quickly discovering the source of the noise. Sitting in the middle of the wide open square was a fountain, bubbling jovially. It was taller than any fountain Chiffon had ever seen, impressing him with its grandeur. As they got closer, some of the beauty faded as Chiffon realised just how worn it was, the stones on the inside smoothed by the constant water that ran over them. But despite its apparent age, it still seemed functional - which probably meant clean.
Chiffon leaned over the clear water, nearly sticking his face right in one of the steadily bubbling streams.
"We should be careful," Dean said softly from behind Chiffon. "This is… a little too open for my liking."
"I doubt anybody would fuck with us even if they did find us," Chiffon replied, sticking his hands into the water. It was cool, refreshing in the heat of the arena, and it seemed to be clean enough. Chiffon cupped some of the water in his hands, bringing it to his mouth.
"Wait-" Dean exclaimed, smacking Chiffon's hands away from his face. "You don't know it's safe."
"I wasn't gonna drink it," Chiffon shot back, raising a curious eyebrow.
"What were you gonna do then?"
"This," Chiffon laughed, dunking his face into the water. The cold washed over him for the briefest of moments. Then he pulled his face back out of the water, clear droplets dripping from his hair down his face and into his eyes.
"Why would you do that?" Dean asked, grabbing Chiffon by the shoulder. "Now you're just… soaking wet."
"And refreshed!" Chiffon laughed. "Let's fill our water bottles up."
"Why couldn't we have done that before you dunked your head in the water?"
"Uh," Chiffon paused, thinking for a moment. "Because I just decided to do that now, and you couldn't have stopped me."
Dean blinked a few times before relenting and swinging his bag off his shoulder. He dug out the empty water bottles, and handed one to Chiffon. Twisting off the cap, Chiffon dunked the bottle under the water, watching as it filled up.
"Maybe we can figure out a place to camp out around here," Chiffon said, eyeing the clearing around him as he put the newly filled bottle in his bag.
"Here? Really?" Dean asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Well if we're gonna be looking for tributes, then this is gonna be a place lots of them are gonna pass through, right?" Chiffon replied, gesturing at the area around him. Scattered around the edge of the courtyard were four paths leading in - the one they'd followed come in and three more - so this would likely become a sort of main hub for tributes if they followed the paths around the arena. "And we have a clean water supply right here. If this is the only one of its kind in the Arena, we can control who comes through here. Everyone's gonna need water at some point, right?"
"Right," Dean blinked. "That's not such a bad idea. Maybe we should look around more first though. It'll be dark soon enough."
"I don't see why not," Chiffon shrugged, straightening up. As he did, scanning the horizon, he spotted something that hadn't been there the last time he'd looked up. A large plume of black smoke rose on the horizon, curling upwards towards the clouds. Chiffon nudged Dean in the side, pointing up towards it. "What's that? Smoke?"
"Looks like it," Dean replied, squinting up at the sky. "That's the direction we came from, isn't it?"
"I think so, yeah," Chiffon nodded. "Let's go check it out!"
"No. We shouldn't get involved."
"But-" Chiffon sputtered. "But what if there's something going on? I don't want to miss it."
"It'll be dark soon. We can go see tomorrow morning," Dean replied. "You can go if you want, but we're stronger together than apart."
"Fine," Chiffon grumbled. He pulled his bag off his back and began to dig through it frustratedly. Chiffon knew Dean was right, but that didn't mean he was willing to admit it. He'd been waiting for these Games for so long, and he just wanted to do something! Chiffon was done with waiting now, done with telling himself in due time. The time to make a name for himself, to win the Games, was now.
Chiffon was done with being unknown.
16th: Alfalfa "Alfie" Fielder, District Nine. Killed by the Arena.
Kills:
Reign Legatus: IIII
Chiffon Shivaan: II
Dean Karafanda: I
Morrigan Meadowlark: I
Arena: I
Alliances:
Two Bros Chilling In A Fountain: Chiffon, Dean.
Well Fuck: Mystic, Reign.
Vibes: Calvin, Carter.
Gay Peepol: Diesel, Verity.
Vibes x2: Pluto, Ifer.
All my fucking allies died/Loners: Mor, Cecil, Jasper, Nugua, Ping.
