Night 1... In the Hunger Games!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading!

District 9 Female - Nyka Halliwell - 17

I sighed in relief as I sat down. I had been running from the Cornucopia for three minutes straight, and I had a heavy backpack on my shoulder. There seemed to be a lot of backpacks, some with only one or two things, and some with many. I looked around at my surroundings and relaxed slightly when I saw nothing.

That's when I noticed a small flower growing out of a crack in the rock.

"A lily," I whispered to myself. Looking around, I saw many lilies all around me. Smiling, I picked up a few gently and began to weave them together. The chain I made out of the delicate flowers was eventually long enough to form a crown. I placed the fragile stems and flowers on my head, and as I breathed in the familiar smell, I calmed down.

Suddenly, I heard a faint sound of softly flowing water. There must be a river nearby. I carefully ran around the area, looking and listening. Even though I went all around, the source of the sound was never found. Strange.

I decided to open up the backpack. I put down the bag on the rocks and unzipped it. Inside I found some small crackers and dried meat, some small knives, thick gloves, a small water bottle, and a thin cloak made of strange fabric. I shoved everything back in the backpack after taking a small sip of water, then I got up again and began walking. I stealthy made my way back to the outside of the platforms we rose into the arena on. I could faintly see the Careers camping around the Cornucopia, but they were shrouded in a thick mist. Based on that, I figured they couldn't see me either.

I silently went to look around the platforms, trying to see if there was anything odd. The arena was very unsettling this year, and it has me worried. Glancing around, I noticed something out of place. There was a small metal circle in the ground right behind each of the platforms. I pressed down on one of them, and it stayed down. I heard a click, but nothing happened. I pressed another one, and another click came, but still, nothing happened. What could these be?

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

I had a plan, but I had to be careful.

District 10 Male - Max Print - 18

I will get to her. Jennifer avoided me completely on the train ride here, and I was very glad. She always enjoys being the center of attention, and she was left out when she was younger, mostly by us as she was usually just trying to annoy us. As she has gotten older though, she tends to pick fights with everyone, and she is making us, and me in particular, miserable. There is nothing we can do about her now, except ignore her. Or make her… well… go away. I don't want to kill her I guess, as she is my cousin and I will eventually feel awful, or at least that's what I try to tell myself. However, if I need to, I will.

I pushed Jennifer out of my mind and focused on where I was. I had grabbed a small container of food and an ax, and then I hung around the edge of the Cornucopia. I had a plan, even though it was risky. I took a breath, then began walking slowly towards the Cornucopia and the Careers.

"Excuse me?" I asked roughly, clearing my throat. I saw all of them raise their weapons, and I lifted my eyebrows, trying to keep it cool. "I would like to join you." Now it was them who looked incredulous.

"And give us a reason on why we shouldn't kill you right now?" The voice was coming from a pretty but strong-looking girl who was holding shining, razor-sharp knives. I think she was the girl from two.

"I'm good with an ax, I'm strong, and I have no mercy." I leveled my gaze with the girl from two. "I'll prove myself." She glanced at the other careers, then smirked.

"Fine." She said. "Fight me then." I got into an offensive stance, then readied my ax.

"Good luck." She smiled, then instantly attacked. Ready for this, I managed to deflect the knives, but her speedy slices just kept coming, and she slipped and twisted around, dodging my attacks. Finally, I managed to slice her left arm, and she fumbled for a second. Taking advantage of that, I swung the ax again and pushed her down, the ax to her throat. She stopped moving and pushed me off.

"Fine. You can join. But make one mistake, just one, and you are dead. Understood?"

"Understood." She nodded. She was clearly the leader of the group. "My name's Max, by the way. District 10." She rolled her eyes.

"I know." She said. "I watched all the reapings. Three times." She sheathed her knives, then began putting some ointment on her cuts. She offered for me to do the same. "I'm Valerie, District 2." She stood up.

"Welcome to the Career Pack."

District 8 Male - Evren Bright - 14

I leaned up against the rough bark of the red pine tree. I recognized the puzzle piece-like bark from home, as there were a few around. I pushed my thin glasses up my nose and just listened for a moment. I heard a few birds, and a couple of small mammals running around. However, I heard something else. It was almost like a faint whispering in my ear, yet the voice was somewhat familiar. Where did I know the voice from? Listening more intently, I stood up.

"Mom?" I know she's dead, she died three years ago of sickness, but I would recognize her voice anywhere. "Mom?" My breathing got faster, and I began to walk around. The whispering grew louder. Wait. I stopped myself. She's dead, and she's not here. It's probably a trap, they are trying to trick you. She's not here. She's not here. I took a deep breath and calmed down. This isn't real.

"She's not here," I muttered, trying to convince myself. I walked in the other direction and the whispering faded. I kept walking, not wanting to go back there. Soon, I found myself close to the Cornucopia. Suddenly, I heard someone or something moving around. Looking around, I saw a tall, chocolate brown-haired girl lurking behind a tree.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked nervously. She flew around, drawing a sharp knife. "Oh, don't hurt me, please!" I backed away. "I'm sorry, I'll just go…" She narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice hard but nervous. I gulped.

"I just… wondered if you had noticed the trap?" I said hesitantly.

"What trap?" She looked around.

"Um, you noticed how the arena around the Cornucopia and platforms are set up, right? The strange positioning of the trees?" I stepped forward, and she made no move to stop me, even though she still looked wary. "They are in a perfect circle, and if you strip away the bark…" I reached up to the tree in front of her and peeled a thick layer of soft bark away. "There are wires inside." She glanced at me, deciding whether or not to trust me, then seemed to come to a decision.

"Show me what else you can see." She said, then let me show her everything I had noticed.

District 5 Male - Kutsa Pazima - 15

"Raeden? Raeden!" I called out. "There you are! Are you okay? Where did all this blood come from?" Her face and hands were covered in dried blood.

"I'm okay, it's not mine." They frowned. "The big kid from 2 came running at me. There was nothing I could do but turn around and defend myself. So, I… I shoved a mirror in his face. He… he died. I killed him." She looked down, tears beginning to well up. She shook herself a bit to clear her head. "But, we survived the bloodbath."

"Yeah. Yes, we did." I pulled out the small bag of materials, and Raeden grabbed theirs. "Look, I have some wire. A big spool of it too! Do you know how to use it?" I asked.

"Umm, sort of? I never really got to use much wire, but I can try!" They pulled some weapons and tools out of their sack, as well as food and water. "This definitely helps, so I guess we're set for now." They looked around. "Where do you want to go?" They asked.

"I don't know, but why don't we set up? I have a small tarp in here too. I'm not sure why, but I do." I smiled.

"Sure!" We walked a little ways away until we found a small, slightly clear area and we set up a small camp. It was dark out, so it was difficult to work, but we set up the tarp above us, tied it to some thin trees, and eventually, we were able to set up a small yet functional electric trap. Now, if anyone or anything tried to get close to us, the trap would shock them for a second, allowing us to kill or wound them. Soon after, we laid down on the soft ground and tried to sleep. This, of course, was very difficult and we did not have much success. This was probably good because soon after we laid down, we heard rustling nearby.

"Raeden! Can you hear that?" I whispered very quietly. I could see them nodding in the very dim light. I sat up slowly and looked around. I saw a small, fluffy creature that seemed to be a cat. The animal was pitch black with a fluffy tail and yellow-green eyes. I had seen a few cats back in District 5, but this one wasn't skittish or afraid like the others. It gracefully leaped over our electric trap and came up and sniffed me. Raeden pulled out a knife, but as soon as the did, the cat hissed and showed its claws.

"Put the knife away… I think it's scaring them." Raeden slowly sheathed the knife but kept her hand near it. I reached my hand out and let the cat sniff it, and the cat began to rub its face on me. Soon, I heard quiet purring from the cat's throat.

"I think they're friendly," I said, relaxing a little. "Maybe they can help us."

Maybe, this arena wasn't all bad things.

District 8 Female - Trillian Shean - 13

As I ran, I tripped over a stick and stumbled, but caught myself and steadied. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed onto a tree and looked around. So, this was it. I was in the Hunger Games. I wonder how Tary was feeling when she was here. Was she scared? Confused? Worried? I was feeling all of those, but I was also slightly on edge. I hadn't seen anything yet, except for dense woods and thick bramble patches. In the Hunger Games, seeing nothing is usually worrying.

The Hunger Games. They are just a cruel way to force the Districts to hate each other. What the worst part is, some people purposefully want to go in just to kill others. That is what gets me. That is the part that is so, very wrong.

I thought about home, and about my family. Do they miss me? I think they do. I hope they do. Mom and Dad taught me to be persistent, at least when they were home. They told me to be brave and try new things. To share my ideas. And most importantly, to learn.

I made another story, and I thought about how this kind of summed up my situation. I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I know that I just want to make the right decision.

Once there was a young lion, who lived happily in his home like every other lion in his pride. They roared louder than the mighty elephant, ran faster than the speedy gazelle, and fought harder than the baboon. The little lion was happy to do all of these things but did not understand why they hide when they saw the frail human. 'Surely they cannot be stronger.' He thought, watching the humans from the shadows one day. So he puffed his chest, strolled out to the humans, and was shot dead. And all the other little lions who had doubts about the threat of humans saw that some things are better left hiding from. The End.

Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Something here was very, very wrong. I had lost focus, and I hadn't noticed that the trees around me were almost moving, but not moving at the same time. They were warped, but a few seconds later they weren't. Something was there, and I knew it. Soon after, I heard a low growl.

I watched, frozen with fear as a tiger-like form emerged from the tree. The changing colors turned to orange and black as a striped tiger formed, teeth dripping with blood and drool.

"I love you, Mom and Dad," I whispered as the tiger approached. The last thing I remember was the tiger's green eyes staring at mine.

Boom.

Poor Trillian! She was such a wonderful character with a beautiful, creative mind, but unfortunately, she was no match for a vicious tiger. Trillian was made by CrazinMonster, and I hope you liked her!

EULOGIES:

17th Place: Trillian Shean, District 8 Female [Bitten to death by camouflage tiger]

Tributes Remaining: 16

Kill Count:
Glint: II
Valerie: II
Marley: II
Raeden: I