I hug myself tightly in the small chamber me and Lydia have been deposited in. Lydia had already been here when I arrived, stricken and pale, waiting to give me the uniform for my turn in the Games. Blight had not seen since the interviews; he was still out when we returned to the apartments. Flynnigan had been the one to wake us and take us to the hovercraft that would send us to the Games. That had been done separately too. I did not see Trapper again unless we met in the arena.
We sit in the cold, dark room and I shiver. Lydia says nothing, only sitting next to me, lips thinned in a not so unsympathetic frown. She had not spoken since the moment I arrived. She had merely thrust the clothes at me and nodded as I signal to get dressed. They had given us a pair of blue pants and pair of boots only a shade darker. The shirt is white, cotton, and thick, with long sleeves, and a blue jacket. It is a pretty normal jacket, no extra lining for cold weather, and I hope that whatever hellscape we land in is warm enough to survive nights.
The silence continues and after a moment, Lydia hands me a water bottle.
"Drink," Lydia says. "You'll need it for now. Build your strength."
I take it wordlessly and begin to sip from it. My stomach is twisting and turning in knots so tight I am sure that it has changed irrevocably. My mid lists through every possibility. Dead within minutes. An alliance that survives. On my own and dead. And the much, much less likely possibility that I would win.
No. I shake my head. I have done all this strategy. I will not throw in my towel before it is time.
"We believe in you," Lydia says. She speaks so quietly, quieter than I ever heard her, and I do not know if I am making it up at first. "Me, and Athena, and Hera, and Artemis. We know you can do this."
I blink. Their faith in me both excites and terrifies me. How and why would they believe in me? I have given them no reason to. I have made myself quiet, alone, and an easy target. A forgettable piece in a Game devised before my birth. They do not know my story, about my parents, they do not know what makes me think I have a fighting chance.
"Thank you," I whisper. Lydia says nothing else.
I think over what my brother and grandfather are doing. Paw Paw is probably watching on the television at home. It is cheap and does not work half the time, but he is too weak to go to the town square where a larger screen is popped up. Jonathon would probably want to stay home and watch, but he is still in school. They may make him go. Or perhaps the teachers and Peacemakers will have mercy on him and let him stay.
Games pre-show nonsense is in full swing by now. Going over our profiles, even ads for products. It is almost comical to me that our deaths will be preceded by advertisements for soap. Maybe it is the stress getting to me. I don't know. I am most likely to die soon, so it does not matter. I will laugh if I find it funny.
"One minute."
The monotone, robotic voice startles me and I nearly jump out of my skin. Fear consumes me and I can not move for a moment. Lydia nudges me once and I jump to my feet and nearly race to the pod. No need to drag it out. If this is going to happen, it will happen. Let it be. I will face death with dignity and not run or quiver.
The pod is in the corner of the room, and it is clear and will send me straight up into the arena. All of us will be in a semi-circle around the Cornucopia. It is how they begin every game.
Lydia walks over to the pod as the door slides shut. I am now stuck. No turning back. Lydia's time for speaking is over, and now she just gives me a nod. I nod back. There is nothing left to say at this point. Platitudes will get me nowhere now.
The pod starts to slide up, and Lydia disappears as I come into the arena. My pedestal stops and I have to squint from the bright sunlight that shines on me suddenly. I blink and I begin to adjust. The arena is large, the arena dips into two valleys, and it seems to be made out of clay and dirt. Thin patches of ruddy grass and tall, waxy plants are standing up in odd places.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Seventy-First annual Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor!"
From here on out, Claudius Templesmith will be our only connection to the outside world. He is the announcer for the Games, giving play by plays for the viewers at home. Every once in a while, he might announce something to us, like a feast or some other meeting that the Gamemakers cooked up.
The countdown begins. We must remain here for one minute. If we step off our pedestal before the time is up, we will go up in smoke and fire. Game over before we even begin.
Fifty. Forty-nine.
I crane my neck to look for Trapper, but he is hidden on the other side of Cornucopia. I look around for Daisy and Clyde, and I find Clyde two pedestals down from me. He is hugging himself and already beginning to cry, and I know I will have to physically drag him to get him out of here. Daisy is stuck between Marlin and the District Two boy. I gulp. Daisy will need a miracle to come out of that alive.
Thirty. Twenty-nine.
The Cornucopia is set up so that there are items scattered coming from the large container. The further in you go, the better the materials. Next to my pedestal is a pack of fruit. I can see halfway between here and there is an ax, and I itch to get it. Would it be worth it to try and get it? How's to say that I would not get another chance to get it?
Blight had told me to follow my instinct. What if I need to run, run. If I need to stay, stay. I wonder if it was wise. What if my instinct is confused? What if my instinct is just wrong?
Twenty. Nineteen.
I take a steadying breath. I will do what I must. That is what I have done all my life. I narrow my eyes and set my sights on the ax. It is now or never.
Ten.
I can do this.
Nine.
I can't do this.
Eight.
Should I find Trapper?
Seven.
Jonathon. I want Jonathon.
Six.
Daisy. Clyde. Grab them and run.
Five.
Ax and fruit. Ax and fruit.
Four.
Avoid Marlin. Let the Careers kill each other.
Three.
Minnie. Daisy. They blend in my mind.
Two.
Now. Never. Now. Never.
One.
Run.
I take off like a shot. I am not the best runner or the best sprinter, but my determination and adrenaline has lead me to go faster than I ever had before. I pick up the packet of dried fruit and a thin blanket. I wrap the fruit in the blanket and tuck it under my arm.
Marlin and the Two boy have made it to the center of Cornucopia. At my fastest, I still am not as fast as them. I growl but decide to ignore them for now. I get the ax, take it securely in my hand, and then I turn and run.
Daisy is gone, taken off into one of the valleys. Clyde still stands fearful on his pedestal, eyes wide and tears freely spilling. I have still yet to see Trapper. I look over my shoulder and see Marlin setting her sights on me. I frown and take off quicker.
I lean slightly to pick up a backpack on the ground, and my lean saves me from a knife headed in my direction. But – I look up, and there is a knife in Clyde's forehead. I grip the backpack and Clyde falls to the ground, eyes wide open but motionless.
I do not react. I do not stop. I just keep running. Marlin must have decided on a different target, as no other knives come my way. They must think that I can be taken out later. If I were thinking about it, I might have realized my strategy was working.
I slid down into the valley, red dirt and clay dirtying my clothes. I can see a few tributes headed in the same direction as me, but as I pass none pay me mind. We just keep running, slightly divulging into different angles. I keep running for as long as I can before my adrenaline runs out and my legs are aching.
I slow to a jog and then a walk, but I keep going. At the edge of my vision, I can see something. I am not sure what it is, but perhaps whatever the dark, hulking think ahead of me is, it might provide cover. Besides, I need to put enough distance between me and the others.
The first thing I notice is that it is hot. Hotter than it ever was in District Seven. Within an hour, I have to remove my jacket and stuff it in the backpack with the blanket and fruit. I could see items already in the backpack, but I do not stop to look at them. It will do good to do so in the open.
I approach the hulking object, and the closer I get to it, I realize it is a building. It is large and a dark blue, and I can see parts of the wood crumbling. Around it, I can begin to make out other, smaller buildings. I wonder if this arena is in ruins. It is rare, but not unheard of for the Capitol to make use of ruins of the countries that once made up Panem. If it is, that means whatever these buildings were, they know were booby-trapped by the Gamemakers.
They will still make a good shelter, I suppose, if only for a short while.
I finally make it to the building, and I tentatively step into the blue building. There is nothing in it but wood planks, and a staircase that leads to an upstairs. No chairs, no tables, not even marks that would give away if there was once something here.
I do not dare step too far in, instead, I sit just inside the building, shutting the door and leaning back against it. I reach for the backpack, but that is when the cannons go off.
The cannons are to signal every time a tribute dies, but with how many dies in the bloodbath, they decide to wait until it is over and they can properly count and collect the bodies. Tonight, we will see photos of all the tributes who died, so we know who we still have to go after.
I count thirteen cannons. I smile despite myself. That is more than half, which means I just have to outlast ten other tributes. It is higher than normal – normally it's closer to eleven or twelve. But thirteen? That means good things for me.
I open the backpack and find in addition to what I put in there, a bottle of water (full, thank God), a package of crackers, two apples, and a first aid kit. A first aid kit! I open it, and it is gauze, bandages, and some cream. It is not much, but it is better than nothing.
I put it all back into the pack carefully. I keep the jacket out of it and instead wrap it around my waist. I keep the ax close to my feet in case I needed it, but I decide to wait for just a few minutes. My legs feel on fire and I need just one minute to let them come back to life. I take two sips of water and hit one piece of dried fruit. I will need to use this sparingly. I walked for what must have been at least several hours and I saw no water.
It is possible the only water in this arena is what the Gamemakers give us. It would not be the first time. I hope it is not the truth.
The image of Clyde comes flying back. When I was on the run, I had not time to think of Clyde and that he was one of the first casualties. I had known he would have to die for me to go home, but for it to come so quickly? So unceremoniously? With all the chaos that was going on, it was possible the watchers at home might not have realized he was dead until they counted the bodies. Clyde deserved to at least not be an afterthought in the bloodbath.
I remember that Clyde told me he had two older brothers. I wonder if they hated me for not stopping to help him. Then again, they have no way to know I had picked him as a possible ally. Maybe they hate me on principle I am alive, and he is dead.
I wonder if Trapper and Daisy made it. It is possible the Careers caught up with Daisy and I had no idea what Trapper was doing. I suppose I will have to wait until the names in the sky tonight.
I sigh and stand up. Grief – no matter how undeserved – has no place in the Games. I must go on.
So I open the door, slip on the bag and grab my ax, and I run.
Chapter Bible Verse:
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." - Psalms 19:14
It has been a HOT SECOND, but y'all it's been rough. There has been a lot of stress and a death in the family, so writing this has just been something I was just not in a place to do. But I believe I have a semi-official update schedule, we will alternate between one chapter for this story and two for a haunted hive. The latter is set up in a way that two chapters are kind of like a part 1 and 2 of the same content, so that's the schedule for now! If any of y'all like Young Justice, I'd recommend checking it out!
Review Replies:
ReadBooksWriteThings: How Daisy got that eight? Hmm...We have not seen the last of Daisy and we will get some info on her and why she has that score once we see her again. Thank you so much for leaving a review! I love your theories on Daisy and her score, but I can not confirm or deny out of SPOILERS warning. I hope you're having a blessed day!
Questions, comments, or concerns, let me know! Have a blessed day!
-PrincessChess