Alright, this is Day 3 in the Hunger Games! We're going back to the tributes' point of view in this chapter, which is nice. I hope you all enjoy. :) This is one of my longer chapters, a little more than 4,000 words! I know that's not that much for some people, but it's a lot for me.
District 9: Rois McCormack, Age 15
"If you could choose to live in any of the districts, where would you go?"
I frown, thoughtful, and fiddle with a small twig, pressing it inward on itself until it snaps. Erin and I are currently huddled in the little shelter we made yesterday to take shelter from the rain, which pours down with tireless ferocity. There's not much to do, so we've been talking a lot.
"Oh, I don't know," I say, sighing. "I guess District 4 would be pretty cool. I'd finally get to see the ocean in real life, not just in pictures. Where would you live?"
"I'd like to go to District 1," Erin says. She smiles, looking wistful. "Life in District 12 is nothing but coal dust, poverty, and hunger. I think it'd be lovely, seeing all of the sparkly gemstones and crystals they produce. I bet the kids in District 1 don't have to work from a young age, either." Erin sighs.
"How long have you been working?" I ask her. Her face darkens.
"Since I was young," She says. "My family's always been poor. They didn't make enough money to survive on, so I had to start getting jobs to help them out." Her face morphs into a sneer. "Of course, my little brother never had to work."
Erin falls silent, and for a time there's no sound but the pouring rain as it pounds down on the ground. It takes me back to memories in District 9, cuddled up in a little chair in my house and watching little droplets of water drizzle down my window…
Thinking of home makes my blood boil, and I'm reminded for the 100th time that the Capitol is forcing us into these stupid games, forcing us to kill each other. I hate the Capitol and I hate how much power it has over the districts. It isn't fair. I'm sick of being afraid of the Capitol, sick of having to bow down to them and obey their every command. It isn't fair.
I'm contemplating this when the sound of crunching footsteps and voices turns my blood to ice.
The Careers.
District 1: Ariana Angel, Age 15
My allies and I tromp through the jungle, pushing aside vines and leaves as we go. Rain splatters down on our heads. My red hair has become damp and stringy, and it clings to my face as I walk.
Octavian curses as his foot gets caught in a bush that seems to be covered in thorns. He's been getting more and more aggravated in the arena, and it's been causing a lot of tension. I guess I can see where his anger's coming from- Marine and Juno have been constantly ganging up on him, Blaze and I have started to distance ourselves from the pack, and Nemo's arm is only getting worse and worse since he was bit by the snake. Considering we've only been in the jungle for three days, I'm more than a little concerned about how long this Career pack will last.
"You know, we've been walking for some time and we still haven't seen anyone," Marine says. "We should take a break."
"No," Octavian says stubbornly. "We're not resting until we kill at least one tribute."
"Chill out," Juno says. "Marine's right. We should take a quick break."
"No," Octavian says again. "If we stop, the Capitol will get bored and send mutts after us, and there is no way I'm dealing with two injured Careers. Plus, we're going to lose a lot of sponsors if we don't find someone so-"
"Shhh," Juno snaps. Octavian's face turns red.
"Excuse me?! I'm the leader of the Careers- you know that, don't you? And you have to lis-"
"Shut up!"
Octavian falls silent when he sees Juno pointing at something a little ways away- it's a small, pretty clearing with a little pool of water in the center. And beside the sparkling water sits a small shelter made of sticks.
Octavian motions for us to come forward, and we follow him, careful to keep our footsteps light. I begin to hear whispering, confirming that there are tributes inside the shelter, but I can't make out what they're saying. We creep closer to the shelter, slowly, stealthily…
Suddenly, Octavian throws all caution to the wind and charges forward. At the same time, two girls pop out of the shelter and start sprinting away. Octavian runs after them, the rest of us doing the same, and the chase begins.
District 2: Octavian Grimes, Age 18
I run full-speed at the girls I've identified to be the ones from District 9 and 12. I'm already getting out of breath, and I know I can't keep at this pace forever, but I press onward. The pack has already let two tributes slip away from our grasp. We can't let that happen again.
Beside me, I see Blaze gaining ground on the tributes. As fast as he is, however, it's hard to keep sight of our prey through the thick trees and branches, and I can tell we're beginning to fall behind…
Just when I think we have no chance of catching up to them, I hear a voice from one of the tributes. "I'm going to stay back and fight the Careers!"
"What?!" The other girl responds, shocked.
"I don't want to keep running! I'm going to take a stand! I'm going to fight them!"
"This isn't the time to take a stand," The second girl says. "This is life or death!"
"You don't have to stay back with me if you don't want to," The first girl says. "But I'm sticking up for myself, and if I die, at least I won't die a coward!"
"There's a short pause, and then the second girl says, "It's your funeral, I guess." Then she keeps running while the first girl, the red-headed one, turns around to face us. I can't help but admire her bravery- or her stupidity, either word works- but her act of courage will be for nothing. She will die by my hands.
I slow to a walk as I reach the girl, and on both sides of me my allies do the same. I begin to grin. This is going to be so much fun!
I would taunt the tribute a little before killing her, but I'm worried that Juno or Marine will try and steal my kill if I wait too long, so I decide not to waste too much time. I can't help but swing my sword around a little, though, just to intimidate her before I finish her off.
To my surprise, the girl suddenly charges at me, pulling out a small knife, and before I can react, stabs it into my calf. I roar in pain and stumble backwards. Rage fills my vision and I thrust my sword at her, but she flits away and moves behind a tree. Growling, I chase after her, but when I look behind the tree, I see… nothing. Where did she go? I look around, the other Careers doing the same.
I hear a whooshing sound from behind me and dodge just before the girl's knife can impale me. Then she once again disappears into the safety of the trees, and I resist the urge to shout in anger. She's harder to kill than I thought she would be.
Juno and Marine fan out, searching for the tribute. I see a flash of red from behind a thick green vine and make my way towards it. Juno reaches the girl quicker than me, however. She forces the girl back, and I see my chance. As the girl walks backward, she doesn't notice me creeping behind her. I smile.
I stab out with my sword, and when the redhead looks down, she sees the glint of my blade sticking out of her chest. With a gasp, the girl falls sideways and slams into the ground. I let out a cheer and pump my fist in the air. Take that, District 9.
The Careers surround the District 9 girl and watch her slowly bleed to death. I clap my hands together as her cannon finally fires.
"Alright, everybody!" I shout, now in a much better mood than I was before. "Let's keep moving!"
District 6: Livia Fleet, Age 15
Alyx and I glance at each other as we hear the sound of a cannon.
"I wonder who that was," I say. I want to feel sadness that another innocent kid just died, but no matter how hard I try, the only feeling I can conjure up is relief. It makes me shudder. I've only been in the Hunger Games for three days, and it's already changing me.
A crashing sound coming from behind me makes me jump, and I spin around. My body freezes up as I see what made the sound- a lizard the size of a large dog stands before us, its mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth and it's claws gleaming like knives.
"What's the plan?" I breath to Alyx, backing away from the mutt with my hatchet held out in front of me. "Do we run? Or fight?"
"Run," Alyx responds, staring at the lizard with huge eyes. I'm in full agreement with her until I realize something.
"Our supplies!"
I point at the backpack we grabbed at the bloodbath, which lies at the mutt's feet. "We can't just leave it behind," I say. Alyx curses under her breath.
"Well, now what?" She asks. "We can't leave the backpack here, but we definitely aren't going to live if we try fighting this thing. God, there has to be a way out of this… Oh, God, I think we're screwed."
I shake my head as a plan suddenly comes to mind. It's not the best idea, and a lot of things could go wrong, but it seems like we don't have any other option.
"Alright, I'm going to draw that thing away from our supplies," I growl, readying my hatchet. "While it's distracted, you grab them. Then we run."
Alyx looks doubtful but reluctantly nods. I take a deep breath, steady my shaking legs, and turn to face the creature.
District 8: Alyxandra Lernan, Age 16
I'm going to die.
A lizard is going to kill me.
A lizard.
I feel terror rising in my chest, choking me until I can't breathe. Beside me, Livie holds up her hatchet and glares at the mutt. It glares right back, its evil eyes glinting with hunger. Hunger for us. I feel my body stiffen a little at the thought of those pointed teeth digging into my flesh.
Livia begins to walk sideways, away from me. Steadily, she makes her away around the lizard, which turns its body to follow her movement. She's drawing it away from the pack.
Livia takes a step forward- and the mutt leaps at her. I feel a scream die in my throat as it aims its claws at her chest, but Livia manages to swing her hatchet and the creature lurches backward, the blade missing it by an inch. Livia and I lock eyes. Grab the backpack! She mouths. But I'm frozen to the spot, paralyzed with fear. I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it.
The lizard attacks Livia again, and she stumbles backwards, barely able to hold it back. My mind is screaming for me to grab the supplies and run, but I can't do it, I can't do anything, I can't...
"Alyx!" Livia screams. My head whips around and I see Livia's hatchet on the ground a few feet away from her. The mutt is backing her into a tree, cackling with anticipation. She's going to die soon if I don't help.
My body's moving before my brain has time to catch up, and before I know it I'm kneeling on the ground in front of the backpack and sifting through it, looking for the knife Livia found in the bloodbath. My hand closes around it's steely hilt, and then I'm lifting it, sprinting towards the mutt, one thought running through my head- I won't let it kill Livia, I won't let it kill Livia...
The lizard is too preoccupied with Livia to notice me. I ignore my mind shouting at me that this is a horrible idea and grab onto the mutt's tail. It swings around, but it's too late- I already have a firm grasp on the scaly skin and am able to pull myself up onto its back. It reels back, almost throwing me off it, but I hold on, my hand wrapped around its neck. I raise my knife to finish the creature off, but it shakes itself and I lose my balance, and my hand moves instinctively to my side to keep myself stable. My heart is pounding against my chest. I won't let it kill Livia, I won't let it kill Livia.
I drive my knife into the lizard's forehead. It screeches, and it's movements slow, allowing me to rip the blade out and stick it in again, and then once more for good measure. The mutt goes limp and collapses, and I roll off its back and onto the ground beside its dead body, gasping for breath.
"Woah," Livia breathes, staring at me a few feet away. "That was… amazing. How did you do that?" I let out a shaky breath and then laugh in spite of myself.
"I honestly have no idea," I admit. The question intrigues me, though. How did I just do that? I guess maybe, just maybe, I'm not quite as helpless as I thought I was.
Livia helps me to my feet and we look down at the lizard together. It looks sort of sad, sprawled out on the ground with its eyes half-closed. I feel a flash of guilt before I remember it was trying to kill us.
"What are we going to do with it?" I ask. Livia shrugs.
"It's pretty big," She observes, kicking one of its legs with the tip of her shoe. "Big enough to feed us for a long time… I wonder what lizard meat tastes like?"
District 4: Nemo Fisher, Age 18
Pain is all I can feel anymore.
Horrible, burning pain.
Pain that rips through my lungs and tears up my chest and claws my heart to shreds like some sort of monster. My arm, the one bitten by the snake, is almost black at this point, and it oozes yellow pus. I can't do anything at this point but lay on the ground of the Cornucopia, moaning softly. How pathetic I must look to the Capitol. My father is probably very disappointed in me.
I wonder what the other Careers are doing right now. I heard a cannon a little while ago, probably their work. I wonder who the cannon was for. Despite my body feeling like it's on fire, I'm sort of glad that I didn't have to be with my allies when they massacred whoever it was for.
My thoughts begin to wander as I lie on the cold ground. I think back to home, to District 4, to the crashing waves against the shore that lulled me to sleep every night. I think of my parents, of my friends; of Tank. Tank. I wonder if he's watching me right now. The thought scares me a little. I don't want him to see me like this. I don't want him to watch me die.
I lift my head weakly to the sky. "You know, a sponsor gift right now would be really nice," I try to shout, though the sound comes out in a choked whisper. I wait for a few moments, daring to hope that some rich Capitolite will have mercy on me and send me something. But nothing happens. I sigh and rest my head back on the ground. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. An antidote to whatever poison now runs through my blood must be very expensive- there's no way someone would spend that kind of money on me, one of the weakest Careers in the games. Still, I can't help feeling a little disappointed.
A ringing sound makes me look up in a mixture of shock and hope. Could it really be… My heart stops when I realize that my suspicion is correct- it's a sponsor gift.
My hands reach out and I grasp hold of the parachute with the little remaining strength I have. I rip the small package open and peer at its contents. My heart leaps a little.
Inside is a syringe and two small bottles of clear liquid. Attached to one of the bottles is a note. I pick up the note and scan it quickly. It reads, inject 5 ounces of the fluid into your arm now, and then do the same thing every twelve hours until it all runs out. I'd like to tell you that you're doing great, but if I did I'd be lying. You have to step your game up, Nemo. Do something big- otherwise the Gamemakers are going to get tired of you and send another mutt on you. ~Finn
After reading the note, I throw it to the side and grab the syringe, filling it with 5 ounces of liquid like I was instructed to do. I jam the long needle into my arm, ignoring its stinging pain. After a moment, the syringe is empty, and I pull it out, wincing. I don't feel much of a difference, but I don't care. The liquid is going to save me. I can still do this. I have hope.
District 9: Albin Ainsley, Age 15
"GAHHH!"
I spring up from the ground when I feel the sharp pinch of an ant bite on my ankle. I brush away the little black creature, but four more take its place before I have time to react.
Cursing, I grab my supplies and sprint away from the scene before it starts swarming with ants. Those things have been following me around all day. My guess is that they're some sort of mutation designed by the gamemakers created to find and attack me wherever I go. They're not that dangerous or anything, but I hope they'll stop coming after me soon- they're a huge nuisance.
My pace slows down to a walk as I put more distance between myself and the ants. I know the Capitol is getting bored with me- all I've been doing in the past three days is eating, sleeping, and walking- but I don't know what to do to capture their attention. If I try to do something big, like launching an attack on the Careers, it'll most likely cost me my life. But if I keep on fading into the background, the gamemakers are probably going to send a mutt at me- a mutt more dangerous than the little ants that have been terrorizing me this past afternoon.
I come to a halt when I hear the sound of footsteps coming from not too far away. Slowly and carefully, I ease my way towards the noise. The footsteps suddenly stop, and I dart behind a tree before I'm spotted. For a moment, I don't dare to move while the person catches their breath. Finally, I build up the courage to peek behind my hiding spot.
Sitting on a tree stump is the girl from 12. I remember with a jolt of panic that she had an alliance with Rois, and my head whips around, expecting to see my district partner leap at me in a surprise attack. But there's no one there.
I peer back towards the girl nervously. Her head is raised and her eyes glare daggers into the sky, her fists clenched at her sides. I remember the cannon I heard not too long ago and grimace. I wonder if it was Rois. While the two of us were never super close, I still liked her. Besides, she was the only thing I had left of home.
My attention turns back to the 12 girl- Erin, I think her name is- when she lets out an angry shout. I flinch, taking a step away from where she's sitting. She yells a little more, seemingly at no one in particular, before burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with angry sobs. She looks completely defenseless, and I doubt it would be all that hard to kill her…
This is how I could catch the Capitol's attention. If I were to kill Erin, especially this early in the games, it would surely make me a fan favorite and could get me a lot of sponsors. My hand wraps around the hilt of my knife. She doesn't seem to be armed… I could just sneak up behind her and stab her before she knew what was happening…
My eye catches on the ring on my finger, and I remember what my grandma said when she said goodbye to me in the Justice Building. "Use it to remind you to fight for what you think is right." Slowly, I lower my knife. What am I doing? This girl just lost her ally, and I'm planning on using her grief to my advantage. That isn't right. I can't kill her.
I begin backing up from Erin cautiously. I guess the Capitol isn't going to be happy with me, giving up on such an easy kill like this. If they weren't going to send a terrifying mutt on me before, they definitely will now. Then I think of something. I don't want to kill this girl. But I also don't want the Capitolites to get bored of me. But what if…
Before I have time to doubt my decision, I take a step out from behind my tree, revealing myself to Erin. She almost falls off the log in surprise before leaping up and getting into a weary fighting stance, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
"Wait!" I shout. "I don't want to hurt you."
Erin pauses, looking a little intrigued but not moving from her hostile position. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves.
"I… was that cannon earlier for Rois?"
Erin cringes a little before nodding silently.
"Oh," I whisper. It's what I suspected, but it still hurts to see it be confirmed. "She was my district partner. She was really nice. I'm sorry."
Erin scowls, her shoulders shaking slightly with rage. "The Careers killed her." She mutters. "We were running away from them, but she decided to turn around and fight them, and… they just cut her down like she was nothing."
"My ally was murdered by the Careers, too," I say softly. "Her name was Carlina. The girl from 1 shot her in the back with a bow." I feel yet another pang of sadness at the thought of my fallen ally.
Erin begins lowering her fists ever so slightly. "It just makes you mad, doesn't it?" She says. "Like, you just want to do anything you can to get back at them, to make them pay for what they did."
"Yeah," I agree, letting out a hollow chuckle. "I wish there was a way we could get some revenge on them."
"Well, maybe there is a way," Erin says. "I mean, the Careers aren't invincible. Surely there's something we could do to make them hurt."
A smile slowly spreads across my face. "Yeah," I say. "Maybe you're right." Tentatively, I hold out my hand. "Allies?"
Erin grins and shakes it. "Allies."
District 11: Cole Cambridge, Age 13
"That's not a good idea."
I ignore Beckett and leap onto a rock that sits in the little creek we just came across. The rock is wet, and I almost lose my balance, but I manage to catch myself before I fall. Laughing, I jump from rock to rock, feeling weightless as I glide through the air like a bird. Angelica grins and follows my lead, and we begin to make our way down the stream. Beckett follows us slowly, rolling his eyes but smiling a little in spite of himself.
I spring onto a stone that's particularly slippery, and before I can stop myself I fall into the creek with a splash. The water is very shallow, only coming up to my ankles, but it soaks through my shoes and freezes my feet. Still, though, the cool liquid feels good against my skin.
Angelica, giggling, jumps into the water beside me, sending up a splash that splatters my legs. I mock looking offended and splash her back. She screams and stumbles back, smiling from ear to ear.
I can't help but think about how pretty Angelica looks right now, with her dark hair cascading down her shoulders and her sparkling blue eyes that remind me of starlight. We were sort of awkward around each other at first, but since I've gotten to know her, I've started liking her more and more. There's just something about her that can make anything seem fun- even the Hunger Games.
"Alright, that's enough, you two," Beckett calls out. I look up to see him glaring at us, which surprises me a bit. He seems a little angry, though I don't know why. "We have to focus up. Come on, follow me." Angelica and I give each other a confused glance before hurrying to catch up with him.
I sigh a little as we run towards Beckett. I wish we could have stayed in that creek a little longer. Oh, well. Even though it was fleeting, it was nice to have a small moment of comfort in the arena. It was nice to feel like, for a minute there, everything was normal.
So, that was that! What did you think of it? Feel free to tell me in the reviews!
16th Place: Rois McCormack- Stabbed in the back with a sword by Octavian Grimes, District 2 male
Aw, Rois. I liked writing for her a lot- she was fierce and loyal, which is always nice to see in a tribute. Unfortunately, I didn't have any big plans for her in the plot, and so this is where she goes. She went down fighting, though, which I think was a nice way for her story to end. And perhaps she'll be avenged by Erin and Albin… or perhaps she won't be. We'll just have to wait and see. :)
I hope everybody is staying healthy at this time. Please be careful, I don't want any of you to get sick!
I'll see everybody (hopefully) soon in Night 3!