This chapter is a bit longer than I planned. I've been trying to get around 500 words per POV (1000 for chapters with a lot of action), but I got carried away with some of them.
As usual, ignore any grammar errors because I'm too lazy to proofread!
District 5
Dennis Fielder
I step over a mossy green log carefully. The last thing I'd want to do is twist an ankle right now. I don't know where I'm walking, unfortunately. I don't have a compass or anything, so I don't know what direction I've been walking all day. I haven't encountered any other tributes or even muttations.
I'm guessing it's about midday, since I feel like I've been up for hours and the sun is the brightest it's been. The rays are so bright, I no longer have to worry about stepping on a snake or getting my foot caught under a root simply because I can't see where I'm walking.
I feel like I may be walking in circles. There's an abnormally tall tree up ahead that looks suspiciously similar to one I passed half an hour ago, and another before that. I squint my eyes, trying to tell whether it is the same exact tree.
There's a loud chirping sound above me, and my head jerks upward toward the sound. What is it? Is it a mutt?
I stop walking and stand still for a few minutes, waiting to see if there's any mutts about to jump out at me. However, nothing appears and the chirping noise discontinues. I narrow my eyes suspiciously but decide that I'm safe, and continue walking toward the tree.
As I approach, I notice that there's a ring of rocks around the base of the tree. It looks very intentional, and I'm concerned for a moment - is this some kind of a trap set by the Gamemakers? But then I notice a footprint in the damp ground. It's very clearly from a tribute's shoe. My eyes follow the tribute's tracks, and I see them leading past the tree. I haven't noticed these before - they're light, but easy to spot if I know what I'm looking for.
Grinning, I begin to follow the tracks. It looks like I'm finally onto something.
District 9
Hadley Moreau
"Ah!" I shout, startled. Using my finger, I flick off the huge bug resting on my exposed arm. It lands on the ground and scampers away. I shiver, disgusted as I see it disappear behind a large leaf, still dripping rainwater onto the ground.
"What?" Axel demands nervously, looking around. His hand tightens on the dagger clutched between his fingers.
"Don't worry, it's just a bug," I assure him. Linen and Axel both drop their weapons, breathing sighs of relief. I don't calm down, however. I pinch the skin where the insect was and inspect it. A poisonous bug seems like exactly the type of thing the Gamemakers would supply the arena with. However, I can't see signs of a sting or bite, so I calm down a bit. I still can't help but wonder what would have happened if I didn't notice the creature in time.
I roll my sleeve back down over my arm. I had pushed them up to my elbows earlier because the heat and humidity were making me really sweaty, but I'd rather be slightly overheated than eaten alive by bugs.
Linen and Axel have stopped complaining about the constant hiking. I think they're beginning to realize how important it is that we put a lot of distance between ourselves and the Careers. I suspect their legs are tired, like mine, but they aren't saying anything. I really appreciate it.
"What's that?" Axel asks. I look at him and see that he's pointing to a tree. At first, I don't see anything unusual about it.
"It's a tree," Linen responds. Axel rolls his eyes and beckons us over to it. When we're closer, he points at the trunk, which has some kind of symbol carved into the bark. It looks like a circle, which some kind of curve attached. Linen gets closer and inspects it some more. "It looks a bit like a bull," she observes.
I get closer and squint my eyes. I guess it does resemble a bull or at least a simple sketch of the head. The curve could be horns, and the circle could be the face.
"Maybe," I say.
"Why do you think it's here?" Axel asks.
"It's possible another tribute carved it, but I think it's more likely the Gamemakers placed it here. It might symbol a trap or something," I say, biting my lip.
"Do you think a bull is going to come storming out of the trees any moment?" Linen asks. She's trying to have her normal bravado, but her voice wavers.
"I don't know, but we should get out of here," I respond. I start to back away, but Axel beckons me back toward the tree. He points down at the ground, and I notice a crimson path leading away from the foot of the tree.
"Blood," says Linen in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," I say. I begin walking at a fast pace away from the blood, and my allies immediately follow me. None of us want to be close to the tree, the symbol, or the blood.
Afraid of a possible mutt or trap, I arm myself with all of my weapons - my gun, my switchblade, and the lasso. I hold them in front of me. I have a feeling that any moment, some sort of muttation will come bursting behind some shrubbery and attack the three of us.
I push aside some large leaves blocking our path, and my jaw drops open. I step forward and allow the leaves to bounce back into position, smacking Axel in the face. I look around in awe. In all of the time we've spent exploring the forest, I've only seen trees, bushes, and one or two freaky animals that we've steered clear of. I didn't expect to see anything other than the rainforest in the arena, but I guess I was wrong.
We're standing in a clearing, where a large stone structure has been erected. I can only see the front, but I'm guessing it stretches further than just what I'm seeing. It's maybe two stories high, very mossy, and green. There are steps leading up to the building, which looks to be one or two stories, and there's an archway leading into darkness. On either side of the entrance, there's a statue of a person. However, both heads have been crudely broken off and are nowhere to be seen, so I can't see who it is.
"That's creepy," Linen mutters. I turn to look at her and Axel - Linen looks disgusted and possibly a bit nervous, but Axel is wearing an expression of awe.
"Let's go inside," I decide. Linen's head swivels to look at me.
"Are you joking?" she asks. "That place looks like a deathtrap!"
"The Gamemakers always put something in places like these."
"Yeah, a mutt!" she exclaims, looking completely exasperated.
"No, advantages. Remember last year's Hunger Games? The castle? Mika Jordan got that advantage after entering. She got those knights after winning the queen's challenge."
"Yes, but another girl died from that same challenge! What if we have to compete or something? You're going to lead us to our deaths, Hadley. First the bridge, and now this. Axel, back me up." Linen looks at Axel expectantly, but he just shrugs.
"Actually, I think Hadley's right. It may have some advantage we could really use later on," Axel says. Linen throws up her hands in surrender, then sits down on the ground.
"Go on in," she offers, still sounding mad. "But I'm not. I'll keep watch or something. If you guys die, it's not my fault."
"Okay. But we're not sharing our advantage with you," I shrug. I raise my hand to high-five Axel, but he doesn't notice. A little disheartened, I drop it. "Come on, let's go."
Axel and I walk up the green steps toward the darkness behind the archway. Axel now seems a little nervous, but he doesn't turn back. He pauses before entering but follows me after sees me continuing.
I hear Axel walking behind me and the noise of water dripping onto the floor. I can't see anything. I hold my switchblade in front of me, slightly nervous now that my vision is lost. I glance behind me and see Axel's silhouette against the brightness from outside. He's right behind me.
There's a small squeak and I hear Axel scream.
"Just a rat," I assure him, but I admit that my heartbeat quickened at the noise. Axel grabs onto my free hand and I clutch onto him tightly.
I take another step forward, but this time there's nothing to place my foot on. I wobble - there's no ground in front of me. One foot is on the slippery floor, and the other is hovering over what I can only assume is a hole in the floor. I rock back and forth, trying to regain my balance, and I think I'm about to, when Axel slips.
He's still holding tightly to my hand. My arm is quickly yanked downward with him and I feel my stomach leap into my stomach as he pulls me into the pit with him.
We're free-falling in the darkness. All I can hear is Axel screaming.
District 6
Tristana Rockett
I shoot a bolt at the final monkey, and it falls back in midair, only inches from Rachel's face. She clutches her chest with wide eyes as she stares at the monkey's corpse on the ground. We've finally picked off the last monkey, after hours of being chased by them. We both have decent cuts and scratches and one or two bite marks on our body, but we're both alive and neither of us are seriously injured.
We stand there, panting, for a moment. I'm surprised that we managed to survive - ecstatic, of course - but I thought we were goners. It was the first time in the Hunger Games when I was sure I was about to die. However, both Rachel and I are standing here, safe.
"We should probably find Yael and Arabella," I say through deep breaths, after I've faced the fact that I'm safe. Rachel nods.
"What direction did they go in?" she asks, looking around nervously. I look around, as well, and realize our problem. I have no idea where we are.
Rachel and I weren't exactly paying attention to landmarks when we were being chased by monkeys, but I doubt we could have even located them if we had. We've wandered into an area where the fog is so thick, I can barely see my own two feet. Rachel and I share a nervous look. How are we supposed to find our allies now?
Rachel clears her throat uncertainly. "Well, I think we came from that direction -" she starts, pointing in a direction that I can't distinguish from the rest. Her voice trails down, and then she switches her hand to the opposite direction. "Or maybe there."
"So…"
"So, we could be walking closer to them or even farther," Rachel confirms. I groan and collapse onto a rock. I can't believe our alliance has already been split in two. What in Panem's name are we supposed to do now?
Rachel sits down next to me and looks at the fog drifting past us. She's biting her lip, which I've discovered means she's thinking hard. I wish we hadn't gotten separated from Arabella and Yael, but I can't help but feel relieved that it's Rachel I'm with right now. I like my other allies, but Rachel is the one with the plans. It's comforting to know that Rachel can normally find something to do. Even if it isn't helpful, she can manage to find something that makes us feel like we're accomplishing something. Anything's better than just sitting on this rock and thinking about the danger we're in.
"Do the fallen tributes always appear over the Cornucopia?" she finally asks.
"I think so."
"Well, we can just wait until nightfall and see where the anthem is coming from. Then, we can walk in that direction."
"But then we'd be going right toward the Careers," I say.
"We wouldn't actually go into the Cornucopia. But if we can find the clearing, we can find which direction we originally went in and find where we were before getting attacked by the monkeys."
I think about this plan for a moment. It's not perfect - it will involve a lot of walking, and there's not even any guarantee that Arabella and Yael returned to the same place we were last night. But like I said before, it's better than sitting on a rock and thinking about the Hunger Games.
"What do you think?" Rachel asks.
"It's better than nothing," I shrug. Rachel nods.
"We'll start walking toward the Cornucopia as soon as we see the anthem - it's better we go at night, so most Careers will be asleep. Until then, we should probably just stay here and rest. You should probably try to get some sleep - I'll keep watch. It's not like we'll be getting the chance to sleep tonight."
District 6
Axel Woodleigh
I step forward in the passage, still holding onto Hadley. However, my foot doesn't connect with the ground. I let out a gasp as I begin falling forward. I wave my arms, trying to propel myself backwards, but it's no good. My other foot slips and suddenly I'm falling. My hand automatically tightens around Hadley's, hoping he may provide some stability and pull me back from the edge, but instead he topples with me.
My hand slips out of Hadley's; Hadley falls faster than I do and goes past. I scream, bracing myself for the inevitable impact. However, I manage to hear a splash over my yells. My ears perk up. Is that -
My train of thought is interrupted when I'm submerged in water. It's very cold, especially since I've gotten accustomed to the constant heat. I let out a gasp, and the freezing water fills my mouth. My arms and legs furiously kick me back to surface. Despite my soaking clothes weighing me down, my head breaks the surface. I spit the water out of my mouth and cough as my arms and legs struggle to keep me above the surface.
"Axel?" Hadley shouts.
"Here!" I say, as soon as the water has been expelled from my mouth.
It's no longer pitch-black, but still very difficult to make anything out. All I know is that Hadley and I are stuck in a pool with no visibly exits - just walls on all sides. The water seems to be glowing green, but not enough for me to see Hadley's face. I'm able to see a dark figure paddling over to me, though. I'm suddenly very grateful that Savanna made us practice swimming during training. It's too bad she didn't get to use this skill…
"Where do we go now?" I ask Hadley when he's next to me. He doesn't say anything at first and all I can hear is the both of us breathing heavily.
"I think there's a tunnel down there," Hadley finally says. I can't tell where he's gesturing to. Hadley taps my shoulder and points down into the water. Underwater is a hole in the wall, where the green light seems to be coming from. It looks to be about three feet in diameter. I guess the water isn't glowing after all.
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"No," Hadley responds. "But we might as well find out. Otherwise, we'll just be trapped. Stay here, I'm going to find out if it leads somewhere. If it does, I'll come back and get you, 'kay?"
"Okay," I say. Hadley dives down. I keep my eyes on the glowing tunnel until I see a dark figure swim in front of it. Hadley paddles through the entrance until he disappears inside the tunnel. I wait for him, struggling to stay afloat. My violet leather jacket is weighing me down and the boots aren't exactly helping me kick. Every slight noise echoes off the walls.
If Hadley comes back and explains that there's nothing on the other side - or worse, he doesn't come back at all - I'm dead. I can't see where we fell from, even with the light. However, I assume it's much too high to attempt to climb. My arms are still stinging from where they smacked into the water, making me guess the fall was a considerable height.
I carefully kick over to one of the walls. I reach out my hand and brush it, seeing the texture. Is it possible to climb?
The wall is very slippery, almost slimy, and I quickly discover that it's not possible to climb. Every time I attempt to scale the walls, by fingers immediately slide off and I go plunging back into the cold water.
After a few minutes of attempting to climb the walls, a loud splash fills the cavern. I let out a yelp in surprise and my hands slide off of the wall.
After returning to the surface, I turn and see Hadley treading water behind me. He's struggling to catch his breath, but manages to speak.
"Axel… there's a… another room past the tunnel. It leads somewhere," he pants. I nod in understanding. He beckons me to follow him, and as soon as we're both above the hole, he takes a huge gulp of air and dives down. I follow suit, swimming after him. I force my eyes open underwater, even though my eyes protest and keep trying to blink closed.
Through the green water, I can see Hadley swimming into the tunnel. Just before I enter, my claustrophobia acts up and my heart begins pounding. The tunnel isn't very wide, and I can't tell how far it stretches. What if it drowns before I exit? I'm already losing air.
Reluctantly, I follow Hadley through the tunnel. Instead of depending on my swimming ability, I use my hands to grasp the side of the tunnel and push myself through. Using this strategy, I manage to catch up to Hadley rather quickly. Still pushing my way through the tunnel, my lungs begin to strain. I need more oxygen… I've never been able to hold my breath for very long, especially in stressful situations.
Just when I'm about to turn back, Hadley reaches the end of the tunnel and disappears. I immediately follow, swimming to the edge of the tunnel and pushing myself back up to the surface.
My face hits the air and I relish all of the gulps of oxygen entering my lungs. It takes me a few moments to notice my surroundings.
We're in a similar room, but this time, there's an exit and light. The pool is small, and the water is just an inch or two below the edge. I can't see far past the room, but all there is, is a hallway lined with lit torches that leads somewhere. A sharp curve at the edge of the corridor limits my vision.
I see that Hadley has already pulled himself up to the edge, so I swim over to him. Upon seeing me, he outstretches a hand and helps yank me up onto the floor. Finally out of the water, I breathe a sigh of relief. The sturdy ground has never felt so amazing. Hadley gives me a few minutes to catch my breath before speaking.
"You're hat's missing," says Hadley. I feel the top of my head, and sure enough, there's no hat.
"Good," I reply, glancing at Hadley's dripping brown head. "You don't have one either." Hadley shrugs.
"We couldn't have really expected the hats to stay on, could we?"
"Nah," I laugh. I remember the launch, when I first saw my outfit. Immediately I stated I wanted to get rid of that ridiculous fedora we were forced to wear, but I was so busy concerned about staying alive, I forgot to ditch it the first chance I got. I was pleased with the rest of my costume, though, even the boots -
I remember my leather shoes and look down in alarmed. The water-logged boots are likely doomed. Groaning, I yank both of them off and throw them aside. It sucks that I'm forced to lose shoes so soon. Now, the only things protecting my feet, are the thin socks that are currently soaking. I also shed my jacket, but I tie this around my waist. I can't afford to lose a jacket. Hadley noticed what I'm doing, and ditches his orange boots as well.
"Ready to go?" he asks, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes. I nod and we both stand up. I'm glad we left the knapsack with Linen, because otherwise, most of our supplies would be ruined. Hadley has his lasso and we both have our knives, but other than that, we don't have any supplies.
Hadley and I begin walking down the hallway. Water drips off the ceiling and onto the floor. The normally-quiet sound echoes throughout the empty place, making each drip very noisy. Hadley and I walking have the same effect, where even our socked feet make a ruckus. At first I try to tiptoe, fearing there's something hidden in here, but then I realize that if it were, we'd be able to hear it as well.
Just before we reached the turn, Hadley stops and cleverly removes one of the torches from the wall. He holds it out in front of him like his own personal light to guide the way.
We both nervously creep around the first turn, expecting some kind of mutt waiting for us, but there's nothing there except for another hallway.
Hadley and I walk down the hallway for what feels like forever. Each time we come upon another turn, we expect a mutt or anything, but it's just endless corridors. There's never even a fork in the path. It's not a maze, just endless walking.
Finally, we make a turn to the right and the hallway ends. The room is completely dark, which terrifies both of us. Hadley outstretches his torch to light the room, but it only does so much. The room is quite large, despite not having much. The light illuminates a bit, but it's not until we get close to the center that we see the only thing the room contains.
There's a small marble table smack-dab in the center of the room. Something's on it, but neither Hadley nor I can see what it is from this distance. We exchange a nervous look. It's likely this place is a trap. However, it could also contain something useful. Hadley begins to approach carefully, keeping an eye out for anything murderous that may pop out.
Hadley reaches the table without danger. He looks down at the table. After a moment, he gasps.
"Axel," he beckons. I quickly scamper over and stand next to him. I look at the surface of the table and let out a similar gasp.
On the table is a single gemstone, a small emerald about the size of a chicken egg. Normally, I wouldn't care. What use is an emerald in the Hunger Games? But underneath the stone, etched into the table, is this:
Welcome lucky tribute,
You've discovered one of the three gems placed around the arena. This jewel could save your life - with this, you can survive the Hunger Games without having to win.
It is possible that four tributes survive this year; one victor and three survivors.
However, you must make it to the final five to be able to escape. If you're in possession of the jewel by then, go to the Cornucopia. There, you will be rescued via hovercraft and will be taken home. You won't receive glory or wealth or even a place in the Victor's Village, but you will live. You'll go back to your old life as though you never were in the Hunger Games.
If you're with an ally, be very careful who you select to take the jewel. It can not be transferred between tributes. The first person to touch it is the only one who can use it to escape… with one exception. If you kill the current possessor of the jewel, then you will be the new owner.
May the odds be ever in your favor!
Hadley and I exchange a look after I finish reading. The reality sinks in - we could both go home! All three of us, as long as we find one other gem. Now the question is who gets this one.
I look at it nervously and lick my lips. The light from Hadley's torch bounces off the gem and sends green rays all over the room, including Hadley's face.
"You take it," Hadley finally says. I look at him in surprise.
"What?"
"You can have the emerald. I'll just win the Hunger Games, and then we can both go home," says Hadley.
"Are… are you sure?"
"My life in District 11… isn't that great. I love my brothers, but we don't have the best living conditions. I want to get us a house in the Victor's Village and endless riches," he says.
"But there's a much better chance of surviving with the gem, rather than just trying to win," I reason.
"I want you to have those odds," Hadley tells me. He nods toward the jewel. Reluctantly, I take it. It feels very smooth and cool in my hand. Carefully, I tuck it deep in my pocket. I definitely don't want to lose this.
Upon the removal of the stone, Hadley and I hear a loud rumbling sound. My head twists for the source of the noise, certain that we're both about to die - the stone was a trap and the whole place is about to collapse! But instead, it's just a door opening in the back of the room.
"Come on," Hadley smiles. "Let's get out of here and find Linen."
District 4
Noelani King
When Cecelia and Glitter finally emerge from the rainforest, I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't hear any canons today, so I wasn't concerned that Cecelia might be dead (Glitter, I don't care about as much) but I just can't stand sitting alone with no one but Trajan and Vincent much longer. About an hour ago, Trajan wore Vincent down and got him to talk about the wolves and sheep theory. Vincent endured it for about ten minutes before declaring it was stupid, and they've ignored each other since.
Trajan then went to bugging me. I haven't given in and spoken to him yet, and I don't plan to. I'm very glad when Cecelia walks over and barks at him to leave me alone. He glares at her but does leave me alone. He slinks back and starts bugging Vincent, instead. Cecelia sits down next to me.
"How was hunting?" I ask her.
"Fine," she says at first, and then launches into a rant about Glitter that hints it was not fine. "Glitter wouldn't shut up the entire time. I didn't know it was possible for anyone to talk that long. And we didn't accomplish anything - there weren't any tributes nearby, probably because Glitter scared them off by talking about District 2 and Vincent's abs." I stifle a laugh.
"She talked about Vincent's abs?" I ask, trying not to giggle.
"For about half an hour. Then she moved onto his biceps." Cecelia and I glance at Glitter, who's currently trying to join in on Trajan and Vincent's conversation. I notice with some amusement that Vincent is now willingly talking to Trajan, and I suspect he's only doing it so he doesn't have to talk to Cecelia. I whisper this observation in her ear and she laughs. "So he'd rather talk with Trajan than Glitter?" she considers this for a moment. "I can't blame him."
Cecelia tells me a bit more about Glitter's interests, which she has learned a lot about today, and we both laugh at her. I'm not going to lie, I was slightly intimidated by Glitter at first because she masquerades herself as a bloodthirsty, tough Career, but she's actually very concerned with the type of stuff that she pretends to scorn. She's more concerned with her looks than she initially introduced herself to be.
On the first day of training, Glitter literally said, "I may be attractive, but don't let that fool you. I'm a true Career and not afraid to get my hands dirty." But as soon as Vincent came along, she started being extremely concerned with her looks and has not gotten her hands dirty yet.
After a while, we get tired of laughing at Glitter and conversation dies down. From where we're sitting, we have one of the only positions in the arena where we have a nice view of the sky. It's already turning pink, but some clouds are creeping in. It will probably rain again tonight.
"Do you think Glorian and Luc will be back soon?" I ask.
"Probably. They can't have wandered too far. And they aren't dead - we didn't hear any cannons," Cecelia responds dismissively. I still feel slightly concerned, though. I've gotten attached to Luc, despite my earlier dislike of him, and don't want to see him dead. He's beginning to feel like a brother.
Damn. I didn't want to get attached to anyone in the Hunger Games. But I've already gotten close with both Luc and Cecelia and would hate seeing either of them die. Staying detached in the Hunger Games is much easier in theory.
I look to my right at Cecelia, who is studying me with her large brown eyes. I feel slightly uncomfortable.
"He'll be back soon," she assures me.
"I know," I mutter, "but it's still… there's still a possibility that he won't. That he and Glorian are trapped somewhere out in the jungle and are close to death. Maybe they fell in a pit or something or got attacked by a snake with paralyzing poison. Just because they aren't dead yet, doesn't mean they're not about to die."
"That's true," Trajan calls loudly from behind me. Cecelia and I both jump. Trajan and his large nose are looming over my shoulder. Cecelia pushes him away; not too violently, but enough that his greasy brown hair is no longer about to drip on me. "Luc's probably about to die. He's a sheep, and sheep always get slaughtered by the wolves."
"Leave us alone, sheep," Cecelia tells him. At first, I think calling Trajan a sheep is a dumb insult, but he looks genuinely angry.
"I'm not a sheep," he hisses through clenched teeth. Cecelia grins, aware that she's just struck gold.
"No? But wolves have to be clever. So you can't be a wolf. Maybe you're the grass?" Cecelia suggests. I'm starting to get lost in this argument, but both Cecelia and Trajan continue to bicker like children.
"That's not a thing! There isn't grass, grass can't think!"
"That's why you're the grass."
"I can think."
"Is that a new skill you've learned in the past minute? Because you haven't presented this ability thus far."
"You have to think to be able to talk, it's logic. So maybe you can't think! Maybe you're the grass!" Trajan shouts. Cecelia raises an eyebrow.
"Oh? So… I can't think because apparently you have to think to speak." Trajan nods. "But I'm speaking right now." Trajan's face falls.
This is stupid. I glance up, trying to ignore Trajan and Cecelia, but happen to see two people emerging from the trees. I stand up expectantly, just as Glorian and my District partner step into view. Neither is injured, and Luc is even grinning.
He rushes over to the Cornucopia quickly. Just as I predicted, water has begun to fall and is getting his dark hair wet. I'm pleased to see him, but back up into the Cornucopia before greeting him. I don't want to be soaked when I'm trying to sleep tonight. It's difficult to dry off in this arena and I'm worried my skin will be constantly pruned.
"Cecelia, get in here!" I shout. Cecelia and Trajan haven't seemed to noticed that it's raining, they're so caught up in their conversation. Cecelia hears me and glares at Trajan before running into the Cornucopia, shaking the water out of her dirty blonde hair.
Luc enters after her, still grinning.
"We got lost," he explains. "Glorian said that we'd probably have to sleep out there overnight, but then a compass was delivered to us and we were able to find our way back."
"Did you get any food?" Vincent asks hopefully. Just as he does, Glorian enters, holding a bloody rabbit in each hand.
"Yeah," Glorian says, presenting the rabbits. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to cook them tonight. I don't want to start a fire in the Cornucopia, and we wouldn't be able to find any dry firewood right now, anyway. We'll have to wait until tomorrow." Glorian sets both rabbits down on a crate, and wipes his blood-stained hands off on his pants.
"Don't get your pants all bloody!" Luc complains. "Go wash them in the rain."
To my surprise, Glorian agrees and runs out of the Cornucopia to get the blood off.
"Does this mean we can have some fruit?" Cecelia asks.
"I guess," Glorian groans from outside the Cornucopia. No one else is disappointed, though, and we all dive for the fruit baskets Glorian has stashed away at the back. Cecelia, Luc, and I share one and begin snacking at the contents. I don't realize how hungry I was until I bite into an apple. Glorian forbade us to eat anything after breakfast today, so I'm operating on a mostly empty stomach.
However, when Glorian reenters, he's pissed.
"Why are you guys eating from all three baskets?" he demands.
"...Because there's seven of us?" Glitter says. To my surprise, Cecelia immediately takes Glorian's side.
"Sorry, Glorian," she says. Turning to the rest of us, she says, "We shouldn't eat the rest of our food yet. This is all we have left, besides the rabbit. We should only eat from one basket tonight."
Cecelia and Glorian take away the baskets held by Trajan, and Glitter and Vincent.
"We'll eat another one tomorrow, but only if it's still wet and we can't cook the rabbits," Glorian says. We all gather in a circle around the single basket as Cecelia begins to split up the fruit and hand out meager portions to everyone. The moment of relief we all felt is quickly replaced as we begin nibbling at our limited food.
We probably look like the most pathetic Careers ever as we snack on half an apple each. It's Day 2, and we're already starving. I knew the Hunger Games would be hard, but I didn't think lack of food would be an issue. Careers usually don't go hungry until after they split. I guess this year is different. And the 'Hunger' Games starve everyone, not only outer District tributes.
District 11
Yael Harident
The anthem begins to play, but I ignore it. Yesterday, it was very important to watch so I could see who had died in the Bloodbath, but there weren't any deaths today. Arabella watches the sky, anyway.
We're sitting on a log under a tree, but we're still getting slightly wet. The rain is falling heavier than it did earlier, so I'm guessing sleeping will be difficult tonight. It's usually warm here, but tonight it's gotten into the chilly zone. The fact that my clothes are wet doesn't help the temperature, either. The anthem finishes and Arabella looks at me.
"Do you think we should go back to where we were last night? You know, before the monkeys attacked us?" she asks.
"In the morning," I say dismissively. Honestly, I doubt they're back where we were prior to the monkey attack. They probably got lost in the middle of the jungle and have no way of knowing where they are. But the voice is telling me I should listen to Arabella, and share her opinions - unless they lead me straight to death. I want to appear innocent and friendly, like her, even if I look dumb. It's better to appear dumb, rather than smart, even if your allies have low opinions of you.
Arabella nods, and curls up around the base of the tree. I'm expecting that neither of us will be able to sleep for several hours, but Arabella begins to snore almost immediately. Annoyed, I curl up into a ball beside her, trying to tune her out.
My eyes flicker to her unconscious form. I could kill her right now… Tristana and Rachel would never know. My hands are reaching for my knife when the voice enters my head.
No. Don't kill her yet.
I'm torn. I don't want to kill her, but my body wants to, but the voice doesn't want to, at least not yet. Who do I listen to? My body acts on its own accord, grabbing the knife and holding it poised above Arabella's head. She sleeps, completely unaware of what I'm about to do. I get ready to plunge the knife into -
NO!
The voice is so loud my knife falls, landing in the dirt inches from Arabella's head. The voice continues to shout in my brain, so loud it hurts and I can't think of anything else. I clap my hands over my ears, but what good does that do? It's coming from inside me. No matter that, I tighten the hold on my ears and squirm on the ground.
I can't ignore the voice. I can't do anything. I want to scream, but instead I bite my lip so hard I taste coppery blood. The voice continues shouting until I pass out and everything goes dark.
No deaths on Day 2… sorry (or your welcome, I don't know if you're pleased or not).
I have some questions this time! They aren't worth points, but I'm still curious about the answers so I'd like if you answered them in the reviews.
1. What do you think of the twist? (the jewels and survivors, if you don't know what I'm referring to). Just a quick warning - I probably won't end up letting four tributes escape, but one or two may…
2. Now that more than one tribute can survive, who would ideally live? Who would you like the Victor to be, and which tributes (if any) would you like to survive?
3. Do you think Rachel's alliance will reunite?
Also, I forgot to address this last chapter - I know killer monkeys is pretty cliche, but it makes sense considering the arena and they're used a lot for a reason, so… don't be surprised if they show up.
Finally, the poll is actually on my profile now. I had it set up last time, but then I stupidly forgot to display it on my profile. A few people have already voted, but if you haven't, then please do so now. It's definitely on there now - I just checked.
- Lilah