This is a mostly chill day, so it's a bit short. I also kind of hate this chapter because I was half-asleep when I wrote half of it so I'm a bit concerned it makes no sense, but… nothing too important happens.
I also need to address an issue I've seen (with myself) - I've been terrible when it comes to sponsoring. I haven't updated the sponsor list since the launch, and at this point, it seems so daunting, I'm starting to doubt if I'll ever get around to updating the list. I'm also terrible at getting tributes their gifts. One of the reasons for this is because I don't have a spot in the POV for them to receive it, but the sponsor forms also get lost in all of my PMs and I forget about it. I'm sorry if this has happened to you, because I feel really bad whenever I remember how I forgot to give a tribute their gift.
I don't think I'll be doing a sponsoring system for Feathers, and I'm even considering scrapping it in Rapids. I know that I won't be great at keeping up with it even if I continue with the current sponsoring system. Let me know if you think I should try to pull through with the sponsoring system for the rest of Rapids (it will be coming to a close soon, but not tomorrow or anything). If you think I should, just keep in mind that there's no guarantee I'll be able to keep up with it. Tributes will still get sponsoring gifts, of course, but they'll all be from me and will benefit the plot.
It was easier to have a sponsoring system for Flames, where A, I got roughly three reviews per chapter, and B, I had no plan and was completely flying by the seat of my pants, one chapter at a time. Whenever I got a sponsor gift in Flames, I could add that to the chapter with ease, but here, I have much more of a plan. I don't know exactly what will happen, but I have a basic outline and I usually don't have room for sponsor gifts in it. If a tribute got a sponsor gift at all during this story (especially recently) it was probably because it fit in with what I had planned.
After Flames (where I wrote impulsively) I wanted to write this one with more of a plan, just to experiment with which turned out better. As a new writer, I don't have much of a grasp on what suits me better, so I wanted to try out both strategies. I think Rapids is better for character arcs and stuff, but Flames had the advantage of being more interactive and having the sponsoring system.
Anyway, sorry for ranting - to summarize, sorry for being terrible with the sponsoring system, and please let me know whether you think I should scrap it.
District 3
Lennox Porter
I wake up to a light beeping sound. The moment I recognize the sound, I gasp - it's the unmistakable ringing of a sponsor gift. I sit up, carefully as to not make much noise. I realize that I've almost forgotten where I am - my eyes nervously flicker to the two tributes I've been stalking, but they haven't noticed me. In fact, they're both dead-asleep, pressed against each other to conserve heat.
After realizing that the District 6 girl has the gem, I decided to follow these guys around. I need to kill her, in order to gain control of the gem. Unfortunately, I haven't found an opportunity yet - I suppose now would be a good time, when they're both asleep, but the fact that they both sleep with weapons in hand worries me. If I manage to slit one their throats, the cannon would wake up the other and they might be able to kill me before I get the chance to take them out, as well.
However, since they're so close, I might be able to kill the second before the first's cannon alerts them. I would need to be quick though. I vow to follow through with this plan after looking at my sponsor gift - maybe it's something to help me kill them.
I grab the parachute as it floats down. I've only gotten two other sponsor gifts throughout the Games - which I suppose is impressive, for a girl from District 3 who scored a 5, but considering they're my only source of supplies and I've been here out for eleven days already, it isn't too amazing.
This parachute is larger than the others, though. My first gift contained only a water bottle to get me through the first night, so that parachute was quite small. The second was larger since it gave me a handful of supplies to help my arm, but this one is big. It's about the size of my torso, and I struggle to grab onto it with my one arm, as it's so large. Instead of carrying it, I'm forced to let it sink to the ground before being able to open it.
When I see what's inside, I gasp. I immediately clap my hand over my mouth, eyes shooting over to the pair to see if they heard me. Luckily, they're still asleep.
Inside the box is two cages - each contains a large, black spider about twice the size of my fist. They look menacing, and I'm extremely glad that they were sponsored to me. From past Games, I've learned that any mutts gifted to tributes won't attack the receiver of the gift.
I grab the note sitting on top of one of the cages, and read it carefully.
Lennox, the Capitol is growing bored of you. You've done a good job of staying interesting enough to avoid a targeted death, but it's not enough. The Gamemakers will kill you soon, if you don't provide some action now. Send these mutts on the two tributes you're stalking - if they kill them, it will count as your kill and you can get that ruby. - C.
I gulp. I guess this is my chance. Carefully, I lift one of the cages out of the box and set in on the ground. There's a latch on the side that opens the cage, and when it's open, the spiders crawls out onto my arm. My breath catches for a moment, but then I remind myself that it won't hurt me, and I move on to the next cage, which I lift out and open. The second spider also climbs onto my hand.
With the spiders resting on my arm, I gather my supplies in case I need to make a run for it. Carefully, I begin tip-toeing over to the two asleep. It's morning, about 8, so I wouldn't be surprised if either awoke soon. I need to be as silent as possible.
When I'm standing over their sleeping figures, I have a moment of hesitation. Should I really kill them? Would Ada want her Mommy to have blood on her hands?
But it's kill or be killed.
I fling the spiders onto the sleeping tributes; one of the spiders lands on the boy's chest, and the other finds itself on the girl's face. This wakes the girl up. The moment she sees the spider on her nose, she begins screaming. I don't waste any time getting out of here.
District 1
Trajan Seth
I'm quite lucky I managed to get the Cornucopia during the Career split. As much as I'm sick of this golden horn, it provides safety and protection from the rain that doesn't cease to fall. Plus, I know no sane tribute would dare wander into the Cornucopia as they would the camps of either Cecelia or Glorian, who are sleeping in the jungle.
Glorian probably could have gotten the Cornucopia instead of me, but he didn't try. I don't know why he didn't - we both know I wouldn't risk a fight with him - but he ran off, leaving me the Cornucopia.
I even have a decent amount of supplies - at least enough to get me through another day or two. We didn't have many supplies remaining when Cecelia and Noelani took off, but when Cecelia and Glorian ran, I managed to get all of the stuff Noelani had before the hovercraft came for her.
It's not a lot, but I'm willing to bet good money that I have more than the majority of the remaining tributes. I even have a sword - after eleven days in the arena, I have my weapon of choice. I'm good with spears, but swords are my best weapon and I can finally use one. I took it from Noelani's corpse last night. Unfortunately, Noelani allowed the blade to dull, so now I have to spend all morning sharpening it.
I'm sliding a sharp rock along the edge when I see a vine creeping around the wall of the Cornucopia. I raise an eyebrow, slightly confused. What's going on? Several more vines sneak in, and I jump to my feet. They slide along the ground until they reach me, and begin wrapping themselves around my legs.
"What are these things?" I yell out, slashing my sword down at the foliage around my legs. The sword cuts through them pretty easily, but when a whole lot more vines come into the Cornucopia and tighten themselves around me, I can't cut free. Sheer number overwhelms me, and when a few manage to pull my arm down, I can no longer slice any. The rest wrap themselves around my body, until I'm certain they're going to strangle me.
Why would the Gamemakers do this? Why would they try to kill one of the most interesting tributes this year with a bunch of vines? It doesn't make any sense. They clearly set these to target me - it is any coincidence that they wandered into the Cornucopia.
They stop when they reach my neck, and to my surprise, they don't cover my neck or face unlike they did with the rest of my body. My arms are held at my sides, my hand only barely holding onto the sword. They begin to pull me away from the Cornucopia at a slow speed, dragging me across the muddy field until we're at the edge of the clearing. We're about to disappear into the jungle when I catch a glimpse of the Cornucopia.
It happens quickly - all of a sudden, the interior of the Cornucopia explodes. It's ear-shattering and I hear a ringing in my ears as I watch all of the supplies inside fly across the field, absolutely ruined. The golden horn remains intact, but everything within is destroyed.
They've cut off my supplies, I realize. Maybe they wanted to make things a bit more difficult for me… but at least they had the decency to get me out of there before exploding it.
I expect the vines to let go of me, now that they've served their purpose of keeping me out of the Cornucopia long enough for the Gamemakers to explode it, but they don't. They drag me deeper into the jungle, until the green of the foliage blocks my eyes and I can't see anything.
I'm 100% vulnerable right now, and it's not a nice feeling.
District 6
Tristana Rockett
I noticed the spider the minute I woke up. The big, furry black arachnid was smack-dab in the center of my face, hovering right over my nose. It took only a second to realize that inches away from my head was another one, this time perched on Vincent's chest. I didn't even think before letting out a giant scream.
The moment my shout pierces the air, Vincent jolts awake. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his spider's pincers come out and bite hit chest, tearing a small hole through his shirt. He yells as well and leaps away from me, batting the spider off. It falls to the ground and scuttles away, but Vincent doesn't seem to notice.
His eyes glaze over and he looks into the jungle, and suddenly he lets out an ear-piercing bellow that shocks me frozen. I don't think I've ever heard Vincent scream before - at least not like that. He dives to his left suddenly, as if dodging something invisible. He screams again, and then runs off into the trees, leaving me alone.
"What? Where are you going?" I shout after him, but he's gone, and the movement from me screaming prompts the spider to bite me on the tip of my nose.
I scream this time as I feel the sharp pinch, then a burning sensation spread from the bite to my entire body. I leap back, knocking the spider off of my face with my hand. Like with Vincent's, it falls to the ground and scurries away, not bothering to bite me again. This unsettles me. In the Hunger Games, mutts never run away unless their job is done. That likely means the bite is poison.
I gulp. Ignoring the probability that the bite is poison, I begin wandering off to find Vincent. I don't know why he would leave me, but I can't just let him go off by himself. Maybe he saw another tribute and intended to return to me after taking them out…
He wouldn't just ditch me. Even if I didn't trust him (which I do) he took no supplies with him. Not even his sword, which doesn't reinforce my theory about seeing another tribute. I don't see why he'd leave without a weapon, if he didn't intend on returning. If he is fighting a tribute right now, he might need some help. Without a weapon, he's at a major disadvantage. Luckily, I have my crossbow.
I begin walking in the direction Vincent ran in - it's easy to tell where he went, since he crashed through the foliage, leaving an obvious trail, but the aching from my nose and surrounding skin distracts me. My entire face burns, like there's fire pumping through my veins. Unfortunately, I'm guessing that's not far off from the truth.
But there's nothing I can do. There's no possible way to remove the venom, at least not by myself. Maybe if I find Vincent, we can suck the venom out of each other's wounds. Why did he have to run off? It would have been so much easier if he stayed -
I'm forced off track when my head spins suddenly, as if my brain is a globe, and I lurch off the trail Vincent made. I fall toward a tree, reaching out and grabbing it to keep myself upright. I squeeze my eyes shut and rest my head against the tree for a moment before the feeling of my head spinning fades. When I've overcome my nausea, I reopen my eyes - but this time things feel different. My vision shifts before my eyes and the ground seems to rock back and forth, as if I was on a boat. I sway for a moment, and quickly grab back onto the tree to steady myself.
...What is going on?
Suddenly, someone comes crashing through the bushes behind me. I spin around, reaching for my crossbow, but my hand hesitates when I see who it is.
"Micah?" I ask in a voice that's strangely slurred when I see my eleven-year-old brother rushing through the jungle. What is he doing here? His eyes glaze right over me, suggesting he doesn't see me. "Micah!" I shout again, trying to draw his attention, but he shows no sign of hearing me.
"Tristana!" he yells out in a panicked voice.
"I'm here!" I respond, running over to him, but I forget about the ground rocking and sway violently for a moment before crashing onto the ground. I grab onto a small boulder, and pull myself up, steadying myself. I'm close to Micah now to see the large, green eyes we share, but he still doesn't acknowledge me.
Can he not see me?
I look down, foolishly trying to discover if I'm invisible, but my body is opaque to me.
"Micah?" I ask, less gusto now. I wave my hand in front of his eyes, but they seem to pass right through. A second later, someone else crashes through a set of vines. Micah shields himself for an attack, but his face quickly relaxes when he sees it's his twin, Kelsea.
"Kelsea!" he shouts, rushing over to her and enveloping her in a hug. Kelsea quickly accepts, but her eyes continue to dart around in fear.
"Tristana!" she calls, but at this point, I've given up responding. It's clear they can't see me. They can't really be here, can they? The Capitol wouldn't ship my siblings out to the arena then make me invisible… Perhaps the spider venom has a hallucinogenic effect, and this is all my mind.
But they look so real…
A third rustle of leaves comes from the bushes, and this time, neither of them looks happy. They take off further into the jungle, and it takes me a moment to get to my feet and run after them. But the swaying makes me much slower, and neither seems affected by it. They take off without me.
"Wait! Wait for me!" I call out, but it's no use. They can't hear me, and I catch up. I fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face.
It's all in your head, Tristana… it's all in your head…
But despite the assurances in my mind, it can't stop the nagging fear that I am invisible and my siblings are in the arena. After all, wouldn't that cruel gesture be something the Gamemakers undoubtedly do?
Don't be ridiculous, Tristana. The Capitol can't make you invisible.
Maybe I'm a ghost? That would explain why they can't hear or see me. Maybe the spider killed me, and now I'm dead.
My stream of thoughts is interrupted as the third person comes running up behind me. I tilt my head to see who it is, and my mouth opens with shock. It's my boyfriend, Brent. I had almost forgotten about him, since my mind has had a lot else to deal with these past two weeks. There's no room for romance, especially when it can't help me in the Games.
To my surprise, Brent looks me straight in the eyes. "Hey Tristana," he says, brushing his dark hair out of his face. He reaches out his hand to help me up, and I'm so shocked that he's here and he can see me that I take it. He pulls me to my feet, but suddenly, there's a dagger in his hand. Before I can register what's happening, he pushes it into my stomach.
I gasp in shock as he lets go of my hand, and I immediately drop to the ground. My hands linger over the dagger handle that protrudes from my stomach, still in shock. From my position on the rocking ground, I look up at my boyfriend as he stands above me, a twisted smile on his face.
"Goodnight," he says, and I pass out.
District 6
Axel Woodleigh
Hadley hisses as he slaps the side of his neck. I look at him expectantly as he draws his hand away.
"Mosquito," he explains, using the back of his hand to wipe away the slight smear of blood left on his neck. I nod and return to trying to build a fire.
The antidote has mostly healed Hadley from the snake bite, which is quite comforting. He's no longer in danger of dying (from the venom, at least) but it hasn't perked him up completely. The poison has left him fairly weak, and with barely any of the strength he formerly had. He can't run very fast, and his stamina sucks. I'm hoping this is temporary, but there's no way of knowing. Hadley is trying to regain his strength but is struggling.
As I rub the sticks together, I watch Hadley out of the corner of my eye. He's doing pushups in an attempt to rebuild his upper-body muscle but is doing a bad job at hiding his exhaustion. He sees me watching him, offers a small smile, before collapsing to the ground.
"Do you need some help starting the fire?" Hadley asks, wiping the sweat-soaked hair off his forehead.
"I'm fine," I say. I'm about to suggest he take a nap or something, when he clasps his hands to neck again and grimaces. "What?" I ask, concerned.
"My neck!" he mutters, then yelps in pain. "It burns!"
"What are you talking about?" I demand, throwing down the sticks as I run over to him. Hadley thrashes on the ground, holding his neck in pain. "Is it your mosquito bite?"
"I don't fucking know! It just hurts!" he shouts, holding onto his throat. I bite my lip in fear - was the mosquito poison as well? I reach out to comfort him, but as I outstretch my hand, I notice a large mosquito perched on the back of it, sucking my blood. I yelp in panic, immediately crushing the bug.
Hadley suddenly stops moving, and I forget about the mosquito bite on my hand. He looks up at me with glazed eyes, then shifts his vision to look behind me. He lets out a blood-curling scream, which prompts me to do the same and leap away from where I was, spinning around in a circle.
There's nothing behind me. That realization terrifies me when I notice Hadley still staring into the empty jungle, screaming his head off in fear. My scream dies in my throat. Is Hadley hallucinating? Is he going crazy?
"Axel!" he screams, looking around for me.
"Yes?" I ask, rushing over to him, but he doesn't seem to notice me. Instead, he stands up, lurches to the side, and runs off into the jungle. "Wait, where are you going?" I call out, but he doesn't respond, he just runs deeper into the forest. I try to follow him, but I'm forced to stop when my hand suddenly begins to burn.
I yell out and come to a stop, clutching my hand. I look at it for the source of the burning sensation, but all I can see is the small smear of blood from where I killed the mosquito. Yet, it feels like there's fire pumping through my veins. The pain quickly spreads through my arm, through my entire body.
I yell out in pain, and suddenly my head begins to spin. It's as if my brain has come loose and is spinning in a circle. My hands fly up to my head, clutching it. I feel myself fall down, my knee hitting a rock, but I barely acknowledge it.
I open my eyes, but it's difficult to see. The light is quickly disappearing. The arena is darkening as if the Gamemakers have sped up the time, and suddenly night is coming. The arena darkens until I can't even see three feet in front of me.
I let out a whimper as I pull my aching knees to my chest, trying to ignore my spinning head. What's hiding for me in the darkness?
District 7
Vincent Elm
He stands in front of me, a sadistic grin stretched across his handsome face. His sword is coated with blood, but I don't know who's. Mine? Any one of his countless victims? He has many, and they all shed blood on that rusty blade. His arena outfit has tears and bloodstains. His previously neat black hair is disheveled, hanging in front of his blue eyes so much, it almost inhibits his ability to see.
As he strolls over to me, I know he didn't want to be a monster. The boy in front of me never wanted to kill, he just wanted a quiet life. And while it isn't his fault that the quiet life was ripped from him, it is his fault that he ripped it from others.
He chased me all the way through the jungle, until we reached the cliff and broken rope bridge. Now, I'm cornered on the edge, only inches from plummetting into the canyon, as he strolls over to me, swinging his sword threateningly.
It's me. I'm staring at a mirror image of myself, the boy I never wanted to become. The monster the Hunger Games has molded me into. The monster that killed Glitter, attacked Trajan, and tried to kill the boys from Nine and Six. I know that none of the things I did were in self-defense. None of them drew the first sword, and I doubt any of them were planning on attacking me.
The boy stands in front of me, still grinning down at me. He grabs ahold of my neck and presses the point of his sword against my throat.
"You're a monster, Vincent," he whispers.
"No," I rasp through the hand around my throat.
"Yes, you are. You know I'm right."
"No," I repeat, but he's right. I'm a monster. The monster that killed Glitter. Despite what I try to convince myself, I'm a terrible person.
Suddenly, my head seems to stop spinning and settles into place. Before my eyes, the mirror version of me fades into nothing. No longer feeling a hand around my throat, I drop to my knees. I hug myself tightly, trying to forbid the hot tears that threaten to spill tears.
I'm a monster. Vincent the Monster, who will never be looked at the same way. If I return to District 7, everyone will fear me. Nobody will respect me. I've always wished for my popularity to fade, but not like this. I don't want to be hated.
But I am, aren't I? I'm hated, because I'm a monster.
District 9
Hadley Moreau
My head aches as I hike through the jungle, but all of the hallucinations are gone. I no longer see my brothers dead anywhere I turn, which is an improvement. Unfortunately, I ran off early to escape the monsters that haunted me while I was under the influence of the venom, so I have no idea where Axel went off to.
I rub the side of my neck where the mosquito bit me. It no longer hurts, but the memory of the burn is enough to make a knot twist in my stomach.
I've decided to go back to where we had set up camp - I'm hoping Axel will be there. Even if he isn't, I'll be able to collect all of our supplies before looking for him. I left all of my weapons back at camp, which worries me. It's very unsettling to walk through the jungle with nothing to protect you.
Searching for Axel isn't helped by the darkness that has set across the sky now that it's nighttime. I can hear the anthem begin, the arena is momentarily bathed in light as the Capitol emblem is shown. I don't bother looking up at the sky, since there were no deaths today. We're still in the Final 8.
I've almost reached camp again when I hear a slight whimpering coming from nearby. I squint, looking at the ground around me, and it doesn't take long for me to find the huddled form of Axel. He's curled up in a ball in the center of some shrubbery, crying. I immediately rush over to him and gently tap on his arm.
He doesn't look up, but stops crying long enough to ask, "Hadley?"
"Yeah," I confirm. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Everything's dark…" he whimpers.
"It's only night. The sun will be up again tomorrow," I assure him, although it's difficult to hide my confusion. Is Axel seriously crying about the night right now? He's always been a bit nervous during the night, and admitted he has a fear of the dark, but nothing like this.
"You don't understand."
"I don't understand what?"
"The monsters. They're hiding in the dark. And they're going to kill me."
It was a bit short, but a lot of the following chapters will be action-packed so I'm planning on this being the last slow day for a while. I know I said I would have the Final 8 Interviews posted before this chapter, but I finished this and I'm only 25% done with the Final 8 interviews, so I decided to post this first. I'm really struggling with the Final 8 Interviews right now. I'm currently intending on posting them next (we're still in the Final 8, after all) but if it continues to be this difficult, I might just skip them. I don't want to spend a really long time on them, because while I think they're beneficial, they're not necessary.
If you're confused about this chapter, let me quickly explain: both the spiders and mosquitos had a venom that caused hallucinations based around some of the tributes' greatest fears. The sun setting very quickly in Axel's POV wasn't real - night came at a regular time, much later in the day, but his fear of the dark caused the hallucinogenic venom to see the night come quickly.
Please review!
GEM CARRIERS:
Emerald - Axel Woodleigh (D6M)
Ruby - Tristana Rockett (D6F)
Sapphire - Nobody
DAY 1:
24th: Zaira Quentin (D7F)
23rd: Nikola Allegra (D3M)
22nd: Savanna Davison (D9F)
21st: Kade Anderson (D11M)
20th: Macey Aderyn (D5F)
20th: Tracey Aderyn (D5F)
19th: Quinten Fredericus (D12M)
18th: Felix Camacho (D8M)
17th: Buck Hayford (D10M)
DAY 2:
None.
DAY 3:
16th: Linen Baird (D8F)
DAY 4:
15th: Lucretius Marlo (D4M)
14th: Glitter Monique (D5F)
DAY 5:
None.
DAY 6:
13th: Arabella Cantros (D10F)
DAY 7:
12th: Dennis Fielder (D5M)
DAY 8:
11th: Yael Harident (D11F)
10th: Rachel Ivy (D12F)
DAY 9:
None.
DAY 10:
9th: Noelani King (D4F)
DAY 11:
None.
ALLIANCES:
Axel/Hadley
Tristana/Vincent
SOLO:
Cecelia
Trajan
Glorian
Lennox
KILL LIST/REMAINING TRIBUTES:
Cecelia Hart (D1F) - 1
Trajan Seth (D1M) - 2
Glorian Stafford (D2M) - 2
Lennox Porter (D3F) - 0
Tristana Rockett (D6F) - 1
Axel Woodleigh (D6M) - 0
Vincent Elm (D7M) - 1
Hadley Moreau (D9M) - 1
- Lilah