Disclaimer:
I do not own the Hunger Games book series. It is the property of Suzanne Collins and the publisher Scholastic Press. The movies are owned by Lionsgate and other associated producers and creators. I am simply a humble fan, writing this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.
Bloodbath
Romeo Night
District 6 Male Tribute
When the sun came up, Romeo hadn't slept at all. Today was the first day of the games, and he would be going into the arena. The terror kept him up all night, watching through his window as the sun slowly rose.
When he couldn't stand lying in bed any longer, Romeo took a quick shower, trying to keep the thought of his impending death out of his mind. He remembered last year, watching as the Careers cut through eleven of the tributes. He could see himself in front of a golden horn, the boy from Two bringing his sword down on his neck.
Was today was the day Romeo was going to die? Forever remembered of the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games Boy from Six? Would the people in the Capitol laugh at him as he died?
Coming into the dining room (after imagining himself sitting below a tree as Katniss Everdeen dropped a hive of Tracker Jackers on him), he's not alone. Aero Night is sitting at the far side of the table, nursing a cup of hot chocolate mixed with coffee. His favorite drink in the Capitol. Romeo himself was partial to the combination, after his grandfather made him drink it.
"Sit down, my boy," Aero Night called. Romeo took the seat across from him. A white-dressed avox girl set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of him, followed by a glass of what his grandfather was drinking. "I didn't expect you to be up so early. The hovercraft doesn't leave for two more hours."
"I can't sleep," Romeo answered, taking a large gulp of the drink.
Aero nodded. "I couldn't sleep before my games either. Or the night before the forty-fifth."
"The forty-fifth?" Romeo asked.
Aero nodded. "Your mother never told you?" When he shook his head, Aero continued: "I had to mentor your uncle in the forty-fifth. I almost had him out, until the boy from Four that year gutted him."
Romeo knew his mother wasn't particularly close with her father, but he had to wonder why she never mentioned her brother to him. Did it hurt too much to talk about him? Would she avoid talking about her son if he died?
"What happened?" Romeo asked.
Aero smiled. "Chaff from Eleven killed his murderer in the final battle. When he came to mentor next year I shook his hand. The one that isn't a stump," he clarified.
Romeo gave a small smile.
"When you get into the arena, don't go towards the Cornucopia. That's the most likely place you'll die in the games. You find your allies and get away from it as fast as possible. Don't worry about weapons or supplies. On the first day, everything is cheaper, so I'll send you a knife, but you have to make it out alive. That's the most important part of the first day, do you understand? The Gamemakers will most likely try to tempt you with weapons and food. Don't fall for it. Just run away."
Romeo didn't need to be told twice. Last year's bloodbath was firmly locked in his mind.
"That said, we need to get as much food in you as we can before the games. You don't want to eat too much, but it's better to have a full stomach."
Katniss Everdeen
Co-Victor of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games
Katniss watched from the street, surrounded by all the other mentors, as the hovercraft vanished into the sky. Onboard it was carrying the twenty-four tributes of the Third Quarter Quell. She remembered last year as she boarded that same ship, getting the tracker injected into her arm before the current finally allowed her to move. This year she would not be heading to the arena.
"What happens now?" Peeta whispered to Haymitch.
"Just wait," Haymitch answered. They didn't have to wait long. From further in the city, a fleet of turned the corner. As they appeared, Katniss saw on the hood of the first car had the seal of District 1 emblazoned on it. As the cars passed, she saw that each one of the twelve cars had a seal of one district on the hood. The cars parked in a line in front of the Training Center.
"Come on," Haymitch said. Katniss and Peeta followed him down the cars until they got to the tail end. The last car in line was emblazoned with Twelve's seal. Haymitch held the door open. "Get in."
"Where are we going?" Katniss asked, taking her seat over by the far window. Peeta wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Mentor Headquarters," was his answer. He closed the door behind him and grabbed one of the bottles of wine from the middle of the car. Outside the last of the mentors climbed in the cars. One car for reach district.
Like clock work, the twelve cars pulled into the streets. The windows were darkened so no one could see them, but Katniss didn't miss the few people who were already out on the streets. As soon as they saw the cars, some people yelled, some waved, while others whispered to their companions.
The cars drove out of the city itself, taking a road up into the mountains. Katniss watched the scenery change as they passed by. Even in the mountains, they'd occasionally pass people who were taking a morning hike. Like the people in the city proper, they seemed happy to watch.
The cars stopped in front of a black, two-story building. It appeared to be placed near the edge of a drop-off, and Katniss wondered if any mentors ever jumped to their deaths here. It would be such a short walk from the building. Though they had a great view overlooking the Capitol.
As the cars stopped, for the first time since she had left District 12, her eyes landed on Peacekeepers. Real Peacekeepers, not the ones who patrolled the city. Two of them stood on either side of the door, rifles at the ready. Their dark masks hide their faces, making them look sinister.
Mentors began climbing out, and Katniss followed their lead. They all walked by the Peacekeepers without a word. A long hallway greeted them, pictures and busts of past Victors lining the walls.
The hallway exited into a large room. In the room, a giant table was filled with food and desserts. Across from it was a fully stocked bar, which Haymitch made a beeline towards. Lining the walls were more Peacekeepers, each one of them armed. A blank holoscreen was located above the doorway that the hall lead into. At the furriest wall back were twelve doors.
"Where do you think the rooms are for?" She asked Peeta.
"They're the mentor rooms," a voice that wasn't Peeta's answered. Katniss turned around and came face to face with Rowan Holstein, one of Ten's Victors. "In there is where you'll keep track of your tribute. It has everything you need, one room for each district. They're not open until the bloodbath ends though. How about you two have a bite to eat with me? I'll introduce you to the regulars. It seems Haymitch has already started on the booze."
Haymitch was indeed drinking, along with two other Victor's whose names she couldn't place.
"Sure," Peeta answered, putting on his best face. Katniss really didn't want to meet them, but Peeta dragged her with him. She didn't fight, figuring she would have to meet them sooner or later. These are the people she would be working with for the rest of her life, after all.
She recognized the two Rowan lead them to. Beetee's games happened long before she was born, but he was a common face during the games. As one of Three's few Victor's, he was on the screen every year. Wiress and Siren (Three's other Victors) were nowhere to be seen.
Standing beside the genius Victor from Three was a large man. Like Beetee, Blight's games before she was born. He had won four years after Haymitch.
"Katniss Everdeen," Blight introduced himself, extending his hand. "I'm Blight Tanner. I've been wanting to meet you since you won last year. Sorry I couldn't come to see you when you came through Seven. Had a bad case of pneumonia."
She reached her hand out for the handshake. His giant hands wrapped around hers, and the Victor from Seven laughed. "You're even smaller than you looked on screen."
"Perhaps your hands are just too big," Beetee said, drawing attention to him. He fixed his glasses and nodded at her. Katniss felt a peg of guilt as she met his eyes. Last year his district's tribute died because she blew up the supplies. The boy was clever enough to ring the mines. If she hadn't blown up the Careers supplies, Three might have had a real fighting chance. It might have been that boy standing here with him instead of her and Peeta. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The genius inventor extended his hand, and unlike Blight, his hands didn't cover hers.
"Where's Haymitch?" Blight asked her, grabbing a small cream-filled pie from off the table. "I thought he would be guarding his new Victors?"
"He's having a drink," Peeta explained, pointing over to where Haymitch was. Blight nodded, ate the pie in one bite, and left off towards Haymitch. Beetee stayed with them for a few minutes making polite conversation, before he left as well.
Katniss stayed with Peeta by the food table, as rounds of Victors came and introduced themselves. They welcomed her and Peeta to the club, and most of them were welcoming. She kept her distance from the Victors of One, Two and Four, though Finnick Odair came by to offer her a sugar cube.
She was speaking with Cecelia from Eight when the holoscreen flickered to Flickermen and Claudius Templesmith appeared in the special studio they only used when covering the games.
"Esteemed viewers! I would like to officially welcome you to this year's Hunger Games!" Caesar announced happily.
"And what a special year it is," Claudius Templesmith spoke. "On this, the third anniversary of the rebellion that shook a nation. Quite an interesting twist has taken these games by storm. Each one of our twenty-four tributes are related to one of our beloved Victors! Only one will be coming back. Which family does being a Victor run the strongest in? I guess we'll find out."
The imagine of Claudius and Caesar became a small box in the corner of the screen. Most of the image was replaced by the boy from Six, and the acquiescence watched from his point of view as the tributes were brought into the arena.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Let the Seventy-Fifth Annual Hunger Games Begin!" Claudius Templesmith announced. Across the screen from the small box showing Caesar and Claudius, a sixty-second countdown begins.
"This arena was rushed to completion," Claudius said. nodding towards the camera. "We haven't been told much about it. The Gamemakers are keeping their secrets close to their chest. But they did send us a message to deliver to our wonderful viewers. Keep an eye out."
The camera panned overhead the tributes. The audience could see the twenty-four standing on their launch pads, ringing the golden Cornucopia in a circle. The Cornucopia and the tributes were in the middle of a large courtyard. To their right was what could only be described as a shining white place. To their left was an open wooden gate, allowing entrance into a dark, twisting forest. The trees were black, and grown close together. There were hundreds of rigid trees, warped at odd angles, giving the whole seen a foreboding air. The courtyard itself was sealed off by walls that towered above the tributes.
"According to our insider, those walls are twelve feet tall," Caesar Flickermen told the audience.
An airily view of the arena showed the forest completely surrounded the grand white palace, though tall white walls seemed to separate the courtyard from the forest.
The countdown hits zero, the gong sounds, and the tributes rush off their launch pads. The bloodbath has officially begun.
A few tributes take the same advice Haymitch gave her the year before. Both tributes from Nine, and the boy from Six rush towards the palace. The girl from Three, and Peeta's brother Rye also take Haymitch's advice and follow the Nine's and Six boy to the palace. Nelly gets separated from Rye and isn't able to find him in the confusion. She runs towards the gate, and disappears into the forest, followed by the morphling girl from Six.
The six Careers run to the Cornucopia, which is full of food, weapons, and backpacks. The boy from Four, Finnick's younger brother, grabbed a spear and threw it at the boy from Seven. It went through his chest and he hit the ground, the first victim of the Third Quarter Quell.
He isn't the last.
The girl from Seven released an engaged snarl but didn't stop running. She weaved her way through the other tributes, grabbing an axe. She didn't stay in the carnage, running towards the palace.
The boy from Ten appeared to be waiting for Seven, and as soon as he saw her, he followed.
The boy from Three didn't stay much longer, sprinting towards the palace.
The girl from Five met her end at the knives of the girl from Four. Her district partner had his head cut off by a black scythe wielded by the boy from One.
Not to be outdone, the boy from Two grabbed a spear and hurled into the head of the boy from Eight.
The girl from Ten attacked the girl from One behind with a knife, but at the last second Helene dodged out of the way. She weaved around the Ten girl, grabbed her wrist and forced her to release the knife. Helene quickly cut her throat.
Mentors of the deceased tributes cried out. Some yelled, some cried. Others continued to watch the screen in silent horror. Katniss turned to look at Haymitch for a second (Nelly was a distant cousin, though he had never met her before the games) before looking back at the screen.
Finnick's young brother grabbed another spear and hurled it at the boy from Eleven's back. His district partner didn't outlast him as Helene's knife found its way into her throat.
The girl from Eight, the last tribute in site of the Careers, was quickly followed by the girl from Two. The Career tackled the much smaller girl before bringing down a curved sword on her neck.
The bloodbath of the Seventy-Fifth Annual Hunger Games came to an end with eight tributes deaths. Just like before she had become a Victor, watching the games gave her no pleasure. She felt a small sliver of relief that Nelly and Rye had survived, but it was overshadowed by the sneer amount of death on screen. She had watched the games every year since she could remember, but it never got easier.
Katniss turned away from the screen as nine cannons echoed in the arena, and a replay of each one of the deaths started. Caesar and Claudius began speaking rapidly over the scenes of death, giving a little information about each of the tributes that died. Katniss had watched them die just a moment ago. She wasn't going to watch it again.
"Katniss. Peeta," Haymitch called from by the drinks. He waved them over, and Katniss made her way towards him. Instead of waiting for them, he turned around and headed towards the back wall full of doors. Katniss looked at Peeta, but he shrugged, and they continued.
When they got to him, Haymitch shoved his thumb against a scanner that was placed on top of the handle. The small screen on the front of the door flashed to life, displaying a black 12. She could hear a lock click, and Haymitch opened the door, holding it for them.
Katniss walked in with Peeta. It was a small room. On the wall opposite the door, a holoscreen was activated, displaying the official games broadcast. Unlike the screen outside, the volume was off.
A few feet away from the holoscreen, two black Terminal's sat in silence. A small chair was connected to each one.
The door closed behind them, and Katniss turned around to look at Haymitch. He pointed to a door on the right wall. "That leads to a small bedroom. Two bunk beds."
He turned to point to the door on the left. "Bathroom and a small shower. If you need something to eat or drink, you can order it and games staff will deliver," he explained.
He walked forward. "Press your thumb to this terminal. Your Victor I.D. is connected to your tribute's idea, and it will display their vital signs. It will also give you access to a special broadcast that follows your tributes twenty-four hours a day. You'll have full access to your tributes sponsor money and access to the games store."
Author's Note:
Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the tenth chapter!
I knew from the start I wanted this chapter to mostly be from Katniss' POV. Since she's one of the new Mentors, I could have Haymitch give her an explanation of how the mentors work, and not have it feel out of place. I also wanted to show the bloodbath from a non tribute POV. While most of the chapters will be from a tributes POV, I will occasionally interweave a mentor POV in them.
The next chapter will be going into Arena Day 1 and to the tributes POV.