Beckham Knox, 18
District Nine Male, Pair Ten
Paired With Invidia Aurel
I stood on the edge, side by side with Invidia. Our eyes trained on the water before us. Never before had I been in water deeper than the bathtub back home. I wasn't sure what I'd rather meet, twenty-two deadly Tributes or another session with my sister. Both were just as grim as the other but I knew deep down that only one led to my sister's freedom.
So the moment the siren sounded, I dived into the water with no prior skill. I dived in telling myself to move my arms and legs and stay afloat but the moment I touched the water, it gave away.
Frantically, I started to splash as my weight pulled me under the surface, trying my best to hold my breath. No matter how hard I tried, I found myself unable to swim to the surface. Then, something begins to push from below my arms, dragging me up violently. I expected to see Invidia or Violet but my District partner was nowhere to be seen and Invidia was already miles ahead of me.
I looked down at my body to find three, strips inflated with air, keeping myself bobbing lightly on the surface.
Knowing there was no longer the risk of me drowning, I started to copy the people around me. The small swimming movements they made. I was slow and I swallowed more of the water than I should have but ever so surely, I made it to the island. At least I wasn't last.
Most Tributes lacked the inability to swim. A 100 meter track would take them time and most were not as strong as me. But as I looked around, I noticed that the Careers, the pair from Four and their partners scrambled around the castle that looked much smaller in person.
Paisley Delacor, 18
District One Female, Pair One
Paired with Ezra Arlington
The coins varied in size, a detail they decided to miss out. The coins on the lower floor were about five centimeters in length, the yellow ones on the middle floor, about the size of my palm. And the blue ones at the very top of the castle were larger than my head. And with no pockets, I was expected to take them back. Not to mention they were not able to float. Oh no, they were solid plastic, the larger they were, the heavier.
So like any self-respecting Career, I missed out the two sets on the lower sections and decided to focus on the blue ones. It took me a fair amount of time though to realize I was not able to carry more than two at a time. So realizing I had only seven minutes left, I decided to make do with what I had and dash back to my starting point.
However, when I made my way down the stairs, I noticed the girl from Ten, Akhal, the front of her water suit undone, exposing her chest. However, it was the what she was placing inside the suit that shocked me.
She must have placed at least seven into her suit, the tightness of it, allowing the coins to stay in place. She was using her own suit as pockets, to cut to the point.
The act made my blood boil. If that was because I never thought of it or the advantage she might have, I wasn't sure. But the fact she was alone spurred me on to act fast.
"Hey!" I bellowed, grabbing my only weapon, the heavy coin, and tossing it towards the girl. It missed her by inches but it was enough to distract and allow me to leap down from the old stone staircase and charge at her.
In a moment of desperation, the girl leaped to the side, grabbing the coin and arming herself.
I had hoped the movement would have caused her to lose her coins but it seemed the girl was not as distracted as I thought as her suit was now zipped up and she held the coin in front of her as a shield.
Angered, I grabbed her leg, causing her to lose balance as she stood and I brought the other coin down onto her leg. It didn't make the crack I had hoped for but it cause a large gash in her thigh. Large enough to make her lower the coin.
With lightning-fast reaction, I pulled myself to my knees, swinging the coin at Akhal's face. Tearing the skin on the side of her head, slicing her nostril in half and no doubt bruising her face.
I had a pleased grin as I rose to my feet, looking at the girl slumped against the wall, her face and neck covered in fresh blood.
However, just as I got ready to swing another blow, a deep voice echoed through the stone building. Calling the girls name.
It wasn't a Four accent but I turned expecting to see Nicholas. Instead, I was meant with a dark-haired boy who sported a much larger build.
The boy charged into me with all his might. I was weakened by shock and his share size until I came into contact with the widow. I tried to grab onto his hair but my hands missed as I fell from the window towards the grassy ground.
Frederick Loophole, 18
District Ten Male, Pair Eleven
Paired with Althea Falen
As I raced to the window, looking at Paisley's lifeless form on the ground, I felt my stomach do summersaults. Knowing that it could all be over for me if she died. However, only being two stories high, it was not too surprising when she started to move her head in a groggy motion, her mind scrambled. That was all I cared to see, she was alive and I was safe. I turned back to Akhal who sat on the floor, her mouth hung open in shock.
"You okay?" I asked, offering my hand towards her for her to grab. She took it with a polite nod and leaned on me as she stood up.
"Yeah...how's-"
"Niko is fine, I haven't seen June...Mikeo got caught by Ezra but he got away with just a broken nose." She didn't answer, giving a sleepy nod. I looked at the coin-shaped imprints within her suit and instantly felt angered I never thought of such a simple idea, the suits were tight enough to hold the coins in place. Then I remembered we were allies so whatever was hers was also mine. "How many did you get?"
"Five...maybe six," she groaned, pulling away and standing freely. I gave a nod and pushed her away from me gently.
"Go and find Niko then, I'll get the rest." I wasn't sure if I was telling the truth, I might share if it was nothing useful to me. Then again, looking after Akhal would have to be my next priority after myself, if I wanted to get home that is. After all, that was why I pushed Paisley out of a bloody window, right?
Akhal was still too dazed to care, thanking me before stumbling down the stairs towards were I assume Niko would be waiting to carry her back. Maybe I should have escorted her but something else caught my eye.
I ran back to the window where I had pushed Paisley out off and saw a small balcony, attached to the wall above the window. There was no door or window that allowed easy access. However, on the wall of the balcony was a glowing, blue coin. I assumed it must have been the hardest one to get, that also meant the best.
I took one more look at Paisley, who was still alive, and how far she had fallen and felt my heart sink slightly. However, something as special as that coin could be the difference between life and death for me. And the only thing between me and that prize was one, large jump.
Chrisjen Dalteir, 17
District Seven Female, Pair Twelve
Paired with Andrew Strauss
It was a mistake to leave Andrew. I thought he could gather any coins on the lower floors while I focused on the top, however, our lack of swimming ability had meant that by the time I arrived at the top floor, I was not alone.
I expected that but with the rule on no killing, I expected people to link arms and keep the peace. However, when I made it to the top of the second staircase, I found Qanom and Hyacinth attacking Psyche and Rory.
Quickly, I dropped to my knees on the stairs, confident no one would come up behind me and watched the fight unfold.
Qanom held Psyche up against the wall, punching her repeatedly, although he looked far from pleased about it all. Hyacinth, on the other hand, held Rory back, tackling him to the floor and twisting his arm until it snapped when he struggled against his grip. They were clearly focusing on Psyche more than Rory in the situation.
As if that wasn't enough drama, like a blur, something jumped from the staircase that leads up to the top level, knocking Hyacinth to his feet. The boy let out a frustrated scream as he struggled against Noelani's grip while the girl delivered a large blow to the boy's face.
Cursing under his breath, Qanom moved to defend Hyacinth, only to be knocked off his feet by a large blue coin, Ellie held. Once the curly haired boy was on the floor, Ellie turned and Rory in the face, knocking one of his front teeth out.
She that ran to Noelani's side who was done attacking Hyacinth, ignoring Psyche. They didn't seem bothered about attacking girls but I wasn't sticking around to find out. So I made do with the coins I had already collected and ran out of the castle and back towards the water.
Ezra Arlington, 18
District One Male, Pair 1
Paired with Paisley Delacor
I had enough time to collect my coins, swim back to my podium and make it back to the castle and still, I had seen no sign of Paisley anywhere. Even the people that stumbled out of the castle injured did not have the trademark injuries Paisley would inflict. Only Akhal had them but she was calmly clinging onto Nicholas' back as he swam away. The fact that she was still moving as well proved Paisley was not finished with her. That and the number of coins she held. So, after one last lap of the castle, I decided to look around the back.
I was glad I did.
I found Paisley sprawled out on the ground, face down, her dislocated arm laid out over a large blue coin.
"Paisley!" I grunted, diving to the girl's side and placing my hand on her neck to find a pulse.
"Ezra?" She grumbled, turning her head to face me, I helped her turn her body with her head until I was cradling her. "My arm is dislocated...my wrist hurts, I can't move it-"
"You might have broken it," I finished her sentence, she gave a sad, frightened nod. "Was it Nicholas?" I ask, my voice cracking with anger.
"No," Paisley said breathlessly. "I...I don't know who it was." I knew that was a lie, she just didn't want me to spend the rest of the Bloodbath getting revenge, we both knew that would come later.
With a sigh, I hooked my arms under her body and started to pull her to her feet. At least they seemed okay, although her nose was broken.
"Come on, we can fix your arm when we get back-"
"No," Paisley said, pushing me away yet she quickly fell back into my arms as she rocked back and forth. "Take the blue coin I got...make sure we get those extra supplies, I'll be fine."
I scowled at the girl's words as I grabbed the coin and threw it under my arm. "I can carry you both-"
"I'll slow you down," she hissed, not liking her own words as much as I did. She then looked up at me with her large, chocolate brown eyes. "Trust me."
If there was one thing I knew about Paisley, it was that she didn't give up easily so after two more minutes of convincing, I sat her down against the wall, promising to come back for her. I made sure not to look back as I ran back to the water's edge with the coin and dived in. My heart tearing apart inside.
Laura Hope, 16
District Twelve Female, Pair Eight
Paired with Linden Hunter
In the final ten seconds, most Tributes dropped whatever coins they held and focused on swimming back to their podiums. Only Ezra carried his final one back, placing the large blue coin into the slot with three seconds to spare, turned around and started swimming back to the castle.
However, the moment the ten minutes were up, the sea around us started to shake, waves knocking the Tributes off their podiums and towards shore, even the Careers found it hard to fight against the force.
In the distance, the castle started to crumble, the stone ground giving away and the structure crumbling into the sea. Althea, Linden, and Andrew, who were inside, narrowly missed being crushed by the falling stones as they leaped back into the water and allowed the current to drag them away.
As the castle crumbled, vanishing into the lake, the leftover coins sinking with it, Ezra screamed Paisley's name as he charged against the waves and towards where the castle had been.
A couple of Tributes watched with a mixture of hope and fear as Ezra called out his partners name. Frightened her death would lead to punishment on their part and hoping it was one strong player out of the mix.
As the water calmed, it seemed Paisley had been lost and even Ezra's body seemed to give up, floating in the water as he mumbled her name.
Then, out of nowhere, breaking the water around where the castle had been, the long-necked monster that had surfaced at the countdown reemerged, however, this time he had Paisley clinging to the base of his neck, coughing and spluttering water as she rose.
Ezra seemed to visibly calm at this, swimming back to the stony beach in order to meet her.
When he reached shallows, the beast allowed her to float away, right into Ezra's arms. Wasting no time, Ezra hooked his arm around Paisley and started to drag her back. He wasn't as strong of a swimmer as Noelani or Nicholas so it was harder for him to pull his partner along. However, when he joined the rest of the shivering Tributes on the beach, a large siren shattered the air for sixty seconds until there was silence.
Gary Winslow, 18
District Six Male, Pair Seven
Paired with Cerulean Westwood
Most people covered their ears in anger as the siren sounded but I was thankful for the fact it muffled my screaming as Cerulean fixed my arm. It had become dislocated during a scuffle with Stefan but Cerulean assured me it was an easy fix, but the pain from said fix didn't feel simple.
With one final scream, she pushed it back into place with a bone-tingling click. As the siren finished, Cerulean took a seat next to me on the rocky ground, hugging her bag.
"You enjoyed that didn't you," I said through gritted teeth, too frightened to touch my arm once more.
The dark haired girl flashed a small, frightened smile that I knew was gold in a place like this. "Of course not, all for your benefit," she sighed, offering a small, half-hearted wink.
I opened my mouth to speak when the tiering voice of Zircon interrupted with more important updates.
"Tributes!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention in a split second. "Well done on your first test, the fruits of your labor will be delivered to you shortly."
"First test?" Akhal asked her alliance a few feet away from us, yet she was quickly shushed by June. Mikeo seemed to pick up on this wording too as he also mumbled something under his breath, maybe a prayer, for no more surprises.
"Until then, you may open your bags, although some, like Miss Nimrods' may be soiled if you attempted to already use their contents." Ellie scowled, along with Noelani who looked mortified they would single them out like that, Although the girl from Three was free of the blood now, her backpack still dripped with the stuff.
"Inside you will find your Arena outfit, each item of clothing has a name tag so if it is not yours, you will be able to return it to the rightful owner," I swore under my breath, throwing a rock across the beach.
"Gary-"
"Swapping Arena outfits?" I hissed under my breath. "Next they will be asking us to build a campfire and sing happy songs." Cerulean sighed, leaning back onto the beach and looking up at the sky.
"If I get to live longer, I don't care what they do."
Zircon cleared his throat, allowing the attention to turn back to him. "Don't worry about your water suits. As they dry, they will peel and be absorbed by the skin to add a little extra Vitamin D...a gift from us as you won't get much of that here."
"That's good for you," Nicholas whispered to Akhal, the girl just gave a nod in reply.
"You will have ten minutes to get dressed into your Arena uniforms before I arrived back, see you soon, Tributes." and with an electric pop, the man vanished.
June Briony, 17
District Eleven Female, Pair Nine
Paired with Mikeo Nunez
I was thankful for the Arena outfit this year. I only realized how cold everything was when I entered the ice cold water, like nothing I had experienced back in Eleven. It was more like the ice cubes back in the Capitol.
Now as we opened our pack, they did not spray blood at us like Ellie, sadly, her's were drenched in the liquid. Or at least something that looked, smelt and dried like blood. It couldn't have been the real stuff, after all.
In our packs, we got a towel, a one use hand warmer, a black t-shirt, thermal hoodie, wooly, long, tight jacket, thermal hood, thermal pants, socks, underwear, thick gloves, and large combat boots.
As I started to pull the clothing out and place it over my now dried and peeling wetsuit, Mikeo hunted through my bag until he found a small pack of tablets.
"Hey, I didn't get one of these!" he huffed, passing Frederick the tablets.
The dark haired boy frowned. "They painkillers?" I quickly snatched them back.
"They are just for girls, stop periods-"
"And pregnancy," Akhal offered. "We had two when we woke up this morning, we will need another two in three days...just to level out the playing field."
The boys looked on in shock. "Do they do that every year?" Nicholas asked.
"I assume so," I replied.
"Well, I've never seen it!" Frederick growled, acting like we were still getting the upper hand over him and the rest of the guys.
"It not really high stake TV is it? it would make the Games seem less authentic, people would start to question everything else." Althea growled, shivering as she quickly tried to dry herself off.
"Right, Althea gets it!" I said, trying to lighten the situation. A large, bright smile spread across Althea's face as she thanked me for the words, her band started to glow a red hue. However the more I looked at it, I felt it was more a trick of the light.
"Well, anyway, I got a blue coin," Frederick grinned, however, when no one reacted, he rolled his eyes. "A glowing coin!"
Mikeo gasped. "Really?"
Niko just nudged Frederick. "Keep it down...do you know what you got?"
Frederick shook his head. "But it has to be important, right?"
Niko gave a nod. "Maybe...could be a trap-"
"Well done!" Akhal cut in, stopping Niko from causing Frederick to have a meltdown.
The blue-eyed boy smiled at the girl, his band glowing a similar colour to Althea although he was more on the green side.
"Thanks...how are you?" he asked, showing the first act of selfless I had seen from the boy.
"I've felt better but I will live...thank you for your help," Akhal replied. Frederick's kindness seemed to make sense now, he just wanted to boast. However, instead of gloating, Frederick just smiled back at the girl his band becoming more vibrant.
"Guys!" I shouted, breaking up my allies conversation. "Your bands," was all I could get out.
They quickly took notice of their bands and Frederick scrambled for his hood, throwing it over his head, and hiding his band.
"How long have they been on?" he bellowed, causing other people to notice their own bands.
"I don't know-"
"Ten minutes are up!" Zircon laughed, and although we fell silent, I could still see the anger on people's face. Literally. "To address the bands, they have been turned on and will remain on until the Games end. But that is not the main focus of this announcement, if you look to the East, you will see a large cluster of trees with a purple light overhead. Fallow this light and you will find your camp for the night, there is enough space for all of you so no need to rush, I shall speak again when you are there." And with that, Zircon's voice vanished once more.
The Tributes looked at each in silence before Paisley let out a laugh.
"They can't be serious!" she scoffed. "We were not trained to be friends, this isn't what I signed up for!" She shouted to who I assume was Zircon.
"Isn't that shame," Rory spat at the girl, his face still bleeding.
Paisley scowled at the boy, Ezra rising to his feet, ready to attack the boy at the moments notice. "I think you should remind yourself of who I am-"
"I'll lead then," Invida jumped in, she and Beckham grabbing their backpacks and walking to the light in silence.
The Career's watch on in shock before Stefan spoke to his District partner. "What are you doing?"
"Don't you see?" Invidia shouted, clearly frustrated by the situation. "The people that do as they say will have a better chance of winning. Now you can all sit there and pout like children if you like but I and Beckham are going home." She adjusted her backpack and continued to walk.
After that people started to follow her lead. Nicholas' alliance first then everyone else. Paisley and Ezra kept their distance as they followed behind, whispering among themselves.
So that is the end of the bloodbath. I hope it was somewhat exciting even without death. I have lots of interesting things planned and I can't wait for you to read them. I am also doing a good job at narrowing down who I want to win these Games.
We will find out what each Tribute got from the bloodbath in the next chapter, along with sponsor points.
Sorry for the late update btw, I have had lots of essays to write for University. I hope you all had a good Christmas!
I have some questions for this chapter ^_^
-What did you think to this bloodbath?
-What events in the chapter stood out to you?
-Do you see any storylines forming?
-Who do you think got the most supplies?
-Who do you think will win?
-What do you think is going to happen next?
-How was your Christmas (If you celebrate) or how are you in general?