Gary Winslow, 18
District 6 Male, Pair 7
Paired with Cerulean Westwood, District Eight Female
I knew it was not going to be something pleasant the moment we all arrived at the scene. In front of us were twelve shipping crates, out of place against the hills and natural landscape. Then there was the smell. A gut-wrenching, sickening smell of death. I hopped it was a nearby animal but I knew that was wishful thinking.
Each shipping container was numbered, all the way up to twelve. Qanom speculated it was just the number of our pairs but as if mocking him, Zircon quickly broke the silence and spoke the truth.
"To prove that you are strong, with or without your partner, this event means you will be paired with your District partner." There was silence as we all moved to meet our partners, all aside from me and Ellie. We would complete the task alone. However, with no one else to rely on, it gave us the chance to come out first.
"The last District to complete the task will be placed into the hunt, the partners they leave behind will be repaired." This caused a stir and even I found myself looking over to Cerulean and Mikeo, begging them from inside not to lose.
We were each escorted by a peacekeeper and placed inside our respective boxes and asked to wait outside a wooden door until all Tributes were placed. There was a few seconds delay between this and the starting cannon but when we heard it, every Tribute dashed inside, only to scream with terror a few seconds later.
Stefan Roberts, 18
District Two Male, Pair 2
Paired with Violet Hardgrove, District Nine Female
I was a career, I had a strong stomach. However, even this forced me to take a moment to myself. Aside from the horrid smell of rotting flesh, we were met with the bloated bodies of our families, their flesh peeling and skin moving with fat, week-old maggots.
My mother and father were sat against the right wall of the container while my baby sister, Nikaela lay by my feet, the flesh around her jaw eaten away, showing off her half-eaten tongue that hung out of her mouth.
Invidia was stood behind me, trying her best to stomach the scene of her own family as she pressed her head against the wall.
"Attention Tributes. Somewhere in this the body before you is a key. The key to getting outside. You need two keys to get outside and you must both find a key. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Invidia swore under her breath as she turned towards the corpses and regained herself. "They can't be real...it has to be for show."
I sighed as I turned to the cleavers on the wall. "I really hope so."
Frederick Loophole, 16
District Ten Male, Pair 11
Paired with Althea Fallen, District Five Female
It was all fake. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Most of all not a guy from the livestock District. We had been away from home for just over a week. The bodies were so badly eaten, the maggots so large that they had been there longer. Once I noticed this, it wasn't as hard to slice my parents open, as long as I didn't look them in their cloudy eyes.
I had always been thankful for my small family. No siblings to compete with but in this situation, it also meant I had to only cut open two bodies to find the key that was hidden in the kidney of my mother. Akhal wasn't fairing well.
After two minutes, she had opened up the body of her father and hunted through the inside of his body, just like she had done with her mother. The key was gold and large so it was clear the key must have been in the corpses that looked like her younger brother. Akhal herself realized this as with a whimper, she threw the knife across the room, missing me by a few inches.
"It's not fair," Akhal whimpered, accidentally smearing blood across her face as she tried to wipe away her tears. "What does this have to do with romance?" I didn't reply because I didn't know how to. Instead, I picked up Akhal's knife and walked towards her, placing it back in her hand.
"We don't have much time, you need to get this key-"
"I can't-"
"Yes you can," I said firmly, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look at me. "These are not our families, they are just here to mess with our heads. Your family is back in Ten, maybe watching with mine and cheering you on. Wanting you-wanting us to come home. We can deal with all of this the moment you have the key and we are safe." I let go of the girl as she looked at her brother's body and sighed, moving towards it with the knife.
Chrisjen Dalteir, 17
District Seven Female, Pair 12
Paired with Andrew Strauss, District Eleven Male
I hoped, I would have prayed if I had time, that the key was in my father's body. It wasn't Linden assured me they couldn't have been real. They wouldn't kill so many people in one go. It didn't make it any easier. Even if they were not my brothers, they looked like them and I had no doubt would mirror them if they were dead.
Liden had his two parents and armed with the belief that they were really not his parents, he managed to power through the mess and find the key inside of his mother's heart. It was harder for me.
When I moved from my father to the body of my younger brother, Cyril, I found myself vomiting three times. Each scrape of my knife against bone making my skin crawl. The feel of the blood covering my body and the odd blood clot that showered me in thin masking of blood. I was sure I was not the only Tribute being forced to take breaks. Sadly, it was no in Cyril's body either so I moved onto Eliot's.
The whole time, Linden paced, pressing his ear against the door whenever he heard someone complete the task and ring a bell. Each time the bell rung, he became more anxious.
"Have you had any luck yet?" He grumbled, scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm trying," I said through gritted teeth as I started to tug at my brother's intestines. My fingers tore through the flesh and my skin started to burn as I tossed the guts aside. As another bell rang, I looked up at Linden who looked worried, now stood at the the door, scratching at it like a cat.
I took one last, long breath before I dove into the rest of my little brothers small, decomposing body, using my full body to search for the keys. I stomped at his bones, snapping them out of my way and tore at his innards, hoping to find the key.
After a little luck and with all but three bells rang, I realized where the key was. The only part that was not torn and fractured, his skull.
"Come on, Jen-"
"Shut up!" I bellowed at the blonde man, stumbling to my feet and looking down at the body of my brother. I should have looked there first, it was the only body in the room that did not have exposed bone within his head. With a quick apology, bearly audible through my whimpering, I brought the foot down upon his head, fracturing it, but not breaking the bone. With a scream, I stomped on the skull once more, this time, the bone shattered through my boot, giving way into the scrambled mess that was once his brain. Inside the gooey mess was the key I had been looking for. "Found it-"
"Bring it here!" Linden growled, sounded angered for the first time in his life. Another bell rang off in the distance meaning two teams were left. I quickly placed the key within the slot and together, we pushed the heavy, wooden door open, ringing the bell as we did so.
Our smiles and relief were short lived. It was Liden that noticed it first, his body sagging and eyes welling up. I followed his gaze to the crowd before us. I expected there to be nine other pairs but instead, ten looked back with pity.
"The bell...of the other team must have gone off without us knowing," I said distantly, counting the pairs once more, convinced I had got it wrong the first time around. Linden didn't speak, he just looked over to the Peacekeepers the surrounded us.
"Chrisjen...Linden...It's a shame you had to leave us like this," Zircon said, I would have even been convinced he cared for a moment. "But I am afraid, you are the weakest pair-"
"Why me?" Linden screamed, his voice pained and frightened. "I was one of the first to find the key, Chrisjen was the one who caused me to lose-"
"Liden!" I whimpered.
The blonde boy looked over to me, his eyes wide with fear as three Peacekeepers surrounded him, two restraining him. "She's not even my partner-"
"You know," Zircon sighed as Linden relaxed into the grip of the Peacekeepers. "One thing I hate is people who throw other people under the bus to save themselves. I thought the son of a Mayor would be better than that. Then again, I guess in the face of death, he showed his true colors...kill her!"
I had little time to even let out a scream before a Peacekeeper grabbed me from behind and dragged a sharp dagger deep, across my throat.
Ezra Arlington, 18
District One Male, Pair 1
Paired with Paisley Delacor, District One Female
Linden just stood there, silent as Chrisjen fell to the ground, her head only attached by her spine. When she became still a few seconds later and her cannon sounded, Linden just watched over her dead body, his own shaking with sadness or fear, I was unable to tell.
"There you go, Mr. Hunter, Chrisjen got her payment for taking so long. Although now the hunt rules have been broken, the hunt cannot take place." Paisley grumbled next to me, crossing her arms. She opened her mouth to speak as I shot her a quick glare. She quickly fell quiet once more. "Two must take part within the hunt, It would mess with the numbers to drag someone else into it due to Chrisjen's mistake...So, a couple that plays together, must die together."
And with a snap of his fingers, a knife, the same one used to kill Chrisjen, still coated in her blood stabbed him through his green eyes, causing it to rupture and with a quick jerk, his body became limp.
A couple of people gasped as Linden's body fell to the floor. Laura and Andrew held each other as they turned away from the scene. Most people just looked on, frightened, morning but mostly shocked as they allowed the reality of the Games to sink in.
"As your partners are dead, Andrew and Laura will now pair up." Neither reacted to Zircon's words, I wasn't even sure they heard him or maybe they no longer cared. "This will also be the end of the tests because, if we are being honest with each other, no one watches the Hunger Games to see people solve puzzles. This is where the real entertainment begins."
Laura still sobbed but they had died down as she listened to Zircon's words. Andrew, meanwhile, hooked his arm around her.
"In ten minutes time, the no killing ban will be lifted. The top three in the past two trials will be given a weapon each and later, a crate of supplies. You can run anywhere you like, but let me remind you that your things will be back at your camp. At the end of every day, any Tributes left without a partner will be paired up, so watch out for that."
"Are we in the top three?" Paisley asked. I gave a small nod. "
"We were the first to make it out both times... I think Invidia and Beckham too-"
"What about Stefan?"
I shook my head. "He didn't come close...he is as useless of a player as he is an ally-"
"But he is still a threat," she whispered, looking over to the red-headed boy. "A threat that needs taking care of."
22nd Place-Chrisjen Deltair, 17 (D7F) Killed by Peacekeeper, Paired with Andrew Strauss
I feel really bad killing Chrisjen off here but I thought if anyone was going to be affected by cutting up her family, It would be Jen. She could have had a chance in the hunt but Linden messed that up for them. I'm really sorry as I know she was very popular.
21st Place-Linden Hunter, 18 (D7M) Killed by Peacekeeper, Paired with Laura Hope.
Linden wasn't a bad guy, he was just frightened and willing to do anything to get himself out of the hunt. In all fairness, I could see his frustration. Liden was one of the first people to find his key but was placed into the hunt for the shortcomings of his partner. Doesn't make it right but he didn't really get what he wanted.
NEW PAIRS!
Andrew Struss (D11M) AND Laura Hope (D12F)
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