District 12: Remi Gardner (17) Pov-
The forest grass crunches under our feet as we stumble forward. I groan, pulling up the pack that's been sagging farther and farther down my back for the last few seconds and constantly threatens to slip off completely. My calves burn as Adelia and I make our way up the hill.
"Do… we… really… have… to… do… this?" Adelia groans.
"Yep," I force out. "We just… have to get to the top… and then… we can rest."
I turn to the right, noticing sweat shining on her forehead. She glances at me, but I break the eye contact in a fraction of a second. If I'm being completely honest, I'm surprised she's survived this long. Part of me was honestly expecting to hear her screams in the opening minutes, the last sounds she'd have ever made. Being allies puts so much unneeded stress on both of us.
But I can't abandon her now that we've shaken on it. If there's one thing I pride myself on it's my loyalty.
"Almost there," I shout as the crest of the hill comes into view.
At the top of the grassy hill, we practically collapse with exhaustion. It feels heavenly for my muscles to have a break after the long climb up.
"Remind me why we did this again," Adelia pants.
"So we can get a bird's eye view of the arena," I respond. We both slide out of our packs and fall straight onto them like pillows. "It'll give us an advantage. Now we can spot danger coming early."
The only sound is our heavy breathing. I turn my head from left to right, giving myself a panoramic view of the hilltop and everything below. Fuzzy green grass covers every square inch of the hill; not many trees have managed to take root on the steep slope, and those that have look like they might tear away any second.
"Well." I get to my feet. "You want to sort the supplies or gather food?"
"I'll sort," Adelia answers, already kneeling beside the few supplies we've managed to snatch from the horn.
"Don't worry," I say, as I pack up to leave. "If anything happens just scream. I'll come as soon as I can. I've got your back."
I reach into my pocket and fish out my machete, holding it tightly as I venture away from Adelia. It's definitely a good idea to be ready to fend off any attackers, and hopefully the sight of the weapon alone would give a weaker tribute second thoughts about attacking me—then again, I can't say how intimidating a small knife would be in comparison to the massive death weapons the stronger tributes lug around.
I can't tell how long it's been when I finally find food. Whether it's been ten minutes or an hour is unknown to me, which is surprising given how often I've done this back home in 12. Altogether with Mom, Dad, Willow, Nash, Cal, Ali, and I, most people would probably be surprised by how much hunting I do. Supporting a family of seven isn't easy.
The glint of the berries is faint at first, but as the bush grows closer I can't stop the smirk that my lips twist themselves into. Raspberries. I'd recognize these anywhere, and I can already taste their sweet juice as I start picking them.
The only tough bit is that I don't have a basket or anything else to collect the berries inside of, so I have to carry as many as I can in each hand. Figuring it can't hurt to mark the way back here later, I make sure to note a few recognizable landmarks on the way home.
After the calf-burning climb to the top of the hill, I drop the berries onto the blanket that Adelia stretched out while I was gone.
"Where'd you get those?" she asks incredulously, already rolling one curiously between her fingers.
A smirk plasters itself onto my face. "Bush a ways south of here. I don't think we'll run out any time soon. So… eat up."
As Adelia shoves the berries into her mouth, I peer over the things she's laid out. For food, it looks like all we've got is a tin of saline crackers and a head of lettuce, wrapped tightly in plastic.
The pile of weapons is even more discouraging: just a pocketknife and a short fold-up spear. I add my machete to the pile to make it seem bigger, which strangely raises my spirits. We're not completely helpless in this game of death after all.
District 1: Declan Benitoit (17) Pov-
"We only killed eight tributes. That's embarrassing," Jaehaera mumbles, her sword swinging at her side like a ray of sheer destruction. It's almost like her fury is being channeled into the weapon, like it's actually part of her being.
"Not as bad as two years ago. The 81st only had five bloodbath deaths, remember?"
Jaehaera grunts in response.
"And the career pack had six members that year. This year we only have three, so on proportion we're pretty much nailing it."
We don't talk for a long time after that. I can tell Jaehaera's embarrassed out of her wits. Back in 1, whenever we watched coverage of past games at the academy the trainers would always point out the leaders. The tributes that last the longest because they're dutiful enough to keep control over their packs. And given she has the highest odds Jaehaera should rightfully be the leader. But what good is that when there's only two people to order around instead of five?
The 2 girl checks her watch and announces lunchtime.
We stop dead in our tracks. By the looks of things, we're in one of the leaf-strewn clearings, and it's brighter in here than anywhere else in the forest; the sunlight streaming in through the open sky, unobstructed by branches and leaves, is golden, there's no other word to describe it.
"What'd you bring?" I ask, hoping to catch Jaehaera in a conversation about anything other than the games.
She shrugs, pulling out her lunch. A bit of meat. A roll of bread. A cup of green beans.
"I have pretty much the same thing." I pull out a small piece of cheese and a biscuit with carrots.
"That's not the same thing," Jaehaera snarls.
I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I lied about the meat. And the bread. And the beans. I lied about the whole thing."
"Just eat," she snaps.
I sit cross-legged on the leaves, finding the sounds of them popping and crunching under my weight oddly satisfying.
Well this girl is going to be hard to be friends with. I'm just going for humor, and she's playing the serious role of pack leader. Just one laugh and then—and then maybe I'd feel a little more upbeat. Just maybe?
"Hey."
Jaehaera raises her eyebrows. "Mmm?"
"I fell into a well yesterday," I say, grinning.
"So you're stupid."
"Nah, I just couldn't see that well."
Crickets.
"Why are you being so serious?" I demand.
Jaehaera just sighs. "If I was smart I'd had intervened at the reaping in your district so you didn't end up in the games. Sadly, given some…" she pauses here, "rules and restrictions about inter-district travel, such an intervention was impossible. Now let's hunt. The sun will be down in a few hours."
District 4: Dory Krillgood (13) Pov-
I peer down at the bright green leaves that litter the forest ground. From my elevated perch in the crook of the whimsically-curved tree, I can both easily remain out of sight and spot any attackers early.
Being from District 4, I'm sure everyone is surprised I didn't run straight for the lake. Up here in the tall oak two miles north of the horn is pretty much as far away as I can be from my element. Isn't it fun to surprise the Capitol audience?
My stomach grumbles, and it's only now that I truly realize how hungry and thirsty I am.
That's when a flash of movement catches my eye. I turn to the left so sharply that my neck hurts. There's a tiny creature staring back at me from underneath the blanket of foliage on the forest floor. I'd recognize its bushy tail and auburn-colored fur anywhere—a weasel. Food.
I shift my weight ever so slightly to the left, allowing myself to place my foot on the tree trunk. Ever so carefully, I make my way to the ground. If I make one sudden movement, the weasel will flee. Infinite care is essential.
I reach into my pocket and pull out the two serrated knives I grabbed from the horn, my only possessions unless you count the pack of some unidentified yellow substance I grabbed on a whim.
As I close the distance between us, the weasel keeps staring at me curiously with its wide, shiny black beads of eyes.
The world is still.
Slam! I pounce forward, bringing my knives down onto the weasel. I feel one of my knives dig into the ground—I speared it through the weasel's tail, and it's now thrashing back and forth, trying to free itself. I end the poor thing's life with a slash of my knife, and it falls still.
Carefully, I pull the dead squirrel back to my safe haven in the oak tree. Ugh… I have to skin it. I've seen this done a few times before in my life and have always cringed at the thought of doing it myself. I use my knives to cut a ring around the center of the deceased animal… I grab one end in each hand and then… I pull.
I suppress a gag as the skin of the weasel is torn away and only the light-pink meat remains. I slice off everything I'm absolutely sure I can eat and discard the rest, bones and organs and all that good stuff.
Well, after everything I've done, I can't possibly put the meat to waste. I have to start a fire to cook the meat. Sure, it's risky, but I'm in an area without much water so other tributes probably won't be near.
Stuffing the weasel meat into my pocket, I fall out of the tree, rushing to gather firewood…
District 10: Orford Shaw (18) Pov-
I sprint away from the cornucopia with a grin plastered onto my face. I develop a stitch in my side from running up and down the hills in the meadow, so I lean to one side and try to stick to the lower-leveled areas. If I do say so myself, I've got a fairly bountiful turnout from the bloodbath. I can't wait to settle for the night. That's when I get to take a really good look at everything that's got to last me from now to the finale.
I jog into the first line of trees, and in moments the darkness of the forest is upon me. I alternate between walking and jogging for what must be about half an hour before coming to a stop in a place I can call home.
In front of me stands a tall hill with a single tree on top, and in the side of the hill is a kind of cave. I can't see what's inside and I decide to throw a few rocks in to make sure nobody's home. Nobody is, and I crawl into the darkness, grateful for the cool it provides.
"Whatcha doing?"
I don't think I've ever jumped higher in my entire life. I come bursting out of the cave and find myself face to face with a tall boy. We could be brothers. He has the same brown hair as me, the same brown eyes as me—heck, he is me. Down to the last freckle. It's like looking into a mirror.
"Who are you?" I ask, tightening my grasp around my knives.
"I'm Orford," he answers.
"No, I am," I insist.
"I guess we both are, then," he says with a laugh. My laugh.
"Why are you here?" I ask.
The other Orford just sighs. "I don't have any more idea than you do. I just know I'm here to help you out, give you a helping hand if you need it."
Feeling like my head is about to explode, I sit cross-legged on the ground. Alright. If this boy says he's here to help me I can trust him for now. The gamemakers wouldn't introduce a threat to a tribute as memorable as I am this early in the games.
"Yep, you can help me with something," I say, breaking the pensive silence.
The other Orford raises his eyebrows.
"Just go and find water for me," I say. "I haven't drunk in hours."
"Whatever you say," the other Orford says, dutifully tromping off.
I pull my pack closer, wanting to get a good idea of what I'm starting with before the other Orford comes back. In the pack, I find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich kit, a few iodine tablets, some burn cream, and a tightly-wrapped bundle of firewood.
That's when I fall forward onto the pack, suddenly losing sense of everything around me. The whole world is black and then… I'm the other Orford. I come to a stop at the side of a stream barely the width of my hand. In seconds, I turn sharply on my heel, tromping back toward the original Orford to tell him I've found water for him.
Then, in a blur, I'm back to myself again. I'm in my own skin once more.
This is a devious trick, whatever it is.
Alliances:
Careers: Declan, Nero, Jaehaera
11 and 12: Adelia, Remi
Jack and Jill: Cerise, Erik
Loners (For Now): Pixel, Dory, Adelaide, Lincoln, Luc, Mavvi, Orford, Jaro
I hope you've enjoyed reading these Povs! Just as a heads-up, the next chapter might take a tad longer than usual. Life is somewhat hectic right now and I'm pouring lots of my creative energy into another fic, the first chapter of which has yet to be posted to this site… It might end up here at one point or another, but don't hold your breath :D
Question: If you could have a conversation with one Hunger Games character, who would it be?