Emily Parker, 12, D10F:
The night's silence is broken by the anthem, so we unzip the tend flap about an inch to see which tribute died today. A round face with loose curls stares back at us, the girl from District Eight. I can't remember her name. The fish are still swimming right along with us, but they're much less aggressive now. I assume that they're tired and resting, but could jump straight back to alertness if we disturb them.
We're back in tree country now, but these trees are not the coniferous evergreens that we saw near the snow. These are bushier, with sturdier trunks, and their branches bear some type of fruit. Fruit! Food! There's a whispered agreement that we have to find our way over to them, where we can see a faint bank shrouded in shadows. If we miss this chance, we might never get another. Ardledge quietly locates a coil of rope, which he secures to the tent. Then he takes the other end and begins unwinding it.
His boots slide into the water, making almost no noise at all. The fish don't seem to take notice of him. We see him wade onto land and attach the rope firmly to the crotch of a tree, where the trunk splits in half. Then he sets about reeling us in by pulling the rope and winding it around the tree. This way, if he loses his grip on the rope, it won't go flying out of his hands.
It takes a long time to bring the tent ashore. Ardledge might be strong and experienced with handling both boat-like things and rope, but he's hauling in three people, a tent, and approximately one crap ton of supplies. Having land under my boots is a wonderful feeling. We'll go exploring tomorrow. Right now is a time for eating. We discover that the fruit on the trees are grapefruit, which are familiar to Griffin and I, but new to Chip and Ardledge. As far as Hunger Games cuisine goes, grapefruits are not particularly filling, but the sweet-tart taste is a welcome change. Plus, the juice can alleviate our thirst, at least temporarily.
I wonder what the storm will be for the night. Once it was a thunderstorm. There's been a blizzard and a tornado. Aren't the Gamemakers running out of options? Perhaps there will be no storm at all. It's late, and the storms usually seem to arrive on the earlier side.
There comes a certain point in the Games where the Gamemakers consume most of your waking thoughts. It's because they're all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful people who can either slaughter you or save you. It all depends how they're feeling. We were getting too boring, so the Gamemakers decided to liven things up with the water and the fish. There can never be peace for too long in the arena. All good things must come to an end eventually. There's been some excitement with us, but the Gamemakers probably won't be so patient next time. We all know what they're looking for: us to go on the attack. Everyone is staying huddled up somewhere with their allies, and the Careers don't look like they're providing much entertainment.
Some tributes need to start moving around, and quickly. With a food supply, our alliance will recover easily, but we have to learn from our mistakes before the Gamemakers decide we need to be put in line again. I'm just about to suggest we head further from the water when there's an awful cracking noise.
It appears I'm too late. Tonight, there was no storm. Instead, there was a cave-in. Our tent is sitting at the bottom of a sinkhole twenty feet deep, and all of our supplies have gone with it. Still, surely we can haul it up with the rope, right?
Ardledge Merton, 18, D4M:
Using the rope is the first thing we all think to do. Unfortunately, the tent flap was all the way open and landed on the ground. The supplies have mostly spilled out of the tent. I have my dagger with me, but other than that, we're currently weaponless. Chip carried the first aid kit with him, and we've got our medicine and wipes shoved in there. Griffin brought his bone-dry water bottle and some purification capsules.
I pull the tent back up, slowly, so as not to dislodge anything that might happen to be stuck just inside the flap. It's a much easier task this time. The tent is significantly lighter. When we finally get it back up and look inside, it's only got one thing in it: Emily's chainsaw, which laid perpendicular to the flap and somehow managed to stay inside. A chainsaw is a good weapon to have available, but we've lost almost everything else.
One tanto. One chainsaw. One first aid kit with our tubs of Capitol medicine and antiseptic wipes. One empty water bottle. One packet of water purification capsules. One rope. And one tent.
That's not exactly the inventory I was hoping for, but it's something. And anything's better than being stuck inside a tent on a river with man-eating fish outside. We never got to figure out what Emily's special bonus did. And in hindsight, we should have studied the map more. But both of those things are sitting twenty feet down. Twenty feet is a long way, especially because the walls of the sinkhole are sheer. If any of us went in there, we'd drop straight down.
I learned a lot at the Training Center. For instance, that a twenty-foot-fall straight down is usually fatal, and always results in two broken legs. I don't particularly fancy having my legs snapped like toothpicks, so there's nothing I can really do but stay safely up here. The mood is dreary. I don't want to be here in the arena. I want to be home with my fiancée and my son, where the fish are normal and sinkholes don't randomly appear.
Unfortunately, that's not really an option. Fortunately, I might just have a few more options, because two parachutes are coming down. One is for me, the other for the entire alliance. Mine is a note from Griffin-the-mentor.
Head further inland until the trees thin. Take a right until you hit the quicksand and dive in. You'll know it when you see it.
I read it to my allies, and we come to the conclusion that we should follow the instructions it gives. All of us are a little dubious about diving into quicksand, for obvious reasons, but what other choice do we have? My mentor's got fifty years of experience under his belt, and trusting him is preferable to wandering aimlessly.
The second gift is a meal. Not a large meal, but a meal nonetheless. Cubes of stewed chicken sit in a thick, creamy sauce speckled with herbs and a thin dusting of finely grated cheese. Crusty bread comes on the side. Quickly, we all develop a plan. Right now, we all get a few hours of sleep. In the morning, we'll eat up and, using the note, find whatever it is that Griffin-the-mentor is leading us to.
I don't feel good, but I certainly feel better.
Kill Tracker:
Livi Carnelian: II
Oscar Poudret: I
Eliza Maddox: I
Rafe McClellan: I
Lyra-Rose Ripley (DECEASED): I
Quinten Aramdale: I
Soya Orlando: I
Alliance Tracker:
Career Pack: Oscar, Livi, Rafe, Eliza
Protective Older Brothers: Ardledge, Emily, Griffin, Chip
Manipulators and Their Meat Shield: Soren, Pola, Zea
Queer and (Maybe) Romantic: Quinten, Radley
Loners: Damon, Soya
Supplies Tracker:
Career Pack: Blanket (x2), Climbing Gear (x2), First-Aid Kit (x2), Foam Roll (x3), Rope, Sleeping Bag (x3), Sunscreen, Tarp (x3), Poison, Warm Earmuffs, Warm Gloves (x2), Warm Hat, Warm Scarf, Water (x3), Water Purification Capsules (x3)
Protective Older Brothers: Antiseptic Wipes, First Aid Kit, Rope, Severe Infection Medicine, Severe Injury Medicine, Water Bottle, Water Purification Capsules, Waterproof and Temperature Insulated Tent
Manipulators and Their Meat Shield: Binoculars, Blanket, Collapsible Lightweight Ladder, Compass, Field Guide, Firestarter (x3), Foam Roll, Map of the Arena, Medium Pack with Supplies (x3), Multitool, Net (x3), Night Vision Goggles (x3), Note of Advice, Powder and Puff, Rope, Safety Box (x3), Scuba Mask (x3), Sleeping Bag (x2), Small Water (x3), Special Bonus 3, Special Bonus 4, Spool of Wire, Sunblock (x3), Tarp (x3), Trap Materials, Turbo Umbrella, Unknown Machine-Looking Thing, Utility Knife, Walkie-Talkies, Warm Gloves
Queer and (Maybe) Romantic: Basic Injury Medicine, Blanket, Bread, Camouflage Set, Collapsible Shovel, First Aid Kit (x2), Insect Repellant, Map of the Arena, Medium Pack of Supplies, Mesh Sheet, Multitool, Night Vision Goggles, Note of Advice, Special Bonus 1, Special Bonus 5, Spool of Wire, Sunblock, Tarp, Trap Materials, Warm Hat, Warm Scarf, Water, Water Bottle, Water Purification Capsules
Damon: Antiseptic Wipes, Compass, Grappling Hook, Multitool, Nutrient Bars, Scuba Mask, Sunblock, Turbo Umbrella, Warm Gloves, Water, Water Purification Capsules
Soya: Apples, Bread (x2), Crackers, Cured Meat, Dried Fruit, Dry Wheat, Field Guide, Flashlight, Iodine, Jar of Lozenges, Resin, Soup, Warm Hat, Water (x3), Water Bottle (x2), Water Purification Capsules
Weapons Tracker:
Career Pack: Bandolier of Shurikens, Bandolier of Throwing Knives (x2), Bow and Quiver of Arrows (x2), Dagger (x3), Spear (x4), Switchblade, Unknown Bat-Looking Thing
Protective Older Brothers: Chainsaw, Tanto
Manipulators and Their Meat Shield: Bandolier of Throwing Darts, Hidden Knife Gauntlet (x2)
Queer and (Maybe) Romantic: Shortsword, Spear, Unknown Scissors-Looking Thing
Damon: Axe
Soya: Axe, Bullwhip, Machete
Hey y'all!
Since Griffin-the-mentor came up in this chapter, I think it's a great time to tell you about my new SYOT! A couple of you might remember a story I initially began last year with a friend. After a falling out, and some other events, the story was deleted. Now I'm going to be writing that story the way it deserves to be written. As Prudence and Gumption draws to a close, I'll be opening up Reprisal for submissions.
PAG will finish on 28 August. Reprisal's submissions close on 28 August. Reprisal will come out on 2 or 3 July, so you'll have a long time to get tributes in if that's what you choose. Reprisal exists in the same verse as PAG but takes place earlier in the timeline, one year after Griffin Cadbury/Griffin-the-mentor won his Games. It will include a heavy focus on the brewing rebellion that took place around that time.
I don't want to get you too hyped up for Reprisal, but I've been working on it since January and I'm super excited to unveil it in under a month. I tend to get concerned when an author has an SYOT underway and then opens up another one concurrently, so I'd just like to mention that only six chapters of Reprisal will be released while PAG is going on, and I've got all six of them written. Basically, I want to let you know that I'm not going to spend less time on PAG because of Reprisal. Other than that, have a great day, and feel free to PM me with any questions you might have!
–LC :)
