Day 1
Andrei "Drei" Altair (14) D8M
I had not bothered to run for the cornucopia.
I knew death was certain in that case, and the first thing I did even as almost everyone ran towards the giant ball, was to get off the platform and run as fast as I could towards the craters, for they had to be the only thing that could have a chance of giving me a shelter. I saw Canon and Shama run along, and they jumped into the second crater without even seeing what was in it. As for me, my legs were tiring out, I was running out of breath, but I didn't bother touching the first crater. I looked in once though, and it honestly felt that it was a normal one. It wasn't big enough to fit in people, and yet nobody ever emerged out of one.
However, before I could contemplate on the features of the crater, a cannon rang out hard, and I started running again. It all felt weird, and I was in a daze. Just some minutes ago a boy had literally blown up. People were dying, and I was trying to get away.
It was when I thought I'd put in a considerable distance between myself and the cornucopia, did I stop at a crater. Now, I didn't know much about planets and stuff, but I could say that craters couldn't be found in such close proximity, and all of them being cluttered together. This was a deep hole, and I saw no end to it. Taking a deep breath, I jumped in.
I had never felt more helpless in my life.
I was being sucked into the ground rapidly, as if I had stepped into quicksand. Panicking, I started flailing hard as I struggled to find something that my feet might touch, but it was just some viscous material that was pulling me in. It was slimy, and called out of help. The moment I opened my mouth to shout out though, the ground started pulling me in faster, and I knew this was the end. I shut my eyes tight, hoping it would be quick, when I immersed completely into the ground.
And then fell on solid ground.
The feeling of something solid was so overwhelming that at first, I couldn't believe myself. My eyes were still shut, and I wondered whether I was dead. I clenched my fists hard, and opened my eyes slowly, trying to adjust to light, light, at wherever I was. I was kind of certain there would be no light there! It was a strange, purplish hue too, and looked more than just repulsive. I looked up at the ceiling, and saw that it was a web of some slimy material, the exact colour as the rocks had been earlier. So that's what had been trying to suck me in! And succeeded in it, I might add.
It was only now that I bothered to look around, for my mind had been engaged in unravelling the mystery behind my fall. The place was HUGE, with enough space to fit all twenty-four of us comfortably, and there were three tunnels leading out of the place. The rocks that formed the ground too, were purplish, and I saw that at the top of the entryway of the tunnels there was more of that slimy stuff. There was also a pillar that just blended with the wall of the crater that I had come in through which had a long wooden ladder attached to it, tied together with a thick rope. I realised that I could go back up, that this weird place wasn't the place I was stuck in. Of course, being in the open was much more dangerous. But maybe later, I could try to get some supplies…
It was then that I noticed something that I should have noticed the moment I reached here. Everything around me, the very air, was so cold. It was not just any kind of cold, it was unbearable to the point it felt as if somebody had shoved me into a bucket full of ice. I hadn't even realised that I was trembling hard, and that I in the next moment I would be bent double in order to warm myself.
How the hell was I supposed to survive this cold?!
"Hey, who's there?"
Canon Tadashi (14) D3M
We had lost our ally. We had lost Lanai.
And most probably we had lost Dwayne too. I didn't know, for Shama had forced me into a crater the moment we saw one. The last thing that I saw was Jordan hovering over my favourite magazine's editor. I had wanted to help, to scream, to cry, to do something, but Shama didn't really give me much of a chance for that and forced me into jumping through.
I didn't even bother taking into account of where we were, for my heart was broken. Broken for the girl who had died trying to get some supplies for us to surprise. Broken for the elder boy who had sent us away and went to help our ally all alone. I was certain that he hadn't survived the bloodbath, for he would have been here by now if he did.
Somebody hugged me tightly, and I let them. My head resting on her shoulder, I cried, and I knew Shama cried with me, even if she was silent in doing so. She rubbed my back soothingly, muttering reassurances that meant nothing at that point. However, it felt really nice to know that she cared. She cared enough to fight her own despair to calm me down.
And soon she was leading me through a long tunnel, with weird slimy webs sticking out from here and there. The purple lighting seriously hurt my eyes, and they had chosen such a disgusting hue, almost like pus, but a dirtier shade, that I wanted to throw up. I could barely see Shama's face, but it seemed she had the same thoughts. She had been silent since we set off, and I decided to remain quiet as well. I knew she was hurt, I was, about the death, or deaths, of our allies. She and Dwayne had fought the previous night.
"Canon," she finally whispered, "I think I hear something."
I came to a halt, ears trying to detect any vibration that made her think thus. And there it was, a really faint groan, so faint that I wondered how she had managed to hear it. But it was there alright. We walked forward much more carefully now, trying hard not to make any kind of sound. It was then that I saw a boy, maybe another tribute, bent double, either in pain or from cold.
"I think we should leave-" Shama whispered but I cut her off.
"Hey, who's there?"
Shama looked at me as if she would stab one of the stones lying around through my heart, and I didn't mean it as a joke. She looked more than just angry, and she reached out for my wrist, backing away, ready to run.
The boy straightened up at my voice and turned around to look at us. I saw that he too, had no supplies, and sighed in relief.
"I-I'm Andrei," he replied finally, rubbing his arms vigorously to get some warmth.
"I'm Canon, she's Shama. So, did you get anything?" I asked, although I knew he hadn't. He had run off just like us, after all.
"Nothing," he sighed, "Are you two allies?"
"Yes…" Shama answered defensively, her legs poised to run off.
"Great. Can I join in?"
The two of looked at each other, perplexed. Why would he want to join us? Would it be wise to let him, considering this might be our first interaction? Could we trust him?
He was my age though, and looked just as overwhelmed as I felt. Pulling Shama aside, I stated my point to her, that we should probably take him as our ally.
To my surprise, she sighed at that and nodded, and without a word we went back to Andrei, who eyed us cautiously.
"Alright," I replied nonchalantly, "It can't hurt. Come along."
Andrei smiled at us brightly, only to bend over again trying to warm himself. Looking at him, I felt even colder than I did earlier, and soon both Shama and I were rubbing our arms to make ourselves feel better.
But we had to keep going, and soon all the three of set off through the middle tunnel, hoping that we wouldn't encounter anything dangerous, at least today.
Seven deaths were, after all, a huge loss.
Liya Chiaro (17) D5F
People thought that the arena was endless, and had only craters in there. I was certain, however, that there must be something beyond those craters that would help me plan, and I was right.
Our alliance wasn't supposed to happen, but Vis and I ran towards the far end of the arena, or as far as the eye could see. Maybe we were both working on adrenaline rush, because covering that kind of distance in such a short amount of time should have been impossible. Looking back, I could spot neither a tribute nor the cornucopia, not even as a speck. The craters had abruptly come to an end, and all there was left was a large landscape of rocks. But the two of us still ran, even as all the cannons rang one by one. There were seven of them. Seven kids who just… died.
"The very air seems to be moving out there!" Vis exclaimed and pointed in front of us.
I stopped for a second, catching my breath, when I realised that he was right. The vision in front of me was moving, as if water in a pot had been stirred. The swirls of air were literally visible, and I wondered whether we should proceed further.
"We've come this far," Vis said as if he had read my mind, "I think we should take the risk."
I met his gaze for a second then nodded. He was right. We needed to see what lay ahead. We had come so far out that if we went back, some tribute or the other would attack us. The Careers would surely guard the cornucopia. It was then I realised that I didn't have much choice, and the only way was ahead. I was honestly glad that I wasn't alone.
As one, we set off once more, running as if our lives depended on it, which they did, and soon we were through that moving wall of air…
…only to arrive in a completely different world.
It was daytime over here, and the first thing I noticed was the very bluish-yellow sky.
The second thing I noticed was that the surface here was smooth, made of soil that had the same colour as sand, but certainly a much sturdier texture.
The third thing was that here the weather was hot. And by hot, I meant the kind of heat that makes people faint due to its intensity.
And the last thing that I noticed, was that the sun was not only visible, but somehow managed to occupy one-third of the sky easily.
Vis cried out beside me, trying to shield his eyes, and I found myself doing the same. I looked away from the sun, or whatever star it was, and saw that, in the distance, there was something in the likeness of houses and some creatures walking around. From the distance, the arrangement looked like a village of sorts.
A village in the arena.
It was bizarre, and the heat was already taking a toll on me. I wished to do nothing more than lie down on the smooth ground, with face down, ignoring everything to do with this place. My vision was getting blurred now, and even as I looked at Vis, I could see him swaying. I didn't know whether he was also dizzy or whether it was my vision, but one thing was clear. We needed to return now.
"Let's go back!"
Vis didn't need telling twice. We ran back through the way we had come, and the coldness of the earlier parts of the arena was a welcoming relief. I promptly fell down on my back even as he came down to his knees, panting really hard.
"What do we do?" he asked, trying to catch some air.
"We should stay here," I replied as I gazed at the dark sky, "Like, we can stay here, and if something comes up, we can just cross this border and be in that weird place."
He didn't seem too convinced with the idea, but nothing else appealed to us at the time. Going back was torture, and maybe even death, and going towards the cornucopia was no better either.
With a sigh, he lied down on the ground too, hoping to get some rest.
So this chapter was mainly to set the scenes and to explore the arena. There's still quite a bit of it left, but that will be revealed as the story progresses. So, no deaths, just covered a few tributes as to where they went. We may or may not have a death next chapter, let's see how it plays out, but do let me know your thoughts on this. This was a much shorter chapter, so hopefully it wasn't very dull.
Alliances:
Team 1: Ivory, Siobhan, Dwayne (temporary, till he finds his allies)
Team 2: Everette, Casper
Team 3: Saunder, Jordan, Aryton
Team 4: Shama, Canon, Andrei
Team 5: Lily, Tybal
Team 6: Vis, Liya
So there are a lot of tributes who are playing in alliances, and I guess that should be interesting. I hope you enjoyed this.
Death list:
Horatio (blew up)
Lanai (killed by Jordan)
Mickayla (killed by Ayton)
Emeline (killed by Jordan and Aryton)
Wesley (killed by Teddy)
Maurice (killed by Dwayne)
Tapicca (killed by Jordan)
Have a great day!