Day 4
Jordan Arroyo (18) D8F
"Aahh!"
I couldn't stop myself from screaming. I could feel my vocal cords ready to tear apart as I continued to scream, even as Saunder clapped his hands to his ears, and then he was screaming at me to stop. Our screams combined into an avalanche of sound, and the very walls seemed to tremble with the force.
"Why can't we find anyone?!" I yelled out, frustrated.
I was here, in the Games, to kill. I needed blood! I needed corpses! But since the bloodbath, I'd didn't have one encounter with anyone. One encounter. I was ready to tear open anyone's chest right now, boy or girl, young or old. Hell, I could kill Saunder right now just for the pleasure of it. But a small, rational part of my brain told me that it would be utterly foolish to do so. At least right now.
"I don't know!" Saunder replied in equal frustration, "The other Careers are useless! We might be the only ones who are actively looking for tributes!"
"With no success!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.
"And on top of that!" Saunder fumed, "That Aryton ran away! With all our supplies!"
"And there are tributes killing other tributes! We're in the final twelve Saunder! It hasn't been that way due to magic!"
"Come on you people!" Saunder exclaimed, looking at where he presumed a camera was since they were all hidden, "Just show us a way to some other tributes! If it's that Aryton then even better! He needs to be punished!"
"I'll tear open his chest," I whispered, my body shaking with anger. Never once did I think that he would betray us. Of course, all of us were here to win, but to actually run away so early in the game? With our supplies?! Unforgivable!
"I'll let you do it," Saunder replied, his voice regaining the calmness too, "I'd just enjoy watching it."
And I was hoping that, after our requests, the Gamemakers would show us a way. a way to those good-for-nothing tributes, destined to be killed at my hands. But the Gamemakers seemed more than just passive this year. Our wishes weren't answered, and I had the wish to break some camera. Nobody, nobody wanted to do anything!
"Come on Jordan," Saunder said, "I think we should just wait here. You know, one problem could be that since we're always on the move, we just don't meet tributes."
I paused to look at him, realising the truth in his words. That could be a reason! It was true that we were always moving, and maybe it was chance that we came across no one. Well, it was certainly something to consider, seeing that we had no other, better option as such.
"Fine, let's stop here," I said, sitting down. I was kind of grateful for him to bring this up, because in all honesty, my feet hurt worse than it would if I kicked a rock. My body demanded rest now, and I wasn't going to complain about this arrangement.
"Somebody will surely come here, Jordan. Just wait and watch."
Dwayne Wildflower (17) D7M
I didn't know why Casper and I were sticking together today after what happened last night.
After we got separated from our respective allies, we pretty much could either go on together or separate. I was feeling funny about myself since I lost my allies again. But since the cannon didn't ring, I was assured they were alive, and that's what mattered. It shouldn't matter, because in order for me to go home, they'd have to die, but most likely, I would be spared from doing that myself.
So, Casper and I, we were cold last night, colder than ever. And it kind of just happened that when we fell asleep, simultaneously like idiots, we did what made me feel embarrassed even now. When I woke up, I realised I was curled up to him, and his arm was around me. While I blamed the entire incident on the cold, I still couldn't shake off the feeling of his arm around me. It was warm, and I had occasionally grinned like a fool, remembering it. Casper though, showed no sign of even noticing our awkward situation, and I was grateful to him for that.
"The majority of the supplies are with Everette," he said suddenly, "I only have some water."
"I have a couple of apples," I replied, "And a little bit of cake."
"We really need to do something to get sponsors."
For a second, I thought he was talking about killing me, and I stopped in my tracks. He looked back, his brow raised questioningly.
"What's the matter?"
"N-nothing."
It was as if he realised what caused this reaction from me, and that set him laughing. He approached me casually and winked.
"Come on Dwayne! I wasn't talking about harming you! How could I after…?"
My cheeks started burning as I recalled that embarrassing moment, and I pushed him. just when I was thinking that he was so decent about not bringing it up!
"Why did you do that?! I was talking about how we got separated from our allies!"
"Yeah right, I'm believing you."
"You should," he said with another wink that made me inhale deeply before storming off, not wanting to let him see my face. He followed me playfully and nudged me hard as he passed by, making me swear out loud.
Our short conversation was followed by a stoic silence, and I could feel the tension as Casper kept a little distance from me. His eyes were brooding, and I wondered what it was that bothered him. Somehow, I knew it was not because of Everette. It was something different, something from home.
"Are you okay?" I asked slowly, not wanting to disturb him, but not able to take his deadly silence any more.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about my sister and how she must be doing."
"Oh."
"Camille," he said suddenly, "Her name's Camille. She's the reason I'm here."
"She wanted you to bring honour to the family?"
Despite knowing that this conversation was leading to something sensitive, I couldn't keep the disgust out of my voice. I actually understood the part regarding training for the Games, I was of the opinion that all the Districts should try to build secret facilities to train their kids, although I knew it was nearly impossible. The problem for me was the fact that they volunteered to kill people! if they just trained the tributes well, they'd have a good chance of getting home anyway. Why volunteer?
"No… it's because-"
Before he could complete why exactly he volunteered, the ceiling started trembling again, and we were set off running.
Everette Hastings (18) D1M
The kids were pretty upbeat for people being stuck in an underground maze away from their homes.
However, I could soon tell that it was all a façade. They literally forced themselves to talk, to make jokes, to argue and to laugh. Their words felt hollow to my ears, even though they spent considerable amount of time to tease each other.
My mind wandered to JT, my mentor, and Juliet, the girl I loved. Were they watching me now, as I trudged ahead with these little kids? Were they thinking why I just didn't kill then? No, they wouldn't want that. After all, they had taught me the meaning of life and love in the first place. But I couldn't help wonder if they were proud. I hoped that they were, because their smiles were what I wanted the most.
"Oh man I wished I hadn't given that cake to Dwayne!" Canon groaned, making me fall back to keep up with their pace.
"Shut up Canon. If you spit out a single word regarding any cake, be assured I'm going to make a cake out of you," Shama retorted.
"I agree with Shama. Canon, please. Don't."
"Alright, alright!"
As we walked ahead, the little boy from Three keeping very close to me while the boy from Eight keeping a respectable distance, I couldn't help but smile. Out of the three kids, Canon was the most innocent little thing present there. It was heart breaking for me to think that he would die, probably even in brutal ways. I wished he didn't have such a rotten luck to be Reaped at such a young age, or Reaped at all for that matter. This wasn't a place for someone like him.
"I wish I had my camera," he sighed, his face downcast.
"Your camera?"
"I'm into photography, you see. I-I would have loved to take some pictures of this place. I mean, I know we're in the arena but-but this place is so unique that I cannot resist the urge. And pictures of us. And I would've loved to send them to Dwayne. And he would publish them."
"He would publish literally anything from you," Shama muttered, "Even a broken toilet."
I laughed out as I clapped her on the back, to which she responded with an even more solemn face.
"I really hope you haven't photographed a broken toilet Canon," I said, grinning at him, "That will be traumatic!"
"I don't do broken toilets, sir," he said proudly, "I do nature."
"Nature's call?" I asked.
"Only nature!" he exclaimed indignantly, "Like birds! Trees! People!"
"Worms," Andrei laughed, "Dwayne was a fan of your photo of a blue worm. How the hell did you even find one?"
"It's an Art, Andrei! And-"
It seemed that our happy moment had been interrupted by those who could not bear it. it was tossed aside mercilessly, as the trembling ceiling told us whatever we had to know. And then we were running, running frantically. I pulled Canon with me into a tunnel when…
"NO!"
Another death-free chapter! Things will move faster from the next one, I assure you. This chapter was very short, but writing it any more would have been dragging it. We'll hear from the remaining four tributes who haven't received their second POV in the next chapter. Do let me know what you think of the chapter.
Alliances:
Team 1: Everette, Shama, Canon, Andrei
Team 2: Saunder, Jordan
Team 3: Aryton, Tybal
Team 4: Casper, Dwayne
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)
Liya (killed by Everette)
Lily (killed by Tybal)
Vis (killed by Andrei, Shama and Canon)
Ivory (killed by Ari)
Ari (killed by Siobhan)
Have a great day!