Sidney Fawkes, 16, District Two Male
He watches the river from his spot in the grass, yawning widely as he does so. It's night three; close to the longest games record. There have never been a Games over four days, the arenas had been too small or the bloodbath too big for it to happen. They had always hovered around from fifteen hours to close to four days, always ending with another shattered victor.
But unless nine more tributes died by the morning of Day Four, that record will be broken.
Mother and Father had always pointed out the weaknesses of each of the four victors in their final fight, telling Sidney that if their opponent had taken advantage of a weak leg, ran instead of fighting or used another weapon, the Games would have gone differently. But in the end, there was only one victor in each Hunger Games, and their opponents had died.
He doesn't want to be that opponent.
He starts to listen to the sky for any signs of the Capitol anthem; his days in the arena had taught him to pay attention to any deaths. Even if he hadn't heard any cannons today, he couldn't be too sure. Something might have happened in the night.
Animals start to yelp and howl as he waits, even the distinct sound of an elephant trumpeting coming to his ears. But he pays no attention to those, they aren't his focus. It's the sky that holds his attention. It's almost time for the anthem.
A cannon shatters his focus as it rings out into the cool night, causing him to whip around and look at the horizon. It didn't sound like it came from the hotel. It must have been one of the lone tributes out on the plains who was the next to die, likely from one of the nocturnal predators roaming the savanna. It could have easily been him.
He shivers and brings out another one of his painkillers, quickly swallowing it and washing it down with a sip of water from one of his few remaining bottles. He'd somehow managed to get a sponsor yesterday; probably due to the fact that he had managed to blow up all of those cornucopia supplies, and now he was able to help his throbbing leg. The painkillers act quickly, Capitol products always do, and he soon smiles as the pain fades away. He's free for another few hours. He'll take another pill later. It always helps.
The Capitol anthem quickly plays in the sky before revealing the face of the District Six Male, who stares sullenly at the camera before vanishing back into the clouds. Sidney blinks in surprise as he continues to gaze up at the sky, he had completely forgotten about the boy. The boy had faded into Sidney's mind as he had escaped from the pride and spent the past few days in this field, hoping that his supplies could keep him alive.
They have.
He stands up and walks out of the fields, yawning widely as he does so. Maybe he can find a different place to sleep tonight. He can't hunker down in one spot for too long, Mother and Father have taught him too much about being on the move to lose pursuers. Staying in that field again would only invite disaster. He'll walk for a mile and find another hiding spot there, he's not willing to go any further. The pain from his leg is subdued due to the painkillers, but it hasn't disappeared. He doesn't need to hurt it because of false confidence. He can't afford any mistakes right now. Not when the final eight is so close to his reach.
He starts to walk, stopping after a few steps and looking up at the hotel. The lights are still flashing rapidly on the hotel, with the first and second floors flashing green while the others are still red. Right before his eyes, the third floor turns green, with the second soon turning red. What's up with the hotel? It's been always changing with the days, and he had spent the last day observing the mammoth building change its lights. But the first floor had stayed the same for close to a day, always flashing that infernal shade of green. Why?
He turns his attention away from the dancing lights and continues to walk, looking about him for any threats. He's spent too much time watching the buildings, not looking for safe spots in the arena. Everyone in the arena had heard those lions roaring during the bloodbath. He doesn't need to get mauled tonight.
As he stretches his arms and yawns widely, he spots another tribute out of the corner of his eye. They look dazed and tired as they approach him, carrying some sort of weapon. As they get closer, he realizes that it's what seems to be the District Eight Female, carrying what seems to be a spear.
And she's close enough for Sidney to see the whites of her enraged eyes.
He starts to run, bringing out the knife from his pocket and watching the girl. She seems to be fast, and the spear that she's carrying seems like it's covered in something… in something red.
He keeps running, catching his breath and clenching his knife tightly. He had observed tributes throwing spears in training; the sharp weapons could fly into the air and impale a fleeing tribute if wielded by a steady hand. He doesn't know if the District Eight Female has a steady hand, but he's not going to stick around to find out.
He darts past the river, staying to the side and keeping a generous distance away from the crocodiles. They seem to be asleep, but he doesn't trust the vicious reptiles. He just has to keep moving and find a place to hide. And if he can't, he'll have to face her.
He sees a group of animals gathering around the side of the riverbank ahead of him, some slowly starting to cross it while others snort and wait for their turn to cross.
A group of animals.
Wild animals.
And if he can frighten them…
He can start a stampede.
He sprints towards the animals, taking another glance back to the girl. She throws the spear at him, and he holds his breath as it flies to his side. The girl curses loudly and stops to pick up her weapon, leaving Sidney time to keep on running towards the animals. They look like the buffalo that he had learned about in class when he was young, but they seem wilder, skinnier, scruffier. They're some sort of savanna-equivalent to the buffalo. But it doesn't matter. As long as he can start a stampede to distract the girl, he'll be safe.
His parents had always told him to stay away from animals that he didn't know about. They warned that they could always be dangerous, volatile, creatures that could kill him that if he isn't careful. But right now, they might be his only hope. He doesn't need to fight the girl from Eight; she seems like she's snapped from the stress of the arena. Insane people put in dangerous positions wouldn't hesitate to put themselves at risk, as long as it meant that they could accomplish their goal. He'll have to rely on that fact. He can't have her ditch him when he's so close to getting her trapped.
He runs up to the first buffalo-creature he can find and slashes it's leg with a knife, kicking it in the behind to let it react to him. The animal snorts and wheels towards him, it's eyes flashing in anger as it lowers its head. He hadn't noticed the sharp horns on the creatures, but he does now. He's got their attention.
A crocodile snaps at some of the creatures that are wading in the river as he's taunting the first creature, turning the herd back towards safety on the other side of the river. The crocodile snaps again and the creatures go into a panic, racing towards the one that Sidney's taunting. Sidney takes it as a sign to run, racing towards the rapidly approaching girl from Eight. She seems to be surprised by his decision, but she keeps running towards him. And just as she swings her spear towards him, he dives out of the way.
He regains his feet as the creatures charge towards the girl, trampling her as they race towards wherever they're going now. None of them approach Sidney, their only focus on the animals in front of him. It's like he's invisible.
The Eight girl's cannon booms as they continue to run, none of the beasts hesitating for an instant. They keep on going, and the last of them eventually vanish from where Sidney's standing right now. He can see them starting to settle down on the horizon, the herd slowing down before settling onto the ground where they are and starting to placidly chew on the grass of the plains. The stampede is over.
A cry for joy escapes Sidney's lips before he can help himself, the sound echoing through the air before fading into the night sky. Another death. There are only eight tributes left. Only eight.
Mother and Father would be watching him right now, Mother nodding in silent approval while his Father would pump his fist in the air, his excitement unable to be contained. Father could never contain his excitement when he watched television.
But would it be because their son was in the final eight, or because District Two was in the final eight?
He shouldn't be thinking that. Of course, his family loved him, they were just patriotic to the Capitol. But if they had to choose between the Capitol and him, they'd choose him without a doubt.
He hoped.
He keeps walking, searching for anywhere to rest. His leg starts to act up, the pain returning slowly, and he reaches into his pack for a painkiller. The frantic run must have hurt his burn, enough so to overwhelm his painkiller. He looks inside the container to find six pills left, all ready to be consumed.
He pauses, slowly screwing the lid of the container back onto it. He doesn't truly need one right now, he just needs to go to sleep, and he can do that without the help of the pills. He's got to save those for later. He can't afford to run out of them, especially when the Games are so close to finishing. He can't afford to lose because he's run out of painkillers.
He puts the container back into his small bag, taking out some of the stale bread that he had snatched from the kitchen and quickly taking a bite. He had eaten the warmer foods yesterday, knowing that they would soon go bad. Now he just has bread, fruit, and water, all ready for him to eat. He wrinkles his nose slightly, remembering the roast beef that he had eaten in the Capitol a few nights before the Games. The aroma of the meat had been so good, causing him to eat as much as he could while it was still hot. Alexis had laughed and done the same, shoving it into her mouth and moaning with satisfaction as she swallowed. But she was with the pride now, likely eating the finest foods from the hotel kitchen and hunting tributes down. And she'd kill him as well.
He rolls over onto his side and closes his eyes, trying to forget his worries. He doesn't need to think of the negative, the things that'll shake his focus. He's got to keep looking forward. Because in the Hunger Games, you can't dwell on the past. You have to keep fighting, keep playing, keep surviving, keep killing. Because this game isn't like any other. In this game, the prize is his life.
And he doesn't want to lose.
Another chapter finished! Hooray! I'm very glad that I've finished this one, as it was giving me a bit of difficulty along the way (mainly due to lengthening it XD) but it's finished, and now we are finally into the final eight with five featured characters still alive! Any predictions for victor yet? We're only seven deaths away…
10th: District Six Male, killed by crocodiles.
9th: District Eight Female, killed by wildebeest stampede and Sidney Fawkes.
Bet you guys thought that the girl killed the District Six Male, didn't you ;) I need a few arena deaths! Also, lol at Sidney not knowing what wildebeest were (although I don't think that's exactly a large topic in Panem)
Keep sponsoring, guys! We're getting close to the end, so I'll be stopping sponsors from sponsoring at the final four :) So get your kicks in while you can! Go back and review chapters you haven't if you need to!
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Let's hope for another chapter tomorrow! I'm enjoying this streak :D until next time, TheAmazingJAJ
