Day One:
Vendetta Ischyroe, District Ten
He reaches for my throat, using his one arm to try and stab me. Falling back, I duck, using an arm to grab his shirt and throw him away from me. Getting up, I wrap my arms around my body, shivering in the cold.
I volunteered for this thing to not be a killer anymore, but here I am, fighting another tribute to the death and realizing that my decision makes no sense. Spacing myself a couple of feet from him, ignoring his grunts of anger, I look up at the forest. In here, the sky vanishes, with only a few fragments of blue remaining like scattered pieces of an impossible jigsaw puzzle.
The air's rich with the fragrance of leaves and loam, damp, too. ''Don't ignore me!'' he yells, helping me regain my concentration. Shiv held high, he lunges at me, but I stand, at the ready, and swipe my knife up, preparing myself for impact.
Steadying his stance, I catch him looking at my waist, forgetting of his attack. I observed him during our training days, and he always stabbed dummies in the waist, which made him too predictable. Forcing myself backwards just as he bites down and swings, I avoid the knife and watch him fall, sinking the weapon into the bundle of leaves.
You don't even want to do this, I think to myself. You're here to live, to survive, but you're doing the same exact thing you've been doing before.
That thought causes me to aim off-track. I flick my wrist, launching the knife into the back of his leg. Something tells me to kill him, to end it already, but my body hesitates, not wanting to continue. Limbs bent at an awkward angle, he looks up at me, biting down the pain.
Blood spurts out of the wound in his leg, but it's not excessive – it's just a small stream, dripping out of his skin, staining the once beautiful autumn leaves. We're meters away from the Cornucopia, but I see him staring back from the direction that he attacked me in, not thinking that matters would fall into my hands.
He crawls away, and I take out another knife, ready to throw it and collect my first kill. But... I don't throw it just yet. I let him get away, only to follow after him a couple of seconds later. ''Get away!'' he screams, the sound of his voice crushing my insides. I've been doing this for my entire life – I even did it before volunteering – so why can't I bring myself to doing it now?
What's different? What's causing me to hold back?
He does an amazing job avoiding me, falling silent, realizing that I'm out of my right state of mind. Hobbling on his one good leg, he tries to fall invisible behind a tree, but the knife leaves my hand again.
Landing in his shoulder this time, I hear that terrifying, reverberating scream of his. Falling to my knees, I shake my head, disgusted with myself but so unsure. Who's watching this right now? Everyone in Panem, my parents, my brother?
He knows nothing about the family business, but he's watching me now, seeing me show no signs of obvious remorse for a tribute who's life I could take at this exact moment.
That, I realize, is the main thing pulling me back; it's like I feel his hands grasping me and yelling in my ear, ''No, don't do it!''
I leave the rest of my knives in my pocket patch, looking up with burning eyes. ''Get out of here,'' I warn the debilitated boy.
He leaves without warning, in the absence of a backpack, but it takes him a while to get out of my sight. I've disappointed so many people just now, but I don't care about them. I want to escape my regular roots, but I still have them in me.
The only difference between these kids and the people that I've killed is that I don't have a reason to eliminate them from existence. The others either did something wrong or were a menace to society, roaming the streets freely – but this... this is a shame.
I'm killing for the amusement of horrible people, something that shouldn't be considered at all – something that should be removed from our lives for good.
Taisiya Danshov, District Nine
Grunting, I raise my injured arm and scratch my scalp, wincing from the pain in my shoulder. Slowly, I lean my back against a beautiful tree. Clenching my fist, I growl at myself for allowing some stupid injury to keep me from fleeing further away. I barely managed to escape with my life.
It's quiet in the forest; there are no sounds of footsteps falling, no sounds of tributes speaking, or sounds of nature. Occasionally there are bird movements, startling in a tree, or a squirrel dashing up a nearby trunk, but that's not much. The sound of the leaves shuffling underneath my boots has the same hypnotic quality as music, though, and I just want to close my eyes and rest.
I can't, though, unfortunately. Keep moving, I was instructed not too many days ago, but these wounds in my leg and arm limit my movements. It's unsatisfying, really, making me grow angrier. Elbowing my arm into the tree, I tightly close my eyes shut and try to remain quiet.
Where are the cannons? Suddenly I realize. No cannons have shot out into the sky yet, and it's been well over an hour since the Bloodbath. Are tributes still fighting? Is something big currently happening? What's taking so long?
They're obviously unsatisfied with the death count, I'm guessing. Hopefully the next tribute dies already and the day ends soon, because I want to know who I can cross off of my list of tributes to take out – I just need to know how many are left.
My mind suddenly travels to Nikola. What's he thinking back at home? Is he even watching, or thinking of replacing me with someone else? I can't provide my services to him if I don't make it out alive, and he might hate me for that – but I can't let him hate me!
Struggling to get up, I scream, the shiv in my hand being used as a supportive instrument in raising my body, which falls short of standing up, though, and lets me down. ''Shit..!'' I grimace.
I eventually decide to sit quiet and relax, hoping for a sponsor to send some type of medicine my way. I don't know if I'll receive a gift or not, but I won't beg, because I know they hate tributes who beg. It only pisses them off and ache more for the imminent death.
Tilting my head upward and sighing a breath out, I take in the view of the forest once more. It reminds me of one of those places which have no palpable reason to exist. It's just a creaking shack created by nature to serve as a reminder that things could always be much, much worse.
And I feel like things are getting much, much worse as the ground begins to rumble. ''Earthquake?'' I perplex. No, it can't be an earthquake. Not this early in the competition! They can't do that, can they?
Or maybe they're doing this because whatever fight that's going on is taking way too long, but I would expect to hear someone shouting by now. Slowly, the ground stops shaking, coming to a halt. I pick up my breathing, feeling scared, but still, hearing no cannon... ''What is going on?''
''WARGH!'' I hear, disgusting gurgles coming from beneath me. I lean back, watching as the ground suddenly begins shaking again, the leaves becoming displaced from their original positions and being thrown away as if a large gust of wind just appeared. A hand rips through the ground – a disgusting, hairy, dirt-infested hand with nails as long as a wild, carnivorous animal's.
''Welcome to our world!'' one of them snickers, its raspy voice frightening me. Their faces appear along with the rest of their upper bodies, laughing and snorting as they scratch at my clothes. A large nail scratches my chest, leaving a giant laceration there. I feel the blood pouring out of my body, and one of them reaches up to caress my chest, licking the blood off, making me cringe in fear for my life.
The fear sits on me like a pillow over my mouth and nose. I feel multiple pairs of hands touching my body, ripping me apart and dragging me down into the ground. Enough air gets by into my throat and out, allowing my body to keep functioning, but it's crippling all the same – it doesn't feel right!
The scream tears through me like a great shard of glass. I feel my eyes widen and pulse quicken, my heart thudding like a rock rattling in a box. The scream comes again, desperate, terrified, human... Blood drains from my face and pours out of me like a punctured gallon of juice.
My mouth is suddenly cuffed up as I feel a hand clasp over it, my cries for help becoming muffled and inaudible. A dwarf jumps up from the ground, its entire short, laughable body wrapping itself around my head as it sinks its claws in my occipital lobe, making my vision go blurry.
The savage beasts, small, face scattered with moles and freckles, noses big and covered with snot and dirt, all sink their saliva-filled teeth into me at the same time, puncturing every part that's not numb. I feel my body being dragged into the ground, their sharp claws and fangs snagging my remaining leg off.
I hold my hand up to feel the cascading light shining down on me, a brilliant white shaft illuminating the dirt path that takes me onward. The sound of mushy and dead leaves suddenly whisper in my ear, making me chuckle softly in disgust.
In the ground, the dirt filling up my open mouth that's being ripped open by these mutts, I find it particularly more difficult to breathe, but that makes me feel a sense of relief. It'll be over soon. What bothers me most is that I'll never see Nikola again – never be able to tell him how I felt, but I hope I'm not just a memory to him.
It's ironic, though, isn't it? How I was just thinking about the Gamemakers trying to hurry up and have another tribute killed, when in reality, it was the fight between me and the Ten girl that was stirring them up.
I was the one who received the most pain, so they came after me, wanting me to be their little chest piece. They took advantage of me. How cruel.
Sawyer Fira, District Seven
Distance is all that matters. I'm not stopping anytime soon until I feel like I'm away from the Cornucopia and all of the bloodshed. I don't look back as wind slaps against my face. The path I take through the meadow is as visible as any trail in fresh snowfall.
The tall grasses, inflexible in their dryness, are flattened from the far hedgerow to the canopy of woodland leaves. Panting, I marvel at my path, so ragged and bent, not at all the straight line that I imagined it would be. There's an intersection with four different trailing roads, which makes me sort of happy. Any tribute who passes by won't know where I went, but what if they all lead to the same place, just making one road shorter or longer than the others?
Risking it, I continue straight, passing through the first trail. Taking a note of my surroundings, I smile when I see the wild flowers as a cacophony of colors on the fading green; purple thistles, blue cornflowers, red poppies and tall asters. Somehow, though, this feels too normal for me, like there's something more, yet I haven't discovered it.
Still moving forward, I take in the endless canvas of tossed up colors in the sky. My running slows down, but I don't come to stop – my pace just turns into a heavy jog. The sky bothers me, though. Like, we just fell from that, and we all survived? It's overflowing with wonders, yet so void at the same time.
It's ever-changing, the various colors of navy blue, lavender, turquoise, and a fiery tangerine painting the large dome above me. I frown at all of the thoughts running through my head, feeling dizzy and angry at the same time.
My legs begin to tire out and hurt as I continue to push myself. At this rate, I'll cramp up and fall soon. But I don't care, I gotta keep going until I can reach a resting area. Luckily for me, up above, I see this enormous cave castle. It's not even funny when I say that this thing is huge!
The cave's height stretches up to the point where I can't see anything behind it besides the endless sky, making me feel nauseated. It stretches out far, too, almost like a great, big wall. Just as I feel my legs giving in, ready to fail me, noises rumble through the air, causing me to stumble over myself, catching me off guard.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cannons! Small, loose stones littering the floor cause me to trip as I get closer to the rock face. Coming to view with the cave, I skid on my knees, lucky enough to not get scratched, staring at the muddy brown rock. The stone guarding the entrance is jagged and uneven, arranged in such a way that it's impossible to see it from afar.
Sighing in relief, I fall to the floor, my arms and legs spread out wide, and rejoice my survival. How many cannons was that? I think, making myself shuffle uncomfortably. Seven, if I recall. So seven Bloodbath deaths, or certain deaths that just occurred, most likely. Unfortunate.
Sitting up quickly, I take in just how dark this cave is, and I'm not even fully inside. I see the sharp rocks hanging up in the air, all the way up high, dripping wet with some sort of liquid falling from their tips. There are layers in this cave, up to four, from what I can tell, and they're each pretty lengthy to climb. There might be more up top, but as of now, that's all I can see in the darkness.
Squinting my eyes, I look around for any stalagmites that could be hanging around – and to my surprise, there are a rather unusual variety; they appear to be made of rounded, irregular, hollow cones, which concave upwards.
Moaning in displeasure, I fling my backpack over my head, opening its front pocket and dumping out all of the equipment inside. What I see makes me smile. There's a flashlight that comes packed with extra batteries, two water bottles that are room temperature, a jar of dried fruit – consisting of apples, oranges, blueberries, and strawberries – three nutrition bars, and an extra skirt in here.
Not to mention that I also have my axe with me, so I'm pretty much set. Though, whenever I look down at it, at the girl from One's blood at the end of the handle, realizing that my swing caused her to suffer through a cut in her thigh, I wanna grab my hair and rip it out of my scalp. Why me? Why am I in this stupid ass situation with these stupid ass people who want to watch this?
''FUCK YOU!'' I can't control my mouth, breathing heavily. I try to take my mind off of things by rearranging the equipment back inside my bag, tucking my axe in my skirt and keeping the flashlight alongside me, plus the nutrition bar.
I don't know what it is that I hear, but it sounds like singing and chanting. There's a light brimming from one of the top layers, something like fire, and the voices that I hear growing louder; though, the words that they're speaking don't seem to be English. Mutts? I guess.
Laughing at my situation, I turn my head back and forth. Do I go back out there, in the open and expose myself, or stay in here and avoid those things at all costs and try to reach the other side? Most people wouldn't risk staying in here, but that's what I choose. And that's final, no matter what. I just need a little bit of rest, that's all.
Feeling my body grow heavy, I peel off the wrapper to one of my nutrition bars and munch my way slowly through a mouthful of this stuff. It's dry and doesn't taste the best, but it'll have to do. I sit there, tired as hell, weary with the burden of long-closed eyes. I feel as though energy is constantly being drained out of me, as though I'm leaking electricity.
...So, I close my eyes, falling asleep in an instant.
I'll let the anthem wake me up tonight.
Ceres Morrisey, District Eleven
I'm half-convinced that Cathodette no longer wants to keep this alliance, but I need her – we need each other if we want to survive. Strength in numbers, like they usually say... But what numbers do we have?
I want to say something, but when the cannon shots shake the ground, I know to keep my ass quiet. After all, Clarence, most likely, is one of those cannons in the sky, and it's all because of me. I dig my hands into my hair, feeling guilty, but I can't let this hold me down.
You killed him! Shaking that thought free from my mind, I let out a ''No...'' I always had the plan in my mind, telling myself that I would cut one of my allies off, the lesser one, if it meant that the other one and I would survive – and that so happened to be Clarence, but I didn't... I didn't think I would have to do it so early.
''What?'' Cathodette asks, looking at me with red-rimmed eyes, looking bloodshot. Swallowing, I shake my head, dismissing her question.
''Nothing, I was just thinking to myself,'' I frown. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Drawing a breath, she turns away from me, biting her lip to suppress a quiver. ''Hey, let's stop for a moment. I don't really know where we are, and I'm not trying to run into some type of mutt.''
I try to joke with her, laughing quietly, but she nods her head in a serious manner. Smacking my hand against my face and pulling down, I begin to let the thoughts overwhelm me. Cathodette's so depressed, always has been, always will be, but what says that she won't try to kill me? What if that's what she's thinking about at this exact moment?
I mean, looking at her face, she seems sad, but looking at her body movements, the twitch in her arms and the way she constantly looks back at her backpack... it gives me chills. Before entering the Arena, she was becoming lighthearted, but now? No, she's so anxious... We're locked in a cage together and she looks like she wants to be the first to escape, but I don't blame her.
It's just this suspicious feeling that I'm experiencing in my chest; maybe it's her quietness, or maybe it's the guilt. Either way, I don't know, but I need to get out of here for a little bit. Getting up, I grab my sickle, looking back at Cathodette with a smile, observing the way her face twists as I hold my weapon.
She doesn't trust me anymore, which is obvious, but I gotta try and reassure her that she'll be alright by my side. ''Where are you going?'' she asks.
''Just going for a walk. I kinda need a breather,'' I shrug. ''Just in case anything's out there, I gotta bring my weapon with me, you know?''
''Yeah,'' she understands. But just as I begin to walk away, she hesitates, ''you're coming back, right?''
''What?''
''Like, you're not going to leave me or anything, right?''
Laughing, I say, ''Of course I'm coming back; if I wasn't, I would have killed you by now and taken all of the bags.'' That probably wasn't the best joke to make, but I say what I want, and I don't care if it bothers her, whether it just slipped out or not.
''Funny,'' she pauses.
Before she can say anything else and argue, I turn away and start to walk. ''Don't move,'' I warn. ''I'll be right back, and I don't want anything bad happening to you.''
When I disappear from Cathodette's view, I feel myself walking unusually slow all of a sudden, almost robotically, as if my brain's struggling to tell each foot to take the next step. It's like I'm in a stupor; like someone under hypnosis in one of those Capitol game shows. Suddenly, out of nowhere, to make things worse, I begin to feel tingly.
Cold licks at my face and creeps under my clothes, spreading across my skin like icicles are absorbing into my body. My lips turn into a tinge of purple with blue, and with chattering teeth, I wrap my arms around my body. At this moment, I really wish that someone would send a coat or something, and instead of this Aztec miniskirt, we would've been given leggings or something fur-coated instead.
I fall to my knees, wondering if everyone else in the Arena is experiencing the same weather, when a white bolt of lightning flashes across the once orange-colored sky. Be still, I tell myself as the storm brews. The wind screams more than howls and rain falls as stones. The trees bend and moan in wrath that looks like only a God can summon, branches torn like paper limbs. Everything in the environment is torn away, the debris tumbling in the vortices, heavy like bullets, destroying anything and everything except for me.
A tear in the sky suddenly appears, expanding into a colossal hole that carries something into the hollow interior of the Earth. The broken land around me rumbles, shaking me to my core, as I spot two human figures falling down from the broken sky above. They're not tributes, though, I know that for a fact, as I see their sizes when they reach closer and closer.
One of them seems to be an elderly man and his adult son. Finally, after minutes of free-falling, they land not too far from me, just past a few destroyed hills. I run after them, trying to see what exactly is going on, when they splash into the expanding river that looks as if it's miles wide. The water splashes softly around their outstretched bodies, caressing coolly, eddying in their wake.
I watch the drips, both transparent and opaque at the same time. The droplets fall as if they're being snatched by gravity. I thought they were alone, that the Gamemakers were just fucking with me, until the lake, I realize, teems with life. These things appear, more like shadows than physical beings – light resembling humans shape-wise – each form rippling whenever they move through the disturbed water, snagging and ripping the two men apart. I watch, horrified, as the water turns a shade of blood red, drawing the two men into a pool of their own blood.
My heart skips a beat when I realize that they're looking at me now. Their white eyes, with a slight hue of blue, seem to grow larger as they all turn around to face me, one after another. I'm at least an acre away from them, not to mention on higher land, but I can see so much. Their heads, deformed and bloody, rip open as their brains are revealed, and restitch their own wounds, closing the gaps.
Automatically, unable to control myself, I throw up. I turn around, never looking back, and run forward. What was that? Aliens? I ask myself, trying to shake the thought free from my mind, but it's just hanging there!
Chime!
I hear, still running forward. I manage to find my way back to the area that I left Cathodette in, only needing to turn a corner, when a sponsor gift lands in my hand.
It's nothing special, just a note and a map.
''Welcome to the Inner Realm of Earth, Agartha,'' the map reads, but I only see the font on the folded paper.
''Though I don't agree with your earlier actions, keep doing what you're doing. This is all that I'm able to send you with my money – I promise to get back to you with something more useful later, though this will come in handy. I promise. Hint of advice: focus on your surroundings, a lot... The Gamemakers have made the mutts much deadlier than any other tribute this year, and those things are your main priority to avoid. Wherever you go, make sure that you're safe. What you just saw... that's the tip of the iceberg.''
''~ Sincerely, Cythrie.''
Shoving the two items into my skirt, trying to make sense of things, I shake my head, finally reaching Cathodette. ''Did you experience that?'' I breathe heavily, panting for my breath to return.
''Experience what?'' she seems confused.
''What just—'' I pause, looking up at the sky. It's clear again, and she's completely dry, unlike me with my wet outfit from the storm. She doesn't question it, so I forget about it and keep it to myself.
''Nevermind, it was nothing,'' I smile. ''I guess the Gamemaker's were just playing tricks on me.
Emil Robins, District Three
''Hey, what are we searching for?'' I ask.
''Tributes,'' Clarice turns around, a smug look on her face. ''But not anymore, I guess, since you wanna be a loudmouth and let everyone around the entire area know where we are. Wouldn't be a surprise to me if they escaped. Thanks.''
''What the hell? I wasn't even that loud,'' I retort. ''Besides, we've been out here for hours. I think it's time that we had back to the Cornucopia. I mean, you really think Zep will be able to defend the entire fort by himself?''
''He's capable of it, trust me,'' Clarice nods curtly. ''And you might be right, but I'd rather stay out here just in case any tribute passes by. We'll hear them for sure, and then strike. It's about time we set up camp, though, and he's not all by himself; Atlas is there to help him.''
Adonis and Avery take out their camping bags, setting up a tent each. Adonis and Blush are gonna share one, I guess, judging by the fact that she's looking at him intently. I reach into my backpack, taking out one of those small roll-up beds, only having that to keep me hidden from whatever lurks in the night.
''Anyone know how to set up a fire?''
''Yeah, we all do,'' Adonis says. ''We're Careers. Isn't that the most basic thing we learn to do when we're introduced to this survival shit?''
''I don't,'' Avery chirps in.
''Yeah, well you're special,'' Blush smiles sharply.
''Yeah, I get that, but I mean, who wants to do it? I don't, it takes too much time,'' Clarice bites.
''No it doesn't,'' I say. ''Guys, take out all of the equipment in your bags. Out of Avery's bag, I see a bunch of matches, which brings a smile to my face. Looking around the forest, I grab a whole bunch of dried leaves and mush them all together in the center, calling it our fire pit. Unfortunately, there aren't any large objects that I can pile on top of the leaves...
Realizing that what I'm about to do is risky, I snatch Clarice's spear off of the ground, hearing her call out ''Hey!'' and toss it into the pile. I flick the matches together, drawing large flames of fire from three different ones, and toss them into the pile. A couple of the others start chuckling as I fan the flames, making them grow larger and larger. I repeat this process with more matches.
The flames grow pretty large and I feel proud of myself. ''Pretty crafty, kid,'' Adonis laughs, dying over the fact that I just burned Clarice's spear. All of that attention! Panem's probably laughing right now!
''You feel like you accomplished something?'' Clarice grabs my shirt, staring me dead in the eye. ''That's funny to you?''
''Well, I needed something to help start the flames, damn,'' I shrug. ''Besides, if you need that spear so badly, why don't you dive into the flames and retrieve it?''
''Why, you—''
''I'd limit my movement if I were you,'' I warn. ''Why don't you attend to that wound on your head instead of threatening me? Leave it the way it is and you'll get an infection – it wouldn't surprise me if you died in a matter of days from it.''
She's about to say something when the Capitol Anthem begins playing. Everyone stares up, looking at the beautifully lit logo in the starry night sky. The first person to show up hits us all by surprise. It's Sigrid, and I feel goosebumps suddenly appearing on my arms.
''How?'' I hear.
''You said that she went after an alliance of four?'' I ask, turning to Clarice. She nods her head. ''That's how,'' I conclude. ''Four against one? The odds were never in her favor. She must've gotten way over her head.''
The rest of the faces show in the sky. Avery smiles when the Eight boy's face appears. Everyone else tonight has been killed by a person in this alliance, except for the Nine boy. Nobody claims that kill.
We all stand in silence for a little bit, and if Atlas were here, we'd all be staring at him, but we don't know what to do at this point.
''Okay, time for bed!'' Clarice claps her hands together.
''You don't care, do you?'' Avery challenges. ''Just like that, you let an ally go?'' He crosses his arms together, sitting down the dirty floor, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.
''It's not that I don't care, but we gotta move on,'' she claims. ''One of us dying isn't supposed to hold the rest of us back. You realize that all of us except for one are gonna be dead eventually, right? Besides, who here was close to her besides Atlas? Why should we care all that much? What's done is done, we can't mourn her for too long.''
''That's cruel, even for me,'' Blush shakes her head.
''Yeah, well life is cruel,'' Clarice counters.
''Whatever,'' Avery yawns. ''Who's keeping first watch?''
''We will,'' Blush and Adonis volunteer together. I feel a little uneasy on their decision. I mean, both the tributes from One, together, staying up while the rest of us sleep? They could kill two of us in our sleep and take the other remaining tribute out so easily. I don't like this.
''No, no, hell no,'' Clarice wags her finger. ''Blush and Emil can take first watch. You two together is like us wishing for death to come. The chemistry between y'all is something else, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. End of decision. When four hours pass by, wake me and Adonis up.''
Adonis rolls his eyes, shrugging as he enters his sleeping bag. ''Fine.'' he says, and that's it for the rest of the early night. Everyone else goes to bed, and Blush and I stay up, just staring at each other.
''So...'' I start.
''Don't,'' she says, excusing herself as she gets up. I watch her carefully, and she sends me a cutting glare. We've sat here for two hours in silence, and the one time I wanna start a conversation, she completely shuts me down. She starts playing with the bags, taking useful items out and placing them in her own.
''What are you..?'' I stop all of a sudden, feeling a hand grab me by my neck. Flinching upwards, I lock eyes with Adonis, gulping. ''Oh, shit.''
''Just be quiet, I won't hurt you,'' he says, in a friendly tone. ''Blush, hurry up and let's get out of here.'' I wanna ask a question but I'm way too scared for my life right now. ''Hey,'' he says, poking me with the shaft of his javelin, ''nothing happened tonight, okay?''
''What are you talking about?'' I ask, pretending to be an imbecile. ''Nothing's even happening right now, why are you trying to turn this into something it's not?''
''Man, I love this kid,'' he laughs quietly. ''Can we take him with us?''
Blush looks back, stony faced, and holds out two different bags. ''Here,'' she tosses one to him. He catches it right above my head, and I jump outwards, slapping my body against the ground in pain.
''Ow!'' I whisper. ''That hurt! Did you feel the wind? It pushed me away!'' Slapping my hands across my body, watching the girl deadpan and the boy snicker, I say, ''I think I'm gonna start bruising up. Do you think you can spare me some medicine or first-aid items?''
Blush, being generous, reaches into her bag and tosses me a small first-aid kit. Looking me in my eye, she says, ''Didn't know you too well, but I enjoyed the time. It was a pleasure watching you mess with shit.'' With a wink, she blows a kiss at me and walks off with Adonis. ''Take care, kid!'' she waves.
''Oh, and don't forget,'' she turns around. ''Don't tell them anything. Let that bitch figure out what happened. Can't wait 'till we meet again.''
Gulping, I nod my head, leaving a stupid smile on my face. Somehow, I feel like both them and I made the worst decisions of our lives tonight.
Mostly them, though. With the anger that's gonna be surging tomorrow, I expect Clarice and Avery to go headhunting...
I just pray that they don't blame me.
18th - Taisiya Danshov, District Nine
Haiden, Taisiya was a hella interesting tribute. He had such a large disadvantage when it came to fighting other tributes, though. I didn't want to kill Taisiya off too early, and I suppose right after the Bloodbath is early, but he made it decently far for the first couple of deaths. That fight with Vendetta happened because Taisiya does what first comes to his mind, no matter how reckless it seems. That's the main reason that I killed him; he didn't think, he just wanted to go out and get things done, becoming hostile with the smallest situations. It was a terrible habit that would surely lead to his end. He was very different from your regular tribute. That's what I liked about him, that he expanded out into a wider variety that I'd never seen before. You took the path that not many SYOT submitters take. Most people would make a full body tribute with no problems or illnesses or bad and make them normal, but Taisiya wasn't normal. Normal doesn't always mean good, nor does straying away from that, but I wanted to give him a realistic placing. It would be hard to survive without a few of his limbs, not the mention the extra eye that he lost to Nikola. Everything would have just been bad if he continued on. I had no major story arch for him. I had thought of making him get over Nikola at some point, realizing that he's incapable of defending himself only because he let his brother take the things he desperately needed, but that would have been it. Besides, he loved his brother too much to feel some type of hatred towards him, so I didn't know what to do. Thank you for submitting him, he was one of the most detailed tributes that I had received for this story, and one of the most conflicting. He'll be remembered.
A/N: Ayee! Okay, so this was pretty fun to write. Excuse any mistakes or whatever, though, I legit just woke up and speed reviewed this thing because I don't wanna wait 'till later to update this - got stuff to do, ya know how that is, right? Hope y'all liked this chapter and got a taste of what the Arena's gonna be like. And yes, the Arena's a place named Agartha. Don't really know how to explain it, but it's this theory that there's land inside of the Earth's core and things dwell there, like everything the Government or whatever don't want us to see; aliens, giants, etc., not gonna spoil too much. That explains the summary, if any of you were wondering. Search it up if you're interested, or not, idc, but trust me, shit's gonna get deadly from now on. Apologies if your tribute goes through hell by my ideas. Don't really have any questions today, just lemme know what you guys thought of the chapter and Arena if you'd like.
That's really all for today, hope you guys have a wonderful time doing whatever it is you do later on. I'll see y'all next time, bye! ^-^