All around me all I saw was the ocean, clear and still as the sky above, but very deep, concealing many secrets. And there were stones to step on.
We had to dive into the water and get what we could.
As soon as the gong rang, I dived in. Maybe it was some luck that I found a machete almost instantly. I was glad of it because keeping my eyes open was becoming a big task now. I saw somebody swimming towards me and I surfaced back quickly, getting onto the stone that served as my pedastal.
Most people would follow the stony path away from the cornucopia to the distant beach with its tropical trees but I waited. A moment later I barely made out a figure swimming towards me, and with a swift motion I brought down the machete into the water until it sunk into the flesh of the person underneath.
As I pulled back the machete the cannon sounded loudly in the air, startling some younger tributes. Not waiting to see who it was, I fled towards the beach, trying hard not to slip. There was an outcry behind me and I looked back. It was the girl from One. Well, well, it was always a Career for me. Maybe not so much though, I'd heard people were barred from volunteering for the Games in this timeline.
I shouldn't have let that girl distract me.
My foot slipped on the stone and I fell into the ocean. Forcing my eyes open, I saw something really big coming towards me.
This couldn't happen!
I resurfaced again and started running on the slippery stones, trying to get away from that fish. It was a shark I suppose but all I needed to know was that it had big teeth and I was required to avoid those.
It snapped its teeth hard, barely missing my shoe. I saw other tributes run past, trying to escape from the killer sharks. In front of my eyes a young girl was caught and eaten up on the spot, her scream dying as abruptly as she did. I moved on.
The beach was coming closer now. Taking a deep breath, I leapt forward. Time seemed to freeze for me, and for what felt like an eternity I was suspended in air. My heart pounded in my chest with an intensity I hadn't experienced before despite it being my second time in the arena. I heard the shark bite the air and relief only came when I fell on the sand face first.
Pulling the machete along, I raced towards the dense woods. All around me tributes were fighting for their lives, a few of them were dead before I reached the periphery of the jungle. I sensed a knife coming at me and ducked out of instinct. The knife lodged itself in the tree in front of me.
Ignoring the little brat, I entered the forest, quickly climbing up a tree. I arranged the leaves in such a way that they concealed me, leaving a little opening to peep through.
I saw a boy with dirty blond hair appearing down, looking around in near desperation. Blood oozed from a cut on his head, his eyes were bloodshot. Finding nobody around, he continued into the depths of the forest.
I let out a breath that I hadn't even realised I was holding. I'd have to start looking for food and water soon as I was unable to grab a bag. Well, that had to wait now, there was some serious observation to do.