Calamity Haldor, District Two Female, 18 years old
Myself and the other Careers sit and wait, watching Diamond through the window. He volunteered to go on the morning patrol - you can't blame the kid for being eager to please. You can, however, blame him for being dispensable. It's a shame whoever got to Stellar didn't get to him as well, it just makes our job harder.
"Who's gonna do it?" Brock asks, all of us turning to face one another.
"I won't," Buckingham says, "I'd rather my reputation in District One to not be destroyed."
It's understandable as to why she wouldn't want that.
"Calamity?" Shelldon says, looking at me, "How about you?"
Calloway and Tesla look at me, both nodding.
"How about it? You can do it," Calloway grins, handing me a sword.
I nod, "I'll be doing the arena a service."
The other Careers give me a solitary nod and I head out the door, putting on my best smile to Diamond. I don't plan on being nice to him, but I do want to ease him in.
"How're you holding up?" I ask, "Without Stellar."
"Fine," He replies, not looking at me.
"I'm glad," I reply, using the same tone.
He looks at me then, giving me a dirty look. I cock my head slightly, laughing, "Is there something on my face?"
He shakes his head, "No - maybe disapproval, but that's about it."
I stop laughing and, after a pregnant pause, nod, "I guess there should be."
I think he realises what I've been sent out to do because, after a long standoff between us, he spears me in the arm, giving me a hefty gash across my right bicep. He doesn't waste anytime after that, booking it towards the clearing. He's fast, but not fast enough. I pick up the spear and throw it. I'm not the best thrower but I get the job done. The spear pierces the centre of his back and his body crumples to the floor. He writhes for a bit, pulling out the spear and attempting to drag himself into the forest. You can tell he doesn't want to go down easy. I can hear his faint groans of pain and, after trying with what I'll call his best effort, his body stops moving.
BOOM!
The other Careers come out of the cabin and we look at Diamond's body. It's a shame he had to die but now we're at the true six-man Career pack.
Brock Ushums, District Eleven Male, 18 years old
After the death of Diamond the Careers split up. Buckingham, Calamity and Shelldon stay at the cabin - they've all been on tribute hunting and, given Calamity's injury, have earned a rest. Myself, Calloway and Tesla decide to go tribute hunting. Another cannon going off means that the other tributes will be on their toes, probably moving. There's now sixteen of us - six Careers and ten other tributes; there's an abundance of choice to kill.
"Let's go to the dense forest," Calloway says, nodding in the general direction of it, "Surely if there's any tributes in there they'll be needing supplies. I doubt you can stay in there forever."
Tesla and I nod. It makes perfect sense - plus they wont be able to go far. It seems near impossible to run amongst those trees and, if they are close enough to the normal woods, Tesla'll probably be able to spear them. They'll be sitting ducks, essentially.
Passing Diamond's body is somewhat surreal. He somehow looks the most powerful he ever has done dead and the irony is amusing, honestly. It's not hard to see why he was among the favourites of the teenage girls from the Capitol and it's a shame he never got to thank them for boosting his ego. At least he and Stellar can do whatever they did together now.
The walk to the denser part of the forest is a lot longer than I remember but, then again, each time I've come close to it I've been running, chasing after a tribute. I won't lie, it does look menacing. The bark of the trees is significantly darker, each tree being packed just close enough to allow a tribute to struggle to navigate through. It's like a wall, separating whatever lies within from the rest of us.
"Here's what we do," Calloway instructs, handing Tesla a long branch, found on the ground beside him, "Throw this in and if we hear movement Brock'll look in and then, if we find a tribute, we can chase after them. Sound good?"
Tesla and I look at each other before we nod. It's a solid plan.
Tesla lines up the stick and throws it into the overgrowth. We hear the rustling of the leaves from where it's landed and we wait.
"Check anyway," Tesla suggests and I nod, stepping closer until I'm half in and half out of the wall.
I don't expect to meet her but I'm face to face with Ellie. She looks scared but determined, her knife poised in an offensive position. She seems to have accepted that all she can do, if I was to attack her, is injure me enough that I'll have hindering injuries. I raise the sickle in my hand, ready to strike her down when I see him in the distance.
Phantom.
He looks haunting, standing behind one of the trees. He's looking at us, face and emotions unreadable. Ellie's too smart to ally with him, surely? Plus she has the boy from Ten, Dion, who I'm sure she's got the hots for. Phantom's probably stalking her. I could put her out of her misery now and kill her, making her avoid a probably torturous death. Then again, one's always a little more vulnerable when you've just killed someone so maybe her death is the edge we need on him.
"We made a promise in front of our mentors," I whisper to her, eyes darting from her to Phantom, "I'll honour it if you do."
She nods slowly, probably after much consideration, "Right back at you."
I nod and the mutual agreement that now, if we come into contact again, we'll kill each other has come into play. I step out, leaving her to deal with Phantom on her own.
"Nothing," I say to Calloway and Tesla who visibly droop. They both more than likely wanted to find something
"No use dwelling over it," Calloway sighs, "Let's move on. There's got to be tributes moving somewhere."
Ellie Rosebush, District Eleven Female, 14 years old
At least being part of the Careers hasn't changed Brock's sense of honesty. At least he honoured the pact we made in front of our mentors - it wasn't just for show then. When I hear them go I sigh audibly, allowing myself to slouch a little. That's the closest I've come to actual combat and I'm shaken. Phantom was nothing - he obviously wanted supplies and knew I'm a better asset to him alive than dead.
Speaking of Phantom when I turn around and I see him half hiding behind a tree I nearly jump out of my skin. If the angle he's going for is creepy then he's having no issues in achieving it. His eyes dart from me to a space behind me, probably expecting the Careers to ambush us. I heard them go though, so I know we're safe.
"Why?" Is all he asks, eyes training back on me and the look on his face spells confusion.
I shrug, "Brock and I had a pact."
He tilts his head slightly, "Pact?"
I sigh. Clearly he wants me to go into detail despite the pact being self-explanatory.
"Yeah," I say, "We had a pact where if we saw each other in the arena we wouldn't kill each other - for the first time."
He nods slowly, "I see."
I nod myself and an awkward silence lingers between us. There's not quite a tenseness amongst us but we're certainly not fine. We're on uneven ground - both metaphorically and literally - and I can only see this ending badly for one or both of us.
He turns, walking deeper into the forest. The tree he was hiding behind is the furthest we've gone - I've insisted that we don't go too far in just in case of mutts. Phantom says there isn't any and I argue that, just because we haven't seen any, doesn't mean they're not there. That's what the Gamemakers'll want us to think. They'll want us to think we're comfortable before unleashing all hell on us.
He walks past the tree with ease and I stay still, not taking a single step forwards. He turns and cocks his head, "Aren't you coming?"
"We shouldn't go too deep," I protest, crossing my arms. I can see his body language change. I don't know if it's for better or for worse but it's a shift from the otherwise laid back one he's been adopting.
"The Careers know where we are now. Do you think he won't tell them where we are? Give it a matter of time and we'll be chased by Careers," He argues back, "Think about it. The deeper we are, the harder it is for them to find us and thus they'll move on, thinking we're gone. Then we can return to this area. It's too dangerous for now."
He has a point. A far-fetched one, but one nonetheless.
"We'll be safer," He repeats and holds out his hand for me to take.
I stare at it for a while. I don't want to go deeper but, at the same time, I don't want to die at the hands of the Careers - especially Brock.
I sigh, mentally bracing myself, before taking his hand and allowing him to take me further into the forest.
Victoria Benson, District Five Female, 17 years old
I've just had a battle with Dion, the boy from Ten. He didn't want to fight me, I can tell that much. Whilst he adopted an offensive posture, he made no real efforts to be offensive. All he did was push me over into the water, the freezing temperature causing me to let him go without too much of a fight. My arms are stiff now and it takes me a few tries to climb the tree that I'm in that's close to the border of the clearing with the Cornucopia in the centre.
I can see him go to the Cornucopia, right into the mouth, more than likely searching through the scraps that the Careers have left behind in their wake. I doubt there'll be anything truly useful there - if there was the Careers would've taken them. But, then again, not all Careers are known for their smartness and not all Outer District kids share the same survival-esque strategy the Careers have.
I load my bow with an arrow. He's in the mouth of the Cornucopia and, if I can give my arrow enough momentum, I can shoot him down now. That'd bring the tribute total down even further than the death this morning. I pull the string back and, just as I'm about to let go and end his life, I hear footsteps beneath me. I collect my arrow from my bow and look down, seeing the girl from Nine, Laurel, wandering cautiously below me.
She doesn't have any idea that I'm here.
Again, I load my bow and prepare to shoot her. She's been crafty, I can tell that much, in these Games. For the most part she's hidden herself out of sight, probably encountering the weaker tributes like Alys from Twelve. That, inevitably, makes Laurel a contender for the title of Victor, even more so than when she was reaped. I want to get back home to my family so, naturally, she's a bigger threat to me now.
Again, just as I'm about to release my arrow, she runs. I don't fire - I don't want to waste my final arrow. I move back closer to the trunk when I hear a thunder of footsteps and, when I look down, I see Calamity and Shelldon chasing after her. They scream derogatory things, bating her and tell her how they're going to kill her. I don't think she needs me to kill her now, not when she's being trailed by two of the smartest Careers.
I turn to look back at the Cornucopia, fully expecting Dion to still be there. He's not. He's moved on. Quite smart, really. I'd move too if I heard the shouts of Careers. He's left backpacks messily outside the mouth of the Cornucopia, leaving no secret that someone besides the Careers have been there. I assume he's found something good, given the wrappers that lay lifelessly in a heap. A soft breeze causes them to fly away.
I recline against the trunk for a few seconds. I can't keep being scared to use my final arrow. I've proved with Stellar's death that I can reuse it over and over. I'm not going to be Victor if I keep choosing not to take risks.
Eulogies:
17th - Diamond Gold, District One Male, killed by Calamity
I do and I don't feel bad about this death. I do because, bless him, Diamond was so eager and distraught by Stellar's death. I also think being speared to death was ironic, considering that's his preferred way to kill. I don't, however, because he was submitted by a friend who had intended for him to be a Bloodbath tribute but people seemed to get attached to him so I couldn't kill him! Thanks to the friend who submitted him! (ps: I'm sure if he and Stellar survived for longer a romance would've started! Puppy love, though.)
Tributes Remaining:
Buckingham, District One
Calloway, District Two
Calamity, District Two
Melvin, District Three
Delta, District Three
Shelldon, District Four
Tesla, District Five
Victoria, District Five
Candella, District Seven
Phantom, District Eight
Bobbin, District Eight
Laurel, District Nine
Dion, District Ten
Brock, District Eleven
Ellie, District Eleven
Alys, District Twelve
Alliances:
Buckingham, Calloway, Calamity, Shelldon, Tesla & Brock
Melvin, Delta & Bobbin
Phantom & Ellie
Solo Tributes:
Victoria
Candella
Laurel
Dion
Alys
Day Three is done!
Another short chapter that'll be unchecked, yet again, for errors as I really wanted to get something out for you all!
I'll go back through this chapter and check it for errors again when I have the time.
I think this is a good place to say that, with exams coming up, updates will be sporadic - sometimes I'll update within a couple of days and others it make take me a week.
I do have all the chapters planned out so I don't plan on giving up the story anytime soon.
A couple of POVs - Buckingham's and Dion's - were excluded so they'll be added in the next chapter if I can fit them in.
As always, reviews make me happy~!
- Oli