Rally Toyota, District 6
The sun slowly sets over the arena, creating a beautiful glow of orange and blue. It's almost mesmerizing.
Holden and I sit a far distance away from the cornucopia, close enough to barely see but far enough away where we're not in danger. My nerves are exploding, my heart is racing like crazy. I won't lie, it was not my choice to come here. I'd rather be hiding, quietly waiting for cannons to fire. But Holden is right, we won't make it far without water. I've seen the effect of dehydration in past Games. It's not pretty.
Just as the sun begins to set, I hear a soft rumble. The rubble of the cornucopia disappears, and a large table appears. Dozens of bottles of water lay on the table, along with some weapons and food. For what feels like forever, no one goes for the table. I'm about to suggest we make our move when I hear rustling a bit to our right.
Two tributes run out to the table. I recognize Demica, my district partner instantly. I don't recognize the second girl. Holden and I stay back, knowing three Careers lie somewhere hidden in the foliage.
Just as the girls finish collecting a few bottles of water, footsteps fill the arena. I see the girl from Four sprinting towards the pair. They turn to run, but the Career is faster. She stabs Demica in the stomach. The other girl screams before quickly grabbing her allies supplies and sprinting away. The Career pulls her sword out. I can tell she's contemplating chasing after her, but her thirst makes her decision for her. She grabs a few bottles as the cannon fires.
Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I look down and see the end of a machete poking out of my chest, surrounded by my blood. I hear Holden shout as the machete comes out of my body. I fall down, slowly fading to black. The last thing I see is the boys from One and Four, my killers.
Majesty Holland, District 1
The boy from Six lies dead in front of me. His cannon fires, the second cannon of the feast. His ally stands up, shocked. He holds his dagger up in defense. I swing my machete at him and dodges. We take turns swinging at each other, I nick his arm but it doesn't phase him. He kicks branches in front of us, causing us to stumble before bolting in the opposite direction. I turn to Neptune.
"We need water." He says, not interested in a chase. I nod and we turn our attention back towards the center.
We watch each others backs as we move closer to the water. I fill our bag with three bottles, wary of any opponents that may try to attack. Once we gather as much as we can hold, we slowly leave the center.
We half walk/half jog into the fields, taking a brief break to drink some water. As I finish one of our new bottles, I see Neptune raise his trident towards me. My heart sinks, before he commands, "Duck."
I do as he says and he throws it over my head. I turn and see Callista dodging the throw by just a few inches. She swings her sword at me, deeply cutting my arm. I swear and jump back, dropping the bottle and pulling out my machete.
She swings at me again but this time I block. I swing at her, cutting her shirt but I don't cut skin. She kicks out my legs and Neptune tackles her before she can swing again.
I stand and watch Neptune get punched in the face. Callista gets him off of her pretty quickly before swinging at me again. This time, she gets a deep slice across my chest. I taste the blood in my mouth and blood loss takes over. I see Callista look over her shoulder at Neptune. He throws his trident again and it skims her arm. She takes off running, not wanting to risk a third throw.
I collapse on the ground and Neptune kneels beside me.
"Oh my god, Majesty…." He says, choking up. I try to keep my breathing steady, but know it's no use. The damage is irreversible.
"Please, win." I ask him quietly. He nods.
"I'm so sorry." He says softly.
"It's okay, I'm okay." I smile at him as I start to fade away. I might have imagined it, but I hear a cannon fire just as I fade to black.
Fodille Earthdrop, District 11
As soon as Calix announced the feast, I got as far away from the cornucopia as possible. Another bloodbath is the last thing I need.
The sun sets on the arena. I think about the three cannons that fired today and wonder who they could belong to. It's sick, but it makes me happy. Three less competitors until I can return home.
The air becomes chilly and soon I have to put my jacket on to stop shivering. I find a small bush of berries and slowly snack on them, trying not to think about the water that I missed out on.
At least you're alive. I keep telling myself.
As I suck the juices out of the berries, the anthem begins playing. I look to the sky and I'm shocked. The first face in the sky is the boy from One. A feeling of relief sweeps over me. Only two Careers left.
I don't have enough time to wish to see another Career face when the girl from Six is projected into the sky. Her district partner follows, and the anthem fades away. Silence fills the arena. Only four more tributes stand in the way of me returning home.
I close my eyes and think about Farn. I think about my parents. I know they're all proud of me. I smile and let the happy thoughts guide me to sleep.
Feasts are always deadly, unfortunately
Demica-You were kind and you were determined, I'm sorry it didn't get you further
Majesty-You had a good heart for a Career, it was a lot of fun writing you and Neptune together
Rail-Such a sweet kid, you deserved better
The final five! Who do you guys want to win?