Chapter 3
Yep. I'm trying to upload. I have such a short attention span, so I'll write a few sentences, and then get distracted. Sort of like this…
Me: I must focus and update my story. *writes 3 words* OH LOOK! SOMETHING SHINY! I must investigate.
Needless to say, I get nothing done, unless I write at 2 in the morning. Oh look at the time, 1:59 am. Time to attempt to write again. DISCLAIMER:
Jake: Hi. Phantomfur's Froststorm owns nothing except her own characters. She also has the attention span of a squirrel.
Me: Thank you for that Jake.
Rachel: She also talks in her sleep, and bites her nails, and daydreams about the cute French horn player in the band.
Me: What is it with you two and trying to humiliate me?
Jake: You are going to kill one of us or both of us off by the end of this story.
Me: You don't know that.
Rachel: It's a HUNGER GAMES parody. Of course someone's going to die. Why couldn't we have been in your Twilight/Harry Potter parody? I WANT TO LIVE.
Me: For Heaven's Sake. I'm never letting you two do the disclaimer again.
Good morning sun, beautiful world. Let's all hold hands and sing songs and pretend that I'm not on a hovercraft that's taking me to my death. I glanced over at Jake, who looks like he is about to be sick. I fidget and glance around at my competitors. The boy from 3 is glaring at me. What's his problem? I bite back a bitter retort as I glare back at him.
We are shepherded off the craft and into our tubes that take us up into the arena. My stylist, who doesn't give a flying flip about my wellbeing, gives me a jacket to wear.
"Try not to die." Are the only words of comfort he offers me before flouncing out of the room. I stand tall and try not to cry as my tube closes and begins to rise. I glance around the arena. It's a thick forest with a river that looks like it splits the arena down the center. Right at my feet is a backpack, which is convenient. I don't plan to stick around the cornucopia long. Grab the bag and run up into the tallest tree I can find.
The second the buzzer goes off, I'm on the ground with the backpack in my hand. Only two other competitors have realized the buzzer has gone off and are making their way to the cornucopia. I tear for the forest and don't look behind me for Jake. Tossing my backpack on my shoulders, I scale a tree two hundred yards or so from the cornucopia. This way, I can see everything going on down there. I watch in horror as the boy from 3 strikes down the girl from 8 who can't be older than thirteen. Then he turns on her counterpart. The boy doesn't stand a chance either. 3 high fives his counterpart and she throws him a backpack. They run into the forest together. I wait for the cannon fire. Fourteen shots. How have fourteen already died! Ten left.
I begin to go through my backpack: a canteen, a blanket, rope, matches, a basic first aid kit, knives, instant meals. Overall, I've got the basics. The knives will make great weapons, and the canteen is welcomed. I pack everything up and check the coast is clear before climbing down my tree and filling my canteen. It will take time for it to purify, so I lay traps for some smaller animals for dinner. I'd decided to save the instant meals for bad hunting days. As soon as I can, I scurry up into my tree and wait for the sun to finally sink behind the horizon. I cover myself with my blanket and tie myself into the tree. Before long, the dead tributes begin lighting up the sky. The girl from 2, both from 4, both from 5, boy from 6, both from 7, girl from 8, girl from 9, both from 10, and both from 12. That leaves both from 1, the boy from 2, both from 3, the girl from 6, the boy from 8, the boy from 9, me, and Jakey.
As I settle in for the night, I wonder what Jake is doing and I drift off into a half sleep. I can't have been asleep for long, when I hear noises and I'm alert. I quickly untie myself and peer down to the forest below. The boy from 2 has the girl from 6 cornered. I pull a knife from my backpack and climb down a few branches. I can't afford to miss this. The girl from 6 manages to stab 2 , but not enough to kill him. 2 snaps 6's neck in a heartbeat and once he is turned around I throw my knife at him. He lands on her dead body. I jump out of the tree and yank the knife out his chest. My aim is better than I thought. I hit him square in the heart. I take off running as the cannon fires twice more.
I run another half mile or so before I stop and climb a tree. I retied myself in for the night and took a sip of water. Two down, seven to go. Whether that 7 includes me and Jake, I'm not sure. And I sink into an uneasy sleep.