Ardledge Merton, 18, D4M:
Dinner didn't contain any meat tonight. At home in District Four, some of the older, grouchier fishermen were the type to argue that a supper without meat doesn't count as a meal, and I don't mean it like that. Just that the forest has been eerily quiet for a whole day, with no traces of the usual animals. Emily's been absolutely critical to keeping us all fed, and I think we're all having the same experience of realizing that if she dies or the alliance breaks up, the rest of us will be in real danger of starving to death.
Everyone else went to bed a few hours ago. It's my turn to take the night watch. It occurs to me that if I so chose, I could kill my allies in their sleep and take three of my competitors out in one fell swoop. We all want to take watch these days, not because we want to bump each other off but because we're scared someone else will. The night at least gives me ample time to think about my family back home, but I'm not sure if it's better or worse if they're watching me right now.
It's possible that Winnie can get some comfort from it, from knowing that I'm fine, none of my allies will have the opportunity to kill me tonight, I'm eating and mostly okay. I've been careful to apply a thin coating of the medicine from the parachute to the fish bite twice a day. If it gets infected, I'll have a whole new problem on my hands. I'm in good condition. But maybe it's nail-biting for my family to see exactly what's happening in the arena.
I imagine it might have been a relief to see the alliance going about our business quietly, but it's been over a week and nothing too exciting has been happening. As scared as I am about looking uninteresting to the Capitol and being nudged along by the Gamemakers, with their mutts and disasters, it might be even more agonizing to watch it all play out on television.
Suddenly, there's a noise. Night watch is boring. It's a place of safety, so it's a good sort of boring, but staring at a gray forest for eight hours in a row can get dull. I miss the dullness now. The silence of the forest, eerie with no animals, allows me to hear the sound clearly.
A branch snaps. I raise my dagger and peer through the trees. I don't see anything, human or otherwise, but the noise is coming from the pond. Well, it's not so much a pond as an accumulation of water from the river feeding it. The rest must drain into the caverns beneath the arena. It's freaky, hearing something after a day of total environmental silence, but I don't want to wake my allies up over a squirrel or something, so I investigate further, approaching the source of the noise slowly and squat behind a boulder blanketed with moss.
There's a person on the riverbank, hauling themself up onto land. I see the dark smear of blood on their leg, which is curled up beneath them, and almost retch. The river must have swept them downstream. But that doesn't matter. What matters is which tribute has stumbled into our corner of the arena. I observe them carefully. No backpack, so probably no supplies. Short, so probably a girl. What girls are left? Just Emily and the Careers.
The Careers. The Pack must have finally dissolved, but is this Livi or Eliza? I'm not sure what's better. This is the rare situation where Livi might actually be less dangerous. The tribute doesn't seem to have a weapon on her, and if we're ever going to deal with Livi, we'll never get a better chance than now, when she's alone, weaponless, and injured.
But no. I see the strawberry blonde hair, and it's Eliza. And in her hand is a throwing knife. She's plunged it into the sand to help haul herself out of the pond, and she uses throwing knives as her weapons. And she scored what, a nine? A ten? She's still deadly. So instead of braving the blood and going down with my dagger to finish her off, I sneak back to camp inside and wake my allies. Griffin startles when I jog his arm and I shush him. "Quiet. Eliza's at the pond."
"The Careers?"
"No, just Eliza. She's injured, but she has her knives. We need to leave. Now." Chip and Emily are much more amenable than most young teenagers to being roused in the middle of the night, but neither of them fuss. The threat of dying has them both alert and moving in seconds. We pack up silently, knowing that any speech will travel far in the eerie silence of the woods.
But what about the Gamemakers?
Kill Tracker:
Livi Carnelian: IIIII
Oscar Poudret: II
Eliza Maddox: I
Rafe McClellan: I
Lyra-Rose Ripley (DECEASED): I
Quinten Aramdale: I
Soya Orlando (DECEASED): I
Alliance Tracker:
Career Pack: Oscar, Livi, Rafe, Eliza
Protective Older Brothers: Ardledge, Emily, Griffin, Chip
Queer and Romantic: Quinten, Radley
Loners: Damon
Supplies Tracker:
Career Pack: Binoculars, Blanket (x3), Collapsible Lightweight Ladder, Compass, Firestarter, Map of the Arena, Night Vision Goggles, Rope, Scuba Mask (x1), Sleeping Bag (x3), Special Bonus 3, Sunblock, Walkie-Talkies, Warm Earmuffs, Warm Gloves (x2), Warm Scarf, Water (x3), Water Purification Capsules
Protective Older Brothers: Antiseptic Wipes, First Aid Kit, Note of Advice, Rope, Severe Infection Medicine, Severe Injury Medicine, Small Meal, Water, Water Purification Capsules, Waterproof and Temperature Insulated Tent
Queer and Romantic: Animal Traps, Basic Injury Medicine, Blanket, Bread, Camouflage Set, Collapsible Shovel, First Aid Kit (x2), Insect Repellant, Map of the Arena, Mesh Sheet, Multitool, Night Vision Goggles, Note of Advice, Rodent Meat, Special Bonus 1, Special Bonus 5, Spool of Wire, Sunblock, Tarp, Warm Hat, Warm Scarf, Water, Water Purification Capsules
Damon: Antiseptic Wipes, Compass, Grappling Hook, Multitool, Scuba Mask, Sleeping Bag, Net (x3), Spool of Wire, Sunblock, Turbo Umbrella, Warm Gloves, Water, Water Purification Capsules
Eliza: N/A
Weapons Tracker:
Career Pack: Bandolier of Shurikens, Bandolier of Throwing Knives, Dagger (x2), Spear (x4)
Protective Older Brothers: Chainsaw, Tanto
Queer and Romantic: Shortsword, Spear, Unknown Scissors-Looking Thing
Damon: Axe, Bow and Quiver of Arrows, Dagger
Eliza: Bandolier of Throwing Knives
Hey y'all!
Everyone's moving camp—who do you think is going to die next? Who might cross paths? This is a baby nighttime chapter. The next one will also be only one POV, since it's a Capitol Focus, so we'll check in on Lucent and the gang. Not sure when it'll be out, but I plan to mostly alternate between PAG and Reprisal chapters. PM for any sponsor requests!
–LC :)