Scott Lott, District 6
Turns out this landscape isn't so barren after all.
We've been walking though the hot sun all afternoon long, and all there's been to see for miles is the heated and wavy air, and the thick tan sand. We were just about to give up and set up camp when the tent emerged in the distance. It was blue and red striped, unlike the one where the bloodbath took place, which was red and white. We practically ran towards it, and here we are now.
"Well… should we go in?" Dawn said as she crossed her arms, and turned towards me.
"Go for it," Gypsy snapped. They get along just fine, but you can sense a little tension. I guess that comes with having two headstrong girls in one alliance.
Just as Dawn was about to pull pack the flap, a slip of paper floated down from the sky above. It landed on her hand, which rested on the on the hem of the thick canvas. She stopped and read the note out loud.
"The show starts tomorrow morning at 12! Keep it a surprise until then, darlings. May the odds be ever in your favor, the ringmaster." She turned back towards the tent, ready to open it up once again.
"What are you doing?" Gypsy cried, grabbing Dawn's hand and pulling it back away from the entryway. "I think we should wait."
"Yea right. Like I'm going to listen to some stupid note sent from the sky," she said with emphasis, mocking the very idea of rulemaking.
"I think I'm with Dawn on this one." I say, and Gypsy gives me a look.
"Two beats one!" Dawn says smugly as she turns back towards the tent to open the flap. But right where her hand just rested, there's now a padlock.
A huge triumphant grin spreads across Gypsy's face. "Guess that settles that." I say, and reach for our packs. It's going to be a long night of setting up before I can actually get any sleep.
Raiden Black, District 2
This might actually be the first time I go along with someone else's plan.
The career strategy is quite brilliant this year. We'll each be able to knock out at least one tribute on the first night, and then we'll have far more supplies than we would if only the four of us had been collecting. We'll easily have eight people's worth of weapons and food, and that should be just enough to keep me until I'm ready to kill the other careers. So basically, not long. What can I say? I'm a hungry guy.
"I think this should be enough to get us through the next couple nights," sorting through the packs of food that we'd gotten at the cornucopia. Yea right. I'd be able to eat that all in one night if I was by myself. Seeing the look on my face, Keegan adds, "If we ration."
"Whatever," I grumble, and go back to polishing my sword. Then I realize something: If I'm going to kill Keegan after we go to sleep, he'll have wasted a good meal. And then a whole lot of potential food, which I could have enjoyed, would be inside a dead boy's stomach. That wouldn't be so good, now would it?
"Hey, can you come here and help me, Keegan?" The other boy bounded over, obviously thrilled to be able to assist. He had been like that since the alliance started: over eager and over joyful. Time to put an end to it, if you ask me.
Without so much as looking up, I drove my sword straight through his heart. The District 9 boy staggered backwards and then collapsed to the ground. He let out a small moan and was dead.
I might as well go find the other careers and see if they've finished off their respective allies. So, whistling as I go, I stand and march away from our meager campsite.
About half a mile later, I realize I left my food behind. I would run back to get it, but that's far and I don't want to ruin my grand exit. The other careers will have stuff anyways. I'll just have to mooch off of them.
Magenta Saphrion, District 2
I wipe the blood off my knife easily as I exit the campsite. Behind me lays Nicola Brad, district 7 tribute, with all the life completed gone from her body. Thanks to my clever handiwork. Well, it was Carter's plan, but I doubt it would have happened without me.
I got her just after she fell asleep, and for her sake I hope she didn't feel a thing. She was a nice enough girl, not particularly someone I'd befriend when given the choice. Too weak for my taste.
We career agreed we'd meet back at the cornucopia, around midnight. The arena would be 4 tributes emptier, and from there we'd figure out a way to knock out the rest of them. I mean, I'd figure out a way to knock them out. I doubt those buffoons are used to doing much figuring.
Nicola and I opted not to travel far, only so that we were behind a large sand dune and therefore out of sight. We spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out the details of the arena, and she was actually pretty useful. Now that I know what a circus is, I'll easily be able to figure out how they plan to torture us.
I arrive back at the cornucopia tent with a knife ready to attack anyone who might be inside. The one problem with our plan is that we couldn't be sure if any other tributes were planning on hanging out here. When I walk in however, it looks to be completely empty.
"…hello?" I call out nervously, I unsure if anyone is lurking in the shadows.
"BOO!" Jasper pops out of the center cornucopia and I let out a little scream. He laughs and walks out towards me. "A little spooked?" he says grinning.
I hit him on the arm. "Don't do that! Next time I might just kill you!" he doesn't laugh. If we had been anywhere but the arena, that would have been a joke. To break the silence, I change the subject. "How long have you been here?"
"Since the bloodbath. It was easier to get rid of Skye then." He looks down awkwardly, and I can tell that it wasn't easy to get rid of Skye at all. "Is Nicola out?"
"Yup, I got her in her sleep."
"HELLO CAREERS!" a voice suddenly calls from the edge of the tent. I jump again. Really, these boys are given me the creeps.
"Raiden! Is Keegan dead?"
"Killed him before sundown," he says, grinning at me. Clearly he wants me to be impressed. Yea right, like I'd ever praise him."
"Good. Where are your supplies?" I say, suddenly realizing he's not carrying any packs.
"Oh. They were… on Keegan. The hovercraft came before I could pull them off. We didn't have that many anyways."
"Wow. Well I guess we'll have enough between the three of us. Speaking of which, where's Carter?"
I look down at my watch, which, as my token, is more useful than sentimental. It reads 1:07.
Suddenly, cannon fires. "That was probably him getting Talitha. He'll be here in a bit. For now, we should go to bed. I'll keep watch." Jasper says, suddenly down to business. Raiden shrugs and I go to open up my sleeping bag. I doubt I'll sleep tonight though. In fact, I doubt I'll sleep until I'm crowded victor.
Which, if things go my way, won't be in too long.
GUYS I"M SO SORRY IT"S BEEN FOREVER. I had exams, and then I've had more computer issues than you can imagine. I won't go into details but basically I've broken two computers in the past two weeks. But it's all good now because I have a really nice one with Windows 8, which is super awesome :)
Alright, so death list and notice:
So I want to make this clear: just because I kill your tribute does not mean I don't like them or you. 23 tributes will die, so it's less than likely that yours will be the final victor. I kill when it makes sense, if it fits in with the story and so on. So sorry if your tribute dies, but please don't just whine and cry in the reviews. Remember that I'm trying to fit 24 well developed characters into one story, and it's impossible to please everyone. You can in fact enjoy the WHOLE story, not just the parts that are all about you.
And the death list:
Voltaic Nosa, District 3
Zella Nightblade, District 12
Marcas Mac Phaiden, District 12
Pendleton Anderson, District 8
Rebecca Sandros, District 9
Skye Emerald, District 1
And now another note about reviewing. The past couple chapters have only gotten like 3 or 4 reviews. That really sucks for me- I spend all this time working, and get so little response. And I know more people are reading, I can see it in the stats page. So PLEASE, if you read a chapter, drop me a review. I would love some constructive criticism, comments on characters, etc.. That's really the only way I can improve. IF I keep getting so few reviews, I might just stop writing. And I don't want to do that.
Alright, I'm done complaining :) Happy New Year!
-Zinkyowl