The Hunger Games

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creators of Vampire Diaries.

Couple: Bonnie/Damon

Rating: M

Chapter Eleven

Come On Little Soldier

'Come On Little Soldier, What Did You Expect?

Remember What They Told You? You Were Destined For This.'

'Thirty minutes until we enter the arena...' She thought to herself, her green eyes landing on the platform that would lift her into the arena. Her heart was hammering violently in her chest as the seconds passed. In that moment, she wished that she could stop time. She wished that she could have just a few more days of freedom. Just a few more hours, even. She wasn't ready to put her life on the line for the entertainment of the Capitol.

Elijah was standing in front of Marcel and herself with a sad smile on his lips and understanding eyes. Years ago he had been in their very shoes, and he felt sorry for them. He clenched his jaw tightly and took a step toward them, "Alright, listen very carefully you two." He said.

Bonnie dragged her eyes away from the platform and she focused on her mentor as he spoke. Paying close attention to his advice.

"When the two of you get into the arena, the Gamemakers will count down from sixty and you will have the choice to run toward the Cornucopia which will be filled with weapons and other supplies, or to flee." The proper British man stared into their eyes. "My advice for you is to keep your distance from the Cornucopia and to flee. Some may see this as cowardice, but the Cornucopia is notorious for being a bloodbath. Last year eleven of the twenty-four tributes died at the start of the game, attempting to retrieve weapons and supplies."

Marcel furrowed his brow in confusion. "But, how exactly are we s'posed to win the games if we don't have any weapons?"

"There are other ways to obtain weapons." Elijah reminded. "Far safer ways."

Despite his words of advice, he saw the hesitation and worry etched into the lines of their faces. "If you feel that you must approach the Cornucopia, do so with caution and stick to the outskirts."

They both nodded their heads at this.

"And please do remember to always stay together." Elijah warned. He couldn't stress the importance of teamwork in the games enough to them. It was all about alliances. If either of them were left to their own devices out in the arena, they would die.

Again, they nodded.

He turned and caught Bonnie's eyes with his own. "Also, if you truly feel that you can trust this Kol character, stay close to him as well."

Marcel licked over his lips and looked between his friend and their mentor. He didn't voice his opinions, but the truth was, he didn't know if they could trust Kol. He wanted to be able to trust him, but he knew that people from District 6 were unreliable and rebellious. They did what was in their best interest and rarely thought about how it would affect others.

'I just hope we can trust him... We could use all the help we can get.'

All three of them were startled out of their conversation when they heard a robotic voice echo over the intercom. "Fifteen minutes to send off. All tributes must move to their platforms at this time."

Bonnie felt her heart jump into her throat and her anxiety weighing on her chest, suffocating her. She couldn't believe that fifteen minutes had passed so quickly. Now, they only had fifteen minutes left before the games started. In fifteen minutes she could die, Marcel or Kol could die, Damon could die. The thought caused her stomach to twist violently and the urge to vomit to arise.

She was terrified.

She didn't want to have to watch anyone else that she cared about die. She didn't want to die.

It was evident to Marcel that Bonnie was extremely nervous about entering the arena. He knew that he couldn't do anything to take away that fear and anxiety. He couldn't do anything to save either of them from the pain they were about to endure. All he could do was reach out and interlace his fingers with hers, giving her hand a comforting and loving squeeze.

Leaning down he spoke softly against her ear, "You don't have anything to worry about." He smiled gently. "I promise. I'm going to keep you safe."

"We're going to keep each other safe." Bonnie countered with a twist of her full lips and a squeeze of his hand. She wanted him to know that she was willing to die for him as well. They were in this together. No matter what happened.

The sight warmed Elijah's heart. He knew that Marcel and Bonnie genuinely cared for each other. They were good friends. They weren't just in an alliance until the time came that they had to kill each other off. Their compassion and loyalty was something rarely seen in the games.

"I have the utmost confidence in both of your abilities." He surprised himself with the words. When he was told that he would be mentoring two tributes from District 11, he had felt insulted. He had felt like the Capitol had no faith in him as a mentor. He had felt like they were doomed. But, now that he had witnessed the way that they worked together, and their individual skill, he had faith in them. He believed that they were capable of winning the entire thing. "And I will be cheering you on from the sidelines."

His words meant everything to Bonnie and Marcel. He was a District 1 tribute. He was Elijah-Massacre-Mikaelson. And, he had faith in them.

"And who knows." Elijah smirked over at them as he took a few steps toward their platforms. "You may even get a gift or two from me."

Bonnie swallowed hard as her eyes landed on the platform. In a few minutes she would step onto the platform and it would rise, carrying her up into the arena. Her hands were shaking, her palms were sweaty, and her heart felt like it was going to burst through her rib cage. 'I still can't believe this is actually happening... I can't believe they called my name... What were the odds?'

She could recall her mother's words that morning before the reaping. "It's the same odds as them pulling Rue's name. I'm going to lose you too. I just know it."

'I have to win... She can't lose me too. If she loses me, she'll never recover.'

Elijah wrapped the petite woman in a tight, protective embrace. He desperately wished that he could change the world that they lived in. That he could make it so that Bonnie and Marcel didn't have to fight in the arena. That he could make the games obsolete. 'Maybe one day we will all live in peace...' It was a beautiful thought. It was a beautiful lie. Peace, in any culture, did not exist.

"Good luck." He breathed out against her ear.

She had tears shimmering in her eyes, but she didn't allow them to fall. She pushed them back and forced a confident smile onto her face. She was always pushing her emotions away and hiding them. That was how she had always been. Every time things got hard back home, she had to be strong for her family. When they were starving, she couldn't complain, she had to be positive. When Rue had died, she couldn't even cry, because she had to be there to comfort her mother and her sisters and brothers.

She always had to be strong for everyone else.

"Thanks." Bonnie said.

Next, their mentor moved to Marcel and he wrapped him up in a tight hug, wishing him the best of luck in the games.

The robotic voice echoed through the chamber beneath the arena again, "Five minutes to send off. All tributes must be on their platforms at this time."

Marcel and Bonnie held onto each other's hands as they walked toward the platforms. They knew that they had to let go of each other. They had to part ways. But, they didn't want to. He turned and looked down at her, "You're gonna be okay." He said. She glanced up at him and smiled shakily. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't.

How could anything ever be okay again?

"It's time for the two of you to be on your separate platforms." A Peacekeeper said, aiming his gun at them. He was instructed to use force if he had to. On occasion, the tributes would try and fight back against the Capitol and escape the games. It was their job to keep everyone in line. "Come on, hurry up." He reached out and grabbed a hold of Bonnie's wrist, dragging her violently away from Marcel.

She hissed as she felt the pain in her wrist and she watched Marcel get dragged away by another Peacekeeper.

The man with the gun pushed her forcefully onto her platform, not caring if she got hurt.

"Keep still." The Peacekeeper stated sternly, aiming his gun at her and preparing to shoot if she rebelled.

Bonnie did as she was told. Her muscles tense and her jaw tight as she stared up at the hole in the ceiling above her. She could see the sunlight pouring down into the chamber. She could smell the scent of trees, flowers, and fresh air. Soon she would be immersed in the controlled atmosphere of the arena. She would be a puppet controlled by the Gamemakers, and people would watch with awe filled eyes, hoping to see her die. It was disgusting. It was inhuman.

'Or maybe it is a very human thing to do...' That thought horrified her. Why did humans find such sick pleasure in watching others suffer? She didn't understand it. She didn't want to understand it.

Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears.

She couldn't breathe.

Emerald eyes were fixated on the swirling clouds above. She watched them move along the fabricated sky and she wondered for a moment if Rue was looking down at her. If she was watching over her. If she was protecting her. Bonnie liked to believe that her sister was always there with her in spirit.

The platform started to shake beneath her feet and panic rushed over her. She was slowly rising toward the surface.

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the sunlight when she broke through the surface of the arena. Goosebumps covered the skin of her arms, and a few dark curls came loose from her ponytail as the brisk breeze danced along her face. It was a lot colder than she had expected.

Bonnie's body jolted as the platform came to a halt at the ground level.

"Fifty." "Forty-Nine." "Forty-Eight."

She could barely hear the robotic voice counting down the seconds over the loud sound of her heart pounding in her ears. Approximately forty feet in front of them was a large structure called the Cornucopia. Inside were the most valued weapons and supplies. Elijah's words were swimming in the back of her mind and she focused instead, on what she could take from the outskirts. She spotted a single knife sitting on one of the weapon racks. It wasn't the ideal knife for throwing, but it would have to do.

Along with the knife there were a few bags scattered in the grass surrounding the weapon rack.

Taking in a shaky breath, she let it out and calculated the best route to get the knife and both bags as quickly as possible. Bonnie knew from the gauntlet that she was one of the most agile players in the games this year, if not the most, and she had faith in her abilities. She could easily reach the knife before any of the other tributes. The question was, could she get away from the Cornucopia before getting killed?

'What is Marcel going to do...? I really hope he doesn't do anything too risky...'

She cast her eyes over to her partner to see what he was thinking.

Marcel was crouched over and preparing to run. His dark eyes filled with determination and focused on the sickle that was even closer to the Cornucopia than the knife. He looked like he was going to go for it.

"Thirty." "Twenty-Nine." "Twenty-Eight." "Twenty-Seven."

Bonnie could feel eyes burning into the back of her head and she turned to see who was staring at her.

It was Damon. He was standing on his platform clear across from her, his hair twisting in the wind, and a smile on his lips. She could have sworn that she saw concern and worry shimmering in his blue eyes. But, just as soon as she saw it, it faded and his lips curled up into a devious, confident smirk.

"Fifteen." "Fourteen." "Thirteen."

As the seconds counted down to the start of the games, she refocused her eyes on the knife and bags that she wanted. She still didn't know if running for them was the best option. Elijah had been adamant when he said to flee the Cornucopia and he had mentioned sending them gifts. So, maybe it would be better if she just fled for the trees and stayed hidden until she received whatever he planned on sending her.

'But, I know I can do it... It's only like fifteen feet away...'

She crouched down on the platform and prepared to launch herself across the grass as soon as the alarm sounded. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and her heart was beating out of her chest. She had made a decision. Now all she could do was go for it and pray that she survived.

"Four." "Three." Two." "One."

When the clock reached one, the alarm blared noisily.

Bonnie dug the toes of her shoes into the grass and curled her fingers in the dirt, launching herself five feet into the air, and giving herself a head start. Her eyes were locked onto the knife and the bags and she was ignoring all of the people behind her. As long as they were behind her, that was all that mattered. Reaching down, she swiftly grabbed one of the bags and flung it over her shoulder. Then she moved toward the knife, gripping it firmly in her hand.

She knew that she should stop there and escape, but the other bag was right in front of her. Hastily she rolled across the grass and grabbed onto the bag, throwing it over her shoulder.

She twirled around on her heels in the direction of the trees, but someone was standing in front of her. The young woman jumped on top of her and held a knife to her throat. Bonnie strategically pushed her arm between their bodies, pushing the woman away from her so that she couldn't slice her throat and kill her. Her green eyes were wide and filled with terror as the girl pushed harder and the knife dug deeper into the skin of her throat.

'Oh god... She's so strong... I can't fight much longer...' Bonnie was pushing with all of her might, but the knife kept sinking deeper into her skin.

Suddenly, the woman stopped her movements and her face was covered in agony. Her blood was pouring down from her lips and dripping onto Bonnie's chest. Her skin went pale and she started to cough. She was dying on top of her. Standing over them was Kol with a playful grin on his lips and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as he pulled the sword out of the girl's back. Bonnie felt the weight of her dead body as it went limp on top of her and she scrunched up her face in disgust, pushing her off of her.

Kol held out a hand to her and Bonnie took it, allowing him to help pull her to her feet.

She offered him a grateful smile and then she started to run toward the trees. The British man wasn't done searching through the weapons though. Wielding his sword skillfully, he headed deeper into the Cornucopia.

Bonnie placed the knife between her teeth and bit down on it as she dashed toward one of the tall trees. She jumped toward the trunk and easily ran up the side of it, flipping herself onto the high branch and pulling her body up into the safety of the tree. The first branch was already eleven feet in the air, but she didn't feel safe enough. She pounced from one branch to the next until she was near the top of the tree. She had to be at least seventy feet up. There was no way that anyone was going to reach her.

Down below, Marcel had managed to retrieve the sickle and a few bags of supplies.

He clenched his jaw tightly and glanced around for his partner. In every direction, people were falling to their deaths, and Bonnie was nowhere in sight. He couldn't find her. 'Where the hell did she go!?'

Kol ran toward the District 11 tribute with a wide toothy grin on his face. He was holding a sword, he had a spear on his back, a few knives, and a couple bags of supplies. "What are you doing just standing around, mate?" He asked. "Come on, we have to go."

"I can't find Bonnie." Marcel said.

A few of the other tributes were heading in their direction. Their eyes filled with malice and weapons in their hands. If they didn't get out of there right now, they were both going to die. "I saw her escape into the trees." The British man said. "She made it away safely and we will find her, but we have to get out of here before we are both slaughtered."

Marcel knew he was right, but he didn't like it.

He had promised to stay with Bonnie through the games. He had promised to keep her safe. He couldn't do that if they were separated.

Kol started to head toward the trees as fast as his legs would carry him. He noticed that the other young man wasn't following him and he turned to shout at him, "Hurry up, mate! They're right behind you!"

'I will find you...' He thought, running in Kol's direction.

'Come On Boy, She's Bleeding Now.

What Are You Waiting For?'

Damon twirled his sword in his hand and fell back onto one of the trunks of supplies in the Cornucopia. He had a confident smirk on his lips and honestly, he felt like he was on top of the world. All of the other tributes had cleared out or been killed off and now everything belonged to him and his allies. They had the structure for shelter against the storms, they had all of the remaining weapons and supplies. Including blankets, food, and water.

They were living in paradise.

While all of the other tributes would be hunting for their food, hiding from the storms, and freezing at night, they would be warm, fully fed, and hydrated.

'I just wish Bon-Bon was here with us...' He thought, staring out into the forest. He had watched her run for the trees and he hoped that she had retrieved enough supplies to keep her safe over night. The night would be cold and dangerous. The Gamemakers were cruel and they loved to throw new challenges and twists into the games constantly.

His ears twitched as he heard another cannon sound.

Signalling another tribute dead.

'Please just let her be safe...' Damon couldn't really comprehend the anxiety he was feeling. Going into the games he had always told himself that he would never get attached to any of the other tributes. His father had drilled that into him. Telling him that he was to make allies, not friends. Because, in the end he would be forced to kill them. Yet, here he was worrying about the safety and dreading the death of a District 11 tribute.

'She isn't just a District 11 tribute... She's Bonnie...'

Enzo's lips curled up devilishly as he plopped down on the edge of the Cornucopia. His ax was propped up between his legs. The sound of cannons, was music to his ears. The more people who killed each other off, the less people they would ultimately have to kill. "We should be safe here for a while." The British man said. "Let's let the weaker players duel it out for a bit, then we can head out and kill off the stragglers."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Caroline said with a wide toothy grin. She had her bow equipped and her quiver on her back. Her blonde curls were pulled back into a ponytail and she looked extremely confident.

She moved to sit down next to Enzo and she asked, "What do we got to eat? I'm starving!"

"Well." He stretched in his deep voice. "Let's just take a look, shall we?" With that, he lifted one of the bags and he started to sift through it. Inside he found a few loafs of bread. "Looks like we've got some bread to start with." He handed her a loaf and she took a bite out of it.

"Mm... It's delicious."

Damon didn't hear a word that his allies were saying. His blue eyes were focused on the forest and his brow was furrowed as he heard another cannon sound loudly. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so anxious. Bonnie was out in the trees all by herself, and he wanted to go out there and find her. He wanted to make sure she was safe.

"That's six." He said, looking over to Enzo and Caroline. "Six people are dead already."

"Six less tributes WE have to kill." Enzo said with a wide grin. "That's great news! Come on mate, let's celebrate." He tossed Damon one of the loafs of bread, urging him to enjoy the moment. He looked so somber, when he should be jumping for joy like him and Caroline. They could pretty much relax for a few days while everyone else killed each other off.

Damon chewed on his bottom lip and knit his brows together as he stared down at the loaf of bread. His stomach was rumbling, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it.

He felt sick.

'What the heck is going on with me lately?'

"Damon, behind you!" Caroline shouted. Dropping the bread she stood to her feet and readied her bow.

Damon twisted around and noticed that the District 2 tribute he rejected was standing behind him, wielding a sickle. She had vengeance swimming in her eyes. This was personal to her. She wanted to kill him in particular. The blonde lunged toward him. 'I can't believe I still don't know her name...' He thought as he easily darted out of the way of her attack and then jumped on her back bringing her to the ground. He held her down with the weight of his body, his elbow digging into the back of her neck.

"A little help?" He asked.

Enzo was still just sitting and nibbling on his loaf of bread.

"You look like you got it." He said playfully. He knew that Damon was fully capable of killing the woman.

He groaned out in annoyance and pulled back just far enough to pierce his sword through her back. He aimed for her heart, just like he had practiced on the dummies. Only this time it was different. He had just killed for the first time. He watched her body convulse and blood bubble at her lips and he scrunched up his face in disgust. Within eight seconds she was dead. Her skin cold to the touch.

Damon's head snapped to the sky as he heard the cannon sound.

This time it was someone he had killed.

'Seven... Seven dead already...'

He pushed himself to his feet and he let out a sigh, wiping the sweat from his brow and staring down at her dead corpse.

"I think this bloody bitch had a personal vendetta against you." Enzo said, finally standing to his feet and staring down at the blonde. He smirked, "Well, I s'pose that's one way to get rid of an ex." He laughed and started to push her body out of the Cornucopia.

'We Are All Architects Of Our Own Private Hell,

No One Can Hurt Us, Like We Hurt Ourselves.'

Author's Note :

I want to thank you all so much for reading this chapter and this fic and all of your wonderful reviews! They mean everything to me! I know I say that a lot, but they really do! I love hearing from y'all and y'all keep me motivated to keep writing! I am so sorry that this update took so long! I had a really long, emotional, and sick week. It was really a horrible week. :(( BUT I am back and feeling better, and I plan to start updating every day again! :)) So, thoughts on this chapter!? I know that there wasn't much Bamon, but I promise there will be lots of bonding for them in the arena (including some smut ;) So just bear with me!

How do you feel about what is happening? Marcel and Kol being separated from Bonnie? The send off? Do you think that Bonnie will be safe? Who all would y'all like to see in the games!? (I plan to add a few more important characters when they reach the halfway point and introduce the next 24 tributes). Thoughts on what Damon is feeling? Enzo and Caroline? I'd just love to hear from you! I'm always open to suggestions!

Thank you all so much for reading! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-