Shake It Out.
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope, it's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat.
Mirana Capulet, District Eight Female.
Cameron continues to tug and tug on my hand, leading me up flight upon flight of stairs. Every now and then, I stumble, snagging my foot on a concrete step, but Cameron's iron grip keeps me up and moving along. Somewhere up front, Gavan is still running, and if I didn't know any better, I swear I could hear him crying or sobbing.
I feel to cry, too.
I can feel the small, warm droplets of Jack's blood on my face and the thought of that just makes me want to scream until my lungs burst. I can feel the ribbon of terror swirling in my throat, dancing like some ballerina. Without warning, it bubbles and burns and finally, it pelts from my throat, an awful, piercing scream.
Cameron is quick to let go and clamp her hands over her ears.
"Mirana!" I hear her voice muffled, but my eyes are closed, the scream still coming out like a never ending river.
Suddenly, a hand slams over my mouth, cutting it off. Her eyes find mine, but it's not the same Cameron as before. They're warm, still comforting, but ultimately conflicted. Jack meant a lot to her, as much as she would deny it if someone was to mention it to her. Tears begin to roll down my face, and Cameron makes a confusing, half-smile and half-frown, then before I know it, a silent tear lols down her cheek.
"I know Mirana, I know," Cameron soothes. "B-But we need to keep moving. I don't know where Gavan has gone, but we need to keep moving, otherwise we'll never get away."
"He's gone." I whisper back.
I feel her arms embrace me tightly, wrapping me up in the warmth, much similar to my mother when I had nightmares over the stories and fables she would tell me. Each night I was plagued by the same nightmare; a troll, large in size and blood dripping from his teeth, jumping up from underneath a bridge, ready to eat me as I desperately crossed to get to my mother, who every time, seemed to distance herself further and further back, and the feat and reality of me crossing became near impossible.
She pulls away, forcing a sad smile on her face.
"Let's go find Gavan," Cameron decides. "I'm sure he's not ready to be on his own yet."
She leads me around the curve of the walkway, until my eyes catch the sight of the middle, protected by the shining barrier. Small droplets of water spray it.
"It's raining," I say quietly.
Cameron makes a quick look, but no doubt the thought of Jack's body down below puts her off of really seeing what it is like. I watch mindlessly as the rain continues to drizzle down softly, soaking and melting the snow down below we previously played in. A lump of snow rolls off my shorts, onto my legs and then into my boot. I shiver at the coldness, but continue to smile softly at the rain.
Maybe Jack's death wasn't a bad thing. Maybe he's much safer, now.
I giggle to myself as Cameron leads us up one of the escalators, pushing back strands of damp, red hair that fall in front of my face.
He's safe now.
He's free.
Like a bird released from his cage.
Maybe I'll join him.
Maybe I won't.
Another giggle comes out, but I don't care. I don't care, because as long as it's raining, the world seems so far away, I can't imagine the pain and horror encased within this paradise. I can't imagine my death, or Cameron's and Gavan's, or the little kids or Stitch's or the Careers. I can't imagine anything, because as long as it's raining, I'm okay. I'm okay, mother, I'll always be okay.
Anastasia Burne, District Twelve Female.
I remember a lot of things about my life before the Games. I remember the place I grew up in, the Seam, a poor place for all the poor people in Twelve. My mother Lucinda died when I was only ten; five years ago. Pneumonia, the local doctor said. It wasn't even something that went like that, in the snap of your fingers. It was painful and tiring, many nights of no sleep and constant thrashing from her bedroom.
It broke the family apart.
My dad got extra shifts in the mines to try and help us survive. Without mom working, things became a lot harder, and soon enough, my oldest brother Korwin began working in the mines, no matter how much he hated the idea of it, and whilst they worked, I looked after my younger siblings, Aaron and Leo. Became their surrogate mother and made sure they had enough to eat and done their schoolwork.
Just thinking of them brings me to tears.
When I sat there in the Justice Building, my broter wanted to know why my name, apparently so few in the bowl, was chosen.
I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I had secretly been taking out extra tesserae to help feed us all. Korwin was never the smartest in the district.
I wipe away the tears spreading down my cheeks angrily, standing up with the axe still close to my chest, every time I breath a little too hard, I can feel the tip of the metal digging into my flesh. I want to go home. Everyone says that, but no-one understands how much I desperately need too. Dad is suffering from bronchitis, Korwin is as capable as a mule to look after the family, and Aaron and Leo are only nine.
Without me, my family would literally tear at the seams.
Without me, they don't have as much chance as they would with me.
I sigh a little hard, pulling the axe out and stepping out the door. I whip my head around, looking for someone, but the only person I can see is the boy from Eight, steathily dropping himself into a shop across the gap. Decision hits my mind, and aiming my axe, I begin to walk around.
I'm not going home unless I fight. Unless I kill.
Eight will have to be my first victim, unfortunately.
I stride across the tiled walkway, not even hearing the pounding footsteps behind me until I'm too late.
Something smacks into the back of my head, maybe a fist or hand, and before I know it, I go sprawling to the floor with a thud, my axe skidding into the distance... Just out of my reach. That sinking feeling like at the reaping comes on, just as I feel a hand spin me over, making me come face to face with the witch from Two.
"I told you I'd find you." Two sneers darkly.
I thrash and attempt to fight her, and in my struggle, I notice her allies; the boy from One with a mask of bloodlust, the girl from One, arms folded and looking uninterested and the boy from Two, watching with sickening eyes.
I see a flash of silver before I feel the burning, rough sensation of it cutting along the base of my neck teasingly.
"Now, I'll enjoy it," Two whispers, continuing the path of her knife. "I'll enjoy every little scream and holler you do. Every little squirm and thrash as you so pathetically try to escape."
The knife travels down further, cutting all the top of my chest, down between my breast and cutting the top of my top open.
"Delaney, just hurry up with it," I hear one of the boys say, probably Two, since it's more masculine. "We need to go and find others."
"More like Lorelei." Another male voice.
"Yeah, we all know you want to fuck her, not kill her, so shut up Garnet." the female speaks up.
All the time they argue between themselves, I'm left crying and thrashing pathetically underneath the dead weight of the girl from Two, Delaney. But I know that every time I cry a little, each and every little whimper, it's only feeding her murderous desire to finish my life. The knife comes up to my eye level, hovering over my eyebrow, teasing my eyelashes.
I hear one of the boys complain, but then someone else makes a gasping sound.
I don't have much time to register anything. The knife comes flying down with deathly speed, piercing through my eyeball. But as pain and soon comfort floods over me, I see an arrow find Delaney's shoulder, body falling off of me as the cannon, my cannon, sounds.
Alto Boulevard, District Eleven Male.
It takes a little while to even register the fact that I shot an arrow at Two. I'm not a perfect aim, no-one really is, but I definitely managed to hit her. I watch her body fall over, but it's too late. The knife is already buried in Twelve's eyeball and her cannon has already sounded. It all seems a blur, but as Addilyn stands behind me almost perfectly silent, I shoot another arrow at Two on the floor.
This time, however, I don't miss.
It springs into her throat, and she gasps, begging for air as blood pours from her lips.
The Careers are instantly on the move, but her district partner, the giant from Two, stops to hold onto his quivering, rapidly bleeding partner. The pair from One, however, make chase.
Alto, you need to run. They're coming right now. Alto, run. Run!
I snap out my daze in time to run after Addilyn and Koel, already running and no doubt regretting the idea of leaving the safety of our top floor. Now, we have two Careers chasing us. Koel's the first up the escalator, followed by Koel, but as I make the turn and climb the first little slope, I feel someone's hand clamp around my ankle, bringing me to the metal ground harshly.
This is what it must feel like to be the prey I normally chased away from the crops.
I manage to spin myself around to see the boy from One me, also on the floor, trying to pull me down.
I don't think twice as I level out my foot and slam it downwards, hitting him, surprisingly, into the neck. He shoots off me, almost flying and hurtling down the escalator, hitting the floor. The girl from One, clearly slower, appears at his fallen form and barks out a mocking laugh. I'm on my feet and running without a second thought, but a part of me knows that they won't chase. No. They won't have the time or the energy to make chase after three little kids who they believe will die, just like that.
When I reach the top, my allies are gone.
Disappeared.
A sinking feeling drops in my chest, taking my heart with it.
I never wanted allies. I never wanted to get attached to them. And yet, I've been abandoned by them completely.
It's your own fault. You were the one who believed that your alliance would be based solely on your usefulness to each other. You just got them all nearly killed.
I didn't mean too. I-I just didn't want to see the Careers kill someone so heartlessly.
That's what they are, Alto, so get used to it.
I grunt out a mix of anger and sadness, something so conflicted, I must sound like nothing but a simple animal. It's only when I look up do I see the flash of bleach blonde hair and pale face poking out from a room, smiling softly at me. She makes a signal with her hand, and that sinking feeling suddenly rises like a bounding firework.
They didn't abandon me at all.
I move over to the room, seeing Koel crouched down at the end, looking at me with that chesire grin of his. Addilyn moves over, orange backpack full of her wires perched against the wall near Koel, because surprisingly, she has a lot of faith in him to guard it with his life.
"It was nice of you to try and save her, Alto," Addilyn whispers softly. "But in here, we can't afford to do that constantly."
"I just didn't want to see them torture her."
Addilyn nods, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know. I get it, I really do. You have a heart so big, it's probably bigger than this arena. But your big heart will be your vulnerability. I'm not saying we'll take advantage of it, of course not, but others will see it and twist it so that you fall."
I only nod in agreement, understanding her completely for once. Being kind in a place like this won't exactly help keep me alive. That's why Careers win more than anything. They lack the heart and compassion to feel guilt for their kills, and that's how they win. By being machines rather than humans.
But is winning worth that price? Because by the looks of it, either way, you die or you live a life not worth living.
Addilyn moves her hand from her shoulder, motioning for Koel to come over. He crawls along the floor like some child, sitting cross-legged in front of us. Addilyn sticks out her pinky, holding it in the air.
"We'll stick together until the very end, no matter what."
Koel curls his pinky around hers instantly. "Deal!"
They look to me, my pinky waiting to join theres. I curl it around the pair very slowly, only managing a nod to say that yes, yes we'll stick together no matter what.
Because as much as I didn't want to, I feel something for my allies.
This big heart of mine has allowed Addilyn Helix and Koel Spelt in. Now, I don't want to lose them.
Ever.
Zaira Havlin, District Eleven Female.
"It's raining still." I say mindlessly to Tauria, curled up on the floor and smiling to herself as she stares at the ceiling.
"Oh well," Tauria manages to shrug. "Just means that everyone will be coming in now, avoiding where the rain lays."
"It doesn't get far, though. Just the middle part. It just bounces off of the barrier, like a window, kinda."
Tauria climbs to a sitting position, pulling her hatchet closer to her body, waiting. "Awesome. You know, you should cheer up and relax a little, Zaira. It might sound stupid in a place like this, but working yourself up will only make things worse. Positivity makes you feel better, overall."
"I've never felt positive," I mumble, hoping Tauria doesn't hear... She does, looking at me with those large eyes of hers. "I just mean, my life hasn't always been that great, so, yeah."
I can see that Tauria wants to ask what happened, why my life hasn't always been great, why I seem to be so quiet and withdrawn. It's practically hanging from her lips in mid-air. Tauria climbs up from her seat silently, walking over to me. I have no idea what she's doing until I find her two arms wrapping around her body, nudging me inwards for a supposedly warm hug. My arms stay limply by my side, no matter how hard Tauria attempts to squeeze the truth and answers out of me.
"You can talk to me if you need, Zaira," Tauria mumbles into my hair. "I promise you I'm here, and I'll try to help you as much as possible."
"Since when did talking about anything help?" I respond.
She takes some time to be able to counter that. "Talking helps a lot of things, and well, the chances of walking out alive are very slim, as you know. Maybe making peace would be a good thing for the pair of us."
"So you have problems, too?"
Tauria pulls away, running a hand through her short, light brown locks, looking more than conflicted and confused by her inner emotions. A small, rugged sigh escapes her lips as she collects her hatchet from the floor.
"My brother does drugs," she states simply, more like a fact rather than an announcement. "He doesn't live with us anymore, but when he did, he did nothing but lie, cheat and steal in order to get his next fix. They kicked him out. A-And like, I hate him, because he was such a good kid, had so much hope and he threw it all away... Y-Yet I just miss you, you know? I hate him but if he came home, I'd hug him before I slapped him."
I notice the tears swimming in Tauria's eyes, ready to burst, but she holds them all in and continues to show a bright grin.
"He didn't even come to say goodbye... I-I don't even know if he knows I was reaped."
Everyone seems to have their problems. I hold back all my emotions, biting down on my lip at the apparent awkwardness the situation has created. I've never been good at handling emotional people, particularly those who have such a strong wall built up, that when they let it slip down, you have a few precious moments to act before the it slips away completely. I should hug her, I know I should, and yet, I just idly play with my thumbs.
She sniffs, looking up at me. "I'm sorry. Gosh, we was talking about you here and not me. But as I said, Zaira, if you need to speak, then do it."
It takes a moment for me to even think of what I could say. It's hard to explain a situation you don't fully know yourself. "My parents argued from dawn till dusk. They ran a business back in Eleven, not complicated, but it put a lot of pressure on their marriage. They're still together, just... The arguing..."
I don't even know if Tauria understands or not. I can imagine that her life, besides the drug-obsessed brother, is quite perfect with parents who love each other and a home that beats the rest. Someone so optimistic and kind doesn't come from a broken home.
After a long silence which feels like an eternity, Tauria speaks up. "Do they know how much it affects you?"
"Probably not, and now, they probably won't ever know," I shrug, trying to take a more confident approach. Nothing can break me. "Unless I get back, of course."
"Of course."
Silence is quick to catch on once more, but I don't let it happen this time. I stride over to collect my knife from the floor along with our backpack, throwing it over my shoulder. Tauria shows a quick smile, swinging her hatchet down to her side, preparing herself.
"Let's get moving then," Tauria grins, being the first to go to the door. "I was getting kind of bored sitting down all the time."
Lorelei Avalon, District Four Female.
They'll be on to me soon enough, I know that much. Gage's body wouldn't have been carried anywhere since he was so close to all the other Careers, particularly Garnet, his beady, blood lusting eyes trained on me the whole time. I was going to make it as quick and clean as possible. Kill the little creep and then get out the room. But oh no, Garnet had to be nosy and wake up.
Might as well come out with a bang, so to speak.
Problem is; will they want my blood for betraying them so soon?
I was never keen on the alliance in the first place. I never liked the idea straight from the beginning, but no, Mags suggested and Waverly was practically bouncing up and down with joy at the idea of being in the almighty Careers alliance. I wonder if it ever crossed his mind that, at some point, they were going to betray him, maybe kill him in his sleep if he was lucky, rather than torturing him.
The spear rolls around in my open palm, and for some reason, I feel like it's safer there.
If any surprises were to happen, then at least I'm prepared to throw it, catch them in the chest before they've even realised it was hurtling towards them.
I could probably take them all on individually. Usually, on most cases, I'd be at a major disadvantage, being on my own and trying to kill four other contenders with high scores. Astor got lower than me, Delaney got even and then the boys got a ten each. In reality, I'd be dead, but none of them are capable of using throwing weapons. They need to get close to me to be able to actually kill me...
I don't.
My feet echo against the tiled floor, the patter of rain hitting the electrified barrier and then sliding down effortlessly. It's almost calming, a strong reminder of life back in Four where on rare occasions, a storm would roll in from the sea and paint the district in water. The snow down below would have easily melted by now. Either that, or would have turned more into ice. But I'm not heading there. If I keep moving, then I'll probably bump into the Careers, and I kind of want that.
I want to see if they are angry or betrayed.
Instead, as I continue walking, I hear a cannon rocket. It startles me enough to look upwards for some reason, putting my guard off. I feel the tackle before I even see the person, but I can tell by the weight that it must be an older girl, since it's light but still heavy for the older teenagers.
My head bounces off the tiles quite harshly, making me see stars, but the spear is still gripped in my hand.
I stagger to my feet as the girl from Seven, oh pixie cut, delivers a kick to my thigh, sending me to my knee. They must have seen a Career and thought to attack. And I know that there's two, because Seven's ally, Eleven, idly stands by with a knife in her hand.
"Zaira, quick, pass me the knife!" Seven commands her ally.
She hands it over and walks towards me, knife poised to arrow downwards into my body in one hand, no doubt, whilst a hatchet is in her other hand. But as she gets closer, I swing out my arm, catching my ankles and sending her to the floor. I'm up onto my feet within seconds, the spear literally quivering to go.
My eyes find my target.
And with a thrust, I send it spiraling towards Eleven, catching her in her lower chest, just under her heart. She's quick to deflate to her knees, the pressure and pain probably unbearable. I go to kick Seven, only to find her scrambling away desperately, abandoning her ally to a slow, painful death. I walk over, still slightly shaky from the bang to my head, and when I touch my skin through my locks, I can feel the warm, sticky feeling of some blood pooling.
I ignore it as I approach Eleven, eyes fixated on her writhing body.
I bend over, scooping her head into my lap. I know this would look strange to anyone, especially that of a Career doing it. A soothing sound escapes my lips before I know I'm doing, my hand mindlessly playing with her hair, all in an attempt to make her death a little better. Sure, I'll kill when I need too, but Eleven did nothing to me. She doesn't deserve a painful death, but she has to die, no matter what.
Soon enough, her eyes flutter closed, and the sound of her cannon is quick to join the other two that have recently sounded.
Gavan Dior, District Six Male.
We sit here, numb, just staring into open space.
Mirana lets out a little giggle every now and then, running her hand over her face, stained with Jack's blood. I think Mirana has finally cracked. I don't think anything more traumatic could have happened to her, and now, Mirana isn't around. Since we arrived back into safety, Mirana hasn't said a word. She continues to stare into space, often kissing her pocket watch around her neck or just plain giggling. Sometimes, she mindlessly rubs her face to wipe away Jack's blood.
Every time she does that, it makes me conscious, and suddenly, I do the same, even though I was nowhere near Jack when he got skewered.
I was waiting, silently hoping they'd make it to the steps in time to avaid One.
Cameron looks at me, a fierce determination floating around in her eyes mixing with the sadness at losing her district partner so soon. It's a conflicting mix, but somehow, it just makes Cameron seem more of a threat.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, I suppose.
"What do we do now?" I mumble pathetically, tracing my hand over the lines in the tiles, counting each and every single one.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five S-
"We stay put for now," Cameron replies in a whisper, a contrast to the look in her eyes. "One mistake was bad enough, we're not losing someone so soon."
I understand what she's doing. She's trying to hide her pain but pretending that it didn't bother her. That Jack's death didn't bother her. Yet, I know her enough to know that it's probably eating her up inside, she just won't admit to it quite easily. Mirana continues to giggle in the background as Cameron climbs up, going to the window of the shop.
"Do you see anything?" I say reasonably calm. Something I've learned to attempt to do in a place like this.
She shakes her head. "Not that I can see... But three more cannons not long after Jack's."
She says the last part, when she mentions Jack's name, is much more pained than it should sound. Mirana looks at me, twirling a strand of hair, but I have to fight away. She's far too unstable to probably even understand, anymore. I climb up, trying my best to still force a smile, no matter how sad it looks.
"Who do you think died then?"
Cameron shrugs. "We know that the guy from Three and the girl from Nine are out, and she was a big threat, too. I feel like it could be anyone at this point."
But as she mumbles her last word, the rain slowly ceases. Her eyebrows knit together, as the false sky just from the corner of the glass begins to darken. Cameron mumbles something, quickly opening the door and walking out to look up. I make note of Mirana whose trapped in one of her rumblings before following Cameron out. She's pressed as close as she can to the barrier, head tilted back to stare at the glass roofing.
I hear a awful screeching noise, like an animal, before the glass roof begins to go a funny, swirling purple.
"What the fu-" Cameron begins, before the noise appears again, a glass chunk of the roof travelling upwards, allowing purple tendrils to dip in.
It doesn't take long for all the fear to reach and grip onto my heart, turning the blood in my veins cold. I run my hands through themselves over and over again, as what looks like a giant rope, pure white, drops from the gap. It takes a mere second for Cameron to grab my hand as the first, a large, shiny brown creature slides down.
The large body the size of small trucks, skin that looks like leather, slides so deadly to the glass, you can see the millions of black, gruesome eyes, and pure adrenaline and fear spikes my body.
Spiders.
Because after that one, many more drop, one after the other on their own white ropes, now we know as web.
Each one piles down into the plaza where the Cornucopia is, where Jack just recently died, all standing still and waiting. I feel Cameron tug me as the last one falls, making the army of spiders around ten, I think. Her tug turns into a hard yank as the spiders wait for a second and then begin piling themselves up the stairs and escalators at surprising speed.
They're going to tear through the arena, picking off who they can find. Obviously hiding is boring to the Gamemakers.
Cameron throws me into the room, slamming the door shut and pressing herself against it, sliding to the floor in a crouched heap.
She breaths hard, looking at me, all the while Mirana giggles and begins swishing her head back and forth, her murmuring now something new, it's turned into singing, causing a new sense of panic to settle deep in my stomach.
"Incy wincy spider, ran up the water spout."
Shake It Out by Florence + The Machine.
The blog for this story is - glasshousehungergames . blogspot. com - just take out the spaces. Deaths will be notified there.
Anastasia Burne, District Twelve.
Delaney Robb, District Two.
Zaira Havlin, District Eleven.
Sorry to the submitters that lost their tribute. In all honest, these were the tributes I struggled to write and connect too, and in all fairness, I couldn't keep them around and constantly struggle throughout. Please stick around, but if you don't, that's fine. These are the Hunger Games and this is how it works.
Again, I'm sorry.
Since there is no points system now, a question might be asked sometimes that I would love for you to answer.
Who do you think will be the next death to happen?
All deaths will be based on realism, favoritism, and whether or not the submitter is reading the story (obviously, reviews let me know this). Each decision is painstakingly hard, but must be done. Another factor will be whether or not I see a future for your tribute, or whether I can write more and more for them.
Becky and June, your tributes were beautiful. :')
Just to let you all know, I'm currently part of a 24 author collaboration called Hunters and Hunted, located on the 24 for 24 account. I would love it if you guys read when it starts (6th!) and my tribute is Asha Grimm. For once, I have a tribute myself to work on, not just following a form!
SPIDERS! I personally hate the little buggers.