9: The Bloodbath
Katniss POV
As soon as the gong goes I can feel myself running towards the centre. Adrenaline is pumping through my veins and my senses and reflexes are hyper-alert. I duck a knife and grab a backpack. A few metres away I can see Gale grab a sword and throw it to me. A moment later I see why.
The District 7 boy is in front of me carrying an axe. I have no doubt that he is lethal with it and I feel a rush of gratitude to Gale. Without the sword my only chance would be to run and in the middle of this chaos I wouldn't be likely to get far. The axe swings down and I instinctively parry it with my sword. I bring the sword up and it severs underneath his chin. Blood spurts out everywhere, some of it going on me and he falls forward, dead.
Blood is on my hands. I reach out, feeling vomit claw up in my throat. I don't even try to hold it and throw up over the body of the poor boy from 7. I grab the axe from his still-warm, but stiff hands and carry on running to the centre. With the axe and sword in my hands, the other tributes try to avoid me and I reach a bow easily.
Gale is next to me at the cornucopia and he is breathing hard. He had found another sword, still bloody and I realise that he has also killed. He also has a belt of knives around his waist. We stand back to back for a few seconds, ready to move if necessary, but nobody approaches us.
The bloodbath is now receding and the other careers come back to us. Unsurprisingly, they have all made it few the first few minutes. Cato is carrying a sword in his hand covered in blood and sports no injuries. He also has a spear on his back and a sword sheathed at his waist. Blood is spattered over his clothes.
Clove has a similar belt of knives to Gale and is also uninjured. No blood is on her, probably because she kills with throwing knives. Glimmer is carrying an axe and has a few minor cuts, but nothing serious. Madness shines in her eyes from bloodlust. Marvel has a few spears and a sword cut near the top of his leg. Not too bad. Mara is carrying a polearm with a few spots of blood on her.
"Everyone alive?" Cato asks gruffly. "Good. Pick the weapons you need and pile the other things up by the lake." I'm not sure who made Cato the leader of our group, but there is no doubt that he is. None of the other careers would dispute an order from Cato. Gale and I grab some backpacks and I take the other bow and arrows.
"It's OK," he whispers as we walk, our heads down. "You had no choice." I know that he is referring to the murder of District 7.
"It's not OK," I hiss back. "But you're right, it's kill or be killed."
We finish the journey to the lake in silence and dump the stuff. It's a lot of supplies, a pyramid almost taller than me. Our spot is probably the best place in the arena to be now. We are by the lake with all of the supplies and weapons we need. No other tribute will dare attack all the careers at once, the Capitol probably won't send mutts towards all of us just yet.
"Katniss, you and Clove stay here to guard the supplies. Mara, Glimmer, Marvel, Gale and I are going hunting," he says, a sick smile on his face. The horrible thing is that I've said that to Gale so many times. I'm going hunting. Here though, they don't mean rabbits. No.. They mean tributes. At least I don't have to go yet, but I wanted Gale with me now.
I just want to go to a private place with him and we can hold and reassure each other about what we did. Gale is better at hiding it than I am, but I can easily see that he is disgusted with what he's done and is about to do. I know Cato isn't stupid though, he won't leave both of us with the supplies and his District partner.
They leave us and there are a few seconds of awkward silence before Clove says something.
"Look District 12, this is the Hunger Games. It's kill or be killed. Get used to it. Oh and watch your back- I don't trust you."
Has she figured out mine and Gale's plan? I wonder. Maybe, probably not though. This is the Hunger Games, as she said. She probably doesn't trust anyone, not even Cato. "I'm aware of what this is," I reply. "And of course you don't trust me- 24 go in, one comes out. You'd be a fool to trust anyone," I throw at her.
"You more so. And don't you trust your lover boy partner?"
I have to smile slightly at the nickname. Lover boy? Doesn't suit Gale that well. Hopefully the Capitol will just interpret it as an in love smile. "Of course I do," I respond. "But I'm an exception. I don't see Cato sparing your life, do you?"
"Of course not. He's not a weak idiot."
"He's not a weak idiot. You saw him with knives and the sword. And he's out killing now."
"So is Cato. And Cato isn't tied down with a girlfriend in the Games."
"I don't see how I am tying him down. Eleven in training, remember?" I brag slightly. I can see where Clove is coming from, but the Capitol are on my side. And getting them to dislike Clove means less sponsors for Clove when she needs them.
"I don't know how you got that, how many people have you killed so far?"
"One," I reply guiltily.
"Precisely," she says. "I've killed two so far. And I didn't throw up after it."
"Just leave me alone. Wouldn't want to get attached, then it would be harder to kill you."
"Dream on District 12. I'm winning these Games."
"If you say so," I shrug, ending the conversation. Clove occupies herself by throwing knives at a branch and I look through the backpacks. The stuff is pretty useful, food, water bottles, a slingshot, iodine. There's also quite a bit of rope and I set up a few simple snares around our clearing.
xXx-X-xXx
Gale POV
I see a plume of smoke rising to my left. "Cato," I say, gesturing towards it. He grunts and we change direction. The smoke is getting nearer and I wonder what tribute would be so stupid as to light a fire. It's not even dark or cold yet. As we get closer we see a girl, I think from District 8, warming meat on a fire.
Cato and Marvel laugh, closing in on her. She gives a scream and tries to run, but Mara flicks her wrist and the curved blade of her polearm is at the girl's neck.
"Going somewhere?" Glimmer asks mockingly.
"Please, don't kill me!" the girls says desperately.
Cato opens his mouth, but I get there faster. "Sorry kid, but this is the Hunger Games," I say. "And we all want to get home."
Cato draws his sword and slashes at her stomach with it. Then Marvel hits her on the head with his spear and she falls to the ground, dead. Cato laughs, but I feel horrible. I've already killed once today at the bloodbath, a District 10 girl, but that wasn't the same as this. She was threatening to kill me. But here, this girl was no threat to us. But as I had said just moments ago, this is the Hunger Games. I can't afford to give mercy.
We walk away from her, the laughter of Glimmer and Marvel echoing around me. After about ten minutes, Cato turns to us. "Why isn't there a cannon?" he growls. We shrug, not wanting to anger him. He looks like the type that would kill any of us, except maybe Clove if we are being annoying.
"You," he says gesturing towards me. "Go back. If she's alive, kill her." I nod slightly, emotions swirling inside me. Before it was just not preventing death, can I really kill a person in cold blood? Someone who isn't trying to kill me, someone who has a family, friends, a life. Maybe even a boyfriend. I don't want to, but I realise with a feeling of cold dread in my stomach that these Games have already changed me so that I will.
I take my sword and run back in the direction I came from. A few metres away from the campfire, I see the girl. She has made a makeshift bandage for her stomach and is limping very slowly and weakly away from me. She'll probably die soon, I doubt she'll last more than a few hours with an injury like that.
I draw my sword. "I'm sorry," I say. "But I have to get home too."
"I understand," she whispers. Then she raises her voice. "Goodbye, family, friends. Weft, my little brother, I'll always love you."
"Goodbye," I say to her. "And I'm sorry," I address to the cameras I know are watching.
I slide my sword quickly across her neck and the blood spurts out. In under a minute she will be dead with this rate of blood loss. After a few seconds she falls down and a loud boom sounds. The first non-bloodbath death. And I am responsible. I run back in the direction I have come.
The scary thing is now, a few minutes after killing a defenceless girl, I feel no guilt. Just the desire to succeed, to get Katniss home. The satisfaction that her death brings me one step closer to having Katniss live. Because I definitely put her life above mine and every other tribute's in this arena. "For you, Katniss," I whisper.
"What took you so long?" Cato grunts.
"Nothing," I say. "I was just waiting to make sure she was dead this time."
"Good. Come on, I want one more death before nightfall. Then we can return to the others."
"Are you OK Gale," Mara asks, seemingly slightly concerned. "No emotions getting in the way of killing."
"I'm fine," I respond without lifting my head. "Just fine."
As we are walking, I swear I can see a pair of eyes gleaming at me in the bushes, but there is no noise, so I don't alert the others. I also catch a glimpse of red, but it's probably my imagination after seeing that much blood, first in the Bloodbath and a few minutes ago from killing.
After a few hours more of walking, Cato finally accepts that no more tributes are going to be found. Dusk is setting in as we walk back to our camp by the lake. As it comes into sight, we see a small boy, District 3 I think, approaching the food pile. I can see Katniss' eyes turn in his direction, she sees him, but she does nothing.
Cato comes up to him with the sword and as he is about to bring it down on District 3's head, the boy notices and twists away. "Wait! Don't kill me! I can help you!" he says hurriedly.
Cato stops his sword. "How can a runt like you help us?" he asks suspiciously. "You aren't just trying to preserve your own life, are you?"
"No, I swear. I know how to reactivate the mines. You could use them to protect your resources. We could set up a pattern."
Cato stops and I can see the cogs ticking in his brain. My brain is also wondering about the possibilities. District 3 makes electrical stuff, so the idea is possible. But then, he would do anything to preserve his life. And what if it could be exploited, our supplies blown up by a clever tribute. Or maybe he intends to.
"Come with us," he says finally. "Show us. Do well, this decides whether you live or not."
Then the idea strikes me. If he succeeds, maybe I can persuade them to let him live. Then when me and Katniss betray, we can leave them with no supplies. This is perfect for me, I bet the other careers have no idea how to hunt or cook meat on a fire. With less of them, Katniss and I might even be able to become the dominant alliance.
We accompany the boy to the cornucopia to pick up the mines and take them back to our camp. Katniss and Clove are sitting there looking interested. "New recruit?" Clove asks.
"Maybe," Marvel replies. "Depends on how well he does."
The boy begins tinkering with the mines and cutting different wires. Occasionally he asks us for a tool and I wonder if this is what he showed in his private training session. At last, he stands back from it.
"It's done," he states.
xXx-X-xXx
So what do you think of the first chapter of the games? Good? Bad? Let me know.
-MoonOfPluto