Day Five

Skye looked around the camp. It was early in the morning, the sun just below the horizon. Cleo had put him on the really early watch, probably as punishment for what happened with Tabytha. But he didn't care. In fact, it was perfect. He didn't want to spend a moment longer in the Career Gang. He hated them, Cleo and Sparkle and Jayson. There weren't many tributes left, and he knew that the Gang would turn against each other soon. And he knew full well that he would be the first to go.

Silently he got to his feet, checking that none of the other Careers were awake. They were all fast asleep, and didn't stir as he walked across the campsite to the Cornucopia. He carefully pulled open the net and stepped inside. Working quickly, he pulled together a backpack stuffed with supplies, a sword and a net that he could roll up and tie to the backpack.

As he left the Cornucopia he considered setting it alight. But it would quickly wake up the other Careers and alert them to what was going on. He wanted them to stay asleep for a few more hours. Then he got a brainwave.

With a smile, he pulled the net back over the Cornucopia, and retied it. But this time he tied it so that there was no gap that the Careers could use. Now, if they tried to pull it off or cut it, the net would wrap around them and kill them.

He carefully fastened the last knot, and turned to look at the Careers again. His gaze fell on Niall, the only one that he actually liked. He wished that Niall could come too, but he wasn't sure where Niall's loyalties lay. So he turned away, and set off down the hill, as the sun broke over the horizon.

O

Dawn Shentell was up early. The sun was hardly an inch over the tops of the houses, but she preferred the mornings before the burning heat set in. She wandered absentmindedly down the street, trying to ignore the hunger pangs in her stomach.

She looked around at the sound of a pained cry. She saw a scrawny cat playing with a bird between its paws. 'Shoo!' she cried, hurrying over. The cat hissed but slunk off, leaving the bird. She knelt down, and saw that it was in a bad way. A really bad way. The cat had broken one wing, which was hanging at an awkward angle, and made a gash in the belly.

Suddenly realising what she had to do, she picked up the bird. Wrapping her hands around its neck, she quickly snapped it. The bird let out one last pitiful cry and died. Dawn stared down at it, sickened by what she had done.

But then she realised that she had meat, which equalled food, as long as she could cook it properly – she didn't want to end up like the poor District Twelve boy. She slowly stood up and walked down the street towards the forest, where there was wood for a fire.

She didn't notice the droplets of blood that fell from the bird. A few streets along she stopped, feeling the hairs prickle on the back of her neck. Suddenly feeling scared, she turned around. There was no one. But as she started to move on, she heard a whisper.

'I smell blood. Give me blood!'

O

Lottie Blacilla crawled down the street, stopping to sniff each droplet of blood. Her mouth was dry with anticipation, she longed to feel the joy of a kill. Speeding up, she turned a corner and looked around. The droplets of blood had stopped, but the smell was still there. Carefully, she made her way up the street, using her nose as much as her sight to find her victim.

'Come out come out where ever you are!' she cried in a singsong voice. 'Don't you want to play? Lottie wants to play. Come out and play!' She heard a stifled sob and looked around, swinging her head like an animal. The sob had come from a small alcove in a house. She poked her head in, and saw the District Three girl pressed against the wall, her eyes wide and terrified. 'Playtime!'

The girl screamed, scrabbling at the wall for an escape. Lottie leapt for her and sunk her teeth into the back of her neck, dragging her back and throwing her onto the dirt road. The girl tried to scramble away but Lottie was much quicker, leaping onto her. She pressed her claw like nails into the girl's neck, effectively paralysing her. If the girl tried to move away, her nails would cut her throat.

'Please just kill me!' the girl sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. 'Please!'

'No, no, no!' cried Lottie. 'Don't you wanna play? They don't let Lottie keep the bodies, see, so Lottie gonna play now!' Ignoring the girl's wails, she took her free hand and slowly ripped open the girl's stomach.

O

Diesel had heard the screams and wails from far away. Without thinking, he drew his rapier and ran towards them – there was no way he could ignore the wails of a little girl. Diesel turned a corner into a street to see the mad girl from Six crouched over something in the middle of the road. He looked closer and saw that it was the District Three girl, crying and sobbing.

'Get away! GET AWAY!' he yelled, slashing at the mad girl. She leapt out the way but the rapier caught her arm, drawing blood. She hissed angrily, crawling forwards a few paces, but he stabbed at her again and she turned and ran. He fell to his knees next to the injured girl.

She was in a bad state, covered in cuts and bruises. The worst was a gash in her stomach, you could almost see her insides. She was crying – she seemed too weak to scream, despite the huge pain she had to be in.

'Okay, let's stop the bleeding first,' he said, noticing how red the dust around her was. 'What's your name?'

'Dawn. My name's Dawn,' she whispered. He picked up her hand, gently squeezing it. She could barely put any pressure on his.

'That's a lovely name. Don't worry, Dawn, I'm here, you're going to be alright.' But she was shaking her head. Her breathing was slowing, heartbeat barely a flutter. He shook his head. 'No, no don't do this to me!' He gently picked up her head, cradling it in his lap.

'Talk to me,' she whispered. 'Please. Tell me what's going to happen.'

'You-You're going to a beautiful place. Full of plants and sunlight and animals so tame they'll just walk right up to you. There'll be no hardship. No hunger, or cold, or sadness. You'll be far away from here, from the Panem, from anything that scares you or makes you unhappy. Where you're going, everything is perfect, magical, with…' his voice trailed away as he saw that her breathing had stopped, and her eyes were blank and glassy. Her hand fell from his as he lay her down on the ground, arranging her body so it was straight, her arms crossed over her chest.

Then he stood up, and walked away.

O

Ember Gildern cracked open one eye. He was curled up on the floor, arms wrapped around his stomach, which felt like it was full of burning acid and fire. His throat was raw and his head pounded. He wished he was dead.

As he opened his eyes, he saw a grey parachute land in front of his nose. At first, in his state, he didn't realise what it was. But then his lethargic brain clicked everything into place, and he opened the container attached to the parachute. Inside was a small vial of clear liquid. It could only be medicine.

He struggled to pull the stopper off, but as soon as he did, he tipped all of it down his throat, wincing as it burnt the rawness. But instantly he seemed to feel better, the pain in his stomach lessening and his head clearing.

The house that he was in was a mess, covered in blood and sick and other unidentifiable bodily fluids. Slowly he got to his feet and stumbled out of the house, eager to leave the stinking room.

O

Kai had made it back to the watchtower, despite the pain in his foot. But the more he exercised the ankle, the better it became. By the time he had got to the parapet it hardly hurt at all. But he wrapped it in a strip of torn material from his linen shirt, just in case.

The next morning he was well up and wondering what to do when he saw the parachute. It had almost become a joke for him, how he got his daily parachute. He supposed sponsors had just taken a liking for him. He wasn't going to complain!

The parachute was heavy, and it had two packages – from two different sponsors, he supposed. The smaller of the two contained a roll of bread and two strips of beef jerky. He was pleased with it. But the other was heavy, and inside lay a small crossbow with twelve quarrels. Perfect for fighting from high up.

As he examined it a small note fell out. He picked it up and read: You're doing great. Just thirteen tributes left! Remember to act confident and cool – sponsors love it! And stay high up, it's your big advantage! From –C, Loyal District Eight Sponsor

He grinned and tied the crossbow to his belt where he could quickly grab it, and slipped the note into his pocket. Getting food and defending himself from other tributes would be nothing but easy now. And it was always nice to get compliments.

O

Scott and Sephiria were even hungrier the next day. As they scoured the forest for edible plants and berries, Sephiria let out a shriek of excitement. Scott turned around, annoyed that she had probably scared off all of the prey in the nearby area. She was jumping up and down and pointing up at a tree.

'Look – a parachute!' she cried, clapping with excitement. He looked closer and saw a grey parachute snagged in the branches a few metres up. 'I'll climb up!' Scott was about to protest but she was already pulling herself up. She quickly got up to the parachute and untangled it, dropping it down to Scott before climbing down herself.

Scott opened it and to their excitement they found food. Two rolls, some strips of beef jerky and a cluster of berries. They both wanted to stuff it all in their mouths, but forced themselves to only eat a bit – a couple of berries, strip of jerky and a bit of roll each.

O

The Careers had woken up late – usually the tribute on early morning watch woke all the others up when the sun was just up. But Sparkle was the first to wake up, and when she did, the sun was high in the sky.

'Skye? Why the he-' she stopped suddenly as she realised Skye wasn't around. 'Skye? Skye!' She jumped to her feet and looked around, before going to shake Cleo. 'Cleo, Cleo wake up!' Cleo blinked and opened her eyes, looking confused.

'Sparkle? I thought Skye was on the early watch. And why is it so bright?'

'Skye's done a bunk,' said Sparkle. Cleo suddenly looked angry. 'I'll wake the others.'

Jayson was equally angry at Skye. Niall was just very quiet, and seemed almost upset about Skye leaving, as much as he tried to hide it. Sparkle quickly noticed and pranced over to him. 'You sad about your little friend leaving? Maybe he doesn't like you anymore!' she giggled, putting on a baby voice. 'Poor ickle Niall!'

Niall was suddenly on his feet, towering over Sparkle. 'Shut up, Sparkle. Do you realise how bitchy you sound? You're nothing but a spoilt little girl, trying to control everyone and get what you want. You don't scare me. I've seen you, around school and town. Controlling everyone who can give you something, and bullying everyone who can't. You disgust me.' Sparkle's eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to slap him. But Niall stared her down and in the end she turned and flounced off to sit next to Cleo.

O

Jessalyn was walking down a wide, dust covered street in the rich area. She spun around, hand on her sword at the sound of a twig snapping behind her. There was a pause, then Skye stepped out from behind a house. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and drew her sword halfway.

'Where are your Career pals?' she asked. He shook his head.

'I left them. Backstabbing gits,' he said, shrugging. 'Believe me – it's the truth, I promise.' Jessalyn looked at him for a few moments before sheathing the sword again.

'What do you want?' she asked.

'I was wondering whether maybe, now both of us are alone, we could team up? It's way easier in a team, everyone says so,' he said. 'Please?'

'Fine. I want someone to talk to anyway. Come on, we should set up camp, it's getting late.' They found a roomy house that was even sparsely furnished with some shelves and a wooden armchair. Skye quickly broke apart some shelves and piled them up. He glanced over at Jessalyn.

'I haven't got any firelighters, I forgot them when I got the supplies.' Jessalyn rolled her eyes.

'Typical. I've only got two left, but I think I can light a fire from dry kindling,' she rolled two large splinters of wood together until a spark jumped out and the wood burst into flames.

'Lucky it was dry.'

'Yeah. But this is unlucky,' she held out her left hand, palm forward, to show him a splinter embedded in the soft part below her thumb.

'Ouch,' Skye gently took her hand. 'Look away.' Jessalyn did so, and a second later there was a brief jolt of pain, and then nothing. Skye dangled the splinter in front of her, grinning.

'Thanks.'

'No problem. Do you know who's left?'

'Don't you look at the sky when they show it?'

'Yeah but I don't really keep track.'

Jessalyn laughed. 'Not got the mental capacity?'

'Shut up! I vaguely know who died in the Bloodbath. Hareld, both from District Ten, Merezald, Ginevra and that ginger bloke…'

'Patrick Volta. Yeah I saw that. And Trix Lexon, I saw Lottie kill her. She's crazy, you know?' Skye nodded fervently. 'And those twins?'

'Amore and Odio. And someone else today, I heard the cannon but I don't know who.'

'Dawn Shentell,' they both looked up, grabbing their weapons. Diesel Cain was silhouetted in the door. They stared at him, tense and ready to fight. But he just turned and walked off.

Hey check it out, I updated really fast! Aren't you all pleased with me? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, apart from the death… :''( I'll update soon as possible… tomorrow or the next day, hopefully.

Anyway, here's the Dead List:

Hareld Wyre

Jenna Monroe

Nathaniel Merezald

Pau Furnely

Ginevra Helena di Cosimo

Patrick Volta

Amore Gemini

Odio Gemini

Tabytha laDawn Carmahel

Dawn Shentell

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