"Americans love to read about violence." -Bernadine Dohrn
District Eight's December "Ember" Juliet Varen's POV
My father. My father wasn't acting right. No. The man in front of me wasn't my father, I knew that it couldn't be him. He wasn't crazy nor was he a murderer, so it couldn't be him, right? I didn't want it to be, but I couldn't deny what was right in front of me. This man, though he might be covered in swelling bruises and look like someone that was more dead than alive, but I knew that it was him. After all, even though his face and body was different, I recognized him, it's hard for you to forget what your family looks like, even if he had left early in my life.
As much as I didn't want it to be, that person in front of me, that person that had murdered that mentor, was my father.
Why did he turn out that way? What drove him to shoot at us? To murder that man? To act like a mad man? None of this made any sense, and I wanted to know why he was this way. I wanted to know how he had suddenly transformed from being the kind man that I remembered, to this... This monster.
Did it have something to do with those bruises? Those horrible, horrible injuries that snaked down his body and puffed out like plums growing out of his body? If so, what had done that to him? Who had done that to him? And for what purpose? And why him? Was it just bad luck that he had gotten chosen to show us that cruel orientation? Or was it an act from above for no other reason or purpose than to make our family suffer?
Our ancestors, they really had a way of making people pay for their crimes. Theft, that was all he was guilty of, so why were they causing him so much harm? Why were they causing me so much harm, seeing him like this?
I didn't want to think that. Those injuries, the way that he looked at me before he fired his gun at me, I don't think that he liked doing it anymore than I liked seeing him that way. He was tortured into doing it, I'm sure of it. But again, I wondered by who, or what, and why. What was the purpose of this? We knew how to play the games. We didn't need a demonstration to know that there was going to be killing, going to be death. We knew that already, so why? Why did this have to occur?
The only thing that was different was that we were told that some rules were going to be broken. What rules though? The unofficial rules? The rules that everyone knew about, but never talked about?
This game was going to feel more natural, he said that. But would this game really be any different than the normal years? We didn't need a fucking murder to know what every year brought. It was all natural. Kids killing kids in an arena that was isolated from civilization, all the while, the entire nation watches. What was it going to be the more natural part? No hidden cameras anywhere?
No. That would never happen, they always broadcasted the action to the country of Panem for a reason. They wouldn't suddenly stop nearly one hundred and forty years of this for the benefit of the game being more natural. No, the Capitol liked showing us as powerless victims at our lowest in an effort to show how weak we really are. The only way it could be more natural is if there's no mutts or gamemaker traps, and my father said that there were still going to be mutts and traps around. Just less.
More natural, but not completely. Wouldn't that just bore the audience, something that the Capitol wanted to avoid?
Whatever the reason, why did my father have to get involved? Was the Capitol so weak willed that they refused to do the dirty work themselves? Just like how they avoided making their own clothes and made the people of my district do it for them? Was my father only here because the Capitol couldn't stand the thought of doing actual work? Of actually having to stand up and do something?
A victim. That's what my father was. Another victim of the Capitol, chosen against his will to do something that he didn't want to do. Just like us. For what real reason I did not know, all I knew was that the man I had talked to days ago was hidden behind a man that had been beaten and forcefully tailored into something that was needed. Like a clean white T-shirt being turned into a grey collared shirt.
As the disk below me started to rise, leading me up to the arena, I let my tears flow freely. This could be the last time I see him, the last time that I never speak to him again, and all I got from him is that small talk from him during the second day of training, and now this.
He pointed a gun at me, shoot at me, threatened me, shouted at me. It felt as if my emotions were being assaulted and my heart was being stabbed. My chest was tight, and if it weren't for the deathtrap that I was going into soon, I would of fell to the floor and just cried there until ancestors knows how long. Because right now, there was almost nothing more that I wanted to do.
Looking at my dad now, I didn't want to see that beaten and battered man that the Capitol had made him into, I wanted to see the man that he really was. But it was kind of hard to see that when he was pointing his gun to his head.
Pointing a gun to his head? Why was he...
No! No! NO!
"No!" I shouted as I slammed my palm onto the clear glass that separated me from the room my father was in. "No! No! No! No!" He can't kill himself! It's not his fault!
Please dad! Don't do it! I already lost yo- BANG!
The sound of the gunshot exploded through the air, and just like that, everything seemed to slow down. I saw the path the bullet took. The bullet took the most sadistic path it could take. Starting with the point of the gun pointed right under his right cheekbone, the bullet smashed right through his teeth, tore through his cheekbone, then through his lower skull, into his brain, until it drilled through the upper left portion of his head.
Blood and gore exploded out of his head as I saw pieces of shattered teeth and bone fly out of him as well. I could see every speck of blood traveling out of him, every bit of carnage seemed to be more detailed than normal. And because time had slowed down for some reason, nature gave me time to watch the entire scene in horror.
I got to see the blood create patterns as it traveled out of his head and fell to the floor, got to see his body fall to the floor like a broken machine, I even got to see the life swiftly drift out of him. I swore that I saw some kind of life in him, even after the bullet exited his head. But then in less than a second, all that life got drained from him.
I didn't get to see his body hit the floor, the walls that suddenly appeared made it impossible to see him. But I knew that he would hit the floor soon, I could see it in my imagination. He would hit the floor, and his head would further crack open, exposing more of his insides. And there he would lay until someone drags him out. How long would that be though? Would he even get that? Would the Capitol even care?
The thought of his body just laying there, rotting until the end of time, made me angry. His death made me sad, and those two emotions collided as I pounded on the glass in front of me, crying, wanting to break it so that I could go to his body and so something with it. Anything but leaving it to rot in some room that nobody was going to visit.
Hit the glass as I might, I couldn't even crack it. Tears continued to sting my eyes as my thoughts started to race again.
I didn't think you'd betray me too. First my friends, then June, then mom. I didn't want to think that you betrayed me as well when you stole from that merchant. But you did. Not just then.
Letting my hand slid down the smooth glass, I thought, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
District Eleven's Aerin Sevani's POV
That guy. I though he was going to kill us, or at the very least injure us, shoot us maybe. After all, a bullet to the leg would be a crippling wound that would severely hold one back, and kill them if they didn't treat it soon enough, or if it hit a particularly bad place.
That guy, he had the eyes of a desperate man, and sometimes, those kinds of people can be more dangerous than those who are just plain bad. I should know, District Eleven is full of those types of people. Desperate. I should count my lucky stars that he didn't shoot anyone, just at them. But boy did it scare me.
Not only that, but I knew that that man had killed people even before he had executed Joesiah Herzig. A man that had already killed mixed in with desperate were two deadly combinations.
My heart's still racing from the encounter, and I could feel my breathing still going strong. But I wasn't worried about me, not completely, I was more worried for Sami and Angel. How were they holding up? Angel was probably better off than Sami due to living in District Eleven, like me, having to see those types of things growing up. But Sami, what was it like in District Seven? I don't think it's as bad as Eleven, nothing could be as bad as Eleven.
Sami screamed and cried and puked on me when the District Ten mentored was murdered, so that kind of thing probably doesn't happen all that often in her district. The poor girl, must have been scared out of her wits. I'm glad that I was there to comfort her. And what of that bruise that was just under her eye? Where did that come from? It was big, and really swollen, so whatever had hit her was either large, powerful, or both.
I'm worried for her, hopefully I can find something for it at the bloodbath. Either some kind of cream, or something in a backpack. Maybe we can find something outside the bloodbath field? If the arena is like a hospital or a forest or something that offers some kind of remedy, it could help us if no medical supplies are supplied at the bloodbath. It was going to be a pain for her later, so the sooner we get rid of it the better. I didn't want her in anymore pain than she needed to be.
And speaking of that, I wondered what the arena was going to be. Aside from the question that murderer downstairs had risen up, and wondering if Sami and Angel were all right, that was the main question that was floating in my mind as I rode up to the unknown. What kind of arena were we going to go into?
Were we going to be in an ice cold mountain range? An island with an active volcano? A desert where you could see your enemies from great distances? A wild forest? I hoped that it wasn't going to be an open kind of arena where you could see long distances. The problem with those types of arena was that there were few places to hide. You could see your enemies, but they could also see you. There were disadvantages, but also advantages. That type of arena would make it hard for tributes to sneak up on each other, and since I had two allies, it would be even harder for them to sneak up on us.
But who says that it's an open fielded arena? What if it's something so densely thick with something that you couldn't see anything until it was within reach of you? What if it's someplace you can't see the danger until it's too late to even run away or form a plan?
I hoped that it wasn't one of those two extremes, I didn't want paranoia taking over us. It was bad enough in District Eleven, who knows how it'll affect us in the arena.
An unknown environment. It was sounding worse and worse the more I thought of it, and honestly, I was getting more and more worried. But what were the odds that they were going to be chosen?
Capitol audiences tended to dislike those types of arenas. So we were probably safe from that.
Though what did that guy say during that orientation? That the arena would be more natural? What did that mean? That question was like an itch in the back of my mind. Sure he said less mutts, less traps, and there were going to be no rules for real, but was there anything else that we should know? What did the arena have to offer us thi-
Sunlight. Bright sunlight shone right into my eyes, blinding me and forcing me to raise my hands and shield my eyes from the powerful rays. It was still too bright to handle, so I had to turn my body away as well.
Damn, it was bright. What were the gamemakers trying to do? Blind us with an overly bright sun? I didn't like this, how were we supposed to navigate around an arena that we couldn't see? What were we going to do in an arena that blinded us? Move around with our eyes closed? Wave our arms around until we found each other? It made me think of that one District Ten mentor, Sable her name was. Was this arena going to be like hers? But instead of absolute darkness, we were in the light.
This was worse than I had thought. We weren't in a place where we couldn't see the enemy until it was too late, we were in a place where we couldn't see them at all!
Wait Aerin, it can't be that bad. It's just the sun, it's probably like when you're looking directly at the sun, or you come out of a dark place into the high noon too soon. Yeah, that's probably it.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" I heard this year's announcer excitedly shout from what seemed like everywhere. "Let the one hundred and thirty ninth Hunger Games begin!"
Calming myself down, I turned my head back forwards and slowly removed my hand from my face, letting my eyes adjust to the sunlight. It didn't take long, I was temporarily blinded at first, but then my vision steadily got better. I was able to see clearer and clearer, the lines and blobs that swirled in front of me disappeared, and my eyes hurt less and less.
I was able to see clearly, but I blinked a couple of times before I was able to see what was in front of me without my eyes hurting as much.
As I looked ahead of me, I could see the golden horn, the cornucopia shining in the morning light. The sun had not yet risen the entire way, so that's how I knew that it wasn't yet noon. That, and the games always begin at the same time, ten in the morning. That's what I assumed it was.
Around the shining cornucopia were the scattered supplies provided for us. Of course, the ones that were close to us were the items that were helpful, but not very comfortable. As you get closer to the cornucopia, you start to get small knives and small backpacks, and farther still were the larger backpack and survival equipment that would offer some kind of comfort that was as close to home as you might get from supplies.
The closer you get to the cornucopia the better the supplies. I mean, close to me is a sheet of plastic that can protect me against the rain, but up close to the horn is a tent that'll protect me from anything that nature challenges me with.
It's dangerous to even think about getting that far ahead with the careers and all. But if you could get out alive, it'll be well worth it.
Past the supplies were the tributes that we were used to seeing now. All of us separated, from each other, the order of the tributes seemed to be chosen at random. I could see Sami and Angel over to my far right with half of Sami's body blocked by the cornucopia. They were close to each other, just two tributes away from each other.
Taking the same to look at them, I saw that they were looking at me as well. I shook my head, and they nodded their heads. They understood. We were sticking to the plan, and if something went wrong, they were to continue on. Hopefully things would go sour, but just in case, there was a plan for that as well.
I looked beyond the tributes and the cornucopia and saw that ahead of me was a city. At first I thought that it was the Capitol, but as I looked closer, I saw that it wasn't the Capitol. Actually, it was like the Capitol, but it was like an old, ruined, abandoned Capitol city that was being overrun with nature.
Buildings, some bigger than others, I could see that they were beginning to cracking due to nature's attack on them. Vines were encrusted in the sides of buildings with individual, or small groups of green vines winding their way up the concrete, metal, and glass. The vines reminded me of the costumes that Angel and I wore during the chariot tours.
Some of windows were destroyed, but some, not many, but some, were still undamaged, exposing the abandoned insides of the buildings. They were too far to see in detail, but I could tell that they were dirty with things tossed about. Vines invaded some of those spaces as well.
There were some noticeably tall buildings, most of them rectangular, but others were like lances stuck to each other with a metal band wrapped at the top to keep the ones on angles steady. Towers I think they're called. They were made of metal, so I guessed that they were rusting in the distance.
I couldn't see much of what was ground level, but from what I could see from the cornucopia, it was much of the same as what I could see here. Grass, moss, and trees growing out of the concrete. And they weren't forest trees, but jungle trees. Trees with smooth bark and huge leaves.
It was almost like back home. A bit more like the Capitol than District Eleven, but still like home in a way. Nature and civilization mixed together.
If I ignored the cornucopia and supplies in front of me, I could almost imagine that I was home. The heat of the mid day sun, the humid air, and the songs of the mocking jays in the distance, it reminded me of the harvests back home. Wither that was a good thing or a bad thing I couldn't decide. I missed my home, but at the same time, there were things that I didn't like about home.
I looked behind me to see that there was a forest like area. It was filled with trees and thick with nature. Much more natural than the abandoned city that was in front of me.
Just like home. Part nature, part civilization.
What part were we going to go towards? Both places had their advantages. If we stuck to the plan, I knew which way Sami and Angel were going to run towards, but could I be sure?
But then an explosion shattered my thoughts. Startled, I looked over to see what had happened. After all, what was an explosion doing here?
District Five's Alexander Natas's POV
Hahahahahahaha! That stupid fat ass from Twelve ran off the platform before the gong had even sounded. What the hell was he thinking? Was he actually so stupid that he didn't know that the land mines were there? Or did he simply want to die?
Whatever his decision was, it was okay with me. The sight of that fat boy on his bloody back, howling and crying in agony as he grabbed the ruined stumps of what was now his non-existent legs.
As dirt, dark crimson, and pieces of flesh rained down on the ground from his vaporized legs, blood was spraying violently out of where his legs used to be. Strips flesh and muscle were exposed to the world, and I swore I could see fragments of bone imbedded into his skin. Or maybe those were pieces of bone that were sticking out of his flesh. A broken pelvis or whatever was left of his legs. Metal fragments were buried into his flesh as well.
Some of his hip and ass were black and dark red from the burns of the landmine explosion, but it didn't matter, blood still sprayed out in every direction. The pressure so powerful that it squirted out from between his fingers. Hell, the kid himself was getting painted with his own blood because of his own hands.
As the ground was being mixed with the colours of red, brown, and green, I saw the girl from Eight, Ember she called herself, pull up her shirt and vomit into it. Guess she still had some left over from the orientation.
Lots of kids couldn't contain themselves during that, puking and crying when that mentor got killed. I knew that those kids wouldn't win, or even make it far. If they couldn't handle a death in front of them, there was no way that they were going to kill someone. They would hesitate, and that would be the death of them.
No. The people who were going to win were the people that could handle death. People that could kill. People that could stand getting blood on their hands. People like me.
Thinking of the way that those pathetic tributes acted before, and the way that girl was acting just now, it reminded me of my stylist and the conversation we had recently had.
"Do you have a token?" She had asked last night.
"Do I need one?" I asked, not caring in the least about a token. Why would I want something that reminded me of home when I despised the very place that I was forced to call home?
"Everyone has one but you." She told me in a matter of fact tone. I looked at her before I said to her.
"Didn't know I needed one." I then picked up the closest knife to me. It wasn't a sharp knife, its main purpose was to cut soft food, but it would do for the situation. My stylist looked scared, like I was going to do something to her, but she seemed to relax a little when I started to cut a part of my hair in a sawing motion.
It had taken some time, but I managed to slice a chunk of my hair off. I then held my hair in my left palm, before I placed the blade of the knife onto my palm, and with one swift movement, slit open my hand. The stylist looked shocked at my action, but what could you expect from someone like her?
I then squeezed my injured palm tightly, allowing more blood to flow out of the wound. A couple moments passed before I opened my hand to her, showing off my white hair and open palm, both now stained with blood. "Red and white," I said to her shocked face. "The colours that make me who I am."
Red and white, the colours that would become the main focus of the arena. Like right now, red was the ground because of the fat boy and his stupidity. White was what he was becoming from his blood loss.
His cries already getting weaker and weaker. The blood flow steadily getting slower and slower. Blood was starting to leak out of his mouth. He'd be dead soon, that much was certain.
Another thing that was certain was that another tribute was going to die. I just had to wait another thirty seconds or so.
Twenty seconds. I looked over at my target, and she had this oh so scared and worried expression on her face.
Ten seconds. I knew what I was going to do with her when I caught her. It was so clear in my mind that I could almost see and feel it right now. It gave me the shivers of delight. After all, she deserved every second of it.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Then the gong sounded.
As soon as I heard that sound, I sprinted towards the closest backpack in front of me, ignoring the other tributes that were running about. They all came from every direction, but I was focused on one person and one person only.
Within seconds, I was within reach of a small, dark blue backpack. Without slowing down, I grabbed it by one of the straps and turned on my heels in a semi-circle. Now facing my target, I threw my arm up to shoulder height and threw my free arm through the strap before doing the same with my opposite arm, securing the backpack onto its respected place.
Now that I had a backpack with me, I could now focus on that bitch Valerie. She was running away, slowly. So slowly that it made me want to laugh, I don't think she ever ran in her life she looked so pathetic. I'm surprised that she isn't dead already. But she soon would be.
She was trying to escape the chaos of the bloodbath, but little did she know that it wasn't going to help her, because even if she could run fast, I wasn't going to let her get away. After all, her and her father had made my life a living hell back in District Five, and it was time for a little pay back. She was going to pay for the crimes of both herself and her father.
I sprinted towards her, and for every step she took, I gained five. I easily caught up to her before I reached out and grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled it back. Valerie came to a sudden and painful halt as she gave out a high pitched shriek and fell to the ground. The only thing that was keeping her head up was my hand pulling on her hair.
I felt and heard chunks of hair be ripped from her scalp as she started to cry out in pain. It gave me some satisfaction that I had hurt her so early on. I felt a smile appear on my face as my plan became more and more of a reality.
Valerie fought against my grip, but her hands were weak and ineffective, more annoying than anything else, just like everything else about her. Her screams and cries the only thing that I thought weren't annoying. "Thought you could escape?" I growled before I slammed my knee into her back, causing her to arch back with a small gasp. "Thought you could get away?" I then pulled her head to the right, the pain of getting her hair pulled forced her to follow. Her body soon found itself on the ground.
Taking a moment to relish that Valerie was literally below me, I slowly pulled her head back before quickly slamming her face onto the ground with all my might. A wet crunch was heard, and a scream occurred from her mouth. The ground might be covered with moss, but below it was hard earth and concrete, perfect for breaking someone's nose.
I quickly slammed Valerie's face into the ground one last time, the crunch even wetter than before, before I wrapped my left arm around her throat and started to drag her away from the bloodbath field and towards the forest. "You're coming with me." I told her as she struggled against me, but she was too weak to even put up much of a fight. Her attacks were pitiful.
She was shouting at me, begging me to let her go, but I wasn't going to have any of that. She should know better as well, she wasn't going to get out of this no matter how much she begged and cried. She and I were going to have a lot of fun in the thick, isolated forest where I could do whatever I wanted to her.
I wanted this. I wanted this so bad. I had wanted it for so long.
All of a sudden, the sound of her voice stopped. The sweet sounds of agony that were coming from her mouth had disappeared. What had happened?
I looked around her body, and saw that her face was splattered with red liquid, her mouth was open agape, her eyes were wide, and a throwing knife was wedged into her head. Just above her left eye.
I looked up to where I thought the knife had came from, and saw the little twelve year old girl from Two looking in my direction. She was holding two throwing knives in her left hand, actively tossing one into her right. Was she the one that took my prey? The one that I had wanted to have fun with for so long? Damn it!
I then saw her lift her right arm up, reading the throwing knife in her hand. Was she going to throw it at me? It sure looked like it.
Lifting Valerie's body up, I used her as a shield while retreating to the forest. I heard a knife flying through the air before the sound of steel stabbing into flesh occurred. At least Valerie had been good for something. But...
Damn you girl. Damn you. You just had to take away my fun, didn't you?
District Nine's Talliana Messine's POV
I ran towards the bloodbath the second the gong went off. I didn't waste any time thinking of what I could do, should do, or try to do, I just did. I knew that I needed something, anything that would help me survive. I needed something, backpack, a weapon at least. That's where I'm headed to right now, heading towards a weapon that's in front of me right now.
Sure it was sort of deep into the bloodbath field, but I was quick on my feet, so I could get in and out before, hopefully, someone notices me. But with twenty two other tributes running around, that scared me. I couldn't keep track of all of them, and I didn't know where most of them were.
Just... Just get out of there Talliana. Get your supplies and get out of there. In and out before it gets any more dangerous.
It's starting to get too dangerous now. I have to get out of here, take my chances without a weapon or supplies. I was thinking of abandoning the cornucopia when something caught my eye, a large grey backpack that could contain anything, just fifteen feet away from me.
Sighing with relief, I ran towards that backpack, knowing that it would help me later on. I hoped that it contained food, liquid, and a small, one handed weapon, like a dagger or something of that sort.
I raced towards the backpack, disparate to get out of the bloodbath before it was too late. I needed to get away, quickly, the longer I was here the higher the risk of being killed was.
I quickly got to the backpack and grabbed it by one of its shoulder straps before I started to run away from the cornucopia, when suddenly, I felt myself run into something solid. The unexpected run in brought me onto my butt.
Dazed, I looked up in fear, and saw my district partner, Arrowe Winter, staring down at me. In his hand was a seven inch combat knife. Fear radiated throughout my body as we locked eyes with each other. My entire body shook thinking about the position that I was in.
Arrowe was with the careers, and what do careers and their allies do? They kill anyone that isn't in their alliance. I wasn't one of their allies, and now with him in front of me, knew that there were only two choices for me. Fight and run, or surrender and die. And I didn't want to die.
I was ready to swing the backpack at my district partner when Arrowe twirled the knife backwards and stabbed himself in the side. To say that I was shocked would have been most accurate. Why in the world had he done that?
As Arrowe gave out a suppressed shout through his clamped teeth, Arrowe reached out, grabbed my arm, and forced me to my feet with one powerful yank.
"Get out of here, Talliana!" He half shouted half moaned. All I could do was look at him in shock. "What are you waiting for?" I then saw him pull back his left arm before I saw his elbow being swung at me. A flash of bright colours exploded in my vision as I felt a wave of pain erupt through my teeth. "Run! Now! Now!"
I don't know why Arrowe was doing what he was doing, but I also knew that I shouldn't care. For whatever reason, he was letting me live, and I should be getting out of here. If a career comes, they weren't going to act as nice as Arrowe.
Turning tail, I did what Arrowe told me to do, I ran.
District Nine's Arrowe Winter's POV
Talliana.
She was my district partner, and I didn't want to kill her. Not only because she was my district partner, but because I liked her as well. The time I had spent with her during our time in the Capitol was fun for the both of us.
And now, killing her now, during the bloodbath, that wasn't me. Sure I'd have to kill someone sooner or later, but I didn't want my first to be her. There were no careers around, so nobody was here to see me stab myself with my knife. I could claim that Talliana had stabbed me and gotten away, that hopefully should convince the careers.
This was going to be a bitch later on, but it was manageable. The careers hopefully have some kind of medicine with them, so this shouldn't be that big of a deal. That is, if they didn't spot me stabbing myself.
Why was Talliana on the ground when you suddenly got wounded? What makes you think that I was wounded while she was on the ground? I got stabbed when she ran into me, and didn't notice until after she had fallen on the ground.
Whatever the careers were going to ask, I was ready.
Talliana, you better be thankful for this, I just took a risk for you, so you better use this opportunity to get your ass out of here before something happens.
And that's what she did, she ran away. Good. Run away Talliana, get as far away from this place as you can.
I felt a smile crawl on my face as I fell to my knees. Good, she's getting aw-
Talliana suddenly spun around in a half circle before she fell to the ground, thick blood sprayed from her mouth, and the reason for that was because of a huge, muscular, mace wielding guy from District One. Griffin was standing in front of Talliana with a mace that was now partly blood stained.
I looked down at Talliana with horror and saw that nearly the entire left side of my district partner's face had the flesh stripped off of it. Because of Griffin's mace, I could see the muscle and bone that was quickly being covered by blood, but even then I could see that her cheekbone had been shattered. Talliana screamed with pain as her hands went over to cup the injured part of her face. But even with her hands firmly pressed on her face, the blood kept on flowing, painting her hands with thick, dark red water.
As Talliana quickly scrambled to her feet, Griffin readied his mace once again. Talliana got to her feet pretty darn fast, but Griffin handled the heavy weapon like it weighed half its weight. Talliana got to her feet, but the mace wielding tribute's weapon smashed onto her back, causing her to stumble and nearly fall over, but she managed to stay on her feet and continue to run.
Talliana ran in the worst direction she could have ran, she ran towards the cornucopia, towards the danger zone. She wasn't thinking, survival was overriding her thought process.
Go back! I wanted to shout with rage. Go back!
My district partner raced past me, and I pretended to try and grab her, but she was too far for me to reach, and got away. Griffin was hot on her tail. But it wasn't Griffin that she should be worried about right now, it was Lucifer. From the very edge of my sight, I saw that the District Two career was running to her side.
Then without warning, Lucifer got within range of Talliana, then with a seven inch combat knife, Lucifer, quick as a flash, stabbed Talliana in the back before turning on his heels, and stabbed her in the side of the neck. My district partner fell to the ground as Lucifer ran towards me and grabbed my left arm and pulled me up.
"There's still more tributes to kill!" He shouted. "Get moving!"
I wanted to tell him that there was a fucking knife in my body, but the words got caught in my mouth as I saw Griffin ready his mace to swing down at Talliana, who was chocking on a mouth full of blood.
Then within the span of a couple of seconds, Talliana went from a girl dying, to a girl who had her head burst open. Everything from her upper jaw upwards got turned into chunky paste as bits of blood and brain splattered the ground, Griffin's mace, and Griffin himself.
Dear God. Talliana.
District Two's Lucifer Despar's POV
Arrowe wouldn't move, so I moved for him. There were still lots of tributes to kill, and none of them were making it easy. The tributes seemed to either be smart or scared this year, as not many of them were running for the cornucopia, just us and a few brave souls, like that Talliana girl that I had stabbed so that Griffin could finish her off.
This was no laughing matter, if we didn't kill some more tributes, they were going to be a problem later on when we have to track them down in the arena.
Whipping my head left and right, I spotted a tribute, and not just any tribute, but a high target one. Aerin. He was running towards a medium sized backpack, and he already had two large ones over his shoulders. I couldn't help but smile that he was a greedy little bastard. He thought that he could just take all the supplies from us? He was wrong, and that was going to be his down fall. I was going to finish him here and now! Let's see how his allies do without him around!
I sprinted towards him, rapidly closing the distance between us.
I had a plan already formed in my head to take him down. I was going to get close to him and end him with a quick stab to the throat. He was over encumbered with the three backpacks of his. He couldn't run properly, and I don't think he'd be able to defend himself properly either. This was going to be too easy.
Within seconds I was within range of Aerin. I pulled my arm back and was ready to strike his face with a lethal blow. Goodbye Aerin, I thought as I stabbed at his throat.
Only for me to hit nothing. Aerin had seen me at the last second, and had moved at right before I had delivered the killing blow. Not only that, but my arm was now between Aerin's head and the backpack strap that he was holding. The only thing that I managed to cut was some of the fabric of the backpack he had just grabbed. Even worse, the knife was stupidly tangled in some of the now exposed threads! How in the-
I cut through the fabric and was about to pull back my arm and slice his face open, but before I could even do that, I felt Aerin's arm strike behind my elbow, causing the knife to jerk away from his face. His arm then locked with my arm before I felt myself get spun around and get forced onto my back. Aerin had slammed me onto the ground so hard that all the air in my lungs rushed out as I struggled to breathe. I felt my head get clouded with confusion.
I then saw Aerin kneel down on my chest, pressing out what little air I had breathed in and made it even harder to breathe. The tribute from Eleven then pulled back his fist, and while I knew what he was doing, my body couldn't react fast enough because of the pain I was experiencing in my back and lungs and head.
Bright stars engulfed my vision as I felt him rapidly hit my face once, twice, thrice, frice. Pain was the only thing my face and body knew as it suddenly became easier to breathe.
Fuck! Get back here Aerin!
I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't respond to my commands. Fuck! He's getting away!
I breathed in and out, feeling the air I was breathing burning my insides.
District Six's Rayne Page's POV
Most tributes probably would have not done what I had just done. I ran straight towards the center of chaos and grabbed the biggest backpack that I saw. Most would have called it suicide, most would think that I was crazy, and maybe I was crazy, and maybe it was suicide. Where I was running to was where the careers and their allies gathered around, and it was probably the most dangerous spot in the bloodbath. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. That big backpack, it could hold life saving materials, so whatever fear was building up inside me, I told it to fuck off and leave me alone.
I was a fast runner as well, and with twenty two other tributes running around, I wasn't going to be the only target for the careers. So I ran towards the backpack and didn't look back.
I managed to reach the backpack quickly, and I was glad that nobody had gotten in my way.
Unzipping the backpack, I reached inside of it and hoped that it would contain a weapon. A backpack this size has got to contain a weapon, right? I felt something inside the backpack that felt like a hard plastic handle. I pulled the thing out of the backpack, and allowed a smile to appear on my face. I was happy with what I saw. It was a medium length, bladed weapon forged with steel. A machete.
It wasn't the kukri that I was hoping for, but this would do. It was a good weapon, and one that was more than powerful enough to deliver some serious damage to anyone that happened to cross paths with me.
Zipping up my backpack and hitching it onto my back, I quickly sprinted away from the bloodbath field towards the city part of the arena. I could see my ally, Life Lee, waving to me. She was in the open enough for me to see her, but she wasn't exposing herself too much so that everyone could see her. Good thing we agreed where to go during the count down. It would have caused problems if I went one way and she went another.
As I ran, I could see that both District Nine tributes were injured, and the District One male was attacking the girl. Half her face bloody and stripped of most of her flesh. Perfect, they were distracted, I now have to hope that a different career doesn't see me. I turned my head away and refocused on my running.
I got closer and closer to life, I waved my arm, telling her to start running, and she did. We weren't going to stick around here any longer than we needed to. We didn't need careers finding us and chasing us.
I nearly made it to the edge of the ruined city when I felt a brick wall hit me on my left side. I got knocked onto my side and scrapped my right side and shoulder against the ground. I endured some rough pain before I looked up, angrily wondering what had just hit me as I rubbed my shoulder. I then saw just what had run into me, my district partner, Ricky Coler.
Fuck. He just had to get in my way, knock me down, and have me slide painfully on the ground just now, didn't he.
Ricky was beginning to get up, and for some reason, it seemed as if he hadn't noticed me. That stupid bitch, didn't he know that he ran into me? Apparently not.
I managed to get to turn around and fully face my district partner by the time he was nearly up on his feet. He was about to run, but I didn't give him the chance to run. I swung my machete at his right leg, and the sharpened steel cut through his shin, causing him to howl in agony before he dropped down to his knee.
I then swung again at him, this time, slicing into the back of his thigh. Again, he gave a shout of pain as I used my momentum to help myself get to my feet faster.
When I got to my feet, I looked down at my kneeling opponent and saw that he had finally noticed me. Fear was in those dark eyes of his, and he knew that it was the end of him.
I lifted my machete high above my head, ready to sink it into his head and spill his brains. But he moved out of the path of the blade, ducked and moved to my right, causing my weapon to miss him. Mostly.
Ricky had moved quickly, but not quickly enough, because while I missed his skull, I managed to slice through some of his scalp and cut off half of his right ear. A large piece that looked like a dried, bloody, hairy banana peel fall from the right side of his head. A red river slowly appeared from the crown of his head to just above his ear. Blood poured from his ear wound.
Damn. He moved out of the way.
As he reached over to try and stop the blood flowing from his head and ear, I twisted my body to swing at him again, and yet again, aimed at his face. But once again, Ricky dodged death. This time, he held out his right hand in defence, causing my machete to sever most of his thumb before the machete cleanly sliced through the majority of his palm.
Again he screamed. I hissed in annoyance as I pulled my machete out from his palm. The near severed hand hung onto his body by only a piece of stubborn skin and muscle. Blood sprayed from the injury.
Fucking hell, I'm ending this, I've got no time to play around.
With my left hand, I grabbed my district partner by the shirt collar, pulled him forwards, and with all the strength I could muster, thrust my machete straight into his chest, sending nearly two feet of steel through his left lung. The resistance of hard bone nearly stopped my machete from going all the way through, but when the blood stained end of my weapon burst out of his back, I felt satisfaction in what I had done.
Ricky, surprisingly, didn't scream from that, or maybe it was because he was already yelling in pain from his previous injuries. Either way, he was going to be dead soon.
Ricky continued to look at me with those dying eyes of his, like he couldn't believe that I had actually caused harm to him.
"Told you I was going to kill you." I said to him before I twisted my machete and pulled it out of his body.
I then turned my back on him and ran towards the city to meet with my ally.
District Twelve's Evanlyn "Eve" Scott's POV
I knew what I had to do.
I had done it so many times back home that it practically felt like the right thing to do. Stealing. That's the way that I had made enough money so that my family and I could live in District Twelve. I did not want to work in the mines, and because of Hale's accident in the mines, it made me want to go work in there even less.
My twin brother, Matthew, was planning on applying for work in the mines next year, and nothing any of us said could make him change his mind. But if I win this game, he won't have to put his life in danger like Hale did.
Looking at what was in front of me, I knew that it was dangerous, but when was stealing ever safe? When I stole from anyone it wasn't safe. When I stole from the head peacekeeper and the mayor, it was even more dangerous. But I did it anyway, because I had to.
Back home, I was desperate enough to steal from them, and right now, I was desperate enough to steal from the one in front of me as well. I didn't have anything with me, no items or anything. I didn't take the risk of heading into the bloodbath field and try to get supplies. Instead, I ran. I turned and ran into the forest area of the arena and didn't look back.
And here I was, hiding in the forest, wondering what to do when an opportunity presented itself in the form of a backpack.
Yes, I needed a backpack and whatever was inside of it. It would give me a better chance of winning, and would probably make being in the arena a little more bearable. If it had a weapon inside of it, I'd be able to feel a little bit safer. And if someone did attack me, I'd be able to defend myself that much better. Food and water, those would help as well. I felt hope.
There was just one problem though, the backpack was being held by another tribute. And not just any tribute, but one Aerin Sevani. He had two large backpacks and one medium sized backpack, one for him and his two allies.
I was surprised that he managed to get that much from the bloodbath and still be standing. I started to wonder how he could have done such a thing but quickly decided that it didn't matter how he did or didn't get those backpacks. What mattered was how I was going to get one from him.
Looking at him and facing the basic facts about the two of us, I knew that I couldn't beat Aerin in a straight on brawl. Aerin was much stronger than I was, and coming from District Eleven, he most likely knew how to use farming tools effectively. If he manages to pull out a knife, or a sickle, or some other kind of farming tool from those backpacks of his I'd stand even less of a chance.
No, I couldn't just go up to him and start swinging my fists at him like someone out of an angry mob. I had to think of this as taking something from the head peacekeeper or the mayor, if they were kids my own age and couldn't order peacekeepers to give out sadistic punishments. In saying that, I was going to use what I knew I was best at, stealth, and speed. I just had to get my timing perfect, have a little bit of luck, and have a plan.
Quickly observing my surroundings, I looked at the environment with a keen eye. I looked at everything that could be used to my advantage and looked out for things that could hinder me. Trees, overly large roots, the shadows, paths, bushes, everything. Just like back home, I could see the things that I could use, how I could use them. It felt natural, like it was just another day of planning in District Twelve. And just like that, I had formulated a strategy in my head. It wasn't perfect, but it would do.
I watched the boy jog through the forest, past my hiding spot, totally oblivious to my presents. The first part of my plan was coming in motion, and it was up to me to follow up on the later parts of it.
Pushing a quick breath out, I quietly stood up, careful to not make a sound.
I managed to get up without making noise, and felt everything coming together. It was a good feeling, but I wasn't celebrating yet, the easy part was over, and the hard part was just beginning.
My body started to get jittery, just like they did back home before I did my job. I relaxed my body and told myself that I could do it. I didn't think of what could go wrong, I just focused on what was in front of me. And what was in front of me was survival. Something that needed to be done.
I took a quick, silent breath, and silently went forwards, keeping my feet as light as possible and avoiding any fragile foliage that could give away my location. And to help with that, I wasn't directly behind him, I was behind him, but also to the left of him a fair distance, so if he looked behind him, he wouldn't see me right away. I couldn't let him see me, if he did, the plan was a bust. I didn't want that.
Following him was tense, nerve racking, and dangerous, but I let my fear of getting caught behind me and continued forwards. Aerin had stopped jogging and was now doing a steady walk, making me have to be even more careful. When he had been jogging, I could make a little noise because he was making some himself, but now, even less noise was required.
He hadn't seen me yet, and unless I made a noise, he wasn't going to turn around. I kept on telling myself that as well as telling myself that I wasn't going to make any noise. I had done this before, being silent, and I was going to be successful this time as well.
Closer and closer I got, and still, the big guy was unaware of what was behind him. I was about twenty feet away from him when I grabbed a fallen tree branch that had found its way onto the ground. It was laying up on an angle, so it was possible to see from a distance. It was sturdy as well. Not so long and thick that it would be hard to swing, but long and thick enough that I could think of it as a club. It was a good size for me. Perfect.
Even though I had the weapon in my hand, I still couldn't let myself get sloppy. Even with this stick I could still get defeated. I could still get killed, so I didn't attack right away. Instead, I continued to use my stealth to get oh so closer to Aerin.
Those backpacks of his, I knew which of the three I was going to grab. The medium sized bright yellow one. Big enough to probably contain some good supplies, but not too large that it could slow me down when I have to escape. Yes. It was never a good idea to become too greedy. Just ask Aerin in a bit.
As I got closer to Aerin, I slowly got directly behind him.
When I got within ten feet of Aerin, I began to have second thoughts about this plan. I was becoming worried that I might have made the wrong choice. I had never attacked anyone, and the only fight that I had got in was with that woman that had attacked Tara, my youngest sister. And even then that wasn't much of a fight. This was the Hunger Games though, a place where the fights aren't quick and always end up on a good note for you. If I start a fight with Aerin, will the fight end more like how it did with Tara, or as one of the bloody corpses that I'm used to seeing both at home and on screen?
I thought about turning around and leaving Aerin alone. Forgetting about the backpack and the supplies and just walk away. I still had time for that. Aerin still hasn't seen me and- CRUNCH!
The sound of a dry leaf being crushed below my foot pulled me out of my thoughts, and made my heart seem to literally stop as terror engulfed my body. I felt the world stop as everything just seemed to freeze. I could hear nothing, see nothing, and hear nothing except my heart beating roughly, and the stiff Aerin in front of me.
Don't move, I told myself, hoping that things weren't as what they seemed. Maybe he won't turn around, maybe he'll think that he made that sound. I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn't working. I was too close to him to be calm. The situation was too tense to be calm.
Run or fight? I asked myself. Run or fight? Run or fight? Run or fight?
I saw the large boy start to turn around, so I swung the branch back, took the one step forward to get within range of him, and smashed the branch onto his head as hard as I could with both my hands on the improvised weapon.
Aerin didn't even have enough time to react as the piece of wood hit the side of his head, sending him into a small twirl. He gave a yelp in surprise and pain.
I didn't give him time to recover as I followed up with another strike to the same side of his head, forcing him onto one knee. I was going to hit him again, and I did. I hit him across the back of his head, sending him to the ground face first.
Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, I quickly ran forwards and grabbed the bright yellow backpack that was in his hand and pulled it. Only, it didn't leave his hand, Aerin held onto it with an iron grip. He wasn't going to let that backpack go.
I swung the stick at Aerin once again, but only with one hand, and while it made contact with his left arm, it was the right arm that yanked the backpack and made me stumble as I tried to hold onto the backpack. I did an awkward dance that was a mixture of walking and falling as he pulled me to the ground and the earth spun way too fast.
Losing my balance, I hit the ground on my side before I saw Aerin turn towards me and look at me with anger in his eyes. Those eyes, they scared me. They reminded me of peacekeeper eyes. Cold, hard, cruel.
It also didn't help that the skin above his right cheek that stretched from his ear to his nose had been split open, allowing blood to spill down his cheek. It made him look ever more frightening.
Scrambling to my feet, I wanted to get some distance between myself and this angry tribute. He was too strong and not someone that I wanted to fight.
My feet slipped on the dirt and foliage as my hands also scrapped the ground, but I managed to get up and start running, only to feel a sharp pain in the back of my head. I felt myself getting pulled back before I saw the side of a tree getting rapidly bigger. I was close enough to see the texture of the rough bark before I felt agony ripple through my face as everything got washed over with black and red. I couldn't help but scream.
I then felt my head being pulled back roughly again, and knowing what was ahead, I dropped my weapon and placed my arms out in defence. It didn't help, the only thing it did was make my arms hurt along with my face when it collided with bone. Again, I screamed.
Again, my head was pulled back, and on reflex for my arms and my confused brain, I pulled my arms away, mostly. When my face slammed into the tree a third time, my palms did was well. The pain to the palms was much less, more like a discomfort, but my face was agonizingly painful.
I tried to attack Aerin, kicking at him with my legs, but I either missed him or whatever I did hit seemed ineffective. That's when I felt a burning sensation cascade through my face. I felt my skin getting dragged on the rough bark of the tree. I was getting scratched deeply on the right side of my face, from my forehead down to my chin. Up and down, up and down. It was so painful I felt as if that part of my face was on fire.
The scrapping continued, and I felt as if he would rip my face to the bone when he just suddenly stopped. I heard him give out a sound that was something between a shout and a moan as I felt him let go of my hair.
Falling to my knees, I touched my face, and felt the rough, raw, and torn up part of my body that was warm and meaty and full of holes. It hurt to touch, even more than it felt when the air brushed against it. I felt the warm liquid run into my right eye and sting it painfully.
I wiped my arm across it, only to send a wave of pain across it. I blinked rapidly, but nothing I did could take out the sting of blood in my eye.
Now would of been a good time to run, but I couldn't help but look back and see how my target was doing. He was on the ground cupping his groin with a look of utter shock on his face. I felt a victory over him, and decided that now would be a good time to grab my prize.
I reached over and grabbed the yellow backpack again, this time with both hands, and yanked it away from him. Only, he still didn't want to give it up.
Desperate for the supplies, I continued to fight the bigger boy for the pack in a tug of war match. There were times that I thought I was going to get it, but in the end, I didn't. It was like playing tug of war with Matt, I couldn't win.
But then a thought came to me. This wasn't Matt, and like the people I was stealing from, I didn't have to play fair. So why was I playing fair?
With that in mind, I kicked Aerin between the legs again. Aerin yelled in pain again, but he still wouldn't let go of the backpack. Stubborn little...
I kicked him a third time, then a fourth time, and finally, he let go with a sound that sounded like he was chocking. Finally.
Not wanting to stick around any longer, I spun around and ran as quickly as I could, only to feel my left leg feel as if it had turned to stone. Because of that, I lost my balance and felt gravity dictate my direction. Down. And painfully at that.
I found myself on the ground again, and I felt lucky that I hadn't landed on the right side of my face.
I wondered what in the world had happened to my leg, and when I looked back, I saw that Aerin had grabbed my leg. That guy still hadn't given up!
Sick of getting hurt by him and not getting away, I kicked at him with my right leg, but he continued to dodge my attacks. Well, you can't dodge what you can't see!
Letting my right hand let go of the backpack, I extended it to my side, dug my nails into the earth, and scrapped everything that my palm could hold. Grass, leaves, twigs, bits of bark, pebbles, and dirt. Lots and lots of dirt.
I pulled my fist full of earth back before giving out a yell, and threw it at Aerin. The majority of it missed, but what did hit him was like some sort of acid by the way he acted. The dirt and pebbles turned into something mist like, and it hit him in the face, and the eyes. Aerin went ballistic.
The boy from District Eleven shouted and cursed and rubbed his eyes with both hands, freeing me from my prison. Not wanting to get held up again, I got to my feet once again, and sprinted away from Aerin, putting my speed and agility to use. I clutched the backpack tightly to my chest as I ran.
"Hey!" I heard Aerin shout angrily. "Get back here you bitch!"
A/N: Hopefully this blood bath is an improvement.
I couldn't find a better quote for this chapter, so I just did what I did.
Anyway, now I'm going to send out messages to people in about an hour or so (so I hope.)