Chapter 10: The Bloodbath Begins
Just like that, the tributes were off. They leapt off their metal plates and began running to the Cornucopia. Cyrus, the District 4 male, was the first to reach it, wasting no time in grabbing a large sword before turning around and charging at his opponents.
"I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!" the brute yelled, thrusting his sword into the chest of the District 5 male, who yelped before flopping to the ground, dying instantly.
"Ivan!" Kelilyn, his district partner, cried, before running off to avoid Cyrus turning on her. Cyrus whirled around to face the Oliver and raised his weapon, a menacing grin on his face as he prepared to charge. Oliver's eyes widened and the District 3 male screamed his head off as he bolted from the Cornucopia. Cyrus pouted for a moment, but he shrugged and instead turned to strike at the District 7 male, slashing through almost his entire body and killing him instantaneously. Diamond and Silver had each picked up an axe, and were now ganging up on the District 9 male, bludgeoning his chest and stomach. Diamond delivered the fatal blow, before stopping to look at her hand and letting out an irritated sigh.
"Ugh, I broke a nail!" the District 1 girl whined. "Great!" Silver rolled his eyes before turning to slash at the District 4 girl, who barely dodged as she took off running, with a small yellow backpack slung over her shoulder. Naoko had snuck out of the bloodbath undetected, and Aeris was following close behind when she realized that she had picked up a pair of throwing knives. She spotted her district partner out of the corner of her eye, and she turned around to see Regan and Cyrus advancing on him.
"Don't worry, Murphy, I got your back!" Aeris held up one of her knives and took aim, only to watch as Cyrus stabbed him in the chest. "Oh, they had your front." Aeris lowered the knife when she saw Murphy drop dead, before turning back around and retreating into the woods, where she would meet Naoko. Rosemary slipped inside the Cornucopia, luckily unnoticed by the other tributes, and grabbed a backpack and a pair of dual swords. Still without being seen, she held up her swords in defense as she peered at the carnage around her. Fight…or flight?
"Screw this; I'm getting out of here." Rosemary gingerly crept behind Regan, who had just speared the District 7 girl, before dashing out of the Cornucopia and escaping into the woods. After tiptoeing around tyrants like Cyrus and stepping over the dead bodies of the boys from 9 and 10, Darien had reached the mouth of the Cornucopia, when he stubbed his toe on a wooden handle. Not feeling any pain, without skipping a beat Darien looked down and saw two axes lying side by side amidst a dozen backpacks. After looking over his shoulder to make sure that everyone was too busy to attack him, he bent down and picked up both axes, feeling them in each of his hands to decide which one was better for combat. After choosing a smaller, thinner axe, he shrugged and tossed the other weapon over his shoulder to discard it. He also grabbed a backpack before he took off into the woods, not seeing the axe he threw over his shoulder bury itself inside the head of the District 11 boy, who was only trying to escape as well before being killed on the axe's impact.
"Ugh, I broke another nail!" Diamond cried in anguish. She had been exchanging blows with the girl from District 8 when she slashed at Diamond's hand. Though she missed, the tip of the blade of her sword chipped another of the District 1 girl's nails. Diamond immediately stopped to check her nails, and growing tired from the fighting, Ariani took the opportunity to escape the bloodbath while Diamond was distracted. "Silver let's get out of here!"
"Ugh, fine," Silver said, after slicing the District 6 male's torso open. "I've had enough of this anyway." The District 6 boy tried to block Silver's next attack, but Silver managed to swing his axe around the other boy's sword, and cut his stomach even deeper, nearly chopping him in half. "Let's go." With that, Diamond and Silver left the bloodbath, leaving Silver's last opponent bleeding out on the ground. As the District 1 duo was leaving, Aeris and Naoko were sneaking back inside the Cornucopia, one of them hiding on each side of the giant golden structure.
"Grab as many supplies as you can carry. I'll cover you," Naoko told her ally. Aeris nodded and handed Naoko her throwing knives before practically diving into the pile of supplies. Aeris grabbed a tent, a tarp, and a bag of food, when Naoko saw the District 6 girl heading their way. Naoko bit her lip to stop herself from shrieking as Lucille hurled an axe at her, before running at them with another at the ready.
"Oh no you don't!" Naoko exclaimed, using one knife to deflect the flying axe and firing the other at Lucille's chest. It was a perfect shot. The knife pierced the District 6 girl's heart, and she was down as quickly as she attacked. Aeris' arms were full of supplies by now, while Naoko stopped to examine Lucille's body to make sure she was really dead.
"Phew! Okay we're good," Naoko said, turning back to Aeris. "Let's go." Naoko carefully took the tent and tarp from Aeris' hands before they took off once again, lucky enough to leave the bloodbath a second time without being spotted. The Cornucopia soon fell quiet as the fighting gradually ceased.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the bloodbath of the 2nd annual Hunger Games."
Caius was reaching down and grabbing a bow and arrow set when he heard the voice of the announcer from above. He hung the quiver of arrows around his shoulder and clutched the bow tight as he turned to look around. Most of the tributes who weren't killed had already fled, save for Cyrus and a few other stragglers. The helicopters started to collect the dead tributes, while Cyrus climbed to the top of the Cornucopia to officially claim his control of the territory. The District 2 male couldn't help but notice his district partner and ex-girlfriend Regan creeping inside the Cornucopia and hiding, somewhat taking control of the area as well, but he thought nothing of it. Caius shrugged before turning and running off with his new weapon in search of a place to settle into.