Snev's A/N: Here we are in yet another chapter from none other than us. I have decided every chapter, to keep you reading, I will disclose some personal secrets about how I get so many hits and A/Ns, some are boring, some are fun, some are probably morally wrong, but they get you the hits you need... This week's hint is as follows: signed reviews. If you give people good signed reviews everyone knows that it means that they'll be aware you exist and might even check some of your stories out. But it's who to target that's the key - new authors; new stories. They're desperate for reviews, and if it's their first review on a story or ever they'll zoom over to your profile and fall just where you need them (no, not in your lap Foxx) - reading your stories, and therefore reviewing it too. You don't even have to like the dratted story you review, or even read it for a matter of fact. Just submit a review like this "Cool. * is awesome and a great character. Update soon." and substitute "*" for the first name you see. Therefore it seems personal and they think you're read it. That's hint number one and sounds positively evil. Mwahahahaha! And Subject - the new fic idea is great. it could be a cunning ploy just to get more reviewers...
Subject's A/N: We really are sorry we haven't been posting. My life is really screwed up right now… Anyway, I really did enjoy reading Snev's A/N last chapter, and she's right. We did split the work evenly. Unfortunately, we are about four chapters ahead of usual schedules, so, by the time you read this, we'll be on chapter twenty. Oh boy. Foxx has given in to the vile temptations of sleep, and we have to wait for her. Please don't mind Snev's rant. She's in that awkward stage where she just won't SHUT UP. I swear to god, I think she's going to start a new fiction, "How to get more reviewers." Anyway, review! By the way, we might start having more than one POV in a chapter. Just a heads up if we do.
Foxx's A/N: Subject is a hunk who is nothing like Kurk or Kirk and Snev's such an awesome babe - she's like, the best of the best. This is the first time Sub and Snev have hacked my A/N. I'm proud of you two, my little minions; I have taught you well.
~SFSFSFSFS~
Chapter 16: Blood Will Flow, Derrryl's POV
"Blood will flow, blood will flow, blood will flow..." The mad tribute who I had thought was the guy from district twelve to my left cackled endlessly, his lazy eye fixed on a point above my head. I was trying to stem the mass hysteria starting to invade my mind, and his rant wasn't helping.
All you have to do is wait for the gong. When it rings, RUN. I stared around the arena, trying to take as much in as possible. Ok, ok. There was some sort of river or something to my right, so wide it was a stretch to call it a river. It was relatively straight but slowly meandered down the hillside. It was probably the only source of water for a mile or so.
Then there was something behind me, and as I twisted around I saw a small collection of little mud huts clumped together surrounding a well, like a little settlement by here. Well, I just found the career's hideout. To my left there was long fields of meshed grass, golden but with flickers of different colours speckling in them that you could only catch out of the corner of your eye. There was probably hidden danger's in the grass.
Snakes, rats, even wolves. In that grass, you could hide though. Past that there were empty livestock fields or maybe even meadows at a pinch which slowly turned into a forest, dark and foreboding with clumps of tangled weeds and brambles lining the edges and stinging nettles that looked larger than me even at that distance, and it caused me to squint to select them out from under the hot searing sun.
And that was it. You couldn't get past the river and even if you did you'd be confronted with the same endless fields of barley, rye and different pieces straw and plants that I couldn't even imagine in my wildest dreams. Behind the mud huts the fields went on too, until the deep forest claimed that too.
It looks like a pretty simple and straightforward arena to me, dive into the nearest cover which is of course the long grass and my life will be saved. The ground around the arena is cracked and dry earth, the same sun-baked colour as clay. But now my attention turned to the golden cornucopia in front of me.
The single empty space claimed by the Cornucopia was expansive, and the supplies were breathtaking. Spears, axes, swords, knives, food, bags, even a tent could be seen. I looked for the supplies closest to me. A pair of wooly socks, which looked just about as out of place as a polar bear would have been here, useless. I scanned closer and saw some sunblock. Useful under the heat, but not essential. Maybe I'll grab that on my way in. As I locked eyes onto a small water container I grinned inwardly. Bingo, and I'd scoop the sunblock up too on my way there, and a small little pouch filled with something lay close by. Yet another thing to snatch. This should be a piece of cake.
I looked across the way, where Maia was situated on her very own steel plate. Sasha, conveniently, was situated next to her. Belladonna was 4 spaces to my right, and was attempting to give death glares to both Maia and I. I tried to catch Maia's eye, but her gaze was firmly fixed on a collection of axes twenty meters in front of her. Don't go for it Maia! She neglected to notice the District One boy was eyeing the same collection of weapons.
The gong went off. What am I meant to do? What am I meant to do? Argh! Shit! Maia's already got to the centre of the cornucopia and is scooping up all the good things! Grab the wooly socks and leg it! I dived forwards, pushing the boy from twelve into the awaiting spear of a career, gripped the wooly socks in my clammy hands and ran like my life depended on it. Which it did, by the way.
I dodged a thrown spear, and it stuck into the ground near my foot. Thinking quickly, I wrenched it out of the ground and kept running. I spotted a clear bottle near me, and ran towards it. Before I had wrapped my hand around it, an arrow had whisked through the air, and punctured it, inches from taking a few of my fingers with me. I looked behind me, and I could see the tribute with the arrows have a knife plunged into her spine.
She coughed violently, blood spewing from her mouth in every direction. Her death brought the carnage around me to the forefront of my mind. While some tributes were running away, to the fields, huts, or forest, others were busy stabbing, choking, breaking, or mutilating the other tributes. While I was busy watching the carnage, the ever-present Careers swarmed towards me. Dropping the punctured bottle, I ran.
I tore off into the mud huts. Err, what am I doing? I was going in the wrong direction. I meant to have got into the long grass for cover. Shit! I looked around desperately, the careers are blocking the way to the long grass. I'll have to go through the village and go around the other side now. Argh!
I ran through the village, my chest suddenly tightening and I start wheezing uncontrollably. Now is not the time to discover I have asthma! I tell my body that I have to settle into a steady jog just to quell my aching ribs and keep myself going. Run Derryl, run. A spirited almost angel-like voice echoed into my head.
"It's easy enough for you to say, you're not the one who's running." I wheeze quietly. Great, now I'm even talking to myself. Things just get better and better. Suddenly, I heard real running footsteps behind me and the laughter of the careers. Crap, crap, crap! I lunged into the closest mud hut and scraped along the floor, and ducked below the hole that they call a window and peeped slightly out of it to see what's happening.
Belladonna is leading the career pack, all intact unfortunately, towards me. Towards me? Fuck! I pressed myself further into the scraping wall. They didn't seem to have noticed my presence at all and were aimlessly wandering my way. My body tensed as the cannon fire from the bloodbath rang out. Nine. Nine dead. I saw the dead body of Maia, broken and mutilated. Get these thoughts out of your head! She would not have died like that! Distracted from my thoughts, a voice rang out, shockingly close to the hut I was hidden in.
"Right, go off, do your thing, get ready and set up camp. Tonight, we hunt." Belladonna commanded and the Careers scurried off into separate huts. Belladonna stood there, pausing, and headed straight towards me. In my hut. Fuckity shitty poo! I ducked down under the window and scrunched up my eyes in the hope and desperation that someone or something would stop her coming my way. Evidently they either didn't exist or didn't listen because Belladonna stepped into the hut. So naturally I lunged at her. Without thinking I threw myself at an unsuspecting vicious career who hated my guts and tackled her to the floor with surprising strength as she crumpled down underneath me like a sack of potatoes.
I soon realised the reason she had been tackled to the floor with amazing ease, with no effort on my part. There was the girl from district five just standing there with a large rock in hand, which matched the shape of the dent in Belladonna's head. She was just unconscious, though it looked like the girl from five was just about to do a lot worse. And then she turned on me...
Snev's A/N: *dun dun dun*! You can see the trademark style of a Snev cliffhanger above. You see the trademark wooly socks? Yours truly wrote that alongside most of the chpter there. Wow! People started reviewing! I'm impressed! But yeah, that was only because we roped you into it and my brilliant synopsis. Read and review for another cheeky how-to-make-people-read-and-review-your-story fic next chapter. Ironic how I'm posting this in a not very reviewed fic; but that's because Sub got bored of following all of the instructions I set him...
Foxx's A/N: Seriously? Hacking my A/N once, I can handle. Twice is just too far. And I haven't contributed to this chapter in anyway, just saying. Because I have a life, that involves sleeping. Yeah, I sleep for a living. It's a pretty good pay, ya know! Though now I'm depressed that I didn't get to contribute one bit to the bloodbath chapter! Oh well, since Snev and Sub ain't here, I'll just go off and write all of the next chapter, mwahaha.
Sub's A/N: Ah, the language is getting worse! Who cares, it adds 'character' to a story. This chapter was mostly Snev, give her a round of applause! *claps* But I'm the one had to go back and change everything to PAST TENSE. Old habits die hard, and hers are slowly bleeding to death. Very slowly... Anyway, this story looks like it has promise!