Here it is, the moment everyone has been waiting for. Here is the Bloodbath!
Alaric Nevynne, D8
"Wake up! Wake up everyone!" Pomeline was walking around to every door, banging on each one. Alaric had been awake for about two hours now, but getting out of bed meant getting ready to enter the arena. Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat, and he felt as if he would be sick. An avox walked in, bringing him a set of clothes to wear until he reached the launch room.
Down on the main floor of the apartment, Alaric saw eight plates with breakfast, one for each tribute. Alaric grabbed a plate, and tried to eat the simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and strips of bacon. He wondered why there wasn't the usual feast. This might be the last meal for some of them, and this is the one time the food isn't piled? He looked around, questioningly, and his eyes focused in on Isabelle, seat on a sofa in the corner with a large plate of what they called French toast, drenched in syrup. She caught him staring, and must've understood why he was watching her food.
"They want all of the tributes to eat the same meal before going to the launch room." She said, picking at her breakfast.
"Why is that?" asked Carsander, walking down the steps and grabbing his own plate. Cicenna, Sarah, and Marcell were right behind him, and Alaric saw Ellias just leaving his room. They all sat down at the table and slowly ate the food.
"So that everyone has the same amount of food in them when you get to the arena." Just then, Pomeline came out of Guerard's room, pulling him along by the neck of his shirt.
"We are on a schedule!" She exclaimed, and nearly pushed him down the stairs. Alaric watched as he regained his balance and as Pomeline went and got Laurel from her room. Alaric noticed everyone was silent, and though most of them were planning on staying together, the only people interacting right now were Carsander and Guerard, sitting together on one of the smaller sofas.
Everyone ate in silence, and when Sarah, the last to finish eating, put her plate back on the table, Pomeline ushered them all to the door.
Alaric got into the elevator with the rest of the tributes. Pomeline and Isabelle would go not further with them. He would miss Isabelle, she'd been nice to him, and he hated to admit that he would miss Pomeline, too. The doors closed, and they shot upward, all the way to the roof, where the hovercrafts were waiting.
Alaric was amazed by the sight of four massive hovercrafts floating above the tribute center. From the balcony, he was able to see over the railing. Thousands of people were on the street below, watching as the tributes were being loaded up to go to the arena. A guard took him by the wrist, and injected something into his arm. He didn't question it, as he'd seen similar bumps on the arms of past tributes.
He was led by the guard over to a ladder. There were twelve hanging down from the hovercraft, and as soon as he touched the rungs, he was frozen. Cicenna, Guerard, and Laurel were on the ladders, too, along with all of the tributes from Seven. After they were off of the ladders and strapped down in their seats, the ladders descended again to pick up the next round of twelve tributes. Once everyone was harnessed in, the ship took off for wherever the arena was.
Emmia Gingrass, D3
Emmia wished she could have been on any other hovercraft. She'd guessed the tributes were riding by district, so she was here with One and Two. Luckily, the closest Career was four seats away. She felt horrible for Danice, who was seated next to probably the biggest Career in the games. But her main focus was the boy from One, sitting at the far end of the ship, holding hands with a wild-eyed blonde girl from the same district. There was one girl sitting with Two who looked entirely out of place, a sheep in a pack of wolves.
Emmia heard someone gasp – she located that the sound came from Tinkra – as the windows of the ship closed abruptly. They must be nearing the arena. Tributes wouldn't be allowed to see it before the Launch. It was ten more minutes before she could feel the ship slowing, and the churning feeling in her stomach let her know that they were descending. When the harnesses came up, Emmia took Danice by the arm and got her away from the Career boy, making sure to avoid his gaze.
The hovercraft had landed on the ground, so instead of ladders, each group of tributes stood on a large platform that descended into the Launch Center. Emmia was almost happy at the familiar sight of the shared prep teams for Three that stood before them, waiting.
"Follow us," said the prep member with the bright blue hair spiked above his head. He worked on the boys, Emmia thought, that's why I don't know his name. All eight of them followed the prep teams down the hallway, which branched away from the other districts. At the end of the hall, which sloped downward the entire way – how deep are we? – They came to a large room. The prep teams went to work, washing each tribute's hands, hair, and face. There wasn't much work to do, as they didn't need to look beautiful once in the arena. She did notice, however, that the team working on the boys made sure to shave all the hair from their faces. They'd grow the scruff back in a matter of days, if they lived that long. When they were finished, the same man, who Emmia had found out was named Cordelius, had each of them go and stand in front of glass door, which seemed to lead to an elevator.
This can't be the Launch room, she thought, We aren't even dressed for the arena yet. Just then, Cimone and Poleona walked in. Poleona looked sad.
"When you get to your launch room, you are to change, immediately, into the clothes hanging on the rack. They will have your district color on them, so you will easily be able to distinguish each other at the Cornucopia. You'll have five minutes before the door to your Launch pad opens. There will be a guard that will come in to make sure you get on the pad. From there, good luck." Cimone finished her short speech, and now Poleona was tearing up. On cue, the doors behind each of them opened, and Emmia stepped inside. With a jolt, the small pod took off in a lateral direction before, after slowing, moved upward to reveal her Launch Room.
Kieran Xavier, D6
Kieran nearly hit the wall as his pod slowed t a stop by his Launch room. It was small, no bigger than his room back home had been, and that had not been that big. On the rack in front of him was a pair of black pants made of a strange, smooth material. He tugged at it; it seemed sturdy enough. There was a sleeveless shirt in his district color, a long, black jacket with a stripe of the same blue running up the sides, a sturdy belt, and running boots with warm socks. He had no clues to the arena from the outfit. He undressed and stepped into the pants. He pulled on the socks, boots, and shirt, which was very snug. He waited on the jacket, because it was actually rather warm in the room.
After another minute, the guard came in, as promised. Kieran made sure not to meet his gaze. When the door to the Launch tube opened, he slipped on the jacket and climbed inside. This is it. The Games are starting. He couldn't help but feel a little sick.
The door closed him into the tube, and he felt a sudden jolt as the platform started to lift up. He suddenly remembered that the platforms were landmines, set off by pressure, and he froze in place. He'd heard gamemakers describe it as 'one of the worst ways to go in the games'.
The light of the Launch room disappeared, and Kieran was swallowed by an overwhelming darkness. He couldn't see a light above him. Would the arena be a giant cave system? The tributes from twelve would have the advantage there. But no, as he rose higher up, a door opened, allowing the sunlight to flood his pod.
When his head finally reached the open air, Kieran instantly looked around, taking in the arena's landscape. The Cornucopia was downhill from all of the tributes, and tall grasses lined the hill. Easy to get tangled in. Only four of the eight people from Six were running for supplies. The rest were making a beeline for high ground. Kieran easily found the high ground in the mountainous cliffs and caves to his left. At least everyone would know where to run. If we live that long. He continued scanning, pushing the thoughts from his mind. Straight ahead of him, beyond he opposite line of tributes, was a large forest that looked safe enough. A river flowed from the forest, getting extremely close to the rightmost tributes before ducking back into the trees. He knew his minute was almost up, so he didn't bother turning around to see what was behind him.
On the ground about fifteen feet in front of him, obscured almost completely by the grass, was a large black backpack. It was off to the side, which would bring him closer to one of the tributes from Eleven. He heard the chimes, signally the final ten seconds, and he tensed himself to grab the backpack. Maybe Eleven hadn't see it. Maybe he'd run away from the fight, leaving it wide open for Kieran to pick up before running to the mountains. Five. Four. Three. Two.
BOOM! About twenty tributes to his left, someone's plate exploded, in a giant fireball, just barely before the gong sounded.
Mykal Duncan, D7
The gong saved her life. The fireball that ate up the tribute standing beside her had knocked Mykal off her feet, and if the gong hadn't sounded, she would have been blown to bits as well. She was alive, though, although soon after she fell she felt the burn on her right arm. The fire had licked at her right side, and she smelled burning hair. None of that mattered. The gong had sounded. He bloodbath had begun. She needed to run, now!
"Mykal!" she heard him scream. Reyes was running to her, an axe in his hand and a backpack over one shoulder. He wrapped her uninjured arm around his should and lifted her back to her feet.
"I can run. I'm fine." She said. He quickly released her, but grabbed her hand and pulled her along. They followed the river right into the woods. She could hear screams, still smell that burning smell. Up ahead, she saw Mariposa and Jansen running full out, being chased by a tribute wearing the bronze stripe of Two. A Career. She pulled away from Reyes, and he understood what she meant. He took off in a sprint, following the Career. She followed as fast as she could, but eventually the pain in her arm and leg won and she crumpled against a tree. If a tribute came running in this direction, she'd be dead in minutes.
Luckily, the first person to come by was Reyes, from the opposite direction. He had blood on him.
"Are you okay," asked Mykal, allowing him to help her up. He nodded, and explained. The Career was dead. Jansen had the axe and the backpack, so Reyes would be able to get Mykal back easier. He slung her onto his back and ran with her all the way to where the others were waiting. They had crossed the river three times where it became shallow. That had been their way of finding each other. They had decided that, if water was visible, they'd follow it, crossing whenever they could. After three crossings would be the rendezvous point. Jansen helped get her off of Reyes' back, and they laid her against the nearest tree. Mariposa searched through the backpack and pulled out a small water jug. Jansen filled it from the river, and let the water run over Mykal's burn. The water was so cold, and it felt perfect.
"We can't keep waiting for Alaine and Carson." Mariposa said what the rest of us feared. "For all we know they've been killed. If you want to stay here, we need to get in the trees." Mykal wanted to wait a little longer for the others, so, with Reyes' and Jansen's help, she managed to get to a good spot in a tree with Reyes. Jansen and Mariposa each took to their own branch in separate trees, so we could keep watch. Reyes had a knife, from the backpack that he'd picked up. All Mykal could do now was wait.
Star Cyrus, D1
Star kept the girl from Six at bay with her sword, but it was taking a beating from the girl's mace. She swung from above, and Star was able to deflect the blow, causing her to lose grip on her weapon. The mace flew into the grass, and Six drew a knife from her belt. Star was great at one on one combat, and she knew she could handle the girl without her sword. Still, she wasn't about to take the chance. As the girl lunged, Star darted left, dodging the attack. She took the chance and swung her sword around, slicing it through the muscle in Six's left calf.
She toppled over, her leg staining the grass with blood. She went in for the final blow, but forgot about the knife, which Six had been able to wedge into her shoulder. Star screamed in pain, but not before swiping the sword once, cleanly, across the girl's throat. She left the blade in her muscle, as taking it out would let the blood flow freely.
She saw Shine and Cubic raiding the supplies in the horn, while Luxe and a boy from Four kept guard. She could see Glint lying in the grass nearby, bleeding from his head. They're looking for bandages. Star jumped in to help with the search while the fight waged outside the Cornucopia. She had to forcefully push Luxe away when he tried to 'help' pull the knife from her arm.
Hidden in one of he backpacks deep inside the horn was a first aid kit, and before tossing the gauze and tape to Cubic, Star took some for herself. She carefully pulled the knife out, and immediately stuffed the gauze into the hole, taping it down. Not the cleanest repair ever, but she could fix that later.
Star grabbed a new sword from inside the cornucopia and went to guard Glint, who was being fixed up by Shine. Luxe and the boy from Four looked like they really wanted to get back to the fight. One is enough for me, Star thought, thinking about the girl from Six. They ran off to attack tributes who were starting to run away, realizing that fighting the Careers while at the Cornucopia was a big mistake. A least a dozen people lay dead where Star could see.
A boy from Two, Paxton, darted from the scene, as Peter and Ember, the two leaders of the Pack, chased him. Star looked over from where they came from and saw two tributes from Four lying dead on the hill. He must have killed them and taken off. Why? They were your allies? Then she remembered how Ember had arranged for the girl from Two to 'go away' during the bloodbath. She'd been friends with Paxton. Did he turn on his allies for her?
She watched as he disappeared over the top of the hill and into the woods. Ember and Peter stopped their pursuit, and Ember screamed…or, well, howled. It's okay, we'll get him later.
Peter Cooper, D2
Peter wasn't about to go bounding into the woods to fight Paxton. He'd made his choice, and now he'd have the rest of the Careers to deal with. Peter tried calming Ember down before giving the order to start sorting through the Cornucopia's items. That's when he saw her.
There was a girl, from Three, lying on top of the horn, a sword in hand. She looked over the side at the three tributes from One, and prepared to attack. Peter grabbed Ember's spear from his hand and whipped it at he girl. He missed her heart, his intended target, but it grazed her side. She looked up and saw him as he came bounding down the hill. He was at the horn just as she had jumped off, ad Peter ran around to the other side to catch her.
She was holding her side, bleeding badly. The graze had been deeper than he though. A fatal blow. Still, it had been an accident. She looked up, a begging look in her eyes that disappeared as his sword entered her chest. He realized that he'd forced it a little too hard, and it wet through her, piercing out through her back. He could tell that she was dead before she even hit the ground.
He looked around. No more tributes were fighting. The dead lay spread out in the grass on the hill. He realized that the injured boy from One couldn't move, so he hand him a knife and the Careers back out of the ditch. The hovercrafts came into view as the cannons started to sound. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. On and on, twenty-six times. Twenty-six tributes dead on day one. Peter had expected higher.
"Where's Brinden," he heard Helena call from the group. He finally noticed that, after counting, five careers were missing. The two from Four were dead, killed by Paxton before he ran off, so that was three. Was Brinden lying somewhere nearby, hidden by the grass? And where was that little spacey girl, Galinda?
"The plate," he said, remembering the explosion that started the games. "She was the one on the plate." The others from Two knew who he was talking about, and they filled in the others. One girl, from One, gave a startled gasp. They couldn't think about that right now. The hovercrafts had finished taking the bodies away, and now they had to come up with a hunting plan.
The Fallen
Galinda Glassman, District Two. Stepped off plate too soon.
Brinden McHale, District Two. Axed by Reyes in the woods.
Danice Holmes, District Three Tripped and tangled in grass while running, stabbed by Luna.
Warner Brackson, District Three. Beheaded by Cubic.
Emmia Gingrass, District Three. Stabbed through by Peter.
Leon Marvash, District Four. Stabbed by Paxton.
Lunara Scheff, District Four. Stabbed by Paxton.
Ganch Sightson, District Five. Speared by Ember.
Bridgely Olivier, District Five. Shot by Alaine with an arrow to the heart.
Marshall Hanally, District Six. Throat cut by Aaron.
Dunston Peolle, District Six. Stabbed in the neck by Alpha.
Eticari Dexter, District Six. Throat cut by Star.
Carson Saller, District Seven. Knife to the back by Ronan.
Alaine Tulette, District Seven. Speared by Peter.
Laurel Stitch, District Eight. Speared by Ember.
Marcell Owens, District Eight. Stabbed by Peter.
Alaric Nevynne, District Eight. Clubbed by Emmia.
Ellias Mirones, District Eight. Stabbed by Ember.
Jones Relling, District Nine. Stabbed in the neck by Parker.
Giana Thegron, District Nine. Stabbed by Kai.
Marien Eckings, District Ten. Throat cut by Alpha.
Yvaine Oronue, District Ten. Stabbed in the back by Cubic.
Vincent Peresone, District Ten. Speared by Ruben.
Niko Whiatt, District Eleven. Stabbed in the stomach by Thalassa.
Anton Corathas, District Eleven. Stabbed in the heart by Luxe.
Whytt Ulric, District Twelve. Chest slashed by Peter.
All Sponsor Point Scores have been updated in Chapter 3 according to 'How to Sponsor a Tribute'.
Please, please, please review! If there was ever a chapter to review, it would be this one! Were these the Tributes you expected in the BB?
I'm putting a new book cover up tomorrow. Which tribute(s) should be featured on the book cover? Review!