Day One

Late Afternoon

Minnia Mitchall, D12

The climb was difficult. The bottom of the mountains was almost a vertical climb, with very small cracks in the rocks for handholds. Haden was the first on up, and he helped the others to the first plateau. From there, the climb was easier, less steep. Minnia wasn't a fan of being out in the open like this, about the layer of trees, but she figured they'd be able to see anyone that was coming for them.

Whytt hadn't been able to catch up to the group. Minnia could only hope that he was still alive. That he was trying to make his way to the base of the mountains. They were all in an alliance together, but it was agreed not to wait for a single person if it meant putting the group in vulnerable position. The cannons had just begun to sound. Minnia counted them in her head, as everyone did. Twenty-six cannons. Twenty-six lives ended, gone forever. The Careers would be on the move, soon, trying to add to that number. She had to hope that they couldn't climb.

About fifty feet above the tree line, they came across a deep crack in the rocks. Parker offered to try and see if a cavern lay behind it.. He squeezed trough, slowly, and Minnia saw Lawson dig through the backpack he'd picked up from the Bloodbath. He pulled out a pack of matches, rope, two knives, a package of dried fruit, and water. Water. A whole liter container full! They'd need more soon, but this could get them through the day.

Minnia jumped slightly as Parker wedged himself back out of the rocks. There was a cave a ways in, but it was a tight squeeze. Minnia grabbed one of the knives from the pack, and started to dick it into the rock.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Haelle, trying to pull the knife away. Minnia shook her off and continued hacking. The rocks chipped, bit by bit. Parker seemed to realized what she was trying to do, and pulled out his own knife, chopping away at the other wall of rock. The others kept watch, and after about an hour, the whole was just big enough for Lawson, the biggest of their group, to wedge through. Haden had climbed back down the rock face in that time, coming back with two thick pieces of seemingly dry wood. Torches.

The cave was actually just a long passageway in the rock. As they walked, Minnia felt the ground downward. The pathway emptied out to an actual cavern. The torches were lit, however dim, and Minnia could see the surprised look on Parker's face.

"You didn't come this far in, did you?" She asked him, and he shook his head. Suddenly, she heard an oddly familiar humming noise coming from the far end of the cave, the end still bathed in darkness. She took one of the torches and made her way over to the corner. The humming came from a river, an underground river, that was open to the cave in about a five-foot stretch of space. It was their lifeline, making it possible to stay safe in the cave as long as they could find food. Minnia had a good feeling.

Mitchell 'Maxwell' Descosne, D6

Mitchell had seen the black clad tribute of Twelve scaling the first stretch of the mountains. Of course they'd be there, coming from a district known for its mine and cave systems. They would know how to use the caves to their advantage.

"We need to stay down here," he said to the others. There were only five of them left. Mitchell had seen Dunston and Eticari go down in the bloodbath, and they didn't know whether Marshall had survive or not. Jovane gave him an odd look.

"Why stay down here. It's going to be getting dark soon. We only have a spear and a backpack. What's in that, anyway, Kieran?" Mitchell watched his friend dig through the bag.

"Twelve is up there. They just went into a cave."

"So, we can take them out now and get a district out of the way."

"There are more of them. They know the caves better than we would, and they might have more weapons," he said, motioning towards the spear and the small knife that Kieran took from the bag. Jovane gave him a glare.

"Fine, but we need to find shelter, now." She started south, not giving anyone time to argue. They followed her, along the base of the hills. The trees provided plenty of cover, but Mitchell still held the spear with both hands, ready for an attack. The sun slowly lowered in the sky, and finally the group came across a small hole in the rocks. Big enough for only three. There were trees right outside the entrance, easy enough to climb, and a willow not too far away provided good cover. This was a good enough shelter for the night.

Mitchell and Kieran took first watch, crawling up onto the sturdier branches of the tree, about fifteen feet up. They would be able to see if any tributes got too close to the burrow that the girls would be sleeping in. They waited to position themselves, though, until the Gamemaker showed the names and faces of the tributes that died in the bloodbath that day. As the moon made its way into the sky, Mitchell jumped as the anthem sounded in the sky.

He watched as the tributes were shown, one by one. All of One had survived. Two from Two were gone. Three from Three. Two from Four. Two from Five. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw Marshall's face light up in the sky, the third from Six. Fourteen more faces followed him, and the anthem played again. He knew the cameras would be watching the remaining tributes, gauging their reactions to seeing their district partners in the sky.

The girls crawled into the burrow, Kariette using the backpack as a pillow and Jovane and Ilenia using their jackets as a blanket. Mitchell climbed into his tree and prepared for the long night ahead. Hopefully the Careers wouldn't come this way.

Haden Plutoran, D12

"Whytt's gone," he said, finally making it back into the cavern. He'd volunteered to wait outside to watch the face in the sky, looking for Whytt. It'd hit him in the gut to see him appear, knowing he'd never get to see his friend again. But this was the inevitability of the games. Even with the allowance of two Victors, at best six tributes from the winning district would die. Whytt just happened to be the first one.

"Any careers?" Asked Haelle, who had found moss on the rocks a little ways down the hill. She was clumping it together, making it into a useable pillow against the rock floors. Ula and Evie were curled by the torches, which had been reduced to a pile of warm embers.

"Four, but one of them was that girl that was a little off her rocker." He said, referring to the one who'd stepped from her plate too soon. "All of One is still around, and the two that scored 11's are alive." No one was happy to hear that. The sooner the 11's were out of the games, the better, but nobody wanted to take them on. Haden laid out on the ground, ready for sleep. He was hungry, but hunger was something he was used to. They'd look for food in the morning.

Boom! A cannon sounded. Boom! A second one. Two more tributes, gone. The names had already appeared, so they would have to wait until the next morning to see who had been killed in the night. Haden let himself drift off.

He was shaken awake a few hours later. Lawson had taken first watch, and he was supposed to go all night. He sat up; Parker was waking up the girls.

"I heard something, a rumbling noise. We need to get out of the cave, now." Haden was alert immediately, and sprang to his feet. He took the lead, using his hands as guides in the pitch darkness of the cave. He heard the noise Lawson warned about. It was coming from above. Had they done damage to the cave when they opened the entrance? He started to move fast. The rumbling didn't stop, and it started to grow louder. Before long it sounded as if it was right above him, and that's when the roof of the tunnel collapsed.

Haden heard a scream from the back of the group, and then another. "Help!" Minnia was trapped. He heard Lawson try to quiet her, and Parker asking for help moving the rocks.

"Who is on which side," he asked. He felt hands on his arm from behind. Evie, Ula, and Haelle were on his side of the rockslide. Ula was coughing badly. He wanted to stop and help move the rocks, but it was too dark to see what damage had been done.

"Guys. Guys! We're going to wait outside the cave for the night. We'll be back in the morning to see what happened. Can you wait til then? Are you hurt?" What if they couldn't be freed. It'd be a terrible way to go. Starving in darkness.

"Minnia's got a leg caught in the rocks!" called Lawson.

"It hurts." She said, moaning. "Just come back as soon as you can. Please!"

Haden felt horrible as he led the three girls from the cave. The sat on the ridge, not sleeping the rest of the night.

There will be one more chapter of the first night in the arena, following the careers, mostly. You'll find out who those cannons were for in that chapter, as they were victims of the Careers. What do you guys think about this chapter? Review, please!

Who is your favorite from District Twelve right now? remember that you can request alliances. They are requests. Not every alliance will happen. They'll be taken into consideration, and if they work with the storyline, I'll put them in.

New book cover image. Paxton and Elle, the odd ones out, one of the smallest alliances in the games. You'll see them in the a couple chapters.

Do you think the chapters should feature more tributes? More like the bloodbath? Or is the amount sufficient as long as it keeps as detailed? This is where reviews can help.