Day Two
Early Morning
Rachel Beta, D7
"I didn't trust him with that sword." She said defensively, as Brantley lay dead against the tree. Rachel knew that Cicenna knew of her plan to kill him early on, but Sarah was staring at her in shock. She knelt down beside her sister, who was so much tinier than she was, for only being one year younger. Sarah was crying over the boy's death.
"Sarah. Sarah, listen to me, if he was going to go home, he'd have to have killed you. I wasn't going to let that happen. If you have an alliance, it will be with Eight, and me." Sarah sniffled, drying her eyes, and nodded.
"Okay," she said softly. Rachel hugged her, looking up at Cicenna as she did so. Then she looked at the remainder of the loaf of bread in the girl's hand.
"We'll need to find food soon," Rachel said, releasing her sister. Sarah seemed to perk up. Rachel knew her sister loved gathering in the woods back in Seven. They allowed Sarah to lead, picking only what she deemed safe. After a few hours, just as the sun was starting to rise, they'd gathered enough plants, roots, and berries to fill up Rachel's bag. Meat wasn't a necessity, but the protein would be good. Rachel used the wire she'd found in the bag the night before and made a few basic snares in the area. They'd check back in on them later.
"Climb a tree?" asked Sarah, looking up to her left. Rachel and Cicenna looked up at the same time, and Rachel smiled. The tree was ideal. Tall, with thick branches and good knots. The sisters showed Cicenna the basics of tree climbing, which was a staple skill back in Seven. She was able to learn quickly, and the three of them scaled half way up the trunk, about forty feet up. They split up the food.
Rachel felt nervous as she ate the first one, but she trusted Sarah's judgment on whether they were safe. And what did it matter anyway. If she died, Sarah would still have Cicenna to get her home safely. The berries were tart, but juicy. She waited a few minutes before taking another one, to see how it faired with her stomach, but Sarah'd eaten nearly all of hers by that time. She took half of her own share and gave them to Sarah.
"No, you have them." She said, trying to refuse the offer, but Rachel held her hand steady, waiting for Sarah to accept them. She did, and Rachel finished the rest of her share in one mouthful. She squeezed the juices with her tongue, pressing them against the roof of her mouth. She puckered at the sour flavor. They at the leaves next. The roots they'd save for later, as they needed cooking. Rachel offered to take the first watch as Cicenna and Sarah slept. The trees in the arena would become their best friend.
Reyes Keldon, D7
The silver parachute floated down right beside Reyes' head, landing in the grass next to him. A sponsor gift! He jumped up to grab it, whatever it was. He opened the canister to find a very small can. There was a nozzle at the top. It was a spray can. Also in the canister was a small piece of paper, with Mykal's name on it. Reyes knew what was in the spray can.
"What's that?" yawned Jansen, waking up and stretching. He was supposed to have been the one to keep watch, but he'd woken Reyes up because he was afraid of losing consciousness. Maria was able to fall asleep easily, and Mykal'd passed out from her burns about an hour after they found camp. Maria had tried pouring water from the stream over it, but Mykal had screamed too much.
He didn't want to wake her up, because the spray can looked so small. It wouldn't last more than one use. Reyes woke up Maria, and told Jansen to watch over Mykal wile she was out. Reyes took Maria out further into the woods to hunt for food. He had a knife, so he'd have to throw it to make a kill. When they found a good spot, in a clearing surround by berry bushes, they decided to stay.
Maria picked at the berries, which were clearly blackberries, while Reyes sat on the low branch of a tree. He saw movement by a tree close by, and whipped the knife at the spot. Whatever had been there had gotten away. Maria grabbed the knife and threw it back to him before going back to stripping the bushes of their fruit. She sat at the base of the tree when she finished, and retrieved the knife each time Reyes missed his target. Finally, after five hours of waiting, he struck at something. He watched Maria lift the rabbit by its head. It was still alive, but barely. The knife had left a gash near its back leg, and it would bleed out soon. A rabbit and a backpack full of berries. That was good enough, and they headed back to their base.
Reyes saw that Mykal was awake when they returned, and clearly in pain. He remembered that he'd stuffed the medicine in his pocket before he left hunting, and he felt horrible. He pulled it from his jacket and quickly sprayed it over the burns on Mykal's arm and leg. Her face calmed, and her muscles relaxed. The can was empty, but Mykal wasn't in pain anymore. Reyes let Jansen get up and stretch, sitting down with Mykal's head in his lap.
Maria pulled Jansen away to start a fire for the rabbit. They'd have to work quickly once it was cooked, as the smoke would give away their position quickly. No one wanted the Careers coming for them.
Reyes pulled Mykal onto his back when they finally move base. The walked along the river, finally finding a good enough spot. The water was shallow and easy to cross, and there was a good-looking tree, with sturdy branches. Jansen and Maria took to the trees, weapons in hand, alert and ready for attack. Reyes stayed on the ground with Mykal, and now that she was out of pain, he helped her into the water to wash the burns.
Aaron Sierra, D3
Aaron had been waiting, hungrily, for Veris, Tinkra, and Alyssandra to get back with what food they could find. There were five of them left, and they had no food or water. Veris had gone with Guier to find the latter, and they'd quickly stumbled across a small stream. The water was clean, so they had filled up the two gallons worth of canteens they had and rushed back to their camp, a burrow at the base of a large hill.
That was when they heard the cannon. Initially, Aaron hadn't worried about it. There were so many tributes in the arena, so one cannon couldn't mean anything, yet. He hoped it wasn't anyone from Three, and they waited for the group to get back. It was another hour before he heard footsteps outside the burrow, and then a voice.
"Check it out, make sure no one's there. Is it big enough for all of us?" It was a girl's voice calling, and they were from three. Aaron was on his feet in a second, knife in hand. Guier had grabbed a small sword from the cornucopia, and he was ready, right beside Aaron. They caught the boy off guard. He had a red stripe running down his jacket. He was from Five. Aaron had wanted to scare him, and just send them all on their way, but Guier had panicked, and the boy was stabbed through his stomach.
As his cannon sounded, he heard the others running. They didn't know that only two people were in the borrow. Aaron didn't recognize the dead tribute. He'd have to learn the name when they showed it in the sky that night. The sun had only been up for a few hours, and already three tributes were dead that day. Thirty-one gone, but sixty-five left.
Aaron grabbed the boy's arms, and Guier got his legs, and they dragged him to a spot about ten yards away, where the hovercraft could reach him. The cameras would be on them right now, and somewhere in Five, a family was begging for their deaths.
Shantelle 'Elle' Lester, D2
Elle had been ecstatic when she saw that Paxton had survived the cornucopia fight. She marked the tree with an 'X' as he had said to, so that he could find her when he got away. About an hour after the anthem played, and showed the faces of the dead, she heard him calling her name.
It was hushed, a loud whisper, something that wouldn't attract an unwanted visitor. She slammed her heel against the trunk of the tree, which was her sign to him of her general location. It made a good thump, muffled enough to be safe. If it hadn't been Paxton calling, they probably wouldn't have noticed. But it was Paxton, and he quickly found the tree.
"Elle. Elle you up there?" It was dark, but she could make out his face staring up into the branches. She gave another thump against the tree. Paxton began to climb. When he reached the branch, Elle saw that he was carrying two backpacks, a canteen, a sword, and…a bow and arrows. It was such an odd weapon to grab. She'd trained with it, of course, but knives were usually more useful in the Games. He handed it to her, and wrapped the quiver over her shoulder.
"Why a bow?" she asked him, as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the branch.
"I was watching you during training. This," he motioned to the weapon in her hand, "is your strong suit. I know a knife is easier to use, but this is a much better weapon, and you are a natural. Trust me." She nodded, and with him being so close, she could see how drained he was.
"You should really get some sleep, Paxton." She said, helping him secure the backpacks on a branch above them. He tried to argue, to try and let her sleep first, but he looked ready to pass out. She pulled him down, so he could lay across the two branches they occupied. His head was in her lap, and he fell asleep within a minute of laying down. She strung an arrow in the bow, incase someone came through the area, but no one did.
As the sun finally came up in the morning, Paxton woke up and told Elle that she needed to get some sleep, too. She told him about the three cannons that went off while he was out, and then they switched positions on the branches. She rested her head against his chest, glad she had someone watching out for her. As she was near the point of unconsciousness, she felt him stroking his fingers through her hair.
Sloan Nyval, D9
When Sloan woke up, she felt the throbbing in her head from where the Career boy had hit her. She also couldn't moved, and when she looked around, she saw that her arms and legs were bound together, and that she was tied to the Cornucopia. Why had the Careers let her live? Why was she here, and not dead? She looked around, and saw half of them asleep in the grass, ad the other half sorting through the pile of weapons and food from the bloodbath.
"Look who's awake." She heard someone say sinisterly. She turned to see the massive boy from Two heading towards her, and she couldn't help but shake. He moved the blade of his sword along he side of her face and neck, careful not to slice. She realized, from the way he moved and spoke, that her death was going to be slow and torturous.
"We were going to use you as bait, to lure in the 11 from your district, but since no one can seem to locate him, I guess the burden falls to you." He pressed the blade against her throat. She froze; any movement at this point could cause her death.
"Where's the boy?" he barked, inching the blade away so she could speak. Sloan, however, remained silent. "Where is he?" He screamed, waking up some of the others on the ground. Sloan felt the tears coming.
"I don't know! Please, I don't know. If I knew, I'd hand him over in a heartbeat." Her words seemed to mean something to him, as the boy pulled his blade back.
"Peter, what are you doing?" called one of the girls from his district. His eyes never left Sloan's face as he spoke.
"Why would you turn him in?" He was honestly curious.
"He was a thief back in Nine. A very talented thief. He stole from anyone, and he took my mother's locket." Now she was really fighting the tears. "No one in Nine wants him back, except for his family. Many would cheer if you killed him for us." She didn't expect what happened next. The boy named Peter undid her ropes and helped her to her feet. The Careers behind him were in outrage.
"What the hell! I'll kill her myself," yelled the boy she'd stabbed yesterday. He grabbed a knife and ran, as best he could manage, straight at her. Peter hit him square in the chest, sending him to the ground.
"This girl is with us. She's with us until the boy from Nine is dead, and then she'll go on her own, an end to the alliance." He then turned to Sloan. "Deal?" He said, holding out his hand. She knew her own alliance would hate her for this, but she wanted Damien's head more than anything. She accepted his offer ad he finished addressing the Careers. "No one will touch her. You do, and you'll be out of the pack, got it?" They didn't argue with him. Sloan was in with the Careers.
So what do you guys think? Rachel killed Brantley, was it too soon? Does Mykal feel the same for Reyes that he feels for her? Whose cannons went off? And Sloan'ss with the Careers!
When I first chose Sloan to be held captive, I planned for her to die the next day, but as I was writing I was like 'Peter is smart. He'd know an ally when he saw it. And Sloan's out for revenge against Damien. This works'. And that's how Sloan survived. Please review, let me know what you think.
There'ss a new poll on my profile, and this one earns you 20 SP if you vote!
Also, remember that you can send sponsor gifts. If a tribute is in need of something, or you want to send them something in the arena, PM me and we will work out sendig the gift. Mykal has already received burn medicine. Many tributes are without food, water, or weapons. Help out your favorites.
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