The Second Day

Mateo Dorsani (15) D9M

Water.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I woke up.

The second thought that came to mind that we were already in top fourteen, in just a day. A few of the deaths were so unexpected, especially since two Careers died. Who would have thought that? Not me, but this only showed that Careers weren't invincible.

The third thing that crossed my mind was how stiff I felt. Groaning as I got up, I dragged myself to the nearby pond. Yes, I was lucky enough to have found a pond in the middle of nowhere. This part of the forest was pretty much deserted, and the foliage wasn't quite as thick as it had been elsewhere. There had been roses around though, and I was wary of them. White roses at that. The ones back at the cornucopia were red, and I wondered if these were regular flowers and not something else. But that wasn't my concern now. The water was clean. How, I didn't know. But I was grateful, although I knew there was nothing to be grateful of.

When I felt considerably cleaner than before, and when I had quenched my thirst, I took hold of my scythe and set off. I had to kill someone. If not then I wouldn't get sponsors, and I needed supplies, especially food. Thinking of food only made me want to stop and lie down. It had been so long…

So when I bumped into a tree, at the foot of which were the white roses, it was no surprise that I wanted to scream and cry in agony and frustration. My head hurt, and my legs were rebelling against the tedious walk. There was also something that nudged against my feet.

"Not insects," I groaned and looked down.

I wished it had been insects instead.

The roses' petals seemed to… elongate like a rope and were playfully wrapping themselves around my feet. I cut them away with my scythe but they only exploded on contact, giving off white fumes and an intoxicating odour.

Maybe they are poisonous.

That wasn't a good thought and so I scrambled back, trying to hurry towards the pond. Maybe water would help. I didn't know but I was aware of the gradually rising restlessness and anxiety I felt. I blinked and suddenly the entire place had turned red, as if a volcano had just erupted. The grass was black and dead, the flowers withered.

"NO!" I cried out, swinging my scythe at any plant like thing that came near me. I didn't even know what I was doing. I shut my eyes and opened them again, only to see that the dead trees were on fire. The flames were huge and reached up into the sky, hugging the dark, orange clouds. There were no clouds.

"What's happening?!" I cried out, tears leaking out of my eyes although I didn't want them to. I still kept running, the flames coming towards me every once in a while and, having no idea what to do, I simply swung my scythe at them.

I thought that I reached the pond but I was so wrong. So very wrong.

Instead of water, there was lava in it, and gigantic bubbles rising every few seconds. There was just nothing else. No water, no trees, no plants, no life apart from me. And that wasn't going to last very long.

I dropped my scythe in fear. Gasping, I looked down, only to see that the scythe was turning red too. My clothes seemed to be melting, my helmet even. I fell on my knees. There was nothing to do. Nothing at all. No way was I going to get out alive. I cried, and even the ears felt to be small balls of fire. There was nothing to do…

What if this isn't real?

I shook my head. How could it not be real? I could feel it! the fire… it was burning everything away…

That's the thing. You can feel it. it's a hallucination.

"It can't be!" I cried out, "It's all happening! What am I-?!"

And that was when I saw a girl, her hair flowing behind her, running away from me, trying to hide. Fire… she was on fire, she was burning up and running. She could kill me…

No, I wasn't going to let that happen.

Taking my scythe, I ran towards her and swung the weapon with all my strength, taking out a large length of her fiery hair. Her eyes were demented, completely hollow, and her teeth… that's what they were. There was no skin. No jaw. Only teeth.

"NOO!"

Quinoa Callus (13) D3F

"Lily-"

"Come on Quinoa!" she said, "We can't stay here. These roses are dangerous!"

"No they aren't," I replied with certainty, "They are just flowers."

"There are no just flowers in the arena!" Lily barked, "You saw your allies die."

That sentence was enough to make me feel weak in the knees. My face paled and I gulped. My allies… Tab, Oren, they were all dead…

"Nothing is nice here," Lily continued in a much gentle voice, "Don't touch the flowers. Don't touch anything."

"They l-look harmless and…"

My voice faltered. I couldn't argue with Lily; she was always right. I stared at her for a few seconds then started on my way and she followed. I didn't want to be reminded of Tab. This time yesterday he was alive. The way he had just fallen down, completely limp… I didn't want to fall down like that. I wanted to go back home and help the schizophrenic person that mummy was so worried about.

The forest was getting thinner as we walked. A part of me thought that this wasn't supposed to happen. Were we getting closer to the garden? I shuddered at the thought. I didn't want to be anywhere near that place. It was horrible, with even more horrible monsters. My friends had died there. There had been so much blood…

"I don't think we are near the cornucopia," Lily said matter-of-factly, "Maybe we are reaching the end?"

"You said that there's no end to the arena!" I argued, "This is not done!"

"I am not talking about the arena either. Maybe it's the end of the forest. Maybe there's something beyond it."

"I don't think so," I replied, "What could possibly be there beyond the forest?"

Lily didn't reply at that, only barked and then ran forward again. I followed and we continued. It wasn't easy though. The hunger pangs… they were killing me. I needed to eat. In fact, I felt that I could eat Lily if I had to, I was just that hungry. My speed lessened considerably. Air… food… water…

"Stop!" I cried out.

Lily came to a halt at that. "What?"

"I… tired…"

"Quinoa-"

A loud scream was heard at that moment. It scared me and startled my friend too, who took a dive at the nearby tree. The cries continued, someone was saying something but I couldn't make them out. All I knew was that someone was in trouble, someone needed help. I had to help them. That's what mummy and papa had taught me, hadn't they? Help those who need it. And this person really sounded as if they could do with some assistance.

"RUN BACK!" Lily yelled and then snapped at my ankles.

"We can't," I argued, "Somebody needs my help."

"Quinoa-" Lily started but I didn't heed. For the first time I didn't listen to Lily and just ran towards the sound. Lily cried after me to stop but I didn't.

In the distance I saw a boy with a scythe in his hand. He was on his knees, crying. I ran towards him but then Lily overtook me and hissed, "Get away!"

She started to pull at my leg and then I followed her in defeat, still wanting to help the poor boy. She forced me to hide and I tried to do so behind the trees. However, the boy saw me. I didn't like the look in his eyes and speeding up seemed to be a better option, so I tried to run as fast as my legs and lungs would allow.

Very soon he was at me though, and he swung that scythe of his, cutting off my hair. All of it. my beautiful hair.

"NO!" he screamed and then used his weapon again. I tried to duck but it went right into my abdomen. I gasped, looking down at the blade, coated with my blood. It hurt so much! I was crying and then I called out for Lily. As I dropped to my knees, I saw my best friend turn and run into the forest, leaving me alone for the first time in my life.

The boy stared at me with wide eyes, as if unable to believe that he killed me. I couldn't believe it too. However, it was a welcome relief when I closed my eyes and the cannon sounded.

Because it didn't hurt anymore.

Oceane Cascade (17) D4F

Victory was dead. Dead. Just like that, killed like a bug. He was dead.

Why did it hurt so much? Why did I feel like crying and cuddling in a corner just at this news? Shouldn't I be happy that I was a step closer to home? Then why was I not happy? Why did I feel so devastated?

On top of that we were unable to find Galilee and Amaranthine. We were unable to find our way back to the garden. It seemed as if trees had just moved in such a way to cover the way back. It only intensified my anger.

"Where the hell are they?!" I cried out in rage, punching the tree in front of me. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but it was worth it. at least there was something else to focus on.

"No idea," Cecelia replied in a tensed voice, "I hope we find them soon though."

And yes, there was another trouble. The girl from Five. I didn't like the way she had looked at me the previous day. Did she like me? I hoped not. I sincerely hoped not. The arena was not a place to do such things. It was a deadly place and one had to remember that. I wasn't going to voice my thoughts though. Not now, not in front of everyone. I didn't want to embarrass her.

"These stupid trees," Olympia muttered as she cut her way through the branches and leaves, all tangled up to make a twisted structure. How could anything be so damn tangled?! The thick branches, lined with minute thorns, tried to tear away our suits and cut our faces.

Bennett decided to put his helmet back on. I didn't want to do it because it was too hot, but I followed him anyway. Better to sweat a bit than to bleed from your face.

"I hope that they're not in a deeper trouble," Olympia muttered as she ran ahead as fast as she could, looking more worried than I'd ever seen her. Angrier too. Maybe it was because Amaranth was missing as well…

Bennett suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back with an intense force and gestured at us to become quiet. All of us came to a standstill, trying to listen to what Bennett had heard. Nothing. There was nothing at all.

"Ben-"

He waved his hand at me to make me quiet and then gesticulated wildly, as if trying to warn us of something. I couldn't understand what he meant though. I was about to snap at him to spit it out before I recalled that he couldn't spit it out. It certainly seemed to be more unfortunate for us than for him. This sign language thing was just hard.

"Oceane!" Cecelia whispered, "Something's slithering."

Slithering?

Olympia's eyes widened and then she gave a loud, blood chilling scream, one I wouldn't forget ever. I turned around, along with the other two, and couldn't help it.

I screamed.

As fast as we could, we ran, running into trees, into grass, into each other. Didn't matter. Nothing did, other than escaping from the monster that was after us. It was so huge that its shadow covered us yet and we could never keep a safe distance from it.

Cecelia stumbled and was on her knees.

"No!" Olympia cried in frustration and ran back to her, helping her to get to her feet. Bennett just stood and watched, perhaps waiting for them, but I pulled him away and we ran, the other two quite behind us now.

"We need to worry about ourselves first," I panted. I needed to stop, I needed air. My legs were aching. I stopped to catch my breath for a second and looked back at the snake, almost twenty feet long, slow like a snail, and as green as the grass on which we were standing. Its tongue was long and dotted with red spots, which made me want to throw up. Its eyes were as red as the blood of the bravest. I didn't want to admit it, but it was very scary.

And currently it had almost caught up with our two allies. Bennett reached for his kunai knife and aimed. I wanted to yell at him to run but I knew it would be no use.

The knife flew and hit the snake right into the eye.

That startled the brute and it started trembling violently. Not a good thing when a snake did that. At least the other two got ample amount of time to get to us.

"We'll have to separate!" Olympia said as we ran. We didn't have much time, for the snake had resumed its hunt again.

"Separate?" Cecelia said indignantly.

"We'll try to meet back at the cornucopia," Olympia replied.

Without any more discussion we went different ways, in four different directions. Surely it would confuse the brute. I could now run straight, or hide, and I didn't know why but hiding seemed to be a better option. So I was soon up in a really leafy tree, covered from sight.

It seemed the snake had decided not to follow me.

I sighed in relief. I didn't want to die so soon. Die at all, actually. I wondered who it had gone after ad I was sad that they may die.

But it was overshadowed by the relief of being alive.

Short, I know. So, what do you think of this chapter? I personally didn't find it very good, didn't write it well but… Still. I hope you enjoyed. Although I am sad. However… we're in the top thirteen. I can't believe it, honestly.

Eulogies:

14th: Quinoa Callus- Loved Quinoa. Honestly, she was adorable. I especially liked Lily because of how intelligent she was. I had seen schizophrenic tributes before, but Quinoa was different from them all. I just felt her time had come, and it seemed like a good opportunity to further Mateo's character. Rest in peace Quinoa and Lily, you both will be missed.

Death List:

Fynn King- killed by Bridge Carter

Rowan Clear- killed by Oceane Cascade

Burgundy Lumineer- killed by Oceane Cascade

Aspen Rust- killed by Galilee Schwartz

Oren Harper- killed by Cecelia Vertigo and arena radiations

Aileen Romeri- killed by Bennett DeVallier

Tab Hamasaki- killed by Olympia Rush

Cassidy Kelly- killed by Victory Fervaix

Victory Fervaix- killed by Galilee Schwartz and Asher Ravenstone

Asher Ravenstone- killed by Galilee Schwartz, Amaranthine Carteret and Bridge Carter

Quinoa Callus- killed by Mateo Dorsani

So… who do you think will die next? Will the snake be able to kill any of the Careers, or are they all safe? Also, who do you THINK will win? Not who you want to, but who you think it will be. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter.

Have a good day!