Thank you guys for the awesome reviews! I just want to clarify to those who think that there is tension between Marina and Caiden that Caiden just likes to make fun of her, resulting in the two of them having a lot of arguments. I hope that clears things up. Because you guys are awesome and give me encouraging feedback, as well as con-crit you all deserve a long chapter (: As requested by Clato02 I will reveal the career with the highest votes from my poll... it's Gary!
Response to some reviews.
Zjwafleman: Soon.
Amanda: I'm sorry that there hasn't been any deaths lately. Someone is going to die in this chapter and I hope it will it satisfy your bloodthirsty cravings! (:
nyan743: LOL. I'm sorry that you had to wait long. Honestly, I'm kinda impatient too and I understand how you feel. Please take this long chapter as an apology.
The instant my eyes fly open I feel a throbbing pain coming from the back of my head. My head must've hit the ground pretty hard when I knocked out. I rub my head and look around for my allies. To my surprise they're all okay as if nothing happened. Vinera is practicing her swing with her axe, Gary is examining his slingshot, Marina's organizing the arrows in her sheath, Evan is eating a pack of dried fruits, and Sebastian is polishing his trident.
"You're up," Marina notices.
"How long was I out?" I ask.
"We don't know. All of us were unconscious too." Gary joins in.
"You were out for about twenty minutes after I woke up." Marina tells me.
"Do you think we all knocked out at the same time?" I question.
"No. Call me crazy, but I think we got knocked unconscious by district. First Amethine, then Evan, Vinera, Caiden, Marina, Sebastian, then me." Gary answers.
"When one person blacked out how long did it take for the next person?" I ask.
"I'm guessing about a minute." Gary guesses.
"I was positive that that sound we heard would leave us deaf." He adds and tugs on his ear lobe.
"What do you think it was?" Marina asks us.
"I thought that the Gamemakers must've set up some microphones near the water under our plates. Then whenever those mutts screech, it'll ring out all over the arena." I presume.
"There's something about those sounds that really have an effect on us." Marina supposes.
"The Gamemakers might've altered them and have them slow us all down." I say.
"Or they're trying to bring all the tributes closer, so we can fight." Gary foresees.
"Yeah, that has happened before. The other tributes will probably try to find a place that is safe from the mutt's screams." I contribute my theory.
"What's all this talk about mutt's screams and microphones?" Vinera walks up and asks.
"We were just talking about those sounds we heard earlier." Marina lets her know.
"What do you guys think so far?" Vinera wonders.
I think it's best that we all discuss this. I call Sebastian, Caiden, and Evan over and they all sit around my sleeping bag. By the time everyone is present, they've form some type of circle around me. It's not a perfect circle, but it looks like one because everyone is closely gathered around. This is what you call an alliance discussion.
"Maybe it's meant for us to stay down while the Gamemakers set up something that they don't want us to know about until we discover it." Evan shares his thoughts.
"Maybe, but they wouldn't need us to knock out. Look at it this way, they have all the cool technology. Don't you think they'd be able to plant a bomb without us knowing?" Caiden asks.
"Or they probably want us to solve the riddle." Gary states. "You know, like the answer to the problem?" he adds.
"So you think that they want us to find a way to stop the sounds?" Sebastian asks him.
"That's what I think." Gary replies.
"Either that or they just want us to clash with the other tributes." I put in.
"Yeah, I know the audience is bored because there hasn't been any bloodshed lately." Vinera says nonchalantly.
"It's because of my leg." I speak up.
"It still can't move?" Gary asks.
"No." I say right away and stare at my injured leg.
Move. I keep my eyes glued to it and command it to move. It doesn't move, but I don't stop. I try again and failed. One last time, then I'll stop. My boot moves. It moved! I blink a few times and try to move it again to make sure that I didn't just imagine that. It moves again! Everyone around me cheers. My days of sitting on my sleeping bag and not being able to help the others are long gone. I can move my leg and walk again! What other better way to celebrate than have a tribute hunt?
"It looks like we're going hunting later on." I announce and earn some claps and shouts of joy.
Trying to stand up required some effort and a few helping hands. It felt like I got a new leg and was testing it out, because it felt a little weird. After some stretching and a couple of exercises, my leg felt okay. When the others saw that my leg was doing fine they started preparing for the hunt. I put my flask in my pack, attach my sheath of spears to the back of my pack, and double check if I have other needed equipment.
"What kind of trap should we set before we leave?" asks Gary.
"Definitely not the one we made last time." I comment.
"Why don't we try to make a more deadly one?" Evan suggests.
I raise my eyebrows in interest. "What do you mean?"
"Instead of making one that just traps a tribute let's make one that injures them." He responds.
"We should make a trap that when triggered, a knife will fall and stab the intruder." says Vinera.
"That's excellent." I claim. If the same tribute that stole from our camp falls for this trap, it will serve as revenge. Sweet revenge. I hope that he or she will be on the ground bleeding profusely when we return so I can finish them off very painfully.
"Shall we start building this brilliant trap?"
"No tribute will be able to escape this." I marvel at the clever trap that we've all put together. I am for sure that no one will get out of this one.
There are two things that any tribute will try to snatch from a career camp: Food and weapons. That's why we have left the crate full of canned goods open, but over it is a piece of rope. The tribute will pick the rope up and throw it away carelessly so they can start grabbing some canned food but that will be a big mistake. When the rope is tugged, a long spear attached to rope will descend and stab the tribute. What if the tribute dodges it, you ask? There will be another spear behind them that is positioned low to hit the feet and when they duck, they'll get stabbed in the back.
We have done the same thing with the weapons. We placed all the long spears and two utility knives in one big pile with a string of rope resting on the top. The same thing happens when the rope is tug which is one spear will fly in the front of the tribute and another will hit the back. This is what I mean when I say that no one will escape this.
"Where's the other pile of rope that we didn't use?" I ask.
"It's in my bag. We might need it." Sebastian answers. I nod in agreement.
"Does everyone have their flasks?" I ask. Everyone has it.
"How about a small snack like dried fruits and peanuts?" Everyone nods.
I don't need to ask about weapons because I know that they all have them. Typical careers don't need to double check if they have their weapons with them, but I make sure I have some backup knives in case there's a time where I have to sacrifice half of my spears.
"Do you all have your flashlights? We'll leave before dark, but we're returning way after night falls." I tell them. They rummage through their bags and give a thumbs-up when they see that they have one.
"Sleeping bags?" I ask. Check.
"Gary, take the utensil bag." I order.
"Why?"
"We're going to hunt for food because we're low on canned goods and there isn't much deer left. Now quit asking questions and get it." I direct and he walks away without a word to fetch it. When he comes back I double check if everyone has everything.
"We're ready." I announce.
We start walking behind the Cornucopia and in the direction of the forest. It may be late noon and the tributes will be able to see us, but we still keep our footsteps and voices low. Thank god the sun is still high in the sky because with the light, I can keep a close eye on everything. I lead and Sebastian takes up the rear. I stop the pack every time I see something weird and examine it. I'm still not sure what gave me that leg injury but I can use this time to figure it out.
I have folded the legs of my pants down and even tucked the edge of them in my boots to protect my leg. I advised the others to do so if they didn't want to end up with the wound I had. A fresh breeze flows by and leaves us with a refreshing feeling. Just like the other day, sounds of creatures twittering, squeaking, and singing fills the forest. I'm grateful for the height of the trees as for the reason that they shade us from the hot sun.
"Watch your step." I tell my allies.
"Do you think that an animal gave your leg that wound?" Gary asks out of curiosity.
"No, it was probably a plant." I reply. If it was an animal, we would've seen it scurry away.
"What if it was a small bug on a plant?" he asks.
"I don't think a small animal could leave my skin burned."
"These are just terrific." I pick up what Marina says.
"What is?" I turn around and ask and find Sebastian, Evan, Vinera, and Caiden hungrily picking blue berries from a bush. I assume that their safe to eat because none of them are collapsing or coughing violently.
My eyes widen. "What's wrong?" Marina asks me.
I crouch down and carefully examine the bush next to the one with berries. I gasp when my suspicions are confirmed. This is what caused my leg injury. Nettle leaves. Nettle leaves look like regular leaves, but the difference is that nettle leaves have microscopic needles that inject harmful chemicals in the human skin. On the day I got the injury, when we were walking out of the forest my leg must've brushed against a bunch of nettle leaves, thus making contact with the needles causing a ton of their chemicals to enter my skin.
"Stay back." I instruct the rest. "Get away from the berries." I say sternly.
They throw me questioning looks. "These are what gave me that wound." I point at the nettle leaves and make sure my finger is far away from it. I stand up and step away from the harmful leaves. "Let's go to the stream and fill our flasks." I notify them, wanting to get away from the nettle leaves and prevent my allies from getting hurt.
We get to the stream, dip our flasks in the water and scoop it up. I remind everyone to purify their water and ask Marina for one purification tablet since I used my last one on somebody else's flask when I was here the last time. While waiting for the purification tablets to fully dissolve, we sit around for a few minutes. I get up and tell the others to rise so we can continue on with our hunt for tributes. We go back to direction we came from and eventually exit the forest.
"Let's go that way." I point in the direction beyond the barns.
The others murmur in assent. We walk beyond the barns and I notice that the farther we go, the less grass there is. When we a far, far away from the barns and the forest we come to a clearing with no grass at all. Replacing the grass are rocks. We all come to a halt when we see a thirty five yard long ravine with a long, narrow log across the large gap. On the other side is a large boulder that weighs more than all of us put together. I slowly walk over to the edge and look down. Knowing the Gamemakers and their creative ways, water is out of the question. I'm proven right when I see the bubbling lava.
I walk back to the others. "What's down there?" asks Evan.
"Lava."
"Are we going to try and cross it or we do we retreat?" Gary questions.
"We're going to cross it." I simply state.
"How?" Sebastian asks.
"We use the log." Gary answers in a matter-of-factly tone.
"It's too narrow and I don't want to risk any of you falling." I tell Gary.
"I just thought that we can walk over it," he says sheepishly.
"We can't. We need to find another way to cross it without our lives at stake."
"What about the rope Sebastian has in his pack?" Vinera recommends.
"We can use it to tie it at both ends of the gap and get across safely." She explicates.
I'm about to agree when I notice something. "There is a boulder at that end, but there's nothing on this side that we can tie the rope around." I point out.
"Rub the crud out of your eyes, golden goddess." Caiden says. Before I can reply, he points at a boulder behind me.
"I didn't see that," I state.
"Well now you do, and now we figure out who is going to be the one to walk across the log and tie the rope around that boulder." He tells all of us. "I vote Marina," he adds. I look at Marina. She doesn't look mad.
"Why her?" I protest.
"She's the smallest one here and she can get it done quickly. She hasn't even done much and she only killed one tribute at the bloodbath. Now is the time to prove yourself, Marina." Caiden says in casual tone. "Besides, if you fall you can swim." He says sarcastically.
"I'm sorry Marina, but I agree with Caiden. Except for the last part." says Vinera.
"Marina has being doing much. She helps cook, she helped Amethine when her leg was paralyzed, and she helped set the trap." Sebastian defends his district partner.
"I'll do it." I volunteer to save some time and prevent an argument from breaking out.
"No, I will. Caiden is right, I can do it faster." Marina stops it all.
"Are you sure?" Sebastian and I ask in unison. She nods and gives us a reassuring smile. Sebastian glowers at Caiden and pulls the rope out of his pack. He hands it to Marina and asks her again is she's okay with doing it. He even tells her that she doesn't have to and said that he can do it.
"I can do it." Marina assures him. We help Marina tie half of the rope around the boulder. I pull it a couple of times to make sure that it's tight. Before stepping onto the log, Marina wraps the rope around her waist and gets into a push-up position. She crawls towards the log and hugs it with her hands and legs.
"She has always been afraid of heights." Sebastian nibbles on his nails nervously.
"She'll be okay. What she's doing right now is a smart move." I try to get him to relax even if I'm scared myself.
"She's fast, but she looks scared." Gary watches.
Marina keeps her eyes glued in the distance but when she looks down she gets nervous and stops for a moment. Sebastian shouts encouraging words to her and she continues. She is halfway there when her right hand slips and she almost falls. We all gasp, but let out a sigh of relief when she regains her balance. I see her hug the log tighter and she inches towards the other side quicker. When Marina finally reaches the other side and stands up and walks over to the boulder, Sebastian tells Caiden: "If she didn't make it, I would've thrown you in." but Caiden just brushes this off.
After Marina secures the line around the boulder and pulls it to make sure it stays, Vinera volunteers to go first. Before she goes, Caiden asks to speak with her in private and they go behind the big boulder. Since I'm standing near it, I pick up some of their conversation.
"Be careful, okay?" Caiden tells her in a serious tone. I don't hear Vinera say anything and my ears pick up what could be a quick kiss. I couldn't tell if it was on the lips or the cheek. I don't get why he has to speak with her privately when every citizen in Panem will see them anyway. They come back and Vinera holds onto the rope and plants her feet on the log. She takes a deep breath and starts walking. At first she takes small steps but when she gains bravery, she starts walking a bit faster.
Gary goes next and unlike Vinera, he looks like a scared cat being held above water. Evan tries to get him to relax and only slightly succeeds. Gary hasn't gotten to the other side when Evan gets on. Evan isn't scared at all and reaches Gary in less than fifteen minutes. I don't hear it, but it looks like Evan is saying soothing words to Gary and tries to get him to hurry because the sun is about to set and Vinera has already reached the other side. Gary and Evan are almost to the other side when Sebastian starts stepping onto the log. When Gary and Evan have joined Vinera and Marina at the other side, Sebastian is halfway there. Caiden decides to start getting on.
When Caiden is halfway and Sebastian has reached the other side, I step onto the log. I decide to just leave the rope because I don't want to go through the whole nail biting suspense when we're going to return the camp and have Marina tie the rope on the boulder of the other side. I walk at a decent pace and keep my eyes up. I'm at a stone's throw away from Caiden. He is faster than me and reaches the other side once I'm on the halfway point. About seven minutes later, I join everyone.
"Why did we even come here in the first place?" Vinera asks.
"They're might some tributes and game." I reply. I look around at the rocky terrain and notice a mountain in the distance. Well isn't this arena just full of different landscapes. We walk forward and come across a clear place. There is no grass, but there weren't any jagged rocks either.
"Let's take a five minute break." I tell the others.
I take my pack off and set it on the ground. I sit on the hot rock and let the sun hit my face. I open my pack and eat the dried beef covered in tomato sauce. When I finish it, I drink water and stuff them back in my pack. We won't be able to go back to camp before sundown and I want to find a place to camp out in before it gets completely dark. This place won't do because it's out in the open, leaving us vulnerable.
We continue on our trek and find a cave. The cave isn't very big, but we could all fit inside. I go in with a spear and a flashlight to check if it's clear. There's nothing but darkness, rocks, and dirt. We put our things inside and set our sleeping bags around.
After we get settled in,I leave to go use the restroom. I take a flashlight and walk out of the cave. I already have three throwing knives in my belt, so I'm armed. I pick a spot behind some boulders and when I'm done I make my way back to camp. I hear footsteps.
At first, I predict that it's an animal. The chance of another tribute being out here is practically nil. I doubt that a non-career has the guts to cross the ravine. But then again, these footsteps don't sound like they belong to an animal. I shine my flashlight in the direction it comes from. I jump when the light lands on Terraine's face. She has a creepy smile on her lips. Like a mischievous yet wild smile. I was right, she is psycho. She surprises me by tackling me down, knocking the flashlight out of my hands. Fortunately, when it falls the light stays on us.
"You thought I was weak, didn't you?" she asks. She managed to pin me down. Dammit, I shouldn't have underestimated you.
"Yeah, so how are you going to kill me?" I ask nonchalantly.
Her crazy laughter fills the air. It's so creepy that it sends a chill down my spine. "You're already dead!" she says, that smile still plastered to her lips.
"When you enter the games, you're already dead!" she slaps my face.
She uses both of her hands to pin mine down. Stupid girl, I still have my feet. I knee her in the stomach and she groans. When she bends over to clutch it, I shove her off and stand up. I duck when she tries to slap me and punch her in the guts. Terraine quickly throws herself at me and starts clawing my face. If she had Beryl's claws, my flesh would be mutilated. Due to her weight, we fall on the ground and roll over. We land with me on top of her. The flashlight is far away, making it dim at where we are.
I'm finally able to grab her hands and twist them behind her back as I force her to stand. She screams and laugh. "Death, death, death, death, death!" she chants. "Mori Volo!" she exclaims. I grab the back of her neck and slam her head into a boulder. She doesn't stop laughing and continues her weird chant. I slam her with all the force I have until her laughing dies down. Then she stops and her body falls to the ground. Her cannon fires.
I hear other footsteps and pull a knife out of my belt. I put it down when I see that it is my allies. "Amethine!" Vinera calls.
"It's me." I confirm my identity.
They shine their flashlights around and spot Terraine's body. I turn around and notice the pool of blood coming from her head. Evan shines his flashlight on me and I see blood smeared on my bare palms.
"What happened?" he asks.
"You won't believe me when I tell you."
You know that line that Caiden said to Amethine? "Rub the crud out of your eyes, golden goddess." I got it from Spongebob. It's what Mr. Krabs said to Spongebob in some episode, I'm not sure which one. Thank you all for the positive feedback on the previous chapters! Thanks for reading and May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!
Deaths:
Terraine from district 9