As the gong rang out, Amber ran faster than she had in her whole life, forgetting that she didn't know how to swim until she had gotten halfway to the cornucopia. Dammit.
The seventeen-year-old was knocked off her feet by Ruby. Ruby climbed on top of her. The District One tribute cried out enraged, "you little ally-stealing slut!" Ruby started to choke her, but then she was pushed off by Onyx, who told her to go find Drucilla.
Amber hesitated. "I can't!" She called out. She promised herself—and more importantly—Troy, that she would let Onyx live, and she couldn't do that by running.
That's when the girl from eight's body landed on her, already bloodied and mangled. She shrieked. Onyx struck at Ruby, who hit him back. He called out one more time. "GO!" It took her a few seconds, but she managed to move her feet towards the cornucopia, hoping he would be okay. She promised she would bring him home.
Amber found Drucilla picking up a sword in the Cornucopia. Apparently, Drucilla could swim. Did they teach them that it District Two with all those other skills?
Drucilla was fighting with the boy from Four, Ocean, over a waterproof bag. Amber scanned the cornucopia, unsure what she was supposed to be doing.
Drucilla cut up with her and started dragging Amber to the creepy forest. "But, my brother."
Drucilla seethed. "If he's still alive he'll come find us. I only just managed to get away from that douchenozzle from Four. I don't have time to find both of you. Come on." Sure enough, Ocean was following them, an enraged look on her face. Amber casted one last look at the direction she had come from hoping to get a look at Onyx. She couldn't see anything. She whispered. "I'm sorry. I'll find you." And turned to Drucilla.
She followed Drucilla into the dark forest, wondering if it would be the last time she saw her twin brother alive. Drucilla held a sword in one hand, a spear on the other, and a bow on her back. They didn't have any food, it looked like, but Amber tried not to worry. Drucilla probably would get sponsors.
Drucilla shoved the spear into Amber's hands. The seventeen-year-old girl looked at her. "Why didn't you let me go back for my brother?"
"I wanted to let both of you come with me, but Ocean was chasing me, I told you this already. I didn't have enough time to waste to go find him and I didn't need you two brought into the mess I created with the Careers."
"Too late for that." Amber muttered. Drucilla didn't answer, and Amber wasn't even sure she even heard her.
They went farther into the woods in complete silence, occasionally knocking branches out of their way with their weapons. Drucilla led Amber through the dark forest. Amber was glad to see no other tributes.
It was just started to dawn on her that she hadn't heard the cannons yet, and that the bloodbath should be over by then, when she heard a boom in the sky, a worrisome amount following. It made Amber anxious.
"How many was that?" Amber said. "I didn't count."
"It was thirteen."
Thirteen dead on the first day was not a good omen, Amber realized, deciding not to think about how most would head to the fortress, which surely would make more cannons go off. It didn't look like a reliable hiding place.
There might be even more dead by the end of the day, she thought, though she didn't voice her thoughts.
Drucilla found a small grotto and shoved Amber into it. "We'll stay here for the night." She muttered, cuddling into the other girl for warmth.
Amber let her, as the teenager was just as cold as the girl from Two. The anthem played overhead, and Amber didn't want to look up in the sky to see the Capitol seal, knowing that with it came the faces of the thirteen dead tributes, and Amber just didn't want to know.
She forced herself to look up anyway, knowing that in order to survive, and help Onyx and Drucilla survive, but mostly Onyx, she had to keep up with the tributes statuses, know who's alive to make sure she knew who she was up against.
The tributes from 1 and 2 were all, unsurprisingly, alive. The absence of Ruby's face gave Amber a bad feeling. Ruby was who she'd left her brother with…
The girl and boy from 3 and the boy from 5 were the next faces she saw, and she found herself pleasantly glad that Marina was alive. Maybe the Career pack will have someone in it that wasn't insane like Ocean and Ruby, even out the overall viciousness of the Alliance.
Both from 6 and the boy from 7 were gone, and Amber wondered if Jada, the girl from 7, joined the Careers or went solo. She hadn't seen her during the bloodbath.
Of course, she didn't get a good look during the bloodbath either.
Both from 8 and the girl from nine were also dead. How many was that? Nine. Four left she realized. The boy from ten. Three to go. Wait… didn't they show the dead girl from the district first. Then that means… Both from Eleven.
And she realized that there was still one person left to be shown. She buried her face in Drucilla's clothes, to muffle her screams.
I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, Onyx. *starts petting his hair* actually, I did. I've meant to kill him on 1st day since beginning. I love him, but he's not important here, so…