A nice long chapter for the first chapter of the Games! I hope you're as excited about this arena as I am! Thanks for sticking around long enough to get to this chapter! I hope you like it :)
Chapter Nineteen - Chills and Plans Gone Wrong/Let the Games Begin
I lie awake in bed as the sun rises over the horizon. So, this is it. I think. The last real sunrise I might ever see.
I'm up at dawn, as I always have been up until last week, when I was brought here to be slaughtered. Sunrises are important in District Four, more so than sunsets, which are just pretty. No, sunrise has always been pretty and useful, the start of the day, the time to start fishing.
If only I was back home, about to board the Samphire, maybe with my dad or Brooke or even Annie. But no, I'm here, in the beautiful and horrible Capitol, and they're home, as safe as you can be in Panem, back in District Four. At least, I hope they're safe.
I sigh. I can't think about that now. Right now, I need to focus on the Games, my next and maybe last challenge.
I try to remember all of the promises I've made, since this is probably the last time I'll really have a chance to think things through.
I promised Cassius we would get out of here, somehow, and also that I wouldn't kill him, even if we were the final two. I have a feeling that that second one will definitely be easier to keep than the first. Annie, I told her I would help Cassius get home. I hope she and Brooke are doing okay back in District Four, but now's not the time to worry about it.
So basically, I can't hurt Cass. Not that I would, of course, but that's what all that adds up to. And I can't forget my promises to myself, that I wouldn't hurt Willow, Ash, Spencer, Heather, or Jayden. That I wouldn't turn into a monster, but that I will put people out of their misery. That last one will be difficult, I don't want to kill anyone, but if they're already suffering it's actually the kinder, or rather, kindest thing to do.
At the thought of Willow and Ash, I remember our last conversation, that I would join the Careers in the arena and meet up with them later. I swallow with some difficulty. I will be tough to get away from the Careers. And what if I can't find them? Or worse, what if I meet up with them while I'm still supposed to be with the Careers?
Suddenly, I remember the answer in the form of a memory. Our last conversation together echoes in my head.
I think about it for a bit, then say, "And where will you be?"
"By the water, in the trees. If there's water, we'll be there."
She pauses for a moment, then says, "We'll leave you a sign."
"How will I know?" I ask.
"You will. Just remember…just remember us. Remember us and you will find it."
Perfect. So, I just need to find the water. They'll probably pick a stream or a river, that way they can move around but still be close to a water source.
But what if…a voice in the back of my mind says.
Shut up. the rest of my mind replies.
Breakfast is tense. I sit between Finnick and Cassius, my two favourite people here, and yet none of us say a word. I'm too busy shovelling food into my mouth to really care though. Who knows when I'll see food again? And this good? Forget it. I'd better eat up while I can.
Finally, I'm stuffed. I look up from the mountain of food on my plate and say, "So? Any final words?"
Finnick nudges me. "Last bits of advice, you mean. I'm confident we'll see one of you again in a while."
Cassius grabs my hand. "You ready?"
I nod. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Finnick looks away. I feel awful for him. Of course I had to be his first tribute. He's only 15, just like me, and yet he'll have to go through this for the rest of his life. Being a victor doesn't sound as magical as the Capitol makes it seem.
Nereida looks us both straight in the eye. "You'll be joining the Volunteer pack, so don't worry about having to grab survival supplies in the bloodbath. Stay on your plate, get ready to run for the Cornucopia, locate your weapon, and then do what you must." She's seen real Volunteers go through here, the kind that are excited to preform slow, painful deaths for the Capitol audience at the expense of their sanity and the life of some poor lower district kid. If I die, I don't want people thinking I'm one of those, especially not my mentors. Maybe it'll help them help me.
"Defend, you mean." I say, raising my eyebrows at both her and Cass. The message gets through and they both nod.
"After that, assuming you're still there, get together your survival supplies and whatever else you need in a pack. Even with a strong group, you never know when you might need a getaway, either from them or with them."
We both nod, being in the Volunteer pack doesn't assure your safety, after all.
Nereida straightens. "We should say our goodbyes now, while we have time. I think you're going to have to leave soon."
We all stand around, looking a bit awkward, until I turn and hug Finnick. "Thank you, for everything." I say. People in our little circle have begun to move, so our conversation gets ignored.
"I just wish I could help you more, Alexis. I promise, when you get back, we're going to all pack up, bring everything we need, and go exploring."
"Like pirates." I smile a little. He laughs softly.
"Yes. Like pirates. I'll miss you, but I'll be watching for you. Don't worry. I know I can get you sponsors, if you don't have enough already, for whatever you need. Just…just stay alive."
I nod. It may sound like awful advice, "stay alive", but really, what else can you say?
Thank goodness I remembered my necklace, I think to myself as Emeline outfits me for what might be the last time. The pearl and braided string, the last things I have of home, are wrapped tightly around my neck, so no one can reach out and choke me with it, Emeline had explained. A nice thought, huh?
"You have one minute left." A pleasant, but robotic female voice comes from the speakers above my head. Emeline directs me towards the tube.
"Thank you." I say quietly, before stepping onto the platform. A glass case seals me into my doom. Emeline nods, she seems to be tearing up. I didn't know she cared that much.
"It's been a pleasure, Alexis." she says softly. "I look forward to seeing you again."
"What if you don't?" The question escapes me before I can even register the idea of stopping it.
"I will. Be brave, Alexis. Keep your chin up." she replies, tilting her own head up. I do the same just as the platform under my feet pushes me up towards whatever hell the Gamemakers have planned for me.
The light coming from what must be an artificial sun in the sky blinds me at first, blocking my surroundings from my view. It doesn't block out the feeling though, which is an immediate blast of freezing cold air. I'm only wearing the white jacket and white pants that Emeline gave, which are thin, but warm. I can feel the chill creeping into my skin though. I have a feeling that my clothes soon won't be enough.
I rub my eyes, trying to get them to adjust quicker. When I open them, my heart sinks. We're far from water, which is my main advantage. Well, actually, I'm surrounded by water, in a cruel sort of way, but in no way is this something I can use.
The arena is a snowy mountain.
The Cornucopia, it seems, is not on the peak, but on a plateau maybe halfway up. In front of me is the Cornucopia, but then behind the circle of tributes I can tell the ground drops off into a cliff. Behind me is the way to the top of the mountain, the snowy peak covered by fog. In the Cornucopia, there are the regular weapons, food, backpacks, and tents, but also odd pieces of equipment, long poles, and flat planks that must have used a long time ago to navigate the mountains. I'm going to have to figure out how to use them soon. Randomly placed around the mountain are cabins, most likely filled with either goods or mutts. I don't like those chances.
Turn my attention back to my opponents; the other tributes. I can see just about half the circle while the rest are blocked by the Cornucopia. It's then that I realize; the Gamemakers have probably by accident, given me a huge blessing. There's not another Career in sight.
Directly on my left stands Jayden, who, despite his size, stands ready for the bell to go, though he doesn't seem to know in which direction to run. Beside him are a bunch of lower districts kids, including Spencer, while to my right is Willow, who's one over from me, and Ash, who's five away. Heather's nowhere to be found.
However, directly on my right is a younger boy, maybe fourteen, who's sobbing and shaking in fear, probably because he's been placed right next to a Career. I think he's from District Five.
"Hey," I whisper to him. He looks up, petrified that I've noticed him. "Hey, it's okay, I won't hurt you. What's your name?" To his other side, Willow looks at me, impressed. I won't return her gaze though, not yet.
"Darryn." he whispers. "I'm Darryn."
"Okay, Darryn, nice to meet you. I'm-"
"I know you." he shivers, but I don't it's because of the cold. "You're District Four."
"Well, actually I'm Alexis Lace. And I'm going to try to help you get out of here, okay?" I don't know why I'm doing this, the kid's going to have to die soon enough. Maybe that's why; he's going to have to die, but he shouldn't have to die without a friend.
Thankfully, he nods. Good, I don't have much time left for this. "Okay. Listen. Willow, Jayden, you too." My two friends, who I already knew were listening, lean in more obviously. I frown, scanning the Cornucopia, then finally spot them; four spears on the left side of the Cornucopia, leaning against the side. "See those spears?" They all nod. "I'm going to go get them. Follow me in, and I'll try to cover you. Hurry and get what you need though, I can't have the Careers come around this side and find me helping you." They all nod again, and position themselves to run. And not a moment too soon, because just as I turn to the Cornucopia I hear the legendary announcer, Claudius Templesmith's voice echo across the mountain, "Ladies and gentleman, let the 68th Annual Hunger Games begin!"
It's chaos.
I'm one of the first tributes to get to the Cornucopia, with the others close behind.
"Quick!" I hiss, grabbing two of the four spears I'd spotted beforehand. "Grab what you need!" Darryn, Jayden, and Willow duck inside the Cornucopia as I turn to defend the horn, but nothing really happens. I guess the tributes on this side are all kind of scared of me, because no one comes near me. But not many leave either, I only see the girl from District Ten disappear into the fog, running up the mountain and out of sight. Ash and Spencer have found each other, wielding knives and running towards me. I'm not sure what they would have done if I hadn't, but I step aside and nod to them to get inside. They both smile and I follow them inside.
Inside I find, along with a few other odd things I'm not going to bother with just yet, two tridents. I take one and leave the other for later as I run back outside with my group. I'm really hoping they'll take Darryn with him, or at least not kill him right away at this point.
"Where's Heather?" I hear Spencer shout over the noise and general chaos happening.
"Haven't seen her." I reply. "But you need to go, now!"
"SPENCER, ALEXIS, DUCK!" I hear Willow scream. Spencer and I turn towards the sound just as we reach the opening of the Cornucopia and then we both have to immediately dive to the side in order to avoid the knife flying straight towards our heads. We get up and they are about to keep running when I hear a sickening cry from behind me. My allies keep running towards the mountain while I turn to look at the boy that made that sound. Darryn, with a knife through his chest.
I gasp, a single tear falling down the side of my face. Darryn drops to his knees as I turn back to find his attacker.
It's pretty easy to single her out, even among all the shocked faces and my blurred vision. I feel like my eyesight is tainted red as I lay my eyes on the pale white face of the girl from 11, Cara.
She looks terrified, but I'm too far gone to care. The knife was for me, I know it, because even after everything I did in Training, I'm probably still just a Career to the rest of these tributes.
I look back at Darryn's broken body and tears come fully to my eyes. I can barely see, so I don't know how I managed to aim the two spears and a trident that left my hands seconds apart from each other. To be honest, I guess I really didn't.
Nevertheless, I hear each one hit a body and an cry of pain follows. I barely hear it, I don't even process what I've just done as I crawl back to Darryn's body, completely shaken.
I turn him over and he, or whatever's left of him, gives a gasp. His eyes lock with mine and I whisper, "I'm so sorry. I screwed up." The tears threaten to fall again.
With a great deal of effort, he manages to shake his head. "You…tried. Thanks." His words feel forced, but not because he doesn't mean them, more like he's struggling to remember how to say them. "Never…never would have made it anyway. You…you a Career, but you're" he frowns, trying to think of what to say. "You're…not a Career. You…you can do it. Win. For me."
The words tumble out before I can stop them. "I will, I will. For you. Sleep well, Darryn of District Five. I'll see you on the other side."
Darryn gives a final smile to me. And with that, his glassy eyes close for the last time.
Trembling, I stand and walk away to see what damage I've done. This battle isn't over, and, by the sounds of it, neither is this fight.
Just ten minutes ago, I was Alexis Lace of District Four. Kind, innocent, wouldn't hurt a single human being. Now, I've killed three.
Three people. People with lives and family that I crushed without a thought, too distracted and distraught at the pain they caused to my friend, who I knew basically nothing more than the name of.
One is Cara from District Eleven, the girl who threw the knife in the first place. As much as it seems wrong, that is the one death I think I can be okay with. The other two, the other two were innocents, just like Darryn, with families and friends who would probably very much like to do the same thing to me as I just did to their friends.
One is the girl from District Five, I think her name was Jane. She scored low in training and all around just didn't do well in the Games at all, thanks mainly to me.
The other is the boy from District Ten, Blake. At least I saw his district partner get away, the one smart girl out of all of them, who just stood around, maybe waiting for a chance to kill me for all I know.
It seems that the action has stopped on my side of the Cornucopia. Ash, Spencer, Willow, and Jayden along with a few others are gone while Darryn, Blake, Cara, and Jane are gone for forever. It seems like the fighting has slowed down on the other side of the Cornucopia as well, because I can hear the Careers talking.
"Where's Alexis?" I hear Tiana's voice.
"I don't know, I haven't seen her at all today. She must have been on the other side of the Cornucopia." I give a small sigh of relief at the next voice. Cass. He's still alive.
"Maybe she ran off with her little allies." I frown. Shine's alive then. Damn, I was kind of hoping to get at least one good thing out of the Cornucopia. Anyway, it's time for me to get other there. I take a deep breath, wipe the tears from my face, grab my last trident, and head around the corner.
"You were looking for someone?" Shine jumps, and I smirk at her. I see Cass smile out of the corner of my eye.
"Thank goodness you're here." Tiana says, making Shine expression even more hilarious. "We couldn't afford to lose anyone else on the first day.
The smile that had found its way to my lips slipped away. "What do you mean?"
Gray, who I hadn't even realized was there up until then pointed to boy's body lying facedown in the snow. There wasn't a single drop of blood around it, but I could still tell by its motionlessness that it was dead and I realized who wasn't standing with us. Demetri.
"The boy from Six did it." Tiana growled in anger, but also a bit of fear. Of course, he was her district partner. "Titus. Just walked up, snapped his neck, and ran down the mountain. I followed him as far as I could."
"So I'm guessing you didn't get your mark then." Shine then turns on her. I guess on this side they must have all agreed to kill a certain person. Tiana shook her head.
"I didn't either." Cass broke in, probably to help out Tiana. "I had to fend off that boy, Titus, right before he came at Demetri, and the girl ran off. Knew what was good for her, I guess."
"Well, I got mine." Shine said cruelly, and she pointed to a body nearby which nearly made me cry again, but I couldn't, not in front of the Careers. No matter how much I wanted to strangle Shine right then and there, I couldn't. But I couldn't help staring at the body lying face up in the snow. She was covered in blood, but i could still easily tell who it was. Heather. I remember standing up to the Careers for her in Training, and how shocked and honoured she looked. But I wasn't there for her this time. "And Demetri's too." She continues, nodding towards the body of the male from District Eight.
"I got mine too." Gray says, waving to another body, further away. I almost gasp again. Pascale, Jayden's district partner.
Shine sighs. "So that's three, all done by District One, mind you," I almost roll my eyes at that. "So," she turns to me, smirking, probably ready to show the others, again, why I'm no fit for their group. "did you get any kills?" Her grin gets wider, sure I'm going to say none. I wish she was right, but before I can tell her off, the cannons begin to go for the bloodbath.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
I count them silently.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
"Eight." Tiana whispers, looking at me with something like approval.
Gray begins to recite them. "Okay, so there was one from me, two from Shine, one from the boy from Six, Titus," I sigh, of course a Career would count the number of kills by killers, and not by victims. "That's four."
I sighed, I guess I have to not just explain, but explain like a Career. "The boy from Five got knifed on my side. I got the girl from Five, the boy from Ten, and the girl from Eleven." I say, trying to sound bored and not horrified.
The Volunteers look shocked, especially Cassius. I guess whatever they were expecting of me, it wasn't more kills than anyone else. I turn back to the Cornucopia, trying to seem uninterested in the topic and say, "Let's get this stuff sorted then, shall we?"
And I walk towards the Cornucopia, hoping that the hand I wiped casually across my face to rid it of tears was as casual as I thought.
GASP! Eight gone and Titus is in the arena...
A recap of the fallen will be done in the next chapter.