Ten … Nine … Eight … Seven … Six … Five … Four … Three … Two … One … Almost before she heard the canon blast, Annie leaped off her pedestal and sprinted for the Cornucopia. She headed straight for the center of the horn where the best weapons were kept. Luckily, the only person to the weapons before her was Seannan, who gave her a tense smile as he picked up two spears. He immediately flung one at one of the male tributes, and the other boy dropped instantly. Annie gathered a set of throwing knives along with a long, curved sword. Now, all of the tributes had reached the Cornucopia. One girl raised a bow and arrow, pointing towards Annie, but she was obviously unskilled with the weapon, and Annie's knife lodged itself in her chest before she could shoot. Annie quickly surveyed the area. Already, three or four of the tributes had been eliminated. She spotted Seannan, who was fighting hand to hand with the boy from Nine. She ran over to where they stood, sneaking up behind the big tribute and stabbing him in the back with her sword. The man froze for an instant when the sword pierced his skin, but then he continued to fight. Annie stabbed him again and again, determined that he would not hurt Seannan. Eventually, the man dropped, bleeding from several wounds.
Annie looked back over the Cornucopia. The girl from One was still fighting the Seven girl, but that would be over soon. Otherwise, the fighting was over. Annie could see the remains of ten tributes, including the two she had killed. Now that her first rush of adrenaline was wearing off, she could feel tears stinging in her eyes. She was only a few minutes into the Games, and she had already become a monster. Annie had murdered children. It wouldn't matter to their families that they would have killed her or Seannan if she had not. They were still dead.
She forced herself to calm down so that she could survey the Arena. From her vantage point, she could see that the Cornucopia was situated on a high hill. The rest of the Arena seemed to be fairly hilly as well. She could not immediately spot any water, but there were still lots of supplies left at the Cornucopia, so that was not an immediate concern. When she and the other Careers went hunting tonight, they would probably find some fresh water.
Decius, the boy from Two, came towards her. Annie tightened her grip on her sword, but he made no move to attack. "Let's gather what we'll need," he said. While Seannan and Luster stood watch, she and the remaining Careers examined the rest of the supplies. Annie began making packs of the supplies they would need for that night: water, food, night vision goggles, and basic medical supplies. The Cornucopia this year seemed especially richly stocked. She hoped this did not mean that sponsor gifts would be even more expensive.
"What do we want to do now?" asked Mila, Decius's district partner. Of the entire Career pack, this was the person Annie trusted least. She and Mila had trained at the edible plant station a few days before, and the girl had shown far too much interest in the poisonous plants. Annie decided never to eat anything the other woman offered her.
"I think we should rest this afternoon, gather our strength while the other tributes run," suggested Annie.
Seannan nodded in agreement, and it was the District One male that spoke next. "That way, when we go out hunting tonight, we will still be fresh while the other tributes are tired. Tired tributes make mistakes, and we don't want to be the ones to die." They came to an agreement that they would rest until dusk. Two tributes, each from separate districts, would stay up while the rest slept, switching off every two hours. For some reason, a small watch had been left in the pile of supplies, so they used that to keep track of time.
Annie had the last shift, so she tried to make herself comfortable for a long nap. There were several thick sleeping bags at the Cornucopia, so she piled two on top of each other to make a soft mattress for herself. She felt terrible sleeping so close to the bodies of dead children, but she had no idea when the next opportunity to sleep would come. She closed her eyes and was immediately assaulted by the images of the children she had murdered. Annie waited for them to fade, but they did not. For the next three hours, she dreamt of the hollow eyes of the girl she had killed with her throwing knives. In her dreams, the stab wounds on the Nine boy's back spurted blood, filling up the Arena until Annie was drowning in it. He reached out to grab her, pulling her under to join him in death…
She woke to Seannan poking her. "Time for your watch," he said, and as soon as she slipped out of her sleeping bag, he climbed in.
"Comfortable?" she teased.
He nodded, his eyelids already drooping. "Very." Annie wondered if he felt the same guilt over killing that she did. She pushed that thought from her mind so that she could keep an effective watch. Amethyst shared this shift with her.
"Are you and Odair friends?" the blond man asked.
Annie was surprised by his question, but answered truthfully. "Yes," she said. "We were in Training together. We've known each other since we were children."
"I just saw how sad he looked when you volunteered and wondered. Sorry if that was too personal," said Amethyst. Annie wished he would be quiet. If he was nice, it would be so much harder to kill him at the end.
She decided to be friendly for the sake of the audience. "How long have you and Luster known each other?" she asked politely. She noticed a hint of a blush on Amethyst's neck. He fancied his district partner. Annie swallowed. That was terrible. She could not imagine going into the Arena with Finnick. Having Seannan, who she was also close to, was hard enough. Lost in her thoughts, Annie missed the man's reply. She covered her lapse in concentration by asking another question, and the two talked about their lives back home until the sun began to set. They woke the other tributes. It was time to hunt.
Seannan pointed out a flaw in their plan. "How will we keep the supplies safe?" he asked. They quickly changed plans, having the three men go and kill while the female tributes kept watch. That way, the supplies would be guarded, and no district would outnumber the others. The next night, they would switch.
Annie hugged Seannan before he left. She, Luster, and Mila sat at the base of the Cornucopia, trying to act as though everything were normal. They cooked a small dinner for themselves with the food that would rot quickly, and afterwards they talked strategy, their conversation interrupted every once in a while by the sound of a cannon. The hovercraft came shortly after nightfall to collect the bodies from the earlier bloodbath. When the anthem came on, all three of them looked up to the sky. All six of the Careers were still alive, Annie was glad to see. Otherwise, it had been a very bloody first day. Fourteen tributes were already dead. Besides the Careers, only the Seven boy, both from Eight, and the Ten girl were still living. Annie hoped that this would be a very short Games. Only one day in, she did not know how much more she could take.
A/N: I decided to give a little more detailed view of Annie's Games than I had originally intended and split it into a few shorter chapters instead of one absolutely behemoth chapter. I hope you liked it! Even if you didn't, thank you so much for reading. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated. I like to know what I'm doing right, but what I could improve on is even more helpful. Thanks again!
~finnicko-loves-anniec