Day Five:
Jessie Harte (D2 F 14)
"Rise and shine, troops! Time to go hunting!" I awake to the sound of Mason shouting in my ear. I open my eyes to see him prancing around Glint, Alexandrite, and I with a bag on his back and a sword in his hand. "Who's coming with me?" he asks.
"I am," Glint says, shooting up. Immediately, his face turns green and he's forced back to the ground.
"Sorry Glint, but I think you should stick back again today. Jessie, are you staying with him?"
"No," Glint and I say at the same time.
"I don't want that brat staying back with me," he says.
"Right back at you," I counter.
"Fine," he says. "Glint can stay by himself. Alexandrite, Jessie, we're leaving in five minutes."
I pack a bag while munching on a granola bar. Once I'm done, I double check to make sure I have a dozen knives, and then walk over to where Mason is standing by the cornucopia. "Which island are we going to?" I ask.
"West Island, he says without hesitation. "We went to East Island yesterday."
"Okay," I say. Once Alexandrite walks over, the three of us walk over to the bridge and begin to cross it. Even though it's the fifth day, my stomach still does backflips when I cross the bridge. I don't think I'm getting over it anytime soon. I've been afraid of heights for seven years- ever since that horrible day when my twin sister fell out of a tree and died. I guess I just need to suck it up for the next few days. After all, everyone has fears. Some fears are worse than others. However, what really matters is how you let your fears affect you, and I'm not going to let my fear get in the way of victory.
Mapelle Green (D7 F 14)
It's a good thing I had the majority of the supplies in my bag, or I'd be in trouble right now. I ended up with the hatchet, the pot, the flint, a bottle of water, and four of the throwing knives. I'm glad I have all of the water boiling supplies, because water is my number one priority right now. I'm currently filling up my pot with some stream water. Once it's full, I'll boil it over the fire I've already created.
I've been feeling a bit down since Nylah and Cherry died, so I'm hoping fresh water will lift my spirits. As the water boils, I remember when the three of us found the stream for the first time. I can still hear Cherry shrieking, "Guys! Come quick! You'll never guess what I found!" I hope her family is doing okay- Nylah's as well. As sad as I am out here, I know their families are sadder.
My water finishes boiling, so I take it off of the fire. Once it cools down, I fill my water bottle and drink as much as my stomach can handle. Since I only have one bottle, I need to fill myself up with water now so that the bottle can last me a day or so. Another water bottle would be helpful, but it's not something I absolutely need. If I do have sponsors, I'd rather they save their money until I really need something. Another water bottle would just be a luxury item.
As I stomp out my fire and pack up, something hits me: there's only nine tributes left. If I survive long enough for someone else to die, my family will get interviewed. I think that'll work to my advantage where sponsors are concerned. I might get some sympathy for living in a ramshackle, poor house. Plus, my three-year-old brother, Barry, might tug on the heartstrings of some Capitol citizens. I can't worry about this now, though. I must focus on outlasting at least one more tribute.
Peyton Stanley (D6 M 12)
I'm feeling a thousand times better than I did at this time yesterday. It feels great to have food in my belly and water down my throat. Along with feeling physically stronger, I feel mentally stronger as well. I'm starting to think I can last for a few more days with Swirl's help. Victory is still a bit far-fetched, but you never know. I could get lucky.
Swirl and I are forging through the woods right now, looking for food. We haven't spotted many berries, but we have seen a few animals. Swirl hasn't managed to throw a knife into one of them yet, but she's come close a few times. Hopefully, she'll catch something soon.
About half an hour later, we still haven't found anything- that is, until I look over Swirl's shoulder. Something huge and mean-looking is stalking up on her. It's walking on all fours, so it must be some sort of giant animal. "Swirl," I whimper, trying to keep my voice steady. "Turn around- very slowly."
Just as she looks over her shoulder, the thing pounces, and I finally recognize what it is. It's a jaguar. Before I can even think, my instincts take control. Taking a tighter hold on the knife in my hand, I charge at the jaguar and sink my knife into its back.
It's not a good enough jab to kill the jaguar, but it does catch him off guard. Swirl manages to pull her knife out of her pocket, and throws it right at the jaguar's face. As the jaguar howls in pain, Swirl pulls another knife out and stabs it in the neck. She stabs it over and over again until finally, it falls onto the ground and lies motionless.
Looking absolutely exhausted, Swirl wipes the sweat off of her forehead and sits down. "You okay?" I ask.
"Not really," she replies. "Look."
She turns her back to me, and I see what's causing her pain. Four deep claw marks stretch the entire length of her back. There's blood seeping through her ripped t-shirt. "Oh my gosh," I say. The blood is continuing to seep through her shirt. If she doesn't do anything soon, she's going to die from loss of blood.
I grab her bag and begin searching for something to patch her wound. There's nothing; no first aid kit, no bandages; nothing. Just when I'm beginning to think about looking for leaves, I look up to see something floating towards us. It's a parachute. Feeling a bit more hopeful, I catch the parachute and look inside. There's some type of cream that I'm sure is for Swirl's cuts. There's also some giant band-aids. "It's going to be okay, Swirl," I say. "We can fix this."
I help her rub the cream all over her back. Then, we cover the whole thing in the bandages. At last, I manage to help Swirl to her feet. She's in no condition to continue hunting, so we decide to head back to the stream. We don't take the jaguar along with us. Even though it would provide ample food, it's too big to lug back to the stream. Maybe we'll come back tomorrow, even though it'll probably start decaying by then. Or, it could be attacked by other animals for food. Although, I've learned that I can't assume too much out here. Anything's possible in the Hunger Games.
Harvest Anson (D9 F 18)
I step over another fallen log as I continue my hunt for food. Even though I don't absolutely need more food, I need something to do with myself. I can't just sit and hide in my cave, waiting for the careers to find me. Instead, I need to be on my feet, trying to accomplish things. If the Gamemakers get too bored with me, they'll send mutts my way. I've been lucky so far, but I don't think that luck will remain much longer.
Without warning, I hear the sound of loud voices coming from my left side. I look over to see three careers walking towards me. I quickly find a thick tree to hide behind. I stand completely still and remain silent. If they find me, I'm a gonner. It's three against one; it wouldn't take a genius to figure out which side would come out on top.
As the careers get closer, I manage to catch a little snippet of their conversation. "Glint hasn't missed anything so far," I hear a boy's voice say. "The morning's already halfway over."
"We still have tons of time left," coos a girl's voice. "Don't worry, we'll find someone."
"I suppose," the boy's voice says.
"I wonder how Glint's doing back at camp," says the girl's voice. "I feel bad that he's hurt."
"He's fine," a second girl's voice says. "Well, he's probably still pissed that he's hurt, but it doesn't matter. He's probably back there taking a nap; or eating all of our good food."
"Probably," says the guy's voice. "But it doesn't matter if he eats all our food. We've gotten one sponsor gift so far, and it was on day three so it didn't even cost that much. I'm sure our sponsors have enough money to feed us for months."
The three careers walk out of earshot, and I think about what I just heard. It sounds like one of the careers is hurt, and is by himself back at their camp at the cornucopia. My mind suddenly hatches a plan. What if, right now, I snuck up to the cornucopia, caught the injured career off guard, and killed him? The only thing I've really done is kill the boy from District Four. I'm sure the careers all have much larger kill lists than I do. But, if I were to go out there, make a big move, and kill that boy, everything would change. I'd get sponsors, which will come in handy in the future. I'd also be one step closer to victory. There's four careers still remaining, and I can't let all four of them make it to the final eight.
It takes me about an hour and a half to reach the bridge stretching from Cornucopia Island to East Island. As soon as I do, I peek out from behind a tree, and stare over at the cornucopia. I can't see the boy anywhere. He must be behind the cornucopia. That works to my advantage. Now, I can sneak up on him.
I step onto the bridge, and begin to jog across. I keep a careful eye on the cornucopia to make sure that the boy doesn't appear. Hopefully, he's napping or something. That would make it extremely easy. I'd just have to swoop in, pierce him with my spear, and leave. I don't think I'll get that lucky, though. Even though he's injured, I think he'll manage to put up a good fight.
At last, I step onto the island. I drop my bag, hold my spear tightly, and tiptoe up to the cornucopia. I stand there for a minute, composing myself. Finally, I shuffle to my right and peek over the side of the cornucopia. At first glance, all I can see is one thing: a spear flying towards my face.
Glint Sulf (D1 M 18)
The girl dodges back behind the cornucopia, and my spear flies past her. Well, at least the girl has reflexes. I can't believe she thought I didn't see her cross the bridge and sneak up to the cornucopia. She'll pay for her stupidity now. I pick up a machete from the ground and advance towards the mouth. Rounding the corner, I see the girl standing there, a spear of her own in her hand. I finally recognize her. She's the girl who sassed us at lunch in the training center- the girl who killed Sheldon. It's time for her to pay.
I lunge at her with my machete. Instead of cowering, she fights back with her spear. As we fight, I discover she's pretty good, but not as good as me. I manage to slice down and knock the spear right out of her hands. Weaponless, she scampers, sprinting around the side of the cornucopia. I pick up her spear and jog after her, circling the golden horn. "Come out, come out to play, little girl!" I shout as I continue to jog around. After three full revolutions, I stop. She's running faster than me, and my chest injury is starting to hurt a bit. Plus, I'm feeling a bit nauseous. I'll just wait here until she rounds the bend. Then, I'll kill her.
Without warning, I hear the sound of someone screaming above my head. I look up to see the girl jump off of the top of the cornucopia and pounce on top of me, a knife in her hand. The knife slices into my head, and I'm pushed to the ground. "What the heck?" I shout as the girl pulls the knife out of my skull. I can feel the blood trickling down my face. What's happening to me?
I soon come to the realization that I'm dying. How could I let a measly girl from District Nine kill me? I'm from District One. I'm a career. I watch as the girl begins to gather up supplies from the cornucopia- my cornucopia. I try to stand up to stop her, but I immediately collapse back to the ground. After grabbing some bags and weapons, she takes off, running across the bridge to East Island. As I watch her get further and further away, she fades away, into the blackness that my vision has become.
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
"Boom."
The sound of a cannon rocks my eardrums. I look over at Jessie and Alexandrite, who have stopped in their tracks. Looks of confusion cover their faces. "Who do you think that was for?" Alexandrite asks.
"Someone probably starved to death," I reply. "I'm betting it was the boy from Six."
"I suppose so," Alexandrite says. "It stinks that we have to wait a few hours until night to see who it was."
"Six or seven hours, I'm guessing," Jessie says, gazing upward. "I think it's a little bit after noon, according to the sun at least." I look up into the sky. Sure enough, it's almost directly above us.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," I say. "Now let's keep going. We won't kill any tributes by just standing here."
We start walking again, and continue uninterrupted for about twenty minutes. Then, Alexandrite lets out a gasp. "Guys, guess what I just realized!" she chirps.
"What, Alexandrite?" Jessie asks in a flat tone.
"We're in the final eight!" she squeals. "We're so close to victory! Our families are all going to get interviewed now."
"Yeah," I say. "That's awesome."
"I can't believe the four of us made it this far!" Alexandrite continues. "Glint, you two, and I make up half of the final eight! One of us is definitely going to win!"
"Yeah, definitely," I say, and I know it's going to be me. "Now can we keep hunting?"
"Okay," Alexandrite says, and she literally skips away. Honestly, she can be such a ditz sometimes. Jessie and I follow her, continuing our hunt for blood.
Eridan Keating (D5 M 16)
As I sit on the riverbank, trying to catch a fish, I still can't believe I've made it to the final eight. I've outlasted two-thirds of the other tributes. I still don't know how it's possible. I came into the Games doubtful that I'd make it very far. I've never had any sort of training, and I've been under-fed my whole life. Maybe it's my brain, or maybe it's just luck. Whatever it is, though, I hope it continues to lead me further to victory.
I wonder how my family's doing right now. By family I mean Altiar, Claudio, and my girlfriend Orisha. I miss them dearly, and I'm sure they miss me too. I hope they aren't worrying about me too much. Hopefully, they're still worrying about themselves; hopefully, they're doing their jobs, making money, and continuing to feed themselves as if I was still there. If I die, I don't want them to mourn for too long. I want them to hold together, as a group, and keep working their way through life.
I wonder who it was that died today. I bet the careers hunted down another tribute. I try to remember who still left. There's me, the pair from One, the pair from Two, the boy from. Six, and the girls from Seven, Nine, and Ten. I doubt that the careers or the girl from Nine died, so that means it was probably either the boy from Six, the girl from Seven, or the girl from Ten. Truthfully, I don't really care who it was. All I remember about the boy is that his sister was in the Games last year. I don't remember anything about the other two, and I like it that way. If I want to win, they have to die, which means I can't get attached to any of them.
I suddenly feel a tug on my line- the first tug I've ever gotten. Yanking my line, I pull up a scaly green fish. It's not super big, but it's all I've got, so I'm extremely happy that I caught it. I guess this means I've got to make a fire to cook it. I take the fish off the hook and kill it with my knife. Then, I place my makeshift fishing rod in my bag, and begin to look for firewood.
Swirl Winters (D10 F 13)
Allying with Peyton gives me a bittersweet feeling. He's a very nice boy, and I'm glad to be able to help him. Plus, sponsors may be more likely to sponsor me if they see that I'm nice, and that I help those less fortunate than me. On the other hand, in the end, though, only one can win. For me to be crowned with victory, Peyton would have to die. I'm not going to cross that bridge now, though. More than likely, at least one of us will die before the final three or four.
My back gives a sudden twinge of pain, and I rub my hand over the bandages. It's a good thing I got that sponsor gift earlier, or I'd probably be a gonner. It's also a good thing that Peyton was there. He really surprised me today when he distracted that jaguar by running his knife into him. He also helped me with the medicine and bandages. Peyton really is a selfless boy, and I admire that. In fact, I think him and I are more alike than I previously believed. We've both had pain in our past lives.
I dig into my bag and pull out some meat, along with the handful of berries we collected earlier. We're nearly out of food. We'll have to go hunting again tomorrow. I hand half of the meat and berries to Peyton, who's sitting next to me on top of a moss-covered log. He thanks me, and devours most of it in seconds. Poor kid. During the days in which we were separated, he had almost nothing. He hasn't quite recovered yet. I eat my food too, though much more slowly, savoring the taste. If my back doesn't heal by tomorrow, it might be tough to catch food, so I need to make this last.
I decide we should probably climb up into a tree before night falls. If we stay out here in the open, we could be found and killed- especially because of my hurt back. Somehow, the two of us manage to get ourselves up into the tree. Since Peyton's less experienced at tree climbing, I basically tell him where to put his feet while he supports my back and pushes me up. When we finally make it, I pull out our water. We'll need a refill of this tomorrow too. All that I'm counting on now is my back. It needs to heal quickly.
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
Jessie, Mason, and I finally step back onto Cornucopia Island. I'm upset we didn't find anyone, but I know we will eventually. Besides, I should be celebrating right now. The four of us careers made it to the final eight. We make up half of the remaining tributes. One of us will win. Since my act has worked so far, I'm thinking I've got a pretty good chance at victory. I could definitely win this thing.
I walk over to the cornucopia and begin searching through a bag for food. Meanwhile, I hear the sound of Jessie's voice to my left. "Hey guys," she begins. "Where's Glint?"
I stop rustling through the bag and look around. Sure enough, Glint is nowhere to be found. "Do you think he went hunting without us?" I ask.
"Probably," Mason says. "I bet he was pissed we wouldn't take him hunting with us, so he went off on his own. That's probably why there was a cannon earlier. He probably managed to kill someone."
"He should be back by now, though," I say. "The anthem's going to go off any minute now."
"Maybe he decided he didn't want to ally with us anymore," Jessie says. "Maybe he stole some stuff and took off. Is there anything missing?" I look around, and notice that a few bags and weapons are gone. Why would Glint do that, though? It doesn't make any sense.
At that moment, the Panem Anthem begins. Looking up into the sky, the face I see is none other than Glint's. My mouth opens wide in shock. How could Glint die? What went on here while we were out hunting?
I come to the conclusion at the same moment that Jessie does. "Someone snuck up on him," she says. "He was probably napping, and someone stepped onto the island and slit his throat. Then, they stole some stuff and took off."
"But who?" Mason asks.
"The girl from District Nine," I say confidently. "She hates us, and she's the strongest non-career left."
"You're probably right," Mason says. "Now let's get to bed, guys. We've got hunting to do tomorrow." After munching down on a protein bar, I lay down and let sleep overcome me.
The Fallen (1):
Glint Sulf (D1 M 18)
Killed by Harvest. A knife was thrust into his skull when Harvest jumped off the cornucopia on top of him.
Remaining Tributes (8):
D1:
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
{Annabeth-TheTributeThatLived}
D2:
Jessie Harte (D2 F 14)
{ImSoCutee00}
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
{Jms2}
D5:
Eridan Keating (D5 M 16)
{Nothing. Is. Real}
D6:
Peyton Stanley (D6 M 12)
{Jms2}
D7:
Mapelle Green (D7 F 14)
{Annabeth-TheTributeThatLived}
D9:
Harvest Anson (D9 F 18)
{Semi-Dedicated Wierdo}
D10:
Swirl Winters (D10 F 13)
{feistyflame}
Kills:
Glint: Misty, Cobalt, Tadalynn, Lukas
Jessie: Jarvis, Aria, Cherry
Mason: Ryland, Peter, Nylah
Alexandrite: Jennette, Rory
Sheldon: Marina, Osborn
Harvest: Sheldon, Glint
Alliances:
Alexandrite/Jessie/Mason
Peyton/Swirl
Eridan
Mapelle
Harvest
We've made it to the final eight! Yay! Congrats to all eight tributes! Glint- sorry but you were tied for last place in the poll with two votes. Plus, four careers in the final eight would be a little much.
Sorry that this chapter took me so long. My family and I had to drive out-of-state for a funeral, I had a bunch of basketball games, and I have midterms next week so I've had a lot to study for. I don't know how long the next chapter will take me because it's going to be a bit different from my other chapters. Since we're in the final eight, the next chapter (or two if it turns out to take a while) will be the family interviews. Be prepared to hear from the friends and family of the remaining tributes.
So, there's a final eight poll up. Please vote! Now that there's fewer tributes left, you can only vote for two of them, so choose wisely.
Thanks for reading! :-)