Day Ten (Part One):
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
"Mason. Mason! Wake up!" I open my eyes to see Jessie standing over me, an annoyed look on her face. "It's been a few hours, so it's time for you to keep watch."
"Okay," I say through a huge yawn. I stand up and grab a water bottle and the pack of beef jerky that I didn't quite finish last night. I walk over to the mouth of the cornucopia, sit down, and begin to eat my midnight snack.
Twenty minutes later, I find myself almost dozing off, so I jog around the cornucopia a few times. When I'm done, I sit back down in the mouth, and my boredom begins to take control, just like it does every time I have to take watch. I stare up into the sky, and try to amuse myself by playing connect the dots with the stars. I'm about two minutes into my game when I spot something odd. There's something moving up in the sky, and it looks like it's floating downwards. A few more seconds, and I realize that the object is a silver parachute, reflecting the light of the moon as it comes closer and closer towards me.
I snatch the parachute out of the air when it gets close enough. Holding it, I notice that the basket is very small. I wonder what's in it. It can't be a plate of food or a weapon because it's too tiny. Maybe it's something that'll help me out at the feast tomorrow. I pop the basket open and wrinkle my face in confusion when I realize what's inside- nothing more than a note. I pull it out and hunt around the cornucopia for a flashlight because it's too dark to make out what the paper says. When I've finally found one, I sit back down and read the note.
Mason-
Your allies have plotted against you and are planning to kill you in the morning. I know you're too soft to kill them in their sleep, so if I were you, I'd grab some supplies and head for East Island now. Good luck at the feast tomorrow.
Your mentor (and brother),
Coltin
P.S.- You know, if you want to get back at Alexandrite and Jessie for betraying you, you could always toss all of their food and supplies over the cliff before you leave...
I can't believe it. All this time, I thought I could trust Alexandrite and Jessie. Now I know the truth. They've been lying to me the whole time. I look over at them, lying peacefully in their sleeping bags. They're going to pay for this. Coltin was right by assuming I wouldn't want to kill them in their sleep. That's because I'm not like these girls. I play by the rules.
I decide to take Coltin's advice about the girls' food and supplies. Once I've filled up three bags with everything I'll need for the next few days, I toss every single one of the remaining bags over the cliff. I throw over Alexandrite's bow and arrows and Jessie's knives as well. Now I know this won't effect them that much. The two of them have tons of sponsors who will send them weapons as soon as they wake up. Also, there's the feast tomorrow, but this means they'll definitely go. And when they do, I'll be waiting.
I hoist my bags over my shoulders and grab my spear. I guess it's time for me to say goodbye to the only home I've had for nine days. I give the cornucopia a little salute, and then walk over to the bridge. Without a second thought, I step onto it and begin my journey into a new phase of the Games.
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
As soon as I open my eyes, I know something is wrong. Squinting around, I see that the sun has already begun to peek out from behind the mist. Mason was supposed to wake me up a few hours ago for third watch. Maybe he fell asleep during his shift. I stand up and walk over to the cornucopia. He isn't there. "Mason?" I call out. "Where are you?"
As I search around the cornucopia, I discover that Mason isn't the only thing missing. With a tremendous sinking feeling, I realize that every single one of our bags is gone. My heart beating fast, I race back over to my sleeping bag to see if my bow and arrows are still sitting there. To my dismay, they're gone, just like everything else.
I look over at Jessie's sleeping bag. I breathe a sigh of relief when I spot a few strands of Jessie's black hair poking out of the top. "Jessie! Jessie! Wake up!" I shout. I run over and shake her shoulders until she wakes up.
"What's wrong?" Jessie asks, yawning. She doesn't look the least bit concerned.
"Everything's gone!" I shout at her. "Our food, our supplies, our weapons, and even Mason! They're all gone!"
"What do you mean?" she asks, still looking dazed.
"Come here; I'll show you," I say, starting to get a bit annoyed. Jessie stands up and follows me over to the cornucopia. Her jaw drops when she sees the mouth of it; instead of being littered with bags, food packets, and weapons, the ground near the cornucopia is completely bare.
"What happened to all of it?" Jessie asks with wide eyes.
"I don't know," I say. "But if I had to guess, I'd say that Mason did this. He was supposed to wake me up for third watch, but he never did. I bet he was lying yesterday when he said he wanted to stick with us until the end."
"But what happened to our bags?"
"Maybe he chucked them over the side of the cliff before he left."
"Why would he do this, though? This doesn't seem like Mason at all."
"He could have been eavesdropping last night when we said we were going to kill him," I suggest.
"Maybe," Jessie says. "This stinks, though. I can't believe that everything's gone. I have one knife that I had in my pocket when I fell asleep, but nothing else. You don't have anything, do you?"
"No," I say. "I guess it's a good thing we have the feast today. As long as our sponsors send in some weapons by noon, we'll be fine. I'm sure they'll be plenty of goodies up for grabs at the feast. But for now, I guess it's just you, me, our sleeping bags, and the cornucopia."
Jessie's jaw suddenly drops, and she looks at me with wide eyes. "The cornucopia..." she mutters, looking like she's just come up with a great idea. Jessie turns on her heel and sprints into the cornucopia. Seconds later, she emerges with two full-looking bags and an expression of relief on her face.
"Where'd you get those?" I ask, staring at the bags in disbelief.
"I hid them in the cornucopia a few days ago, just in case I ever had to dash out of here. I've got two filled canteens, some food packets, some supplies, and a dozen throwing knives in here. We can distribute the stuff equally into the bags and each take one, if you want. That way, each of us will have something if the feast doesn't go well."
"That would be great," I say. "You don't happen to have a bow and arrows in there, do you?"
"No," she says, giving me a sad smile. "But you have sponsors- tons more than I do. You'll get your bow in now time."
Sure enough, seconds after we finish sorting through the bags, a parachute floats down with a silver bow and twelve gleaming arrows in it. "Told you," Jessie says. "The Capitol loves you." There's a bit of jealousy in her voice, but I ignore it. After all, the Hunger Games aren't a time for emotion; they're a time for action.
Swirl Winters (D10 F 13)
I open my eyes and feel a jolt of excitement when I realize it's morning. It's time to get started on my plan. In the past few hours I've realized something- the feast is one of the most exciting parts of the Games. Everyone in Panem watches the feast. Schools close early. Workplaces shut down. The entire country will be watching the feast, which makes it a perfect time to expose the Capitol for what they really are.
Once I've eaten, I climb down from my tree and begin searching the forest for the biggest leaf I can find. After I've found it, I head for the stream. I scoop up some mud from the edge of the stream and use it to quickly scribble my message on the leaf. Once I'm done, I roll up the leaf. I can't let any of the cameras get a glimpse of what I've written now, or my plan will be ruined. I place the leaf in my bag and wipe the mud off my hands. I guess all I can do now is hope that my plan works.
Once my hands have been thoroughly scrubbed, I begin my hike to the edge of East Island. There's still over four hours left until noon, but I think it'll be best to get there early. I need to hide in a tree before everyone else gets there. If I'm up high, it'll be easier to carry out my plan, which is honestly all I care about now. If my plan works, one thing is certain; I will be remembered. My message will spread all across Panem as the Gamemakers scramble to hush me up. This certainly is going to be fun. A smile forms at the corners of my mouth. I can't wait to go out with a bang.
I walk for what seems like forever, until finally, I reach the little clearing on the edge of the island. Looking out past the bridge, I can see another floating island- Cornucopia Island. However, when I look off to my right, I see nothing but mist. The Gamemakers must have gotten rid of West Island. I guess there just wasn't enough entertainment on that island, so they snapped their fingers and it disappeared. It wouldn't be the first time they've done something like that, so I'm not surprised that it's gone.
I begin searching for a tree to hide out in. Even though there's still a few hours until the feast, the other tributes will start showing up soon. I need to hide before they realize that I'm here. It doesn't take me long to find the perfect tree; it's huge, sits nearly on the edge of the clearing, and has tons of branches and leaves that will conceal me almost completely. I grab one of the branches and begin to climb up the tree. I climb until I'm about fifteen feet off the ground. This'll be the perfect height. Once I'm situated, I sit down and look around the arena. I guess all I can do now is wait.
Harvest Anson (D9 F 18)
As I hike through the forest, I begin to have second thoughts about the feast. There's three careers still left in the Games. What if they all team up to get rid of me and the girl from District Ten? Normally, the careers have split up by this time, but what if they haven't? I may have a chance against one career, but if I'm up against three, it will be an easy kill for them.
Even though these thoughts run through my mind, I keep heading forward. I have to go to the feast, no matter how outnumbered I am. The Gamemakers remember who doesn't go to the feast. Those tributes never win. Also, a few years ago, the Gamemakers gave away gas masks at the feast. The next day, they pumped poisonous gases into the arena, and everyone who didn't get a mask died. The Gamemakers love to pull fast ones like that which is why I have to go.
I wonder if the girl from District Ten will go. I'm still surprised that she has made it to the final five. She's only thirteen. However, she did get a training score of eight. She must have some sort of secret skill hiding up her sleeve. Even though all of this is true, I still don't think she'll come to the feast. Even the most skilled thirteen-year-old in all of Panem can't defeat the careers. I bet she's planning to hide out until the end. That strategy has worked once or twice in the past, but given the fact that there's three careers left, I doubt it will work this year.
After hiking for a while longer, I start to get bored. I decide to go over, in my head, everything I know about the careers. I start with the guy from District Two. I know that he's very tall and very strong. He got a ten in training. His weapon of choice is the spear- same as mine. That may work to my advantage if we end up in combat. Since he's bigger, I've got bigger target to aim for. That means there's a greater chance of me getting him.
I move on to his district partner. I believe her name is Jessie and she wasn't a volunteer. She's only fourteen, yet she somehow managed to get an eleven as her training score. I saw her using throwing knives back when we were training, and she's deadly accurate. Even though she's younger, I'm just as scared of her as I am of her district partner.
I finally get to the career I know the least about: the girl from District One. From what I remember, she's kind of a ditz, and wasn't spectacular with any particular weapon. I think she scored a seven or eight. Nevertheless, she has made it to the final five, so she must know how to do something. That makes her just as dangerous as the other two careers.
I finish up my recap of the others just as I reach the edge of the island. I seem to be the first person here, so I find a tree to hide behind and wait. Judging by the sun's position in the sky, the feast will begin in about an hour. I sit down in my hiding spot. This is going to be a long hour.
Jessie Harte (D2 F 14)
"You ready?" Alexandrite asks as she picks up her bow, her sheath of arrows, and the bag I gave her.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I reply, reaching for my own bag.
"Okay," Alexandrite says. "I guess it's time to kiss our home goodbye. I'm a bit sad to leave."
"Me too," I agree. "It's a shame that we probably won't return."
"Yeah," Alexandrite says. "But that doesn't matter. We have to focus on the feast now, so let's cross the bridge."
After one final glance at the cornucopia, I turn around and step onto the bridge. Even though it's been ten days out here, I still get the familiar sense of dread every time I cross the bridge. This arena is not a good arena to be afraid of heights in. Given the fact that the feast is taking place right on the edge of the island, I've been worrying about it more and more. What if someone pushes me off the cliff? I shudder at the idea, but I do my best to remain calm. I've hidden my fear pretty well the past ten days. Now is not the time to let it show.
After an agonizing couple of minutes, Alexandrite and I finally reach the edge of East Island. Looking around, I see that there's no one in sight. "Do you think they're all hiding behind the trees?" I whisper to Alexandrite.
"I guess," she says without looking at me.
"Do you think we should join them?"
"No. Whoever is hiding already knows where we are, whether we go behind the line of trees or not. Besides, no one's stupid enough to come out and fight us before the feast starts, so we might as well remain here."
I look up at Alexandrite as she continues to stare into the forest. During these past couple of days, I've begun to appreciate her more and more. Once she dropped the dumb-blond act, I started to realize that she really isn't a bad person. She's been helping me out a lot, which is why I gave her one of my bags that I hid in the cornucopia. Well, that and the fact that she might've killed me if she really wanted the bags. I'm almost upset that our alliance will be over in minutes- maybe even seconds. If someone told me, before the Games, that Alexandrite would become my closest ally, I'd probably laugh at them. Now, however, if I die, I hope Alexandrite wins. She'd be a great victor, and she deserves to win.
All of a sudden, the ground begins to rumble, and the center of the clearing slides away to reveal a table, which rises up out of the ground. The table is laden with plenty of food, bags, and weapons. All of those will come in handy over the next couple of days. Once the table has fully risen, a gong sounds. I guess that's our cue to go. I take a deep breath, and begin to sprint towards the table. However, I've only gone two steps when something stops me in my tracks. I can hear another loud rumbling sound, but this time, it's coming from behind me. I whip around just in time to watch Cornucopia Island and the bridge fall down into the mist.
No Deaths
Remaining Tributes (5):
D1:
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
{Annabeth-TheTributeThatLived}
D2:
Jessie Harte (D2 F 14)
{ImSoCutee00}
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
{Jms2}
D9:
Harvest Anson (D9 F 18)
{Semi-Dedicated Wierdo}
D10:
Swirl Winters (D10 F 13)
{feistyflame}
Kills:
Glint: Misty, Cobalt, Tadalynn, Lukas
Mason: Ryland, Peter, Nylah, Eridan
Alexandrite: Jennette, Rory, Mapelle
Jessie: Jarvis, Aria, Cheer
Sheldon: Marina, Osborn
Harvest: Sheldon, Glint
Swirl: Peyton
Alliances:
Alexandrite
Jessie
Mason
Harvest
Swirl
I love being able to update fast(er)! I'm hoping to get this story done by the time school is over (which is in three weeks for me). Because of finals and stuff, that probably won't happen, but as long as I'm done by July I'll be happy. I'm going to be away most of that month, which would make it an ideal time to have a SYOT open.
Make sure you've voted in the poll, because at least one tribute will die during the feast. Once again, although I have narrowed down my options, I have not decided on a victor yet. Every vote counts!
Thanks for reading! :-)