Movement I: At the Speed of Dark

Dawson- Six of Hearts

"Wake up!" calls Lorelei, "And do it right this time! It's your Arena Day!"

I roll out of bed, and realize that in a couple of hours, I could be dead. I stare at my hands, with my stubby fingers and chewed-up fingernails, wishing that I just had one more day. I'm sure that's how anyone that's been sentenced to death feels.

Lorelei looks into my room to make sure I'm awake and moving. "At least you did something right," she comments. I sneer at her and climb back into bed just to spite her. She yells at me and I don't move until she throws the covers off me and threatens to physically drag me.

Then I get ready for my day, still getting used to the weird Capitol stuff.

I eat a large, healthy breakfast that morning. My mentor Hannah sits next to me, rubbing my arm in a gesture of support. Tiffany sits across from us, looking exhausted. Her eyes are on her plate as she eats. Her mentor, Mindy, keeps asking for some more whipped cream ("It's all I want, dammit!") and binge-eating. I'm not sure if it's because of stress of the baby bump she's been sporting (probably both), but I definitely don't mind the waiters bringing a surplus of whipped cream.

Before I would've liked, though, we're getting sent to the hovercraft where we're going to be taken off to the Arena. I sit in the corner, next to Lyndon from District 9. His District partner sits across from us and glances at me with judgmental eyes. Garrison sits across from me.

The hovercraft is silent for a while, until the boy from 11 turns to his District partner and starts talking, and eventually the others go into quiet conversation. Tristabelle from 9 bumps her District partner's feet but when he looks over, looks away and pretends she never saw. I wonder if they're going to ally together.

I'm so not ready for this. I stare at the floor, at everyone's feet. I hear January from 2 laugh loudly (though it sounds nervous today), and say something about scones. I hear the other Careers laugh and chatter, and feel sick. They're going to kill people soon and none of them seem to be bothered.

The girl from Seven sits with them and contributes every once in a while, but mostly stays quiet, a ghost of a frown on her face.

"I'm not ready for this…" I whisper, just to hear the words.

"Nobody's ready for this," Lyndon says next to me.

"They are," Tristabelle says, scowling and gesturing to the Careers.

"Of course they are."

I don't want to talk to them, not to the people that will be out to kill me in less than half an hour.

The Peacekeepers come around with some syringes.

"Wh-What's in there!?" I squeak, "What are they doing!?"

I panic. Lyndon puts a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, relax. It'll only hurt more if you're not relaxed."

"I don't… I-"

"It's fine. Probably harmless."

They take Tristabelle's arm. "What's going into me!?" she demands, jerking her arm. They put the syringe in her anyways.

"Trackers," the Peacekeeper says coldly, injecting into Lyndon's arm.

"Relax, it's not that bad," says Lyndon as they take mine. They inject the tracker into me and it glows inside my arm (eeewww…), and I feel like crying. I don't want to do this…

"You good?" Lyndon asks, rubbing my back lightly.

"Fine," I say, my voice lower from masking tears. Garrison looks concerned at me, but looks miserable.

The hovercraft lands, and we're escorted off. My main stylist Faustina is there waiting for me. She helps me get dressed in a pair of swim trunks and a light, breathable T-shirt with a five on the top left, and the number and suit of my card (six of hearts). I get a pair of super comfortable sandals to wear.

"Faustina… I c-can't s-swim…" I say, breath coming harder, heart pounding.

Gaylen.

Joanne.

Sadie.

Wye.

"Don't panic!" she says, putting her hands on m y shoulder. "You can do this."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can. What happened to that determined boy that stood before me and promised that he'd be stiff competition?"

"Thirty seconds remaining," the voice says.

"He's gone," I gasp, "He's gone! That boy's gone!"

Faustina reaches over and wraps the cobalt blue bandana around my neck, tying it like I like it. "He's not gone." I reach up and tug on the bandana, and it snaps out of my panic.

I'm still here. I've never let anything scare me before, and I can't start it now.

"Better?" she asks.

I nod a tiny little bit. She reaches over and hugs me, and I hug her back tightly. I don't particularly like Faustina or the Capitol, but I need support. We hug for a long time until the voice says, "Ten seconds."

"Make us proud. Make them proud." I want to do that. I want to get back, and hug Wye again, and go on adventures, and I want to help him transition more, and I want to watch Gaylen grow up, be there for his first steps… And be there to send Sadie off to school… I want it so bad.

Dying is not an option.

I step into the giant glass tube, and take one last glance at Faustina, determined to get back to her and everyone else I left behind. She nods to me, a serious look on her face. I nod back.

The floor starts to rise under my feet, and I close my eyes. When I open them, I'm practically blinded by the sun.

The clock starts to count down from sixty. The girl from 12 is on my left, the girl from 8 on my right. Garrison is all the way on the other side of the group, and my stomach drops. The numbers get smaller and smaller, and everyone swallows lumps in their throats, or looks up at the clouds, or out across the beach.

I close my eyes. The clock hits 20. I swallow tears down, getting ready to stay strong. It reaches 10. The last ten seconds of our lives as we know them.

My voice shakes, but I whisper, "I love you, Gaylen. And I love you, Wye. And I love you, Sadie and Joanne."

The clock reaches zero. The gong sounds. The Games have begun.

~.~.

Solitaire, Head Gamemaker

I wander around the control room, giving orders.

Today's the big day. I run around, in a nervous frenzy. Everything has to be perfect. My job, my life, is on the line.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and whirl around to see Yin there, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

"Here you are, just as you prefer."

I take it. "Thank you."

This isn't really an abnormal occurrence. Since we started building this Arena, Yin and Polymestor have been assigned to be my personal servants.

I feel sick, but a good sick. I want to throw up, but am having the time of my life.

Is this what being in labor feels like? I think this is what being in labor feels like.

After all, this Arena is my creation, like my baby. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into its creation. And today is its big day. Big debut. Yin and Polymestor are like my baby daddies. They've had to do all my work for me and they're the ones I take out the stress on. They tend to my every craving and need and also have to deal with my frenzied stress all the time.

I sip the coffee and stare at the screens, where the tributes are being prepared by their mentors.

"You ready for this?" Yin asks, patting my shoulder.

"Absolutely not," I tell him. "But at the same time, I absolutely can't wait."

"Of course…" I don't think he understands what it's like to be Arena-pregnant. But, that's what baby daddies do.

The tributes are all loaded in their spots, and are being lifted up. Eyes squint at the sun, adjust, and then widen at the beautiful scenery in front of them. They're currently on the giant beach, but the Cornucopia points toward a plaza with very spread out springs of freshwater and a towering resort (but they'll only have access to the first floor of it. Also it's got some… Surprises…). Nice area, and it turned out almost identical to my vision.

"It turned out beautiful," Yin says, staring at the giant screen. This is the moment of my dreams. Seeing my creation up there.

"Thank you."

The countdown starts and I take a seat in the most comfortable seat in that whole room. Yin pulls up a chair next to me. I watch all the screens, in all the different angles, to see which has the most good action.

The countdown finally reaches one, after what seemed like a forever of waiting. And just like that, the tributes are off.

The tributes take off in a mad rush to the Cornucopia. Their bravery stuns me, but I know that a lot of it is in vain.

The girl from District 4 is the first to arrive, and she immediately goes in, grabbing two backpacks and a fishing rod. The girl from 6 joins her just then, grabbing some sleeping bags. The two of them high-five, but their celebration is cut short when the boys from 1 and 2 arrive.

Dream lunges for Tuesday, but her and her ally start retreating, toward the springs and the resort, helping each other along the way. Pontifex and Dream quickly go into the Cornucopia to get their weapons as the boy from 5 comes racing up with his ally from 6. Pontifex and Garrison get locked in a fight as Dawson crawls into the Cornucopia and wraps a backpack around his shoulders.

The girl from 12 is contested closely by the girl from 1, the girl from 2 making her way. Pontifex fights Garrison with the small knife he was able to pick up, while Dream tries to keep the others from getting weapons. Dawson hold the backpack close and grabs a lantern on his way out.

Caledonia scrambles into the Cornucopia just as Pontifex finishes off Garrison. Dawson turns around to the sight of his ally falling and freezes, not sure how to react. Caledonia sneaks out between the two Career boys, a lantern in her hands, as Empress and January both try to take the same set of knives. She starts running and Dawson takes off after her just as Dream buries his hatchet in Mitchell's chest. I forgot that so many of the Careers are projectiles people, so this should be interesting.

The boy from Seven runs straight on, and Empress picks up a sword and stabs him in the chest. Pontifex goes looking for a spear just as the boys from 10 and 3 show up. Atticus gets locked into a fight with Dream as Gio crawls inside the Cornucopia, picking out a sword. In the meanwhile, the boy from 8 makes an appearance, helping the young kid from 11 along. Suddenly, Vardaman crumbles with a knife to the back, thrown by the Two girl. When she sees him fall, her eyes widen a bit and she freezes up. Ori, stunned, grabs the first thing he sees, a small backpack. Gio slashes his sword down Dream's back to distract him. The District 1 boy lets out a loud groan.

In the time of the distraction (and Dream's allies being concerned about him) Atticus is able to get a knife and a pack (that I know to be full of food and water) before he takes Gio by the shirt and Gio grabs Ori's arm and they all take off running.

Katherine gets there with the girl from 10. Katherine goes searching for a suitable weapon as the girl from 10 grabs a lantern and a knife. The boy from 12 proves to be in Angel's way, so she throws her knife at him. Direct hit. When she tries for a new weapon, January grabs the closest weapon (a bow and arrows) and takes aim. The girl from 10 starts doing the smart thing (running), and gets away.

Pontifex trips over Garrison's body on his way to ambush the girl from Five, and freezes up. As Tiffany runs away, fishing rod in hand, Empress throws a knife at her, successfully hitting her in the leg and causing her to limp.

The girl from Three is able to get a backpack, but Katherine is able to bury the axe in her arm, causing her to let out a cry as she starts to retreat. She starts to run before getting hit by an arrow shot by Empress, stumbling off. The girl from 8 joins her, and the volunteer from Eleven joins them, a small backpack around her shoulders. They support Juli, Katherine throwing a knife after them and getting scolded by Pontifex because it missed.

The last to get there are the duo from Nine. Pontifex throws his spear and hits Lyndon directly in the chest. Lyndon crumples to the ground with a choked attempt at a scream. His District partner runs faster, pulling her fist back and punching Pontifex right in the face.

"Pontifex!" January says.

"Get her!" he says. His allies don't look all that keen on it, but by the time any of them takes action, Tristabelle has a knife and is fighting them off with strategic slashes. She's able to get away, too, in the shock and frenzy of the chaos. Here you have a Career alliance that doesn't like killing as much as they should.

My stomach falls. I realize that the Bloodbath is already over, and it wasn't much of a bloodbath.

"Hey, six is still a fourth of the tributes," Yin says.

"But six isn't good enough!"

"After the bloodbath that was last year and those before, we could use some drama. You have more pawns to mess with, that's it. You can save it, Solitaire. You can do anything."

"Thanks," I say, putting the empty cup of coffee down and watching the different alliances. Then, I address the control room. "Shoot off the six cannons," I say.

The girls of the Career alliance help the boys up, Dream screaming a bit from the wound on his back. They send January with the boys to help them try to find water to wash out their wounds. Pontifex complains the whole way there about the lack of first day deaths. Empress and Katherine gather and guard the supplies.

Most everyone got something.

The girl from Five collapses on the sand, surveying her injury. The girls from Three and Eleven have to stop and drop Juli for a while. They go through the backpack Juli got to find something to help her.

Tuesday and Tia go through their packs, Tuesday expressing how glad she is to have someone that know how to fish. Angel walks aimlessly. Tristabelle power-walks toward the resort, her eyes on the ground. They look a little bit hurt.

Dawson talks to the girl from 12, and gets her to trust him. His eyes look dark and heavy, though.

The boys from 3, 8, and 10 keep walking. Ori looks ready to cry, and Gio trips on his feet every once in a while, but Atticus tries to get them to keep on walking.

"Keep it on camera two," I say. The boys washing out their wounds is currently the most interesting thing on the screen. My stomach feels heavy from nerves and disappointment.

Yin pats my shoulder. "Relax. It's not that far off the usual." I nod a little bit.

"C'mon. Let's have lunch."

I don't feel hungry, but I nod a bit. "Yeah. Sure."

~.~.

-That Night-

Pontifex and January take the first watch.

"You okay?" she asks him. He grunts in response, tracing shapes in the sand with his fingers, spear on his lap and ready to attack at a second's notice. January won the battle for the knives. Empress took a pair of long, thin swords, and Dream took hatchets. Katherine took an axe that she can barely carry, and Pontifex got the spears he likes.

January gently touches his shoulder. "You sure?"

There's a pause. Pontifex looks around, up at the sky where the faces of the deceased had flashed. "I… I'm not a killer. I'm not ready to kill," he whispers.

"Me neither."

There's a silence. "Some Careers we are."

"Yeah." She buries her fingers in the sand. They sit in a long, deep silence.

.

Tiffany sits in the sand, her eyes down on the sand. She takes some of the blood from her wound on her finger and stares at it, wiping it on her arm and looking satisfied at the dark crimson streak it makes on her arm.

Angel turns on the lantern and sits by herself, arms crossed and watching as the faces flash across the sky with a blank expression.

Tristabelle watches the sky, but as soon as Lyndon appears, she jerks her head away, burying it in her knees and breathing heavy, trying to fight off tears.

Her eyes are wide and her breaths come shallow from panic. I didn't rebuild the walls in time.

.

Dawson sits awake, making some graffiti-type block letters in the sand, as Caledonia curls up in a tight ball, sleeping with quiet breaths. The girl from District 12 didn't take losing her District partner very well. At least she seems to be asleep now.

Dawson stares at the moon, the stars. He knows that even if he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Death was so real to him, and so fresh. He and Garrison were allies, supposed to protect each other, and Dawson had failed him.

I'm sorry. It's getting much harder to dull the end of this jackknife.

.

Tia sits awake while Tuesday sleeps. Both of the girls lost their District partners that day.

They had watched the faces flash in the sky. Neither girl had known their partners well, but it was still a pretty harsh blow. Tuesday uses one of the backpacks as a pillow, sleeping calmly and peacefully. Tia takes handfuls of sand and lets it fall between her fingers.

Having the beach is good for her. It's an environment she's used to. The cool breeze feels so familiar to Tia, and it's somewhat comforting to her. That's why she had insisted that Tuesday sleep and Tia stay awake.

.

Juli falls into a sleep, the other girls gently wrapping her bleeding wounds up with bandages. Juli takes shallow breaths in her sleep.

"Will she be okay?" Dawn asks quietly, her eyes heavy with sadness.

"She's going to be fine," Krissa promises. She didn't have allies in mind, but she couldn't leave the other two younger girls to fend for themselves. Krissa loves kids and wants to be a teacher.

Seeing the young, elfish face of the 13-year-old from her District, someone she could've ended up teaching under different circumstances. He was so bright and positive, and he's dead. Krissa tears her eyes away from the sky, blinking tears away.

"Get some sleep," she tells Dawn. "I'll stay up." The 12-year-old nods and curls up.

.

The faces flash in the sky. The bright, hopeful eyes of the boy from Eleven smile down at Gio, Atticus, and Ori.

Ori buries his face in his knees, tears sprouting to his eyes. "I tried to help him… I failed."

"Every time a cannon goes off, we're one step closer to winning." Atticus bites his lip.

"But we're also one step closer to having to fight each other," mumbles Gio. Ori squeaks with tears and buries his face deeper into his knees.

"Way to think," Atticus says sarcastically, with a sigh. "Don't think about that. It's fine. You did the best you could."

Ori forces himself to nod.

"I'll go on watch. You two get some sleep." They definitely need it. The other two nod shallowly, and curl up without another word. Ori knows he won't get a wink, though, and Gio feels a strong sense of dread for the days to come.

A/N: I made a Charahub account for all these characters! To find it, just go to and search any of the tributes, usernames, or my username, CelticGames4. Also, I posted more stuff on Tumblr, so check it out!

CHAPTER QUESTION: Which Cornucopia tribute are you going to miss the most? Mitchell, Garrison, Asher, Lyndon, Vardaman, Copper? (Woah, they're all boys…)

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Here are the objects you will be able to send to tributes! If you want to provide anything that is not seen on the list, shoot me a PM and I'll help you out!

Battery (for flashlight/lanterns): 17

Bandages: 10

Small Canteen (Empty): 10

Large Canteen (empty): 13

Blanket: 20

Suglasses: 20

Pair of floaties: 25

Compass: 25

Simple foods (bags of jerky, crackers, or dried fruit): 28

Pillow: 30

Functioning Flashlight: 30

Small Canteen (with water): 30

Intertube/Raft: 30

Sunscreen: 33

Well-functioning Lantern (will not burn out): 35

Basic First-Aid Kit: 35

Snorkel/Pair of Goggles: 35

Socks/shoes/shirts/extra articles of clothing: 35

Sunhat: 38

Two-person raft: 50

Fishing Rod: 52

Iodine (to disinfect water): 55

Large Canteen (with water): 55

High-Quality Food (bread from a District, meat, broth/soup): 60

Knife: 60

Materials to make salt water into fresh water: 65

Four-person raft: 70

Functioning Sleeping Bag: 70

Tribute's Favorite Capitol Meal: 80

Medicine: 90

Complex First-Aid Kit: 93

Large raft (can carry up to 6): 95

Tribute's weapon of choice: 100

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