Porsche Romeo, 17

District 6 Female

Porsche limped away from the Cornucopia, going as quickly as she could. The chaos of the bloodbath was dying down behind her, and cannons began to fire as she reached the tree line. She'd managed to snatch a fanny pack right out from under Anthony's nose because he was too focused on Ceto and Connor to spot her.

The forest was humid and there were lots of birds calling out to each other. Porsche limped along, determined to get as far away from the Cornucopia as possible. But this forest may not have been the best choice. The undergrowth was fairly thick, tripping her up and making walking difficult. And the trees were tall and strange. Their roots were above the ground, and it almost looked as if they were going to start walking towards her. It gave her the creeps.

Leaves rustled nearby and Porsche ducked down behind a large bush. The boy from 9 jogged by, not glancing her way. She waited until she couldn't hear him anymore to move.

She was tired and her bad leg ached, so she got into a more comfortable position behind the bush and unzipped her fanny pack. Inside was a plastic bag of jerky and dried nuts, a sleeve of crackers, and a miniature first aid kit with pain pills, a needle and surgical thread, and a tube of medication to presumably prevent infection. They were definitely handy items.

After resting for a bit longer, she heaved herself up and continued. She passed a large, colorful bird that stared at her with its scary black eyes as she went by. Finally, the walking trees thinned and taller trees with wide canopy-like branches took their place. Her leg was truly hurting now without support from her cane, so she leaned against a tree.

"Should we find a place to make camp soon?" a soft, quiet voice said. Porsche scooted around to the back of the tree, holding perfectly still.

"Good idea," a louder girl said. Porsche thought it might be the girl from 7, but she wasn't sure.

"Does here work?" It was a boy's voice.

"It looks a little clearer over there," the same loud girl said.

They started to move away, and Porsche sighed loudly. The group began to whisper, but this time she couldn't make out what they were saying. Then there was a loud crashing and the auburn-haired girl from 7 appeared on her left, holding an ax. Porsche moved right, only to crash straight into the pair from 10. The girl from 11 stood a little further back. Porsche put her arms up awkwardly.

"Hey guys! Wanna be allies?"

The girl from 10 looked past Porsche to stare at the one from 7. Then she stepped back. The boy lowered his sword.

"We can talk, at the very least," the girl behind her said. "I'm Des."

"I'm Porsche," Porsche said, coming around to the front of the tree, where there was less undergrowth.

"I'm Bess," the girl from 10 said. "And that's Omar, my district partner, and Soleil. She's from 11." Soleil raised her hand in greeting. Porsche grinned.

"Great to meet you all," she said. "Any chance you have a cane or cane-like object?" Des cocked her head, but then looked up.

"Yeah. Hang on." She handed her ax to Bess and began to climb the huge tree beside them. She shimmied up until she reached the branches and then began to climb higher and higher until they could barely see her. There was a loud crack, and then Des began to climb down again, a large stick tucked under her arm. Finally, she dropped to the ground and presented a large stick to Porsche.

"Will this work?" Porsche grinned.

"Yup!" she said. "Also, this means we're allies now." And everyone laughed.

Allure Beldam, 18

District 1 Female

Fuming, Allure plunged her rapier into the sand as seven cannons fired. And one of them was the little rat from 8, not the girl. She took satisfaction in the fact that she cut her across the face, but still. She should be dead.

Nero suggested they all move to the treeline to give the hovercrafts space to clear the bodies, so she followed him. Somehow, he'd become the leader of the Career Pack, although they'd never discussed the role. It was clear that Nailah didn't want it, and Dionysus most certainly wasn't fit to be leader. Anthony just hadn't protested. As for Allure? She didn't want to be the leader. She'd have an even bigger target on her back, bigger than the one she already had for being so beautiful. The Capitol liked pretty tributes, and she was the prettiest.

After the bodies were collected, Nero looked around at the alliance.

"Losing Ceto was unfortunate," he said, glancing at Anthony, who remained expressionless. "But we must move on. I suggest we split up; one person guards the Cornucopia, while two of us go around the left side of the island and the other two go right."

"I can stand guard," Nailah said softly. Nero nodded.

"Then it's settled!" he said cheerfully.

"But who's going with who?" Dionysus asked, looking at Allure. She wrinkled her nose and pointedly faced the other direction. Nero seemed to pick up on her disgust.

"You'll go with Anthony," he said. "You two can cover the left. Allure and I will go right."

As the two of them set off, Allure glanced up at the sky. The bloodbath seemed to have begun around midday, so now it was early afternoon. Plenty of time to find tributes. But it was hot and humid, and her ponytail was sticking to the back of her neck. Nero seemed unbothered, but Allure was constantly wiping the sweat off her face.

And worst of all, there seemed to be no sign of any other tribute. Kjole was the only injured survivor, as far as she knew, but there were no blood trails to follow or anything. But picturing herself killing Kjole was enough to keep her going.

Eventually the island began to slope up, and a warm breeze from the ocean rustled through the trees. Wiping her brow for what felt like the hundredth time, Allure noticed some movement from the corner of her eye. Turning, she came face-to-face with a large brown snake hanging from a tree. Screaming, she drew her rapier and stabbed it, throwing it to the ground before stomping on it.

"What!" Nero shouted as she killed it. He came up beside her and looked at the beast on the ground. "Oh."

"Ugh, I hate snakes," Allure exclaimed, a full-body shiver running through her.

"Well, this one is very much dead," Nero said, giving it a little shove with his toe. Allure shuddered again.

"Can we go back?"

"Because of a dead snake?" Nero asked incredulously. Allure just nodded, receiving an eye roll from him.

"You can go back," Nero said. "But I'm going to keep hunting."

"Fine," she snapped, whirling around. "I hope you don't find anyone. Then she began to stomp back through the forest to the Cornucopia.

Gigi Sampson, 16

District 5 Female

Gigi's legs ached as she and Chey stopped to breathe. They'd been forging through the woods for several hours after the seven cannons rang out, alternating between running and walking. Still, she felt relatively okay. She supposed the shock of Connor's death hadn't hit her yet. She'd seen him lying beside the girl from 4. When she met up with Chey, the girl just said that she'd seen R.J. go. They hadn't really spoken since.

Now, Cheyanne was staring through the broad trees at the glittering ocean, her face pale. Gigi put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked softly. Cheyanne shrugged one shoulder.

"I don't like the ocean," she mumbled. Gigi looked out over the glittering water. Truthfully, she couldn't understand Chey's fear. She had never seen the ocean and it was absolutely stunning. All the same, she didn't want to make Chey uncomfortable. They'd come to be friends in the short time they'd known each other.

The thought of friendship finally brought the grief crashing down on her. Connor and R.J. were gone. Forever. She'd never hear R.J.'s little Latin quips, or hear Connor talk about his girlfriend back home. She knew he was a rich kid, but he was always humble and down-to-earth. She missed them both already.

"We should find a place to camp," Cheyanne finally said, tearing her gaze away from the ocean.

"The island slopes up a bit," Gigi noted. "Maybe we should go a bit further to try and get a good vantage point?" Cheyanne nodded, but slung her backpack off.

"Water first though," she said.

Both girls sat down to go over the contents of the bags they'd grabbed. Gigi also had a large hunting knife, and Chey had snagged two spears. Her bag had two water bottles, one full and one empty, a bag of jerky, a bag of dried fruit, and a pocket knife with several other tool extensions. Gigi's bag was smaller, only containing another empty water bottle, a sleeve of crackers, a small jar of iodine tablets, and a small first aid kit.

"That's a pretty good haul," Gigi said, forcing a smile. Cheyanne just nodded, bringing the full bottle to her mouth to drink. Then she handed it over to Gigi and began to pack up their things.

Tucking the final few supplies away, Gigi shouldered her backpack and began to lead Cheyanne further up the sloping island. It was a gentle incline at first, but it soon got quite steep and rocky. Still, they soldiered on.

About halfway up the hill, Cheyanne spotted a flat ledge of black rock with clumps of bright grass growing through the cracks. The girls made their way over and laid down their things. Turning, Gigi realized she was able to survey the whole arena. She could see the beach where the Cornucopia was, the two smaller islands in the distance, and the vast tropical forest beneath them. This would definitely be a good place to make camp.

Taroh Akagi, 14

District 3 Male

Taroh and Kjole had spent the last hour running along the treeline on the left side of the island, pausing only for a few minutes every once in a while to breathe. He could see tears on her cheeks, mixing with the blood from the thin cut on her cheek. But whenever he proposed resting, she insisted they keep going.

Finally, they reached the end of the beach, where sheer cliffs of black stone began to rise high above the ocean. Kjole collapsed on her knees, dropping her sword in the sand. Taroh crouched beside her, waiting for her to speak.

"He's dead," she finally whispered. "And it's my fault."

They sat in silence for a bit longer as Taroh scrambled for words. He wasn't very good at comforting people. A stray cat? A lost puppy? He knew just what to do. But comfort a friend after the murder of another friend? It was completely unknown territory.

What would the heroes in his favorite books say? They'd be able to both comfort and inspire, rallying the troops and giving them a second wind.

"It's not your fault," he finally said, taking Kjole's hand. "Pell knew what he was doing. Now we have to honor his sacrifice by surviving."

Kjole nodded, sniffling a little. But she stood up and sheathed her sword.

"Let's find somewhere safer to rest," she suggested, wiping her eyes. She tried to smile, but winced as it stretched the cut on her cheek. Taroh glanced at her.

"We should clean that," he said. Kjole gently brushed a finger along her cheek before nodding.

Both of them had grabbed medium-sized brown backpacks, and Taroh knelt in the sand to open his. He was delighted to find a first-aid kit inside, along with a flashlight and a bag of dried apples.

Kjole's cut was hard to bandage, but he was able to rub disinfectant ointment on it and tape a patch of gauze over most of it. When he was satisfied it wouldn't come off, he and Kjole shouldered their backpacks again and looked around. They had to find a place to camp.

"Maybe we should head back into the forest," Kjole said. We can't climb these cliffs." Glancing around, Taroh's eyes widened.

"We don't have to!" he said. "Look!"

He'd spotted a small cave behind a pile of rocks, which blocked the view of the cave from where they were previously standing. Excitedly, he and Kjole rushed over.

The sun was starting to set, making the ocean glow but casting shadows over the cave. Taroh fished out his flashlight and switched it on. The cave wasn't very tall, but it widened further in, creating a comfortable little sandy nook in the cliffside. Ducking down, Kjole half-crawled, half-walked to get inside. Taroh followed her.

Setting his backpack down, Taroh pulled out the bag of dried apple slices and handed one to Kjole. She was still being oddly quiet, but she accepted the food with a small nod.

He had to admit that he was worried about her. Thinking about Pell made his chest ache, and he hadn't seen him die. But he knew in his heart that Pell would want them to succeed. Glancing out at the ocean, he whispered a soft goodbye.

Hi everyone! Here's the rest of Day 1. I'm sorry we didn't see Martin, Mazie, and Oberon, but I assure you all they are alive and well... for now. Also, I've been spelling Mazie's name wrong, so I apologize for that. It'll be correct from here on.

ALLIANCES

The Careers:
- Allure
- Dionysus
- Nero
- Nailah
- Anthony

No Alliance Name:
- Cheyanne
- Gigi

The Cat Lovers:
- Taroh
- Kjole

Joy:
- Martin
- Mazie

Muscles & Horses:
- Porsche
- Desiree
- Bess
- Omar
- Soleil

Loners:
- Oberon

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona