Dakota Grangerford, 12
District 9 Female
Dakota knew she couldn't keep watch much longer. For the first hour, she was up and alert, propped against Mars's back to keep an eye out for anyone that might be following them. But his shoulder was digging into her hip and her neck was beginning to ache from the angle. So she let herself drop and hang, holding onto her hat so it wouldn't fall.
As uncomfortable as she was, the heat was making Dakota groggy. That, and the rush of adrenaline from the bloodbath was wearing off. Her eyelids were drooping as Mars continued to hike across the grasslands.
Two fuzzy figures appeared on the horizon and Dakota straightened up as best she could.
"Mars," she hissed just as he stopped and spoke.
"Moira is over there," he said. Dakota looked to her right, where the skinny girl from 10 was crouched beside a small pond.
"Great," Dakota grumbled. "Maybe the Careers will go after her instead."
"Careers?" Mars gasped, whipping around. Dakota had to grab onto his back to stabilize herself.
He'd clearly spotted them too because she felt him tense up beneath her.
"We need to warn Moira," he whispered.
Dakota shook her head.
"We don't have time. Go for those boulders." She twisted and pointed awkwardly to a large clump of boulders beneath a wide tree. Mars hesitated for a second longer before he took off running.
The pair of them hunkered down behind the rocks, and Mars let Dakota roll onto the dry grass. She pressed herself down, heart pounding in her chest, and peeked between the crack between two boulders.
Moira was still kneeling at the edge of the pond, her back towards the rocks. She didn't seem to notice the Careers approaching. Dakota sucked in a breath. She was about to watch a girl die.
A spear came whistling out of nowhere, striking Moira in the upper arm. She screamed, toppling over and splashing water everywhere. The handsome boy from 2 came into her field of vision and kicked Moira in the side as she tried to get up and run. She fell back, sobbing as he ripped the spear out of her flesh.
The girl from 2 appeared next, a large ax raised above her head. She brought it down on Moira's back, slicing through the girl's shirt and spraying blood across the ground. Moira wailed.
Dakota glanced over at Mars, whose eyes were tightly shut. He was sitting against the rocks and taking deep breaths. Instead of comforting him, she turned back to her peephole.
Ada from 2 was raising her ax again. Moira was lying flat on her stomach, fists clenched, soaked in blood. She screamed as Ada's weapon sunk into her spine, but the sound quickly died out, and was replaced by that of a cannon.
The district pair spoke to each other for a few moments before the boy pointed with his spear in the opposite direction of their rocks. Ada nodded, and the two of them moved off in the direction he'd gestured in. Once they were a certain distance away, a large black hovercraft materialized in the sky, and a claw extended down to scoop up Moira's body. Only once it was gone did Dakota turn to Mars.
"We're in the clear," she told him, awkwardly heaving herself into a sitting position. Mars turned to her, tears in his eyes.
"How could you watch that?" he asked, his voice pained.
"I wanted to make sure they didn't come this way," she said.
"You watched a girl die," Mars reiterated, a strange look on his face. Dakota shrugged one shoulder.
"Only one of us can win," she reminded him. He looked away, and she looked down at her hands. They were shaking. And then a second cannon fired.
Prince Middleton, 17
District 1 Male
Nine cannons. Nine kills. Nine children were dead. Prince sheathed his sword and looked up at the bright blue sky. There was a hovercraft up there somewhere, waiting to collect the bodies, clean them up, and send them home in boxes. Was that his fate too? He shuddered at the thought.
"We need to move so they can get the bodies," Ada said. She gestured towards a few wide, flat trees nearby. "Let's strategize in the shade." The others followed her without question, but Prince hesitated for a moment. He glanced back at the head of the girl from 5, and bile rose in his throat. He hurried after Ada and the others.
Ada barely waited for them to get out of the sweltering heat before she began to talk.
"There are six of us," she said. "That's good. It's enough for two hunting parties, and someone can stay behind."
"I can, if you'd like," Prince said quietly. But Queenie shook her head.
"Tulio should stay behind," she said. "He can just shoot at anyone who gets close. You wouldn't be as useful."
Prince frowned, opening his mouth to argue, but Tulio interrupted.
"That's fine with me," he said.
"Don't be such a coward," Iago said to him. Prince gritted his teeth and bit back his response. If he knew one thing, it was that bullies wanted you to be affected by their taunts. But he'd stay strong.
"Why don't you and Queenie come hunting with me?" Prince offered instead. Queenie raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest. Cadmus grinned.
"Perfect!" he said in his usual chipper tone. Then he bowed slightly, holding out a hand. "Ada, will you do me the honor of being my hunting partner?"
She rolled her eyes, but Prince could tell she was fighting back a smile.
"Come on, you big idiot," she said, hefting her ax over her shoulder. "Let's go."
The pair of them set off, and with a wave to Tulio, the other three did as well. Queenie led the way, squinting against the sun. Iago twirled his pickaxe as they walked, humming off-key. He just smirked at Prince when he asked Iago to stop.
Finally, up ahead, they spotted some movement. But as they got closer, Prince could see it wasn't a tribute, but a strange animal. Its body was a bit like a horse, but it had black stripes against its brown hair, and spiky black bristles instead of a mane. Its head was long and narrow, and horns curled out from beside its ears. When it saw them, it let out a loud bellowing sound.
Soon, more and more creatures began to appear out of the tall grass, all of them bellowing. Prince gripped his sword tightly. Even Iago looked a bit nervous. But Queenie stepped forward.
"Out of the way, you big oafs," she shouted. She grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at the big one in the front.
"Queenie, no!" Prince gasped, but it was too late. The creatures charged.
Iago was already running, and Prince took off after him, not bothering to look back at Queenie. Instead, he scanned the landscape for a tree or rock. Something to climb, because he knew he couldn't outrun these beasts.
Luckily, he spotted a small cluster of trees to his left. He changed direction, sprinting towards them as quickly as he could. As he reached the shade, he flung himself onto a branch and hauled his body up. Panting beside him, Iago did the same. Queenie was nowhere to be seen as the huge herd crashed past them.
Once the stampede of beasts disappeared into the horizon line, the boys carefully climbed down from where they took refuge. The grass was trampled flat, so it didn't take long to locate Queenie. She was curled into a ball with her hands over her head, covered in bruises and bleeding cuts. But somehow, she was alive. Iago shoved his weapon towards Prince and picked her up.
"Come on," he said gruffly. "We need to get her back to camp." He took off walking before Prince could respond. And after a moment of curiosity-induced hesitation, Prince followed.
Indigo Li, 13
District 8 Female
"Have you ever heard that joke about how many people it takes to screw in a lightbulb?" Indigo asked with a sigh, setting down a tent pole and flopping down on the ground.
"Yes, why?" Blythe asked. She was frowning, still bent over the fabric of the small tent she'd found in the Cornucopia.
"It's like us right now," Indigo replied. "How many girls does it take to set up a tent?"
"More than two," Blythe grumbled, no amusement in her voice. "Would it have killed them to give us instructions?"
Instead of responding, Indigo just stretched out and yawned.
"Let's just sleep on the ground," she said. "I'm giving up." But Blythe just huffed in annoyance.
"Aren't you an inventor?" she asked.
"Yes. I'm not a tent setter-upper," Indigo snarked. Blythe threw down the fabric.
"Fine! We'll sleep on the dirty ground because you're too lazy to help."
Indigo was about to snap back when she heard a rustle in the grass. The hot, dry air carried no wind, so it had to be a creature. Or another tribute. She sat up slowly, pointing in the direction she'd heard the noise.
Picking up on her wariness, Blythe crouched down and fell silent. Suddenly, a huge weight toppled Indigo over, her head thumping against the ground. Blythe screamed.
A foot dug into Indigo's stomach and she groaned, but reached up to grab at the legs of the person above her. It pulled them down, and Indigo rolled onto her knees as the person twisted to face her. It was Quincy, the boy from 11.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. And then Quincy punched Indigo in the face. She tried to pull back, but his fist just knocked against her mouth, not her nose. All she could taste was blood.
Still, Indigo threw herself forward, tackling Quincy and keeping him from approaching Blythe, and their camp. He bucked beneath her, trying to loosen her grip from around his waist, but she dug her nails in and clung on.
Her arms were beginning to ache, and she wasn't sure she could hold him down much longer when she heard a sickening thud. Quincy's body went limp. A cannon fired. Indigo opened her eyes and then jolted back. Blythe's hatchet was sticking out of Quincy's head.
Blythe's face was pale and her hands were shaking. She looked over at Indigo, her mouth wide.
"I killed him," she said in a small voice. Indigo slowly climbed to her feet and spit into the grass, wincing at the pain in her mouth.
"You did," she said.
Blythe turned around stiffly and began to collect the tent poles. Wincing again, Indigo pulled the hatchet out of Quincy's face, purposefully keeping her eyes on Blythe instead of the boy's ruined features. She wiped the gore off on the grass and went to follow Blythe, who was dragging their things away.
"Where are you going?" Indigo asked her.
"Away from him," Blythe said. Indigo fell silent, instead choosing to follow Blythe across the grasslands.
Indigo was shocked. Her sweet, gentle ally had just killed a boy twice her size with very little hesitation. Her mind fell back to their argument over the tent. What if… what if Indigo was next?
Hey everyone! Sorry for the long gap between updates. My mental health has been... not great. But I'm trying to get into the swing of writing again, so here is the rest of the first day of Dakota's Games!
Eulogies
15th: Moira Wurth (10F) - killed by Ada
I'm sorry Moira. You were fairly strong, but your death would hurt Mars the most, so you had to go. RIP.
14th: Quincy Addams (11M) - killed by Blythe
I did not realize you were named after John Quincy Adams until this exact moment. Oops. My bad. May your death not be in vain, and actually contribute to Indigo's character arc. RIP.
Alliances
Careers:
- Queenie
- Prince
- Ada
- Cadmus
- Tulio
- Iago
Polar Opposites:
- Indigo
- Blythe
Kindness:
- Dakota
- Mars
Loners:
- Nikolas
- Raven
- Jasmine
Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!