Evelyne Hope, 18
District 3 Female
My fingers were wrapped tightly around my bow as I stood, arm still out after firing my arrow. Everything felt numb. Billie's shocked expression was frozen in my brain. I just killed someone.
Behind me, I heard Jackson let out a little whimper. The noise broke me from my spell and I turned to look at him. He was leaning against the Cornucopia, clutching his ribs.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Billie hit me," he said, a pained expression on his face.
"Well, at least the plan was successful!" Ronald said brightly. "And only two of us died."
"Yeah…" I agreed awkwardly, put off by his cheerfulness.
"You sound a little too happy," Ebony noted. Ronald shrugged.
"They're dead and I'm not. What's there to be sad about?"
"The fact that our friends are dead," Jackson said. Ronald shrugged again, seeming unbothered.
Someone cleared their throat from behind me and I instinctively reached for an arrow as I turned around. The boy from 4, the drag queen, was standing there with his hands up in a surrendering position.
"Sorry to surprise you," he said smoothly. "But I heard you were down a few allies and I wanted to offer my services."
Ebony came up beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder and gesturing for me to lower the bow. Hesitantly, I did.
"I have no problem with him joining us," Jackson said.
"I don't care either way," Ronald put in.
"The more the merrier, right?" Ebony said, trying for a smile. I looked back at Victor, who nodded once. I set my bow down and held out a hand.
"Welcome to the alliance."
For the next ten minutes, we worked on shifting and organizing supplies. Only Jackson didn't pitch in. He was still leaning against the Cornucopia, a hand on his ribs.
"Will they take the bodies soon?" he asked, his voice slightly wheezy. Ronald looked up from the crate he was digging through.
"We'll probably need to move," he said. "Can't risk one of us getting in the way."
So Ebony guided us all to the edge of the jungle, where the bodies were promptly collected by claws extended from hovercrafts. I averted my eyes as they were lifted up. Afterwards, Ebony got a fire going and Marino and I set up sleeping bags nearby. Ronald was lurking in the shadows and I watched him from the corner of my eye. He was making me nervous.
Suddenly, Ronald lunged past Victor and snatched up several spears. I jumped to my feet, reaching for my bow. But it was resting on a tub in the Cornucopia mouth, completely out of reach.
"Calm down," he teased when he saw my reaction. "I'm not killing any of you… yet. Our plan was successful and I don't have any reason to stick around. Good luck, and pray I don't find you later…"
With a final smirk, he slung a large backpack over his shoulder and stalked out into the jungle. Only once he'd vanished into the night did we all let out a breath. Ebony tried for a smile.
"Well, that happened!" she said cheerfully. "Who wants to be on watch first?"
Zeppelina Skansen, 14
District 5 Female
My head was spinning as my allies and I hiked through the jungle. I'd seen plenty of people die before, both at my own hands and at others'. But the bloodbath was a whole new level of chaos. And it left one of my allies injured.
Hugo was guiding Vasir through the thick jungle undergrowth with quiet words and gestures. Vasir's whimpers had finally died down too, which was excellent. The whining was getting on my nerves. But I refrained from lecturing him. Things were tense enough.
We splashed across a small stream and I did my best to tune out Hugo's gentle words of guidance. Vasir knew what he was getting into when he faced off with whoever injured him. He was being too sensitive.
After walking for another few minutes, I spotted a fallen tree up ahead. Approaching and looking over it, I found myself looking down into a small hollow filled with moss and ferns.
"We'll camp here," I announced.
Hugo and Vasir joined me on the ground. I dropped the sack I was carrying and shrugged off my backpack. Hugo's blue plastic box also joined the pile. Hugo also added a small fanny pack to our collection of supplies.
I opened the blue box first. If my suspicions were correct, this would be a first aid kit. And they were. The box was filled with gauze, medical tape, painkillers, fever reducers, bandages, surgical thread, and several needles.
"That was a lucky find," Hugo breathed, peering into the box. "Can we patch Vasir up?"
"We need to take inventory first," I said. I needed more time to decide what I was going to do about Vasir.
I opened Hugo's fanny pack next. Inside were two slim metal water bottles and a bottle of iodine tablets. My lumpy sack had half a dozen apples inside, and my backpack contained another empty water bottle, a bag of jerky, a bag of dried fruits and nuts, a thin thermal blanket, and a small silver pocket knife that also contained several tools, such as nail clippers and a screwdriver head.
"We have everything but a good weapon," I announced when I was done digging through the supplies.
"Can we look at Vasir's eye now?" Hugo asked nervously. I looked over at the two boys. Vasir still had one bloody hand pressed against his left eye, and the other was curled into a fist on his lap. Hugo was sitting on his knees, anxiously looking between Vasir and I.
"Hugo, can you go get water?" I asked. "I need to clean the wound before I can do anything.
"Oh! Sure," he agreed easily. "I'll fill the water bottles too." He awkwardly collected the three bottles and sped back into the jungle. I scooted closer to Vasir.
"Let me see," I demanded. Vasir lowered his hand shakily, but allowed me to check the wound.
It was a deep cut that ran from his eyebrow to his cheekbone. His eye was almost completely split. Only a bit of tissue at the back was keeping it together. It was fascinating, seeing the inside of an eye. I'd never given much thought to it before; I was much more interested in brains. But the blood vessels were so intricate, and the nerves were so strong… he must have been in a lot of pain.
Once Hugo got back, I grabbed a piece of gauze and poured water on it. I knew it wasn't purified yet. I'd made up my mind. An infection on a wound this bad would end up deadly. And with an injury like this, Vasir was more of a liability than anything else.
I pressed the wet gauze against his eye, making him cry out. He clenched his hands into fists while Hugo hovered worriedly nearby. But I focused on cleaning the wound as thoroughly as I could. When most of the blood was cleared away, I put a clean pad of gauze over the eye and then tied a bandage around Vasir's head to keep it in place. Then I allowed him to gulp down a single pain reliever. I didn't want him suspecting anything.
"You're good at that," Hugo commented once I was done.
"My father is a surgeon and my grandparents are pharmacists," I explained. "So I picked up on a lot of spare medical knowledge.'
"Useful," Vasir commented gruffly. I couldn't hold back my smile.
"Very."
Lumine Bellerose, 18
District 1 Female
Mira was worrying me. She'd been silent for hours as we stumbled through the jungle. Her eyes were half-closed and she was breathing hard. We'd stopped twice to allow her to vomit. My best guess was that she had a concussion, but I had no idea how bad it was.
We finally came across a small, rocky pond. Moss and ferns coated the rocks nearby, creating a comfortable place to sit. I let Mira slump against the boulders and examined the wound on her head. It had stopped bleeding and didn't seem deep, but I had no first aid knowledge whatsoever. There could be something seriously wrong.
We also had no supplies. I hadn't been able to get to the Cornucopia. When Mira went down, I put all my effort into rescuing her. Now I was regretting not grabbing a bag of some kind.
We had water. That was good. A small waterfall trickled into the pond from a crack in the rocks, and I assumed running water was better for drinking.
I scooped some up in my hands and drank the cold liquid. It was refreshing after hiking through the humid jungle, half-carrying Mira. Nervously, I glanced back at her. Her eyes were closed and I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not. Should someone with a head injury sleep?
"Mira," I hissed, nudging her foot.
"What?" she responded, not opening her eyes. My shoulders sagged with relief.
"I just want to make sure you're okay."
"Okay?" she snapped angrily. She sat up straight and glared at me. "Our entire alliance is dead and we're stranded in the jungle with no supplies! Of course I'm not okay!"
I held my breath, waiting for her rant to end. I really didn't like being yelled at, but making Mira madder was a terrible idea. We only had each other.
"It's not ideal," I agreed, trying to keep my tone level. "But we have water, and we're trained. We can fight even without weapons. So we're not at a complete disadvantage."
Mira huffed and looked away, but I continued.
"You also took out one of our biggest threats," I pointed out. Hopefully stroking her ego would improve her mood.
It seemed to, as her body relaxed slightly and she nodded.
"I don't know how bad your head injury is, but the bleeding stopped. Are you dizzy?"
"A little," she said after a moment. "But I'll be fine."
"You probably have a concussion," I told her. "For now, the best thing you can do is rest."
Mira rolled her eyes, then winced at the apparent pain it caused. But she leaned back against the mossy rocks and closed her eyes.
"I'll rest," she agreed. "And you can find us some food."
Rain Barton, 13
District 5 Male
The sun was beginning to set and the metal of the Cornucopia was cooling down. I'd been pressed up against the heated metal for hours and I was definitely sick of it. I'd been listening to the big alliance sort through supplies and talk for the whole afternoon. And I'd watched the boy from 6 retreat into the jungle. In an hour or two, I'd make my move.
Smoke curled up from their campfire and I felt my stomach growl. But food would have to wait, just for a little longer. It wasn't dark enough yet. A few minutes later, the anthem blared and faces began to appear in the sky. The boy from 1. Both from 2. The girl from 6. The boy from 8. The girls from 9 and 10. And both from 11. Nine deaths in total.
Eventually, I heard the rustle of sleeping bags and one of the girls offered to take the first watch. But I waited about another half hour, just to be sure.
Finally, finally, I rolled onto my stomach and crawled across the now-cool metal. I'd tied one of the larger fishing hooks to my rope with a secure knot. Hopefully it would hold.
Peering over the edge, I looked down at the girl from 3 and her sleeping allies. She was staring into the darkness, gripping her bow tightly. A small backpack was lying nearby, next to the head of the boy from 4. I'd go for that.
Carefully lowering my hook, I swung it gently so it would catch the handle of the backpack. My first attempt missed, so I gave it another, more forceful swing.
To my horror, the hook lightly pinged against the Cornucopia. Evelyne's head jerked up and she looked around wildly. But she didn't turn around.
'One more try', I told myself. I lowered the hook again, tongue between my teeth as I concentrated. To my delight, the hook successfully snagged the handle of the pack and I began to hoist it up.
Suddenly, the weight vanished as the hook slipped free of the rope. The bag thumped to the ground and Evelyne whipped around to see the rope. Slowly, her eyes followed it up to where I was laying. I waved to her.
"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered.
"Stealing your supplies," I replied in an equally quiet voice.
"Not anymore," Evelyne hissed back. "Leave now, and I won't shoot you."
As she spoke, she reached for an arrow, carefully nocking it and raising her bow.
"Fine," I grumbled. I was keeping up a calm and casual facade, but inside I was frustrated. I'd put so much effort into this plan! How could it have gone wrong?
Coiling up my rope, I slid down the side of the Cornucopia and walked backwards toward the trees. Evelyne walked around the side of the structure to watch me, still holding her bow in a firing position. I continued backing up until I couldn't see her anymore, and then I turned and picked up speed.
Moving as quickly as I could without sacrificing stealth, I made my way through the trees. They towered above me and roots kept catching at my feet, but I made progress. But my limbs finally grew tired. I was probably a safe distance from the Cornucopia, but I still had to be careful.
Looking around, I spotted a tree that was smaller than the others. It had plenty of knots and nubs on the trunk; perfect for climbing. I carefully scaled it, climbing to one of the higher, thicker branches. There, I wrapped my rope around my waist before securing it around the tree. I attached my bag of hooks as well, so I wouldn't drop it during the night. Now, if I moved in my sleep, I wouldn't fall to my death.
I listened to the night bugs make their noises and reconsidered my strategy. I had no supplies and returning to the Cornucopia felt like a bad idea. But the girl from 12 ran in this direction, didn't she? Maybe I could find her. If I was remembering right, she had a big backpack. A perfect target.
Ta-da! Day 1 of the Games is here! I'm excited to be diving deeper into the Games and the arena, since I'm pretty proud of this one and there's a lot to unveil. Thank you for all the love and excitement for the bloodbath, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too! Please leave a review and let me know :)
Questions
1) Did Ronald's choice surprise you?
2) Should Evelyne have killed Rain?
3) At first, did you think Marino would be accepted or killed?
4) Will Zeppelina's plan work?
Alliances
Save Me:
- Lumine
- Mira
Cornucopia Gang:
- Evelyne
- Marino
- Jackson
- Ebony
- Victor
Manipulation Station:
- Hugo
- Zeppelina
- Vasir
Loners:
- Rain
- Ronald
- Ada
- Beria
- Jonathan
Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!
- Fiona