Day One

Wren Oakfield D7F 17

I wanted to grab something before I ran. Still, the scary girl from 2 was staring at me before the gong sounded. I didn't want to take the chance that she would remember that I had a decent training score, and she'd like to take me out beforehand. After running, I must've run for over a mile before finally looking at my surroundings. The arena was chilly, not cold but just a breeze, and it sounded like home with the leaves rustling and branches and sticks littering the floor. It makes me sad thinking about home, Liz and Lola must be watching me trek through the woods with nothing, but I think I have a distinct advantage. I know how this biome functions. I can make traps with branches and leaves to get food; if I can get my hands on an axe, I will be golden.

I still have reservations about killing, but I know I need to kill if I want to make it home. I decide that I want to get some distance still and I walk/jog for a bit until I reach a stream surrounded by a very odd-looking tree. I first go to the stream, which looks transparent; I know going towards the bottom to drink can be good, so I take a few deep gulps. It doesn't instantly kill me, so my hunch was correct; after I drink some, I want to retake a look at this tree, it seems normal, but at the base, there is a small curved opening.

I see something slightly shiny, so I reach my hand in there, and it's a pair of sunglasses? They are a little dirty with leaves and dirt, so I use my shirt to wipe them clean. I put them on, but I don't think it blocks the sun very well, plus it just makes everything dim because most of the trees are so tall. I'm not sure what the point of these is, but if they are hidden, no one else has been out here yet, so it has to be the game makers. I don't know what twist is in order, but I'm hoping it gives some advantage;

I'm ready for everyone watching to see that I can be a player in these games.

Kendall Maris D4F 17

"Come on, dude, you gotta be more careful," I tell Dylan as soon as the bloodbath ends. I say to him in private, of course, but I'm sure Tyr or Brielle saw the tail end of the conflict, but neither has said anything. He simply nods at me and looks back down at the packs he is sorting.

I know he's not a volunteer, but it doesn't mean I want him dead instantly. He could be an asset but not if he's dead right away. I had to turn away from the girl from 8 to save his ass; I could've taken her down and maybe even got to her district partner, the boy who got an 8 in training.

As we are sorting through the packs, everyone isn't very talkative. We are focused on organizing everything, and Bellona wants to hunt immediately. Concord makes up some excuse that we should all organize first, but honestly, I think he just wants to argue with Bellona.

As we are gearing up to leave, I ask everyone, "Hey, I've found like 3 pairs of these glasses through these packs. Do you guys have any idea what they are for?"

"They probably block the sun or something," Concord answers quickly and dismissively.

"Why would they give us sunglasses? That doesn't make sense; the sun isn't even shining through the trees," Bellona responds while rolling her eyes.

Concord looks pissed again, and he just exhales out of his nose loud while walking around the cornucopia.

Brielle looks like she wants to go after him but stops and says, "ok, y'all go hunting and take two of the glasses with you, and I'll keep one here; just put them on every once in a while and pay attention to anything weird."

This seems to appease everyone. I get ready to leave before saying, "ok, with how weird the cornucopia is, I think we should hunt with 4 of us and 2 stays." Everyone nods, but no one speaks until Brielle says, "I'll stay and stand guard." Tyr nods and says, "Ok, I'll stay with you."

Bellona looks a little irritated that Tyr wants to stay rather than Dylan. We split the glasses and grab some supplies; I grab my trident, and I am ready to go; it might've been a small bloodbath, but let's get our name out there and get some kills.

Capricorn Makus D6M 14

I feel horrible about Annie and Uriah; they were my friends and allies. I knew winning the games was a long shot, but I wasn't expecting my allies to be killed immediately. I guess I'm alone again. After Annie pushed me down the hill, my leg is acting up a little, but I have a pack, and I want to keep moving. I keep walking past trees and trees until I reach this giant rock that is super smooth. I want to climb up the rock but can't keep my grip. I just lean my back against it and sort through my pack, some string, iodine, a small empty bottle, of course, and some matches. These matches will come in handy tonight when it gets cold, it's not that cold right now, but I doubt this climate stays warm for too long.

I wonder if I'll see the stars tonight; the trees might block them, but the stars always calm me down. I know my parents are up there watching me, and I think with their support, I can make it through the games, possibly. I know Sagittarius is watching me back home; I see a tree and wave at it; I'm not sure if that one has a camera, but I remember from watching on tv they often hide them in trees. I get my pack together, hear leaves shuffling, and hide behind the rock; I do not want to fight right now if I don't have to. I hold my breath, and I think it's just one person. They are coming my way, and I want to make a run for it. I don't have a weapon, and they will see me. I go to run, and I kick the rock and fall right on my face. I hurry and get up and turn and see the tall boy from 5, Brax, his name is maybe? He doesn't have a weapon, and as soon as I turn to face him, he puts his hands up like he doesn't want to hurt me? "Here, we can split my pack, then we can go our separate ways," I tell him as I pull my matches and string out of my bag. As I'm holding it out to him, he stares at me and shakes his head. I think he is going to charge me until he says, "I'm sorry, kid."

I don't know what he means by this until I feel a sharp pain in my back. I instantly drop to the ground, and as I'm looking up at Brax and the girl from 5 with a knife that has what I presume is my blood on it. I know I'm in bad shape, but you know what the weird thing is, I don't feel pain; my body is sort of just numb, I see the girl pick up my bag, and the boy looks down at me until I hear them run away.

I look up and see the sky and the trees; it's beautiful.

I let a tear run down my face as I think of my parents, Annie and Uriah, and their sacrifice. I know I will see them again soon. I let myself smile with this thought as black starts to fill my vision;

I love you, mom and dad; we will meet again soon.

Capricorn Makus D6M 14 20th Place Killed by Arin

Brax Henwick D5M 17

I hated that; I understand in order for me to go home, people have to die, but the ambush tactic was not preferable, mainly because he saw me. I had to watch Arin stab him in the back. What makes it worse is that I know about the deal Arin made with my family in order to do the "dirty" work to get me home, but I'm not entirely useless; I can fight. I don't know much about survival; I guess growing up as the Mayor's son doesn't teach me much, but I'm not incompetent. As we walk, I look through the boy's pack, which doesn't have much we didn't already have; I was hoping he had another pair of these sunglasses that our pack had, but we still aren't sure what they are for.

" He didn't have anything useful; why did we have to kill him? We agreed that we would only attack for self-defense." As we continue to trek away from the Cornucopia, I ask her,

"He was making a lot of noise; he would've drawn people to us, speaking of which, be careful where you step, could you? The only reason he saw you is all the noise you're making," she responds while taking a swig of water that we got from our pack.

I sigh and just keep walking. Arin is determined, but the kill was a little ruthless; I just have to watch my back and stick to the shadows as we planned, it's only been a few hours since the game started, but I can tell we are in for the long haul.

Woolworth Saint-Cloud D8M 15

Leah, Marigold, and I are heading south as initially planned. We wanted to get some distance between us and the careers; we got away with some good stuff in the packs: water bottles, beef sticks and crackers, glasses, and matches. We are looking for some sharp sticks to maybe make into spears or something.

Leah is sweet. She keeps suggesting sticks that are in no way feasible but at least she's trying. Marigold was not much more help, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be allied with them. I have to tell them multiple times it's ok to eat; I know my background; I'm not used to being hungry, but there is plenty of wildlife out here, so I'm sure we'd be fine.

I am about to give up on shaping another stick into a spear when we see the parachute drifting down and a light beeping noise. "It's a sponsorship package!" I hear Leah yell, and the parachute drops near where we are standing.

I go straight to open it, and it's two knives! They are pretty long and definitely sharp. Earlier in the games, I know it's cheaper to sponsor, but these must've been expensive. I give one knife to Leah and tell Marigold that she's faster so we can run or at least get more distance than Leah can; she didn't complain.

I don't know how effective Leah will be with this large of a knife, but I'm hoping that she won't be completely helpless if we are attacked.

I was tempted to give my knife up anyway because I prefer hand-to-hand combat, but if the careers do attack, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Capricorn- Capricorn was a unique and cool character. His astrology background was fun to play with. Overall, with his background and his character, I didn't see him making it long into the games, so this seemed like the right time for him, and the placement in the cornucopia wasn't the most advantageous for him, so yeah. Thanks to Readermaster for the cool tribute.

Hello everyone! This chapter was quicker than usual, but I'm excited about the progress of the story. I always want to give everyone POVs equally, but now that the games have started, it will be harder than usual. Also, While this is day one not all chapters will be broken into day and night but for now they will be since there are a lot of people left, there is a lot to keep up with. That being said, the next chapter will be night one, and we will see the twist in the games soon. I hope the death sequence wasn't too deep, and I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Thanks, y'all.

-Until Next Time