Hello everyone and welcome to the Bloodbath. I'm super excited to get into the Games, and I hope you are too! Also, I will be trying out some new formatting for the POV headers, so feel free to let me know what you think about those. Enjoy! (Apologies about the uneven POV lengths as well, some just ended up longer than others.)

Billy Gauge (14) - District Eight Male

He was rising now, encased in a tube moving through the ground and standing on a small metal plate. It already felt like he'd been in the vertical tunnel for ages, but it could only have been maybe a minute or two. There would have to be an end to it, obviously.

Yeah, there it was. Billy could finally see some light above him now. The little line of light grew larger as his plate sped upward, and after about a minute, he emerged into the arena.

It took a few blinks for him to get used to the bright new environment, especially since he'd been in that dark tunnel long enough that his vision had mostly adjusted to the low level of light. What even was the arena? He'd never seen something like this in his life.

His surroundings were a mix of red and gray colors, with the ground being rather rocky and the air a bit dusty. Great, Billy just loved inhaling things that weren't good for his lungs. That was the reason that he was here in the first place. (No, he was here because he volunteered in order to have a quicker death.)

60,

59,

58,

Glancing to both his left and right sides, Billy made a little bit of a face as he realized that he was right in the middle of the girl from One and the boy from Six. From what he'd seen, the youngest Career would be out to prove herself to her allies, particularly to overshadow her low private session score, so he would need to look out for himself until he grabbed what he wanted to get for his allies. Milo, the Six boy, had gotten a pretty decent score himself, and Billy had also noticed during training that he was pretty strong.

47,

46,

45,

The minute that he had to stand on his pedestal and prepare himself was ticking by quickly, and he knew that he was going to need to be sure to catch his allies' attention before he ran into the chaos once the gong rang out.

He had to squint to see most of the other tributes farther away from him, and soon spotted Val on almost the opposite side of the Cornucopia. Billy could see her because she was slightly to the right on that opposite side, and her arena outfit was oddly a lot different from his own. Well actually, the Career girl next to him had the exact same outfit as her. How had he not noticed that before?

Their outfits, along with several of the other tributes, were silky-looking, white-colored, and flowed around them in a sort of dress-like style. Meanwhile Billy's and several more of the tributes' outfits were made of a coarse, reddish brown fabric, and most resembled just a simple pair of pants and three-quarter sleeved shirt. In addition to that, he had a key that was the same color as his outfit hanging around his neck.

What did that unlock? Matter of fact, there were even keys hanging on a rack in the mouth of the Cornucopia. They had to be important, didn't they? And of course, sitting right next to that metal rack of keys was a bow and arrow. Val was definitely going to want that, but Billy didn't want for her to risk her safety for him. He would rush in and grab his allies a key and a weapon so that they had a better chance of getting what they wanted. Billy was the one who wanted to go out here and now, so he might as well make it worthwhile for his new friends.

24,

23,

22,

Oh, Oscar had seen him now. The younger boy was to the left of Billy, about halfway between him and Val. He was waving at Billy, so Billy waved back at him. Next, he pointed over towards Val's pedestal, hoping that Oscar could see her and find a way to meet up with both her and Vince. Speaking of Vince, where was he? Oh wait, he was only a few pedestals to the right of Billy.

He supposed that it was good that the older boy was near him, but it also posed the threat of interrupting his plan. Well, he would be faster than Vince, as long as he didn't do too much running. If he did, it would trigger his terrible cough.

10,

9,

8,

It was about to happen. Billy was going to run into the Bloodbath. It was all going to end up fine. This was what he had wanted. He'd rather help someone and go out quickly than just be miserable back in that dreadful orphanage in Eight, dying slowly over time.

7,

6,

5,

Deep breaths, he told himself. He was going to need the extra air for his sprint towards the Cornucopia. Just this one last hard thing, and then he could move on to a much calmer place.

4,

3,

2,

1,

The gong rang out, finally having reached the end of the eternally long countdown. It was chaos now, with tributes running left and right. Billy was one of them. He took off towards the middle and just prayed that everything would go right from there on.

Elias Walker (17) - District Nine Male

Once the countdown had ended and the gong went off, Elias leapt off his pedestal and sprinted within the circle that the pedestals had created. He hadn't gotten the chance to see Zain during the minute that the tributes had to accustom themselves to the arena, so there might be a chance that Elias would be on his own once he got out of the chaos.

However, Elias was very confident in one fact: the Capitol was out for both his and his ally's blood. He was going to need to watch his back at all times in order to survive. His father had been right with his advice, but Elias wasn't too sure now whether or not he'd done his best to follow the wise statement from his dad. Maybe it would do him better to end up separated from his ally. After all, what Zain had done was far worse than anything that Elias had even considered doing.

As he reached close to the center of the circle and the Cornucopia, Elias spotted something that he wanted. It was a large backpack, and it looked as if it would have everything he would ever need to survive the arena in it. And as for a weapon, a sickle was sitting only a few feet to the left of it.

Running towards the items that he'd spotted, Elias grabbed the backpack first, then quickly covered the few feet between it and the shiny sickle that he wanted to have in order to defend himself. From there, he stuck his arms through the straps of the pack and swung it up onto his back, all while gripping the sickle tightly. Time to get out of this place.

He was rushing through every movement at this point, his heart beating a rhythm through his chest due to the adrenaline that the situation provided him with. It was going to be okay. Elias turned and ran, but before he could even process the fact that he was almost to safety, he was knocked to the ground.

No, no, no, please let this not be happening to him. Looking up, his fears grew as he saw his attacker. Of all people, it had to be that crazy Capitol loving freak from Two.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the boy smirked at him, slightly swinging the massive axe in his hands.

Oh, please just make this not hurt as bad as he thought that it was going to. Elias didn't think that he deserved a fate like this. Nobody did, even the Career standing over him (as much as Elias hated to say it.)

"Ruga! Get over here now!" shrieked the Career's district partner.

"Ruga, get over here now," the boy in question mocked, "she's so annoying, isn't she?"

Elias was confused now. Was the Career boy asking him a question? Could he just let him go or get it over with already?

"Ugh, not going to respond. I guess you're not worth much more of my time."

He was shaking now, expecting the strike and the pain. With a shiny flash, Ruga took a well aimed swing at Elias' neck.

Now Elias couldn't breathe, sputtering and choking on the blood just streaming out of his neck. He was so tired, turning his head to the right so he could just rest a little bit. He'd get up in a second. Just a second to close his eyes, then he'd be running through the arena once more.

Boom!

Goldena Powers (15) - District One Female

Well, running into the middle and grabbing a weapon had gone fairly well, but the pack was split by a little bit. Of course the one other Career that had specifically vouched in her favor was the person to not be in the little huddle that they'd met up in by the mouth of the Cornucopia. But then again, that really was like Ruga. He seemed like the type to just wander off occasionally and be in his own little world for a while.

At least she had done exactly what had been asked of her by the other Careers. She hadn't run off to target any of the easy kills just yet, so it better be a few points on her case in the opinions of Sublime, Goneril, and Kasai. She knew when to be obedient and when to be independent. Right now, it was time to be obedient, yet still prove why she was a Career.

"Quit worrying your pretty little face off, Goneril," Ruga said as he sidled up to the group.

The cannon from just a moment ago pretty much told the group what he'd been doing while away from them, so Goldena knew that she needed to get a kill now as well. A Bloodbath with only one death would be inexcusable, so it was time for the Careers to hunt for some blood.

And there it was. The boy from Six had stalled, likely trying to find an unclaimed pack that wasn't too close to any of the other tributes that hadn't run away immediately. He was going to be her kill and it would be just a step of the ladder of trying to become victor.

The pack had sort of split up now, each Career wanting to pursue their own targets. Goldena set off into a sprint towards hers, grasping her trusty spear and readying herself for the fatal throw.

She stopped about fifteen yards out, smirking as the boy kept just looking around almost anxiously. From where she stood, Goldena could see his hands fidgeting as he peered at his surroundings. Those surroundings just happened to include her, and the boy noticed just a moment too late.

Her shot was perfectly lined up, and Goldena threw the spear just as the boy turned and noticed her with wide eyes. It hit with a satisfying accuracy to the spot that she had aimed to (the heart), and Goldena jogged over to her kill to retrieve her weapon.

Boom!

Now, all she had to do was keep doing that and the Capitol (and hopefully her allies) would love her.

Georgette Coiro-Metaxas (18) - District Eight Female

To her surprise, there was a fair amount of tributes that ran into the Bloodbath instead of away from it. Georgette didn't care though, as long as she got the supplies that she needed. They would remain alive for now if they didn't attack her, although she might take the opportunity to eliminate some of her stronger competitors if she found an opening that she just couldn't resist.

The sprint in didn't even wind her, in fact, it felt like a nice little warm up that reminded her of her mornings of training back home. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer that she'd be stuck in here so that she could become victorious and return to that familiar routine that she loved so much.

She smiled as she saw her favorite weapon and she ran even faster towards it until she finally had it in her hands. This was going to be a good Games, that was for sure. With a weapon in her hands, pretty much nobody could stop her. A pack lay nearby, so Georgette hustled over to it and slung it onto her back as she assessed the area around her.

Several tributes had already made their escape from the circle, but there were plenty left scoping out the supplies that lay on the ground. She was going to leave them alone and just make her way to the prime position that she wanted to be in after the Bloodbath, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye that she just couldn't let go.

The youngest of the Careers was only twenty yards in front of her, collecting her weapon from a fallen body. This was an opportunity that Georgette knew that she just had to take. She would thank herself for it later, and the sponsors would come flocking even earlier than she'd planned. Time to shed some blood on this already rust colored ground.

Breaking out into yet another sprint, Georgette ran to her future victim. Before the girl could even turn and wield her weapon properly, Georgette struck. Her first swing got the younger girl across the gut deeply, but it would only be fatal over time. She slashed at Goldena a second time, but not before the girl got her spear in a position to try and defend herself.

Georgette made a face as the weapon made a shallow wound in her side, but it didn't distract her enough for her opponent to survive her next blow. The swing that Georgette had taken ended up being the fatal strike that she'd needed, so there was no other worry about her opponent.

She could see the light fading out of the young girl's eyes, and soon, the sign of Georgette's success thundered for all to hear.

Boom!

Kassiani "Kassi" Dolcetto (18) - District Ten Female

When the starting gong had gone off, Kassi's panic had increased tenfold. Where was she going to meet up with Taraji at? How were they going to get supplies that they needed to survive?

Oh God, she had to run and get out of there. Thank goodness she'd just spotted Taraji. To be quite honest, Kassi wasn't sure if she'd survive without her best friend. Poor Taraji had spent her whole life trying to survive while Kassi had just been handed things by her father. If only she hadn't been reaped into the Hunger Games. Maybe she could have survived for a decent amount of time then.

She was out of breath already, running as fast as she could towards her ally and friend. Please, she begged to whatever being that controlled things above them, just let them survive this wretched Bloodbath. Then maybe they'd have somewhat of a chance at getting out of this terrible arena.

They were almost together, at the outer edge of the circle that the pedestals made. But then, Taraji just stopped, clutching her chest. No, this was not happening. Making her way the rest of the distance to Taraji, Kassi's breaths started getting shakier and shakier as she saw the blood darkening her white outfit.

"Please don't leave me again, Taraji," she sobbed, "I don't know if I can take it again."

"I'm so sorry Kassi. I just, can't help it now," her friend responded, eerily calm for someone bleeding the way she was.

Then Kassi turned, spotting the reason why she was begging her friend to stay with her. Two of the Careers were standing about a third of the way across the field from them, with the boy from Four holding the weapon that had injured Taraji.

"Why?!" Kassi wailed. "We didn't do anything to you, monsters!"

"Kass," Taraji tugged at her sleeve, "it's okay. Now I don't have to be alone anymore. I can go and see Mom and Dad again and ..."

The girl in her arms went limp, a peaceful smile spreading across her face from the thought of not having to fight to survive anymore. Taraji was dead. Wait, no, that couldn't be possible.

Boom!

"No," Kassi whispered to herself, "she isn't dead. She's just resting and she'll wake up soon."

The tears just began flowing down her face as she tried to convince herself that reality wasn't actually real. The adrenaline and her stubborn attempts to deny what had just happened caused her to barely even feel the arrow that struck her next. It was only when she felt the warmth of the blood flowing down her back that she realized that she too had been shot by the Career duo.

At least she could be with Taraji again. It was all going to be okay. She was going to be at peace alongside her best friend and the second mother figure and father figure that she'd had. Hopefully her father wouldn't be too lonely on his own.

Kassi closed her eyes, clutching Taraji's hand in her own and laid over her friend's body. They wouldn't ever have to be separated again now.

Boom!

Valerie "Val" Wright (15) - District Seven Female

Val felt jittery when she stood on her pedestal, but when the gong rang, she felt rather calm. Jumping off her pedestal, she ran close to the perimeter of the circle of pedestals until she reached the side of the Cornucopia that was full of supplies. She was going to run in, but someone grabbed her before she got the chance.

Vince. Of course it was Vince. God, why did he always have to ruin her plans. All she'd wanted to do was go in and grab a bow and maybe some supplies, but no, of course it was too dangerous and Val was only some damsel in distress.

Her training score had to have proved something to him, didn't it? But of course, Vince was his constant grumpy, overprotective self and wasn't going to let her do anything that could put her in danger. Maybe she would have to show him some of the skills that she'd gained back home behind his back. Then he'd think twice about not letting her defend herself.

"Vince, let me go! I need to go and get supplies!"

"Uh, no Valerie. You are not running in there unarmed."

"Well the only reason I'm unarmed is because of you!"

Vince herded both her and Oscar, who'd run up to them a moment ago, behind the cover of a large rock formation. Then, Val realized something, or rather, someone, was missing.

"Vince, where's Billy," Val asked, alarmed.

"I don't know. It's not my job to know where some little kid is at all times in the Hunger Games."

Before he could stop her, Val jumped up from where she was sitting behind a large boulder and scoured the center of the arena to try and find her younger ally. Oh, what was he doing?

Billy had run into the Bloodbath and was currently trying to escape with several items clutched in his arms.

Almost as if he could read her mind, Vince grabbed Val right as she was about to jump out of her hiding spot and go help Billy make it back to their little makeshift cover area.

"No Valerie. It's not your responsibility to make sure that he survives after he made a foolish choice."

At this point, Val had just about had enough.

"I don't care what you think! I'm going to protect Billy and Oscar because I think that it's the right thing to do. It's my life to risk, not yours!"

She yanked herself out of her brother's grip and ran to go help the younger boy. Except, she was too late. Right as she reached Billy, his body lurched and Val jumped back in surprise as blood began to flow down his torso.

The poor little boy had been shot with an arrow, courtesy of one of those awful Careers that liked to use the very weapon that Val preferred.

"Billy!" she exclaimed, grabbing him and dragging him back to the rock formation that Vince and Oscar were hopefully still at.

Once she'd gotten him behind the rock and out of the exposure of the open area, Val began to worry. The arrow had clearly pierced an organ, and Billy was going to bleed out soon. As much as she hated to say it, there really wasn't anything that she could do to help the boy now.

It was almost as if the boy could read her mind though. Billy grabbed her wrist and offered her a sweet, but clearly pained smile.

"It's okay. This is what I wanted, and I was able to help you guys. That's everything that I could have wished for, and Oscar?"

"Yes?" the little boy whispered.

"I'll be sure to tell Betsy how much of an awesome ally and friend you are."

Boom!

God, she felt so terrible for not trying to protect him better. She could have been the one to run into the Cornucopia and get supplies instead of Billy.

"Valerie, look at me."

"Shut up Vince."

"Valerie. You heard him, that's what he wanted. He wanted to die here and help us. There's nothing that you could have possibly done to change it, so just move on so that you can carry Billy's legacy on instead of being mopey and letting his story die here in this arena."

"Okay," Val sniffed, "let's show Panem why we're going to be the ones to get out of this place."

So umm, that was a bit of a larger Bloodbath than I was originally planning on. However, I think that the way I went with it was best for the story, and I can't wait to share the rest of it with you guys! I know that we didn't get to hear from a number of the tributes this chapter, but we'll hopefully be seeing what they're up to next chapter! In the typical fashion of any Games chapter, there will be an alliance tracker, kills tracker, and eulogies below, so be sure to stick around and read those! I hope you guys enjoyed reading and I can't wait to see y'all again with the next chapter! Also, there's an arena map and tribute statuses up on the blog now and I'm working on a sponsor shop as well!

Alliances:

The Dysfunctional Career Pack: Sublime, Goneril, Ruga, Kasai

The Survivalists: Reverie, Anne

Val, the Grump, and her Adopted Child: Val, Vince, Oscar

The Agriculture Buddies: Indigo, Agri

Loners: Zeno, Naymena, Zain, Georgette, Natalia

Kills:

Sublime Winterson - II

Goldena Powers (DECEASED) - I

Ruga Palaemor - I

Kasai Westbrook - I

Georgette Coiro-Metaxas - I

Eulogies:

22nd: Elias Walker, District Nine Male - throat slashed by Ruga Palaemor

I really do feel bad for killing off Elias like this, but I wanted to kill one of the Capitol haters, and I think that keeping Zain alive for now was a better move for the story. He was just very unlucky with the Career that stumbled upon him, and I think that his shock of being targeted prevented him from trying to defend himself. I wish that he could have gone in a different way, but it just ended up being meant to be. Thank you so much to n3b for submitting Elias!

21st: Milo Kirk, District Six Male - speared by Goldena Powers

Milo, I feel so bad for having to do this to you, but I just truly couldn't find a way to continue your arc. I really can relate to him in the sense of social anxiety and wanting to fit in, so I think this was partially influenced by something that I might have done if I were in his situation. His anxiety just got the best of him and he froze up, which gave his killer the opportunity to strike. Thank you so much to Pacecca for submitting Milo!

20th: Goldena Powers, District One Female - axed by Georgette Coiro-Metaxas

Goldena, I think you just ended up being too confident for your own good. Getting that kill caused her to just get a little too distracted and it left an opening for an older, stronger tribute. It also didn't really help that I knew that I wanted a Career to die in the Bloodbath, and she just ended up being the perfect kill in that scenario. Plus, she was at a disadvantage considering that her opponent was close and had a close range weapon compared to her long range spear. Thank you so much to sherazade96 for submitting Goldena!

19th: Taraji Copeland, District Five Female - shot with an arrow by Kasai Westbrook

Taraji was submitted as a part of a pair, and I knew that I just didn't want to separate them again. She was definitely at a disadvantage when it came to strength and nourishment, and I think her alliance may have also been a bit of a disadvantage to her as well (please don't shoot me for saying that Goldie or RB). In the end, I think that she was just destined to die here, and now she isn't lonely anymore. Thank you so much to rising-balloons for submitting Taraji!

18th: Kassiani "Kassi" Dolcetto, District Ten Female - shot with an arrow by Sublime Winterson

Like I said above, Kassi was the other half of the pair that Taraji was submitted in, and it just didn't feel right to separate them. She was definitely at a little more of a disadvantage than Taraji, but it also just felt right for her to die afterwards because of her constant dependence on someone else to help her. I don't think that she could have survived much longer without Taraji, and it definitely would have been an interesting arc, but it just didn't feel right to not let them be together in their final moments. Thank you so much to goldie031 for submitting Kassi!

17th: Billy Gauge, District Eight Male - shot with an arrow by Sublime Winterson

Oh my goodness, Billy you will be missed. This was definitely one of the first solidified arcs/ends that I thought up, and I'm glad that I did. It was ultimately what he wanted and what his submitter wanted, and I think it was just the cherry on top that he got to help his allies before experiencing the fate that made him want to volunteer for the Games in the first place. I hope he finds peace and Betsy on his way to whatever lies above. Thank you so much to AstralKnight98 for submitting Billy (I hope I made you sad just like you wanted).