Author's Note
I do not own The Hunger Games.
District Two Male, Alexios Macedon, 18
The tributes from Four, who had turned out to be funnily egalitarian, had taken to simply cutting supplies free from the bottom of the tank for other tributes to grab from higher up. Kind of them. Alexios supposed it would be quite a boring game if all the kids drowned in the first hour, so he didn't fight them on it.
He'd not bothered grabbing a backpack for himself. He could get one later, or let someone sort him out where that was concerned. None of it would really matter in the long run. Instead, he'd grabbed a spear and a knife and was focusing on hacking open the bubbles. So far, in two trips he'd managed to open six, and found four keys. Enough to get himself and the other careers through a door. But the more he had, the less everyone else had, and that was more of the point.
Three of the tributes from Seven had turned out to be surprisingly decent at swimming, with two gaining decent backpacks for themselves, and the third, a strangely familiar looking girl cutting free supplies the way the tributes from Four were doing.
Alexios checked her jacket again. Definitely labelled as District Seven, but she looked so familiar. He'd have to ask Aelianna. Some things were taught to the boys and girls separately at the Academy.
He hacked open another bubble. No key in that one, only a nice looking sword. He snatched it and fixed it to his belt as he moved on to the next one. He'd get this one done and then need more air.
Aelianna appeared at his side. Like him, she'd been focusing on finding keys, though she only had three. He grinned and waved his wrist at her, mouthing, 'I win.'
She scowled and set about hacking open another bubble. By the time they were done, they'd have more than enough to get themselves and the other careers through.
And the difficulty in finding keys ought to make it harder for the rest of the tributes.
District Nine Female, Amarine Feller, 14
She'd never swum this much, and the effort was setting her eyes and lungs on fire. Her first trip to the bottom of the tank gained her only a small knife, which might be handy for self-defence, but didn't help her and Jarrod get out of here.
Her second trip saw her amid a small cluster of other tributes, all straining to reach the bottom of the tank. One of the District Four tributes had come up with the plan of simply cutting free supplies and letting them float to the surface. Amarine grabbed a bag, but had to return to the surface to pull it on.
Jarrod found her there, a bag of his own slung over his shoulder.
"You get any keys?"
She shook her head. "I don't know…"
"You see the plastic bubble things? They're in those."
"Got it."
Jarrod grimaced. "Focus on finding those. We've both got bags, but that doesn't mean anything if we can't find keys and get out of here."
"I know, I know. Don't end up being fishies."
"I was thinking more hurry up and don't drown."
"What, because we're both too young to drink?"
"Because we don't want to die. If you don't knock that off, I'm going to to ally with the Willows."
Amarine stared at him. The Willows twins were terrifying, and it was well-known they'd killed two boys. Why would anyone try to ally with them?
"You wouldn't."
"You want a bet?"
"I'll find keys," she mumbled hurriedly. Two of the older girls had bundled together a larger alliance, including many of the younger tributes, which was good. They needed protecting. But for now she'd stick with Jarrod. He was from home.
Jarrod sighed. "Come on then, I'll swim with you. Stay close. The Fours won't hurt you, but the Twos and scarred One girl might."
Amarine nodded, trying to keep as near to him as she could as they swam down.
If this was the Hunger Games, even a strange version of them, it would be best to have an ally.
District Eight Female, Nadine Stitcher, 16
Nadine had taken advantage of being one of the biggest in this alliance to push her way through and grab one of the backpacks that had floated conveniently through one of the holes in the glass. Others were trapped beneath it, along with the plastic bubble things and a large, ornate spear.
Meredith was directing the girl from Twelve, one of the few others that could swim, to paddle beneath the glass and pull them out, since she seemed to hate diving. Nadine waded through the now over knee high water to Meredith.
"Do we have four keys yet?" she demanded.
Meredith raised a hand, displaying the bands around her wrist. "We've got five."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"We can't reach the doors yet. And with so many of us, we might not be able to get everyone through in thirty seconds. Tatiana says she and Daisy are trying to find more, but the boy from Two keeps taking them."
Nadine looked up at the door. It was high, but not so much that she couldn't reach if someone gave her a little help.
"Give me some of the keys. I'll see if some of us can start getting up there."
Meredith looked hesitant, rattling the keys around her wrist.
"Don't be a control freak! You're not our boss!"
Meredith sighed and slipped four of the keys from her wrist, passing them over to Nadine. "Get the boys from Eleven to help you, they're some of the biggest with us. And they might be able to climb."
"Sure, whatever." Nadine slid the bands around her wrist and struggled over to the pair of boys from Eleven. "Help me out. I want to see if I can get up to one of the doors."
The taller one gave her a doubtful look. "Won't get many out in thirty seconds while we're still having to climb."
Nadine gave him a sweet smile. "Then I'll only put three keys in until the water level's higher. Come on, help me!"
District Eleven Male, Atticus Rúgur, 18
He could swim, but he'd never make it to the bottom of that tank.
No, the more practical thing to do would be to wait and take supplies off another when they surfaced. One of the girls from Four didn't seem to be with anyone else, while another was smaller and swimming alone. He could break her neck and take her findings.
Atticus nodded, staying aside to the edges of the hall. That was what he would do. None of these others would be expecting a strike like that, they were mostly trying to work together. They'd not be anticipating an attack from another tribute.
The water was sloshing under his feet already, soaking into his boots. Atticus wrinkled his nose. He'd never liked getting wet.
A handful of tributes at the bottom of the tank were trying to cut supplies free and let them float to the surface. Atticus kept moving, keeping watch for any that might rise through any of the holes in the glass where no one else was looking.
It took him some time to spot anything, and when he did, it was only a small bag. He grabbed it regardless, pulling it onto his back. Not a weapon, but they weren't going to float as well. He'd have to wait until he could grab something else from another tribute.
District Ten Male, Diego Butcher, 17
So far, Laika had made it down twice, bringing up two backpacks, but none of the keys Diego could see a few of the others displaying.
"We need keys," he said as she surfaced for the third time with a third backpack.
"I don't know where to find them."
Diego shrugged off his backpack and handed it to Aiolin. "I'll help you look."
They had enough supplies now, they needed to focus on getting keys to get out.
"You might've said you could swim rather than letting me do all the work!" protested Laika.
"Arguing won't help us," called Aiolin. She could talk, she couldn't swim. She'd already taken one of the bags for herself though.
"You two just focus on not drowning," Diego said. He planned on going home, but if the best way of doing that was to work together, then he'd handle that.
"Where's the gap?"
"Here," Laika said, and disappeared through it.
Diego groaned. He should never have considered this to be a good idea. "Here goes nothing then."
He plunged through the hole and swam down after Laika. She was slowing from her first few trips, and he could see the strain in the way she was moving.
As they reached the first few supplies, the last of the lighter baubles, which were on longer chains, one of the girls from Seven caught up with them. She raised her hand to display the key hanging there and pointed at it. Diego nodded, pointing at the supplies spread out around them. She produced a knife from somewhere and set about hacking through one of the baubles.
Message understood.
Diego swum further down to fetch a knife for himself, while Laika worked on freeing a handful of the baubles to return to the surface with them. The girl from Seven, meanwhile, had found another key and a small penknife.
They needed four.
She had two.
Diego swam at her, grabbing for her hand. She frowned and pushed him away. He wrapped an arm around her and used the free one to grapple with her wrist. He didn't need to kill her, he just needed those keys. Together with the baubles Laika had, they'd surely have four.
The girl brought her head back and cracked him in the nose. His grip on her slipped. She spun in the water and kicked him away before launching herself backwards the surface. Diego couldn't stay down much longer either, after that scuffle he was quickly running out of air. But he wasn't going back empty handed. He drew his knife and hacked two of the baubles free before returning to the surface.
"What were you doing down there?" Laika asked.
"We need keys. How many have we got?"
"Three. We just need one more. All of us should get through in thirty seconds." She reached for one of his baubles. He pulled it away with a frown. He might be working with them, but that didn't mean he had to share his things.
"See if you've got one then. If you don't, we'll have to go back down."
Diego fumbled with the knife he'd taken and got to work at cutting the baubles open. The first contained nothing but a small bottle of water, while the second held a small plastic square with a round button in the center and a bracelet with a key attached.
"See? You didn't have to fight her at all!" Laika crowed.
Diego scowled and pulled the bracelet on. "I still say it would have been easiest. She doesn't need to hoard all those keys anyhow."
District One Female, Prophecy Aster, 17
Prophecy wasn't really sure what she should do.
She'd never been trained for this.
She'd been trained for the Hunger Games, of course. She was meant to volunteer when she was eighteen and then either die a martyr or return to District One as a hero.
She'd been taught how to look threatening on the chariots and engaging during interviews. They'd decided long ago that would have to be her angle, since she wasn't beautiful like most girls from One. Tatiana, who'd never trained a day in her life, was prettier than her.
She'd been taught how to approach the bloodbath. Run for the horn, grab a weapon, and start killing.
But none of that meant anything here.
This wasn't the Hunger Games.
All the supplies were at the bottom of a tank of water, which meant she couldn't simply rush in and grab one.
They didn't have to kill each other if they didn't want to, which meant she didn't have to start killing.
When the tributes from Four first dove in, she had followed to fetch a backpack and spear, but she didn't know what to do after that.
They needed keys, apparently, but the pair from Two were doing quite nicely at collecting those. The other tributes needed supplies, but the kids from Four and, surprisingly, one of the girls from Seven, were doing quite well at cutting those free.
Which left Prophecy as much of a loose end. She… didn't know what to do if it wasn't what she'd been taught to do.
One of the boys from Ten attempted to tackle the girl from Seven, dragging them both down into the tank. Prophecy hesitated for a moment at the entrance to the tank, and then plunged inside.
She knew what she could do.
By the time she reached them, the girl from Seven had squirmed free and bolted, but there were other tributes in the water that would surely begin fighting soon.
It was unnecessary, and Prophecy would ensure they separated.
District Seven Male, Terro Fields, 18
Two had plunged into the water time and time again, bringing back backpacks and weapons for both of them, as well as helping other tributes to gather their own and cut things free for those that weren't risking going beneath the glass. Terro had to admit, she had more of a heart than he'd ever believed for her to help them out that way. Though she was surely going to betray the fact she wasn't Iris. No Seven girl could swim that way.
As she reached the bottom with one of the boys from Ten and showed him how to find keys, he grabbed her and Terro's heart stopped. This might be the strangest arena he'd ever seen, but it was still an arena. This was part of the Hunger Games. That boy could kill her right there and then.
The two of them wrestled in the water, rolling over as Two fought to free herself. Terro shifted the bags against his shoulders and marched towards the other tributes from Ten, a taller boy and a little girl. "What the fuck is he doing?" he snarled, shoving the boy back a step. He shouldn't really care, not about Two, but he did care about Iris. Who she was meant to be. He had to treat her like she was really his sister.
"I think he's trying to steal her keys," said the little girl with a frown.
"Well, don't look at us! Not like we told him to do that!" exclaimed the boy.
"You better hope he doesn't hurt her."
The girl shrugged. "Well, I think she's winning. See?"
Down below, Two had finally managed to kick the boy off and was now rocketing for the top of the tank. Terro hurried to thrust his hands through the nearest hole in the ice, something the smaller tributes wouldn't be able to do for much longer. When they crouched down, the water almost came over the shoulders of some of the smallest.
Two surfaced with a gasp, grabbing for his arms as she hauled herself out of the tank.
"You alright?" he asked.
She leant against him. "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Pretend she was Iris, pretend she was Iris. Terro pulled her away. "Maybe you've been down enough times."
Two shook her head. "We need another key still. And others still need them too."
"That's not your job. Leave it to the kids from Four, they seem to have it in hand."
Two pulled away from him. "I'll start pushing things through the holes then. See if I can find us another key that way."
Terro didn't like it, but she'd do as she liked anyway.