Third day in the arena
Victor Blade (18)- District 2 male tribute
The Envious
When I wake up, my leg still aches, and the recollections of last night irrepressibly come to my mind: Four, the traitor, suicided. He preferred dying like that, like a coward, but I would have liked to kill him myself, instead. After all, treachery is a sin that cannot be forgiven, and Four deserved an exemplary punishment. But what really gets on my nerves is not his treason- it was predictable-but the fact that he managed to harm me with his spear. I've killed only one tribute since the beginning of the Games, and now I'm even injured… what do the Gamemakers think of me? Normally, I wouldn't care about Capitolites' opinions, but in the arena my life may depend on them. If they thought I'm not worthy of the crown, they could decide to get rid of me, and no one would be able to stop them. It's all a matter of power, in the end. I clench my fists. Power… that's what I long for. To powerful people, I've always been a nobody, a servant, and they even expect me to accept it without complaining, like my father does. But I'm not my father, I am Victor Blade, and they'd better not underestimate me!
A noise on my left drags me back into reality. Instinctively, I turn to my left, while looking for something to use as a weapon. I immediately relax, since it's just Whiteswan, who's tossing in his sleep. It was him who suggested that we'd better not sleep on the ground but leaning against a tree trunk. He said that if someone or something attacked us, we would be able to see them better and react. He sucks as a Career, but I must admit that he's not that bad as a nurse. He cleaned my wound, wrapped it with gauze, he helped me lie down, and placed a backpack under my injured leg so that I would feel more comfortable. At least, I can take advantage of my predicament to boss him around.
Whiteswan wakes up out of a sudden. He looks a bit upset, as if he had just had a nightmare.
"Oh, you're finally awake, sleepyhead! I'm hungry! Where's my breakfast?" I say in a whiny tone just to tease him.
He turns to me. "How are you?" he asks.
"I'm hungry!" I repeat.
He rolls his eyes in response. He takes a cracker pack from his rucksack and then hands it to me. "That's all you'll have for the moment… and, please, hurry up, we need to move," he says.
"What?"
"That was the plan. If something bad happens, go back to the cornucopia, right?"
"I feel better, no need to retreat. I'm not a coward!"
"But Excelsa said…"
"I know what she said!" I rebut, interrupting him.
"We all agreed, Victor. In an alliance, you cannot always have your own way," he points out.
"But you can change your mind, if necessary. I heard only Four's cannon last night, which means that Excelsa and Scarlett didn't find their preys. Why am I not surprised? Maybe you shouldn't let a girl like Excelsa boss you around, Whiteswan… unless you have an agenda…"
"What do you mean?" he asks, confused.
"Maybe there is something between Excelsa and you," I answer with a smirk.
"She has a boyfriend back home," he defensively rebuts.
"Who? That crippled boy at the Reaping?"
He nods in response.
I burst out laughing. "You stand no chance, then. I mean, if she likes freaks of nature…"
"You shouldn't laugh at her. She has someone to fight for, which is actually helpful. I'm sure she's going to do anything to win. Her boyfriend, whom you find so funny, is a good motive for killing, don't you think?" he retorts in a serious tone.
I smirk. "Maybe. It's a pity Cinnamon didn't ask her about that boy, but there wasn't enough time, I guess. Anyway, you can go back to the cornucopia, if you want, but I'm going to keep on hunting!"
"I wouldn't do it, if I were you."
"But you're not me… that's the point!"
"Seriously, Victor… your wound could get infected," he insists.
I chuckle in response. "You treated it, don't you remember?"
"Just with water and antiseptic, but that could not be enough. If you were given a tetanus shot… just as a precaution… otherwise…"
Now, I start to worry. Whiteswan sounds very serious, and his facial expression is just the icing on the cake… a mixture of seriousness, concern, and fatalism.
"Otherwise?" I echo him.
I'm almost afraid of hearing his response.
He looks down and then goes on: "Well, I'm not a doctor, but I read some medical books in the past, because I wanted to be ready for the arena… you know, if your leg got gangrene…"
"Wait… are you saying that I may lose my leg?"
He turns to me again. He looks more resolute now. "The possibility exists. That's why we'd better go back to the cornucopia, some tetanus shots are stored there," he explains.
To me, it's a bolt from the blue. For the first time since the Hunger Games have begun, I'm afraid of dying… of dying in a dishonourable way, above all. Killed by a traitor!? I don't deserve it! I'm not a common tribute, I'm a true Career!
"You may have breakfast, Victor, but we'll move as soon as possible, okay?" adds Whiteswan.
Despite myself, I nod in response. I feel so angry and powerless!
This is not how it's supposed to be!
…...
Bella Page (16)- District 7 female tribute
The Storyteller
Hidden among the trees, Cedric and I are basically invisible. There's still danger, though: two Careers are in a nearby glade, only a few meters away from us. I recognized them from my hiding place: it's the boy of District 1 and the boy of District 2. The latter has clearly hurt his leg; I can tell it by the way he limps while trying to walk upright. When I saw them, a dangerous thought crossed my mind: what if we attacked them? We could take their supplies, right? After all, we need supplies. My brother got a bottle of water and a loaf of bread the first night, but we haven't received anything else since then. We had to ration our supplies. Food was not a problem: luckily, we found some edible roots while wandering in the heath. Water was a problem instead, since we couldn't find any source. Seeing Cedric watch our only bottle with pleading eyes till we ran out of water was a torture. I felt so useless. As his elder sister, I'm supposed to protect him, right? The truth is that we were tempted to go back to the lake near the cornucopia, but we were too afraid of meeting the Careers to do it. Well, our current situation is not good, but maybe it will improve soon: looks like the Careers are about to leave the glade, where there are two backpacks and a pile of roots that they don't seem interested in. They must have thought that taking too many supplies with them would be an impediment, considering that one of them is injured.
"Let's go, Victor. Lean on my shoulder," says the boy from One, even if he hung one backpack per shoulder.
The hilt of a sword pops out of one rucksack. I freeze as soon as I see it. We'd better not attack them. Even if one of them is injured, they're still trained Careers, and they're armed unlike us. We would probably get killed before realizing what's going on.
"I can walk myself, Whiteswan!" rebuts the boy from Two, but the truth is that he's clearly struggling.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Cedric stare at the remaining supplies with longing eyes, but we need to wait for the Careers to leave; we would die, otherwise. Indeed, we stay hidden until we can no longer hear their voices and footsteps, not even in the distance.
As soon as the coast is clear, my brother and I run in the glade. He immediately rummages in one backpack, finds a bottle of water, and drinks it almost all in one breath. He looks like a savage now, but I cannot blame him. I find a bottle as well and drink half of its content. We don't know exactly what else these rucksacks contain, so we'd better take a quick inventory. We risk running out of supplies again, if we don't ration them carefully.
"So, we've got still three bottles of water, not bad… then a bag of trail mix, some beef jerky, a matchbox, and tablets to purify water," I say after emptying our rucksacks.
"What about those roots?" asks Cedric, pointing at the pile.
I examine them closely: they're long and narrow… on the whole, they look like carrots, except for the fact that they're white.
"Umm… wild radish… edible roots."
"You sure?"
Identifying plants is part of the education you receive in District 7. After all, you may need to distinguish edible plants from poisonous plants, if you're in the woods. Nevertheless, I spent a lot of time at the plant identification station during training, so I'm pretty sure these are edible roots.
"Yep."
Cedric and I take a backpack each, and we put all our supplies back in. We carefully divide them, of course: I'll take half of the roots, a bottle of water plus the one I've partially drunk, the bag of trail mix, some tablets and matches; Cedric will take the rest. If we were forced to part from each other, at least we'd have enough resources to survive. At some point, I notice that there are traces of blood near the glade's centre. I freeze as soon as I see them. I immediately think of the cannon that Cedric and I heard last night. We don't know who died, since the cannon fired after the national anthem had been played, but now it's clear that this glade was the scene of a murder and that the Careers were the murderers. The number of standing tributes is shrinking, so I cannot help but think of how much time I have left. I want my brother to win, and this means not only that I'm going to die, but also that I'll leave him all alone in the arena sooner or later. Will he be strong enough to win? I shake my head. No point dwelling on all this now… I must try to survive as long as possible… that's all I can do for Cedric. With all these supplies, our situation is definitely better now than it was at the beginning of the Games. I should look at the bright side! Cedric and I are still alive, we have enough supplies for the moment, and we're going to enjoy all the time we can spend together… as far as possible, at least. The Hunger Games are the Hunger Games, after all.
My brother and I leave the glade. Thickets may be good places to hide, but it's also true that in an arena with low vegetation like this one, they're the first places Careers would check in search of tributes to kill. Besides, how on earth could we feel at ease in a place where a tribute was murdered? How could we sleep peacefully near their recently shed blood, which is the indelible mark of the cruel slaughter of an innocent? Anyway, orientating in the heath is hard, because there aren't any landmarks… in the distance, we can see the hilly area where the Games started, and we know that it is located east, but the rest of the arena looks like an endless sea of purple-green bushes shrouded by a light fog. At least, we would probably be able to pinpoint possible attackers and react in time.
At the moment, we're moving towards the centre of the arena, I suppose, from north to south. Something ahead of us has drawn Cedric's attention, something that I can see as well now. At first, it was just an indistinct, purplish mass, but as we're getting closer, I start recognizing the shape of several trees… a forest! The problem is that I've never seen such trees before. They're all purple, and is it me, or do they even glow? But maybe it's just the effect of the sunbeams falling on their leaves. Anyway, that place looks strange… it might be an enchanted forest of sort… a place you would expect to see in fairy tales, definitely not in real life.
"Wow! It's wonderful!" says Cedric, clearly amazed.
"A peculiar place, no doubt," I reply, nervous rather than amazed.
"It looks like one of those strange places in your stories…. there was a story with a mysterious forest…"
I'm about to tell him that these are the Hunger Games, not one of my stories with happy endings, but then I change my mind. What's the point in saddening him? If the arena can arouse positive feelings in him, it's not necessarily bad, right?
"Bella?"
I turn to him. "Yes?"
"You look… I don't know… worried, maybe…"
I smile in response. "I was just thinking that this forest is beautiful, but it may be dangerous too. You'd better be careful, if you want to explore it, little hero."
"Of course I want to explore it! I'm a hero, not a coward!" he rebuts, crossing his arms.
"Cedric…"
"Don't worry, you're safe with me. I promised our parents that I'd look after you."
"I'm older than you, Cedric!" I point out, amused despite myself.
"It doesn't mean that I cannot protect you," he retorts.
"Okay, Cedric. We're siblings, so we'll protect each other. Just… I don't wanna take unnecessary risks… we shouldn't take unnecessary risks. Can you see my point? This forest was designed by Gamemakers, and who knows what dangers it hides!"
"Well, guess we're here to find it out. That's what they want us to do."
"What do you mean?"
"If we were Gamemakers, we'd want tributes to take risks, wouldn't we? To make the show more… well, more exciting, I suppose. We cannot avoid danger forever, Bella, you… you know what they do to… boring tributes," he explains, a bit uneasy.
I struggle to recognize my brother now, and I don't know whether I should be proud of him, because he's showing maturity, or feel sad, because he can no longer be a carefree child due to the Hunger Games.
"Come on, sis! Let's explore the forest! We could find other supplies," he goes on.
I nod in response, but I'm not fully convinced.
We enter the forest. The more we move closer to the centre, the more I feel trapped. There aren't any landmarks, the trees look all the same. They're close to one another and have a thick foliage. As a consequence, the sun can hardly break through the trees, and the forest is wrapped in semi-darkness, as if it was already evening. With so little light, I can see that the trees are really glowing in the dark. This forest is strange, and not only because of its colour. I can't hear anything but our footsteps on brushwood: no wind, no birds… absolutely nothing! What is this place? Being a creation of the Gamemakers, I can expect literally anything, every shadow could hide some danger of sort. I don't feel safe at all. We must leave this forest as soon as possible! But how? If I look behind, I cannot see where we came in. All I can see is a crowd of thick, glowing, purple trees, which seem to be engulfing us. Have we got lost?
At some point, Cedric whispers: "Look."
He's pointing at something ahead of us. I squint. A little further on, there's a silhouette lying all curled up at the foot of a tree. It's… it's a tribute! We carefully get closer to them, but they must have heard our footsteps, since they quickly stand up with a frightened expression on their face. I cannot see them clearly, but I'm pretty sure it's Henry Almonds, the boy of District 3. He holds something in his hand as a weapon- a strange object... shaped like a spearhead maybe- and he's pointing it at us. He looks on edge, his body slightly shaking, his eyes widened.
Cedric holds his hands up in an act of surrender. "D-don't worry. We're not going to harm you."
"We… we've got lost, I think. Can you help us, please?" I add, trying not to stammer.
"Where is she?" he asks in an aggressive tone, his voice slightly quivering.
"She?" I echo him, confused.
"The Career girl who chased me. I've hidden here to throw her off. Where is she?" he replies, still pointing his weapon at us.
"We didn't see her," I answer.
Luckily, he seems to relax a little bit, but not completely. After all, the idea that a Career might be hiding in this forest is by no means reassuring.
"We saw two Careers, but they were somewhere else… in a thicket," Cedric chimes in.
In response, the boy of District 3 gets two steps closer to my brother. "Really?" he asks, clearly interested.
Instinctively, I get between him and Cedric. "First, lower your weapon… or whatever it is," I order him.
He stops. Maybe he has understood that he'd better do what I said. He puts his weapon in his pocket and then holds his hands up in an act of surrender, indeed. "Honestly, I don't know what it is. I used it to dig out some roots, but I don't think it is its function."
He looks more relaxed now.
"Sorry, I… I didn't mean to scare you, just… you know, the Careers, the Games…" he apologizes, clearly uncomfortable.
"No worries," replies Cedric with a slight smile.
"You said you had seen some Careers…" he continues.
"Well, yes, in a thicket, but they were two boys, not girls."
"The boys from One and Two?"
"Yes… how did you know?"
"I was in that thicket last night," he answers.
"What happened?" I ask him.
"Well, it was a mess! First, the girl of District 12 arrived, she tried to steal my food, but… the Careers arrived as well. She tried to run away, but the boy from Two stopped her… and that's when the boy from Four intervened... her… her brother, right? He hurt the boy with his spear, so that the girl could flee, and at the end, he… he…"- the boy of District 3 takes a deep breath, as if he was shocked by his own tale- "… he killed himself."
"The cannon of last night," I say.
He nods in response. "Yes, his cannon. I ran away as well, but the girl of District 2 chased me."
I freeze as soon as that girl is named. When I was still trying to find Cedric during the bloodbath, I saw her kill the boy of District 10 with her bare hands. I'll never be able to forget that dreadful image! He looked so strong, and yet he died. He seemed so strong, and yet he was killed. What shot do we have against her, then? No shot… another reason to leave this creepy forest where she could hide anywhere.
"So, the supplies we found are yours…" says Cedric.
"You took my supplies?" asks the boy, pointing at our rucksacks.
"There were four backpacks. The Careers took two of them, we took the rest," I explain. "Anyway, there are enough supplies for the three of us, we can share them."
"But they're mine," he points out.
"You left them behind," I retort.
"I had to!"
"Listen, I don't want to fight over a bunch of supplies. You lost your supplies, we took them, and then we found you… I think fate brought us together, so maybe we could be allies. The Career girl is alone, so she won't dare to attack three tributes. What do you think?" I offer.
He considers my proposal for a minute. "Okay, deal," he says eventually.
We shake hands.
"By the way, did you find a purple flower too?" he asks.
"No. Was it important?" I reply.
"Well… not really… no… just a gift… forget about it."
…...
Tartan Dye (13)- District 8 male tribute
The Painter
My whole body starts shaking like a leaf as I soak my naked feet in the cold water of the lake. I'd like to stop shivering, but looks like shivers are beyond my control. This reminds me of the freezing winters in District 8, where a simple piece of coal can truly make the difference between life and death for a low-income family… coal, the only heating source that saves you from hypothermia. In such hard times, art can be a pleasant way out. You can get immersed in a new dimension, in a better world, even if only for a few instants… a precious experience but temporary. Indeed, it quickly fades away like a dream at the breaking of the day.
I shake my head. No use thinking of my home district right now. District 8 reminds me of what I've left behind, of what I've lost. Last year, I lost my brother because of the Hunger Games, and now I'm stuck in the same situation. Yes, I've managed to survive so far, while my brother died in the bloodbath, but I know that I stand few chances of winning. Maybe if my mentor helped me… at first, I thought that Gemini would focus on Autumn… she was more promising than me, after all… but now that she's dead…
Night has fallen quickly over the bushy arena. Above my head, the clearest sky I've ever seen, lit by such a great number of stars, which are mirrored in the quiet, undulating waters of the lake. One would never believe that so many stars could exist beyond the smoky clouds of District 8.
I lie down on the grass with the pleasant sensation of having a full belly. I've never get used to all this. Yes, the fishes I ate for dinner are nothing compared to the food of Capitol City, but I feel so proud of myself, because I managed to catch them. Actually, there weren't many supplies in the backpack I grabbed during the bloodbath- just an empty flask, a blanket, and a pocketknife- so I had to find food and water myself. At first, I didn't want to come back to the lake, because it is near the cornucopia and, by extension, the Careers, but then I changed my mind. After all, the lake is vast and is a good water source. Firstly, I gathered firewood in a thicket, and then I used my pocketknife to sharpen the longest and thinnest branches so that to obtain some makeshift spears out of them. At the Training Center, I've learnt that spears are a valuable alternative to fishing rods. Then, I've come back to the lake and set my camp on the opposite bank from the hills, as far as possible from the cornucopia. After some attempts, I was finally able to catch a fish. The taste of victory I had was the same I have when completing an artwork: I immediately forgot my struggles, as if I had never gone through them, and focused only on the result I got.
My recollections are interrupted by the national anthem, which they're now playing, silencing for a moment those creepy screams that characterize every night in the arena, apparently. They're going to project the faces of the tributes who died today into the sky. I heard only the cannon of this morning, so I expect to see only one face. Indeed, they do show only one face, but… it's Autumn's! It can't be! She's a victor's child, they cannot let her die so early in the Games! And yet I'm looking at her face in the sky, and this means she's dead. Immediately, I'm overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt and helplessness. Autumn was kind to me, she even allied with me, while I wasn't always fair to her. It was not her fault, if I was born in a poor family, after all. Besides, she showed more courage than me: she volunteered for her sister, while I let my brother die in the Games. I could have volunteered last year, but I didn't, because I was too scared, and my fear was stronger than my desire to save my reaped brother. Poor Denim! What a weak brother he had! Autumn was the daughter of a victor; if she couldn't win, what chances do I have?
I wipe away my tears with the sleeve of my wool jacket. This is no time to be weak. I must think of my survival, I must with for Denim, for my parents… and for Autumn too… for District 8!
I look down at the water. I'd better focus on fishing. I've learnt a good technique to fish with a spear: soak your feet in the water and stand as still as possible. If you're lucky, some fishes may get closer to you, mistaking your feet for parts of the environment. If so, you can stab them with your spear, but you need to pay attention not to hit your own feet as well. Once you catch some fishes, you can roast them over the fire… but since I'm in the arena of the Hunger Games, I'm going to cook them on the embers. A fire could be seen by other tributes even with the daylight.
I'm shivering, but I don't want to soak my hiking boots. They could be waterproof, but who knows? Better safe than sorry. The weather of the arena is too cold to be outdoors with wet feet. Suddenly, a movement in the water draws my attention. A fish is getting closer to me. I grab my spear strongly, aim, and eventually stick it in the water.
…...
Alexa Steel (17)- District 6 female tribute
The Peacekeeper
My days in the arena have been on the whole eventless… apart from the bloodbath, of course. I managed to kill two tributes and grab enough supplies to survive. Finding the belt with knives in that rucksack was a real stroke of luck. You can basically do anything with knives… dig out edible roots, hunt, defend yourself… actually, I haven't met another living soul since the bloodbath, but I don't mind being alone. Besides, the Gamemakers haven't sent mutts or something of the sort after me, which means that they must be satisfied with my performance… for the moment, at least. I'm not going to avoid action, of course.
Part of the peacekeeper training I've received consists of surviving a week in the wilderness outside District 6 only with a knife and what you can find in the environment. Craig Donovan thinks a peacekeeper should be ready for any difficult situation, and I agree with him. If he hadn't given me to opportunity to become a peacekeeper, I would be less prepared for the Hunger Games. He believed in me, he gave me a chance to have a better life… the Capitol is giving me a chance with the Games… and yet Danny cannot understand all this, why? Why is he so stubborn? Ah! I can't expect him to agree with me. He's simple-minded, the typical person who thinks only of their work and all the rest doesn't matter. It's no surprise that a girl like Samantha could seduce him so easily… that slut! She wanted to get off the street, and she made it. She even got pregnant and convinced Danny to marry her, so my brother is now legally obliged to look after her and their baby, no matter if the baby could be of another man.
My father was an orphan who was never adopted. They gave him the surname Steel… it's common practice to give orphans a surname that recalls the district's industry, when they haven't got a family name. Steel, transportation… it makes sense on the whole. Anyway, my father had always wanted a numerous, loving family- basically, what he couldn't have when he was a child, but I don't know what he would think, if he saw what his family has become. Well, he wouldn't blame Miles or Jeremy, because they haven't done anything, but what would he tell Danny? Well, I would at least slap him, if I were my father, but the truth is that he wouldn't. Neither he nor my mother were strict, authoritarian parents. The downward spiral has begun after their death in a work accident. They both worked for a construction firm that was renovating some old houses. One day, there was a gas leak, and it caused several casualties and serious damage. My parents lost their lives… I still remember the moment when a peacekeeper came to tell us the bad news. Miles and Jeremy were too young to realize what happened, but I did. Luckily, Danny was already of age, so we weren't sent to a community home. He has tried to substitute our parents, but the truth is that he cannot.
I shake my head. What's the point of thinking about Danny right now? He will never understand me, he will never support my decisions. Honestly, I don't want to move to Victor's Village along with him, and since I'm not even obliged… well, I could take Miles and Jeremy with me, but definitely not Danny and that bitch of his wife… no gunners at my home! He can go on with his life in the filthy slums of District 6, and he won't need to worry about me anymore. My future plans don't imply his presence. As a victor, I won't be allowed to become a peacekeeper, but I'll still be able to do something for the peacekeepers of Six. I could found an academy that may compete with District 2, or even a place to train future tributes. District 6 as a Career district… a sound trashing for all those who think Six is just a den of criminals and drug addicts! Miles and Jeremy could train at my academy. Even if they didn't want to become peacekeepers or volunteer for the Games, at least they would learn how to defend themselves in this cruel world.
What I've learnt the most from peacekeepers is that knowing the environment can truly make the difference. Therefore, I've been spending time to explore the arena these days. Immediately after the bloodbath, I descended to the valley. The hills might have been a good hiding place, but they looked scarce of resources. I found a swamp… not that large, definitely not like that of the 97th Hunger Games, but in that case the whole arena was a swamp. When the sun went down for the first time, I realized I was in the southern part of the arena. I spent the first night at the edge of the marsh. The following day, I moved further south till I reached the force field enclosing the arena. I could tell there was a force field by the way the vegetation stood up. I immediately walked away from that place. Everyone knows how Haymitch Abernathy used the arena's force field as a weapon and how he was punished for that. If I want to win, I need Capitolites' favour, not their anger. Anyway, I decided to head west. I found a thicket and a couple of ponds nearby. I even managed to catch a sort of wild rabbit with a snare I had made with a piece of wire. The taste was not bad… kind of umami, but stronger.
I didn't meet anybody these days. Probably, I'm the first tribute to see this part of the arena. It's frustrating. That's why I'm moving back. Actually, I cannot explore the environment or hunt wild rabbits all the time, I'm after bigger game: my fellow tributes. There weren't many casualties after the bloodbath- only two deaths yesterday. The Careers haven't done that much so far. Maybe it's time for someone else to animate the Games.
I'm about to reach the swamp again. I can already see it ahead of me as the ground is gradually getting muddier. The reek of mire and stagnant water is now filling the wet air. Swamps are definitely ill-suited places for human beings to live, but I'm not gonna complain. The filthy, maze-like slums of District 6 are much worse, after all… a labyrinth that leads into any kind of human misery and baseness.
Suddenly, I hear un unmistakable sound, a sound I haven't heard for days: the sound of human voices. They seem to come from the swamp. I immediately snoop and sneak, trying to get closer to them, but keeping myself at the edge of the marsh. When I explored this place for the first time, I found out that the ground is firmer there, probably because it's almost devoid of water apart from some puddles hither and thither. I start crawling among reed thickets, careful not to make any noise or move too much. Now, I can glimpse who's speaking: three girls… the girls from Nine, Ten, and Thirteen, if I don't mistake… but I do not mistake. They have set their camp right at the edge of the swamp, and apparently, they aren't going to move from there, which is good for me. They have supplies with them too. I could attack them, take their supplies, and even kill one of them. Thirteen is the youngest, if I remember well, and the Capitol would certainly not mourn a girl from a rebel district. Ten is the weakest. Her crush on her district partner was pathetic. I'm surprised she didn't suicide after his death. Nine may be a threat, instead. After all, she got a high score in training. I'd better not attack them right now, there's security in numbers, but maybe under cover of darkness… a good hunter knows when to attack their prey, they can wait till the right moment comes. If they wait, they have time to strategize too. When you're outnumbered, simply sneaking up on your prey couldn't be enough to succeed; you need a good plan… even more than one in some cases. Therefore, I'm going to wait until night falls and carefully study the situation in the meantime. I feel like a crocodile now… hidden in the mud, patiently waiting to attack its prey in the dead of night.
So, another chapter is finished. On the whole, it was more descriptive than dialogic, which gave me the opportunity provide insight into tributes' thoughts, especially into Alexa's backstory, which was mostly unexplored before this chapter. Most importantly, we got to know where Tartan is. I must admit that this character was a bit ignored in the arena, but I'll try to make amends.
As for tributes' positions, Victor and Kyle have just left a thicket that is in the northern part of the arena. The strange forest where Bella, Cedric, and Henry joined forces is located right in the heart of the arena to highlight its importance. I don't want to spoiler anything, but this forest is one of the most iconic places I created for the 99th Hunger Games. I'm probably going to introduce the first mutts right there. As for Tartan, he's near the lake, in the eastern part of the arena. Last but not least, Alexa is now hidden in the swamp, which is located south. The rebel girls are there as well, and in the next chapter we're going to discover whether Alexa's planned attack is successful or not.
Submitters can assign points to: Victor (D2M), Alexa (D6F), Bella (D7F), Tartan (D8M)
Specific questions about tributes:
Victor: what do you think of his attitude?
Alexa: what is going to happen to Alexa and the girls?
Bella: if you were Bella, would you ally with Henry?
Tartan: does he stand a chance?
Since a new alliance was formed in this chapter, let's recap which groups are present in the arena:
Careers: Kyle (D1M), Excelsa (D1F), Victor (D2M), Scarlett (D2F)
No longer a trio: Ambra (D3F), Christopher (D6M)
We are rebel girls: Rebecca (D9F), Estrella (D10F), Christine (D13F)
Fate brought us together: Henry, (D3M), Cedric (D7M), Bella (D7F)
Loners: Alexa (D6F), Tartan (D8M), Adam (D9M), Yolanda (D12F)
I don't think I'll be able to post another chapter before the end of the year, so I'll take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
