15. It’s Only Just Begun

       The gong sounded immediately one second after Claudius Templesmith’s voice echoed in the arena. The gong released twenty-two tributes from their platforms.

It was a madhouse. All of us bolted from our platforms as if they were to detonate at any second. I heard Johanna’s voice barking at me: Grab the pack closest to you and make a run for it! Don’t stick around unless you have a death wish! Immediately I thought back to Bernard and how he so easily walked off the platform before the sixty seconds were up.

            I sprinted to the pack closest to me only to find Jillian had snatched it. To hell with that, I wasn’t going to back away from her. She had no weaponry on her. I could just tackle the kid and rip it from her grasp.

That’s exactly what I did.

As everybody fought close to the Cornucopia, I lunged for Jillian, taking her out by the legs. She yelped. I scrambled over her and snatched the bag. She grabbed my leg tight; I tried to shake her off. I ducked as the District 8 girl tried to grab my head in a headlock. I kicked Jillian in the face and got her off me. It wasn’t even five seconds later that I was forced to the ground and rumbling around with the District 6 girl. She had a mad glint in her eye as she rustled for the pack I just claimed. I scratched her face with my nails. She screeched like a madwoman and clawed at my face in return. I kicked her off me and quickly got on my feet again.

 I hightailed it for the woods…but not before Kaya had a shot at me. She gave a battle cry behind me, and I ran even faster. I never turned to look at her, because I knew she was pursuing me. Her voice was the loudest amongst the battle cries, the yowls of pain, and the screams of terror. It was like a war had erupted in the arena; the only difference was that there were no guns allowed.

            I leapt into the bushes of the woods, not looking back. I had actually made a cleaner getaway than I had thought I would. It wasn’t that hard to get away with the backpack. I didn’t hear any pursuers, but I wasn’t about to slow down or stop to see if they were being stealthy. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

            “You’re mine, District Seven!” Kaya roared. Her voice certainly could travel.

I didn’t hear Kaya come after me, so I assumed she turned her attention to the other vulnerable, stupid tributes that thought they could salvage something from the Cornucopia. Good, get distracted by them. I’ll lose you.

            I ran like hell, tripping myself by accident. I scrambled, the pack beat against me as I ran. I huffed; I had to slow down soon. If I used all my energy now, I’d have none left should a tribute come and pounce on me when I’m catching my breath.

After another few minutes of running, I convinced myself I had run pretty deep in the woods. I panted, bending over to catch my breath. The pack hung from my arm. I could barely hear war sounds now. I had run far already and didn’t even realize it. Better see what’s in the pack. Hope there’s something useful, I prayed. If there was something, I’d have good luck. I got lucky in getting away with barely a scratch on me.

Well, that’s not true—the District 6 girl gave me a few scrapes on my cheeks, but it wasn’t like she managed to draw blood or anything. Of course, I guess I hadn’t really attracted much attention to myself since only a few tributes tried to attack me for a pack.

I sat on my knees, unzipping the pack quietly, as if someone happened to be nearby and heard me. The pack wasn’t totally worthless. I managed to gain a canteen of water, some fruit, and a black blanket. That was all that was inside the bag. Of course, I got nothing useful like a hatchet or something that I could use as a weapon, nor did I get medicine in this pack in case I had a nasty cut or sting. Then again, I bet medicine was a rarity in a backpack when the Games first start out.

            I really hated leaving the Cornucopia behind because it had so many valuable things that I could have used. I had glimpsed a sword or two in there, an ax, a sleeping bag, and a few crates of food: the ultimate survival pack in the Games. I bet the Careers hoarded all that since most of the other tributes that didn’t have alliances dispersed within the arena.

            I began to wonder if the arena was just nothing but woods. I had a feeling it wasn’t. I mean, it was the final Hunger Games Panem would ever have. If anything, there would be multiple terrains. I just happened to pick the woods of all places. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was because I wanted to be in an area where I felt safe.

But these woods weren’t safe; I didn’t know what lay in them. For all I knew, there could be snakes or flesh-eating animals like squirrels or rabbits. It sounds weird and wrong, but that’s how the Games are. They turn innocent creatures into monsters.

            Okay, now I know what I have. Time to find a stable shelter for the time being, I thought. I took a few minutes to catch my breath. With the items in the pack and with it slung over my shoulder, I ventured, looking for that special place I could call my temporary haven.

            It was eerily quiet in the woods. The sun was shining bright, the trees let only patches through down to the ground. There were no cannon blasts yet. The fighting has to be still going on; the Gamemakers want to get a good death toll before sounding off the cannons.

I suddenly became worried about Daniel. I had been too focused on hightailing it out of the bloodbath to safety that I never thought once to scan the battleground for a quick sighting of him. Had he made it out okay? What if he ended up being caught in a sticky situation and had no way out? What if he acted on adrenaline foolishly and dived for the Cornucopia, something that Johanna told us to not do?

            Dan’s a smart kid, though. Even if he had the rush, he’d still be sensible enough to listen to Jo’s tips, I told myself. I really needed to stop thinking negatively; it wouldn’t get me very far. I would end up like Bernard, dead early in the Games. I couldn’t afford to be, I had so much riding on this.

            I took extra caution in making my footsteps silent. It seemed like barely any time passed because there were still no cannon booms, signaling deaths. How long could a battle rage on for? I kept my eyes sharp for that special shelter.

It wasn’t long before I found it. Hiding in the brush, there was a huge gap in the base of a large tree. It was pretty concealed by bushes. I sneaked through them to investigate the discovery.

            It looked to be abandoned. It was dark, the only light was from outside. I sat down, resting my back against the bark of the tree. I heard a cannon sound. Here we go, the death total of the Cornucopia bloodbath. I counted each cannon off the tips of my fingers. Two. Four. Six. Eight. Nine? After the ninth cannon blast, silence fell upon the arena once again. Nine tributes were killed in that bloodbath. It wasn’t uncommon, the most entertainment usually happened in the beginning at the Cornucopia. From there, things usually simmered down.

            So that left…thirteen tributes remaining in the arena—counting Bernard and Francois before the Games started. Almost half were dead within the first few minutes of fighting. I couldn’t say that the final Hunger Games were going to be short because of this, because I knew they wouldn’t be. Just because a good amount of children died on the first day didn’t guarantee the Games would end within a few days. Usually there would be some way that they’d get dragged out for a few weeks.

            I was so tempted to go looking for Dan, but I wouldn’t know if he was alive until later tonight. They’d post the dead tributes up in the sky following the Capitol’s anthem. If Dan’s face wasn’t up there—which I prayed it wasn’t—then I’d have to make it a mission of mine to not only not be seen by other tributes, but to reunite with Dan as well. I’d feel a little safer knowing he was with me.

Right now, I felt terrified.

            I didn’t move at all for the rest of the day from the hollow tree I claimed for shelter. I took only a little bit of water and fruit out because I was already hungry and thirsty. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I was going to have to conserve my supplies for as long as I could, even if it meant I went hungry for most of the time. I was not used to starving, so conserving supplies would be a challenge. Like surviving the Hunger Games wasn’t a challenge enough.

*      *      *

When night fell, my fear intensified. Who knew who or what could be lurking around the woods at night? I took out the blanket I had gotten in the pack and wrapped it around myself. I wasn’t cold; I just wanted to have some sense of security. But even the blanket didn’t make me feel safe; nothing could make me feel safe in the arena right now.

            The Capitol’s anthem made me crawl out to the threshold and peek up at the sky. Where my shelter was, I had a good view. I could see the Capitol’s seal, followed by the fallen tributes from today. They went in order by districts, naturally, so Bernard wasn’t first. The boy from District 3 didn’t make it, so Meeka, Eric, Sutton, and Kaya all survived day one. That was no surprise. District 4 was skipped, so they both lived. All of the Career pack was intact. Great.

Both kids from District 5 were killed; Bernard’s partner joined him so both of District 6 was done. Noah’s district counterpart didn’t survive. I was shocked Noah did live though, considering the death stares Eric gave him in the hovercraft earlier today. Well, there was still time for Eric to strike Noah down for hooking up with his sister.

Both of District 9’s tributes were dead, Francois was the only one from District 10, and Seraphine’s district partner perished. But the image that tore my heart out the most was that the District 12 girl didn’t survive her first day. It almost made me want to cry. I felt relief for the District 12 boy, but I had little hope for him. He would be extremely lucky to be alive for another day or two.

            The anthem played again, and then the images winked out. So Daniel had survived day one so far. He was still alive. Good. Tomorrow morning I’m starting my hunt for him. Of course, I was going to have to be extra vigilant and careful as to where I traveled. I didn’t know where Dan was, so for all I knew he could be on the other side of the arena.

            My thinking almost made me oblivious to the rustling of bushes near me. I retreated back into the hollow of the tree, holding the blanket close around me. From the moonlight given, I could see it was a small tribute. It had to be the boy from 12. I saw him look around, completely ignoring the fact that there was a place for shelter hidden in the brush. Lucky for me he didn’t prod near my area.

            Instead the kid made camp and managed to get a fire going. Damn it. There’s the rookie Johanna was talking about. There was no way I was going to risk shooing the kid away from the fire, because if anything, one of us would die. A fire was a beacon to other tributes, and it was the most idiotic thing to do during the night of all times.

I was contemplating exposing myself to him, trying to take him under my wing. He didn’t seem like much of a threat, he could even be an ally to me. I didn’t want to see him die before the sun rose.

I really wanted to help the kid, but what happened next made me freeze against the tree.

            It happened so fast I was glad I put my fist in my mouth so I didn’t scream. One minute the kid was warming himself up and giving himself light, and the next he let out a cry as a sword speared him. Tears leaked from my eyes. I wanted to run out of cover to hold the kid in my arms, and if he was still alive, I’d comfort him even though I was a complete stranger to him. But I couldn’t do that—I was rooted to the ground, in shock.

A cannon blast sounded, signaling the little boy’s death. This was such a cruel game. So much violence in the first day. Three people died near me. I didn’t know which one had shaken me more: Bernard’s suicide or the District 12 boy’s slaying.

            “What a rookie,” cackled Eric. Great, my luck just got better and better. The Career pack was right outside my door. Why was I a little bit surprised when I really shouldn’t have been? “He never stood a chance.”

            “He was just an easy one to pick off,” Kaya cackled. “We’ve got bigger problems to hunt down, don’t we? I want that District Seven girl to feel my knife up her ribs!”

            Consciously, I clutched at my chest. I found it sort of funny how they didn’t know that I was close to them. Is it just those two? I didn’t hear Sutton or Meeka, or the other two Career tributes from District 4.

            “Do you have to shout it to the world?” Meeka hissed at her. The fire revealed their silhouettes against the brush my entrance was concealed by. “You’re going to attract attention!”

            “Pft, like who’s going to come after us?” barked a male voice. That had to be the District 4 male. “Whoever’s still left is afraid of us. You know that.”

            “Oh, he knows. Some need to be more afraid of us than others,” Eric snarled. “Your little boyfriend is mine, Kaya.”

            “Eric, you aren’t going to hurt him!” Kaya hissed at her brother. “I won’t let you touch him.”

            “Watch me. When he tries to sneak around to see you, I’ll get him.” He chuckled darkly. My skin crawled in a very unpleasant way.

            “So you’d use me as bait? That’s low, even for you.”

            “I’ll move you out of my way as well if you try to defend him. Nothing is going to stand in my way of killing him.”

            “Yeah, yeah, he’ll probably be dead before you can reach him, Eric,” Sutton snapped at him.

            “Don’t you say that!” Kaya barked. I saw Kaya’s shadow tower over Sutton’s.

            “Let’s not fight, you two,” said a third female voice. “We need to stick together; it’s bad enough Kaya and Eric are on rocky terms because of her boyfriend.”

            “Kristi’s right,” Meeka piped. “Settle your differences now so we can focus on finding the others.”

            “Well, I don’t think anybody is going to even try and explore tonight, so let’s grab this kid’s stuff and return back to camp,” Sutton suggested quietly.

I watched in disgust as the Careers pillaged 12’s boy’s camp. The poor kid had just gotten settled in nicely.

            A little curious, but cautious, I crept close to the brush, lying on my stomach. I saw the Careers picking up every last scrap of the kid’s camp. I froze when Sutton crawled on the ground, her green eyes peeking into the bush, looking into my eyes. I shook my head, giving her the message to ignore me.

            “Sutton?” It was Eric. I scooted back away from the brush, pressed against the bark of the tree again. My heart hammered in my ribs. “See something?”

            “No,” Sutton sighed, scrambling to her feet. I let out a quiet breath of relief. Thank God, Sutton. You answered my prayer. I might be able to sleep in peace tonight…if I can sleep at all. “I thought I did. False alarm.”

            “You better not be lying to us, Sutton,” Meeka hissed at her. “If you’re helping that District Seven girl, well, let’s just say you and Kaya can catfight to the death.” He sniggered. “And that’s not a threat, it’s a promise. We won’t interfere when it happens, either.”

            “I told you I saw nothing,” she growled.

I gulped. Poor Sutton. She was getting threatened all because she supposedly trusted me and Daniel more than her own Career pack. There was no easy way to break free from the pack. If she did decide to leave most likely the Careers would kill her…or wouldn’t they? I found it hard to believe that they would be okay with her going off on her own. If she wasn’t loyal to them, she’d be a threat to them, and Careers always eliminated those who were threats to them.

The District 12 boy’s fire was stamped out by the Careers boys and mostly all of the pack left. One person stayed behind: Sutton. Since the fire was out, I figured it was safe to creep a little closer. I crouched on my belly again, watching her.

She held the little boy in her arms, closing his eyes. It was an interesting sight to see. She kissed the kid’s forehead, murmured a verse or two of a song that I couldn’t catch, and shot a look at me before dashing away from my hiding spot to catch up with the other Careers. I was surprised the pack hadn’t called for her when they realized she had stayed back a few seconds longer.

I settled back in the farthest point of the tree, huddling tight into a ball with the blanket securely around me. The hovercraft would come at any moment to take the boy’s body away. Sutton couldn’t be anymore her own person than a heartless Career like the rest of her pack was. I bet a lot of people, like me, were intrigued by her. She hadn’t ratted me out to the other Careers, so maybe she did trust me after all.

She certainly earned a bit of trust from me tonight.

Knowing that the Careers were heading back to their camp, I felt that I could get a little bit of sleep. There was no comfortable position to sleep in, since either my head hit the tree bark or the ground, but somehow I managed to fall asleep.