｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
𝔤𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔩
sept. — into the labyrinth!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For Elpis there was no time to mourn.

As she pulled the girl's still warm body into her trembling arms and stared down at her wide, unseeing eyes a sense of dread and despair had washed over her like a tidal wave. A ringing sound in her ears deafened her, the screams and cries of other tributes reaching her slowly as though she was underwater — everything moving in slow motion.

And then reality set it.

Not a moment later the manic red headed boy from District One had begun marching towards her, his eyes alight at the sight of bloodshed and terror. Chaos was his calling and his bloodlust was ready to be sated.

It has been him.

Before the boy could reach her Mallory's district partner Titan had thrown himself at the boy with an enraged scream that cracked Elpis' already shattered heart in two, the hulking boy easily overpowering the ginger maniac as he punched him over and over.

Elpis was forced to pry the backpack and small knife from Mallory's stiff fingers as she repressed the urge to vomit. Running from the Cornucopia, Elpis sprinted straight into one of the entrances of the maze, her heart pounding as the entrance she came through slowly sealed itself up behind her.

It was disorientating, running through the seemingly endlessly tall hedges — each path was different, some paths wider than her room at the Capitol whilst others were so cramped that she could feel the branches and leaves tickling her sweaty skin as she squeezed through. Stopping for a moment, Elpis spun around in a small circle, a realisation forming in her mind as some of the pathways closed up and formed a new right before her eyes.

The maze was alive.

It would be almost impossible for the tributes to find their way back to the Cornucopia, and for all she knew the changing pathways were leading the tributes to each other. With that thought in mind Elpis slowed her pace to a slow walk as she listened out for the sound of other tributes footsteps and panting. Elpis knew she would need to find a way to get on top of the edges so she could scope out the area, the other tributes positions and hopefully a water source.

After hours of trekking Elpis decided it was time to settle for the night, the maze offered no shelter or spots to hide in so she could only hope that she was far enough away from the other tributes by then. The area of the maze she settled in resembled a long and wide hallway, Elpis making her home within the tall grass at the end farthest from the openings. Blowing out a long sigh she unzipped her backpack knowing she needed to go through it before night fell. Luckily the bag was a dark green so it would not stand out in any way, the first thing she saw when she flipped open the flap was violet.

Mallory's token.

Pulling out the delicate fabric that the girl had shown her nights before, Elpis clutched it to her chest with a deep frown on her face — she had no idea how the girl had time to cram it into the bag during the bloodbath but she remembered how important the token had been to Mal.

Elpis sucked in a long calming breath as she tried to suppress the unwanted emotions that were bubbling to the surface, she needed to focus. Tucking the handkerchief into her pocket she continued looking through the bag — the bag Mallory Ren had died for — her grandfather's words rang true through her mind. Food, water, heat, and anything that could fight off infections and injuries were essential. Pulling the items out she found; a sleeping bag that reflected body heat, a pack of crackers, a bottle of iodine, a pack of dried beef strips, a box of wooden matches, a small coil of wire, a rope and harness, and a half-gallon plastic bottle that was completely empty.

Elpis' already dry, chapped lips ached for water as she glared angrily at the floor. There had been full bottles of water in the Cornucopia, and so far she had seen no other water resource. It was clearly not an arena that would be favouring District Four and she could only hope to find a river or lake — otherwise she could only pray for the rain.

She made a small snare from the wire on the other end of the area she was in, before finding a large branch from a nearby area that she started to sharpen the tip of with the small bloodstained knife she had pried from the allies hand. A makeshift spear would have to do for that moment, though she would have been more comfortable with a trident or a bow. Elpis allowed herself to eat a single cracker that didn't sate her hunger at all after spending a week eating the finest food the Capitol had to offer, but she needed to be sure there would be animals to hunt before breaking into her supplies.

As twilight descended Elpis settled into her sleeping bag —thankful that it was dark green in colour and easily blended into the tall grass she hid herself in. Elpis could only pray that she was far enough from her fellow tributes that would no doubt be hunting through the night, many who had fought in the Cornucopia probably armed with torches, food, water and weapons that they would drive into her skull without remorse or hesitation.

The temperature had begun to drop substantially and Elpis couldn't have been more thankful for the sleeping bag that would preserve her body heat, she may have actually been able to get some sleep in her warm cocoon if it wasn't for the thirst that settled into her bones and the constant fear of someone sneaking up on her.

Elpis had been staring up at the black starry sky that looked so similar to the one she had been staring up at the night before under completely different circumstances when the anthem that preceded the death recap blared through the air. Her view of the stars was obscured by the seal of the Capitol, which appeared to be floating in the sky. The anthem faded out as the sky blackened for a moment —back home people would be watching the full coverage of each and every killing — while in the arena all they were shown was the same photographs that had been shown when their training scores had been televised. Although instead of scores, the district numbers of the fallen were under the headshots.

Unsurprisingly the Career tributes from one and two had survived, the first face to appear being the girl from two. Her own District partner's face didn't appear and she could only assume Ares was with the other Career tributes. The boy from six, his female counterpart surviving. Then it was District Seven, seeing Mallory's face in the sky solidified her untimely death and Elpis struggled to keep her eyes from watering, Titus her tribute partner which meant both he and the boy from one had survived their violent altercation, not something she had anticipated. The boy from eight. Both tributes from ten. The girl from eleven, and finally the boy from twelve's face appeared.

Eight tributes down, fifteen to go.

It was a relatively small amount for the bloodbath which meant the Gamemakers would have some tricks up their sleeves to really entertain the Capitol. It was Seneca Crane's first year as Head Gamemaker meaning he had to make it memorable and bloody, unless he wanted to end up just like them.

As Elpis stared up at the once again starry sky, she couldn't shake the image of Mal from her mind. She didn't know why she had been so surprised by the girl's untimely death. Elpis' entire philosophy revolved around the fact that winning the games was based on luck. She herself had said that even the strongest tributes could fall — and yet the sight of Mal choking on her own blood had sent her into a panicked frenzy.

The girl's confident demeanor, determination and overall strength had seemingly convinced everyone — even Elpis — that she would be the victor. To see her bested so easily confirmed what Elpis had already known, this game of survival was based on luck.

Her eyes clenched shut for a long moment as she clutched the lone pearl on her necklace — her district token — as her mind flashed back. When Elpis stepped onto the train on that god awful reaping day only one thought had been running through the mind.

( DON'T GET ATTACHED )

Not to anyone or anything, nothing was permanent in life, and nothing was permanent in the Games. Yet as the ground crumbled beneath her feet she found herself clinging onto Mallory Ren for dear life — a stupid, reckless decision that she couldn't yet bring herself to regret. In the short week she had known her, Mallory had shown her more kindness and compassion than anyone else. And even in the darkness of the arena her words rang loud and clear through Elpis' mind like a lifeline.

"You always have yourself to fight for, don't forget that."

AUTHORS NOTE!
I do miss Mal already :(( but I am excited for you guys to get to know Elpis since her and Mal are very different characters.

So the maze inspiration is a mix of the maze from the third task in Harry Potter and a little bit of the Labyrinth from well Labyrinth. I'm super excited to write this arena and all it's little twists and tricks!

It was also partially inspired by the maze in the Alice in wonderland theme park in my town. I used to always get lost in that maze when I went there as a child and it freaked me the hell out, so I figured something like that would be a good arena.

Anyways remember to vote, comment and or share please lovelies if you enjoyed <333

Unedited
-summer