The 275th Hunger Games

~The Games-The Bloodbath~

Ashton Tanala - District Eight

"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour," the guy says. I look all around me.

The whole arena is kind of like an abandoned village. I see crumbling houses, dirt and rock everywhere, old stores, and more. The Cornucopia is in the middle it's on dry, dirty, rocky ground. There's stuff spilling out and around it. In a circle around the Cornucopia is old and dirty grass. The grass circle goes around the tribute plates and stops there.
Where the grass stops there is dirty cement. To the north, there is a big grassy hill. There's another hill opposite it. Beside the hill, the one north of me, there is a small forest of old trees. Some have fallen down.

To the right of me, there is a river with surprisingly clean water running through it. Further to the right, there are more trees. The trees beside the hill and those trees form one big forest although in the middle there is big dirt path.

To the left of me are some crumbling houses and old stores. Most are covered in dirt and rock. There are also some that have collapsed and are broken pieces on the ground. There is also another river to the left.

The guy begins counting down from ten. I look around at the other tributes. Then I look at the arena once again. I recognize this arena! It takes a few seconds to realize it's the arena from the 168th Games!! I was watching old Games and this one stuck in my mind because it was so vibrant and beautiful. They must've decided to use it again, that's why it's so old and abandoned!

With five seconds left, I get in a position to run.

"Three, two, one! Let the 275th Hunger Games begin!" The guys says. A gong goes off, signalling the Games have started. I sprint to the Cornucopia. I quickly grab what's in front of me, two backpacks. I swing them around my back. About four or so people are heading to the horn as well so I take off.

During training, I formed an alliance with four other people, Jordan, Sawyer, Finn, and Roger. I need to find at least one of them. I spot Jordan and Finn together running towards the river to the right. I speed up and soon fall into pace beside them. We run past the river and head towards the trees further up. We soon arrive and sit down, out of breath. We hide behind trees so we're well hidden.

"Well it's good that we found each other," Jordan says. "Yeah. And that we've alive," I add. I heard at least four cannons go off during the bloodbath, it easily could've been any of us.

"So what did you guys get?" Wonders Finn. "I didn't have much time, I grabbed whatever I saw," I tell them. I put the two bags in the middle. "Same I grabbed whatever I saw," Jordan says. He puts a big bag in the middle. "I got some weapons," Finn says. He shows us the weapons in his hands, a trident, some knives, and a bow and arrow.

"I can use a trident," Finn tells us. "Great I can use knives!" Says Jordan.

This us what I hate. I can't really use any weapons, my strength is camouflage. Whatever. I shrug it off.

"Do you guys recognize this arena or is it just me?" Asks Finn. "Yeah I did too. It's from the 168th Games," I tell him. "Ohhh yeah," Finn says. "This arena is really old though," Jordan comments. "Yeah it is," I agree just as a bunch of dirt falls on us from the trees above. We laugh and then shake the dirt off. "It's good we're near the river. I mean we'll still have to purify the water but at least we can still can get," Jordan says. Finn and I nod. "Let's sort out the supplies and see what we have," I suggest.

I dump out the contents of the two backpacks I got. In the first there is three water purifiers, two empty water bottles, a bag of carrots, a bag of peppers, a pack of matches, and two throwing knives, which I add to the weapons pile. The second backpack has more of the same. Some more food, a bottle of water, a sleeping bag, a hat and gloves, and a loaf of bread. Jordan's bag has a lot. There is a first aid kit, a jacket, a sleeping bag, two hats, more matches, a net, and some bandages.

"We have a good stash," Finn says as we put food and water in one bag, weapons in another, and warm clothes and other stuff in the last bag. We eat a few carrots and dried fruit from our bags.

Later that afternoon, Jordan heads down to the river to get us some water. We already have a full bottle of clean water and two empty bottles, so I give the empty ones to Jordan to fill. He brings a knife with him just in case. Finn and I watch to make sure no one comes. Jordan quickly fills the bottles and comes back. We use the purifiers to purify them. We each have a water bottle now. We eat some more carrots and fruit for dinner along with a few peppers.

When we're about to head off to sleep, the anthem lights up the sky. We all sit up to watch. The first person to be shown in the sky is Russell McCoy, then Roger Bittans. I look over at Finn. He looks a little sad.

Roger was supposed to be in our alliance. He's the other guy from District Nine. I feel bad for Finn.

Both people from District Eleven died, Basil Finely and Rover Tullian. But after that the anthem doesn't end. The last person to be shown is Sawyer Prachet, Jordan's fellow tribute and the person who was supposed to be in our alliance. Jordan goes quiet after that, so does Finn. I don't really know what to do to help them, but in the morning they seem better which is good.

Deaths of Day One

•Russell McCoy - District Seven
•Roger Bittans - District Nine
•Basil Finely - District Eleven
•Rover Tullian - District Eleven
•Sawyer Prachet - District Twelve