BUZZCUT SEASON (Clove)

Chapter One

THE GONG SOUNDED. The fear that had been eating away at my insides rose, bubbling up as an animalistic terror took over my brain.

I leapt straight off of my pedestal, and landed running, as chaos erupted around me. What had Earth said to do? The wise words of my mentor evaporated as I panicked. 

It didn't matter now anyway, I had reached the first couple of packs, scattered across the coarse grass. My fingers scrabbled at the one closest to me, and I clutched it to my chest.

There was a sudden swish above my head, and I felt my hair shift. I jolted into action, hopping nimbly backwards as the boy from District One grimaced. He slashed at me again, a kukri clenched in his fist.

The blade was stained crimson, and I could vaguely make out the bloodied corpse of the boy from Eight behind my attacker. I felt sick.

A sharp burst of pain brought me out of my thoughts, and I felt red spray over me. One lunged again, and I barely dodged him, becoming aware of the stab wound on my upper arm.

I tightened my grip on the now blood stained pack, turned on my heel, and sprinted for the trees.

One let out a yell of annoyance, and I heard his heavy foot falls on the ground as he gave chase.

My heart pounded in my ears, and I ran harder, desperate to lose One. I would die if I couldn't outrun him.

Leaves swirled around my feet as I entered the woodland. I heard One back off behind me, turning back to see how many other tributes he could take down.

I panted, slowing down slightly but kept moving, away from the Cornucopia. Slowly, the sounds of screams faded until I couldn't hear them any longer. I relaxed slightly, but not fully. I could run into another fleeing tribute at any time.

The pain from my cut dulled. My breathing calmed, but I jumped at the first of eleven booming canons. Eleven dead already? That was around half of the tributes! A pang of fear struck through me. The careers this year were brutal.

                                                                              ~

The sky darkened rapidly, and I was only when, after hours of walking, I decided to stop and set up camp for the night, that I was reminded of my pack, slung over my shoulder, still stained with my blood. 

I quickly took it off and crouched down, pulling it open and tipping it out to see what was inside.

A box of matches. A packet of dried fruit. Strips of an unidentifiable meat. A torch. A dagger! And a flask. My eyes caught on the container, and I hurriedly picked it up and unscrewed the lid ... Only to find it as empty as Noah's head. That briefly distracted me from the disappointment of the empty flask.

Noah. Noah. Noah! What if he's dead? My friend. We were going to be allies ... I could only hope he wouldn't show up this evening in the sky.

I slipped everything back into the pack, except for the dagger and the torch, which I put into my pockets.

I then got to my feet and muttered to myself, staring around the small circle of brambles I was standing in.

 "So how do I build a shelter?"

So that was my first chapter! Anyone actually reading, please remember to vote if you can, it helps me out! Hope you are enjoying this fan fiction!

I feel like that was too many exclamation marks.