Peaceful Forever [Book 1]

Chapter 8

-Amily's POV-

You did not get a good sleep last night. Unfortunately, you had to be up at 8 for breakfast as the games were scheduled to start at noon.

Breakfast was somber and you forced yourself to eat as much as you could. Who knows if and when you will eat your next meal. Saying goodbye to Mags and Finnick, you make your way up to the roof of the tribute center to board the hovercraft that will take you to the arena.

The ride to the arena is surprisingly long and your arm hurts from getting your tracker. You knew that the capital often utilized areas on the outskirts of the districts to build their arenas around so you were secretly hoping you were going back to the ocean where you would have a distinct advantage. Your worst nightmare would be snow or tall mountains.

Taking a nap, you wake 2 hours later to the hovercraft landing. You are taken directly from the hovercraft to underneath the arena where Demitry will prep you.

After a shower, you are given your clothes for the arena. The outfit consists of a tan or maybe olive green tee shirt and brown cargo pants that zip into shorts. You a have a jacket the same color as the shirt and some sturdy hiking boots. Overall it looks like maybe you're dressed for a desert, which you are less than thrilled about.

"I'm thinking it's possibly marshlands considering the color of your clothes and the fact that your boots are waterproof," observed Demitry. "I would advise against turning your pants into shorts or removing your jacket unless absolutely necessary. They'll provide good coverage from the elements."

After you get dressed, Demitry braids your hair back so it's out of your face and clasps your token around your neck.
"Tributes head to the tubes," a voice announces.

You start to hyperventilate until you remember the breathing techniques Mags taught you. Breathing in slowly, the glass tube closes you in and you begin to rise into the arena. You grip on to Annie's necklace for dear life.

The arena looks like a sunny river marsh with a few pockets of trees dotted around. The grass is tall, but there doesn't seem to be much near the cornucopia in terms of shelter. Glancing behind you, it looks like there are some denser woods a mile or two from the pedestals. Your best bet would be to head there.

Realizing the countdown has already started, you look around for your allies. You find both Darren and Hadwin but they were at least 8 tributes away from you. You lock eyes with Darren and nod to the woods behind you. He nods his head in agreement and then the horn sounds.

You spot a small backpack about 10 feet from your pedestal and make a dash for it. You failed to notice, however, that Teri from District 9 was also going for the same backpack. You ran into him with a thud and quickly started to back up before he pushed you back down. The struggle continued for a minute until Teri suddenly fell forward, an arrow lodged in his back.

Staying low in the grass for a few seconds, you crawled over Teri's body and grabbed the backpack out from underneath it. You glanced around to check for others before swinging the backpack over your shoulder and running towards the woods.

The woods were a lot further than you had initially calculated. It took a solid hour of running and you were exhausted by the time you were deep enough in that you felt safe to stop and check your backpack. The woods were wetter than the grassy marsh and were unbearably humid. You hope that you will find Darren and Hadwin soon but for now you were gonna check your pack and look for drinkable water.

Your pack contained an empty canteen, a pack of crackers, some rope, and some iodine tablets. The standing water of the marsh and woods would need more than iodine to be drinkable so you set off in search of running water that looked a bit cleaner.

Thirty minutes into your trek, the bloodbath cannons started to ring out. You counted 7 total.
Another 45 minutes later, you found a small creek that seemed somewhat drinkable. You filled your canteen and popped in some iodine so the water could purify.

Finding some berries you identified as edible (you were 90% sure they were at least) you gathered some and set out again in search of shelter or your allies.

Two hours later, you find a suitable tree and use your rope to climb up to some high branches. You hate heights but it was safer up here than on the ground. You snacked on a few berries and didn't die (yay!) and drank a little of your water. Securing yourself to the tree, you dozed off for a nap.

You are woken by the sound of the anthem. The sun had set and it was now dark out. You knew it was important to track which tributes were left and so you paid extra attention to the faces in the sky.

Alger from 3
Addison from 5
Harvey from 6
Journey from 6
Teri from 9
Zelene from 9
Virginia from 12

Unfortunately all the careers and major threats are still out there but at least your allies are too. You decide to stay up for a little to watch your surroundings before you doze off again.

-
AN: Yay welcome to the games! Next chapter soon.