Die First

PART 4- ALLIES

8: DAY 2

Achilles took first watch last night, so I'm awake as the sun is rising, but there's something in the air ruining the beautiful morning. Smoke. I look around and see someone's lit a fire. Stupid, but understandable since I don't know how many people are awake right now. I consider waking up Achilles before I go, I don't want anything bad to happen to him, but I don't think anyone knows where we are, plus I don't think any tributes, bar Cecilia and Rill, are arrogant enough to target me or Achilles. They know where that would land them. So I quietly climb across the trees and slip down one, close enough to my target that they won't notice me coming. The person is near the swamp area, I'm assuming they've worked out hiding places to run too if necesarry, but I highly doubt they would outrun me. I approach from behind. It's the boy from 9 and the girl from 8, they must have formed an alliance after both their District partners were killed by Achilles and I. There was a display last night, showing how many tributes have been killed in the first day, 11 are gone, 5 lives taken by me, 2 by Achilles, and I'm assuming the other 4 were the District 2 and 4's. I work out my best strategy for eliminating 2 armed tributes at once. I know they won't exactly be skilled but both have large knives and they don't seem the type to just accept their deaths. They would try to fight. I could kill them from behind, but that's cowardly when it isn't necesarry. Instead I walk round their fire and face them. Both stand up, ready to fight or run. I hit the girl from 8 down to the ground, whilst killing the boy from 9 with my sword, I grab the girl by her shirt and lift her back to her feet. Everyone at least deserves a chance, I'd be weak if I killed someone lying on the ground. I suppose I did that with Willow, but that entire display was weak. Killing her from behind to spare her emotions, weak. Allowing her to even attempt to reason with me, weak. Nevertheless, I think it got me sponsors, which I don't really need, I'm sure I have enough, but this is a television show, at the end of the day I'm just a character in a television show. I refocus my mind and think back to the girl from 8, she's had a moment to prepare herself, she could've ran, but she didn't. She's brave I'll give her that, it's a shame she's not a career, she would've excelled in 1,2 or 4, I have a feeling she won't excell in this fight though. The girl charges at me with a bowie knife and had a good attempt at injuring me, but I dodged, stabbed her and left her to die. Luckily her canon went off quickly, I don't mind killing people in here, I have to, but making someone suffer isn't fair. I take what little supplies they have and head back to Achilles. He's awake, looking around frantically. "Achilles why are you down from the tree, I left you where I knew you'd be safe." He looks terrified, did someone try to hurt him?

"I woke up and saw you were gone, a moment later a canon went off, which was fine because I knew that would be you killing someone, but then a couple minutes later, another canon went off and I still couldn't see you. You are never leaving me again Athena, you can't leave me." He's visibly upset, but dead serious. I can't promise I won't work alone again, but atleast I'll wake him up when I do. Achilles wants us to stay together at all times, but after reminding him of our success yesterday we decide to continue our strategy of hunting alone whilst the other protects the supplies. We wait until the sun has fully risen before deciding who goes first. I volunteer to go since he did yesterday. Reluctantly, Achilles agrees and as I'm about to leave, he catches my arm and draws me back, kissing me. He smiles and I can't help but do the same, that was the first time he had ever kissed me, but as I walk away, I cry, wishing he didn't volunteer, wishing we could have some sort of happiness together.  I wipe away my tears, I can't look weak, not in the arena. Today I wan't to see the enchanted looking waterfall, we aren't hunting for food or water or anything like that right now, we have enough. So today is about killing tributes, and exploring the arena. I head north. When I reach the waterfall, I can barely move, it's surreal, the most stunning thing you could ever see, almost as beautiful as Achilles, though I can guarantee everything about this place is deadly, never trust anything or anyone here type of thing. As I'm admiring the butterflies I'm so scared to touch, and the koi fish in the fall, that are probably killer. I hear something, someone, as they come nearer I can tell it's two voices. They appear out of the forrest, it's Demetrius and Oceania. Demetrius looks relieved but Oceania is smart, she's preparing to fight for her life. I want to kill them, but I can't. I can't move, I can't do it. I actually care for Demetrius, slightly, but a little bit of care is enough for me to become protective of someone. "Are the two of you still in your alliance?" I'm being stern with them, I need to know everything about them and their situation before even considering letting them live. 

"No, we left while the other two were sleeping." Oceania says, she looks suspicious of me, but her trident is lowering.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know them. How can we trust them if we know nothing about them. I know ten times more about Demetrius than I do my District partner. Cecilia and Rill would try to kill us in a heartbeat if it came to it. What's the point in risking our lives like that?" I turn to Demetrius, he nods, verifying what Oceania said. 

"Come on then. We will head back to Achilles and our supplies, and then split in two, to hunt. Since me and Achilles are the strongest it will be one of you with one of us, ok?" Both of them approve, "Good. We will hunt for anything, fruit, water, especially tributes though seeing as Achilles and I have already been getting sent food from sponsors, so I doubt we will ever be scarce. But if I catch either of you in a lie, about your alliance, your intentions, anything at all, I'll kill you both on sight. You understand?" They nod but they aren't scared, as careers they know what I'm saying is perfectly reasonable, they aren't threats, just precautions. We walk back through the forrest, I'm sure if anyone saw us walking past they would be too scared to even move, we are a pretty terrifying group of people. Oceania, trident in hand, Demetrius, bow hanging from his fingers and arrows slung across his back, and me, axe strapped on my waist and spinning my sword around, I don't do it to show off my skill, it's just fun to do if I'm honest, but I do think it intimidates people. Although I don't believe in career packs, Achilles, Demetrius, Oceania and I are a fierce alliance. Plus it's different, we aren't really "allies" we are genuinely friends, I know for a fact I can trust them, and they can trust Achilles and I. We will be alright, as long as the arena doesn't change anyone. "Achilles!" I shout as we approach from behind. "I found our friends, I didn't have the heart to kill them, we can trust them though."

"Oceania!" He hugs her, I haven't spoken to Oceania Claren before today, but if Achilles trusts her so do I. Achilles sticks his hand out to Demetrius, "Hi, we haven't officially met, Achilles Sonhart" Demetrius shakes his hand, 

"Ah Athena's boyfriend right? Yeah she's told me all about you. Demetrius Smith." Demetrius laughs and I hit his arm, he sure knows how to make jokes, even when we are in a pretty depressing situation right now. Achilles looks at me trying to decipher wether Demetrius is just winding us up or not, I shake my head, dismissing the thought that I just go around swooning over Achilles. I mean I love him, but I don't need to tell everyone about it for them to see. The thought is laughable.  

"It's going to get dark soon, I'd say we set up camp near the waterfall, I'm farmiliar with it now, and I think it would be a good place to stay, nobody goes there, it's unsettling. Too perfect of a place for the arena, but I think I've worked it out." Everyone nods in agreement and I explain what I think I know about the waterfall and what my plan is as we head there. When we arrive, Demetrius and I climb up the highest tree that's close to the waterfall and use netting from our supplies we've collected to make a place for the four of us to sleep. We surround the nets with leaves to disguise our beds and I make some traps around our whole area, similar to the ones I made during my assessment, but less complex. Just enough for someone to make a noise and wake me up so I can kill them before they reach us. While we are doing this, Achilles and Oceania test my theories about the fall. Starting with the butterflies I think are probably poisonous to touch. I devised this thought as they don't fly anywhere near you, but when you approach them, they don't try and fly away? This is obviously an unnatural display of behaviours from a butterfly, so it's clear they are genetically modified. They are beautiful creatures, and if they don't fly near you, you would want to approach them to get a closer look, and if you approach them and they don't fly away, you'd be inclined to touch them. Therefore they must be poisonous, pretty evident if I'm honest. I instructed Achilles and Oceania to find some sort of animal to test this theory, if they couldn't find one, use one of the fish we had caught, they are dead, but we might still see effects of poision on them. The next theory is that the koi-looking fish are carnivorous. Koi fish are pretty, harmless and friendly with people, making them a perfect trap, if they put pirhanas in the water nobody would be idiotic enough to even go near them, koi fish however? Completely different story. To test this Achilles or Oceania would just have to throw a dead fish in and see what happens. When the other two come to the camp Demetrius and I have set up, I inform them of the trap and how to avoid it, then they confirm that I was correct about the fall, you can't trust anything there. I give Oceania a hand climbing up the tree to our sleeping area. Achilles and Demetrius take first watch. Oceania and I will take second, a few hours before sun rise.