The Quater Quell: 50th Hunger Games

Chapter 14

         I somehow manage to sleep throughout the night without any night terrors. I have butterflies that I seem I cannot get rid of. I take a long shower because, honestly, this will probably be the last shower that I will ever take. I expect myself to cry. I actually try to make myself cry to get it over with but the tears do not come. I dry off on the drying pad and throw on a robe. Ali is knocking at my door giving me the clothes that we will all wear into the arena.

         We are given a black shirt and a dark green pair of cargo pants with combat boots. Based on the clothes provided I can tell that we will at least not be expecting a frozen tundra. Ali slips me a small bag and gives me a signal to "shh." I peak in the bags and see a few tube like wrappers that read "Tampon." What the heck is a tampon? I throw them away when she isn't looking. The capitol and their weird inventions. I shake my head.

        I look around one last time at my bedroom and make my way downstairs. Larten, Dean and Maizey were wearing the same outfit as me. Waylon and Cicero escorts us down a long tunnel and to a hovercraft. "Remember. Run. Don't run to the cornucopia. It's a blood bath. Find water and run." Waylon bids us a farewell and we are forced to enter the hovercraft that will take us to the arena. A woman in white injects a tracking device into all of our right forearms. A few of the younger kids cry out in pain. "Give me your arm." She demands in a robotic voice. I hand her my arm and wince at the pain. Maizey cry's when they inject her and a few of the other tributes laugh at her. "Shut up!" yells Dean. They surprisingly all do but glare at Dean. Great.

          After about an hour ride in the hovercraft we drop down and slide down a metal tube that leads underground. I am told to enter room 23 and wait for further instruction. I am alone with a glass launch pad before me. "30 seconds." Says a static voice over the intercom. I send silent prayers to watch over me and to help me calm down. The butterflies in my stomach are trying to escape and are cramping my stomach up. "10 seconds." The voice comes on again.

            I walk over to the glass launch pad and elevator hoists me through the tube. A metal trap door opens above my head and blinding light pours through, blocking my vision.

          When my vision returns and my eyes adjust I scope out my surroundings. The arena is beautiful. We are in the middle of a meadow surrounded by bright colorful flowers. To my left are snow covered mountains. To my right is a crystal clear lake. Behind me and in front of me lay a dark dense forest with thick foliage.

       I look at the cornucopia. I have never seen one so full before but then again, we have never had a Game with this many tributes. I spot a bundle of maces, clubs and axes. Swords, spears, bows and tridents. Everything that you could ever imagine. I find Dean about eight tributes to my right. I cannot see Maziey or Larten so I guess they are on the other side of the cornucopia. Haymitch is only a few tributes to my right. Between us stands Apollo. I watch the countdown that is projected on the face of te cornucopia.

"27"

"26"

"25"

"24"

      I know Waylon told me to run in the opposite direction and find water but the cornucopia is to tempting. A few small bags lie just a few feet away from my pedestal.

"10"

"9"

"8"

"7"

        "No!" shrieks a small voice. 

     BOOM!!!! Debris falls around me and a light mist sprays my face. It was blood. The girl from District 11 who tried to commit suicide on the rood a few days ago has jumped off her pedestal. Her final act of escape. She there is blood and flesh laying all around us and covering the cornucopias gifts. I look up at the cornucopia right when the countdown strikes 0. Everyone seems to being shock so I am the first to notice. I leap off of my pedestal and grab a bag in front of me. By the time I reached the bag I can see that the other tributes are right behind me. I grab a small machete and dash turn around to head to the forests, nearly running into another tribute. I hear screams and the sound of metal slicing flesh. I hear a whizz coming from behind me. It's too fast so I don't have any time to move or dodge whatever object that is hurtling towards my body. Luckily, it misses me by mere inches. I don't look back so I'm not sure who through it. I make it out of the clearing and into the confines of the forest around me. I don't stop running until I can't run anymore.

       I fall to my knees and struggle to catch my breath. My lungs are on fire. I take a moment to inspect whatever gear I was given inside of my pack.

        10 strips of salted beef jerky, a small blue tarp, one magnifying glass, some dried fruit and a bottle of water that was half full. I smile and think that I did alright. I made it out of the initial blood bath after all with a few tools along with that. BOOM! BOOM! The telltale sound of a cannon fire echoes in the distance, marking the death of a fallen tribute. I count silently to myself. One, two,...ten...eighteen, nineteen .Nineteen tributes dead the first day.

        I find a small cave that is not noticeable from the outside, unless you are really looking for it, and make camp. I lay there staring up at the sky as the sun falls down. Finally, night falls and the faces of my fallen tributes are projected while our nation's anthem plays. The girl named Glamour from 1 and the young boy form 2. Both girls from district 3 and one of the boys too. A boy from 4. Wow. Three careers already. The brother and sister pair from district 6, who must have been twins. The oldest boy from 7 along with the girl Demetria challenged that day with the axes. All four were dead form district 8. The red headed girl from district 9 was dead too.

        Maizey's face showed next. "No!" I cry out but quickly put my hand over my mouth. Poor Maizey was gone already. I fight back tears as the faces continue to flash by. District 11 flashes by. The cowardly girl from District 11's face pops up followed by the young boy from 11 as well. The olive skinned girl from 12, Fauna, is the last face to flash by.

      At least I know Dean and Haymitch are still alive and out there somewhere .Tomorrow you will find one of them and hope for an alliance. I let the thought replay in my head all night until sleep takes me.