The Simpson's Hunger Games

Chapter 21

Bart: 

Suddenly, two armed guards, dressed all in black come into the tent. They spot me instantly, and point thir guns at me. Bill tries to speak to them, but they wave him away. They address me: "Who are you?", one of them says gruffly. "Bart Simpson.", I say, willing my voice not to shake. Everyone starts arguing at once, the two figures in black stay standing, appearing to be stunned. "You never told me that this boy is Lisa Simpson's family!", screeched Maude, waving her arms about. "Brother", I corrected her, "I'm Lisa's brother." This only seems to create even more chaos, as Maude shouts angrily at Bill, saying she would've treated me with more courtesy if Bill had bothered to tell her who I was. Confused, I look at Sean. He shrugs, and holds out his hand, "Sorry...Bart", he says, and I shake his hand once, before dropping it. I notice the people in black are still pointing their guns at me. "If this is Bart Simpson...", says the person in black that had spoken before, "Then why isn't he with his family?". My cheeks flush red, and I say sheepishly, "They're out...Shopping. I came here as soon as I got a message.", I finish. The people in black seem surprised, but don't question my answer. Instead, they ask me where the rest of my family went, and I tell them they went to the Town Centre in Springfield. The two people nod, and walk out, briefly giving instructions to the other people in the tent to help me settle in. Settle in? 

Bill thanks the two figures respectfully, but they only concentrate on going to their new destination. I hope my family are safe. Bill says quietly to me, "Those people are Shadow Seekers. Make sure you do exactly as they tell you, Bart. They are the ones in charge here. Remember, follow the instructions of anyone in black clothing.", I nod, in reply. We step outside, and Bill tells me that the tent we were just in is called, 'The Conference Tent'. I am only allowed to go in there if I am invited. The other big tent next to the Conference Tent is the Food Tent. No prizes for guessing what this tent is for. Bill goes into the Food Tent,and I follow. He shows me that I have to wait in a queue for my food, and I have to eat all of what I get, or I won't get anything at all. It's a good thing I'm hungry then. I take the food that is given to me; I notice Bill sits at a table with some of the 'Shadow Seekers', so I sit on my own on a different table. Half-way through my meal of some cold slushy soup, I hear someone sitting down next to me. I look, and see Charlie, the boy who nearly spoke to me earlier grinning at me. I stare back at him. "You're new then?", asks Charlie, taking a sip of the soup, and trying not to grimace. Smirking at his obvious disgust of the food in front of him, I reply, "Yep.", and I force myself to take another mouthful of my own food. Charlie sticks out a dirty hand, and says, "Charlie Lapworth. District 7.", he says. I shake his hand, "Bart Simpson. District 5.", I grin, liking Charlie already. 

Charlie's eyes go wide. "Are you...related to Lisa Simpson?", he asks, his mouth wide open. I laugh, and answer, "Yep. I'm her older brother.". I wonder why everyone is freaking out by the fact I'm related to a tribute. I ask Charlie this, and he snorts, "Lisa's the main component in our plan, of course!". I frown. "What plan?", I ask, with a slight edge to my voice. Charlie laughs, and says scornfully, "You don't even know the plan?!". I glare at him; Charlie seems to be enjoying this.

Throughout the whole evening, I try and get Charlie to tell me 'The Plan', but he doesn't say a word. When I've finished eating, Charlie follows me outside, and starts to tease me even more. I realise that when he calls me 'Poo head', I've had enough. I scoop him up, and throw him over my shoulder. Charlie shrieks, and says, "I'm eight! You can't do that! I'm too big!", but I ignore him. Instead, I walk over to a huge muddy bog near to the Food Tent. Charlie shouts at me to put him down, but I ignore him. When we get to the bog, I grab hold of his ankles, and start holding him upside down. Charlie screams at me to put him down. I answer, "Very well, Lapworth.", I let go of his ankles, and the small boy falls head-first into the mud. I laugh loudly, and I hear someone laugh along with me. I look up, and see Sean leaning against a tent, laughing loudly. I feel someone grab at my leg, and I topple to the ground. I land in the mud, with Charlie next to me. "Enjoying the mud, Simpson?", he says wickedly. I grab a handful of mud, and throw it at him.

Delighted, Charlie runs out of the mud. I follow him. Charlie is about to tackle me to the ground, but our 'fight' is interrupted by someone bellowing, "BART!". I look to where the sound came from: Bill is standing outside the Food Tent, his arms folded. The deep frown lines in his face show he is not happy. It takes him a few minutes for him to calm down, and when he does, he says, "Bart. Charlie. What possessed you to jump into the mud, and start yowling at the top of your voices?! I expected more from you, Bart. Charlie, unfortunately, I expected no less. As it seems you two get along so well, you can both share a tent, as there is a shortage. Also, Bart, you can now look after Charlie from now on.", Bill walks away, leaving me with my mouth open, horrified. Charlie grins at me menacingly, and I glare at him. Sean comes over, and ruffles Charlie's hair laughing hysterically. "Good luck with this, Bart!", he points to Charlie, then runs off somewhere else. I narrow my eyes at the retreating figure, then turn to face my new room mate, who is currently playing in the mud. I turn around, and walk away. Charlie, suddenly realising that I'm no longer there, runs after me, shouting for me to wait for him. I sigh, and kick a pebble in my way. I wonder what Lisa's up to now. 

Lisa:

I dart along the tunnel, trying to get as far as possible from the dead monster lying in the tunnel. Will the other tributes have to face this, or will I have to be the one who has to kill all the monsters for the others? It would make sense, as the Capitol obviously want me dead, and tiring me down, and putting me in more danger gives another tribute that has to fight me more chances of killing me. If this is what all the Floors are like, and I have to keep fighting monsters like this, by the end, even Maude would be able to fight and kill me. I shiver. As I go down the tunnel, it gets colder, and more sinister. I pass dead corpses of various huge insects like the Thoriumi on my way, and once I swear I see several human corpses as well. Trying not to throw up, I continue steadily until I come to dead end. I hold up my lantern a little higher. However, there is nothing there except a solid wall, with no turnings either side of it. To put it lightly, I'm trapped between a wall and a dead monster a few miles up the tunnel. I tell myself not to panic, and think: "There must be a way out, there was no other way to go. Was there?". After all, at the Second Cornucopia, there were many more tunnels I could've chosen then the one I ran down. It never occurred to me that this tunnel might've been the wrong one to choose. This could be the end of the Games for me.

Not excepting my fate, I pound the wall with my fists until I draw blood. Even then though, I just look at my bleeding knuckles for a second, before desperately hitting the wall again. I have almost given up completely, before something catches my eye. I see a glint of light bounce off the wall. I look around for the light source, before realising that it's my lantern. Someone is stealing my lantern, and running down the tunnel with it. That is what is making light bounce off the wall. Stunned, I just about find the power in my legs to run after the person running off with my only light source, therefore my only chance of survival. I never lose sight of the figure, and I dodge the corpses, and other rotting things in my way, and just focus completely on the thief. Well, I never imagined I wasn't the only living thing in here. I never dreamed someone else had got in. A tribute? For some reason, I don't think the figure's clothing tells me that this is a tribute. This person is dressed in rags, with nothing on their feet. I can hear their bare feet slapping against the dirty, dusty tunnel, and listen to contrast compared to my thick black heavy boots, which echo along the tunnel purposefully.  

What will happen to me now?