Hetalia Hunger Games

Chapter Four

Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run. Gotta get supplies. 

There's the Cornucopia, a giant monument standing tall and shiny before us. A few people are hastily grabbing things, while others have run away with nothing. This is a particularly risky moment of the games because weapons are everywhere and there's a limited amount of supplies. Tributes often fight over them to the point of death. 

I'm about to pick up some food when I hear an ear-piercing shriek that abruptly cuts off. Did somebody just die? I dare to turn around. 

Tino is lying motionless on the ground and Ludwig is stealing the backpack Tino collected only mere moments earlier. There's a rock next to Tino's head that's dotted with blood. Did Ludwig...do that? I feel sick and decide fleeing would be a much safer option. A cannon booms, confirming Tino as the first death this year.

It's unfortunate that I didn't get anything. But that's the first time I've witnessed death. Ludwig didn't seem to give Tino any mercy. I think he only chose him because of their earlier quarrel. Still, it makes me feel light-headed. The image of the corpse is burned into my mind along with that final scream. I feel tears pricking at my eyes. I didn't know Tino that well, but he was a good guy. He didn't deserve that.

I'm not sure how long I run for. My legs are aching and I'm wheezing. Curse my lack of fitness! The arena this year is a forest. That's lucky. It'll be fairly easy to get supplies here compared to earlier arenas. Last year was a desert. The tributes that didn't die from dehydration or overheating were drowned by a huge wave that the creators eventually threw in. It was considered a disappointing year, as everyone died of natural causes and not murder. 

After an amount of time I can't quite determine, I stop to rest beside a tree. I wish I was able to get some supplies. There's a bush nearby with berries. I think back to my earlier training of poisons. Hmm...if I'm remembering right, these should be safe to eat. Before I can go get them, I hear two sudden cannon shots and laughter. It makes me lose my appetite. "Did you see his face?" a familiar voice exclaims. My heart drops.

It's Heracles.

I quickly climb the tree because he sounds close. "He was already being all sappy over Eduard, and then when he saw us he freaked!" He's with Roderich. I guess Eduard was that first cannon shot. No surprise there. But who was the person they killed? The thought that Heracles killed anybody upsets me.

"It's a good thing they were already near a river. Made drowning Toris a lot easier," Heracles comments nonchalantly. So that second shot was because they drowned Toris? How morbid. I'm glad I didn't see. Now they've entered my field of vision. They walk right underneath my tree, which I'm desperately clinging to. I don't have much experience with climbing trees. Neither of them have supplies with them, so they must have used just their bare hands. Heracles is chewing on meat that I think is from a rabbit or something. 

Roderich freezes and I flinch. "Wait. I think I hear something." I hold my breath and try my best not to move a muscle. He and Heracles look around. "I think it's coming from over there." Roderich points in the opposite direction of me. 

"Yeah. Might be some other tributes! Let's go catch 'em!" Heracles says. Roderich nods and the two of them run off. When they're completely out of view, I breathe a sigh of relief. I wait a few more minutes just to make sure nobody else is coming. I'm about to jump out of the tree when I hear talking. 

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy? He kills Tino without me or Kiku's consent, then he ditches us! And then Kiku ditched me too!" It's Feliciano. He's clearly ranting about his former allies. He sounds very angry.

"Can we please not mention Tino?" That's Berwald. He sounds depressed. Then again, he did spend more time with Tino than anybody else did, even Francis, who was from Tino's district. 

"I'm getting tired of walking!" And that is Mathias. "My legs hurt." 

"All I have is food. Nothing for legs," Berwald says. 

"I've got some medicine stuff. Kiku said it was alcohol and rag, whatever any of that means," Feliciano adds. They come into view. They look exhausted.

"Hey, you see that tree?" Mathias points to my tree. "Do you think there's anything useful in that tree? It's pretty tall. I'm gonna climb it!" Oh. No. 

Mathias' struggle to scoot himself up causes the branch I'm on to shake. I feel like I might fall out. I'm not too worried about this group; they probably wouldn't kill me. But I'd prefer to stay hidden. You can never be too careful, plus I'm still sort of unsure about that Berwald guy. "That looks dangerous!" Feliciano calls up to him. 

"I'm fine!" 

"Don't fall and hurt yourself further," Berwald says. He looks frustrated. 

"I won't!" I'm thankful Mathias is so slow. My branch is swaying. 

And then he grabs onto it. The chain reaction that one simple action causes goes so fast that I can hardly process it. Mathias shouts when he sees me, my branch breaks, and we both begin to fall. I manage to catch onto another branch, but Mathias isn't as lucky and he hits the ground. 

The branch I was formerly on falls onto a spot near the group. A spot they didn't walk on. And then there's an ear-piercing BOOM. My ears ring for a few seconds.

I climb higher as flames dance on the ground. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I set off an explosion! That's an explosion! Three hard-to-hear cannon shots, one after another. I officially killed them. 

It's all my fault.