Alyssa of Nine (Reimagining the Hunger Games)

Chapter Sixteen: Oasis and Sponsor Parachutes

Early the next morning just before the sunrise I wake up to find that there are three sponsor parachutes with three separate containers labeled with our district numbers waiting for each of us nearby the oasis. The one with a '4' is for either Jayden or Marina, the one with a '7' is Matthew's, and the one with a '9' is mine.

I quickly open my container to find at least three things inside. One is a canister of warm scrambled eggs, just enough to share between all four of us, the second thing is a small golden dagger, and the third is a medicine for cuts and burns in case we should have any need of it, which had to have cost my sponsors dearly. There is also a note inside from Noah.

Alyssa, keep holding on in there and stay away from the Careers. Depend on your allies. Jayden, Marina, and Matthew all know what they're doing since they have made it this far. But remember that if you are going to survive the Games then you will also have to depend on yourself as well.

Now that fifteen tributes are dead and nine of you are still alive, the Games are going to get a lot tougher, and even more perilous the nearer it gets to the final battle which is traditionally between the last two tributes standing, but you may need to face more. Emerald and Adonis are the Careers you need to be especially careful of. They are on the warpath and they will stop at nothing to kill you and your allies. It's what they were trained to do.

Above all, be brave, be smart, and stay alive. You can win this.

-Noah

Just as I finish reading this, I hear the National Anthem blaring and I look up to see the fallen from yesterday appear in the arena sky.

Roland Terwilliger-District One
Jeremy Forbes-District Nine
Bianca Hertford-District Ten
Andrew Stanton-District Ten
Penny Henson-District Eleven

And then it goes back to being quiet. Marina, Jayden, and Matthew are all awake now, and Jayden asks me, "How long have you been up for?" And I say, "Probably ten minutes. Ever since I heard these parcels from our sponsors landing next to me. There's also one for you or Marina, and there's something for Matthew." Almost at once, Matthew grabs his container which is the largest, and sits down to open it and see what's inside. First Matthew finds a small bottle of an antidote to be used in the case of certain kinds of poisoning. He rummages deeper into the container and finds some more food.

"Hey guys, we've got some apples. Not like the ones in the Capitol, they are the wild growing ones like we get back home in Seven. They're still in pretty good shape. They taste good, too." Matthew takes a small knife and begins to cut one of the apples into wedges, and then splits the wedges between us.

"Thanks." I say when Matthew hands me my share of the apple. "Are you going to share those scrambled eggs with us?" Matthew asks me. So I pick up the canister and take a quick mouth full with the fork. "I'm afraid this is the only fork we have, so we'll just have to keep passing the can of eggs around." This is when Jayden says, "Look what else we've got. A whole loaf of bread from Four." Matthew picks up the loaf in his hands and examines it. "Dude, is there like actual seaweed in this thing?"

And Jayden says, "Yep. It's really not that bad. Just a little chewier than Capitol bread and saltier because of the dulse they add to it. Either way, it's better than what we've had to choke down for the past few days. Can I steal that knife for a few minutes?"

After Jayden cuts us each a slice of the seaweed bread, we all sit down to eat our breakfast of tributes. We also begin to plan out other strategies for survival once I have read the note that Noah sent me out loud at Jayden's insistence. We decide by around noon to fill up our canteens with more water, pack up our things and move out. As we begin trekking through the sand under a broiling sun, we hear the Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane make an announcement.

"Attention tributes, attention. There is to be a feast inside the Sphinx, containing some things that you each desperately need, some things that would neither help nor harm you, and many deceiving things that appear to be harmless but may instead be... dangerous. Can you figure it out? Think you're up to the challenge? You must venture to the Sphinx to find out. That is all for today. May the odds be ever in your favor."