The 1st Quarter Quell

Chapter 14 - The Arena

The sixty seconds we spend waiting on the podiums seems to take forever, and I hold myself from stepping off, knowing I'll be blown to a thousand tiny pieces by the mines underneath. I take in the Arena; the heat is pounding onto my skin, but my suit manages to keep me cool, we're in a desert, and the sand dunes tower up extremely high over us, what lies after that I can't see.

Ahead of me is a large pool of water, and judging by the colours, I can tell it gets pretty deep, and in the middle of that is the Cornucopia, the golden horn with it's tail spiraling up several metres. Inside that, is a a myriad of items, tempting every Tribute to enter and dare to fight for supplies. but around the Cornucopia are other supplies, and some are even afloat in the water. I thank my ability of being able swim and how that puts me ahead of other Tributes. At least not District 4, Fishing Industry.

The better supplies lie in the heart of the Cornucopia - I see a blanket close by, but further in, there's a huge backpack with supplies to least at least a week. Do I go in and fight for supplies? Do I risk an early death or injury?

I decide I'm going to sprint to the Cornucopia, and swim with all the speed possible, then I will get what I can, and get out of there. The podiums are on a fairly flat stretch of sand, so running should be okay. I can just hear Guinevere's voice inside my head, and I'm adamant on doing what I can and getting out of there. I see the weapons, just smiling at me in the desert sunlight, and I know I'm faster than the others, so I can do this.

I spot Mason, and he catches my eye immediately. We share a meaningful look, before he simply nods at me. The gong chimes.

I lunge forwards and surge onward, like a bat out of hell - that's what they used to say. I sprint up towards the water, and I'm the first to reach it. The others soon follow in suit, but I've already dived in, and I quickly swim my way forwards. The water is cold, and it's freshwater too, so I know I can get water from here, I just hope there's another supply somewhere else. It's not long before I reach the rocky shores of the Cornucopia, and I'm up and over before people can even get the chance to swim half way. 

I look around at the myriad of supplies, knowing my time is limited before I could find myself in a fight with another desperate Tribute. I see a dark backpack, and I make no hesitation to grab for it and hurl it over my shoulders. I make grab for a set of matches and load them into the back pack. Then I see it. The knives, just teasing me. They're mine. I grab for the large sheathe and quickly strap it around my thigh and shoulders before I'm tackled to the floor. 

A boy is wrestling me for the backpack and knives, and he's too heavy for me to wriggle out of, so I try my best to fight back. He pins my hands up above my head, and he starts hitting at me, and I cry out in pain. I manage to jerk my balled fists at his head and out of his grasp, making him fall backwards slightly in pain. I hear other Tributes fast approaching, and I try and grab and anything I can before trying to get out. But someone grabs onto my head and slams me onto the ground. I recognize the boy, and see it's the boy from 10 again, and his eyes are murderous. 

I'm terrified, but fight back as best as I can, but to no avail do I find release. I wait for him to finish me off before I feel hot liquid splatter over my face. I instinctively seal my eyes shut. I don't need to open them to see what it was, I know from the sound of the cannon.

I hear a gut-wrenching sound that makes me feel sick, and I open my eyes to Mason standing above me, his eyes dark and devious as he removes the knife from the boy's neck, the life draining from his eyes as he flops like a fish. The first cannon has gone off. The fear-factor of the adrenaline has kicked in.

"Go!" Mason shouts at me as I stand up, the adrenaline shooting through my body as he tosses me a last pack of knives, "I said go! You've got help out there, just get out!" Mason's tone is panicked, but that doesn't stop me sprinting out and diving back into the water.