The 40th Hunger Games

Let the Games begin (Part 8)

Once I'm woken up by a not-so-happy Adiar, I realize that this is probably the last time I ever see him. I try to cheer him up and give him a hug. He's still sad though, along with the other mentors. Im escorted in a room with Venture.

"Listen carefully Thorburn, since we have so little time to talk", she says worryingly and in a hurry. "If your in trouble, I'll try to give you something from the sponsors, but don't give your hopes up that I can do it, as they may not let me" She says. Im so worried that I can't even talk, so I just try to listen. Remember, if the arena is a frozen wasteland, try finding clean water in snow, even if it has junk in it. Its better than nothing. If your in a desert, hide in the sand. Its your only hope of hiding from those careers. A voice from the loudspeaker announces for the tributes to go in this glass tube, in which it pushes me up in the arena. Thats when I realize that its not a forest, desert, frozen tundra, plains, or anything like that. Its a swamp. I see the worried faces of the other tributes, with the careers looking menacing, towering over the other tributes. Lucky for me, as no career is not to me, just the boy from 6 and the girl from 10. Theres a timer that pops up in the silver cornucopia, counting down to 60. I remember these times, watching the tributes at home looking so terrified. I remember one year that there was a female tribute crying very loudly while the countdown was about to end. She didn't make it so far, as she was killed by a career I think, but I can't be too sure. That was a very long time ago, but I remember it. I was 5, with school obviously being canceled so everyone could see the Games commence. I snap out of the memory to find that theres now 30 seconds left, I see the careers nodding their heads and pointing at other people, with one of them being me. There planning something, thats for sure, but I don't know what, and I really wish I knew, for that secret could be their tactics on killing me. I try to regulate on my fast breathing, as this is the time I need to focus and get my supplies and get the heck out of there.

 The gong rings. Chaos ensues. It happened so fast, like it was just a blur. I rush through the thick swamp water, with the careers already killing people. I counted 2 bodies being slaughtered before I was at the cornucopia. I grab a spear and a knife, which I stuff down my pocket. I try to sneak in another knife just in case, when a body hits, sending me flying on the ground. The body is so mutilated that I can only tell that its a girl, I take a closer look at it for a split second that I realize that its Jessica's. I see the career who did it, which was the boy from 4, Brook. Im so mad that I throw my spear at his chest, hitting him in the abdomen. My throw was so hard that my arm begins to hurt, which is not the right time for my arm to start aching. 

I hear careers voices calling my name, with them yelling, "KILL HER!!!", though I can't place who said it, as theyre all talking at the same time, with them energized on adrenaline. The boy Jackson comes to me in the swamp, but is dragged in by something in the water, something I can't place. I don't dare to see what happens to him, while the careers try to help him, but that only attracts more of those monsters. Theyre definitely mutts. The careers fight them off, while I run away. I still hear fighting in the distance around the cornucopia, signaling that the bloodbath hasn't ended yet. Not suprise, as its only been like 3 mins. However, I saw 2 careers die at that time, along with poor Jessica, and maybe like 6 others, meaning theres 11 dead if I counted right. I see some tributes running in the distance, with supplies, and thats when it hits me. I didn't get a bag. Thankfully, its only the first day, so sending supplies to your tributes at this time costs the least when it comes to all of the other days, as it gets more expensive to send things. I bag of crackers on day 1 is as expensive as sending 1 cracker on the last day. I eventually climb up a tree and see that the nearest tribute is so far away that they are about the size of my fingernail. Its a girl for sure, but she docent notice me, but the careers do. 12 cannon fires can be heard, signifying that the bloodbath is over and 12 people died in it. Another just got killed by the careers. They don't notice me, as even though they are very far, they're careers, meaning that their senses are very keen. They then walk off to the opposite direction of me, scavenging for other tributes I assume. 

Another cannon fires. A hovercraft that came out of camouflage picks up the dead female tribute, but I don't know who he is. I don't dare come out of my spot until I know that theres no tributes around me. I also don't want to move because since the careers are in a pack, they can hunt faster, obviously meaning that they could be hear any second. Hours pass with nothing to do, until I hear the anthem play and see the tributes's death portrait in the sky. I see the pair from 3, Brook, the District 12 female, Jackson, the pair from 6, the District 8 boy, the District 9 Boy, the District 11 female and the District 10 boy. I also see the girl from 10 is there, meaning that the girl I just saw die was the female form 10. Its getting dark now, and I'm so surprised I haven't died yet. What surprises me most, is how I killed Brook. I bet ill get sponsors for that, since a, "nerd" just killed a career. I told Julius I knew how to fight. I feel so proud of myself.