The Very First Fandom Games

Chapter 5 - The Arena; First Half of the Bloodbath

Mitchel's POV

I had watched Christian flirt with Cher all day, but she didn't seem to notice. Don't know how though; he says these kind of things all of the time in front of her and not even subtly. She might just be ignoring him. I mean, we are most likely going to die in the arena, so what was the point for falling for someone when you, them or both of you won't even survive? Only a 4% chance of surviving. The odds weren't good. Even though I got a 10 in training, I was not going to survive this.

Christian and I were ushered into different rooms the next morning. I didn't want to let him go; I might not get to see him again. My room was empty but my stylist, a woman named Aeolia, and a tube going through the ceiling. I don't know why their are so many people in the Capitol; how could they have children, none of the females are attractive! Aeolia had sickly green skin, orange lips and pink hair i the shape of a dome. She made me get into my outfit, a black singlet that clung to my skin, tan cargo pants that went to my shins and sneakers. I wondered what the arena would look like? My dreams came back to me: we could be in a rain forest or even a frozen wasteland, I had no idea. She dragged me into the tube. I couldn't go through with this, I didn't want to die.

'Don't step off of the platform before zero,' she said. I nodded. 'Or you'll be blown to bits.' I gulped. This was going to be scarier than Paranormal Activity 3. I felt the platform beneath my feet start to raise and I looked up, alarmed. She nodded, like this was normal. To her it probably was. I closed my eyes and started to pinch my leg; I wanted to wake from this nightmare more than anything, except getting signed with my band mates. I felt the platform stopped and I opened my eyes. It was nothing like I imagined.

I was firstly blinded by the sun, which was bouncing off of the sand. Further ahead I could see sand dunes. There was not many plants. Prickly pear lay in clusters and cacti were everywhere. Scrubs grew in clumps. The sand raised in areas and drooped in others. I looked around, catching the eye of Christian.

60, 59, 58. The clock began. He started to mouth something, but I couldn't tell what. We were all standing in a circle around a golden cornucopia. I looked around and found Cher on my left and Selena on my right. Christian didn't look happy with me being beside her and not himself.

47, 46, 45. The clock droned on. I was shaking with the roaring wind that was blowing sand all around us, like an itchy cloak. Cher pointed at the sky and everyone looked up. Vultures were circling above us, waiting for their food. They won't have to wait long.

32, 31, 30. The clock counted down. I looked at Cher, hoping she had a plan. She whispered something quietly under her breath and I was able to catch it; she had said to grab an item if you were fast, if not, run in the direction where the closest sand dunes were. She wanted me to hear that, she wanted me to pass it on. I mouthed it to Christian, who got it immediately and passed it on to Trent.

25, 24, 23. The clock was so slow. Because of what Cher said, I noticed all of the items littered on the ground. It seemed the better the item, the closer it was to the cornucopia. Five metres to my left was a small dagger, about 2 inches long. It was half buried in the sand and that was why I didn't see it any earlier.

Trent's POV

18, 17, 16. The clock was counting down until some of our deaths, only seconds out. I had passed along the message that had originated from Cher. I was fast, so I was instructed to get some items. Ten metres ahead of me, a backpack was, inviting me in. Its contents might be able save mine or my allies lives. It was worth the risk. I looked at my competitors, seeing Justin looking at the backpack. It was closest to me, but he might be faster. A knife was right at his feet.

8, 7, 6. The clock was almost finished. The message had been received by all nine members of us and I think no one else heard or saw it.

3, 2, 1, 0. The clock stopped and a gong sounded. We all rushed off of our platforms and a couple of my allies went towards the sand dunes. Those were Reece and Cher, after she picked up a packet of dried fruit. I had sprinted for the backpack and snatched it off the ground, grabbing an empty water bottle nearby. I headed towards the sand dunes. Everyone else was either fighting or fleeing in the other direction.

I saw something fast fly past, inches from my neck. I turned by head and saw Justin coming after me. I rolled on the ground, dodging another knife and grabbing a throwing axe. I crouched low and he saw my weapon and stopped running. We faced each other, each holding a weapon. Me a throwing axe and him a knife. We were at a stalemate.