9: {Bloodbath}

We have sixty seconds until the gong tolls and the bloodbath begins. I scan the arena to take in as much as I can. The twenty-four tributes are arranged around the Cornucopia, and the weapons and packages of food are scattered around.

This part of the arena is situated in a valley around several mountains, small and large. I'm facing the biggest one, with the smaller ones behind me. The tops of the larger mountains are covered in snow, and there are patches of forest on them as well. There's no snow in the immediate area, but it's still pretty cold as it is.

Sixty seconds to decide what to go for first. I know that the other Careers won't bother me, because I'm on their side. What I should really do is get a good weapon and then go after the weaker tributes. But before I can settle on an idea, the gong sounds.

I'm off like a bullet. Faster than the wind. I was the top runner in my class. I streak straight for the golden horn, tumbling briefly so I can pick up a few packets. I snag a box of what looks to be medicine and a canteen of water, and then I run straight for the Cornucopia. I can see around me that the others have followed my lead, but some of my faster opponents have stopped to butcher those waiting.

I grab a large backpack, a package of food, a sword in it's sheath, and a black package that looks promising.

Others have reached the horn. I turn to see the boy from 5 creeping up behind me with a knife in his hand. I pull the sword from my sheath, and in one quick move, plunge it into his stomach. His blue eyes go wide, and when I pull my weapon out again, they've all but glazed over. "Sorry," I mutter.

I turn from the body of the boy to look at the chaos. I spot Ebb hacking with a spear at the body of a girl lying facedown on the ground. Over my shoulder, the two tributes from 1 are back to back, taking turns firing arrowing into the vitals of their opponents. And there's the girl from 4, sending a knife between the eyes of the little girl from 12.

Ebb looks up from his work and almost seems to sense my gaze. He grins at me. On the ground, the girl's bloody chest stutters and quakes. In a flash I recognize her. It's Thella, from 9. A jolt runs through me, and I turn away. I look around at the destruction that the Careers are causing. Ebb's grin as he butchers Thella, the tributes from 1's arrows slaying the many that rush to their death, the cold determination in the girl from 4's eyes.

I look back at Ebb, right into his eyes, and shake my head. Then I'm off again. Like a bullet, running for the mountains. An arrow whizzes by my head, ruffling my hair, and I duck. I reach a steep slope and barrel down it, leaving the sounds of the carnage behind me.

I've made a decision. I am not a Career. I'll play by my own rules, not theirs.

I head for the large mountain. I've grown up among mountains, and this one looks promising for cover from the dense forest. I'll have to be careful to watch out for the cliffs. It's completely silent among the trees, except for the cannons that signal death echoing over from the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

When I've run enough into the forest, I find a spot behind a large tree and unwrap the packages. The box containing medicine has a few rolls of bandages, three bottles of some sort of liquid, one small jar of paste, and two scalpels. The backpack has two boxes of crackers, a medium roll of bread, and a block of cheese. An extra water canteen is inside as well, along with a blanket, a change of clothes and a thicker jacket. This I put on over my regular jacket.

The black package contains something that makes me want to curse whoever put it here. A boomerang. A children's toy. I wasted my time on this?! I take a minute to steady myself. This must be useful in some way. I run my finger along the inside edge of the toy, and I draw it away quickly. There's a thin line of blood on my index finger. "Not a toy after all, are you?" I say quietly, and place it carefully on top of the backpack.

I clean my sword with a cloth that I find in one of the pockets of the pack. I look up to the sky. The sun is descending fast. It will be dark soon. The cannons have stopped sounding, signaling that the remaining tributes must have escaped the Careers. That's even more reason for me to start to find shelter.

I start to hike through the woods, aiming diagonally up the mountain. My boots give me excellent traction on the rocky slope. Finally, I find a thick bramble bush with leaves still on it. Trees and vines surround it. I clear out a space within, and dump my pack in the corner. Now, to find something to eat.

I was never very good at hunting. I tramp around for a while, before I realize that I should lighten my step. I do so, and soon I spot a rabbit. I take my boomerang weapon from my back. I've fashioned a sort of sling-quiver thing for it. I send it thudding into the back legs of the rabbit. I run after it and spear the creature through the heart. I take it back to my shelter and skin it. Messy, but I've got a good chunk of meat after the work is done.

It's gotten completely dark by now. I poke my head out of my shelter to stare at the sky. At the end of each day, the dead tributes appear in the sky. This night, the first night, there are nine. The girl from 3 is the first to appear. That means that Ebb and the tributes from 1 are still alive. She's followed by the District 5 tributes, then the girl from 6. The boy from 7, and then Thella's face lights up the sky.

You'll pay for that one, Ebb, I think. She couldn't hurt a fly.

The next face I see is the boy from 10. Kirwan's still in the game. The last two to appear are the tributes from 12.

I settle back into my shelter. Praying that I've camouflaged myself well enough, I fall into a restless sleep filled with visions of Thella's broken body, Ebb's smile, and the eyes of the girl from 4.