Writer's Games Entries

Task 4: "Gladiator"

The horror of last night has slowly, but certainly grabbed a solid hold on me. It doesn't matter if the voices are gone or the fact that I made it through the night. What matters is that the horror of those voices are still inside my head even though nobody else can hear them. After I sat down, the voices kept screaming, kept scratching little pieces of me, but then they disappeared and people somewhat managed to rest a little. Inside my head though, the voices never stopped.

I heard about four cannons last night. People were, like myself, running around in the ruins killing each other. Two of them, were my allies. Having awoken earlier than the allies I have left, I start to envy those that are already dead. There is a saying, from way back in the day when the rebellion was going on: you prepare yourself to die. The one thing you're never prepared for is surviving. Having those words replay themselves inside my head, I feel them touch me deep inside. Surviving this, hearing the horror in those voices still, having survived it, I almost wished I was dead.

In the alliance there is just me, the boy from 12 and the boy from 5. When I got myself into this alliance in the beginning, I honestly thought I had picked a good team of tributes that would live on for many days, but just over the first few days, they have fallen like flies. The Careers have been killing one tribute after the other because most of them are defenseless on their own. When my allies have been killed, they've been separated from the rest us and on their own. I just hope that whenever I'm separated from my two allies, I'll be more than just an easy kill. After all, pain can't stop me.

I just hope I have more than enough strength in me to give them a proper fight. For now, the food and water in the bag has kept us going, but those voices still lurk in the back of my head. I know I've been scarred for life by the Head-Gamemaker's stunt last night. When I look back down on my hands for a moment, they are shaking badly - my entire body is shaking badly. I know that even if I do win these Games, the voices...the horror in those voices will never stop haunting me. I guess it's true what's been said about victors in the past - some are victors, but most of them just survivors.

My thoughts continue to whirl inside my head as we're trying to make our way out of these rubbles of death. It only seems to bring more harm than shelter. I sense an immense pain in my head, the horrors coming back to me as a disgusting smell catches my scent. In the rubbles we're quite in the dark, sheltering ourselves from the blazing sun, but not from this smell. "Christ, what's that smell?" I hear from the boy from 5 as I barely open my eyes to notice blood just around the corner. I draw out my sword warily but as we walk around the corner, I find out that there's no need for it.

The girl from 5, our former ally lies dead on the ground with her stomach ripped open and her intestines lying there spread across the sand. I even gulp at the sight of it, but I have a more solid stomach than my ally from 12 as I hear him puke behind the pillar. "I'll bet it was that chick from 1...she likes it gory I've heard." The boy from 5 says as the boy from 12 recovers, but has to cover the sight with his hand. I don't say anything. Instead the voices inside my head starts to bother me again. "Why didn't you SAVE me, Rex? YOU could've saved me!" I lean against one of the pillars, trying to block out the voice as we hear the anthem of Panem play above our heads. I haven't heard any cannons so far today. What's going on?

"Tributes! On the third day of the Games in Rome, there is an event at the center of the rubbled Arena. An event you are all expected to attend! Come quick, come alive!" I don't recognize the voice, but it sounds like someone way up in the system. It covers the entire Arena I figure as I turn my attention to my two allies that are left. "Sounds like a trap to me..." The boy from 12 manages to say as he's turned away from the body. I look down on the girl on the ground as I nod weakly. I agree with the boy. I'd rather get the hell away from there than walk straight into a strap.