The Pit: My Writers Games Entries

2. The Elementary Phenomenon

I quickly wipe away the tears that falls down my face as I'm lead into a grey room. I can't remember why I'm crying. I just feel the weight of sadness inside me. It hurts.
The person leading me is a bright yellow man who I recognise from earlier, although I can't remember his name. He told me he was my stylist, which makes sense, the way he seemed to enjoy dressing me up like the way I did with my dolls.
This place is very confusing. For a rainbow-looking place filled with rainbow-looking people, there's certainly a lot of grey.
"Stand on that pedestal." The yellow man grabs my hand as I get up on the black metal cylinder he pointed to. A wave of trepidation crashes over me as I remember what happened in the dark room. Everyone was hurting. They were so angry their eyes turned to fire. And I have no idea why.
"Your sponsor, Thalia, told me to give you this." He pushes a creamy white bundle made of coarse rope into my arms. It's a ladder, with two metal hooks attached to one end.
My chest tightens, as if my lungs have suddenly shrunk. I haven't had much practise with climbing, only what I did in training. I wasn't very good at it. What if I fall right into the trap of a bad fire-eyed person? Maybe that's what the ladder is for. "So my sponsor is my friend?" I ask.
His eyes do loop de loops in his head when I ask that. People do that a lot when they talk to me. I don't understand why. "Sort of. Because you impressed the sponsors in your evaluation, they give you little... Presents to help you out in the games. This ladder is one of them." I look down at the bundle in my arms, the thick rope rough against my skin. I can feel it through the black wetsuit-like garment I have to wear.
"Okay." I nod. It'll be good to have some help up against those monsters.
Suddenly, the pedestal starts beeping and flashing. I put my hands up to my ears to block out the noise attempting to destroy my eardrums. I let go of the ladder, which falls into a heap on the pedestal. I scoop it up as a tube comes down from the roof, encasing me in it. My heart palpitates wildly as I start to panic. I put my hands back up to my ears, the ladder once again falling to my feet.
"Daicellyn, calm down!" The yellow man puts his hands on the tube. "You're just going into the arena, it's okay." He says in a calming voice. I pick up the ladder a second time and look into his saffron eyes. "You'll be fine, now good luck." He waves at me as the pedestal begins to rise in a spinning motion. Around and around and around. My head starts to spin as the tube gives way to yet more grey. Metal bars run along the edges of the room, creating a large square. In the middle of a room is a massive cone-shaped shelter that bends in on itself and is made out of rainbow metal. Scattered around it are many silver pyramid-shaped boxes, each with something engraved into it. One says D5M. Another says D8F. I wonder what those mean.
Three of the walls are made out of a thick white fog. The space where the fourth wall should be leads into a massive forest, where the trees dwarf everything else. Each tree has words engraved into the bark, and something silver hanging from the highest branches. I've never seen a forest before, except in picture books. The beauty of it is mesmerising, but in a dangerous way. Everything here is dangerous, because it's all new and unknown. The new and unknown can be one of the most dangerous things in existence.
I see the twenty-three other kids standing on their own pedestals, forming a circle around the rainbow metal shelter and its pyramid shaped boxes. Like before, they're fists are clenched and their eyes are angry. But at what? I still don't get it!
There seems to be a pause, as if time itself freezes for a few seconds, until a crystal clear voice appears from out of nowhere and utters twelve heartstopping words;
"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour."
Suddenly, an orange holographic cube materialises in the air above the rainbow metal shelter. It keeps making loud banging noises. Every time that happens, the number on the cube changes.
52. 51. 50. 49. 48. 47.
The number goes down, one by one for a long time. It's a timer. Timing what, though? I turn my head back to the other people.
39. 38. 37. 36. 35. 34.
Each little bang sounds like an explosion inside my head that echoes through my ears. It hurts, but it doesn't feel like outside hurt or inside hurt. It's a kind of hurt that feels like a thunderstorm in my head that shudders through me, all the way down to my tippy toes. It rattles in my chest, making my heart pound like it's being hit with a hammer.
29. 28. 27. 26. 25. 24.
I see Saralee! And Skye! They both smile at me. I wish I could smile back. I clutch the ladder even closer to me.
23. 22. 21. 20. 19. 18.
My friends are here! But there's no sign of Ross. Maybe he's behind the rainbow metal shelter. I want to go look for him, but a voice in my head is telling me not to step off the pedestal. I think I should listen to it.
17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12.
Saralee's lips curl into an insidious smirk, like the look an animal might have right before it kills its prey. I notice that look on several other people's faces. Other faces, like Skye's, are really hard, their mouths even more taught than before. All I can feel is tension, everyone looking like a bunch of coiled springs, ready to pounce. I start to tremble out of fear of what will happen once everyone steps off their pedestals.
10.
What will happen when the numbers stop?
9.
Will everyone start hurting again?
8.
What if it's worse this time?
7.
What if it's more than just hurting?
6.
What if it's murder?
5.
Like what happened to Easton?
4.
Where did that thought come from?
3.
All I know is...
2.
That'll soon be me.
1.
A bang louder than I thought was physically possible strikes the air, shattering my eardrums. What follows after that can only be described as pure chaos. Everyone starts running at once. Some grab the pyramid-shaped boxes. Some just grab each other. Some run to the rainbow metal shelter. Some run to the forest. Everyone is hurting, and I'm hurting too.
I'm the only one still on their pedestal. I'm too confused to figure out what to do next, and can feel myself trembling from head to toe. A group of six people run towards me. I recognise Skye and Saralee amongst them. And Ross! Ross is there!
Ross opens his arms to hug me, but quickly puts them back by his side. I think he's learning.
Saralee opens her mouth first. "Daicellyn, these are some of my friends; Shadow, Flame and Morgana." She points to a grey-haired, pale-skinned boy, a fire-haired, monstrously tall boy, and... Wait, that's the fire-eyed girl! She tried to hurt us! She's evil! And the boys tried to hurt Ross! They're not friends! They're evil! Evil evil evil!
"They want to be our friends, and help us. Yay, more friends, right? Right?" Why doesn't Saralee get it?
"But they tried to hurt us! They're evil!" I shriek. Morgana groans.
"We'll deal with that later. Right now, we don't have much time. We need that cornucopia to be ours!" Morgana, says, grabbing a sharp blade that was attached to the side of her boot. "Saralee, you're coming with me. Daicellyn, I need to borrow your ladder. We're going to take the cornucopia, while you guys round up all our pyramids."
I take a step back from Morgana. "You're not taking my ladder! It was a gift from Thalia!"
"Come on, we don't have time for this! People will have weapons by now! I wanna get in there before everything good is gone!" Morgana stomps her foot. I feel myself start to tremble again.
"Daicellyn, please give Morgana the ladder. She'll give it right back afterwards. You'll be helping us all by doing so." Ross bends down and puts his hands on the ladder, which I reluctantly let slip from my grip.
"Okay." I cross my arms over my chest and turn away. I don't like other people touching my stuff. It's, well, mine.
Morgana snatches away the ladder and gives it to Saralee, who in turn hands over a small blue vial. Morgana opens it and dips her blade into it, a sinister, psychopathic laugh echoing through the air. "I'll be invincible..." She whispers.
"You five, grab the boxes. Meet us at the cornucopia when we're done." Saralee instructs before charging after Morgana. I stomp my foot.
I don't like them. I don't like them one bit. How can Saralee be friends with those evil monsters? What if they try to hurt us again? Why aren't they using their eyes?
But that doesn't matter right now. I have a job to do! Saralee said we have to grab all our pyramid boxes and bring them to the cornucopia. But how do we know which are ours?
"What's a cornucopia?" I ask, turning to face Ross.
"It's that big rainbow thing over there." Flame interjects before Ross can answer. I don't like it when people do that. It's impolite.
"Come on guys, we have to get our pyramids. And you know, not get killed." Skye urges before running off and picking up a pyramid. "District Four Female. This is Saralee's pyramid. See, one down already. It's not that hard!"
"Daicellyn, we're going to play a game." Ross tells me as we run after Skye. Ooh, I like games! Games are fun!
"I want you to pick up any pyramid box you find and show it to me. I'll tell you if it's a good or a bad one." He smiles at me.
"Okay, I can do that!" I look up at Ross and almost smile. There's a pyramid over there! I veer off to the right and grab it with both hands. This is a heavy one. I give it to Ross, who checks the letters engraved into it.
"District Five Male. Flame, this one is yours." Ross hands it over to Flame. He snatches it off him with narrowed eyes.
I finds lots more pyramids, but most of them are the bad ones. A few have already been opened, and are just empty, hollow shells. I'm just glad most of the other evil people stay away from us. They're too preoccupied with hurting each other.
Every so often, a loud noise that sounds like a cannon echoes through the air, along with the occasional scream. I don't like the noise. It hurts my ears. How many different kinds of hurt are there in this place?
It doesn't take long for me to find all of our pyramids. There's seven in total, so everyone has to help carry them. I carry my own pyramid. It's pretty big, and the metallic surface is cold in my arms. I wonder what's inside it.
"We need to get to the cornucopia." Ross says to no one in particular.
"Well done, Erudite." Skye mutters bitterly. Ignoring this, Ross turns to face the rainbow metal shelter and starts trudging across the grey landscape. Everyone follows suit.
"You see him?" Ross nods at Shadow. I nod. "Just so you know, he's deaf." Deaf? That means he can't hear. That's not good. He's disabled. Like me.
"Did you seriously win the cornucopia with just a rope ladder and a poisoned blade?" Skye asks once we meet Saralee at the cornucopia.
"Actually, that was just to get in. Once we got our hands on what was inside, the rest was easy." Morgana tosses her head with a smirk.
I still don't like her.
"Oh, by the way, here's your ladder Daicellyn." Saralee tosses the bundle of rope at my feet as I put my pyramid box on the plastic blue floor.
"Awesome, now we have all the supplies we could ever need!" Ross exclaims with a smile.
"You're welcome." Morgana smirks again. "Now, what are we going to do next? I really want to go explore."
"I agree with Morgana. There were some strange metal objects in the trees over in the forest area, and I reckon they could be helpful." Saralee suggests.
"Yeah, but what about all our stuff here? It's too much for us to carry, and I don't want other tributes to take our supplies." Ross motions to all the resources around us. There's heaps of stuff, including weapons, food, water, clothes and medicine.
"We could take some of it in our backpacks." Shadow interjects.
"What backpacks? And I thought you were deaf." I say. I don't see any backpacks. Are they invisible? And how is he talking when he can't hear?
"The ones in our pyramid boxes. And just so you know, I can read lips. Being deaf doesn't affect your ability to talk, you know!" Shadow snaps, a hint of poison laced within his voice. I don't like it. It hurts.
Time seems to freeze for a second as everyone pauses, their mouth open like fish in the shop windows back home. Suddenly, everyone reaches for their pyramid boxes and open them by gently pushing the base open like a door. I do the same. Inside is a large orange backpack with 'D6F' on it in big white letters, a slingshot, a small satchel of rocks and a brass key.
"Cool, I got a dagger!" Morgana raises a sharp blade and starts slicing the air with it. Poor air.
"Looks like everyone got a weapon of their choice, a backpack and a key." Ross acknowledges.
"Thank you, Ross, for stating the obvious." Skye says flatly, her eyes doing loop de loops in her head.
"What do you think the keys are for?" Saralee ponders, twirling one end of the key on her little finger.
"I don't know." I tell her. Maybe that'll help somehow. Skye narrows her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"What if a group of us leave to explore the forest and have another group here defending the cornucopia?" Ross suggests. There's another pause in time as Ross's words hang in the air.
"I think that's our best option." Flame states. A chorus of nods and murmurs of agreement ripple through the cornucopia.
"Great, the only question now is who goes and who stays." Saralee points out,
"I'm going!" Morgana raises her hand. "I need to get out there. I don't wanna be sitting in a glorified shed for two weeks!" She slams her fist down on a nearby table, causing a bunch of metal objects to shake.
"Okay... Morgana's going, who else?" Saralee looks at the rest of us.
"I'll go." Ross volunteers. Ross? He's leaving? That's... Okay, I guess. He'll be back soon anyway. That's what my brothers would always say whenever they left.
I'd go with him, but that forest is dangerous and scary. Everywhere, everything, everyone, is dangerous and scary. Besides, there's no way I'm going with that fire-eyed evil monster.
"Me too." Skye gets off the floor and stands by the entrance, a nearby bow already in hand.
"I want to go too." Flame raises his hand.
"Okay, so that's settled. Flame, Morgana, Ross and Skye, go survey the forest and report back here once finished with that. Daicellyn, Shadow and I will stay here and defend the cornucopia from other tributes." Saralee instructs.
"We'd better start packing." Ross grabs his backpack and starts to fill it with supplies. "I'd say everyone slips a knife into their boot as well as carrying their weapon of choice in their hands."
"Don't forget food and water as well. We don't know how long we'll be gone." Skye throws in a drink bottle and some berries. Everyone suddenly starts talking about what to put in their backpacks. I crawl under a table and curl up into a ball, dragging my pyramid under with me. Maybe, if only for a minute, I can make this place feel like home.
I hear Ross's voice from under the table a few minutes later. "Okay, is everyone packed and ready to go?" He asks, hoisting the fluorescent orange backpack up onto his broad shoulders. Flame, Morgana and Skye all nod before heading out the entrance to the cornucopia.
"We'll do our best to come back alive." Skye says, momentarily poking her head back in the entrance.
"Much appreciated." Saralee responds flatly, but with a smile on her face.
"Bye guys." Ross waves goodbye as the group trudges off. Wait! I want to say goodbye! I clamber out from under the table so I can wave to Ross and Skye. Just as I stick my head out of the cornucopia, a horrible, heart wrenching scream fills the air as a blood-haired girl lunges from the roof of the cornucopia and jumps down on top of Ross, fastening a rope around his neck. Ross!
I hear someone scream Ross's name, and the next thing I know, my legs are sprinting as fast as they can over to the blood-haired girl. I throw myself at her, but the smile on her face only grows wider as she tosses me aside. She emits a high-pitched note from her throat, that makes time freeze. It stops Ross from struggling to untie the rope around his neck, it stops everyone from reaching for their weapons, it completely shuts down my mind. It makes my blood run cold and my head completely blank and my eyes absolutely void of everything but the blood-haired girl. Even Morgana lowers her dagger and settles her eyes on her.
The blood-haired girl lets out a small chuckle. "Oh, this'll be fun." She mutters, rubbing her hands together. "Ross..." She begins, twirling a strand of crimson hair around her little finger. I'm dimly aware of Saralee appearing behind me, the dagger in her hand hanging limply by her side.
The blood-haired girl pushes the end of the rope into Ross's hands. "Now, Ross, President Ruthvin said she wanted a show? Then let's give her a show! You wouldn't want to let our esteemed president of Panem down, would you?" She whispers sultrily, before leaning in close and touching her lips to his for a long, lingering second. Ross's eyes go completely blank. Why'd she do that? Sometimes, Dustan and Esther do that, but that's because they love each other. Love is weird, but I'm pretty sure the blood-haired girl kissing Ross isn't how it works.
I can feel my heart beating really fast. I don't like her, nor do I like any of this. I want to go back to the cornucopia with Ross. I try to get closer to him, but my limbs are stiff and frozen. Have I been paralysed? I think I've been paralysed.
"Okay, here's what I want you to do. It's really simple. I just want you to pull on that rope I kindly placed in your hands." The blood-haired girl instructs in that velvety voice of hers. Ross mindlessly obeys, his face starting to change colour as a strangled gasping sound escapes from his throat. Ross! What is she doing to Ross? Whatever it is, it's not good. I wish I could help him, but the blood-haired girl has me trapped.
"Okay, that's great, but let's tighten that rope a little bit more, don't you think?" A scary smile spreads across the blood-haired girl's face. Ross nods mindlessly, pulling the rope even tighter. He's now making lots of choking noises, and his skin has taken on an unsightly blue tinge to it.
I feel a scream curl at the edges of my lips, but it can't escape from the paralysis prison the blood-haired girl has trapped me in. Instead, the scream explodes inside of me, making my chest ache and my heart break. A wave of tears washes over me, building up behind my eyes. It hurts! It hurts so bad!
"Getting better, but I think you can go just a bit tighter. That's a good boy." The blood-haired girl coos as Ross tightens the rope even more. His bloodshot, tear filled eyes bulge out of his head, as his body is wracked with little tremors. "Tighter." She leans in close again, her face a picture of disdain. "Tighter!" Ross's eyes meet mine for a split second. A single tear rolls down his cheek as his body suddenly goes limp, the rope slack in his blue hands. A loud bang fills the air, smashing the silence.
Ross? Ross! What's happened to him?
A laugh escaped from the blood-haired monster's throat. Her cruel eyes turn to me next. A shiver goes down my still paralysed spine. She opens her mouth to speak, but she's cut off as Shadow, wielding a large spiky club, sprints over to us and smashes it into her skull. He then pulls out a knife from his boot and starts digging it into her eye sockets, twisting it slowly as his face twists into a maniacal scowl that makes me tremble. A second bang fills the air, this one breaking us free from our paralysis prison.
"One of the few advantages to being deaf." Shadow smiles slightly as he glances down at the blood-haired girl, or at least what's left of her. All eyes then turn to Ross, his now dead, lifeless eyes focused on the spot where I was standing in my paralysis prison.
The world starts to spin as a bloodcurdling scream is emitted from my throat. Sounds similar to the ones Ross was making fill the air as something salty begins to drip down my face. Tears. My tears.
Everyone turns to me, their faces the last thing I see before my legs give way and the world goes black.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
'The darkness. That's all I can see. Like back in that dark room with all the angry hurting people. Ross was there with me. He protected me from the bad people. My brothers warned me about the bad people. I knew they were bad as soon as I saw them. Even Ross was bad. He kept staring at me and treating me like a freak. But he's my friend. Was my friend. I didn't realise blood and death and pain was the key to Heaven.
I was the last thing he saw before he died.
He cried for me...
He cared for me...
Ross...
I wish I had taken that hug.'
I slowly sit up and rub my eyes to get rid of the last remnants of darkness. I have to squint while I let my eyes adjust to the light. I look around and see I'm lying on the plastic blue floor of the cornucopia. That's weird. Wasn't I just outside? Where's Ross?
'I didn't even get to say goodbye...'
I bring myself to my feet, having to lean against a nearby table to support my wobbly legs. No one has noticed me yet. They're preoccupied with packing those orange backpacks. Weren't they packed earlier?
"And she lives!" Skye cheers, throwing her arms into the air with a knife in one of her hands.
"Oh, hello Daicellyn." Saralee smiles before resuming to shoving supplies into her large orange backpack.
"Hello. What's going on? Didn't you already pack those bags?" I ask, confused.
"We decided that all of us should go explore the forest instead of half of us sitting around defending the cornucopia." Saralee explains. I notice her beautiful blue eyes have a newfound shine to them. I think she's happy. Excited, perhaps? But why?
"So, we're packing the rest of the bags in order to take the most supplies with us and so less supplies are taken by other tributes. We also put the keys from those pyramids in each of our bags. Including Ross's key." Morgana says.
'Ross...'
I nod in agreement. "Okay, I get it. Have you packed my bag yet?" I look around for my backpack.
"Yeah, Shadow just packed it." Flame replies, pointing to Shadow. He holds up a fluorescent orange backpack with 'D6F' written on it in white block letters. I remember my manners as he hands it back.
"Thankyou." I mumble, slinging it over one shoulder. It's a lot heavier than before. I wonder what they put in it.
"Your slingshot is right here." Saralee responds, handing it to me. I mumble my thanks to her. "Your rope ladder has been packed in your bag."
Skye slips a knife into the side of my boot. Why'd she do that? "Why do I need a knife?" I ask her.
"You never know." Skye shrugs. Know what? What is it I don't know?
"That's all the backpacks packed. We better go before we get anymore trouble." Flame announces.
"Well, come on then!" Morgana urges, striding out of the cornucopia with confidence. Everyone slings their backpacks onto their backs, picks up their weapon and follows Morgana. I quickly follow, shuffling along just behind Saralee.
The forest isn't that far from the cornucopia. We all stand on the border between the forest and the grey cornucopia area. I look up at the trees warily. They're huge! Bigger than huge! The trees dwarf us, with stubby branches and little notches in the bark, and the leaves are so big they block out almost all of the light. Are all forests like this? They didn't look like this in my picture books.
Each tree has something engraved into it, just like what was on our pyramids and backpacks, and something metal hanging from the top branches.
There's one tree that's bigger than the rest of them, with a large brown house sitting atop of it. I wonder what's inside it.
"I say everyone should find their own tree, climb to the top and check out whatever is hanging from those branches." Saralee suggests.
"Good idea, Sara. Let's do it." Morgana agrees, already making her way over to a tree marked 'D1F'.
"Okay, let's split up." Flame states, heading over to a tree marked 'D5M'. The rest of us amble off to find our own special trees.
It doesn't take me long to find a tree marked 'D6F'. I feel myself shrink in fear of this gargantuan tree. But why am I scared? It's a tree.
It's okay, I have Thalia's ladder. I can do this. Slipping it off my shoulder, I unzip the orange backpack and search through it for the ladder. My hands brush against the coarse rope, right at the bottom. I grab hold of it and pull it out, the other items in the bag falling out and scattering in every direction.
Darn it.
I bend down and place everything back in its rightful position. Now, back to climbing this tree. How can I do this? Maybe the hooks are supposed to do something. I think they get attached to the bark and keep the ladder in place. That sounds smart, I'll try that. But how to get the hooks into the bark way up there? I could throw it. Yeah, I'll throw it.
Grabbing the hook end of the ladder in one hand, I launch it with my arm up to a high branch. It grazes the bark, then falls back to the ground. Well that didn't work. But it was close. Maybe it'll work this time,
I try again. And again. And again. And again. It's not working! Maybe it's broken. No, Thalia wouldn't give me a broken ladder. Maybe I broke it. Am I doing this wrong? No, it was so close before! I try again, launching the rope with all the energy I can muster. Finally, the hooks embed themselves in the bark.
Yes, it worked! I did it! All by myself! I did it! I did it! I did it! Now, to actually climb it.
I tentatively grab hold of one of the rungs. It doesn't fall. I put my foot on another rung. It still doesn't fall. It's working! I begin to climb, rung after rung. It's not that hard. Grab the rung, then push yourself up. It's actually pretty easy. How come I couldn't do this in training? I can do it!
It doesn't take me long to reach the top of the ladder. I did it! I did it! I did it! I smile, a proper smile this time. Oh no! I smiled! Did anyone see that? Of course not, I'm on top of a tree. No one can see me up here. I hope. Okay, I'm not going to do that anymore. I promised myself that a long time ago, I'm promising myself again.
I can see the object hanging from the top branch! It's only a few branches above me. I can probably climb up there. The object is another silver metal pyramid, same size as before. It's got something written on it:
"A key is needed to open me, but if you stay too long, key or no, you shall fall."
A key? Where have I seen a key? Oh, in my bag! The fire-eyed girl named Morgana said it's in my bag! I throw my backpack down on the branch and reach for the key. I clasp my fingers around the cool brass key and pull it out before zipping up the bag and slip the backpack onto my shoulders. Okay, I can do this. I grab hold of a notch in a branch above my head, digging my fingers into the bark. I manage to pull myself up onto the branch, my chest heaving as I pull myself up. I do that with the next branch, my heart lurching as I almost slip. Then I reach the next branch. And the next. And the next. I keep going until I reach the pyramid.
I find a keyhole in the side of the pyramid and unlock it. Inside is another key, this one bronze instead of brass, and something wrapped up in tinfoil. It smells good. I unzip my backpack and gently place the tinfoil parcel inside.
I begin to work my way down the monstrous tree; first with the branches, then the ladder. I let out a sigh of relief once I feel the hard dirt beneath my feet. I did it! Daicellyn, conqueror of the tree! Woohoo! I manage to free the ladder, roll it up and put it back in my backpack.
'Ross would've been so proud...'
"Skye! Saralee! I did it! I conquered the tree!" I squeal as I run around trying to find my friends. It's Skye I run into first.
"You're still alive. Good job." She smiles at me after she gets up off the ground. I almost smile back. Remember the promise.
"We have returned!" Morgana calls out, emerging from behind a nearby tree with everyone else in tow. "What a cute little warmup! I can't wait to see what's next." She smirks evilly.
"I opened Ross's pyramid and checked out the treehouse as well. It's a feast of Capitol delicacies, but another alliance has beaten us to it." Flame tells us. "I wasn't that interested in it. We have plenty of food anyway." A few murmurs of agreement ripple through the group.
"What was in your pyramid?" Saralee asks.
"A bronze key and a little tinfoil parcel." I reply.
"The tinfoil will be whatever your favourite food is." Flame informs me.
"Did anyone notice the new segment being opened up?" Shadow interjects, pointing to a wall of white fog quickly dissipating.
"Come on, let's go explore!" Saralee exclaims before charging ahead, Morgana right behind her. The rest of us follow behind.
This new area is a windswept desert, with mountainous dunes of golden sand. The invisible gusts of wind kick up the microscopic grains and are forever shifting these dunes. Tiny silver tips stick out from the sand, and a grey cave is nestled in between two particularly large dunes. Perhaps there's more pyramids. I can feel the scorching heat radiating from this section. It burns.
"Don't worry, everyone has a full water canister in their bag, plus a spare in Ross's." Saralee assures us.
'Ross...'
I bend down to find the water canister in my bag. A sheet of plastic falls out after grabbing the silver bottle.
"Great idea, Daicellyn! We can use this plastic to shield our faces from the wind." Saralee exclaims, taking the plastic and slicing it with her blade. When did I come up with that idea? Oh well, it's a good idea.
A few minutes later, Saralee hands back a much smaller sheet of plastic, with a hole in it, I presume so I can breathe. "Put it over your face, like this." She shows me how to cover my head and neck with the plastic whilst still being able to breathe.
"Everyone got a piece of plastic?" Skye asks, looking around at us. We all nod.
"Great, then let's go!" Morgana huffs, then begins trudging off into the sandy desert. Almost instantly, my body temperature begins to rise, and I'm knocked off my feet by a gust of wind. Saralee helps me up.
"Make sure to plant your feet, so it's harder to get knocked over." She informs. I nod, then dig my feet into the sand and keep going.
Everyone makes a circle to shield me from the wind, Saralee and Morgana in front, Flame to my left, Shadow to my right, and Skye behind. "Thankyou." I murmur, but my voice is lost amongst the stormy gale.
Even with their protection, it's still difficult to move forward. The fierce wind whistles straight through my clothes, howling inside my chest and rattling inside my rib cage. The tiny grains of sand it carries with it feel like broken glass and razor blades. My lips are dry, and my water canister is getting lighter by the minute. Lord forbid what'll happen once it runs out. My breathing has become shallow and raspy, and I'm constantly on the verge of tripping over. Despite the plastic, it's hard to keep my eyes open in the face of such ferocity. Even the beautifully dangerous dunes are less sparkling gold and more dull brown.
It burns, oh how it burns! I don't even know where we're going; to the cave or the field of silver tips. I don't care. I can feel myself crying, but my tears are evaporating before they even roll down down my cheeks.
"We'll... Head to the cave... Rest there... Then dig up our pyramids." Saralee gasps, turning around to face us. She has to shout in order to be heard over the wind. We all nod, too hot and too parched to care, although the cave barely seems any closer. I've just finished the last of the water in my canister. I hope we get the soon.
Occasionally, I'll see another person amongst the sand. A short, young boy, with dark curly hair and fair skin. His round, blue-grey eyes are large and innocent. He has a small freckled nose, thin lips and strong shoulders.
"Daicy." He whispers, yet I can hear him from far away. How does he know my name? As soon as my dry, sand-coated throat can make any noise whatsoever, the boy is gone.
Finally, we arrive at the cave. We all collapse inside the air-conditioned cave, which is filled with a water fountain, heaps of food and lots of medicinal herb remedies. Everyone immediately sprints over to fill up their water canisters. I take a loaf of bread from the food stockpile and almost swallow it whole. That desert completely sapped all my energy.
I head over to the water fountain, which is now available, and fill up my canister, drinking half of it immediately afterwards. I roll up the sleeves on my outfit, feeling the air conditioning against my arms. It feels so good!
"Okay, that's it." Morgana suddenly turns around and faces us. She'd been pacing the cave ever since we got here. "This is the Hunger Games, and I'm sitting here bored stupid! While you guys stay here in this little haven for the weak, I'm going to get out there and find those pyramids so we can move on to the next section!" She screams, throwing her arms into the air and stomping out of the cave with her sheet of plastic.
"I have to admit, Morgana has a point. I'm going with her." Saralee admits, getting up and following the fire-eyed girl out of the cave. Skye, Shadow and Flame trail after her, leaving me alone.
Why are they leaving? Don't they remember the way the desert knocked you over and hurt you with the broken glass-like sand and made you burn? Maybe they have bad memories, and that's how they forgot about the evil people. I have to help them!
I grab my sheet of plastic and run outside. The sky is a lot darker than before. It reminds me of those days back home where the clouds would come and make everything dark and grey. The wind seems to be even stronger than before, causing me to face plant into the sand as soon as I step outside. Ouch! A yelp of pain escapes my lips as my skin makes contact with the sand. It's boiling! The wind also blew sand into my eyes, making my vision go blurry. Now I'm even more disabled!
I manage to locate my friends through the haze of heat and dust. "Daicellyn, what are you doing?! Get over here!" Saralee calls out. I drag my feet through the piping hot sand, collapsing in front of Saralee. Ouch!
"We're lucky to have missed the brunt of the storm. There was lightning over by the entrance just as we got out here. We've already dug up four of our pyramids, including Ross's." Flame informs me. "Start digging."
'He won't get to see what's in his pyramid...'
A lot of the pyramids are already half dug-up. I can tell someone's been here by the way the sand is loose from where they were ploughing their way through it. It's also really compact in some areas from where they were kneeling in the sand as they dug up their pyramids.
It doesn't take long to dig up everyone's pyramids. Like the ones in the forest, they have a keyhole. The bronze key! I pull it out of my bag and push it into the keyhole. The little door opens, revealing a full water canister, a small orange vial, a silver key and a note reading, "At last you've found an oasis that won't disappear."
Oasis? When did I see an oasis?
"Look, a new section's opened!" Saralee exclaims, pointing to a wall of rapidly clearing white fog, which gives way to another forest.
This one is very different, though. It's dead, everything barren and desolate, as well as covered in a thick layer of ash. The trees aren't nearly as gargantuan as before, and there are little glowing sparks leaping from tree to tree. There's also a pale green tent, nestled amongst the dead trees. I can see that these trees are also marked, and have little silver objects inside the trunks. I think they're pyramids! More pyramids! I can use my silver key!
"Well, come on! Grab the stuff from your pyramids and let's go!" Morgana urges, charging ahead. Why does she keep doing that? How can she be so excited in this terrifying place?
The desert isn't as hard to cross on the way back as it was when first crossing it, though the wind still blows me over several times, and I drank almost all the water in my canister.
The new forest is even spookier up close. Everything is scorched and brittle, the slightest breeze would have the capacity to knock everything over. The whole section giving off an air of melancholy and despair, the little sparks of fire being the only sign of life. Everywhere is black, as if midnight itself descended from the sky and covered the forest with a blanket.
"This seems suspiciously easy. Be on the lookout for anything strange." Saralee warns, heading into the spooky forest with caution.
"What, besides all this?" Skye asks, dragging her feet.
The dead foliage crunches loudly under our feet. I can feel my heart beating in my chest, and my shoulders are hunched over. I think I'm scared. This place is really spooky.
I suddenly hear a very familiar scream echo through the forest. "Daicy! Daicy, can you hear me?!" Merlyn? Is Merlyn here? Why is he here? Where is he?! I have to find him!
"Merlyn?! Is that you?!" I shout, hoping he'll hear me.
"Daicy, we need you! Please help us!" That sounded like Dustan! Dustan's here too!
"Dustan! Merlyn! Where are you? I'm coming!" I shriek, my footsteps reverberating through the forest. Where are they?
"Daicy, please!" That was Helix!
"Why are you ignoring us?!" It's Calix!
"We're taking you home!" There's Esther!
"You have to save us!" That last one I don't recognise, but it's so familiar! My brothers are here! I have to find them!
"I'm not ignoring you! I'm trying to find you-" I cry out, but before I can say anymore, six bloodcurdling screams fill the air.
Was that them? It can't be them! They're taking me home after I save them! Tears start to roll down my face. Where are they? Are they okay?
"Daicellyn! Where are you?" Saralee's voice rings through the forest with a clarity greater than those of my family. She emerges from behind a dead tree and sprints towards me. "What was that? Why'd you run off?" She grabs my shoulder and makes me look into her eyes.
"Calix... Merlyn... Dustan... Esther... Helix... Easton..." I gasp through the sobs wracking my body. The last name escapes as a hiccup. I just spoke his name! That's forbidden!
"Daicellyn, they aren't here, it wasn't really them. It was just the sound of their voices being played. It's alright, they're safe at home." She takes my hand and leads me back to the group, where everyone gives me strange looks like they did before. I don't like it.
'They were going to take me home...'
More voices begin to echo through the air. I don't recognise these ones, but they're very confusing.
"Incompetent weakling!" One screams.
"Deranged psychopath!" Another shouts.
"You'll never win! You should've never volunteered!" A third taunts. Volunteered? What do they mean by that?
I notice Morgana is acting strangely. She's gritting her teeth and putting her hands to her ears. I don't think she likes the voices. She lets out something similar to a growl as tears spring to her eyes.
"Morgana, just ignore them! They're not real!" Saralee lets go of me and grabs the fire-eyed girl's hand. She tosses it aside and starts to scream as the voices disappear. "Don't worry, they're gone now."
"What was that?" Flame asks. We all look around, confused, but can't see anything different. A rumbling sound suddenly appears out of nowhere. What was that noise?
Suddenly, a massive fireball comes pummelling through a group of nearby trees, screaming straight towards us. The massive glowing ball of orange radiates even more heat than was in the desert. Trepidation suddenly courses through me like electricity.
"Go go go!" Saralee shouts over the roar of flames as we all sprint away from the fireball. Skye and I take the lead, the others right behind us. The only thought going through my mind is to run, fear gripping me. I have to get home.
The fireball roars past us, barely missing Shadow as we all stop to catch our breath. Skye turns around to grab her water canister, only for it to fall limply from her hand.
"You have got to be kidding me." She groans, her eyes wide in shock as we all turn around to see what she's talking about. Multiple ferocious fireballs streak across the charred foliage. I can feel my face twist in fear as my legs instinctively start running again. I notice Saralee moving in a strange pattern as she runs.
'Dodge to the left twice, back to the middle. Dodge to the left again, then to the right twice. Dodge back to the middle, back to the right, then to the left.' I wonder why she's doing that. I start doing the same pattern, our hammering footsteps falling in sync with each other. Each fireball whistles right past us, the scorching heat able to be felt as it roars off into the distance. Every time one goes past, I flinch and pray it doesn't hit me. It doesn't.
The others start to do the same, until the green tent appears right in front of us. My legs desperately push themselves just that little bit faster until I collapse in an exhausted heap at its entrance, panting with exertion. The others soon join me as I look up and see the fireballs stop aiming for us.
We did it! I'm alive! We're alive! I can go home soon!
My thoughts are cut off as an excruciating shriek fragmentizes my eardrums. I scan the area with fear in an attempt to discover the source, only to let out a scream as I see Skye writhing on the ground in pain.
'She didn't make it.'
"Skye!" I scream, trying to get up, but my legs won't let me. They're exhausted. "Skye!" I scream again on desperation.
I didn't notice she wasn't at the tent! It's all my fault!
At that moment, the voice of a man fills the air, screaming for Skye. Skye's face lights up with recognition as she lets out another ear piercing shriek.
"Dad!" The word is drawn out for a long time as Skye reaches for her boot, her whole body trembling. I can do nothing but watch as her convulsing body fumbles with the blade in her hand, positioning it in the air above her. She lets out one final scream before plunging the knife into her chest. "I'm coming, Dad!"
My vision goes spotty as a cannon goes off in the distance. I'm dimly aware of someone dragging me inside the tent.
'First Ross, now Skye...
Yet I still don't get why...'
I manage to whisper something before the world once again goes black.
"Say hi to Easton for me."