The 1st Writer Games: Powers

Task #1 Responses - (Males)

TASK #1 RESPONSES (MALES)

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.: Jasper Vaz-Merille - District One :.

Wow!

Double wow. This arena is awesome! It must have taken them ages to think up and even longer to actually build. Everything is so colourful, and in a really twisted way too. The forest area is dominated by lurid orange and black trees that seem to be leering at us cruelly, but then again there’s a pleasant beach with glittering rainbow sand. Personally I’d like to avoid there – it looks too nice so there has to be a catch – but we’ll have to see what my allies say.

Oh, then there’s the floor. It moves. But I won’t let that put me off. I scan for available weapons and spy a bow and a quiver of arrows, close to the Cornucopia. It’s a longbow, not a recurve. Only for the strong. Which, I guess, is me, so that’s sorted. Tiamera and Nazier will sort out food and stuff; I’ll watch our backs. That’s the plan anyway.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. A Career allied with one of the District 10 kiddos. But I want to survive, and my way of doing that is different. Besides, he can talk to animals. How cool is that?

Off goes the alarm and I’m off too. And it’s not long before I’ve got my first kill; the District 3 boy stumbles on the vines, straight into my path. I break his neck without breaking my own stride and throw him aside like a doll. Is that first kill?

No time to think about that, his district partner is coming at me full pelt, only just managing to keep upright on the floor. She’s snatched up some knives from on the floor and hurls one in my general direction. I duck and it grazes my arm, making me wince. The girl got an 11; did she bribe the Gamemakers or something? The next knife buries itself in one of the vines by my feet, conveniently in my reach. I wrench it out and throw it back, and I don’t need the cry of pain to tell me I’ve hit. 

Now, back to business. In front of me, an axe is being swung around in empty air. 13. By the height of the axe, I’d say it’s the boy. I’m still unarmed, but I can take him. Serves them right for rebelling in the first place. So I launch a two-footed tackle at the area where his legs must be; unorthodox but then again, I am. I mean, did you hear of a Career using a bow and arrows before? Didn’t think so.

I connect with a bone-shattering crunch. He doesn’t scream – they’re a tough bunch, this lot from 13; makes you wonder what they’re hiding – but his invisibility flickers off and his face is screwed up in pain. He waves the axe around but it’s not his weapon and I dodge it easily, snatching it off him at the first possible moment and using it to snap through his neck. Blood gushes out of the wound and I quickly move away. 

The pair from 2, perhaps thinking that we’re allies, wave to me from next to the Cornucopia. Many of the other tributes are running for the various environments right now. “I get the bow,” I tell them, and they nod.

“You’re welcome to it,” snorts the girl. I don’t think I’d have liked these two anyway. So as soon as I’ve got the bow in my hand, I shoot her. The boy gawps at me, stunned, and doesn’t even try and attack. I shoot him too, easy as pie. District 2 didn’t even try this year!

“Jasper?” 

“Right here!” Tiamera appears around the Cornucopia, clutching some pretty deadly looking spears. She gives me a grin. “Where’s Nazier?”

“Over here!” calls a small voice. He sounds desperate so Tiamera and I instantly race off to where it is coming from. Nazier is being attacked by the girl from 9. I laugh out loud; looks like I get the chance to kill off both the lovebirds. It was obvious, that was. But hey, this is the Games. There’s no place for snivelling sob stories here.