The Capital Games

Chapter 15 {THE THIRD DAY}

*WARNING GRAPHIC VIOLENCE*

When Shea Prescott woke up that morning her head was throbbing with pain. It was early in the morning The sky was a velvety blue color, not a single cloud in the sky or flake snow drifting through the air. The girl unzipped her silver sleeping bad and sat up against the black brick wall behind, staring at the wall not four feet in front of her. Overnight the alliance had slept in a tight alleyway in the southern part of the arena, about an hours walk from the cornucopia. Colin had assumed they were nearing the perimeter of the arena and didn’t want to venture further, so here they made camp, in a random cramped alleyway that bordered a plain squat warehouse. She hadn’t slept very well that night, her spine pressed against one wall and her feet against another.

Shea sat there her legs pulled up to her chest to save room. She reached into the small grey bag besides her and reached into it, pulling out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the plastic lid and set it on the cold damp ground before chugging half the bottle. She then put the lid back on and threw the bottle back into the bag before zipping it back up. As she set the bag on the ground she heard her stomach emit a low yet loud grumble, It had been three days into the games and she had yet not eaten a single thing. She did suppose these were the hunger games after all but still- something felt peculiar. In past games there had almost always been one continuing theme- the arena had been set in nature. In nature there were plenty opportunities for food, as long as you were smart enough to find it. Here there was no nature at all. How were they to acquire food. Shea estimated by the end of the week most of the tributes would be too weakened and tired to fight, and with the games usually last twice that time … Well Shea didn’t know what to think.

She looked to her right, a small yet somehow older boy resting his head on a bundled up white snow jacket. Shea pondered how the boy wasn’t freezing. She took a hand placed it on his shoulder- which was covered by the thin aluminum foil looking sleeping bag- and shook him. Patricia’s eyes slowly opened as he groaned.

“What the hell do you want?” he mumbled as he looked up at Shea, her hand still resting on his shoulder. She looked down at him before whispering.

“C’mon… Get up. I wanna talk about something.”

“What the hell could you wanna talk about at this hour?”

“Shut up and just get up… Please?” Shea responded with a sudden change in her voice. Pat for once had no response. Instead he just sat up, grabbing the bundled up jacket and placing it on the wall behind him to act as a headrest. He turned his head and looked at Shea.

“So… Um- whatcha wanna talk about?” he asked her, his dark brown eyes drooping with weariness.

Shea let out a breathy sigh, watching her breath fog up in the cold air.

“Have you realized that there is no food here in the arena?” She asked him, keeping her voice low. Pat looked down at the ground for a few seconds thinking.

“I guess so… I mean I know we haven’t eaten anything in like forever but I mean… I’m sure there is food somewhere- right?” he responded his voice losing its confidence as he continued. “Like this is the hunger games. It’s supposed to be about killing and bloodiness right? What's the fun in watching a whole bunch of kids starve?” he asked Shea, the girl nodding her head in response.
    “True… But if there is food in the arena, where is it?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Pat!” Sheas voice rose with intensity and volume. “Don’t you get it?! Something is wrong here. There is no food in the arena, no nature, no animals-”

“Okay okay… I guess I get it. It’s weird. There, ya happy?” Patrick responded to the sudden outburst from the usually quiet girl.

“Sorry…” She said her voice climbing back down. “ This just bothers me, this is more than strange. I almost guarantee you that-” She started, unable to finish her sentence before the shrill sound of an alarm rang out through what seemed the entire arena. As the alarm and rung and screamed another boy in the alley woke up next to Patricia. Colin Cini got up moaning as he clasped his hands around his ears.  He looked around at Pat and Shea, whose eyes were wide with surprise. Nobody knew what was happening.