hiraeth || a hunger games au

Chapter 4

Alex was starting to feel nervous about the Games. She was put on a jet and given what seemed like a shot. She heard somewhere that it was so they could track you in the arena. It was another one of those rumors that got shut down right away as soon as it started. She sat in the seat silent until Peacekeepers came back twenty minutes later to escort her down a dark hallway. She couldn't see anything, she could only hear the march of the boots against the metal floor.

Finally, she entered a room with lights. In the center, there was a platform and a tube that she could only imagine led outside. Her stylist entered the room from a different door that she didn't know existed. She was desperately trying to remember the poor man's name. He walked forward with something in his hand.

"Now, this is the part where we say goodbye and you get your item to keep in the games. I would have asked you beforehand if your mother hadn't sent something in," He explained. Alex nodded unsure what to say. He took Alex's hand and slipped a thick gold ring on her finger. Etched on the ring were several small clovers and a cornucopia.

Alex thanked him and then a Peacekeeper came in and said it was time for him to leave. As he did this he said, "Good luck in the Games, May the Fates forever hold you in their hearts."

She turned around to face the Peacekeeper who told her it was time and followed on her heels to the platform. She looked back at the Peacekeeper and they nodded. She took a step into the tube and it closed behind her. She felt herself moving up and the Peacekeeper disappear behind her as sunlight shone through the top. As she stood on the lone pedestal looking out at the other tributes she realized, she didn't have a strategy.

Angus looked around and saw that his surroundings looked like a normal forest. He was slightly relieved, a forest should be easier concerning supplies

"So what biome are you hoping for?" Gerson Hudge asked Angus after the crowd had calmed down from laughing at a joke Angus made. Gerson had made him feel very comfortable during the interview whilst who knows how many people watched.

"Oh, I don't know, nothing too easy though," Angus answered, smiling.

Gerson laughed at this along with the crowd, "Are you looking for a challenge then?"

"Well..."

Angus was hoping that during the interview people liked him enough to send him gifts.

"Let the 88th annual Hunger Games begin. May the Fates forever hold you in their hearts." A man's voice was heard around the arena and the countdown started.

10

"You seem very comfortable up here in front of an audience..."

9

"No thanks to you."

8

Laughter fills the grand room.

7

"Well maybe if you win the games you'll have to come and join me up here on stage sometime."

6

"You bet I will."

5

"Who are you wearing tonight?"

4

"My manager Clio actually helped work on this suit."

3

"I've actually been meaning to ask this and I think everyone is dying to know. We all know you're from District 12, but where did you get that accent?"

2

"The thing is, I'm actually not from around here."

1

Angus shook the memories of the interview from his head as he started running towards the large cornucopia in the center of the pedestals. As soon as he got in range for a backpack he scooped it up. Racing through the first blood bath he ran into the cornucopia grabbing the first weapon he could find that wasn't being guarded by a career. Cannons were going off every time someone died. One of the other tributes didn't like that he took a weapon and chased after him. He ran straight into the greenery without looking back trying to plan out what he was going to do.

Angus whipped around and smacked whoever it was with his backpack in the face. The girl stumbled back surprised. He didn't recognize her. He took advantage of her shock and slung the backpack onto his back. The dagger he grabbed was missing and he frantically looked around for it. The girl didn't seem armed so it was possible he could just knock her out.

The girl got up and seemed angry. Angus was about to take off running again when she tackled him and they went rolling. Angus was finally able to get away from the girl when she pulled out a knife.

Across the clearing, Marley was trying not to get stabbed as the boy from District 3 was trying to kill him. The District 3 girl was nowhere in sight. He grabbed the arm that held the knife and swept his legs. The knife hit the grass and Marley grabbed it. He stood there for a moment realizing he would have to kill the boy. The District 1 girl obviously was impatient and slit the boy's throat. Marley nearly gagged as he turned away.

"We should grab whatever is left over and move to a source of water." Elise, the District 1 girl said. She was addressing the group of allies, Careers. It was made up of District 1, District 2, and District 4. The District 3 tributes were also supposed to be in the group but they betrayed the Careers.

Alex started to gather the things the group needed and put it in backpacks. She looked around and realized no one was watching and took a knife for herself. She didn't trust any of the people here. Alex was about to leave the Cornucopia when she heard rustling from behind her.

Angus had escaped the crazed knife-wielder by knocking her out with a large stick and taking the knife. He was pretty far in the woods. He rummaged through the backpack finding very little. He iodine pills for water, rope, and a canteen. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about food. It was currently "golden hour", and it would bet that the Careers were trying to pick off as many people as they could. He wondered with a guilty pang if Orla had survived. To distract him from his thoughts, he decided to make a spear using a stick he had found. He found a good spot to set up camp for the first night and started making his spear. He didn't realize that the next day we would be using it.