.: Tiamera Ellen - District One :. *Handed in late*
Great just great! I'm left alone with four others who want to kill me. I shouldn't have let Jasper go hunting by himself. I'm such an idiot, and now I'm an idiot who has to somehow get out of this arena alive. Pull your self together Tiamera! You're a cold blooded career or at least should be a cold blooded career. I stopped pacing around the artificially colored beach and noticed how calm and undisturbed the arena was. It hasn't been like this since the very beginning of the games. Wow, that seems like it was years ago. Double wow, I'm still here. I let out a deep throated sigh, there was a slight echo. I may not be here for much longer. I sighed again and plumped myself into the sand. I missed district 1 so much, oh how I longed to go back. I wanted to be able to hug my family members again; I wanted to be able to frolic around the district; I wanted to see what opportunities I might have been offered. But no, I'm here on a beach in an arena where I have to kill for survival, like animals. That's what this is a dog fight! The tributes are the dogs and the arena a caged in area. I laughed at the hanging thought, the Capitol would be having a hissy fit if they knew what I was thinking. I got up and started to walk into the wooded area. It was really quiet and calm in the arena, it was surprisingly uncomfortable. As I kept walking I felt like someone was watching me, I turned and to my avail no one was there. I shrugged and kept walking. Someone jumped on my back and started to cut off my air supply. I scratched at the hands around my neck, the hands grabbed on tighter. I sank onto my knees, getting dizzy quickly. I remembered I had a knife in my pocket. I fumbled with my hands to get the small knife, my vision was going blurry. I shakily stabbed the hands around my neck. The hands wouldn't release, I stabbed them again and the grip loosened. As some of my strength came back I got off my knees and tried to grab the person off my back. When I went to try, nobody was there. I turned and faced my opponent, Lizzie from district 3. Her bleeding hands were covering her eyes. I must have used my powers without noticing. I took this as an advantage and went up to Lizzy and slit her throat with the knife. She collapsed and a canon went off. I wonder what my father would think of me now. I remember what he told me the night before reaping, it's as clear as glass.
*FLASHBACK*
"Dad do you think I'll get reaped tomorrow," I asked sitting on the sleeping bag I laid out.
The two of us were under the stars, just talking.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. It could be anyone, but if you are reaped will you try and promise me one thing?" My father asked with a shaky voice.
"Of course, what is it?"
"Promise me, you'll stay yourself to the best of your ability." He answered.
"Pinky promise," I said holding out my pinky.
My father and I locked pinkies then laughed.
"So do you want to continue practicing your powers?" My dad asked.
I nodded and stood up. I concentrated and tried to blind my father, I failed once again and blinded myself. My father laughed and caught me before I stumbled to the floor.
*****
I hadn't noticed I started to cry. I wasn't myself anymore, I don't think you can be when you're thrown into the games. I just killed someone with no feelings of guilt, or grief. Maybe I was turning into the traditional career tribute. I shook off the thought and started to walk away back to the beach. When I got back Orion was going through the small bag I still had left. I threw my knife at him and missed by a lot. I was still shaky from almost being choked to death. Orion now noticed my presence and held my sword up with caution; his green eyes pierced mine. Orion was shaking a little, I moved closer to him and Orion moved back. I moved in front of him with a sly speed, he slashed a cut in my left arm. It started to bleed rapidly, I bit my lip. I slide underneath Orion and tripped him, he tried to cut me again but I dodged it. I needed to get either a knife from my bag or retrieve my sword from Orion. I jumped to my bag, which was floating in the water. I swam and tried to find knives. This gave Orion time to get up. I finally found a knife and got out of the water. My cut was now burning and bleeding, screaming with pain. I threw my knife this time and it caught Orion in the stomach. I tried to use my powers again, and it backfired. I blinded myself, hoping Orion was still on the floor I waited for my vision to come back. When I could see again, I was on the floor, Orion on top of me. He was trying to cut my face with the knife he took from his stomach. My face was bleeding and now I was dodging the strikes. I pushed Orion off of me and went to get my sword which he left unguarded. I got my sword and went towards Orion, he threw the knife at me and missed. I kicked him down then stabbed him with the sword. I could feel tears rolling down my face. I really just killed a thirteen year old. The canon went off and I jumped at the sound. I retrieved my knife and started to walk back to the woods. I didn't want to see Orion's body taken away. When in the woods, I climbed a tree and perched there. I clearly am no longer Tiamera, I'm a traditional career tribute, if I liked it or not.
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.: Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Edison :.
Tiamera’s body lies on the floor next to me and I don’t know how it got there.
She’s bleeding out from a wound in her side that once, a lot time ago, would have made me sick, but now it’s just normal. I have seen so much; fire and flames and mutts. I’ve seen people drowned, poisoned, burnt, stabbed, decapitated, killed in so many ways that I would never have thought of. So much blood, so little glory. How long have I been here? It feels like forever. Months, drowning out the life I had before.
And I’ve killed too, let’s not forget that.
The wound in Tiamera’s side matches the sword in my hand, but I don’t remember using it. I don’t remember much since seeing Benoit’s face in the sky.
That boy…the boy from Nine. I can’t even remember his name but he’s dead too; he lies bobbing in the water with one of my crossbow quarrels sticking out of his chest. He was trying to fly away. I don’t blame him. I don’t think he’d even seen me before I shot him.
I shot him.
It has been a night of bloodshed and all of it, my fault.
The sun is rising over the purple waves. It strikes my face, cold even though it should be warm. The waves are calm, ripples. The sand glitters under my knees, the colours sparkling. I dig my fingers in and more colours are revealed, subtle changes, like small gems ground down into tiny little grains. Behind me, the mountain is calm and the forest, the scene of so many nightmares, is peaceful. It isn’t just me out here, but I feel like it could be. Especially if I just look out this way. I am torn from my family, from my friends, and now even Benoit is gone. I am alone.
It could be the last time I ever see this, the sun waking up the whole of Panem. Today the sun will shine on everybody. It will touch every district. Including home.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I just nod, the sun glinting off the metallic clusters in front of me. Orange and purple streaks across the sky, the last of the night’s stars fading away for the day. The fluorescent orange lights below don’t affect the sky; probably a happy accident rather than planning. Not many people here care about being able to see the stars. Just me and Watson.
“Are you cold?” he asks, sprawled against the vent. Air is blasting out of it, ruffling his hair and adding a low throbbing noise under the whole scene. The air is warm and I’m not even shivering, despite the thin, crumpled shirt that I wear for work.
“No,” I tell him, “Are you?”
“Not here.”
I look away from him, out over my district. I can see my own house, hunched in the distance, close to the fence. They’ll have been looking for me, but by now they’ll have assumed that I stayed on overtime at work. Well, I guess I have. I haven’t left the building, anyway.
“Reaping soon,” I mutter. I don’t mean to, it just slips out. Spark’s first reaping. My last. Watson’s second to last. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Eliza –“
“Lizzie,” I correct him, knowing full well that he won’t listen.
“Eliza. We’ll be fine,” he assures me. I lean back so he’s supporting my weight; he’s warm and solid and comfortable. He shifts so he can curl a strand of my hair around his finger.
“We’ll be fine,” I repeat, but it doesn’t make me feel less queasy. His other hand presses something into mine, something thin and red. It’s a wire, presumably stolen. I frown at it. He notices my uncertainty.
“Just in case. It’s for your bracelet.”
My bracelet, my only piece of jewelry. As he wraps an arm around me, I wind it into the coloured wires that represent my family. There. Now Watson is always with me too.
“It is beautiful,” I sigh, turning my attention back to the sunrise. The sun itself is half over the jagged horizon, lively orange. He laughs slightly. I feel it rather than hearing it.
“Just think. Whatever happens, the sun will always rise.”
“That’s so obvious that it’s meaningless,” I point out. He laughs again, the arm around my waist tightening. I allow myself a small, contented smile. If I could stay here all day, I would.
“Is it, though?” he asks, in that tone that means he’s trying – and failing – to be mysterious, “Is it meaningless?”
No, Watson. No it isn’t. The sun pokes its head over the horizon, fearful of what the day may bring. And so am I. But that doesn’t matter.
Whatever happens, the sun will always rise.
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.: Gemini Coinreed - District Eleven :.