^Marnie
A/N: This chapter is a rare chapter without just one narrator. The narration will switch between multiple characters as the chaos of the Bloodbath unfolds. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 16
POV: Various
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Soren
The wind whistles around me as I walk across the vast tarmac to the hovercraft. Aboard the ship are all the tributes from Districts 1 to 6. I'm one of the last to arrive, and I sit between Robin and Velia, the girl I saw on the first day of Training in the elevator. Lacie is in the seat across from me, and she simply stares at me, not conveying any emotion. Next to her, Wade stares at the floor, avoiding my gaze. We're all silent as a Capitol worker walks around the plane injecting something into our arms.
We're all wearing matching outfits - running shoes with tight-fitting black leggings and t-shirts. I can tell that our shirts' colors are coordinated by District.
After a few minutes, the craft fills with the last few tributes, and we are airlifted to where we're meant to enter the Arena. Lacie and I wordlessly hug before we're taken by Peacekeepers to our individual rooms.
Cressa is waiting for me in my private room. In the background, I can hear a Gamemaker already counting down. "53. 52. 51."
I embrace Cressa as soon as the door closes. "Don't be reckless," she tells me. "The Capitol loves you - they'll give you sponsor gifts if needed. All you need to do is stay alive. And listen to Lacie to stay alive, but don't listen to her enough to get yourself killed."
I shake my head. My heart is pounding. Everything seems surreal. Is this really happening?
"I got it," I say. "If I am killed, though..."
"Don't finish that thought."
I don't have time for sentimentality right now. "No, if I'm killed, you need to take care of Roman. At this point, you're the only one taking care of him. He'll need you."
"I will, okay? And I'll take care of you, too. In the Arena and back home."
"Okay," I say, my voice shaking.
"30 seconds. 29. 28. 27," the monitor counts down.
I feel a flash of terror overcome me. My body is shaking with fear.
"There'll probably be some sort of twist at the beginning. It's a Quarter Quell," Cressa warns me. "Look for Lacie."
I breathe in deeply. "Okay, I'm going to go before I freak out."
I give Cressa one last hug before entering the glass tube. The tube closes around me, and I'm sealed away from Cressa.
Vispania
"Alright," I mutter as the icons turn from red to green. One of the icons stays red, and I turn to the Gamemaker to my right.
"What's the problem, Lionel?" I ask him.
He touches his earpiece. "It's Nelly from District 12. She's refused to enter her tube. We've deployed Peacekeepers."
After a moment, the last circle turns green.
"Nine. Eight. Seven. Six," I hear one of the Gamemakers count down.
"Three. Two. One," he finishes. The Gamemakers look to me.
"They're ready," I tell them. "Bring them up."
I feel a rush of excitement as the Arena cameras are activated, ready to capture the action. This is the greatest achievement of my career. I'll be sure to make it a spectacle to remember.
Jomilee
I'm blinded by light for a moment as my tube begins to rise into the Arena. I brush a strand of hair from my face - it must have slipped out of my ponytail.
The first thing that I notice is the frigid air. Around me, the trees are covered in snow, although it isn't snowing in the area I'm in, and there's no snow on the Cornucopia. I shiver in my thin shirt. I'll have to grab a coat at the Cornucopia.
The center of the Arena looks like a wheel. Twelve narrow paths lead to a rocky island, where the Cornucopia and its supplies are located. Between each passageway is some sort of cloudy blue liquid. In the middle of each path, the path splits into three, and each path is connected to a pedestal so that three tributes are positioned on each of the twelve paths.
Of the three on my path, I am the furthest to the left. I look to my right to see who is stationed on my path. In the middle is Cada, who is Della's District partner from District 3, and next to her is Tanner, the Career boy from District 10. At the sight of Tanner, my heart drops, and I force myself to look away. I look around as the clock ticks down, a loud ticking sound echoing around the area every second. I can see most of the other tributes, and most of them look as scared as I feel.
Lacie
I crouch on my pedestal, examining the substance below me. The clock is at twenty seconds now. Suddenly, the answer pops into my head. "It's poison!" I say excitedly, turning to the two tributes next to me. I'm stationed next to Jordan from District 7 and Nelly from District 12, who looks like she's just been in a fight.
"It's called Ultimate Solvent," I tell them. "It's a muttation that corrodes everything it touches until nothing's left. I think we're supposed to push each other into it."
The tributes nod. I'm not sure if they understand me. "Let's truce," I tell the others. "We can all make it safely if we go single file down the path."
Nia
Soren stands next to me, watching Lacie from across the Cornucopia clearing. There are only 12 seconds left.
"It looks like Lacie's saying it's poison," Soren says quickly. We're running out of time.
"Okay, I'll go first," he tells us. "Nia, follow me. Marnie, you'll go last."
Next to me, Marnie looks around. She looks beside herself with fear. "Okay..." She says nervously.
Only 5 seconds are left on the clock. Suddenly, I see a bright flash in the corner of my eye.
BOOM!
The tributes around me scream as there seems to be some nearby explosion. I look to my right, where smoke is rising from one of the narrow platforms. One pedestal, the one between Leon and Angelica, is now empty.
"What happened?" I ask Soren as the other tributes stand in shocked silence.
He struggles for words. "It's Wade..." he says, shocked. Wade must have jumped from his pedestal. The Gamemakers must have known he was going to do that - why else would they put him with Angelica and Leon, the two bitter rivals?
"Snap out of it," I say to Soren. The clock begins to tick again, with only five seconds left. "We'll think about it later. Stay alive."
Three seconds left now. The Arena is silent other than the repeated booming of the clock.
Two.
One.
Soren leaps off his pedestal, and I quickly follow him, making sure not to fall off the narrow path. Looking to my right as I run, I can already see Felix grabbing Velia and throwing her into the water. She starts to scream, but I can't look closely as I run. I glance to the left as well, watching as Leon and Angelica throw punches at one another. The two seem to be locked in place before Leon comes out on top, throwing Angelica into the poison.
I wince, turning my eyes to the Cornucopia as we draw near. The fastest tributes are already grabbing weapons and supplies. I see Orion grab a bow, shooting an arrow down a pathway, and then I hear a splash as someone falls into the poison.
"Nia, get down!" Soren suddenly screams in front of me.
Yelping in surprise, I drop to my knees. The leggings I'm wearing rip at the knees against the rough rock, and I know my knees are bleeding. A long object flies over me so close I can feel it brush at strands of my hair. Hearing a splash, I look back at Marnie, who's face-first in the poison with a spear in her chest. Suddenly, I hear a sizzling noise, and I watch as the skin on Marnie's hand begins to peel.
Breaking myself from my thoughts, I stand and grab Soren. We need to get out of here as fast as possible.
"Come on, let's go!" I yell, pulling Soren to his feet.
We sprint into the area. Tanner is reaching to grab another spear - he must have been the one who killed Marnie.
The island is swamped with tributes as we all arrive at once. We pass Victoria, who is already stabbing the boy from 12 with a long knife, and run to a weapon rack. I can see a trident, which I'm sure will help Soren.
Most of the tributes start to flee, content with the one or two items they've grabbed. For now, I try to collect supplies into my backpack. After a moment, I glance up, noticing with a start that Soren is gone. I must have lost him in the chaos.
"Nia!" I hear Dalia call. I glance up, spotting her at the other end of the island. She's already joined up with Robin. I run up to them quickly, almost tripping on a girl's body.
"Where's Lacie?" I ask them, but they shrug in response. She must be on the other side. Maybe she joined up with Soren.
Suddenly, I spot two figures running nearby. It's Cada, who is sprinting down a narrow path, followed by Leon, who's chasing her. I gesture to him, and Dalia nods. She must have seen him kill Angelica too, or at least assumed what happened.
The three of us walk to the end of the walkway, where it meets the Cornucopia island. Leon catches up to Cada, stabbing her in the back with his sword, and she slides slowly into the Ultimate Solvent. Leon turns around to approach the Cornucopia, but we don't give him the chance to react. Dalia strings her bow, releasing an arrow and shooting it into his chest.
Rose
I run up to Jordan, who is grabbing a bundle of supplies from inside the mouth of the Cornucopia. I hear a girl's screams in the background. It sounds like one of the District 1 girls, but I know that's probably not the case. The screams are abruptly cut short as I reach Jordan.
"You got it?" I ask him.
"Yeah," he says, rising to his feet. "We need to go. Where's Greta?"
"We need to find her," I say. "She might be dead."
We run out of the Cornucopia, looking for Greta. Suddenly, Jordan rams into me, throwing me to the ground violently. I scream in surprise as I hit the ground. Hearing a clanging from behind me, I look back to see Nelly, one of the girls from District 12, with a spear in her chest. She must have been thrown into the Cornucopia.
I look up to see the thrower. It's Ada. Jordan stands immediately, already recovered from our fall, and he holds his ax in a defensive position. Ada gives us a glance before turning and looking elsewhere for other tributes.
Jordan and I share a confused look. What just happened? Why would Ada leave us alive like that?
I'm too tired to care. Greta sprints in from the other direction, helping me to my feet.
"Are you guys alright?" she asks, glancing at Nelly's body.
"Let's get out of here," Jordan says in response.
We sprint down one of the narrow paths, where Maisy and Kala are waiting for us. Only some of us went to the Cornucopia to grab supplies to avoid the risk of us being killed.
The two emerge from behind a bush as we approach. Jordan throws a pack in Kala's arms as Greta hands Maisy some weapons.
"All good?" Kala asks.
"We had a run-in with Ada but we made it out alright," Jordan explains. "We also thought Greta was dead but luckily we found her in time."
Greta offers the group a sheepish smile. I'm glad we're all alive.
Felix
Cannon shots fire as Tanner, Victoria and I walk around the Cornucopia island. The gravel crunches under our shoes as we walk. The area is silent. I think all the other tributes have run off, but I don't want to call for Amethyst in case anyone else is around.
After a long while, the cannons finally stops. "Ten cannons," Tanner reports.
Finally, I spot Amethyst. She's face down on the ground, but her shirt is the same color as Victoria's and mine. I use my shoe to kick her over. Her neck is slit and bleeding heavily. I turn her back over, shuddering at the sight. I guess her parents won't be getting a Victor after all.
Victoria inhales suddenly, and I glance up to see Ada approaching from the other side of the island. However, she doesn't get the chance to approach us, as the ground begins to shake, almost knocking us off-balance. I see one of the paths leading to the island beginning to drop into the poison surrounding it. Tanner sprints to a nearby path, trying to escape before the rest of the pathways disappear, and Victoria and I run close behind. I don't look back to see what Ada is doing.
We make it almost the whole distance before the path we're running down begins to sink into the poison. Tanner runs to safety, but Victoria and I are forced to dive off the path as it sinks, landing on top of each other as we roll. Victoria dramatically rolls her eyes as we stand, but she should just be happy she didn't land on my knife.
I look back to see that of the 12 paths, only four remain, splitting the Arena into four sections. I wonder if that'll mean something later.
~
RIP Wade :(