Spending the night on the ground with recently patched up wounds was worse than I had expected. I had treated my wounds with the little I had learned during training before I fell asleep. I disinfected the cuts both with some of the alcohol in the kit, still leaving some left over, and covered the one on my arm and neck with a bandage and put one on my torn achilles as well. I was right when I thought that would hurt like hell when I woke up. It sure did.
Realizing I hadn't had anything to drink since the fruit I had eaten, was it yesterday? No, the day before. The nights and days began to blend together before I gave up and just accepted that I was thirsty. I ate half of the half loaf of bread from Chase's pack, giving me enough energy to hopefully get through at least half the day. I combined what was in the second pack into my original one, giving me less to carry and reducing the stress on my back.
Walking was a task in and of itself, so I was glad if not taken aback when I realized there was a river in my line of sight. The water was coming up onto the grass and had obviously flooded. I pulled my empty canteen out of the pack and filled it to the brim, dropping an iodine tablet into the water. A half an hour and I would be able to drink the water that would hopefully help with the sun that was beating down onto the exposed skin from my shirt. Just then, I realized that the blood from yesterday had dried and left a maroon almost brown spot on the previous white cotton. I remembered pulling out an extra shirt while transferring the packs, so I tugged the stained shirt over my head, setting it into the shallow part of the river where the current wouldn't pull it away but would hopefully clean it a bit.
I left the shirt off as I splashed the water onto my torso, cleaning off the dried blood but avoiding the dry bandages. Once I was no longer covered in the memories of the day before, I slipped the extra shirt on and pulled the second one out of the water. It may be of use, although not by much, so I shoved it back into the pack after wringing out most of the water.
The thirty minutes seemed to drag on and ignoring the rumbling in my stomach was not an easy task. Once the watch hit 9:45, an exact thirty minutes after putting the iodine tablet into the canteen, the water was still cool and helped to saturate the thirst that was beginning to grow stronger from the heat.
Keeping an eye out for any tributes coming my way, I settled down under the shade of another of the loquat trees and took small sips of the canteen water. After my ankle had stopped throbbing for the most part and the ability to walk had somewhat come back, I stood up from under the shade and decided that I should head away from the water.
Standing onto the sliced achilles heel was far from a good idea and falling back on the ground, I realized that I wasn't going anywhere far anytime soon.
Location in Arena: Garden path near the south east corner
Weapons: Trident, Axe, Pack C ( 6ft of wire, gloved, jar of olives (ate three earlier), vial of poison, empty 1/2 L canteen, 2 iodine tablets, basic med kit), Pack F (set of throwing knives, night vision goggles, map, 1/2 loaf of bread, 1/2 beef jerky, bandana, extra t-shirt)
Injuries: Slit achilles tendon, long but thin cut on my upper arm, cut on the back of my neck
Company: Some remorse about what I did but all in the nature of going home. Alone. As usual.
Developments: Surprisingly enough took out both Chase and Axel with all of my limbs in tact and got some stuff out of it. I have a feeling I'll put the trident somewhere, it's not of much use to me. Otherwise, I'm two steps closer to going home.
With night approaching, I knew that I had no choice but to climb one of the trees, hoping to attain some sort of shelter. I steadied my breathing as I climbed, making sure to keep my footing while remaining as silent as possible. As much as I hated the heights aspect of climbing, I had done it as a child on a daily basis. There was a memory behind the fear, after all.
Once I made it to the lowest branch possible while still above the ground, I settled my breathing as quietly as I could and pulled the pack from my back, fishing through it to find what I desired. I pulled the coil of wire out and secured myself to the trunk of the tree until I was sure it would hold. The branch was thick enough to spend the night on fairly safely, and it was out of sight from the tributes who may decide to prowl during the night.
With my pack secured to my back and holding my ax in a death grip, I watched as the watch displayed the fallen from that day. The first face that showed was one that I had never expected to see at a time like this. Mika's face flashed on the watch screen and in those few seconds I realized that I hadn't seen her make it out of the bloodbath weapon or no weapon. I had expected Chase to be in there to help her, Char and Axel possibly as well. But they weren't. I watched as Charlotte's face flashes by as well, two of the people I had grown attached to were within helping distance.
Memories came flooding back, moments where I could have easily changed the outcome. If I had been paying more attention, if I had been doing what I was supposed to be doing then none of this would have happened. If I had made sure to check for the ravine before I took Alaia out, if I had been at the bloodbath with Mika and Char, if if if. I watched as the rest of the faces flashed by, no one else I had any real attachment too was shown. There was the blonde girl who had patted my head and ran off earlier in the day and Brefina who I had trained with briefly, but otherwise it was a mash of faces that I had only seen on occasion.
I buried my wrist in the shorts of the arena uniform and waited to drift off to a light sleep in the still-humid air of this arena. Sleep didn't come easily, and when it did I had decided something.
I planned on being the one to come out of this arena alive.
After finding temporary shelter beneath the small trees, I didn't have any intention of getting myself into the mess that was still unfolding. Cannons went off and even though the bloodbath was officially over, the fighting continued and would most likely continue into the night. It would be best to wait until most of the adrenaline from the bloodbath had worn off, and exhaustion set in.
The heat was still immense and the visible waves in the air only gave explanation to the beads of sweat now rolling down my face. I looked up into the tree and saw that it was a good 10 or 11 feet up off the ground. It could provide some cover, especially until nightfall, but I couldn't bring myself to climb it just yet. I was about to find a way to climb up the tree if I ended up needed the cover, before I heard footsteps crunching the tall grass.
I made eye contact with Morocco as she found her way down from the rooftop of the building. I pulled my ax up, knowing she would probably attack. The careers trained for this moment and I was surprised when she kept her eyes trained on me, but ran away from where I stood. I noticed a slight limp in her run, a drag that meant she had probably been injured.
I would've gone after the girl, but with Chase and Axel on the path directly outside, both of whom had made it completely obvious that they wouldn't mind spilling my blood, I decided against it. There would be plenty of time to take action once everyone had gotten comfortable.
As I made my way east away from the cornucopia and the blood curdling screams resonating from it, I realized that most other tributes went this way as well. I had my ax in one hand and the pack slung across my shoulder and only a few things on my mind.
Mika had probably gotten what she wanted from the cornucopia and was heading off to join Chase and the others, just like they had planned. I gripped my ax even tighter and kept heading in the same direction, making sure to keep my eyes on the look out and listening for any movement of tributes. I had gotten out of the bloodbath with what I had wanted, but I had no idea where everyone else was, whether they had met up or even made it out. I pushed those thoughts out of my head and focused on the task ahead of me, getting as far away from that cornucopia as possible.
I could feel the sweat begin to form at my hairline and used the hem of the tank top to wipe my forehead clean. Once I reached a room, I noticed that there was a girl in the opposite corner, staring at me like I was some experiment. I gripped my ax and made eye contact with her, she was cool and collected and didn't seem to have the intention of making an attack. She bounded over to me and just as I was ready to make a move, she reached up and patted my head. Why the hell was this small blonde girl patting my head when I could just as easily leave her without a limb or gone with nothing but the boom of a cannon.
Before I had time to react, she was off and running out of the room and towards who knows what. I swung my pack back on my shoulder and began to head north, away from whatever had just happened and hopefully away from any tributes. Once I passed out of the blood red room, I was staring at a mountain range.
Most likely it wouldn't be very safe inside the building until the bloodbath was long over, so I decided to hop the short wooden railing and found myself surrounded by overgrown grass. Lovely. To my right I saw a few trees that had fruit, nothing that I recognized but they would at least give me some shade from this horrible heat.
Once I reached the cluster of trees, I sat down against the base and took the bag off my shoulder, rummaging through the contents. There was wire, a jar of olives, a vial of poison, a medical kit, and iodine tablets with a canteen. I didn't see any water around, but I opened the jar of olives and ate three of them. The adrenaline was wearing off and I could feel the heat begin to get to me and my mind began to wander as I stayed under the shade.
What if Mika and the rest of them hadn't made it out of the bloodbath, I hadn't even bothered to look at any of them once the clock counted down. For all I know, they could be shipped home tomorrow and I could have helped to stop it. I stood up from the shade, and stuffed one of the fruits from the tree into my pack before slinging it on my shoulder again. Now was not the time to think about what happened, it would either be confirmed or denied when the fallen were displayed. Now was the time to think about how I was going to get home.
Caesar Flickerman: Now here comes a real favorite with the ladies, especially our new Game Maker, Minnie. Round of applause for Damien Teslo! *crowd goes wild*
Damien: *walks on stage winking and waving to the crowd* Hello, Caesar. It’s nice to finally meet you *holds hand out for him to shake*
Caesar: *waits for crowd to die down* Damien, how do you do it? *chuckles* The pleasure is all mine, my boy. And all theirs. *girls scream* Tell us, what's it like to know you're in such high demand?
Damien: It's not something I'm used to at home *laughs a bit* Not saying I couldn't get used to it *winks at audience*
Caesar Flickerman: *chuckles* Well Damien, tell us, besides your lady-killing skills, what other talents are you bringing to the table tomorrow?
Damien: District Seven definitely prepared me physically so I'm hoping to take advantage of strengths from my district that are... unique *gives a knowing smile*
Caesar Flickerman: *nods* I know how to keep a secret, I won't tell! Tell us though, will you be allying with anyone or will you be braving it alone out there?
Damien: Nothing is set in stone yet, but even if there is an alliance it won't be for long. Only one person comes out of that arena.
Caesar Flickerman: Now here comes a real favorite with the ladies, especially our new Game Maker, Minnie. Round of applause for Damien Teslo! *crowd goes wild*
Damien: *walks on stage winking and waving to the crowd* Hello, Caesar. It’s nice to finally meet you *holds hand out for him to shake*
Caesar: *waits for crowd to die down* Damien, how do you do it? *chuckles* The pleasure is all mine, my boy. And all theirs. *girls scream* Tell us, what's it like to know you're in such high demand?
Damien: It's not something I'm used to at home *laughs a bit* Not saying I couldn't get used to it *winks at audience*
Caesar Flickerman: *chuckles* Well Damien, tell us, besides your lady-killing skills, what other talents are you bringing to the table tomorrow?
Damien: District Seven definitely prepared me physically so I'm hoping to take advantage of strengths from my district that are... unique *gives a knowing smile*
Caesar Flickerman: Now here comes a real favorite with the ladies, especially our new Game Maker, Minnie. Round of applause for Damien Teslo! *crowd goes wild*
Damien: *walks on stage winking and waving to the crowd* Hello, Caesar. It’s nice to finally meet you *holds hand out for him to shake*
Caesar: *waits for crowd to die down* Damien, how do you do it? *chuckles* The pleasure is all mine, my boy. And all theirs. *girls scream* Tell us, what's it like to know you're in such high demand?
Damien: It's not something I'm used to at home *laughs a bit* Not saying I couldn't get used to it *winks at audience*
My fingers slowly dug at the couch cushion to release the rest of my aggravation from the scores. The screen flicked for a second before going completely black. Save it for the arena, save it for the arena, it will be worth it there. Not here. My breaths started to even out and I opened my eyes once again to face Damien.
“I don’t like to lose,” I motioned to the black screen where the scores were displayed. “And I consider that losing. What about you, Mr.Eight. Expect that?” I still had an edge to my voice, but that wouldn’t fade just yet.
I raised an eyebrow at her comment, that much was obvious. I was going to try to clean up the broken glass on the floor, but the pieces were so small that I wouldn't be able to pick them all up. She didn't like losing... that would come in handy in the arena wouldn't it?
"The only people who look at those scores are sponsors, and they pick underdogs too," I said simply. It was true. My score was mediocre, while Gemma's left room for guessing as to what made her tick. When she asked the question, I could have said of course I saw it coming I had been training blah blah blah. "I wasn't expecting an eight that's for sure," I said looking over at her.
When everyone scattered out of the living room, Caesar was rambling on about the tributes again and their scores. His voice and comments made my emotions become even more bottled up and explosive. The television seemed to become louder the more I tuned back into reality. My teeth clenched together when I turned to Damien once again.
“Can I see that real fast?” I pointed to his glass with a forced smile. He looked at me curiously, keeping the glass loosely in his hand. I snatched the glass out of his hand and smiled brighter before chucking it at the television. The screen didn’t crack but a few sparks came off along with my anger. “Thank you,”
I looked at her, and even though I had no idea what she had in mind, I held my hand out to give it to her. She took it with a smile and I thought she was going to take a swig of it or something, but she simply threw that glass at the television. An Avox began to scurry out of the kitchen, but I waved her away.
"Seems like you've got quite the temper," I said, motioning to the broken glass and still functioning television.
My hands started to curl, my knuckles whitening and the television became a mumble in the background of my thoughts. Damien spoke calmly at my side, trying to calm me down about the score I got in private training while an Avox cleaned up my only sign of destruction. I silently begged for another glass, but inside of shattering it on the wall, I’d slam it on the Gamemakers. There was no way that a five is my logical score.
“Its not just a score, it can determine the difference between life and death.” I shot him a glare before closing my eyes and taking deep breathes.
She did have a point. The scores determined sponsors as well, something that could mean life or death in the arena. Not that I necessarily wanted to tell that to a girl who had just chucked her glass of alcohol at the nearest wall. "You still have the entire arena to prove them wrong, you know," I said simply, noticing that she was squeezing her eyes shut.
Luana shooed the avox away and grabbed the bottle of champagne and walked towards her room. I guess she wanted to drink away the night, hoping that one of us would come out of the arena and make her the famous escort for the victor. Nikephorous slapped us each on the back and walked himself out of the room as well.
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