Serafina Hayes's Story

The time had run out and every tribute had burst off of their spot as quickly as they could, many ran to the center, others away from the cornucopia. Within the first twenty minutes of the day six were killed. All of Districts 5 and 10, and the male from 3, and female from 9. That meant that only eighteen were left. The odds were bad that many would wake up in the morning. Only two of the tributes had sleeping bags, few had water, and there was no way of knowing who would risk making a fire to keep warm. So far, there were no alliances, so there would no way for anyone to watch out for one another while they slept. When the girl Mallory had run away with her backpack, the boy named Ian had reached out and grabbed at her, tearing her backpack, but she had gotten away. Her things had stayed in her backpack for a while but it caught on a branch and tore open slightly more, letting a sleeping bag, gloves, and a light jacket to tumble out at different distances [at least 100 yards apart], but the girl had either not noticed, or not cared enough to pick them up as she went. They lay on the ground for anyone to get, but it would be hard for them to know they were there unless they had seen them fall out because of the snow beginning to cover them.

The sky was getting darker as it got later, and the cold was getting ever colder. The snow hadn't let up, and on the contrary it had gotten stronger. There was at least 2 feet of snow everywhere you looked, and the dead trees didn't provide any shelter from the falling snow. The clouds in the sky didn't part to allow any of the moons light to come through, so it was almost pitch black, save for a few stars that poked through and provided minimal amounts of light. It would be difficult to get any amount of warmth throughout the night time.

The ground was hard and cold, and the dead trees did not seem sturdy enough for any of the tributes to climb, but any that traveled far enough from the cornucopia would find some relief from the troubles they faced as it was. But it was a long journey, and most of them didn't have enough water to travel that far, so they would have to wait until they found a water source.

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The District 8 female tribute Lia Brin had traveled as far as she could, many miles into the woods, trying to get as far away from the cornucopia as she could, but had begun to get too tired and dehydrated. She thought for a moment, then bent down, cupping her hands into the snow then put snow in her mouth. She was instantly gratified to have the melted snow in her mouth, and as she continued to drink her vision dimmed, and she began to shake. It was poisonous to intake it, and she just realized it. Her eyes watered as she began to cry, and then began to tremble with fear. It took mere minutes for her to take her last breath, her last thought was that of her family and her district. Another tribute, District 7's male tribute Edwin Green, mere feet away from her watched from a distance and had done the same before he had seen her die and closed his eyes as he accepted his death.


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The night was finally here, and each tribute was in their own place.

There was complete silence, then the anthem played. Then;

One cannon shot...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five...
Six...
Seven...
Eight...

All together sixteen tributes left. Who would be the next?