Day 9

Sponsorship

Today’s winner is…Michael of District 1!

Michael Evans, District 1 Female

Congrats Michael, your training score is now 7!

Poison

The following tributes lose a training point due to poison:

Michael Evans, District 1 Female

Training score drops to 6.

Joey McKenna, District 5 Male

Training score drops to 5.

Ian Smith, District 12 Male

Training score drops to 4.

Day 9

Michael Evans, District 1 Female

I never thought I was going to be alone.

Granted, eventually I would have had to lose Andrew in order to win. But he died too soon, too fast. I wasn’t ready. And now I’m moving from room to room in a fruitless search for food. And I’m starting to get sick.

I had a plan coming into the Games. Stick with the Careers until Andrew and I felt that we were ready to strike it on our own, and then wait until there were three or four tributes left to take out Andrew. But he’s already gone, and he took our mannequin with him.

I turn down a hallway and immediately smell blood and death. Ahead of me, further down the hallway, is a door with a broken window and blood smeared across the metal. Getting closer, I peer through the broken window and see a painfully bright room, with a bloodstained stone wall on the far side of the room. Not going in there.

As I continue trekking through the hallways, I realize that the blood on the door is the first evidence of a tribute I’ve seen since I ran from the Careers. I won’t go out like that, poisoned or not. I’m making it to the end, or taking someone with me if I die.

Ian Smith, District 12 Male

“No more shields, no more shields, no more shields…”

I whisper this mantra as I follow the two tributes, being careful to stay a couple hallways behind them. Gotta kill one, gotta kill both, they have to die just like Morgan.

She was sleeping. And I found a panel on a wall that made gasoline pour from the ceiling instead of water. Pushed the button, lit a match, ran away. She would have done the same if she had found the panel. Right? We’re all supposed to kill each other, right? That’s how you get out, that’s how you go home, that’s what I have to do. So I gotta kill one, and then the other, and then eleven more. That’s it. Then I can go home.

Jeremiah Brown, District 7 Male

“I died today.”

I look up from the plank of wood I’m carving into and up at Abby, who stands stoically as usual.

“What do you mean?”

“Last year’s Games,” she says. “I died on the ninth day.”

“Oh.”

I go back to carving for a moment before looking back up.

“I watched it, I think. You saved your ally.”

Abby nods.

“I failed with my other two allies. And then I tried to help another tribute, but I ended up getting him killed too when I distracted him.”

She turns to look at me.

“May I ask, what happened to Sarah? My ally?”

My eyebrows scrunch up.

“You don’t know what happened?”

Abby shakes her head.

“My memories only last up until my death.”

“Sarah won. She won the whole thing.”

Abby nods, not even showing a smile.

“That is good. I will do my best to help you win too.”

I sit back and continue carving. I’ve got three days of food left, and then I’ll have to find more. With Abby, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Victoria Paul, District 10 Female

I swing again with a grunt, trying to get past Preston’s guard. He easily blocks my sword with his, and disarms me with a flick of his wrist. I stumble back with a groan of annoyance.

“Victoria, sword-fighting is not your strength. I would recommend practicing more with your knife and rope.”

“Shut up. Again.”

I grab the sword and get ready. Preston attacks me again and I attempt to block his strikes. Only five blows in and Preston is holding his sword at my shoulder.

“If not for my programming, your arm would be detached and on the floor now.”

I knock his sword away and swing at his waist, but he blocks me again. I sigh and drop my sword.

“Fine, I’ve had enough.”

I stomp over and grab my knife and rope. Preparation is key in the Games. I watched last year’s, and I actually bet money on the girl from 5, Maureen. She wasn’t the strongest tribute in the Games, but she was by far the smartest. She managed to convince the strongest ally on her team to split and run off with her, which ended in the other members of her team being killed off. Then she split from her ally, and poisoned her in the final days of the Games. She made it to the finale, but she died in a sword-fight against the girl from 11. She had everything but the ability to use a sword properly.

Preston stands on the other side of the room, cleaning the swords that we were just using.

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter how prepared you are, Victoria. I was the best sword-fighter in my Games, and I still lost.”

I stare at him for a long while before nodding and walking back to him.

“Let’s go hunting.”

Marie Morton, District 4 Female

Justin and I turn around a corner and suddenly find ourselves staring into a dark hallway.

“Turn around?” I ask.

Justin spins on his heel without a word, and we start heading back the way we came. Not taking any chances in the dark.

When we come back around the corner, a lot happens at once. First, the boy from 12 stumbles out from around the opposite end of the hallway, swinging a meteor hammer. Second, an ear-piercing scraping noise sounds from the dark hallway behind us, making me flinch and spin. Third, the boy from 12 releases his meteor hammer and sends it flying. By the time I’ve turned back to him, I don’t have time to dodge the heavy metal ball and it strikes me in the chest (Training Point Lost), sending me stumbling backwards.

With the wind knocked out of me, I don’t have time to lift my bow before Justin throws one of his knives. It catches the boy on his forehead(Training Point Lost) and he falls back, the chain from his meteor hammer slipping out of his hands. I start running towards him, turning back to see the lights start to blink out as the scraping noise gets closer. The boy from 12, seeing the lights starting to go out, stands and starts to run, a waterfall of blood running down his face. He turns down one intersection, and Justin and I turn down another. I run hard, as hard as I can, my chest throbbing. I must’ve broken a rib.

“Marie. It’s gone.”

I stop running and turn as Justin comes to a halt as well. Further down the hallway, the wall of darkness retreats down the hallway that the boy from 12 turned into. Whatever’s in there has chosen him.

Ian Smith, District 12 Male

I’m bleeding and screaming and wiping my eyes because I can’t see and my hammer’s gone and I failed I hit her but I didn’t hit her hard enough and I can’t see too much blood in my eyes and the scraping noise it’s behind me oh God and I can’t see where I’m going and I run into a wall and I can’t see anything and it’s dark I’m screaming and the scraping is so so close and oh God it hurts oh Go—

Deceased Tribute

Ian Smith, District 12 Male

Injured Tribute

Marie Morton, District 4 Female

Current Training Scores

12: Steven (D2)

11: Victoria (D10)

10: Kelly (D2), Ben (D11)

8: Justin (D4), Marie (D4)

6: Michael (D1), Cyle (D6), Jeremiah (D7), Mariel (D11)

5: Joey (D5), Matt (D6)

2: Allison (D9)

Score Stats

Highest Training Score: 12

Lowest Training Score: 2

Average Training Score: 7.3

Strongest Teams: District 2, District 10

Weakest Team: District 9

Kill Records

Steven Dodson, District 2 Male: One kill (Jonah White, District 8 Male)

Justin Massey, District 4 Male: One kill (Alexandra Browne, District 3 Female)

Marie Morton, District 4 Female: One kill (Sara Kohler, District 8 Female)

Chelsea Sanderson, District 5 Female: One kill (Irving Ruiz, District 9 Male)

Jeremiah Brown, District 7 Male: One kill (Garrett Gaunch, District 10 Male)

Allison Woodfin, District 9 Female: One kill (Drew Chambers, District 3 Male)

Victoria Paul, District 10 Female: One kill (Andrew Sedlacek, District 1 Male)

Ian Smith, District 12 Male: One kill (Morgan Kinsinger, District 12 Female)

Poisoned Tributes

Michael Evans, District 1 Female

Joey McKenna, District 5 Male

Mannequins

Avery LaPan, assisting District 2

Peyton Finley, assisting District 6

Abby Long, assisting District 7

Preston Howell, assisting District 10