Writer's Games Entries

Task 2: "A Symphony of Death"

The last couple of games have been crazy...that's my observation. I watched them...not all of them, but enough to get that idea. They were all completely different from the ones that I had heard stories of many, many years ago. Two years ago, they took in tributes that were all insane and vicious criminals. Last year, the tributes went through various time-periods of our history. I'm almost scared going into these games because I don't know what to expect.

I have allies. My back is covered, at least a little bit. Master Instructor advised me to find strong allies. I think I have managed that. Some of them are fellow careers and others are outsiders to be aware of. I haven't spoken much to them. They all know I don't talk much, but I've communicated enough to let them know that I am a part of the alliance. They know I'm deadly with my arrows so they really want me too.

My heart is pounding inside my chest when I'm sitting there in the launch-room. My designer has given up trying to keep a conversation with me because I don't really keep eye-contact. Mainly I only look up at him once a day due to his crazy outfits that he changes to almost every time I see him. He was all over me the first day in the Capitol and it really overwhelmed me to the point where I had to seclude myself from everybody and have my own breakdown in my room.

In the end he's just stuck to his job at designing clothes to me. From here on, there's really nothing he can do. As long as I see a set of bow and arrows, I'll be sure to beat everyone to it. If I have that weapon, I know I will survive. I never miss my target. It doesn't mean that I'm not nervous. I have no idea what plans that Gamemaker has for us. I'm so nervous I've started to instinctively bite my nails again...which is highly unfortunate because I barely have anything left.

"60 seconds to launch!"

The voice speaks so suddenly through the speakers that my heart skips a few beats before I manage to slide myself off the bench and my feet finally reach the ground. I walk towards the tube without turning back towards my designer. I hardly even recognize his presence but I hear him get up on his feet as the door of the tube closes behind me. After a moment, the platform starts to rise just as I'm turning around to see the designer one last time. It all turns black around me and it unnerves me. The thing is, the platform suddenly stops and it's still all dark around me, but I hear others' deep breaths.

All of a sudden, I'm blinded by these powerful lights that are suddenly turned on. I have to cover my eyes for a moment so that they manage to adjust to the sudden change. When my vision finally manages to adjust, there's only one thought to enter my mind – I'm dead. There are no weapons here. There is no bow and arrow for me to use. All I see are instruments... No, no, no, this is not good! I sense a lump form in my throat as I see the girl next to me. She's ready to grab around my throat and choke me to death.

The countdown seems to be running down way faster than I keep track off as all of a sudden, everybody is stepping off their pods. Some run to the instruments, others are desperate for a hiding-spot among the lavender seats behind us. The girl I mentioned is coming for me and I don't manage to react in time before she reaches me and jumps on top of me. I use my own arms to protect myself against her. Good thing I have allies. Someone appears behind her and I see a set of strong, muscular arms lift her up, lock his arms around her neck and snap it like a twig.

Afterwards, Jem, one of my allies, lends his hand to me. "..." I try to form words, but nothing comes out. He seems to get it as another boy challenges him right away, but he's no challenge. I manage to find solace in the shadows after that. My breath is really cramping as I'm trying to control my overflow of emotions inside my chest. I can't have a breakdown. I'm from 2. I'm a career-tribute. I have to be better than this. It is expected! Wait...do I really have to? I-I'm just me. I'm only doing what everybody's expecting me to do.

God, all of these thoughts inside my head are messing with me. I need to focus. Nobody sees me here in the shadows, but that won't last forever. I have to do something or my allies will find me worthless...something I already do. I look over at the instruments to see if I can use any of them as a weapon. Other tributes are just smashing the pointy ends of guitars and keyboards at each other, which deforms whatever human-flesh they hit.

I'm about to give it up already at the beginning. All of these methods...they're not me! I'm an archer. I'm thin, athletic, but not muscular. I don't have that force that most of these people have. I keep trying to control my breathing as I spot something bigger behind most of the instruments as my ally, Phoenix, outfights a strong boy-tribute. I manage to move silently in the shadows before I get to...well, it looks like one giant violin. There's some kind of stick next to it, the one thing you use on the strings.

When I touch the strings, I feel they are almost like a bow's string. A little adjustment and it'll be as good as one. I manage to find a way to loosen them a little bit. I grab that stick or whatever it's called and place it on the edge of the string before I pull it backwards, like an actual arrow. I only hope it's sharp enough. The instrument is heavy though. I can barely hold the instrument steady as a girl comes toward me. I pull the stick as far back as I can and I aim towards her. I then let it go. The stick...projectile hits her throat and it gets stuck there. The girl collapses to the ground as blood keeps pouring out of her throat.

There are fewer and fewer tributes around me. It's only me and my allies left here. I drop the big violin on the ground. I can't hold it for much longer anyway as I walk to the others. "Right, so I'm pretty sure there are more tributes that wants to be killed..." Phoenix comments. I don't say anything. Jem keeps looking at me, but I try to avoid his gaze. "There's a back-drop behind the stage..." Waye mentions. The entire group, without me voicing my own opinion, agrees to go together with whatever instrument we have as weapons. Everybody has one...except for me.

I walk behind Jem as we get to the back of the stage. It all seems to be like this one long, dark hallway. It's probably filled with horrors considering that this is the Hunger Games. I keep fidgeting with my fingers and biting my nails as we stop by an open door and enter the room, cautiously. The moment I step foot inside the room, I step on something slippery and I fall on to the floor. I immediately notice something sticky on my hand as I try to brace myself from the impact. "You alright?" Jem extends his hand once again. I hesitate, but I let him pull me up without looking at him. When I get to look at my hands, I notice that it's blood. "Over here!"

"Somebody clearly had fun with this one..." Phoenix says as she's standing over a boy who is very dead to the world. There's blood all over him. The rest of the room is full of objects. Some of them look sharp, like one of the knives, but the moment I go and grab it, I notice that something is really out of place. The handle is so soft and when I touch the blade I know it's rubber. It's a prop! "Everything in here is fake!" I hear someone say as I keep exploring the room. We haven't really declared it to be safe, but I feel safe with my group...I think.

At the far end of the room, I catch sight of a set of bows and arrows. I half-expect it all to be fake and made of rubber or even plastic. The bow is actually quite real and well-balanced. When I grab the arrows, it actually feels more real than the knives. It's not rubber, but at the same time it's not metal either. Whatever it is, it's solid and I think I can do quite some damage with it.

As I place the quiver on my back and fill it with as many arrows as possible, I hear something or someone move. I can't see where the movement is coming from and with the others talking, it's almost impossible to catch it. I close my eyes for a moment. My instructor sometimes told me to close my eyes and trust my other senses. "Hey, Shadow, let's go!" I suddenly hear from someone. They seem ready to leave this place. "Shh!" I immediately let out before I turn my attention back to finding this individual. I know what to listen for in the shadows. The shadows is my home, I know it better than most.

I put an arrow on my bow-string and hold it armed as I look over at them. I barely manage to voice it out, but I do. "There's someone hiding here..." I swallow hard and pull the arrow back as I feel like I know where the person is. The others finally keeps quiet for a moment. One clumsy move is all it takes. "There's no one here..." Phoenix goes on arrogantly. Just as she says that, I catch sight of a foot sticking out from its environment. I immediately release my arrow. Someone falls to the ground, knocking down whatever objects that were surrounding him.

"So I guess we should just shut up whenever you tell us to..."

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