The only sound that fills the silence is the cicadas' singing. The temperature dropped to 5°C/41°F and the light of the moon shines brightly. Namjoon stares at it from his hammock. For an second he forgets he's in a game... till something growls behind him.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
He only sees its eyes at first. Big, red and non-human. He grabs his knife and stays still, trying to get as far as possible. As he takes a step back, it takes a step forward, coming out of the darkness. Its teeth are shining and Namjoon is shocked: it's a Smilodon.
Smilodonts are prehistoric predators, also knows as saber-toothed tigers. The Capitol tried to recreate the modern version of this historical creature adding a few elements: a tough skin hard to harm and a speed like no others. Only fire can kill it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Namjoon wasn't stupid. He had a very dangerous weapon with him and did what he had to do. The Head Gamemaker is ready to press the cannon that symbolizes the death of a tribute. The creature jumps at Namjoon as he runs away but as soon as it lands, an explosion is heard.
All the tributes, even Jungkook who fainted after the hit, hear it. Jin grins and follows the fire: he located his first victim. Yoongi ignores it and keeps looking for any source of shelter as the cold is getting unbearable. He finds a cave and reluctantly goes inside.
Jungkook wakes up dizzy. A strong smell of blood hits him but he can't quite figure out where it's coming from. A loud beeping catches its attention and he sees something fall from the sky and get stuck in the lianas above his head. He gets up and takes the item: it's a box.
The box contains an ointment that smells like oranges and cinnamon. Is he... supposed to eat it? What is it for? Jungkook is confused. He realizes something is wrong with him when drops of blood fall into the ointment. The contrast between white and red is almost hypnotizing.
It then hits him: he fell from a tree and hit his head. He touches his hair and hisses at the sharp pain. He mouths a "thank you" to his sponsors and applies the ointment to his head, feeling an immediate relief that makes him moan. After that he decides to climb the tree again.
After several attempts he finally reaches the perfect branch and sighs, satisfied with himself. He opens his backpack to reveal what his tools are: a pair of night vision glasses, a spile and a blanket. He holds on to the blanket almost in tears: the cold temperature was deadly.
In the meantime Jimin covered his cut by ripping his shirt and is now freezing. He only has one blanket but its not enough despite his small figure. His backpack contained a cooking pot and a rope too, but they seem useless now. He keeps walking to prevent his body from freezing.
He uncovers his leg and analyzes the cut: he thought it wasn't anything serious but the rock he fell on went deep inside his skin. An annoying buzzing keeps distracting him so he tries his best to ignore it and focus on his leg but he stars to feel nauseous and covers it again.
He has to disinfect it but he needs boiling water and specific plants. There's no way he can make a fire now, unless he wants to show the other tributes where he is. He sighs and keeps walking till he reaches what looks like a river. There's a cave on the other side.
He thinks that he can start a little fire inside the cave as it will not be seen that much. He can get his cut healed. He takes a deep breath and set foot in the water, allowing his body to be a shivering mess due to the freezing temperature of the river. He walks forward.
He's almost there when he hears it. Almost inaudible. Like a drop in the ocean. A simple sound that breaks the apparent serenity of the forest. Then he sees it: the tail of a crocodile. The Gamemakers are laughing at his gullibility.
Jimin runs towards the end of the river but the crocodile follows him, jumping out of water and grabbing his backpack. Jimin falls into the water but manages to get rid of the backpack. Seeing as the crocodile is too busy destroying the item he runs towards the cave, shaking hard
He reaches the cave and falls on the ground, exhausted. He looks at his cut: it's somehow bigger than before. Not having anything with him he looks up and mouths a "Please sponsors", but no one sends him anything. Birds keep singing and the moon keeps shining bright.
An arrow lands between his legs. Jimin doesn't move. He doesn't say anything. A body comes out of the shadows. "Don't move. Move and you're dead." It's the boy from District 5.
"I'm dead anyway." "I know." Yoongi approaches Jimin and keeps staring at his leg. "How did you get that?" "I fell." "You're pale. Are you feeling nauseous?" Jimin nods. "Headaches?" Jimin nods again, confused. Yoongi sighs and puts down his weapons. He feels sorry.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" "No." "Why?" Yoongi ignores his question and takes Jimin's hand to help him get back on his feet. He guides him inside the cave and brings him to where he was staying. Jimin is shocked: there's a fire. There's food. There's water. He wants to cry.
"I can... cure your infection. But it's not going to be nice and you need to bite on something." Yoongi's expression is serious. Jimin really doesn't trust him but he has no weapons to fight and he's injuried. He has no choice. "What is it?" Yoongi looks at the fire.
Jimin closes his eyes and bites on Yoongi's blanket as the other boy heats up his knife. It takes a few minutes to get it ready. Yoongi looks at Jimin. "Please don't scream. They will find us." He doesn't let him answer and puts the burning blade on his leg.
On the other side of the arena Taehyung cant sleep. He can't bring himself to stop thinking about his failure. He's always been the best. If he wanted to kill someone, they'd be dead in a matter of seconds. He cant calm down. The cold doesn't affect him. The Capitol is impressed.
He has everything he needs to be a winner: a machete, a body armor, a sleeping bag and matches. He even found a way to get clean water using the high humidity of the forest. He can kill them all. He would leave the boy from District 5 for last. He wants him to know he's coming.
As he walks down the forest he smells something... weird. Like burnt meat. He follows the smell and realizes he's getting closer to the point of the misterious explosion. The smell becomes even stronger now but he quickly forgets about it when he sees the remains of a weird tiger
He gets closer to get a better look and makes a disgusted face. Then he sees an hammock. Or what was left of that. He surpasses the tiger and checks if there are other items left behind. The moon is covered by a big cloud. He hears footsteps. "Well, hello there" It's behind him.
It's the boy from District 2. He's grinning. "Are you lost?" Taehyung's eyes are red. He's uncontrollable. He doesn't say anything and runs towards Jin, his machete high in the air. Jin doesn't move: he has a sword, an awl and a blowtorch. He grins harder.
