#task99

It had been against Ember’s better judgment for her and Cooper to separate. They hadn’t left one another’s side since the train had taken them away from District Six, but they needed food, and they needed water, otherwise death would be inevitable for them. Splitting up and scanning the area for resources did seem like the most logical thing to do. Cooper would head East, and Ember would head farther South. 

As the brunette walked, she heard a canon. The sound made her stop in her tracks. She looked to the clouds and saw Oak’s face. “Jesus.” She muttered. She was beyond relieved that it wasn’t Cooper, but her heart sank nonetheless. Oak was just a child. She remembered back to the last conversation she had with the little boy. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. You gotta try and stay strong.” She had told him, as she held the crying boy to her chest the day before they were launched into the arena. It had been a lie. Ember knew that. Nothing was okay, and now Oak was dead.  She stayed still for a moment, paying her respects to the boy, and to whatever family he had that might be watching. She had to keep moving.

Her feet sloshed along the grassy terrain. Another canon was heard. She stopped and looked towards the sky again. The clouds were beginning to look grey, and dark. It was strange, because up until that point, it had been fairly nice out. Her attention focused towards the fallen tribute that was displayed. It was Nox. Oh, god, Axel. She thought. Axel had became someone that  Ember considered a friend while she was in the capitol. She knew he didn’t think of her that way. He was only trying to be a mentor, and to give her advice. She knew that he cared about Nox, and that he must be hurting right now, watching the games. She shook her head and continued her trek further South.

It felt as if it were getting even colder. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked. Her eyes fell to the ground. It was hard to stay focused when there were so many tributes losing their lives, and when it was so cold. Luckily her distraction paid off, because she spotted a couple of beetles mixed in the grass. She eagerly bent down, scooping them up, and tucking them inside a side compartment of her backpack. Sure it wasn’t a capitol meal, but it was something to keep her and Cooper from starving. She wondered if he was having any luck with food or water.

It was snowing now. It was coming down hard, and fast. It made it difficult for the girl to see where she was going. She would need to find shelter soon, by the looks of it. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to find Cooper again until morning. Ember’s teeth were beginning to chatter together as she walked. She spotted something in the distance. The snow was clouding her judgment too much for her too see what it was, but as she got closer, she realized that it was a girl. Tinley ―the district eleven girl that Ember had fought with for her backpack. She didn’t look so good. “Tinley?” She questioned as moved closer to the girl, crouching down beside her. The girl was alive, but she was in a weak condition. She must have been in her position for a while now. She tried to speak, but Ember shushed her. “Save your strength.” She told her. “I’ll stay with you.” Ember didn’t dislike the girl, just because they had gotten into a confrontation over the backpack. They were both simply trying to survive. The other girl seemed sweet, actually.

The other girl was shivered hard, and her color was a light shade of blue. Hypothermia was beginning to take over. “Tinley, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand...” There was no response. Ember let out a sigh. She didn’t want the girl to suffer any longer than she had to. She capped her hand over Tinley’s mouth, and her nostrils, keeping it there until she no longer felt a breath from the girl. A tear rolled down Ember’s cheek, and she closed the other girl’s eyes. A canon was heard, and then another. Two tributes. Ember focused her attention to the clouds. She saw Tinley’s face, and then another.

“N  ―No.” The girl cried out. It wasn’t real. Cooper Jettson wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. “Goddammit!” She screamed, sliding down to the ground. Had he been alone when he died. Oh, god. If he was alone she would never be able to forgive herself for not being there. She was sobbing by this point. Ember had known Cooper her entire life. She knew only one of them would make it out of the arena, but she had refused to focus on that part. If she was the one to make it out of the arena alive, how was she going to face her brothers? And Cooper’s family?

The girl stood up from her sitting position, placing the black dusty burned stick she had been toying with for the last half hour. She didn’t know if she could believe what she was seeing, but it was a beautiful sight to see. Her eyes glazed over at the night sky was illuminated in the best ways. Trillium had to admit, this arena was meant as a ground to test their survival, to kill them. But it had its certain beauties that just surprised her. 

It was much like the Capitol itself. Beautiful from far away, but she couldn’t imagine the green light up close was any fun. It looked like the sky was one fire. Trillium’s hands went to touch her district token, for the first time since the games had started. She took the heart shaped piece of amber out from being tucked under her shirt and felt the necklace with her cold fingers. It was warm. 

“I’m not scared. Are you done fiddling with me? I’m fine.” Trillium told her stylist. Her hair had been pulled back in a long fishtail braid. The tribute was well washed and groomed, but she knew she wouldn’t stay that way long trying to survive out in the arena. She could tell from the tribute outfit she was wearing what the arena seemed to be. The material was waterproof, which meant there was rain being a jacket. There was a thermal shirt. She guessed there was a thermal shirt which meant it was cold. Hiking boots meant there was mountains. 

Her stylist huffed, their hands finding their way to Trillium’s token. The girl tensed when they touched her necklace, she had misplaced it a few days ago and went nearly insane in order to find it. “If you don’t come back,” Her stylist began,”I’ll make sure that Zoe gets it. I’m sure that’s what you want, right?” They asked. Trillium blinked, she was surprised at their words, but the girl nodded anyways. 

She figured that people actually did pay attention during her interview, they felt for the girl back home as much as Trillium did. They wanted her to make it back, didn’t they? If they did, it could be the smallest bit of help between her living and dying. “Good luck.” Her stylist told her. Trillium walked over to the podium, a glass case coming down on her immediately. She knew she wasn’t ready for this. There had to be more time. There had to. 

As soon as the podium was lifted and Trillium’s eyes focused on the outline of the arena she knew she was in for it. It was cold, too cold for her body to handle. Her body didn’t handle the cold as well as it used to because she got sick from staying in wet gutters during the winter when she was a kid. If she didn’t find a warmer location she could have complications with that. Trillium’s eyes immediately searched the circle. Jonah nor Amphitrite were anywhere near her, but she had to keep her eyes on them. 

10. 9. 8. 7... 

The counting began. She had to think fast, and her eyes searched the Cornucopia for the closest thing towards her. She looked around, there was a thick layer of mist and she couldn’t imagine why at first, before it clicked into her mind. It wasn’t from rain, but the water that surrounded them was warm. It wasn’t mist, but steam. She was running out of time, when her eyes found their way. She was near an item, not a huge one but it was enough. A canteen could mean if she got herself to water there was a chance she wouldn’t dehydrate in the first few days. It could help. 

... 1.

The games had begun. 

Today was the day ―the morning of the 99th Hunger Games. The nights leading up to today had been the worst. Ember had found it harder and harder to sleep as the games neared closer. She was thankful that she had Cooper there with her throughout these past couple of weeks. Next to her brothers, he was the closest thing she had to family. That was the hardest part of all of this, knowing that at least one of them would not make it out of the arena alive.

Despite her troubles sleeping, Ember had been strangely calm when she woke up. Perhaps it was a state of shock, or the fact that she had come to the realization that she had no other choice, and that the tames were inevitable. Shortly after waking up and eating breakfast, she was taken to the catacombs. She didn’t feel like eating. Who would at a time like this? But she knew she needed energy and nourishment, and who knew what, if anything she would find to eat in the arena.

Her prep team was waiting for her in the catacombs. They immediately grabbed at her, and began fiddling with her hair, and changing her into her outfit for the arena. She looked down at her clothing ―a long sleeve shirt and pants, with a jacket and boots. She wondered what the arena would be like. It must be a cold climate, she thought to herself, given the amount of clothing she was wearing, and the heavy shoes. She dreaded the cold, but perhaps it would be easier to get warm, than it would be to try and cool off in a hot climate.

Talise, Ember’s main stylist pulled something out of her bag. Ember shook herself out of her own thoughts upon seeing the object. It was Minka’s hairpin. Talise secured it into Ember’s intricate braids. She gave the girl a soft, yet somehow saddened at the same time, smile. “Thank you.” Ember said, and wrapped her arms around Talise. Who knew how many opportunities she would ever have to hug someone again. She only wished it could be someone she cared about more, someone she loved, like her brothers, or Cooper. She wondered what was going through his mind right now. Was he calm?  Nervous? Scared?