Pokemon Hunger Games

Chapter 16 - Hunters and the Hunted

Day 4 Continued - 12 Tributes Remain

Claudius' Point of View:

"Alright gang." I started. "If we're gonna be here for a long time, we're definitely going to need to find some critical supplies."

"So we're going hunting?" Ivory asked. I nodded my head.

I felt bad about shamelessly making myself the 'leader' in our alliance, but I do feel like I'm the most qualified to do it. Sure, this means I'm gonna have the most responsibility, and the health of Ivory and Kat are also my problem, but I'm willing to do whatever I need to do in order to keep us all alive.

Though, eventually, time will pass, and tributes will fall. We can't team up forever. And if that means Kat will be standing in the way of victory, something is going to have to happen.

From the conversation of last night, I feel like I've grown a better bond with Kat. I have respect for him after he opened up like that. After all, you can't really help but like the guy. Seeing him die would hurt, but being the one to kill him would hurt more.

"Along the way, if we cross paths with any tribute," I say as I smirk weakly at Kat. "...the plan is to spare them. Unless they attack first."

Kat sighed, but managed to smile slightly. Ivory looked paranoid.

"I promise that I will do whatever I can to protect you guys." I say.

"Are you sure we'll be fine?" Kat asks.

"As long as you're by my side." I reply reassuringly. Kat sighs again.

We leave through the gap in the cave, dozens of trees surround us like a mob of angry protesters. I make sure to keep a knife in ny grasp at all times, just in case. Ivory holds her bow with an empty quiver behind her. We'd be lucky to find anything that could be of use.

It feels like we've been walking for days. Not a single sign of a water source, any kind of berries, not even any other tributes. Occasionally, I'd catch a glimpse of Karma flying around in the sky, hoping he doesn't see us through the thick canopy of leaves above. Every little sound makes Ivory cling to me, whether it be her grabbing my arm, walking directly next to me, or just being awkwardly close. I really don't mind, though.

Kat sticks a little farther back, speeding up on occasions to catch up to me. I can tell he doesn't want to be out here, since we're vulnerable and exposed. Alas, we must do what we must.

No other cannon shots have been fired all day, which surprises me. In previous games, tributes tend to perish at this point in the game because of causes that don't involve violence. Untreated illnesses, lack of food and water, or just stupid mistakes. Heck, suicide makes up about seventeen percent of overall deaths in the Hunger Games from the first game to the seventy-first. I learned that in school when we took a Hunger Games test. Pretty much everyone aced it, since the Games and anything about them have been shoved down the throats of every teenager's life for fourteen years.

In District Eleven, kids go to school from Kindergarten through Middle School. High school however, doesn't come right after.

Since the convenience of the Hunger Games comes by, you attend High School when you're over eighteen, since your eligible for the Reaping before then. If you live, you get to go to school. If you're in the games, then kiss that education goodnight.

Winning the games however, let's you have the decision to go to High School. Part of the reason for that is to avoid the popularity that would show up around there. It's easier to understand than one would think.

Since I'm only sixteen, I don't go to school for another two years. The odds of being in the Hunger Games from the Reaping are higher when you're older. Until I turn eighteen, I've just been spending my everyday life with Ivory, who is also sixteen. We've gone to Elementary and Middle School together our whole lives, and right now, I'd do anything to go back to those days.