Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

x. arena

ten - arena

- - - ➳

the sixty seconds we are obliged to wait is completely agonizing in every way. part of me wishes they will tick on forever. the other wants them to move even faster.

the good thing is that i can get a satisfying look around. the bad thing is that all the supplies are right at the center of the cornucopia. it's either step straight into the bloodbath or get away with nothing at all.

it's terribly hot and humid. the twenty-four of us are surrounded by water that stretches on for about half a mile all the way across. beyond it is a beach, and a forest after that. our individual circular plates are a short distance away from twelve strips of black rock that lead to the cornucopia, sticking out from it like spokes on a wheel. i have almost no choice. swim all the way to the beach with nothing but the fact i'm alive, or get to the bloodbath - which is a shorter distance - and have a much lower survival rate, but a chance at getting something.

thankfully i know how to swim, but that doesn't mean i'll be taking the easy way out.

thirty seconds. i scan the tributes for familiar faces, or of my ally, but the sun is so blinding that i can't make out anything more than three spaces away. a boy named grover is right beside me. on my opposite side is maika.

ten seconds. i bend my knees and prepare to dive. my heart is thudding fast and i try to control my breathing.

the gong sounds, ringing throughout the arena. i do not hesitate. i jump in head-first, popping up and swimming as fast as i can to the rocks. the waves are choppy and i come up sputtering, using my upper-body strength to push myself up. and then i start to sprint.

at first i think i may slip, but the shoes are made for this. though light, they have solid, sticky rubber soles that grip the rocks well even while soaking wet.

i have reached the cornucopia, but i'm not the first. emrys is already there, along with a few others. i blindly grab whatever my hands touch. i secure a knife in my hand and then crash into someone. instinctively i raise my weapon, only to find myself face-to-face with asher, who also has a knife of his own. but it's not aimed at me.

through gasping breaths, he manages to order, "duck," and i do. then i hear the horrible sound of a grunt and the thump of a body falling to the ground. asher killed the tribute. he saved me.

"come on!" he urges, pushing me along. apparently we're a team now. "i got the back. you get the front!"

it's a miracle we get out of there alive. more than a few times i must duck to avoid a spear killing me or an arrow piercing my skin, but not once do i dare to stop.

i am shocked at how well asher can swim, even with his hands full. and then i remember that he's from district four, where they specialize in anything nautical. he and his fellow tribute have the upper hand when it comes to this.

when we make it to the beach i try to search for matthias, but asher keeps pressuring me to move along. "go, go!" he shouts, and i hurry into the green with one last glance at the cornucopia, hoping that every one of the unmoving bodies i see is not matthias'.

asher and i go as far as we can away from the beach before we stop, exhausted. my hair is sticking to my face already from the water and sweat. there it occurs to me, and i am instantly struck with fear, though my face conceals that by putting up a skeptical front. i draw my knives on him, causing him to jump back with his arms raised in surrender.

"you're a career," i say accusingly, breathing heavily. asher nods, hazel eyes filled with alarm at the fact i have weapons aimed at him. "you never asked me to be your ally. how do i know the rest aren't waiting by, ready to kill me once you give the signal?"

asher scoffs, slumping down on a rock. "well, i thought saving your life was a pretty solid invitation." he pauses to twirl his knife. "and besides, i hate those jerks anyway– thinking they're all that. i hate 'em. i hate 'em."

i don't think i will ever understand asher halloway.

we quickly take inventory. i have an empty water bottle, one throwing knife, rope, a small net, and a pair of night vision glasses that have broken during the bloodbath, so they're useless now. asher's supplies are more valuable than mine. he has four knives, a dagger, half a loaf of bread, cheese, and a waterproof backpack to put it all in.

"we can use the rope and net to make a snare," i suggest.

"i hope you know how to set those up," asher says. "i suck at 'em. the only traps i know how to make are ones for catching fish."

i somewhat grin, "well, you're lucky to have me."

we load the supplies we won't need right away into the pack, which i volunteer to carry. we arm ourselves, keeping our weapons in secure yet easily accessible places, like our belts and in a tiny pocket in our shoes. after we're all set, asher suggests we get moving.

"it's blistering hot," he complains, wiping his forehead. his hair, usually so neat, is now sticking up in all directions. it's dark with sweat. "we should locate some clean water."

i nod in agreement. i'd hate to die of dehydration.

so we set off on high alert, twisting and turning around the forest, but we can't find a single stream or pond anywhere. the trees dense and then disperse. tall, sloping bushes block our path, leaving me no choice but to make lots of noise as i slice through them. i'm sure to glance back a few times in case asher has abandoned me, but every time i turn he's two steps behind me with his knives ready, prepared to protect and maim. before we set off he gave me one of his knives and the dagger so there'd be an even distribution of weapons between us. i have to admit, despite the undying terror that he will suddenly turn on me, asher has been a pretty fair ally for the hour we've been searching.

maybe we're onscreen right now. probably. they must have caught asher's invitation back at the cornucopia. i can basically hear claudius and caesar now, saying how "of course the two highest-scoring tributes have become allies, but will it last?" or something suspenseful like that.

the sun is high in the sky, barely visible through the tops of the trees, when the cannons start to go off. the fighting at the cornucopia has ceased. since so many deaths occur on the first day, the hovercrafts usually don't collect the fallen until the killers have fled. i stop and so does asher. luckily we are mostly concealed by the overgrowth around us.

one...two...three....

"i counted nine," i say quietly.

"i counted ten." asher frowns.

my eyebrows pinch together. "but – i could've sworn there was –"

he breaks into a grin. "i'm kidding. you're right- there's nine. fifteen left, including us."

i roll my eyes. "you're despicable." 

he shrugs in response, not denying it.

i suddenly remember matthias. was he one of those nine cannons? i sure hope not. that's one less tribute to worry about, but also one less ally. right now, all i have is asher. i'm not too sure how i feel about that yet.

"if we run into matthias, don't kill him," i tell asher. "he's my ally."

"look at you- picking up allies left and right before the games even begin," he teases. "and here i thought i was special."

i find myself rolling my eyes again. "i didn't ask you to be my ally."

"you'd be dead if i didn't."

i can't argue with that.

gif is asher being annoyed as usual

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yooooo guys, whaddup?

im still fragile from the zayn leaving 1d thing so i apologize if this isnt the best. but dont worry- once matthias comes it will get interesting (if you dont recall, asher and matthias very much dislike each other)

dedicated to brogitsune for her sweet comments and immense love for this story u da real mvp

xoxo,
kristyn