Twenty-four tributes rise into the arena, their platforms clicking into place and the tubes disappearing from around them. They take in their surroundings, some thrown slightly off-balance by the blinding whiteness of the snow covering the ground, the trees, the Cornucopia itself; everything is blanketed in a layer of white. The timer above the Cornucopia counts down from sixty, the booming voice announcing each second as it ticks away, bringing the tributes closer to their fate. 

 

This year’s youngest tribute, Tiberius Bournes (D10), looks around frantically for his district partner, Flora Harper (D10). He seems to calm down a bit when he spots her three pedestals away. Denver Grey (D3) seems to be in shock, not having expected such an extreme environment. She quickly regains composure, positioning herself to run. 

 

10… 9… 8… 7… 6…

 

Allies continue to look for one another, made more difficult by the snow that falls hard and fast around them. Anderson Westin (D1) has his eyes set firmly on the spears sitting a little ways into the Cornucopia, and also on Leah Delaware (D3). He’s out for blood. 

 

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

 

The gong sounds and twenty-four bodies move in all directions. Tesla Watt (D5) makes a break in the opposite direction of the Cornucopia, heading south toward the Frozen Lake and Snow Banks. Aisly-Parca Sullivan (D11) also avoids the Cornucopia altogether, running northeast toward the stables. Not Chivonne Ashford (D8), though, she heads directly into the Cornucopia. Something many of the tributes have overlooked is just how heavy snow pants and boots can be. Many tributes, who tried to full-on sprint once the gong sounded, find themselves face down in the snow instead. Other tributes, like Ianthe Berengy (D6) and Siren Acquafredda (D4) move slowly, trying not to trip over themselves while still maintaining good pace. Chivonne is quick, quicker than others and is the first tribute to the Cornucopia. She grabs a Medium Pack and a set of knives for herself and weapons for her allies: a bow and quiver of arrows for Matilda Gilbert (D12) and a mattock for Harvey Zea (D12). 

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Leah, Ianthe, Siren, and Ivy Hunter (D7) have made it to the Cornucopia and cover one another as they gather supplies. Ianthe finds a set of yo-yos and squeals in delight when she notices they’re modified similar to the ones she made for the gamemakers: the regular plastic casing is trimmed with a lethal saw blade and the regular string has been replaced with wire sharp enough to break skin. She also manages to grab a Medium Pack and then stands defensively in front of Ivy as she retrieves a Small Pack and an axe. The girls move to protect Siren as she plucks a Medium Pack out of the snow along with a trident. 

 

Anderson makes it to the Cornucopia and moves immediately to the spears. He grabs two and turns, looking for one person in particular. He makes eye contact with Denver, who is closing in on the opposite side of the Cornucopia, and nods at her, still scanning the snow for Leah. He sees her then, her small figure hunched over a pack, already armed with a butcher knife and a sword. Her fingers have just clasped around the Large Pack and she is a little ways away from the other three girls in her alliance. Perfect. 

 

Chivonne is readying herself to run away from the bloodbath and is securing her pack to her back when she sees Anderson come up behind Leah. She wants to cry out a warning but knows it’ll be too late. She watches dumbfounded as Anderson sends one of his spears into Leah’s back. The girl lets out a shrill scream and draws the attention of every tribute, including Ivy, Siren, and Ianthe. The three girls are quickly at her side and gesturing for their other allies, Maxwell Jason (D6), Flora, and Tiberius, to come and help. Chivonne is about to go and help as well when she spots Denver walking toward her. The District Three girl hasn’t noticed her yet, so she scurries behind a large box full of who-knows-what and uses a small slit in the box as a peep hole. Denver grabs a Medium Pack and some scissors and laughs when she hears Leah, who is still screaming out in pain. Her laughing conceals the sound of Dominique Amber-Citrine’s (D2) footfalls as they come up behind her. Chivonne once again watches as Dominique raises one of her shaolin hook swords and, in one clean motion, slits Denver’s throat. Her body falls to the ground and Dominique takes her pack and scissors, wiping her sword clean on the sleeve of her jacket. Chivonne steadies her breathing, hoping that the Career girl can’t hear or see her, but when it’s clear that Dominique is going to finish off Leah and her allies, Chivonne steels herself and jumps out from behind the box. She tackles Dominique, who drops her swords and they land with a clatter. The two girls roll on the ground, scattering supplies and weapons around them. Chivonne lets out a yell when Dominique grabs a short knife from her pocket and slashes across her face, leaving a rather deep cut. Chivonne grabs an arrow from Matilda’s quiver and stabs at Dominique, hitting her in the right shoulder and causing her to drop the knife. Chivonne uses this chance to push the bigger girl off of her, running out of the Cornucopia and toward the Snow Banks. At first, it seems like Dominique is going to give chase, but when yelling from somewhere else calls her away, Chivonne lets out a relieved sigh and reaches up to wipe the blood off of her face. 

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Anderson watches as Dominique kills his only ally. He knows that he won’t be able to get to her in time, so he grabs a stray pack off the ground and begins to retreat from the bloodbath, satisfied that he at least probably killed Leah. Skye Stone (D7), Malia Wells (D1), Dominique, and Cal Dynam (D2) are not satisfied at all, though. Anderson broke off their alliance, and that has made them extremely angry, especially his district partner, Malia. 

 

“Cover me,” she says to Skye before she heads into the Cornucopia. She grabs a pair of sais and a few sets of throwing knives as well as a Medium Pack before setting her sights on Anderson who has begun to move away from the Cornucopia. He’s not too far away though, so Malia begins to throw knives in his direction. Skye joins in while Cal keeps watch, gathering up a Small Pack and some swords and knives for himself, as well as another Small Pack for Skye. Dominique seems to have gone off on her own side-mission, but that’s okay with them as long as she returns to the alliance. 

 

The girls continue throwing their knives at Anderson, moving as fast as the snow and their heavy clothing will allow. Malia manages to hit Anderson in the shoulder and he drops his pack. When he turns back to grab it, one of Skye’s knives grazes his left cheek. He forgets the pack, grasping his face and disappearing further into the snow and away from the bloodbath.

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Rhys Bullock (D11) and Posi Rio (D5) have a plan. It’s very confusing and maybe a little crazy, but so far it’s going well. With Tesla and Aisly safely hidden away, the two boys are tasked with collecting packs and weapons. Rhys runs around the far side of the Cornucopia, collecting his talons and a Large Pack, along with some other weapons that may come in handy. He moves quickly but deftly avoids other tributes and skirmishes. Posi runs in the opposite direction, grabbing two Large Packs, one for himself and one for Tesla, and a Medium Pack for Aisly. He’s much smaller than Rhys and can’t manage to carry anything else except a small set of knives. 

 

The two boys pass one another, nodding as they go, and begin their departure from the Cornucopia, running in opposite directions. Rhys heads south to find Tesla and Posi is on his way north to look for Aisly when he bumps into someone. They both fall to the ground and the snow and his multiple packs make it hard to see who he’s bumped into, but Posi knows it can’t be one of his allies, so he grabs a knife from his pack and begins stabbing blindly. Cal looks down at the boy he’s bumped into and dodges his eccentric stabbing motions, sustaining a few shallow wounds. 

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cal dodges another stab, rolling his eyes. He pushes Posi off of him and stands, unsheathing his sword and slashing widely across Posi’s body. Blood blooms in the snow around the boy, so Cal turns and leaves, rejoining Skye and Malia where they’re rooting through supplies inside the Cornucopia. 

 

Posi lays in the snow, feeling a slight tingling sensation on his chest, but adrenaline pumps through his veins, urging him to stand and keep going. So he does. He readjusts the two large packs so they protect the front and back of his body and carries the Medium Pack in his hand, moving as quickly as he can up toward the Stables. 

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Astrid Luca (D9) meets up with Lotus Miller (D9), Amber Nelson (D8), and Kacey Covestand (D4) before they move into the bloodbath. Astrid and Lotus share a glance before the four move around the back side of the Cornucopia, keeping an eye out for threats through the falling snow. There’s no need, though, as most of the other tributes are preoccupied with one another. They grab what they need: Kacey takes a set of kamas, Astrid grabs a sword, Lotus picks up a scythe, and Amber secures a set of knives. The group also picks up two Medium Packs near the edge of the Cornucopia before setting off, northeast of the bloodbath. 

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Leah’s hand is still firmly gripping a Large Pack and her allies are circled around her. Maxwell, Tiberius, and Flora have come to help, each of them holding a pack on their backs but with no weapons.

 

“What do we do?” Flora cries, looking at Leah writhing on the ground, the spear still in her back. Siren whips around, looking for other tributes but finding no one, all of them busy with other things. 

 

“Get her out of here,” Siren says, taking the Large Pack from Leah’s hand and securing it to her own back. “I’ll bring this to camp with me, but you three need to get her out of here. I don’t know where Anderson went and I haven’t seen Denver anywhere, either, but better safe than sorry,” Maxwell, Flora, and Tiberius nod their understanding. 

 

“Wait, the spear,” Ianthe drops to her knees and whispers something in Leah’s ear. “Three, two, one,” Ianthe yanks the spear out of the other girl’s back and fresh blood flows out of the wound. Leah screams in pain, drawing the attention of Malia and Skye. 

 

Siren pulls off Leah’s jacket and uses it to stanch the bleeding. Blood still gushes out, but less than before, so Siren gives a nod of approval. Ivy turns to see Skye approaching, her knives already out and poised to be thrown. 

 

“Go!” Ianthe pushes a pack of stakes into Tiberius’s arms and Flora bends down to take her butcher knife from where it has fallen by Leah’s body. Maxwell and Flora take either one of Leah’s arms and prop her up between them. They drag her along with them, with Tiberius following closely behind, and move away from the Cornucopia. Ivy, Ianthe, and Siren stay to hold off Skye, who is rapidly gaining on them. 

 

The three girls stand defensively, ready for Skye’s attack, but once she’s within a couple yards and hasn’t started throwing, Ianthe takes the opportunity and throws her yo-yo, the blade catching Skye in the left hand. Red begins to dot the snow beneath her and she scowls, dropping her knives. 

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Maxwell, Flora, Tiberius, and Leah have put a good distance between themselves and the Cornucopia, heading generally toward the south. Leah’s blood has left a trail in the snow. Tiberius follows behind the other three and sees a blur of red out of the corner of his eye. He’s not sure what’s happening until Maxwell has fallen to the ground, blood spurting from his neck and a knife clattering to the ground beside him. Leah falls onto her side and Flora lets out a gasp, whipping around and looking for the assailant. Tiberius wants to cry out, wants to warn her. It’s Dominique! But nothing comes out except a guttural noise. 

 

Dominique reveals herself then. She’s right behind Tiberius, her swords fastened to a belt on her pants. 

 

“You all should’ve cleaned up the blood, it made you too easy to follow,” Dominique goads, reaching for a sword. Flora looks from Dominique to Tiberius and in a split second, makes her decision. She drops Leah’s other arm and pulls out her butcher knife before pushing Tiberius out of the way and toward Leah’s body. 

 

“Run!” she screeches, pushing Tiberius again as Dominique raises one of her swords to strike. Tiberius stumbles, his balance thrown off by the Medium Pack slung across his back. He looks at the stakes in his hands and drops them so he can pull Leah along with him. He’s not exactly running, but he’s not moving slowly, either. He drags Leah and can hear Dominique and Flora’s yells and screams as they disappear behind him. He tries not to cry, focusing only on moving his and Leah’s bodies as far away from the fight as possible. 

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Posi staggers, finally having made it to the Stables. He doesn’t bother going inside - Aisly wouldn’t be in there. He walks around to the back of the building and sees the girl sitting behind some bales of hay. They don’t speak, but Posi hands Aisly her Medium Pack and the two of them stop to look at what they’ve got. Lots of things in the packs, and Posi’s knives. Hopefully it will be enough to save them if they encounter trouble on the way to the Workshop. 

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Flora lunges at Dominique, her arms outstretched. She tries to stick her butcher knife in the other girl’s neck, but she’s too quick. Dominique sidesteps the attack and brings down her sword in one sweeping motion, catching Flora in the heel. Flora falls to the ground but rolls onto her back and pulls Dominique on top of her, trying again to stick her knife in her arm, her leg, anywhere. Dominique grabs Flora by the hair and smashes her head against the ground, but the snow covering acts like protective padding and it does nothing but make the other girl angrier. 

 

Dominique stands and kicks her in the head. Once, twice, a third time. Then she unsheaths one of her swords and slashes it across Flora’s stomach. The District Nine girl cries out in pain, feeling the blood spill from her midsection. She sputters, blood dribbling from her mouth, and when Dominique raises her sword to swing again, Flora uses all of her remaining strength to throw the knife at the girl hovering above her. Dominique was not expecting this, and the knife lands in her neck and slices her jugular. She falls to the ground, grasping at her neck and then going still. Flora lies in the snow, face to face with this girl who has most certainly killed her, but who she killed, too. She hopes that Tiberius has gotten to safety and feels a tear slide down her face as she thinks of her little brother. 

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Chivonne is passing by the treeline just south of the Cornucopia when a body drops from a tree and lands next to her. She jumps and pulls out a knife, ready to attack whoever it is that has materialized next to her, but stops when she realizes it’s Harvey. She puts the knife away and exhales deeply, her breath visible in the cold.

 

“Harvey, you scared the crap out of me,” she laughs and he laughs, and the two walk further south together. They walk for a long time, it feels like hours, but really it’s only been a half an hour. Funny how the snow and cold can do that, warp time, Chivonne thinks to herself. They find Matilda sitting in some shrubbery near the Snow Banks, taking inventory of the contents of the Small Pack she managed to grab from the outskirts of the Cornucopia. Harvey sits down next to her and dumps out his own Small Pack while Chivonne passes them their respective weapons. 

 

Until the sun sets, the three of them organize their supplies and work on building a makeshift shelter - something that’s not glaringly obvious to anyone who may be looking for them. 

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Rhys meets up with Tesla, who has been hiding in a tree by the Frozen Lake since the gong sounded. He climbs up the tree and the two sit together, hiding until they think the coast is clear. Eventually, they descend into the snow and change directions, beginning to walk north, back toward the Cornucopia. Tesla picks up small rocks as she finds them, much to the amusement of Rhys. 

 

“What are those for?” he asks, taking one from Tesla’s hand and turning it over in his own.

 

“To check for traps. Wherever we end up, we can’t be too sure that someone hasn’t set up a wire trap or something, you know?” Tesla throws one ahead of them, demonstrating what she plans to do. 

 

“Smart,” Rhys smiles, giving the rock back. They walk until they see the Cornucopia, continuing north until they’ve reached the Workshop. Inside, they find a warm and welcoming sight: a roaring fire, bright colors, toys, and they can even smell something baking in the distance. 

 

“Psst, over here,” Aisly whispers, catching Tesla and Rhys by surprise. She pokes her head out from a pile of stuffed toys and waves them over. “He needs help,” she points toward Posi, who is propped up next to her and has turned the color of the snow outside. 

 

Aisly, Tesla, and Rhys lift Posi and move him closer to the fire, hoping to warm him up before taking off his jacket and shirt. The cut, although admittedly bad, isn’t nearly as bad as they had anticipated - the thick clothing and multiple packs seem to have taken most of the blow. Posi has still lost a lot of blood, though, so Tesla ties his jacket around his chest to try and soak up some of the blood. Rhys gives Aisly a pack of stakes and Tesla some knives. By then, Posi is coherent enough to ask about Bess. 

 

“That stupid beetle? Really” Tesla huffs, rolling her eyes and checking Posi’s pockets. She finds the beetle, unharmed, in his right pants pocket and sets it in his hand. He smiles, glad that his friend wasn’t smushed during the bloodbath. 

 

As Posi recovers, he and Tesla play with Bess while Rhys fashions a slingshot for Aisly out of things he has collected from around the workshop. The four are sitting around the fire, not talking much but in a comfortable silence, when four cannons boom in the distance. The bloodbath must finally be over.

 

“That’s not many deaths,” Tesla comments, and Posi nods in agreement. 

 

“It must be because of this horrible weather,” Rhys suggests. “You can’t see more than a few feet  in front of you and the snow and these dumb pants make it feel like you’re walking through molasses.” 

 

The four settle back into silence hoping that their first night can be a comfortable one. 

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Skye walks back to the Cornucopia looking defeated. Malia sits with Cal, who is using a dead tribute’s jacket to soak up what little blood comes from his wounds. He thinks they should be okay by tomorrow. 

 

“Give me that,” Skye says, and Cal tosses the jacket to her. She wraps it around her badly hurt left hand. “Where to next?” 

 

“Let’s move north, there’s not much left here since we’ve picked through all the good stuff,” Malia offers. 

 

Cal nods, but hesitates. “Should we wait a little longer to see if Dominique turns up?” 

 

“Sorry Cal, but I think she’s dead,” Skye says, picking up her pack and weapons. “There were four cannons. If she’s not dead, she’s deserted us. So we should go.” 

 

Malia agrees with Skye, and it’s 2-to-1, so the three pack their things and head northeast toward the Stables.

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Ivy, Ianthe, and Siren arrive at the Frozen Lake and begin looking around for their other allies. After a few hours of searching, they find Tiberius hiding in a cluster of bushes with Leah, who has fallen unconscious. Frozen tears cling to Tiberius’s face.

 

“What happened,” Ianthe reaches out, pulling Tiberius off the ground. “What happened to Flora and Maxwell?” Tiberius gives out another little cry. He uses his finger to write the number “two” in the snow, followed by an “F”. Ianthe gives him a smile and a nod, leading him closer to the water. Siren and Ivy lift Leah’s body from the ground and bring her over as well. 

 

After checking all of their packs and weapons, the girls split their tasks. Ianthe watches over Leah. She packs some of the (plentiful) snow into her jacket and applies it to Leah’s back, trying to reduce swelling and inflammation. She changes the snow every fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, Siren and Ivy work on constructing a shelter using branches and twigs from the surrounding trees. Tiberius tries to help them, but begins crying again and has to sit down with Ianthe after a few minutes. That night, they take turns keeping watch and tending to Leah.

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Amber, Astrid, Lotus, and Kacey are the first group out of the bloodbath. They are also the first group to make camp in the Stables. Kacey and Astrid check the stalls for other tributes and reindeer, which they take note of so they can avoid the irritable animals, while Lotus and Amber look for weapons. They regroup, Lotus handing Astrid a pitchfork and a glance. 

 

As the sun sets, the group hears other tributes entering at the other end of the Stables. They quietly move into one of the empty stalls and pray that the other tributes, whoever they are, won’t find them. It’s a big building with plenty of room for cohabitation, but if someone’s here looking for a fight, they won’t leave quietly. 

 

When nobody comes for them, the alliance decides to take turns keeping watch so they can get some sleep. Astrid volunteers to take first watch, and once it’s clear that Kacey and Amber are asleep, Lotus opens his eyes. He and Astrid begin moving the girls’ weapons out of reach and then, without hesitation, Astrid sticks her pitchfork into Kacey’s sleeping body. A cannon sounds immediately, and Amber, who had the wherewithal to sleep with one of her knives secured in her hand, springs up immediately. She sees Astrid standing over Kacey’s body and Lotus standing over her own, scythe in hand. Without missing a beat, Amber rolls out from under him and brings her knife to his neck, slitting it and then grabbing a Medium Pack and making a break for it. A cannon sounds. She runs out of the Stables and into the cold, windy, snowy night and looks around for someplace to hide.

 

Astrid, frustrated that her and Lotus’s plan has failed, quickly gathers up her sword and pitchfork and slings the remaining pack onto her back, running out into the night in the opposite direction of Amber.  She wanted to spend the night in the warmth of the hay and the animals but the threat of the other tributes forces her to move.

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Anderson wanders. His shoulder seems to feel better, but the wound on his face still hasn’t closed up and drips blood into his mouth. With just his pack and his spear, he hopes he won’t encounter any other tributes but feels confident that he could win in a fight if he needed to. He thinks that maybe he shouldn’t have asked Denver to get her own things after all, maybe he should have just gotten the scissors for her. But then again, that’s one less competitor to worry about. 

 

Anderson is lost in his thoughts but when he makes it to the edge of a funny-looking forest, he takes pause. The trees are red and white and there’s a vaguely sweet smell coming from inside. He hasn’t come across any other tributes in the past few hours and decides that perhaps he’s the only one over here. Good, he thinks to himself. He wants to go out and find more tributes to kill, but now that it’s just him, he needs to regroup and he needs to be alone.

 

Anderson wanders into the forest and is amazed at the colors, the smells, the magic of it all. Candy everywhere. Trees made of peppermint and fairy floss, chocolate rivers, graham cracker dirt. It’s amazing. Anderson finds a place to set up camp, nestled between two giant marshmallows, and begins to tend to his face. The forest is warmer than the rest of the arena so he takes off his jacket and rips off part of the sleeve with his spear, securing it around his face. He’s getting ready to sleep when rustling nearby catches his attention. He looks up to see a wall of red descending on him and feels a burning sensation. He’s encased in red but can still see his surroundings. He’s moving away from his camp, and the burning intensifies. Worse and worse and worse. He tries to scream, but he can’t open his mouth, he can’t move at all. 

 

His cannon sounds. 

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END OF DAY 1 STANDINGS

​

Anderson Westin (D1): deceased, 18th place

Malia Wells (D1): alive, part of Divine Chaos, received a Medium Pack

Cal Dynam (D2): alive, part of Divine Chaos, received a Small Pack, mildly injured (shallow stab wounds to torso and arms)  

Dominique Amber-Citrine (D2): deceased, 22nd place

Leah Delaware (D3): alive, part of the Sugarcube Alliance, received a Large Pack, severely injured (spear to the back) 

Denver Grey (D3): deceased, 24th place

Siren Acquafredda (D4): alive, part of the Sugarcube Alliance, received a Medium Pack

Kacey Covestand (D4): deceased, 20th place

Tesla Watt (D5): alive, part of Team TRAP, received a Large Pack

Posi Rio (D5): alive, part of Team TRAP, received a Large Pack, moderately injured (sliced across the chest by a sword) 

Maxwell Jason (D6): deceased, 23rd place

Ianthe Berengy (D6): alive, part of the Sugarcube Alliance, received a Medium Pack

Skye Stone (D7): alive, part of Divine Chaos, received a Small Pack, moderately injured (left hand and fingers shredded by modified yo-yo)

Ivy Hunter (D7): alive, part of the Sugarcube Alliance, received a Small Pack

Amber Nelson (D8): alive, received a Medium Pack

Chivonne Ashford (D8): alive, part of Project 32, received a Medium Pack, moderately injured (cut on face by shaolin hook sword) 

Lotus Miller (D9): deceased, 19th place

Astrid Luca (D9): alive, received a Medium Pack

Tiberius Bournes (D10): alive, part of the Sugarcube Alliance, received a Medium Pack

Flora Harper (D10): deceased, 21st place

Rhys Bullock (D11): alive, part of Team TRAP, received a Large Pack

Aisly-Parca Sullivan (D11): alive, part of Team TRAP, received a Medium Pack

Harvey Zea (D12): alive, part of Project 32, received a Small Pack

Matilda Gilbert (D12): alive, part of Project 32, received a Small Pack