Shadows Burning

Sarah's prep team applied glow-in-the-dark, electric blue lipstick and eyeshadow to her face. it made her face feel stiff and her lips sticky and weird.  she wished she could wipe it off.

(i have to go now)

(Bye)

Dreamer stepped into her camo army suit and zipped it up. Her stylist placed the matching hat on her head while her prep team adusted her makeup and added some finishing touches to the outfit. She looked in the mirror and smiled at her reflection.

Araminta stood dejectedly in her tree costume, not looking forward to going out in public. She new she wouldn't get any sponsors for this outfit, since the District 7 stylist had dressed their tributes as trees every single year. She sighed.

Jenna was thrilled with her outfit.  the strapless dress featured a ruffled red train at the end of the fitted black skirt.  a huge flower of red cloth covered more than half of the top part of her dress.  there was an identical, though smaller, flower in her hair, and she held a black and red mask.

Wren, however, was not as happy.  her outfit was little more than a long, rainbow-colored cloth wrapped around her body.  her stylist was a kind old man with sparkling eyes, but she thought he must be a little bit blind.  she looked like a small child playing dress-up.  she hoped the darkness tonight would make her outfit look at least a little more grown up. 

Jay was a peice of coal. Literally. That was his costume. His prep team, after cleaning him up, had rubbed glue all over his skin and then painstakingly applied sparkly black powder to every inch of his body. He was naked except  for some tight, sparkly black shorts that blended in with the rest of him. Now, his prep team finished touching up a spot of black powder on his arm and then sent him and Tessa, who was dressed identically except for a sparkly black top covering her chest, out to their carriage for the parade.

river walked toward his carriage.  he was wearing a fitted suit, like an acrobat's. the left half was colored red, and the right had cow spots on it.  he also wore boots, a hat, and a belt, which were all black with red and white feathers on them.  he was glad the dessigner had given up on the flames.  last years tributes had looked ridiculous. 

as he passed the district three carriage, he saw that the tributes bodies were covered with spinning blue gears, embellished with tiny blue lights. he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Jonah and Araminta pouting in their tree costumes.  finally, he reached the district ten carriage and climbed on.  winona was right behind him. 

Tessa was A LOT less than thrilled when she saw what her stylist had picked out for her. At least she was covered in black sparkles so that people couldn't see her blushing. The stylists must be desperate for costumes, she thought. Tessa took Jay's hand and led him to the carriage.

The carriages began to move, making their way through the crowd. Capitol people cheered and hollered on every side. Marcus watched himself on the big screens, trying to look bored and confident.

Rage held his head high as his carriage moved forward, acknowledging the crowd with tiny nods.  he had to look tough. 

in the next carriage Sara waved hesitantly, not surprised that her costume was a big hit.   

(We're skipping to the actual games.)

The tributes were lowered into the arena on their platforms, all of them more terrified than they had ever been in their lives. They could see the golden cornucopia nearby, filled with supplies that might be useful in the Games.

None of them were listening to Claudius's booming speech, for all it meant to them was their imminent death. At last the speech came to an end, the glass doors opened, and the twenty-four tributes stepped into the arena and into their doom.

Rage tensed, preparing to run towards the cornucopia and into the bloodbath.  his excitement at the games melted into terror, but he forced himself to breathe slowly.  he remembered how he had planned to volunteer this year, how he had desperately wanted to be chosen.  how could he have been so stupid?  the gong sounded, and he sprinted forward, clinging to the faint hope of  survival.   

Jay burst into the arena as soon as the doors were opened. He knew that he might be able to get to the cornucopia first if he knew what direction to run. He heard the footsteps of someone running nearby and headed in the same direction.

Marcus sped over to Rage, running along side of him. They were allies, at least until the majority of the tributes were dead. He glanced around and saw the blind boy from 12 sprinting nearby, almost ahead of him and Rage. Marcus didn't really care, as he knew that Jay would probably be easy to kill, and not much of  a threat.

Jonah dashed toward the cornucopia.  he wasn't a very fast runner, but he was big and strong.  he thought he had a chance at getting out of the bloodbath alive. 

sarah ran in the opposite direction, toward a cluster of buildings in the center of the arena.  she hoped she would find something useful in them.   

Araminta was also running towards the cornucopia. She saw a small figure out of the corner of her eye. It was Cyrus, the little twelve-year-old boy. He was running slower than her, and soon she was way ahead of him. She felt bad for him, but knew that he would probably die soon. She hoped he would at least survive the bloodbath and be able to find somewhere quiet to be.

Cyrus's heart sank when he saw Araminta pass him, and saw all the others who had just reached the cornucopia. He was almost at the cornucopia, too. He was sure that he would die if he kept running, but it was too late to turn back. His footsteps faltered, and he tripped, sprawling onto the ground. He tried to get up, but there was something stopping him. A foot on his back. He tried to struggle up, but it was no use. Then, suddenly, he felt a deep pain in his back, and he had no more strength. Everything was fading. The last thing he saw was his bright red blood pooling around him, and the last thing he heard was laughter, light and merry, coming from above him. Then nothing.

Drake sprinted for the cornucopia, knowing that with his long legs he could be one of the first ones there. Reaching it, he grabbed a backpack and stuffed supplies in it, including packets of food and a sharp-looking knife he found. He had just lifted a heavy flashlight when he heard someone moving towards him. He spun around, smashing the flashlight into their head. They dropped, and he crammed the light into his bag and took off, grabbing a sword as he ran.

Araminta fell, her head throbbing. She grabbed the nearest weapon, which was, amazingly, an axe (she's from 7), and leapt to her feet, looking for her attacker. But he was already too far away for her to catch him. She heard the whistle of a blade and reacted just in time, blocking the attack with her axe.

jonah kept running toward the cornucopia.  he didn't expect to live through the games, but at least he wouldn't be the first to die. 

After a moment's hesitation, Winona dashed just far enough forward to grab a big water bottle and a knife lying near her and sprinted for the same buildings Sara had, wondering what they were. She had never seen any buildings watching the Games in previous years.

Dreamer had already been to the cornucopia, but all she had taken was a long dagger with a jagged edge and a bottle of water.

Now she watched Cyrus's blood pool around him, laughing. She stepped in the blood and put two red foot prints on the ground nearby. She painted a curved line below the footprints. Then she smiled and walked away, looking for her next target.

Jenna hesitated, then ran toward the cornucopia, picking up everything she could carry.  she grabbed a spear and stabbed wildly at Dreamer and Araminta, then turned and ran away. 

(we have to give people lots of opportunities to die)