20
The First Night
Caesar Flickerman had watched the opening bouts of the Hunger Games with a mix of intrigue and disgust. Some of the scenes he'd witnessed in the first few hours had been truly sickening, but as things began to calm down onboard the Panem Constitution and the Queen Anne's Revenge, he began stringing together a series of highlight clips on his data-pad that he would show to the TV audience in just a few minutes time. Finally, a notification popped up along the bottom of his screen; the Command Centre sending him the details of the first Mutt that had appeared in the Games, and the details of each ship. Once the evening had drawn to a close, he would present a second vignette with a tribute to the fallen, so he began writing up a quick script in the final minutes before his show. His director gave him a quick whistle to let him know that they were about to go on the air, and the cameraman to his left counted down from 5.
"Good afternoon," Caesar beamed to the TV audience as his show went live, "what an exciting few hours we have had! There have been huge surprises, there's been four deaths so far, we've had powerful Alliances put in prison, and even famous Pirates! But, before we get to all that, I want to take you right back to the moment that our Tributes first saw the Arena, and give you a little more information on where our Tributes are." Caesar tapped into his data pad, and a video package of some of the Tributes dropping from their hovercraft showed on the televisions across Panem, followed by a panning shot of the Panem Constitution. "So here we get a look at our first ship," Caesar continued as a a schematic of the Constitution appeared on-screen, "the Panem Constitution. A very big ship indeed, she is three-hundred feet long, carries fifty-two cannons, and has a crew of four-hundred and fifty men! Throughout the Games, the Constitution is intended to play host to Districts One through Six, but, plans change, and ships sink."
"So let's take a look at our other ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge," Caesar continued, throwing up a schematic onto the big screen, "she's a smaller ship, at one-hundred and three feet, with forty-two guns on board. Now you might be thinking; surely this puts Districts Seven through Twelve at a huge disadvantage? But here is where things even up a little bit; Queen Anne carries four mortar cannons, these will do more damage than any gun aboard the Constitution. Furthermore, the QAR is lighter, faster, and it can sail in much shallower water, giving it plenty of hiding spaces around our arena! Perhaps the QAR's biggest advantage is this man here," the screen behind Caesar changed to show a photo of the ships Captain, "now while Miss Mayfonte has already figured out that our sailors are indeed animatronic, they are very much true to the real thing. We've all heard the stories about the last Pirate, he's perhaps the most dangerous man to ever take the wheel of a ship, and if our two ships do cross paths, you can bet that he will show us all why!"
Caesar cut to a panning shot of the first kill in the Games; Azer Chistaen leapt up on deck and dived for the Cornucopia, throwing a colossal punch and breaking Obubu's nose before hoisting him onto his shoulders. "Now I want to pause here," Caesar froze the clip just as Azer was about to throw Obubu over the side, "just to let you marvel at the sheer strength of Azer Chistaen. I'm told Obubu was not on one of the rowboats like the rest of the Tributes, because at over three-hundred pounds, he was too heavy. But he's not too heavy for Azer, take a look." The clip continued, showing Azer cast the Mayor of District 8's son overboard and into the waiting jaws of the first Mutt present in the Games. Caesar cast an info packet onto the screen showing photos and stats of the beast that had devoured two Tributes already.
"Now shown here is our first Mutt, as they are so affectionately known, the Raptorfish! As you can perhaps tell, the Raptorfish is caught somewhere in-between a shark and a dinosaur, two creatures you wouldn't want to meet under any circumstances," Caesar cut to the footage of a Raptorfish leaping from the water and devouring Errol ford, "something our departed friend Errol learned with fatal consequences here. Just look at that biting force! The whole ship was ready to turn turtle!
Now of course, it isn't just Mutts and exploding rowboats that our Tributes have to contend with. Let's take a look at this kill from Persephone Barley just moments before she consigned Errol to his gruesome fate," the screens around him showed Persephone slicing malevolently through a group of Pirates aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge before throwing a seemingly perfect knife into Nathan Cole's forehead. "Absolutely clinical," Caesar marvelled, "this could make Persephone the new favourite. In fact, while we have the time, why don't we check in with my good friend Claudius Templesmith in the City Circle to see how things are shaping up? Claudius!" Caesar grinned as the camera feed cut from his studio to where Claudius was broadcasting, outside the President's Mansion in front of a large screen, where many Capitolites had gathered to watch the Games, drink, and gamble. Claudius looked up from his data pad with a smile.
"Hi Caesar! There are so many facts, figures, and estimations still arriving as we speak, so we'll get to our betting odds in just a moment, but first lets have a look at our current leaderboard, drafted by our panel of experts at the Command Centre. Of course, this board will change constantly throughout the next few days, but here is our first draft of the top ten Tributes in the opening bouts of the Games."
Persephone Barley (2 kills) Judith Anastasia Meridian Illias Martell Jadeline Amber Lockheart Jack Banastre Marlowe Bastion Satin Valentine Calliope Mayfonte Garret Valens Azer Chistaen (1 Kill)"Now let me break the board down for our viewers. As we can see, Persephone Barley has sliced and diced her way to the top of our leaderboard. She has been credited with the death of Errol Ford, and of course was responsible for the death of Nathan Cole. With the most kills so far, a fiery display against the crew of Queen Anne, along with a high training score, it really comes as no surprise that Persephone has taken the top spot. She may be in jail right now, but our Pirates seem far more lenient, unlike the Navy, who have sentenced Azer Chistaen to his probable death. He opened very strongly in the Games, so he manages to stay on our leaderboard for now, but how long will he stay there?
Judith comes in just behind Persephone at number two; her great acting and quick improvisation kept her Alliance from crumbling, and spared them the same fate as Azer. Perhaps if she had been the one to kill Obubu Mabebe, then we would possibly see her atop the leaderboard, but she may also have found herself in Azer's current predicament. She is definitely one to watch!" Claudius was beginning to receive the betting odds from Panem's bookmakers - Judith was still the clear favourite to win, but Persephone, Satin, and Calliope had shot up in the odds, while Azer had dropped to almost last - and was about to present them to the viewing audience, but was interrupted by his co-host over in Studio 3.
"I'm am ever so sorry to cut you off Claudius," Caesar gasped, tapping furiously at his data pad, "but in the short time that we were presenting, there has been another death aboard the Panem Constitution, and it will come as a bit of a shock!"
Azer Chistaen paced his cell fervently. He had been analysing the cage's structure for hours, reflecting back on his training at the small Academy in District 4, thinking about everything that his trainer, Peyton, had taught him. But no matter how many 'weak' spots he tried, no matter how many times he punched the door so hard that his knuckles split open, he could not get out of his cell. In fact, he hadn't even put a dent in the bars. His little cage was built as tough as a fortress. He was not going to escape. Not without help anyway. Azer heard light footsteps making their way down the stairs towards the cells. They definitely weren't the footsteps of one of the sailors; it had to be one of the girls. But would they be friendly? Azer was no fool, he could see the writing on the wall; the best strategy for his Allies was to abandon him.
"That cage definitely won't be broken," Judith remarked as she strode into the room and took a look at Azer's dejected figure, slumped on the bench of his cell.
"You're not here to tell me that everyone is coming to help," Azer got straight to the point.
"The Alliance has decided that you are not worth the risk. They plan to let the Navy hang you, and then sail with the Constitution to find the rest of the Tributes from the Outer Districts, kill them, and then kill each other. They'll probably have a go at killing me somewhere along the way." The blonde girl trotted back and forth in front of his cell, seemingly mocking his predicament.
"I will not be hung by a bunch of machine puppets." He said defiantly, though he remained unsure of how exactly he would escape.
"I know." Judith replied matter-of-factly, "it wouldn't do to have you die so soon, who else is going to protect me from Jade?"
"Why do you need protecting from Jade?" Azer asked, wondering why he should even bother with Judith's games. If he couldn't break down the bars of his cell, there was no hope in hell that Judith would be able to do the same.
"I think, given how easily I seem to be able to manipulate the boys, that Jade will be the biggest problem we face. Don't laugh," Judith snapped as Azer chuckled to himself at the naivety of Judith's plan. "You might think that I'm some daft bimbo with no real idea of what I'm doing, but that is the idea. I know how to handle Illias and Jack, but I will need your help to kill Jade. Besides, what other options do you have right now? Wait here and continue to scrape your fingers to the bone trying to get out of this cell?"
Azer mulled things over in his head, trying to come up with an excuse, or a counter proposal, but she was right. Judith held all the cards now, and Azer began to wonder just how much of the first day she had mapped out in her mind, and how much she was making up as she went along. His thoughts were interrupted by another voice entering the room. "Well that's just brilliant," Marlowe Bastion mocked excitement as she swung her large frame through the door, her muscles rippling like pythons, her veins pumping full of energy, her voice colder than ice. She sounded triumphant, her suspicions about Judith confirmed, and now she would finish the much smaller girl off before she even had a chance to execute any of her plan. "I wonder," she continued, breaking into what was probably a well-rehearsed monologue, "what did you have planned for me? Did you think, foolishly, that one of the others would kill me? Did you think that nobody noticed how quickly you were able to improvise when the Captain appeared, or when you slipped that knife to the girl from Three? I have been watching you ever since we were released from the cells!"
"Congratulations," Judith said in an icy voice, "you've successfully put two and two together and come up with five." Azer looked at the space between the two girls, confused by Judith's perfectly calm demeanour. "Of course I know you've been watching me; those heavy footsteps are much too difficult to hide. I made sure that you could see me give the knife to Three, and I made sure you saw me slip off to the jail cells. I knew you would follow me here, and I knew that you were hiding behind that door, listening in."
"Well, what a mistake you've made," Marlowe growled, her face flushed red as Judith had revealed the ease with which she'd manipulated the girl from District 4. "You really think you'll be able to take me in a fight? This is where your Hunger Games comes to its end."
"That's doubtful." Judith sneered. Azer was shocked. He had always thought of Judith as a ditzy blonde that wiggled her ass to get sponsors from the Capitol. He didn't think that she had any remarkable skills, nothing made her stand out from District 1's plethora of other blow-up dolls that they regularly sent in to help out their male tribute. But Judith had quickly shed that image when Marlowe walked in, and now she looked calculated and clinical. Azer her watched her movements. She wasn't even looking at Marlowe, she was fiddling with a ring on her finger, turning it so that it faced the opposite way. She raised her hand, palm inward, with the back of her ring facing his District partner. Marlowe realised too late what was happening; Judith pressed the small diamond on her ring, and an almost microscopic dart shot out of the band and stuck Marlowe in the neck. It barely left a mark, but the effect was instant. Marlowe clutched at her throat, suddenly unable to breathe as the the poisoned dart caused her airways to close shut. Judith stepped forward and planted an expert kick in Marlowe's stomach, forcing any remaining air from her lungs. With surprising strength, she tossed Marlowe towards Azer's cell door.
"Do me a favour and make it look like there was a struggle." She said. Azer slid his powerful arms through the bars of his cell and squeezed Marlowe's neck hard, making sure to leave a series of dark red marks around her throat. Somewhere in the distance, two flares sounded, rocketing into the air and turning the skies red. "Ah," Judith said, "that'll be the boy from Three gone as well."
"Alright," Azer said, "I've done what you asked, I'll take the blame for her, now get me out of here."
"Oh I can't break you out of there," Judith laughed cruelly.
"But you said…" Azer began furiously. Judith clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling his roar.
"I will stop you from being hung, but I can't set you free on the ship, they'll just kill both of us before we even get to port. For now, you need to act like you're mad with fever, and can't control yourself." Azer nodded, accepting that arguing with the girl would only see him end up like his District partner. "Remember, I'm your only hope right now." She whispered in his ear before turning to walk out of the door.
"Wait," he said as she had reached the door, "you said the boy from Three was gone too. What do you mean?"
"Oh," she laughed darkly, "I had someone take care of him. You don't think you're the only one with Caribbean Fever do you?" With a wicked grin, Judith turned, and bounced up the stairs, resuming her giggly blonde persona. Wow, Azer thought, she's been playing all of us from the very start. What's the next part of her plan?