"Come on, let's go to the ocean," Furrow suggested, hands in his pockets. "We can get out of this stupid sand, and die in a nice, watery grave".
"Shut up, Furrow. We're not going to die," Quinn said, rolling her eyes. Honestly, why had she partnered with this boy? He hadn't even grabbed a backpack on the way out. "Why the ocean?"
"Oasis could be a trap," Jorak stated, looking down at the map in her hands. "Harder to poison an entire ocean". The girl from 12 suddenly froze, looking up. "Stop. Listen". All of a sudden, five tributes leapt out from behind the dunes, brandishing weapons. One of them, a girl, leapt on Furrow, tackling him to the ground. He screamed in pain, as she stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. A cannon went off, as Furrow stopped moving. Quinn felt a net go over her head, pinning her arms against her body as she reached for her darts. A spear went through Jorak's chest, causing another cannon to go off. Quinn felt a sharp pain in her head, then fell to the ground. She felt blood soaking the back of her shirt, and looked up at her attacker. The last thing she saw was a hammer swinging down towards her face.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Ripley repeated lowly, stumbling away from the bodies. "Oh god, we killed them". He fell to his knees, vomiting on the sand. Flink looked down at the tributes, full of horror.
"So much blood . . . just so much blood . . . " he whispered, abruptly sitting down. "Why do they never talk about the blood?" Avila just wiped the blood off her knife, then sheathed it.
"Get used to it, boys. We'll have to do this plenty more to get to the end," she told them, crossing her arms. Maximus cleaned off his spear, looking at Thoren's hammer with a slightly disgusted expression.
"Why did you choose that thing, out of all weapons? It's so . . . messy. Too much room for error. A spear gets you quick, clean kills," he said, looking over at the other boy. Thoren shrugged, using the sand to scrape the gore off of his weapon.
"Unlike the Career districts, we don't train with weapons. I worked on the rails. I used a large hammer to hit the supports into place. A war hammer isn't much different," he replied. Maximus nodded, looking at the boy with respect.
"Fair enough. We should probably get going. I'd like to set up camp by the ocean before sundown," he told the others. "Ripley, Flink, you two have to get up. We can't carry you, so either come with us or we'll have to leave you". The two young boys complied, looking miserable. The group then marched off across the sand, leaving the bodies where they were.

"It's so cold, you guys. We need to get to the trees," Kathis croaked out, shivering. "I have no idea where the Cornucopia is. The trees are our best option".
"I agree. Let's go," Cloran said, standing up. He glanced back at Viss and Kathis, then trudged towards the trees, boots sinking into the snow. Viss let out a sigh of relief once they reached the pine forest, sitting down at the base of a tree.
"We need shelter, fast. I have a tent in my bag. Do either of you have another?" she asked, pulling the collapsed tent out. "It really only fits two people".
"I've got one," Cloran told her, pulling it out. "But they won't be warm enough by themselves. We need a fire as well".
"Why don't you two focus on the fire?" Kathis suggested, taking one of the tents and looking at it. "I can get these set up easily. Plus, I found a folding saw in my bag. You can use it to cut off some branches or something". Cloran took the offered tool, opening it.
"I'll go collect some firewood. Make sure to leave space between the tents for the fire," he said, then headed off into the trees.
"I'll go get some tinder and kindling, then work on starting the fire. Be back soon," Viss added, before heading to one of the nearby trees. Kathis was in the middle of the second tent when Viss returned, and began to light the fire. She finished the tent, then sat down next to Viss.
"Where's Cloran? I need the firewood," Viss asked, continuing to add more kindling. "I'm starting to run out".
"Right here," Cloran called, carrying a bundle of firewood in his arms. "Sorry I took so long. I had to find dry wood". He added some of the branches to the fire, which began to blaze steadily. The group huddled around the fire, getting warm before doing anything else.
"Well, now that we have warmth taken care of, why don't we work on food and water? Viss, you can stay here to keep the fire going and guard our things," Kathis said, looking through her pack. "We need to boil the snow before we can drink it. Does anyone have a pot or something? I just have a water purifier".
"Nope, I have a water purifier as well," Viss replied.
"Water bottle," Cloran told them, shaking his head. "I can do food though. I saw some mushrooms while I was getting the firewood, and I'm pretty good at foraging. It's a nine thing".
"Okay, I'll try to build a pot I guess. If not, we can try to use the water bottle," Kathis said. She took the folding saw, as she would have to use wood to make the pot. Plus, it could be used as a weapon. She would have to make herself a pole as well. "Take the knife with you, Cloran. Who knows what else is in these woods". Cloran nodded in agreement, then headed off into the trees.

"I'm surprised the pot is actually working. Good thing I just carved it from a stump," Kathis said, watching the snow melt in the crude pot.
"Me too. Viss's idea to set it on heated rocks so the wood wouldn't burn was genius," Cloran added, taking a bite of a mushroom.
"I read it in a book," Viss replied, finishing her mushroom. "We'll need to share watch so the fire doesn't go out. How does every two hours sound?"
"Fine by me. I'll take first watch," Kathis offered, pouring the finished water into wooden cups. "I'd like to carve myself a pole, anyway. I can do that while I keep the fire going".
"Okay, I'm going to bed. If it's okay, I'll take third watch. I'm exhausted," Cloran said, finishing his water. "Night". He got up, then disappeared into his tent.
"Night," Viss answered. She glanced at Kathis, checking her watch. "Wake me in two hours".

Glint shook his head, checking the map in his hands. "Forget this. Want to head back to the Cornucopia? I know the way back, since we didn't turn anywhere. I don't feel like freezing to death". Benir nodded, tightening his grip on he bow as his teeth chattered.
"Definitely. Let's go," he agreed. The two teens headed back the way they had come, eventually reaching the Cornucopia. To their surprise, it was completely empty. They headed in, causing Benir to gape at the mountain of supplies in the structure.
"I know, it's a ton. There's enough food here to last all of us at least a week," Glint told him, walking over to the pile of tributes' weapons. "Good, my shield is still here". He grabbed the shield, setting it down by the base of a barrel. "There are more arrows over there. You should see if you can fit any more in your quiver". Benir complied, able to fit a few more in.
"So, now what do you want to do?" he asked, leaving the barrel of arrows. He ran his hand over spools of snare wire, observing all of the supplies.
"Let's eat and drink some water, then we can discuss our plans," Glint replied, sitting down in the middle of the structure. He set down various containers of dried meat, fruit, and vegetables, then poured two glasses of water. Benir nodded, taking one of the glasses and sitting down across from Glint. They ate quietly, then pushed away the empty bags and cups.
"I can set up a trap so no one but us can enter the Cornucopia," Benir said. He stood up and grabbed spools of snare wire, along with a few ropes. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to destroy the other tributes' weapons. See you in a bit," Glint answered.

"I'm starving," Zena groaned, tightening her grip on the axe. "I swear to god, if we don't find something to eat, I'm eating one of you guys". Maddox gave her a worried look, but didn't say anything.
"Let's catch a bison. They're big enough for all of us to eat well. We can make a trap or something for it," Electri suggested. Maddox nodded in agreement, straightening up at the word 'trap'. Those were his specialty.
"Sounds good to me!" Leif agreed cheerfully, looking out at the nearby herd, "what's the plan?".
"Why don't we build a sort of funnel system, to contain it? Then Leif and Zena can kill it? Just a suggestion," Maddox replied nervously.
"Agreed. I'll get started on building some walls, since I'm the only one who can build," Alexa said. The group split up, and they all started working on the trap.

Zena motioned to the dead bison carcass, finishing off a chunk of meat. "What are we doing with that? It's definitely going to attract something if we just leave it there".
"We're to weak to move it. Let's just head a bit farther away, then camp there," Alexa replied. Once they were done with their meals, the group picked up their stuff and left. Once they were satisfied with a location, they set down their supplies, and began to prepare for setting up camp.
"For water, we can dig holes in the ground and let them fill up. That should work for now, it's a survival skill," Leif suggested. "Me and Zena can do the digging".
"Sounds good. Me and Alexa will start with the shelter. We have a tent, tarps, and a couple of sleeping bags. That should be plenty for all of us," Electri continued.
"I'll get another fire going," Maddox said, searching through his pack. Soon enough, all of the tasks had been completed. Eventually, the group went to sleep, with Leif standing watch.

Ruby sat up in a tree for a bit, munching on some roots she had foraged. There were enough to feed her, but that was about it. She was also glad that they didn't require a fire to be eaten. When she was done, she climbed down, then rummaged through her pack. She pulled out a few knives, then went through combat stances and slices. She continued to watch the group she was protecting, keeping track of where they were at all times. When they finally started making camp, she hollowed out the inside of a bush, making sure it allowed her to see them. When they went to sleep, she got into her sleeping bag, and dragged her supplies into the bush with her. She fell asleep, completely undetectable.

Samson led Dirch and Olive around the group setting up some sort of structure, keeping low to the ground so they wouldn't be spotted. He checked his map again, making sure they were heading in the right direction. He knew that the trip would take almost the entire day, and going off course even a bit would cause them to arrive at dark. Even with his careful planning, it was almost sunset when the trio arrived at the lake. Samson tiredly directed his two allies, as he began to collect wood for their shelter. Dirch started a fire, and began to boil water one bottle full at a time. Olive went out and foraged, bringing back enough food for all of them. When Samson finished the shelter, it was already dusk. The group, far from any other tributes, safely went to sleep.

Congratulations! Most of you have survived the first day and night. But tomorrow will almost certainly lead to the demise of more tributes. Tell me your plans for the next day, by pming me.