You Know Where You Are [Uprising Survival Thread]

BLAKE ELLIOT NOLAN
6B6B6B - 69A3BE - F1E859

I've never been one to go against social expectations. You know, I was always the one who would follow the norms that society has placed, afraid to be facing punishment or something like that. Breaking or bending the rules has never been a thought that has crossed my mind, really. Maybe once when I was really young, but everybody has thoughts like that when they are growing up. It's a part of puberty. Now though, I keep all of that far from my mind. Living in a life where rules are important is probably a lot better than living in a life where you're in prison or busy doing some stupid job because you're a slave. But every once in a while, something happens and you often find yourself questioning whether the rules are really for the best. You're wondering whether or not the social expectations are wrong.

For me, it was seeing the Bloodbath. You know, I've seen plenty of them, due to being a Capitol citizen, and none have ever bothered me. But this year seemed to get to me. Maybe it was because I saw so many people I could relate to, all of them perishing in the very first, violent, battle. It was horrible and it sent me over the edge. Retreating into my room, beckoning my dog to follow, staying far under my covers to keep myself from the outside world. That was how I healed, I guess. That's how I always fixed myself when things went wrong. But, whether I liked it or not, it wouldn't go away completely. The fear of seeing more death would always be there and I would never agree with the Hunger Games. I would never agree that it was right. Maybe that small spark inside of me was what willed me to make this decision. That small spark was a spark of rebellion. And even if I had always tried to steer clear from breaking the rules, I was ready to now.

The blindfold had been tied around my eyes before I was brought to who knows where. His words rang in my ears. The man was definitely somebody who I'd trust. He just had that sort of aura about him. A good man, a truthful man and a man that I'd gladly work with. His voice seemed to have so much power and experience that I couldn't help but feel as if he was somebody who I'd want to get to know. Somebody who I could learn from, even. Griffin seemed like an interesting guy. But then again, most of the people around me did. I took a look around as soon as we were allowed to take our blindfolds off, observing the three girls around me. They all seemed more comfortable than I was. And that was definitely not a good thing. It meant that they would bond easier, probably. It meant that I would be the one who was standing around awkwardly.

The bag dropped down with a thud. It was obviously filled with something that would aid us. Maybe a sheet of paper with more instructions. A few things that could help us out. I guess we'd have to open it up to find out, which one of the girls did. I think her name was Myla or something. I had only barely listened when people were calling out names and talking about themselves. Leaning in to get a better look, I caught a glimpse of two metal objects, noting their sharp edges. Weapons. In all my years of being alive, this was the first time I was ever seeing a weapon in person. The first time I had ever seen a knife that might be used for killing, not cooking. I made a mental note to stay away from those as much as I could. I wasn't ready, I don't think.

Along with the knives were two sleeping bags, a tarp, a match and a few empty water jugs. Basic survival equipment. But then again, who was I to say anything. I really didn't know anything about surviving in the world. To me, those were things that were handed out to tributes in the arena. Those were things people would use when camping. They were things I'd assume people would use in dire situations. But there was one thing on my mind. Two sleeping bags? There were four of us here, so people would have to get really close in the bag. Not only was this teaching us to survive in the wilderness, it was teaching us to trust one another. We were a team now, we had to be ready to fight somebody off for each other. And sleeping that close was probably one of the best ways to accomplish that, really.

We needed to be organized. Otherwise, we'd all get frantic and end up going insane or something. Licking my lips and clearing my throat, I thought of what to say. "Can I have each of your blindfolds? I'll need them to tie up the tarp." I state, playing with mine in one hand. We needed to have everything written down or something so that nobody could claim they didn't know what was going on. I lean down when my eyes come across a decent sized stick. Picking it up in my hand, I wrote in the dirt. Each name soon appeared in the ground with a line underneath and enough space to write simple tasks. I didn't know very much about survival. I didn't know very much about weapons. But I did know how to be a leader of sorts. I did know how to be the one who could stand up and hope that everybody is ready to follow. I could also be the one to accept when others were above me.

But here, I was useless in every way except this. I quickly jotted down the tarp under my name. I'd get to that eventually. "Anybody have weapon experience?" They'd get the weapons. And the matches would be to whoever didn't get a weapon. That way, we could all do something useful to set up. Then, we could learn or something. That was the point of this exercise. We would need to learn what to do in this situation if it were real. For now, we just needed a nice shelter. And we needed to bond together. That's what I think would be best. But once again, who am I to say anything? I had no clue what I was doing. For now, I was relying on instinct. And instinct wouldn't be enough eventually.

"And as for sleeping bags, you three split yourselves up. I'm staying on watch tonight."