these nights are long [lordes 84th games reactions]

Is anybody out there?
Can you take this weight of mine?

The Eighty-Fourth Annual Hunger Games
Day One
The Bloodbath

You watched the screen closely, waiting to see your two children lifted into the arena on their pedestals around the Cornucopia. Your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest as you anticipated what was about to happen. Waiting for the fight for supplies at the Cornucopia, which was always a bloodbath, made you extremely nervous. Would Alfonso and Sarina make it out okay? Would they get what they needed without getting hurt too badly, or worse, killed?

As all twenty-four of the tributes rose up into the arena, the camera panned to show each of them. You kept your eyes closely locked onto Eleven's tributes- your son and daughter. Whenever they were on screen, you'd be watching their every move, and that of everyone around them, hoping that they would remain out of harm's way. The countdown began, and you kept your gaze on the television screen, sitting next to Aresti on the couch and squeezing his hand to comfort yourself, as well as him.

When the countdown reached zero, a gong sounded, and the tributes ran in all directions. Most of them immediately began to go at one another with their fists flying. Alfonso was one of the first few to get a hit in as he struck the boy from Two. Shortly thereafter, Sarina hit the girl from Six, clearly breaking her nose. Alfonso threw the boy from Two to the ground before getting thrown to the ground himself in return. A girl then swung and missed in an attempt to attack your son, all the while Sarina remained unscathed. You were grateful for her safety so far, but still concerned about both of your children's wellbeing.

Your son managed to pick up a knife, swiping it in the direction of the boy from Two but missing. All the while, Sarina ran off somewhere in the distance, away from all the chaos. She was safe, at least for now. Your eyes need only focus on Alfonso in this moment.

That was when things began to intensify. The boy from Two had picked up a bow and some arrows, and shot an arrow into your son's chest. You felt your heart skip a beat, afraid of his fate, but he held on, still alive. The girl who'd attempted to attack him before now had a whip in her hands and struck Alfonso's leg.

You feared for his safety, unsure of if he'd continue to try to fight back, or if he'd make a run for it. Luckily, he decided on the latter, and ran away from the fighting at the cornucopia, able to live, at least for now. You hated to see the pain he had endured, and you wished you could be there for him, to protect him and to heal him. You're his mother. You were supposed to protect him, but right now, you couldn't and not being able to help your children broke you apart, piece by piece.

Sarina and Alfonso would be okay, for now, but you wouldn't be moving away from this screen unless you had to.

Your boss at work understood what you were going through, with two of your children in the Games, and had been kind enough to give you some time off while the Games were ongoing. That meant that you could focus all of your attention on them. It meant that you had to focus all of your attention on them. This time off sounded like a blessing at first, but perhaps not having work as a distraction from what was going on was more of a curse, instead.

Sarina and Alfonso, two of your dear children, were separated from you and perhaps would never come back to you alive. That's all you could think about now.

At least they'd escaped the very beginning moments of their time in the arena. They'd survived the bloodbath. Now they had to survive the rest of it.

Is anybody out there?
Can you lead me to the light?

~

lyrics: "Carry You" by Ruelle ft. Fleurie
649 words