Monday, Let The Games Begin, 7:43 A.M.
Seth looked up at the sky as he rose into the arena. The cornucopia rose up before him, sitting at least 30 feet tall. Seth eyes quickly analyzed the scene before him. The cornucopia was filled with mostly weapons, but there seemed to be some food supplies near the back of the pile, deeper in the cornucopia.
As the final tones sounded to signal the last seconds before the tributes were released into the Games, Seth noted what seemed to be a beach and ocean waves on the other side of the cornucopia. With a glance to Seth's right, he noted Gavin stood, looking relaxed, in his own circle. To left left stood Tanu. Seth could see Kendra past Tanu, and for a second, he wondered how his sister was doing, but the sound that released the tributes from their places echoed through his head and he took off running.
As Seth ran for the cornucopia, he snatched a blade from the ground. It wasn't the best blade, but Seth could deal with it for now, even though the unbalanced weapon annoyed him when fighting.
Something told Seth to turn around, despite the fact it would slow him down. He spun, trusting the instinct, and raised his weapon just soon enough to knock away the stab from Gavin's spear.
"Sorry, Seth," the dragon purred, like he was enjoying himself. "May the odds be ever in your favor." Then Gavin plunged the weapon towards Seth's shoulder.
Seth danced away, hacking at the spear, attempting to cut off the spearhead, only for his weapon to break in his hands. Unable to further defend himself, Seth ran for the cornucopia, Gavin giving chase. Arriving at the base of the pile, Seth grabbed the nearest sword and turned, flinging it at Gavin. The dragon way only a few yards away, but his reflexes were amazing, and he dodged. The sword still grazed Gavin's right arm, however, and his black clothing darkened where his blood stained his outfit. Apparently, the wound didn't impede Gavin's ability to throw, however, as he immediately hurled his spear at Seth.
Seth dodged, but by the time he could react, the spear was too close, it buried itself deep into Seth's left shoulder. Wincing, he tugged it out, blood immediately darkening his clothes. Gavin walked forward, his pace slowed as he approached Seth, as if victory was already acquired. Which was probably true. Until Bracken came around the side of the cornucopia, grabbed a sword, ran to confront Gavin.
Seth scrambled into the cornucopia, grabbing a backpack full of . . . hopefully supplies, and not tracker jackets. As he made his way back out, Vanessa stepped forward brandishing a long sword covered in a suspicious crimson liquid.
Seth grabbed the nearest weapon – another sword – a good one this time, and walked slowly towards Vanessa, watching her. She'd walked into the cornucopia and frozen, watching Seth. The shadow charmer began making his ways towards the exit, slowly, as if trying to walk around an angry lion.
As he passed, Vanessa flew into action. She brought her sword down towards Seth, and he barely had a chance to block. The clang of metal against metal rang throughout the cornucopia, ringing in Seth's ears.
Vanessa's blade withdrew, then slashed towards Seth's leg. He blocked, then jumped away, towards the exit just as Gavin jumped in, apparently not seeing Vanessa as he approached Seth. Vanessa, upon seeing the dragon, snatched up a throwing knife and flung it at him. Just missing Seth's ear, the knife flew towards Gavin in a perfect arch. Gavin, surprised, had no time to dodge, and the blade embedded itself in Gavin's right shoulder, near his collarbone.
While Vanessa and Gavin were distracted, Seth ran.
Monday, Day one of the Hunger Games, 8:24 A.M.
Alliec, with her customary scowl, frowned at the screens. "There's only been two deaths."
"Neither were from the preserve, unfortunately," one of the other Gamemakers said, his voice hiding a chuckle. "It'd by nice to get some action around here. Really, Kace, why can't we play with them yet?"
"Because we have to give them a chance to . . . You know, think they'll survive. What was that saying?" Kace replied. "'A little hope was powerful, a lot of hope was dangerous.' Something like that."
Bastet rolled her eyes. She was brandishing a long silver whip, and suddenly cracked it in the air with a flick of her wrist. "Do you really believe in all that?"
Kace glared at Bastet with her odd-colored gaze. Her expression softened. "Not really, but what else was I supposed to say?"
"Perhaps," Aece spoke up, then yelped as Bastet's whip struck him in the arm. He moved away from the dangerous Gamemaker and continued, "You could tell us what you're going to do about her."
"'Her'?" Kace asked, puzzled. "I'm not going to do anything with Bastet. She's perfectly fine where she is. Why, is there a problem?"
Aece slapped his forehead with his palm. "Not Bastet," he growled in annoyance. "You know who."
Kace waved her hand at him dismissively. "I'm not going to do anything about "her," as you say, either. At least, not yet."
"Kace," Alliec said, her voice curt, as always. "It's been 45 minutes since the Games started. The bloodbath is long over, and it's time to get things going."
"Fine, fine," Kace sighed. "Send out the mutts."
Monday, Day one of the Hunger Games, 8:53 A.M.
Kendra ceased her movement away from the cornucopia when she paused to rest, sitting on a fallen log. She'd run until the stitch in her side grew too painful to move at that pace any longer. Then she alternated between jogging and walking.
The only thing she'd gotten from the cornucopia had been a decent bow and a quiver with 10 arrows in it. Originally Kendra had planned to rush the cornucopia, grab some supplies, and leave before the real threats like Nyssa and Gavin could catch up. However, as soon as she saw Gavin pursuing Seth, she had chickened out, snatched up the bow, and run.
Breathing heavily, Kendra examined her surroundings. As she watched the world around her, she heard someone or something approaching. As quietly as possible, Kendra stood, wincing at the crack of dried leaves as she stepped forward.
The other being must have heard her footsteps, because any sound that was emitted from it immediately stopped. Kendra froze along with it, but when she heard the sound of a weapon being drawn out from its sheath, she ran as if she was being chased by a dragon.
And, hey, if it was Gavin or Nyssa, that would be reality, not just a simile.
At the sound of her footsteps, the other human pursued Kendra, and she heard the other's footsteps gaining on her. She hesitated, stalling for a second but not turning, when she heard her named breathed out in a hushed tone. Ignoring the urge to turn at the familiar voice, Kendra resumed her quick pace. Momentum kept her moving as a hand gripped her wrist, and Kendra was jerked backwards. She fell on her attacker – thankfully there was no sword in between them – and leaves flew up around them as they both hit the ground with a thud. Kendra scrambled up quickly, reaching for her bow that she'd dropped and knocking an arrow, aiming the projectile at the man before her, who had his hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender.
"Hey, Kendra, come on," he said softly. "I'm not going to kill you." Rising, he walked towards her. Kendra's grip on the arrow wavered, and she lowered the weapon but still kept her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He reached for her and drew her into a hug. She felt blood from his wounds soak into her own clothing, but she didn't care. She didn't run. And then he captured her lips with a kiss that was delicious and powerful and made her insides felt and her heart flutter.
But she still couldn't trust him.
Monday, Day one of the Hunger Games, 9:22 A.M.
Warren was only a couple hundred yards away from the cornucopia when he heard the first 3 cannon fires. Three down, twenty-one to go. For a brief moment, an image of Vanessa, killed during the bloodbath, eyes lifeless, came to mind, but then Warren remembered none of them would really die. . . He hoped.
What if the translocator malfunctioned? That would definitely be disastrous.
Shaking his head to clear it of those morbid thoughts – though, could you really have morbid thoughts during the Hunger Games? – Warren continued moving away from the fray at the cornucopia.
Warren had ended up on the water-logged side of the arena, but at least he was close to land. The swim to the cornucopia left him wet, cold, and ready to go, adrenaline pulsing through him. He hadn't gotten away with much – just a container full of water (thankfully) and a small but decent sword. Along with a few . . . scratches here and there.
On the other side of the cornucopia, past where Warren had entered the arena, there was more land. The waves in the ocean seemed to come from somewhere in the middle of the football-field length body of water. Warren's wounds had stung as he'd emerged out of the water. Though this way was slower and more painful, it definitely meant less people would go after him. Or, at least, it would slow them down.
Warren continued move. Up ahead, there was what seemed like rocky terrain; huge boulders littered the ground and there were a few scraggly trees scattered here and there. Plenty of places to hide, Warren thought to himself, And I think I can hear water up ahead, like a small waterfall.
Up ahead, there was a choice Warren had to make. To his left, were boulders, pointed edges and tips reaching for the sun that was rising high above them, and to Warren's right was a tall cliff-like structure with a single entrance that seemed to open up into a maze. If one got lost, it was likely one died there, and if anyone else got the chance to get on top of the cliff, you'd be dead.
Being Warren, he obviously chose the dangerous route.
Besides, the sound of water was louder from the maze-labyrinth-thingy. And that was Warren's excuse, besides his taste for adventure.
Monday, Day one of the Hunger Games, 10:44 A.M.
The Sphinx hated rats.
So when electric, glowing rodents the size of his torso came at him, he ran for his life – literally. It was a stroke of luck that he ran into Nyssa.
Or so he thought.
The dragon had helped him climb up a tree as the rats swarmed below them, jumping and snapping at their feet in attempt to get their prey.
Nyssa had smirked at him when she saw the fear in her eyes, though she likely smelled it, too. She was sitting on the branch above him. "You're afraid of rats?" She laughed softly.
"Ever since I saw The Princess Bride and the ROTSs," The Sphinx replied darkly, frowning and glaring down at the creatures below them, still climbing over each other, teeth snapping at the air. The tree's trunk was covered in scorch marks from the rats' electricity. It wasn't enough to light the tree on fire, but enough to burn it.
"The what?" Nyssa asked, still smiling at his discomfort.
"Never mind. Giant rats," the Sphinx replied. He drew his feet closer, further away from the rats, and gripped the branch he was sitting on tighter with his legs.
After about ten minutes of silence, Nyssa spoke. "You know?" she started. "I never have liked you."
"What brought this up?" the Sphinx huffed.
"The fact those rats won't leave until they get their kill, and that means only one of us is getting out alive." Startled, the Sphinx looked up at Nyssa, no emotion showing in his eyes.
Nyssa's smile was fanged, as if the dragon in her was close to emerging. The Sphinx thought he saw a ripple in her skin for a second, her scales visible for a moment, but then disappearing, as if Nyssa was being kept from transforming. With what sounded like a purr of delight, Nyssa dropped down onto the branch the Sphinx was on, the limb swaying under the extra weigh and throwing the Sphinx off balance.
As he began to fall, he reached out for Nyssa, but instead, he felt the cold metal of a dagger on his skin, and the hot, searing pain as she cut his throat.
At least she'd been nice enough to kill him before he gotten eaten by the rats.
Monday, Day one of the Hunger Games, 12:44 P.M.
When Warren entered the passageway in the cliffs, he expected some mutt like a minotaur to come after him or some similar creature. What he didn't expect to find was the short blonde girl from district 2 who'd gotten a 12 in her private session with the Gamemakers.
He was in a clearing, or more, a circle with five or six passageways branching off from it. In the center of the space was a single tree – tall and scraggly like the others outside of the maze, similar to the ones you would find on the African planes. The tree seem to have grown out of the stone, because each root disappeared into the rock below it. Bubbling out from underneath one of the roots, flowing from a small crack, was a stream of water. It flowed out of the crevice in the ground, pooled in a nearby dip, then continued flowing down one of the passageways.
And leaning against the tree-trunk, sitting next to the stream, was Andrea. Her eyes were closed she tapped her fingers against her leg as if she was listening to music.
"So what did you do to rate a 12 with the Gamemakers?" Warren asked calmly, trying to show he was on her side as he walked towards the pool to refill his bottle of water, seeing as he drank most of it on the way to the clearing.
Andrea seemed to open her eyes grudgingly. "Huh?" she said. She glared at Warren. "What do you want?" she growled.
"I'm just -" Warren was cut off as Andrea snatched a dagger from her belt and flung it at him. It whizzed past his ear, leaving a gash in his cheek. "Hey, Now -" Warren started to say, blinking in surprise as he set down his water canteen, stood, and raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, but he was cut off as another knife flew by, leaving a deep wound near his left wrist.
Warren, being Warren, of course, didn't run. Instead, he drew his sword and advanced on Andrea. She may have gotten a 12 in her session, but she didn't have his instinct and knack for survival, now did she?
Andrea stood, and Warren noticed she had something metal over the back of her hands as she walked towards him. He lunged and tried to hit her shoulder with his blade, but somehow, Andrea slid past him and hit him in his side with something hard. Warren wasn't sure what she attacked him with, but it hurt. A lot.
Warren ignored the pain and went for her side this time. Again, Andrea dodged him, and this time, she sent a spinning kick to his other side. The she froze, as if waiting, but Warren could see the want to kill in her eyes. After a few seconds, Andrea flew forward and threw punches that Warren could barely dodge. It was then that Warren figured out what the metal on her hands was.
They were knuckles – spiked on the fist to deal more damage, and sharpened to cut, as well.
Warren was forced to back into the tunnel that the stream continued down. He heard rushing water all about him as he moved back to avoid Andrea's attacks. Halfway down the tunnel, she smiled to herself.
The trickle water in the stream began to grow in size. In less than 10 seconds, the water had risen to cover their ankles. Another Gamemaker trick. One that Andrea seemed to know about. She paused in her endless onslaught of punches only long enough to say, "Never. Interrupt. My. Nightwish." Then she spun, and hit Warren's temple with a roundhouse kick.
By then, the water was up to their knees. As Warren's body washed away with the growing tide that Andrea knew would eventually fall off a 4-story cliff in a beautifully destructive waterfall, she leaped to a ledge that Warren had never noticed – the only way to avoid drowning or being washed away by the now rapid jet of water.
And those were the perks of being a Gamemaker playing your own Game.
So, my darling readers, how was that? I'm really sorry for the cray cray long time I've been gone. I know, I'm horrible. In return, I tried to write more than usual.
Anyway, the reason for my absence in that school has been crazy, and I've had really weird writer's block for all of my fanfics, except for a possible one-shot.
And for the record, I don't own any references to The Princess Bride or Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen. And for the record, Nightwish is a band that I don't own.
Anyway.
So who was it that Kendra met out in the forest? It was sooo Seth. What? No? It's not Seth? Oh. Well, Bracken or Gavin then? Answer that question. Seriously. Answer it, in a review. Tell me who you think caught up to Kendra in the forest? c:
I'll leave you all with that cliffy and Geometry. If you review, I will love you. If I love you, you are loved. Conclusion: If you are loved, you have reviewed. SO REVIEW FOR SOME LOVE 3. Alright, Bye guys! 'Til next chapter. ;D!
