This chapter contains my 300,000th word archived on this site. Hell if I know which one it is!
We are down to twelve tributes left. This is going by quickly, and I think that I can finish this by mid-December if I write 1,000 words a day from here on out. I know that the second half will go more quickly than the first half.
In any case, here is a quick recap of where all of the tributes are at this moment:
-The Careers are back at the Cornucopia, licking their wounds after having lost Zelda
-The Underdog Alliance is in their apartment
-Paolina and Lace have each found their own apartments
-Flyte is somewhere in the woods
-Dax is heading into the city
-Preston is also heading back into the city
Not for the first time, I am putting lyrics into this story. I think that it fits very well with what is going to be going on here, so I hope that you enjoy it. I laughed so much while writing the scene where the announcers are talking about the new muttation.
Also, Dax has a flashback here. Actually, two flashbacks. I will say that I have had viral meningitis before, but I can't say too much personally because I was too young to remember. With that in mind, let's proceed to the story, and what might be the best chapter yet of Lorax: The 64th Hunger Games!
As the sun approached its zenith, Flyte had found a place to stay for the time being. He didn't think that the Capitol would send the Barbaloot bears on him again, not so soon after their first attack. Therefore, he felt relatively safe in the woods. He knew that the other tributes would most likely be far away from him if he was here, and so that was where he was going to stay.
Not for the first time, he thought about Gleam, and how he felt responsible for her death. He never should have gone down first. He should have been the gentleman, should've foreseen that if he had gone down before her, she might not have had the courage to.
Oh, well. You can't change the past, but you CAN change the future. Get working on building a shelter, Flyte!
Flyte decided that he was going to change up this arena a little for his own benefit. He swung his club and had downed a tree within five seconds. He cut down several more trees, and soon started to work on building a shelter. He knew that if he wanted to survive, shelter was his number one priority. He could forget about any of the other tributes until they actually found him.
It took Flyte two hours to get things the way he wanted. It might have been just him, but it seemed hotter now than it had been on the first day. The first day had maybe been a pleasant sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, a nice day for a walk in the woods. Now, however, it was at least in the mid-seventies. How much longer would it be until it became just like the worst days in the summer of District 12? How much longer would Flyte be able to exert himself as he had been doing for the last few days?
He counted on his fingers. On the street, he'd never really needed to pay attention to what day of the week it was. Instead, he kept track of the days based on what had happened on each day. There was the day of the Bloodbath, the first day, the day that he and Gleam had been treed by the bear cubs, the day on which Gleam died, and today. That was four days, and he was in the top half. Hopefully that was a fast enough speed for the people of the Capitol not to get bored enough that the Gamemakers would have to bring back the mutts.
Hopefully.
In a laboratory more than four thousand miles away, Glacier Jackalburg was overseeing the production of a new creature, one that would put the Barbaloot bears to shame. It might not have been in the Dr. Seuss book, but it had been approved by the others, but he was really the boss, so he didn't need to care what the others thought.
This new creation was an eight-legged thing with a large purple shell. It didn't look too threatening, except for the fact that it was nearly the size of a pickup truck. Its pincers were the size of booster seats in cars, and its teeth were like giant black slices of pizza. Blue gunk oozed out of its mouth and cheeks. Its eyes were yellow and quite literally the size of dinner plates. It wore an angry and dangerous expression, like a caged lion. One look at it told you that you did not want this thing anywhere close to you. So you had to hide your kids, hide your wife, hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husbands, because it was biting everyone it could get his hands on.
"This looks amazing!" Glacier said, his glacial blue eyes lighting up at the sight of it. This was exactly what he had ordered. It was perfect for the Games, and he knew that the Capitol needed the extra drama. Even with six people dying in the Bloodbath, a car crash, a gruesome mauling by Barbaloot bears, and a factory explosion, that might still not be enough to satiate the audience. They wanted more!
And so, the decision was made. Three of these spiders, dubbed Trouble Spiders, were sent out into the arena. Two were placed in the city, while one was placed on the eastern shore of the middle lake, in the northeastern part of the arena.
When the segment with Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith was shown alongside the Games, Caesar said, "Any bite from a Trouble Spider is to be reported immediately. It can cause dysphoria, nausea, tinnitus, hallucinations, unconsciousness, coma, and death, in that order. Although unless someone's with you by the fourth stage, you're fucked. Treatment consists of massive doses of intra-"
"Caesar!" Claudius bellowed.
"What? I just want to give some background!" Caesar said, although with his tone it was hard to take him seriously. Indeed, it seemed as though he had been joking the whole time about symptoms and treatment of Trouble Spider bites.
"The fact remains, Caesar, that the point isn't for the tributes to be able to treat the venom. This is the Hunger Games, goddammit!"
With the last word, Claudius banged his fist on the table. The cups of coffee that he and Caesar had been drinking went flying up into the air, and it splashed Claudius so badly that it looked as though he had just gotten out of a swimming pool filled with urine. Caesar's hairdo was also ruined, and he had to flatten it back down with both of his hands. It was like his hair was a kid on a trampoline, and it just couldn't be tamed. Finally, he sat back down in his chair, resigning himself to the fact that his hair would not lie flat.
Right now, though, the Capitol audience couldn't give a flying fuck about what was going on with the hosts. They were more focused on the next thing that would happen in these Games, which would no doubt be even better.
Dax had made it into the middle of the city. He was pleased with himself for surviving for seventy-two full hours, and yet he knew that he had to pick it up a notch if he was going to win this thing. That was the key thing for him to remember.
Suddenly, Dax heard a sound. It was an awful sound, although not as awful as the sound of two crushing walls coming together. It sounded more like some kind of an insect...what could that be?
He brandished his spear, fully expecting a deadly confrontation between himself and another tribute, or some kind of muttation. He didn't want this to happen, but he had always considered himself a realist. His mantra in life was not to get his hopes up too high. That way, you'd never get disappointed, at least in theory.
Sure enough, Dax was not disappointed with what he found behind him. That didn't mean that he was happy with it, however.
What looked like a giant ladybug with a purple shell was standing in a threatening pose, looking like it was ready to have Dax for an afternoon snack, and then eat the Careers for dinner. It was very clearly livid, and he could probably have eaten the tractor that Dax had driven on the morning of the reaping. Granted, he would have to tear it up into pieces first.
Well, fuck, Dax thought.
He did not want to die here. Not after coming this far. If he could survive four days in the Hunger Games, he could escape this ladybug muttation. He was sure it was a mutt, because what natural animal had eyes the size of dinner plates, or teeth the size of pizza slices? Not something that Dax had ever encountered in District 9, that was for sure.
Dax turned to run, but this thing was fast. Dax could barely make it ten yards before he felt it envelop him, but not physically. Instead, Dax felt as though it was making him nauseous in some way. Was this the venom this thing undoubtedly had, having its effect on Dax? It was quite possible, and indeed, likely, that this was a creature that would eventually kill Dax. Unless he got away, fast. Was it even still possible for him to get away alive?
He thought that it might be time to join Aurora up in the clouds, but then he managed to get a second wind. Ears buzzing, feeling as though he was going to toss every meal he'd had in the arena, and even what he'd eaten before in the Capitol, he turned and began jogging as quickly as he could through the lanes. Was he starting to see shapes? Colors, hues that weren't really there?
He ran as far as he could until he collapsed in an alleyway. But he didn't black out, which he soon wished that he would have. If he had, then it would at least have been fairly painless.
Dax's head was hurting. It felt as though someone was driving a pitchfork straight through it. He could barely open his eyes, because even the slightest bit of white light was more torture. He wanted it to end, wanted to end his life if that was what it took, but he needed to stay with his family. He needed to help take care of them, now that Aurora was gone. He needed to.
His parents had forced him to go to the clinic in District 9, where he'd been forced to lay on his stomach as the doctor painfully inserted a needle into his back in order to draw fluid from his spine. It was very painful, and he wished that it would simply end! He wanted to get through this pain.
When the diagnosis came back, viral meningitis, the doctor had released him back to home, and he had managed to survive the next week in bed, drinking lots of fluids.
Dax shivered at the incoming pain, just like when he had had viral meningitis two months after Aurora's death. He'd managed to get to the point where he could at least manage to function like a normal human being when he had fallen ill. It was the worst pain he had ever felt, even worse than breaking his ankle on the farm.
The scene changed.
Now, Dax is sitting at home on the old, dusty couch. He's keeping his eyes trained on the TV, knowing that his elder sister is in the final four of the Hunger Games. Aurora Baylor is very close to winning and surviving. Dax is on the edge of his seat, praying for his sister's life.
Aurora enters an abandoned laboratory. She's walking along the walls, looking for something that might be of use to her.
Suddenly, there is a creaking sound, and the walls begin moving together almost imperceptibly, and Dax realizes that his sister is about to be crushed. He's forced to watch as she says good-bye to her younger siblings. After two hours of this agony, during which she is shown constantly, the walls finally reach the point where they crush her completely, and a cannon fires.
Aurora Baylor of District 9...was so close, and yet so far, finishing in fourth place.
Dax hated that memory. It had literally been the very worst day of his life so far, even more so than the day that he had been reaped for the Hunger Games. He wished that this would all end, and that the Capitol could leave the districts alone. Of course, that would never happen.
Eventually, the horrific scenes were over, and Dax was left leaning against the building. It could have been worse, however- the venom, or whatever it was, had not killed him yet, only caused those hallucinations. If he hadn't died yet, that meant that most likely the Capitol wasn't going to kill him with some kind of slow-acting poison. No, he thought that the audience preferred blood and gore. And, if Dax had to die, then he'd go out fighting, making sure to not give up until the bitter end. That he swore.
The hours continued to pass. The Careers, having gotten a late start to the day, were now in a section of the city about half a mile from the destroyed factories. Now that Zelda's body had been taken into the sky that morning, there was no longer any sign of her. The sun was already starting to sink towards the treetops, but it was still plenty light.
In addition, the Careers were all together now. The four of them had lost Zelda while divided. They figured that if they stayed as a united front, that would give them better odds of all staying alive, of living to see the anthem tonight.
Right now, they were hunting for tributes. The Underdog Alliance was probably still in the city somewhere, and the Careers were determined to dismantle it at all costs. After all, that was still their biggest threat to domination of the rest of the Hunger Games.
They had no supplies left in their bags, Twilight having insisted on getting rid of all their food. She didn't want to start any more IVs, and the other Careers didn't want to get sick again. The result was that they had to forage in the city for anything they would eat, which might be hard.
Nobody in the group voiced any worry about disbanding the alliance. They were now just four in twelve, which meant that a third of the remaining tributes were in the Career pack. If they got into a big battle with the Underdog Alliance, would that really be to their benefit?
"Guys...did you hear something?" Twilight asked.
Glory didn't hear anything. She reminded herself that the boys didn't know yet that Twilight had superior hearing, and she wasn't going to betray that secret. Brett and Garnet looked equally dumbfounded.
"It sounded like...some gigantic insect. The pincers...it sounded angry". She failed to suppress a shudder, which must have either worried the others or made them laugh internally at her perceived weakness.
"Guys, I don't have a good feeling about this".
Sure enough, a spider the size of a pickup truck was ambling its way towards the Careers, its mouth drooling blue gunk, its shell an angry shade of purple. The Careers knew that it meant business. They didn't want to get eaten by this thing.
"Run!" Glory yelled, unnecessarily. The four Careers all sprinted as quickly as they could into an alleyway. With their current position, they were safe from it. The spider was too large to fit in the alleyway, so it wasn't going to just happen. But they still worried somewhat as they saw, or rather heard, the spider running away. Where was it going next?
What was that loud noise?
Lace had never heard anything like it. Despite her better judgment telling her that this might be a trap by the Gamemakers, her curiosity managed to get the better of her. She ran down the street, in the direction of the noise. She'd always been a rather curious person, and that might have been a bad thing. However, she was determined to know if it was her old alliance, or the Careers. She had a vendetta against both groups of people, and was now determined to be the sole survivor.
At this moment, she didn't know what she was looking for. A weapon? Food? Both? A place to hide?
She didn't know what she would do now, but all that was too important was to dispatch the Careers and the rest of the Underdog Alliance. With both alliances disarmed, she might actually have a shot at winning this thing.
And then, Caesar Flickerman's voice came onto the screen. Lace was expecting a feast, or some other special announcement, but that was not it.
Instead, Caesar said, "It's time for some music. These Games have been a little drab without it. Don't you agree with me, Claudius?"
"Totally. It's time to spice things up. What do you think we should play now, Caesar?"
"It's easy!" Caesar said. "We are going to play one of my favorites...it's from Coldplay...a little tune called 'Trouble'!"
Lace did like Coldplay to a certain degree, and she could definitely get behind them playing one of her favorite songs from the band. It was a rather creepy song, but it was better than being forced to continue hearing that annoying insect noise. What was that?
At the moment, however, Lace didn't really care. It was the fourth day of the Hunger Games, and she had made it this far, so why should she expect anything else to be such a great obstacle for her, the great Lace Werhts?
The tune started up, and Lace began to hear the voice of Chris Martin. She couldn't help but nod her head a little in the rhythm of the song.
It was the same song that she remembered from her childhood. However, she did have a little bit of a foreboding feeling. Something was not right about this. No, this was not good, and she got the feeling that she was about to find out why. She continued running in the same direction, however, sure that whatever lay ahead, she would be able to face it.
Suddenly, Lace was lifted off of her feet. She rose five, seven, twelve feet into the air, as if she had been on one of those mega-trampolines that you find at fairs. Not that Lace had ever been on one, but she'd seen other people do it, and this was probably very similar. Not like it really mattered, though.
When she came to her senses, she realized that she was slightly entangled in white threads, which clashed with the darkening sky. Soon, the anthem would play. She wondered if she would be able to see it from the ground, but she instantly knew she would.
Lace turned, trying to get out of this web and run away. However, she soon realized that she was ensnared pretty good. It must have been a muttation of some kind. Right now, though, there was no sign of an impending death. She was already dehydrated and very hungry from a day of being alone.
The song continued.
Lace came to a dark realization. The lyrics of the song were pretty analogous to her current situation. It sure had been stupid abandoning her alliance like that. And now, she was caught in the middle of a literal spider web. What irony!
At the time that she had run away, she had thought that she had been doing it to hurt the others in the Underdog Alliance. However, she now realized that she hadn't been intending to detriment the others by doing what she had done. What had she been thinking?
The next thing she noticed, however, was that she was no longer alone. The sight of the creature that greeted her made her feel like she was going to faint, but if she lost consciousness here, she would be dead.
The spider was the size of a pickup truck, with a bright purple shell, yellow eyes, and drooling blue gunk out of its mouth. It looked as though it was about to devour Lace easily, and it was clearly very, very hungry. Lace tried to get out once again, but she knew the thing about spider webs, which was that the more you tried to wriggle your way out of it, the more entangled you would get in it, much like a pair of Chinese handcuffs. She was trapped.
As the spider went in for the kill, she tried to get out of the way once again, but the pincers had managed to get to her. She could only manage to think of her family, and how emotionally devastated they must be in this very moment. And she thought more about how she was dying, listening to a song that was very appropriate to her method of death.
It was Lace's favorite line in the song that was coming up now. The tongue of the spider got around Lace's body, and she tried to slide out of its mouth. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Granted, the best way for her to avoid getting eaten by a spider was to not run down the road, even. The fact was, she was done.
As she fell down the throat of the spider, she could hardly hear the last lyrics of the song.
The spider, having devoured Lace, licked its lips until the cannon fired. It stared at the camera with its dinner-plate eyes as the final words played.
That's a chilling end to the chapter! I wasn't going to put the obituaries here, because I didn't want to ruin it, but I feel like the anticlimax had already been reached.
Anyways...RIP Zelda and Lace.
Zelda: Like three of the other characters here, I created her, and so there was never a chance that she was going to win. Like me, she does have Asperger's. The blogger who is doing a blog about this story has yet to include her death, but she does have a face claim of Zelda. The actual face claim that I initially included was actually that for one of my neurotypical friends, but I didn't include the name just so I could protect her, and by extension my own, privacy. In any case, I wrote the whole part with the Careers. I also liked her death as well, because it was sure a horrible way to go out! Her will to play-test video games will not be forgotten any time soon. Ride that Rainbow Road now, Zelda Pixelford.
Lace: I enjoyed this girl, who was also submitted by my good friend Peyton. I enjoyed just how pompous she was, as well as writing her decision to leave the Underdog Alliance. Her death was definitely a scene that I'll remember for quite a while, and I hope you do as well. Coldplay is one of my family's favorite bands, and the song fit perfectly with Lace's method of death. I'll miss her for sure.
With that, we're more than halfway done with the Games! In the next chapter, another three tributes will die. I hope that you enjoy it, because it might be quite a bit longer than this one.
In any case, SnowLucario is out.