All Tributes

Drums. The sound of drums thrummed in the air. Twenty four tributes felt their blood pulse, each beat thumping in unison. A voice spoke in rhythm, counting down.

Fifty

Forty-Nine

Forty-Eight

A million thoughts buzzed through crowded minds, passing and going in an instant.

Eros glanced ahead, his eyes gluing on a mace, his mace, but then he saw who was next to him- Oatis the hulking giant from Eleven who scored an eight in training. Perhaps the mace should wait.

Roland's eyes scanned the ground, landing on a large heap of coiled rope. He felt his muscles tense over as adrenaline took him. In that moment, he needed nothing more but to feel the rough tweed in his palms. That wasn't what the plan was though. They all were supposed to run, leaving the Cornucopia far behind them. Instructions meant more to Roland than his own life. He knew he wouldn't be able to force his body to run to that rope no matter how bad he wanted to.

But how could he run when his rope was laying just feet away from him?

Raven, who was stationed two pedestals to the left of his ally, caught the conflicted look on Roland's face, knowing immediately what he would have to do.

Totem tasted the cold in the air with immense dismay. Her mentor had told her not to risk the bloodbath. He had been so adamant about it that he had sat her down for an hour-long strategy talk about the disadvantages of dying. She had told him that she understood, but this brutal winter weather was a game changer. She needed her pick of supplies. Smiling like a mad woman, Totem made up her mind. She had a plan.

Lindon gazed around the circle of tributes, looking for Terra. In a moment of complete and utter terror, he thought he couldn't find her, but then, as the countdown began to become louder, beating in his bones, he found her. The best part? She hadn't found him. Standing almost half way around the circle, Terra had a hopeful smile on her face. Lindon crouched down. He was ready to run.

Eshad looked to his right, grinning as he found Chateaux beside him. In his mind, the girl was his ally, as there was no planet where he would accept that they had truly rejected him. He would fight beside her during the bloodbath. It would be epic.

Twenty-Two

Twenty-One

Twenty

Kyla could feel the panic surfacing in her chest. Watching at home, these agonizing sixty seconds had always made her pulse race. The images of her dead brothers and her best friend flashed before her eyes. She stopped herself before tears started to fall from her eyes. Now was not the time to grieve. This was her Hunger Games, and she had to win. Focus, she told herself. Focus.

Velt scanned the ground nearby, searching for something light and useful. He and Belle had worked their strategy earlier. If there was a forest, and there was, Belle would immediately break for the woods while he ran, grabbed a pack, and then got out. He was the faster of the two kids, and in the event of an emergency, he was a good climber. About mid way to the Cornucopia, a sizable pack sat on the ground. Focusing on that, the boy lowered himself into a ready crouch.

A few podiums away, Skye focused on the very same pack.

Five

Four

Three

Two

... One

Mayhem.

Almost immediately, Eros let out a warrior cry, as he threw his body into Oatis's side. The two muscular boys crashed into the snow, rolling slightly on the ground. Neither of them were near any form of weaponry. It would be a battle of the fists. The stronger, more talented man would win.

Oatis struggled under the weight of the career, twisting his body so that his back was against the ground. The wind had been knocked out of him when Eros's body slammed into his. He wasn't ready for it. The original plan had been to get away from the Cornucopia, but everything had changed now.

Eros pulled himself upright above Oatis, swinging his body around so that he was sitting on top of the tribute. With another bloody war cry, he swung his fist downwards, hitting Oatis in the jaw, then in the nose. His fist felt bitterly cold and wet as blood coated his knuckles. Oatis wasn't done yet though. He used his sheer physical power to heave Eros off of him, sending him flying over Oatis's head. Scrambling to his feet, he lumbered around, finding that Eros had already recovered. Crouching down defensively, Oatis prepared himself as Eros launched himself at his opponent again.

Meanwhile on the other end of the Cornucopia, Belle, Lena, and Layton had already bolted, all three running into the forest. Luna hesitated a moment, distracted as the boy who had been stationed next to her, Leighton, ran forward into the brawl, but in another instant the trance broke, and she ran off too.

Roland stood frozen on his platform, staring at the coil of rope, not knowing whether to break away to the forest, or whether to go get it.

Suddenly Raven broke into his periphery vision. The boy from Eight ran with deliberate speed. Pausing briefly to throw the heavy mass of rope over his shoulder, before running towards Roland. His face was contorted with focus as he strained to keep up his speed. On the ground a thick layer of snow was matted down. Every time a tribute's foot fell it made a small crunching sound in the snow. Around the Cornucopia, the snow was shallow and running was difficult but manageable. The closer they were to the forest though, the deeper it got. All of the escaping tributes were acutely aware of the wet white flakes under their feet as they made their way to safety.

The sight of his ally unfroze the tribute from Ten, and Roland quickly jumped off of his platform, tailing Raven as they made their way into the woods.

Foster barreled forwards, running straight into the Cornucopia. He was the first one to make it inside, and he didn't waste any time. Quickly, he grabbed a bow and a sheath of arrows that was on the wall.

Outside, Skye and Velt both scrambled forwards; however, Velt was closer and faster. He reached the pack first, taking it with him as he made his way off to the woods. Skye, realizing that she had just lost her best quarry, froze, looking around. Making a quick decision, she ran forwards, venturing deeper towards the weapons. She would not leave without grabbing something of use. Quickly she picked out a small dagger that was lying towards the outer edge of the weapon ring and a small stray tin lunch box that was on her way there. Turning around, she started sprinting towards the mountain, feeling liberated for a moment. She was home free.

A sudden shooting pain sent her flying into the ground. She cried out miserably as she looked down. An arrow was lodged in her calf, and blood was already beginning to leak out of the wound. Ignoring the pain, she continued to run, disappearing into the white din of the mountain.

Foster cursed as he strung another arrow. The bow was weighted oddly, making him miss his first shot. Pulling the string taut again, he searched for his next victim. Leighton looked up from the box of food he was dragging across the ground just in time to see Foster release the arrow. This time, it hit it's mark, sinking into the boy's skull right between his eyes. Leighton died with a knowing sad smile on his face. He never expected to make it out of the bloodbath. Hopefully his mother would be able to go on without him.

Conner ran forwards, diving into the Cornucopia feeling panicked. He had never planned to come this far into the danger zone, but he had acted without thinking. Now he was literally inside of the big horn, and there was only one way out. Grabbing a large sharp-looking blade, Conner chopped a bag of fruit off of the wall before sprinting outside, making his way madly towards the mountain. Unfortunately, at the mouth of the big ice structure, Autumn stood, slowly brandishing two unnaturally sharp twin swords. Conner threw the bag over his shoulder, and boldly moved towards the girl, praying that he could bring about a miracle.

He broke into a sprint once the gap between them had closed significantly. If he were lucky, he would have managed to juke around Autumn, and kept going. He wasn't lucky though. She slashed low, cutting a deep gash across both of his shins. Tumbling to the ground, Conner squirmed around in a sad attempt to defend himself as Autumn swung her blade down into his torso, lodging it in the middle of his chest. He was defeated.

Autumn looked up, finding Roan rummaging through a stack of knives. "Are you good?" she asked quickly.

"I can't find my cleaver," Roan grunted back. "I'm fine though, go."

Around the tail of the Cornucopia, Kegan prowled by the girl from Twelve, two hooked knives in his hands. She held her machete with skill, but she was no fighter. Stepping inside her range, Kegan used one of his knives to block her swing. Just before he lodged the other one into her gut, the girl went limp, falling forwards onto Kegan. Surprised, he lept backwards, letting Cassia's corpse fall to the ground.

Chateaux's slim figure stood behind Cassia's body. A smirk played across the girl's face as she heaved a long jagged sword out of Cassia. Dumbfounded, Kegan glared at her. "You stole my kill," he cried unhappily.

A boney hand suddenly patted Chateaux on the back.

"Nice jo-"

Before Eshad even finished his sentence, Chateaux had already spun around, stabbing the boy in the stomach. With a shocked look on his face, Eshad dropped, quite dead, next to his District partner. As most of the other tributes had already cleared out, the two careers walked over towards Eros, who was still knee deep in his wrestling match. Neither planned on intervening, but they had every expectation of enjoying the show.

Eros and Oatis were in the middle of a vicious wrestling match. Both boys had blood smeared across their faces and splattered across their cloths. Eros grinned as he nailed Oatis in the side of the head again. It had been a long time since Eros had fought a worthy wrestling opponent, it was exhilarating.

Ivy stood, terrified, just inside the tree line as she watched Oatis fall back, blood dripping from his nose. She felt so incredibly helpless. Somewhere inside of her, the girl that had volunteered screamed for her to run forwards and help her District partner, but she couldn't force her feet to move. It was hopeless. The other five careers and Roan were now all crowded around Eros and Oatis, just watching. They would never let her interfere.

Oatis stood up, obviously wobbly, only to be knocked down again by Eros. Ivy began to hyperventilate wondering why she had ever volunteered. Thoughts of Beana were so far from her mind now. All that she could see was the bodies strew across the ground, and Oatis, who would surly be joining their ranks soon. Though her District partner was stronger than Eros, he was not experienced in fighting. Every time he swung his fist out to attack, Eros would nimbly dodge and spin around, returning with something twice as awful. Oatis had lasted longer than every other bloodbath tribute, which was commendable, but he wouldn't be able to last forever. With a final punch, Eros sent the death blow, hitting Oatis squarely in the temple. Blood spilled from Oatis's head as his body hit the ground limply.

Ivy squealed out in pain and terror. That was her fatal mistake.

Foster heard the noise first, and reacted naturally. He already had an arrow notched into his bow. In one swift motion, he brought up the bow and released. He didn't even look to see his target, relying completely on his ears to locate it's source. Ivy watched the arrow sink into her chest, gently raising her hands and clasping them around it as she died.

Meanwhile in the forest, Terra began to slow down her run. She had gotten out of the Cornucopia the minute the countdown had reached one. Her only goal had been to get away from Lindon, and it looked like she had succeeded. In the distance, she could hear the sound of some girl screaming, as the fighting went on, but it was a mile away from her as she trotted through the snow. She had been lucky enough to find a path where it wasn't so deep. The snow only went up past her boots when she stepped down. It wasn't easy to work through, but it was doable.

Terra gave a proud huff as she shoved her cold hands into her pockets. Glen hadn't tried to take over even once yet. Clearly her self control was improving. Truly it was a stroke of good luck.

She should never have let the feeling of security set in. Just a moment or two after she began to relax, a smug voice rang through the air.

"Trying to get away?" Lindon asked. To the audience, it probably sounded like he was joking, but Terra knew better.

"Lind-" she started to choke out in a shocked whisper. Her body convulsed forwards mid-sentence as Glen showed his face. Rolling onto the ground, she began to rock back and forth, her eyes moving in and out of focus.

Lindon froze, unsure of himself. He hadn't counted on her losing it so soon. He needed her to have control, otherwise, she would be beyond his reach. He needed somebody like Terra to be able to manipulate. It was her utter fear of him that had kept Lindon in one piece over the past week. Glen wasn't aloud to come out yet. Of course, Glen didn't follow by anybody's rules.

Terra lifted her head, a strained look in her eye. "I... told... you," she roared angrily, fighting with her own body. Lindon took a step back, feeling slightly worried. In an instant, the tension went out of Terra's frame. Somebody had won the mind battle, though he didn't know who.

"Terra, you feeling okay?" he laughed uneasily.

She smiled at him sadistically. "Guess again," she sang. Terra, or rather Glen now, launched herself at Lindon. Her nails raked across his face as the two fell backwards, into a mound of snow. Lindon, who was never good in close combat, locked his arms around her in hopes of demobilizing her attacks. In a sense it worked as Glen thrashed around, trying to break away from Lindon. It was amazing how strong his grip was when his life was on the line though.

Feeling a surge of anger go through him, Lindon released Glen suddenly, pulling his knee up and jamming it into her gut. Glen howled in pain, clenching his stomach as she glared at Lindon. Before she had a chance to recover though, Lindon jumped on top of her, his hand finding her throat. He thrashed her head against the ground, strangling her with rage.

"NOBODY DISOBEYS ME," he roared. Glen struggled on the ground for a minute before the light faded from her eyes. Glen was gone, taking Terra to the grave with her.

Falling backwards, Lindon sneered madly. His eyes fixated on his dead District partner with fury. Something within the boy had changed.

Back at the Cornucopia, Eros stood up, raising his hands in victory. "I did it. I killed the mighty beast," he bragged, his hands still coated with blood. "You all may have killed the weaklings, but I beat down District Eleven, the boy who dared to score an eight."

"I mean you didn't beat down all of Eleven," Foster protested with a small grin. "I mean, I got the girl. Oh, and the boy from Three. And I injured the girl from Nine. I think that should count for more. It's an extra kill."

"I got two kills too though," Chateaux smirked. "Both from Twelve."

"You only got the girl from Twelve because she was otherwise preoccupied," Kegan retorted bitterly. "She was my kill. I was going to get her."

"Well you were moving to slow. Maybe if you had been more proactive like Eros, you would have been able to get whoever was on the pedestal next to you. Instead of, you know, getting no kills whatsoever," Chateaux rolled her eyes.

"I knew she was my favorite," Eros beamed proudly, his eyes batting at Chateaux in their seductive way.

"Tackling other tributes on a whim is impulsive and impractical. Anyway, what about Autumn, Roan and Kyla. They didn't get any kills either," Kegan pointed out hotly.

"I got the boy from Six," Autumn corrected quietly as she watched her allies bicker with a thoughtful expression.

"And I couldn't find my cleaver," Roan added, holding up a large butcher's knife. "They had hidden it under one of the food barrels, and I'm not trained. I wouldn't have won a fight without a weapon."

Eyes turned to Kyla, awaiting an explanation, when in fact, there wasn't one. Kyla had frozen on her pedestal, watching the others ruthlessly kill their enemies in horror. Looking around embarrassed, her eyes suddenly settled on an extra corpse. The girl from Six, Totem, was lying on the ground immobile. One of the other tributes must have killed her.

"That one, the girl from Six," Kyla blurted out impulsively. "I killed her."

Chateaux looked back, a cool smirk on her face. "See Kegan. You're the only one without a good excuse," she said.

"You stole my kill," Kegan repeated his hands flying out at the injustice.

"We should really clear out so that they can collect the bodies," Autumn interrupted before the argument could escalate. She didn't think that any of her allies would attack each other, but she was acutely conscious that it was an option for them now. She needed to make sure there weren't too many hard feelings going around.

"Wait. I saw some gloves in some of the packs," Roan said before they started to move out into the forest. The other careers turned to her, some of them looking at their hands surprised. It was true, they weren't given gloves before going into the arena. They had pockets sure, but they had weapons to carry. Suddenly all of them were flexing their hands, realizing just how cold it was in the arena. It wasn't as noticeable during the bloodbath when adrenaline was running high and all of them were breaking a sweat. Now that they were calming down though, the freezing cold moved to the front of their minds. Going anywhere without gloves would be dangerous. Roan herself felt like her fingers were frozen to the cleaver she was holding.

"Sounds like a plan," Foster agreed. The group bounded over to the supplies, rummaging through different packs until they each had a spiffy pair of gloves on their hands. Kegan also found packets of heat gel in one of the crates that was set up in the middle of the Cornucopia. Opening a pack and rubbing the cream onto any cold skin could warm a tribute up just as effectively as any fire.

"Ready to go hunting?" Eros grinned.

"Let's go," Foster chirped back.

With that the careers disappeared into the forest.

The minute they were gone, one of the dead bodies moved, stiffly standing to it's feet. Totem grinned as she watched the careers disappear into the forest."Idiots," she muttered under her breath as she snickered at their stupidity. That was really too easy. All she did was jump off her platform into the snow and play dead. It had been cold, pressing her cheek limply against the snow, but totally worth it. Now she had free reign over all the Cornucopia goodies. And the best part? That girl from Four had taken credit for killing her. Now all the careers thought she was dead. That would give her a full day to get as far away from them as possible before they realized that they had been lied to. She wished she could be there when the six of them realized that the girl from Four was lying.

Walking over to the pile of supplies in the middle of the Cornucopia, she picked up a short sickle that was no doubt, meant for her. She twirled it in her hand as she meticulously went through the rest of the stuff. She picked up a backpack, slipped on a pair of gloves, stole two handfuls of heating gel, and took what felt like two tons of food. She was probably set for weeks now. Above, Totem heard the sound of a hovercraft overhead, and she listened to the comforting sound of its motor as she cheerfully skipped towards the mountain, taking care to go in the opposite direction of the careers.

A/N: R.I.P Leighton, Conner, Terra, Oatis, Ivy, Eshad, and Cassia. Most of these tribtues were submitted as bloodbath tributes. Unfortunately, I didn't recieve enough bloodbaths to save all of the regular submitted characters. If your tribute kicked the can unexpectedly early, then either I was having writer's block with them, or you submitted multiple characters so I didn't feel so bad about killing one of them.

Any who. Hopefully I did a good job with this chapter. It was definitely a challenge writing so much action in that one instant without making things too confusing. But I had fun doing it. I'm updating the blog as we go, so it reflects present time. That means some of the tributes kill count will have gone up (ex. Foster now has 2 kills on the stats book) and others have had their status changed (ex. Leighton is now deceased not alive, and Skye is now injured). Any who, until next time.