Day 2, night: Wrath
Elodie Kruger
After the delays of yesterday and having gathered food today, she and Copper finally entered the temple they had both grown impatient to see.
"Whoever or whatever is inside here is probably no stronger than Marduk," Elodie told Copper. "I think it would be best to leave the rocket launcher here for now. Just bury it under some leaves and dirt."
"But we can probably kill whoever is in there instantly!" Copper insisted. Elodie knew just how to respond.
"So, you would rather give the creature in there a quick and powerful death rather than a slow, subtle one? I thought you were different, Copper. I thought you were more like me. I thought that you understood the way I've suffered—"
"Ok, you're right! It's more fun to do it slowly, anyway. But still, we have to use that rocket launcher soon."
Elodie watched silently as Copper buried the rocket launcher, covering it with dirt and leaves near a tree. The two then used the key and entered the temple, the stone slab that served as the door becoming loose enough on the right side for them to push it open. Just in case it was necessary, Copper pushed the door back in place, finding an indent from the inside that led them pull it back open when they needed to.
The temple appeared to be much large on the inside than it was out. The inner room was covered in green, glowing walls, but otherwise the place was empty.
"Did someone come in here ahead of us?" Copper whispered.
"I don't think so. Surely there would be blood or some signs of a battle?" Elodie replied. A deep gruff voice replied to them:
"I, Humbaba, must rule the forest, and yet they dared to imprison me in here?! The cedars are MINE! I will not sit idly while the forest is tainted with blood by the likes of you!"
Elodie's eyes widened when she saw her opponent; a massive brown humanoid creature—with limbs far thicker than Marduk's—appeared before her and Copper, having wild hair consisting of branches and thorns, while his face was decidedly that of a lion's, although it didn't seem to be the same lion that Copper killed in a more powerful form. The lion hadn't been able to speak, and it had certainly not called itself "Humbaba" or considered itself royalty. No, she decided, this was a god she and Copper were challenging—and obviously one that wouldn't show them mercy like Marduk.
Copper charged forward, perhaps unintimidated by Humbaba because it—he—seemed to have no weapons. But as Elodie saw with horror, the creature clearly made up for that with his giant fists, one of which he tried to use to crush Copper, only for her ally to get out of the way just in time. For a moment Elodie stood frozen as Copper swung his hammer into Humbaba's ankle, too frightened and unaccustomed to real battles.
You must fight. This is the Hunger Games. Go in there and prove yourself worthy of the Presidency. So Elodie reached for the poison vials she had worn around her neck underneath her tunic, withdrawing a vial of green liquid. A corrosive acid, if her memory was still functioning in this situation.
Careful to open the vial only when she had dashed over to Humbaba's stunned figure, she splashed it on his other foot, and Copper added a crushing blow with his Warhammer on Humbaba's toes to bring the brute toppling over.
But it was only momentarily. Elodie had just finished applying another poison to Humbaba by tipping her dagger with artificial black mamba venom and stabbing the god's thick neck, only for Humbaba to shake her and her weapon off of himself violently, and swiping away at Copper with his huge hand. Copper skidded on his back backwards for a few feet before Humbaba shakily stood himself to his feet, inhaling deeply. Elodie looked on with dread when she saw smoke pouring from Humbab's nostrils. She knew instantly that this meant Humbaba was able to breathe fire, and there was no way Copper could survive.
She quickly threw a plain-looking combat knife at Humbaba, hitting him between the chest and neck. While he certainly didn't drop dead instantly, the god was stunned once more, and Copper scrambled to his feet, ready to fight again. Elodie rushed forward as well, not sure what she could do next. Humbaba was still standing up, and she knew that climbing up his legs to stab a vital area was virtually impossible. Copper would somehow have to make him fall again without her help, and she only had one corrosive acid left, hoping to save it for later.
Humbaba kicked her aside as she was trying to charge at him, and she cursed inwardly for once again leaving Copper to fend off the monster alone. But she stood herself up again, tossing Copper her second and final vial of acid. Copper only glanced at her briefly as Humbaba lowered his head, ready to launch flames from his mouth. This time he did so successfully, but Copper leaped out of the way in anticipation. Noting Humbaba's lowered head the top of his Warhammer just barely reached the god's face. Copper opened the vial, put the acid on one end of the Warhammer and jumped. Humbaba reeled back when he landed, both from the force of the blow and the acid, some of which had leaked into his eyes. Elodie wasted no time getting up and rushing once more towards the now-surely-incapacitated god. Humbaba was slumped up against the wall in what was almost a sitting position, and Elodie gave the final blow by stabbing her dagger in his chest without using any poisons.
"Not another humiliation…" the god muttered before fading away in death. Once he had disappeared, several pedestals emerged, and the lights in the room seemed to glow as bright as it had been that morning outside. Looking around, Copper and Elodie found that their rewards for defeating Humbaba were a pair of steel gauntlets for each of them, water, iodine, and a single helmet made of wood that could fit over both of their heads. The wood seemed to be derived from a bunch of branches that had somehow been woven together like silk. Upon putting it on, Elodie felt the same.
"Maybe it's a dud, or some kind of joke," Copper said, chuckling. Elodie scowled in frustration.
"No! They would never give us a useless item!" she cried. While putting on the helmet, she had placed her stuff on the floor. As she stooped down to pick it up, she saw a branch shoot past her head and wrap around what she had thought about picking up.
"Copper! Do you know what this thing can do for us!?" she cried. Before he could give a rhetorical answer, she added, "The branches that make up the helmet are like extra arms that can stretch out farther than ours."
"You keep it," he insisted. "I'll take the heavy stuff." And with that they left the temple, fatigued but happy they had gone in.
Julia Kellson
She had considered leaving the forest about 5 times already today, but not seeing a single tribute kept her unsure. They could all just be out of her vision, lurking somewhere else in the forest, or they could be all over the other biomes. But why would they be in the desert or the mountains? This forest had all a tribute needed to survive in; game, shelter, hiding places. Why would you be anywhere else?
And why, Julia thought with confusion, Is there a big stone house in the middle of this place?
She had passed it yesterday once while searching for food, content not to go in, even though the place seemed accessible now when it hadn't been before, which she didn't understand. The entrance was closed as usual, but the door was ajar so that you could push it aside if you wanted to access the inside. She heard a small clinking sound and the stone door being moved earlier that day, and she assumed that other tributes had gone in, but they certainly hadn't come out. Why would anyone be so stupid as to-?
She tripped suddenly, having thought she was on flat ground before. But she could see a flash of silver beneath a pile of leaves. Unearthing the thing, she was horrified and completely confused at what she saw.
She knew it was a weapon, and certainly a dangerous one at that, but what was it doing here? And how come she hadn't seen it the last time she came to the temple? And why had the tributes left it out here? Was it too big to store in the stone house?
She lifted it with as much strength as she had, struggling just to hold it upright and cautious about pointing the barrel towards herself. Whatever this thing was, she realized, it was meant to annilhilate and kill a tribute instantly. Whoever had gotten it must have been saving it for some dire situation that would call for it. For someone much more dangerous than her.
And it was on that thought that Julia decided to keep it, realizing that to her, every tribute was more dangerous. Even that girl from 12. Speaking of which, how was she still alive?
Deciding that it didn't matter, Julia grabbed the weapon and carried it back to where she had decided to sleep for the night, eventually having to resort to dragging it. She was a few yards away from the temple when she heard:
"It's gone! Somebody took it!" This was followed by some whispers she couldn't hear very well, and Julia heaved the weapon on her shoulders, running off northward. She could hear a male voice cry out that he saw her, and she ran faster, knowing it was only a matter of time before they caught up with her.
Looking back over her shoulder, she recognized her pursuers as the boy from 5 and the girl from 6, and she was convinced without a doubt that this had been given to them. She remembered that they had had 3 other allies, and it didn't take long for Julia to realize what had happened. But from the fact that they had hidden this thing in the first place, they still had not used this thing.
And now it's mine. And they'll do whatever it takes to get it back.
In her flight, Julia felt herself running past some plants. She stopped and looked down as she ran, finding that she had accidentally wandered into some poison ivy.
Dammit! Why do these things have to happen to me? Why am I always doing and saying things so rashly!? You didn't HAVE to draw attention to yourself, Julia. You didn't HAVE to steal their weapon. You could have let yourself live out here for the rest of the Games, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH AN IDIOT?!
And then she stopped, remembering she had a few things on her person besides the weapon.
Because you were tired of running and hiding, she answered her thoughts.Because you knew that no matter how much you stayed out of sight, you were going to die anyway. Because you're tired of having to step around and worry about what people will do or say, or whether you've messed up or not. Right now, you have a chance to do something that no tribute would think of doing—and will probably never do.
For just a moment, I'm going to do things my way.
Copper Nyrstar
That girl was going to pay. Very much so.
How would he kill her? A toxic knife to the skull, to make her pain physical as well as mental? A thorough bludgeoning of her limbs? Or simply snatching the rocket launcher from her and shooting it at her?
The possibilities are endless. But what do I choose? I've never been good at deciding when I've had time to think about it.
Not even his decision to join with Elodie had been the most rational. Was she really a fellow sufferer? She never seemed to regard herself as one. He could see in the way she conducted herself, with that air of superiority and "I'm in charge"-ness he had grown used to.
But did he hate her? Was she a hindrance, or an asset? She may have been foolish enough to leave the rocket launcher behind, but if that hadn't happened then they wouldn't be pursuing a helpless victim right now that probably thought of herself as ever so clever. So, in a way, he had to thank Elodie for her insistence that Humbaba had not been worth using a rocket launcher on. Although he would have done it anyway, had Elodie not been there to…hinder him. So perhaps she was both an obstacle and a benevolent master.
Your leash does not wish to inhibit you. She just wants to aim the direction of your wrath. Is that really so bad as long as you get a victim? Perhaps not. Or perhaps very much so.
Copper had little time to think about it because while he was running Elodie caught up to him and held out her arm, beckoning him to back away from the tribute even though she was perfectly still. But wait, what was she-?
A lit match, and the girl's fingers were dangling it over the poison ivy. Obviously, the flame would consume the wood, so she could not hold it that way forever, but still…Copper felt great admiration for her. Elodie, meanwhile, stood frozen in fear, her mouth open. Balanced on her other shoulder, Julia had the rocket launcher ready to fire at them.
"Julia!" Elodie called out, finally having remembered the tribute's name. "Now, Julia, let's think about this for a moment. This isn't some ranch back home in 10, we can't just have a cookout or try to burn each other for fun!"
"My family never had a ranch," Julia corrected her gruffly.
"Well, just think about what you're doing! If you burn the poison ivy, not only will you start a forest fire, but you won't be able to make it back out because the smoke from the poison ivy will enter your lungs. Respiratory arrest, Julia? Do you know what that means? Burn poison ivy and you kill us, yourself and the whole biome!"
"We had some growing in the small forest behind the house. I already know all this," Julia replied firmly. "And I had a feeling that you'd know, too."
"Do you think your parents would want you to act like this savage little pyromaniac?" Elodie went on. "How do you think it will reflect on your District? Use your brain, Julia, I know you have one!" She was furious now, practically shrieking at the girl. She put on her hat innocently to make it look as if it were harmless, although Copper could see Julia eyeing it suspiciously.
"I have a brain," Julia replied. "It's just that I've decided that I shouldn't have to care anymore what other people think of me, or how they react to what I say and do. I don't regret what I'm doing here, right now, even if it kills me. Most of us are doomed, anyway. I don't care what my family or you or anyone else thinks of me—although I hope they understand why I'm doing this." She glanced aside for a moment, possibly looking into the direction of a camera to say goodbye to her loved ones at home.
Mine couldn't care less what happens to me. Hers do, Copper lamented inwardly. And the way this girl wishes to annilhilate us…it's greater than anything I could have come up with. This is the master to whom I yield.
And then everything else happened so fast.
Julia dropped her match, letting it fall into the patch of poison ivy. As the flames began to spread, the branches on Elodie's helmet shot out, trying to grab the rocket launcher. But the press of the button to launch the rocket was all it took, and as Elodie quickly retracted her branches, a smile fell on Copper's face as the rocket flew straight towards him.
He could hear Elodie cry out as name as she dashed to the left, leaving him even though she probably didn't want to. But he didn't care about her anymore. He was free now, and this small girl from 10 had shown him the greatest way to end a life.
It was what he had been searching for all along.
Thank you, Julia Kellson.
Dorea Calis
A faint boom was heard, but it didn't sound like a cannon, strangely enough.
It doesn't matter what shenanigans take place over there. Worry about the shenanigans over here.
A chime rang out, and 3 silver parachutes landed near her around the trees. She almost absentmindedly opened up the boxes.
Bow and arrows. Knives. Dried food. Some weird metal claw-things. They just want to give me everything and see what I'll do with it. Well, they'll certainly be disappointed.
She took everything and carried it in her now extremely heavy backpack that she had used to load everything that could fit, which was everything except for the shield and chestplate, the former of which she had strapped between her shoulders and the backpack. The latter was simply worn over her tunic for protection. It was uncomfortable, but in all their wisdom the sponsors had not decided on supplying her with a pack mule, so she was left to lug it all.
Nobody. 3 cannons and a cannon-resembling sound, and still nobody. They must have all gone into the desert. Wonder if Tiberius has figured that out y—
Dorea stopped, realizing that the previously-hidden branch she had stepped on snapped, and she heard footsteps. Someone had been trying to trap her. She dropped her backpack and held her shield in place. She wanted to retrieve a weapon from her backpack, but the tribute that had arranged this crude alarm trap might have the opportunity to ambush her.
But then again, that might be the only way to lure him out.
She squatted down and opened up her backpack, deciding that out of her numerous weapons she had, a single broadsword would be best. Tiberius and Clyde would never have bothered to set something up like this, so it was probably a regular tribute that had just managed to hide well. She quickly stood up and pointed her weapon in front of her when someone cried:
"Where'd you hide Sssam, you mean bitch!?" a 12 year old that was exceptionally large for his age emerged from behind a tree, brandishing a knife and screaming with terror when he saw what she was armed with.
"Who the heck is Ssam?" Dorea asked out of curiosity. She knew there was no way this boy could kill her, so she figured that she could at least entertain herself and the audience by getting him to answer this question. It was probably why he had stuck around despite all the Careers, anyway.
"My snake token buddy, now hand him over!" the boy cried nervously, his hands shaking—especially so the one with the knife. Dorea grinned in amusement.
"You mean…this guy?" she asked, withdrawing a small green snake. She had intended on using him as a last-ditch food source in case her other food was consumed or destroyed—there was no telling how long the Games would take, after all—and had found him slithering around when there was little else. Knowing that this boy's living token was obviously important to him, she took out the snake and pointed her sword at him. She knew how sadistic she must have looked to the Capitolite audience, but her real purpose for this was more practical.
"No, don't kill him you psycho Career bitch!" the boy cried, rushing forward, only to be kicked rather lightly in the shin so that Dorea could snatch his knife. Unarmed and helpless to her whims, she began the hostage negotiations.
"How long have you been out here in the woods?" Dorea asked.
"None of your business, now give me Ssam back! Or hurry up and kill him, just make it quick!" the boy pleaded.
"If you answer me truthfully, then I'll let Sam go," Dorea replied.
"The whole Games, ok? And his name is Sssam, which 3 Ss, not 1!"
"Fine, then. Who have you seen since the Games?"
"I thought you said you'd let him go!" the boy tried to charge at her, but she effortlessly pushed him back, lifting up her backpack and putting it back on her shoulders so that he couldn't get at it.
"I still have a lot to ask you," Dorea replied. "And if you do as I ask then I have a solution to our accidental meeting that could benefit both of us. Now, who have you seen?"
"The older girl from 9, and I killed her. She was with the big guy from 10. I saw his dead body with the big guy from 1. Aside from you, that's it."
"Ok, thank you. Well done, by the way. Killing someone, I mean."
"Shut up and give Ssam back!" the boy cried.
"Not yet," Dorea urged. "I still need to think of one more thing to ask you. Like how you survived, for example."
"I just hid out in the woods, ok? Now give Ssam back so I can get out of here."
"Why do you need to get out of here?" Dorea asked. "Is it because there are other Careers about? Careers that might be more willing to kill you?"
"There are?! Just let him go, please! I don't want Ssam to die even if I have to!" the boy screamed desperately. Dorea decided to take a gamble. She handed Ssam back, tossing the snake and letting the boy catch it.
"Now that I've spared your friend, lead me to the temple," Dorea commanded.
"What are you talking about, the stony thingy? That…that's just crap they put up to confuse you!" Dorea placed her broadsword beside his throat.
"Lead me, or you and Ssam both die. You've been here long enough to know where it is, I'm positive. I had a feeling there was a temple here, and if you lead me to it we can strike out a deal where your life and Ssam's aren't at stake."
"Huh? What the heck are you talking about? Just let me go!" he cried.
"I have the fighting abilities. You have knowledge of the forest and basic trapping skills. There's a Career I'm trying to kill that's probably wandering around here, and if you help me kill him we'll be that much closer to victory. And all you have to do is lead me to the temple, where we can be allies."
"I don't want any allies!" the boy protested.
"It's either me, a girl who knows just how valuable you really are, or a killer. You don't want him going into the temple and taking whatever is valuable, do you?"
"But that wouldn't be fair, then he'd win!" the boy complained. "Ok, ok, I'll help you. Just stop pointing all the sharp stuff at me."
Dorea released him, put his knife in her backpack and handed him her trapping supplies, shield, one of her energy drinks and battle claws.
"Use these to take care of the Career yourself, in case I'm not around," she urged him. "Set up as many traps as you need to along the way."
"Wow, this is much better than what Xenophon sent me! You must have a ton of sponsors!" the boy cried, bounding off and leaving Dorea to follow him while he set up traps. "And what kind of idiot are you, trusting me with all this?" he asked.
"I'm smart enough to detect traps," Dorea explained. "It's not possible for you to catch me off guard based on what I've given you."
"You didn't see the branch until it was too late!"
"That was different. It was too crude for the trained eye to detect," she replied defensively.
"Heh heh, sure, whatever, you're a dumbass deep down. Bet you don't even know my name!"
"I don't want to. It will just make things harder for me."
"Dade Novak. That's my name."
She groaned inwardly. This had all better be worth it.
Darius Irons
Sleeping during the day earlier made him ready for the night.
His excuse for not going into the temple had been simple: he just had to pee first, he said. When Lidda pointed out that he hadn't drunk that much water, he simply replied that male anatomical differences made him have to use the bathroom more. Riley nearly laughed, but he could tell she knew his true intentions. Lidda took it at face value and made a crude remark about what she guessed being a male was like, and Noiz was too apathetic to care, but still eyeing him nervously as he went out.
It was a simple thing, really: all he had to do was bury an arrow head in the slope, and with the way a victim would fall they would just tumble off the side and land headfirst in a heap of rocks in a pass between the mountains. It was a bit crude, for sure, but his group collectively had plenty of things to finish the job.
As he calculated the angle and tried to think back to how tall Noiz was, names and faces appeared in the sky as the Capitol anthem blared.
Rex Adamas. One of the Careers, and a big one, too. Good riddance.
Thaleia Starling. Another Career, but Darius had seen her run off with the rebels. The two groups must have clashed.
Copper Nyrstar. That was a pleasant surprise.
Julia Kellson. He hadn't known much about her, but he wondered if it had anything to do with that huge boom he had heard in the eastern forest. Looking out at the view before him, he could see the forest on his left set ablaze. What had happened? However it had started, Julia had surely perished in it.
Only 12 of us left, he thought. And in the morning it should be 11. Or perhaps even less.
AN: We are down to the top 12, and with it the third day! The following tributes have enough food to not have to worry about their hunger going down:
Dorea
Noiz
Riley
Darius
Dade (but only because Dorea is with him)
Lidda
Rocko
Everyone else has some food, but it's not enough to keep them from being hungry.
List of wounds:
Tiberius: Damaged left shoulder, exhausted, little food
Steele: Cut on left arm
Elodie: Minor burns, exhausted, no food
Amruen: Large diagonal cut from the bottom of his chest across his stomach
Lidda: Numerous scrapes
The water Rocko swallowed is negligible.
Sponsor points:
NOTICE: Dorea has too much stuff already, even after this chapter. I'm placing an embargo on Dorea; don't send her any food or weapons unless she loses a bunch in the next chapter. I'm glad you all like her, but I've gotten way too many sponsor gifts for Dorea lately, and she can't have everything. I really didn't expect this to happen, but now that it has, I'm not letting you send Dorea anything else for the time being. I'll probably lift the ban at some point, though. Anyone else is fine, including Riley's alliance since they share a lot at the moment.
Sponsor points list (change every time somebody sponsors):
Platrium—770
Julyette of Wonder—515
Xxbookwormockingjayxx—345
MidnightRaven—340
Lokithisismadness—270
someoneorother123—260
Atashi Desu—210
luvakatsuki3—123
grimreaper1373—180
MeddlingArtist—95
Christoph Andretti—90
earthling44—75
iluvhungergames—70
jakey121—70
munamana-60
NorisLilThief—50
Aspect of One—50
Axe Smelling God—45
ImmyRose-45
Emmeline C. Thornbrooke-40
Vulkodlak-30
Decidedly Destiel-30
NorthEastChild-30
MockingJack-30
Imetc—30 (all could be spent on one tribute)
karmakat49-30
JustAnotherAthenaGirl-30
Jedimindricks—30
Anonymous fanz—10
And finally, eulogies:
Copper Nyrstar—You were the best "insane" tribute I could hope for. Not because your insanity was any "different" from other insane tributes that liked poison, but because you had a calm side to it, and only people like Elodie could really see just how dangerous you were until it was too late. You also had amazing strength to back it up, and any restraints on yourself you could break off easily if you didn't want to. But you never broke free and rebelled against Elodie—like I had been assuming I would have you do—because deep down you just wanted someone that shared your interests. You just wanted a friend.
I did not expect to be killing you off this early, but I think the one thing that did it for me was that I just couldn't imagine you winning, even though I've already thought up scenarios for what will happen based on who wins for some tributes already. I also felt it was great to have you killed by the weapon you received—and from a girl who no one would have expected to be wielding it.
Julia Kellson—I knew as soon as I saw that even though you certainly weren't Victor material, you still had great potential. Your inner conflict was great to work with. The only problem was that you didn't stand out much, and you seemed like the loner type to me. But the fact that you were ordinary—no special skills, no abilities or signature weapons, nothing—made me want to give you a chance. You had flaws, major ones, and while sometimes I feel like I had to play that up when I wrote you I wanted you to be at peace with yourself when you died—and I hope I made it unforgettable.