Javon Lykes-18(D11M)
If there's one good thing that came from the incredibly awkward way the bigger mutt smashed open the door, it's that the splintered remains crashed down in such a way that they quickly blocked the entrance and prevented all but three of the smaller mutts from rushing into the room. This gives me a chance to stomp the one that's closest to me like a dog-sized bug before bringing my battle-ax crashing down on the two that decided to make a run for Mazie instead of me.
Unfortunately, the pained and anguished cries of their dying siblings only seem to rile up the other mutts even more and within a few seconds, they're trying to burst through the splintered remains of the door instead of going over or around. So, in the end, all I managed to do was further enrage our mutt pursuers and the door at most buys us a few extra seconds of time to prepare before we're face to face with the full onslaught of the gamemakers latest abhorrent creations.
"Mazie, as soon as the big one finishes clearing the door I'm going to charge it. I want you to follow me and use the distraction I create to slip past the other mutts and make a run for it."
"Are crazy Javon?! If that thing doesn't crush you it'll tear you in half like a piece of soggy paper."
I know she's right, and to be honest, I'm not really sure why self-sacrifice is the first thing that came to mind in this particular situation. What I do know is that there's no way in hell both of us are getting out of this mess alive, there's just too many mutts for me to overcome and Mazie left both of her weapons back at camp. Not that a slingshot and marbles or a blowgun would have been all that effective against hard-shelled mutts like these, but the fact that she's weaponless means that we should even bother trying.
"We both know I'd have died a very messy and painful if you hadn't found me when you did. And even though both of us were fighting for the same prize at that time, you still decided to nurse me back to health instead of just killing me and moving on."
"That was….That was just the right thing for me to do."
"And this is the right thing for me to do. We both know those mutts are going to kill one of us either way, but there's no reason for both of us to die."
Javon I…."
"Just consider this my way of saying thanks for sticking your neck out and giving me the chance to die on my feet instead of gargling in a puddle of blood and vomit."
"But I don't…."
"We don't have time to argue about this, so just do what I say and get ready to run like hell."
"I….I will. And, thank you Javon. Thank you for everything."
"You don't have to thank me, Mazie, just make sure my sacrifice means something.
"Are you ready?"
She answers me with a sullen but determined nod of her head before quickly moving herself behind me and placing her quivering hands in the middle of my back and settling in to wait. I take this opportunity to think about everything I've done that's led me to this point, and how even though I know it's all about to end in a very bloody and painful way, I honestly wouldn't change a thing. The next few seconds are the most agonizingly tense of my life as my breathing continues to get shallower and shallower and I adjust my grip on my ax a half a hundred times before finally going back to my original grip just seconds before the big mutt comes crashing into the room surrounded by a flurry of splinters and roaring in a triumphant and provocative manner.
But I don't rise to the bait, at least not yet. Instead, I force myself to wait until the big mutt lumbers out-of-the-way enough that the smaller mutts can start spilling into the room before finally making my move. In that instance, I lower my shoulder and let out a primal yell before sprinting for everything I'm worth and throwing my shoulder and all the weight I can muster into the big mutts chest. And while the mutts six legs prevent me from knocking it over I manage to stagger it just enough that Mazie is able to slip around the both of us and take off running down the hall at a seemingly impossible speed.
Seeing her escape warms my heart enough that I even manage to smile before the larger mutt uses its human hands and crustacean claws to send me sailing back into the room I'd only just vacated where I land with a sickening thud. And within seconds of landing, I'm being swarmed by at least a dozen of the smaller mutts and every one of them is trying to use its claws to take a chunk out of me. And even though I kick and punch for everything I'm worth on top of rolling around in a dual effort to make it harder for the mutts to mount me and get back to my feet I know full well that it's an exercise in futility.
Eventually, I roll myself into a corner and the smaller mutts overwhelm me, each of them taking turns digging their razor-sharp claws into my exposed flesh and taking a bloody chunk as a trophy. Until at long last, the big one makes its way over to me and brings one of its sickle sharp legs down in the middle of my chest. Pushing the last vestiges of life out of my bloody and broken body and sending me soaring into the afterlife on angels wings.
~BOOM~
Bryden Maier-18(D7M)
I can't believe I let James slip through my fingers like that. One minute I'm hot on his tail and the next he's disappeared off the face of the freaking earth. The fact that he did so in a relatively open and spacious part of the arena, and in the middle of a freaking storm no less, only makes it all the more embarrassing a pill for me to swallow. And while I'm not about to give up and let him get away with the egregiously terrible things he did to Larkin, I'm probably going to have to reevaluate my approach and make some changes to my plan of attack.
Unfortunately, I don't have the slightest idea where to begin with, the whole rewriting my plan thing let alone how I'm going to track down James. I mean, he's done a pretty good job of staying out of sight and out of mind for the majority of the games, with the exception of killing Larkin of course, and I don't really see him making any overly big or bold changes to his strategy anytime soon. After all, he's got to know that I"m looking for him, it's not like I even attempted to mask the fact that I was doing so when I was following him earlier, so he's got no reason to make himself any easier to find or fight than he has been.
Eventually, I'm forced to concede to myself that it's probably in my best interest if I stop and take a few minutes to collect myself and figure out the lay of the land before continuing my search. After all, it's not like I'm going to figure anything out, never mind actually finding James, if all I do is run around aimlessly like an idiot. So I stop in the middle of the increasingly waterlogged street just long enough to pick a small hovel tucked back in a corner across the street from a massive complex with the word Gymnasium chiseled into the closest buildings marble face.
I"ve only just gotten myself situated in my newly selected hiding place when a cannon blast rings out from every corner of the arena and sends my mind racing into overdrive as I try to run down the list of who the cannon might belong too. Unfortunately, the one name I can seem to come up with also happens to belong to the one person in the world I'd rather not be dead at this particular moment...
I mean, if the cannon did belong to James, and I really hope it didn't, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next. After all, the driving force behind my recent surge to action instead of lying low and hoping everyone forgets I'm still alive was based entirely on the premise that I'd get the chance to make James suffer for the awful way he'd killed poor Larkin. Not to mention I'd been hoping to use my victory over him, and the resulting wave of sympathy I should garner for the kill, to carry me through the rest of the games and into the promised land.
Unfortunately, forcing myself to accept this potential twist is significantly more difficult than I'd expected and I'm forced to spend a few minutes trying to help myself accept the very real possibility that James might, in fact, have died without being made to account for his sins. And that small delay proves to be a boon as, out of the corner of my eye, I catch the briefest flash of color slicing through the otherwise gray landscape like a bolt of lightning slices through a storm-wracked sky.
The sight is just striking enough to jolt me out of my semi-pity-party and send me scrambling back to my feet and up to the window in time to see a crying and visibly shaken looking Mazie standing in the middle of the street. She's also close enough that I can see that she's trembling, and unless my eyes are playing tricks on me she's also mumbling under her breath at a clip just slightly above hysterical blubbering. Unfortunately, I'm not nearly close enough to make out anything she might be saying, not that I'd be able to decipher her near light speed fast talk anyway but still.
It's only after watching her for a few seconds that I'm struck by the realization that this might be the new direction I'd been looking for. After all, if there's a better way to make James pay for killing my district partner than be returning the favor and doing the same to his I can't imagine what it would be. Not to mention that holding her hostage might be enough to flush him out of hiding and force him to stand and fight like a real man. And even if the cannon from earlier did belong to him, which might also explain why Mazie looks so shaken and distraught, killing her should be a nice enough consolation to make up for him having the audacity to die without my consent.
With my mind set on this new course of action, I slip out of the door of my hiding place and dart across the street before slowly creeping up behind a surprisingly oblivious Mazie. The fact that I'm able to get this close to her without her noticing is a shock, I mean, how did she manage to make it this far without at least a modicum of situational awareness?
Regardless as soon as I"m in the perfect position I wrap one arm around her neck and use the other to steady her head before applying slow, steady pressure to the side of her neck as she thrashes around in a surprisingly strong and violent manner. Unfortunately for her, I'm too big and strong, not to mention in the absolute perfect position to avoid her thrashing about and within seconds her once strong and violent thrashing subsides and she falls limp in my arms. And even though I know full well I could kill her now if I keep the pressure on I decide to relent and follow through with my original plan.
After all, Mazie may be a valid target in the games, but she's not the one I really want, at least not right now. And if I've learned anything about hunting and trapping in my life, it's that luring a target in is significantly easier to do if the bait is both enticing and live. I just hope James has the balls to try to save his district partner, provided that he's still alive that is, because I'd hate to have to take out all my anger and frustration for his actions on poor Mazie. But if that's what I'm forced to do, then that's what I'm forced to do.
Celine Minos (Head GameMaker)
"I understand you're upset Madam President, but I don't think accelerating the timetable for sinking the city is a good idea."
"At this point, I really don't give a damn what you think Celine. The only thing I do care about is preventing an otherwise decent and compelling game from going off the rails because of what that little shit from Three pulled."
"I understand that ma'am, but I'm not sure speeding up to the end is the way to do that. In my opinion, it would be much better if we draw out the ending for as long as possible so people don't start to associate her death with the climax."
"And you're not the first person to try to sell me on this course of action, and I'll tell you the same thing I told my other advisors. The longer we let her actions simmer in the people's minds the more powerful they become, and the easiest way to purge her from the audience's memory is to follow-up her final gut-wrenching moments with a tidal wave of fast-paced action."
"I can see you've put a lot of thought into this. And it doesn't sound like you're in the mood to hear dissenting opinions on the matter either."
"Of course I want your opinion Celine; you're my head gamemaker and I'll always take your opinions and concerns into consideration. But at the end of the day, I expect you to accept MY decisions and to ensure that my desires and expectations are effectively met. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear, Madam President."
"Good. Now, do you have anything else you'd like to bring up before I head back to the Palace Complex?"
"No ma'am, you've made your instructions very clear and I assure you that my team and I will carry them out to the letter."
"See that you do…."
She lets what I'm sure is meant to be an unspoken threat hang in the air for a few seconds before spinning around and gracefully exiting my office through the Presidential Access corridor so she can return to the palace without having to face the slew of reporters currently packing the lobby of my command center. Once she's gone an uncomfortable silence quickly engulfs my office as I slump down into my chair and stare up at the view screens showing me the unedited real-time feeds from the arena. I spend the next few minutes absent-mindedly staring at the screens as I try to come to terms with the fact that Tyranna just destroyed a little over a year of hard work my team and I put into this year's arena.
And to make matter worse, I can't for the life of me understand why Tyranna finds it necessary to insert herself so intimately in the day-to-day operations of my games. Not only does she have a tendency to trade long term payoff for short-term gratification, which is incredibly frustrating for me as a gamemaker, but she's also excessively reactionary and seems to view any hiccup, no matter how insignificant, as a damn near catastrophe. No one, and I do mean no one, was happy that Paxx decided to take her own life, but her doing so isn't nearly as bad as Tyranna seems to think it is.
But I guess it really doesn't matter what I think, or anyone else for that matter, because Tyranna has made her decision and it's not my place to question her decision. No matter how fucking stupid and painfully asinine it may be. Unfortunately, that means I'm going to have to have an extremely uncomfortable discussion with my staff, most of whom spent an absorbent amount of time turning this once impossible dream into a reality.
With that in mind, I decide to take a few extra seconds to collect myself before walking as confidently as possible back into the control center where every eye in the room immediately zeros in on me as the collectively wait for me to tell them what's going on.
"Gregor, I need you to increase the wind speed by fifteen miles per hour and the severity of the rainstorm by a factor of ten. Centaura, I need you to prepare your mutt to quickly and violently obliterate the outer third of the arena before settling in and systematically destroying the wall surrounding the second island over the next four to six hours."
"That wall's made of tin ma'am; my pet can destroy it four to six minutes."
"Then I suggest you restrain him and make sure the dramatic effect and production value of the sinking isn't destroyed by an overzealous mutt."
"You have nothing to worry about ma'am, my baby and I will do our jobs to specification."
She offers me a confident but cocky grin that I answer with a curt but satisfied nod before turning my attention back to the rest of my staff. Unfortunately, most of them are still too shell-shocked by my last set of orders and crestfallen at the thought of seeing all their hard work obliterated on an accelerated schedule instead of the gaudy and drawn out finally they'd been promised as a payoff for all their hard work.
"I know that this isn't the ending we'd hoped our spectacular creation would receive, but it's the one we have to give it. But all of you that worked on this arena can take solace in the knowledge that you've designed and created an arena no one thought possible. Not only that, but you've shattered all expectations and set the standard by which all future arenas will be judged."
I'm not sure how reassuring my words are, and to be honest I really don't care. At this point, all I can afford to care about is getting things done in the time and manner that the President demands and I damn sure don't have the time to console each of my crestfallen subordinates individually. Besides it's not like I'm any happier about this than they are.
Fortunately, no one seems to be too distraught over the news and within seconds the vast majority of them have returned to monitoring readouts from the arena or editing the live feeds for distribution to the masses. Finally, after a little over a minute of awkwardness and disbelief, everyone accepts the new reality and returns to their duties with the same zeal and vigor I've come to expect from such highly trained and talented professionals.
"Ma'am, Draconis is ready for his close-up."
"Fantastic. Gregor, please begin the playback.
"Centaura, I think it's time we let Draconis out to stretch his legs."
Perriwood "Perry" Coltrove-15(D6M)
I honestly didn't think it was possible, but it genuinely feels like the wind and rain are starting to pick up. I've been forced to put up two days of uninterrupted downpour and the gamemakers have the nerve to make the wind blow faster and the rain fall harder. And to make matters worse, the wind and rain waited until I was in the middle of crossing the freaking bridge between the middle and outer land rings to pick up. That means I'm currently stuck cowering behind the wall of the bridge in an effort to find rudimentary shelter from the storm.
I mean seriously, if I'd know they were going to pull a stunt like this I would have hurried up and gotten to and across the stupid bridge before it started instead of taking my sweet time. Of course, when you take into account how shitty my luck has been in the arena, there's a pretty good chance that I could have sprinted here and the wind and rain still would have picked up as soon as I got to the middle of the bridge. Hell, for all I know the gamemakers could have programmed the storm to intensify whenever someone tried to cross from one slab of land to the next.
"Citizens of Atlantis, hear me…!"
Oh for the love of….What fresh hell is this?
"For too long you have lived in decadence and gluttony and for too long you have brought strife and unending war to the domains of all the gods. And in doing so, you have brought shame not only on almighty Poseidon, but on the gods as a whole.
"But those days are over, but in order to atone for your past transgressions, your tainted civilization must be wiped from existence so the seeds of renewal can take root and flourish in the ashes."
I spend the next few seconds trying to decide if the speech I just heard was meant frighten everyone; I mean the words 'wiped from existence' seem like overkill that's meant to frighten, or if it's a warning that I'm supposed to take seriously. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a chance to decide because just a few seconds after the last echoes of the announcement fade away completely the sky opens up and unleashes a devastating volley of lightning in the direction of the outermost landmass.
Within seconds of the initial volley hitting its target I start to notice the faint but unmistakable outline of flames, and as the lightning continues to strike the outer part of the arena unabated, the seemingly doomed and insignificant fires begin to gain a foothold. And despite the ferocity of the rain, not to mention the nearly complete and total saturation of the arena, the two dozen or so small fires quickly spread and merge, giving birth to a raging inferno. And even though I know it's not even a remotely good idea to stand here and stare at the flames, I can't seem to bring myself to look away.
Unfortunately, my infatuation with the destruction currently unfolding on the outer island proves to be a mistake, and a possibly fatal one at that, as my distracted state causes me to miss the brief first appearance of a monster, unlike anything I've ever seen before. Fortunately for me, and I use that word with all the sarcasm and disdain it so richly deserves, the mutt noticed me even though I didn't notice it. And out of the goodness of its monstrous heart, it decided to give me another chance to be the first tribute to lay eyes on it.
And boy do I ever get an eye full; after all, it would have been damn near impossible for me not to given that it exploded out of the water so close to my bridge that the resulting surge created in its wake washed over the side and slammed me into the hard stone of the other side. I spend the next few seconds trying to shake out the cobwebs, and to get the world to stop spinning or at the very least slow down a little, before finally using the wall I was just hurled into to pull myself back to my feet. That's also when I get my first real good look at the mutt that's about to end my life.
The mutts got strikingly beautiful blue eyes that are so distinct and profound that I'm almost positive they have to be glowing, I mean, with how bright and noticeable they are they'd have to be. Regardless, the mutts shocking blue eyes are set back in its skull, which appears to be completely covered by gold-colored bone that ends with two, fish fin-like ears. Outside of that the rest of the mutt is relatively plain-looking, or as plain-looking as a giant sea monster mutt can be, as what I'd assume is the soft and vulnerable underside is covered in muscle and looks vaguely cream-colored while the mutts backside is covered by a thick looking layer of turquoise colored scales with red bands in varying places that almost look like war-paint.
If I was seeing this thing from the safety of my home instead of up close and personal I'd probably be more impressed by its beauty, but as it stands right now I'm just scared. Hell, in this situation scared might not be a strong enough word for how I'm feeling, and the same goes double for words like terrified, mortified and petrified. And unfortunately for me, I'll never have the chance to find the right word to describe my level of fear.
Because in the blink of an eye the seemingly calm and docile mutt rears its head back and lets out a mighty roar before raising its tail out of the water and slamming it down with an unimaginable amount of force onto the bridge, sending me skidding across the rain-slickened stones and severing the connection between me and the middle island. A few seconds later it repeats this action on the other side quickly isolating me on a small slab of bridge in the middle of a storm-wracked sea.
A few seconds later the mutt rears back for a final time and brings its tail smashing down in the middle of my tiny refuge and even though I'm screaming the entire time the only thing I and anyone else can hear it the roar of the mutt and the booming slap of its tail eviscerating the last remnants of the bridge and snuffing out my once promising life….
~BOOM~
Mazie Vernon-14(D10F)
By the time I come too I'm immersed in darkness and my head is pounding, but by some miracle, I'm still alive. I mean I"m tied up and don't have the slightest idea where in the hell I am right now, but I'm still alive. And while I'm incredibly grateful for that last little tidbit, I can't for the life of me imagine why I'm still alive. I mean, who in their right mind would go through the trouble of choking someone out only to bring them in out of the storm and clean them up instead of killing them outright?
"Should I take that confused look in your eyes as a question to how and why you're still alive?"
"WHO….WHO'S THERE?!"
I get my answer in the form of a lit match being held in front of the face of my attacker, whose name I vaguely recall being Bryden, or maybe Brycen. But while I now have a face to go with the person that attacked me, and for some stupid reason decide to keep me alive, what I don't have is an answer to the most important question I have. Why did he keep my alive?
"Now a lot has happened since I knocked you out my dear, so I"m going to be throwing a lot of new information at you so do try to keep up please."
"What the hell are you talking about? And more importantly, why the hell am I here in the first place?"
"I'll cover all of that in a second Mazie,so you'll just have to be patient until then."
"You'll understand if I'm less than willing to wait for you to decide to get around to explaining to me your reasoning for keeping me alive instead of killing me."
"I guess the back story to all of this wouldn't be nearly as important to you as it is to me."
"What backstory?"
"Now that's funny, I thought you didn't care about it."
"If this is your idea of a joke Bryden, then you might as well just kill me now and get it over with. Because if there's one thing I'm not going to do its beg you not to kill me."
"Up until a few minutes ago I might have been willing to indulge you in that, but after watching the fallen tribute and seeing that neither of today's cannons belonged to your district partner James…."
"What in the hell does James have to do with any of this?"
"Everything my dear, and you're going to be the bait I use to draw him out of the shadows."
"Have you lost your mind, Bryden? Why in the hell are you trying to draw him out of the shadows? And more importantly, why in the hell do you think he'd be willing to come to you just because you have me?"
"Because I have a hunch that he's the kind of selfless individual that will do just that. But if I'm wrong about him and he doesn't, well, for your sake you'd better hope that future doesn't come to pass."
"You…..You're using me as bait aren't you?"
"That's the plan."
"And just how do you intend to let him know that you've got me? It's not like you can afford to walk me around the arena on a leash until you happen to bump into him."
"I've already figured out how to address that little problem, but I think it's better if I keep the specifics to myself for now."
I can tell by the look in his eyes that whatever it is that he's got planned is going to be incredibly bad for me, but before I have the chance to press him for more info he scoops up a small hatchet and brings the flat side crashing down on my head and sends me spiraling back to dreamland.
A/N: And then there were six, one of whom will be our next victor. Augustus, Docker, Keyna, Bryden, Mazie and James survive and compete for the crown and all of them are in some sort of trouble or another. So my question to everyone out there is this, who do you think wins in the end?
This story has been the most challenging and fun one I've written yet and I"d also like to thank everyone that submitted a tribute, taken the time to review, or just plain hopped on the train and took the journey with me. Of course, we're not done yet but we're close enough that I can start laying the groundwork for my next story, and I hope everyone will come along again and partake in the 105th Hunger Games.
I'm working on the prologue now, but since I'm planning on having this year's victor feature prominently in it, I can't post it until we've crowned them in this story. But that doesn't mean everyone can't start brainstorming and thinking up new ideas for the story. So get your thinking caps on everyone and be ready for more fun and games to come :)
Other than that please review and let me know what you think about the chapter and the story as a whole and I'll be looking forward to seeing all of your smiling faces later this week for the next update :D
Death Order/Cause/Place
24-D5M- Barrett Martinez- Decapitated by D2F- Cassia Maximus
23-D8F- Twyla Monroe- Face grinded off on a pedestal by D4M- Docker Henderson
22-D9M- Hudson Levanten- Neck snapped by D4M- Docker Henderson
21-D12M- Frazier Von Haren- Skull split open by D7M- Bryden Maier
20-D5F- Tesla Brite- Speared while trying to escape by D4F- Deverin Aldous
19-D11F- Tepary Plantae- Throat slit by D2F- Cassia Maximus
18-D3M- William "Will" Java III- Chest caved in by D4M- Docker Henderson
17-D4F- Deverin Aldous- Stabbed in the forehead by D2F- Cassia Maximus
16-D9F- Briar Sycamore- Shot in the back of the head by D2M-Augustus Rowkin
15-D8M- Inigo Cambric- Shot in the chest by D2M-Augustus Rowkin
14-D12F- Ruby Magnus- Strangled by D1M- Claro Alabaster
13-D2F- Cassia Decima Maximus- Mercy killing by D1F- Kerensa Oddette
12-D7F- Larkin Lindell- Stabbed in the skull by D10M- James Wild
11-D1M- Claro Alabaster- Beaten and strangled by D4M- Docker Henderson
10-D1F- Kerensa Oddette- Decapitated by D4M- Docker Henderson
09-D3F- Paxx Carthage- Suicide
08-D11M- Javon Lykes- Impaled in the chest by the alpha Ceto mutt
07-D6M- Perriwood "Perry" Coltrove- Crushed by the Sea Dragon Mutts Tail
Kill Total
5- Docker
2- Augustus
2- Mutts
1- James
1- Bryden
3- Cassia
1-Deverin
1- Kerensa
1- Claro
1- Paxx