Cordin POV
My stomach fluttered as I crawled next to Abigail in the ducts above the third-story stairwell. We'd pushed up the tiles over a bench and pulled ourselves up into the crawlspace, looking for our target. We found it in the center of the Arena, perched over the gap between all the staircases. It was a logical place, since it could easily send sound throughout the entire mall. Abigail pulled herself next to it and started fiddling with its wires.
The intercom system was a simple but powerful microphone wired to smaller mics in every store in the mall. The central microphone would only be used in emergencies or scenarios when everyone in the building had to be reached at once. Abigail and I were about to make ourselves heard.
I set to work pulling the fist-sized microphone in next to us and messing with it until I got it to turn on. The work almost made me forget about Ava. My heart stuttered when I thought about how many people had already died. I wanted to get back and help everyone else in the orphanage, but all the other Tributes wanted to get home too. Anything could happen.
Abigail laid out our supplies and selected our makeshift tuning fork. It was a rough fork of aluminum from a toy soldier, pounded as hard as we could get it with a toy hammer. She carefully took a bundle of cloth out of her shirt and unwrapped a thin glass goblet. She held the fork next to it and started tapping the metal with a nail. With each tap, she raised the nail, and on her sixth try the glass shattered. She marked the spot on the fork and I I picked a large metal bowl out of our supplies. I laid it in top of the microphone.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Ready," she said. She turned the volume on the microphone as high as it would go. We wrapped the jackets we'd taken around our ears. I held the bowl over the microphone and she slid the tuning fork underneath it. She hit her mark as hard as she could with the nail.
Sound burst from the microphone in a deafening blare, shaking the crawlspace underneath us. Even through the fabric and under the drone, I heard a high, tinny noise. It was just like Acee said. Everything was a weapon. Even the Arena.
Kisarna POV
With Ava gone, Emma and Hunter's allies were my main competition. I had to find the others- the girl from Five and her ally, and the little girl from Eight. I'd searched hours without a trace of them. They must have been on the third floor. I ascended the stairs and roamed the halls.
Something like movement caught my eye, and I stopped in front of the clear front of a store filled with plastic dolls. It was hard to tell if it was just the light glancing off the glass, and I peered closer.
Just then a cataclysmic, thundering boom ripped through my ears, jarring my bones and sending pain shooting through my eardrums. I clapped my hands to my ears and leaned forward against the noise, screwing my eyes shut. Then a million stabbing needles ripped through my skin, and I reeled back. I opened bleeding eyelids to see the shattered remains of a glass door, a large chunk of which was now embedded in my skin. My screams sounded flat and muffled as I staggered back, blood streaming from a thousand cuts. One of my hands was hardly attached anymore, and the stump shot out blood like a tidal wave. Every move sent the glass deeper into my tissue, and I fell onto my back, convulsing in pain.
I knew I shouldn't have volunteered. I had more chance than I ever admitted, but look where it got me. Arien always told me I was the smart one. I wasn't smart enough to get out of this.
Tillo POV
My hearing was just starting to come back after that awful noise an hour or so back. It sounded like there might have been a cannon shortly after, but we weren't sure. On the bright side, the piles of shattered glass proved invaluable in making weapons. I'd been trying to throw them like a discus with moderate success.
I found myself spending more and more time apart from Felix and Reiner. We couldn't be together forever. Those two were the only ones safe from my wrath, but I didn't know how much longer I could spare Reiner. Lately whenever he turned his back I saw an opportunity to get one step closer to freedom. I'd sworn to stay loyal to my allies, and I would, but it was best to avoid temptation. Also, I didn't want them to know, but I was starting to look for the others. If I was going to win, they had to die. I couldn't say someone else would kill them or try to keep my hands clean. I'd do it quickly and mercifully, if that was even possible. I couldn't sacrifice myself and Puridee for any of them.
I turned a corner and Emma was right there. She was ten feet away from me, and as soon as she saw me she grabbed for an arrow. In an instant, I shot forward and slammed into her, knocking her back before she could draw. I drew my dagger as I went and aimed it at her heart. She batted my arm aside and punched me in the nose. My eyes watered and I leaned in even closer, doing anything to keep her arrows out of her reach. I bit her cheek and clamped down until I felt flesh splitting. She grabbed my knife hand and tried to pin it to the ground. I strained down back at her and the knife hovered over her ribs.
"Tillo!" Felix shouted behind me. My concentration wavered for a heartbeat and Emma brought her knee up under my ribs, knocking my breath away. She shoved me off her and darted around the corner. By the time I got up and looked after her, she was out of sight.
"I had her!" I said, waving Felix off as he tried to help me up.
"You mean... you attacked her?" Felix said. "I thought you needed help."
"There is no help here. You can't afford to help me," I said. I looked after Emma again. She was probably still running. We'd never catch her. I looked at Felix and felt my heart break when I saw the care in his eyes.
"I mean it when I say I could never hurt you. But you can't believe me. Please, don't ask me to care about you. I don't have room for you," I said. I meant half of it and didn't mean the other. I did love Felix, but not more than my freedom. I wanted to hurt him and drive him away. The last thing in the world I wanted was to be with him in the final two. I knew how I'd respond. Something almost like acceptance flickered in Felix's eyes. They mirrored the anger and ferocity in mine, something I'd never seen in Felix.
"Go away," I said with all the coldness I could muster. Felix seemed to change somehow, and I knew I'd done my job. He turned away and ran. I hoped I'd never see him again, and I loved him more than I'd ever say.
11th place: Kisarna Talent- blood loss due to massive lacerations caused by Abigail and Cordin
Kisarna had the moves, and she could have won if we were judging purely on skill. She didn't get enough votes, and she was never a top pick for you all. I had this death lined up for someone. It was just a matter of who you selected. I haven't gone in exact order of popularity since that would ruin the suspense, but this ended up being a good place to do her in. I liked Kisarna. Her personality in her profile was almost nebulous for me, but I got that she was quiet, strategic, underconfident, and competent. I did my best and I would have been happy if Kisarna won. Thanks Kkfanatic for Kisarna. She wasn't the oddly merciful Career I usually get, but she also wasn't a monster. She was professional and competent. She showed that Careers aren't always villains, but they're usually killers.
I have no idea if any of that stuff Abigail and Cordin did was remotely realistic. It sounded like a cool idea and I'm not a genius from Three, so I rolled with it.
Keep on telling me who's next by telling me who's not next, and add a sponsor gift if you want. Emma's wounds aren't crippling, just letting you know.