Calvin Heidi- District One male
I killed a boy. I took a mace and I hit him so hard his brains splattered my face. As soon as I did it, I regretted it. I fled the Cornucopia, taking nothing but the backpack I'd already grabbed. I fled the sound of screams and fighting and threw myself underneath an overturned lifeboat on the other side of the ship. My stomach heaved, and I vomited onto the deck.
When the screaming quieted, I peeked out from under the boat. Fable and Jessie were sitting in the Cornucopia bandaging Jessie's hand. Everyone else was gone or dead. I stayed still as I watched them, willing them to go back down the stairs instead of coming toward me. I couldn't fight them both at once. As soon as they disappeared, I left my boat to find another spot. I couldn't stay there anymore. The smell would give me away.
I had hoped things would be better in daylight, but they weren't. No matter how much time went by, I would still be a murderer. You didn't go back from something like that. I had my choice, and I made it. I would never be a good person again.
There's only one thing left now, I thought. I have to win. The bridge was burned, and I couldn't undo that. I didn't have anything to lose anymore. I didn't know if I could kill anyone else, but I was still human. Painfully human, even. If someone attacked me, I'd still fight back. I still didn't want to die. But more than that, I wanted to win so it would be worth it. Winning wouldn't make what I did right, but it would mean something good came of it. My District would benefit, even if I'd never be whole again.
I needed to get below deck. There would be a kitchen down there. I didn't need food- there was food and water in my bag- but there would be weapons. There would be kitchen knives and all sorts of things that could kill someone. Even as I thought it, I realized how hypocritical it was. I was beating myself for being a killer, but I didn't feel safe without a weapon. When society's not there to keep people in line, maybe we really aren't anything more than animals.
Appaloosa Stockholm- District Twelve female
My backpack had water, a first aid kit, and a multitool. What it didn't have was food, and I would need some eventually. In such an ornate Arena with so many hiding places, we could be here for weeks. People lived that long without food, but my biggest strength was... strength, and that would fade if I didn't eat.
I waited a day and a half in a broom closet before I looked for the kitchen. I wanted to make sure anyone else who wanted to go there had already gone. I didn't go looking for trouble. I just ended it when I found it. They could all have whatever they wanted. I'd take what I got, even if I had to live off butter for the entire Games.
The Arena was horribly claustrophobic. I was used to woods and open spaces. Even the woods were more open than this. It was like being in jail all over again. There wasn't much choice between fight or flight here. Down the narrow, long halls, I wouldn't be able to do much against a spear. It was fight or die this time. Against anyone but the Careers, I had a good chance. Jessie and Fable showed up... at least they used swords. Those were heavy to carry as you chased someone.
I didn't think it would hit me so hard that Dayley was dead. He just didn't deserve it, that was all. Dayley, Sofia, Soya, Jacob... they didn't deserve it. Daren and Rory could suck it. I felt like a sissy caring so much, but that was something you should care about, even if you were a big scary bully-fighter.
None of the Careers were in the kitchen when I got in. Jayla was, though. She was bent over one of the gas burners on a stove, fiddling with something. I was still deciding what to do when she made the first move. My first instinct was always to fight, and I knew I could take her, but I wasn't sure I wanted to kill someone who wasn't really a threat. She solved that problem when she threw acid in my face.
JD Dean- District Three female
A kitchen is basically a chemical lab. I could get anything I needed for a bomb there. I'd just finished stripping a refrigerator battery for acid when I got a better idea. A natural gas stovetop connected to... a natural gas tank. If I stopped up one of the burners, turned on the gas, and rigged a fuse across the doorway, I could blow whoever came after me to kingdom come.
That plan was interrupted when Appaloosa walked through the door. Even if I didn't know her personally, I knew her reputation. Rumor was she ran around beating anyone up she didn't like. Even if the rumors weren't true, this was the Hunger Games. She was on her worst behavior, not her best. I took the battery acid I'd drained into a glass and threw it at her face.
Battery acid isn't as strong as some people think. I didn't intend to melt Appaloosa's face off- just to sting her eyes and get away. She must have thought I was coming in for the kill, because she ran in after me. Her reflexively raised arm had prevented most of the acid from reaching her eyes, and she ran across the crowded kitchen horribly quickly.
I tried to turn on the burner, hoping the small buildup of gas would make a flare and cover my escape, but she was too quick. She grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me diagonally to the floor. My head smashed against the bottom of a cabinet and I thanked my luck that it hadn't been a metal stove. My luck wasn't that good after all, though. As I tried to get up, I saw Appaloosa swing a cast iron pan down onto my head.
Deep in my heart, I was happy I hadn't finished the bomb. This way I was the victim, not the victim. I never wanted to be the bad guy. No one really does. Accidents happen, and sometimes there's no going back. This must have been what Veronica felt like. Maybe she'd forgive me, now that we were even.
17th place: JD Dean- Head smashed by Appaloosa
JD's form said she could possibly win. That was totally true. I didn't end up picking her, but it was not for lack of potential. She did straight up kill a girl, but it was an accident. It didn't make her a murderer, just a manslaughterer. I forgot to write down Jayla's submitter, but thanks for her! She was somewhat dark and somewhat troubled but still creative and sympathetic.