Paige Parker
Why do I keep missing with those sucky tridents?
I normally do good with them at home.
After that miss, Glint hands me one of his throwing axes. Maybe not the best idea considering I'm 0 for 2 on throwing things.
Glint charges first at the stationary pack. He heaves on of his throwing axes and it heads straight for Cadmium. Figured he would be a target. Romeo gives him a shove forward, and Glint cuts through the cool air towards the stocky guy. Romeo skates behind him, thrusting his large black mace at the other boy who is guarding Eva-Marie. He pushes Seven down towards the ground and jukes to the side. As Romeo flies forward, the guy grabs him on his side and they twirl around like a tornado. The pair fly down the hallway further away before disappearing around the corner.
Romeo, being the smart person he is, whipped the mace back towards us. I grab it by the metal handle, brandishing it in front of me.
"Satine," I say. I plan on giving her the mace so we can all fight. I see Glint collide with Cadmium holding the throwing ace inches from his thick throat. Eva-Marie kicks back and bounces off the wall towards Glint. She wraps her arms around his neck and knees him in the back. Why isn't Satine taking the mace? We need to move!
It's because she isn't there.
Without her bodyguard, Romeo, in front if her, she decides to take off in the middle of the fight. All I see behind me is the large window showing the light dots sprinkled on the black space outside.
I groan. Now I have to head in front. Worse part is that it is three on two.
A quick clash with the ground, and I am off with Romeo's mace.
I sail over some of the space between us. Flinging mack my arm, I let out a shout when I heave the mace forward like a catapult. The thorny weapon screams like the train towards the Capitol. Eva-Marie's back is open for landing.
If only the direction wasn't changed.
Venus fires an arrow. The pointed object collides with the mace, and it is diverted just an inch to the left. It whizzes past her shoulder and barely misses Glint's head which is still in a headlock. Cadmium is trying to hold up the ridged blade over his throat, Glint pushing through the pain to get a kill.
I have to go over and stop Eva-Marie. Then, Glint can finish the job.
But I can't.
My limbs can't move. My heart is thumping even harder on my chest.
Ever since I saw Eva-Marie, I was scared of her. Not only is she from the same District, but she tries to be Johanna Mason.
Johanna Mason. The reason I can't sleep at night. The reason I have to put up a fence and pretend to be happy. If it wasn't for her, I could be happy. I wouldn't have to be fake, and I would still have Alex by me.
I can't fight her.
Revenge is flooding in me, but I'm petrified more than anything. I can't take her on. She is too much like her. I'm so afraid of her, and there's no way I can face my fear now.
Literally.
I'm so scared of facing Eva-Marie, that I completely forgot Venus hovering to the side.
Pluck.
The arrow plunges right into my upper right thigh.
I twirl around from the momentum of the impact. Along with my scream of pain.
Now I need to face my fear.
I heave myself forward right at Eva-Marie. With the three pushed right up each other, I can shove her and Glint forward. The axe will go right into Cadmium's neck.
"I shout again and collide with the fake Johanna's back.
She grunts as the scrum launches forward.
Mission accomplished.
I see a little blood spirt from Cadmium's neck followed by a few loud gargles. I take my arms and spin us around. The four of us are in a whiplash like a revolving door. Blood flings around us, emanating from Cadmium's throat. A small ring of red captures us in the tight spin from the life fluid.
A cannon fires. I let out a quick laugh in victory.
Venus is as good a shot as I imagined.
She fires off two more arrows.
One sinks into my injured leg.
The other lands right into the same wound as the first arrow.
A few more screams, and we hit the end of the hallway.
When we spin back around, Romeo and Johan-Eva-Marie's district partner are in our path. We ram into them.
After the jarring crash, the scrum splinters apart. Eva-Marie flies back and is caught by Venus. Glint and I catch onto the same pole, stopping us from floating further away.
Another scream.
This time, we whip our heads towards the source.
So that's where Satine is at.
Aaron Artaga
When we straighten ourselves from our locked embrace, I look right into Romeo's ice blue eyes.
I jab right at his right one.
Romeo sashays around and grips the edge of the large porthole. His eye is already puffing up among the raw skin around his eye.
We breathe like the fat judges in training. Gasping, I lets out a sky smile.
"Where's your slut? Shouldn't you be jumping her right now?"
Romeo's eyes widen to the size of the moon outside the window. He sneers while his fists clench. Knuckles turn ivory while he breathes harder.
"Satine is not a slut. She's the most amazing woman I've ever been with," he says. Then, he bucks back up to full height. "Don't talk about a girl that way. Especially mine. It's not like you deserve any girl, anyway."
Hold up. Now he is bringing Eva into the mix? "Don't compare Eva to your fuck buddy. She's greater than that."
"You don't deserve each other. You're nothing but dirt, Aaron. I bet she's being slaughtered right now," he says.
Then, he thrusts himself from the windowsill and punches me in the gut.
I grab his shoulders and we start to roll over Ina deadly somersault. We levitate towards the ceiling. Romeo hovers over me.
When his back hits the ceiling, I unleash a barrage of punches on his chest. He reaches out but misses my face by a mile. He must have terrible depth perception. Instead, he kicks my shin, making my body lower down for an instant. I swing my lower body and reach back towards Romeo's body. I wrap my arms around his body and ignore his flurry of missed punches.
This guy really can't hit.
I slam him back down towards the floor. His legs buckle and he kicks back to a straight posture. I reach down and uppercut his chin. Another grunt, and my fist shoots out at his stomach. He bats the arm away. I miss, and he finally gets a jab onto my throat.
I gasp for breath. Then, I lunge again. We keep trading hits. I get a left and a right onto his chest. He pulls an uppercut to my cheek. He favors his left, so I need to shut him down. With another attempt, I block Romeo's punch and twist his wrist. Sadly, not enough to break it before he barrel rolls around and kicks me on the side.
With a few more punches and kicks from us, I see three prongs floating past me. It is a golden trident. The one throw at Eva. I can end this with a quick stab.
Romeo grabs it underhand and spins it around. He jabs it towards me, and I lean towards my left.
Leaving my right shoulder open.
It feels like I'm being ripped apart from the inside. It cuts underneath my skin like a deer being slaughtered from the hand of a hunter's knife.
My hand reaches up and wrenches the trident out, surprising Romeo.
Just then, a gaggle of people crash rebound off the wall and wrap us into a heap. We separate from each other like a mine blowing shrapnel around a battlefield.
That was when we heard the scream.
Romeo speeds out of the room like the lightning streaks that chased us earlier. My shoulder is shaking from the frayed nerves, puncturing daggers of pain through my wracking body. Eva comes right towards me and shields me from the rest of the discombobulated bunch.
"Let's go," She shouts.
Venus, the closest towards the airlock hallway, nods. She twirls around and goes back around the corner down the hall.
Eva shoves me forwards. "Come on."
If Eva wasn't there, I would let myself float right there, bleeding out in the endless free-fall.
Satine La'more
I hold a hand to my gash. It isn't a very large cut. It doesn't hurt very much. I use my long legs to bolt through the hallways. With Romeo holding off the rest of the group, I can find a place to hide out before it's over.
Milking it for all it's worth is fun, though. Honestly, siphoning of Romeo is the greatest part of all of this. He carried me on his shoulders and let me eat the beef jerky in the backpack. He lives up to his name is what I'm getting at.
Poor Romeo. I really wish he realized just how great of an actress I am. Granted, I have enjoyed his presence. He is genuinely a knight in shining armor. His soft blonde hair and his deep blue eyes complement his gentle look, one of affection and concern.
He must actually be into me. No question about it.
Too bad I don't care.
Alright. I care a little bit. Being treated like a queen instead of a whore is a great change of pace. He is so careful around me. This sort of sensitivity is something I'm completely not used to. It makes me feel a little uneasy dealing with it. Hell if I'm going to show that. I'm going to give the Capitol a show. Speaking if shows, It was the best sex I've ever had. Romeo was so passionate, I almost felt sad fucking with his heart. And him literally.
Again, almost.
Let's just say that money is tough for me. I have to do some promiscuous things. It's a living, but I'm no less ashamed of it. That's the hand I was dealt with, so shall it be. Back at home, I worked hard to hide my reputation during the day. Nobody would be any the wiser. I personally never believed in Romeo's strange notions on love. He is a pure sap when it comes to love. I never bothered with it. In fact, me and Graham back at home promised each othr that we wouldn't marry if we were single at thirty.
My acting troupe might miss me. Seeing this side of me must be hard. Whatever gets me to Victor's village works for me.
When I finally come across an unlocked door, I whisper a quick prayer. Hopefully, nothing behind this door will kill me.
"I open it and whip around to face the hallway. Pressing the close button, I back away, letting out a quick sigh.
"When I turn around, my heart just about leaps out of my chest.
A guy with short, pin straight black hair and fair skin. He has wide shoulders and stands with his back straight like a Peacekeeper in formation. The skintight suit on him is straight and immaculate from any dirt or dust. He is shorter than me by about four inches or so. What really strikes me is the twin blades cocked backwards by his side. His blank stare seems to look right past me, like I'm a cloud giving shade from the sun. It is really unsettling, and I made a huge mistake going into this one room with this one guy.
It's the guy from District Nine.
Considering I just locked the door, running would probably give me two seconds before getting slashed in the back. I definitely can't fight him, so I'm at a loss. Romeo must be looking for me, though. He has to come and rescue me, right? There is no way he would let me slip through his fingers. I just have to wait until Romeo and the others save me.
Until then, I have to make do with what I got.
I really don't want to do this. I felt odd enough doing this with Romeo. Now, I have a complete stranger in front of me. Thinking about it in terms of life or death is freaking me out. A challenge? Yes. This is a challenge. If I can get to this one guy, I can get to anybody.
Better do what I do best. As much as I hate it, this could prove how powerful I actually am.
I put on a wide grin. Classic predatory smile. Check. "Oops. Looks like I locked us in by accident. Want to get out?"
I saunter forward towards him. His bored expression follows my body as it gets right up to him. I lean my head down just a little towards his ear. "You'll have to get through me. And there's only one way to do that," I whisper.
So there are more than one ways through me. I should have come up with something better, but he still does not move. Maybe I can get him hooked. After I get him worked up, I can buy time for Romeo to come in. Or I can snatch one of those swords and finish the job myself. Doubt it, but desperate times.
I step back and stare right into his black eyes. They are like a doll's eyes; no feeling or response to anything I'm doing comes from them. They are blank and cloudy, filmed over by his own hidden emotions. I need to focus. Only a matter of time before he slips up.
A quick wink, and I reach for the zipper behind me. "You know, while we're waiting for that silly battle to die down, we can have a little fun. It is the Games, after all."
In an instant, I unfurl my jumpsuit from my body. I'm nervous as ever, but everybody is watching. If I'm to get sponsors after this, I need to up my game.
Kicking it away from my feet, I put my hands on my hips and buck up towards him. "Ready?" I ask.
He is as still as a marble statue. Initiative falls on me, doesn't it?
I slowly take my hands and reach for his collar. From the corner of my eye, I see his hands still keeping a loose grip on the swords. He's not phased at all. If anything, I think he's just humoring me. With another quick tug, I pull off the top of his two-piece suit. His swords clatter to the floor while his gaze keeps itself pointed at me.
I yank it off of him. His chest looks amazing. He is ripped like he was carved from stone. Much better than Romeo. His rippling abs run down his slender frame.
I feel his shoulders and rub them before sliding down to my hands and knees. I really need to sell this part. Knowing his height, he's probably a case of big things in small packages.
I lick my lips. "Time for the main event."
Just as I reach his waistband, a foot jams itself into my mouth.
The guy's running shoe slams into my face. I roll over. Stars flood my vision, and blackness strokes the corners of my eyes. When I slump myself onto the wall behind me, blood is running down my nose. I'm pretty sure it's broken.
District Nine reaches down for his twin blades. He marches towards me, his swords sparkling in the sunlight outside that fills the otherwise dark room.
It can't be like this. Somebody needs to come. Romeo, come help me. Before it's too late.
I scream.
Both blades dive right into my chest like two forks poking at a piece of meat.
Fitting. That's all people ever thought of me.
I guess that's my fault, though.
We are at halftime! Congratulations everybody. We are halfway there. That being said, we will slow down some for future events. Murders will be slower now, is what I am saying.
Eulogy Time (plays sad music)
13. Cadmium Ruse
Being in a forced pack was tough enough. This was a situation where the characters weren't supposed to work together, and they didn't. However, teamwork and trust is a major theme in the Hunger Games, so I believe that it should be exploited in these situations. Sorry Cad. Hey, at least you dn't have to be made fun of by Eva-Marie, or be confused by large words.
12. Satine La'more
She died as she lived. That is all I will say.
Kill Count
Aslovee Chesed (District 9)-4
Who knew Nine had it in them? And he killed his own District partner? Too bad Sirch had to go against a swordsman. And now, Satine falls at his hands. Who knew he would be Number 1 so far?
Slate Bedford (District 2)-2
If there was a Career stereotype, she must be it. Good riddance.
Glint Mugg (District 1)-2
He almost seems to nice to kill. Oh well. Also, despite Paige's actions, Glint had the axe and killed Cadmium. There really should be an assist stat for the Games.
Eva-Marie Green (District 7)-1
Even Johanna had to start somewhere.
Romeo Caliteo (District 4)-1
He touched the trident last before it pierced her, so it is technically his kill. Figures.
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Question: What is going to be in the next part of the arena? What would you like seeing?
Halftime Break! A special chapter will soon follow. Things will change. Let me know what you think!