The second day
-Elliot Russo, 17, District 6-
He watched as the lights brightened, second by second, minute by minute. If one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't notice the slight change in brightness… But he was just trying to find something, anything else that he could devote his attention to.
It was hopeless, though. Ever since he agreed to try and sleep and let Camellia take watch, he hadn't closed his eyes a wink. Hell, ever since the party he hadn't slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the blood in front of him, the worried look on Riggs's face as they ran to the car, the sounds of bullets… Watching the band he had loved so much, destroyed in just a mere second with the crack of the gun.
And worst of all, he left Jill behind. He didn't even get to tell her goodbye… Or… Or anything, dammit! He was so happy to see her, having missed the chance to say goodbye to her before because of Lenore… This was his chance. He couldn't even take it.
Was she even safe? Elliot didn't even know. That was his biggest regret, at the end of it all. He couldn't be there for her, even though she was somehow always there for him, in her quirky way. Then, when it finally counted, he let her slip right through his fingers… Again.
Elliot's eyes were warm with tears. Why did such a beautiful have to end like that? He thought this was his chance to start making new, happy memories, at least when he could before coming here. But even that was stolen away from him. And for what?! No. Getting angry wasn't going to solve anything. Crying was especially off the table, considering the alliance hadn't managed to snag any supplies with water.
He was shaking when Jace stirred, sitting up with a yawn. For once, he was lucky that he couldn't see. At least the images of the night weren't impressed on his eyes. Though he was now without a mentor, so he was suffering just as much as the rest of them.
And maybe seeing all of the horrors of the world was worth it, just for the chance to see her beautiful face.
Jace looked alarmed and disoriented at the feeling of the catty, cheap casino carpet under his head. After a second, he seemed to remember where he was, and relaxed, but only slightly.
"Hey," Elliot said, at least trying to confirm that he was here and Jace wasn't alone.
Jace yawned again. "Oh. Hey," he said, his voice quiet groggy.
"It's still pretty dim. You can probably go back to sleep."
"That's alright," he said. "I might not be able to keep watch, but I can keep you company."
Elliot somehow found it in himself to laugh, just the tiniest bit. "Alright," he said. "I could use that."
"Is Camellia still asleep?"
Elliot looked over at his other ally, who was curled up into a tiny ball. Elliot was pretty sure that she hadn't been asleep for most of the night, but now she finally looked completely relaxed and peaceful. Elliot was glad for her, or just impressed at her ability to fake. He was sure that he wasn't faking it well at all when it was her turn to keep watch.
"Yeah, she had a hard time so we should let her go for just a little while longer."
"Hm." Jace nodded. "What I wouldn't give to be awakened by the sun again."
Elliot's heart sank at that. There was just so much pain all around him, and yet all he could manage to do was feel sorry for himself. How his family must be feeling, and Riggs, and Gian… In real pain. Elliot's calf throbbed weakly at that thought. The pain was that bad in his leg, a cut that wasn't even that deep in actuality, and stopped bleeding when it was wrapped up. Probably nothing compared to a gunshot wound…
Gunshots. Where he had once lived his life hearing music, now he could only hear gunshots.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. He didn't know what else to possibly say to him.
"Sometimes we don't have to count our blessings until it's too late."
"No kidding," Elliot mumbled, twisting the penis keychain with a deceptively cute face on it around in his hands. It had been on one of the backpacks, and it gave all three of them a good laugh. But the more that Elliot looked at it, the more it made him sad, because it made him think of singing the song with Upward Voyager about penises, and now Upward Voyager… Well…
Elliot's eyes teared up again and he covered the keychain with his hand, not wanting to look at it anymore.
"Well, there's my daily dose of wisdom for you," Jace said with a small scoff.
"Very insightful. Thanks." Elliot then cringed realizing that he had used the word insightful to describe a blind person.
"When my human eyes closed, so awakened the eyes of my soul," Jace said, totally deadpan and punctuated by a big yawn.
Elliot laughed at that. "Well, I'm so honored to be graced with your immense meditative knowledge."
"The spirits speak to me, and they say…" he took a dramatic pause. "Dicks."
Elliot's laugh choked in his throat as the sounds of the song were superimposed with the bullet wounds, the shouting voice of angry Peacekeepers, the cries and screams within the crowd…
"Too ignorant?" he asked, still with a light tone.
"Oh, no, it's okay." Elliot thought about the tearful words that Numitor had yelled that night. The words that the precious band had to pay the price for. They were rash, but Elliot was also afraid that they were true. No one would act that rashly on a lie, after all. Surely they wouldn't kill for a lie…
The awkward silence was filled by the sounds of a stomach growling.
"Hungry?" Elliot asked, and Jace gave a sheepish smile.
"I don't need much," he said. Elliot took the indigo bag and started sifting around for one of the bags of food inside. He passed it over to Jace, who ate a couple pieces of jerky and gave it back to him. Elliot took a few for himself, too. He wasn't hungry until he smelled it, but he figured that he should eat while he still could.
The boys ate in silence for a while, until Camellia slowly sat up and stretched. He was glad that she at least seemed okay. Part of him was worried that she'd wake up from a nightmare… Just like he did the other night. He just didn't know how much more his heart could handle. And the real terror was only just beginning.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked, looking around the rom which was now almost entirely illuminated. Concern spread across her face, probably at the shoddy state she found both boys in. And it was only a day.
"There was no need," Elliot said. "What are we going to do? Hunt like Careers?"
Jace scoffed a little bit. "Yeah, like there would be a blind fucking Career," he said. He stared off into the distance. "Or two.'
"What the hell are you on about?" Camellia asked, smoothing her hair over her shoulder and running her fingers through it in lieu of a comb.
"He's having a vision," Elliot said, just trying to get her to smile.
It would prove to be a daunting task, though. Elliot didn't blame her, but it was disappointing that he couldn't seem to cheer her up, even the tiniest bit. He passed on the food and she had a very slow breakfast, obviously putting off the inevitable need to get moving. Especially because all they had to fight with was a measly knife between the three of them… Thinking about fighting anyone, more gore and bloodshed, made Elliot physically tense to the point where he was sore. Well, he was probably sore from spending the night sitting up against one of the freezing metal slot machines that littered the room. Even they dimmed at night, leaving the room in almost total darkness. For a while, Elliot really did know how Jace felt, and it was absolutely terrifying.
Elliot helped seal up the bag and put it back where he found it, then it was time for them to… Do something, hopefully. But not something dangerous…
And suddenly, the first spice to their day appeared. Quite seemingly, out of nowhere. The floor opened for just a split second, and up came a silver parachute with lavender stripes printed on it.
Jace immediately jumped and put up his fists. "What the hell was that?" he asked.
"A… A sponsor gift…" Camellia said, biting her lip.
"It's lavender," Elliot said. "Go ahead and open it."
Camellia took the package and slowly undid the lid. She pulled out an empty thermos and a fairly large piece of paper. Elliot wasn't trying to snoop, but it was hard to miss the giant letters of the headline. Out of Spite Guitarist Dyes Hair Lavender- The Juicy Reason For His New Look And Exclusive Pictures!
The pictures showed the boy smiling with, just as the article said, a mop of lavender hair over his face. In the top corner, in purple gel pen, was a note from Helen, in large loopy handwriting. I couldn't find a lavender pen, obviously this guy has more team spirit than I do. XOXO, Helen
Camellia let out a sound that Elliot couldn't decipher between a laugh and a sob. Looking at her face, it was probably both. "Dumbass," she mumbled under her breath, hugging the paper close to her chest. It was the first smile Elliot had seen form her since they got there. He was happy for her… Even though he didn't feel very happy.
"An empty thermos," Camellia said, lifting it up. It looked nice, just looking at it made Elliot realize how dry his mouth was.
"There must be water close then," Jace said. Logically, it made sense. But where?
"Oh, the lid fell off." Camellia picked up the lid and screwed it on. Well, she tried to screw it on. She kept twisting her wrist and the lid wasn't budging. Her face contorted with frustration. "What is this?" She spun the cap, the cap fell off, and she huffed. "Who approved this to be sent to me?" She looked nervous for a moment after asking the question.
"What's going on?" Jace asked.
"This damn lid won't stay on!" Camellia said, trying to push it on, with no luck.
Suddenly, out popped another silver cannister, this time decorated with that eye-piercing yellow that indicated it was for Jace.
"Something for you just came Jace," Elliot said, over the sounds of Camellia grunting frustratedly with the thermos. Jace's eyes widened in shock as Elliot reached over and grabbed the cannister, handing it over to Jace, who unscrewed it. He pulled out a canteen that looked heavy in his hand.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, pulling it out. "It's full. Is this really a canteen?"
"Yeah!" Elliot said, grinning.
"A paper fluttered out with it," Camellia said, reaching over and handing it to Jace. He opened it and felt across.
"It's got Braille, but… I'm not really good at reading Braille. Can one of you guys read it for me?"
"Sure," Camellia said, more than happy to leave the empty canteen on the ground. "It says… Keep up the good work, making your friends, family, and District proud, and know that I've got your back. From… Anakyn."
"Oh…" Jace's features softened for a moment. "Well, thanks Anakyn."
"Yeah, thanks Anakyn!" Camellia said, and each ally was allowed a small sip. The water felt glorious as it went down Elliot's throat. He wanted to gulp, but controlled himself.
"That's great that your escort's stepping up to mentor you," Elliot said.
"Yeah," Jace said with a small smile. "I'm so glad."
"We have a couple more days on this," Jace said, and Elliot nodded. Camellia grumbled something about a damned lid.
"Let's get this in a pack so it doesn't tempt us anymore," Jace said, handing it off to Elliot, who slipped it into the deep pink backpack that had been filled by Hallie's spins.
"Now-" Elliot was interrupted by one last cannister, decorated with navy… Navy! For him!
"Riggs didn't want you to feel left out apparently," Camellia said.
Elliot was too excited to respond before he threw the lid off and looked inside, quickly pulling out the object. It was a good thing the knife had a protective covering over its blade at that rate. Elliot stared at the weapon, his brow furrowing in confusion. So… Now they had two measly knives. Which was good and all, but… Odd that this would be what Riggs would send them.
Elliot took out the note, hoping that would explain something to him. But what he found was far more important to him than knowing the why for this peculiar gift.
She's safe, dude. Thoughts of home will eventually bring you there. Hang in there buddy. Radically yours, Wolf Jansing
Elliot's eyes filled with tears of pure relief. He read the note again, and again, just to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. She's safe. She's safe! Jill is safe. Elliot didn't need any more motivation than that.
He folded up the note and put it into the pocket of his suitcoat, so that it would be resting on his heart.
"I'm going to make it back to you both," he said. "I promise."
~.~.
-Arden Rivendell, 18, District 2-
"You're quite a political little lady, aren't you Arden Rivendell?"
His deep voice ran circles around Arden's head. What an odd question to ask someone you're trying to pursue. So odd that it had caught her completely off guard. Let alone try to figure out why he would ask a question like that.
Theodore Sedwick was a fucking nutcase. But in an endearing way. But still, total nutcase. Asking her all kinds of… Of questions that were high above the paygrade of a guy that acted like he did.
At the time, the only response she could give him was, "I tolerated you calling me a 'little lady,' make your own assumptions." And while she could fire witty comebacks like that all night long, she didn't have a real answer for the question. Of course she has to be political sometimes, the Games was all about strategy wasn't it? Obviously he knew that as he was looking to… To what, place bets? Arden didn't really care to know. Okay, she did care a little bit. But she didn't want to know. Psh. But she didn't want to be political to the point of putting her own values away. It was something Arden never wanted to do, and she proved that you can indeed achieve what you desire while still holding onto those values…
But training is, ultimately, very different from the Games.
With the number of Victors the District had, there was really no reason for Arden to worry about this. She would now banish Teddy from her brain. He would be delighted to know that he had infiltrated her mind, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Not out of spite (pfft) but out of… The joy of the pursuit? God, that sounds disgusting. And there's absolutely no reason for her to be pondering this while she's sitting in an Arena.
What stuck with her the most were the words he said after the question. "Just be very careful with your politics." Spoken like a true Games veteran. Or, well, someone who watches the Games for entertainment all the time.
"There's so much shit!" the disgruntled voice made Arden look up.
Her allies were sitting in the middle of a giant pile of supplies, scattered out all over the floors.
"It's a lot, but we'll need it," Arden told Willie.
"No, she literally means there's so much shit," Mercury said with a disappointed sigh.
"What are we supposed to do with three bottles of gorilla glue?!" Remus asked dramatically. He was still pouting about his bag getting stolen by an outer District tribute, and surely that didn't help.
"That's why we said we were going to unload everything, isn't it?" Kelwyn asked. "Now we know what we can and cannot use." Leave it to him to get everyone back on the right track.
"This is a ton of food," Celestia said. "We should be good for at least a week with all of this."
"And we all ended up with a weapon of choice as well," Willie said, flipping the spear around in her hands.
That's questionable, Arden thought to herself. She was just glad that she didn't have to watch the kid get killed by his own weapon. Not that there were rules, but that was a dirty move and Willie surely knew it. And if she was willing to do something dirty like that, who knew how far she was willing to go? Arden didn't trust her for a single second. She desperately wished she could talk to Remus about it, but she'd seen too many Careers gossip while their allies were asleep but they actually weren't sleeping at all. She would have to be careful about how to go about it. But her eye was always going to be on Willie. Arden didn't doubt her strength or wit, especially with the potential for her to do something rash and dirty.
"It could definitely be worse, but who the hell needs four pairs of nunchucks!?" Mercury groaned as he held them all up. Just the sight of it made Arden crack up, and soon the others were laughing as well.
"Hey, we had tokens to waste at least," Kelwyn said. "Other tributes didn't get that luxury."
Remus grumbled something about how someone was enjoying the spoils of his wasted tokens.
"We have Gabrielle's, if there's anything else that we might need," Celestia said.
"If we can use hers," Arden said thoughtfully. Surely they would allow tributes to use each other's tokens, if they could steal each other's backpacks. It gives more incentive to hunt, right? Arden was just glad that Celestia thought to check her body for tokens, as Arden didn't think to do that.
"Let's hope we don't have to find out for a while," Kelwyn said. The group fell into silence. Arden went to help the group sort items into piles. As they sorted in silence, her mind was racing with ideas about how they could possibly use some of these items to their advantage. For some, like the little rubber duck keychain, were not helpful. But gorilla glue was no joke. Arden had used it before when she was helping her father repair a broken leg on the kitchen table, and that table was solid as a rock to this day.
She wondered if the fluid in those glowstick necklaces was toxic. If it was, there probably wouldn't be enough of it to actually be a good defense. The deck of cards… Could give a mean paper cut, but there was no use in that when they had three rapiers. It could serve as a good way to pass the time when keeping watch, perhaps.
"Guys, I must axe you a question," Mercury said, holding up the four axes the alliance had to share. That probably took a good deal of strength.
Everyone let out a groan that that.
"I wish we had none-chucks," Celestia said, and Arden started to chuckle.
"Oh, take a bow for that one Celestia," Mercury said, gesturing to the three bows and quivers full of arrows.
She looked at the three spears they had between them and quickly tried to think of a clever joke-
"Thanks for lightening the atmo-spear," Kelwyn said, and that got most of them to laugh. Willie was still rolling her eyes and Remus still had some pout on his face, but from there it was far easier to get everything together.
"I assume we're not going to try and lug around these three bags of apples?" Arden asked, after the laughter from the puns had died out.
"That would be silly," Celestia said.
"So we should have a hunting team and a guard," Willie said.
"I would prefer more than one guard," Arden quickly interjected. She couldn't stand the thought of Willie alone with all of their supplies. She was smarter than that. This was a moment when being political was just not an option for her.
Willie gave her what Arden perceived to be a stink eye and let out a huff of air. "I guess, if you want to slow down the Games even more than they already are, we can have two guards."
That sent a flare into Arden's chest, but she knew better than to pick her battles too early.
"I think it's a good idea Arden," Remus said, looking into her eyes to convey some form of message to her, at least she thought.
"We do have a deck of cards after all," Mercury said jokingly. "And hey, first to guard can choose what color glowstick necklaces they want."
That seemed to break the tension… For now. Neither Willie nor Arden laughed though.
In all honesty, Arden wasn't worried about the bloodbath. Sure, it was small, but that didn't bother Arden too much. She would have far rather gathered the appropriate supplies as they did. They're now set in terms of supplies: perhaps too set with four basic first-aid kits: and they can focus on hunting now that their supplies are going to be organized. The Games would certainly pick up soon, but for now, Arden was content to bide her time. Obviously, not everyone in her alliance agreed.
Arden took a deep breath as she grabbed the fuzzy bear keychain and zipped a now full bag shut. She would have to be patient. After all, every alliance needs a scapegoat, and if Willie continues to cause tension, it will be her. She was smarter than to pick a serious fight at this point. If that was what was in store, it would be better far down the road, when the field is leveled to the point that she would feel confident in her ability to defeat the other tributes in combat.
The casino got dark just as the supplies were ready and arranged, much faster than Arden was expecting. But she still wasn't worried about getting out there before they were all ready to.
"Since she wanted an extra guard so much, Arden will guard in the morning," Willie said. Everyone agreed, and Remus volunteered to stay back with her, which she was grateful for. Because of this the Four tributes would take the first watch.
For all of the nunchucks they had, there were still only two pillows, so arden opted to use her coat as one through the night. She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep well knowing that there was any semblance of a threat.
But she also knew that she didn't need to worry about the girl from Four in the long run.
Arden would just have to be a good politician, and Willie would destroy herself.
~.~.
The second night
-Owen O'Connor, 18, District 5-
He was used to restless nights like this. Owen longed for those five, six nights where he could sleep deeply, knowing that nobody was in danger, nobody would need him through the night, nothing would happen… It took a minute for him to remember what that felt like, but they were the best nights he'd had in years.
That made it so much harder for him to go back to how it had been before.
But surely it was worth his effort so that Ceru and Lonan could get some sleep… Right? They both slept so deeply. It was lucky that they'd gotten two pillows for the sleeping allies to use. They weren't very comfortable, true, but they were far better than the floor.
He shifted a little, his allies didn't stir. When he did, the piece of paper in his pocket crinkled the slightest bit. He had no idea why anyone in their right mind would have sent him another complex first aid kit when they already had one of those and two basic first aid kits. Well, they would certainly be well taken-care-of if something were to happen. But just the thought of something happening to them made Owen tense all over.
That's why we're awake, right Barbara? He thought. The felty stuffed manatee (that came with the nametag for some reason) was right beside him. It had started as a joke that Barbara would keep Owen company on watch, and it seemed to make Lonan especially feel better about sleeping through the night. And that was all that Owen wanted. If he could just make them feel better and allow them to rest, then at least he was still contributing some good to the world. And if that was true, then he could imagine himself winning the Games. But if he wasn't doing anything good for other people, well, why was he even alive then?
Owen could feel exhaustion weighing his eyes down.
Maybe I should wake Lonan.
Owen just couldn't do it, though. His nose whistled as he slept. Even if Owen laid down, there was no way he would be able to sleep through the night.
Especially not after the note he'd received with the first aid kit.
Agent 8 hadn't forgotten him after all.
Not that Owen expected him to, but… Well, it was awful nice of him to send a gift Owen's way, even if it was not something they were in a desperate need for. I really had him around my pinky after all, he thought, and Nines's lips crooked up in a smile. He came to the Ace in the Hole for some… Some reason Nines wasn't sure, but it was definitely business. But obviously, Nines was… hospitable enough that he enjoyed his stay regardless.
Despite being pretty tightly-wound (keeping business before pleasure, of course. Nines wouldn't understand, though, because his business was pleasure), Agent 8 was a fairly chill guy. Owen never did find out why he asked so many questions, particularly about his birthfather, who Owen had never met. And… Well, Owen got to call off of work the next day and take Mom out with the pretty paycheck he received for his compliance.
Now, it was just amusing that after all this time, the bastard was still going to spend more money on him. Either Nines still had some piece of information he needed for his investigation, or the agent wanted to take him up on his offer of a little extra sweetness next time he came to Ace in the Hole. After all, he'd tricked Nines into the interrogation before he was even able to get up on the pole!
Whatever reason, it made Owen look attractive and sponsorable, which would hopefully cause more people to sponsor them later on. And, perhaps, send them something a little more… Pertinent. Luckily, they could do without gifts as they had enough food and water for the three of them. Probably by dumb luck, but valuable dumb luck that Remus's bag was so close to Owen.
Nines thought back to the screech Rammie made when he hit her with the hairdryer, and gave a low chuckle to himself. One of Joker's schticks was all about karma. You only get rewarded with a lot of hard work, and if you slack then it'll come and bite you in the ass. Nines figured the same was true for Rammie too. He hoped that he made Queen proud with that. He didn't have much of a support system back at home, but she was always nice to him, though distant. He would take that over nothing, though. He would just have to hold on to what little he had left, right? That's what he always told himself.
Hold on to what you haven't let her steal from you.
The thought grew in the back of his mind. It had started as just a whisper, but since he'd been reaped and realized what he was missing, it had become a scream. Now that he wasn't cooped up in Ace in the Hole and at home, he could have some friends, and do some activity, goof around, live. And sure, Nines knew how to live when he was on stage, but it was such a superficial form of living. It wasn't enough to sustain him.
She stole your friends, your dreams of doing theater, your magic, your swimming…
It wasn't her fault.
She couldn't control falling ill.
If she could just magically get better, of course she would.
What is she supposed to do about it?
She stole Pandy.
No. The medical system that charges so much money stole Pandy.
If she just never got sick, Pandy would still be alive. If she had never gotten sick, you would be doing what you love, and not pandering to people for some easy money. If she had never gotten sick, she could have told you goodbye, kissed your forehead, told you that everything was going to be okay!
"No." It came out as barely above a whisper.
If she had never gotten sick, you would actually want to get out of here and go home to her!
"No!" Owen grabbed his temples, wishing these thoughts out of his mind. What kind of son would possibly think those things?! It wasn't her thought that she got sick. She was the one losing her mind, she must have been terrified not knowing what was going on and having no power to change it. How could he possibly think those things?
He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to clear his mind.
That was when the shriek pierced his eyes.
Disoriented and in the dark, he could only hear the groan and feel the effort of a fight happening behind him. "Owen!" Lonan's voice snapped him into action. Owen grabbed the knives that were sitting by his hands and jumped to his feet.
"Lonan?" Owen hurried towards where his ally had laid down and trying to sense the motion. It was murky in the dark, but soon Owen's eyes could make out a small figure there. Owen threw the mass off of his ally, who easily hit the floor with a groan, the sword toppling out of his hands. Owen could see the slight green glow of glasses around the tribute's face and threw his knife. With a simple flick of the wrist, the young boy groaned and sputtered. Owen drove the other knife down, just desperate to get the cries and whimpers of pain to stop. He stabbed again and again, until finally the boy silenced. Owen could feel the spurts of blood soaking his shirt.
He pulled out both knives and slid the goggles off of the tribute. When he put them, Owen physically recoiled at the sight. He couldn't see in the dark, but now in front of him was a mangled, bloody, semblance of a body that had belonged to the boy from District 12. His stomach forced up acidic bile that hurt Owen's mouth, and another convulsion sent more fiery acid up into his mouth from his stomach. His knees gave out and he vomited on the carpet, gasping for air. Sometime during that process, Charlie's cannon boomed, but Owen couldn't register the sound.
The smell and the sight of what had used to be a person: hell, a child: would never leave Owen's mind. He couldn't believe he'd actually done that.
But most of all, he couldn't believe that he'd failed his allies, his friends.
Owen hurried to Lonan's side, who was groaning.
"Are you okay?" Owen asked, quickly grabbing the tiny troll keychain and unzipping the backpack where they'd put the new first aid kit.
Lonan groaned a little bit. "Yeah man, I'm alright," he said. "He just got me on the stomach, but he didn't know what he was doing so it's a very shallow wound."
Owen's heart sunk at the strained tone of his voice. He was obviously trying to hide the fact that he was in pain to make him feel better.
Owen worked as best as he could with the first aid kit, disinfecting the wound, stitching it shut (a long process that he had to pause a couple times for fear that he would vomit again) and bandaging it. By the time he was finishing, the sun was rising, giving light to the stains on the floor that Owen just wanted to run away from.
Lonan dozed off into a feverish sleep just as Cerulean blinked awake, obviously shocked at everything that happened while he was asleep.
"What happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and looking at Lonan concernedly.
"It was a hellish night," Owen said quietly before launching into the details of the story (or, well, all of the details that he could stomach to tell.
Ultimately, it was obvious to everyone, even Ceru, what exactly had happened.
Owen had failed his friends.
How would he ever forgive himself for that?
~.~.
A/N: Surprise! It's been a while. Hopefully updates should flow more freely because of winter break approaching. Got a little angst, a little hilarity, all in one hodge podge of chaos. Hope you enjoyed it!
ALSO: Voting for the 3rd annual SYOT Awards is officially open! I'd love if you popped onto the SYOT Alliance forum for voting details and vote for a variety your favorites! Link to the forum is on my profile.
CQ: Who will be the first to realize that sponsor gifts are all random?
Eulogy:
19th Place: Charlie Gerow, District 12- Stabbed by Owen O'Connor, District 5. The decisions of who to off next only get harder, and I thought that because Charlie had a weapon and night vision, he would be rash about needing food and water and try to attack. He did some damage before he went at least. He was really interesting because he was a fairly normal kid, but was also obsessive about the Games because of his relatives and used his thirst for knowledge to try and survive, but in the moment, he was too rash. Charlie was fun to explore and write. Thanks so much for him Writer207! RIP.
See you hopefully soon for the next update!