The third day
-Rammie Carnel, 18, District 5-
So this was where it all ended for Rammie. Sprawled out on the floor, her face deformed by a wound, just simply awaiting her death. Lost all audience support because of this newfound deformity, and because she took her little act too far. All that her mentor could even throw together was a stupid blanket. Not the many things that Rammie so desperately needed: food, water, medicine for her throbbing wound. She supposed that she should feel lucky that they were at least able to get that for her.
Now that Rammie couldn't use her beautiful face, what did she have left? Perhaps there was more to this life than just a beautiful face. After all, her face was ruined, and yet her heart still beat. Perhaps humans weren't made to exist the way that she'd been existing. Perhaps there was a reason that she lost the support of her audience as she did. And it wasn't her body- obviously. Then what could it possibly be? Perhaps… Her heart.
Rammie thought back to the interactions she'd had with her coworkers, her fellow tributes, her own family… Perhaps there was something she was missing. The headache struck her again, her head pulsing and beating, feeling like her brain was leaking out as she struggled to recollect the look of her fathers, some of her closest friends back home…
What friends? Rammie once prided herself in having absolutely no friends back home. She believed that life was better that way. But now, she had nobody to watch out for her, and she would very likely breathe her last breath here. Was it worth all of the power-grabbing, when in the end, she was just left laying here, grasping at nothing, just waiting for death to overcome her weak, decaying (but beautiful) body? In the end, what had she gained? Had she gained anything? She would turn into dust, just like every other human being. She was just going to be left here, another name that nobody cares to look at because she placed so low. Where did her heartless manipulation get her?
She was longing for something more. Something she would never be able to have, as she was just going to lay here until she died an ugly death, starvation, thirst, death by concussion eating away her brain. Her body would be stripped of the few supplies she actually had left and then everyone would go about their Games. She would forever be remembered as a heartless bitch who did whatever she could to get ahead of the pack. A legacy that surely wouldn't make her fathers very proud. Her fathers who had taken her out of foster care and given everything they had to raising her. And this was how they were repaid.
A… Tear? What is this!? Rammie almost never cried. She didn't like this feeling. She had a rule, never allowing herself to be vulnerable, especially not when someone else can see, let alone the whole nation!
Get it together, Rammie. Be strong. But it was just so hard when she was in so much pain, inside and out. If this injury wasn't going to be her demise, surely the emotional torment would be it!
"I'm so sorry for how I've failed," she said, another tear rolling down her cheek before she could stop it. She was resigned. She probably deserved to die for what she did here, what she did to poor Owen who trusted her so deeply. Surely she deserved the deformity she would now have to bare to the world, who could finally see her ugly face for what it really was. Behind this beautiful exterior existed a monster that tore people apart! "I deserve my fate of death here," she said quietly to herself, stomach making ugly growling sounds at the thought. She stared up at the light, which hurt her eyes, and her head. The light was coming for her… Rammie reached out to the light, coming to take her away forever. She was ready to be taken away from here, from all of the people that she hurt.
Unless… What if there was a way for her to atone for what she's done!? Oh, a way that she could make healthy relationships again, and put all of the ugliness of the past behind her. Surely there was a way!
"No! I refuse to just die like this!" Rammie sat up, her head throbbing at the action. But now, her heart was beating faster, yearning to have that life where she was loved for her heart, not for her beauty! Well, not only for her beauty. "Surely there's a way for me to atone for what I've done!" She wanted to make a legacy for herself that she and her fathers could be proud of. "Well, no matter what happens, I'll have to try." A fire exploded in Rammie's heart. She was ready to fight for the chance to make everything right. "I'm going to fight for you, Dads. I'm going to fight for my home of District Five." She sniffled some of the snot and reached up to slowly wipe her face, gaining her composure.
Aaand… cut! Surely that was enough of an arc for the audience to get behind her again. Rammie supposed that maybe they didn't like the villain angle, but she could provide them something they did want: the changed anti-hero. She was, if she did say so herself, quite the magnificent actress.
Rammie's head did feel terrible though, and a stupid-ass blanket certainly didn't help. Was that really the best that Kelly could do for her!? Ugh. Rammie knew she was useless. But more importantly, why weren't the sponsors tripping over themselves to send Rammie more things?! She could really use some help over here.
The five tokens felt heavy in her pocket. Surely there was somewhere in this godforsaken Arena that she could use them. But not here. Only slot machines, and Rammie knew that she couldn't waste the few tokens she had left trying to get more. This would get her food, water, and medicine with two to spare if she could just find the place to spend them. Ugh. Nothing was happening in her favor right now. Hopefully, her little show would convince some rich sugar daddies or ex-convicts to throw money at her. And where were her fathers?! Surely it was killing them to see their beautiful daughter in this sort of situation! It was simply unbearable!
But no matter. After all, she got a sword. And a sword is just as valuable as food or water here. She would just have to get her supplies the hard way. And Rammie had never objected to the hard way before, hehe. Rammie had won water and food in her spins, so all she had to do was find the person that stole them and make them pay some rent for the food and drinks they consumed while protecting her well-earned property.
Being the last one to leave the Bloodbath besides the Careers certainly had its advantages. Rammie knew exactly who got away with her things, and soon the little bitch was going to pay for that. She was about to laugh out loud, but held it back, realizing that she still had a part to play.
"I don't want to have to use this thing," she said, looking at the sword like the foreign object that it was. "But I guess I will do what I have to in order to get home." She picked up the weapon and almost toppled over. It was heavier than it looked! And Rammie didn't have the same strength in her arms that she did in her thighs! It took her whole upper body to swing the thing through the air, at least with enough force to actually damage someone. Even after just one swing, Rammie's eyes were clouded over with white spots, head throbbing, and she had to sit down. The floor spun around her feet for a moment before her vision refocused, leaving Rammie confused and angry. "Why must I be so weak!?" she asked out loud, dramatically. "Maybe I'm not meant for more than this after all."
She looked at the floor expectantly. Where is that perfectly dramatically-timed sponsor present with an inspirational yet slightly sassy note from a loving yet stern mentor?! This whole patience thing was so hard! Ugh!
"I'm really giving up now!" she said, a little louder, just in case the camera wasn't on her. "Reeeeeallly giving up. Here we go!" Still…Nothing! If Rammie weren't so impeccably in character, she would have gasped! Rammie let out a huff. "Fine. I'll just prove to you all that I'm still worth betting on."
She got to her feet, her head swimming again as she almost fell over from pure weakness. She really needed to get a good source of food, and especially water. Oh water… How greatly Rammie missed it. She was so thirsty! And not even the good kind of thirsty either. Waaaa!
Rammie then reached over and wrapped her hand around the handle of the sword. She glanced down disdainfully at the painfully empty lime green backpack she was able to steal, hatred filling her gut at the dirty trick. Surely that District Eight kid had tokens for days and was just living it up! Maybe he was on a floor with a wheel. Ugh! It was so unfair! What had Rammie done to deserve this! Realistically what had she done, not the noble anti-hero bullshit she was putting up with acting out for the sake of sponsors. What had she actually done?!
Rammie threw the sword around with a huge grunt to show the crowds what she could do in a motivating, feel-good montage of self-betterment. Which would have gone better if Rammie wasn't in such a sorry state. She knew that she, much to her chagrin, would have to choose her battles wisely.
Rammie took in a breath. She definitely wouldn't be able to seek revenge on Owen with his two strong and uninjured allies. Even the wretched little boy from Eight with a criminal complex had an ally that could easily go after Rammie in her exhausted state. No, Rammie knew exactly who to go for.
She was going to get her fucking supplies back.
Harleigh Noheg was going to pay the price.
~.~.
-Henley Dorset, 15, District 3-
Being the sole responsible party for the safety of both herself and her ally was a lot of pressure for Henley. The more that she worried, the closer she was pushing herself towards a seizure, and she knew it. But she just couldn't stop worrying about it. Her typical seizures only lasted for a minute or two, but that much time was enough for a looming threat to close in on them. And if Coda were to die because of one of Henley's seizures…
The thought made her whole body tense. She quickly tried to shut it out, do anything to prevent herself from stressing out her body…
"Henley?" Coda's gentle voice made her heart slow a little bit, and soon his face came into view, his hair hanging down as he looked down at her from where he was pacing around the general vicinity. "You okay?"
The more Henley learned about Coda, the more she liked him. It seemed that people were a little intimidated by his prosthetic and snarly figure, but underneath all of that is actually a soft heart. His faith in her being able to keep watch (partially stemming from the fact that he was absolutely exhausted from carrying most of the weight of nighttime watch) allowed her to stay calm throughout the night, which of course decreased her seizure rate. He just wanted to do some good, and it was hard to find the right way to do that in a world that is so… gloomy and dreary. So devoid of hope. There really was no way to do good short of self-sacrifice. And from the prosthetic, it was possible that he had.
Henley of course didn't know the circumstances around Coda's prosthetic: all she knew was that it was a very sensitive spot for him. And Henley wanted to prevent any further conflict, especially about something as silly as that, and decided not to push him about it. However, if she were asked what she thought, he probably took the fall from doing something dumb, based on how sensitive he was about it. And based on his… well, on his being Coda. A nice guy deep down that has absolutely zero filter. And zero impulse control.
Zero impulse control that Henley was worried about in the coming days, seeing as they had no food or water. How much longer were the two of them going to be able to handle living like this? And worse, what if Coda gets desperate and acts rashly? Henley knew better, but she also knew that if it went on much longer, the two of them wouldn't have a choice but to take a risk.
Just the thought of that caused her heart to beat faster and harder. She wasn't ready for that. Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that. After all, they'd both been sponsored before… Not food or water, but useful items at least.
"Henley?" Coda's soft voice brought her back out of her panicked thoughts.
"C-Coda," she said, blinking her eyes to try and zone back into the details of his face.
"Yeah. Is everything okay? You look a little tense."
"I'm always pretty tense," she said. Coda let out a puff of air resembling a laugh, but it was true. Henley was usually pretty nervous and tense, despite trying her best to be rational.
"Yeah, I don't blame you," he said with a small sigh. His eyes were so gentle, despite their murky color. Henley couldn't imagine anyone being afraid of him, as much as he thought they should be.
"I'm alright. I just need to think about something other than… This." Henley felt a heavy weight press on her chest, right along with the dull pain in her stomach from hunger.
"Want to play a game?" Coda pulled the deck of cards out of their backpack. "It'll take your mind off of things?"
Henley looked at the deck of cards. She'd had a good time playing the games with Coda since they got there, but the distraction from the games can only last for so long.
Coda started dealing the cards, and Henley felt the fear explode in her heart, her entire body tensing up and then her eyes started to go and she fell backward on the floor.
…
Coda was fanning her body when her eyes flickered open. The wind didn't particularly help her, but if it let Coda feel like he was helping, that was just fine.
Henley took a few deep breaths before sitting up slowly. She found that as time went by, the seizures took more and more out of her. After all, she was dehydrated, and starving. She wasn't sure how many more seizures would take the energy out of her… She was starting to understand why someone would act so rashly at a time like this…
"Another one?" Henley asked.
"What?" Coda had three heads that all rotated around each other, so quickly that Henley couldn't look into his eyes.
"Another seizure," Henley said again.
"Henley? You're scaring me."
"I'm alright…" Coda shook her gently with an uncomfortable laugh that echoed in her head. Henley was starting to feel confused. Was she saying what she thought she was saying?! Surely… She knew what she was saying.
"Henley… Where are we?"
"Arena," she tried to say, as it was the only word in her mind that she could put on her lips.
"Just sit there for a minute," he said, leaving her for a moment. As Henley sat and focused on breathing, the world became clear to her again. Coda came back with a concerned face and not much else. "Henley?"
"I'm alright," she said, her voice feeling weak in her throat.
"No…" Coda said quietly. "You're not…"
Henley tried to give a smile, but even she could tell it was weak. Coda's eyebrows furrowed. "We need to get something in you," he said quietly. "Food, I mean. Water."
Henley forced out a small laugh. "How though? We have nothing."
"We'll just have to go get it then."
Oh no. He has that stubborn determined look on his face that indicates that I can't change his mind.
"Get the packs ready," he said, his voice laced with a fiery determination. "I'll practice with the weapons."
"I don't think I can go on a trek right now," Henley said. Mentally and physically, she couldn't take it. Especially with the risk of another seizure completely wiping her out.
Coda's face contorted in annoyance for a moment, but softened when his eyes met hers. "You're right…" he said quietly. At least I could convince him of that.
"Maybe in the mean time we can practice our weapons work? Just… Just in case." She couldn't even fathom the thought of facing another tribute, but it was a real possibility.
"That's a good idea," Coda said. "How about you lay down for a moment? Sit tight and I'll work on it."
Henley frowned, hating the idea of Coda being the sole protector of them. She felt like she wasn't pulling her weight and it was because she couldn't possibly do anything because of her disease… What a terrible thought! Ugh. Henley just had to keep it to herself before it exploded in her chest.
Henley closed her eyes, but she could hear Coda whipping the weapon around and grunting. Soon, he was making sound effects along with the swings. Henley cracked an eye open to watch him in action.
"I like these ko-nanny things," Coda said, swinging them around.
"Ko-naginatas," Henley laughed a little bit, looking at the thin sword that sat by her side.
"How do you even know that?" he asked.
"They're my District partner's weapon of choice," Henley said with a small giggle.
"Oh. Right." He slashed the sword through the air, causing a loud and satisfying swoosh!
"I could deal some major damage with this," he said, his face forming a large grin. Henley smiled a little bit, biting her lip. Coda was certainly a dreamer, whether for better or worse. Henley was far from that herself. She was in-tune with reality, never having a single hope in her heart. Hope didn't do too much. She could hope all she wanted that she would find her father, she could hope that her seizures would stop and she would be well again, she could hope that she could possibly take someone's life when she's faced with the chance… But she knew that it just wouldn't happen. Instead of wasting energy waiting for miracles, why not come up with a realistic solution to the problem? That was how Henley's mind worked. Coda just preferred to believe that his sheer willpower was enough to get him through.
Henley let out a small sigh. My brave protector.
Coda continued to wave the weapon through the air as Henley watched. It was nice that there was one for each of them, along with a knife in a belt for each of them. It seems that everything was coming in twos for them. Hopefully the food and water would come in twos for them soon, as well…
"How are you feeling? Better?"
Henley gave him a weak, apologetic smile. "Tomorrow. For sure."
Coda took in a deep breath through his nose, but released it slowly, calming himself down. Henley frowned at him, knowing that she's just holding him back at this point…
"Hey, let's play a game," he said. Henley took a deep breath in through her nose, knowing that she can't afford to have another seizure in the conditions like this.
"Alright," she said quietly.
Coda swung the sword for a little longer and then, when he was satisfied (or possibly too exhausted to continue) and then took a seat next to Henley, re-shuffling the cards and dealing them out. They played throughout the afternoon. Suddenly, the noise of gears whirring made both of them look up. The elevator in the middle of the room whirred into action.
Henley's whole body tensed up… Someone was going up…
Henley could feel her body tense in fear… Tense, tense until…
Without knowing where it was stopping, Henley slumped to the floor.
~.~.
-Burton Damask, 16, District 9-
At first Burton was glad to have an ally again. It was nice to combine supplies, and somehow he still ended up with his own supplies back. Fate was strange in that way.
And the other supplies he had were… Sonnet's.
Burton's heart sunk down to his stomach at the thought of his ally, who he missed so much. It was unnerving to him that she died so quickly, and there was nothing he could do to even try and help. It was just… Hard to lose her that early on. Burton didn't really know how to feel about it. He figured he should be sad, and he was, but not as sad as he could have been. After all, he'd only known her for a few days… And, well, maybe they would have had a chance to bond if they were together for longer, but it just wasn't meant to be. He wasn't tearing himself apart over it. But he could still always feel Sonnet's ghost, lingering over her. The idea that she was once alive, and now she wasn't. And that was hard for Burton to swallow. All of those people that he knew, now gone.
Hallie, who he had looked out for as he could, she was gone. He would never know why she did it, nobody would really. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. He didn't feel desperate, it was more like… More like a numb pain in his stomach, that occasionally spiked at the worst times, but generally left him alone. It wasn't any sort of nagging feeling or anything. Just… Just that feeling that something is amiss, even if it hasn't yet affected him directly. He was worried that his numbness to this all was going to fade soon if he remained by himself. Or worse, he wouldn't be urgent in the moment when it mattered. Either sides of the problem terrified him… God, he just had far too much time by himself to think, trying to survive without that extra pair of eyes he could trust looking out for him.
So when Eden had found him, Burton was glad to take her under his wing. She knew how he was feeling: having lost her ally and District partner in the Bloodbath like him to an action that they would never truly understand. The similarity was actually uncanny. Fate had obviously brought Eden here to him for a reason, right? That was the whole theme of the Games.
That was what he thought at first. But now he knew that Eden was probably too much like himself.
"They're not just going to let us get water with the snap of our fingers," she said, crossing her arms and giving him a dramatic pouting face. She had been trying to dictate their movements almost as soon as they teamed up. At first, Burton thought she was just looking out for him: but then he started to disagree with her trajectory for them, and that was when he was… Slightly less glad that she found him there like this. She looked cute, but Eden was incredibly stubborn. Which would have been fine if Burton wasn't absolutely sure what he wanted his time in the Arena to look like. And it didn't look like what Eden's looked like. Frankly, she was only thirteen, and Burton had three years on her, so why was she so intent on whipping him?
"I still have two tokens," he said. "We just need to find a place to spin."
"Yeah, and have a one in thirty chance of actually getting water. If we find someone with water, that'll be a 100% chance." She put her hands on her hips in a way that made her look older than just thirteen.
"If we die, then we can't drink water," he hissed.
"If we don't drink water, we're going to die anyways," she snipped back, her voice sounding so nasally to Burton with her sassy tone.
Burton sighed. Back home, he was viewed as the leader for his little trio. He was pretty used to calling the shots, and he'd never made a terribly wrong decision before! Why did Eden not understand that?
"Let's just find a wheel first," he said. "How about that? And if that doesn't work, then we'll try your way."
"Why do we have to try your way first?" she asked, giving him a look. Burton was an only child, but he reckoned that this was what it was like to have a little sister.
"Because my way is a far less risk of death," he said, matching her level of sass.
"My way is a higher risk of success."
"Can you fight?" he asked, and that made Eden shrink a little bit. Burton smirked.
"No," she said quietly, her fire put out.
"Well, I can't either, so let's save that for a last resort."
Eden frowned at him. "Do you think people think we're weak?" she asked.
Burton's annoyance faded away at the sad and gentle look in her eyes. No wonder she was so set on her ways: like him, she didn't want to die here, and like him, she was probably pretty scared too. She looked up at him with sad brown eyes, pulling the stuffed gray cat closer to her for some form of comfort.
"Maybe they do," he said. "But right now, that doesn't matter. The slogan says nothing about brute force or strength. What it says is the odds. And I think that here, that's especially true."
Eden seemed to relax a little bit at that. "You're right. We should be careful and put some faith into the odds."
Burton reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. He was glad she came around, he really wasn't ready to do something rash for supplies just yet. "We're going to be okay."
"We both have weapons to defend ourselves with," she said, gesturing to the knife laying beside her. Luckily, Burton had gotten two of his weapon of choice, an axe. They additionally had a rapier and a sword, just in case, but those weren't in the wheelhouse of either of them.
"Right," he said, offering her a smile. "That's the spirit." He jumped up, grabbing the nunchucks that were laying on the ground and dramatically waving them around with a loud cry.
Eden giggled, but put up her hand. "Cut it oooout," she said, "Before you hit yourself in the nuts."
That made Burton laugh too. She really was like a little sister. That made sense, considering how she'd talked about her family at the interview… The thought of so many people depending on her to get home was unsettling to Burton, so he stopped and put the weapon down.
"You wouldn't want to hit the balls," she said, holding up the two tennis balls they had. Burton gave a laugh at that. She was actually pretty funny when she had some form of hope in her. Sadly, it didn't always last.
"No, I really wouldn't like that," Burton said, and Eden smiled at him. Seeing the stuffed animal laying next to her just reminded Burton again how young she was. Since they'd teamed up, she was trying to be brave, and at moments seemed like she was smart enough to turn this Arena upside down.
"Hey… Did you notice that poster on the wall before?" Eden asked, and Burton looked up. Across from one of the wooden tables surrounded by shiny golden borders was a plaque on the wall.
"I don't think that was there," Burton said, "But it looks like it may be helpful. Let's take a look."
Eden agreed, and the two of them went over to the sign. It had four diagrams on it and a key.
"This… I bet this is a map," Burton said. He squinted at it and immediately tried to start reading the key.
"I can't see it!" Eden whined. "You're too tall."
"Stand beside me then why don't you?" Burton asked. "Now be quiet, I'm trying to read."
"I'll read it too," she said, and then went quiet. Burton looked at the diagram. There were apparently four floors on this Arena, connected by weaving staircases on either side. It was confusing to see where they lead, but Burton wondered if it had something to do with the four doors, each of them engraved with one of the four suits of cards. He couldn't remember which one he'd went through: the adrenaline of the first day made everything a blur.
The ground floor had the circle of tributes, each one colored differently in the configuration they were in before the gong rang. Burton took a look at the next one. The first floor had little gold squares on it that were apparently supposed to be slot machines. This one also had a brown rectangle labeled "concierge." Around the room were metal circles colored yellow. Burton had a feeling that was soon confirmed: they were wheels. Aha. He knew that there was no way keeping those tokens wouldn't have come in handy. The wheels were marked with numbers, but they didn't appear to be marked on the map. Burton pursed his lips as he looked at the second floor.
"Aha," he said. He didn't need to see anything else, he knew where they needed to go.
"Next part of our plan, we need to go down to the second floor."
"Hm." Eden nodded. "How do you think we'll do that? The staircases don't lead to every floor."
Burton squinted at them. Was that true? It was hard to keep track. He'd felt like he was twisting and turning up those stairs forever, and he probably was. Before he even talked again, Eden snapped her fingers.
"I know what we need to do," she said. "We both came up here through the diamond staircase, which…" She traced her finger down the diagram, much to Burton's confusion. "Should take us the second floor if we go down it."
"You think so?"
"I know so! Come on! I'm so thirsty!" she jumped up and hurried back to the supplies, Burton following. As she was excitedly chattering, Burton thought he heard some sort of whirring…
Eden stood back up, holding Sonnet's backpack, and smiled at him just as he heard the elevator doors slide open with a soft ping. He quickly tried to pull Eden back under the table, but unluckily the elevator opened up facing them.
"There!" came a voice, and Burton knew they'd been spotted.
"Let's go," Burton said. Eden's eyes were wide, and she turned around and started running before Burton could go after her. His heart was pounding as he tried to keep up, but she was too fast. He heard footsteps behind him, approaching.
"Take this!" Eden waited up for him, putting the axe in his hands. Before Burton knew it, his bag was being ripped off of his shoulder. Eden hurried away and disappeared into the door. Mercury was ahead of the pack, his spear raised.
Burton had no choice now but to defend, which he had no idea how to do. He whipped around his axe right at the Career, and it hit its target! But… something wasn't right. The axe didn't even seem to leave a cut. What is wrong with this axe?!
Burton wouldn't have the time to find out as the spear was thrust through his heart, sending his body flying backwards. In that moment, the three skulls he'd spun on the first day appeared in his vision, he could hear their automated, high-pitched laughs of triumph, his failure…
His vision immediately exploded with light, his last breath released as a short, choked scream.
~.~.
A/N: The action continues! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope to continue pumping out updates throughout Christmas break!
CQ: Will Eden feel bad about leaving him behind? Will someone finally get to spin a wheel next chapter?! Will Rammie ever not be a bitch?!
Find out this and more as we continue on! XD
Eulogy:
18th Place: Burton Damask, District 9- Speared by Mercury Macey, District 1. I'm so sorry Art! I'm sure after getting 3rd place, you had high hopes. Unfortunately, now was just time for Burton. He is stubborn, but also just a nice guy that wanted to play the game the best that he could. He just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, done dirty by someone that he never would have guessed. He was a lot of fun to write and I'm glad I got to bring him to live in this verse just for a little while and hope that you enjoyed how he was portrayed. Thanks again for him Art!
The more tributes die, the closer we get to even more chaos, so this continues to be exciting! Can't wait to keep the action going next chapter and I'll see you all there!