Day 4:


Arwan Falconer, 24
District 7 Male


The sound of feedback from the loudspeakers woke up Arwan late on the morning of Day 4. He didn't even realize he had been asleep for so long.

So far, he'd been pretty lucky, with a quite a few sponsor gifts coming in his direction. Too bad Birch's notes weren't as helpful as a throwing knife and a canteen of fresh water, but he appreciated the attempt nonetheless.

Now, the weirdest thing was the lack of tributes. Arwan hadn't seen anyone since Void nearly pummeled him to death when they first launched into the arena. Was he just really isolated? Were tributes avoiding him on purpose? Maybe the Gamemakers were letting him stray away for whatever reason. It was uncanny and very, very strange.

But he probably didn't need to worry about that right now. Baby steps. One thing at a time.

Right now, Arwan's biggest concern was his lack of food. His loaf of bread was gone and while having some water was always a good thing, a single canteen would not last forever. Was it possible he could find someone who was better off than him? And maybe kill them for their supplies? Of course, if there were other tributes around...

Arwan felt a little disgusted with himself for ever considering such a dirty move. But then again, this was a game that was meant to be played dirty. If Arwan did make the first move, he was asking for someone else to attack him. And didn't he want to survive? To go back home?

Arwan decided to give it another day. Once the sponsor gifts finally ran out, he'd get a move on.

He was still a little sore, but thanks to the first aid kit he got, he was no longer in danger of immediately dying. Yeah, if his wife was here, she'd make sure Arwan got a good patch job and well rested before he was back on his feet. But simple, basic medicine would have to do for now.

Today was going to be another day of wandering around; at least he'd be doing something so the Gamemakers wouldn't come after him. He was back to exploring the trailers, in hopes that one of them might have something useful inside. It was really surprising he hadn't been through all of the yet. But so far, nothing.

Arwan gathered up everything into his arms; it sucked not having a bag to carry his belongings in, but this was all too important to leave behind. He could make do for now.

He trudged onward. The cheerful circus music continued to play. Arwan had hardly noticed whether or not there were different tracks or just one song on repeat the whole time. It was background noise by now, except for the moments when the Gamemakers liked to send feedback or loud-ass guitars screeching through the arena to give the tributes a good scare.

Beep.

Arwan perked up. A sponsor.

He could see a large package being carried by multiple parachutes, but it was clearly weighing them down. And sure enough, it was heading in Arwan's direction. This gift was meant just for him. All he needed was for it to drift just a little closer to the ground, so he could eventually jump up and grab it...

Suddenly, the parachutes broke off and the sponsor gift came crashing to the ground. There was a loud metallic clang.

"What on earth," Arwan muttered to himself as he took off in the direction of the gift. Was it just too heavy to be supported by little parachutes? Were the Gamemakers trying to send him a message? Or maybe, they were luring him into a trap. Maybe he should just ignore the gift...

But it had something valuable inside. Something that for Arwan, could be the very difference between life and death.

There was a very faint shout, coming from someone who was clearly not Arwan. He pushed through a tight spot between two trailers to find the girl from 3...no...not a girl. A woman. She was holding an axe and standing over the sponsor gift that was rightfully his.

"Hey..." Arwan panted. "Can I have that back...please?"
"Why? I found it first."
"It's labelled with a 7. It's clearly meant for me."

Hera plucked the note off the parcel. She opened it up, to reveal a shiny piece of armour inside. "Dear Arwan. We all sent you some money to help buy this gift. It will keep you safe. Please come back home. Love, your darling wife."

"Excuse me, that's not yours! Don't read my notes!"
"Awww, you're married?" Hera swooned. "So cute! Do you wanna hear about my wife?"
"No, I'd like my sponsor gift back. Please."

Hera tore the note in half, crumpled it up, and tossed it behind her. "Yeah right. You think I'd just find some fucking body armour lying around and give it up to the random asshole over a sob story? Not a chance. If you want this armour, you'll have to fucking fight me for it."

Arwan's eyes drifted to the crumpled paper ball lying behind Hera's foot and a stream of rage coursed through his body. He drew his knife. "So be it."

Hera smirked and charged at him.


Synthize "Synth" Greene, 20
District 11 Male


BOOM!

Alec jumped. "What the fuck was that!?"
Synth rolled his eyes. "Alec, watch your mouth. There are children here."

"But...sorry...but what was that?"
"A cannon." Merona's eyes widened.

Synth wasn't sure why everyone was so on the edge. "Yeah, so? As long as we're all safe and alive, the cannons are not a big deal."
"Right, right, right!" Alec nodded frantically. "Yep, that's true. I just...wasn't expecting one."

"Guys...there's someone outside-"
"Ace, for the last time, I don't see anyone there." Synth pressed two fingers against his forehead.
"No, seriously! There's someone there! Right there!"

Merona poked her head outside the tent. "I don't see anything."
"Look! Look at him! He's right there! Synth! Do you see him now?"

"No, no I don't. get Alec to look for him, alright? I'm going to the bathroom."

As Synth, relieved himself, he felt a sudden pain in his stomach. Between the four of them, and only four days in, they had no food or water left. This wasn't good. While the bathroom sink thankfully was functional and there was enough room for Synth to stick his mouth under the tap, food was going to be a huge issue. Without food, they would die.

Alec had brought this to attention last night, when he and Synth were keeping watch. Speaking of Alec, he was acting really strange. He interacted with Ace and Merona just fine, but with Synth, he tripped over his words, constantly avoided eye contact or just being around him in general.

Did Synth do something wrong?

He hoped not. He didn't know what had gotten into Alec and couldn't do anything to address the problem until his ally started speaking properly to him again.

Synth began to scrub his dirty hands in the sink, when he felt hot breath down the back of his neck. He glanced upwards, looking straight into the mirror, and noticing a face behind him. At first, he assumed he had forgotten to lock the door and Alec had come in.

But the door was torn completely off its hinges. And Alec was nowhere near seven feet tall. Or, sporting ridiculous black and white makeup with a bright red nose, a rainbow wig, and a jumpsuit covered in polka dots and stained with dried blood.

What the actual f-

"Mutt!" Alec screamed. "Mutts!"
"I told you!" Ace yelled. "I told you someone was there!"

The clown mutt growled and punched Synth in the stomach, knocking him backwards into the mirror. It shattered, the glass shards falling into the sink. Synth collapsed immediately, crawling on his elbows and knees towards the exit of the bathroom as the clown swung a second punch. A hand clamped down on his ankle. Synth flipped over and kicked as hard as he could.

He could already see what was happening in the main tent and it terrified him.

A second clown mutt grabbed Ace by the back of his jacket, throwing him backwards into all the supplies. Merona shrieked, running for her district partner, but the clown grabbed her. It had purple circles surrounding its eyes and a large blue grin.

Alec was backed into a corner by two other clowns. He was holding a sword, but he was clearly outmatched. A clown wearing a frilly pink and green frock jumped at him, and Alec shoved the sword into its middle. The clown spit a wad of blood into Alec's face while the other one wearing a party hat grabbed him from behind.

Synth finally kicked himself free and picked up his two spears. He threw one at the clown holding Merona; the spear pierced through its side and it slumped over. Merona scrambled to her feet, grabbing Ace's hand and pulling him up.

Synth threw his second one at one of the two clowns trapping Alec, who was now lying on the floor, still holding a sword stained with mutt blood. The spear hit the pink and green mutt in the back; the party hat clown pulled the spear free and swung it at Alec, who blocked it with his sword.

There was a bloodcurdling scream from Merona. One of the clowns had just sunk its teeth into her leg. Ace quickly ripped the spear out of its side, whacking the mutt repeatedly over the head with it. "Merona! Oh god, Merona! Are you okay?"
Merona was suddenly looking very pale. "N-no..."

There was a loud crash from the bathroom as the first clown, the one that had attacked Synth, stumbled out. It made eye contact with Synth, grinned, then opened its mouth wide. A huge trail of fire came bursting out, some of which caught onto the walls of the tent as a horrible burning smell filled the air.

Synth grabbed Ace, still holding the spear. "Let's get out of here!"
"We need to get Merona!"
"Ace, there's no time!"

Alec grunted loudly, pushing the clowns off him. "Grab the supplies!"
"No time for supplies! Everyone out!"

"I'm not leaving without Merona!" Ace wailed. Alec grabbed the younger boy, and slung him over his shoulder. Synth followed close behind as the fire slowly spread along the walls of the tent. The clowns all burst into laughter, which rang in Synth's ears.

The Sun was starting to set outside and the fresh air never felt more delightful. Synth sank to his knees, before Alec let out a yelp, clutching his shoulder where Ace had kicked him.
"Ace! What are you doing!?"
"I'm going back for Merona!"

"Don't you dare!" Alec yelled, picking up his sword. Synth grabbed him and held him back as Ace ran back into the burning tent.


Ace McCree, 15
District 10 Male Tribute


Ace was ten years old again, holding his father's hand as they walked through the busy market of District 10. Just over a week ago, there was an incident where some cattle had broken loose and stomped all over the place, injuring people and destroying land. Refusing to give everyone time to repair the damage, the Peacekeepers had increased quotas instead. At the time, Ace had thought nothing of it.

Peacekeepers patrolled the market. Ace clung onto Thay McCree, terrified of the people in the pristine white uniforms. Thay had assured him that as long as Ace let them be, they would never hurt them. But he had seen them hurt others. It was scary.

And he watched as someone charged the nearest Peacekeeper with a fence post. Then it all went to hell.

The riot practically exploded around him with everyone running about and attacking the Peacekeepers. His father's hand slipped away and someone shoved Ace to the ground. When he looked up, a Peacekeeper was raising his baton over him. Ace curled up with his hands over his head, preparing for that blow...

When Thay McCree jumped in the way and the Peacekeeper struck him instead.

Ace could do nothing but watch his father get beaten to death's door.

As he ran into the tent, that one scene was all he could think about. Back then, someone was dying in front of him and he couldn't do anything. Here, maybe he could. He wasn't going to just abandon Merona or freeze up in fear when she needed him.

He could still save her.

The thick smoke in the air made his eyes water and the hysterical clown laughter made him want to run away screaming. Ace glanced around, looking for a weapon. That's when he noticed a thin red guitar lying against the wall, in the shape of a V.

One of the clowns mutts lunged at him. Ace swung the guitar around and smacked it in the face. The mutt jumped back, stunned, and Ace brushed past it. The flames were everywhere now.

"Merona! Merona, where are you?"
"Ace...Ace? Ace!"
"Merona! Hang tight, I'm coming!"

Merona gasped loudly, shakily propping herself onto her knees. She was still losing a lot of blood. The remaining mutts circled her; Ace watches as one of them licked its lips with a black forked tongue. He gripped the guitar harder as Merona crawled towards him.

"We need to leave..."
"I know. Can you walk?"

Merona shook her head. Her hands gave out underneath her and she collapsed.

Ace quickly picked his district partner up, slinging one of her arms over his shoulder. Merona began to hobble on her good leg as Ace pulled her towards the exit of the tent. The smoke made it hard to see and even harder to breathe. he felt like his skin would just melt straight off him, leaving both of them to burn to a crisp. The mutts snarled and for second, Ace thought he felt someone claw at his back...

Almost there, almost there...

Ace screamed as the crowd cleared, leaving a his bloody father lying on the ground. "Dad? Dad! Get up!"
Thay didn't move. His chest slowly rose and fell, his eyes fluttering open, then closed. Ace began to cry as he tugged his father's jacket, trying to pull him up. Finally, he heard a new voice behind him. "Oh my god! What happened here!?"

"My dad...Dad, please! I wanna go home! Can we go home?"
The man bent down and picked Thay up. Ace noticed his black hair and long and thick, and his eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses. "Where do you live, kid? I'll help take him home."

Ace remembered the torn look on his stepmother's face when she tried to nurse Thay back to help, but failed. The way he clung onto Bodi. Davy's pale face, as he tried to back out of the kitchen. That was the first time Ace had ever seen his stepbrother cry.

"Are..." Merona coughed violently. "Are we..."
"Almost."
"Good..."

"Merona...I'm so sorry..."

he couldn't breathe...couldn't breathe...

The tent practically burst into flames. Ace gave Merona a hard push, knocking her out of the burning tent and he jumped after her, sinking to his knees in the dirt as he began to pant heavily. Suddenly, he fell into an unfamiliar pair of arms, who quickly held him up.

"Hey Ace...it's okay. We got you." The voice sounded suspiciously like Synth. "I've got you. I can't believe that you actually went back and did that. Merona's safe by the way, Alec's taking care of her. Ace? Ace, can you hear me?"

Ace slumped forward and Synth barely caught him before he struck the ground again.


Cliffhanger!

I'm going to hang off on eulogies and alliance updates until the next chapter! So make your predictions now! What happened between Arwan and Hera? Will Ace and Merona be okay? What the heck is Vr up to now!?

:3