.oOo.
He wants to impress Mags with his first kill.
.oOo.
Fraser Killick, 18
District Four Male
0 Kills
Up and up and up and up he rises, his platform giving a little sigh of delight as it reaches the arena and clicks into place.
He's finally here.
He's finally here.
He can't wait to get going.
The arena's brighter than he thought it would be - they're in some sort of large room, with a gorgeous view of the grounds outside - are those houses in the distance, or just sheds, he wonders - that sparkle with the colours fresh, vibrant green grass, tall, whispering trees, and a burbling creek that rushes along in the distance. But they're not outside, not yet - they're inside, well, what seems to be a mansion.
Interesting.
Too late, he realizes that the counter's been ticking down for well over half a minute which means that he's about to start killing, and keeps shifting his gaze around to get a proper bearing on the other tributes. His fellow careers are on the other side of the circle of pedestals, pointed towards the gaping mouth of the cornucopia, while he has the girl from Twelve and the boy from Seven on his left and right respectively. Fraser'd like to go for Seven first - although he's smaller, the fact that he's more muscular will make for a harder kill.
He wants to impress Mags with his first kill.
When the counter reaches five, he remembers that most of the tributes are in that pesky alliance the others were worried about - how many of them were there again? - but it's too late to worry about it now. He'll kill a few, get to the cornucopia, and figure out the rest of his strategy from there.
When the gong sounds, he leaps towards the Seven and begins his first attempt at murder.
The boy from Seven is able to fight Fraser off at first, pushing him away before the little boy darts towards his allies, but Fraser is right on his heels. He snatches a spear that's lying on the grey-tiled floor, his shoes leaving a rhythmic tempo on the stone as he runs, and follows the boy from Seven. He aims and lets the spear fly through the air, just like he practiced.
It misses, unfortunately, but at least it lodges itself into the thigh of the boy from Eight.
Fraser's wasted too much time now, so he hurries towards the cornucopia where Aeson and Tourmaline are standing. They're both searching through supplies while Duchess keeps an eye out for the other tributes, who give the careers a large space for themselves. Duchess darts off suddenly, after a group of three who thought it wise to grab some supplies and run, and Fraser laughs to himself. No one's ready to fight the careers yet.
Yet there's a growing group of grey in the distance - everyone's dressed in nonchalant grey slacks and shirts here, an interesting choice by this year's stylists - and they look angry. Or anxious. Maybe both. He's never been good at gauging emotions.
When he reaches the careers, he sees that there are already two bodies at their feet. "You guys already got busy?" he asks lightly, grabbing a trident to arm himself with. "Well, leave some for the rest of us!"
Tourmaline shakes her head, and Fraser notices the cut on her cheek. It looks bad, yet she doesn't seem to notice the blood that trickles down from the wound and drips down her chin to stain her shirt. "We got the girl from Twelve and the girl from Six, - they thought it was a good idea to rush themselves at us headlong - but there are others. And Enyo's all by herself - go to her, please."
"Alright," he shouts, then grabs a second trident just to make sure that he's ready to fight.
He'll do well.
After all, the trident feels just right in his hands, and when he aims it at the throng of allies, it flies through the air as straight as any arrow.
.oOo.
He has to run.
.oOo.
Tristan Locke, 18
District Eight Male
0 Kills
Like an arrow, he's off his pedestal and running to the group once the gong sounds. The girl from Four seems to be frozen on her pedestal, unwilling to move, yet the girl from Five merely grabs a pack next to her pedestal and disappears from view. She's presumably running from the bloodbath, but Tristan doesn't bother to follow her. Even though she's the closest tribute to him for now, she's none of his concern.
He's working with the alliance for now.
Ceres is the first tribute he notices that's part of the group, so he runs towards where she's standing. She smiles briefly when he reaches her, pointing to the cornucopia. "Should we get there, or wait?"
"Jackson never said anything - maybe we should wait and see," he cautions. "Oh, there's Tim!" the small boy from Seven is running as fast as he can towards them, the boy from Four on his heels. As Tristan watches, the boy from Four lifts his spears and throws with all his might - all the way to Tristan's leg.
One second he's standing, the next he's kneeling on the ground and clutching his thigh with a grunt of pain. "Are you okay?" Ceres asks as she rips the spear out, Tristan in too much pain to tell her that it's best to leave it in. But the blood loss is starting to make him woozy, so he can do nothing but nod.
"I'm - I'm okay, I think," he mutters as he climbs back up to his feet. The others have suddenly arrived in a massive clump of tributes, yet none of them seem to be noticed by the careers yet. Perhaps it's because the careers are dealing with a group of girls at the cornucopia. "What's the plan?"
"Alright, so we should get some of us to the cornucopia and others to fight careers - oh, we should have planned this more. Just - just go and do something, and stay alive. That's the best thing -" begins Jackson, who's standing at the edge of the group, before giving a cry of surprise and dodging a slash of a sword from the girl from Two.
They've been found.
A trident whistles through the air and towards the group, burying its sharp head in Ceres' foot this time. She rips it out, not even wincing, and runs towards the girl from Two, screaming something to Tristan… to… to run, he realizes with surprise.
He has to run.
Tristan staggers to his feet and tries to run from the girl, but he's too weak to make it far. To his surprise, she doesn't notice him yet - instead, Ezra is her first victim. Her sword slips under his ribs before she stabs it through his back and back out, letting the small boy from Nine slide down to the floor. But Ceres is right behind her, and Emma too, and they circle her with knives and fierce glares.
As the three begin to fight, Tristan looks at the rest of the tributes around him. There's Sasha, who's running from the boy from Four with a scream forming on his lips, and then the two from Eleven, who are sticking close together while trying to fight the boy from Two - and losing. The alliance. Is falling apart, they're too big to properly work together and gang up on the careers. They haven't planned this out, they haven't done enough to protect themselves in the bloodbath. They're all going to die, and he'll be one of them.
And then, all too soon, he realizes that he'll be the next.
At least the girl from One's dagger finishes him off quickly.
.oOo.
There's no time to dwell on it.
.oOo.
Enyo Bedford, 18
District Two Female
1 Kill
The girl from Ten dies quickly - although she dealt Enyo a nasty blow to her left arm, Enyo was able to stab her through the side with her spear before getting a lucky strike to the neck. The girl had fallen to the floor and bleeds out too fast for her ally to save her - instead of continuing to fight, the girl from Nine's momentary courage leaves her. She runs away before Enyo's able to kill her as well.
No matter, Enyo has other tasks at hand. She runs back to Aeson, who's just finished off the boy from Eleven. He tries to get the other girl, but she slips out of reach and towards the rest of her alliance - who seem to be preparing to flee. "I'll get - get them!" she calls to Aeson, then chases after the alliance.
She'll go fight the good fight.
Fraser is there, and he's taking a beating - to Enyo's dismay, the boys from Five and Six seem to have him outmatched with the long swords that they had scrounged for from the cornucopia. With two fell swoops, Fraser's trident is knocked out of his hand, and a blade is sent straight into his stomach. He looks over at Enyo, a helpless glance transforming his face into a look of terror, then collapses on the mahogany carpet under his feet.
"Fraser!" she screams, tackling the boy from Five and stabbing him over and over again. The boy from Six is knocked over as well, scrambling away from her as she continues stabbing his ally. "Fraser!"
When the boy from Five is finished off, she crawls over to Fraser. He's barely breathing now, raising a hand and trying to whisper some name she doesn't understand. But as soon as he says it, his hand falls back down into the growing pool of blood on his chest, and his breath grows weaker… shallower… before she knows it, he's gone.
There's no time to dwell on it. As she's discovered, there's never time for her to dwell on things in the arena, yet she takes one helpless glance back at her ally before running towards the large alliance that they'd sworn to destroy. In the corner of her eye, Duchess is fighting the tributes from Three and the boy from Twelve next to the glass window that frames the huge room. The boy from Twelve trips over a large carpet and goes sprawling on the ground, Duchess burying his dagger into his neck and making a ragged cut through the boy's skin. As he gets up to chase the others, the boy smashes the window and they jump out. They're safe for now, as Duchess has obviously had enough of their fight.
He knows that he has to help her instead.
She's quick to get to the group - they don't notice her until she tackles the boy from Seven, slashing wildly with her spear to make sure he dies quickly. She's not letting him get away now. She's not letting him survive this.
She's not going to let any of them survive this.
.oOo.
And she runs likes the wind.
.oOo.
Emma von Hapsburg, 17
District Nine Female
0 Kills
She's the one who knocks the girl from Two off of Tim, clawing at her hands with desperation until the girl backs away, knowing that Emma will put up too much of a fight to let her kill Tim just like that. No, Emma's not going to let them all die if she can help it - she wants to get the rest of the alliance out of here and into the arena while she still can. But Jackson seems to be frozen still, Callous is missing, and Aloie is too young to fight - not that she would, with her medical background or whatnot.
No, it's up to her right now.
And if she can stop the career, nothing will stop them from escaping the cornucopia.
Jackson throws a knife that he must have found near the cornucopia and Emma plucks it out of the air, breathing heavily. The girl from Two is coming closer now, the boy from One not far behind, and the rest of the careers are - no, they're not coming. They're fighting with the girl from Four, bless her, who seems to be putting up a decent fight as she tries to push away from them and get to a door. So far, she hasn't a chance with the girl from One and boy from Two tag-teaming her in their battle, but Emma hopes that she'll get away.
It'll be one more distraction.
The girl from Two charges towards her now, screaming something unintelligible, and Emma dodges her sharp spear. Praying that it'll work, she grabs the shaft before the girl has a chance to yank it back, and pulls with all of her might. The girl, surprised, gets pulled along with the spear.
She crashes into a couch, trying to get back up as soon as she does so, but Emma throws away the spear before she has a chance to get it taken by the larger career.
Now, it's a fair game.
Jackson is tussling with the boy from One now, who's trying to get to Aloie and Tim with his slender frame and sharp daggers, but Emma doesn't bother watching out for him. She has to pay attention to the girl from Two instead - a good thing, because she'd be knocked down if she hadn't paid attention to the Two rising from the couch and making a grab for her knife. Emma pulls it away, a small sigh escaping her lips, and she leaps backwards so she can turn around and run.
And she runs likes the wind.
She's halfway across the room, far away enough from Aloie and Tim for them not to be noticed as Aloie treats her Aloie, when the girl from Two catches up to her. This time, Emma's knocked to the ground by the girl's wild tackle - her knife almost escaping her grasp.
Almost.
Emma slashes back at the girl's hands, who screams at her before pulling Emma back. Standing up, the career lifts her foot above Emma's head - but before she sends it coming back down, Emma rolls out of the way and pushes herself back up.
The career is knocked off balance by the absence of Emma's head, and Emma takes those precious seconds to mount once last attack. Once, twice, she slashes at the girl's face - one cut above her eyes, the other on her cheek. Stumbling, the girl cries out in pain and tries to step away from Emma, but she's not letting her go now. Emma knocks the blinded career down, letting her knife sink deeper and into the back of the girl's neck before pulling to the side as hard as she can.
When the girl screams, Emma thinks that it means that she's still alive. But as she makes her next cut, a ragged line across the girl's throat, she realizes that the career's breathing is growing lighter and lighter and lighter until…
Until her breathing stops.
.oOo.
They're going to get away. Except…
.oOo.
Jackson Kennedy, 18
District Six Male
1 Kill
When five of his own had died just like that, he thought that would be the end of them all.
But when he had killed the boy from Four - when Emma had killed the girl from Two without batting an eye - as he fights with the boy from One, he realizes that the rest of them might just make it.
Behind him, Tim coughs weakly as Aloie likely tends to his wounds. Without looking, Jackson knows that it's bad - when a guy's been stabbed that many times in the chest, it's never good. But in the Hunger Games? When he already has a one-in-twenty-four chance of living?
Tim would need a miracle to live through this.
Emma runs back to them as the boy from One slashes again at Jackson, Jackson still fending off the blow readily with his sword. As he glances back, he looks stunned - he didn't expect the girl from Two to die like that. He didn't expect the outliers to put up a fight like they are.
He looks back again, curses, then lets his dagger cut through the skin of Jackson's upper arm. But as Jackson rears back, howling from the pain, the career takes it as his chance to run towards his ally.
"We have to go!" Emma screams at him, her face red with exhaustion and bright red specks of blood, which serve as a sharp contrast to the freckles on her face. "We have to go, Jackson! We can't linger here! If we don't get moving, we die. Okay?"
"I - I -" Jackson shoots a glance towards the careers, who are only getting closer to finishing off the girl from Four. He feels a twinge of pity for the teen, but only a twinge. He's more concerned about the plight of Tim, who's still wheezing behind him. "But what about Tim? We can't just move him like that, there's blood loss and all of that..." he shakes his head fiercely, pointing towards the careers. "They're not coming yet, and they won't come until they kill her or she leaves. We have time, Emma."
"We don't!" Emma's voice is shrill and desperate, and Jackson thinks that she might have tears in her eyes. Maybe it's sweat. "This is our chance to put as much ground between us and them - Jackson, we can't wait. We have to leave Tim - we can't bring him if he slows us down, we have to go, we have to go, we have to go."
"We can't just leave him!" Aloie shouts, still kneeling next to the small boy. His breathing is shallow but rapid, and his eyes are darting in their direction. He's just as frightened as they are. "No, we have to help him. If I had some herbs, some bandage, we could do something with him -"
"But you don't." Emma cuts Aloie off from finishing her sentence, pointing to the careers. "We have to get away. They'll let him die quickly, I'm sure."
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Jackson looks backwards, startled by the sharp cry, and to his surprise it's Callous that's running towards them. He has an armful of bags and is running full-tilt towards the alliance, away from the fighting careers. He didn't disappear on them, Jackson realizes, but he hid near the cornucopia - waiting until the moment was right to swoop in and grab supplies for them.
They're going to get away. Except…
"What do we do about Tim?" he asks Emma, who looks back with a confused look. "We can't just leave him here for the careers to add to their kill count, we have to bring him or do something. I don't know what to do. I just don't know."
Emma's glance shifts between Aloie and Jackson. She kneels down slowly, as if to slip her arms under his shoulders to carry him, and Jackson moves to the boy's legs. So, they'll -
Then he sees the glint of her knife as it sails towards Tim's throat. As a spray of blood coats her shirt, Aloie screams.
"That's our solution," Emma states bluntly. She looks just as stunned as any of them by what she's done, but there's a steely look in her eyes that tells Jackson that she doesn't regret it. "Now, run!"
Jackson takes one desperate glance back at the careers, sees them pushing the girl from Four and descending upon her with their blades, then looks back at Emma and the others with a nod.
They run through the door opposite to the careers and out into the sunshine, the girl's screams still ringing in their ears.
.oOo.
Then, quite suddenly, he sees the mist.
.oOo.
Antimony Sinebad, 15
District Three Male
0 Kills
He had smashed the large window with a chair just before Hex was killed by the boy from One, pushing Electra through and stumbling through the glass to the arena outside. The boy from One must have decided that it wasn't worth it to follow them, as he stalked back to the cornucopia instead of trying to take another one of their alliance down. Dumb luck, that's all it took for him to be the one running after Electra to the forest in the distance instead of being killed by someone at the cornucopia.
Is it bad that he doesn't feel sorry for his former ally yet?
"Here, we can stop," Electra gasps when she reaches the comfort of the forest, and Antimony sinks to a comfortable position next to a large oak tree. "We - Hex is dead, oh, oh, oh."
Her face crumples up at the thought, as if she's about to cry, and Antimony scrambles to comfort her. "There, there, we're still here," he soothes. "You can still get back home. You can still win."
"I'll miss him," she whispers, then falls into silence.
Antimony sits close to his ally and looks out into the arena, observing its features to pass the time until Electra decides to get moving again. They're at the edge of a small forest for now, which can't go on for too long considering that he can see the faint light of daylight on the other edge, but the arena seems to be made mostly up of a lawn or meadow or plain that goes on for quite a while. He can hear a river or a creek in the distance, the dull roar of rushing water distinguishable from the various sounds of the forest, and he can see a few small buildings in the distance - perhaps they're garden sheds or greenhouses, something of the sort. He's not close enough to tell what they are, anyway.
On his other side, there seems to be a mountain - it starts at the furthest edge of the forest and climbs up and out of sight, above the tallest trees in the forest. He wonders if any of the tributes will end up going there - perhaps there'll be something of note at its peak.
Then, quite suddenly, he sees the mist.
It's faint at first. It lingers around the mansion in the distance before starting to creep across the grass, swallowing up bushes and stretches of lawn as it does so. Antimony realizes with a start that he can't see anything through it. It's too thick to properly see through, and it's coming closer and closer and closer and soon - and it's coming towards them.
"Should we move?" he asks Electra, who's still leaning against a tree, and she peers at the mist before nodding. They walk quickly through the forest to a circle of bushes that feels like protection of some sort, sitting themselves down in it before the mist swallows them whole. "It's so thick - you can't see more than ten feet in this. Is it going to be like this every day, or do you think we'll have days without it?"
"Shh!" Electra hisses, and points to the sky. "The cannons - they're starting!"
The two fall silent, counting the one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve cannons that ring through the sky before leaving the arena for good.
Twelve left.
Twelve left indeed - yes, it's a surprise (that I didn't kill more because like everyone I talked to was convinced I would just finish the Games here instead of, you know, having fun in the arena)!
24th: Arisa Fetch, District Twelve Female; Killed by Aeson Humpford. Created by Galaxy842.
Arisa was a decent girl who didn't deserve what happened to her, but tried her best even when she knew it wasn't enough. She entered the Capitol with a very quiet, calm demeanour, and left the same way - she didn't change at all. Looking for an alliance proved to be her downfall - she followed Armani into the bloodbath and got themselves killed when they ran into the careers. Hopefully, Desdemona will fare a bit better than Arisa.
23rd: Armani DeCormick, District Six Female; Killed by Tourmaline de Metz. Created by EllaRoseEverdeen.
Armani was a deeply interesting girl who I didn't give the chance to be explored fully - something that I'll probably regret in the future. But with the alliance that she had chosen and her weaknesses, she wasn't going to make it far past the bloodbath, if at all. In the end, the fact that she was in the path of a few careers sealed the deal, and she became the next to die. Thank you, EllaRoseEverdeen, for Armani.
22nd: Ezra Winfield, District Nine Male; Killed by Enyo Bedford. Created by OfficialBengy.
Ezra was one of the more fun littles, with a detective background and curious nature that let him explore the world around him. Unfortunately, his time in the Capitol proved to be a bit more mundane than it should have been, and he died after joining the large alliance and being attacked by Enyo. In the end, he was just too headstrong and too small to survive an attack by a career - becoming the next to die. Thanks, OfficialBengy, for Ezra.
21st: Tristan Locke, District Eight Male; Killed by Tourmaline de Metz. Created by Manectric11.
Tristan was one of the rebels who was going to die one way or the other - the Capitol wasn't going to let someone who was so prominently known in an attack by their own forces win the Games, let alone make it past the bloodbath. They didn't have to rig it, though - he got caught by a good throw from Fraser and then couldn't run when the careers came to destroy the large alliance, which meant that he merely had to wait to die. It wasn't something he deserved - no, he didn't deserve that - but he was merely waiting to die here. It just came a bit sooner than he thought. Thanks, Manectric11, for Tristan!
20th: Ceres Hemlock, District Ten Female; Killed by Enyo Bedford. Created by mellissa rose.
Ceres was one of the spunky girls who could have made it much further, but one impulsive move did her in and she ended up being one of the first five to die. To be honest, it was probably joining the alliance that sunk Ceres' chances - she was smart and strong, and could have gotten out if she stayed by herself. But she chose to work with them instead, and that eventually got her killed when she came up against Enyo of all people. Ceres could have been a major threat, but I'm happy with where she ended up here. Thank you to her submitter for Ceres!
19th: Luke Atkinson, District Eleven Male; Killed by Aeson Humpford. Created by MysticalPineForest.
Luke was another one of the rebels - but he didn't really have the strength to back up all of that untapped aggression. He succeeded in one thing, keeping Aloie alive, so he did die happily, but what a waste! Luke could have made it further, but it was his immense loyalty and need to pay back the life that he thought Aloie had given him that sent him in with this singular goal of keeping his district partner alive. I believe I played it a bit too one-note here, but in the end it was what it was. Thank you, Pine, for Luke!
18th: Sasha Sone, District Five Male; Killed by Enyo Bedford. Created by Taetum.
Sasha was the last of the rebels to die here - yes, Colleen made it out because she actually ran unlike her fellow fools! - and boy, I think we were all waiting for him to die. He was unlikeable, rude, and didn't want to play along with anything. I suspect he might have been dead-weight to the alliance if he continued, either leading to a major confrontation or him attacking one of them, but he died in the bloodbath because he didn't think to run from the cornucopia and hoped that he wouldn't be noticed by one of the stronger players - he was. Thank you, Taetum, for Sasha.
17th: Fraser Killick, District Four Male; Killed by Jackson Kennedy. Created by santiagoponcini20.
I still don't understand how Santiago managed to dream up someone this crazy, but he did it and Fraser became one of the strangest careers this year. He was so driven for such a strange cause - I mean, aren't we all? - but he took it far enough to the point where he didn't realize that his skills were quite up to par with the rest of the careers. He was the dumb muscle of the alliance who ended up getting tricked by the large alliance into being fought by two of their stronger members, leading to his untimely death. Fraser had been a bloodbath for the majority of my plans, but I still have a fond spot in my heart for him - he was undeniably goofy and fun to write. Thank you, Santiago, for Fraser! No, you are not allowed to send another Killick-related tribute in next year. I will spontaneously combust if you do so.
16th: Hex Hertz, District Twelve Male; Killed by Duchess Curoscate. Created by SilverflowerXRavenpaw.
Hex was a quiet, nice guy who was in a little alliance that should have been overlooked, but the careers played their cards way too well. Electra, Antimony, and Hex were quite the group, all supporting each other and hoping to make it out, but Duchess noticed them grabbing supplies and headed to get a kill. I think that Hex would be satisfied to know that his death meant that his allies escaped - he had always been selfless and was a genuinely kind person throughout his time in the Games. If he hadn't died here and wasn't from Twelve, he very well could have been my victor. Thank you, Silver, for Hex!
15th: Enyo Bedford, District Two Female; Killed by Emma von Hapsburg. Created by paperairline.
The surprise death of the bloodbath, Enyo died when she tried to kill a few too many members of the biggest threat in the game. Enyo gets hyper-focused in fights and I used that to the alliance's disadvantage - but it paid off when Emma was strong enough to overwhelm this weakened career. Enyo had always been fighting to survive, fighting to prove that she was stronger than what people thought of her autism and weaknesses, and she did - netting three kills out of the nine who died before her. That's a third of the field! She'll be missed by the careers for her strong attitude and stronger fighting skills, and I'll miss her as well. Thanks, paper, for Enyo.
14th: Timber Sycamore, District Seven Male; Killed by Emma von Hapsburg. Created by NyanToDaMax145.
Timber was one of the goofier tributes this year, always with a pun in mind and a jovial attitude that endeared him to a lot of people. I tried to play up the fact that even though he was strong, he was still tiny and didn't have a very good idea of how others viewed him when he tried to look for people to join the alliance. He didn't find many, but the fact remains that he tried and never gave up on what he set out to accomplish. Thank you to NyanToDaMax145 for Tim!
13th: Shelby Doran, District Four Female; Killed by Aeson Humpford. Created by RoadieMcRoadface.
Shelby is probably the most controversial death of this bloodbath - wasn't she going to run? Why did she get caught by the careers? The fact is that she got overwhelmed by the bloodbath and simply didn't know where to go - past the cornucopia seemed like a simple enough strategy, and by the time she unfroze and ran from her pedestal the careers were waiting for her. Don't worry, though, she did leave behind more than her share of wounds for the careers to take care of now that the bloodbath's over. Shelby was a fun tribute - I loved her backstory and her naivete, yet the fact that she wouldn't hesitate to fight. Thank you, Roadie, for a great gal who should have never been in Panem to begin with.
That's our bloodbath! What are your thoughts? Yes, I know that it's a lot of deaths and alliances died in ways we didn't expect and everything was ahhhhhhhhhhhh but I hope it made sense and some of the deaths had resonance for you all. We're heading into the arena now - I've written up to the fifth of ten chapters for the arena, so that's cool! - and we're going to see how everyone has reacted to the fact that they're officially in The Hunger Games. Soon enough, only one will be left.
Read, review, enjoy! I'll see you soon with another chapter. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ