She can see that, even now.
.oOo.
Desdemona Steen, 15
District Eight Female
0 Kills
She screams when the girl comes running into camp, pushing at the ground as if it'll move her further away from this wraith that's emerged from the forest. The girl merely glances at Mona and leans down, a long, tapered sword in her hand. "Oh, you're here? You're not with that alliance, are you?"
Mona opens her mouth to scream, but then the girl's wrist moves and Mona's chest erupts in pain. Looking down, she sees the horrible truth - the girl's dug that dreadful sword into Mona's chest and pulled up, ripping past muscles, cartilage, and bone that now juts out of her muddied, grey outfit. "Oh - oh - oh!" she screams, taking deep, shuddering breaths. This is like nothing she's ever felt before. She's never felt like this.
She's never been this close to death before.
The girl looks over Mona once more, like she's a piece of fabric that's about to be trimmed in Eight's factories, then shrugs. And then she's off, presumably to find the others in Mona's alliance. Mona hopes that this horrid girl doesn't find them - she doesn't want her alliance members to die. Even if they aren't her friends - and they don't feel like that, far from it - they don't deserve to get killed like this.
She can see that, even now.
Mona's eyes are brimming in tears, and she coughs twice; the third brings up blood that drips down her chin and onto her neck. Oh, she doesn't want to die like this, not here, not now, not so… so… so suddenly. Back in Eight, she at least knew that she wouldn't live forever, but she knew there that it would be gradual - she could say her last goodbyes if one final fever took her, hug her parents, and regret the life that she lost.
Here, she only has minutes to do that.
"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry -" she coughs again, feeling the bright red liquid gushing out of her mouth and onto her body. What will she look like as a corpse? Will she forever be stained the same red that the career has left her in, or will she be stitched up? She hopes that she's a pretty corpse - at least she'd leave this world beautiful, instead of what she is right now. It's a silly hope, but it's one that she so desperately needs. She doesn't want to die. She doesn't want to die.
Not like this.
Fatigue overwhelms her, and Mona begins to close her eyes. In the distance, she can hear a scream - but it's a distant scream, as if it's too far away to matter to Mona anymore. No, the only screams that matter now are her own. It's only her, here. She's going to die, all alone.
How many tributes are left in the Hunger Games?
It's hard to feel the pain now - is it because she's lost so much blood? Perhaps her body is going into shock now, or maybe it's because she's dying even more quickly than she thought. Is she supposed to feel more or less pain now? Oh, she just wants to feel something - anything at all, even if it hurts. She wants to speak again. She wants to do anything once more. Anything.
Something inside of her slips away with that final thought, and then everything is gone.
.oOo.
But the pile of packs next to the girl's body is much more telling - she seems to have allies.
And the careers are going after them.
.oOo.
Colleen Tosse, 18
District Five Female
0 Kills
As she's walking past the lake and to the other side of the arena, she hears a scream, then a cannon.
Colleen drops all of her supplies and freezes.
She's not sure what to do here - who just died? Who killed the person? What's happening out there? - but she knows that she probably doesn't want to be found by the other person. But she remembers the promise that she made to herself just minutes ago. How could she forget it?
So instead of doing the sensible thing and running as fast as she can back to her old camp, Colleen takes a deep breath and runs towards where she heard the scream come from.
Maybe it's what the Capitol would like to see.
She locates the source of the scream quickly. One of the things that were drilled into her as she practiced tasks that would prepare her for larger, more important missions back in Five was that she always needed to be aware of her surroundings. It's paid off here - instead of letting fear and adrenaline take over, she remembers the way the scream came from and jogs off in that direction. The fact that birds are bursting from the trees and flying away from the sound - why is the mist so light over here? - helps as well.
The woods are thick here, and she's careful not to trip. She doesn't need an injury here, not when she's this close to the end of the game.
After all, there are only nine tributes left.
"Hello?" she whispers as she continues moving towards the sound, then shakes her head in embarrassment. Whoever was here is supposed to be dead now. They're not in any condition to reply - but their killer is. Oh, she's not doing herself any favours now. She just needs to be quiet, play it smart and safe until she finds -
The dead body suddenly appears at her feet, almost pitiful in its stance. The girl from Eight had been curled up on the ground when she was attacked, by some sort of blade - a sword? - that ripped through her chest and left her to die from blood loss. There was no surviving that, Colleen knows, but it also tells her one other thing - a career killed this girl.
It's simple to piece it together. No one else in the arena seems to use a weapon like a sword, and it would make sense for a career, searching for tributes, to stumble upon the girl and go for the kill. If she had to guess, she'd say that it was the boy from Two. Who else would be drawn to a sword?
But the pile of packs next to the girl's body is much more telling - she seems to have allies.
And the careers are going after them.
She's quiet as she jogs from tree to tree, careful not to stumble into any fights. Ahead, she hears shouts and loud footsteps - whoever is ahead of her is running madly from an unknown assailant. The boy from Two must have them on the run. Is he alone? She can't tell, but she's sure that his allies are somewhere… unless…
When she catches a glimpse of the girl who's chasing what must be the remnants of that alliance that was so large in training, Colleen has a terrible idea. It's foolhardy, it's stupid, and it goes against everything she thought she'd ever do.
But if she plays her cards right and doesn't let her guard down… if she's strong enough to do what she needs to do… if she's luckier than she's ever been before, it just might work.
And as she speeds up, Colleen knows that she'll take that chance.
.oOo.
Then the boy from One takes off, leaving Aeson in his wake.
.oOo.
Aeson Humpford, 18
District Two Male
3 Kills
He's jogging into the forest with Duchess when the burning starts.
He nearly trips over when he realizes that it's there - it's come so suddenly, and so strongly that he feels overwhelmed. Only sheer force of will and years learning to practice self-control back at the Academy - oh, he remembers one week when his instructors threw buckets of ice-cold water over their heads then forced them to climb one of the massive cliff faces outside of the school - keeps him upright, and he stumbles until he's regained balance.
Duchess looks back, breathing heavily as his face contorts with confusion. "You okay, Two?" he asks between pants, continuing to run all the while. "You heard the cannon - Tourmaline's doing fine. We'll get there eventually, and then we'll be down a few more. For Panem's sake, are you alright?"
Aeson grunts, all too aware that his face is reddening. He just wants to sit down, get some rest - oh, he can feel himself tiring, slowing down… oh, he needs to stop. But he can't. But he can't. Not now, when he has to help the others…
Or…
He shakes away the thought, continuing to run after Duchess. The mist is still blessedly low, letting them see where they're going, and he's able to keep up the pace as he dodges thin trees and hops through bushes.
Then, he feels his shoe catch on a branch that sends him tumbling into the ground. He's been running like a dog, panting with his mouth open to get a bit more air as he chases Duchess, so he gets an unpleasant mouthful of dirt as he faceplants into the forest's floor. Spitting out leaves, he struggles to get up, only barely registering the blood on his left leg until he looks down and oh no oh no not now he does not want to deal with a sword injury now not now not -
"Aeson? Oh - you stay put, we'll be fine. Get a bandage on that or something, that looks messy," Duchess calls back, and Aeson winces when he sees the hint of a smirk that plays on Duchess' lips as he says so. "But catch up as soon as you're able to move - I don't want you to miss out on all of the fun. Tourmaline wouldn't either."
Then the boy from One takes off, leaving Aeson in his wake. Aeson fumbles for the small pack that he had on his back, filled with bandages and water bottles in case something ever did happen out in the arena, and rinses the wound clean - cutting away the soiled fabric from his pant leg - before bandaging it with a butterfly twist that he was taught years ago. He's always been particular about keeping wounds clean, especially with all of his siblings heading into medicine and warning him periodically about the dangers of contaminated wounds, and it pays off here.
When he's finished wrapping the wound, he stands up, feels the wound, then pauses. Does he have to catch up to the others yet? He could wait here, take some of the pills for his infection, and give himself the rest that he needs. He needs it, he knows he does. But…
He sits down, reaches for the small bottle of pills that serves as his token, and pops the lid.
He's sure the others will be fine.
Even if he's drugged them.
.oOo.
.oOo.
Aloie Church, 12
District Eleven Female
0 Kills
Aloie feels like she can't do anything but run and run and run until the girl from One catches up - oh, she knows that she'll be caught eventually. It's inevitable.
But the least that she can do is try.
It had started off so well - at least until they heard the cannon. She had found Jackson and Emma chatting next to what would soon become their shelter, and they had talked about what they had planned for it to become. It would have been such a lovely shelter, but then they had heard the cannon. The cannon ruined every dream they had in an instant - for they knew that they couldn't stay there when there was a career so close to the camp.
And now that they know that the girl from One isn't giving up on chasing them, they now know that they can't go back.
She'd try to slip into the trees, try to find a place to hide until the girl gives up and everything goes back to normal, but the bushes are relentless and the branches on the trees that she runs past are far too high for her to get a decent hold on. She's in it for the long run, it seems - and Jackson and Emma are far too fast for her to keep up with. She's not going to make it.
She's never been a running type of person. Even before she was apprenticed to Cora in the apothecary, she had been reluctant to play on the schoolyard and in the streets with the other kids in her neighbourhood - she feared, above all other things, being the one chosen to be it. It was horrible to be the slow one, good for nothing but chasing after kids who she couldn't catch. She was always the slowest on the playground, and she hid it by feigning disinterest. It hurt to be mocked, to fail, so she avoided it instead.
Here, though, could be her last chase.
Aloie pushes her legs until her lungs burn, and then she stumbles to a halt. Ahead of her, Jackson's stopped as well - the boy from One has shown up as well, his whip in hand, and he lashes out at Jackson. Aloie winces - she knows what it's like to treat people who've been whipped by the overseer, and she can only imagine the pain of being whipped herself. Jackson doesn't deserve it.
Emma grabs Aloie's hand and tries to force her away, but the girl from One cuts them off. They're trapped now, all three of them, by these careers who are about to take their lives for the sake of the amusement of the Capitol. It's wrong, so wrong, and Aloie almost bursts into tears when Emma darts away and up a tree. She's going to die all alone.
The girl from One advances upon Aloie, moving her sword so quickly that Aloie doesn't realize she's been stabbed until the pain begins. She looks down in surprise - the sword has cut through her stomach and up towards her ribs, likely ripping through several organs along the way. She tries to breath, but it's ragged and harsh - she's losing blood. She's losing so much blood. If she was her own patient, Aloie knows that she wouldn't be able to save herself. It's too much, too late, and she sinks to the ground knowing she's about to die.
But in one moment of clarity, she notices that the girl from One is now on the ground as well, with Emma on top of her - the girl has been slammed to the ground from Emma leaping from the trees. Her alliance might have a chance. Even if Aloie doesn't.
In a moment Aloie's gone, but she dies with a smile.
.oOo.
He can't wait to be able to get out of this arena.
.oOo.
Duchess Coruscate, 16
District One Male
2 Kills
He's not sure if he'll make it. At least, he's not sure if he'll make it before Tourmaline rips whoever she's found to shreds - he's heard one cannon already, and he can only hope that there's another tribute left for him to get his turn with.
He wants to add to his kill count.
Oh, how he longs to be in something presentable right now! Duchess loves being in dresses, wigs, being in his full get-up. It's just right for him, especially when he's able to show it off to others. He feels powerful in that. But dresses and high heels aren't made for running, as unfortunate as that is, so he entered the arena drag-less. He didn't want to let anything slow him down, not even himself.
He's a patient person. He'll bide his time, bear this dirt, and wait until he can get out of here. And when he does that? He'll be dressed in anything that he wants.
He can't wait to be able to get out of this arena.
But duty calls, as always, and he begrudgingly runs in the direction that they had planned out last night - it's a good thing that they've scouted the movements of the other tributes in the past few days, or they'd have no idea of where anyone was. He doesn't care that Aeson's been left behind. He'd only slow himself and Tourmaline down, especially with the fact that he can't seem to keep out of the bathroom. What's with his bladder?
When he hears a haggard shout, he knows that he's almost there. He stops, readjusts his whip in between his fingers, then prepares for the others to run towards him.
It's almost too easy.
The boy from Six is the first to get caught in Duchess' trap, shouting aloud in pain when Duchess lashes out with the barbed whip. It digs into the boy's skin and rakes at his clothing, leaving a bloody trail behind him. Duchess shakes his head, smirking all the while. "There's more where that came from."
The boy tries to push past Duchess and run, but Duchess is too fast for him. His whip keeps the boy at bay, long enough for his allies to run into him and get cornered by Tourmaline. "Where's Aeson?" Tourmaline shouts at Duchess as she tries to keep the girl from Eleven from darting into the trees, and Duchess shrugs. He's not in charge of their ally.
The girl from Nine is quick to run, scampering up a tree and perching herself in its upper branches. Tourmaline curses, yet ignores her in favour of making sure that the others don't run. And it's a good thing that they ignore her - the boy from Six tries to make a run for it in that instant, shoving Duchess before a knife buries itself in his shoulder. The boy screams, and Duchess shoves him back. He's not letting this fodder get away. Not now.
Tourmaline tackles the girl from Eleven, dragging her sword across the girl's small chest. It only takes one scream before the girl shudders, then is still - blood loss will do the rest. But then in an instant, Tourmaline is on the ground as well - the girl from Nine has leapt from the tree, of all things, and now is beating at Tourmaline's fingers for her knife. Duchess moves forward to help her, but the boy from Six is too quick for him - Duchess is knocked into the trunk of a pine tree, then claws the boy from Six as the boy struggles for his whip. There's something that overwhelms his senses once more, something that tires Duchess all too quickly - it's like he's about to fall asleep. But he won't, he won't, he won't!
"Let… it… go!" shouts Duchess, then feels himself sagging to the ground - there's something dripping from his throat… oh, he's sinking to his knees until he feels himself spinning around and around while the mist thickens in an instant. It's so… so beautiful.
He thinks he hears a cannon in the distance, but it might be his mind playing tricks on him. He's not sure.
It's hard to be sure of anything now that he's dying.
.oOo.
She can't let them die like that. Not now.
.oOo.
Emma von Hapsburg, 17
District Nine Female
2 Kills
She claws her way up the tree, not bothering to look back - all she has on her mind is to get up, up, up and away from the rest of the world. She doesn't want to die here. She doesn't want to die here.
But…
She looks back down, seeing the girl from One rip apart Aloie - little Aloie, who's been nothing but kind to Emma and has the sweetest laugh and can fly through the trees like a bird - and she pauses. Is she really going to abandon her allies here? Is she going to let them go just because she doesn't want to get caught up in this fight they'll surely die in?
She can't let them die like that. Not now.
Without thinking, she lets go of the tree - she's just like Aloie, flying through the air until she slams into the girl from One and hits the ground. It's a hard, hard landing - the breath is knocked out of Emma instantly, and she struggles to get back up to her feet. But then the girl from One yanks her down, and Emma claws back at her - pulling hair, scratching at her eyes, anything that she can do to make sure that she doesn't go out like this. She's not letting this girl get the last laugh.
One cannon goes off, and without looking Emma knows that it's Aloie. She yanks again at the girl from One, trying to push her into the ground further and further, but the girl is even stronger than Emma is. She's not going down without the fight of her life.
Then, another cannon goes off.
The girls both look up now, surprised - the boy from One is slumped against a tree, a streak of red spreading across his neck, and Jackson is backing away with a knife in his hand. Next to him is a girl… the girl from Five, if Emma remembers correctly, who has a knife as well. Hers is clean. Jackson's isn't.
"What - what happened?" the girl from One stammers, and Emma is so shocked that she doesn't think to stop the girl from flipping around and pinning her to the ground. "How - how did Six -"
"Get away," the girl snarls at Jackson, and Jackson casts a terrified look over at Emma. She nods, and off he goes to hide in the forest. One of them is going to make it. Surprisingly, Emma's alright if it isn't her.
"Why are you here?" the girl from One asks, and Emma looks over. The girl from Five has a dangerous look in her eyes, one that's fit to kill, yet it softens as she gazes back. "Why did you help - help me?"
"I figured that it's best to join the winning team," replies the girl. Emma gazes over at the girl from Five, trying to understand why she's joining the careers, of all people, and then she sees the stain of red that's on the girl's shirt and it all comes together in one flash of clarity. "Now, tie Nine up - she's not dying if I'm joining. You like prisoners as a career, right?"
Emma opens her mouth to protest, but a guarded look from the girl from Five silences her - the girl knows that Emma's figured it out. But the girl from One, thoroughly fooled and looking tired at that, nods as grabs Emma's arms to pull her up. "I - I suppose that - I guess Duchess wouldn't have minded..." the girl from One trails off, still holding Emma in front of her, and the girl from Five nods.
"We can use her, you know - trick others into coming out before we catch them," Emma's fellow outlier says quietly, and the career nods. "Trust me - it's best to keep some people in the arena now that there's only seven of us left."
"I guess so… we should find Aeson. I - we will, I've got the sword, I make the rules - he's a good guy. He'll understand..." the girl from One trails off. Emma suspects that she's in shock - she's bleeding, and she just watched her ally die in front of her. The career is not ready to kill, not yet. Not now. And as Emma is pushed to walk back to wherever the careers are holed up, she realizes that she's not going to die yet.
She can't explain it - she doesn't know how she knows - but she's realized that the girl from Five won't let that happen.
I also do not know what just happened
Yes, I took a day off - I saw that some of you were getting overwhelmed by the upload schedule (cough cough me but for every other syot in existence cough cough) so I gave you all some reprieve. I hope you enjoyed the little break, bc we're back in full force now!
10th: Desdemona Steen, District Eight Female; Killed by Tourmaline de Metz. Created by laterglader.
Mona was fun to write - I like having people who are just killing everyone's mood by moaning and whatnot yet try (and fail) to be functional, and Mona fit that perfectly for this story. Everything just lessened her chances in the arena - losing her allies in the bloodbath when she managed to escape, getting a cold when she found her way to her new alliance, and being too sick to run when Tourmaline found the camp. She was smarter and stronger than most people would have assumed, but too snarky and pessimistic to really show that. I hope everyone enjoyed her asides, and a big thank you to later glader for Mona!
9th: Aloie Church, District Eleven Female; Killed by Tourmaline de Metz. Created by MysticalPineForest.
Aloie was a sweet smol bean. We all know them, we all love them, we all sometimes get annoyed by how precious they are but come around to them in the end. But she had purpose and was driven - if I did this again, I would have liked to explore what might have happened if Luke and Aloie escaped the bloodbath together. Would Luke continue to be overprotective? Would Aloie find hidden strengths? In a previous draft, I had planned for Aloie to die in the bloodbath - as well as letting Callous or Luke win, which did NOT turn out the way I thought it would when I wrote - but I didn't want to let her go just yet. I think this is a good place for Aloie to die - she has nowhere else to run, but she knows that maybe, just maybe, her allies may escape. Thank you, pine for Aloie!
8th: Duchess Coruscate, District One Male; Killed by Colleen Tosse. Created by xxxbookwormmockingjayxxx.
Duchess was a character. He went through a lot of changes in the pre-games in my plans and ended up being the first to die out of the trio in the Games - once their allies died, Aeson and Tourmaline didn't fight the way Duchess wanted them to - although Aeson did try to drug them and succeeded, kind of - but Tourmaline was closer to Duchess, and if it was Aeson to die she might not have reacted in the same way. Duchess worked hard to get what he needed, from sponsor gifts to kills, and he always put in the effort to get those things - it's a respectable trait, even if those methods included torture. Oh well, he was an interesting dynamic in the career alliance and I'm glad he made it this far. Thank you, xxxbookwormmockingjayxxx, for Duchess!
Now, we move into the final eight - no, seven now! :o How will Aeson react to this? How will the careers move on? Will our final seven combust even further? We'll see! I'm excited to share the rest of this with you, and I can only hope that you are as well!
Enjoy. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ