Mattie Lee- District Nine female (17)
As soon as the gong sounded I was off the platform and making a run for it. I could see Colton a few platforms to my left and we tried to match each others' trajectories as we both went for the sea of cubicles. There wasn't much distance between the open ring of platforms and the rows of cubicle walls that would provide cover and let us get to the stairs or elevator or whatever.
My body was thrown out of balance as someone grabbed the back of my shirt. I caught myself with my arms as I fell almost on my face and flipped over to see Dionysus kicking at my head. His foot hit my temple and there was a pop of light and then a spacey dissociation as my head snapped sideways at the impact. My arms went limp and I lay on the ground stunned and barely watching as he bent his knee up and started stomping my head in.
Colton Douglass- District Ten male (18)
Flint was on my left and Mattie was on my right. Flint was around the curve far enough that he couldn't see Mattie so I waved at him as I changed directions to meet her in the cubicle maze. By the time I noticed Dionysus was running after her it was too late. Flint and I came together as I was running past Mattie and Dionysus. I tried not to look but of course I caught a glimpse. It looked like she was already dead. I saw Flint's pained expression as we passed them by. There was nothing either of us could do. Mattie was gone.
Panic and grief and the raw realization of what death looked like overrode thought as I ran into the first corridor of cubicles I came to. The walls were just high enough to reach our heads and give us cover and that brought a wave of relief so great tears sprang to my eyes. As Flint and I started down it there was a pain in my back like a punch. I looked up an instant later and saw the same pain on Flint's face before he turned and kept running.
Ezra Aaryn- District Three male (17)
Information came into my mind in staccato flashes. Dionysus was chasing someone outwards and Charybdis was searching through the weapons for an axe. Outliers were running every which way around me, some of them toward the Cornucopia. In the thronging crowd I had cover. I needed food if I was going to survive. I took a chance of death over certain death and ran for the supplies.
I grabbed a soft bag with a long strap that looked like it contained food. Charybdis looked up from the table and saw me. As I got up to run I felt a flash of relief when another Tribute ran in between us. Charybdis shoved her aside and kept looking at me. Before I could get any momentum she leaped forward and expertly threw me to the ground. In a second she had the bag's strap looped around my neck and leaned back for maximum leverage. I didn't know until then how very quick it could be to strangle someone. It couldn't have taken more than ten seconds. For every one of those seconds I was clawing at the strap and thinking of my sisters.
Fleur Laveau- District Eleven female (18)
Dionysus jumped off his platform at the same time I did. I watched as his eyes slid over me and landed somewhere else as he ran past me like I wasn't there. I couldn't have said later what irrational impulse lead me to run into the Cornucopia after that. It was stupid to think that just because one Career didn't want me none of them did. But when I next started thinking again I found myself in the Cornucopia heading for the pile of food put into lunch bags by Gamemakers with a sick sense of humor. Then my head turned sideways and I saw I was so close to Charybdis I could see the lighter striations in her dark gray eyes.
This is it, I knew. My face screwed up to cry as her arm came out toward me.
She shoved me aside and ran past me. Everything blurred again as I turned and ran. The next thing I knew I was running with Walcott down a row of cubicles. I didn't even remember finding her.
"You went in," she said, panting since we were still running. "Why did you do that?"
I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to answer and even if I did I couldn't explain it. I couldn't explain that I'd looked death in the face and twice it passed me by.
Scarlett Antonia- District Twelve female (16)
Perfect. The closest Career to me was Arroyo and he was looking right at Gaius' fleeing form as I ran in toward the Cornucopia. He took aim ahead of Gaius to account for his movement toward the nearest opening in the cubicles. As he drew back to throw Gaius did a sudden sprint and launched himself at the wall of the cubicle in front of him, skipping the opening in lieu of just jumping over the wall entirely. It was too tall for him to clear but he hit it at his waist and folded over before the spear left Arroyo's hand. Arroyo turned and saw me not ten feet away. Not perfect.
Quarla Hydragyrum- District One female (16)
I swore under my breath as Oaken and Clair disappeared into the cubicles. They'd been my target- Oaken preferably but Clair if he was too far- but my lifelong luck had held and they'd both been ten platforms away. I looked around for the first person in throwing range. I needed to make a kill or there was no chance the Careers would keep me around. I cringed a little when I saw who the nearest person was but anything was better than nothing.
Lacey Weaver- District Eight female (18)
I darted in just far enough to get the backpack that was right in front of my platform. While I was picking it up I noticed a folding knife just past arm's reach and scuttled forward to grab that too. Then I was up and running. As I was going I heard a low whoosh almost like a heavy insect flying. Only later did I put together what it must have been.
Marrow Holstein- District Ten female (18)
Vaslav ran toward the cubicles behind me while on my other side Lacey bent down to pick up some supplies. I reached a hatchet near the edge of the Cornucopia and doubled back to get out of there before I got into trouble. For an instant I heard a noise like a giant wasp. Then all the voices stopped and for the first time since I could remember, there was quiet.
Jacquard Crock- District Eight male (17)
In all the chaos, a peaceful chiming interrupted.
Who is sending sponsor gifts during the Bloodbath?!
Tiny parachutes started dotting the air, released from the vents in the ceiling. They made a little line leading straight toward... me. Me, as I ran with Lacey.
Who is sending sponsor gifts during the Bloodbath to me?!
Tulsi Sa- District Four female (17)
Vulpes was no fool. He didn't even try to get any weapons. He ran straight for the cover of the cubicle maze. If he got in there out of sight there would be no chance of recovering him. We couldn't let someone like that stay around to stab us some night in our sleep. The plan had been for me and Alysanne to take him on together but she was eight platforms away and I didn't have time. I ran after him, stopping my chase only long enough to pick up a multitool from the floor.
I was hot on Vulpes' heels as he reached the cubicle nest. We ran past dozens of tiny offices each set up with their staplers and desks and all the riff-raff associated with office life. Vulpes knew I was chasing him and when we reached a freestanding filing cabinet he threw it down to block my way. I crouched before it and picked up the potted plant that had been sitting on top of it. I threw it at his head and he staggered, giving me time to catch up. He saw I was catching up and ducked into the nearest cubicle to look for a weapon.
I paused in front of the entry to the cubicle. After a moment without moving I shoulder-checked the wall. The resistance I felt gave away Vulpes' position by the entry where I'd expected him to be. I felt his weight shift as he was pushed back by my strike and I took the moment to breach the entry.
Vulpes Kerr- District Nine male (18)
My head buzzed as I took a step back and prepared for Tulsi's entry. I'd already rifled through the desk and taken out the best weapon I could find: a stiletto-like letter opener. When Tulsi's shadow darkened the entry to the cubicle I shoved the wheeled chair toward her. It hit her just as she came in and she yelped as it momentarily tangled her. I aimed the letter opener at her eye and she knocked my arm aside with her own in a block. She shoved the chair forward with her knee and it slammed into my ribs, knocking the breath out of me. I returned the favor by shoving its base forward with my lower leg. The wheels hit Tulsi's toes and she hissed in pain.
Tulsi's multitool flashed in the light and I pulled my head and neck back out of range. Instead the short blade sank into the back of my hand where it rested on the chair shoving it forward. I yanked my hand back and Tulsi was pulled forward as the blade stuck in my flesh. I brought up an elbow and hit her in the face. She shoved the chair again as she fell on her butt to prevent me from gaining ground. She followed it up with a savage bent-kneed kick to my knee that bent it sideways and made me grab the desk behind me to prevent myself from falling. She was up in a flash and jumped over me across the desk to the other side. I stood up and threw up my arms to protect my face when I saw she'd torn out the desk drawer and was swinging it corner-first at me like a bat. Papers and sundry desk items flew everywhere as the drawer arced through the air and knocked me sideways when it hit. As the momentum of Tulsi's hit pulled her arms and torso past me I stabbed at her underarm with the letter opener. She pulled back but not fast enough to avoid a good scratch.
Tulsi pivoted back and hit me with the drawer again in the opposite direction. My arms caught most of the blow but my head was still throbbing afterward. I grabbed her arm and yanked. She slid onto her side onto the desk and pushed off the ground to complete the movement and bring herself back to the ground instead of lying vulnerable on the desk. More desk items clattered to the ground as her body swept them to the floor. She landed hard on her hip and I brought up a knee to stomp on her stomach. She did me one better by cocking her foot back and kicking me in the crotch. The agony that bloomed in my pelvic area brought tears to my eyes and I almost vomited but even as I fell to my knees I was planning my next move. I let the momentum continue and fell forward onto Tulsi with a crossed arm pressed to her neck. With momentum like that I could cut off blood immediately.
Tulsi arched her back to frustrate my angle. Her arm moved off to the side and then what felt like a rock slammed into my temple. She hit again, torquing her whole body to generate force, and I fell off her sideways. My vision was blurred as I saw her climb on top of me and draw back her arm for another strike. I stuck out my letter opener and got in a stab in the side of her upper thigh. She flinched but it didn't stop her from bringing the bludgeon down. I caught a glimpse of a gold Panemian seal embedded in the clear paperweight before it hit my face. I kept stabbing after that but I couldn't see through the blood and haze to know if I'd hit her. It was something of a last betrayal to my family that I didn't think of them as my life leaked away. The last thing I thought about was my pet fox Elysia. I didn't even know if she would notice I was gone.
24th place: Erida Ampera- exploded
I forgot to do her obituary last chapter oops. Erida's form requested her death here so here it is! She DID in fact get poisoned by that Avox, who is very lucky that she exploded and thus no one will bother to run toxicology tests. Erida will now rest mourned by no one. I always see something good in Tributes but this was preplanned so that's a story that won't get told. Our thanks to Erida for finally doing something that made the world a nicer place and thanks Americanpi for valiantly making a last-place Tribute so no one else gets last place.
23rd place: Mattie Lee- speared by Dionysus
Surprise. I got impatient waiting for submitters who dropped out so I made a fake Tribute and made her seem like a contender just so I could do this. I made a fun funky exterminator with skills but not too many skills and a nice personality and since she's pretty much a DMPC I killed her first except for Erida so that player Tributes get higher places. Thanks me for not being mad that I killed my Tribute early.
22nd place: Colton Douglass- axe thrown by Charybdis
Double surprise. I also made Colton for the same reason. He and Mattie were both pretty well-liked so that's nice. Thanks me for sending the best character ever.
21st place: Ezra Aaryn- throat crushed by Charybdis
Ezra was a last-minute filler so there necessarily wasn't much there. He was a nice guy but there just wasn't much to him so I let him go because I wanted a nice big Bloodbath this year. Thanks Marie for getting him in so quick for me!
20th place: Scarlett Antonia- speared by Arroyo
Gaius was Arroyo's assigned target but unluckily for Scarlett, he got away. I was going for some more unexpected picks this time around so I left a lot of the younger Tributes alone and picked a few of the killer Tributes I otherwise would have used for pacing. Scarlett wasn't really that much of a villain, just someone with really terrible impulse control who made decisions you can't undo. She could have broken either way but thanks to the Games we'll never know. Thanks IamYourTribute for the rare non-edgelord murderer Tribute.
19th place: Marrow Holstein- knife thrown by Quarla
Marrow was another victim of me wanting a big Bloodbath. She also didn't have much chance to actually win so I cut out the middleman and killed her early. I always have sympathy for the mentally ill Tributes so I wasn't vindictive about it. Everyone in the Games has been failed by the system and Marrow was failed twice. Thanks Willuna for the less Victor-y of your Tributes who I killed because Lacey had a better chance.
18th place: Vulpes Kerr- Beaten to death by Tulsi
It was either Vulpes or Gaius and until yesterday it was actually Gaius. Then I saw how popular Gaius was and gave the people what they wanted. Instead of the cliche "weaselly Tribute gets killed instead of the guy he set up" I went with a super fun cubicle fight that is hopefully the first of many moments where the Tributes harness this Arena so full of potential. I wanted either Vulpes or Gaius to go because I wanted to make surprising choices for this Bloodbath and they were both formidable. Vulpes got the short end of the stick this time and according to his form he wouldn't have changed anyway. Anyone can change but not everyone does and thanks to CarlpoppaLOL for acknowledging that.
