XXXIII. CORIOLANUS' INFERNO
Everyone sins, that's just a fact.
Whether it be big or small, everybody has some sort of moral blood on their hands. Everyone has a price to pay, something worthy of atoning for. There's no exceptions, especially for these twenty-four.
Limbo. Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Anger. Heresy. Violence. Fraud. Treachery. If you're not guilty of all, you're guilty of some.
So join me, join me as we venture through this journey of our sins where only one will leave with salvation.
The Tributes are ready, mounted on platforms as they face a Cornucopia and nine days of despair. They'll learn their lessons, and hopefully you'll learn them too.
If not, you may find yourself in Coriolanus' Inferno soon enough.
24.
Magnificence Grandeura Callarosa's panicking. As she stands on the platform, she hears Beau crying out to her, his little voice saying "Mama's going to do great things." She isn't so sure of it, and all she can do is miss him, feeling like she didn't take advantage of the moments they shared together. All she can do is hope Beau isn't watching the wicked things she knows she has to do.
23.
Josiah Hurley tries to imagine he's at another one of his drag shows. Everybody's watching him because they expect him to do great things. And he hopes he can please them. He hopes there's a nice crowd watching him in the Hob, and they're screaming his name. Even if he dies, Jo doesn't want to leave without putting on a show.
22.
Silvana Ildron's still on her high from the previous night with Danika, but she can't let that distract her. She has to focus, keep her eyes on the prize, though she isn't quite sure what that is. For one, she could just go all out, annihilate the Capitol, her ultimate oppressors, though she reckons she's not the Victor they want. But since when has Silvana cared about if people want her?
21.
Otto Wiley still hasn't stopped sweating. The metal of his leg is rubbing against his thigh and he nearly wants to rip it off from his body. He's frustrated with himself and the failure he's become, but he also knows there's no use dwelling on it. He'll go to the Cornucopia and get something to fix his leg. Everything's going to be fine. It has to be fine, right?
20.
Garrick Bluebell thinks of Sylvie right before he enters the Games. Everything he does is for her, it has to be or else it isn't worth it. That's what he reminds himself again and again, that everything is for her, and without her, he's nothing. He'll be cutthroat if he has to. He'll do anything if it means making his way out of this hellhole and being in her arms again.
19.
Saia Anaklusmos hopes he can be useful. He's terrified that he's going to go down in the bloodbath, more terrified though that he'll be a disappointment. This is his shot at proving himself worthy to the Careers, and he can't blow it, not after everything he's been through. He needs their stability, needs the benefits of their alliance, because Saia needs to survive.
18.
Checkers Chopin is horrified that they'll never see their allies again. It's been a fear that's lingered in them for over a day and it's come to a head as they stand on top of their platform and stare out into the unknown that awaits them. They glance up and see Googles looking down at them, or at least that's what they imagine, since their imagination has always been better than what's real.
17.
Danika Xiong has a lot to prove. When she woke up next to Silvana, she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't good enough for her. But more than that, Danika is worried that she'll never be good enough for anybody. She's worried her parents are going to watch her like a hawk while she's in the arena, and while she didn't purposely enter the Games to make them proud, she won't leave with them disappointed.
16.
Luminosity Abrixus finds that her mind is in a scramble. Bonnie Byrd just left her in the dust, and she said it was Sable's idea. The same Bonnie Byrd who so desperately wanted to fuck her said that Sable was jealous and that she had to side with Sable on that one. Sure, Lumi's never been given a reason to think Sable was capable of such a thing, but that doesn't change the fact that she's angry with her.
15.
Auxiliary Nyquist is beginning to see the colors fade. The bell hasn't even rung but the thought of the Games is already eating through his soul, turning everything into darkness, and he just wants to see the world be bright again. That's all he can ask for, another day in the sunlight. Another day… with Bonnie, just a few more hours with her and everything would be okay.
14.
Lobo Kallenbach thinks that if this is the end, he's had it pretty good. He's made good friends and it honestly could be worse. He's not at all angry with his time in the Capitol. But that being said, Lobo doesn't want to die. He wants to live, and he wants to carry his allies all the way to the end. It's what they deserve, yanno. They're good people, the best maybe.
13.
Hennessy Barlett thinks it's funny that he had all but given up on life before he got to the Capitol, because now, he finds that he has purpose. And his purpose? His friends. He doesn't want to leave the people he's learned to love, and they sort of make him feel better about himself. Hennessy isn't used to not hating himself and he doesn't want to learn again.
12.
Cyra Terranova sees Ludo close to her so she isn't at all worried… or, she isn't worried until she remembers the actual implications of the Games. That's when she fears, not necessarily for herself but for Ludo, especially with her mother in the mix. Well, she doesn't know that her mother has a say in it, but she fears. Hopefully Ludo doesn't have the same fear.
11.
Shuki Makosh has their head in the clouds. Mentally, they're not at the Games. They're not in hell, they're in heaven because they've already won. That's the mindset they go into the Games with, because that means they're obviously less likely to fail. And even if they do fail, Shuki isn't too worried, because if there's one thing they can't do it's failing themself.
10.
Ludovicus Jornmark may be a cheeky bastard but as the Games are soon to begin, he thinks that he has good enough reasons to be. Cyra's just yards away from him, and with her by his side, there's no chance in hell he'll crash and burn early. He just needs to get the negative thoughts of the inevitable out of his head, and then everything will be alright. That's just going to have to be enough.
9.
Bubba St. Robbins should have been alone a long time ago. Everything is easier with Shuki and Aux out of his hair, and he even got a good night of sleep, mingling with sponsors at the party before ultimately dipping early. He's well rested, well prepared, and Bubba has faith in himself, faith that he'll be okay no matter what happens at the bloodbath, since that was never really his priority.
8.
Curiosity Zinque still has the taste of yogurt in their mouth from the previous night. The countdown is ticking, but they strangely feel alright. They've come to peace with the situation, the hellfire that surrounds them, and they have faith that whatever happens, it'll happen for a reason. That's the best they can do right? Just cross their fingers and hope for the best.
7.
Meridian Morello is angry. She's not even sure what she's angry at, probably the Careers, but mainly herself. It's been an exhausting week and she wishes she gave herself more time to relax, or at the very least time to get closer to the Careers besides Hesson. He's alright, just arrogant, and Meridian knows that arrogance seldom gets people very far.
6.
Calathea Matheny knows exactly what she needs to do. And Chandler isn't even an obstacle at this point, since she seems to have him under her fingers. She still doesn't know what to make of the boy, but maybe he'll prove himself to be useful. He's always been useful in the past, yet she still feels that he'll betray her at some point. She's never trusted anyone and she doesn't think now's the time to start.
5.
Bonnie Byrd doesn't have any regrets. She swore up and down that she would have a great fuckin' time in the Capitol, and a great fuckin' time was indeed had. Aux, Sable, even fuckin' Lumi. They were entertainment, nothing more nothing less. A good way to spend what could've been her last days alive, just being genuine, being herself.
4.
Sable Hayashi is filled with spite over the fact she has to stand next to Bonnie. Though granted, that could make things easier. It'll be easier for her to get to Bonnie, and that means she'll be able to quickly pass her off, dispose of her in an instant, when she should have done so way sooner. Sable isn't sure how she'll do it, but she's excited to figure it out.
3.
Hesson Adair Svárovský is glad he's the one on the pedestal and not Alaban. He laughs at the thought of his asshole brother watching him on the screen, because he's probably so smug, so bitter, and Hesson just can't wait to prove him wrong. Just because the Career pack is no longer his, doesn't mean he can't provide, and provide Hesson will.
2.
Chandler Whitt had an argument with Calathea that morning and now he's frustrated. She wanted to go at the bloodbath with her fists out, and he's had to rein her in. She agreed with him eventually, but Chandler still is frustrated. If she disagreed before the Games even started, who's to say that she won't disagree with him again. Chandler can't trust her.
1.
Vex Alamo says a prayer. It's one his mother taught him, a prayer for those in limbo, the lustful and the gluttonous. He says a prayer for those greedy, those angry and prone to heresy. He closes his eyes and prays for the violent, those fraudulent and treacherous. It's the best he can do, and he knows his mother would be proud of him. He sure is proud of himself.
Every year at the start of July, our country makes a choice,
Two dozen children from across the land, whose deaths cause a rejoice.
Each of the Districts sends just two,
You know them, but they don't know you,
You've met them all, you know them well,
But now they're under the bloodlust's spell
So keep their stories in your heart,
Since death will quickly see them part.
As Twenty-four go in, but out just one,
The fifty-first Games have come undone.
Cyra Terranova. 18.
District Two Female.
The Cornucopia. 12:00
The first thing she thinks about when she steps off the platform is Ludo… she needs to find him, the sooner the better. But it's not a hard task, Cyra turns her head to the left and already sees him running through the red dirt field, his eyes clearly set on the Cornucopia.
Closer to her though, the girl from District Twelve stares at her with a sinister grin, patting her left fist with her right hand, Oh so she thinks this is a party? Please, I'll show her celebration.
But not yet.
Cyra sprints towards the center, ignoring the boy from Nine who tries to chase her for a moment only to fail. This is her game now, and nobody gets to go back.
(Well, perhaps she would at the end of the however many days —gosh and they could really be so short—yet returning to District Two is the last thing on Cyra's mind. Hard to be homesick for a place you never considered home, right?)
(…also that would mean no Ludo, and Cyra isn't ready to cope with that.)
It took her less long than she thought it would take to arrive at the Cornucopia, yet she still wasn't the first one there. It was Ludo, obviously. He's first in everything, I'd know. I don't mind. Let him be first, I'll take care of the dirty work he leaves behind.
"Cyra," Ludo waves at her, and now she knows that she's safe. She takes a glimpse at the inside of the Cornucopia to see him smiling, even amidst all of this, Ludo is smiling, "How've you been?"
"Not bad," She laughs, her red boots kicking back dirt as she gets closer to him, "Kind of preoccupied with the whole Hunger Games thing. What about you?"
"I'm doing the same," Ludo says as Cyra arrives, handing her a somewhat lightweight axe, "Care if I join you?"
Cyra nods and Ludo picks up a steel mace with hardened spikes. This should be fun.
It's weird, the whole Career thing and how nobody ever tells you what to do when the Games first start. I mean, they tell ya' to "Go to the Cornucopia and get supplies while killing the weak outliers around you," but they never say just how scary yet fascinating it is to be in the center of the arena with an axe in your hand, not knowing what the next minute, next hour… what the next days will bring you.
It's brilliant, just a few minutes ago Cyra Terranova was the same as any other girl from Two. She had a normal life, a normal future ahead of her, but now, she's accompanying Ludovicus Jornmark and she has the potential to become a god.
(Cyra never got the chance to be like any other girl from Two, fuck you Aquila, couldn't even call her mother by anything besides the vile truth of her full name… if she even deserved to be referred to.)
"We're going after Twelve, right?" She asks Ludo, just to be sure as their assumed target grows near.
"We sure are," Ludo nods his head and grins, "She looks easy enough for a first kill."
It was true. The Twelve girl had been acting the fool seemingly all of training, and it was hard for Cyra to ignore the fact she was screaming at the boy from Five before he fled. She had no place in the Games, and while it was a shame that Cyra would have to put her out of her misery (well, she'd have to cause it first), what had to be done would be done.
(She'd already killed for Ludo, killing with him was obviously the natural progression for their friendship.)
The girl is still screaming in the direction where the Five boy ran when Ludo takes her by the left shoulder. He's taller than her, very much so, and the poor girl is afraid.
Cyra sees a smidge of humanity when she looks into her eyes. Almost enough to tell her that she shouldn't be doing this. That she's fuckin' cruel for killing somebody so quickly when she was just an average Trainee a little over a week ago. She shouldn't kill this girl, Cyra knows that she shouldn't. But she will, she has to now, there's no going back. Everyone in Two is watching her and if Cyra turns and runs then she's going to be known as the "failure Springridge kid who ran away at the bloodbath." As much as that place had its flaws, Cyra knows she has to keep their legacy alive even if she isn't there anymore, but of course, she does plan to be there.
"Aux?" The Twelve girl calls out, presumably calling for an ally, yet nobody runs towards her, "Aux, where are you?"
"He's not coming," Ludo laughs, though he seems to immediately feel bad afterwards, "I'm sorry, but he isn't."
It's quite easy for Ludo to push her down to the ground, very little effort as his dexterous fingers crush her petite body against the dirt floors and the girl once again lets out a scream for help, this time saying, "I bet that bitch from Three told you to kill me. Well you know what? Screw you both, I'll have you know I lied about that. The girl from Three didn't kill my dad and she won't kill me too."
"We don't even know who that is," Cyra speaks with a confused tone as the girl squirms in an attempt to release herself from Ludo's, "Stay still, please it'll hurt less."
"I lied about everything," She screams once more and it appears Ludo's had enough of it once the sole of his boot ends up on top of her mouth, "I ummm suhrrry…."
Cyra can barely make out what Twelve is saying and again, she begins to feel bad, especially so when Ludo moves his foot and the girl spits, a bloodied tooth landing on the dirt next to them. Ludo's knelt down over her legs, so again, she can't move, and Cyra's in a frenzy because she knows the same could happen to her. She too could be on the brink of death someday, screaming for help and wondering where everybody is, and in that case she wouldn't want her killer to take her out. She'd want to be freed.
But Cyra can't free Twelve and let her run loose. She's a Career, and that means she kills without hesitation, "I can hold her down for a bit."
Despite her physique being on the more petite side, Cyra's always been strong and she's able to jam her elbows into Twelve's stomach to prevent her from moving, leaving Ludo free to pick up his mace and strike her in the knees, once, twice, Cyra can hear her kneecaps breaking underneath her, the steel spikes tearing through layers of skin, leaving part of the bone exposed, albeit covered in a torrent of red.
Cyra releases her, no longer needing her to be pinned down since broken kneecaps means she can't run. Oh, but she sure as hell can scream, "Please…" comes out of her mouth in desperation more times then Cyra can count, almost like the girl is trying to pull on her heartstrings, yet again, Cyra won't let that happen.
She takes a deep breath, the leather handle of her axe slightly moistened with sweat as she raises herself to be above Twelve, here the fuck goes nothing.
From here on out, Cyra Terranova will be a murderer. Not somebody doing her job at the Academy, or somebody making sure her and Ludo are safe. No, once, the axe touches the girl's throat, Cyra's a cold blooded killer. A monster that's possibly just as bad as the ones that are sure to roam the arena. And she won't be able to sugar coat it either, no, if Cyra kills this girl then there's no way for her to justify it. This girl isn't hindering her survival and if Cyra kills her, she's a villain, she's inexcusable. If Cyra kills her then she's the terrible monster that the Sheng family acts like she is, and there's no point in her trying to hide it.
Yet if becomes when, and Cyra kills her anyways. She doesn't even flinch, she just grunts and flicks the axe down on Twelve's neck, an initial splash of blood splattering against her pants. Again, the girl gasps for help, even as she's breathing what are probably her last breaths.
Again, Cyra lifts the axe and swings down on her, this time making a collision with her upper chest, her ribcage shattering underneath her vest. She takes a moment to rest, and that moment is quick enough for Ludo to bash his mace into her skull, one of the spikes landing in her eye which causes it to rapidly swell before falling out of its socket and rolling down to the ground with a trail of blood.
Cyra doesn't look at it, instead bringing her axe down on the same spot Ludo did, a crimson clot forming when the cannon finally fires.
She takes a deep breath, and then she rolls over the girl's body so she doesn't have to look at the terrible damage that she's dealt. She doesn't need it to cloud her mind the same way Auretta's body did.
And then what's done is done. Turns out, it wasn't so bad after all, so Cyra's relieved. She looks Ludo in the eye and she smiles, why die for him when you can kill with him?
Chandler Whitt. 18.
District Eleven Male.
The Cornucopia. 12:05.
Everything around him is chaos and it was only a few minutes ago that the first cannon fired. Kind of surreal, isn't it? Chandler hadn't even been preparing for the Games his whole life yet it's still a shock when he hears the first death song roar across the arena. He has no idea who it's for or who's the culprit of the murder, and quite frankly, Chandler doesn't care. This bloodbath, these Games, they're about himself.
(Well, actually they're about Calathea because if she dies and he doesn't then he's absolutely fucked which is why he needs to fucking protect her even though she fucking refuses to be protected.)
He's with her though, he found her just two minutes into the slaughter with children running rampant, trying to get in and out of the Cornucopia as safely as possible, even though he doubts any or most of them will make it out, especially when the Careers seem to be doing the absolute most to guard it. So all Chandler can do is watch it go down. He already ran in and got some knives for Calathea and himself and now the best he can do is wait for the sheer madness of the moment to subside because then he can try to go in and get more supplies, or if not, Calathea'll get them for him, which would be fitting considering how stubborn she is.
"So, we need to get out of here," Calathea says, somewhat frustrated with all of the waiting and clearly afraid that she's going to get attacked when she'd easily be able to get anyone who comes near her, or Chandler would do it, "Or… do you just want to stand here."
"Be patient," Chandler sighs, fiddling with one of the knives in his hands, "The Careers have to leave at one point."
"They'd leave a lot quicker if I just killed one of them," Calathea cackles in a lowly tone, the two of them glancing over to the boy from One.
He's got the Eight boy pinned to the ground with his boot, the boy screaming out for his mother and it's a total shit-show. Chandler doesn't get why One is trying to cause so much misery in him when he's just going to kill him eventually. See, that's what always made Chandler and Calathea different. Chandler had no qualms with killing, provided it was fast and painless, but Calathea was always the sort to draw it out, masquerading around the plantation with her pistol spinning around her finger, taunting her targets before inflicting painful yet non-fatal stab wounds all over, only to kill them once the yelling got too loud for her to bear. When Chandler killed, it was an apology, something he immediately felt bad for, but with Calathea, killing was her art form, and she'd express herself however she damn pleased. It's probably what Chandler hates most about her though he's able to name a lot of reasons why he can't fucking stand her a vast majority of the time.
And still, One is having fun with it, snickering a bit while Eight squirms, taunting him with his sword over his face, repeating "Oh, you wish," and Eight continues to wiggle his body around, trying to break free. It's only when he grabs on to One's ankle that he's finally put out of his misery, the blade cutting down the side of this neck. The blood's so red that Chandler can see it it from yards away, and he's oddly intrigued by how effortlessly One is able to slice through the meat of Eight's neck, prying away at every artery and vein, muscles and cartilage with ease, hacking through his vertebrae and hyoid like they're made of paper. Perhaps that's the benefits of the curve in the blade that One's using, seems to get into the nooks and crannies well. Only after Eight's head breaks free from its ties to the rest of his body, his larynx exposed as One kicks his skull to the side does a cannon fire.
"So maybe we shouldn't mess with him," Chandler laughs though Calathea isn't all that intimidated by him, "Or… we can, if you want to?"
"I'll pass," She scoffs, "His shoes are covered in blood and he seems aggressive enough that it'll probably be a pain to clean up."
"Fair enough."
Chandler begins to feel his heart beat as he looks around at all the dust in the air, the fires in the distance and the neighborhood of houses surrounding him looking the furthest thing from safe. But Chandler's never been safe before, and he doesn't expect it now, it'll just be a challenge of where they'll take shelter when all of this is over, but hey, that's a problem that doesn't need to be solved for a little while longer.
"We should get somebody though," Calathea ponders, clearly eager to get her hands dirty, "You see any of those kids who were bothering us at dinner?"
He never had that much of a problem with them, since yeah sure they were annoying, but they definitely weren't a threat, it would probably be more effort than what it's worth, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Calathea scratches her eyebrow before pointing at the girl from Five who just looks so lost, so careless and honestly miserable, "Found one."
"So then what should I do?" Chandler asks, Calathea shoving him away from her.
"Bring her to me."
Chandler sighs and then runs off into the distance in hopes of finding her —this is just ridiculous—he once again doesn't understand her lust for madness —she isn't a threat— but he knows he has to listen to her. Even though he just feels so sick at the thought of killing somebody so harmless. But he'll swallow the quote unquote "good morals" that he never should have even claimed to have. He'll swallow them for as long as it takes for him to get out of this fucking mess.
But when he grabs the Five girl by the collar of her vest and she screams and gasps in shock before her feet slip and she's being dragged across the ground, Chandler can't help but feel like he shouldn't be doing this. He finds himself once again regretting volunteering, especially when he sees the wicked smile on Calathea's face once he arrives with Five in tow.
"What are you doing with me?" Five pleads, both out of confusion and terror.
Calathea cackles like she's somehow been waiting to do this for her entire life, again, taking pleasure in massacre, "We're going to kill you, darling. Obviously."
With Five successfully pinned to the ground, in tears in her eyes as she slowly gives up, Calathea doesn't even kill her, she just taunts her for a bit, the poor girl just so fucking miserable. She screams too, she screams "Just kill me, already," but that's not enough for Calathea, but then again, nothing has and ever will be enough for Calathea.
"Be quiet," Calathea sighs, "Chandler, pin her down a bit more, I'm going to get her to shut up."
Chandler presses down on Five's stomach and chest, hoping that she won't move because he's already afraid of what Calathea will do, he whispers in Five's ear, "Please, just stay still. It'll all be over soon." And that just makes her tear up more. Such sad final moments, being at Calathea Matheny's disposal.
Calathea approaches her and cups the back of her hand, cocking back her neck so she can open her jaw. Without haste, she inserts her knife into Five's mouth, a swift movement causing her to wince when Chandler realizes what she's done.
"That'll get her to shut up," Calathea smirks and then pulls her hand out of Five's mouth, her tongue in the tips of Calathea's fingers. Chandler peers into her mouth to see blood pooling, the girl coughing as Chandler looks up in horror at the realization of what's happened.
"Get this off me," Calathea throws the tongue to the ground like it's rubber, "And Chandler, please, finish her off so I don't get my clothes dirty."
The girl is coughing on her blood still and Chandler's certain she'll drown anyways, yet again, he feels obliged to fulfill Calathea's wishes —when will I stop doing this?
"Again, I'm sorry," Chandler's used to the sight of blood yet seeing somebody so young all covered in it is jarring, even for him. The crimson is clotted in her mouth, yet she's holding on for dear life, like she thinks she'll somehow be able to make it out, even when Chandler knows her chances are slim.
He closes his eyes and drags his knife across her trachea, trying to ignore the blood which covers his hands as a cannon shoots off.
Chandler doesn't want to look at himself ever again after what he's done, because in Five's eyes, all he sees are his siblings, and he knows they won't forgive him after this, if I'm even able to see them again…
Auxiliary "Aux" Nyquist. 17.
District Three Male.
The Cornucopia. 12:10.
Aux has always considered the world around him to be screaming with colors ever since the first cannon fired, all he sees is life in greyscale. Three canons now have fired into the sky above him, each sound more deafening than the last until Aux can hardly hear anything but white noise as he watches the quickly moving figures around him, their mouths moving without him being able to hear them so instead they just look like mimes and he's some weirdo watching in the crowd.
He's called out for Bonnie several times now, transversing the rim of the platforms in hopes that his red-headed vixen will make her way to him, but as his screaming continues he discovers his own voice fading to black like the world around him also is.
Aux also finds Shuki, their body sprawled out on the floor like it's meaningless, their ribs shattered beneath their chest, skull caved in like it was a punching bag, and neck with a large gash stuck through it, dried blood clinging to their skin with particles of dirt sticking on to their flesh. It's a careless operation, Aux is frustrated by just how little regard the people who killed Shuki seem to have for human life, and he wants to cry, he wants to scream as loud as he can, yet all his voice does is produce waves of grey that he can hardly hear. And he looks around at all the people running again, he looks and he sees the girl from One putting the boy from Twelve into a chokehold.
Shuki's partner…
They only said bad things about him, but Aux still feels bad since he was the closest thing to Shuki that remained. He feels bad when One wraps him into her scalpel chain, a loud enough weapon that Aux normally would be able to hear, but again, all he hears is grey. Twelve's blood is red, yes, that's apparent, especially with the tiny blades digging deep into his flesh as he guffaws before falling to the ground. And One looks so miserable, shame in her eyes almost as if she isn't guilty of the murder she just committed. Like she's instantly feeling guilt for the boy she's just toppled to the ground, tears in her eyes as she wipes off the wounds that she's dealt to his neck, with the care of a child. It's gruesome, the veins handing out of his neck and all, there's no doubt about it, but unlike whoever the fuck it was that killed Shuki, the One girl seems to feel bad for it, she wasn't overly disgusting with it, and it was clear she did what she needed in order to survive, though Aux is curious how Twelve could have possibly been a threat.
He'll never understand Careers, the way they just train their whole lives to kill and then do it without hesitation, curious about the purpose of their broken mindsets and the way each of their actions has only led to chaos and hurt. So Aux feels bad, because it's clear the Careers are hurting in some way or form, they're just unable to admit it and maybe that's the worst part about all of it, that the Games will never give them the chance to possibly get better.
Twelve's cannon fires later than Aux expected it to, so he hopes his last moments were somewhat peaceful… or, as peaceful as they could be. He looks around, walking somewhat aimlessly and not really knowing where he's going. Is he looking for Bonnie, for someone else? Aux doesn't even know. He wishes he could say he was looking for Bubba, but he appears to have been gone with the wind, or something like that. Maybe he's a bit smarter than he lets on, or at least smart enough to know not to walk into the middle of a crossfire. And maybe Bonnie's the same in terms of intelligence because she's still nowhere to be seen, neither is her ally, the Seven girl.
So again, Aux wanders, hoping the colors will return to his mind once more, as greyscale hurts him deep, yet again, he's no idea where he's off to. But he does pass by the girl from Four and the boy from One, and the boy, all tall and mighty has a sword in his hand, steel blades surrounding the edges, and strangely enough, he's laughing at it. Aux immediately recognizes the sword, the way it's covered in blood, and sure he's not a genius, but he's able to put two and two together enough that he knows the club is covered in Shuki's blood, these are the bastards that killed her.
So does he get revenge? In all honesty, Aux isn't all that sure if he should. All he knows is that while he's not going to kill them, he's never been the sort to kill, he wants a word with them, to tell them off like the monsters they are because they don't deserve to be happy over the fact they're monsters.
"Hey, you," As soon as Aux speaks, the One boy cranes his neck over at him, "You realize what you did, right?"
One's face is blank… tch, probably doesn't realize how shit of a person he is, fucking typical, so Aux speaks at him again, "You killed my friend."
Now the girl's looking at him, dropping the packages of food she was shoving into a backpack and tiling her head to the side, "Okay…" it's like she doesn't even know the mistake she made, the cruelties she's exhibited.
"Why'd you do that?" Aux asks in hopes she'll be able to explain herself, yet her voice is green and filled with spite so he doubts it anyways.
"That's how it works around here," The boy answers for her, "I'm sorry to say it but that's just business. I promise, it was nothing personal. Also, I didn't think that loser had any friends."
Nothing personal? Please, to Aux this was entirely personal, entirely something set up to hurt him because these fucking Careers had something against him for some fucking reason that he couldn't quite decipher. Please, this never wasn't personal.
And Aux is fully aware that he still has time to get away, yet he ignores that for a moment and lunges towards the Four girl (a much easier target than the boy), hoping to knock some sense into her.
Aux picked the wrong person to mess with.
Within an instant of Aux's pale hand touching her face, Four's got her fingers wrapped around his wrist, her nails digging into his flesh which causes him to wince a bit.
"A bit of help?" She turns to her ally who slams his fist into one of Aux's eyes before knocking him down to the ground. He tries to muster the strength to move, to find a way to escape them both, yet the girl is on top of him and she's ripping off the vest he's wearing and now all that's left is netting and skin.
With a knife in hand, she rips through the netting and then drags the blade down the center of Aux's stomach like she's tracing a line. Somehow he can barely feel it, but the sight of his own blood coming from the corner of his eye is enough for Aux to know he's absolutely fucked.
But the knife goes deeper, it's twisting its way through Aux's insides just a few inches away from his bellybutton, but only then is he able to scream. And once he does scream, it's the brightest red he's ever seen.
Well… not as bright and the liquid gushing from his stomach, but close enough, and he feels every bit of it. The knife tears through the muscles of his abdomen yet he refuses to close his eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction of killing him entirely.
He doesn't get what he wants, instead he gets a feeling of nausea as he feels the tip of the blade tickling what must be intestines, and he looks up to see the girl's wicked smile and devilish eyes staring back at him. Her hands are stained crimson from Aux's blood yet she doesn't seem to care. It's almost as if she's enjoying it more than the way she probably enjoyed killing Shuki.
But the colors are fading, they're once again spiraling to black as Aux screams once more, only to be met with grey once again. He wonders if the girl hears her since there's no reaction from her face, just pure monstrosity in her veins.
She looks happy, and Aux doesn't like the fact that she's fucking killing him with a smile on her face yet he tries to move his legs to kick her, only to realize he can't.
Aux can't feel anything in his body, and all he sees is his own blood and the girl from Four finally taking the knife out of him, wiping the blade on the ground and looking at the boy from One with pride.
Then, Aux finally sees black.
Checkers Chopin. 15.
District Eight Tribute.
The Cornucopia. 12:13.
And just like that, the people who Checkers considered home are all gone…
Well, Otto's left, but Checkers doesn't have much faith in him. He's unable to walk without wobbling and he keeps screaming out profanities.
"Otto, please," Checkers whispers, grabbing him by the shoulder and just trying to get away from the mess that's surrounding them, "You're just drawing attention to us."
Checkers is beyond frustrated, Does he want to get us killed right now?
They've seen enough death for the day.
(They'd already seen enough death for their entire life when they saw their father all lifeless in his bedroom, already given up before he was fully gone.)
(They'd already seen enough death for their entire life when they glanced across the field of dirt to see Curie pinned to the ground by the pair from Eleven, screaming for help but being left unanswered, like their final words didn't mean a thing. Enough when their tongue was ripped from their mouth like it was some sort of meaningless object, not the device that allowed Curie to speak such beautiful words. Curie's left to be more of a worthless speck of dust then one of those fancy garnishes they put on their food.)
(They'd already seen enough death for their entire life when they saw Jo being strangled by the girl from One, blades pointed into their neck as they slowly collapsed, not even making a noise and just fully fading and giving in to the death completely, like they didn't even stand a chance. There was blood on his face, a face that was once covered in bright hues from makeup, now just a sign of his defeat and misery. Sure, the One girl seemed to feel bad for him, but that didn't change the fact that Jo was dead now.)
Checkers Chopin never wants to see death again.
"What the actual fuck?" Otto screams in between limps, Checkers hoping he isn't in that much pain. They aren't too sure what's gone wrong with their leg but they know it's not pretty. Checkers just hopes they can get out of the Cornucopia's area and into the village area surrounding it. Maybe then they'd be able to get him some help or figure out what's going on with their mechanical leg. They've given up on trying to find anything in the Cornucopia, since that's where the Careers are and Checkers has never been so afraid of anybody in their life like they are of the Careers.
"Otto, please," Checkers hopes they don't sound too bossy but they're just worried somebody's going to attack the two of them when they're not looking.
"We… need to get to the Cornucopia," Otto pants, "See if they have some wires or screws and then I can try to fix my leg."
The last thing Checkers wants to do is head into that direction again so instead they say, "Okay, you know where I'll be, since I'm not going with you. It's dangerous out there, but you have to do what you have to do, okay?"
"I'll be back," Otto stares Checkers in the eyes and promises, "This will just be a minor detour."
As sad as it is, Checkers doesn't have much faith in Otto. He was barely able to walk without them propping him up, so it's obviously got to be hard for him to do so alone. But Checkers wasn't about to go to the Cornucopia for him. They knew that would just result in their own death. So off they go, running away as fast as they can when they hear a piercing scream.
"Fuck," Checkers recognizes the fact that it's Otto's voice immediately, looking over their shoulder to see their ally on the ground with a bag in his hands.
They can feel their hands starting to sweat and they're unsure what to do in this situation. But they know what the right thing to do is, go back and try to rescue him. He's not dead yet, just on the floor and injured and they were afraid that he would be dead if somebody got to him.
So Checkers runs back to Otto's direction, afraid they are once again being too indecisive for their own good, only to find him confronted with the boy from Seven.
"I hate to do this," Checkers watched in horror as the boy reached down and grabbed Otto by the collar of his vest, brass knuckles on his fist, "I just need whatever you've got in that bag, for my allies."
Checkers walks closer, hoping that Seven won't notice them and they'll somehow be able to get Otto and then free him. But the closer they get, the more apparent it becomes that Seven is massive, almost two feet taller than them and it's going to be hard to get him. So Checkers wants to turn away but then they see the metal on their fist make contact with Otto's temple. And Seven grunts, like he's disappointed in himself even though he had full control of the situation.
He holds Otto in his arms, whispers something in his ears, hopefully an apology of sorts, not that it matters since Otto clearly can't speak back to him. Instead, Otto's eyes are rolled over in the back of his head, blood seeping from the hole Seven left, and Checkers finds themself paralyzed. Yet again, they are so close to death.
(They'd already seen enough death.)
Otto's cannon fires and Checkers runs over to his body, wrapping it in their arms and trying to stop the blood from flowing. They think Seven's gone anyways, and therefore they don't have to worry. Checkers hugs his body, the last friend they ever had, and the last friend they ever will have. Checkers was far too naive to actually think they were worthy of having friends. Why would anyone want to be friends with somebody as weird as they are? And because these people came into their life so quickly, of course they'd be the sort to leave so soon.
(Just like their father left the world. Checkers isn't worthy of people who stay.)
But then they look back, and they see Seven standing tall, and a single tear comes to Checkers' eye.
"You killed my friend," They say through gritted teeth, so afraid that their end is going to come soon, especially with Otto's blood not yet dried on Seven's knuckles.
Checkers isn't even sure if Seven hears them, yet still he comes closer, and they feel their palms sweat when they look down to see Otto's mechanical leg shaking loose from his body, and that's when the adrenaline hits.
"You killed my friend," Checkers repeats, loosening the large piece of metal until it's free from Otto, meanwhile Seven's just as paralyzed, hopefully feeling regret for what he did. Good.
"I'm… sorry," Seven stutters, possibly nervous. Checkers is just as nervous too. They don't know what's happening to them, "I didn't think I'd do this."
"You killed my friend," Checkers lifts up the leg and stares into his dark cold eyes before bashing against his left knee cap, "You're a monster."
They didn't know they could swing that hard, but they hear a slight crack, and just like that Seven's toppling down to the ground… Okay so do I hit the other? Checkers body takes control yet again and lets Otto's leg collide with Seven's left knee cap. With a loud thunk! Seven's on the ground, and he's pleading with Checkers.
"You're not going to hurt me more, right?" His words mean nothing to Checkers in that moment, even though they'd later mean so much.
"You killed my friend," Checkers voice is even louder this time. They look and make sure nobody is near them, mainly hoping Seven's allies can't see them. And they don't even want to kill him. They really don't, but they've never felt as alone as they do, and they're able to blame it on somebody else for once and not the fact they're too eccentric, too much of a weirdo. For once, Checkers can blame their solitude on somebody else.
And with the force of Otto's death, and Jo and Curie's too, Checkers hits Seven's head, the same spot where he hit Otto. They're not sure if they dealt any damage but they swing again, and then a third time, and they repeat the motion again and again until they've struck Seven's head, twenty times, ignoring the fact that he's whimpering slower and slower with every blunder. Finally, Seven closes his eyes and Checkers runs.
He's… not dead, right? They hope, even though they know that it's a moot point, especially since they did deal quite a bit of damage. But they don't even know what hit them, all they know is one moment they saw Otto's dead body and the next they found themself repeatedly striking Seven's head. They take deep breaths as they run for the village, hoping nobody is following them.
A cannon fires a minute or two later and Checkers tries their best not to break before they've reached safety. All they can do is hope it wasn't for Seven, since Checkers has seen enough death for their entire life.
Meridian Morello. 18.
District Four Female.
The Cornucopia. 12:23.
"Well, you did it, didn't you?" Hesson slaps Meridian on the back with pride, the two of them rejoicing inside the center of the Cornucopia, "I saw you out there, Mir."
Hesson's proud of her, yet Meridian Morello feels the exact opposite of proud of herself for what she's done. And the worst part, Meridian had no idea what compelled her to shred the District Three boy into pieces, ripping the intestines out of his stomach even after his cannon shot off like a predator hunting its prey. It wasn't her, Meridian knew that was nothing like her, yet she did it anyways and… why was that?
Surely part of the reason was because she wanted to be like the other Careers, but not even they were as vicious as she was. Well… Hesson tore somebody's head off, but when he was dead he let the boy rest, and Meridian simply didn't.
(And she thinks, what was Mads reaction to the way she killed Three? Did she think it was hot of her, no, not at all. Hot people didn't kill people who were already dead.)
So she was trying to impress people, that was the only explanation for Mir's monstrosities. And oh how sad that is of her, stooping so low she terrorized somebody for the pure sake of terror, and just to impress people she (mostly) didn't care about. Just to impress her girl at home (who didn't need to be impressed, Mads was already proud). She just keeps asking herself why again and again, and she is so frustrated with herself, so utterly frustrated.
"Thanks," She replies to Hesson, neatly since she doesn't really want to talk about it, just let the past be the past, "You did good… too."
Meridian knows that Hesson is a somewhat violent person, she sees it in his eyes whenever he looks at her. It scares her a bit, but she's accepted that part of him. He's accepted all the broken parts of her after all. And Hesson achieved his goal, he got the kill that would show his invalid parents that he's actually worth something. Meridian is proud of Hesson.
"So, how did we all do?" Ludo masquerades around the center of the Cornucopia with a cocksure grin on his face, "I think I heard seven cannons."
"Yes, you heard seven," Cyra reassures him, Meridian's accepted she sucks up to him quite often even if she doesn't understand why, "I just got the kill with you at the beginning. Girl from Twelve."
"I killed the boy from Eight," Hesson announces with pride, "And I actually did it all by myself."
"Good for you," Ludo's had enough of Hesson's hubris, which Meridian can't blame him for, even though she appreciates that side of Hesson, "Meridian, Saia, Magnificence."
"Boy from Twelve," Magnificence says, flat-out, not wanting to elaborate it, and judging by the look in her eyes, Meridian is sure that she's a bit miserable about it, the same misery Meridian's unable to express on her own face, "…That's it."
"Boy from Three," Meridian states once Ludo's eyes reach her, "Only one for me too."
"Saia?" Ludo waits a bit before noticing that Meridian's District Partner hadn't announced any kills.
"Oh I was playing defense," He laughs, scratching the back of his head, "I would have killed somebody but I didn't have the opportunity." Meridian can tell he's nervous too, and she mostly understands. She had to kill somebody to show that she has worth, and surely Saia felt that he had to do the exact same thing.
Ludo counts on his fingers before he declares the total, "Four dead because of us, not bad!" His surefire smile quickly fades when he realizes, "Wait… that leaves three deaths that we didn't cause."
It's the Elevens. Meridian knows instantly. Not a particularly astute observation on her part since they did score so well in Training, and she'd told everyone that they were real threats, yet of course they didn't listen or at least they didn't seem too concerned which was wrong of them. Eleven was their prime enemy. Meridian had said it once and she'd say it as long as she had to if it meant they'd listen.
She decides to speak up, "At least one of them has to be from one of the Eleven Tributes," When everybody looks at her she's a bit nervous. "They both did good in training…" They're all staring and she's not used to it, "It just… makes sense?"
"Sure does!" Ludovicus is actually supportive of what she has to say, "We've just got to figure out where they are then, don't we? I saw the boy inside the Cornucopia at one point but I wasn't able to get him. I think he got a bag or two, no big deal."
"…I saw the girl from Eight kill somebody," Magnificence announces, somewhat confused with what she's saying.
"You're hilarious, Maggie," Hesson laughs, and it makes sense for him to. Obviously that little kid couldn't actually kill somebody.
"I'm serious," Magnificence repeats herself, "The boy from Seven."
Yet her words fall on deaf ears, and even Meridian doesn't believe her. She doesn't see why she should, since the girl from Eight was predicted to die first and she's the smallest Tribute in the Games.
"I doubt that, but thanks for sharing," Hesson readjusts his posture, grabbing a few bags because he assumes they're going to get moving soon, "If anyone killed outside of the pack, I agree with Meridian, it was one of the Elevens."
"It's not a cause for argument," Ludo twitches, grabbing some bags for himself, "Let's get a move on, we've got places to be. I have no idea where they are, but they sure are places."
The Pack listens to him, since there's nothing else for them to do around the Cornucopia, Cyra following Ludo closely while Saia and Magnificence are several yards behind them, Hesson and Meridian in the back of the group as they're supposed to be looking for potential threats that could be lurking. But Ludo and the rest are fast, and as a result Hesson and Meridian are barely able to see them, yet they've got a good feeling of the general direction they're traveling in.
They've almost left the general vicinity of the Cornucopia and entered a village area when Meridian hears a lofty voice from behind her, "You were right, by the way."
"What?" Meridian grabs on to Hesson, cocking her head to see the girl from Eleven right behind her, her partner right behind her.
"I killed the girl from Five," Eleven digs into one of the pockets of her pants and pulls out what appears to be the dried up remains of a human tongue, "Took this as a souvenir. What do you think?"
"Meridian, let's go," Hesson tries to drag her by the hand but the Eleven boy doesn't let him, "Let go of her, fuck you."
"Excuse me," The Eleven boy's clearly exhausted, "What?"
"Meridian," She's at a standstill but Hesson calls her again, "Let's go!"
"She's not going anywhere," The girl grabs Meridian by the wrist, "You can go if you want though, pretty little angel boy."
"I'm not leaving her," Hesson crosses his arms and tries to grab on to the District Eleven girl, only for a throwing knife to quickly be flicked at his wrist. It leaves a mere cut but it's enough to make Hesson flinch anyways, "Get off her," he tries once again but this time the boy grabs him by the shoulders, trying to shove him aside.
"I said, get off her," He punches the Eleven boy in the eye, yet his face remains stoic, "Meridian, it's going to be okay."
"Hesson…" She mutters, beginning to worry more and more, "I'm fine."
"No," The Eleven girl lifts up Meridian's chin, "Actually you're not."
Meridian digs into her pocket, trying to find a knife she can use as she looks and sees Hesson wrestling with the boy in the distance. But Meridian's worried for herself, her feet are dragging on the ground and before she knows it, she feels her head hit the back of one of the launching pedestals.
"Please…" She cries out, as she sees Hesson racing towards her, Meridian's feet kicking as she tries to free herself from the Eleven girl, "Hesson?"
The Eleven girl barely hears her, instead using her palm to press Meridian against the pedestal, lifting up a knife and swiftly inserting it into her throat, "Hesson can't hear you."
Meridian looks down and tries not to gag at the sight of her own blood, but all she can see is hurt around her and she sees Hesson in the distance, and he's crying out to her.
She can barely hear him and she can barely see anything but the Eleven girl's grin.
"Meridian, I lie—"
I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin
24th Place: Shuki Makosh, District Twelve - Killed by Cyra Terranova and Ludovicus Jornmark
23rd Place: Vex Alamo, District Eight - Killed by Hesson Adair Svárovský
22nd Place: Curiosity "Curie" Zinque, District Five - Killed by Calathea Matheny and Chandler Whitt
21st Place: Josiah "Jo" Hurley, District Twelve - Killed by Magnificence Grandeura Callarosa
20th Place: Auxiliary "Aux" Nyquist, District Three - Killed by Meridian Morello
19th Place: Otto Wiley, District Six - Killed by Garrick Bluebell
18th Place: Garrick Bluebell, District Seven - Killed by Checkers Chopin
17th Place: Meridian Morello, District Four - Killed by Calathea Matheny