I don't mean to be a jackwagon, but we all know I was gone another decade, and I hope to make up for it in a flurry of updates.. I won't lengthen today's introduction. Yay!
Reviews!
Thank you Clis, dreams, Adventuress and roses for the reviews
Here we go!
Aran Quade, Age 17, District 6
District Six Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
Light filters through my eyelids as I slowly wake. My back is slightly sore, more than likely from the rough ground I've been sleeping on since I first entered this accursed Arena. I don't have to open my eyes to know that the weight on my chest is Malaya's sleeping form, and I don't move in fear of waking her. I peak through the curtains over my eyes, however, watching intently as her mass of red hair rises with my breathing as it glows in the morning light.
I'm still unsure how I managed to get into this situation. I've only known her maybe like two weeks, and yet here I am, cuddling up with her and watching the sun bathe her body. I'm supposed to be killing her; heck, she should have by all means killed me by now. Every instinct I have as a living, breathing person should be telling me to run, but, somehow, there are no such voices. This somehow feels so right, and I wish against all wishes that we had met under better circumstances.
"You awake?" Her voice startles me from my thoughts, and she gives out a slight laugh as I flinch. "I'll take that as a yes." She lifts her head and regards me for a moment, before leaning down and pecking my cheek. I sit up, and she shifts back to give me space.
"Morning." I grin, leaning in toward her.
"What's on the docket today?" Devon's voice carries from outside, and a dark look crosses Malaya's face. It quickly fades, however, but I know I saw it; it's been a constant since Devon joined us in the first place.
"Nothing that I know of." I call, stretching the sleep from my limbs. I stand, and Malaya follows me out the door, taking my hand.
The Five girl looks us over, glancing briefly at our entwined fingers. "You realize it's almost noon, right? You guys could've died last night." I raise my gaze to the sky, where the sun is indeed nearly directly overhead.
I look back to Devon. "You seem rather cheerful today." I note. I hadn't expected that, with Darius dying yesterday and all.
"Nope. Just anxious. Our food's running low and I don't think One over hear would dare let me borrow her spear to catch some fish, so…" She shrugs, and Malaya sighs.
She lands a kiss on my lips before she heads in the direction of the river. "I'll be back soon." I watch her go, hair bouncing around perfectly despite being so knotted and dirty.
This just feels so right.
Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District 3
District Three Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
Cheyenne has improved greatly the past two days, and I daresay she's ready to move on from our Alliance. Though I've enjoyed the past couple days, we both understand the importance of not growing overly attached.
She's four years younger than me, but she understands more about life than I ever did at that age. Maybe it's a side effect from growing up in Ten.
We've been packing up camp all morning, more as a precaution than anything. I'm pretty sure that we're safe here, but after Cheyenne's scouting trip this morning, we just want to be safe.
"Remind me again what exactly they said." I say nonchalantly. If there's no reason to panic, then I won't panic.
"I didn't catch all of it." She answers honestly, though I'm not surprised. She was lucky they didn't find her after she snuck off to find the location of their camp before I woke up. "But I'm sure they were talking about finding me." Her voice quivers slightly, and I wait for her to continue. "Mera declared that "she" wouldn't slip out of her fingers this time, that she was sure she had scored a hit and would just have to follow the blood trail."
She looks at me again. "Infiniti. You realize that she'd have found me if you had come across me five minutes later, right?" I smile softly at that, but say nothing. I'd have likely been dead too; it's the way fate plays with those in her Arena.
"Well, let's just hope they have no way of finding us. We covered ourselves up rather well if I do say so myself, and unless the… I mean, unless I overlooked something, we should be good." I don't dare mention the gamemakers' potential aid in the Careers' hunt for Chey. No reason to tempt the devils.
There's a crashing in the woods behind me as I stuff the last of my food into my bag, and I freeze. A scream breaks the air before dying.
"I suppose something must've been 'overlooked', eh, Three?"
I turn around and, to my horror, I find Esmeralda from Four standing there. The source of the scream becomes evident when a flash of silver in Mera's right hand gets dangerously close to Cheyenne's throat, the Ten girl's hair firmly held in Four's fist.
"Stupid girls. Honestly. Mason!" She calls over her shoulder. "Mason, there's two here!"
I'm only about ten paces away from Mera, and suddenly I'm on her, my hands closing around her neck as adrenaline flows through me. Cheyenne disappears from my view, and I think I tell her to run. There's pain in my side, but I press harder.
Is her face turning purple yet? I can't tell. My body's alight with tingling pain, but I focus all I have into strangling the Four girl. Why's she laughing? No, she's dying! She's-
I'm dying.
Esmeralda "Mera" Annalise Dawn, Age 18, District 4
District Four Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
As Mason and I leave camp, I quickly spot a trail of footprints leading off into the jungle.
"She was right here, Two! Come on!" I shove down a giggle as we follow the foolish girl's trail around trees and undergrowth. She keeps to a fairly straight line, and we have no issue tracking until the sounds of waves crashing upon shore reach my ears. We split up then by silent agreement, and I quickly lose him among the trees.
I pull up short in my search as I hear voices. I pause to listen, unable to make out words. Both are definitely female, and the only females I have to worry about in this Arena are One and Two. I highly doubt either of them are here, but I creep toward them quietly, just to be safe. I come upon a particularly thick wall of mangroves, and I glide through them.
Ten is there, just beyond my reach, and another I barely recognize converses with her. She wears the colors of Three, though she's cut her hair. She's talking about covering up her tracks or something, and I take the moment, while they're both distracted, to bound forward and seize her by the hair. She begins to scream, but I pull a knife from my belt and press it against her throat.
Three pauses, and I call out, "I suppose something must've been 'overlooked', eh, Three?" She turns toward me after a moment, and I snicker. "Stupid girls. Honestly. Mason!" I call turning to look into the trees. "Mason, there's two here!"
I'm about to call out again when I'm roughly shoved to the ground. Ten slips from my fingers as the wild eyes of the Three girl reach for my neck. "Run! RUN!"
I stab her in the side, but she doesn't relent. I try again, but she squeezes harder. I use my free hand to pry her fingers off, and I begin to laugh as her grip loosens. After a moment, she slumps against me, a cannon signaling her death. Mason appears behind her, kicking her off. "Good heck, Four." He laughs. "She's already dead, you don't need to humiliate her further."
I accept his hand, noting the warm blood covering my chest. "She was a feisty one, that's for sure." I laugh as I blow a kiss to the sky, and another to the corpse. "Grab her bag." I say. "We've got a dirty pig to find."
Thanatos Rize, Age 15, District 9
District Nine Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
I've been wandering the forest the past couple of days, decidedly unable to stomach the mess within the Cornucopia. I've found a path leading from the base of the volcano to the river, a path which I've been stalking in the hopes that someone would come along.
Or so I tell myself.
It's hard to imagine what I would do in my first real fight. The closest I've come so far to killing anyone in the Arena was the One guy, but his cannon sounded before my scythe ripped into his chest. Until I get out, I won't be able to confirm whether I'd killed him or not. I just hope I can get a kill soon, for I won't last much longer without the help of Sponsors.
I hear the river ahead, the path opening upon a clearing leading down to the banks. I stand at the edge, of the trees, watching for movement. I don't expect anything, which is why I nearly cry out when a figure weaves through the mangroves on the other side. I don't get any details; it could be Cassia from Two or one of the little girls from Ten or Eleven for all I know.
I contemplate following, my eyes roving the waters for ways across, when something shining silver catches my attention: a metal water bottle, abandoned among the rocks.
Likely not abandoned, I decide, but probably being purified. The owner, any one of the remaining loners I know of, either of the Threes, Five, Six, Seven, Ten or Eleven, wouldn't want to be spotted in the open, and left the bottle alone hoping nobody would find it. I might not have, if not for the figure fleeing into the jungle.
I weigh my options. On the one hand, I could steal the bottle. This would do very little for me, however, as water seems a plentiful resource, one I'm not in need of. On the other, I could kill this tribute, ambushing them somehow without knowing who they are or what their strengths may be. Or…
I decide on the poison in my pack. I'm unsure what it is, but I think the whole vial should be enough to kill a full-grown man. I glide from the trees, hopping across rocks to reach the other riverbank. I drop my pack to the ground, careful to keep my scythe close. I unzip the bag, carefully removing the vial I had found the first day. Removing the cap from the bottle, I unstop the vial and pour in its contents. Quickly replacing the cap, I scramble for the safety of the treeline, climbing a mangrove shrouded in darkness. It's a little difficult, but I manage after a bit.
I'm left waiting for barely a few minutes before a rustling breaks the air to my right. I turn, watching.
All is still for a moment before the tribute deems themselves safe. She quickly slips over to her bottle, and I repress the urge to cry out a warning. I couldn't, however; not in the Hunger Games.
I watch grimly as Willow Orchids retreats into the jungle for the final time.
Willow Orchids, Age 13, District 11
District Eleven Female, Sixth Quarter Quell
I take a swig from my newly-purified water as I hike through the trees. The Arena doesn't seem so lonely anymore, nor as threatening. I've had little interaction with others lately, and I have begun to dare to hope that they all might just die while I hide in my little corner of the Arena.
Unless the Gamemakers have a plan for you, Willow. I shiver, stepping around an anthill. I don't know how deadly those are, but I'm sure I don't want to find out.
The hair on the back of my neck pricks up, and I freeze. I suddenly feel as though I'm being watched, and I begin to walk faster. Were those footsteps?
The thought barely escapes before my stomach leaps into my throat in fear. I fall flat on my face, and I quickly roll over, reaching through the undergrowth at my left leg.
I try to move it, without response. I smack it with my palm, but I feel no sensation. I begin to panic, my heart in my throat, beating wildly. I realize quickly that my right leg is also unresponsive, and I begin to cry as my left arm goes too. After only moments, I'm lying back against my bag, completely paralyzed. Footsteps approach, but I can't turn my head. He appears above me, even as I realize my heart is no longer beating.
My brain processes little as it dies, but there can be no mistake: The Reaper himself has come for my soul. He raises his scythe in a salute, and the world goes dark.
Jasper Blue, Age 16, District 4
District Four Male, Sixth Quarter Quell
Two cannons sounded today, and Henry and I stare at the sky as the anthem plays.
He gasps softly as the first face appears, and I push down my own sorrow as the Three girl's face fades into the night. I remember her as being mysterious, but otherwise friendly. I recall vaguely her Alliance with the Seven girl, dead in the Bloodbath. It's hard being alone in the Arena.
The girl from Eleven has Henry silent, and I let a tear of grief roll down my face. She was only thirteen, younger then most because of the ridiculous Quell.
The anthem closes, and the Arena continues as though nothing had happened. Time goes on, and two more souls aren't here to partake of it.
Perhaps they may find peace in whatever afterlife they have awaiting them.
Deaths!
14th Place: Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District Three Female
Stabbed to Death by Esmeralda Dawn, District Four Female
Time in Arena: 7 days, 23 hours, 48 minutes, 2 seconds
Fin was originally supposed to take 12th. Yes, Willow would have died today, then somebody would have died next, then Fin. But I couldn't see them both surviving this encounter with Mason and Mera of all people, and so her end was rewritten. I'm sorry, Fin.
13th Place: Willow Orchids, Age 13, District Eleven Female
Poisoned by Thanatos Rize, District Nine Male
Time in Arena: 8 days, 6 hours, 4 minutes, 58 seconds
Willow was the youngest tribute remaining aside from Cheyenne, but everyone loved her so much that Willow kinda fell into the background. Her story at home was intriguing, but she was never meant for the throne. She was a joy to write, especially in her first few days in the Arena, but she was meant to die here. Sorry, dear girl.
Placings!
26th: Sparky Montgomery, Age 12, District Thirteen Male
25th: Kenzi Williams, Age 16, District Seven Female
24th: Tulle Salane, Age 15, District Eight Female
23rd: Thorn Ashbury, Age 13, District Eleven Male
22nd: Keola Foeba, Age 13, District Twelve Female
21st: Harvest Miller, Age 14, District Nine Female
20th: Rebelle Rine, Age 13, District Thirteen Female
19th: Soot Maloy, Age 13, District Twelve Male
18th: Denny Rico, Age 14, District Ten Male
17th: Marcus Caelum, Age 17, District One Male
16th: Jetta Carter, Age 17, District Six Female
15th: Darius Line, Age 17, District Five Male
14th: Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District Three Female
13th: Willow Orchids, Age 13, District Eleven Female
Kills!
Marcus Caelum: 1 (Kenzi Williams, D7F)
Cassia Lyra Maurise: 2 (Thorn Ashbury, D11M; Sparky Montgomery, D13M)
Mason Lepodolite: 4 (Darius Line, D5M; Jetta Carter, D6F; Tulle Salane, D8F; Keola Foeba, D12F)
Esmeralda "Mera" Annalise Dawn: 3 (Infiniti Reagan, D3F; Soot Maloy, D12M; Rebelle Sunflower Rine, D13F)
Darius Line: 1 (Harvest Miller, D9F)
Thanatos Rize: 1 (Willow Orchids, D11F)
Other: 2 (Marcus Caelum, D1M (Sepsis); Denny Rico, D10M (Jaguar))
Alliances!
Malaran and Devon: Malaya (1), Devon (5) and Aran (6)
Careers: Mason (2), Cassia (2) and Esmeralda (4)
Brains and Brawn: Blue (4) and Henry (8)
Loners!
Cordin (3)
Logan (7)
Thanatos (9)
Cheyenne (10)
