Venus Lorieta, D2
There were twenty-three people to kill. They were gathered in a circle beside me. Some of them I wasn't going to kill just yet. The end goal was to get everyone dead. The people I saved were going to help me get there faster. Only then would I add them to the pile.
The gong sounded, and everyone ran. Some ran toward the Cornucopia, and some ran away. It didn't matter. They were all running to the same place in the end. I ran for my knives. I didn't have to run- no one would have dared touch them. I only ran because I wanted to start the killing faster. When I picked them up, I took first aim at the people running away. It would be easier to kill them now than to catch them later. I heard others screaming as I threw, but the noise didn't come from my targets. I didn't let it take that long. When the smoke cleared and the screaming stopped, there were sixteen people left to kill.
The girl thought she was being quiet. She was as loud the gong that started all of this. She went after Royal first, and I didn't move. I didn't care how the others died as long as they did. I sat up behind her as she finished her task. When his cannon sounded, I added another with a flick of my wrist. There were seven people left to kill.
Thompson asked me once why I volunteered for the Games. I didn't know what words to use to tell him. To me, killing was the most natural thing in the world. Every time I saw someone who was alive, I knew it was my job to make them dead. It seemed to be what I was born for, and it seemed poetically appropriate that someday I would be dead, too. Someday the universe would fade away and we'd all be dead. That seemed like perfection to me.
Even I was surprised at the fire. I thought it was the Gamemakes, but when it died out and Peppermint's face wasn't in the sky that night, I knew it wasn't them. It wasn't Celestial, either, since she was in the sky. It was either Peppermint or Heidi. Peppermint was more dangerous, but Heidi was smarter. It didn't matter. It only meant there were two people left to kill.
I found Heidi gathering water into a bottle. When she saw me, she didn't move. There was nowhere to run. Blood mingled with the water that her bottle floated in when she dropped it. There was one person left to kill.
Peppermint thought she was strong. She fought back when we killed Apollo, and she actually hurt Royal. She thought it would be the same with me. She had some idea it would be like a fairytale where the brave hero fought the black knight. Black is stronger than white. Death lasted a lot longer than life. She found that out.
There was no one left to kill. For the first time since I could remember, I was unfulfilled. My purpose was frustrated, and I dug my fingers into my pants restlessly. I was all alone as I waited for the hovercraft. I wasn't done yet. I wanted more. I wished I could stay in the Arena year after year as they sent more batches of Tributes. I would have stayed there forever, but they wanted me to go. I let them take me, and I didn't give them any trouble. They were going to carry me back to the Capitol. There were a lot of people there.
Venus is different every time I write her. It's hard to write her in any length, since she seems to lack much of an interior life. She's very archetypal.