Day One
The Cornucopia, 11:59
Dean blinked a few times, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the light. The tunnel had been so long and dark, it'd felt like he'd spent an eternity in there all on his own. A part of him started to believe that he'd never actually get to the Arena, that the Gamemakers were planning to let him wither away completely and utterly alone in that small tube. But now Dean was free - well, as free as he could be, given that he was now in the Arena.
The wind whistled softly as Dean looked around, doing his best to get a full view of the Arena. They were in what seemed like a large courtyard made of cracked cobblestone, with long strands of grass and flowers pushing through the cracks. In the middle of the circle was the Cornucopia, surrounded by tributes on all sides. Encircling the tributes were what seemed to be hundreds of old cars, similar to ones he'd seen on TV and in the Capitol. All of them were all in various states of decay, as if they'd been there for a long time. On the other side of the Cornucopia was a long fence that stretched out of view on either side; in the center of the fence was a large, wrought iron gate that was slightly ajar. Next to Dean was the boy from Eleven and past him he spotted Chiffon several pedestals away. The One boy waved, grinning widely at Dean. There was no sign of Cecil, however; Dean assumed that the boy was somewhere on the other side somewhere.
Dean turned his focus back to The Cornucopia. He needed to focus on weapons and supplies; sure, Dean could defend himself without a weapon, but that didn't mean he wanted to. From his vantage point, Dean could see a few bags scattered around in the mud and bushes, as well as a knife stuck point down in a patch of dirt just a few feet in front of him. Dean was relieved to see the knife; after all, it'd be better than having nothing.
It would be okay. He'd be okay. Dean had trained for this for years- why wouldn't he be okay? And his allies would be OK too; Chiffon was trained just the same as him, and Cecil could take care of himself.
But Dean couldn't quite shake the feeling nothing would go as planned. That was the nature of the Games: things inevitably wouldn't go to plan, and Dean had to accept that.
Dean sucked a deep breath as the countdown continued, pusing into the twenties and then the tens. Finally, finally, a gong rang out over the Arena, rattling Dean to his core with its sheer overwhelming sound. But he didn't let that stop hopped off the pedestal as gracefully as he could manage and took off towards the knife stuck in the dirt. He grabbed it by the handle, pulling it out of the mud with ease. As he straightened up, he spotted the boy from the pedestal next to his backing up quickly. Dean pulled his arm back and threw the knife as hard as he could. Eleven tried to run, but before he could even take two steps, the knife sank into his side. The boy fell with a gasp, hitting the ground hard as Dean rushed towards him. He reached down, careful not to let Eleven grab his legs, and pulled out the knife, sending a spray of crimson everywhere.
"Fuck," Eleven muttered, attempting to scramble away. Dean thought about letting him go. But he was a Career, and Careers weren't supposed to be merciful.
Dean was here to kill whether he liked it or not.
Dean plunged the knife into Eleven's back and pulled it out once more. He watched as Eleven went limp, satisfied that the boy wouldn't move again. Dean scrambled to his feet, rushing to find his allies, turning his back on the boy who already weighed heavily on his consciousness.
Dean had killed somebody, for real. This wasn't wasn't training anymore.
What if he wasn't cut out for this?
It was too late to go back now. There was no option to quit anymore. He'd been given the choice to quit time and time again over the years, and time and time again, he'd chosen to be here. Now he had to live with that.
Or die with it.
Turning his attention back to the Cornucopia, Dean spotted Chiffon just in front of its mouth, thrusting his sword into the body of the girl from Eleven. Dean beelined for his ally, who greeted him with a grin and a wink.
"'Good job," Chiffon said, patting him on the shoulder. "We should keep moving."
"Keep moving, yes," Dean nodded. "Watch my back for a sec."
Chiffon hummed his agreement as Dean ducked inside Cornucopia. He found a rack of spears pushed into a corner, as well as a few more knives, which he shoved into his belt as quickly as possible. Dean then grabbed two bags off the ground, shaking them to ensure they were both full. Between the two large bags, they'd likely have enough supplies to cover them both and Cecil. Even if there was anything they were missing, it was likely they'd be sponsored for it. Dean didn't want to rely on something completely out of his control, but they didn't have any time to search through each bag.
A resounding clang rang through the air. Dean turned, seeing Chiffon knock the Seven boy's sword away. Chiffon laughed as he plunged his own sword through Seven's chest, as if it was nothing but child's play to him. Chiffon whipped his head around, searching for Dean as the Seven boy crumpled into a heap on the ground.
"Here," Dean called as he jogged up to Chiffon, bags in hand. "Take this, we need to go."
Chiffon nodded sharply, stepping over the body of the Seven boy. "What about Cecil?"
"We'll find him on the way out, or he'll find us. We told him what the plan was, and there's only one exit out of the Cornucopia anyways." Dean sighed, gesturing towards the gate. "Like you said, he needs to figure out how to make his own mistakes, and if he doesn't follow what we agreed on, that's on him."
"Got it."
Dean had too many things to worry about, and not enough time to be worrying.
He had no choice but to stay focused now or risk losing his own life.
Diesel scooped up a bag from the ground, swinging it over his shoulder as he shakily spun around to survey the people around him. The Bloodbath had so far proven far more chaotic than Diesel could have ever imagined. He hadn't been able to see Verity from his launch point, as if the Capitol thought separating them at this important moment was a sick, entertaining joke of some kind. He was supposed to help her, not just stand here being useless.
But where could she have gone? Where was Verity?
Diesel couldn't even manage to do this one thing right. Maybe his mother wasn't so wrong.
Diesel shook himself out of his thoughts, turning to make his way around to the other side of the Cornucopia. As he did, he spotted the boy from Two plunge his sword into a small girl's back and rip it out in one clean movement. The girl let out a soft gasp as she crumpled to the ground, but the boy had already turned away, locking his eyes with Diesel's.
Diesel had never been so scared in his life. The Six boy froze in place, a deer in headlights as Two began approaching him, the wickedly sharp sword in his hand gleaming red with blood. Diesel knew he should move, knew he should do something- anything, but he couldn't bring himself to; all he could do was wait with shaking hands and bated breath as Reign approached him.
"Diesel!" Verity cried, crashing into his side at a run. "We need to go now!"
"What?" Diesel mumbled, blinking at the shorter girl.
"I said, we need to go!" Verity repeated, smacking his arm. Diesel nodded, following her without any resistance. She led him out of the courtyard, gripping his hand tightly; all Diesel could do was squeeze back as if this connection was his lifeline.
It was his lifeline. Without Verity, he'd almost definitely be dead, but she shouldn't have had to risk herself like that. He was supposed to be keeping her safe, not the other way around; she shouldn't have to put herself into jeopardy just to save him.
Diesel would not let Verity die for him.
"Are you okay?" Verity asked as they ran, far too softly for a place like this.
"Fine," Diesel mumbled.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm fine," Diesel snapped, louder than he'd intended to. Verity shrank away from him slightly, as Diesel struggled to find the words he needed. He grasped for them, desperate to fix the uncomfortable silence stretching between them- but no words came.
"Sorry," Verity replied, her voice sounding deflated and tired. "Let's just… go."
Dread filled his heart. He had Verity, this one, good, precious thing, and he'd hurt her. Diesel couldn't even treat those he loved right. A deep, horrible sinking feeling settled into his chest, as if something was gripping him and telling him just how much he'd fucked it all up. It squeezed tighter and tighter until he couldn't bear it any longer.
Diesel could practically feel his heart shatter.
Mor hissed as she ducked down, maneuvering her frame behind the low stone wall. She'd expected to be pursued, expected to have eyes on her despite the Two boy's score, expected to have to fight. But what she hadn't expected was a Career tailing her the entire Bloodbath, making it nearly impossible for her to get anywhere near any supplies.
"Why don't you come out?" The girl from Two taunted."You're not going to win this fight, dear."
Mor crouched down, running along the wall as quietly as she could, hoping that the din of fighting would cover the sounds of her footsteps. But she could still see the shadow of the girl milling about behind her. Mor couldn't help but feel like she had to make a move- and had to make a move now. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, perhaps this could be an opportunity, an opportunity to take out one of the Careers.
Mor swung herself over the low wall, planting her feet solidly in the mud. "Here I am," she grunted. "Come get me."
With that Mor took off, running along the low wall in front of her. Up ahead, she caught sight of an old, twisted metal fence. The gate was slightly ajar, just wide enough for a person as small and lithe as Mor to get through. Past the gate was a path that split off in two directions.
This was something Mor could use to her advantage if she played her cards right.
Mor turned sideways, sliding through the gate. Quickly, she looked back making sure Claudia was still following. Two stopped at the fence, hissing something under her breath as she considered how to get through with her unwieldy spear and the bag on her back.
"What?" Mor taunted, "Are you gonna give up that fuckin' easy? I thought you were a Career."
Claudia glared at her, but Mor didn't stick around to see how she'd manage to get through. Instead, she spun on her heel, taking off down one of the two paths. She turned left on the path, following it towards some kind of square brick building. Mor ducked through the doorway leading inside, her heart pounding out of her chest.
This was her chance to put herself one step closer to going home - and by taking out a Career at that.
Pressing her back against the wall, Mor sucked in a few deep breaths. As she did, Mor realized just how loose the jacket was on her, hanging off her small frame. Suddenly, a thought struck her: while it was too loose fitting for Mor's liking, it could be far more useful as a weapon.
Mor shrugged the jacket off and twisted it into her best approximation of a rope. She listened for a few moments as the footsteps of the other girl approached, watched as Two's shadow grew closer and closer to the doorway. As soon as she caught sight of Claudia's jacket, Mor launched herself at the girl, slamming her into the wall next to the door. Two opened her hand involuntarily, causing her spear to clatter to the ground. "Fuck!"
Mor planted her knee in the middle of Claudia's back, wrapping the rope around her neck. Claudia began to struggle against Mor's grip, clawing at the rope around her neck and reaching out for Mor whenever she could. But Mor remained steadfast, simply pulling backwards and keeping a firm grip on the jacket.
Mor would fight on, as she always had.
After what felt like an eternity, Claudia went quiet. Mor pulled her knee out of the girl's back, allowing the girl's body to slump to the ground in a heap. Mor quickly made her way over to grab the girl's spear, but as she went to kick it away, she felt a tight grip on her ankle.
"It's not that easy to kill me," Claudia laughed bitterly, her voice hoarse.
All of her breath was knocked out of her as Mor hit the ground hard. She scrambled, trying to get back on her feet, but before she could, she felt a large weight settle on her back.
Mor grunted, trying to pry some part of her body off the ground but to no avail; Claudia had her trapped against the stone, positioned just so to keep Mor's small frame entirely pinned down.
Mor was trapped, thoroughly trapped. She'd made a mistake- she should've just run, should've left when she'd had the chance. But she didn't and unless she figured out how to get out, she was going to die here. And god, what a pathetic end this would be: Mor bested at her own game. She was supposed to be the best, and yet she'd be nothing more then a fucking number, another statistic for somebody to analyze.
But instead, Claudia yelped in pain, fumbling for her spear. She shifted her weight off of Mor just long enough to let Mor rip her arm free of the girl's hand. Mor brought her elbow down onto Claudia's head, eliciting another yelp from the girl as Mor scrambled out from beneath her.
There before her stood the shaking form of Jasper McCoy, one of the long fence spikes trembling in his hand. To her disbelief, the tip of the spike was coated in blood.
"What?" Mor muttered to herself, almost not believing her eyes. But though he was paler than usual, if that was even possible, the shaking Jasper was certainly real as the sky was blue. Mor stood staring at Jasper, completely awestruck. But she was quickly snapped back into reality as Claudia swung wildly with a fist that Mor easily ducked under. In response, Mor threw a punch of her own, her fist connecting with Claudia's nose with a satisfying crack. Claudia cried out, stumbling backward as blood began pouring from her nose. Mor didn't let up though, advancing on Claudia and grabbing the girl by her long hair. With a solid grip on her now, Mor pulled her head back, slamming her face into the stone wall once, twice, a third time, not stopping until the Career went still.
"Oh," Jasper said softly.
Mor let Claudia's limp body drop to the floor in a bloodied heap. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Just… passing through," Jasper shrugged. "Um… I'll be going now."
Jasper spun around on his heel, quickly retreating through the door. Mor thought about calling out after him, but decided against it, instead beginning to work Claudia's bag off of her back.
Mor didn't need his help- didn't need anybody's help. She was alone in the Arena. She'd come to this place alone and she'd leave alone.
There was no room for weakness here.
Reign ducked into the Cornucopia, searching through the weapons and supplies as quickly as he could. Soon enough, he came upon a shield behind a stack of crates against the wall. He pulled it out, slipping it onto his arm with ease.
Ping would not get away from him. He refused to let her get away from him.
Reign rushed out of the Cornucopia, running into a small girl. She yelped, attempting to duck around him but to no avail. He grabbed her by the back of her orange jacket, plunging his sword through her back swiftly. The girl fell to the ground with a gasp. Undeterred, Reign turned his attention back to the chaos around him, still searching for Ping.
After all, time spent on the dead was time already wasted.
To his disappointment, Reign didn't spot Ping in the immediate vicinity. Instead, he locked eyes with the towering boy from Six. The boy froze as Reign began to move towards his next victim. Sure, he wasn't Ping, but a kill was a kill either way. After all, the Capitol was watching- he had a reputation to uphold. Everyone in Panem was watching his every move.
For that, Reign was glad. All of Panem would know, everyone would be forced to see, the power District Two held once again.
Just as Reign was about to close in, a girl dressed in a silver uniform that matched the Six boy ran into the fray. She grabbed the boy by the arm, dragging him away just as quickly as she'd run in. Reign sighed, only mildly irritated as he turned away and continued to search for Ping. There was no reason to give chase to the Sixes; it was likely they wouldn't survive out there for long anyway. Besides, Reign had more pressing matters to attend to.
Catching a glimpse of bright green, Reign rounded the corner of the Cornucopia. He finally spotted just who he was looking for: Ping, slinging a bag over her shoulder, her two allies trailing behind her towards the gates on the far side of the courtyard. Reign approached as quietly as he could, taking advantage of the fact that their backs were to him But as he stalked closer, a crack resounded beneath Reign's feet. He hissed as he glanced down to see a broken tree branch under his foot. Reign looked back up, making eye contact with the tall blonde girl with a large Ten on her back.
"Guys, guys we gotta go!"
As the three turned to run, Ten's foot got caught in a large patch of mud, causing her to fall behind her allies. Reign advanced on her fast, plunging his sword through her ribs before turning to the other two. He pulled it out and gave chase, all pretense of stealth abandoned; Reign could not let them get to the fence. As soon as they set foot on those paths, Reign would lose them; if he followed, he would leave the Cornucopia unguarded. And he sure as hell didn't trust Claudia to do it; he hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of her since the very start of the fighting.
As far as Reign was concerned, he was on his own.
In seconds, the girls arrived at the gate. Ping reached it first, pushing it open and rushing through it before Reign could get to her. Reign cursed to himself as Ping pulled it shut behind her, leaving her last living ally stranded on the other side.
"Ping, what are you doing?" Twelve cried, pulling on the gate. Reign narrowed his eyes at the girl with distaste- Ping would so easily sacrifice her allies to him? But he shouldn't have been surprised; he already knew that Ping was careless in her taking of innocent lives. If he'd had any doubt that she was the girl who brought his district to ruin, she'd just snuffed it out.
"I'm sorry," Ping replied. She jammed the bottom of the gate into the mud with a slam, temporarily preventing it from opening. Twelve turned, and went pale at the sight of Reign approaching pushing her back flush against the fence.
Reign finally caught up to the Twelve girl. She attempted to push past him, but she was cornered. A streak of red appeared across the side of her throat as he lashed out with his sword. She shrieked, pressing one hand to her neck, blood already slipping through her fingers. Her other hand pulled a knife from her pocket, which she swung at Reign as she stumbled backwards. He easily sidestepped the strike, plunging his sword into her exposed torso. As she fell, Reign turned his attention back to Ping, just as she disappeared around a corner.
Just like that, she was gone. Reign had lost her. Now he'd have to hunt her down to the ends of the Arena.
There were only so many places she could go, though. Reign knew she couldn't run forever.
Reign yanked on the gate. As he pulled it free from the mud, he felt a heavy blow in the middle of his back.
"I can't believe you'd get distracted at a time like this," the familiar voice of Tarni Villemont hissed from behind him. "I mean, really. You're the first one to score a twelve? Pathetic."
Reign grabbed onto the fence with one hand, dragging himself up as he gripped his sword tighter. He turned to face the Four girl. "Why don't we just fight and get this over with."
Tarni laughed sharply at this, brandishing her bat. Reign held his sword and shield up, planting his feet as solidly as he could.
It wasn't a question.
Tarni took a swing that glanced off his shield with a loud clang. She stepped back, preparing to strike again, giving Reign the opportunity to swing with his sword. She moved- but not fast enough to dodge the blade slicing across her upper arm. She hissed loudly. Reign darted left, and Tarni followed, backing him up against the fence. The last time he'd been in a fight anything like this was when he'd lost to that Peacekeeper.
But Reign would not lose this fight. Not so easily.
In one fluid motion, Reign darted left, swinging with his sword towards Tarni's side. But she blocked it easily, sending surprisingly painful reverberations through his wrist. Reign grunted in response, placing his feet in a more solid stance as Tarni brought the bat down on him again. He attempted to block the attack, but only found himself successful in redirecting it as it connected against his ribs with a sharp crack.
"Give it up," Tarni hissed, blood trickling down her arm. But Reign shook his head; he would rather go down swinging than back down from a fight. And if he could take Tarni down at the same time? All the better.
Tarni swung the bat again. This time, Reign ducked under the strike, plunging his sword into her chest, all the way up to its hilt into her chest. Tarni's gasp became a gurgle as she opened her mouth, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her lips. He leaned heavily against the fence, sinking to the ground as he surveyed the now nearly-empty courtyard.
"Tarni!" a familiar voice called. A moment later, Mystic Hanneman emerged from around the corner of the Cornucopia. She pulled her sword off her back as she ran up, brandishing the tip towards Reign's throat. "What happened?"
"I killed her," Reign coughed, his ribs aching.
"That much is apparent," Mystic replied, her voice steely and cool. "Give me one reason not to kill you here and now."
"You could just kill me. But you're alone now, aren't you? Perhaps we can… help each other."
Mystic paused for a moment, holding her weapon steady at his throat. And then, to Reign's surprise, she dropped it, letting the razor sharp tip sink into the dirt next to him.
"I'll let you live for now, but if you try anything I will not hesitate to kill you," Mystic sighed, tiredly offering him a hand. "Let's get you patched up."
Reign took the hand, letting the shorter girl help him to his feet. He would reach his goal, and if Mystic helped him get there, even better for him. And she'd likely prove to be even more of a useful ally than Claudia ever was.
But really, it didn't matter whether it was Mystic or Claudia by his side. Reign would be the last one standing amongst the carnage.
No matter what the Arena threw at him, Reign Legatus would not give up.
24th: Tallin Windsor, District Eleven. Knifed by Dean Karafanda.
23rd: Olive Sidney, District Eleven. Sword to the back by Chiffon Shivaan.
22nd: Lane Freely, District Seven. Stabbed by Chiffon Shivaan.
21st: Claudia Bartoszek, District Two. Head caved in by Morrigan Meadowlark.
20th: Terra Kiana Quinones, District Five. Stabbed by Reign Legatus.
19th: Bo Peep Durlech, District Ten. Stabbed by Reign Legatus.
18th: Aithne Hastings, District Twelve. Stabbed by Reign Legatus.
17th: Tarni Villemont, District Four. Stabbed by Reign Legatus.
Kills:
Reign Legatus: IIII
Chiffon Shivaan: II
Dean Karafanda: I
Morrigan Meadowlark: I
