"Bloodbath"
~Here comes the boom~
Arnold "Arkus" Smitt, 18, District Nine
The plates rose.
There was no thought in Arkus mind, no worry. He barely even took in his surroundings. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw twenty-three more plates, and a dark, dusty warehouse, light breaking through gaps in the ceiling as the entire building looked ready to collapse. But he didn't notice. He smiled wide, ready to show them all what he already knew. The plate clicked into place, and the large eclectic timer flashed 60 seconds.
Arkus Smitt took a step forward.
Logan Hurt, 18, District Four
The plates rose.
Logan held to the necklace, letting it slip through his fingers as he shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Musky air entered his lungs, and he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. They were in a warehouse, broken down and abandoned, with graffiti tagging the walls and a heavy layer of dust and broken shards of brick, wood, and glass lying on the floor. Twenty-three tributes rose with him, and he only needed to look one plate down to see the person he was looking for. Aphrodite Silva, directly to his left, looking to her left with wide eyes as her mouth opened in shock.
"Wait-wait-wait, wha-"
An explosion rocked the warehouse. Three plates down, a shower of blood and limbs flew into the air, chunks of flesh and various debris ejecting from the epicenter, where Arkus Smitt had been just moments before. A bit of the blood managed to splatter to Aphrodite, and she turned to Logan with a disgusted look.
Someone screamed.
"What the fuck!" Someone shouted
A thought entered Logan's mind, and he saw revenge in his eyes, sooner than he had expected. Easier, too.
"Julia Hurt," he said, his voice low enough that only Aphrodite could hear him. Her head tilted in confusion, but her eyes shone with recognition. "You murdered her," he spat.
Aphrodite's eyes widened. Logan tightened his grip on the silver necklace, wrapping it around his knuckles and kissing the steel as he prepared himself.
"No, stop! Don't!"
Logan closed his eyes, and leapt forward. With his last conscious moment, he took hold of Aphrodite's leg and pulled.
Lana Birkhead, 12, District Two
The plates rose.
Lana's eyes were wide as they took in every detail she could notice. It was a warehouse. Holes in the ceiling, debris on the ground, a few splatters of blood on the walls and floors. Three exits, and a ladder that led to a balcony which led somewhere else out of sight.
She went to take in more information, but stopped in her track as she looked across the plates and saw Maya Hoover bringing her hands to her head as she stepped to the edge of her plate, backing away as far as she could manage.
"Wait-wait-wait, wha-"
The explosion interrupted her as Arkus Smitt stepped off his plate.
Beside Maya, Ciera Ocussia screamed as blood rained down and a chunk of his leg smacked her in the chest. She juggled with it, clutching onto it and refusing to let it fall, out of fear of the chain reaction it would set off.
"What the fuck!" Udon shouted beside her.
Most of the tributes seemed frozen, shell-shocked. Three plates to her left, Lana saw as Logan Hurt steadied himself, taking hold of a steel necklace and saying something incomprehensible to his district partner beside him.
"No, stop! Don't!"
Aphrodite's pleading was interrupted by her screaming as Logan leapt forward. As his legs hit the ground he reached out to her leg and pulled, and before the explosion took away her view she saw the girl from Four falling to the ground.
This one was near-deafening, ringing in Lana's ears as more red rained down on the pedestals. As her hearing slowly returned, she was met with the sound of multiple people screaming in terror and shock now. Juniper, two plates to Lana's left and right next to Logan's plate, was one of them.
"What the fuck is wrong with all of you!" Someone screamed.
From the opposite side of the circle, someone called out, "Y'all can keep on jumping if you want to!"
Lana brought her hand up to her face, and when she brought her palm down saw that a thin coat of blood had sprayed her. Looking to the state of Juniper and Persephone on her left, both of them drenched in red, Lana figured she was in a similar state. She shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Her eyes darted to the countdown timer.
5 seconds.
Lana got into a running stance, and as soon as the gong rang out she sprinted to the middle of the circle. There was no cornucopia, just a small pile of boxes, no more than six in total. A handful of weapons surrounded the crates. Two bows, one battle-axe, a few smaller axes and hatchets, two swords, a bo-staff, and a couple daggers. That was all.
Lana took the first weapon she could get her hand on, a curved dagger with a gilded hilt. She shot up to her feet, spinning in a circle on the ball of one foot as she took in her competition. Hardly anyone had even stepped off their plate yet. The boy from One had slowly stepped off, but was distracted, looking lost as he stumbled forward aimlessly. The boy from Eleven had calmly walked up, taking the bo-staff that was placed near him and turning away to one of the exits.
Lana heard footsteps approaching from behind.
She spun, dagger slashing out violently. The boy from Seven looked back at her with wide eyes. He brought a hand up to his throat, where a clean slice had been made, leaving a steady stream of blood trickling out.
An image flashed in her head.
The room. The man, approaching her, presenting her with the golden dagger, just like the one she held now. His orders. Kill him. Her arms working by themselves, stabbing the man, over and over until he fell to the ground. The guards, laughing behind masks that concealed their eyes. Their throats, slit open in the same way as the boy's was, their hands scratching towards it in that same, feeble way.
The dagger dropped from her hands, clamoring as it rang against the floor. She took a step away from the boy as he fell to his knees, and then further down, to the floor. She was backpedaling, and forced herself to look away, turning to run and immediately colliding with the large man from One. He held a battle-axe in his hand.
The two locked eyes, the man's grip on the axe tightening. Ready to strike. He never did. After a long moment of stillness, she turned, sprinting away, not sure where, just away. She ran past a few kids still standing on their podiums. She made it to one of the exits, a small metal door with the word exit in glowing red letters.
She paused, her hand on the door as she turned around for one moment. Across the warehouse that was only just now stirring into action, she met Talon's eyes. He was on the opposite side, the rest of their allies there, a sword slung over his shoulder. Nikola was hurrying towards the door, a crate in his arms. Udon held a hatchet, and Maya and Ciera had only just arrived, their hands empty. While they all rushed by, Talon paused, continuing to stare at her, something unreadable in his expression.
Lana turned away, pushing open the door and running into the open air.
Juniper Lourdes, 16, District Seven
The plates rose.
The first thing Juniper noticed was the smell. The air was stale, and there was the unmistakable smell of death in the air. Decomposition. It lingered, even as Juniper's eyes failed to find a source, only being met with a concrete jungle, a long-abandoned warehouse. Sunlight poked in from the holes in the ceiling, revealing it be the middle of daytime, but no other light was allowed in. The windows were boarded up with cracked wood. Over the wood, red graffiti tagged them with words Juniper squinted to make out.
An explosion rocked the warehouse, blasting her ears, the shockwave nearly knocking her over as she struggled to maintain her balance.
Someone screamed.
"What the fuck!" Someone shouted
A bit of blood had splattered all the way to Juniper's plate, landing on her boots and staining the cuffs of the worn-in jeans they had put her in. Her backpack and white t-shirt were spared any damage.
By the time she got her bearings enough to look to the source of the explosion, she caught the District Four tributes both falling to the ground. Juniper barely had time to brace herself before the second explosion erupted.
This time blood bathed her from head to toe, a few chunks of flesh and pieces of concrete flying past her as she shut her eyes, covering her face as best as she could. Her ears rang, blocking out all sound as she stumbled, falling to one knee for a moment as she nearly slipped off. She was vaguely aware that her mouth was open, and that she was screaming.
By the time the ringing and the shell-shock wore off, the gong had already rang, and Juniper was left to take in the situation that had befallen her. District Four was dead. A cursory glance around the circle told her who else was missing. Arkus. Only a handful of tributes had stepped off their plates yet, and one of them was Vesa, one of her few allies left. He was running to the center, and she wanted to call out to him, but felt her mouth refuse to open, her throat clamped shut as if blood were coating her airways.
She dropped back to her knees, and vomit spilt out of her mouth, dribbling down her chin as she sputtered and wheezed. Her palms wiped away at her face, attempting to clear the slick blood away, but her hands only managed to smear it, leaving red, smeared handprints.
Juniper remembered where she was.
Survival instinct took hold, and she jumped to her feet. She made to run towards the center, meet up with Vesa and get out of there, just the two of them. One protector was better than none. She made it two steps before she noticed that he was on his knees, the girl from Two beside him, her dagger bloodied.
Juniper staggered back, shaking her head as her mind raced with empty, mindless thoughts. This couldn't be happening. Not to her. She fell the ground, and scanned the room, eyes searching for some form of hope. She spotted Inesa, looking just as shocked as her, though she was spared the shower. Her last remaining ally was stumbling towards the far exit, and Juniper stumbled to her feet and hurried there, the long way around the circle of plates, careful to keep her distance from the few that were bold enough to run towards the weapons instead of for the exits.
She met Inesa at one of the doors, and the two exchanged a look, a panicked desperation and raw fear. The two needed no words. They pushed the door open.
Troy Magnison, 18, District One
The plates rose.
It was the moment Troy had been awaiting. He had trained, and fought, and prepared for this singular moment. This was the end. And it would be glorious.
He took little stock of his surroundings, already knowing he would have no need for the information. There was a battle-axe in the center of the circle, though there was no cornucopia. Troy set his target. Vivian was beside him, just two plates to his left, and they were razor focused, already in a running position as they eyed one of the two bows. They were both ready.
And then the explosion happened.
It was from the opposite end of the circle, but Troy could still see it easily, watched as blood and guts detonated like shrapnel from a grenade.
A young woman screamed.
"What the fuck?" A boy shouted.
Troy stood frozen for a moment, then shook his head. It was but a minor distraction. He would still make it to the center of the circle, and he would fight until his death. He would die in glory, and honor, and combat. He would do what he had needed to do from the moment he had failed to save Idun that night. He would be with them again.
Another explosion rocked the warehouse. Troy saw it this time, watched as both the District Four warriors went up in smoke and debris and red rain.
"What the fuck is wrong with all of you!" Ty Bale screamed, his hands held to his head as he frantically looked around him to see if someone else was going to jump.
Nikola Surge could be heard chuckling beneath the screaming that came from every direction. "Y'all can keep on jumping if you want to!" He called out.
Troy felt his hands shaking. Not out of disgust, or fear. He had seen worse and death certainly didn't scare him. Well, it was fear, but not of the normal sort. He felt it in the pit of his stomach, for the first time, the chance that this might not be his last day walking on Earth.
It had been a foregone conclusion, not even worth thinking about, for so long that he had forgotten what uncertainty felt like. Now half of the trained warriors had been killed in the blink of an eye, and he wondered if he might actually come out victorious. It was a thought that would fill most with relief and promise. It filled him with dread.
He only half-noticed when the gong rang. He stumbled off his plate, aimlessly stumbling for a few moments until he eventually made his way to the battle-axe, taking it in his hands and firmly gripping it in his hands. He forced himself to focus. There was still a battle to be had, he just had to-
The young girl from District Two ran into him, and his grip tightened. She wobbled, nearly falling to the ground as she stumbled back, staring up at him with petrified eyes. She held no weapons.
They stood for a long moment, Troy's heart beating in his ears and up into his throat. He was turned to stone, unable to move. He didn't know what he was supposed to do.
The girl eventually moved, sprinting away and dashing towards the exit with a desperate pace. Troy shook his head, stumbling towards the center to see that the other Career alliance was already escaping. Talon and the rest of his allies were at the exit, the boy from Five with a crate in his arms and Talon wielding a sword.
The two met eyes for a moment, and Talon nodded his head, then turned and jogged to catch up to his allies as they pushed through the door and ran outside. Troy sat down on the floor, setting the battle-axe down as he looked around the room. Vivian was walking towards him slowly, bow held ready in her hands. Everyone else was gone, all except for one tribute that Troy had almost not noticed. Placed directly in between the three detonated plates, Sparrow Kalani stood perfectly still, blood coating her as she held her eyes tightly shut.
Sparrow Kalani, 12, District Twelve
The plates rose.
Sparrow was terrified. Everything was coming at her fast now, and the realization was setting in. This could be it. In just a few moments she could be dead, her story ended. She still couldn't bring herself to cry, but she certainly wanted to.
She didn't even have time to take in her surroundings before it began.
"Wait-wait-wait, wha-"
The explosion rang out through the warehouse. Sparrow's ears were ringing, her vision empty as she clamped her eyes and mouth shut, keeping them clamped shut as blood dripped from her hair and voice and drenched her clothes. She wanted to open her mouth to scream, but her lips felt glued together.
Everything rushed by around her, she was left without half of her senses, but she could still feel the second explosion as the tremors ran beneath her feet. She felt as another wave of blood washed over her, and a third in rapid succession that let her know it was two bodies this time. Bodies that had been reduced to mist and liquid, liquid that was soaking her hair, dribbling down her cheeks.
She wanted so badly to cry.
Sparrow waited for the next explosion to happen, the final one. She waited for it to be her this time, turned into mist and spray. She knew it was going to happen. Everyone knew it was going to happen. She was going to die in this arena. She just wasn't ready for it to be so soon.
The thought that death was just around the corner, waiting to come knocking, it made her stomach twist itself into knots. Her chest tightened, her heartbeat quickening as she felt her throat constricting, choking itself. Everything blurred outside of her own body, and she wasn't sure if it had only been seconds since the last explosion or hours when her hearing slowly came back, the ringing in her ears fading to a quiet hum.
Something touched her arm, and that was the match that lit the powder and set off the fourth explosion. It wasn't landmines this time, though. Sparrow burst into tears, crumbling to the ground as she threw out sob after sob, her torso bending into her knees as she gasped for breath, even as blood trickled onto her lips so that a few drops even landed into her mouth.
All of it came at once. Her dad telling them all the news, that her mom was gone. The funeral, all black clothes and the wooden coffin being closed, her mom's unsmiling face erased as it was lowered into the ground. The reaping, her name read out and the Peacekeepers taking her up onto the stage. All of it came to her like a tidal wave, like a flood that was being held back by the flimsiest of dams. A dam which had splintered into a million pieces.
"It's okay, you're safe," a voice told her calmly, and everything was still distorted enough that she wondered for a moment if it was her mother's voice. Had she been turned to mist, and now this was her mom, waiting for her, patient and waiting and there? She knew it was childish and naïve the moment she opened her eyes, and her blurry sight only confirmed that idea.
The man from District One was crouched over, looking at her with discomfort and worry. His district partner stood further back, awkwardly avoiding eye contact as they glanced around the otherwise empty room.
Sparrow sniffled, her voice quaking as she still heaved sobs out with every breath. "Are-are you g-going to k-kill me now?"
The man looked taken aback. After a moment, he shook his head. "Of course not," he said assuredly. "It's okay now, nobody here is going to harm you."
"That's not true," Sparrow choked out, shaking her head furiously. She went to wipe at her eyes, but stopped as she saw the blood on her palm, and dropped her hand to the floor.
Troy smiled sadly, reaching forward with the sleeve of his shirt and wiping her tears for her. "It's true, sometime soon, there will be somebody who will try to harm you. But that moment is not now, and so for now there is nothing to fear."
Sparrow continued to shake her head.
"You know, not all warriors look like it," he said after a while, and Sparrow looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. Her tear ducts had begun to empty, drying out as twelve years of buildup came pouring out all at once. "There are the fierce and big and strong warriors who use swords and axes, sure, but they are not the strongest warriors that there are, not by a long shot." He smiled, shaking his head as he knelt down further so that he was on Sparrow's level. His eyes glistened. "The strongest warriors are the ones that aren't big, wielding large weapons and fearing everyone who sees them. The strongest warriors are the ones that see the big, the fierce, the terrifying, and they stand up taller, lift their chins higher, and say to them 'I am not afraid.'"
The man reached into his backpack, swapping it for Sparrow's which had been stained a dark red. Before he gave it to her, he opened it up, taking out a razor-sharp dagger and holding it gently in his hands. He extended his arms, offering it up to her.
"Be the type of warrior that always says, 'I am not afraid.' No matter what. No matter who."
Sparrow hesitated, then reached out, taking the knife in her hands and clenching it so tightly that her knuckles paled. She nodded her head, and looked up to the man, her eyes still wet. "I will," she said, her voice quiet but sure, only a slight quiver still there.
The man just smiled.
She slipped the backpack on, still holding the dagger tight as she walked past the man, heading for the nearest exit. She forced her legs to not shake as she continued to walk, not looking back, only forward. She reached the door, and nearly pushed it open, but paused, stepping back for a moment and glancing at the window beside it. It was boarded up with wooden planks, and on it were words written in red graffiti, not faded and old like everything else in the warehouse. The paint was fresh, recent. Sparrow paused, fear in her gut as she read over the words. She quickly pushed it aside, though, forcing it out of her thoughts as best she could, trying to focus on those words the man from One had told her instead.
She pushed through the door, and the wooden boards shook as the door slammed shut behind her, the bright red words still reading loudly.
They've found us. God have mercy on us all.
A/N: After about 9 years I've finally done it. I've written a bloodbath, and in the most literal sense possible. For the record, I came up with the idea for this like 4 years ago, before plate shenanigans was what everyone was doing lol. This chapter was brutal for me to write, but exciting at the same time. I'm so excited to show you all the rest of this story, but it's gonna be hard to say goodbye to these brilliant characters. Anyways, I like suspense so as always eulogies will only come when confirmed by the nightly anthem/faces in the sky. Normally people make an exception to that for bloodbath, but I'm just *dramatic* like that. Also, this bloodbath was purposefully disorienting and confusing, so I like the idea of not giving y'all the entire picture just yet.
Trivia(1 point): Thoughts? Predictions? About the bloodbath, the deaths, the POVs, the arena (from what little we've seen so far), I just want to hear what y'all think!
Trivia(1 point): Now that we're officially in the arena it seems like a good time to start asking: Who are you hoping will win? Or, failing that, who are some people you hope survive for a while longer?
The updates will keep on coming at lightspeed, so enjoy that + don't feel bad about falling behind in the meantime. I'm so excited, and hope y'all are too! See you all tomorrow with Day 1, as we see the aftermaths of the bloodbath and who all met their end.