Steel Keshmin
I didn't want to move until my wound was set, but the dog wasn't going to give me that much time. I could hear the hinges straining as the mutt threw itself at the door over and over. The door crumpled under the onslaught, and the dog ran up the stairs to the only other door separating it from me. The second door was wooden, and I knew I only had minutes. I ran to the door and tried to block it by bracing my back against it, then realized a dog that could break through metal could break through me. I got up and darted across the room as the door started to splinter.
There was only one thing to do. I climbed into the window frame and stood on it. It was too far to jump down, so I'd have to go up. I grabbed onto the overhanging roof and started to pull myself up. I heard the door fall and the sound of the dog running after me. I got my chest up onto the roof and was working on the rest of my torso when a huge weight jerked me down. The dog had jumped out the window after me and bitten onto my leg. Gravity pulled the dog's teeth down across my leg and my arms screamed as I tried to hold on to the roof. It was like being tied to an anvil. The skin started to scrape off my fingers as I tried to hook them into the metal roof.
If I let go, I'd die. The seconds dragged on and I thought each would be my last. It was impossible. I couldn't get myself on the roof with the dog still there. The dog wouldn't let go. It was invincible. All I could do was hang. It took all my strength just to keep from falling.
I flashed back to my days at the Peacekeeper Academy. I'd never known I could be so tired and keep going. It was always one more pull-up, one more lap, one more mile. No matter how many times I thought I'd given it everything, I had to have more. I pushed one arm farther up the roof. The metal was corrugated and easy to grip. I pulled with all I had, and I gained an inch. My muscles burned and popped under my skin. The leg the dog gripped was slick with blood, and I hoped it would slip off. There was so much strain and agony in me that I didn't know what to feel first, and it blurred into a faraway ache.
I focused my eyes on the top of the roof. I was going to get there. Nothing could stop me, not even a devil dog. Bit by bit, my goal got closer. My problem shifted from how to get on the roof to what to do with the dog still attached to me. Sometimes in the Academy, I had to fight smarter. There was only one thing I could think of. It was going to hurt like I couldn't imagine, but I had to do it.
I jerked my leg up. It barely moved under the dog's weight, but when I let it fall, the dog dropped an inch. The drop ripped open more of my leg, and my flesh lost some of its shape. I did it again two more times, and I got what I'd hoped for. A chunk of my flesh tore in the dog's mouth. I knew the dog wouldn't let go of what it had, so I let it have it. The mutt fell to the ground with its mouthful of my leg still held in its mouth. I clambered onto the roof, suddenly light as a feather, and looked down at it. It was pacing back and forth and barking at me, looking for a way up.
I was hardly any better off. I'd lost a huge chunk of flesh and I was bleeding everywhere. I couldn't get off the roof with the dog still there, and it would never leave. But it hadn't beaten me, and it never would.
Floki Grimm POV
As fun as it was painting nails, we were ready for some harder action. Whyte and I were looking to pick off some of the loners left in the Arena. Before, I wanted to make sure I only fought worthy enemies. This time, everyone was a threat. It made things more honorable, but also more dangerous.
We passed by the two water towers, which were tipped over. We knew the loners were likely to be farther away from the center of the Arena, so that's where we were heading. We started out with our usual banter, but we grew quieter the farther we went. We were on the hunt, and we didn't want to scare away the others.
When we rounded the corner of a building at the edge of the woods, there was a flurry of motion. Whyte was ahead of me, and I ran up between him and the building. In battle, you always look out for your brothers, no matter what. Whyte started and turned sideways. I twisted to see who we were facing, and his sword punched through my ribs.
Troy Cahill POV
My eyes went wide when I saw it was two Tributes. I'd heard a twig snap and thought someone was coming. I hid behind the building to attack, but I wasn't expecting to see both Floki and Whyte. I'd see the tapes of Floki's Games, and I knew the fight wasn't over, even if most Tributes would already be dead from my blow.
Sure enough, Floki's eyes were bloodshot and his mouth started to foam. He grabbed me by the shirt and threw me to the ground. With my sword still sticking out of him, he bent over me and squeezed my throat in both hands until I felt something cracking. One hand left my throat and grabbed the blade behind his back. He yanked it out of his body, slashing his hand and spraying blood everywhere. Floki rose to his feet and held the sword in both hands as he dropped heavily into a crouch, impaling the sword through me and into the ground.
We were both dying, but I was going faster. I wasn't going to get to live all those lives after all. Not everyone could say they got impaled by a mad Viking, though. I lived my greatest moment in my death.
Whyte Roberts POV
One second I was walking with my ally. The next I was standing next to a beast. Floki didn't even pause when the sword hit him. He yanked it from his back like a valkyrie and stuck it into Troy, killing his murderer in as much time as it took me to react. He fell across his kill, panting and pouring blood.
"That was insane! You're a beast!" I said as I crouched next to him. After that, it didn't even seem like he was wounded. That would have killed anyone else, but Floki would brush it right off. But he wasn't standing up.
"Floki?" I asked. "You all right?" He laid down on his side and laughed. Blood trickled from his mouth.
"What are you talking about? I just got run through. I am not fine," he said. He sounded short of breath. Just as soon as he went crazy, he went back to being a normal and very mortal young man. He seized and curled his legs under him.
"No. No. No. Just go all beast again," I said. "You'll be fine." I tried to pull him to his feet, and he waved me off.
"What, and kill everyone before I bleed to death? I'm tired of fighting. I could get up. Maybe I could take a few steps. But I'm tore up inside. I just fired my last shot," Floki said. It wasn't possible. Floki was unbeatable. He was a dinosaur-killing berserker machine. But then, anyone else would have been dead already. Most people would have died before Troy pulled the sword out. It was almost ghastly that Floki could still talk. He flipped himself over to face the sky.
"Skaal, Whyte. Honor and victory follow you. Me, I've already seen Valhalla. I'm ready for Folkvangr this time. I'll meet that lady there. We'll start a family that won't ever die. What could be better?" He was so composed, like he was settling in to bed. He looked up at the sun and I expected to see a chariot coming down for him.
The warrior was gone.
13th place: Troy Cahill- Killed to death by Floki
Troy started out a little boring for me his first time, but he got more interesting as he started to look outside the Games. He lived all the life he could in the time he had in the Capitol, and he turned out to be a stand-up guy. He cared for Steel even though he couldn't sacrifice his life for her, and he did good. It's a pretty nasty surprise to attack what you think is some loner and find out it's a Viking superman. Thanks Jayman for Troy. You never give up, just like Troy.
12th place: Floki Grimm- Sword through the heart
I knew Floki was going to die hard again. The most likely thing to kill him would have been a mutt, but I didn't want to be repetitive. Instead he went out saving Whyte and, of course, wreaking havoc. If all the others had been in the area he probably could have killed a lot of them in one rampage. While he was still determined to win, he lacked the raw lust for battle he used to have. He was wiser, and he'll be happier in Folkvangr than he was in Valhalla. Thanks CarlPoppaLOL for letting us use Floki again.
Well slap me silly, you're right! Diamond still doesn't have as many POVs since she was behind from before. This time it was a death chapter so it had to be these characters, but I had her in mind as I went through my notes and now I'll definitely have her soon.