Chapter 27:
Letha Calder, District Five, Victor of the 112th Hunger Games
This…is always the worst part of the Games for Letha. The waiting for them to start…the pit of nerves and anxieties forming in her stomach knowing that once they are in that arena, there's so little she can actually do to help her tribute. But this year…the stakes are so much higher for her.
She has to get Davy out to protect her son. Her baby…
From the moment Davy first confessed to her on the trains how he feels towards her youngest son, she swore then and there she would do everything in her power to get him home. To save her son from the heartbreak of losing the one he is crushing on. She knows if the worst happens it will destroy Leandro…he might be able to come back from it, but Letha won't from the guilt of knowing she failed them both.
"Hey Mom…"
Letha turns at the sound of her eldest son calling for her, surprised at his tone. Argos stands a few feet away, nervously rubbing the back of his neck – a neck Letha raises an eyebrow at when she sees it covered in marks. But instead of scolding him, she takes a few steps closer and hugs her boy, seeing that he needs some comfort right now. "I know, dear…"
"It's just…" Argos sighs as he holds onto her tightly. "Last night…"
"Can we wait until after the Games start to talk about you going out to find 'hot babes'?" Letha asks him, really not sure she can handle the stress of her eldest son sleeping around on top of the immense stress she already feels with the Games starting so soon.
"But that's the problem," Argos says as he steps back from Letha, struggling to tell her what is bothering him. The fact that he came to her and not his father is enough to make her concerned right away. "I – oh, never mind… I know you're just going to focus on Davy for Leandro…"
"I have to, Argos, you know that," Letha tells him, scolding him just a little for thinking she wouldn't put her full focus on Davy. "Regardless of Leandro, he is my tribute…"
Argos pouts at this, but soon nods his head. "I guess…any chance we are allowed to sponsor tributes?"
"I wish we could," Letha says with a heavy sigh. "Leandro has already begged me this morning to use his entire college savings account to sponsor Davy."
"Right…" Argos says quietly. "Well…I'll just go talk to Dad… You need to focus on Davy and Leandro if the worst happens…"
"Are you going to be alright?" Letha calls after him and he pauses to look back at her.
"Yeah, Mom… Just make sure you're alright."
Letha is frowning at her son as Galen approaches her. "Letha…it's time."
"I wish it would never be time," Letha whispers to him, growing more anxious by the second. She hates this.
"We can never stop it," Galen tells her, trying to reassure her, but…there's no stopping the anxiety twisting her stomach around and making her feel like she might throw up.
"I know…" Letha sighs before staring at the elevator for a moment. "Let's go try and save our tributes…"
The pair head over to the elevator and as they push the button, someone yells after them. "Mom, wait!"
Letha has to fight back tears at the pain in her son's voice, knowing she needs to be focused on Davy right now, not her boys… But her baby needs her.
"Mom, please," Leandro pleads with her as he stops next to her as the elevator opens, thankfully empty. Galen steps in, keeping his hand over the door to keep it open for Letha. She looks over at her son, already her height, as he takes her hand. But she wishes he hadn't because seeing the tears on his face makes her start crying immediately. "Let me go with you."
"Leandro, I…" Letha shakes her head, looking over at Galen for support on what to do. "I don't want you watching in that room and being around all that pain…"
"But what if I need you for my own pain…?" Leandro asks her quietly, trying his hardest to stop crying right now.
Letha shuts her eyes at this, hating every moment of this. "Letha…" She opens her eyes at Galen's voice. "Let him come with us."
"Alright…" Letha whispers before pulling her son into the elevator with her. As the doors shut, she holds onto him tightly, trying to soothe him. "He is going to get out of there safely. He is a smart boy."
"I-I hope so," Leandro sobs at her shoulder and she leads him out as they reach the floor where Letha will spend the next few days, still holding onto him tightly.
As they enter the mentors room, Letha can see they are the last to arrive. They get a few looks as they enter, thanks to Leandro, but Letha doesn't pay any attention to them. All she cares about it what's about to happen and being there for her son if he needs her.
Johan looks up at her arrival and when he sees her with Leandro, he jumps up to bring over another chair for her at their table. She sits Leandro down between them and Johan moves his chair closer to him, trying to rub his shoulder to soothe him. Letha keeps a hold of Leandro's hand as she looks around the room, thankful the screens for the tributes are not on yet. She still has some time…
Her fellow victors are scattered around the room and for the first time in a long time…everyone seems anxious and nervous for the start of the Games. Especially the younger ones who were not around for the last Quarter Quell.
The career mentors sit near each other, but even they aren't talking and joking around like they usually would. Thetis and Emilio are whispering to each other, their faces a mix of anger and nerves. Kat sits separate, her arms crossed and scowl on her face as she stares straight ahead at the black screens, avoiding looking at Glacia and Darach next to her, holding onto each other tightly as Glacia has her eyes shut, tears silently falling down her cheeks. And next to them, Okeanas and Muir, both silent as they watch, faces full of worry that is so unusual for Okeanas.
Nearby, several mentors sit together at two tables pushed close together. Isidore is biting her nails and Letha is glad Amelia has a mentor that cares just as much about her as she would a tribute actually from Three. Jarle has his chair pushed away from the table and closer to the one next to them so he can talk to Dampero, both of them looking around at the others as they talk quietly. Matla sits at the table with Dampero, her arms crossed and frown on her face, surely trying to steel herself for the start of the Games. And Pigmy is on the other side of Matla, tapping her fingers on the table as she stares straight ahead. Galen has joined them and when he sees Letha looking his way, he nods his head and tries to give her a reassuring smile.
The District Seven team sits together on a small couch, Glen with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around them as he stares down at the ground. Stefan is saying something to him quietly, shaking his head the whole time.
Fonio sits alone at the bar, an untouched drink sitting in front of him as he stares off…clearly not too certain about his tribute's odds. Mazie sits near him, occasionally glancing at the glass in concern, no doubt thinking about all the years of mentoring with Sativa and watching her drink the pain away.
Kanzi and Pinova share a couch, Kanzi's arm protectively around Pinova's shoulder as tears fall down her cheeks, and Letha just wants to hug her. But the second youngest victor isn't staring at the screens yet. She's staring at the youngest among the mentors.
Letha's heart breaks as she looks over at the table where the group from Eight sits together… Hessian has his head resting against the table, shaking it repeatedly. And Astrid and Clark… Astrid stands behind the chair where Clark sits, her hands protectively on his shoulders. Clark is…as distraught looking as Letha expected him to be for his very first Games… She nearly gets up to go hug him, but Leandro tightens his hand in hers as the screens light up, revealing the tributes in their respective launch rooms.
Her eyes find Davy right away and her heart breaks for the boy as he stands alone, tears falling down his cheeks. "Leandro…look away for this…"
"I can't-"
"Look away."
Leandro starts to protest her but when she gives him a hard look, tears forming in her eyes, he slowly nods his head. He moves over to hide his face in her shoulder, but she knows he is still going to be watching, even if she doesn't want him to see what might happen. But how can he not watch?
Everyone is going to be watching. It's time for the Sixth Quarter Quell to begin.
Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker
As the tributes prepare to launch, Seraphim watches all of the screens, anxiously waiting for something to go wrong. He just cannot fight the pit in his stomach that…something will happen… He's tried ensuring everything will go smoothly…yet…the rebels are the unknown factor. The President has not yet been able to figure out what exactly their plan is and it's making Seraphim a ball of nerves.
"If you keep biting your lip, you're going to have no lip left," Laelia tries to joke with him, but he can tell from her voice that she is also nervous about this. "No lip left for Zephyr to kiss."
Normally her comment would have made him start blushing, but not now. Not when the Games are mere minutes away from beginning. He absentmindedly rubs at his arm, feeling pain from the scar barely there anymore. "I just want this all to go smoothly."
"And it will," Laelia reassures him. "We've done so much to keep it secure."
"But what if we missed something," Seraphim says desperately as someone calls up that all tributes are ready in their arena gear – a simple outfit to stick with the theme surrounding the Quell. Lisia had told him to pick a theme, and he has stuck with it. So now, the tributes wear Roman garb, simply white togas – with some pockets in them – and sandals that lace up their legs. Seraphim sighs and takes a glance at Laelia. "I guess we don't have time to worry right now."
Seraphim stands up and walks to the edge of the balcony, trying to get himself focused and ready for what's to come. He takes a deep breath as he stares down at the team of Gamemakers below them, all waiting on his command. "Give them the order to enter the launch tubes."
The word is given and Seraphim watches everyone enter the tube, some slower than others, hesitating and trying to take as much time as they can to avoid the inevitable. Some try wiping the tears from their faces, while others stare straight ahead, letting the tears stay there as the tubes slide down around them. And some just look ready to fight.
"Ready for launch, sir."
Seraphim nods his head and stares at the screens. Twenty-two tributes…how many of them are going to make it through these next few minutes? How will they all react with the loss of their senses? And who will be their victor? He can only begin to guess…but there's no time to speculate. "Let's bring them up and turn on the sense bots when they are in the dark before reaching the arena."
The tributes slowly start to rise and Seraphim watches as each tribute gets their one sense taken away from them to fulfill the Quell twist. And then they are pushed out into the arena, all but five of them getting their first glimpse of the arena.
The cameras give an aerial shot of the arena, a massive dilapidated colosseum, with the tributes being placed up in the first floor level of the stands with steps leading down to the fighting pit, where the Cornucopia sits in all its golden glory. The tributes are put in five groups according to which sense was lost, spaced out equally among the level. Staircases are spaced between the tributes, leading upward to two more levels above them and below to a whole floor waiting to be explored. Each group stands in front of a small pile of knives, one for each tribute, giving them the option to choose to fight there or risk it for the different weapons at the Cornucopia. Bags are scattered throughout the stands, filled with better items the further the tributes are willing to get to the Cornuopia. It's a worthy risk, but a risk that leaves their backs completely exposed if they try to run away from the careers, two of which he knows will go for range weapons.
"Zoom in on the tributes and get their reactions."
The cameras first find the five tributes who got the worst sense taken away from them: their sight. Around the pile of knives, all arranged to still be facing the Cornucopia, stand the five tributes. As the sun hits their faces, they know they have lost their sight.
Anastacia curses under her breath and Demarcus immediately turns in her direction, calling her name. "Anastacia?"
"Yeah, I'm here," she says loudly before cursing again. But hearing her voice seems to slightly calm the panic building in Demarcus because he knows he is not alone there.
Atropa, standing between the two of the careers, starts shaking her head when she realizes where she is. "Well this is a shitty fate. Fate…Fete!" She gets a response from him, letting her know at least what direction to run to get to him, but her face doesn't look too hopefully about her odds of getting away from the careers.
Courtney tilts her head to the side, trying to rely on her hearing, but of the five standing there, she looks the least concerned. "Carpe diem," she mutters to herself before bracing herself to start running whenever the gong sounds.
The last of the five, Arthur, breathes heavily as he calls out to Cal, clearly starting to panic at the loss of his sight. But his ally doesn't respond.
Because the cameras move over to the next group, the group with the second worst sense to lose in the arena. Cal looks around, noticing who is with him, before starting to wobble a little as his sense of balance is also impacted by the loss of their hearing. But he finds his ally, and determination fills his eyes as he stares down the supplies at the Cornucopia.
Next to Cal, Major is watching him, cold look in his eyes as he glances between the knives and the supplies Cal is preparing to run towards. But a smirk forms on his face as he glances at the sight group and sees Anastacia there, not seeming as bothered by his loss of hearing.
Across from Major in the group, a girl glares over at him, and Seraphim has no doubt that Sky is going to try to get to Major using one of the knives in front of her.
Next to Sky, Davy is nervously glancing around at the group he has launched with, unable to hear one of his allies calling for him. He snaps his fingers next to his ear and tries to keep it together when he realizes that he really did lose his hearing, before taking a deep breath and trying to sign something, giving himself comfort that he will still be able to communicate with his allies.
In the center of their small group stands Adam, who is crying as he panics over the loss of his hearing. He crouches down on his pedestal, putting his head between his knees for a moment as he tries to slow his breathing, but quickly looks back up when he realizes that he has no way of knowing when the countdown will start.
The cameras next pan over to the group that has lost their sense of touch, something that could be dangerous in the arena if they become unaware of injuries.
Bell is flexing her hands, clearly trying to get used to the lack of sensation there. She moves her neck side to side, clearly preparing herself to fight.
Beside her, Jessamine just looks relieved that she has not lost her sense of sight, before starting to look around to find her allies.
Which is quite the opposite reaction of Amelia, who is rapidly breathing as she pats down the pockets on her toga, panicking as she tries to pull out her token that's a picture of herself and her brother. When she does finally have it in her hand, her breathing slows a little, but tears of fear are forming. But as she looks around the arena, she nervously calls out when she sees Courtney looking prepared to run. "Courtney, I'll come to you!"
The last of their group is Genesis and she stares around the arena with wide eyes, getting overwhelmed by all of it. But she does looks over at her ally nervously calling her name. "I'm here, Elias."
The fourth group is shown, the group that has lost their sense of taste. They are slow to react to it, a few of them moving their tongues around and trying to see if they really did lose that sense. Seraphim knows they are relieved now, but they may not be later on in the arena.
Eliot is bouncing on his feet, waving his arms around and trying to call out to his allies, but both of them can't hear him. Seraphim gets a little worried about all of his movement, but he stays balanced on his pedestal, clearly ready to run for his allies.
Delta is next to him, not reacting at all to her sense and only staring at the fifth group of tributes, burning hatred in her eyes, and Seraphim lets out a sigh of relief that Delta will take care of that threat.
Fete is looking alert, for once, staring across the arena to where his best friend and ally stands. His fists are balled at his sides and he blinks rapidly, trying to hold himself together.
The last in their group is Fox, tears flowing down his cheeks as he watches Adam panic, far from him. He braces himself to run, in the direction of Adam, not the supplies.
And the final four are in the group with the loss of smell. Similar to taste, it takes a bit for them to realize which sense they lost, with Odyssey even sniffing himself and nodding his head in approval. "Well at least I won't be able to know how bad I reek at the end of this," he chuckles to himself before looking for his allies and getting focused.
Eva rolls her eyes at him as she eyes out the supplies by the Cornucopia, clearly weighing out the risks of going for the better items.
Elias looks terrified for the start of the arena, but his eyes are locked on Genesis, before assessing the pathway connecting the launch areas.
And finally, there is Holly, or Carameuse, staring back at Delta and hyperventilating.
Clockwise around the arena, the tributes stand, spread out by their group. Sight at the northern edge…hearing…touch…taste…and smell…
Seraphim takes a deep breath, knowing there's no going back now. "Start the timer."
The sixty second timer begins, with both a number hovering over the Cornucopia and with a Gamemaker counting down, providing everyone in the arena with the ability to know when the Games start.
Seraphim watches the monitors with each tribute's vital signs on it, watching as some of the heart rates increase. He's surprised when Odyssey starts calling out to his two allies in the sight group. "Anastacia and Demarcus! We're around an arena."
"No shit we're around an arena!" Anastacia calls back to him, having no patience for his poor explanation.
"No, like a fighting arena!" Odyssey tries to explain, growing frustrated with himself as the timer reaches thirty seconds remaining. "Look, about ten feet in front of you there's a knife for each of us. Just be careful of the stairs!"
"Stairs?" Demarcus mutters as the countdown reaches twenty seconds. "Great…"
Fifteen…
"Just get a knife!" Odyssey yells at them and braces himself to run for the supplies like the other half of his alliance.
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
The gong sounds.
Chaos breaks out as the tributes start moving immediately.
"Start Adam's delay," Seraphim says, really wishing he didn't have to do this to him, for his mother's sake… But he must.
Across the arena, the first ones springing into action are the careers, all but two of them set on getting down to the main supplies and weapons at the Cornucopia.
The first death of the Quarter Quell happens within the first few seconds of the start, making Seraphim do a double take to confirm it. In his haste to reach his allies, Eliot didn't even think twice about where – or who – he was running in front of. And his path crosses directly in front of Delta and he collides into the very angry career, who grabs onto him and lets out a cry of anger as she watches Holly run away from her and slip up the northwest stairs, leaving with nothing but her life. With one quick motion, Delta snaps Eliot's neck and drops the boy to the ground. She stares in the direction Holly went, contemplating following her for a moment, allowing Fete and Fox to start running away from her and towards their allies, both of them calling their names.
At the same time, Bell has grabbed one of the knives from the pile in front of her instead of racing right to the Cornucopia defenseless. She stares down at the supplies, before realizing two of the girls she launched with are frozen in shock and have yet to move. Amelia has taken off, running along the stand, staying away from the Cornucopia while trying to reach Courtney. Genesis starts moving when Elias calls for her, and both of them begin running towards each other, Elias along the outer edge and Genesis in the stands. Jessamine stares frozen in fear as she stares over at her dead ally, but when she notices Bell approaching her, she tries to get away from there, but it's too late. With one swift motion, Bell stabs the knife in her neck and Jessamine falls to the ground, clutching the profusely bleeding wound as she lays there, gasping her last breaths of air.
The sight group have stumbled off of their platforms, all of them struggling with their loss of sight. Arthur, considering who he launched near, acts on his survival instincts, and decides to save himself and stumble away from them, abandoning his ally who never acknowledged him. But the other four are all trying to listen to the advice from their different allies directing them. Atropa is following Fete's voice as he runs towards her, along the edge of the stands heading down to the pit. Courtney is trying to follow Amelia as she does the same as Fete along the opposite side. And Anastacia and Demarcus are simply trying to get to the knives Odyssey told them about, leading to a disaster as they collide. Anastacia slams into the ground, smacking her head from Atropa running into her, before the two start grappling on the ground, both throwing punches at each other while trying to reach for one of the knives. Demarcus and Courtney fall to the ground, landing close to the edge of the level, and when Demarcus starts falling down the stairs, he grabs onto Courtney and they tumble down together.
At the hearing group, two people have raced over to the knives, while Cal takes off running towards the Cornucopia. Major and Sky both reach for knives as Davy takes a few steps off his pedestal, before crying out as he watches his allies fall. Sky screams as she gets ready to tackle Major, before suddenly the three of them are blown away from each other, and gasps sound in the Games Headquarters.
Seraphim clutches the railing in front of him, trying not to get upset as he watches the explosion where Adam once stood that sent Davy, Major, and Sky backwards, knowing that this must be his fault. He is the one that gave Adam the penalty. He probably just made his mom cry and it's all his fault.
Some of the tributes look over at the blast, and Seraphim tries to keep focusing on the action, not the pit of guilt in his stomach over Adam's death. After all, the first tributes are reaching the Cornucopia.
Odyssey reaches the Cornucopia, finding a bow and swinging a quiver onto his shoulder, immediately notching an arrow as he turns around, ready to defend their supplies. He glances over at the sight group, looking hesitant about going over to help out his allies, before seeing a pair of tributes running away with a bag on the stairs, and shooting an arrow into the girl's back. Genesis stumbles forward from the impact of the arrow, yet with her sense of touch gone, she doesn't realize how badly she is hurt as she keeps running with Elias up the steps to reach the southwest staircase, heading up it.
Fox has crumbled to the ground at seeing the explosion and Adam's death, and he cries out. He knows he has to get out of there, despite the pain coursing through him and he crawls over to the staircase southeast to the one Genesis and Elias just took, pulling himself up and crying as he stumbles down it.
Those affected by the blast have gotten to their feet, with Major racing after Cal, and the boy from Three doesn't even know the career is following him until he is stabbed in the back as he tries to grab a spear. Davy has run off towards the southeast stairs, silent tears streaming down his face at everything he just witnessed, but not before grabbing one of the knives to protect himself. Sky is the slowest to stand up, clutching her head from where it slammed into the support structures. She pulls her hand away, seeing blood on it, before looking around and finding her target gone, leaving her to stumble in the opposite direction of Davy to the northeast staircase.
"Seraphim!"
"Not now!" He yells at the Gamemaker, trying to watch the bloodbath continue to unfold.
More of the careers have started to arrive, with Bell taking up a defensive position with Odyssey. In Odyssey's distraction over watching his allies fighting, he misses Eva running close to get some bags, but one of his allies doesn't miss her. As she runs to the Cornucopia, Delta picks up a sword, and even though it's not her first choice, still manages to fatally stab Eva in the stomach as the girl from Five tries to flee.
Fete is nearing Atropa as Anastacia keeps trying to get to the knives, all while keeping her pinned to stop her from escaping. Anastacia has Atropa's legs pinned, but her reaching around for a knife allows Atropa to sit up and try her hardest to push the career off her. Atropa tries to punch Anastacia, landing a blow on the side of her head, only making Anastacia angry and sucker punch her in return. Anastacia grabs onto the front of Atropa's outfit, pulling her closer to her to slam her head into Atropa's, letting out an angry cry and giving up on fighting with a knife and ready to pummel her to death. But all of a sudden, an arrow fires at the two from the Cornucopia, landing deep in one of their necks.
Standing at the Cornucopia, arms still poised from releasing his arrow, stands Major, smirk on his face as he watches his target collapse to the ground. Seraphim honestly isn't sure who Major was aiming at specifically, and with the way the two were fighting, he could have easily hit the other.
Fete screams in pain as he watches Anastacia push Atropa aside, so close to reaching her, yet he's too late. Anastacia looks up at his scream and when she starts getting to her feet to follow the sound of his voice, he clamps his mouth shut, holding in a sob, before turning and racing away from there and away from her.
Demarcus and Courtney roll to the bottom of the stairs, both groaning in pain over repeatedly hitting their backs on the hard stone. Demarcus is pulling himself to his knees and Amelia yells out for Courtney, getting close to reaching her ally. But not before Demarcus' hand brushes a knife on the ground and he grasps at it, cutting himself a little before swinging in Courtney's direction. Courtney starts coughing, spraying blood on his face, and Demarcus quickly backs up, leaving the knife in her chest and he stumbles away from the dying girl, horrified look on his face.
Amelia cries out at the death of her other ally, tripping over her feet and falling to the steps. She picks herself up, looking absolutely devastated as she glances around at the deaths around her, before throwing herself back down to the ground as Odyssey shoots an arrow at her. She scrambles up the steps, running in a zigzag, and avoiding another arrow her way as she darts behind the support structures and towards the northeast stairs.
Seraphim looks around the screens, trying to figure out if that's it. "Seven deaths-"
"Seraphim!"
"What?!" He finally yells, realizing quite a few Gamemakers are all staring at one particular tribute's vital signs. "Oh my God."
Seraphim's legs almost give out in shock, but Laelia catches him as they stare at Adam's heart rate monitor, still beating rapidly, until all of a sudden the signals freeze. "He's still alive…" Seraphim whispers, staring at the screen for a moment before yelling at the Gamemakers. "Replay the footage of his explosion now! And someone fire seven cannons. And do a camera recap on where everyone is heading. And someone call the President now."
The careers look around at the sound of seven cannons firing from their location at the Cornucopia. Well, everyone but Major, who starts pouting immediately when he realizes the others know something he doesn't. Demarcus counts the cannons and holds up seven fingers to Major.
The cameras go to the upper levels, where three tributes have dared to hide in plain sight from the careers. The upper levels have plenty of hiding locations while also providing a view of the careers, but they take the risk of the careers noticing them in return. Genesis and Elias have gotten up to the third floor and have stopped to catch their breath, and that's when Elias starts crying as he looks at the arrow in her back. "Keep an eye on those two, that wound is bad."
Holly has stayed on the second level, finding a nook to hide in and she holds her notebook closely to her chest, looking around nervously as she silently cries.
But the rest of the tributes have gone into the lower levels, and Seraphim is surprised that none of them have run into one another yet. Maybe it was just pure luck that the six tributes down there have picked different areas to hide. Amelia is the last down there and she keeps running clockwise along the circular hallway, wiping at her eyes to see where she is going.
Many of the tributes are crying, with many alliances having been broken up by the start of the Games. Davy is hidden in a crack in a wall where he pushed himself in when he saw Sky, but the girl didn't notice him at all as she held her hand and stumbled into a room. He's about to move when Amelia runs past him, so he presses himself further in, trying to stay quiet with his crying to avoid being seen.
Fox is apologizing to Adam from where he hides in the southern room, breaking Seraphim's heart because he knows Adam is still out there…somehow…
Arthur is feeling around the room he chose, cringing when he bumps into things and makes noise, but from the smile slowly forming on his face, Seraphim knows he thinks he found the best room. But that room is full of danger.
And Fete…he pushes open a door, screaming in pain as he does so, seemingly not caring at all about being heard. Not after what he just saw happen to his best friend.
"That's it for the bloodbath," Seraphim says quietly, shocked by what has happened.
"We have the clip, sir."
"Okay," Seraphim whispers, nodding to play it. "In slow mo."
He doesn't want to watch the explosion again, but they study it, frame by frame, watching to see what set off the explosion. But Adam doesn't step off it. None of the other tributes get close to him. One second he's just standing there and the next…boom.
There's the flash of the explosion, the sound, the tributes being thrown back by the blast…but no blood. No body parts scattered on the ground like last year with Hazel's death… Adam was there one moment and then he wasn't.
"They faked his death…" Seraphim whispers, feeling his stomach sink as anxiety over the rebels bubbles up in him, making his breath quicken and he starts sweating all over. His arm starts hurting and he rubs the spot where he was shot last year when rebels got involved.
Seraphim had thought for sure they had secured the Games this year to prevent the rebels from sabotaging it. But somehow they slipped through. They got past them and stole a tribute from them, right under his nose. A tribute they think still carries the baby his mother is watching.
Seraphim can barely hear Laelia calling his name as he blacks out.
And with that, the Sixth Quarter Quell has officially begun.
Eulogies:
Eliot Eidner [9], Ranked 22nd, Killed by Delta [4]
Someone has to be the first one to go in the bloodbath, and unfortunately that tribute was Eliot. I always knew there was no way Eliot would get out of there alive. He was so naive about the whole thing and so focused on getting to his allies that he didn't stop to think about just what, or rather who, he was getting in the way of. He was a good boy who was trying to do his best and made some genuine friends along the way in training. But having friends doesn't guarantee you'll make it out of the bloodbath alive. Thank you Sydni for sending this boy! RIP Eliot.
Jessamine Briggs [11], Ranked 21st, Killed by Bellona [2]
I'm sorry for what I did to poor Davy here XD Jessamine was another who was very naive about the Games and everything thanks to her sheltered upbringing and when the Games actually started, it was quite the shock for her, especially to see one of her allies get killed so quickly. It was a matter of wrong place, wrong time with her being launched in a group with one of the careers that didn't immediately run for the main supplies. She could have had quite an advantage in the arena, especially with helping poor Davy now with his hearing lost, but alas, it wasn't meant for her to make it farther. Thank you Ella for sending her! RIP Jessamine.
Calvin Tailor [3], Ranked 19th, Killed by Major [1]
There were really only two tributes aside from the careers that would be willing to take the risk of getting to the main supplies, and, well, both of those are on this list. Cal was very determined to be his best self and win the Games for his little brother. He was strong, but unfortunately someone else (Major) picked up on this and when given the chance to take out a threat at the start of the Games, he took that opportunity. Cal really could have made it far, but he didn't, thanks to Major. Thank you Lark for sending in Cal! RIP Calvin.
Eva Orville-Wright [5], Ranked 18th, Killed by Delta [4]
Just like Cal, I knew Eva was going to go for the bigger supplies. She literally has the attitude of 'go big or go home' and obviously the bigger supplies was going to happen. It was part of her plans with her allies to get good supplies. It just...backfired on her. The careers were too functional (I mean, still debatable how functional they are) for her to get out of there alive. Thank you Blair for sending in Eva! RIP Eva.
Atropa Seigal [8], Ranked 17th, Killed by Major [1]
I had two ideas for the D8 pair, either they both didn't make it out of the bloodbath alive or they had to do something else that is spoilers for upcoming stuff. I decided to go with the first option as I think it's going to have a larger impact on Fete. It could have been either one of them that went in the bloodbath, but given Atropa's sense lost and being near two careers, it seemed unlikely she would make it out of there. She's still certainly going to have an impact still on Fete's fate (lol). Thank you Henry for sending in Atropa! RIP Atropa.
Courtney Cassini [6], Ranked 16th, Killed by Demarcus [4]
Ah Courtney...She was the result of the sense twist complicating things. I just could not see (hehe you know I'm gonna keep making these puns XD) her getting out of that situation alive when she lost her sight and was placed with two careers. She was ready to try and certainly could have made it out of there if she hadn't quite literally ran into Demarcus. Plat, thank you so much for this girl! I had a lot of fun with her and getting to know you along the way! And her story is definitely continuing because Amelia is certainly going to be impacted by her death. RIP Courtney.
Buckle up everyone because it is Games time! I'm so very hyped to be at this point and to finally get into the Games! I hope this chaos all made sense (pun intended) because effectively I was writing five mini bloodbaths lol. And of course, gotta throw in some subplot there.
Thank you to everyone that subbed one of the tributes killed here. Picking bloodbath deaths is always tough because I love writing Games arcs, but some people have to go at this time. Did any of these deaths surprise you? How do you think Davy, Arthur, Fete, Fox, and Amelia will handle the loss of their allies? What is happening to Adam? And who do you think Major was really shooting at: Atropa or Anastacia?
Oh and the senses! We finally get to see (except the five that don't lol) who lost which sense! If you have a tribute, are you happy or mad at which sense they lose? (sorry if your mad, blame the random number generator lol XD) I did make sure the careers were spread out with what sense they lost and made sure no District partners lost the same sense. The senses are going to be a big factor in the arena so I'm very hyped to finally be at this point!
SPONSORING! Sponsorship is officially open! It will be through a google form that is up on my profile and make sure to check out the spreadsheet with the total points. Now you may notice that there are five...unique items related to this Quell. Since these items are highly valuable, I am putting a cap of only allowing one each. So I'll only allow one sight item in the story, one hearing, etc. And I am only allowing each submitter to send one sense item, so if you have two tributes, well...you're gonna have to choose (or beg someone with lots of points to help XD). So I wouldn't wait too long if you're thinking about sending it! As always, the prices on items will go up by 5 points each day.
I'll also put the link to the sponsorship form here, just remove the spaces as always: forms. gle/PERQ2rfTPiiBVewt9
The has/needs list is up on the story blog in the arena page, as well as a map of the arena and the locations of each tribute! We'll slowly find out what the rooms in the lower level are as the tributes discover them. I'm really excited about this arena and have had this idea since...probably before Overlooked finished up so a long time XD And now we can see how it connects back with the chariot outfits! Seraphim was told to have a theme and he sure stuck with it XD
Okay...I think that's all I have to say (I'm sure I forgot something lol). We'll be back soon with Day One! So get ready for a wild ride!