Enigma Fenn (13) D1F

I couldn't look up to see whether anyone was coming. I was playing by ear, because if I stuck my head out to check for people, the bright lights would alert both of the other tributes where I was. Spiders crawled over me and over the desks, making a huge swarm. Some of them even laid eggs. It was almost disgusting, but it was what I needed to happen. I was playing a waiting game, and I could wait almost indefinitely. I hoped I wouldn't have to, but I was hunkered down and ready to if the need arose.

Luckily, the need to wait that long didn't arise. I was crouched down, ready to begin firing the second I heard something. Sure enough, something was heard. Whoever saw the massive amount of spiders gasped loudly. Their ally, meaning it was probably a Career, gasped too, although much more quietly. I jumped up and pointed the gun in one swift movement, firing as rapidly as I could figure out how to. It didn't really matter. The gun controlled itself, and even if it didn't, even Careers couldn't outrun bullets.

Eight bullets and one cannon fired. I had loaded easily a hundred bullets into the gun, but it made perfect sense that not all of them fired. The bullets were old and rusty, and the gun was older than Panem. It couldn't be in great condition. I was lucky that it fired at all. I would have preferred a stroke of luck that could kill both of my opponents, but one was better than none. It halved the field.

I saw the Four boy fall, and I saw Tiger begin to run at me. I wasn't going to give him a chance to make it. I told my spiders to all run at him, full speed ahead. They wouldn't stop him, but the sheer amount would certainly slow me down. I couldn't flee forever, but I could get pretty far away. I could get far enough away to actually have a fighting chance again. I couldn't win in hand-to-hand combat, so I would get back the element of surprise.

The situation wasn't totally readable. I didn't know if Tiger would chase after me, track me, or wait for me to be flushed to him. He was most likely to do the first, but I had never seen someone react to being attacked by spiders in a fight to the death before. I didn't have enough data to make a totally informed decision, so I was stuck guessing. I hated guessing, but it was better than nothing. I guessed the most likely outcome and wove my way through the halls, making it hard to spot me.

Footsteps followed behind me as I ran. They were far enough away that I knew I had a chance to escape, and I ran back to where I had last hidden. The Pre-Dark Days Dark Days section had a lot of places to hide. I was going to manipulate all of them. I wouldn't have much time to plan, having to hide from Tiger, who was only a couple of rooms behind me, but I had to hope it would be enough. I was only going to have one shot, and I was lucky to even have that.

When I hit the fateful section, I grabbed onto one of the fences. As I had suspected, it was only for decoration. It came off the wall once I put my full weight against it, section by section. I threw it in the doorway, knowing it wouldn't stop Tiger. It would just slow him down, buying me a little bit more of the precious time I needed. I also hoped it would hurt him, but I probably wasn't going to be that lucky. He was smart enough to avoid barbed wire.

I closed every door I could. I messed things up everywhere. I had to be untrackable. I had to attack him before he knew what was happening. Each door I locked was one more he'd have to check. Each thing I threw in the halls was one more warning system I had. I was pulling out every single dirty trick I could think of, praying for a good shot at my enemy and stalling my actions. I knew good and well where the best to hide was, and I didn't want to admit it. So I was stalling, putting my effort into other things.

The sound of the fence clattering made me stop. I ran to my chosen hiding spot, opening the door and hiding. I was covered in human hair. I would blend right in, using the corpses and sufferings of other people to extend my life. I was still near vomiting, and I felt horrible about it, but I was desperate. I was a desperate kiddo, trying whatever I could think of to buy myself a chance again a guy twice my size. It was all I could do.

It took Tiger a while to check my section. Something must have led him there, or he never would have thought to try it. What sort of psychopath would willingly hide in hair? But Tiger was looking for me, and he had found my spot. It was chance that had allowed me to hide, pure chance that I had both of my weapons on me, and chance that could let me win the fight. I liked analyzing things. I liked finding certainties. But my life depended on chance.

As soon as Tiger was in reach, I stabbed him in the foot with my claw. He jumped back, and I jumped up. He was holding a knife quite similar to mine. I was still wearing my crown, ready to call more spiders to attack him. He closed the door behind himself, ensuring that I couldn't. He was getting smarter, which meant I would have to fight twice as hard to take him down. I took the first chance I got.

Tiger turned to close the door. I couldn't kill him in that instant; he wasn't anywhere near me. I dove back into the hair, forcing Tiger to find me again. He was smart about it, moving bits and pieces until he came to my spot, when I stabbed him in the other foot. The claw didn't go totally in, and it wouldn't do too much damage, but it would certainly slow him down.

I jumped up again, already in close range to Tiger, and dragged the claw up. It cut him lightly, and he shoved me backwards, back into the hair. The hair cushioned my fall, but Tiger didn't allow the relief to last. He tried to drop down on top of me and kill me. I let him fall, seeing right through all his tells. Once he was mid-fall, I threw one arm over my neck, stopping his killing blow. I put the other arm straight up, watching it pierce his stomach. The entire knife went into him, as well as a chunk of my hand. His cannon fired as his guts fell out, his remains mingling with others'.

I couldn't defeat a man twice my size, but he sure could defeat himself.

We couldn't well just have her raze down the competition, could we? This is probably one of my most morbid, gross finales, but hey, it sure was powerful. Shout-out to Enigma for using her opponent's stupidity, and shout-out to Tiger for being a complete idiot.