Day 4

Canon Tadashi (14) D3M

How could they even suggest that I would photograph a broken toilet?! I had some class, and Shama really needed to understand that. She had even corrupted Everette enough to make him think that way!

"I don't do broken toilets, sir," he said proudly, "I do nature."

"Nature's call?" Everette asked with a straight face.

"Only nature!" I exclaimed indignantly, "Like birds! Trees! People!"

"Worms," Andrei laughed, "Dwayne was a fan of your photo of a blue worm. How the hell did you even find one?"

I knew he was saying that to annoy me. I knew worms weren't interesting. These simpletons just didn't get that it was a blue worm. But it was responsibility to educate Drei on that.

"It's an Art, Andrei! And-"

But before I could continue what I had to say, a loud rumble from overhead alerted us. All of us looked up, only to see that the ceiling was trembling. I gasped, and all of us started running for the tunnels, hoping to get away from what was about to happen. My eyes stung as I felt tears in them, and a strong pair of hands pulled me faster into the closest tunnel, which was thankfully not trembling.

I desperately turned towards the way we had come in, trying to see what was happening, even as Shama ran in and Everette pulled her closer. Andrei was not far behind, running for all he was worth. But then…

"NO!" Everette screamed.

I coiuldn't look away. I tried to, but I just couldn't do it.

In a dazed horror, I watched at the rocks started descending, almost as if in slow motion. Drei was too far away for us to pull him in, for us to help him. And then, the rocks came crashing down on him, even as his blood-curdling scream echoed throughout, only to be muffled by the rocks until it was gone.

Boom!

"No…" Shama whispered as she sank to her knees beside me, "No…"

I didn't know what to do, how to feel, how to react. My friend, my friend had been crushed under rocks. My friend had died in front of my eyes. My lips were quivering, tears were flowing freely. somebody hugged me, trying to make me look away, but I couldn't. I couldn't turn away from the caved-in entrance of tunnel. I just couldn't.

"It might be someone else."

I barely recognised my own voice. It was hollow, so hollow. But I couldn't accept that the cannon had been for him. How could it?! he always had things under control.

"Canon…"

I heard Everette, but I didn't want him to speak. Why was he holding me? Why not comfort Shama, who needed it? She was wailing now, screaming in grief. Why didn't he check in on her?

"Canon, it's going to be okay-"

"IT'S NOT GOING TO BE OKAY!" I screamed, unable to keep all of it inside. My anger was bubbling now, bubbling like lava. I didn't expect Everette to understand any of this. He had volunteered for this! But his 'it's going to be okay' was the last thing I needed.

"It's not your fault Canon-"

"I KNOW IT'S NOT MY FAULT! NEITHER WAS LANAI! IT'S THEIR FAULT! THOSE WIMPS WHO WATCH US FROM BEHIND THEIR SCREENS!"

"Canon," Shama said in a broken voice, "Please stop…"

"WHY SHOULD I STOP SHAMA?! WHY SHOULD I? DO THEY EVER STOP HUNTING US?! WHAT RIGHT DO THEY HAVE TO DO THIS?!"

What happened next stunned me. Everette slapped me across the face, his face streaked with tears. I watched him in wonder. Why-why did he slap me?! And then I saw Shama face what seemed to be a camera, and she cried, she talked to it.

"Please forg-forgive him," she said, "It's just that he's very sad. He m-meant none of it!"

"Shama…!" I remarked angrily. What did she mean by saying that I didn't mean it?! I meant all of it! But before I could say a word, she too, backhanded me across the face.

It was her slap that made me realise why they were hitting me, where I went wrong. Of course… if I didn't pass my earlier comments as an act of sadness, my family would be in danger. I turned to look at her, and then Everette. They both appeared to be upset, sad. It wasn't just about me.

Turning to where I thought the camera was, I spoke.

"I'm sorry…"

Night 4

Tybal Marran (17) D9M

Aryton and I had been avoiding trouble but barely. We again almost ran into Saunder and Jordan, but managed to avoid the tragic encounter just in time. Why did we keep running into them all the time? It was almost as if the Gamemakers wanted us to confront them. As much as I thought about it, it seemed more probable.

There had been another death a few hours ago, night or day, I did not know. But Aryton had been going on about how he wished that it was Jordan, Jordan and only Jordan. It was almost painful to see his expression when we saw that both she and Saunder were alive and resting.

"I wonder who the poor kid was," he whispered as he stared into space.

We were in one of the crater rooms right now, and we both were tired by the day's events. No, we had done nothing but walk, but that was tiring too. Plus, our food supply was dwindling now.

"I hope it wasn't dragged out," I replied.

Dying in the Games was unfortunate, but dying slowly for people to enjoy was cruel. I hoped that whoever it was who died didn't have to go through that kind of torment.

Something alerted me to a new entry, and I jumped to my feet, mace in hand, even as Aryton frowned at the sudden movement. But I was right, and I saw the two boys walk in, making my ally get to his feet in an instance too.

"Very well," Casper said, drawing his sword.

I kind of knew that had I been that little girl from Seven or even the old girl from Eleven, he would have offered a truce himself. But I knew people looked at me as a threat, and I knew no such proposal was coming my way.

"Hello you two," Aryton said sarcastically, "How're you doing?"

"We were pretty good before we ran into you both," Dwayne replied, holding a small knife in his hand. If a fight broke out, he would have no chance to escape it alive.

Even as Casper started moving forward, Dwayne grabbed his arm.

"Can't we have a truce?"

"Not with them Dwayne, not with them."

I needed to think of something fast. I could run, but they could catch up. I could climb up the ladder and get out of these catacombs. But that would require time. I didn't want to fight, not right now, not when everything was going smooth.

However, even as I thought about what to do, holding my mace ready to face an attack, a new entry diverted each of our attention.

"What the actual ***!" Aryton exclaimed, and I couldn't help but agree more.

My eyes widened as I saw the creature that was approaching us. Now, how to describe it? It was a pink, chubby, star-shaped thing, with what looked like its ears having brown tips. It had small brown eyes, and wrinkles near them. Something like fur curled up near its head, the way it did for what must be its tail. And it was freaking adorable!

I hated myself for thinking of something with that word, but I couldn't deny it. This creature was cute, and its little hands were raised, fingers moving back and forth. It had the weirdest cry I'd ever heard, and I wondered what exactly this mutt was based on. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.

And then it attacked.

Weird light beams short from its tiny hands, and I jumped aside just in time to avoid it. I could barely remain myself when I saw the damage it had done.

That…attack…had burnt a hole in the wall. No, not a small hole. A hole that made a whole new cave.

The thing attacked again, and I saw Dwayne, who had been too late to dodge it, get vaporised in front of my eyes. And I meant what I said. Nothing, nothing remained of his body, just as the cannon exploded.

I needed to get away.

The mutt was attacking Casper, and I saw Aryton was almost through the crater. The little sneak had been so quiet about it. He turned towards just before disappearing through the hole.

"Follow me," he mouthed, and then climbed away.

I saw that his sabre was left aside, because it would have been an obstruction to get him to climb fast. I too, threw my mace aside and started climbing the wooden ladder hastily. Every passing second seemed to be too much time and I was afraid it would attack me.

Just before getting through the crater, I turned back to see that Casper was hit by that attack.

Boom!

That was enough for me to see, and I pulled myself through the crater, wishing to un-see everything I had witnessed in the last few minutes.

Saunder Kilkenny (18) D4M

"This plan isn't working either, Saunder," Jordan fumed.

I tried to block out her constant grumbling, and shut my eyes. I had to think, because it honestly was damaging to my image that I didn't have a kill. I needed one kill right now. I considered ending it for Jordan right then, but decided against it. Attempting to kill a mad woman was not exactly a safe option.

I could understand her frustration though. There had been three deaths today. Neither of us believed they were caused by Gamemakers. No, somebody was out there, killing tributes that I was destined to slay.

"You're useless!"

"Shut up," I said nonchalantly, "Why don't you think of something?"

"Yeah, maybe I should kill you."

"Or maybe I should kill you."

"You won't stand a chance, Saunder."

"The same can be said about you, darling."

But despite our many threats, we both knew they were empty. She sat down beside me with a sigh, and if I hadn't known what a psycho she was, I would've felt bad for her.

It was a surprisingly amicable silence that persisted after our conversation. I finally decided to relax; if a tribute had to show up, they would. No need to fuss over this to the point of getting a headache.

Maybe that was exactly what fate had been waiting for.

As soon as I let myself truly relax, I heard a footstep, and I was rapidly moving towards the tunnel. As cruel luck would have it, I tripped, and landed straight down on my face. But Jordan, bless her, was on top of the intruder before they could get away.

I saw that it was the girl from Twelve, and she pushed Jordan hard, making her fall on her back. Teddy ran as fast as she could, but I was on her tail. She was fast for someone who was neither a Career not a psycho, but it wasn't going to get her anywhere.

I swung my sword at her, but she dodged it, even as Jordan threw a stone at her. It hit her head, and she stumbled, her speed lowering just a bit. That was all I needed then, and seeing the opportunity, I launched myself at the girl.

She squirmed underneath me, trying to get away. She thrust her knife towards me, almost stabbing me in the gut. I recoiled, missing it by a centimetre, and that was all she needed to push me off herself before setting off again. But I had seen it, the terror in her eyes. She was cursing her fate for having run into us. And she was the result of hours of patience on our part. I couldn't let her get away.

Jordan slammed into her back with all her might, and Teddy fell facedown onto the ground. Yanking the butter knife from her closed fist, Jordan slashed her back. It wasn't a fatal wound, but warm blood oozed out, even as Teddy yelled out in pain.

Now… I had wanted a kill, sure, but what Jordan did next made me feel sick.

She dug the knife into the small of her back, deep. Teddy screamed, and her screams were like no other that I had heard. Ever. And then Jordan grabbed a small stone and pushed it down the hole, making her yell, flail, cry.

"Jordan, just kill her," I said. The sight in front of me was too much, as Jordan proceeded to cut her at different parts of her body, and shoving that slimy material into the wound. Teddy's voice had died down due to pain, and I couldn't bear it any more.

"Kill her, Saunder."

Siobhan Ripple (16) D2F

The rock shower had ensured that I went back into the tiring catacombs.

This place left me utterly confused all the time, but maybe I needed confusion right now.

Ivory, my only ally, was dead. Killed by an Outlier no less. But it was painful, because I had started seeing the girl as my friend. After all, we were the same age, and it was impossible not to like her.

And then she got herself killed.

I didn't know why I felt like weeping for her. I didn't know why I got no satisfaction out of killing Ari. Let alone satisfaction, I actually felt a hollow place in my heart, a hollow filled only with grief. She didn't deserve this; she was only protecting herself. Ivory didn't deserve it either. Neither did Emeline. But they were all dead.

This is a competition Siobhan.

And I agreed, it was a competition. But why was its nature the way it was? Why did anyone have to die?

Why does everyone have to die?

I had no answer to that, and I chided myself for feeling so weak. Now was not the time for this. Now was the time for action.

With a heavy heart, I dragged myself, trying to convince myself that what I was doing wa right. That what I had done was right.

You have to win! There's a lot on stake!

But what was on stake? Honour? Was any honour worth the situation I had thrown myself into? The Academy trained us to fight, they taught us about the importance of honour, they made us realise that we had a special place in the country because of our status. But why didn't they teach us to stop feeling? Why didn't they teach us not to regard our opponents as human? Had they done so, I would've been a monster. But at least it would have been simple.

All they taught us was this was a competition!

I was snapped out of my thoughts by screams of agony, the kind of screams that I had never heard before. And it went on and on, almost without break, and I could hear the tears behind that voice. I vaguely recognised it, and I didn't know what came over me when I set off towards the sound. I wanted to help her, whoever it was.

Upon reaching the site, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

On the ground lay Teddy, badly wounded, her body broken, and on top of her was Jordan, torturing the poor girl. The gleam in her eyes made me sick. The girl from Twelve was barely able to stay awake, she tried to scream, but no sound came out. The degree of pain she felt… it was unimaginable.

And then I saw Saunder, looking on in horror. For the first time I saw a human in him; he wanted to help. His eyes betrayed what he felt, and I could see the restraint with which he handled himself.

"Kill her, Saunder," I said, my voice echoing.

Jordan looked at me in fury whereas the boy from Four… he kind of looked relieved. Walking over to the girls, he gently pushed Jordan aside, and I saw the gratitude in Teddy's eyes as he drove his sword into her back, killing her instantly.

"YOU HAD NO BUSINESS DOING THAT!" Jordan screamed at Saunder, and I was afraid for a moment that she would attack.

"We had to get a kill, Jordan," Saunder replied, "Not torment a poor girl. Try thinking and acting like a sane person for once."

"AND YOU!" she screamed as she rounded towards me, "Who the hell are you to snatch my prey?!"

"Shut up," I replied, glaring at her, "What you were doing was not required."

"So let me fulfil the requirements with you."

I braced myself for an attack from her, and was ready to fight, when a voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

"Congratulations tributes, for making it to the final eight! We admire your courage, your strength, your perseverance and the grace with which you've played till now."

I glanced at Jordan. Grace, right.

"To celebrate your virtues, and the great feat you've achieved, you're invited for a feast on the outskirts of the arena, in the village. Please make sure that you are there at 12 at noon. You will be alerted one hour in advance by a bell, so that you know when to start for the venue. Please bear in mind that attendance is mandatory."

Village? What village? Jordan and Saunder too, looked confused about it.

"Please also note that there should be no conflicts in the meanwhile. Thank you."

I smirked at Jordan, whose anger just seemed to be reaching another level. No conflicts. She couldn't really kill me, not till the feast.

"You're a horrible person, Jordan," I muttered, "Bless you."

Even as she turned an even brighter shade of red, I nodded at Saunder, who nodded back, before I walked away from there.

Final eight… I was so close. And I was ready.

Ready to win it all.

So, hi guys. We had four deaths this chapter, and all the characters whom I really liked too. The votes weren't in their favour though, and it was time for them to go. I'm feeling really upset now, because I was hoping a couple of them would go farther than this.

Eulogies:

12th- Andrei Altair: Drei was an interesting character by all means. He was funny, he was smart, and he was ready to give it his all. I feel he did change a lot during the course of the Games. However, continuing with him any longer would be dragging his character, which would have been wrong. Plus, he didn't get many votes, and I sadly had to do this. Rest in peace Drei.

11th- Dwayne Wildflower: Dwayne was mine, and I loved him. I wrote him because I was certain that nobody else could have written him. No offence to anyone, but it was true. Hell, even I couldn't write him properly. But since he was mine, I couldn't let him be in the final ten at any cost, and he had to die. Rest in peace.

10th- Casper Cavette: Casper was brilliant, a victor material, and a conventional and unconventional Career at the same time. He had an amazing personality, and he should have gone further. But again, the votes happened. Casper's speciality was that he was easy to write and easy to imagine and easy to work with. He was a great character overall. Rest in peace Casper, you'll be missed.

9th- Teddy Formico: I think every person reading this story, including me, must have seen Teddy as a victor at some point of time or another. She was just amazing. She was flawed and yet had amazing strengths. She had the instinct of a survivor. She was the pseudo villain we could all root for. And yet, despite everyone seeing her as a winner, she just didn't get as many votes. And for me that was the saddest part. I can ignore votes if the margin is of one vote, but Teddy was really losing. And so, she had to go. Rest in peace Teddy, you'll be missed.

So guys, what did you think of this chapter? Also, if anyone is wondering what exactly the mutt that killed Casper and Dwayne was, let me tell you. It was a Clefairy mutt XD I know, I know, but I couldn't not have a Clefairy mutt when this was based on Outer Space arena. I had had a Pikachu mutt once (I think in Surviving the Sea) and it had been fun. and while I'm saddened by the deaths, I wouldn't replace the Clefairy mutt with anything else. You can say I love my Pokemon.

Alliances:

Team 1: Everette, Shama, Canon

Team 2: Saunder, Jordan

Team 3: Aryton, Tybal

Death List:

Horatio (blew up)

Lanai (killed by Jordan)

Mickayla (killed by Ayton)

Emeline (killed by Jordan and Aryton)

Wesley (killed by Teddy)

Maurice (killed by Dwayne)

Tapicca (killed by Jordan)

Liya (killed by Everette)

Lily (killed by Tybal)

Vis (killed by Andrei, Shama and Canon)

Ivory (killed by Ari)

Ari (killed by Siobhan)

Andrei (crushed under the cave's ceiling)

Dwayne (killed by Clefairy mutt)

Casper (killed by Clefairy mutt)

Teddy (killed by Saunder)

Have a great day!