Hey, you. Don't skip to the bottom. Please. ._.
Bloodbath:
Adonis DiMae, District One
Sixty...
The timers begin counting down. I stretch my neck out, cracking it along with my fingers, ready to make my move. Look left, look right, I eye each and every tribute in this hemisphere. Unfortunately, none of them look back, but I do catch a glimpse of the Nine girl peeking.
''Oh, lighten up,'' I say, taking a step back, letting my heel rest against the curb. Fifty... Forty-five... Forty... ''Just run, okay?'' I give a word of advice. ''Don't look back, don't stop, don't even think about anything other than escaping – if you do, that's it for you, I can assure that.''
Thirty-five... the clock hits. Thirty... Only half a minute remaining, until blood is shed. Tightening my fists, I get ready to pump my arms and legs forward. Nine over here starts to break down, though, tears streaming down her cheeks. I sigh, trying to ignore her.
Twenty... Fifteen... Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six...
''Five,'' I count down, waiting for the horns to sound.
Four... Three... Two...
A bead of sweat rolls down my temple, my body becoming stiff. I'm actually here, actually doing this.
One... Zero...
And all Hell breaks loose. The other three tributes all start running, screaming before I even make a move, thinking that I'd be looking to kill them with my hands, but I do the opposite. Quickly turning around, I run and grab the spear on the floor, paying no attention to the blood stains.
Slowly, I rub my fingers along the blade, weighing the spear and tightening my grip on its wooden surface. It's not a javelin, but it'll do. A smile creeps onto my face, but not because I'm happy to end these kids' lives, but because I'm the first to get hold of a weapon as of now.
Looking up, I see the Seven boy zooming down the cave, the Three girl following right after him – but she stops slowly, skidding her feet on the pebbly floor, using one of the boulders to stop her momentum. She quickly flings a bag over her shoulder and searches for a second bag, finding a dull, useless knife and an empty water canister inside of it.
Tossing the rest of the bag away, she begins looking around for an opening, but there is none other than the end of the cave. When she reaches it, though, she's completely gone.
The only two left are me and Nine, who's barely able to catch her footsteps. She trips on her own two feet, making barely any progress. There's only about a fifty feet distance between her and I, but I'm pretty sure that I can impale her from here.
I can bet my life on it.
I crouch down, grabbing two pebbles and tossing one of them at the walls on purpose, resonating a bouncing sound to catch her attention. When that doesn't work, I hurl the second one right past her, watching as it lands right in front of her feet, causing her to falter in her movement.
Frightened, she turns around, her face covered in tears, her lips trembling, her hair disheveled and slopped all over her face. Her palms are sweaty and her breathing is ragged, but I make sure to let her get a clear shot of her death.
Flexing my arm and flicking my wrist, I send my spear soaring through the air like a falcon, observing it spiral like a frisbee, when it pierces right through her forehead and protrudes out the other side of her head. A nasty, skin-crunching sound is heard, leaving me with goosebumps as I scratch my arms.
Slowly walking towards her limp, lifeless body, I stare into her glazed, open eyes and shake my head, pulling the spear out as I step on her chest.
''Idiot,'' I say under my breath, feeling annoyed by her stupidity. ''I told you to run.''
Cassia Abbey, District Five
Okay, I know I'm not the brightest tool in the shed, but I can survive this. Pumping my arms and legs with adrenaline, I take off in a sprint, being the second person in my hemisphere to pass through the cave, right after the Three boy.
I follow his movements for a few moments, watching as he heads straight for the Cornucopia, dodging obstacles along his way there. The boulders that stick up from the ground make reaching the Cornucopia difficult, especially with all the other tributes competing with you to get there first.
Looking around, I spot a bag only a few feet away from me and jolt towards it – unfortunately, the dark-skinned boy from Eleven runs right past me and swoops it up, coming out of a different hemisphere.
''Ugh! Come on,'' I groan, fussing over a bag that was rightfully mine. He pays no attention to me and aims for the Cornucopia as well, where all the good stuff is.
Looking around, I see many small bags that I could easily swipe up and get the hell out with, but what's the point in that? Would it even be worth it if I just got something that's small and useless instead of one of the bigger bags that could contain food and water and maybe even a knife? Was that earlier event even worth it?
No way am I gonna let this opportunity up. Cassia's going all the way, baby. I nod my head and start to run, pushing myself off of the boulders to gain more feet. While running, I stare up at the sky, eyeing the beautiful rainbows that repeat and seem to be endless. I swallow the spit in my throat and remember that I have something to do.
People in the Capitol have said things about me not being too keen on things, or maybe I'm not the most focused, but today, I'm proving them all wrong. If watching film and speaking to my Mentor taught me anything, it's that the best things are hidden deep inside, and you have to fight in order to get through.
So when I reach the Cornucopia, I'm not so surprised to see a streak of white flying towards me. Quickly, and don't ask me how, but somehow it happens – I duck down and fall to the floor, barely managing to avoid a silver sword being swung. The weapon takes off some of my hair; I see the little pieces float onto the rough ground beneath me.
''Hey!'' I shout, cursing the tribute who swung under my breath. When I stare up, I see the Three boy looking down at me with strange eyes. He lifts the sword above his head, but I kick at his ankle and cause him to fall mercilessly.
Getting up, I run into the deepest parts of the Cornucopia, watching as a few other tributes dare to enter. The Four girl grabs a silver spear and chuckles to herself, looking all over for something specific. She's unable to find it and begins searching around the walls, screaming, until her and I meet eyes.
The only thing that possibly saved me at this moment was probably the voice of another tribute. ''Come here!'' someone yells, drawing the attention of Four. But as I turn to run, something is sent hurling at me. I can hear it flying, so I drop to the floor, seeing the spear cling itself to the wall.
Doing my best to get away, thanking the holy spirits above for granting me an opportunity at escape from the girl who looks like she never misses, I scatter onto my feet and rush up the stairs.
''Get back here!'' I hear, but it's not her – it's the Three boy again, chasing after me with fury in his eyes.
He climbs up the steps faster than I could have imagined, reaching me in a short amount of time. I run towards the walls, looking to grab a shimmering knife, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing a lock of my hair. I was right there! My fingertips brushed against the knife, I was so close!
Luck is supposedly on my side, though, as a knife is also on the floor, wide open and easy for me to intercept. My boot catches a hold of the weapon and, as I'm struggling to get free, I inch it closer to me. The first thing that I do when I grab the knife is stab it into his knee, which makes him let out an emotional roar, but he still won't let go!
Doing the only thing left that I can do, I use the knife to cut straight through my blonde hair, freeing his hand from my body instantly. He lets out a grunt of annoyance as I get up and kicks his left leg into my back, causing me to trip forward and fall off of the open balcony, landing in an awkward position that causes my legs to crack in pain when my body lands on the floor with a large thud.
My hair is all over the place, but that's not even the issue. For once in my life, I see just how dire the situation I'm truly in is – my predicament isn't like it's always been, but it's much more serious now. I never understood how precious life was until now, and I'm regretting so much!
''Finally,'' I hear him breathe, as he lowers himself smoothly off of the balcony, unlike me. Raising his sword, he gives me a sad smile, ready to deliver the final blow, until he's stopped.
''No, I'll do it,'' the Two boy interrupts.
''What? B-But, I'm trying to prove mysel—''
''You've already proven yourself,'' Two, Atlas, admits. ''Besides, she's suffered enough at your hands. I'll end this quickly.''
Forcing my head up, wanting to plead, to bargain for my life, to ask them to let me join their alliance and forget about this entire situation, I realize that it's too late. What help am I to them if both my legs are broken, and I'm nowhere near their skill level? How does beauty help them, and even if it did, they'd off me eventually – I'd be the first of the pack gone.
''...Promise?''
''I promise,'' he says, truthfully.
And he didn't let me down.
Avery Billings, District Ten
The pack's strategy coming in was to scatter and trap the tributes inside, but it looks like no one's doing what they're supposed to do... I mean, look at them! Four of them are inside of the Cornucopia, all looking for something. Clarice is flipping shit, Emil's panting and looking for something to fix his wounds, Atlas is removing his katana from some girl's back, and Sigrid is just arriving.
Where are the other three, though? Just as that thought crosses my mind, I hear scrubbing coming from a couple of feet away. Turning around, I see a streak of red tainted on the floor as Adonis drags some little girl by her hair, a deep, nasty gash in the back of her head. He subtly, and respectfully, places her body on the ground, letting her rest in peace.
How sweet, I think to myself. Really, though, I couldn't care less about that girl's life. Adonis notices me staring at him, but then he turns his head and starts pointing to the left of me. ''Maybe you should accommodate those three,'' he suggests.
Spotting the alliance of tributes, I smile sickly sweet with Adonis' consideration. How evil Careers can be, I absolutely love it. There were four knives that I collected when I was scanning the area; four knives, three tributes – those are as good of chances that I'll get as of now, so, ''Fuck it, why not?''
I recognize the three tributes as the girl from Three, the boy from Eight, and the girl from Eleven. They're heading towards a small jungle area that's nothing but trees. I turn around, close enough to the caves that most of us just escaped through, watching as the insides cave in and the rubble crashes down. There are these stony items hanging out that allow me to climb up to the top of the caves, and I use it as an advantage, no matter how high they are.
When I reach the top, I see just how small the jungle actually is – on the west side, at least. Behind the jungle is a weird Utopian kingdom of some sort, with lights and buildings and so much more... It's hard to see, but there's a crystal on top of it. My vision's not the best at this distance, but I've got some sort of view on whatever that is.
''Cathodette, hurry up!'' I hear, breaking me free from my trance. The Nine boy, worried and geeky, runs to pull his ally forward.
''Why?'' she says, basically giving up. ''I don't care anymore. The fear is real, but it wouldn't be so bad if I died, you know? I have nothing to go back home to... Only suffering awaits me there.''
The boy raises his hand in superiority and slaps the girl in the face, yelling at her. ''Can you stop talking like that for ten minutes, PLEASE?! I'm tired of the same stupid talk; this is your life we're speaking of here! You're willing to throw that away because of some shitty past? Get over it, we need to get out of here!''
Too bad. Jumping off of the cave, I land a few feet away from the two tributes, meeting the eyes of the District Eleven girl who's mouth becomes agape. Taking off of my heel, I hear a loud gasp, using that jump to augment the power of my swing.
One of my knives crashes into something rough and bumpy. Peering up, I see the Eleven girl stepping in between her partners, raising her bag, allowing me to cut it open and watch the supplies pour out like water. There's a sickle in her hand that she uses to deflect my second attack, the sound of our two metals clashing together resonating the sounds that fill up the beautiful, action-packed air.
I see sparks flying as we go back and forth, swinging at one another. Lowering my gaze and looking at her seriously, I pay no attention to her surprised allies. ''H-Help...!'' she calls, finally grabbing their attention. The Eight boy ducks under our weapons, takes out a small knife, and attempts to swing at my neck.
I duck down, leaving my knife pinned up against the girl's sickle, and throw myself at her legs, bringing her down. On top of her now, I press one hand against her face, smothering her head into the ground, trying to kill at least one of them as quickly as possible. With two people fighting me, one of them being a predictable child, I think I can end up winning.
But then the boy uses his shirt and wraps it over my head, pulling it back right at the base of my neck, taking me down. I start choking, coughing and struggling for air, until he lets me go and I regain my strength. Coughing out wildly, I spit at the items on the floor, wanting to kill all three of these bastards already.
Rising up to my feet, I hear ''Oof!'' and feel a body collide with mine. The girl from Eleven's eyes tremble as her arms both stick out, and the boy from Eight looks confused as my grip locks vice tight around his shoulders, holding him near me. ''Ceres?''
Three's eyes constrict faster than I've ever seen anyone's eyes do before, and she lashes out to grab the Eight boy, but her ally grabs her arm and pulls her back, yelling at her.
''CLARENCE! CLARENCE, NO!'' she screams, reaching out for the lost boy, just as I take the knife that he attacked me with and my own, and stab them both individually into one of his shoulders each. The knives dig deep into his shoulders, causing a bellowing shriek to escape his bruised lips.
''CLARENCE!''
''NO, NO!'' Eleven screams, grabbing her ally's waist and tossing her backwards. ''He's gone! Leave it alone, we gotta get the fuck out of here!''
''NO, YOU BETRAYED HIM—!'' Three screams, before her mouth is clasped shut. Eleven pulls her partner back, despite the struggles, and soon the two disappear off into the forest, away from their dying partner.
''...no,'' he whimpers, unable to believe it. ''They... They left me?''
''Yup!'' I laugh, ripping the knives out, smiling as he shrieks once more. Sadistically, I brandish both knives across his neck softly, drawing only a hint of blood.
''NO! THEY COULDN'T HAVE, HOW COULD THEY?'' he screams and squirms, doing the most to get away. Despite his shoulder injuries, he tries to roll away on the ground, scratching his body against the pebbly surface. ''I TRUSTED THEM! I PROMISED TO STAY WITH THE ALLIANCE UNTIL OUR DEMISE, UNTIL WE FELT THE TIME TO LEAVE WAS RIGHT!''
''Hate to break it to ya, kid, but not everything you want in life comes true,'' I yawn.
''SO MUCH SHIT HAS HAPPENED! I'VE LOST A FRIEND, I'VE BEEN BETRAYED BY MY OWN MOTHER, AND I'VE NEVER HAD A GOOD LIFE DUE TO TRAGEDIES. WHENEVER THINGS WERE LOOKING UP, SOMETHING BROUGHT ME BACK DOWN TO REALITY! BUT HERE.. Here... I-I thought something was different, I thought that maybe I could fit in, that I didn't have to hide and be rude to everyone, that I'd met people that I could trust... But what do they do?''
''She,'' I correct. ''What did she do?''
''She betrayed me, and let me fall into the hands of my killer.''
''Hey, that's not true,'' I smile at him. ''Listen, I like you, kid. I really feel for you. If I was betrayed like that, I'd want to get revenge as soon as possible if I still lived, so why don't I cut you a deal and ask the others to let you into the pack. Once that's arranged, we'll target your ass of an ally and let you kill her slowly. Deal?''
He's silent for a minute straight, staring at me in disbelief. Maybe he believes that he has a shot at living, that he's not entirely dead just yet. When his lips quiver and his eyes become watery, I rip all of the hope that I gave him away from his soon-to-be lifeless body.
''Psyche! What type of buffoonery is that?'' I ask, not expecting an answer, as I pull his head back with his hair and carve my knife into his skull. He screams, his voice filled with anguish and agony. There's a look of disgust in his eyes, as my knife peels back the skin of his head, leaving the ligaments exposed.
It's not deep enough to see bone, but the clarity of his insides are beautiful. Laughing as I carve deeper and deeper, I stick my tongue out, using the second knife to peel off even more skin, switching back and forth between the two.
Soon, his flesh is all gone and only blood and bone remain, but he's still breathing, still suffering.
Looks like he still has a ways to go. Too bad for him, though, because I enjoy this.
And I don't plan on finishing any time soon.
Sigrid Lappiere, District Two
''Where are they?'' I mutter under my breath, looking back and forth for a pair of butterfly swords. I see katanas, throwing knives, axes, hammers, and a whole bunch of other weapons, but there are no butterfly swords.
Stepping over the girl from Five's dead body, making note of the gash in the center of her back, I accidentally kick small pebbles into her cyan-colored face, her eyes wide open with disbelief. I've got a large bag already heaved over my shoulder, but still no weapons. Since nothing's down here, I should probably check upstairs.
Using the handle rails on the left side of the Cornucopia, I throw myself up to the second floor, looking around frantically for my weapons of choice. There, at the end of a corner, I see two butterfly swords paralleling each other. Jogging over there, I rip the two swords off of the wall, measuring them both in my cold hands.
They're at least eighteen inches each, and the cold steel rests against the palm of my hands with ease. Climbing down from the second floor, carefully watching the chaos below me, I see a boy hiding behind a crate of weapons, waiting for an opening to grab something and go.
I travel in silence, listening to the sounds of screaming and struggling tributes filling up the broken air, shaking my head in whatever it is I'm feeling. I don't know how to describe it, but I ignore this weird notion in my head and try to keep my footfalls as silent as possible.
Nearing the boy, watching his head turn left and right and finally, he slowly turns around, when my shadow casts over him. Launching himself away, trying to escape, I stomp on his leg forcefully, making him yell ''Arghh!'' Twirling the blades in my hand as I apply more weight onto his foot, I lean in forward to make my kill.
With a display of sudden strength, he kicks out his other foot and trips me, rolling up to his feet in a hobble and landing on my legs to keep me down. Feeling annoyed, I curve one of my swords downward and stab it into his hand.
He flies backward, screaming in agony as the knife exits through his palm but remains in his hand. Angrily, but scared, he rips the sword out and throws it on the floor. ''Stop!'' he shouts, pleading for his life. ''You don't have to do this, you know? Just let me go; hunt after another tribute!'' He forces a quivering smile.
''I know that I don't have to do this, but it's required if I wanna go home; it's required in order for any of us to go home,'' I clarify. ''And what good is letting you escape if I have you at my mercy?''
''But I want to go home, yet you don't see me trying to kill others!''
''I understand that, but—''
''Stop talking!'' he screams, and I obey, trying to be friendly and proper before I end this. ''Just what the hell is wrong with you?!'' he asks, trying to make me feel guilty. ''You guys just enjoy doing this?''
Remaining quiet, I inch closer and closer to him, trying to confirm who he is. The Seven on his padded shoulder lets me know just who exactly. I close my eyes for just a quick second, letting a cold breath escape my lips, when little bottles of medicine hit me in the face.
He's taking everything out of a bag, with both of his hands, and throwing the items contained in them at me, despite the pain. I look down at him, noticing that he has no weapon for defense, my face stony and harsh, when I continue, grabbing my blood-covered sword from the ground. At this moment, it's as if his brain has shut down. He's clammy and a glisten of cold sweat drips down his nose. His eyes turn wide when I deliver the final blow, searching for someone to help him, but nobody else can see.
His movements become more frantic as my sword, with a disgusting amount of fluidity, sinks into his trachea, forcing blood to squirt out all over his outfit. He tries to speak, but only gurgles come out.
''Shh,'' I say, using the tip of my boot to press the knife down further, making his death much quicker. His arm pulsates one last time, right before his eyes slowly close and his head leans to the side. When it's all said and done, I take my sword out of his flesh, feeling unfazed with the sound.
''Sigrid!'' I hear a voice call out my name – a familiar voice, at that. Through my peripheral vision, I see Clarice motioning me forward, a look of amusement on her face. Slowly approaching, I raise an eyebrow, expecting something comical to come out of her mouth, but she points forward at a group of three tributes waiting on an ally. ''Help me take them out?''
I shrug, willing to do whatever it takes to ensure my survival and the demise of others. ''Come on, say something!'' she groans.
''Yes, I'll help you take them out,'' I decide, taking the lead. Hurling the backpack away from me, I jog after the three tributes, making sure that my boots don't attract too much attention. On my way towards them, the Seven girl runs right in front of me, knocking me down along with herself.
She groans, looking furious until she sees who she's bumped into. Her eyes descend onto my weapons, staring at the glistening blood, and then she quickly scrambles up to her feet and runs away from me, holding an axe out in defense and keeping a backpack locked tight against her back, and one against her chest for safety precautions. Little does she know that the blood belongs to her District Partner.
I boost myself up, rubbing my head. Something doesn't feel right. I'm a few feet away from the three other tributes, and one of them sees me, but he doesn't look afraid – he looks shocked. That's when I get a gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach, and my mind tells me to turn around and jump back.
A whirling noise inches closer to me, and just as I turn around, I bring forward my butterfly knives, blocking Clarice's spear as it falls near my throat. My eyes dilate and I stare at her in confusion. ''Bastard!'' I bite. ''I should've known a scum like you was gonna betray an ally.''
''Coming from you? Oh, bite me!'' she retorts. Retreating the spear back, tossing it to her left hand, she ducks down, rips a knife out of her boot, and aims for my chest. I jump back, spacing out my arms, growling as my hair flows right past my vision. This little mishap gives her an opportunity to strike at me once more, and blood is drawn from my forearms.
The stinging sensation makes me wince, but this pain is nothing compared to what we should experience. Weakening my grip, I cough. ''I'm surprised nobody died in that little fall.'' Staring her dead in the eyes, I say, ''I was hoping that when the cave formations formed, you would've been shook off your plate and blown up.''
''I was hoping the exact opposite – in fact, I was actually dying to have this moment all to myself. You don't know how bad I've been itching to kill you.''
''And why is that, if I may ask?''
''Because you're an annoying, hypocritical pig who thinks that she runs shit! Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I'm gonna murder you. I fucking hate you!''
I instinctively duck out of the way just as she thrusts her spear forward, scratching a bit of my skin through my torn Aztecan-style shirt. Growling, I fight back, elbowing her straight in the jaw, causing her to bite down on her tongue and draw blood. My feet slap against the ground as I run forward, placing a sword inside of my skirt, and throwing a fist at her face, aiming for her temple.
Stumbling backward, she leaves her mouth wide open, her eyes distant. ''You've got it all wrong if you think you're beating me.''
''Bet,'' I challenge.
The group of tributes' footsteps that I thought that we were after grow further and further away, letting me know that they're gone. I lose concentration for a brief moment, wondering if any other Careers notice that I'm fighting Clarice, but we're in an open space that's farther away from every other tribute. I curse at her, growing angry.
Clarice kicks out her leg, and I jump over it, hovering in the air for mere seconds before I swing one of my swords forward. She looks shocked, finding no way to escape, when the blade enters her shoulder. She cries out in pain, wincing on the floor, as I step over her.
She gasps from the blow, the impact throwing her off her A-Game, and her head crashes into the ground with a loud blow. ''I—'' she says, panting, grabbing my arm and ripping the sword out of her shoulder manually— ''want you—'' she breathes. ''—DEAD!''
A sudden gust of energy rises from her, making her look almost like an animal – like a feline. She gets up from underneath me, catching me off guard, and punches me in the jaw. I can see her coming from miles away, predicting her next moves as my head jolts backwards – it's a move that every Career should expect – as she uses her weight to lean her spear forward, but I counter it by directing my sword straight at her forehead, piercing her skin and drawing plenty of blood. She falls to the floor, sprawled under me, and I think that it's over.
Rule Number One: Never let your guard down; it's the first thing that every Career learns, and I completely ignore it. While breathing harshly, I suspect that she's dead, but a cut across the head isn't enough to kill anyone unless they're extremely fragile – I know that, but I still fuck up.
She bounces back up in a hurry and shoulder tackles me, knocking me down and out for the count. Before I can push her off of me, she thrusts her knife into my stomach, twisting and pulling out my insides. Over and over again, back and forth, the pain feeling like it'll never end.
My body is burning with white hot pain, like fire is engulfing me. My vision becomes blurry, tears – no, emotions – beginning to form at the corner of my eyes. I close them only for a second, but I'm unable to reopen them. An ear-piercing scream escapes my lips, but only for a few seconds. Then I shut up.
''I always get what I want,'' is the last thing I hear before nothing seems to make sense anymore.
And pain is the last thing that I ever feel.
Zeppelin Cross, District Four
I parry an attack from the District Eight girl, using my quarterstaff to knock her knife free from her hands. My weapon smacks against her knuckles but she shows no sign of a reaction, even though her skin is peeled off and producing blood.
I frown, ready to strike again, deciding whether I wanna really do this or not, when a high-pitched scream distracts me. The Eight girl takes her opening to run away, sprinting and dodging all of the obstacles on her way to freedom, never looking back at me and carrying a small backpack with her.
The only thing that I can think about is Sigrid, because that's her voice. I know that for a fact, and whether or not I'm just hearing things, something causes my stomach to bubble up, but I ignore it. No, forget whatever it is. Don't worry about anyone, just focus on what you came here to do.
Swallowing down my pride, I turn my head to the left, and to my surprise, the little girl from District Twelve hangs around the Cornucopia, behind the nearest boulder, waiting for a chance to run into the home of supplies. I feel scared for her, my mind unable to think of a solution to this problem.
It wouldn't be smart to ignore her because there are dozens of cameras around here, and they all see me looking at her. She turns around slowly, a pool of sweat dripping from her forehead. The young girl and I lock eyes, and she runs a hand through her hair, teeth tugging at her cracking lower lip.
''Go...!'' I whisper, motioning for her to leave, but she stands still, frozen. I want her to leave, but she's not complying. Someone's gonna see her, and I'm already ruining my chances of survival and sponsors by trying to help her.
''Careers!'' I hear, snapping my head around. Atlas, Emil and Avery hut together in a circle, looking around for the rest of us. Emil waves me forward, telling me to come over. Looking around, I'm about to ask where all the others are until Blush and Adonis come out from boulders on the far right, Adonis smiling and Blush looking displeased.
''So...'' Avery trails. ''How many kills did we rack up?''
''I killed the girl from Five,'' Atlas claims.
''Yeah, but she was mine at first, 'till I was rudely interrupted,'' Emil says.
''Yes, because you'd already injured her, and could you have really done it? You were frightened to even hold the sword, let alone actually bring it down on her head.'' Emil and Atlas both go quiet after that statement, a weird tension making us all feel uncomfortable.
''Two kills so far, 'cuz I took out the Nine girl in the beginning, while we were in the cave,'' Adonis begins, avoiding the tension. ''First blood.''
''And how'd you do that?'' Blush asks.
''This weird creature thing that I thought was a tribute at first had a spear in his hand, until he was crushed by falling rocks. So, while everyone else was running, I took it, distracted the girl, and let's just say it landed in her head.''
''But I thought you were a javelin user?''
''Guess I do good with both weapons; they're pretty similar, to be honest.''
''Well, I got none,'' Blush puffs.
''Shocker,'' Avery says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
''Oh, yeah? And what did you do?''
''I split the Eight boy's head open and revealed bone, that's what I did,'' he growls at her, becoming hostile all of a sudden. ''And I'll do the same to you if you don't shut up with that attitude of yo—'' he stops himself, recollecting his cool. ''I saw the boy from Seven dead with a cut in his throat, so I'm assuming that one of you did it?'' Everyone remains quiet. ''No? I mean, the cut looked like something a sword-shaped weapon would conflict.''
''It was probably Sigrid, she uses butterfly swords,'' Atlas confirms. ''Speaking of Sigrid, where is she?''
''And Clarice,'' I ask, joining in the conversation for the first time.
''Don't know, but I saw them running after an alliance,'' Adonis says. ''They looked pretty steady on killing all four of the tributes, so maybe they're killing them as we speak?''
''Possibly,'' Emil sighs. ''This whole thing sucks.''
''What does?''
''This!'' he calls out, looking at the horrid bodies lying on the ground. My breathing becomes normal again, seeing as we're all talking to each other, which leaves the Twelve girl, who I hope is smart enough, to realize that she has an option to run away. ''The bodies, the mutilation... It's all disgusting as fuck!''
''Those are the types of things you get to see when you're a Career, kid,'' Atlas frowns. ''You gotta live it down, though, or else it'll consume you.''
''Oh, I'll live it down, alright,'' he retorts. ''All of Panem will watch me live it down. I'll show them all just who I am and what I can do. The glory of all their eyes on me, watching right now as I speak, just makes me feel... oozy and satisfied on the inside.''
''Hey!'' Clarice's voice yells from afar, and we all turn around, watching her skid to a slow stop. Her attention goes from us to the back of a boulder that we're all in front of, which makes me feel nervous.
Trying to distract her, I ask, ''Clarice, what's that on your head? And where's Sigrid?''
She tenses up for a moment, but then shakes her head. ''I don't know,'' she says, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. ''We were going after a group of tributes when all of a sudden I bumped into the girl from Seven. She tried to kill me, and we got into a fight. Her axe cut open a wound in my head, and it burns. I tried to kill her, but she got away, and I lost Sigrid, so I don't know if she's still out there fighting or what – but if she is, the odds aren't in her favor because it'd be four against one...''
''That's odd...'' Blush crosses her arms together, tightening the grip on her knife. ''I was fighting with the Seven girl. That's how I got this wound in my thigh; she fucking stabbed me, but you were fighting her, too..?''
''Yeah!'' Clarice responds, a little too quickly. ''But maybe I was fighting her after she escaped you, you never know.''
''But I was literally just fighting her.''
''Okay, then maybe before you.''
''That's not possible because I've been targeting her from the get-go. Granted, I lost her for a minute or so, but I doubt your confrontation lasted less than thirty seconds. Are you lying to us?''
Realizing that she's losing the verbal banter, Clarice changes the topic. ''That's not important. What is important is who's behind that boulder next to you, Zep.''
My pulse becomes thready all of a sudden, knowing what's about to come. A small squeal is heard, and the entire alliance shuffles their feet, beginning to move forward. ''What are you talking about?'' I fake. ''There's nobody else left besides us. You gotta lay off of whatever it is you're smoking.''
''No, there's a little girl behind that boulder,'' she insists, pointing to my right.
I turn around, trying to look like I don't understand. Checking the wrong boulder on purpose, I sense Clarice getting angrier. ''Zep, turn the fuck around! The girl is right there,'' she yells, forcing me to look. The rest of the Careers all begin moving quicker, looking to hunt down the tribute.
''She's mine!'' I hear Blush say, followed by a fuss of emotion coming from everyone else. ''I deserve a kill after this bullshit.''
''Why don't we all just team on her?'' Emil suggests, gaining positive responses from everyone.
''Actually, no!'' Clarice growls. ''Let Zep get the kill, he's the closest to her, and we don't need all of us cornering her when it's one puny kid.''
I feel all of them staring at me, so I gotta go now – I'm the leader, and what would I look like to them if I didn't do what I came here to do, what I'm supposed to do? So, when I reach the girl and she starts scuffling away, I become heated with anger.
''I swear to God, if you let her escape like that other bitch...'' Avery threatens.
Looking down at her, I raise my quarterstaff up into the air, curving it at the perfect angle to pierce her heart. Her eyes dilate, and before she's able to scream, I whisper, ''I'm sorry.''
The metal blade of my quarterstaff shimmers in the sunlight, right before it hits her in the heart, puncturing her skin and cutting off all circulation of blood and oxygen throughout her body. Her eyes go dull, fluttering furiously as she struggles to gain breath. Within seconds, her body gives in and she dies. Her death was quick. Unlike the other tributes, her death wasn't gruesome. There's no blood pooling around a certain area of her body, just blood soaking on her Aztecan cloth. It's nice, actually...
Her body looks so peaceful in her eternal sleep, but my heart aches. Deciding between who lives and who dies is on our hands – on my hands, and concluding on a choice, for me, is the hardest thing to do.
This is the first of many lives that I'll claim, and I hate myself for it. Almost to the point that I wanna cry, but this is for the District, right?
Patriotism still doesn't make it feel right.
24th - Rhea Mandelle, District Nine
23rd - Cassia Abbey, District Five
22nd - Clarence Loom, District Eight
21st - Fidan Blanchett, District Seven
20th - Sigrid Lappiere, District Two
19th - Ceres Golovin, District Twelve
flowersnowgirl, Thank you for sending Rhea my way. She was a great character from the beginning, so precious and pure, but in reality, I just couldn't see her going any further than the Bloodbath. She was the type of tribute to, if she did make it past, throw herself into insanity in my eyes. If I had brought her any further, it would've been death by suicide or a mutt attack, which I didn't really want for her. Taking that turn would've made me feel weird for writing her that way, so I decided that killing her here was the best option. She just didn't take any help, no matter how hard people tried to help her. It was bad to the point where Mentors were willing to give up on her and let her just toss herself away in the Arena. Although her end was suckish, I enjoyed writing for her. And I don't know if you're still reading this story or not, you've been gone for months, but this decision had nothing to do with your inactivity. I just felt that Rhea was best off being an early death, and whenever you read this, if you do, I hope you're not upset with my decision.
The Emerald Queen, oh, I've been writing for your tributes since the beginning of my ff days. All of them have brought a smile to my face, and I loved each and every single one of them. Cassia... she was great, to be frank. She may have been the stereotypical, ditzy, mall-shopping teen of today's society with rich parents and everything being thrown her way, but writing her POV in this chapter made me feel some type of way. That little sense of realization that she felt in the end made me smile. How she regretted so much and realized that life isn't to be taken for granted, that beauty wasn't everything, that she had a moment of smartness for once in her life. She was independent here, worrying about herself and wanting to do what was best for her, not what Beckett or her Mentors wanted her to do, or what the other tributes did. But instead, she took actions into her own hand, but unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to escape her situation. Writing this death was hard, but she went out quick. Thanks for submitting.
Everlasting, I remember when I received Clarence. Honestly, the day that I did get him, it made me smile so much. I had been receiving a couple of tributes prior to his submission who didn't pop out to me as much as I had wanted them to, but then when I opened up my mail and read Clarence, a smile crept on my face. He was such an AMAZING tribute, and I don't think other readers will realize that. At times I felt that I didn't portray him as best as I could, that I had failed to show much more of him, but here, I'm kinda satisfied with how I worked with him. My decision of killing him wasn't for anything bad, I felt as if his death would be able to serve a purpose to a few tributes in the story later on. I don't know if many liked him or not, but he, in my opinion, was severely underrated in this story. I hope you're not upset with me killing him off in the Bloodbath, but just saying, if I for some reason end up making another one of these stories, I'd love to receive another tribute from you for sure. Thank you for submitting such a great, detailed, story-filled tribute who I could work with.
Void, ugh! I feel so bad about this. Like, literally. Talking to for a while now, and our little chats about the upcoming death of tributes and shit. You seemed so happy, waiting on this chapter, and I felt like an ass hyping you up because I knew that your tribute would fall this chapter. I didn't wanna act suspect or make anything awkward, so I went along, but I hope you're not mad at me. Fidan was just THAT guy; you know, that one guy who's cheeky and humorous, but is hated on by many. People either like him or they don't, and he found a few who didn't, which came as a shock to him. Fidan, to me, had all the personality in the world, but his personality wasn't enough to help him survive. His death, I hope wasn't too bad, but he was one hell of an interesting guy. The one thing that I'm pissed off about is that I didn't finish what I wanted to do with him. He was supposed to join Kaster's alliance, but then I forgot about all my plans and they hit me literally yesterday, which pissed me tf off, but I had to go on. Things could have been different, but along with Everlasting, if I make another one of these stories, I'd love another tribute from you, as both of you have made two awesome tributes that I've had so little time to work with, but did the best I could with.
stop-pulling-on-mariazell, I'm sorry about Sigrid. She was one of my favorite Careers this year. Very different from the standard girls that I've received, and that really stood out to me. The way she had an input on life, not to trust people, it reminded me of daily life today, how it's so hard to trust others due to backstabbing and just common bullshit that people sell you out for. Her personality was fucking great. Like, honestly, I enjoyed writing her so much. I know people like to say, ''Why do authors kill off tributes that they like so early?'', but I think we all have legitimate reasons for doing so. Her conflict with Clarice wasn't directly stated too many times, but I tried to imply the rivalry and hatred as best as I could. This chapter was honestly going to end up pissing most of you off, I'm guessing, at first, 'cuz I was planning on having Clarice, Blush and Sigrid all get into some heated shit and two of them would've been offed, followed by the other being severely injured and being useless to the alliance, resulting in death, depending on who they were, but that wasn't the way to go. I just felt bad for the girl; the entire family thing, her Mom, her stepmother, the kids, everything was just going bad for her. The Games were her way out, both ways, actually, and the easier way was the one I ended up choosing. Rest In Peace, Sigrid.
Reader... Oh, Reader, how I love you so. So sorry about Ceres. She was such a beautiful character, despite being hated by so many, only seeing her as the common twelve-year-old, wanting something different, I suppose. My reason for killing her off is because I had nothing too major planned for her. She had one ally in Ocelot, but I'll explain that in next chapter as to why what happened did. Her personality is what led to her downfall in the end. She was always so scared, not knowing what to do and stuttering in her speech and movements at times. The girl was cute, but fragile, and I couldn't see her possibly living off in the Games. It'd be a living nightmare for her, and she'd only suffer through so much; such as mutt attacks and other tributes, which wouldn't result well. If I had her die any other way, it would've been to a mutt, because I could not imagine any other tribute too willing to harm her, besides a few obvious ones. Her and Ocelot would've gone through so much trouble together, but she died early, and quickly, so at least her suffering wasn't prolonged. Zep was the only proper person I could think, in that situation, to kill her, because he felt pity for her - not to say the others didn't, but most were wanting another tribute out of the competition, and he.. he didn't know, so if anyone was to kill her, I'm glad it was him. R.I.P. Ceres, she's resting now.
A/N: Ayee, a quick update! I'm gonna make this A/N short because, yeah, I don't have too much to say. It's the day after Christmas, and like I said last chapter, hope you guys had an awesome day with family and friends. Also hope the presents were satisfactory ;) Onto the questions we go, now!
Opinions on each POV?
Anyone you expected to die who didn't?
Anyone you expected not to die who did?
Best death and why?
Overall opinion on the chapter?
That's all for now, guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Also, this chapter wasn't so long at first. It was deadass only 6000 words before I did the... whatever it is you call when you mourn these tributes after they die, and then added those line things to divide the POVs. Guess those together add 2000 words? I don't know, but fuck it, it's whatever. Trying to stray from long chapters here, but ff is kicking my ass :) Anyway, hope y'all have a wonderful day, night, whatever time it is over there for y'all. I'll see y'all next time, bye! ^-^