Day Four Part I:
Ceres Morrisey, District Eleven
My feet slip outwards on the wet autumn leaves as I round the corner of the meadow, back to the intersection of five roads. ''Cathodette, come on!'' I scream, looking back at her as I catch my breath, panting.
''I'm here, I'm here!'' she yells, sprinting full-force towards me. After my little intake of air, I look around, unsure of which path to take. ''Which one, which one?!''
''Doesn't matter, let's go!'' I breathe, starting up again. The cold afternoon air shakes my throat and lungs as I inhale deeper, faster. With each footfall, a jarring pain shoots from my ankles to my knees; perhaps jumping off of a hill, tens of feet in the air, and onto a large amount of medium-sized rocks beneath me wasn't the smartest idea. But to get away from this... thing, is better than letting it wrap itself around me!
My heart beats frantically, and it's all or nothing. If I fail, my whole body will pay the price – my entire life will pay the price. Glancing behind me, I see the creature's silhouette. Shuttering as I run, I catch the creature finally passing through the trees, the way it's moving so silently creeping me the hell out.
''Keep going!'' Cathodette pushes, forcing herself to catch up to me. Her breath comes in small spurts, hot and nervous. At her sides, her tanned fingers curl into sweaty fists, swinging forward as if they'll make her run faster.
All I can say is that being chased is nothing like it seems in the movies. Reality shows you the horror on your face and the movement that you're forcing in order to save your skin.
''CERES!'' Cathodette screeches, her voice becoming more distant. Turning around, I spot the cryptid biting Cathodette by the leg and pulling her back, blood oozing from her shin. The giant, four-foot-long earthworm continues to drag her leg into its mouth, until only one is left remaining, but it hasn't bitten it off yet. There's some type of liquid dripping from the thing's outer skin, tainted red with something that wreaks a terrible stench.
Running forward, I swing my sickle as quickly as I can onto the creature's spinal area – but does this even affect it? Does it even have a spine?
Guess it doesn't... The creature seems more annoyed that I tried to stop it from killing my ally rather than hurt by my sickle. It lets go of Cath's leg and she scrambles up to her feet, her skin peeling and the formation of bruises taking its place.
Just as I grab Cath's hand, ready to drag her along the leaves and twigs if I have to, the earthworm opens up its mouth, lets out a grotesque howl, and some type of acidic liquid falls to the ground in front of us, dissolving all of its remnants.
Pulling her along, her eyes wide and fearful, I hear her hiss as another batch of acid is spat, this time landing on her back and burning parts of her top, along with her skin. She screams, her voice extremely loud, so I cuff my hands over her lips and say, ''Shut up!''
''But it hurts!'' I hear her say through the muffling.
From the overhead trees, another earthworm jumps out, the exact same size as its counterpart. Cathodette, as horrified as she is, surprises me by slapping herself and rushing past me. ''Oh, so now you wanna dip, after I just saved you?!''
As the second creature travels towards me, I kick my foot forward, trying to scare it away, but my sandal flies off. Realizing that the second one is of no use to me now, I kick it off as well, since retaining the other one isn't an option, running across the twigs, fallen branches, and so much more with my bare feet, my soles aching in pain. My feet slip and I almost tumble over, more time I can't afford!
''Please, God, let me live,'' I pray, bumping into Cathodette and knocking the both of us down. The nearest worm digs underground, and I can feel the earth beneath me tremble. ''Oh, God!''
Rolling around and picking myself up, I cut over a couple of bushes to the left, Cathodette following soon after, landing roughly. I slowly skid, holding back a groan of pain. In front of me are the two tributes from One – Blush and Adonis.
Cathodette looks up, and I spot her mouth trembling, quivering with words about to slip. NO, I want to say, but that'll draw their attention. Besides, before I can even bring my hand up to shut her up again, Blush turns around and snickers, tapping on Adonis' shoulder, just as Cath says, ''Holy crap!''
This is why those mutts chased us and are now nowhere to be seen – the Gamemakers wanted this, but what's worse is that Cathodette doesn't know when to shut the hell up so that I could at least slip away!
Fuck, man!
Adonis DiMae, District One
''No... you're a minute-man.''
''Are we seriously talking about this?'' I groan, rubbing my hand through my hair. ''Why'd you even bring it up? Our conversation literally had nothing to do with that.''
''I know, but it's just sad,'' she laughs. ''Plus, watching your skin boil like that makes me happy.''
''Whatever, it was my first time,'' I make an excuse, shrugging.
''Pathetic...''
''Still smashed, though, so no fucks given,'' I smile at her. ''And the amount of sponsors we received from it were worth the gain.''
''Just shows you how perverted those Capitol assholes are,'' she rolls her eyes.
''Be careful, they might send something after you if you don't watch your mouth,'' I snicker, attracting her into a silent laugh.
''Yeah, maybe you're rig—'' she stops all of a sudden, and I look to see what's up. She ceases to rub the cream on the wound in her thigh, staring up at the bushes instead.
''Holy crap!''
''Adonis, look,'' she points, and as I turn, I see the girls from Three and Eleven watching us. Eleven looks frightened but infuriated at the same time, while her ally looks like she's just gonna piss herself. ''They sent us two more things as a reward – tributes. Guess they want us to fight, huh?''
''Obviously,'' Eleven rolls her eyes, sickle in hand. ''Why else would they push us in this exact direction?''
''But you chose the pathway here!'' her ally disagrees with her. ''Come on, Ceres!''
''Shut the fuck up!'' she bites, hard, her hands trembling. ''Be honest with yourself – either way, those Gamemakers would have found a way to turn us off track and force us here. Wherever we went, we would've had to turn because they want a fight.''
''And we're gonna give it to them,'' Blush says, grabbing a large dagger from our weapon bag and charging at the Three girl.
She squeals, throwing up her hands awkwardly, barely managing to jump back. While the Eleven girl's distracted, watching her ally struggle, I pick up my javelin and swing at her. Her reflexes take over and she brings her sickle up smoothly, blocking one blade from entering her chest.
''Pretty good,'' I smile at her genuinely. Retracting my javelin, I quickly turn it to the single-bladed side and stab at her legs, watching her dance, before my fist connects with her jaw. She staggers backwards, wiping her mouth, holding back in order for the expression of pain not to surface on her face.
''You'd hit a girl?'' she asks, trying to make me feel guilty.
I shrug. ''I'd hit anything in order to get out of here alive. Anyone would, you should know that.''
Nodding her head, she whirls toward me, bringing down her sickle with swift movement. Grabbing it by the handle, I drag her closer to me, ready to shove my weapon straight through her stomach until she lets go and places distance between us, looks at Blush, and charges at her.
''The hell? Your partner's as good as dead, what's your motive?''
Just as I ask that question, she grabs Cathodette by the shoulders, barely avoiding a dagger to the throat, and pulls her back, until they hit a tree. Frantically, she looks around, sweat dripping from her forehead to the tip of her nose, finding no clear escape.
''I'm sorry,'' she whispers, barely audible, to her ally, before pushing her into me. Clutching her by the waist, I watch her ally take off into the bushes, leaving her sickle behind in the dust. Cathodette blinks, looking stunned but laughing at the same time.
''Hey, nothing bad's gonna happen, right? Ceres? Ceres!''
''Hate to break it to ya, but she's gone,'' Blush says, in a singing tone, ready to stab forward. ''Adonis, hold her still, honey.''
''No! No, she can't – she couldn't have! Stop lying to me, she would never betray me!''
''But... she would,'' I correct. ''Didn't she do the same to your other ally, back when Avery killed him?''
''God, no...'' The girl whimpers, her words becoming less and less clear. The dagger spins in Blush's hand just as she leaps forward, but Cathodette kicks her leg out and makes Blush buckle. Quickly taking advantage of our confusion, she slams the back of her head into my nose – causing me to let go of her – rips Blush's dagger away from her hands, and stabs at the open wound in her waist.
Blush yells in fury and pain, and the girl stutters backward, her face turning a pale sheet of ghost white as she drops the weapon and stares at the blood on her hands. A shutter runs through her body as she falls rearward, landing right in front of me. Getting up, using my javelin as a leverage, I hoist the weapon over my shoulder and bring it outwards.
''Satisfied?'' I look at her, our eye-contact never breaking. She soon closes her eyes, smiling to herself as if a miracle's been sent her way.
No sound leaves her lips as I slip the double-bladed side of the javelin into her pectoralis major, watching her eyes go wide with torment. When I yank my weapon out of her chest, she slips to the ground, blood pooling around her crumpled body.
''Asshole!'' Blush groans, clutching at her side. ''Let me kill her!''
''Are you serious?'' I ask, looking at her in the most ridiculous manner. ''Are you really that stupid?'' Before she can answer, I cut her off, saying, ''No, you're fucking hurt, calm down. You can't even move with that wound that you just had to leave revealed in order to fight – now it's worse, 'cuz you're terrible at decision making. Focus on that instead of worrying about your first kill, dammit.''
''Why, you—''
''Shut up, Blush,'' I say, serious this time. ''She's gonna die anyway. Look at how much blood she's losing. Either way, it's over for her – so instead of screwing yourself over, just let her die a slow death, 'kay?''
Blush's look falters, just a little bit, right before she stands up, gasps for breath, and grabs our bags. ''Let's go,'' she rasps.
Taking one last glance at Cathodette, I shake my head. Allies are just so cruel sometimes, abandoning – betraying – each other like that. ''Whatever you say.''
Vendetta Ischyroe, District Ten
I thought I was ready, but I was wrong. Every single time I had a chance to kill off another tribute, I kept holding back. My mind would scream at me that it was wrong, that everything going on here is wrong. Innocent kids! Can we think about that for a second?
What about all the future kids being born, who think life is all fun and games, until they see the horror on their television screens, realizing that in a few years, they could be here, in an Arena just like this, next.
Hell, they'll probably realize the horrors either way, unless they're from a Career District. But still... I thought that I could handle this – killing was honestly just another part of my regular lifestyle, but no.
There were alliances that I spotted, people that I could have picked off one-by-one, and none of them would have ever seen me coming. But my knife... j-just wouldn't fly out of my hand. I couldn't abduct them, kill them, and leave it at that.
Instead, I'm the one who's been abducted, captured by these twisted Gamemakers' creation.
In front of me, the alien-like creature shimmers in the air like the dome of a plasma lamp. Its outer layer wobbles somewhat like a jelly fish. Then, slowly, it takes a human shape and solidifies until it's a replica of me. Grunting, I try to get free, but the locks on my wrists and ankles keep me bounded to the dirty floor.
A stream of oozy liquid expels from the creature's head, dripping next to my stomach as it paces the area. ''Where are we?'' I ask, not expecting an answer.
''Under the hills,'' it responds, shaking me to the core. It cocks its head to one side and considers me from up close, then it strikes me... this thing doesn't need me – it never did. I was just a target for it to seek out. But is it a peaceful being or a killer?
''I've wanted you all to myself, before the others got to you,'' it smiles, the voice resembling my own.
''No!'' I cry.
It picks up a few of the knives that dropped from my hands when we first arrived here – when I was knocked out. Studying them like a book, the monster cackles sinisterly. Closing my eyes, praying for anything to save me, I feel a foot slam against my face. Stars corner the edges of my vision when I'm forced to reopen them, the taste of metal flooding my mouth.
I try to move, but the shackles I'm chained to limit my movement. Come on, Vendetta! If I'm tolerant of pain, why am I so afraid? ''What are you gonna do, kill me?''
''Maybe,'' the alien says.
''Do it, then! It's not worth it anymore!''
''I'll let you know when I decide that,'' it says, the sound of metal waving in the air. I brace myself just as the knife in its hand slashes across my stomach, blood mixing in with my cloth. I cry out in pain, my face contorting into that of disbelief and trauma. ''Hurts, doesn't it? Oh, but I thought you were tolerant to pain?''
What? My eyes basically pop out of my skull.
''Don't look so surprised; after all, I can sense everything that you're feeling, and, oh, I know that it hurts,'' it laughs. ''Did you think I was just another regular enemy of yours?''
''STOP!'' I scream, trembling as I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes. This thing has the cornerstone of intelligence – its imagination, mind-reading, feelings, and apathy.
''I'll end it soon,'' it decides.
''Why are you doing this to me?!''
''Put it in my perspective,'' it pauses, playing with the knives. ''Success in killing you means that I get a higher promotion in status, but failure means that a mandate for the eradication of my problematic actions would take place.''
''And?''
''And, I do not want to be seen as the failure of my pack who dies because some stubborn little girl doesn't know when it's her time to lay in a coffin,'' it scolds. ''Anyway, I think that's enough talking for now. I have to claim your head, you must surely understand that.''
Before I can say anything, the knife is brought down, meeting my flesh, soft and pudgy, making a disgusting squish as the tip of the blade sinks deep enough to make me scream. Over and over again, the same act continues. My entire outfit, from head-to-toe, is stained with blood and gashed in several areas; most of it being driven into my chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
A loud noise crashes above of us, and at first, neither of us move. My brain's unable to make sense of the input from my ears. The ceiling above us is moving and the noise is like extended thunder. The walls scream, the eerie sounds throwing the alien off its game.
''Ha,'' I let a chuckle escape my lips.
''What's so funny?'' it asks.
''We're both gonna die, you know?'' Its face changes real quick from a sick, twisted smile to that of a nervous person's.
''That's not funny,'' its voice gets low.
''Whether we live or dies depends on how the Gamemakers want to treat us, and either way, our fate is a joint one,'' I tease. ''We'll either walk away hand-in-hand or perish in the rubble.''
''N—'' the creature stops when it sees my eyes travel to the exit of the hill, where I so desperately want to climb up to, but it's too late. When the water seeps through the hill's underground opening, it lets out a roar of, ''NO!''
It doesn't hit with the gentleness of spring rain but instead floods the entire cave. It's a wall of water, cold and powerful, that fells anything and everyone in its path. No emotion, no thought, no hesitation. It just comes, granting me my last request of breathing oxygen for these remaining few seconds before it wraps the entire hill in its frigid, foamy fingers.
I watch as the alien gets lifted up to the surface of the water, its head bumping into to the ceiling above us. A loud crack emits from its skull, just as it falls unconscious and the knife drifts away.
I can't help a small smile from finding its way onto my face. The water crashes over and over again, and all I can do is watch. Overhead, the remaining pieces of the underground surface come tumbling through the water, landing all over the place.
A large rock crashes into my stomach, forcing me to choke even more. My eyes burn with the saline, and as the rocks keep tumbling down, I see a particular, excessively massive one coming straight for my head.
You know, I never learned to swim, but even if I had, there's no way I can dodge this thing; the shackles are holding me back, my body's burning, everything's just wrong.
But hey, at least it's a quicker way for me to go, because drowning isn't so pleasant.
I'm sorry, Xavier.
Poet Monroe, District Six
Pressing my back against the diamond-plated building, I let out a sigh.
''Smart call, Poet,'' Kaster says, trudging through the ankle-deep water. ''If we stayed back there, who knows what would have happened to us?''
Boom! The cannon sounds through the air, so unexpected, so harsh.
''That's what would've happened,'' I say, pointing to the air. ''Poor soul...''
''Hey, man, stay optimistic,'' Beckett encourages, holding my weapon extremely close to himself. ''At least it's not one of us.''
''Yeah, but it's only a matter of time before it is one of us – or three or all four of us.'' Frowning, I turn my head. A comforting hand rests itself on my shoulder, and it's Beckett again, always the friendly one. I return the genuine act by smiling at him. ''I think it's time that we get moving again.''
''Agreed,'' Kaster mutters, hoisting his weapon over his shoulder. Just as he picks Bree up and begins walking, he bumps into some type of invisible forcefield and gets pushed back, a zap forcing him to drop everything in his hands. ''Whoa..?''
Getting up from my short rest, I quickly try to reach Kaster, hoping that my prediction is incorrect. When I finally get near him, the same thing pushes me back, causing me to sprawl on the floor.
''No, no no no no no no.'' I place both hands on the back of my head, disappointed, upset with the Gamemakers for going this far.
''What's going on?'' Beckett asks.
''It's the Gamemakers!'' I fret. ''They trapped the four of us in here. Two people per section, and they want someone to die. Oh, no, no!''
''So we have to fight each other?'' Kaster wonders, looking at me with widened eyes.
''Yes!'' I cry, my voice cracking. ''I thought that we were in an auspicious situation for a while because of all the things we've managed to escape. But...''
''That's exactly it,'' Kaster groans. ''We've escaped so much that they've grown tired of us taking the easy way out – they want us to suffer like all the others. Every alliance has to crumble at some point, and for us, it's now...''
''So either Kaster kills Bree – because they're together – or you and I fight,'' Beck starts making sense of things. ''Kas...''
''No,'' he says calmly. ''I'm not killing Bree. That's not fair.''
''Put her out of her misery, man!'' Beck shouts, his voice hoarse. ''Look, she's barely awake! Just... kill her so that the three of us can get out of here. Please.''
''You can't ask him to do that,'' I frown at him. ''That's just wrong. She's the one who started this alliance in the first place, so why is that you want him to betray the one who's been so loyal to us thus far?''
''Because I don't want to fight you,'' Beck coughs up.
''And I don't want to fight you either,'' I say, narrowing my eyes to the machete. ''Especially because you have my weapon in your hand...''
''Look—''
Both of our heads jolt to the scene behind us as we hear Kaster scream. A weird, hairless, bloated, gray-in-color dog-like creature with a massive build comes howling through the forcefield, biting out at his arm. Jumping away, he picks up his warhammer and glares at the mutt.
The dog, as large as us, if not bigger, retracts and looks at Bree. If looks could kill, I would've had a heart attack just by staring at its menacing gaze.
Turning to Beckett, I gulp, my palms extremely sweaty. Rubbing my hands down my shirt, I stutter. ''I-I-I t-think t-t-that we s-should... j-j-just get this o-over with...''
Looking straight ahead, he gives me a despairing smile. ''Hey,'' he says, waving the machete in the air. Tossing it to the side, he shrugs and says, ''Just hands?''
Despite me knowing that it'll take much longer, I nod slowly. ''Just hands.''
Readying ourselves, both of us not wanting to be the first to attack, we give each other sad smiles. Beckett makes the first move just as Kaster chases the mutt away from Bree's helpless body.
The first punch is thrown, and Beckett's fist sinks into my stomach. I gag, stumbling away from him for a brief second before he sprints back at me, his eyes narrowed in determination.
I dodge his left hook, continuing to backpedal until I hit the forcefield. ''Come on!'' Beckett groans. ''Fight me!''
Ducking as I try to ignore the zap of pain, I run away from him. ''I can't!''
His fist slams into my face, blood pooling in my mouth. Beckett stands there breathing roughly, holding his arm as the pain blazes to his knuckles. I stand there, so incredibly surprised at the pain in my mouth that I don't even see him coming closer.
Grabbing me by my shirt, he looks me in the eyes, trying his hardest to snap me out of my reverie. ''Poet!''
''I... I can't do it, Beck!''
''Poet, I can't hit you if you don't fight back,'' he shrieks. ''It... it doesn't feel right. If you don't grow a backbone and nobody dies, then we're all gonna be killed! Do you want that? So either you kill me or I kill you!''
Everyone dead, and all because of you, possibly? C'mon, Poet, end this!
Pushing Beckett away from me, my hand automatically flies forward, my balled fist colliding with his cheekbone. As he stumbles, he nearly falls over, rubbing his cheek with his palm. Judging by his look, my attack took him by surprise.
''Where'd that strength come from?'' he cries, regaining his balance.
''I... don't know,'' I smile, but that's all we say to each other before attacking again. A sudden gush of pain jolts throughout my body. My stomach aches, my arms lose tension and my legs begin to weaken. Beck shakes me around, stars bursting in my vision, but I try hard to shake them off.
Throwing up a sloppy kick, I watch as Beckett steps back, easily evading. I growl at myself and throw my body at him, only changing direction at the last minute when his fist comes up again. As he misses, Beckett grabs me by my arm and pulls me closer to his body, bringing a fist to my face once again and snapping my nose into a grotesquerie.
My head pounds, but blood hums in my veins as determination and anger takes over me. Again, Beckett goes for my face, trying to draw even more blood and damage my vision. Bruised and winded, I throw my body weight behind his edging fist, allowing it to hit my jaw with such force that even more blood pools in my mouth.
Pain erupts from the force of impact, but with my own two hands, I grasp his head and bring my knee cap up to his nose. There's a blunt crack and I release his fluffy brown hair. Crimson leaks from both of his nostrils and his nose is twisted right.
My guts smash together, blood vessels bursting as I draw my fist back and slam it into his stomach; it's like hitting a train head-on. Repaying him the favor of what he did to me earlier, I punch his jaw, my fist colliding with all of my body weight.
Over and over, I continue to batter until he falls to the floor. His chest gently rises and sinks with each shallow breath that he draws. Through the corner of my vision, I see the mutt pounce on Bree. ''Kaster!'' I scream, just as he tries to slam his weapon onto the beast. But because of how quick it is, the mutt leaps away, forcing Kaster to use all of his energy in order to not accidentally kill Bree.
A sigh of relief escapes me, but when I turn around, I regret letting my guard down. The machete – my machete – that Beckett has in his hands sinks into my gut, and he's angling it forward, pushing it deeper and deeper into me. He looks at me with pity in his eyes, as if he's sorry. But there's no way anyone can be sorry after doing something like that; lying, and then stabbing me behind my back.
''Fists... only?'' I fall forward, unable to stop myself from crashing to the ground. Luckily for me, I'm on my side, so the machete doesn't protrude through my back. But still, this is terrible – absolutely terrible.
Pulling out the machete by its handle, Beckett throws it away, back to the exact same spot that it landed at before – almost like nothing happened. He couldn't take the risk of dying by my hands – even though, in all honesty, I could never bring myself to killing another human being. And that's exactly what we all are – human.
My chest expands as I grasp at the wound, unable to stop the blood from leaving my body.
''I-I... I lost control, Poet... I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry...''
No you didn't, I think to myself. I can't even say anything in response, or aware Kaster of my downfall. But I think he knows now, as the mutt flees and realization takes place.
''Poet?'' I hear. ''POET!''
It's over, unfortunately. I'm gonna miss everyone; my family, my friends, Bree, Kaster... even Beckett. But I can't say my goodbyes. Darkness takes over my vision, and I can feel my chest steadily falling for good. The only thing confirming my death is the sound of another cannon blasting through the air.
Hopefully I'll see everyone on the other side some day.
Zeppelin Cross, District Four
Blades drawn, Blush and Clarice start going at it. Knife against dagger, metal clashing against metal, Career against Career. I sit back, thinking of how wrong the Gamemakers are for forcing us together like this. So early...
Atlas charges Adonis, but to his surprise, Adonis is as ready as can be. With the swing of his double-sided javelin, he cuts Atlas on the cheek and shoulder tackles him. The wind is knocked out of his trachea and he falls with a thud.
Avery, as bloodthirsty as ever, rushes Adonis, catching him off-guard. Lunging with two knives in his hands, he aims for the taller boy's neck. ''Seriously?'' Adonis says, managing to dodge.
I should be fighting with them... but I can't bring myself to doing it. Father's probably staring at the television screen right now, biting his lips, wanting me to jump into the action and eliminate all the other competitors; and Leslie... she never knew how to handle my passion, or the reason of going into the Games to kill. And now, I understand her feelings, because I'm using Emil as an excuse to not get any more blood on my hands.
''You're absolute shit!'' Clarice scoffs, laughing as she overpowers Blush. ''To think that I didn't kill you in the beginning makes my skin boil. How the hell did you even survive this long?''
''Because I'm loved by the people out there, and they want to see me make it far,'' Blush answers, struggling. Resulting to last efforts, she elbows Clarice in the stomach and swings her dagger upward, giving Clarice no other option than to jump back.
I see Clarice look at Avery, giving him a wiggle of the eyebrow, telling him to corner Blush against a tree in silence. Avery hops away from Adonis, springing up to his feet in joy, calling out, ''I don't really wanna kill you, y'know? You're fun, unlike her.''
''Huh?'' Adonis says, unaware of their plan. But as Avery bumps into Blush, stabbing his knife into her side, Adonis' eyes go wide with anger. He tries to chase after, but Atlas grabs him by the arm, holding him back. Adonis wastes no time and instinctively elbows Atlas in the jaw, sending the boy staggering.
''HEY!'' I call out, but he pays me no attention. Atlas starts to fall back, and just as he turns, trying to hold onto his jaw, Adonis stabs a blade into the crook of his leg. As a scream leaves Atlas' lips, Adonis pulls out the javelin, stomps on his ankle and twists his foot, the cracks of Atlas' bones bouncing off of tree-to-tree.
''Don't fucking touch me ever again!'' Adonis snarls, losing his temper – and for the first time since any of us have known him, he's not so chill. He's not laid-back, calm, cool and collected; he's furious. It's not even funny when he grabs Avery by his neck, tosses him to the side, slams his face into the ground and forces dirt into his mouth.
Clarice swings her knife at his thigh. It sinks into him, but that only makes him even more upset. It's like he's possessed or something. He grabs her with a fist full of hair and disarms her.
''Ahh, get off!'' Clarice screeches, but Adonis sticks the javelin in her abdomen. And if he wasn't so blinded by anger, I think he would've killed her right then and there, but the weapon doesn't go deep enough. Clarice buckles down to the floor on her knees. Adonis advances, eyes bitter with emotion. But then he stops and turns, catching sight of me and Avery.
My eyes travel away from him, though, and I stare at the knife stuck in Blush's side. I won't lie and say that Adonis' gaze doesn't intimidate me, because we all see now who the strongest Career that these Games has to offer is... But if he was a little bit more serious, I think he could've won this fight and killed all of us.
Would have.
Through the trees, loud stomping grows and grows until a large-headed, small-bodied giant emerges from the deep forest. It's nothing that any of us expected – we all stare at the beast in shock; Atlas, Clarice, Avery, Adonis, Emil and I...
''W-What the f-f-fuck...'' Emil tries, his body barely managing to move.
It bares its perfectly squared teeth, smiling perilously. There's no warning call for any of us before it starts searching for the nearest target – and that's Adonis.
He doesn't see it coming before the mutt, as tall as a tower, swoops him down in its palms and squeezes the life out of him. Adonis struggles, thrashing against the monster's tight grip, but manages to slip one of his arms free and stab its large hand.
The mutt screams, the blow doing nothing but infuriating it. ''FUCK OFF!'' Adonis shouts, his voice filled with anger. He tries and tries again to get this thing to let him go, even going as far as throwing the javelin in his hand with all of his might, abandoning his only weapon that provides a source of defense.
Unfortunately for him, the weapon barely misses where the heart is located, and with the pain scorching through the beast's body, he rips out the weapon, glares at Adonis with a look that I can't even characterize, and tosses the javelin away.
Blush slowly gets up and grabs Adonis' weapon, managing to slip undetected. ''Yoouuu hu... hurt... me!''
Nothing is said after that. This thing spoke... And before we know it, Adonis is screaming at the top of his lungs. ''GET THIS THING THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! TARGET SOMEONE ELSE, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, YOU FUCKING ASS! OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THIS PROXIMITY, I'M THE ONE YOU TARGET! FUCK OVER THE LARGER ALLIANCE, DAMMIT! YOU DISGUSTING, HIDEOUS, MEANINGLESS CHUNK OF MEAT! DISAPPEAR FROM THIS WORLD AND JUST DIE! GET AWAY!''
Understanding his words, the monster's eyes dilate, and he tosses Adonis into the air, taking a large bite out of his two legs, ripping them off in a mere instance. The sweat rolls down his face as pain and fear take over.
''BLUSH!'' he calls out, trying to wiggle free. ''BLUSH, PLEASE!'' Despite his pleads for help, she falls forward in her footsteps, running away without looking back, his weapon in her hands. She disappears into the forest's decrease. ''NO! NO! I TRIED TO PROTECT YOU! I KNEW I SHOULD'VE LOST FAITH IN YOU!''
His words mean nothing now, even as his head is leveled into the mutt's mouth. He groans, clearly from the blood loss, seeming as if he's lost all feeling in his arms. ''STOP! PLEASE DON'T!''
In his short, intense silence, he somehow screams with his entire body. His eyes go wide with horror, his mouth falls rigid and open, his chalky face becomes gaunt and immobile, his fists somehow clench with blanched knuckles and his nails dig deeply into the skin of the giant's hands.
But for him, everything's shortened quickly and simply. Seemingly annoyed, the mutt shoves Adonis' head into its mouth, leaving only the rest of his body exposed, and takes a huge chunk, popping every single nerve, blood vessel, artery – in short, everything in his head – decapitating him with one swift bite.
His body goes limp, everything falling with gravity as the mutt turns away and walks back into the forest, with his cannon blasting in the wind.
The last remaining bit of him which remains is a pendant that falls from his pocket.
16th - Vendetta Ischyroe, District Ten
15th - Poet Monroe, District Six
14th - Adonis DiMae, District One
Wizard, Vendetta was a very interesting tribute. Her assassin background and killer vibe that she gave probably made everyone think that this girl was a final three type of competitor. Unfortunately, she wasn't, and I'm sorry. I haven't really heard from you in like seven months, and you haven't updated in forever, so I don't know if you're still around. If you are reading this, though, Vendetta just wasn't a fit for me to bring extremely far. She was fun writing, no doubt, and I loved the connection with her family. Unfortunately, though, I didn't have a lot of plans for her in the beginning. But then, I realized that after all of the killing, this Arena could really mess her up. She killed bad people, but these kids were innocent - most of them. It was better that I killed her off here rather than make her go insane. Writing tributes go insane isn't really my thing, but I didn't wanna try my hand at it with her. Her downfall was going by extremely quick, and I knew that when she hesitated against Taisiya. Sorry, man, R.I.P.
Anna, holy crap, I hate myself for this. I think you all hate for me after this. Poet was the most innocent, and arguably the best tribute in this story. He was a bundle of joy who I loved writing. Every POV that I had coming up for him was usually the highlight of the chapter. Unfortunately, I had Poet as an early death for a while. I kept arguing with myself and wanted to make it how other authors do and drag the innocent kid out really far, just because of how much others and I really liked him. He just wasn't the type of tribute to kill another. That fight with Beckett, that was always planned. When I first created the alliance, I had that happening because the plans that I had for Poet were going to destroy him and make him lose his mind. Things would have gone terribly wrong, and I didn't wanna do that to him. A lot will be revealed next chapter, or in the next few chapters but just little scattered pieces of information. Poet will have a massive impact on the other tributes, though, that I can tell you for sure. He was incredible, and I hope you don't hate me for this. R.I.P. Poet.
Frankie, this broke my heart. Adonis was my favorite tribute in this story. I'm always in favor of District One, I think a lot of you know that now judging by how I write them and lowkey give them advantages and stuff. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ When I got Adonis and Blush's submissions, I knew something was gonna backfire. Blush was always gonna take advantage of him and make him fall for her with lust, use his family against him, the thoughts he had and stuff. The ideas were always in my mind from the start, and I hesitated writing this out. Adonis was definitely the most talented tribute in this story, with the most interesting background and my favorite personality overall. He had that awesome vibe that I love in people who I meet, and he was just sooooo damn chill. Killing him so early really had me all types of fucked up, but his death wasn't for no reason. After Blush abandoning him and all the other Careers seeing him get decapitated by a giant mutt, I'm pretty sure you're all expecting some fucked up emotions to arise. I'll deliver for sure on that, but I'm sorry about this death. It's really unfortunate killing off one of your tributes, and you remember that this is the Games and only one survives. Trust me, this was a hard decision to carry out. I hope I wrote him well enough, because it was fun while it lasted. R.I.P.
A/N: Ayee! So yeah, this chapter hurt. But next chapter will probably hurt as well because of the things awaiting the rest of these tributes. I always say that, so y'all get it by now - shit's about to go down. That's really all I have to say, because it's night for me and I kinda wanna go out and do shit, or just chill, y'know? But I hope you guys liked this chapter, or hated it, or had mixed emotions, I don't know. A few questions, if you don't mind?
Worst death of the chapter? Like, most horrible way to die, and who you didn't wanna see die?
Any tributes who died here who you weren't expecting to die? And who were you expecting to die?
Since tributes are gonna be dying quickly now, who do you predict making the final 3? I know it's early, but I'm really interested in your thoughts and opinions.
Thanks for reading! Hope y'all don't hate me too much. Oh, and no, Cathodette's not dead. I'll see you guys next chapter, bye! ^-^