Damien Greyson, D9
"Sloan? Sloan, you there?" Damien called out from the tree. Sloan had been sleeping on a branch just underneath his, but now she was gone. She couldn't be dead; he'd have heard the cannon. Damien had picked up the habit of sleeping lightly since he'd gotten here. He stopped moving and held his breath, hoping to hear some rustling that was a sign of life nearby. If Sloan had simply abandoned him, he wouldn't care. He just didn't want to jump from his tree if an enemy tribute was in the area.
And then he heard it. Sloan, talking with someone. Another tribute? They were the only ones left from Nine, so why would another tribute give her the time of day? Damien started his climb down from his branch, getting only low enough to see who it was that was talking with Sloan.
He wasn't wearing any of the tribute colors, but rather a simple brown shirt and matching pants. He didn't look like any of the tributes Damien had remembered as still alive, either. Who was this person?
He was sitting against a tree, talking with Sloan as she lay on the ground, her head in his lap. They laughed every now and then, and spoke as if they'd known each other for a while. Then he heard a name, Russell. Russell was Sloan's boyfriend back home. What was he doing here in the arena?
Damien climbed down the tree to find out what the hell was going on. Was this the game maker's sick twist of a finale? Bring in the loved ones of the tributes, and force them to die, too? Wait, thought Damien, is someone that I love here? Now he was moving faster, to question Russell until he found out what was happening.
The second he came into view, however, he noticed a change in the two of them. Sloan looked at him, and much to his surprise, smiled. Russell, on the other hand, did not. He removed Sloan from his lap and lunged, pinning Damien against the base of the tree before he could move.
"What are you doing?" he heard Sloan shout. THis only made Russell tighten his grip, which seemed far beyond natural.
"Look at where you are. He's the enemy. He'll kill you." There was an odd inflection in his voice, as well. Something almost…animalistic.
"Two! Two tributes can win the arena. He's my ally!"
"Two can leave the arena. Where do I fit into that, Sloan. You and me. We're the two!" Damien couldn't breathe. He looked at Sloan, hoping that she's argue back, but instead he saw her nod her head.
"You're right. But leave him. He is still from our district." Damien felt the grip loosen. This was his chance. He used Russell's arm as leverage and swung his legs up. One caught him in the side, but the other brought the attacker to his knees. He heard Sloan yell, but he'd taken off so quickly that he wasn't able to make out the words.
Paxton Luke, D2
"Paxton? Was that you?" He heard Elle call from up in the tree. He rolled over carefully, making sure he didn't fall from his own branch.
"No, I'm right here. What's going on?"
"There's someone nearby. I can hear them." Paxton had his bow and knife ready in an instant. He could tell that Elle did, too. They were both scouring the area now, looking for a sign of whatever, or whoever, was nearby. It was Paxton that caught it. A head of blonde hair moving through the leaves of lower trees. The person was on foot, on the ground. It didn't seem like they had weapons. This would be an easy kill. Paxton steadied himself, and released the arrow.
There was a gasp, and a thud. He could just make out the shape of the tribute lying on the ground, unmoving. Where was the cannon? He looked up to Elle, on her branch, who looked equally as confused. Paxton climbed down the tree before helping Elle, and they went to investigate.
The tribute he'd shot wasn't a tribute at all. He wasn't dressed like it. Paxton pulled the arrow out of his back, a lump growing in his throat, and rolled the man over with his foot. He had to clamp his hand over Elle's mouth to silence her screaming. Paxton realized who the person was, not because he knew him, but because he could immediately see the resemblance between him and Elle. It had to be Royce, her brother. He collapsed against the tree beside him, trying to catch his breath. What had he done?
And then Elle turned on him. She whipped around, bow in hand, an arrow pointed directly at his forehead.
"You killed him." she said viciously. "You killed my brother!"
"I didn't know it was him. Elle, please. I swear, Elle! Don't shoot. I didn't know." Paxton never thought he'd be begging for his life from this girl, so small, who'd been so weak in the beginning. He saw this register on her face, and she lowered her bow.
"Go away, Paxton," she said through tearful eyes. She turned back to her brother, and scooped his head up into her lap. Paxton backed away slowly, making sure he kept an eye on the girl. He gathered his things from their spot in the tree, and left into the woods. He didn't intend on leaving her, just keeping his distance until it was safe to go back.
And then he heard the voice of his sister. "Pax?"
Thalassa Pearl, D4
"It wasn't Finn. Ronan, look! It wasn't him! And that wasn't Netta. They were mutts, just mutts, meant to tear us apart. Don't let them win." Thalassa pleaded with Ronan, who was no longer crying, but still held his brother close. Thalassa had seen them coming while he slept. First Netta. Thalassa had been overjoyed, then terrified to see her. She'd hugged her, but then realized that Netta was pulling her away from her camp. She had thrown Thalassa to the ground when she spotted Ronan, and grabbed a weapon and charged.
That's what had alerted Thalassa. Netta loved Ronan. She remembered getting her approval of him in their goodbyes back in Four. Her sister wouldn't be doing this. Thalassa had landed a spear in her back before she could reach the sleeping boy.
That's when Finn had grabbed her from behind. She quickly grabbed her knife and sliced at his arms until he was forced to release her, and then she attacked, slicing at his neck. He fell quickly, but when she turned around, Ronan was staring at her in horror.
"I know. I know it's not them. You just need to give me a minute though. It's hard to swallow, watching someone you love kill someone else that that you love. Even if this isn't Finn, it looks just like him, so you can only imagine what was going through my head when I saw you kill him." Thalassa sat beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"They'd never hurt us. I'd never hurt them."
So...what'd you guys think? Two of what seemed like strong alliances are now over. Will this hurt them or help them in the end? Do you think Elle and Paxton will make up at all? What will happen now that Sloan is off with Mutt Russell? Will Thalassa's actions send Ronan over the edge, like what happened with Cassio and Ruben? How do you think the families back home are reacting to this?
Review please. Tell me what you think will happen to these tributes.
I'm out of school for the next three weeks, so I'm going to try and pick up on updating. Maybe we could even reach the end of the story by then :).
- Sarah.