Lottie Parker- Res D2F
People like me had one secret weapon in the early Games. By "people like me", I meant musclebound titans, of course. I was one of the sort who could very well kill someone before either of us got to the Cornucopia supplies. Right out of the gate, I could wipe out one of my biggest enemies. The question was, who would I pick?
Rapture Kai- Over and Over D1M
I had to smile when an arrow whizzed past me and hit the Nine boy. It wouldn't be a Resurrection Games unless that one Nine kid died first.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned just as Lottie's fist hit me in the face. I went flying, skidding a little on a chair I hit on the way down. As I tried to sit up, my arm bent painfully around the chair's legs, Lottie jumped onto me knees-first. I felt my inside shifting under her weight as she punched me again in the face, sending my head cracking against the floor. I heard Diamond's voice and then saw her shadow fall across me before Lottie rose partly and bodily threw her into a table a few feet away. Before Diamond hit the ground Lottie was already hitting me again. Even when I tried playing dead, she just kept hitting. Eventually I wasn't playing.
Arielle Ermin- 28th Games D4F
I didn't know anything about Cyrene. Honestly, she creeped me out, with her weird primness and her dead-eyed stare. But we were two platforms apart, and that made us a Bloodbath team. The mission was so clear neither of us had to say anything. The "nice" Careers were our biggest competition and the Bloodbath was essentially a power struggle. It was only unfortunate so many others would get away while we were occupied.
Cinderella Dare- Res D1F
Arielle was right on my heels. I grabbed the first thing on the table- a dagger- just before she hit me. We both fell sideways, Arielle yelping as I slashed at her face. She rolled backwards off me to get out of range. I scuttled around beside her, slashing at Cyrene's feet as she caught up to us. I grabbed Arielle's foot and hauled her closer so I could stab her in the upper leg. She shoved off of me to get distance as blood gouted out from her leg. As she desperately searched the nearby tables for something to tie around the wound, I came up behind her. As I was raising my knife, it felt like a wall fell onto me. I fell on my back, the knife pricking into my chest, pinned under the table Cyrene had pushed over onto me and was now sitting on. I could only squirm under the combined weight as Cyrene casually reached for a knife lying on the next table and raised it over my head.
Jacquard Crock- No Way Down D6M
Amphilia looked pointedly down one of the hallways. It looked as good as any other tunnel. Then the gong sounded and everything went out the window. I sprinted off, reorienting a split second later when I realized I'd gone an entirely different direction. I looked over my shoulder and saw Amphilia had gone in just far enough to retrieve a thin sword lying near the edge of the supplies. She looked up, saw me ahead of her, and ran after me. I looked ahead and saw a door at the end of the corridor. I could only hope it led to some stairs. I looked back at Amphilia, catching up behind me. Then she fell, like someone had pushed her down from behind. I saw the circle of blood around the arrow in her back and hesitated. But what could I do? It was too late. I turned and ran without her.
Emma Wolfe- In Your Hands D1F
It was an archer's paradise. The tables around me were light enough to overturn and solid enough they provided some measure of cover for me to hole up and start firing. I peeked over the tables at the chaos and skirmishes all around me and picked out the most important targets.
Oop, there's a "nice" Career. I pulled back my arrow and Calvin stumbled to the side, feeling at the arrow in his back. And there's another one⦠Jynx bent over Victory, trying to pull her to her feet. I left them to their fates. I'd found someone else I didn't want to compete with.
Alsace Cartier- Let the Good Times Roll D1M
Lyon and I stood side-by-side, protecting each others' flanks as we grabbed supplies. We weren't going to stick around longer than absolutely necessary, but if we didn't get weapons, our Games were over anyway. Lyon struck out at someone running past him. I caught a flash of Katrina's face as she dodged the sword and fled toward one of the corridors. Someone punched me from behind, not hard enough to knock me over. I turned to confront them and saw the blood arcing out over the white floor beneath me. I put my hand up to the arrow poking out of my throat and saw the panic on Lyon's face.
Jason Lenn- Into Thin Air D2M
Margo laughed maniacally as she tried to tighten her choke hold on me. If I hadn't been personally witnessing it, I would have said it must be an exaggeration, but she really was laughing like a hyena. Tulsi was beside her, helping pin me down as she looked for an easy way to kill me.
"Hey!"
Tulsi put up an arm and pushed herself sideways to soften the impact of Valerie's mace. She darted under a table to block further attacks. Margo let go of me to grab Valerie's legs and pull her down. Tulsi popped out to flop onto her. Valerie looked over at me as I half-rose behind the three of them. I saw the suspicion form on her face as I rose entirely to my feet. I didn't see what she looked like when I left, because I turned my back on her. I only heard her screams.
Cierra Daline- Back to Normal D2F
Chantal was looking for me. She and Faust had been chasing me, but they'd split up after I'd managed to dart under a table and out of view. We'd lost the Cornucopia, clearly. Outside of Laken, I wasn't sure any of us were even alive anymore. I watched the Tributes fleeing on either side of me, not willing to give away my position by attacking them. But when I recognized Chantal's legs- I wasn't exactly sure how, but somehow I recognized them- I struck. I swept my sword out from under the table and caught her right across the calves. She was moving fast enough that she fell hard, and I was on her in an instant. I stabbed her in the side, the angle awkward but possible. I tried again, aiming for her throat. While I couldn't get enough momentum to decapitate her, the blade ripped through her neck, splitting flesh and lodging in her spine. I pulled it out, a little nauseated by the puddle of blood that came after it, and fled.
Alysanne Audren- No Way Down D6F
It was a sea of faces. Every which way, people were running and screaming and fighting. Someone- I thought it was Havelock- almost knocked me over without even noticing. My eyes darted over the bodies on the floor. It might already be too late- Lacey might be one of them. But then I saw her, halfway across the Cornucopia and coming for me. My smile faded when I saw Valerian behind her. Her arm was already moving forward to throw. Lacey wasn't a threat- she was just an untrained outlier, one of the gentlest of us. I, however, had skills. It seemed Valerian thought they were worth a throwing star. Lacey saw my expression. She looked over her shoulder just as it happened.
Gizmo Torrens- Power to the People D3M
The tables were heaped with chemicals and supplies. I swept them all into the bag I'd found, not even bothering to check the labels. If they all blew up on me, it was a chance I was willing to take.
When Diamond hit me, I knew it was over. He grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in so his sword would punch right through me. He shoved me off the blade and I gasped at the metal sliding out of me. I lay staring up at the ceiling as I bled out. This was the Arena for someone like me. Someone like Diamond didn't want that to happen.
Faust Xantina- We the People D4M
Elise was screaming as she clawed at me. I had her pinned under me and was just trying to get her flailing arms out of the way so I could stab her. Her ally was nowhere to be seen. In all the noise, he simply couldn't hear her.
At the same moment, someone hit me from both sides. I looked at my attackers with confusion, momentarily confused by the sibling resemblance between Chrome and Jessie. Elise pulled herself out from under me and threw herself on me to weigh me down as Jessie helped her. Chrome sat up to grab something off the table. She came down with an arrow, which she awkwardly stabbed into my chest. Jessie and Elise held me down as Chrome threw her weight onto the arrow to shove it in farther. I felt it knifing up under my ribs and nearer my heart. We'd all known the Bloodbath would have an element of cold luck. Today it wasn't with me.
Peach Unk- We All Fall Down D12F
The table next to me was covered in bottles. I grabbed a handful, noticing only one of the labels. Whatever "methicillin" was, I had a whole bottle of it. Why couldn't it just be stabby things and throwing things? I made one last grab, coming up with some bandages and an empty bottle, and ran.
Niko Lafont- Heart of Darkness D8M
Grande hadn't even looked. He hadn't even looked to see if his spear had it. He'd just thrown it and ran to grab another one. He didn't care enough to look down and see me trying to hold my blood inside my body. The tables above me were covered in medical supplies. If I only could have reached them, I might have been able to save myself. They were so far away, though, and the floor was so slippery. The more I tried, the more I slipped in my own blood.
Briar Hampton- Into Thin Air D10F
I wasn't even running in any direction. I was just running. I collided with someone else and we both went sprawling. I saw the knife glittering in the air before it arced down into my stomach. I looked up, gasping, and saw the surprise on Wangari's face. She looked almost guilty as she realized who I was and that I hadn't been attacking. She took one look at the wound before she sprang up and ran. I'd almost felt a connection to her, before I put together that she was checking whether the wound was fatal.
Juniper Triton- Swing Vote D4M
I thought I remembered something about Felix. I didn't remember who, but I thought I heard he was in love with one of the Victors. Christobal would have said it was wrong to cut apart lovers. All I could think about was that someday it could be us. I buried my feelings as I killed one romance and kept another alive. The next one I saw was Declan. He had a son, didn't he? He must have really loved him. But I only had room for one happy ending.
Elissa de Angelo- Descent into Madness D1F
I'd reached the bow, and Grande was with me. I wasn't a crack shot, but with so many people so close together, if I picked wisely I had at least one sure target. I tried to run numbers as my eyes skimmed over bodies, calculating who was gone and who was left. In the heat of battle, I only had seconds to decide. My eyes fell on Patrick and I took the shot.
Valerian Mercury- Circle of Life D2F
Logan thought I couldn't brawl. He thought I was a spoiled Career who only knew prissy weapons like longbows and rapiers. He didn't know the training we all put ourselves through. We weren't stupid. We knew the others wanted to stay alive, too. But when a shadow fell over both of us and Demarcus joined the fight, I forgot the one thing outliers were better at. When outliers allied, it meant something. Careers fought alone, and in the end we died alone.
Olivine Martinez- Back to Normal D1F
Tony was dying beside me, his breath high and whistling around my arrow in his lung. I lay crouched behind him, using his body as a morbid barricade as I looked for the next target. All around me there were Careers, each competition and each deadly. But past the ring of platforms, something caught my eye. Someone was fleeing up the staircase near the Cornucopia. He was making great time- he was already at the top and running along the balcony above me. I would have let him go if I hadn't noticed who he was.
Oaken Mushroom- No Way Down D7M
When the arrow knifed into my side, I knew someone had figured it out. There was no reason to shoot one fleeing outlier out of so many dangerous killers. Someone had marked me out and lined up the shot all the way across the room. They knew who I was and they knew who was waiting for me. Clair was waiting to send me anything I needed, at any expense. Someone down there knew they had to beat her. Maybe it was morbid, but I was glad if it had to happen, it was so early. This way she could start to move on.
Mahi Katao- The Running Man D4M
Out of all the noise, I still heard Unique's scream. I charged at it like a buffalo, bowling over tables in my wake. I found her underneath Akari, trying to push back on the knife Akari held right above her face. I wrapped my arms around Akari and lifted her off Unique like a baby. I jumped up and tilted forward, aiming both of us at the ground. I came down on top of her and felt her head shift under me when it hit the floor with a muffled crack. I left her limp body behind me as I helped Unique to her feet, her arm dripping blood but otherwise unharmed. We fled, pausing only to grab a backpack lying on one of the tables.
Helios Carnegie- Res D1M
I couldn't believe it was Marley. Of all the people, it was Marley who speared me in the back and ran. I wouldn't ever have known if I hadn't happened to see her as she was running. She didn't even like killing people! She must have just been startled. Marley got startled and just like that I was dying. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Funny how I'd thought the same thing last time.
Cyrene Longuemare- Let the Good Times Roll D4F
The boy from Three was so close I threw a shruiken almost without looking. I'd never understood why the outliers insisted on coming into the Bloodbath. It was right there in the name. I might not even have bothered if I hadn't remembered his mother was a mentor.
Jasmine Ashenvale- A Night to Remember D7F
Some things were more important than winning. Jezzebel could still live. The sword hadn't hit anything big, so it seemed from the blood flow, and whoever had stabbed her hadn't bothered to check before moving on. If we could just get her out of here, she might live. I half-dragged her behind me as she tried to keep up. We were so close to the edge of the tables when Jason blocked our path. Maybe if I'd left Jezzebel I could have gotten away. Truth be told, I wasn't sure it would have made a difference. He would have left her to chase me anyway. This way I died on my own terms.
Mahi Arapaima- Res D4M
Gavin and I bolted down the hall toward the door at the end. Once we got up the stairs we could get lost and leave the Careers to spend the next few days hunting for us. An arrow whizzed by- I'd never appreciated the dull humming noise they made until it was me they were aiming at. Gavin swatted at his ear as the arrow hit the wall right by his head.
The next arrow hit me in the leg. I dropped to a knee and yanked it out without thinking of the blood loss. If I didn't get away it wouldn't matter anyway. The next arrow ended that by hitting me in the lung. I dropped to my hands, panting and watching Gavin shrink ahead of me. He'd have to make it for both of us now.
The arrow caught him ten feet from the door. I watched him keep crawling to the door. Neither of us were going to make it past it. For no reason at all, I hoped he made it that far.
Callum Rosencranz- Swing Vote D11M
Steve was making noises I'd never heard her make. She'd never seen me die before. Last time I'd been the one trying to hold her life inside her body. Had I sounded like this? I put my hand up on her arm, vaguely dismayed at how much energy it took. I was scared to die, more scared than I'd ever been. But I was more scared that Stevie would refuse to leave me. Better she think I'd slipped away. I gave her a smile before I laid my head down.
Jeanie Clay- Heart of Darkness D9F
I'd come so close. I'd been in second place, just a coin toss away from going home and being safe. None of that meant anything, though. I didn't even know who had stabbed me. It was one of the boys, I could tell from the shape as he ran past me, but I never saw his face. He stabbed me like I was a fly to be brushed off, and then he left. He didn't know anything about me. No one would, now. I was just another one who got close but never made it.
Tuesday Erelle- Into Thin Air D2F
People were starting to disperse. The "mean" Careers had taken the Cornucopia and were already starting to split up and go after the others. It was morbid, but I pulled back my bow and took a random shot. Out of the backs of dozens of heads, I saw the arrow thud into one of the fleeing figures. I wasn't sure, but when she turned partly on her side as she fell, I thought I recognized Siren.
Emmeline Blythe- Over and Over D3F
There were acids, and bases, and everything in between. I hadn't been so happy since I found a chunk of pyrite in a city park. I kept one eye on the Careers as I swept supplies into my bag with the other. I didn't even care what I got. I could make anything work.
Since this Bloodbath was necessarily so long, I didn't do death POVs for everyone. From now on I can, but the Bloodbath had like 30 deaths and it's already 3k words. Also the placements will probably change at some point since I counted as best I could but math is hard.
142nd place: Miller Thresher- shot by Victory
The rules must be respected. Miller is the sacrificial goat and so it shall be. Miller is one of the oldest of us and shall always be the worst of us.
141st place: Rapture Kai- beat to death by Lottie
Probably a less expected choice than Miller. There's a lot of people here and I thinned the crowd by killing a lot of people who don't tend to grow much. Rapture is always good for a villain but there are enough killers here we didn't need him, and 142 people to follow is just a lot. Well this is a long chapter so let's move on.
140th place: Cinderella Dare- stabbed by Arielle and Cyrene
So begins the Career packs power struggles, which since you're down here, you know the Mean Careers dominated. Once I decided the Mean Careers would win since there's like twice as many of them, it made it easier to kill most of the Nice Careers and get the Bloodbath numbers up. I think Ella had more to explore but there are a lot of people to explore and I didn't have time for all of them.
139th place: Amphilia Fortuna- shot by Arroyo
Full disclosure, for the most part who killed who isn't that important so I'm more or less randomly picking from the violent Tributes. The weapons don't match up perfectly since everyone was close together enough that Careers could use the first weapon they grabbed rather than their preferred one. I picked Amphilia to go mostly because I pretty heavily stacked the Bloodbath kills toward Careers since the Careers are all focusing on each other. There was nothing wrong with her, I just needed more deaths.
138th place: Calvin Heidi- Shot by Emma
Another casualty of the Mean-Nice Career War. Also I think his submitter is no longer on the site. While absent-submitter Tributes do still have a chance, it made sense to kill a lot of them to bolster everyone else's chances.
137th place: Victory Amarinthine- Shot by Emma
Emma is 100% calculating enough to pick off the Nice Careers and pretty much ignore everyone else. I picked Victory because I tend to favor ladies, so this time Jynx gets to shine. I killed them both last time so this time Jynx fights on for both of them.
136th place: Alsace Cartier- Shot by Talise
I wanted to kill one of the Cartiers since pairs were targeted and also just to reduce numbers. Alsace got the short end of the stick because mostly I just felt like it. Maybe next time :(
135th place: Valerie Lenn- Stabbed by Tulsi and Margo
I thought it would be spicy to have Jason betray his sister since he's getting more evil. Since he and Valerie are similar to Diamond and Rapture, I killed the nice half of one and the mean half of the other. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
134th place: Chantal Ivingin- Stabbed by Cierra
Chantal usually does well so I thought I'd mix it up and kill her early. Also Cierra is pretty timid so maybe this will help her confidence. I think I might have killed Chantal early last time too so I feel a little bad, but I think her submitter has left the site so that helps a little.
133rd place: Alysanne Audren- throwing star thrown by Valerian
Another probably unexpected choice. Partly this was to see how Lacey would do on her own, but mostly it's because I'm pretty sure Alysanne's submitter is 100% off the site. Alysanne still has plenty to show and is welcome at future Res Games, but this time I used her to lower the numbers so we could get to a manageable amount of Tributes. She IS strong enough to target, too, like Valerian decided.
132nd place: Gizmo Torrens- stabbed by Diamond S.
Gizmo died of Diamond being genre savvy. May he rest in peace. He's always a wild card, since he has that edgy morality, but I was more inspired by the mayhem Zibby and Emmeline will be causing in this Arena, so I left Gizmo for Diamond to target.
131st place: Faust Xantina- Killed by Chrome and Jessie
I picked Faust since he kind of blended in and because of the Career-heavy Bloodbath. Faust is one of the ones I didn't connect with as much this time. I do think there's more there and if I get a chance I'll give him more spotlight next time.
130th place: Niko Lafont- speared by Grande
I didn't think Niko had too many people pulling for him specifically, so it seemed coldly logical to cut him and focus on the more beloved Tributes. It's nice he got to move past his earlier life and be normal this time around. Still died though, which sucks.
129th place: Briar Hampton- stabbed by Wangari
RIP Briar, died of running into someone who stabbed first and asked questions later. Briar didn't seem like the type to win the whole thing, and with this many people I have to be brutal and cut early so the rest have more room to shine. Honestly Briar is more the type for a long-shot special Games, which is a fun idea...
128th place: Felix Veaux- Stabbed by Juni
I killed Felix because I was able to complete some of his story with Tillo and because unless he won, that's pretty much the note it would have ended on anyway. He's also old enough that I don't think most people are pulling specifically for him. It was good to see him again though.
127th place: Declan Malone- Stabbed by Juni
I usually favor father Tributes so this time I decided to be different. I really liked Declan and in a normal Games I probably would have been nicer to him, but I needed to kill as many people as possible.
126th place: Patrick Donegal- shot by Elissa
Couple reasons here. In-universe, Elissa was looking for valuable targets. Out-of-universe, I know Jayman's not here anymore and I also know he prefers Jay out of all his Tributes (and so do most readers). So despite Patrick's cool backstory and personality, I cut him here so the rest of the Jayhawks can carry on.
125th place: Valerian Mercury- beaten to death by Logan and Demarcus
Valerian is pretty cool but I think Tinks doesn't read these anymore and if he does I believe Valerian isn't his top priority to win, so I trimmed her. If Briar belongs in a long-shot Games, Valerian belongs in a sort of hunter-themed one, like with Margo and Rapture or something...
124th place: Tony Gear- shot by Olivine
Tony was pretty much just collateral damage- he ran close to Olivine just by chance and she took the shot. I really just needed more people to kill. Bummer it was Tony, though, since he had a fun carefree sort of charm.
123rd place: Oaken Mushroom- shot by Olivine
This one has a couple of reasons. Oaken was a big target since everyone knew Clair would do everything she could to help him. He also doesn't have much personality, since he was mostly designed to protect Clair. Finally, his submitter has a victor, because Clair again. So sadly we have this most tragic scene, and I'm sure Clair will be devastated.
122nd place: Akari Igneous- smashed by Mahi
Akari usually does really well so I thought I'd shake it up. Anyone else and she would have been fine, but she had to attack Mahi's friend. Akari is one of those solid Tributes who always does her part, and we thank her for her service.
121st place: Helios Carnegie- speared by Marley A.
Helios and Joseph had somewhat similar stories. Since Joseph got shafted last time, I picked him this time, so Helios died early. Shame we didn't get to see more of his backstory, but there's always next time.
120th place: Xzavier Thomas- throwing star thrown by Cyrene
Xzavier's submitter is gone. The abandoned Tributes need to be extra cool in order to stay alive, and Xzavier was only somewhat cool. It was really fun finally resolving the mystery of his parentage, but after I got him that far, I ended killing him RIP. At least this time we know he'll be missed.
119th place: Jasmine Ashenvale- stabbed by Jason
I was trying to decide whether to kill Jasmine or Jezzebel, and then I thought why not both? They're both cool, but they were somewhat similar, and of ther submitter's girls, I decided to focus on Rachel this time. She hasn't gotten to shine as much so let's see all she has to offer.
118th place: Jezzebel Fern- Stabbed by Jason
I only put her second since it makes sense Jason would stab Jasmine first since Jezzebel was already wounded (by Tulsi, BTW). Jezzebel and Jasmine both had a lot more to give. I just had to pick someone to kill and I kind of tried to balance it between submitters and alliances.
117th place: Mahi Arapaima- shot by Kamau
Kamau doesn't specialize in arrows, but most Careers know at least a little about ranged and short weapons just for balance. I picked Mahi to die for the very logical reason that Silver prefers Ferrari so if I had to trim numbers, he should be the one to go. RIP the smaller of the Mahis, in body but not in spirit.
116th place: Gavin Booth- Shot by Wangari
I just needed more people to die, tale as old as time. Since Gavin didn't have that Victor feel about him in such a large crowd, he was one of the ones to go.
115th place: Callum Rosencranz- stabbed by Shale
Stevie died early last time, so this was the obvious balance. Though Callum had some fleeting doubts, we'll never know if his relationship with Stevie would have survived if they were together in the Arena. They probably never will be, I suppose. Bit sad, but some questions are never answered.
114th place: Jeanie Clay- stabbed by Miall
Jeanie happened to cross path with Miall, who definitely wasn't gunning for her. It's just one of those things. Jeanie was somewhat similar to Hosanna for me for some reason, and this time I picked Hosanna. Maybe it was because Jeanie lived so long the first time and Hosanna got voted out in an early upset, or maybe it's just a flip of the coin.
113th place: Siren Hasvak- shot by Tuesday
I just wanted that one more kill to get the number down to a somewhat reasonable figure. It could have been anyone, but Siren's name came up. The double-edged sword of Res Games is how many people have to die early and it seems like a waste, but I did enjoy seeing Siren again. It always sucks choosing who gets ended before they really began.
So we have our Arena: it's a really big hospital. I checked and the biggest hospital on Earth has about 8000 beds, so safe to say there's quite a few floors to this place and plenty of room to hide, even with thirty-odd Careers hunting.
