Demarcus King- We All Fall Down D3M
"You think the other security guards have fridges too?" Jay asked, looking up from his half-eaten burrito. Even if we rationed ourselves, half a dozen growing young men would go through our supplies in a few days. Most of us could have eaten half our supply in one day if we hadn't had self-control. Teenage boys weren't known for our discriminating appetites.
"I passed a few offices that were empty, but I didn't check them all," Flint said.
"Maybe there's one where the guard just got broken up with and there's a ton of ice cream in the fridge," Mati said.
"Now that's worth looking for." Jay scrambled to his feet. "Who's with me?"
"I'll come," Flint said. "If we go further down the hall it's a dead end. You all will be able to see if anyone comes." he pointed at the camera.
"Have fun!" Mati called after them.
After they left, Brad moved over to be next to Mati. He was quite clearly barking up the wrong tree, but so far he hadn't done anything inappropriate, so the rest of us were just watching alertly. As yet he'd only done reasonable things, like laughing too loud at her jokes or faux-gallantly offering to guard her as we walked.
"So, is he for real?" Brad asked, nodding at Jay's image on the camera.
"What, the 'noble gentleman' stuff?" I asked. "As long as I've known him. I think he believes in it. Not that it got him anywhere."
"That's the thing,"Brad said, a little cynically but a little hopefully. "Look where it's ever gotten him."
"Some people just aren't afraid to die," I shrugged. I'd faced the prospect plenty of times in my own life and had gotten used to it that way. Death was inevitable, but I still fought til the last minute. People like Jay seemed to find some sort of dignity in it. Or maybe he just couldn't stop believing. No matter how many times it happened, he could still believe the good guys could win.
"Must be nice." It was weird hearing a compliment come from Brad. "Living in a dream world like that". And there's the insult.
"He seems happy," I shrugged. Wasn't that all someone could hope for? Right or wrong, realistic or delusional, everyone wanted to be happy.
"Must be nice having friends," Brad said, and it actually sounded sincere.
"It is." I didn't hesitate. All my life my friendships had been ride-or-die. I'd trusted my life to my gang mates, pushing aside the reality that they'd just as quickly kill someone for wearing the wrong color as they'd save someone for wearing the right one. Now I had my allies. The simple faith that we'd always come together, no matter how many times death tore us apart, was a great comfort to me.
Brad shook his head, like he was shaking off the moment. He turned back to Mati and faked a stretch so he could put his hand closer to hers. I couldn't help but smile. What was his endgame here? A possible one-night stand on a concrete floor? Because of course someone like Brad would never get past the first night. Even if Mati did deign to give any reward to his advances, someone like Brad was most definitely not a selfless sort of lover. Not that it would ever get to that. Mati could make her own choices, of course, but she was a classy dame. She had standards.
Margo Caspian- Over and Over D2F
I could smell him. Not literally- we were all pretty sweaty and gross by this point, so it all blended- but in my soul I could smell him. It wasn't enough to see Kerry, or to hear him. I could smell him- the heady, drunken smell of fear and hunting. I could feel him, his flesh coming apart in my hands and the sticky heat of his blood. I could taste it.
Like lions, we were hunting in a pack. We were flushing him out like a deer, running him ragged until his mouth foamed and his legs gave out. It had been Diamond who had found him. We'd been jamming doors all day, cutting off any room that had a sink in it. From there we staked out the few remaining water sources, knowing that all animals need to drink. Diamond had found him, and when she saw he'd be able to run across an open sitting area before she could get to him, she'd given the signal. A very simple signal, really: she'd shrieked and charged. As she charged, Kerry obviously ran. He ran for the staircase on the left of the seating area, leading up to several offices and a library. What he didn't know was that he was running right at me and Emma.
Even at a moving target, Emma didn't miss. It must not have been a deep cut, because the trail I was following was only a trickle, but the shiny red stood out enticingly on the white tiles. Emma was some distance behind me. She'd stopped to shoot, of course, but mostly I was ahead of her because I couldn't stand the possibility that someone else might take my kill. Someone like Emma didn't even appreciate it. She killed to win. I killed to live.
Cyrene burst out of the stairwell Kerry had been running toward. He slowed, pinwheeling his arms to stop himself from falling forward. He diverted his weight to the side and fled into the nearest room. As he tried to shut the door, I jammed my sword through the crack. I grabbed at his hair and he pulled back, rightly afraid I was about to go at him with my bare hands. I pushed through the door as he fled.
I smiled to see we were in a large laboratory. The rows of tables gave him a place to run and me an excuse to continue the chase. I waved back Cyrene and Emma as they followed me in. Emma posted herself by the door and watched for a shot, already complicated by me being in the way, and Cyrene was content to stay back and only help if I needed it. I wouldn't.
Kerry was flagging. I could see the hitch in his breaths and the panic in his eyes. He looked around desperately for some means of escape, eyeing the window hopefully but looking away as he realized there would only be a force-field in his way. I didn't even need a plan. I simply chased. Up and down the rows we went. I watched with delight as his turns grew clumsier, as the blood flowed from his neck with his exertion. When I got hold of his shirt, I almost expected to be disappointed, but my heart pumped within me at feeling my prey at last. I yanked him backwards and he fell, unable to resist any longer. Oh, how hi blood welled around my sword in his chest. I'd hoped it would spurt, but just seeing it gather and pool around the gray steel was enough. I crouched down and caught some on my hand.
Taste it, something inside me said. It lay sticky and bright on my palm, its metal smell in the air. I did want to taste it. I smelled it, its vital scent, but I held back. What would my allies say? There were things too far for even them. They would never know what it was for me to hunt. And didn't they say there were diseases in the blood? It would have to be enough to see it, and to touch it, and to know that it was mine.
Kerry Selmosa- We All Fall Down D5M
It was almost a relief. After so many Careers chasing me, all wanting to tear my life out of me, it was a relief to have it be over. Margo was demonically eager in her hunt, but it was never for the victim's pain. It was for her delight. She stabbed only once, and I got that now-familiar punching sensation, and then the shock, so quick to set in. Dying felt so much like taking a warm bath. I wondered if it was what birth felt like- so warm and wet and gushing. If I came back, though, it would be something else entirely. It would be the sterile warmth of a hospital bed.
Brad Simpson- Circle of Life D7M
People said there were things worth dying for. If you asked me, it was something they said to feel better about having lost. They also said there were things that crossed a line. What line? Who made it? I certainly wasn't consulted.
I looked around at my sleeping allies. It was stupid of them to trust me to keep watch. Had they watched even a second of my Games? I wasn't the type to hold hands and make friends. There was a heartwarming sort of trust in how they'd taken me in, but they refused to see it was just stupid.
What if I don't? It was a possibility, wasn't it? I was allowed to consider it. I looked ahead and saw us all working together and getting far into the Games. Then I saw something happening, like it always did. Most of would die together. And we'd still be dead, whether it was together or alone. We would lay dying, thinking how wonderful it was we were with friends, and how the Capitol hadn't beaten us.
But it has beaten us. If we were dead, we'd lost. Some utopian thought about "winning the real battle" didn't matter if I was a rotting corpse. I didn't want friends. I didn't want to win. I wanted to live.
There was a reluctance in my movements as I stood and walked across the room. If someone woke up, I'd play it off like I was just stretching my legs. They'd believe the lie so easily. I hoped, just a little, that someone would stop me, but I didn't stop when no one did.
In the cabinet by the far wall of the room there was a bunch of tools. I slid the drawer open, careful not to make much noise, and took out a wrench. It was the size of my forearm and heavy enough it took effort to lift. I walked back across the room to my allies.
It was only pragmatism that Jay was first. He was the strongest of us and the greatest threat to my own victory. I raised the wrench and brought it down before I could lose my nerve, but it was easier than I thought. Jay's head bounced against the floor- it actually raised visibly off the floor as it recoiled. I saw the lumpy shape of his head and knew he would die, even if it took a few minutes for his body to shut down. The cannon didn't sound, though, since it wasn't immediate, giving me time to go on. I killed Laken next, thinking only afterwards that really he should have been first. From there, I went down the row. Demarcus. Gavin.
I stood over Mati. Was she even a threat? Was there any possibility Mati could possibly survive everyone else. If she did, was there any chance I couldn't take care of her then?
"That's enough."
Before I could decide, Logan's voice pinned me. I turned and saw him sitting up, regarding me with resignation. My first thought was resentment. He didn't need to assume I was going to kill her. What kind of person did he think I was?
"You were watching." It was obvious from Logan's reaction.
"Yep," he said.
"You didn't stop me." I felt the sudden urge to drag him down with me, to wipe the condemnation off his face.
"Nope," he said.
"Why not?" I demanded.
"Same reason I didn't go to sleep," he said. He seemed to be looking right through me. "Because I've had the same idea."
"So you're just like me," I said, gloating in bringing him to my level.
"Whatever you want to call it," Logan shrugged. "Now get out, or I'll wake Flint." He gestured to the boy beside him, and I saw just how much he'd seen through me. I hadn't though about it, but until tonight he'd slept next to Demarcus. Logan looked at me dismissively. "Leave the head."
My lips curled as I clenched the wrench. All that dirty work, and he was taking my spoils. There was nothing I could do. Together he and Flint would kill me. I glared daggers at Logan as I turned to leave. As I went through the door I saw him turn toward the camera. Clever boy- he knew I'd come for him, and he wouldn't even give me that.
I carried the bloodied wrench at my side as I walked down the dimly-lit corridor. It would have to be enough that I'd eliminated four of my competition. That, and I'd established my priorities.
For it to be ALL BOYS! In my defense, though, the chapter was mainly about the Jayhawk Massacre, and most of them are boys. Sorry
105th Place: Kerry Selmosa- Stabbed by Margo
I felt bad killing so many people in their first Games appearance, but there's just so many people, and it doesn't make sense the Careers apparently kill like one person per day. Kerry usually lives a long time, so I thought this time I'd explore other options and kill him quick. That's not a hard-and-fast rule, though, so fear not if your tribute often lives a long time. I also just needed more people to kill and had to pick someone. This time Kerry got a bum deal, but let's judge him based off his far better performances.
104th Place: Jay Dallas-Head wound by Brad
Jay always lives a long time and gets a cool death. This time I decided to be shocking and do this. That, and Jayman isn't on the site anymore. I still love Jay, but this time I let him go :( He died as he lived, though- believing in the best in people.
103rd Place: Laken Dervissey- Head wound by Brad
Laken was the obvious second target, and there's so many cool Careers that some are going to get killed before I can really explore them. Laken would probably have had some cool interactions with his allies, seeing as they're so genuine and he's been burned so often. The difference is even obvious in his few appearances in that he barely spoke, while the friendlier Jayhawks already had their bond. It's a further testament to Brad's villainy that he prevented Laken from maybe making frieds.
102nd Place: Demarcus King- Head wound by Brad
Interesting that Mati was too far for Logan, but he did let Brad kill Demarcus, who often seems to be his closest friend. Logan's not exactly in the clear here even if he didn't personally kill all these people. Would it have been so hard for him to tell Demarcus to sleep farther away from Jay and Laken? Guess not all friends are ride-or-die, even if you were both in gangs.
101st Place: Gavin Booth- Head wound by Brad
The one time the Jayhawks were a bad pick, and that's the time Gavin allied with them. Generally they're a solid alliance and last until the endgame, but this time Brad just had to go ruin perhaps the most wholesome alliance in this verse's history (The Party Girls are also a contender, but they're Careers, so they're not exactly squeaky-clean). Gavin pretty much went into the Games and immediately got sucker-punched by someone who had beef with his allies but not with him. That's rough, buddy.
By my standards, quite the plot twist. I daresay it might be the most shocking non-disaster, small-scale wipeout since the Beth massacre of the Graveyard Games. The Jayhawks have had a lot of scenes, even if each member didn't have a POV, so it felt "fair", for lack of a better word. At least they got some appearances, you know?