Castiel Wickham- Over and Over D10M
We both tensed when Deciduous' face was in the sky after Margo. It was obvious what must have happened. We could only wait through the agonizing intervals between pictures. Visenya came next. We stood, eyes riveted to the sky, sagging in relief when the picture winked out and nothing followed.
"Do you think she's hurt?" Fleur asked.
"Maybe she left earlier," I offered. I had no reason to think it, but it was a nice thing to think.
"Maybe," Fleur said, clearly unconvinced.
"If she'd gotten wounded in a Career battle, they probably would have found her by now," I pointed out gently.
Fleur's face relaxed a little. "She might be with Tyler and Vulpes." It was hardly a better prospect than being wounded in a Career battle.
"I think Tyler would leave after Deciduous died," I said. I certainly wouldn't want Vulpes as my main ally.
"Oh no," Fleur said, and her face went tense again. "Maybe she's just with Vulpes."
I was glad my stoic nature made breaking bad news a little easier, even if it pricked my conscience. "I think if it was just Vulpes and Walcott… he would have killed her by now."
"It's true." He would have stabbed her while fleeing so the Careers would catch her first, or calculated that an alliance of two wasn't worth much and killed her to cut dead weight. No, if Walcott wasn't dying somewhere of injuries, she was out there alone.
"You want to try to find her?" I asked.
"That's the thing." She was silent for a minute, her throat working as she gathered the words. "I don't know. I'm so worried about her, but-" her mouth trembled- "I don't want to die either. If we go looking for her, what are the odds we'll find her? And what are the odds someone will find us?"
"You don't have to feel guilty," I assured her. "You tried to help. She made her own decisions. It's nice that you care, but you're allowed to care about yourself, too." For my own part, I was ready to go try to find her. It was easy to not be scared of death when you thought something better was coming. But I'd never say it was necessary, or that Fleur was a bad person if she decided against it.
"If we don't go now, that doesn't mean we won't go later," I said, when Fleur didn't answer. "It's smarter if we make a plan, anyway." I laid my hand on hers. "It's not your fault if she dies."
"I'll still be sad," she said, her voice breaking at the end as the tears welled up.
"Of course. It would be sad," I said. It pained me that it didn't pain me more. I tried so hard to have love like that, but it just wasn't there. Fleur wished she could write Walcott off and focus on herself, but her love wouldn't leave her. It was so strange how God created us.
"Even if we did find her, we probably couldn't save her," Fleur said softly. "Neither of us could save ourselves."
Only one person can do that, I thought, but put it away until a better time. No one wanted to hear a platitude during a crisis. I wished she knew how true it was, though. All my peace came from it. There were so many scared, hurting people in the world. I wished they had my peace.
Nene Palmer- Swing Vote D6F
Tabitha's hand looked gnarly. I was polite enough not to say it, but it was absolutely disgusting-looking. I was also polite enough not to say that it was kind of cool how I could see a stringy white thing move whenever her hand jostled on the sling we'd rigged up. I thought it might be a tendon. If it snapped, did that mean her hand would be floppy forever?
The chiming of a sponsor gift surprised all of us. Since I was the tallest, I was the first to grab it. I tore it open and Richard plucked out the bandages inside. Elle unscrewed the tube of antiseptic and started smearing it on Tabitha's raggedy pizza-looking wrist.
"I don't think he reached the vein," Timber said.
"They're a lot deeper than people think," Elle said offhandedly. Timber gave her an odd look, but she didn't look up from bandaging Tabitha.
"How's that?" Richard asked Tabitha, who had been making pained faces throughout the ordeal.
"I can't move it very well," she said, sniffing. Two of her fingers moved stiffly as she spoke.
"Maybe it will get better," Elle said.
Or maybe it will be like that forever. I really had learned a lot from Ovid. I didn't say that one out loud either.
"Shouldn't we stitch it or something?" Richard asked.
"No!" Tabitha said, pulling her hand to her chest.
"Don't worry," Elle said, pointing at the bandage package. "They're fortified with some science stuff. They'll help the tissue knit."
Timber stood up from where he'd been awkwardly bending over Tabitha like the rest of us. "Everybody okay? You need anything?"
"Let's go get some more shakes. We're gonna be hungry eventually," Elle said. It seemed like a weird thing to think about, but she wasn't wrong.
Timber and Elle had barely stepped through the doors when we heard a scream and sounds of a struggle.
"Not you!" Richard yelled as Tabitha tried to follow us out.
Since he'd stopped to yell, and since I was so much taller than he was, I was the first one out. I got through the door to see Timber lying all bent-up against the wall as Arleen and Majesty disappeared around a corner, Elle's body slung over Arleen's shoulder.
"Timber!" Richard called as he knelt by him. He reached out to shake him, then pulled his hand back, afraid of hurting him worse.
Even I could tell Timber's eyes didn't look right. I didn't even mind looking at them, since they weren't jumping around like normal people's.
"Where's Elle?" he whispered, as something trickled out of his ear.
Richard and I looked at each other as Tabitha came through the door behind us and gasped. It was wrong to lie. My parents had told me that since I was born. But Timber was clearly dying. Was it really wrong to let him die without being scared?
Richard made the choice for me. "She's here," he said.
I should have felt guilty, but it wasn't exactly a lie. Elle was here- here in the Arena, somewhere. She was probably seconds from death (and for some reason Arleen and Majesty stole her body, which I didn't get) but she was here. I probably wouldn't have felt guilty anyway. Even I could tell how relieved Timber was before he closed his eyes.
Majesty Miraval- Wandering Souls D1M
If it didn't work out this time, I was going to strangle Arleen. At least I would still get some laughs out of this.
Arleen dumped Elle on the floor of our lovely home, careful not to let her hit her head. It would be very tragic if she died before we could kill her. She was already starting to stir when she hit the ground. I wasn't sure if it was the vitamins in the hospital food or what, but Arleen had seemed very strong lately. She was like my lovely trained bear.
"Here you go, sweet pea," Arleen said as she handed me the glass vial. My Arleen was more than just a homely face. She was also smart enough to reverse engineer an antidote for us so we could stay up close and watch the whole show.
Elle sat up, holding a hand to her head. Naturally, since Arleen had clobbered her half to death. She looked up at us with confusion that annoyed me. She didn't even know who she was dealing with. She was about to find out, alongside all of Panem.
"Stop me if you've heard this one," I said. "It's a gas!"
The vial hit the floor and shattered. Greenish gash spread out as the chemicals reacted with the air. Elle reeled back, shielding her eyes from the glass, but she couldn't escape the gas. I thrilled at the confused, pained shrill in her breath as it flooded her lungs. Her eyes went wide and the pupils were do beautifully constricted.
Elle fell forward onto her hands, panting. Little whimpers started to bubble out of her. I leaned forward, my grin spreading as I waited for them to bleed into laughter. It came so slowly, so deliciously. Her mouth drew back as her neck contracted, pulling her face up to look at us as she started to laugh. Laughs? Screams? Both? Something entirely new, something entirely mine.
"Looks like someone's getting her kicks!" I smashed my foot into Elle's ribs. She shrieked with laughter.
"Arleen, I'd say it's a smash hit!" I kicked Elle again, in the face. She was laughing so hard she was drooling! Sparkling, shiny red drool.
Arleen laughed alongside me. It was the best I'd heard from her. I loved the nervous, forced urgency. It was the kind where you laugh or you cry. Always choose to laugh.
Elle's laughter slid upwards into a wheezing rattle. Her body was starting to contract, her back bending into a u-shape and her limbs folding in like a dead spider.
"We did it this time, sugar!" I grinned as my fingers closed on the crowbar we'd been lucky enough to find in a supply closet. It already had flecks of Elle's blood on it from when Arleen had clobbered her. "This time, we knocked them dead!''
Arleen Limera- Res D1F
I didn't know why all our jokes had to be like this. Majesty was so brilliant and creative. He didn't have to hurt people to be funny. Everything he did was funny. I wished we could just sit at home and he would tell jokes all day, and I'd cook and clean and kiss him all the time. We could have lots of kids together. He'd be such a great dad. But surely he knew what he was doing. My sugar pie was perfect. It would be horribly rude of me to try to tell him what to do.
The muscles in Majesty's arm stood out prettily as he beat Elle to death. He looked especially nice when a spray of blood cast a halo around his face. She was laughing all the way. She must have been enjoying it, just like he said. He said death was the biggest joke the universe played on humans. He was the first one to ever realize that. He was so smart.
"Great job, teddy bear!" I said as Majesty stood panting over Elle's body. "Talk about a punchline!"
The grin fell from Majesty's face. He turned to face me and I knew I'd ruined it. I'd never seen him so angry at me. My lips trembled as it ran through my mind just how badly I had ruined everything.
"I suppose you think you're funny," Majesty said with a strange coldness in his voice.
"No!" I said, trying to smile. "You're funny!"
"That isn't what it sounds like," Majesty said. He took a step toward me. "I suppose you think you made this happen."
"Well…" I said, my voice sliding up in pitch. "I helped a little. But I was just helping with your idea."
"My idea," Majesty repeated. "My jokes." I stepped backwards as he came closer, for once not wanting to be next to him. "My vision, and you think you can just waltz in and tell a better joke than me."
My heart fluttered. He thought my joke was funny! He was just messing around. He was about to tell me how proud he was of me.
"I thought of it because of yours. Because how you punched Elle," I said, miming a punching motion.
"Keep explaining it. That always makes it funnier." Why did it sound like he was mocking me?
I gasped as Majesty raised the crowbar. I closed my eyes, wondering how much it would hurt. I heard the sound of shattering glass and opened my eyes to see Majesty standing in front of the broken window a few feet to my side. He was smiling again, happily this time.
"Oh Arleen, sometimes I get carried away. You just make me so mad. But you weren't trying, were you? You just wanted to help."
"That's right!" I said, hope welling up in me again. I could make it up to him. Next time I'd do better.
"Come here, you," he said, holding out his arms.
I ran to him. I felt my chest meet his and then a sharp, sudden force as he shoved me backwards. My back hit the windowsill and I gasped at the shards of glass sticking into me. I felt the world tilt and knew too late that I was falling out. I reached for Majesty, shouting an apology, but he only watched me fall. Then I was falling through the air, seeing the ground at crazy angles as I tumbled.
It's all my fault, I thought. It was going so well until I ruined everything. All my fault.
74th place: Timber Faldun- head injury by Arleen
It was time for the circus alliance peace to be broken, and Timber was one of the victims. Had he left Elle, who Arleen and Majesty saw first, he would have lived, but he's too good a guy for that. He lasted longer than the first time, though, and we got to see how cool and loving a guy he is. He really did deserve to get home.
73rd place: Elle Phant- Joker Gassed by Majesty
I needed someone for this death and I know for certain Elle's submitter doesn't care, so I used her. Elle never had much in her form, since she was made on a lark, but I tried to get some in there. She was just a nice, laid-back sort of person. Not the kind to win the Games, but the kind everyone will miss.
72nd place: Arleen Limera- shoved out a window by Majesty
If you know your classic Saturday morning cartoons, the title gave it all away. Majesty was submitted as the Joker, obviously, and Arleen was meant to be submitted but her submitter couldn't make it, so I made Arleen for her. If I was going to do the Joker and Harley, though, I was going to do it honestly. It's easy to see the pair as a silly fun story, but real-life abuse is no joke, as we all know. I would have loved to have Harley be her fun silly comic-book self, but that's not fair to people living this and it's unfair to let people idealize that. Abuse doesn't make you a fun, quirky, mallet-swinging crazy woman. It gets you dead and blaming yourself. So here's the downer ending the Saturday morning cartoon wasn't allowed to show. But if anyone submits a Poison Ivy knockoff next time, I'll be glad to write Arleen finding what a good relationship is like.
This one goes out to Arleen Sorkin, the original Harley Quinn. She died not too long ago. She was kinda old, but still sad.