Richard Franklin- Swing Vote D5F
"Can't I just come partway?"
"You know you won't leave," Tabitha said. I hated the crackly, childlike pitch to her voice. It was the sound a little girl makes when she wants someone to think things are okay, when they really really aren't.
"Just for a little bit," I begged.
"You'll go in. They'll kill you." Tabitha wiped a tear off her cheek.
There was nothing to say to it. The only thing I could say was I don't care. I didn't, really. I would rather die than watch Tabitha die. But it wouldn't help her. I would be dying for nothing and forcing her to see it. The only reason I didn't punch the wall was because that would have scared her, too.
"Take care of her," I asked Nene, my voice barely making it past my swollen throat. Please, Nene. One more time. Save her.
"I'll do everything I can."
Fable Anders- A Night To Remember D1F
The second feast was going to be held in the central waiting room on the third floor. The second we heard it, we'd gotten up to move. We could sit around planning how best to approach the feast, and maybe come up with a solid plan. Or, we could move immediately and increase our chances of being the first one there. Whoever got there first controlled the battle.
Jayden held up a closed fist as we neared the end of the hall. We all froze. I craned my neck to peer over her shoulder. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. There was a huge pile of backpacks in the middle of the waiting room, in the circle between the couches and end tables. The only one looking through them was Miall.
Miall Piscot- Res D1M
So much of the Games comes down to nothing but luck. Priscilla and I happened to be on the third floor when the invitation came through. I gave her a quick hug goodbye and stole off, hoping I could get in and out before the crowds came. So far, so good. I grabbed a bag off the table and peered inside, wondering at its lightness. At the bottom of the bag was a folded note. Oh, it's a coupon or something, I thought. I unfolded it.
Oops! It's pertussis!
My lungs seized. Like they were electric and someone had dropped them in water, they suddenly revolted. There was an unbearably tickling and burning sensation in my throat, spurring an immediate coughing fit. The air squeezed out of my clenched throat in a grotesque wheezing sound. I felt a claustrophobic panic at the time ticking away while I tried and failed to take in air. Trust the Gamemakers to find such a cruel irony. Somewhere in the hospital there was probably something that would cure me. There was no way I would find it in three minutes.
Chrome Cabello- Heart of Darkness D2F
We watched, stunned, as Miall bent over at the wheezing that overtook him the second he opened his bag. He ran out toward one of the other hallways, stumbling and collapsing just after reaching it. He crawled as his coughs got weaker.
"So, uh, don't open the bags, I guess?" Jayden offered.
"So we don't even have to do anything? Just let everyone get killed opening a bag? Fable said. "That's such a letdown."
"They can't all be terrible. Miall just got unlucky," Chrome said. It made sense. I guessed from the lightness of the bags that they all contained nothing but notes, but they likely weren't all that bad, or at least not that fast. With that in mind, we continued with our plan. We very carefully held the bags by their sides as we piled them on Jayden, who was lying down in the center of the pile. She wriggled around a bit and shifted the bags until she could see out from between a narrow gap. Firing a handgun had proven much harder than we'd thought. Maybe it would be a little easier from point-blank.
Tulsi Sa- No Way Down D2F
Shit.
The Cabellos hadn't had time to set up yet. We heard the scrape of a couch before we reached the end of the hall. When we peeked around the corner, we saw Chrome and Fable trying to move the furniture into some configuration that would conceal them from all of the five hallways starfishing out from the waiting room. But where was Jayden? I couldn't see her anywhere, and I didn't like that.
Emma drew back her bow to fire. As she was still aiming, Chrome swept her eyes around the hallways, watching for any newcomers. She saw the arrow peeking out and yanked Fable down behind the couch. The three of us paused, assessing the situation. Chrome and Fable didn't want to risk Emma's bow. Now they couldn't even leave. It seemed we had a standoff.
Arielle Ermin- 28th Games D4F
Scrape. Screeeeee.
I watched, first in bewilderment and then in slight amusement, as the couch started to move backwards. If Chrome and Fable couldn't leave their cover, they would take their cover with them. They tugged the couch toward the pile of bags, slinging handfuls onto its seats. When they had enough to satisfy themselves, they started tugging the couch toward a hallway jutting off diagonally from ours. All the while we stood uncertainly, not wanting to rush in when we still didn't know where Jayden was. As they reached the edge of the hallway, Chrome's hand appeared for a second at past the edge of the couch, flashing two extended fingers in a circular motion. No doubt it was a signal to Jayden, who was likely keeping watch in one of the other hallways. They'd meet up at their predetermined rendezvous point. It was a bit of an anticlimax, but it could have gone worse. There were plenty of bags for the both of us.
Emma Wolfe- In Your Hands D1F
It wasn't what I had in mind, but there would be time to kill them later. For the moment I was content to boost our supplies with what was hopefully a repeat of the insane prizes the last time around. I strode to the pile and knelt to pick up one of the bags from near the edge as Tulsi came up behind me. A glitter of light caught my eye and I looked down just as I was about to open the bag. I looked into the center of the pile, right into the barrel of a gun. I had to smile.
Tulsi Sa- No Way Down D2F
Emma's head snapped back, a pockmark appearing in her face like a rock thrown through a window. My ringing ears struggled to register the explosion I'd just heard. I jumped back as the pile of bags erupted. Jayden sat up like a waking vampire, a pistol in her hand. There wasn't enough time to run. I lifted my spear and chose to go out fighting.
Jayden Chadsey- Heart of Darkness D1F
"So what do you think? Take the win and go?" Fable asked, after Arielle had sprinted down the hall with before I could fully rise and before Fable and Chrome could get across the waiting room.
"We could get more," I pointed out.
"You wanna deal with Lottie? Even if she gets some horrible sickness, she'll just keep going anyway," Fable said.
"Some of them will get taken out by the bags anyway, even if they're not all bad," Chrome said, looking down at the note in Emma's clenched hand. Bummer! It's nothing!
As much as I wanted to stay and rack up the kills, there was one other thing we'd discussed. Yttria, Zibby and Emmeline were all absolute wildcards in this arena. At least one of them probably had something ready and would unleash it when the crowd was big enough. No, boring as it was, it was best to tap out.
Tabitha Sparks- Swing Vote D3F
"Really?" I whispered to Nene as we peeked down the hall. From what we could see, the waiting room was deserted. There was a couch pulled to the end of one hall, which was really weird, but I didn't see anyone in there.
"They're probably hiding," Nene whispered back.
I took off a shoe and threw it down the hall. It hit the ground with an echoing thump and nothing happened.
"Maybe they're not there," I said.
"Maybe they're not dumb enough to fall for someone throwing a shoe," Nene said.
"We have to go," I said. Nene started out first, hugging the wall like it would somehow save her. I followed after. Both of us moved awkwardly in the layers of hospital gowns we'd put on to hopefully catch some of the weaker projectile weapons. On our heads we wore very fashionable bright red helmets made for kids with fragile skulls. It was hard to describe the turgid mix of emotions. I very well might be seconds away from death. I was sick with fear, and I was also thinking of what a very ridiculous death it would be.
As we got closer I saw the first of the bodies, hidden at that point by the angle of the hallway. I saw Emma's blonde hair and then Tulsi's dusky skin. The Careers had been here already, then, and so had another powerful alliance. Both seemed to have left, likely to tend wounds. We could grab some bags and get out before another big alliance came.
I picked up a bag and opened it. A horrible thrumming noise hit my ears the instant before my eyes registered the cloud of yellow and black shooting out at me. It probably saved my life that I threw the bag. Nene and I fled down the hall, swatting and yelping at the infuriated insects sticking their stingers into any bit of skin they could find. As we ran, I had time to appreciate the note taped to the top of the bag.
Oops! It's BEES!
55th place: Miall Piscot- Pertussis
Okay I know I said a lot of girls would die, but I used Miall first so that I could have the Cabellos come in and not get wiped out by the fact that this is, in fact, a HORRIBLE feast. I was thinking wouldn't it be messed up if the bags were all just completely terrible, but then I realized the obvious strat of leaving everyone else to get killed by a bag, so I had to do some rejiggering. Miall was going to go either way since he's not really anyone's first pick from this crowd and I did it here to help myself out. Sad to see him go though.
54th place: Emma Wolfe- shot by Jayden
RIP Emma, one of the more strategic Tributes. This time someone got the drop on her. She had the ironic handicap of being one of the most dangerous, meaning her enemies focused a lot more on her than anyone else. Emma deserves better honestly. She's one of the ones who could get her own Calvary Road-type story. Maybe someday...
53rd place: Tulsi Sa- shot by Jayden
RIP Tulsi, died of being closer to Jayden than Arielle was. The Mean Careers were a frontrunner this whole story and it was clear either they or the Cabellos would be wiped out before the feast was over. The Cabellos used their gun just right and made the crucial decision to go all-in immediately, risking it backfiring if they were too hasty. Fortune favors the bold this time.
The feast was so long I made it into two parts. The other part is ready though.