Sky Larch- Wandering Souls D12F
It probably wasn't going to work. It was probably a really stupid idea. It was so stupid, in fact, that I hadn't even told Zebulon about it. If I had to die, I wanted half-him to think I at least hadn't died a total moron.
I sighed as I looked at the scalpel. The first step was really a doozy. I was still at the far end of the hall and hadn't taken the corner that would bring the waiting room into view. I put the scalpel to the tip of my finger. I closed my eyes, held my breath, and swiped.
It didn't even feel like it had cut. It felt like my fingertip just suddenly wasn't there anymore. I stared, a little sick to my stomach, at the blood already halfway down my finger. Honestly, the worst part was the half-nail, cut off diagonally in the middle.
I put the fingertip in the bag I'd brought with, weighted with some small medical instruments I'd found lying around. I'd tied it to a long length of cord. I chucked it down the hall and it landed a few feet into the waiting room. I ran down the hall, hoping anyone who might be hiding down there would be too cautious to follow right away. As soon as I was at a safe distance, I slathered my finger stump with the medical balm I'd taken from our scavenged supplies. The bottle promised it was both antiseptic and regenerative. I stuck the fingertip on top and bound the whole lot with some medicated bandages. There, I thought. "I" went to the feast.
A second later a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "All right, that was pretty funny. You get this one."
Vulpes Kerr- No Way Down D9M
For a long, long time I lurked in one of the rooms nearby the feast, listening for what was going on at the feast. I'd heard two gunshots and then nothing else nearly that loud. Since there were only the two, that implied there weren't guns at the feast and the bullets had been Jessie's. Two cannons implied that she' found her marks. The lack of cannons after that indicated that any remaining enemies had fled. The only people Jessie would spend precious bullets on were the Careers or the Party Girls. Two of them, then, were dead, and the lack of cannons after that implied that the Cabellos had packed up and left. There was also something strange going on, since I'd heard two girls screaming but no more cannons.
I cautiously approached the waiting room, noting several things. First, it was Emma and Tulsi who had died, which was pleasing to see. I had half a mind to go kick Tulsi's corpse, but I wasn't that petty. Killing was part of her job just like it was part of mine. Secondly, I noticed the bag thrown far from the pile in the center of the room. It was covered in bees. That, and the amount of prizes the Cabellos had left behind, fitted everything together in my head. I left without touching the bags.
Fleur Laveau- No Way Down D11F
I stood waffling near the corner leading down to the waiting room. I hadn't heard anything for a long time. Was someone in there waiting and I'd die as soon as I walked in? Was there no one there at all and this was the exact window that would lead to me surviving?
"Fleur!"
I jumped out of my skin at the voice behind me, even if it was far down the hall. Walcott came running up to me as I looked over my shoulder for anyone who might have heard. I should have been mad, but I couldn't blame her. It was almost a miracle. Besides, now I could relax. If anyone had been there, they would have come to get us.
"Shinju's a vampire!" Walcott said breathlessly as we sprinted toward the waiting room. No one was there now, but if anyone was approaching they now knew there were two very dumb targets waiting for them. We had to get in and out fast.
"What, like more than usual?" Even in the face of death I could see the humor.
"YES more than usual!" Walcott again managed to shout while whispering. We both grabbed two bags off the table, sprinting off before we even opened them. We could do that when we were back with Castiel.
Katrina Moonshadow- Let the Good Times Roll D7F
I watched Walcott and Fleur run off, then waited a few minutes. When no one came, I knew no one had heard Walcott yell. Ergo, no one was in earshot. Ergo, this was the time to make my move.
I crept into the waiting room, entirely expecting an arrow to thud into my head from someone who'd outsmarted me. I was alone, though. Alone with two corpses, which was ghoulish in a way I didn't want to dwell on. I grabbed one of the bags off the pile. I'd promised Ferrari I'd only go in if no one was there. She was so worried she'd sent her flamethrower with me. Somehow my death always seemed more real to her than her own.
Bummer! It's nothing!
I rolled my eyes and took another.
Oops! It's botulism!
Slowly, my muscles tensed. I thought it was nerves until they just kept tensing. I bent to rub my cramping legs and knew something was very wrong when my fingers curled into claws. I've heard that word, I thought as the tenseness passed cramping and became sharply painful. I topped over, landing on my side. What did it mean? My elbows dug into my sides as my arms curled to my chest. My back started to arch. It's not going to stop, I realized. Harder and harder my muscles clenched, my teeth grinding against each other. I sensed the clenching inside me and felt my lungs growing quickly stiffer. I'm going to suffocate. My back is going to break. I would have cried if I'd had the movement. Ferrari, I thought. Ferrari, my best friend. Somehow, as I lay dying, I thought if she'd been here, somehow she would have been able to help.
Kamau Kariuki- Res D2M
I was halfway down the hall when I saw Marley round the corner. In overdrive, my mind went over a few things. One, that Olivine would be right behind her. Two, that she was already recognizing that I was in front of her. Three, that if I didn't get into the feast they'd stake it out and wait until midnight so I either had to face them or the Gamemakers. Four, that neither of them used ranged weapons.
I broke into a sprint. As Marley yelled to Olivine and came at me, I reached the end of the hall. I calculated the distance and took a risk. I ran diagonally past the pile of bags, hooking one on my arm without stopping. I turned sharply, running a hand over a chair to help right my balance. I darted down the hall next to Marley as she reached the waiting room and came after me. Doesn't matter if there's three of you, I thought as I sprinted down the hall, if you can't catch me.
Marley Xander- Back to Normal D4F
I slowed to a jog and then stopped, huffing in annoyance.
"Fine, we'll get him later," I said as Olivine came up behind me. "Let's get some loot and set up shop." We'd been debating how exactly to play this, but things were looking very ideal. Emma and Tulsi dead meant the Careers weren't a threat anymore. It could only have been the Cabellos who did it, and they seemed to be gone. That left Gaius and his group. We could handle them together if we looted up and set up a perimeter.
I opened my bag almost at the same instant as Olivine. I jumped as an ear-piercing shriek split the air.
"What was that?!" I asked.
"It was in the bag," Olivine said, her confused expression heightened by her hair blown tousled by the force of the scream.
"Just a scream?" I asked. "What kind of weird prank is that?"
Olivine craned her neck forward with a weird expression. "You good?" she asked. I felt something on my cheek and put up a hand. My fingers came away red. Before I even really processed it, I suddenly had the feeling that in seconds, I was going to die.
I yanked out the paper in my bag and unfolded it as blood ran down my face. Oops! It's ebola!
"What's that?" I asked, my voice high and panicky.
"I don't know!" Olivine said, her face pale and scared. It was so much worse to hear she was panicking too.
"Am I gonna die?" I asked. "Am I gonna-"
I leaned forward and vomited. Blood sprayed all over the floor. I tried to suck in a breath, but more blood shot up my throat and out my mouth. I slipped in the blood and fell hard on my knee. I wished Lottie was there. She always made things better.
Majesty Miraval- Wandering Souls D1M
Well well well, what have we here?
In a stroke of welcome luck, the feast was deserted when I arrived. It seemed a lot had happened in my absence, though, judging from the five bodies covered in the floor, one of which was covered in more blood than any weapon I could think of. Perhaps Zibby or Emmeline had been here? More bags for me. It was just like a party!
I pulled a bag open. A furry projectile hit my face and started scratching. I threw up my hands and launched the thing away from me. When it was far enough from my face to see clearly, I had to smile at the angry-looking raccoon chattering as it waddled down a hall. It might have been really nasty if the little fellow had gone for my eyes. So it's tricks and treats, I thought as I took another bag.
Oops! It's cholera!
My stomach bubbled. I ran for the bathroom before something horrible (but admittedly hilarious) happened. Even under the circumstances, I could laugh. It was pretty funny that it was all tricks.
Gaius McClellan- No Way Down D12M
We stood near the stairwell on the third floor as the anthem sounded. The announcer had clearly stated the feast would last all day. The anthem, meanwhile, played in the evening. Late, yes, but not midnight. We could follow the rules and still know exactly who we'd be facing.
I scanned over the faces in the sky, calculating who'd been overrun and who was still there, no doubt staking out the waiting room and knowing we'd have to come. Marley, Tulsi and Emma were gone, so that could only mean the Cabellos.
"All right, gang. Move out."
It was a perfectly Todd and Theo plan. I'd been all prepared to teach them how to breach a house and buddy-rush through a door, and then the Gamemakers went and held the feast in a room with no doors. That didn't mean we couldn't have coverage, though. At the end of the hall, we grouped up, both holding two fire extinguishers we'd gathered over the day from various rooms.
"One, two, three," I whispered. We pulled our triggers and foam shot everywhere, augmented a little by the cleaning supplies Theo and Todd had determined would thicken the foam without poisoning us. As I ran through the thick white smog, I was impressed by the Cabellos' discipline. They hadn't made a sound. No doubt they were trying to pinpoint us by our footsteps. I peered through the blinding smoke, wondering when the spears and bullets would come and what instant I'd lose my life or an ally. Who would it be? Either Todd or Theo and the other would be heartbroken.
A minute later we were down the hall again, coughing and wiping our irritated eyes. It couldn't have been good for our long-term health, but if we got out of here we could address that. We looked around at each other, checking for any wounds we somehow might not have noticed. But no, we were all in one piece. We hadn't gotten any loot, but we lived to see another day.
52nd place: Katrina Moonshadow- Botulism
What a way to go. Ferrari managed to make it out, but their alliance couldn't survive two feasts. With the relatively low number of about 50 tributes, I have to start making more painful cuts. Katrina couldn't have seen this coming and it sucks. Now Ferrari has no flamethrower and no Katrina :(
51st place: Marley Xander- Ebola
And so we lose the partiest of the Party Girls. No matter how many times she dies, Marley never loses her love for life. It's been like a decade since the ebola epidemic, so I felt okay including it. These diseases are way faster than their real-life counterparts because of the drama, but it did mean a quick death for Marley. Now we're left with Olivine and Lottie- a bit of an opposite pair, but sadly they'll have this to bond over.
A big round of applause to Gaius and crew for successfully breaching and escaping a completely empty room. Had Marley lived, though, she and Olivine planned to stake out the room until midnight, so it WAS a good plan.