Arno Dupont- Touch the Sky D4M
Chrome paced the room, her face tense as she glanced intermittently at the door. Fable drummed her fingers on the paper liner and plastic surface of the examination bed. Rustle rustle rustle, her first few fingers went. Tap tap, went the other two.
There hadn't been any cannons for several minutes. Was it over? There had been, what, ten cannons? That was a lot. Ten percent of the people left. Decimated, the word came to mind.
Chrome's tigerlike patrol took her to the desk in the corner of the room again. Jayden stood and stretched her legs against the wall. Chrome's shoe squeaked on the linoleum floor. I turned and saw movement.
Elise Delacroix- Res D4F
Chrome circled the room again. Since Jessie left we'd all been avoiding speaking to her. Whatever we said, no matter how mild, seemed to bear a near-certain chance of setting her off. I leaned back in my chair in the corner, ready to move if she might walk near me. Her shoe squeaked on the linoleum floor. I looked up. Chrome's fist was under Arno's chin. Her dagger was vertical through his mouth, its tip hidden somewhere behind his nose and in his brain. My mouth fell open as I froze for an instant, then was somehow on my feet.
"But," I said dumbly. Blood dribbled out from the hole in Arno's chin, bubbling with the last of his breath. His eyes were already empty.
Chrome pulled the knife out and Arno slid down Chrome's body so that she stepped back and he fell across her feet. "But Jessie's gone and we don't have as much of a majority," she said. Across the room, Jayden stepped in front of the door and I shuddered at the perception that they'd shared this idea with a single unnoticed glance. "So you wouldn't expect this," Chrome finished. Behind her, Fable gaped in obviously unfeigned surprise.
I held out my rapier at her, ready to go down fighting. Chrome looked around for a weapon as Jayden waited impassively. After we regarded each other for a moment, Jayden kicked a chair across the room toward Chrome. Chrome picked it up and came at me. I stabbed out at her, trying to reach her without getting caught in the chair instead. As soon as one of my strikes went between the chair's armrest and back, Chrome twisted it sharply, the torque wresting the sword from my hands. It was then that Jayden came at me from the side.
I batted and kicked at Jayden as she tried to pin me down. "No!" I screamed as Chrome came in with the knife.
"What did you even expect, allying with us?" Jayden asked. It wasn't mocking so much as just brutally frank.
I screamed again, this time just in rage. Was it so much to ask, that I get justice for my brutalized father? Was that so much, that a grieving child wanted something to be right in the world? But no, it had to be torn away from me, again and again. Torn away from me, like the life of an innocent boy who took the fall.
ARROYO CARDOSO- Yttria Noxus
He looked at me right when he died. I didn't know if he could really see me. It didn't look like he was looking at anything. More like, his eyes were just open. Open, because he had no eyelids. I'd never known what the muscles at the sides of your eyes looked like. They attached right to the eyeball. They were so pink. They glistened.
PERFECTA FLAWLESS- Priscilla Piscot
What a silly name. Even by One standards, it was one of the silliest names I'd heard. And one year there was a girl in my math class named Delightful. Anyway, sad to see her die, I guess.
JASON LENN- Chrome Cabello
It was strange to me when siblings cared so little about each other. From what I'd seen in the Capitol, Jason had made barely any effort to care for Valerie. I couldn't imagine treating Jessie like that.
CIERRA DALINE- Margo Caspian
She'd seemed pretty cool. Maybe I should have asked her to join our alliance instead of the "nice" Careers. Sometimes it's the meek-looking ones you have to watch out for.
ANJOU CORRIENTE- Sky Larch
He'd been at the feast. Either he was a loner and hadn't gone after any women this time, or he had an ally but chose to put himself at risk instead. I supposed he could have allied with a man, but it didn't seem likely most of them would want him. Not most women, either,but people like him are manipulative. But he wasn't this time, it seemed.
LINDEN ANDERSON- Visenya Lloyd
Somehow I'd felt it before I saw his face. I looked over at Vulpes, who was watching the death roll impassively. Maxson had said he hadn't seen Linden when he was at the feast. I'd hoped he might have gotten away. Somehow I'd felt he hadn't.
JACQUARD CROCK- Walcott Patel
He was the sad boy. I remembered seeing him here or there in the Capitol before our Games. He always wore baggy clothes. Even when the stylists would give him nice-looking outfits he'd throw a coat on over it. I always wondered if he'd gotten hurt at home and had scars.
CLOE DALEIGH- Elle Phant
She was the only one left from her Games, wasn't she? That must have been lonely. There were so few from that Games even from the start. Maybe next time they'd be forgotten entirely.
VOLVO COURVAILE- Ferrari Benz
He was part of the Six most people thought of. Didn't it mean anything that he broke free? That was harder than anything I'd ever done. There was so much more to him people would never bother to ask.
HAVELOCK GRIMM- Lyon Cartier
It shouldn't have hit me so hard. It could only be because he was a brother. Losing Alsace was nothing compared to losing your brother. It was a blessing Floki hadn't been here to see it.
WYATT SPARKS- Dominique Rindelle
He hadn't come back. I waited for the anthem, praying that maybe he was just injured, or couldn't get back to me without being seen. I prayed through District One, and then District Two. Then I saw that we would never grow old together. Widow. I'd always thought of an old women when I heard the word. Most people weren't even married when they were eighteen. I was a widow.
JAYLA DEAN- Shinju Matsushita
How could I have thought I could run from my past? The only reason the Gamemakers had made this possible was because I'd put it into their heads. It was so sublime, though. Before it had just tasted like pennies. I'd never known it could taste like life.
I didn't have space to include all the shenanigans that went down at the feast, since like 30 people were there, but just for fun, here's some offscreen antics!
MARGO injured Jynx and Braddock, but didn't kill either because she was too preoccupied enjoying herself to actually finish the job before someone else distracted her. The reason she didn't do more damage is that Lottie clotheslined her and she cracked a rib in the fall.
In ARLEEN's bag there was a copy of Why Does He Do That? But she took Majesty's.
ELISSA escaped her brawl with Jason with a broken finger and a black eye.
MARLEY took a stray throwing star to the shoulder. It did not hit any major blood vessels but like it still did damage.
TUESDAY also got hit with a throwing star, courtesy of Makara. It failed to penetrate her skull bone but left a very nasty gash on her forehead.
LOGAN popped in and out of a door without going into the feast because he already had plenty. RICHARD and STUDY also left without taking anything.
RACHEL was attacked by Makara. The stimulation caused her to switch to her violent personality and though her wild flailing did not injure Makara, it weirded her out enough that she attacked someone else. In her haste to escape, Rachel did not grab anything.
ELARA lost a tooth to Diamond but managed to escape.
BRADDOCK Got tased by Flint when he tried to chase after Flint as he left the feast with a single bag, containing said taser. Braddock still escaped thanks to everyone else thinking he was dead in the chaos until he recovered and ran out the door.
SHINJU bit Shale's pants leg as Shale passed near the table. She missed the flesh. Shale went to kill her in retaliation but saw the fangs and got the hell out of Dodge.
Next up, a non-exhaustive selection of some of the gifts Tributes revealed after they'd escaped the feast.
Priscilla Piscot- Over and Over D1F
"Aww, night-vision goggles," I said as I opened my bag. I knew it was a chump move taking one of the smaller bags. I'd thought maybe it was a fake-out, like when your smallest birthday present turns out to be car keys or something. Not that that had ever happened to me. We were wealthy but not that wealthy.
"Why would they put night-vision goggles in a lit arena? They're obviously something else," Miall said.
I popped them on my face. The room went bluish white. Miall shifted into a skeleton with a faint human shape hovering around the stark bones.
"Well?" Miall asked. It was very disturbing seeing his mouth-bones move.
"They're x-ray goggles," I said. "But not like exactly, since I can see through the wall, too."
"X-ray goggles?!" Miall's skeleton hands to cover his pants.
"You big dummy," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "There's no bones in there. All I see is pelvis."
"Sometimes there are," Miall defended himself.
"Ew!"
Jynx Susurrus- Power to the People D1M
The bottle was shaped like on of those fancy perfume bottles rich ladies have. There was a note attached to the braided cord prettily wound around its curves.
Panacea, it read. Good for one injury or illness.
Oh. That's pretty neat. I looked down at the stab Margo had left in my side. It wasn't really that deep, and it was already clotting. For the time being I'd try to patch it up with some bandages and antiseptic I could find lying around. If it got worse, I'd use the panacea.
Yttria Noxus- Descent into Madness D3M
Camille Igawa- Let the Good Times Roll D9F (both got the same prize)
Isabella's grinning face looked up at me from a green-tinted piece of paper. She was decked in a top hat and monocle and was flashing two thumbs-up.
Congratulations! You've found one Capitol Buck! Redeem this for one sponsor gift of your choice. Peruse the included catalog to review your options.
Charybdis Kincaid- No Way Down D4F
I held the bottle and sobbed. Such a tiny little bottle. What a tiny bottle to have life in it. What a small bag with my name on it. My hand shook and the bottle rattled as it jostled. I held the bottle of antidepressants and sobbed.
Hadley Kinneth- In Your Hands D6F
The little bottle was emblazoned with a letter Z in a red slashed-over circle. Inside, six pills rattled about.
LIVEFAST- Short-term sleep replacement. Long-term effects: not good, honestly! But you're only taking them short term so don't worry. One per night to replace a full night's rest.
The next bag had a pair of glasses. I put them on and the room shifted to various shades of red and blue, with myself being the reddest. Heat vision, then. Very nice to detect attackers.
The third bag had a bunch of packing material to disguise how small the smokescreen pellet was. Oh well, good things come in small packages.
Last of all, there was an aerosol can.
Do not point at face. With minimum of three seconds of exposure, death will occur within two minutes.
Wow, they really weren't messing around. I could win this whole thing entirely because I was in the right place at the very right time.
Margo Caspian- Over and Over D2F
"Ooh, what'd you bring us?" Tulsi asked as I limped back to the camp, Emma alongside me carrying my bags. Tulsi dumped out the bags as I sat down to catch my breath. I didn't seem to have any internal injuries, but it still hurt. I watched the prizes tumble out, hoping for perhaps some sharp fangs I could put over my teeth like a real lion.
I groaned in disappointment at the book that fell out.
"Hospital Chemicals for Dummies," Arielle read aloud. "'the all-inclusive list of chemicals found in hospitals and their various applications'."
"Nerd stuff," I sniffed as Emma scooped the book up with interest. I turned to the other bag. "Let's see something better this time."
A set of body armor fell out. Nice, sure, but nothing as flashy as I'd hoped. Oh, well. At least I got a fight out of it.
Stevie Pagett- Swing Vote D11F
I couldn't believe I'd been bold enough to grab a bag before I left. I'd rolled the dice that Jessie wouldn't waste a bullet on me, and I'd been right. Now I had something that definitely felt like metal, and was decently heavy.
When I dumped out my prize, I literally jumped back. I jumped back in both shock at what I'd unveiled, and terror at what could have happened. It didn't go off, though. Luckily, the sawed-off shotgun didn't go off.
How do I even unload it? I'd never even seen a shotgun in real life before. I very cautiously stepped up alongside the shotgun and studied it. A latch on the side seemed to be the way to open it. Once more I rolled the dice, covering my bases by being well behind the blast radius. When I did, two shotgun shells looked back at me from the barrel.
Elara Angelou- Over and Over D12F
It was a pot of glue. Not what I had in mind, but I'd take it.
Elmer's Super Super Super Super Glue. Stays wet until contact with skin or synthetic fibers. Dries in less than a second and does not come off. Glue will penetrate the outer layers of skin, requiring significant removal of tissue in order to loosen oneself. We've helpfully included a solvent for accidental self-exposure. Don't lose it!
Tuesday Erelle- Into Thin Air D2F
Isabella's face looked up at me, grinning as she sat behind a typewriter, a newsboy cap on her head.
Congratulations, Tuesday! If you're reading this, you took your bag (and survived). Your fabulous prize? The comment section on your blog is now enabled. Enjoy interacting with your fans!
I wanted to break out in song. Just from one one post someone had already sponsored me a burger and fries, which were the best I'd ever eaten. Behold, I would feast like a king!
Artemis Jager- Res D2F
I put on the body armor before I even looked at the second bag. I took out a telescoping spear, careful to avoid the poisoned tip. Very nice, I thought. Long range, lightweight, and a guaranteed fatality. There had to be something else really good in the last bag- the one with my name on it.
Ten tiny metal blades clattered out onto the table. I sighed as I looked down at them. I didn't even know how to use the silver claws. I'd be as likely to cut myself as someone else. And Pray already hated me enough. The last thing I needed was to be her copycat.
Lacey Weaver- No Way Down D8F
Isabella's face looked up at me. She was glancing playfully at me in a profile shot, her lips pursed as she blew smoke from a pistol.
Congratulations! You've found my only Sure Shot Buck! Redeem this to cause the death of one Tribute! Simply state their name and the phrase 'sure shot'. Restrictions apply.*
For a moment, I couldn't even keep reading. I felt profane, crouched over the paper and thinking about what it meant. Names and faces ran through my head and I felt myself becoming the Angel of Death.
*Must be used before the final 30
*Cannot be used on a Tribute within ten feet away from you
*Use of this prize will cause your location to be broadcast across the arena for six consecutive hours
Of course it was too good to be true. Something like this would be game-breaking without some caveats. Still, though, its power staggered me. I had no idea what I was going to do, but whatever it was, it would affect everyone, very much including me.
81st place: Arno Dupont- stabbed by Chrome
It doesn't seem to happen very much in SYOTs that Careers betray their allies abruptly. I imagine it would happen all the time if you got a bunch of killers together on a team where only one can win. Or maybe it happens more often than I'm remembering. It was pretty much inevitable Chrome and Jayden would do this, since with their personalities they would definitely think Arno and Elise were the weak links. Arno was stronger so he's the one they took by total surprise. After that, Elise was a sitting duck, despite her valiant effort. Arno and Elise are very much the hero of their own story and they deserve to have that explored. They deserve better than an arena with 150 stories tbh.
80th place: Elise Delacroix- Stabbed by Chrome
Now Arno will never know Elise wasn't willing to die for him (and no shame at all for that, it's just the natural choice). Elise and Arno had healthy relationship with both regard for each other and respect for themselves. Elise pretty much got the crap deal her entire life. Tuesday is definitely the type to delve into this- I forget if I mentioned her seeing Fable's blog but if she hasn't, one of her commentors would totally mention it- so maybe she can get some exposure for the case.