Tyler Alvarez- Swing Vote D10M
Walcott left during my watch. Vulpes had pulled me aside and asked me to keep an eye out for her doing something like that. I'd agreed, since lying had never been difficult for me. It was easiest this way. Unless someone let her go, she'd need to make increasingly convoluted excuses, and it would only end in drama. Otherwise she might try to kill Vulpes in his sleep, and then he'd get to play the victim when he killed her in self-defense. He couldn't manipulate her anymore, so at best he planned to use her as a meat shield and at worse he intended to eliminate someone who was just another competitor now. I heard some noises as she raided the vending machine down the hall, and then she was gone.
I'd never seen a surgery room before this. Maybe there was a special word for it- I wasn't sure. There was the surgery bed in the middle of the room. We'd all felt weird being the only one to sleep on it, so no one had yet. We'd been sleeping on piles of blankets and hospital gowns we'd harvested from nearby rooms. Hooked over the surgery bed there was a light with various things attached to its neck, like a tray and some surgical odds and ends. There had been a scalpel there when we first came, but I'd taken it. The rest of us had scalpels we'd taken from other rooms. Aside from that, the room was empty, its vast space implying the massive team of workers needed for a surgery.
Funny how things could go from zero to a hundred in less than a second. When the doorknob rattled, I was up before I even realized it. I kicked Vulpes lightly, jumping back as he swiped out at me. Just those few little sounds were enough to rouse the others.
A thin metallic noise came from the door. Vulpes and I looked at each other without thinking. Of the alliance, we were the two who knew what a lock-pick sounded like. We ran for the door, trying to flank it and bottleneck the attackers. Vulpes positioned himself where the open door would cover him, naturally. I cared enough about Deciduous that I took the riskier position.
The door opened before we could take our positions, and we retreated as the eerily empty frame was revealed. It was Careers, then, not that I was surprised. Careers knew how to breach a room safely. It was Margo who entered first. With the shield held in front of her head, I could only tell it was her from her bottle-blonde hair. She looked around at the four of us huddled in the middle of the room. Her eyes fell on the chainsaw in my hands, just as I pulled the chain, and her face lit up. She nodded at me, a thankful recognition of the fight we would give her, and ran in.
Arielle Ermin- 28th Hunger Games D4F
I followed Margo in just as she was charging at Tyler. She stopped short just in front of him, looking for an opening to slash him without getting pulverized by his chainsaw. It made a most incongruous noise, the chainsaw. It was rare for such an industrial sound to happen in an arena.
Behind me, I could see Vulpes beside the door. I wondered why he hadn't attacked. I would have been able to defend myself, but it was odd he'd position himself there for no reason. Then Emma came in behind me. Vulpes threw himself against the door, knocking her against its frame before she could shoot the arrow she'd had ready. He grabbed the tip of her bow. I ran in to help, but a bedpan flashed in the corner of my vision before it crashed into my head, knocking me clean off my feet. As I stood, Tulsi was already helping push Emma through the door from behind. Vulpes yanked the bow sideways as Emma tried to pull it free. One end of the bow wedged against the door frame as the other was forced against the door. The bow was too sturdy to break, but it came away visibly bent. Emma shot a disgusted look at Vulpes as Tulsi pushed her free of the doorframe and she stumbled into the room.
With my allies no longer in danger, I turned to lock onto a target. At a moment's glance I saw the fear on Visenya's face and knew she'd thrown the bedpan at me. I would repay her for it.
Deciduous Stowercraft- Swing Vote D7M
I tried to circle close to Tyler, not wanting to get in his way and wary of his swinging chainsaw. Margo laughed as she danced this way and that, her sword nicking closer and closer to him. Tyler swung at her head. She pulled it aside, her eyes sparkling. For a single instant I saw her hair suspended in the air and knew what was about to happen.
Her head snapped forward in a horrible inhuman movement. A burning stench scorched the air as the spinning blade grabbed her hair and yanked her in. She brought up her sword reflexively, trying to bat away the chainsaw. The sword hit the chainsaw blade and threw her arm away violently. She tried to pull back, her eyes on the blade inches from her face. A clump of hair pulled loose, blood flowing down the side of her head, and the inevitable happened.
Everyone stopped at the noise. We all stopped at the caterwauling shriek and the wet sanding noise of Margo's head pulling across the chainsaw until it was lodged in the space where the blade met the handle. She grabbed at the blade in her last desperation, her hands blooming with flesh and blood. It was a blessing how only seconds later she collapsed.
Tyler knelt beside her body, her weight having pulled him down. The chainsaw was still running, Margo's hair clumping around the blade and preventing him from pulling it loose. From diagonally beside him, I saw Tulsi coming at him. He tried to turn and meet her with the chainsaw, but it was still stuck, tearing away at Margo's hair and skull.
Margo's blood was flecked across Tyler's face. I saw the death in his eyes and saw him just how the Capitol saw him. He was everything they wanted me to hate. Independent. Angry. Vengeful. Disenfranchised. But through all the blood, through the skull-bits flecking his hair, I saw something else. I saw a boy who'd run into a burning building for me. How he'd stayed so still as I placed his arms around me, after Jude had grabbed me up in a hug and sent memories of the crushing debris around me throbbing in my mind. I'd never thought about how significant it was that I left Jude. Jude, the Capitol's pet, for Tyler, its enemy. Despite it all, Tyler thought the Capitol's enemies could win. I wanted him to be right.
I hit Tulsi from the side, my shoulder hitting just under her breast. I felt the spear in her hand brush across my shirt without the momentum to pierce it. We hit the ground almost entangled. She pushed my shoulder down and shoved the spear into my stomach. Behind us, I heard the chainsaw tear free.
Vulpes Kerr- No Way Down D9M
Tulsi smirked when she saw me. I could read the thoughts on her face. I sent her a look with such venom her smile faded. She scowled as she turned aside, correctly inferring that if I thought our fight would go the same way as the last one, I'd abandon survival and try to cripple her just from spite. Instead she ran toward Deciduous, who huddled close to Tyler, whose swinging chainsaw kept her at bay.
I'd seen a lot in my life. I'd seen things worse than Margo's death, but not many. It was the smell that got me. That burnt-hair smell brought up memories of small-timers who reneged on a debt, or someone who insulted someone they shouldn't have. It was a nightmarish way to go, but if you asked me, you reaped what you sowed. It affected Emma more than it affected me. I could tell from the timidity in her attacks, from the unusual defensive strategy. It wasn't difficult to avoid the poison-tipped arrow in her hand.
Just as we'd gained the numbers, Tulsi's spear hit Deciduous and the tally reset. I'd been hoping she would get Tyler- one less formidable opponent to eliminate myself.
Emma backed away unexpectedly, leaving me pointing a scalpel at nothing. She ran past Tyler, arcing out of the range of his chainsaw, and ran for the other side of the room. I looked past her and saw Visenya backed into a corner, futilely trying to evade Arielle as the larger girl boxed her in. From the middle of the room, Tyler tore the chainsaw free of the last strands of Margo's hair.
"Vulpes!" Visenya's voice came panicked. She looked at me with helpless pleading. It shocked me, how quickly I made the decision. I ran out of the unguarded door.
Visenya Lloyd- Descent into Madness D9F
Emma wanted Vulpes. Tulsi wanted Deciduous. Margo was dead. Arielle was only half-interested in me. She was guarding the door as much as she was attacking me. With just a bit of luck, I could have gotten past her, but what kind of person would I be, leaving my allies like that? Long ago I'd decided there were things more important than life. No matter what, I wouldn't lie forever. The greatest thing I could aspire towards was to live my life honorably and courageously. My allies were people. They deserved my effort. If I died trying to be greater than myself, I died well.
Arielle darted in, forcing me back along the wall. Even with her trident she was afraid to get in too close, since I might be able to swipe her arm with my scalpel. It seemed like she was almost just biding time until her alliance regained the numbers and could overwhelm the survivors.
"Emma!" Arielle called. Across the room, I saw Emma react to the call. She pulled back away from Vulpes and then darted across the room toward me. Cut off the weakest, I thought, looking over at Deciduous' body. Then concentrate on the strongest…
Emma came at me, blocking off my escape so I was forced even more into the corner. I saw the two of them gaining ground and knew Emma wouldn't be so hesitant when her own weapon was poisoned. Desperately, I looked across the room. We could do this together. Tyler, Vulpes and I could do this together, or at least we had a chance. We could stay strong together.
"Vulpes!"
Tyler Alvarez- Swing Vote D10M
I knew it before he did. I saw Visenya looking over at him, her mouth opening. His name was barely out of her mouth before he ran. Arielle stuck her spear into Visenya's side as she dodged Emma's arrow. The three of them turned to me as Visenya slumped to the floor.
I held the chainsaw out at them wordlessly. They would get me, undoubtedly. The second two of them would get me. But who, pray tell, wanted to be the first?
I backed toward the door, the chainsaw still pointed at them. As Vulpes fled, I'd watched which way he'd gone. I went the other way.
77th place: Margo Caspian- Chainsaw to the face by Tyler
I didn't start this chapter intending to kill Margo. We all know I have a soft spot for her, and I wanted to show her going feral more. I thought she would just get some hair ripped out, but then as I wrote I realized it really was a "it's what my character would do" moment and went all the way. RIP Margo for being so singular in character she derailed my planned story.
76th place: Deciduous Stowercraft- stabbed by Tulsi
It wasn't that as soon as he got featured he died, like QoM was afraid of. I just knew that in a battle like this at least some would die, and it worked out that Deciduous got to make his choice and defend Tyler. Sorry we didn't see more debating. It was a casualty of POVs being so rushed as I tried to get everyone some time before they died. There was a lot more to Deciduous that didn't get shown, but I tried to squeeze in as much as I could right at the end.
75th place: Visenya Lloyd- speared by Arielle's trident
I thought there could be a cool contrast here between Visenya choosing good and Vulpes going full heel. Also in a battle between the Crows and four Careers, it was inevitable at least two would die.
My internet is really really bad so that's why updates are slower. I'm writing them at a normal speed. It just can be days in between when the internet works.