Tuesday Erelle- Into Thin Air D2F

It didn't seem as though my trick had done much. After Camille there hadn't been any deaths for two days. Trick or not, though, the Gamemakers probably would turn on me if I sat by my computer doing nothing but blogging. I was still looking for the others, but I could stand to be a little more active.

Funny how things balance out. The arena was so much smaller now. You would think it would be easier to find people. There weren't as many of us, though. The arena had been shrinking almost on par with the shrinking population. Still, it felt like it might be a little easier for me to find people now. One floor and the basement wasn't too much to deal with. Probably people were just waiting for me to go into one room and then sneaking behind to a room I already searched, though. Then again, that was nothing they didn't do in any other arena. The Games always ended eventually.

While I was in one of the rooms, a scale caught my eye. They say most Victors lose at least ten pounds in the arena- not ideal if you're from most of the Districts, where most people are already underweight. The only exception I knew of was Tillo. She mentioned in an interview that she actually gained a few pounds since the mall arena had so much food available and she'd been underfed back home. Out of curiosity, I stepped onto the scale. I weighed exactly the same as when I'd started.

As I stepped back into the hallway, I noticed something. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I noticed something. I ran through my senses, trying to isolate which one it was. There was a smell, for one. I didn't know what it was. I just knew something smelled a little different. I glanced down and happened to see it. There was a tiny red dot on the floor, almost hidden in the crack between two linoleum squares. That was it, then. What I'd barely noticed was the faint scent of blood. Someone was wounded, then. I guessed it was probably a fight between two outliers, based on how small the blood spot was. Surely Wangari would have either killed her target or wounded them worse than that.

I was cautious as I followed the blood trail. It looked like the wound might be pretty minor. Even if it wasn't, you know what they say about injured game. The trail led to a door labeled SUPPLIES. It would seem to make sense that an injured Tribute would look for some place that had bandages and maybe antibiotics to head off any infections. The door was closed. I reached out a hand to try it, but I pulled it back. Going through a door was usually a risky idea. Whoever was in there probably wouldn't want to stay in a supply closet forever. If I waited, they'd come out eventually.

Or so I thought. It must have been more than an hour that I waited, though I'd never been good at estimating time. Maybe the wound was more serious than it looked. Maybe the tribute had been holding something to the wound and it had caught most of the blood? I hadn't heard any noise from inside the room. Maybe it was serious enough they'd passed out. That would make my life a lot easier. In any case, there was clearly someone in there. Wangari would have her own supplies and would have been able to fix herself up wherever she'd been injured- in fact, she'd probably be sponsored right away. It was probably one of the outliers and they probably just needed that last little push to get them eliminated. I just hoped it wasn't Gabriel. That was one I wasn't looking forward to.

Wangari Kariuki- Res D2F

I jumped when I heard the door start to open. No matter how hard you try to stay alert, it was just cold human psychology that we got complacent after a while. Also, I hadn't expected someone to come so quietly I hadn't heard anything until the door was already opening. It had to be Tuesday, then. The biggest reward, yes, but also the biggest risk.

As Tuesday's profile peeked out from the end of the door, I took action. I swung around and squirted the blood bag I was holding. Blood spurted out all over Tuesday's upper chest and face, completely coating it like red paint. I saw the outline of her facial features scrunch in disgust, and then the unexpected white of her teeth as her mouth cracked open. If I'd jumped out and immediately tried to stab her, she probably would have reacted quickly enough to evade me. She would be expecting that, after all. She wasn't expecting a spray of blinding, smelly, and sticky blood all over her face.

Even so, Tuesday's reflexes were so quick that when I thrust my sword at her stomach, she was able to push it sideways with the spear she brought up diagonally to protect her body. Incongruous as it was, I did think it was a little funny that though neither of us had hit the other, both our weapons were still covered in blood. I shot my foot forward and hooked Tuesday's leg. She adjusted her balance and would have stayed on her feet, but the floor was slippery with blood. As she was hitting the floor, I swung my sword at her head.

Did… I hit? Tuesday gasped and yanked her head sideways as my sword seemed to connect. I wasn't entirely sure, though, since she was already saturated with blood. It made for a very disconcerting next few seconds as I stabbed at her stomach and she batted at me with a blood-streaked arm even though I hadn't slashed her arms. She stabbed upward with her free arm and I hissed as she her spear punched a shallow but painful wound near my groin. If it had been deeper it could have been serious or even fatal.

If Tuesday had played dead it would have been impossible for me to tell if she really was. It was for that exact reason that I had to overkill her. I must have stabbed her twenty times. By the tenth she wasn't moving anymore, but I just couldn't be sure. The Capitol must have loved it. When I stopped, panting as I stood over her, Tuesday was lying in an absolute explosion of blood. I'd been holding a two-pint blood bag and I'd only used a tiny bit to leave the blood trail. All the rest was on Tuesday, plus what must have been nearly all the blood in her body. It was smeared on the wall, streaked on the floor at the edges of the puddle, dripping just a little from the ceiling, and splattered all over me. If you didn't know better, you would have thought Tuesday was a red-skinned alien.

I'm the last Career, I thought, hardly able to believe it. I need a shower. I want to shower right now.

Tuesday Erelle- Into Thin Air

If I played dead almost anyone would have believed it. I didn't, though, because Wangari was a Career. She would keep going until she knew I was dead. If I played dead it would only draw it out. Instead I fought back, even though I knew it was almost hopeless. Almost hopeless. In the end it was, though I got her once in the groin and slashed her across the lower leg, which she didn't even seem to notice. I thought I got her, anyway. It was hard to tell with all the blood. I wouldn't have seen it coming that I lasted this long after my first not too impressive performance. I guess I just needed to find my stride. Pretty dramatic way to go, at least. If I was making a book about the Hunger Games, I'd definitely include a picture of this.

Maxson Deloria- Swing Vote D6M

I was dying. I knew I was dying and I had no idea what to do. It had started the day before with an upset stomach. Right away I'd known something was very wrong. I hadn't eaten anything but packaged foods. There was no way I'd eaten something spoiled or poisonous. I'd hoped it would go away, but it got way worse from there.

I gotta find some medicine or something. It felt like I'd had that thought before. I stood and headed for the door. My legs shot out from under me and I barely got my arms up before I hit the floor. What tripped me? I thought as I got up. There's not even anything on the floor. I headed for the door again.

BONK

Where'd the door go? Right when I reached it, it had moved. I'd smashed into the wall instead. My nose ached as I backed up a step. I cautiously stepped forward and there was the wall again, though I hit it softly that time. I reached out my hands and felt along the wall. When I felt a gap, I went that way. All the while I was squinting and scanning around with my eyes. I could see. I just couldn't… see?

I was sitting down in the middle of the hallway. I didn't remember sitting, but there I was. My eyes were focused on my hands. They were shaking for some reason, like Chase from church with the Parkinson's. They tingled, too. It was like they'd fallen asleep.

Something's wrong. I breathed heavily as I tried to put my thoughts in order. As soon as I got one nailed down, one of the others flew away. My head was against the floor. It was cool against my cheek. I'm gonna die. I'm dying now.

6th place: Tuesday Erelle- Stabbed by Wangari

My initial plan was for Tuesday to be the one leaving the blood trail and killing Wangari. Then I thought if Wangari's the one who thinks there's a time limit on not killing people, wouldn't she be the one leaving lures out? Also it was kind of juicy that Tuesday got so much use out of this blog but this trick ended up getting her killed. It didn't really backfire entirely- Wangari was already hunting for her. Wangari coming up with the blood idea wasn't really a result of Tuesday's post. Still, it ended up kind of cool. Tuesday really shone this Games because it was finally an environment where her charisma could continue to benefit her in the arena. She immediately used the arena to her advantage and got a very elite placement out of it. Tuesday had been almost fading a little, but now she's back on everyone's radar.

5th place: Maxson Deloria- dimethylmercury poisoning

There are a couple of important things about dimethylmercury. First, it evaporates at room temperature. Wangari did indeed touch a spiked doorknob when she sealed the last few doors. It just didn't do anything since it had evaporated by then. Secondly, and most importantly, it seeps through standard latex gloves. It requires specialized gloves, which Maxson didn't think to worry about. It's also pretty much incurable at that big a dose, so Maxson had been a dead man walking ever since he smeared it on the first knob. In real life it takes months for the symptoms to show, but I sped things up because it would be really boring that way. Maxson may have benefited from his alliance, but it's still a credit to him, since he picked that alliance. It's good to see him get a nice long run this time, since he died early last time. Shoutout to Max for showing that you can be kind of callous and selfish but still work against your worst traits.