This is part of a double update! Please read the last chapter before this one!
Becca Sryker, 14, District 10
Kikimora - Island A - 1208
Becca's eyes follow the moving cloud in the sky. She's succumbed to stillness, having already tried moving all of her muscles multiple times. The pain is too great every time.
The clouds remind her of home. Not the community home, or the District in general, but the Sryker house. A small thing, sure, but peaceful nonetheless. Clouds would pass overhead all the time, floating away in the wind.
The Sryker house was the first time Becca didn't want to float away with them.
Yet as she lies here defeated next to her strange friend, she knows her mothers are proud of her, of the girl she became. Of the friend she made. Of the difference she made in the life of that friend.
(These are the thoughts that keep the tears at bay.)
Her head falls to the side, falls on the face of said ally. Bazooka's body is bruised and bloodied, yet she locks onto Becca all the same.
"Did I do it?" Bazooka whispers.
What did she do? Becca isn't sure. One moment, she was pulling a device out of the ground. The next, a handful of the pedestals around the girls went off all at once. Through the blur, she can see Careers helping each other up, the ones that were closer to the center finally joining those who were closer to the blasts. Only two other bodies lay on the ground next to the girls.
What did Bazooka do? Whatever it was, Becca doesn't think it was intentional. She's been so obsessed with her creations, her devices, that Becca never understood her true intentions.
She was collecting supplies for her bomb, Becca thinks lazily.
What did she do?
"Yes. You did it," Becca finally responds. Shadows close in on the girls, shadows of the Careers, Becca assumes.
A smile falls on Bazooka's face, and in death, she looks peaceful.
Becca always thought being alone was for the best. No one could hurt her if she didn't let them in. Yet within the span of a week, she broke down that wall.
(And she's grateful for it. Becca Sryker was promised death, but dying alongside another makes it easier to swallow.)
Becca closes her eyes and lets peace wash over her as the pain ends.
Valerian Ignatia, 18, District 1
Kikimora - Island A - 1230
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
"Fuck!"
Amatus' pacing keeps Valerian on edge. Klara has already wrapped a bandage around the small wound caused by the explosion, yet blood stains the bandage nonetheless. Val's had to check his body multiple times for similar injuries. Injuries that are nothing but a minor inconvenience to Amatus, but would never end on Valerian.
"Stop," Klara demands, sword still in hand. Their words are the first to break through to the brute. "You're wasting energy."
Amatus grumbles something under his breath that Val can't pick up on.
(He keeps thinking about the blasts. The pedestal the Three girl was digging at, and a dozen others all went off. The metal structure shielded Val. No debris came in contact with him.
It could have been all over like that, and it hasn't even been an hour…)
"Just because kills are low now, doesn't mean they have to stay low," Choux says with a calmness Val wishes he could have an ounce of. "Let's get out there."
Amatus clenches his jaw, eyes falling over the carnage that surrounds them. The bodies of the girl from Three and Ten lay near the main pedestal, and the cut-up body of the girl from Nine lays across the field. Klara found a fourth and final body, the boy from Three, a result of another exploded pedestal. Anyone else seems to have cleared the field, using the chaos to their advantage.
"You're right. I'll take Ronan and Dahlia. Cali, Vitali, scout out those boats." Amatus points to the harbor behind the cornucopia.
Val's eyes fall to Cali, and his aren't the only one to do so.
But the boy from Four doesn't say anything, and she doesn't say anything, so Ronan reluctantly follows the other Career boy to gather supplies and prepare to leave.
During the preparations, Val takes the moment to slip closer to Klara out of earshot from everyone else.
"Thank you," he whispers. Klara narrows her eyes to him. They're quiet for a moment, but give a subtle nod of her head.
"Just be careful, okay?" she says. Val may be imagining it, but her tone comes with a sense of concern.
(A sense he thought died with Vitali.)
Valerian Ignatia is certainly in over his head, but he's already avoided dying in one Games catastrophe. Surely he's capable of avoiding a few more?
Eleanora Darzky, 17, District 5
Kikimora - Island A - 1328
"Fuck," Eleanora says to herself, whispering just in case someone is close enough to her to hear. She's been moving through the woods for quite some time, unsure of her true path.
(She's been reeling since she lost. Since that dumb bitch took what was rightfully hers…)
She uses her sword to cut through some of the foliage, wondering what else this arena has to offer. She saw the beach and the boats, but unless she has a death wish she'll avoid going back to the Cornucopia. The trees are too dense for her to really see what lies on the other side of the arena, but she thinks continuing in that direction is her best bet-
Footsteps stop her train of thought. Her initial thought is Dahlia somehow followed her through the forest.
(This time, Eleanora is prepared.)
She crouches down lower and scans the area that surrounds her. She doesn't see the cause of the movement, she can only hear the footsteps that grow louder with each passing second.
The sound of movement is close enough for Eleanora to be confident in her strike. Rage, determination, and the unmistakable hint of fear.
(She's prepared for this, why is there fear?)
With her blade in the air, it's only a second of hesitation that allows the other person to be spared.
Had it been anyone else, they might not have been so lucky.
"You followed me?" Eleanora considers releasing the blade again with no hesitation, but the girl is alone and her previous words come back to nag at Eleanora.
"A truce. Should both our alliances…fail, and we find one another."
The girl is alone.
"I didn't," she says, her knife raised in defense.
"Pretty convenient then," Eleanora responds.
"Your allies attacked my allies," Astel says.
I don't have allies. Eleanora keeps the thought unsaid.
"So you're alone?" she asks. Astel nods, lowering her knife just enough.
"My district partner might have died. I'm not sure. What did you see?" she asks.
"Nothing. I felt the floor shake. A loud explosion, too." Eleanora slowly matches Astel's movement, careful to not lower her defenses too greatly.
Astel doesn't respond, and Eleanora has nothing else to stay. For longer than Eleanora would have liked, the two girls stand at a seeming impasse. Neither wants to be the first to fully lower their blade.
(Neither wants to be the fool who conceded first.)
"So you're out?" Astel finally asks.
No, that is what Eleanora wants to say. Yet what other options does she have? Return to fight Dahlia again? Eleanora knows she doesn't fight fair. What's to stop her from convincing the other Careers to fight against her as well?
(The question that Eleanora keeps landing on, in the quietest part of her mind, is 'why?')
Why should she go back? What more would she gain that would negate all she's lost?
As much as she tries, she can't seem to find a solid answer to any of her questions.
"Truce?" Eleanora asks, finally lowering her weapon in full. Astel slides her knife away as well.
"I might have an idea," she says.
As long as it doesn't involve the Careers, sure, Eleanora tells herself.
Of course, things wouldn't be that easy for her.
TW: Blood & injuries
Exa Behrens, 14, District 6
Kikimora - Island A - 1400
I can't be lost, Exa tries to convince herself.
It doesn't matter that she knows the thought is fruitless. She can't accept that, although she escaped the bloodbath unscaled, she has nothing and no one to show for it.
I'm alone, but I know where to go, Exa reassures herself for the sixteenth time this hour alone.
She stood on her pedestal for as long as she had to. She saw Mori almost directly across from her, and she saw Aizen somewhere in the middle. She swept across the outside of the cornucopia, sweeping up the meager supplies she could manage safely.
And then she turned back to where Aizen was standing and he was gone.
Exa only saw a flash of long black hair disappear into the forest, and she could do nothing but follow who she assumed it belonged to.
She lost sight of her immediately.
As time passed, and she could still hear the shouting and clanking of metal on metal from the cornucopia, she was too afraid to yell out for either of them. When the floor shook underneath her feet, silence quickly followed.
Then came the cannons.
She doubts either of them went back into the fray, so she can only assume they're out here somewhere. She just has to find them.
Easier said than done. She just keeps pushing forward, the small satchel strapped around her shoulders bouncing against her back. She hasn't bothered to check what it holds. A moment wasted could put too much distance between her and them. She can't risk that.
She tries to remember any other details about their plan that would help guide her, but nothing comes to mind. Mori and Exa were simply supposed to find Aizen and they were all supposed to disappear into the arena. That was it. Simple. Exa should have been smart enough to know nothing ever has been and never will be simple.
Maybe they're looking for me too, Exa tries reassuring herself. Or maybe they were one of the cannons.
…is that blood? Exa doesn't realize how deep in thought she is until the red thickens on the dirt at her feet. The site scares her, and her immediate reaction is to run.
(Maybe she should. But her feet stay planted as her eyes scan for the victim.)
She hears him before she sees him, and the familiar voice draws her to him even faster.
"Owain!" She pushes past the brush and sees his face before whatever about him is causing that much blood loss.
"Stay…stay back," he says, holding up his knife in a weak defense as he lays helplessly on the ground. He's propped himself up with his left elbow, while his right hand holds the knife. His legs are sprawled out in front of him, and Exa assumes that's where the injury is.
She braces for the injury, but she still gasps when her eyes find his leg.
She pulls her satchel off her bag, kneeling by his feet as he still holds out the knife. Luckily for her, his arm is too weak to do anything more than hold it.
"Drop it," she whispers. "I want to help." She digs through her bag, pushing back her embarrassment knowing this is the first time she's looked through her supplies, knowing full well she could come back with nothing that could help him.
"I-I'm fine. It's, okay-ow!" Owain tries to pull his leg away from her before the pain stops him. Exa continues her search, finding a small wrap of bandages and a full bottle of water, along with meager portions of food.
She opens the water bottle, a task her shaky hands hardly want to cooperate, and gently pours the water over the wound. Owain winces, and she has to remind herself this is for his betterment.
(That doesn't change the fact there's so much blood and Exa doesn't have any supplies other than water and a bandage and it doesn't change the fact she's never seen a cut this deep and it doesn't-)
"I'm okay, I just need to stand up-" Owain tries to bear weight on his healthy leg, yet the attempt is futile. More blood coats the area Exa just cleaned off.
"Let me wrap it!" she says, ripping enough bandage to start wrapping. Owain lays back down, finally dropping the knife to his side.
Exa wraps the wound, again and again until she thinks it's sufficient. She doesn't know if it is. She doesn't know what kind of injuries he has.
(She's failing him like she failed Anton and she feels like she's six again and if he dies at her hands-)
"Let me help you up," Exa says, storing her meager supplies back in her pack. She moves to his side, trying to get his arm over her shoulder.
"I can do it-" he says before a pained groan escapes. Through Exa's sheer force, and with the help of his good leg, he manages to stand up and lean against a tree.
"Have you seen anyone else?" he asks as she searches the ground for anything that might support his weight so they can move.
"No. I..was looking for my allies," she says as she picks up a stick nearly as tall as she is. She passes it to him, and he immediately shifts his weight to it.
"Me too." Owain tries his hand at walking, and although Exa can tell it hurts more than he'd ever admit, he can move.
"Let's find shelter," Exa suggests. Owain looks at her, and Exa knows a million thoughts are running through his mind.
(He didn't ally with her in pregames, so what's to compel him to do so now?)
At least if he tries to kill her she can outrun him.
Exa is about to leave him to it when he says the last thing she expects.
"Okay."
(She's relieved nonetheless.)
Tamin Sirket, 18, District 5
Kikimora - Island A - 1528
"I think we're far enough," Roman says, sweat covering his face.
"We can rest," Davidson agrees. Tamin doesn't argue. In fact, he's grateful for the break. Ever since the bloodbath, they've been on the move. They didn't stop when an explosion shook the ground, or when the cannons fired. They've hardly spoken to each other since then.
Tamin is glad for that. He wouldn't know what to say, and talking might release the anxieties he's been working so hard to suppress. It doesn't help he keeps checking over his shoulder for anyone following them, or that everything around him looks the same and he's convinced he's seen the same tree twice, but Roman and Davidson keep pushing forward fearlessly, so he does as well.
"I think I hear a stream," Roman says after a few more minutes of quiet walking. The trio pushes through and sure enough, they come across a large body of water. Tamin glances around and it seems to stretch fully across the island, effectively cutting them off from going any further in this direction.
"Is that another island?" Davidson asks, pointing across the stream.
Tamin sees it too. It's hard to discern any details from this distance, but he can just make out the edge of the land. The few trees he does see look dead.
"It looks inviting," he says. Neither of his allies respond.
"This is probably a fine place to rest, at least for a bit?" Davidon says. Without anyone to disagree, the trio set up some semblance of a camp. It's Roman's idea to leave piles of sticks and crunchy leaves near the camp, in case someone tries to sneak up on them during the night. Then, they share their haul.
None of the boys stayed in the center for long enough to find too much danger, other than Roman's run-in with the boy from Three. They did secure enough food to last them a few days, as well as water bottles and purifying tablets. Davidson and Tamin split some throwing knives Davidson managed to pick up, while Roman keeps ahold of the crossbow he secured.
Looking at the three of them, as a whole, Tamin doesn't think they could be in a much better position. Sure the Careers are better supplied, but with a source of water and enough weapons for them all, Tamin can finally release some of those anxious thoughts.
(At least, he tries.)
"We'll rest for now, and then we can try to find better shelter?" Davidson suggests.
"That sounds good," Tamin agrees.
It all sounds good. He's alive, and his allies are alive and unscathed.
(He knows it's unrealistic to expect it to last, but he allows himself to enjoy the moment for as long as it may last.)
Chaffinch Canastro, 13, District 11
Kikimora - Island A - 1601
Chaffinch doesn't know where he's going. He doesn't know where there is to go. He doesn't like it here. The unfamiliarity of the scenery scares him.
(Yet what scares him most is the moment that replays in his mind, over and over again.)
Chaffinch never interacted with Hem, but to watch her die so brutally at the hands of another kid…
(Chaffinch isn't scared of death. He knows it's a natural part of life. He knows one day, his bones will return to the soil where they sprouted from, and the cycle of life will continue.)
(This method of death scared him like nothing has before.)
He gets too tired to continue, so he does what anyone else would do and he climbs up the tallest tree in the forest. He finds a handful of sturdy branches to support his weight.
And that's where he sits as time passes. He doesn't know what else there is to do. He's not expected to kill the other kids…is he? Are they trying to kill him? To kill each other?
Is that what they were doing this last week? Preparing to kill?
Chaffinch doesn't like that thought, but unfortunately, it makes a lot of things that he overheard make a lot of sense.
He closes his eyes shut and lets the comforting sounds of nature exist around him. He thinks he can hide in the trees this entire time. Yes, he did that frequently back home. It was easy at home, what's different about…wherever he is now?
He's just started to let himself be comforted by that thought when footsteps drag him back to reality.
He opens his eyes and scans the area below him for whoever might be getting closer to him. He's not worried they'll find him – no one has ever been able to find Chaffinch if he doesn't want them to. And there's not anyone he wants to find him right now.
Except when the familiar scent hits his senses, he almost jumps straight down from his tree.
(Almost.)
He waits as Vetiver comes into view, a backpack strapped to his shoulders. He holds a small knife in one hand.
He's alone.
Where's Astel? Chaffinch thinks, knowing he won't get an answer from the branches of a tree.
(He wants more than anything to jump down and join his friend, but the vision of Hem getting stabbed haunts him and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to him.
Would Vetiver really do that to him?
There's no way for him to know.)
Vetiver slows down, seemingly unsure of the way to go. He moves erratically, and when he finally picks a direction, Chaffinch decides to let him go without revealing himself.
(Well, that remains partially true. He doesn't know why, but once Vetiver has made enough distance, Chaffinch quietly climbs down the tree and follows.)
24th: Hem Herringbone, D9, killed by Amatus Zanetti, D2
Hem, you certainly deserved better. I had a lot of fun with her naivety and the innocent she brought to the cast. Unfortunately, innocence does not go a long way here, but I can guarantee her death isn't meaningless. Look at all the chaos it's caused already! Champ, thank you so much for submitting Hem and I really hope I did her justice.
23rd: Mishra Erfinder, D3, killed by Bazooka Wildbrand, D3
Ahhh Mishra, he was in way over his head and I think he knew it. His backstory was super fun and complex and I think something that might have an effect on the larger moose-verse. Void, thank you so much for sending me Mishra, I hope you enjoyed the antics he got into!
22nd: Bazooka Wildbrand, D3, killed by Bazooka Wildbrand, D3
I think it's safe to say Bazooka was a fan favorite. She was certainly a character, she was someone that always had something to say, and I loved playing her chaos in contrast to Becca's serious demeanor. I wish Bazooka could have been longer for this fight, but I think throwing the Careers off is very girl-boss of her. Thank you for sending her in Alex! I loved every word that came out of her mouth.
21st: Becca Sryker, D10, killed by Bazooka Wildbrand, D3
Becca ;-; Becca has always held a special place in my heart of someone just purely thrown into situations she wasn't prepared for. I don't remember when the Bazooka/Becca pairing clicked in my plans, but once it did, I couldn't envision anything better for her. Lily, thank you so much for trusting me with Becca's story!
Alliances:
Careers: Val, Choux, Amatus, Klara, Cali, Ronan, Dahlia
Not careers: Eleanora, Astel
Bro alliance: Tamin, Roman, Davidson
Stalking: Vetiver, Chaffinch
The healer and the healed: Owain, Exa
Tbd: Ozzy, Reagan, Mori, Aizen
Rb thank u for beta'ing this last minute!