Chapter 3: Blood in the Snow
Sera rubbed her gloved hands together as she stood inside one of the places she was desperately trying to avoid.
The Sanorium.
The faded sign read out 'Sanorium'. It was clear that some of the letters and words from the sign were missing but that was the least of her concerns.
In fear, she wrapped her arms around herself. Her breath fogged up when she breathed indicating the drop in temperature. In front of her, the two other tributes bickered between themselves.
For some odd reason, they'd decided to ally themselves without Sera's approval or opinion. Despite being allies, they'd bickered all the way to this place. Although their argument seemed harmless, Sera couldn't take that risk. Every now and then, she would glance at the boys as they walked inside the old building.
Sucking in her fear of the unknown, Sera hesitantly followed them inside. She had been here before, earlier in the game. The memories of this place were fresh in her mind. Everything was the same as before. In the reception area, there were wheelchairs scattered around and some metal seats bent in bizarre ways. There were carts of medicine vials and syringes laying around. Some abandoned hospital beds with straps attached to them.
She watched carefully as Ripley walked over to one of the beds and played with the straps. He had a horrified look on his face but his actions said otherwise. "This is your idea of a safe place?" He complained, letting go of the worn out leather strap and walking over to the middle of the reception.
"You have a better place?" Gaius sat down on the floor next to the entrance and huffed tiredly.
"Maybe not an abandoned hospital." Ripley retorted. "Hospitals scare me."
Gaius chuckled. "I don't think you should say that out loud." He made a gesture with his eyes as he tilted his head to look up. The gamemakers were listening. Sera immediately caught onto what he meant and made a mental note to not talk about her fears. She didn't trust the two career tributes but she knew they knew things she or any other non-career tributes did not. After all, they trained for these games their whole life.
Ripley grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. "What are they gonna do? They've already done their worst."
"I don't think—" Sera cut herself off when she heard it. That awful moaning sound. It sounded distant and almost echoey. She had heard it before too. "We need to get out of here." She stated, reaching for her blades.
Confused, Gaius jumped to his knees and took out his ax. "Why?" He questioned, bringing his ax in front of him defensively. The moaning got louder and more echoey. They could all hear it more properly. It sounded like thousands of voices in pain, all distorted.
"What was that?" Ripley questioned, fumbling around his bag for something. He took out a coin-shaped metallic disk from his bag. Then he pressed it, the coin unfolded into a metal staff.
Gaius stared at the District 4 tribute in anger and disbelief. "No weapons?" He echoed back to Gaius' pleas earlier in the day.
"Clearly I lied." Ripley smirked, twirling the metal staff between his fingers.
The boys stood against each other, ready to go at each other's throats again. "Oh." Sera sighed and poked the inside of her cheek in frustration. "Boys! Come on, let's not start ag—"
Grrr. Tek. Grr. Tek. Tek.
The trio stopped mid-action. They all shared a look at each other. Ripley mouthed a question to Sera who just shook her head. It wasn't her that made those sounds. Gaius also shook his head. If neither one of them had made those sounds? Then who? The three clutched their weapons around them tight and turned to face the source of the noise.
Tek. Grrr. Tek.
From the shadows, a human-like figure dragged itself out. At first, the three assumed it to be one of the District 1 tributes. Ripley even started walking over to it but stopped and retreated quickly. The thing dragged itself to the light ever so slowly. When the three could finally see it, they almost threw up.
It was covered in what looked and smelt like blood. Its head was smooth, red and bloody. No ears. No eyes or a nose, only a mouth. Its hands were a pair of long blade-like objects. It was so long that it dragged on the floor.
The closer it got, the more Sera realized that was what was making the sound. It then opened its mouth, revealing its razor-sharp monstrous teeth. From a distance, it looked like its mouth was covered in just teeth. It moaned again.
Grr.
And something else moaned back, Gaius turned his head towards the opposite direction and froze. Sera followed his line of sight and gently pulled Ripley back. "It's calling the others." She whispered.
"I noticed." Ripley replied. "We should—"
"Run." Gaius pulled Sera's arm and sprinted out the door of the place, leaving Ripley out by himself. Ripley followed the pair outside. Without a moment's hesitation, Gaius shut the doors behind him and Sera ran over to pick up something to barricade the door with. She handed it to Gaius who quickly started using it to make a barricade.
The door was securely locked and barricaded. Sera fell into the snowy ground next to Ripley and clutched her chest in pain. "You okay?" Ripley asked, concerned. Sera nodded as she reached into her bag and took out a small metal cylindrical tube. She took out a tablet from it, given to her by one of her sponsors and slipped it into her mouth before washing it down with some water from her flask.
"I am now." She answered, feeling the effect of the drug kick in. "Don't blame yourself." She said, looking at Gaius whose eyes were trained on the door. "...There's a...uh...lodge a few distance away. We can try there." She offered her last night's hiding spot in sympathy.
Gaius and Ripley stared at her. "Is it safe?" Gaius quietly questioned as he pondered over the safety of the place. Sera didn't blame him at all. Up until today, everything had been quiet. The mutts only appeared occasionally and most were harmless. This only meant one thing, the gamemakers were trying to end the games quickly.
"It should be. I stayed there last night." She answered reluctantly before leading them to the lodge. Along the way, she convinced the boys to help her fish and hunt, gathering some food for the remaining day and the eventual night. She stopped in front of the dilapidated lodge and gestured to the boys to come inside.
Ripley marveled at the sight of the new shelter while Gaius went to investigate the rooms, like Sera had done the night before. It didn't take long for Gaius to come back, again not finding anything. Ripley, staying behind, had decided to help Sera set up a cooking station.
Together they used the cellar space again to make a firepit and a frame for the pot. Ripley helped to boil some water for washing up while Sera chopped up some mushrooms. After returning, Gaius set to work helping Sera take apart the deer that she had caught and he killed. Sera then threw in the herbs and meat into the pot as Gaius picked it up, carrying it down the cellar.
"Seraphine." Sera quietly introduced herself as the pot continued to bubble and smoke. "I'm Seraphine, District 5." She tucked her hair behind her ears and stared at the two boys.
Gaius nodded. "Gaius, District 2."
"Are we doing introductions?" Ripley asked with a grin. "In that case, I'm Ripley and you are beautiful." He joked while staring at Sera. Gaius rolled his eyes and gave Ripley a look telling him to behave.
Sera smiled awkwardly before addressing all of them. "Let's try to work together and not kill each other. Yet." Gaius nodded.
The three worked together to make the meal and after it was done. They killed the fire and took the meal upstairs to share. Gaius being the oldest of the three, quietly served the meal while Ripley tried to crack a joke here and there. Sera would smile faintly while the eldest boy would barely show a response. It wasn't like Sera found Ripley's jokes amusing but more so on the fact that she was reminded of home during this time.
All Sera remembered was a bright light. She was sleeping in one of the bedrooms upstairs in the lodge they had taken shelter in then she found herself on the cold snowy ground.
Cough. Cough.
She coughed weakly as the cold finally hit her.
"Good morning, tributes!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith boomed above her.
She looked around while getting up. Around her, the other remaining tributes were scattered around. Amethyst. Valor. Gaius. Ripley. They were all there scattered around.
"Wha—what's going on?" She barely heard Amethyst question as she jumped to her feet and took out Ripley's stolen spear in front of her.
Valor followed his partner and held his sword in front of him defensively. "Where are we?" He asked, looking around. "How di—"
He got caught off by Claudius who carried on like nothing had happened. "You're all probably wondering what's going on—well—we thought we would 'mix' things up as they say and bring you all in one place. The arena has been changed to accommodate the final battle."
"The final battle?" Gaius echoed, taking out his ax.
"They're trying to wrap things up." Ripley chuckled.
"Now. Let the final battle begin and may the odds be ever in your favor, tributes."
Silence took hold of the arena. Sera swayed side to side as she got up. Her hair felt wet and her head heavy. Carefully, she brought her hand over to the back of her head and touched it. She then brought it forward. In the dim moonlight, she could barely see it.
Before Sera could react to her new allies, a spear flew past her. She narrowly dodged it and jumped out of the way before taking out a blade. Amethyst cursed out loud and sprinted in her direction with a knife in her hand. She aimed and tried to throw the knife with some accuracy, only to fail like Sera knew she would.
Sera knew her skill set and knife-throwing and spear wielding wasn't on the list. She admired the blonde girl but she knew Amethyst only had a talent for the bow. This gave Sera the upper hand.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see the boys fighting among themselves while Amethyst kept trying to hit her. She didn't attack back, instead she started running backwards and creating distance between the two of them. If she had the right idea of all the remaining tributes, she knew only Amethyst saw her as a threat, the boys not so much.
"Aw, are we pretending again?" Amethyst called out to Sera as she followed closely behind. "I wonder how your little cousin is going to react when he sees your lifeless eyes. I'm gonna carve your eyes out, little flower." She taunted.
Sera didn't respond, she clutched the blade tight in her hands. She kept her anger in. She heard it again. Amethyst kept taunting her with Sera's sickly aunt, her older sister and brother. She snapped, stopping at a cliff overlooking a frozen lake.
"End of the line, little flower." Amethyst grinned, twirling Ripley's stolen spear in between her hands. Sera see she had less skill than Ripley. Her movements were slow and clumsy. She glared at the blonde before she threw a blade straight at her right hand.
Amethyst tried to move but she moved straight onto the path of another of Sera's blade. Her screams echoed through the snowy clearing.
In pain, Amethyst dropped the spear, falling to her knees. Her blood spilt onto the snow, dying the white, a vivid scarlet. Sera watched conflicted as Amethyst tried to nurse her wound only to hiss, scream and cry out in pain. She tried to get up and pick up the spear again. Her hands curled around the spear, painting the weapon in blood before she threw the spear onto the ground in pain.
"Amy!" Valor yelled out from where he was. Sera tried to get out of the way before he came and witnessed what she did but it was too late. He broke through the woods and sprinted towards his district partner. There was no sound of cannon heard following his reappearance. Gaius and Ripley were alive. "Wha—" He cut himself off, seeing her bloody hand. He paused to scan the wound before turning to glare at Sera. "You!" He hissed.
Sera thought he was going to come for her but instead he dropped to his knees and started to bandage his partner's hands.
More footsteps were heard. Sera turned to look at the woods again. Ripley and Gaius emerged, bloody and bruised. "...Come back. We're not done yet." Ripley slurred as he dragged his feet and used his staff as a support.
Valor got up and glared at the two newcomers. But before he could say anything. Gaius yelled out. "Spultures." He grabbed Sera and sprinted in the opposite direction. Valor and Amethyst looked on in horror. The District 1 boy snapped out his daze and grabbed his partner's hand. He tried to drag the girl to safety only for Amethyst to trip due to blood loss.
Instead of following his new allies to safety, Ripley picked up one of Sera's blades that she used to attack Amethyst and his old spear, both coated in Amethyst's blood. He picked the two items and ran towards a huge tree with an alcove in it. The spultures followed the objects with Amethyst's blood like the predators they were.
Ripley smirked seeing this. He ducked as the flock started spinning a web in the alcove. Then he threw the bloodied spear into the web and dodged as some spultures dove into their own trap. Taking a step back, he watched the two tributes from district one struggling. He smirked as he twirled Sera's blade in his hands.
The rest of the flock still hovered above. He looked up and then looked at Amethyst again. He grinned at the thought of revenge for his former allies' betrayal and threw the blade straight down at Amethyst's uninjured hand.
Luckily for Ripley, Valor was also holding Amethyst's hand. Valor and Amethyst both fell to their knees in pain. Another round of screams rang out as tears of anguish slid down Amethyst's face. In anger, Valor ripped out the knife and glared at Ripley. He got up and took at his sword before he sprinted towards his former ally.
Ripley grinned mockingly as he ran backwards. But before Valor could do much, Amethyst's screams became more frantic and more pained. Shocked and horrified, Gaius and Sera stopped running. Concerned, Gaius decided to run back to the edge of the cliff to check. Sera, not wanting to be left alone, followed behind. The screams echoed through the arena, making Sera's head ache as a mind-numbing headache started to form.
All four of the tributes froze as their eyes scanned the sight in front of them. Cautiously, Sera took a few steps back and hid in the cover of darkness near the trees. Horrified at the scene in front of her, she covered her mouth in disgust and shock.
Amethyst lay on the ground, rolling on the snow and the spultures dove down on her and ripped at her skin. They viciously tore off the skin from her hands as she tried to protect her face. In pain, she moved her hands. That was a big mistake. A spulture saw that action and ripped her once beautiful eyes out.
Sera almost felt bad. Carefully, she checked how many knives she had left. Twelve knives. She had twenty five before, fifteen from the Cornucopia and ten more she had picked up from an abandoned hunting shop and a nameless fallen tribute whose backpack was left behind when his body was taken.
This would be enough. She thought, counting the spultures attacking Amethyst.
There were five spultures.
She'd have more than enough to go after them or she could only take one out and let the rest pick at the dead one. By then, the boys could take out the rest. Though she disliked the blonde girl, she pitied her as a fellow tribute.
With shaking hands, she closed one eye and pulled her left hand with the blade back before launching the blade at the closest spulture. It landed on the ground with a thud and a cry. She sighed in relief knowing she got it in one shot but now was not the time to celebrate.
She kept her eyes on the remaining mutts, wondering if they were gonna go after the dead one. The mutts like Sera waited a moment before circling around the tributes and diving into the carcass of their fallen.
Seeing them distracted, Valor took the moment to kill off the remaining mutts just like Sera had predicted. Gaius turned to the woods and flashed a grateful smile at Sera as he nodded appreciatively. He turned his attention back on Valor and clutched his axe tight.
Sera knew Gaius wouldn't attack the distracted tribute. If she was correct, then like his role model, he would put emphasis on a 'fair' fight. She was right. Gaius didn't attack Valor, he simply waited on the outskirts.
Boom.
Loud boom of the cannon froze them in their spots. Everyone turned to look at Amethyst. Her empty bloody sockets stared off into the distance as her arms were spread out on the ground, flat. Her ripped out eyes were half eaten near her body. Half of her flesh along with her skin were gone and now so was her life.
Hearing the cannon, Valor rushed to Amethyst's body and fell to his knees next to her. He cradled the body and screamed at her to wake up. That was something Sera had not predicted. She thought that Valor didn't care for his fellow tribute and was willing to keep her alive as an easy final kill but she was wrong. Not everyone was like her and Gene, Sera thought, staring at the pair with pity.
Valor clutched her body and sobbed wildly. He shook her, trying to get her to wake up while begging her not to leave him alone.
All of a sudden, Gaius rushed forward and shouted. "Ripley! Don't!" Ripley seizing the opportunity, picked up his staff and twirled it around before trying to attack Valor with it.
He missed.
Valor in anger turned around at the last second and grabbed the staff before it hit him. He gripped the rod so tight that his hands turned bloody. The staff broke apart in his hands. He threw away the broken half of the weapon as Ripley's gleeful face drained of color.
Fear took a hold of the District 4 tribute and he slowly tried to back away. He didn't get very far as the District 1 boy got up from the floor and towered over him. Valor grabbed Ripley's head and picked him up.
With all the anger he had in him, he pressed Ripley's head tight as the boy thrashed wildly against his grips. Ripley tried to kick and bite Valor.
Valor stopped for a moment, instilling a false sense of security in Ripley before he grabbed the boy by the neck and ripped his jaw off. He then resumed holding the boy by his head and squeezed it until his eyes burst out of his skull, leaving empty bloody sockets behind just like Amethyst's and a mangled face.
In calm anger, Valor grabbed the now almost dead tribute by what was left of his neck and threw him off the cliff. Sera watched in horror as Ripley's body went flying through the air. She never saw his body break the ice of the lake. She only heard a loud crack and a splash. Ripley's body was now below the frozen lake.
Boom.
A loud cannon resounded above the arena signalling another dead tribute. Sera swayed as Ripley's death made her stomach churn. She almost dropped to her knees in fear and sadness but she didn't have that luxury. Instead, she took out the remaining blades from her bag and started placing them near her thighs. She clutched one of the blades in preparation that Valor would come for her next.
But he never did.
Instead he stomped towards Gaius and picked up his sword near Amethyst's corpse.
He swung the sword at Gaius, only for it to be blocked by his axe. Gaius held off Valor's sword strikes with his ax. He only defended himself and looked for an opening. He dodged and ducked every one of his former ally's strikes, not making any offensive moves just yet.
Valor's adrenaline had finally started wearing off. Gaius went for Valor's other hand and swung his ax at it, catching him off guard. Valor fell to his knees next to his decapitated hand as blood spurted out from the clean cut. He screamed out in pain and reached for something. His hands travelled to the corpses of the dead spultures next to him.
Without a battle cry, he ripped off one of its legs and stabbed Gaius with the poisoned claw of the spulture. He tossed away the leg, laughing maniacally as he did so. Gaius fell to his knees. His skin turned pale gray as faint light green veins appeared in his face and hands.
The poison coursed through his body like a fire in a forest, spreading quickly. He gasped and clutched his stomach in pain while thrashing on the ground.
Growling loudly, Gaius barely got up to his knees and picked up his ax. He swung it only twice before Valor's head went rolling mid-laughter. Another loud boom echoed throughout the arena signalling another death.
Valor was dead.
Then it was quiet. Gaius fell to the floor again and threw his ax, almost forgetting Sera. Seeing the carnage, she stepped out of the shadow and ran over to her ally.
"Gaius." She breathed out. "What?" She gasped, cupping his face in her hands.
He moaned and groaned in pain as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, only to come back a few minutes after. He twitched and bit down hard at his lips in pain.
"...Poison. The spulture must have poisonous claws." She mumbled under her breath while bringing her backpack forward and letting go of Gaius' head. She took out a few containers of medicine and herbs, holding them up in the sun to see.
"Ser—" Gaius moaned out as he slowly tried to come to his senses.
Noticing Gaius coming around, she put down her things on the floor and cupped his head. "Shh. It's gonna be okay. I'll fix this. Don't worry." She tried to comfort him as her eyes fogged up with oncoming tears.
A tear slid down her face and landed on Gaius. He laughed quietly and painfully picked up his bloodied hands. He caressed Sera's face gently and smiled. His cold hands moved from her face to her lips before he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her years.
"A—y—kill me." He tried to say something. "—Kill me." He kept breaking apart whenever he tried to speak. The poison made him slur his speech.
"What? You want me to kill you." Sera cried out. "I can't!"
"N—no—d—kill me."
With tears in her eyes she got up and took out a blade. She leaned down and hugged Gaius, whispering something to his ears before pulling back. Gaius stared at her with wide eyes, an effect of the poison. He thrashed around more.
"I'm so sorry." She cried out before plunging her knife straight to his heart.
Above her, the 'sky' rumbled above her the moment Gaius stopped breathing. A loud boom echoed throughout the arena. Sera jumped back at the sudden sound. The loud cannon was followed by the sounds of trumpets blaring.
She covered her ears and swayed to the side weakly. Painfully, she swallowed and clutched her chest in shock before covering her mouth with the other hand.
The excited voice of Claudius Templesmith announced above her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the winner of the Sixty-eighth Hunger Games: Seraphine Reza!"