Not Far To Go [Jared vs. Zinnia]

[Lulu]

I am at the very edge of the forest, having traveled from its heart, where I fought Windy and Blue, the previous night. I don't know what made me move, but perhaps it has something to do with the feeling that I won't be here in this arena very longer. There's only six of us left; how long can we keep to ourselves before the Gamemakers push us together? One thing's for certain, though, I do not want to be forced upon the other tributes. If I'm going to fight, it will be of my own free will, and not because the Gamemakers want me to.

Which is why I've moved just a bit closer to the action.

I'm not in very good shape, and my nighttime hike hasn't done me much good. I was determined to preserve my sophisticated Capitol medicine after the fight yesterday, and I wouldn't let myself use it. Because wouldn't I feel better in the morning? Well, morning has come, and I still feel pretty terrible. I can't keep myself away from that medicine any longer.

I remove the pristine white case adorned with a red cross from my pack, and only let my eyes linger on it for a second before prying it open. Inside I find a small syringe filled with a clear liquid. It briefly crosses my mind that this could be a trick, that the Gamemakers have placed a poison in this syringe that will kill me rather than heal me. But I push the thought away and inject it into my arm anyway.

The effect is immediate. I feel a drastic increase in my alertness, and it numbs the pain right away. I can hardly feel the numerous gashes on my person. I silently praise myself for going to that feast two days ago. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten this medicine.

I wouldn't be ready to fight.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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I'm sorry Momma. I'm sorry for everything I've done.

Zinnia directed these thoughts to her mother, as if she could actually hear them. Her mother was gone and dead, yes, but Zinnia still had to make some amends. What would her mother think of this girl, this murderer who Zinnia was not? The normal Zinnia would not kill. The Zinnia from so long ago when her mother was still alive was sweet and innocent and could never hurt a fly. She still existed in physicality, but that Zinnia had vanished long ago. Thinking silently to herself, Zinnia Yaren wanted to be that person again. She wanted to be that little ignorant girl who didn't have any worries. The things she had learned over the years were painful and daunting, and she no longer wanted to know them. She wanted to change, she wanted to be who she used to be.

The only problem with that though, was that Zinnia Yaren might not have that much time left. The Arena was unpredictable, absolutely nothing was certain. One minute you could be sleeping peacefully and the next you could be fighting a horrible, bloodthirsty tribute. Life was short, especially in the Arena. Well, except for that one lucky tribute that had the chance to get out of it alive, but what were the chances of that? Zinnia was almost completely sure that she would not make it out alive. It was all she had been thinking about for the past several days, but the thought crossed her mind once again.

People like her didn't win the Hunger Games.

It was simple, really. She was so completely afraid of dying, and yet at the same time she was so sure that she would not win. It seemed an impossibility, a dream rather then a goal. Hell, it wasn't even a dream. Unlike every one of the other tributes, she had no fantasies of going home. She had no hopes of holding that crown upon her head, smiling for the cameras and wearing something beautiful. She remembered back to her interview, when she was asked to say something to her "Family and friends" back home, and to her tributes. Had she said something pleasant? No. She had replied forcefully: "f*ck you." She had no one in District One to go back to. No family, not even a single friend. She lived by herself and worried about only herself. If on the off chance that she did win the Hunger Games, it would be solely because she was only afraid to die. If she won, it would be a lonely life back home. Not that her previous life had been any better.

With discombobulated thoughts, she didn't realize what she was doing until a noise snapped her out of her reverie. Instantly her light green eyes scanned around, looking for the source of the noise in panic. She was almost fully healed from the past fights, but she had held a false hope that she wouldn't have to fight on this day. She didn't know if the noise was an animal or a tribute, but she didn't want to take a chance either way. Hoping it was an animal, she picked up her spear, walked forward a few steps, and flung it towards the source of the noise blindly.


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[[OOC: I don't like introduction posts. So she's attacking. Plus I want to hurry with this thread, I don't know how much time I'll have this weekend to post.]]



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[Lulu]

I am almost expecting the spear that comes flying at me, but as I fly back into a tree to avoid it, I feel the crack of a rib breaking. Ouch. It hurts like hell, and for a second I am too winded to get back up. But I force myself to my feet. A fight. This is what I have anticipated. And I'm actually welcoming it. I want to know, once and for all, where I stand in these Games. Will I live or die? It's time to find out.

As I painfully straighten up I recognize my attacker: the girl from District One who I'd seen at the Feast. I'll have to kill her, to win these Games. For a moment the face of my mother appears in my mind, and I recall my semi-meltdown from the previous day, just after I'd killed Windy. I had apologized to a tree, because some tortured part of my mind had led me to believe that it was my mother, disapproving of my killing of the District Four girl. But I can't have these kind of regrets this time. I've come to learn that remorse doesn't accomplish anything.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing that thing," I say, just before lunging with my icepick.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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If there was one thing that Zinnia did know at that moment, it was that the fight wasn't gone from her mind just yet. The insane desire to kill had long since faded away, but the desire to live, to fight for her own life was just beginning. For once in her life, she had a purpose. She wanted to live, if only because she didn't know if she was ready to die. She didn't like the idea of killing anyone else in this Arena, but it would have to be done to survive. It was one of those horrible truths that everyone knew but never really pointed out. Killed, or be killed. It would be that simple. Even if her mother would be ashamed, her mother would also have wanted Zinnia to live, if she were watching these Games. Some things were more important then morals and judgment.

Through the dim shadows of the trees she could then see her opponent. It wasn't some violent blood-thirsty animal, no. It was worse. A tribute. With so few tributes left Zinnia was finally able to grasp some of their names in her mind, and she had to think for a split second as to who this threat was. She had obviously hurt him- it was a him- and she recognized him as Jared, the District Eight male. She hadn't encountered him yet in these Games (Obviously enough.. if her alliance had fought him before he would have been killed off) but she had seen him in training and vaguely remembered seeing him off in the distance, at the Feast. She had no clue if he was a good fighter or not, she didn't know his skills. Then again, it didn't matter. She had the skill herself to fight; it had been her natural instinct to fight for many years. It was he who should be more worried.

Her anger flared up for a moment before she could stop it. Just remembering her past life back in District One sparked hatred and resentment. She calmed herself down quickly just as the boy spoke. "Hey! Watch where you're throwing that thing," He exclaimed, just as he attacked her. Zinnia felt his ice pick hit her tailbone, but it was only a bruise. A silly, familiar bruise. She had had enough of them in her lifetime that she barely felt the pain of this blow, though it would surely hurt her later.

If there was a later, for her.

It was more the boy's words that had gotten to her. He spoke almost as if this was friendly, as if they were just having some fun. Days ago this might have been fun to her, but not anymore. This was a horrible, cold-blooded fight to the death and she was sure that both of them knew it.

Her voice was strong and cold as she replied; this was not a party. "Alright. Would you like me to improve my aim?" She had trained well enough with her spear. It was her most trusted weapon, and right then, it was her best friend. Not to mention it could double as a microphone. Picking it up from the ground, she kept a steadfast glare on her opponent and took careful aim again.

Whether she was going to die or not, she wasn't going to give up easily.

With that thought in mind, she flung her spear again with all the strength her arms contained.

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[Lulu]

I'm half expecting the head of the spear to bury itself in my chest, incapacitating me, leaving me to die while my lifeblood spills out onto the ground. The cannon would fire, the hovercraft would come, lifting my mangled body up to be put into a simple wooden coffin and never seen again.

I'd be gone.

Surprisingly, though, I manage to avoid the spear, only losing my step and being knocked backwards. The pain in my rib is blinding, but I force myself to get back up and prepare to attack again. The notion of dying is still ingrained in my mind, though. I am no longer sure that I will survive this fight, not sure at all. But no matter what, I won't allow myself to be afraid. I won't give up; I'll keep fighting until the very end. I owe it to my family, my friends, Heidi, even Jestina and Windy, my victims, who I feel like I have a debt to. I have to win, have to make sure something will come of their murders. As long as I keep that thought in my mind, I'll be able to continue, even if I'm just walking straight into my own demise.

So I plaster a taunting smirk on my face and say, "Well, I was expecting worse." I begin pacing back and forth, despite the screaming pain in my torso. "I'm sure you can do better, though. Weren't you part of that big alliance? How about you show me what you can really do?"

And with that, I attack.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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Of course, Zinnia was nothing but flawed. No one was perfect, but on a scale of one to ten judging upon everything, Zinnia was probably a two. And then the only reason she could gain that two was because of her skills with a spear, and even those were imperfect. This was clear enough, when her spear missed the target and only ended up knocking him backwards. If she wanted to live (and she so desperately wanted to live) she would have to do better.

Maybe she didn't deserve to live. Maybe after all this had happened, after she had killed that boy at the Cornucopia, and then her own precious ally, she was supposed to die too. Maybe that had been her fate all along, whether she wanted it or not. Even if she hadn't been selected for the Games, she would have probably starved to death. Would have been such an outcast that there would be no point of life anyways. Then again, it had always been that way, and she had always fought hard to live. What was going to stop her from living now?

Maybe it was the fact that a blood-thirsty murderous tribute was standing right in front of her. Not to mention that he wanted her dead for his own benefit. If nothing else, Zinnia had to be in the top three. Her first goal had been to make a statement in these Games, to be remembered. She wouldn't be anyone special if she died before the top three. What really annoyed her was that this boy in front of her, he didn't deserve to be in the top three. In her eyes, he was nothing. If she really was the better tribute, she would have to be at the end. Not him.

But there he was, with his confident smirk and brave words. He spoke just before he attacked, and the arrogance tainting his voice reminded her of everyone else she had ever known. "Well, I was expecting worse. I'm sure you can do better, though. Weren't you part of that big alliance? How about you show me what you can really do?" It seemed that everyone thought they were better then her just by taking one single look at her ragged clothing and unwashed hair. She was nothing to everyone, but she wasn't going to be nothing to this stranger. If he survived, she wanted this fight to be the most difficult fight he had ever been in. If she survived, well, she would be the one who had put him in his place, exactly where he belonged.

"Don't judge me, you filthy piece of crap. Just shut the hell up and fight." Her voice was stronger then it had ever been, even stronger then when she had spoken to her father, that last time. The kind of voice that reminded herself not to be kicked around. She was a threat, she had to remember it. There was a reason she had gotten so far, but she wanted more. She wanted to be in the top three, at least, and she was going to fight for that position. Then she would worry about her life.

Grimacing at the new pain in her left leg she didn't even bother to look down and see the blood starting to come from it. Angrily she grasped her hunting knife tightly in her left hand and lashed out violently at her opponent, not ready to keel over and give up just yet. Giving up was for wimps.


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[Lulu]

I can't help but feel some sense of satisfaction as I notice that I'm finally getting to her. Just shut the hell up and fight, she growls at me. I don't even pause before responding. "Nah, I don't think I'll be doing that, sorry," I say. "You see, in my eyes, that would be like giving in. And I swore to myself when I began this deadly game that giving in is the last thing I'd ever do." That was true. I had promised that no matter what sort of horror I faced in the arena, and, what with blizzards, earthquakes, avalanches, mutts, feasts, and assorted fights, I'd faced plenty of those, I was never going to succumb to anything. And doing what this tribute wanted, even if it was something as minimal as shutting up, would be a small example of giving in. "So I think I'll keep talking, thanks."

I didn't want to kill her, this Zinnia girl. She's skilled, there's no doubt about that. I'm facing a real opponent here. But I'm not going to lie: I do want her to die. She has to die, if I'm ever going to get out of here myself. If I'm going to get to the top three and make sure the Capitol remembers me, remembers Jared Strahan, the boy they killed. Because really, if I do die in this battle, it won't be Zinnia's fault at all. It will be theirs.

The blame for every child's death in this arena will be solely placed on the Capitol's shoulders.

I hope they're happy. I hope they're satisfied themselves, because what they're doing right now, making Zinnia and I fight to kill each other, making everyone in here fight to kill each other, is just unbelievable. But I know enough not to question them, because if I do....they'll target my family. They'll target those I love. There's nothing more they can do to me that they haven't already done, but for the sake of those back in Eight, I have to keep my head.

I hardly feel the bruise the hilt of her knife leaves, but I know I have to attack again. And I do so, slashing my dagger in her direction.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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She was making this amusing for him, she could tell. Her anger was making this fun, he enjoyed it. Nonetheless, her anger was fueling her. If not for that anger, she would not be fighting so hard. She would have given up. Anger was the only thing keeping her alive.

Ignoring his words, she winced in pain as her other leg was cut open. It was then that she realized she might not have much time left.

Might as well make the best of it. She thought to herself.

And what better way to do that then to fight even harder? She lashed out with her knife again then, her anger boiling up inside of her with every passing second. This might be her end, and if so, she was going to make the best of it.

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OOC: Didn't have much time AT ALL, so the post is short. Sorry!



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[Lulu]

I raise my eyebrows in triumph as I manage to open up another gash on Zinnia's leg, this time her right one. She is bleeding from both now. My worst injury is less obvious from the outside, but it's there, painfully eating at me from the inside. A broken rib is an agony I wouldn't wish on anyone. I still feel winded, like I'm gasping for air.

She cuts through my defenses and opens up a cut, and I feel it stinging. I'm so tired of injuries, so tired of being hurt all the time. I want it to end, somehow, either by death or the complicated medical work done by the Capitol. I look at Zinnia once more. This could really be anyone's fight, still. We are pretty well matched, she and I. She's a better fighter than me, though, and if I hadn't gotten lucky with those gashes she'd probably have me dead already.

But I'm still alive and fighting, so I attack again, this time with my icepick.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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This fight shouldn't have been going the way it was. Because of the two gashes, one on each leg, she was becoming slightly slower and less responsive because of the blood loss. She could feel her mind weakening slightly and the blood trickling down both of her legs, but this wasn't over yet. The thoughts she had had a moment ago were silly.

She would NOT die today.

It was an impossibility. She had gone through too much, fought too hard, to die so easily. This was her fight to win. He wasn't so far behind her in injuries- she was sure she had broken one of his ribs on the first attack- so nothing was certain. Her fate wasn't sealed just yet.

With a new state of mind, Zinnia actually smiled. Hope was a funny thing, when it existed. Goodness knows she had never had much hope in her whole life. It had always been one dire situation after another, it seemed, and there had never been something to look forward to.

Her smile widened again as she glanced down at her fallen spear, her trusty weapon. Picking it up with a feeling of slight happiness (oddly enough) she took careful aim and flung it at the boy once again, hoping to end this once and for all.

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[Lulu]

I can see the determination in Zinnia's eyes as she picks up her fallen weapon after my attack threw her backwards. She is fighting to kill, fighting to win. Well, she's not the only one who can do that.

Even though it is painful, I force myself to think of faces from home. My mother, gazing at me proudly, so different from the way I'd imagined her yesterday, disappointed in me for my actions. My father, who I'd learned everything from, doing the same. Ian, though we'd never gotten along well, with his blue eyes precisely the same shade as mine. Nate, urging me on, the thought of me losing this fight not crossing his mind for a second. And finally, Heidi, love in her warm brown gaze, reminding me never to forget her.

And I won't.

These faces give me strength, and I lunge in for another attack. Zinnia may be fighting to win, but I'm doing the same.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

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If there was one thing that was different between these two, it was that Jared had people to fight for. He had a life to go back to, if he won. He had a purpose other then himself, while Zinnia did not. She had absolutely no one in this world left to trust. No one to fight for but herself. The only prospect that winning would bring to her is the fact that she could build a new life for herself. If she won, she would actually just begin to live. She could make some friends (if she trusted anyone), live in a fancy house, and be famous. She might even fall in love.

Then again, "Happily ever after" and "Zinnia Yaren" didn't belong in the same sentence.

Nonetheless, she was sure enough that she didn't want to die. No one ever did, but this feeling was stronger. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to evade death. She wanted to fight for her life until she was so weak that she couldn't fight anymore. That one small dream of living happily was all it took. One small little image of happiness, and she was ready for anything. She didn't want to kill anymore, but she had to get over that fear. In order to have that life that she had never had before, others had to die. She realized it would not directly be her fault, if everyone else died. It was the Capitol's. Twenty-three tributes were going to die anyways, there was no use in feeling horrible for the murders. It was their fault.

Right then though, she had to look at the smaller picture. She hadn't even won this fight yet, she had to worry about that before anything else. She could die today, but she wasn't going to focus on that. Focusing on the negative never ended up well, so she had to face the positive. She had to win this fight. She would win this fight. There was no option B, no death for her today.

Smiling even wider with hope in her eyes, she picked up her spear again and attacked for what seemed like the billionth time.

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[Lulu]

I force myself not to pay attention to the stinging when Zinnia opens up another small cut, this time on my shoulder. The worst injury she's given me so far is the broken rib, but she's chipping at me little by little, and soon this little will amount to a lot and I'll no longer be able to fight. So before that happens, I must kill her. I must kill her fast, so I'm not hurt enough to die myself. What if we both simultaneously kill one another? That's a possibility that I never even considered. I'm sure the Capitol would love that, eliminating two tributes in a one on one fight. It would be a pretty dramatic end for both of us.

But no. I do not intend to die. I intend to live. If I die in this fight, everything I faced, those two girls I killed, is for nothing. Okay, so being in the top six might make a small impact on the Capitol, but what I really need is top three if I want them to remember me. And to be in the top three?

Zinnia needs to die right now.

It doesn't make me happy, having to kill her. Maybe we would have been friends, if the circumstances hadn't been so extreme. But there's no point dwelling on what could have been. What matters is now, winning this fight, making the top three, getting home. So I attack again.

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[Sunrise Rainier D2 // [Thundy]]

Day Eight

[/u]

The worst part about the Games was that all of these teenagers, all of them were normal, innocent kids. Well, except Zinnia of course. She had witnessed her own father's murder and felt like it was her fault, and she had also killed someone back in District One as well. She was far from innocent, let alone normal, but it was still bad. All of these kids, they never did anything to her. And she relied on their deaths for her own survival.

Then again, she had a reason to kill this boy. She was doing this out of self defense, really. They didn't have to be fighting, but the Capitol relied on the fact that they would fight. Tributes didn't just randomly let another tribute live, especially this close to the end. Every confrontation near the end was a life or death situation. It was just one of those Hunger Games facts.

When Zinnia took a moment to glance at her opponent again, she saw nothing but pure rage in his face. He wanted this badly, but that wasn't anything new. Loads of people had wanted Zinnia Yaren killed before, she had almost gotten used to it. In fact, she had gotten used to it. It was the main reason why she had so much trouble trusting others. Her former alliance? It was the most difficult thing ever for her, to trust them. Backstabbing was common in the Hunger Games- she would know. She had back-stabbed her own former alliance member, Archer Fields. At the time she had hated him completely, but now she realized he had done nothing to her. And she killed him. It was purely Zinnia's paranoid, cautious mind that made her kill him. In her eyes, it was either attack or be attacked.

It was wrong of her, but there was nothing she could do about that now. What she could do was fight even harder, make sure that she wasn't just another stepping stone to the top three. She was going to be in the top three, not one of the tributes that were killed for the others to gain that position.

Defiantly, she kept fighting despite the stinging pain in both of her legs. If she was an inch away from death, she would still be attacking, no matter how difficult it was. She wanted to live and was afraid to die, so that only left one option.

Live.

That thought powered her as she sent another attack at her opponent, coming at him with the hunting knife that was still held firmly in her left hand.

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[Lulu]

It is beyond me how someone could manage to give another person a black eye using a hunting knife. But nevertheless Zinnia Yaren did it. I'm pretty sure her fist somehow connected with my face rather than her knife, which I'm grateful for, but I felt the sting in my eye as it hit. I forced myself to keep it open, though, because even one blind moment could cost me this fight. And I so desperately need this fight.

I can't help but glance at my two trusty weapons, ones that have served me so well in these Games. My dagger, stained with the blood of various tributes. I've also used it for hunting. My icepick, never meant to be a weapon in the first place, but definitely effective. Did whoever manufactured these weapons know they'd end up in the hands of Jared Strahan, and that he'd kill with them? That he'd come to trust them to do his bidding, even love them, in the strange way you can love an inanimate object? I realize that I never got my hands on the sword I so wanted to have in these Games. Maybe if I'd gotten a sword, I would have stood a better chance of winning.

But that doesn't matter now. I must make use of what I've got, and my dagger has long since become a deadly extension of my arm. So I lunge towards zinna with it clenched tightly in my fist.

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