The Bloodbath

[rook]

PATRICIA VALFIERNO

Living in a cruel world, drudging with my feet in the snow
On a day out, and it's a night now
Doctor, I've been walking by the side of the road
For a long time, and I'm going out of my mind.

Despite the screaming and pleading, I do not give the girl mercy. There is no place for mercy in the Hunger Games. Mercy gets you killed. I grip the bone carved hilt of my blade tightly in my left hand - To drop it in this darkness would be a disaster. It has been my salvation. My lifeline.

I don't know her name or her District. All I know is that she is in front of me, weak and near death. My goal is not to kill and slaughter my way to victory. I know what I have to do to survive. But that doesn't mean that I will allow someone to live who poses a threat to us in the future. In this darkness, we can't allow people to live. We just can't.

I put on a mask of ruthless indifference, and approach the girl again. Her features are highlighted in a faint, milky orange. The flicker of a flame in the cornucopia is fast fading. The screams and shouts of other Tributes are dwindling just as quickly, signalling that they are fleeing the massacre. Is it that simple? Are people really that afraid of the monsters in the dark?

I'm not sorry. Killing is part of this process. It's part of survival. Kill or be killed, and there's no alternative, so why be sorry? This is necessary. I have always done what is necessary.

Killing is all we can do now. Like the blood of these Tributes will someone make us see in the dark. Of course, it makes us see in other ways. We see what monsters we must become to survive in this hell. It's futile. We can't blame ourselves. We didn't make ourselves into these monsters, rather we were sculpted. Hand carved pawns. But nothing is black and white, not anymore.

Not when the game is so complex.

I hold my gaze on the girl as she falls to the floor, her back slashed agape. She hits the floor, motionless. She's dead. I screw up my face, acting as indifferent as I can. Am I even acting? I feel no different now I am a murderer.

Pearl looks at the body, unmoving amidst the black chaos. I frown.
"I thought you Careers had the stomach for this kind of thing..."
I walk towards the nearest screams, filled with a strange determination to clear the cornucopia of the living. That's the next step in surviving.

I find a new target, and wipe them out.

[Patricia Valfierno attacks Ryin Sileece, Bone Sword]
WP|qyIK0sword
[Severed Right Foot at Ankle -- 9.0 damage]

[Patricia picks up 3 Matches]

Sitting on a rooftop, crazy days are coming again
I'll be running, but I'll be hidden in the masquerade
So far from me now, but oh I can hear the sound
Can't you hear the bells singing alone? You will hear it on the radio

graphics: rook
theme: hear the bells by porter robinson

sword

[gamemaker kelsier]

A S A R E A U

I'm breathing hard when we step away from the mutilated body of the girl that we have just killed, Patricia having the final blow. I don't know why this seems so horrible to me, maybe because now I can actually see who we've been fighting against. I glance towards the girls, wondering what they're thinking right now. The body of Zelphyr lies in the dirt, in the slowly fading light from the cornucopia and I wonder what we've done.

I let instinct take over, my career training took hold. I just knew that I had to fight or die and when she hit Barney I got angry. I don't think I ever wanted her to die though, not really. I saw her laugh once from my place in the dining hall.

I slip on a patch of blood and I know that it's blood because of the texture that I can feel underneath my shoe. I steady myself by reaching out and grabbing barney's arm. I try not to think about the blood that already stains my shorts. The black t-shirts were a good idea at least. Blood doesn't show up as much on black. I don't know why that's such an important thought at the moment when I can feel blood drying on my skin already. I don't know if it's mine or Zelphyr's or barney's. I hope it's her's. That's sick. I know it's sick.

This is a death games, everything about it is.

I don't want to be the one dying.

I don't want Barney to be dying either. She hurt him, I saw it happen. Hopefully not too much. I hope he doesn't have any broken bones or anything too badly bruised. I'm not doing a very good job of protecting him. If I were, attacks would be deflected to me. I've got to be better.

Another body runs from out of the darkness and I do not hesitate. Mercy cannot be shown, not here. I'm not going to let anyone past me just so that they can kill me later. The whip rattles against the ground like the last few breaths of a dying man as I pull it towards me. It screams through the air as I raise it up, death on my mind.

in the
s i l e n c e of
the r a i l w a y
s t a t i o n running
s c a r e d

[Asa Reau attacks Ryin Silence]
Y3Rv1S|rwhip
[Welt on Right Bicept -- 2.0 damage]
[Asa Reau picks up a pair of socks]

Whip

[Traid]

	Home | Find Friends | Tribute Updates
Ryin Sileece      Edit Profile District Three 29/40 Health Crying Apps Click for Song UNARMED 5 Days 3 Days Inventory	Ryin's fear in her eyes was no longer hidden. It was impossible to keep fear hidden when death is staring you in the face. She had to get out of there. Even if it meant running away without anything in her hands. She just wanted to survive as long as possible... Even if death was inevitable. A slice. Ryin was on the ground. She screamed and tears ran down her face. Her foot was gone. She started to pant and tried her hardest to give one last look at the murderers who were about to strike her to death, but all she could manage to do was close her eyes and crawl towards the nearest exit. "Help... Please don't..." She was a coward. She couldn't believe herself when she was begging for mercy. "Spare me... I just want to leave."
	{Flee Attempt 1/3}

[maverick hale 🌧️ d5 [nyte]]

B a r n a b a s  S t r o u d --

"Fuck!" His eyes found Asa, the girl's ear falling to the ground in one clean swipe. She was still alive yet her ear lay dormant upon the ground. If he were not so used to the smell of blood he would have vomited right there. The girl asks to be spared, and ever single fiber in his being begs him to stop, begs him not to hurt her anymore. He was not a career, he wasn't  a monster meant to kill. This was a human being, one who wanted to live, one who deserved to. But if she escaped, she could kill them. She could lay her hand upon Asa or Pearl and end their life. He had to be strong for his friends. He had to keep going.


"I'm sorry." his voice shook when he spoke, "I have to do this." 

[attacks Ryin -- sword]
glb_35Xdsword
[Shallow Cut on Cheek -- 3.5 damage]

[barney picks up g l o v e s (+3)]

sword

[rook]

PATRICIA VALFIERNO

Living in a cruel world, drudging with my feet in the snow
On a day out, and it's a night now
Doctor, I've been walking by the side of the road
For a long time, and I'm going out of my mind.

What am I? A survivor? Is it more than that? I look into myself, detaching from the physical beast that lashes out at any alien Tribute in range. I am Patrica Valfierno, born survivor, abandoned and left to die, but still very much alive in every aspect of the word. Even here, on death row, I am alive. Survive? What is the meaning of that? I exist, and I will continue to exist until such a time that my life ends. It's not here, it's not now. So yes, I am a survivor. I wish to peruse my continuation. My existence. My life.

And there's no one to stop me?

Murderer. It's imprinted into my being now. Like a tattoo, it cannot be undone. In life there are events that can be undone, milestones that you can erase. Murder is permanent. It's stuck with me. My little sister, Rose, watched me on the television screen as I brutally murdered another human being. What does she think of me now? Am I the ultimate survivor? Born to endure, learning to kill, to adapt.

Pearl hesitates. I frown, watching the so-called Career stand over the crippled Tribute. Her eyes flash with pity and mercy. Mercy gets you killed in here.
"PEARL, DO IT!" I shout, "DO IT NOW!"

The Victor's daughter, a fraud. Who would have thought?

[Patricia Valfierno attacks Ryin Sileece, Bone Sword]
FfG92455sword
[Shallow Cut on Cheek -- 3.5 damage]

Sitting on a rooftop, crazy days are coming again
I'll be running, but I'll be hidden in the masquerade
So far from me now, but oh I can hear the sound
Can't you hear the bells singing alone? You will hear it on the radio

graphics: rook
theme: hear the bells by porter robinson

sword

[Python]

Her torch whipped through the air and made no contact, forcing her to make an awkward spin sideways. My allies…! She turned to find them perfectly capable of defending themselves. It was almost surreal. Little Barnabas – who looked so innocent – gashing the side of the girl’s head. Asa swinging a chain when he was meant to wield a bow and arrows. Patricia slicing her sword almost expertly, sawing through muscle and bone and—

The girl’s foot was detached. Pearl felt her guts drop like an anchor. All she could do was limp and leave a blood trail in her wake. And the four of them…

They were a pack, and she was the wounded animal. We’re the predators. We’re the monsters. She was frozen in time and space, watching and wishing the girl could limp faster, until she heard a shout. ”PEARL, DO IT,” It was Patricia, but she could hear her mother’s voice instead.

Tears stung the back of her eyes.

”DO IT NOW!”

”I can’t!”

She went.

[attacks Ryin – Blunt]
KidbQgmUblunt
Bruised Left Arm -- 2.0 damage

[grabs Shin Guards (+5 legs)]

blunt

[gamemaker kelsier]

A S A R E A U

We discombobulate her in moments, working silently and efficiently as a team. Barnabas and Patricia take pieces from her as Pearl and I contain her in other ways. My whip wraps itself around her bicep giving her a thick welt as it's parting gift. I do this without fear, without the sorrow and worry that plagues my usual daily life. I understand now that this was where I was meant to be, that despite my weakness my father trained me well. I know how to deal with pain, how to watch others be in it. There has been so much pain in my life.

I block out the screaming.

But I don't want to become a monster.

My mouth opens, as if to apologize. Her foot sits there in the dirt and it's nearly comical. It would be if it wasn't so serious. I wonder if she realizes that she's dead now. She can't get away fast enough, not like that. We're not going to let her go either, we cannot afford to. This is now a game of cat and mouse; the mouse cannot win.

It's pitiable.

How many times have I been in the same situation? Unable to fight back, crawling away on my hands and knees, hoping that the blows will stop if I can just make myself appear smaller. "Are you alright?" I whisper to her retreating back. I'm talking to a dead girl.

I don't want to be my brother.

I don't want to be him.

I step forwards uncertainly, chain rattling behind me as I drag it across the ground. The sound echoes in the darkness. We must be underground. I don't know why it hasn't occurred to me before. I wonder what it must sound like to Ryin. Do I sound like her death?

I intend to give it to her.

Quickly now.

it's just a fantasy,
taking over like a
d i s e a s e

[Asa Reau attacks ryin silence]
g4iZYpOPwhip
[Deep Gash on Cheek -- 8.5 damage]
[Asa Reau picks up 3 iodine tablets]

whip

[Traid]

	Home | Find Friends | Tribute Updates
Ryin Sileece      Edit Profile District Three 3.5/40 Health Crying Apps Click for Song UNARMED 5 Days 3 Days Inventory	More cuts, more blood, more tears. She looks back at the other tributes. "You.. Don't want to.." Another hit, she stopped talking. Ryin was really hurt, but she tried her hardest to continue crawling.
	{Flee Attempt 2/3}

[maverick hale 🌧️ d5 [nyte]]

B a r n a b a s  S t r o u d --

He swallowed hard, squeezing Asa's wrist gently. Just to remind himself the boy was still there and that he was not alone. The blood upon his sword was not only the dead girls, or the dying girl still crawling away, but that of the others who had long since fled the bloodbath. Barnabas had to protect his friends. They meant the world to him. One less opponent, one less problem. One more soul added to the toll their alliance had taken. Never before had he met Trix, but she seemed bloodthirsty, perhaps cruel. The real career among an alliance of gentle hearts. She scared him, and at the same time he was glad she was here. A beacon to keep them strong.


"I have to." 

[attacks Ryin -- sword]
Tds9|nKIsword
[Deep Gash on Right Bicep -- 8.0 damage]

sword

[Traid]

	Home | Find Friends | Tribute Updates
Ryin Sileece      Edit Profile District Three 0/40 Health Dying Apps Click for Song UNARMED 5 Days 3 Days Inventory	A final blow was coming. She knew this. She looked straight into the eyes of everyone except for the redhead standing over her. She spoke very lightly with blood spewing from her mouth. "I.. Forgive--" She was dead.
	{Ryin Sileece dies}

[aya]

Ryin is not yet dead; she's at 36 damage.

[rook]

PATRICIA VALFIERNO

Living in a cruel world, drudging with my feet in the snow
On a day out, and it's a night now
Doctor, I've been walking by the side of the road
For a long time, and I'm going out of my mind.

I cling to Pearl like a shadow in the shadows, moving as she does, going where she goes. I dare not lose her - She is my lifeline. If I lose her, surely I won't last longer than an hour? Rose would probably turn her nose up at me, tell me that I could make it on my own. Yet if she were here, in my position, she'd do the same. No one can judge me in here - Not my actions nor where I place my trust.

Trust is individual.

[Patricia Valfierno attacks Ryin Sileece, Bone Sword]
eCDWGtqTsword
[result]

Sitting on a rooftop, crazy days are coming again
I'll be running, but I'll be hidden in the masquerade
So far from me now, but oh I can hear the sound
Can't you hear the bells singing alone? You will hear it on the radio

graphics: rook
theme: hear the bells by porter robinson

sword

[Python]

Her torch bounced pathetically against the girl's arm. Through Barnabas' and Patricia's slashes she could hear the girl's begs. Her face was a bloodied mask, but in the fading fire light she could recognize the tribute: Ryin Silece, District Three.

"You.. Don't want to.."

I don't.

But she had to. Her allies knew the truth, Panem knew the truth. There was no hiding the fraud that Pearl Millison was, yet she had promised Diamond and Garnet that she would try.

A tear trickled down her cheek. Patricia's shouts still rang between her ears, and her mother's distant protests of disappointment accompanied them.

If I close my eyes, it will hurt less, she lied. And then she closed her eyes.

[attacks Ryin – Blunt]
B9dempDHblunt
Bruised Right Collar Bone -- 2.0 damage

blunt

[rook]

PATRICIA VALFIERNO

Living in a cruel world, drudging with my feet in the snow
On a day out, and it's a night now
Doctor, I've been walking by the side of the road
For a long time, and I'm going out of my mind.

A wounded leg is a death sentence. The lady in the training center told me that if my leg was ever injured, seek aid from one of your allies, because if you're immobile, you're as good as dead. The girl I stand over has no allies. She has no one coming to her aid. Her leg is cut up pretty badly, and that is down to me. I look her in the eye, taking slow and heavy breaths. The sword I hold did that. No, the person holding it did. I've already killed, what's another? You're already a murderer, Patricia. The number doesn't matter. It's kill or be killed. It's that simple.

The desperate girl scrambles up on one foot, clawing at the dark. I stand still, watching her faint scarecrow outline dance in the dark. There should be no mercy. Mercy gets you killed. That sentence is stuck in my head, printed in black and white. My wrist twists, ready to strike. Pearl stumbles in the dark and lashes out with her blunt weapon. She strikes the girl, who staggers and collapses at my feet, motionless. Pearl panics, searching the blackness for her target.

She turns to me.
"D-Did I kill her?" Her voice cracks. I screw my face up into a scowl. Careers are supposed to be powerful and confident. District One is infamous for having consistently deadly Tributes. When I agreed to ally with Pearl, I expected the full package, not some half-hearted, hesitant girl who is scared stiff of her potential. Her mother is a Victor. I thought she would be prepared for this, but it seems I made the wrong choice. Damn it, Rose. I messed up, again.

I move into Pearl's line of sight, staring her in the eye. A girl like her isn't ready to kill someone. I dare to glance at the body next to us. It certainly isn't moving. If that's the case, then Pearl really did land the killing blow. Sometimes the truth should be masked to protect others. I need Pearl level-headed if I'm gonna get the best out of her. I crinkle my nose, and grunt.
"No. You just stood there, swinging blindly. I thought you said your mom trained you?" I forward my thoughts bluntly, glancing around for movement. We are safe for the moment. It seems like most people have ran away.

"I'm only good with knives" She retorts after a pause, but there is no harshness in her voice. I have never seen a less threatening Career in all my life. Yet Pearl is my ally, and I made a promise to her. She's all I have in this arena, and all I can trust in. Even if she isn't what I imagined she would be, I have to stick with her. Things will be a lot harder on my own. I'm sure there's a lot of good in her, beneath her spectral exterior.

I walk up to the body, glancing at Pearl to make sure she is watching. I point my sword and thrust it through the dead girl's neck. I feel the tip of the blade press against the ground on the other side of the girl's throat. Dead now. I pace back to Pearl, wiping the blood against my trouser leg.

"Whatever," I lick my lips, "Try not to get lost in this darkness." I turn, pointing my blade towards the dark and walking forwards, listening for sounds. Pearl will be fine. She lacks a backbone, but she still has more training than I could ever hope for. She knows survival and combat, even if she doesn't want to use it. I'm sure that if someone jumps her in the dark, she will defend herself with more composure than she has shown.

Something brushes against my feet. I squint down to see a rippling tide of rats. I screw my face up in disgust. One bites my ankle. I jump, gritting my teeth and stopping myself from screaming. Fucking animals. Of course there are rats, this is a cave. I should have been more careful. The wave passes, and I march further forward into the dark. I'm starting to lose my mask, and with it my fear. Confidence is ripe in me. Adrenaline and survival instincts kicking in together to make me every bit as dangerous as a Career.

I hear sobs. The Cornucopia's metallic outline is painted on a black canvas, a wealth of goods packed inside it. The flame is fading fast, and I can barely make out the figure at it's side. A small, goblin-like creature weeps at it's base. It is crippled and broken, just like the girl Pearl killed a moment ago. Jeez, another one I have to finish off? I point my blade at the boy and walk forwards slowly.

"Asa!" He calls out. Asa? The guy I'm supposed to be allied with?

Movement.

I jump back as a Tribute darts from the abyss, clutching a leather whip. Asa Reau.
"WOAH! HEY!" I back off further, holding my blade sideways to defend myself. The Career from Two is ridiculously fast, and no doubt as dangerous.
"Fuck, I'm on your side!"

Sitting on a rooftop, crazy days are coming again
I'll be running, but I'll be hidden in the masquerade
So far from me now, but oh I can hear the sound
Can't you hear the bells singing alone? You will hear it on the radio

graphics: rook, words: 855
theme: hear the bells by porter robinson

[gamemaker kelsier]

A S A R E A U

It is satisfactory that at the end of all this, I should be here in the darkness alone and tired with the quiet sounds of the dead surrounding. I watched as the light weakened and my comrades pressed their blades and bashed their weapons into the body of the dying girl from Three who had a name but was silenced. The light flickers and dies with the death of the girl. The battle for today has ended, it has been won by us. I feel emptied out, like a rock quarry that has been abandoned for the day. My insides are hollow, there is nothing to heave up but spit and stomach acid.

I turn away from it as her body disappears from my view and I know that I am weak. I have always been weak. This is alright to acknowledge. My weakness makes me strong. I cannot kill a butterfly without making a fuss but I can help to kill girls my age without batting an eyelash. I know what has to be done so I do it. It's how I've always worked. Without a fuss, I'll do it just to please my Father. I'd sell my soul to the neighbor's dog just to please my father.

There is blood on my hands and I step backwards, into the cavernous mouth of the cornucopia to get away from it. I stumble over the chains of my whip. They rattle as my feet regain their footing, as if they are waiting for it. I've not given them their first kill yet, they've only tasted blood. I think about the way that girl's skin split nearly in two in the place where the whip tasted her flesh and the image dares me to scream out. Skin shouldn't be like that. Flesh shouldn't be like that. We were made to stay together.

Our weapons are defying that.

I stare into darkness, uncertain as to where I left Barnabas. I know he is still alive. He was still alive when he was standing over Ryin, blade in hand, looking for all the world like a killer. I'm glad for it. Glad that he has the strength to kill. I'm not though. I'm just not. I don't want him to have to kill anyone. He was built to heal, to give life. Watching him standing over a half dead body without the intention of fixing it terrifies me. That is my job. I was built to be the killer, I was built to suffer. He was built to garden happiness, to hope.

"Asa."

Fear, there is fear in his voice. Pain.

I run towards it, chain rattling along loudly behind me, announcing my presence to anyone for miles around. I don't care. I want them to hear me coming, to be afraid because if they hurt him then they should be. I'm not going to let one stupid tribute's cowardice destroy my careful planning. I snap the whip against the ground, falling in love all over again with how fearsome it sounds. Like Death coming, bones rattling and breathing harsh, standing right behind you, watching you until his bony hands are around your throat and you are dead. He is eager, I think, to taste his first kill. It is terrifying.

When he comes into murky view, rage grips me tight. He should not be like that, bent in two, holding his blood in. He should not be like that with tears in his eyes, pain on his sleeve, open and barren, knowing it is watched and unafraid to make itself clear. I skid to a halt, my eyes taking in the features of Patricia Valfierno, my supposed ally that I have never properly met before. I know her name because I watched all of the acceptance videos on the train like a good little career but that does not mean she scares me. Maybe once I would have been frightened. Not here. In here I am the career my father always wanted, Asa.

"If you touch him," I whisper across the space between us, "I will kill you." The threat is not veiled, anything but. It is out there, plain and jagged without the usual hesitance to my voice. I have never felt so calm before. I never understood it before, why my father and brother thought it so fitting to treat me as their punching bag but

pain no longer scares me.

The dark holds no terror.

Nothing does.

I hold my eyes level with her for a moment or two before breaking back into a run to reach Barnabas' side faster. I am not the healer that he is but I do have some skill. I've spent much of my life in and out of hospital, in those times I had to learn how to tend to my own wounds because my father certainly would not be the one to change the dressings when they needed it. My mother had left years before. She wasn't there to do it either. It was up to me. I know some things.

His shirt is black but I can feel the stain of red on it, it's damp with blood, too much. The girl I've just passed is out of my head. Barnabas is more important. "What...w-what have you...whathaveyou done to yourself now, Barnabas?" I whisper, voice as soothing as I know how to make it. Carefully, I lift his shirt away from his body to expose the skin underneath, stilling softly when I see the extent of the damage. I try to think of when he might have been stabbed and can only imagine that it must have been in the thick of the fight, when we were back to back and I failed to protect him properly.

"Y-you'll be alright," I say after a moment, inspecting the damage. It is in the wrong spot to have hit any vitals. I pull open my backpack, routing around for some basic necessities that I picked up earlier and set to work on the wound, doing my best to be careful and not cause him pain. My fingers brush against his exposed skin from time to time and each time I cannot help pausing, as if I need a moment to compute the contact. Each moment this happens, I begin again with haste, not wanting to waste time, not wanting to waste anymore of his blood.

There is too much gone already.

"It's okay," I whisper.

if I ever see you
with another m a n
watch myself
b u r n

[asa performs first aid on barnabas for -3]