Set me on Fire Guardians Vs Echoes Day 2

[Knuckles]

[googlefont="Satisfy:400;"]

Esme Truus

Dead star shine
Light up the sky
I'm all out of breath
My walls are closing in;

I looked at her face as she ran away. I struck my friend. I attacked her. I didn't mean to, though. Oh who are you kidding Esme? You meant to. I saw her and I attacked her. My friend. What's happening to me? I don't wanna fight anyone, but I fought so quick. I just jumped right in and attack. Didn't even think to look and see who it was. I didn't even stop and see until it was too late, and I ain't able to take back what I done did. I tried to tell her sorry, but am I really sorry? Am I sorry that I attacked her? You meant to attack her. You wanted to kill her. But I ain't wanting to kill anyone. I ain't meant to hurt anyone. I guess it's too late for that.

Something continues to pour down my face, and I still ain't sure if it's sweat, blood, or tears or all three. I think it could be those tears 'cause it's taking everything I got inside me not to sob out loud for the rest of the world to hear. I ain't never felt a pain like this before. It's a pain I ain't able to control 'cause it's inside. It ain't a pain like my arm; it's more of a pain inside. I feel like my heart was just broke in half. I'm sorry Emery! I ain't got any idea if she'll ever forgive me. I attacked her. I could've killed her. It was a mistake, but I can't change it. I really am an animal being controlled by the Capitol 'cause I do what they want. I ain't got nothing to do for myself. But I ain't an animal. I am Esme Truus, and I gotta stay true to myself. I just hope that Emery finds it inside of her to forgive me.

But how can she forgive me if I ain't gonna forgive myself?

We made all kinds of turns through the arena running away from the fight. Running away from everything, and they all followed behind me guided by the fire I created. I got something right, but it ain't enough. My heart feels like it's been poked with a cattle iron, and I ain't got none of that here. I ain't doing well. I ain't able to do this. I keep looking around listening to the loudness of the arena. Everything is loud. It echoes like crazy. I don't got no idea where anyone is 'cause of how loud it really is. I might hear the occasional screaming of people, but I ain't even sure where that came from. I keep my eyes on the fire. It's alive. It's breathing, and just looking at that small flame gives me a little bit of hope.

The fire is bright, and I ain't sure if it'll ever relight if it goes out. I ain't wanting to know either 'cause it'll mean darkness again. Stuff kept coming to us, though, and I must thank Mace and Saffron for everything they're doing back at the Capitol. I sit down on the ground next to Kirk, and he starts working on my arm. I wanna scream, but i grit my teeth trying to stay as quiet as possible. It hurts. It really hurts, but he tells me I don't got a thing to worry 'bout. I trust Kirk, and I'm glad he stuck with me, and I'm glad that I found him 'cause I ain't 'bout to go through this arena all by myself. I just can't do that. All I can do is smile, but it ain't a real smile. I'm fighting against the tears that are pouring down my face. I'm fighting against a pain I ain't never felt before in my entire life. "Kirk, I attacked her."

My voice shakes as my head drops towards the ground. I ain't got to time to be here. I can't be here. "I attacked my friend." He keeps working on my arm, and I ain't sure what to say to him. He said something 'bout keeping watch and me getting some sleep. I need sleep, but I ain't gonna be able to. I can't get the image of Emery's face outta my head as she ran away. My friend. I attacked my friend. I'm a horrible person, and I can't stand it. I hold my arm out to him hoping he could take the physical part of the pain away. I don't got no idea if anything would take away the pain inside me. The pain of my heart breaking into pieces. I ain't got this. I ain't never gonna forgive myself for anything. But I can't give up. I gotta keep going on. That is part of the games. "It hurts. Everything hurts."

The night? day? went on, and the anthem boomed through the arena. It's loud and scary, but everything here is loud and scary. I stare at the top of the arena knowing that I ain't sure where the sky is. Two faces were the tributes from district three. They were wiped out already probably in the bloodbath 'cause I ain't heard any other cannons since then. Then the girl from four. A career. Someone that I thought would make it far in the games. I ain't sure what happened to her, but she's dead. They are dead. The last face I see is the girl from nine. Animus' district partner. I look over at him wondering what he could be thinking right now 'cause he just lost someone from home, and then like that the seal disappears, and if it wasn't for the flame, I would be in darkness again.

I laid down on the ground holding onto the torch trying to keep it alive 'cause I ain't 'bout to be in darkness again. Tears roll down my face knowing that Emery is still alive out there, and I hope she's doing alright 'cause I ain't never gonna be able to live with myself if she dies. It just ain't gonna happen. "Kirk, I'm gonna sleep. Thank you for helping me." I place my head against the ground. It ain't what I'm use to back home, but this ain't home. This ain't nothing but the games the Capitol created. It didn't take long, but I drifted off into sleep. It ain't a good sleep either 'cause I tossed and turned all night long.

My arm throbbed the moment my eyes opened. It hurt. Everything still hurt. I look beside me, and I see a jug. An empty jug. For water. I hope. And I see a knife. One of the things Crusader got from the sponsors earlier. I turn back and look at him now, and he's holding a sword. A giant sword. A chill runs down my spine as I throw my jug into my bag, and I clip the knife onto my belt. My fingers run through my hair trying to comb out all the knots that formed when I sleep. But it's too messy. I ain't never gonna be able to get all these knots outta my hair, not that anyone gonna care 'cause we are in the fight to the death. Kirk had us link hands as we moved through the arena. It a good idea if you ask me 'cause we can't be losing one another.

I hold the torch lighting the way for us as we twist through the arena making more turns than I ever thought possible. I ain't sure what to do, but I keep going. I can't stop 'cause I'll be smashed by my own allies. It's hard being so much shorter than them, but I ain't gonna let that stop me. "Esme get behind me." I don't hesitate. I move behind him keeping the fire out in front of us. Fear. I'm terrified. I ain't sure what's 'bout to happen, and I don't wanna know, but in a few seconds I'm gonna find out. I ain't afraid. I ain't scared. I gotta do this, and hopefully they understand. I move out in front of Kirk with the torch raised high into the air, and I strike hoping to bring down whatever is standing in our way.

"Get away!"

Esme's torch is still lit from day 1
Esme Truus attacks Valerie with lit torch
EBmYCNL7blunt
7068 -- Gash/Bruised Left Foot -- 3.0 damage
1-50
extinguished

template by Anzie

blunt�1-50

[kousei ♚]

ANIMUSVALENTINE

Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious

The chaos that was the cornucopia was behind us; good riddance. I'd barely been able to see what was going on during the cornucopia and I'd been reduced to sprinting around the place like a maniac, hitting whoever came across me and then picking up my torch. But I'd come out with only a couple of bruises so I guess one could say it went as well as it could've gone. It's a shame that can't be said for all of us. In the scrap we'd gotten into with the other tributes Esme had went and gotten her arm broken. I could even see it now, hanging limply as we managed to get ourselves away from our most previous fight (not a fight, more like us trying to kill two other tributes and utterly failing).

Esme seemed pretty broken up about it; in fact she seemed more broken up than her arm to be completely honest. Why? She aimed for Emery. I can tell she's crying -I suspect it's to do with attacking Emery than her arm- I can only catch glimpses of her face but in those glimpses in the firelight I can see the wetness on her face. I'm about to turn around and say something ('we should really be quieter' ,'stop crying', 'get a hold of yourself damn it!') but I'm cut off by a beeping that's above me that's echoing in the air and I look up to find a parachute slowly floating down next to me.

I... I have sponsors?

I'm honestly surprised about that: I'm not charismatic, I'm not strong, I'm not ruthless, I just have towering intelligence. Maybe I managed to get that across in my interview I don't know, at least in District nine I had no really likeable qualities about me. Screw District nine. I promised myself I wouldn't think too much of home while I'm here, not because it would make me homesick but because I fucking hate it. I grab the parachute and begin tearing it open like a spoiled Capitol child receiving a gift and beheld it's contents.

I manage to find a ... bone? No, Colgate's not the most sophisticated man but he wouldn't send me something as useful as a bloody bone. I examine it closer and find the edge looks sharp. Some kind of weapon, a knife? it's the length of a knife and I manage to get a feel of something sleek and smooth. A hilt, it's a knife for sure. My mind is drawn back to when Pearl was showing me how to wield a knife in the training centre and I adjust my grip, smiling. Well it's definitely better than trying to whack someone with a torch.

Next, I manage to feel the fabric of what feels like a bag. Great, now my hands won't be overflowing with items. And finally I feel something cool and metallic. A jug. I instantly think when I see it in the firelight of Esme's torch. I throw everything in the bag but make sure I leave the tar coated end of my torch sticking out. Lucky for us everyone else managed to get themselves a bunch of useful equipment as well; Crusader even got himself a bone blade far longer than mine. "I guess the Capitol likes us more than we thought." I say, looking at the items Esme and Crusader received.

Each of us try to fix up Esme's arm as best we can but that arm's probably going to be of no use for the rest of the games. She still dealt more damage with that torch than I could. I push those thought out of my head again, it was only a one-off. We set out and begin following the twisting tunnels in this cave, as if we have any idea how to navigate it.

We find quickly there's absolutely no sense of time here. When the anthem begins blurring throughout the cave I'm actually shocked that it's night time. Well how can I tell it's night time when we're always stuck in the dark? I see the two tributes from District three appear first, and then the female from four appears. Now that really surprises me because careers are supposed to be the ones who know this, they can kill but just never seem to die. But I'm relieved, at least now I won't have to worry about Zelphyr spearing me with a trident or something some time down the line.

Meghan Cooper, District nine.

My eyebrows raise at this realization. Probably among the dead at the bloodbath. Most tributes would be actually upset at the death of their partner; as if it's losing a piece of home. Well if that's the case... "Good." I state, loud enough for everyone to hear me. I don't check to see their reactions because I'm still scowling at the stoic faces in the sky. I don't know how much longer I stay up but I drift into sleep eventually.

...

I woke up shivering. It doesn't take me long to register there's a draft. From where? We're closed inside. It doesn't take long before everyone else wakes up and then we're moving, using Esme's burning torch as a way of navigating through the twisting tunnels that was with arena. We'd found ourself linking hands, forming a human chain so we didn't get lost. Alone in here? No thanks. It had been Kirk's idea which sounded reasonable at the time so I didn't object, I just went along with it.

Before long a tunnel opened up -and to my relief- I could hear the splashing of what sounded like water rapids. A river. Water. A water source! Water, so simple and basic yet so crucial. "A simple yet crucial part of the equation." I say, grinning at the thought that I won't find myself dying of dehydration.

Hopefully that checks dehydration off the ways to die list. There were still plenty of things: mutts, tributes, traps - “Y’all best scoot down anutha tunnel now ya hear?” I hear Kirk shout out and my attention shoots to see other flames that aren't ours bobbing up and down in the distance. "Looks like company's found us." I mutter, lifting my knife in the grip Pearl taught me.

And to my surprise Esme the little girl the an arm in a make-shift sling goes rushing out like a bull to face our unwanted company head on with her flaming torch. She managed to whack one of the tributes she swung too quickly, too suddenly and the torch fire simply went out. They're in the way between me and my answer. I grip my knife as tight as I can and follow Esme in her tracks, launching an attack of my own with my blade.

"You're in the way."

Song: Lorde - Glory and Gore

WC: 1132

Narrative
"Speech"
Thoughts

[Attacks Kendrick with bone knife]

kkdyhwQLknife

[2173 -- Shallow Cut on Right Hip -- 3.5 damage]

knife

[Noah Vau - D2 (Cato)]

Crusader Rhodes
district 11 male of the 68th hunger games

I see the faces of the dead. The ones that have been forced to say goodnight. I notice one face and one face only that does not appear in the sky. Stella Calloway. She's alive for now, but I've already failed in my goal to protect her. I have nothing left to fight for. Esme has kirk and undoubtedly trusts him 100 percent. If it came down to the final 4 no doubt I'm the target. I don't want to think of my allies as enemies, but I'm not sure if they will kill my district partner or not. Whoever kills her will have to deal with me. Ripred help whoever lays a finger on her. I don't care who it is. I will slash at them with my sword and say goodnight.


Sleep isn't easy especially here in the arena where death is right around the corner. Speaking of corners, this arena has so many twists and turns and walls. I'm not sure what it is, but I can try to remember where I am and how I got here, but it seems impossible. I don't know where the cornucopia is and we just left that not very long ago. So I scoot myself against the wall hoping with everything inside me that the light didn't go out. It's nice being able to see; it would be better if I could see Stella though. She needs me. She needs me right now, and I can't provide. I hope I don't see her face in the anthem anytime soon.

I woke with a start. Must have feel asleep, yet when I open my eyes there isn't any light other than the fire Esme has. I kind of feel bad for her. She's so young, and she didn't deserve to be in the games, but I can't let her stand in the way of Stella. It's confusing. Stella had a choice, and she volunteered, and I'll never fully understand why. Why anyone would volunteer for the games is beyond my imagination. The least I can do is keep her alive, and I've let her out of my sight. I sigh quietly to myself. Guided by Esme's fire, I follow behind keeping my eyes and ears open. It's almost impossible to see or hear anything. It's so loud in here from all the echoing and everything. I can't imagine how long I'll be able to last knowing that this is all I know. The echoing grows louder and louder until someone or something is in front of us. I watch as Esme and the others attack, and I follow suit. I just hope they didn't lay a weapon upon the tiny frame of my district partner.

-Crusader attacks Valerie Leotos-

xOpdOZt5sword
1029 -- Deep Gash on Left Forearm -- 8.0 damage

sword

[charade]

Kirk Marshall

district ten male

I'm alive somewhere deep in my soul
But it's a light that refuses to glow

Once they had left the Cornucopia behind and the adrenaline had worn off, Kirk started to feel the draft. The cave was cold the way the afternoons were in the weeks before winter was in full swing. He shivered. There was no sun in this forsaken land which meant that the cold could and would creep into the bones. And if that wasn’t chilly enough, there were still sixteen other tributes out there. Like the pair he and the others had attacked. Two frightened girls, one of which looked to be around Esme’s age. His district partner had screeched for them to stop attacking them, having lashed out in surprise, fear or a mixture of both.

Both tributes had fled swiftly and Kirk felt a growing sense of guilt in his gut for knocking the head of the one girl. Sure, if the tables had been turned, she might have and probably would have no qualms about hurting them, but it still bothered him. He had acted rashly, moving with is heart and not his head. It would do no one in their alliance any good if he was gonna look before he leaped every time something happened. The tunnel they had fled to seemed to have no end and after awhile everything started to look the same. That is, foreboding, rocky, and undeniably dark; not for the first time, Kirk was grateful that Esme had grabbed a torch from the cornucopia and had managed to keep it lit.

Light could be their only shot at surviving the eternal midnight they were being forced to live in. None of them knew if they’d be able to relight it once it went out and no one was in a hurry to test it. Eventually, they chose to make camp against one of the walls and took stock of each other. No one had grabbed much during the bloodbath, and all the guys had all made it out the bloodbath fairly unscathed, but Esme was a different story. Several bruises and cuts adorned her body in the firelight and to top it all off, she had a broken arm. A broken arm! Kirk almost broke out in a bout of fierce swearing at that but kept his cool for her sake.

Whatever Mace and Saffron were up to back in the Capitol was working though, because badly needed supplies beeped their way down to the tunnel where they had made camp. Working feverishly under the torchlight, Kirk set her arm in a makeshift sling and did his best to patch up the cuts. “Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing.” he had said to her. But Esme had been more upset about the girl she had attacked than the injuries she had suffered. “Ah know she’s ya friend,” he said quietly. “But its darker than a than wearin a blindfold in here, ya can’t blame yerself for that mistake.” Kirk declined to point out that if she hadn’t startled the other youn ‘un into running, a stronger tribute would have killed her friend by now. She moaned next that everything hurt and Kirk sucked at his teeth.

“Doin ma best here. Just hang on a sec.” When he’s done, she thanks him for helping her, settling in for a spell ans he nodded in reply. “You get you some sleep and me an t’other boys will keep watch ahkay?” After that, he had barely said a word to Crusader or Animus, taking the first watch and finally allowing his beleaguered mind to fully catch up with the situation as his companions rested.

The arena was a giant cave with a cavernous ceiling somewhere high above them. There were dozens of tunnel openings all over the place which presumably led to other areas. But Kirk had no idea what such areas could hold. There were no caves in district ten, and even if there had been, there wasn’t any reason to go underground. If anything, the district twelve tributes were probably the only ones who might even be able to guess what was down in the arena. He figured there had to be food and water somewhere, otherwise it would be a very short hunger games what with all the tributes dying of thirst or starvation, but he had no idea where to begin looking. And the tunnel network only made it harder. He had tried to keep track of all the lefts and rights they had taken, but it had proven to be an exercise in futility.

It was doubtful that they’d ever be able to find their way back to the cornucopia, let alone figure out where they were headed. And he didn’t want to think about what would happen if they got seperated. After a few hours had passed, ( or had it been? Kirk had zero sense of time in the inky blackness) the capitol seal appeared on the rocky ceiling above them. Even though his allies and his partner were safe, Kirk couldn’t help but feel his gut clench when the faces started showing. Both tributes from three. The girl from four. Animus’s district partner. Kirk wondered if Animus had known her, but declined to bring it up. It was more concerning, surprising? though not unexpected that five out of the six careers had survived.

The light faded, leaving them in near darkness. Kirk sighed, returning to his brooding. Now that he was in the arena, the strength of his promise would be tested. It already had been. Kirk vowed not to let Esme get injured again the way she had in the bloodbath and glanced over his shoulder at her. Protect those who can’t protect themselves, his grandpappy had used to say whenever Kirk had talked about bullies and cattle rustlers. “It’s a person’s duty m’boy, to stand for what’s right, no matta tha cost.” And so Kirk had always tried his best to do so. Even when it had meant confronting his fathers mistreatment of his mother.

It hadn’t felt good at first, but overtime, seeing the peace of mind his mother enjoyed had comforted him. But even that didn’t last. Some people had been broken one too many times to know how to heal anymore. She left him for the bottle, and Kirk left her for the forge. His grandpappy had been long gone by that point, but the words lingered on. Kirk looked away from Esme and focused on a random rock formation as he started to think about some of the things Mace had said. Sure, Kirk was only eighteen. Had his whole life ahead of him according to most. But Kirk figured death was an inevitability. Everyone died. Few got to choose the manner in which they did. But he had a small say in it now, and he would use it to do something about Esme’s.

Crusader seemed to understand that, and Kirk told himself that he needed to talk to the district eleven boy as soon as he got a chance. Animus... Animus was a mystery, but Kirk could tell that more than anything, the boy from nine did not want to die; though the same could be said of all tributes, Kirk felt that perhaps it motivated Animus a little more than the usual. Kirk told himself to talk with Animus first chance he got too. When it was his turn to sleep, he took the chance gladly, but his dreams were of no comfort.


***

They had awoken and gotten moving awhile ago. Kirk didn’t talk much, focusing on listening to the echoes of their footsteps and gripping esme’s hand tightly. As she had the fire, she had to walk in front, with Kirk behind her. Animus linked up with his other arm and Crusader trailed in the back. Kirk had insisted that they link hands lest anyone get lost in one of the many twists and turns of the tunnels. It worked for the herd animals back in district ten. The ones that stayed close by had a better chance of surviving any predators. They continued on for a bit as a noise started to echo off the walls. Kirk wasn't sure what it was, but he knew it wasn't tributes. And then the tunnel opened up suddenly into a much wider area.There was a river churning ahead of them. White water cascading from somewhere and going somewhere else. Loud. Deafening.

Without warning, bobbing lights started to head in their direction. Kirk cursed. “Esme, get behind me.” he said softly as he drew his weapon.“Fer crying out loud, we’re lost in this hellhole of an arena and we ain’t even lost alone.” he muttered as the other tributes came within seeing distance. “Y’all best scoot down anutha tunnel now ya hear?” he howled while brandishing his axe. If they managed to scare them off before anyone died he’d count it as a win. Failing that, he had cut a few people already; a few more cuts wouldn’t kill anyone.

Esme had darted ahead of him and whacked one of the tribs before anything else could be said. Animus and Crusader had launched attacks soon after. Kirk cursed and went for the same target as Animus. His axe whacked the back of the head belonging to a boy he recognized as being one of the careers. Even in the dim firelight, Kirk could tell that his strike has barely done anything except maybe throw the boy off balance. He was wearing a helmet; albeit one that was almost destroyed now. Once he got a got look at the rest of them though, Kirk felt his stomach flop as he shouted again. "Now wait just a cotton pickin minute. Ain't we already tangled with you yahoos back at t'bloodbath?"

Kirk Marshall attacks Kendrick

1zSSLS5uaxe
Shallow cut on back of head 4.5
OOC notes

axe

[Rosetta]

~Valerie Leotos~
Val tried to get them to hold hands as they walk to avoid getting separated. Tau took her right one.

The darkness was overwhelming, suffocating, frightening. The more they walked, the more uneasy Val felt, fearing they were walking straight into a beast. Having always been attuned to sound, she thought she’d be able to handle the darkness. After all, she often ran in the morning before the sun came up, but even then it was never truly dark. There always came the glow of the moon, of the stars reflected onto white snow, houses drearily lit from the inside. Here, Val just had her candle, held up in her left hand, leading Tau behind her.

The Bloodbath was left behind them as the group trekked away from it after shouting until they found one another. Each had a few cuts and bruises to attest for, but none could say who for sure attacked them. As far as Val knew, she could be the one who broke Tau’s knee. He leaned himself between Val and Galaxy, but never spoke once. He’s being brave, Val thought to herself, but didn’t say it. Although she admired him, she was far too exhausted to say anything.

They had no way of knowing which direction they were heading it and Val stepped lightly for she was sure, in this Arena, she could fall into some kind of chasm at any moment. Perhaps most unsettling was the noise. Their footsteps echoed, Tau’s occasional groans of pain reverberated and then there were the unexplained noises. Hisses…the sound of something dragging, likely echoing down from distant tunnels, other tributes. Val hoped, in a disgruntled sort of way, that they were dying. Only four cannons rocked the walls of their cave prison, making their ears ring, that night, which made Val bite her tongue. With this many tributes still left, competition was tough, tight…but did it ever truly calm down?

It was several hours before a distant roar began to reach them, growing louder and louder the more they approached and they slowed to nearly a cautious crawl. Water, Val soon realized. Angrily rushing water. Although her tongue was parched, when they reached the damp banks it was all she could to keep from dropping Tau and falling asleep on the spot.

“Let’s rest here,” she suggested, helping Tau against the wall with Galaxy. “We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.” In the dark, she couldn’t see her allies, but she could hear them breathing and could feel it sweeping warm and sour across her skin and that was all she could ask for as she lay down on the damp ground with her bag as a pillow, hand clasped firmly on her knife. As long as her allies were there.

As long as it was them, that is.

***

Val had just finished her watch and was reaching over to wake Tau’s for his when her hand stopped just short of his sleeping figure. Softly, under the rumble of the rapids, she could just hear a slight sniffling, a slight intake of breath. “Tau?” she heard herself whisper sleepily and reaching over, she touched what she was sure was his shoulder and felt it shudder underneath her. He was crying, she realized. Her cheeks burned. He was crying now, of all times? The cameras could be trained on them at this very moment, testing for weakness, testing for the first one to break under the crushing darkness. And it was Tau, curled up and crying in the night. Her hand was still firmly pressed to his shoulder and he hadn’t yet moved nor answered her, but she knew he was trying to fight back the tears.

Galaxy was sweet, Kendrick sometimes unnerved her, and Tau was…odd. Brave, she remembering how he accepted his broken knee in stride, but odd. Another sniffle swept up towards her and Val struggled to swallow down a hard ball that was forming in her own throat. She could just make out his outline on the ground, on his side, and awkwardly, Val rubbed his back soothingly, in time with his sniffles and shivers. Be strong, she wanted to urge him, it may be dark, but we got each other, we just have to hold hands, that’s all, but the rapids were overpowering her and she didn’t want the others to hear. What would they think if they knew Tau was crying? Would they sympathize or leave him? Swallowing hard again to avoid crying herself, Val contented herself to rubbing his back, trying to rub the damp spray of water that had coated her hair, away, trying to make herself feel better, trying to tell him, I’m here, I’m here…

Will you be here when I need you?

***

The morning came with a sharp intake of breath. Her bed was hard, wet and cool. The window was open and sending cold drafts across her bare arms. There must be a thunderstorm outside, she reasoned, trying to curl up under her blankets, that’s where the rumbling was. She curled her hand tighter in a fist and gasped as sharp pain filled her thumb. Sitting up straight, Val desperately blinked into the darkness, trying to dispel it, but it was as relentless as ever. She frowned…and then remembered and her empty stomach gave a painful lurch. The darkness stretched for miles before her, swirling, undying, a dark wall that would surely crush her. The rapids thundered behind her and inside, Val felt herself churning as she raised her thumb to her tongue and licked. Blood. She’d cut her hand on her knife.

Hastily wiping her eyes, Val grabbed her bag from behind her and reached in, looking for bandages or something to staunch the small cut in her thumb, but she opened it up upside down and everything clattered out—including something long.

She paused and reached cautiously forward, running her hand across a long, waxy stick—a candle! Her eyes widened excitedly, managing to make out the outline of the candle on the damp floor and snatching it up eagerly. She had it lit on her first try and in her excitement turned eagerly to her sleeping allies.

“Guys—!”

Pain seared across her forearm and twisting around, the candle threw scattered light across four new arrivals—who were attacking. Val screamed and let to her feet, brandishing both candle and knife as blood poured from her injured arm. “No, get away! Go away!”

[attacks Esme, knife]
cMqFcBNBknife
[shallow cut on left forearm- 3.5]

knife

[shrimp]

G A L A X Y

Val found us last night as we patched Tau up, whispering to and fro as we tried to allay his heart that beat faster than a snare drum and the storm that lay raging in his knee. I didn't know what to say - there's nothing that would make him feel better and lying won't get us anywhere, not here. The darkness is claustrophobic and forces us closer and closer. Val holds Tau's hand - I hold the other. I reached for Kendrick, but I couldn't find his hand.

No one spoke, and the dread hung over us like a blanket - after a while I could hardly breathe. That's happened a lot. No one's said anything about it. All we've done is walked, step by step, Val leading our way. Where are we going? Does it matter? It's hard to see inches in front of us - even if we knew where we were going the chances of us making it there would be slim at best.

When the anthem begins to blare, the lights are blinding and I wince. It's only hours ago that all I wanted was the light, and now it's too much to bear.

I don't want to look, but it's the right thing to do - they deserve one last moment of silence. District 3 won't be seeing either of their children come home. That's what we are, children. Right? Even though right now I feel old as the sky, I'm not supposed to be here. I shouldn't be here. Tau shouldn't be here - he was in a coma until last week, that's hardly fair. Val and Kendrick shouldn't be here either; they've got families, they've got things to do other than dying and now odds are all of us will meet our doom in this darkness. And one of us surviving means the other three perishing.

My stomach's churning too much to think about death, so I look in my bag as the girl from 4 is replaced with the one from 9. There's a large stick, I think - it's got sockets which hold jars of what looks to be a black liquid - tar? Oh. A torch. The compass won't help - I don't know what lies north, and if I did would I want to go there? I laugh at the sunscreen though - it's kind of funny, in a morbid way.

I take the second watch, not like there's much to see. Most of the time I fumble with the pin that he gave me before he left.

No matter what happens, Gal. I'm so proud of you.

You shouldn't be proud.

I nudge Val awake when I'm about to collapse - my muscles ache and my eyelids feel like there's bricks pushing them closed.

"Valllll, it's your turn," I murmur before curling up next to Tauankia.

I fall asleep to the churning of water, and my dreams are filled with floods of crimson and tar encrusted with starlight.

---

“Y’all best scoot down anutha tunnel now ya hear?”

"Guys-!"

No, no no no no no no They've found us. The floor's illuminated with something grabbed out of Val's bag, and I can see the girl - so small, too small to be playing this game - swinging into Val's foot- (“No, get away! Go away!”)

"NO-" I shriek, grabbing my sword and. I don't c - I can't care about how little she is. I can't. She's as much a danger to us as anyone here.

It's only after that I see the boy, man, huge - slice into Val's arm.

Just leave us alone.

ooc edit: forgot i didn't have stealth sorry D:

sword2tFu96y0

[sadniss everdeen]

.:Here I am, expecting just a little bit too much from the wounded:.

Your face was slate to match the walls as you marched forward, away from the bloodbath and the boy that watches you with empty eyes, the whites of them glinting off a million reflections that follow you down the tunnel to nowhere. You never thought it would hurt that much, really - you've killed before, but never with such a fear that makes the insides of you rear like a wounded animal, your teeth bared like the monster this arena will undoubtedly make of you. It turns so personal that it's wrong, and the way you grip your sword that's already seen a life end is so tight it makes your knuckles ache.

They don't know what to make of you. Your three allies huddle together and you walk beside them, the stone sentinel, ever-present and ever-vigilante and ever-silent. Tauankia's whimpers echo until it sounds like multiple voices crying with him, a symphony of agony, wailing with broken parts and missing limbs. You wonder if the sword you carry lends itself to the cacophony - how many stories does it have to tell? How many ways has it seen people die? (How did it die, when it still had eyes to see?) You have to shake the answers from you like raindrops lest they weigh and drown you, and the four of you carry on into the abyss. It yawns back, and though you ask it questions you receive no answer.

You quietly take first watch, their responsibility falling onto your shoulders tiredly and without fanfare. The roaring water you've found gives you little in the way of comfort, footsteps masked by the scream of water hurtling down towards the depths of places you'd rather not know. Still, loud as it is, it's hard not to notice Tauankia's form shiver with sobs and the sniffles you can hear over the ruckus. Something uncomfortable in you shifts, coiling like a restless snake; muscles in your jaw flicker with the effort it takes to look away, to leave him with his grieving for a life he forfeited the moment his name was called. You haven't done yours yet. You're waiting for you own cannon to go before you start to count the mistakes you once thought victories, safe in the lonely chamber of your chest that hears only your heartbeat, syncopated with the tribute whose body you use as a weapon.

~.~.~.~.~

There's screaming when you wake up.

It's a mess of limbs and flurrying blows and you feel the sting on your hip before you even manage to fully stand up, a clumsy glance ricocheting off your helmet and making your ears ring. Your curls have fanned out over the night and you have a lion's mane when you rear up to your full height, jaw clenched in a feral grimace and sword out in front of you. You recognize them briefly as a few that tried to attack you at the start, and the reminders of their hospitality echo as cuts and scrapes that riddle your tired frame. Everyone is yelling, someone with an awkward twang to their voice accusing you of doing something that you can't place, but your focus is on the boy that bloomed the new cut across your hip, how it seeps into your bone and rubs harshly against your pants.

A rage blossoms in you. Like a fetid rose, it opens up to bud and you snarl in a way you only hear once a year, the soundbite on the tongue of so many other tributes not ready to die.

|gDEMrUKsword
[attacks Animus, miss, 0.0]

Your first hit sails past, clumsy in this encroaching darkness. The fire in you, trapped within these stone enclosures, roars until you fill to bursting with a heat that threatens to devour you entirely. Your grin is sharp as you gouge through your attacker's stomach, and you almost hear the blade whisper its approval back.

(rerolling with accuracy)
sword
[attacks Animus, deep gash on stomach, 9.0]

sword�sword

[wimdy]

[presto][/presto]

T A U A N K I A There was no real need of words last night (last night? this morning?), not when I was led by the hand through the darkness, Val lighting our way what little she could. No, there wasn't a need to talk, not when we knew exactly where we were going. We’re going to our graves, a little closer with every step we take into the shadowed cave before us. Galaxy flanked my other side, her hand a comfort in mine as I dragged my mangled leg with me. My jaw ached from the tension of keeping my teeth pressed together, the pain lancing upward into my gums with every step as I tried to keep the wounded sounds behind bars. When the roaring of water reaches my ears, I couldn't tell if it was a blessing or a curse. I could drown here, swept under the waters like so many tributes before me, and so many to come after. No one would think twice of a tribute disappearing into the waters, not even if they waded in themselves and never came out dry on the other side. It wouldn't matter, in the long run. I would be another cannon, another nameless face for the years to come. I would be the mentors’ warning, not to kill yourself when the world is at its darkest, when there is still time left to fight. I don’t want to fight. When Val and Galaxy settle me against the rock, I let myself slip down the wall, my back aching at the sting that rises from letting it dig into my skin. My eyes stay trained on what little I can see of the rapids, the waters surging just a few feet away. How easy it would be to let myself fall in there, to get lost in the current… A shadow of a face appears in my vision as Galaxy sits down beside me. I look away from her, my eyes downcast as I curl up by her side and try to block out the calling of the water. Sleep doesn't come with ease, not when my dreams are plagued with Ezhno's fall and Ahanu's encompassing fear and that voice. I can’t get it out of my head, hear it whisper at me in placating tones, but the words are laced with contempt, the double-meaning settling me on edge. ‘It’s alright, Kiki. Just wait a little longer. Just wait a little bit longer before you give up altogether. You’re going to do that eventually. Just wait for me, alright? Wait for me and then watch all that I can do, all that I can do to them, and to you, and to this entire game… Watch as everything starts to burn, Kiki. You won’t have a choice, by then. You’ll have to burn along with them.’ I shudder at the thought, wrapping my arms around myself as I feel myself sink deeper into the darkness. There is nothing left for me here, and if the voice has anything to do with it, there won’t be anything left of me either. I can’t shake it, the lingering feeling like I’m coiled tight within myself, just waiting for something to cut the tattered ribbon that holds me together what little it can. It won’t be long before it snaps and I’m gone altogether. My stomach sinks at the thought of disappearing, a small sob forcing its way from my lips as I shake through my tears. None of this was supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen to any of us, not Galaxy, nor Val, nor Kendrick, nor anyone else in this Ripred forsaken pit of an Arena. None of us are going to make it out of here, no matter how strong we are. A hand presses to my shoulder and I jolt at the contact, trying to still myself against the curious presence. I squeeze my eyes shut, unable to stop my crying, but trying nonetheless. Maybe I’m just as useless as the voice always says I am. I can’t do anything for this alliance, not when I’m lying broken on the ground, the darkness only hiding my pain from myself and from no one else. The hand moves to my back, rubbing it with slow, measured strokes, until a body curls itself behind me and tucks in close. I can’t stop crying. --- I’m not sure how long I've been asleep before I’m woken by yelling, my upper-body twisting violently to the side and my bad knee wrenching at the sudden movement. It’s all I can do not to scream, my face scrunching up as I curl back into myself for a moment to try and staunch the burst of pain. Fuck, fuck, there’s something going on and I am a target waiting to happen. With shaking hands, I push myself up by the wall, fingers scrabbling against the rough surface so I can stand. There is a burst of light to my left and then it is out, replaced only with Val’s little flickering candle. I feel the surge of panic blossom in my chest as I try to get the chain I picked up at the Bloodbath out of my bag, hissing when I can’t get the damn thing open quickly enough and have to watch as nameless faces lash out at my allies. When I've finally got a part of the chain wrapped around my hand and the pain in my knee has subsided enough to let me limp forward, I push myself off the wall and teeter towards Kendrick. I draw my right arm back, bracing myself for the inevitable shock to come from putting more force on my knee, before swinging forward with all the force I can muster at the closest body. [Tauankia attacks Animus with chain] yRLz4Ov3whip [6166 -- Welt on Cheek -- 1.5 damage]

whip

[Knuckles]

[googlefont="Satisfy:400;"]

Esme Truus

Dead star shine
Light up the sky
I'm all out of breath
My walls are closing in;

It's cold. A wind from somewhere. The arena ain't out in the open. It's underground. It's cold, and I think it might got something to do with the location. These shorts ain't doing much to help the cold either. Something roars behind me. Could the wind come from that? I ain't too sure what it is, but it kinda sounds like a lot of water moving fast. Ain't got those rivers running through district ten, but I can tell it's a quick moving water. I can hear the sound of it as it strikes against rocks or something that's a laying down underneath it. I ain't gonna get near it 'cause I don't wanna fall in. It might take me for a ride or something, but I ain't 'bout to find out. The sound echoes throughout the entire arena, and I ain't able to tell where it's coming from. It's close. Very close, and I know I gotta be careful. I ain't never learned to swim. Never thought I'd need it. At first I ran into the fight guided by my fire, but I must have moved too quickly 'cause it's gone. Gone. I only hope I can light it back on fire later, but that ain't the biggest worry now.

The light ain't nothing but a moment, and someone, the girl I hit with the torch, holds a candle. I can't really make out who it is, but I ain't wanting to know 'cause she's an enemy. I'm an enemy to her, and I ain't wanting to make friends or anything 'cause it ain't good to do that here. Friends gonna die if I wanna live. I ain't wanting to die. She screams when the giant boy from eleven, Crusader, yeah that's his name, attacks her. I can only guess it hurt, but anything hurts here 'cause ain't nothing friendly. She attacks me too. She slices her weapon lightly into my arm. It ain't hurting as bad as the broken arm hurt. I don't even know their names. I don't wanna know their names 'cause it'll only make it harder to hurt them, to kill them. Pa always said never to name my food. It took the hard way to learn 'cause I always wanted to name the pigs and cows and goats and the other animals we raised.

A sharp blade sliced against my skin. It ain't hurting nothing like I experienced when my arm was broken. Lots of shouting. Lots of anger. Ain't nobody wanna die, but some people gotta die. I only catch a moment when a fish jumps outta the water latching onto Animus' hand before returning to the water. Blood pours from where his fingers used to be. The fish must've caught him off guard cause the next attack lands perfectly slicing into his stomach. Blood pours to the ground. I wanna scream for him, but I can't 'cause I gotta keep going. I gotta keep fighting. It's a horrible scene. I ain't wanting to watch it. I wanna just stand back in a corner and hide. Nothing ain't right here. I ain't able to do this, but I don't got no choice. I can't allow this to happen. I can't allow them to hurt Animus. They already hurt me once. I ain't 'bout to let them do it again. Animus isn't just an ally for the games; he's a friend. Like Emery. Like Crusader. Like Kirk. And I ain't gonna let them die.

But I ain't sure where Emery is.

I ain't able to make much out in the dim light of the candle, but I ain't wanting to look around. I got one focus here, and that's all I got. To make it outta this fight alive, to make it outta this arena alive, but I just gotta make it through this fight first. Day after day, second after second, people gonna be fighting. We're all a bunch of pigs here. That's what I told the gamemakers as I taught them how to slaughter a pig. I ain't a pig in their games. I'm a farmer, and if I gotta do this, I'll do it. I'll kill them. I ain't able to kill another human, but what if I think of them as a pig? An animal? No human being deserves the fate we've been given, but the pigs? They are just meant for the food, and I ain't 'bout to let the food get away. I ain't 'bout to let them run 'cause nobody got time for it. The more we take out now the better the odds are of surviving. They got another thing if they think I'm gonna die in this arena 'cause I ain't. I am gonna die on my own terms, the way I wanna. I ain't an animal, but the rest of the tributes...

They are.

But they ain't. They are alive. They are breathing. They got families waiting for them at home.

I ain't able to think like that though.

I ain't a pig.

They ain't either.

I remove the knife from my belt. I close my eyes, and I attack.

I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

Esme Truus attacks Kendrick with bone knife
FGfwNYRCknife
2165 -- Deep Gash on Stomach -- 9.0 damage

template by Anzie

knife

[kousei ♚]

ANIMUSVALENTINE

Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious

I have to play my part in one way or another. Kirk's swinging his big axe, Esme's trying her best and even broken someone's arm with it, Crusader's ruthless and dealing wounds all over the place with his massive bone sword. And what am I doing? Barely cutting someone with my tiny bone blade? I just about pull myself back after I've obviously over committed myself and barely done any damage to show for it. I have to do my part, a machine can't work if all the parts aren't doing their job. I take a couple of steps back, clutching my blade in one hand and managing to get a quick look at our opponents.

There's about four of them, same number of us, so maybe we can-

A wave of agony washes over me and I get a glance of my right hand to see there's blood squirting out of the two holes where my index and middle finger used to be. They two stumps spray red water like a wild hose out of control, spattering across the ground and creating dots and patterns of thick crimson that's barely illuminated by the candle. Wha-wha? My draw drops and out of my throat comes a sudden scream, reflecting off the walls of the cave like light on a mirror for the whole of Panem to hear.

Wha-wha- what just happened?

I can't breath or see, all I see is a wave of mind boggling crimson wash over my vision and leave me blinded. They're gone, two precious, vital parts... gone. I don't even look up when I feel an equally sharp, blinding pain gorge itself across my abdominal region and another sharp sting across my cheek and I find myself tumbling down, and down, and down, until I hit the ground with a sharp thud and a grunt.

There's a warm wetness on my cheeks but I can't tell if it's from the pain or the humiliation.

Where am I? (Am I dead?)

No, if I was dead it wouldn't hurt so much.

So why can't I see a damn thing?

Oh, that's right, we're in a cave.

Why does everything feel so lopsided?

Oh that's right, I'm on the ground.

Get up.

Get up.

Move!

My body eventually obeys my mind and I roll over onto my front. Why is everything so blurred? I... I don't know.

Shit.

I... I need to get out of here. But I can't leave without my allies, if I get lost then what? Bandage, I need a bandage, or some stitches, or some disinfectant, some kind of medical attention. I can feel a warmth around my maimed hand and my stomach area; my blood is pooling around me. But I'm not dead (not yet anyway). The wet warmth should be frightening me but... it's strangely relaxing. Hah, lying in a bed of my own blood is relaxing.

I shakily pick up my knife with my left hand and hold it in the grip Pearl taught me. Forget this hand, it's ruined, I can't write with it, I can't fight with it, I can't do anything with it. Six fingers (my thumbs don't count), let's see what Animus Valentine can do with only six fingers and two thumbs. I get on one knee, glaring at the boy who slashed my abdominal region and a volcanic rage fuelled hate and adrenaline surges through me like hot shot electric. The ... answer. I resolved to find the unfindable answer.

And to do that I'll attack with a ferocity that mirrors the pain in my abdominal region and my right hand.

"I'm doing to slice off that hair and strangle you to death with it." I spit, scowling as much as my pained face with allow. And so I get up and lunge at the blurry career standing between me and sweet, much needed medical attention.

Song: Lorde - Glory and Gore

WC: 631

Narrative
"Speech"
Thoughts

[attacks Kendrick with bone knife]

16Gf3yzeknife

[2069 -- Stabbed in Chest -- 9.5 damage]

Dice glitch, here is the SS of the original attack

knife�knife

[Noah Vau - D2 (Cato)]

Crusader Rhodes
district 11 male of the 68th hunger games

I already hate what the games are doing to me. The sword in my hand which was sponsored to me vibrates in my hand in anticipation of their attacks. Did it vibrate? No that's just my hand shaking. I'm horrified at what I just did to that girl from two. I came extremely close to severing part of the arm. I look at the tributes who will no doubt attack me. All I can hope for is to buy time for my allies to get out of here. I want them to live and if I can give my life to save three others it would be a life well worth giving up. I know what it is that keeps me alive. The desire to help has never been stronger than it is right now. I may have failed in keeping the one person who I wanted to make it home alive, but someone from my alliance will win if I have anything to say about it.

Don't do this son. Don't become something you're not. Please don't become a killer. The voice startles me. It did not come from anyone in this fight. My confusion leads to sadness when I see my parents in front of me. Suddenly nothing else matters even the fight in front of me. I haven't been with my parents in so long that I've nearly forgotten what they looked like. I'm tempted to drop my stuff and run toward them. It's been too long. "Mom? Dad? I....." I close my eyes to prevent the tears washing down my cheek. When my eyes open again, I realize only too late that they were a figment of my imagination. Am I going insane? Must be if I was talking with my parents.

I'm already questioning my will to live. I made a promise to that little girl Stella. A promise that I'd look out for her here in this arena. The bloodbath already robbed me of that. The ensuing aftermath separated us. All night both consciousness and being forced to sleep the only thing I could think of and dream happened to be of shame for failing to protect Stella. No matter what happens now in the arena, I don't think she could forgive me. She has allies, but will they hesitate to attack me? I want to tell Stella how much it pains me to be here without her in sight. How much I already despise myself for thinking of myself back in the shithole that was the bloodbath. I'm not sure I could find the will to live if I see her face in the sky.

-Crusader attacks Valerie Leotos-

ZLEBGlvYsword
1191 -- Block -- 0.0 damage

Rerolling for accuracy

sword
1156 -- Shallow Cut on Right Calf -- 3.5 damage

sword�sword

[charade]

Kirk Marshall

district ten male

Screaming out for the pain to stop
Forgive me, forget me

Judging by the fact that the other group had responded to their presence by screaming for them to go away instead of chanting for their blood, Kirk was starting to feel like this was a case of mistaken identity. Maybe it had been a mistake to assume hostile at first glance. Then again, it could have been a trick too. Though the light kept bobbing every which way, Kirk could tell that the girl holding the candle was a blonde and by his reckoning, the only blonde girls left that weren’t Esme were the career girls, which meant this lass was either from district one or two. Kirk hazarded a guess that it was the girl from one, because the boy from one with the bizarre haircut was definitely among their opponents. Careers were not to be trusted.

The other boy could have been the career from two, but Kirk had no idea where the dark-haired girl was from. But if she had sided with the careers it meant she probably couldn’t be trusted either. This thought was only reinforced when the blonde struck back and cut Esme. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it drew blood. A familiar coldness gripped Kirk’s stomach, the same feeling that had overtaken after the bloodbath when he had seen the aftermath of the damage done to his district partner. Alright, so his allies had attacked first, but that didn’t mean that the others didn’t have it coming to them. For all he knew any one of the four could have been responsible for the faces in the sky the previous night.

The girl with the darker hair looked frightened and Kirk didn’t blame her; his allies had struck first, not hers. There was plenty of reasons to be afraid. Gripping the axe handle, Kirk whipped his head back and forth, waiting for the right moment to strike back at the candlebearer. Movement was hard to track in the shadows, but it was pretty was pretty easy to see the district one male skewer Animus through the stomach like a chicken on a spit. Kirk yelped in spite of himself. The bloodbath had been a frantic whirlwind of flailing. This, this was up close and in his face. Horror seized his mind as he imagined the same happening to his tiny district partner. Something else flies through the air and lashed Animus across the face.

It was then that the tables turned. Little Esme, sweet little Esme, slit the the career boys stomach open like it was butter. Animus, despite bleeding profusely from his torso and also his fingers for some reason, attacked his attacker with a fervor Kirk wouldn’t have thought was possible in his current condition. Kirk was stunned into inaction for a moment, but then his mind caught up with his body and he launched himself at the girl that had cut Esme, who in his mind, was currently the largest threat.“Naw! Naw, you git away from her!”This time, he swung the axe down the way he would have brought a hammer down to the anvil; it connected with the girl's upper leg, biting deep into the flesh. Any harder and her leg might have come clean off.
 
Kirk Marshall attacks Valerie
L8p86skLaxe
- Deep Gash on Right Thigh -- 8.0 damage
OOC notes

axe

[Rosetta]

~Val Leotos



Pain spread like fire across Val’s body and she jarred to her knee with a howl. Around her, the candlelight flickered and startling images flashed in and out of her line of view. Their faces, animal, vicious, flying weapons, shouts. They weren’t even human anymore. Something had sprung out of their chests, something beast-like. The need to thrive. The need to survive. Val was breathless, one knee pressed to damp ground, the other up, her foot firmly pressed to the rock. She had to stand. She had to join the fight.

There came an explosion of sound behind her and Val swung around, the candlelight swinging and Kendrick was falling, falling, the ground crumbling beneath him, hell coming to swallow him up, Val opened her mouth to scream—Galaxy was running forward, rope in hand, and Val extended her hand to help, to do something, when another lash of pain stung her and she fell back, Kendrick disappearing from view.

Her eyes flashed back to the training center, with the lifeless dummies, taking her hits without as much as a word—is it different if they scream? She hastily threw her arm over her head to block the attack of the District Eleven boy, but he retaliated with a cut to her calf. She groaned and staggered to her feet, knife in hand. Her vision was swimming and the darkness spun around her and for a moment, she rocked on her feet. Come on Val, do something, a voice in the back of her head pleaded and she focused her version long enough to follow a trail of blood to the nearest attacker. And that’s where she sunk her knife.

[attacks Animus, knife]
S8Ervn5wknife
[damage]

knife

[shrimp]

G A L A X Y

I'm not fast enough - my muscles ache and clench and by the time I'm even able to lift my sword up they've already swiped at Val and I can see black trickling down down down just like my dreams. I can feel the goosebumps on my skin, the chill that scatters up my spine and to each of my fingertips.

It's like they know how to do the most damage, immediately swarming towards Val and Kendrick. They must know that Tau and I would be nothing without them. What other reason is there for attacking them? And here I am, frozen in place, eyes flickering back and forth from Val to Kendrick to Val to Kendrick to the tiny girl who swings away, her district partner - they're the 10 tributes, right - who tells us to get away from her when it really should be the opposite. The tall being before me mutters something that I can't hear before swinging at Val again and I don't know what to do.

My feet stay rooted on the ground, no matter how much my brain screams at them to move, move MOVE DO SOMETHING, and then that's when I hear the ground ripping in half.

Someone's falling.

Kendrick.

Kendrick's falling.

There's black dripping down his front and he's falling into the abyss.

And I have to do something. Anything. He's going to die, he's going to die die die die and unless if I do something-

move.

I don't know how they do it but my feet finally begin to obey my brain as I reach behind me, grabbing the rope from my bag and dash as fast as I can towards Kendrick and the current that threatens to sweep him away. One end of the rope leaves my hand like a lasso, flinging the only lifeline that we have left towards its target. Come on, come on come on come on

"KENDRICK GRAB THE FUCKING ROPE."

Somehow, he does.
Somehow, we get him to safety. My muscles burn with the sheer force of me pulling and pulling and pulling, reaching for his hand as he climbs and climbs and we're almost there come one Kendrick come on come on come on you can do this just grab my hand that's all you need to do please -

I grasp his hand tightly and with one last tug he's safe. He's alive. And they will not kill him. Not today.

Distraction we need a distraction I need them to attack me and not him I need them to do something, something.

District 10. That's it.

Naw! Naw, you git away from her!

"OI, COW-SHIT FOR BRAINS" I scream at the boy. "YOU WANNA BE A FUCKING HERO, YOU WANNA SAVE HER? THEN COME AND GET ME,"

The light warps their faces beyond recognition, and I wonder if it's still murder if I'm killing monsters. Even if I know they're just like me.

[attacks ESME | SWORD]
pmI5l4PWsword
[1169 -- Shallow Cut on Chest -- 4.0 damage]

sword

[sadniss everdeen]

.:If this must be, then burn with me:.

You're dying.

The moment you turned wrong, your ankle rolling and making your pivot clumsy and awkward, you saw the blade in slow motion like there was nothing left in the world. It didn't prepare you for the flash of pain that blooms along your belly, crippling and hot, and it's only your slight stumble backwards that stops you from being cleaved straight in two. Your arm goes to cover it but it's not enough for the distinct force of your insides pressing against the mere flap of flesh that now keeps them from the outside world. Your allies are fighting valiantly, and the boy that attacked you pours blood from nearly every visible orifice, but the anger in him is one you know well. It turns cowards into kings and you find you can't even sum up the strength to defer his blow as it drills its way into your chest and takes your thoughts away.

Everything collapses under this one point of pressure until it feels like you've never known anything but the blade in your chest and how your lungs struggle to accommodate the intrusion; the sheer weight of the injury sends you staggering, hopelessly trying to recover from something that's put better people in the ground, and it's then that you hear something groan. It sounds like a dying titan, chained away in their mountain prison, and the flash of dread that consumes you is so brief you aren't sure it's there before you're falling.

Your world whites out and you feel like you're floating, weightless, water rushing into the hole in your chest until you are rinsed anew, purged from the sins your tainted blood has borne. One hand manages to clamp onto the rock-face and you cling though your body screams to let go, to follow the current that sucks at your legs and punches through your chest, salving your bleeding and battered organs with the freezing embrace that comes only with the approach of death. It creeps in gradually, a darkness you don't even recognize at first, but the grip on the rock-face slips and you try to blink your eyes free of the water. Your vain attempt goes unheeded, and it's only Galaxy's voice that takes you out of your freezing, delusional stupor.

Life comes rushing back and you grunt as you grab the rope, the sound of something inhuman coming to rest, ever so slowly inching your way towards the top. Galaxy strains to offer you her hand and she shouldn't bother, not when the tables are turning so suddenly, but your frozen hand still clasps in hers and you heave yourself coughing onto the ledge, warm blood pouring out your mouth until you gag on it. Everything's spinning, dull and bright all at once, but your fingers still fumble across the surface to find the sword you'd dropped in the scramble. Your left hand wraps awkwardly around your broken chest, blood seeping out between your clenched fingers, but the Kendrick you used to know was never a coward. You refuse to crawl into the dark to die like an animal, and instead take a fortifying breath that feels more like burning and less like salvation.

"I'll make sure you remember me for the rest of your fuckin' life," you snarl, digging your feet into the ground before charging.

[attacks Animus, shallow cut on left shoulder, 3.5]
MXFXxV_iswordsword