HEY, THIS REALLY /IS/ THE RAT GAMES// WD VS. RATS.
Oct 14, 2014 4:40:44 GMT -5
Post by gamemaker kelsier on Oct 14, 2014 4:40:44 GMT -5
A S A R E A U
We walked far that first night and in the darkness we became something else.Perhaps we already had. The others could see with their night vision goggles but for me there was only the dark and the knowledge that it was not something I could control. I chose not to light my lamp or flick on my flashlight because it would ruin the purpose of the goggles. Instead I relied on the soft voice of Barnabas who was on my back, warning me about trip-ups, telling me where to go. It served me well for navigation, and him for staying alert through his pain.
I preferred the veil of darkness that rested over my eyes because it was restful despite the by on my back and the pack on my front. I could not feel the soreness in my feet as long as we kept a steady pace and despite our tenseness, Barnabas whispered stories from when he was young into my ear, somehow it calmed me.
Every now and then I would stop and hitch him up on my back if I felt him slipping. I somehow found it easy to bear his weight despite the decrease in my level of adrenaline hours after the bloodbath. We would take small rests and the respite then somehow made it worth it. It was like floating afterwards and the effect in the dark was enchanting. I didn't mind.
We made camp last night (or at least when we figured night was) against the wall, keeping the use of light to a minimum. None of us had any food but I found that I wasn't hungry anyway. Something about the stench of blood that had followed us from the bloodbath. We were unable to clean ourselves because of the lack of water. All day I had been straining to hear the sound of running water but had heard nothing in the silence. It should be a priority for us to get some, even before seeking out other tributes to brutally murder.
Trix took first watch and I wanted to trust her because Pearl said that we could but I had ruined that trust already by believing her an enemy. I do not regret my threat from earlier. Barnabas was my first priority but I also did not want there to be any enmity between us. I am tired of that, if hatred and uncertainty. I have spent an entire lifetime in fear of my father and brother, I don't need to spend my last week alive being afraid of someone I am meant to trust. However, I do not know how to breach the chasm that my words have created between us. The feeling of certainty has left me. Once again I am plain old, useless Asa.
The anthem begins, first with sound spilling loudly through the tunnels and then by a growing glean light lighting up the ceiling. For the first time I can see my friends around me. They appear as ragged as I feel. Barnabas and I sit against the wall, his head in my lap and me leaning into his form, using him for support just as he is using me. I watch, silent as the faces of those that we killed light up the rock ceiling. Four faces appear. Our alliance is responsible for two of them. My hand find's Barnabas' and I hold on tightly to him, horror and the knowledge of what we have done resulting in a moment of weakness.
Soon after, we settled down to sleep. I was sore all over from the long walk, but satisfied as well. It had been a hard day, extremely physically demanding but we were safe and Barnabas was okay. I had let him rest by carrying him which would benefit him tomorrow. By all rights I should be sleeping like the dead right now after my night spent awake already but my body was still buzzing and somehow I couldn't. I had felt the tension all day and I knew that there was something coming tonight, that I couldn't let down my guard, not just yet.
I was correct.
An hour or two after we have settled down I hear the sound of feet coming closer and the soft breathing of someone other than Barnabas. I knew it was not Pearl. Pearl was asleep only a foot or two away from me. I could hear her breathing and shifting every now and then. The only one it could have been was Trix. My body tenses slightly but I am careful to not alert her to my status of being awake. I don't know her intentions, it's best to assume innocence and at least pretend to trust that she isn't probably planning on getting rid of me tonight. I shouldn't have let my fear for Barnabas hinder my thoughts. She's dangerous. I threatened a huntress.
My voice cuts through the silence, a whisper in the dark. "What are you doing?" I ask, voice strangely calm despite the severity of my situation. For a moment there is nothing and then the sound of retreating footsteps. It doesn't stop. She's leaving.
I spend the next few hours straining to hear her return, if there even will be a return. I don't know Trix, not the way Pearl does. It was stupid of me not to make an effort to know her. Barnabas monopolized my time. Eventually I fall into sleep and as my eyelids droop I swear I can hear her returning.
We can't tell when the morning comes but we all awake around a similar time. Barnabas has to prod me awake, I slept so thickly that I didn't dream. My body is sore and cramped from yesterday's exertion and the way I slept against the wall. When I stretch out my bones pop and I feel like an old man.
The rats are upon us before I am fully awake. I hear a shout- I don't know who from as they come out of the darkness, bigger than my head and my hand goes to the chain whip I looped and cinched to my waist. I tug it free and it rattles to the floor like a snake preparing to chase it's prey. Just as quickly, I shout a warning and pull out my flashlight, flicking it on so that I can see the enemy; I do not have the benefit of night vision goggles. I am careful to keep it aimed away from my friends.
I do not hesitate as I drag the whip across the floor and raise it with a crack into the air. I cannot allow a repeat of yesterday.
[Asa attacks rat #1]
|hpJQ2oIwhip
[Shallow Cut on Neck -- 4.0 damage]