Global Warming

[gamemakers]

WHO | OPEN. Particularly to those who have been rolled for death.
WHAT | Death.
WHEN | Sometime in the middle of Week 03
WHERE | Where the glaciers end
WARNINGS / NOTES | Violence, possible language, etc.

It is well known that glaciers can be unpredictable and treacherous. Formed by thousands of years of sub-zero temperatures, they are thick, powerful, and cold. No doubt the Tributes have learned this to their disadvantage - so many have already perished.

But the glacier is not done with the Tributes. Be it because of the Gamekeepers' machinations, the general state of warmth of the world of Panem, or simply due to the nature of the arctic beast. There are always more deadly tricks left up this Arena's sleeve.

--

The sounds began at midnight. Soft creaks. It was probably easy to ignore. Especially for those along the edges. Many of the Tributes, by this time, have probably learned to ignore superficial sounds that don't sound like deadened footsteps or mating calls. Or, for those in the crevasses, those strange voice like echoes and whispers in the caverns.

Just before the sun came up, however, came the sound of a thunderclap. Then another. Then another. And the rumble of avalanche, of snow and ice and, perhaps, a blood-curdling scream or two echoing into the air. Then, splashing water, everywhere, loud and ominous. It is only for a few moments, but it was terrifying, and it was completely unmistakable. There was nothing in the entire Arena that could deaden this sound.

It is the sound of tons of ice snapping. Those Tributes that manage to survive, or be far enough away from the edges of the glacier, will find that the playing field has become smaller. Now, there is that much less room between them, the elements, and those others they are meant to kill. - or be killed by.

However, for many other Tributes, the ice is the ground right underneath their feet, now gone just as suddenly. The wrong place at the wrong time.

A fatal misstep for them all. At the very least.

Comments

[luckofthedevil]

Despite the mildly creepy sounds down in the crevasses, Alex had taken a liking to camping down in them. Less wind and less chance of someone falling through his roof. After bumping into Sigma the night before, Alex had camped once again with the other Tribute, even if he still thought the man was a touch odd.

He hadn't slept well though, unable to ignore those creaks in the ice. Maybe if he'd tried he could have, but in the back of his mind he kept hearing his uncle warning him about the dangers of avalanches during their last skiing trip. And he'd been recalling those warnings since the first day in the Arena. It did not make for good sleep, and Alex had been feeling it the last few days.

So when that first thunderclap came, Alex was up like a shot. Avalanche? No, no, it had been too sharp. He'd heard avalanches before, and this was different. And then he remembered where they were. In the crevasse of a glacier.

"Wake up!" he screamed. If he was right, making noise right now wouldn't matter a bit. "It's breaking up!"

[futilecycle]

Sigma jolted awake, ripped from an exhausted sleep. Scrambling from his sleeping bag, he narrowed his eye and waited for a premonition to prove the boy's suspicions.

"No-," he begins to say. His powers had returned to him, at least as long as they remained down here, and he would forsee any disaster. "It won't-" The cracking noise began again, and Sigma jumped. That deadly sound was indeed the ice breaking apart, and soon it would be upon them, under them. So why? Why hadn't he predicted that future? He was the most powerful esper alive, and unless it had yet to happen, unless he was locked inside a timeline with a deadly fate already decided, he would always see it...

And then he understood.

Wide and alert with the knowledge of death, Sigma abandoned his gear and bolted to the wall. "We have to go," he said hollowly. Perhaps one of them could yet escape...

[luckofthedevil]

Alex was loath to leave his sleeping bag behind, but there was no helping it. It would only get in the way and there was no time to roll it up. Slinging his quiver over his shoulder as he ran, Alex threw himself at the wall and started climbing. Thanks to the amount of climbing he'd done with his uncle and the times he'd spent climbing cliffs for bird eggs here, he had little trouble finding the necessary foot and hand-holds. It was just a question of if he could get to the top fast enough.

And if this part of the glacier would stay connected.

[futilecycle]

For Sigma, it was much simpler to climb up than to descend. His cybernetic arms kept his grip perfectly steady and firm on the ice, and lifted his body weight with ease. But partway up, after some time frantically climbing, Sigma noticed the wind had well-weathered the wall... The once serrated glacier was now as flat as a sheet of ice.

He gritted his teeth, looking around for something to grab on to. The closest foothold above him was out of his reach, and the nearest one to his sides was a few metres away to his left. He'd have to use drastic measures, but first nervously looked down to Alex. Part of him wanted to selfishly leave him behind to be the one doomed by fate, but his morals kept him from it. "C-Come up from the left-"

That was when he noticed the floor they had been standing on minutes before was beginning to fall.

[luckofthedevil]

Alex had been trying not to look down. It would only distract him. The noises from behind and below were more than enough to tell him what was happening. But when a small chuck of ice whizzed past his head, he glanced down as he ducked his head.

It was going to be a long way down if he fell.

Forcing himself to look back up, he tightened his grip on the cliff as Sigma called down to him.

"Left?" It was difficult to see past Sigma, so he trusted the older man and started making his way to the side.

I hope this makes any sense at all

[futilecycle]

As Alex moved, Sigma began backtracking, hoping to follow after him if the boy was successful. But as he stepped down, the foothold he had used to climb up crumbled - he yelped and moved back to his place immediately. Shit!

Now he was truly stuck. He had no knife or tools to use to climb the wall. Except... The cyborg closed his eye, mentally preparing himself for what he had to do. He bit down on a finger of his right glove and pulled the fabric away with his teeth. The skin on his injured 'hand' was now nearly deflated due to the loss of fluid, and white, stringy robotic nerves showed beneath his skin, sitting on top of metal. The cold air stung them immediately.

Looking up, Sigma surveyed the wall of ice for weaknesses. He settled on an area that looked slightly less compact than the rest. It was his only chance... Perhaps he could...

With one fluid motion, Sigma scraped his bare hand down the ice wall forcefully. Nerves snapped away from the metal bone, sparking and popping as white blood spurt from beneath them, and the Doctor suppressed a scream. With the artificial muscle torn away, the sharp, titanium phalanges that served as his bones were at last exposed.

Reeling in pain, the Doctor stared above him tiredly. He slowly drew his arm back... And leaping upwards, plunged his hand into the wall, remaining nerves and all - they tore and peeled back as his "fingers" pierced through the ice. His metal bones embedded in the wall now the only thing holding him up, he dangled from the side of the crevasse. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began hoisting his body above his right arm, reaching towards an outcrop of ice high above him. His only gloved hand curled around it after what felt like ages. The lengths he would go to survive, even at his age, always did surprise him.

Pale and exhausted, Sigma yanked his robotic hand from the wall and gathered what remained of his energy, preparing to ascend the rest of the distance. First, he looked for Alex. Had he made it yet..?