ARENA 10-Placid Hollow

[etcircenses]

The Tributes are taken early in the morning, most of their support teams seeming in good cheer as they dress them in warm clothes, getting them to their tubes. There is obvious comfort in the familiar for the prep teams, and they chatter with, or in some cases, over the heads of their Tributes as they get them ready and load them up.

20

19

18…

If the Tributes could see the area they are passed up into, they would see a deeply overgrown, dilapidated town green, with a large bandstand rotting away in the middle. The spoils of the cornucopia are not gathered in one spot, instead scattered throughout the thigh high grass and weeds around the town green.

Around the edge of the green, the old business stand a silent sentry, looming out of the fog as it thins and winds into them, providing much desired cover.

8

7

6…

But the Tributes cannot see the ground around them. The fog, thicker even than it will be in the rest of the arena, makes the world small around them. The sound of the count down echoes strangely, the tributes seeming too close as the fog brings sounds of their breath, their coughing, the snap of twigs under their feet right to ears of the other Tributes. But with the fog bringing visibility down to only a few feet, it's hard to tell what is a true danger, and what is only the fog playing tricks on them,.

3

2

1

The gong rings out, and the countdown's voice announces "the Arena is now open". The Games have begun.

Comments

[blinkersoff]

It was a quick, swooping motion, one that came out of nowhere. His body language changed that quickly, from meek and unsure, to threatening, as he leaned down and swept up the hammer in one fluid motion, swinging it at Joel's side.

His voice suddenly filled with outrage, he screamed, "You're not a person unless I say so! How dare you?!"

How dare someone try to take that on themselves? That was his right to decide.

[aintyourdad]

It was fast, but the sledgehammer was heavy and gave Joel time to react - maybe not enough time, as it still grazed him hard enough that he saw stars and he was pretty sure a couple of his ribs were cracked in the process, knocking him off his feet.

But at least he got far enough out of the way that it didn't cave his chests in completely.

He had no idea what this psycho was ranting about, all that mattered was getting the upper hand so he didn't get his brains bashed out. That sledgehammer was a formidable weapon, but it would be slow to maneuver around for another swing, and Joel had superior weight and muscle mass, at least at a glance. He could use that to his advantage.

With a grunt, and keeping low, Joel barreled at the younger-looking kid, throwing all his weight into it, hoping to knock him off his feet, knock the breath out of him long enough to get the upper hand, maybe even grab the sledgehammer away from him.

Someone might be getting their brains bashed in, but it wouldn't be Joel. Not today.

[blinkersoff]

Joel definitely had the advantage in terms of size so Jan went down like a sack of rice and something cracked, causing him to cry out.

It also mean that the sledgehammer was knocked out of his hands.

Jan was vicious in response, though, trying to punch Joel in the nose, clawing at his eyes.

[aintyourdad]

Joel heard the sound, saw the sledgehammer get knocked away, and decided not to bother trying to grab it up again - too heavy, and it would throw him off-balance, to boot. He was already in enough pain, and keeping away from the kid's clawing, punching hands was giving him enough trouble.

Jan's fist managed to connect - not with Joel's nose, but with the side of his head as he tried to keep his face away, and he grunted in pain again as black spots bloomed in front of his eyes. Jesus, another hit like that and he'd definitely have a concussion.

He smashes his fist down, hard, at whatever part of Jan he can reach, intending to do at least enough damage so that he can get away, get to safety.

[blinkersoff]

One particularly vicious blow got Jan to temporarily stop, enough that Joel had an opening to get away.

[aintyourdad]

The kid was nice and bloodied, and Joel would've been fine with finishing the job - but he was keenly aware of the situation - out here, like this, making so much noise - he was a sitting duck, and even if this psycho couldn't hurt him anymore, someone else could come along any minute even worse.

And he needed to find Ellie. Stay alive, and find Ellie.

So when the hands dropped, for even a split second, Joel took his chance - he scrambled away, ignoring the pain in his ribs, excruciating as it was, and stumbled into the mist, grasping for anything he could get his hands on. Only a few feet away, and there was a bag on the ground. Without even thinking, he grabbed it up, dragging it along with him.

Whatever was in the bag, well - he'd figure that out later. He'd need all the help he could get, anyway.

[blinkersoff]

Jan sat up, holding a hand to his bleeding face, seemingly in shock.

It was an alien feeling, bleeding. Mortality. It was revolting and at the same time, it dug down deep and reminded him of the things before the void, the ones that had been lost so long ago.

Even so, he was still furious over being made to bleed.

"I'm going to kill you!" he screamed shrilly as Joel ran away, hos voice completely hysterical. "I'll turn your skin to tissue paper!"