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

[designatedfreak]

Max is there running just behind the woman to keep watch that no one comes at them. She wonders if she should lead the woman to Courfeyrac's group or if the others would be mad at having another person to protect. She also wonders if she should just take the woman down in the fog.

The shadow of a building looms ahead, exactly nine meters from where they started. It's boarded up, but that doesn't stop Max from racing ahead and pulling at the boards with her small hands. Inside was better than outside and there could be supplies.

A small opening between the boards appears and Max motions for the woman to enter first. "Hurry, before someone sees us." She was well aware how vulnerable they might appear.

[ecphrasis]

The thought that the girl could kill her looms in the back of Molly's mind, but she needs to ignore it right now. She has the prybar gripped tightly in her hands, trying to build up the resolve to swing it if she has to. What she can do, at least, is use it to help Max pull down the boards covering the window.

There's only the slightest hesitation before Molly enters the house--it's dark, and doesn't immediately seem like anything special. But who knows what could be inside, or what the girl who had helped her would do when her back was turned? But she goes inside anyway, quickly turning with the prybar in her hands. Not held threateningly, of course, but held all the same.

"Thank you." The words are automatic, punctuated by slightly labored breathing, but not insincere.

[designatedfreak]

Max climbed in after the woman. The building inside was nearly bare and falling apart, but for now it was safer than staying outside with the Tributes.

"This is your first opening. Usually it's bloodier, but the fog is making things difficult." She glanced over the woman to make sure she was relatively unhurt. "Did you gain any supplies?"