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thearena2014-07-23 09:43 pm
etcircenses) wrote in thearena2014-07-23 09:43 pm
Mini Arena 2
Tributes are woken early, and the hovercraft ride is a long one. Not the longest some have experienced, but they are clearly going far.
25 - 24 - 23
They land on the deck of the boat, and are ushered underneath, to the lower levels, quickly. Their stylists go from cabin to cabin, decking them out in over the top finery, before loading them into the pods installed into the corners of the rooms.
20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16
The platforms lift them up, and they are all ringed around a grand buffet table, loaded with a grand feast looking ready to sag down from the weight. Among the food are supplies, plenty of them, all for the taking.
11- 10 - 9 - 8
They've all been warned, don't step off your pedestal early. They have also been warned to put on a good show. That's all this is about, a good show. None of them have been told that there can be multiple winners this time around.
5 - 4
3
2
The sound of the gong plays crystal clear across the opening. The games have begun.
25 - 24 - 23
They land on the deck of the boat, and are ushered underneath, to the lower levels, quickly. Their stylists go from cabin to cabin, decking them out in over the top finery, before loading them into the pods installed into the corners of the rooms.
20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16
The platforms lift them up, and they are all ringed around a grand buffet table, loaded with a grand feast looking ready to sag down from the weight. Among the food are supplies, plenty of them, all for the taking.
11- 10 - 9 - 8
They've all been warned, don't step off your pedestal early. They have also been warned to put on a good show. That's all this is about, a good show. None of them have been told that there can be multiple winners this time around.
5 - 4
3
2
The sound of the gong plays crystal clear across the opening. The games have begun.
no subject
Before Clem even says anything about his injuries, Clara notices them and is suddenly at a loss about what to do. There's no first aid kit or even just water and something to clean his wounds with. And that's not even touching on the little bit of bruising that she can see. The best that she can think of is tearing his shirt to wipe him down, but that doesn't seem like it'll be that helpful.
So instead she chooses to focus on the more important things at hand. "I haven't seen anyone for a while, other than you two." She doesn't know what that could mean and she isn't sure if she wants to. Wyatt had told her that there were smaller Arenas with multiple winners before, after all. That's how he became a Victor after all. So maybe there was a chance that the three of them could get out of the Arenas for good.
"Whether or not we're the only ones left, it doesn't mean much if we don't survive this thing."
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"There was a guy down below, like I said. I dunno if he made it someplace else. Fucker deserves to fall overboard." He shrugs, not shying away from the vitriol for the stranger. He wants to ask about people he knows and people he saw around, but he doesn't really want to know the answers.
"What's the plan? Keep scaling, and then what? Drum circle for peace?" He doesn't mean to sound demanding or skeptical, but he's worried. There's hope that they'll all make it through, but it seems like something they would have announced long ago if it were true. He still wants to hope, because he doesn't want to have to imagine Clara or Clem picking between each other, he doesn't factor himself into that equation.
no subject
"I don't know what else to do but keep climbing. We'll freeze to death if we end up in the water." Clementine nods (and that's if the sharks don't get them first), her gaze still on Dave worriedly and occasionally skipping over to Clara. "I can't see anything good to make a raft out of either."
Every second they sit here the ship is sinking steadily lower into the water, they can't afford to rest for long.
no subject
And, last she checked, Jack and Rose didn't have to deal with sharks on top of insane ex-fiances who wanted their diamond back and a sinking ship. But it's what they have to work with right now, and it's a risk worth taking.
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"Alright, operation 'I'll never let go' is go." He's resigned to agreeing, even he doesn't imagine this will end well. He's repositioning himself, glancing up the span of the ship as he tries to map out the quickest and easiest path up the ship.
"Clem why don't you g- Woah, shit-" He stumbles over his words as his legs give out under him. The ship he'd been staring up at is starting to tilt at a much faster pace and the wet ground has no traction with these shitty dress shoes. His skinny frame is hitting the wall and rolling backward with nothing to grip onto before he's flung off solid ground. By some miracle, he manages to get a grip onto the ledge and god it's fucking hurting his hands to support his weight. "Fffuck." He can't help letting out a grunt of absolute pain, knuckles going white from the strain he's giving himself trying to lift himself back up.
no subject
Whatever Clem was going to say is lost forever as the ship suddenly lurches further back. The world tilts and moves in a terrifying blur as she suddenly goes sliding backwards, scrabbling and twisting desperately for any purchase she can possibly find with a frightened cry.
Her hand catches finally with a painful yank at her shoulder on the edge of the ledge at the opposite side from Dave and Clementine realises with horror the hundreds of feet there is below them both to plummet. The sharks won't even get a chance, the fall will almost certainly kill her first. She desperately tries to swing her other hand up, to resist panic even as frightened gasps pass her lips.
There's no way she's going to do this, she's going to slip and fall any moment. Clementine simply doesn't have the strength to pull herself back up.
no subject
But this...she doesn't know how to choose. In a perfect world she'd be able to haul both of them up and they'd all be able to climb to (relative) safety, but she isn't sure if either of them can hold on that long. And that's not even thinking about the fact that she's starting to get tired.
Her next action isn't her choosing between them, because she would never. But the girl (and it strikes her that she doesn't even know her name) is so damn young, maybe only a few years older than her son, and she can't imagine her being able to hold on as long as Dave probably can. So she gets down on her knees, hoping that the suit might give her a little traction, and grabs a hold of Clementine's wrists. "I've got you," she says, trying to sound as calm and soothing as possible when, in fact, she's terrified. "Dave, I need you to hold on for just another minute, and once you're back up here we'll start heading up. We're going to make it through this, I promise."
no subject
He remains silent and thankful when it's clear what she's doing, but that doesn't mean he's going to be forthcoming with his own choices. His body is shaking so hard, he barely needs to let go. It just sort of happens in an instant, before he has the chance to hold onto anymore hope of this going another way. He shuts his eyes, searching for something witty and thoughtful to finish on, something the fucking cameras will love, but his brain is a fuzzy, terrified mess and he can only manage one last word before he lets his hand pull back as discreetly as possible.
"Nope."
There are worse words to end on, he thinks. It could have been fuck. His heart is still beating hard against his chest as he descends, the air rushing past to make him all the more freezing. But he's not cold anymore, he's just there, watching the wall get further and further away and thinking how damn nice it would be if he could fly right now. Fear is gripping him tightly, but there isn't any regret in his mind. If he can get Clem and Clara out of the Arenas, then one dramatic death would be worth it. He can pay his dues, because he can be good for something, for once. He didn't fuck this one up.
By now he's a blip in the distance to Clem and Clara and the impact is enough to knock the lights out of him just as he feels the nip of cold water when he hurtles into the depths of it.
no subject
If she can just --
"DAVE!" her voice carries above the wind as she turns her head sharply when he speaks, when his hand slips and Dave plummets downwards too fast for her to keep track of, just the echo of his final word left behind. "Dave, no! No!"
Stunned disbelief is all she can feel in those seconds, one moment he was there and the next gone.
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Obviously that doesn't happen.
She doesn't care if she'll see him back in the Capitol, looking as if nothing happened. She'll still have nightmares about him falling when (if, really) she goes to bed tonight. And right now she can't even scream, the most that comes out is a small, strangled sound.
For a moment she almost forgets about what she has to do. How she needs to haul the girl up so they can climb to the top. It finally clicks in her head to pull, and she does, bringing the her back onto the platform.
Clara has to steel herself for a moment before she says anything, because right now she needs to focus on keeping this girl alive so she can win and Dave's sacrifice won't be in vain. "We need...we need to keep climbing. You can ride on my back if you want."
no subject
Now's not the time to cry, she knows. That's later, if she survives this. Clementine hiccups again and her eyes are glistening in the dark with what she's holding back but her voice is firm and determined if strained.
"I can make it."
She's going to make it, she has to, for Dave and -- so she doesn't have to do this stupid thing all over again. "I can."
Her cold fingers flex and Clementine wishes she was bigger, stronger, that she didn't constantly have to have others worry over her.