Arena 15: In The Eye Of The Capitol

[etcircenses]

For the majority of you, this has become a familiar morning routine. Escorts come to pick up their Tributes and Stylists quickly see to setting them up with the bland and thin grey suits, much to most of their dismay. You'll not hear a word said in complaint though. The staff has gotten the threat to them loud and clear. Only the daring will be willing to offer even a mere "good luck". Peacekeepers quickly collect Tributes to send them off into the launch tubes. If you're from the Districts, it may be one of the last things you ever see.

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What everyone rises up to is not much better a sight. It's a war zone out here in every sense. Those native to Panem will recognize the sight before them, having seen it every year in a propaganda tape. The wreckage of District thirteen. The Cornucopia sits at the very center. Offworlders might recognize some of the weapons there, and if not, then they'll certainly be able to spot some familiar scenes far on the outer edges of the arena, perhaps even a beast or two they know well from their worlds.

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It's muddy and damp and there's plenty of wreckage to cut one's self upon no matter where it is Tributes run. The Cornucopia tempts the Tributes in for its bloodbath. Districter and Offworlder alike, there will only be one winner.

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The gong rings out and a voice announces; “The Arena is now open”. The Tributes are free to make their choice; to run or to fight. The Games have begun.

~~~

By the end of the night, one child from each District will have their face shone up into the sky, the first twelve killed at the Cornucopia. Only twelve to go...

Comments

[inrestlessdreams]

James has been in the city for a while and...for the first time since he's been in Panem, his radio has gone off. This brought no comfort to the man because there was one explanation: Silent Hill has somehow infected a part of the Arena. God he still remembers the sounds and thundering steps of the Mandarin or the other monsters he's familiar with.

When he spotted the other Tribute, he immediately tried to call the man's attention by running up to him. "You really shouldn't be out here...there's things here. You should head inside."

[foundafamily]

Strange guy running towards him? Firo was immediately up on his toes, first clenched, ready to start swinging.

Oh. Okay. No attack, just some guy talking--that was a lot better. Wait, what was this guy talking about? "'Things'? You're gonna have to be more specific about that, pal."

As of yet, Firo didn't look too concerned anymore. He glanced around in the mist a bit, shrugging mildly when he didn't see anything to worry about... yet. It was getting pretty hard to see out there.

[inrestlessdreams]

"There are monsters here, monsters that are familiar...to me," Sunderland quickly added, jittery as the radio kept going off. There are scores of the creatures around these parts, some of them he could live a happy life never seeing them again. He could have been his old self and wander around but not this time.

"We gotta go in before..." A loud thud echoed from down the street, while a shadow moved just too raggedy, too fluid to be human.

[foundafamily]

"Monsters?" There was something jarring about this whole scenario--the fussing man, the weird little device he had on him--he had to admit.

Then he saw something slipping through the fog. "...Is that what you're talkin' about?"

Firo glanced over at the man one more time, then stepped forward toward the shadow. Cautiously. Well, as cautiously as you could when you were trying to investigate something someone had just warned you against.

[inrestlessdreams]

James immediately seized Firo's arms and tried to pull him back, "What are you doing? I just told you that thing isn't friendly?!"

The noises, however dulled through the fog, alerted the creature that it was not alone in its' area. With the thunderous slamming of arms, it turned towards the two tributes and craned its unnaturally long neck towards them. Its' ever rotating mouth made disgusting wet noises, a corruption of what a woman's lips would sound like. Upon closer inspection, or at least as close as James can make before dragging Firo away, this is not the Mandarin but something worse. Neither of them had the right weapons to deal with this thing so the only solution is-

"Run!"

[foundafamily]

Instinctively, Firo started trying to pull away from James--but only for an instant. As soon as the thing came into better view, he changed his mind very quickly.

Firo stopped pulling away and started running with James. As he turned to glance over his shoulder to see how fast the creature was, he barked at the other man, "You said you know that thing?! Where the hell do you come from?"

[inrestlessdreams]

"Silent FREAKING Hill!" James reacted as any unfortunate "tourist" to the town of restless spirits would in seeing one of those abominations walk, no, run towards them. "Long story but if that thing catches up, we are very, VERY dead!"

If this thing was anything like the monsters Sunderland encountered, it would lose interest the moment they were out of its reach. "We gotta get into the buildings and fast!" He said as he tried to kick one of the doors open.

[foundafamily]

"Never heard of it!" The way this guy was talking, Firo wondered if he should have.

Having gotten a good look at the monster, Firo wasn't about to argue. "Our pal back there doesn't look too friendly."

All the more incentive to move. He joined James in wailing on the door and would kick until the wood splintered enough. "Is this gonna help ?"

[inrestlessdreams]

"What part of do not fight do you not get?" James shot back, "I need a pipe, a steel one. We need to make sure it dies quickly and doesn't call for back-up."

He knows he's contradicting himself but grammar lessons be damned, this was way too familiar and like hell he's dying on the first week! That would suck and he wanted to make sure his District had a shot.

"Just make sure it bleeds out, that neck should be, uh, breakable." Smooth.

[foundafamily]

Firo raised an eyebrow as he set about hunting for the desired pipe. "You make it sound like this thing talks." Come on, James, that'd just be creepy.

He came up the rusty remains of a length of pipe and tossed it to James. A shard of broken brick wasn't too far away, and Firo hurled it at the monster's head--maybe if they knocked it down, this guy could get an easier shot at hitting the neck.

[inrestlessdreams]

James had no time to react when he say what Firo did...and immediately started beating the shit out of the monster. He knows how to beat those from Silent Hill but the moment the creature let out a desperate moan, he knows they're in trouble.

"Shit, shit, shit, run!" he exclaimed, stomping the neck until he crushed the bones. It didn't take long before other Closers and monsters that were not necessarily from the tourist spot began to crowd around.

"You're not the subtle type, are you?"

[foundafamily]

Firo almost smiled as James starting going to town on the thing. At least this guy wasn't a pushover.

...And then the thing's friends showed up. Life was never easy. Firo snorted, amused despite the situation. "How'd you figure that out?

Firo was reluctant to start running, instead casting around for another pipe or anything that can be a weapon. The piece he came up with was small but jagged--at least it was something. "It'll be less trouble if we just take 'em all down now! How long can these things run, anyway?"

[inrestlessdreams]

Firo was clearly in the wrong place if he thought he could take on all the monsters and James knows better than to waste resources.

"You'd be wasting time and resources! It's better to run away and lose them!" spoken like a true horror protagonist and survivor of Silent Hill. What little they owned had to be managed, and more so if the blood splatters around the walls were any indication.

"You'd be eaten by the time you get to half of them!" Sorry Firo but this guy knows what he's talking about.

[foundafamily]

Firo scoffed. "I've taken tougher lookin' guys than them!" Street fights with the kind of monster that wears a person suit were Firo's everyday life. But when it came to actual monsters, he was completely out of his depth.

...And on some level he knew that. So even as he grunted and grumbled, he tore after the guy. "If this kinda thing's normal where you're from, how come you haven't found a way to take care of 'em yet?"

It was a rather unfair question on many levels, one that Firo might not have asked if he were less frustrated.

[inrestlessdreams]

"Because I value my life over those bastards!" James countered with, but he immediately snapped, "You want to go and die because you have some stupid notion that you can kill everything in your path? Fine! Be my guest! But you're gonna ripped to shreds and people will just laugh at you for being so stupid!"

James would never have said something like this but he was so frustrated at this Tribute's death wishes.

[foundafamily]

The first comment was fair enough, Firo supposed, but the second one had him gritting his teeth. It was all too similar to how the lawman Victor had mocked his brash and violent tendencies when they first met.

"Are you laughin', pal? 'Cause we can fight it out as soon as we get away from these guys, if you want somethin' to laugh at."

In that moment, the fact that he had this guy to thank for telling him about the monsters was conveniently forgotten.

[inrestlessdreams]

Sunderland had to blink at this line of reasoning and immediately pointed out, "Monsters chasing us, they want to eat us...are you sure that you want to fight, and draw more noise?" And I thought I was thick in the skull.

And here comes a string of words he'd apologize for later, if they make it out. But James had enough of Prochainezo's attitude and lack of self-perseverance, especially when facing enemies he had no idea how to handle.

"Is your ego so fragile that you can't see any other way to survive?! Now come on! I hear more of those things!"

[foundafamily]

"I said after we get rid of 'em!" Firo rolled his eyes and wondered to himself if this guy had any sense. Instead of considering the obvious fact that the guy was probably thinking the exact same thing about him.

Firo would keep moving with James even as he considered going back and taking his chances with the monsters. Like it or not, he was locked in an argument with this guy now; he couldn't back down from this kind of fight either. "Who the hell said it had anything to do with ego? Are you sure yours isn't the fragile one if you're takin' this time to argue?"

Never mind that Firo was also arguing. He didn't tend to consider counterargument.

this thread is magical

[inrestlessdreams]

"You're the one who wants to kill them all!" Sunderland is actually fed and he knows he's being a jackass at all this, "What insane concept would you prove killing all those monsters?!" James is probably the last person in Panem to talk about insanity, given his quite infamous break from reality in Arena 14. Hell, it got a sponsor to pay for therapy, that's how bad it was.

"Don't you have someone to survive for?"

It really is. So sorry, James

[foundafamily]

Oh, so now killing things was weird? Firo sighed, wondering how to even explain it to this guy. While he'd tried his best to avoid killing other Tributes--part morals, part 'fuck you' to the Capitol--sometimes you just had to get bloody. And those times apparently weren't really determined by how much danger you'd put yourself in. What would he prove? Why, one of the most important things of all: that he wasn't a pushover. That was worth nearly dying for.

He hesitated, suddenly reminded that he did have someone. Not only the people watching him from the Capitol, but also Ennis back home. He still didn't know what would happen to her if he died and wasn't revived.

Because of that show of weakness, he snapped back all the more rudely, "What's it to you if I've got somebody or not?"

tis the Sunderland life

[inrestlessdreams]

"Because you're gonna be fodder for them, a-and for what?" James pointed out point-blank. "For a few kills that will be replaced in no time. That someone will replace you while you're worm food! I have someone on the other side and-"

It was in that moment that he realized that "someone" wasn't Mary anymore, but Clara Murphy. He actually stopped dead in his tracks, as if something fundamental was broken. It was as if he smothered his wife all over again.

"Just move."

[foundafamily]

"I am," He huffed, almost as confused as he was annoyed now. What was wrong with this guy that such an innocuous talk would stop him in the middle of a chase?

Dropping the topic that actually stopped the guy would probably be the tactful thing. Unfortunately, Firo wasn't tactful. "And congratulations on havin' somebody. I'm so happy for you, I could just throw you a party." The words were somewhere between toneless and dripping disgustingly with sarcasm.

[inrestlessdreams]

"I'm a widower."

James wasn't exactly thinking straight anymore, as his mind tried to make sense of what he felt for Clara and the situation at hand. He really was in love with someone else, and he didn't think he was that horrid a man. Then again, he practically jumped at Maria when she welcomed him into her arms.

No that's not right.

As he hurried down the path, Firo's comment almost went unnoticed while he broke down any obstacles in their way.

[foundafamily]

Firo blinked, consternation all over his face. First this guy had somebody waiting for him, then he just had a dead wife or something? How the hell was that relevant? "So you don't have anybody then?"

Was the guy trying to make him feel bad? Well, it wasn't going to work on him, Firo resolved heartlessly.

He'd do what he could to help James with the obstacles, though even during the chase he kept some distance between their sides. No need to get too chummy.

cw: discussion of self-harm

[inrestlessdreams]

"I thought I didn't, I really did. I didn't think I could-" James sighed and tried to explain things in a sensible manner. "It's complicated but I didn't think I could actually have someone again after losing Mary. You don't know what it's like, to never move on and then suddenly realize you did and you never bothered to say goodbye. I drove my car into a lake, I was that desperate to be with her again."

And now, he wanted to leave Mary behind, sleeping forever at the bottom of Toluca Lake for Clara. He was devastated as he was conflicted. He didn't want to lose Mary's memory, he still loved her so much but...

"Now I don't want to go back to her. Why am I telling you?" His voice was dreamlike again, a man stuck in a memory.