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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1

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

[justoutrunyou]

She let him, and even if she hadn't wanted to she was long past the point of struggling. Down into the darkness they fell landing on thick full trash bags that felt uncomfortably warm and smelled like spoiled food.

As much as she wanted to scream, to cry out in pain as she landed on the burnt half of her body she jammed her good fist into her mouth and bit down till she tasted blood. It did the trick and all that squeaked out was a whimper.

A square of light shone down on them from above, dust and grit fell down into the dumpster with them as the beast thundered around above.

[foundafamily]

The fall could have been less pleasant. It also could have been a lot more pleasant, and Firo cringed for Sandy when he thought of how much more uncomfortable she had to be. All this crap probably wasn't good for her wounds at all, either.

With the light over them, he wondered if the creature would be able to see them. He tried to pull himself over the trash bags to better shield her.

"You okay? Is this thing gonna stay on our tail?"

He tried to shield his eyes from the debris as he looked up, searching for any sign that the thing was coming after them.

[justoutrunyou]

She wished she had an answer for him, but she had no idea if that thing had a strong sense of smell to go with it's apparently sensitive ears. She opted to nod silently at him that she was OK when the tears streaming down her face begged to differ. What's worse is she thought she felt something moving around underneath her. The last thing they needed was rapid attack rats biting at them while they were trying to hide.

Up in the alley above them the beast let out a roar, and from the sound of crashing metal it was knocking over Trash cans and ripping through a chain link fence in it's efforts to find them...but the sounds were getting further away.

[foundafamily]

Firo waited until the sounds were fainter before speaking again. It felt terrible hiding like a weakling, but it seemed to be the only option.

He exhaled shallowly, not wanting to relish the smell of the garbage. "The hell was that? You'd seen stuff like that before?"

[justoutrunyou]

She nodded slowly and focused her attention on him hoping to help ignore the pain.

"The last thing I saw in my world before waking up here, was a monster like that. They were falling out of the sky...like angels. But as soon as they hit the ground I knew we were in trouble. It chased me for blocks...almost got me."

Until she led it into a church full of kids that were slower then she was at least.

"I've had nightmares about it ever since. Sometimes it shows up in the hallucinations the Capitol makes me have, but this is the first time it's been real."

And with that little detail, Sandy's username seems much more dark...

[foundafamily]

He laughed uneasily. He'd seen some weird stuff in his life, but that was downright creepy. "Like angels, huh?"

"And so now they go all the way and bring it here... How nice of them." He tried to stand up, wobbling on the unsteady surface of trash bags; he held his hand out to her when he was balanced. "Well, you got away again this time, so maybe your luck'll hold."

"You know anything else about how to deal with 'em besides the loud noises?"

Bingo. She doesn't have to outrun the bear, she just has to outrun the other campers

[justoutrunyou]

She took his hand with her non-burnt one and bit her lip to keep her pain muffled. Grunting and clenching tight as the muscles screamed at her for respite she knew she couldn't afford to give them.

"I don't. There were some books in another arena that were all about my life and how I was supposed to die after dealing with those things...but I never found out how they finally got defeated."

Another fun Capitol trick she'd fallen victim to. The bookstore in the mall arena had been particularly depressing.

Smart girl

[foundafamily]

Firo waited until she looked stable to let go. He turned in a circle looking for a ladder or a way out, trying to make the most of what light reached them.

Die? That snapped his attention back to her. "You wha--? Probably just tryin' to freak you out. What the hell do they know about the future?"

But it made him uneasy to hear. After all, Phil supposedly also was already dead back home...

[justoutrunyou]

"I hope you're right." Because thumbing through those books, most of her closest friends and relations had some very unhappy endings in store for them.

"Hardly matters either way. If I stay here I keep fighting. If I get sent home who knows if I'll even remember any of this. So worrying about it is...pointless I guess." She heaved her way out of the trash she had been sinking into and clutched at the lip of the dumpster trembling as a fresh wave of pain made her almost lose control. It was like a sharp impact to her spine that made her legs not want to work, made her insides quake.

[foundafamily]

Firo wished he could promise, but that would just be a lie. So he nodded without saying anything further on it.

When in doubt, just don't think about it. Firo was relieved to hear her say something so akin to his usual reaction to any sort of emotional concern--if she could just brush her worries aside, she would be fine, right?

Firo stood nearby, primed to spring to her aid if she needed it. "...Be honest, how far are you gonna be able to go? Maybe we should just stay here for shelter."

They made it away this time, but what about the next? What would happen to her?