Into the fire; Into the light [Claude Death Post] wip

My blade had driven itself into Willis' chest, deep enough that the blood running from the wound was significant. My other strike to his back was nothing near the force of this blow, and I prayed I had struck deep enough to kill - but he was still standing. I was bleeding too, the cut on my leg running dry though the shuriken that had stuck in my chest had left me with a thick trail of blood down my front. After as many encounters with this bastard as I had had, I was beginning to feel like his pin cushion. By this point I wouldn't have been surprised if I had gotten a weapon stuck in every part of my body. I could see the scars on my legs and arms from previous fights, the scuffing on my boots from the miles I had walked. I was wearing down and everyone in all of Panem was watching.

My parents were probably somewhere between a smile and a frown, glad to be rid of me, sad that I wasn't doing better. I was always too much for them to handle, and now they could finally leave me behind. I knew I would die in here, but I didn't realize I might die twice. My mind and soul were gasping for their lasts breaths as my body fought for its. I kept my eyes locked on the drunk - who didn't seem quite as drunk now that I see it, if anything he was hung over - hoping to find a way to kill him and be gone. I just wanted to show my friends, show the world, show myself that I was more than a dead weight. I'm sure we both could have used a little pain relief right about now, and I never remembered a time when I was more carefree than when I was drunk - of course the killer teddy bear was not a consoling image.

I saw that I was failing faster than he was, that despite the blow I had just landed I was the one slowing down more than him. We might have been evenly matched if I wasn't so useless with weapons, we must have been a similar enough height and build - or maybe he had me beat in that aspect as well, I couldn't say for certain. I had never been what most would call fit, and it was really starting to show. Besides, I had been injured more than Willis had yesterday and it made it even harder for me to keep up with him.

I really was a dead weight, I really was useless. I couldn't even kill a drunk boy. Savannah I'm sorry. I gritted my teeth, memories of Savannah, of Soap, of Lyric weighing me down. I took a breath and I cried.

I never felt the tears trailing down my cheeks but I wiped them away anyhow. The boy still stood before me, snatching up one of his shurikens, beginning to blur like the world was becoming smudged. Life was a piece of paper left in the rain, each letter smearing into the next and suddenly I knew he had let the weapon fly - because it was in my arm. My bicep blazed with pain and soon with true fire as well. It crawled up my skin, sinking black hooks into my flesh and clawing flaming talons at each and every nerve. I think I screamed then, and I don't think I ever stopped screaming. "Savannah I'm sorry!" She didn't hear me, she couldn't have heard me. "Soap I, I didn't want to go!" He was too far away, surely, maybe even dead.

"Lyric, oh Lyric, where are you?" It was soft compared to my screaming, a whisper comparing to the already grumbling flame that was slowly engulfing me. I choked on the stench of my own burning flesh, bending over to retch and subjecting myself to further torment as the fire leapt to my legs. I was retching and crying, my eyes stinging from the black horrible smoke rising from my body. If only it was quick, but I had never had that sort of luck. The dragon had had more fortune than I, it was sure, for she died in one stroke while I slowly burned away. My form was melting and I just kept screaming.

WIP WIP WIP

Sorry but I just can't right now. I want to make sure this is as wonderful a post as Claude deserves and that means I can't call this anywhere near finished yet. I will work on it over time, but I also made a promise that this would be my 1000th post. As a compromise, this is a wip.

test test test
"test test test"
test test test
test test test

- Insert list of awesome people here -

test test test
test test test
test test test