Ready for Abduction // [Hunters vs. PE Day 4]

From deep within the cabin of [insert ship name once i figure it out], Sullivan Plier thinks about who he is and what he's done. His heart beats softly, solemnly, like the march of a funeral procession, and his breath is shallow. It's been hours since Royce Benstaloe took his last breath, yet it feels like seconds. Will it always feel like seconds? He hopes not. 

Throughout the night, Sullivan's rest is sporadic. Sleep comes in bursts, guided by the hand of guilt, and he stares at the time on his watch with pained eyes. A dull beep parses through the room indicating a private message; after a moment of hesitation, curiosity gets the best of him.

*Oblivion:* Sullivan?

*Sullivan:* Oblivion.

*Oblivion:* Hey, sorry, I was worried I'd message the wrong person. Seems easy to do on this silly thing.

*Oblivion:* But that's not the reason for messaging

*Oblivion:* I just want to make sure you're holding up okay.


*Sullivan:* I'm holding up just fine, thanks.

*Sullivan:* Not sure why you care.

*Sullivan:* You shouldn't care.

*Sullivan:* I

*Sullivan:* I killed him.

*Oblivion:* Part of me wishes I didn't care. It would make all of this so much easier.

*Oblivion:* I kinda know how it feels. Killing.

*Oblivion:* I wish I didn't

*Oblivion:* This isn't what I wanted in life. I don't think anyone wants this.

*Sullivan:* I know I sure didn't.

*Sullivan:* I don't blame you for Blue, you know.

*Sullivan:* I don't.

*Oblivion:* It's a hard burden to carry.

*Oblivion:* Knowing that I'm the reason he's gone

*Oblivion:* I can't fault you for Royce either.

*Oblivion:* I just wish more people would see it that way instead of trying to make me feel like a super shitty person when I already feel that way.

*Sullivan:* Hanaa can be a lot. She means well.

*Sullivan:* I just don't think that she understands what it's like.

*Sullivan:* To take a life, I mean.

*Oblivion:* I'm pretty sure she wants me dead, but that's okay

*Oblivion:* I don't blame her

*Oblivion:* We're all just trying to survive

*Oblivion:* Maybe if I knew her before all of this took place... like back in the Capitol.

*Sullivan:* Maybe.

*Sullivan:* But maybe that'd have only made it worse. She already thinks it's personal. (edited) 

*Sullivan:* That's what she doesn't get. It's _not_ personal. Nothing about it is personal.

*Sullivan:* You didn't wake up and decide that you wanted to be here.

*Sullivan:* You didn't choose this.

*Oblivion:* I will never understand why anyone would willingly do this

*Oblivion:* It's an awful place

*Oblivion:* I have a lot to live up to. People looking at me as a career.

*Oblivion:* But I'm not. I'm just a healer.

*Sullivan:* Some people thrive off of it.

*Sullivan:* The adrenaline.

*Sullivan:* The instinct.

*Sullivan:* But you don't have to be like that. I'm glad you're not like that.

*Oblivion:* It would make this all easier if I was, but I don't want to lose myself in this. At the end of the day, I want to simply be me.

*Oblivion:* I'm done trying to prove I'm worthy to my family. If they don't see it already, then they'll never see it

*Sullivan:* And I admire you for that. I wish I could say the same.

*Oblivion:* Take care of yourself, Sullivan, and always remember who you are through all of it.

*Sullivan:* I appreciate it. You make sure to do the same.

*Sullivan:* Maybe we'll see each other again soon.

*Oblivion:* Maybe we will.

*Oblivion:* Until next time.

Sullivan closes out of the chat with a sigh and turns over, his heart feeling slightly fuller than it had earlier on in the night. He wonders, momentarily, how this conversation will affect him moving forward. Will he feel any better about killing? Will he hesitate if he sees her again? He decides that he'll just have to wait and see.

/

[I'm going to write more here, I promise. It is just really late and I will be out all weekend and I need to get my post up. Love u guys.]

I barely survived.

Bones were broken, splinted in my body, and I could feel it. It was an awkward sensation, but one that I quickly wanted to forget as well. I had no clue what to expect coming into this fight, but the moment their maces connected with my body, was the moment I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t much of a life, war torn and battle ridden since the day I was born. My father ruined me, which meant I had nothing left to lose.

That was why I was here, and at this point, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make it home or not. Both sides of it looked remorseful, but I kept flipping the thoughts around in my mind.

I hated this.

---

Sullivan had been the one to save our lives this time, the death of the boy from ten had been hard, clearly, but necessary for mine and Alphie’s survival.

I almost thought it wasn’t personal, but it was, I knew that. We had taken our revenge, and now one of them had fallen in return. We were even. That’s all there was too it. I could let it go now.

But then I got a ding on my watch.

---

Oblivion: If you wanted me to feel bad for what I did, for killing Blue, you've done a terrible job at it.

Hanaa : Who says i was trying to do a good job at it? You murder an ally. A friend. You caused pain, and even though death is inevitable here, it does not take the sting out of it.

Hanaa : and now we’re even. A life for a life. Take care of orion. That gash on his stomach looked pretty gnarly.

Oblivion: We are even, but for how long? How long until we strike at each other once more? How long before another one of us falls? A life for a life won't cut it in here.

Oblivion: And it does hurt a lot. Killing someone. Watching them fall lifeless.

Oblivion: Everything about this place reminds me why I never became a career despite living in a career district. Why volunteer for something like this when all is does is lead to death in the end?

Hanaa: one, i never asked you to justify anything about your life to me. I come from seven and you come from one. Even if you werent a career, you still carry that branding, which means you are still considered lethal. To make it worse, you have reinforced that by killing Blue.

Hanaa: everything about the games blows ass, but we were chosen to be here, and that means we have to leave certain parts of ourselves at the tubes we entered through. I might not want to be here, but I need to show someone that as easy as it is to give life, its harder to lose it.

Hanaa: i hope we do meet again oblivion, and i hope you come at me with everything you have, because i wont be holding back either. The only way this ends is in our collective deaths. Only one makes it out. This isnt the 80th. I am not Lex. You are not Bette.

Oblivion: We can sit here trying to justify actions for what has happened, but like everyone else, I want to live. I never said I am Bette, but what I do know is that I'm not a cold blooded monster that kills for fun. Blue dying took a piece out of me, but I can't let that devour me right now when the game is still going strong.

Oblivion: But if you want to see a ruthless side, I'll give it to you, and I won't show any mercy.

Oblivion: We'll fight, and may the best person win

Hanaa : im not here to justify any actions. I didnt ask you too. And i would never ask you too. This is the hunger games. Not the best intentions games. I could give a rats ass about anyone’s feelings at this point. I have the battle wounds to prove that no one gives a shit about mine.

Hanaa : good. Bring it blondie. You might have been spared some bruises this fight, but if we see each other again, i dont think you will be as lucky.

Oblivion: I look forward to that day. Maybe it'll happen sooner rather than later. No apologies. Nothing. Just the two of us fighting it out. It's the games after all, and apologies don't mean anything in here.

Oblivion: Until next time

---

I wanted to punch her through the watch. The sheer nerve of her to message me, condescend to me, tell me that my words don’t matter. That she shouldn’t feel bad for what she did. I did not give one shit about her, or her opinion, that much I had already resigned too, but the fact that she went on and on about how I shouldn’t make her feel that way? Who was she to tell me what to do?

All I knew what that I couldn’t wait to see her again.

---

I spent the night applying bandages to my broken bones. The gash on my stomach hurt, but with a needle and thread, I pieced myself back together as Alphie and Sullivan had tried to scavenge up a couple things.

I looked out the window of the residential quarters, grabbing the telescope in my bag and taking a moment to use it to look out the window even further.

I wondered if we really were in space, or if this was just artificial. Everything felt real, but anything could feel real in the capitol. After all, they could sell any lie they wanted too. The 80th was a perfect example of that.

I realized that looking out into the distance was going to do nothing for me, so with a quick flick of my wrist, I threw the telescope to the side and cursed it into oblivion.

Ripred I hated that word.

---

The anthem had passed, and faces had begun to pop up from our watches. First the girl from four, then the boy from ten and finally Kit, who I had only had one real interaction with in the training center.

If anything, I was going to miss him. As for the other’s good riddance. Never loved them anyway.

All I needed was Alphabet and Sullivan anyway. They were my two closest allies, and while they might have been the silent types, I was okay with that. I knew that I did so much more talking then both of them combined.

It was just in my bones at this point.

---

The night passed, and in the morning, we moved into the control room. However, before I could even take a look at the place, a laser sound came out of know where and sliced right through my skin.

Elite.

He spoke nonsense. "Well we are..." I stated plainly as the sting from the blast had intensified. ”Are you sure the mutts have gone crazy? Or is it just you?”

Hanaa sneered for a moment before realizing that this was going to be an all out war all over again.

I closed the distance between us and looked Elite up and down. The wound still fresh. I pointed to it, ”is this because I called your mom a hoe?” I spoke clearly as I pulled out my knife.

”Cause she still is. And you’re an asshole.” And I took a stab at him.

With his lips pressed into a thin line, Sullivan braces himself for impact. The laser blaster fires, leaving little kickback, and he winces-- but nothing comes. Nobody slices into his chest, nobody shoots back. Sullivan is left floating in the air by himself, forgotten. 

He thinks, for a moment, that maybe this is for the best. That maybe he should leave now before anyone remembers who he is and what he's here to do. Sullivan Plier does not want to kill, but he has. And he will again, if it comes down to it. 

The funny thing is, he doesn't remember. There is no recollection of crushing Royce's skull other than what he's been told; his "memory" is nothing but patchwork. Sullivan has a hole in his brain where that fight should be, and that scares him more than he is willing to admit. 

"Alright," he says, mouth full of uncertainty. There is something velvety about where his voice comes from, as if it were harvested from the soft spot between his sternum and his heart. He hardly ever speaks, and yet, now seems like the one time he should. "Alright."

With one eye shut, Sullivan takes aim once again. He hesitates, finger pausing on the trigger, before red fills his vision. It's the same red as last time, and he knows this feeling because it's the same feeling as last time, too. This isn't alright, he thinks. Nothing about this is alright.

But something inside of him makes his grip on the gun grow tighter, and he decides that for the time being, being 'alright' doesn't matter. 

I couldn’t believe how fast this was all going. They rushed us good, and the sounds of laser blasters in the distance made it hard to concentrate. Before I knew it, Alphie had already had parts of him stabbed through himself, and while I wanted to be supportive, I knew that he would be able to suck it up. This had to be done. It was the only way for one of them to survive after all.

I heard Elite scream shut up, and before I could react, he had the blaster pointed directly at my chest. I watched him press the trigger, and my chest would never feel the same. ”Fuck.” I said loudly, but before I could even respond with anything more eloquent, the girl from ten had followed up with a stab from her sword.

My body hurt, but if I was going to die here, then I was going to make it hurt. ”Oh? You think your scary with that sword? Please.” I spat out even though the pain was intense. ”Sorry Sullivan, I probably shouldn’t share this, but were the reason why your district partner is dead.” I stated plainly, rasping through bits of dryness that was coming up and out of my throat.

I knew that this would probably get me killed, but at this point, I knew I was not destined to make it home. My consciousness was already fading, and I probably only had enough strength in me for one good swing.

So I placed the knife back in the sheath and grabbed the mace from my back. It wasn’t much, but I had a feeling that I had to make this last swing count. ”Y’all want me dead? You’re gonna have to really dig deep.” I lifted my arm in pain. ”And Nine, Eos is it? you better get to Nell. She misses you.” I smiled as I brought my mace down on Elite.

If I was going to die, I would try to take the asshole down with me.