|-.Deep Breath.-| [Day 5; Vindico v. Hiccups man.]

will atlas

:> = Takeba watches the lake and the sloshes it makes.

D: = Takeba sees Ember and she wonders who she is and why the heck she is carrying a scarecrow.

D:> = Takeba hears whistles and doesn't see Will attack Luyu, but Luyu attack Will. She is concerned, for she knew him before the HG started.

D:< = Takeba GETS ANGRY and determined to kick some ass. She grabs her dagger and goes to cut a hoe girl. People are just SO CRUDE. Cutting the only man in the Arena, humph!

[Attacks Luyu (Dagger/Knife)]
[dice=200+2000]
[Severed Left Ear - 8.0 (Ouch. ; )]

D:> = "OMG I'M SO SORRY," say her thoughts. She didn't mean to chop off an ear.

D8 = If she's seeing entrails. Gross.

o.O; = Did that girl just light her own ear on fire? Takeba is confused and sorry for the loss of an organ; she did not mean to.

-w- = Takeba sees Will block Luyu's attack, but she still has to fight, to her dismay. Why oh why did she have to get into this mess?

[Attacks Luyu (Knife)]
[dice=200+2000]
[Deep Gash on Right Thigh - 8.0 (Just WHAT are you doing?! Dx )]

Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Perhaps things could have gone a bit differently. Maybe if I hadn't started the confrontation, I wouldn't be in this state, three serious wounds dealt to me, close to a state of non-existence. But as you can probably see, things didn't happen this way. Instead, I'm near death, bleeding profusely and fighting two females whose blows are much too accurate for my liking. If only I could escape somehow... Some way... I instinctively turn my head towards the vast foggy area around me, wondering how far I'd get before there was a knife in my back. No, that's not a good idea.

Why am I such an idiot? Maybe if I thought about my surroundings, or what I was going to do, things wouldn't turn out this way. Sure, using pure instinct worked for a while, but not here. Now I can only hope that I can get out alive, although bleeding to death is the more likely option. Hmm, I never thought that today would be my last day on earth. I don't know why I didn't think that - in the Hunger Games, every day could be your last. But for some reason... Today just felt different, like things were going to be okay.

Clearly, I was dead wrong on that gut feeling. Perhaps I thought that I'd be well out of range for an attack today. Maybe I just assumed that I'd finally get a flipping break. How did I... Why did I think that? I'm an idiot, thinking that I'll have another peaceful day in the Games. It's designed to provide entertainment for the Capitolites, not to be easy going on tributes, no; the fact that they kill us is proof enough for that, and I'm about to be a prime example.

Yeah, I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win

The sword digs into my right calf, and I know that this is the final blow. My body couldn't take much more stabs and cuts, but this; it's just as bad as the other wounds. The world spins as I slowly sink to the ground, my legs not having enough strength to hold up my malnourished body. Finally, I'm just sitting on the ground, my arm barely holding up my upper body. The only thing I do is simply stare at my wounds, wondering which one will bleed out the rest of the blood first. My lower body's practically encased in the red liquid now - the stomach wound was clearly the worst. It's astounding that I was even able to fight for such a short amount of time. My breath comes out in short gasps, my heart working furiously to pump oxygen to my organs.

But without any blood supply, that isn't going to happen. I know enough about the human body to tell that a single wound of this caliber could easily kill a man if it wasn't treated quickly enough. But I'm a tribute. There won't be anybody coming to treat me, unless if it was to beautify my body before the burial.

It's strange, really. One would think that the pain would be unbearable, which it is. But for some reason, I thought that it would hurt even more. Perhaps the previous wounds have already shot my nerves, causing so much pain to be created that it just can't make anymore. I'm not a scientist, nor a doctor. I don't know these things, I was just a pickpocket from 8; a lowlife, one of those people that you wouldn't want to meet out on the street... Well okay I wasn't as bad as that, but still. I wasn't exactly a goody-two-shoes, if you know what I mean.

Half my life
Is in books' written pages
Lived and learned from fools and
From sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you

In reality though, I wasn't really very important in the scheme of things. I was just some obstacle for somebody else to overcome, to win. Maybe I was a tougher one than others, but I was simply a playing piece, a pawn of sorts. Nobody cares about the pawns - they just throw them aside, not caring about their welfare, not caring whether they live or die. That's what I am. Sure, there are some people who might miss me, or remember me while they're turning old and grey; but I'm worthless, I'm nothing. There is literally nothing to keep me from just being tossed aside, strewn into the ground six feet under, and buried in a wooden box, and that scares me.

I don't want to die.

I don't. Death, I attempted to face it head on, knowing that it very well may be my outcome. But as I made it through day after day... It seemed like I actually had a shot at this. That single thought - no. that single emotion is what really ruined me. It's what actually gave me the drive to live, to not accept death and simply walk willingly into it. It's what's put me into this petrified state as of this moment.

Hope.

Damn you hope, with your slight inceptions into our minds, changing our thoughts every which way to suit you needs. Thank you so much hope, for littering the time space continuum with your optimistic events, words, people - it all amounts to nothing in the end. Hope is merely a figment of our imaginations, sprinkling little tidbits of positive possibilities into our minds, souring them with its sweetness. It's like getting a cavity, except even worse

For when you realize that all chances of hope is gone, there isn't even a minute chance to fix it. Instead, you're stuck wondering what led you to that state of bliss and joy, what made you follow that path like the pied piper. It's revolting, to really think about how my chance at survival was piled sky high with this... with this junk! No, hope will not come back to save my life. I will not survive this battle, I know this now. The hope has faded from my eyes, never to return again.

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laugh, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away, yeah

I cough a bit, feeling a little puddle of blood culminate inside my mouth. The end is coming quickly, much faster than I would like it to do. My mind is becoming jumbled, I'm remembering flashbacks, or perhaps they're dreams... Tombstones, laughter, screams, pain - all of it is there, clouding my conscience with so many things that I simply can't concentrate on anything anymore. Is this what it's like to die? To be stuck forevermore in an endless nightmare of thoughts and memories, all combined to form one cacophonous song? It's hurting me. It really is.

Why can't everything just go away? Exhausted, I lie on my back, staring at the fog. Maybe the haze will clear, both of them. Perhaps I'll finally be able to see the sky for one last time before my eyes stop seeing things entirely. I doubt that anything even happens after death. Maybe you can't see, or hear. It's likely that you can't even think after a while. But nobody knows what happens after death - it's the final frontier, the unknown.

Nobody will ever know what happens when death comes to snatch you up.

My breathing begins to slow, the air entering and exiting my lungs a sign that I'm not quite finished yet. But I know this is futile - soon the breathing will stop, the heartbeat will stop, everything will stop; for me at least. For the others, life will continue onwards, battles will be lost, seven more will die. The victor will emerge from the fray, remembering everything that happened. I have no doubt that there will be nightmares for years to come; they're the ones that truly know what happened there - the Capitolites and the Districts, they don't really even watch. The Capitol just loves the blood lust, the cliches that are arranged throughout the games. It really is a television show to them - they don't need to watch thoroughly. The people in the districts really only care about the families who are involved - once that tribute is dead, they don't really care about the games anymore.

But I do care - I care about what happens, right? I mean, I won't be part of it anymore, but I can do something to influence the games. Yes, that much is certain. A dead tribute isn't worth much to someone, but if the deceased one were to give them respect... Perhaps they would be able to get some help from any sponsor of any kind... Items will not come easy at this period in the games; prices will skyrocket after my death, maybe they even rose before I was in this predicament.

So I have to do something. Who knows, maybe by helping somebody win, I'll be able to somewhat atone for my sins. My mind starts to wander back towards the horrible combination of thoughts, and I know that now will be my last time to do anything. I open my mouth to say something to the girl... But nothing comes out. No, this isn't good. I have to say something, I have to! I attempt to force words out of my mouth but... It's not working. What's going on? Did I go deaf or something? No, I can still hear the wind rustling the trees, the fading clang of metal against metal. So it's my voice then. Huh. Well not everything must be expressed in words - I'm determined to make her understand what I'm trying to do.

I turn to the direction that the D4 girl was in. At least, I think that's where she was. She could have moved, or died already. But I don't have time to search for a face. Already, my eyelids are starting to droop. It would be nice to finally have a rest in the arena... No! I have to tell... show her what I mean. My eyes finally rest on something that might be her face. The dizziness is overcoming me - perhaps I'm looking at a tree. But somehow, I know it's her. It just has to be.

So I look at her, and for the slightest instant, I wonder what might have happened if we actually did become allies. But I quickly remove that possibility from my head - that won't happen anymore. If there is an afterlife, I must learn not to think about what might have been. This is yet another lesson that I must insert into my brain, which is slowly losing oxygen from every pint of blood lost. My eyesight is wavering. I have to make sure that she gets it. So I smile a bit. It's filled with pain and regret, but it's a smile nonetheless, if not a slight smirk. But perhaps, she'll get what my voice can't say.

And then the memories overtake me.

Dream On, Dream On, Dream On,
Dream until the dream come true

"No, don't!"
"Senalia? Are you o-"
"Stay awa-"
"Will!"
"...to, ya know, light..."
"It's best to just take what you..."
"Run when I'm gone, Will."
"...have to take credit..."
"We'll be waiting..."
"...you at this particular park at this hour?"
"...are you, in any way, troub-"

And suddenly, they just stop, and all is quiet. My eyes have already closed, my chest is still rising and falling, but they're shallow breaths, and it's becoming strenuous to even breathe. But I sense something there.

Dream On, Dream On, Dream On,
Dream until your dream comes true

Hey.
Jack? Is that you?
... yeah.
...What's happening to me?
...
I honestly don't know Will.

... oh.... Do you know what's going to happen?
Not a clue Will, I'm as new to death as you are.

... I'm sorry, you're going to die too now.
Will, I was never even alive.

... What do we do now?
Just rest Will, it's over now. You did alright.

...

Alright.

Dream On, Dream On, Dream On,
Dream On, Dream On,
Dream On, Dream O-

BOOM.

[[goodbye Will...]]