The Bloodbath

"...THERE IS NOTHING I CAN SAY."

These next minutes would be one of two things for Jana Hale. They would be either be the last fleeting moments of her seventeen years of life, or they would be the beginning of a week or so of hell on earth. No amount of preparation could prepare her for this. There was not a damn thing Jana could do now but let things play out however they would. Why get upset over something out of her control. There would be carnage, broken bones, blood, gasping breaths trying to cling onto life. The redhead had seen enough of the Games on the Television to know that this would be an experience she would never forget whether she survived it or not. It would scorch itself into her memory. The anger she’d felt in her training session was not there now. Jana wondered if it should be, if that would help her. Probably not. No point in running to my death. Take things one half second at a time. Standing on her platform Jana listened to the timer ticking off until the beginning of the end.

The arena was surprisingly soothing. She could hear moving water off in the distance. And a strange salty smell filled the air. Nothing like home. The trees were different too… Smaller, and less green. They were dwarfs compared to what District Seven had. Forest green eyes glanced upwards. Clear blue, hardly a single cloud. What a beautiful place to die. Laughing to her Jana looked at the golden cornucopia. People would risk their lives for the items contained in the giant horn. A weapon. That’s all she really need. She could survive with little to nothing. As much as her father made her blood boil, he’d raised a fighter. A fighter who was used to being alone with nothing but nature and wildlife. As far as Jana was concerned this would be no different. Only the wildlife was blood thirsty and there would be twenty-three other humans here all out for each other’s blood. That single thought made a knot of sorrow start tying itself into her gut. Kids who would normally not hurt a fly were going to change so drastically. They would be angrier than a grizzly bear that had just awakened from hibernation. The countdown was quickly approaching zero. Eyes clouding over, the seventeen year old tried to brace herself for the upcoming violence, no matter how in vain the attempt was.

Ten….


Nine….


Eight….

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

Gong.

The sound of the gong took several seconds to register in Jana’s mind. She heard it, but it meant nothing to her. Nothing unlike all those around her were off like shots. Why do they all run so fast to meet their end. It was obvious the careers would cut them down. Well, it was about time to get moving. But Jana Hale would not run. She would walk toward that golden horn, hands down by her sides, shoulders slumped forward. How do you approach savage animals? As least threatening as possible.
Let the Games begin.

( P E N E L O P E C A L Y P S O L I B E R T I N E )

Oh
Penelope
Are you filled with air?
Swallowed oxygen
That make you float up?

Jude's paper bag is stuffed into one of my pockets and sometimes I can hear it crackling as I run. Don't panic! It says in a voice that sounds as if it's falling apart beneath the weight of its own irony. Stay calm! If my fingers weren't so sticky-slick, the harpoon constantly threatening to slip away and find a more competent home, I might pull it out and hold it to my lips. With a shuddering exhalation, I would ask: "Why now, Jude?" Then, I could hold it to my ear, as if listening in on the conversations of conch shells back home. I have found the homeland of panic today. So tell me, paper bag, where does calm come from? Only, I don't think it could tell me anything more than the dull crackle that accompanies me now.

Is it dropsy?
Where your lungs swell?
It's depressing me
To see you
Struggle

[Penelope attacks Chole with her harpoon]

[dice=200+3000]

[Deep Gash on Right Thigh — 8.0 damage]

Pain, suffering, death. All around the carnage raged. She could already make out three corpses lying on the sandy group. There was something wrong with this. Things were snapping in these kids’ minds the way twigs snap in the forest back home. Her breath hitched at the sight of blood coating the grains of sand a crimson color. This was real life, not a Game. Lives were being lost for the sake of entertainment. Jana could practically feel her last meal coming up. There were no words to describe what was happening here. It was obvious who was in control. A large alliance seemed to be destroying everyone in their path. The girl from District One, she wasn’t even human. The way her eyes flashed, she had no regard for whose life she stole.

Jana’s sights were set on a switchblade. Think small. Do not go for the big target when it was being hoarded by those much strong than yourself. There was someone in the way of her and her salvation. Greatly regretting having to do this Jana flailed at the body in front of her. ”You’re in the way.”

[attacks: Destiny]

Unarmed: [dice=200+5000]
Thrown to Ground -0.5

[picks up switch blade]

( P E N E L O P E C A L Y P S O L I B E R T I N E )

Oh
Penelope
Are you filled with air?
Swallowed oxygen
That make you float up?

When I was so much smaller than I am now, I remember a day when the ocean of my waking hours tried to carry me away. Swept up in the waves, I was a buoy — afloat, but aimless — bouncing with the current and filled with a strange mixture of both fear and joy. My father was there to tug me back, pulling me into his arms as if salvation were effortless. I was thankful, yes so very disappointed. Now, feeling the tug of the fighting pulling at me in much the same way, I can't imagine why I should have been anything other than purely ecstatic to be towed ashore. The sea water must have been as cold and sharp as these blades, but there was still something beautiful in its deadliness. Danger had always been romantic to me, whether is were the plunge of my body sinking into torrential waters or a soul-stirring wail of rage bellowing out from Noah Ripley's lips. Today the constant threat doesn't make me feel anymore alive. I'd trade the sun-fire burn of guilt for any kind of emptiness.

Is it dropsy?
Where your lungs swell?
It's depressing me
To see you
Struggle

[Penelope attacks Nonnie with her harpoon]

[dice=200+3000]

[Shallow Cut on Right Forearm — 3.5 damage]