Those were my last thoughts before the hugeass chandelier came crashing down towards my head. I'd been so close to stepping out of the way, to being able to scream more at the hulky Career who had targeted a child. How fucking cowardly was that? And nevermind the foolish girl who had actually cut the cord of the light fixture, I didn't think she would make it past the bloodbath.
These were the thoughts running through my mind as I opened my eyes again. Had the chandelier even hit me? I hadn't felt a thing. But something had changed. Something was different because as I watched the two assholes who killed me running away from the ballroom, I could feel myself disappearing, almost. It felt like I was dissolving and moving steadily upwards to who knows where.
And then it was white. It felt like other people had come through here, other tributes killed horrifically in the Hunger Games seemed to have a special transport spot right here. And I had the option to move on or stay here.
Well, no way was I going to keep going. I was probably going to Hell for taking three people out on my journey up here.
But it was lonely. And even if I could peer over- which I could- and see what was happening, I still felt alone. Like an uninvolved audience member to the biggest game in the world. This was what I hated about losing. Seeing the other people still out there, playing, not taking note of the people left on the sidelines. Nobody was even thinking about me anymore, I bet. District Five would be watching Arland now. I was just the pathetic little girl who died on the first day of the Games.
Everything down there seemed to be going pretty quickly, I noticed. While I sat down in the arena the time seemed to be ticking away, just waiting for that lug of a Career and his girlfriend to find me. Now it seemed to already be the second day, and as I glanced around the arena I saw a flash of red hair and then another flash of red something. Blood. My heart sank. No.
Are you kidding me? I thought to myself. No. She can't die on the second day. Not so early, at least. She deserves to live.
And then there she was, sitting just a couple dozen feet from me. As sad as I was to know that she was no longer back there on Earth, I couldn't help but be happy I wasn't stuck alone with all the idiot tributes. And I couldn't help but run straight into her arms to give her a hug while screaming at her why didn't she live? Why didn't she win? She was supposed to win.
"I missed you, too," Dotev said softly. "Thinking now, we probably should've allied, huh?"
I laughed a bit. "Too late for that, honey. But watch."
We peered down to see that Day 3 had already started, and the huge jackass bulky tribute was pinning down Arland and I was gritting my teeth and no, Arland, no you can't die, you can't be here, you have to stay with North, you have to stay, you can't let him get you and
Cannon. My heart sank again with the hatred that was growing in my heart for that asshole from One. I wanted him dead and I wanted him to suffer and I wanted North to do it. To avenge me.
But as I turned my head there she was. Raf, from Six, who I had almost sort of made friends with, was digging his weapon deep into one of the only people here who had truly cared for me. And then his sabre swung and I had to look away and even though it was so far away I could hear the thump of her head falling to the ground.
If there had been any substance to my being I would have thrown up then and there. But there was nothing, and I was struck with the sensation of my heart falling into my nonexistent stomach and I didn't know if I could hold myself up to watch anymore.
But then there was a sort of warmth that laid itself across my shoulder, and I turned to see her standing there. North. Smiling at me.
I took a deep breath. "Why didn't you win? You were supposed to win! You were supposed to do it!!! You could have won!!!"
I was so angry and so sad but then I felt her enveloping me in what must have been the afterlife's version of a hug. And it was warm and comforting.
I laid, desperately crawling away from the windmill. My legs completely shattered and blood spilling from my body fast. A set of footsteps approach me and, 'boom.' The cannon fires and with it goes the pain.
I look around, now able to stand and search for the boy, or the masked mutt, but find that I'm alone. In the clearing of the windmill lays Silence. I fond myself feeling at peace, the adrenaline has faded and I feel better than Ive ever felt. "Dammit red!" I hear behind me.
I turn to find an excitedly sprinting Fay running towards me. I smile as she grows closer and slams into me with a huge hug. She wraps her arms around my waist and I bring mine around her shoulders. She lets go of me and looks up into my eyes. "Shit Dotev, I wanted you to win, or North. One of you guys." She sighed.
I hadn't realized how much of a connection I had to the little girl from Five. How much she reminded me of myself and brought a sense of family to my heart. "Me?! You're one tough little bitch, Three kills you got I saw." I started with a smile. "You put up one hell of a fight." I smiled and she returned the smile.
"You know, Its not so bad here." She started. "Its quite peaceful, no body else around, no worries, no time to waste. It just, nice." Fay explained. She was trying to ease me into the fact that my life had ended, but she didn't have to really.
It was strange to think that I saw the girl die a day before and that I too was now dead. But I didn't feel empty or alone, I felt satisfied with my life and I felt a feeling of tranquility that doesn't seem to diminish. The two of us sat down on the soft ground and I looked out, feeling the breeze and the warmth of the sun against my light skin.
"You know, I don't think this'll be too bad." I said looking to the side at Fay with a smile and putting my arm around her. "Now I can tell you all my little secrets." I teased with a laugh.
That brought a huge smile to Fay's face. I still wished this hadn't happened to her. She still had somewhat of a life for herself back home and she would've done amazing things in her lifetime. But she's at peace and the two of us have an eternity together.
After forming a deal with No-Face, Alastair was out for blood. He knew that his new partner wouldn’t hold up if he didn’t bring what he promised. Alastair pushed aside all these troubling thoughts and shoved them to the deepest recesses of his mind. And after Dotev escaped from the windmill overrun by soot gremlins, she reserved herself to the edge of the forest in the clearing the windmill stood in. She sat and collected her thoughts, for only a short while however, when the boy from Ten came creeping up on her once shelter. With some weird mutt that looked like a tall black cloud with a mask on. She noticed the look on his face. Like he thought he was getting the advantage of surprising her. That she wasn’t expecting of his presence. A sinister smile blossomed on her face as she knew she’d get to rip him apart, especially now that she has her new toy to show him. She creeped deeper into the foliage and circled him, Coming to a stop when she was directly behind him.
He holds a flanged mace behind his back, His fingers releasing then tensing back up on the handle. He looks eager, excited. Then, all at once, he throws the mace through the wooden door, shattering the old wood and kicking the door in, he steps in slowly while his companion steps away and remains outside. He knew not who resided in this shelter nor did he actually care, it was just another job to do. Luckily for him Dotev had been holding up since the bloodbath, a sitting duck some would say.
With a few more blows with his mace, the wooden door comes apart enough for Alastair to enter. He steps inside, noticing the bed underneath his boots. The boy clues in that someone was just here, but where did they go?
“I know you’re in here!” Alastair howls. “Come out come out, wherever you are…” He taunted as he searched for his prey with eyes so full of bloodlust that even No-Face himself would shiver in fear. Something felt off to the boy. It was far too quiet in here. He just had time to question this when he heard a rustle coming, not from within the house, but outside it.
Dotev used this opportunity to make her move, She walked passed the mutt and it doesn’t move. Its head only follows her movements as a huge mouth begins to appear where she thought its neck would be. She remained silent, pressing her index finger to her lips and giving the thing a wink. He swiveled on his heels just in time to see a head of bright red hair peeking out of the doorway. He recognized her as the girl from 11. Her name escaped him but it didn’t really matter. After all, you don’t need a name in Hell.
“You think you’re slick, little boy?” She taunted. He spun quickly, surprised that Dotev wasn’t even inside the windmill. She stepped in, spinning her quarterstaff in her hand.
“Listen, why don’t we just cut to the chase and you can help my friend out there.” He started with a smirk, his own weapon at the ready. “You see, we had a little deal, and i’m a man of my word.”
Dotev smirked. “Listen you little piece of shit, If you think even for one god damned second that you’re going to put a fucking scratch on me, then you’re gonna be sadly surprised!” She spat. Then, with no warning, Alastair’s whip materialized and he snapped it towards Dotev. The popper ripping across Dotev’s leg, leaving a red line that began dripping crimson.
Dotev looked down and then back at Alastair, with a wicked smile. “You’re gonna regret that, dick.” She whispered before sprinting from her position and towards Alastair. While they still had some distance between them, he cracked his whip once more. Only Dotev ducked slightly so it would crack across her arm, which was protected by her jacket, shirt and chain mail tunic. His latest attack left a similar gash in the jacket that thread and leather fell from.
Before Alastair knew it, she was on top of him. Slamming the hard lacquered wood of the quarterstaff into his chest, sending a gust of air from his lungs. Choking and coughing he jumped backward so He could collect himself. AS he did he found his flanged mace, now that his whip would be less useful. He swung the weapon and she did her best to dodge, but the mace caught her side. However thanks to her tunic, the impact was more of blunt force than deep puncture wounds.
Dotev wanted to keep Alastair blind to her underwear, so she let out a fake, ear splitting scream and ran her hand across her leg wound before staining Alastair’s impact sight with blood. He smiled, thinking what he had done had been effective, when It would only result in bruising. “See bitch, youre all talk. I dont know why everyone is so afraid of you, you’re weak!” Alastair snapped.
Dotev’s plan worked and she took to opportunity to strike and she forced the butt of her quarterstaff into Alastair’s face. Shattering his nose entirely and provoking a waterfall of blood to spill from his face. “Whats the matter!” Dotev screamed, pushing him back a little. “Did you think you were the big fucking man? Did you think you were getting out of this fucking arena? Why the fuck do you think Aqua chose me! Nobody believes in you! Youre alone and you’re weak and you’re going to die right fucking here, right fucking now!” Dotev hollered.
Alastair, filled with rage and blinded by hate brought his Mace over his head and swung it downward, hoping to have it land on Dotev’s head, killing her instantly. However she was faster than his right now. He had blood smeared all over his face and tears flooding his eyes from the impact of Dotev’s quarter staff. She dodged to the side and his mace slammed into the wooden floor, digging itself in the decrepit flooring, wedging the weapon in it.
He pulled to free it but it wouldn’t budge. He gave up on it and rushed Dotev. He elbowed her in the jaw and kicked her knees out. She fell to the floor and he was on top of her. He pulled his whip back out and he held it to her throat, trying to choke the life out of her. “Would you just fucking die you bitch!” I yelled, spitting out blood and saliva.
Dotev’s arms flailed as she tried to get out from under him, Her face turning red and the blood vessels in her eyes beginning to burst. She bent her leg so her ankle met her right hand and she pulled her secluded weapon from its home. She brought it up and jammed the gut hook into the side of Alastair’s wrist and then dragged it across to the other side. Spurts of blood erupted and splattered across Dotev’s face. She looked at the knife to see the nook of the gut hook covered in blood. Alastair’s had no choice but to release Dotev from his hold on her as he clutched his wrist. Backing up, he found himself at the base of the stairs, with no choice other than to move up.
With his latest injury, Alastair is slightly slower in his movements, giving Dotev enough of a head start to grab her staff and sprint off up the stairs. The girl is on him faster than ever, her staff gripped tightly as she swings at Alastair, which the boy manages to dodge. However, though he may have managed to dodge that attack, a new attack would come at him from an unexpected source: the stairs. The movements that Alastair made to dodge Dotev’s strike caused his foot to slip, which in turn caused the boy to fall down a few steps. The breath escaped his lungs as he landed on the ground, noting that he would probably have bruises on his arms and legs later. Dotev takes advantage of this mess immediately, crawling on top of Alastair, pinning his wrists with her boots to the ground and pushing the blade of her knife up to his throat.
Ready to end it all, Dotev holds the hunters knife high in the air with both hands, “You fucked with the wrong girl Alastair.” Just as she was about to drive the knife into his chest, Alastair remembers the force that drove him to come here. He needed to feed No-Face. Alastair digs deep, causing a surge of adrenaline to jumpstart his muscles. He quickly wriggles his right hand free from her boot and packs a wallop into Dotev’s nose as hard as he can. The red head falters for a second, blood running past her chin, allowing the boy to strike again at her jaw. The girl finally rolls over, desperately pinching her nose to stop the pain. Alastair rapidly reaches for his fallen mace, gaining his footing and advancing upwards to the battered combatant. She anxiously swipes her knife at Alastair, cutting open a small gash at his side. Alastair winces but smiles inside, quickly aware how close they have got to the glass window.
“You should really be more careful girlie, wouldn’t wanna fall and break something.”
Alastair goes low and swings the mace to her left knee, shattering bone underneath the metal prongs. Dotev’s bloodcurdling screams bounce off of the walls, echoing all around the room. She limps backwards some more, practically hugging the window this time. Without notice Alastair charges the sassy siren with his mace, but she dodges, sending him to smack and shatter the glass. Dotev hastily picks up a shard of glass and impales it into his thigh, to which he quickly removes himself and tosses aside. In a fit of rage, Alastair brings his boot up and kicks at her stomach, effectively tossing her out of the window. Her body flails as it smacks against the side of the windmill, violently bouncing once she hits the dirt. The boy peers out the window, waiting to her cannon sound but is met by silence.
Alastair furiously runs downstairs, pissed off that she has not been killed yet. He finally reaches Dotev outside, who is crawling on her stomach as both of her legs are appallingly mangled from the great fall. She continues to scream in pain, working so hard just to reach her knife. She manages to press one finger around it and Alastair immediately stomps on her hand, kicking it away.
“Not so tough now, are ya bitch?” He cackles grabbing on to her fiery locks with one hand and dragging her to the nearest tree. Even though she can’t move her legs, she fights valiantly the whole time. Dotev sinks her nails into his hand, drawing blood around his grip. Alastair stops tugging while arriving at the tree, kicking her in the left side, causing her breaths to become shallower.
Dropping his mace and removing his whip from his pants, he wraps it tightly around her neck, “Bite down on the tree stump.” Instead of compliance he’s met by defiance with a side of sarcasm. Dotev is seen hocking up a loogie filled with blood onto his face. Alastair wipes it away, trying his best not to lose his seemingly cool demeanor.
He tightens the whip, leaning in close to her face; “I would listen to me if I were you. No-Face is a lot more severe than I am.” Just as he mentioned No-Face, the ominous figure appears out thin air, revealing himself to Dotev. Her eyes widen, letting out a powerful open mouth screech in terror. Alastair quickly reacts, forcing her teeth to bite down on the tree bark stump. Seizing the moment, the boy expeditiously stomps down on the back of her head, snapping her spinal cord and dislocating her jaw simultaneously. As fast as the scream came out, it dissipated even quicker. Dotev’s cannon fires out into the distance as she finally succumbs to the massive brain trauma. Alastair lets out a sigh of relief; happy the battle was finally over. The sigh was short lived as No-Face begins hovering closely over him.
“Is she for me?” The figure asks.
“Yes. She is finally all yours my friend.” Alastair smiles, removing her jacket and useful supplies. He sluggishly picks up her corpse and offers it to his ally.
The figure swoops in, forming hands and taking away the body. No-Face opens his hidden mouth beneath the mask and expands his jaw to allow Dotev’s figure to fit. The girl’s red locks slowly begin to disappear as it enters the giant mouth, removing all of the evidence that she was alive as well as another tribute from the Hunger Games.
As Dotev sits alone in her windmill home, a beeping parachute floats in through a hole in the ceiling. When it finally reaches her, she'll find a hunter's knife and 2 warm rolls inside, and a note.
"I noticed you didn't have a blade. Let's see what you can do with this. With Love, Aqua"
