#e: thg

[aprilclearwater]

Planning || April Clearwater, District 3

A real cast. She had received a real, sturdy, durable cast because there were some people out there who actually believed in her. Despite everything, April smiled.

The little silver parachute had answered at least one of her prayers, and that was a way to run. She had been, most likely, the fastest of the tributes. But her hurt foot had seriously hindered her ability to move. April was glad that she had something to help her out, especially so because when the announcement had been made for a feast, she knew the gamemakers wanted to draw things to a close. 

April had decided to go. She knew if she didn't, they'd kill her, and she had Bailey, her crossbow, the new cast for her foot, and the brass knuckles she'd found earlier. Though, her assurance that she knew she should go couldn't be mistaken for confidence. April knew her odds, and she knew that it would be a rare streak of luck if she was able to take the career girl down. She had decided she would wait it out while the others went for their goods. Under any other circumstances she would have ran for whatever would be made available to her, but she couldn't run as quickly as she used to be able to. Those cards were off the table.

It would be a better idea for Bailey and her, the two archers, to stay back and watch the others. If their range was good enough, they could pick the tributes off. There was only one problem with the plan, though, and that was that if it worked, it would be April and Bailey together in the final two. She didn't have it in her to kill Bailey, and she knew what that meant. Either Bailey had to do it or they'd have to part ways until the gamemakers killed one of them off.

Food and water had become scarce, April only had one more bottle of water left and a bag full of berries that she'd accidentally crushed when she was running from the crumbling buildings. The Feast was a promise of food and water, and no matter what, she'd have to end up going in if she didn't want to die by a combination of starvation and dehydration.

She was moving and talking, planning, as they made their way to where everything had begun. April had swallowed down all of her fear and kept walking, focusing on her steps and the plan. One foot in front of the other, each one drawing her closer to death, or possibly, just possibly, survival. April had used the last of the poisonous berries she had to make enough for her to do the tips of her own arrows again and Bailey's, as well. None of the tributes that had survived were exceptionally gifted with making antidotes, or so April hoped, and natural remedy plant supplies were low anyways. It would be hard to make a solution, so if she only grazed someone like she had the career, they still had a chance of dying.

It was tough, going over plans to kill people. But April was sure that she and Bailey were the only alliance left, which meant that they had the numbers to do real damage, if they had to. The plan went against all of the rules April had followed since she entered the arena, only kill people who are attacking you. She comforted herself with the thought that they would be tossing any sense of moral rules out the window.

She thought about what it would feel like to die. April had certainly experienced pain before, but death seemed like something entirely different. In some cases, it was only losing the power to live. The body would shut itself down, and the brain would die. But what would it feel like? Would her brain slowly fall asleep, would it be like slipping into a deep slumber? Or would it be painful, excruciating? For some reason, her curiosity wasn't so invested in finding out the answer.

April neared the entrance to where the Cornucopia lay, and where the feast would be. Her heart was beating quickly, and she could feel her stomach gnawing away, and not from the hunger.

Setting her things down against the cave wall, April lay down, pulling the crushed raspberries out and handing half of them to Bailey. She was disappointed that they'd crushed them, because it meant they'd have to waste some of their water on washing the sticky juices off. At least the feast promised more of it - if they even made it far enough to the water.

[aprilclearwater]

Feral Children || Adrianna & April

Dead bodies were littered around them, blood was straining the ground, but all April could think about was how there was only one more person in her way. The same person who had killed and terrorized so many. Screw the rules, she thought bitterly, shaking her head. This girl was a horrible person, too far past gone. What would she do with her power when she left the arena? April guessed that she would continue to abuse people in her own way, and she wouldn't have it. Not only to get money to her district, or to kill a toxic person, but to avenge everyone she had killed in cold blood. April's crossbow was broken, the string snapped. She looked across the field to where the career stood over a dead body. Pulling out her brass knuckles, April slid her fingers through them and marched towards the girl, knowing Adrianna had used most of her knives on the other fallen tributes.

She thought of the way Bailey's head had hit the ground when she died, how the life drew out of her eyes. It was enough to make April angry enough to start limping as quickly as she could towards the girl. "You - you bitch." She said, surprising herself. All of her anger was put into this, this horrible act she knew she would commit. April would be damned if the other girl made it out of the arena alive and she didn't. She had gone through too much to let the sadist in front of her win. April drew out her knife, the one the other girl had thrown at her earlier in the games, and kept walking forwards. 

Her more feral nature presented itself as she kept moving, closer to someone who had been trained to kill since who knew when. April gripped the handle of the blade tightly, forcing all of her anger into her movements. She stepped with conviction, her eyes trained on hers. April was short and weak in her muscles, but in that moment she felt stronger than she ever had. "You're going to pay for this. You shouldn't enjoy this - you shouldn't." She kept walking, ready to dodge one of her knives at a moment's notice.

[aprilclearwater]

Cave In || April Clearwater, District 3

Walking in the tunnels had become more and more treacherous. April was always looking up at the rocks that seemed loose, able to fall and crash on top of them at any moment, or block off routes so that they'd be trapped in a certain area. The latter seemed unlikely, because starving to death in the dark wasn't exactly entertaining to watch.

April walked with Bradley at her side, coming back from gathering more food. They were chatting idly about life back at District 3, about their families and how they had hoped they could bring the reward back to them when a rumbling began in the back of the tunnel. April turned and saw that rocks were beginning to fall from the ceiling, quickly coming towards them. "What -" she had no time to question the immediacy of the cave in, and instead started running, as quickly as she could to the next room. Bradley was behind her a few paces, their difference in speed setting them apart. She wanted to pull back, run at his pace, but her instincts of survival told her to keep running. That if she slowed down for even a second, she would die - and she almost had.

Once she was clear of the rubble behind her, she bent over, hands on her knees, breathing quickly through her mouth as she tried to regain her composure. "That was close," she said, turning to look at Bradley. Only, he wasn't behind her. April, panicked, looked back to the tunnel that had collapsed and saw that half of his body was crushed under the rubble.

She ran forwards, kneeling down with her legs digging into the dirt as she struggled to lift the large rocks off of him. "Shit," she swore. Bradley had a small pool of blood forming underneath the rocks and around his clothes, and he was looking pale. "Hang in there," April told him, saying it as an order. "I'm going to get you out, and then I'll fix this all up, I'll... I'll -" 

Bradley wasn't really looking at her, his eyes were focused somewhere in the distance, but he nodded as if he understood what she was saying. "Don't." He coughed out, blood following his words. 

April shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No, no." She kept pulling at the rocks, un-lodging some of the smaller ones but finding it impossible to move the large one crushing his back. "You're going to be fine, we have sponsors, they'll help, they'll help." Her eyesight was blurry, she kept working at the rocks, pulling them with all of her strength, but it wasn't enough. "I'm not - I'm not letting this happen." April shook her head, angry with herself and the world and the people who had forced her to play in these games.

There was blood on her hands as she tried a different tactic, to pull Bradley out of the rubble, but he was wincing and clearly in excruciating pain. April had to accept the fact that he was stuck, but she couldn't. There had to be something she could do.

As if he had read her mind, Bradley weakly said, "there's nothing you can to do. I'm stuck."

She was crying now, looking at his crushed body and the rocks and the blood on her hands. "There - there has to be something I can do, I can't -"

He cut her off, "there is." His hand shaking, he pointed to her crossbow, which she'd thrown on the ground when she'd moved to help him out.

April wasn't unintelligent, she connected the dots quite rapidly and she sobbed, shaking her head angrily. "I can't, Bradley, I can't. I won't - I -" He was trying to look like it didn't hurt having half of his body crushed by rocks, but she could see the pain in his eyes as the rocks dug into him.

Bradley had a point, she could help. She would, she had to. However much it pained April, to let him suffer would be worse than to not let him choose how he died.

She picked up her crossbow, arms shaking and tears trailing down her face. April was still crying and shaking her head, but he had chosen to die this way. She had to honour that. 

Her finger hit the trigger, and she looked away as the arrow pierced his head and the canon boomed, signalling the end of his life.

[aprilclearwater]

The Ruins || April Clearwater, District 3

Exploring the abandoned city buildings wasn't a plan April would have made, originally, but with five tributes remaining and Bailey insisting on a break, her curiosity finally got the better of her, and April went ahead scouting once again.

The area felt hollow and surreal, with crumbling buildings and shattered glass windows. Rows of ivy and other foreign and familiar plants grew alongside the walls of the buildings, or crept their way inside. April had spotted a dear grazing outside of a three story building, docile and calm as it munched on grass. There was a meadow that led to the buildings, beautiful with its wide variety of flowers and long and short grasses. The light in the area was also much more available, with long and thin cracks spreading across the ceiling, some thick enough in width to climb through - if a person had wings.

April sighed at its beauty, creeping silently through the meadow. She was sticking close to the cave walls and the plant life, but her eyes stayed located on the windows of the buildings where a person's head could be seen if there was anyone hiding in the area. Luckily for her, she didn't find any signs of movement, apart from the deer grazing a few short miles away from her. It didn't seem used to people, because the nearer she got she had expected it to become startled and run away, but it didn't do anything but continue to eat. 

When she reached the closest building, April swung her crossbow behind her back. She bent down, picked up a reasonably sized chunk of concrete, and walked around the building to where a broken window was. Then, she chucked it upwards with all of the strength she still had, and waited to hear if it burst through the floor or if it held. There was a dull thud, but nothing that sounded like a break. April, now more confident that she wouldn't be injured by falling through the floor, entered the building and started looking for stairs. It took her a few minutes, but she found them, and then slowly, carefully checking each step so that it wouldn't give, made her way up the stairs.

The second floor of the third story building was barren, save a few dust covered pieces of wood, chunks of rock, and pieces of glass. April spotted the concrete she had thrown, and it lay next to the window facing the meadow. She walked towards it and picked it up again, then moved to the next staircase. From there, she threw the piece to the next floor, and when it didn't give, April followed it up. The last floor surprisingly had things in it, like old broken desks and chairs that were missing legs and wood that had mostly rotted away. She moved closer into the middle of the room, overturning some of the bigger items to see if anything significant lay under them. However, nothing important appeared. A rat had scurried out of the shadow of one desk and ran past April, scaring her so much that she had fallen backwards and scraped her palms against the ground.

She cursed silently and took her water bottle out, letting some water run over her cuts so they weren't infected from the dust and grime that had built up on the floor of the building. Then, she put it away, got up again, and continued moving until something caught her eye - a chest.

There it went, her curiosity seizing control of her instincts, and April bent down and tried to open it. At first it was difficult, because it needed a key and it hadn't rusted so much that she could easily break it open. So she went back, picked up the small piece of concrete, and started hitting the lock with it. Finally, she made it open, and when she did she discovered that inside the chest was a brass knuckle - something she could actually use for hand to hand combat. April took it and put it in her pocket.

Without warning, there was a rumble from overhead, and April turned and ran out of the building at the first sign of danger. Rocks were crashing through the ceiling and into the building, and April ran as fast as she could, faster than she had at the bloodbath, faster than she had ever run, as she made it out of the building. The other buildings around her were meeting the same fate, with rocks falling from the ceiling every which way.

April kept running, and saw that the meadow was also covered in large pieces of rock that still fell over the area. She groaned, just as she'd finally found something good, the gamemakers were throwing another obstacle in her way. At least she had something she could fight with close range..

She was halfway through the meadow when a rock hit her. It wasn't giant, not like most of them, but it had hit her foot and it was crushing it underneath, holding it into the ground. As more and more pieces of rock came down around April, she hurried to try and free her foot. The rock had surely broken bone, with its weight and where it had fallen from the roof. April only hoped to free herself so she could limp to safety, and so she tugged at the rock, with all her strength. Her palms burned from her previous cuts, but she bore it until the rock was loose enough for her to slip her foot out.

Wincing as she moved, April hastened to get up and get going, though her travel time had diminished by half with her bad foot. She had tears in her eyes but she didn't stop until she reached the mouth of the adjoining tunnel, then slid her back against the side of the wall until she was sitting on the cave floor.

From there, she accessed the damage, and hoped heavily that she had sponsors, be it Capital people or her own home district, to help her fix her new wound.

[abigailtheundecided]

Hope || One Shot

Abigail had made her way tirelessly back to the camp, she’d wondered as she walked why they hadn’t shown the days victims in the sky but she supposed the Gamemakers were up to something. As if they hadn’t put them through enough with the tireless heat? Abigail had drunk an entire bottle by the time she was back at camp, she knew it was reckless but she hoped that Shane and Teddy were there waiting for her and surely they’d have water, wouldn’t they? It had taken her at least three hours but now that she was back in their little clearing she felt cheered by the fact that there seemed to have been recent activity.

Objectively she knew it could have been anything or anyone that had come through here but she discounted that it wasn’t them when she found Shanes bag tucked under the bush where they’d kept the extra water. Opening it she frowned, pulling the bag onto her crossed legs she pulled out Shane’s sickle, confused as to why he wouldn’t have it with him. Setting it aside she pulled out the water bottles next, there was only two, and one of them was empty and then the food he’d carried. Why had they left this behind?

Maybe they’d gone to get water and had thought Shane’s bag would just get in the way. Shane hadn’t used his weapon at all in the time they’d been together, it was a lot more useful for cutting down the bushes and other foliage that grew in the arena than anything else, although it was noisy when doing that. Abigail decided to wait, packing Shane’s stuff into her own bag and folding his up for when he got back she also stuffed that into her back, making sure the lids of the water were tight. The only thing she kept out was his Sickle, because it could be useful. She hooked that through a belt root and surveyed the trees around her, finding one that would be easy enough to climb she pulled her way up.

Trying herself in by putting one strap of her bag over the end of the branch and pulling it back to where she was resting she slowly wriggled her way into the other strap. Not the safest position an if she had been patient enough she would have cut some vine to tie herself in properly but she wanted just a little nap. It wasn’t worth the effort of cutting vine, not when she knew she wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyways.

She was woken from her surprisingly peaceful sleep hours later, or so it seemed from the angle of the sun, looking down she saw Teddy and Shane’s familiar heads, they were searching for Shane’s bag it seemed. Unhooking herself as quickly as she could she whistled at them, a grin on her face. “Hey!” Abigail was relieved to see them; she’d been worried she wouldn’t again, not with the canon shots from yesterday. Finally disentangling herself she moved quickly down the tree bringing her bag with her.

"Sorry for taking your bag," bumping her shoulder against Shane’s she extended the sickle to him, "here this is yours."

"No, you keep it, I’m sure it’ll come in handier for you than it does for me." Abigail looked at Shane in shock. Hadn’t she just been thinking that she could use a weapon with a shark blade? True she’d been thinking of a knife more so than a sickle but it was still a huge gift. Tears gathered in her eyes as she threw her arms around Shane squeezing him. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear before leaning back and releasing him. Laughing at her own foolishness she wiped her eyes to see Shane’s red face and Teddy’s amused one. "I’m so glad you guys came back." Her voice hitched at the last word, she hadn’t understood herself how worried she’s been it seemed. "Don’t do it again though, OK?" Abigail didn’t think she could go another full day without knowing they were alive. Pulling them both into a rough hug before quickly pushing them back she held up the sickle with a wide grin. "Who wants to help me Frankenstein this bad boy onto my baton?"

Abigail had no idea what the day would throw at her, she just knew it wouldn’t be anything good and with only 6 victors left that meant the game makers would be getting eager to finish it. She would make her weapon a little deadlier and then Shane, Teddy and herself would head out. She’d be able to endure another day in this hellhole as long as she had her friends.

[abigailtheundecided]

Shattered || One Shot

Abigail had finally made it to the waterfall, her lips were indeed dried and cracked, it had take her most of the day to make it there, she hadn't even bothered to stop when night had fallen, and now she was kneeing in the blessed water. Splashing it on her face, she sighed in relief. The heat had been unbearable, and it had only gotten worse when night had fallen, she didn't care that her clothes were soaked or that they'd chafe when they started to dry, she just loved the feel of the water.

Capping the last bottle she put it into her bag beside the bruise cream and the small amount of pilfered food. Standing in the small stream she stared at the sky as the first face appeared. Her heart clenched as the familiar face of Teddy stared down at her, the curl of his lips that told you he'd been about to laugh or smile. Abigail blinked her eyes rapidly, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't. Instead she slung her bag onto her back, she would have to find Shane for sure, he would never make it by himself. Still watching the sky she moved out of the stream. The next face shocked her, it was the girl from District 4, Teddy's Tribute partner, and she supposed in a sense it was fitting that they'd die on the same day.

Moving under the tree's she felt her way forward, her face still raised until she was hidden in a bush, safe from the sight of anyone casually passing back, but still able to see the sky. The next was Aprils partner and she wondered how the girl was taking it. She'd been eager to get back to him, but then again Abigail had been eager to get back to Shane and Teddy too, hopefully she'd found him before he died. The next was a face she'd only glimpsed in the training arena and then again the day they'd all risen into the Arena.

When the next face appeared Abigail heard the scream, loud and echoing, and never-ending, she didn't realize it was coming from herself until she clapped a hand over her mouth and still the scream continued, more muffled now but still loud. And there was liquid falling onto her hand, running over her fingers that were gripping her face in an effort to cut it off. Which was stupid because she needed all of her liquids, she couldn't afford to be crying, plus shouldn't she be happy? Lifting her hand she felt it connect it against her face and her mind shattered.

"No, no, no!" She came back to herself to the sound of her own voice muttering, her arms wrapped around her knee's as she rocked back and forth. She was alone, and the only people left were ones that wanted to kill her to live. She was sure that Teddy might have, but then again he wasn't the type of person that would kill her outright. She had known Shane wouldn't though, and that's why she'd picked him, she knew he would have never killed her, he had become her friend over the days spent together and she'd caught herself wishing she'd known him when they were back home. That he had never been picked. 

"It's not fair. It's not fair." Abigail muttered it under her breath, her hands gripping her legs as she rocked, she could feel the indentations where they were pressing in, but she couldn't seem to release her fingers. She would never get to say goodbye. She would never know how they died, if they had been killed or if they had simply gotten hurt by something, she wouldn't ever get to bring them flowers. "No, no, no," it helped to say it out loud, because they couldn't be dead could they? No of course not. She just had to find them and then they'd make it together, just like they'd planned. 

Hours, or seconds later, she wasn't sure she stood up, the sky was dark and she was watching it for the faces that accompanied the canon shots she'd heard the other day. She would have to move quickly during the night if she wanted to find Shane and Teddy, she had forgive them as she hiked throughout the day, she was still angry but she'd just yell at them. They would be stronger together than they would be apart, at least until the last couple of days, then they would be forced to break apart she supposed. Pulling her bag up so it was more secured on her back she took the water bottle she'd pulled the water bottle she'd tied onto the side out and took a drink, slowly recapping it. 

She would find Shane and Teddy and they'd trek out the rest of the days until there was only them. She'd feel bad when she said bye to them but at least she'd know one of the three of them would win. Shane deserved it, his family back home was huge, and they'd love to live in Victors village she bet, and well she didn't know much about Teddy, but she was sure his parents would be proud of him. He was a career after all. And she'd be thrilled to return home, she'd get to shove it in her parents that she had won and they weren't getting a thing out of it. 

Everything would be fine once she found Shane and Teddy.

[abigailtheundecided]

Wanderer || One Shot

Abigail was so tired, she felt like she hadn't slept at all, the heat was unbearable and she felt almost as if she was wandering in circles. She'd climbed a tree and caught some shut eye but her nightmares had returned, this time ending while she was crushed to death. It didn't help that the air felt hotter than it had the night before. Her day had been horrible, and it had only gotten worse once she'd split from April. Although the girl had looked innocent and sweet, and she was, Abigail had seen a determination in her that she hadn't seen in herself and it crushed her spirit. 

Abigail knew she needed to rest, that she needed to take a break but she was afraid that the aching of her limbs would only grow worse if she did try to sleep again. She didn't want to wake up sorer than she already was. The ceiling caving in had been a blessing though, and she had thanked her lucky stars when it happened, now though she was cursing it. She was bruised and battered, but the small tube of bruise cream she'd received from her sponsor had helped the worst ones. She'd only used it sparingly and had held it up to the sky and whispered thank you. She knew she'd be in much worse shape now if she hadn't received it when she did. 

Hours later Abigail stumbled upon the camp almost by accident, she was delirious from lack of sleep at that point, and seeing it empty she felt like screaming. They hadn't waited, they'd left without her. Falling to her knee's she frantically searched around the campsite, looking for the supplies she'd left behind when she'd set out to check the traps. There was nothing. Falling to her side she curled into a ball, her loneliness crushing her, her arms wrapped around her knee's and she closed her eyes. Maybe she deserved this for what she'd done to that boy.. maybe they had abandoned her because they thought they couldn't trust her. Whatever the reason they were gone, and she was so thirsty.

Opening her eyes she wrenched her backpack off of her back with one arm, unzipping it she pulled out the bottle she had left, only a mouthful really, but she needed it. It felt as if her lips were dry enough to crack, and she knew where the waterfall was, surely that couldn't have dried up from the heat? Abigail gulped down the water, trying to get every drop. She knew she should get up, go get water, hide in a tree, anything but instead she just lay there. Her eyelids were so heavy and she was so very tired, she just wanted to back home, in her bed, hated but at least safe.

'Come on Abigail don't give up now!' So what if they had left her? So what if she was on her own? Hadn't it been her idea to loot the Career's cornucopia? Hadn't it been her that had gotten their first supplies? If Teddy and Shane didn't want to stick it out with her then screw them. Shoving herself to her feet she grabbed up her bag angrily shoving the empty water bottle into the pack. She stilled ached, and she still felt as if she would never get enough water but she would, she definitely would. Looking around the camp once more she shrugged before moving out. Why leave them a sign that she'd come back and seen their betrayal when they'd left nothing for her?

Moving towards the waterfall wouldn't be easy if that route had also changed but it would be doable, and she still had the trap that they had set, this time hopefully it would catch a kitten and she'd actually have something to eat.

[abigailtheundecided]

Eye of the Tiger? || Abigail & April

Abigail had set some snares, after she'd asked for some tips, and checking them was turning out to be a test of her patience. There was a lot of wrapped up food but Abigail wanted meat, and so here she was checking all of the empty traps. She was way to warm but she couldn't allow herself to chug the water that she had on her, she knew her way back to the camp but if for some reason she couldn't get back easily, like running into another person, she didn't want to be stuck looking for water. It was also why she was avoiding eating any of the food she'd brought with her. 

She was being careful of making to much noise but it was almost impossible to move through the area without stepping on something or brushing against something. As Abigail came up on her fourth trap she almost let out a whoop of joy, forgetting where she was she ran towards it, crouching down to look at what the trap had caught. It was small, and cute, and looked like a tiger, or rather what she thought a tiger would look like. "You poor thing." Did she really need meat? No. Could she live without it? Yes. Then again this cute little bundle could be a mutt that would rip her arm off when she let it out of the trap.