Author Games: World Seasons

Task Five - Autumn Air - Halloween Tributes

Jack Oliver Lantern:

Valen is dead. He is dead and I am alone. I didn't even see who did it. Maybe that was a good thing. I would have destroyed whoever did it. I never thought his death would have such a chilling effect on me. The kid seemed to have been losing my mind, but he was still all I had. And now he was gone.

Closing my eyes, I dream of sleep, hoping I could find some kind of peace. There are only 17 of us left. It seems impossible that I am still alive. I assumed to be dead days ago. Clutching the scythe to my side, I allowed myself to fall asleep, praying the nightmares could stay away for just a few hours.

I awoke some time later. Stretching my arm, I realized that grass that once hovers over me had disappeared, as if it sank into the dirty, dusty ground. It is dark, as if it is still night. When I stand, a sort of moisture drenches me, and it occurs to me that it is fog that surrounds me. I take a deep breath, and cough, my lungs filled with the fog. But there is a light within the darkness, a bright orange light fighting its way through the fog.

Fire.

A shrub my head was just using as a pillow explodes in a mess of flames, and without thinking, I start running. "Better find shelter! Wonder where it is.." A Gamemaker wonders aloud, their voice filling the Arena. Shelter? Every tree in sight is alight. Suddenly, it strikes me. The Cornucopia. I just past it yesterday, and it was only a few minutes north.

"Ouch!" Someone hisses behind me, tumbling to the ground. Her blonde hair spills onto the ground, and she struggles to stand. Pausing, I turn. It is Victoria, that girl from the Fools District.

A smile twisting on my face, I hold out my hand for her. "Need some help?" I ask, not yet sure of my intentions. Her fear shows as she shakes her head. "What a shame." I remark, and with a flick of my wrist, slit her throat, smiling innocently as she falls back to the ground. "Next time, you'll accept my help." I tell her lifeless body.

A tall tree crashes to the ground a few feet to my right and I jump, bolting from the area. The Cornucopia is approaching, I can almost feel it. I never thought I would be running towards a giant Christmas Tree. I snort. Only in the Hunger Games. Twinkling lights break through the fog, confirming my arrival.As I get closer and the fogs gets thinner, I realize I am not alone. At least half of the remaining Tributes gathered around the tree, most of them already engaged in a battle.

Suddenly a sharp pain runs through my shoulder, and I cried out in pain, grabbing my arm in pain. "What the hell?" I ask, whipping around. Ash Wilde, that bitch from Bonfire. The quiet, factual one. She was correcting me non-stop when I spoke to her. Shaking my head in rage, I stare into her eyes.

"That was a mistake." I told her, raising my scythe to her neck. The blade curved around her, trapping her. "You messed with the wrong person." She lunged forward, and her roasting stick missed my ear by a centimeter. Pushing her backward, her neck catches on the blade, and she falls to the ground, her head rolling towards the Christmas Tree.

The next kill was Hailey, my fellow Halloween Tribute. With the help of my blade, her neck slid away from her body easily. She was much too weak. At least decapitation was painless. Some others wouldn't have let her off so easily. I was helping her, I convinced myself.

My head spinning, I realized that my weapon had been the cause of three deaths, in a matter of minutes. Blood stained my pants, and I shook my leg, attempting to remove the liquid. Without warning, a girl pops out of the shadows, managing to trip over my outstretched leg. She hit the ground, and I turn, apologizing.

I never got the chance. The girl, who I knew as Bunny, was laying on the ground, her neck snapped at an unnatural angle. "That wasn't me." I said, trying to tell myself I didn't kill her. She was innocent. Her name was Bunny for God's sake. "I didn't mean to. She tripped." Trembling, I turned away, guilt lacing my every move.