The Trials of Neo City [WINWIN • YUTA]

🖤 20. Let's Start the Killing Game 🖤

The sunlight hit Sicheng, who gasped upon seeing the landscape. His tears fell onto his jacket as he realized exactly where he was after that brutal scene he'd just witnessed. Other tributes stood on their pedestals, confused and looking around at each other to try and figure out what the hold up was. Sicheng guessed that nobody else had seen the video but him and his brother, who he couldn't find through his tears that refracted the light.

All twenty-four tributes stood within the middle of a vast city that seemed as if it'd been bombed or destroyed. Ruined buildings towered over them, as if they'd crumble any moment. Sickly-looking vines grew on everything around them, curling through broken windows and around poles. The air was slightly smokey, dry and thick. In between everyone was what looked to be a city center, an intricate fountain in the middle, barely touched by assumed bomb attacks, the ruin. Within the waters and around it gleamed silver and steel weapons, as well as backpacks strewn across the street. They stood on their pedestals, small pieces of concrete above ground, pattern differing from the war-torn streets.

"Welcome to the 127th Hunger Games! The countdown clock will begin as shown." A high pitched voice called out, all eyes turning to the skies where a screen with a clock timer began.

Sixty seconds.

Sicheng looked around at the others, finally spotting a few people he knows; His brother stood across from him, ready to pounce into The Cornucopia with no hesitation. Other children his age looked less militant, leaning themselves to run the other way. Ten smirked, crouched down and ready to sprint forwards. Yuta looked nervous, intense eyes scanning the fountain.

Thirty seconds.

Sicheng looked around at the weapons. From what he could see, there was a bow with a small bundle of arrows, knives stuck into the tough granite of the statue in the fountain's center. Hammers, boomerangs, ropes, and armor sat in the still water. A backpack sat on the ledge of the fountain, but no weapons were near it. That was fine.

Twenty seconds.

It was insane, but he'd try the Cornucopia; he would run, grab the backpack as he went, and disappear into a building before anyone even knew it.
That was the plan.

Ten seconds.

The sun shone overhead, beating upon him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his heart pounded in his ears as he looked across the way, Careers already plastering sickening smiles on their faces and bracing themselves for the game.

A game, it's all a game.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second.

His legs moved before he could even register it, the cannon blaring as each tribute left their pedestal. Under half of them even dared to enter the Cornucopia, Ten already grabbing three knives - maybe four- and a bag, climbing to the top. Sicheng suddenly understood why he was given a ten in training as he watched him climb with unprecedented speed.

Sicheng kept running though, even as a knife was lodged into the skull of Kun's districtmate next to him, the boy immediately falling to his knees as another boy screamed to his right. The cannon sounded loudly, but Sicheng ran anyways.

"Sungchan! No! Please, Sungchan!"

Then Sicheng saw it: Yuta, holding back the little boy from his district as the kid screamed his head off. He tried running to the District Six boy, whose head bled from a huge gash, eyes instantly lifeless, staring up at Sicheng.

But no matter the yelling, the agonized screams, Ten wouldn't hurt Shotaro nor Yuta. Not yet. The Careers made a deal, that deal was still good and fresh in the minds of each tribute, the fear planted deep for everyone.