The Hanging Tree Games Tasks

Task Three: An Elaborate Labyrinth

Here is my entry for task three! I received a score of 11 :) Enjoy!

The wind blew softly around Sartan's face, gently licking his skin as it danced around him. His feet were perfectly still on the platform, as he listened to the timer count down. Flicking his thumb and index finger together, he used the noise to bounce off his surroundings, but the sound faded. It must be an open space then, but how large?

He remembered back to his father's lessons and training. Still your mind. No thoughts; only movements. His muscles would remember the training before his mind. It was the way of all fighters.

He breathed in deeply, and then exhaled slowly. As the air escaped, he felt all thoughts going with it, sharpening his mental focus.

A loud brazen buzzer interrupted his meditation, followed by the pounding of dozens of footsteps, all heading the same direction. The Cornucopia.

"Sartan!" a voice called. It was Kale.

"We need to get to the Cornucopia to get weapons before the Careers," a female voice added. It was their ally, Artemis.

"This way." Sartan followed the sound of Kale's voice, then used the sound of his footsteps pounding against the ground to guide him.

"Wait," Artemis murmured.

"Your bladed staff is in the center at the front, Sartan," Kale told him.

Sartan nodded once.

Heavy footsteps echoed from their right. The thwack of a bow firing from the Cornucopia interrupted the sound of the footsteps. It was followed by a cry and a thud as a body fell. The thud was joined by clanging of weapons tumbling to the ground.

"I think this belongs to you, Sartan..."

Sartan clenched his jaw. He knew the voice taunting him. Chris. There was a loud crack, like wood snapping.

"Man, that's just—" Kale started.

He was interrupted by Chris laughing. "What's a blind Career going to do without his staff?"

Sartan slid his right foot across the ground, touching one of the weapons. It was long, but Sartan didn't care what it was, only that it was sharp.

Before anyone could react, Sartan picked it up. His hands saw a long blade at one end, so he flipped it around expecting to find a handle, only to feel another blade. A dual bladed sword? Whatever, he thought.

Hearing the approach of several people, he felt for and found the center leather grip. He twirled the sword around in his hands, constantly keeping it moving around his body.

No mind.

Sartan slammed one end of the sword down against the ground, using the sound waves to tell what was coming toward him. The closest tribute held a weapon with a large metal head. Probably an axe. Sartan came to the conclusion quickly, but he never stopped moving.

Sartan spun his blade toward the tribute, sliding one end of his sword against the handle of the tribute's weapon. There was a clang, and he felt his blade catch under the head, hooking it.

He yanked it away, throwing the tribute off balance. As the tribute was thrown to the ground behind him, Sartan continued spinning completely around. Hearing more footsteps where the earlier tribute had been, Sartan jabbed forward.

He felt his blade pierce skin, and a girl screamed, which cut off with a gurgle. He pushed forward as he lunged, throwing the girl backward to the ground. Clenching his fists tightly around his sword, he used it for support as he flipped over, doing a front-flip over her body.