Starve On Pixels

Chapter 7: Sweet Nightmares

Sunny's POV

The dirt was gross, so was the sweat, and the mud, and the heat, and Vanessa, and especially Emily X. Ew, ew, ewwwww. Everything was disgusting in the arena, and my nails were getting chipped. Great. Anyone got any nail polish?

"Going into that puddle on steroids only made me more disgusting!" It had just spread the dirt until I was covered from head to toe.

"RIGHT!?" Emily X whined, "This is gross."

Vanessa was livid, "STOP COMPLAINING! FIRST OF ALL, THAT WAS A LAKE. SECOND OF ALL, YOU ALREADY LOOKED AWFUL ANYWAYS, SO THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT- JUST SHUT UP!!"

Emily X and I just scoffed- we were all pillaging the Cornucopia for any towels or food.

"Guys, let's go get some firewood- maybe we'll all calm down after that," Vivian suggested. "I'm really cold."

I leaned over to whisper in Emily X's ear, "This is a perfect opportunity for Vivian to conveniently vanish. I'm getting annoyed by all her perfection."

"Where would she go?" Emily X was far too naive for her own good.

I rolled my eyes, "I'd kill her."

Emily X's eyes widened as it dawned on her, "Great idea."

I slipped her a stone sword I'd been chiseling at throughout the day, "We'll strike when the time is right. We can blame it on Ellen and Emily Z."

For a few minutes I felt some sympathy for Vivian; however, I gradually came back to my senses. She was going to be a nuisance with all her 'don't argue' and 'we're a team' talks.

"Who wants to come with me?" Vivian asked the group.

"I'll go! I'm starting to get chilly too," I replied in a cheery voice. "AREN'T YOU EMILY?!" I was trying to get Emily to focus. Ugh- people can get so distracted sometimes...

"Uh... What?" Emily still had no idea what was going on. Wow...

"You're getting cold AREN'T YOU?"

"Oh ya! Let's go get some firewood together!" Seems like she finally caught on. Except looks like Vivian also caught on.

"Umm... is there something going on here?"

"No- not at all! Why would you think that?" I forced a smile onto my lips.

"If you say so..." vivian led the way out of the cave.

We hiked out a few meters from the cave, and started to hunt around for good trees to chop down. As we started to get down to business, I called for Vivian to help me with an extremely tall tree.

As she came around the tree to my side, I pinned Vivian up against the tree before she could react.

"No more Ms. Perfect for you!" I growled.

I began to carve little hearts and diamonds into her scalp with her own nails. The little trails of blood were transfixing me as they trickled down her chin.

Vivian gasped, "Why?"

"You're annoying. I hate you," I drawled, "I'm not going to give you a dramatic backstory- it's the Hunger Games- I shouldn't have to explain at all."

Vivian screamed in pain. I laughed at her pathetic shrieks of terror.

"Please make it stop!" Vivian grimaced in pain as I tried to pinch her eyeballs out with her own hair.

Emily X was still swinging at trees for firewood; however, her axe went wide and she chopped Vivian's head off. Vivian died instantly.

"What did you do that for?" I asked crossly, "I was having fun."

"Well if there was a lot of blood on our hands we'd look suspicious," I could tell Emily X was lying, but I let it slide.

"Act like we're really crestfallen over Vivian's death, k?" I told Emily X.

We approached camp and burst through the trees. We were panting from our exciting murder, but Vanessa would be fooled into thinking it was because we were fleeing.

"They got her!" Emily X wailed hysterically.

Not that I would ever admit it, but Emily X was a pretty good actor.

Vanessa rushed to her side, "Where's Vivian?"

"Emily Z and Ellen!" Emily X pretended to be 'consoled' by me.

I let a few tears trickle down my cheeks, "She sacrificed herself so bravely..."

"SHE'S GONE," Emily X sobbed, "Vivian..."

I noticed that the artificial light was darkening, signaling that it was almost night. I pretended to gather up my remaining strength and say, "She would have wanted for us to move on, we should go to bed."

A few wobbling shapes began appearing in the distance.

Emily X screamed, "WHAT ARE THOSE?!"

Zombies, skeletons, spiders, and creepers pursued us as we leapt into the Cornucopia. We huddled together, trembling until after the pictures of the deceased flashed in the sky- Vivian, Elle, Katie, Pippa, Joanna, Lauren, Nadeen, and Christina.