Game of War:The Games

Day Two

Pixel woke up slowly. For a moment,she thought she was home,safe and sound. But the feeling of security quickly faded. She opened her eyes and saw her new friends around her. It almost seemed that everyone was cuddled up with someone. Pixel had slept on the cool grass by Dell. Silver lay not that far away from Dell,surprisingly not by Karambit. Karambit lay near the entrance of the horn. Her weapons lay within arms reach,just in case. Scotty and Moccasin lay near the back,semi propped up on some barrels. Scotty had his arm protectively wrapped around her. Atom was also sleeping alone. He was curled up on top of a barrel. He looked so small and nearly defenseless all curled up like that. Pixel shook her head. She knew better. He could very well defend himself with the proper equipment. Pixel carefully stood up and walked outside,grabbing her weapons along the way. She zipped her white jacket up when she got outside of the protective walls of the cornucopia. All of the tributes had gotten the same outfit other than the color of their shirt. It was always that way. A few snowflakes fell from the sky. Pixel gazed upwards. Through the clouds,she could barely make it out,was the clear dome that kept the tributes from escaping the outside world. There was a quiet sound that took Pixel's attention away from the dome. Just barely,Pixel could make out the camera discreetly hidden inside a tree. Pixel smiled.
"To bad we're going to die in this pretty white snow," she muttered. Pixel looked around. She sighed. Nothing was going to happen. Nothing would save her from this nightmare. Mom wasn't there to sing her back to sleep like she did when Pixel was young. Pixel looked up into the sky. She began to sing a song her mother had once sang to her. "Once apon a time,in a land far away,there lived a young girl with her family. Nothing could hurt them and everything was fine,". Pixel began to get choked up,but she didn't really care. "So just close your eyes and dream of...me...to... night..." A tear slipped down her cheek. She hugged her elbows tightly. "Mom?" she whispered. "Where are you now?" Pixel slumped down against the cornucopia. She pulled her knees up and laid her head in between them. She cried for several minutes.
A rustling in the trees caught Pixel's attention. Pixel stood up and readied her bow,wiping away her tears.
"Who's there?" she asked as she advanced toward the movement. "Show yourself!" she said,trying hard to sound confident even though her cheeks were still slightly tear-streaked and her voice was shaky.
"Please!" a boy said from the bushes. "Don't hurt us!"
"Why shouldn't I?" Pixel asked.
"Because I'm part of your team!" the boy said. "I'm Dill,". He paused. "And Aria's right here too," he said. Pixel didn't say anything for a moment.
"Come out of the trees," she finally said. Dill and Aria both came out. Dill had his jacket partially zipped up, barely showing the purple shirt beneath. He had dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. Aria had bright blonde hair and matching bright blue eyes. A tiny hint of hot pink could be seen through her nearly zipped up jacket. Pixel still wasn't sure though. A hand on her shoulder made Pixel jump.
"It's okay," Karambit said from behind her. "They're with us. You can relax,". Pixel turned to look at Karambit. She smiled and nodded. Pixel nodded in return and lowered her weapon.
"Well don't just stand there," Pixel said to the two. "This is a snow forest. We don't want our team mates freezing!" The four headed back to the horn where everyone was waiting. Karambit passed out food to the others while Dill and Aria introduced themselves.
"So we have a Dell and a Dill now," Scotty said as Karambit gave him his food. "That's not confusing at all!"
"Well,it's not when one of us has a pair of flaming wings on his back," Dell said. Everyone laughed at this.
"He makes a pretty good point," Dill piped in. The group finished eating breakfast. They each packed a bag filled with spare weapons,food,and other various supplies.
   "Okay," Silver said after they had packed their own bags. "Me and Kara are gonna go search the west for any tributes,". She turned and pointed at Scotty and Moccasin. "You two go and search the east,". She turned toward Dill and Aria. "You two go to the north,but I want you guys back before noon since you just got here,". The two nodded. After checking their bags one more time the groups headed out.
   "Wait!" Atom said as Silver and Karambit started to leave the cornucopia. Silver turned around.
   "What?" Silver asked.
   "What about me?" he asked. "I understand Pixel and Dell staying,they don't like violence. But I want to go out and look!"  Silver took a deep breath. Pixel could tell that Silver didn't want to stand around explaining stuff when there were tributes outside.
   "You don't have a partner. You can't go out alone. You can look around the edges of the woods but don't let the corn out of your sight. Got it?" Silver said sternly.
   "Yeah,fine," Atom said with a sigh. Silver nodded. Her and Karambit then walked out of the horn and into the west side of the woods. Atom walked out of the horn almost immediately. He paced the front of the horn for half and hour. Then he patrolled around the edge of the woods. Pixel and Dell stayed near the cornucopia the whole time. Dell would stand outside most of the time,keeping an eye on Atom while still being close enough to protect Pixel if necessary. Pixel stayed inside the horn practically the whole time. She was continuously sorting supplies,rationing food,and sharpening weapons that lay around. Pixel found a golden sword hidden behind some barrels. It was absolutely perfect for her. Light and easy to grip,made with hard metal that was seemingly unbreakable. Pixel had seen this metal plenty of times before. It was what the containers that held the chemicals were made of. Pixel put the sheath around her waist. She pulled out the sword and checked to make sure it was cleaned and sharpened. Something near the hilt caught her attention. Pixel looked more closely at it. It was a seemingly green gem,one on both sides. On closer inspection,Pixel discovered that it was one, clear,circular gem with a green liquid filling it. Pixel dropped the sword. That green liquid. That was the same chemical that had given Dell and herself their abilities.
   "Are you alright?" Dell asked,rushing into the horn after hearing the crash. Pixel quickly shoved the sword behind her.
   "Yeah,just dropped a few daggers," she said,tapping her belt. "I'm f.."  Pixel stopped herself before she could say fine. If she said that,Dell would see right through her. She said that almost every time she was upset. She was getting better at stopping herself though before she said it. "Good," she said instead. "I'm good. Nothing to worry about,". Dell gave Pixel a skeptical look,but eventually nodded.
   "Okay,just checking. Give a shout if anything happens, k?" he said. Pixel nodded a little to fast.
   "Yeah,of course," she said. Dell shook his head and headed back outside. There was a flap of wings and Pixel easily assumed that Dell was going for a quick fly. Pixel walked over and picked up the sword from where she had kicked it to.
"I can't believe they put this chemical in there!" Pixel thought,anger and worry combining into one overwhelming emotion. "They know how dangerous this stuff is! If this breaks who knows what would happen! Why would they put this in here!"  Pixel looked at the sword for a while. All of a sudden,she laughed. "What am I talking about?" she asked herself. "This is the Game of War! They don't give two craps about us! They want us to die!"  Pixel slumped to the grassy floor as her own thought sunk in. "They don't care about us..." she thought sadly. "They want is to die..."  Atom walked into the horn,unnoticed by Pixel.
   "No one's returned yet and there hasn't been any sign of any fellow tributes," he said. Pixel didn't here him. "Pix? You okay?" he asked concernedly. Pixel still didn't respond. He took off his helmet that he had gotten out of the horn. He sat down by Pixel. He followed her line of sight. Atom picked up the sword and looked at it. He noticed the chemical-filled gem almost immediately. "Oh," he said. He placed the sword back down. "Pix,I..."  Atom was cut off by Pixel though.
   "No,I'm good," she said, shaking her head. She stood up and put the sword back into its sheath. She helped Atom stand. He held his helmet under one arm. "I just..."  Pixel paused. She chuckled. "It took me by surprise,I don't know why, but it just did,". Atom nodded in understanding.
   "You gonna be okay now?" he asked,still concerned for Pixel.
   "Yeah,promise," she said.
   "Okay," he said,putting his helmet back on. "Shout if you need me," he added as he headed out of the horn.
   "Sure thing,". Atom then disappeared from the entrance.
   Dill and Aria came back right on time.
   "Did we make it?" Dill asked as he walked into the horn.
   "Right on time," Pixel said as she pulled out some bread for herself.
   "Anyone else back yet?" Aria asked. Pixel shook her head. "Oh," Aria said. Dill and Aria sat down on the grass and pulled it food from their bags. "Should we look for them?" she asked concernedly.
   "No,they'll be f..."  Pixel stopped. "They'll be okay," she said instead. Aria nodded,though she still looked concerned. The three ate in silence. Not long after, Silver and Karambit walked in.
   "I see you three are without us," Karamvit said, sitting down by them. Pixel chuckled.
   "Sorry Karambit,we got hungry," she said. Karambit chuckled.
   "Understandable," she said as she pulled out some food from her bag. Pixel noticed that Silver stayed at the entrance of the horn,sharpening one of her daggers with a rock from outside.
   "What's up with Silver?" Pixel asked Karambit in a hushed voice. Karambit looked at Silver over her shoulder.
   "We spotted two tributes in the woods,but they got away. Sil's just blaming herself for it,like always," Karambit explained. Pixel looked over at Silver.
   "She always this hard on herself?" she asked Karambit.
   "Yeah,pretty much,". Pixel nodded.
"Wonder why?" she thought to herself. "Then again,I tend to do that too,".
   After eating,Pixel decided to go outside of the cornucopia. She propped up against the horn.
   "So,how was your search?" Pixel asked Silver,while as standing right inside the horn,still sharpening a dagger. Silver grunted in response. "That bad,huh?"  Silver just continued to sharpen the dagger. "Glad you're back safe," Pixel said. She then walked away from the corn and toward Atom. "Hey Atom," Pixel said as she got closer.
   "Hey Pix," he said,turning toward her. "What's up?" 
   "Nothing other than the Games," she joked. Atom laughed.
   "True," he said,slipping his helmet off.
   "You haven't seen Dell recently,have you?" Pixel asked. Atom shook his head.
   "No,but I'll keep and eye out,".
   "Wanna take a brake and eat?" Pixel asked. As if on cue,Atom's stomach growled. Pixel laughed.
   "Guess that's a yes," Atom said,laughing with Pixel. The two headed toward the corn. They were about to enter when there was a big crash from the east side of the woods. Silver rushed it of the horn to see what was going on. Silver readied two daggers while Pixel loaded her bow. Atom quickly pulled out his spear. Scotty came bursting through the trees,carrying a body. His arms and legs were soaked in blood. Not four seconds later,a tall,broad-shoulder, fair skinned boy burst through the trees. His hair was shoulder length and black in color. He carried a gigantic tree branch,which was sharpened on one end.
   "It's Typhoon Aquaton! He's the male tribute from District eleven!" Atom said.
   "How do you know that?" Silver asked. Scotty let it a scream. He had tripped over a rock. He skid through the snow,the body he was holding sliding out of his hand. The three jerked there heads toward Scotty.
   "We can worry about that later!" Pixel said,pulling the dagger back in her bow. "We've got to save Scotty!"  The others nodded. Pixel released the dagger right as Atom through his spear. Both weapons nailed the tribute in the chest. He stumbled backwards. Silver through her daggers into the ground and pulled out her sword. With a flick of her wrist,it went flying dead into the tribute's heart. The tribute looked down at his chest. Blood was soaking through his jacket. He muttered something right before he fell to the ground.
   "Boom goes the cannon," Silver muttered right before the cannon went off, signaling the tributes death. The three rushed over to Scotty,who was rushing over to the nearly motionless body. As they got closer,they realized it was a Moccasin. Her shirt and jacket were both soaked with blood. The once magenta shirt now looked dark red.
   "Atom! Go get our weapons from the boy!" Silver yelled at Atom. Atom quickly nodded and rushed to the body. He carefully unarmed the boy and grabbed their weapons along with anything else the tribute had,which wasn't much. "Pixel! You help Scotty to the horn! I'll get Moccasin!" Silver said. Pixel nodded. She helped Scotty to the horn as fast as she could while Silver ran with Moccasin in her arms. Silver made it to the horn faster than Pixel. Atom put the weapons and supplies down in front of the horn and rushed to help Pixel with Scotty. "Kara!" Silver was saying when Pixel walked in. "Dill can do it,right?" 
   "Of course I can!" Dill said. "Now put her down,this might take a little while,".
   "I want to be by him," Scotty said. Scotty must have seen the confusion on both Atom and Pixel's faces. "Moccasin,I want to be by Moccasin. Please," he said horsily. Pixel nodded and, with the help from Atom,led Scotty over by Moccasin. They set him down gently. Dill was right by Moccasin as well.
   "Could you bring her back if..." Silver started.
   "He can do it," Aria cut her off. "I know he can,". Silver nodded,obviously fighting back emotions. Karambit took Silver's hand and rubbed it.
   "He's got this Sil,I know he does," she said.
   "Yeah," Silver mumbled. "I know,". Dill carefully took Moccasin's jacket off. He reached for the hem of her shirt.
   "Anyone who doesn't want to see her shirtless should leave now," Dill said.  "I'm gonna have to take her's off to do this,". Atom immediately left.
   "Him," Scotty said. Dill looked at Scotty,confused. Scotty leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
   "Oh,sorry. I'll fix it next time," Dill said. Scotty nodded. Pixel stood against the side of the horn. Dill began to lift Moccasin's shirt. Pixel new she would be fine seeing her shirtless. Pixel wasn't prepared to see what was under the shirt. There was a gaping hole pouring out blood in the center of her chest. Pixel gagged. She held her hand over her mouth. She gripped the wall with her spare hand. She felt dizzy.
   "Pixel?" Karambit asked. Pixel could barely hear her though. Her vision was spinning and she could barely hear anything. "Pixel are you alright?" Karambit asked. There was a sound of flapping wings outside of the horn.
   "What's going on?" Dell asked as he walked in. He took one look at Moccasin and completely understood. "Oh my..." he said.
   "Dell," Karambit said. Dell looked over at Karambit. She was holding Pixel up. Pixel's face was extremely pale.
   "Pixel!" Dell exclaimed. He rushed over and picked Pixel up cradle-style in his arms. Pixel stared up at Dell,though she was completely zoned out. "I'll take her outside. I think it's all the blood,". Karambit nodded. Dell carried Pixel outside. A fresh snow was falling. Atom sat in the middle of the circle which was surrounded by trees. Dell walked over to Atom and stood by him. Atom looked up.
   "Pixel!" he said at the sight of Pixel in Dell's arms. Atom jumped up.
   "It's okay,Atom. Pixel is fine. She just doesn't like blood," Dell explained. At sighed in relief.
   "Oh thank goodness," he said. Pixel shook her head.
  "Wha..? What happened?" she asked. Dell sat her down on the ground. Atom and Dell sat beside her.
   "You nearly passed out," Dell said. Pixel looked at the ground.
   "Oh," she said. The three sat in silence until the anthem began to play. Pixel looked over at the cornucopia. Silver and Karambit stood at the entrance,but no one else came out. Dill was probably still doing...whatever it was he was doing. Pixel looked up as the picture of the boy from eleven appeared,then disappeared. Atom looked down at the grass as the anthem sounded again. "Atom?" she asked.
   "And just like that, Typhoon is gone," Atom muttered. He looked up at Pixel. "I feel awful for being part of the reason he's dead," he said.
   "I do too," Pixel admitted.
   "I know Silver really finished him off but..." 
   "He would've killed Scotty and moved on to us," Pixel cut him off. Atom sighed.
   "True," he said quietly. The three waited outside,not wishing to  see what lay inside the corn. They all had there weapons on them, ready to defend at a moments notice. A cannon fire made them all jump.
   "Moccasin..." Pixel said. Dell took Pixel's hand. Pixel buried her head into Dell's jacket. Atom sat by them,staring at the corn.
   "He...he couldn't save him," Atom whispered. "How...how couldn't he save him?"  Atom stood up. He pulled a sword out of its sheath. He walked over to a tree and began hacking at it. Pixel looked up from her hiding place. Dell looked over at Atom as well. "He's a healer! How couldn't he save him?!" Atom nearly shouted. His green hair seemed to dim from its usual glow. "How? How? How?!" Atom screamed. His hacking slowed. He banged his head against the tree. "How?" He whispered. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Pixel stood up,with Dell's help. She walked over and placed her hand on Atom's shoulder. Atom glanced at her. New tears slipped down Pixel's cheeks.
   "Atom.." Pixel said. Atom dropped to the ground. Pixel sat down by him and hugged him. He cried into her shoulder.
   "He has healing abilities..." Atom said,his voice muffled by Pixel's jacket. "How couldn't he save him?" 
   "I don't know Atom..." Pixel said. She looked over at Dell,who had a few tears falling down his face. "I jut don't know,".