savages.

ten.

Sophie

Sophie woke to an alarming bang and a frustrated roar. Shit, she thought, banishing any sleepiness from her body and roughly shaking Ellie, her ally, awake. Groaning, Ellie stirred, but briskly jolted up when she heard the voices.

"Jesus, Sarah! Calm down!" a female voice called out, and Sophie felt her heart near enough stop once it dawned on her that it was likely Izzy, the Career, and her companion, Sarah.

Another violent crash followed the words. "Calm down?! Those bastards just fucking ran!" Sarah snapped back. "I'll kill them. I'll fucking- agh!"

Trembling, Sophie began to gather her things as quickly as possible. "We need to find a way out, fast," she urged.

Ellie could only nod in response. Clearly petrified, the pair of them swung on their backpacks and glanced out of the door. The two Careers didn't seem to be outside the room, so, grabbing hold of each other, they decided to sprint. There was a short period of safety before there was another crash in the room directly below them, and the pair froze in the middle of the hallway.

"Why is this such a big deal to you?!" Izzy demanded, her voice exasperated.

Silence filled the building once again, and so Ellie quietly pulled Sophie back into the room behind them. Sophie's whole body trembled with a toxic combination of fear and adrenaline, and she could hardly feel any of her limbs. This was really, really bad.

However, the next words she heard were somewhat grounding. "I... loved him." Sarah's voice was strangely vulnerable in a way Sophie had believed careers were never capable of. "I thought he felt the same, but he was just lying the whole time to save his own back. The fucking coward..."

When Sophie's mind returned to the room she was in, she caught a glimpse of Ellie, checking all of the windows. "Probably can't make these jumps," she stated lowly, inspecting the surroundings carefully. "It's a backup, though." Sophie nodded.

Figuring she should make herself useful, Sophie searched for any potential hiding spots or secret escapes; all she found was a hollow wardrobe that could probably only fit one. Frustrated, she clenched and unclenched her fists briefly. "This is the worst place to be right now. I think the Careers have split up now, but... I don't know. It's still not safe," she muttered, and Ellie grumbled in agreement.

But then, to her horror, Sophie heard Sarah speak again. "Whatever. I'll get over it. Let's just search this fucking place and leave," she retorted before storming off, her footsteps growing louder. She was headed their way.

Shit. "Open that window fully, and... fuck, I don't know. Find somewhere to hide- quick."

Panicking, Sophie quickly slipped inside the wardrobe, forcing herself as far into its depths as she could. There were a few moments of dreadful anticipation before the door finally creaked open and there were footsteps. It seemed like there was only one of them in the room, but either way, the danger was severe.

"Search the place and get out... fucking hell, I can't stand this much longer," the Career muttered to herself, and Sophie vaguely recognised the voice as Izzy's.

She couldn't stand what? Confusion rose within Sophie, but it was hardly comparable to her suffocating fear at her potential demise. Izzy was shuffling around the room, sighing every so often, and Sophie knew it was only a matter of time before she-

Just as she began to think about it, the wardrobe door opened, and Sophie met eyes with Izzy. Sophie expected an immediate murder, but instead, Izzy groaned, placing a hand on top of a disheveled ponytail. "Listen, alright? You're gonna stay in here, and you're gonna be quiet. I'm... yeah, I'm not gonna hurt you. Just trust me," she practically whispered, her tone intense.

Before Sophie could answer, the door shut again. Okay, this was not a believable act; there was no way a Career would ever pass up an opportunity for murder. Although... Izzy had said she couldn't stand something for much longer- perhaps she'd meant the games?

Sophie was startled out of her thoughts by the door to the room violently swinging open. "Are you done yet? I want to get out of here fast; we've gotta find those bastards." Ah, Sarah was here.

"Yeah, yeah I know. There's not really much in here; we can go," Izzy insisted, and Sophie came to realise that Izzy might actually have saved her life.

However, there was a moment of silence, followed by slow, sly footsteps. "You sure about that?" Sarah asked, and Sophie heard a small yelp. Shit, that had to be Ellie. "You're telling me you didn't see her?" Sarah scoffed.

Hardly skipping a beat, Izzy spat back; "I was fucking rushing, alright? I know how much you want Tom and Zac dead so I just wanted it over with."

Tom and Zac? They were the other careers... they must have split up. The story was starting to make sense.

"Whatever," Sarah retorted, and there was a sickening squelch followed by a thud. A canon boomed to signify Ellie's death. "I'm checking the room again."

Trembling, Sophie attempted to keep her composure as Sarah's footsteps drew closer and closer until light flooded the wardrobe once again. "Are you fucking serious, Izzy?" Sarah roared when she spotted Sophie.

Subtly grimacing, Izzy shrugged. "Don't blame me for rushing. Look, I'll take care of it. Get out and listen for the canon; you need to calm down," Izzy commanded.

"Fuck you." Sarah grabbed Sophie and forced her out of the wardrobe, before practically throwing her towards Izzy. "Make yourself useful for once."

Shooting Sarah a look that could definitely kill, Izzy drew her knife. Sophie figured she should probably say something dramatic to draw her life to a close, but nothing came to mine and so instead, she was forced to look into the almost apologetic eyes of Izzy as the cold knife met her throat.

The last thing she saw was the ghost of a "sorry" on Izzy's lips.