skull on fire: A skulduggery pleasant/ hunger games crossover fanfic

Chapter Eighteen: Let The Games Begin!

Chapter Eighteen: Let The Games Begin!

I wake in the morning cocooned in Skulduggery's arms, after a fitful night of rest. Clarrabelle and Ghastly stand in the doorway of our room, looking sadly at the two of us. I touch Skulduggery's shoulder gently to rouse him from his meditative state, and he sits up slowly. I kiss him before he leaves my bed to go to his room and prepare for the day that is to come.

Ghastly leaves with him, and Clarabelle walks towards me. She doesn't speak, doesn't have to. Today is the day. The day we are sent into the arena. And only one person will come out. I slide out of my bed and throw on a simple white shirt and some jeans, we will get identical suits when we enter the Arena anyway.

Clarabelle hugs me tightly before opening the door and leading me out into the corridor where Skulduggery is waiting. He hugs me again and whispers in my ear,

"I love you," he says, "Never forget that."

"I'll see you in the arena Skul. This isn't goodbye." I reply, almost crying at the realisation of what is really about to happen.

Skulduggery pulls out of the hug first, patting my shoulder and saying goodbye before being led down a corridor to his hovercraft. Clarabelle holds my hand in hers for reassurance as we walk down a long corridor to where our hovercraft is waiting. We step inside and sit down, a lone avox injecting a tracker into my arm as I sit. Me and Clarabelle talk about silly things as we travel, trying not to think about the arena. We talk about flowers and trees and sunlight, about our families who I am likely never to see again. When we arrive at the waiting room into the Arena, we disembark slowly. Not wanting to go any closer to this place which will take so many people's lives.

I walk into the crisp white chamber before Clarabelle, and notice a large white bag in the corner. It must be my arena outfit. Clara follows me inside, pulling the bag off the hook on the wall and unzipping it. The suit is a lightweight white jumpsuit, tinged an oddly greenish colour. It seems to have no modifications for keeping heat in, or water out, and the colour suggests a more sunny or heated arena.

Me and Clarabelle scrutinise the suit before I put it on, thinking that if the arena is in fact a desert-like place. Water will be a priority. The first thing I must do after meeting up with my allies will be to look for a water source. I put on the suit, noticing it is a quite comfortable fit, then sit with Clarabelle until the countdown to the games begins.

The deep voice booms loud in the chamber and I walk towards the glass elevator that will transport me to the arena. I hug Clarabelle one last time before stepping inside, and the glass closes around me. Sealing off all sound but the countdown to departure. As the lift starts moving I try to compose myself, my face a blank mask as I lift up into the arena.

I try to take in as much as I can in the ten seconds before the games begin for real. The arena is a huge plain of sand, as I had guessed it might be. One mountain looms far away in the distance, but other than that the only cover is the huge rocks dotted around and a couple of trees. The cornucopia itself reflects the arena, shaped like a large rock to blend in with its surroundings. From most angles, you couldn't even tell it was there. There is no way to hide in this place, and I can see our best hope is to capture the cornucopia. It will be hard, but with the magic me and Skulduggery posses, it might just be possible.

I can see Skulduggery two tributes to my left. Aura and Rye are beside me on my right and Rosaline and Fionn are out of sight on the other side of the cornucopia. I catch Skulduggery's gaze, letting him know what I am thinking with a pointed glance at the cornucopia. He tilts his skull in a way that seems a little concerned. But nods and turns back to the cornucopia, preparing himself to run as the countdown hits zero.

At the sound of that last number, chaos erupts. People run towards the cornucopia and away, already punching and fighting in their rush. I am the second to reach the cornucopia, just after one of the careers. He looks at me scornfully, as though he doesn't even consider me a threat. But he is soon to realise his mistake as my hands light up with fire and I punch him hard in the gut. I succeed in knocking him out, but my magic seems forced, drained. The light flickers out as another Career comes towards me. A girl this time. And I grab a small knife instead, throwing it carefully and seeing it lodge itself in the blond girls forehead. She drops slowly, eyes wide open in shock as she dies.

I see Skulduggery struggling with a tall black haired man. He is not using his magic, and I guess he must be experiencing the same problem as me. I grab a large sword, calling his name and throwing it his way. He catches it deftly and spins to slice the mans head from his shoulders in one clean motion. The mans body crumples to the ground, the head rolling to a stop moments later, and I quickly focus on my plight as a small boy chucks a rock at my head. I dodge and run to where I can see Aura crouched next to Rye behind a pedestal. No one seems to have noticed them and I an very glad as I head towards them. It is only as I get closer that I notice something is wrong. A large patch of dark red is spreading on the shoulder of Aura's white jumpsuit. Blood. She is clutching Rye to her chest, the bloody arrow that pierced her body lies on the ground next to her and her body convulses in sobs. I run faster towards her, but I can see I might be too late.

A/N: Whoooop!!! The action and bloodshed has finally started! Sorry about the cliffhanger but it couldn't be helped. Please vote and comment! I swear I like nothing more than reading your comments, so please go ahead and write one<3 And ill see you in the next chapterXD

"Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

P.s: I'm actually in the process of editing the older chapters to fix up any plotholes, so please comment or PM me if anything is confusing you and I will explain.