All-Stars: Non-Careers

Chapter 38

Inky Balboa

The instant the gong sounded, the sky darkened even more. Shadowy figures appeared from all directions and converged on the circle of platforms so quickly I was hardly on the ground before I could distinguish them. They were horrible things with wings and shark mouth and dangling tentacles. I already knew I wasn't going to run into the Bloodbath. They just made me run faster.

Electra Magneta

There was nothing between the statues that could make me run closer. But running away didn't guarantee safety either. The air was full of grabbing tentacles and other Tributes clogged the escape paths. It was all a matter of luck.

As I ran, I wondered about the one thing I could have used from the supplies. What were we supposed to eat in here? I shuddered at the only possibility I could imagine. But they didn't like it when Titus did that.

Ryker Merlin

It didn't matter how fast I could run. They were everywhere. There was nowhere to run. The nearest mausoleum was impossibly far away when there was a sea of tentacles in the way. One of the mutts wrapped itself around me like a clump of leeches. I thought it would carry me away, but it started feeding right there on the ground where I fell. Someone tripped over us as it ate. I was glad I wouldn't be in the Arena for longer.

Mindi Hostler

Ew ew ew EW!

The tentacles were gross and slimy! I shrieked and batted at the nasty stinky things. The mutt hissed at me and pulled me closer with shorter, less slimy, but still gross tentacles.

Stupid Gamemakers. Nobody would win the Games at this rate.

Daniel Mondins

It was all very familiar. I saw a mutt aiming for Sarla and tackled it out of the air. She tried to pull it off me and I kicked her away so hard she fell roughly to the ground. I felt terrible about it right away, and I hoped she'd forgive me. I just wanted to get her farther away from the teeth that were already tearing into me.

Sevarian Vask

I stuck close to the girl on the platform next to me. If one of the mutts gunned for me I could shove her in the way instead. One of them turned in the air and aimed at us. I was about to go through with my plan when she hit the deck. It was too late to run after that.

Hadley Kinneth

I was too scared to be happy the mutt ate Sevarian, but I had enough energy for one thought.

Well screw you too, dickbag.

Cooper Woodson

It was like the Reaping all over again. It didn't make any sense who died in the Bloodbath. It was whoever the mutts happened to see first. I tried to keep low and blend in.

I got lucky. The Mutt lottery passed me over. There were also a few Tributes still collected enough to kill. Including Jason. I didn't win that lottery.

Vera Busattil

One of the mutts came straight at me. I sliced its head off with a sword from between the statues. It should have picked more carefully. I was a Career. I dealt with mutts every day. I'd been training longer than it had been alive- which really wasn't that long, but that was beside the point. It was really a letdown after the Camazotz.

Azalea Meadows

People were dying in piles all around me. It was all right to have a few less to worry about, but I wanted a piece of the action. I grabbed a sword and looked around for my first target. I saw Vera and got a wonderful, awful idea. I could get rid of my biggest threat right in the first chaotic minutes of the game.

I ran up behind her. She pivoted and ran me through without even moving her feet. She must have had the same idea first.

Lisbeth Miller

I was clinging to the edge of the platform as the mutt tried to drag me into the air by the leg. It kept wrapping more and more tentacles around me, and the strain was getting unbearable. I saw my ally in the chaos.

"Burgundy! Help!" I called out. He saw me and hesitated. He took a step forward, but he was too slow. My hands slipped from the platform. He betrayed me before I even got a chance to.

Leo Serrocold

We were definitely going to need supplies in an Arena like this. Jay, Austin, and Zach were already between the statues in a circle, guarding each other as they took supplies. I saw a first aid kit on the edge of the pile and darted in.

"You're gonna need that," someone said as I picked it up. I turned as Beth stuck her knife into my midsection. She stabbed me again as I fell.

"Lucky you. I don't have enough time to do it right."

Ree Morning

I already knew I was going to die. I kept my eyes shut as I ran straight out from the platforms, waiting to feel the tentacles around me. But they never came.

When I opened my eyes, I was past the first mausoleum. I hadn't realized there was so much in the Arena. I could hardly see the Cornucopia past the few trees and more ornate graves. There weren't any mutts overhead anymore, but I still dove into the first open grave I saw. It was almost covered by a stone slab. I was skinny enough to wiggle inside, but no one could follow me.

Rory Harris

It was so much louder than last time. There were the screams, the clash of metal from between the statues, and the hissing of the Mutts. Somehow I still managed to hear a lone owl hoot in the distance. Then air rushed into my ear as a Mutt slammed into my back and hissed in my face.

Don't let Gwen watch. This was even worse than other Games.

Velvet Tek

So many mutts. They blotted out the moonlight for a second, then scattered so the cameras and audience could see what was happening. One of them picked Lisbeth. One picked Mindi. One picked Hadley, but she convinced it otherwise. All of this I saw over my shoulder as I ran out from the circle.

Still more mutts. One picked Ryker. One picked me.

Skyler Dacher

I saw Hadley across the circle. There were so many of us I hadn't even known she was there. A Mutt dove toward her and I tried to scream a warning, but she was too quick. I watched the skies and picked my way over closer to her. We could pick up where we left off. She saw me coming and switched directions to get closer.

I reached out to take her hand so we could run away together, but then I was flying. I just got her back and now I was lost again.

Zinnia Fraser

One of the Mutts took Rory. The killer Tributes must have been really mad. They could hardly aim at someone before a Mutt took them. It was like a bunch of birds eating scattered breadcrumbs.

What was I going to do without Rory? I got on without him last time, but not for long. There was so much to be afraid of in this Arena. But the Mutts solved that problem.

Mouse Parentii

Alice was going to be so scared. I found her in the crowd and pushed my way through the fleeing Tributes. I grabbed her hand.

"Where do we go?" she asked. Silver said we were supposed to meet on high ground. There was no high ground here. I looked around.

"There!" I said. I pointed to a faraway stone building with a statue on top.

"An angel," she said softly. And not a scary one like between the platforms. Silver would know where to look for us: by the real angel.

74th place: Miller Thresher- fell off platform and sploded

Much as we deride Miller, he serves a very noble purpose. Nobody wants their Tribute to die first. Even Miller's submitter wanted him in last place. Thanks to him, no one else has to be. We salute you, our heavyweight hero. Since it's nigh impossible to remember original submitters and resubmitters for 74 people, thanks are generic this time.

73rd place: Mindi Hostler- eaten by nightflyer

Tinks helpfully sent in the idea for Nightflyers. I have lots more Mutts lined up but nightflyers worked well for the initial Bloodbath assault. Mindi's POV came later but she's nasty so I put her as second dead, to no one's dismay. Thank you Mindi for being so nasty we don't feel bad when you die.

72nd place: Ryker Merlin- Nightflyer

Deaths in my stories often go in a similar order to Tribute strength, but I don't dictate order by that specifically. A strong Tribute might up and get brain-eating amoebas. Nightflyers are strong enough to eat just about anyone, so this Arena was a dice roll. I did also use it to clean out people who weren't going to win so there weren't so many people to keep track of. Ryker was a cool guy, but he wasn't first of 74.

71st place: Daniel Mondins- Nightflyer

Daniel's so static. I tried to give him somthing with his description of why he's so protective, but there isn't much there. If I get him again I'll do something crazy with him, but this time I wanted to see Sarla on her own after all she's learned.

70th place: Sevarian Vask- Nightflyer

Sevarian's submitter called him, I think it was, a "git" in one review. Which is true. He lived like a git and died like a git. He would have gotten himself killed trying to stab someone in the back no matter what, so I did it here. It's good to have a few gits though. Not everyone is nice.

69th place: Cooper Woodson- Shot with arrow by Jason

No use beating around the bush. I know Jayman sent in a ton of Tributes hoping for better chances, which is fine. I also know he prefers Jay first, so no use having anyone else he sent win. I trimmed the fat off his herd so I can focus more on people he cares about. I wanted the Tributes to make some kills so Jason did it.

68th place: Azalea Meadows- Stabbed by Vera

I didn't want anyone who died in the Bloodbath their first time to it again. Azalea was the exception. Not because I hate her- it just made sense she'd go charging in again trying for action and pick a fight she couldn't win. There was literally one Career in the Arena and Azalea took her on. Fail.

67th place: Lisbeth Miller- Nightflyer

Lisbeth fancied herself a master manipulator. Burgundy was a bad choice for an ally since he'd been burned by women in the past. And you can't sweet-talk a Nightflyer, so her plan went to pot.

66th place: Leo Serrocold- Stabbed by Beth

More weak links from the Jaymen. Leo was the only one without a clear personality. You might have noticed he was more nebulous pre-Games. So naturally I killed him because with 74 people, I don't have time for boring Tributes. Beth was bound to kill someone, so he filled her quota.

65th place: Rory Harris- Nightflyer

There's not much to say here. Rory's chances were almost nil since he's nice, there's 74 people, and he doesn't have any particular Victor skills. I had to get the numbers down because 74 people just blur. He didn't let the Capitol change him, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

64th place: Velvet Tek- Nightflyer

Velvet was always dynamic and full of life. I mainly killed her to show it can happen to anyone. Boring or exciting, the Games don't care. Next time might be different.

63rd place: Skyler Dacher- Nightflyer

Skyler and Hadley thought the other wasn't there because I managed to forget both of them were there while writing the other and only noticed after a few chapters. Real nice. So I went with it and acted like I meant it all along. I didn't have requests from their submitters to make them ally, and the only way that made sense was if one died. Skyler was weaker so I picked her.

62nd place: Zinnia Fraser- Nightflyer

Zinnia and Alinta were made by the same person. They're not copies or anything, but it made sense to weed one out. I like Alinta more so I picked her. It would have been cool if they allied, but the submitter probably thought they would just fade together in that case. Alinta made it to third in a voting Games. Let's see how she does now.

Sorry to disappoint, but those are literally just creepy statues. They look like Weeping Angels, but they're just statues. They don't move or snatch you up or fire lasers like in The Neverending Story. Just statues. Sorry. Also the gate is the boundary to the Arena. Usually the Cornucopia's in the middle but it looked cooler to have the Bloodbath at the cemetery gates. If the Tributes tried to get over it, it would zap them or something. It looks more obvious from the Arena and the Tributes can tell it's the boundary and they shouldn't try to cross.