Halle Gremlin, District 6 (trict) wrote in colosseum, @ 2014-02-23 14:38:00 |
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It was hard for Halle to pick the creepiest part of the arena. The graveyard was certainly up there, and the house of wax might just take the cake. The festival fairgrounds may not have been the obvious choice, but Halle couldn't exactly say she liked it here, either. It was like this part of the arena had more personality than the rest; the anonymous and large rides were the work of many people, but the tents here were so individual, so personal. The arena gave gifts sometimes, and these tents seemed as good a place as any to try to find them. Her search was quiet, inspecting everything as closely as she could, but she hadn't had any luck so far. This tent was some sort of fortune-telling set-up, filled with mysticism and the very faint aroma of ancient incense. Unfortunately, it didn't seem anything else was there. She listened and didn't hear any footfalls outside, so she stepped out into the bright sunlight. A flash of movement caught her eye, but she couldn't distinguish any solid shapes. Perhaps one of the tents was just moving in the wind? She moved on to the next tent. Also looking for some more supplies, and still suffering from the now badly-infected bite on his leg, Rye was shaky as he walked and couldn’t put much weight on that one foot. He clutched his cleaver still, unwilling to trust any part of the arena after being ambushed by mutts. He had seen movement ahead, and he was now determined to not let anyone else get the better of him. He ducked behind one of the tents as he caught sight of the girl, and then when she entered another tent he followed her. Steeling himself, he pushed aside the tarpaulin covering the entrance of the tent and went to confront the girl. Halle turned swiftly, her eyes travelling up Rye's full height as her breath caught in her throat. He was huge. Maybe the tallest tribute left, and they were much too far into the games for her to try to rely on pity. "Shit." A mere second's hesitation, then she took off running to the back of the tent, trying desperately to find another way out. Her wrench wouldn't do much good cutting through the fabric, but maybe she could out-maneuver him long enough to escape. He couldn’t run as quickly as she could, especially not with the injury to his foot, and Rye lunged forwards to grab the girl. He grasped at her small frame, trying to snatch her before she could try and escape from the tent. He went after her, shouting for her attention. She ducked from his grasp but fell, the impact reopening the gash along her left side. From the ground, she noticed a small opening at the base of the tent--small enough she might be able to crawl out. He certainly wouldn't be able to follow her that way, not with his frame. She clambered toward the gap, squeezing her head and shoulders through and wriggling the rest of her body out as best she could. “No!” Rye’s shout was of anger, desperate to get a kill and desperate to show that he could go home. But the small girl was escaping, and he lunged forwards again as she started to move towards the gap that could take her to freedom. This time he caught her, strong arms shaking as he grabbed one of her ankles and hit at her shins. He pulled her roughly towards him, no longer caring what would happen. He had to show that he could go home. Rye tried to seize the girl’s other ankle, shouting out again as he realised that she could get away. She screamed and kicked as he dragged her toward him. "No! Please!" she cried, echoing the jabberjays that had tormented her. "Please." She fought hard, thrashing and kicking until she finally wrenched her leg free. Pain emanated from her knee as it twisted from the boy's grasp, but she fought through it, making another mad dash at crawling through the small gap in the tent. Outside and free (but for how long?) she forced herself to her feet, but gasped with pain the second she put any weight on her right leg. She'd never be able to run like this, and he would surely find her again. The only hope she had was making it back to her go kart before he did. She began to hop. Rye started to give chase, but the gap she’d escaped through was far too small for him. He’d had another opportunity and she was going to get away. She was almost certainly faster than him. He stood slowly, catching a glimpse of her silhouette through the tent but showing no recognition. Perhaps it was just time to give up, admit defeat. He couldn’t catch her, especially not on his damaged leg. Rye scowled, brow furrowed in frustration, and turned back. Halle surely looked ridiculous with her hopping, but thankfully, she wasn't that far from her hidden kart. She was running low on gasoline, but had enough left to start the kart and zoom away faster than even a healthy tribute could run. She would worry about that knee later. |