miranda tern (fins) wrote in colosseum, @ 2014-02-23 19:30:00 |
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For a long time, she ran. Though the anthem hadn't played yet, was pitch black in the arena now, and she sank down behind the Tunnel of Love, letting out shaky gasps. The first thing was to see to her shoulder -- Patsy's inexpert slash hadn't done severe damage, but it had done some, and Miranda pawed through her supplies for what was left of the first aid, gritting her teeth and cleaning the congealed blood. The anthem played. Aramis and Ariel were dead. Miranda hadn't considered being sad about Ariel before, and when she thought about it, there was just the vague nausea of the fight itself -- closing her eyes, she could see Sephora's hand, as if stamped on the back of her eyelids. And yet, he had tried to be friendly, had helped her when he could, had tried to tone down how uncomfortable he made her. (There had always been something wrong with those eyes.) But maybe, just maybe, this meant she had a real chance. She drifted into short, restless naps and woke up exhausted. The only thing to do was to keep hunting, and she began by walking around the outskirts of the fake mountain to the entrance, where the rattling boats on the worn dock waited, echoes of voices coming from inside the tunnel. The water was murky but shallow, and she stepped in it gingerly, wading into the mouth of the tunnel . Something slithered past her ankle. With a scream, Miranda jumped backwards, just as the piranhas emerged -- not piranhas as she'd heard stories about at home, but piranha mutts, teeth gnashing, scales gleaming, filling the shallow water. She turned and ran, screaming, not caring if other tributes could hear, and threw herself onto the dock, scraping her knees, and crawling as fast as she could away. If she'd had a long weapon or throwing knives, that would be one thing, and if they could walk on land, she was dead anyway. And just as suddenly, they were gone. Miranda lay curled up on the dock, breathing heavily, and it took a moment for her to realize that the only thing they'd managed was to nip at her ankles and tear at the rubber soles of her sodden shoes. |