almond shadbush (nowhammies) wrote in colosseum, @ 2014-04-17 08:19:00 |
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Digging holes could only pass the time for so long. Almond and Oyle were starting to run low on supplies again, now that the rain had stopped and they'd picked through quite a few of the grapes (or used poison berry juice on most of the ones that were still left for their trap. Leaving Oyle on guard duty over their camp site, Almond set off south towards lands unknown, hoping she'd stumble across the mythical part of the arena that would have all of the supplies that she was looking for. She almost didn't see the bridge against the side of the cliff, the clear glass the same as the sky bridge she and Oyle had crossed to make it to this island all those days ago. Almond tested it first, making sure the bridge would hold her weight. Deciding it was safe, she started across, keeping an eye out for any birds lurking in the distance, waiting to attack. Eyes on the skies, Almond didn't see the long puddle of water covering the bridge, still slick and damp from the previous three days of rain. Almond's foot flew out from under her, and she wobbled on her other leg for a brief second before loosing her footing there, too. The toe of her shoe just scrapped the edge of the bridge before it slipped off the edge, taking Almond down with it. She fell fast and hard, her ribs scrapping against the side of the bridge as her arms reached out for anything to grab onto, her legs kicking for purchase and only finding empty sky beneath them. "No no no no no," she kept repeating, her voice growing more and more frantic as each desperate attempt to pull herself back up only seemed to cause her to slip further off the edge. There wasn't even anywhere she could look that wasn't sky or clouds; even as she tried to pull herself back up, she could see her feet kicking feebly through the glass bridge, it making things feel even more hopeless. "Please, I can't -- OYLE! SOMEONE! God please, not like this, not like this," she screamed, not caring if someone heard her, not caring if it brought the Careers right to her. They wouldn't just let her fall, right? They'd want the kill to be personal. They'd help her up and then they'd kill her!! Or would try, because she'd kill them instead! She had to be the #MurderousMother; she had to live. No one was coming. There was no one but her and the eyes of the cameras, watching and waiting for her to fall. "Come on Almond. Come on. You can do this," she coached herself, slowly inching her way forward with palms flat against the floor. She shut her eyes and leaned as far forward as she could, took a deep breath, then swung her leg upwards. It was just like wrestling against the dummy during training, right? It was simple. Her leg didn't quite make the mount, though, and Almond slipped backwards again, letting out another scream as she frantically steadied her hold. "Okay, one more time. One, two, three," she said again, twisting her body to clamor upwards again. This time the heel of her shoe hooked on the edge of the floor, which gave Almond just enough traction to slowly worm her way back onto the bridge. "Oh thank god," she sobbed once she was back fully on solid ground. She lay flat on the surface, weeping into her arms with a fury that made all of Oyle's hysterics back at the Capitol look like the joy of a stylist who'd just been told they looked 10 years younger than they actually were. Almond only gave herself a few minutes to break down, then finished crawling her way back to Alto Island, her jaw set and her determination rekindled. No more exploring. The other tributes could come to her. And then she would kill them all. |