WHO: Dory Skipjack, Gypsum Twinning, Basil Lumineer. WHAT: Out hunting with Gypsum and Basil and seeing if she can get to the fish, Dory is caught in a Gamemaker Trap! D: WHEN: Day 5, mid-morning. WHERE: On the frozen fjord, western edge of I-6. STATUS: In progress; will complete in comments.
There was no food. Other than the disgusting pickled tongues and pig feet she could hardly eat without gagging, the cans of vegetables that were decent and at least had water inside (if vegetable-flavored water, but whatever), and the carefully-portioned strips of dried fruit which actually tasted good they’d taken from the Cornucopia, there was no food in this whole damn Arena, or at least the parts they’d explored so for. The pack was doing okay with what the Cornucopia had provided, they had their water and drink and nobody was really hungry yet, but Dory wanted nothing more than real food. Fish, preferably, since the Gamemakers had thoughtfully given them rods and tackle and that had to mean something. There were things that looked like fish moving under the ice on the frozen river, but the ice was so thick that they hadn’t been able to get through yet.
So tongue it was. Five ‘days’ of tongue and feet, beans and corn, and a precious bite of fruit jerky at a time, and all the boiled snow water they could drink. She was so done with all of it that she’d been the first to volunteer to go out scouting today. She’d emptied her bag of most of the supplies and left them with Marlin, adding one of the fishing rods and tackle boxes to the pack along with her knives; trident in hand, she’d set off with Basil and Gypsum, veering south on the frozen river to see if maybe the ice got thinner or even melted completely if you went further down. They’d come a few miles as best she could tell with no change whatsoever, and no other Tributes to be seen anywhere. That was a shame -- at least a fight would warm them up some.
She’d ventured a little ahead of the others on the frozen river, scratching at the ice with the toe of her boot in places to see whether it was getting any thinner. It was hard to tell, the ice was so clear, but there were definitely fish swimming far down underneath. If she could just get through the ice…
It was like the Gamemakers were reading her mind. One moment the ice underneath her feet was solid and thick and unyielding as she kicked it, the next there was an unearthly loud CRACK and the ice gave way beneath her. Dory didn’t even have time to scream before she was plummeting into the water below.
It was so cold, like being crushed between blocks of solid ice, even though it was water around her. Her lungs screamed for air, her heart hammering with adrenaline and the beginnings of cold shock, but Dory had been a child on the ocean and had learned what to do if you were drowning. Keep calm, look for the surface, kick kick kick, and then keep your head above water no matter what. She opened her eyes, found the hole that was lighter-colored than the ice around it, and gave four powerful kicks until she broke the surface. Her trident, miraculously, was still in her hand, and she managed to get it up onto the edge of the hole in the ice to brace herself, gasping for air and kicking to keep herself afloat.
--
Back again. Why she volunteered to go on this god forsaken trek back into the area that had nearly killed her the day previous was beyond her. But they needed food and she was willing to go watch Dory’s back if she could score them something to eat that wasn’t tongue. Yes, she had finally succumbed and ate a bit of it. It was disgusting, but at least she wouldn’t go hungry. Get these games over with and she would never have to eat it again? Right.
Gypsum had her axe ready and was kicking the snow as she walked along behind Dory. She was chewing a piece of gum and keeping a look out for tributes. The idea of anyone approaching them was silly, but mutts were something to worry about. She hadn’t seen many threatening ones here over in this area, maybe on the other side. Then again she had not done too much exploring yet.
It was strange wandering around with two people she really didn’t trust. Equally strange not really talking to them. She knew that she and Jet were the one’s they would go for, she just had to go for them first. But now was not the time. Food was of a priority.
Gypsum was smacking away on her gum when she heard the crack? What the? Gypsum looked up to where Dory had just been on the ice, doing whatever. Then she was gone. A little laugh escaped she almost lost her gum, how disappointing that would have been. Was it really that easy to get rid of a four? She walked towards the area that Dory fell slowly, not in a state of panic but curiosity, where the heck did she go. Sure not to get off the firm ground and onto the river bed. Nope she did not want to fall in thanks.
If anyone could save themselves in this scenario it was Dory. She wasn’t going to go saving her, that was silly. If Dory died like this it was one less person she had to worry about battling out of the careers. Maybe if she did they could take out Marlin next, all four of them. Down the original Careers. Interesting thought. She swing her axe idly as she chewed her gum, waiting for Dory to come up. “What you think Basil?” She looked over at him, “Will she make it?” If Dory made it out and safe, she had no problem helping her then, but she wasn’t going to save her out of the water where she could potentially freeze and die. This wasn’t like her and Ritz. They had been on the verge of death without the other, right now Gypsum was perfectly safe just waiting to see if she could say the same of Dory.
Though she wondered if Basil would go to save Dory? Or if he would take this time to catch her. She was sure to keep an eye on him and on the lack of Dory.
--
Dory was already trying to pull herself out of the water, but the ice wasn’t solid enough anymore -- it cracked and fell away under her hands until she was scrabbling at water, her panic increasing. Four was warm -- oh, it got cold during squalls on the sea, and she was used to swimming in cold ocean water, but there was no ice. The water was never this cold, so cold she’d been numb from the first instant and her legs felt like leaden weights dragging her down. The pack over her shoulder was weighing her down, and she struggled to get out of it, letting it drop away into the dark water below.
“B-Basil!” she called through a jaw clenched tight with fear. “Gypsum!” The girl was just standing there watching her -- Dory felt a hot flare of hate for Two, and with that energy to propel her, she managed to pull herself up until her stomach rested on the ice. The water draining out of her soaked clothing lightened her a little, and she started wriggling to get further onto the ice -- when something grabbed hold of her right leg and yanked her back down.
She screamed and nearly let go of the trident in her shock. She was so numb that the pain didn’t register, just the enormous pressure of strong jaws and sharp teeth sunk into the fleshy part of her calf. Dory screamed again and kicked wildly, stomping down with her left foot until she connected solidly with the fish, or shark, or whatever mutt the Gamemakers had dreamed up that could live in the frigid darkness below. It let go, and in that split second, acting on instinct and wild terror, she lunged forward, digging into the ice with the trident as hard as she ever could, swimming and scrambling and crawling until she was on solid-seeming ice. She rolled as soon as she was out, getting as far away from the open hole as she could, only stopping once she reached the edge of the frozen river to lie on her back and stare at the dusky sky.
There wasn’t much pain, oddly, and Dory thought maybe she’d been lucky and the thing hadn’t managed to get a good bite -- until she looked down and saw the red pool of blood beneath her, and the ragged flesh where the fish had torn into her calf. She’d seen bites before from close encounters with sharks or eels turned nasty, and this one… this one was bad.
Her ears roared and she saw stars. Was this it? Was this what dying was like? She was shaking and numb and all she had was the trident in her hands, which she was gripping like a lifeline, as though that could help her. “Help,” she said, or tried to say, though her teeth were chattering so hard she couldn’t get the word out.