Cold, rigid air. It spoke in low tones and as Pavement stood atop a pillar of ice he wondered when he became King of the world and for how long it'd last. Both questions were answered as a countdown began from sixty. The only thing he could do was look past Cherry-Apple What's-Her-Name and watch Sam. Sam had a plan, he knew what to do, and by God, he looked hella sexy doing it.

"You ready?" Pavement shouted over to him, "because I sure as hell ain't!"

"Are you talking to me?" Crazy-Name girl asked.

Pavement cursed. "No! I'm talking to the hot guy bundled up like an Eskimo!"

"Oh." She pouted, then groaned. "It's freezing!"

No shit.

Twenty seconds left and Pavement was still trying to get Sam to notice him. God, what the hell! "Samuel Markaine," he shouted, "look the fuck at me!"

Sam finally did turn, and when he did there was a smile on his face and a challenge in his eye. He'd look sexy if not for the extra thick pants and jacket. Pavement was wearing the same thing. They had on combat bots that weren't too hot and an extra jacket that was thick. Gloves coated their fingers, but offered little to help keep away the biting air. A blue bald-cap- thing with ear flaps took away all their amazing hair, and the winter hat was far too cliche for Pavement's tastes. Sam's mouth moved but all Pavement heard was the wind screaming past.

Just as the timer ended he really looked down at the arena, taking it all in at once. Others jumped, some fell, but all reached the water. His head swirled around, realizing what he'd gotten himself in.

To the north, mountains lined the arena with snow coated tops and enough drop offs to make him cry. It was filled with inclines far too steep for Pavement's well toned ass, and he wasn't going to bother climbing them, even if they did have a fantastic view of the arena.

Below him was a large body of water, where bits of ice led to the Cornucopia. The Cornucopia wasn't close to solid as it tipped about. Lots of weapons lined it. Even some glorious blades glinted in the beautiful snowy surface. More weapons, boxes, and some supplies bobbed in the water. Right beside it, to the east of something, was a shoreline coated with snow and red-material that looked like mucus.

The last thing he saw before plunging was thick, insanely thick, forestry. Lots of pines and bare trees in the back, all the ugly stuff that no one wanted anywhere in their yard. There, everything was tightly packed, but not half as tight as his stomach as he fell sixty plus feet to hit ice-cold water head on. Spreading out his arms, Pavement screamed at the top of his lungs and began to swim. Every stroke was large and lead him straight to the Cornucopia. Though he hated every second of the cold, it was beautiful.

The rest of the arena was entirely made of water, which would be fine if it were seventy degrees Fahrenheit. But it wasn't. It was frozen and cold and basically horrible outside and there was nothing Pavement wanted more than to just swim away from it all. Instead, he propelled himself to the midst of it all and climbed onto the rocky Cornucopia, grinning wildly as he watched the others get there. Four was the first to arrive, but he didn't touch either of them. Instead, Pavement waited for eleven to get up there and that's when he began to fight. Swinging his arms wildly, he attacked the guy, picking up a shiny mace and bashing in his face. It splattered about, the blood, and coated Pavement's clothes. Delirious and wild with adrenaline that pumped through his body, Pavement bashed in the guys head until he quit moving and a cannon went off. He hit him twice after that, enjoying the swing.

"Fuck, this feels good," he muttered. Across from him, Woody had entered the scene. The wild boy from seven grabbed an ax and went to town with it, and after Pavement gave him a wink he too went to town. Smashing a smaller girl in the back. Cutting her arm clean off with the mace before going and spotting what he had come there to find in the first place: A brand new sword, heavy handled, and framed in a red ribbon that mimicked the crimson liquid so desired by the strong boy. "This is better than sex."

Pavement almost regretted it when Jakob from Nine showed up. It was obvious the boy couldn't swim too well and that he hadn't had enough time to prepare. He ran straight for a backpack and a spear, only to be intercepted by the much bigger boy. Pavement's eyes glinted in the light as snow started to fall again, small and flurried. "Ready?" Pavement asked, holding up his sword. The mace lay by his feet where he was keeping it for later.

Swallowing, Jakob picked up the spear and gulped. His light brown eyes were small, squinty in the tiny space they'd been squeezed into by the cap. Ice was crusting on his body with every passing speck of time. "You're going down," he said. Despite the nervousness he showed by the slight shuffle of his feet there was a definite hardness in his jaw and his fingers held a tight grip on the weapon. "If you--if you run, I won't kill you."

"We all gotta die," Pavement said. Just not me. Not yet. I'll live. "Stop talking so you can fight me!"

"I-" He seemed to be having trouble forming sentences. There was a word for it but Pavement wasn't skilled in words. Rather, he was skilled in fighting. So he swung the edge of his blade forward and pressed it ever so lightly into his shoulder. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to draw words from his stammering mouth. "Fine."

Fine did not sum it up.

Too much wasn't said, but in death nothing was ever said. Death wasn't an event, it wasn't a show, it wasn't funny. Death wasn't anything aside from death. Uneventful. The stopping of brain and heart. The thrill of a murderer, the pain of a griever. To Pavement, who was neither, it was a simple fact of life. That didn't mean he didn't enjoy the struggle, though.

Jakob jutted out with his spear, almost getting Pavement in the side, and then gasped as Pavement jerked his arm and swung the sword into his arm. Blood drew up and was sliced away as the sword got pulled back before going right back and cutting off the arm. Jakob's weapon dropped and he kicked out in vain. Pavement couldn't feel the hit. He couldn't feel the punches. All he felt was the swings, the air rushing past, the snow collecting on him. The heat of his pants becoming too hot, his body sweating, his blood pounding, his mind swamped. Life pounded on his windows but there was no one home in his head save for the pain that grew beneath his temples and threatened to take him over.

Blood squirted out as the sword drove into Jakob's side, where it stuck there and couldn't be moved. Pavement pulled and pulled but it wasn't going anywhere. Jakob's body moved, trying too to escape the blade, and more liquid fell from his body in the vain struggle. Getting down to the ground, Pavement hit the boy in the face and tried to remove his weapon again. Around them, the Cornucopia shook as a cannon went off. The ground slid sideways and the water started to overlap.

"Fuck!" He quit trying to kill the boy and left him to instead fall into the watery pits. Pavement's arms reached up and he grabbed ahold of part of the Cornucopia, his grip tight. "Dammit! That water is too damn cold for me to swim in it again!"

Cursing, Pavement let go and dropped in again. He swam forward and swam fast, making his way to the nearest stretch of land. It was the forest area he ended up in, and as he climbed out of the water his clothes caught fire. The dammed pants they'd stuck on him had short-circuited. Cursing further, Pavement tore off the clothes. He took off his larger coat for good measure, hating how hot he'd gotten during the fight. "I'll find other ways to keep warm," he muttered."

As he spoke a small beeping device fell from the snow-coated heavens and shined in the stormy weather. A snowstorm was piling up but he didn't bother to care about it. Instead he opened up the ball to find a syringe. There was a scrawled note next to it that read, "Can only be used once. Knocks them out, but doesn't kill. Work carefully." There were initials too but he didn't recognize them so he threw the note down and let it flutter past in the wind, mingling with the snow and frost.

"What the hell is this-" Even before he finished talking it was clear. There, a few yards away, Samuel Markaine was destroying the body of a tribute. By the red of his face and the zealous manor about him, it was clear that he'd gone a bit crazy with blood-lust. Typical Two's, he thought. I better stop him before he decides to kill me next. Can't have my allies turning up dust.

Sighing, he casually walked over and placed a large hand on Sam's shoulders. "Hey now, sexy," he muttered, "let's not make this hard."

The needle went in easy, almost too easy. Pavement took it out and dropped it to the ground like he did the paper, ignoring it because it's use had run out. As Sam passed out, he picked up the boy and left the area, cradling him in his hands like one would a small child.

"You'll be fun," he said. The wind picked up as he entered the woods, screaming out in rage. "Let's survive the night, huh? We'll discuss this killing thing tomorrow. Sleep well."

*

Look! I'm not a complete and total loser after all! :p It's not too bad, I hope. Late, though. I'm turning it in now. :)

What did you guys think of this handsome killer? Enjoy the bloodshed?