07: LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN

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IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES the Games were starting, it made Euphrosyne feel sick to the stomach. She had tried visiting the pair from 11 earlier, but the peacekeepers wouldn't let her through. She didn't even get to say a proper goodbye to Dill.

Euphrosyne nervously paced around the living room, fingers picking at the skin of her hands. She was tired, not getting a wink of sleep during the night. 

"Dad?" The girl called out. He hummed in return, not looking up from his notes. "Do you think the Capitol would ever allow two victors?"

"Definitely not." Helios scoffed.

Euphro tried not to feel dissapointed just yet. "What if they were both from the same district?"

"The Capitol would never be that stupid." He stated with confidence. "Allowing two victors would only give the districts more hope."

"Oh." If she wasn't feeling dissapointed before, she sure was now. Her shoulders slumped down as she let out a sigh.

Helios glanced up from his notes, squinting his eyes at his daughter. "You want them both to win, don't you?"

"Obviously!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "I mean, what am I gonna do? I can't protect both of them, one of them is gonna die. Maybe they'll both die, I don't know!"

"Come on, Euphro." He put down his pen, sitting up a little straighter. "Where is your positivity? You're never this negative, you know."

"There's nothing positive about the games, dad." She shot back with a frown. "It's just such bullshit!"

"Language." Helios stood up, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe, sunshine. You're getting worked up and that's not helping anyone now, is it?"

Euphrosyne looked at the floor, a frustrated feeling stuck to her. A knock was heard from the door. "It's Sejanus." She picked up her shoes, putting them on while hopping on one leg towards the door.

"Euphro!" Her father called out. "Two feet on the ground!"

She didn't listen.

Her best friend stood in the doorway, a bitter expression on his face. She knew what his thoughts were, she had the same exact ones. 

Helios awkwardly stood behind his daughter. "Sejanus, thank you for picking us up."

"It's no trouble." He gave him a tight smile. 

No one spoke a word during the entire car ride. Sejanus must've been thinking about Marcus. No one knew anything about him, where he was, wether he was alive or not. Euphrosyne just hoped he was alive and well, she had full faith in him.

She let her mind wander to her own tribute, feeling another wave of anxiety. This time, she didn't have her stone to comfort her, but the thought of Reaper holding onto it reassured her a little. Atleast, she still had the scarf he gave her. She hadn't taken it off since the hospital, and she sure wasn't planning on taking it off until Reaper returned to her. Safe and sound.

Reaper was strong. He had one of the most donations, despite not having done his interviews. Yet, there was no guarentee he'd win. That's the thing about these games. People could guess and bet all they wanted, but you could never be sure. They were far too unpredictable.

Reaper wasn't the only person she was worried about. His district partner would be right besides him. Dill was so young, so sweet. She already had turbucelosis, now she was being forced in an arena of murder and slaughter. The odds were clearly not in her favor. Euphrosyne just hoped Reaper would be there to protect her.

They were in the broadcast room sooner than Euphrosyne would've liked. She wanted nothing more than to run away right now, but she knew she couldn't. The twenty-four top students were all assigned a seat in the front. Those who weren't apart of that gathered on the risers circled around the room.

The seats were ordered on district. Meaning, she'd have to sit next to Felix. Except, she couldn't because he was still in the hospital, on life support. Euphrosyne frowned a little at the thought. As much as she disliked him, he didn't deserve that. He was a bit of an asshole, sure, but was he pure evil? She doubted it.

"Coryo." Sejanus called out.

Euphrosyne could see the annoyance in Coriolanus' face. "Hey."

"How you doing?" Sejanus put a hand on their friend's shoulder. "You alright?"

"Better."

"Over here, please." A man with a camera interrupted.

Euphrosyne leaned her arm on Sejanus' shoulder, putting on a big smile. A fake smile. As soon as the flash was gone, her smile dissapeared. Sejanus gave Coryo a final pat on the shoulder before they parted ways. She gave Sejanus a smile and a little nod before finding her own seat. However, when she was about to sit down, a voice called her.

"Euphro!" Lysistrata hugged her, causing the girl to stumble back a little. "Are you alright? I visited you, but you weren't awake yet."

"Lyssie, I'm fine, don't worry." She rubbed her back. "What about you, though?"

"Jessup, he-" The girl pulled away from the hug, a sigh escaping her lips. "He saved me in the arena. If it weren't for him I'd be dead. I just hope this will be over quickly-"

"Here we go. Here we go, everyone!" Lucky Flickerman announced with excitement. "Come on, come on, let's go." As he held his microphone, he shot Festus a glare. "Sit down, Festus, come on."

Euphrosyne glanced at one of the many small screens that had the tributes' faces on it. When she saw Reaper, she felt a knot in her stomach. 

"Everyone, as you know, we're about to go live. Just because you're not hosting doesn't mean you're off the hook. Help me. Don't get lost behind your screens." His eyes darted between every single one of the mentors, finger pointing at each and every one of them. "No yawning, no gum chewing. Keep your chins down, heads up, shoulders back."

Euphro sat up a little straighter.

"And smile." Lucky finished. "It's why we have teeth."

Finally, something she agreed on. Except, this was no smiling occasion.

"Okay, ready?" He spoke through the microphone, facing the giant screen infront of them. "We're gonna start, guys." He held up his fingers as he counted down. "Five, four, three, two..."

Lucky turned around slowly. Euphro could only assume it was for dramatic effect.

"Good morning, I'm Lucretius" He threw up his coin, like he had done a hundred times before." 'Lucky' Flickerman. A man who needs no introduction."

"That is literally an introduction." Euphrosyne whispered to Lysistrata, who sat near her.

"Weatherman, amateur magician, and today," He paused for a second. "I'm honored to say first ever host of the Hunger Games." Cheering was heard from the Academy students. Euphro didn't cheer. She pursed her lips, letting out an annoyed sigh. Lucky pulled out an envelope. "In my hand, an envelope, sealed. My prediction, the winner to be opened by me upon the big show's end."

The faint noise of drums send Lucky mumbling something into his ear piece. "They're here. We're getting word- Alright, we're about to start." He exited the front. "We're starting, everyone, we're starting. Happy Hunger Games, happy Hunger Games." The weatherman rambled. "Remember, when your tribute dies, get out of here."

Euphrosyne didn't take her eyes of the screen. The sight of Dill just made her want to throw up even more. How could they see someone as young as Dill, or Mizzen, or Wovey, and cheer for their deaths? She didn't understand how someone could be so inhumane.

The explosion had caused for more hiding spots. Perhaps, she should feel relieved that it happened. Atleast, now Reaper and Dill had a bigger chance of surviving. She hoped.

"Stand on your mark or you will be shot."

Euphro scoffed. Being shot seemed like the preferable option in this case. It sounds like a better fate than being ripped apart by a fellow tribute. Or even worse, being the person to rip someone apart. A life after the games didn't seem like a life. It was surviving, but it was no life. She knew she would never be able to live with herself. Not after knowing 23 other kids died, just for her to live.

A peacekeeper shoved Reaper harshly, yelling for him to move. She felt a wave of anger wash over her, but took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm. Reaper glared at the peacekeeper, rolling his eyes before continuing walking to his mark.

He wasn't the only person being pushed around. Others had been too, one of the girls had even been dragged, crying her eyes out. 

Poor girl.

The peacekeepers took their leave in the arena. All the tributes that had been looking around the, now destroyed, arena stopped, their eyes wandering to the same thing. Or rather, the same person.

There hung Marcus, from the beam with his head down to his chest. His face was all messed up and bloody. Euphrosyne's hand covered her mouth in shock. She wasn't sure if he was even alive at this point, but for his sake, she hoped he wasn't. 

She looked at Sejanus as Lucky spoke up. "Ooh! Marcus." He looked back at the students, who were all murmuring something. "Guess we can all sleep better knowing he's off the streets."

Piece of shi-

Sejanus stood up, throwing his desk across the room before facing the crowd with anger. "You're monsters! All of you!" And that was all he said before stomping out of the room.

Euphrosyne wanted nothing more than to go after her friend right now, but she knew she couldn't. She had to stay.

Lucky frowned. "Ten, nine..." He counted as he made ridiculous hand gestures towards the camera.

Euphro's leg bounced up and down, a rush of nerves in her body. This seemed to be the longest ten seconds of her life.  

"Three, two...one." A bell rang, sounding like a school bell. 

Her eyes were glued to Reaper, a lot further away from Dill. Euphrosyne hoped he would get to her in time. Through all the chaos, it was hard to make out just where Reaper was. Dill, on the other hand, still stood in the same place, only taking a few step backwards as she held her stomach.

The next sight Euphro had of Reaper was when he swung a sword at Lucy Gray, who quickly dodged. He didn't try to attack her after that, though. Instead, he ran towards his district partner, blocking the attack of a tribute who was planning on, what she could only assume, killing Dill.

After a few swings, the boy fell to the ground. Reaper made no further action in attacking him, having no plans in killing him either. The boy quickly stood up, realizing this was a lost battle before running of to God knows where.

Other than that brief interaction, no one else really made a move on attacking the pair. Reaper stood infront of Dill, holding out a protective arm as his eyes darted towards the fights happening infront of them. Euphro could see Dill fidgeting with her beetle pin. It brought a smile to her face, glancing down at her own ring.

One of Euphrosyne's classmates threw up on the floor before a buzzer sounded, signalling the death of a fallen tribute. Androcles and Gaius sighed in annoyance before they exited the room. There was loud cheering heard from all the Academy students.

"They've gone underground very quickly, but we're prepared for this." Lucky stated. "What you're seeing now is a live feed of security cameras."

Lucy Gray seemed to be the main focus, at the moment. She kicked at a door in the underground tunnel with frustration. Euphrosyne had to say she was rather impressed by her dodging skills from earlier. She might not be able to fight, but dodging sure was a handy skill to have.

"Hy and Sol from the other side, pincering in on Lucy Gray." Hy, Clemensia's tribute. The pair from 12 quickly squeezed their ways in. Sol did the same, grabbing at Jessup's legs, trying to pull him out. Euphrosyne could hear Lyssie from beside her letting out a small gasp at this.

"Here comes the pack, surprising Hy and Sol." The pack, as Lucky called it, existed out of four tributes. Coral, Mizzen, Treech and Tanner. Euphro found it a quite unlikely group. Coral and Mizzen she could understand, though Mizzen was still incredibly young. Treech, however, seemed very close with his own district partner. She would've assumed they would team up together. Guess not.

Mizzen threw his net at Hy, wrapping it around his head as Treech used his axe to kill him. Euphrosyne grimaced at the sight, looking away for a moment. Mizzen was only, what, thirteen? Thirteen and forced to murder other children.

She knew Clemensia wouldn't be happy to hear her tribute died so early on.

Coral jammed her trident into Sol's back, which earned a gut-wrenching scream from the girl. Euphro wasn't sure how much longer she could watch this. She never watched the games. She promised herself she would never watch the games, yet she broke that promise. The girl knew they were sick, but actually watching it was even harder than she had imagined.

"Hey, lumberjack." Coral said to Treech. "Get in there and get her out."

"I'm not sticking my head in there." Treech rolled his eyes. "She could be waiting with a brick."

"I knew we should've recruited that Reaper kid." The redhead huffed in annoyance, making her way further into the tunnel.

Even if they had offered Reaper a spot in their alliance, he would've declined without a doubt. Euphrosyne was sure of it. Apart from Dill, he had no further interests in any alliances, let alone with four kids who were actively hunting down tributes. Euphro saw the way Reaper let the boy from earlier escape, even when he had attacked them. He wasn't going to kill anyone. Only defend himself and Dill against the other tributes.

She was wondering where exactly he was. Lucy Gray and the pack had been the main focus this entire time. Probably due to them being the most 'entertaining' at the moment. Euphrosyne didn't care about that. All she cared about was everyone's well being, but mainly Reaper and Dill's.

After the whole attack with the pack, the other tributes were shown on the screen, including her tributes from 11. Reaper swung Dill's arm around his shoulders, making her lean onto him for support as he guided her away. The sound of Dill's coughing made Euphrosyne shake her head as she frowned. They weren't allowed medication in the arena, no doubt. She wondered if she'd be able to send them some with the new drone system. She highly doubted it, though. Food and water were already surprising enough, let alone medication.

"To the children watching," Lucky spoke through his microphone, standing infront of the screen again. Euphrosyne let out a huff of annoyance when he blocked her view. "that was violent, horrific, and disgusting."

"Yeah, who's fault is that?" Euphrosyne whispered to herself as she rolled her eyes.

"Ms. Phipps, please, if you're going to vomit, do it off camera." The weatherman scolded. "Thirteen tributes remain. Reaper still looming large on top of the charts while Coral and her pack try to make a play."

Euphro smiled a little as she glanced at her district boy's donations. She was glad he was one of the 'fan favorites'. Because of this, she would be able to send them food and water easily.

"Six tributes gone in minutes. If they keep it up at this pace, we're gonna be out of here in no time."

She hoped so. She really did. 

Euphrosyne wasn't sure how much longer she could watch this, and it had only been the first few minutes. She just wanted Reaper and Dill to return to her, but she knew they couldn't both make it out alive. Still, she hoped that somehow, in one way or another, they would both come back.

She'd just have to wait and see.

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character dynamics!