Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, The Bloodbath

The day of the Games had arrived. With varying degrees of nervousness, the tributes loaded into their podiums, accompanied by stylists or Mentors as they tasted their last moments of safety. For the 99th time and hopefully the last, they rose into the arena, facing the Cornucopia in the center of an arena of jungle and ancient ruins.

Hearts pounding, they exchanged glances or watched the shiny metal of the Cornucopia, eyes scanning where weapons and backpacks had been scattered around the muddy floor.

The countdown began.

"30...29...28...27...26...25..."

Touma suddenly let out a quiet "ow," lifting a foot as if it had suddenly cramped. In the process, he tripped over his own foot, falling to the side.

Kikue's eyes went wide. "TOUMA!"

"20...19...18..."

Miraculously, Touma folded across the waist as he fell and somehow managed to hug the edge of the platform, bracing his feet against the tiny lip around the outside. Eyes wide, he clung for dear life mere inches above the mines that would kill any tribute for leaving too soon.

Kikue pressed a hand to her heart in horror.

"14...13...12...11...10..."

Fuyuko glanced down at the ground outside her platform, careful not to lean too far. Mud...that was good. The ground was soft. She could get her mines early. Her eyes drifted to Marco and Piero. Marco looked between her and his brother nervously, but Piero's eyes were fixed directly ahead, his body already poised to charge for the Cornucopia. If she could just get a bit of time...

"5...4...3...2...1."

A buzzer sounded.

Touma let go of his platform and dropped onto the ground in a heap, panting from terror and exhaustion. Kikue leapt off her own platform, detouring for just a second to snatch a backpack off the ground before racing to his side.

"Come on," she whispered, pulling him to a stand. "Come on, let's run...!"

Touma merely nodded, stumbling after her as they ran for the jungle bordering the outside edges. Kikue hid them behind a tree, watching for Hinata.

Adel, Evan, Levi, and Laurel all went straight for the Cornucopia. Hopping off her platform, Fuyuko fell beside it and dug her fingers into the mud, digging into the ground. Her heart was racing.

GO GO GO GO GO GO.

Not far from her, Piero started towards the Cornucopia, but he slid to a stop when he realized Fuyuko wasn't immediately running away. Incredulous, he shouted, "what the f*ck are you doing?!"

"Gettin' what I need!" Fuyuko cried back, already nearly breathless. HURRY HURRY HURRY...!

Frowning, Marco grabbed a stray sword off the ground and ran to Fuyuko's side. "I'll guard her, you get us some supplies!" he yelled.

Clearly torn, Piero hesitated...but he nodded after a moment, going to scoop an ax off the ground before heading to the Cornucopia.

The first thing Haruka did when the buzzer sounded was bolt to Tori's side. She hopped off her own platform and was immediately grabbed by Haruka, who ran for the jungle. Tori stumbled, tripping when her fake legs got stuck in the mud.

"H-Haruka," she began, softly.

"Where are Faqir and Kyoko?!" Haruka turned around and pulled Tori back to her feet. "Faqir! Kyoko?!"