Author Games: The Last Cannon

TASK SIX: Female Entries

District 1 Female - COSMO CAVALLI [1]

It's long, thick and gruesome. A red so dark it appears to be black crusts over it, crumbling and unappealing. My finger traces it, and I shudder at the scabbing feeling. Pain erupts in my jaw as I touch the wound, but I follow the cut down my neck. It ends at my collarbone, slicing through my second favorite freckle. It's shallow enough, but it's surrounded by pink skin. It's going to scar.

Casimir sits beside me, pulling my hand away from the cut. "You're going to get it infected." He reminds me gently, pushing away my fingers as I subconsciously stroke it again. My hands drop into my lap, but I can still feel the burn of the cut.

"I'm going to kill that bitch." I tell him, but it's an empty promise. I can feel Casimir staring at me, but I look away, getting to my feet. It's not me he is staring at, it's the ugly imperfection that plagues me. I slip my hair out of its elastic, shaking the curls over my jaw. It's a small gesture, but it's all I can do until I find Valeria.

Sterling anxiously shoves supplies into his pack, not looking up at me. He's visibly upset about our encounter, but it's nothing I can let bother me. He chose it, he asked for it. Just like me. I chose this life. I asked to be here. Castiel's eyes dart around wildly, as if trying to pinpoint an exact moment or place. I bite my lip, worried just slightly with his behavior. It was erratic, off somehow.

"What do you suppose is up there?" Ren asks, her foot bouncing energetically as she fiddle with a kukube fruit. "What do we actually need?" Naerissa doesn't speak, but she cleans the blood off her spear from her encounter with Tara and Georgina. I never pegged her to be the fighter she is, but I'm almost impressed.

Samus smirks, bring a tad of sunshine into our group of sadness. "Maybe a personality for Sterling." He suggests, and a playful scowl finally erupts on Sterling's face. "Or more lipstick for Cosmo." Samus jokes, but realization sets in with his attempt at humor. I scramble up to my feet, ruining the first fun moment we have had as a group.

"We have to go." I announce, grabbing my bag as I abandon the circle. When the other are slow to react, I spin around. "Now." I order, my fingers darting up to my cut. I could see Valeria, her knife swinging towards my throat. I tried to keep her occupied, with my fingers as deep inside her as I could manage. I did everything I could, said the right things, rubbed the right spots to make her shiver and moan. Still, she managed to slice my jaw before I bolted. Apparently, poison inserted into the genital region does not work as effectively as shooting it directly in a vein.

Still, as we walk, I realize the solution to my ugliness is a lot easier than anticipated. Lusty, one of the youngest dancers at The Palace, slipped into the back room with a client, only to be attacked. She escaped with only a few bruises, but one scratch split open her cheek. We all thought it was the end of her career, considering it was in such a focal point of her appearance. No one wanted to get off with a scarred girl, no matter how firm her booty was.

Still, Lusty was well loved by our boss, and Gold managed to find a bottle of cream, sold only in the Capitol. Once Lusty smeared the cream on her cut, it managed to disappear completely by the time the wound healed. No matter how long we stared at her cheek, we could see nothing but smooth, delicate skin. It was a miracle solution, something I needed right now.

I could almost hear the crowd shouting my name. If I closed my eyes tight enough, I could see my flawless skin worshipped by all who touched me. I could feel their adoring hands and mouths covering my body, whispering or screaming my name. It was everything I could ever want.

We stop at the base of the mountain, my fantasy wearing off. Sterling and Casimir pull Minnie's bag off her bloody body, fiddling through it for any supplies. I notice how ugly she looks in this light, her blood clashing with her bright red hair. It's a pity, really, to look so awful at your last moments. I apply another coat of Manic Panic, ensuring if anything did happen, I would look glorious for the occasion. Once the cream that awaited me on the mountain was finally in my hand, I would become the most beautiful tribute again. I was so close.