The morning comes without warning. A cannon's boom jolts me out of my unguarded rest, afraid I was the one who had died. I check all my limbs and body for wounds, but I am clean save some non-fatal scratches and bruises. I wonder who died; whoever it is, they just leave me one spot closer to victory. I nervously fiddle with my knife, unsure of what to do. Dawn is still rising, but I do not know if I will be able to hunt for tributes today; my limbs are much too stiff from sleeping on a rock, as well as the knawing hunger in my abdomen from not eating. I may have to climb a tree and eat, to save my energy for the next task. Before I can make a decision, however, the rules are changed. Again.
I blink twice as the lights turn on in the sky, a face shimmering down an staring at me. "G-God?" I whisper, reaching out with my fingertips to him. He ignores me, looking off into another direction, turning slowly. I forgot, it's the Head Gamemaker. Scoffing, I curl back up into a ball, nails clutching my the torn fabric covering my arms, blood running in trails down my limbs.
"Evening, tributes," he smiles wickedly, his blindingly white teeth glinting in the light. I shudder in anger, tucking my arms under my legs as I await his next torture. But even as my anger subsides, the shaking continues, a strange rippling feeling coursing through my veins, changing something. Like when we had wings. I wish I still had my wings, but this time, I could use them as weapons... Yeah, that'd be awesome. "I wish I had weapon wings," I giggle, falling bluntly to my side, head bumping a rock. The pain only makes me laugh harder, so much that I almost miss his announcement. "Today, you will be transformed for 24 hours."
Huh. I wonder how they will-
Suddenly a painful, ripping and stretching feeling courses throughout my body. My limbs scream in protest as they grow and shrink, my jaw expanding into a muzzle; my tailbone actually has a use now. The pain subsides as the transformation ends. I glance back, admiring my long new addition. The tail stretches back at almost a half length of this new body, whipping slowly back and forth through the chilled air. I gasp in surprise, turning in quick circles as I try to survey my new body. I believe I am a... Tiger. A predator, fearless and merciless. Perfect.
A small snap sounds behind me, and I whip my head around on instinct, claws contracting on my wide paws. My mouth waters as I spot a flash of brown, darting quickly back into the forest. With a roar of excitement, I gave pursuit, paws thumping the bloody grass as I quickly gained ground on the small mammal. As I come closer, the creature glanced back in fear, eyes glinting in its small face. A feral roar screams in my throat, surprising even myself as I dive at the animal, my strong jaws clamping around its bottom half. I catch a whiff in the air, and it's meaning pops into my head.
Oh god, please no.
I tilt my head in confusion, paw trapping the little monkey easily. Then it hits me; tigers and other animals don't just talk to communicate, they use body language, smells, and other forms of communication. I roll my tiger eyes, thinking about how to speak back. I don't know how to release those scents to this other tribute, whoever it may be. Obviously a girl, because Devlin would never plead for his life in such a manner. Mentally shrugging, I bend my head down to her level, trying my best to talk in this new language.
Who you? I manage to growl, hopefully sending the right message. The little monkey flinches, farting. I scrunch my nose, but no words are in that gas. Just fear. I try again, putting a small yup in my words. Who are you? I try again, purposely enunciating every syllable as hard as I could. Maybe she just didn't understand me the first time.
Elaine! A sharp, panicked smell reaches the air as a loud thumping noise approaches behind us, shaking the while island. Something in this new tiger body screams at me to run, but I want to stay and see. But, for some reason, I follow my instincts. Picking up Elaine non-too-gently in my jaws, I quickly sprint out of the forest, crossing one of the rickety bridges to a new, rather quaint, island. I slice the ropes down all around with my claws, wincing at each one. They weren't made for this.
I spit Elaine out as I reach the center of the honey little island, a small pond. Blood drips down her body from my teeth, soaking her mousy fur scarlet. The monkey whimpers, backing away into the pond. I sigh in annoyance as her blood mixes with the clean water, ringing it light pink. Well first off, that's pointless. I can swim, and so can tigers, so you'll just be screwed if you think going in the pond will help, I growl, pacing by the water's edge. Elaine stopped moving, holding her small hands over a particularly large bite mark, blood seeping in between her hairy fingers.
Why did you bring me here? Elaine let off a worried, nervous smell. I almost laugh, except I can't in a tiger's body. Instead, I growl quietly, padding closer to the little monkey slowly. She shrieks a warning, barring her little monkey fangs. Oh no she didn't.
With a roar, I lunge at her, sinking my canines into her skinny arm, shaking her furiously in my jaws. Her body went flying like a rag doll, bleeding soundly from her arm, but she wasn't done yet. She shook herself off, growling from her throat. I leapt to my feet, haunches raised and prickly with my fur. Her tiny jaws latched onto my ankle (Do tigers have ankles?) and refused to let go, teeth quickly sinking into the skin of my thigh. I whimper in frustration, wading into the water. Her eyes widen in fear as the water level slowly approaches her and her locked jaws on my leg, but she struggles to release her long teeth.
Her small paws push away at my leg, trying to pull herself out, but I shove her head under the water with my other paw, smearing ferociously. You worthless animal, I growl, digging my claws into her back. I'll squish you like a bug.
I sit in the water, Elaine's jaws still struggling on my hind leg. I feel her skull dig into the mud under my muscles, reveling in the small snaps that ring out sharply as I hold her small body prisoner in the water. A minutes passes without any really strong struggling (boring!), so I simply roll over and sit atop her skull. It compresses almost instantly, grey mush oozing out of her ears as her cannon boom. My mouth salivates at the sight, and I cannot help but take a bite of the tender money flesh. A bite turns into mouthfuls, until I have devoured the carcass and all that remains is small bones with scraps of fur littering a circle around me. I consider chewing for the marrow, but brush the idea off; I've got to look for other tributes to eat, I mean to kill.
A thought strikes me as I try to count the number of tributes left. With Elaine gone, that leaves me, Callisto, Cherry, Red, Noelle, Devlin; five tributes left until my victory. We have passed the final eight, meaning my father and brother must've been interviewed, if they weren't already arrested for abuse or killed by the riots back home. But none to worry; if, when, I do get home, they'll wish they really had been arrested. I will be sure to prolong their deaths for long, pain-filled nights, masking their cries of agony with new, sound-proof walls in the Victor's Village. The thought brings me pleasure as I imagine ripping off their limbs one by one, slowly peeling flesh off until they are a sick parody of before. I will teach them the pain I felt before coming here. I will teach them true suffering.
My thoughts are postponed as a rushing figure streaks past my eye, the sharp white of his fur contrasting with the bloody, green surroundings. In the back of my mind, I recognize this as the place where I officially had lost my sanity. How dare he disturb such a sacred place to me. Instinctively I knew the alien creature was Devlin, mind he was the only male tribute, the only 'different' animal tribute I had seen with a... ah, boy part. My paws rushed after him, mouth watering at the idea of sinking my teeth into the white-cloaked flesh of his neck, ripping out cord after cord of sinewy muscle, devouring- no, just killing. Elaine was lunch; I can save Devlin for later, but the hovercrafts will most likely take him away. Okay, I will indulge myself with maybe a liver, or his heart. But I won't eat everything.
Devlin's silver hooves pound out the forest path for me, clearing out a space for me to race after him as he trips and stumbles in his unfamiliar body. His hoof catches a root of a tree, and the majestic creature goes stumbling to the muddy floor, his long white leg twisted to a gruesome angle. Even from this far away, I can hear his whinnies of pain as if I was standing next to his wounded body. Eagerly I scrabble forward, my thick claws digging into his ribs and tearing away the skin such as an excited young boy would do to a Christmas present, exposing the numerous ribs and pulsating organs. Devlin looked up at me with pleading, black eyes, fury and fear in his dilated pupils. I lick my lips happily, daintily reaching in a claw and prying up a rib. It takes effort, but the bone finally snaps with a yowl of pain from the boy. I gnash my teeth at his face, growling. I repeat the process on another rib, careful not to cut my paws on the splintered bone of the broken rib. The effort is mildly tiring, but in about half an hour I have a pile of snapped off ribs, the ends pointed and sharp to the touch.
Many times Devlin has tried to scramble away, so as a precaution, I took the liberty of pinning each of his non-broken legs to the island ground with a rib, effectively holding him still for the time being. He moans in pain occasionally, flinching with each snap of a bone I inflict. Finally every one of his internal organs, minus his brain, is exposed, throbbing quickly under my hungry glare. Gingerly, I poke at his stomach, hooking the top with a claw. I pull it out slowly, intrigued by the glistening sack. Cutting off the tube feeding it, I quickly take a bite, savoring the flavor. Devlin shakes in pain, his heart beating faster, pumping blood out of the cuts faster than before. I see the light beginning to die in his eyes. My time is almost up for making him suffer.
His intestine is easy enough to pull out, tempting to eat, but I restrain myself. I drag the bloody rope to surround us in a makeshift circle, the intoxicating scent of blood surrounding us. Then I begin to work on his eyes. They squish and bleed easily enough as I attempt to gouge them out with a claw, but they simply do not stay on when I try to pull them out. As if this wasn't frustrating enough, every time I tried to pluck them out, Devlin shook in agony, each contraction making it even more difficult to get a proper grip. I growl in fury, swiping a paw roughly over his face.
Why won't you hold still, like Elaine? She was easy enough to kill. Just stop moving! I growl at him, annoyed. He stopped twitching, swiveling his ears to me.
Did you kill her? His scent was strong, angry. I tried to scoff, but it came out as more of a huff.
Of course, stupid. These are the Games. Kill or be killed, I snarl, dragging a long claw down the side of his neck, a river of blood coursing down its path. Speaking of which…
The temptation overwhelmed me as I plunge my teeth onto his neck, sighing in pleasure as the raw blood slides quickly down my throat. Devlin neighs painfully once before his cannon sounds. I can't help it; the sight and smells are just too delicious. I dive happily into his exposed chest, munching on still-warm organs until I'm full. Only then do I spot the blood-stained, tiny mammal eating with me, fur bright white in the sunlight. Her smell is familiar, and I instantly know who it is. Noelle looks up at me, blood dripping from her teeth. I nod in acknowledgement, leaving the rest of the carcass for her. Us psychopaths have to stick together, you know. Alone together in a world of insanity, but are we truly the ones who have lost our minds?