Mass release: 1/16
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Lovise Holst-Mathiasen
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"How was the kiss, Love?" Timmy asked me after a while in silence.
"Best first kiss I could've asked for," I purred, and Jose scoffed.
"Of course, it was. I know what I'm doing," he sat up again. "By the way, why is it just us here? It's been more than an hour since we are in here," he snapped, annoyed. "And we can't even see anything because all the windows are blacked out."
"The train has 7 residing wagons," I told him. "Wagon 0 is solely for the controller of the train, wagon 1 is for the reds that make areas 1 to 3, wagon 2 is for the yellows that make areas 4 to 10, wagon 3 is for the greens that make areas 11 to 15, wagon 4 is for the blues that make areas 16 to 20, wagon 5 is for the purples that make areas 21 to 25, wagon 6 for us blacks that make areas 26 to 28, lastly wagon 7 for the staff of area 0. The higher on the chain you are, the better your wagon is, ours is kind of crap because we are the lowest, I bet wagon 1 is pure gold and so is wagon 2."
"How do you know that now? It was specific."
I turned to Timmy, "My great-great-great-grandfather, during his time as the leader of area 2, was the architect of the train, and my mom was a lover of architecture, she couldn't work on it since it's not useful in area 27, but she did when she was higher up when grandma won her game, and she had a perfect copy of the blueprint of the train. I have it at home. So, it was not intuition this time," I chuckled softly, "it was certainty. The train goes first to area 28, then catches the tributes from 28 to 1, so, we'll pass through all of them, quick though, as this is what some call a train bullet."
"It's awful to grow on the low," Timmy said, "but your family must had it rough, for carrying such a curse, and from going from top to middle to top again to bottom."
"I wouldn't know," I rolled my shoulders, staring down at my hands and clenching my jaw. "My dad got picked to be part of the game when I was a newborn, so, first 7 years was as part of area 17. Then my brother died in the games and from then to my 14 years I was part of area 22. My mom, as you must have watched, was the 2nd to die in the last game, so, my last 7 years until now were on area 27."
"Those deities are so fucked up to pick your family over and over again," Jose cursed. "To watch your entire family die on it, and to be thrown aside by the only one surviving from this cursed bloodline… it's fucked up in do many levels."
"You are definitely strong. I wouldn't be able to go through all that loss and still be here, smiling, and standing my ground, not letting my pain and grief take over, and remain rational," Timmy passed his hands over his hair. "I'm glad to have someone like you around me, Love."
I grinned, sending a kiss over my shoulder, "I am build different."
"Have you ever watched someone getting killed?" Jose asked.
"Executions in area 27 are in front of everyone, so, yeah, more than 100 times I would say," I tilted my head. "It won't be a new sight to me."
"Do you think you have the stomach to kill?" He asked.
I turned to his arrogant pretty face, "I've killed countless animals in the woods, they are purer than human beings, I don't see the difference. Besides," I grinned viciously, "we will be thrown in a set-up where we either kill or get killed, at least for me. I have nothing to feel guilty about, I'll just be guaranteeing my survival, because I deserve it more than my targets."
That made him smile wolfishly, "Than you have potential."
"Of course, I have," I scoffed. "Even more than you do."
"I hope you can back that up," Jose scoffed.
But before I could answer him, the blacked out double doors at the right lateral of the wagon that give to the outside opened up and four people in black outfits with silver details– the later being the color area 0 uses in the games–, two women and two men, both really freaking tall and all very different from one another. A dirty blonde tanned men with brown eyes, a brown slim women with long curly dark brown hair and honey eyes, a curly-haired ginger men with freckled skin and green eyes, and a pale women with short straight black hair and dark blue eyes.
"Welcome to Area 0, blacks," the tall ginger men spoke, a hit of an accent that is definitely from Area 15. "I am your assigned mentor, Cian Ó Scealláin, these are private mentors," he pointed to the three people. "Arina Rudakova," he pointed to the blue-eyed girl, "will be mentoring Timofey from area 28. Severin Winther," the blonde, "will be mentoring Lovise from area 27. Rubylyn Pabualan," he pointed to the brown women, "will mentor Joselito from area 26."
I can already tell they are not from our areas, and even if their names say so, they were definitely born and raised in area 0, probably legacies of an old leader or close to such, only having ancestors from our areas. And you don't even need my sharp intuition to tell that, it's all over the superior air around them, all over their body. We shared a gaze, and I know they also came to the same realization.
"Nice to meet you. So, you will be mentoring us as a trio?" I asked.
He eyed me from head to toe and smiled, "Not necessarily, Lovise. I will mentor you as a unit, the blacks. Most of your family died in these games, so I believe you are familiar with it. You are decided in colors, all according to your standing in the power chain. From top to bottom, comes red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and in the bottom you, the blacks."
"That's racist," I mocked his sarcasm, and to my dismay, Rubylyn choked on a laughter, but swallowed right away. "Seems like you didn't watch my monologue when I got chosen, to no one's surprise. I know about the color system, as I've claimed I'll end this game as a red, and not because of the blood I'll be spilling," I grinned like a maniac. "And of course I did watch the past two games, I watched it from beginning to end, and I learned a lot. From everyone's mistakes and from their stronger points."
"Are you a psychopath?" Cian asked bluntly.
"Am I?" I countered bluntly and he gasped.
"Seems like watch your mother and brother die fucked you up!"
The audacity of this fucker. "Maybe if I killed your mother and your brother you would learn how it felt, and learn not to mock other people's loved ones' deaths. Or," I grinned maniacally, "I should just kill Derry," the tribute of area 15, his area, who I already plan to kill first, "before anyone else, and force your people to be kicked down to Area 28!"
Both the boys and our three private mentors gasped at my audacity, in a mocking way, not mocking towards me, but at Cian.
"Those who talk too much are always the first to die. I won't be surprised if you end up beating your useless mother's record for your people and getting them to go from Area 27 to 28," he pressed down where it hurts.
"You better pray that happens, because if I survive,"
"What are you going to do?" He mocked.
"I'll kill you first. Even before I kill Greta Mathiasen," I said, firmly and seriously, glaring up at his eyes, but not showing any emotions.
"So, you are a psychopath," Cian scoffed, trying to offend me.
"So, you are dumb as fuck," I mocked as a counter.
"Excuse me?" He hissed, finally furious over something.
I see it. His ego is how I can trigger him!