KENNY SALAS - D8 - GAMEMAKERS

Instructions

Kenny's steps hit the ground with a thud. Was it really that loud or did it just feel that way with the surroundings so quiet and the stakes so high? The only chance he had at living was sponsorships. He knew that. He could outsmart plenty of tributes in the area, but not too long, not forever. He'd seen too many die on screen from trying and failing at that strategy. It was ironic. It was just gamemakers though, high scores were so rare and while cats who managed them have made it through before, it was still a rarity. Maybe he needed to aim for average. Yeah. A 6 or something. Who was he kidding? He didn't know anything that'd be useful to him here. Kenny finally reached the door and took a deep breath. Confidence. Look confident. Once he'd managed to gain hold of his posture and expression, he pushed the door open and walked in. Kenny didn't know what to expect. He knew it wasn't what he was met with, though. He stared at the verdant, sylvan area that coated all his surroundings. He lifted his paws carefully, as if tape were on them or something, as he felt the stodgy moss beneath them. Trees spanned across his vision. Dang, the capitol was really good at views when they wanted to be. A small dark-colored bird amongst the bushes caught Kenny's vision. He paused. What? Was he supposed to hunt it? Or was it supposed to lead him somewhere? He looked around aimlessly for some sign of the right option before moving towards the bird. A screech filled Kenny's ears, cauing them to flatten as the bird fled in terror. Immediately he moved to chase after it, there was, afterall, no other sign of what to do. He rushed forward in celerious, long strides. A new sound filled his ears. He didn't take the time to process where it was before he heard a splash, and felt increasing dampness soaking into the moss. It was flooding. Were they really forcing tributes into such a dangerous situation already? So early on? No. Stop. Don't think about that. Focus. Kenny forced himself to a halt, despite every instinct in his body screaming at him to flee, screaming that this was the time for fight or flight, not stop and think. Higher ground. Get to a higher elevation. Forget the fricken bird. You can come back to it later. With newly awakened determination, Kenny turned and raced toward a tree, unsheathing his claws and leaping up onto it, his paws digging into the bark as he scrambled up. The water swarmed beneath him, threatening him every second he wasn't moving, but his priority was just to get higher up. When he was to the point just before the branches thinned too much, when it was still just barely safe, Kenny paused, taking a moment to breathe. He'd gotten further from the water but not far enough, yet. He had to keep going. Wait, where was the bird? Kenny's eyes widened as he realized he lost track of the small black and blue creature. His eyes darted around before he finally landed onto it and let out a small sigh. He looked at the trees around him and carefully, steadily, inched forward and jumped onto one close to him, but also closer to the bird. He was above where it was flying right now. Maybe he could catch it if he just *stayed* above it. He had to be quick; that flood was filling the room all too fast. Kenny continued to jump between tree to tree and branch to branch before he slipped. Kenny managed to just barely grab ahold of another branch preventing the dangers of submersion, but now the floodwaters were just mere inches below his paws. He had no time to climb. He would succumb to the waters at any second if he didn't do this right. He could feel his paws getting wetter by the minute. His fur bristled with fear as he realized this was it. Then, his gaze landed on the bird. It was temporarily perching on a tree branch just a few feet away. It would surely fly away any second. The flood would take Kenny any second. He had a perfect window to catch the bird, but if he waited, everything would fall to shreds without any hope of mercy for Kenny or his potential sponsorships. He knew what he had to do. Kenny leaped up towards the bird, outstretching his claws. The bird spread it's wings. Kenny landed next to it, his aim off; and it began to fly away fearfully. No. No. Irrationally, Kenny jumped again, he couldn't let this happen. He got the bird this time, but just moments after, cold surrounded him. Liquid entered Kenny's lungs before he had a chance to hold his breath. The flood water enveloped him completely. But the bird was caught in his claws.