Author Games: Renegade | CLOSED

Finals - Berenice Vipointe

•part one•

Delusions

It was pouring buckets as Berenice stood alone outside the rebel base. Her figure was hunched, and she stared silently at the rusty metal door. Two the typical passerby, it was only a door in a deserted alleyway. But for the four dirty and roughed-up girls that stood in front of the door, it was a gateway to freedom.

Three weeks. Three weeks had it been since she had stood inside those dimly illuminated hallways, taking her duty to save the tributes who had managed to escape. Three weeks since she had slept on a mattress, not on grass or forest ground. Three weeks since she had talked to another that wasn't apart of the tributes or the rebellion group she had traveled with to save them. Her door, their door that would lead them into a place where they could finally sleep well rested without being shook awake in the dead of the night, someone telling them that they had to stand in the night air and take patrol.

Her hand crept to pull on a latch that was well concealed. Inside you will find a button. Push it and we will come for you. Stay strong, and come back alive, ladies and gentleman. She gulped as her fingers tugged gently on the square piece of metal, ash showering the floor as she pulled again, hinges squealing. And as she gripped the steel in her fingers, Berenice looked at the little black button. She extended her fingers slowly, and just as her fingers brushed the smooth plastic, her hand jerked back violently as if she had just been shocked. The moment you step in there, you will endanger every-

"My God, Berenice! Just push the  button! What is your issue? All you LITERALLY have to do is PUSH, okay! This isn't kung fu!" Mai Li sighed loudly, receiving a dirty look from Neha.

"Mai Li, be quiet!" she hissed, dark pupils flashing with anger. "Do you WANT to die? Here? We've almost made it, so calm down!" Muttering apologies, Berenice quietly shuffled behind Luna, who step forward and swiftly pressed the button with ease. She shifted uncomfortably as the voice started to chide her, scold her again. And I thought you couldn't be less useless, Berenice. Well, now we know that pushing a button is too much, to hard for weak, fragile Bernice ViPointe. She probably had a maid do things like that for her when she was younger.

"Shut up," Berenice mumbled, an action she immediately regretted the moment she started dodging to odd glances from the others. Just as she regained control of herself, the door creaked open, revealing a tired, ill-looking woman who was managing to smile brilliantly.

"Berenice! Luna!" Elysia enthusiastically hugged the two, pulling them close together. "And you two! Mai Li, Neha, I presume?" The pair nodded warily, immediately exhausted from the woman's enthusiasm. "Bartholomew! Come here! It's them!" A man soon popped through the doorway, arms wide and welcoming.

"Luna, it's so nice to finally see you again! It's been so long!"

"Only three weeks, it's not that long, " Luna replied, happy to see a familiar face again.

"Now, where are the others? Gus, Popsy, Amber, Vix? The other tributes?" Elysia asked, smile still toothy and wide as she ushered them in. When the four stayed deathly silent, Bartholomew and Elysia's smiles faltered for a moment. "So many...lost," Elysia whispered in a haze. Berenice swore she could almost see all the gears whirring and turning as Elysia quickly added the numbers. "That's eight...dead." Neha nodded. Impossibly, Elysia quickly plastered on a smile onto her face, but this time, it seemed a lot weaker. "None the less, you have all made it!" Elysia waved her hand. "We have all your rooms set up for you. There are enough bathrooms for all of you to get cleaned up." Elysia shuddered. "Lord knows how you all survived in the wild! Imagine living without a good bubble bath! And you guys did that! My, my, I sure am proud of all of you, for you have accomplished so much more than I have done."