Contest of Champions

45

With the thought of Veers in my head, I am able to go about cataloguing my supplies. Matches, some food, water, Peter's token, Cassie's rabbit, my spear, the healing elixir, bandages. The sight of the elixir makes me pause. If I had had it on me when Cassie was dying, could I have saved her?

I guess I'll never know.

My tunic is relatively undamaged, the only major mark being the slit across my abdomen where Carnage's blade had hit me. My pin still sits on my sash and I caress the smooth wooden surface with my fingertip, tracing the branches of Yggdrasil for a moment before beginning to repack my supplies.

Veers killed Yon-Rogg in order to save my life. Although I still don't know why she did it, I want to know. I want to know why she killed her friend, district partner, and Starforce mentor in order to save my life. What made me worth more to her, in that moment, than Yon-Rogg? What does my life mean to her? And what, if anything, does she mean to me?

I know why she made an impression on me, all those years ago. She stood up, despite the crash she had just been in. But I have no idea what I did to make an impression on her. And even if I had done anything memorable, hasn't she forgotten the past?

She thinks I have some connection to her past.

But I don't, not really. I only saw her once, on Midgard, and we didn't even officially meet. We just looked at each other. If I am a connection, then it is simply to the fact that she is from Midgard. I even told her I didn't know her, a lie though that may be.

So why?

I don't have any answers, but I want them.

Luis' voice unexpectedly fills my mind. Love at first sight, perhaps? The thought startles me so much that I drop the packet of food I'm holding. Is Veers in love with me? Is that what this is all about?

No, I tell myself vehemently. There is no such thing as love at first sight.

I finish with my supplies and sink down on the floor, my back against the wall. I don't know what to do. I'm stuck in this city, which is still haunted by Carnage, and I'm alone.

The desolation doesn't seem so thrilling, anymore.

Carnage is still alive and Cassie is dead. She died trying to kill him and he's not dead. I want to kill him, I really do, and I will. But right now, I don't have the will to move.

I force myself to eat and drink a little, get some nourishment into my body. It's while I'm sealing the packet of fruit back up that I hear the beginnings of the Avenger Anthem.

Someone else died today, beside Cassie, so I grab my spear, race to the door, unbar it, and head up into the dark street outside, staring up into the sky, for I want to know. As the music plays, Cassie's face appears in the sky, fading to ash just like her body did in real life. She is followed by Christine Palmer of District Five.

So that's the cannon we heard early this morning.

I count off the remaining contenders in my head. Okoye from One, Natasha and Clint from Two, Sharon Carter from Four, Wong from Five, Pietro from Seven, Veers from Eight, Cletus Kasady or Carnage from Ten, and me. There are nine of us left. Eight more who have to die before I go home.

The thought of all that death is actually depressing. But it's too late. I've already sworn my oaths.

I head back down into my hideout, barricading the door closed behind me, and walk toward the corner closest to the door. I sink down onto the floor, knowing I need to get some rest. I'll kill Carnage tomorrow. I have to.