As The Curtain Rises... }{ [Contest Plot]

[Sidney Bainbridge]

As the pair ran along the tree line avoiding direct contact with others Hoffman made mention of the number Sidney was wearing. It hadn't been lost on Sidney that was for sure. The crowds were begining to thin out as people were already killing each other he could see at least a dozen lifeless bodies on the ground at this point.

As they made it a little further along he noticed a bog on the ground, one no one had managed to get to yet and he swooped out of the tree line and grabbed it up. The extra supplies would be good to have. "Alright Hoffman, lets get clear of this place."

They continued on for quiet a time till they finally arrived at a river. Sidney quickly made the choice to head down river so they wouldn't be wasting the energy to head up hill. The trees grew thicker as they went along until they finally got to a waterfall that dropped several hundred feet.

Sidney looked over the edge and could see a group fo six people climbing down a path to the base of the water fall. They had made it only about half way down and it looked like it would take them several hours to get all the way down. It wouldn't be the path that Sidney and Hoffman took at least not yet. They wouldn't want to get cought up with such a large group while they were still moving at full steam.

"Lets rest here and fill our canteens. Next thing we need to do is make some sort of weapons in case we need them. For now though take a rest and we will get out plans set up." He told Hoffman. It was tipical for them back in the 217th to have a hard charge in the begining and then to figure out where they stand from there. Looking down over the cliff Sidney could see trees going no for a long ways but it seemed as though about fifteen miles out the woods began to thin in to open feilds that would take several days to get to if that was their plan.

[Ezekiel Leviticus]

As Ezekiel started to wake up he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar place. he quickly sat up and gathered his senses he noticed a lot of medical looking people and some patients. he was a little groggy and was unsure of what had happened to him.

the Alliance must have drugged me and brought me here to be a training puppet for there new and upcoming operatives he thought to himself.

Then he heard a voice come over the intercom. he followed instructions to the letter, because he knew the best way to escape would be to survive this initial processing.

He showered quickly and got dressed. He heard some people talking but he didn't make a sound. he just went along with what was going on.

After they had all gathered in what seemed to be some sort of courtyard he looked at the screen and listened to the puppet master. He didn't show his face and his voice was unfamiliar to him but this shadowed figure was a big player. He may not be the master of the puppets but he was someone of importance.

the doors opened and people flooded towards the arena. He knew he would only have a matter of moments to get what he needed. Ezekiel was a fast and well conditioned man so he had an advantage on most, due to his age he didn't have an advantage on all but he hoped his training and expertise would care him the rest of the way.

He grabbed two bags, they weren't to heavy but he hoped they would have some good supplies for him. As he was fleeing to the woods a man grabbed one of his bags and spun him around. He wasn't much taller then him but he was decently muscled. Without saying a word Ezekiel released the bags swept the mans feet out from under him and quickly dropped his knee into the mans throat before he could get back up. The man laid there motionless he knew he was dead.

He picked up his packs and continued moving for the woods. when he arrived a few miles in he took a quick survey of the area and when he was sure it was clear he found a fallen log to take shelter in. he took a drink from his canteen only enough to wet his mouth. He had a days worth of food and water but he was going to make it last three.

When he opened his packs he took a catalog of all of his supplies he had a spool of twin, a tarp, a bowie knife, fire starter, some antibiotics and a semiautomatic pistol with a holster and an empty magazine.

He strapped the knife and pistol to his hip and condensed the rest of his supplies to one pack. He estimated the spool of twin was about two hundred feet which would be very useful to make shelter and traps for food and safety.

After cataloging his things he took a few bits of food and had some more water. It wasn't great stuff but it would be enough to survive on.

He then found a nice dried branch that was about three inches in diameter and about eight feet long. He started a very small fire he was only going to use it to harden the Spears tip he had fashioned on the branch, it was straight and durable.

After hardening the tip of his spear with the flame he headed west towards open ground. It was a somewhat risky move but in a more open place he would be able to see people coming at him and he knew he would be able to make a fortifiable shelter there.

On his journey he saw two other "contestants" He moved closer to them without making a sound. It didn't look like they knew how to survive and they hadn't taken any of the packs. When he was close enough to talk to them he said

Hey, we all need to survive and surviving in numbers is easier to do.

They both looked at each other and smiled. they quickly dropped there packs and moved towards Ezekiel in an attempt to over power him and take his supplies.

Ezekiel took his spear and stabbed it through the larger mans throat. It was a soft target and wouldn't damage his spears tip but would surely kill him. The other man was carrying some sort of makeshift knife. he closed the gap quickly with Ezekiel and he knew he couldn't have time to pull his knife before the man was on him. Ezekiel let go of the spear and as the man lunged forward with the knife he deflected the attack got behind the man and quickly snapped his neck.

He checked there supplies and found they had nothing for him to take. they only had one pack for the two of them and they had already eaten and drank all of there supplies.

I did these men a favor killing them. They where not ready to survive a harsh environment. He thought.

he pulled his spear from the mans neck and continued on his way.

He had traveled for many hours now with only a few breaks to take in water and have a small amount of food. At around 0330 hours he saw a ship. Ezekiel wasn't taking any chances this time he put his knife in his right had and his pistol in his left. he knew it wasn't loaded but your average person would be afraid of it because there was no way for them to know.