The pain wrapped around me, cradling me. It felt like my heart was pumping toxin around my broken body. My skull had proved to be no shield, and I knew that the last hits were fatal. A certainty flooded though me; I was going to die.
"Clove!" He yelled, dropping to his knees beside me. His eyes were so blue, so beautifully blue, but they were filled with emotion. "Clove, I need you to stay with me!" His voice cracks.
I want to reach out for him, to soothe him, but I can't.
I try to tell him that he needs to win, that he needs to win for our district, but he can't hear. He leans down, and everything hits me at once. I was a slave to the Capitol. I handed away my life to them. And for what? Pride? Honor? I played right into their hands. I literally fell for their game. They tricked me, my district, my parents, the Capitol. I was taught to kill, to hate, to fight, for nothing. I wasted my life as the Capitol's personal toy. And suddenly, it all seems very wrong. Maybe it's death that brings me this ounce of humanity, but I understand. But it's far too late now, because there are already black spots fighting for my vision. It's a real shame, that I'll be remembered as a disgrace. All because I didn't win. But is there really a winner? Maybe, in this world were I've been deceived and corrupted, death is merciful.
"Clove, speak to me," His frantic voice whispers.
"We were always dead," I mutter, determined for my words to come out forcefully.
"Clove," He says, his fingers caressing my face. "You have to survive! It wasn't supposed to end like this..."
"It was, puppet. Fate is c-cruel," I say, the pain consuming me.
"Clove, please," He pleads, resting his forehead against mine.
"I...love you," I whisper.
And then, the blackness took over.