I admit, being busy with stuff, I forgot about this last week. But I haven't abandoned it! I promise.
Anyway, it's a little shorter than usual, but hope you like the chapter:)
4. Berries
Alive: District 3 female, District 12 female
-o0o-
And then, there were two.
Katniss stands with her silver bow over her shoulder and her dark braid over the other. Her eyes are thunder grey, staring down at Rin impassively as they stand facing each other on top of the cornucopia.
Despite the days of hunger, Katniss looks like she is ready to fight the world. She is tall, her eyes are forward. In contrast, Rin feels like she died days ago and is walking around like a ghost, wondering why she hasn't disappeared yet.
The sun rains down on them, enveloping them in a halo of light and the area is a sea of gold that shines so brightly, it hurts Rin eyes. Below them, she can hear the distant howls of Capital Mutts but they are distant. Her own eyes are among them. From the horror she felt as she stared down at the small wolf, with its face of snarling hatred and fuzzy blond fur, she knows she will never be able to face a mirror again.
It feels like just the two of them, at the end of the world.
But it's not the end of the world, just the end of the Games.
Rin meets Katniss' eyes steadily. The mask of calm on the other girls face is lost as she sees Rin's expression, melting into something that looks like pain.
"Do you want to win, Katniss Everdeen?" Rin asks. The words echo in Rin's ears. It doesn't sound like her own voice, but a stranger whispering the haughty words as she moves her mouth.
Katniss takes in a sharp intake of breath.
"Don't you?" she says, hesitantly.
A laugh escapes Rin – a sharp, bitter sound.
"Without Len? What's the point in that?"
Katniss' frown deepens further. Rin can see the conflict that swirls inside her; she is as transparent as glass, so easy to read.
"Don't you have family?" Katniss asks. "Someone special?"
"Like Primrose?"
The name is like one of Katniss' prized arrows. It is deadly, unseen and sharp.
Rin remembers the young girl with blond hair and blue eyes, the features in which she can almost see a younger Len; the girl who clung onto Katniss at the Reapings. At the back of her mind, Rin wonders whether the younger girl had shared her anguish, to be unable to do anything as their precious siblings volunteered themselves for death.
"Katniss… please…" Rin says.
She doesn't need to ask the question, because Katniss understands easily enough. And yet, the girl from District 12 - the girl on fire - is still hesitant. She wants to win, but she does not want to kill Rin.
The coward.
"… I can't!" Katniss stutters.
This is the worst nightmare of all the tributes, the situation they all hope to avoid: choosing who will die. The Capitol crowd must be biting their nails from the excitement. The image is sickening.
"If you won't do it…" Rin says. She breaks eye contact and swivels around on the heel of her foot. Below her is the mouth of the cornucopia, the ground ten metres below. She watches the Len shaped Mutt jump upwards, snapping at her foot with vicious fangs as it does so, with calm apathy. The rage on his face is tangible but Rin feels herself strangely unaffected by it.
Len's last words are engraved in her heart and she wouldn't let anything take that memory away. If there was any emotion that came from seeing Len's resemblance in front of her, it is loathing at the Capitol for daring to touch his image.
Rin takes a deep breath.
"No!"
Katniss' shout rings out and Rin half turns.
"What?" she asks, a half smile on her lips.
"What are you doing?!" Katniss screams.
They both know what the Capitol crowd want. If Rin falls, it will be the slowest, most painful death the Gamemakers could possibly conjure. Even Katniss is not that heartless.
Rin gives Katniss one, long, meaningful gaze.
"Len would want you to win," Katniss says desperately.
"Do you think Len wanted to die?" Rin snaps back. "Well, he did."
Katniss opens her mouth to say something but immediately closes it.
"…are you sure?"
"Yes," Rin whispers. "Thank you."
Katniss fumbles with her pocket, not taking her intense grey eyes off of Rin for a single moment. A small flutter of wind passes across the plane and Rin feels it on the white bow that still sits on her head. It is such a beautiful day, Rin realises. To her left, the lake shines a crystal blue, her right reveals a marsh that stretches out into mist.
"Here," Katniss says. She is holding a small, leather pouch in her hand.
Confused, Rin takes it. When she teases the fabric open, a few bright red berries fall out into her hands. A flash of understanding passes her.
"Is it quick?" she asks.
"Yes," Katniss reassures. Her voice is broken, cracking like glass under too much pressure.
Rin smiles.
Katniss looks away, staring at the horizon on the opposite side of the cornucopia. She wants to have no part in what happens next and Rin doesn't blame her.
With her right hand, Rin reaches into her left sleeve, to the flat metal pressing against her wrist. The hard surface has warmed with a combination of her body heat and the unyielding sunlight. She pulls out the knife. The plastic handle fits snuggly into her hand.
Rin stares at Katniss' back. She is conscious of her calm inhales and exhales that mark the seconds as they pass.
Soundlessly, she raises her hand. Then, with a single swift movement, she lets the knife fly.
The blades finds its target solidly, slicing deeply into Katniss' back. There is a splatter of blood, a gasp, and Katniss is tipping over the edge. Rin cannot see her face as she goes over. The loud bang of the cannon rings in her ears.
Is this what Len would have wanted?
No, she supposes it is not. He could never let go of the innocent Rin, the one that died years ago when he left her all on her own. He thought that distance would protect her from the world. How wrong he was.
Is this what Kaito would want?
Of course not. Rin doesn't care.
This is her decision now. Not Len's, not Kaito's, not her parents, not her teachers… not anybody.
Underneath the cornucopia the Mutts yelp at the prospect of new prey. A loud scuffle can be heard as they bound towards it but, soon, the excitement is replaced with a low growl of disappointment as they realise the person who has fallen is already dead. Then, there was one.
The world is spinning. Each heart beat is slow and loud, pounding against her ears.
There may have been an anthem. Did the head Gamemaker make a speech?
To Rin, the world is a million miles away. The cheers of the capitol crowd don't reach her, behind the all-consuming ringing of her ears.
Rin takes a look at the berries in her hand. Such a deep red; darker than blood. Each inky surface has a dot of white on its glossy surface, from where the sunlight bounces off of it. They almost look like blue berries that they occasionally buy from the store as a treat. Didn't Len like blue berries? He may have preferred bananas.
Rin raises the berries to her lips. Her movements are deliberately slow. Why not? It is not like there is anyone left to stop her. The berries slip into her mouth one by one and Rin takes a moment to contemplate her actions by feeling the round surfaces on her tongue.
The delicate surface splits under her teeth. The juice that rushes out onto her tongue is horrendously bitter but, ignoring it, she continues to chew. She swallows quickly.
No!
What are you doing!
This is her last laugh.
"There are no victors to the Games."
The last cannon sounds.
-o0o-
Alive: none
