Lovi Vargas, District 3
When I hear the anthem start up, I don't face the sky, but I think Amer does. I hear him shift, his clothing rustling against the crater wall but not against the layer of foliage underneath.
"Huh."
I give him what I think is a quizzical look. "What is it?"
He turns to face me—I feel his breath on my face—before replying. "Ania's gone."
"Ah?" I respond carefully, trying not to let my nonrecognition of the name show in my voice.
Amer apparently notices anyway.
"She was the Career from 1," he clarifies.
I nod slowly, not knowing the districts any better than the names.
I stop feeling Amer's breath on my face as he continues with exasperation. "The one with the long h—!" He cuts off suddenly, the rest of his breath for the sentence leaving him as a wheeze.
"Amer?" I shake his arm, but he doesn't respond. "Amer, what..."
"No," he interrupts blankly. "No, no, no." His arm slips out of my grasp as he gets to his feet.
Suddenly left in a sea of complete blackness, I frantically wave my hand around until I find his ankle.
"What? Is someone here?"
"N-No. No one's here," he croaks, a shiver travelling down him. I keep my face trained on him, but he doesn't say anything else.
The anthem blasts its final phrase and dies away, leaving us in silence other than Amer's quick breathing.
What's going on? If no one's here... Is he just in pain? No, that can't be right... Well, we were watching the death count, weren't we?
The pieces finally click. Igris was up there.
I try to feel bad about it, but I can't. He was so cruel, and I'm honestly really glad he's not around.
But I can feel bad about it for Amer. They were friends, weren't they? Well, they didn't act like it when I was there, but Amer made it sound like it when he was talking with me.
I shuffle a little closer to Amer and nervously totter onto my feet. It takes a few attempts, but I eventually clasp my hands around his right hand.
Something shuffles—I think he turns his head—and I shift my weight from foot to foot.
"Why did I leave?" he finally whispers. Before I can come up with a response, he continues. "Why did I force him to fend for himself? He must have—he must have been fighting with Ania, right? W-We could have won if I was just there to help him—God, it's all my fault!" he wails, voice cracking.
I squeeze his hand a little tighter, but I don't think it's any comfort to him. "A-After..." I start uncertainly. I cast my black vision downward. "A-After what he said to you... I don't know why you would stay." I turn my head back and try to face him. "I would have left, too."
His breathing rate has gone down, but it's shaky from what must be his crying.
"...Yeah?" he finally responds a minute later.
I nod fervently.
He doesn't have anything else to say.
Greis Karpusi, District 8
Looks like I've made it to the final three. After a moment of thinking, I determine the others left are Lovi from District 3 and Amer from District 10. For Lovi to have survived this long, she's either a conniving genius, or she's being carried around on someone else's back. And then Amer. I could see him getting this far. He didn't get an overly-impressive training score, but he's pretty sturdy.
So these are the people left to defeat. Lovi should be easy; either her helper is dead, or he's Amer and still with her. Amer could pose more of a challenge, but I'll make sure it's nothing I can't handle.
Huh. Seems weird to be so far along here. That I've been in the arena so long and hardly suffered at all.
Well, one way or another, it's going to change soon. Amer or Lovi isn't likely to come for me, unless one of them just snapped. That's entirely possible, so I can't exclude it—but if that's not the case, I'll have to hunt them down.
But that can wait. I don't want to be too hasty. When the Capitol wants me to go after them, they can come get me.
I just get resettled in the tree's branches when something bright green pops its head up over the crater wall.
...Well. That didn't last long.
The mutt hops over the wall cheerfully and comes bounding toward the centre of the crater. I sit up, holding my weapon although I seriously doubt the mutt would inflict any serious damage just to get me going.
As I suspected, it doesn't even attack; it just sits perched below the tree swinging its drill-shaped tail back and forth like an excited puppy.
"So," I start, putting my legs closer to the ground in preparation of landing, "where am I going?"
Although I'm guessing enough time has passed, the sun hasn't budged a centimetre. The Gamemakers must want this showdown to be well-lit. Maybe it's the last one. That would make sense. The two must be together.
I keep after the mutt, which has yet to hurt me at all, and pull up short when it comes to a stop in front of me. It turns around to look me over with its shiny, beady eyes as I see what's behind it. The pine forest crater. The shelter of the remaining tributes.
I stride forward slowly, gripping my weapon's handle tight. I choose my steps carefully so no rocks crunch underfoot, and I hold my breath when I finally peek over the ridge.
And find Amer looking right at me.
I cringe inwardly, cursing the failure of my stealth plan.
Although I guess the Capitol wouldn't want to see that, anyway. Just sneak in and slash both of their necks before they know what's going on. Not entertaining enough apparently.
While Amer is still registering my appearance, I pull myself into the crater, where I find Lovi getting to her feet wide-eyed.
No-eyed, more like it. I don't know what happened to her, but it's good for me. She's much less of a threat on her own without sight.
Amer has finally gotten over the shock of my sudden appearance, and he pulls a bloodstained, armoured glove over one hand with his equally-bloodied other hand. He doesn't make any move to attack, though.
I look over the two carefully, recalling what I learnt about them from the Training Centre, before finally speaking.
"So," I say casually, "how many people have you two killed?"
Lovi makes a sound like she's about to start crying, and she suddenly clasps her hands over her ears although there's nothing more to listen to. Amer cringes like I stabbed him in the stomach and twisted the blade.
As I thought. Touchy subject.
"Now which one of you wants to feel that way again?" I continue smoothly.
Amer's gaze flicks wretchedly to the ground before he remembers what's going on and puts his guard back up.
Lovi, quivering and tearful, steps torward me.
"Lovi!" Amer starts, voice a bit rusty. "What are you doing?"
Lovi grips the sides of her arms, looking—if she could look—down. She stands there trembling for the slightest of moments before finally replying in a whisper.
"—I can't do this again, Amer."
Amer's jaw drops while I wait calmly.
"Wh-what do you mean?" he chokes out, hurrying to stand next to her.
"Amer, you saw me before the Games. I-I kill wa-one person, a-and this happens to m-me," she sobs. "I c-can't take this again! I d-don't want to d-die, I r-r-really d-don't, but I can't d-do this again...!"
Anything else she wanted to add is promptly cut off as I ram my blade into the side of her neck. With a shrill shriek, she collapses to the ground, convulsing, whether more from pain, fear, or her crying I don't know.
Amer takes in the scene for just a moment before he whips around, wide-eyed with shock.
"You—!"
"She just asked for it," I interrupt, keeping my tone even. I hold his gaze easily.
"Bu... A-Ah..." Unable to form words, he just stands trembling, his bare hand clamped over the gloved one like he's scared it's going to act on its own.
Lovi's cannon fires.
One down. One to go.
I look at Amer. He's still shocked, but I don't think I've disabled him quite enough to get out unscathed.
"How about you, then?" I start, letting my arm drop back to my side, Lovi's blood skimming off the blade's tip. "Do you want to die?"
Amer just stares at me.
"I... I don't know," he finally says hollowly.
I take a step toward him. "All right... Do you deserve to die?"
He cringes.
I think I've hit the bull's-eye.
"How many have you killed?" I go on casually. "You seem to have an awful lot of blood on your hands to me."
Amer looks down at his hands and seems to realise blood really is still there.
"You didn't answer my question."
He looks back up and, after a few moments, finally croaks, "Three."
I raise my eyebrows, looking impressed. "Really? Three people, with your own hands?"
"Y-Yeah." He swallows, unable to look me in the eye anymore. "A-and more... because of me..."
"So you've destroyed that many lives," I comment, taking another step toward him as he continues to break down. "I don't expect any of them went painlessly."
I make out a few tears dripping from his downcast face.
"N-No. Not at all."
"You murdered that many people... painfully... huh?"
Sniffing from tears, he nods.
"So answer me again: do you deserve to live?"
His hands drop to his sides.
"No."
I ram my blade through his throat and watch him bleed out at my feet.
"And I announce the winner of the 45th Hunger Games: Greis Karpusi!"
I look up at the sky as the hovercraft comes down.
Well. That was easier than I thought it'd be.
And that is what would have happened if Lovi killed Spain.
