Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. They belong to Suzanne Collins.
Note: Here we are at day ten, the last day in the Arena. I'd say it's certainly been an interesting journey in getting to this point, perhaps as both a reader and a writer. Hopefully you'll like the outcome of the games and, in any case, I always have great fun writing final battles. I guess one could say it feels like I've got a knack for it. Before we move on, time for another hint towards the identity of the 5th Lead. As a guest pointed out, the first hint wasn't very useful but not to worry, they'll get more specific as more are added. Enjoy! :D
Hint #1: This tribute died in the Cornucopia Bloodbath.
Hint #2: This tribute's odds of winning were 10-1, or better.
The groans and roars behind me don't feel any further away, even after I've been running without pause for several minutes now. My left leg throbs badly, the damn thing giving me such agony to even stand on. But I must keep going, I must! It's that or let the mud mutts catch up to me.
I try my hardest to not think of Marvel's horrific death at their muddy hands. Nuts, failed already. Those screams won't leave me for as long as I live Whether that means hours or years, it's too long either way.
It's dark, the rainfall heavy and the star light now starting to get hidden behind the thick clouds. Before long I might be fumbling around blindly. I've got nothing like night vision goggles or flashlights and I can't remember how to light a torch. I'll just have to hope that there will be enough light to guide me and, perhaps, enough to ensure I won't fall into a spike pit or something.
I finally make it out of the woods and into a grassy, wet clearing. I'm here, the site of the finale. The grassy mountain looms above me, making me feel smaller than ever before. I breath deeply, trying to summon my nerve. Now is not the time for fear nor hesitation.
What was it I said to Ranger that I'd do once I arrived? ...Ah, that's right! Mark a tree with an X and stay nearby. I may lack a knife now but two swings of the axe make an X into a tree at the base of the mountain easily enough. I can't wait long, not when the mud mutts are still slowly closing in. I frown, unable to stay calm. Ranger is nowhere in sight. Could he be here already and just further up? Maybe he's been delayed? So many questions and too few answers!
"Ranger! Ranger!" I call out to the darkness. Alas, no response. "Where are you?"
I shake my head, resuming my journey up towards the summit. They'd not let Ranger die, not with the extreme political backlash that they would be getting. I believe that such an occurrence would directly violate the Treaty of Treason and while part of me thinks the Capitol won't care, the more political side of me knows breaking their own 'peace treaty' wouldn't bring about anything good for them.
I just keep telling myself, sometimes... if Rome could fall into ruin, maybe one day the Capitol will as well. Nothing built may last forever, only be led towards lasting as long as it can before time claims it just like it does for anything else.
Rome, London, Bejing, America... everything turned to ashes one way or the other. Not so much what lives forever but just what dies last. Whenever Panem does, I can only hope that what rises out of the ashes might be better than what we have now. Democracy for starters, by the people and for the people. Less tyrants and greed, more rights and philanthropy. Certainly a lofty goal, maybe even a crazy one to hope for, but we hardly have a right to wish for it if we won't do something to try and make it happen.
Once I'm out of here, I'm getting straight to work on it. Never again shall I waste a day sitting around. Life is precious, time even moreso. I realise that now, after being here so long with each day being my potential last.
"Keep going, keep going," I mutter, power walking my way up the incline, panting as I go. I stumble, my leg aching worse, but it won't stop me.
Not for more than a few moments anyway. I kneel over, shivering badly. I glance around constantly as I roll up my soaked pants leg, my eyes ever watchful for any sign of Gadget or Rammy. I gag at what I see, almost throwing up. My leg! This... this is bad.
It's cut and scratched, that much I already knew, but I can see all too well that mud coats the wounds. Some of the cuts have gone a really horrible greenish brown, certainly one that can't be considered healthy by literally anybody. Fuck. Who knows what gunk may have gotten inside me...
Ok, yes, it's mud. I am aware of that, thank you very much. But what could've been in the mud? There's any number of horrible bacteria and viruses that may have gotten into my leg. Shit! Imagine, the rich girl afraid of getting her hands dirty in ways both metaphorical and literally... dead due to mud.
If I'm infected, I better get this over with fast as possible. There's not really many places to actually go anymore, so it's not like the other two are gonna be far away from me. I shiver, feeling a pain within me. Fuck, my blood is gonna be spreading the likely infection. Ok, ok, don't panic. Panic will make my heart beat faster and just make the infection spread even worse than it otherwise would.
I keep on my way up the mountain, my mind abuzz with thoughts of home, death and all the rest of it. How do tributes keep their cool in times like this? Sure, I can force myself to try... but trying is not the same as succeeding. I almost stumble over some rocks and moss, my stupid leg being rather uncooperative.
One glance over the side has my stomach turning, the drop to the crocodile filled swamp water below ever so far. Surely at least fifty meters, perhaps more.
"Ok, let's not go over the edge," I mutter, stepping backwards. I take a few deep breathes, trying to calm myself. With the coldness of the wet night my breath is easily visible when I exhale. "Calm... calm..."
I freeze, hearing the audible noise of a microphone turning on.
"STOP, STOP!" Claudius sounds frantic. In fact, it sounds like the man is panicking.
Everything is silent. There are no more words of distress from the announcer, no screams anywhere near me, no sign that anything is amiss... nothing. Not even a cannon. What happened?
Was somebody trying to escape, or vandalise the Arena? The distant sound of some of the ground collapsing tell me that vandalism won't really matter to them at this point. Not like anything us tributes can do would have the same kind of effect as the fucking ground collapsing.
Forgive my potty mouth. I have more important things to do than swear, like winning. I glance around warily as I continue to walk my way higher up the mountain trail.
"Ok Gadget... ok Rammy... where are you two?" I mutter, lightly hitting the back of the axe head against my palm. "Let's not waste either of our time."
Limping along and swatting away the wet overgrown grass with my axe, I can't get Claudius' panic out of my head. He never panics, ever. He's known for being smug, superior and grand. Never any kind of panic or fear. So, what could've gotten him so spooked?
A sickly feeling rises in me when I think of the possibility that Ranger was badly injured or... or... I can't even say the word. I just need to keep calm, somehow. Claudius stopped panicking, so maybe nothing happened in the end? Yes, that must be it. If the worst came to worst, he'd have been freaking out much more than just yelling at somebody to stop whatever they were going to do.
I'm soon forced to stop for a break, sitting on a damp boulder. The pain in my leg is too much for me to keep moving any loner without a break. I take out the first aid spray - not much left in it, just my luck - and spray it too my wound. I grit my teeth to stop myself shrieking, my jaw aching from the pressure. Calm, calm...
As I sit, trying to will myself to get moving again I hear the sonar of a sponsor. Looking up I see it floating down. I don't react much, as I can see from here that it's only a note per the norm. Still, maybe Blight's advice will be more useful than whatever Johanna may have said if she'd not ditched me.
I reach out for the parachute as it descends, clutching it close to me. Ok, let's see what Blight has to say, shall we? Don't be crap, don't be crap, don't be crap...
-Nettle
They're getting very close to you. Be on your guard, and whatever they tell you, do not let yourself lose focus. All will become clear and better able to be explained once you're out of there. Keep moving to the high ground.
Johanna owes me five bottles of wine if you win. So, for the love of life and trees, you need to not die! If you do, we'll be having a firm discussion... in a few decades, at least.
Good luck.
Blight-
"Well, if Blight's alcohol is on the line then I really can't die. That changes everything," I mutter, huffing a bit as I turn up my nose. Slowly, I rise up and force myself to keep moving. "Hang in there Blight, I'll stay alive and save you from sobriety. Give me three hours or so."
Or, maybe, not even that long. After all, Blight says they're getting very close.
My heart begins to beat loudly, echoing almost like my footsteps do.
(Not much later...)
My leg feels like a horrible mixture between searing and slimy. Pus has started to leak from a few of the wounds. I gave it some fresh bandages and used the rest of the first aid spray, but I'm not altogether certain what good it may do. I suppose I can only hope or the best and take out my last two opponents swiftly.
The downpour has lessened somewhat, but traversing the slopes is still a real hazard. Several times I've stumbled over and, while thankfully I've not gone over the edge, my entire front is muddied. My face must look filthy from the combination of blood, bruises and mud.
Despite Blight warning me that the last two opposing tributes are close by, I've not seen any sign of them. No sounds to give them away, nor footprints to follow. I guess the rain washed everything away.
Well, there is one way to get them in my sights. It's risky, but... screw it, I need to end this. If I don't then my leg may end me first.
"Rammy! Gadget!" I yell out into the darkness of the night. "Let's get this over with! The sooner we fight, the sooner one of us goes home and the pain can finally end for the other two!"
I shiver in the rain, all alone with no clear signs of human life from anywhere around me.
"If we keep hiding, they'll just send mutts after us. I've seen them, monsters made of mud," I continue to speak as I walk through the rainy clearing. "They're horrific. Worse than anything we could do to each other."
Still no response. I shrug, limping my way over to another boulder and sitting down. Maybe they'll get flushed out by the Gamemakers. I can only hope that it won't take long.
The storm is softer, but still rages on far above the summit of the mountain. The clouds send quite the downpour to what remains of the Arena, dislodging rocks from higher up. They cascade down, hitting into trees along the way. I grimace as I observe this, worrying thoughts of a rockslide filling my tired mind.
Lighting strikes, the sky briefly illuminated. The clouds are swirling, no doubt being manipulated around by the Gamemakers. Before long, they're reformed and now looks like numerous evil skulls filling the grim night sky.
"Cute," I mutter.
A cry makes me whirl around in a moment, ready to fight. However, I lower my axe when I see that it's just Gadget. Ok, well, perhaps I shouldn't say 'just Gadget'. I'm not going to underestimate her, whether she has landmines or not.
Though, the way she lays on her front doesn't make her come off as much of a threat. Nor do the bleeding injuries she has along her back and her arms. It looks like she's barely got any supplies left; just a small bag that looks not even half-filled, nothing more.
She looks at me with wide eyes and I stare right back at her. We're both silent, waiting for each other to make the first move.
Might as well be me.
"It's going to be over soon, one way or the other," I tell her. "We're gonna have to fight either now or very soon."
"We were allies," she mumbles, shivering. "We... we... I just..."
She sniffles, soon breaking down into a soft, miserable weeping. One swing and she'd be dead, it'd be so easy. After that it'd be just Rammy left. Strength can be found in numbers, but I don't think my odds are going to be any different whether or not Gadget fights alongside me or dies before the final battle.
...I hesitate, moving so that I am knelt beside the wounded, younger girl. She looks at me, her eyes as dead as those of the twenty one tributes already killed. No hope nor life is in them. Just the stare of a dead girl walking.
"I'm not even afraid to die anymore," she whispers. "I... I'm just afraid of it hurting me. I don't want to be in agony before I go..."
She sniffles loudly, hiccuping a bit. As she lets the tears fall and the sobs echo I keep an eye out around us, just in case Rammy is on the prowl. I need to get it over with. Sure, I'd feel awful but how much worse can I feel than I do already, right?
"Aren't you going to try to fight?" I ask her, a little skeptical.
"I have no weapons. You have an axe and I saw Rammy that way..." she points in the direction she came from. "He's got a big machete. I don't think there's any point to keep fighting if I'm just letting myself up for even more pain. Urchin's gone... he made me happy... I have nothing left, Nettle."
"What about your family?" I ask her, uncertainly.
She just lamely shrugs, looking away.
"I got thrown out onto the streets by my daddy. None of my brothers stood up for me; I've not got anybody back home and... and I have no idea what I'd do," she shivers, squeaking a bit.
She sits beside me for a few long moments, the rainfall being the only noise other than her sniffling. The sounds join into one symphony of true hopelessness.
"I figure between you and Rammy, you might make it less painful," she says, drawing up her knees. "...I'd prefer if you won anyway. Rammy looked pretty beaten, bloody too... you may have a chance. But, he's gone to where the ground is really unstable and close to flooding so it'd be dangerous. You'll have a hard task even reaching him."
Gadget flinches from her wounds, crying out from the pain. She shivers badly, constantly shaking almost to the point of being a blur.
"I don't mind dying. Maybe I'd see mommy again... or maybe everything will just stop hurting," she whispers, hiccuping again from the misery. "I just don't want it to be hurt. Not like how so many of the others died... n-n-not like that..."
I take a deep breathe. Sad as it is, I still have to do it. I'm not dying for her sake, especially when Gadget hardly wants to live anyway. I grip my axe tightly as I turn to face her.
"...Before I do it, have you seen Ranger anywhere?" I ask her.
"...Who?" Gadget asks, looking lost.
"The guy who I was with when I escaped the Feast," I say. Did Gadget even see him, actually? She was the last one to arrive, the way I recall it.
"Oh, him. Sorry, I've not seen any trace of the guy," she replies, shivering. "Please don't be mad!"
I can't stop myself when I see her so broken and afraid. I give her a gentle hug, holding her softly. Pain shoots through my leg, but I try my best to ignore the feeling of it. I just focus my attention on making Gadget feel not quite as painful as she already is before she dies.
I release her, lowing my axe. Her frightened gaze follows it, the limited starlight making the blade almost gleam for a moment. I reach into my pocket and pass her the packet of nightlock. She looks uncertain, holding the packet up in front of her.
"What is this?" she mumbles.
"Nightlock," I tell her. "Poison. Quick and painless. The most gentle way to die in this horrible place. It's the best deal I can offer to you, so if-."
"Done," she says, fumbling to open the packet. "Feel free to take my token. I won't need it and... well, keep it. Not like my family will need it back."
She passes me her token - a microchip - and her small bag of supplies. She lays on her back, staring up at the sky, for the very last time. She clutches the deadly berries in her hand.
"He's that way," she says, pointing once again. "Good luck."
"Thanks," I reply. "Farewell Gadget... you deserved better than all of, well, this. Rest in peace."
She doesn't respond, still staring up towards the stormy sky. I decide to leave her by herself, able to die in peace. I still have one more fight to win before I can get myself out of here and back to my home.
Plus, I still need to find where Ranger has gotten off to. He might be in trouble, for all I know.
"Ok Rammy, let's end this nightmare," I mutter, my axe held so tightly that my hand starts to ache.
I leave the clearing, heading off in the direction Gadget told me Rammy is currently hiding out. Already the ground is getting rocker and much more jagged. I have to make a concentrated effort to not fall on my face. With the rubble under my feet, it'd leave my face bloodied if I did that.
Just as I start to ascend higher up along the trail, passing by the dead remains of a shrivelled mud mutt, the cannon booms. A moment later, lighting flashes across the sky. I breath deeply in and out for a few moments. Calm, calm...
Gadget's death portrait is shown in the sky a few moments later. May she find peace in death she didn't seem to have in life. What little she told me about her life really painted one depressing image. I mean, her father throwing her out... why? How? How could a parent do that to their child? I just don't understand it.
But, those are questions for another time. My last trial lays just up ahead of me.
And, hopefully, Ranger is around here even closer than that. He has to be, he must be!
(Half an hour passes...)
I'm drenched and ever so sore. My leg is in a weird flux of losing all feeling and yet being aflame with horrific pain. I have a constant wince upon my battered face as I limp my way to an area that looms just ahead of me. It looks like a sort of 'bowl' upon the mountain, rocky walls lined up around it that I cannot see past. Assuming Gadget was correct, this will be the place that Rammy is hiding.
Gadget said he was injured, but how injured is that exactly? He can probably walk a lot better than I can at the least. This battle is truly on his terms, not mine. He doesn't have to do anything but wait for me. Meanwhile here's my wasting my energy even getting to where we're due to fight.
It's a tiny mercy that the Gamemakers didn't herd me towards him with more of those horrible mud mutts.
"Ok, ok..." I take a few deep breaths, shaking a bit as I lean against a gnarled tree for some support. "I have an axe, he has a machete... I've bested him twice before, more or less. I... yeah, I can do this."
I can't delay any longer, as much as I'd like to. The Capitol will be craving blood and it's not wise to deny those ghastly savages what they want. Plus, I can't let the likely infection spread even more. Time is truly of the essence... ok, here I go.
Walking through the gap between the rock walls I sharply glance around for any sign of my foe. I start by looking right above me. Such a common technique to just jump from above upon your enemy. I shan't fall for something so obvious, not after coming this far!
The clouds begin to move again, soon allowing for a bright shimmer of moonlight to be cast upon the mountain. In a flash, the area around me becomes much easier to observe with the naked eye. Many weeds, vines and other scraggly plants grow up the rock walls. The centre of this bowl is filled with lots of swamp water and I can't stop a shudder when I see that there are crocodiles lazily swimming around in it. Logs, stone pillars and boulders poke out from the water, almost like the most precarious of platforms. The whole area is fairly wide across on all sides, much more spacious than I had thought it to be.
It doesn't take more than a few seconds of glancing around before I finally spot him. Ducking behind a boulder for cover, crying out from my leg pain, I slowly peer up to where he's gotten himself hidden.
"So, you've finally made it," Rammy says, sounding so done with it all. Tired, bitter, grim. A young man who has seen too much. I can relate, except for the man part of course.
"I try to be punctual when I have an appointment to keep," I say, staring at him.
One look and I know this is going to be trouble. Rammy is perched on a high rocky overlook at the top of the bowl. He looks bloodied and beaten, his charcoal grey tribute outfit now stained a grisly crimson in several areas. He shivers, his breath hitching a bit. Nevertheless, he remains firm as he gazes down at me.
If I had a ranged weapon then it'd be simple enough to take him out, but I've got nothing that could reach him. Just an axe that I'm not stupid enough to throw. How can I win a fight against him if I can't even reach Rammy to begin with?
"So, it's just you and I?" he asks me. "The other twenty three all dead now?"
"You heard the cannons," I say, ducking down again. I can't assume he won't have some way to attack me. Paranoia can pay off sometimes. "This is it, the last fight. We're... wait, what... w-w-what did you say?"
No, no, no. Please, no. No, no, no! He must've just made a slip of the tongue. Ranger isn't with me, so Rammy may just assume he is dead. Of course, that makes sense.
"I said everybody else is dead," he says, tiredly. "Sable, Cato, the kid from Four, the boy from Nine, your District Partner. They're all dead. Even that guy at the Feast. No cannon for him, but I'm too tired to care why not. Shall we get this one over with, little lady?"
I can't help but drop to my knees and scream, shrill and horrified. Ranger! He... he... no... NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!
"You... you k-killed Ranger?!" I scream, my eyes burning with tears. I think I'm gonna throw up. A second later my thought is proven correct as my vomit splatters the boulder. "You're lying!"
"Ranger? Oh, that was the guy's name," Rammy says, almost to himself. "I saw him running by and the rules are only one can win. I'm sorry little missy, it really wasn't done with personal hate, but-."
"HE WASN'T A FUCKING TRIBUTE!"
I stand up, my fists clenched as tears pour down my red face. I can hardly breath through my seething, clenched jaw. All that passes through my mind is that the boy I loved is dead and the boy up there is the one responsible for it!
"...Say what?" Rammy asks, starting to look uneasy.
"He. Wasn't. A. Tribute," I repeat, my every syllable trembling with heartbroken rage. "There was no reason to hurt him! None!"
"...Shit," Rammy curses, grimacing. "That'll be why Claudius started yelling and why my tracker zapped me right after I did it. I thought the damn thing was broken. Uh... um..."
He has no words, and there are certainly none I would want to hear. I've dropped to my knees before I even realise it, weeping brokenly. He's dead... Ranger's gone, forever. The last I ever saw of him he said he loved me. I... I'll never hear him say it again!
It's like there's a noose tightened around my soul, everything falling apart under me. The reality crushes me, making me feel like I'm being drowned in despair. He's dead, he's dead, HE'S DEAD!
I choke and wheeze, hardly breathing properly. I can't calm myself down, I can't stop the choking.
"If he wasn't a tribute, what was he even doing in this place?" Rammy asks, as bewildered as he is uneasy. "It's meant to be twenty four a year except maybe a quell, and that ain't until next year."
"Because I... I..." I trail off, turning white as a sheet. Pure horror fills me as realisation strikes me like a bolt of searing lightning.
Ranger's death was all my fault. Mine, nobody else's. If I'd not spoke out with such contempt against the Capitol then they'd have never bought him to this horrible place. He'd be back in Seven, safe and sound... I basically killed my own lover, if not through actions then certainly through my words.
As I scream and wail it further occurs to me that I could've stopped his death even if he had come here regardless. If I'd just taken the fucking shot and gotten Rammy with an arrow when he fled the Career's camp right before Gadget moved in to set the mines... he'd... he'd never have been able to kill Ranger. One life for another and as wrong as it all is, I know I'd have chosen Ranger in the end. But due to my words and hesitation, he's dead!
Oh Ranger, no... no... NO... NONONONONO!
It's my fault...
"Apologies," Rammy says, distant. "I didn't know he as your lover. But that don't-."
"How can you feel so little?" I ask, choking back the sobs. "You wanted to destroy Cato for killing your lover! I've got no doubt you made him meet a grisly end for it... now you've gone and killed my innocent lover! You've become Cato."
Rammy flinches, horrified by this comparison. He struggles to find his words for several moments, time I use to punch the dirt and cry. He's gone, GONE.
I desperately try to calm myself down from this living nightmare. I need to be in the right mindset for the duel about to start. But how can I calm myself down when Ranger is DEAD?!
I take deep, sickly breathes. If he could speak to me one last time, what would he say to me?
...The way I see it, he'd encourage me to keep fighting to the end. He believed in me when I got reaped, and even after this monstrous scandal... I think he'd still believe in me. I think. I hope.
I just hope he didn't hate me in this final moments. He'd have every right to, and that scares me more than anything else right now.
"I... I..." Rammy looks horrified. "I didn't know he wasn't a tribute! How often does a twenty fifth person get added, little lady? To my count, never! I figured it was a twist or something."
"Didn't Claudius telling you to stop tip you off?" I ask, shuddering from the emotional pain.
Rammy pukes, his face aghast. He yells, saying something I can't quite make out. If I had to guess, asking somebody for forgiveness. I'd assume Sable as she's, well, the only person who I know has a personal value to him. For all I know, maybe it's to his family.
Family... a thing I'm quickly running out of. Mother is gone, father is always busy... Ranger could've been my family in years to come, but not... not anymore.
I sniffle, wiping away the tears. One of us has to die for this torment to end, the savages must have a Victor. It's gonna be me.
Or at least, it will be if I can even reach Rammy. He's so high up! How... what... I need a plan, fast.
He's clearly bloody and beaten, so I do not think he'd put up a huge fight if I were able to narrow the gap. I scan the area quickly, searching for any kind of a pathway to where he is holed up. I can't climb up that high, not with my battered leg. But he's surely not going to be stupid enough to come down.
I refuse to accept there is no way up there.
A trail of blood catches my attention. It trickles along the ground, leading up to a log. I gaze along the area beyond, my eyes in constant motion from point A at the log... all the way to point B where Rammy is sitting.
Between the log and Rammy is a terribly dangerous trail. Logs, thin rocks full of sharp areas and coatings of moss, deep water with crocodiles that look particularly hungry, plenty of mud... it's an absolute gauntlet.
It's also the only way I'm going to be able to reach Rammy. There's literally no other way I can go to reach him nor is there any ranged weapon I can use. It's either cross the gauntlet, or die from infection! That, or the crocodiles. They eye me, ever so hungry.
I shiver, but a thought occurs to me. Rammy got past the gauntlet and up there, even when he'd been beaten bloody. If he can, then so can I. There's no reason to not try when to do nothing would be to accept death. Already, I can see the water is starting to rise.
The rain pours and the wind howls like a terrible beast. It's time for me to run the gauntlet; time for my final trial to begin.
Let's do this.
"THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE VICTOR."
If that wasn't a clear sign that Claudius is telling us to hurry this up or face the consequences then I frankly don't know what it could be. The water is starting to rise up already, so I certainly don't need any further prompting to get moving. If I can't get past the log in time, I'm dead!
But then, if I was dead then I would at least be with Ranger once more...
No, no time for thoughts like that. I will fight with all my might, for better or for worse. No hesitation, no excuses, no giving up.
Just some good old fashioned arse kicking!
I limp to the log as fast as I can, holding out my arms for some balance. I start to make my way across it, thankfully without any interference from crocodiles just yet. I grimace, trying to hold back a screech as pain shoots up my leg.
I bite my inner cheek to stop the screams, drawing some blood from the force. I spit it out, keeping on the move. I start to hobble up a muddy bank, thankfully one that lacks the steepness of some others. I take in deep breaths, wiping away the rainfall from my face.
As I start to edge myself along a thin rocky platform at the edge of the bowl, Rammy yells out in alarm. I guess he's figured out my plan already. Nuts.
"Oh, no, you ain't getting all the way up here little lady!" he yells, his strong voice betrayed by the pain that is easy to hear. He must be in searing agony, same as me. "Take this!"
I yell as a rock hits the cliff, missing me by mere inches. It bounces off, hitting the water with splash. Shit, he's throwing rubble!
I continue to inch my way along the thin platform, my back pressed against the cliff, wheezing as I soon stumble back onto actual ground. Though, it's ground that is quickly disappearing under the water. A crocodile starts to swim towards me, far too close for comfort.
"Shit!" I scream, trying not to sob as I scramble to the high ground this patch of land offers, not that this is much.
"What's wrong, your leg making it hard?" Rammy calls to me, exhausted.
"You wish!" I yell, shuddering. "Enjoy your last five minutes!"
If he intends to try and break my focus he better be ready for me to do the same back. If I can make him screw up his attempts at throwing rubble then I'm gonna do it. He surely can't have that much of it to throw, can he?
Frankly I just wish the man would throw the damn machete. At last that way, if it missed, he'd be left basically defenceless. Alas, I doubt him to be such a fool.
I line myself up with a rocky stepping stone, one with some sickly looking moss on it. Ok, ok... calm, careful, quick...
A growling from behind me makes me act on impulse, leaping to the first stepping stone. I scream as I flail my arms for a moment, smacking into it. I clutch the stepping stone, shuddering and spitting out some of the blood from my bleeding cheek. I try to haul myself upon the stepping stone, but the searing agony of my leg and the extra weight of my waterlogged pants makes me sway and shudder. I wipe away the rainwater again, trying to clear my vision.
Shit! Crocodiles, and they're closing in on me. Nonononono...
I duck just in time to avoid some rubble that flies overhead. I suspect it could've hit me right in the side of my head. Not good! I brace myself for the high chance of death and leap to the second of the stepping stones. I land in a painful crouch, my leg starting to feel like it's pounding. I'm wide eyed, breathing deep and huskily from the pain.
Do it for him, do it for Ranger. Do. It. For. Him!
More rubble is thrown, just barely missing. I suspect Rammy's state of pain and exhaustion must be hampering his aim a lot, or he'd have surely been able to hit me by now. From where I am now I can see that he's taking deep breathes, his hand clutching a bleeding wound. I take the chance presented to me, jumping to the third and final stepping stone.
I'd say that my scream could be heard for miles, but the only person left to hear it is in the vicinity already. Rammy flinches as he observes me. I'm doing far more than just flinching. My leg feels like it's on fucking fire!
The growling draws near once again. I know better than to try fighting the crocodile in my current state. I may have an axe, but it's got powerful jaws and could probably rip my leg off with one solid bite.
"It's no use, give up little lady!" Rammy calls, hurling a fist sized stone at me.
I let myself stumble forwards to my knees, letting the stone go over me and down to the steadily rising water.
"Never! I'll never give up, not until I win or I die!" I screech, practically animalistic.
I'm starting to get further along the trail as I stumble my way along, each step feeling as though my blood has begun to boil. The thick mud sloshes under my feet as I limb through it, trying to force my way up steep slope. I shriek in alarm as I stumble, starting to slide back down.
I see a crocodile open it's jaws at the base of the slope, ready to welcome me.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" my throat hurts from the force of my screaming. I need water, so damn badly...
I swing the axe down, smashing it between the eyes of the crocodile. It grunts, draining out a pained growl. I don't stick around to see just how bad the wound is, not when my time is better spent forcing myself back up the muddy slope. I swing the axe down over and over, using it to anchor myself and prevent further slipping. I'm wheezing, my chest starting to burn as I drag myself to the top of the slope. One little glance back at the crocodile's open, bleeding jaws has me limping along quickly.
"I never wanted it to be this way," Rammy calls, tossing more rubble that goes wide. "I'd have rather stayed home in Ten with Sable, just like you've rather stayed in Seven with your man. It was never personal, none of it was. I just wanted to go home."
"So did I," I say, wheezing. "I still do... I still have something to fight for, even if nothing will ever be the same again."
"Fancy that, I feel the same," he says, tossing another rock my way. He misses, cursing. "Whatever shattered life remains back home, it's still a life. Better than death by default. I ain't an animal for the slaughter."
"Neither am I," I reply, grabbing onto a rocky surface, starting to climb along it sideways, ever so slowly but surely making it to the platform at the other side. Shit, the water's rising faster. "I'm not giving up, Rammy! I'm on my way!"
"Just come and try it," he says, hissing as he holds his hip. "I got a machete; I'd strike you down as quick as look at you."
I don't respond, focusing on making my way to my destination at the next part of this watery gauntlet. A rock crumbles in my hand; I scream, and fumble, almost falling down. My heart pounds as the water below me rises higher, almost reaching my boots.
Nothing for it. I'm gonna have to jump.
So, that's what I do. I hit the ground and crumble into a heap. I wheeze and choke out sobs as I drag myself further along. Fuck, what's going on with this damn leg?! It's not broken, I am sure of it, but surely an infection cannot set in so fast... right? It was just a bit of mud.
Time's running out, both from infection and the rising water. The Gamemakers have turned the rain to the maximum, surely. It makes my skin burn as it drenches the remaining land. Rammy yells out, pained filling his expression as the rain impacts upon his bloodied body. As he yells out, begging for it to all stop, I take the chance to force myself to keep on my way. Rammy can't toss rubble at me when he's screaming.
Then again, I'm finding it hard to even stumble along anymore. I think I'm gonna puke again, maybe with some blood mixed in with it. Whatever the agony, I shan't give up. I'm so close, so close to getting out of this hell.
Our talk of our lost lovers and how despite the shattered state our lives are in we both have something to go back to... maybe I understand this tough boy better than I think I do. I honestly can't help feeling some form of pity for him. He's just like me in some ways.
But I can't allow myself to feel too sympathetic. Not when one of us has to die, and especially as I'm not stepping up as a volunteer for death. I need to get angry, hateful, willing to kill without hesitation for even a second.
I force myself to think of Ranger and how Rammy killed him. How it must have been horrible. How I;ll never feel Ranger's hugs or kisses again, nor hear him say he loves me. I force my shattered mind to obsess over the fact my lover is dead, gone for good with me helpless to do a thing over it.
Suffice to say, I'm quickly snarling and seeing red as I stagger up to the high point of a stone slope with fire in my eyes. It's the highest point and I stand across from Rammy with my axe at the ready. We lock eyes, him over there and myself over here. It's perhaps fifteen meters or so between us. In that space, nothing but filthy swamp water with at least five crocodiles swimming around. They're fast, their jaws snapping ever so loudly.
"It ends now," I pant, struggling to stay standing. I try to keep myself in a good form for balance, recalling my ballet lessons of times gone by.
"Sure does," he says, staggering up to his feet as well. "But, how are you going to reach me? No bridge here. Just a whole swamp of trouble, and it seems I'm a foot or two higher up than you. Those beats will get you first. Unless you can take on all five at once... rest in peace, little lady."
I shake my head, trying to keep my thoughts negative and fuel my fighting power on pure anger.
"You made it over. There has to be a way," I say, coldly.
Rammy doesn't respond. He reaches down to grab another stone, his eyes locked upon me. As he does this I quickly scan the area to whatever he used to make it through to his platform over there. But there's nothing. No bridge, no logs, no vines to swing from... nothing.
Well, nothing besides a large flower growing out of the swamp water in front of me. The stem seems very thick and I can't help but wonder if this thing is poisonous. The colours make me feel wary. But, the ground is vanishing fast and if this is the only ay, I have no choice. Fuck, please work, please work, please work...
I step onto the flower experimentally with one foot, quickly seeing that it takes me weight. I stand on it and before I can begin to wonder what to do next I yelp as the flower begins to move along. Whatever the stem is connected to beneath the swamp water it's moving me slowly towards where Rammy is standing. Looks like I figured it all.
Gamemaker technology, they really can do anything. I can't wrap my mind around it, to be honest.
But, that doesn't matter. I grip my axe tightly and stare at Rammy. Not even a minute, and I'll be there within striking range. I just have to hope I'll be quicker on the draw.
"Oh no you don't," he says, narrowing his eyes. "Nowhere you can dodge to now, Nettle!"
He acts fast, throwing two rocks. One high and one to the left. I'm quick to respond with ducking down and shifting my weak body to the right.
Ok Nettle, you can do this. Keep focused and keep the rhythm. I don't think he's got much rubble left to throw at this point. Almost, almost...
More rubble. High, right, high, left, low, high!
Duck, lean left, duck, lean right, hop, duck!
I'm already panting and for a few terrifying seconds I wobble. As I crouch down and steady myself I feels tons of liquid pour down my face. I;d assume it to be rainfall, but no. It's sweat, the sweat of purest terror.
Ack! It all hurts so much...!
I struggle to keep balanced while Rammy seems like he's struggling to keep throwing what little rubble he's got left. We're both depleted, both desperate, both al but dead after so much constant suffering.
He throws the last bits of rubble as I get closer and closer. Left, right, left, right, high. But in his exhausted state it all misses me, landing with harmless splashes into the water. Will it matter though when he's gripping a machete, alert and ready to slice me?
It all comes down to this. I only get one chance at this, one attempt to land a perfect strike. One failure, and I'll be dead. But if it means being with Ranger again then-NO! I force the negative thoughts back into my mind, letting the hatred consume me.
"Sable needed you and you blew it!" I shriek. A horrible low blow, lower than low. But I can see how it instantly breaks his focus, making his face turn redder.
"Don't you dare say her name!" he roars, mad as a bull.
The flower platform finally moves into range and with the very last bit of strength I've got left I lunge myself right towards Rammy, swinging the axe down.
"BANZAI!"
"DIE!"
Pain explodes within my leg as I feel cold metal slice through it in one horrific instant. AARRRGGGHHHHHHH!
The pain... it's indescribable. My knee feels soaked in blood just like how my hair is matted heavily from rainwater. Something is sticking out that should never be outside my leg! Is... is my knee tendon slashed?! I scream and scream and scream.
The machete stuck in my leg makes me all the more shrill.
AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!
I fall hard, but as I fall screaming like a banshee the force of gravity brings the axe I'm still holding roughly down too. I hear a fleshly splat as I crumble to the ground, bleeding badly. I can't stop myself vomiting when I see how bloodsoaked my pants are. A fleshly, bloody mess is sticking out around the shredded knee area of my pants, everything mangled. Shit, shit, shit...
I'm already feeling very faint, barely registering what's going on around me. My leg hurts so horrifically that it's becoming numb, all feeling leaking out of me just as my blood is. Wiht every dribble, my life is slipping away.
I hyperventilate, though even then my breathing is weak. My eyes practically dead, I tilt my gaze up to look at Rammy. If this... if this is it... owwwwwwww... I'll look him in the eyes as I go.
Rammy staggers on the spot, his own face paling quickly. His shirt and jacket are quickly going from charcoal grey to a sickly, bloody red. More than it already was.
The axe stuck several inches deep into his chest is the obvious culprit. It must be right against his heart, or close to it. Certainly right through some bones. Nuts...
"I.. you... little..." he babbles, barely registering anything.
I slump over on the rock, hardly able to breath properly nor even blink right. The rainfall pounds upon me, only agony left in its wake. Rammy sways, some blood leaking from his mouth. With a final wheeze he falls backwards over the edge of the platform. It's only a moment before I hear a solid splash.
I hear a horrible growling and some frantic splashing as the growls suddenly get much louder and aggressive. I think I hear a scream besides my own, but I'm so far gone it's hard to know anything at all. My vision is blurring up, everything begging to turn white.
I whimper, sobbing out in agony as I flop over onto my back. I can't move a muscle anymore. I can hardly think. I'm dying ever so fast. The rain burns my face, a boom soon sounding which makes my ears throb.
"Was I... strong... enough...?" I choke out, hardly halfway to a whisper.
"LAD...TLMEN...PRES...TOR...FOURTH...MES...LE...SAI!"
I hardly hear what was just spoken. I feel like I'm almost gone. The sound of a loud engine fills the area as the rain begins to stop. The clouds vanish and the sun begins to rise. I think a hovercraft is starting to come down. Better hurry, I've not got long...
With what little life I still have, I just sob. Ranger's dead and it's all my fault. If I'd just taken the shot on Rammy, if I'd just kept my mouth shut. If... if I'd just not been so hesitant and reluctant to get my hands dirty...
"Ranger..." I sob, broken.
Everything goes white and then very dark. All I hear is the light flow of water and the increasingly distant engine sounds.
All I feel is my leg on fire, and the sensation of being frozen in place, suddenly picked up by something.
I croak out a gasp, everything becoming silent...
END OF DAY 10...
END OF THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES...
VICTOR
Nettle (District 7 Female)
THE FALLEN
2nd- Rammy (District 10 Male) - Struck in the chest with an axe, by Nettle. Finished off by Crocodile Mutts.
3rd- Gadget (District 3 Female) - Suicide via Nightlock.
4th- Marvel (District 1 Male) - Mauled by Mud Mutts.
5th- Cato (District 2 Male) - Hanged off of a tree with a rope, by Rammy.
6th- Urchin (District 4 Male) - Throat slashed with a kukri, by Marvel.
7th- Wood (District 7 Male) - Impaled by a Tree Mutt.
8th- Cinder (District 5 Female) - Struck with an axe, by Nettle.
9th- Glimmer (District 1 Female) - Blown up by landmines, by Gadget.
10th- Katniss (District 12 Female) - Skewered with a spear through the back, by Marvel.
11th- Lacey (District 8 Female) - Shot repeatedly with arrows, by Glimmer.
12th- Peeta (District 12 Male) - Beaten relentlessly, by Cato.
13th- Rue (District 11 Female) – Spear thrown into chest, by Wood.
14th- Clove (District 2 Female) - Drowned, by Nettle.
15th- Weldar (District 3 Female) - Asphyxiated with a rope, by Rammy.
16th- Jason (District 6 Male) – Slashed several times in the stomach with a scythe, by Cato.
17th- Sparky (District 5 Male) – Speared in the gut with a spear and then stabbed in the chest with a knife, by Wood.
18th- Sickle (District 9 Female) – Stabbed in the chest with a knife, by Glimmer.
19th- Thresh (District 11 Male) – Disembowelled with a machete, by Cato.
20th- Marina (District 4 Female) - Struck in the neck with an axe by Weldar.
21st- Miller (District 9 Female) – Knife thrown into back, by Clove.
22nd- Tamora (District 6 Female) – Stabbed repeatedly in the gut, by Glimmer.
23rd- Sable (District 10 Female) – Stuck in the skull with an axe, by Cato.
24th- Callico (District 8 Male) – Stabbed with a kukri, by Marvel.
ALSO DEAD
Ranger (District 7 Citizen) - Slashed and stabbed repeatedly with a machete, by Rammy.
TRIBUTE NOTES
Gadget: Coming off of Bloodline Betrayal, it honestly felt really strange to write for Gadget once again in her 'starting form'. Timid, crying a lot, hopeless and generally just a scared, miserable person. It's jarring to have written her as a much more developed, strong girl and then have to snap it back for the start in her debut as a non-Lead tribute, given besides her own timeline she'd always been a bloodbath tribute prior to this tale. As it happens, I really enjoyed writing for her in this one. I kinda feel that her 'starter self' works best as a side character than a major force given how she's mopey and miserable all the time. While she was certainly depressed I feel she ironically came off as less helpless than she was for the bulk of Wounded Warsong. Her use of the landmines was a good demonstration of her intelligence and I think proved key in several parts of the story. Especially the demise of Glimmer and the Career's supplies. Also, though, I really liked her and Urchin's dynamic; it always felt a nice mixture of natural, cute and endearingly awkward. As we know, Gadget isn't exactly gonna return the crush, but as friends they just clicked into place really nicely. I think maybe I could have had Gadget do just a bit more given she reached 3rd but with this being her 'starting form' I feel it makes sense she was a bit more low-key sometimes. Her death being from suicide I felt in two minds over, but I think it works out due to her broken state and how not only was this an even more deadly timeline than her own 74th Games was, but also she had no source of comfort to give her that extra push. I think taking the most painless way out than try to survive only to certainly meet a grisly end was in-character. Anyway, overall I'd say Gadget was decent in this story. Her original death was going to be in the same rank but fairly different... but, more on that post-story!
Rammy: I don't know what it is about this tough guy from Ten, but I always find him to be one of my favourites to write for. Partly I just like D10 but perhaps also how he's a sort of 'well intentioned extremist' amongst the non-Careers. More pragmatic and sometimes tragic, with his POV at least understandable. I guess it all comes together for him to generally be somebody dynamic and able to add something to what is going on. In this story I'd say he certainly added a lot as a long-term anti-villain of sorts. Putting up a good fight any time he showed up, making some kills and brutalising Cato. Indeed, any timeline where Rammy is able to get his hands on Cato will have the murder typically end up going in that sort of fashion... eep. Now, Rammy was a character who benefited from backlash. Meaning, due to some aspects of the story being particularly unpopular some change-ups were put into place and it resulted in Rammy switching rankings with Marvel as well as gaining an extra role in this tale. That being, the fact he ended up killing Ranger. As Nettle put it, he (sort of) became Cato in a sense. It was interesting to explore the emotional reactions to this from both Rammy and Nettle, though as they were the only tributes left alive, and also as the Capitol needs their Victor, it was a discussion that could not really be overly drawn out. Least of all with the rising water. Rammy may be dead, but one could certainly say even after his death his actions will continue to effect the nation of Panem. After all, he killed Ranger AKA a civilian who was neither reaped nor a volunteer. This isn't exactly what could be brushed off as a 'small error', oh no... in any case, Rammy takes 2nd in what I'd call his best role in The Nameless Chronicles thus far.
Notes on Nettle (and Ranger) will be done after the story is over. Until then, we still have two chapters to close things out. Stay tuned! :D