Facing the inside of the Cornucopia, Marlin yelled, "Come face me you cowards!" Supreme turned as Vengeance pulled out her metal spear. He smiled wickedly at us and barked, "I'm waiting." Marlin turned to me and I muttered, "It's gotta be a trap." He cocked his head and answered, "Maybe..." Marlin faced the Careers once more and bellowed, "Come and meet us in battle." Supreme chuckled and gestured to the inside of the Cornucopia. "Whenever you're ready," he responded with a smug grin. Marlin frowned and his eyes narrowed. "Don't you try to trick me you slippery fool!" Marlin challenged. Supreme raised his hands defensively and said, "No tricks. Only a fair fight." I placed a hand on Marlin's shoulder. "He's lying. If they're not going to face us out in the open, then we should flush them out," I suggested quietly. Marlin frowned deeper. "How?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't want to waste the smoke bomb but it might be the only solution," I replied. Marlin put his hands on his hips and shouted to the Careers, "Why then, if there are no tricks or traps, do you refuse to face us out here?" Supreme shifted uncomfortably and consulted with Vengeance. This time it was she who answered, "Fine. We will join you outside."
Carefully, the Careers stepped forward. However, when they got to a certain point, they leaped forward as if scaling a large gap. Alarmed, Marlin and I drew our weapons and took up defensive stances. Supreme and Vengeance landed gracefully from their leap and looked us both in the eye. "You're the runt who killed Sapphire and Aqua aren't you?" Vengeance growled at me. I smirked and replied, "That would be me, Your Highness." She grinned at me and spat, "Then I will enjoy your death." Then, both Supreme and Vengeance charged us.
I deflected Vengeance's first jab with the front of my shield. The way her spear harmlessly slid away from me was pleasing. I swung Sapphire's sickle at her knees hoping to connect early on. I heard Supreme and Marlin clash violently. At the last possible second, Vengeance struck my blade with the bottom of her spear, parrying my blow. Anticipating a counter strike, I raised my shield. Vengeance leaped upward, raising her spear over her head, attempting a downward stab at my skull. I jerked my shield up, managing to halt her strike. Vengeance landed awkwardly against my shield and I shoved her back. The Career stumbled backward and nearly lost her balance. As she recovered shakily, I lunged forward in a stab at Vengeance's midsection. She hopped to the right, avoiding my blow, then swung the shaft of her spear at my side. It connected and forced me to the ground. I felt my torso become bruised from the blunt impact, but quickly scrambled to my feet. Vengeance smirked at me and began to step away from me. "You're scared of me, eh?" I scoffed. She smiled even wider, which made me nervous. I brought my shield up, expecting a different attack. Once she was 10 paces away, Vengeance reared back and flung her spear in a perfect spiral toward my face. I barely had enough time to jerk my shield in front of my head. I felt the surprisingly forceful push of the spear against my metal shield as the disk was wrenched from my grasp. It took me a moment to realize that Vengeance was diving for my shield, but once I saw her action, I jabbed with Sapphire's sickle. The blade stuck in Vengeance's right calf. She wailed and sprawled on the ground. She groped forward just enough to grab my shield, which she pulled to her body and threw over her head. I brought back my weapon and swung downward and struck the shield as hard as I could. Vengeance nearly lost her grip from the force of my blow, and I could tell her wound was taking its toll on her stamina. Realizing how immobile her right leg was, I stepped forward, grabbed the top of the shield she held, and began to pull on it. Vengeance shrieked as she struggled to maintain a hold on her only weapon. I placed my foot on her torso for more leverage and heaved backward. It was enough force to free the shield from Vengeance's grasp, and enough to send me tumbling back. I regained my footing and watched my foe crawl toward her spear, two feet away from her hand. I lunged forward, releasing a war cry, and slashed at Vengeance's arm. My sickle managed to slice through her bicep, leaving her arm bloody and mangled. She screamed again and halted her desperate crawl. I frowned at her as she gave up and was still. I swallowed the vomit in my throat and finished the job with a stab to the heart. A cannon sounded. I separated myself from Vengeance's corpse and turned to the other battle that still raged nearby.
Supreme was on the run. He was bolting for the mouth of the Cornucopia. Marlin followed, swinging his mace above his head and hollering. My ally's left arm was slick with blood but he didn't seem horribly wounded. Supreme seemed to be untouched, although his gait had a hitch in it. Both still held their weapons as they charged at the Cornucopia. I chased after them, several feet behind Marlin. I expected Supreme to leap over the same imaginary gap he had before, but instead, he stopped running just before the entrance of the Cornucopia. Supreme turned to face Marlin, cackling maniacally. Marlin halted a few feet from Supreme and I soon joined him. "What's going on?" I huffed. Marlin shook his head and pulled his smoke bomb from his pocket. "I'm ending this!" he yelled. Then, Marlin brought his arm back and threw the smoke bomb directly at Supreme's feet. A huge cloud of black smog erupted and my vision was drastically reduced. Marlin charged forward into the darkness that now surrounded us and I heard him crash into Supreme. Relying on my ears alone, I tried to discern what was happening. Something slid across the grass. A blanket or tarp maybe. Then I heard Supreme bellow and fall. There was a shuffle of feet and then a strained groan. This continued for a moment until I heard Supreme shout, "You're coming with me!" Marlin answered, "You're wrong!" Then, I heard a rough push and a series of strangled shouts from Supreme that seemed to get quieter and quieter. It was as if his voice was fading with distance. Had he fallen? Or run away?
The smoke took a few minutes to clear, during which I heard a loud thud, a cannon blast, and several moans from Marlin. I sighed when I heard his voice. Supreme must have died. Finally, when I could see again, I inched forward. Before me lay a huge chasm. It had clearly been dug by shovel. It had definitely taken a while to create. I saw no sign of either Marlin or Supreme. Then I heard another frantic groan from Marlin. "Chase! Chase, help! Down here!" he shrieked. I rushed forward and peered down into the abyss. At the bottom, which looked to be at least 70 feet below, was a crumpled corpse I recognized as Supreme. I winced at the sight of his mutilated body. Next to him was a large blanket that was designed to look like the prairie above. That was how they had camouflaged the trap. Then, I looked up and realized the Marlin was hanging from the edge beneath my feet. "Can you lift me?" he pleaded. He was hanging on by two hands, and his mace had fallen down with Supreme. He looked up at me with pained eyes and said, "Grab my hand and pull me up." I may not have been a Career or even the smartest strategist, but the position I was in was ideal. Only Marlin and I were still alive and only one of us would live through the Games. As much as Marlin begged, there was only one path I could take. I reached into my pocket and grasped Liz's bracelet. "For them," I muttered to myself. "What?" Marlin mumbled. I looked down at him and realized he was crying. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm sorry Marlin," I choked as I lifted my sickle. Marlin's eyes widened in understanding and he began to frantically try to lift himself up. His grip was loose and he was far from strong enough to bring the weight of his body up and over the edge of the pit. He struggled for a minute or two until I had finally worked up the nerve to finish him. I croaked, "I have to get home." Then, I swung my sickle and lopped off Marlin's left hand. He howled with pain, pulling his arm back to his body. The loss of strength caused his right hand to fail him. As he dropped from the edge and plummeted into the chasm, I closed my eyes and imagined my family. I would never have done anything so horrible or inhumane if it weren't for them. I would never have killed anyone, I would never have made it through the Hunger Games.
I turned away from the pit and opened my eyes. A cannon shot rang out. I smiled and let the tears flow down my face. I dropped to my knees and wept. "May I present the winner of the 47th Annual Hunger Games, Chase Wheeler of District 6!" I was home.
