Athenia Graceum(District 9)
I can't say for sure how long we've been running, but the last of the cannons sounded a decent bit ago so it's been a while. We started out good, but Gigi has been lagging behind for the last while and I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. We have to be safe, at least for the time so I guess we should stop, that way I can check on Gigi.
"Gigi are you ok, do we need to stop?"
She makes her way toward me, a pained look etched on her face before doing her best to hide whatever it is that's wrong. "No i'm fine, and we should keep moving. I still don't feel…..GAH" Her retort is cut short as she drops to her knees and grabs her side in pain, tears streaking down her beautiful face.
I'm by her side in an instant removing her vest and checking for wounds, and within a few seconds my worst fears are realized as I notice the deep crimson stain coating the bottom of her shirt. Rolling it up I'm shocked by the gash in her side I find hidden beneath the soiled garment. The gash isn't overly long but it deep, and with the pressure of her vest removed it begins to bleed profusely. I rip her shirt and quickly apply the cloth to the wound, hoping against hope I can stop the blood.
"How did this happen?"
"I cut myself during the scuffle with Elsa. Though I didn't know it was this bad"
"Why didn't you say something about this?!"
"I didn't want you to worry, and it didn't seem that bad until we'd been running for a while. At that point I don't think it was safe to stop, so I stayed quiet."
"That was stupid, if we'd stopped earlier it would have been much easier for me to fix it. Now I don't know if we have the stuff i'd need to do it."
She manages a weak smile and a slight laugh, both of which cause my heart to jump into my throat. "Athenia it wouldn't matter, at this point I can't even feel my legs anymore. I knew it was bad, I just didn't know how bad until we stopped."
"Stop talking like that Gigi." I feel the stirrings of tears stinging the corner of my eyes but do my best to contain them, but what she says next crushes what little resolve I have left.
"It's too late for the Athenia, i'm so sorry but this is the end for me."
My composure breaks with a soft whimper before remembering we have new supplies, grabbing the bag I quickly dump the contents to the ground and feverishly start to sort through the contents. "Weapons, food, water, a blanket all of this is useless. There has to be some kind of medicine in here, where is it? WHERE!"
I totally lose it and begin to sob when I feel Gigi's hand on my shoulder, her reassuring touch causing my sobbing to intensify. Turning to her I throw myself into her arms and bury my face in her shoulder, the clammy feeling of her skin standing in stark contrast to its normal vibrant heat.
We sit here in eachothers arms for who knows how long as her life slowly ebbs away before I hear her speak, almost as faint as a whisper but more crushing than anything i've heard in my short life. "Athenia I love you, never forget that. No matter what else happens I love you, and I wouldn't trade any of the special moments we've had. I'd die like this a thousand times if it means I get to share even a small part of my life with you."
I can't think of anything to say, how do I tell her that she's the most important person i've ever met? How can I say the words that I know saying will mean she's really dying? "Gigi I…..I love you more then anything too, and i'm so sorry I didn't say something earlier. How much time did we lose because I was too timid to tell you how I felt, too afraid of rejection to say what I needed to say."
She reaches her hand up and cups my face, a look of pure love in her eyes. "Don't think about that now, just let me go with your beautiful smile in my eyes and the taste of your lips on mine one last time."
Smiling down at her despite the tears in my eyes I lean in and we share one final love filled kiss as the last of her strength drains and she falls limp in my arms, the warmth of her lips evaporating into mine as she dies. A second later the worst sound i've ever heard rings out through the arena and finally confirms to me that i'm truly alone.
~BOOM~
Verity Sangster(District 1)
It's taken a little work but I think I've finally finished sorting through the supplies from the feast, and the game makers must be angling for a semi quick end to the games with what they sent in for us. Aside from a small amount of food it's almost entirely weapons, and a couple suits of body armour. Lynn has been off looking for Vitaly and Callum since the feast quieted down but I don't think she's had much luck in finding them.
"Verity, you need to come see this." Exasperated and totally devoid of any idea what could possibly be important right now I still make my way toward Lynn, though without an ounce of urgency. That quickly changes when I see who she's standing over. Sprawled out near the smiling carcass of Scythe is VItaly, arrow shafts jutting out of his corpse like tiny flags.
"What do you imagine happened to him Verity?" I instantly recall the Callum had a bow and quiver during the feast and seething anger immediately surges through my veins. After a moment it becomes fairly clear to me what happened, and despite the implications I can't help but admire the ingenuity pulling it off had to entail.
"If I had to guess i'd say Callum decided to strike before we took care of him."
"You think Callum did this?"
"Well he did take the bow from the feast table, and I don't think Gigi or Athenia have the skill to pull it off. Besides he's inconspicuously absent and the only one with the means and motive to have pulled it off."
The look on Lynn's face is a mix of disgust and anger, and for the first time I really can't blame her for it. Callum has live much longer then he has any right to, and even killed his district partner to do it. Even in the games there are some taboos you don't break unless you have to, and killing your district partner especially one who's an ally is right at the top.
"Ok so what do we do about Callum then? I don't know about you but i'm way past ready to wipe his sumg grin off his face?" Now this is the Lynn I need, brash, fiery, upset just the kind of tool to take care of Callum. Before I can answer though the crash of a cannon rings out through the arena signaling another dead tribute.
~BOOM~
Lynn turns to face me, a look of comical hope mixed with the fury still etched on her face. "Is it too much to hope that was Callum falling off the face of the arena?" I let out a small chuckle at the thought of Callum managing to find a way to fall off the arena, if anyone could pull it off I have faith it's him. Still I know it's not likely the cannon was his. "I wouldn't bet on it, there's no way we could get that lucky."
Nodding she turns and heads back toward the feast table, deciding I didn't have anything else to do I follow, the intent on forming a plan for Callum burning in my mind as I leave Vitaly's body behind. "So Lynn what do you think we should do?"
She seems to ponder this for a moment, though we both know full well what her answer is going to be. In truth there's only one answer to give and after making me wait for a few minutes she finally give it. "We hunt the little shit down and we kill him, simple as that."
"Sounds good to me, the only question is which way do we go? We're as close to the middle of the arena as you can get on a line, so do we go east or west to find him?"
"Both, you go east and i'll go west. Whoever finds him gets the privilege of ending him."
"Ok but that creates another problem, suppose one of us does kill him then we have to go traipsing around the arena to find one another to have it out. I don't know about you but hunting for one person in this place isn't my idea of a good time."
"We come back here. If we see his face in the sky then we come back here and finish it out."
"What if he kills one of us?"
"Same plan, after a while he'll either stumblen on one of us heer or the game makers will force him to."
"Ok sounds like a plan, and Lynn. I'd really like to be the one to kill him but if it can't be me I hope it's you, after what he's said about your sister and all."
"Thanks Verity, I feel the same way."
We each take what we want from the table and head our separate ways, the chance to kill Callum the only thing keeping either of us from stabbing the other in the back. In the end I know i'll be the one to kill Callum, and Lynn in the end though I won't really enjoy that one. Still when it's all said and done i'm going to be a victor my family can be proud of.
Callum Quinn(District 2)
It's been five hours or so since the last cannon fired and all I can do is wonder if I could possibly be that lucky? I mean could they really have turned on each other already? It's probably a futile hope but I'd still like to think that cannon belonged to Verity or Lynn. After all only having to deal with one of them would be quite the boon to my chances, though it's a forgone conclusion i'm going to win anyway having the road be easy wouldn't hurt my feelings any.
Sitting down in the shade of a building I casually dump the contents of my back out and rummage through for some food. It takes some doing but I manage to find a small bag of nuts and some crackers stashed inside a small package with some matches. Gleefully tossing a few of the nuts into my mouth I take a moment to check my weapons.
The bow shines brilliantly in the early evening sun and I still have the majority of my arrows, the exceptions being the three I burried in Vitaly before making my escape. The look of pure shock on his face was priceless, it's as if he thought I didn't know they were planning to kill me. In the end though I got the last laugh as he lay there bleeding out in the water while I made my escape, and in the end i'll have the last laugh with Verity and Lynn. It's so sad to think both of them will die having never known the exaltation that would have been a night with me, oh well it's there loss. Once I win all the pretty girls will be lining up to throw themselves at me.
I sit back to ponder which girl from back in two i'll get to have first, or maybe i'll be bold and go after a pair of sisters. There's a few sets of twins back in two I'm sure would jump at the idea of a night with a victor so why not enjoy the rub I get from winning, after all it'll only last until I train my first victor next year. I'm so lost in my fantasy I don't even here the approach until she's almost on top of me.
Grabbing my bow and quickly lining up a shot i'm surprised to see Lynn making her way out of the brush and heading for me. I expected to have more time before one of them found me, ow well I guess this will just be over that much quicker I suppose.
"Lynn so good to see you. Come to reconsider my offer?"
"Not on your life Callum. I just figured I owed you for all you've done."
"What i've done? All i've done was show your sister a good time, offer you the same chance, and remove one of the biggest obstacles to a victory for all of us. So tell me how is that a bad thing?"
"See that's it right there. That smug attitude is why you have to die, well and for the way you talk about my sister. I just naturally lump that into your obvious character flaws. Now if you just lay down your weapon I promise to make it quick, not that you deserve it."
I laugh at the sheer stupidity of her suggestion, though I give her props for having the gall to suggest it she has to know I have the advantage. She's still a good distance away so the trident she has won't be much use to her, it also puts her in a position where I can get a few shots off before she gets to me. Honestly she's going to be dead long before she could ever be a threat.
"What was it you said to me, not on your life right? Well there's your answer, so come and get me."
Lynn Celtic(District 4)
He's confident and in his position I would be too, he's got the advantage of a distance weapon and clear line of sight. That is as long as we stay positioned like we are, however if I can turn him to his left it'll put the sun at my back and right in his face not to mention putting a wall on his side. If he doesn't see it coming I can have this fight wrapped up in short order.
I begin to move to my right and as expected he keeps his arrow trained on me the whole time, his fingers flexing with the anticipation of the battle to come. Within moments I have him where I want him and he immediately realizes his error.
With a slight flourish I ready my trident for battle as he squints in my direction, doing his best to keep me in his sights. With my advantage in full effect I let out a screech and charge in, trident effortlessly spinning in tune with my body as I go. He lets loose his first shot and it sails harmlessly over my head, and his hastily fired second shot doesn't fair much better. He manages to get a third shot off that connects with my shoulder but at this point the pain is irrelevant, I smell blood and like a shark i'm going to claim my prize.
I barrel into him sending us both sprawling onto the soft wet sand below. The charge had the added effect of tossing his bow and scattering the arrows even at the cost of my trident which now lays several feet from me in the shadow of the building. I take advantage of my attack and quickly gain the upper hand, a series of hard blows coming down on his face and chest.
His retaliation is swift and in a flash I find myself on the receiving end of a crude but effective arm bar. As he applies pressure I can feel my arm straining against the hold, crying out for it to cease least my arm be ripped from its socket. Moving on instinct I roll into the move breathing an immediate sigh of relief as the pressure ceases, continuing to roll I find myself in the perfect position and deliver a quick jab to his groin, eliciting a strained cry from his lips in the process.
Having won back the upper hand I waste no time in going for the kill. With Callum still writhing in pain I make my way behind him place him in a choke hold. As I begin to apply pressure I can't help but feel this is an appropriate end for Callum, after all it was Lilac that taught me this move back when we first started training. As the seconds tick by his flailing and thrashing start to abade and before long he's a limp noodle in my arms.
Laying him down on the ground I take a brief moment to celebrate my triumph before deciding on the final blow. With all the force I can muster I bring the heel of my foot down hard on his throat crushing it with a sickening though satisfying crack. As I bring my foot up for I second strike i'm rewarded with the sound i've waited to here since the first time I met him, the satisfying and rewarding crash of the cannon.
~BOOM~
Celine Minos(Head Game Maker)
The tribute to the fallen has just wrapped up and for all intensive purposes we've entered the end phase of the games. Lynn is making camp near site of her battle with Callum while Verity has started making her way back to the waterfall. The only wild card in all of this is Athenia who hasn't left the site of Gigi's death, save for a short time when we came to recover the body.
"Jerome be a dear and get the frog mutts ready for tomorrow. We'll need them to drive Athenia to the fight."
"Of course mam." He turns to the mutt master and begins making the preparations for tomorrow. It goes without saying I don't want them to kill her if they don't have to, at this stage it's better to simply let the games play themselves out. If Athenia won't cooperate though i'll need an imaginative way to put an end to her, hence the one mutt we created that hasn't played a role yet.
As I watch the screen and wide eyed young girl approaches me, a look f sheer fear plastered on her face. "Yes?!"
"Mam the President is holding on line one for you." With a curt nod in her direction she scurries off, back to whatever small corner of the place she feels safe in as I head to my office to take the call. After all it's never good to keep the President waiting.
A/N: Well we've made it to the final 3 and the final showdown is just around the corner. So what did everyone think?
1. Did Callums death meet you expectations?
2. Most surprising top 3 tribute?
3. Least surprising top 3 tribute?
4. How do you think the final 3 will pay out?
5. Finally who do you think will win?
I hope to have the next chapter up around Monday or Tuesday and the epilogue by Friday or Saturday at the latest. The delay will coincide with the prologue of my next SYOT which should go up around Wednesday so keep an eye out if you're interested in submitting to it.
Thanks again for reading and all of your support and remember reviews are greatly appreciated, and aw always I look forward to seeing all of you at the next update :D
Death Order
24. Liana- Killed by Verity
23. Caspian- Killed by Verity
22. Braden- Killed by Rudra
21. Annika- Killed by Scarlett
20. Tate- Killed by Callum
19. Scarlett- Killed by Lynn
18. Marcus- Killed by Vitaly
17. Hunter-Killed by Vitaly
16. Clifford- Killed by Lilac
15. Lilac- Killed by Charlotte
14. Kradus- Killed by Scythe
13. Reina- Killed by Elsa
12. Rudra- Killed by Mutts
11. Nox- Killed by a fall
10. Elsa- Killed by Athenia
09. Arya- Killed by Verity
08. Charlotte- Killed by Lynn
07. Scythe- Killed by Vitaly
06. Vitaly- Killed by Callum
05. Gigi- Died of blood loss
04. Callum- Killed by Lynn
Current Kill Count
3- Verity
3- Lynn
1- Athenia
3- Vitaly
2- Callum
1- Mutts
1- Fall
1- Blood Loss
1- Rudra
1- Scarlett
1- Charlotte
1- Scythe
1- Elsa
1- Lilac