Sorry for it taking a while for this next update! It seems like life is conspiring against me getting in front of a computer!

Two chapters left in this story!


The air was frigid as I squatted in the middle of the fern covered meadow forcibly hitting two rocks together. The darker rock called obsidian I had been working on for over an hour now and it was beginning to take shape. Using the other lighter and sturdier rock to chip off small pieces of the obsidian, I was able to get it razor sharp and in the resembling shape of a small black knife. Small cuts covered my hands from the shards I was chipping off, but it didn't matter. Today was day fifteen and it was going to all end soon.

For the last three days I led Evelyn on a wild goose chase through the dense jungle. Everything in the Arena was alive with activity. Mosquitoes the length of my little finger buzzed much too close around me for comfort. Brightly colored frogs that I had not seen previously— probably because of my being on the ground so little—hopped around on the spongy ground in plentiful numbers. Dragon flies easily six inches long hovered lazily around the meadow and attempted to land on me continually.

Now I was at my destination, exhausted from my minimal sleep, famished because I could find very little to eat on the run, surprisingly only a little thirsty because of the easily ready fresh water at dawn, and going completely mental. The District Seven boy was following me around. Those wounds to his arm and chest dripped blood as he sneered and mocked me at every turn. His mostly transparent form grinned wickedly at me as I tried not to say anything back. If the Capitol knew I was crazy they'd lock me up. They might just let me kill Evelyn and then chain me up in some 'psychiatric' torture chamber where I would never escape.

It wasn't just Seven though. Garnet from One, the girl from Three, Quinn, the girl from Seven, Hock, Wren, and Bay were haunting me everywhere I turned. All of them had the wounds they had died with— even Wren, who had been eaten to death by birds, now had hundreds of gaping divots all over her body that leaked a never ending stream of blood. How on earth was I supposed to sleep with Evelyn hunting me and the quite literal ghosts of my past shouting in my ears? How could I add another ghost to that number? It's not like I could just let Evelyn kill me though! My family needed me. Without the extra food I brought in they were probably starving to death by now. And they would haunt me too if they died.

Fear of imminent death made my heart stutter and then sprint again. If I killed Evelyn I would get my Victor's interview and crown the day after tomorrow. Approximately two days after that I would be in District Twelve and reunited with my family. I would have to find a way to be a part of Haymitch's life without being his friend or girlfriend. If it meant I had to be his younger brother Sawyer's new friend or even helping Mrs. Abernathy cleaning around her house for free I felt like I would do anything to be a part of my first former best friend's life.

Unknowingly I broke the thin yet extremely sharp blade into four inch horizontal halves in my distracted thinking. All of the ghosts laughed except for Bay and Wren who looked at me worriedly. I had no weapon.

A bush rustled from behind and I slowly turned towards it.

Evelyn stood across the meadow from me. Her image was shifting from living human to ghost. One moment Evelyn was stepping through the ferns and the next she was floating over them. Each time she looked like a ghost however, she had no wound as of yet. Neither of us said a word as we stared each other down. Those clear mint green eyes met my stormy blues and though Evelyn stood thirty feet away, I could feel the regret rolling off of her in continuous waves. With a deliberately slow draw Evelyn's appallingly sharp hook-knife appeared in her hand.

My legs moved before my head processed the information. Faster and faster I ran onto the wide trail I had found when the boy from Three tried to kill me days ago. Well, as rapidly as a person could run in mud anyway.

Evelyn's footsteps were gaining on me until something slammed into my legs. The force and weight of it dragged me into the dark mud; bits of earth clung to my face and clothing as I was forcibly flipped over onto my back. Futilely I struggled as Evelyn— who had been the tackler— pinned my arms and legs. The glinting hook-knife was raised above her head to deliver the killing blow. The ghosts fell silent as they watched, some eagerly, some with horror.

"It just has to be this way, Twelve." Evelyn whispered sadly, her eyes pleading for my forgiveness.

I nodded.

The gleaming hook-knife began its plunge to my heart.

Something with cobalt blue and black scales collided into Evelyn. The force sent her flying into a nearby tree trunk off to my left. Her knife flew from her hand off into the dense foliage. With it my poltergeists disappeared.

For a single moment I laid in the mud and took in the monster before me. It was almost impossible to tell how long the snake muttation was from my perspective. The serpent was as thick around as me. Horrible pale blue eyes stared at me hungrily from its triangle viper head.

Both Evelyn and I scrambled quickly to our feet. The muttation coiled its large muscular tail around a tree as it prepared to strike. It must be using the trees to keep itself balanced when it attacked. That was crucial information for defeating the monster. We had to draw it out its habitat into the open meadow. Once more I would have to trust the girl from Four.

Keeping my eyes on the snake I murmured a single word, "Right."

Somehow understanding the meaning, Evelyn replied, "Left."

At the same unspoken moment I dived into the foliage on my right as Evelyn went left. The snake struck as fast as lightning. It was so fast. If I hadn't expected the attack I wouldn't have known it happened. Evelyn clutched her shoulder which now had large puncture wounds. A forlorn wail escaped my throat before I could stop it.

The muttation gave me a murderous glare over with its slitted eyes. Scrambling to my feet I yanked Evelyn to hers and sprinted back to the meadow. It was like dragging along someone with only one leg. How badly could her arm be effecting her legs?

"Titania, the wound." Evelyn croaked out.

Safe in the meadow, I stopped running, "What?"

"It's swelling."

Searching the meadow floor I found the four inch broken stone blade I had meant to kill Evelyn with earlier, "Keep your eyes on the trees while I have a look."

All it took was a flick of the wrist to slice through the fabric around the bite. This obsidian rock stuff was fabulous! I should have used it earlier. Focusing back on the wounds it was plain to see that the skin around the punctures was now three times the size they ought to be. That muttation's venom was going to cause swelling until it reached Evelyn's heart and cause it to swell inside of her. At the rate this was spreading, Evelyn might only have ten minutes of life left.

"We'll figure it out; just help me kill this thing." I pleaded.

"It's there." Evelyn pointed with her good arm.

Looking in the direction she indicated, I saw a gigantic blue tail coiling around a thick tree trunk on the very edge of the meadow. I urged Evelyn to the center of the Meadow. We watched the giant snake futilely lunge for us. The muttation couldn't reach us with its tail wrapped around a tree.

Furiously the blue serpent slithered out of the jungle and into the meadow. A low and hungry hiss vibrated the air as the snake prepared another strike. Evelyn and I dodged to the sides just in time and I rolled to my feet before charging the snake. Leaping high onto its neck, I gripped my arms behind the things triangular head. There was too much muscle in the way for me to choke it.

In an attempt to throw me off the snake thrashed its head around. The beast's jaws snapped at me, narrowly missing my thigh. Valiantly I clung to the scaly neck for dear life. If it threw me I was dead.

Using its tail, the snake swatted me off scaly back. Skidding twenty through the ferns, I knew my lip was cut and I would be bruised for days. I growled in red tinged anger. Winding closer, the snake hissed. Suddenly I realized what had slashed my lip.

All it took was the flick of the wrist. The broken obsidian knife blade disappearing through the muttation's double fist sized right eye. With a ground trembling crash the blue snake collapsed dead. In theory I had been expecting the scaly corpse to continue writhing or something dramatic. Apparently the snake was just going to fall over and die.

A couple yards from me Evelyn was just visible through the ferns. Lying on her side, Evelyn gasped for air. Quickly I was at her side. The swelling was starting to inflame a lung from the sound of it. The fight with the muttation couldn't have been more than five minutes long. So that meant one very sobering thing: Evelyn only had five left.

"Kill me." Evelyn panted through the agony clogging her voice, "Please."

Everything I saw turned blood red and my ghosts returned. The Seven's were taunting me. The girl from Three looked like if she could kill me she could. Garnet egged me on as if it was an arm wrestling match and not a matter of life and death. Quinn just smirked silently. To my left Wren was begging me through torn lips not to let Evelyn continue to suffer.

A ghostly hand rested on my right shoulder and I looked to see Bay crouched down beside me. The red in my vision cleared at his ghostly touch. Seeing him again chased away some of the numbness that'd been battling for dominance over the fear that I was so incredibly close to dying.

Bay's trademark friendly smile crossed his handsome face, "Don't listen to them, they don't know you like I do. I know what you've accidentally done all over again. I know you didn't mean to, but I'm starting to wonder if you just can't help it. First me, then Wren— Titania for the sake of Panem, stop making friends in dire situations."

As soon as Bay said it, I knew it was true. Despite my best intentions, and the fact that we both were trying to kill each other, it was the irrevocable truth. Evelyn was my friend.

"We both know what you are going to do now. I just wish you wouldn't." Bay chuckled and stood up, "Don't worry about the others, I'll take them with me."

True to his word the ghosts vanished. I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked down at Evelyn's giant bite. It occurred to me that there was no choice. So I did just what Bay wished I wouldn't do. I started sucking the venom out of Evelyn's shoulder.

"What in the—,"

"I'm saving your life." I snapped after spitting out a mouthful of poison, "You can thank me later."

The cut on my lower lip started to sting. Much to my and Evelyn's disappointment, sucking the venom out didn't hardly phase the progress of the inflammation. Soon after that, my started to swell up rather quickly as Evelyn lost use of one of her lungs. After a few minutes it was impossible to suck anymore because my mouth was swollen shut.

"You've just condemned yourself to death, Twelve." Evelyn gasped.

Heart thumping, I tried to breathe through my nose. The venom itself didn't hurt; it was the pain of everything expanding and having nowhere to really go that caused the mind numbing agony. Reality began to set in as my nose began to painfully swell. Once my nose closed shut from the bloating, I wouldn't be able to breathe. I was going to suffocate to death.

It was obvious that Evelyn's heart was beginning to inflame. Muted moans escaped her lips as she clutched at her chest with her good hand. That and Evelyn started accidentally kicking me as her legs twitched in violent fits. My nose swelled shut and I began to panic.

Naturally, I suppose anyone would freak out if they were in my position. Loads of pain, slowly becoming a human balloon, and no longer being able to breathe caused a natural state of hysteria. My lungs started burning from lack of fresh oxygen and I knew that within the next minute I was going to be joining Bay wherever he went with the other ghosts. I must have fallen over onto my side at some point because for a single moment Evelyn and I stared at each other from our places on the Meadow floor.

I'm sorry you got poisoned too, her bright mint green eyes whispered through the overwhelming agony.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you, my cloudy blues replied with a single tear.

Then my friend seized up. Evelyn arched her back in pain as her heart struggled to continue its desperate plight to beat. Unconsciousness was creeping up on me. The ferns around us bent and swayed in a chaotic dance that reflected our inner panic with wild accuracy. Seconds of precious life slipped by as darkness set in around me.

Soon a strange peace that I couldn't fight off settled over me while watching Evelyn struggle as if through a dark tunnel. Vaguely the burning in my lungs was disappearing. The darkness was stealing it away. The darkness that I knew all too well; Death seemed to have spared my life that fateful day Haymitch and I found the brush pond. Now it was time to pay the Piper in full.

With a final shudder seen through my dim vision, Evelyn ceased moving. There was a vague boom and then there was nothing. The same darkness I'd met at the brush pond closed in completely like a thick menacing shroud.

As if someone had flipped on a light my eyes opened to a strange world. Everything was a soft white. Interestingly there were no shadows and yet everything was still clearly defined. In a semi-circle around me were twenty three familiar people dressed in modest white clothing. The tributes from the forty-eighth Hunger Games.

Each one had a flawless beauty about them now. Every injury healed all limbs and joints returned to their proper frame. Even their acne scars had disappeared. I, however, was still in my tribute uniform and looked like I had been wrestling colossal knife wielding pigs in the mud. Feeling self-conscious under their gaze, I shifted uncomfortably.

Then, one by one or in pairs, the allies I had lost during the Bloodbath and the tributes I had considered enemies all came forward and shook my hand in warm welcome to this white world. Part of the tributes stayed back until the others had finished their greetings. Those I had been friends with in the Arena— or at least friendly with— swarmed me in a group hug. Probably the best I'd ever had.

Portia shook my hand with a large happy smile, "We honestly weren't expecting you so soon."

Antony patted my shoulder, "You did well. Titania, you showed the Districts how to get past their differences. You also showed them how to unite together and how it would make them stronger. I am forever in your debt."

I tried to speak, but couldn't. Antony had died to save my allies— which in turn saved me— so wasn't I in his debt?

Pretty amber eyes swimming in joyful tears, Wren kissed both of my cheeks, "Ya shouldn' be 'ere, but I'm selfish tha' way, sa I'm glad."

Laughing genuinely for the first time since I'd met her, Evelyn lightly punched my shoulder, "I second that motion."

Somehow even more handsome than before, Bay came forward and wrapped me into a bone crushing embrace, "I told you not to do it."

"I know."

Bay chuckled as he pulled back, "Titania Fellcrest you are beyond stubborn."

"No," I giggled sarcastically, "who'd have thought?"

A beeping sound that seemed to come from everywhere ruined the perfectly good moment.

"Where on earth is that coming from?"

Bay frowned, "It looks like you aren't staying."

"What?"

"See you again, just not so young next time, okay?" Bay half-grinned.

"Bay, what on earth are you talking about?" I demanded.

Then as if someone had grabbed me by the back of the jacket I was yanked out of the white world and backinto the ominous darkness. The beeping persisted much to my annoyance. When my eyes reopened it was to a shadowy white room that smelled like antiseptic.

Crowding all around me were white clad doctors chattering excitedly so loudly that it was really irritating. My muscles ached the way they did if I slept too long, but there seemed to be nothing else wrong with me. The annoyingly loud doctors parted for another, obviously their head surgeon or something, who smiled tiredly while brimming with success.

"Welcome back, Titania!" the surgeon spoke with the strange Capitol accent.

"Back?" Nausea wrestled into my stomach as I tried to sit up.

"You gave us quite the scare!" It was almost as if I hadn't said anything at all, "At first it was looking impossible to bring you back to life— miracles do happen all the time though— so it seems you have had one!"

Shock flooded me as the meaning of his words set in, "You brought me back to life?"

Nods from the doctors all around except the surgeon, "By tomorrow you should be well enough to be crowned Victor! Isn't that exciting?"

I wanted to throw up. I had actually died. Not as in partway or had a brush with death. No, I'd been the stone cold, only a soul, no longer occupating my body type of dead. The Capitol brought me back to be their prized Victor, to train future tributes, and to live the remainder of my forced existence regretting everything they made me become.

It's not like I could go back though, so I smiled joyously, "That's amazing!"

"Now you should sleep." The surgeon checked his clipboard and continued his monologue, "I know you don't feel tired now, but sleep is fundamental for your recovery. We will have doctors watching you tirelessly to make sure you don't die once more."

The surgeon was treating me like some dumb animal not worth paying attention to. Like I was beneath his high status notice. Pure unadulterated loathing bubbled up inside of me at going through all I had just to be treated like this. The urge to jump out of this weird hospital bed and beat the pompous ego out of his snobby Capitol body was overwhelming. However, attacking a doctor decidedly wasn't going to get me out of the Capitol any faster.

With a fake happy nod I closed my eyes. All it took was some slow steady breathing and occasionally flicking my eyes underneath the lids to fake believably deep sleep. Tiptoeing out of the white room, the doctors and their surgeon left. Except for one who sat in a chair as the door closed and from the sound of it began to read a book.

Titania, you might as well actually go to sleep, I grudgingly admitted.

Tomorrow I would be crowned whether I wanted to be or not. The Capitol had to have their Victor and I was the only one who could fulfill that order at the moment. I might as well be strong enough to not fall flat on my face in front of the whole nation. That would be embarrassing.


TheGirlWhoWasOnFire21: Don't worry about there being no Haymitch! He gets the whole last chapter in his POV!