Tillo Peters POV
Oh, no. Alayza died. Boo hoo. Miller too. I was ready to make trouble if the Capitol insisted I really give those two my best, but I didn't have to. Even the slave drivers didn't care about those ogres. Rest in peace, garbage. Pity the maggots that eat you.
District Eight POV
For once in thirty-three years, there was no mourning in Eight. The only one that had ever cared about Miller was his mother, and she had a new pride and joy in her cradle. Alayza's parents pissed off a Peacekeeper, so those two never had a single supporter in their District. If anything, they had our gratitude. Thanks to them, no one worthwhile had to die.
Natasha Trent POV
At any moment the Anthem would play. Alex was gathering wood for the fire and I was out keeping an eye out for intruders. We didn't expect anyone to come, since there were so many of us, but we were prepared. If the Careers came for us there would be a massive battle. A lot of us would probably die on both sides, but unlike them, we didn't relish death.
The rain forest was peaceful, yet full of noise. Birds sang in the treetops and frogs and insects chirped in the background. The smell of earth and plants permeated the air. It would have been a wonderful place to live under any other circumstances.
I didn't know what I'd do if I had to fight. After what I did last time, I wasn't sure I even deserved to win. Alex wanted me to go back to take care of Tyger, but he could do it on his own. Maybe he'd be a better guardian anyway. I'd shown how much I valued life.
Something rustled in the trees and I tensed. If it was the Careers, all I could hope for was to raise the alarm before they killed me. But then, if it was the Careers, they would see I was alone and not be afraid to come out. So who was it?
I hardly heard the grass rustle again before I felt the knife in by back. I gasped as I turned around and stabbed back at him with my own knife. It hit his chest and scraped off his ribs. I started to scream for help as I slammed the heel of my hand into Gordon's nose. Blood spurted and he ran off when he heard my allies coming toward us.
"Natasha!" Alex cried from the undergrowth. He reached my side as I collapsed. It didn't seem right that one knife wound could cause this much damage. It must have hit a blood vessel.
Alex knelt by me and pressed on the wound.
"You'll be all right," he said, but I knew I wouldn't. I didn't care about my life. They were what mattered.
"I love you," I said. "Tell Tyger I love her too. Take care of her." Alex was crying. He was going to miss me. Tyger would too. That meant I was a good person after all. What I did before was terrible, but I could still be good. That was how I wanted to die.
Barley Sturridge POV
Hazy bits and pieces of memories sewed themselves together in my brain. Mostly I remembered pain and killing. Sometimes it was me dying, and sometimes I was killing. I remembered a girl with a sword, and another one with no weapon. For some reason, it was the weaponless girl I remembered killing me. I was back, though, and I had to kill her before she killed me again. I hunted through the thick trees, looking for the girl.
When I found her, she looked different. She was younger, and she looked so much less dangerous. She was scared, I could tell. She was standing between the trees looking for something. Something to kill me with, probably. She looked around her and hesitantly called out.
"Haber? Emmaline?" she called. She flinched, like she expected someone else to come. When no one did, she resumed looking.
She's looking for someone to kill, I thought. She's calling for someone to come, and she'll kill them. I had to stop her. My blood boiled to spill hers before she killed anyone else. She was smaller than I was. If I got to her before she found her weapon I could kill her. I was close enough. I ran at her. She heard me coming, but there was nothing she could do. She tried to run, but I wouldn't be stopped. I caught her from behind and threw her to the ground. She started to mewl, like she wanted the mercy she never showed anyone else. My hand closed around a rock and I raised it over her head. She started to cry out words I didn't understand.
Bree Maeberry POV
It wasn't a Tribute. It was a horrible monster, something the Capitol sewed together from parts of what was once human. It looked at me with hunger, like the only way for it to live was to kill. I'd known I didn't have a chance, but why did it have to be like this?
37th place: Natasha Trent
I wanted Natasha to die before Alex because it was the other way around last time. I'm also speeding up the deaths until we get to a manageable number of Tributes. I finished Natasha's arc quickly to ensure it was still complete. I tried to have her come to terms with what she did and realize she's still a good person. Alex is still fighting, so Tyger has a shot at having a guardian again.
36th place: Bree Maeberry- skull crushed by Barley
I knew I was going to forget someone in the Bloodbath. I actually marked Bree as dead but forgot to kill her. We all knew she couldn't win, so I basically killed her quick to make the story more focused. Sucks she had to die. She and Balee will always have that scratchy wall, at least.