The Fifth Night
Fancy "Kitty" Viridian (15) D8F
It took some amount of real hard work to get this guy back on the floor. Part of the reason is that he refused to give me his spear no matter how much I told him that I'd not lose it. But no. He had to be an idiot and cause trouble. Finally I yanked the spear from his hand forcefully and then grabbed his free hand to pull him up. However, that wasn't easy either because although he was slim he was still pretty heavy.
Once he was on the floor beside me safely, breathing as if he hadn't breathed in years, I slapped him. He grabber his cheek, looking at me in fear and bewilderment.
"What did I do now?" he asked, "What was that for?"
In reply to his question, I slapped him again on the others cheek.
"The first one was for not handing that's spear and being a git. And the second one was for falling into that thing. You had no business doing that! Didn't you think of me even once?!"
Sage just stared at me stupidly, rubbing both his cheeks. Just when I thought he had nothing to say, Sage wrapped his arms around me and drew me in a hug. I buried my face in his chest and he just held me, not saying a thing other than a simple 'thank you' but it meant the world to me.
Yes, I was one of those stupid people who fall in love with a person they'd met a week ago. And I was proud to be that person. I was glad I met Sage, and I was happy to know that I could love someone so much. After all, he was the first person who not only put up with my eccentricity, but also assured me that it was fine to be this way. That a cat girl wasn't necessarily a snobby idiot.
I drew back from his embrace and grinned at him.
"Only three of us are there," he said solemnly, his voice shaking just a bit.
"I know," I whispered back, and just to l purred again, but it did not make him smile.
"Come on Kitty, we should check out what supplies we acquired."
Judah Pocks (16) D10F
I didn't know for how long I was passed out. A few minutes? A few hours? It didn't matter right now though, because my splitting headache was killing me. Ryder had hit me a bit too hard and I couldn't think straight anymore. I remembered that when I came to at the feast, I threw a knife at King. And after that at Nine.
Nine...
I couldn't get over the fact that I killed her. She was so broken. She must have a family. And I killed her without a thought. Did that make me as bad as the Careers... or worse?
I just wanted everything to end then. But after killing Nine I felt so dizzy that I knew I had to get away from there and not engage myself in another fight. It wasn't good I did because the moment I entered the nearest room, I passed out.
Was Fancy able to get Sagittarius out? If there had been any Cannons, I had missed them.
Holding my head, I grabbed the bag I had seized and opened it to see if there was anything worth in there. At least there was water and there was something like a first aid kit. I let out a breath. There might be something there that could help me. I looked through my the vials, all of them labelled with what they were supposed to be the cure for. There were lots of 'for fever' but then I found out one for migraine, along with some bandages. I sighed. Well, at least I could try to heal myself.
However, a silvery glint caught my eye. What was there? Gingerly, I reached in and grabbed it. The feel of cold metal seemed to energise me. I felt weird that it would do so but the new dagger seemed to give me...hope.
I had come very far now, too far to lose. Too far to let emotions get the better of me. No, I had to win. For myself, I had to.
Sagittarius "Sage" Ryans (18) D4M
One thing that I was uncomfortable doing was removing my shirt in front of Kitty. But she was so forceful that I had to take my shirt off, and the biting cold made me tremble so hard that I looked as if I was a vibrating machine, something that Kitty was quick to point out.
Ironically, there were lots of ointments present in her bag. And one such ointment was exactly what my wounded side needed. So now, she was gently rubbing it over my wound. I shivered at her soft touch as it was tickling me but she refused to let me do it myself.
"You won't be able to do it properly," she said and then meowed angrily. I laughed even as my body rattled in the cold.
"Oh well, thanks girl!"
"I'm a cat Sage," she reminded me, "Not a girl."
So I kept my mouth shut, enjoying her company right now. We both knew that we couldn't be together for much longer, and yet she continued to help me. Our partnership was going to end soon though, no matter how hard we'd try. It was going to be over soon, maybe tonight.
"Here," she said after she had put some bandages on my wound, "It's not done well butt it's done. Put on your shirt now before you start dancing due to cold. Meowww."
I grinned at her as put it back on and then gave her a quick hug, trying to memorise her feel.
"Thanks CAT," I said mischievously, "Now let's see what else we got in the feast."
Fancy "Kitty" Viridian (15) D8F
"No fair!" I whined, " You got another spear! Whereas I got a packet of dust!"
Sage laughed at me, pointing at me while doing so may I add, and then swung his new spear in the air to show off. I sat down again with a huff. Why did he get a new spear and I got a packet of dust? Dust? Seriously?! Who would send a tribute dust?!
"It's dirt by the way, Kitty," Sage said smugly, "Not dust."
"And how is this dirt supposed to help me?"
"I don't know," he said, "But this spear! It's exactly like the one at home!"
I poured as I looked at him fondling his new spear lovingly. I was going to miss this. Here we were right now, joking and being happy. It was because that we weren't the only ones left. But if it came to it then what would we do? What would I do? Would I kill Sage? Or rather, could I kill Sage?
It wasn't a question I wanted to think on because I didn't know the answer. Was I ready to toss away my life for someone I met a week ago? But then that someone was my best friend on the entire world. Ugh! Why did I have to get Reaped?! And why the hell did he volunteer?! If neither had happened, we wouldn't even know each other and we'd both live. Why was life so unfair?!
I decided I couldn't sit still and think all this. I needed to move or else my thoughts alone would kill me. Standing up, I started towards the exit of the room, just to make sure Judah wasn't anywhere near by.
"What happened Kitty?" Sage asked as he lowered his spear. That idiot had one in both his hands, maybe he was seeing which one was better.
"I'll just go check nobody's around."
Just as I was getting to the exit, he called out, "Take your knife and dirt, Cat."
I turned out to face him, brows raised. "Listen Sagittarius Ryans, I'm not-"
"KITTY!"
He yelled out as he threw his old spear at me. What?! However, at that moment something sharp pierced the base of my skull, even as the spear went past my head.
What was happening? This couldn't be right! I was supposed to be in the final two! The sharp object was pulled out from inside me and I let out a guttural cry even as Sage, my Sage came running towards me, yelling my name.
Darkness surrounded me but I knew that he had caught me in his arms before I hit the floor.
Sagittarius "Sage" Ryans (18) D4M
The world seemed to be falling.
The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the planet as I caught my friend. No... this was a joke. She'd wake up right now.
"Kitty," I said, "Enough with the jokes. Get up now."
Her glassy eyes stared back at me, no muscle in her body seemed to be moving. I laid her on the floor and shook her. Why was she playing? Didn't she know it was a serious time?! And- and why was there so much blood? WHY WASN'T SHE SPEAKING?!
I felt somebody coming at me. I moved out of the way at the last second, holding onto my new spear. My side ached due to the earlier injury and I needed help. Why wasn't Kitty getting up?!
Judah came at me with her dagger again, an intensity in her eyes that bordered on insanity. The blade was dripping with blood and I frowned. Whose was it?
Just as she came closer though, I jumped sideways and thrust my spear at her. She dodged it efficiently before running back and taking my old spear from the ground. She jumped over Kitty's body- how dare she!- and then leapt at me with a cry. The movement was so sudden that I couldn't anticipate its timing well, and she struck at my side again.
I cried out in pain as tears threatened to fall down. But even now Kitty refused to get up and help me. What was she doing?!
"Kitty, I can do with some assistance!" I cried out, dodging Judah's jab. She was using two weapons at the same time, and I didn't even know how. It seemed as if the manic brightness of her eyes were guiding her to use them.
"Kitty!"
"STOP IT!"
I stared at my enemy as looked ready to explode. "Stop acting this way!"
"What is it to you how I act?"
She huffed angrily and then stabbed at me. I had idiotically let my guard down, and her dagger pierced my stomach just a bit before I wrenched myself back. She stabbed again and again but I deflected her with my spear.
I had forgotten about the pits.
Just like before, I slipped into the pit, holding onto the edge as death was just a step away.
Judah Pocks (16) D10F
I gasped as Sagittarius slipped over the edge. He swore at the top of his voice, before keeping his spear aside and grabbing the edge with both the hands. No, this was the chance. I couldn't let him come up again. Clutching my dagger tightly, I walked over to him, tired of everything that was happening. I had another kill to my name already. I had to do just one more time.
I crouched down beside the pit and stabbed the dagger in his hands.
His screams were so loud that I dropped the dagger, startled. He was swearing and yelling and calling for Fancy but still held on. Getting over it, I picked up my dagger again, but this time, Sage punched me with his injured hand, yelling out as the contact hit his wound further. I reeled back when he punched again, throwing me on my back. Groaning, I forced myself to get up, seeing that he was on his feet again.
"FANCY VIRIDIAN I COULD HAVE DIED THERE!"
My hands shook as I looked at him. He knew she was dead and would never respond, no matter how much he called out. But he couldn't accept it at all. In fact, he was going crazy. It hurt to see someone like this, breaking down in front of my eyes. But I had to do it. There was no other choice.
"What did you do?" Sage shrieked frantically, " Why isn't she moving?!"
"Bring it on Sagittarius!" I cried and charged at him again. He swung his spear, and I ducked to avoid it, but it went right through my shoulder blade.
The pain wasn't something I could describe. It was excruciating, and I tried to shout but no sound came. All I was aware of was that I could see stars now while I fell down, holding my shoulder.
"What did you do?!" He yelled again in rage.
I wasn't going to lose. No, not like this. I forced myself to get up and attack him again. This time, I found my target. My dagger cut his face, drawing a line from his eye to his chin, cutting his lips. It was a horrible sight and I felt throwing up. What had I done to him?
He didn't even try to speak anything as he stumbled and fell. He tried hard to get up but failed pathetically.
It was time to end his misery.
I dragged myself towards him, holding my dagger so tightly that my hands lost their feeling. I looked him in the eye, wretched and weak. He clenched his fist angrily and then thrust his hand towards me.
I didn't know what he'd thrown at me, but my eyes were blinded now. I couldn't see anything! I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the dirt out of them. Painfully, I opened my eyes, just to see a spear flying towards me.
Before I could process what was happening, the spear embedded itself in my chest.
How-how could this happen? I had come so far, I was in the final two! I tried to hold on to my weapon, but it dropped to the floor, and I followed soon after. I was feeling much colder than before now and I couldn't stop trembling. I saw Sagittarius run over to Fancy, and bring her to his chest, tears streaming down his face but not uttering a word. He couldn't speak after all, since I had cut his lips...
I felt tired. So tired. All that for nothing? I fought so hard! So hard...
The cannon rung, just as I felt unable to move a single muscle. But my heart was pounding still! I was alive!
"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight I present you with the victor of the Seventy Second Hunger Games: SAGITTARIUS RYANS!"
I could already hear the applause in the Capitol, even as the victor cried silently over his dead friend. And then, there was nothing.
A/N: So here it is. Goodness, it was SO hard writing this! I'm sorry it isn't very good as I typed it on my phone... two weeks ago. My fingers were almost falling off by the end of each POV so it was a bit... rushed? Choppy? I don't know.
Okay, so first I'll talk about the polls. See, I had five tributes shortlisted for who I wanted to win. Then, I thought that whoever among them will get the highest vote will win. So yes, you could say it was a 50-50 thing. As for the other placements, I chose it the same way. However, I was surprised that four out of five people I had selected had gotten the most votes. Sage had the highest, then Judah, Kitty and Nine. Talon was there but surprisingly he did not have many votes. Sorry if it's confusing, but my fingers are hurting now.
Eulogies:
3rd: Fancy Viridian- Okay, I'll be honest here. Fancy was my favourite character in the entire story. Out of all the tributes I'd received, I loved her the most. She was so wild, so different, so weird that I couldn't help it! Writing Fancy was the easiest for me, and I loved doing so. Whenever I had a Fancy POV, I used to smile to myself. I'll miss writing Fancy. Rest in peace Kitty, dear. Thanks for submitting such a fun character Pi!
2nd: Judah Pocks- Caleb! You created a wonderful girl! She was so SO different AND relatable at the same time! I mean, she was religious but she could still kill to survive. She could do wrong, regret it, but admit it that she had no choice. That was a part of me that I saw in her and hence I was so passionate about her. I hoped I didn't mess her up. Rest in peace Judah, you'll be missed.
1st: Sagittarius Ryans- He was the first choice of victor for me since the Private Sessions, and it remained so till the end. Plus, the majority of votes were with him too. Anyway, Sage was a Career, yes, but he was human, and that was what I liked so much about him. Of course, I've received compassionate Careers in the past, but Sage just gave the vibes of someone strong and determined, without that being too obvious. He had his weaknesses that were fatal, and he had training that gave him an advantage. Sage was very easy to write too, and his and Kitty's arcs were done in my head the day I got their forms. It was amazing to explore his character, his fears, his emotions and it was a joy to write this guy. Yes Sage won, despite the fact that Cress, who was also from D4 won in my first SYOT. Misty, you did it. Congratulations on your first victor! Sage deserved it.
So here we come to the end of these games. It was a blast to write this story, especially these thirteen chapters. Thank you all of you who submitted, because no story is complete without characters, and this story excelled in that department thanks to you all.
Please do let me know your thoughts on the chapter as well as the whole story. Your thoughts on the victor? Anything you want to tell me? Please do let me know.
And now, before I go, I'd like to give a shoutout to IVolunteerAsAuthor. He has recently posted a new SYOT, Home of the Brave 2, which is the sequel to Home of the Brave by RedEoses1000 (who is an amazing writer by the way) and the story has a really interesting concept, so I'll recommend taking a look at it and if you can, please submit a few tributes! After all, it will be Caleb's 10th or 11th SYOT. So yeah, check it out!
And have a great day!
PS: It's not allowing me to bold or italicise anything!