Enjoy!
Chapter 36 Pride Before the Fall
Day 8 of the 77th Hunger Games
They had been running now for almost fifteen minutes before they came to a stop. The sound of a second canon was the catalyst, forcing them both take a moment and assess their situation. They had no real sense of direction, other than they were running away from the water. As Ansel and Aileen came to a stop, both of them looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to say. Ansel, noticing Aileen's hand, decided to start there.
"We should have stopped earlier." He said, motioning to her hands while catching his breath. "To treat them."
"No. We shouldn't have. We needed to get far away from… from it." Aileen said, unwilling to address the horror they just experienced. Watt had called it a Leviathan, but Aileen had no idea how he came up with that name.
Ansel pulled off his pack and rummaged through it for the medicine. Their supplies were still good, but they were starting to run a bit low on food. "Do you know how to treat acid burns?" Aileen asked as Ansel pulled out the medicine box.
Ansel shook his head in response, worry apparent on his face. Aileen smiled softly, trying to comfort him. She was sure though that her expression was more ghastly. She was terrified and also in a good deal of pain.
"That fine, I can coach you through it." She said. "First, you need to take some of our water and wash my hands. Then, you need to apply some antibiotics and then wash that away with water. Afterwards you need to bandage my wounds, but soak it in water and antibiotics."
"That's the correct treatment?" Ansel asked, skeptical.
"No. It could actually cause infection, but we don't have the proper materials to clean and address the wounds. This has to work."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then I could lose my hands." Aileen said, voice rising slightly in fear. She hated how weak she sounded.
"I'm sorry." Ansel said, eyes unable to meet Aileen's.
"It was my choice to attack." Aileen said, angry at the offered pity. "But if you want to make me feel better, do exactly what I just told you. Oh, and this is going to hurt me. You have to keep applying the water and antibiotics, no matter what, ok?"
Ansel nodded, uneasy with the pain he was going to cause Aileen. Just as he was about to beginning, the soft ping of a sponsor gift was heard above them. Looking up, both tributes say with a mix of relief and hope a silver container and parachute descending towards them.
"Sponsors. About damn time." Aileen muttered under her breath as Ansel caught the small container. The outside of it was marked with 'D4' and a quick twist at the top opened the container. He smiled when he saw the contents. "It's burn cream!" he announced happily.
Aileen let out a sigh of relief, just as Ansel's expression changed. He then realized what this expensive gift meant. Brielle was certainly dead. His father had been torn this year as he knew he couldn't show bias towards his son or Brielle. The Capitol would not have responded well towards that. With Brielle dead, the appearance of bias no longer matter.
As for Brielle herself, Ansel was unsure what his final feelings were. He did feel bad for her. But that was perhaps more for the agony she must have suffered at the Leviathan's hands rather than the person she was. Ansel had found her to be rather full of herself and far too confident. She had talked the talked but hadn't shown a lot of promise otherwise. What had her plan been anyways?
'I'll have to wait and see once I'm Victor.' He thought.
"Put that cream on first then." Aileen said, holding out her hands. "Afterwards we can wrap my hands in the bandages."
"Sorry if this hurts." Ansel said, taking off his gloves and scooping up some of the cream.
Aileen, meanwhile, was contemplating her own position. She did understand though what this gift meant for Ansel and Brielle. Aileen didn't have an opinion on the girl. They have never spoken once or acknowledged the other's existence, and Aileen didn't want to acknowledge it now that she had seen Brielle's demise. Ansel seemed a little too downtrodden about her death, considering that he had never mentioned Brielle once over his eight days in the arena. But she was from District 4, from home, and that always had an effect on people.
Thinking about District partners caused her to consider Rufus. She was already feeling shitty enough; she didn't need to think about him or how it made her feel still.
She had to consider her current position though. She was being saved by District 4, a rather bizarre turn. While Ansel now had a connection with her, Aileen found it hard to believe that his father held much empathy for her. A brief memory of his Games was brought to her mind, remembering how he had spent a good amount of time talking shit about the outlier Districts.
Besides that, it also stung that Effie hadn't been able to raise enough sponsor money to help her. She understood that, eight days in, sponsor gifts were getting expensive, but it had also been eight days. Eight days in which Aileen felt she had proven herself to a skeptical Capitol. When Katniss was in a similar situation, the sponsors had been tripping over each other to help her out.
'And that bitch didn't have to deal with zombie tributes!' she thought angrily.
But all of that was skirting an issue she really had. What was in this for Ansel's father to help her? It had to be something. He wouldn't be doing this out of the kindness of his heart. That's not how Panem worked. Everyone wanted and expected something in return.
She gasped in pain for a second, Ansel providing to much pressure on her finger. "I'm sorry!" Ansel said, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Aileen said. "It just feels weird, that's all."
For a moment, Ansel's old self shined through. Aileen, looked at him and smiled, realizing her phrasing. "Shut up." She responded, laughing lightly with him. Ansel continued to apply the cream to her hands, his touch soft and careful not to cause any more pain. She continued to watch him apply the cream, with great care and respect for her. He kept looking up at her face, making sure he wasn't hurting her. And as he did so, Aileen smiled back, happy for his support and presence.
'What the fuck?'
The realization hit her hard in that moment.
'No… absolutely not!'
But she finally understood what game Ansel's father was playing at.
The close nature that Ansel and her had developed.
The late night chats.
The ease in which Ansel had left the Careers for her.
All their talks about Sue and their feelings.
'Holy shit… am I the new Sue!' Aileen thought, gasping out loud. Her expression grew dark as she thought about Ansel's father. 'That fucking, manipulative, asshole of a man! Fuck him!'
What was the one thing that the sappy, overly emotional, idiotic, hollow minded Capitolites enjoyed watching more than anything? Sappy romance stories. Ansel's father was playing them all, setting her up as a new love interest for Ansel in a move to humanize him. The Capitol would love him for it, so much so that they'd be willing to send help to his potential enemy.
"Is everything ok, Aileen?" Ansel asked, surprised by her change in demeanor. "Did I hurt you again?"
"No! You're fine!" Aileen shouted angrily, "Just wrap up my hands, now!"
Ansel complied, shocked by the change. He continued wrapping, unaware of the darkening air and the faint smell of smoke coming towards the two of them.
Chance had also come to a stop, but was in far better condition than his former allies. He had not run as far as they had, but had still managed to escape the sight of the bay.
He took a moment to examine himself, sighing bitterly at the damage done to him. His armor was starting to show some signs of damage thanks to the Leviathan's attack. The chainmail was still tightly linked together, but there were areas of wear. Around his neck, where Krystal had bit down on, there were disjointed links. It looked similar to where District 8 had managed to hit him with the spear gun.
As for the acid burns, he tested those chain links softly. It felt brittle, but not breakable. That was a good thing. It was brown instead of the shining silver, but looked like it would hold.
He also had another problem. He was weaponless, save for a small carving knife. His duel swords had been lost and melted by Krystal, while his knife had remained in her neck. The carving knife was a little useful, but would be difficult to use effectively. He supposed he could throw it and use stealth, but he didn't enjoy that method. Sneak attacks were for the weak.
I am not weak.' He thought angrily, removing the carving knife from his boot and fastening it to his belt.
Which brought him to his next question. What was next? The most obvious thing to do was to stay away from the water. But where to go exactly? If he had his sword, he'd keep hunting. But without them, he was easy prey for Ansel and Sky. At this point, those two were the only real threat to his victory. Unless he become too lax, the title of Victor was within his hands.
'But I need weapons to do that.' He thought, looking up at the sky to hope for a sponsor gift. Of course, there was nothing above him except for the blue sky and a few clouds lazily floating along. It was an odd contrast and mood considering the hell he just escaped from.
It was also at that moment that he realized how cold he was. He was still close enough to the water to feel the cold breeze coming off of it, which soaked through his mail and chilled him to the bone. The arena was getting warmer everyday it seemed, but it was still cold enough to harm tributes if it wasn't careful.
'I need a new coat.' Chance thought, growing angry with the amount of stuff he needed. But he knew where he could find them.
Before they had fled, Ansel had called out for Chance to join him and Aileen. Perhaps he should accept that invitation? He could get new weapons, a new coat, and kill them while they slept. There were only seven tributes left and it was high time they disbanded.
'I'll change directions then,' Chance thought, 'They were going northwest, so I'll head north until I find their trails. Shouldn't be to hard to find. They were far to panicked to disguise their movements… is it getting warmer?'
Behind, the cracking of wood was heard as a tree fell over, flames erupting from it. Chance turned quickly, eyes lit up as he saw flames burning up trees in front of him. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the trees, causing the flames to spread faster and a heat wave to knock Chance back. Recovering, Chance stood up and began running.
'The Gamemakers are guiding it towards me.' He realized, 'But why? They just showed off their new monsters, they don't need anymore shock value. They could be herding me towards Ansel and Aileen though.'
The flames though didn't seem that precise. They moved together in a wave, helped by the winds from the bay and whatever other source there was. The flames themselves weren't the major issue though; the smoke was.
'I'll escape the forest first and then figure out what to do next.' Chance thought, making a beeline for the forests exit. It would take a while to escape the forest, but he was moving fast enough that the flames wouldn't hurt him.
'Hopefully' he thought.
"Do you smell smoke?"
Aileen looked up, still steaming from her discovery of the romantic plot she found herself in. 'To think, I was just bashing Katniss.' She thought, humored by the irony. With a quick sniff though, Aileen snapped back and realized something was wrong.
"It is smoke." She announced, all to familiar with the smell. It was never ending from the coal mines, and if she closed her eyes she could still see the Hob being burned to the ground by Thread and his Peacekeepers.
Looking behind them, both Aileen and Ansel were hit by a massive cloud of smoke, causing both of the cough violently and attempt to wave it away from their faces. Behind that smoke were the tendrils of flames, moving slowly towards them.
"Time to go!" Ansel announced, grabbing their supplies and tossing a bag to Aileen. "We need to get out of the forest!"
"No shit!" Aileen replied, throwing the pack over her back before breaking into a sprint with Ansel. She was slowed when she began coughing, the smoke poisoning her lungs.
"Come on! We have to heard towards the trenches!" Ansel said, grabbing hold of Aileen's arm to help her along. She quickly removed herself from Ansel's grip, unwilling to give Ansel's father any more fuel for his narrative. Aileen resumed running with Ansel, coughing violently as she did so. Before long, Ansel had joined her in a chorus of coughing. Their vision was blurring and the flames seemed to be closer than it actually was. But they continued on their path, eager to escape before consumed by the flames.
"TWILL! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"
The canons were still raging, their blasts of fire making the air on the ship suffocating. Sweat was soaking through Tassel's clothing, making her limbs feel heavy as she continued to bash on the door. The mix of heat and smoke made her vision and mind blurry. She was driven entirely by the need to stop Twill. Perhaps it was too late to change anything, but she still had to try!
Finally realizing that she wasn't doing any damage the door, Tassel retreated downstairs for assistance. The heat and smoke were worse downstairs, where there was only one opening for them to escape from. Coughing her way through the smoke, Tassel grabbed the spear gun, which she planned on using to pull the doors down.
She was stopped though was a loud creaking noise, followed by a crash as the bow of the ship began to crack. Fire burst forwards, nearly scorching Tassel had she been a few feet closer. Tassel gasped as she realized what the fire meant. While the room Twill was in was all metal, the support for the room wasn't.
Below the fire breathing canons, the rotting wood would serve as excellent tinder for the flames. The bow of the ship was in danger and would collapse with the flames eating away at it. The ship's bow cabin would then drop forty feet to the ground.
'Killing Twill!'
Rushing towards the exit, Tassel loaded the spear gun to ready herself. She would have to drag Twill out of the room and then get them off the ship in quick succession. A moment delayed and they would both burn up with the Judecca. With this in mind, she went back and grabbed their pack and jackets, not willing to waste another moment. She rushed to the stairs, her feeling of lightheadedness intensifying as she moved.
She was stopped though when at the edge of the stairs, a silver key on a chain hung from the rafters of the ship.
Tassel examined it quickly, tearing it from the ceiling. Almost naturally, Tassel made the connection between it and the lock on the silver latched door in front of her. 'If the room is metal like the door, we'll be safe from the flames!' Tassel thought, growing excited as the prospect of survival grew.
However, the delay she took was too long and the floorboards behind her collapsed onto the lower deck. Tassel screamed as she felt embers land on her neck and jacket. She quickly brushed them off, not wanting to give them the chance to light her jacket on fire as well. Once done, she looked at the hole in the ceiling, realizing that she was now cut off from Twill.
'I can't save him.' She realized, tears forming in her eyes at the realization. This was it, Twill would die soon.
"I'm sorry." Tassel said, tears flowing from her red eyes. She then turned and ran from the latch, placing the key in the latches locking and flinging the door open. A blast of cold air hit her, turning to steam around her as it came in contact with the heat. Without a moment of hesitation, Tassel dropped down into the latch with her supplies, landing hard on the ground. As soon as she hit, the latch above her closed and sent her into darkness.
With another heavy groan, Twill pulled down on the lever, exhaling another gust of fire and air outside the ship. The instead of the metal cabin was like a furnace, leaving Twill in a pool of his own sweat. It was so hot he had to start stripping off clothing just to accommodate. It didn't help either that Twill was dizzy enough to be seeing two of everything.
Tassel's screams had faded though, of that much he was certain. Perhaps she had fled without him? It be just like Tassel to do so. She always ran from conflict or problems. She always thought she was above all the bad in the world, like she was somehow the only rich person in District 8 to see how terrible things were.
'She thinks that she's better than everyone else!' Twill raged, groaning again as he pulled on the lever. 'She'd never say it outloud, but she thinks everyone else is shit compared to her!'
But still, Tassel's words last night continued to haunt him. She was right, he didn't want to kill anyone else. Twill hadn't even killed Trent and Flux and yet the guilt still plagued him. Every step and every breath he took only seemed to remind him that they would never do so again, all because of him.
But he had suffered as well. He had been assaulted by mutts, frost, and a Career. He had his skin peeled off and frostbitten and had lost a hand. He had suffered, for eight days he had suffered. He was tired of doing so and only looked for a way to end things quicker.
'No one will die because of this!' Twill rationalized, feeling his sanity slip away with each pump of the lever. 'Only an idiot couldn't escape these flames! But it will draw other tributes together and then they'll kill each other! And then before long, I'll be Victor and I'll be free of this hellhole and that monster! There's no blood on my hands! This won't be like Flux or Trent were!'
'No blood on my hands!'
'No fucking blood on my hands!'
'Tassel... I'm sorry...' he suddenly thought, cringing as he did so. He didn't know why he felt he needed to justify himself to Tassel so much. She was obviously weak and doomed to die soon. 'Right? Right?!'
A loud crack sound erupted around Twill, interrupting his thoughts. Not inside the room though, secure with metal and impervious to damage by fire.
But not the wood underneath the cabin.
By the time Twill realized this, it was too late. With one final cry, the wooden supports gave out from the fire and the bow of the ship came crashing down. As it fell, Twill fell with it. His body began to adjust, not used to the change in gravity. His stomach and heart seemed ready to explode. His limbs seemed to give out as they became useless to stop the fall. His mind only had milliseconds to comprehend what was happening, and when it did it hit Twill with the greatest fear he had ever felt.
And so Twill fell, his own screams following him and the ship's bow as they plummeted down.
The forest fire raged for the rest of the day, continuing without interruption until it reached the mountains and the river. Both barriers proved to the be the forest fires borders, containing it and protecting the remaining tributes. However, the smoke and ashes from the burning fire were not bound and were allowed to soar across the arena's sky. Black and grey dominated the sky, blocking out the sun and later the aurora lights. Ash fell from the sky in the late afternoon, staining the snow grey and turning it to slush. The ash that hit the water though only served to darken it more, hiding the monster that was lurking underneath it that much more.
Watt had managed to avoid the flames entirely. Following the Leviathan attack, he had retreated to the other side of the arena past the river. He was now taking refuge in the spring caves, contemplating his future in the arena.
Sky had also been spared the ravages of the fire, though wa still forced to retreat from the forest due to the smoke. She now awaited for the list of the Fallen to appear. Three canons had sounded that day and she was eager to see who they belonged too. One was obviously Brielle, but the other two? She could only hope they belonged to Ansel and Chance. She was currently at the edge of the remaining forest, staying a far distance away from the water.
On the other side of the arena, at the starting point of the devastation, was as silver box surrounded by melting ice, fire, and the carcass of the Judecca. It was dusk when the door to the box opened, Tassel bursting forth from it. She was soaking wet from the ice that was inside the box, an attempt protect her from the inferno outside the box. Now though, she was freezing from the exposure to the outside air. Her limbs were sluggish from the water and she fell hard against the snowy ground.
Wet, cold, and traumatized from spending hours in a small, dark space, Tassel couldn't help the gasp of shock that escaped her lips. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the outside light, coughing as her lungs adjusted to the fresh air as well. After a minute of rubbing her eyes, Tassel's vision adjusted enough that she had depth perception back. She could see enough to take in her surroundings, which was enough to understand the devastation. The Judecca and the forest were gone, small flames and smoke all that remained. Even the ground around her was stained with evidence of Twill's sin.
'TWILL!'
Tassel jumped to her feet, only to collapse once more. Struggling to regain her strength, Tassel rose and hobbled around to the front of the ship. Broken bits of wood lay about, turned black from the flames. In the center of it all was the metal cabin, still steaming from the heat. Tassel rushed to it and made a grab for the handle, screaming when it burned her. Stripping off her jacket, Tassel used it to grab the handle and open the door. Smoke erupted from the opening and Tassel waited for it to clear before going inside.
She screamed once she was.
Twill was splattered against the back wall, blood streaked across it and forming a puddle beneath him. His limbs were horribly twisted and bone exposed. His mouth was agape and warped into a look of utter shock. Tassel stood across from his corpse, crying softly for her lost ally.
'I couldn't save him.' She thought, moving slowly towards Twill. At a closer range, Tassel could see his skin had dried out from the heat. It looked like he had aged a decade with his dried lips and thinner face. It was peeling as well, flakes fluttering through the air as wind entered the cabin behind Tassel. Now next to Twill, Tassel wrapped her arms carefully around him. With a heavy grunt, Tassel lifted up his corpse and carried him outside of the cabin. Tears were flowing down her face freely as she did so, the smell of his corpse not bothering her at all.
Twill deserved to be removed from the arena and sent back to his family. He deserved to be buried, not rotting away in hell.
Once outside, the Capitol anthem began to play along with the list of the Fallen. Tassel ignored it though, already knowing who had died. Brielle, Luna, and now Twill.
Brielle's face appeared first, her eyes looking daringly at the camera. She looked cocky as well, as if she knew some tantalizing secret. Perhaps she did and now the world would never know. As Brielle lingered in the sky, Tassel laid Twill on the ground away from the crash. She adjusted his limbs as she did so, bringing his legs together and crossing his arms.
Twill appeared next. Like Brielle he looked cocky and exuded arrogance. This was the true Twill, the Twill that had been foolish enough to light a forest on fire. Still, Tassel had cared for Twill in her own way. In some way, Tassel understood that Twill cared for her too.
Finally, Luna's small face appeared. She was petrified, her face emotionless save for her eyes that were as wide as saucers. She was trying so hard to appear strong, yet she couldn't deny what she truly was.
The faces disappeared, replaced now by the Capitol ensigna. As it and the anthem vanished, Tassel fixed Twill's hair and closed his eyes. Blocking out the blood and the exposed bone, Twill looked utterly peaceful and at ease. The tears had mostly stopped, but guilt still consumed her. Was this how Twill felt as he thought about Flux and Trent? 'No, what happened here was different.' She told herself.
'Sure it was.' Another part of Tassel thought sarcastically.
With a shaky hand, Tassel brushed Twill's cheek softly. She then leaned over, her lips next to his face. "I'm sorry." She whispered, not wanting the camera's to pick up what she was saying. "You and I... we never got a long. But I still cared about you. I think you cared about me as well, in some weird way. I-I'll miss you. I'm sorry, again, for what happened to you."
She turned her lips slowly to Twill's cheek, planting a soft kiss on it before whispering a final goodbye. She pulled back, body still shaking. With an glare that could have killed, Tassel looked up at the sky. She couldn't tell the Capitol off, but this was still a way to convey her feelings. She remained that way for a minute, before closing her eyes and allowing the tears to return.
"AAAAAAAH!" She screamed, letting out pent up rage, sorrow, and fear. She leaned over Twill's corpse once more and cried softly into his chest.
For the first time in her life, Tassel was truly alone.
Tributes Remaining:
Chancellor Mallerion (D1, Tributes Killed: 3), Sky Carroll (D2, Tributes Killed: 3), Watt Dresner (D3, Tributes Killed: 1), Ansel Gephardt (D4, Tributes Killed: 2), Tassel La'Bowe (D8, Tributes Killed: 0), Aileen Whittaker (D12, Tributes Killed: 2)
The Fallen:
7. Twill Zephyr (D8), Fell to his Death [Day 8, Tributes Killed: 0]
8. Luna Shade (D11), Killed by the Leviathan, Throat Torn Out [Day 8, Tributes Killed: 0]
9. Brielle Purslane (D4), Killed by the Leviathan, Acid Burns/Suffocation on Blood [Day 8, Tributes Killed: 0]
10. Clairmonde Amberson (D10), Killed by Griffin Waring (D2), Sword through Abdomen/Bled Out [Day 6, Tributes Killed: 0]
11. Griffin Waring (D2), Killed by Watt Dresner (D3), Icicle through Throat/Bled Out [Day 6, Tributes Killed: 4]
12. Flux Arello (D6), Killed by Chancellor Mallerion (D1), Evisceration via Swords [Day 6, Tributes Killed: 0]
13. Sterling Taylor (D10), Killed by Sky Carroll (D2), Decapitation [Day 6, Tributes Killed: 0]
14. Krystal Avery (D1), Killed by Chancellor Mallerion (D1), Blood loss/Shock [Day 4, Tributes Killed: 0]
15. Jory Edmonds (D5), Killed by Ansel Gephardt (D4), Fire poker through heart [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
16. Haspen Latron (D11), Killed by Aileen Whittaker (D12), Mace attack, collapsed rib cage [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
17. Rufus Ventra (D12), Killed by Aileen Whittaker (D12), Sword through chest [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
18. Bruce Spruce (D7), Killed by Griffin Warring (D2), Sabre through heart [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
19. Ayla Thorne (D7), Killed by Sky Carroll (D2), Axe to back of the head [Day 1, Tributes Killed:0]
20. Amélie Jeanne Sinclair (D3), Killed by Griffin Waring (D2), Sabre through heart [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
21. Aylin Henrickson (D9), Killed by Griffin Waring (D2), Throat slashed [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
22. Dagan Hollis (D9), Killed by Ansel Gephardt (D4), Sword through the heart [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
23. Trent Bell (D6), Killed by Sky Carroll (D2), Axe through the chest [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
24. Fuze DeLumiere (D5), Killed by Chance Mallerion (D1), Throat slashed [Day 1, Tributes Killed:0]
Eulogies:
Twill: I'm really sad to see him go. He was a lot of fun to write and his dynamic with Tassel was one of my favorites from these Games. Despite how different they were, there was a level of friendship and understanding of how lonely both of them were back in District 8. I also liked how despite his conflicted emotions/conscious, he remained the same in many regards throughout the Games. I know some of you thought he might change and become a better person, but change can be hard and the Games aren't a great place for building good morality in people. For better or for worse, Twill left his mark on the arena and I think that's something he would like. He'll be miss you.
Luna: The youngest tribute of the year went through hell and back, and in the end cracked. Luna was extremely brave for someone her age and she understood exactly how terrible the Games could be. If she had stayed with Aileen and Ansel, her odds would have been a lot higher for winning. But Griffin ruined her and she wasn't able to trust again. He took whatever innocence she might have had and destroyed it. At least she's at peace now.
Brielle: Of all the tributes for the Games, Brielle was perhaps the most decisive for public opinion. Brielle was an complex character whose backstory needed far more than just a 1/4 of a Reaping Chapter. I'll make sure to cover it more during the Victory Tour chapter, but for now I'll say this, Brielle was raised to be a manipulator. Unfortunately, there's only so much manipulation one can do in the Hunger Games. I was also interested in this idea of faux-romance. I feel like future tributes would be influenced by this idea of romance to win the Capitol over, all inspired by Katniss and Peeta - deceased in this universe. So I had Brielle give it a try, to some amount of success. Ultimately though she had one fatal flaw, which everyone harped on: she was far too focused with Post-Games. So much so, that her entire plan was mainly to let Sterling act as a human shield during the Games.
Woo, Day 8 is finally done! Only took a couple of weeks.
Next chapter will be both Day 9 and 10 in one. We're getting close to the end!