The Seventh Day
Cress Woods Jr. (16) D4M
The sun had risen just now. Not that it made any difference but I wished I could see it. Maybe it would help me forget about… I didn't even want to think about it. I was next to a stream, my feet dipped in it. I had jumped into the water the previous day to get rid of the stinging and burns. I was bleeding from the millions of minute wounds I had. The moment I hit the water I thought that I was on fire. I screamed and cried in pain. The pain was not only due to the wounds. Whenever I looked at the water I could see Virgo's face flash in front of my eyes, my arrow flying into Devon's neck, the look of acceptance in his eyes. If I lived on, then I would never forget them. I remembered Virgo with her purple hair and laughed bitterly. She died because she had stayed back to help me. And what did I do to deserve a friend like her? Nothing. I couldn't save her, I didn't try. If I had only tried harder I could have done it. And then there was Devon.
My eyes were full of tears again. I had never thought in my wildest dream that I could kill someone. I had seen his life leave his body. He had even smiled at me and said thank you… Why did I feel so disgusted with myself? I killed him without hesitation. I didn't know how long I would live but I would carry this burden, this guilt on my heart till my last breath.
Today was the feast. I didn't know the way back to the castle. I needed medicines for my wounds. My upper body was completely red. I had taken off my shirt. The material grazed my wounds and sent a new tremor of pain through my body. I was rather shocked to see that my mentors had not sent me the medicines I needed. I was in the final seven. Didn't they care about me? But no matter what, I wasn't going to the feast. I was tired of everything. I didn't care whether I died of my wounds but I couldn't take any more deaths.
I curled up in a ball and huddled myself behind some leaves. I didn't want others to find me. And hopefully, I would survive the day.
Ciera Wheel (14) D6F
Kinnie and I didn't know where the courtroom was. We had been wandering around in this castle for the past half hour or maybe more, I couldn't really tell, but were unsuccessful in finding the room. There were some extremely creepy things here that almost made my heart stop. We had run out of supplies and that's why we were here. We couldn't find anything in the forest and now we had no weapon left. We needed things to survive the remaining time. Kinnie had not wanted to come but I had persuaded her to. If nothing else, we could certainly make use of a weapon. Besides she was bitten by a wasp or something. It wasn't a tracker-jacker, it was something totally different. Kinnie's leg was swollen and a bad shade of purple. I knew it was poisonous. It was affecting her quite slowly, first slowing her pace, then lowering her stamina. She said she felt dizzy. We needed some medicine for that.
"Someone's coming," Kinnie muttered and pulled me behind a pillar. The statues on my either side really scared me. They seemed to be giving me a very twisted grin which I certainly did not like. Their swords were gleaming in the faint light from the flaming torches.
I saw Adela sneaking towards the western direction. She had an axe with her. She looked completely fine, what would she possibly want? I knew Devon was dead and she wasn't with Cress. Did they not meet or did they desert each other? I wrinkled my nose. I hated that about Careers. They weren't trustworthy. Backstabbing was their nature.
"I certainly don't want to meet her," Kinnie whispered. She was right. We'd better look for some other way. We crouched low and moved in the opposite direction to where Adela went. "We shouldn't be seen when we reach there," Kinnie said softly. I didn't see how we'd manage that. Had this been an open space I would have known where we were. Here now, if we didn't enter a room, how would we know whether we were at the right place or not?
"I still think we should just leave," she said. "No," I refused, my voice firm. I had one issue though. What if Amari came there? Should I attack him or should I just leave him? Kinnie wouldn't like the former option. When we found out Astreus was dead, she kept on crying about Amari and his safety. Well, not actual crying but she was really anxious.
Soon we were at the right place. I could tell because of the throne and the tables that had been set up with so much food that I couldn't even imagine seven people eating it all up. Not that anyone would get even a morsel. It was ironical really. The food truly gave a meaning to the word 'feast'. I saw a table set up with bags labelled as 'TWO', 'FOUR', 'SIX', 'SEVEN' and 'EIGHT'. I knew Kinnie's medicine would be in 'SIX' because there was only one bag with 'EIGHT'. But the throne was so enchanting… my legs involuntarily started forward. Kinnie stopped me and pulled me behind a pillar.
"Control yourself. We shouldn't be seen," she whispered. "No Kinnie," I whispered back, "Nobody has moved yet. I'll race to it and bring it here. We'll be out in no time."
"No you will not!" she said and grabbed my arm, pulling me back. I stamped on her foot and her grip loosened for just a second. I freed my arm and ran towards my bag when, out of nowhere, an axe buried itself in my back. And then nothing.
Adela Dara Martins (17) D2F
I saw the girl from Six drop down on the floor. I smiled. I had two kills to my credit now. It was strange how, after the bloodbath, this was my next kill. A little girl. A part of me felt bad though. She was young. But she had to die for me to win.
I wasn't here because I needed something. I was here because I needed to finish off as much competition as I could. I had to assure that all the people arriving here would be dead. That was the only way I could win. My District's and family's honour depended on it. And I could do anything for their honour. I wasn't proud of what I had done. Deserting my allies, killing this girl. But Devon and Virgo's death had only given more substance to my belief. I was right to do so.
I ran ahead and retrieved my axe when I felt a knife thrown at me. I evaded it barely a second before it could hit me and then looked at Kinnie. She had taken a sword from one of the statues. Strangely, they had been very active when I had come in. Now, they were as still as… well statues.
"You had no right to kill her," she said angrily. "I plan on winning," I scoffed, "And don't worry you'll be joining her soon."
The words had barely left my mouth when I saw Amari jump out from behind the throne. He too held a sword and there was such an intensity in his gaze that I took a step back.
"Good to see you alive," Kinnie said, her eyes never leaving me. "Same here," he said walking up to stand beside his District Partner. I glared at them.
"Well then," I muttered, "Both of you can die together."
Amari charged at me and swung his sword. I parried with my axe and then moved it towards him, almost cutting off his head. He was not a trained swordsman and he was being hesitant. I could certainly use that. Kinnie joined in too and then it became more difficult. She wasn't experienced too and she was younger but she was angry and in spite of that her every move seemed to be calculated. She swung at me. I dodged both of their attacks and their swords clashed with each other. I kicked Kinnie in the side and then swung the axe at Amari's abdomen, cutting deep into his flesh. He let out a chilling scream of agony but I couldn't let myself get distracted. I had to kill him now.
That's when the gate burst open and in came Tyler, running from an army of the statues.
Tyler Axton (17) D7M
Edith and I had decided to not go for the feast. We didn't need anything. We had found a cave in the deeper parts of the forest and we had decided to stay there. This morning I had gone out to hunt while she was still asleep. We had exchanged our weapons earlier. She was good with a knife and though I wasn't a master of swords it was still fine.
I had strayed too far. I heard something behind me. When I turned around I came face-to-face with a whole pack of wolves. I could fight them but I would die and be eaten immediately. I could run and I knew that's what they wanted. They were here to escort me to the feast. And if I didn't go, they would tear me apart.
What choice did I have?
I ran till I could run no more. After a few seconds I thought that the wolves would not come and I could go back but then a fire broke out, barring all the ways except one. And it was spreading quickly. So I ran again.
I was out of breath by the time I reached the castle. Nothing happened for about a whole minute so I thought that maybe then I could somehow sneak back to Edith. Maybe I should not have thought that. All around me fountains of acid burst. A few drops fell on me and they were so strong that they burned the sleeve of my shirt. I sighed, knowing what I had to do. Maybe not many people had turned up. I had to go to the feast.
When I got into the castle I tried to calm myself. Nothing odd happened here, which was odd in itself. I walked on, trying to find my way to the courtroom. They had arranged the feast in such a closed space so that no one could escape. I gritted my teeth furiously. They had no right to do this! If I got out I would kill them. All of them. But for me to get out Edith had to die. Could I let Edith die? I unclenched my fists and my shoulders slumped. That was the thing. I couldn't let her die.
Maybe I had taken a wrong turn because then the statues with their dangerous swords sprang to life. All of them made a dash for me. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, seeing around fifty statues to try to kill you. Seeing no other choice, I took off. I knew I would eventually stumble upon the other tributes. I braced myself for the fight.
I threw open the gate and saw Adela fighting against Amari and Kinnie. She was on the floor and he was really injured. Adela was glaring at me. I had no choice. I had to fight. Amari would be easier to take down. While Adela was staring at me, Kinnie swung her sword at her. She side-stepped just in time. I looked over at the table. There was a bag labelled 'SEVEN'. That was it. I just needed the bag to get out. The mutts wouldn't push me around again.
My legs were tired but I forced myself to the table. I grabbed the bag and was about to get away when I saw my path was blocked by Amari.
"You can't go," he said sadly, "You can't."
"Get out of my way. I don't want to fight."
"Me neither," he replied and then brought his sword forward, "But I will have to."
I glanced at Kinnie fighting with Adela. The younger girl would obviously lose soon. I turned to Amari.
"Sorry," I said and struck. He blocked my attack and then aimed his sword at my neck. I dodged it then attacked again. The sound of metal clashing against metal filled the room. I wasn't ready to give up and neither was he.
"We can still stop," I said, "We don't have to do this."
"No Tyler. We have to. I need to win for my father."
I hated myself for what I was doing. I just couldn't control myself anymore. I was thrown back on the floor. He grabbed his sword with both his hands and brought it down. I blocked it with my own then kicked at his legs. He staggered and I tossed his sword away.
"Forgive me Amari," I said and then pierced his heart.
Kinnie Duff (15) D8F
The cannon rung too soon. I couldn't believe it. Amari was dead… Amari was dead! That couldn't happen!
"NOOO!" I shrieked, tears clouding my vision. I hadn't spent much time with him but I had always thought of him as a friend, not an ally. And seeing two of my friends die…
Adela struck at my arm and I fell down. I couldn't move. I couldn't defend myself. I waited for the blow but it didn't come. I looked up and found her and Tyler sparring. "She's alive," Tyler said, "I never knew you could be so kind."
"You've got blood on your hands," Adela snarled, "Anyway, killing her would be easy. She's already half dead."
I saw Tyler's sword being knocked aside. Maybe I could have helped him but I didn't. He killed Amari. I couldn't forgive him. And I couldn't forgive Adela too. I got to my feet, swaying a bit. I grabbed my sword. This was it.
Adela pierced her axe in his stomach. The blood exploded out of him. His eyes widened and he looked down at the blood. His breathing was ragged and he looked as if he couldn't believe it.
"Dawn…" he said slowly as he fell down, "Sorry Dawn… Sorry Edith… I-"
The cannon rung.
The sound shook me out of my stupor. I didn't help him… why didn't I help him?! I let him die! I did what the Capitol wanted me to do! It wasn't entirely his fault.
Adela retrieved her axe and I narrowed my eyes. Whatever happened, I wasn't going to let her go. She turned around, axe in hand and I threw my sword. It hit her in the side and she dropped the axe.
"AAAHHH!" she cried out in pain as she doubled over. I ran over to her and took her down. I grabbed her axe and drove it into her skull. Her eyes were widened. This was completely unexpected for her. She didn't even look angry, only mildly surprised. The cannon rung.
Panting hard I stood up and backed away, glaring at her. She deserved it. Wait… I killed her. I started backing away from the body, shaking my head. No…!
I fell on my knees and my cries echoed in the room.
You have no idea how hard it was for me to write this. I deleted sentences then wrote them again. And again. These people were all so close to me… I am really sorry if I killed your tributes. I was surprised by the poll results. If there had not been such a stark difference in the results I would have definitely kept one of them alive. So we're in the final three.
Oh and three hundred reviews. THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS! Thank you sooooooo much! I had NEVER thought that I would get that much…
Goodbyes:
7th- Ciera Wheel: You were a sweet kid and someone easy to relate too. I enjoyed writing you a lot. You were sort of childish but not extremely so. I will miss you a lot. Rest in peace.
6th- Amari Edison: You were one of my favourites. I really liked you. Writing you was fun. I wished you had gotten more votes because it was really shocking, you certainly didn't deserve your death. Rest in peace.
5th- Tyler Axton: He was really hard to kill. I was shocked to see how few people voted in his favour. He was one of my favourites and I could relate to him very well. You had potential and I'm really sorry. You will be missed a lot.
4th- Adela Dara Martins: She was the first tribute submitted to me so she will always hold a special place in my heart. It was fun writing her. You will be missed.
Death List:
Coleen Mines- blown up by a mine
Coal Telve- killed by Adela Martins
Jessika Bowers- killed by Devon Lark
Misaya Despain- blown up by a mine
Brynn Stone- killed by Silver Cantello
Halen Moons- killed by Tyler Axton
Avalyn Bellona- killed by Virgo Ryans
Ayra Redgrove- killed by Devon Lark
Roland Stewart- killed by Carmen Diego
Carmen Diego- killed by Edith Blackwood
Arcturus Sharps- killed by Silver Cantello
Carlor Carton- killed by Ayra's mutt
Silver Cantello- killed by Kinnie Duff
Jasper Wool- killed by mutt
Astreus Bellona- killed by mutts
Virgo Ryans- killed by Devon Lark
Devon Lark- killed by Cress Woods Jr.
Ciera Wheel- killed by Adela Martins
Amari Edison- killed by Tyler Axton
Tyler Axton- killed by Adela Martins
Adela Dara Martins- killed by Kinnie Duff
Well, have a good day!