A/N- The result of Katie and Micro's fight and who dies was decided by the readers in a poll.
Sweet Revenge
District Three
Micro Linux, 17
My hand twitches a little. Some might think I notice too many details, right now which could help me or get me killed. She is so much smaller than me; she is just a little girl. It is hard to believe that this is the girl I am getting ready to kill. She has killed so many people though. If she wins, she won't stop the killing here. She will carry her murder spree into my District. And she will be a Victor; it gives her immunity against being called out.
What about my sister? Something tells me if this girl wins this she will kill Screena with no doubt. It makes me clench my stake tighter. I throw my bag to the side not wanting it to get in the way. For a moment we just stare at each other. Neither one of us wanting to make the first move. Katie needs strategy, she is skilled though. I am stronger then her but she might be faster. I need to end this quickly.
She smiles and I step forward. She aims her arm and the axe in her hand soars through the air. I hit the ground just as it lodges itself into the tree behind me right where my head was. My heart rate fastens. But she is above me now, she digs her small foot into my back and then into my head so my face is shoved into the dirt.
She wanted me to drop to the ground; it is why she threw the axe. She knew I would duck to the ground and be at a point of weakness. But Katie doesn't just want to kill me quickly; she wants to drag it on. But how? If she were to just take her time I might retrieve I chance to overpower her. She is just twelve after all.
Of course, she needs to make me pass out. But how? I think back to the day of Oz's death. There was a large dent in the mud where he landed. He passed out. I see the glare at first with the sun reflecting off of it and move just in time so that she can't inject the needle into me. That needle must have a drug that makes people pass out and it gives her time to drag out her kill without them escaping or killing her. How sadistic, how intelligent.
The Capitol must love this. I hold the stake almost bringing it into her before she swiftly moves to the side. It is clear what her strength is, her speed and small body. She is a small target. I am not slow, that is for sure, but I need to relay on the fact I am bigger than her. With the thought I grunt as I push my body into her small on surprising her and she falls to the mud and I step my foot into her chest. Then with the other I step on the needle breaking it so the liquid inside spills onto the ground.
I feel a small wet drop of rain. Of course it has to begin to rain now, of course. Though my foot is shoved into her chest to restrict her breath she doesn't panic. She doesn't beg for mercy. She just laughs. "So are you going to kill me partner? Are you going to kill someone from your own District?" She spits at me. Like she wasn't going to kill me.
"You do not represent District Three," I say disgusted she is from my home. My home which I love. She is not from there, she can't be. "You killed Oz. At least Aschen didn't die from your hands but you still killed Oz and you wanted to kill Aschen." I say.
"So?" She says mockingly. I dig my boot further into her stomach.
"They were my friends." I say and hold up the stake. Now or never.
One of us will be dead, and it won't be me.
District Three
Katie Keller
Micro is not one of violence. He is not one for emotions either. But somehow that glistening look in his face makes me realize he is going to kill me. I am going to die. The thought of all the people's blood on my hands and how I am dying from the hands of the boy who I dreamt of having his guts in my hands. I can almost see them now.
My family. Standing their behind Micro, I can almost see them. It makes me laugh a little louder. Everyone knows I am not innocent now. It is no surprise.
That girl, the one who knew too much. Much like Micro the annoying brat. I think of the scars from our fight and it makes me smile the blood from the fact Micro's boots are digging into my chest on my lips. I lick my lips to keep it off my pale skin, it tastes rusty.
There is that girl from the reaping. Who I made sure she was poisoned as she said goodbye. She was so foolish I doubt anyone misses her. But the thought of how gullible she was… it makes me laugh. It makes my entire body shake as Micro prepares to turn the lights out for me.
Finally Oz and Boxxy. My first televised kills. Of course Boxxy stopped me from torturing her she was still my kill. I stop laughing tired of seeing all of their faces and just go through each one at a time. Their screams. Their tears. Their blood… it pouring from their bodies as their eyes slowly but eventually go dark. Going blank signaling their death.
Seven dead because of me. I think that is something. But I am not winning, that sucks. That really sucks. I refuse to go out cowardly. I open my eyes staring with tears of laughter and stare at Micro as the stake soars downwards through the air and into my heart.
After all the lives I have taken it is finally time for me to go. And darkness consumes me.
So this is what death feels like.
District Four
Ariel Finn, 16
The rain pours soaking my clothes and my hair so it clamps to my face. I let a sob break through and it jolts my body.
So weak…
So ugly…
The pain is so unbearable. I didn't die in that explosion but I saw what was left of the bodies. I got a trident and a small pack of supplies but it was something that goes over my shoulder, not even a back pack. I might have lived but my face. Burn marks all over. On my cheek on the left. On my chin and on my forehead. On my neck. All of my right arm. On my stomach and back. One that caused a hole in my pants. They weren't awful, they won't kill me. But I feel so ugly.
What does Aalto think? How can he bear to look at me? I shove the thought away, he doesn't care he will still love me no matter what. I know that much. And if I win they will fix my face.
I twirl a piece of hair. My brother needs my revenge. I need to kill Kenmeina. I need to win, but do people even want to sponsor my ugly face? I need to win. I want this over now. At least the rain feels nice against my burns.
I fall to the side curling up in a ball and let the rain pelt onto my skin. Does it even matter anymore? That is when I hear footsteps.
District Seven
Isaac Total, 17
I feel two hand squeeze around me and Dawn shove her head into my shoulder. I laugh a little, "I just need to get something I will be quick." I tell her and she realizes my body and I move away from her in the small covered area around the trees to protect us from the rain and get onto my knees and lean down to her laying body and kiss her quickly before getting up.
It still doesn't feel right to kiss her. It feels wonderful but it is the fact I know one of us has to die. Four cannons in one day? This is insane and I just hope that number doesn't move up to five. "Be back quick." Dawn says smiling slightly.
I nod and grab my hatchet walking forward and search through woods with the rain still pouring and head to where we set up our snares. It takes me a little while to find them but when I do I frown when I see they have caught nothing. Of course. Guess we are just going to have to finish up what we have from the Cornucopia. I can still remember the bodies littering on the ground. I haven't killed anyone.
For a moment I think about it, what it would be like to kill. Here it is really kill or be killed. I just don't know if I could do it. I mean psychically I could easily do it, the hatchet and axe are like extensions of my arms. And I am fast. But mentally I don't know. It would be hard. And I think I am one for mercy.
What if Dawn was that one person left? I so badly don't want it to come to that but now it is just nine of us… seven other people to kill her. But I don't want her dead. I realize it so miserably now I want to cry and scream because I don't want her dead. I don't, but I want to live. I think I could never kill Dawn. I just couldn't. Not anymore at least.
I walk quickly back wrapping my jacket closer to keep warm and hear a scream. I blink quickly and rush forward and try to find my way through the maze of the forest and I can feel my heart beating like it will break through my rips. That was Dawn's scream. I know it.
I rush through the clearing to see two figures. One on the ground with another stronger looking on sitting on the chest of the other with a weapon rose. "No!" I scream and throw the hatchet through the air and the girl jumps so it lodges itself into the tree. The figure rushes away and I see the flash of red hair. Ariel.
I rush to Dawn, no blood. She is okay! "Isaac…" She whispers and the sadness in her voice makes my smile disappear.
"There is no blood…" I whisper.
"Poison." She says. She chokes and I see a splotch of bed. I see next to her as she moves slightly up and see the bag of her medicine spilled all over. Ariel didn't kill her because she poisoned her.
"No," I say a tear already running down my face. I knew this had to happen but why so soon.
She puts a finger and wipes away my tear. "Don't it is okay we have a little time." She says coughs again and I see the pain in her eyes. I nod and kiss her lips and then her noise and forehead. "Tell me a story." She whispers.
I blink not knowing what to do. But don't I know what she wants to hear? "You know I can't help but wonder what it would have been if we were in the same District." She says.
"If you were I would visit you every day." I tell her she smiles. "I would get up early to go into the forest and pick you a bundle of yellow flowers and bring them to your family's medicine shop. Every day." I tell her.
"I bet you would."
I continue, "We would first meet though in school. Middle school, first day. You would be in my class and I would just stare at you. Because you are so beautiful Dawn." I would never tell her these things if it wasn't for the fact she is dying. I will never get to tell her these things. She smiles. "And we would be friends. At first great friends. It isn't until you talk about what you believe. You know that is what I like about you best? The fact that you say what you feel and when you do it is so plausible." She says and I kiss her lips again. It doesn't feel wrong now because I know she is dying and I want to remember her fondly.
I want her to die happy.
District Six
Dawn Evans, 16
I never thought it would end like this. She came out of nowhere. At first all I could look at where her burns. But we struggled fighting until she ended up on top and shoved the poison pills down my throat and that is when Isaac came. It when I found out this is how I die. It is how I figured out I truly love Isaac.
"You know what I like about you best?" He says and I smile. "The fact you say what you feel and when you do it is so plausible." He says. Most guys would just say how beautiful I am. And he did but he said what he really thought.
He kisses my lips, just a peck. "I love the fact of how much you love you siblings." I tell him. I don't know if I could do that, be a father to two little children. Feed and care for them, I give him credit for it. He looks so sad. His green eyes full of tears. He doesn't seem to mind the rain is pouring down his face.
"And then it would be when you finally told me what you felt about pain and all of those emotions that I kiss you." He says. The situation sounds familiar, because it is real, but in this story I am not dying. And I can be with him.
I can picture it. I can smell the fragrant from the yellow flowers. I can see him in middle school staring at me. It all seems so real. "I would graduate first but when you graduate I would beg my boss to let me skip time from work to see you graduate. You would become a healer. You would save lives." He says and I close my eyes the pain starting to grow. Death is so close.
I always knew me and Isaac could never work out. How could we? We were from different Districts and one of us had to die. We both knew that. Yet it seemed like I could forget that, it was naïve. And now I am on the verge of death. I cough up a little blood that Isaac just wipes away with his shirt.
"I love my family Isaac." I tell him. "If you happen to see them make sure to tell them that." I don't even really know what I mean when I say this. It just comes out. The poison is eating away at my brain. I will do soon, I am lucky to be alive this long.
"Deal," He says and he kisses me one last time before the darkness overwhelms me. I die though happy with my hand squeezing onto the person I love. I die knowing I have a Uncle, Father, and sister who love me. My sister was never perfect. I get that know, she was her own person. Just like I am my own person.
I hear a cannon before I follow loose myself to the dark.