Persei Baxwoll (14), District Eleven Male

Nibbling on a piece of bread, my crossbow lies idly across my lap. It hadn't been all too long ago that I had heard another cannon; that I had finally known what had happened to Wednesday. Really, that girl had been incredibly creepy, but I didn't mean that she was going to have to die. No, I had meant for her to just climb back down the later, leaving me up here in the flower covered grasses. This place had probably been the safest in the entire arena, even more so that I don't have to worry about the littlest Career breathing down my neck. Miri probably would have found it in a heartbeat, I can't help but think ruefully, but those kinds of thoughts aren't really helpful for my situation. Neither does thinking about who else could be left in this arena, out for my blood; but then again, it wasn't like I didn't think of them the very same way.

Boom. Boom.

Grinning, I can't help but relish in the fact that there are only four of us left now. Way better odds for me, especially since I already had become the underdog of the underdogs. No allies had been able to help me along the way, ever since Ether and Ebon had died in the Bloodbath; I can't help but keep on missing those guys. Most of the time, the people that win the Hunger Games are really old, about seventeen or eighteen, and certainly not fourteen or thirteen. That only happens in extremely rare cases, usually with a dysfunctional Career Pack, and an extremely challenging arena, in which the smaller Tributes have the advantage by being able to hide in the best spots. Actually, that pretty much does describe this arena right now, and heck, the Careers were incredibly shabby this time around! Grinning like mad, the next hunk of bread I rip off reminds me of back home, and ironically, this is probably more than I would usually get to eat in a day. Most of the food that we grow has to be shipped to the Capitol, death being the punishment if you defy them; just about each and every one of us is extremely malnourished.

If I actually managed to win this thing, then my parents, Miri, and I wouldn't have to work in the orchards anymore. As delightful as that sounds, it almost feels like a stranger's life, certainly not mine. All I've been doing for as long as I could remember is climbing up those trees, picking the fruits and scampering down when the whistle sounds of. Vaguely, I remember that a girl who died in the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games came up with it, but I can't seem to recall her name. If I had lost, would people forget who I was too? Sickeningly, I can't even recall the names of our Tributes from a couple years ago, just the generic appearance that is practically identical to us all. No doubt, if I didn't come out of here alive, only my family, Tiberius, and Lianna would have any clue who I was. Vile threatened to rise out of my throat like that, especially since the loaf of bread I'd found lying around didn't taste like it had come from the ovens of District Eleven; this was Capitol fare. Whoever had sent this in, for whatever Tribute, wouldn't even remember their name in a year to come.

There's no way in the world that I could have kept eating it, even if I wasn't as full as I would have liked to be. But I'm used to it, after the way they starved us back in District Eleven, so much that a majority of us don't even know what it's like to feel full; we all know too well what it's like to be hungry. People are probably not going to understand why I'm doing this, yet that doesn't matter at all too me; I doubt we'll be in this arena for more than another day. Chucking the bread, it hits a large grouping of white flowers, causing them to tumble and shake. Watching carefully, it's weird that they're still continuing to move, that they haven't gone to a halt yet; the bread hadn't weighed that much, had it? Quickly looking around, just about everything is shaking as well, like we're having some sort of earthquake. Gulping, the large willow trees are jerking around too, appearing as if they're going to fall down and crush me as soon as they possibly could. There really isn't any structure to take cover under, but maybe the Tributes inside of the mines aren't going to be faring very well; maybe they'll all die in the collapsing arena that I'm sure will occur. But my quickening heartbeat let me know that I'll have to find someplace safe before…

Boom.

Someone else had just died….Good news or bad news? Good news, as I'll only have two other Tributes now to face off, but bad news, as this earthquake is intending to kill from the looks of it. Probably created by the Gamemakers too, meaning that they're taking out the Tributes they don't like, to provide for a more exciting finale then they could have had us done on our own. Only seven days in, one of the shorter Hunger Games, but no doubt a deadly one as well; Miri's probably biting her nails the longer I stay here. She's probably screeching at me to run, especially when one of the willows hits the ground with a sickening thud. Gulping, I found myself scrambling backwards, not quite on my feet, but doing more of an awkward crab walk. It'll be a long fall, I figure, if I try to run to safety during this catastrophe. My hand brushed the coolness of metal, letting me know that if I keep on scooting backwards, I'll be in for a long and frightening death, eerily similar to the one that Wednesday had been dealt earlier. Watching with wide eyes, another one of the willow trees collapses, rolling closer to me from the violent shaking of the ground; if I don't go down the hatch, it's going to kill me.

Anxiously, I look up towards the sky, as if expected to see a white parachute come sailing down towards me. No such luck appears, as prices for items increase the longer the Hunger Games goes on; it must have cost of fortune for the bottle of water someone sent me earlier. A bottle of water that I had downed gratefully, casting it aside into the little piles of supplies someone had hidden under one of the tree trunks. Oddly enough, there'd been an entire pouch full of the whitish purple flowers that grow up here, with gloves kept not all too far away. It felt like a warning signal to me, so I hadn't dared to touch them…I didn't really look forward to dying, so anything that could possibly keep me alive another hour wasn't taken for granted. But I guess the Gamemakers were trying to get their message across, about exactly where they wanted me to go, because the entire grass area burst into flames. Leaping little hot sparks came right at me, causing a scream to escape me, and a couple curses towards the Mockingjays as well in the process.

"Burn to death or go into the collapsing mine…Collapsing mine it is!" I mutter, swinging my legs into the little hole, carefully lowering myself down so I can have a firm grip on the ladder.

With a great boom, sounding eerily like a cannon blast, the last of the willow trees fell tumbling down. Of course, this one couldn't just be coming right at me, but it had to be ablaze as well, the fire stretching outwards angrily. Fire and Mockingjays, two of the things that I hated the most; if the Gamemakers had known that, I bet they would have found some way to combine the two in a horrifying mutation. But right now, I think they're doing pretty good with the fear factor, especially since the burning tree is almost right on me; another brilliant way to die in the arena. My eyes dart around quickly, trying to find some way to stop the fire from leaping onto me after the tree has fallen, and they rest on the metal covering for this route. Though time is running out, it just so happens to be my best chance of survival, even if some first degrees burns may accompany it as the gruesome price for living. Pushing away any and all fear, like Tiberius and Lianna did so often without me, I reached my fumbling hand out and grasped the little handle. Tugging it close to me, this usually didn't take all too long to do, but now that my life has been threatened, each second feels as if it lasts a minute; a minute that I don't have to spare. Eventually, the heavy metal clicks into place, right as the tree slams it down, as if it's trying assist me.

Taking a calming breath, I wrench my fingers from the handle, marveling only slightly about how thoughtful the Gamemakers would have to be to put it on the bottom side, rather than the upper. Placing the fumbling fingers down on the metal, part of me feels astonished when I feel myself begin to slip. Instantly, I make myself grip it tighter, feeling the vibrations increase dramatically, reminding me of the new peril that I've just plunged myself into. And thanks to the burning trees out there, all options of escaping to the outside have vanished; the only thing I can do now is try to climb down without falling. Hopefully they're looking for a big showdown between me and the other two Tributes, whose identities remain a mystery to me; they wouldn't have revealed who they were until the very end of the day. And unfortunately for me, this day has just started to begin; I'd already escaped death once this time as well. Thinking on that, my eyes widen as I realize my fatal mistake, the thing that may very well cause me to lose my life very soon.

My crossbow is still up there. My only weapon is out of my grasp, while the other Tributes probably have enough to supply a young army down there. Blaming the Mockingjay's doesn't help that much either, those dirty traitors, telling all of our words to the Capitol may not have been responsible for that this time. Yet then again, that could be exactly how they wanted me to think; when my back is turned, something horrible is going to happen, I just know it. Feelings of paranoia return to me, the same way they had on my Reaping Day, and I know that I best keep a lookout for any signs of danger. Besides the danger that I've already envisioned, in which I fall off of the ladder, or the secure metal that it's built out of snaps under the pressure; neither of them is a way that I want to know what it feels like. And so, I keep forcing my shaky hands and feet to climb downwards, telling myself all of the funny jokes and stories that Lianna had shared with me, as if he's going to be able to keep me sane. For once in my life, I'm actually right about something; a small smile is gracing my lips when I'm almost halfway down this violent and lurching contraption. I'm almost halfway to making it towards the finale…If I could have been able to stop time forever, now would have been the perfect time to do so, since someone is going to die soon enough, someone innocent.

As soon as my feet hit the shaking ground, I have this horrible gut feeling that it's going to be me…


Leah Dagger (16), District Two Female-POV

As soon as I feel the steady ground beneath me feel like jiggling pudding, my eyes snap wide open. All images of the peaceful dream, in which Matt and I were baking cookies together in Victors Village, vanished from my head like dust in the wind. Out of all the jerks back to reality I'd received, the four cannon blasts that had incorporated themselves into my dream had been quite the lovely present. And as my vicious green eyes scanned around the room, the sloshing water of the underground lake confirmed my suspicions; it's time for the finale. In other years, they've used mutations to draw everyone together, but that's not the route they're taking this time. Somewhere in this arena, these perils are going to draw us all together, that way they can have their epic fight to the death.

"You will not want to decline this invitation lightly. Food will be provided, along with something each of you quite desire…"

Strapping on my vest full of knives, intricate and beautiful, they reflect the light that the lake is casting astray. Numerous colors, one for each stripe of the iridescent rainbows I'm so familiar with, glimmer off of the walls. Even if the entire room is shaking, with rock chunks falling out of place at a more rapid pace than they had originally, a strange sense of calm has enveloped me. My lips twist into a cruel smile, imagining the panic that the other two Tributes must be feeling at a time like this; they shouldn't worry though, as I'll be putting them out of their misery soon enough. But of course, I won't be doing it in a way that's gentle or quick; no, I intend to give the Capitol the show that they deserve. A show worthy of being noted in the history books, for future generations to love and enjoy, and inspire someone to start training to bring honor to District Two once more. Standing to my feet, the backpack I'd snatched at the Feast draws my attention, knowing that the Gamemakers had promised that we would be wanting to use the supply it contained. Throwing it over my shoulders, I feel ready to attack the day, I feel ready to murder whatever two weaklings are left in the arena; part of me hopes that Jet isn't one of them.

"I know what you are…," he had murmured, his lips almost grazed my neck, "I know what you intend to do…I know you, Leah. But you don't know me…And you most certainly never will,"

Eyes narrowed, half of me wanted to give him the most painful death possible, and the other half hoped that I won't have to run into that boy. Something about him drew me in, casting my usual 'my way or the highway' attitude to need to go in for repairs; it bothered me immensely. Whoever killed him, that's if he's dead and I have a feeling that he is, deserves to be commended. But then again, it is possible that one of these falling chunks ended up being the culprit, reminding myself that I don't have all the time in the world to think; I have to get moving or risk losing the Hunger Games to some outlying District. Lowering my head ever so slightly, the auburn hair continues to get into my eyes, though I make sure that it doesn't bother me; all I have to do now if find the safe path, the path to becoming a Victor.

With each step that I take, a little bit more of the falling rubble goes around me, causing a rather loud din and increasing mayhem. To make matters worse, air isn't going into my lungs as easily as it had before; I ignore it, deciding that it's because I'm running directly after waking up. Normally when I'd do this, a splash of cool water would have been effective, and as the lake is behind me, I doubt that the spray is going to be gracing my skin around any time soon. Forcing myself onward, I vaguely take note of a slight pattern in the doors that I'm passing; each of them has a little red dot glowing on their handle. The Gamemakers must have wanted us to escape to their little safe zone, because otherwise, they wouldn't have been showing us the correct path to follow; how thoughtful of them, I mused. Well, it's probably because they know how much of a violent and painful death I'm prepared to deal out, especially since I have at least fourteen knifes strapped onto my body at this very moment. Thinking back to it, I can't help but realize how much better off I am than other Careers had been in past Hunger Games. Most of them ended up with only one of their preferred weapon left on them, which is usually lost in the fray; I doubt that it will be happening to me. That idiot Jackson on the other hand, it would have happened to him no matter how long he tried, and because of it, he's sleeping with the fishes now. District Two deserves a true champion to represent them anyways; District Two deserves to have me win the Hunger Games for them in this Quarter Quell.

Suddenly, my legs give out from beneath me, sending me tumbling towards the ground. Everything's looking hazy, moving erratically and all over the place, as if the arena has been possessed; the finale must be getting closer and closer now. Once again, I gasp in air, but nothing seems to be filling my lungs, in fact, it just succeeds it making it a more and more desperate need for survival. Blinking slightly, I try cupping my hands around my face; it still doesn't help either. It must have been a minute before I tear off the backpack, looking through it with shaking hands before I finally find the prize that I've been looking for; an oxygen mask. Pulling on the black strap, no adjustments need to be made, as it slides onto my head perfectly; as if it had been made for me, and only for me. The delicious flow of oxygen returns, allowing my head to gradually clear, enough to remind me that I need to keep on moving, that I need to keep on pushing myself, with the risk of losing the Hunger Games hanging over my head. Springing up again, the little backpack that used to contain the lifesaving item is left behind, soon being buried in the rubble that the arena is collapsing; I need to move even faster than I had been. Running again, everyone in Panem must have been cheering on one of us at the moment, and from the way I have my back slightly bent, as if it could protect me from the falling objects, I bet that I look like a predator, ready to go and kill the weak prey. Well, if I did, then it wouldn't be all too far from the truth at all; a cruel smile remains on my face at that thought.

"Well, well, well…," I state, slowing down to a walk as the tremors cease, "Looks like the other two happen to be Blondie and Nerdy…How delightful."

Percy, no, Persei stares at me with wide eyes; sadly enough, there isn't a single weapon on the boy at all. Grass stains are all over his clothes, something that I find peculiar enough, and he doesn't offer any explanation, even when I raise my eyebrow at him. Right, I'll be killing him first, as the other one actually has a weapon, which will provide for the fight that I had always imagined winning the Hunger Games with. Besides, Blondie's equipped with a javelin, which most of cost her sponsors a pretty penny or two to acquire; I'll have fun putting her back on the list of the dead where she belongs. How in the world this malnourished thing managed to make it to the final three, I'd probably never find out, but it doesn't matter at all to me; I've got bigger things on my mind right now. The last thing I note is that each of them are wearing the oxygen masks, probably having realized that the Gamemakers had drained that precious substance out of the arena; in school, the brief bit we learned on mines said that oxygen did run low whenever it caved in. Realistically, this is going to be a great finale anyway; I'm going to be the one who is declared victorious at the very end.

"Let's get started then shall we?" I ask, mimicking a Capitol accent, "And this time, we'll be starting with the boys…"


Maya Eberhart (16), District Six Female-POV

Persei and I each exchange a silent look, forming a temporary alliance between us. Neither one of us really looks forward towards the idea of being killed by Leah; we just want to be able to go home finally. Honestly, I'd never even thought that I could have gotten this far into the Hunger Games, but I've learned that life is full of surprises; good surprises and bad surprises. So far, I believe that I've had my fair share of each, ever since I'd been Reaped for the Hunger Games and forced into this morbid arena of death. Death that I'd helped to cause as well, death that people are going to hate me for, and probably the only way that they're going to be able to remember me as time goes on. I hope that people learn to hate me, that someone under the rainbow knows that the pain I've been forced to cause isn't all right; the pain I'm causing is as bad as what the Careers are doing.

"Let's get started then shall we?" Leah asked, sounding like an Escort does during the Reaping, "And this time, we'll be starting with the boys…"

His eyes widen even more, reminding me painfully of Cat; they were both fourteen too. Both of them were too young for the Hunger Games, and the vicious red haired killing machine didn't seem bothered by that in the very slightest. I doubted that she would ever know what it would be like to be scared like that, to have someone young that you care about, that you would die for; she's a monster, born and bred. A monster that wants to kill innocent people; there's no way in the world I'm going to let that happen. Right about when her legs are tense looking like she's about to spring, I do the inevitable; I tackle her. Wrapping my legs around her neck, the Career goes to the ground with a crash, sending me tumbling with her, but I don't stop. Vaguely, I'm aware of Persei grabbing my javelin; hopefully he's still aiding me, not trying to kill me and Leah in one clean shot. If he did, I don't think I'd blame him in the very slightest though….Cat, I mean, Persei would want to be able to go home if they, I mean, he received a chance to.

"No thanks, Bubble Brain," I screech, keeping a tight grip on Leah as she rolls us forward, "I think you'd rather pick on someone your own size!"

Clamping my hands on Leah's hair, I pull it as much as I can, actually succeeding in ripping out a bit of the fire colored locks. She screams, jerking me abruptly upwards, shaking the grip that I had one her; I hit the ground with a thud. It literally knocks the wind out of me, causing me to exhale the air right into the mask, where it instantly travels back down into my lungs; I'm vaguely aware of the almost stale taste to it. Glancing around the cavern, Persei's face flashes back into my mind, looking incredibly frightened at something, something that I don't see coming until it's all too late. Plucked fresh from the compact black jacket, a throwing knife is headed my way, and fortunately, I jerk my head out of the way just in time to keep my life. The same thing isn't said for my ear though, as it's chopped off cleanly; I can't help but scream in pain from it. Jumping to my feet, I feel wobbly and off balance, probably just from the sickly sight of fresh blood, a dark crimson color, trailing down the side of my neck. If this had been a dream, I would have woken up right about not, sheen of sweat on me; but this time, I knew that this was all too real.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you…Could you say that again?" Leah asks maliciously, twirling another one of her knives in her hand.

Gritting my teeth, I pluck the throwing knife from the ground. Sure, hand-to-hand combat had always been my thing, but most people say that using a weapon should be an extension of yourself. In this case, all it's going to do is make me even more deadly, and make Leah feel the pain that she's been dealing to others all too carelessly. Keeping my knees bent, shoulder width apart, the soundlessness on one side of me is unnerving; there's so many sounds that I hadn't accounted for before. But then again, if I did manage to take down Leah, and if something happened to Persei, I'm positive that the Capitol doctors will be all too eager to patch me back together again. Victors are almost like ragdolls in the end, in need of the master seamstress. And in my case, I'm in need of vengeance; vengeance for all of the people that the Careers had killed, something that they should have rightfully earned long, long ago.

"Your little brain isn't going to be able to understand," I say coolly, as if I'm completely indifferent to what's going on, "All you've ever learned is how to kill and how to die. I think it's time that you practice the latter, Leah."

Once again, the two of us charged at each other, with Persei being the terrified watcher. Glaring with steely eyes, I ducked under a knife throw, prepared to knock some sense into the murderer with the hardest punch I could. For some reason, Leah threw back her head and started laughing, running towards something that I hadn't even known; my punch hit empty air. Darting forward again, I'm aware that Persei had been in this general area, and I can't help but hope that he had had the sense to run for his life. A cannon booms, in perfect timing with my sinking heart, when I finally lay my eyes on him; that knife hadn't been aimed at me…That knife had hit its target all too well…

Growling, I found my body lunging forward, tackling Leah to the ground once more, but this time I ended up straddling her waist. Plunging the knife into her cheek, I twisted it painfully, listening for her screams. Nothing happened, just a ferocious beast, struggling as much as they were able to under my grip, no matter how many times I tried to keep her stable. Slapping her, the fresh blood smeared onto my hand, right as Leah shot her hips up, sending me flying once more. The rocky cave wall caught my fall, causing all of the breath in me to leave once more, and just like last time, the mask provided me with some more, a gross taste to it; must have been recycled, I noted.

"Did you really think that you'd be able to defeat a Career?" she scolded, walking towards me slowly, like a predator would circle their prey.

Spitting up at her, I smiled innocently, as if I didn't have a clue about what she was talking about. With one of my hands behind my back, it clutched the little knife tightly, thinking hard about what I would have to do. If Leah lunged forward like the pattern for our brawls had been, then it would be all a matter of timing to make the tables turn, to make it so I'd be the one going back to District Six, instead of her returning to District Two. From experience, those walls weren't very cushy, even if they had considerably less rocks covering them than they had before the little earthquake. The Career girl growled, wiping out two more knives, muttering something under her breath about a mat; she must have been going insane, I reckoned. Once in a while, the underdogs have to win anyways, something that I'm hoping that I'll be able to prove soon enough.

"I promised them that I'd give a real good show," Leah said sinisterly, almost pausing in her tracks to look at me, through eyes that didn't have the murderous glint in them anymore, "I promised, didn't I? So don't think that any of your idiotic notions of escape is going to work on me. After all, I am a Career, the last surviving one!"

"And the next dead one," I taunt, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Just as I planned, Leah shrieks and jumps forward at me. 1…2…3…Jump! Moving abruptly out of the way, the Career girl is on a collision course with the wall, right where my back had been moments again. It might have been a full minute before she recovers, but I don't notice, as I'm darting towards where Persei's corpse lays; the Gamemakers won't remove it until one of us is pronounced Victor. Held tightly by his slightly warm hands, though they're considerably colder than my own, is my javelin. Glancing over him for a minute, my stomach begins to feel queasy; that could have been Cat lying right there. Bucking up the courage to grab the weapon is harder than I would have thought it would have been, probably because I didn't want to disturb whatever peace Persei had managed to find in the next life. But at a low curse let out by Leah, I shove those thoughts aside and arm myself; the little knife lies on the floor a couple feet away, having been dropped in favor for something bigger.

"Come on, Dagger, don't tell me you're feeling dazed…," I criticize, trying not to pay attention to the steadily increasing flow of blood out of where my ear had been.

Leah rolls her eyes at me, standing upright with her feet spread apart widely. Hair is tangled beyond imagining, getting into her eyes as she lets out a childlike laugh, growing louder and louder in volume. Yeah, this murderer has just become an official psychopath, and someone who would be paying for the lives of others with her own life. Everyone who had suffered, this would be the one that would be sacrificed for them! Hearing my own words once again, my eyes widened slightly, realizing exactly how I had been sounding…Was I turning into a monster?

I didn't have to kill. But I did it anyways…

Closing my eyes briefly, I could hear Leah lurching forward, even if the sound had dramatically reduced from what I had been used to. Everything had changed so quickly, so fast, that it literally had left my head spinning. Would leaving this place be a real victory? Was this the way that one really won the Hunger Games? Is it possible that there's really only one person who loses when playing this game? It felt more and more likely, but then the images of my family wormed back into my head. Both of my parents worked in the factory, not receiving enough money to support me and my siblings; they'd starve if I wasn't there to take out the tesserae. If I won the Hunger Games, it wouldn't be winning for my life; it would be winning for their lives. Strangely, I'm okay with that tradeoff; it's the least that I could do, to keep Cat from starvation, and from entering her own name into the Reaping way too many times again. Opening my eyes, the last Tribute left to take out in the arena stands in front of me, cackling her head off as she clutches a knife; the black vest she had been wearing lies abandoned several feet away. Leah tilts her head to the side, grinning grotesquely as she pushes me over onto the ground.

"Let's not make this quick, shall we?" Leah whispers in my ear, effectively pinning my arm; nothing keeps my feet from moving though.

Swinging my legs, I send Leah toppling, with me on top this time, "I disagree. I think that you've been alive long enough!"

Wrenching the knife out of Leah's hand, I bring it down towards her heart, ready to dig it in with all of my might. She catches my hand though, trembling only slightly in the power struggle, and manages to raise the dagger up slightly; frowning with concentration, I try to calculate a quick way to distract her. Like a gift from above, the idea comes to me, and know that the Capitol is going to enjoy it as well; it's not meant for them though. Bringing down my fist, Leah's nose cracks painfully under it; holding up the knife had prevented her from trying to block it. Repeating that twenty three times, once for each of the dead Tributes, a discolored lump is all that remains of her nose now; chillingly, it reminds me of how Tetra had looked before she died. A strangled cry comes out of her, increasing when I rip the oxygen mask off of her face; oxygen that's being denied to others because of her.

"They had lives too!" I yell, putting more force into driving the knife down towards her heart, "You Careers make me sick! You're not the only one with families! But of course, you wouldn't know that!"

And this time, Leah doesn't fight back against the blade, allowing it to fall down and sink into her flesh. The cannon hasn't sounded yet, so I jerk it out, twisting it first, to cause a suitable amount of pain for the fiery haired Tribute. Each time I bring it down, a name and a face flickers through my mind, all of them being shipped back to various Districts in a wooden box. Distantly, I can hear the cannon fire, signaling that another Tribute in the arena has done, but I've only done this thirteen times. Eleven more people that could have been alive, had it not been for Leah, still needed to be avenged. Eventually, the strength, powered by fury, starts to fade from my arms. My heartbeat, which had been beating louder than a war drum, slows down dramatically as well; everything seems to be getting fuzzy. Taking in a deep breath of air, everything is returned to clarity again, as my mind races through what's going to happen next; I don't even realize that the knife remains in the gory corpse of Leah Dagger.

Suddenly, the voice of Aelius Templesmith booms across the arena, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my extreme honor to present the Victor of the One Hundred and Seventy Fifth Hunger Games! Miss Maya Eberhart of District Six!"

A tired grin breaks out across my face, right as the very top of the arena crumbles to pieces. But oddly enough, none of them fall on me, merely going around, yet avoiding the bodies of Persei and Leah. Blinking to adjust my eyes, it had been a week since I'd seen the sun, a week since I'd seen natural light. Waiting patiently above, the same hovercraft that had taken us into the arena just a week ago lowered down a ladder, intending for me to climb up of it. Quickly looking around, there really isn't anything from here that I wanted to take with me; there wasn't anything about this experience that I would want to remember. Yet that wasn't the way that things would go, as I already knew what I had to do when I stepped onto the bottom rung of the ladder. It practically glue me to it, some sort of electric current that prevent moving, as they whisked me out of the arena.

I wasn't just living for me anymore; I was living for twenty five others who never received a chance to…


Cashmere Combe: Skull shattered by a mace, throat stabbed and sliced with a rapier by Wednesday Vespers (D10)

Griffin Holloway: Shot with an arrow by Persei Baxwoll (D11)

Leah Dagger: Stabbed twenty three times in the heart by Maya Eberhart (D6)

Jackson Leo Ross: Stabbed with a dagger after wrestling with Adia Loya (D13)

Malaya Finaca: Tortured and stabbed in the heart with a knife by Wednesday Vespers (D10)

Jitz Low: Skull smashed and strangled by Griffin Holloway (D1)-BB

Fialla Howards: Electrocuted from a trap created by Reina Vane (D5)

Nicolas Riddle: Bleeding profusely from Fialla Howards (D4), suffered severe brain damage from a trap constructed by Maya Eberhart (D6)

Reina Vane: Knife flung into heart from a trap created by Maya Eberhart (D6)

Elezar Brewen: Stabbed with a dagger by a dying Adia Loya (D13)

Maya Eberhart: Victor of the 175th Hunger Games!

Cassius Lisette: Shot with an arrow, then cut up into several pieces by Tetra Comn (D11)

Juniper Griffin: Stabbed with a dagger repeatedly by Willa Hellmans (D8)

Axel Treefall: Sliced into pieces with a Japanese Long Sword by Griffin Holloway (D1)

Willa Hellmans: Pummeled by Axel Treefall (D7), who left her to the Minotaur, which speared her heart with its horn (The Capitol)

Abe Mercer: Fell off his platform, his bad knee had given out (The Capitol)-BB

Cedar Tremaine: Throat slit with a silver dagger by Tetra Comn (D11)-BB

Ebon Furial: Skull cracked, dangled as he bleeds to death by Cashmere Combe (D1)-BB

Wednesday Vespers: Fell to her death after letting go of the ladder (suicide)

Ether Lessing: Tortured with stiletto knives by Leah Dagger (D2)-BB

Tetra Comn: Head butted and then stabbed by Maya Eberhart (D6)

Persei Baxwoll: Knife flung into heart by Leah Dagger (D2)

Rocky Nightlock: Sword driven completely through upper body by Jackson Leo Ross (D2)

Josh Quick: Speared through the stomach by Reina Vane (D5)-BB

Adia Loya: Skull slammed repeatedly against the cavern wall by Elezar Brewen (D5)

Jet Newton: Crushed underneath the falling rock and stalactites during the cave-in (The Capitol)


Persei Baxwoll: The main reason that you didn't win was because of character development. Mentally, you'd already been paranoid of just about each and everything, keeping you cautious and aware. At the very start of the Hunger Games, you were just a shy kid, missing their friends, and knowing that everyone was out to get them. Though you did mature a bit throughout, nothing emotionally affected you after that; you'd only taken one life, and it was a Career's. There really wasn't anything else that I could do to you, as out of all the Tributes, you probably had the best sanity of them all. But besides that, you were a fun character to write for, especially whenever you mentioned the Mockingjays. All of the little superstitions you had may have been laughable, but you stuck up for what you believed in, part of the reason that you were able to go so far in the Hunger Games. Yet the Victor has to be willing to kill, willing to do whatever it took, and you preferred to give them a choice; you didn't do it to anyone who didn't enjoy killing either. Hanging out on the sidelines, you would have been tortured if it had ended up being just you and Leah. That's part of the reason that you had the quick and accidental death like that. Now, Tiberius, Lianna, Miri, your parents, the Mockingjays and I are all going to miss you; may you rest in peace.

Leah Dagger: Sanity, that's pretty much why you didn't win; you totally lost it in the end. Before your little meltdown, I actually expected you to pull a fast one on me and beat Maya, even though I had already picked her as the winner. Confidence, that's your best trait that I had picked up, besides the fierce determination to come home to Matt. Speaking of Matt, I really wish that I could come up with a happy ending for him, but who knows, he may very well surprised us all. Growing up in an abusive home was hard, something that not very many people could have done easily, but you managed to thrive. Training for the Hunger Games, it gave you an emotional outlet to take out all of your frustration on, and a way to protect your brother one day. Volunteering for the Hunger Games, it may not have been the best in the end, but on the bright side, they finally brought justice towards your father. Other kids might have been scared to do it; Leah Dagger you're quite a fearless character, a character that I really enjoyed writing throughout the Hunger Games. Now, as for the Career Pack, I sometimes felt that you were the only true Career in there. The others had quiet personalities, joking and singing, and none of them were really bloodthirsty. But Leah, you were the exception to that, the reason that you managed to get so far in the Hunger Games; you were a force to be reckoned with. Matt is going to miss you dearly, and District Two isn't going to hate you for losing; may you rest in peace.