HOLLA! So this is it! This is the final day and the day we find out who is the winner of the 76th Annual Hunger Games! The winner has been decided by your votes, my decision making and the way that this chapter turned out. I really hope you enjoy it!

I didn't get any feedback on the last chapter, I would love to know what you thought about it and I hope you are pleased with the outcome.

After this chapter, there will be one or two chapters, I haven't decided yet and then it will be at an end. This has been a whirlwind of a journey and I have enjoyed every chapter of it.

So enjoy this chapter and do let me know what you think!


County 1 – Phoenix Tiell (15)

The sun rises, slowly creeping up on the last day in the arena. Only one of us will make it out of the arena live and I am determined more than ever that it will be me. I have made it this far now, I can do it!

I am, rather rudely I might add; awaken by the sound of Caesar Flickerman's voice coming over the speakers. "Well done tributes. You have made it to the final day of the Hunger Games. All of you are thirsty and are in desperate need of water which we have provided. Until now." My eyes widen and I peek over the top, confirming what I feared he was saying, the lake that I had seen yesterday was no longer there. "Only one of you, or two from the same county, will make it out of here alive. Good luck final tributes and may the odds be ever in your favour."

There's always a twist, I shouldn't have been so patient in waiting for the water for today. We have to start now, we have to get this over and done with and let me go home. I peer over at the three tributes who are now alert and wide awake. They too had been shocked by the news and now they were armed. Armed and dangerous and a threat, an obstacle in the path for my trip home.

I looked at each of them, which one was the biggest threat? Romeo and Sebastian may have killed once each but they were never very proficient, I never remembered any of the scores from the training session other than my own. Why should I? So that left Reid, a dangerous looking boy who looked perhaps even scarier with his weapons secured in his hands. Yes, he was clearly the biggest threat that I face right now. I could worry about the two later.

I smile as I finger one of three throwing knives I have let. I gave Skyler my fourth one was a parting present, reminded him that he wasn't completely invincible. I have not quite been able to throw this far but I've always been dead accurate with my near throws so how much more difficult can it be? I twirl the blade between my fingers for a moment; this is the beginning of my journey home. I take a deep breath and line u my knife tip with his heart, my target. I breathe in as I draw my hand back, breathe out and I flick it, letting it turn in the air and I almost lose it in the 30m or so that it has to travel.

The scream confirms that I have found my target. I risk a peek to see Reid clutching the area just above his heart, okay so almost on target. Romeo and Sebastian are torn between going to help him and risk getting hurt or saving themselves if anyone comes over the hills. But the canon puts an end to that dilemma and I cannot help but smile. One day, eight to go.

"Is that how you want it, coward?" Romeo's shout comes right across the patch of arena. "Come and show yourselves, you fool for not facing Reid yourself like a man. Let's finish this!"

I see what he is doing. He's baiting, waiting for it all to happen. He's ensuring that at least one person comes up so that they can all get it over and done with. Slowly I rise, I hate being called a coward, no one without guts would dare to call my something like that. But I find that I am not alone. All across the plain, I see the other tributes pop up, some far slower and more cautious than others. We are all around and I can see Romeo stall momentarily as he realises he is surrounded.

This is the end.

County 6 – Sebastian Sleith (16)

Was Romeo freaking crazy? Was he trying to get himself killed? No, I know my friend better than that. Yes, I would call him a friend, a strange utterance from my mouth but I do mean it. He wants to get this whole thing over and done with, to go home alive or dead, that is the question that is haunting all of our minds right now.

Reid was suddenly alive and now he's death, I can barely properly register this fact before we are all set to go, ready to go down fighting. "Do you quarrel sir?" I whisper to Romeo as we go back to back, covering all angles.

Over the weeks, we've had time to develop our own codes in Shakespeare, a pleasant relief from trying to deal with all the horrors of what is happening around me. Romeo nods briefly. "Quarrel sir? No sir, but I do bite my thumb."

While this may appear as a meaningless conversation to some, a short snippet of the opening of Romeo and Juliet to others, it means so much more to us. My question alone begged Romeo the question if he was going to fight with me or against me. If his answer had been 'quarrel sir? Aye sir, and feverently.' It would have been the signal that we had to go it alone; it was each man to himself. A correct quote reply as it meant now, assured me that Romeo would not fight against me but if one of us was fatally injured, we should not rush to the other's aid unless they were free and would not be put in danger by doing so. We were still allies; it was just no longer an alliance we could be as tight knit in.

The closest tributes to us are Aella and Vihn, the two from different alliances but both fairly close to each other rather surprisingly. I glance at Romeo, I don't want to admit to him that I don't want to fight a girl as competent as Aella but Romeo seems determined enough to be able to fend her off so I head for the boy. He towers over me and clenches his fists. I reply in kindness, I'm glad it won't be so uneven as it is both the same weapon of choice, it somehow makes it even, though it isn't really.

It is strange, fighting someone who is a) two years older than me and b) someone who I have actually known in some kind of way for the last three weeks. I didn't know Henri at all; they were a non-existent who didn't stand out at all whereas Vihn had. He's got steady blows, a look of intense concentration on his face as he tries to find my weak spots. I've managed to land a few decent blows to his face and jaw, nothing too bad but if I'm not careful, he'll get me.

I go for an upper cut; one that I'm sure will get him back a few steps. But he's like Romeo and I can feel my arm on the verge of breaking as he twists around my back. He's got his arm around my neck and I should have learned from Romeo, oh the irony of dying the way I could have at the hands of my friend. But that time I didn't have a knife hidden in my pocket that I haven't used yet but I have easy access to. If I'm going down, so is he.

County 7 – Lorelei McAdams (14)

It is with an almost paralysing fear that I view the scene before me. It is a strange fight, Aella and now Apollo are fighting, Romeo has disappeared and the dead bodies of three boys now lie on the floor. Sebastian has his head twisted at a strange angle, Reid has a knife just above his heart and Vihn has a knife right in the heart. How Sebastian managed to get the final jab right at the last moment, in his dying move, I do not understand but I applaud his courage and sacrifice.

Now we are seven and I am worried. The one person, who I am most worried about, Nikki Fray from county 2, is somewhere but I have not been able to catch sight of her. She has killed so many innocent children, who knows which one of us it might be next if we don't get her first.

"Do we go down?" I whisper and glance at Archie.

He purses his lips before nodding. "If we don't, we'll end up being the only ones alive and I am not killing you Lorelei."

I frown. "And I don't want to have to kill you." Archie extends his arm and I gladly go, trying not to fall in the sand that is both slipping down and still holding us up.

But as I reach the bottom, I hear a yell from behind me. "Lorelei, look out!"

With surprise, I turn and duck as I see Archie running to me, exposing the silhouette of Nikki Fray standing at the top of the hill, a sadistic smirk plastered on her face, throwing knives twirling in her hands. "Didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you sweethearts?"

Her voice is a tone of mockery and I shiver, grabbing Archie's hand before we find ourselves running into the fray of another, a third, bloodbath. There is fighting on all sides, much more precisely executed and bloody than the first bloodbath where 76 of us, well 74 once Lillian and Priscilla had stepped off the pads, we have been preparing for this for nearly three weeks, not three days that we had at first.

The fighting is almost too close for comfort. I've never been so close to something so horrifying. "Lorelei!" A shout comes from behind me and I feel myself being shoved to the floor, a heavy weight on my back. Archie was protecting me again.

But rather than climbing off me, Archie doesn't move. I roll out from under him and my eyes open wide as I see what Archie has done. He kept his promise and I can see a knife sticking out of his back. "No, no." I whisper, tears forming in my eyes. He can't be going, he can't leave me. "Archie stay with me, please." I don't care where anyone is, I need him to stay with me.

"Get it to Patrick." Archie catches my eye and clutches the cross necklace around his neck. "I'm sorry to leave you Lorelei; I told you I would protect you. You have to win on your own now."

His eyes close, his hands drop and the canon fires. No, no! No, he can't be dead! He can't be, I forget that we are in the middle of a battle, collapsing on top of his body. He was my brother; he was the only thing that kept me alive. Should I ever try to stay alive? I sniff before looking up, Archie died so that I could live, therefore I have to live, I have to fight.

But I feel the cold metal of a knife against my neck before I can get up; I've left it too late. I never thought death would be so terrifying. "Nice try but neither of you are going home." Her voice is sickly sweet and suddenly I find myself losing breath, losing blood, I was never going to make it home.

County 14 – Apollo Alphaeus (17)

Aella is a much stronger opponent than I initially anticipated. The gods have heard my prayers and I am winning this fight at the moment, despite her being a Career and therefore with experience and me with very little training or experience. My spear clashes with ferocity against her axe, she has a steeling look of determination on her face that tells me that she is going to do everything she can to make sure that I don't make it out of here alive.

It is an unfortunate irritation that I cannot use my left hand, it is lost in the arena and so I must use my arm as a weapon in itself which is almost useless against the sharp swinging blade of an axe. The gods have handed me this and therefore I must use what I have to either win or die. She is stronger than she looks a great deal of power behind the blows she deals. A few weeks ago I would not have dreamed of even raising a hand to a girl, or a woman, but things have changed and so I must use what I have.

I kick out at her, catching her by surprise and she reels back. It wasn't hard enough to knock her down but it showed her that I meant business. I run at her, bringing up my spear with the pointed and flat end, coming down with ferocity at the axe she holds. My placement is a little off but in the right direction and I hear an almost feral scream that reminds me of my pain as Aella's lower right arm with the axe, drops to the ground. Red sprays everywhere, staining the golden sand. This could be my moment; this could be the time that I make my first kill. So why can't I bring myself to end her pain and misery? Do I have too much of a heart?

She has dropped to the ground, the stump of her arm clutched to her chest. She looks pathetic, her child coming out once again. And that's why I'm not killing her right away; she's just a teenager like me. She doesn't deserve anything except what the gods have planned for her, is this what they planned? I honestly have no idea what their plan is but whether in life or death, I hope that they will lead me to the right decision in this.

"Just do it." She whimpers and I kneel in front of her. "Please, stop it hurting Apollo."

I'm surprised she remembers my name, she sounds so helpless. "I'm sorry Aella; I just want to go home." I whisper.

She nods, her hair covering her goggles and her expression. "Isn't that what we all wanted? I guess the gods reckoned it wasn't the right time for me to keep living."

I don't know if she talks of my gods or others but it brings a small smile to my face even in the situation here. "I don't know if it's my time to die or not either Aella but the least I can do is make the pain stop. I promise to be quick."

"Thank you." She whispers as I stand and regard her position, analysing the best place to strike.

The head seems too obvious, sure it would severe all the nerve chords and if I did it right then it would be instantaneous. But getting it right and the angle to ensure a clean chop is rather difficult. If I aimed for the heart, death would almost be instantaneous but with her posture, I might not get the angle right and she might bleed to death like Reid who was still alive for a couple of minutes after whoever it was, pierced his heart. I promised her no pain, no more than she is already going through.

The head is easier but it would be better with the axe so I pick it up slowly, peeling her fingers away from it, bringing it up as I breathe in, open my eyes wide so there is no chance of me closing them in fear while I kill. I breathe out and bring the sword down. The sound of the canon tells me that I have done what the gods told me to do. I have killed. I look down at the body of the girl from county 10; she looks so young in death. Now I must repeat my actions in order to return home, I must fulfil the directions the gods gave me.

County 2 – Nikki Fray (16)

Four of us. How did this happen so quickly? Within nearly 20 minutes, the sun still climbing in the sky, we have more than halved the number of tributes remaining. Only three other teenagers stand in my way. I am so ready to go, the deaths of those kids from county 7 has spurred me on. I can win this now! I am so close I can almost taste victory, go home to Alice so we can both mourn Alyss properly and lead the lives of luxury that we have been denied for a year now.

But three people, all around the same age as me, are the only ones who stand in my way. I am caught by surprise as Apollo, now the oldest tribute at 17, comes after me. It leaves Phoenix and Romeo, perhaps the more dangerous of the tributes, to fight each other and so it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of the first obstacle. There is a look of steely determination etched in his face and I once again finger the knives I have, all six of them. Two still have the blood of the county 7 tributes on the top and that gives me courage, makes me smile.

I don't want to waste any of the knives but I can show that I mean business with a couple of them. Bringing the first knife that comes to hand up; I spin it in the direction of his head. He ducks but it doesn't hit him, sailing towards the other fighting pair before losing momentum and ending up in the sand. Apollo admittedly has got good reflexes and my menacing doesn't deter or slow him down. He catches my eye and they arrow, somehow I don't think he's come for a light chat. He means business as much as I do, bring it on.

There is a slight disadvantage in the use of throwing knives as there is very little metal to be able to fight with. However I am given two advantages over Apollo. He is coming uphill as I have maintained my position from the top of the hill and he has only one hand to use his spear with. That isn't very good for sparring and I prefer to be more accurate and quick with my fighting, causing deliberate pain. Ah, the sweet sound of crying out for mercy they know I will not be giving them. There is a great satisfaction in this. Some people would call me sadistic, I call it a fascination.

He has reached me finally, barely out of breath and does not hesitate to lunge at me with the spear, trying to poke at any weak spots I might have. But it leaves him exposed and so I play defensive, waiting for his fatigue to settle in or a mistake to be made and I can make my move. He's not too bad, good accuracy and I have to duck and dive pretty frequently in order to be able to not get caught. I cry out in pain though as he catches me, tearing into my left arm, my good arm. Pain coarses through me and it is all I can do to stop myself from crying. This is what real pain looks like, this is how they feel.

But the pain drives me forward rather than back, he looks stunned by his success and so I grab my knife with my right hand and drive it towards his throat. There is a satisfying scream from him as blood spurts from the wound and I cut down his throat, smiling through my pain as the blood stains the sand. He collapses to the floor, writhing in pain. I don't look back as I walk away, clutching my good arm, I will let him suffer on his own. Some people just weren't made to survive.

County 3 – Romeo Montgomery (16)

The scream of Apollo stops us from fighting momentarily but I turn back in concentration to fighting Phoenix. She is strong and steady but it is taking all of my will power to beat her and not get torn by Sebastian's death. That guy was my friend and all I want to do now is take revenge but his killer is dead, so I have to take it out on someone else. His canon doesn't take long to fire, the guy was fascinating and like each and every other tribute, I am saddened to see him go.

I catch Phoenix's eye as we fight, my sword clashing over and over again against her dual swords which is proving difficult. I glance towards Nikki and I am surprised when she nods. We are the three remaining tributes and seeing as Nikki is perhaps the least sane of all of us, the most we can do is put her out of her misery. Her throwing knives are protruding from her back pocket but without her good arm in use, she is weak. Is that a good thing or a trick?

We stop and move towards her. Startled by the silence, Nikki looks up from inspecting her wounds and is quick to grab her knives, clumsily but they are out and she throws one of them with scary ferocity towards me. I can see it sailing towards me but I duck just in time. Not so lucky for Phoenix and I hear a yell as her leg is caught with one of them, blood seeping from the wound as the metal protrudes from her leg. She won't be going anywhere any time soon. But Phoenix is a fighter and she struggles to her feet, limping after me as I go after Nikki. I am so close to victory, so close to going home that it is almost surreal.

Nikki has a strange way of fighting, using her throwing knives almost as swords against my own and although I manage to place a few good gashes, specifically against the wound already inflicted by Apollo which weakens her further, she aims for my face which is a little disconcerting but I must fight on. The fight is soon over as Nikki suddenly stops moving and arches her back before falling towards me. I jump out of the way just in time to see one of the swords Phoenix used, sticking out of her back as her canon fires.

Phoenix and I stare at each other. "We're the only ones left." She whispers, disbelief ringing in her voice.

I smile slightly. "Yeah, weird thought isn't it?" I swallow, now comes the dilemma of whether I should kill someone who has as much right as me to go home or to die myself. JM Barrie said that 'death is but the next greatest adventure', is it just another adventure to go on. I reach into my back pocket, pulling out the one thing that has kept me sane in this place, my copy of Shakespeare's works. I offer it to her. "If I don't make it, take this back to my family."

I'm surprised by how raw my voice is, how hopeless I sound. But instead of nodding or agreeing, Phoenix merely moves her hand to her neck and takes off a necklace that has a flame inlaid in the middle. "Give this to my twin, please."

I nod. "I promise." Looking around us, I frown. "So how do we do this? Do we just fight until one of us is dead? Is one of us expected to kill the other outright?"

She shrugs but before she can answer, she collapses to the ground in pain; her leg is slowly killing her. I do not think twice before moving towards her. "It's hit a nerve." She gasps. "If you pull it out, I will be dead within a minute."

"And if I don't," I shake my head, clutching my own right shoulder which I think is dislocated, "you will die slowly and painfully. What do you want me to do?"

Phoenix whimpers in her pain, I don't want to kill her with such a great advantage but do I have a choice? "I was never going to make it home, was i?" She sounds so pathetic and childish it hurts.

I kneel down in front of her, placing my sword by my side. "Maybe, maybe not Phoenix. You only have to kill me to get home, or trust me. I won't kill you unless you ask; I won't kill you in outright in such a state."

Phoenix forces a smile through the pain. "You were always such a nice guy Romeo. But I can't kill you, just do it. Leave me in peace."

I nod and put my hand on the handle of the knife. "Goodbye Phoenix and good luck."

I take a deep breath before yanking the blade out, her scream pierces my heart and I cannot do anything but back away as I watch the life ebb from her body. The 20 seconds it takes for her die feels like forever and the canon sounds finally.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The winner of the 76th Hunger Games from county 3: ROMEO MONTGOMERY!"

I've done it, I've survived them all. I pick up the necklace I promised to take to county 1 for Phoenix and as the hovercraft appears to take me out of here, I look around for the last time. This has been my home for the last three weeks and the only thing I want to do is honour those who died. As I finger the necklace, a small idea strikes me and I stand, making my final move in the Game.

Checkmate.


CONGRATULATIONS to Romeo Montgomery of County 3 and Magic Of Every Kind his creator, he was such a fantastic character to write for and I really hope that you thought I wrote him well.

RIP to the top ten tributes who lost their lives, fighting to get home:

County 1 - PHOENIX TIELL - injured by Nikki Fray, finished by Romeo Montgomery
County 2 - NICOLETTE FRAY - Phoenix Tiell
County 5 - VIHN DUONG - Sebastian Sleith
County 6 - SEBASTIAN SLEITH - Vihn Duong
County 7 - ARCHIE CROSS - Nikki Fray
County 7 - LORELEI MCADAMS - Nikki Fray
County 10 - AELLA WEXLER - Apollo Alphaeus
County 14 - APOLLO ALPHAEUS - Nikki Fray
County 18 - REID SHACKLEFORD - Phoenix Tiell

Let me know what you thought! The next chapters will explain the after effects and what Romeo's plan was.