Victory Amarinthine
I could barely find my way back to the Cornucopia in the dark. I tended to my wounds, which weren't severe, thanks to Floki. With him gone I was a shoo-in, but the Games weren't over yet. Sometimes underdogs come from behind, and I didn't want that to happen. I'd played a lot of games in my life, but this was the one that really mattered. All my life had built toward this moment. I couldn't choke now.
I'd waited a night, as close as I could tell, to get some rest and in the hopes that Alinta or Nubu might freeze to death in the frigid Arena, but no luck. I could tell the Gamemakers were growing impatient. An annoying buzzing started ringing in my ears at the end of my rest. When I started to go hunting again it got louder. I turned and went the other way and it stopped. In a pitch-black Arena like this, it must have been the only way to ensure we'd find each other.
It was awfully quiet without Floki. He really was as brave and perilous as he'd seemed. I hoped the crazy old badger really was drinking ale in Valhalla. There was no one else like him in all Panem.
Far ahead of me in the distance, a light winked on. It wasn't like the weird ghost lights the Gamemakers had sent. It was artificial. It was clearly a flashlight, and I took action the moment it lit up. I yanked back an arrow and hastily aimed. The light was far away, nearly out of range, but I was an expert. I aimed low, in case it was Alinta, and pulled the string back as far as I could. The arrow vanished into the night.
The light jerked and fell. I smiled, but I didn't get up to go yet. The cannon hadn't sounded. I wanted to know who it was so I could better prepare for my final battle, but a wounded Tribute could be dangerous. If it was Nubu, he might be able to fight back. I knew my target didn't have long, though. The light was still on. Its owner was either unable or too panicked to shut it off to avoid detection. When the cannon sounded, I'd check my kill and remove anything the remaining player might be able to use. Until then, I'd wait.
Nubu Sanders
"Mama. Mama."
That could only be the little girl. I'd been wandering through the fallen trees, trying to gather leaves to line a shelter, when I heard her. Her voice was soft and airy. I wouldn't have heard it if the Arena wasn't so silent.
I followed the voice to a cluster of rocks and saw the light from her flashlight around the corner of a short cliff. Its beam fell across her head, faintly illuminating her as she lay on her side on the freexing ground. I could only see the arrow through her midsection by the long shadow its shaft cast in the light. She reached out an arm for the flashlight and pulled herself toward it weakly.
I ran to her side and knelt by her. On my way I stumbled across the loose rocks and fallen branches on the slope, and I realized that was why she'd turned the flashlight on. She heard me coming and looked up, but she didn't pull away. She was surrounded with sponsor gifts, everything from a blowgun to a tent.
"Can you help me find my mother?" she asked. Up close, I could see the blood running from her wound. I crouched over her and wrapped my arms around her, but her skin was icy cold. I thought about pulling the arrow out, but it would just hurt her more. She started to cry, and her body shook with pain and fear.
"It's okay," I said, as meaningless as it was. The girl looked around at the darkness and curled tighter in on herself.
"There are no wisps," she said. Her voice was getting weaker, and I had to lean in to hear it.
"Don't worry," I said. More useless words.
"It's because I killed her. They won't show me the way," she said. She was so weak she could barely cry. I thought she must have been mistaken. Surely this little girl couldn't kill anyone. But she was scared, so I pretended.
"What way?" I asked. I took her hand and tried to hold her together.
"The way to heaven," she said. My next words weren't meaningless.
"No, you'll get there. It's not your fault. All little girls go to heaven," I said.
"Are you sure?" she asked. She looked up and saw something over my shoulder. Her face lit up and she tried to get up. I looked behind me and saw one of those strange lights that came after the sun went out. The girl reached for it and winced when she couldn't get any closer.
Is that what she means? I thought. I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the light. It smelled odd and it flickered like a floating fire. The girl reached for it and her hand paused a few inches from it.
"It's warm," she said.
Alinta Fintan
The Will o' the Wisps came after all. They came for Silver, and I knew she was good. If they came for me, I was going to the same place after all. The Arena was cold as ice, but the Wisp was warm on my fingers. It would take me where Silver was and I would see her again. She would stay with me until Mama and Papa came. I hoped she would still stay with me after that. We'd have a lot of fun together up there. I was going to be a kid forever. I was the luckiest girl in the Games.
3rd place: Alinta Fintan- Shot by Victory
Alinta was divisive. Some people didn't care for her cute parts and how long she lived at her age. I get that, but I liked Alinta. When I read her form, I thought she was the most realistic 12-year-old Tribute I'd ever gotten. She was overconfident. She was optimistic and outspoken. She was playful and idealistic and she was just like most of us were at 12. We all knew that kid who insisted he knew some ancient way to kill a guy with one blow. She was like that. I loved how real she was and I was glad she made it this far. I had hoped she might win, though I dreaded finding a realistic way to do it. I'm sorry she's gone now, but I liked how she developed. She had real guilt about her involvement in Mary Ellen's death and blamed herself for Silver even though it wasn't her fault. Thanks Iloverue08 for Alinta. Her form was short, but it was great. I'll miss her.
