I saw Mockingjay yesterday and wanted to update around the time. It's certainly helping me finish off the story, because it's one of those movies that leaves you kind of empty. There were also these annoying girls behind me that wouldn't shut up and made it obvious they hadn't read the books and were on Team Gale. I wanted to turn around and scream, "PEETA GETS THE GIRL!" but I didn't want to ruin it for the quiet moviegoers. #TeamPeeta5ever that boy is too pure for this world.


Lance found himself literally backed into a corner. After pulling him out of the water, Perrin had shoved him here to stand over Eugenia's body. Apollo had left him. It was up to him to find a solution. His mind raced furiously to do so.

Strength couldn't save him now. He would have to be cunning and quick on his feet.

"Okay, the way I see it, you have two options," Perrin said, straightening up. His ferocious demeanor had dropped away and he was back to resembling Zion more than himself. He held up a finger, casually swiping the blood off his upper lip. "You could kill Eugenia for me right here and now, and then I'll do you the favor of making your death quick and painless."

He paused, giving Lance just enough space to ask, "And if I refuse?" But Lance said nothing. He wasn't going to play along with Perrin's ridiculous drama.

Perrin uttered a frustrated sigh. "And if you refuse, I'll make sure you suffer. Trust me. You'll wish you had chosen to kill Eugenia." He motioned to her limp form. "Your choice."

Not much of a choice, Lance thought. He narrowed his eyes, trying to play it cool. On the inside, he was scared to death, but Perrin didn't need to know that. "Or we could do the third option," he said smoothly. "You walk away with your life right now and you won't regret what happens next."

The delivery was perfect. Perrin wasn't the only one who could act. Lance could see a glimmer of fear pass through his eyes. "What?"

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

"Yes I do!" Perrin snapped. "Your power is to keep coming back to life, like some nastyass cockroach. Obviously. I'll just have to keep stomping on you until you stay dead!"

Lance calmly shook his head. "You don't know the implications behind it. Try to go through with this place of yours and you'll find out."

Perrin cast a glance towards Eugenia. In a way, she had two sponsor gifts. But her 'mind-reading' wasn't technically a power she could wield. Maybe there was more to Lance, like there was to Eugenia. Maybe not. Perrin gritted his teeth. "…I'm calling your bluff."

Lance's eyes widened with fear. A second later, he put back on his calm mask, but that tiny slip was enough to put Perrin's confidence back in its place.

"Enough stalling! Kill her!" Perrin pointed his sword at Lance, then Eugenia.

Lance's grip tightened on his spear. When he didn't move, Perrin started towards him with a battle cry, raising his weapon.

It looked like his cunning wasn't going to help him after all.

But he was fast. Faster than Perrin.


Eugenia felt like she was lost in a dark tunnel filled with thick fog. She could sense her nightmares hiding just beyond the mist. For what seemed to be endless hours, she walked on and on, down through the tunnel, trying to escape whatever was haunting her.

As she approached consciousness, the fog began to dissipate. Far in the distance, she could see a light trying to break through. Muted voices were coming from that direction. She made her way towards them. Her feet felt heavy as lead and the edges of her vision were fading, but she pushed on through the fatigue. She didn't want to stay in this endless tunnel any longer.

At the back of her mind, Eugenia knew what lay beyond the end of the tunnel. The Hunger Games arena. That horrible room where the corpses of her fellow tributes went through an endless cycle of life and death.

I don't want to go with them, she thought numbly. Maybe I should just stay here. That might be better.

But before she could consider this option any further, a familiar voice reached her ears.

Zion!

He was shouting something. She strained to hear, but the words blurred together. Still, she heard the anger and fear behind them. Something horrible was happening.

Suddenly, Eugenia found herself clawing her way out of the darkness, forcing her eyes open. Only to find herself in another dark tunnel, this one dimly lit. The ground was damp and a horrid stench was rising up from sludgy sewer water. Her clothes were dirty and torn, and her hair had come free from its ponytail. It clung stickily to her scalp. But she didn't notice any of that.

Zion was screaming. The youngest tribute in the arena, Lance, had pierced his shoulder with his spear. The spear was lodged firmly in the muscle and tissue. Blood leaked at the edges of the wound.

Every time Zion tried to break loose or reach for Lance, a new wave of pain spasmed through his body and he screamed. Lance held him at bay, clinging to the other end of the spear with all of his strength. So long as he held on, Zion couldn't reach him. He had him pinned against the wall, helpless.

Eugenia's mind went blank with panic. She struggled to her feet, but the next thing she knew, she was back on the ground. The world was spinning around her. She didn't have the strength to go to Zion's aid. And each of his shrieks made her heart beat faster until she thought it would burst.

She couldn't watch him die. As she attempted to sit up, her hand touched something on the ground next to her.

The Death Note.

She grabbed it and flipped it open to the last blank page.

Movement caught Perrin's eye. Eugenia was awake. And he could see the Death Note in her hands, ready to kill again. The memory of his death flashed before his eyes and his screams of terror doubled in intensity.

Not again. Not again not again NOT AGAIN—

With a roar, Perrin ripped the spear from his body. Lance stumbled backwards, shocked.

Then it happened.

Beep.

Beeep.

BEEEEE—

Perrin screamed until his throat was raw, but the sound still filled his mind, bringing tears to his eyes. He braced himself for the pain, for his second death.

POM

Blood sprayed in every direction. But this time, it wasn't his blood.

He watched in utter astonishment as Lance went down. The tracker in his arm had detonated, leaving a gaping hole in his side. Fresh blood poured onto the ground, overtaking the stale blood left behind by Zion. Most of his shirt had burned away, along with portions of his skin.

This is what happened to me, Perrin thought numbly, staring down at the little boy.

Lance was completely still, his face frozen in an expression of shock. For a long moment, it seemed he had been blessed with a quick death. Then one of his eyes swiveled towards Eugenia—the other was far too damaged to do so.

He blinked, releasing a tear. His lips parted. "…Why…?" The ragged word was hardly more than a sigh.

Eugenia shakily climbed to her feet, dropping the Death Note as she did so. It hit the ground, opened to the page she had just written on. A drawing and words were forming on it, but no one noticed.

Eugenia choked back tears. "You…know why…" she managed to say. Lance was too much of a threat to Zion and herself. Any average person would have underestimated him because of his size and age, but she knew better than that. He had made it this far.

Another tear rolled down Lance's cheek. He closed his eye, no longer wanting to look at his murderers. Instead, he thought of his sister who he would never see again.

"Stop it, Lancey. You don't have to try so hard for me all the time. I don't need an education. Educations are overrated." Gwen attempted a smile for her brother's sake, but Lance could see the sadness in her eyes.

He sighed deeply, tired from working so hard all day. He'd hardly made any money, but every penny counted. "It doesn't matter, Gwen. Without proper schooling, we'll never get out of this rut. I want you to have a good life."

"What about you?"

Lance smiled dryly. There would never be enough money for the both of them. "Go to bed, Gwen. If you get some sleep, maybe I'll let you help me tomorrow."

The memory was going dark. Gwen's sad, innocent eyes were fading. She was alone in this world now.

The cannon rang out and Eugenia had to choke back another sob. She knew she would never forgive herself for this. And she would never forgive Panem.

"Eugenia…"

She managed to tear her gaze away from Lance's body and look at Zion. His eyes were soft. His hand was pressed to the wound in his shoulder.

"You saved me."

Eugenia glanced away shyly and Perrin had to keep from laughing. He felt silly for panicking during the heat of the moment. He should have known Eugenia wouldn't kill Zion.

"What…what happened before this?" Eugenia asked, her voice cracking. "There's so much blood…" She looked to Zion for explanation.

"A lot of tributes died today," Zion said quietly, stepping over Lance's body to make his way towards her. "There aren't many left now, but…"

Eugenia's breath caught in her throat as Zion stopped right in front of her, alarmingly close. One of his cold hands brushed her cheek, leaving behind a smear of blood, and she couldn't help but flinch. "What are you doing?" she snapped, taking a step back. A million warning bells were going off in her head. Zion was so close, as if he was going to kiss her. Her heart was pounding furiously. This wasn't right.

But Zion's eyes were reassuring. "I'm just glad you're okay," he confessed. A smile played at the edge of his lips, but it wasn't Zion's smile. It was almost…cruel.

Suddenly, it all came together. Zion screaming in pain. His odd behavior. Perrin's power.

"Perrin!" Eugenia gasped.

"Surprise, bitch," Perrin said, teeth pulling back in a snarl.

Strong hands closed on Eugenia's throat. Perrin braced himself for the shockwave, but nothing happened. Eugenia clawed at his hands, digging her nails into his skin, but her strength was nothing compared to his.

Perrin uttered a cruel laugh. "Looks like you're not as invincible as we thought you were."

The death grip on Eugenia's throat tightened, crushing her windpipe. She tried to gasp, but no air could get through. Panic flared in her chest. She could die here.

Again and again, she scoured her nails on every part of Perrin she could reach, leaving thin trails of blood. She kicked at him, trying strike his groin with the toe of her boot. He grunted, nearly avoiding a blow. His grip loosened for just a moment.

"Zion!" Eugenia choked out.

Perrin's eyebrows shot straight up. His dark eyes glittered with mirth. "Oh? What's that?" he asked in Zion's soft voice. "You want Zion to come rescue you?"

Eugenia glowered at Perrin, unable to respond. A surge of hatred gripped her, stronger than anything she had ever felt before.

Perrin just smiled. "Why don't I show you where Zion is now?"

With a great heave, Perrin tossed Eugenia aside as if she were a doll. For a second, she reeled through the air. Then she landed in the sewer water with a splash. Her arms flailed as she attempted to surface. But just as she rose to take a breath, a heavy weight shoved her back down. Perrin had joined her in the water.

The putrid liquid filled all of her senses as he shoved her head under. It was forcing its way into her nostrils, choking her. She struggled to get away, back to where blessed oxygen was, but Perrin held her in place.

Eugenia forced open her eyes and there he was.

The waterlogged body of Zion was lying at the bottom of the sewer. His pale face was directly in front of hers. Eyes closed, lips blue. Lifeless. If she had the air to spare, she would have screamed.

And despite her situation, a memory clicked in the back of her mind.

"It would be so easy to just give up and die," Zion's voice echoed. "No more pain. I wouldn't have to face my mother again, as a monster who killed a child. There would be nothing. Just nothing. And that…sounds wonderful."

She knew now. Zion had given up. Despite the pain he knew his family would feel, he had selfishly given up and embraced nothingness.

You idiot, Eugenia thought. You could have won, if you wanted to.

At that moment, a flame lit in Eugenia's heart. She wasn't going to give up like Zion. She would fight until the end.

With all of the energy she possessed, she writhed in Perrin's grip. Her muscles burned. Her lungs screamed for air and her heart ached for life. She felt like her chest would explode.

Perrin struggled to keep her down. For such a small tribute, she was putting up quite the fight. Perrin adjusted his grip in an attempt to keep her down. As he did so, one hand shot out of the water and directly to his wound.

Eugenia dug into the hole with her bare hands, peeling back the skin with her nails and bringing forth a fresh spurt of blood. Perrin threw back his head and roared with pain. And just for a moment, Eugenia's head broke the surface of the water.

What came out of the sewer didn't even look like Eugenia. It was some sort of creature, her teeth bared in a feral snarl, eyes blazing with hatred. Her hand was like a twisted claw as she tore at Perrin's wound.

With a cry, Perrin forced her back under. The hand was wrenched off his shoulder. It throbbed furiously as he exerted all of his strength into holding Eugenia down.

Her struggles seemed to last forever. Then finally…finally…they died. Nails no longer penetrated his skin. The pain in his shoulder ebbed. And then came the sound he was waiting for.

Boom.

With a shuddering sigh, Perrin climbed out of the water and collapsed at the edge. For a long time, he just lay there, drawing deep breaths. The past hour played back in his mind. So many had died, one right after the other. He wondered how Panem was feeling about this. Perhaps they would have enjoyed more showmanship from him, but he no longer felt like providing it.

He was so tired. He just wanted to go home.

Perrin closed his eyes, holding back tears. Just two more and he could go home.

So preoccupied with this thought was he, that he didn't notice the Plasmonster's body was beginning to reform…