Acee Hal POV

Emmeline was a supernova. If she'd been in the right Arena she would have won easily. Of all the Tributes I'd ever mentored, she was the most like me. Not in a narcissistic way- it was just that I was the only one ever to win, and she came the closest of the fallen. She was crippled in such a primitive Arena, and she still made it to the top ten out of fifty Tributes. If she comes back next time and the Arena is better, she'll be joining me.

District Three POV

Hailey's family didn't know whether or not to mourn. They tried to see it as she would have and told themselves she was still alive. Cordin's family was as quiet as he had been, and Emmeline's acknowledged the loss and moved on. Wyatt's case was the only one where people went to a "celebration of life" and actually made it that. He would have wanted it that way. There was black confetti and we all told a joke in his honor. He would have loved it.


Calvary Warsaw POV

There hadn't been a day without death for a long time. Obviously the Gamemakers wanted to speed things up. So did we, so for once we agreed.

It was starting to get late, and most of the recent cannons seemed to be coming at night. I posted myself on watch and stood by the supply pile while Jay and Apollo took care of other camp business. It was getting near the endgame, and we were all getting nervous. I almost wanted someone to come just so I could fight.

I got my wish and it nearly killed me. Something moved out of the corner of my eye and I threw myself flat against the ground. A spear lodged into the spot where my chest was a second ago and my arm was at the moment of impact. It punched through my arm and scratched against my ribs. I knew it wasn't good for the wound, but I pulled it out. I needed to be able to move. A pink spear could only come from Chantal, and she'd want to fight up close if she didn't have her weapon. I tossed the spear onto the weapons pile and picked up a long dagger.

Sure enough, Chantal appeared from the foliage holding a dagger of her own. She looked at me like a lion looks at a wildebeest- I was prey, but the tables could easily turn.

"You coming or what?" I asked. She examined me and looked for an opening.

"I'm not getting any younger. Get on with it," I said. She feinted a charge and tried to stab my leg. I circled around her and smashed her with my good shoulder, knocking her off balance. She stumbled and I slashed at her back. She dodged most of my strike but I left a small cut. She rammed her elbow backwards into my stomach and tried to cut my throat as I bent forward. I leaned into her and hooked her legs with mine, knocking us both to the ground. We started rolling around, stabbing and punching at each other. She stabbed my chest with such force that the knife, which was largely blocked by my ribs, cracked the bones and nicked the flesh underneath. I grabbed her knife had and bent the fingers back until two of them snapped. She pulled her hand back and I stuck my knife into her leg. More blood than I ever imagined came out and her face grew grim. She raised her knife and stabbed down at my eye. I caught her arm in my hand and we strained against each other. I grabbed her throat with my other hand and we were locked inches away from death. I knew I couldn't hold out long, holding her off with my bad arm and squeezing the life out of her with my other, but I wasn't giving up.

Suddenly, it was like Chantal grew wings. She lifted up off of me and hung upright in the air. I was confused until I saw Apollo holding her off the ground by her neck. Her eyes were gaping and she was gagging. Apollo's arm was crooked around her throat and he was squeezing her like a watermelon. His muscles rippled and I didn't want to think about how that must feel. I'd never seen Chantal look absolutely panicked. She tried to stab Apollo but he grabbed her hand and held her fast. She kicked and scrabbled wildly for maybe five seconds, then went limp.

She's faking, I thought. I started getting to my feet and Apollo shook her curiously. She was as limp as a noodle and her lips were blue. A cannon sounded.

"She's dead? You choked her like five seconds," I said. Apollo cautiously loosened his grip and let her slide to the ground. I put a hand on her and felt that the life was gone. She really was dead.

"Are you okay?" Apollo asked. I wasn't, but I had other things on my mind.

"What happened?" I asked. I moved Chantal's head to expose her neck and saw a purple-blue line running up it.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter. Are you okay?" Apollo asked again.

"Not really," I said. I could barely stand and the words were a labored whisper. I couldn't seem to fill my lungs and I knelt on the ground. Apollo sat by me and looked for a wound to compress.

"It's inside," I said. I'd never know who would have won if me and Chantal had kept fighting, but I'd have had to move quickly. I tasted blood as I panted and it started to leak from my mouth. I couldn't hold myself up and I leaned against Apollo. It looked like I was about to join Chantal. But she went first.


Chantal Ivingin POV

This isn't how it's supposed to happen at all. This should have been an easy fight. Apollo was nowhere near us. I can't die this early when I was so close last time.

Barehanded strangulation was nearly impossible and took minutes on end. They specifically told us not to try it at the Academy. Always use ligaments, they said. Then why was I already feeling hypoxic? Maybe Apollo was just that strong. But it had only been seven seconds.

Not so soon. Wait. I did beat my record. It took one person to kill me last time. This time it took two.


12th maybe: Chantal Ivingin- Collapsed carotid artery courtesy of Apollo

Chantal turned out to be a bigger threat this time than last time. She didn't reckon on Calvary, though. I don't know who would have won, but Calvary gets partial credit in the kill. Chantal's femoral artery was ruptured and she might have bled to death even without Apollo. I consider his move like a football assist. Chantal ended up as a "villain" and they don't generally win in my stories (none have yet, anyway). All the same, she was highly competent and it took a lot to take her out.

11th place: Calvary Warsaw- Collapsed lung and internal injuries

This isn't the end of Calvary. She couldn't win because Sky won last time, but I have more planned for her. Her entire appearance in this story is just a detour on her route to her final destination. As such, it's hardly goodbye. She'll be back.

I got to spend a weekend with the Marines once at a boot camp event, and one of the things I learned was a choke hold. They really do work that fast, as I learned both on the giving and receiving ends. We were also warned never to do them unsupervised on penalty of a Marine personally kicking our butts, since it's very easy to break the artery like Apollo did. It wouldn't have happened that fast if he'd been doing a respiratory choke, but blood chokes work lightning fast.