Heat Chapter 28
Day Three
Warning: More violence and death here. This is the Hunger Games, you know. Oh, and since it's been a while since we did this one so: I do not own the rights to the Hunger Games. Those all belong to Suzanne Collins. You could make the argument that I don't own the Tributes either, which would be right. I do own Peter Mallard, Lucas Mikhailovich, and Katelynn O'Neill, even though they're cameos of real people (not Peter), their characters are mine. Danielle Hawkins is another character I borrowed. Okay, that's it. Onto the story.
A/N: We've got fun and games… Welcome to the desert!
And I'm really sorry, everyone. But, this is the last day of the Games, so… prepare for your Tribute to die. Only one will survive.
Athena Fallow –17- -D11- POV
Sofie wakes me up, and we share more of our food and water, which is starting to run low. If we want lunch, we'll have to hunt for it. We pack up camp and leave. We don't walk for very long before I notice something. I hold up my hand, and Sofie stops.
"What?" She whispers.
"Listen," I say.
"A fire," she says. "I can hear it."
"Right," I say. "And voices. I'll go check it out, you stay here."
"Wait," she says, but I'm already moving. She does as I ask. I squeeze through the trees, eventually reaching a small gap in them. I crouch, and peek through the trees, to see – the career camp. There's a fire, a tent, and two sleeping bags. The careers are sitting, eating canned food, around a fire. I sneak back to Sofie.
"It's the careers," I say. She raises an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah," I say, "they're eating breakfast. I guess they slept in."
"Of course," she says. "They're so arrogant. You know what we should do?"
"What?" I ask. She smiles a smile that sends shivers down my spine. She explains her plan, and we get to work.
A few hours later…
Lily Cross POV
"Nobody to the East either," Topaz reports.
"I guess we go South then," I say. I sent the boys out to see if anyone was close to us. No one was. So, I picked a direction. Why didn't I go? I was protecting our equipment. And I didn't want to. I don't know how I became the leader, but that's what seems to have happened.
"Okay," Arc says. Then I hear something. I look in the direction of the sound. I see a girl running past the camp. She looks at us, then turns to run directly away.
"Let's go!" I say. Then I realize that I don't have my sword, it's still next to the fire. "I'll be right behind you!" I run to grab my sword as the boys, already armed with their weapons, follow the girl.
Titanium Sparks POV
I chase the girl through the forest. Arc and Topaz are just behind me, but I want to be the one to catch her. I try to pull ahead of them, but it's hard, with the chest wound and all. I'm not running that fast, but neither is that girl. I manage to pick up a little bit of speed and – find myself sprawling face-first on the ground. I tripped. Over what, though? Then, I feel a knife in my back.
Athena Fallow POV
"The first thing we need to do," Sofie says, "is to find some tall trees. The kind without spikes. The kind we can climb."
"The second thing we need to do is to take part of this net, and make a tripwire," she says.
I sit in my spot in the tree, ready to execute my part of the plan. I see the careers chasing after Sofie, and I see her jump over the tripwire. Just a small jump, hopefully, they won't notice. Then, she turns and disappears from their line of sight to continue her part in the plan. The first career reaches the tripwire and – well, he trips. Duh. I wait until the other careers are close enough, then throw one of my knives into the boy's back. I doubt he'll be getting back up anytime soon. If ever. Then, I cut the rope going from my tree to the next. I look over at the tree on the other side of the small path, where Sofie is. She does the same thing, and the rest of the net falls to the ground. And on to the other two careers.
Topaz Hazard POV
I see Titanium trip, and barely have time to wonder why, before something falls on my head. As I trip and fall, I realize that I'm entangled in a net. I realize that I still have my sword though. Before I can use it, a knife hits me in the neck.
Arc Woods POV
I see Titanium trip but continue on. Suddenly, I'm also falling to the ground, as a net encases me. I drop my sword as I fall to the ground. I see a spurt of blood from Titanium's neck, and then he too falls to the ground. I start to look around for my sword when I feel a sharp pain in my chest. I see that a knife protrudes from it before my head falls to the ground.
Athena Fallow POV
"The third thing we need to do is to put the net up between those two trees, like this…" "… then, when they're under it, we cut the wires. Then, you throw your knives at them, Athena."
"Where did you get this idea from, Sofie?"
"My book. The princess sets this trap to find out that George is with the automatons."
"Cool. Great idea, Sofie."
I think back on our conversation as I leap from the tree. I land on the ground in a crouching position, but quickly stand up. Sofie takes a more conservative route down but is soon next to me. I high five her.
"That was a great plan!" I say. "We got them, and not a scratch on us!"
"Thanks!" She says, a small smile on her face. "Wait… wasn't there a girl?" As she asks the question, I see the girl jump from the bushes behind her.
"Behind you!"
Sofie Guinness POV
"Behind you!" Athena shouts, and I turn around, raising my sword to defend myself. Lucky, as the girl's first blow comes down like a sledgehammer. I stagger a little bit but deflect it. I flashback to my sword training with Danielle. I parry the girl's next strike. I lean in and manage to make a small cut on her stomach. She flinches, but not nearly as much as I thought she would. She parries my next strike and pushes me back. She makes a large sweeping motion, leaving her stomach open. I slash at it, just the same way I did that first time back in training. I see blood sprouting from her stomach, but feel her sword coming down. I step back, only to find a tree behind me. Her blade cuts through my stomach, and I slump down on the tree trunk. I see that the other girl probably isn't getting up though. My thought is confirmed by the way blood spurts from her mouth as her cannon fires, and she falls backward. As if to make sure, Athena sends a knife from behind into the same spot I cut.
Lilly Cross POV
I watched the boys run into a trap and get themselves killed. Fools. Although, if I hadn't had to grab my sword, I would have died right with them. I mentally thank these girls for doing the work for me. As they high-five, I realize they'll be easy kills. I'll decapitate this one from behind, and then slit the other's one's throat before they can respond. I leap from the bushes, but one of the girls notices and shouts a warning. I land, and quickly readjust my strike to come down into the girl instead of across. She manages to parry it, but staggers. I push my advantage, but she parries it again. She manages to inflict a small cut, but I gain the advantage again when she's surprised by my lack of response. I parry her next strike and get ready to deliver the killing blow, something that should split her stomach open. Instead, she does the same thing to me, although I still manage to land my strike, not as deeply as I would have liked. As I fall to the ground, I already know I'm dead, but apparently her ally didn't get the memo, as I feel a knife in my back, before I hear a cannon fire.
Athena Fallow –17- -D11- POV
"Sofie!" I shout, running to her side, once I realize that she's injured. Most of the fight between her and the career girl happened too fast for me to follow, but I see that she managed to kill the girl, and now, she might be dead.
"Check their," she coughs, "supplies. For," another cough, "bandages."
"Right!" I say. I quickly run to the career camp, passing the dead bodies of the boys, and look around the camp for the survival kits I assume the must-have. I quickly find one and rummage through it until I find the bandages. I grab them and run back to Sofie. "Here we are," I say. "Doctor Fallow is in the house. Sit still, let me get a good look at the wound."
"I'm not going anywhere, Doc," she says, with a smile on her face. "So, tell me, how bad is it?"
"It's a horrible gaping wound. I'm amazed you're not dead yet. It's gushing like the River Styx," I say, sarcastically. "I don't know yet, eager jay. That's why I need to look at it." I examine her wound carefully. It doesn't look like it hit her organs or muscle, luckily. If it did hit her muscle, she might not be able to walk without pain. We'll see. "I think it's just a flesh wound," I say. "I'm going to put on the bandages, and then we'll see if you can walk."
"Okay," she says, then winces when I apply the bandage. I finish quickly, but make sure that it's on there tight, not letting any blood out, or, hopefully, air in.
"Okay there, Miss Guinness. Let's get you up and moving," I say. I offer her my hand, and she takes it, wincing as she stands up.
"Alright there?" I ask.
"Yeah," she says. "It just hurts."
"Okay," I say. "Can you walk?"
She takes a step, winces, and takes another one. "I can. It hurts though."
"Okay," I say. "Let's get you back to the career camp. We can sleep there for tonight."
"Okay," she says. We manage to walk back to the career camp, with me supporting Sofie when she needs it. I lay her down inside the tent.
"I'll keep watch," I say. "Get some rest."
"Yes, Doctor," she says. She has a jovial tone, but I can tell that she's tired. I hope the wound isn't infected, but with the hygiene in the arena, it probably is. I sit outside the tent, worrying about my friend.
Aurora Dayton –17- -D7- POV
After Cyder wakes me up, we drink some water but realize that we're out of food.
"Is there any natural growing food here?" I almost shout the words, because I woke up hungry, and am still hungry. I don't see anything that even looks edible around here. "I'm on the verge of eating you, Cyder," I say.
"Let's not do that, Aurora," he says. "Hey, look over there. What are those?" I look closely. Shoot.
"Be very loud," I say, now shouting. "Make a lot of noise, and wave your arms. Look big and intimidating, and don't show fear!"
"Why?" He asks.
"Those," I point towards the animals, "are coyotes. A whole pack. They're scared off by loud noises and big, scary things. We don't want to fight them."
"I don't think it's working," Aurora," he says. I hear the fear in his voice. The coyotes are advancing.
"Me neither," I say.
"What do we do if that doesn't work?" He asks. We're standing back-to-back now, facing the coyotes.
"We kill them," I say. I grab the pack of throwing knives. Four knives, ten coyotes. They're coming from all around us, a circle of killers. "Take two," I say. "On my signal, one per animal."
"Gotcha," he says, taking two knives. I take the other two and let the pack fall to the ground.
"Three…" I take aim at my first target. "Two… One… Go!" I throw my first knife, and the coyote goes down. The rest charge. I hear another one go down behind me. I quickly put the other knife in my right hand, and throw it at the closest one. It too goes down, as does another one of Cyder's. I switch my ax to my right, and hack of the head of the one closest. I hear another one go down behind Cyder, then I hear animal noises, as the rest of the pack stops to communicate. They scamper off.
"That wasn't hard," I say. "I thought that Gamemaker animals were supposed to be more aggressive."
"I agree," Cyder says, "but I'm not complaining."
"Neither am I," I say. "Breakfast!"
After our breakfast of coyote meat and water, we get moving. We walk for a few hours before we run into trouble.
Abi Hendrix POV
I'm tired of death and killing. I and Brooke got up. We had our breakfast. We started walking. All was well, I'm pretty sure we even slept in. And then we ran into the pair from seven. We all stood there for a second, before the boy charges at us. Brooke and I exchange a glance that goes, why this?, and then raise our weapons.
Aurora Dayton POV
Fight people. Fight people. Why couldn't we have run, Cyder? Why? I guess I knew this was coming, at some point. I take my ax and attack the girl with the trident.
Brooke Nash POV
I block the blonde girl's first strike easily. She doesn't seem to have her heart in this. I counter her next strike. I step back and under the next. I'm glad that I have a trident. If she had attacked Abi, I don't know how this would have gone. Sword versus ax is a bit of a harder fight. I stab forward, but she blocks it. She attacks, I block, and throw her off balance, but push myself backward.
Cyder Lamentian POV
I saw the others. There weren't enough people left to make new alliances, so I attacked. I charge at the girl with the sword, who brings it up tiredly. I strike, and she blocks it. I strike, she blocks. She strikes, I block. We do this a few more times before I hear a shout.
"Switch!" The redhead shouts, and as I look towards her, I see her trident flying through the air. Before I know it, it hits me, and I fall back onto the ground. I already hear the cannon, and see the blonde pulling the trident out.
Abi Hendrix POV
I'm not losing my fight, but I'm not winning it either. I spare a glance and see that Brooke's opponent has lost her footing and stumbled to the ground. I see Brooke looking my way, and assessing the situation.
"Switch!" She shouts and sends her trident flying at the boy. It hits him, knocking him to the ground. I know he's dead, nobody could survive a wound like that. Apparently the Gamemakers do too, as I hear a cannon. I throw my sword to Brooke, who catches it, as I pull the trident out of the boy. I start to run over to help Brooke, but then I realize that no hurry is needed.
Brooke Nash POV
I see the girl stumble, and fall, her back against the tree. I look over at Abi and see that she's struggling in the fight against the boy. She's not losing, but she's not going to win, and I imagine that he has more stamina than her. I look at the girl again. She's struggling to get up. I'll be safe for a second. Or I won't, and I'll join Kai. Either way, Abi probably lives or has a better chance, and I don't care.
So, I shout "Switch!" I throw my trident at the boy. It hits him and kills him. A cannon goes off, and Abi throws me her sword. I turn back to the girl and raise my sword to guard against her, but I realize that she's still slumped against the tree trunk. Except… I look at her eyes. They're staring off into space. I wave my hand in front of her. No response. I wonder what happened…
Aurora Dayton POV
I stumble back at the redhead's blow. I fall on the ground, and I expect her to kill me. After all, I think she was the girl from District Four. Not a career, but almost. Then, as I watch Cyder defending against the blonde, I see a trident fly into his side, and he falls down. Dead. Dead. Dead. Cyder, dead. My mom, dead. Me, probably dead too. I fall back against the tree. I don't want to get up. Dead, all of them. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead Dead Dead Dead.
Brooke Nash –15- -D4- POV
I look at the girl's eyes.
"I don't know what happened, Abi, but she's not coming back to us," I say.
"Oh," Abi says. "What do we do?"
"We have to kill her," I say. "She might already be dead, inside. We can't help her, and even if we did, we'd kill her later anyway. She's clearly traumatized. Let's save her more."
"Oh," Abi says. "Who… who should do it?" I look at her face, at her eyes. So young, although I don't think she's much younger than me. So innocent and hopeful. Or they used to be. That has just been ripped from them, from her. She's still so young though. Young and scared.
"I'll do it," I say. "Hand me your dagger." She does, silently. "Do you remember her name?" I ask.
"I think it was…" she thinks for a second. "Aurora. That was it. Aurora Dayton."
"Okay," I say. "You don't have to watch." She gets up and turns away. I kneel down in front of Aurora. "I'm sorry about this, Aurora," I say. "I know you're moving on to somewhere better though. I am sorry, but… it's the only option. Good night, Aurora." Then, I plunge my dagger into her heart. She only makes a small sound before she's gone. I close her eyes, gently. They didn't see the last few minutes anyway.
"Abi? Grab that ax and chop us some wood."
In a few minutes, we have a proper funeral pyre going. I lifted Aurora first, with the help of Abi, onto the pyre, and we waited until her body was burned before putting the boy on. The Capitol didn't even try to come to collect the bodies. I think they knew better. We stand and stare at the fire for a few minutes after Cyder's body disappears.
"We need to get moving, Abi," I say. "The smoke will give away our position to half of the arena."
"Right," she says. "Let's go." We walk away from the still-burning pyre.
A few hours later, we make camp. We haven't talked much, and I think that Abi is still in shock. She offers to take first watch, but I tell her no. She needs to sleep, to process. I probably do too, but I'll be alright. For now, at least. If I get home, I can deal with the psychological trauma later. I take first watch and eventually wake Abi up. She looks a little better. I fall asleep in a sleeping bag by the fire.
Kaine Thomason POV
I walk all day, with no hope of finding anyone to kill until I see a giant plume of smoke. I don't know what idiot did that, but they'll pay dearly. I start towards it.
When I reach it, whoever made it already left, but they left tracks. So, I start to follow them. It gets dark quickly after I start, but I keep going in the same direction, assuming that they probably didn't change direction. I wouldn't have got much sleep anyway.
I'm rewarded for my efforts when I see a fire. I keep going towards it.
Note: The following events technically occurred on Game Day Four, at three AM Panem Central Time. Most citizens were not awake, so they were re-broadcast as soon as everyone was at work or school…
Abi Hendrix POV
Brooke wakes me up after what feels like a long time. I feel a little better now, but still really tired. I take watch, sitting by the fire, but eventually, I fall asleep. It would turn out to be my last mistake.
Kaine Thomason POV
I walk quietly, with my knife (I left my spear at the edge of the camp) in hand. Both of them are sleeping. It looks like two girls. I don't know why they don't have someone on watch, but it will cost them. I go up to the first sleeping form. I can see in the firelight that it's a blonde girl. The one from District Twelve, I think. She's fallen asleep, without a sleeping bag, by the fire. I creep up next to her, and poise my knife over her throat, ready to cut. She stirs in her sleep, and her neck brushes the blade. I cut. She screams. My whole plan is ruined. She is dead, a cannon confirms that. Her body goes limp underneath me. But, her scream woke up her partner.
Brooke Nash POV
I wake up to Abi's scream and a cannon shot.
"Abi! Are you alright?" I ask although I know what the answer is. I hear no answer. I grab my trident and look towards where she should be. I see a boy with a knife standing over Abi's body. "You killed her in her sleep?" I ask.
"Yeah," he says. "So?"
"She… ugh! She was an innocent little girl!" I say.
"She didn't look like it to me," he says.
"I. Will. Kill. You." I say. I put every ounce of sadness I have, for Kai, for Aurora, now for Abi, into those words. And I put every ounce of anger into my charge. He never saw it coming. Unfortunately, I never saw the knife. My trident plunged straight into his belly, and a cannon instantly went off. At the same time as I pulled my trident out, I realized that there was a knife sticking through my heart. I sat down. Then I laid down, next to Abi.
"Good night, Abi," I say. Then. "I'm coming, Kai. I hope you and Galia don't mind a third wheel." Then, I slip into the comforting white light.
The Fallen:
Day 1. Satin Hermes, 18F, D1. Career. Stabbed in the back by Spire Windell.
Day 3. Topaz Hazard, 17M, D1. Career. Killed with a throwing knife by Athena Fallow.
Day 3. Lily Cross, 17F, D2. Career. Killed with a sword stroke across the stomach by Sofia Guinness.
Day 1. Rianna Meade, 16F, D3. Killed with an ax by Titanium Sparks.
Day 3. Titanium Sparks, 18M, D3. Career. Killed with a throwing knife by Athena Fallow.
Day 4. Brooke Nash, 15F, D4. Stabbed in the chest by Kaine Thomason.
Day 2. Kai Presley, 18M, D4. Sacrifice. Stabbed in the chest by Edmund Caden.
Day 2. Spire Windell, 16M, D5. Tortured. Killed by Topaz Hazard.
Day 1. Lindsay Cutt, 13F, D6. Decapitated by Edmund Caden.
Day 2. Edmund Caden, 15M, D6. Stabbed in the chest by Kai Presley.
Day 3. Aurora Dayton, 17F, D7. Mercy Kill. Stabbed in the heart by Brooke Nash.
Day 3. Cyder Lamentian, 17M, D7. Stabbed with a thrown trident by Brooke Nash.
Day 4. Kaine Thomason, 14M, D8. Stabbed with a trident by Brooke Nash.
Day 1. Twyler Onzui, 16F, D8. Throat slit by Lily Cross.
Day 2. Azalea Saffron, 12F, D9. Stabbed in the chest by Topaz Hazard.
Day 1. Angus Blush, Dem Blush, Miller Blush, 17M, D9. Stabbed by Edmund Caden.
Day 1. Belinda Mosler, 15F, D10. Shot in the back by Satin Hermes.
Day 1. Noah Jones, 17M, D10. Shot in the back by Satin Hermes.
Day 1. Calyx Anther, 17M, D11. Stabbed in the chest by Arc Woods.
Day 4. Abi Hendrix, 14F, D12. Throat slit in her sleep by Kaine Thomason.
Day 2. Wyatt Fritz, 14M, D12. Stabbed in the chest by Arc Woods.
The Finale:
Athena Fallow –17- -D11- POV
I wake up to the sound of three cannon shots. I go into the tent to check on Sofie. She stirs awake. I place my hand on her forehead. She's burning up.
"I think you have a fever," I say. "I think your wound's infected."
"Really?" Sofie asks sarcastically. "I could have told you that. Was that three cannon shots?"
"Yeah," I say.
"It's just us, then," she says.
"I guess so," I say.
"Good job," she says. "You've won."
"I'm not killing you, Sofie," I say. "We can save you, the infection isn't that bad, and-"
"Athena!" I've never heard her voice this angry before. "I'm already dead. I have an infection, that could be bad. Let me speak," she holds a hand up to stop me from talking. It seems like it takes a lot of effort. "You have a fiance to go back to. I don't have anyone like that. I might die when I get back, you probably won't. Only one of us can win, and it should be you. And, I'd rather have you kill me than the Capitol, with some mutts, or a wall of fire, or something. And if they tried that, I wouldn't survive, you would. So, please, kill me."
"Okay," I say. I'm crying now. "Sofie..."
"One more thing," she says, reaching into her shirt. She pulls out her notebook and hands it to me. "Finish them. Please." I take her notebook and put it on the ground next to me.
"Okay," I say. "I will." I pause. "I'm sorry, Sofie."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," she says. "Do it. Do it now, I'm ready."
"Okay," I say. I reach for the dagger I had left with her, to protect herself. I grab it, and before I can stop myself, I plunge it into her heart. She smiles at me, and her hand falls to her side. I gently close her eyes and cross her arms over her chest. I hear her cannon go off.
Sofie Guinness –16- -D5- POV
Sacrificing myself for Athena was the easiest thing I ever did. I was going to die anyway, whether or not Athena would admit it. I know that my family will be taken care of. All I hope is that she finishes my stories. She has a family to go back to, a fiance, who will be very happy. They better name a kid after me though. I slip into the light easily.
Athena Fallow –17- -D11V, 70HG- POV
I step out of the tent, with Sofie's book in hand.
"Here I am!" I shout. "I won!"
Then I hear the announcer's voice. "Congratulations to Athena Fallow, winner of the 70th Annual Hunger Games!" I'm blinded by the lights of a hovercraft that lands in front of me.
The Fallen:
Day 1. Satin Hermes, 18F, D1. Career. Stabbed in the back by Spire Windell.
Day 3. Topaz Hazard, 17M, D1. Career. Killed with a throwing knife by Athena Fallow.
Day 3. Lily Cross, 17F, D2. Career. Killed with a sword stroke across the stomach by Sofia Guinness.
Day 1. Rianna Meade, 16F, D3. Killed with an ax by Titanium Sparks.
Day 3. Titanium Sparks, 18M, D3. Career. Killed with a throwing knife by Athena Fallow.
Day 4. Brooke Nash, 15F, D4. Stabbed in the chest by Kaine Thomason.
Day 2. Kai Presley, 18M, D4. Sacrifice. Stabbed in the chest by Edmund Caden.
Day 4. Sofia 'Sofie' Guinness, 16F, D5. Sacrifice. Stabbed in the heart by Athena Fallow.
Day 2. Spire Windell, 16M, D5. Tortured. Killed by Topaz Hazard.
Day 1. Lindsay Cutt, 13F, D6. Decapitated by Edmund Caden.
Day 2. Edmund Caden, 15M, D6. Stabbed in the chest by Kai Presley.
Day 3. Aurora Dayton, 17F, D7. Mercy Kill. Stabbed in the heart by Brooke Nash.
Day 3. Cyder Lamentian, 17M, D7. Stabbed with a thrown trident by Brooke Nash.
Day 4. Kaine Thomason, 14M, D8. Stabbed with a trident by Brooke Nash.
Day 1. Twyler Onzui, 16F, D8. Throat slit by Lily Cross.
Day 2. Azalea Saffron, 12F, D9. Stabbed in the chest by Topaz Hazard.
Day 1. Angus Blush, Dem Blush, Miller Blush, 17M, D9. Stabbed by Edmund Caden.
Day 1. Belinda Mosler, 15F, D10. Shot in the back by Satin Hermes.
Day 1. Noah Jones, 17M, D10. Shot in the back by Satin Hermes.
Day 1. Calyx Anther, 17M, D11. Stabbed in the chest by Arc Woods.
Day 4. Abi Hendrix, 14F, D12. Throat slit in her sleep by Kaine Thomason.
Day 2. Wyatt Fritz, 14M, D12. Stabbed in the chest by Arc Woods.
Victor: Athena Fallow.
To be continued…
A/N: Okay, so… the Games are done. Originally, I was planning something slightly different, and to post Day 4/The Finale as a different chapter, but I decided against it, so here we are. Oh… my… goodness. You know, I teared up at writing Aurora and Brooke's deaths. But… it happened. What did you all think? Was it good? Also, I wasn't lying, there is more to come. There will be an epilogue, and I'm seriously considering a sequel. No, not Ice, the 71st Hunger Games. Or maybe so. You'll just have to read it to find out. Anyway, stay tuned for the Epilogue.