-Camellia Gallen, 18, District 7-
The seconds practically shook the room. The wheel descended, eliminating the barrier that barred her from seeing her competition. She looked around at the bunch, and couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking about. Each of them had strategic looks on their faces, obviously planning how to get the spoils that were now raising up, neatly lined up and marked with stripes of different colors.
Camellia didn't want any trouble… But she so desperately wanted to see Jo's face, and hear her voice again. It had been so damn long. Her gaze fixed on the lavender-striped screen, and her face set. She was going to go over there, get it, and then make her escape. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and she certainly didn't want to get hurt.
Five… She noticed a look of panic on Ceru's face.
Four… Elliot's killer, focused on the table of supplies.
Three… Silent tears of resignation rolling down Owen's cheeks.
Two… Harleigh's eyes started to cloud over.
One. Everyone vying for the one single canteen that sat out on the table.
Zero.
Camellia headed towards the table before something else caught her eye. Her District partner, straight across from her, panic in his face as he's paralyzed to his pedestal. The seconds counted down for him, but Remus was already charging towards him.
That's not fair! He can't move!
She felt something burn in her watching the Career go to pick of his easy kill.
No.
Camellia couldn't sit around and watch that happen to him… Ceru was from her home. She would never forgive herself if she let it happen.
Remus went for the clean kill, but he stopped in his tracks, jumping and turning around, when he heard the great, thundering BOOM! behind him.
Before he could register that the noise he'd heard was a confetti cannon, Camellia charged at the Career with her war hammer.
Remus noticed her right away, putting up his rapier in a defensive position as she approached. Camellia quickly thrust her Warhammer towards him, which struck his shoulder with a great force and caused him to cry out, but didn't send him to the ground yet, to her chagrin.
Camellia used all of the strength in her arms to pull the great weapon back up, and Remus was now focused completely on her. He thrust his rapier towards her, but she was agile in jumping out of its way. She knew how to defend herself and now more than ever was the time to do so.
She thrust the big ass warhammer forward again, using the momentum to her advantage. Remus saw it coming, and quickly ducked out of the way. She heard voices talking behind her, but she couldn't focus on what they were saying.
The thing that brought her and her opponent out of focus was the loud, screaming laugh from the least likely person. Harleigh sat on her pedestal and laughed, loudly and heartily. It was unnerving, but Camellia had more important issues to deal with right then.
In a split second, Remus was on the attack. He methodically jabbed his rapier forward, again and again towards her. Camellia scrambled away each time, but she could see in his face that he was calculating her. In an attempt to surprise him, she swung her Warhammer around his side.
Camellia felt the impact in her bones. Knocked off balance, Remus swore out loud- something that was very un-Remus, but the pain that exploded in her gut told her that she was the real fool that let her defense down.
But she wasn't about to quit. She regrouped with her hammer and attacked again, but her lack of experience was showing, and Remus was able to land more hits on her. His attacks weren't as calculated as they would have been as he was reeling in pain and defending himself. The injuries weren't lethal, but Camellia was starting to feel light-headed from the blood she was losing. She knew that she had to put her all into her next attack.
Something suddenly shifted in Remus: his face contorted into a painful position and he lost his gentlemanly aura. Desperation sent him lunging at her with a great cry and thrusting his sword forward wildly. The attacks were too fast and too wildly random for her to dodge them all, especially carrying the heavy weapon, and her body started to scream out as if it were on fire. But she wasn't going to give up yet.
Camellia weakly raised her hammer for another attack, aiming for the Career's head. She grit her teeth, held onto the weapon tightly, and used her energy to raise it.
Suddenly, Remus's rapier struck her again, in the chest this time, and caused her to suddenly lose her balance and topple over. The hammer became too heavy for her to hold. Weakly, Camellia tried to push herself back up to her feet… Dammit… Her arms shook and wouldn't apply the pressure she needed to get back up on her feet.
Remus stood over her, his eyes dark and a deranged smile twisting across his face. He let out a laugh as he was about to end it all… Camellia shut her eyes, fear taking over her body.
With a sharp crack, Remus suddenly coughed and collapsed on the ground next to Camellia. Ceru stood over him, his face contorted with rage. His breath was ragged as he held the axe over his head, which was now covered in blood that dripped off of it. It was an expression Camellia couldn't have dreamed she would ever see on his face.
Shit…
He stared at her, his face softening at her sorry state, but Camellia didn't need him to risk himself anymore, as there were still tributes around.
"Go…" she told him, her voice hoarse. "Go." Harleigh let out another shrieking laugh, two of the boys were talking over each other, but they all blurred together
Ceru looked at the body next to her, squeezing a tear out of his eye, before he picked up the bag laying next to Remus and took off out of the heart door.
Next to her, her ears fixed on the feeble words leaving her killer's lips. Fuck, her killer? No way…
"Je… t'aime, Val…erie…" his voice couldn't come out much above a weak whisper. "C'est… la vie…" Camellia heard the sound of his last exhale before he went silent. It sent chills up her spine.
Hearing her ally's name mentioned by another tribute made her ears perk up and focus in on the conversation between Coda and… Fuck. Lonan was still here…
"It was Elliot's bag, but it was set up for my ally. When she died… I never changed them around. Please. I don't want to fight. You already got the canteen."
"You said you had food?"
"Yes, and you can see the weapons. Peace offering?"
"…Get out of here," Lonan's voice said finally.
Camellia heard Coda throw a backpack at him, and the awkward sounding step-thump-step-thump of him running away with his prosthetic, sliding what had to be his map off the table on the way.
So you can have mercy on Coda but not Elliot!? She wondered angrily. She couldn't stand for this. She had to get revenge on the bastard. She clawed her fingers in the ground, trying to push herself up so she could finally get the revenge she wanted so fucking bad…. Lonan took her bag sitting next to her, and just barely kept from stepping in her face on the way. Camellia's heart burned with rage.
No, surely I'm not going to go this way. Not while Elliot's killer ran free like that. She tried to get back up, at least sitting up, but the deep wounds inflicted on her by Remus weren't going to go away any time soon.
No, she wasn't actually dying… She heard high-pitched screams around her, the sound of footsteps leaving the room. Now she was totally alone. Dammit, why did she think that picking a fight for a Career would be a good idea?! Camellia's eyes filled up with tears, angry tears, at herself. She wasn't going to let her own stupid rash decision be the reason she died.
Fuck it, I'm going to get up and walk away from this, she thought. She threw all of her effort into getting up to a sitting position. Harleigh's body was sprawled out across the confetti-covered floor, over her pedestal. It was at least a relatively clean kill. Remus still lay next to her. Two dead bodies, and still no cannons…
Dammit, they were waiting for her to die. Well… She was going to show them… She could just stand up… She clenched her teeth, and with a great effort, thrust herself upwards. She was going to show Jo how much she wanted to get home…
The world around her spun as it never had before, and suddenly, she was falling backwards, back on her ass on the ground. She saw black spots blocking her vision.
Shit… She grabbed handfuls of the floor, trying to get her brain to think again. She was floating in between worlds…
This wasn't how it was supposed to end for her. No, she was… She was supposed to go out in a blaze of glory, she was supposed to go out protecting her boys, she was supposed to make a statement, cause a riot… This wasn't how it was supposed to end for Camellia. Remus's last words still crawled around on her neck and shoulders. Soon she would be just as lifeless as him, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. This was their fucking last laugh, wasn't it? Having their little rebel killed by her own stupid fucking mistake. Killed without making a single little change. She didn't get to do anything she wanted to…
At least I saved Ceru…
Sure, that went well, didn't it? After she couldn't protect the two boys she was truly starting to consider her family. She wasn't pure enough to be an innocent like Syca. She wasn't strong or brave enough to actually do anything like Wolf. She had talked such a big game about coming in here and actually changing something. But who the hell was she kidding? She couldn't do anything. She was just an idealistic teenager that thought she could actually change a system that was unfair to her. There was nothing she could do. Syca was still dead. Raoul was still dead. And now, she was going to be dead too.
Her vision started to swim around her, and she realized that she'd reached the end. She had no idea how Syca died so bravely. She was scared. She wanted someone there to hold her hand. But they were both gone before her. Nobody was there to sing to Jace. She didn't deserve to have anyone here for her.
Her heart was slowing, and she was gasping for breath, holding her chest, trying to get it to not give out on her. It was fucking scary. She didn't know what laid beyond. She had never looked up to her brother more.
Syca… I'll be with Syca…
She only hoped that Wolf could get to Jo somehow, that Malloy would protect her. Camellia couldn't do it anymore. Dammit, how badly she wanted to keep protecting her… Dammit… She didn't want to hurt Malloy this way. She didn't want Jo to have to live through another funeral, another lost one… She had suffered enough…
The tears were drying on her cheeks, as if her eyes gave up on producing any more of them. Everything hurt, everything burned… She couldn't breathe… She was going to take her last breath and everyone was going to watch the little fucking rebel die, alone and afraid. She hoped they were happy now.
No. I can't let it end like this. She couldn't imagine how she would have felt watching Syca die afraid. She couldn't let this be Jo and Malloy's last memory of her. She couldn't put her parents through the pain of losing their last child afraid and alone.
She couldn't let a scared little girl be her forever legacy.
No.
Camellia reached into her pocket and pulled out the clear, smooth pill. She was going to go out on her own terms.
Without hesitating, she dropped the pill into her mouth, swallowing it dry.
After only a few seconds, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, causing her to unashamedly cry out and grab her stomach. The pain only got worse, growing, coming out of her throat, and it soon became too much for her body to handle.
With one last painful, gurgling scream, Camellia's body finally gave out and her vision went dark.
Syca…
~.~.
-Cerulean Elpharae, 16, District 7-
There was a dull pain in his chest. Not so much from the fighting and running: he had done plenty of that in his lifetime… But from the pain.
Night had fallen, but Ceru couldn't sleep after feeling the three cannons that shook the ground below him. One of them by his doing. Well, you could argue two.
But why? Why had she done that? It was a reckless thing to do. Remus should have easily stabbed him dead, and he knew it. He was still clutching his chest, as if to make sure he wasn't tricking himself into thinking he was alive when he wasn't. It was an entirely impossible scenario.
And the worst part of it all was… Well, if he could actually move, he would have stopped her. It just felt like… Like his turn. Something in him just felt like it was his time. Perhaps it was because it should have been. But he was finally at peace with the possibility of his death, knowing that he did everything he could… But then she took the heat for him.
He released a shaking breath out of his mouth as he sat, surrounded by bags and weapons that had once belonged to her killer. Water… Of all the tributes, Ceru was now one of two to have the valuable resource. How did he deserve to have it?
He was in the final four… But there was no way he should have been. He was so close to home… But it should have been her here instead. What was Ceru going to do? He had done what he wanted, finally, in showing the Capitol that he could kill… But at what cost?
Oh, what did it matter? He should be rejoicing. He was sure that his family was at home. Only three more people stood in his way for the Victory. But two of them were his friends… Er, um, his ex-allies. How could he possibly do anything to harm either one of them? They were people that he had travelled with for so long. And they perhaps didn't end on a great note, but the truth was that as much as he didn't want to, Ceru cared about them. He didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want to hurt anyone else…
…but he wanted to live.
He wasn't ready to die yet. There was still so much for him to see in the world.
How the hell could I possibly say that, after what she did? It was selfish of him. It was selfish of him to want this… It was selfish of him to believe that he deserved it. He wasn't the fastest, strongest, or the smartest. He wasn't the funniest, the most personable… He couldn't even imagine himself honoring twenty-three lost lives, hell, he could barely remember most of their names! If he even knew them in the first place…
There was so much that Ceru couldn't do. He was generally a person that tried to stay positive, a person that looked on the bright side, that looked at what he could do. But the truth was, there was just a lot of stuff that he couldn't fucking do. There were so many dreams that he dared to dream that he knew would forever be out of his reach: he's not social enough, he's not rich enough, not passionate enough, not a good enough test taker… And those were on top of his deafness.
He tried not to focus on it too much, but the truth was that there was a world full of people out there that were, albeit unknowingly, against him. He was just a little deaf boy in a big hearing world. He could never go to university because his school was made for hearing people. His teachers said important things while their faces were hidden by a chalkboard. They talked quickly, they mumbled, they didn't allow any time for questions. Clair could only take him so far.
When he took his practice ASTs, the moderator talked with his face buried in the book of instructions. Ceru didn't realize the test had even started until he noticed people writing around him, and he didn't hear them announce time. They didn't disqualify him because of that, but he didn't need to wait for the results. He knew he couldn't possibly get into a University on his own merit. And then what? He was damned to a life as a lumberjack, not hearing people calling out that they were cutting down trees? Working with a team that talked to each other and didn't allow him to keep up? What the hell kind of life would that be?
He liked to think that he was going to defy expectations until the day he keeled over, but the truth was that for him, in this society, in this District… It was just impossible. Maybe if he were brilliant, a savant, a genius, then he could have gotten somewhere. But he was just a normal boy, apart from his deafness. A normal boy that was just completely left behind.
He could barely even keep up with his allies. They tried to help, but in reality, they didn't understand. They did it all subconsciously. They never meant to hurt Ceru. And all the hearing people in his life told him that he shouldn't be hurt by it because they didn't mean to. They didn't understand. Somehow, that justified their actions, with or without an apology. Ceru didn't want to cause any issues on his own behalf, so he just accepted whatever he was given. He accepted that he would never go to University, and tried to plan different futures that would ultimately never come to fruition because there hadn't been a person brave enough to advocate for him.
Ceru had no idea how loud he was sobbing, but he tried to keep it down.
The truth that he always knew in his heart was that…
It wasn't fair.
Winning the Hunger Games was never something he actually thought he could do, in his heart of hearts. But now, after everything he'd been through, he was here, in the final four. His District partner had given her life for him. And he was really going to sit around here and believe that it was a worthless sacrifice?
It would only be worthless if he let it be.
Like hell he would let her death be in vain!
Ceru had come way too far to let himself be that nice deaf kid that made it farther than everyone thought. He could feel the eyes of the nation on him, pitying him. Being amazed that he made it this far, attributing it to fate, and being convinced that Lonan was going to step on him like a cockroach. He wasn't about to let that happen. He was going to show them all that he wasn't going out without a fight. After all, he had just killed a Career. Surely he had the eyes on him. They were waiting to see what he would do. And he wasn't about to back down out of worry that his existence inconveniences others. The truth is that he should have every fair chance to succeed, and the fact that the Hunger Games did a better job of that than the people that were crying to end them back home was just plain sad.
Ceru balled his fists, a new fire burning in his soul. He was going to win, not just for himself, but for all the other little deaf kids forced to live in a big hearing world like he was. For all the little deaf kids that dared to dream big, and those that didn't yet know that they could. He wanted to be the person to stand up for them so that they have access to a future that should be accessible to all children.
Ceru always thought it was selfish of him to want a future for himself. But now… Something about Camellia's death convinced him that he deserved one. And he was cheated of it, due to ignorant parents that didn't care to learn and a District that was adverse to any form of change.
He wanted to be an advocate for those little Deaf kids in a way that nobody was for him as a child. Hell, why not think even bigger? He wanted to do something, to make a change, and there were only three people keeping him from doing it. It wasn't fair that he had no advocates in his life, but he wanted to change that for all of the other little kids out there that needed him to step up.
Not to mention making sure that Camellia's family was well cared for. She had made the ultimate sacrifice for him, and he would spend the rest of his lifetime trying to make that up to her. He knew how much they had lost, and just the thought of it broke his heart. There was a reason that he couldn't do anything when faced with her earlier… He didn't want to hurt her because he knew who she was. She was a protector. She busted her ass to help him, and they didn't even ally. She made sure he knew what was going on even when the others didn't. She was always ready to help him, even though there was no reason for her to be. After all, they were in a death match together…
But that was who Camellia was. She showed her true colors. She was a protector. She protected the one she loved from the Games. He was sure she protected her little brother, who would have been Ceru's age at sixteen if he were still alive. How deep the pain must have been for them all. Perhaps that was what led her to protect him; he would never know. He didn't know why she protected him… But he knew that now he needed to return the favor by protecting the ones that she loved.
I will, he thought up to her. I will protect them. I will return the favor you gave to me.
His thoughts were interrupted by a cannister rising out of the floor in front of him. Could this be…?! A sponsor?! It had been a while since he'd seen one of these.
Somehow, a smile crossed his tear-stained face. Somehow, they knew that he wasn't about to give up. That was just as good fuel as any for Ceru. He opened the cannister and pulled out the purple token that rested inside. A valuable chance at food: or any other supply he might need.
I won't waste it.
He unfolded the note, squinting in order to read the writing.
District Seven is waiting patiently for you.
You're ready now.
-Maud
P.S. This gift is from Logan, who says hi.
Ignoring whatever the hell that post-script is supposed to mean, Ceru felt like his heart grew at reading those words. You're ready now.
He was ready.
He was now ready to step into the role of protector for those in need.
He was ready to do whatever it took.
He was ready to continue defying other peoples' expectations of him.
He was ready to win the Hunger Games.
~.~.
-Owen O'Connor, 18, District 5-
Three more, dead.
They're lucky.
He closed his eyes. They're not lucky, they're dead.
How would it feel to walk with death?
Even before being reaped, he pondered that question. Life was cruel. Life was unfair. Life was always trying to pull the rug out from under him, and fucking then what?! How long was life going to continue to take and take and take everything away from him? How long was he going to allow it to?
Life was cruel. Life continued to steal from him, beat him, use him, and subject him to humiliation. Life continued to raise his hopes, his hopes that something could actually change for him, only to crush them right in front of his eyes.
Life was a cruel lover. Death seemed like an old friend.
What the hell happened to me? He had once been life's prized child. He had good friends, he was on the swim team, he was part of theater club, he had good grades, and his mother was proud of him. He was so happy to make her proud, all the time. He did those things because he loved them, and because she was so proud of him for his success. Ha… She wanted a future for him that was bigger and brighter than her own. She gave up hers so that he could have his.
And now I had to give up mine for her.
She wasn't proud of him anymore: even at her most alert, she couldn't remember where he had been that day. All of his future prospects, gone. It was a slow fade for them as he continued to make more and more sacrifices. And now, where had that gotten him? A job just like hers. Dancing on a pole, creating someone completely new in Nines, just to scrape by month to month. Just to keep a roof over their heads, to keep electricity at some points in the day, to put food on the table that she usually didn't even eat and had to be thrown away…
But that wasn't the worst part. Sacrificing his schooling was hard, but the hardest part was the slow fade of his mother. It didn't happen overnight. But she slowly started to slip away from him until there was nothing left of her. He didn't even realize how bad it had become… Until she forgot his name for the first time.
She would never be proud of him again. She might see him achieve, but she would never understand. And if she wasn't proud of him, what the hell was even the point of it? Dancing on a pole just to keep her alive wasn't going to cut it anymore.
He wasn't sure why he didn't give up earlier. Perhaps because he was so worried about her. But, well, two of the three left were his friends. If he could just have them make sure she's taken care of… Then Owen could finally, finally let go. She was the thread that forced him to continually take life's many beatings. She was the reason that he created Nines: someone to try and make the best out of everything, someone with a tongue sharp like a blade. But if he wasn't happy, and she wasn't here, then what was the point? Wouldn't she be happier dead than mindless? Wouldn't he be happier dead?
Camellia, Remus, Harleigh, they didn't have to keep fighting every day. They didn't have to kill any more in order to survive. They didn't have to worry about any of it. They were asleep, forever. How many times had he wished to fall asleep and never wake up?
The shadow hanging over his shoulder had been with him for years now, but he had never entertained it until he reached this place. He never had the opportunity to. Life was tearing off his skin, leaving him a lifeless skeleton just like his mother. Everything he did, every breath he took, was a burden.
He lived day to day, with a checklist for each one. Once he checked all the boxes, he had nothing until he went to bed. Nothing but routine check-ups on his mother and anxiety… And that shadow whispering ever loyally into his ear.
If I die, would she even know? He couldn't answer that question. He didn't know if she remembered him. And if his mother forgot him, then what was the point?
Giving up is a selfish thing to do. Maybe it was. But Owen was so tired. He was so exhausted. He was so done with living. He really just wanted to die. And why shouldn't he? It wasn't like he had a long line of supporters waving flags for him back home.
At this point, why shouldn't he give up? He had nothing. He had lost his water thanks to Remus, not that he had any before. He had food, but he'd given half of it to Kelwyn who then promptly died. He ran to the table during the feast, but the single canteen was far away from his grasp. As much as he wanted to die, his body kicked into action for him and got the hell away from there.
He stayed in the doorway briefly: he heard his ex-ally talking to the boy from Eight. They seemed to have made a deal. Coda didn't want a fight, and he ended up giving Lonan supplies in return for going off free. It was a good deal for Lonan, who was the only one left that was trained. He would not be making deals anymore, that was for sure.
Owen thought he had the map but when he turned it on, it flashed the Capitol seal and he knew it was the wrong thing.
Dammit, he fucked up again. He just couldn't stop fucking up.
I'm so sorry Mom. He was a failure, and he knew it. Giving up was an easy way out for him, but he could never know what it would mean for her. Death may absolve the guilt, but it made it so much harder for him to just pull the trigger.
His mind went back to his time with Kelwyn. He didn't expect to enjoy it, but it was the first time he'd felt relaxed in so long. He felt like he had someone that understood him. He planned to try and brings Nines out of they stayed together so he didn't seem like such a dork in front of the Career. But Kelwyn had loyalty to Celestia, and he left.
Owen wondered if she killed him. Either way, it certainly wasn't fair that Kelwyn was dead and Owen wasn't. He had so many friends and family members awaiting his return. He was trained. He was the shoe-in for Victory. Who was Owen to compare to that? Just another drooling fangirl for Kelwyn to step on, he was sure.
If Celestia killed Kelwyn, Owen hoped that he at least killed her back.
How pathetic. Getting so attached to a trained killer he'd only known for a day. How affection-starved was Owen? It was pathetic. It was the heart of someone that had no one.
The screen sitting in his lap flashed just then and Owen jumped at the sudden brightness.
The stupid damn thing, reminding Owen of his failure to take advantage of the head start he had on Coda. For a few minutes, he had completely forgotten that he even had the stupid thing. He didn't really want to pry into the dead girl's friends and family after all. He was honestly just going to leave it be and then abandon it. He wished the canteen was closer to him, but it was on Lonan's side and he knew that his ex-ally would be ready to fight for it, especially now that he seemed to have weapons from Coda.
He wasn't ready to fight them yet… Fighting them would mean justifying his life over theirs, and he knew their stories far too well to do that at that point. Plus, there was no way Owen was going to win in a fight against Owen or Ceru. He saw what they could do. Fighting them would also require a weapon, which Owen didn't get custody of when their alliance divorced. Weaponless, no water… He was basically a dead man walking, wasn't he?
If only it had just happened during the feast, when nobody could blame him.
Part of him hoped that heading straight into the fray would be reckless enough to get him killed, but he was on the opposite side from the others so it was pretty easy to grab the thing that was closest, which happened to be Camellia's interviews.
He looked down, and saw a pretty young lady being interviewed that had to be from a Career District. Wait, Career? That wasn't Camellia. Did they really have all 8 tribute interviews on here?
Owen's heart flew with hope as he skipped past the interviews for the Careers, and he saw a too familiar face. He turned the volume down a few clicks and watched Joker and Queen talk about him. It was a little laughable to watch them try to be somewhat likable for the Capitol. Pathetic that the only people they could manage to interview for him were Queen and Joker. He sighed as Harleigh's twin appeared on the screen. He clicked the back button to see Queen and Joker again when he accidentally clicked back one and landed on faces he barely recognized after so much time apart.
Warren… And Jeremy… They were pitiful as well, regretful that Owen had to go to a place like this. They visited him after the reaping as well, but he didn't think they actually cared. He thought they just wanted to do it to help their conscience. That was what so many did. They took care of him out of pity. That was how he was holding on to his job, after all.
Hesitantly, he clicked back one more, and he saw a face that surprised him. Viola Wallace wasn't related to any of the tributes… Right? He put the device closer to his ear to listen to what she was saying.
"…diagnosed with syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that, in its later stages, damages organs and can cause dementia. She has now been treated, and is currently participating in a study for a new Capitol drug that might be able to reverse the damages of this disease."
Dementia? Could this be…?
When he looked at the screen, a face he hadn't seen in years stared back at him.
"M…Mom…."
She looked so different sitting in that hospital bed. Her face was clouded away from him by tears in his eyes which he quickly blinked away. "Oh Mom…"
Piccolo asked her a question, a fruitless thing to do nowadays…
Until she answered.
"I am doing well… I… I think… My son is missing. Owen. Are you one of his friends?" Her voice made Owen's eyes explode with water that simply would not stop coming. It covered his cheeks and slid down his neck to his shirt, but he couldn't help it.
"Mom…" he croaked out as she spoke some more.
"Now I remember…"
She remembers…. The fact that she remembers anything at all is a goddamn miracle. Owen clutched the device tightly and held it close to his face, clinging onto every word.
"So Linn, if you could talk to Owen again, what would you tell him?"
"I would tell him…" there is a cut in the audio, but her voice remains definitively. "That I'm so proud of him. And I hope he comes back soon."
Owen held the device tightly and sobbed. He couldn't believe this… The fact that he was almost so ready to give up on his mother, who obviously still needed him… There was strain in her voice, but it was her.
Life may be cruel. But sometimes, it is a place for miracles to happen.
And that, time with his mother again, was what he so badly wanted… It was impossible, but it was back in his grasp.
Owen's face and neck were wet with tears that he tried to wipe off, only for them to be replaced by more. She was receiving care. He played the interview back again and again, just to hear her voice, to hear her speak in complete sentences… He needed it so badly.
"Mom… It's your son, Owen. I… I won't abandon you… I want to keep making you proud." He sniffled snot back into his nose. He turned off the device, but kept it close to him.
How the hell did they not test her for syphilis with her history as a sex worker? He had to wonder to himself. Perhaps they were shitty doctors. Or perhaps…
She never told them.
Thinking back, they didn't test her for any STDs. They never gave any indication that they knew about it… But Owen never said anything, so how could they have pinpointed it now?
Rammie.
Perhaps the cruelest thing life had tossed his way… And yet, she had somehow saved his mother's life.
Life had a weird way of acting sometimes. And while there was still plenty of hurt and pain deep within the shadow that existed on Owen's shoulder, he had a new determination to keep fighting for his life. He had made it this far, after all. If she was going to recover, she was going to need help and support on the way. And now that there was a destination at the end of the path forward, Owen was completely ready to jump in and be there for her. She needed him now more than she ever did before. She didn't need Lonan, or Ceru, or that scrappy little kid from District Eight. She needed her son. And he needed his mom.
As a Victor, he would do whatever it took to get her as well as they possibly could. She still had plenty going on in that little head of hers, and Owen was going to come home so he could finally have the quality time with her that he always wanted.
So maybe Lady Luck was a wry mistress… But now, he was taking fate by the horns and driving it straight back home to District Five.
Suddenly, the floor in front of him opened, and up rose a silver cannister marked with his number in his bright blue color. He hurriedly reached over and opened it, pulling out the token that rested inside.
After everyone lost their water, he couldn't imagine how expensive this was. His face set with determination as he put the coin into his pocket before he unfolded the note that came with it.
Hide and seek is over.
It was. Owen felt a small smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. He hadn't felt like this in weeks. He… He felt like Nines again! But… Better than Nines.
No, he felt like Owen! But like a version of Owen that was better than the meek boy he had become so content to be. It was time for the world to know his name. His name.
"Step aside Nines," he said. "It's Owen's turn now."
His heart was racing as adrenaline pumped through his veins at the thought of seizing control of his own fate.
"Tomorrow mom," he said, still holding tightly on to the screen where her face was.
"Tomorrow, I'm getting in the fucking driver's seat."
~.~.
A/N: I know that I didn't have a lot of focus on the actual feast, so here's the breakdown chronologically:
Remus went for Ceru, Camellia shot the confetti cannon, they fought and after the 30 seconds he was killed by Ceru. Harleigh's side effects were like laughing gas and she didn't know what was happening. Coda went for his map, and knowing that Lonan didn't have any weapons but was still prepared to fight Coda, who offered him Henley's once backpack as a peace offering and a ko-naginata. Coda ran (or hobbled) away. Owen was the fastest of the bunch, on the other side of the table, he got in and out with the final 8 reel, hung out into the doorway, and then took off. After Coda left, Lonan used the ko-naginata he got from Coda to kill Harleigh cleanly, which she didn't even see coming or know what was happening. Then, Camellia took the pill.
OK, well, our slow burn is over and we have one chapter after this and then the finale!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If in any way your mental health is negatively affected by the angst in this story and you would like a warning about angsty chapters or specific character deaths, PLEASE send me a PM. I don't mind spoiling things to help mental health and I won't trick you or deceive you if you come to me asking for a headsup. Sending love to you all!
Chapter Question: Final Victor prediction out of these four and why!
And, sadly, it is now time for eulogies. Every one of these deaths personally came into my house and squeezed my heart out.
7th place: Remus La Rocque, District 2- Axed to the head by Cerulean Elpharae, D7
Remus was a character I just wasn't sure what to do with. He was definitely in the category of me Struggling trying to figure out which direction to go in with until about the final 9 when I actually mapped it out for everyone. Ultimately though, his desire to get back to Valerie ended his run in the Arena because of District Seven Unity. His love for Valerie, romance, glitz and glamour like would be found in District One, and general Frenchy things made him so unique and fun to write with and explore. He got a little bloody, and then he got a lot bloody. It wasn't meant to be for poor Remus, but he will always remain devoted to his Valerie no matter how that may be. And his desire to create a culture in District Two other than the Games will continue to live on. Thank you so much for this Frenchy boy Pi! I hope I did him justice.
6th Harleigh Noheg, District 6- Stabbed by Lonan Fodor, D10
This was a decision that was completely made by the RNG. Harleigh was one of my Victor choices for a long time, I was really digging her arc and she experienced so much growth in so little time through her Arena run. She was so very clever and smart, and it's rare to have a loner like her make it this far, especially in an SYOT. She was young and feisty, and she was really growing into herself throughout the story, but I knew that someone had to go this feast and hers was the most devastating spin by far. It's sad that it happened literally randomly, and it was a really tough decision for me to make, but this was ultimately the path I took. Harleigh was so much fun to take on this journey, but for her, now is the end. Thank you so much for this girl Goldie! I am continuing to hold her cards to my chest as you say, but I've just been waiting for the right moment to play them so stay tuned.
5th Camellia Gallen, District 7- Suffered Severe Blood Loss from injuries by Remus La Rocque, D2 and Effects of the Arena Pill
You know what, I'm putting Into the West back on for this. Where to even start with this girl? I was absolutely devastated when you sent her in because I thought you might be bluffing on it, but you weren't and then I realized I have to sentence her fate one way or the other. Ultimately, if Murumatsu wasn't in the picture, she would have been an obvious choice for Victor, but Miss Aika couldn't let it happen with her history and what happened at the party. If it didn't happen here, it would have happened eventually. So it was only fitting that I kick your ass with that District Seven Unity and give her a great fall from glory. She was determined, but ultimately, it wasn't enough to get her to the end. I have just had so much fun with this lovely girl and I still can't believe we've come to the end. White shores are calling. I cried like a baby this whole chapter, but especially when it was time for her to say goodbye. Thank you Lauren for effectively destroying my sorry ass twice now with your beautiful angsty children. I hope I did her justice!
See you next week with Day 17!