Serena May Lenovius, District Seven

Another hunk of rubble came apart in Serena May's grip, and she sent the pieces sailing, tossed over her shoulder as she frantically continued clawing through dirt and splintered wood and pitch black stone. Her hands began to bleed from a dozen splinters and cuts, something she realized offhandedly was impressive. Between helping with her mother's bakery and the culture of hard-work back home in District Seven, she was used to hard labor. Her hands were callused and hardy, yet now they cracked and bled, as she removed what had to be hundreds of pieces of dark rock.

She would not allow the pain to stop her. Elixane, from District Three, had vanished down a tunnel before the crumbling stairs covered up the passageway's entrance. So Serena May was uncovering it with her bare hands.

Rage mixed with razor sharp clarity, a strange combination of feelings, motivated her now. She never intended to be proactive in the Hunger Games. Going in, her strategy was simple. Just focus on survival with her allies and draw as little attention as possible. But the bloodbath left her unsure where her allies were, and before she had a chance to find them, she was invited into the Career pack by Titania.

Thinking of Titania made her hands tremble and she was forced to stop digging through rubble to get the shaking under control. Serena May was furious at a lot of people at the moment, but most of all with her. Her own fight with Ashlar put her in a position to observe the fight between the two Career girls from afar. Titania was within seconds of winning. She could have gone on to win the whole stupid Hunger Games, but instead she threw it all away and turned to trigger the stair trap. Why had she done something so stupid?

But the answer was a bolt of lightning through her chest. Serena May's life was saved thanks to her activating the trap. Titania sacrificed herself for her.

She felt even more furious at the thought. She didn't want to die, and had always been someone with good self esteem. But Titania was one of the most incredible people she had ever met. The world was darker now, worth less, without her in it. How could someone as wondrous as her have decided that Serena May's life was worth more than her own? She was filled with confusion, sad and hopeful at the same time, leaving her heart in disarray. In spite of the dismay, however, she knew that allowing Titania's sacrifice to mean nothing was not an option.

Finally she had cleared enough of the rubble to squeeze herself into the cavern. Grabbing a lantern that miraculously survived the cave-in, Serena May went in search of Titania's killer. A trail of blood dripped over sand and stone, which she followed until the cramped walls of the cave opened up to an underground bugs darted in and out of her vision, and the entire area seemed filled with gentle blue and green light. If Serena May had found such a place earlier, she may have taken hours drinking in the beauty of the lake. But she had no time for that. She waved off some of the bugs and started to look for her target.

She didn't have to look by the shore, Elixane sat tending to her injured leg.

Serena May always had a knack for thinking quickly. Looking out towards the lake, in the brief time before making her move, she couldn't help but ponder the morality of what she was about to do. She was a killer now, a Career killer, even. Ashlar's dying gasps, as he fought to survive the poison ripping through his system, lingered behind her eyelids. As disturbing as it was, it didn't quite feel like murder. He meant to kill her, after all. Most people would consider it self defense.

Elixane was too focused on her leg to notice someone creeping up behind her. This time, there was no question that Serena May had sought another tribute out. She had the cuts on her hands to prove it. Was this murder? Was she about to end someone's life for revenge? She didn't feel right about that either.

There were only a handful of tributes left. In order for her to live, for Titania's death to mean something, Elixane would have to die. She was a formidable and well-liked Career. If Serena May left her alone now, the other girl might recover from her injuries. She may even receive a sponsorship item. Serena May couldn't take on a Career at full strength. If she waited, she could die.

She started to wonder if all of the death in the Games was a type of self defense. Only one person could make it out, after all. Survival depended on the death of others. Elixane herself probably wouldn't hesitate at all if their positions were reversed. Though maybe it was because she was a Career.

Careers were more prepared for the reality of the Games than those who were reaped, she decided. Serena May had spent too much time with Titania to judge them for it, but she had to consider that Careers signed up for this. They knew the risks better than most. Whether death came from illness, or if Serena May brought it about herself, this was just another part of the Games. Elixane chose to play. Serena May hadn't.

There was still a lump of guilt in her stomach, but the reasoning comforted her enough to allow her to act. Serena May gripped her axe as tightly as possible in spite of her wounds, and charged towards her foe by the lake. Her adventures in District Seven gave her the practice necessary to move almost totally silent, and so Elixane was completely unaware of the danger rushing towards her.

Serena May remembered the conversation betweenTitania and Elixane as they fought just before she brought her axe down on the latter's skull. She'd said that if she had to die, she would want to go out fighting. A pang of compassion, more dangerous even than guilt, overwhelmed her. In the moment before she landed the killing blow, Serena May adjusted the angle of her swing, enough to just barely miss the girl's head.

Elixane leapt with the exceptional instincts of a Career, whirling to face her attacker. "How are you still alive?" she asked, grabbing her sword rather than waiting for an answer. That suited Serena May just fine. She didn't feel like providing one.

She swung her axe again, this time aiming for Three's midsection. Dodging the move required her opponent to step back, and Serena May heard her grunt as she was forced onto her injured leg. An opening. She put all her strength into another swing; Elixane was the better fighter without a doubt but she had the advantage of being mostly uninjured. One act of empathy didn't have to be a death sentence.

A brutal, short fight, and then it was over. Elixane managed to carve a deep gash into Serena May's cheek and thrust forward swift enough for her sword to glance painfully over her shoulder. Not enough to damage much but certainly enough to hurt like hell Serena May pushed her back once more and used the distraction caused by her leg to swing and bury her axe in the other girl's throat. Elixane was gone in seconds, a painless death, or as close to one as Serena May could give her.

Above her, a cannon fired. Serena May wondered why she gave the girl who murdered Titania such a merciful ending. Why had she bothered to give her a fight at all? When setting after Elixane, she was set on revenge. As she pulled back the pieces of rubble from the cavern, she entertained countless thoughts about what she would do when she caught up with the girl.

But seeing her lying there, dead on the banks of the lake as her blood drained into such clear and beautiful water, she realized that this death would mean nothing. Next year there would be twenty four more children. District One would send someone like Titania, well trained, capable and convinced that it would save them. All of this would be a matter of survival every time. Elixane was only doing what she had to in order to get out alive. She wasn't who truly killed Titania.

The Capitol had done that.

Violet Beckingridge, District Eleven

Four cannons fired in quick succession, three almost on top of each other, then the final shot slightly later. Nearly half the remaining tributes were gone to the tune of those cannons. At least she thought it was nearly half. Violet still went back and forth on whether she was counting the cannons. Being on her own for so long left her with little else to do but hunt, eat, sleep, and count the cannons. Then repeat. Before being reaped, she would occasionally wonder what it might be like to be in the Games. She never expected things to be so monotonous.

Maybe, she thought, she should be thankful for that. She watched the parade of faces in the sky every night and remembered the boy who was so scared when he attacked her. Nothing much was happening to Violet, but clearly things were happening elsewhere. So much so that the gamemakers hadn't yet even felt the need to liven up her experience for the audience.

Staying away from other tributes was a valid if boring strategy. Plenty of times, when a non-career tribute won, they survived by keeping a low profile, avoiding major conflicts or injuries all the way to the end. Violet's survival skills were good enough to make doing so a viable strategy. She had, after all, made it this far.

But that many cannons at once concerned her. That was more deaths than the bloodbath. Although she wasn't quite sure how many people were left, how few remained seemed like a good number with which to build towards a finale. The Gamemakers wouldn't leave her alone for much longer.

As if on cue the ground beneath her shook uneasily. Earlier, from the safety of her cave, Violent had seen a gigantic worm. Now she wondered if the creature was about to return. But the rumbling was different from before. Softer, and if she listened carefully, she thought she heard an unfamiliar burbling sound underneath the ground.

Violet was close enough to the mouth of her cave to notice the sky darkening as a shadow passed over the sun. Violet looked up on instinct, only to find that the shadow was a massive black cloud. She immediately understood what was going on. She had camped by the base of the mountain early in the Games, and knew that this was no ordinary mountain. Why would anyone place a volcano in an arena without planning for it to erupt?

Violet once learned about volcanoes in school. Ash could produce fertile land, meaning it was considered relevant instruction in District Eleven. She knew the stages fairly well, as well as how long each of them were supposed to take.

But the volcano here didn't seem to work on any natural timetable she was familiar with. Before she could recover her supplies from the cave, the black smoke turned blazing orange as the volcano began to erupt. Molten rock spewed out with such force that the mountain was halfway covered with lava before Violet could properly blink. At the top of the mountain, even from so far away, she could see the smoke and fire coalesce into a solid form. Fiery wings spread wider than ever before and the creature let out an ear splitting shriek.

Violet should have known. The thing about phoenixes was that they always came back.

She ran, grabbing her bag full of essentials and leaving the rest behind. She had barely survived her last encounter with the Ash Phoenix, and back then, she had a body of water to aid her. Now she had nothing. Her thoughts drifted to the underground lake where she had made camp the previous day. It was probably the safest place to be, and it was close. Fleeing there almost felt too easy, but Violet was not in a position to carefully search for an alternative. She could already feel the heat of the flames at her back.

As she ran, her tunnel connected to one splitting off from another cave, and she crashed head-first into someone else as she passed the threshold between the two. Falling in a heap, her bow bounced away from her, and Violet felt a knee on her chest. Then she heard a sound like a crossbow being loaded. Whoever it was, they planned to kill her. Violet grabbed a handful of ash and threw it in her attacker's eyes, pushing them off her chest and retrieving her bow.

"You again?" she heard her attacker call out exasperatedly. Turning around, Violet saw that it was the girl from Six.

"Me again." Violet answered, "It's almost funny. Every time I think there's no pattern to the universe, no karma, I meet you. I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something."

The girl's eyes flickered with doubt for a moment, but she didn't lower the crossbow. "Tell you what?"

This was not a conversation she could afford right now. Volcanic ash and magma were gaining on her, and this girl had already promised she wouldn't let her go twice. They should both be fighting, or running, or both. Yet she remained where she was and continued talking with Six anyway.

"I'm not sure." Violet said, "You were the one who made the announcement, right? Why did you do it?"

"Because I wanted everyone to remember me. Remember Tanner. This whole time, I feel like I've just been reacting. And I wanted to be the one in control for once."

"You're probably going to get killed for it."

"Probably." Astra agreed, "Life's not fair sometimes."

That gave Violet pause. The girl from Six was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Life wasn't fair. There wasn't any karma, no reward for hard work. No punishment for wrongdoings. Life was messy and chaotic and unjust. Her whole life she had been looking for patterns that weren't there.

"You're right. Life's not fair. But we can be." she said.

She was sure she would have to elaborate but the girl seemed to understand. "Ten paces." Astra said, "Then fire."

Violet nodded and loaded her bow, though she didn't fully pull it back yet. Once she was ready, Astra turned around, and Violet did the same.

One, two, three, four...

Violet counted the steps in her head. They were both walking fairly quickly, aware of the volcano overhead, but somehow Violet knew that the other girl wouldn't cheat. The world was harsh and unfair. But in the middle of it all, they had met one another, and would treat each other fairly. In a different world, Violet felt like she and Six could have been friends

Five, six, seven...

Maybe the world wasn't fair. But Violet didn't regret putting in the work. She didn't regret providing for her family, finding a place in the world. She made order out of the chaos with sheer will alone. Just like she was doing here.

Eight nine ten...

She turned and fired. Her arrow soared through the air fast, a credit to her practice with a bow from an early age. Violet was confident that the arrow hit her mark.

Except the bolt hit faster.

Staggering back a few steps, Violet tried to stop the bleeding from her stomach. The bolt missed her heart, but only barely, leaving a fatal wound that might take hours to finish her off. She heard the crossbow reload, and Astra stepped forward with Violet's arrow still lodged in her collarbone.

"I'm sorry." Astra said, aiming between her eyes.

Violet felt blood bubbling up her throat that made it hard to answer through a mouthful of copper tasting red. Still she said, "I'm not." Then everything went black.

Anthracite Amber Weitz, District Twelve

Having spent so long adjusting to the dark colors of the arena's caverns and sandy dunes, the yellows and oranges that now engulfed it hurt Anthracite's eyes. The entire black desert was in flames, and she was clueless how she could possibly escape it all. Just before the volcanic eruption, she had found herself in a large boneyard, an area she was unfamiliar with. A large monstrous rib cage lay in the center. One of the ribs was broken, and sat on top of a pile of miscellaneous bones. It was an unsettling area, and she resolved to go back to somewhere more familiar. By the time she turned to head back the way she came, the entry to the cave she came from was already covered in lava.

Only one direction had yet to be overwhelmed by the heat, and Anthracite had to trust that the gamemakers purposely left a path open for her to follow. The Capitol would be eager by now to funnel whoever remained together as quickly as possible for the finale. She ran as fast as she could, dodging fragments of superheated bone that fell from the giant ribcage like burning daggers.

Heat and smoke clawed at her lungs and made the sight of a cave up ahead a massive relief. A door leading back into the tunnel system had been left ajar, and Anthracite rushed in, closing the door behind her. It was hard to tell if it would do anything to stop the lava. But at least it would buy her some time.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Anthracite tried to hold back the elation she felt when she heard that voice. If she had been counting cannons correctly, there were only four tributes left including her. Carlotta had made it incredibly clear how she felt about her allies. Still, after Tesla died, she spent her time all alone. it was a relief to hear a familiar voice. The voice of someone she had grown fond of. She turned to see the girl from Ten standing a few feet away from her, a lantern in one hand and a machete in the other.

"It's good to see you Carlotta." she said.

"Well it's not fucking good to see you!" Carlotta answered, "I'm so close. So close! And you're just going to come in here and… I've got someone out there waiting for me Double A. Someone whose life I haven't ruined. I have a chance."

Her words were full of anger, but Anthracite sensed something else. Desperation perhaps? She was practically begging. She realized, then, that she didn't really have much to go back to. There was her family, and she did love her family... But her closest friend had always been Mattock. Mattock mattered more to her than anyone else, and now he was dead. But Carlotta was the one who taught her she was strong enough to move past that. She could rebuild, make new friends, create a new life.

Except all of that could only happen if she killed Carlotta, or worse, let someone else do it. Anthracite wasn't sure she wanted to see another friend die.

She stepped closer to continue their conversation without yelling, but Carlotta was no longer in a talking mood. She swung her machete at Anthracite, and the blade struck true, biting into her right arm as she instinctively moved to defend herself. Pain shot through her, and blood seeped out onto the floor, but she was used to pain now. Pain no longer stopped her from what needed to be done. Anthracite dodged the second swing and pushed Carlotta back.

The next moment was a blur. Carlotta went down, crashing to the floor. She dropped her machete as she fell backwards, however, and grabbed Anthracite by the shirt. Both girls tumbled together down a long sloping passageway until they were dumped on the bank of an underground lake.

Anthracite stared up at the ceiling of the cave, trying to catch her breath. But there was no time; her view was quickly obscured by Carlotta standing over her, ready to bring the lantern down on her face. She rolled away and stood to face her former ally.

"There's two other people." Anthracite said, hoping to pacify her, "If we stay together for just a bit longer we can make sure one of us wins!"

Carlotta stopped long enough to consider the point, but she quickly shook her head. "What if it's slow? What if they don't know what they're doing? If you have to die, I'd rather it be me. And if I have to die…"

Instead of finishing the thought she lunged towards Anthracite ferociously. But this time she was ready for the attack, and unlike Carlotta, she was armed. Taking a small knife out of her belt pouch, Anthracite stabbed quick and deadly just as the girl from Ten ran at her. There was one small whimper and then it was done. She couldn't be sure, but somehow Anthracite felt the blade had pierced her friend's heart, and Carlotta fell to the ground in a heap.

Boom.

She hadn't wanted any of this, but now, she had killed her closest friend in the games. Anthracite cried, falling to her knees, unable to do anything more than wail over Carlotta's body.

But eventually she couldn't cry anymore, whether she wanted to or not. She looked up, and saw two figures watching her from nearby. The girl from Seven clutching an axe in her bloody hands, and the girl from Six with a crossbow.

Looking at the other two tributes, she realized she was in the top three now. It was time at last for the finale.

AN: Wow, that went really fast didn't it? Next chapter is the finale! I'm a little emotional right now because Desolation has been a large part of my life for over a year now. But it's also very exciting for this story to be nearing its end. I've got something very special planned for the finale, and I can't wait to show you. But for now, I want to take a moment for the fallen. It's time for eulogies.

6th, Elixane Marcus by Shroedingerskneazle- Oh gosh this girl was just so awesome. While both her and Ashlar were the reason I decided to add on a Career District, I'm pretty sure the idea to make it District Three came from Elixane's app. She had such a rich, interesting backstory and a deep nuanced character. She was unafraid to be flawed, and that made her strengths shine even brighter. Unfortunately it was just not a good year for careers. She was the last one standing though, which probably makes District Three very happy. Elixane was an absolute joy to write, and she will be missed.

5th, Violet Beckingridge by ParadigmOfWriting- I liked to think of Violet as Desolation's foxface. Not particularly aggressive, not always on screen, but doing an absolutely great job regardless. I loved every chapter I had with her in it, even though she bypassed most of the drama by being a loner. I don't know, I like loners. And the way her worldview changed over time was absolutely wonderful. Goodbye Violet, you were an extremely strong contender.

4th, Carlotta Pierce by Vxgueitalia- Surprised? I've had a lot of people tell me they thought Carlotta was going to win, and my beta readers expressed a lot of shock when I told them no. I don't think I did a particularly good job of hiding my favoritism when it came to Carlotta. I loved all of my tributes, but with twenty four characters there's going to be some that you just really resonate with. Carlotta was a tangle of emotion and incredibly questionable decisions, but there was more to her than anyone ever expected. Except Aunt Marge. Girl, you really owe an apology to Aunt Marge. I loved her a lot and I'm going to miss writing her.

And now for the updated kill count:

Diamond Stark- Two kills, Tanner and Tesla

Dash Grester- Two kills, Raleigh and Lucien

Titania Topaz- Two kills, Issa and Rust

Elixane Marcus- Two kills, Demetri and Titania

Serena May Lenovius- Two kills, Ashlar and Elixane

Astra Porter- Two kills, Dash and Violet

Anthracite Amber Weitz- Two kills, Diamond and Carlotta
Demetri Donovan- One kill, Zella

Carlotta Pierce- One and a half kills, Arachne

Seaward Waters- One kill, Mattock

Cordelia Korver- One kill, Seaward

Violet Beckingridge- One kill, Ruben

Ashlar Granodum- One kill, Nettie Sue

Rust Waxy- One kill, Cordelia

Congratulations to Serena May, Astra, and Anthracite for making it to the Finale! I'll see you all there.