Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? So this is it. The last chapter plus an epilogue and this long rollercoaster of a fic (mostly for me than for you guys) will finally be over. So without further ado, I'll let you guys get to reading. See you on the other side!
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work.
Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or the movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.
Chapter 21: The Grand Finale
XXXXXX
"WOO-HOO!"
Katniss shouts with unrestrained glee as she stands triumphantly outside the cave with her hands raised up high in the air. She then spreads her arms out wide with a wide smile.
"I'M BACK, BITCHES!"
Val sighs with fond exasperation as he shakes his head at her. "You wanna shout that again? I don't think the people in 12 heard you clearly."
She glances over her shoulder at him. "Nothing you can say will bring down my mood cause nothing can bring me down! Not even a shitty ass stab wound from douchebag extraordinaire!"
"Fair enough," he says, smiling as Katniss lets out another shout of excitement while running around in circles to prove her renewed vitality. He can only watch her in awe and exasperation as she falls onto the ground, dizzy as hell. Capitol medicine really is something. Not only did it get rid of the infection, but it also somehow managed to speed up the healing process so much that the bleeding stab wound was no little more than a deep paper cut.
"So are you finally going to tell me what happened?" Katniss asks as she pushes herself up from the ground, still buzzing with pent up energy.
Val shrugs nonchalantly. "I already told you. Shit happened."
"Yes, I know that," she says slowly like she's speaking to a child. "But can you elaborate on what exactly that shit is."
"Well, when I got to the cornucopia, I kind of hid behind some bushes just in case there was a trap of some kind," he explains.
Katniss nods. "As you should. Remember, I'm the one who goes charging headfirst into everything and you're the one who's sensible."
"Always," he smiles before continuing to recount his experience in as few words and gory details as possible, "Then Finch ran by and grabbed her bag. Nothing blew up when she left so I thought it was safe enough to grab our bag." His tone shifts to one of annoyance with a hint of nervousness. "That's when Kai decided to show up."
She jerks back as if she were hit. "Holy shit! Are you alright?" she frantically scans his body for hidden injuries. "You're not trying to act all macho and hide some terrible injury from me are you?"
"Calm down, Katniss. I'm fine," he calmly reassures her, "I've only got a few scratches and bruises from when I escaped thanks to Thresh. He gave Kai a concussion and uh...rearranged Amber's face."
Katniss hums. "Well that's another thing I gotta thank Thresh for. Saving my brother from Kai the Barbarian and teaching Amber the Psycho a lesson. Lemme guess, was the nose job he gave her a huge step up?"
Val winces. "It wasn't so much of a nose job as it was a complete reconstruction of her face...and her skull."
She whistles, impressed and slightly horrified. "So Amber's dead? Thank fuck for that."
"Yup," he says with a pop at the end. "Now let's go find some food. I've been craving some rabbit and black berries cause someone," he says staring accusingly at her, "Keeps refusing to share the cheese buns."
Katniss sticks her tongue out at him and the two laugh as they set out into the forest together. Partway through, they decide that it's best to split up to cover more ground. Though both promised not to stray far from where their paths diverged as even though there were only three other tributes besides them left in the arena, two of those three still posed a very serious threat.
About half an hour into his trek, though it might've been longer or shorter. Who knows? Time is a slippery concept in an arena where the night and day cycle is controlled by sadistic sociopaths. Val shakes his head to rid himself of those thoughts. Now wasn't the time to get distracted. Food is more important than depressing thoughts.
Out of the corner of his eye, Val spots a couple of bushes clustered together with what looks like dark berries hanging from its branches. He eagerly makes his way over to the bushes, mouth watering at the thought of having black berries or blueberries or hell, even elderberries again.
However, his excitement falls flat when instead of the batches of black berries or the clustering of blueberries or even the hanging clumps of elderberries, the bushes were actually full of nightlock.
He grimaces as he eyes the shining black berries that hang off of branches with lush green leaves. It's a deadly trap of poison in the making if one wasn't aware of the details or weren't aware enough to register them as has been the case in the horror stories he'd been told. Still though, he could always pick some for future use. Hunger does strange things to the mind and he might be able to shove some of these down an unsuspecting Kai's throat. It'll be a mostly painless death he doesn't deserve but death is still death.
Val picks a handful of berries before wrapping them up in a piece of parachute cloth and stowing them away in a jacket pocket. Then he walks off in search of more edible and less poisonous food. Maybe some roots if he's lucky.
Not even a few minutes after he walks off, a cannon fires. His mind blanks completely as he quickly turns around and runs off towards the halfway point where he and Katniss split off.
However, a flash of red catches his eye as he runs by the nightlock bush and he stops abruptly in his tracks. He cautiously backpedals to the bushes and sees that the flash of red was actually red hair. Taking a closer look, Val peeks around the large rock the hair was poking out from and there on the forest floor lies a dead Finch. Her eyes are wide and unseeing. Her skin is pale and hollowing out at the cheeks. Her lips are painted purple with the juice of the nightlock berries.
Val's eyes widen in realization. Finch must've caught sight of him picking the nightlock berries and thought they were safe to eat only to meet her end instead. Sorrow briefly washes over him. Here was another life, young and full of potential, squashed out by the cruel reality that was the Hunger Games.
He walks over to crouch beside Finch's still body. He rifles through his bag for a clean piece of cloth. He uses the cloth to close her eyes and gently wipes her face clean of the juice. While he cleans her up, his heart finally stops racing due to the sad but relieving confirmation that the cannon fire was not for his sister.
It does start racing again when said sister comes barreling through the trees.
"Val!" Katniss cries it worry as she frantically looks around before she stills at the sight of him crouched beside a dead body. Her eyes jump back and forth as they travel from Finch to the berry stained cloth in his hand to the nightlock bush and then to his completely healthy face that she would very much like to punch for worrying her.
"I would very much like to punch you in the face for worrying me like that," she says, voicing her thoughts, as she races over and throws her arms around him.
She laughs to herself as he's knocked off balance and flails around to not fall over but fails anyways and lands heavily on his back.
He groans more in annoyance than in pain. "Come on. I'm sorry for worrying you but there is a dead body right here. Have a little respect and self-restraint."
She lifts her head up from where she placed it on his chest. "Oh yeah, sure. The next time you try to give me a heart attack, I won't come running to make sure you're okay just in case there's a dead body I shouldn't disrespect," she deadpans with an unamused expression.
Val huffs with a look of fond exasperation. The two turn their heads to look at the dead body of Finch. She's clean now and looking just as young and innocent as Clove and Rue did when they passed. They both frown.
"So she's dead now, huh?" Katniss says with a shake of her head. She clicks her tongue. "Damn. What a waste." She pushes herself off of Val, reaching a hand out to pull him up which he gratefully takes. "Well I hope you rest in peace, Finch. You deserve at least that much for putting up with all this bullshit."
Val starts a bit in surprise. "Hey! You actually said her name this time."
Katniss shrugs nonchalantly but the light blush across her face gives her away. "Better late than never," she mumbles. Then, at the drop of a hat, her brow furrows from anger and she stabs him in the chest with a finger.
"But don't think that means you're off the hook, bro," she hisses in warning, "This is the last time we are ever splitting up. Because it seems like every time I take my eyes off of you, shit like this happens."
"The same thing can be said about you," he snaps back, "In fact, who's the one who always gets in trouble with everyone at the Hob?"
"That's not the same thing!" she retorts, "I voluntarily get into shit like that whereas things just involuntarily happen to you!"
"Oh! So you mean you voluntarily got us both into hot water with Sal and Hank one hundred and twenty seven times?" he sarcastically asks.
The blush on her face darkens as she sputters. "Shut up, Val!" she cries out. Then she slumps forward, all the fight and worry and anger leaving her body just as quickly as it came. "Just...don't do that to me again. Okay?" she sighs. "I've been trying not to think about what comes after when we're both in the final two but..."
Val places a comforting hand in hers. "I understand. Let's just focus on getting to the final two first before we start snowballing, alright?"
She smiles gratefully at him as she turns her hand to slip her fingers through and around his.
Then, in a blink of an eye, day becomes night.
Val and Katniss look around, bewildered by the fact that the sun is suddenly gone as the air grows steadily colder by the minute.
"What the hell is going on?" Katniss asks as she tightens her grip around his hand in worry.
Val squeezes back as he starts to pull them away from Finch and back towards the shelter of the cave. "I don't know but whatever it is. I definitely don't like it."
XXXXXX
Seneca Crane leans against the railing of his perch in the middle of Game Makers control center. He thoughtfully strokes his chin as he watches the scenes displayed before him on a large holographic display.
On one screen, Kai cautiously proceeds forward with a white-knuckle grip on the bloodied sword in his hand and a slight stumble indicating that he still suffered the effects of a concussion.
On another screen, Thresh stalks through the trees with a surefootedness that the sudden darkness wasn't able to take away. His arms hang loosely by his sides but his hands are clenched tightly into fists in preparation for any threat that may come his way.
On a third screen, Val and Katniss slowly make their way back to the cave that had been their shelter for the past few days. Val leads the charge while Katniss follows and both clutch each other's hands tightly as if they feared the possibility of losing the other should either of them let go.
"Sir?"
Crane turns to look at the Game Maker hesitantly standing before him with a tablet clutched in between their hands.
"Yes? What is it?" he irritably asks.
The Game Maker flinches before tentatively asking, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Of course it is a good idea," Crane snaps at the Game Maker who raises their tablet up like a shield. "It has been almost two weeks now with only four tributes left and only one of them seems interested in actually doing something about it." Crane turns his attention out towards the other Game Makers who've stopped what they're doing to look at him with hesitancy and fear. "It is time to get a move on, people!" he angrily shouts at them. "Go! Think! Create! Do your jobs like your lives are on the line because it is!"
The other Game Makers quickly turn back to their screens to start frantically tapping at various buttons with a desperation only those who're close to death can have.
Crane sighs heavily as he leans against the railing again.
"Uhh...sir?"
Crane snaps his head at the Game Maker who's still standing in front of him. "What!" he barks out, patience wearing deadly thin.
The Game Maker flinches again but this time they don't raise their tablet up as a shield. They instead, lay their tablet flat on their hand and use their other hand to pull up a holographic image of a dog. But instead of those cute and loveable dogs you just want to hug and cuddle with, it was a hybrid of what looked to be a dog, a wolf, and the stuff of traumatic nightmares.
It stood on four legs with an arched back where the bumps of its spines stood out prominently against the buzz cut fur. It had large claws attached to each paw and a mangled, twisted face blank of any prominent features except for a snarling mouth full of bloody teeth.
"And what would this be?" Crane asks, looking more intrigued the longer he examined the holographic figure before him.
"I-it's a little project of mine, sir," the Game Maker stammers out, "It's a mutt made from a combination of canine and nanotechnology that allows the face to be reconstructed into a twisted version of any person of your choosing."
Crane hums thoughtfully as an idea forms in his head. "You."
The Game Maker straightens. "Yes, sir?"
"You will send out these mutts and make sure to use them to herd the remaining three tributes to the cornucopia for a spectacular finale. Whoever happens to land in the clutches of your beasts, well," at this point Crane hums amusedly, "It is always fun to toy with those who beg for death as a final release only to never receive it."
The Game Maker swallows heavily before hesitantly asking, "Three, sir?"
Crane waves dismissively. "The boy from 11, while amusing thus far, adds nothing to the spectacle if we were to allow him to live. Do with him what you will."
"Copy that, sir. I will get on that immediately," the Game Maker salutes before quickly scurrying away like a frightened mouse running away from its close brush of death.
Crane watches them run off with an expression not unlike a cat who had deemed its prey unworthy of hunting and thus, unworthy of its time or energy. He turns his attention back to the main screens as the smaller screens of the other Game Makers fill with the image of the mutt abomination.
"I will not fail," Crane quietly swears to himself with a severity that betrays the depth of fear in his heart. "I bet my very life on it."
XXXXXX
Val and Katniss walk more assuredly through the forest now that their eyes were adjusted to the darkness that had suddenly fallen upon them. They had just reached the mouth of the cave when the sound of distant howls and barking stop them in their tracks.
"What the hell was that?" Katniss asks, suddenly tense and scared as she squeezes Val's hand with a death grip that's probably stopping the circulation of blood.
Before he can answer, a large, imposing figure bursts through the trees besides them. The siblings whirl around, drawing their weapons as they do so, and prepare to run the figure through when it shouts, "Wait! It's just me!"
The siblings both blink as their minds register the image of a hunched over Thresh standing before them. He's covered all over in cuts and clothing torn from possibly looks like claw marks.
"Thresh?" Val asks, bewildered by both his sudden and physical appearance.
"No time," Thresh breathes out heavily, "Mutts are coming. The cornucopia's our only chance."
And just like that, Thresh immediately takes off. Val and Katniss share looks of bewilderment between them before the growing sound of barks and growls cause understanding to dawn upon them. Then they too, take off as swiftly as possible in the same direction Thresh ran off in.
It's not long before the two of them catch up with Thresh, running side by side through the dense forest. Branches whip past them, leaves crunches under their feet, and just behind them, the sound of something, many something's, running on four paws grows closer with each passing moment.
Val chances a quick glance over his shoulder and almost trips over his feet when he sees four legged monstrosities, with twisted human faces resembling the tributes who've already died, racing after them.
"What the hell are they?" he shouts over to Thresh.
"I don't know!" Thresh yells back, "And I don't want to know!"
"Well I definitely know that this just means the Game Makers are some sick bastards," Katniss shouts as she too glances back.
"Is there another kind of Game Maker I didn't know about besides sick fuck and perverted bastard?" Thresh shouts over to her which makes her laugh hysterically over the insanity of the situation they were now in.
All three of them look over their shoulders to see the mutts are gaining on them, getting close enough where Val could almost hear the growls and heavy breathing coming from the monstrosities.
"I'm going to try and lead them away from you," Thresh shouts as he swipes up a large branch, still running but now starting to slow his pace a bit.
"Are you crazy?" Katniss shouts at him, "They're going to eat you alive!"
"You don't have to do this, Thresh," Val says as he adjusts his pace to match Thresh who's slowed down considerably to the point where the mutts are almost snapping at his heels.
Thresh shakes his head. "Rue wanted you to win," he declares as he stops running and hefts the branch up in preparation. "So now I'm going to do what I need to do to make sure you do."
He raises the branch over his head and slams it over the head of one of the mutts trying to run around him to get at Val and Katniss. The mutt's skull caves in from the force of the blow, crushing the twisted face made in Demetria's image. Katniss slaps a hand over her mouth as she gags at the sight before her. Val swallows as he struggles to hold back the urge to vomit.
Thresh removes the branch from the bloody remains and swings it in a semicircle arc that manages to smack a few mutts in the face and push the others back. They growl at Thresh as he continues to swing the branch back and forth, blood and grain matter flies through the air with each swing. He looks over his shoulder at them and scowls. "What the hell are you two still doing here? Go already!"
Then with a loud shout, Thresh slams the branch down on another mutt, this one with the twisted face of Timmer. The branch snaps in half, unable to take the force of another blow and Thresh is left pointing the sharpened end at the mutts slowly advancing towards him.
He looks over to the siblings who are even more reluctant to leave him now. He growls in frustration and tosses the broken branch at them. "GO!" he shouts as he grabs the other half of the branch and swings at the mutts again.
Val grabs hold of Katniss' arm and tugs at her to do just that. She resists his pull which only prompts him to tug harder. "Come on! There's nothing more we can do for him," he says.
She tries to protest. "But-"
"But nothing," he interjects, "This is his choice and we need to respect that. Now come on."
Katniss lets him pull her away as the two start running again. She looks back and sees Thresh fighting off the pack of mutts with his fists, the broken branch now skewered through another mutt with Amber's face. She sees him turn to them and smile just as a mutt, with what couldn't possibly be Rue's face, lunge at him with the intent to kill.
Then her view of him disappears behind branches and trees and all she can do is turn forward and pick up her pace so that she's running beside her brother instead of just being dragged ahead by him.
A cannon fires soon after.
Katniss rapidly blinks away the tears that gather in her eyes. Val grits his teeth as the grip on his bow gets so tight he could've snapped it in half if it had been made of wood. There's no time for them to grieve for another lost friend. Not when the sound of howling and running paws can be heard again.
The siblings pick up their pace until finally they reach the clearing where the cornucopia sits. But something's different about it this time. There's no small table where the gifts sat not so long ago and the shape of the cornucopia has changed. Instead of the sleek, smooth surface with a dent from when Thresh had smashed Amber's head in, there were now ridges on the sides and a long flat surface on top with just enough space from the ground to prevent any mutts from jumping and dragging them down.
The siblings share a telltale look and quickly run over to the cornucopia. Just as they reach the structure, Kai bursts through the trees from the other side of the clearing. However, neither Val nor Katniss notice as they were too busy scrambling up the side of the cornucopia as quickly as possible when they see the mutts run into the clearing and zero in on them.
Val manages to get to the top first and reaches out behind him to pull Katniss up just as the mutts arrive and snap at where her feet were just a moment ago. The siblings struggle to catch their breath as they stare down at the four-legged monstrosities that bear twisted parodies of deceased tributes' faces.
Val gasps when he sees two mutts bearing the mangled faces of Clove and Rue, snapping up at them. He struggles to hold back a sob though Katniss doesn't bother to do so and she cries over the terrible desecration of the memory of her friends.
Then she shouts out in surprise as she's suddenly grabbed by the back of her jacket and violently tossed aside. She lands near the edge of the cornucopia where she quickly rolls away when a mutt's jaws snap way too close to her face.
Val whirls around just in time to be punched in the jaw by a groggy Kai. Val rubs at his jaw and stares up in shock as he takes in the image of Kai standing before him. Kai no longer looks like the arrogant, burly tribute that he'd come to know and despise. Instead he's hunched over from the pain of his injuries, various cuts and bruises standing out against his now longer as tan skin. He doesn't have any provisions on him and he most certainly does not have a weapon, not even his signature sword. He's staring down at Val with a dazed look in his eyes and a crazed grin on his face.
"Finally! Finally!" Kai cackles as he stumbles over to Val. "Finally I'm the one looking down on you instead of the one being looked down on. How does it feel to hit rock bottom, Cato?"
Val frowns as he pushes himself off the floor and punches Kai in retaliation. "My name is not Cato!"
Kai stumbles back, clutching his jaw, and snarls at him. "No, you are! You have to be!" Kai shouts, the dazed look turning confused, then angry. "You're just like him! Always looking down on others with that smug smirk, always lording how much better you are then everyone else, always taking things that aren't yours!"
Kai lunges forward for another punch, but his form is so sloppy, it's easy for Val to dodge and make him miss by a mile. Kai whirls around and tries again and again and again to land a hit on him. "Clove was mine! The prestige was mine! This was supposed to be my chance!" Kai cries out, distress and desperation growing the more he shouts. "And you took it away from me just like you've always taken everything, Cato!"
Val keeps dodging each hit Kai tries to send his way. "Clove was never yours to begin with," Val snaps back, "She's her own damn person. And I didn't take anything from you because I am not Cato!"
Kai shouts as he lunges at him again. Val dodges as Kai misses by a mile again and pulls back his fist to knock him out for good only to stop abruptly when he sees Kai holding Katniss in a chokehold. His sister's arms flail around, trying to grab and scratch at Kai to make him let go but that only prompts him to squeeze tighter. Val swiftly nocks an arrow and draws his bow, aiming it directly between Kai's eyes.
"Let her go, Kai," Val says as his eyes narrow in warning.
Kai merely grins at him, his smile all white teeth stained with blood. He inches the two of them closer to the edge where the mutts are still snapping up at them. Val tenses as he moves the bow to follow his movements.
"Don't you dare, Kai," Val warns though his voice betrays a hint of fear.
"And why should I listen to you?" Kai asks, the dazed look in his eyes finally clears away and the anger is replaced with resignation. "It's not like it matters anymore. It's not like anything I've ever done will ever be enough. Not to my parents, not to my District, not even to myself. Because I will never be enough and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."
"Let my sister go," Val tries again, hoping that now that Kai's no longer as bloodthirsty as before, the threat of an arrow to the face would be able to convince him to let her go.
"Then shoot," Kai shouts out in desperation, "Shoot me!"
Val hesitates, his grip on the bow and arrow shakes slightly, but it's enough for Kai to notice.
"If you shoot me, you take her down with me," Kai states, "And then you win. Not that it matters anyway." He takes a shaky breath but his grip on Katniss is still tight. "My whole life I was taught that the Games were the only thing that mattered. That the only way I would matter is if I brought pride to my District by winning...But it was all just a big, fat lie. My life was a big, fat lie." Another shaky breath. "So do it! Shoot me!" Kai shouts. "I'm dead either way. Just another useless cog in this world of ours."
But Val is still hesitant. He doesn't want to risk Katniss' life on the very high chance that even in death, Kai wouldn't loosen his grip enough to allow her to go free. However, the movement of one of Katniss' hands catches his attention.
Her right hand slowly slides across from where she's pulling at Kai's arm around her neck towards his hand. She slowly bends her fingers until she's using her index finger to point straight at the hand that's locked tight around the arm around her neck.
Val's brow furrows in fear but Katniss merely gazes at him with so much trust in her eyes.
"What are you waiting for?" Kai shouts at him again, shaking Katniss a bit this time in his agitation. "Shoot me!"
Val steels himself and takes a deep breath. He then quickly shifts his aim and releases the arrow. It flies through the air and buries itself in Kai's hand. Kai cries out in pain and loosens his grip enough that Katniss swiftly escapes his hold and shoves him over the edge of the cornucopia.
Kai screams as he falls down towards the group of mutts who snap and bite at him, sinking their jaws everywhere they can to cause maximum damage without allowing the sweet release of death.
Val and Katniss both turn away from the bloody sight before them. They shut their eyes and try to block out the sound of Kai's screams and pitiful cries. They clutch each other tightly as Katniss hums a song to try and distract them from the torture occurring not even a few feet away.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the screaming stops. The siblings hear the mutt pack running away from the cornucopia and back to the woods. They slowly open their eyes and loosen their grip on each other as they inch their way towards the edge of the cornucopia.
Val looks down from over the edge and his stomach churns as he takes in the sight of Kai, or rather, what remains of him. Kai lays spread eagle on the ground beneath them, he's bleeding from bites all over his limbs and pieces of them are missing as well. His face is a bloody, broken mess and he's missing a hand and a foot. Despite all that was done to him, he's still alive, wheezing through the pain as his blood sluggishly seeps down into the ground below him.
It's a pitiful sight.
Katniss wordlessly takes the bow from Val's hand. She pulls an arrow out of the quiver and walks over to the edge of the cornucopia. She nocks the arrow, pulls it back, and releases.
The arrow lands right between Kai's eyes and the wheezing finally stops.
A cannon fires.
Katniss hands the bow back to Val who takes it with numb fingers.
"I never liked him. He was such an asshole," Katniss says solemnly, "But nobody deserves to die like that, not even him."
Val can only nod as he reaches a hand out to hold onto hers. She takes it gratefully as the two of them just stand there, staring down at the pitiful corpse of another young life lost too soon even if that life belonged to an asshole.
Eventually, they have to sit down as the adrenaline finally runs its course, leaving their legs weak and numb. Then they just wait.
And wait.
And wait.
He has no idea how long they wait but it must've been for hours as the artificial sun eventually rises in the horizon of the arena.
The siblings continue to wait as they watch the sun rise high into the sky and still there is no announcement of their victory.
"What the hell are they waiting for?" Katniss asks, only now growing impatient from all the waiting she's done.
Val shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe for something dramatic to happen? Like we burst out in tears at having survived an epic battle or some dollar book equivalent of those romance novels Prim likes to secretly read?"
"Makes sense. Capitol folk are dramatic as fuck," Katniss muses before the latter half of his words registers and she snaps her head towards him. "Wait. Prim reads those disgusting novellas that Mike always has in his bargain bins? Doesn't she know that shit can rot her brain?"
He snorts. "Glad that that's the part you're actually worried about."
She shrugs in response. "Well I'm all out of tears to cry and I don't know if I have any dramatic screaming left in me after the night we just had."
"Same."
And the two settle back into waiting once again before the screeching of microphone feedback catches their attention.
"Ugh. Finally," Katniss groans as she pushes herself up to stand, "I was getting tired of all this waiting."
Val smiles at her as he stands up and climbs down the side of the cornucopia. The other side from where Kai still lay as it seemed that a hovercraft wasn't going to come take his body away just yet.
The moment his feet touch down onto the ground the voice of Seneca Crane clears his throat in preparation for a dramatic announcement. He looks over to Katniss and rolls his eyes. She giggles at his reaction and he chuckles as well. However, the laughter immediately vanishes when Crane speaks.
"Congratulations to the final two tributes standing!" Crane says with a slow clap added for effect. "However, there has been a slight...rule change," he announces with a gleeful drawl, "The earlier revision allowing two tributes to win so long as they held a long-standing alliance or were from the same District...has been revoked. There will only be one Victor. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The microphone clicks shut and the sound reverberates through Val's very soul. He looks over to his sister who's one step away from committing murder with just her mind. He's almost convinced she could do it if it weren't for the fact that psychic abilities are the stuff of the burned novels of old and her hands were shaking not from rage but fear.
"It's supposed to be over. We did what they wanted. We were both going to go home," she says as she squeezes her eyes shut to stop the tears of hopelessness that were threatening to come out.
"I know, I know," he says, somehow calm and at peace despite the torrent of emotions that had flooded through him not even a moment ago. "But this is the Hunger Games..."
"And there's only ever going to be one Victor," she finishes for him.
He nods. "I think we both know who it's going to be," he says as he reaches out and takes her shaking hands into his own.
"I guess we do," she says as she sees the shaking finally stop.
The two lift their heads up and look at each other. An understanding passes between them.
He smiles at her. "I'm starting to think we both mean different people here."
She smiles back at him. "I've spent the last few years of my life living a dream I thought would never be able to come true. And it was all thanks to you."
"Don't you get all sappy on me now. It's not a good look on you," Val says as he brings her into a hug.
Katniss barks out a laugh as she places her arms around him and squeezes tight. "Come on, Val. Let me do this for you. Let me give you the chance to finally live your life instead of just hoping to see the next day. You deserve it."
"And you deserve to have the future you've finally found the hope to envision," he protests, "You yourself said that you wanted to marry Peeta and bring two kids into this world. You deserve the chance to do that."
He leans back a bit to look her in the eye. "Let me do this for you, please. It's a big brother's duty to look after his siblings after all," he says with a wry smile.
She stares at him, eyes searching for something that she seems to have found as her shoulders slump and she sighs in resignation. "Okay. Fine. You win."
Val smiles softly at her, glad that she's finally seeing reason. He gently removes himself from her embrace and reaches out to take the short sword hanging from her belt. "Alright, then I'll be taking that."
Just as his hand touches the hilt of the sword, Katniss surges forward and shoves him hard enough to send him down onto his back. She quickly unsheathes the sword and raises it up to her neck when Val tackles her legs, knocking her onto the ground and releasing her hold on the sword. He shuffles forward to grab the discarded blade when she elbows him in the jaw to knock him away. Val clutches at his jaw as she crawls over and wraps a hand around the hilt.
However, his fist lashes out and catches her in the cheek, making her let go. Just as his own hand wraps around the hilt, Katniss rolls on top of his back and pulls him away from the sword by yanking at his hair and head. He shouts and puts all his strength into rolling her off his back. Val presses his weight onto her until she starts slapping at him to get off of her.
He does so and tries to push himself up to get at the sword but he's exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. He turns to see if Katniss is getting up but she's also struggling to push herself off the ground.
Suddenly, the strength in their arms leaves them and the two collapse onto their backs.
"What are we doing?" Katniss asks as she slowly catches her breath.
"Fighting each other over who's going to sacrifice themselves so the other could go home," Val responds as he slowly catches his breath as well.
"And how's that going?"
"Pretty poorly I'd have to say."
Then the two of them lie there, on the soft, green grass and stare up at the artificial blue sky with an artificial sun and not a single cloud to be seen.
It's oddly calming and ironically peaceful.
Even after they've caught their breath and strength returns to their tired bodies, neither of them make a move to say or do anything. Because both of them knew it'd just be back to square one and they'd be stuck here until the Game Makers stepped in to fix the stalemate between them.
It's only when he shifts around a bit that Val is aware of a weight in the front pocket of his jacket and remembers the nightlock berries he'd picked. He pushes himself up into a seated position, Katniss slowly following his example when she sees him get up.
He then sticks his hand into his pocket and carefully pulls out the handful of berries still tied up neatly in a bundle with the parachute cloth. No staining to be seen so it seems the berries managed to remain intact despite everything that's happened.
Katniss tilts her head in confusion at the bundle in his hand but that confusion quickly clears away when he opens the cloth to reveal the nightlock berries. She looks at him in surprise. "Is that what I think it is?"
He nods.
"What are you saying?" she asks with a frown.
He shrugs. "Well I still want to sacrifice myself so that you'll live-"
"Over my dead body," she vehemently objects. "I'll cut my throat before you even have the chance to shove those berries into your mouth."
"Exactly, you would rather sacrifice yourself so I'd live."
"So what are you trying to say?" she asks again, even more confused than before.
Val hesitates for a moment before suggesting, "What if we don't give them what they want?"
Katniss stares wide-eyed at him in shock as her gaze snaps back and forth between him and the nightlock. "You're not seriously suggesting..."
"Yup," he says with a firm nod.
Katniss is silent as she mulls it over, her eyes betray her conflicting emotions. Then her expression becomes one of grim determination. "Alright. Let's do it."
"You sure?" Val asks hesitantly, "What about Peeta?"
She shakes her head at him. "He'll understand. What about Gale?"
He smiles wryly. "He'll understand."
A moment of silence passes.
"And Prim?"
A sigh.
"As much as I hate to say it, she'll survive."
"Yeah. She's resilient like that."
Another moment of silence.
"Alright, then," Katniss says as she scoots her way over to him, "Let's do it."
Val wordlessly puts half of the berries onto her awaiting palm. He stares down at the remaining half on his own hand. The dark skin of the pitch black berries stand out starkly against the light grey almost white cloth of the parachute scrap.
He looks up to share one last look with his sister. "Bottoms up?" he asks with a small smile.
She responds with her own smile. "Cheers."
The two simultaneously lift the berries up to their mouths and tilt their palms. Just as the first berry makes its way into their mouths, a microphone screech echoes throughout the arena.
"STOP!" Crane shouts out desperately. "STOP!"
Immediately, both siblings spit out the berries in their mouths and fish out water bottles to wash out any possible poison from their tongues that they also spit out onto the ground.
Val heaves at another close brush with death and he looks to Katniss as she looks back with the same look of desperate hope that's most definitely on his face as well.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you...the Victors...of the 74th Hunger Games," Crane declares with a heavy reluctance like it was physically paining him to speak.
Katniss cries out as she throws her arms around Val. He wraps his arms around her as well as the two of them embrace each other tightly while the Panem national anthem plays in the background.
"We did it. We won. We can go home now," she whispers to him as tears run down her face, her eyes closed as she sobs into his shoulder.
"Yeah, it is," he whispers back, holding her as tightly as he can like she could disappear if he let go for even a moment.
'We won,' he thought as he looked up to see a hovercraft flying overhead. 'We actually won.'
So why didn't it really feel like they did?
And that's scene! I hope you guys enjoyed the conclusion of the games and look forward to reading the epilogue which I will be posting asap. Also, if you guys felt like that scene with Val and Katniss fighting to see who'd be the one to sacrifice themselves was familiar, let's just say that I had some inspiration from a certain movie that somehow came to mind while I was writing this chapter. Anywho, see you guys in the epilogue! Until next time!