Six Feet Under Chapter 33: Don't Cry, a hunger games fanfic

Chapter XII, Arena: Don't Cry

- Six Feet Under -
The Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games

When Rafe was younger, he dreamed of a better life.

He dreamed of escaping the perilous, suffocating poverty that was his home. He dreamed of rescuing his Mama and giving her the life that she truly deserved after everything she had done for him. He dreamed of being someone and proving something to the naysayers that doubted him, fighting back with something other than his fists.

Rafe didn't want to be the little kid that he once was.

He wanted to mature and become the young adult he needed to be — more than what District Ten created him to be.

…

When Sanjay was younger, he dreamed of a future so bright that it would make his parents proud.

He dreamed of their congratulatory, happy smiles for being so ambitious and yet making it. He dreamed of, one day, being the son that they had always wanted, surviving their harsh expectations and judgement. He dreamed of making it out on his own and still being able to stand on his own two feet, sturdy from their tough but loving upbringing.

Sanjay knew that to do so, he had to do everything necessary to return home.

He wanted to be the adult that would make his parents smile all the time — more than what District One expected him to be.

…

When Niobe was younger, she dreamed of escape.

She dreamed of wild adventures, the sun on her back as she explored further than Panem's walls. She dreamed of being comfortable in her own skin, in her own sexuality, to be able to hold her wife's hand in public one day. She dreamed of showing her parents that there was more to life than the small, cosy farm that they had never dreamed of leaving.

Niobe's aspirations, as hard as it was to admit, were greater than she ever dreamed capable.

She wanted to be the girl that she always craved to be — more than what District Ten allowed her to be.

…

When Cosette was younger, she dreamed of a place far, far away — paradise.

She dreamed of breaking the chains that bound her to her parents, embracing Limos fully in the same way that she had saved her. She dreamed of vast waters, bountiful gardens and eternal light, all bathed in a serenity she had never known. She dreamed of escaping the violence and bloodshed that haunted her, etched into her skin, to atone for her sins.

Cosette knew that going home was simply not the option any more.

She wanted to one day find her paradise, becoming the angel that she longed to be — more than what District Four taught her to be.

All around Rafe, the house crumbed, debris sliding down the glistening, purple shield effortlessly. He held his hands above his head fruitlessly, as if expecting it to somehow save him from the collapse. He vaguely felt a body draped over him, before realising that in the chaos, Niobe had thrown herself down the stairs to be by his side.

"What the—"

"—We're okay," Niobe murmured as the shield dissolved. Up ahead, Sanjay had his hands raised, eyes squeezed tight in concentration. "Did you do that?"

Sanjay let out a shaky, deep breath, "Uh— yeah, I did."

"How?" Rafe asked.

Sanjay smiled nervously, "Beats me."

The momentary confusion quickly slipped away, however, as Rafe noticed the figure across from them. The cold wind bit at his neck as he straightened up, eyes training on the elusive, disgusting creature that stared them down.

It was only then — after much staring through narrowed, confrontational eyes — that Rafe realised who it was.

"It's Cosette…"

Niobe gulped, "Yeah."

Sanjay, on the other hand, seemed confused, "Wait, Cosette? As in, from Four?"

"Your ex-ally," Rafe glared at Sanjay suspiciously, "What a coincidence, don't you think?"

Niobe gently placed her hand on Rafe's wrist. He looked down and up, realising that she was trying to keep him calm. He was absolutely peachy. A complete radiant show of serenity. Even if, on the inside, he was torn between terror and anger.

You have to be smart, Rafe reminded himself. Stupidity kills as many cats as curiosity.

And boy, Rafe did choose stupidity a lot.

"What do you think she—"

"Tributes!" An unearthly voice boomed across the silence. Rafe felt a tremor in his chest. It only felt like minutes ago that he exposed himself to Niobe in a moment of fear— oh. "Recant your sins!"

"I have a sin for you right here!" Rafe went to stick his middle finger up, only to find Niobe quickly squeezing his hand. He looked at her nervously. Her eyes were blown wide in fear. A fear that Rafe had never seen before… not even when they met the witch bitch the first time.

"Hey…" Sanjay butted in, "We need a plan."

Rafe levelled his glare at him, "Who says you're involved?"

"Do you not think that a truce is the best option right now?" Sanjay replied.

"I think it's funny that she is your ex-ally and you just miraculously saved us, probably to use us as bait!"

Things felt too suspicious. Rafe knew he should be doing better — was doing better — but the tension made his blood boil in ways he didn't think possible. He knew it was the fear. The awful, horrifying fear that made his breath shaky and his chest feel tight. But it was easy to blame Sanjay than face the fact that Rafe truly believed that his story was almost over.

"Rafe…" Niobe murmured, catching Rafe's entire tension, "...Look."

Rafe turned his eyes back to Cosette, realising that she hadn't moved an inch. She was frozen in animation, rotten face hiding any sort of reaction that he could read. Then, her mouth opened, and the scream made them all crumble to their knees.

Cosette's fingers curled inwards as she felt the sheer power flow through her veins. In the recesses of her mind, she heard her scream. Bloodcurdling and awful, bursting against her eardrums until they bled red, though she felt not a single shred of pain.

"You must face your judgement!"

Her body levitated in the air, just inches above the cracked ground she had destroyed. Her hands raised deftly in the air as the scream continued to shake the very rubble beneath her feet.

The cracks began to open wide, right down to the core. A wave of heat obliterated the snow on the ground, melting Cosette's clothes to her skin. Her body continued to fracture, rivulets of blood pouring from the heel of her shoe, sizzling as it met the now sweltering dirt.

Her neck craned backwards. Her hair coiled away from her head, straining, until it broke away in bloodied clumps, revealing her bone white skull beneath was now blackened with disease.

The end was nigh.

I can't… I can't save them all… Cosette was only vaguely aware of her true intentions any more. Limos needed blood. She demanded blood.

And blood is what I shall give you.

The rocks and debris underneath her stirred, scrambling to meet her.

"You will die for Limos!"

Black electricity began to zap from Cosette's broken, failing body. It telekinetically lifted the boulders together, forming and shaping them.

Slowly but surely, the stone totems were animated. Large, imposing beasts made of stone. A dozen or so made for destruction. To finish the work that Limos had started through her herald, Cosette.

"Give me your blood!"

There was absolutely no time to really think about it.

Instincts took completely over once more as Sanjay raised his hands, just as the monstrous golems came charging across the battlefield at them. His hands burst alive with electricity as the shield grew around them — encasing all three tributes in the shimmering, purple bubble.

"We need a plan!"

"You just trapped us!" Rafe fired back.

The totems descended upon the shield. One raised a rocky arm in the air, slamming it down onto the bubble as it shuddered. Sanjay felt the impact through his chest like a dagger, catching him off-guard.

"Think of something!"

"We're sitting ducks now!" Rafe was furious, "You're working with her! I can tell!"

Another blow from a second golem, quickly followed by another from the first. Each assault against the barrier stole Sanjay's breath, cutting right through him.

The barrier was only an extension of him — something that Sanjay never knew until now.

Their time was limited.

"Niobe!" Sanjay shouted, cutting through the expletives of Rafe pacing back and forth like a caged animal, "You need to think of something! Anything! I can't do this forever!"

"We're screwed! We're so fucking screwed!"

Sanjay braced the next hit, "We can do this!"

"You trapped us!"

"I'm saving us!" Sanjay clenched as the next hit made him keel over. He steeled his gut as he stood up, defiant, digging deep until he felt his boots grind into the dirt from the next attack. "Niobe! Hurry!"

All of the titans now ringed the barrier. Their expressionless, stony bodies collided with the purple sheen, determined to break it like an egg. There was an audible crack from the next round of blows.

Sanjay's eyes shut up above him. At the very top, the barrier wavered, fracturing like a glass mirror.

"Niobe!"

She was completely checked out. She stared ahead emptily, shoulders sagged, almost defeated. Beaten down and broken at the final hurdle.

He needed Niobe to do something. Rafe was too unpredictable and angry. Sanjay's entire focus was on giving them a little more time before it would completely run out. Niobe needed to think fast.

"Niobe! Please!" Sanjay could feel himself waning as the cracks down the barrier grew sharper. Behind the trio, a shard fell, shattering into dust as it hit the floor beside Rafe's feet. "Please!"

"Niobe!"

"Please!"

We… we can't beat her.

Niobe saw the mountains of rubble before her, crashing their arms and bodies into the thin, translucent barrier that was breaking by the second. She knew that she needed to do something. An innate desire that stirred within was consistently quashed by her own fear.

She's too powerful.

She's unbeatable.

Her hands felt so dirty and cold. Her soul felt shattered. Every breath was painful to take and Niobe just couldn't understand why she just felt like giving up, after fighting for so damn long.

She heard Sanjay's pleas for assistance. She heard Rafe's cursing. She heard her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

You're going to give up after all this? Niobe had to fight herself. You killed Odell, wasted his life, to only hand yours over? To save Rafe, only to let him die now? To keep Sanjay alive for so long, only to watch him fall before you?

Her eyes glossed over with tears. She was just so exhausted over never winning, despite every effort.

Empty. A pit full of nothing.

Not even anger—

Niobe's eyes opened fully, just as a tear cascaded down her cheek. She knew one way to do it. A singular method that she did last time — strong enough to scare Cosette into running.

Beyond the golems, Niobe saw the eternally black, heartless eyes of Cosette, fixated on the beasts at her control.

A strike of hope filled her chest as she came around. She whipped her head behind her, seeing Rafe pacing, fear and anger making him tremble so violently.

"Niobe!"

"I'm here!" Niobe replied confidently, steely, a fire burning deep within her soul. "I have an idea!"

"Quickly!" Sanjay sounded strained. His eyes were dulling over. Sweat poured down his face. "I— I really can't—"

Niobe rushed to Rafe, grabbing him by the shoulders, "You have to get angry."

"What?" Rafe exasperated, "I've been trying not to!"

"You need to!" Niobe shook him, "The barrier is going to go down and— and I need you to be a distraction!"

She couldn't bear to tell him it was for his own protection. He wouldn't take it well. Rafe's eyes levelled. His pupils seemed to shrink. "Wait… why?"

Niobe didn't want to answer immediately. She knew that it was essentially a suicide mission. There was every chance that facing Cosette would kill her. But she also knew that, if she didn't, the totems would kill them all within seconds.

"You're stronger when you're angry," Niobe answered instead.

"I—" Rafe stammered, "But I— I have no control. I just saw red and—"

Niobe's hand slammed into Rafe's cheek, causing him to recoil in shock. He went to cradle his bruised cheek, staring at Niobe with blown eyes.

"What the fuck?"

"Get angry!" Niobe repeated.

"I'm too scared!"

"Rafe!" Niobe shouted at him, realising that she had never, ever raised her voice at him. His eyes quivered but she held onto his shoulders once more, refusing to let him look away from her. "I need you to just… give in to it. It's the only way that you're going to have a chance."

"Guys! Please—! It's breaking—!"

All around them, the barrier flickered like static, slowly depleting. In a matter of moments, the golems would rip them apart. Niobe didn't have time. They didn't have time.

She saw a glimmer of steel amongst the rubble. Still coated in the slickness of Odell's blood.

Rafe clenched his jaw, "Okay… okay! You need to get back!"

Niobe hugged him a final time — praying that it wouldn't be the last time — as she grabbed the fallen knife and moved back to Sanjay. The poor boy was exhausted. He was so alarmingly pale. Blood began to dribble from his ears.

"Hey…" Niobe soothed him gently, resting her hand on his extended arm, "You can let go."

"What's— the plan?"

Niobe swallowed the lump in her throat, "Protect yourself."

Before Sanjay could answer, it didn't matter. The golems united their final blow as it shattered the barrier. Niobe wasted no time in moving as fast as she could to the side, hoping that Rafe could hold his own whilst she fought against the very source that threatened their existence.

Get angry…

Rafe squeezed his eyes shut, fists clenched. His cheek stung surprisingly bad. His body was exhausted and to the point of collapsing. His neck was bruised like a bitch. And through it all, Rafe had somehow learned to not give into anger.

But now he had to.

He peered out of his eyes, seeing Niobe rest her hand on Sanjay's arm. He saw the demented monsters around him, stony paws slamming hard against the shield.

I'm not going to die to some pebbles.

The boys at home would mock me for that.

He focused on the ridicule he faced. The constant jibes for being short. The constant attacks for being so poor. The constant humiliation he faced for not having a Dad, somehow making him less of a man himself.

He remembered their faces. How good it felt to smack them in, even if he came away much worse most of the time.

His hands began to warm, burning intensely. He felt the pit of his stomach open up, filling with such spitefulness that it made him feel sick. He let it corrupt him to the point that he felt the red mist cloud his mind.

I promise to do better next time, Rafe swore. But I need to do this for Niobe—

The barrier collapsed. The awful, eerie sound of stone grinding together filled his ears until Rafe felt nothing else in his body but innate, pure liquid fire that filled his veins.

His eyes turned red. His canine teeth razored. He saw nothing but red as, in the distance, Niobe sprinted away and Sanjay fell to his knees.

The golems quickly descended upon them as Rafe surged forward, yelling at the top of his lungs. A rocky hand reached out for him that he swiftly grabbed, sharply turning it upwards until the stone snapped clean from the socket, crumbling into pebbles. The monster stumbled as Rafe grabbed a piece, jumping up upon him and taking him to the ground. He raised the rock in the air, striking it down hard, screeching like a wild animal until the totem simply fell apart.

It was only the beginning. In the back of his mind, Rafe knew that he should protect Sanjay.

He didn't trust the guy. He held no ill feelings towards him except wanting to protect Niobe and himself over him.

But Niobe held some faith in him. And he did protect them both twice.

In his most rage-induced state, Rafe saw the clarity he needed to run in front of Sanjay's unconscious body. He squatted down, nimble on the balls of his feet, as he stared down the oncoming beasts.

"Die!" Rafe roared as he jumped into the battle.

Cosette saw Sanjay fall as the shield crumbled, a valiant effort deterred by his lack of belief in Limos.

She also saw Rafe squaring off against her golems. His spirit was impressive as he jumped and fought, slamming fists and snapping stones, single-handedly holding his own against her beasts. His might would soon end, however.

They only ever spilled blood in their own names. For selfish self-preservation and nothing more.

Limos, I will do what you need me to.

Blackened flecks of skin floated away from Cosette's floating body. A putrid mass squirmed across the crevices of her exposed skull. Blood poured from her eyes and nostrils, sending red streaks down her darkened, rotting flesh.

I will do all I can for you.

I will make sure that they face penance for their heresy.

Cosette was so focused on ensuring the stone totems beat down Rafe and Sanjay that she almost completely forgot about the third — the thief. Her entire body turned to scan the perimeter when everything went entirely dark.

Limos, can you hear me?

I… I don't think my parents love me. They say they do, but… they keep shutting me in the closet. They tell me that I'm a sinner and a heretic. Am I, Limos?

Cosette's unearthly scream beckoned as she fell to the ground, scrambling blindly at the dirt to move. She whimpered, suddenly a small child once more, desperately for approval and safety.

Limos, can you hear me?

My thighs hurt. Mommy said that I shouldn't have worn my shorts today. But it was really, really hot. I didn't want to be yucky, but she said that bearing my skin was disgusting. Is it, Limos?

She heard footsteps near her, as if she was one with the earth. The tremble and quiver of someone nervous, hesitant, creeping upon her.

"You won't survive."

The footsteps stopped. With a stony expression, tears streamed down her face, Cosette clambered to her feet. She saw nothing but a grey landscape yet she could hear the pounding heartbeat in the thief so clearly.

"You will die tonight," Cosette warned her.

"You don't frighten me."

"It's not me you should fear. You should fear Her."

Cosette held her head high, shoulders back — nobody human scared her. She could feel the girl nearing over slowly, quietly, the quiet slide of metal against skin. Cosette breathed heavily through her ragged nostrils as she moved to the side, missing the jab of the knife.

There was another jab, followed by another, but Cosette could sense when it was coming.

Losing her eyesight only made her other senses more prominent.

When the next jab came forward, Cosette reached out, grabbing the girl by the wrist. She twisted it sharply, hearing her shrill, the knife clattering in the distance. She kicked outwards, bringing the intruder down with ease, and clambering on top to pin her.

"Do you repent?"

There was no answer.

"Do you repent your sins?"

No answer again.

"You are a sinner… I can sense it on you. A depraved animal."

Cosette reached up, wrapping her fingers around Niobe's throat. She pressed down until she felt Niobe kicking beneath her. In the depths of her head, Cosette knew that she was drawing it out because the power had taken fully root — she was now just Limos' weapon, exacting her will.

"Repent."

She could feel so much more without her eyes. The bubbles of air bursting beneath Niobe's skin. The pulsing of her blood as it was slowly starved of oxygen. The coolness of her skin as it thrashed for survival.

"Limos embraces all," Cosette growled, "You shall meet her judgement."

But then, the world went silent.

Cosette stuttered. Her hands suddenly went entirely numb.

Her body drooped over, slack, as she was void of any senses. The world tumbled and darkened as internally, Cosette broke down. She was that terribly scared child once more, locked in the closet, lambasted for her innocence.

A pit of despair. A blackened, gaping hole of nothing.

The thief.

Niobe blinked away the fuzzy dots in her vision as she gasped for air, dragging herself out from underneath Cosette. Her hands scrambled at the dirt, digging hard enough that she felt her fingers bleed.

Through the blurriness, she heard Rafe's roars, defending himself just like she needed him to.

If I can just kill Cosette…

Niobe steeled her stomach as she pulled herself upwards. She quickly found the knife, rushing to grab it, her fingers uncomfortably familiar and assured around the cold hilt.

She laid her gaze on Cosette. The monstrous girl writhed on the floor, mumbling incoherently. Niobe's hand shook as she raised the blade, bile lodged in her swollen throat.

I have to do it…

If I don't, I die. Sanjay dies…

Rafe dies.

Niobe stepped forward, acutely aware that her head was burning hot, eyes aching inside of her skull. She had stolen all of Cosette's senses, rendering her powerless. The clashing of stone behind Niobe reminded her that the golems were, somehow, still moving.

"I'm sorry…" Niobe mumbled, looking down sadly at Cosette, blackened behind recognition, "I have many things to repent for, including this—"

She slammed the knife down as hard as she could, eyes squeezed shut. She expected to hear a gurgled scream, or the steel embedding itself in her flesh, or the misery that would follow the guilt.

Instead, she felt nothing but awful pain in her shoulder. Her scream felt so distant as she fell to her knees, eyes snapping open.

The knife was buried in Cosette's shoulder, though no blood poured out. It did, however, stream from beneath Niobe's top. She yanked the knife out, dropping it in the snow, pulling at her shirt to reveal the branding carved into her skin. A visibly burned cross — Limos' cross — that bled almost black.

Niobe trembled. Cosette continued to mumble, a smile on her crumbling lips.

Rafe's scream stole her attention. The remaining golems began to overwhelm him as he defended Sanjay. His face and hands began to disappear behind the sea of stone that drowned him.

Niobe knew her answer.

She knew what she had to do.

She didn't think. She grabbed the knife, raising it high and stabbing Cosette again in her chest, her stomach, repeatedly screaming as the smell of her own burning flesh filled her nostrils. Her pale skin was streaked in crimson, blossoming on her dirtied white shirt.

Fire erupted in her body. It tore away at her senses, her nerves and muscles, weakening her stabs as she toppled to the floor beside Cosette, knife falling abandoned once more.

Her guilt was only muted by the pain that drove her into darkness.

Rafe saw nothing but a wall of red, numbing any sense in his brain that didn't demand violence.

He felt the rock creatures continuing to assault against him. He yanked and slammed and ripped them apart with paranormal strength, sweating and panting like a heated dog, innately deciding to protect the unconscious boy behind him.

Die… they must all die…

He saw the girl go down. The other one, too.

Rafe took a step forward. Something compelled him to help her… to save her…

But the creatures began to move in fast.

A stony fist collided into his face, making the world spin. He staggered, feet bowing out beneath him, as another fist cracked against his jaw and he felt blood filling his mouth.

Arms began to hold against him. He felt the weight of the mountains move against his body.

"Die! Die! Die!"

The stones cut into his arms. Blood trickled across his body as he was forced to his knees, unable to escape as his strength began to wane.

Sanjay slowly came around to dust and dirt. The faint whistle of someone screaming and the clashing of rocks coaxed him from the comfortable slumber he had found himself in.

His body ached as he climbed steadily up onto his feet. It took a few seconds of scanning the area to realise what had happened when his eyes zoned in on the peril of Rafe's screams.

Instinct took over once more. He was almost surprised at how quickly he could act when faced with hard decisions.

Sanjay yelled, "Rafe!"

He held out his hands, feeling the electricity, as the barrier ballooned around the middle of the mass of rocks. The golems were suddenly shoved back as the shield grew, though the fists made Sanjay's body quake. Rafe was inside of the bubble. His wild, red eyes made him look so much more ferocious than the angry boy he normally was.

The monsters, however, turned to face Sanjay. Something ticked over in his brain as one came stumbling at him, hobbling on unsteady, rubbled legs.

Sanjay moved his hands, concentrating his shield in the middle of the golem. It staggered to a halt, confused, as the barrier expanded from within the stone, causing him to explode.

Sanjay felt triumphant as we realised he could actually fight.

He moved towards Rafe, catching another golem swiftly and ripping it open from within, a shower of dust and purple shimmer. His legs carried his bruised, aching body until he was almost on top of his newest ally, determined to stick together through the worst of it all.

He released the barrier as the golems staggered back, slipping in and closing it once more.

"Ready?" Sanjay breathed.

Rafe didn't answer. His lips snarled as his bloodied, cut hands curled. Sanjay took that to mean he was ready to fight once more. Sanjay steadied his breathing, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat.

"Okay…" Sanjay gently lowered the shield, "Let's do it."

Limos… did I do well?

Cosette waited for an answer, staring up above expectantly at the beautiful glow that filled the empty space. There was no response — the rays were almost blinding, to the point Cosette needed to shield her eyes.

Limos, please… Did I honour you? Did I make you proud?

Everything I did, every drop of blood that I spilled, I did for you.

Their souls are back in the earth where they belong. Their unnatural bodies can no longer walk the very ground you shaped.

Limos?

The sky seemed to part open, enveloping Cosette in the blissful warmth she had come to expect from the paradise she craved to visit. An escape from human pain. A sanctuary from harm and disappointment. A place far, far, far away from her parents.

Limos? Cosette smiled, eyes shut, when the light went out.

Coldness swept her body as the ground beneath her feet opened up. She fell, a scream so distant that it didn't even sound like her any more, almost as if she was a wolf being slaughtered, as she was swallowed up by the dark and the cold — as far from paradise as possible.

Sanjay's chest tightened as a rocky arm slammed into his back, pushing him forward. He spun around, deftly swinging his arms to explode the rock monster into smithereens.

He couldn't go on for much longer. His body ached so terribly. His mind was a mash of stress and fear and exhaustion.

A few feet away, Rafe continued to fight, even as he whimpered like a wounded dog every time that he was beaten down.

Sanjay staggered backwards from a blow when another sent him to his knees.

He stared up at the expressionless stone that was determined to kill him. His fingers flicked uselessly — his power completely sapped.

His lips peeled into a weak smile as he awaited the finishing blow.

A rock crashed into his shoulder, followed by another, forcing him onto his back where he finally realised that the rock golem had fallen apart on its own. His weak smile brightened as, all around him, they fell.

Sanjay scrambled to his feet. Up ahead, laying still, Cosette was dead. Her body began to wither away into blackened dust as a gust of wind blew through the razed land.

"She's… dead…"

Rafe breathed through gritted teeth as he whipped his head around. Their enemies had simply imploded into pebbles.

Up ahead, Niobe was near to Cosette in a pool of blood that stained the dirt. Sanjay was torn between moving to help and staying behind, but his answer was decided for him as, stumbling ahead, Rafe went to meet his ally, falling to his knees.

He shook at Niobe's body, receiving no response. Sanjay edged closer, realising what might've happened.

"Rafe, I'm so sorry," Sanjay mumbled. The fact that it was the two of them wasn't lost on him at all. He was so close to surviving it all that his last opponent — the angry, pocket rocket from Ten — was knelt only inches in front of him, vulnerable.

Unfortunately for Sanjay, his morals bested him. He could never take the low road for his own self-preservation — an act that would come back to bite him, he realised.

"She's gone…"

Rafe didn't answer. His body shuddered and shook, as if he was crying, though there was no sound.

Sanjay leaned down to touch him on the shoulder comfortingly, "We promised her a fair fight. I… I think we should honour that—"

The moment his fingers grazed against Rafe's skin, however, the boy swung around violently, slashing out with sharpened, red nails that cut across Sanjay's stomach, drawing blood. Sanjay took a step back, eyes wide.

Rafe was on his feet in seconds. Sanjay was barely able to react as Rafe pounced at him, shoving him to the ground.

Defensively, Sanjay formed a small wall of shield, blocking Rafe's violent hand as it came crashing down.

"Die!"

"Rafe, please!" Sanjay pleaded as the next partial shield was shattered on impact, the nails jutting through and dragging down Sanjay's body. He shrieked, rolling over to scuttle away, only to feel Rafe's boot pushing to keep him in place. "This isn't what Niobe would've wanted!"

"Niobe… die!"

Sanjay tried again to form the shield, but it was completely fizzled out. The nails, this time, broke skin and Sanjay felt his blood slashed from his body.

He kicked upwards, shoving Rafe enough to scramble to his feet, trying his best not to waste his opportunity. Rafe was relentless, though, powering forward like a vicious animal.

"Rafe!" Sanjay barely ducked the sloppy blows, "Stop!"

"Die!"

"Rafe!" Sanjay yelled as the nails cut across his cheek, cutting at his bottom lip and ripping away a chunk that brought tears to Sanjay's eyes.

There was no use in trying to rationalise with him, Sanjay quickly realised. For the first time, Sanjay had to speak with his fists — and hope for the best.

Dead.

Rafe saw death.

Niobe. Dead.

He felt nothing but pain.

Die.

His hands slashed outwards as Sanjay tried to fight back. Fists without weight behind them rebounded from his body without any worry. Sanjay's pleas for a civil resolution fell on deaf ears.

He felt sadness. He felt such fury and anger and an overwhelming urge to raze the arena to the ground in order to avenge Niobe.

He didn' care that Sanjay was a decent person. He didn't care that he had saved them twice.

Sanjay yelled again as Rafe gained the upper hand, tackling him to the floor. He pushed his weight down, determined to not let him escape once more. Through the guilt and torment, Rafe knew he didn't have the heart to kill someone.

But the beast that dwelled within could. Rafe saw nothing but red, after all.

Red as he slashed at Sanjay, feeling blood pooling under his nails.

Red as he tore at Sanjay's body until he began to feel tendon and muscle.

Red as the boy's fight began to weaken and his body slowed down, twitching and fighting less with each slash.

Red as the boy slowly stilled to nothing.

Through the haze in his eyes, Sanjay saw Rafe rise, soaked in his blood. His snarl was no longer visible — tight-lipped, pursed, as tears rolled down from his vicious, red eyes.

The pain in Sanjay's chest was immeasurable. His breath was shallow as blood filled his throat. He wheezed, comforted by the dull senses around him.

"I… I… for...give… you."

Rafe stared down at him. A looming, unpredictable figure.

Sanjay stared back until darkness curled at the edge of his vision. He fell into the soft embrace of nothingness until the pain eventually ceased to exist.

He was proud of himself to come so far without hurting anyone innocent. To stick so rigid to his morals when the situations needed unabashed violence. To help and show that survival wasn't always rooted to selfishness.

He hoped his parents were proud of him too.

He really hoped that.

Slipping from his haze, Rafe watched as the world bled less red, returning to the awful, dull landscape that had forged so many nightmares. His body sagged as his nails returned to normal, eyes shifting back to hazel.

They landed upon the butchered, bloodied body of Sanjay, mutilated beyond recognition. Rafe immediately knew what he had done and looked away. Bile rose in his throat until he keeled over, exhaling heavily through every torrent of vomit that was expelled from his body.

He didn't deserve that, Rafe clenched his knuckles.

Sanjay was innocent. A good, decent person.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the end to arrive. He was met with nothing but the eerie silence of the wind as it battered across the square. He heard his heartbeat pounding his ears, drowning his senses.

"Rafe…?"

His head snapped up, eyes wide.

"Niobe…" Rafe mumbled, eyeing up his ally. Cradling her stomach, Niobe was soaked in her own blood, deathly pale as her eyes flickered from Rafe to the corpse of Sanjay behind him.

"Oh… oh Rafe," Niobe mumbled.

It suddenly dawned on Rafe in that moment.

The final moment.

"No…" Rafe mumbled, voice quivering as he shook his head, "No… no, I— I can't."

Niobe was barely able to stand up as she hobbled forward. Her body took a tumble and, without thought, Rafe rushed to catch her in his arms, falling to his knees to block her fall.

"Rafe…"

"No," Rafe answered defiantly, "I won't do it. I— I thought you were dead, I—"

"—I know," Niobe wheezed, voice like dirt. "I did too."

"It's just us now…"

Niobe nodded solemnly, "Yeah."

"I won't do it," Rafe said again, determined to prove a point to her. Not after everything we've been through. Not after this… "You can't make me, Niobe!"

Tears flow freely from his eyes. He didn't even care. The bottle had been uncorked and his worst nightmare had finally come true.

He had wanted them to survive to the end together, but foolishly, he forgot that only one walked away. He chose to ignore it, refusing to believe that it would be either of them. His decision to protect his feelings — to uplift Niobe in hers — had led them to the very end.

Niobe breathed heavily as she pulled herself out of Rafe's embrace, struggling to stand upright as Rafe assisted her. "Only one of us can walk away—"

"—you will—"

"—No," Niobe's body shuddered as her eyes filled with tears, "No."

"We're at a stalemate then," Rafe held onto Niobe, refusing to let her go, "I won't kill you."

"Then I'll bleed out," Niobe replied sadly.

Rafe choked on his cry as he shook his head again, refusing to believe it. "N—No, you— can't do this to me. It's… it's not fair!"

The colour was sapped from her cheeks. She was truly on her last legs, even as she stood up straighter, crying silently, smiling sadly. "Don't let me suffer, Rafe…"

"No!" Rafe screamed, head snapping up into the frosty sky, "Do you hear me? I won't do it! I won't do it and you cannot make me!"

As if some invisible being heard their plight, an eerie chill beckoned throughout the empty square. All around them, the corpses of the other tributes lay dead amongst the dirt and debris. The treetops of the frozen forest began to rattle as the wind picked up. Niobe and Rafe turned as the stone bridge began to freeze over.

All around them, the frozen winterscape drew in.

It destroyed everything it touched, freezing it or obliterating it into glistening, powdered ice.

There was no choice.

Rafe shook his head defiantly, "No… no, no. no."

They were allies, district partners…

Friends.

But through it all, Niobe knew that she couldn't do it. Her vision was dotted with stars as swathes of pain clawed through her body. Her flesh was burned to a crisp, branded by her murdering of Cosette.

In every way that Niobe saw it, she didn't make it. She'd either bleed out, or the ice would get her. A long, torturous, agonising death that she was too exhausted to face.

She scanned Rafe's eyes as he squared up against the incoming ice.

"No! No, no, no! I won't do it! You can't make me! You can't make her! You're going to have to save us both!"

"Rafe…"

"—You can all choke!"

"Rafe…" Niobe wheezed, swallowing the metallic tang of blood that filled her mouth.

"Fuck you!" Rafe gave the blank sky two middle fingers, "Fuck you! Fuck you! And fuck you!"

"—Rafe!"

He stopped immediately, eyes falling on Niobe as she stared back at him. Her bottom lip shook as she closed the distance between them slowly, afraid that her body would fall out beneath her, or her emotions would cause her to explode in a shower of tears and pleas and sorries.

"Listen… to me…" Niobe steadied her breathing as Rafe immediately went to hold her up again, "I… I'm going to die… but not yet…"

"You won't," Rafe shook his head, "They'll have to save us both if we just stand strong! Stand strong and refuse and they'll save us—"

"—They won't, Rafe," Niobe sobbed, "They don't want to. They want me… to kill you… or for you… to kill me. They want us dead."

Every word was beginning to become so terribly painful. She allowed herself to fall more into Rafe's hold, legs barely able to keep her up for much longer.

Rafe cried, "No…"

"I'm going… to die…"

"Stop saying that…" Rafe whispered, "I can't— I won't do it, Niobe…"

Niobe didn't want to die so slowly. She didn't want to feel as her organs shut down, or her blood ran cold, or for the light in her eyes to dim into nothing. She didn't want to burden Rafe with a future of pain, either, torn between sparing him that guilt or sparing herself a drawn out demise.

The ice behind Rafe continued to close in on them.

The longer they waited, the more in danger Rafe would become. His words would be held against him, even after he won. They would never forget the treasonry that he shouted, the abuse he claimed to do, or the eventual agony of the ice destroying part of him and them refusing to save the rest.

"Listen to me…" Niobe heaved, "I'm so… thankful… for everything you have ever done… for me. You really made me… feel like a better person… and showed me… my own worth."

Tears streamed down Rafe's reddened face, "Stop…"

"Visit my family?" Niobe asked, "Tell them that… I miss them?"

"I won't—you're not dying, Niobe! I won't let you!"

She knew that she needed to put him first. It hit her, there and then, that she needed to spare him the misery of taking her life.

He also didn't deserve to see her slip away, either.

Niobe placed every ounce of her strength into her power, focusing on Rafe's watery, hazel eyes until he realised that the world had gone black. His hold on grew tighter.

"Niobe! Stop!"

Niobe smiled sadly through the pain, "It's okay… it's better that you don't see."

"Stop forcing my hand!"

"You can't… fight it..." Niobe whispered. She could feel herself slipping away, the dullness stretching from her chest to her head slowly, clouding her in muted colours.

"No!"

Niobe felt her body spasm, "Rafe—"

"No!"

The roar was deafening as Rafe's body jerked violently, his grip so tight that Niobe felt herself being crushed against him. She twisted uncomfortably, trying to use what little strength she had to push away from him as the dullness of his eyes began to bleed red once more.

"No! No die!"

Niobe went to scream his name but the words were pressed in her throat, quashed on her tongue. She gasped for air as blood filled her mouth, Rafe's grip tightening to the point that she felt her eyes beginning to bulge.

"R—af—e…"

Rafe refused to answer, lost in the red mist. "No! No die!"

The muted colours took over until Niobe's vision was blurred. She felt the aching numbing down her body until it softened. She felt the light dulling until it went completely out.

Tears filled her eyes but, even in her pain, Niobe allowed herself to smile sadly as Rafe crushed her body in his arms.

You're free, Rafe… live for us both.

When the red mist finally faded, Rafe realised what he had done. He blinked until his eyes fell on the weight in his arms, truly letting the realisation sink in. A broken, incoherent sob strangled his throat as he cradled Niobe's lifeless body against his.

Even in death, her smile was eternal.

Rafe trembled as he laid his forehead against her, crying uncontrollably, sapped of anger and fight and left with nothing but tremendous guilt.

All he heard was the sound of his own cries and the howling of the wind.

I'm so sorry, Niobe…

I'll never forgive myself.

There was a spark of fire in his heart. A gut-wrenching pit filled with adolescent desire to fight against those that bore down upon him.

I'll never forgive them.

w w w. sixfeetunderhg. weebly. c o m.

The Fallen:

4th — Cosette Fabray, killed by Niobe Nervanthis

Where do I even begin? A villain with depth. Powerful and dangerous and unnerving. I knew when I received Cosette that I was going to architect a villain that held little sympathy, that would become the bogeyman amongst the arena, that you could see how she was shaped but could never imagine the lengths to which she would go to ensure it. Sure, Cosette only cropped up sparingly, though I felt it made her appearances more impactful. There really was no end to what she could do, but drinking so much of the power potion... it sealed her doom. I did toy with making her a Victor for a little bit — the audacity of this clown — but knew that legends never truly die, anyway. Also: 5 kills. Get it girl.

3rd — Sanjay Romala, killed by Rafe Aguilar

Brad! I knew Sanjay would be here. I knew it the moment I saw him. He was so easy to write. His morality and maturity extended beyond his kindness. Him and Ludwin were absolutely precious, and though Sanjay took a backseat towards the end, it fitted the ideal end I wanted for him — without harming someone. I just couldn't do it. I could not picture a point where Sanjay would hurt someone willingly. It became his greatest foil but also his biggest strength. I will miss our nice, nice boy.

2nd — Niobe Nervanthis, killed by Rafe Aguilar

I could write so much here for Niobe. So, so much. At the beginning, her and Rafe weren't even meant to be that close. I was planning on making them late-stage allies and last minute friends. But they meshed so well together, so perfectly, balancing each other out so damn well that I knew she belonged here. Whilst I planned on having her as a tool for Rafe's development, she truly came into her own and, in most regards, overtook him. She wrote herself. I really, really never had to do much since Niobe was perfect in every way, and I cannot you thank you enough, Remus, for subbing your first real tribute to me and making it her.

Victor — Rafe Aguilar, District Ten.

When I realised that I wanted to create a rebel story for the final end to Limos, I knew I needed someone who could carry his/her weight in it. I received Rafe from my bro, Joseph, and immediately knew I had found my Victor. From his intro to here, I knew Rafe would always win. I didn't always know how, but I always knew why. He was spirited. Fiery. He matured so much with Niobe. He learned to open up, to be more than the angry small kid that he was, and now... my boy is about to head into a war. Joseph, you really went outside of the box for Rafe, and I couldn't have been happier!

So, that's it!

After months and 180k+ words, Six Feet Under is done!

This story has been a rollercoaster. I have never sat with a cast of tributes for this long and grew to appreciate them all. It will hold a special place in my heart as we move towards the closure of LimosVerse. I want to thank every single submitter who took the time to create me a character, every reviewer who took time out of their day to show me some love, to every reader for joining me on the story, and every person on discord who helped push me through it all and gave me thoughts and excitements and pain through DMs (and Goldie for binge-reading the entire story during Sabbath, and Linds for taking the plunge!)

Joseph. Thank you lots for your Victor and broship which means the world to me!

Em, Z, Momo, Ali, Haiden, Remus, Brad. Thank you for your constant support, close friendship and spoiler buddying!

Opti, Bradi, Dyl, Goldie, Linds. Thank you for being cool new friends!

To everyone else — thank you for entering my little world of pain and angst and not pelting me with tomatoes.

Please feel free to tell me what you thought of SFU, moments you enjoyed, moments you hated etc. It always helps me to know what I should do for next time!

See you in a few weeks as we enter the home stretch! TOF will be here before you know it.

~Corey.