Okay okay okay, hi, welcome back!
I am not prepared for you all to read this chapter because I think this is the most characters I've killed in a chapter ever aside from the bloodbath? So yeah are you ready? Because I'm really not. I found it really hard to say goodbye to some of our wonderful characters, but all good things have to come to an end and now I've narrowed our victor down to three fabulous candidates!
Just a note: these three POV's happen at roughly the same time. So if you hear about canons going off a lot of the time, that's why. I'm trying a new thing, so let me know if this works out?
I won't chatter on for much longer because I know you're excited, so I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Thank you to Alecxias, Remus98, FireflyLlama, BamItsTyler and conteporarydancer2, who reviewed!
"Busy hands achieve more than idle tongues." ~Matshona Dhliwayo
Lewis Coltsfoot, Fifteen, District Twelve Male
For what seems like forever, my eyes meet with Lenore's.
I don't know how to describe how I feel right now. I haven't killed anyone yet, and while I swore to get revenge for Dathan, Shura and Parker, seeing Lenore alive and breathing doesn't instil as much anger as I thought it would. The loss is still there, as is the grudge I've no doubt developed, and yet there's another part of me that knows that this shouldn't be right.
I'm used to fighting people, that's not the problem. I've found myself in way too many fights back in Twelve, purely because my honesty can strike a nerve. I've always fought back, and even though I've lost so many times and punched others until my knuckles were swollen, I never gave up. I got back up and started again, be it working hard at school to get good grades, or fighting for my life in an arena that wants to kill me. Part of me wishes I could have done more to save Dathan, Shura and Parker, and maybe that's true. I should have fought back, even if it got me killed.
But here? Now?
No. Everything that's happened has led me to this one moment. Vanity died, so Parker's debt has been repaid. Lenore, Izzy and Ashton still live though. Dathan and Shura deserve this closure, because karma always comes back to people, right? I guess in some ways, yes, Dathan was hotheaded and started something that could have been left alone. Yet Izzy came back at him in the tribute centre, and then the conversation unravelled itself for all to see. I'd tried to stop it, to smooth it over, but it was all in vain. Maybe that's why I'm still standing here. Maybe I can bring balance to this system, kill at least two of Lenore's alliance in order to balance the scales.
Stop it. You're not thinking straight.
Is it the onset of infection that's causing my confusion? This need to deliver karma, no, justice to those who killed my allies is born out of the very grudge I gave to myself by running away. The blood is not on my hands though. Dathan killed Leigha. Izzy killed Shura. Judging by the apologetic look on Lenore's face, she-
"I killed Dathan."
There it is. A confession that I was certain of already, coming from a blonde girl from District Ten, hands caked with blood as she presses down on the wound in her stomach. Who did this to her? Does it matter? In a game of twenty-four tributes, only one has to survive. She's hurt badly and bleeding out thanks to someone. Like Austin said, I shouldn't let her suffer. I have to make this quick.
"I know," I say. "You did what had to be done."
I know what I'm saying is true, because she did. Even though I resent her and her allies for doing what they did, I can't blame them for wanting to live. Despite the darkness I feel in my heart, I know that I can't ever shame them for their actions. If I had been in their position, then I would have been driven to kill someone as well. This kill, however, is not a matter of survival.
It's a matter of choice.
Lenore's a goner either way - I can tell by the look in her eyes that she knows that the time for her death has come, whether it comes quickly or slowly. Would it be more merciful of me then, to kill her now, to absolve her of pain?
"I did," Lenore confirms. "Only one of us can live after all."
She's so calm when she says that, almost as if she doesn't care. I know better. I know of her background, the Undertaker's daughter, the one who everyone turned to at the reapings, the one who everyone seemed to know. She's a symbol of death for them all back in Ten, and perhaps she could have been the same in here if she wasn't propped up against the trunk of this oak tree, slowly dying.
"I can't forgive you for killing my friends," I tell her, because yes, that's what my allies were. Friends. "But I can take away the pain."
Ashton's dagger is in my hand, the one that embedded itself into my arm before I ran for my life. This feels almost right, like a full circle moment, to take a life for a life. My hands are shaking though - killing someone takes a certain amount of resolve. I have that drive, but it makes sense to let Lenore call the shots. If she wants to die slowly, I'll let her bleed out. If not, I'll kill her now.
A canon fires through the silence, a reminder that our time is limited.
People are fighting. It's probably Austin against the Nine-Eleven alliance, if not Izzy or Ashton, wherever they are.
Slowly, and then all at once, my brain puts the pieces together. If Austin's off hunting Nine-Eleven, then...
"One of your allies did this to you." I realise.
She nods.
"Ashton," she notes. "Izzy went after him."
If Ashton and Izzy are to fight then I can take one of them out of the equation. With Lenore gone too, it means that there'll only be one person left for me to deal with. I'm getting rid of this alliance faster than I thought I could have done. With Austin fighting the Nine-Eleven alliance, I can only hope that anyone who survives will be injured enough to make the fight easy. My mind clears, and my heart fills with hope.
"I could go home," I mutter. "I could live."
Lenore smiles at me gently, sensing my thought process. It does make a lot of sense, actually. Either way we're losing at least two more tributes, if you don't count Lenore. That brings us to what, five if Austin loses, three if he wins? My lips rise into a hopeful grin at this realisation. Most of the time a smile hangs itself on my face, but lately there's been too much to process, too much loss or anger or pain. It's good to feel like myself again, a little less worried, a little more carefree.
Lenore grabs my hand.
"No-one lives forever," she reminds me. "I can't control my fate. I die either way."
She winces and sucks in a deep breath, and between every one of my emotions, a sense of remorse flickers through me. Lenore may not fear death, but she can still feel pain. I should do what Austin would have done.
"Nobody deserves to suffer," I tell her, knife in hand. "You can rest now."
Knowing what's coming, Lenore smiles again faintly and closes her eyes. Killing her now is reasonable, justifiable. Kneeling beside her, I go through the motions with shaky hands, the tip of my dagger hovered above her heart. Closing my eyes, I plunge the blade into her, holding it there as she gasps and then falls silent. A couple of moments drift by before her cannon fires.
I don't do much else other than squeeze Lenore's hand and pull the dagger from her body, my hands strangely still.
The golden platform glows ominously from afar. Heading into the woodland will likely lead me to it. Whoever survives...I'll meet them there.
As the drizzle turns into rain and the black clouds begin to rumble, I start walking.
Not long, now.
Isabella "Izzy" Moire, Sixteen, District Five Female
How long has he felt like this?
That single question repeats itself in my mind as Ashton runs at me, swinging wildly. It's a mantra of regret; perhaps if we paid him more attention then he wouldn't have betrayed us? No, that's not it.
I'm a positive person. I like to brighten up someone's day, I like to make people laugh - or at least, the few people who don't consider me a freak. Sure I'm different, but I believe in people.
I believed in Ashton. It seems he no longer believes in me.
His first swipe comes at my throat and I jerk back with ease, a twitch that saves me from getting cut open. His second is a lunge for my stomach, which I sidestep. Part of me knows I should be fighting back, but right in this moment, I hesitate. Even after all the hurtful things Ashton has just said to me, why should I fight back? I can't refuse the reality of his own mindset.
I've always been that girl who never retaliated. Sure, I could have gotten into trouble by punching someone or calling the bullies names if I wanted to, but they only wanted a reaction or a person to push their feelings on to. Why should I bother encouraging them when I can just ignore them?
Ashton though? He's different. I can't ignore him. I also can't let what he did just pass by. He betrayed us by stabbing Lenore, and now he's trying to stab me.
A cannon fires...Lenore's? No, she can't have died that quickly. Maybe Lewis or the boy from One bumped into the Nine-Eleven alliance. Ashton's eyes flicker to the sky as well, noting the sound. Seven of us are left.
It'll be fine. I tell myself. Lenore'll be fine. I've gotta get back to her soon...
I have to be positive even when I'm fighting the negative.
Ashton's attention returns to me and he eyes with me a scowl, his face pink from anger. As much as I don't want to spur him on, I can't help but to smile. To think I'd end up fighting one of my own allies? It's almost ironic. Ashton charges at me like a raging bull, and I jump out of the way, throwing my first knife at him, catching him in the shoulder. He howls and whirls on me, brandishing his blade, trying to catch me. I dance out of his way as he curses, following me as I keep the distance between us.
"You can't run forever, Izzy," he tells me.
"I can run faster than you!" I chuckle. "Remember all that dancin' yesterday? I'm pretty good at the whole dodgin' thing."
I'm taunting him, I know, but the easiest way to win this is to keep Ashton angry. If you fight in anger, you don't always think straight.
He swings for me again and I block the hit, using my free hand to punch him in the stomach. He reels back, but rips the knife from his shoulder, throwing it at me. It's a surprisingly good throw, a fluke perhaps, but it forces me to move. I cartwheel out of the way, throwing two more of my knives at him, one catching him in the lower leg and the other catching him in the same shoulder. He screams, his body shaking as sobs begin to bubble to the surface. He tries to choke them down, but he's not that successful.
Another cannon fires, distracting me momentarily.
Okay, there's a fight going on somewhere else, for sure.
Only six of us left.
Ashton yells, catching my moment of hesitation by surprise, tackling me to the ground, the two of us falling into the mud as the rain becomes heavier and the clouds begin to hum. Ashton punches me once in the face, but it's weak. I catch him with a knee to his groin and he tenses above me, grunting in pain. I twitch violently and push myself into action.
I'm not dyin' today.
I push Ashton off with ease and rip another knife from my belt, digging it into his back as he tries to get up. He cries out loudly, trying to drag himself away from me, but I do not relent. Another knife in his back. Another in his shoulder. Another in his thigh. He cries out louder each time.
He struggles weakly, a total of six knives hanging out of him, the course of our battle short and efficient. Shura had been harder to fight than Ashton, but hurting Ashton...killing him? I didn't expect it to be this easy. I didn't expect to have to kill again so soon. With betrayal comes karma, and Ashton is due his. Will I be due mine?
He's groaning, crying weakly, trying to drag himself forward through the mud, but even he knows that it's the end. I push him over to face me, my hair matted with mud and my cheek throbbing gently from where he hit me.
"I didn't want it to be this way," I tell him regretfully. "You gave me no choice."
Ashton starts to say something, but I've had enough. No more bullies. No more name-calling. No more lies, deceit or betrayal. I've had enough of it all.
I send a kunai swiftly into his neck, his eyes bugging as he paws gently at his wounds, shakily trying to stop the blood from flowing.
His cannon soon fires.
I collect the knives from his body, slotting them into my belt.
I don't look at him, I won't let myself. I know that if I do I'll only feel a wave of regret wash over me. It had to be done though. There can only be one of us left, and I want it to be me. With this in mind, I take off running.
C'mon, c'mon. I think. Please, Lenore, don't die on me yet.
I hop over wall after wall, moving as quickly as I can to get back. It takes me time to get there, but as I finally cross to the woodland payette, I see Lenore slumped up against the tree, unmoving.
"Lenore?!"
Her name slips from my mouth as a small stitch burns my side. I ignore it, speeding towards Lenore as fast as I can, slowing to a stop as I see...
Red. A wound in her chest, her bodysuit soaked with drying blood, her eyes emotionless and unclear, glazed over, lifeless.
Fuck!
"No, no, no, no," I whisper as I get down beside her, checking her pulse for a sign of life, of something to give me the confirmation that she's still with me, that she's still my ally. "No! Lenore!"
A lump forms in my throat and all of me wants to scream. Ashton and his betrayal, killing Lenore like this. It's not fair! She didn't deserve this. I didn't get a good look at her wounds before, but I'm smart enough to know that someone else has been here too. Someone else drove something into her heart, a dagger, maybe? My mind flicks through the names of those who might still be alive. The boy from One? Unlikely. He's got a spear. One of the Nines? I don't know. The boy from Eleven? Small enough for a dagger to be a weapon of choice, but I don't pin him as the type to kill. Lewis? A possibility, but I would have thought him dead by now. Another crash, followed by a fifth cannon brings me to reality.
There's only three of us left.
Maybe it doesn't matter who killed Lenore; the fact that someone did is enough to spur me onwards. She was different, odd, weird like me. She was unusual and never apologised for it. She patched me up when Shura stabbed me, gave me reassuring smiles every time I made a joke or said something outlandish. She was special.
My heart pangs.
Shit, I'm sorry, Lenore.
Lightning flashes in the sky.
I love thunderstorms, and the rain that comes with it. They make me feel at peace. They bring a quiet to my soul that I can't describe.
A smile comes to my lips as I tip my head back and let the rain just fall on me. Ashton's betrayal, Lenore's death - those emotions are still there, but now everything is tinged with something else too. Hope. Determination. Mallory's waiting for me at home, Zapp too. There's only two other tributes to fight and I can go back, hold them close, tell them how crazy all of this has been. It feels almost too good to be true.
I rise, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for what's to come. I'm ready to fight, one last time.
A thunderstorm is on its way.
Its name, you ask? Isabella Moire.
Austin Ogara, Eighteen, District One Male
If I could ask for one thing, it would be for someone else to take my place.
The pair from Nine, the boy from Eleven, they're just more tributes that have to die in order for me to get home. It's nothing to celebrated, killing them, but it has to be done. What makes this harder is that the boy from Eleven was only thirteen, and the Nine girl? She's twelve. I don't want to be the one here, killing them, slaughtering them for entertainment, and yet I'd stupidly agreed with Lewis from Twelve. I convinced myself that I could do this, and now I have to do just that.
I hate this.
I hate this senseless killing, this ongoing madness. I know that it's the role I volunteered for, the part I have to play, but that doesn't make it any easier to act. My heart still aches for Vanity, and emptiness that lies over my soul at the fact she's gone. Even now, I miss her quips and one liners. If I had it my way, I'd be fighting her in the final two, a battle between two skilled opponents, both of them fighting for the victory, the glory, the respect. It would have been an honour to fight her, but Aisha just had to throw a spanner in the works, didn't she?
Now all I have is this spear and my everlasting regret.
"Aline, go!"
The girl, Aline, runs back to the glass staircase and doesn't look back. Barric backs up as I rub my chest; the spot where he kicked me. My spear scrapes against the edge of a stone by the hot spring as I haul myself back up, following them as Barric also turns and runs, darting around a corner.
I follow them.
The wind and the rain intensify as I move out of the shelter of the bamboo, sending my curls into a frenzy, deafening the sounds around me. The Nines have retreated down the staircase to a grey pebble platform, a dome partially covering it. Even from here, I can see Aline and Barric through the glass.
It's a smart move, opening up the space for them to fight.
As I descend the stairs and walk over to the dome, I note Barric's intelligence. He must have been prepared for a situation where he'd have to fight someone, even a Career like myself. He's determined, standing tall and strong, holding his sickle at the ready. Aline joins him, butterfly swords in her hands like she had at the training centre, except for these have been crudely carved from wood. I remember both of them training; they're both pretty good, but can they match up to the skills I possess, I wonder?
As I walk under the dome, the wind quietens, and rain patters down on the glass.
Somewhere in the distance, the first cannon fires. I can only hope that Lewis kept to his promise; either that or he's dead.
I wasn't sure about accepting another ally, especially so late in the Games, but when he stated his terms, it made sense. He and I are the only two tributes without an ally, and I still get to work alone - I just have to kill him last, which won't be difficult in the slightest. As for Izzy from Five and the boy from Seven? I don't know where they are. I don't care, at least not yet. I have to focus on Barric and Aline first.
"I don't know if you'd like to say anything," I offer with a smirk. "Y'know, since I have to kill you and all."
I'm hamming it up for the cameras, but my words don't sound any nicer. It's easy to play this part, the role of the cool, cocky Career. It's never suited my personal taste, but audiences love it, and I'm not in a position to be at odds with the Capitol. One wrong move and the Gamemakers could easily choose to send me sky high.
"I have nothing to say," Barric scoffs.
"But...you just said something," I shoot him a winning smile. "What about you, Aline? Career got your tongue?"
For a twelve-year-old, she's surprisingly calm, if not a little shaken by her ally's death, mere minutes ago. She shivers slightly, from either the cold wind at their backs or the tone of my voice, I don't know.
"You killed Cleve," she says softly, her face flashing in pain. She's clearly upset, but she's hiding her emotions under a mask of nuetrality. Smart, but it won't save her. "Now we're going to kill you."
I blink, but recover quickly. Her pain reminds me of my own, a poor defenceless child at the mercy of my Father. A part of it threatens to shake me to my very core. Killing her won't feel good in the slightest, that's for sure.
"Such confidence, little one," I answer, this time without a smile. "I appreciate it."
Another cannon fires. Two people dead, one probably Lenore, one somebody else. That's if you're not counting Cleve, of course.
"Well," I remark. "Let's not waste our time."
Barric clenches his jaw. Aline blows a strand of hair out of her eyes.
I make the first move.
I spring towards Barric, my spear meeting his sickle, the metal clanging loudly. He pushes forwards, but I push back, stronger. From the corner of my eye, Aline moves effortlessly, her dance beginning, and her swords aimed at my side. Disengaging from Barric, I punch him in the face with my hand, blocking Aline's strikes as she comes for me. As Barric is sent reeling, Aline jabs at me continuously, surprisingly swift and nimble. Clearly, her small size will be useful in this battle. I jab at her, but she hops out of the way, running forwards to slash at my side. I slide out of the way, but the wood scratches the side of my arm, drawing a bead or two of blood.
My eyes narrow. She smiles.
Barric is back on me in a moment, his sickle aimed at my throat, but I drop to the floor and roll, feeling the smooth pebbles dig into my body as I do so. With the butt of my spear, I smack Aline in the side, sending her toppling to the ground as Barric bears on me once more. I roll over as the blade of the sickle slams down beside my head, scrambling up and just about blocking Barric next strike before his knee flies up into my jaw. As my teeth clamp down painfully on my tongue, I see stars from a second as I stagger back. Barric swings his sickle before I can make it away in time, the weapon giving me a shallow cut to my chest.
Those bastards.
I back off slightly as Aline gets up, retrieving her swords. Barric squares his shoulders. They're not as weak as they look.
A sudden rumble shakes the platform we're on, and a realisation dawns on me - we need to head back to the other platforms, because this one is going break. Just like the others, the ground we're standing on will soon fall into the abyss.
We need to finish this, and fast.
I charge back in, slamming into Barric with my shoulder, sending him wobbling backwards. Aline runs for me, jabbing at me, swinging away, hacking at my defences as I struggle to block her swift attacks with my heavier weapon. While she is swift, however, I am smart. As I see an opening, I send a punch right into her nose. I feel bad about it, but it does the trick, Aline staggering backwards towards the stairs. I pursue her, but not without knowing that Barric is getting back up, preparing to come at me from behind. I know he's behind me, but I don't let up, acting the fool. As I approach her, I hear his hurried footsteps coming my way, and at the last second, I spin around. The sharpness of the spearhead slashes open his stomach, the head ripping through his gut and dragging out some of his newly mangled intestines.
He cries out and sinks to his knees as I lunge forwards, the spear digging into him again. Pushing the head upwards, I rip more of his stomach open before the tip of my spear juts into his diaphragm and into his lungs. He gasps, choking, grabbing hold of the spear, pushing back as I try to push further. He's a goner for sure.
Suddenly, Aline is focused and at my side, and I realise too late that she has one of her swords in her hand, and I am effectively defenceless.
The sharp wood sinks into my side, not too deeply, but deeply enough for it to cause damage.
I yell out and rip away the sword, yanking my spear out of Barric, leaving him to crumple on to the ground. The platform shakes again, but Aline ignores it, running over to Barric. He'd fading fast and it's obvious, but the once calm Aline is crouched over him, her face wrought with terror.
"Barric!" she screams. "No! Barric...please don't go. I can't do this alone."
Coughing up blood, Barric pats Aline's shoulder gently.
"I didn't expect that," he rasped. "I thought...I knew everything...from watching the Games..."
"D-don't speak," Aline sobs. "It's okay. I'm h-here now. I'm sorry."
I can't tell that she has so much more to say, so much more to tell Barric. It's clear that the two of them were very close, and it's easy to assume that they've become a team during their time in the arena.
"Cleve..." Barric mutters. "I'm sorry Aline..."
"No, n-no, I'm sorry," Aline says, crying. "I s-should have b-been better."
Barric hums and stares off into space, while Aline buries her head into his shoulder, beginning to cry. When she looks back up, Barric's eyes don't move, lost in another world, somewhere far away from here. His cannon fires. In disbelief, Aline shakes his body.
"Barric?" she asks, before her voice rises to a shout. "Barric! No! Barric, wake up! Please! Don't leave me!"
She's desperate to save him, to have him by her side, I can tell. Her grief is written all over her face, a pain I know too well. It's the pain of losing someone who mattered, someone you cared about.
My side flares and my hand drops to it, putting pressure on the wound. More and more wounds from more and more battles - and this one is over.
I know I have to kill Aline, but I just can't. She reminds me too much of myself, crying, alone, helpless, just wanting to find a safe place to live out my days instead of being tormented by my Dad. She still holds that innocence, that hope that only kids have, that need for direction and safety. That sense of guilt wells up in my heart, and the overwhelming need to save her instead of hurt her surges through me all at once.
The platform shudders again, and the pebbles begin to move. The glass dome cracks, the platform lurching a little.
I take my chance and run up the glass staircase back to the safety of the payette with the hot spring on it. Indecision flares wihtin me, and a sudden need to protect Aline causes me to look back. She's still sat there beside Barric's body, holding his hand.
"Aline!" I yell. "Come on!"
She looks up at me, and shakes her head.
"Aline!" I cry, scared for her, worried for her. She needs to get away from Barric's body otherwise the platform will fall into the abyss, and her with it. "You're going to die! Come on! We can work together! You can live through this!"
Maybe it's how small and defenceless she seems that prompts the words from my lips, I don't know, but Aline doesn't respond.
She shakes her head again, firmly this time, tears streaming down her face as she watches Barric's emotionless body just lying there, his blood splattered against the pebbles and his intestines hanging out of him. In horror, I watch as the platform splits into three jagged sections and begins to collapse.
"Aline!" I scream, and she looks up at me, giving me a sad smile.
She says something, but I can't hear it. Watching her lips, I can barely make out the words.
It's my time.
Before I can scream again, the platform makes a horrible snapping sound, the glass splintering and shattering, sending the pebbles flying in all directions. For a second, Aline sits there and hugs Barric's body. Then the glass falls. They fall with it.
I don't know how long it takes before her cannon fires, but when it does, thunder growls from above me.
Tears in my eyes and despair in my heart, I bow my head.
Who else is going to have to die for me to win?
Lenore Van Duren, Fifteen, District Ten Female. Our resident graveyard girl Lenore! When I first started writing Lenore, she was actually going to be my victor, before I changed my mind. I loved writing Lenore so much simply because she wasn't afraid of death and she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty if she needed to. I loved playing with the death/life duality of her character, especially since she served to be a medic when people got hurt, a killer when she needed to be, and someone who could process death without any problems. I really liked her eerily calm nature as well and I think that played into a lot of the plotlines with her alliance and all that good stuff. I'd like to thank MidnightRaven323 for sending her in, she was an excellent character with a few layers who I really enjoyed writing, so I can only hope that I did her justice! We'll miss you Lenore. Placed 7th. Stabbed by Ashton Metz and Lewis Coltsfoot.
Ashton Metz, Sixteen, District Seven Male. Ashton, oh, Ashton. I really felt that I grew with him from the more emotional side of his character as a pose to the amicable side to him, and from there I really saw him bottling up his emotions and not in a good way. I think with him releasing his emotions by stabbing Lenore and then yelling at Izzy last chapter really just put the cherry on top of the cake for me, and while I do feel like I could have portrayed him as a little more friendly, I'd like to think I did a good job with him! Thank you to cloudy5 who sent him in, I really had a great time writing him but unfortunately, I had the betrayal plotline planned out, and with Lenore dead, it was only a matter of time before Ashton fell too. RIP. Placed 6th. Stabbed repeatedly by Isabella "Izzy" Moire.
Barric Roland, Sixteen, District Nine Male. There's few characters I love more than someone who's in a dilemma, and with Barric, it was no different. He was protective, prepared, smart about he did things, and more or less a bit of an older brother figure to Aline and Cleve. I really loved his growth with teaching the smols to fight, the chocolate scene as well, all the way up to his death. He always had those conflicting thoughts about wanting to save himself vs saving the smols, and while he had a good run, I just couldn't see him without Aline and Cleve. Him dying by fending off a Career seemed like the most fitting end for him, even if it did mark the death of our wholesome alliance. Thank you to Metallic Shadow10 for submitting him! Placed 5th. Sliced open by Austin Ogara.
Aline Liu, Twelve, District Nine Female. Oh, the smols are definitely crying this chapter, and I am too. I've never made myself well up while writing a scene, but sending off Aline really got me a little emotional. She was so precious, yet interesting, dynamic and layered, and while she hid her emotions well and practised her martial morality, she still connected with Barric and Cleve on a level that even I didn't expect. I really think the three of them worked so well together, so when Cleve and Barric died, I felt that Aline couldn't really go on without them. 4 M4D T34 P4RTY, thank you for submitting her. She was truly brilliant, and writing her death did destroy a part of my soul! Maybe she's dancing around some fields with Barric and Cleve in the afterlife, who knows? Placed 4th. Claimed by the abyss.
Alliances
Kill Me Last: Austin, Lewis
Going Solo: Izzy
Kills:
Austin - VI
Izzy - II
Lewis - I
Vanity (DECEASED) - II
Aisha (DECEASED) - III
Orion (DECEASED) - I
Career Pack Assist - I
Ashton (DECEASED) - I
Lenore (DECEASED) - I
Dathan (DECEASED) - I
Morgana (DECEASED) - I
Arena - III
Same as the last chapter, apologies for making Austin's POV a little longer than the others. Again, I just had more to say, plus there were some things I wanted to explore, and two people died so oop!
This chapter seemed to flow out of me, but I found editing it really difficult. I hope my writing was good!
Did you think Lewis was right to kill Lenore, or do you think he should have left her to die? How did you find Lenore?
How do you feel about Izzy and Ashton's showdown? Izzy found it an easy fight, what did you think of Ashton?
Austin vs Aline and Barric, what a fight! Did you enjoy the scene? How did you feel about Aline and Barric dying?
Wow, that was a journey! I've killed 5 people in two chapters, just another Ben story, am I right? So on brand ;)
We've reached our final three as well! Austin. Izzy. Lewis. We are very close to our fabulous finale and to crowning ourselves a victor! I'm very excited because we really are coming up to the close of this story and I can't believe we're finally here. It's exciting!
Well, I'll leave you to process what the hell just happened, and I'll see you in the next chapter where we visit the Capitol again. We've got a few things to finish up over there, don't we ;)
Over and out!
~Mental