Chapter 31:

Day Five

Marian Lilley, 18, District Two

Even with all the satisfaction filling her at making it to the final three, she isn't able to fight off the slight annoyance in her that she hasn't been allowed to do more. For her entire life, she's always been told she can't do as much as the boys in training and stubbornly refused to accept that. So in the arena, she thought she'd finally get the chance to run free and set some records. She wanted to be greater than District Two's greatest.

Yet the damn Gamemakers haven't let her.

Maybe she should be grateful that she's made it to this point. But it was never a question that she had the capability and skills to do it, and she's going to make it all the way to the title of victor. So she can't help but be resentful of being blocked from her full potential. There's few things she hates more than being told she can't do something.

She made a promise of causing drama and has done her best to follow through on it. She was ready to fight Rodrick before the mutt flew in and killed him. She came up with a plan to take out the career threats, using Tiv before betraying her – which was an unfortunate casualty towards victory. She liked having Tiv around and she was the only one that wasn't unbearable to be around of the careers, but reality was that Tiv would have to die before her victory, especially with her hands on a bow. She was just too trusting and all but let Marian use that to her advantage. Surely the Capitol enjoyed her betrayal. Surely she has done enough, with three other kills under her belt. Yet why does it seem like Lisia doesn't want to let her fulfill her promise? Why did she use mutts to keep Marian from that weird bird kid? She could have gotten two more kills, yet instead someone else got to them first!

Was it because she left Abel behind instead of killing him? She felt it was a pretty safe assumption that he was going to die from the paralysis poison, given it was, you know, paralysis poison. Yet he didn't and now she just feels like she's being mocked by the Gamemakers. Why did they keep him alive? Are they trying to have some drama in the finale by keeping him there, make it more of a challenge to her? Because his presence is not a challenge at all. She can run circles around him, both literally and figuratively. It took nothing for her to dodge his swing at the feast. Like please, give her an actual challenge.

Not like Iroha is much of one either. She might have drive and a sob story, but she isn't a career like Marian. And she has her own sob story too, not that she wants that to be the only reason people root for her. She loves her sister dearly and can't wait to get her out of that toxic home, but Marian is winning from her own talents, not depending on Capitol support. It's clear to her that she isn't at the top of the support list considering she's been stopped from reaching her full potential while the Gamemakers let Abel just…live. What kind of bullshit is that?

Fucking men. Always getting better advantages over her just for their gender. She thought she was free from that after leaving Two and going to the Capitol, but clearly they are just as bad. Well she's done. She's winning these Games no matter what people think. It won't be Abel winning and it won't be Iroha either. When Claudia announces the victor of the 137th Hunger Games tomorrow, she'll be saying Marian Lilley. She hasn't fought her way here to have any other option happen.

Besides, she has one advantage over them. Marian hefts her morningstar in her hands, feeling the comforting weight of her favorite weapon, blood still staining it from killing Tiv. So many people turned away from using it, not wanting to deal with how brutal it is, or preferring their long range weapons. But not her. She relishes in the power she feels in every swing. And against those two, the weapon packs an extra punch.

She was right about her theory, she knows that now after using it against Tiv. She knows the force of her swing and she did more damage than she should have. Marian was meant to have one of the bone weapons and it packs more power behind it when attacking those using crystal weapons. And luckily for her, both of final opponents are weak to her. Granted, the same can be said in reverse: they can hurt her just as much. But that requires them actually being able to hit her, which they won't.

As annoyed as she's been with Lisia, she'll admit that she's been very clever with this and gave them the hints all along.

All it will take tomorrow is one well-placed hit from her Morningstar to bring them to their knees and guarantee her victory. And then she's going to solidify her place in history among the great victors of Two. But most important than the fame and accolades she'll receive is the fact that she'll have proven her parents wrong and be able to get Jazmyn out of there. As a victor, they'll have no say over what she does. She doesn't know how they've treated her sister in the time she's been gone, but deep down…she's a little worried. At least with the eyes of the country on them from her being in the Games, they can't hurt her too much. But Jazmyn has never been as strong as Marian, words always hurting her sister when she could just brush them off. If Marian doesn't win – as unlikely as that is – Jazmyn will suffer. And Marian has not worked as hard as she has to reach this point for that to happen.

So tomorrow…she's earning Jazmyn's freedom. No one will stop her from getting that. Not the Gamemakers. Not the other tributes.

No one.


Iroha Kinoshita, 18, District Six

She's so close to getting home to her children, she can taste it. And yet, despite there being only three of them left, she has the farthest climb to the top out of all of them. Two careers versus one stubborn mother. Iroha doesn't doubt that she has the sheer determination to win – if anything, she has the most out of the three of them and if that was the only factor, this would be a breeze. But it's not and she isn't cocky enough to refuse to admit her weakness to them. They've trained for years. But she has been through her own challenge and fight over the years too.

Is it bad to hope the two will attack each other and whoever survives will be weakened enough that she can swoop in and claim victory easily? It's not, but it's a foolish hope. The Gamemakers have made it clear they're all about drama and excitement for the Capitol, so she doubts they'd let her skip out on the fight initially. Which means she has to fight against two careers…

Fuck.

Her children need her so badly… Who needs the careers back home? No one like her kids. They haven't fought tooth and nail to get their children away from an abusive father. And if she wins…she can finally give them a good life. No more struggling for money on her own so she doesn't have to depend on Kayden. She'll have more money than she could ever need. They won't ever have to struggle like she has.

She just needs to kill two more tributes. She's already done it, so why can't she do it again? Except…these two are careers. The other three were her dying ally, a bastard, and a boy who didn't even see her coming… One she felt nothing but satisfaction about, able to imagine it was Kayden she was killing instead. One she felt comfortable with, knowing she ended someone's suffering. But the other…well, alone to her thoughts, there wasn't much she could do to hold back the guilt at killing someone younger than her. Artem didn't even have a chance against her, yet she still killed him. In the moment, it was just one more death getting her closer to winning. But after…her mind twisted with images of Noah grown up and being in Artem's position. No matter how much she keeps reminding herself that it would have happened eventually, the guilt has still managed to worm its way into her.

Maybe it's better the last two tributes standing between her and victory are careers her age.

At least she isn't going into this fight empty handed. She has three weapons now after Grey and Jenny's deaths, but she's hesitant about using Grey's. First of all, she doubts she can even swing that bone warhammer enough to do more than just bruise the careers. But also…she's a little suspicious about it. Something happened to Jenny when using her weapon, but nothing happened to Iroha. What might happen if she uses Grey's? She might be just fine. But there's a chance she might not be.

And the final three is not the time to be taking risks. Not when the end is in sight. So sure, she might be at a reach disadvantage compared to the careers, but at least she knows how to use a dagger. And the tranquilizer gun from Jenny seems safer for her. After all, it's made of crystal, just like her dagger. She'll try to hit them from a distance and then she can just swoop in to finish them off. Easy and minimal harm for herself. It's the safe option.

Yet why hasn't she gotten rid of the bone weapon?

Iroha taps her fingers on her thigh as she stares at the warhammer in front of her, puzzled by it. It would be foolish to completely get rid of it before the finale. Who knows what could happen? She could end up losing her dagger or something and in desperation need the hammer. But she doesn't understand it fully, which is driving her nuts. There has to be some clue she's missing, but she just can't figure it out for the life of her. There has to be some reason.

But with the finale quickly approaching, she doesn't have time to dwell on it. She has to focus on her children, not dead tributes and whatever tricks the Gamemakers are up to. She'll take the warhammer with her, but she's not going to reach for it first. Only in desperation…which has a good chance of happening with two careers to face.

She groans aloud as she puts her head in her hands, hating this combination for the finale. Why couldn't it have been any two other non-career tributes with her? Why does she have to be the weakest one? No, she isn't weak. Not having spent her teenage years training for this doesn't make her weak. If anything, she's the strongest willed of the three. Neither of them have had pregnancy forced on them and been trapped in a relationship with an abusive partner because they couldn't afford to feed their children alone. What's physical suffering from a training accident compared to that? Or suffering from unsupportive parents that they escaped from? Abel and Marian have nothing on what she's gone through.

And that alone gives her the strength to know she can beat them despite the apparent differences in skill. There's been many times untrained tributes have won over careers. Iroha will just be the next one to do it. She has to be the next one.

There's just no other option for her with her children's lives on the line.


Aberforth 'Abel' Barringer, 18, District Four

He doesn't deserve to be in the final three. He knows there were several others who deserved this shot at victory more than him. And yet, he's the one still standing today. Well…standing is a stretch, more like sitting here. Why him?

Abel doesn't know the answer and doubts he ever will get it.

He didn't think it would be this hard to get himself motivated and prepared for the finale. He certainly appreciates the Gamemakers giving them the day to rest and prepare, but also…part of him is so ready to be done in this arena. He wants to be out of this hell, yet he fears that he will be leaving in a body bag. His leg still aches from the dart Jenny hit him with, more than the normal ever present pain. And he fears his legs locking up in the most crucial moment of the fight tomorrow.

Both of his opponents give him reasons to be nervous. Marian has obvious strength over him, being her District's chosen volunteer. And a ruthlessness and lack of shame in backstabbing other tributes to get further, as shown by her killing Tiv at the feast without blinking an eye. And she had just left him there to die, so unworried about him. Then there's Iroha, who is proving to be just as ruthless as Marian, just in a different way. She killed Artem so easily…that takes a certain kind of person to kill someone who is just standing there. Abel couldn't even do that and he's trained for this. And she has the greatest motivation to win: her children. He knows his mothers would do absolutely anything to protect him and his sisters, making him weary for whatever Iroha might do tomorrow.

Two ruthless woman going up against him, a broken man. The odds don't look too good for him.

It would be so much easier to just give up at this point. Just give in to the encroaching darkness that's been pressing down on him since the feast. He couldn't protect Kaz, who deserved to be at this point much more than him. He couldn't protect Sasha and Artem, who were so similar to him. He couldn't even protect himself from getting attacked and it was just dumb luck that Marian thought he'd die from the poison.

Why didn't he die? He doesn't get it…why does he deserve a second chance at winning? He doesn't deserve it. Just look at how pitiful he is right now. The only thing holding him back from just giving up in the face of insurmountable odds is his family…

What must his family be thinking right now? They're probably full of worry and dangerous hope, now that he's in the final three. But Nereida is probably sitting there, cursing at him and calling him a dumbass for volunteering in the first place. And she would be right. He was a dumbass for volunteering for this, even if they both thought before everything that this was the right choice. They were both so wrong. But could he have sat back and watch Leith in the Games, living out the supposed dream he always had? Probably not, because he wouldn't know the reality of the arena.

It's not full of glory and excitement. It's ever present anxiousness, jumping at every little sound, and feeling full of tension every waking moment. It's lack of sleep out of fear that someone will kill him in the night. It's the ache in his stomach from mediocre food, begging him for something better to eat. Quite frankly…the arena sucks.

What a fool he was to volunteer for this. He should have just stayed home in Four and worked the job he is actually good at and let Leith or someone else go into the Games instead. But no, he let envy and jealousy take him over and push him here. Because if he's honest with himself, he didn't volunteer just to prove he could still do it. He did it because he was jealous of those getting the opportunity lost to him because he was too full of pride and got hurt.

And now it's likely he's going to die in this arena, victory slipping out of his grasp. All over a fragile ego.

In this moment, he almost wishes Nereida was here to help pull him out of this darkness. But he's so glad she dropped out of training years ago. He would never wish for her or any of their sisters to go into this arena. No, let him be the stark sign for them that the Games are not something to train for. Even if he makes it out alive…he will make sure none of them ever even think about stepping forward at the Reaping. No one should be volunteering for this.

Even worse is the people who are forced into this. At least he can blame himself for choosing this. For those like Sasha and Artem…they didn't have a choice. He has no doubt they wouldn't have chosen this path like he did, and they paid the ultimate price. Why does he get to be the lucky one still alive? He wishes he knew the answer…

But tomorrow, despite everything in him wanting to curl up and let them kill him, he knows he has to fight. He'll do his best to fight against Marian, knowing she's the stronger threat, but not underestimate Iroha. He knows better than others what it's like to be underestimated. Isn't that how he wound up here? A need to prove to others he could still do it?

It's slim, but there is a chance he can do it. He just needs to try…as hard as that is. His family needs him to try. The ones who didn't make it to this point need him to try…

He's just so very tired of trying. But he'll try one more time.


And here we are, last chapter before the finale. Next chapter we will have our victor which is a very weird thought considering just a little over a month ago I had no motivation at all to work on this and now we're here. But I'm very excited to be finishing up the Games and this story!

The finale will be up next Friday, January 29th, some time after 5 pm est. Once I have a specific time, I'll put it on my profile. After that, we'll be zoomin' to the end, but back to just Monday updates. After this chapter, there's only five more updates left for this story, which is wild. But at this point, I've finished it! Which means for any Renegades readers, I'll be getting back to that now lol.

RQ #31: Last Games question: who do you think will be the victor?

Alrighty, I will see you all next Friday to crown the victor!