The Park: Burial

A/N: Here's the finale of The Park Chapter. Enjoy. Or not, more likely.

~You say I turned out fine

I think I'm still turning out

I hope you stick around

We're gonna figure it out~

Julie Novum

The three canons had all gone off in quick succession. In just a few minutes the Games had thinned to just eleven of them. It felt strange that so many had already died, when Julie and Ty hadn't seen anybody since the bloodbath. She felt bad that it made her happy every time she heard a canon. It was getting close now. It was possible.

The day had gone quietly for Julie And Ty, again. She wasn't sure what that meant. Dalton told her to make sure to keep being interesting. If the Capitol lost interest they'd sic mutts on them to spice it up. Yet over halfway through and the Gamemakers hadn't come after their duo at all.

They spent the morning walking through the streets. The rain finally cleared up, and so they got to get out of that stiffy and boring dormitory and out into the fresh air. Never mind that the 'fresh air' smelled worse than inside did. Ty had been right, and directly across from a park was a tall tower that reached far above the rest of the rooftops.

It was a tricky climb, not so much for Julie, but far beyond what Ty was capable of it. So she spent the day teaching him some of the basics, getting him comfortable being in the sky. Even after a few hours of climbing and joking around he wasn't ready yet, so Julie just ended up going up on her own for the view while Ty stayed at the base and kept guard.

The arena was smaller than she thought. It was set on a bay, with water surrounding the city in three directions. The stretch of land that connected to more land was blocked off by a wall that looked like a smaller version of the one in District Three, complete with empty watchtowers and powerless search lights. Beyond the wall was a wreckage. It was more cityscape, but while the city they were in was rundown and abandoned, the city outside the walls was bombarded. Towering skyscrapers had been reduced to rubble, and something gave Julie the feeling that destruction hadn't been created just for the arena.

She had shared that thought with Ty once she came down, but he seemed like he didn't share her interest. Night was already starting to fall, and Ty was yawning, looking more interested in sleeping than the idea of exploration or discovery.

"Just think about it," Julie said, stuffing her things into her bag as Ty waited beside her. "That city out there was like the Capitol, skyscrapers and all. And it got bombed until there was nothing left? They didn't do that for the arena. Something actually happened out there. That has to be a city that people actually lived in once."

"And?" Ty yawned.

Julie rolled her eyes. "It's just cool, ya know? The way that there's a whole world out there we don't even know about. Makes you wish you could go out and see it."

"If you're trying to convince me to climb that wall with you, I'll pass," Ty snorted.

She blew a raspberry. "Yeah, as if. Don't worry 'bout it, I'll just go check it out after I win. I hear they let victors tour their arenas after they win."

"I am never coming back here after I win," Ty said, looking disgusted at the thought. "How much you wanna bet some Capitol tour group will open some door and one of those mutts will jump out and tear 'em to shreds because the Gamemakers forgot to clear them all out."

"Yeah, sounds about-" Julie stopped, and Ty did the same, the two of them pausing in the middle of the street. Ahead of them, one of the mutts they had seen earlier stumbled around the corner. It was still far ahead of them, a couple dozen feet down the street, and it didn't seem to notice them, stumbling around aimlessly as it croaked, shrieked, and clicked.

"Let's try another way," Julie said in as quiet a voice as she could manage.

Ty nodded his head, and the two turned around. On the other end of the street, three more of the mutts were waiting, bumping into each other as they collided with one another. Both of them were deathly silent. None of them seemed to realize that the two of them were there, but they were all closing in, slowly but surely making their way towards the center of the street.

Julie tapped Ty on the shoulder, and pointed down an alleyway. The only way out without going straight through the mutts. Ty nodded his head hesitantly, and followed behind her as she silently crept into the darkly lit alley. She was nearly blind walking through it, and was feeling the wall with her hands, shuffling her way forward. At the end of the alley was a brick wall, but they could boost each other up and get over it. They just had to be quiet.

"AH! Fuck!" Ty screamed as he leapt forward, bumping into Julie and sending them both onto the concrete. A human-looking mutt like the ones they had seen earlier was on the ground, the bottom half of it missing as it crawled towards them, swiping out with its arms.

A chorus of screams came from the street. Ty and Julie didn't even need to exchange a look. They both scrambled to their feet and ran forward. They reached the wall in no time, and Julie quickly saw that she would be able to climb over it. There were a few footholds on the building beside it, an outdoor AC unit and a few protruding bricks that could get her the way up.

She didn't hesitate, leaping up and scrambling up the wall as fast as she could, the screeching getting louder as the mutts turned the corner and entered into the alley. Julie was over the top, and all she had to do now was drop down to safety, away from the mutts and surviving for one more day. One step closer.

"Julie, help!" Ty's voice cut over the mutts', and there was something she had never heard in his voice before. Desperation. She looked down, and Ty was still struggling to find a foothold, trying and failing to make his way up the wall.

Julie sat on top of the wall. She dropped down to the ground. Her boots hit the ground and Ty was frantic, still attempting to scramble up. She quickly took him by the shoulders and yelled at him, "Let me boost you!"

He quickly nodded his head, and Julie bent down, folding over her hands and letting Ty step on her hands, throwing him up in the air with all her might. He leapt up, his arms grasping onto the top. She grabbed his feet and pushed him up, and Ty nearly fell off, but managed to catch himself on the top of the wall.

He reached down a hand, yelling at her to grab hold, but she knew there was no time. She leapt for the AC unit, scrambling on top just as the mutts came crashing onto the wall. They were reaching out to her, but she was just out of reach from the flimsy metal protrusion that rumbled with every stray fist that collided with. It was shaking, crumbling under her weight, ready to fall at any given moment.

The wall was right there, and Ty was still standing, staring at her with wide eyes, his arm still helplessly extended. She could leap out and try to climb the rest of the way up, but the foothold she needed was right where a dozen mutts were viciously swinging. The next hold was too high up. She knew that she couldn't make it.

One of the bolts of the unit came loose, and she nearly fell off as it crumbled, barely holding itself up. She took hold of a nearby window sill, her fingers gripping tightly as she swung herself up. The unit fell to the ground as she leapt up. She was dangling now, barely holding on, her feet dangling just a dozen feet off the ground. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, but there was nothing else for her to take hold of her. It was just walls.

She looked to her left, and Ty was still standing at the top. He was looking at her, and he seemed to realize the same thing that Julie did. There was no way out of this. Nowhere to go. There was no further she could climb. All she could do was fall.

Her fingers started to slip, perspiration making her palms slick. She took in a deep breath, and let her eyes shut. She let go, and for a brief moment all she could feel was the air at her sides.

Lana Birkhead

Her gut still hurt. The pain was sharper now, the running and climbing and falling all making the blood start to flow again. She felt even weaker than before, her skin pale and cool to the touch. Talon made her eat one of the bars, but it didn't help. She felt powerless.

Talon was nursing his own injury, but his wasn't as bad. The arrow had only clipped his calf, and he managed to wrap it up without too much injury. Still though, it had slowed him down, and he nearly died because of it. He nearly died because he came back for her.

He should have left her on the ground. It didn't make any sense. Why would he come back for her? And why did the girl in the trees shoot the monsters that were coming for them? She could have let them both die, but she saved them instead. None of it made any sense.

They set up camp in a small courtyard in the middle of an apartment complex. Nikola and Talon sealed up all the entrances to the yard, and promised it would be safe for the night. Besides, Talon had told her, they wouldn't send mutts at them again in the same night.

Now Nikola was asleep, passed out in the large tent they had found in the building while Talon and Lana kept watch. It was technically just Talon on watch, he had offered to do it for the entire night, but Lana couldn't sleep anyways, so she stayed up with him. They both sat around the campfire, Talon warming his hands while Lana sat on a rock, her arms folded over her chest.

Neither of them felt much like talking.

Lana finished the last of her energy bar, setting down the wrapper and taking the water that Talon handed to her. She had to swallow vomit as the water passed her lips. Talon seemed to notice, and took the water back, looking at her cautiously.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Fine," she said quietly.

"You should probably get some sleep," he said, looking into the fire, his eyes unreadable as the flames danced in his pupils. "You need to rest up, save your strength. The finale won't be long now."

Lana didn't make to move. She knew that sleep wouldn't be coming anytime soon. She glanced back to the tent. "And him?"

"Nikola?" He asked. "What about him?"

"You don't trust him," she said.

He was quiet for a bit, still staring into the fire. "Nikola barks but he won't bite. Not yet. We'll hold onto him for a bit longer, and cut him loose at the final eight."

"I don't trust him," she said. The way he had run away when the creatures had come for them, sat on top of the fence and watched while they got close. She felt her hand brushing along the dagger at her belt. "We don't need him."

"No, probably not," Talon said. "But still, I try not to backstab allies when I don't need to. People deserve to die with their eyes open and their face to their killer."

"Okay," Lana said.

Talon sighed. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. Final eight should start by tomorrow at this rate, and we'll take him out then. From there it'll be just us two against the last five. Nobody'll be able to stop us."

"I know," she said. She brought a hand to her gut, her eyes looking down as she ran her hand across the still damp blood. "I was scared." She said.

Talon looked surprised. "What?"

"When she shot you. When the mutts were coming. When you came back for me." She paused. "I was scared."

"Nothing wrong with that," Talon said. "Like I said, it's only human. Everyone's scared to die."

"No," she said, looking up at him. He looked away from the fire, his eyes meeting hers. "Not everyone."

He smiled, stifling a laugh. "Yeah, I guess not."

"You really weren't scared?" She asked him, and her voice cracked as she said it.

His smile dissipated, and he looked down at the ground. "Maybe," he finally said. "Just, in a different sort of way. I'm not scared to die, but. . . ." he trailed off, his mouth hanging for a moment before he clamped it shut, shaking his head. "Forget about it. Even if you can't sleep, you still need some rest. Let me keep watch for a bit, try and save your energy for when we need it."

Lana stayed still for a moment, looking at Talon curiously. He didn't seem ready to budge though, and so she stood up, wincing as she did so. She started walking to the tent, but found her feet stopping themselves as she turned back to Talon. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He looked back at her, then just nodded his head, before turning back to the fire. She thought of the first night on the train, with candy cereal and hot chocolate, and her reflection in the mirror, a foam mustache on her mouth. Lana felt something prickling at her eyes, but she ignored it as she turned and walked away.

River

The forest was quiet again. It took awhile for the animals to clear out again, but they lost interest eventually. The girl that got her foot in the trap was still hanging upside down, the top half of her body just a skeleton that swayed in the evening wind.

Her hands were still shaking. They had been steady when she fired the first shot, but the moment the girl's head had snapped back, a loud cracking sound followed by a thunderous boom, they had started to shake. She was aiming for the boy's chest, but hit him in the calf instead. And then something strange happened.

The boy didn't run towards River to attack her, or run away. He had bent down and picked up the girl that tripped, and when he looked up at the treetops and his eyes locked with River's, his mouth had moved, and looked like he was mouthing "please."

Her hands were just steady enough to shoot the three animals before she put her bow back and sat on her branch, quietly waiting for the girl to stop screaming and for the animals to leave her forest. They stomped around for a while, setting off her traps and making noise. It took a few hours for some commotion to steal their attention and have all of them running toward the street, but by the time that happened everything was destroyed. All her traps broken, the grass trampled, and the forest smelled like death.

She was trying to sleep, but her eyes wouldn't close. She thought that she was doing the right thing, defending her home before anyone could destroy it. But she wasn't so sure anymore. Her legs were restless, bouncing around as she squirmed back and forth on her branch, unable to find any comfort.

After she killed her first deer, Wanderer had spoken to her. She was proud at first, standing triumphantly over the body and smiling. He had scolded her for that. The words he told her were some of the few she could still remember.

"To take a life is never a good thing. We kill when we must to survive. But we never enjoy it. We never kill without need."

Did she need to? The girl hadn't done anything to her. She might have been kind, like Audra. And she had released the arrow anyways. She was still laying on the ground, the animals had ignored her body for some reason. Maybe they only went after people that were alive.

River's hands worked on their own accord, undoing the knot as she sat up on the branch. Her hands slid deftly across the branches and holds as she slid her way down to the ground, landing with a thud. There were no more traps to watch out for, and so she walked calmly across the quiet forest.

She came across the girl with an arrow in her forehead. River wondered what her name was. She pulled the arrow out, and reached down, shutting the eyelids that were still staring wide at the sky, unaware that she was gone. "I'm sorry," she said silently, and wished she had more to say. Wanderer used to have long, complicated prayers for those who had died, but they were beyond where River could reach.

Instead she did all she could, gathering a few fallen branches and leaves, and tearing out grass to cover the girl with. It wasn't enough, but it was the most River could do.

The other girl was next. She cut the rope, and the girl fell to the ground with a loud thud. There were no eyes for River to shut, and so instead she took two leaves and covered the sockets, then gave her body the same burial.

She climbed back up the tree, and beneath the tall grass she couldn't see the bodies anymore, but it still didn't feel right. She knew they were there. This place wasn't the way that it used to be. It wasn't safe, peaceful, home. River collected her bag and bow from the hole in the trunk, and slid back down to the ground. She made her way to the exit she had found, and paused for a moment, stopping to look back at the forest. She felt tears in her eyes, and quickly wiped them away, turning and shimmying through the gap, leaving the forest behind.

Talon Olympus

He shouldn't have let them stop at the park. He knew something was off about it, from the moment they saw it, and that feeling only got worse once they were in there. But he had gotten too comfortable, too lax, and they had suffered from it. He was lucky the arrow had only found his calf. Maya hadn't been so lucky.

And now they were placed in an awkward position. Talon didn't trust Nikola. He knew that the man would try something soon, it was only a matter of time. But Lana couldn't fight, not anymore. She would survive a few more days, and with the pace of the Games that would be enough, but she wouldn't be any use in a fight. She'd slow him down, if anything. And with Talon's injury, his chances of beating the District One pair in a fight had dropped from slim to zero.

He had watched the night sky, hoping that one of the faces would be Troy, but neither of them were. At this point it was inevitable. The Capitol would want a showdown. Which meant until that fight happened, he couldn't get rid of Nikola. It worried him, and he could only hope that Nikola was smart enough to come to the same conclusion. They both needed each other until District One was gone. Hopefully that would be enough to keep a knife out of his back.

The other problem was of course that they'd probably want to wait and save the fight for the end. The Capitol was probably salivating at the idea of a finale between him and Troy. With Juniper lighting up the night sky, there weren't too many favorites left. The girl from Five had undoubtedly won some support after what happened at the park, but other than that there was nobody that had both popularity and ability, combined with a desire to actually win. But then again, Troy didn't seem to have a desire to be victor either. The thought should have made him happy, victory seemed almost assured at this point. But unforeseen things were bothering him.

It would all be so much easier if Lana hadn't left at the bloodbath. If she were healthy, the two of them could fight District One, and they'd come out on top. And Lana might have died in the fight, and if she didn't, well.

Well, he wasn't sure, actually. The greater good, that was his constant motto. He would do the dirty work that others wouldn't to make Panem a better place. But here he was, slowing himself down, nearly getting himself killed, all over a weakness.

Talon needed to be the victor. The rest of them would just waste it. Troy and Marquise didn't even want it. Vivian and River too timid and quiet, Jamie, Julie, and Sparrow too young, Ty and Nikola too prideful and self-centered. None of them would be good for Panem. They'd either fall apart, or only serve themselves. They wouldn't make things better, for the country or for their district. It would just be more of the same.

Even Lana wouldn't be good for them. She wasn't equipped to deal with the real world. She'd be just like the rest of them, Hailey and Mira and all of them, a fish out of water. That didn't mean she deserved to die, but that wasn't what the Games were about.

So why was he still hesitating?

It was keeping him awake, staring at the coals of the fire. If it came down to the end, would he be willing to do what he had to? It felt strange for him to admit that he wasn't sure anymore. He was still stuck on Lana's question.

"You really weren't scared?"

He rested his chin on top of his folded fists, lost in his thoughts. He had stopped himself short of saying what he meant when she asked him that, the words turning to ice in his mouth as he swallowed them. The same way he had dodged her question she asked him the night before. For a person who couldn't feel fear, he was sure doing a good job at being a coward.

Talon barely noticed when the canon went off.

Boom!

It took him a moment to register, and when it did, he let out a relieved sigh. One step closer. There were just ten left now. They'd want to keep them both around for the final eight interviews, but after that the fight would happen. Talon felt it in his bones. The endgame was coming. He was ready.

Nikola walked out of the tent. He walked toward Talon uneasily, his eyes still red with morning fatigue. His hands were shaking.

"Two more until the final eight," Talon said.

Nikola nodded his head. He paused for a while, seemingly planning something out before eventually speaking, his voice careful and deliberate. "Lana isn't doing anything for the alliance. You know it, and I know it. There's no reason for her to stick around."

Talon looked down to Nikola's side, his dagger was at his belt, the silver steel spotless and clean. A smear of blood ran across the bottom of his shirt. "You think so?" Talon asked emotionlessly.

"I get she's your district partner, and you feel like you gotta watch out for her. But the fact is only one person can win, we both know that. With District One still running around, we don't have space to carry around someone who's gonna be dead in a few days anyways. I know you feel bad for her, but this is the Hunger Games. You gotta cut dead weight loose."

There was a long silence. Nikola was staring at Talon, his hands still shaking as he looked at him expectantly, nervously. Talon's voice came out, and he was surprised when it didn't shake. He sounded calm.

"You're right," he finally said, and Nikola visibly relaxed. "She's my district partner, and I felt like I had to take care of her. But no, I need to win, and that means cutting dead weight loose. You're right. You're absolutely right."

The air was silent again, and a light breeze sang through the air as it blew past them. Nikola chanced a smile, and Talon just looked past him, off into the distance at nothing at all.

He flipped the dagger out of his belt and stabbed him in the gut. Nikola let out a gasp, and Talon pulled it out and stabbed him again, taking hold of the man's shoulder as he stabbed him, over and over until the man finally dropped to his knees. Talon took a step back, and drove the knife into Nikola's chest.

He fell forward, and a cannon fired.

Boom!

Talon's expression was emotionless, a blank, empty template. Silently, he stepped over Nikola's corpse, and walked over to the tent. He paused for a long moment at the front, steadying his breath before he pushed through. Lana was lying on the ground, her eyes closed. He took a step forward, and her eyes slipped open as she sat up.

A choked breath escaped from Talon's throat, and she crawled to her feet, looking at him oddly. "What is it?" She asked. "There were two-"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence as he dropped to his knees and wrapped her in a hug, holding tightly to her as he expelled a shaky breath. "I-I thought," he said, his voice a near stammer as he choked on the words. He couldn't think to say more, just pulling her in tighter. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she said quietly, her voice tinged with confusion. She didn't ask anything more though, and she hesitantly reached out an arm, hugging back and letting her head rest on his shoulder.

A/N: To clarify that canon was Julie's, just had to keep the suspense up. A bloody few chapters, I know, five deaths in two updates. Next chapter will be: The Hotel. That one'll be special for having literally everyone left in it at some point, so we have that to look forward as the final 8 is rapidly approaching! I literally had to rewrite this entire chapter last night so I don't think anything will stop daily updates at this point, which means I can say with decent confidence the finale will be just six days from now, December 29th!

11th: Julie Novum. Fell. Julie was such a special character. She was more than just her relationship to Dalton. She was this energetic, compassionate, and fun-loving person who wanted more out of life than life was able to give. Her alliance with Ty gave me life during the pre-games, and this story wouldn't have been the same without her and Ty's energy. RIP

10th: Nikola Surge. Stabbed by Talon Olympus. You were such a compelling villain character, and your intro is still one of my favorite things I've ever written. Simply, though, this was always gonna have to be how your story ended. You weren't gonna be the victor, and there was no getting out of this alliance alive. It was incredible to have such a dynamic and well-rounded villainous character though, so thank you so much to Red for sending him to me!

Trivia(5 points): Honestly y'all are amazing for keeping up with this ridiculous update pace, and I appreciate y'all so much for being along for this wild ride. Take a free 5 points for being so awesome. As a reminder, if you wanna sponsor someone just PM me and we'll work out the details. Or save your points for my next story and buy someone a hot tub or smthing, up to you.