XXIII. WASTED POTENTIAL
DAY 7
NERO BLASTARIES, DISTRICT 2 MALE (18)
There were seven of them left.
Only seven.
At the rate things were going- and they'd only been in the arena for a week- the Games would be over in a few days.
Nero wanted to get home.
As did everyone else.
He'd thought it out, strategized, and if Lux tried to pull the poison move on them, he'd be ready, and wasn't going to eat or drink anything she offered. However, he doubted she would try and do such a thing, given her undying loyalty and sweet demeanor, but then again, people weren't who they said they were in the Games.
Of the tributes left, other than the Careers the tribute on the best footing was probably the girl from Nine. As a sponsor favorite, she'd most likely been sitting on the sidelines while the action played out.
Nero doubted his safety with the Career pack. Hestia would only kill him- or at least try to- if it came down to them in the final two as district loyalty was highly preached in Career districts, so they had an advantage being the only Careers with their district partner left but Lux was on the fence about using the poison. Nero could tell. And Angelo? Well, Nero had heard bits and pieces, and he had his own reasons to want to get home.
The Careers were wasting time by just staying in one place, as the Gamemakers were probably getting bored. If they valued their safety, they should've probably started moving and looking for the remaining tributes.
Yet the morning had been relatively uneventful as the Careers mainly lounged at camp as if they had all the time they needed, though Nero certainly wasn't doing so.
Because of the boredom he faced, it was with interest that Nero watched the three sponsor gifts drift down, landing in front of Hestia and Lux respectively, two to the latter. Hestia opened her gift first.
"What's in it?" Angelo asked, as Hestia scrapped the wrapping paper and tossed it in the stack of supplies the Careers had.
She frowned. "Poison darts, I think, but I didn't get much experience with them at the academy back in Two."
Neither had Nero, as he preferred to stick to fire, but they hadn't provided any fire-based weapons in the arena.
Then again, it was possible that they were still bitter about the fact that Nero had incinerated one of their simulation rooms when the bloodbath had happened. It would make sense, given the simulation rooms were probably expensive to make without being destroyed and having to be rebuilt.
Lux grinned, opening her first one, but that grin quickly turned into a confused expression, "I think I got trap materials."
"No note?" Nero asked, curious.
She shook her head. "Yeah, no note."
It was weird to Nero when sponsors don't attach notes, because that's a chance to give advice, root your tribute on, and even be creative or make a joke.
Lux opened the second one, and it turned out to be a vial of something.
Angelo picked up the pieces a second before Nero. "Is it an antidote?"
Lux glanced down at a small slip of paper that must have been attached to her gift and then nodded.
So we can be saved if she poisons us, then.
Nero wasn't too panicked about the poison in the first place given that to avoid it he'd just have to ignore anything Lux offered, but now?
It wasn't cockiness, but Nero felt mostly safe around her.
Nero didn't care about the fact that he hadn't gotten a gift.
Though he would have liked to get that blowtorch.
Or some gift to do with fire.
It didn't matter, he supposed, now that they were nearing the end. There would definitely be less gifts now because of the impending victory- which Nero had more than a shot at- and the suspense was only rising.
Nero was ready.
ARDEN GOLDENROD, DISTRICT 3 FEMALE (14)
They made her the wild animal.
Every Games needed one, and that was always their Game.
Because Arden hadn't slept, moved, or eaten since Deiondra's death, staring at the girl from 9 across the pit who was unmoving as well, having set up camp.
Well, she had moved if she thought about it- she'd paced the area close to the pit in an agitated way, trying not to scream.
And the hovercraft had descended, picking up Dei's body, never letting Arden see her again which wasn't believable, too shocking to be true, that Deiondra was gone.
Right after they'd gotten mementos from home- yeah, Arden's hadn't been exactly pleasant, but Deiondra's face had lit up. It was too cruel of them to wash every trace of her away with one fatal swoop, like the stars in the sky blinking out when morning comes.
Now the mementos had flown away with Deiondra's corpse too, minus the photos which Deiondra had packed away earlier the previous day.
Arden guessed that was all she had left of her friend.
She'd even thought Dei would outlast her.
Well, because of that Arden was only incentivized to stay alive and kill the district Nine girl and then get out.
Shame on you, Dei. You made me change my mind.
This thought made Arden subconsciously grin, making her feel almost out of her mind.
She fingered the pen in her pocket. She'd almost forgotten about it, between the sponsor gifts and the constant moving with Deiondra, but now the pen was a symbol of normality, something that even though she'd smuggled in and could get her killed was worth it.
Arden was going to get revenge for what the girl sitting across the pit, barely still awake and guilt-free, had done.
They hadn't exchanged a single word since Deiondra's death, which Arden found ironic, considering she had so many things to say, to scream.
The fact that the District 9 girl seemed completely unbothered was even worse.
The girl from Ten was gone too, which the girl from Nine had seemed both upset and oddly happy at during the projections. They were allies, weren't they? Well, they were in the same situation then, except Arden hadn't killed Nine's ally.
A small twinkling sounded, and Arden snapped her gaze up to see a parachute drifting down towards her. It was a bulky package, and was weighing the parachute down so that it crashed at her feet, and Arden hastened to pick it up.
Now, across from her, the girl from Nine was watching, eyes wide.
The thing is she had fun getting the gifts with Dei and scorning the notes. Now, she wasn't sure she cared.
Arden unwrapped the gift, and was shocked to see that someone had sponsored her a blowtorch, which she probably didn't even know how to use.
How hard could it be, though?
Arden ran her hand down the handle of the blowtorch, and Nine's eyes were filled with fright. She moved back, away from Arden, but they're still not saying anything to each other.
The biggest question that ran through Arden's mind was who to use it on.
Right now, she was in the part of the jungle that hangs over the rest, almost like a land canopy. It does give her an advantage, because she could more or less make out the whole scenery. Arden hadn't focused on doing so, given the situation she had been in, but now to survive she was only more attentive.
She saw figures gathered together maybe a mile down and out- probably the Careers. The district Six girl, Arden's only other opponent in the arena, was nowhere to be seen.
And then Arden saw the pyramid.
It wasn't too far away from her, maybe two miles, and a mile away from the Careers who were positioned roughly halfway between Arden and the pyramid.
So that's how they'll shove us together.
As much as she wanted to kill the District 9 girl right now, it wasn't a smart move. The Careers were the main enemy in this playing field, given there were still four of them left.
So she'd aim for them.
Arden gazed out over the canopy, hoping and praying that this would work.
She flicked on the blowtorch.
The girl from Nine was up in a second, shocked by the sudden flames, and began to run.
Arden started down the land canopy.
HESTIA MCLEARSON, DISTRICT 2 FEMALE (18)
The end was near.
Hestia would be lying if she said she expected to go so far, if she expected the Careers to go so far. There were four of them, and usually most of the Careers managed to get themselves killed off by then.
Hestia wasn't going to make a stupid mistake like that.
She also didn't expect Lux to use the poison at all, and therefore definitely had placed her trust in the District 1 girl.
The Careers hadn't done much in the morning, instead staying and mainly talking.
"So, who's left again?" Lux asked, finishing filling up a canteen of water from their supply stack.
"The girl from Nine," Angelo put in, "and the girl from Three."
"The girl from Six too," Hestia added. "Lux, hand me that canteen, will you?"
Lux tossed her the canteen absentmindedly, as Hestia immediately caught it as she took a long drink, sealing the top on tightly.
"Are we going to split up or something once we get to the finale, since we're half of the tributes left?" Lux asked timidly.
With that, the air got immediately thicker. Hestia took another sip of water so she wouldn't have to say anything.
"If we do split up, we could do something like a truce," Angelo suggested, "and take out the outer district tributes first while carrying each other into the finale."
"Isn't that what we were going to do anyways?" Hestia asked, if in a slightly irritated fashion.
Can you blame me? I just want to make it to the end.
She did pride herself for being positive and trying to be a good person even in the arena, but obviously when that started slipping away for Lux, it slipped away for Hestia too.
The sponsor gift was certainly a boost of confidence for Hestia, but Lux had three. And an antidote. That did help Hestia trust her more, especially in the way Lux's face had lit up, especially at the note which she'd shared with Hestia with a smile.
You know, you don't have to kill them all if you don't want to. You can save someone. Someone worth it.
Even though it wasn't Hestia's gift in the first place, she still had been glad for it.
It might have been her saving grace.
Or Nero's, or Angelo's.
So now Careers were waiting.
For what?
Nobody knew, but maybe for the next cannon that would mean it would be best to seperate.
"Yeah, but we're most likely going to 'carry each other to the end' no matter what, and that's when it gets nasty," Nero added.
"Still-" Hestia began, but all of a sudden, shocking pain forced its way into her head.
She stumbled, almost as if she was drunk, as a pounding headache invaded her vision and she fell. The other Careers were frozen, unsure of what to do, as the pounding headache got worse, and all Hestia could think of was how-
It was a sob that she heard, and though it barely made sense to Hestia who had uttered it, she knew nonetheless.
Was she dead? Was this dying?
Hestia tried to force her eyes to stay open- she hadn't even made it to the finale! She still had so much to do, and so many people to impress.
But I just can't breathe anymore.
The last air left her lungs, and Hestia finally fell from her position in the sky the Capitol had given her, that her district had given her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hestia noticed flames creeping in from a distance. She'd be dead by the time they get here if she doesn't stand up and save herself, but she can't, because as far as Hestia looks, the other Careers have disappeared.
What did you expect?
They abandoned you when you needed help the most.
She tried to scream, but no one heard.
BOOM!
DULSCHE WILDGAZE, HEAD GAMEMAKER
There it was.
The Final Six.
Dulsche felt a strange exhilaration run through her veins. The whole Games have been building up to this moment, and now it was finally here.
She couldn't believe it.
They fan the girl from Three's flames, because it's a perfect setup for a dramatic finale. The Careers would be splitting up now, Dulsche guessed, and at the rate they were going they were most likely to have a Career victor.
The flames were set to chase everyone to the pyramid. If the girl from 6 loses, it will be her fault, and the districts won't be able to blame it on Career favoritism. The finale is so dangerously unpredictable at this rate, with Demeter from Nine being injured and with Arden and Audi armed.
If Demeter dies, then some of the Capitolites would be angry, but it was the same for nearly every tribute in the Games, especially Lux from District 1. Dulsche's children, Scylla and Achilles, were rooting on Arden and Angelo respectively, but Lux was a family favorite too.
Dulsche of course was forced to stand impartial, being a Gamemaker, but it was amusing to see the Capitolites- her family included- root for a certain tribute when Dulsche could cause their life to be ended in an instant.
It wasn't a cold hearted thought, but like every Gamemaker that had come before her, Dulsche preferred being in places of power.
In a large screen before the eyes of Dulsche, Aphrodite, Mattias, a few Avoxes, and the other Gamemakers, flame filled the arena.
The finale began.
KILL COUNT
Arena: IIII
Merlot Montague (DECEASED): III
Hestia Mclearson (DECEASED): II
Nero Blastaries: II
Lux Leblanc: II
Tempest Trinidad (DECEASED): I
Reyena Jensen (DECEASED): I
Demeter Jarniven: I
Angelo Marris: I
Alliances
The Careers: Lux, Nero, Angelo
Lone Wolves: Arden, Audi, Demeter
7th Place: Hestia Mclearson, poisoned by Lux Leblanc
I really liked Hestia. Like Reyena, she was a really realistic character, and I wished she would go farther. However, for that to happen, she'd have to overcome her insecurities, and I unfortunately wasn't able to make that happen with the plot line I have for the remaining characters in the story. Like Ayla and Merlot, Hestia began this journey, and as it ends, her story ends here. I'm sorry we didn't get to see more of her, zi really would've liked to do so. Thank you so much to chcolate for submitting her!