Whyte Roberts
Getting armor was nice and helpful. Getting a picture of my little brother was equal parts heartwarming and weird. He was as old as I was when I first volunteered. It was like seeing a slightly different reflection of myself. He didn't have the temperament to train, so he was safe. He wore the same plain expression he always did. It always looked like he didn't care. Only those closest to him knew the truth.
I had everything I needed to fight. Floki wouldn't have liked facing off against Ava. He'd have wanted someone his own size, like Ash. But I couldn't underestimate anyone that managed to come this far, especially against Venus.
A booming voice interrupted my thoughts. It echoed all over the Arena from speakers in every building.
"Remaining Tributes report to the Cornucopia," it said, as flat and expressionless as any drill instructor. It seemed the Gamemakers were impatient as we were.
Ava Hanson
Obviously it wouldn't do any good to disobey. One night wasn't much time to rest and heal, but it would have to do. My body armor would protect almost everything below my neck. I wouldn't have to worry about reopening the wound. Whyte was bigger than I was and with my wound he was probably faster. I'd have to be both more agile and more intelligent to kill him.
My building was right next to the Cornucopia. I ran out right away so I would reach the battleground first. Most of the supplies were gone, and I had no use for the few arrows and clubs that were left. I already had my dagger.
In a few minutes, I could be dead. But it wasn't inevitable, not like before. I could win. I could get back to Pray and be everything she thought I was. Lottie threw me back so I'd have a chance. I couldn't waste her life. Sometimes the Games are won by someone that outfights. Other times it's by someone who out-thinks. I couldn't always do either of those, but I could always outlast. I survived myself and my own destructive habits.
I stood in the center of the Cornucopia and watched Whyte approach. I didn't want him to be nervous and expecting me to jump out. I wanted him to think it was a frontal battle. I saw he was wearing armor just like mine and started making adjustments to my strategy. As he got closer, he sped up. I let him come and waited.
Whyte Roberts
Ava was wearing armor like mine. That was going to make it harder for me. My longer sword would be difficult to angle up into her head, which was her only vulnerable spot. I saw a bloodstain on her side and noted that she wasn't running back at me. She was going to fight defensively, which was another advantage for me. She held her dagger in one hand and her other was curled into a fist. I sped up as I got closer, intending to bowl her over and pin her so I could freely use my sword.
When I was ten feet away, she brought her arm up. I thought she was going to punch me and wondered how she thought she was going to get past my sword, but then her hand blurred and something knocked me off my feet. That wasn't a fist. It was a rock. She ran at me as I hit the ground, blood seeping into my eyes. She kicked my hand and my sword landed a foot away. She went to kick it farther and I grabbed her foot. I yanked it closer and she fell hard on her back. She tried to kick herself free with her other foot, but it was easy to reel her thin frame closer. She stabbed at my face and I grabbed her hand mid-strike. I bore it to the ground and flopped over her, reaching for my sword. She tried to jerk free, but I was too heavy for her. As I picked up my sword, she jerked the hand that pinned her closer and bit it. It was like slamming my fingers in a door, and I pushed her away reflexively. She pushed off of me and twisted around to donkey-kick me in the face. She lunged for my sword and pushed it away before I jumped for her and wrapped both arms around her legs. She fell forward and twisted around to strike again.
Ava Hanson
The most important thing was to stop Whyte from effectively using his sword. The best way to do that was to kill him, but almost his entire body was covered in armor. The only open spots were the areas the pieces of armor met, and that's where I struck. Whyte would know his throat was his most important area to defend, and he'd bat me aside if I struck there. He'd likely be able to yank my dagger away, and then it would all be over. Instead, when he tackled me and I twisted around, I shoved it into his shoulder, right where two pieces of armor were joined by a thinner layer of fabric to allow flexibility. That took care of one arm, but the other was fine, and Whyte lurched up and punched me across the cheek hard enough to spin me into the ground. My head felt like it had been emptied and the air around me rang.
Whyte braced his knee on my back and grabbed my left leg. He pushed it against one arm for leverage and leaned back with all his weight. My knee gave way with a wet pop and my leg bent diagonally upwards while the rest of me was face down. Flaming agony flooded up me and I screamed. Whyte tried to pin my shoulder and grab my dagger, but I twisted as far as I could under him and stabbed at his fingers when they got too close. I tried to shake Whyte off and get up, but he was far too heavy. He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back until. He leaned back and pulled harder, trying to get enough leverage to break my neck. It hurt so much I could hardly think, but Whyte couldn't know how much experience I'd had with pain. I'd lived with it so long it was like an old friend, and it never stopped me from doing what I had to do. I stabbed my dagger behind me blindly, aiming for where his head should be. I hit hard bone and dragged the knife down it as Whyte cried out and reared back, releasing my hair. His weight left me as he leapt off to grab his sword. I twisted on the ground and stabbed his calf as he tried to go. He fell and I stabbed it again, so he was as crippled as I was. He cocked his other leg and smashed it into my face. I felt my nose shatter and tears blinded me. I shook them off and stuck my knife higher, into his thigh. I pulled myself up on the blade so I was almost on top of him.
I must have hit his cheekbone. His cheek was nearly flayed off his face and I could see his teeth flecked with blood. He grabbed my collar and tried to throw me aside, and I struck as he pulled me closer for leverage. With both hands I shoved my knife down through the side of his throat. Blood shot into my face and followed me in an arc as he tossed me off of him. I landed in the dirt and pulled myself onto my stomach.
Whyte Roberts
My only chance was to kill her before I finished dying. I crawled for my sword and my fingers slipped on the mud created by my blood flooding into the ground. I was never going to make it. I was dragging myself along a red path of my own lifeforce. I understood then why Floki didn't want to be what he was before. He must have seen this happen to his own victims and hated it.
My hand wasn't even on my sword before my strength gave out. I hoped Vera had better luck than I did.
Ava Hanson
Every part of me throbbed with pain. From my bleeding side to my shattered knee, I was a mess. I was afraid to ever take off my armor, in case I fell apart without it. I didn't even stand as I watched Whyte crawl away, trailing blood like a gory snail.
When his cannon went off, I felt as light as air. All my life, I'd always failed. I'd failed to resist the siren call of fattening foods. I'd died twice before in the Games and failed Pray. This time, I made good. I did something right for once. I should have looked at Whyte's ravaged corpse with horror, but I felt only victory. I laughed at the sky and I cheered when the hovercraft came. I was invincible. I was unstoppable. And I couldn't wait to see Pray's face.
2nd place: Whyte Roberts- Throat cut by Ava
People liked Whyte better once he got to be his own person apart from Vera. He was good with Vera too, but it was nice to develop him on his own. He and Floki were true bros, and Floki's probably picking up chicks with him in Folkvangr as I write. I think his girlfriend will forgive him, since she's like forty now. Whyte could have died early on, since he was never as enthusiastic as some Careers, but he got tougher along the way and was ready to do what he had to. Thanks YesMyLordCiel for letting us use Whyte again.
1st place: Ava Hanson- Victor
I had this storyline plotted from the start. I didn't know if I'd write it, since things always change as I go, but it ended up working. I've been trying to use unreliable narration the whole time with Ava. I didn't do very well, so it's hard to tell. She thinks she's a lot weaker than she is. I've read some about anorexia and those girls (and boys) are insanely persistent. They can run ten miles on two hundred calories a day, and that's what made Ava win. She's so much stronger than she thinks, and she has an insane pain tolerance after all that purging and exercise. I know this is just a fanfic and it's not going to change anyone's life, but I thought Ava winning would be helpful to people who really have these struggles. I wanted to show how those people aren't failures and how important it is to encourage and be there for any friends you have who struggle with body image issues. Pray, Marley, Lottie and Olivine saw how beautiful and strong Ava was, and they helped her get to where she finally could, too.
Next we have a few cleanup chapters and then it's on to the next story. The next story will be a normal Games. The outlier Games will be after that, but having them back-to-back is too complicated. All-Stars stories are way harder since there's way more Tributes and the dynamics are entirely different.