Day 9

Day 7 and 8:

Bug and Finley: They sneak up the river to get water then hide again. They only move from their camp to get water. Bug opened up and about his family life but Finley still stays silent about it.

Kendrick and Acacia: Acacia is on the mend but still under the weather. Kendrick is staying put, caring for her, only leaving their shelter to go get some food in the form of berries. Kendrick is starving himself to make sure that his younger ally is eating.

Ashton and Finch: They went to attack Ezra but saw he was Loveless, Finch convinced Ash that he wasn't a real career and they left him. Ashton promised that if Ezra was even seen talking to the other two careers, he would be on the hit list too.

Able Drive POV:

My body was shaking as I sat up from the bush. I looked over to my puddle, it was nothing more than dry mud now. The air was so hot and humid, my shirt was soaked through with sweat. I crawled out of my shelter, ready for another day of searching for water when my head started to spin.

I wobbled on the spot for a few moments but refused to let it stop me. As I walked, my body swerved into bushed either side of the trail and I was starting to get a cold sweat. I carefully lowered myself and sat down, looking at the sky. My breathing was fast and I felt sick. I put it down to my lack of food and after a few moments, I stood up and tried to walk.

I didn't get far, after a few moments, my ears started to ring. Any sound around me was muffled and my vision was starting to become blurred. I stumbled to the ground and lay there, panting. Even in the shade, I was too hot.

I held my stomach and started to cry but no tears came out. My head hurt and I kept tying my hardest not to be sick. I tried the breathing exercise my mother taught me but it didn't help. I tore my long sleeved top off and screamed at the sky. I was frightened and didn't know what to do.

I turned on my side and saw the small girl from Nine watching me from a bush. She looked horrified, she couldn't have been much older than me.

"Help!" I screamed, my throat dry and raw. She gave a quick nod and moved out of the bush, holding a small canteen of water then she stopped. I crawled towards her, gasping but she just moved away.

"I can't give it to you," she said, tears forming in her eyes, her body shaking, "Only one of us can win and it has to be me," she put the canister back in her back and fell to the floor.

"Finley!" her older ally, Bug, burst through the bushes behind me, his eyes widening as they fell on me.

"I want to, but I can't, I want to go home!" she screamed, her body shaking. Bug knelt down and hugged her but it was starting to become more uncomfortable.

"Please!" I sobbed, screaming to the sky, clawing at my stomach and chest, they were burning up. My arms suddenly became heavy and it became a chore to lift them.

"He is beyond help, come one, just leave," Bug said shakily, pulling Finley to her feet. He was lying I could tell he was but Finley seemed to believe him. I couldn't be angry at him, I knew he was only trying to protect Finley but I was hurt.

I became weak and weaker by the second, my eyes felt more comfortable when they were closed and my sweat trickled down my face. Finley and Bug couldn't have been that far away when my canon sounded.

Atlas Geo POV:

The canon woke me from my fixation on my soup and set the birds in the tree's above on high alert.

"Ten left," Lavina said with a smile as she washed the dirty pots in the river. She looked rather pretty, not that I would tell her that, though. There was one thing I couldn't grasp, though.

"Why have you protected me?" I ashed taking a mouthful of the soup she had made and swallowing it, "I was weak, you could have killed me and increased your chances," the past six days, the girl had done nothing but look after me. From cooking my food to washing my clothes. She hadn't been hunting or even mentioned it, refusing to leave until I was full health. I didn't think I would find someone so loyal in the arena. She had gained my utmost respect.

"Because I don't want to kill you," she said with a shrug. I wanted to ask what she would do if we were the final two but I wasn't about to seem like I was trying to convince her to kill me. I lay down, my arms supporting my head as she went to go check on the traps she had set.

I had seen my District partner's face in the sky a few days ago and it still haunted me. I never knew her aside from the odd nod when I passed her at the academy but she was from home and she was stronger than me. It must have been Ezra that killed her, he was the only tribute strong enough, aside from me and Lavina, who could kill her. She would have have been brought down by a weak, outer tribute. Then again, I would have said the same thing about Consus and Kaya and look what happened to them.

"I hope you don't mind having rabbit soup again," Lavina sighed as she walked back into camp, holding two dead rabbits. At first, I thought she was stupid for learning traps but seeing the bounty she came back with every day, I was thankful for it.

"If you are making it, I am sure it will be amazing," I laughed as she knelt down and started skinning. She told me she had learned that from back home. She told me that her father would sometimes catch the odd rabbit that wandered the District and teach her how to skin it. Apparently, he is the reason she is a great cook, Consus never took and interest but Lavina enjoyed it.

If I was being honest, these past few days had been some of the best ones since my brother's death. Without even realizing it, Lavina had made me smile and laugh just from making me feel happy. She shared my need for revenge when it came to Eleven female and we bonded over the fact that we had both lost a brother. I had lost a brother twice when it came to Consus.

Lavina stopped what she was doing and squinted off into the distance then ran off in that direction. She didn't look worried enough for it to be another tribute but I was still worried when she vanished behind a came back a few moments later, holding a parachute in her hand.

"It's a two!" she shouted with a smile, passing me the large, rectangular box. I tore the parachute off and passed it to Lavina who folded it up and placed it in her pocket. I opened up the box and laughed at the contents. I didn't think I would be so happy to see a bow and arrow in my life.

"I want to test it out," I cheered, trying to get to my feet but my bad ankle gave out from under me. I toppled sideways but Lavina shot under my right arm and held me up.

"Let me help you then," she laughed. Lavina had a sword that she found by the river and I had my bow. The Careers were back.

Ezra Talcot POV:

"And then my uncles were shot by mistake so me, my brother and my cousins went to live with my grandfather," Loveless said, clearly trying not to cry. She sat on the river's edge running a stick through the crystal blue water.

"I never had anything like that," I said, rubbing the back of my head nervously, "My father died in these Games when I was a little kid," I felt my stomach drop, none of the tributes knew about it, Loveless was the first.

"I am so sorry," she sighed, letting the current take her stick and turning towards me.

"It's fine, I never really knew the man, you can't miss something you never knew," I laughed with a shrug. It was a lie and I could tell Loveless could see right through it. I didn't miss the man, I missed having a father. I had no one to buy gifts for on father's day, no one to teach me about being a man, father and son day at school, sitting at the back of the classroom, by myself trying not to cry. My mother was the strongest women I knew, she has acted like my mother and my father and managed to bring up me and my brothers by herself. But there were some things even she couldn't do.

When I started puberty, I had to learn about it by myself. When I started to feel attraction to girls, books were the place I went. People take their father for granted, some maybe even hate them but when they are gone, even if you never really knew them, you feel empty.

"Thank you for allying with me, I don't like being alone," Loveless said. I gave her a smile, leaning forward and hugging her. I was happy she agreed to ally with me. At first, I just wanted an ally to feed to the mutts if they ever came back but now, I just wanted to be with her. I had only known her for a few days but she meant much more to me than a meat bag to throw to the curb when I wanted to escape.

"Ezra," she said timidly, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. "We could die at any moment so I just wanted to get something off my chest," I pulled away and gave her a smile, telling her to continue. Tears started to roll down her cheek, but she laughed at the same time. "It might be foolish but...I love you, Ezra," she smiled.

I felt taken back, I liked her but I wasn't sure I loved her. Her smile was sweet and innocent that I could crush it.

"Love, I-" with a loud thud, Loveless slammed into the ground. I screamed and moved back as I saw the arrow sticking out of her head. He cannon sounded as I scrambled to my feet and got ready to run.

"Ezra?" a male voice called for me, I looked up to see Atlas. For a moment, I thought there would be a Career reunion but the blonde male just placed another arrow in his bow. I turned and ran as fast as my body could over the uneven ground. I did a sharp turn as the arrow struck the tree just next to me.

"You killed Selina, you dick-"

"No, leave him-" there was the sound of a fist hitting flesh and then silence as I continued to run away not even looking back.

Lavina Zephyrus POV:

I reeled backward and fell on the floor, holding my face. The rage stayed in Atlas' eyes until my eyes started to water. He looked at me then at his fist.

"I am sorry Lav," he said quietly, his body shaking slightly.

"You wouldn't have caught him, not with your foot, you risked making it worse-"

"I know, I am so sorry," he whispered, crawling towards me. I flinched back at first but when I saw the hurt in his eyes, I allowed him to come closer. He wrapped his arms around me and mumbled his apologies into my shoulder. I pulled away and looked him in the eyes, feeling a bit better.

"Promise?" I asked him, he placed his hand under my chin and pulled my head towards his.

"I promise," he sighed. He looked silently in my eyes before leaning forward, his eyes closed, pulling my face towards his. He placed his lips on mine and at first, I was still but then I relaxed and leaned into it. Before it could get any further, I pulled back my fist and punched him in the stomach. The taller male shot backward, his hand going to his abdomen.

"Did I do something wrong?" he squeaked.

"No, that's for the punch you gave me," I laughed, he looked down at the ground and smiled slightly.

"Guess I deserved that," he sighed, rising to his feet.

"Yep," I giggled, helping him back to our camp.

Final 9 so next will be interviews with the families. So look forward to a no death chapter.

Thanks to BookishLifeandCoffee for Loveless Stone and Apollostjames for Able. These were both their final characters and I am sorry I killed them off. I hope I wrote them well and thank you so much for allowing me to write them. They were both amazing characters and I hope to see you both in my next SYOT.

Able Drive-Killed by heat exhaustion

I loved Able and I was super sad I had to kill him off. I knew I wanted at least one tribute to die from natural causes and he was so young and a loner, he pulled the short straw. However, he can take pride in being the youngest loner and one of the youngest tributes left (the other being Acacia). I loved writing him, I see in so many SYOT's, twelve-year-olds who are more like five years olds. I think Able and every young tribute I got were human and realistic for their age. R.I.P Able, you were a cute kid and Finley would have helped you if she wasn't so frightened.

Final thoughts: "I hope Finley and my family don't feel too bad, only one of us can win,"

Loveless Stone-Killed by an arrow to the head, shot by Atlas.

I really did not want to kill Loveless off this early but she would have realistically never been a victor with how much The Capitol disliked her family. I thought this was one of the more pleasant deaths, she confessed her feelings to Ezra and her death was so quick, she wouldn't have even known she had been hit. I enjoyed writing her. She wasn't a rebel, she was just a girl who was treated like one and just wanted to stop her family being taken away from her. R.I.P Loveless, Moon will never forget you and how you saved her.

Final thoughts (if she had them because she died so quickly): "I hope Ezra wins, he deserves it the most...I can finally be with my family again,"

Final 9:

Lavina Zaphyrus, 18-District 1

Atlas Geo, 18-District 2

Ezra Talcot, 17-District 4

Kendrick Everborn, 18-District 6

Acacia Quinn, 12-District 6

Bug Doe, 18-District 9

Finley Magik, 13- District 9

Finch Maylor, 16-District 11

Ashton Khell, 16-District 12

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