Day 5

Aryton Masserats (18) D6M

I had to admit it, Tybal was a man of his words.

As soon as we entered the final eight, he shook hands with me and walked away with a wave, breaking the alliance immediately. It was then that I recalled that our alliance had been till the final eight, that had been the term, and unwillingly I had to let him go. I wondered if he would have attacked me if Atlas hadn't declared that we were not allowed to fight.

Anyway, the ultimate fact remained that we weren't allies anymore, just when I had started liking him somewhat. We also had to face each other at the feast, whether I liked it or not.

As I awaited the bell signalling the remaining hour to the feast, I wondered if I should just start looking for the said place myself. I had found the place that would be the 'outskirts' but I hadn't entered it. I wondered what the village would look like, and why exactly the feast was being held there.

In fact, that was where I was standing, looking in front of me at what could be a magical gateway. The air seemed to be moving, the vision seemed to be blurry. At some distance from me, I saw three people standing. It was the two little kids and Everette, and looking at him I was reminded with a jolt of what happened to Casper and Dwayne. The mere memory sent me shivering on the spot, as the scene played in front of my eyes. Thankfully I had been of seeing Casper just vaporise into nothingness. Whatever that creature was, it was monstrous. And reluctantly I admitted that the Capitol had created an ingenious mutt.

I caught Everette's eye, and although I expected him to be angry, he only looked upset. Not with me, but with the circumstances.

I had to tell him.

"Everette," I called out loudly since he was at a bit of distance of me, "I have to tell you something."

He turned towards me, gesturing at me to continue.

"Casper's dead," I yelled at him, "Shama, Dwayne's dead too."

"NOO!"

The girl fell on her knees, her distraught cry was audible from where I stood. She was crying now, and I saw the young boy from Three hug her tightly. Everette though, stood still. It was almost as if he couldn't think of a way to react, or to process the news.

That was when the bell started ringing. Calling it loud would be an understatement, it was deafening. I felt the very ground tremble below my feet as the bell rang, alerting that it was time for the biggest carnage since the bloodbath to start.

The group didn't budge, but I had to move on. I had a small dagger, something I retrieved at the cornucopia earlier. I would have preferred a sabre, but right now I had to make do with whatever I had.

Taking in a deep breath, I stepped forward, ready to face whatever came my way.

Siobhan Ripple (16) D2F

The first thing that I felt was that I was about to melt.

The second thing that I realised was that my vision was completely blurred.

The third thing that I realised that I was feeling dizzy.

And the last thing I realised was that there was a massive sun hanging in the sky that threatened to make me faint.

The sheer size of the thing made my skin crawl. The heat made me sweat as if I was talking a shower. And it all made me feel so dizzy, as if I would just collapse. My head was spinning, and I couldn't bring myself to think clearly.

Siobhan focus!

I opened my eyes, and I walked slowly, even as the world seemed to spin in front of my eyes. The Academy had never anticipated this kind of weather. Sure, they had trained us for desert like arena, but this wasn't like a desert.

It took all my will power to go forward, to not give up. Breathing had become difficult, and I realised I preferred the cold from earlier. In the distance I could see the village, colourful and bright. It wasn't too far away, but the condition that I was in, it felt as if it was miles away.

"Don't give up," I whispered to myself as the village seemed to draw closer. The bell had not rung yet, but I wanted to be close when it did. Just when I let that thought enter my brain, the bell started ringing, its deafening roars threatening to rip through my ear drums. I staggered, wishing the sound would stop. The pain, the pounding of my head made me drop to my knees, hands clasped over my ears.

"STOP!" I screamed, unable to take the sound anymore.

Surprisingly, it stopped as suddenly as it had started. I allowed myself a few moments to collect myself, before getting to my feet, exhaling hard. Every movement took a lot of effort, but I dragged myself to where the village was, only a few metres away.

It was almost as if I was running a losing marathon. I thought about how shameful it would be to die because of heat, and that forced me into moving faster.

It was a magical relief that swept over me once I stepped into the village. The heat vanished, replaced by a cool breeze that most probably originated from nowhere. There were wooden huts all around, and with renewed strength I ran into one after seeing that it was empty. I needed to be out of sight when the feast would begin so that I could have the element of surprise.

It was then that I noticed the smell. The delicious smell of cooking. It was enough to make my mouth water, and to make me peep from the window. I gasped.

There were people… people who were cooking in large pots. Somebody seemed to be coking stew, somebody had set up something like a barbeque. Somebody had set up an oven in the centre and was baking a cake. I wondered how it was working without electricity, but anything seemed possible here. There were rows of tables that had been set up, covered by a white cloth, with all types of weapons arranged on them. Somebody was setting food on another table, and there was another one that offered numerous kinds of drinks. It was almost as if these people, whoever they were, were preparing for a festival of some sort.

I sighed. All this food was going to be wasted anyway. At that point, I honestly felt bad about the Capitol. If they could provide that food to some needy person, that life could be saved. But they mindlessly let people starve to death.

A sound alerted me, and I looked to the right side to see that Aryton had arrived at the village. He too looked almost on the verge of collapsing, and I saw him going to get shelter behind another hut.

Well, I knew the location of at least one of them.

Saunder Kilkenny (18) D4M

Jordan and I had been here, far away from those cooks, from even before the bell rang. And it had been torture.

She was still angry with me for killing Teddy. She said she was okay with me killing her, but at least I shouldn't have interfered her when she was having 'fun'. I scoffed. Why didn't she get that I disagreed with her idea of fun? That I couldn't watch what was happening in front of my eyes? Sure, I was here, I had been desperate for a kill. I was a Career through and through, and I had to prove it. But torture? I didn't support that.

I had asked her to part ways if it bothered her so much, but she the only reply she had was that I was Siobhan's lapdog. Honestly? Siobhan's lapdog? What the hell did that even mean?!

Whatever our arguments were, here we were together, near this beautiful pond that so reminded me of home, awaiting our targets.

Of course, one of them was with me.

I had come to like Jordan over the course of the Games, and I wondered if I could myself kill her. No, it wasn't about skills, I had plenty of that. Nobody could actually stand up to me in that department. No… I just liked her too much to kill her.

Going soft eh, future Victor?

"When will this start?" she muttered, "I need to rip out a few guts."

"Make that Aryton," I said, just as his betrayal flashed in front of my eyes.

"Yeah, and then you'll mercy-kill him too, won't you?" she spat.

"Well, if you're actually going to rip out his guts then obviously that'll kill him."

"Tributes, we're very glad that you all have come here to attend this feast. We want to welcome you and thank you for gracing us with your presence."

"They're all here," I whispered.

"Let the feast commence."

Everette Hastings (18) D1M

I couldn't believe it.

I had told the idiot that wanted him till the final six! And… he was dead.

I never realised how we grew so close. But Casper… Casper was my friend. My friend was dead. Who had killed him? Who… who could have killed him…?

I didn't know what to do, it seemed as if my brain had forgot how to make my body work. The kids had dragged me along, their eyes hollow and puffy, their figures worn out. The heat beat against their bodies, dragging them down. Canon promptly collapsed, and that was what brought me out of my stupor. Soon I was splashing water on his face, and we set off again soundlessly. I had been here earlier- with Casper- and had managed to get out of here alive. This time I had two broken kids with me.

As soon as we reached the village, and decided to have some water, the announcement happened.

Shama ran.

She ran faster than I could have ever imagined. She grabbed a dagger and started backtracking her way just as Tybal, Aryton and Siobhan appeared out of thin air.

I thought they would attack Shama and I braced myself to fight, but Aryton and Siobhan launched themselves on each other, and Tybal was only concerned about getting a mace for himself. But just as he reached out for the weapon, a fist connected with his jaw, throwing him backwards.

"Hey!" Aryton yelled out, pushing Siobhan aside.

"Dang it Siobhan! Only I will fight this traitor!" Jordan bellowed.

Those were the words that were required to start the actual action.

I didn't know how it happened, but Siobhan and I were engaged in a hand-to-hand combat. She was smaller, and she knew how to use it to her advantage. I punched at her, and she was pushed back. But there was a madness in her eyes as she swung her foot at me, throwing me off my feet. As I lay on the ground, she brought down a sword. I quickly rolled out of the way and threw myself at her, knocking the sword from her hand.

"AAHHHH!"

We both paused, only to look at the boy from Four. A mace was sticking from his chest, and I saw Tybal standing behind him. The boy had run him through with his sword. Aryton, whom Saunder had been engaged in a combat with, looked on in horror as Tybal pulled out the sword.

The cannon exploded just as the boy fell forward, the expression of surprise and wonder forever etched on his face.

Canon Tadashi (14) D3M

As battles all around me continued, I saw that Shama took advantage of it.

Not once did she tell me that she was going away. Not once did she think about warning me. In the heat of the battle, she grabbed a bun and ran. She ran far, far away from there, leaving the village, not looking back once.

She deserted me.

No, I wouldn't let that happen. I had to get away soon. And I didn't want anything.

I too, took off, but somebody grabbed me by my collar and slammed me on the hard ground. It felt as if all my bones had been broken, and I groaned. A kick in the stomach followed, my breath exploded, tears started streaming out. I opened my eyes to see that it was Jordan, her face contorted in some sadistic pleasure as she eyed me. She lifted her foot again, and I rolled over just as she brought it down.

"Will you stop moving?" she growled, just as a loud cry alerted both of us. As Jordan turned to look at who it was, I pushed her away and got up weakly. I started running away, although my legs refused to carry me at all.

"NO YOU WON'T!"

Jordan slammed into me, bringing me down to the ground. She forcefully turned me around, and I was facing her. I could see every drop of malice in her face even as the cannon rang.

"No… please, please don't…" I whispered as I tried to get away from under her body. She laughed, laughed like an old witch from horror stories. The tears refused to stop and I shut my eyes, remembering my brothers, my mother.

She grabbed my neck and snapped it, ending it right there.

Jordan Arroyo (18) D12F

There, that took care of the wimp.

I withdrew myself from his useless little corpse and looked around to see who else had died earlier. And then my eyes fell on him.

"Saunder?" I whispered, my voice shaking. I couldn't bring myself to speak louder than this.

How could this happen? How could Saunder die? How could Saunder die?! HOW COULD HE DIE?!

Something wet trickled down my right eye, a single drop. Was it- was it a tear?

I screamed.

"WHO DID IT?!" I yelled, but nobody paid heed. Tybal was fighting Everette, and I wondered how could he tackle a Career in a sword fight. Aryton was engaged in a physical battle with Siobhan, and she was winning. Wait… Tybal's sword had blood on it… Tybal had killed Saunder…

He was not going to leave this place alive.

I ran over to where the weapons were, and grabbed a bow. No, I didn't have the best aim, but I needed to injure him before I tortured him. Before I taught him a lesson.

I took aim, and shot an arrow, trying my best to hit the target, Tybal's neck. But he was moving too much, resulting in the arrow to miss its mark…

… and hit Everette instead.

It went right through his throat. Even from where I stood, I heard his gasp, and saw the blood pouring out incessantly. His eyes had tears in them as he came to his knees.

"J-Juliet…" he said, before falling down just as the cannon rang.

Tybal Marran (17) D9M

I didn't know why I attacked Saunder.

I convinced myself to think that it was because I wanted to save Aryton. But I knew that it wasn't the reason. Aryton was holding his own pretty well against the boy, I didn't need to interfere. But I had attacked him from behind, and killed him too, the first kill at the feast.

And then things just started happening. Soon I was against Everette, who was much more skilled with swords than I was. The only reason I could avoid his hits was that years of street fighting had improved my reflexes greatly, and I could just sense his moves. He gave me absolutely no opening for an offence though; I was the one defending myself. I didn't know long it could continue, how long I could defend myself.

And then, an arrow came from nowhere, burying itself in his throat. He gasped loudly, tears trickling down.

"Juliet…"

And he was dead.

My breathing was ragged as I saw him, my chest heaving. I saw the woman as she threw away the bow in anger, before throwing a dagger at me. Her aim was really bad, for although it seemed as if she had aimed for my head, it hit my hand, forcing me to drop my sword with a cry.

From the corner of my eye I saw Siobhan run away from there, disappearing behind the numerous huts. But that was neglected, as I watched Jordan run towards me, the madness in her eyes frightening me. The force that radiated from her had frozen me to the spot. Even with all my willpower, I just couldn't bring myself to pick my sword.

And she was almost on top of me, giving a guttural cry. I still couldn't move as I watched her, bracing myself for the spear that she was carrying to pierce me.

Somebody shoved me aside just as she struck, and I saw him take the advantage of that split second that she needed to turn to face him. Aryton pushed her hard, so hard that she was on the ground, and swiftly drove my mace into her stomach.

Boom!

I stared at him, my mind blank. We were the only ones left in the village.

He threw down the sword and limped towards me. It was then I noticed that his leg was injured. At that moment, he promptly fell down in front of me.

"Thanks for helping me out earlier," he muttered as he sat up, trying to get comfortable.

"Well, uh, thank you too," I replied, still unable to believe that I wasn't dead.

"We're the only ones here Tybal. Maybe you can bandage my wound?"

"Sure," I replied, realisation sinking in. I was in deed alive, and that too because of my ex-ally.

"Yeah, and after that, let's help ourselves to the feast."

Night 5

Shama Grasswhistle (13) D7F

I leaned against the cornucopia, carefully avoiding the openings in it, as I gazed at the dark sky. My breathing was laboured, vision foggy as I cried. Yesterday, Andrei died in front of my eyes. Then I found out Dwayne was gone too. And now… I let him die. Canon was dead. Everette was dead. But Canon… Canon who probably trusted me… I abandoned him. I let him die.

I hated myself.

But my will to live was greater than my hatred. I had done this before too, during the bloodbath, when I abandoned Lanai and Dwayne. Now I abandoned Canon and Everette.

It had to be done.

I didn't think getting to the cornucopia would be this simple, but it was. And now, I was wearing a nice jacket, my stomach was full, and I was twirling the dagger that I had acquired at the feast. They had shown the faces in the sky. Four others were left. Four obstacles in my way to home. I hated myself for hoping that they fought among themselves and died. I didn't want anyone's blood on my hands anymore.

The night was silent as I drank water, my throat aching with dryness. Nobody had bothered coming here. Maybe, maybe they were looking for each other in the catacombs.

I was wrong.

I saw the figure in the distance, walking slowly, purposefully towards me. With a smirk, I stood up, ready to run from there.

"Hello Shama."

"Hi Siobhan."

Hi guys! What do you think of the Feast? Were you shocked by any event, by the fact that someone died or someone survived? Were you upset about anyone's death? Please let me know what you thought of this. And thanks for voting! They've been a really big help for me to decide a lot of these placements, and the future ones too. And now…

Eulogies:

8th-Saunder Kilkenny: Saunder was the best character to write for me, hands down. He was easy, he was funny, and he was unique. I loved writing his…friendship… with Jordan, and the two made a hilarious due, at least for me. Everyone had written him off as a bloodbath, but he was my favourite Career, and so, continuing the tradition of the past Games, he had to place eighth. Rest in peace Saunder, you'll be missed.

7th- Canon Tadashi: I just loved this innocent little thing. You didn't deserve it, not one bit, being in the Games. You had broken so much, and you used to try to be funny and make things light even when sorrow and fear and everything negative was making a hole in your heart. I wished you weren't Reaped, Canon, because you deserved so much better in life. You'll be missed, little one. Rest in peace.

6th- Everette Hastings: Everette, Everette, Everette. You were an amazing character by all means, and yes, I did see you as a victor. Like, it was there. You won the whole thing, you were proclaimed a hero in District One, everyone loved you. You redeemed yourself. It was all there. But surprisingly, you didn't get as many votes as I'd hoped you would. You still redeemed yourself though, because entire Panem saw how good of a person you were, despite being a Career through and through. Rest in peace Everette.

5th- Jordan Arroyo: JORDAN! Jordan! You brilliant murderous girl! Jordan was the reason this story had spice. You were too awesome to handle! Sure, you were crazy, and you loved blood, but who doesn't? I loved writing this girl man! She was the best villain I could have asked for, and I loved writing her friendship with Saunder. Or whatever you will call that relationship. But it was fun. Rest in peace Jordan, you'll be missed a lot.

I know some POVs are really short, and some considerably longer, but I just wanted to include everyone in this chapter. Aye, the finale is next chapter! Who do you think will win this all? Who are you rooting for? Let me know your predictions!

Death List:

Horatio (blew up)

Lanai (killed by Jordan)

Mickayla (killed by Ayton)

Emeline (killed by Jordan and Aryton)

Wesley (killed by Teddy)

Maurice (killed by Dwayne)

Tapicca (killed by Jordan)

Liya (killed by Everette)

Lily (killed by Tybal)

Vis (killed by Andrei, Shama and Canon)

Ivory (killed by Ari)

Ari (killed by Siobhan)

Andrei (crushed under the cave's ceiling)

Dwayne (killed by Clefairy mutt)

Casper (killed by Clefairy mutt)

Teddy (killed by Saunder)

Saunder (killed by Tybal)

Canon (killed by Jordan)

Everette (killed by Jordan)

Jordan (killed by Aryton)

Have a great day!