Alexis Telle, 17, District Two Female

She watches Adira with annoyance as her partner searches again through the lobby, opening doors and peeking behind curtains in an effort to find whoever's on the first floor. Doesn't Adira know when to stop? Can't she just accept the fact that there's no one in the lobby? They should just leave. They don't need to hunt for the rest of the day. The other tributes will die on their own, they just have to watch out for themselves.

Because if Alexis doesn't, she might be the next to die.

Adira gives a sigh of disappointment as she emerges from behind one of the velvet-covered couches, holding her ever-present ax and no tribute. "Guess they aren't in the lobby, wherever they are."

"How about we go actually search the kitchen rather than waste our time in here, where any tribute can easily escape out to the plains?" Alexis snaps, glaring at Adira. She turns around and walks to the large kitchen, greedily inhaling the unmistakable aroma of fresh-baked bread. It's as if whatever bond that had kept the two girls together for the past few days had snapped this morning, leaving the two on edge. Adira's been snappy all day, pushing Alexis around and refusing to listen to her comments. But in Adira's defense, Alexis hasn't been that great either. She had flat-out refused to help search the lobby, sitting down on a chair and filing her nails with one of the smaller knives that she had scavenged from the cornucopia instead.

The mood is clear. The alliance is splitting up at any minute. And they might both become casualties if they aren't careful.

Alexis grabs a piece of bread and starts to eat, Adira doing the same. The two smile uncertainly at each other as they eat the bread, ignoring their search. They haven't eaten for a while, and the bread is so filling, it's able to help calm the brewing emotions between the two.

Adira is the first to finish, putting the plate down and stalking towards the doors at the end of the kitchen. Alexis laughs sarcastically, leaning on the end of the counter as she watches Adira approach the doors. "You know that there isn't going to be any-"

She pauses as the door refuses to move, the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking as Adira jiggles the doorknob. A smile comes to Adira's face and she slams her ax into the door, chipping the wood bit by bit. Closer… closer…

The door flies open and hits Adira in the face, leaving room for a small girl - the girl from Three - to run out of the kitchen and into the lobby, leaving Adira standing up with a bleeding nose. She grabs the next one by his collar and stabs him without a qualm, leaving the skinny boy to collapse to the floor before coughing up blood. Alexis stabs him again, her sword sinking into his neck and letting more blood spray onto the sides of the counters.

The cannon booms.

Adira nods and leaves his corpse on the kitchen floor, starting to pursue the first girl. "We're going to make her pay, Alexis. Hurry up!"

Alexis pauses, looking at Adira. Her face seems filled with anger and excitement, the adrenaline rush from a potential chase already coursing through her veins. She's been in charge since Day One, and no one else has had a say in it. No one. "No."

Adira turns around, her face twisting into a confused gaze. "Why not?"

Alexis smiles, twirling her sword around her head. "I don't always have to follow you into battle, Adira. We should let the girl go. The animals out there will take care of her quickly enough. Let's go somewhere else. The night's going to be here in a few hours."

Adira snorts in disbelief, taking a step towards Alexis. "Are you kidding? We have to thin the field! If we leave that girl alive, we're going to get stabbed by her tomorrow. You can't leave any loose ends here, Alexis! Now, hurry up!"

Alexis stands firm, stabbing her sword into the wooden cabinets to her right for emphasis. "I'm staying here. I'm not working with you anymore."

"You've made your choice." Adira seems surprisingly calm as she walks away, disappearing from view as she enters the lobby. Alexis breathes a sigh of relief, wrenching her sword out and looking back at the still-swinging door. She's safe. No, she's more than safe, she's free. And that's all she can ask for in these last few days.

But she doesn't realize what her old ally is doing until Adira bursts back into the room with her ax, screaming at Alexis as she throws the ax directly at her forehead.

Alexis ducks just in time and screams, running with her sword to the stairs. Adira is right behind her, having grabbed her fallen ax and gotten back to the chase with nearly-inhuman speed. Alexis races into the stairwell and up the stairs, turning and turning with the stairs as they race up the hotel. Adira doesn't stop, not even slowing down as she keeps chasing Alexis. But she hasn't thrown her ax at Alexis again. She's waiting for a moment where Alexis will slow down. She doesn't want to waste any opportunities.

So Alexis won't give her any.

She keeps running towards the top of the hotel, gripping the hilt of her sword and not letting Adira get any chance to kill her. But there's only so many stairs in the hotel, and she's going to run out of them soon. She needs a way out. But if she pauses at any doors, she'll give Adira a chance to throw that ax. And she knows that Adira rarely misses. There's no way out. She's going to get trapped. Unless.

She keeps running, but gears herself to get ready to stop and turn. And just as she passes the door to the fourth floor, she turns around and hurls herself at Adira.

Adira's caught off guard by the attack, not even lifting her ax as she's tackled by Alexis. The two crash down the stairs, falling to the third landing. Alexis doesn't waste any time in getting back up onto her feet, drawing her sword and stabbing at Adira. But Adira's just as quick, leaping away and clutching her neck as she glares at Alexis. The two stare at each other for a second, trying to guess who's going to attack first. But as time ticks on, neither of them makes a move. It's nearly suicide.

Alexis takes the first attack, swinging her sword at Adira and slicing the side of her arm. Adira growls through the pain and strikes back, her ax missing Alexis as the blood from her wound starts to drip down and onto the ax. Alexis yells and strikes again, her sword missing Adira's face and crashing into the wall before Alexis yanks it back.

Adira charges at Alexis, her ax slicing Alexis' cheek as she takes her first swing. Alexis puts her hand to her cheek and gasps, watching the blood on her hand drip down onto the floors. It's just oozing from her cheek and into her hair, mingling in with her ginger locks. Adira smirks and swings again, the blade catching Alexis just under her ribcage.

Alexis screams, smashing her sword into Adira's left arm. It sinks in with a satisfying shatter of what seems to be Adira's arm, sending Adira spiraling down onto the floor. Alexis remains standing, but her sword soon slips out of her hands and down onto the floor, clattering harmlessly next to the wall. Then she collapses, the deep wound bleeding rapidly. Something's broken in there. She can feel it. It's getting more difficult to breathe.

Adira struggles to get up, settling for smashing her fist into Alexis' face. Alexis can feel her nose buckling from the punch, more blood spilling onto her shirt and down onto the floor. Her shirt starts to turn crimson, the blood soaking the shirt as she continues to try to get up. But her chest hurts so much…

Adira drags herself to Alexis' sword, her ax having fallen down the stairs and to the next turn. She grabs the sword and pushes herself up, screaming as her arm touches the wall. It leaves a crimson mark on the wall as Adira hobbles towards Alexis, buckling because of the pain.

But Alexis can't get up.

Adira looks down at Alexis, her lip curving upwards to what seems to be a smile. But it's not a sneer of satisfaction, it rather seems to be a quiet whisper of relief. "You were a good fighter. It's too bad you have to go out now."

And she swings the sword into Alexis' stomach.

She always had been a good girl. She had fun with her friends, giggling with them as they ran through the streets and being the first to help if any of them tripped and fell on the pavement. They hadn't minded that she was the daughter of the mayor. And she hadn't minded either. Life was simple when she was young. It had always been simple.

But when Mother and Father were executed by the Capitol for high treason, everything had changed.

She and Roman had run into the streets, hiding, always hiding in those streets of shattered glass. And when the bombs came down and the Capitol declared the Hunger Games, they had been safe. They had always been safe. Until they entered the orphanage.

Roman had been chosen quickly by a peacekeeper, one of those who had killed her parents, who had claimed to always want a son. He had left the orphanage with Roman at his side and a smile on his face, but Alexis didn't trust him. She had crept out one night to find the man, only to find Roman's body on the pavement, his shattered body looking up at her.

Another Telle had vanished into the wind.

There were never any inquiries from the Capitol. They hadn't cared that she had lost Roman, her only brother, her only family in the world, and she had rotted in that orphanage until she had started sneaking out at night. She had found a job, working in the mines of Two, burying herself in work to forget Roman. But he had never left her mind entirely. She always thought of that, fat, ugly, monstrous peacekeeper as she had smashed pickaxes into the graphite. So when she had found out that he spent his nights in the streets of broken glass, she hadn't hesitated to kill him.

It was ironic that the one the peacekeeper had overlooked was his own murderer.

A life for a life.

She gasps one more time, her vision clouding rapidly as she closes her eyes. She doesn't want to see Adira as her last vision. She'll focus on her memories, her life instead. Maybe someone will remember the Telles for her. Maybe they'll tell stories of the brave Syrio, the just Valerie, and the innocent Roman.

And if she's lucky, they'll tell stories of herself.

She whispers a name out into the wind, just low enough for the Capitol microphones to miss it altogether before her cannon booms. People in the Capitol would fret over her last words, wondering if it was something relevant or something about Adira. But they'll all be wrong.

That's because her last word is Alexis.

Why am I crying?

Seriously, this was a really emotional chapter. I feel like we got to really see Alexis in the end, and her death felt so heartbreaking to me. Also, poor Emmett managed to get himself killed.

Yep, I went with two character deaths! And now we only have Adira, Sidney, and Ashira to focus on :O

8th: Emmett Lightway, District Three Male, killed by Adira Hemlock and Alexis Telle.
7th: Alexis Telle, District Two Female, killed by Adira Hemlock.

Emmett - iridescenteverdeen, you probably aren't around to read this, but Emmett was fun. His relationships with Hallie, his refusal to kill, his observations, all were great to write. I struggled with him a bit in the arena, but I do like how he turned out, even if we couldn't get a really clear focus on him. I hope you're pleased with the way he was portrayed!

Alexis - LongingForRomeo, Alexis was amazing. I was originally iffy about her due to her backstory and personality, but ended up really liking her and the way she worked. Her intro was probably the most exciting, with that fun death, and she proved to both get over her family's death… and not as well. I really did cry at her death though, and will miss her. RIP.

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And that brings us to the final six! Only a few more chapters before the end of the games, so get hyped guys! I can't wait to bring this story to the fitting end that it deserves, as well as give one of you a character victory! Good luck to those remaining, and good luck to me in hopefully getting a tenth update in a row out tomorrow :))) I'm so close, guys! Wish me luck ;) Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ