Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." -An Irish tombstone

A/N: This chapter will be very, very short, only 1,500 words or so.

"No!" James roars. "You fucking monsters!"

Before any of the Careers can even react, James lifts his hand back and throws his hatchet as hard as he can at Tybalt. He hatchet finds its home in the muscular boy's chest, and he falls backward noiselessly but alive. Olivia immediately gets up and dashes away.

James looks at Lepus, staring at James with wide, horrified eyes as she realizes what she's just done. "You!" he screams, shaking the trees. He whips a second hatchet, and it nicks her ear, but otherwise doesn't harm her.

James breaks into a full sprint, and Lepus just stands up, shaking like a leaf, gripping her knife. A scared girl, a scared murderer. James has no hatchets, but he scoops up Violet's knife and within seconds, James swings the blade as hard as he can. It hits her leg, and blood immediately spurts out of the wound. Lepus cries out in pain, collapsing. James is about to cut Lepus to shreds when Tybalt grunts, struggling to get on his feet.

James punches Lepus in the nose and shoves her backward before tackling Tybalt. He hears her scurry away, but the anger and horror coursing through his system is too powerful for him to try to pursuit. Instead he plunges the knife deep into Tybalt's stomach. The muscular boy from District 1 coughs up blood, and then looks at James with eyes filled with hate.

James pulls the hatchet out of Tybalt's chest and brings it down with all his strength on the boy's head. He hears a cannon, somewhere, and ignores it. He brings down the hatchet on Tybalt's head again.

"Ladies first...Violet Innocens! Let's hear a round of applause for little Violet!"

And again.

"So you think I won't lose?"

James shrugs. "I think District 7 is going to win this year."

And again.

"Join us if you want to live," says the boy from District 4.

James looks at Violet, and then back at the Careers. "Don't mess with the little girl if you want to live."

And again.

"Because of Violet," James says. "I'm gonna at least make an attempt to save her. I can't appear ferocious with a little girl by my side. And not sticking with her is off the table."

And again.

"I'll keep you safe," James whispers, Violet sleeping only inches away from him.

And again, and then he hears a second cannon. Before he can look over at Violet, he hears the twig snap and James snaps his head up from Tybalt's mangled corpse to find Declan, staring at him with wild, fearful eyes, a bow aimed at his head. Declan. Strong, charming Declan, who's dirty and is covered with cuts and scrapes but lowers his bow, is standing before him. Alive.

"I heard the screams and I thought it was you," Declan says. "I figured I should...oh...oh no."

James follows Declan's gaze to Violet, and he realizes he's forgotten about the little girl entirely. Throwing his bloody hatchet to the side, James scurries over on his knees to Violet, who lays a few feet away. Two knives lay stabbed into her: One in her leg and one in her stomach. The little girl's crying, crying hard, and she's bleeding fast.

"Violet!" James cries out, cradling in her in his arms. He feels tears threaten to spill, but this time he lets them fall. There's no acting like a man today. He'll let the tears come. "Violet, can you hear me?"

Violet nods slowly. "It hurts James," she croaks. "It hurts really bad."

"I know, Violet, I know," James sobs. Her injuries are far too severe for James or Declan to attempt to treat; Ignoring reason, he tries to pick her up, carry her to the cave, but the scream she lets out is so horrid James puts her down immediately, cradling her in his arms.

"Please, Violet, just...please don't die," he says, and now tears are spilling down his cheeks quickly. "Please don't. You need to live. You need to go back to District 7, with Iris and your friends and your cat and everyone who loves you." He heaves. "Please, Violet."

Violet stops her quiet crying for a moment just to gasp out, "James, I don't wanna die."

"Don't," James begs. "Don't. You need to grow up. Please, Violet, please. You need to grow up and have a family and die eighty years from now in a nice, warm bed surrounded by your family. Please don't die here. You can't."

"James," Violet says, her voice weaker. James knows she doesn't have much time left, and the tears won't stop coming. "James, it hurts so much."

James has given up any logic, sobbing loudly as Violet's grip on his forearm grows weaker and weaker. He puts his head closer to hers. "Don't go, Violet. Don't go."

Violet's clutch grows even weaker, and James knows that she doesn't have long. A minute, maybe two. He leans in close. "I'm going to make sure your family's okay, Violet." He's choking up again, crying uncontrollably as he says, "Violet, all of them are going to live nice and happy lives until the day they die. I promise you. I promise you."

Violet smiles weakly. "I'd...I'd like that." Her voice is sapped, but she manages to say, "I'll miss you, James."

James feels more tears form and then start to fall, and it takes everything he says to choke out, "I'll miss you too, Violet."

They refrain from speaking now, both tributes from District 7 crying their eyes out. James holds the little girl he vowed to protect, whispering that it'll be okay and the pain won't last. Violet closes her eyes, smiling sadly as James whispers to her that it won't be long and she'll be home soon. No more Hunger Games. No more Careers. No more pain.

The cannon sounds, and Violet Innocens, the twelve-year-old girl from District 7, is gone, gone from this earth. James, her protector since he laid eyes on her, cries hardly and quietly to himself, holding Violet in his arms, before opening his eyes and looking at her. She's peaceful. Eyes closed. A small, faint smile on her lips. James tugs a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're okay," James whispers. "You're okay."

James hears the hovercraft now, and looks up at Declan. The boy looks solemnly at Violet, tears in his eyes, before locking eyes with James. Declan just asks with a heavy voice, "Now...now what?"

"I don't know anymore," James says, looking over at Tybalt; The boy's face has been hacked to mush, and if not for his build James wouldn't even know who he was.

Slowly, painfully, but slowly, James leaves Violet's body and cuts Tybalt's pack free from his body. He looks up at Declan. "Where are the others?"

"Olivia's dead," Declan says somberly. "I shot her through the throat. Don't know about Lepus and Pollish."

"Go take Olivia's stuff," James says. "The hovercraft will be here soon."

Declan nods, and paces away, leaving James in silence with two corpses. Two people that he killed. Blood splatters the ground, and James sits back, his elbows resting on his knees, sobbing quietly to himself. "I'm sorry," James whispers. "Violet, I'm so, so sorry. I tried. You deserved better."

The hovercraft's metal teeth take Tybalt first, mangled and unrecognizable. He has a family back home who will have to bury him like that.

And then the hovercraft takes Violet. Peaceful, innocent little Violet, with two knives in her system. James doesn't bother to take them. As the hovercraft lifts up Violet, the only girl who he's really cared about, his hand feels its grip on the necklace.

James remembers the promise he made to Iris, Violet's sister, and a fresh wave of tears come.