I've about two more chapters in this story
I think.
Here's to completing another SYOT.
Submit to Home of the Brave 2.
Gonna shout it from the mountaintops
A star is born
It's a time for pulling out the stops
A star is born
Honey, hit us with a hallelu
The kid came shining through
Girl, sing the song
Blow your horn
A star is born
Whitney Kaull, 14
District 8 Female
Who would have thought that four outer district tributes would make it to the end? Who would have thought that little 14-year-old Whitney Kaull was robust enough to make it to the end of these games?
Had you told me that a week ago I'd be sitting here I'd have laughed at you? I couldn't believe that Amanda killed someone in the woods the day before the reaping. If I'm honest, I had judged her, I had judged her hard for doing what she did, but now I understand.
Because when you're in a situation like the Hunger Games. When you're in a situation where someone is either going to have their way with you and kill you, or you're going to fight back. You always should choose to fight back. Neither Amanda nor I had any choice in the cards we were dealt.
But we both live with the blood on our hands for years to come.
Dove's face will haunt me for the rest of my life, however long that will be. I still see the way her nose scrunched up, or the way her face relaxed when the trident went into her head. I remember the look of helplessness fall over her when I was standing over her.
And to get out of here, I have to do that with three more people.
"Tributes, it's now time for the finale of our great games! I want to congratulate you for making it this far. You truly are the best of the best. I'd be happy with any one of you becoming the victor of these games."
She clears her throat. "But alas, only one of you can make it out alive. If you would kindly step onto the circle that is in the front of your holding room."
I get up from the couch that I just watched Ember kill the girl from District 4 on and walk to the door of the waiting room they had me in. I stand in the circle in front of my room, and I see the other tributes slowly emerge from their doors too.
"Please wait.' says Alexandra.
The circles begin to lift, and I initially have a panic attack because I almost fell off. As the ring rises to the ceiling, I slowly watch as I disappear through the roof and into a weird room with one exit.
"Tributes, you are now in a giant maze," says Alexandra. "The maze is cut off into certain checkpoints. You each will race to the checkpoint, and the last person at each one will perish. The two tributes that make it to the end of the maze will fight it out in an epic final two battle. Your first checkpoint is a candle memorial of each of the tributes that have perished. Your time starts now."
I run through the opening and begin to turn right. I think I read somewhere that if you keep turning right that you'll eventually hit the center of the maze. I don't know how accurate it is, but when you're running for your life, you'll grasp the little things.
I make the last right, and then feel my heart drop to the floor. Standing before me is a dead end, and suddenly I can't breathe. I cannot get lost in this maze.
I turn around and begin to run when a bell rings, and my heart quickly stops beating.
"One tribute has made the checkpoint." says Alexandra through the intercom.
I continue to run this time turning every which way when the bell rings again, and this time I have to stop dead to control the breathing that isn't coming naturally for me. I feel my body begin to tremble in fear because now there's no one to fight. Now there's no one to attack; it's just me.
I round the corner of the long section I just ran down, and my heart skips a beat. Before me sits the memorial at the end of the long section that I have to run down. I already see the girl from 3 and the boy from 5 there. So it's between me and the from 12. I start to sprint down the passageway, and when I notice that the entrance is closing. I don't know if that means I'm getting close or the girl from 12 is already there. I'm five steps away from making it to the first checkpoint when I see the girl from 12 dive into the clearing. My entrance snaps shut, and standing before me is a steel wall.
"NO!" I scream with tears streaming down my face. "NO NO NO NO!" I scream pounding my fist into the ground. This isn't fair.
Water begins to fill the section of the maze I'm in, and I begin to stand up so I can start swimming, but suddenly I'm floating in the air. The gravity in my area of the maze has been turned off. I watch as the other tributes are staring at me from the other section with their feet firmly planted on the ground. I look around, confused as to how my area is antigravity and theirs is not, and see there is a tiny hole where water is leaking out.
I'm behind a force field.
The water begins to rise past my feet, and I start to panic. I start to move my body in an attempt to get away from the rising water, but it's no use. The water rises past my knees, then my torso, my chest, and eventually ends up at my face. I take one last deep breath before the water consumes me and I'm sitting in the air surrounded by a puddle of water. I hold my breath for what seems like forever, and then I finally have to take a deep breath. I attempt to suck in, but the water quickly fills my lungs. I start to cough, but that only makes it worse. My head starts to get dizzy, and slowly I begin to fade into darkness.
BOOM
star is born
Come on ev'rybody shout out loud
A star is born
Just remember in the darkest hour
Within your heart's the power
For making you
A hero too
Cortana Ramslee, 18
District 3 Female
"That was brutal," I say looking up at the sky and seeing the girl from District 8 just fall as the gravity gets turned back on. There is a loud thud, and I turn to look at the boy from 5 who was her ally. He wipes at his eye as she turns to face us.
"Yeah, well, only one of gets out." he says.
I pull the dagger out of my pocket and scratch a line in my arm for the girl that just died. 21 cuts now reside in my right arm. 2 more to go.
"Tributes, it's now time to make it to the next part of the maze," says Alexandra. "Remember that only two of you make it. You're going to the center of the labyrinth. It's decorated with a crown and a throne. The victor will be lifted back in a pod from that throne. Your time starts now."
There are three passageways that are connected to where we are currently. I have a 33.3% of choosing the wrong passage and ending up in an impasse, but the boy from 5 is quick to take off in a run towards the passage in the middle, the girl from 12 takes the one of the left. So that leaves me with the passage on the right.
I run down the passage and make a left and a right. I have no idea how to work mazes, but that's what I did last time, and I beat the boy from 5 to the checkpoint by a good 5 minutes. When I make a turn to the left, I turn around and see a dead end.
"Shit," I say as I double back and begin to run the other direction. I make two turns to the left, and one to the right and somehow end up in the first checkpoint, but this time I am standing in the passage in the center.
"They're all connected," I say with a twinge of fear as I turn and run down the way Ember initially ran. As I round the corners, I hear the girl from 12's footsteps. She is stomping across the passages as she turns many corners, and when I turn left at the passage that I'm currently at, I see her rounding another corner. When I run to follow her I make the same turn she did, but I end up staring at an impasse, and Ember is nowhere in sight.
A bell dings and Alexandra's voice comes on the intercom. "A tribute has made it to the center."
The maze is switching.
I run and begin to dodge in and out of the corners, and after awhile, I don't even know which way is which anymore. I start to lightly jog down a long passage and end up in the center of a clearing with multiple outlets. Shortly after I arrive at the clearing, I see the boy from 5. He runs straight into me.
"Watch where you're going, Factory boy," I say harshly as I stand up.
He doesn't stop, however, and gets right back up and runs in the direction directly across from where he came in. I look down the passage and see Ember standing in front of the throne and take off running as fast as I can. I catch him about halfway down the aisle and tackle him to the ground. He quickly turns around before I can get on top of him and punches me in the face.
I stagger back and try to brace myself, but he's already up and running again. When I get my bearings back, I see him disappearing into the middle of the maze and doors closing.
The maze gets dark, and all the lights start to fade. I place my hand in front of my face, but I couldn't see it. I begin to take a deep breath when I hear something moving behind me. I scream, and then start to run towards the door of the center of the maze.
"LET ME IN! PLEASE!" I scream with tears rolling down my face. I run face first into the door and fall backward. I feel hands with claws wrapping around my shoulders, and I scream as the claws dig into my skin. I feel one of the claws lightly dance across my neck, and then it digs its claw into my skin.
The lights turn on, and I stare at the creature that just slit my throat. It has the body of an eagle, but the face of a tiger. It glides through the air as it runs it's claw gently down my thigh as the world continues to spin.
Then everything goes black.
BOOM
So don't lose hope when you're forlorn
Just keep your eyes upon the skies
Ev'ry night a star is
Right in sight a star is
Burning bright a star is born
The Victor
The clearing is a small square. Maybe about a 15' by 15'. The other tribute stands opposite of me as I take a deep breath. I've worked so hard to get here, and finally, finally I've arrived. This moment is not without loss, though, there were many who had to die for me to get here, and for them, I weep.
But I don't plan on losing.
"Tributes, congratulations on making the final 2., when I turn and face upward they," says Alexandra. "The two of you will now fight to the death. No weapons. Just your hands. Good luck to the two of you. May the odds be ever in your favor."
The intercom clicks off, and I rush at my opponent. They take a sidestep and grab me by the back of my shirt and slam me into the ground. I smack my head on the floor, and they are trying to get on top of me.
"NO!" I say as I kick them as hard as I can in their stomach. They fall to the side, and I get up trying to brace myself for another attack. The tribute stands up, and this time rushes at me. I grab ahold of them by their head and slam it into the throne. There is a loud thud, and they let out a moan as they quickly roll away from my grasp. They get up quickly and crack their neck.
"This is going to suck." they say.
"Yeah, it already does," I respond.
We stand there for a long time just staring at each other.
"You know," they said. "I always knew it would be us two in the finals."
"How so?" I ask.
"We both want one thing," they respond. "Survival."
After their comment, they rush at me and use their force and weight against them as I side step and slam my arm into their back. They fall to the ground, and this time I was ready. I stick their arms under my knees, and I begin to squeeze their neck.
They struggle with me as I continue to press, and then I watch as their eyes start to lose the fight in them. I start to feel remorseful, but that instantly gets set aside. This is the person that is standing in the way of me changing my life. Of me getting home.
They stop squirming, and I watch as tears drift from their eyes. Their head cocks to the side, and their cannon sounds.
BOOM.
"PANEM, JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING THE VICTOR OF THE 31ST HUNGER GAMES! LENOVO CANE OF DISTRICT 5!"
Confetti cannons erupt around me, and I walk to the center of the square. The girl from 12 lies dead just a few feet from me, but I feel relieved. No one thought I had a chance at this coming in, but here I stand in front of everyone. A victor.
"And to think I tried to get Randall to volunteer for me," I say.
"Lenovo please take a seat on the throne."
"I've always wanted one of these," I say as I sit down and place the crown on my head. These games have taught me so much about myself, but I think the one thing that I didn't know I had was a value for life. I regret the killing the tributes I killed, even the ones I indirectly killed, but in the end...I was forced to. Right?
"Lenovo congratulations." says the pod in a computer voice.
The throne turns into a pod, and a glass sphere surrounds me. A gas fills the pod, and I begin to feel dizzy as I watch the pod lift into the air. I take one last look at the place that changed my life forever. I'm no longer Lenovo Cane, the spoiled rich boy from 5. I'm Lenovo Cane, the spoiled rich boy from 5 turned Victor of the 31st Hunger Games.
"That has a nice ring to it," I say with a sly smile as I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
It feels weird being done with the games of this story. This story was so much fun to write, and I feel like I just started yesterday. The next few chapters we will see what's going on with Katherine, and also Lenovo's victory.
Eulogies
4th Place: Whitney Kaull, District 8 Female, Drowned by Antigravity Mutt- Aw, I loved Whitney. I know realistically she probably would have died earlier, but like, how could I? She was such a cute character, and I know that Alison worked super hard when she sent her in. Speaking of which, if Alison ever submits to your SYOT be honored, cause girl writes crazy tributes!
3rd Place: Cortana Ramslee, District 3 Female, Killed by Mutt Creature- Damn, Cortana was fierce as hell, and arguably had one of my favorite developments of any character ever, next to Lenovo. Tracelynn I know you loved Cortana, and I loved her too. Something about her just didn't scream victor to me. You know? Since you love survivor, I'll throw it at you like this. Kelley Wentworth is one of my favorite players ever for her stint in Cambodia, and she fell one night short of the finale. Cortana was one of my favorites; she just fell short.
2nd Place: Ember Poxal, District 12 Female, Killed by Lenovo Cane- Holy crap. Tigress. I argued with myself for forever. I talked to Tracelynn about it; I spoke to Jenna about it. I spoke to freaking everyone about who should win my freaking story. It's been between Lenovo and Ember since the bloodbath, and what it came down to in the end were plot and development. I felt a bigger connection with Lenovo. I wrote the Victor's POV with the idea that it was Ember, but somewhere along the lines, Lenovo ended up sneaking his way into the win. Please don't hate me. I did love this tribute.
Victor: Lenovo Cane, District 5 Male- Freaking hell I hate District 5. How could I not give it to this kid, though? Reader, I don't know what the hell you were on when you subbed Lenovo, but damn give me some for when I write my next tribute because it was good. He was so much fun to write for, and I got a real feel for who he was as a character past all the drama and the over-the-top antics that he had. Let's give a round of applause for one of the most underrated submitters I've ever seen, Reader's Castellan on their first victor. Red, you sure earned it.
Thanks for staying with me. I had so much fun writing this. Two more chapters, and then we are done! I'll also be focusing on Home of the Brave 2 from now on. Which reminds me, SUBMIT PEOPLE! I need seven dudes and one female. Let's get it!
Keep it classy,
Caleb