The eighth night
-Kendal, D7M-
The Capitol anthem plays in the night, though the darkness isn't as thick as it has been in the past. I'm not sure if it's just my eyes missing the light, or if the Arena has really been slightly lighter since that disaster ended.
I wish I hadn't saved Raoul. Maybe it makes me a horrible person, but I just want to get home. There are only five of us left.
Five faces flash in the sky.
Iridesce.
Maggie.
Vidarr.
Cyra.
Cory.
Five less obstacles to getting back where I belong, to District 7. That means that there are only 5 of us left. One is my ally. One is my District partner.
As soon as the seal disappears, I hear the click of a speaker.
"Attention, tributes." The voice is so quiet and quivery that I almost didn't recognize it. "This announcement is to inform you that there will be a feast at high noon tomorrow exactly. There, you will find what you need to heal you."
I snort. Nothing can heal me. I may have gotten off easy, some gashes from the jabberjays, but I will never be healed. The trauma of the past week will stay with me for however long I may live. I will constantly have to fight with the fact that I have experienced death firsthand, and that will never go away. Someone like me can't. Just. Forget.
Even when the disasters have disappeared, they stay. The blood is caked on my arms, in my hair, legs, torso. Luckily, I was able to make it to the spicket, where I washed my face and hands. But I couldn't stay there forever. I can't even move without being forced to remember the horrors I've just seen, heard, felt, experienced. I have to wonder why?
"Attendance… will not be mandatory. However, it is highly recommended if you would like to be well-equipped." There's a pause. "I…" she stops, and lets out a heavy sigh. "Rest. Four more, and one of you will be the Victor." A small click signifies the end of the message. As soon as the message is over, I feel a light breeze, and soon the Arena is being misted gently. The rain, actually water this time, feels good, and as it picks up I'm able to get some of the blood off of me.
The Capitol seal disappears, but this time, the Arena is silent. I hope that the worst of it is over now. Then again, I haven't even confronted a tribute face-to-face yet. That will come. Someday.
I take stock of my supplies. Everything reeks, but it's all still there. I reach into my pocket, and my hands wrap around the tiny letter in my pocket.
H. For… Home.
No, it wasn't for home. It was for… Oh yeah. Hot damn. Back in those times when I could make a joke. Those times I could still smile. Now it only brings with it a cold, bitter feeling. I release the letter and pull my hand out of my pocket.
I sit alone and lie awake.
I'm so close. I can't die just because I was sleeping at the wrong time. Instead, I sit up and look around, running through a book about recycling's effects on the environment word by word. I try not to think about the horrors of last night, the noises, the pain. I know that was Raoul's song, that they were playing. It was different than when he sang it, creepier, but it was his song. They're so clever. They're sick. Every last one of them is sick.
What could have been minutes, could have been hours later, Santana's voice comes on over the loudspeaker once again.
"I'm sure you are all wondering what has happened here." She's whispering quietly, hurriedly, and I wonder if she shouldn't be talking to us right now. "This is your Head Gamemaker speaking."
Hearing that statement surprises me. That means that…
"The actions you have experienced were not according to any plans of ours. They were a result of a fit from Diesel. He's dead. They took him and killed him."
My heart sinks. Serves him right. She sounds so pained.
"I was not permitted to tell you this. But I'm already going to be convicted of treason anyways. It's too late for me. My luck has run out. I wanted you to know what was happening. I didn't mean for this to happen to you all. I… I know that… Y-you probably don't believe me. I-I wouldn't. B-But honest to God, half those things I was never going to clear for them to use… I… I can't believe…" There's a pause as she takes a deep breath. "I realize I was wrong. You have been treated unfairly. I knew it all along. I hope you will forgive me when we meet again in the afterlife, wherever that is. I refuse to let them kill me. I'm taking action. Tributes, I do not know what you will experience in your last few days of the Games. There is a lot of chaos happening outside. People are outraged. I refuse to let them kill me. I'm going to join my brother, Diesel, and the fallen of your kind. I hope you will forgive me for being a coward." She lets out a sob.
Suddenly, I hear another voice, in the distance, yelling. "SANTANA! NO!"
She hurriedly whispers with a small sob, "May the odds be ever in your favor." A loud boom accompanied by the scream of a man's voice I don't recognize echoes, causing me to jump and whimper. The sound cuts out quite suddenly.
We're left in silence. All I can hear is the sound of my heart beating. I try not to think about what just happened, not to dwell on what was said or what I heard, but in the silence the only thing I can do is think. It's horrible.
I close my eyes, trying to sleep, but nothing comes. Finally, I sit up, taking my spool of rope and cutting off a piece. Putting my hands to work tying knots is good for me. I quietly recite chapter 8 of my book, focusing on my handiwork and the words I can see in front of my eyes. I try not to think about what's happening on the outside if I can avoid it. I can't afford to think about the pain I will face when I get back, the pain I'm facing now. I have to tough it out. What would my family do without me? What about Agata?
I take a deep breath.
I can't be healed.
I refuse to risk my life in some useless attempt to believe that I can be.
I'm not going to the feast.
~.~.
The ninth day
-Martina, D11F-
As soon as the sky lightens, another announcement comes on the loudspeaker.
"Attention, tributes."
I blink, not recognizing the voice. I may have heard it once or twice, I guess I vaguely remember the sound, but I have no idea who is addressing us.
"This is your President speaking."
"Wh-What!? You're not President Snow!"
"You're all very correct. It is not Coriolanus Snow speaking to you. Unfortunately, while you have been in the Arena, much has happened on the outside. Although, from the looks of it, you have all heard far too much."
Suddenly, I start to wonder what's happening outside. If Snow's dead… Could that really mean a rebellion is brewing? Was he assassinated?! Last we heard back home, he had made a full recovery. What am I missing? Where is my family? Are they alright?! Questions keep forming in my head and I can't stop them.
The man on the loudspeaker continues. "This is your newly elected President, Joltee Rutilus. Unfortunately, as absolute madness has swept our Complex, the end of the Games will be largely in your own hands. Tributes, you want to go back to your families and friends. They are missing you all so very dearly. You are the ones that will make it happen. The feast will continue as it has been scheduled at high noon. The other Gamemakers will work as a team to keep everything under control. But, well, I'm going to be frank with you my dears, if that is quite alright. We have nothing else left to throw at you. Nothing left to nudge you on the way. You all must become predators until only one remains. A stalemate may bring about some consequences for your loved ones, dear tributes, so please do continue to hunt. Only one will come out our Victor. And whoever it is must be ready and able to never speak of the events in this Games again, except under very heavy supervision. Please bear this in mind."
I swallow hard. I can handle whatever this new Capitol servant throws at me. I can handle anything, so long as I'm back with my family and Jackson in 11.
"I do look forward to working together with whichever of you is lucky enough to be a Victor. Good luck, dear tributes. And may the odds be ever in your favor." The message ends with a click, leaving us once again in silence. My heart is still beating hard from the thought of the feast being cancelled.
I need to get to that feast.
I need medicine.
Astogenevick doesn't stop at the skin. It can destroy nerves. It can render entire parts of the body useless. Dammit, if only I'd figured it out earlier. The poison has spread to underneath my fingernails, my fingertips. They're numb. I ball my fist, where I'd put my spiked knuckles on to stay just in case.
My legs are barely functional. Every step burns. With each step I feel as if I will not be able to walk another one. I spent a good deal of last night and all of this morning surprising myself.
I arrive back to the Cornucopia and discover that the tables are already there.
Dammit. So much for being able to take a bag and run.
The feast appears to be at its beginning, though, because out of nowhere Raoul dashes out and heads for the tables. I move as fast as my legs will take me to the table, where I see a bag with a glowing pink 11 on it sitting with other bags.
Raoul looks around, and starts taking each of the bags in his hands.
Oh, he's damned if he thinks he's going to get away with taking one of my bags! I pull my spiked knuckles back and punch him straight in the jaw.
He lets go of all of the bags, though I notice he's armed. Legs shaking, I use my last energy to get a bit of a start and tackling him to the ground. He lets out a surprised groan and I pull back my knuckles and punch again, causing him to cry out and fight back.
Usually I would hold on unwaveringly, but the weakness in my legs and arms causes me to lose my balance more easily. He frees an arm and stabs at me, just barely missing my chest in favor of my sternum, causing intense pain that makes me cry out.
"You missed," I spit out at him through clenched teeth as blood drips out of the wound. I throw another punch, cracking his nose and causing him to scream loudly.
"I just-" he gasps- "Have to get home…"
"So do I! So do all of us! That's not going to happen. I've made it this far, I've been dragged through hell, and I'll be damned if I die now. I have a boyfriend and a family bigger than you'd ever know that need me back with them! What the fuck do you even have?"
He pauses, and in that time I bring my fist down into his throat, pushing down until he's choking and coughing and spluttering.
I bring my fists down on his face again, and he cries out as the spikes hit his eyes, screaming and squirming underneath me. How dare he have the audacity to say that his return home is more important than mine! He has no idea anything about me! Nobody does.
I start to feel dizzy from the blood pouring out of my wound. I'll be damned If I die here. I refuse to lose this fight.
Raoul almost knocks me over, and in the moment I take to regain my balance, tries for another stab, this time missing and hitting the shoulder. He can't do anything, he can't even see anymore.
He's already lost this fight. He has to know that by now. He has to know that he can't get home.
I pull back my knuckles for another punch as he gasps out and writhes underneath me, trying to get free. He lets out cries of agony as blood pours out of his wounds. Even so, he doesn't stop moving. Never stops trying to break free.
I take a second to gasp for air, the light-headedness of losing blood really kicking in. I know I have to end this before I lose anything else.
Spots start to form in front of my eyes, and before I know it I feel a sharp pain lodge itself through chest, just above the heart, crying out as breathing becomes a nearly impossible task.
Body shaking, I pull out my sword from the belt around my waist and plunge it through Raoul's heart, before my body gives out and I collapse beside him, gasping for air.
Tears form in my eyes, and slowly run down my face.
I couldn't have controlled this fate, I suppose. I shouldn't spend too much time thinking about it now. I reach into my pocket, wrapping my hands around the dried cherry blossom Jackson gave to me after the reaping. I can't feel it with my fingertips, but when I squeeze it I feel it lightly against my palm.
It was only a matter of time.
I know that they can make it without me. They all have one of the strongest support systems in the entire nation.
Still, though. I didn't make it. I failed. I'm going to die here. Far too early. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I try to gasp out something, some kind of apology or words that I can say to them, but I can't make myself speak.
I close my eyes. In the end, I'm at peace. I fought until the very end. My District, my family, Jackson, they can still be proud of me. I never gave up on the hope of making it back to them. And, I guess, when it's all said and done, that's what I really wanted. Nobody will ever say that Martina Reyés was a quitter. No. Martina Reyés fought with everything in her.
I take a final breath as my vision flashes with light. Light at the end of the tunnel.
A feeling of peace washes over my entire body.
They'll be alright.
I close my eyes, exhale, and let go.
~.~.
A/N: So guess who ended up with no homework and is being pumped with both inspiration AND motivation to finish this up? This bitch. THESE DEATHS ARE STARTING TO KILL ME I'M GETTING SO EMOTIONAL WE'RE DOWN TO THREE HOW AM I GOING TO PICK JUST ONE!?
That being said, I think I'm changing out polls and making the Victor poll now. If I end up with time (doubtful, but plausible) these next few days I could realistically post the epilogue on the 21st. Hope you guys don't mind the fast updates. I just hate being in suspense, haha. Still have no idea who's going to win, so your vote is really important to me. (Muuuch more important than the story poll, because as soon as I got the idea for Danzón I was like "HELLS YEAH FAVE SONG AND COOL QUELL IDEA but this one I'm actually extremely torn.)
Peppermint, thank you so much for Martina, and Joseph, thanks a bunch for Raoul! Glad I could fit both of their preferred deaths into one. As soon as I post the chapter I'll put up their obituaries on my profile.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already lost their tribute but is still reviewing anyways. That's really appreciated and I'm glad you're enjoying the story even though your tribute didn't win.
Chapter Question: Thoughts on the final 3? Are you satisfied with who it turned out to be? Was it who you were expecting, or were there surprises?
Stream Sunday night if I don't post again by then! Check the blog for chibi/map/afterlife!AU updates!
Reviews are so very appreciated, thanks a bunch for all of your lovely support! Hope you're enjoying it!
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