A/N: ...my dear friend, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the attention you've showed 'the Trial Games' and its participants. I'm honestly touched. I'm sure they are too.
This may be the end of the games, but it is not the end of the story. No one ever really disappears after death... do they?
This is the last part of the trial, but I still have a little more to post, end results, the epilogue and such. This part is long, to do its ending justice. Bless you, and may your world be kind to your journey through life.
Love, Daily.
The Trial Games.
My breath catches in my throat as I run, the oxygen around feels like ash in my windpipe. I cough, splutter, stumble- and then keep running as the process starts over again.
The bones that jut from the tips of my fingers are strangely sensitive as the wind cuts past. My cleaver still slices through the air in my clenched fist, and as I run- I know that this sprint will be the last. I'm certain this time. The panic and terror inside, built from the entirety of these games has reached its peak and the shaky adrenaline courses through my body.
I'm running to my death. I'm sure of it. But there's nothing else I can do. There's no where to run. All I want is to know of Holden, Adelaide, Sin and Crux's fates. One of them is dead. Which one is it?
The voice is gone, vanished into the rifts of my mind- along with the calm sanity I had managed to keep stable these past few days. Flashes of the horrors that I had witnessed continue to fly through my mind.
Prose had been blown to pieces, the tatters of her skirt still drifting through the air. Kringle, a stake in his heart, fell from the balcony as I watched in horror from the garden. Kendra's cold corpse stares up at me in the darkness. Hendrix's corpse slumped beside his murdered sister. Cisqua's final, traitorous moments... and finally Ruby, forever sleeping beneath that monstrous stage...
What had they felt as they died? Were they in pain... or was it all very quick in the end? What was it that ran through their heads as the life was taken from their still living bodies...?
I want to know, I don't want to know- in this moment of panic I don't know what I want. I can smell burning all around, from my fingertips, from the air- the confusion is of such a degree that I don't know anything anymore. Not even my own feelings.
The further I run, the thicker the smoke that fills the air. Though the trees around me are exempt- I can see, far in the distance- close to the Performance Hall, the fire is slowly raging towards us.
It's certain. The games will end before the sun sets. We are all in this forest, and we cannot escape it. We will all die in this forest. One of us already has, and if it weren't for the pain that surges up my arms and in the balls of my feet- I'd think it were me.
-and as I stumble and catch sight of the body before I land upon it, I wish it was.
"Oh... oh my god..."
It was Adelaide, with a silver stake wedged deeply into her chest.
She hadn't moved from her resting spot. Her blood has blossomed across her blouse and with her head bent downwards- I know that she didn't put up any resistance. Holden was no where in sight, and my knees beside her could feel her fleeting warmth as it slowly evaporated.
I reach forward to touch her face, but I recoil as pain shoots up from my punctured fingertips. Adelaide had suffered for so long these games. She had been at a disadvantage being only twelve- but for the mine beside her to explode and thoroughly damage her lungs was more than bad luck.
-a rustle of leaves, and I stiffen. I breathe hard through the pain, gripping the cleaver as I raise my voice to its full capacity.
"-how could you? She's only twelve-!"
"...idiot, she was practically dead when I found her. I did her a favour."
It's not Crux who steps out from behind me and grins viciously down at me. Still heaving with pain and anger, I stare angrily up at Sin as he tilts his head and one eye seems to bulge in his amusement.
"Haa, Haa?" Sin cracks his neck, tilting it roughly from side to side. "You seem to be having trouble breathing, and there's dried vomit all over your baggy clothes... not very lady-like Maya girl."
"You killed a little girl," I hiss, fury burning inside my heart. "-a girl with no weapons."
"-why are you berating me about it?" Sin has been hanging around Crux too long. He's displaying such showmanship you'd think it was a game. "I made sure to hit her so she'd die quickly, isn't that good?"
"-what about Ellivieve, and Cobalt-?!" I stand to my feet, and even though we're less than a foot apart- I'm not afraid of the crossbow. "Kicking her face in, beating a dead corpse- that isn't good-!"
This strikes a nerve, and suddenly the smiling 'haa'ing Sin is gone. I'm met with a blank, deadpan stare and a voice so severe that my blood runs cold. Sin tilts his head again, and his fingers begin to pluck the crossbow's strings in a rhythm.
Pluck.
"Not warning fatty of the approaching attacker?"
Pluck.
"Not going to that squeaking girl's aid?"
Pluck.
My eyes widen in horror from his words. Their deaths flashed through my mind as I watched Sin tilt his head from one side to the other with each blood curdling example.
"-and risking those three's lives with that mower stunt...? You may not have done it directly Maya... but you killed them. You certainly did..."
Pluck.
"...how..." there's no way he could know about these things, especially not Kringle and Cisqua... "I-I didn't kill them..."
Pluck.
"Yes you did," Sin's expression is so sombre that I can hardly recognise him from the brutish brunette from home. "You left them to die so you could get ahead... selfish, selfish Maya... just as you did with Adelaide."
Pluck... Pluck...
He's lying. Sin's lying- that's not true- I didn't do it to get ahead. I was just doing what... I had to... do...
...Pluck... Pluck...
The murderous grin is back, and I immediately notice how much sharper his canines are from Crux's. He steps back, and pulls the crossbow up to eye level. The cleaver rattles silently in my hand as the final stake points directly between my eyes.
"...and you're mad at me...? If anything..." His eyes shoot open wide. "I'm this game's saint!"
I swing the cleaver up to my face, and stumble back as its side hits me hard in the nose. The stake tumbles to the ground, and Sin leaps backwards in surprise. I dive sideways as he fires again, the stake wedging deep into a tree. The boy swears, and I see the next Stake has fallen out of his grip and to the ground.
I act fast. I dive for his legs, and Sin's full weight crashes to the ground. With an angered cry- he drops the crossbow and instead grapples for my cleaver with both hands. I tug it out of his reach, and as he shoves me down by my chest with one hand, I feel my left hand be pushed hard into my pocket... my pocket where I kept the stakes I stole from Crux...
He grabs my arm and yanks it upwards- and I feel my already weakened grasp be racked by a surge of pain as he snaps the elbow joint. My left hand desperately struggles to grab a hold of a stake as Sin grips the cleaver, looks down at me and bears his teeth in the peak of his rage just as I free my hand with the stake wrapped in its blackened clutches.
"-SEE YOU IN HELL MAYA!"
-as he swings down, I stab upwards. I scream, but no more pain is added to that of my arm. I weakly open my eyes as my cleaver hits my arm on its way to the ground, Sin's arm still shaking where he had held it, poised to swing.
He stares down at me, eyes wide- mouth agape. A warm flood of blood trickles down my hand as the stake makes its home in his stomach. I look at him, not knowing whether what I feel is anger, fear or pity.
"...yeah... I'll see you soon."
And as he slumps, his body weighting on me as the stake digs deeper into his body- the alarm rings. Blood oozes up from his mouth and onto my face as I struggle to lift his gargantuan body from mine.
I manage to free my body from underneath him, but as I struggle to stand through the throbbing pain- I can feel my right arm hang uselessly to my side. I'd no longer be able to defend myself, I was right handed. I shakily pick up my cleaver from beside Sin, but it feels useless between my fingers.
Only Holden and Crux remain, and I know how that will end. There's no way Holden could stand up to Crux's power. Not when Crux has a crossbow and Holden is grieving the death of his sister.
...this is it. There are only three of us left in this arena. Holden, Crux- and me. No one else remains. They're dead, they're all dead.
I stumble through the forest, away from the approaching fire. I'm trapped, broken and alone. I can't fight; I can't run and I can't survive. There's no way... no way out of here.
The smoke fills the air around me and I wish I could just fade away. I don't want to die, and yet I don't want to live like this anymore. These last few days, the only thing that kept me from utterly breaking down and screaming was the idea that maybe- maybe I could win, and leave this place forever.
-but it can't happen. I know it can't...
The Gamemakers have won. The President has won. They've perfected this game, and soon- year after year, more people will die as I will now, as everyone did. These 'Hunger Games' have swallowed all our lives whole.
"-you... it's... your... entire fault."
I stop. Holden's voice paralysed me in my tracks, and as his footsteps approach me from behind, his voice is dripping with poison.
"...she's dead... she told me to look for you... I go back... and she's dead... you left us with no weapon..." He shakily exhales, and I can feel the rigidness in his steps. "...you're why she's not alive..."
"-Holden, I'm sorry-" but as I turn, I'm horrified by the hatred staring back at me in those usually soft brown eyes. "...she... I'm sorry..."
"-I have nothing left," he hisses, he steps closer- and I can't bring myself to step backwards. "It's all your fault... I hate you, I hate YOU, I HATE YOU-!"
His hands grip around my throat, and I can feel the air wisp from my lungs as they tighten. With my head pulled upwards, I can just see the tears and anger flooding his eyes as he begins to shout those three words I had never wanted to hear him utter.
"...I love you," I choke, desperately smiling through the tears. "I-I love you..."
"-SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE DIED!" Holden yells, his nails cutting into my neck. "IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU!"
"-love-"
"-SHUT UP!" Holden shouts, eyes widening as he desperately fights to tighten his grip. "-You're no better than THEM, you're just a MONSTER-!"
My vision's going. I'm inhaling but all I taste is ash and inside my lungs shrivel inwards. His hands are crushing me, and his words are destroying my world. The tears drip down my face and disappear onto his hands as I struggle, with all my might, to reach up and touch his arms.
"...I-I'm sorry-" my voice is raspy, and almost unintelligible. "I tried... I tried for you H-Holden..."
My hands gently hold onto his lower arms, and I can feel the charred and jagged remains of my fingertips touch his skin. The air around us grows warmer and warmer as his grip begins to falter, and his cries grow louder.
"-just die, please just die..." Holden's crying. "I-I don't want to kill you- just die-"
...for you Holden... I'd do anything...
His hands fall from my throat, and I slump to the dirt as his body crashes backwards. Weakly, I curl upon myself, the skin of my throat aching and my entire self paining- and in a dazed moment, I look as Holden claws at his own throat. I watch slowly, curiously, as if this was all a dream. My eyes lock on his own, which are struggling to stay open as his mouth opens and shuts in pain.
I reach forward my left hand, struggling to move forward, and as Holden's hands slowly lower themselves and his eyes roll back into his head- in my dreamlike state, I watch the fire around us reflected in the stake's silver surface.
"-Ma... ya..."
-and as he slowly fall backwards, I allow myself to fall to the dirt in synchronisation. No more tears form, and I can feel my body shutting down. The air that pours into my lungs tastes disgusting, and my mind is slowly but blankly realising what is happening.
I pull myself up, ignoring the achingly tremendous pain that shoots from my fingertips. Slowly, I scrape forwards, ignoring the footsteps that slowly approach from behind.
His eyes are still open, but they're white. I examine his face and feel the slow sadness that grows from inside as all feeling disappears from my legs. Gently reaching out, I touch his face- but no warmness floods my dead fingers. I press my palm against his cheek, and my throat strings as I speak.
"Holden... Holden...?"
Then, music fills my ears. It's a chime... a bell's chime... it floods my mind as I try to cough and struggle to breathe.
I don't understand what's happening. To Holden... to me... I can't feel anything. The blank sensation is slowly climbing past my abdomen- and I watch as Crux kneels down above Holden's head, and for the first time- I see genuine regret in his eyes.
"...he's dead Maya..." Crux whispers.
I shake my head, but I stop as I quickly become dizzy. Crux reaches forwards, picking me up from under my arms. His touch is warm, and strangely, I notice that the corners of his eyes are wet. Like a child, he lays me on my back beside Holden, and I look up at him silently as he touches my cheek.
"...I'm sorry for what I did... he'll be happier now..." Crux whispered. "...I wanted to talk to you before... before you got your happy ending..."
I try to speak, but all that comes out is a rasping breath. Crux seems to understand, and speaks once more.
"-I want to tell you something, and then I want you to do something for me... uh..." Crux's body gives a strange shake as he bites down on his tongue. "B-Blink if you will... please..."
I'm so tired... but... something inside wants to make amends with him. I blink. But he doesn't look any happier.
"...okay... Maya..." He swallows hard, and begins to rub my cheek with his thumb as he tries to speak. "...my father... I... I was always so upset because... I was the one who... who..."
He looks at me, and as I see the pain that swims behind them- I know instantly what he's saying. I blink, and I'm worried at how hard it is becoming to breathe in the noxious oxygen.
"...it wasn't me... I was just so angry that he abandoned Mom and..." he swallows, clenching his eyes tightly shut. "He ignored love and... that's why I was so angry at you... for ignoring mine..."
He removes his hand from my cheek, and the loss of warmth makes me wince. There's nothing distracting me from the slowly rising empty feeling that's enveloping my body.
"I can accept that you can't accept my feelings... but... please free me..."
Crux holds up the crossbow, the crossbow that took so many lives, so many of our lives- and places my hand upon its trigger. I struggle to shake my head, but Crux is starting to cry. His body shakes as he holds the crossbow to his eye.
"Please... I don't want to watch you die... I thought I did... but..."
He smiles, and suddenly I find myself wishing through the exhaustion that he was still an insane murderous killer. This would be so much easier. My heart can't handle any more pain. The remnants of anger towards Crux are now minimal, but I don't want to punish him... do I...?
My hand tenses as I struggle to move it. Crux is struggling to keep his eyes open until the end, but my hand reaches past the trigger. He watches grimly as my skeletal fingers lose grip of the crossbow. The weapon topples sideways onto my legs as I weakly pull at his collar for him to come closer. He looks surprised, and I can see a lone tear fall onto his legs.
Slowly, he does so and I smile. He leans closely, and- with all of the strength I can possibly call upon; I lift my had just an inch from the ground and touch my lips to his.
As I gently lay back on the dirt, Crux's body gives up the fight- and he begins to weep. The smile stays on my face as I close my eyes, and my throat aches one last time as I say;
"I'm sorry... I ignored..."
"Don't be- please-" Crux whispers, reaching forth and holding my face. "You loved Holden... I... I shouldn't have..."
"Ican't kill you... so... watching me die... is your punish...ment..."
"...Maya..." Crux's hands are growing increasingly colder. "...thank you..."
"...please... be safe..."
The tired smile starts to fade, and I can feel my body fall limp. The pain fades from my fingertips as the world seems to slow down around me, slowly being enveloped in white. Crux's body stiffens and I can hear his voice, shouting in the distance, as a beautiful chime rings in the air around me.
This is my happy ending.