Marquette Tetra

The arena, for once, was still. The orange sunrise gleamed down upon the little city, long gray shadows of buildings engulfing the streets. A soft breeze winded through the town, making an overturned tricycle's wheel slowly turn. A few orange birds have actually summoned the courage to sing their melodic songs. If one didn't know better, they might have actually called this place paradise.

Except for the fact that Selene was missing. And because Kodi was probably going to kill me if I didn't find her. And I mean that literally.

The environment is so calming and peaceful; the complete opposite of how I'm acting right now. To put it bluntly, I'm freaking out.

"Dammit, dammit, where did she go? Why did she leave? Why didn't I see her?" I utter while running around, chasing clues that weren't actually there. I was supposed to guard her, and keep her safe. But I can't guard her if I can't find her.

I scour the town, looking for anything that might lead to Selene. A muddy footprint, a flattened patch of grass, a torn cloth. Anything that would lead me to my little ally.

It's been an hour of searching for Selene while avoiding Kodi. And still, nothing. Frustrated, I finally call out, "SELENE! WHERE ARE YOU!" not even caring of who else was there to hear me. I just needed to her respond.

All I get is the wind. Just like that, the world begins to crumble. My father's nagging voice in my head rears its ugly head again, and says spitefully, "How do you expect to win if you can't even babysit your own ally?"

In my mind, I reply, "I will find her, Dad. She has to be close." I'm not sure if I truly believe those words.

A voice pipes up again, shouting in anger, "You're useless Marquette. You had to guard her with your life, and yet you couldn't even keep an eye on her for one minute! One minute…." This time, though, this voice didn't belong to my father's. This time, it was Kodi. I don't know which was worse, hearing scathing insults from my Dad, or hearing them from the one I loved. "Useless…useless….you will never amount to anything…you will never be anything but nothing…"

Along the craggy coast of District 4, a young red-headed girl has just finished her daily swim. Yesterday had been a huge mix of emotions for the young teen. A single fight with her father was all it took for her emotions to pour out of her. She was looking forward to seeing the only person she trusted, her brother, waiting for her at home.
The girl made her way into her mansion/prison, and climbed up the stairs into her room, where she was sure her brother would be waiting. Instead, she saw the wicked face of the evil monster that was her father, standing in the bare compartment that was her room. All her possessions had been stripped, her awards were gone, the paint scraped off. All that was left was a stained mattress and a gray, barren box for a room.
Before leaving the red-haired girl to stew in her horror, the father leaned down into her ear and whispered, "You will never be anything but nothing, just like this room." Then he slinked out the door as the girl collapsed onto her trashed bed, her tears adding to the stains already splotched all over the mattress.

I hate it. I hate hearing my father's voice, and I hate letting Kodi down even more. So I do what an irrational, love-struck, stressed out teen would do when she hates something. I throw stuff at windows. In this case, my javelin.

The shattering glass pierces the quietness of the once-peaceful arena; the smooth window now becoming a spider web of cracks and holes. Birds retreat into the woods, the wind ceases its calming breeze. Clouds have even begun to block out the sun's warm rays. It is almost as if nature itself sympathizes with my hopeless plight.

It makes me want to break down and cry. I know that I need to keep looking for her, but my body can't continue. Some guardian I turned out to be.

The voice, now my father's again, keeps saying, "You can't do anything right…nothing right!"

Slumped next to the broken window, I manage to shout, "STOP IT! Alright, I'm DONE. I—I give up. I just—I just can't do this anymore!"

The voice stops talking, apparently believing my submission. And surprisingly enough, I believe it too. Tired and confused, I tuck my head in between my knees, not wanting to face the town, and my failure.

I hear another voice speaking to me, except this time it is not in my head. The unknown voice says, ever so gently, "You can, Marquette. We can." I feel a hand on my shoulder, and even though I don't look up, I already know who it is.

He's my guardian angel.

Kodi Nyquist

With her javelin tucked into my armpit, I help Marquette to her feet. Although she is trembling and her face is pale with fear, she has somehow managed to withdraw her tears. She's tough, I can give her that, I think while she regains her bearings.

After a moment of awkward silence, Marquette mutters, "Kodi…I'm sorry that you had to see that. It's just—,"

"It's totally fine, Mark. These games—they do this to people. I know I've doubted myself a few times," I tell her. "But you, we can get through it. My father used to say that when life hits hard, hit back ten times harder. And that's what we've gotta do."

That was the motto I've lived by. For my whole life, that was the saying that kept me chugging along. Even after all the tragedies I've gone through, I've learned that you need to dust yourself off and get moving. It's such a shame that it took seeing Marquette break down for me to remember it.

However, there was still "one variable missing from this equation" as my old teacher used to say. Handing the steel javelin over to Marquette, I inquire, "Where's Selene?"

The sad, guilt-ridden look in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. Without waiting for an answer, I grasp her wrist and say urgently, "We need to hurry."

xXxXx

Marquette, still pale and nervous, inquires quietly, "So…are you mad at me or what?"

We've been scrounging every inch of this town for Selene for 30 minutes when Marquette asks me that question. With my most sincere look, I reply, "No way, Mark. I could never get at mad at you." I suppose that was true, except this search was putting that to the test. But no matter how hard I tried, I can't get angry with her. Even though she's a constant reminder to my sister's murder. And speaking of Lynn…

"Wazzup, Kodiak?" the ghost of my sister says, walking next to me. "When life hits hard, hit back ten times harder. I can't believe you still remember that one, bro," she adds with a chuckle.

I raise my eyebrow and whisper back, "Of course I do. It was what kept me going after you…"

"Yeah, well, you're going to need it more, Kodi. And soon," she interrupts, smiling sadly. Before I can ask her what she meant, the apparition was gone, and in her place was Marquette asking, "Umm, who are you talking to?"

"Heh, no one. Just, uh, thinking out loud," I utter. Then Lynn pops up against the red, overturned tricycle I always seem to notice.

Without actually saying anything out loud, I think, "Would you quit it? You're making me look crazy."

My sister smugly replies, "You don't need me to look crazy, dude. You've been doing a pretty good job by yourself lately."

"Ha-ha. You're so cool." I imagine saying. Lynn gives another smug little giggle before disappearing once again.

But my eyes were still trained on the tricycle, or more specifically, what was behind it. For in the background is the little shed Marquette and I turned into a little deathtrap. But something was wrong with this picture.

"Mark, did any of the Careers get away?" I ask her.

She whisper quietly, "No, I'm pretty sure we got all of them."

I clamp onto her hand and begin to sprint in no direction in particular, urgently saying, "Then we've got a problem." What was the problem, you ask? Yes, there were bodies of Careers strewn across the ground. That would have been okay, except for the fact that there were only two bodies. Which meant our makeshift bug-zapper missed a few flies. Three to be exact.

The second thing that hit me was that the bodies were actually still there. Usually, the Gamemakers would have picked up the bodies into their hovercraft by now. The only reasons they wouldn't is if they were still alive, or…..

Someone was close by. And at that moment, as if by coincidence, a blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the deserted town, shouting one word, "KODI!"

And then the adrenaline kicked in.

xXxXx

Marquette and I arrived on the outskirts of the woods just in time to see Selene being held by another girl at knife point. Just in time to hear Selene whimper out, "Kodi." Just in time to whip out my knife and lunge at the lanky figure holding my little ally hostage. Just in time to plunge my rusty knife into the girl's neck, screaming with anger.

Just in time to see the evil female's knife sink into Selene's back.

The girl falls to the ground with me on top of her. After twisting the knife further into the girl's carotid artery, I let her head fall onto the hard dirt, leaving the knife in her neck. A cannon sounds, but I had other things to worry about than her.

Selene lay on the ground, her torso propped up on Marquette's lap. I try my hardest not to focus on the blade sticking out of her back and the blood beginning to drip onto the ground. Instead, I crouch down near her head, wiping away her matted hair. Her eyes, the emerald eyes that reminded me of Kat, were beginning to mist over. Tears begin to slip down her pale face.

"Selene, it's okay. We're here, it'll be okay," I whisper, wiping the little girl's tears. It was a hollow consolation, I know, but it was all I could muster.

"Promise me you guys will win," she utters ever so faintly.

Mark and I simultaneously reply, "Promise."

Selene begins to move her lips again, but I have to bend my head down close to her lips so I could hear it. Her voice was so faint, yet I understood every word she said. With a heavy sigh, I solemnly nod in reply.

Then the smile appears on her face. Her smile. The one that would melt anyone's heart.

Or in my case, wrench it out.

And so, with her head cradled in my hands, I begin to rock her to sleep. Her cheeks were no longer stained with tears. In fact, she looked almost serene. Serene Selene.

"Sweet dreams, little one," I whisper gently as I feel her final breath escape her body. Her emerald eyes slide closed for the last time. Then, the cannon fires.

The Children of Lightning minus one.

Marquette Tetra

Kodi gently laid her on a patch of grass on her side, so the blade wouldn't hold her up. He slid off his beanie in reverance to our young teammate, not a single tear dripping down his face. Then, he took one of the dandelions popping up along the dirt and placed it in her hair. A final goodbye to a beloved friend.

Lying near the tree line was the girl that killed Selene. It wasn't a Career, but the one who I punched back at the huge oak tree. Veranda, I think was her name. The only reason why we returned to her body was to retrieve the knife plunged into her neck. The blade was dug all the way up to the handle.

We headed as far away from the town as possible. The town was cursed, we decided, and the only thing that is sure to happen there is death and destruction. Behind us, the hovercraft scooped up the two bodies, both victims of these cruel games.

Kodi and I paused in the middle of the woods, during which I said, "Kodi, I'm sorry. If I hadn't lost her, then—."

"Don't do that, Marquette. If you have to blame something, blame these stupid Games, not yourself. Because I certainly don't," he interrupted, taking off his beanie to wipe his forehead.

There was a small moment of silence when I decided to ask, "If you don't mind, what did Selene tell you back there?"

Surprisingly, Kodi smiled lovingly, and I noticed a tear finally appear in the corner of his eye. He answered gently, "She said that no matter where we went, we'd always have a guardian angel to watch over us."

All I could think about was how right Selene really was.

'Sup internet! So i believe that narrows it down to the final 10, huh? Looks like we're getting close to the end! If there are any mistakes in the counter then let me know, m'kay? In the meantime, please...

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