Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.
Patchwork: His Way
by Fanfic Allergy
Title: His Way
Theme: 16: Pride
Words: 1853
Summary: Thresh isn't going to play their game.
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence. Character death.
From the moment his name was drawn from the large glass bowl, Thresh vowed he wasn't going to play the Capitol's game. If that meant that he wasn't coming home, so be it. He wouldn't be a pawn in their games. His family knew it, they saw it in his eyes.
When he met his district partner, a tiny slip of a girl named Rue, he knew that he had made the right choice. It was impossible not to love her. Her sweetness and innocence were worth protecting. But Thresh also knew that the Capitol and Careers wouldn't see that. They'd see her as easy prey and hunt her like she was some animal. They'd kill the gentle bird without a second thought and then wonder what they were going to have for dinner. It was on the train from Eleven that Thresh made another vow - he wouldn't kill his district partner and he'd kill anyone who did.
After they had arrived at the Capitol, he found out about the other tributes. Most weren't anything special. The Careers were the same as previous years only with different faces. Districts Three, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten had the same scared faces as in previous years. They knew their odds and they weren't in their favor. Then there was the couple from Twelve. They were different. The girl Catnip or something like that was more like him - she was a survivor, but underneath it all she was soft. She had volunteered to take her sister's place. He could respect that choice. The boy, well, any fool with eyes could see that he was head over heels in love with the girl. Thresh almost felt sorry for him. It was like he too was resigned to never going home. Not if it meant watching the girl die. He could respect that choice too.
The Arena was much like he'd expected it to be. Once the timer finished its countdown, he grabbed a few nearby supplies mostly to keep the other tributes from getting them, scaring away the boy from Ten with the hobbled foot in the process. Then with a glance toward the bloodbath occurring at the Cornucopia, he set off toward the drop off at the edge of the clearing. From the vantage point of his starting platform, he'd thought he'd seen the telltale golden color of wheat just on the edge of ripeness. He would make that his place.
A Career tribute, he didn't know from what district, tried to stop him. Yelling a war cry, the boy lunged at him with a sword. Thresh stepped to the side and grabbed the boy's weapon arm, twisting sharply. The boy screamed in pain but more importantly dropped the sword. Thresh flung the tribute to the ground and scooped up the fallen weapon. Without a word, he rammed the weapon through the boy pinning him to the earth, leaving the sword sticking out of him as a reminder of what would happen to anyone who would mess with him. That was one less Career to worry about. One less to hurt the little girl.
Thresh spent most of the Games bored out of his mind. The field was wheat and there were plenty of small animals crawling about feeding on the grain. The few supplies he had grabbed from the Cornucopia turned out to be fire making materials, a sleeping bag, and a water distillation kit. There was a stream flowing out from the lake in a small waterfall and Thresh used that for his water needs. Then he waited. He waited for the tributes to die.
Two times he saw his fellow tributes. One was a red headed girl who he startled while she was picking heads of grain.
The other was the boy from Ten who unlike last time wouldn't back down. The boy had a knife and a desperate air about him. It was like he knew he was going to die and he wanted to go out fighting. Thresh could respect that desire so he gave the boy what he wanted. A quick, clean death. After the tribute from Ten was dead, Thresh mourned his passing and what he'd been forced to do. Unlike the Career from earlier in the Games, there was no satisfaction in this death. He left the knife Ten brandished with his body. Taking weapons from a fallen foe was dishonorable and if there was one thing Thresh prided himself on it was his honor.
When they announced the feast, Thresh knew he needed to go. Not because he desperately needed something, like the announcers thought, but because this was an opportunity to prevent the Careers from getting what they needed. In the time that he'd spent alone from the start of the Games, Thresh had come to a decision. He didn't care if he won, just so long as the Capitol favorites from the Career Districts didn't. That didn't mean he was going to lie down and die either.
When he got there, he was a little late. There was no easy hiding place from his side of the Cornucopia. So he waited, clinging to the edge of the cliff with his fingertips, until he heard the signal indicating the feast's start. He hauled himself up in time to see the girl from Five dashing into the woody undergrowth to the left of the large metal horn. The girl from Twelve was there as well, without her district partner. From the size of her pack, what she needed wasn't very big. Probably medicine of some kind.
She tried to make it back to the safety of the woods, but was waylaid by the girl from Two. Thresh crept closer, keeping an eye out for Two's district partner. That's when he heard it.
"I'm gonna gut you like your little friend from Eleven."
Thresh saw red. He'd hoped the little girl had been killed by a mutt or from some form of natural causes. To hear that she'd been murdered by one of these monsters from the Career Districts was too much for him. He didn't remember how the rock got in his hand. He didn't remember attacking the girl from Two. What he did remember was the sound her skull made when he fractured it open.
That sound snapped him out of his berserker rage. He looked down at the girl at his feet and then at the rock in his hand. It was bloodstained and he could feel the wet stickiness of blood splattered on his face.
The girl from Twelve looked up at him in fear. He knew she thought he was going to kill her. He should kill her. But something stopped him. Something the Career said.
"You friends with Rue?"
She nodded her head.
"Did you kill her?" He had to know. He had to make sure he was making the right decision.
"No," she answered. "I killed the one who did."
He nodded. It was enough. He grabbed his pack and the pack from Two and took off to the relative safety of the wheat field. He jumped down over the edge and landed badly. He felt his ankle give and right there he knew that he didn't stand a chance at winning.
If he couldn't win, he was damned sure he wasn't going to let Two win. He opened his pack first and saw just how little the Capitol wanted him to win. It was full of rocks. He snorted at the irony. He'd show them what he could do with rocks.
The pack intended for Two held two chest plates of light body armor. One was obviously intended for the girl from Two's smaller frame. Well, she wasn't going to need it and he wasn't going to let her partner get it. With a mighty grunt, he threw it into the lake. Now even if the male from Two came after him, he wouldn't be able to get the armor. He debated throwing the other chest plate away. Then he decided against it. He needed all of the advantages he could get if he wanted to defeat Two. It was a little tight, but he managed to get it on.
Then he waited. There was no point in running on his injured ankle. No point at all. He hobbled a little away from the edge and watched the cliff edge for the tribute he knew was coming.
He wasn't disappointed, as the sun was starting to set, he saw the blond head of the boy from Two look over the edge. He was ready.
He threw one of his rocks with all of his might at the boy. It missed but it got his attention. He wasn't about to let the boy climb down unscathed if he could help it.
The boy seemed to understand that because all of a sudden he took a running leap from the cliff edge. He flew through the air and performed some kind of rolling landing and came to his feet ready to charge.
Thresh was surprised for an instant and that was unfortunately enough to give the advantage to Two.
The Career leapt at him and tried to stab him with the sword. It skittered off of the armor but it didn't stop the shock of the blow.
Thresh grunted and took a step back. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and reached down for another rock.
The Career was shocked but recovered quickly. Quicker than Thresh. He adjusted his aim and slashed at Thresh's good leg. He struck a devastating hit, slicing through cloth and muscle with equal ease.
With a cry of pain, Thresh collapsed to the ground.
The Career stood over Thresh and snarled. "You killed Clove! You bastard! I'm going to kill you! But first I'm going to make you cry for your mother!" He slashed down with the sword into Thresh's right arm.
Biting back another scream, Thresh glared up at the Career and said, "Was that the bitch's name? I didn't know or care. You Careers, you're all alike. All bluster and violence. Nothing worthwhile about you!"
The boy growled and stomped his foot against the wound in Thresh's thigh.
He tasted blood and realized that he'd bitten down on his own tongue to keep from crying out. That gave him an idea. He placed his tongue between his teeth and bit down hard.
The pain was worse than anything else he'd experienced. But it achieved the desired effect, he was now bleeding profusely. Coupled with the wounds on his leg and arm he soon felt light headed and cold. He didn't even register when the Career cut his left arm.
He was willing himself to die. But on his terms, not from the Career's sword.
The light headedness increased and his vision started to pinpoint. It wouldn't be long now.
With the last of his strength, he formed his fingers into a rude gesture from District Eleven. The Capitol could screw itself. He was going to do things his way.
AN:
Beta Read by RoseFyre who caught all of my tense issues.
Just a little break from Spectator.
As always this will be updated infrequently and sporadically.
Tell me what you think!