Chapter 15:

I wake up the next morning, forgetting where I was. But then I remembered. I am in the Hunger Games. It's day twelve. There are only three tributes left, including myself. Oh and my brother is one of them too. Someone will be victorious tonight, either myself, Kendall, or Cress.

"Hey Kendall," I say and smile. "So are you ready for these games to end today?"

"I've been waiting for these games to end since the beginning. But we can worry about that later. Why don't we eat the remaining food so we can build up some strength?"

I listen to what he says, and divide up the remaining rabbit and berries. We spend some time eating and talking quietly. I finish, and I realize that the Capitol audience will be anticipating the fight that is to happen, so we might as well get it done sooner. "We should probably pack up and head to the cornucopia. I'm sure Cress will find us there," I say.

We pack up everything and get all of our weapons ready. Kendall has seven different knives, five tucked in his belt, and two that he is going to carry. I have six knives and my three axes. I would like to carry two of the axes in my hands, but can't since Glam was so kind as to cut my hand off. I glare down at the stump that is causing me such problems. It really is going to be a disadvantage in the fight only having one hand, especially since it's my left hand.

Kendall has been watching me glare at my arm. "Lauren, don't worry about your arm. I'm sure you'll still be able to fight fine and it will only be a minor setback. Nothing to get all angry about." Once again, he is right.

I sigh and take a painkiller; no point in being in pain from my arm. Everything is all ready to go, so I pull on my pack and start climbing down branches. I am doing good and I am managing to climb down with one hand. I am about four feet above the ground when my foot slips, and I crash to the ground landing right on my butt. Oh it hurt soooo bad. But it was also stupid, so I start laughing.

Kendall climbed down quickly and just got down on the ground to see if I'm alright, and he gives me a weird look. "You didn't hit your head when you fell, did you? Because I see nothing humorous about you slipping and falling out of the tree."

"No I didn't hit my head. And I'm just laughing because it was stupid of myself," I try to explain. He's not getting it, so I just give up. "Whatever, I'm fine. So why don't we get moving and get this thing done?"

He agrees and we start walking. Kendall is leading the way since he recently went to the cornucopia and knows how to get there from our tree. I swing my ax in my hand as I walk, trying to get used to using that hand. It feels weird and awkward. I'm not horrible at using the ax in my left hand, but I'm not nearly as good as I was with my right hand.

We walk for a couple hours, and then we finally make it to the cornucopia around midafternoon. We enter the clearing slowly, looking around for Cress. We don't see him, so I decide to plop my pack down, since it will only get in my way fighting.

We lean against the cornucopia and drink some water. Then we talk for a bit. "So when do you think he is going to show up?" Kendall asks.

"I'm not sure but-" I'm interrupted by a scream coming from the mountain. I see Cress running towards us. This is it, it's do or die time.

We run towards him and meet with the clang of metal on metal. I start fighting him on one side with Kendall on the other. I'm doing everything I can to hurt him, but he has some armor on. Kendall isn't having much luck either.

Cress is managing to defend himself from both of us. He is only using a trident. I take a swing with my ax towards him. He blocks it with his trident, and in the same motion, he turns and stabs Kendall in the stomach. He falls to the ground clutching his stomach and screaming out in pain.

No. I will not let him kill my brother. I start attacking him with a renewed anger. I put every bit of strength I have into attacking him, but it's no use; I can't get a hit in. But I'm not giving up.

I take a swing towards him, and he blocks it, and knocks the ax out of my hand. He hits me across the head with the end of his trident. I fall down to my knees, too dizzy to focus on him. I see him lift the trident above his head. I guess this is how it ends: Cress is going to kill me then finish off Kendall and be the victor. I accept defeat since there is nothing I can do that could save me. I stare at him as he gets ready to kill me. But something distracts me from him momentarily.

I see the flash of silver in the sunlight, and then the crimson of blood flowing from Cress' neck. He falls down clutching his neck, but still fighting to stay alive. Behind him is Kendall, bleeding greatly himself, but holding a knife covered in Cress' blood. But he has fallen back to the ground, even weaker.

He saved me, once again. I stand up shakily, realizing what must be done. I grab another ax from my belt and stand before Cress.

I lift my arm above my head, ready to bring the ax down on my target. I can feel the pure power pulsing through my arm in anticipation for what would happen next, waiting for the swoosh of the ax through the air, the thud on contact. This was the moment I had been waiting for all my life.

I bring my ax down right on his neck. His head falls off, and the cannon goes off. Cress, the most difficult opponent of the games, is finally dead.

I turn my attention to Kendall who is lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. I drop the ax and run over to him. I gently hold him in my arms. "No Kendall, you can't leave me!" I'm starting to cry. I can't help it, I don't want to lose my brother. "Don't leave me here all by myself! I can't live without you," I say in-between sobs.

His face is paler than normal, and I can tell he is weak from all the blood he lost. He smiles up at me, and a tear slips from his eye. "Lauren," he says and coughs. He lifts a bloodied hand up slowly and wipes a tear off of my face. "Don't cry," he says weakly. "Just remember, I..love you," he says feebly. He coughs again and his eyes close. A cannon goes off.

"No no no, Kendall, you can't leave me," I say while sobbing. I sit there crying for a moment in silence but the silence is soon broken. "Ladies and gentlemen, the 124th Hunger Games victor!" Gustavo Templesmith says. The arena is filled with the sounds of the cheers coming from the Capitol. But I barely notice it. All I notice is the still body of my brother laying in my arms, the puddle of his blood around us. My tears are falling onto his face.

I refuse to believe he is gone. But the sound of the crowd prevents me because I know that the only way I would be able to hear them right now was if I won.

I know Kendall wouldn't have wanted me to be mourning over his death like this. Not after I just won. So I must be strong, for Kendall.

I wipe away my tears and stand up proudly and smile. The crowd starts cheering louder. Then a hovercraft appears and drops a ladder down in front of me. I bend down to Kendall and brush his hair to the side. My hand lingers on his face. I give him a kiss goodbye on his cheek. "Goodbye, Kendall," I whisper and stand up.

I grab ahold of the ladder and I am frozen to it. But my eyes are still on my brother's still and lifeless body as I am being pulled up. He is the last thing I see in the arena before the doors close.

The doctors welcome me and give me some drug so they can fix me up. My eyes drift shut, and before I lose consciousness, a single tear escapes my eye as I think of Kendall one more time.