A cannon fired.
October and Cedar had returned to Levi after spending a cold and anxious night away from the Cornucopia. October looked to Levi, and when their eyes met he gave a curt nod. "So, that's it," October said. "The final eight."
Victory seemed so tangible now. Throughout the Games October had entertained the idea of winning, but it had never seemed so real as it did now that there were only eight tributes remaining. She'd have a stretch of power as a Victor. There was no question that she would ask to mentor tributes for future Games. They would be able to aide her in overthrowing the Capitol if she trained them correctly. She briefly fantasized about training up an army of District 10 Victors, but she knew the chances of that ever happening were extremely slim. The living Victors from District 10 could be counted on one hand. The District 10 Victors from all two-hundred-and-thirty-eight Games could be counted on two.
She wondered who they would interview back home for her. And for Levi, for that matter. They didn't have family or close friends. To October's knowledge, no one at home cared much for her. No more than they'd typically care for a random stranger. She wondered if they were rooting for her. District 10 tributes were usually dead by the first night, if not in the bloodbath. Maybe they were hoping she'd win. Probably more for the spoils the Capitol would shower the District with for a whole year than for her, but it was nice to think that she had at least a shred of support.
The Capitol anthem began to play, startling October out of her thoughts. She exchanged confused looks with Levi and Cedar. The latter pointed to the sky, where a picture of the official announcer for the Games, Livia Garnette, had materialized.
"Good afternoon, tributes," she greeted with a smile, brushing her periwinkle blue side bangs off of her face. "Congratulations on making the final eight. You have survived valiantly and won the hearts of many of the Capitol citizens. However, now a twist comes into play." October swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. "You will be divided into two groups of four. The object is to wipe out the other group, at which point all remaining members of your group will all be crowned Victors."
October jumped as she heard Levi's whisper in her ear. "What do you think?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm uneasy," she said softly, hardly moving her lips. "This happened in the 74th Games, didn't it?" She felt Levi nod. "Only they changed their mind when the two tributes from District 12 were left, and Katniss had to kill Peeta anyway."
Livia's voice commanded their attention. "The groups will meet on the Cornucopia side of the northern and southern lakes. Failure to meet up with your teammates will result in brutal punishment. The northern tributes will be October Tyne of District 10, Wren Thomas of District 7, Cedar Thornfall of District 12, and Acton Cuthburt of District 3."
I'm not with Levi.
"The southern tributes will be Zephyr Raine of District 8, Levi Gail of District 11, Willow Emelda of District 12, and Chester Vine of District 9. And may the odds," she said with a girlish chuckle, "be ever in your favor."
I'm not with Levi.
October didn't want to care, but she did. Oh, she did. It would be extremely difficult to somehow beat the system and make it out alive with Levi. She didn't know why she wanted it so badly. She'd hardly spoken to Levi. They hadn't kissed or anything. Hell, they hadn't even hugged. And yet she wanted him to be a Victor, too. She wanted him to live because he was the first person she'd ever…not despised. As a general rule she didn't like people, and the one time she found someone she could tolerate, only one of them could survive.
Fucking odds.
"So," Levi said quietly.
"So," October and Cedar echoed.
She took a step back. "Guess we should get going."
"Guess so."
Her eyes met Levi's, and for a moment she thought she saw a smile play on his lips, but the movement was too quick for her to be sure. "Good luck," he said quietly.
Cedar snorted. Levi turned and fixed his cold grey eyes on the boy, raising a dagger maliciously. "You listen here," he said, his voice a growl, "if you kill her I will saw off each of your limbs individually. That's a promise."
"Yeah, yeah," Cedar spat. "Let's go," he added to October.
She tried to catch Levi's gaze again, but he kept his eyes fixed on his daggers as he secured them on his person. With a small sigh, October lifted her axe and rested it on her shoulder, following after Cedar with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The Arena looked even more beautiful now that the sun was out. The snow seemed to sparkle as it reflected the sunlight. It hurt her eyes if she looked at it for too long, but it was gorgeous nonetheless. She had grown tired of the snow. She didn't miss the overcast grey skies at all. The sky was now a saturated light blue in the afternoon light. Many of the leaves had shriveled up and died in the frigid temperatures, but if they had lived their green color would have looked gorgeous against the blue.
Cedar led the way, following the path that he and October had made when they had gone tribute hunting. October was more worried than ever about whether or not Wren had seen them after Newt's death. Maybe the girl would hold a grudge against them even though they'd never even made a move against the two girls. Sure, they had their intentions, but they were innocent enough.
She hoped.
They wove through the trees, making their way towards the sapphire blue lake. Despite her gloves, October's hands were completely numb. She was shivering violently. The night away from the Cornucopia had been hell, and she was still attempting to recover from it. The chill that had settled deep in her bones refused to thaw, and she felt as though no matter how many layers she put on, she'd still be freezing for the rest of her life.
"I'm tired," she said aloud. Moving her legs grew less and less appealing, and she slowed down a bit. She wondered why Cedar hadn't been affected like she had been by that night. It was probably his stocky build. He had more fat to retain heat within.
"Don't care," Cedar replied, not even looking back as his ally fell farther and farther behind. He broke through the trees and continued towards the lakeshore. There was a slight cliff where they stood, the land rising five meters above the surface of the lake. He sat down on a boulder, lazily turning the handle of his mace around and around in his palm.
October dragged herself up to him. Her shivers were so frequent that they appeared to be almost perpetual, making her look as though she had a tremor of sorts. "So you think they'll just find us here?" she asked Cedar, referring to Wren and Acton. He nodded, still mesmerized by his weapon. October sat down beside him, closer to the lake than he was, and leaned her axe against the rock. "I think maybe I'll take a nap, then," she said, leaning back and closing her eyes.
Everything happened very quickly.
Cedar jumped to his feet, swinging his mace over his head and slamming it down into October's stomach. She shrieked and tried to grab for her axe, but Cedar had anticipated this. He attacked her right hand with his weapon, the spikes tearing her flesh into ribbons. She screamed again, clutching the hand that was no longer numb but on fire, bleeding heavily and making her mind feel foggy. Before she could attempt to move, her legs still numb and her stomach aching terribly, Cedar dropped his mace and shoved her off the cliff with all his might.
The water was warm. That was the first thing she noticed. She crashed through it, the impact making her feel like she might rip in half. She didn't feel numb anymore, but instead her entire body was filled with a curious tingling sensation. Her heavy winter clothes dragged her down farther and farther. Above her she could see her blood creating swirls and patterns in the water. It looked beautiful, like art, if she was being honest. Her lungs burned for air. She attempted to swim upwards, but she was too weak to do so with her soaking wet clothes weighing her down. Her right hand was completely out of commission. She was fairly certain that Cedar had shattered several bones. She tried to unzip her jacket with her left hand, but the zipper was stuck. It always got stuck. She needed to hold it taught with her other hand in order to unzip it, but she had no other hand to do so.
Before she could stop herself, she opened her mouth. She was so desperate for oxygen. The water flooded into her mouth and she tried to gag but there was nothing but more water. Her vision was black at the edges and she felt ground beneath her. She was so far down she could hardly see the surface. It was dark, and if she turned over she wouldn't be able to tell if her vision was failing or it was simply too dark to see.
Her brain felt foggy. She closed her eyes, her limbs feeling numb with the lack of oxygenated blood. Her thoughts faded from her head. She could hardly feel the pain in her stomach or her hand anymore. An inky black embrace folded around her.
Aboveground, a cannon fired.