Don't You Worry Child.
Don't you worry child; see heaven's got a plan for you.
Theo Cassius, District Two Male.
Garnet's eyes, not surprisingly, never waver despite the destruction about to happen. My eyes stay locked on the falling shards of glass - rather huge - hurtling down towards us. Garnet makes a small, cheerful laugh as he jumps backwards, sword still in hand as the first piece of glass lands and shatters just where he was stood. I wince at the destruction before trying to lock my eyes back on Garnet.
All this time, I've been one of the biggest threats concerning the Careers.
Garnet, however, seemed to sneak up on everyone.
Delaney was always right about Garnet being the biggest challenge I'll have to face; I just always hoped someone else, maybe Astor, might have killed him before I would have to face that. Delaney was always our weakest link, Astor was okay but never trained like the rest of us and Lorelei was always mysterious. I shouldn't even count Waverly or Gage in our alliance; neither lasted long and neither had the right connection and attitude. It's sad, really, because someone like Waverly could have avoided everything and would still be alive now.
"What are you waiting for, Theo? Big bad Theo, leader of the dysfunctional Careers!" Garnet cackles.
Another chunk of glass shatters nearby, followed by a smaller piece that breaks on top of the Cornucopia, shards raining down the sides.
"I was never waiting." I reply back, just as strong.
"Hmm. More like you never expected it to be just you and me."
"And the girl from Five," I reiterate. "Don't forget about her."
"She's as good as dead," Garnet cracks a dark smile. "I made sure to take her out so I could enjoy this without the worry of an added 'extra'".
He says 'extra' with his spare hand making quotation marks. Garnet had this all planned out - he wanted to win by defeating a Career in the final fight. He didn't want to defeat a reaped tribute, an extra in his eyes, because that wouldn't bring enough satisfaction. He wanted to win by killing a Career and from the beginning, he targeted me. That's why he acted uncharacteristically kind towards me. He was lulling me into a sense of false security - to never have to worry about him as a threat - so that I wouldn't be as prepared as I could have been. If I had found out sooner, Garnet wouldn't be around now. Someone else would be here and my chances would have been a bit higher.
He really did manage to play the game on both sides; physical and psychological.
"You make a perfect mass murderer." I say, tilting my morningstar into a more attack position.
Another glass shatters on the moss-covered fountain a few yards away.
"What can I say?" Garnet laughs. "I was always here, there, killing and fighting whilst the rest of you hid. I played it properly!"
That he did. I should have seen it coming all along.
"So how many kills has that been, Garnet?" I shout backwards over the next chunk of glass shattering.
"Hmm," Garnet smirks. "Twelve, Five, Astor, Eight, Six, little Three here, might as well add the other half of Five to it and lets not forget about poor, little Chord. So, I've killed eight. Adding you to it means a kill streak of nine. Impressive, right?"
I nod without really agreeing. Anything to stall him; and I'd be lying if I didn't hope a chunk of glass would just squish him.
"Giving up already Theo? I didn't think you'd be like that. Obviously missing your boyfriend too much."
The thought of Chord ignites the dormant fire within me. I've held it back whilst Garnet has chatted away, but now, it's too late. Garnet's eyes never waver and as my eyes trace the length and size of his sword and the stained blood, I charge forward. Garnet isn't caught off-guard and easily dodges my first swing with a dark cackle.
"Come on buddy," Garnet urges me on, taking a swing with his sword that I side-step. "You can fight better than this!"
"You better I can!" I shout, putting a lot of strength into my next swing that just skims past Garnet's shoulder.
We skirmish for a while, dealing out blows that never hit, skipping around the blood-stained tiles as glass continues to rain down. I quickly look up, for a split second, to see no more glass, and a part of me sinks when I realise that I'll have to kill Garnet completely on my own. Right now, I can't help but doubt my odds.
"You know-" Garnet grunts as he avoids my next swing. "I never knew you were gay."
"It's not something-" I duck the next blow. "I've gone around bragging about."
"Ashamed are we?"
"Never-" I slip from the blood and glass, but manage to swing again. "I just try to avoid being stereotyped."
"Like you guys-" Garnet jabs his sword forward. "Thinking that I was dumb?"
My lips press into a line, the words dying on my tongue. He was right. We did stereotype him into being dumb. Astor made it clear from the beginning that Garnet wasn't the brightest lightbulb; that he was all brawn and no brains. That might have been true, but, I've learned the hard way that whilst mathematics isn't something Garnet can do, holding up a front and playing a game most certainly is. His sword jerks out, and I'm a little slow, the blade cutting across my side and ripping the white shirt open. Blood quickly leaks out and smothers it red. Taking advantage of the situation, Garnet boots his foot outwards, catching me in the knee and sending me downwards. Red liquid begins to trickle on the ground around my skin, a sharp, peppered pain shooting up my leg.
"How the mighty have fallen," Garnet smirks, booting out again and, despite dodging, it hits my shoulder and forces me onto my back. "And, now, I'll claim my victory."
Cameron Flinch, District Five Female.
I blink a few times at the image in front of me. Their hand is extended outwards, looking rather sinister. I'm almost tempted to grab onto it - a sense of happiness settling inside me at the thought of taking that hand and seeing where it might lead me. It couldn't hurt, could it?
"Cameron!"
My entire body freezes as I remember the voice. It's sweet, angelic, child-like and whimsical. I turn around from the hand protruding from the shadows and see the image, a blur of bright red, to my left. The sound and the bright red hair is enough to bring tears brimming at my eyes. It begins to materialise into something proper, and as she comes around, I want to hug her. Mirana stands there, her face so innocent despite the large, deep gash in her stomach; the gash that I done.
"Mirana..."
"Cameron!" Mirana squeals. "You have to go back, okay?"
"Go back..." I repeat the words, realising what they might mean to me. Go back to a world where I could die at the click of someone's fingers?
"Yes, go back, silly," Mirana gushes. "They wouldn't be happy if you didn't."
"If wh-"
A blonde blur appears on Mirana's right, quickly forming into Gavan. My breath hitches in my throat as I place the pieces together and realise that if Gavan and Mirana are together, Gavan is dead. The tears that were so close to spilling, do, and I allow myself to silently cry and smile at Gavan's bright hair and red soaked shirt.
"She's right, you know," Gavan says softly but defiant. "You have to go back and show them you can do it."
"What he said," Mirana beams, looking at Gavan. "Your hair is so much like snow still!"
"Yeah, well," Gavan plucks his top from being so tight against his skin. "This is the colour of your hair."
Mirana frowns before giggling and then looking back at me. The whole thing manages to send warmth into my heart, lighting it like a fire. "But go back. For us?"
I keep my mouth closed, afraid of how much it might betray me and give away my true emotions. Truth is, I'm so against going back. Mirana and Gavan and Jack made the arena for me so less terrifying than it could have been. I was so scared, scared out of my mind, but I kept my hardened and witty shell on, acting like the mother to my allies. Why would I want to go back and be murdered when I could so easily give in and join them all? Go back to my 'family' by taking that darkened hand?
"Don't even think about it."
A smirk forms on my lips at the presence of another voice in the air. This one I know so well. This one was the same I coaxed into joining this alliance and gaining that father figure he never expected to gain. I spin around on the spot, finding Jack's peaceful face and head full of curls, contrasting to the red pattern melded into his white top.
"I wasn't." I lie.
"Yes you were, I know you too well, Cam," Jack smirks himself, and how much I actually miss seeing his budding sarcasm, learned from yours truly. "You go back and actually fight for what you deserve."
"My life?"
Jack smirks again. "Exactly."
He must see the confliction on my face because he steps forward. Without warning, both of his hands touch my shoulder, but I don't feel it, I just see it. His smirk turns soft and he leans forward, whispering three simple words that change everything. Fight for me.
Then, without warning, light pierces my eyes and I strain to see my three former allies turning into blurs once more.
It takes a while to open my eyes and that's when my head begins to pound. I gingerly touch the back of my head and find it sticky and wet. When I retract my fingers, they've been dipped red. The pain is overwhelming. I try to stand up but it turns out to be harder than I thought, my legs almost like gelatin that can barely stand. I blow air through my teeth and force myself up, ignoring the pain and the way my head swims. The floor where I laid a few seconds ago is painted red and black, and you can't not see the large pool of crimson to my left. That's where Gavan died alone. I left him alone. It takes but a moment to realise that the sunlight on my face is warm, not like the fake one. I look up and see the glass roof has crashed through; I don't know whether that's a blessing or something more sadistic.
I see the sight of something across the gap drifting lightly into the hole in the wall. Past the fuzziness, I strain my eyes, and that's when the explosion happens.
It's loud and leaves a ringing in my ears. A new sense of panic settles deep in my stomach as the explosion sets off a domino effect, taking the shop out to it's right and then onwards. My feet move before my head has processed that it will eventually catch me unless I descend three floors into the battle with my final three opponents.
I storm down the broken escalator near me as the floor seems to concave completely. Then, the drifting object floats down in front of me, a cylinder shape, passing the cement of a shop in the direction I'm running. It explodes as I come to a halt, blowing me off my feet. The pain in my head only thuds mindlessly as I rush to my feet, slipping and sliding, running away as the explosions begin to erupt behind me, one after one, chasing.
The one thing I'm proud of is my speed. I've always had exceptional speed. I sprint down the steps, two at a time, the floor giving out in an eerie fashion.
This time, though, I'm down the first set of steps I can reach, and as I touch the bottom, my stomach knots tight at the sight of the little girl from Three. One and Two clash their weapons, bleeding and injured, when the final explosion booms, a deafening rumble erupting. It shocks them both enough to look in my direction.
One has the advantage, and quickly, he snatches it.
His sword skewers Two through the gut. The look of anger on Two's face fades away as his body crumples, life disappearing and a cannon sounding in response.
Garnet Stone, District One Male.
Seeing Theo's dead body on the floor fills me with both a sense of pleasure and a sense of anger. He was suppose to be my final kill; the cherry on top to my victory. I had this planned without anyone knowing. Everyone else was suppose to die so I could claim victory and seal history with a fight of the ages. Two Careers, a massive bloodshed battle, me coming out on top. Theo was my choice; my first and only choice.
Delaney and Waverly was weak. Astor, well, I wanted to use her to help me kill and then kill her before the battle. It came down to Theo and Lorelei. But when I saw Theo take charge during training, and then that deadly score of ten came up to match mine, I knew he was the one. Naturally, he'd last long, but only one person would be able to conquer the giant and that would be me.
I never planned on Five surviving though.
She never was suppose to. When I threw her head against the floor, I expected both her and her ally from Six to just die, bleed out perhaps. He done as he was told. She, however, is a lot stronger.
But then again, killing the underdog? That might be just as good as killing the biggest threat and expectation as Victor.
Five stands there, wobbling back and forth on her feet, her face slightly pale and her eyes blinking rapidly. She could die any second. Growling, I grip my sword and charge at her. She doesn't seem to take my charge into proper account, but at the last minute, she throws herself to the side, falling onto the glass scattered at out feet. I spin around and stab outwards, hitting the ground as she rolls over, hands tucked in front of her face.
"Oh please." I mumble quietly, stepping forward to stab again, missing once more as Five rolls away.
I resort to kicking out my foot which catches her rib, and she wails in response, jumping up on her legs that sway slowly. I jerk my fist outwards and it grazes her chin, sending her shaken body staggering to the side. But as I go to punch her again, she fights back, ducking and managing to hit me on my jaw. Then, almost like a drug, she blinks again and seems completely okay. It's all an act and her eyes give it away, but she growls like before, that fighter's growl, and runs forward. I go to swipe my sword at her but she ducks, headbutting upwards into my groin. The pain, obviously, sends me reeling and onto my knees, dropping my sword. She kicks out into my chest, forcing me onto my back. It's surprising how much stronger someone gets when they have determination and a reason behind their actions.
She instantly kicks my side, sending another gush of pain through my body, before another kick lands between my legs once more.
This time, it's enough to make me sick. Spit and vomit spew in my mouth and out like a geyser. I hear the familiar sound of my sword scraping against the concrete, and as I clench my right hand, I realise I must have dropped it and Five's picked it up. The motivation sends me onto my feet in seconds.
Five stands there, holding the deadly weapon that I so love, eyeing me up.
"That was the same look in my eye when I killed your allies." I spit out angrily.
She screams, a mix of a broken sob and an infuriated cry, and runs forward with my large weapon in her fragile hands.
She sweeps outwards, but I know my weapon and how to use it, and instantly duck and grab the handle myself. She seems shocked and I tug for her to let it go. She tugs back, her mouth moves, and then a wad of spit flies into my face. My face flushes with anger and my stomach burns. I force my whole strength into a push, ripping the sword from Five's hand and watching her body sprawl to the glass-covered floor. Her eyes look so innocent as I launch forward, back with my sword, and land on her body, causing a sickening crunch to be heard from Five
I push down all my weight, holding her there.
"You're a fighter, you know," I whisper, my breath ghosting her ear. "I've always liked that in a girl. Someone who will tell me no."
"No." Five replies defiantly, but her voice is cracking.
"Just like that," I smirk, the cold silver running across her leg and then shorts, coming up to her top. "I'll make sure to get my wish. Everyone will remember my win and how I teased my opponent, torturing her until she basically killed herself because she couldn't handle the torment. You'll go down in history babe."
I lean up, my knees on either side of her, her right arm trapped between my leg and her body, her left a sickening yellow-green, a bone visible through the flesh as it lays idly to the side, useless. Oh dear, I broke her arm. I raise the sword until it presses against her neck. Slowly, I trace it down, watching the red line appear and Five crying in pain.
"Or I'll do it quick. Yeah, I feel like it's time I went back and gained the adoration I deserve!"
I raise the sword from her neck until it points over her heart.
"Say goodbye and oh, say hi to your little allies for me."
As I push down the tip of the sword through her flesh, a sharp, bullet pain enters my own, knocking my movement. The sword goes straight through her, missing her heart. She cries out in tune with me and as I look down, I can see a chunk of glass, dipped red, gripped in her apparent broken arm and a large hole squirting blood coming from my chest. Blackness swarms my vision as I fall on top of her. Our eyes are at level and as my own go dark, I see her orbs disappear behind her eyelids.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the Victor of the Sixty-Sixth Hunger Games, -
Don't You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia.
The blog for this story is - glasshousehungergames . blogspot. com - just take out the spaces. Deaths will be notified there.
Theo Cassius, District Two Male.
Sorry to the submitters that lost their tribute. In all honest, these were the tributes I struggled to write and connect too, and in all fairness, I couldn't keep them around and constantly struggle throughout. Please stick around, but if you don't, that's fine. These are the Hunger Games and this is how it works.
Again, I'm sorry.
Since there is no points system now, a question might be asked sometimes that I would love for you to answer.
Who is your winner, Garnet Stone from District One or Cameron Flinch from District Five?
All deaths will be based on realism, favoritism, and whether or not the submitter is reading the story (obviously, reviews let me know this). Each decision is painstakingly hard, but must be done. Another factor will be whether or not I see a future for your tribute, or whether I can write more and more for them.
Half-Glass, I did love Theo to the moon and back and your reasons for his victory were admirable and correct. But, I wouldn't have known where to go for him after and I feel like his time to go would be now.
OHMYGOD WHO WON?
Find out next chapter, heh. I'm evil I know. It's either Cameron or Garnet. Next chapter, interview and the announcement of our Victor!
I'll ask my big questions next chapter too and then it'll be over. ;o