Final Day! :O what's gonna happen?! Who'll win? Read on and find out! By the way, before you start, I was a little disappointed with the reviews last chapter. I know there are big gaps between updates but as I said I'm really busy and (sadly) schoolwork has to come first. Thank you to the people that did send a review.
Day Thirteen
Cleo didn't sleep that night. She returned to the pillar, and sat cross-legged at the top, watching the night sky. There were no stars, but she sat, contemplating the deaths of the past few days, and the day that was to come. And she knew, without a doubt, that in 24 hours, she would be a victor. And by the time the sun rose, she knew exactly what she was going to do.
Climbing down the pillar, she landed cat-like on the ground and looked around. As she did, a voice boomed out across the arena. 'Tributes… greetings! I hope you are well rested.' It was Caecilius Hawk, Head Gamemaker. Cleo smiled and waved at the sky. She wanted people to like her when she left the arena. 'Now, we have a little surprise for you, so… we want all three of you at the Cornucopia Mount, in an hour. If not, you will be… obliterated. Have a good morning!' the speaker crackled and then all was silent. Absurdly, birds started singing. Cleo smiled and danced over to the Cornucopia. She climbed up easily, keeping well away from the spikes, and sat on the Cornucopia, ready to meet the tributes.
Jayson appeared first, lumbering up the hill. She smirked at his lack of subtlety. If she wanted to, she could easily have killed him from a distance and not got her hands dirty. But that wasn't what she wanted – wasn't part of her plan. She wanted to be a big hero, a famous victor, and she wouldn't get that from sitting back and killing everyone from afar. The girl, District Four, wasn't anywhere to be seen, but she expected that. The girl had more intelligence than Jayson. But not enough to beat her.
She slid gracefully off the Cornucopia and walked casually towards Jayson, as if they were just meeting in the park for a picnic. But one hand strayed close to where she kept her weapons, ready to strike if need be. Jayson frowned at her as she came close, and a meaty hand closed around his hammer. 'Don't come close, girl,' he growled. 'Or I'll smash you!'
Cleo laughed. 'Oh Jayson, your confidence amazes me. Do you really think you could.' With each word she moved slightly closer, until she was right in front of him. Jayson tensed but didn't attack. She giggled and reached up to gently caress his cheek. His hand moved to stop her, but she caught his gaze in hers, and he stopped. 'Oh Jayson, does it really have to be like this?'
'Be … like this?'
She was almost pressing herself against him, looking up, her eyes wide. He seemed frozen, his mouth slightly open, his hands in mid-air. She went up on tiptoes, until she could whisper in his ear. 'You always were stupid.' He pulled away confused, and with a smile she tapped his lower torso. He looked down and saw the hilt of her large, serrated brutish dagger sticking out of his stomach.
'Non-observant as ever,' she giggled. 'You didn't even notice me stabbing you, just because I was pressed up against you, with all my womanly charms.' Jayson gave a weird, animalistic growl as he wrenched the dagger from his body and threw it away, covering the wound with a massive hand. Cleo danced away out of reach as he stepped forward.
'No matter,' he grunted. 'I can still kill you, little girl, and the stinking fish-girl too.' Cleo laughed and shook her head, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small, empty vial.
'Ah but that it where you are wrong. Do you really think I'd only wound you? That dagger is covered in the venom of the vipers. You'll be dead in a minute.' Already Jayson was coughing, clutching his throat as if it would help his lungs open. Blood and froth and other evil looking substances bubbled out of his mouth, as he gave a horrible, airless, choking cough. He was twitching, skin shrivelling, veins visible and a horrible, poisonous black or purple. He gave a final rattling gasp, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell forward. Cleo stepped neatly out the way as a cannon boomed.
O
Jessalyn watched from behind a pillar as Jayson toppled forward like an immense tree trunk and hit the floor. The thud could be felt beneath her boots. Cleo smiled and spun around, casting her gaze around the pillars.
'I know you're here,' she called. 'Come out come out wherever you are!' Jessalyn looked around. The entire arena below was covered in a poisonous looking, silver-green fog of cloud. It had appeared soon after she hid behind her pillar. She didn't know exactly what it did, but the sparse plants around it had shrivelled and died, so she could make a pretty good guess.
She couldn't run, and she didn't want to look like a coward. So she squared her shoulders, unsheathed her sword, and stepped out. She saw a movement in her vision and ducked instinctively. A throwing knife hit the pillar above her head and embedded itself in a crack. Cleo giggled.
'Not bad, are you?' she laughed. Jessalyn glanced around. The fog was full of dips and ripples, but something inside it, around the Cornucopia Mount, was definitely moving, making it shiver and shift. Jessalyn didn't want to know what it was.
'So,' they walked in a slow circle, facing each other. Cleo cocked an eyebrow. 'What's your secret, District Four? You don't look anything special to me. But you've survived where twenty-two other tributes died. So what's your secret?'
'Incredible style?' replied Jessalyn, smiling. The smile slid off her face as she saw Cleo pale and suddenly look oddly terrified, staring at something over her shoulder. Looking round, the sight she got made her go weak at the knees.
Twenty two corpses surrounded the Cornucopia. Not lifeless, inanimate bodies. They were standing up, between the pillars in their old places. Their dead, staring eyes and twitching faces were bad. But the most horrific detail was that the Capitol had left them exactly how they had died, just sewn them back together.
Violet and Ember's faces were gone, in their place were shrivelled masks of pain, dried purple and black veins, the eyes bloodshot red in deep sockets. Little Dawn Shentell had a greenish gash in her stomach, her guts half-spilling out. Scott Foster's chest had been caved in by a massive paw, and he walked on a broken leg, seeming not to care. Niall Hoult no longer looked handsome – half his hair was torn out, his face was a bloody mass and his throat had been ripped out. Lottie and Kai had been so blown apart they were just a mass of red lines – they didn't even have eyes, just empty broken sockets.
But the worst, the one that made her breath catch and her heart stop, stood alone between two pillars. He was almost unrecognisable, a mass of bloody greenish flesh, missing one arm at the elbow, the bone sticking out, his face just a bloody skull, just scraps of skin and blood and flesh covering his bones. A sob caught in her throat as tears filled her eyes.
She was caught off guard by a forceful kick in the small of her back. She fell sprawling on the ground, crying out as her useless, broken hand was jolted. Then Cleo was on her back, pressing her face into the dust. 'Stupid girl, aren't you? Too caught up with your emotions. You're gonna die because of that.' She giggled. 'Turn over! I wanna see your face when you die!' she shifted her weight backwards and Jessalyn took the chance and exploded upwards with all her might. Her sword had fallen to the ground so she snatched it up and turned to face Cleo, keeping half an eye on the corpses.
Cleo had jumped to her feet and was throwing a knife from hand to hand. The corpses had taken a step forward and had their hands outstretched. Jessalyn made a swipe at her, Cleo ducked underneath and tried to stab her but she jumped out the way and knocked Cleo to the floor. Cleo dragged her down too and suddenly they were rolling on the floor, each trying to get their blade at the other's throat.
'Don't you see?' hissed Cleo. 'This is a test, this is all a test! And you're going to fail, only I can win, I always win!' but then Jessalyn kneed her in the stomach and her words turned into a pained gasp.
'No one that bitchy should survive,' growled Jessalyn, trying to get her sword to Cleo's throat. She suddenly noticed the corpses moving ever closer, they were only a few metres away now. But the brief lack of concentration cost her dearly. Cleo managed to get Jessalyn's bad hand between her boot and the ground, and stamped down, hard. Jessalyn howled in pain and Cleo laughed, stamping again. Then she quickly nicked Jessalyn's thumb so that she drew blood.
'You're dead!' she giggled. 'See, I've got a special knife!' Jessalyn looked closer and saw that blade had a strange sheen to it, as if covered in a liquid. And her thumb was burning, the sensation spreading through her hand. 'Poison!' The corpses were almost in touching distance now, jostling for a place, reaching towards them with clammy hands. One touched Cleo's mad, laughing face and she screamed.
Jessalyn saw her moment and sprung up, slashing with her sword. The blade connected with Cleo's slender neck, and rent it open. Jessalyn gasped as a torrent of blood spurted out, and Cleo fell limp on top of her, glassy eyes still wide and surprised.
Shoving the body off her, Jessalyn staggered to her feet, Cleo's blood dripping down her face and neck. The corpses had melted into the ground, as did Cleo's. Jessalyn's felt full of acid, and she hardly heard the cannon nor the trumpet fanfare. Her vision blurred and her legs felt like jelly. A metal ladder appeared in front of her and she collapsed against it, frozen by an electrical current. Then blackness washed over her and she was gone.
IT'S ENDED! What a weird feeling. BUT there is another chapter coming, the final chapter of the story and also I'm about to start a kind of sequel/spin off story, that will contain some of the old characters.
List of the Dead
Hareld Wyre
Jenna Monroe
Nathaniel Merezald
Pau Furnely
Ginevra Helena di Cosimo
Patrick Volta
Trix Lexon
Amore Gemini
Odio Gemini
Tabytha laDawn Carmahel
Dawn Shentell
Sephiria Raven
Scott Fosters
Violet Queens
Ember Gildern
Kai Septor
Lottie Blacilla
Skye Coral
Niall Hoult
Sparkle Velia
Diesel Cain
Jayson Viktorr
Cleo Berkeley
So, for the last time, the ending points. There won't be any points next chapter – not needed – but please review and tell me what your final thoughts are, whether good or bad!
Elena:20
White Horse: 20
Elven Thief: 90
EY Ink: 30
Time. To. Vaporise. A. Maths. Teacher: 30
SoySauce17: 90
Pisces. TJ: 50
Miss-J'x: 20
Pass the peas and pies please: 20
Callmetribute104: 20
Loveisintheair22: 20
SeekerDraconis: 100
Fuzzman88: 50
LuvsDumbledee97: 10
Loveisintheair22: 20
SakuraDrops141: 120
DaAnimeChick: 20
MissDizzyD: 50
ReadingAngel: 100
Skyclimber66: 120
Dancingchocolatesmudge: 70
InsanelyWitchyMarauderette:10
Steph: 100
Sorcelle Dragonmoon: 10
MoonyPie1:10
LovesPrimosehunter:20
RenDil142: 10
Lillian: 10
Silverlining1294: 10
Chaos Penguin:10
Rueruerue: 40
So that is the final points list. Of course there is no list of things to buy, as you don't need to buy shizz anymore (omfg I just wrote shizz ah well) so final chapter next! Hope you enjoy it, and please please please review this time!
