A/N: Merry Christmas! Here's your present, my dear readers. Enjoy!
Sage Freedan – District 6
Pietta sits on the cold, hard ground. She fiddles with a twig and sighs softly. Her mousey, brown hair is a big rat's nest now. I touch the end of my braid and look at our packs. We don't have much food left. We haven't saved Maxwell from the Careers. The Careers haven't killed enough. A lot of tributes are still alive. Both of the tributes from One, Two, and Seven are alive. The boy from Twelve is still out there, and that terrifies me. The boy from Nine, girl from Five, and girl from Ten are alive as well. I count on my fingers. Thirteen of us are alive if you include me.
I close my eyes for a few minutes. I'm back in District Six. The voices of all my friends and family surround me. My sister hugs me. I've won. I've won the Games. I did it! "Sage! Sage!" I'm rich. I get to live in the Victors' Village. My heart rises and I am so happy. Almost on cloud nine.
"Sage," the voice says again. I open my eyes and see Pietta handing me the water bottle. There's not much left and I finish it. "We'll probably die of thirst."
I shake my head slowly. "Maybe. I think we can last a couple of days without water before dehydration sets in and we get hallucinations and such. Same goes for food. All the Careers have food. We could possibly steal from them."
"What happened at the Cornucopia though?" Pietta asks, raising an eyebrow. "There was that weird rumbling noise yesterday."
"I don't know what that was," I reply. I shrug, not thinking that it's that important. The Careers will probably still hang around there. Then, they'll split to hunt tributes. The one person I wonder about is the boy from Twelve. I haven't seen him or heard anything about him. His face hasn't shown up in the sky at night.
We finish the last of our food. It was a couple pieces of bread and a little bit of dried fruit. The two of us start walking away from the Cornucopia. We'll move away for a while and then we'll go back and see if the Careers are still there.
As we walk, I hear something. I spin around, trying to find the source of the noise. Pietta stays close to me, scared as well. "Run," I whisper. We start sprinting, unsure of where we're going. We just know we need to get away. I'm faster than Pietta and I have more stamina. Pietta is much less athletic and starts to fall behind. I can't slow down though.
There's a loud boom and I'm knocked off my feet. My ears are ringing as I struggle to my feet. I look back and see a hole in the ground and smoke billowing. There are blood curling screams. I see Pietta with her legs blow off. There is nothing left but bloody stumps just above where her knees were. She's screaming, screaming, screaming. I scream too. I start to move closer to her, but as soon as I see Sapphire from District One emerge from the trees, I instinctively back up slowly. Her brother is behind her. If those two are here, the others are not far behind.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" I tell Pietta. She sobs and shrieks in pain. There's nothing I can do. The bombs that Maxwell created have been used against us. I see Conrad stepping forward, one of the bombs in his hands. He's the one who threw the bomb. The one that blew off Pietta's legs.
I won't be able to get far away fast enough. I see a thick tree and I climb it. I wince as I scrap my knuckles on the bark. Glancing back, Gabrielle has shown herself. She laughs as she kicks Pietta. Maxwell comes into my view. He stands next to the male tributes from Four, the joker. Although, the joke master doesn't look like he's been cracking that many jokes lately.
Finally, I'm high up in the tree. I situate myself on a sturdy branch. I can't go anywhere for now. I'm forced to watch Pietta's death.
"Let's see," Gabrielle says with a malicious grin, "you must be Maxwell's lovely partner, Pietta. This is your partner, right?" She raises one perfect eyebrow at Maxwell. He bites his lip and nods. He's holding back tears. Pietta stares at him in horror. Her stare doesn't last long as she screams in pain again.
The District One siblings stand at the base of the tree I'm in. "Little troll, are you going to come down?" Sapphire asks, smirking at me.
"Why don't you come up?" I says, immediately regretting my question.
"If you insist," she replies. She starts to climb when her brother stops her.
"No. What if you fall?" the boy says. "You could break your neck or fall on your spear. Then where would we be?"
Sapphire lets out a huff and stands next to her brother. "She'll have to come down at some point or she'll starve."
I turn my attention back to Pietta. She whimpers loudly. I know she doesn't want to die, but she's going to. I want to stop it, but I can't. Gabrielle grabs Maxwell by the hair and forces him to look at the broken form that is Pietta. "Conrad. Will you do the honors and finish this chunk of meat off?" Gabrielle says. She forces the District Three boy to his knees. "Don't worry, Maxie, this will be fun!"
Conrad has a sick grin on his face. He draws his sword and stands behind Pietta. She sobs and hiccups. He puts the blade to her throat. He slides it across the tender skin and cuts through the arteries and veins. Her throat will fill with blood and she won't be able to speak or breathe. Pietta's hands fly to her throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.
In minutes, she'll be dead. I close my eyes and look away. But I can still hear her gags. I look back down at the bloody scene. Maxwell has torn himself away from Gabrielle. She smiles cruelly. She enjoys this sick game. Maxwell bends down next to his dying partner and holds her in his arms. Pietta continues to gag on her blood.
Soon, there's silence. Her eyes flutter shut. My ears are still ringing, but there's the clear sound of a canon.
Parrow Hosira – District 10
Here I am, hiding, with a makeshift bandage on my shredded leg. I look down at it again and grimace. There's dried blood on just about everything I have. I need a sponsor. Once I fix my leg, I can get back into this Game. I'm beginning to regret ever volunteering. It was stupid and impulsive. I shouldn't have volunteered. I did this for my sister though. I can't forget that. I did it for her for her wedding. She had always dreamed of having a big wedding.
I wish I had an ally right now. I wish I had some medicine. I wish for a lot of things. I stand up and lean against a tree. I've been here too long. I need to keep moving so the Careers don't find me. Earlier today I heard two booms. I'm not sure if they were two canons, but I know someone's dead. I'm hoping it's one of the Careers.
I suck in some air, wincing as I put a little bit of weight on my bad leg. I feel like Trenton now, limping my way through the forest. I bite my lip and keep pushing my way through the trees. I find a long, sturdy stick to lean on as a cane. Sweat drips down my face, making my hair stick.
Finally, I have to stop. I can't move to far or I get really tired. I can't climb trees with my leg. I have to stick with camouflage and laying low to the ground near bushes. I open my pack and drink a little bit of water.
As I munch on a piece of dried fruit, there's a soft beep. In front of me is a parachute with a little box attached to the bottom. I smile in thanks to my sponsors. Whoever is out there doesn't want me to die just yet. I pull myself over towards the parachute and open the box. Inside is glorious Capitol medicine. I take the strange, light purple cream and apply it to my wounds. It makes the lacerations tingle and eventually, they go numb.
I sigh in relief and put the rest of the medicine in my bag. I cover myself in leaves to camouflage myself. If someone's running by, they'll never notice me. I smile a triumph and close my eyes. I doze off for a while.
I wake up when I hear someone stepping on a branch. I reach for my bow and load it quickly. I aim it and look for the person that dares to attack me. A girl with long black hair and a sly smirk on her mouth holds up her hands. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm in need of an ally," she says smoothly.
I narrow my eyes and lower my bow. The girl has two swords strapped to her belt along with several knives. She has a full backpack on. She barely has a scratch on her. She's done a good job at hiding and avoiding. "Parrow. District Ten."
"Nayeli. District Five." She walks closer to me. I stand up. Then I realize there's no pain in my leg at all. I lift the bandages and it reveals light pink skin. There'll be scars, but I'm okay with that. As long as I have use of my leg and can run, then I'll be fine.
"Why do you need an ally?" I ask. I'll be her ally, but she looks like the kind that will stab you in the back. As I recall, she is the one that volunteered for a twelve year old girl and saved that girl from Six at the bloodbath.
"I could use a little help. And maybe we can sabotage the Careers. Or not. We could just hide. Whichever works for me." Nayeli lowers her hands. "I have food and water. You have medicine. Both of us are good hunters. We'd be a good team, no?"
After a minute or two, I nod. "Alright, Nayeli from District Five, we can be temporary allies. But if I say so, we split. Got it?"
"Got it."
Ector Cabot – District 12
I scream in rage as another tribute dies at the hand of those damn Careers. Pietta should have been mine! Why didn't I move fast enough? I take my sword, slashing at the dying tree. It's thin and cracks. Splinters fly everywhere. I kick the trunk and branches on the ground. My face contorts in frustration and anger. I watch from a distance as the hovercraft comes to pick up the mangled body. She should have been mine. I should have been the one to feel her warm blood.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. If I think about it, I can almost smell the coppery scent of blood. I stab another tree and count how many tributes are left now. The Career pack is basically the same as it was in the beginning, minus Morgan. It was almost too easy to take her down. She wasn't as experienced as the other Careers. She definitely had a lot of fight in her. She was fun to rip apart. The Capitol should give me a name. Ector the Ripper. Maybe something along those lines. All of Panem is going to remember me. If I win or die, I won't be forgotten.
There are voices behind me. I stab the tree and grin. There are tributes nearby. Tributes that need to be silenced once and for all. They're going to lose this game. I pull out my knife and turn on my heels to follow the voices. They're going to pay for their mistakes with their lives. They have no idea what they've gotten themselves into.
The voices in my head chant and lead me straight to my prey. I stalk silently through the woods. No one will hear me coming. I'll be a surprise. The forest is dead silent. The other tributes are still talking. They're whispering now, but it's loud enough for me to track them. I keep an eye out for tracks, but I can only find animal tracks. Who knows what kind of animals are out there? I wonder how many are actually muttations.
I approach a fire that's been put out. Some tributes were here and have recently left. I smile to myself, thinking of what I could do to those tributes. I wonder how many muttations there have been that have attacked tributes.
I push past some trees and trek up a rocky hill. My boots slip a little, but I grip the rock and pull myself up. I stand up and continue tracking those pesky tributes. I come closer and closer to the sounds. Finally, I stop in my tracks and listen. There are three different voices. They speak in hushed tones.
I peer around a tree and see three tributes. And what a jackpot I have hit! The two big guys from Seven and Nine. And then there's the easy target, the girl from Seven. She should have died long ago. I draw my sword and move closer towards them. A cruel grin crosses my face as I continue to sneak up on them. They'll never see me coming. I glance behind me when I hear something rustling. A tree cracks and falls.
I look back and see the boy and girl from Seven. I go after the girl, the weak link. I snatch her by the hair and drag her backwards. I put my sword up to her throat. I cut a piece of her hair off and laugh. "You have such pretty hair," I whisper in her ear, laughing breathlessly. "It's a good souvenir. Just like that girl from Four and Larkie."
The boy from Seven aims his ax at me, although I doubt he'll want to use it. "Let her go," he says.
"What? You think I'll be willing to let this extraordinary specimen go? I think I want to run some experiments on her. Want to play doctor, Clara?" I ask.
The boy steps towards me, challenging me. I click my tongue and press the blade against the girl's throat. "Wait your turn," I say. My grin widens. I pull out a smaller knife, the one I use to dissect my prey.
Something crunches behind me. I move to avoid whatever is behind me, but I'm too slow. The person behind me has snuck up on me. I turn and the boy from Nine has his sword raised. He slices at me. I jump to the side, light on my feet. He hits me with the hilt of his sword and kicks me in the stomach. I fall backwards, laughing.
The boy from Seven pulls the girl back behind him. The boy from Nine kicks me in the nose. I feel it break and blood spurts everywhere. The three tributes start running. I stand up to chase after them. It's hard to breathe with all the blood, but this isn't an opportunity that I'm going to miss.
Sorren Princeps – District 1
Here we are, waiting for that little runt from Six to come down. I'm sitting at the base of the tree with Sapphire. She plays with the knives from her belt. She takes out a butterfly knife and flips it around, opening and closing it. "She's not coming down," I say softly.
Sapphire looks at me and shrugs. "She can't stay up there forever." She glances up at the little red head.
"We've been waiting here for over thirty minutes," I reply. I stand up and stretch. The ginger stares down at me as she hugs a branch. She looks tired and hungry, like all of us. We all smell horrible. I sigh and pick up my sword.
Sapphire stands up with her spear. "We can't leave. Gabrielle and Conrad will be back soon with food." Her gaze lands on Lucien talking with Maxwell. I'm surprised those two are talking like they're good friends. I suppose that Lucien feels lonely like a lot of us do. I miss my friends back home. I wish everything was back to the way it once was. I wish I'd never gotten in these games. Although, I suppose there are worse games to play.
I bite my lip before talking. "I think we should leave the pack," I tell her. "I think we should go with Lucien and Maxwell and leave Gabrielle and Conrad."
Sapphire narrows her eyes at me. I know she looks up to Gabrielle, but it's not healthy to be around such a psychopath. "No. What the hell are you talking about?" She scoffs and paces back and forth. Occasionally, she glances up at the girl in the tree. The girl from Six has nowhere else to go. She can't climb up higher and the other branches are too thin to hold her up.
"We can't stay with the tributes from District Two." I walk towards Sapphire. She merely pushes past me, giving me a cold stare with her icy blue eyes.
"Why not?"
"Because they're going to stab us in the back. They're going to betray us," I whisper.
Sapphire stops to look at me. "No, they aren't," she says. "At least, not yet." She looks at the ground. She wants to survive and she's realized the best way to survive is to stay with the Careers as long as we can. But soon, we're going to have to run away from them. When it gets down to the final eight, everyone will turn on each other. I have to protect Sapphire. I can't let her turn on me.
Gabrielle and Conrad come back from hunting. They throw some rabbits down for us to skin. We roast the meat and eat it. It's not long until we settle down. The sun hasn't gone down yet. Well, the sun is hard to see and the forest is dimly lit. It's always hard to tell the time.
We're all laying around the dying campfire. Suddenly, a bunch of tributes storm into our campsite. We all leap into action, holding up our weapons. The other three tributes all stay together in a corner of the campsite. The girl gasps as she looks to her left and sees Ector, all bloody and furious. Gabrielle sees a chance to go after Ector. Ector just wants to kill Clara. Wash is trying to protect Clara with the help of Dustin.
I turn around and see the little girl from Six jump down from the tree. The other four tributes were her perfect distraction. I wanted to go chase her down, but I decided not to. I focused on the issue at hand. Conrad starts a fight with Dustin. Wash is fighting Ector. There's a spark in Lucien's eye and he charges after Ector. Gabrielle goes after Wash. She's still pissed that he didn't join the Careers.
I go to help Lucien fight Ector, who is a raging psychopath who needs to be taken down. Our swords clash. All I can hear are the sounds of shouts and weapons clanging against each other. I punch Ector in the face. Finally, the little bitch runs off.
I smile semi triumphantly. I'd prefer Ector dead, but with him gone, we can focus on the other three tributes. Lucien goes to chase after him, but Conrad holds him back. The two push each other and begin to argue. I'm not too focused on them though. Wash, Dustin, and Clara take the chance to run. Sapphire, Gabrielle, and I go after those three.
Wash takes out a small axe and throws it at Gabrielle. She smirks, dodging the flying weapon. Sapphire sees the ax, but it's too late. The blade lodges itself in her chest. She stops in her tracks, spitting up blood. Everything begins to move in slow motion. I scream and run to my sister. I catch her as she falls to the ground.
I look back at Wash, the boy from Seven, the boy with the axes. He stares in horror, seeing what he's done. His partner and ally drag him away as Gabrielle threatens to chase them. She slashes at a tree with her sword and comes back.
I look back at Sapphire. She's gagging on her own blood. I want to get up and chase after the boy from Seven. "Sorren…please hold me," she says, grasping my hand. Lucien kneels next to me. I reach to pull the axe out. Lucien shakes his head.
"You pull that out and she'll die immediately. You have a few minutes with her at the most," he says. He pats my shoulder and walks off.
Tears cascade down my face as I hold my dying sister. "No, no, please. I'm not going to lose you. I'm supposed to protect you. Mother was going to be proud of you."
"You're a good brother, Sorren," Sapphire says weakly. She smiles halfway. She coughs up blood. She turns her head, and then looks back at me. "You have to win…okay, for me. You'll make Mom proud." She's crying now too.
"You're going to be fine. You'll be fine. I won't let you die. I promise."
"Don't make any promises you can't keep," she says. Sapphire tries to laugh, but she can't. "Thank you." Her blood covers my hands. I put a hand on her cheek, leaving a smear of blood. She smiles halfway at me. She exhales, her sapphire blue gaze on my sage green eyes.
A canon goes off. I can't control my sobs. I choke up and kiss Sapphire's forehead. I close her eyes and look away. I yank out the ax. It leaves a nasty wound, but I can't stand the ax being in her chest. I'm going to take this ax and I'm going to kill District Seven with it.
The rest of the Careers and I move out as the hovercraft comes to take Sapphire away.
Dead:
Sapphire Princeps – D1
Pietta Carmelle – D3
Morgan Colliet – D4
Kage Hatenn – D5
Tarragon Layland – D6
Corduroy Dowlas – D8
Rilly Jarson – D8
Gem Minx – D9
Trenton Cedar – D10
Maize Koranon – D11
Bailey Fera – D11
Larkspur Fisole – D12
Alive:
Sorren Princeps –D1
Conrad Avtlift – D2
Gabrielle Dictatrix – D2
Maxwell Hoover Demonico – D3
Lucien Ritsert – D4
Nayeli Morte – D5
Sage Freedan – D6
Washington Hayner – D7
Clara Lignum – D7
Dustin Proelia – D9
Parrow Hosira – D10
Ector Cabot – D12
A/N: That's the end of Chapter 27. I don't know why it took so long for me to finish writing it. Anyways, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. I really am not expecting all my old readers to come back, but I really want to finish the story for closure. I have a lot of the story planned out except for the end. If you have any questions, contact me via PM or on the forum.
Question time! How do you feel about these deaths? Now, we've finally gotten another Career death! What's Nayeli and Parrow planning? Will Sorren leave or will he stay with the other Careers? What's going to happen to Ector? What about Sage, now that she's on her own?
Thanks for sticking with me for an entire year! I hope it'll be finished soon. I also want to remind you that I have been working on my novel as well. Plus, school is a bitch.
Also, here's a random set of questions. How was your Christmas? What did you get? See any good movies?
Until next time, my dear reader!
