NOTE: I published a few chapters close together. Please make sure you're caught up on the Feast chapter with Damon before you read this one! There will be major spoilers.
Eliza Maddox, 17, D2F:
The time for Victory has arrived. With Oscar laying dead, three knives buried in his torso, I only have to fight my way through three more competitors. I got a knife somewhere in Livi's arm too, but she's not actively attacking me. My priority is the Ten girl with the chainsaw, the one that just butchered a fellow outlier to avenge her fallen ally, who's somehow managed to claw her way into a war of Careers. I know for certain that she didn't get that chainsaw during the Bloodbath, so that means it was sent by a sponsor. What did she have to do for a sponsor to shell out that much money for a twelve year old from District Ten?
The three of us size one another up. The Seven boy—or is it the Six boy?—is nowhere to be seen. Above me is Livi, who flung me from the topmost platform when I killed her little boyfriend. Also above me, just a platform away, Emily pants in shock, holding the chainsaw. Something's given her a scare, probably the understanding that she's cut another human's life short, and in a particularly painful way, but then she gasps out: "Alligators!" and I know exactly what's happening.
The Gamemakers are containing us. The alligators will climb from the black water with their stubby, clawed feet, and then they'll begin to overtake the lowest elements of the obstacle course as the final two combatants duel atop the Cornucopia.
I'm battered beyond belief, but the Capitol's expert doctors will patch me up just fine once I've won, and then it's a lifetime of fame and fortune. I can barely stand to move my leg. Something went wrong at the socket when I crashed into the metal surface of the platform, and now I can't move it below the hip. I have to drag myself up the ladder with my hands and my one good leg, which is harder than it has any damn right to be. How is Emily having an easier Games than me?
It won't be easy for much longer. Hanging onto the raining with my spare hand, I pull myself into a standing position. I pluck a knife from my bandolier and whip it straight at her face.
She ducks. Her reflexes have improved since our run-in at her camp. I make my second shot, and this one nicks her side. There's nothing wrong with my throwing. She's just gotten better at predicting my moves. On the upper platform, Livi's still hunched over Oscar's body. Is this truly the fate of District One's golden girl, to be driven mad by sorrow after her lover's grisly demise? Behind her, the other boy slips out of the Cornucopia.
So he's been hiding. I chuck a knife at him. He flinches as it hits him in the chest and…bounces off harmlessly? Body armor. He took the Feast's bounty. He must have snuck it from the table when Oscar's torch went out.
Emily's closer to me. She dodges my next throw, and I reach for another knife, but it isn't there. I check each slot of my bandolier, but no. Somehow, I've neglected to keep count of my knives. If I hadn't wasted one on the Six coward, I would have stood a chance, but now Emily lays her index finger loosely on the chainsaw's safety switch and advances towards me, mouth set in a hard line. I try to retreat down the ladder, but there's a menacing half-growl, half-purr.
The alligator snaps at my foot and I freeze. Emily revs the chainsaw, swinging the blade into my neck.
Livi Carnelian, 18, D1F:
The chainsaw takes Eliza's head off of her shoulders, and I can't help but throw up in my mouth a little as it falls to the alligators below. The cannon fires. Eliza may have ambushed Oscar, but I can't find grace for her, even in her final moments of life. It might have been gory, but at least it was over quickly. At least Eliza wasn't bleeding from three different places, fighting the sluggishness that comes with blood loss, with someone watching her facial muscles slacken like a punctured beach ball. Nobody will be prying her dead father's ring from her finger, to make sure it goes home to someone who cares. Her token won't end up anywhere except a gator's stomach.
I only have one spear. After much debate, I left my other three behind, to hasten our journey across the arena. Now I'm regretting it, although I do still have the dagger tucked in my pocket. My priority is Emily. We've all seen what she's capable of, and I've been underestimating her for far too long, but I'm a Career who scored a Twelve in training, and there's no way my failure's going to result in there being two outer district, twelve year old Victors in a row. I have no idea where the Six boy is, but I can't afford to let his presence divide my attention.
As soon as Emily makes her way up to my platform, I let the spear fly, propelling it forwards with all the force I can. It skewers her through the sternum, exactly where I intended, but she steps into it, sliding into a lunge and throwing her still-whirring chainsaw at me.
It takes me down, the blood frothing forth from my thigh. I slide my flat fingers into it, assessing the damage, and feel a scalloped edge, with meat in the middle. It's split open my bone. I take out the dagger and slice off my jacket sleeve, tying it snugly around the fattest part of my thigh. Hopefully it will hold for long enough for me to kill the Six boy.
With my spear well out of reach, I look around. Where is he? I see a flutter of movement beyond the side of the Cornucopia. "Come out!" I snap, and he does, ducking his head as though ashamed. The plate armor covers his entire chest, and I figure that the Gamemakers provided it specifically as a defense against Emily's chainsaw. If only I had gotten it instead.
He has his own spear, similar to mine but slimmer and shorter. Easier for someone inexperienced to handle. I remember scaring him at the spear station during training, and I'm sincerely hoping that he chooses not to hold it against me. He points it at me uneasily and shuffles forward a few steps. "Come here," I demand, and he does. I stay still, waiting for him to inch a little closer. He nervously inspects the damage the chainsaw has wrought on me, and I lash out my arm, catching him by the ankle and giving it a sharp yank. He comes tumbling down on top of me and I slam the dagger into his chest. He gives a sharp whine of pain and scrambles away from me, having realized that I'm practically immobile, but he's loosened his grip on the spear. I take hold of it, one hand near each end, but he hesitantly circles around me, grabs it in the middle, and starts pulling.
I discover that I'm being dragged to the only unprotected area of the platform: right by the Cornucopia's tail, where there's a gap in the railing big enough for a backpack to fit through. Radley used it to kick supplies to the outliers during the Bloodbath, and it occurs to me that the slot is also big enough for a person. Below, the black pond teems with alligators. The plea escapes before I can help it: "Please, no!"
He stops, surprised. "No?"
"I give up. Please don't throw me to the alligators." It's so shameful that I almost whisper it, but it's either being chewed to a thousand bits, bleeding out slowly and painfully, or surrendering. I would never torture someone, because I'm terrified of the same thing happening to me, and I can only hope that he shares the same shred of compassion as me.
"Oh. Um, alright, I guess." He tries to take the spear, but I cling to it."
"Not yet." I lower my voice even further. "You have to promise to do something for me. Oscar—my district partner—you have to take his ring, and my bracelet, to my father when you go on your Victory Tour." He wavers, hesitant.
"Not his family?"
"He doesn't have any. Please, I swear it's not some Career trick, you have to bring it to my father. Oscar told me about some friends he had, Lucia and Logan? Logaine? Logane, that's it. I don't know the last name. But I think he would want them to have it. Please?" I let go of the spear slowly, reaching into my pocket. I hold up the treasure, and he takes it, then slides my emerald bracelet off my wrist and dumps the jewelry into his pocket.
There's a splash, and he jumps a little. "The mutts are getting impatient." He looks sort of faint and brushes the handle of the dagger still buried in him.
"I'm sorry. I can't remember your name."
"Quinten," he says.
"Make it fast, Quinten." He looks guilty, too guilty for someone who's almost certainly a better person than me. He wobbles as he slides the dagger out, and holds it out at arm's reach.
"How do I…?" I tip my throat back, tracing a finger over my carotid artery, hoping that he doesn't have a change of heart and let the alligators have me.
"It's just like cutting a rope, really. Congratulations on your Victory." There's an instant of horrible eye contact, when he kneels. I realize I'm almost crying.
"I'm sorry." He's shaking. The warm blade digs in, and I look up as my eyes gloss over with tears. One more message, for my father, sisters, nephew, my mentor from District Ten, even my killer, Quinten, who seems to harbor far less animosity for me than any reasonable person ought to.
"Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever," I whisper, the motto that every Career learns by heart. Then, softer, as I fade, "I love you all."
Final Kill Count:
Livi Carnelian (DECEASED): IIIIII
Oscar Poudret (DECEASED): II
Eliza Maddox (DECEASED): III
Rafe McClellan (DECEASED): I
Lyra-Rose Ripley (DECEASED): I
Quinten Aramdale: II
Damon Archer (DECEASED): II
Emily Parker (DECEASED): II
Soya Orlando (DECEASED): I
Death Tracker/Eulogies:
4th Place: Eliza Maddox, decapitated by Emily Parker
3rd Place: Emily Parker, speared by Livi Carnelian
2nd Place: Livi Carnelian, throat sliced by Quinten Aramdale
Eliza was a real treat to write. Witnessing her arc from the least committed, most anxious Career to one of the finalists, who managed to endure circumstances far beyond all of the other tributes without so much as complaining, was one of the highlights of writing this fic. Eliza's attitude changed so much throughout the story. Her determination was one of her defining traits, and the one that seemed to make her so popular. Ultimately, she hung in there for a long time, but I had to fulfill the narrative parallel of her evolving from an underestimated tribute to someone who died at the hands of a tribute she underestimated, because of her fatal flaw: impulsivity. Eliza will forever have a place in my heart, this verse, and also my Google Docs, where her archived form will eternally stand as a memorial of her perseverance.
Emily! Emily was a unique tribute in the sense that she was submitted as half of a pair, with the other tribute being Trey. I got the sense that Emily was designed to fall victim to him, but I chose to flip that on its head. She always had the ring of a survivor, and her intelligence and resourcefulness kept her alliance afloat many times over. Emily's slow progression into a more adult-minded tribute with a willingness to confront situations head-on allowed her to grow into a real contender for Victory, but compared to the might of the much older Careers, she couldn't quite make it. I think a lot of people enjoyed reading about Emily, and I hope that my choices did her justice. Emily's last move with the chainsaw ultimately sealed Livi's fate. As such, Emily is indirectly responsible for Quinten's Victory. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to write her into this story, and I hope that she can rest in peace knowing that she brought it home for another outlier.
Livi was perhaps my favorite tribute overall. I've always been inclined towards the Careers, and Livi's incredible prowess in combat was a combination of her submitter's choices and my own. Ultimately, I think being so physically strong was what terrified her the most: the prospect that one day, she would meet someone as strong as herself, since she had torn through every obstacle so easily. This fear was what ultimately reduced her to begging: the idea of being so totally at the mercy of another person, when the roles had been reversed for her entire life. Seeing her complicated relationship with Oscar unfold humanized her a little, but the animalistic terror of her final moments of life as they contrast with her aplomb throughout the story was kind of crushing to me as an author (in a good way, I swear!) If any other tribute had won, I would have closed the Games on a much firmer note, snapping the storybook shut, the end, but that just didn't seem to fit here, especially with Quinten as the choice of Victor. I think anything less prolonged would have cheapened both of them as characters, and I truly believe that having her place second, as much as I "feel" like she should have won, is the best thing for this story and this Hunger Games verse in general.
I have so much gratitude for everyone who submitted a tribute. I know this story was very imperfect and has taken absolutely forever to draw to a close, but I thank you for your support.
Hey y'all!
I have so many things to say, but first of all, congratulations to Quinten, Victor of the 400th Hunger Games, and to his submitter, the lovely tri96380! I have my reasons for choosing him as my winner, which I will explain in greater detail at the end of this fic in what I'm sure will be a very long and sappy author's note, but I'm just happy to have finally completed this SYOT. After two long years of sporadic updates and cringy writing, there's a lot I would do differently if I could start over from the beginning, but I couldn't have found a better group of people to share it with.
There will be a couple of epilogue chapters. I'll post them in the next few days, but after that, our time together will finally have come to a close. However, I'll still be around in other ways as the Cadbury Verse, in which all of my fics are set, expands. You could choose to read Reprisal, which is a prequel to this story. I promise that the writing is much better than it is here, and you get a fun rebellion subplot too! I hope that we meet again in my future SYOT projects, and if we don't, I'll leave it here with an apology for all the mistakes I made at your tributes' expense while I got my shit together as a person and a writer. I appreciate that you trusted me with your creations.
–LC 3
