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Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.
Caroline pleadingly begs me not to kill her. I can feel Oliver's eyes on me, waiting for me to prove that I'm really the Career I say I am. Maddie comes up beside me and snickers. "Awww, you guys, look at nerd girl, all caught up in her own snare. Trying to catch a career, were we, missy?" Maddie says. I see she's right. River didn't make this trap with the rope that we got from sponsors, so one of her sponsors must have sent her rope.
Maddie grins evilly. "I think we should set her free, you guys." Caroline nods vigorously. "Set her free, ViVi" Maddie says haughtily. "Don't give me orders, Maddie. I'm leader of the pack. If you want to set her free so bad, why don't you do it?" I say dismissively. She shrugs and walks over to the trap. "Oh, how you remind me of my sister Glimmer, with her blonde hair" Maddie says.
She whips a knife out of her belt to cut the rope. Oliver groans. All of a sudden, Maddie brings her knife across Caroline's throat. Her eyes roll back into her head and a cannon booms. "I set her free from a life full of pain and misery. I can't wait to be set free," Maddie says giddily.
I'm starting to get nervous around her. All of a sudden, Maddie turns on her heel. "You!" she says, stalking towards Anna. "You betrayed me! How dare you! I trusted you! I loved you! Well, now you get the betrayal you so deserve. I bet you didn't think you would be killed by your district partner. In fact, I bet you didn't think you'd be killed at all. Boy, were you wrong, Alistair Gleam!" Maddie screeches.
She pushes Anna up against a tree. "Oliver!" Anna screams. Oliver runs towards her and wrenches Maddie away from her, but I know it's too late. He pushes Maddie away just in time to catch Anna as she slides the ground. Meanwhile, I pin Maddie to the ground her sleeves and the legs of her pants with knives. She doesn't struggle, she just stays there muttering and giggling.
"Anna… Anna," Oliver rasps. Is he… crying? I jog over, but not too close. They need space. "Oliver…" Anna says, turning her head. "…I'm sorry for volunteering. Now you have to see me die." "Don't be sorry. I'm sorry for not telling you how I feel. The games are no place to love." He looks at me pointedly, and then he turns his attention to Anna's stomach.
"Pull it out, Oliver," she says weakly. He slides the handle-deep knife out her abdomen. There's very little blood. "I love you," he says softly. My heart almost breaks, seeing a big, strong career break down like this. "I love you too. See you soon," she says, taking her last breath. Her cannon sounds. Oliver leans back and gives a positively wolf-like howl.
"The doggies are coming. They heard the confetti popper!" Maddie says. Oliver leans over Anna's body, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. I walk over, pat him on the back, and help him get to his feet. When he's up, he turns towards Maddie. "She's insane. She needs to go," he says finally. I purse my lips and nod. I don't want to kill her, even if she really is crazy.
I pull up the knives and she clambers to her feet. She walks over to Oliver and pokes his cheek. "Are you a walnut?" she asks him. "No, but YOU are a nutter. Anna's going to take you to the mental ward upstairs." He takes the knife she killed Anna with and stabs her in the stomach.
"You kill because you're afraid of dying, Oliver," she says, her sanity seemingly returning. "I wish you the best of luck on your marriage, Victoria Rose." She giggles. "You have a funny name, Victoria Rose. Tell me what your wedding was like." "I haven't had it yet, but I know I want a dress that looks like the one I wore for my tribute interview. And I want red roses and anemones, the flowers of love. And it'll be on the beach, at sunset." "That sounds positively delightful. I'm invited, right?" she asks. "Uh, sure. I'll save you a seat. You can come too, Oliver." He snorts and rolls his eyes. "I'll have to pick out a wedding-appropriate dress. I think I look good in purple and red. Oh, I'll have to go shopping for shoes and makeup, too," she babbles. Then her eyes flutter close and her cannon booms.
"Well, I think we've done enough hunting for one night. Let's go back," I say. We get back on the trail as the hovercraft picks both of their bodies up. After a few minutes I realize that they both had bags full of berries. Shoot. We walk in complete silence for almost an hour. "She loved you a lot, you know," I say, when I can't stand silence anymore.
"Uh huh. You should have heard her telling Lyme, her mentor, about how nice you were after you three talked about strategy on the roof. Except Lyme doesn't know that y'all weren't discussing strategy. I know you were talking about boys and other girly stuff, like nail polish and hairstyles," he says.
"Nail polish? Hairstyles? I don't think so, mister. We talked about weapons. And a little bit about boys, too," I say, offended. "You know what? I think I'll just leave now," he says. Before I can say a word, he disappears into the still dark swamp. I sigh and begin trudging back to camp alone.
On the way, I catch a glimpse of myself is the dawn-lit swamp water. I gasp and back up. My hair looks like a rat's nest, and I 'm covered in a layer of grime. I bet Marlin can't even look at me. I brush my hair through with my fingers and wipe the dirt off with my jacket sleeve. I hope this is over soon, because I can't stand being this dirty.