Chapter 33: The Winner

Author's note: This is it! The chapter that decides a Victor! Hope you like it. This chapter contains brutal bloody violence, and profanity. Viewer discretion advised.

Day 16 of the Games, 11:29 am arena time:

Amanda had crossed the bridge onto the center island F6 just in time after trudging knee deep in murky seawater as the island sank.

So far that morning, she had fought humanoid mutts of dead tributes, and victors. She saw Beverly O'Malley's face in the sky, and just now she had fought a Minotaur and barely escaped with her life. She was dirty. She was sweaty. She was tired. She was covered in half healed scars. She was hurting. She was miserable. Her fingernails were ruined. Her pink hair was a mess. And she hadn't had a change of clean clothes in more than two weeks. It strengthened her resolve that the sooner she wins, the sooner her prep team would give her a full spa treatment.

She assumed that David Crane would head for the cornucopia, so so did she. She checked over what she had. She rubbed a little of the alien fungus medicine on her wounds and then ate the rest knowing it would give her strength. She she popped some pain-killers, gulped some water, and then left her backpack assuming that she wouldn't need it. She wore her 15 day old Hunger Games clothes, her belt of knives, two swords and her Mockingjay Token on her chest.

David Crane had just got off the bridge from another sinking island. He was covered in bleeding lash marks from the whipping he had just received from that witch of a Goth, Beverly O'Malley. And now he was almost sure that the Gamemakers had sank all the islands except this one, what he believed to be the center island. He had heard no cannon. Which meant that Amanda Snow was still alive. He wanted out of the arena that minute, and would have been happy had Amanda Snow died by the Gamemakers, but at the same time he still wanted it this way. He wanted to avenge his sister by killing Amanda himself.

He wondered how she made it this far? He thought back to the month in the training center. He had seen her win almost every sword fight with the trainers. He had watched her pour over those science text books at the poisonous plants station with the trainer looking over her shoulder. She wasn't as good at wrestling but she was strong, she lifted some of the heaviest dumbbells at the weight lifting station. Only Susanna Xavier, his sister Breanna, and Dennis Green lifted anything heavier then what she did. She did hit him with a knife the other day at the feast, that was a surprise? Perhaps she concealed that skill from the rest of them to both impress the Gamemakers and throw the rest of the tributes off at the same time. And then there was her alliance. They probably kept her alive. Though her friend Lisa died. Maybe Amanda sacrificed her friend to save her own life? I sounds like something she would do. And then Hecter Ardamin. She probably killed him herself to add another easy point to her Tribute Kill Count Score. And allying herself with that bully Susanna Xavier. That too was a surprise. Susanna is just like her father. Head Peacekeeper of a District was the Capitol's only good use for him. And as he looked at the long handled spiked-hammer he held in his hand he wondered where in the world did they get those weapons? Sponsors? The price would be exorbitant for so much as a single knife let alone all of those weapons. He then looked at Cato's sword in his belt. Maybe they stole them from armed humanoid-mutts prior to the feast? David thought he had Amanda Snow all figured out, but she seems to keep surprising him.

He was eagerly looking forward to putting that pink-haired thorn-in-his-side out of her misery. And before afternoon tea today he would be hugging his mother.

He ran through the woods to find the cornucopia.

Caesar Flickerman's TV studio:

The studio audience watched on the television live video feed of Amanda bushwhacking through the forest of the center island in the direction of the cornucopia.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is it!" said Caesar in a deliberate dramatic voice with a sense of urgency. "We have all grown to love the Tributes. We have shared the dangerous adventure with them, and been with them in spirit, and we have suffered with them as the have survived and overcome trials and adversity! And now it all comes down to this! Strong, clever, and resourceful David Crane, against, what the people have now classified, 'Amanda Snow The Minotaur Slayer'! What happens in the next few minutes will decide a winner!"

"A reminder that once the fight has begun no more bets can be taken, so please place your bets now!" said Claudius. "Also a reminder that if you wish to take any of your bets back, all bets are final once the fight has started."

Amanda and David both came into opposite ends of the clearing at the same time. They looked into each other's eyes. David saw that Amanda had a lot of half healed scars. Amanda saw that David was wounded but still seemed strong.

Amanda reached over her head gripped the handle of her titanium sword on the sheath on her back and slid it out of the sheath with an intimidating metallic 'SHRINGGGGG!' sound, she then drew her longer heavier sword in her other hand.

David held Blaze Trenton's long-handled spiked-hammer in one hand, and Cato's sword in his other.

They then heard the voice of Claudius Templesmith boom out of the sky from giant hidden speakers.

"Attention tributes! The 76th Hunger Games has drawn to a close! What you both do now will decide a winner! Good luck! Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Both Amanda and David appreciated the sentiment from the host of the Hunger Games.

"Let's end this!" Amanda suggested to David with determination.

"My sentiments exactly!" replied David. "Just you and me! One on one! May the better man win!"

With looks of anger, vengeance, and determination on both of their faces, they ran towards each other in a flat-out sprint. It took only seconds until their swords and hammer were clashing against each other again and again, each one aiming to kill. For every swing of David's weapons Amanda expertly blocked them. For every swing of Amanda's weapons David expertly blocked them. The exchange went back and forth for a little while.

At one point while Amanda was concentrating on holding David's weapons aside with her's after blocking them, she had made the mistake of exposing her side. He kicked her hard in the rib cage. She staggered back in pain and David tried to hit her while she was down. She dodged out of the way. He threw a knife and it opened a small gash on her cheek. He then swung his long-handled spiked-hammer so hard it hit the hilt of her titanium sword so hard it was knocked out of her hand.

She gripped the handle of her second sword with both hands and fought hard with it. She drew a throwing-knife and threw it. The knife grazed David's shoulder, opening a deep gash. She threw a few more, hoping to end this fight quickly, but David dodged. He lifted the hammer up high and slammed it down hard. Amanda move out of the way and the head of the hammer buried itself deeply in the grass and dirt. He extracted it from the dirt before Amanda could stab him and blocked the attack.

Amanda had a heck of a time fending off both of David's weapons with just one, but she managed. She threw another knife at David's head knowing he would try to dodge it. He did not disappoint. He focused on the flying knife and gave Amanda an opening to jab at his arm. A deep gash was cut open on his hand and forearm and he dropped his hammer. He struck back hard when he gripped the handle of Cato's sword with both hands. He got passed Amanda's guard and stabbed her deep. The wound bled heavily, but fortunately for Amanda it was in a non-vital spot. She backed off and then struck back. Their swords clashed against each other again and again. They were both exhausted. Their physical exertion was aggravating their already severe wounds, but neither of them gave any concern to that as they each thought they were about to win and would be getting the best medical treatment in another minute or so, but no matter what happened neither one let up.

Several minutes of stalemate attacks dragged the fight on; no matter how hard each tried they just couldn't seem to make a fatal hit. They broke each others bones, they kicked each other in the face, and made a lot of deep cuts on each other.

David picked the spiked-hammer off the ground and threw it at her with all his strength. Amanda jumped to the side and rolled on one shoulder and then faced him from a different spot on one knee. The hammer, still flying, penetrated right through a thin tree branch and the branch lightly crashed to the ground. Amanda then pulled four throwing-knives from her belt at once, handles pointing up, each blade between two fingers. She then threw all four at once with one hand with all her might. David dodged, and the blades of the knives buried deep in a tree trunk that was right behind him a moment earlier.

The fight continued to go on for awhile. Finally, David started to falter. He staggered with weakness. It must have been the blood loss. Amanda's body was still strong and oxygenated because of the 'blood replenishing alien fungus medicine' that Amanda had taken just prior to the fight and her open wounds clotted by residual traces of the medicine she rubbed on her skin.

David was taller with bigger muscles, but he was both frustrated and impressed that the shorter girl with thinner arms seemed to be as strong as he was. In his weakened state he managed to disarm Amanda and now she was defenseless. He slashed at her with what would have been a lethal hit, but he in that moment became over confident and Amanda was too fast. The tip of his sword only grazed her knife belt and all of her knives fell to the ground. Amanda couldn't pick them up because he was still swinging his sword and she had to back way off. As David swung his sword sideways at her she ducked under his swing and while his flank was exposed Amanda spin-kicked at his hands and disarmed him. But his lack of weapon didn't stop him. He lunged at Amanda, knocking her to the ground. He wrapped both his hands around her neck and squeezed, pressing his thumbs into her throat with all his strength. He now knew that she would out last him so he knew he had to kill her quickly.

Amanda couldn't breath. She tried to take in air, but her windpipe was completely blocked. Then she got lightheaded and the pressure built up in her lungs. She tried to force his arms away but his hold was too firm.

"It's ironic." said David maniacally. "Your grandfather died choking to death on his own blood! And so did my sister when you stabbed her in the neck! And now so will you!"

Amanda thought of her training. On her last week of training before the Games in the Training Center, she took an advanced course for sword fighting.

Flashback:

Amanda was blocking every strike of the trainer. Amanda's defense with her sword was good but she would never get past the trainer's guard. The trainer then signaled her to stop.

"Miss Snow. Tell me, how many weapons do you wield?" the trainer said in a manner of getting her to grasp an obvious point.

Amanda was confused by the question, but she took the advanced course for that week to learn.

"Just one." she answered the question holding up her sword to illustrate.

"That is incorrect. Your boot. Your knee. Your elbow. Your fist. Your teeth. Not just the sword that you hold in your hand, but your entire body. You possess an arsenal of weapons. Remember, anything goes, there are no rules. When you are in a tough fight in the arena, you must consider every factor; anything you can think of and do with every limb."

Then at the wrestling station.

"Now Amanda, I'm going to teach you a technique that will allow you to break a choke hold." said the trainer.

She practiced it for hours but was never very good at it.

End flashback:

With all her strength, Amanda bent her head forward and bit into David's arm, and then kicked him in the groin, and as he went cross-eyed his grip on her neck weakened. She then snaked her wrists and arms around his and broke his hold, and then head-butted him.

In a quick motion Amanda then pulled from her pocket a tiny bottle and sprayed it in David's face.

David shrieked and Amanda scurried out from under him and away.

She breathed hard and coughed, catching her breath as she held her hands to massage her sore neck. She then looked in David's direction and saw him looking back and forth with wide blank eyes as he seemed to be blind. Amanda capitalized on it as she then kicked him in the face. She then put all of her body-weight into a punch in the face and she broke her hand, but in her anger and hatred she was numb to the pain. She did the same thing with her other fist and broke that hand too. She then slammed the fists of her already broken hands into his face again and again. David's face was nothing but at sickening bloody slab of meat as he swayed on the spot, his mind now a blank in his pain and blood loss. Amanda then picked up one of the discarded knives and threw the blade into his stomach. She ran at him and gave him a high jump kick right in the face. He fell to the ground and didn't get back up. Amanda heard no cannon. She then straddled his chest and gave him another round of hard punches in the face again and again. She stopped, breathed in and out with exhaustion, and then her hatred flared up again, and then she gave him yet another round of punches in the face again and again. She stopped, breathed in and out in exhaustion, but didn't hit him again. And by some miracle of David Crane's stubbornness, Amanda still heard no cannon.

"Okay!" said Amanda with hatred. "You've had enough!"

She reached behind her and pulled the knife out of David's gut, the wound bled heavily. She held one hand down on his shoulder to hold him down, and the knife in the other hand.

"Normally I show respect to the tributes I take the life of, by telling them politely to rest in peace." she said calmly. "But for you, I feel compelled to say... Rot in eternal suffering you shit eating son of a bitch!" She said the last part with the loathing anger her grandfather used to emit towards people who betrayed him.

She raised the knife up high to stab it into his neck. But right then there was an unusual force that flowed through her mind. She wondered?

'Why did I say that last part?' she thought.

What did she have against him? He killed Blaze. What was Blaze to her? A lover? No. She only had sex with him to get sponsors. Of course she thought of Blaze as a good friend. And David had nothing against Blaze. David killed Blaze because it was the Hunger Games, just like she killed his sister. She killed his sister with hardly a hesitation, and then she had stabbed Sherman Griffin in the back without hesitation. Though they say once you do something once it's easier to do it again, and she found that it seemed to help if she didn't have to look her victim in the face when she makes the kill. Irene Avion was killed in a fair fight with nothing personal, but did that make it better somehow? Beheading Dennis Green was a spit second decision in self-defense that she didn't have to think about. Why were they all there? Television entertainment? No. Amanda had foolishly convinced herself of that, no, they were there as a punishment to the Capitol. Many of these tributes had known each other for years at the parties of the high-ranking officials during the old regime. And now they had been put against each other.

Amanda thought of her allies. May Salmon, short lived as her alliance was. Her best friend Lisa, who drowned to death in seawater. Hector Ardaman, tortured by Martha Filmer and then avenged by Susanna, who was District born and branded a bully like her father. Had Martha Filmer never been put in the arena then she never would have killed Hector, where Susanna would never have had to avenge him. If Hector had never been put in the arena, he couldn't have even been killed by Martha Filmer, and so on and so forth. Amanda thought of what she saw on television during the war in what was called 'the battle for District 2'. Katniss was face-to-face with a wounded mineral miner from the mountain fortress, she mentioned how the career tributes killed little Rue from District 11, then she killed Marvel, then Clove tried to kill her, then Thresh killed Clove, then Cato killed Thresh, then she killed Cato. It was a never ending cycle the death and killing. Martha killed Hector then Susanna killed the Martha. She, Amanda, had killed Breanna, then David killed Blaze, and now here she was sitting on top of a wounded man that could die at any second from blood loss ready to plunge a knife into his throat... and she felt sick.

She remembered what her mentor had told her the day before the start of the Games. She had to kill without hesitation, she had to become a killer in order to survive, and she had to become a monster before she could become a killer. But she no longer wanted to be the monster, so she had to choose not to be the monster. But if she was not the monster than she could not be the killer, and if she could not be the killer then she could not survive these Games. She herself had said to her allies that the only way to win is to play the Games.

She could literally feel the eyes of the audience on her, the country's entire population, waiting for her to make the fatal hit, just like the Roman Gladiators of old in the Coliseum. But she then heard Hector Ardaman's voice in her head from something that he had said within the first 24 hours of the Games, 'Sometimes the only way to win is not to play.'

'Sometimes the only way to win is not to play.' she repeated the thought to herself. And she then had a moment of clarity.

She would've given up her life if she could've saved her friend Lisa, or Hector, or May, or Susanna, or Blaze. And now she had an opportunity to save the life of a tribute. Because they were the last two standing she could give up herself to save the life of David Crane.

She relaxed her stance. All of her hatred went out of her as she looked at David Crane's bloody mutilated face as that of someone who is nothing more than a victim.

All operations in all of the factories across the country had stopped. All workers in any business establishments had abandoned their posts. Every single person in the entire country had their eyes glued to the television as they watched the pink-haired granddaughter of President Snow poised to stab a Head Gamemaker's son in the neck. Katniss Everdeen was watching with the other victors. President Paylor was in the lounge near the Gamemakers control room. Plutarch Heavensbee was in the Gamemakers control room. Everyone in the TV studio of Caesar Flickerman's Talk-Show was completely silent as Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith were sitting at their armchairs on the stage watching with the rest of the audience.

"No." said Amanda on the screen. "No!" she repeated only this time louder and more forcefully. "NO!" she shouted as she then stood up quickly in one motion, a combination of defiance and sadness on her face as she looked up at the camera. "I won't do it! I won't kill him! Do you hear me? I will not kill him! I refuse to play the Games anymore, do you understand, I will not play them!"

And with that she threw her knife at the ground and the blade buried deep into the grass and dirt.

For the next minute she poured out her heart as she cried with despair, that she was tired of the death, tired of losing the people at she called friends, tired of having to take the lives of others just so that she may live when it wasn't even a war for freedom anymore. And she told them that she would rather die and hang onto her last shred of humanity than take one more life.

"I speak to you now, the malcontents. I know that you want me dead for the crimes that my grandfather committed, even after he died. So I will give you what you want. My life. If my death brings you some form of comfort, or closure, or satisfaction for vengeance, then I'm happy with that. And you the Gamemakers, if you have an ounce or shred of mercy, then you will declare David Crane the winner, put me out of my misery this second, and get David Crane the medical attention that he needs this minute! Because I'm done playing the Games, and I will not take his life or mine, myself!"

She fell to her knees and closed her eyes as tears rolled down from her eyes, smudging the blood, dirt, and sweat on her face, and she just sat perfectly quiet and waited for the quick death that she hoped the Gamemakers would give her in the next few seconds.

"Well Caesar," said Claudius Templesmith interrupting the patient silence of the watching audience, "I stand corrected, that outdoes the slaying of the Minotaur."

President Paylor was in the lounge off of the Gamemakers control room.

She was thinking of what Amanda had just said. And she also thought of the promise she had made to President Snow.

Flashback:

"I was wondering if you would make me a promise… a reasonable request of course?" said Snow. "Promise me that you will protect my granddaughter Amanda! She is my little girl, and I love her more than anything else in this world."

Paylor could feel in the tone of his voice his heartfelt feelings on the matter. And then she thought of her own girls who were safe, and the reassurance on her soul if she was about to die and she knew that they would be safe.

"You have my word." Paylor promised.

End Flashback:

"All right, that was the last straw!" said Paylor. "It's time for me to do what I should've done from day one."

She stepped out of the door and walked towards the control room.

"Guards! I need extra security over here right now!" Paylor ordered.

In the Gamemakers control room, Plutarch resigned himself to the inevitable.

"Do as she says." ordered Plutarch gesturing to Amanda on the screen. "Kill her fast. Make sure it's painless."

One of the Gamemakers at his console tapped several panels to do just that when,

"STOP!" ordered Paylor as she came into the room with a number of armed guards pointing their guns.

All of the Gamemakers raise their hands in surrender at the sight of the guns being pointed at them.

"Get me Claudius Templesmith." ordered Paylor. "I have some instructions to give him."

Amanda continued to sit quietly, feeling miserable, wanting to die, waiting for whatever the Gamemakers would do to kill her fast. And by some miracle, David Crane's heart continued to beat. Then came the voice of Claudius Templesmith booming out of the sky from giant hidden speakers.

"Attention tributes, attention! There has been a slight rule change!"

Amanda opened her eyes and looked around as her curiosity overtook her again to wonder what this could all be about.

"The previous rule saying that the last Tribute standing would be declared the sole Victor has been temporarily suspended! Until further notice the new rule says that the last TWO Tributes standing will both be declared winners! This will be the only announcement!"

It took Amanda less than a second to realize exactly what that meant and a flood of relief came over her. Then after a few moments Claudius Templesmith spoke again.

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I present the Winners of the 76th Hunger Games! David Crane, and Amanda Snow."

Everyone in the country was taken aback by the last second rule change. Some were disappointed. But the majority cheered in approval.

In the clearing of the cornucopia a giant section of the green grass opened up by sinking into the ground to form a ramp that lead into the catacombs beneath the arena. A group of armed Peacekeepers came up out of the catacombs, you never know when a scared victor may become hostel in their fragile state. Then a group of doctors and medics rushed to David and examined him.

"His heart is beating, but barely!" said the medic with a tone of urgency. "He needs immediate surgery! Let's get him into the O.R. now!"

They put him onto a hover stretcher and took him underground to a medical room.

Amanda too was approached by medics. They touched her face and arms, Amanda winced and sucked in air through her teeth, with the relief that she didn't need to either kill or die, she realized her whole body was a powerhouse of pain. They took off her jacket and outer shirt leaving her in just her pants and tank top. They lifted the bottom of her tank top to expose her belly, and then examined her bleeding stab wounds.

"You need surgery too dear." said a medic in a calm and sweet bedside manner as she injected Amanda with a dose of Morphling and the pain evaporated instantly. "Let's get you inside."

Amanda then recognized the woman.

"I know you?" said Amanda vaguely as they helped her lay down on a hover stretcher.

"No, we have never met." said the woman politely matter-of-factly.

"I've seen you on TV?" said Amanda trying to conjure up the memory. Then dawning comprehension. "During the Hunger Games, the top-eight's family interviews? You're Katniss's mother."

"Doctor Everdeen. I got my medical license a few months ago." she clarified. "The President asked me here for my professional expertise."

"Well, I feel in good hands." she said complementingly. "But after my surgery, if it's up to me, I would like a full spa treatment from my prep team as soon as humanly possible, please?"

Doctor Everdeen smiled and nodded, and Amanda was carried away to the O.R.

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(At the kind suggestion of my faithful reader 'gaptasticventure' to write new, please check my account for my new fan fic, 'The Life Story Of Beetee Latier')