The Finale:
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
Alexandrite and I stare at each other for a few seconds. I realize that I'm going to be a little sad if I end her life. Even if we weren't really 'friends,' I do have respect for her. She played the Games smart and she played them hard. It's really no surprise that she's the last one, besides me. I know I need to choke back all that feeling. Right now, she is the enemy. She is the only thing standing between me and the victor's crown.
As Alexandrite raises her bow to fire, I notice that she has a little less than ten arrows in her sheath. Alexandrite is a very accurate archer, but if I can get her to fire all her arrows without hitting a kill spot, the same thing that happened to Jessie will happen to her. Alexandrite is smarter than Jessie, though, so she might have sort of backup plan if she runs out of arrows. However, whatever her plan is, I think I can beat it.
Alexandrite finally fires an arrow, but I'm ready for it. I dive to the left, towards my bag, and the arrow sails over the edge of the island. I grab my bag and hold it out in front of me. This'll work fine as a shield. Sure enough, Alexandrite's second arrow, which I didn't even see coming, imbeds itself in my bag. I stand up as she loads her third arrow. This one lands in my bag, but I don't even have to dodge or anything. Weird. Alexandrite's shots are usually spot-on.
Her motive becomes clear when the next arrow hits my bag as well. My bag rips open and the contents fall to the ground. Now, all I have is a strip of fabric. I drop the useless backpack to the ground and face Alexandrite again. I'm going to have to be ready to dodge every arrow. If I'm not watching, one of them will land right in my skull.
Alexandrite's fifth arrow soars through the air. I dive to the left, but it lands in my leg, right above my knee. Wincing, I pull the arrow out, letting my leg bleed freely. The wound hurts, but because of the combined pain of my shoulder, arm, and hand, I barely feel anything. Alexandrite loads another arrow as I stand up. I risk a glance at her sheath and notice there's only one arrow left, plus the one on her bow. I realize that I can do this. If I can dodge these next two arrows, these Games are mine.
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
I watch as Mason eyes my sheath of arrows. A quick smile creeps onto his face when he notices that I'm almost on my last arrow. It takes all I have to prevent myself from smiling as well. Mason doesn't realize that I don't mind that I'm almost out of arrows. I don't mind that I haven't hit him in a kill spot yet. I just need to hurt him enough so that he'll be easily caught off guard. That way, when he charges me, I'll finally be able to kill him.
I release my arrow, aiming for Mason's heart. Unfortunately, he's able to dodge it- sort of. The arrow lands in his shoulder; both of them are now bleeding. Mason's looking pretty tired and beaten up. I may be able to end it with my final arrow. I load it onto my bow, pull back, and fire. It whizzes through the air, looking like it's finally going to hit home. However, at the last second, Mason hits the dirt, and the arrow flies over his head, into the abyss surrounding the island.
Realizing that I'm out of arrows, Mason begins to run towards me. Instead of backing away, I slowly reach into my pocket and finger the handle of my knife. Mason obviously doesn't know that I have it, and he'll pay dearly for that. Mason stops right in front of me, his expression blank. "Sorry, Alexandrite," he says, "but I must kill you. I need to be the one who makes it home."
Mason raises his spear, and I pretend to be afraid. I look at him with big, sad eyes, and sniffle a few times. He seems to buy it, because he does take on a slight expression of sadness. Right before he delivers his blow, when I'm sure I've got him off guard, I step into action. I whip my knife out of my pocket and jab upwards, aiming for Mason's heart.
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
Alexandrite pulls a knife out of her pocket and thrusts it upwards, aiming for my chest. Thankfully, I was expecting something like this. Just as the knife begins to pierce my skin, I bring my spear down hard on her hand. She falls to the ground, clutching her wrist. It looks like it might be broken. As Alexandrite switches her knife over to her other hand, I take a quick glance at the wound she made in my chest. It's a little bit deeper than I thought, but I don't think it'll be lethal.
Alexandrite stands up, the knife in her hand and a look of cold determination on her face. She wants this badly. She wants the victor's crown and all the glory that goes with it. The problem is, I want it too. For all my life, I've always been the soft one in the family. Despite my height, I've always been overshadowed by my brother and sister just because they won the Games. They never thought I could volunteer and win as well. They thought I had too much of a heart to murder all of these innocent people. Well, over the course of these Games I've learned something: sometimes, these things just have to be done. Everything comes with a price, and the price of becoming a victor just happens to be the corpses of twenty-three other children.
Alexandrite begins to fiercely jab away, trying to pierce any bit of skin that she can reach. She opens up a few more cuts, and I know that I'm close to bleeding out. I need to end this now. I grip my spear tightly, take a deep breath, and run the tip right through Alexandrite. My vision has begun to fog up, so I can't tell if I hit a kill spot or not. I hear her collapse to the ground, and I feel myself do the same. After all this time, it looks like it's just going to be a competition of who bleeds out the fastest.
"Boom."
Am I dead? I can't see or feel anything so I must be dead. Alexandrite must've lasted longer than I did.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the victor of the 126th Hunger Games, Mason Riley!"
I see a bright light, and then everything goes black.
The Fallen (1):
Alexandrite Dazzle (D1 F 17)
Killed by Mason. A spear was run through her stomach, causing her to bleed out.
Remaining Tributes (1):
D2:
Mason Riley (D2 M 18)
{Jms2}
Kills:
Mason: Ryland, Peter, Nylah, Eridan, Harvest, Jessie, Alexandrite
Glint: Misty, Cobalt, Tadalynn, Lukas
Jessie: Jarvis, Aria, Cherry, Swirl
Alexandrite: Jennette, Rory, Mapelle
Sheldon: Marina, Osborn
Harvest: Sheldon, Glint
Swirl: Peyton
Alliances:
Mason
I spent many days pondering over this chapter until I finally decided on a victor. Mason and Alexandrite were two of my favorite tributes, and with the poll being so close, it was very hard to chose one of these tributes. I eventually decided on Mason, and here's why:
Mason was clearly the strongest tribute out there. He killed over a quarter of the tributes but still managed to be liked by many readers, which is a very hard thing to do. He was also a very original tribute, mostly because of his legal status as a giant. Honestly, how many fanfics have you read where there's been such a tall tribute? There have been some complaints over his height being unrealistic, but although being seven and a half feet tall is very, very, very uncommon, it does happen, usually because of a defect in growth hormones. Seriously, look it up. In fact, the tallest man ever was 8'11, which means that Mason being 7'6 is possible.
Alexandrite is probably the tribute I'll miss most from this story. Like Mason, she was also a very original tribute, thanks to her backstory and her strategy. She was very well-liked, and I loved writing for her. Unfortunately, though, the victor's crown wasn't for her.
Thanks to all of you who have stuck with this story, and I promise, the madness is almost over. The next chapter will be the epilogue, and it will follow Mason's journey from the hovercraft that rescued him from the Games to his home back in District Two. After that, I'll have a chapter of stats, which will also include a note on submitting for my next SYOT, the 127th Hunger Games.
Thanks for reading! :-)