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Boom.

It wasn't thunder that roared in the night. Somewhere in this horrible arena, another tribute died. How many of us were left? Four, five? Less?

The thought troubled me as I trouped up a rubble-strewn street behind Delfin. Every minute or so I'd drift my fingers over the handle of the dagger I'd crammed in my belt. That weapon was my only safeguard against the boy marching ahead of me, his jaw now set like hardened concrete, his fist a vise tightened around his spear's shaft. Delfin's eyes simmered with jagged red capillaries of hatred. His face contorted with lust for revenge.

He stopped for just a second at the sound of the cannon. His shoulder flinched. For a moment, I thought Delfin would turn on me just then, the blast unhinging his anger. But he didn't turn, nor even look back. Plod, plod, plod. We walked on.

"Three?" he muttered under his breath. "Four? Nah. Three."

"What?" I said, stumbling to keep pace with him.

"Nothing. Hurry up."

"I am."

"Then keep hurrying."

There had to be at least one other kid still out there. Whether the survivor from 1 or Acheron still stood I didn't know, but until we found them, I wouldn't run from Delfin. I didn't know if any others were still alive, but if I heard another cannon, I wouldn't be able to take the chance. One more cannon and I'd have to run. If you two are the last two standing, I thought, he'll skewer you before you have time to scream. I wouldn't stand a chance in an open fight. I'd have to run, find an advantage, and use it. Anything less and I'd be dead.

Delfin, it seemed, was thinking the same thing.

"Here's how it's going to work," he said as we tromped down another bleak, deserted avenue lined with the hollowed-out husks of row houses. "You're fine until I find that kid from 2. I'm gonna kill him, and after that, if you're still tagging around behind me…"

He let his voice trail off. He didn't have to finish his sentence: Our truce's timer was ticking down.

I slipped my dagger out of my belt as we trudged up a long, shallow-sloping hill lined with half-buried relics of obsidian and basalt. I could do it. I was straddling this arena's blurry line of morality, but with one leap of faith and a quick stab I could jump over it entirely with both feet. Was this what most victors thought when the end came closing in? Did every tribute become no more than an obstacle, their humanity swept away into the wind by circumstance and fate?

I didn't bother to fight the dread. I wasn't going to stop my descent into whatever inky depth this arena had in store.

Delfin stopped me when we crested the top of the hill. "Down!" he hissed, dropping to all fours and craning his neck over a long, flat rock.

I flattened out and peeked over the ridge. Down below, a cluster of one-story, burnt-out granite buildings circled a sandy courtyard. Chunks of stone jutted out from the dust, and a small but bright orange fire burned at the center of the square. The figure who laid out on his side beside the blaze looked small from up here, but from the size of the sword that rested against a pack nearby, I could tell we'd found Delfin's revenge.

Goosebumps crawled across my arms.

Delfin laughed quietly. "Bastard's not even trying to hide."

I swallowed hard and stayed silence. I didn't think Acheron was looking to stay away from us anymore. If anything the fire told me he wanted to end this game here and now. He wanted a resolution.

Was this it? Was this it for all of us? The Games? Twenty-four kids down to…were we just three now?

"End of the line," Delfin growled, inching forward and dragging his spear in the sand. "I'm going down there to end this, Terra." He looked back at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw a pang of regret sink in his eyes. "If we meet again, it's nothing personal. I just want to go home now."

"Me too," I whispered. "Good luck, I guess."

He sighed, stared at me for a moment longer, and stood up, shaking off a cloud of dust. "Yeah, I guess. Good luck to you, too."

That was all we had left to discuss. Delfin left his pack lying on the ground at the top of the hill, hoisting his spear and stumbling down the hill towards destiny.

I was alone. He was an enemy now, I told myself. I was surrounded by enemies, and I had no hope of finding a friendly face like I had with Ember and Tethys. This place had purged every friendly face, and all that was left were the beasts like me. For a brief moment I envied Glenn. He was dead, but he'd died on his own terms. He'd died with a face he knew staring down at him. You're going to die at the alien hands of a stranger or a mutt, Terra.

I sighed. I couldn't be focusing on this stuff right now. I shook my head, rubbed my eyes, and watched as Delfin closed in on his target. He picked up a rock and hurled it towards Acheron, landing it neatly in a puff of sand a few feet from the fire. The boy from 2 didn't flinch.

When Delfin spoke, I could just hear his words. "Waiting for somebody?" he asked, his voice faking confidence but still a little shaky.

"No," Acheron replied. Where Delfin looked ready for a fight, Acheron looked at peace. He leaned forward with his forearms on his knees as Delfin approached, not even glancing at his sword.

"Looks like it to me," Delfin said. "I was looking for you."

"I guess so."

Anger bloomed in Delfin's words. "You guess so? Did'ja guess so when you stabbed Tethys too? Y'know, she was my friend. I cared about her, and you killed her like she was some animal."

"How many animals have you killed?" said Acheron as he examined a fingernail.

"This isn't about me."

"It looks like it. I'm not hunting you down. You came for me. You want to kill. I just want to go home, and there's only one way to do it. I'm not enjoying it, though."

"Yeah? You think I'm just fighting for fun?"

"I think at least a part of you enjoys it, Delfin."

"You remembered my name?"

"I remembered everyone's names."

I gulped. Delfin was too far gone to hear the threat in Acheron's words as he twirled his spear and circled his quarry. "You're kinda right. I'm going to enjoy putting you down for what you did."

In one quick motion, Acheron swooped over to his sword and wielded the weapon. He was fast for a guy his size, and any hesitation evaporated into the dry, hot wind as he circled the fire across from Delfin. I held my breath waiting for the first move.

"I'm not dead yet," Acheron growled.

He swung. His broadsword sliced through the flames and whiffed through the air as Delfin jumped back. My old ally was a blur on the attack, dodging, juking, and spinning his spear as he launched himself at the boy from 2. Steel struck steel and cried out in anger. I saw now why Delfin was so confident: His footwork was impeccable, his speed and fighting grace almost a thing of beauty. He was all motion and wind, forcing Acheron back towards the edge of the courtyard.

Delfin's spear just missed Acheron's head as the latter ducked, and the boy from 4 pulled off his attack for a moment, sizing up his enemy and catching his breath. "You abandoned your partner, huh?" he panted. "You even know what it's like to fight through this shit with someone you care about? Huh?"

Acheron lowered his head and breathed hard as Delfin raged. "She deserved to go home. I deserve to go home. I don't even know what the hell you are."

"You just come up with that?" Acheron said, so deeply and quietly that I barely heard him.

"Nah, a while ago."

Delfin jabbed his spear again and raced back into the fight. Bang! The boy from 2 swung his sword in an executioner's arc, just missing Delfin as he twirled to his left and smashing a rock instead. The miss cost him: Delfin cut low with his spear, slicing Acheron's chest with the tip of his blade and jumping away in the nick of time. The boy from 2 grunted, grimaced, and circled back towards the fire as Delfin launched another flurry of attacks. Little by little he was wearing his opponent down, and I could just make out a trickle of blood running down Acheron's torso.

Acheron winced as Delfin broke off for another pause. I squinted for a better view. The boy from 2 looked like a wounded animal, holding his sword close and backing towards a corner away from his attacker. "I'm not trying to kill you," he panted.

Delfin laughed. "You really shoulda thought of that a long time ago, man."

"You think Tethys would want to see you like this?"

"Don't matter. She's dead. Your fault."

Delfin lunged at Acheron again, but I gasped as I looked on. Acheron wasn't just backing into a corner to get away from the fight. He'd chosen his ground carefully: The boy had retreated into the most rubble-strewn part of the courtyard, and Delfin had missed that entirely. One misstep onto a crumbling piece of cobblestone would mean a twisted ankle.

But Delfin got the upper hand first. With a quick step in, he dodged Acheron's swinging sword and whipped his spearhead across the boy's right hand. Acheron yelped in pain and dropped his weapon. Sensing victory, his attacker stabbed his spear – and struck air.

Acheron launched himself to the ground to avoid the weapon and rolled to his right. With a flick of his hand, he hurled a fistful of sand into Delfin's face. It caught his attacker right as he was overextended. Delfin coughed, recoiled, rubbed at his eyes furiously, and banged his ankle into a tooth-shaped piece of granite sticking up out of the black sand.

"Oof!"

I held in a scream. Acheron punched Delfin square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the boy. Delfin doubled over and stumbled backward, flashing his spear in front of him but now lacking all of the control that had made him so dangerous before. Acheron smelled blood. The boy from 2 grabbed the spear shaft with his good hand and smashed his fist into Delfin's forearm with a sickening snap.

My ally screamed. He's not your ally anymore, Terra.

With one quick motion, Acheron yanked the spear away from Delfin, spun it around, and impaled him.

I looked away. Someone gasped and I heard a thump. My stomach heaved. I pressed my forehead into my arms and squeezed my eyes shut, but I knew he was dead. Delfin had been a jerk, and I had to get through him to go home, as it was. I should have been relieved, but I only felt a gnawing emptiness cave away another hole in my gut. He'd talked to me. He'd been a recognizable face in this otherworldly hell. Now he was dead, and I'd just watched and let it happen.

And Acheron was still alive.

I didn't look up as Delfin's cannon boomed. I knew what time it was as I curled my fingers around my dagger's grip. I knew what came next.