Bess Carver, District Ten female (16)
It felt like something out of a really old book. Des and I hand searched for hours before we found a run-down house with a tin roof and managed to peel off a section. We bent it around the edge of a building until it was sort of curved and we could fit under the curve with it over our heads like a car roof. We squeezed in underneath it and marched toward Kjole's building like two armored knights.
THUNK!
A brick bounced off our roof with so much force I fell to one knee. The impact jarred my arms and left my fingers numb, but the metal took some of the force- at least enough that Des and I didn't die. It made me sick to my stomach to think what would have happened if the brick had hit me without the roof.
"Wow, that would have split my head in like stepping on a grape." Des said, seemingly not as unsettled as I was by the near-miss. But when I looked at her it was clear she was just joking to take the edge off.
"Hah. Yeah," I joked back to help her out.
A cloud of dust puffed up ahead of us as Kjole threw another brick and it landed just feet ahead of me. I stepped over it as we walked over the last bit of land in front of the building. We reached the awning that covered the very edge of the building and crept along underneath it to the door.
"Think she booby-trapped it?" I asked when Des put her hand on the handle.
Des gave the door a cautious look and stretched her arm out to tug the handle, leaning back as far out of range as possible. We both jumped when she tugged the door open. Nothing happened.
"I guess not." I said. "Unless she booby-trapped just inside since she thought we'd think the door was trapped."
"Great, now we have to be scared the entire time." Des said. "Or..."
"What?" I asked.
Des lowered her voice just in case Kjole could hear from the roof. "Let's get right inside and then see if we can make armor out of something."
Just inside the door, there was nothing but some tattered bits of old paper and office supplies. We found the staircase, which was also not booby-trapped, and started upwards, stopping at each floor to look for supplies.
"Check this out," Des said as she held up an old leathery coat someone must have left behind at work. She wrapped it around her head. "It's a helmet."
I was already wearing a seat cushion I'd torn up and wrapped around my own head. It wouldn't stop a brick, but it might stop a knife from killing me before the fight even began. Or the knife might cut right through it, but we had to do the best we could with what we had.
"Look, I'm pregnant." I said, pointing to my stomach, where I'd stuffed ripped-up cardboard to slow down any swords Kjole might swing at me. It felt surreal that we were joking like this when Omar's body was right outside. I guess we just had to laugh or cry. I'd have time to cry later, if I didn't die.
With each floor, Des and I grew quieter. Kjole was at the top, and we were getting closer. She was strong enough to last this long, and smart enough to pick us off from afar when we outnumbered her. It wasn't a certain fight, not even when Des and I outnumbered her. I was just thankful it WAS me and Des. Des, other than Omar, was the one person I would trust to not turn on me in the fight. We all knew only one of us needed to die...
"This is the last floor," Des said after climbing so many stairs my legs were burning. I leaned against the window for a minute, pretending I needed to catch my breath. Really, I was just scared. I didn't want to fight anyone. I DEFINITEL didn't want to fight Kjole. Even if we won... I didn't want to kill anyone. It was bad enough I'd gone through the Games at all. I didn't even know if it was worth it. Truth be told, I didn't know if I wanted to live if the price was someone else had to die.
"You ready?" Des asked as we huddled outside the door, knowing for certain this time that if it wasn't booby-trapped, there was still someone behind it ready to kill us.
"I'm really not," I said.
"Me neither."
Kjole Shcmiecel, District Eight female (16)
They were out there. I could hear them through the door. Bess and Des were right outside the door, and we were about to fight. I felt... not scared. Not exactly. I felt more like what I felt before a big game. Worried, sure- worried I might mess things up for my team, or not do my best, or even get hurt. But not really SCARED. It was only a game, right? We'd all go home afterward. I knew it wasn't really true, but I guess my brain was trying to protect myself by pretending. I felt the butterflies in my stomach, and the nervous exhileration of a big game. That's all it is, I told myself. Just do your best and don't freeze up.
The door flew open. I tensed, my sword flying up, but no one was there. The door banged shut again and then re-opened with its own force. A little sliver of arm appeared in it and instantly I threw a baseball-sized chunk of brick. Just after I threw it, I knew I'd messed up. The brick flew out the door harmlessly and an instant later, Des darted through the door, having determined exactly where I was based on the brick's path. Bess rushed in after her, almost tripping over her. I threw another brick and was disconcerted when it simply bounced off Des' midsection.
"Ha! Cardboard!" she crowed, pointing at her oddly bloated stomach. Meanwhile Bess scooped up the fallen bit of brick and threw it back at me. I ducked under it and dodged to the side, trying to circle around the two of them angd get a little closer to the door. Trying to fight two people at once was just not smart. I needed to get out and find some other way to kill them from afar.
I swung my sword at Bess as I got closer. As I'd hoped, she jumped backward and collided with Des, giving me a second to run for the door. Des grabbed the back of my shirt as I ran by, and I fell headlong on the floor, smacking my face against the ground. I huffed in pain as I kicked out at her behind me. I hit her in the stomach, and even with the cardboard she lost her grip and fell back on her backside.
I was halfway to my feet when Bess reached me. She tackled me forward and was on me before I could get my sword up. She tried to pin me down so Des could finish me off. I knew if she did it would all be over, so I bit her on the arm until I tasted blood. She yanked free and I wiggled out from underneath her, grabbing my sword to run for it.
They're going to get me, I thought, panic rising up. There were two of them and one of me. I had a sword, but I couldn't even be sure I'd do any damage, as bundled up as they were. And I could barely get my longsword up in such a narrow hallway. Tears came to my eyes and I desperately blinked them away. This wasn't a game. I wouldn't just go home afterward and hear my family say how I did my best and for sure I'd win next time. I'd just never see them again. Not Mom, not Dad... not even all my annoying cousins. I shouldn't have called them annoying, even if they were. Right now, I could only think of how much I loved them.
If I could get to the stairs, I might be able to get away. With all their padding, Des and Bess couldn't be as fast as me. But Bess was right behind me, and Des was already up and coming downt the hallway at us. I lunged forward and grabbed the railing. I was so close. I just needed to-
Bess grabbed the back of my arm, pulling me backward. Something desperate flashed into my head. I grabbed onto the railing and twisted around, tucking myself in as I yanked my arm free. At the same time, I shoved Bess forward with my free arm. She tumbled past me... and kept going.
Desiree Redwood, District Seven female (17)
Bess caught Kjole just before she could reach the stairs and make her escape. I expected Kjole to punch her or try to stab her, but instead she sort of ducked to one side. I saw what she was planning just before it happened. I raised a hand to shout a warning, but it was too late. Like it was slow-motion, I saw Bess stumble over the top step with the force of Kjole's shove, and then tip forward down the stairs.
I could never un-hear the thumping sound. It just kept going, past when I ran up to Kjole, past when I shoulder-checked her before she could swing at me, and all the way down the stairs as I ran after Bess. So many stairs... My knees jarred as I took the stairs two at a time, stumbling and sliding. Bess reached a landing, but my hope was cut short when the force of her fall took her around the corner and she kept going. I searched desperately for any sign that she was still trying to stop herself. She kept trying to grab at the railing, but her fingers would slip off or the force would jar her loose. And as she fell, she tried less and less.
My stomach ached at the way Bess was lying when she finally stopped. Some three or four floors down, she hit another landing and lay all twisted and still at the bottom. I flew to her side and bent over her.
"Bess! Bess, are you all right?" I wailed. I didn't want to think about the splotches of blood on the stairs behind me. I didn't want to think about the way her legs were so oddly limp.
"I can't feel my legs," Bess whispered. Her eyes were wide and shining. She looked like a scared little girl.
"It's okay. We'll get you fixed." I said. Already I was furious with myself for not finishing Kjole off. I should have killed her- then Bess would have been safe. Now, it might be too late.
"Wait." Bess weakly reached out an arm and pulled me back when I started up to go after Kjole. "Don't leave me." A trickle of blood came from her mouth and I got a horrible feeling.
"We have to get you out of here." I said. We'd just get Kjole killed and they'd fix Bess. They'd fix her.
"I don't think..." Bess trailed off and coughed up blood. She wiped off her mouth and looked up at me. "I don't think it matters."
"Don't say that." I wiped away a tear before it could fall on Bess.
"We probably wouldn't have ended up together." Bess said, heaving for breath in between the words. "But let's pretend we would have. That we would have gotten married and been happy."
It was clear by then that it didn't matter if I moved Bess. I pulled her up onto me so I was holding her like a lover.
"I would have taken you for pancakes," I said. It sounded stupid even when I said it, but somehow it seemed like the right thing to say.
"I bet they would have been really good." Bess said. She smiled a little and snuggled into my chest. I felt her head settling downwards and like dandelion fluff, I knew she was gone.
Kjole Shmiecel, District Eight female (16)
I couldn't believe the sound when I heard it. I'd been intending for Bess to die when I pushed her down the stairs, but I still couldn't believe it. It was the last cannon. The cannon that meant I wasn't going to die. All through this I'd known I had a chance, but I'd never dared to think about things actually working out. I was going home. Really going home. No more dead kids. Bess was the last.
"Citizens of Panem, I present to you our Victors: Desiree Redwood and Kjole Shmiecel!"
Finally done with the Games! So many stories don't make it this far and I'm so excited I did it! I'll do a few more chapters to wrap up, but now the hard part is over. Thanks everyone for staying with me.
3rd place: Bess Carver- Pushed down stairs by Kjole
I didn't exactly intend for Bess to live this long, but I kind of got attached. She was so nice and honestly pretty strong, so it made sense at least she'd last a while. But I could only save two, and that was already a stretch. I got some more fun moments out of her by pairing her with Des, which also let me give her a bit of the life she missed by getting reaped. Thanks LCS for Bess and she deserved better.
Victor: Desiree Redwood, District Seven female
Everyone loves Des. She was here before I started writing and I'm super excited to finally give her the win she's deserved for so long. She's funny, strong, brave, nice, and the world's coolest girlfriend. Here's hoping she makes a million more GFs, though she'll never forget Bess. Congratulations Tinks for finally getting your due.
Victor: Kjole Schmiecel, District Eight female
Kjole was the surprise. I wanted Des and Omar, but Kjole was just too cool. I kind of thought this might happen when I did the scar thing. it was just so badass that honestly she deserved to win. Then she beat Allure and I knew I had to give her her due. If this was a movie, the director definitely would have picked Kjole for the main character. I had to do the right thing and let her live. So congrats QueenofFunerals! It's been great to have you reviewing and it's great to give you a victor :)
Q