Content Warning: Gore, language

I quickly shift sideways and let myself drop to the ground. The arrow slashes across my cheek and blood instantly begins to flood down my face. I scream as loud as I can as I go down, channeling my fear, pain, and anger into it.

There. Now I just need to last until backup arrives. Hopefully it comes within the next few seconds or I'm done for.

Bronze just sighs and shakes his head. "I was going to give you another chance, but you just had to go and do that. Oh well. What a waste."

Cedar lunges forward and I have to roll out of the way to avoid getting axed. I swing around and knock his legs out from underneath him before hauling myself to my feet and booking it towards the sickle. He grabs my leg and I'm once again on the ground. I rip my foot back before forcing it as hard as I can in Cedar's direction.

Jax intercepts me and I'm forced backward as her rapier comes inches from my face. I stumble backwards and Jax grins at me. "Did you really think you were two steps ahead? Honey, you weren't even walking at the same pace."

I hear the sound of a blade being thrown and I start running, narrowly avoiding Belladonna's knife.

Adrenaline courses through me as Bronze shoots yet another arrow at me, this one grazing my arm, right where the wolves bit me. The pain dulls instantly thanks to the adrenaline. Nothing else matters. It's just me, the four people trying to kill me, and my need to survive.

That's all I have to do.

I don't have to fight back yet.

I just have to survive.

I don't know how long it lasts. I sustain some injuries, but thankfully nothing fatal. I manage to reach one of Bronze's arrows and snatch it up. Bronze must want to save his arrows because he pulls a knife and throws it in my direction. This one grazes my ear.

When Cedar goes for me again, I jam the arrow into his eye as hard as I can.

It's not enough to kill him, but Cedar howls in pain and stumbles backwards and onto the hard packed earth. His hand clamps over his now ruined eye.

"Cedar!" Bronze immediately rushes to his aid, and I have to run away to avoid him taking me out in the process. He's sufficiently distracted.

Jax rushes towards me again and I pivot to avoid her. I slam my foot into her knee, sending her to the ground as well.

Then, Belladonna slams into me from behind.

She climbs on top of me, and despite my struggles, she doesn't relent. She's done this before, and I know exactly what's coming next.

Something snaps in me and I begin fighting and thrashing as hard as I can. When she reaches her hand down to grab my head, I bite down on it as hard as I can, drawing blood. Belladonna screams in rage and slaps me hard across the face. "Hold still, bitch!"

She's looks up, as if to call for help, when an arrow slams into Belladonna's leg. She cries out and her hand flies to the arrow.

"Leave her alone!"

Lincoln comes charging out of the woods and immediately loads another arrow. I use the lapse in attention to throw Belladonna off of me and to the ground.

Giemci and Bran are quick to follow. Giemci throws a rock at Bronze, which sends him stumbling back for a moment. He answers with an arrow in her direction, but Camdyn pushes her out of the way and takes it instead. It drives right into her shoulder. Camdyn drops to her knees in pain and Giemci is immediately at her side, pulling her to a safe place.

I back away from Belladonna. She gets up and limps towards me as if to try and pin me down again, but Drake gets to her first and sparks fly as their knives clash.

Meanwhile, Link and Bronze exchange arrows. Bronze grabs a second quiver and Link takes cover behind a tree.

The sky above us begins to darken and thunder rumbles in the distance. Fitting. This is where the real fight begins.

I turn towards the sickle and see only a rapier coming right at me. I gasp, startled, and immediately move out of the way. It slices across my jacket, leaving a shallow yet painful cut on my chest

"I told you I'd make you my first kill," Jax snarls.

"Shut up!" I shout. "Just shut up already!"

I clench my hand into a fist, and I throw a punch at her, but she catches it and tugs me towards her. "Cute," she says smugly.

I respond by slamming my head right into her face. Jax gasps and staggers backwards, but not before shoving me to the ground. Blood gushes from her nose, giving me a small sense of satisfaction. Cedar gets up and tries to go to help her, but he is struck in the head by a small rock and drops to his knees once again.

Bran goes to throw another rock at Jax, but Jax recovers enough to snap her head to the side and avoid it. She reaches into her belt and pulls out my knife. "Should have learned to wait your turn, kid," she says.

I immediately jump to my feet and throw myself onto Jax's back. She starts cursing and stumbles around, trying to shake me off her. I look to Bran, holding on for dear life. "Help the others!" I shout.

Bran ignores me and grabs a handful of dirt from the ground. He throws it right into Jax's face. She gasps and begins rubbing furiously at her eyes. I let myself drop to the ground and I once again run for the sickle.

I am just inches from it when my hood is snatched from behind and I am yanked backwards.

I instinctually unzip my hoodie and throw my arms back, letting the garment slide off of me.

My good hand wraps around the sickle and with a cry, I pivot around violently, bringing the sickle along with me. It catches as I turn and for a moment, everything stops.

Jax and I lock eyes. Pain floods her face and she reaches for her chest with a shaking hand, right where a large red stain is beginning to blossom. "Crap…" she croaks.

She coughs, red droplets flying out of her mouth and onto my face.

Then, she slips to the ground.

The cannon is loud and harsh. The battle stops. All eyes are on me and the cooling body on the ground.

Bronze sees Jax and his face goes as white as a sheet. Tears begin to well in his eyes as he mouths her name.

His gaze turns to me and his face twists from grief to white hot rage. He nocks his final arrow and I take a defensive stance with my sickle.

Let him try. I'll kill him too.

Then his aim shifts. Drake shouts a warning. My blood turns to slush. "NO!" I scream.

I turn and run towards him but it's too late. Bronze releases the arrow.

There's that same sickening crack, the sound of an arrow breaking a skull.

Bran crumples to the ground.

Another cannon fires.

Then the screaming begins.

10th Place – Jacinth "Jax" Chaney – Slashed by Amber Reeves

Poor Jax got incredibly screwed over here. She was hyped up to be the brawn to Bronze's brains…and then proceeded to not get any kills. All of her kills were stolen, actually. She fatally wounded Brooke, then the Capitol stole that kill. She helped torture Harvey, and then Camdyn mercy-killed him, and then I stole all of her future kills because she was actually going to make it all the way to the finale. I squeezed in her fight with Amber just so she could do something. A Career was always going to fall at the feast. It was originally going to be one of the outliers, but then I asked myself, what if it were Jax? How would Bronze deal with it? And those two questions changed everything. Jax's death was the catalyst to a major turning point in the story, and things will be different from here on out, especially for Bronze, who will now have to carry on without his best friend. Goodbye Jax. May you cheer Bronze on from the afterlife.

9th Place – Bran Crawford – Shot by Bronze Carlton

I won't lie, this one hurt. This one hurt a lot. I was dreading having to kill Bran the moment I introduced him. He was a character that I found impossible to control, and he was such a cheerful, bright, and smart kid. Most of his big moments weren't even planned. They just sort of happened. He was so optimistic and happy despite his situation, and he represented a ray of hope in the horrors of the arena. In order to give his death the maximum impact it needed, I made it just as spontaneous. No tragic death scene, no sad goodbyes, just a vengeful Career with an arrow and a quick death that was both shocking and devastating. Needless to say, Amber's alliance will be destroyed, but no more than Amber herself. Bran sort of became a little brother to her. He supported her throughout the entire story so far, and his death will have a devastating impact on her. He will be missed terribly by everyone who knew him, including me. Goodbye Bran Crawford, King of Lurking. I am so, so sorry.

Well then. That…all happened. This entire chapter was one big fight scene. It was messy, chaotic, and I hope next chapter will be more structured, but I kind of wrote myself into a corner with ending the last chapter like that. Consider this a part 2 to the last chapter.

At least I got to showcase one of Amber's greatest strengths, which is her adaptability and ability to learn. She learned from her fight with Jax and when she fought all of the Careers at once, she focused on moving and waiting for the right time to strike i stead of constantly trying to land a hit. It helped that her allies were nearby and were able to provide backup quickly. That and the Careers were operating with a pack mentality. The Amber Jax rematch was somewhat fun to write…until it wasn't and the sadness happened.

I…honestly don't know what else to say here. Short chapter but packed full of action. Kind of chaotic but so was this scene. I am so very sorry if I ripped your heart out here with this horrific thing of a cliffhanger. I wish I could say that the next chapter will be out soon, but with Thanksgiving coming up, it might be a while.

I am going to warn you right now, that the next few chapters are going to get dark and have some heavy material. I'm actually going to add a warning in the summary starting next chapter, it will get that heavy.

Finally, if you want to submit a tribute to the SYOT, go ahead and DM me and I'll reserve a slot. I'm limiting it to two slots per person for now. Depending on interest, I may increase it to three. I was made aware that alerts were down for Fanfic, but I'll respond as soon as I see it.