Hebe didn't move from her spot in the bushes for what felt like years. She drifted between sleeping and waking, finding comfort in neither.
In her dreams, Gaia followed her. Each time she saw her own reflection in a river or lake, Gaia was there too, her body mutilated, burnt and disintegrated. Hebe watched as she ate that peach over and over again, and she soon entered her main rotation of nightmares. They would all meld into each other, sometimes it was Luca volunteering, Annie getting beheaded, Finnick rotting, Gaia screaming and crying.
She would drag herself from slumber only to find herself alone in the clearing, tears streaming down her face, sweat dripping from her forehead. She wasn't even conscious enough anymore to properly defend herself if someone tried to eliminate her. In fact, if someone did find her she'd probably beg them to take her out. She now welcomed death, having almost no desire to return to home anymore. She didn't know if it was because she couldn't bear to face them after what she'd done, or if she just didn't have the energy and willpower to want to leave.
Her axe lay almost a foot away, still stained with dried blood. The eyeball still lay in the middle of the clearing near the hatch, sliced perfectly in half.
The numb feeling that spread through Hebe's body at every minute of the day was even worse than it was after Luca. It was like the death of Gaia had opened up all the floodgates on her emotions, and now they were flowing freely through her veins. Every horror she had experienced so far was infinitely compounded, and now it was all that was on her mind.
Hebe was fairly certain she had been here for two days, only taking small sips of water and tiny bites of crackers for sustenance. She knew this because she had been awakened by the anthem twice, sobbed all the way through it, and then fallen back to sleep. She felt like death, her body withering away from the lack of usage. She was turning into some thoughtless vegetable that did nothing but sob and sleep.
That was until she heard the cannons.
Loud booms that echoed through the clearing, the most real thing she'd experienced since she watched the hovercraft carry Gaia's body away. And then there was another immediately after it.
They continued to ring through Hebe's ears for however long it was until she fell back asleep.
She didn't stir again until the anthem began to blast through the swamp as it always did, jolting her awake like she'd been struck by lightning. Dazedly, she raised her head, curious to see who was gone now. If she was right in her hazy calculations, two are dead, meaning there was only 4 of them left.
She prayed it was Anise and Ash.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't. Instead it was the boy from 5 and the boy from 9. She thought that was going to be it. But just as she went to turn her head away, the girl from 12 was projected into the sky. She must have slept through the other cannon.
She was in the final three.
Unfortunately, at this stage it didn't bear much weight to Hebe at all. She didn't feel like caring. Her heart was too busy desperately trying to repair itself to even consider strategising. Luckily she was going to be forced into action.
"Tributes, there are only three of you left in the arena! Well done! Because of the long stalemate these games have seemed to have reached, we in the Capitol have decided to ramp things up! You have the next 4 hours to hunt down the remaining tributes. If no winner has been declared in these 4 hours, we will release a number of vicious muttations and natural events to bring you all together! Happy hunger games, and may the odds be ever in your favour!"
Claudius Templesmith's voice echoed from the speakers as he read out the first announcement of the games, and most likely the last.
It was common for the gamemakers to use natural disasters or mutts to bring tributes together near the end of the games, but it was exceedingly uncommon for this to be outright stated, or for a time-frame to be given.
Hebe gaped into the darkness, bile rising in her throat. For some reason she had naively thought that there may be some kind of way to escape without further bloodshed. Or maybe she believed that they would just let her go when they realised how much pain she was in. But alas, the Capitol would never let their precious hunger games be compromised in such a way.
So now she had no choice but to continue. As much as she wished to simply fade into obscurity, sink into some deep black void, she knew in her heart that she could not let herself do that. As much as she blamed herself for the death of all of her allies, she felt that she could not let herself rest until she had in some parts avenged them. Right now the only power she had in her possession was the power to win.
She had the power to make sure that those she had lost in the games did not die with her.
Springing to her feet, Hebe grabbed her axe, neglecting that stupid backpack she'd spent half the games lugging around with her. She didn't even bother to wipe the blood off it before she wrenched open the hatch to the tunnel, sliding down the ladder into the pitch black.
A plan formulated in her mind as she jogged down the long passage. She had to get to Anise and Ash's camp and attack them there. Maybe she could try and misdirect them, split them up, and take them down one by one. Maybe they've already attacked each other. Right this second they could be locked in combat, fighting for overall survival in the arena.
Her victory may be easy, maybe all she'd have to do is cut one of their throats whilst they lay bleeding on the mulch, the other dead next to them. Or she'd have to chase them through thick swamplands, her feet sinking further into the mud with each step she took. Eventually she'd catch up with them, throwing her axe forward and watching as it sunk into their back with a satisfying crunch.
Fantasising about her victory kept her mind from straying to the alternative scenario. It also kept her from thinking about that emptiness that had nestled itself deep in her soul, so far down that she was unsure if she'd ever be able to dig it out.
Her feet thudded along the dark corridor, echoing down the tunnel. Until it was no longer the only sound she could hear. Hebe paused, turning her head to try and ascertain the source of the noise. It sounded like barking of some kind, and seemed to be coming from… directly above her.
She remembered that the mutts the gamemakers would eventually release were not the only ones in the arena. There were still the two who had bitten Gaia, frolicking through the swamp.
Above her, the mutts were wreaking just as much havoc as they always did.
Ash limped through the undergrowth, bloody spear held tightly in his grip. His eyes were wild and dark, eyebrows furrowed, sweat dripping down his body. On his ankle, a bite mark, leaking blood, tinged slightly green around the edges.
Stumbling slightly ahead of him, was his now former ally Anise, screaming and sobbing as if her life depended on it. She kept pleading with the boy to spare her life. She didn't understand that it was the mutt bite that had done this, she just thought it was the stress and fear of the announcement.
He had been bitten the previous day when they were out hunting. The dogs had appeared out of nowhere, leaping from the undergrowth with their teeth bared and claws outstretched. One had sunk those very same teeth into Ash's leg, and Anise could still remember his screech of pain that seemed to pierce through her very soul.
She dragged him away from the dogs and back to their camp, where he had let her nurse him for the majority of the night. But it was like when that anthem came on, something snapped inside of him and he just went absolutely batshit, pushing her to the side and slamming her into a tree trunk in the process.
It was after this he had begun to 'chase' her through the woods, although it was quite difficult when she was scared and winded and he was limping like an old man.
Anise then felt herself trip over a stray root, and face plant into the mud and leaves. She dug her nails deep into the dirt, clinging onto the sword in her right hand, helpfully obscured by a nearby bush.
Ash leaned over her menacingly, drooling slightly in the way you'd imagine a dog would. He began to foam at the mouth and her pleas fell on entirely deaf ears. So as he began to raise his spear, mentally measuring just the right angle to use to pierce her heart, she struck first, taking the sword and driving it into his stomach.
He gurgled slightly, shock filling his face. It was now that he seemed to revert ever so slightly back to his normal self, that usual dry flicker returning to his eye. But it was too little too late as he fell entirely onto Anise's sword, impaling himself on it.
She looked at her fallen ally with misty-eyed fondness, rubbing her face and climbing to her feet, pulling the sword from his stomach. Blood gushed from him as she did so, painting the earth red.
There were only 2 of them left.
Hebe resurfaced what felt like only 20 minutes later, although in reality she knew it was much longer. When she had heard the sound of the mutts above her she had remained in that spot in the tunnels for roughly an hour, unwilling to tempt fate and get killed by the beasts. She had also heard the cannon and slowed down slightly, not wanting to get inadvertently ambushed by whoever of the district 7 alliance had survived.
There was not long until the gamemakers began to release those mutts into the arena, and Hebe was becoming increasingly impatient. She sped through the swamp, slashing through vines like her life depended on it.
Soon she began to near Anise and Ash's camp, her feet naturally knowing the way there by now from all the hours of spying. Yet when she arrived it was not the pair from district 7 she discovered, but the mutts.
They prowled the small clearing, sticking their large heads into bushes and backpacks alike, clearly searching for some kind of food.
Hebe slowly backed away from the bush she had been watching them over, tightening her already firm grip on the familiar, worn handle of her axe.
Then she noticed a silver flash in the treeline. Then she saw it again. Anise, then came into view, her hair mussed and face red and sweaty. Hebe wondered if she looked that bad herself.
Anise had noticed her too. They both stood totally still, unable to work out what they should do, who was going to make the first move.
In that moment, Hebe wished for a world that never could've been, one where her and Anise weren't locked in this deadly competition. One where they grew up in the same district and became close friends. One where they didn't up here, trying to kill each other.
Anise then turned tail and ran, and Hebe was close behind her. In that moment, it felt as though she had never run faster in her life, like she was moving on the fuel of pure adrenaline. But it seems she wasn't the only one following Anise. The mutts must've heard the commotion, deciding that the two sounded like fun to chase.
She darted between the trees, hopping over tree roots, ducking under branches, swerving around shrubs to continue to chase Anise. She then had a realisation of where they were, remembering the crossroads up ahead. But in the time it had taken to think about this, Anise had disappeared from sight, and when she arrived at the crossroads, the girl was nowhere to be found.
Hebe looked around her desperately, at a total loss as to where the other tribute had gone.
It was then that she heard the thundering of paws from where she had just sprinted down, and nimbly darted behind a tree.
The mutts crashed into the clearing, panting and turning their heads wildly. They then began to sniff the dirt carefully, attempting to detect the scent of the tributes they had been hunting. Hebe waited with baited breath, her hand over her mouth to muffle any noise she may make.
One of the dogs came dangerously close to sticking its head directly around the trunk of the tree where she was hiding.
Then a booming gong rang through the swamp, most likely the one that signified the beginning of the end. That seemed to get the attention of the mutts as they soon galloped away, barking and howling.
Hebe then emerged from behind the tree and began searching again for Anise, scratching her face nervously, her empty hand jittering by her side.
Then there was a mighty rustling from behind her, and as she swerved around to question the source of the nice she was met with a fist to her stomach.
She stumbled back slightly, winded by the sudden attack by the girl from district 7. She had been lurking in one of the nearby bushes, waiting for the chance to strike. Hebe chastised herself for not noticing her eyes peering out from the foliage.
Hebe swung at her attacker with her axe, narrowly missing as she scrambled to her feet. Anise dodged and threw another punch that Hebe was able to easily evade.
She tried slashing the other girl again with her axe, but she was slippery as an eel and she was unable to get any advantage in the fight when she was still trying to recover her breath.
Eventually Hebe managed to land a kick on one of the girl's kneecaps, causing it to buckle and sending her crashing to the ground. But it wasn't until she heard the yipping and howling of the mutts that she began to formulate a plan.
She loomed over the other tribute, waiting for her to recover enough so that she tried to stand. To the untrained eye it looked like she was another arrogant career savouring their last taste of death in the arena. But Hebe had other ideas.
She let out an ear-piercing scream, the loudest one she could muster, then carefully listened for the telltale signs of the mutts running in her direction.
Anise finally managed to climb to her feet and stood toe to toe with Hebe, a questioning look on her face at her actions. Hebe just grinned at her, then turned and ran away from the crossroads, noticing Anise's footsteps following as well as the galloping of the mutts.
Now it was her turn to run away from her enemy, gracefully jumping over bushes and twisting past the thickest trees. She was careful to make sure that she didn't make it easy for her attacker to follow, but also moving slowly enough that Anise didn't lose her completely.
As she moved she could feel some kind of presence behind her, and when she turned around to see what it was, she saw a thick white fog following closely behind the mutts. She had no idea what it could mean, but the very sight of it sent a bolt of dread coursing through her body.
To make matters worse she could also hear the yapping of the mutts as they caught up with them, the sound of their paws hitting the earth growing ever closer.
Then she finally reached her destination. Tunnel No. 1. In the centre of the clearing sat the familiar silver hatch that glinted in the moonlight.
Hebe rushed towards it and wrenched the handle with all her strength. It swung open with a loud clang as she squatted down on the ground. She then placed her feet on the rungs of the ladder just below the surface, and patiently waited for Anise and the mutts to crash through the entrance to the clearing.
It was only a few seconds until they did just that, the fog following closely behind. As soon as she locked eyes with Anise she began to frantically move downwards, half sliding half climbing down the ladder.
Her opponent followed, the dogs hot on her heels. Hebe reached the bottom and took off sprinting immediately, her eyes nervously scanning the walls for the tell-tale sign of that small wooden panel.
Then she saw it, protruding slightly from the wall. She let out a breath and reached to press it, but was stopped by a hand grabbing the back of her neck.
Before she knew it her head had been slammed into the wall and her nose was bleeding profusely. Hebe shook her head to try and cure her doubled vision, but found she was stuck. Anise stalked towards her menacingly, almost as if she thought she'd gotten some kind of one up on her.
Not a chance.
Hebe twisted round and slashed at the girl with her axe, and this time the blade connected with her wrist, slicing her hand clean off.
Anise screamed uncontrollably, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth against the pain. Hebe felt no usual twinge of sympathy, the only emotion she had any capacity to feel right now was fear.
She placed a square kick in the centre of the girl's chest that sent her flying back into the wall, slumping up against it, groaning. Hebe lunged toward the panel and slammed her hand into it, jumping into the compartment and punching the button she had recently discovered that said 'DOOR'.
A screen of thick, unbreakable glass covered the front of the compartment where the door had been. She glared at Anise, who was no longer slumped down on the other side of the hallway. She was moving around, although visibly still in pain.
When Hebe craned her neck she could see both ends of the corridor, and noticed the fog on one end, and the mutts on the other. Both were rapidly approaching.
Anise seemed to weigh her options, and finally decided to try and wade into the fog rather than face the mutts. But she was soon stopped as welts bubbled over her hands. She opened her mouth in what Hebe assumed was a scream, although she couldn't be quite sure because of how soundproof the glass was.
Anise sharply recoiled from the fog, and landed directly into the welcome arms of the mutts.
Hebe could do nothing but watch as her fellow tribute was torn limb from limb, her tendons and guts flying across the tunnel. Some landed on the front of the door, and they left a large bloody stain as they slid down onto the floor.
Her cannon sounded, but Hebe didn't feel the relief she thought she would. She felt nothing but the vomit rising in her throat.
She firmly pressed the 'UP' button and the elevator began to surge upwards towards the surface.
She stumbled out of the tree where the elevator was situated and fell to her knees, emotionless tears spilling down her cheeks.
All around her was noise as the Capitol anthem reverberated through the swamp for the final time. However one voice cut through the commotion.
"May I present to you, the victor of the 69th annual hunger games… Hebe Cross!"