SONG: I Know It's Over by Jeff Buckley

Iris watched the sky as Agata slept soundly beside her. The sky would be the only thing she'd miss about the arena, apart from her allies. Her friends. It was so clear. The sky here somehow felt bigger than it did at home. Perhaps because it wasn't choked with smog and light pollution. It felt impossible to be able to look up and see a sky so full of stars - it was almost too beautiful to be real.

Just when Iris thought it couldn't get any more beautiful, wisps of green and pink began to appear, and before long they morphed into bright, dancing ribbons. She shook Agata awake. "Look, Agata! Look at the sky!"

Agata yawned, and gazed up at the sky. "Wow," she breathed. "That's really something."

"What is it?" Iris wondered if it was real, this thing with the lights, or if it had been created by the Gamemakers so they could show off. She half-thought her brain was making it up; maybe she was still tucked away in a dream.

"It's an aurora. I've never seen one in person before, but I remember there was one in the Games a while back," she said. "I don't know what causes them."

"Gamemakers, probably, but I don't even care," Iris sighed, gazing up. Her neck hurt with the uncomfortable angle, but she found it hard to care as she watched the dancing ribbons. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Yeah," Agata agreed. "Me too."

They sat in silence for a while, side by side, gazing up at the night sky. Agata leaned her head against Iris' shoulder. Iris realised, with sort of a shock, that somehow this girl she had distrusted so much had become a friend. Iris still felt paranoid of her from time to time, but there was no denying the friend Agata had become to her. Not that it would last. Agata would probably be dead in a matter of days. Hours, even. What was the point of having friends, if they all died anyway? Maybe it was a curse to befriend Iris. She should have just kept to herself in the arena, as she'd planned to in the first place. It would have saved her a lot of emotional turmoil.

She gently shrugged Agata's head off her shoulder. Agata looked at her curiously. "You okay?" she asked.

Iris blinked away the moisture in her eyes before Agata could see. "Yeah. Just tired," she lied.

"Right," Agata said, clearly not believing her. She bit her lip. "Iris, can I -"

"What?"

"Can I hug you?"

Iris didn't know what she had expected Agata to say, but it hadn't been that. "Why?"

"I just - I don't know if I'm ever going to get to hug anyone again," Agata said softly, wrapping her arms around herself. "It feels like this is coming to an end."

"What if you win?" Iris said, crossing her arms stubbornly. She knew she should be celebrating that Agata was so against winning - but at the same time, Iris didn't want her to give up. Not when there was still so much left for her to accomplish, although that was true for everyone else in the arena. Iris bit the inside of her cheek and tasted blood.

"Well, that would mean you wouldn't," Agata retorted, "and I thought you were trying not to think that way."

Iris stayed silent. She wasn't sure what to say, so she opened her arms instead. Agata leaned in, wrapping her slender arms around Iris' shoulders.

Iris couldn't say she hugged people often. Her mom had been a hugger, and always showered her and Jordie with affection. Her dad had been affectionate too, not as much as her mom, before he became so drug-addled he forgot their names. They had lost both parents when their mom died. She and Jordie rarely hugged each other, though. She wasn't sure why. It just felt weird, especially after their mom died. It was like they were so desperate for affection that they forced themselves to be closer than they were.

Agata's arms felt so different around her. Softer. It felt perfectly normal to be hugging Agata, like it wasn't the first time they'd done it, when once the idea of hugging a Career would have made her laugh. Iris' chin fit perfectly on the other girl's shoulder, and she hugged her back tightly, distinctly aware that this might be her last hug, too. (Even though she was trying not to think that way.)

They held each other for a few more seconds, before letting go at the same time, like they were in sync without saying it. Iris smiled at her, blinking harder to get rid of the moisture in her eyes. She wasn't sure why she felt like crying, and it was quite embarrassing. She hated crying. She had always cried at goodbyes when she was a kid, and this felt like a goodbye.

Agata reached out and wiped Iris' cheek with her sleeve. Iris smiled. "Thanks," she said softly.

Agata kissed her gently on the cheek. "Thank you," she said, "for being my friend." She smiled at Iris, and gestured to where she had been sleeping. "It's your turn. Get some sleep."

Iris went to sleep, feeling the place Agata kissed her burn.

/

She woke to the sound of trumpets. Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed through the arena, dragging her from an unusually pleasant dream - Iris had been small again, and had been sitting on her mother's knee, feeling safer than she had in a long time.

All for stupid Claudius Templesmith to drag her away. "Attention, tributes. At midday, a feast will be held at the Cornucopia. We expect to see you all there, and please don't be late."

If she were to translate the announcement, Iris thought it might go something like 'hurry up and kill each other so we can have our winner and be done with this'. Iris turned to voice this to Agata, but thought better of it and bit her tongue. "Well," she said instead. "I guess we'd better finish off the rest of our food. No use in keeping it."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Agata said. "By the end of the day, Iris, you'll be a Victor."

"You don't know that," Iris snapped. It was unheard of, at least to her, for a Career to completely give up on winning. For a Career to actually want another tribute to win. Iris still found it hard to believe Agata was telling the truth, but logically, Agata would have killed her now if she wanted Iris dead. She wouldn't share her food… share her water… save her life, hold her hand, kiss her on the cheek…

Agata laughed humorlessly. "Yes, I do," Agata said calmly, not rising to meet Iris' tone. Once, Iris thought, she would have snapped right back.

She crossed her arms. "What if that's not what I want?" The ghost of her mom's arm wrapped around her shoulders again. How easy it would be to see her again. To just… let the arena happen to her, to go back and live in the comfort of that dream.

"You're a volunteer," Agata said, as if it were obvious. "Of course it's what you want."

"So? You're a volunteer too." She wasn't sure why she was trying to convince Agata to win if she had already given up on the idea. Surely that's what I should want? But Agata was just a girl, in over her head, not sure she was prepared to live with what she had to do to win. Iris wasn't sure she could either, but she wanted to at least try, no matter how tempting it was to go to her mom. That would be better than giving up now. Knowing Agata had to die for that to happen, just like Kasia and Christopher… it was hard to wrap her head around.

"But winning isn't on the charts for me anymore." Agata gestured to her scarred face.

Iris didn't notice her scars anymore. She still thought Agata was beautiful. "Of course it is."

Agata just rolled her eyes, like she was tired of having this same argument over and over again. Iris was too, but that wasn't going to change anything. "You're probably the most interesting person in this arena, Iris. Of course they want you to win."

Iris sighed. She didn't want to argue anymore, not when they had only hours until the end. She just wished that Agata was willing to show her claws again, that she was still the confident girl who had laughed at Iris in the elevator after the Parade, the girl who had threatened her and told her exactly how she would die. She missed the Agata who had known she would win… and Iris wasn't sure she was supposed to. "Whatever," she said, looking away. "Let's discuss our strategy for the feast."

"Well, we know where the traps are."

"We know where half the traps are," Iris corrected, "and the one River stood in. But the rest are unmarked and undisturbed. So we need to watch our step."

"Well, the Careers don't know where any of them are, so that works for us. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be able to remember where they are. Will you?"

"I hope so." Iris had a nasty feeling that the traps would come back to bite them in the ass. Or the foot.

"Then we've got nothing to worry about!" Agata said brightly. "Now. I've still got some of those camouflage paints. You could paint us to match the sand, and we can lie somewhere in the rocks."

"Yeah, that's good. Close enough to the Cornucopia, but we'll still be able to get the jump on them."

"With the way Minerva was acting last time we saw her… she was nervous. She'll be jumpy, on high alert. I think if we give her time, she'll turn on Scorah, and then we'll only have to worry about the Twos."

"Which is still bad."

"Which is still bad," Agata agreed, "but that way we can each take one of them and no one will get the jump on us."

"Well, how do they fight? What should we look out for?"

"Malachite is strong. He'll try to get you to the ground - you can't let him. Minerva is quick, but as long as you've got an eye on her and she can't get you from behind, you should be able to see her attacks coming. And Scorah is smart, but in a battle of brute force like I'm sure this one will be, she won't have a chance. You could take her easily."

"So you think it'll be Malachite, then?" Iris said. She didn't like the idea of fighting Malachite. Of course, she didn't like the idea of fighting Minerva either, but at least she'd have a better chance against Minerva.

"Yes, but that's not to say don't watch out for the other two. They've got their skills but I just think he'll be the last one standing between them."

"Well, let's hope not," Iris said. She might be able to take one of the other girls. Scorah was roughly her height and Minerva was stronger than her, of course, but she was also at least a head shorter. Malachite, on the other hand, was built like an ox and was nearly the size of one. "So we'll go after him first, while we're both at our strongest, and then…"

"Hope that Minerva doesn't get to us before we finish him."

Iris sighed. "I just hope it's over quickly. Do you remember that final fight, in the 51st, that lasted like three hours?"

Agata shuddered. "I honestly couldn't tell who was going to win. They were both in such bad shape. Bit like the year before, but I guess that didn't last nearly as long. Lucky for Haymitch."

Iris scoffed. "I don't know about lucky… I nearly threw up when he was trying to shove his guts back in." She'd seen a lot of horrible things in the Games over the years, but watching Haymitch stagger around with his intestines squirming like worms in his hands… she was feeling nauseated just thinking about it.

"Yeah, that wasn't great." Agata sighed. She uncapped her water bottle and gestured for Iris to do the same. "Here's to a death that is hopefully over in under ten seconds."

Iris tapped her bottle against Agata's. "Hear, hear."

/

Midday came entirely before Iris felt ready for it to. She was, at least, prepared. She and Agata were in position, lying on their stomachs between the rocks directly behind the pedestals. Iris had painted their faces with the last of the camouflage paint, and they looked enough like sand that the Careers would hopefully have to look twice to notice them.

And yet, it was seeming like a waste of time, because there was still no sign of the Careers. Iris wondered if they were lying in wait like she and Agata were, or if they had set traps of their own… they would certainly have a strategy, but what could it be? They didn't - couldn't - know that she and Agata were allied, so they at least wouldn't have prepared for that. They wouldn't be expecting her and Agata to fight with each other, so if all went according to plan they'd be able to surprise them…

She tried not to fidget in case she disturbed the sand or the careful camouflage on her face. Next to her, Agata fiddled with her purple ring, the only sign that betrayed her nervousness. Her face was still and calm, but her ring twisted around and around her finger.

Just when Iris thought they would have to deviate from the plan and hunt the Careers down, Minerva tore down a sand dune to the north. "Agata!" she shrieked. "I'm sick of waiting! Let's get this over with!"

Iris glanced at Agata, who held up a hand. Wait. Wait for all of them to show up. She tried to bury herself under the sand some more, in case Minerva looked their way.

But Minerva didn't notice them. She stomped into the Cornucopia without abandon, seemingly having forgotten - or perhaps no longer cared about - the bear traps. They couldn't see inside the Cornucopia from their angle, but Iris could hear crashes from inside, as though she was throwing things around. She appeared to have lost her cool completely - though, Iris mused, had she ever really had any cool to begin with?

Malachite ventured from the dune not long after, though he seemed to be much more mindful of the traps. He stayed just outside the ring of pedestals, and walked to the mouth of the Cornucopia. "Minerva!" he yelled. "You didn't follow the fucking plan!"

Minerva laughed from inside the Cornucopia. "I saw her! Malachite, I fucking saw her, the little rat, she snuck in here and she's hiding away like the coward she is -"

"There's nowhere for her to hide, don't be an idiot! She's not in there!"

"She is!" Minerva shrieked. Iris wondered what had made Minerva so paranoid. She certainly was acting differently from when they had last seen her. Heatstroke, maybe? Whatever it was, Iris hoped it affected her fighting. If only she had stood in a bear trap.

"If she is hiding here somewhere, she'll stay there now you've started acting crazy."

"Just get in here and help me look… there must be a hideyhole in here she's squeezed herself into, the fucking cowardly blonde bitch!" Minerva shrieked. There was another crash from inside. Iris glanced at Agata, who shrugged, but didn't seem concerned. She was staring with purpose at the Cornucopia, like she was waiting for some kind of sign.

Malachite must have followed his district partner inside at some point, because he dragged her back into view and pushed her roughly down to the sand. Minerva yelled in protest and childishly threw a handful of sand at him, and for a second Iris was sure he was about to break her neck but instead he held out a hand and helped her to her feet. "You've got to get a hold of yourself. We won't get her if you're too paranoid to fight properly. I told you, you're seeing things again."

Minerva wiped sweat off her face. "I swear it was her -"

"Scorah and I were watching the Cornucopia, just like you were, and neither of us saw anything. You've barely slept the last few days, Minerva, you're seeing things."

"Fine," Minerva said, crossing her arms. "I'm going crazy. Who cares?"

Malachite turned to the dune, as if he was searching for Scorah. That had, apparently, been what Agata was waiting for, because the second his back turned she was on her feet and sprinting to the Cornucopia.

Iris almost yelled after her but caught herself just in time. What the hell was she doing? This wasn't the plan! But Agata had apparently had a plan of her own the whole time. She kept to one side of the Cornucopia, and looked back at Iris with a smile. And then she sprinted again, pushed Minerva out of the way, and jumped onto Malachite's back, shrieking and stabbing like a wild animal.

Malachite roared, and Minerva ran at Agata, who held her grip on the bulky boy from Two and kicked wildly at his district partner. She slammed the hilt of her sword into the side of his head and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, bringing Agata down with him. Minerva took advantage of Agata's awkward position, slashing with her sword. Iris' heart beat faster than it ever had before as Agata rolled out of the way of what would have certainly been a lethal hit. She sprung to her feet and tackled Minerva before the girl from Two knew what hit her. Something shiny flew from Minerva's pocket.

A flash of movement from the northern sand dune caught Iris' attention. Scorah tore down the dune as fast as she could, and a second later Iris saw the wave of small, shiny scorpions that were pursuing her. The same ones that had been in the pit. Evidently, the Gamemakers didn't want them to hide… Iris realised a second later that that rule likely applied to her as well.

"Shit!" she yelped. The scorpions emerged from the sand, from in between the rocks, squeezing themselves out from every nook and cranny. Iris half expected them to start raining from the sky. They did not, however, enter the circle around the Cornucopia. The message was clear - the Gamemakers wanted a big, chaotic, gory fight. No one would win by hiding, not this year.

She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the pedestals, as they didn't seem to pursue Scorah after she was inside the ring. Panting, she turned to see that the scorpions had formed their own little perimeter around the pedestals, making sure none of the tributes escaped the little circle. There would be no more running from action. There would be no more waiting. Iris wiped away the sweat dripping from her brow, and allowed herself a minute to catch her breath and assess the situation.

In the minute it had taken Iris to get from the rocks to the Cornucopia, Agata had managed to get Minerva to the ground. Iris hadn't heard a cannon, and Agata seemed to be preparing to deliver the death blow when Malachite twitched, and started to wake up.

Iris knew she should call out to her - warn Agata in some way - but something kept her silent. Glued somewhat out of sight to the side of the Cornucopia. She watched, stomach churning, as Malachite got to his feet. Minerva had seen this too, and kept Agata's focus on her, so Agata wouldn't notice the boy from Two sneaking up on her. A million words of warning leapt into Iris' throat. Agata, behind you! Agata, look out! But Iris kept her mouth firmly shut. It wasn't time yet.

Malachite grabbed Agata around the waist, and dragged her to her feet, wrestling her arms over her head, so she couldn't escape his grip. "Well hello there, Agata. How we've missed you," Malachite said, his voice dripping with spite. He kicked her sword away. It landed next to something shiny… a bear trap. Oh, no. If Iris could see it, that meant the Careers could, too. "You got ugly. Still have nice tits, though."

"Go fuck yourself, Malachite," Agata spat. "At least I had looks to begin with, whereas you spent your life looking like… well, this." Her voice dripped with disdain. Her eyes darted around, as if she was searching for something that could help her. Instead, she found the bear trap that Iris had been silently willing her to look away from.

Malachite followed the direction Agata was staring in, and a grin swept across his face. "Well, Agata, I was planning on gutting you, but I think this will make for a much more satisfying death. Don't you think, Minerva?"

Minerva laughed. Cold anger poured into Iris' veins. "I wanted to be the one to kill her, but I think I'll get a better view from here."

Iris wondered why Minerva wasn't standing up, and then she noticed the long gash down her calf. It was gushing blood quicker than Minerva seemed to know what to do with. Iris was certain that if it hadn't been for the wound Agata had given her, Minerva would be giving Agata a long, painful death. At least Agata had done a number on both the tributes from Two - there were cuts and scratches all over them, and Iris was sure that one or more of the stabs in Malachite's back would end up being fatal with time. Of course, time was no longer on their side.

Agata met Iris' eyes, then. Iris could see her panicking, and that was enough for Iris to take a step towards Minerva, who was watching Malachite taunt Agata with rapt attention. Agata shook her head slightly, a tiny, tiny movement that Iris knew she would not have seen had she not been looking for it. Wait, Agata seemed to say for a second time, and for all the panic that was written on her face there was composure, there, too. And that was enough for Iris to stop, and wait, until Malachite had turned completely away from the Cornucopia, completely away from Iris. Agata had given her one last gift - the element of surprise.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting, then," Malachite said. He adjusted his hold on Agata, twisting her arms behind her back, and Agata's eyes left Iris'. He started dragging her towards the bear trap, and when Agata realised what he was doing, she began to panic. She shrieked and fought against his hold, kicking and squirming wildly, but she was no match for Malachite's brute strength. He punched her, hard, in the stomach, and she groaned and doubled over. It was killing Iris not to help her, but there was nothing she could do, and there would be no point in wasting Agata's sacrifice when she had given Iris the perfect opening.

As Malachite pushed Agata to the ground, Iris crept up behind the still-giggling Minerva, and took a knife from her belt. As she reached, oh so quietly, around Minerva's neck, Malachite forced Agata's head closer and closer to the trap, twisting her around so she could see it. He was going to make her watch as she got closer and closer to it… she would see as it closed, Iris knew, but there was nothing to do. Her foot crunched on something - a compass. Had that been what had fallen from Minerva's pocket?

As Iris drew her blade across Minerva's throat - just as Minerva had started to turn around - Malachite forced Agata's head into the trap. Iris let Minerva fall, and Agata's final scream died in her throat as the trap sprung shut, crushing her skull like it was a watermelon.

Two cannons rang out, within moments of each other. Malachite stared down at his work, pleased, and didn't seem to notice that Agata's cannon went on a beat too long. Identical circles of blood stained the sand around the two fallen Careers.

Iris looked at the body of her ally, at the boy from Two standing over her. And then she saw Scorah, who she had forgotten about, who Malachite had seemed to have forgotten about, in his and Minerva's eagerness to finally get their hands on Agata. Iris saw Scorah notice her - the 'o' of her parted lips as she looked at Iris standing over Minerva's prone body, the small smile that crept over her face as she seemed to realise that two of her competitors had just been knocked out of the game. Perhaps Iris should have smiled too, but she really didn't feel there was anything to smile about until she won for good.

Scorah applauded slowly, drawing Malachite's attention away from Agata. It was awful to see Agata like that, but Iris wasn't going to think about that now. Scorah smiled, and Iris wondered if Agata had underestimated the girl from Four. "Well done, Malachite. You've wanted to do that for a while, haven't you. If only Minerva could have seen it." Scorah's eyes found Iris again.

"What -" Malachite followed Scorah's line of sight and whirled around, looking Iris in the eyes. His gaze then wandered down to his dead district partner, and a confused expression crept over his face. She could practically see his thoughts - she imagined they went something like who what when how ahhh!

Iris smiled, and showed him the knife, still dripping with Minerva's blood. Malachite roared, and charged like a bull. Iris turned on her heels and ran. Malachite covered ground quickly, though. He must have dived at her, because his hands grabbed her ankles and Iris went down, down, down. Her face slammed into the sand and she felt her nose spurt blood. What had Agata said? He'll try to get you to the ground - you can't let him. Well, so much for following that advice.

Malachite flipped her over easily, and she spat out a mouthful of sand and blood. "I want to watch the light die in your eyes," he said, and wrapped his large hands around Iris' throat. "I want to watch you suffer."

She was beginning to think that he was a bit dramatic. Surely he had known Minerva would die at some point. He squeezed tighter, and Iris choked, scratching at his face, his arms, his back to no avail. Even when she buried her knife in his shoulder, he didn't let go. Panic was rising in her body. Her club was useless from this angle, and where had she dropped her knife, how could she get him OFF OF HER -

He had forgotten about Scorah. And so had Iris, again. The girl from Four's spear plunged through Malachite's neck and out of his throat, missing Iris' face by inches. Iris watched Malachite's eyes bulge with panic and pain. The weight of his body over hers disappeared as he rolled away, gasping, just as Scorah tugged the spear from his neck. The blood flowed freely from the hole in his throat and mixed with Minerva's in the sand. The second-last cannon rang through the arena.

"Damn," Scorah said. "I was hoping that would impale you, too."

Iris got to her feet, rubbing her throat, certain that that was the closest she'd ever been to dying the whole time she'd been in the arena. If Malachite had squeezed a bit harder - if Scorah's spear was two inches longer - she fought down the bile that was rising in her throat. "Agata said you'd never be the last one standing," she rasped.

Scorah raised her eyebrows. "You were allies?"

"Yes," Iris said. God, did her throat hurt. Scorah threw her spear but Iris had seen it coming and dodged the second Scorah's arm had wound back. The spear clanged against the Cornucopia. Iris grinned at her. "I guess she was wrong."

"The bear traps were smart. Didn't end well for her, though," Scorah smiled. What other weapons did she have on her, Iris wondered? She wouldn't have thrown her spear so readily if she didn't have something else hidden away somewhere. Probably a knife, but where? There weren't any in her belt. Iris' club had rolled away somewhere when Malachite had started strangling her. There were two knives left in her belt, and the third was presumably still in Malachite's shoulder.

Iris sized up her opponent, sensing that Scorah was doing the same. They were a similar size, though Iris was slightly taller - Scorah, of course, was leanly muscled and not as unhealthily skinny as Iris, from a lifetime of training and swimming and having enough food. They circled each other warily. Her fingers itched to snatch the knives from her belt, but she knew the second she moved, Scorah would grab at her own hidden weapons, and would Iris really be quicker than a trained Career? "I thought it would be Malachite, or Minerva. Not you."

"I thought it would be Agata. Not you," Scorah echoed.

Perhaps if Iris just jumped her, did something completely unexpected, something Scorah wouldn't see coming… "I always wanted to go to the beach," she said, deciding to stall, and wait for Scorah to make the first move. Iris would be ready for her. "You know, I've never been swimming before. I guess we don't need it anyway, not in here."

"If only the ocean was still full," Scorah said, almost wistfully. "I would have won ages ago."

"Ah. You figured it out too?" Sometimes she forgot that the desert was actually a drained sea. It was easy to forget, she supposed, when there was nothing but sand and sun, stretching for miles.

"Wasn't too hard," Scorah said, flashing her a grin. "Sand. Dried coral. Shipwrecks. Pretty obvious, really." Scorah's hand dipped into her jacket as fast as lightning.

Iris reached for her knife as well, just as Scorah dove at Iris' feet, slamming Iris to the ground. She fell hard, but she had a knife in her hand, and she sunk it deep into the other girl's calf, dragging it with her as hard as she could manage. Scorah screamed, and twisted around, landing a solid punch to Iris' nose. If it hadn't been broken from the first impact, it was now. In Scorah's other hand - the non-punch hand - was a wicked looking dagger. Iris grabbed Scorah's wrist, and tried to wrestle the dagger from Scorah's grip, but Scorah yanked her hand away and slashed towards her.

Iris yelped, and scrambled backwards in the sand, just out of reach, still so close that she could almost taste the blade as it swept millimetres from her mouth. The dagger found its home in Iris' upper arm instead. Iris twisted away before Scorah could tug it out, and tore out of Scorah's grip. She started to crawl backwards on her butt, landing a hard kick to the girl from Four's face, which gave Iris the time to get back to her feet, and pull the dagger out of her arm.

Scorah started to stand up too, and this time Iris was the one who dove, tackled her back down, and sat on Scorah's chest. Iris' pinned Scorah's arms above her head with her left hand, and she raised the dagger, preparing to slit - what was it - her third throat? She'd lost track.

Scorah twisted, using her shoulders and leg to topple Iris' balance slightly to the side. This was enough, apparently, for her to tip Iris off her completely. Iris slammed to her side, and Scorah sat on Iris' chest. She twisted, trying to get out from under Scorah, but this only allowed Scorah to get a better grip on her - she was sitting fully on Iris' chest, now. She made a grab for the dagger still clasped in Iris' hand, but Iris pulled it away from her, and slashed towards Scorah's throat again.

Maybe if she could somehow recreate the move Scorah had used to get out of Iris' grip - She moved her leg to the side, thinking she could somehow push herself up a bit, but before she could there was a snap and a burst of pain - one of the bear traps had closed around her right calf. "Fuck!" Iris shrieked. She had forgotten that they still littered the area. So much for them coming in handy - they had done more to hurt her and Agata than they'd done to help them.

She brought up an elbow and slammed it into Scorah's throat. Scorah wheezed, but didn't lose her grip as Iris had hoped. She yanked the other knife from Iris' belt - Iris had forgotten about that. Iris used all her strength to propel herself onto her left side - maybe she could bring up her injured leg somehow. What if the trap went off again, if it hit Scorah? Maybe, she could hit it on the bottom and it would open and she could force Scorah into it as Malachite had forced Agata -

Scorah punched her hard in the chest, right under her right breast, the only place she could reach. Unfortunately for Scorah, this punch had meant she was not guarding her stomach, and Iris' dagger stabbed deep into her abdomen. Scorah's eyes widened, and she looked down at her stomach. Was that enough? Would it kill her? Iris didn't know, but Scorah was distracted now, and Iris managed to push the other girl off her.

Iris wheezed - was it getting harder to breathe? - and Scorah pulled the dagger out of her stomach. She tried to stab Iris again, but the blood was flowing from her stomach quicker than she could cope, and she was too weak to use the larger weapon effectively. Iris knocked the dagger from her hand, but Scorah had apparently had another knife hidden somewhere else on her body, a smaller one. Careers, Iris thought, rolling her eyes, almost finding the seemingly-endless supply of knives funny. She hadn't even noticed her reach for it. Scorah stabbed her, lightning quick in the chest once more, twice more, three times more, and then she coughed, and fell forwards onto Iris. Her head fell to Iris' chest, and without stopping to wonder why, Iris wrapped her arm around Scorah's back gently.

Where had the knife gone? Was it still somewhere in her chest? Scorah went limp over her, and Iris realised that she was about to die. She couldn't breathe at all, now, and there was a pain in her chest like nothing she'd ever felt before, like her whole chest had caved in. And perhaps it had.

She gasped and wheezed and black spots appeared in her vision and this was so much worse than when Malachite had been strangling her, because she could feel blood rushing into her lungs and was she drowning - ? She could hear herself gurgling, a horrible sound that confirmed to Iris that she was, in fact, about to die.

She could smell her mom again. Soap and lavender, which Iris' dad used to buy for her on special occasions. Iris had forgotten that smell, and she relaxed, feeling comforted, knowing she would see her mom again soon. Thunder boomed in Iris' ears and she wondered where the storm was.

Trumpets rang through the arena again. The last time she had heard those, Agata had still been alive, and now her head was crushed in a bear trap.

"The Victor of the Fifty-Fouth Annual Hunger Games, Iris Paquin!"

The aurora seemed like years ago, and yet Iris saw it again when her eyes closed. Pink and green and purple and blue. They wrapped around her, brilliantly bright tourniquets, soothing the wounds in her chest, kissing her trapped leg.

Iris hugged Scorah tightly, pressing her down, down, down, pressing out the last scrap of air in Iris' lungs.

She hoped she'd never have to breathe again.

I was originally going to have it come down to Iris and Malachite, and then I started writing the final scene and Scorah just crept up on me. For some reason it always seems to come down to District Four in my fics, I just have such a hard time killing them off.

I hope this wasn't confusing - I found this chapter difficult to write, pacing wise. All the 'she's' and 'hers' and keeping track of knives and names and injuries gets to me in action scenes. I loved writing those last few lines of consciousness, though, as Iris drifted closer to death… am I morbid?

Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it, would love some feedback! I'm very happy with how this turned out :)

Thanks for reading 3