Signy Freyda, 15

District 10 Female

By the time Ace and Signy made it back to their camp, Braulia was practically frantic. She rushed over and grabbed Signy by the shoulders, shaking her slightly.

"What happened?" she gasped. "I thought you died!"

"I'm okay," Signy croaked, startled by the onslaught. "The girl from 8 attacked me."

"Oh…" Braulia's voice trailed off and the three girls stood in silence.

"I wish we could make a fire," Ace said after a moment. "But it's too wet."

"Yeah," Braulia sighed. She glanced down at Signy's wet gloves and gently took them.

"We should try to dry these out," she said. She laid them on the blanket inside their lean-to and Signy stuffed her cold hands in her pockets. She kept wiggling her fingers, hoping that she wouldn't suffer from frostbite.

The rest of the day passed quietly. Signy was too stunned to speak much and neither Braulia nor Ace seemed to know what to say. After a few hours of silence, Signy decided to lie down for a nap. Ace agreed that it was a good choice and settled down in the entrance to the lean-to while Braulia made a small snowman.

She rolled to face away from her allies and closed her eyes. Almost immediately after sleep took her, a nightmare grabbed onto her. She was fighting Ariadne again, but the younger girl had the upper hand. She smashed Signy's face against the ice over the lake. Cold pain burst across her cheek and Ariadne pushed down harder. Signy's head was plunged underwater.

On instinct, she gasped, but icy water filled her lungs. Choking and coughing, she kicked and flailed against her attacker, but it was no use. Ariadne was too strong. The cold ached more than anything, and Signy felt her life slowly slipping away…

Suddenly, she was back in the Capitol, standing naked in her room with her prep team. They were all examining her, frowns on their faces. Archibald stood behind them, sneering.

"Good luck in the arena," he snarled, his voice cruel. "You'll need it."

Snow swirled around her and she was back at the Cornucopia, still naked. Her feet were freezing and she tried to scramble toward the metal structure, searching for any source of warmth, but she tripped and fell.

Cold enveloped her as she rolled onto her back and sobbed. Her tears froze on her cheeks and her body quaked with uncontrollable shivers.

"Mom…" she whispered. "I need you…"

But the cold took over.

Gasping, Signy sat up straight, nearly whacking her head against the sticks of their lean-to. Her breathing was coming in heavy pants, her breath puffing out in front of her. Ace was watching her with wide eyes.

"Sorry," Signy panted. "I had a bad dream."

"It's okay," Ace assured her. "It happens. But you're safe right now."

Right now, Signy thought. Nobody could promise they'd continue to be safe.

"Do you want some blackberries?" Braulia called from outside. "I picked some more."

"I swear, the girl is a never-ending source of food," Ace murmured, which made Signy laugh.

"Sure!" she called back to Braulia.

After an early dinner of blackberries and beef jerky, the girls were startled by the sound of a cannon firing. Three others followed in rapid succession.

"Wow," Braulia breathed. "Do you think that was the Career Pack?"

"I hope so," Ace muttered. "That would definitely raise our chances."

Signy considered the word - our. How long would these girls remain her allies? She didn't want to leave them, and she definitely didn't want to kill them. But only one person could live. And it had to be her.

As it got darker, the temperature began to drop. Signy pulled her gloves back on, which were dry by now. But she kept her hands buried in her pockets and pulled her beanie low over her ears.

The anthem blared loudly as the faces of the fallen tributes were projected into the night sky. Both tributes from 2. The boy from 3. The girl from 4. Ariadne from 8. And the boy from 9. Six deaths in total.

"It was the Careers," Ace said.

"Well, most of them. The pair from 1 are still alive," Signy put in. Braulia nodded.

"I'm glad they're gone," she said quietly. "Is that bad?"

Ace shook her head, but Signy stayed silent. They were awful people, but they were people. And now they were dead.

"I'll take the first watch," Signy offered. She had a nap earlier, and her mind was too alert to let her sleep anyways. Braulia thanked her and crawled into their shelter. Ace joined her and Signy waited for their breathing to even out before even daring to consider her plan.

She wanted to leave her allies. Staying with them would only cause more pain and heartbreak. She didn't want them to die, but she couldn't risk her life for them. If she left in the night, they'd be none the wiser. She'd leave half the supplies so they wouldn't starve or freeze, and then… what? She knew where the Cornucopia was, but everything else was unexplored territory. She didn't think she could make herself go back to the lake. And how would Braulia and Ace feel? Would they be angry? Would they be more willing to kill her if it was only the three of them left?

By the time Ace woke up to relieve Signy, she hadn't made up her mind. She selfishly didn't want to give up the friendship and security she had with these girls, but realistically she knew it wouldn't last. Something was going to have to change.

Signy didn't remember falling asleep, but a rough shove was what woke her the next morning. She opened her eyes and sat up quickly, looking around.

"Get up!" Ace shouted. She was standing in the clearing, the morning sun glinting off the blade of her axe.

Signy grabbed her cleaver and scrambled out of their lean-to with Braulia on her heels. And she nearly screamed when she saw the creature standing on the opposite side of the clearing.

It had fur a bit like a deer's, but it was larger than a bull and had wide, massive antlers with razor-sharp tips. Its pelt was snowy white and its eyes were the color of blood. And it was pawing at the ground, ready to charge.

"Climb a tree! Now!" Ace yelled. Signy whipped around and threw herself at the nearest pine. She grabbed the lowest branch and hauled herself up, adrenaline enhancing her core strength.

But Braulia was shorter than Signy and wasn't able to reach the branch. After a heartbeat of hesitation, Signy reached down to grab her arm. Ace shoved her shoulder under Braulia's legs and helped boost her up.

The girls quickly began to climb higher, making room for Ace. But as soon as their ally started to jump for the branch, the beast was on her. Its antlers pierced her back and she screamed, twisting violently. Braulia cried out and Signy squeezed her eyes shut.

There was a heavy impact and Ace let out a quiet moan.

"No!" Braulia screamed. Signy felt her ally begin to move beside her and reached out to grab her.

"Stop!" she gasped. "You can't save her now."

Braulia slumped against Signy and began to sob. The mutt had already gored Ace's stomach with its antlers and was now approaching the tree. It butted its head against the trunk and the entire thing swayed. Signy let go of Braulia to clutch the branches tighter.

Ace's cannon fired as the mutt headbutted the tree again.

"Go away!" Braulia shrieked. Signy looked down at the cleaver she'd stuffed in the large pocket on the side of her pants. Clinging to the trunk with one hand, she grabbed the cleaver with the other and hurled it at the mutt. The blade sank into its forehead and it bellowed in pain.

It shook its head violently and staggered back. Droplets of blood flecked the snow below it; a mixture of its blood and Ace's. And with one more bellow and toss of its head, it turned and galloped off into the trees.

Braulia half-climbed, half-fell down from the tree and rushed over to Ace. The girl's eyes were wide with fear and her skin was already ashen in death. Signy carefully scaled the tree to join her former ally.

"She saved me," Braulia sobbed. Signy wrapped an arm around Braulia's shoulders.

"She saved both of us," she whispered. "And she'd want us to keep on living. For her." She didn't know where the words came from, but they felt right. Ace was a brave and loyal ally and her memory would stay with Signy forever. But they didn't have time to mourn.

"We should pack up and leave," she told Braulia. Her ally nodded and wiped away her tears.

"Okay," she mumbled. She turned towards their supplies and Signy joined her. They needed to get away from the bloodstained camp… but there was only one way to true freedom.

Hi all! It's been a long time since I updated, huh? I've been focusing on my SYOTs, but this chapter was almost done so I decided to sit down and finish it. I had Ace's death in mind for a long time and it was sad to write, but I feel like I pulled it off. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!

EULOGIES

13th: Saturn Parr - fell to his death
I won't lie... I didn't give backstories or personalities to the other tributes in this story. So I don't have anything to say about Saturn except that I liked his name. Anyways, he died scaling the mountain early in the morning. RIP.

12th: Ariadne Levine - drowned by Signy
Unlike most of the other background tributes, Ariadne had some depth. She was a psychopathic orphan who relished others' fears. She was ready to kill anyone and wasn't afraid to die. RIP.

11th: Brittany Reid - killed in an avalanche
Levi, the boy from 3, triggered an avalanche when the Careers found him. Brittany was the first to go, but Levi and her allies followed quickly after. Like the other background tributes, Brittany didn't have much of a personality, so I don't have much to say. I don't think she ever got a kill though. Sorry Britt. RIP.

10th: Levi Todd - killed in an avalanche
Levi was a clever kid and knew he wouldn't win. So he went out with a bang. He triggered an avalanche that wiped out most of the Careers. You did good, kid. RIP.

9th: Kai Ellis - killed in an avalanche
Kai was the real killer in the Career Pack. He killed Connor and that was his full contribution to the story. Thanks buddy. RIP.

8th: Naya Hancock - killed in an avalanche
Naya was another background character with no personality. She was no match for an avalanche, and I wanted the pair from 1 to be the only Careers left. So she had to go too. RIP.

7th: Acacia "Ace" Winters - killed by a moose mutt
Ace was a really fun character to write. She was the sister Signy and Braulia always wanted and was brave enough to sacrifice her life for them. Her family may not have appreciated her as much as they should have, but they will miss her. RIP.

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona