Thanks to owlthewriter, CrocodileReader431, Dani H. Danvers, Singular Scissor, and Very New To This for the reviews.

Penultimate Chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter XXXII End of the Line

Day 5 of the 58th Hunger Games

Three cannons had sounded in quick succession. Hayley had optimistically waited for two others to follow, a foolish happy maybe, but she could live with three. It made it official too.

She was in the Final Three.

The end was so close, Hayley could practically feel the winds of District 10 back on her face. The sound of the animals, the smell of the earth and even dung of the pigs and cows. Her cousin's laughter. And even her grandparents and Ma's insanity. Her home was nearly back to her.

If she didn't get killed by a train first. She was still shaking form the experience, but this section of the green line was large enough she could hide in the flora and avoid the tracks. Had the three dead been hit by the train? It was a grisly way to go, but…

'Whatever gets the job done.' Hayley thought.

She wished she knew who the three dead were. She hoped the Gamemakers dragged things out until the evening so she could see the Fallen list. She doubted she'd get her wish. Things felt like they were coming to the end soon, which meant she'd have to face the last two opponents blind.

Hayley ran threw the remaining Tributes as she continued down the green line. Of that bunch, Valdez was clearly the main concern and Hayley had zero confidence in herself if faced with him. While taking on Ola was one thing, Valdez was a trained Career. She had only killed Ola through literal backstabbing… after Ola had kicked her ass.

The others she had no idea about. At this point, she was sure Olivia and District 6 had split up. Or maybe the three cannons had been them all killing each other? She remembered District 6 scoring well, but how she had no idea. Olivia had been very popular with the Capitol, but was she able to hold up in a fight? Hayley couldn't say. And of course there was the girl from 8. Hayley couldn't remember a single thing about her. She called a fuzzy face, a girl with glasses? Everything else was a blur.

A familiar whir of noise behind her brought Hayley out of her thoughts. She looked to spot a sponsor drone flying to meet her. It dropped it's package and sped off quickly, leaving Hayley to open it and find a crossbow and bolts inside. It boggled her mind. Five days in the cost of weapons had to be exuberant! She already had her body armor, and axe, a cleaver, and the piece of rebar. And now a ranged weapon.

It had to be sign of something. A message she realized. Why send it now? Did it mean Valdez, a master of hand to hand, was in the finals?

She added the weapon to her growing armory, strapping the bolt quiver to her back. She continued on, nervous about when she'd get her answer.

Cara let out an involuntary gasp of excitement when she heard the three cannon blasts, before quickly covering her mouth in shock. She was even closer to victory now.

Two Tributes remained besides her. She silently prayed they'd bump into each other and kill one another. Her body began to shake with anticipation. Winning the Games might actually be possible!

She munched on a little of the fruit, curtesy of the tree she was hiding in. She still had some of the mangrove fruits from that morning, but her fall down the escalator and swim through the blue line had left them less than appetizing.

She finished off the piece fruit, full of liquid just like the mangroves had been. At least she found an alternate water source to wait things out.

Olivia remained in the control room, still sick to her stomach.

She had killed someone. The thought refused to leave her mind. She had killed Valdez. He had been a Career. He had killed Sarah and Amadeus. He would have killed her without remorse too. She kept telling herself that.

But Valdez also had a dad back home he loved. He had a boyfriend too. He had watched his mom die and had been forced to kill her murderers to survive. He had been a terror, yet Olivia remembered him being a bit awkward during his interview with Caesar. She remembered seeing him laughing during Training. She remembered him proudly declaring he had fought for his District and dad.

He had been a person, a life, and Olivia had snuffed it out.

She stared blankly at the screen in front of her, eyes unfocused. The view of the red line camera remained on scorched remains of Valdez, while the broken bodies of Sarah and Amadeus lay in the corners of the screen. She kept watching until three drones descend on the scene. They shot out claws that wrapped around the three bodies and carried them off, removing evidence of Valdez and Olivia's violence.

Olivia's first memory of the Hunger Games was from when she was four years old. She remembered watching a girl running through a field of sunflowers. Olivia recalled thinking the girl was pretty, just like the arena she was in. The next memory was of that girl dying, her partner slashing her neck with a hatchet, her blood spewing all over the golden sunflowers.

Was she now someone's first memory of the Games? Would they remember her as monstrously as she remembered that boy?

There was no justification Olivia felt she could hide behind either. Self-defense? Not a chance in hell. Avenging friends? She had literally just told Sarah and Amadeus to go screw themselves.

She had killed Valdez because she wanted to and because she could. Now, Olivia wasn't sure what to do with that realization.

Two Tributes remained, Cara from 8 and Hayley from 10. Both of them were on the green line. Maybe the train would get them?

Olivia remained still, reckoning with who she was now.

In the distance, Hayley heard the train returning. Thankfully, this time she had cover to hide in and plenty of warning.

What still dogged her though was thirst. The sponsors had sent her a weapon instead of water, a clear sign of something she still hadn't puzzled out the meaning of. She kept waiting for an attack, but none came. Nor did she feel particularly in danger. Unlike the rest of the shadowy and twisting arena, this section of the green line was well illuminated and straight, making ambush particularly difficult.

There was plenty of food too. Apples, strawberries, and other fruits that Hayley didn't recognize dotted the trees and vegetation of the tunnel. They all had a little liquid in them, the juices of the fruit tasty but hardly enough to fill her up.

That was until she came upon a large tree, one so tall it seemed to struggled against the window paned roof and bent out against it. On it were large pink fruits with dark coloring that appeared like bruises on the surface. Several had fallen to the ground and Hayley picked one up out of curiosity. She tore the fruit in half and marveled as water poured out of it.

Quickly, she grabbed another, this time more careful in her positioning. She broke it and delighted as water poured from it and into her mouth. When its contents were gone, she grabbed another, and another, repeating until she had drunk her fill. Hayley still needed more though. Eyeing the tree, there were plenty of fruits still hanging. She started to ascend the tree, just as the train was approaching.

It honked its horn upon approach, this time twice instead of once like previously. The train blew by as Hayley reached the first set of branches. The force of the train tore some of the branches back, the wind almost knocking Hayley loose too.

And as the branches blew back, Hayley saw a leg sticking out.

She gasped, the noise lost over the roar of the train. The wind died as the train passed and the branches returned to their normal location, obscuring the Tribute once more.

It had only been a flash of a pant's leg, with the color white stitched down the side. After so many days, Hayley had no idea which District that color had been assigned to. Hoping her own position hadn't been compromised, Hayley descended the tree. Once she touched the ground, she carefully pulled out her crossbow, the message of the sponsors clear now.

She walked out from under the tree, pretending to go on her way.

Cara let our a silent breath of relief. Hayley had stopped for some fruit and only climbed the tree to escape the train.

The girl from 10 was on her way now, her back to the tree that Cara was hiding in. Once more she marveled at the mini-armory that Hayley had strapped to her. Cara recalled that Hayley's dad had died in the Hunger Games. Apparently, Hayley was trying to out do him. Cara wondered how many she had killed to get those weapons. She almost relaxed fully when Hayley stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, a crossbow in hand.

Pointed directly at her!

And something, a flash of black, was coming straight at her!

The crossbow bolt pieced the outer leafs of the tree and connected with it's target. A loud, feminine shriek erupted from within the heavy branches, drowning out the noise of the disappearing train. Hayley lowered the crossbow and observed her work, pleased with how she had eyeballed her shot.

The leaves scuffled and the girl seemed to be falling, only to be caught on some branches. There was no hesitation form Hayley. She dropped the crossbow and axe – too cumbersome for climbing and the tight branches – and pulled out her cleaver. She began to climb, faster this time, and caught her target easily. Turned out it was the girl from 8.

She was screaming in pain, the bolt in her arm and bleeding profusely. The girl was upside down and trying to right herself with her one good arm when she spotted Hayley, letting out a terrified shriek at the sight.

'Close your heart.' Hayley thought.

She grabbed the struggling girl and pulled hard, dislodging her from the branches and sending her, and Hayley, falling to the grassy ground below.

They fell into a pile, Cara under Hayley. The impact had twisted the bolt and Cara was succumbing to the pain. Hayley was already in position, cleaver raised and ready.

And no hesitation.

"Hayley, no!" Cara screamed.

The cleaver struck Cara just below the jaw line. Cara froze up, nerves shot. Hayley immediately pulled the cleaver from Cara's neck and threw her arm back, blood splattering across the tree branches behind her.

Hayley let out a heavy sigh. Not the cleanest, but it would do.

She jumped off of Cara and retrieved her weapons as Cara remained on the ground, her body spasming. Hayley climbed the tree for a third time and collected the fruits to add to her pack. By the time she was done and back on the ground, Cara was dead and the second to last cannon had sounded.

Hayley approached the girl's body and yanked the bolt out of her arm before patting down the rest of her. She took the rope Cara had wrapped around her waist and left the rest, continuing on.

One more Tribute to go.

There as no humanity in Hayley, Olivia thought, as she watched her leave poor Cara behind. There was no softness in Hayley, no empathy, only an instinct to kill.

She was playing to win.

Was Olivia?

Viewing the kill was enough to snap Olivia out of her stupor. With it now confirmed who her final opponent was, Olivia wracked her brain for everything she remembered about the girl from 10. She was the daughter of a former Tribute who had died early in his Games. She hadn't been social with the other Tributes and only talked with her District partner, Buck. She scored a six. Olivia recalled seeing her practice with a sickle. She was far better than Olivia had ever been with weapons. She killed Reko. She killed Cara. She had probably killed more Tributes. And she clearly had sponsor love based on all the weapons she was carrying. She was a true threat.

But she also had a family. Hayley had talked in her interview about her family's ranch. She had grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and a mom who already lost someone she had loved to the Hunger Games. She wanted to go home to them. Hayley probably loved them all and was willing to do anything to go home.

And judging by Cara, she already had. Reko looked like she had been protecting her partner. But Cara… Hayley could have left. She could have not shot that bolt. Cara wasn't even armed! Hayley could have done a thousand different things, but she killed the Cara, looted her corpse, and left.

This was her final opponent. The only Tribute that stood between Olivia and returning home. And Hayley was not screwing around.

Had Hayley always been like this? Or did the Hunger Games twist her into this? Olivia pondered that silently as she watched Hayley continue along the green line. Unknown to the girl from 10, she was heading towards the connection with the yellow line and, further down, that line's return to the Cornucopia where Olivia was.

Briefly, Olivia considered just zapping Hayley. She bet the entire Capitol was on the edge of their seats waiting for it. But watching her go, Olivia realized there wasn't a chance in hell that Hayley was ever stepping foot on the track lines. The section of the green line she was traversing had wide walls, enough that she could comfortably avoid the train and stay close to the tracks, yet Hayley refused to even get near them.

The train had spooked her and Hayley's guard was up.

Was she going to have to go out and fight her? Olivia knew that would be a loss for her. What did Olivia have? A spear, a pack of supplies, and desk drawer acting as a water bucket. Hayley was walking around with like half the weapons from the Training Center! She did have control of the lines, but how useful was that now that Hayley was on alert?

And… Olivia realized, would the Capitol even allow her to remain in one place? Waiting for Hayley to mess up and step on the tracks? Or would they force her out of this room and into the tunnels? Olivia wouldn't put it past them.

She remained impassive, watching Hayley continue on the green line. She watched for so long that eventually Hayley hit the other end of the vegetated green line. But instead of going into the new section of the green line, Hayley sat down and waited.

Olivia was puzzled by that. What was she doing? And then it clicked. Hayley wasn't continuing on until the train had completed it's next cycle! She'd wait until it came back, passed through the green line ahead, and then came back. Hayley didn't want the train on her heels when she explored the next section.

It would take time. And that delay presented an opportunity.

Angrily, as if to goad herself, Olivia slammed her fist into the console. She thought about Nadine and her friends back home. They were rooting for her, waiting for her to come home a Victor. She thought about 5, of the thousands in need of the supplies that the Capitol could provide upon victory in the Hunger Games. Winning the Games was good. She could rationalize that. And Hayley was obviously off. Would she really make a good Victor?

Olivia had an odd sense of déjà vu at the debate. A specter of a former ally came to her, voice in her mind. She shut him down.

This wasn't about "good" or "bad" options. Olivia was in a corner. She could fight or die. That was it. And she'd been in corners before. Her parents lost their family everything and collapsed into self-pity and obliviousness. Nadine was only eight when it happened. They might have starved! So, Olivia, all of twelve, had to step up and do what needed to be done to keep the family afloat. And if she died in the Games, all of that was for nothing and Nadine would be left alone.

'It's the same concept now!' Olivia rationalized. 'Just… worse.'

She looked at Hayley and saw the look of sheer resolve on her face. She was a person, yes. But so was Nadine. So was John. So was everyone in District 5.

And so was Olivia.

She had put Nadine first above everyone else before. She could do it again.

"Damn it." Olivia thought. "Be strong."

'And smart.'

With shaky resolve, Olivia turned to the map of the arena. She calculated where Hayley was and compared that to the entrance to the yellow line, her next stop. Olivia had never found that entrance while exploring the yellow line, it was along a turn that she and her former alliance never took. The Gamemakers had left that one open as it led back to the Cornucopia.

Just after that tunnel though was the connection of yellow and red. The same connection that Sarah and Amadeus had gone down. Olivia checked the red line camera, still focused on where Districts 2 and 6 had fought. The Gamemakers had taken the bodies, but any discarded items remained on scene.

Including one in particular.

Could she run that fast? Vaguely, she recalled David, the boy from 7, and how fast he had been running in the Training Center. What she'd give for his legs right now. But judging by the map, if Hayley was waiting for the train to return both ways, Olivia would have time. It might be tight… but it was possible.

Hopefully.

She scanned the control room for something in particular. Everyone control center in District 5 had one. Maybe there was one here too? She ran her fingers along the surfaces of the machinery until she found a button and, with a cry of victory, pressed it.

A handheld electronic pad emerged from the machine. A remote access for the controls that Olivia could take with her. Just like any proper maintenance crew would have.

"Thanks, Gamemakers." Olivia commented, powering the pad on. Sure enough, it wasn't as extensive as the control room and would only show one feed at a time, but with the pad Olivia had access to the tunnel cameras.

And the controls.

She had a plan. She had the controls. Would she have the resolve.

There was only one way to make it official.

Before that, Olivia rummaged through her pack and pulled out the last of the jerky and ate it. Her stomach felt tiny due to anxiety, shrunken by the chilling realization that this might be her last meal. She had a similar problem when she drank from the drawer, palming the water up in her hands. She was shaking so badly as she drank that the water was slipping through her fingers. Was this the last time she would ever drink water?

Once she had forced food and water down her throat, Olivia took the pad and spear and left her other supplies behind. They would just weigh her down on the run and subsequent fight. She descended the ladder and walked to the center of the room, pad tuned into the green line and watching Hayley. She was still sitting, waiting for the train.

With a heavy breath, Olivia composed herself. She was making her intentions official. She looked up at the domed frescos ceiling and directly into the eyes of the armored woman. Olivia raised her spear and pointed it directly at the painting, and the cameras she assumed were there.

"Nadine!" Olivia cried out, her voice bouncing through the chamber and sounding like thunder. She liked that, and wanted all of Panem to know she was serious. "I promise you, I'm coming home!"

She hadn't made such a promise at the Goodbyes, even when her sister begged. But now, Olivia had said the words, given her sister the hope of seeing her again. Now, she couldn't hesitate. Now, she couldn't back away from what lay in front of her. She had to make it real.

'And may everyone forgive me when I do.' Olivia thought.

Olivia shuddered with emotion, the weight of it all threatening to crush her. She shrugged it off. Now wasn't the time. She lowered the spear and, forcing a grin to her face, kept her eyes on the invisible cameras.

"Hey, Capitol!" She shouted, forcing her voice to sound friendly like it had in the interviews. "Five days I've been fighting and doing great. Why hasn't anyone sent me a ring?" She gave the invisible cameras a wink, hoping she was selling it. "That's ok though. To make up for that oversight, I'll take a shield! Nothing fancy needed, but if you want a show, and a grateful Victor, I'd send it."

Sure enough, ten minutes later a shield was being dropped off by one of the drones. "Thank you." Olivia called out, gripping the shield in her left hand. It was a little heavy but would cover a good chunk of her body. The seal of District 5 had been imprinted on the front too for a bit of District pride. 'I need that motivation.' She thought.

She had her shield, spear, and pad from the control room, and a plan. All that was left to do was… murder another child.

'Everyone… please forgive me' Olivia thought.

She set off down the yellow line, the fire returned to her.

She was going home.

The Fallen:

4. Valdez Devorane (D2) – Killed by Olivia (D5), Electrocution (Tributes Killed: 2)

5. Amadeus Remington (D6) – Killed by Valdez (D2), Neck Snap (Tributes Killed: 8)

6. Sarah Tarr (D6) – Killed by Valdez (D2), Neck Snap (Tributes Killed: 0)

7. Aleko Ferrovia (D5) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Food (Tributes Killed: 0)

8. Buck Midthunder (D10) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 0)

9. Penelope "Poe" Fitzpatrick (D3) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 2)

10. Estelle Jackson (D2) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 1)

11. Cean Fischer (D4) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 3)

12. David Levering (D7) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 0)

13. Lana Rose (D1) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 0)

14. Pan Harlow (D12) – Killed by Amadeus (D6), Poisoned Water (Tributes Killed: 0)

15. Eddington "Eddie" Kotlin – Killed by Cean (D4), Head Bash (Tributes Killed: 0)

16. Chase Metro (D8) – Killed by Poe (D3), Stab Wounds (Tributes Killed: 0)

17. Mara Bonavich (D4) – Killed by Infection, Bite Wounds from Poe (Tributes Killed: 0)

18. Daisy Mayfield (D11) – Killed by Cean (D4), Head Bash (Tributes Killed: 0)

19. Oleanna "Ola" Ellery (D7) – Killed by Hayley (D10), Sliced Neck (Tributes Killed: 0)

20. Alice Barton (D9) – Killed by Cean (D4), Spear (Tributes Killed: 0)

21. Marianna Gristle (D12) – Killed by Estelle (D2), Head Bash (Tributes Killed: 0)

22. Ruddy Clemson (D11) – Killed by a Mutt (Tributes Killed: 0)

23. Reko Dunas (D1) – Killed by Hayley, Neck Stab (Tributes Killed: 0)

24. Millicent "Millie" Parel (D9) – Killed by Starting Plate Explosion (Tributes Killed: 0)

Obituaries

Sarah: She didn't win the Games but she did win "Dante Alighieri1308's Top 3 Tribute of The Last Stop!" Seriously, I really liked her. Sarah wanted to live, but killing to make it to the end is impossibly hard to live with. Hiding behind Amadeus and his actions, essentially being the bystander to evil, is one way to do it. And to her credit, it could have worked. Despite her shy demeanor there was a fire in her as we saw repeatedly. She could have gone all the way I think. She'll be missed.

Amadeus: No joke, Amadeus was hardcore. Early on, quite a few reviews questioned if Amadeus was a hero or a villain of the story. For me, he's a villain but not evil. Amadeus' early life was dominated by abuse and without a support network he had to rationalize a fair bit of it into two childish camps of "good" and "bad." When he finally got that support it was difficult for him to evolve past those childish ways of looking at the world. I think Amadeus will be seen as a bit of an enigma, and I think that's ok. If anyone needs to cheer up about his death, go watch the Bob's Burgers clip of Linda singing Amadeus to the raccoons in the wall. It's all I could think of whenever I was plotting out his storyline. COME AND ROCK ME, AMADEUS!

Valdez: HONOR! I just think of that gif when writing Valdez. Also – again I'm being honest in these obituaries – I think it's come through to you all that Careers as a whole don't really interest me that much. I'm much more invested in non-Careers and find their stories more compelling than brainwashed child in the Games. I think Valdez broke from that mold a bit. Don't get me wrong, he's a bad dude – he is after all totally down to kill other kids and never once hesitates or questions that – but he had positive traits, his own noble reason to volunteer, and his own moral code. Sorry Valdez, you will be missed. And with him dead, I'm now going to be 3/3 on SYOTs I've written where the Victor isn't a Career and isn't a male Tribute.

UP NEXT IS THE FINAL GAMES CHAPTER!

ALRIGHT EVERYONE! I'm talking to everyone, yes, especially you who hasn't reviewed in ages. This is it. I need everyone's predications in review form STAT. WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO WIN? The world and other readers need to know!

Review!