Author's Note

I do not own the Hunger Games.

Luminita Summerfield, 17

She'd had a sister once.

They'd been young.

They'd loved each other.

She'd had a sister once.

They'd grown together.

They'd grown apart.

She'd had a sister once–

She didn't have a sister anymore.

That little bird had brought her here into the arena where she would surely die.

Someone should pay for that–

No.

Someone should suffer–

No.

She had never wanted anyone to really get hurt.

Yes.

Iridescence Sterling, 17

Five on two.

They had the advantage by far, even when Iridescence's hands were trembling and her vision kept blurring as she tried to aim her arrows.

One of the District girls had an axe in each hand and was taking swings at anyone who came close to her, though Iridescence could see her foot was stuck in one of the snares, limiting her movement. Sitting target. Our she should be, were Iridescence not shaking so much. The other girl had a sword and had quickly baited Ares into a fight, though she was ably dodging strikes from Luminescence as she moved.

Etheria rushed in, though she seemed hesitant as to which girl to swing for, while Andreas was hanging back altogether.

And all the while, the buzzing inside Iridescence's skull was growing louder.

Thorin Marcoussis, 17

The girl was fucking heavy, and kept digging her heels into the blackened grass, making dragging her worse.

"Come on," he grunted.

She coughed and doubled over, spitting up black blood. "You– kill me – fucking coward – kill me – weakling – why don't you just – that traitor – no guts–"

"You're fighting it," he said, impressed. She wasn't meant to be able to fight it once it had taken hold. That was what the stuff was for. To launch chaos in the arena, turn the Capitalites against each other.

"My sister," she whispered, and her voice cracked.

"You just need to hold on," Thorin said again.

If Vivaldi was on the outside – on the thin chance he might have pulled his Emergency Release–

Thorin wondered how much of everything he'd believed in had been a lie.

Emeria Delilah Echavoque, 15

She didn't like having left Luminita and Thorin, but what else could they have done? Luminita would have killed them. At least Thorin stood some kind of a chance. Still, Marcellina glanced repeatedly over her shoulder as they fled, and Emeria didn't blame her.

"Do you think Thorin knows something we don't?" Marcellina asked.

Emeria laughed. "I think Thorin knows a whole lot we don't."

It wasn't his fault, she kept trying to tell herself. He hadn't killed Silverie, his alliance hadn't even been there.

But they'd entered The Game to be, whispered something poisonous in her ear. They'd entered The Game to kill.

And for all Emeria prided herself on being friendly, she couldn't bring herself to forgive that.

Etheria Arquette, 17

The District girls were strong in spite of their disadvantage. The one with the sword dodged every one of Etheria's hammer swings.

And the arena… flickered. Only for a moment, turning from real around her to a strangely digitised appearance, then it was back to steady around her.

But it was enough to be a distraction.

Her block with her hammer came too slow, and the sword wielder throat her blade forward and into Etheria's chest, dropping her armour to one.

"Etheria, back up!" Ares shouted.

Because she was vulnerable now. Etheria had seen livestreams on these kinds of situations, seen what happened to players like her in situations like these.

Going down on her own terms.

Eulicles never got that chance.

She still remembered the pain in her heart as her mother screamed.

She would never know if Erewhon got that choice.

She still remembered the grief in her chest as her father cried.

She could have the choice.

And as another strike brought her armour to zero, she raised her hammer and knew what her choice was.

Luminescence Sterling, 17

He saw it coming.

He shouted a warning, because he saw it coming.

He tried to lunge, tried to be there quick enough, because he saw it coming–

And he was still too late.

There was nothing he could do to stop it.

Nothing he could do to save her.

Etheria slammed her hammer into the sword girl's chest, caving it in, and a moment later–

The axe slammed into Etheria's head, and without her armour, it split open in an explosion of bone and blood and brain.

Luminescence had just about enough time to see the shock in her eyes, to watch as her expression twisted into one of broken horror–

And then her corpse fell to the ground at their feet.

Eight days.

Let's have some fun, they had decided.

They were all going to die, they knew.

And now Etheria was dead.

Like the Gilmore twins.

Like Radiance.

Like Phoenix.

Marcellina Arnoult, 16

Two cannons rang out across the arena in swift succession.

Marcellina's

heart

skipped.

"Do you think..?" she whispered.

Emeria looked pale. "I don't know."

Two cannons.

Luminita and Thorin.

Two.

Marcellina could barely breathe.

How many of them did that leave, now?

Not many

And Thorin…

Thorin had been so strong.

He'd known what he was doing.

Not like her.

If Thorin could die…

What chance did she have?

Andreas Amandiel, 18

Well, that solved one problem.

Or two, depending on how you counted them.

Ares and the Sterling siblings seemed frozen for a moment, looking at Etheria's corpse, but the furious roar from the remaining District girl as she finally cut herself free from the snare she'd been caught in soon caught their attention.

Andreas took a step back.

This…

Might be time to leave.

This alliance was already far too big, even with Etheria's death, and with two other players dead…

Yes, if Andreas wanted any chance at victory–

The arena dissolved around him.

He blinked at the inside of his helmet, flexing his fingers in the gloves. Was he… back in his pod? What just happened, he wondered?

A heartbeat later, the arena was back again, and Andreas almost fell with the surprise of the sudden shift. He made sure to hide the shock from his face as quickly as he could, he needed to keep up appearances–

But–

WHAT?

Ares Gilmore, 15

He wasn't quite sure how they weren't dead yet, but he wasn't going to disregard a boon. They'd come this far. Ares hefted his own axe as the District girl charged towards him, swinging her own remaining weapon.

"We don't go down as easy as you might think!" he shouted, meeting her blow.

Luminescence jumped in to drive his spear into her back and bring her armour to zero.

An arrow from Iridescence pierced her head.

Her cannon boomed across the arena.

For a moment they stood, panting, looking at the bodies before them.

Then, "Where's the boy?" asked Luminescence.

Ares scanned the arena around them. "I don't see him."

The arena flickered.

Iridescence gasped, screamed, and doubled over.

Ares cried for her.

Reached for her.

The arena flickered.

Iridescence screamed as though her had was being torn apart.

His vision flashed black and white and blue–

Luminescence yelled–

The air was cold in his lungs–

Iridescence's screams were too loud.

Ares opened his eyes to the glassy black interior of his Game pod helmet.

Somewhere in the hall outside, Iridescence was still screaming.

Ares struggled to wrench himself free of all the hookups even as the blue light burned his eyes and the cold air froze his lungs.

"Iridescence! Hang on! I'm coming!"

Author's Note

Harmony Tyrell, 18. Placed eleventh. Killed by Etheria Arquette.

Etheria Arquette, 17. Placed tenth. Killed by Octavia Lyric.

Yes, I killed off Etheria in the eleventh hour. rip. In more seriousness though... Etheria was, I think, the first character submitted, so this was a little bittersweet for me. I loved her, and exploring the Game through her. I went back and forth on her death, but ultimately, this is still the Hunger Games, and someone was going down in that fight.