iii. lesser of two evils / 79 a.d.d

"C'mon Patty, don't be a wuss. Swallow your pride and kill her."

This isn't the first time that Florence has scared Patrocles senseless. She tied up the young girl from Twelve and put a gag in her mouth, discarded her horrified form and set her on the ground as if she's an object.

Patrocles knows that it's his job to kill the girl, but she's not in a state where she can fight back. Everyone at One said competing in the Games is the most noble thing a person can do, but he doesn't feel like a hero at all.

"Are you even listening to me?" Florence gnashes her teeth, her eyes red and bloodshot. It's hard for Patrocles to believe she's the girl he trained with for nearly a decade. "I said, kill her."

"Y..you do it…" He can't stop himself from shaking. Whenever he tries to raise his axe, his palms get clammy and his head feels hot. "I just–"

"You just what?"

"She's a kid."

"And so are we." That just breaks Patrocles' heart. "Do you want to live or not?"

The Twelve girl shivers on the cold floor, tears starting to form in her eyes. She tries her best to lift her hand, like she's counting on Patrocles to help her, but she can't move a muscle. Florence made sure of that.

He took down two small children within the first five minutes of the games, and their blood splatters might've well have burned straight through his skin and into his heart. Patrocles doesn't want to kill anymore, at least not when there's an innocent at the end of his blade.

The axe starts to feel more heavy and whole as Patrocles makes up his mind. He won't get out of this altercation holy, but he might as well chose the lesser of two evils.

He shifts toward Florence, raises his weapon toward her chest.

(But then he looks her in the eyes for a second too long. He sees his best friend, somebody just as afraid as he is.)

Before he can make a move, her knife is in his throat.


not to kill the vibe but when florence wins she marries a guy named achilles