Day Eleven of the Arena
July 13th, 2427
Zora Iskra, 14
Zora was unable to sleep last night which is a feat in itself given how exhausted she is. If she was back home then she's sure she would sleep for two weeks straight.
Home.
That's why she can't afford to sleep - not until she gets back.
After Jokull's cannon went off, Zora wandered aimlessly across the burning hellscape for what felt like an eternity. Tears flowed down her face as the fire closed in around her. She was sure she was about to join Jokull. Her last thoughts would be of despair and of what could have been. Then, water rained down from above - lots of water.
The Capitol decided to spare her for their twisted entertainment.
None of it ever made sense to Zora. After Kalila passed, she spent so long studying different aspects of science, searching for answers. But even now, she was no closer to finding the answer she truly desired - why that day had to go the way it did; it could have gone so many other ways and her sister would still be alive.
It's only today that things are all beginning to make sense, or the only sense that Zora can make out of it. She volunteered to save Bexley from meeting the same fate as her sister, and Jokull volunteered to stop Zora from meeting the same fate as his brother.
She's not exactly sure if that makes any sense at all but it's what she's chosen to believe.
During the fire, Zora buried herself under a mound of rubble in a last-ditch attempt to escape the blaze.
At last, she is able to fight her way out of the rubble before it smothers her completely.
As she kicks the final slab of concrete off herself, she coughs and wipes the black ash from her face.
The survivor takes a deep breath and stares at the bleak, barren landscape. She's alive.
It's not easy to tell where she is anymore, not just because wherever she looks, the arena is the same grey blanket of ash with the odd ruined house dotted about, but also because she has no idea what direction she went in after Jokull died. It's all just a blur now.
It doesn't matter anymore - with only five tributes left, this will all be over soon.
Zora begins walking the paths of the dead - Robin, Dario, Lilac, and Fuma all had families to go back to, and yet they are never going home. What makes Zora different? What reason would the career have for not easily making her go the same way as her allies?
She suffered, fought, and killed for her survival. She unleashed chaos on multiple alliances with skills that she only ever wanted to use to help people. She sacrificed her humanity. It can't have all been for nothing.
Zora crumples down onto a piece of rubble. She places her bag on her lap and begins searching through for whatever she has left - some protein bars, a half-filled water bottle, a pocket knife, and the last of the pain-killing potions that she made for Jokull.
Zora's throat becomes tight at the reminder of her District Partner. She swallows back her tears and continues rummaging through the bag.
At the very bottom of her bag, she discovers the pressed and now very withered violet flower that she was going to give Bexley on their picnic together.
Not was - is.
That's the answer to the question she has been so desperately craving. That's why she is the sole survivor of her alliance.
That's what she's fighting for.
Brizio Nardolillo, 18
Brizio stares out into the vast ocean that spans every direction - a never-ending adventure that he and Tancred are free to sail through forever.
They passed the end of the storm some hours ago, and their little boat is the worst for it. It's okay - there's sure to be an island that they can stop at for repairs.
Brizio sits down against the mast of the boat and begins studying a map of the nearby islands, whilst his brother is busy steering the ship - pointing it in the direction that they are headed.
Brizio tells Tancred to change their course east, as that's the direction of the nearest island.
A few moments later, Brizio notices that the boat is moving faster than usual. He holds his hand out to feel the wind to see if it's changed pace but it's still the same.
At first, he simply chalks it down to a trick of the waves, but the boat keeps moving faster, and faster, and faster, and…
"What's going on?" Brizio calls to his brother.
"It's not me!" Tancred exclaims.
Panic spreads through Brizio's veins. He stands up and peers into the distance - a huge whirlpool lies ahead of them in the ocean, and it's dragging them towards it at an ever faster rate.
The whirlpool is roughly the size of an island and drops into an inescapable black abyss.
It's too late to turn back - that chance has already come and gone. Brizio can only watch helplessly as their boat plummets into the hole, and he and his brother are swallowed by the darkness.
Brizio's eyes burst open to the sight of a charred, desolate landscape.
He coughs out ash from his lungs and wipes the black soot from his face and hair as he pushes himself to his feet.
The air is still in the arena - not like in his dreams.
His dreams are becoming more frequent and more vivid; so much so that he can no longer say for sure if his adventures in the ocean with Tancred are the dream or if his life in the arena is.
He's not sure which he would prefer anymore.
Still, he continues on. He plucks his dagger off the gravel and begins prowling the arena for the last of the tributes, like a puppet whose strings are still firmly in the hands of the Capitol.
Not for much longer.
He knows that they never planned for him to last this long. He was just a scapegoat for them. He killed their President at their request and then someone else would take care of him in the arena.
Yet, now he's the last career, and they wouldn't be able to justify to their audience killing him themselves.
They have dug themselves into the deepest hole so far.
He took the life of an innocent girl by their wishes and failed to save the boy who he swore to protect, but he won't fail Tancred.
As long as he's still alive he hasn't failed him.
He knows what he's fighting for.
Alizka Ito, 15
Liz coughs out a mouthful of ash.
She hauls her way up to her feet, dusting the ash off her face and clothes.
The lone girl glances around at her surroundings - all around are mounds of ash with water vapour rising from them into the sky from where the fire was extinguished by the Capitol.
Math was never Liz's strong point, but two more cannons went off last night, which means there are only five tributes left but her calculation.
Math and science were Meilin's thing. But, she's gone now, along with Day and Meridian. Liz can't deny that she misses them - Meilin's unwavering positivity and enthusiasm before the games, and Day and Meridian's constant bickering.
They're gone, and they're never coming back, but Liz still can.
(That has to be why they died, right? If there's any reason for it at all it has to be so Liz can go back to her family.)
Just four more cannons need to go off - that's not a very big number. Whether they're by Liz or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is that she'll be back in her family's warm embrace…
(A small part of her knows that the Liz her family said goodbye to in the Justice Building already died, and the one that returns will just be a shadow of that girl. A killer.)
Whatever the case, Liz does not plan to wait around to get back to her family. She's going to have to take the fight to the other tributes. The career boy is the biggest obstacle of all of them - she wasn't able to overcome him last night so her best hope will be to leave him until last and hope the other remaining tributes have injured him adequately for her to finish the job.
But first - she needs a weapon. She must have dropped her sword during the chaos of the fire last night. Truthfully, she doesn't remember.
The first weapon her eyes land on is a metal pole that once supported a collapsed building, but will now serve as Liz's killing device.
She yanks the pole out of the bricks that it was attached to and begins searching for tributes.
She scours the charred landscape in search of her second victim of the Games. For the first few hours, her search proves fruitless. The other tributes must be hiding amongst the rubble - she supposes.
If none of the others are willing to do what's necessary then that's just more proof to her that she's the only one deserving of going home.
The world is cruel; even if you're not, you have to stoop to its level to survive - she tells herself.
It's nothing personal. It's just what has to be done.
As Liz's hunt for tributes continues, the arena begins to turn dark as the eleventh day draws to a close - that will certainly make her search more difficult.
She can't go another night in this cursed place. Surely the Capitol will intervene? Surely they will force everyone together to fight soon. They like a good finale. What's happening up there?
But then, just as Liz's hopes of ending the games tonight are deteriorating, she hears hushed voices close to one of the ruined buildings.
It can't be more than two tributes. If she can get the drop on one of them then she'll be able to take out the second too.
They don't have what it takes. I do.
She tip-toes through the darkness towards her victims, holding her weapon tight.
Time to end this once and for all.
Her family is waiting for her.
Reese Haricot, 15
It is dark when Reese awakens.
Everything is blurry at first and his head is throbbing with pain.
When his vision eventually begins to clear, he is hit with confusion as he's sure he sees snowflakes gently drifting down to the ground.
Am I dead? - He questions. The last thing he remembers was fire burning all around him as he awaited his death on top of that roof. Death wouldn't be an unreasonable conclusion to come to. Reese was never sure what he expected on the other side- all he knows is it has to be better than the nightmare that he just endured.
When his vision fully returns he realizes that the snowflakes are not white and smooth, but a dirty grey color and thick and gravelly; it's not snow, it's ash falling from the sky.
Briar emerges from behind the remains of a wall that has been burnt black as tar. She tosses down a collection of weapons that she appears to have recovered from underneath the layers of rubble and ash that cover the arena.
The Nine Girl's eyes are two distant voids, just as they have been since she lost the love of her life. The only difference now is they have lost all the fire and fury of vengeance. Now, there is nothing left inside of them.
"Are-are we dead?" Reese croaks meekly.
Briar sits down opposite her ally. "I don't think so." She answers, shaking her head.
Reese suddenly feels a shooting pain across his right arm from the injury that Ozias inflicted on him. He winces, placing his hand on his arm, and finds that it has been wrapped with a bandage.
"Oh… thank you," Reese mutters.
Reese is sure that he wouldn't carry his injuries into the next world, wherever that is. So I can't be dead.
Now what?
He needs to get back to his mom, he knows this, but he can't kill Briar or anyone else for that matter. He won't.
Suddenly, Ozias's broken, crooked voice echoes in Reese's mind - "That's what it takes - sacrifice. I've sacrificed everything to be here."
Reese shivers and finds himself staring at the weapons that his ally has laid between them. He wonders for a second if Briar is planning to use any of them on him, but then, if she wanted him dead then she would have just let him bleed out, wouldn't she?
"You don't have to be afraid of me," Briar states, her eyes pinned to Reese as if she's reading his mind. "I made my choice already, all the way back when we decided to rescue Chaney from that hell fire - I chose to be with him, and that hasn't changed. Death can't keep us apart," she says assuredly.
"And w-what about me?" Reese mumbles. "Even if I get outta here… I'm not even sure if I'll still be well… me. If that makes any sense at all?"
"Then tell me about home… your life. There's gotta be something worth fighting for, right?"
Reese thinks for a moment and casts his mind back to his previous life even if it seems so distant and out of reach now. "Well… I miss my mom, a lot. I took care of her when she got real sick. I miss my tree that I used to climb, and my garden of sunflowers." He manages a weak chuckle. "If I make it out of here then I'll grow even more until the whole District is filled with them." He nods slowly. "Yeah. That's worth fighting for… that's worth fighting for."
Reese returns to the present moment. Staring at Briar through the ashfall, he asks - "What about you, you must have something worth fighting for back home?"
"All my love came here with me and has already gone," Briar answers.
"What about your family?"
Briar shakes her head. "My dad wasn't ever much good at showing love. Drinking, brawling, and gambling - that's what he was good at." The stoic girl stares off into the distance, though simultaneously staring inward as she recounts her childhood. "He did have one unexpected talent though… well, unexpected for someone who was never sober."
"What was that?"
"Poetry… he used to read me poetry," Briar answers. "Mostly just to shut me up, I guess, but there was one that did stick with me all these years. I think I only remember him reading it once but for some reason, it stuck with me… he read it at my brother's funeral." Briar then proceeds to recite the poem from her childhood -
"He'd seen the faces, young and full of fire, Consumed by flames, upon the funeral pyre.
He stood alone, upon the ravaged field, Where hope lay shattered, and the future sealed.
But in his heart, a flicker starts to rise, He'll face the darkness, with defiant eyes."
Reese stares at the ground as the words sink in. For some reason, he feels like they will stick with him like a cherished memory.
Just then, footsteps crunch against the gravel on the other side of the burnt wall. Reese immediately knows what that means - they aren't alone.
Briar holds out her hand. "Wait here," she instructs in a hushed tone.
She lifts a scorched hatchet from the pile of weapons that she collected and then creeps silently toward the direction of the sound.
Briar disappears into the darkness, and Reese cannot make out well what happens after that, but he does hear a hard knock followed by somebody hitting the ground.
Reese pushes himself up and races in the direction that Briar went. His heart pounds in his chest. He's not sure why he's fretting - Briar can handle anything, right?
Reese turns the corner, only to find Briar lying on the ground holding her bleeding head. Another girl stands over Reese's last ally - he recognizes her as being the girl from Eight. She is holding a metal pole that is stained with blood - she must have got the drop of Briar.
The girl can't be any older than Reese, but with the bruises and cuts, and the violent look in her eyes, it's like she has been fighting a war for years.
A "hey!" leaves Reese's mouth instinctively, but it does get the girl's attention.
The Eight Girl narrows her eyes and bears her teeth at Reese like a wild animal.
Reese holds his hands out. "Wait! Let's just talk about this!"
"Sorry! The time for talking is over!" The girl quickly grabs Briar's hatchet and swings it at Reese's neck - the boy is only just able to step back in time to avoid getting his throat severed by the blade.
"Just wait! Let me think of something… another way! I'm full of ideas!" Reese cries.
Eight halts, and for a moment Reese thinks his words might be enough.
(They weren't enough for Ozias.)
"Ya know, you kinda remind me of someone," the girl posits, monotone. "It didn't end well for her either!"
The attacker swings at Reese again, and he stumbles back. The aches and weariness that riddle his body from his fight with Ozias cause him to lose his balance and trip backward. "Wait!"
The Eight Girl bears down on Reese as he collapses onto his back. He lands on the pile of weapons that Briar gathered.
Eight brings the axe down toward Reese's throat. Her eyes are pierced with violent intent.
He doesn't hesitate. It just happens, and as he does it, his thoughts are only on his home and his garden. He holds out a sword he was lying on, impaling the girl in the stomach.
Eight's eyes descend down to the blade in her torso as blood begins seeping out of it. She drops the axe to the ground and falls down beside Reese, gargling and gasping for air.
What have I done? What have I done?
Reese places his hand on the injury he inflicted on the girl, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. "No! Wait… I'm sorry!"
But it's too late. He must have pierced several vital organs. This girl is taking her last breaths, and Reese already knows it… he's getting all too familiar with the sight of watching people take their last breaths.
As Reese's tears soak the ash, the only thing he can do is give the Eight Girl the same advice that he gave Jarvis - "Just… imagine your family is here with you, and not me."
But the advice now feels redundant given that Reese is the one who took her from her family.
The dying girl appears to hear him. She gazes off into the sky, tears dripping from her eyes, and murmurs "Mom… dad."
Briar stumbles her way over to the scene, as the Eight Girl's cannon fires.
"Oh my gosh… a-are you okay?" Reese stutters, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Briar has the pole that she was struck with raised above her shoulder whilst clutching her head. As soon as she sees that she has no more use for it, she lowers it.
Reese attempts to nurture Briar's fresh injury with a cloth, but he's shaking so much that he's sure he'll only make it worse. So, he gives up.
"It's okay… It'll all be over tomorrow… I can feel it," Briar assures the trembling boy. "It'll all be over."
It'll all be over.
What have I done?
Wow okay so next chapter is the finale! It feels like it's been a long journey but then I guess it has since I started this story about 2 years ago. Congrats Moose, Miri, Art and dd for your kids reaching whats probably the last jay finale. See you there.
Deaths:
5th: Alizka Ito: Killed by Reese Haricot - Stabbed in the torso. So the 5th place icon of this story goes to Liz! She definitely deserved it. Honestly her last povs felt the saddest for me to write as she spiralled. She was just a girl trying to survive in this awful situation and she deserved so much better. I feel like she was so necessary in this story of just being the kid trying to survive and having to sacrifice her morality to do so and despite all of that it still wasn't enough. Hope now you can paint and draw your art in a better place with Meilin, Day and Meridian. I'm gonna miss you. Thanks for the submission Lily!
Kill counter:
Geneve: 2
Romulus: 2
Aida: 1
Ren: 4
Chaney: 1
Auren: 1
Jokull: 4
Ozias: 4
Emery: 1
Zora: 1
Alizka: 1
Brizio: 1
Briar: 1
Reese: 1
All of our finalists now have a kill. It's all to play for!