Chapter 56

NARRATOR | THE FINAL FIVE

TIME | Day 19

TRIBUTES REMAINING | 5

POV: Verity MacIntyre, District 5

The sun peeks over the edge of the Arena, and I watch as the sky above me lightens. Our final morning has arrived at last... by the end of today, these Games will finally be over.

I'm not normally so confident - statistically, anything can happen - but the signs all point in that direction. Nobody's died in three days, and the Capitol must be getting bored... these Games have already lasted longer than usual, too, so I doubt they'd drag it out much further. Not to mention that the wildlife in the Arena - birds, mice, squirrels - have seemingly vanished overnight. If the Gamemakers are taking away our main food source, I'm sure we won't be here much longer.

The most obvious sign, so obvious that I hesitate to believe it, is the gift I received last night. Fallen from the sky was a full set of magnetic cups, the same ones I already have in my backpack. Attached was a cryptic note: For future use. The note wasn't signed by my mentor, Simon, so I assume all of the other tributes got the same thing.

The purpose of the magnetic cups was obvious the moment I laid eyes on them; I've spent the last two weeks using them to scale the clifftops that line the Arena. The only other person I've seen up here is Corbin, so it makes sense that the Gamemakers would want all of us to use this secret hideout for their grand finale.

I can't help but smile as I look over the Arena. Everything I've done from the moment I was Reaped has led to this moment, and it was all designed to give me the advantage at the very end. I'm even more prepared than I'd initially expected; my Assassin's Bow, the strongest weapon I've ever seen in the Games, is fully loaded, and even if it fails, the other tributes hate each other enough that I won't even need it. All that's left for me to do is wait atop the cliffs for the other tributes to inevitably arrive.

A buzzing sound catches my attention, so faint that I hardly notice it. I watch as a mysterious object appears in the distance, flying over the peak of the mountains and toward the center of the Arena. At first, I identify it as the hovercraft that collects the bodies of deceased tributes, but as it grows closer, I start to see key differences in the structure. This is no ordinary hovercraft...

And then, all at once, it clicks. This vehicle is the same one that carried us here; the loading bay that dumped us into the sky had a nearly identical structure. I notice that there are some sort of wires hanging from the bottom of the craft, but I'm too far away to understand their purpose.

The loading bay flies over the treetops of the Arena, much lower than it did when we first arrived. It grows closer and closer... and then it stops right over the center of the Arena.

I'm smart enough to know what's going on. We entered the Arena in that hovercraft, and now the Gamemakers want us to return to where everything began. But if that's the case, then why...

I stare down at the cups in my hands. The Gamemakers gave us these cups last night knowing that they only had one purpose: to climb the cliffs. As far as I'm aware, Corbin and I are the only two tributes who know this from experience, but I'd imagine that the others could figure it out. But if the Gamemakers are trying to draw us to the center of the Arena, then why would they give us these cups to begin with?

I'm broken from my thoughts by a cracking sound beneath me. I look down, watching as one of the largest trees in the forest crashes to the ground. It bursts into flames, smoke beginning to rise towards me.

My heart drops to my feet. The flames below me are blue, and I already know what that means. The Gamemakers have released one of their most dangerous creations into the Arena, and there is no way I can escape it.

Glutton Flames. One of the crowning achievements of Capitol engineering, it spreads three times faster than normal flames and can light anything on fire, from water to vertical faces of rock. The flames have historically been green, but I'm sure it wasn't much work to change their color.

Now it's as clear as day: the Gamemakers lured me up here just to kill me. There is no way to avoid the flames, and it's only a matter of time before it traps me up here.

For the first time in my life, I've been deceived.

POV: Ansel Voltaire, District 7

With a whoosh, a blue fireball soars over my head, smashing into a nearby tree. I scream as the tree collapses, diving to the ground as it narrowly misses me.

My heart races as I glance behind me. The muttations chasing me are gaining quickly, and I don't want to find out what'll happen if they catch up. They're some kind of lizards, I know that much; we had similar-looking ones scurrying around the forests of District Seven. These lizards are human-sized, though, and they seem to be entirely consumed in blue flames. One of them rears its ugly head, letting out a screech that sends shivers down my body.

I'm stuck on the ground, paralyzed by fear as the Arena burns around me. My mind is screaming for me to run, but I can't seem to break out of my trance. Finally, the lizards grow close enough for me to look them in the eye... I see a gleam of hunger that terrifies me, and that's enough to get me moving. I scramble to my feet just in time, and I see one of the lizard lunge, snapping its jaws shut where I'd lain mere seconds ago.

I spot a hovercraft in the distance, and I know that it has to be my final destination. Where else would the Gamemakers want me to go? The only issue is that I'm not sure if I'll get there before these damn lizards do.

I don't have time to worry about them right now, though. All I can do is run for my life and push my aching body to its limit. Trees crash to the ground behind me, sending waves of heat in my direction, but I can't look back. I keep my eyes pointed right at that hovercraft, watching as it grows closer and closer.

My legs burn, screaming for me to stop, but I grit my teeth and dig deeper. Tears spill down my face, both from the heat of the flames and from the pain. I can't give up, though, not now. I can feel my friends with me, pushing me forward... Eddie, Ashlyn, and Safira couldn't make it this far, and I have to do this for them.

Finally, I weave through the final wall of trees into the grassy clearing at the center of the Arena. My knees wobble, and I fall to the ground; glancing back, I see that my pursuers have vanished. Still, I have no time to waste. The first tribute to reach the hovercraft will have an undeniable advantage, and I need that person to be me.

From the opposite side of the clearing, a creature dives through the trees, writhing around on the ground. Its filthy black body is covered in flames, but it doesn't look like the muttations that were chasing me earlier...

The muttation writhes around on the ground, and the blue flames quickly die away. That's when I realize: it's not a muttation, it's a person.

Wyatt!

In an instant, I'm at Wyatt's side. His eyes are perfect circles, and he stares at me as I grab ahold of him.

"Ansel..." he gasps. He wheezes, struggling to breathe, and turns to the side, vomiting into the grass.

"What happened?" I ask, staring down at my friend. Every part of him is caked in soot, and he looks like a walking corpse.

"The fire trapped me," Wyatt whispers with a cough. "There was no way out. I had to run through the flames to get out, but I inhaled too much smoke on the way..."

"Come on," I urge, trying to lift him to his feet. "We need to get into the hovercraft!"

"I'm done, Ansel," Wyatt says, an eerie smile growing on his face. The vacant look in his eyes is haunting. "Funny it had to end this way, isn't it? The boy from Twelve makes it this far just for the smoke to finally kill him..."

"You're not giving up," I snap, but I don't know how much I can do to save him. The hovercraft looms over us, but Wyatt's breath is growing shakier by the second. "Come on, Wyatt, please..."

"You need to go," Wyatt chokes. "For both of us."

I glance behind me, expecting to see Violet or Verity, but they're nowhere to be seen. Still, we need to go now before it's too late.

"Come on," I grunt, lifting Wyatt from the ground. He moans in pain, but he doesn't resist as I carry him across the clearing.

"You didn't come nineteen days to give up now, Wyatt," I remind my friend. "I need you with me, okay? If something happens to me, you still have a chance to make it out of here. Crazier things have happened in the Games."

In reality, I don't know if that's true, but I have to have faith in the possibility. Having Wyatt with me, alive, still gives us the best odds of winning, no matter how slim. In the case that the rest of us somehow kill each other, I want Wyatt to have that chance.

I approach the hovercraft, inspecting the wires hanging from the bottom. It appears that we need to use them to lift us up, but I don't see any handles. Then I remember: the cups. We received mysterious gifts from the Gamemakers last night, and this must be why. I slip a cup from my pocket, waving it in the air, and it flies out of my hand, sticking to the bottom of one of the wires. Of course - it's a magnet!

I hold tightly to Wyatt as I loop my hand through the strap attached to the cup. In an instant, I can feel the wire retract, and we're lifted from the ground. Wyatt is silent, but I can feel his heart beating faintly against my shoulder.

My fingers ache under the strain of holding two people, but I hold on for dear life as we're lifted from the Arena. Finally, we enter the hovercraft through a small opening in the floor, and I watch as the hole slides shut beneath us.

The interior of the hovercraft is just as small as I remember, although the pedestals we entered through have been removed. Lining the room lies hundreds of weapons, consisting of all shapes and sizes. And standing at the center of the room is one girl. Violet.

"Step away from him," she orders, her sword pointed in Wyatt's direction. "We have unfinished business."

Wyatt whimpers, his fingers digging into my forearm. I cling to him tightly, my gaze locked firmly on Violet's. If she thinks I'm going to choose her over Wyatt, she's mistaken. I may have a longer history with Violet, but she's betrayed me in nearly every way.

"He's almost dead, Violet," I huff. "Don't you think you've damaged him enough-"

I raise my arm, pointing my finger in Violet's direction. As I raise my arm, the world around me shifts. Every weapon lining the sides of the circular room rises into the air, levitating at my command. They glow blue, matching the glow that has suddenly possessed the bracelet on my wrist. Across from me, I can see the terror in Violet's eyes as she realizes what's happening.

Finally, everything clicks into place. This whole time, the other tributes have killed each other for the bracelet on my wrist, but I was the only one who believed it was useless. In a twist of irony, the person who wanted the bracelet the least ended up with it around his wrist...

Possibilities swirl through my mind as Violet freezes, her eyes locked on my wrist. This is it: the time has come for me to make a choice. Violet's my biggest competitor, and there's nothing she can do to stop me... in an instant, these Games could be practically over. But am I willing to kill my own District partner to make that happen?

POV: Violet Chappelle, District 7

I watch as Ansel drops his hand, and a hundred weapons drop to the ground. My heart is thumping in my chest... after all my hard work, this battle could already be over before it starts.

"Truce," Ansel says, and relief washes through me. Ansel is holding all the power right now, and he's sparing me.

"Yes," I exhale, my voice shaky. My mind is spinning - how do I get that bracelet? "Of course."

"And you won't lay a finger on him," Ansel insists, glancing at his new friend. "Whatever business the two of you have is irrelevant. We have Verity to worry about first."

Next to Ansel, Wyatt looks like he's hanging on by a thread, and I'm glad. He should've died on the first day of these Games... I don't know when or how, but I will get my revenge. I'll sure of that.

"I'll make you a deal. Clearly, this thing has a lot more power than we thought."

Ansel lifts his hand, and the weapons lining the room rise in response.

"I'll use it to take out Corbin and Verity, and then you and I will battle for the crown," he offers. "Somebody has to win, and I want it to be you, me, or Wyatt. You make it to the final three, and all you have to do is fight me. If Wyatt is still alive by then you can easily take him out."

I try to find a flaw in Ansel's plan, a trap for me to fall into, but I can't find any. He's right: it's a deal too good to refuse. I don't trust Ansel completely, but I'm not stupid, either. He clearly thinks that he'll be able to take me out with the bracelet once he takes out the others, but that won't be the case if I can get my hands on it...

"Deal," I nod, and Ansel relaxes. I allow him to pass me, resting Wyatt against the wall. The two murmur to one another, but I'm unable to hear them.

"Well, here we are," Ansel sighs, returning to stand next to me. "I don't know about you, but I definitely didn't expect it all to end like this. It's been a crazy journey to get here."

"That's one word for it," I mutter. Ansel is trying to get into my head, but it's not going to work. Beneath us, the Arena burns.

Boom. Ansel jumps at the sound, but it's music to my ears. Another cannon shot, another tribute gone... between Verity and Corbin, it's undoubtedly Corbin who's dead, but it doesn't matter much either way. We've reached the final four.

"Listen, Violet. If this is the end, I just want to say-" Ansel says, hesitating. "We had our differences, but I don't hate you. I know that girl I grew up with is still inside you somewhere, but I know you've been through a lot since then."

My grip on my axe tightens; Ansel doesn't know me at all, and he never has. Why is he taunting me like this?

"What I'm saying is I'm glad that Seven will have a Victor either way," Ansel smiles. The Arena is crumbling, our lives are hanging in the balance, and he's smiling. "It feels like everybody tried so hard to turn us against each other, and they succeeded. But I know you wanted this more than anyone, and if you do make it out, I'm happy for you. I want you to know that I don't hold anything against you."

I can feel the rage rising within me, threatening to spill over. Ansel is playing mind games, trying to throw me off to give himself the advantage, and I can't listen to him talk anymore. It's only a matter of time before he breaks our truce and slices me to bits, and there'll be nothing I can do to protect myself. He'll return to Seven as a hero, the golden boy he always was, and everything I've fought for all these years will be for nothing.

"We need to leave the past in the past," Ansel says. He watches the Arena below us, blue flames dancing in his eyes. "For the sake of our District. Okay?"

Something snaps in me, and I'm unable to hold myself back anymore. After all these weeks of betrayal, after twisting every little thing to make me the villain, now Ansel wants to make peace? Now that he knows he has the power to kill me, he wants to make everything right?

A surge of energy courses through my body, and before I can stop myself, my axe is swinging towards Ansel. The blade buries itself in the side of his neck; his eyes widen in shock, his mouth opening as if he's about to say something, but nothing comes out. He staggers back, his eyes locked on mine as blood gushes down his body. The look of betrayal in his eyes is delicious... he betrayed me first when he chose Safira over me, and it's finally time to return the favor.

Ansel drops to his knees, and a cannon shot fires as he crumples to the ground. I hear a faint moan from behind me - probably Wyatt - but I ignore it. My District partner is dead, and I killed him. I had to, though. All of that nice talk was a bunch of lies; Ansel's my competitor, and he always has been. Right?

My hands shake as I reach for Ansel's wrist, trying to pull the sapphire bracelet loose. I pull and pull, but his hands feel swollen, and I can't seem to free the metal ring from his wrist.

I hear a whirring sound, and I turn to see one of the remaining magnetic wires winding upward. The final tribute, whoever they are, is about to arrive.

I curse under my breath, turning back to Ansel's body. My time is running out, and I need to think of something fast. I have to get this bracelet, but how...

POV: Corbin Woodward, District 10

I try to stay calm as the magnetic wire lifts me into the hovercraft. Two cannon shots have already fired, and only two more tributes stand between me and my family. I think of my sisters, who I know are watching me right now. I have to do this for them.

When the wire finally lifts me into the hovercraft, I expect to be faced with pandemonium. This is the end of the Games, and the other tributes are undoubtedly locked in an all-out brawl.

Instead, I'm met with a dark, silent room. I see only two tributes in front of me; one is lying on the ground in a pool of blood; the other stands over them, a long object in their hands. The standing tribute turns, and my worst suspicions are confirmed; Violet bares her teeth at me, a wild look in her eyes. Another glance at the body behind her tells me that she's killed Ansel, her own District partner... I swore to protect him, and I intended to keep that promise.

Only after a few seconds do I finally look at Violet's hands. The confusion in my mind quickly turns into absolute horror when I realize what she's holding.

Violet's hands drip blood over her feet. In her hands is a dismembered arm, chopped off at the elbow... the sapphire bracelet is still attached to Ansel's arm, and it reflects the dim lights of the hovercraft.

I stand, frozen, as Violet digs her fingers into Ansel's arm, clearly trying to pull the bracelet away for herself. I've never seen something so disgusting in my life, and my body hardly knows how to respond.

"The bracelet," a wheezing voice says from behind me, and I spin around to see the boy from Twelve lying on the ground. His eyes are glazed over, and he looks like he's practically been spit-roasted.

"Don't let her get it," he coughs. "Quick!"

I turn just in time to see Violet rip the sapphire bracelet from Ansel's wrist. She holds it in the palm of her hands, admiring it closely, and moves to slip it over her own fingers...

All I can do is break into an all-out sprint, lunging at Violet as fast as I can. She screams as we tumble to the ground, and I hear a cling as the metal bracelet hits the ground.

"You-" Violet grunts, but she has no time to say anything else before I punch her across the jaw. She's temporarily stunned, and I use the opportunity to pull her sword from its sheath at her hip, throwing it across the room. Without any weapons, we have no other choice but to fight hand-to-hand, and that's what I'm best at.

Still, Violet's not going to let me win that easily. She screams, grabbing me by the arm and flipping us over. I can see the terror in her eyes; from my history in wrestling, I can immediately tell that she has a shoulder injury. Her right side is still weak, and I have to try to use that to my advantage.

Of course, Violet doesn't want to fight me like this. In an instant, she's on her feet, sprinting towards her sword. Or is she running for the bracelet lying just a bit farther away...

I don't care either way; I have to stop her. She's clearly exhausted, and I'm able to quickly catch up to her, tackling her back to the ground. This time, she doesn't make any attempt to escape, focusing her energy on trying to pin me down. I don't know how long we spend rolling back and forth, struggling for dominance. I do my best to land punches on the girl, but she does her best to evade me and even manages to land a few herself.

As I fight Violet, the only thing I can think of is Ansel and the way that Violet killed him. Twice in this Arena, Ansel showed me mercy. He could have killed me, and he gave me the chance to keep fighting. Now, I have to make sure that his sacrifice wasn't for nothing. Even in the Hunger Games, good can prevail over evil. I might not be perfect, but I know that I can still fight for what's right.

Finally, a familiar window opens before my eyes, and my instincts take over. I grab Violet by the neck, which is exposed at just the right angle, and slam her to the ground. An instant later, I have her pinned beneath me in one of my signature moves. Her arms are stuck beneath her, and I have her legs restrained by my body weight.

Violet struggles beneath my grip, but escape is nearly impossible. I've been pinned by this exact move before, and I know that there's no way out. Violet knows it, too; I can see it in her eyes as her face begins to turn red.

With my spare hand, I slip my dagger out of my back pocket. This is it: kill Violet, and return home. I can practically smell the fresh District Ten air around me, the sound of my sisters' voices in the distance.

When Ansel spared me yesterday, I promised myself I would never kill again. I didn't want my sisters to see the monster I'd become. After seeing the way Violet treated Ansel, though, I have no choice. I have to make her pay for what she's done, and I have to return to my family.

I have no time for hesitation. I raise the blade in the air, slamming it towards Violet's chest.

And then everything turns sideways. My blade finds a target - I hear Violet scream - but the hovercraft around me shakes wildly, and I topple from my perch over Violet.

A quick glance around me tells me that we are beginning to move. The openings we entered through have now closed, and the hum of an engine has filled the room. The hovercraft is lifting us upward, out of the Arena and back to the real world. Where we're going doesn't matter, though; the only thing that matters is if Violet is dead.

I turn back around, but the only thing behind me is a pool of blood on the floor. The girl it belongs to is gone.

By the time I spot Violet, I've already missed my chance. Her right arm - the one I'd thought was already injured - hangs limply at her side, my dagger sticking out of its shoulder. In her opposite hand, she holds the sapphire bracelet, and I watch as she slips it over her wrist.

I'm too late.

POV: Wyatt Aldridge, District 12

Fuzzy shapes swirl around me as I fade in and out of consciousness. In the distance, I hear tributes grunting as they fight - that must be Corbin who's fighting Violet - but it feels like a lifetime away.

Ansel is dead... the moment I watched Violet's axe go into his neck, I knew the Games were over. Everything after that has been a blur, but none of it really matters. We failed.

A flash of blue startles me, and everything comes back into focus. Violet is holding the sapphire bracelet in her hands, and she lets out a maniacal laugh as the weapons lining the edge of the room rise into the air. Corbin's eyes widen in terror, but there's nothing he can do.

Violet points her finger in Corbin's direction; the blades follow her command, and it's a matter of seconds before he looks like a human pincushion.

I can't hold back a moan at the sight. So many gruesome deaths, all at the hands of one girl... I am in so much pain that I'm surprised I've stayed alive so long, and it's a matter of time before I draw my last breath. Violet, the monster she is, will walk away free.

I've seen and experienced so many evil things in my life that I wouldn't know where to begin describing them. In District Twelve I faced it every single day. But nothing I ever faced, nothing I ever endured, was worse than the girl in front of me. Nothing.

Violet stumbles towards me; she looks like a corpse, but I'm sure she looks better than I do. Corbin beat her pretty badly; blood drips from her mouth, staining her teeth red, and a stray dagger is stuck in her shoulder.

"Well, looks like it's just us," Violet pants when she finally reaches me. "Ansel made me promise I wouldn't kill you, but I guess that deal is off now, isn't it?"

"Monster-" is all I manage to get out before I start choking. If Violet is going to outlive me, I want her to know how much I despise her. I want to spend the rest of her miserable life knowing what a wretched person she is.

"Call me whatever you want," Violet hisses, spitting blood onto the floor. "You're done, Wyatt. You failed, so call me whatever you fucking want. If I cared what the dead thought about me, I would've killed myself a long time ago."

I want nothing more than to give Violet what she deserves, to grab her by the throat and hurl her from this hovercraft, but my body has ceased to function. I'm powerless, unable to lift my own arms.

"Kill me, please..." I whisper, tears forming in my eyes. Ansel is dead, Ashlyn is gone... I've never been in more pain in my life. Please, save me from this suffering...

"Don't have to ask me twice," Violet grins, a wild look in her eyes. "You know, out of all the people I tried to kill in this Arena, you were the only one who managed to survive. Funny how it worked out, huh? That was the first day, and here we are at the end. The final result never changed. We both knew it would end this way, didn't we?"

I can tell that Violet's just prolonging my suffering. What a cruel end to a cruel Games. The only peace in my heart, the only resolve I have, is that it is the end. Violet can prolong this as long as she wants, but I will finally be free.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go," Violet sighs. "We can't stay here forever..."

As Violet picks up a discarded knife from the floor, I've never felt more bittersweet. Finally, my suffering will end, and I'll be reunited with Ashlyn again, but Violet will walk free.

"Good riddance," Violet mutters, her face blurry through my tears. I feel the cold metal of her blade against my neck, and then finally, it's over.

A/N - i can't believe it's over you guys