𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟕𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ✔️

𝕏𝕏𝕀𝕀𝕀

I wake up the next morning as if it was any other day. It's light outside again, and I'm grateful to see the light of day without having my guts ripped out by monkeys.

I sit up, and then it hits me - my headache is gone. Well, no, my head still hurts badly. But, it's almost nothing compared to yesterday. I tentatively reach up to my forehead, and my wound has closed. All I can feel is a ropy scar extending from my forehead to my jaw. I let out a laugh, turning to Aurora, who is eating breakfast.

"My wound's healed!" I say excitedly. "That stuff really works."

"I know," she says with a smirk. "I reapplied it in the night while you were sleeping. It works wonders."

"Thank you," I sigh. "I needed it. You really saved me yesterday."

"I'm glad I could save you for a change," Aurora says with a laugh. "Plus, you look so much hotter with the scar. You look like a badass now."

"And I didn't before?" I joke, and she just laughs.

"Here, have some fruit," she says, handing me a container of berries. "You didn't eat much yesterday."

As I throw a few berries into my mouth, I hear a crackling sound. Suddenly, a loud voice fills the Arena.

"Greetings, tributes!" Caesar Flickerman says, his voice echoing around the Arena. "Congratulations on participating so finely Games thus far," he says, stressing the word participating. "To celebrate, the Gamemakers have lain a Feast at the Cornucopia for you all to enjoy. We hope to see you there. May the odds be ever in your favor."

I glance over at Aurora, and she shakes her head. "Too risky," she says. "We have enough food. We have plenty of sponsors."

Nereus must have been listening because moments later we hear a pinging sound above us. Aurora cracks the casing open to reveal a whole bunch of food - all sorts of actual food that I haven't seen in weeks. There's even a full candy bar still in the wrapper. My mouth waters at the sight.

"We should still go to the Feast," I say as I dig into a biscuit. "Just to see what's there. And see if anything interesting happens."

Aurora rolls her eyes, but she stands up with me. "I guess we have nothing more exciting to do today," she sighs.

It's very easy to find our way to the Cornucopia since it's glowing just as bright as during the Bloodbath. I could spot it from a mile away. As we arrive, I notice how tiny the Feast is. All there is in the Cornucopia area is a small table with one big box on it. I'm curious about what's inside, but I'm not going to go find out.

After a few seconds, I realize that the table is not the only object in the vicinity. Behind it, something is hanging from a rope, which is tied to the top of the Cornucopia.

I have to squint to make it out, and I almost vomit when I do. It's a girl's body.

"Who is that?" I ask, not even wanting to know the answer. "Is that..."

Selina.

Hanging from the Cornucopia from a noose, Selina sways back and forth. There is a bloody hole in her chest from where the monkey muttations must have torn out her heart.

I want to throw up. Selina was right all along. She never stood a chance, and to rub it in, here she is, her dead body being paraded around. Dr. Heinrick is just rubbing it into our faces now - we have no control over who wins and who dies. We are powerless over our own fates.

Before I can give it any more thought, I'm distracted as two figures appear in the clearing. Breaking first is the small girl from District 11, Phoebe. Coming in from the opposite direction is Phoenix. Seeing him again makes me shudder. My face throbs as I watch him run, a reminder of everything he's done to me.

Both tributes are running to the box, but Phoebe has a head start, and Phoenix looks ragged after all these days in the Arena. Phoebe, by comparison, looks pretty good. She's thin, but she was very thin before the Games anyway. I wonder what happened to her - her brother, Jesse, died during the acid rain, but Phoebe looks uninjured.

Phoebe arrives at the box first, throwing it open frantically. She reaches in and quickly pulls out...

A loaf of bread. One loaf. That's it.

Phoebe has no time before Phoenix arrives, and she quickly turns around and scurries away. As he arrives at the box, Phoenix throws a knife, but Phoebe glances back and barely ducks under it. She takes a bite of the loaf of bread, holding it in her jaws. As she reaches the trees, she jumps, grabbing a tree branch with both hands and swinging away. It takes me a moment, but I realize why - by swinging, she doesn't leave any neon footprints on the ground for Phoenix to track.

Phoenix doesn't look happy, to say the least. He grabs the empty box, slamming it to the ground. It shatters, breaking to pieces at his feet. He turns to the direction Phoebe ran away from, but before he runs in, another girl appears, catching his attention. Aurora grabs my hand - it's Vesta that's running towards Phoenix.

Phoenix turns as Vesta approaches him. His eyes widen, and he raises his sword in preparation.

Vesta looks just as ragged as Phoenix. I guess she hasn't gotten as many sponsor gifts as Aurora or me - she looks thin and exhausted. She looks determined, though. Her spirit hasn't been broken.

All Aurora and I can do is cheer for Vesta from the safety of the trees. She raises her blade, fearlessly charging at Phoenix without hesitation.

Time seems to slow as my two former allies reach one another. Then they collide.

The fight is a close one. I'm surprised to see an intensity in Vesta's fighting that I've never seen from her before. Finally, after all this time, she has the opportunity to get revenge for Axel's death. She won't get this opportunity again. It's now or never.

Phoenix, despite his injuries and exhaustion, is still a force to reckon with, however. He seems to deflect each one of Vesta's attacks with ease, but I can tell by the look on his face that this is no easy fight for him, either.

Aurora clutches her hand tightly. My heart is beating, and for some reason, all I can think about is the fact that we're finally back together. All four of us went our separate ways after Isabelle and Axel's deaths, and here we all are, back again in the same area. It's like fate wanted it to be this way.

Vesta slashes down at Phoenix with her sword, but he slams his blade against hers, knocking it out of her hands. Without even a slight hesitation, Phoenix reaches back and plunges his sword through Vesta's chest.