Final Reality (THG Fanfic)

Chapter XXVI

Everything moves in slow motion as I lunge for Deven without hesitation. My first knife finds his heart, my last pins his neck to a tree and renders the sound of a cannon, a picture of him shining in the sky. He’s gone, dead, lifeless, and yet I cannot say I am not sorry for his death. He was a happy kid during training, arrogant at times, but happy at most. Seeing a smile of his seems so alien now. My mind goes back to our first encounter in the arena, as I took my first kill and stole his. At that moment, I regretted agreeing to the plan more than anything in the world. Maddie didn’t deserve such a sudden end. I should’ve let Deven kill me then and there, it would have benefited everyone, and maybe Cathal wouldn’t be convulsing on the ground with a trident in his chest.

Even though he’s dead, I can’t help myself but to lean into his face, almost seductively, only millimetres from his lips, and whisper, “Strike three.”

As fast as I can, I make my way towards Cathal, the bloody trident now lying on the jungle floor next to him. The sky rumbles with thunder above, and someone’s screams fill the air. With all my might, I drag Cathal across the ground and prop him up against a tree. His eyes are trained on me as I try to make the both of us comfortable as possible. Comfort is far from our reach as the corpses of Deven and Yorke watch us, but none of that matters now. Nothing does now. Just the sad look in Cathal’s eyes is enough to say that there is no point in assuring he will live. I’m never good at assuring people, so I have him to thank for sparing me the task, but it also breaks my heart. We stare at each other for a while, remembering the past week we had spent with each other and the other tributes. The only time we stop staring is when our eyes catch a line of electric blue, climbing up towards the sky. The sky lights up a brilliant blue and orange hue, explosions begin and die at the same time. For a moment, it’s quiet as the sky goes black and the simulation fails. We find each other’s eyes again in the dark, glistening with tears.

I cry. Into Cathal’s shoulder, I cry. I have lost all hope. Cathal and I will die here in the arena, and Primrose, Quent, Zara, Pommel and Jaeda will be safe. There is no doubt Cathal has the same thing in mind. His weak arms offer ease and a homely feeling, but the only thing I can register is the faint stench of petroleum in his scent. Feeling his breath ever so slightly slow down, I press my forehead to Cathal’s in hope of keeping him focussed on me, rather than the obliteration of our nightmare. Behind us, parts of the arena break away and fall, producing thunderous thuds as they penetrate the earth. I don’t need to turn to see it; the sounds paint a clear enough picture for me.

Cathal begs to differ as he points to something behind me. “Hov … cr … claw,” is what he manages out of his mouth. It’s hard to make out in the dark, but I can just catch the glint and shimmer of a claw, reaching into the jungle, retrieving a body. “Don’t … let them … take … me to the … Capitol.”

“I won’t,” I sob.

It’s quiet between us for sometime, as we sit in the dark prolonging our goodbyes, and by the time Cathal asks me to sing, the claw has dipped down a second time, and soon they will be coming for us. My mind settles on a song before I can announce the task to myself. It’s a love song my mother sang to my dad on their twentieth anniversary. I was seven turning eight at the time, and JD was still breathing. It was at sunrise JD, Fletch and I heard my mother sing this song; the morning light filled the house with a beautiful shade of orange as the three of us pressed our ears to our parents’ bedroom door. Although Fletch was only three at the time, he claims he remembers the soft, melodic voice our mother projected. I’d usually say he’s a lying sack of shit, but now I’d like to think he was telling the truth.

I shift myself so that I'm nestled under Cathal's right arm and so my head is resting on his chest, slowly rising and falling. I try my best to replicate my mum's harmonic voice, and as I sing, I feel myself float back into sanity.