12th hunger games{Completed}

Part 13//the final

Hurriedly we frantically beeline for the cornucopia, blindly tripping over ourself in the dark. Fresh cuts open and sting against the cold winds. My bare legs completely exposed to anything they touch. Pain ripples through me as a small rock trips me, loosing my balance I fall onto the floor with a small cry. Mat immediately stops and turns around to aid me. "I'm fine, I just tripped. Let's go." I say hiding the pain behind them. I attempt to stand but my leg betrays me, pain exploding in my ankle. "You sprained it. I'm going to carry you" he says, picking me up before I could argue. I feel pathetic. Once again I'm saved. Closing my eyes I accept his help without compliant. After all we need both of us since we are going against the careers. But a small part of me wants him to drop me and save himself, he is strong and has a chance at winning. While as me, I'm just a weight on his back in every way.

Leopards growl and chase after us, clawing at any limb they can grab. My leg throbs in pain from the open wounds and my ankle. My leg burns from pain yet I'm cold from the weather. I turn my head to see a leopard, it's face full of rage and ravenous for blood. It's fur a yellow and black, easy to spot. It was dirty from chasing us and the dirty water that surrounds the cornucopia. Their eyes black like a pit of nothing, beckoning me to join. Mats hand startles me, his hand surprisingly warm and gentle. "You'll be ok. I won't let you die." He taps my arm that is wrapped around his neck. His words brought a sudden despair in me, his words are in vein. One of us will die. there can only be one winner after all.

My urge to drop myself off of his back is so much more now. I don't want to know what will happen when we find Axil and Sill. The blood bath that will inevitably occur. I feel a shiver run down my back at the thought. I know deep down no matter how badly I want to back down, I know I can't let Matty go against those two alone. I can't let them win. The way they killed tributes for fun, torturing them purely to entertain the capital.

"Ok. We're here, the fun begins Nate." Mat says sarcastically, I almost laugh but Fear takes over, at the sound of my name I jerk up in alert to see staring at me are Axil and Sill staring at us like meals. Looking around we made it back to the cornucopia, the ground lush of grass. Being in the hard stone for most of the games I almost cried when I saw the grass. looking back at Axil and Sill, their eyes vicious and hungry for this all to begin, confident they have already won. Their weapons painted with dry blood. Axil's sword and Sill's machete. Their grins growing in size as I climb off of Mats back, my ankle immediately burning in pain but I play it off. They can't know that my ankle is twisted, if they did hey would use it against me and I can't have that.

Finding Mats shoulder I use him to take pressure off of my foot. "Found you." Sill says slowly, thoughtfully. Savoring every word. Her bloody machete pointing at me. "We knew we had to look out for you with that 9, you don't look strong so how did you manage it?" Her voice wrapping me like a snake, not looking for a response. Trapping me in a kill. Before I could respond Mat was quick to my aid, again. "He doesn't need to tell you." Her face lit up as if an idea just formed in her mind. "I guess we will have to get through his scary boyfriend first." Axil pitched in without moving an inch. His fingers tracing the tip of his sword like a toy. As if the damage it inflicted was nothing to him.

Anger fills me quickly at how cocky they are, I want to rip the smirk off their faces with my knife. I take a small step forward but Mat blocks me with his arm. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it. We're a team remember?" His lips twitch into a smile. I think back to when Mat, Elise, and I formed this trio. Back when we were naïve to how dangerous and scary the games really are. How real they are. I think back to Elise dying not a hundred feet away from me and I stand helpless, watching her bleed out with Mats dying body in my arms. Nothing in my life can compare to the pain I felt that day. How helpless I felt. How small I felt. Loosing a piece of myself slowly. Almost as if someone tore my heart in half, slowly and painfully.

I think back to when I first met Mat. When I first felt his warmth when he was holding my hands in his. His soothing voice wrapping around me with joy making me like him instantly. He has that appeal about him, to make someone like him without even knowing him. That mysterious aspect that made me what him more. Sadly if we weren't here we could be something, could be a thing. Dating. But no, the capital ripped that from us—for nothing more than their entertainment. We could never be anything more then love birds destined for slater.

Clenching my first a single tease run down my face. This is the last time me and Mat will be together. Without hesitating I turn him to face me and I kiss him. Pulling him into me, playing though his hair one last time. His chin resting on my my head, his hands traveling down my spine again. Just like that first night in the games. "Okay love birds, ready to fight or should we wait until your done?" Axil yells angered. We break away slowly, neither of us wanting to fight. I look into his eyes, he's crying now. It wasn't obvious but I could make out the imprint the tear left down his cheek. I've never seen him cry. "I love you Nate. I hope to see you again, when this is all over." he tried to force a smile to make the situation lighter, but I knew he was scared as well. His words gave me determination, determination for one of us to survive. I face my enemies, surprisingly without fear this time. 

Axil just smirks, not moving still. I expected him to be more impulsive. Mat leads me to lean on a nearby rock. "Don't forget how we fight. If we work together we have a shot. Don't give up." He forces a smile then he turns his back on me to face the other two.

Sill slithers up to strike the first blow but what happens was something I never expected. Axil grabs her harshly by her hair and quickly, leaving a sharp cut in her neck with his sword. Blood escapes like rain, painting the grass a bright shade of red. Her eyes expanding in shock, her mouth trying to make words but in vein. The shock of it all hasn't hit until Axil kicks her to the floor, blood seeping into the dirt. He flicks his sword to the right, a blood splatter flies off the tip. A cannon notifying us she's dead.

"I can take you both on. She would just be in the way." He smirks. "Let's have fun fags." Any intimidation I had against this guy is gone now, I'm prepared to fight for Mat. Fight for us. Axil takes the first move, running at me but Mat quickly uppercuts him, and after that Mat and Axil get in a huge fight. The upper hand rotating between them so fast I can barely keep up. Axil cuts Mats arm, Mat slashes his leg. I look around at the grotesque picture they have painted with each others' blood and sweat. The sent of blood invades my nostrils, forcing me to cover my it as tightly as I could manage. 

I need to think of a plan on how we can kill him. My mind trails off to his body size and how strong he is, his weaknesses and possible ins to gain an advantage. Nothing comes to mind, every strategy I think of is too risky or suicide. Glancing up at the fight I see Axil throw Mat onto the ground as hard as he could. His hand grasping Mats neck like a staff, my heart stops at the sight of Mats legs dangling and kicking desperately, but Axil just smiles menacingly—he's enjoying this. Enjoying hurting him, and playing with him in front me of. Anger blinds me and any rational plan I had is thrown out the window.

"Put him down." I say hoarsely, holding back tears as I stand up to face him. "Excuse me? No I like this, I'm having fun. I would advise you not to interrupt though, unless you want to get hurt of course." My leg explodes in pain, shooting up my spine but I ignore it. My ankle is the least of my worries. "I said put him down! He's all I have left, and if you think I'm going to let you kill Him your dead wrong!" I scream chaotically, changing at him.

Everything turns to a blur after that.

Everything turns to white. Everything around me is all but a vastness of empty space. Nothing. My last memory is the taste of blood from Axils fist and the cold trickle of blood dripping from my head. Am I dead? I try to pry my eyes open but fail. Nothing but endless white walls. From the distance I hear a small cry. A male voice, I can tell from how deep it is. I try to concentrate on who it is and whose crying, but soon the crying morphs into words; "Nate, No! Don't leave me!" Mat? Before the white consumes me into nothing his last words made me remember everything; "You were supposed to win, not me!" A cannon booms and my eyes close forever, darkness caves in, enclosing me.