The Fourth Hunger Games Chapter 13: Die

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” - Orson Welles

“If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.” - Maya Angelou

Ahnette wandered through the forest constantly on alert. She remembered coming back to find Fayth's dead body. It had miraculously been the only corpse she'd seen during the games, and the bloody sight had shocked her. Fayth had been so weak and innocent. She most certainly hadn't deserved such a cruel and gory end.

Plus, after spending the beginning of the games entirely alone, Ahnette had begun to welcome the company that companionship brought. Now, she was alone again and too distrustful to seek out an alliance. She realized that this was most likely how she would die. Alone. Ahnette could very well never speak to another human until she came face-to-face with her killer. Would she even speak to her killer? Would her killer be a sneak who denied her even the opportunity to see their face? The thought worried Ahnette even more as the morning sun rose a bit higher and the forest lightened.

XX

The two boys were evenly matched. Not only were Huntur and Gerald both seventeen, but they had been graced with similar builds. Both boys had been struggling to overcome the other for a while now, and neither one was having much success. It was a test of stamina more than anything really, with them being matched in nearly every other area.

It seemed to be a twist of fate when Gerald got the upper hand on Huntur. Huntur felt humiliated as he waited for death to come. He was a career, yet he'd had no kills. His brash, egotistical nature had abandoned him as he whimpered in pain. Gerald, an unimportant District 8 boy, was about to get his second kill of the games, and this one was far more impressive than the young boy he had killed easily.

Gerald smirked with pride as he watched Huntur's final breaths. He waited until the cannon sounded before casually continuing on his way with a new confidence at his accomplishment.

XX

The cannon had announced another death, which sent the current tribute count to ten. Chloe looked at her four companions as she debated with herself. Was an alliance really worth it at this point? There were five of them. Half of the competition was in each other's company. The gamemakers wouldn't let it stay like that for long. They'd have to start killing each other soon.

Coale and Tiara were having similar thoughts. Coale had been more than fed up with Tiara recently anyway, and now he had the perfect excuse to leave. Tiara had never really enjoyed having any of her companions around, and her hatred of them had only grown since she joined them. This alliance no longer put any of them at an advantage.

“Right,” Tiara spoke up to gain everyone's attention. “I know I'm not the only one thinking about breaking up the alliance.”

Coale nodded, while trying to conceal his hatred for the girl. “It seems like a good idea at this point.”

Kendrick shuffled his feet and looked at the others sheepishly. “Are you sure? I think it might be a good idea to stick together a bit longer.”

“Me too,” Jocelin agreed.

“Then you two do that,” Tiara shrugged. “I'm out of here.”

She turned and walked away, not even bothering to glance back at them. Coale cleared his throat awkwardly after Tiara's abrupt departure.

“Well, I guess I'll follow her lead.” He was a bit friendlier as he bid everyone goodbye. Unlike Tiara, he'd gotten along with these people, even if he still viewed them as competition.

Chloe nodded. “I'll be leaving too, I guess. Good luck.”

She offered a gentle smile as she left Kendrick and Jocelin behind.

XX

Ezra watched Jocelin and Kendrick as he ate with them. He hadn't expected to be in another alliance so soon, but Jocelin had been adamant about him joining when she had come across him. Ezra had been prepared for a fight to the death, but she had excitedly babbled on about her “new friend.” Ezra had gone along with it because anything was better than death, and Kendrick had just watched Jocelin closely, as if analyzing her actions just as Ezra was.

The more the two boys observed, the more they thought Jocelin had officially lost her mind. The end of her and Kendrick's former alliance had seemed to snap something in the girl. It was as if she suddenly realized that death was coming, and she wanted to prolong it as long as possible. If that meant forming alliances with anyone she met and treating them with the utmost kindness, she was apparently going to do that. Kendrick would have been amused if it hadn't meant he was now stuck with a crazy person. Ezra was just at a lost of what to do. Then again, he had been lost since his name was reaped.

XX

Jocelin watched her two companions closely as they slept. The sun hadn't been set long, and Jocelin's shift as watch had a lot longer to go. She hated sitting around in solitude. She wanted nothing more than to lose herself to unconsciousness, but instead she was stuck awake and trapped in the torture of her own mind. Jocelin didn't really understand what was happening to her. It was as if something had snapped in her earlier today. Being abandoned by a group that she had foolishly come of rely on more than she should have. It only added upon the loss of Fayth, who had been the closest thing she'd had to a friend here.

Now she couldn't trust at all, yet trust was all that she desperately wanted to do. That was why she had rashly pressured Ezra to join her and Kendrick. He had seemed like a decent human being, as decent as anyone could be and still be alive. He wouldn't hurt her, not in an alliance.

Yet a part of her mind kept telling her differently. There was no one she could trust. No one. Why did she stay with Kendrick and Ezra? She'd be better off alone. Kill everyone before they could kill her. That was the better plan.

She could kill them now. The thought began to repeat itself over and over in her mind as she watched them sleep. They'd never even realize. She could do it. Her second and third kills just like that. She'd be closer to relief...

Jocelin didn't realize what she was doing until her hands were wrapped around Kendrick's throat. What lasted only minutes in reality seemed to go on for days in her mind. Jocelin was in a daze as she watched Kendrick's eyes open as he gasped for air. The lack of oxygen seemed to weaken the already scrawny boy, and Kendrick was unable to put up much of a fight.

Jocelin was powerless as the boy suffocated by her hands. It took the cannon sounding for Jocelin to jump back to reality. Her eyes quickly found Ezra as he jumped up at the sudden noise. He seemed shocked as he stared at Jocelin, who was still frozen over Kendrick's limp body.

Suddenly, Jocelin's brain started yelling at her to run, and she bolted from Ezra's still shocked and confused gaze, as she tried to sort out what she had just done.

The Fourth Hunger Games Chapter 12: See

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” - Marcus Aurelius

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Ezra, Troy, and Ahnette had been together for a while now, and all three agreed that the need for their alliance had passed. Troy's violent nature and Ahnette's vengeful nature didn't mesh well with Ezra's gentle and compassionate one. In fact, Ezra would be lying if he said he wasn't utterly terrified being in the other two's presence.

“I think it's time to end our alliance,” Ezra announced as the three companions finished up their breakfast of berries.

“Agreed,” Troy shrugged. “I've been thinking so since yesterday.”

“Me too,” Ahnette agreed. “No offense Ezra, but you aren't the greatest person to have around in these games.”

Ezra rolled his eyes, but didn't comment on Ahnette's insult.

“So it's agreed,” Ezra said. “We'll go our separate ways.”

No more was said as the three tributes set off in different directions.

XX

Ahnette stumbled upon the girl on accident. She had only been focused on getting away from Troy (before he decided he could double back and get her since they'd formally ended their alliance) when Ahnette had heard a rustling that left her instantly alert.

Her careful inspection had rewarded her with the sight of the crazy girl Fayth in the midst of a panic attack at Ahnette's approach. Ahnette wanted to kill the girl, and most of her was screaming at her to do it. However, a small bit of compassion overwhelmed every other part of her. She couldn't kill the girl while she was in such a state. Ahnette wanted to retain some of her dignity.

“Here,” Ahnette whispered softly as she knelt on the ground. “Have some water.”

Ahnette had to hold the canteen as Fayth's hands were shaking, and water dribbled down Fayth's chin. Still, Fayth seemed to calm as she sensed Ahnette meant no harm. Ahnette pulled the other girl to her feet and ushered her on. She wasn't excited about her new companion, but for the moment, she'd have to deal with it.

XX

Ezra watched Ahnette and Fayth closely. He'd been following them for a couple of hours now. After ending the alliance, Ezra had decided that he had better get his act together and actually get a kill. Going after Ahnette seemed easy enough, and he'd taken off after her only to discover her comforting the crazy girl.

After watching Fayth's panic attacks, Ezra came upon a new idea. He remembered his father explaining why sometimes killing an animal was better than letting it suffer. When Ezra was very young the idea that killing could ever be better than living had seemed preposterous, but it had started to make sense to him over the years. And now Ezra couldn't see why the same shouldn't apply to humans as well.

Fayth wasn't making it out of this arena. She couldn't be a victor, and every minute she spent in here she was just getting worse. Ezra had watched several panic attacks from his hiding places, and they weren't easy to watch. The girl was suffering. It would be a win-win situation. Fayth's suffering would end, and Ezra would finally get a kill.

He repeated it like a mantra as he came up behind the poor girl while Ahnette had left to go forage. Fayth never suspected a thing, and Ezra walked away from his first kill with the assurance that he had ended her suffering. An assurance that didn't seem so assuring now that he had her blood on his hands.

XX

Demetrius watched closely as Etin wandered away from the others in his alliance. Demetrius had heard him mention that he needed to relieve himself, and Demetrius knew that this was his chance. He'd get his second kill in and be gone.

It was eerily similar to Boston's death if Demetrius really let himself think about it. He plunged his spear into Etin in just the same way, and he ran at just the same speed. Perhaps it made it easier that way, just repeating motions that he'd already gone through. It made it easier to forget what he had done, even as the cannon proclaimed Etin's death. Demetrius could pretend that he'd just been going through motions.

The Fourth Hunger Games Chapter 11: Walk

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Buddha

Mina was gone before sunrise. The second alliance she had left in the darkness of night. She wasn't making many friends, but that wasn't what she was after anyway. She was tired of dealing with these people. Each time she thought that maybe she'd found a group she could put up with for a little while, but each time she was proven wrong. No one in this arena was her friend, and it was time she started acting like it.

What Mina failed to realize was that she wasn't really alone. She had been closely watched for more than a day now, and she wasn't getting away as easily as she had hoped.

XX

Tiara watched closely as Tifanee slept in the midst of the rest of their alliance. Pieces of advice from her training long before the games kept flowed through her thoughts. “Never betray an alliance. It makes you look bad to the audience. It keeps you from getting sponsors. It's not worth it.”

She'd heard similar things a million times before, yet Tiara was itching to kill. She hadn't killed anyone since the bloodbath at the cornucopia, and all she wanted was another kill to her name. The small girl who had been frustrating her the past couple of days was the perfect target. The rest of their alliance was asleep. Tiara would drag the body away and make up some lie about Tifanee needing to pee and never coming back. They'd never know. Tiara would keep the area clean and make sure to go with the quietest method possible. No one would ever know, except the audience.

And she thought that was a risk she was willing to take....

XX

“I think I'm going to head out on my own,” Demetrius announced to his companions over their “breakfast.”

The other three looked at him in mild surprise.

“It's just,” Demetrius hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Our biggest strengths as a group were having a career with us and Kahner's mines. Now Alissah and Kahner are both dead. For all we know Kahner had some mines around here that he didn't even tell us about. We could die any second just staying here. There are fifteen left, or fourteen, I guess, since we heard that cannon in the night. That's plenty of time for me to get lost without having to confront any of you.”

Ahnette watched him closely before nodding. “I understand. Do what you feel you need to do.”

“Thank you,” Demetrius said darkly as he walked away from the others into solitude.

XX

Jocelin had been watching Mina closely ever since she left their alliance, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Even when Mina had joined a new alliance, Jocelin had stayed close by. It was difficult, but she'd become very good at staying hidden. No one suspected a thing.

She had hoped to deal with Mina quickly and get back to her previous alliance, but she had seen enough over the past couple of days to know that the alliance she had once been a part of was no more. Still, Jocelin was hoping to at least find Fayth. She knew from the nightly summary of deaths that Fayth was still in the arena somewhere, and Jocelin hated to think of what the poor girl might be going through now.

Even though she had yet to finish off Mina, Jocelin was getting restless for human companionship, and she found herself seeking out the large group of five tributes. They weren't far from where Mina had set up camp, although Jocelin was sure that neither Mina nor this group knew of the other's presence. Coale and Etin were both present, and Jocelin found herself irrationally angry that Fayth had been left somewhere behind. Upon seeing Tiara though, Jocelin wondered if it was the brash career's fault.

Jocelin made eye contact with Coale as she entered the small clearing. The others made no move to attack her, as they clearly sensed that she was no threat at the moment.

“Where is Fayth?” she questioned.

“She left,” Coale explained in regret. “In the middle of the night, just like you. None of us saw her leave.”

Jocelin sighed as she sat down next to the boy. “Great. I planned to come back. I just wanted to get Mina, but then that proved more difficult than I thought. I still haven't gotten her, and now I don't know where Fayth is either.”

“Who cares?” Tiara questioned. “You can't win with Crazy around. You're better off without her.”

“Shut it, Tiara. I'm not in the mood,” Jocelin growled.

Tiara shrugged. “Whatever. Are you joining us then? I'll be nice enough to let you since Tifanee disappeared last night.”

Jocelin shivered at the hostile gleam in Tiara's eyes, but she shrugged and murmured, “Yeah, I'll join you.” She hadn't given up on Mina, but some human companionship was nice for the moment.

XX

“She's still alone,” Jocelin informed her five companions later that day. It was nearing sunset, and Jocelin had just returned from scoping out Mina's “camp.” “She doesn't seem likely to leave for the night. I want to get her before nightfall.”

“Great,” Tiara exclaimed excitedly. “I'll come with you.”

“No,” Jocelin replied firmly. “I want Coale to come. I know having back up is safer, but you'd steal the kill from me. With anyone else that'd be fine, but I'm getting Mina on my own.”

Tiara flopped back onto the log she'd been using as a stool and crossed her arms in indignation. “Fine. Go settle your grudge.”

“I plan to,” Jocelin replied determinedly before walking away to do just that.

Mina would put up a fight, but at the last minute, Jocelin would see the determination leave her eyes. Her acceptance of death would break Jocelin in a way. Jocelin who had been so consumed with revenge that she hadn't stopped to think that she was killing a girl. But by then it would be too late to stop, and Jocelin would be forced to walk back to her companions with her first kill weighing heavily on her mind.