The Hunger Games | Rilaya

The Final Battle

Leaving the cave feels final. One way or the other, I'm going home today. Riley and I walk in silence to the stream only to discover that it was drained during the night.

"The lake. That's where they want us to go." Riley says.

I debate checking the ponds but scrap the idea, knowing that she was right. "Do you want to right now or wait until our water has run out?"

"Let's go now, while we've had food and rest. Let's just end this thing." She says grimly.

I nod but then stop anyways. "Wait."

"What is it?"

I take a deep breath and gently take her hands in mine. I lift my head up to meet warm chocolate brown eyes. "I need to say this, just in case this is it for us."

Riley stares at me, unsure of where I'm going with this.

"I love you."

At my words, her eyes widen, mouth parting open in shock.

"I don't know what's going to happen over the course of the next several hours. But if this is my last day on Earth, then I'm glad that it's with you."

"Maya, you have no idea how long I've dreamed of you saying those words to me." Riley finally comes to her senses enough to speak coherently. "And I mean, it wasn't exactly a huge secret, but I love you too."

I cup her face with my hands, closing the distance between us. If this is really it, then I need to kiss her one last time. After we break apart, Riley wraps an arm around me. We stand there for a while, locked in an embrace, listening to the rustle of the leaves.

I mentally say goodbye to my family, thanking them for everything. Then without a word, we head for the lake. When we arrive, there's no sign of Cato. At this point, it is useless to hide so we decide to wait while sitting at the edge of the water.

After maybe half an hour, there's a scream. Immediately, we're on our feet. Riley wields her knife while I'm poised to shoot when Cato smashes through the trees. His hands are empty, but he runs straight for us. I release my arrow and it hits his chest, only to fall.

"He's got some kind of body armor!" I shout in alarm. So that's what was in his pack.

I brace myself for hand to hand combat, but Cato rockets right past us. He wasn't running to us, he was running away from something. The only question was, what was he running from?

My eyes scan the woods just in time to see a creature burst from a bush.

"Shit! Riley, run!" I scream, already stumbling blindly after Cato.

There was no doubt about it. These were muttations. Cato seems to have his eyes set on the Cornucopia and I follow him blindly. If he thinks that's the safest place right now, I'm not gonna argue. My hands land on the hot metal and I glance back to ensure Riley is still behind me.

She's about fifteen yards away, running as fast as she can, but her leg is slowing her down. I send an arrow into a mutt that is dangerously close to her, but another one takes its place almost immediately.

"Go, Maya! Go!" Riley shouts, waving me up the horn.

I open my mouth to protest but realize she's right. I can't protect either of us on the ground. I scale the Cornucopia as quickly as possible, ignoring the heat burning my hands.

Cato is lying on his side at the top, gasping desperately for air. Now would be my chance to finish him off, but I need to make sure Riley is okay first. I twist around and see she's just reached the bottom, the mutts right on her heels.