One Last Game -Haymitch Abernathy-

Chapter 11

"Fuck," Amelia's entire body was shaking, both from the cold and fear. The plan was rushed. She had to admit that. It could have been better thought out, but there wasn't time. There were only two left now. The last person, an older girl from District 7, had been killed the previous night. Only minutes after Amelia killed Georgia.

This was it. Everything the last two weeks had been leading to this moment. She couldn't climb any faster. Blood dripped from an injury to her leg caused by Augustus. Amelia's heart was racing. She could hear him behind her. Every second that went by the closer he got.

The ledge was so close. She could almost taste it. All she needed to do was get him on there. If her theory was correct, the avalanche would be happening soon. There was a pattern to the avalanche, and it repeated. From watching the snowfall, she knew this ledge was always in the clear. It was just incredibly close.

Amelia reached the ledge, and she pulled herself on top. The pain in her leg was nearly unbearable, but the brief moment of rest wasn't enough. As she laid on the ground Augustus's ax slammed into the ground. It was merely inched from her head. Amelia rolled over and tried to get up, but it was useless. Augustus was fast, much faster than her. He hauled himself over the edge and jumped on top of her. He went to reach for his ax but couldn't manage to hold her down at the same time. In that moment, he made a crucial choice. He decided to leave the ax where it was and use his hands.

He grabbed Amelia by her jacket and pulled her up. Without any hesitation, he slammed her back down on the ground. She gasped in pain, a rock hitting her hard in the spine. She struggled against him, but it was useless. The snow around her flattened as they struggled. "Come on," Augustus couldn't get his hands around her throat. "Just make it easy for me."

He put his knee on her stomach, successfully pinning her to the ground. Letting go of her shirt, he used his right arm to choke her. Amelia couldn't breathe and fought against him. But he was bigger than her and much stronger. Her hand searched the area, buried under the snow. Augustus was too focused on killing her that he didn't notice.

Amelia felt her fingers brush over a rock, and she picked it up. Raising her hand, she slammed the rock into the side of his head. Augustus cried out in pain and released his grip on her as he slumped to the side. She used her one good leg to knee him the stomach and send him on his back.

She ran towards the ledge, but Augustus grabbed her ankle. Amelia fell to the ground and flipped onto her back.

"I guess this is easy," he slipped a knife from his pocket. "Thanks." As he went to lunge at her, the ground beneath them shook. They both froze as the avalanche at the top of the mountain began.

Augustus looked up with fear in his eyes, believing they were about to be killed. His attention went towards the ledge as he glanced at the top. It was only for a moment, a second. Once he figured out there wasn't any danger, he turned back to finish the job. Only in his moment of distraction, Amelia had grabbed the ax. As she stood up, her arm went back, and she threw it.

There was no hesitation. No remorse. Only a brief moment of relief as the ax lodged itself in his chest. He stumbled a few feet back, looking at the ax in his chest. But he didn't fall to the ground. Amelia feared it wasn't enough to kill him.

Augustus looked up at her, pain in his eyes. The realization of everything finally dawning on him. Amelia rushed towards him, and Augustus prepared to fight her off. But he had no fight left in him. All he could do was watch as she shoved him. He took two steps before the ground beneath his feet disappeared.

Amelia watched him as he fell, his body falling through the sky. In a few seconds, he was gone, swallowed by the wave of snow. "Ladies and Gentleman. I present to you the winner of the 67th Hunger Games. Amelia Sawyer."

Amelia gasped as she awoke, the dream replaying in her mind. But it wasn't a dream. It was a memory—a memory of her actions in the games. She blinked a few times, letting her body relax as she realized her surroundings. She was safe in the penthouse. The blanket she had was still draped over her lower half. Amelia looked up to where Haymitch had been last night, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Haymitch?" The girl sat up in an instant. "Haymitch!" Throwing the blanket off she searched the room, but there wasn't any sign of Haymitch. The dream was still fresh in her mind, and part of her feared something happened to him. Stumbling through the room she felt her heart begin to race. "Haymitch-"

"Sweetheart," his voice bounced off the walls. Amelia spun around, her hair flying over her shoulder. "What's with all the yelling? It's not even noon yet."

"Where were you," she marched over to him. "I woke up, and you were gone."

Haymitch had a puzzled look on his face, not sure what to do in this situation. "Okay?" Amelia stared at him, "I went to eat breakfast. I didn't want to wake you because I know you don't sleep much these days."

"But you can't-" she stopped herself. Amelia ran a hand through her hair, knowing that her actions were irrational. The nightmares took over sometimes, and she felt as if she was back in the games. Haymitch not being there when she woke up wasn't any fault of his own. It was hers. "Sorry. I'm being stupid."

"Hey," he places a hand on her cheek. "You're not stupid." Amelia subconsciously leaned into his touch, enjoying the warmth he provided. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Amelia usually wasn't hungry first thing in the morning. "How are our tributes?" There was a silence on his end, and her heart dropped in her chest. "Haymitch?"

"They're alive," he sighed. "But a lot happened."

Amelia began to fear the worst. "Well, tell me."

Haymitch dropped his hand from her face and gestured for her to take a seat. Amelia did, but she never broke eye contact. "Katniss cut down a trackerjacker nest. It hit the ground and stung a bunch of them. It killed one of the Careers." That was a good thing. "Katniss got the bow from her, but she was stung a bunch of times. But got away because Peeta went back to warn her." Amelia smiled to herself. It was nice to know that he still cared for the girl. "She lost consciousness five hours ago, but Rue's watching over her."

"Rue," that confused her. "The young girl from District 11?" He nodded, "why?"

"No idea," Haymitch shrugged, "but she patched up her wounds with some stuff she found. Really smart girl. Katniss is well hidden, and nobody seems to be near them." He looked away, "but she was stung a lot. I don't see her waking up for a few days."

Amelia waited for an update about Peeta, but Haymitch appeared to be purposely avoiding anything about him. "And what about Peeta?" He leaned against the counter, "Haymitch?"

"He got pretty hurt," he murmurs. "Cato cut his leg badly."

Amelia felt her body go numb. Peeta was injured, and exposure to the elements was just as deadly as people in the games. "He needs help. He needs a sponsor like Katniss."

"Amelia-"

"No," she cut him off. "We can go get him a sponsor."

"Amelia," he grabbed her hands. "I love how much you care, but Peeta isn't nearly as popular as Katniss." Amelia hated that he was right. Katniss had been catching the Capitol's attention since she arrived. Her volunteer story caught their interest. "There's really nothing I can do for him right now."

Amelia nodded one too many times. As if she was convincing herself of his words. "Yeah." Peeta was alive, and for that had to be good enough.

Haymitch knew she had a stronger attachment to the boy and felt his stomach twist at the idea of Amelia being in distress. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, bring the back of her hand up to his lips. "He'll be all right." But that wasn't guaranteed. They couldn't know what would happen in the games. They were too unpredictable. "Come on, Darling. Let me make you something to eat."

"I said I-"

"Wasn't hungry," he finished for her. "Yeah, and I don't really care." He let go of her hand and walked behind the counter. Amelia let her hand rest in the position, almost wishing he hadn't let go.