𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟕𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ✔️

𝕏𝕏𝕀𝕍

Aurora looks shell-shocked as we walk through the Arena back to our camp. I can tell she's devastated by Vesta's death. I am too. She was such a kind soul. She didn't deserve to die.

After about an hour of walking, we arrive back at our camp. Aurora slowly lowers herself to the ground, her eyes distant.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her, sitting next to her. Her eyes well up with tears.

"Vesta didn't deserve that," she sobs. "After everything she's gone through. Phoenix is going to pay. He has to."

I wrap my arms around her as she cries. "I'm sure he will. What goes around comes around," I remind her. That's how the world works, right?"

I can't erase the sight of Vesta's body crumpling to the ground, lifeless, out of my mind. She was the closest thing I had to an actual friend in here, other than Aurora. I guess I always knew she was going to die eventually. I just wish I didn't have to watch it.

It's not long before the Panem anthem begins to play for the, what, ninth time? Vesta appears above us, and she's followed by Selina. My heart aches to see both of them. The Arena feels empty with them.

"Poor Selina," I sigh. "She didn't deserve that."

"I feel like they targeted her," Aurora says next to me. "The monkeys suddenly appeared, killed her, and then vanished."

"I think Heinrich probably did do that. And he wanted us to know that. Why else would they hang her body from the Cornucopia?"

I feel awful when I think back to our conversation during Training. "Remember when I Trained with Selina that one day?"

"Yeah, when I got jealous," Aurora says half-jokingly. "I remember."

"She told me some things," I say carefully. "She knew something like this would happen. And she was right. I think she knew from the moment she was Reaped that she had no chance of winning. No matter what she did."

"I think that's true," Aurora responds. "Even if the odds are in your favor, you can't get anywhere if the Gamemakers are against you."

I shudder a bit, but I don't respond. I don't want to talk anymore about the Gamemakers. Aurora is right, and I don't want to get on Heinrich's bad side.

Aurora sleeps for the first half of the night while I keep watch. I watch the area around us with a keen eye - something in my gut tells me that Phoenix could have followed us since we didn't swing through the trees like Phoebe did. However, Phoenix never appears. I guess he never spotted us watching him from the trees.

The next morning when Aurora wakes me up, I can tell something is different. The Arena is oddly... quiet. The birds are silent, and the bugs are seemingly gone. No metallic birds, no robotic wolves, no screeching monkeys, no acid rain... the silence is suffocating. It's so peaceful that I even want to breathe more quietly to avoid disturbing the silence.

"What's going on?" I whisper to Aurora as I open my eyes.

"I don't know," she whispers back, her eyes darting around. "All the noises suddenly stopped a few hours ago. Something's up."

All day, Aurora and I speak in whispers. We're wary that something will happen, and we have to be prepared. The Gamemakers definitely have something up their sleeves.

"Do you think this is it?" I ask Aurora quietly. "How many of us are left?"

"Maybe," she says, her eyes trained on the ground. "It's just us, Phoenix, and Phoebe. The last four."

Four. Of the 24 kids who entered this place, only four of us are still standing. I can't believe it.

I'm split. I don't know what to do. This whole time, I acted as a meat shield for Aurora. I wanted her to win no matter the cost. But, there are only four of us left. I have an actual chance of making it out of here alive. It's been two weeks since I saw my family. Since Clarissa begged me to come home to her. I don't know what to do. Only one of us can make it out of here alive. Or neither. I don't know. I just know I can't let Phoenix be the one to live if I die. He needs to pay for everything he's done.

The day quietly passes by with no major event. It feels like the whole Arena is holding its breath. I'm startled as the Panem anthem breaks the silence, but no tributes died today. It's still the four of us in here.

I have no idea what the Gamemakers have planned, but it can't be anything good. I have a feeling that this will be my last night in the Arena, and I'm glad. Either I'll survive or I'll die. After all this time, my fate will finally be determined. I'm dreading that moment of judgment, but at the same time, I can't wait for this to all be over.