the way things go [s. plinth]

x i i i

"Marcus?" Ophelia whispered, her voice catching in her throat. Tears threatened to fall down her face.

He tried to lift his head in her direction, his lips moving as he spoke.

"Hold on, I can't hear you," said Ophelia.

She squeezed her legs around the crossbeam and leaned over the edge. She squeezed her eyes shut when she saw the ground meters below her. It would be a long fall. Ophelia leaned her head closer to Marcus's.

"Please," he murmured. "Kill me."

Ophelia shook her head. "No Marcus, I can't do that. Don't make me do that."

"Ophelia-"

"No," sobbed Ophelia. "I can get you down. I'll take care of you this time."

"Ophelia, I'm not going to make it," said Marcus, gritting his teeth through his pain. "Please, I'm asking you to do this. Let me make my choice."

"I can't," cried Ophelia.

"You can, Ophelia. You're strong, you're brave. Believe in yourself," said Marcus.

Ophelia took a deep breath. She reached down to her leg and removed the blade from its makeshift sheath. She weighed the weapon in her palm, debating on the best course of action.

"Wait," whispered Marcus. "If you win, tell Sejanus I never hated him. He's a good man, I was just too prideful."

"I will," promised Ophelia.

"Fight for a win," said Marcus. "Bring Two a victory. You deserve to live. And Sejanus doesn't deserve to lose you again. Fate brought you back to him, don't let it take you away."

"I won't," said Ophelia. "I promise."

"Thanks for being a great district partner," said Marcus. "You weren't as annoying as I said you were."

Ophelia laughed through her tears. She reached out, gently running her fingers through his close-cropped hair. "Goodbye, Marcus."

"Goodbye, Ophelia."

Ophelia took a deep breath, exhaling as she brought the blade down into Marcus's throat, straight through his windpipe. Hot blood well up around the wound, staining Ophelia's skin. The motion didn't work. Marcus was still alive, his face contorted with pain.

"I'm so sorry," sobbed Ophelia.

She wrenched the blade out, letting blood pour out of the gaping hole in Marcus's throat. Ophelia dragged one edge of the knife along his neck, deep enough to sever the veins and arteries in it.

After a few long seconds, he was dead.

Ophelia clung to the crossbeam, her entire body shaking with grief. She'd just killed someone. And not just anyone. Marcus. Her partner, her ally, her friend.

But Ophelia didn't have time to mourn. She had to figure out how to get Marcus's body down from the chains. Ophelia shifted to get a closer look at the chains. There didn't seem to be a way for her to loosen them. The plates securing the chains to the beam had no noticeable screws to unfasten. The only way Ophelia would be able to get the chains off of Marcus's wrists would be to sever his hands.

Ophelia's stomach turned. She could never do that. She'd rather leave him to hang than to mutilate his body even further.

Ophelia was about to climb down the pole when she heard a strange noise. It was a mechanical whirring of some sort. She looked in the direction of the noise to see a drone carrying a glass water bottle. Ophelia smiled, despite her despair. A gift from Sejanus.