Game On

Chapter 12

By the time dawn arrives, I relent. I know I can't hide anymore. All I want now is to get this over with. I have no more time for sleep when my life hangs in the balance. I have to be completely focused if I'm going to win. I stare down at my clothes, and my ribs are frighteningly visible. My legs are sticks. I've never been this thin.

I peek out of my bush to see that the ground is dry once more. It's like the Gamemakers sucked up the water while I slept. But it wouldn't matter either way. Dry or not, today's going to be the last day of the Games if I have anything to say about it. One thought still hasn't quite hit me yet: I might actually win, becoming the second victor from District 3 in over ten years. I might actually live.

And there goes another cannon. Only one other tribute remains besides me. Who is it? I wonder.

There's only one way to find out.

I pack my knife and rope inside my pant pockets, leaving everything else behind. Here goes what might be the last minutes of my life. We're really getting down to the wire now. Guess I'll never know if my second bomb went off.

I see the silhouette of a tribute in the distance. "Hey District 3," a female voice calls. "Time to die."

Shay. I remember seeing her pulverize the equipment in training. An idea starts forming quickly. I'm going to make her chase me. All the way to that cliff Cameron and I found on the first day. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll fall off.

"Won't be that easy," I tell her with a big mischievous grin, taking off before she can respond. We weave through trees, even around the whole mountain range, sweat dripping everywhere. Pure adrenaline shoots through me. Shay doesn't get tired at all. If we weren't caught in this stupid arena, I'd applaud how well she can keep up with me. I've managed to keep out of her grasp, until-

"Ahh!"

She's bashed me hard in the skull with some hard object, and I fall facedown into the dirt. I can't think clearly. The pain! But I have to end this now.

I roll over and kick my foot under her legs, knocking her onto the ground with me. She waves her knife at me. It cuts into my leg with a sharp pinch. Whipping out my rope, I tie it around her neck before she has more time to think. I pull it tighter. Her eyes glare at me with fear, and she makes a terrible choking sound. I won't forget it for as long as I live. Then... nothing.

The blast of trumpets reaches my ears. Claudius Templesmith's voice announces: "Introducing the victor of the fifty-fifth annual Hunger Games, from District 3, Wiress Plummer!"

Somehow, impossibly, I'm the last one standing. The thought makes me break down into tears. It's so bittersweet. This only happened because I killed with my bare hands. I don't even have the strength to look down at them. But I can finally breathe again. I won. My exhaustion catches up to me, and before the hovercar arrives to pick me up, I succumb to sleep.
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I wake up in a hospital bed. My skin's newly cleaned, my cuts are gone... and I've been shaved completely bald.

A doctor stands next to me, smiling. "Welcome back, Miss Plummer."

"Hi," I squeak. My voice. It's more high-pitched, weaker than before. I look back at the doctor. "My head..." Immediately, I know something's wrong. I don't know what to say next.

"We had to shave it for your operation," he says.

"Operation?"

"Yes. We went in to see if we could fix the brain injury you sustained. Unfortunately, your condition was inoperable."

I feel around my skull for the incision, but the doctor says, "Not to worry. It's all covered up."

He keeps me in the hospital for a few more days so that I can recover well enough for my crowning ceremony and interview. Don't they understand that I'll never really recover?

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The prep team walks in, carrying wigs of all colors and styles. For once, I can really appreciate the Capitol's pampering. I wasn't looking forward to going home bald, even though my hair will grow back quickly enough.

"Which one would you like to wear?" Nelly asks. "You'll get to take it with you, if you want."

As they make me over, I choose a long-haired, light brown wig that's closest to my real hair color. There was a neon blue one I played around with. I can't be too adventurous if I'm going to wear this for a long time, though. Dev arrives with a knee-length red dress. It's way too poofy for a tomboy like me, but I'll never complain again when I'm lucky to be here, alive.

"Ty's ready for you when you're done," he says. After the girls do my hair and makeup, they leave me so I can slip on the dress. Someone knocks on the other side of my room.

"Time to go, Wiress." That's definitely not Ty's voice. It comes from a brown-skinned boy in square-framed glasses, who stands waiting at the door. I haven't seen him since the night before the Games.

"Beetee!" I can hardly restrain myself from crashing into his arms.

He holds me close for a minute, just keeping quiet. I rest my head on his shoulder. "It's all over," he whispers. "Is it selfish of me to be grateful that you're back here?"

"No." I became victor purely because I was selfish. "I can't..."

"Can't finish your sentences anymore. Yeah. But that doesn't make any difference to me."

"Why aren't you...?"

"Why am I not looking at you any differently? Please. I don't have any right to be criticizing you for what happened in the arena, when I was just as bad. Listen to me." He lifts up my chin. "You did nothing wrong, okay? I was in your place once, so I know how guilty you must feel about the lengths you went to in order to live. I'm still a complete mess from my Games. Remember how many people I killed? And let's not forget, your sister was my district partner. Remember how sad I was when Joules died? You didn't know me yet, but when I came home, seeing you cry non-stop broke my heart even more. We have to find some way to move on from the pain. And I hope we can do that together."

Beetee places his hand over mine. "Wiress, the night we kissed was one of the best moments of my life. Of course, that wouldn't have happened so soon if it weren't for the Games. Now I want to start over, properly. Will you have dinner with my family and me once we're back in District 3?"

I can hardly process this. Heaven knows I need a friend right now, at the very least. But in our District, the guys always introduce girls to their families when they officially want to be more than friends. Then, a few years later, they typically marry. How did I get so lucky?

"Yes." It's the only full sentence I can say. But it's all I need to say. I knot my fingers through his, because I know without a doubt that nobody else will do for me. When it comes to us, we've got all the time in the world to figure out what the future holds. Something I never thought I would get to do.

He smiles, giving my hand a light kiss. "Ready to be crowned victor?"

How can I find the strength to answer that? Beetee seems to read my silence and doesn't push me for a reply. He knows why: this shouldn't have happened at all. We were supposed to just lead normal lives. The Games ruined everything. As we make our way to the stage, I think of what's ahead for me. On the downside, I'll be coming back to the Capitol every year as a mentor until someone else in my district wins. But on the upside, I'm moving to the Victor's Penthouse, I can return home to my parents, my district will get extra food for the next year, and I can officially be Beetee's girlfriend. He's the only one who understands me now. Most importantly, I never have to experience this nightmare ever again.

Or so I thought.