The Hunger Games: Death of the Mockingjay

Chapter 35

I close my eyes as the arrow hits its target and I hear her body hit the floor. I want to keep my eyes closed forever, to never have to open them and see the poor girl from 12 crumpled on the floor with the life draining from her.

"So....this is how it feels?" She says quietly breaking me from my sorrow.

I drop my bow,  fall to my knees and take her hand and comfort her while she fades away. She turns her head to look at me while I blank out the macabre scene of my arrow protruding from her chest.

"I'm famous" she says forcing a smile "I'm one of the fallen" she says almost excitedly before her head slowly turns away and I feel her hand go limp in mine. I sigh out loud in disappointment. This girl, watchmen number 7 from District 12, how many more are they back in 12 and, are there more from my District here in the arena. Her lifeless eyes stare at nothing and I slowly run my hand across her face to close them.
I get to my feet and look at her, anger starts to build in my veins at the stupidity of it all, the wastefulness. So many people have died in this battle to show the country what the Brotherhood actually are,
I feel my jaw harden as I pull my arrow from the poor girl's body, wash the head in the oily swamp water then make my way toward the dunes. I need to get back into the fight and lead the Brotherhood to the mount.

*

The route from the camp to the dunes is far easier than wading through the swamp. The camp is connected to the dunes by a series of makeshift wooden bridges which connect the smaller grassy islands together. It appears that this is the only way out of the camp, unless you want to get your feet wet that is. I keep an arrow strung and ready just in case I run into another Brotherhood tribute although after last nights spider attack and the death of the girl from 12 those chances are receding rapidly. By my reckoning there should only be three tributes left including Draven.

It's an amazingly still morning. Sunlight breaks through the sparse trees and branches and there's a thin mist which blankets the ground. I walk quietly trying not to make too much noise with my boots on the small wooden bridges not just to avoid alerting the Brotherhood but my mind is still on the spider that could be close by and it's a relief when I finally reach the dunes.

I take a moment to check my surroundings before I venture too far. The dunes seem deserted, just a slight breeze from the south ruffles the grass while I can hear the subtle wash of the sea which is out of sight and on the far side of the arena. I take a second to get my bearings then head in the direction of the mount. At a guess I'd say that Draven and his remaining tributes would most likely be near the mount to try and force a victory with his diminished pack.
For a long time I see nothing, no Draven, no other tributes not even any animals. I eat some rations from my backpack and drink the last of my water. The sun is high in the sky when I finally reach the mount. I call Peeta's name expecting to see his head appear at the top of the hill but there's no answer just silence, what's happened?
At the foot of the hill lie two dead Brotherhood tributes. One, who is a young man of about 18 years old who has an arrow protruding from his chest, while the other I saw talking with Draven in the Brotherhood camp just two nights ago. I got the impression that this man was Draven's lieutenant, his right hand man in the arena.
The battle must of happened last night while I was in the swamp, Draven came here and tried to take the mount. Panic builds as I start the climb to the top of the mount dreading what I'll find when I get there, have my friends been defeated and what of Peeta, is he alive? I give it everything to reach the summit, my hands claw at the grass while my legs burn with the exertion. I reach the top and look around the flat summit of the mount. Shell casings from the fire fight lay around the trampled grass, I see a bloody white rag thrown down on the grass which must of been used as a makeshift bandage. A still body lies face down off to one side, I dash over to see who it is but when I roll it over I see it's Conrad, the last of the Rapiers. He's been shot in the shoulder and stomach, by the looks of the blood around his body I'd say he hasn't got long left.
I sigh to myself at the disappointment of another dead ally when his eyes suddenly flick open.
"Conrad, what happened?" I ask cradling his head in my arm.

He struggles to speak to begin with, then swallows and starts to speak.

"They....came at nightfall, we tried to hold them but we couldn't see through the dark"

"What happened, where's the others, where's Peeta?" I say shaking him slightly in frustration.

"He made it out with the others, they went to the beach, there was no other way"

I sigh and close my eyes in relief "So he's safe?"

"Yes they all made it out including Steph, I stayed behind to cover for them"

I can feel his strength starting to drain from his body. 

"Thank you Conrad, if Lyndon was here he'd of been so proud of all of you" I say stroking his cheek.

"It's the least I could do, and in any case we'll all be back together soon" he says forcing a smile before his eyes slowly close as he exhales his last breath.

I place his head on the soft grass as gently as I can and look at his broken body. Conrad, the last of the Rapiers is dead, as he just said they're all back together with Lyndon now, 6 friends who graduated from the Hunger Games academy and who'd been together ever since. Now they're all gone because of this bloody Brotherhood.
I stand up and look at my friend, he saved my life many times, when he fought against Wolfe at the end of the war and then when he saved me from Romulus Thread's assassination attempt back in the forest at 12. I owe these men a debt I'll never be able to repay. I grab my bow stand up and look across the rolling grassy dunes.

Draven is all that's left, I'm gonna find him.......

....... and kill him!