CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
lights in the sky

MITCHELL AND ROBB SCAMPERED AWAY THE MOMENT AUGUST THREW HER KNIFE THEIR WAY, LODGING IT IN ROBB'S THIGH. Robb had skidded away, dropping his blood soaked sword the moment the knife lodged itself into him, while Mitchell sneered at August, before tilting his head at Eleanor. His pupils were blown out as he looked the brunette up and down, before he finally gave a grin, waving at her and prancing away.

Eleanor wondered, for the first time, if maybe it was possible to be born cruel. She certainly could not imagine Mitchell Braws or Robb Dawns possessing an ounce of kindness to commit such a murder like this. How could they live with themselves, knowing they had been responsible for such gory deaths?

How could they live with themselves knowing they happily robbed three families of their children?

Eleanor and August were left alone in the aftermath of the atrocities committed here. In his wake remained the bloody crime scene. The decapitated bodies belonging to Marlene and Sage were casted away as though they meant nothing and Eleanor hysterically screamed at the sight. Her knees felt weak but she simply wobbled in place, frozen. She wanted nothing more than to make them mean something. But, Robb and Mitchell casted them away as worthless and so did the audience that watched them.

Their bodies laid inches from one another. Heads missing, cuts all over them, and hands reaching out for the other. The crude symbolisms of desperation the pair must have sought in their final moments. Desperate for touch, their finger tips ghosted each others, as though that had been the last thing they ever tried to do.

Grab onto each other.

All that remained unharmed on them was their ghosting finger tips, lightly caressing the soil of the mossy floor. The most gentlest thing in their death was the way the moss caressed their cold dead bodies.

Pure, untainted, how they should have always remained.

Everything was so cruel about this. Eleanor stared at them with  Marlene and Sage weren't meant to be dead, not this soon. They had been so kind, so wonderful to Eleanor, yet the games had robbed them and would now forever be their tomb. A sob erupted from her, but another thought prodded her brain.

Jaime. Her eyes darted to the water, wide with realisation and tainted with fear. Oh god.

August could not hold her back as she rushed to the water, using all her strength to pull the twelve year old out of the lake. He flopped to the floor, unmoving, as his arms sprawled out floppily.  His face looked awfully serene, almost as though he was fast asleep. No look of fear was marked on his flesh, simply just a closed eyes expression that seemed relaxed and merciless.

Eleanor laid him on his back as she checked his airways.

He wasn't breathing.

Immediately she began pressing down on his chest, holding back her hysterical sobs as she tried bringing back any sense of life into the twelve year old. His face was practically serene, his eyes closed as though he was fast asleep.

After fifteen chest compressions, Eleanor plugged his nose and tried breathing life into him. She had done it so many times before that it was practically second nature.

She continued until she finally collapsed in a fit of screams.

What had she done?

"Eleanor..."

Eleanor shook her head. "Shut up! He's not!" She immediately tried compressing on his chest again, practically pounding on Jaime's poor helpless body. Her incoherent mutters echoed as she pleaded for him to open his eyes, to wake up. She waited for him to open his eyes, for his small heart to begin beating all the same, but he remained as still as he possibly could. His small yet beautiful heart did not beat, his eyes did not open, not a sound erupted from him. All that could be heard was Eleanor's pained pleas as she continued hammering on his chest with dwindling hope.

"Why isn't he breathing?" Eleanor cried out, practically slamming on his chest. "He's afraid of water! Why was he in the water?"

Eleanor knew all of Panem was watching. She didn't know the audience she had truly amassed though. She knew nothing of the weeping family locked in 12, locked in an embrace by one another as a young boy hid his face in his older brother's embrace. Nor did Eleanor know of the young girl who refused to weep in 7, despite the obvious tear stained cheeks that were smudged with dirt. i'm

Though, most of all, Eleanor was unaware of the fear struck faces of the victors as they observed. The Capitol didn't know how to react, despite their obvious agony at the grief displayed by the district 4 tribute.

Her hope finally ran out when August pulled her away. She didn't struggle, not like she had with Kai, simply collapsing on the ground in heaves as everything finally came over Eleanor.

Her body felt completely numb, as though she was dead and Eleanor wondered when her canon would go off.

There was no canon, unless you counted the hysteria in her sobs.

Eventually, Eleanor and August had decided to move away from the willow tree. How could they stay at a place where three people had perished? Eleanor had been in complete silence since she found everyone dead, knowing fully well her throat would ache too much to form any words to August. The District 2 girl seemed to understand this, sitting besides Eleanor in complete silence the moment the pair found a deserted cave. Their shoulders brushed against each others at their close proximity.

Eleanor sniffled as she sat at the entrance of the cave. Night had fallen and soon the anthem would play and she'd get one last glimpse at the faces of Kai, Marlene, Sage, and Jaime. She pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on it with a shameful look on her face. How could she survive?

How could she live with herself?

For a moment, Eleanor wondered what would happen if she just died. If she decided enough was enough and threw herself into a river and drowned, or purposely ate the wrong type of berries. At least then August would have greater odds at winning.

She'd rather not be the victor, not if her victory comes at the loss of August too.

Then, her mind darkened. Mitchell Braws and Robb Dawns walked the arena, covered in the blood of Sage and Marlene, alive and well. Even with that thigh wound on Robb's thigh, both the boys were fine. The thought alone made Eleanor want to scream. She wanted nothing more than to scream because how on earth could they survive?

The echo of the anthem practically swallowed Eleanor whole. Her eyes turned to look at the sky as the recap began.

Kai's face was the second to light up the sky. Even as a digitalised image, his smile could light up the world. It seemed so pure, so innocent, so hopeful. It was hard to believe he was dead, eaten alive by such a beautiful thing like a butterfly.

Then Sage's face appeared. Her small smile was all Eleanor wanted to see again. She wanted nothing more than to hug that girl once again, to apologise for her harsh words.

Marlene's face was more painful than Eleanor had expected. Despite her cold exterior, Marlene had melted Eleanor's heart and meant so much. She could only pray that little Jo who Marlene loved more than anything was okay.

By the time Jaime's face lit up the sky, Eleanor found herself sobbing hysterically as she recalled the horrors of the day, her head pressed on her knees. All she could hope was that maybe she'd die next so she wouldn't be stuck in such agony. Her stomach flipped with hatred for herself, wishing that her face had been the one in the sky. A sense of guilt seemed to wash over her at the realisation that she was the reason this all happened.

If she hadn't nearly died, then she would've been able to go with them to look for food. If she hadn't got so mad at Sage and Marlene, then they would've joined her in looking for Kai. Maybe then they would've found him faster, preventing all of their deaths.

She stiffened when she felt August pull her close, allowing for Eleanor to bury her face into her neck. A sob echoed as August rubbed her back soothingly, the rhythmic movement of her hand the only thing grounding Eleanor. She refused to look at August. "How many?"

"What?"

Eleanor swallowed down another sob, biting it back so painfully that she swore she could taste the thick metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth. "How many died today?"

"5. The girl from 3 died as well." August shortly replied, looking down at the ground. "Mitchell and Robb are still out there, that girl from 11, the boy from 8, and the boy from 3."

Eleanor could've laughed. Now, they were at the final eight. If her allies hadn't died, by now they would have split up. They would've all gone on their separate ways, no longer tethered to each other by the strings of their alliance. It felt as though everything was a cruel joke, as though the game makers were purposely setting up to make her life a living hell. Her body shook with laughter.

The sound was odd from Eleanor's lips. A cackle, bitter with hatred that had never sounded from Eleanor in all her life. It was unrecognised, a foreign entity that had practically swallowed Eleanor whole.

She shook her head, still laughing. "I want them dead." She gritted out, turning to face August with a darkened expression on her face. August took a shaky breath at the sight, "Neither of them can be the one getting out."

August nodded. "You wanna kill them?"

Eleanor thought for a moment. Was this what she needed to do? Get revenge? It seemed like murder was the entire purpose of the games, so was revenge necessary. Was it necessary to premeditate Robb Dawns and Mitchell Braws' deaths?

Then Eleanor realised something. That feeling - the one of being watched - that wasn't the audience. It couldn't have been, because the audience has been watching from the beginning. The sudden realisation that the feeling that made her insides quiver.

Mitchell and Robb broke something in her.

She felt her entire being snap with newfound anger.

They hadn't just conveniently come across the willow tree.

No.

"I want them gone." Eleanor whispered, clenching her jaw. She breathed in and out with each second marking just how much she hoped for their deaths. These words didn't feel like her own anymore, like she was a puppet being forced to say what she said. None of this felt real anymore. "I want them dead."

August nodded. "Then they will die." Eleanor finally looked at her, though she could see the doubt on August's face. Of course, August knew Mitchell Braws the best. She had probably trained in the academy with him, watched him for years with sharp eyes. If August doubted something, then she had every right to doubt it. If August thought they couldn't do it, then she would've said. "Or, they'll kill us."

"Let's hope the odds aren't in their favour."

IT IS NEARING THE END OF ACT ONE EVERYONE !! HOW ARE WE ALL FEELING?

not good? ME TOO

i'm also shocked because we are at over 70K now?!!!!!? WHAT

thank you all so much

each comment i get makes me scream with joy - i love you all so much <333