(this is chapter 19 wow)

I ran back to the tree where Lee and Lea died. Purely by instinct. Their blood still covers the ground, and I don't really want to see it. But, instinct. 

I climb the tree, and sit in Lea's old hammock. I curl into a ball and sob. 

I killed Aegis. I killed Aegis. 

How many people have I killed now?

There was Adair. Then Rylie. Now Aegis, and Byte. 

Plus Victor, Lee and Lea's deaths are practically my fault too. 

It's all my fault. Everyone who ever cared about me or I ever cared about is dead. 

Dead dead dead dead dead.

I watch the sun rise. It seems wrong that the sunrise is so beautiful when innocent children just died. 

This whole thing is messed up. These capitol people kill innocent children, traumatize innocent children, make them go insane. They ruin families' lives. And then they make it a celebration. Make everyone watch it. 

I don't see how anyone could be so despicable. That's just plain evil, really. 

A cannon goes off, shaking me from my daze. I wonder who it was. There seems to be a lot of cannons recently. 

Oh well. It was definitely one of the careers, and I need them out of my way anyways. But assuming it was Lymit, the only people left are... me, Gleam and Oceania. 

Which I'm not excited about. Those two are the strongest tributes in the whole arena. They'll kill me in a heartbeat. 

Maybe if I wait long enough, they'll kill each other off. 

I wait on my branch the whole next day. When the anthem takes over the sky, it shows Aegis's face, then Byte's and Amber's. Then Lymit, and the sky goes dark. 

So it really is just me, Oceania and Gleam. 

Wow, the odds are really not in my favor right now. 

I let myself fall asleep, and again I'm immediately pulled into a dream. 

I'm standing in the forest, at the same tree I fell asleep in. Lee and Lea's dead bodies lie next to me, along with Adair's, Victor's, Aegis' Rylie's, and Byte's. 

I try not to look at the corpses as I begin to climb the tree. If I can get up high I can escape the terror. Escape the guilt. 

"You killed them..." 

The whisper that swoops through the trees makes me shiver. 

No. I didn't kill them. Not all of them. Other people killed them. Not me. 

Adair's corpse rises into the air, levitating. I trip on my branch and fall to the ground. White mist surrounds me. 

"You killed me. I was trying to be friendly." His mouth opens and he speaks, though the words don't seem to be his own. 

Victor rises next to him. 

"You could've stopped my murder. You didn't even take revenge." I take a step back, but my back hits the tree. Panic rises in my chest. 

Lee and Lea rise together, their broken bodies floating as if underwater. They speak simultaneously, a lot creepier than the others, which is saying something.

"You could have warned me. You could have stopped me." I look away. 

Rylie's next. 

"You set the trap. I was innocent. I was only thirteen. You killed me." 

Byte rises. 

"I was insane. You could've helped me. You chose death. You chose murder."

Aegis levitates up to join the others. I try not to look. It was hard with the people I didn't know at all. With Aegis...

"I loved you. You murdered me. You didn't even watch me die."

They all speak together, joining hands as if preparing for a ritual to kill me and take revenge. 

"We were innocent. You killed us. You are a murderer."

The faint voice echoes off the trees. I try to wipe the expression of horror off my face as I close my eyes and brace myself. 

My eyes shoot open at the sound of a cannon. My hammock is swaying dangerously, but I don't fall out. 

Someone's dead. Either Gleam or Oceania. They're both formidable opponents, and I can't imagine what sort of fight it would've taken for one of them to die. 

I see a hovercraft rising up into the air, a few hundred feet from me. It's pretty far, but still much too close.

I take a few minutes to gather up my things. Maybe I'll stage an ambush on the remaining tribute, drop an ax on their head like I did with Rylie. 

It's hard to imagine that I'm that close to home right now. Only one tribute left. 

I can imagine that if I had supportive parents, they would be at home cheering for me.

There's a rustling below my tree, and I freeze. 

I slowly look down to see the other tribute. Oceania.