Chapter 20~The Final Match

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The day of dread dawned with a grey gloomy mood as if even the Gamekeepers could sense our grief, although, that was clearly impossible. I jumped down from the tree and shook Jake awake. We counted our supplies, Jake's pack filled with camping necessities, Jake's sword, and my few knives, then caught a bunny for breakfast before setting off to find Brian. 

"Let me just say, even though there is two of us, it gives us no advantage. That night when I ran away, he nearly dislocated my shoulder just from grabbing me. Brian is a very strong fighter, it's going to take both of our power to fight him" Jake lectured as we hiked through the hills looking for Brian. 

"And then what," I asked, staring at him. "Say we do kill Brian, what do we do". Jake looked away as if the future could be avoided. But it couldn't, for every second passing was closer to one of us dying. One of us had to die. 

For the next hours, we continued plowing through the snow. By the time we got to the cornucopia, it was already half past noon. Standing there on the other side of the arena was Jake smirking as he saw us walk through the trees.

"Picked up your girlfriend brother? What took you to so long" Brian drawled, his voice a slurry sound and nothing but provoking. Jake's fists curled and standing beside him I could hear the sound of his teeth grinding against each other. 

"It's okay Jake, just calm down. We need to deal with this situation calmly" I whispered as best as I could giving him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, even though I was on the edge of running across the field and strangling Brian to death. He and Rebecca were so similar, they might as well have been the ones who were twins. 

I turned my full attention to Brian and narrowed my eyes. "Can't believe the rebels were blind enough to sponsor a jerk like you" I snarled, my voice filled with burning hatred. 

"Whatever" Brian said with an eye roll, let's get this stupid killing match on so I can win the games and dispose of your worthless bodies in the trash can".

"You won't win the games, but you did win the worst brother award, so congrats" I shot back, grinning as I saw his evil smirk falter for a second. Brian growled and jumped off the rock ledge he was sitting on and walked towards us. He stopped at the center of the cornucopia waiting for us to confront him. I stepped forward but Jake held out his arm blocking me.

"Wait here, I'll go first," Jake said firmly and stepped forward. I understood how important this must be for him. He must've really wanted to single handly kill Brian, this was his fight. 

"Always the gentleman" Brian taunted. He definitely changed from the last time I saw him, the games must've made Brian even more psycho than he was before. His eyes had a hollow effect to them and his cheeks were sunken in. Something was definitely wrong with him.

The brothers stood face to face before Jake attacked which Brian swiftly parried back. For a while all I could hear was the clashing of swords, then the first injury happened. Jake had cut Brian deeply on the waist causing him to gasp out in pain. Brian growled and thrust his blade, cutting through Jake's shoulder. I shrieked and quickly ran to help. I elbowed Brian hard in the face, most likely breaking his nose. Brian howled in agony before jumping at me with his sword, an attack that I barely managed to dodge. I swiped at him with my knives and cut off a lock of hair, but nothing to actually hurt him. Brian lunged at Jake but switched directions halfway towards me, taking me by surprise. 

"No!" Jake yelled jumping in front of me. Brian's sword slammed hard into his head sending him flying across the ground and slamming into the cornucopia, collapsing to the floor. A cannon fired. I screamed and stared at Brian who's eyes were filled with shock. I ran up to him and shoved my knife so far up his stomach he didn't even get two seconds to live before he crumpled to the ground, very dead. Another cannon fired. I didn't even notice that I was the victor of the Capitol Games. I ran beside Jake's body checking for a pulse. There was none.

I cried and cried until a hovercraft appeared out of the sky to collect me and the final match champions. An anchor came down and speared Brian hauling him up to the sky, but I insisted on carrying Jake up with me on the ladder. I placed my hand firmly on the rope which froze me in place as it lifted me and Jake up into the sky and into the hovercraft. I cried as guards pried Jake's dead body from my grip. I wasn't ready to lose my last friend yet. A few doctors tried to get me to follow them but I just stood there, finally one of them knocked me out with some kind of sleeping potion in a syringe.

Maybe it's better this way, to feel nothing. To see nothing. To be nothing. 

There was nothing more than I wanted to do right now than die. Something that struck me funny since I had been fighting to stay alive for the past weeks. 

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