Dahlia knows this will be her toughest challenge yet. Ryker was always the most formidable of the Careers, the one who'd be most difficult to take down in a fight. He was the biggest, the strongest, the most bloodthirsty. Dahlia had never felt smaller than when she was trapped by his murderous gaze. He was not going down easily and she would come out with much more than a cut on her cheek.
As the two begin to circle each other like snarling animals, the water below their feet begins to speed up. The gentle trickle had suddenly turned into rapids. Like someone had opened the flood gates, a wave of water shot down the tunnel towards Ryker and Dahlia. The huge surge swept the girl off her feet and carried her along with it.
"Dahlia!" The girl briefly heard Cove cry out before she was submerged under the water. She was gripping onto her sword for dear life as the wave sent her tumbling into Ryker. The boy had been unprepared for the sheer force of the water and let his weapon get dragged along by the current. As Dahlia knocks into Ryker, she is able to aim her sword so that it plunges into the final Career. She continues to be swept along by the water, faintly hearing the boom of the cannon as Ryker's life is taken.
Dahlia doesn't try to fight the tide, choosing to conserve the energy she has left. The water carries her through the tunnels before spitting her out back where she started the Games. The Cornucopia was now completely submerged underwater and every other tunnel in the arena appeared to have been flushed out. Another cannon goes off, making the girl struggle her way to the surface. Dahlia gulps for air as she manages to break through, glancing around in alarm. The girl from Eight, Jean, and the boy from Eleven, Bracken, are the only two surviving tributes still fighting to escape the water.
Bracken flounders around uselessly in a blind panic. His flustered state causes him to sink below the water level multiple times, inhaling more water than air into his lungs. Eventually, a large wave of water engulfs him entirely. He doesn't re-emerge and another cannon indicates his unfortunate fate.
That leaves Jean and Dahlia to try and keep themselves afloat. Huge waves crash around them, knocking the tributes from side to side. This becomes even more treacherous as they are thrown close to the stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. Dahlia just manages to avoid being impaled by one as she is flung around by the tide. How the hell is she supposed to get out of this?
Then Dahlia remembers back to the time she and Cove eavesdropped on the Careers' conversation. They were only able to do that because there was a hatch situated directly above the Cornucopia. Fighting to keep her head above the water, Dahlia's disorientated eyes search desperately for her escape. Upon spotting the crack in the rocky ceiling, she pushes through her agonising fatigue and scrambles desperately to get to it. The water churns and pulls her further away but Dahlia is more determined. She's made it this far, nothing else can stand in her way.
A stalactite protruding from the roof provides her a moment of respite as she manages to grab hold of it, keeping herself in place and ensuring the waves can't sweep her away. As she starts shoving at the hatch, the rock begins to give way and reveal a small sliver of daylight. A tiny sliver of hope. But then Jean appears, grasping onto Dahlia's shoulders and dragging her down. The hatch shuts as the two girls are plunged back into the water.
A scuffle ensues under the waves. Jean tries to use Dahlia to keep herself afloat, forcing the girl's head down in the process. Dahlia pushes Jean away, paddling to the surface and taking a huge breath. Jean still clutches onto the girl's leg, weighing Dahlia down and making it more difficult for her to reach the exit. Dahlia has no choice but to cut the burden away. Stretching her arm out, she manages to snap off the end of a stalactite with a particularly sharp point. Then, just like she had done to Ryker moments earlier, she sinks the spike deep into Jean's body.
The girl stops struggling, staring up at Dahlia with wide fearful eyes. For the first time, Dahlia feels sickened by what she has done. An innocent girl, barely older than herself, who just wanted to go home. The end was so close, she'd survived so long. And Dahlia had destroyed her hopes at the last hurdle. It had been easier for Dahlia to get over the guilt of killing the Careers, but at the end of the day, they were all just kids. Every single one of them. Trying to survive by any means possible. It's only when they're pushed to their limit that you get to see who people truly are. And Dahlia has just discovered that she doesn't really know herself at all.
Jean's body falls away limply, her face forever frozen in horror. She sinks down into the water, being jostled around by the will of the waves. Her loss is acknowledged by the boom of the cannon but she fades into obscurity. Out of Dahlia's sight, but forever etched in her mind.
Pushing her gut-wrenching remorse to one side for now, Dahlia shoots back up to the surface with a gasp. Her priority is getting out of this cave. If she doesn't, all of the killing, all of the suffering will have been for nothing. With gritted teeth and a headstrong persistence, she battles whatever the waves throw at her. She fights against the will of the Capitol. She refuses to give them the satisfaction of her defeat. The only thing standing between her and freedom was the stubborn hatch which was reluctant to move.
"Come on!" Dahlia cries out loudly in frustration, pushing against the rock which refuses to budge more than a few inches. The cave was almost at full capacity, Dahlia now having to tilt her head to the roof for breathable air. She only has one chance left for her escape. "Please." She begs whoever is watching over her from above desperately.
With one final intake of breath, the cave becomes fully flooded and Dahlia shoves her body against the hatch in her last hopeless attempt. Her scarred hands hit the rock in despair as her tears are washed away by the unforgiving waves. All seems lost for her. Everything she did to survive was in vain. Every kill was now meaningless. Dahlia wonders if this was her punishment. Are the tributes she killed taunting her from their watery grave? Are they relishing this moment? Enjoying every second of her suffering? Maybe this is what she deserves.
As her eyes shut and her body gives in, Dahlia swears she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A panicked voice calls out her name and her arms are grabbed harshly. This is not what she expected dying to feel like.
"Dahlia!"
Her eyes snap open suddenly as her body convulses. The water is spat from her mouth onto the rocky ground next to her as she rolls pathetically to the side. A comforting hand rubs her back and words of encouragement fill her ringing ears.
"Am I dead?" Dahlia asks gruffly, her throat clenching painfully as if she had swallowed gravel.
A familiar laugh echoes out, sounding like music to her ears. "Afraid not, Lia." Cove replies soothingly as Dahlia flops ungracefully onto her back. Blonde hair surrounds the girl's head like a halo as the sun shines down upon the pair. Dahlia has never been more grateful to see her friend. "But you gave it a good go." Dahlia weakly pushes her body upright but Cove launches forward to hug her tightly before she can fully recover. "You had me worried there." She whispers into the younger girl's ear. "The cannons kept going off and I didn't know what was happening. It was torture."
"I killed Ryker." Dahlia reveals, pulling back from the warm embrace. "And Jean." Cove nods in understanding, smoothing Dahlia's wet hair out of her eyes. "Bracken drowned in the waves and I'm assuming the other tribute was killed by the flood."
"That means there's three tributes left." Cove points out, offering her hand to help Dahlia to her feet. "Us and someone else."
"Who is it?" Dahlia questions with furrowed brows as Cove ensures she is steady on her feet. It was hard to keep track of all the tributes, especially those from the outlying districts.
Cove shrugs and responds, "I don't know." Then she sighs sadly as she knows they're close to the Game's finale. "But this is where we say goodbye." Dahlia looks up in shock and distress. They have to split up now and hope they aren't the last two alive. The two had become so close, like sisters. If either was forced to kill the other, it would be like murdering a family member.
"I guess so." Dahlia nods reluctantly. All her weapons were now lost to the caves. She had nothing left but a battered water canister in a soaked backpack. And now she was losing her ally. No... She was losing her friend. This would be the last time they saw each other. This was the moment she'd been dreading all along. The moment her family became her enemy. "One last hug."
Cove smiled weakly, opening her arms wide. Dahlia rushes in without hesitation, feeling like a little girl bidding farewell to her older sister. The pair rock side to side, savouring their precious time together. Touching scenes for all those watching at home. A rare display of compassion in the Games. They pull back, Cove's hands lingering on the girl's shoulder as her eyes scan every inch of Dahlia's face.
"Don't forget me, Lia." Cove murmurs with a forced smile.
Dahlia shakes her head quickly and mutters, "Never."
With a melancholy sigh, Cove begins to say her last goodbye, "Lia--"
She's cut off by her own gasp, her entire body stiffening up in Dahlia's hands. "Cove?" Dahlia mumbles in confusion as the blonde's mouth opens and closes with no sound escaping. "Cove, what--" The cause of the girl's interruption becomes apparent as Dahlia glances down. The head of a spear, Cove's spear, juts out of her stomach proudly. It had skewered her body from behind, entering her back and piercing all the way through. "No... No!" Dahlia cries out, tears falling uncontrollably as she cradles Cove's body. With shaking hands, Dahlia tears the spear out of her friend and protects Cove as she gently lowers to the ground.