13

STRUCK

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"Evelyn?" Katniss whispered to the girl as she shook her unconscious body, her eyes growing anxious at the wound that oozed blood. "Evelyn?"

Evelyn groaned as Katniss pushed the hair from her eyes so she could see. She took a few deep breaths before her hand clamped around the sword and she jumped to her feet, the blade pointing at Katniss fearfully, "What happened?"

"Johanna she attacked me and left me to die! I came back here to find Peeta but he and Finnick are missing, but I found you on the floor with your head bleeding," Katniss breathed out with her hands up, showing she was not a threat to the District 11 girl.

"Where's Beetee?" Evelyn asked just as an electronic explosion sounded behind her, making the two girls run to see the District 3 tribute on the ground shaking fearfully with smoke emitting off his body.

Evelyn put her fingers to his neck to try and feel for a pulse, finding that it was erratic and way too fast for his body. The skin itself was hot and singed her fingers. Eve heard Katniss turn behind her and pick something from the dead leaves on the floor, her eyes widening at the sight of a wooden spear that Beatie had made. The spear was covered in the same wire that they had walked through the forest, it too was smoking. At the tip of the weapon was a blade; one of the blades from her thigh that she had not noticed was missing.

A cannon sounded around them, making both the girls alert.

They had no idea who had just died, it could have been anyone. Katniss hoped it wasn't Peeta, but Evelyn hoped it wasn't Finnick.

The girls shared a look before they stood up and screamed for their loved ones, hoping for a reply. "Finnick!" Evelyn screamed, tears almost threatening to fall.

She ducked behind a tree as both girls heard the bushes rustling and footsteps getting closer to them, her hand tightened around the weapon and she held it close to her chest. Katniss, on the other hand, notched an arrow in her bow and was ready to shoot.

"Katniss! Evelyn! Where are you?" Finnick screamed, making Evelyn's eyes go wide. She felt her feet begin to move, wanting nothing more than to run into his arms. But Katniss had other ideas. Evelyn stopped moving as the tip of an arrow was aimed her way. 

She had no idea what was going on; at one minute she was working with Katniss and the next Katniss had aimed an arrow at her chest. Maybe the District 12 tributes knew the games from than she thought. "Katniss," Finnick's voice was soft, making the bow snap to him so it was no longer aimed at Evelyn. Evelyn finally took those dreaded steps out from behind her tree. "Remember who the real enemy is."

Katniss lowered the weapon just as the thunder started to rumble in the sky, Evelyn wanted nothing more than to run to Finnick and for it all to be over. But there was only one thing she could do now. Let Katniss win, she had promised it to Haymitch. She needed Aeliana to be safe, it was all she needed.

They all looked up to see the grey clouds swirling directly above them, the storm was brewing and the lightning was about to strike at any second. Evelyn looked to Finnick one more time, she was scared to die. She really was. And it was about time to admit it.

"Get away from that tree!" he screamed at the two girls. Katniss only jumped into action by wrapping the remained of the coil around the tip of her arrow and aiming at the sky, Evelyn jumped forward to stop her and received an elbow to the face, "Eve! Get away from the tree!"

"Katniss! You'll kill us all-"

The lightning struck.

It was a quick strike of pure white and blue electricity that directly hit the tree, yet that wasn't all. Katniss let a scream leave her lip just as she fired the arrow upwards to the dome of the arena. The electricity from the tree sent all three tributes flying backwards, Evelyn hitting her back harshly on a tree and bouncing off with a crack. A lifeless crack that echoed on the televisions at home before the broadcast ended.

It was all black around her before she ripped her eyes open to look up at the sky, it was the only place she could look due to her inability to move. She exhaled loudly, it was painful to breathe. But it was peaceful. The arena ripped open above them to allow light to shine through. It was sunlight. It reminded her of the finale of her own games seven years ago just as her eyes slowly shut once more, the darkness taking over once more.

Aeliana. That's what those rays of sunlight were. They shared the same warmth as her daughter.

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Nancy successfully had killed the boy from District 1, Evelyn didn't even know his name. Neither did she. If she survived, she knew that his name would become scarred into her memories and nightmares. Her spear had hit him right in the head, sending him back into a tree for his final moments before she collected her weapon from the body, a familiar boom sounding above them.

"We did it," Evelyn breathed out, her throat still straining from the strangulation, "I think there is one more tribute out there before it's over."

The naive girl from District 11 still refused to think about killing her only friend in the arena. Nancy had been there for her at her lowest and saved her multiple times throughout their small friendship. But there was only one victor, and the sooner Evelyn realised that the better.

"You're right, it is over," Nancy muttered under her breath before aiming her spear from Evelyn's unsuspecting frame, gliding through the frozen air and barely missing the girl. Evelyn managed to dodge just in time and escape the path of the spear with just a slash to her arm, she turned suddenly to face Nancy as she sprinted through the frozen tundra to attack Evelyn.

"Nancy! What are you-" Evelyn raised her sword as a dagger was thrown at her, yet she still managed to fall to the ground before getting killed.

"It's just us, Miracle," she tormented before lunging at Evelyn forcefully, "And only one of us get to leave this arena still breathing!"

Evelyn screamed for help, despite knowing it was just her and Nancy left. The two old allies struggled around on the frozen grass that crunched below them and then rolled dramatically down a small hill. They screamed at each other with pure hatred. Evelyn weakly tightened her fingers around a jagged rock, bringing it down on Nancy's skull. A thud haunted her ears. 

Evelyn stood, leaving the unconscious tribute laying on the snow as she climbed the small hill. Her eyes immediately found the glimmer of her sword. She didn't have the energy, or the will, to end Nancy's life with her own hands. She hadn't gone that far. She hadn't lost herself completely.

Evelyn turned around with the hilt of her sword now in her palm, looking for Nancy's body that she had left on the grass. A cold sensation of metal touched her throat. The blade resting on her artery. 

"I want you to look at the camera," she pushed Evelyn to the direction of a not-so-obvious camera that attempted to hide in the bark of the tree, "And say your last words to the Capitol, and every single District out there. They all need to know that I, Nancy Wool, am the victor of the 68th Hunger Games."

Evelyn, and everyone else, could hear the pure glee and psychotic tone that dripped from her lips. Evelyn could hear his grin. This had to be one of the most dramatic endings to the Hunger Games in years, two victors brawling it out after a huge betrayal. All cameras on them.

"Now!" Nancy pulled Evelyn's hair back so the cameras could see the sweat and blood that dripped down her head. The blade cut through the skin on her neck as a trickle of blood fell down her chest. Not even the blood felt warm anymore. Evelyn could even taste the blood in her mouth, most likely from a split lip. The horrid metallic taste slid over her tongue. She would die with bitterness, betrayal and blood on her tongue. 

But if she thought hard enough, the blood tasted like home. She could smell her mother's bread that had the neighbours waiting at the door. She could hear her brothers bickering in the room over. She could hear, feel and taste home. 

And that's what she needed.

Home.

The District 11 tribute whimpered before shutting her eyes, bringing her sword up and aiming at her torso before thrusting it inwards. Nancy was a vile girl who also had a hunger to return home. Her hunger made her weak; it made her irrational and made her place her body just right to protect each of Evelyn's vital organs as the blade ripped through her body. She felt the blade rip through the skin on her back and heard as Nancy choked on a scream; blood already filling her mouth and the grip on her own knife weaken.

Evelyn felt the dagger fall from Nancy's hand as she whimpered, she pulled the sword from their bodies and turned to see the look on her face, "You did this!" She screamed as she raised the sword upwards and slit her throat, Nancy Wool fell to her knees. Her shaky hands grasped at her neck before falling face-first into the white, pure snow below them. The ice stained a blood red and dyed Nancy's blonde hair. The blonde hair that Evelyn had told her reminded her of her friend from District 11. 

Evelyn felt her own knees buckle beneath her weight. She took a step back to stop herself from falling besides her victim. Her hands came to her abdomen; blood slipping through her frozen fingers.

The boom of the cannon sounded one last time.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the victor of the 68th Hunger Games. Evelyn Miracle, District 11," the voice echoed through the arena and on every screen in the Districts. 

She whimpered before feeling the wind rattle the trees around her, she raised a bloody hand to shield her eyes from the evening sun to look up at the helicarrier that descended into the frozen tundra just as a weak Victor fell unconscious into the snow.

The last thing she saw were the rays of sun filtering through the pine trees. She felt it too. That warmth reminded her of home the most. Reminded her that she was going home.

Shock and confusion filling the nation.

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Finnick looked down at Evelyn as he stroked her hair. They had been on the helicarrier for just under an hour and he had just finished bandaging her, Katniss and Beetee up. He was also still recovering from being thrown backward from the force of the lightning, but he hadn't been as close as she was. He had no idea if she would even wake up at this point, she had made harsh contact with the tree and wounded her back. He would never forget the sound of the crack of her spine as long as he lived.

Every time the door opened and closed he heard the crack. Finnick heard that crack as the golden ring fell to the floor of the helicarrier. He heard it as Haymitch cleared his throat, too. He gestured for him to follow him into the other room to talk, and he did. He left a quick kiss on her cheek before following behind him to talk.

"We need to talk," Haymitch said with a nod from Plutarch Heavensbee, he grew more concerned by the second. "When we arrive in District 13, you need to talk to Evelyn. It will be better coming from you and not from us."

"What is it?" he interrupted fearfully.

"Evelyn's family, they didn't make it," Plutarch muttered quietly, it was so quiet that Finnick nearly didn't pick up on it. He hoped he had heard it wrong.

His mouth opened but Haymitch silenced him with a wave of the hand, "Your daughter is safe, so is her brother, Jaime. But when we went back into the house, the Peacekeepers were already there. If the rebels didn't leave then, they would have all been dead. Not even a minute later and the house was hit by a bomb. No survivors."

He rubbed his face and kept his hand over his mouth, "Aeliana is safe? Do you swear by it?"

The two other men nodded and Finnick sighed slowly, "She isn't going to like it, she might not even cooperate with what you want her to. What do you even want her to do? Has she not given enough?"

Plutarch put his hands on the desk in front of them, "Katniss is the Mockingjay, she always will be. But she doesn't have what Evelyn does. Years of stories and secrets and information that will put Snow under and bring the Districts behind us. You have it too. But I've heard the rumours of what she has. Snow heard them too. Why do you think she was reaped? He needs her gone. He's tying up the loose ends; one Miracle at a time."

"So you want to put a target on her only brother that is alive? A target on my daughter?"

Plutarch sighed, "They will be safe in 13, Snow can't get to them."

He limped to Plutarch and got in his face, "For my daughter's sake and the safety of your life, you better hope he can't. Because if it doesn't work, I won't be one to hold Evelyn back."

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the end of part one! just the epilogue left