CHAPTER SEVEN
the end is nigh

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          ┊͙✧˖*°࿐ A HOWLING WIND AWAKENS IVY from her slumber, and she lets out a scream when she realises what is going on. It's dark outside, and the wind is blowing furiously, snow crashing down onto the mountain. She can feel the ground shake slightly beneath her, and for a second, she thinks she is going to die. She doesn't take long to linger on this thought. Ditching her backpack, she takes only a dagger as she hurries out of the cave. Her breath is quick as she manoeuvres herself down the mountain, trying to go as quickly as she can. She lets out a scream as the wind blows at her harshly, struggling to keep her grip. It doesn't take long for the wind to blow again, causing her to lose her grip completely and feel herself slip out of control.

She falls slightly, rolling down the mountain with a pained yelp. When she makes it downhill, she doesn't take long before rising to her feet and sprinting through the forest. She tries to cover her head with her arms she she runs through the vast woods, the snow beating down on her and the wind causing her to trip over her feet a couple times. She gets to her feet again, determined to make it out of the storm. She should've expected this — they're down to the Final Three now. The Gamemakers need a finale to this year's games. They are making bloodsport from her death.

Ivy continues to run, desperate to survive, desperate to make it out of the relentless snowstorm that pours down on her. She makes it to the middle of the Arena soon, where the snow has eased, but only slightly. She is alone, and she turns around fully to make sure of that. When she hears a scream that must belong to Reva, the girl from District Two, her breathing stops for a moment before she finds a tree and scales it. The wind does not falter, harshly shaking the tree she climbs. She stops halfway, holding onto it desperately, before continuing to the relative safety of the upper branches.

It's hard to see much from the Arena, with the darkness that encapsulates the demented snow globe of a battlefield, and the persistent raging of the storm, but from a distance, Ivy sees someone, whom she assumes to be Reva, with her small frame running hurriedly, getting knocked over a few times by the wind. Ivy clings onto the tree in fear. Is the girl coming for Ivy? Can she even see Ivy? Ivy watches the girl intently for a moment, and realises that the girl is running from someone.

Morgan, the boy from District Four, emerges out of the forest, headed for the girl. Ivy feels her hands shake, and she tries her best to resist the icy wind as she watches Morgan reach Reva, who has fallen down in the snow. She cannot see much but two blurred figures, but she makes out Morgan pinning the smaller girl to the ground, holding her wrists down. The girl lets out a piercing scream that's louder than the howl of the wind, and Ivy realises this is it for her. Reva will die, and it will be her next.

Reva doesn't go down without a fight, however, and she manages to grapple with Morgan and knee him in the groin. Reva manages to free herself from his grip, getting up to run, but Morgan grabs her arm and pulls her down to the ground, Reva letting out a small yelp as she hits the ground with a thud. She manages to land another kick as she falls, pulling her arm free and rolling away from him with all of her might. She struggles to get up to her feet, trying to press herself up with her hands, but Morgan gets a solid grip on her ankles and pulls her back, despite Reva's scream and her fingers digging desperately into the snow. Reva lets out another scream as Morgan lands a solid punch at her face, and blood spews onto the white snow. Ivy cannot run, or do anything, but simply await her turn to die. Her grip fastens onto her dagger, her only chance of surviving left.

The wind blows fiercely again, and then Reva dies. Morgan fastens his grip on the small girl's neck, and Ivy lets out a hushed whimper as she hears the wicked crack of Morgan snapping her neck with a swift movement of his hands. A cannon goes off. Ivy will be the last one to die in this Arena. She says her goodbyes in her mind — Mom, Dad, Marigold.

Ivy watches in terror as Morgan stands, his hands bloodied, over Reva's corpse. The wind blows him back slightly, and he nearly stumbles. He surveys the landscape with his eyes, until they lock with Ivy's. Ivy's stomach churns as he smiles sinisterly, and runs to her tree, yelling, "I'm coming for you, Nine!"

Morgan stops when he reaches the tree. The wind blows him back and rattles the tree to which Ivy clings. She lets out a yelp as the tree next to her falls over, landing with a loud thud. Morgan begins shaking the tree Ivy is in violently, hoping to dislodge her from it. Ivy jumps out of the tree skillfully, and in a hurried motion, brings her dagger up to stab Morgan. Instead of finding Morgan's back, Ivy's dagger pierces his side, and he lets out a strangled cry as she pulls it out quickly. He goes to punch her, but Ivy dodges it, swiftly turning and putting some distance between them, hopping over the fallen tree.

With Morgan's movements slowed, Ivy's eyes catch a large branch lying in the snow, and in a hasty motion she picks it up and swings her makeshift weapon into the head of her pursuer, connecting with a resounding impact against the side of his head. Morgan stumbles, his face almost blank, as he falls onto his stomach in the snow.

Ivy wastes no time, her breath quickened and her body filled with adrenaline. She closes the gap between the two, and plunges the dagger deep between his shoulder blades. Morgan lets out a guttural cry, and Ivy screams as she removes the dagger before a final twist, watching Morgan's body convulse. He tries to fight back, but quickly he gives up, lying in the snow as the life drains out of him. She wishes he could die quicker than this, and lets out a sob as she watches his body twitch in pain. She drops to her knees, next to the boy, whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." At some point, she feels herself collapse into the snow. She does not know how long it takes Morgan's cannon to go off, but when it does, she covers her ears and lets out a hollow scream. The cold is biting at her, the snow beating down on her, and she brings the hood over her head, her body shaking in the cold. Are they leaving her here to die, too? She watches the snow fall, watches the darkness of the Arena, and the stars in the distance.

And that's when it dawns on her. She is the last living tribute. She is unsure how long it is before a hovercraft comes, taking Morgan and Reva's bodies away into the air. She isn't able to watch. She just cries, a loud sob echoing through the Arena. She is the last one left, the only person in this hellhole.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice booms over the Arena, "may I present the winner of the 68th Annual Hunger Games, Ivy Bates!"

The rest of it is like a blur. As if by magic, the snow stops, and Ivy's left with the deafening sounds of her own breath. She watches as a hovercraft appears, floating down near to the ground. Ivy cannot move. She is paralysed by fear, fatigue, hunger. Guilt. She's not sure which. The hovercraft moves until it is hovering over her, lowering down a large metal claw that scoops around her and lifts her into the air. Her dagger falls into the snow, glistening in the moonlight and leaving blood on the beautiful snow. She catches a final glimpse of the mountains as the claw ascends, and then she is in the hovercraft. She has forgotten what it feels like to be warm. She is still shaking from the cold, and she lets out a small scream as she watches four people approach her.

They do not speak a word to her, ignore her as she screams. The four men, all dressed in white, lift her onto a small bed in the hovercraft, with stiff bed sheets that smell like disinfectant. She screams again, screams relentlessly, until one sticks a needle into her arm and she feels herself lose all of her energy.

The last face she sees are the men staring down at her.

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THE FACE SHE AWAKENS TO is more welcoming. The first thing she notices is the roof, the perfectly smooth, white roof with blinding lights that hovers over here. She is in a gown, a hospital gown, in a small room reminiscent of that of a hospital. She then notices the woman, with the brown mousy hair, who holds her hand tightly even in her sleep. She is sitting in a chair close to the bed, resting only her head on the edge of the bed.

"Sylva?" Ivy croaks out, her voice strained and hoarse. Her mentor awakens immediately, rushing to her side. She sits on the edge of the bed, brushing Ivy's blonde hair out of her face with her other hand. "Where are we?"

"The Training Centre, sweetheart," Sylva says, a tear forming in her eye. Ivy watches her almost apathetically, her body numb and reeling from the effects of the sedative. "You did it, you're okay."

"I killed somebody," Ivy says. She means it with more emotion, more guilt, but it comes out sounding as if a robot had said it.

"It's okay," Sylva says, squeezing her hands. "It's okay. Do you want more sedative?"

"No," Ivy says at once. Her head is spinning, her body fatigued. "Do I get to go home now?"

"Yes, honey," Sylva says. "Thorne and I are so proud of you. We're so proud of you. And your family is going to be so happy to see you, sweetheart, and you'll get to see them soon."

Sylva continues to talk. Ivy stares at her blankly, not really looking at her at all. She has survived, she'll see her family again. She'll go home a murderer. She feels tears fall from the sides of her eyes onto the uncomfortable white pillow as she stares up at the ceiling again. She swears, she cannot breathe for a second, she cannot hear anything Sylva says. Sylva keeps talking, until Ivy lets out a choked sobbing noise and her body shakes. She feels a sharp, stabbing pain in her right arm where a doctor gives her more sedatives.

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author's note !
hello i am so sorry this update is a day later but omg folks!! it's the end of the games omg... i feel so bad for my poor bby ivy y'all have no idea what's coming next lol 😍

anyways, i'm so sorry that this chapter was shorter than usual!! action scenes aren't really my forte but i tried my best :) if you enjoyed this chapter please consider living a vote, and let me know in a comment what you thought!

question of the day (because i can): who was your favourite tribute other than ivy?
(i think i'll have to go agatha even though she literally had two seconds of screen time)