Sara turned to face the incoming tributes, ready to make her final stand. Ready to win.

 Nick reached her first, surprisingly, but Sara saw his alliance partner Emma hanging back in the water. He came back sopping wet, kicking water as he ran. It had reached ankle level now and was still rising. The valley they were in felt smaller somehow, as if the earth on the sides were pressing in while the water continued to pour.

 Sara wasted no time. She had stored her daggers securely in her belt loops and decided to leave them there until she needed it. The only thing that was in her hand right now was the umbrella. Sara gripped the handle as Nick approached and once he was in range she swung out with all her might. His head connected with the plastic covered metal like a baseball hitting a bat and the loud Thwack echoed through her ears. Sara privately thanked the hours her uncle had spent forcing her weight training as her arms absorbed the impact of the hit. The strength surprised even Sara as Nick fell into the mud.

 The umbrella had a dull metal point but it would still be useful in piercing. Sara jumped and landed hard next to the District 7 boy. He was feebly stirring as his head spun, the recent exertion making him weaker than he could have been. Sara stomped down on the boy’s shin bone gritting her teeth in order to build force. He yelped in pain and sat upright. Sara brought her right fist up heavily, her upper cut landing under his chin. Nick’s head snapped back and he was forced to spit a bloody mass.

 Nick struggled to his feet cracking his neck from side to side. He was favoring his right foot now and Sara gave him a confident smirk. Nick raised the trident but it was clear the boy had been shaken and the weapon was too unfamiliar in his hands. Sara’s left hand was now holding her umbrella. It seemed to have proven itself useful as a weapon for now and she didn’t think she needed to switch to her daggers just yet.

 Nick swiped his trident at Sara. She couldn’t help but laugh aloud at the poor boy. “Tridents are meant to be jabbed, District 7,” she snarled out, “Not swiped.” At the word swiped Sara brought up the umbrella and caught the trident’s points in the plastic material as Nick followed her jabbing advice. She twisted his arm down bringing the trident out of his hand. She pulled it from the umbrella and threw it towards the water letting it carry it south, away from where the tributes were standing.

Nick was weaponless now, and clearly not as resourceful as he needed to be to take on the tribute form District 1. He heaved as his body ached. Running to and from the massive wave had drained him in a way he hadn’t thought possible. He cast out a hopeful eye at his ally Emma but she was preoccupied with fighting the District 8 tribute, District 5 was nowhere in sight. He looked back at Sara his eyes hard.

Nick brought up a clumsy arm to Sara and she grabbed the flying arm and used his own momentum to pull him closer. “Look, it’s like we’re dancing,” she whispered seductively in his ear. Nick growled as he struggled to escape her grasp but she was trained in fighting larger opponents than he and his arm was stuck. “Except most dances probably don’t end like this,” Sara hissed through clenched teeth as she brought her knee up in a high kick making direct contact with his groin.

The boy yelped out in pain as his genitalia was crushed and he dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes. Sara took advantage of his open mouth and with a heaving thrust she pushed the umbrella down his throat, suffocating him. He fell to the floor as the umbrella ripped through his throat lining and down into his vital organs. Sara wiped some of the sweat from her eyes. She grabbed the District 7 boy by his hair ad pulled him back up to his knees. Without missing a beat she put both hands down on the umbrella handle once more and forced the umbrella further. Nick kicked out his arms and legs as his body spasmed but it was too late, nothing could save him now. Sara clicked the button on the handle and the umbrella ballooned outward, the spikes on each arm puncturing through his skin.

 Sara backed away from the dying boy as a shower of blood sprayed out from his ripped open flesh. Nick was still moaning and thrashing as the blood stained the ground. The sight almost made Sara’s stomach turn but her training was too thorough, this wasn’t the first time she had watched someone die after all.

 Sara turned her back and shut out the sound of his gurgling gasps followed by a cannon blast. She ran forward a few steps and jumped back onto the table. About twenty feet north she saw the remaining tributes still fighting. Emma was a Career from District 4 and was clearly giving the boy form 8 a run for his money. And yet Sara saw the staff of Emma’s man catcher protruding from the water. The heavy weapon seemed to be floating upwards of its own volition, puzzling Sara. It was probably better for it since Emma was quicker without it in the water.

“BET YOU WISHED YOU HAD THAT TRIDENT NOW HUH EMMA” Sara called out to the tribute, a laugh bursting from her mouth. Two heads snapped out to see the girl from District 1 standing on the feasting table. She was soaked from head to toe in Nick’s blood. The clothes would be a pain as the water level rose and Sara made the quick decision to strip. Sara ripped the shirt off of her body and decided to tuck in the small package of Trail Mix into her now exposed bra over her heart. She decided against fully removing her pants since they were still useful for storage and instead pulled out one of the daggers to cut away at the pants just below the crotch area. It wasn’t the cleanest splicing job but Sara was sure her stylist would forgive her. “ANYONE ELSE FEEL LIKE A SWIM?”

Staying Afloat

The tributes tuned out Sara as they struggled against the rising water level. Madi and Dylan were floundering around about three yards from herself and five yards from each other. Emma headed toward Dylan, and she swam like she never had before. She had opted for a streamlined fishtail stroke this time. Like a dolphin soaring through the water, her body undulated to propel herself forward with powerful mermaid kicks, only surfacing occasionally to take a long, calming breath before submerging again. She had really honed in on something here, her inner District Four, her inner fish powering through the water. About two yards away from Dylan’s dogpaddle, Emma seized up and disrupted her perfectly formed speed. Underwater, she positioned herself and readied her weapon. She took a moment to relish in the silence of the water and exhale some focused air. She wound back, her entire body forming what looked like an exotic dance move, and burst with power. She dropped her shoulder and the muscles in her arms pumped in this familiar motion. Her other arm swung around for stability as she shot the man catcher, pronged end forward, through the water like an arrow. It moved in a silent perfect arch, headed for Dylan’s neck. In a twist of fate, Dylan jerked suddenly, and the man catcher instead found his upper thigh. Emma could see a burst of bubbles as he cried out under water.

She gained on him quickly, swimming in to finish the job. As she drew closer, through the bloodstained water she could see him desperately trying to wrench the man catcher off his leg, but only to tear more flesh as the steel doors at the end of the weapon refused to budge. Emma grasped the man catcher and pulled downward, submerging both herself and Dylan in the foggy water. Emma had realized the weapon wouldn’t come off by pulling down past the smaller portions of the leg. She had fired well, but his efforts in vain had driven the weapon deeper in his bone. There was only one way she was getting this off him. Like a dog fighting for a toy, she whipped the weapon back and forth furiously, trying to dislodge it.

Dylan took advantage of her frantic state and broke the surface of the water, gasping for air. His powerful lungs from running had served him well. Emma came up again as well. The water was waist high now and still rising. As the tributes burst through the water Emma was finally able to free the man catcher, taking most of Dylan’s leg with it. He cried out in pain as his blood spilled out into the water turning the clear waves red. Emma smiled cruelly as she raised her weapon high and brought it smashing down on the District 8 boy’s head, killing him instantly. A cannon blasted

The look of triumph in her eyes was quickly replaced by a look of shock, however, as she felt a cool blade pierce her throat. She had enough time to turn and make eye contact with her killer before the darkness overcame her. The last thing she saw was the hard gaze of the girl from District 1. “Not so amazing anymore,” Sara whispered as she watched the girl sink below the water’s depths. Another cannon.

Swimming with the Fishes

Sara’s chest heaved as the water lapped at her knees. She was half naked now and covered head to toe in Nick’s blood. Emma and Dylan’s bloated bodies lay floating only ten feet away from her. Sara looked towards the sky but no hovercraft had come yet, they were waiting for the end too.

“Almost over,” Sara said to herself before tilting her head back and shouting out “ALMOST OVER!” Sara scanned the water for Madi but she was nowhere to be seen. “Come on, come on,” Sara said to herself. She wanted this over with already. The longer this was drawn out, the more alone Sara felt with only her thoughts as comfort. Sara swallowed hard, she could feel her confidence waning.

A bobbing motion caught her eyes and Sara focused on it, she saw the District 5 girl floating her way, struggling against the waves. Sara moved quickly towards Emma, splashing water as she went. She grasped the spear by its base and yanked it out of the dead girl’s throat and turned, ready to end these Games once and for all.

Sara dived into the water, glad she had stripped most of her clothes now, and swam quickly towards the girl from 5. She was no ‘evil mermaid’ but Sara felt confident in her training to fight in deeper water. She reached Madi and a few strokes and wasted no time grabbing onto her leg and pulling her under. The girl struggled and kicked away as she found herself below the water’s surface. It was clear to Sara that she was not a strong swimmer but Madi wasn’t giving up.

After landing a vicious kick to the District 1 girl’s chin Madi felt the hold on her leg weaken enough to pull up. She struggled to the surface of the water and took deep, grateful breaths. The water level had risen even higher now. Standing upright the water reached her neck making it impossible to fight. All of the action would happen below the surface and Madi wondered if there were already underwater cameras. She gripped the spear that Dylan had given her before being killed by Emma and turned to her would be attacker, but Sara was nowhere in sight.

A sharp stab in her thigh reminded her that the fight was on. Sara swam around her madly, twisting and turning like some mutation shark her daggers pointed outwards like claws. Madi stood her ground and began jabbing her spear below the surface like a fisherman harpooning his prey. Sara crashed through the water gasping for air and Madi saw a trail of blood following her. She acted quickly and threw the spear, at close range she was able to land a solid hit in Sara’s left shoulder. Sara growled as she pulled the spear from her shoulder and threw it away, hate clear in her eyes.

“What’s a matter,” Madi taunted, “Your boyfriend not here to save you.”

“Could say the same for yours,” Sara said, her voice wasn’t menacing like Madi expected. It was more light hearted, flirtatious even. Madi’s heart clenched painfully at the thought of her friend now floating some feet away. “I could reunite you if you’d like.”

“No, I don’t think I was really his type,” Madi said, keeping her voice as even as possible.

“Oh,” Sara said with a raise of her eyebrows, a knowing look coming into her eyes. “It’s a shame he died, he was quite handsome still.”

“Yes,” Madi said with a strained smile. The two girls were circling each other now as the water level rose. Madi moved closer to the ground but she could feel Sara trying to lure her to the depths. “You partners were very handsome as well. And the resemblance between you and your brother is striking. I think someone said you were twins right? Shame they’re dead now.”

Sara’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, it is a shame. But thankfully their memories will live on, in me.” Sara pulled her arm back and threw the spear in Madi’s direction. Madi dodged to one side but Sara’s plan was never to hit the girl, merely unbalanced her. Madi crashed into the water and slipped below it surface, paddling madly to keep afloat. Sara jumped on top of her and held her down by her throat. Madi’s hands clawed at Sara’s grasp as she opened her mouth to scream. Sara was blowing out bubbles as she held her breath. Not much longer now, Sara thought, she just had to outlast the district 5 girl. She wasn’t used to the water, she would panic.

Sara’s vision blurred as she felt Madi go limp in her hands. She weakened her gasp and let the girl sink down to the floor; far above her Sara heard the muffle sound of a cannon blast. Her body floated upwards and everything went black.

---

Sara blinked against the brilliant light and brought her hand up to rub her eyes. When they had finally adjusted to the light she found herself staring into two large brown eyes, much like her own. “Casey,” she whispered out.

Her twin beamed at her, a genuine smile the kind only Sara got to see. “You did it,” he said proudly. “You won.”

 “Where are we,” Sara asked carefully, his words not sinking in.

“We are at the ‘In Between’ as we in the Beyond call it,” his ground voice echoed around the empty area as he swung his arms out grandly.

Sara’s eyebrows came together as she looked around. “Why am I here?”

Casey shrugged and then smiled. “I don’t know, but I’m glad you are. I never got to say good bye.” He picked up her left hand and slipped off her ring, replacing it with his own matching one. His eyes were filled with pride as he pulled her in for a hug.

“I don’t want to go back,” she mumbled into his chest.

“You have to,” he sighed. “I’ll still be with you always.”

“You’ll stay with me?” Sara asked; her voice filling with hope.

“Until the very end,” Casey whispered as he bent down to kiss her cheek. He was already fading away.