A Crown's Game|✔︎UNDER MAJOR EDITING

-Chapter Fourteen-

Her body slips out of my grip, and falls to the ground. Tears stream down my cheeks. She dead. She has to be. A 14 year old girl could never take an axe to the head and survive.

What am I going to tell Onix now? Losing her in the woods is one thing, but telling her that she's dead is another.

It's my fault. I should have taken her warning.

I kneel down, getting a grip on the axe handle. I take a deep breath, since this will not be easy. I pull the axe as strongly as can. More blood pours out from her head. I shake my hands out, and rip the axe out.

I take a look at the handle, where an engraving has the initials HM. Halo killed her, but i'm not surprised.

I reach for my pocket, where the blue cassidy lies. I hold it out in front of me, observing it.

I turn Cassidy on her back and I place the blue flower on her chest.

"Goodbye, little one." I whisper through the crystaled tears. "Goodbye."

Night has fallen, and Cassidy's profile has not shown yet. Onix is probably wondering where I am, but I think I should stay here until the picture shows. I sit next to her, waiting and waiting.

The anthem of Thecia finally plays, and I stand. Cassidy Brown, from Baez.

I start to run, but I turn to see the face of a girl I used to know, dead, blood everywhere. I wipe the last tear off my face, and keep on running.

As I enter the clearing, Onix comes up to me, demanding to see my bloody hands. She slaps me across the face hard. "What have you done?!" She says through gritted teeth. I have never seen her so angry.

"I-"

"TELL ME!" Onix screams, only to turn to a sad, relaxed face. "Sorry." She says, barely audible. I croak out the word.

"Halo"

I start to sob hystericaly. Tears streaming down my face. Onix slaps me across the face, and walks away. We eat the cake in silence with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Katerina starts a fire, and I roast the rabbit that I hunted. Billi tries to lighten the mood by telling jokes.

Onix stays silent.

I want to cry. I really do. It's my fault she's dead. I shouldn't have let her run down the riverbank, I should've taken her warning.

"So this guy knocks on this girls door, alright? And-" Billi stops. Katerina raises an eyebrow.

"Billi, are you-"

"Look." She points up at the arena sky.

It's not a deep blue anymore, filled with stars. No, it's gray. A toxic gray. Smoke fills the arena.

Then it dawns on me.

The arena is gone.

I try to speak, but I can't. A burning sensation enters my throat. I can't move. It burns, it burns so bad. My skin turns red, and my eyes slowly close. I can feel myself slowing down. My hands slip down from my face.

And then, it stops.

I sit upright, coughing repeatedly. My skin isn't red anymore, and I can breathe!

"What in the name of-"

Two profiles show in the sky.

Hanna Westbrook and Halo Matthews are dead.