wilted flower {end of iris}

^{I touch the fire, and it freezes me
I look into it, and it's black
Why can't I feel?
My skin should crack and peel
I want the fire back}


The darkness around me in the dank caves consumes me as I lash out at the boy from district one, sinking in to my body, my mind, my soul. The heated arena gives me passion, but I guess it's just not enough fuel to keep my body working, and I can feel it begin to shut down. It's slow... slow and painful. I had hoped it would go by quickly, maybe in old age, but I guess I'm just not that lucky.

I can feel the strength leave my body as Justice throws one final attack, and I feel his axe strike my back.

This isn't what I wanted, but I guess the saying is true: Die early or live long enough to see yourself become a monster... then die. No matter what, in the end you always die. When I first entered this abyss my goal was to save Ren, or Travers, or maybe Emmery, but in the blink of an eye they were gone, torn away from me.

^{Now through the smoke she calls to me
To make my way across the flame
To save the day
Or maybe melt away
I guess it's all the same}

An eye for an eye is how it started. Ren's eye being torn out from her before Travers tore out the little girl's eye. Neither of them did anything wrong. I know that know. Through my time alone, I blamed that little girl for all our problems, but I see now what truly happened. She was the first one of us to fiery heat and let it consume her soul.

It continued with my friends striking down the two from eleven in a few strikes. I wasn't sure then if they really were my friends. I had my doubts about the bloodthirsty boygirl from two and the girl from five.

Just a day later, I had no need to worry about Travers any longer. The boy who had just struck me down had struck down my ally as well. Her violent nature no longer cluttered up my thoughts all day, if days even existed down here. I didn't know if it was day or night or some other time the gamemakers invented just for this hell.

^{So I will
Walk through the fire
'Cause where else can I turn?
I will walk through the fire
And let it...}

Emmery, the last person I could hopefully rely on was gone just as fast. Then I struck back at the person who killed my friend.... and that was when the fire enveloped me.

I guess I'll be seeing my friends soon enough. Maybe if they waited for me, I can walk through the fiery depths of hell with them, laughing along with them at the other lost souls who thought that it was bad. We can laugh about how we had to endure something much, much worse than what was happening at that moment.

I can apologize to Achilles for killing her, if she did go to hell. She probably did, I'm pretty sure most careers do. I'm not sure if Daniel or Machaon would be there, but I hope they are. I'd want to say sorry to both of them as well.

^{So one by one, they turn from me
I guess my friends can't face the cold
But why I froze,
Not one among them knows
And never can be told}

Reality comes catapulting back to me, the pain in my back, on my face, everywhere forces me to my knees, then to my stomach. I hear a loud noise as I strike the ground heavily. I look up helplessly at the victor, cursing him in my mind. I'm dying, and I will never see my family again.

Never see Pine or little Rowan, or even Willow, not ever again.

"I'll be waiting for you, Fray. For when you finally get what you deserve as a bloodthirsty career. Because that's all you are." I manage to cough out as I let my eyes close, my last sight being of the tall figure looming above me.

Maybe I'll see Willow down there sometime soon as well. I saved her of course, for a little while at least.

My soul is like a flower, all the petals falling off a decaying. There is one petal left, hanging loosely as the sheers of darkness approach it ever so quickly. Then I let the darkness finish consuming me, the last petal begins to drift to the ground in my mind, and the last noise I hear, is a canon sounding.

^{And we are
Caught in the fire
The point of no return
And we will
Walk through the fire
And let it...
Burn}