La Mort Vient {Sage's End}

'Sage, it’s okay. You can let go now,' came a voice in the boy’s head. It was a voice he’d never truly heard past his infancy, but he knew who it emanated from. The voice was that of his long since deceased mother, welcoming him to join her in death. He didn’t want to let go yet, even as the pain of the projectiles that had pounded his body surged through him. In the moment, though, he also did want to let himself fade. Being killed by Tamron meant that he wouldn’t have to become a killer himself. He’d survived nearly seven days in the unforgiving arena, and hadn’t taken a life. Surely this would make Parsley, Rosemary and Thyme proud of him. They’d never condoned violence. Although, surely, they hadn’t wanted him to die, and knew that he would have to kill if he was going to make it home.

District Twelve’s only tribute that had made it past the bloodbath was fighting hard, in honor of Affron. At first, he had fought for revenge, but it didn’t take long before he was fighting to show how much people had underestimated his strength. Of course, his fight in Affron’s memory never truly stopped until he had fallen to the ground, about to die. If there truly was an afterlife, Sage thought, perhaps it was something he could now look forward to. He’d be back with the loved ones he’d lost; his parents and Affron. He would never be away from them again.

A burning feeling was felt in Sage’s heart as it began to fight to keep beating, but it couldn’t. He was slowly dying, and nothing could stop it. If there really was life after death, Sage thought, who else would he meet there? He would see Chloriphina and Pollux; two innocent girls that he had assisted in killing. Once again, he would meet Anarchy, whom he’d only known for a short amount of time, but felt terrible when her life was taken from her. He would see Seth; a former ally whom he’d never even fought alongside, due to their separation at the beginning of the Games, but had trusted, and used trying to find him as the reason for Marcus not to murder him. Had Sage abused Seth’s existence to keep himself alive longer? He didn’t want to think about that in his final moments.

What other individuals would he meet in death? Chaos O’Hana, the girl that had helped him in the training center with his punches, and even showed him where to find alcohol, which in the end, sparked something even more intimate between he and Affron. Sage hated to think that she was gone, with such a kind soul, even though he barely knew her. Riven was gone, too. They’d communicated in the training center, but his most recent memory was when she was relatively peaceful at the tea party, and didn’t try to attack him like he had expected would happen with any other tribute he may have ended up encountering. Sage felt sympathy for the girl in death.

Sage had fought Diorite Fray early on in the Games, but she was gone now. She had been strong, and the boy from Twelve was almost certain she would have made it further. Would he see her again, too? What about Ivar Hammerfell? He had been so strong, especially with his physical disability, and kept going strong for quite a few days. Sage hated to think that, one of the tributes who wasn’t even his ally, yet had helped he and Marcus survive, was gone now. Curse Jinx had helped Sage and Marcus in that fight, too. He was one of the fallen, now, though, and Sage couldn’t even recall if he’d ever exchanged words with the Career boy from Four. Perhaps those conversational exchanges weren’t meant to happen until after death.

Another name of someone he would meet shot into Sage’s mind, but this time with guilt. Marcus Fletcher. They’d separated as allies, and Sage then proceeded to join up with Anarchy, Cassiopeia and Riordan, while Marcus fought on his own and died trying to survive. Sage realized that he could have saved Marcus, had he stayed with him. It was too late, now, though. The boy from Twelve was now just hoping that his remaining allies were still alive; Riordan and Cassiopeia. Though, for some reason, Sage feared that one of them would fall the same day as he, no matter how much he didn’t want that to be true.

Life was truly starting to pull away from him now, and Sage knew it was close to over. He struggled to get out a few more words before his eyes began to droop, unable to hold themselves open any longer.

“I’m coming, Affron.”

BOOM!