Pluto sat in complete silence as he tightly gripped the hand of the boy next to him. Hugh wriggled and whimpered. His muscles were tense and his grip on Pluto's hand, unforgiving. Pluto looked down at Hugh with dark sympathetic eyes, enduring the discomfort of Hughs grip. The two boys had been like this for the past hour, Merla and Hugh asleep as Pluto stood guard. The night was quiet, besides the mingling of Hugh's whines with the wind blowing through the skeletons of burnt trees. Pluto was in a state of uncanny calmness. He knew the games would be ending soon. After all, there were only four tributes and three of them were in an alliance. The gamemakers wouldn't let peace last another day. Yet Pluto accepted this with brave uncertainty for the future. He believed he would be dead within the next twenty-four hours. This thought didn't bother him any longer though...Hugh began to let out gentle moans of distress, eliciting Pluto's attention. He held his hand while he slept in a desperate attempt to comfort the haunted boy. It was the least he could do. If all intended events were to happen, soon two tributes would be home- The capital. The rest dead. That meant of the three tributes together in the grove, one was guaranteed to die a violent death, and one was guaranteed to win. Pluto silently wished that Hugh would be the one to win. He deserved it, as did Merla. Pluto thought it would be best if they went home. Hugh cared for Finn, and Merla cared for him. Park had died by his hand. All he had caused was death. He didn't know how he could go back home with this knowledge.As Pluto sank into these thoughts, something caught his attention, a new sound floating through the air. The sound of people was beginning to fill the air. Pluto began to look around as the sound began to clarify itself. It was a group of voices in the distance, coming from almost all of their sides. Pluto's pupils quickly dilated. He looked over at Hugh and hesitantly placed a small hand on the boy's shoulder. He shook him, Hugh's pale green eyes fluttering open in confusion. When he saw Pluto's face- pale with wide eyes and furrowed brows- he instantly knew there was something wrong. Hugh sat up, feeling Pluto's hand leave him as he got up and walked over to Merla. Merla woke up as soon as Pluto stepped next to her. She shot up on her feet with wicked paranoid eyes, taking in her surroundings. Pluto looked between his two allies."Do you all hear that?" he asked in a soft voice. Hugh cocked his head."Yeah,""It sounds like people,""Shouldn't we be the only people here ?""Besides Armie,"Merla's eyes widened as a realization came to her. "What if it isn't people?""What do you m-""She means mutts," Pluto whispered before diving to the ground to start collecting all of their belongings into their bags."Shit,""We need to get out of here. Merla, Hugh, pack your things and get your weapons ready," Pluto timidly charged as he grabbed his club, slinging it over his shoulder. The others gathered their things; Merla grabbing her bow, glowing with moonlight; and Hugh taking out the small knife he possessed. Thoughts of what the mutts could be coursed through Hugh's adrenaline-soaked brain; decomposing zombie corpses, huge lizard people, lions with several heads or maybe the man-eating squirrels from the 50th Hunger Games. This was the last Hunger Games- he knew it would be terrifying. In fact, he counted on it.Within seconds, the three were ready, and the voices were getting closer. Merla stood ready before the others, listening, now able to discern individual voices amongst the cacophony. They almost sounded familiar- the desperate screams, growls of rage and whimperings of old friends. Yet she couldn't recognize why she felt this connection to the orchestra of disconcerting sounds. She looked at Pluto and Hugh, watching them scramble on the ground. She sighed silently watching Hugh. She thought they were wrong to trust him. It was too late in the games to trust strangers. They were all getting desperate. If he laid a single hand on Pluto, she decided there would be no hesitation in letting an arrow fly through his head. Pluto zippered his backpack and looked up, seeing rage briefly pass through Merla's chocolate brown eyes. Yet as soon as she looked at Pluto, her expression softened.Pluto got up, trying to displace his weight onto his good leg. He scowled, feeling pain thump through the wounds in his right leg. Hugh frowned watching pain crawl onto Pluto's pale face. He looked down, for the first time noticing the crimson soaked bandages on the boys bone-thin legs. He would be at a huge disadvantage in escaping. They had to get on the move. "Well, are we gonna leave or not?" Pluto asked, looking down at his leg before the others, whos were seemingly sharing thoughts. "If we stay we'll be perfect targets. I'll b- I'll be fine." he continued, trying to convince the others. He wasn't about to let himself drag either Hugh or Merla. The other two nodded their heads in understanding. Hugh held his knife at his side."I guess we should get moving then," As the triad ran through the remaining cinders of the grove, the voices grew closer and closer. Pluto limped along, the pain in his leg exploding like a dynamite change with every heavy thud on the ground. Etched into his face was a permanent and uncomfortable, grin- that of the grinding and clenching of teeth. Hugh kept close to Pluto, watching over the shorter boy while Merla took lead, steering them in a direction away from the growing dissonance.They continued to move at a somewhat steady pace, the voices gaining on them. Hugh looked out into the distance as they emerged from the grove and what used to be the center of the arena, now a large ash-filled pit, with remainders of the cornucopia sticking from the surface. The sun was beginning to rise. Hugh sighed in confusion. It was too early for the sun to be rising. Pluto had it figured it out though. The better lighting to watch and record the finale of the games.Pluto stopped dead in his tracks as they left the trees. His was face was a sickly pale and sweat beaded on his forehead. Hugh wouldn't have been surprised if the boy began to sweat blood. Merla turned around, looking at Pluto. "Are you okay?" she asked, the sky behind her starting to glow a soft purple as the night met dusk."I-I" Pluto began to stammer, spit flying from his mouth as he tried to speak. He was bent over, hands on his knees. His small chest heaved up and down, and there was a visible erratic shaking in his injured leg. Hugh took a step towards him."We should keep going, can you do it?" he asked, knowing full well the true answer."I-I fucking can't,""Yes you can, you have too. It's almost over," Hugh continued, near whispering the last part. He placed a hand on Pluto's shoulder who absently shook his head, as if Hugh's words were simply being sucked into him, without acknowledgment. As Pluto properly stood up, Hugh slid the other boy's arm around his shoulder, supporting his weight. Pluto, largely fell into Hugh's weight, relieving some of the pressure on his leg. "C' mon," Hugh murmured as he began to move forward again, not waiting for Pluto's permission. They began to hobble along, slower than before. Merla looked back as they went along, the color fading from her swollen cheeks as she listened to the voices. They were gaining on them.Pluto hobbled along, supported by Hugh one side. He felt sick, the strength draining out of him from the sheer pain. He carried his club in one hand, looking out into the distance. They were quickly closing in on the three metal effigies on the far side of the arena. It felt wrong, the arena was bigger than this. How had they come this far already? Reality was being manipulated to drive them all to this place, wasn't it?' he asked himself, Pluto's head lazily floated about, taking in the destruction from the previous day. They passed through twisting paths in-betweens mountains of rubble; collapsed iron towers buried in heaps of warm ash, smoke and goliath chunks of marble and concrete. He looked for any signs of Armie or the mutts. Yet he wasn't the first to see themMerla felt the voices closing in around them. The alliance winded through the landscape of wreckage, Pluto and Hugh limping ahead of Merla. She now trailed behind, growing increasingly disoriented as she swore she recognized the different voices. She stopped, listening as a familiar groan echoed from behind a nearby pile of rubble. She looked ahead as the boys stopped They all waited, groans, moans, and grunts building intimately close to the triad. They were here. She turned her head towards the pile of rubble, anticipating the worst.Merla watched as a creature began to emerge from the top of a steaming pile of scrap. The creature was the size of a large wolf, walking on all fours. It was covered in dusky brown feathers, with dirty white wings, stretching out from its back. Its claws, yellow and caked with grey soot, were sharp like knives, much like the beak. Emerging from its strong canine face, was a thin and sharp beak, at least two feet long and dripping with saliva. Merla took a slow step back as she made eye contact with the mutt. It had eyes she recognized, beautiful brown eyes. They were obviously human.The mutt slowly stepped towards Merla, its beak rapidly clicking open and closed. Yellow saliva dripped from its mouth in long weblike strands before it opened up, exposing sharp canine teeth. Its mouth stayed open, a voice beginning to croak inside."Hi Merla," it croaked in a voice-only Merla Nik could recognized. It was Bettina Clark. Merla had sudden flashes of the past; of a small muscular girl jumping her in the early stages of the games; hits and punches, landing on her face until bright spots danced before her eyes; then her final groans as Merla sat on top of the girl, slowly strangling her, blood dripping from her broken nose and onto Bettina's face."How... How is this possible?" Merla near stuttered as the creature stalked towards her, its jaws hanging wide open as it "spoke"."Anything is possible Merla. Like me getting a second chance to rip your throat out before killing these boys," It groaned and croaked, as Hugh and Pluto slowly stepped back. Pluto leaned into Hugh's side for support, his eyes wide with fear.The mutt closed its mouth, almost in a smirk as it let out a hideous snarl. It took a few steps towards Merla before the older tribute had pulled out an arrow, swiftly notching it into the string and pulling back. The mutt stopped, ten feet from her, looking directly into the head of the arrow"Don't get any fucking closer," Merla muttered, a tear dropping from her dark swollen eyes. The creature paused, before taking another step, digging its claws into the ashen ground. Its jaws unhinged again as it took another step and began to cackle. Hugh gasped as it did. A shadow began to fall across the boys' faces. Hugh swallowed hard and looked up, where a small mutt perched on the top of a pile of rubble blotted out the sun. It looked down at them, before near slithering down the pile and in front of them, blocking them from leaving. It was smaller than the other, with younger features, black and white feathers, and cold brown eyes. "Bettina" continued to let out a howling cackle as it looked at Merla. "You have bigger problems to worry about my friend," it howled as the other mutt's mouth opened. "You left my body behind Pluto... So now I'll kill you. Soon your body will be cold and blue like mine was in that fountain," it seethed in a voice far more innocent than it's inflection. Both Hugh and Pluto recognized it immediately. It was Galve Oceanworth. Hugh looked at the creature, saddened and frightened of what the boy "became". He remembered his interview, the weakest of all the tributes dressed in a powder blue suit, answering all his questions in a confident yet sad tone. He remembered the look on Finnian's face when Galve's image appeared in the sky. He never had the chance to ask if they had known each other before the games... The two mutts began to walk towards their targets, mumbling incoherent words and letting out strange groans and moans. They walked perfectly in sync, in fluid snake-like motions. Their disturbing human eyes never left their targets. Merla kept her arrow pointed at "Bettina", her lip quivering as her eyes darted back and forth from the mutt to the boys and their own mutt. They could take of themselves, right? They were armed, and Pluto had indeed killed before. But he was injured... Merla looked forward, making contact with the doughy brown eyes of the mutt in front of her, watching as it leaned back into its long muscular legs, its stomach touching the ground. It began to growl and snarl before propelling itself forward into a massive leap. Its wings expanded from its back, giving it distance as it let out a savage shriek, extending its lion-like claws. Merla ducked back, the mutt landing at her feet. Claws dug into her boots, drawing blood from her feet. She hit the ground, hearing the scream of a boy, several feet from her. When she went to look, the mutt quickly launched itself forward, burying its claws into her shoulders. Merla screamed, grabbing her bow and pressing it against the creature's feathered throat, separating the two. She panted, looking down into the beak, which stood barely an inch away from the space in between her eyes. The two struggled, Merla, pressing all of her strength into getting the creature away from her. It opened its beak, streams of yellow saliva falling onto her cheeks. She groaned in pain feeling as the thin substance burned into her skin. It was acid. She released a scream as she pushed forward, gaining leverage before rolling to the side, the claws ripping out of her skin. The creature was now at her side. It looked at her before pouncing again. Merla ducked, feeling as feathers brushed against the top of her head. As the mutt landed she heard more screams. She looked to her side, watching as "Galve"'s wing burst from its side with tremendous force knocking Hugh into a wall of rubble. It quickly slithered onto Pluto, who desperately tried to crawl away, dragging his weapon along. It dug its claws into his shoulders, blood quickly being drawn. The mutt looked up at the sky, its blade-like beak glinting in the light. It let out a horrible, bloodcurdling shriek- that of a young boy being killed. Merla looked towards her side, "Bettina" about to pounce again. She grabbed her bow and quickly pulled back an arrow, pointing it at the creature. As it readied itself to pounce, she met its eyes about to release the arrow. But then Pluto's screams filled her head. Merla quickly turned her body towards the boy, the mutt about to stab its beak into his throat. She paused before letting loose an arrow. As it soared through the air, she felt "Bettina"s claws sink into her back with tremendous force, crushing bones. She screamed as she was pushed into the ground, watching the arrow sink into "Galve"s head. The creature crumpled to the ground as her face was crushed into the ash, snapping her nose. Blood streamed from everywhere as "Bettina" tore into her. Merla looked up a final time, using the last of her strength, looking at Pluto, who screamed, struggling under the weight of the mutt's body. "Merla!" he cried as she was shoved back into the ground, and the mutts' beak stabbed into her back a final time.

BOOM

Pluto writhed out from under the black and white mutts body, quickly jumping onto his feet, pain streaming through his injuries. He ran forward, his club dragging through the dirt. He screamed as he approached the creature, sitting on Merla's body like a proud lion, its face filled with contentedness. Merla's blood dripped from its crimson beak and back onto her body. It looked into Pluto's eyes with a sort of satisfaction as he brought the weapon over his head with a triumphant cry before burying it into the bird's head. The strange creature, quickly dropped to the side, revealing Merla's grotesque body. It was dead. Pluto dropped to his knees and flipped her over, tears running down his cheeks. He looked into her face, even more damaged than before. He fell into her body, placing his head on her stomach as he sobbed. His hands loosely gripped at hers, feeling the warmth leave her body. He watched as she died. Watched as she made the decision to save him, killing herself. He sobbed and whimpered, feeling Hugh's hand slowly find itself onto his shoulder...

TO BE CONTINUED

RIP Merla Nik

Hey guys, thanks for reading this chapter. Please tell me what you're thinking right now! Thoughts on the mutts; the remaining tributes; everything! Obviously, the games are almost over and very curious as to how everyone is enjoying this story. I've grown tremendously as a person and as a writer over the course of this story and it means so much to me. It's hard to believe that I started this over two years ago. It makes me so nostalgic thinking about this whole process, one of the longest lessons of growth as a writer for me. 

And sorry Merla. I may have not written about you too much, but you were an interesting character, who I was quite sad to kill. You'll be missed.