“Milo. Elianna. Mum. Dad. Jordan. Maia. Max. Flora. Antonia. Arrian,” she whispered. The chant had become almost obsessive as she paced around, waiting for Otto. It made sense for her to sleep, and it made sense for her to stay awake. If she slept, she could be killed in her sleep, quickly and easily. But without sleep, she would be tired for the final battle. In the end, I headed for the control room and used a large portion of her sponsor money to send her coffee. As the Games come to a close, everything becomes expensive, but I figured it didn’t matter much. She was as prepared as she could be for his arrival, stocked up with weapons and enough food to last the rest of her time in the arena. She’d had coffee once during her stay in the Capitol, and I remember how hyper it made her, the buzz kicking in and sending her crazy. Crazier than normal, anyway. It made me smile as I sent it to her. When she received it, she looked at it with a knowing smile, and I knew she was thinking back to the same memory as I was. She glanced up at the sky, as though that is where she believed me to be.

 “Good times, Ari,” she mumbled “Good times.”

 And they were, weren’t they, Riley? If I look back now, I think the time we spent in the Capitol was some of the best. Though we shared tears, we also shared laughter. I felt as though something changed in me when I was with Riley. I was always so uptight before I met her. I still am, I guess, but not as much so. Antonia had always pointed out that I would choose reading a book over playing out with the other children, and though this wasn’t a bad thing, being with Riley made me feel like I was having a childhood I’d never really experienced. The childhood that the Games had snatched from me. Who else, bar Riley, could convince me to bounce on beds like a young child? Which other fourteen year old girl have I ever drank alcohol with? And which other tribute, excluding Antonia, have I poured my heart out to? Riley knew things about me that few did. She brought out the best in me. And there is no one else quite like her.

 She brought the cup to her lips and sipped the coffee as she waited. It didn’t take long for the buzz to hit her, and she jittered about, still waiting. Meanwhile, Otto was on his way. Slowly and stealthily, he walked through the trees. He was surprisingly calm. Not that he’d ever appeared not to be in control of himself, but it was unusual to see someone as calm as he, especially when he was potentially walking to his death. I hoped he was walking to his death.

 “Now this is interesting,” Venus said, dressed in a flowered jumpsuit for the special final day of the Games “Two tributes from the same District in the final. But to us here in the Capitol, hasn’t it seemed that this was meant to be all along? There has always been an unusual rivalry between the two that we don’t often see between tributes from the same District. And they have, of course, been incredibly entertaining. Riley, with her clever deception to make us believe she was weak, and the fun and loving side we’ve seen to her in the arena. And Otto. Where do we start with Otto? He’s so ruthless, so cold, but we all love him here in the Capitol, don’t we?”

 A cheer rippled through the crowd and Venus laughed “Yes, yes, Otto is an unusual boy. But I’m sure all the ladies out there are falling for his simply adorable brown eyes! Now, Claudius, I want your opinion. Who do you think will win this year?”

 Claudius sighed, shrugging helplessly, as though it pained him to give an answer “I couldn’t possibly say, Venus. It should be an interesting fight. On one hand, Otto is strong, and cunning and clever. On the other, Riley’s recklessness might just slip her the advantage. Not to mention that she is quite handy with those weapons of hers! But perhaps I can see a weakness in Riley. We saw that she has compassion when she spoke with Cornelius. He was her enemy, but she showed him kindness in his final moments. Can we assume this to be a downfall? Who knows?”

 “I think it’s interesting about Otto’s fear,” Venus continued “We’ve never seen him frightened before. If he’s scared, he certainly hides it well. But the question is, when he’s trying to overcome his fear of heights, will this slow him down or spur him on?”

 “A good question, Venus. And I think we’ll find out the answer pretty soon. Let’s take a look at some highlights from over the years while we wait for Otto to arrive. And then let the Games begin!”

 Applause swept through the crowd as they turned on the highlights. An upbeat tune was layered over the sounds of death and screaming as the crowd was shown a video of the best deaths throughout all the Games. Surprisingly, they showed Roger’s death from Raven’s Games. I wondered why they chose that one, but as they showed Raven’s victory, her body battered and beaten, something occurred to me. Perhaps they were hinting at something. Was this a sign? Were we meant to see her looking so weak, a hint at the past repeating itself? I was a state by the time Antonia arrived. We’d agreed to watch the finals together, to support one another.

 “What’s wrong?” she asked with concern, my hands shaking horribly as I reached desperately for her.

 “I have this awful feeling that something is wrong,” I told her. It was up to the present Games in the video, and it showed Otto cutting out District 12 boy’s heart, grinning all the while as the blood soaked his hands. I imagined Raven receiving the same fate. Perhaps President Snow’s men would be crueller, cutting her children from her swollen belly, stabbing them until not only Raven’s life was lost, but their lives too. Endless possibilities of gore and death flooded my mind. Suppose they knew about District 13? They’d find them all.

 They’d find Pandora.

 I explained my theory to Antonia and her eyes widened. Then she quickly composed herself, pulling me to her chest for a soothing hug.

 “Just hold on. Raven’s smart. She can take care of herself. And Pandora, too. It’s just a few days more. We’ll be home soon.”

 I nodded against her and she kissed my forehead affectionately. Somehow, we stayed that way, locked in each other’s embrace with our eyes on the screen. Otto was almost upon Riley.

  It was almost time.

  Riley stood alone. Her coffee buzz was still going, and as she saw Otto approach her, she grinned. She made her hands into a gun shape, squinting her eyes at him and pretending to shoot him. She blew imaginary smoke from the gun like a cowboy, still grinning.

 “So. We meet again,” she said cheesily. I couldn’t help smiling, but my heart still raced. It was literally a life and death situation.

 “So we do,” Otto said. It unnerved me that he had an array of weapons, all of District 12’s knives strapped to his belt, the blow gun visible in his trouser pocket and an axe in his hand. But at that moment, he let the axe fall to the ground, and I understood why. He wanted to use smaller weapons, ones that wouldn’t lead to a quick death. He’d waited so long to get his hands on Riley. He wanted her to suffer at his hands.

 Meanwhile, Riley also wielded a few knives, along with her mace. She’d disposed of the spears, knowing they weren’t any use to her, but she still had her torch and lighter. She had earlier put the torch on and left it a few metres away from where she stood then. She wanted the light to guide her. As she and Otto stood, still not attacking one another, she flicked her lighter absent mindedly.

 “It’s odd that you seem so calm, Otto,” she said coldly “A little birdy told me that you don’t like heights.” She took a step backwards, near to the edge. Otto said nothing, but his face twitched. She was making him nervous.

 “It’s a rational fear. Unlike the fear of the dark,” he replied smoothly, despite his discomfort. He made a point of looking at the torch with raised eyebrows and Riley laughed.

 “Oh, I don’t know, Otto. You can find some real creepy things in the dark. You, for example,” she said. I heard laughter in the streets, but I knew the real purpose of her talking. She was winding Otto up. She knew what made him tick. “Besides,” she continued “I find that these days the dark doesn’t scare me so much. In fact…I’m not scared of much now.”

 “That can change,” Otto said, his smile twisted. Riley raised an eyebrow.

 “How ominous,” she said, her voice a little sarcastic “Come get me then, Otto. Unless you’re scared you might fall.”

  Otto smiled. Ran his tongue over his lips. Took a step towards Riley. Quick as a flash, Riley took a knife to hand, sending it flying at Otto. He yelped as it hit him in his left thigh, but he broke into a run, almost forgetting his fear of heights as he knocked Riley to the floor, almost sending the pair of them hurtling over the edge. Riley clawed at Otto’s face savagely, pulling at his eyes and he screamed out, punching her face. He seemed to realise how close he was the edge and stood, dragging Riley by her hair further from the edge. Riley sunk her teeth into Otto’s leg, her mace out of reach and he cried out, kicking her in the face. She fumbled for another knife just as Otto dislodged the one from his leg, clumsily stabbing at Otto’s toes several times. He cried out in agony again, but undeterred, stabbed at Riley’s arm. Gritting her teeth to stop herself screaming, she wrestled with Otto again. They were both a little breathless already. I realised my nails were digging into Antonia’s hand, but she barely seemed to notice. Like me, she was staring in horror. Seeing Riley fight so brutally brought a whole new dimension to the Games. The problem was, we actually cared about what was going on, for once.  

 Dominant for the first time in the battle, Riley slashed Otto’s face, nipping his eye and drawing blood. Otto screamed, his eye weeping blood and he grabbed Riley’s throat, squeezing. She gasped for air, managing to slice his hand with her knife, but he refused to let go. It was as though he was literally squeezing all her life from her body, but Riley wasn’t prepared to die so easily. She found her lighter and lit it, and with one huge effort, she swung her arm towards Otto’s face, setting his jet black hair aflame. Only then did he release her throat, allowing her to scurry over to her mace as he tried to quench his hair. The skin on the left side of his face had begun to melt and disfigure horrifically, and though he deserved it, it was a relief when he managed to put the fire out. And then, Riley was ready for him again. They were both on their feet, Otto menacing with his melted face, Riley watching Otto with her crooked smile. Otto gripped his knife, tired of playing around. Riley held her mace at the ready, wanting it all to be over.

 “Come on, come on…” Antonia muttered. She was bouncing her leg up and down, a nervous habit she had when she was scared. The people in the streets were getting more and more excited, calling out the names of who they wanted to win. Their names merged together in the group of chanters as they competed to have their voices heard above their opponent rowdily. I couldn’t stand them. Riley’s life was on the line, and they were cheering. I wished they’d just shut up. But their voices were rising higher and higher, a steady rhythm like a drum, spurring Otto and Riley on.

 Riley made the first move. She leapt towards him, spinning away from the slash of his knife, and slamming her mace into Otto’s shoulder. He countered her attack with a slash to her chest and all too quickly, she was on the floor, blood seeping quickly through the slash in her shirt.  Otto looked at her like she was a piece of dirt and after taking a deep breath, he began to roll her to the edge. She was too beaten to try and stop him, her mace left behind. In a last moment of desperation, she touched the bead necklace around her neck, as though willing it to save her, the way it had saved Antonia and I. But nothing happened. Our luck had run out. With one last shove from Otto, Riley toppled over the edge.

 Riley cried out, managing to grasp the edge of the cliff instead of falling. She clung on desperately, blood seeping from the incision in her chest, and her face sweating from the effort of keeping herself up. But she didn’t cry. I know I would have, in her position. Perhaps she found it too tiring to cry. Or perhaps she was just braver than I. Braver than us all Otto sighed, resting his boot on Riley’s fingers and pressing down.

 “Riley!” I heard someone scream. It took me a minute to realise it was me. I was screaming her name, for all the good it did me.

 “You’re finished, Riley Swan,” he said, savouring every moment. Grinning, he fumbled for the necklace on her neck and in a swift motion, ripped it from her. The beads scattered and fell, down and down. “You don’t know how much I’ve been looking forward to this.”

 Riley laughed, almost naked without the protection of her necklace “I’m sure I can guess,” she murmured, glaring up at him. He crouched beside her, taking out a knife. She didn’t flinch.

 “I’m going to miss you, in an odd way. There was such a thrill in the chase, don’t you think? It’s all led up to this one moment,” Otto murmured. Then he brought the knife down on Riley’s little finger, cutting it clean off. She yelped, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain.

 “I suppose it has,” she said through gritted teeth “But there is one thing you should know, Otto. This doesn’t end here. Not for us.”

 “You’re as good as dead,” Otto hissed, pressing his foot harder down on Riley’s fingers. Riley smiled that special Riley smile. Baring her teeth, her eyebrows raised.

 “Perhaps you don’t know it yet. But you will soon enough. I may die at this moment. But guess what Otto? Riley Swan always gets the last laugh.” She grinned and spat a glob of blood and spit into Otto’s face.

 “Oh, and by the way,” she said “You still don’t scare me. If you thought you could make me fear you, you’re very much mistaken.” She took a deep breath “So long, loser. I hope you rot in hell,” she added. She blew him a kiss sadistically. Then she let herself fall.

 “Riley!” I screamed, but she didn’t stop falling. In my nightmares, she never stops falling. And as she fell she smiled. Winked at me, winked at us all. The last laugh. She closed her eyes and accepted fate, while the world around her begged the Gods not to take her. Distantly, I felt Antonia’s hands on my shoulders, attempting to restrain me and calm me down, but I was past being consoled. I knew, deep down, I wouldn’t really be OK again. Riley Swan should never have been allowed to die. She landed on the jagged rocks before I had the time to even call her name again. But she wouldn’t have heard me even if I could have called to her. Because Riley Swan was hundreds of miles away from me. And she was dead. Never to breathe again. Never again to smile her devilish crooked smile. Never again to fulfil the role of the Whirlwind that swept me off my feet.

 But it was far from over. It was merely the beginning of the end.

 And Riley Swan would get her last laugh.

I can't stop crying. I feel so ridiculous. I miss her already.

 I'm so sorry, guys, please don't hate me. Then again, you probably already do, now that I've done this. If I write Battleborn, I swear I won't kill off anyone likeable. I promise. Please stick with me. Because as Arrian said. Riley Swan is sure going to get the last laugh.

~Hayley