Another Tribute

"I wonder when they'll announce the top five?" I ask Eli as we continue to be perched up in a
tree. It's been a good, silent ten minutes since we arrived back from the devil's meeting. I don't know about Eli, but I'm still in shock about seeing Thisbe slumped over on a stretcher. I feel desperate to know if she's alright, but I know thinking about it won't make an answer appear. I'll simply have to make it home to find out.

But Eli needs to make it home too.

After that meeting and everything we've been through, I know I'll be a miserably hopelss person if I make it home over Eli. After every single mistake, emotional decision, and rash act he has still stood by me. How could I possibly deserve to make it home over him?

"I hope it's soon, I want to get my mind off of that meeting," Eli says, holding my hand gently in his. It's become so much of a norm so quickly, as if we were always together even when we weren't. I'm glad at least for the certainty of Eli on my side. This is the last comment for another minute or two, and I can tell we won't be talking about the meeting again. We both know the plan, and we're both more than willing to comply. As we sit there in peace, I wonder if Eli thinks this all might be an act, and I wonder the same about him. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but wonder - is everything in this world a lie?

"Eli," I whisper quietly in his ear, barely making a sound. I hope it's quiet enough that the cameras can't catch the words I say next and it merely looks like I'm whispering sweet nothings.

"Yes?" he replies, turning to look at me straight on. He's curious about what I'm going to tell him since I'm not speaking openly. He must know it has to do with the plan that Harpon laid out.

"No matter what plan Harpon wants us to follow," I murmer, moving to whisper in his ear again, "everything I've told you is real. I'm not pretending. I wish I was, because it would make everything easier. But I really, truly...well...I just want you to know that what was said today and what I say for the rest of these games isn't a lie."

"Same goes for me," he says, leaning in to kiss me. It's a quick kiss, but I'm glad for it. We both know we're on eachother's side without worrying about being fake, which is a relief. So now comes the tough part....what next?

"Eli, we made it to the top five. What now?"

"What we need to do is simple - get rid of the other three contestants. It's how to do it that stumps me," he says, looking unsure of himself. I know the feeling - how are we supposed to do it? Against all odds, I hope that the other three contestants take eachother out and it's just Eli and I in the end. I don't know what we'll do from there, but it's the only future I can see.

"Dianca is more than likely alive out there," I say, shuddering. She'll be out to get Eli and I as soon as they announce top five, I'm sure of it. If it's Dianca and two of her careers left, the odds are very much not in our favor. Eli simply nods in reply, and we both contemplate the horror of this statement. More silence follows, but I enjoy the silences. Eli and I simply get to be alive next to one another, and for now that's all I can ask for.

Suddenly, the trumpets sound again. The top five will be announced, and I'm becoming more and more nervous with each passing moment. For lack of anything else to do, Eli and I look up to the sky.

"Hello top fivers!" Link Magoo says, his enlarged face lit up for all to see.

"Hi yourself," I mumble, trying to use my sarcasm to shield my fear. Eli looks at me, a knowing look in his eyes.

"I'm sure you're all wondering about who's left, if you haven't been keeping tabs. Let me shed some light on the subject," he says gleefully, his face fading. Link Magoo's face is replaced by a display of five pictures in a row, the five contestants left. The pictures are of us from when we are made up, beautiful and unharmed. I look between the picture of Eli and the real Eli beside me, realizing a very stark difference. Although we still are semi-made up and aren't injured from the earlier meeting, the look in his eyes is not the look of resignition I see on the screen. He looks haunted. Hopeful, but haunted all the same. This experience has changed him, and everyone I realize, beyond repair. The one who gets to live will forever hold in the back of their mind the images and events that they've been forced to endure. They will be tougher, stronger...but also wiser in a way that nobody should ever have to be.

"It looks like it's you, me, Dianca, one of Dianca's guys, and the district nine girl," Eli says. I'm not sure how he knows who's who, but it's comforting to know he's got a handle on things.

"Great, we know who's left. I still can't think of any brilliant plans," I say, frustrated. Eli mirrors my frustration, and I know that it's going to be a long night of thinking this through.

At least, that's what I thought before the next surprise.

"As you've probably noticed, we've really made this Hunger Games unique by adding different twists. And now, for the final twist - this Hunger Games will be over by the end of the night," Link Magoo says, bursting with excitement. My stomach drops, and Eli's face is more shocked than I've seen it this whole game. How could it possibly end tonight?

"You see, tonight will be the battle of all battles...the end. An official will come and escort you to the battle at 6 o'clock sharp. Spend the day preparing, and best of luck to you all. More surprises to come!" Link says, his voice dissapearing abruptly.

"That doesn't sound good," Eli says, holding my hand even tighter than before. I nod in agreement.

"There's only one thing to do," I say, trying to sound more optimistic than I feel.

"What's that?"

"Live like there's no tomorrow," I say, giving Eli a weak smile. He returns the sentiment, and I know what we're both thinking - there probably won't be a tomorrow.

So, Eli and I have the best day we can possibly manage, spending every last second beside eachother. We're a little off guard, but I figure it doesn't matter because they won't want us to die before the big showdown. We eat, lay beside eachother in the sun, kiss, and talk about anything and everything. The sun begins to set, and I know our time is almost up.

"My favorite color has always been dark blue," I say to Eli as we eat our last meal. It's kind of a pathetic gathering of roots and berries, but I try to enjoy it.

"Why?" he asks, looking deeply into my eyes. It's as if he's trying to memorize them, trying to take something with him into the unknown tonight. I can't blame him, because I'm doing the same thing.

"It reminds me of a lake my father used to describe," I say, not wanting to give away that we crossed the fence and actually visited the lake.

"I thought you didn't know how to swim? Why would you like the color of a lake?" he asks curiously.

"You're right, I don't know how to really swim. And it seems weird, but water comforts me. It reminds me of renewal and purity. Freshness, you know? Water is a necessity of life, yet you can die without it or by being surrounded by too much of it. It's just kind of fascinating."

"My favorite color is blue too," Eli says, smiling at the thought of it.

"What kind of blue?"

"I don't know, I've never really seen it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, before my mother died she used to tell me about how somewhere far away there was an island in the middle of the ocean. But not the ocean we are taught about; a tropical, warm ocean. With colorful fish and ocean plants surrounding it. She told me the blue was like no other blue we have ever known, but it is bright and beautiful. I've tried to create the color with paint, but nothing I've ever made seems just right. If I ever saw that blue - I'd know," he says, stunning me with his answer. Never have I ever had the courage to truly imagine something I'd never seen or never seen happen before. If it hasn't been seen, it isn't possible. But it doesn't surprise me that Eli lusts for the impossible; it's one of the things I love the most about him. He has so much hope and life in him, and anything he could imagine he could make real with a brush. Or at least he used to be able to. Before we got into this mess.

Now I'm more determined than ever to get him out of here. He could make a beautiful contribution to society by just existing, and I'm sure Thisbe would take care of him for me. She would understand.

Just as I'm thinking this, two officials appear out of nowhere.

"Come," one of them says, motioning us forward. No gimicks or lies, just a command. And Eli and I respond immediately, not resisting. The time has come, as we knew it would. They seperate our intertwined hands for handcuffs, but we insist upon walking shoulder to shoulder. As we begin our journey, I begin to relize where they're taking us - that lake from the very first day of the games, which seems ironic in regards to my last conversation with Eli. As we reach where the lake should be, it's gone. The deep, blue lake is replaced with a round, fenced in area. It looks like a mini arena, and I suppose that's exactly what it is. On the side of the arena I see five holding areas, which I assume mean each contestant will have there own cage of sorts. On the other side of the arena from the caged in spaces are stands filled with Capitol people. Of course, another ploy to make money - for the right price, you too can watch the contestants fight to the death! The other three contestants are already in their holding areas. Dianca is sitting in the provided wodden chair, looking more bloodthirsty than ever as I catch her glance. Dianca's "friend" looks surprsingly nervous, twitching every couple of seconds. I wonder if Dianca has instilled this fear in him? The district nine girl is pacing back and forth, truly reminding me of a caged animal, longing for freedom. I catch her glance as well, and I'm surprised to see no fear - only impatience. Clearly she has moved on from the horror of this situation and either wants to die or kill everyone as quickly as possible. It's hard to tell which. As they pull Eli away from me, he resists and we kiss one last time. The officials surprisingly allow the kiss to last longer than I expected, and there are audible sighs and tears throughout the stands.

"I love you," I say to Eli, wondering how I ever developed this emotion so quickly. I guess crazy situations do that to a girl.

"I love you too, no matter what," Eli says before he is quickly dragged away. I don't think too much about the second part of his goodbye, because it makes me wonder what his plan is. If he gets any crazy ideas, I don't know what I'll do with myself.

That being said, I'm pushed into my holding cell. There's a small opening in the front of the cage facing the arena; small enough to stick my hand and part of my arm through. I take a seat in the wooden chair, the only thing in this small cell. I look around through the chain link, barbed wire fence at the other contestants, but I decide it's easier to look at the dirt floor. Eli is all the way on the end of the row of cages, and I can't see him from my spot.

"Now that everyone's here - Welcome top five!" Link Magoo says, appearing out of the crowd. Microphone in hand, this is the beginning of the end.

"I'm sure you're dying to know what's going on, so let me tell you all. We have brought you here to fight eachother one on one - to the death," Link Magoo says, for once sounding eery versus cheerful. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised - what else could this set up possibly be for? I glance to my left and two cells down Dianca is staring at me intently, an evil sneer on her face. I know, once and for all, that she's coming for me. No more distractions or wondering, her moment is finally here. And she wants me dead.

Instead of fear, I stare at her head on with a look I never knew I could give. Whatever happens I can't let her win - for Eli.