The Finale: Part 4 - A Victor Rises
In the midst of almost solid darkness, Alastair decides to get low to the water, thinking that if he goes unseen for the most part he can sneak up on the other tributes for the rest of the finale. Hoping that just maybe if he had somewhat of an advantage he could finally rest in his new home at Victors Village. Wishful thinking.
He floats about, ignoring some of the commotion for a little bit, picking up his quarterstaff in the job. Now armed he looks around for some action. Eventually he finds himself on the other side of the cave, inches behind the girl from One whom besides looking a mess, has no physical injuries. Without further care of who it was, Alastair sticks out his staff in-between her legs. With it being so dim Mika doesn’t spot the sneak attack, forcing her to slump onto her knees.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Mika hisses as she whips her head around spotting Alastair’s signature curly locks.
Mika had never met Alastair, so as far as she was concerned, he was just a small obstacle in her way. She wasn’t fueled by anything except the desire to get back home. She could tell, as she had before, that she remained completely uninjured while Alastair seemed to have been thrown through the ringer. Even in the darkness of the cavern, lit up only by the glowing worms and plants, Mika could tell he was nearly done for. He had a broken nose, was missing a pinky finger, and was nursing a limp; Alastair looked like a drowned rat. But his eyes were wide, ready for the battle. Alastair had nothing to fight for, no one to go home to, and yet, here he was.
Alastair rises from out of the shallow water, looking down on the girl as if he’s caught prey, “I was thinking about how I’m going to enjoy picking you clean from my teeth.”
Mika scoffs in astonishment, almost borderline arrogantly, “Oh please you half wit. I will strut circles around you and those pubes you call hair.”
Alastair squints in frustration, swinging the quarterstaff towards her head. Mika dodges while gaining her footing, taking a stab at her assailant with her sword. Alastair fails to move in time and the Dao Sabre sinks through his already injured thigh, making him scream in agony. Mika proceeds to slice again, this time towards his chest but mercifully the chainmail blocks the penetration, leaving Alastair time to retaliate. The boy throws a clenched fist at her jaw, splitting her lower lip wide open. Mika backs away in pain, bringing her hand up to touch the blood. After dabbing her forefinger on the wound, she seductively places it on her tongue, taunting the poor boy.
“Down to the nitty gritty, huh?” Mika smirked, flashing her axe around like a regular lumberjack. She’d grown accustomed to the weapon, she was comfortable with it, and would bring down her foes with simple calculated movements and a scare tactic.
“Let’s skip the small talk, shall we?” he replied, twisting his quarterstaff in his fingertips. The all too familiar mace was in his other hand, he was armed to the teeth, a whip hanging from his belt and the shine of a chain mail tunic glowing under the worm’s light. Mika knew this would not be easy, as she’d survived her other fights with the sheer luck of the chain mail.
“Fine by me,” she nodded, pulling out the vial of black widow venom from her pocket. She held it up between her index finger and thumb, smiling as she looked from it to Alastair. “This oughtta make things go by real quick. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit and you’ll be dead before you know it.”
She unscrewed the cap as Alastair looked over the vial, wondering what kind of poison it was most likely. Mika talked it up, her ploy was to make it seem as though it was the worst poison there was, something so deadly that Alastair would panic over. She dripped the venom onto the blade of her axe an on the tips of her brass knuckles, smiling as she did because she knew Alastair was running through a bunch of scenarios in his head. He seemed as if he contemplated asking what it was, but Alastair was smart. Whatever it was, he knew he wanted no part of it.
Before Mika could screw the cap back on, Alastair lurched forward, smacking her hand with the end of the quarterstaff and sending the vial flying into the water.
Mika looked up, shaking her hand from the pain and growling. “Doesn’t matter anyways, you skinny little shit, I’ve got enough!” she cackled, trying to intimidate him. Alastair wordlessly swung his weapon around again, prodding Mika with the end of the quarterstaff. The butt of the weapon smacked into her sternum, knocking the wind out of her as he pushed her back in the water. Grabbing the weapon with her free hand, she held it in place and swung out towards Alastair, but missed because she was too far away. Alastair pushed back again and this time she twirled away from the weapon, allowing her to swing the axe out again. Avoiding his torso and therefore the chainmail, Mika sunk her blade into his thigh, having locked in on a previous wound. The axe blade sliced through his previously wounded flesh, the venom seeping into his bloodstream immediately.
Crippled by the impact, Alastair crumbled into the water, losing grip on the quarterstaff but keeping the mace in hand. Mika yanked the axe from his leg, tearing more flesh away as Alastair screamed in pain. Mika backed up, watching his reaction and waiting for him to realize that the poison was now coursing through his system. He gripped his leg, unable to stand on it. With blood pouring out the slashes, Alastair is forced to cover them with his hands, pushing through the discomfort. “You fucking cunt! You’re going to regret that!”
Mika cackled, knowing that her plan was working. He was expecting something awful, something that would immediately impact him. Little did he know that the black widow venom wouldn’t really do much, if anything at all, at least not by the time he bled out or she finished him off.
“Too late now, kid. You’ll probably drop dead in… hmmm… any second now,” she teased, her axe at the ready in case he countered. Panic seeped through Alastair as evident on his face, and in a last ditch effort to take Mika out before his cannon fired, he lurched forward, fueled by fear and adrenaline, and swung the mace in Mika’s direction. Clashing against her torso, it hit the leather of her jacket and the chainmail, preventing much damage. The blow still hurt, but not enough to knock her back into the water and causing her to lose her weapon.
She spots her axe not far from her, but Alastair is closer than she is. The duo lock eyes slowly drifting over to her weapon. Ironically both Alastair and Mika dive for the axe at the same time, fighting tooth and nail to gain the upper hand. For a minute all anyone could see was blur of leather as each of the tributes tossed and rolled in the water. Alastair wraps his hand around the handle but Mika chomps down on his wrist, impelling the boy to let go. Mika tugs the axe towards her body and kicks Alastair in the face with her boot. The kick was more powerful than expected and Alastair struggles to remain conscious.
Mika dropped the axe, reaching out with her free hand to grab a handful of Alastair’s wet curls. She gripped him tight as he swung back around, knocking the mace into her belly. She wheezed, but didn’t let go of his hair. Instead, she squeezed her fist, her palm gripping the venom coated brass knuckles, and popped him square in the right eye, twisting after impact. As Alastair screamed, she pulled back, yanking out his eye and ripping tendons from the socket. Not even stopping to shake the eyeball off her claws, she followed it up with a second punch, cracking his nose again and bursting eye juice all over his face. The impact of the hit sent Alastair back into the water, Mika letting go of his hair and letting him fall. He splashed in the glow of the algae, bleeding out extensively and losing control of his body. The placebo effect was working wonders on Alastair, and it delighted Mika to know that he was psychologically beating himself as his own game. She smiled, wanting nothing more than to end this once and for all. Stomping on his chest, she held him under the water until he stopped struggling, drowning him until his cannon fired. Pushing his body away once she was sure he was dead, she inspected her brass knuckles, washing away the parts of Alastair that were still stuck to her weapon.
“Worked like a charm,” she chuckled as she stepped through the murky, bloody water, realizing that she had just killed the very last tribute…
The arena shook and rocks fell from the cavern ceiling, causing Mika to back up against the cave walls. Suddenly, the cave floor opened up beneath her, the standing water rushing out as a hovercraft lifted through the rock. Wind whipped her in the face as the voice of Gwen and Avalon announced in unison. “Mika Valentino, congratulations! You are the winner of the 36th Annual Hunger Games!”











