MADGE POV

When I wake, I discover that we are now in a small, damp cave. Rory looks remarkably relieved to see me well.

"What happened?" I murmur.

"You got stung by a Tracker Jacker."

"Ah, well I can't say you didn't warn me on that one. How long have I been out?"

"A while," Rory says simply. "But hey, we made it to the final eight."

He grins at me and we share a high five.

"Weapons?"

"Yep," he says, popping the "p" in a way that reminds me of Peeta.

"You sound like Peeta," I say fondly. He rolls his eyes with a smile.

"Gale says Peeta has an annoying habit of getting people to talk like him."

"Gale might be right on that one," I reply, surveying our cave. "Nice digs, by the way. We've got quite the palace here."

He throws me a small packet of jerky and a canteen of water. "And quite the feast."

"Rory Hawthorne," I gasp out happily as I immediately begin to take small sips of water. "You are a life saver."

"Quite literally. You owe me one."

"Let's not forget the alligator, now. It looks like the two of us don't have the best track record with mutts."

He laughs at that and pops a small piece of jerky into his mouth. We spend a few hours relaxing, sipping water to gain strength in our shaky hands and talking about happy things. He teases me for thinking he was Gale and I blush to the roots of my hair. Rory easily slips in to our fake story.

"Reminds me of the time I caught you two kissing in the music room," he lies casually. "Oh man, he was so mad at me. Thought I'd scared you away for good."

"Unfortunately for him, you didn't," I joke. He rolls his eyes and then grabs my forearm, looking at me seriously.

"No way. Gale is lucky to have you. Even if he doesn't know it."

I give him a look and he straightens up. "I mean, he loves you. But like any man, I think he takes you for granted sometimes."

"That's no way to talk about your older brother, Rory Hawthorne."

"Yeah, yeah, he's said worse about me, I'm sure," he jokes.

"Maybe one or two things."

"When did you realize you liked him?" Rory asks me suddenly.

"Gale?"

"No, Cato from District One," he deadpans.

"Alright, smartass. I was playing music once, at school. The piano is old and out of tune, but I would sometimes go there during my teacher's aid period. He overheard me one day and I caught him listening to me in the doorway. He had his eyes closed and he was just…relaxed. He never looks that way, you know? Calm like that. There was something about seeing him that way. I liked it."

"Can't imagine why you kept liking him, then."

"Oh hush. I saw him with you kids one afternoon, he'd let you blindfold him and was trying to catch you guys based just on your voices. He was laughing and playing around with all of you, it just kind of made me understand why he is the way he is. To make sure you guys are happy, and healthy."

"And then you saved Posy."

I shake my head. "What I did for Posy had nothing to do with Gale."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nope," I say, and we both laugh as I pop the "p". "I overheard Katniss's mom, talking about what a shame it was that such a sweet little girl might not survive the winter. I knew you guys couldn't afford all that medicine. Hell, I couldn't even. Promise not to tell Gale," I tell him, and in that moment I forget that he can see and hear all of this, "but I actually sold nearly all my jewelry. Posy needed those antibiotics, and the pain medicine. She would have died. She's so small. I couldn't let that happen. How do you even know what I did? I thought Gale wasn't going to tell your mom."

"He didn't tell Ma," Rory shrugs. "I caught him coming back inside with a box of medicine and I had heard him yelling at someone."

I scrunch up my face. "He's not great at accepting gifts, that one."

"None of us are," Rory laughs. "But you love us anyway."

"I sure do," I reply, ruffling his hair.

Suddenly there's a beeping sound, and a large metal container is dropped outside the mouth of the cave. Rory rushes toward it while I cautiously trail behind, weapon in hand, in case our location was just given away. We go back inside and open it to find a picnic basket.

It is full of fancy Capitol foods, and we laugh, overjoyed. There's a note inside.

People really do love forbidden romance. -H

Talking about Gale and our false "romance" has apparently earned us quite the sponsorship. Rory reminds me to eat slowly, and we spend the day feasting and joking around.

By the end of the day, with full stomachs and happy hearts, we wriggle into our sleeping bags and roll a rock in front of our cave. One of us will still stay awake, but we can at least now both be warm.

"Madge?" Rory says suddenly, his quiet voice interuptting the silence.

"Yeah, Rory?"

"I can't," he whimpers, and I realize suddenly that he is crying. "I can't go home without you. Please. Please don't make me win."

And then he is sobbing, shoulder wracking cries wrenching from his small body. I wriggle myself as close to him as I can and put my arms around him, holding him to me as tears fill my own eyes.

"Rory, please," I say, kissing the top of his head. "Please, you know that you need to go home. You know that Gale needs you. Vick and Posy and your mother need you."

"But I need you," he insists. "I can't go home without you. It's not ever going to be the same."

"Yes it will, sweetheart," I promise. "I promise you, it will. It might feel strange at first, but you'll be surrounded by all these people who love you. And they will help you get better. And then everything will work itself out from there. Besides, those who love us never truly leave us. Don't you hear your father in the birds? In the sound of the trees when it's windy? Even if I'm gone, Rory, I'll always be with you. I'll always be your ally. I promise you that."

He cries even harder and the tears from my own eyes begin to fall. This boy, only a few years younger then me, has become so important to me in just a matter of days. He truly does feel like my younger brother. I would kill and die for him. With a turn of my stomach, I realize I have already done one of those things, and that I will eventually, probably in the next twenty four hours, do the other.

"As soon as you die I'll kill myself," Rory says suddenly, and I draw back from him as if burned. "There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Don't you dare talk like that!" I shout. My voice raises before I can help it. "God damn it, Rory! You realize that now I'll be damn sure it comes down to the two of us, don't you? And I never wanted it to be that way but if I have to, I will. Do you have any idea what that would do to your family? To watch you take your own life?"

He cries even harder and I pull him to me again. I take a deep, rattling breath. "I'm sorry, Rory. But please, you need to understand. I need you to understand. I don't need to go home, not like you do."

In a quiet voice, I explain my life to him, right near his ear where the microphones can't pick it up. I tell him about my father, the broken politician who lost his mind when his wife was taken from him. My sick mother, hardly lucid and mostly mad, slowly dying before my eyes. Sure, I have Katniss and Primrose, and I love them dearly, dearly enough that I am here now, in this cave. But I have nothing in my life like his family. They've already lost his father, and they cannot lose him too. Gale has worked too hard to keep them all alive. This will not be how a Hawthorne dies. Besides, if Rory wins, they'll live in a big house, with running water and they'll each have their own rooms. They'll be well fed and taken care of.

Eventually he begins to cry himself out, and just as his eyes flutter shut, everything begins to shake. His eyes snap back open and I desperately begin to gather our things.

"Come on!" I shout over the roar. "We've got to get out of here!"

I struggle to move the large rock from in front of the hole of the cave, but I finally manage. I throw most of our stuff out and reach back to grab Rory, but just as I do, the roof of the cave begins to crumble, and large rocks and debris create a barrier between us.

"RORY!" I scream, desperately trying to move anything I can. I'm not quite strong enough, though, and I only manage to get through enough that I can see his face, contorted in agony as he screams.

"My arm!" he cries. "My arm it's…it's stuck."

"Okay Rory," I breathe, trying to calm myself as well as him. "We're going to get you out, okay? We're going to get through this."

He shifts a little bit and a scream of pain rips from his throat. I wince at the sound and begin to think as quickly as I can. His face is whitening, he looks delirious from pain. I imagine that all of the bones in his arm are probably crushed, but luckily I can see bicep. His entire arm is not trapped, and that makes what I'm about to say much easier.

"Rory," I say as calmly as I can. "You need to look at me."

He does, panting through his gritted teeth, his grey eyes crazed like a wild animal.

"I may need to remove part of your arm," I tell him. I say it as if I'm suggesting that we try something new for dinner, but there is no other way to say it. He screws his eyes shut and allows some tears to leak through them.

"Are you sure?"

I look around us and give removing the monstrous part of rock that has him trapped a few more tries. I give it my all, putting every ounce of effort I have into it, but it won't budge.

"I'm so sorry," I tell him, his screams echoing in what is left of our cave. "I am so so sorry."

I grab the small sword that we have and curse that it doesn't look very sharp.

"Rory, stay as calm as you can," I tell him, grabbing a small bit of rock and going far enough away from him that he can't hear me as I attempt to sharpen it. Outside of the small shelter we still have, a storm is raging. Wind whips me and I am instantly soaked to the core. I do my best to sharpen it more, but there's not much I can do with my available supplies.

I allow myself a few tears and then force myself to calm down. If Rory is going to survive this, I need to do everything correctly. If he loses too much blood, he will die and there will be nothing I can do for him.

I go back into the cave and he is whimpering but trying to compose himself. I manage to clamber over the barrier between us, nearly getting trapped myself. I cut his jacket off of him, saving as much material as I can, and proceeded to cut one of the straps off of our pack. I tie it tightly around his mouth, making sure it is positioned so he can bite down on it rather then on his own tongue.

He looks at me, pure and unadulterated fear in his eyes. I kiss his forehead and take a deep breath. I first attempt a clean break, striking his arm as hard as I can, but it doesn't work. It only creates a deep gash, deep enough that I can see the bone. Even with the strap in his mouth, I can hear him screaming.

"I'm so sorry," I tell him. I repeat it like a mantra, and find that I am sobbing all the way through. I can hardly catch my breath as I saw at his thin arm, and within seconds he loses consciousness, slumping to the floor. It takes me nearly 15 more minutes, and I quickly douse the wound with clean water, wrapping the stump with my jacket, which I had been using as a tourniquet.

I try desperately to wake him up, untying the strap from his mouth. He does not open his eyes for a while, and when he does he begins screaming.

"HAYMITCH PLEASE!" I cry out, tears streaming down my own face as I hold his writhing body. "WE NEED MEDICINE. PLEASE!"

I grab Rory's face and beg him to look me in my eyes.

"Please, Rory, please hold on for me," I beg. A canon sounds and my heart stops, searching his face for the life seeping out of him. Rory, however, is still alive. I hear one more canon. That means there are six of us left now. Me, Rory, and four others.

"THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN THE RULES," a sudden voice rings out. "IF BOTH PARTNERS FROM A DISTRICT ARE THE FINAL TWO, THERE WILL BE TWO VICTORS."

"IN CELEBRATION, THERE WILL BE A FEAST. THERE ARE SIX OF YOU, AND EACH NEEDS SOMETHING DESPERATELY. GO TO THE CORNUCOPIA IN ONE HOUR."

"Madge, no," Rory whimpers. "You can't go, Madge."

"Yes I can," I tell him fiercely. "And I will."

I easily escape him and grab the bow and arrows. I cannot bring the knife. It is covered in tendons and skin and blood, hidden in a corner of the cave. I cannot face the small sword.

I leave a pack under Rory's head and shove him into a sleeping bag. His blood loss is going to lead him to lose consciousness again soon, so I decide to stay with him until that happens. I stroke his forehead and hum to him again, attempting to soothe the unsoothable. Eventually, his grey eyes close. I have roughly half an hour, if my calculations are correct.

I jump over the barricade once more. It's time for my second feast of the day.

I immediately try to gain my bearings, which is difficult after the arena earthquake. Trees are toppled everywhere, and the landscape has shifted. I climb up a nearby bluff and am able to spot the Cornucopia in the middle of the arena. I am not too far, so I immediately string my bow. I don't know where any of the other tributes are hiding.

I make it into the forest and hear the cracking of a twig. I spin around and see Rue, the tiny girl from 11. She stares wide eyed at my arrow, and I immediately drop it.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I say softly. "I promise. Run. Please."

She does, and then she is strung up, upside down as a spear enters her small body.

"NO!" I scream. The male tribute from Two looks at me, the girl who killed his district partner, and rips his spear from Rue's tiny body. The anger, the fury, the disgust that has filled me takes over, completely fills my veins and spills out in a loud scream and I release an arrow directly between his eyes.

He falls to the ground and two canons fire, one for him and one for Rue, who has now died. I cut down the net before the claw can come for her, lay her down in the moss and weave flowers into her hair. I find tears streaming down my face as the claw arrives, and I step back as she is taken out of the arena. I put three fingers to my lips and raise them in salute.

"You're going home, Rue," I say. "We all are."

I continue my trek to the Cornucopia, exhausted and emotionally spent. Between removing Rory's arm and knowing he is bleeding to death in that cave, and having seen a 12 year old slaughtered before my eyes, and having killed a fellow tribute directly, I find myself unable to stop myself from vomiting. The Capitol feast is now spilled on the forest floor, and I wipe my mouth and continue walking.

I reach the border of the cornucopia and decide I'm not going to play any games. I am too fried to do much of any strategizing, so I dart directly for the box marked "12". I notice that the other boxes are marked "11", "2". and "1". The only tributes left are the Careers from One, Clove and Cato.

"Get her!" I hear someone shout, and I know it must be one of them. I stuff the small box into my pack and string an arrow, shooting it off and making contact with some part of Cato's body, as I hear him let out a howl of pain. I could finish this now, but if I don't get back to Rory soon, it will have been for nothing. I utilize my strength of speed and sprint, as hard and fast as I can, back to the Cave. I know they must be shortly behind me, but I think Cato's injury will slow him long enough to give me the advantage.

I finally reach him and rip open the box with my teeth, pleased to find a syringe of morphling and something that might stop the bleeding. I inject both into his good arm, and I hear him let out a sigh of relief. His face relaxes and he stays asleep, but he looks peaceful now, content and painfree.

I hear Clove coming and I quickly jump the barrier. I will not let them find Rory.

"COME GET ME!" I scream as I walk into the clearing in front of the Cave. "COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

"Well well, Princess," she sneers, spinning a knife in her hand. "Someone's time is up, wouldn't you say?"

"And how does that feel?" I ask, stringing another arrow and aiming it at her heart. "Can't feel good, that's for sure."

I barely get the words out before strong arms are around my neck, pulling me backwards. Cato. I should have known. I kick out and manage to make contact with his more sensitive area, spinning my bow around and using the sharp bottom edge to knock him over the head. He releases me completely, but remains standing, backing up and taking aim at me with a sword.

I quickly restring my bow and shoot at Clove, who is distracted by her dizzily stumbling but still hostile partner. I make contact, in her stomach, and hear her sink to the ground, but I've spun around to fix myself on Cato.

"Just you and me, Princess."

"I've never cared much for that nickname, you know," I say, quickly stepping back as he makes a move forward.

"Seems I don't care."

"Seems I don't either."

I shoot at him, but he knocks the arrow out of the air with his sword. This is going to be harder then I thought, and I need to get creative. The bow has an advantage at a distance, but we are getting closer and closer to one another.

"Madge," I hear a weak voice call. "Here!"

From the top of the barricade comes the bloodied sword, and I nearly vomit upon looking at it. The pouring rain effectively rinses most of the gore off of it, though, and I quickly grab it, swinging the bow to my back.

I hold the small sword up, defensive stance ready. This is my element, I think to myself. This is what I've been taught my entire life.

Cato roars and lunges at me, and my blade makes contact with his with a sharp clank. He doesn't anticipate my skill level, and the duel between us escalates quickly. I utilize every trick I know, quickly spinning and weaving to gain the upper hand. Before I know it, he's practically backed up against the barrier that hides Rory. He manages to knick my arm and I hiss, grabbing the rapidly bleeding slice on my bicep. Cato takes advantage, hopping over the barrier and grabbing Rory, knife to his throat. He drags him out and over the barrier once more, easily tossing aside some of the rocks I was too weak to move. He moves forward, jeering at me as I feel my face lose all color.

It cannot come down to this. We cannot have come down to this.

I circle him slowly, sword in my hand, and he gently slides the sword over Rory's chest, causing him to cry out and bleed.

I look at Cato, at his wild and blood thirsty eyes, and think of Clove still lying prone and bleeding off to the side. I hear her take one last gurgling breath and then a canon fires. His eyes grow even colder.

"There will only be one Victor this year," he spits.

He finishes his sentence right as I drop my sword to the ground and rush at him as fast as I can, knocking into both him and Rory. We all cry out in a mixture of pain and surprise, and I manage to throw Rory to the side and climb on top of Cato's body. I grab hold of his sword, ignoring the way it slices my hands, and press as I hard as I can down on it. My knee is digging into the wound I left on his thigh and he shouts, the blade getting closer and closer to his throat.

I let out an animalistic scream and use all the strength that I have to push the sword onto his neck, recoiling in shock and horror as his head nearly splits clean off. A canon sounds immediately, and I stumble backwards toward Rory.

I begin to cry, sobbing and holding onto his still-bleeding body, causing blood to cover both of us. It's hard to tell whose is whose anymore.

"THERE HAS ONCE AGAIN BEEN A CHANGE IN RULES. ONLY ONE VICTOR IS ALLOWED BY DECREE. MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR."

"MADGE, NO!" Rory immediately screams, trying to grab me with his one hand. I crawl desperately to the small sword that cut off his arm and turn away from him as he desperately attempts to crawl after me. I can't get any further away from him and I don't want him to see as I plunge the knife into my gut. I remove it once more and try again, screaming out as I do so.

Two is all I have the energy for, and I lay back, blood spilling from my stomach as Rory finally reaches me. He doesn't pull out the knife and I know that's what's keeping me alive.

"Please, Rory," I gasp out. "Please."

"No," he whimpers. "No, Madge, I can't."

"Go home, Rory. We're all going home, don't you see?"

"Not like this. Not this way. I can't."

"Be strong for me," I plead. Tears spill from his eyes onto my face. "Be brave. Please."

He grits his teeth and places his hands around the hilt as we both begin to sob.

"I love you, Madge. I mean it. I always will."

"I love you too, Rory. You're the closest thing to a brother I ever had. Don't ever forget how much I love you. Don't let this ruin you."

He lets the sobs wrack his body for another moment before he takes a deep breath and goes to remove the sword. Just as he does, blood spurts out of me and I begin to choke on it all, somehow it is in my mouth and my lungs, everywhere everywhere.

My eyes close and I hear a Gamemakers voice.

"STOP! WAIT! MAY I PRESENT THE VICTORS OF THE SEVENTY FOURTH HUNGER GAMES, MARGARET UNDERSEE AND RORY HAWTHORNE."

Then Rory is throwing his body on mine to stop the bleeding, and everything is dark.

I apologize for the rushed ending of the Games! I know this all probably seems a little whirlwind, but the real drama is going to start now that the Games are over.