User blog:The Boy With The Pikachu Tattoo/The Specteral Games

Introduction
Well as many of you know, my 625th Hunger Games part 2 just ended, so I decided to start a new games between the interim of Part 2 and Part 3, so here they are. The Specteral games, and these are not a normal set of games. Basically there is going to be...96 tributes. Yep. 96. But only 48 spots for you guys, 48 will be old tributes, and I will be selecting them now. Well then, the 48 tributes who are not revived will be selected by you lot. Well, submitted. So yeh, District 1 to 12, and 2 per spot. Simple.

Yes, so now what they do when they enter the games. These games are actually set as the 725th Hunger Games, being like the 29th Quarter Quell, and so they are pretty special. The 4 tributes for each spot will fight in a smaller arena, until two remain and those two will be sent into the arena, and then once that has happened 24 times it is just like the 50th Hunger Games.

Rules

 * Now as I said above, it is Districts 1 to 12, and two for each spot so 48 tributes in total for the new, but this is the same for the deceased ones. Now, there will be 3 spots per user for submitting. I will have no maximum of old tributes.
 * The new tributes must be up to my standards, and I am being pretty strict. I want great names, and I cannot stress this enough as it is the only thing I care about, but I do also want a range of ages. Just saying, having 48 eighteen year olds or seventeen year olds will not work.
 * As usual, I will go other pages like Hunger Games Role Playing wiki, and profiles as long as you specify which tribute to take.
 * These are just a game games, I will not be doing reapings, train rides, chariots or anything like that. Just training scores and odds, and then the games. I am really doing these to get rid of the urges to write deaths while I actually do the Dawning of the End Games.
 * And again, as usual I do not want heavy advice, as it is horrible. I write games to be inventive, so I do not want restrictions on what I can do.
 * This is the same with backstories, this is a new rule. I want no backstories. If you submit one I will instantly refuse you from the games, and ban you from entering anymore tributes. I hate having to read backstories that are pages long, if you need something said like they are slightly mental add it to the personality. Please.

Tribute Template
The things in bold are compulsary, and the rest are just suggestions, so feel free to add what you want except a backstory.

Name:

District:

Gender:

Age:

Main Weapon:

Other Weapons:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Appearence (Real life picture, lunaii or description):

Personality:

Fears:

Token:

Family:

Extra Information:

District 12 Female
4 tributes. 4 plates. Piper stands on the far side of the square, silver plate below her feet. Behind her is a high wall, covered with ivy, flowing down its breaches like a silken layer of gold water. Shimmering in the morning sun, beating down from above. From the glowing orb floating in the blue murk in the sky. A single cloud floating around, a thin white veil trying to reduce the light from above, by even a tiny bit. Across from her stands Eucalyptus, the confused expression across her face, the only information she gained was from a short message, her last memory being her tumbling into the void exactly 100 years ago. She brushes her hair out of her eyes, and stares into the centre, wanting to let the games begin, to learn more about why she was here. Rain locks her eyes on the centre, where weapons lay, waiting for the tributes to grab them. They lie in the centre of a fountain, fish darted in the pond, swimming about. The fountain is ornate, detailed with patterns of flowers. Real flowers though circle in paths around the edge, winding out and forming a path. The concrete glittered with gems, sparkling in the sun. Bringing a slight joy to this saddened occasion, tribute versus tribute, citizens versus citizens. Each from the same district being forced to fight it out, slowly and painfully. Lareyna stands stands curled up, the quite breeze blowing through her hair, breezing it slightly. She is fitted in a pair of black shorts, with a black tank top and a plain grey jacket. Each of the tributes wears the same kit, all ready to attack. Ready to make it through to the final 48.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Piper is the first off, diving right in, bolting along, grabbing a thin long knife. She makes her way round, staring at the others. Rain has tackled through, grabbing a set of throwing knives before she steps back. She sets aim, her eyes flitting between Piper, standing by her podium, ready to take any fight, Lareyna, who is currently struggling with Eucalyptus over the only bow and arrow left in the fountain. Her first knife soars out her hand, striking the wall behind Piper. She spins around, seeing the threat and darts over, her knife spinning about.

The second knife catches Pipers arm, and snags the jacket. It rips down the seam, revealing a bloody gash. Already festering with bacteria. Piper uses this in her advantage, and chucks her knife. She seems to have better aim than Rain, and her knife hits directly beside her neck. It gashes open, and reveals a sprout of blood raining down, forming a small pool. Rain's body clatters down, her hands trying to reach for a bandage or something to stem her blood. But nothing comes, and the blood continues to flow. Slowly draining out, leaving three contestants. BOOM.

Piper turns around, after regaining her knife from just past the lifeless corpse of Rain. Her thick flowing hair in a mess, covering her soft face, and her vicious wound. She watches as Eucalyptus and Lareyna clash with eachother, both still struggling for the bow. Neither ready to give up. Eucy's dark brown hair flicks around, moving back and forward in a continuous wave. Lareyna on the other hand sticking fast, not sure what to do. A knife flies through the air again, but slams into the opposite wall, slicing right through the pair. Both of the pause, staring over at Piper. Her face streaked with both regret and determination. Not wanting to die a second time. She dives into the flowing fountain, grabbing a second long thin knife from the ground, and swings around, turning to face Eucy and Lareyna. Neither of them know what to do, but Piper does. She tackles Lareyna to the ground, and brings the knife down towards her heart, but Lareyna is faster than she thinks.

She rolls to the side, disappearing beneath the surface, and Piper turns her eyes to Eucy, which lock onto the bow hanging in her arms. The first arrow narrowly misses the silken wonder, the girl who dreamed so far but was betrayed by the boy she tried to save. The next one is far off, as Piper has followed Lareyna and driven herself beneath the surface of the water, her knife flailing out, and slamming directly into the head of Lareyna, digging deep into the skull, drawing a silent trickle of blood, not noticed behind the flailing waves caused by Piper. But when it grows, the water begins to bleach a pale red, a mix of red and clear, sickly in the water, but as soon as Piper notices it, and Eucy captures it in her eyes they both know who the final 2 are. Both just wait as the pool grows bigger, and wait for it all to end...for now.

BOOM.

District 12 Male
The camera zooms around, capturing the four pillars in the room, each connected via a thin stone walkway, leading into the centre of the room, to a pile of weapons. Three kinds, a thin long knife, reaching far beyond half a meter, a silver axe with a wooden hilt, and finally a vicious lengthened spear, birch rod, fitted with a brass end.

Armstrong, Kole, Coal and Kyuso. Each one is wearing a black thin jacket, with a white cotton t-shirt with a pair of brown three quarter length trousers. All of them wait silently, listening to the countdown resounding around the empty area, the dark abyss below, the grey sky above. The whistling wind shakes the bases of the platform, and none of the tributes feel safe, all of them streaked with a slight anger in their faces, two 18 year olds, a 17 year old and a 15 year old. Coal stares around, to Armstrong and Kyuso, the oldest two, and then to Kole. Only a year younger, but much older than him. A bright line shines down, blinding each of the tributes, just as the countdown reaches its end.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The light dies as soon as the countdown ends, and a faint glow is revealed. All the tributes dive forward, all wanting to be the first to cross the shaken row, and to grab a thin blade, or anything that they can use to slaughter their enemies. Armstrong is the first to reach the pile, grabbing a long thin knife, and swinging it round. It strikes Kyuso directly in the face, sending him sprawling backwards. He retreats back down to his column, but Armstrong follows. Half blinded by the wound, Kyuso has no clue what he has to do. His fist out for a rock resting on the end, and he swings it round towards Armstrong. Slow movements though, Armstrong easily dodges the swing, and steps backwards. But his knife keeps moving, and it slashes down the other side of his face. Blinding the second eye. Blood splatters on the cold grey concrete, and Kyuso lets out a pained scream. Sending Kole and Coal's eyes over to where they lie, Neither of them are bothered about each other, and seem to be planning to take down Armstrong. But this beast is about to claim his first kill of these games, as his arm flails out, and smashes the knife directly into the chest of Kysuo. Blood volcanoes out, spilling over the edge, falling into the abyss below as a stream is formed, crossing the cold stone floor, and water-falling off the edge. BOOM. Armstrong spins around, and his eyes lock on the two other males, trying to decide which one he wants to take the life of, and he decides on the younger one, the weaker one. He decides on Coal.

Kole and Coal are both armed as Armstrong charges, his thin knife swinging around, slashing about. Coal dives to the side, his silver axe flailing about. Kole on the other hand stands strong, the spear hold in front of him, ready to brace the weight of the axe, but it never comes. Armstrong turns at the last moment, throwing his knife head long, sending it smashing into the body of Coal. It skiffs his arm, and drives deep beneath the skin. Sending a fountain of blood spewing around. He topples over, but is not out. The axe falls out of his arms, and collapses over the edge. Armstrong grabs another knife from the pile, and walks over to where Coal lies. He is about to bring the knife down, when Kole jumps into action. He slams the spear down onto the back of Armstrong, and waits for something to happen. But nothing important does. Other than the fact the brute decides to switch his target, and turns around, his face flushed, ready to kill Kole.

Neither of them though are wounded. Kole dives backwards, leaping over the pile of weapons, his spear raised. Armstrong manages to get a third knife from the pile, and throws it towards Kole. Luckily it slams into the spear, slicing through, but losing momentum. It hits Kole's body, but damages nothing due to its weakened force. Kole drops the spear ends, and grabs a second one from the pile, and throws it towards Armstrong, but misses by an inch. He watches as it sails past his body, and drives its hilt into the head of Coal. Giving him three seconds to meet the eyes of his killer, and mouth one word. “Why”. BOOM.

The two revived tributes stand there, both staring at the dead body of Coal, and then to Kyuso. For the second time, both revived tributes came out alive, both ready to meet who had been their district partner in the original games. Armstrong clearly now recognises Kole, remembering him from the games that preceded his own. Kole who died in the Bloodbath, Armstrong who finished 2nd. Neither of them know that the allies in their games, Piper and Eucy, are waiting for them, waiting to be re-united, but as usual. Only one of them could survive.

District 11 Female
A thin glowing forest settles into view, a thin layer of mist shrouding the floor. Unlike the previous two arenas, no weapons lie in the floors, meaning the only weapons the 4 girls from District 11 will be able to use is their own hands. Or natural weapons that are littered across the floor, sharpened rods, poisonous berries that are scattered around. A glittering light falters down through the roof, and cascades down. Resting on the head of each of the tributes. None of them so sure that they can survive. But all four of the girls know that only two of them can leave this arena today. PJ and Hail are on one side, behind them rests a broken wall, the clumps of snow littered about the floor. Another viable weapon. On the other side, Jay and Eliza stand, both confident, and both staring behind them to the steep drop off, leading to an 100 meter drop, ending with a gracious flowing pool.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Hail darts backwards, grabbing one of the rocks from the floor, and PJ mirrors her. They stare at each other, forming a mental bond. Deciding they will be the two to make it, through the the arena. On the other side of the small clearing though, Jay and Eliza are readying themselves. A thick birch stick from the side is now gripped in the hand of Eliza, with Jay choosing a completely different strategy from any of the others. She darts to the side, grabbing one end of the thick solid branch, and pulls herself up high. Climbing steadily up the soft tree, hidden away in the bushed rivets, shrouding her placement from the other three tributes.

Hail stands strong in her position, and watches as PJ darts over the clearing, clashing with Eliza. Her stick flails around, trying to smash the rock from PJ's hand. She misses the rock though, and collides with the wrist of PJ. Due to the pressure her hand relinquishes, and the rock flies into the depths of the forest. Now weapon-less, PJ backs up slightly, trying to avoid the constant swings of Eliza. Each one missing, but each one bringing PJ closes to the cliff.

Her feet trip over a routed rock, tumbling backwards to the edge of the ground. Her head hangs over the abyss, and she stares down. Her eyes locked on the lake below her, and instantly her head begins to spin. Her mind is muddled, thinking of falling down, crashing into the lake. Drowning slowly, and then falling asleep. An endless, tortured sleep.

Eliza kicks out, her foot colliding with the side of PJ's chest, sending her rolling that bit further, and landing her in endless death. Her body tumbles over, and smashes down towards the water. A few soundless seconds, before the splash sounds. Of PJ's corpse striking the top of the waves, and shattering on impact. BOOM. The cannon echoes around the abyss, and Eliza stares out into the forest below. That spans for miles, never ending. Eliza knows it is all an illusion, but for a moment, an irresistible moment she thinks about what her life would be like if she jumped. And left the games behind, and just took her own life now. Not letting the games change her, as already she had basically killed. Her first foot hovers over the void, but Eliza is unsure. The hesitation is streaked across her face, but it is never figured out. Hail does not wait, she dashes forward, and brings down the lump of wall down onto the head of Eliza. The blow is soft enough not to cause an instant death, but hard enough to cause eminent death, in the not so far future. The blow is clear, a swift dent inlay into the skull. Hail watches as Jay leaps down from the branches, landing on her feet, and slowly walking over to where the pair of 11 females lie. Her hands are now placed onto the shoulders of Hail, and they stand there. Both waiting, both knowing that they had done what they needed to know. A quiet wind blows, changing the hair shape of Eliza as her chest rises slightly, but collapses seconds below. A bubbling trickle of blood has appeared, coming from directly where the stone collided with her head. Its crimson coils create a vivid linear picture that clatters down her face, and soaks down into the soil of the grass. Gone forever, almost like Eliza. Almost. But Eliza was still there, just leaving fast. Her hand grips the birch rod, one last time. Tightening enough to show she would never stop fighting. BOOM. Even after death. Even now, when Eliza was gone forever, never to return. Jay and Hail stare at eachother, and wait for a moment, but seconds later the hovercraft soars down, lowering its ladder to retrieve the final 2 females from District 11. Taking them to the true game.

District 11 Male
The ground begins to roll, moving steadily, shifting in a slither of continuous golden breathed sand. The deserts wide, stretching on for who knows how long. But the tributes all know they will not be leaving this circle. None of them have a clue what to do though, as their arena lacks any weapons, natural ones or man-made. Just piles and piles of sand. And four metal plates, holding the four tributes, each decked out in a golden brown tank top, and a set of khaki pants, that hit their knees. They all stand around, waiting for the countdown to pass, yet none of the four know what they are going to do once the bell sound, how they are going to take the lives of the other 3, so they can enter the arena. Robin and Ames are on one side, Tempesto and Keegan on the other. Three of them are 15, with Ames being the only one who is 18. He stands strong, and watches as the others flit around, their hands quaking, waiting as the countdown breaks into its final section.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Ames is the only one who moves when the sound goes, and jumps directly into the sand, but regrets it as soon as he leaves his podium. His feet smash into the sand, but they never move again. He struggles, as the sand begins to wrap around his legs. He stays on the same plane, but the sand around him begins to swirl, rising slowly in a spiralling column. Ames struggles against the constricting layers, and watches as the sand drags along his skin, tearing in tiny gashes, letting tiny streams of blood flow down his body. His clothes are torn within seconds, coated in blood, now melding with the whirling sand, causing the steady blur of red and brown. The other three tributes watch as Ames disappears fully behind the wall, his hair being torn off strand by stand. And his retinas being slashed down the side, blinding him. His screams are lost in the sounds of the current of sand, that is now slowly dying down. Leaving the blood ridden corpse of Ames, just losing its last breath, and as its ribs crash inwards, the sand stills fully. Waiting for its next victim. BOOM.

Each of the tributes stares about, wanting to watch one of the others die, but none of them move. They watch as the corpse of Ames, now just raw flesh and bones, disappears beneath the surface of the sand, swallowed whole by the carnivorous landscape. Off in the Capitol though, someone else has a plan. To make sure someone dies, and fast. A gamemaker resting over a button, slams it down. Drawing a cold but torrential wind to blast over the desert, sending the burning meat seeking grains into the wind, and pouring them over the skin of each of the tributes. Meaning it was just a race of who could survive longest.

The sand becomes thicker, now a full fledged blizzard. All the tributes try to hide their faces, but the sand cuts through the cloth. The blood flows continuously, but no camera is powerful enough to break through the wall of sand. It rains for about five minutes, and the cries are again blocked out by the waver of sand. BOOM. The instant the cannon sounds, the sand dies. Pouring to the floor, settling over the floor, hiding the three bodies. Each one lying on the ground, lying still. The Capitol sends a second blast of air, that sends the sand shifting off the body, and allows the bodies to be showing, but this still does not reveal the tribute who died. Each of the three bodies is coated in blood, a thick paste created with the sand, the clothes torn. None of them are identifiable by their appearance, but a second later the body of one of them is swallowed by the sand, just as Ames was before.

The camera waits on the two bodies, waiting for the other two to regain their footing, To show who passed, but it has to wait. But slowly, as time passes a body begins to move, just a slight movement, but enough to reveal the face. Scratched, bloodied. But recognisable. The face of Tempesto. His hair torn out, his eyes now just pools of blood. He is on deaths door, but alive. The hovercraft lowers down, picking him up, retrieving his limp body. It is taken aboard the craft, and then the arm lowers down a second time, grabbing the second guys body. And as he is flipped over, his face is shown, showing that for the first time in the selection rounds, neither of the revived tributes died. Keegan had survived, where Robin has died. His body disappears into the ship after Tempesto, and the District 11 tributes are chosen. Leaving 10 districts to go.

District 10 Female
The camera pans over the reservoir, a gaping embodiment of water, spreading for miles. Breaking into steep cliffs, coated with thick greenery, trees, bushes. Speckled with dotting purple, yellow and orange flowers. But in the centre of the reservoir lies a small island, that holds the four girls from District 10. Laquisha, Aliya, Clarise and Chiara. All of them look ready, posed to set off towards the glorious sparkling pile of weapons, lying in the middle of the lone island. Unlike the first two sessions with weapons, there was only one type of weapon. Heavy weighted clubs, ready to smash peoples heads in. The wind whistles by, and sends an army of ripples tearing across the surface of the lake, breaking the reflection of the coloured cliffs.

Aliya's dark hair blows back in the wind, Clarise's vicious sneer stabs into the others eyes, Chiara's golden blue eyes glitter in the steady sun, Laquisha flows in the wind, her face pale in the readying sun, her hands quivering, the legs shaking like mad. Even before it happens Clarise, Chiara and Aliya know what is going to happen. She keels over, her shoulders striking the ground for just a second before the roaring boom shakes through the reservoir. The mines break, shattering Laquisha's body into a million pieces, sending her flying into the faces of each of the girls, and splashing into the depths of the lake. BOOM. The moment the cannon sounds, the countdown breaks into its final seconds, causing each of the tributes to tense, as they know now only one of them has to die. The countdown begins to reach its end, and all the tributes, the 3 remaining tributes, prepare themselves. Ready to leap from the plate, grab a weapon and fight. Fight for their place in the final 48. Grips tightening, teeth gritted. Each of them were ready, and as the countdown reaches its end, the water quivers, and the cliffs begin to crumble.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Clarise is the first tribute off the plate, and just like the others she does not notice the clashing rocks raining down the end of the lake, sending waves crashing over the surface, wavering towards the island. Building power as it moves. But none of the tributes seem to here the powering sound, all just focused on reaching the thick clubs. None of them know who they are going to try and kill, but each of them know its not going to be them. Clarise grabs a thick mahogany club, and backs up, watches as Aliya and Chiara both choose sleek oak branches, longer but less sturdy. Clarise swings out, but instantly feels the loss of the length of her weapon. Chiara can bring the club round, keep out of the swing of Clarise but still collide the end with her chest. Clarise flies backwards, her body rolling backwards down the hill of the island, bashed about. She ends up resting at the base of the island, beside the water. Her eyes face outwards, and she catches sight of the wave. Swallowing the whole sky, and enveloping the whole set of blue.

She knows it is to late, as Chiara runs down to meet her, followed by Aliya. They stand over her body, swinging the clubs. They state at the wave, and decide just to finish it now. The club swings down, and strikes Clarise in the stomach. The blood spurts out of her mouth, spraying over Aliya's face. She drops the club, grasps Chiara's hand and drags her along with her up the hill. They watch as the blood continues to flow from the lips of Clarise, her only aim was to see Craig again, but that was lost. The tidal wave strikes the hill, swiftly retrieving Clarise, and squeezing her in the steady cold grip of the wave. BOOM. The wave continues to move though, but Aliya and Chiara both know they are safe. It strikes them, and drags them off the island, and they are both lost in the swirls of crashing liquid, filling the reservoir, but slowly steadying around. Its aqua curls sparkle in the slowly moving sunlight, and crash over the cliffs. Ripping the shrubbery from the faces, and tearing the petals off each flower. The mixing pot of colour, vivid blue of the water, growing green from the plants, the each single multi-coloured petal that swirls along with the rest of the water. Chiara is pulled under by a claw, dragged into an underground cave faster than she can think, removed from the arena though the water, while Aliya is picked up from the top. Managing to keep on a cliff ledge she was thrown onto by the water. Her hair is plastered to her face, and she observes the scene of the crashing water as she moves, knowing that the body of Clarise was somewhere in there. A gracious place she would never forget to her dying day, not her first arena. But the one she had been given a second chance in.

District 10 Male
The tributes slowly rise from the plate, and instantly they are blinded by the blaring sun. Its golden rays crashing into the field, and the tributes stare around. Each of them peers over the wall of corn, trying to catch sight of their rivals, but the only thing each of them can see is a golden ocean, as unlike the others, this was a hunting game. Each of them then descends below the surface, staring at the undergrowth, the bubbling civilisation, holding a two weapons in front of each of them. A birch club, paired with a thin slab of rock, rounded at the end. Ready to work.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them dives into the forest of stalks, trying to keep the rustling to a minimum. Satan, Craig, Kenny and Rohan. Satan dives through the fields, silent like a mouse, his feet brushing against the rotting plants placed under the shelter of the layer of golden corn, showering him in a consistent malicious dramatized shine. His hair brushes against the top, sending out the lightest sound, that seems to echo in the emptiness, and the flurry of weapons comes on an instance. Craig had been facing the other way, just hidden by a root of corn, but as the stone sails through the air, Satan just manages to duck. Crashing to the ground. Both Satan and Craig know whichever one of them comes out of this alive, is going to be attacked in an instance. Craig's movements are swift, and he smashes through the plants, and leaps onto the back of Satan. His club is raised, and ready smash in the head of Satan, but neither of them are ready to give in. Satan's hand locks onto the wrist of Craig, and forces him to drop the club to the floor. It settles about a foot from the struggling pair, but neither of them notice it grow to a rest.

About 20 meters from where this pair lie, Kenny is hiding in the bushes. His eyes locked on the club lying in the writhing undergrowth. His was back in the ditch he found, being circled by a snake, along with his rock. He was defenceless, and he knew his life depended on that club. When he sees Craig and Satan roll over, moving them further from the duo, he darts out from the hidden layer. His footing is swift, and even if he is not the fastest, he makes it over to the club within seconds, scoops it from the floor, and darts back into seclusion. Even though he knew he could hear those two coming, he fears the worst, and does not stop fleeing, knowing both of them would have the second club, and could take him down in a second.

Satan now is resting on his knees, standing over the bloodied body of Craig. Blood flowing from his knows, slashes up and down his face, mauling the face that was actually a father, but never knew it. He reaches for Craig's club, but fumbles in thin air. His eyes flash to reach it, and notice its absent, but he does not let that hold him back. He spins around in an instance, and sinks his fists directly into the face of Craig. Repeating this action drives him closers to death, and drives Satan closer to being out of this field. Little did he know, that by killing Craig it would lead him to a swift end. BOOM.

Satan rests for a second, slowly wiping the blood from his fists. As Craig's body blends into the background, the field becomes silent again. Rohan, Satan and Kenny. None of them know, that the creature to take the next life would be something that was all around them. The sun continues to beat down, Kenny is now resting in a small ditch, hidden away. Fiddling with the club, and a slab of stone he found. Clashing them together, sending sparks into the air, but that fizzle out before striking the floor. But one doesn’t, one collides with a plant stalk, and creates a fire. The spreads fast, and is about to take a life.

Kenny is the first to be alerted, and he begins to move when the fire strikes down his leg. The searing pain is nothing compared to the one he would feel if he did stay still. His feet keep moving one after another, and he tears through the field. Not even hiding his screams as he moves. Satan hears the cries, and moves in an instance. The fire wall behind him, and the stalks now forming a maze. He moves faster and faster, but Kenny easily catches up to him. Overtaking Satan in an instant. His feet patter on the ground silently, despite the rapidity. And both of them are dead set on fleeing, not knowing the race was already over. Rohan, hidden away tripped as he ran, and was swallowed by the pain, and slowly, tortured to death, murder. Vicious pain. BOOM.

District 9 Female
The arena whirls around the four metal plates, set in a circle, and tumbles and turns, swallowing the darkness. The girls from District 9 all stand strong, ready to bolt to the center, but unsure how to get there. Each of the podiums stands on a floating isle of land, swirling in the vortex of wind. Around them lies other sets of ground, trees and boulders. The only thing linking them to the central area, that is coated with weapons, and a single flailing tree, is a path of boulders, that seem to float in the wind, hovering around. Waiting for someone to cross them. Silver and Allie lock eyes, and then instantly move away. Despite being both revived, neither of them knew each other, their games being to far apart. The other two girls, Liza and Chasity both are prepared, ready to dart from the plate. Both of them had practised on the rope course in the training center, and were prepared for anything. They watch as the winds waver, and the screeches pierce through the settling fog, and they begin to scan the make shift cornucopia. Three types of weapon, a thick handled mace, a thin sharpened sword and a set of golden bows. All of them are prepared, and they all wait as the countdown swiftly drops, and comes to its end.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Liza is the first to make her way off the end, leaping onto the first section. Her hands grab onto the boulder, and she holds herself up, moving back up, and making a second leap. Allie, Silver and Chasity see her moving to the weapons, and decide it is time for them to begin to move, make their journey. Allie, used to climbing trees, leaping through tiny gaps, and over gaping chasms, makes it over the gap within seconds, and grabs a golden bow. She slings it onto her shoulder, and then grabs one of the arrows. She lodges it into the strip, and spins around. Silver, like Allie, makes it to the platform swiftly. She is about to grab a bow, when Allie turns on her, the arrow trained on her head.

“Make one move, at this will go straight through your brain”. Allie's eyes are filled with pain, the dark flowing hair cascading down her back. Little did she know, as she was focused on not killing Silver, Liza and Chasity were making their way round, and getting to the platform. Chasity reaches it before Liza, and grabs a sword. Sadly, as she moves she knocks into Allie, causing her to fire the arrow, which misses Silver, and is about to clash with Liza. She leaps backwards, tripping over the rocks. Her head smashes into one of the floating boulders, knocking her clean out before she tumbles into towards the ground. BOOM. This momentry break in Allie's concentration allows Silver to grab a mace. She swings it round, and smashes it into the chest of Allie, sadly the blunt side first. The weakened force of Silvers swing only sends Allie tripping over the weapons. Onto Chasity's side of the island.

All three girls are armed, Allie with her bow, sadly having no time to grab another arrow, Chasity with a vicious sword, ready to slice anyones neck open and Silver with her mace, but with no power to swing it. Only 3 tributes remain, and none of them are ready to kill. None of them want to make the first move. The wind slowly dies, and the cries echo even louder. Allie slowly moves towards the arrow on her back, and draws it quickly. Silver sees this as an opportunity, and throws her mace. Allie easily dodged it, but her quiver is not so fortunate. It smashes into the quiver, breaking every arrow. Chasity lashes out at Allie, her sword slashing right down the side of her face, drawing blood. Bubbling, golden, thick. Crimson rain, that draws the life from anyone. None of the tributes want to see it, but both Silver and Chasity are relieved it is not theirs. Yet. Allie stays still for a second. Her breath steady, her hair hiding the wound, hiding her face. They all stand still, all ready for the cannon to go. And it does. But it is not Allie's, it is the person who her last arrow strikes in the head. Chasity clatters to the floor, and her hand leaps to her head, tearing the arrow from her soft skull. Pain, soaring pain. BOOM. The hovercrafts are there within seconds, retrieving the body of Chasity. It flies off, but is replaced by a second one, that takes the survivors. Silver and Allie, both pained with what they saw. Allie was a victor, Silver came fourth. Neither of these girls were weak, and both of them would put up a fight if it meant dying a second time, and both of them would if they wanted to survive the next month.

District 9 Male
The light is shattered as it reaches the ground, shining over the 4 tributes. Kyler, Tyler, Copper and Elder stare around, each with a determined look on their face. They all watch the shattered light fragment over the walls. Creating a decadent pattern of shapes and colours across the wall of this stunning crystal cave. With only a few small gaps up to the sky, the cave is in seclusion, inside and safe. Lining the walls is a series of stunning layered gems, a variety of greens, reds and blues. Sapphires, emeralds and rubies, with a few clear diamonds sparkling in between. Across the floor there is a layer of green stained moss, soft and beautiful. All of this surrounds the true benefit to this golden cave, the weapons. Any weapon, and every weapon. Unlike the others, there seems to be no restrictions to the variety of the slicers, or mashers. Maces, axes, knives, swords and bows. Each of the tributes knows the weapon they want, and each of them knows how they are going to get it. There seems to be no outside chances of deaths in this arena, with no cliffs, mutts or anything. Just the tributes, blood will be drawn in this arena, and with two of the tributes being brothers, it seems to be two versus two. And the tributes just seem to realise this as the countdown breaks into its final segment.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

None of the tributes wait once the gong sounds. Each of them bolt into the center, all wanting the same consequence. To make it out of this arena. Copper and Elder reach one side of the pile, and each grab a weapon. A thick brass sword now lies in the hands of Elder, while a thin iron blade is held by Copper. When Tyler and Kyler strike the pile, Copper and Elder are already waiting. Their swords swing down, and just miss the twins. They both dart in opposite directions, trying to avoid the pain of being stabbed. Tyler just manages to grab a knife before he flees though, and walks over to where Kyler lies. They stand next to each other, ready for the battle with the two revived tributes, both wanting to be saved from the pain they faced last time. Two sides, one side with a single knife, the other with two swords. Neither know how to face full throttle though, and neither want to attack. They stand still as the ripples from the crystals shimmer around, shattering the air around them. They all long to be above the soil, in the green fields above, but none of them will make it there if they do not begin to kill.

Copper and Elder make the first attack, diving forward, swords flailing, trying to hit anything they can. Tyler holds his knife strong, but Kyler flees to the pile of weapons, knowing he is useless against two elite men waving painful weapons, when he holds nothing but his own fists. He manages to scoop up a spear, the first weapon he came across, and spins around to face Elder. His spear swings round, and lashes out along the face of the boy from 9. Searing pain streaks down his face, but he ignores it, and moves around, getting under the spears length. He lashes out with his sword, and pierces right through his stomach. He collapses to the floor, and writhes in pain. His spear now lying useless. He cowers, his head down, waiting for Elder to make the final blow, to take his life. But it never comes, as twins share a bond. And Tyler was not letting his twin die. The knife now protruding from the back of Elder, had been thrown from where Tyler stood, but it had left him defenceless. And Copper was strong. BOOM. Elder's body is still, gone but the Captiol's eyes do not focus on him. They focus on the sword slashing down the side of Tyler, sending him falling to the floor, bleeding to death, like his brother.

“Ky-Kyler...hel-help me please...”. Tylers voice is quiet, but it resounds around the empty cavern. Copper stands back, knowing he is already safe from death this time, and watches as the twins wait for one of them to die.

“I...I cant...I am sorry Ty...its to late”. Kyler reaches out his hand, linking with Tyler. “One of us..one of us is going now...and I am sorry...”. Tylers hand drops from the pair, and raises it to his wound. Trying to stem the blood, but sadly it is flowing more viciously than even Kyler's wound. He knows it will be him who is going to die, and is waiting for it to come, and finish. BOOM. Kyler's tears are quick, and they stream down his face, mourning the loss of his brother. He tries to reach his face, but his hand never graces the face of Tyler, as his body is removed. Leaving Kyler and Copper alone, in the cold cave. Waiting...waiting for the end.

District 8 Female
The setting sun breaks over the swift ocean, with 4 metal plates lying in the swift upturning ocean. A pale set of golden blue, that streaks all across the glass surface. Shimmering, shattering, shaking. The 4 platforms hold four girls, each of them wondering what they are supposed to do here. Mystique, Rain, Lilo and Quinberly. Each of them are has been through years of pain, but now they were to be put through their biggest test. No weapons lie in this arena, and it seems the only way that the tributes will be able to access the others through swimming over the glass. Little do they know that below the surface lies a fate worse than death, that would take anyone who entered the sulky vaporous platitude. Simple, but glorious. Mutts lie below the ocean, hidden by the glacier of water, the life is horrible. Each of them waits for one of the tributes to take a step off, and then they will swallow them whole. The question is though, when the countdown ends, who will be the first to jump off. Who will be the first to risk their chance at life, who will be the first to die.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The gong sounds, beginning this round but none of the tributes move. Each of them know it must be some sort of trick, that something was waiting for them. Waiting for the first person to make a move. And each of them were correct, they all knew the same thing. 2 of them were going to die, and if none of them movie it would be all up to the gamemakers. They would decide who would fall, and who would prosper. How they would choose no one knew, but the time was coming that something had to happen. And the gamemakers came up with a logical, swift and easy way to make someone die. They increased the amount of water, pushing them all below the surface.

The water swirls in the now filling void, and each of the tributes begins to panic. The face of Quinberly becomes flushed, and hands of Rain begins to flail. It swiftly rises up, the beasts are released. And mayhem begins. Mystique seems to be the calmest of the four, she leaps into the sea, and swings towards Quinberly, her chosen ally. Quinberly is still struggling to keep her head above water, but Mystique easily helps her calm. She can feel the beasts swimming around beneath her, the swirls of the water tearing around, creating echoing ripples. That beat throughout the chasmed vice that shatters below the tributes, holding each of the beasts, that are about to take their first victims.

Lilo hovers around, f loating in the stilling water, and everyone knows that will not last long. The tentacle breaks out from the still glass surface, shattering the still surface. It seems to spread fast, and in an instance the world is in twinkles of glorious rain that swirl in the resounding air. It latches onto the ankles of Lilo, and drags her beneath the surface. Her mouth yells out, but this just creates even more pain, as the water flows down her throat. Filling her lungs.. She knows she is gone, and her sight begins to fade. Her eyes flutter shut, and the scalene tentacle tightens, returning to the body of the mighty mutt. Glowing eyes, single piercing grinding pain shines from the dark chasm. For a single instance they appear, before flitting shut, and disappearing just as Lilo's last chance of life did. BOOM.

The three tributes above the water stare around, trying to work out the other person you passed on. Quinberly and Mystique know either Rain or Lilo have gone, and are waiting for the second cannon to follow. They are still resting by the metal plate, just managing to hold on, the sea having stopped growing. On the other side of the circle, Rain swims. Her hair soaked, and moving independently from her body. Mixing with the water, causing a blur of brown mixture. She watches as a fin appears from above the surface, and makes a decision within an instance. She does not want to die in the mouth of the shark, she does not want to let the teeth of the beast grasp her chest, breaking each single bone in the body singly. Her head ducks beneath the surface, and never returns. She uses her last effort to push her body down, using her arms to swim as far as she can. She can feel the depth causing pain to her head, but tries to push it off. Knowing if she stops now she will be ready for the shark to eat her. But little did she know the Gamemakers had paused the mutts, allowing her to finish this deed by herself. Letting her take her own life. Drawing this dramatic round to a slow and painful end. BOOM.

District 8 Male
A bright flash begins this arena, revealing a plain grass field, captured on three sides by raging cliffs, the other is blocked by a terror filled gate, golden brass locks. Around about 10 metres high, attatched to a wall that streaks right across the fourth side of the field. No way out of this place, and there is only a limited space to hide, but none of these tributes seem to want to run. Each of them has a cruelty in their eye, that could mean only one thing, they wanted to draw blood. They wanted this field to be coated blood. Dexter, Chase, Toby and Down. Four boys, each of them lock their eyes on a weapon, one weapon of the many many weapons that lie in the center. Swords, maces, spears and knives. The soft bed of green grass, coated in a fine aged dew. The cliffs of rugged golden rocks, that echo around giant ringing arena. Each of them are wearing a pair of black trousers, and a light green jacket, over the brown shirt below. Each of them is soaked in sweat from the beating sun, and each of them counts with the steady lowering beat, that reaches its end swiftly, and concisely.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

All the tributes dart out from their podiums, and each of them fast, and each of them strong. They all grab a weapon, not really caring what weapon they get, but with each of them now armed, the question was who would do the killing. They sort of break off, each backing away, back to their podium. Staring around, sussing up their opponents. Chase and Toby had a resounding lead over the other two, having both scanned through tapes of the previous District 8 males, they knew the strengths of both Dexter and Down. But also the weaknesses. Chase is holding a thin sabre like blade, about a meter long with a stiff short handle. Toby standing next to him holds a thick bladed golden axe, while across from him Dexter holds a similar weapon in size and shape, but with a much more delicate pearled colour. That seems to wrap around the blade, and added it a softer tone to the otherwise lethal blade. Unlike the other three, Down holds a completely different weapon, a silver length of wire, coated in tiny thin razors for a meter along it. A deadly weapon, used to strangle in speed.

Chase is the first to move, he darts out towards his side. Lashing out with his sword at Toby's face, but neither of these boys are going to die without a fight. Toby's axe was already raised when Chase let out his first move, and the problem with a weak weapon such as a sabre sword, it shatters very easy. The splinters fly out, and one lashes into the eye socket of Toby. His hand grabs his face, the screams echoing around. This signal sends Down and Dexter into joining the fight. They both run over to the pair, but stop and watch as Toby's eyes mutilates with the metal fragment lodged inside. A mixture of the jelly inside the eyeball, and a thick torrent of blood cascades down his face. Scolding his hand, and burning the screams. Despite the length of the fragment, it has lodged directly into his body, and was a fatal infringement of his head. BOOM. The first blood had been spilt onto the field, and this sends the remaining three wanting more.

Chase grabs the axe from the dead body of Toby, slashing down his face as he does so, soaking it in the same red juice that lies before him. Each of them are armed, but Down seems at a slight disadvantage. The other two wield powerful weapons, while he lies with a limp line of wire, only a strong weapon in traps and close range fighting. The other two boys instantly know the weaker target, and they know who they are going to take down. But the thing was, Down was not gonna go down without a fight. He decides he needs to act first, and lashes out. Both of his hands have a part of the wire, allowing him to wrap the wire round the wrist of Dexter, digging the spikes into his skin. Drawing a stream of blood. The axe falls to the floor, Dexter's wrist having relinquished when the wire tightened. Chase takes this as his opportunity, and swings his newly aquired axe into the back of Down. It sinks beneath the surface, and Down instantly crumples. Dragging the wire off the hand of Dexter, but causing even more blood to flow. Opening gaping gashes down his hand, but Dexter ignores the pain, and swings the axe repeatedly into his head, wanting this guy to fall, wanting this guy to die. And he achieves his purpose. BOOM.

District 7 Female
A forest comes into view, that seems fitting for the girls of District 7 to fight on. Mae, Willow, Aurora and Blair stand in a circle, each of them on the tips of their toes, ready to dart into the middle. In the center of this clearing lies only 3 weapons, 3 long fingered knives. Any person who could count would notice the lack of one weapon to tributes. Around them is a much more different forest from what was seen earlier. No gracious leaves grace the branches of these trees, no light shatters on the ground. In the sky lies a single moon, shrouded in darkness. The limp, bare trees stalk around the dead grass, that is a cursed colour. Of death and blood, but fined out to cause the spikes to rise in independent swirls.

Mae shivers in the reduced weather, the chilling cold seems to spread further as the countdown reaches the end. Willow stares behind her, trying to see what lies behind the darkness, hidden away in the depths. Aurora's hand locks onto a thin metal bangle in her pocket, her token, but that tiny detail brought the whole memory of her previous games flooding back. Blair on the other side of the clearing tenses her fists, getting ready to run as the countdown runs down to the end.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Everyone darts forward, but only the three fastest will be able to arm themselves. And from the moment they step off their podiums it is clear who that will be. Blair tumbles to the floor, her foot caught in a small indent in the soil. Her face crashes into the lush soil, smearing down her face. She struggles to her feet, but watches in vane as the other three girls each grasp a blade in their hand. Her instant reaction is probably her best one to date, she flees. Her feet clatter on the ground, her arms swinging at her side. She breaks into the darkness, and the pants begin to grow. The out reaching branches snare at her clothes, causing tiny shreds to be torn into her clothes, the a couple thorns snag into her skin, drawing blood. But compared to the pain she would feel if she had stayed, this is minute. But sadly, this was not how these rounds work. To win these, to survive you have to stay and fight, running was not an option. And the paralysis serum now pulsing into her body takes hold. First she feels an innocent tingle in the tips of her fingers, but a little while later is coarse up her arms, and she loses feel in them all. Her feet and legs come next, and for the second time she falls flat to the floor, this time in so much pain. But also, unable to get up. She writhes on the floor for only a minute, as the serum continues to move, taking hold of her back, and her neck. Before finally, taking hold of the one thing someone needs to live. The heart. BOOM.

The cannon comes as a surprise to the three girls still back at base, all of them spin to face where Blair had gone, stopping their fighting for just one second. All eyes remain locked on their for a minute, maybe longer. None of them move, none of them know what to expect. The cannon had gone, they knew she was dead, but what killed her. Was Willow right to believe there was something else our there. She lowers her blade, and moments later Aurora and Mae mimic her movement. None of them want to cause a sudden movement, fearing something will take them down. After about 20 minutes of standing still, they realize something stopped Blair that was long gone now, that had fled, or was placed there just to stop anyone fleeing them.

Aurora is the first to realize this, and within a moment she spins around. Her blade flying towards the chest of Willow. Her blade misses though, with Willow's backing up, and her face filled with horror. She throws out her arm, trying to smash Aurora in the face. Mae stands beside them, her face flushed, watching these duo throwing strikes back at them, one after another. This was her moment, whoever she chose to side with was saved, the other would die. And it was now just to decide who would be stronger, and who would be a bigger asset in the arena. The weak 12 year old, who clearly has problems with her pass, or Willow, a girl she had found to hate while back in then Capitol, almost an invisible choice. Clear to the normal eye. Willow had no chance, and the blade comes from no where. It slashes across her neck, and drags the blood out from her body, and strewns it across the sullen forest. Burning to the eyes of these innocent duo, just trying to fight for their lives. Willow's empty shell of a body crunches to the floor, blood pouring from the open wound, and with the last drop of blood to fall out, her spirit leaves. BOOM.

District 7 Male
 The cold breeze sweeps over the barren mountain landscape, that has been carved out by the torrential rain that pours down. Striking the land with each force it can give. The tributes hold their jackets tight, trying to keep as dry as possible, while also scanning the area around, working out where they are. What to do. Ventus stares around, wearing a pale grey jacket, with a pair of dark water proof trousers. Beside him Hunter wears a murky green, like the trees that are splattered in the distance, but hidden by the shield that is the rain. In the center, the weapons are coated in a shimmering rag, but it is clear of the abundance of them. This pile is not small, rising about a meter off the ground. Over on the other side of the clearing, Garret stands with a navy jacket, that he holds tight. His hood up, just trying to catch the eyes of his competitors, to see what they are going to do once the klaxon sounds. Finally, in the corner. Currant is huddled, holding his breath. Waiting. He wears a dim red, a darker colour than most, a sort of maroon. It stands clear out from the background, clearer than most. But unlike the others, he does not seem scared. Behind him is a steep cliff, with a small path leading down into the abyss, an endless abyss. As he is staring, the final stages of the countdown appear, and begin.

 5...

 4...

 3...

 2...

 1...

 The instant it ends, the splashing begins. Each of them leaps from where they were imprisoned, breaking through the thin layer of mud coating the ground, to where the weapons were supposed to be. But once Garret rips off the rag, nothing is their other than a wire mesh frame. Holding up the cloth, meant to drag the four boys into a false sense of security. The realism is washing over the boys one by one, and they realize that the fists are the only weapon, and no mutt was coming. It is time to fight, and it was bear knuckle.

 Garret swings out his fist, and makes the first contact of this round. His knuckles sink into the face of Hunter, sending him flying backwards, splashing into the mud. His murky green jacket, almost disappears in the mud, but Garret finds him easily. He leaps over, tackling the rising figure to the ground, and jumping on top of him. He slams a second fist into his face, but Hunter is not down and out, despite being at the weaker end of the spectrum. He lets his hand fly out, and wraps it around Garret's wrist, throwing him to the left, allowing him to escape from under Garret's strong grasp. He throws his weight up, and scrambles to his feet. His foot flies out, and smashes into the face of Garret, slamming his head into the thick mud. But twisting his neck slightly to the left, enough to cause a searing pain to shoot up his spine, and down to his brain. The resulting scream is cut short, but Hunter's hands locking on the face of Garret, and snapping it sharply to the left. BOOM.

 On the other side of the mesh, Ventus and Currant are fighting. The cannon phased them for a second, but they got back to fighting almost as soon. They are rolling through the mud, their jackets now both a golden brown, mixed with a few specs of red from beneath. Currant found a spiked rock, that was hidden beneath the surface of the mud. He is hovering it over the face of Ventus, with only Ventus' strength stopping it from plunging into his surface. Neither of them seem to notice how close they are to the edge, and with each movement dragging them closer. Hunter, who has been watching this fight since Garret dies, joins in the fight. He dives over, grabbing the scruff of Ventus' neck. He grabs the rock from his hand, and lets out a single laugh, before swinging to rock towards the neck of Ventus. But this boy from 7 was not going to give up yet, he was not going to let the 13 year old from his own district beat him, and his elbow makes contact with the one place a boy cannot help but feel pain in. Hunter crumples to the ground, and Ventus makes an instant move, he leaps out of the way of the stone, and mutters to Currant.

 “We work together now, we kill him, we go our seperate ways in the arena”. Currant thinks for a second, but instantly knows his move. He jumps to his feet, and with the power of the two boys they each grab an arm of the limp boy, and heave him over the edge, into oblivion. BOOM.

District 6 Female
The camera is emerged in darkness, blinding everything from the sight of the camera. Slowly, but surely the camera seems to adjust, showing four figures, each standing in different corners of the darkened room. In the middle lies a blackened pile, with no clue as to what actually lies. After about 10 seconds of darkness, a fire bursts into light on each wall, with this light blooming, the 4 girls cower. Adjusting slowly to the light, and staring to the center, where only one type of weapon lies, massive chunks of brick, heavy and weighted. Each with enough power to crack open a skull, or break the bones. The 4 girls from District 6 all stare in, trying to assess the situation. Vixen, Ruby, Layla and Camellia. Each girl waits, not even sure if they will run in when the bell goes, but wonder where they would go if they did not. As the concrete walls were sealed tight, and the only place to go was forward. But they could only leave their prison when the sound goes, and as the countdown breaks down to its end, they all get prepared to move.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The countdown ends, and each of them run as if in unison. Each one seems to be matching the same speed, even if the age range is wide. Vixen being the youngest, while Ruby and Camellia take the job as oldest in the group. Ruby grabs a thick rounded rock, steady but weighted, powerful. This was not her first time wielding a weapon with the idea to kill. She was not a girl with blood off her hands, she had killed before and she was willing to kill again. All four girls are armed with a stone before the first means of fighting begins. Ruby lunges out at Layla, her rock flying towards the pristine skull, but misses by a fair chunk. Layla instantly begins to move, rolling to the side, her rock held fast in her hand. It is much sleeker, with a rough coarse edge. She takes a different tactic to the savage killer, and launches her stone towards the head of Ruby. Her accuracy is much more detailed, and precise than the revived tribute though, and it slams into the jaw of Ruby, spilling the blood all down her pale top. She clutches her face in pain from the non-fatal wound, but watches as Layla grabs a second rock, and approaches.

Behind her Vixen and Camellia are locked in their own battle. Both of them are very fast, and both chose smaller, but sharper rocks than the two girls behind them. They lash out at each other, slowly, so slowly, they are scratching each other to death. Blood flows on the ground, scratches coating their arms, legs and stomachs. The worse scratch being a long thin one caused by Vixen, that lies along the length of Camellia's face. It is still letting a small trickle of blood flow, but the largest pool on the floor was caused by this wound. Neither of them seem to be making any improvement, when the worse happens. From behind them, Layla smashes her rock over the head of Ruby, throwing her backwards, crashing into the fighting duo. Vixen manages to back off fast enough, but Camellia is taken down by the dying body. Her head slams into the rock from Vixen's out reached hand, and supplies a large dent in the side, clear but almost kind to the eye. Sadly to the brain inside, the dent has caused the end. But the girl beside her, Ruby, is suffering from the exact same feeling.

Vixen and Layla stand above, watching over the two girls. Neither of them seem to move, and both have their fate sealed, but Layla and Vixen do nothing to speed up their endless pain. They just let the wounds they created do the work for them. Supplying them time to just calm down, and relax. Ruby's chest seems to be elevating at a slower rate, and soon, it stops fully. BOOM. Camellia seems not to be doing much better, she seems to be struggling with herself. At some moments the rapidity of her breaths is rapid, but seconds later it drops to the end. Just enough to keep her body going. Her hair is over her eyes, but if it had blown just to the side, the clear glowing eyes would be revealed. That showed the true angst in her body, that now just wanted it to go away. That wanted the pain to end, that wanted to die. But her body was pushing her through for now, but her time was coming to an end. Her heart was slowing, her breath was going cold. And her eyes, twinkling in the steady firelight, a soft brown, seem to flicker shut, yet they stay wide open. But all life that lay within them before leeks out, and now they look like empty shells, empty shells, to an empty body. BOOM.

District 6 Male
Steam floods the camera, blocking the rock platform that holds the four boys. Axl, Sincius, Jack and Benjamin. The open volcano mouth is bubbling with lava, churning away. A deep crimson red, with specks of glowing orange, and molten black. Its heat waves up, in heptagonal rings, flowing over to the tributes, blowing them to a red flushed face. Swelling heat, but none of them care. Each of them has their eyes locked on one thing, and I mean one thing. A single blazing ruby sword, with a platinum hilt, and embedded with small emeralds to form the letter C. The rocks that are around it form a circle, meaning the tributes have to leap over, to reach the blade. There is 3 paths that lead off from the plateau, and out to the rim of the volcano. Each is frail, and thin but sometimes it may be the only chance for a tributes survival.

The arena wear this year is very bare, but is perfect for the heat. All the boys wear is a pair of tight black shorts, and a pair of thick boots. The sweat is already pouring down their bodies, and even with the bare wear, they are boiling, and just want the countdown to end, so they can break free from this environment, or die trying.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them leaps off their podiums, striding the 6 meters that lies between the silver podiums, and the circle of rocks. But this is where they clash. Each of them flails out their fists, trying to get the sword. Axl's hands lock on the handle, but none of the others are going to let him wield the blade. Sincius kicks out, smashing him in the knees, buckling him to the floor. But still, the sword stays in his hand, and swings out. Sincius backs out the way, but Jack does not have the same sense. The sword tears right through his stomach, splattering blood everywhere. His lifeless body falls to the floor, the blood flowing out. Matching the colour of the raging lava, filling the crater below them, yet none of the tributes notice this. They just focus on Axl, the blood crazed demon, wanting to take his second kill, to match the dead body of Jack, that now lies spralled across the floor. BOOM. Sincius notices the murderous gleam in his eyes, and knows what is coming. He backs off, heading towards one of the bridges out of the place. Trying to flee, but as he crosses the platform, he notices the lava, now slowly eezing onto the plateau, taking up the space behind him.

Sincius is the lucky one though, his leap takes him onto the rim, and at least 3 meters above the lava level, he is safe. For now. The camera pans back to the center, the land that is raised only a single meter above where the lava lies. And within a few minutes, it will be up to where they are, ready to burn. And scold them, and take one of their lives.

Axl takes a step towards Benjamin, the 12 year old boy, and watches as he backs to the edge of the circle of fire. Ringed in a painful treat for those who fall into its depths. Benjamin knows he has to either attack, or risk his death in the lava. And he knows the latter will cause his death. So he chooses to fight, with one step forward, and a dive at his legs. He tackles from behind the legs, that sends Axl tumbling to the floor. But also sends his axe skittering across the floor, and flowing into the lava. It disappears beneath the surface, the ruby red blade, a glorious speciman, now disappearing from sight. The platinum hilt melting in the extreme heat. Dexter's body is now covered in scratches, his toned muscles now coated in white scratches from being thrown to the floor. But Benjamin is not much better. His legs are coated in a thick red liquid, a golden leek of blood that results in death if let out.

Both of the boys gain to their feet, the lava now less than a meter above them, around half a meter. Both of them have no weapons, both of them are wounded. And both of them want to survive. But neither know what pain they will have to release to reach this conclusion. Axl swings out his fist, but misses by a foot, and with the forward momentum he tumbles to the ground, on his hands and knees. Benjamin leaps onto his back, trying to force him onto the ground. But this was his mistake, the forward force from Axl throwing him sends him flying into the lava. His body instantly disappears beneath the surface, and his body is sent into soaring pain. Each section is burned slowly and steadily, but he does not feel a single thing, as his head is swallowed whole, and burned away, and torn off. BOOM

District 5 Female
The glittering sand on the beach shimmers in the beating sun. Flowing down from the sky, and warming the sand, that is graced by the waters touch ever few seconds, as the beating waves crash onto the beach. Further in land, but still on the soft sand beaches, the 4 tributes lie. The girls from District 5, all of them probably having never seen a beach before. Jeni shifts her head eagerly, her arms crossed across her chest, her knees slightly bent. Her eyes dart around, staring around at the others, one by one. Beside her, and just in front of a steep cold cliff, Chiara stares around her, trying to plan what her move will be when the gong sounds. On the other side, with her back facing the cliff, Poel stands strong, her head raised high, ready to fight the other three. Beside her, preparing her footing, the oldest girl, Jackleen lies. When she was in the games last time, she never died. But she was never seen again, she escaped. And she was not the last one. The four girls watch as the wave strikes up the beach, soaking the sand, and leaving behind 4 weapons directly in the center of the circle. All four are thin birch spears, each with the word “Capitol” engraved on the brass hilt. The countdown begins to dwindle to its end, the sea is furthest out, and is about to crash out when the countdown reaches its final stretch.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

When the gong sounds, each of the tributes leap in separate directions. Chiara bounds up the stones, grabbing one of the spears. She wastes no time at all, and spins around. The spear leaves her hand, and sails down, striking into the chest of Jeni. It takes her down to the ground, and the blood melds with the sand, causing a thick red paste that lies across the ground. BOOM. Jackleen and Poel stare at the deceased body, then quickly back off. Poel having gained a weapon, while Jackleen fleeing for her life. Chiara grabs the spear that would have belonged to Jeni, and takes off after her two rivals.

The soft sand beaches curve round the cliffs, seeming to go on for miles, but none of these 3 tributes would know exactly how long it was, as they would not be running for much longer. Their speed is swift, but conclusive. The second spear is thrown within 10 minutes of the first, but this time it does not claim a fatality. It slices down the side of Jackleen's arm, skiffing her side, but not wounding her. Jackleen grabs the spear from the ground, and spins around. Turning to face Chiara. Poel was now ages away, streaking round another cliff, and out of sight. Jeni's body behind them is scooped up by the hovercraft, and leaving all cameras focused on the duelling pair.

Chiara stares backwards, with no spear in her hand. Jackleen holds a smile across her face, and throws the spear between her hands. She stares across at her opponenet, and lets the spear fly towards the girl from 5. But misses. It slides on the sand, but Chiara wastes no time in retrieving it. It follows a reverse path, but in the opposite direction. It sails over to Jackleen, and strikes her in the shoulder. Her body is forced downwards into the bed of sand, spralling everywhere. The clouds of sand sail in the wind, a cloud of golden fog. Chiara flees over to the body of her rival, grabbing the spear from the ground. She thrusts it down, smashing it through the skull of Jackleen. BOOM. The death is swift but vicious, and Chiara retracts. Her body stands in the cold win, but she backs up. Just enough to allow the hovercraft to flow in, and retrieve her body from the sand.

But Chiara is next. A ladder is lowered, and with one step she takes her place, and is pulled up into the ship above. And on the other side of the beach, Poel is given the same courtesy. Removed from this arena, never to be seen again until the next arena. Where only one could come out alive, and both of them knew if they want that to be them, Jackleen and Jeni would not be the only girls from District 5 to pass away, the other would have to go aswell. As they rest on the hovercraft, in the plush leather sofas, staring across at their enemy. Hands crossed, lips held shut tight. Prepared to fight again, they realize that the time for relaxing had come and passed, to win the games you could not give anyone any reason to kill you. As everyone was your enemy, and everyone wants to win.

District 5 male
The boys from District 5 curl into view. Scanning over the flowing river at it goes. The churning lilac waters pass swiftly below, bubbling away until they reach the end, and cascade into oblivion. Surrounding the river lies a tight ring of trees, trapping the ground in this clearing. But there was no way they were escaping, as the four tributes lie on four islands in the middle of the room, with thin planks connecting the four. No weapons in this arena, just a flowing weapon, that would drag tributes over the edge, crashing into rocks below.

Thias, Krex, Kankri and Sparks. Five boys who have never met before, forced to fight in an arena, against those who may be their friends back at home. Each of them is adorned in a set of black leather boots, fixing to the shape of their feet. A set of dark grey trousers, that hit just above the ankle. And a light-weight jacket over a soft cotton blue shirt. They stare around at each other, a malicious gleam in each of their eyes. Hands are clenched, footing is secured, and faces are gritted. But none of them are in vain, as the countdown was reaching the end, and each of the tributes was planning who they would attack, and how.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them bolt off their podium, and enter onto the weathering plank that sways in the golden wind. Krex moves slightly further, waving out to strike Sparks in the chest. His arm misses, but causes him to waver where he stands. From the pin-point place where he stands, the steady breeze seems like a torrential down pour, trying with all its heart to knock them from where they stand. His swift movements on the platform are the instalment for him, and he topples to the side, his arms grasping round the stretch of wood. Holding him in place. His hands slip slowly though, and release slowly by slowly, retracting from the grasp. Leaving him clenching by the tip of his fingers. But the splinter breaking his skin is the final undoing of him. And he topples beneath the quench of the waves, disappearing beneath the sight of the other three. But he is joined quickly by someone he unsettled before he toppled. Sparks quavers for one second, before falling backwards into the current. The round was finished fast, with the undoing of both tributes coming from the one they were dying with.

The camera follows the duo down the current, through the curls of the last stretch of the river before they crash over the edge, their last chance at survival gone as they catapult through the air, almost peaceful for just a moment. Their hands flailing in the air, their legs moving slowly as they plummet to the rocks, churning blood pumping through their veins, that would soon be added to the glorious sparkling death trap they were swiftly moving towards. The clash is loud, and it surveys around the emptiness of the arena. Just a small pool, filled to the brim with the expodential rocks, that claim the lives of both Krex and Sparks, less than 5 minutes before they were placed in the arena. The cries are resounding, but the cries are soft. The beat of a butterflies wind is louder, as the cries never come from either of the boys. As they are dragged from this world before they even have a chance to think. The first contact is made with the neck of Sparks, as it slashes along a thin rock, quenching his life forever. BOOM. Krex follows swiftly, his side splits as it crashes beneath the based waves. Never to return with a beating heart. BOOM.

The bodies of the two boys rise to the surface, both beside each other, in unison, in death. But back in District 5, two families are crying, Krex's distance relatives watch him die, just having realized they had him back alive. And Sparks' family, having to know they would never see their son, brother, cousin or grandson ever again. That his realistic death had just been shown to them, and that their was no bringing him back. That he was gone forever. The camera zooms out, and flits back to the other pair. Having hardly moved through this round. Kankri just stares down, where minutes before Krex and Sparks had been lying. Thias on the other hand, lets out a sigh. He had been a victor before, and had seen his life through. But was brought back as a kid, and had no meaning of killing this life. But also knew the perils of being a victor in the Hunger Games. The pain that you saw. As he stood on the ledge, discovering the options. Watching his fellow tributes die, he asked himself. Is this really what he wants, does he want to be the victor of another Hunger Games. And with the pained scream in his eyes, the camera could deduce one option. He was.

District 4 Female
The first of the Career district rounds appears into view, the four girls circling around. Cassandra, Vaida, Aquamarine and Seraphine. 4 girls, each scoring excellently in the training scores. Vaida and Aquamarine both gaining 11's, while Seraphine and Cassandra taking 10's. None of these girls is going to go down without a fight, and they all just stare around at the arena that surrounds them. A simple base, a golden field, with a low level of grass. With four tridents lying in the center, sticking up from the soil. One for each of the girls, and each of them was going to gain blood with this weapon.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them leap from their metal podiums, grabbing one of the tridents from the center. Aquamarine drives her tip towards Seraphine, but is knocked to the side with the hilt. Her reaction is swift, and she retracts, and swings back. But is blocked by the end of Seraphine's trident. This fight continues in this way for a while, moving around the field. Neither of the girls though seem to be backing down, with their games being only 30 years apart. The 168th and the 218th. Aquamarine slashes out though, and lands one of the prongs of the weapon into the arm of Seraphine. A little stream of blood flows down her arm, but this does not faze anyone. Seraphine just swings her shoulder, embedding it in the chest of Aquamarine. A reluctant sigh is released, then the fighting continues as usual. With neither of the opponents having an upper hand over the other. Blades whirl, Aquamarine's a pale blue, while Seraphine's is like the sea foam that bubbles back in District 4. An arm spins around, and allows the blade to block the final blow of this fight. Seraphine's trident clashes with Aquamarine's, and spins off into the distance using the force of motion. Landing miles away, and this momentary lack of defence allows Aquamarine to drive the hilt of her deadly weapon through the stomach of Seraphine, and out the other side. A look of utter serenity that appears on Seraphine's face appears, before her body clatters to the ground. Blood spinning around her body, in a lake like formation, spinning and moving, disappearing beneath the fine soil. And death appears. BOOM.

On the other side of the plain another fight is raging on between the two new tributes, probably a more vicious fight. But also a more one sided fight. Cassandra only has one move against Vaida. Defence. Her trident is a wall between Vaida. Her blade spinning around, stabbing at Cassandra's head, stomach, legs, heart. Everywhere and anywhere. As long as it would draw blood if it strikes. Cassandra lets a trickle of sweat ease down her head as she backs up. Her arm out stretched to block another subtle strike, leaving her just enough time to move, so that the blade will not collide with her head. Vaida on the other hand keeps pressing forward, striking over and over again. Pain sears through her muscles as she moves, but she keeps going. And the Capitol is allowed to get a glimpse to as why the 11 was awarded to this girl from 4. Her moves are swift and strong, but painful as well.

On the other side of the section, Aquamarine is preparing for her second victory of the day. She walks into the field, slowly searching for the blade that Seraphine lost, leading to her death. Knowing she has time to spare for her plan. She finally locks onto the sea foam weapon. She scoops it from the ground, and runs off to where the two tributes are still fighting. And she hurls the weapon almost 15 feet, with deadly accuracy that only a girl from 4 could obtain, from years of training, practise and natural born talent. It sails through the air, allowing no sound at all, and to Cassandra who now lies on the ground, staring into the stomach of Vaida, with the trident almost at her face, it comes as quite a suprise to see a trident explode from the stomach of her rival, and come shooting towards her face. Blood splattering out, shooting into her eyes. And this is to much for the 15 year old girl from 4. Her eyes break down into tears, and she covers herself up. BOOM.

15 feet away Aquamarine lowers her arm, thrusting out her chest. Her golden hair shimmering down her face, her stand glorious, the sun hitting her face in the direct right place to make her look like a goddess. She was powerful, she was beautiful. And not for the first time, this girl from District 4, who had never been in a game where she was the only one of these, but always. She was the star of the show, as she was a gem. She was Aquamarine.

District 4 Male
Fire run around the edge of this arena, swallowing the grass behind each of the tributes. For the first time in these rounds, the tributes plates are not lined in a circle, surrounding a pile of weapons, but are lined straight, heading down a flat plate of grass, into the distance. Each of them realizes they will not be fighting in this arena, that the test will be who lasts the longest, running from the ever approaching wall of flames. Whirling in the steady breeze of golden light, that shimmers from the raging sun. The fire seems to be gaining speed, and getting closer with each strike of the countdown. Each of the tributes prepares to run, Dondo, River, Jeremy and the estranged Coral, placed in the wrong reaping bowl, and reaped as a boy this year for the games.

Each of them leans back, watching the fire, listening as the countdown lowers. Breaking to the end. The mixture of golden yellows, frozen reds and wisps of aqueous blue thrown into the boiling pot. Burning the grass as it moves, swallowing the kindling, that slowly speeds it up, preparing it for the mad dash to swallow two tributes, and complete the Gamemakers need. Coral's reddened hair flows back into the wind, twirling around. Dondo stands next to her, his mind focused on winning, not wanting to face the same demise he has before. River on the other hand sways backwards, observing the sides, both swift drops, into growing wild lands. The only way to go, was behind him, to the wall of flames, or ahead. To victory. And on the edge of the stretch, Jeremy stands. The youngest of the four, but possibly the strongest. Having placed second in his previous games, he had skills the others had not faced, the ones you could only gain from days in the arena. That Coral and River had both not faced yet, and Dondo had been ripped of, due to his death in the Bloodbath. They stand strong, and as the countdown ends, the fire comes within a swift distance, enough for them to feel the heat, and force them to run once the final 5 beats had come.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them set off at a rapid pace, rolling along the soil. None of them seem to lacking in speed, and each of them tears away from the fire. The fastest by a mile seems to be Jeremy, as he excels ahead of the others, breaking through the smoke wall that seems to be forming. River and Dondo seem to be equal, in the middle, both pretty fast, but not fast enough to overtake Jeremy. But Coral is the clear weak link, her footing seems to be less sure than the boys, and as the speed uptakes of the flames, she disappears behind slowly. Not tripping, just engulfed by the flames, silently. And beautifully, the girl from 4, forced to fight with the boys, who was just not fast enough. She knows it is over, but forces herself to move quickly. Her speed is breaking up, shattering what she was doing before. But not good enough, as she never sees any of the boys ahead of her, and the camera never sees her. The smoke to thick, as it flows through her throat, pulsing through her lungs. Slowly, burning her from the inside, as the flames destroy the outside. BOOM. Her flowing red hair, burnt away, destroyed by the flames just like her insides. Her body maimed, but she was in peace now, but little more could be said for River and Dondo.

The duo had heard the first cannon, and knew, by the distance of Jeremy ahead of them, that one of them was next. And both of them knew it would be the strongest who would go first. Dondo, the 18 year old boy, who knew nothing of his sisters death, versus River. The vicious boy from 4, who had seen years go by, had seen Dondo's strategy, but was still a year younger than his rival. They both knew if they stopped to fight, both of them would be swallowed by the flames. Dondo swings his arm out, but River just moves over slightly, but this swift movement sends him back a step, but this normally terribly move, is a godsend for this boy. As with him behind, he leaps over to behind Dondo, grabbing his shoulders, and pushing him down, throwing him behind him. Flying around, crashing behind the wall of flames, but with it still moving, River cannot take a look. He has to continue moving, otherwise it could be him who disappears beneath the fire, as Dondo's cannon had not sounded, and if River fell backwards, he could be the one who died. But he was not, and the resounding echo in this arena breaks his breath, and draws him to a groaning halt. BOOM.

District 3 Female
The camera pans round, showing a glowing dome. Made of crystal clear glass, homing an exotic wide jungle garden, filled with lethal plants, and lethal tributes alike. Bold glowing colours, the golden flower buds, flowing with golden ichor, that forms a stream on the ground. The towering trees, with bellowing leaves that fan out over the wide array of growth. Shadowing the four girls, and the weapons lying in the center of their circle. Each of their signature weapons lie in the middle a thick handled hammer that catches the eye of Issabella, a silken bladed axe, with an golden ringed blade, that seems to call Emerald. Emerging from the ground beside the axe, lies a wooden sickle, that is the only thing that lies in the sight of Maude, with the war hammer on the other side being the attraction of Elenca.

The four girls, Issabella being a glorious girl, flowing blonde locks, in her last games being a key member of the Careers until her death, and Emerald, a victor with no one knowing this, just classified as dead. Gone. Deceased, until today. When she was back. And ready to kill. The two girls on the other side, both brand new. Maude and Elenca, both ready, both scared. But both know who they are aiming for, and how. With the only thing stopping them, being a countdown, and this was drawing to an end, and once it ends. Nothing would stop the four girls. Nothing.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The weapons are gone within seconds. The hammer gracing Issabella's hand, the axe lodged in the grip of Emerald, Maude grasping the sickle, and the war hammer swinging from the hand of Elenca. She lashes out at Issabella, but her length is still not long enough. Maude elbows her out of the way, and smashes Elenca backwards, flying into the shrubbery. Maude dives after her into the jungle, focusing on murder. Leaving Issabella and Emerald alone, both armed. The hammer swings out, clipping the head of Emerald. The movement is quick, and the girl with the axe has no time to think, and the hammer crashes through her skull. Shattering the base layer, the destroying her skull. The pain is direct, and concentrated. But her pain is short. By the time her body strikes it is almost done. This victor was pained, and her time had passed, Issabella's desperate moves had done her well. And she watches over her fallen comrade as she fails, her heart ending. And with a golden smile to match her curls, she passes kindly. BOOM. Issabella stares over Emerald's body once more, before turning to the break in the jungle, waiting for the cannon of either Maude or Elenca to sound.

But this pair were not fighting each other, but were actually battling off a mutt. Thick green voracious vines wrap around their legs, and the war hammer and sickle are the only thing that are saving them so far. They slash, and hack. Breaking the wide vines, leaving out a pale red liquid flowing out, and pouring along the ground. It tightens around the legs, digging its sharp needles beneath the skin, drawing blood, to match the ooze from the plants. The screams of the girls are lost in the loud raging dome, but echo on the soft glass. The tributes continues to slash, but the vines multiply, going on and on and on. Wrapping around the legs, then entangling the chests. Constricting around. With the multiplying vines, the war hammer turns from useful, to useless. With the sickle still being useful. Managing to slash through most of the vines, allowing the chest to breath a bit. But sadly for Elenca, her time had come. The vines wrap around her neck, siezing their only victim for this game. Elenca's face stares around, just meeting the eyes of Maude before she finally passes on, her hand releasing the war hammer, and her body tensing for the final time, in her short life. BOOM.

The moment the cannon sounds, the vines stop moving. Maude stares around, as they slowly retract beneath the surface. Leaving Maude alone, with the dead body of her compatriot. She stares into her eyes, that now lie lifeless, and waits for the hovercraft to remove the body of Elenca, and remove her from this god forsaken arena. She slowly moves to her feet, but has no where to move. She throws the sickle far into the distance, the listens as the mockingjay lets off a signal sound, showing that her time in this arena was coming to an end. But once she left here, she would have a brief stay in the Capitol, before being thrown into a second arena, where she would not be against only 3 girls, but 23 girls, and 24 boys. With only one coming out. Alive.

District 3 Male
4 boys, each standing above a glorious chasm, coated with a thin layer of snow. The altitude is high, and jackets each of them wear is thick. None of them are ready, but these boys from 3 were steady. Charlie, cheated from a victory before by his own heroic events. Kronos, new but not one willing to die without trying. Calculum, an intelligent boy, went far in his original game, prepared to fight again. And finally, Courage, prepared for the fight, ready to kill the three standing around him.

They all observe the tributes around them, adapting to the surroundings. Surveying the weapons that lie before them. The weapons are sparce this time, a thick wooden club, a simple wooden carved sword and a thin birch spear. 3 weapons for four tributes, each of them are prepared to try and gain their weapon, but with the lack of any place to run, the tribute who gains no weapons will be almost assured death. As the clock reaches its end, with each strike the boys prepare, readying their stances for the moment the end comes, and the beginning of the round approaches. With a final cold breeze, a subtle shift in the snow, the countdown breaks down, and funnels to its end.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The snow begins to pour, at the exact moment of the countdown finishing. Blinding each of the tributes, and causing an immediate response. Each of tributes instantly realizes this is not a mean of fighting, this was a feat of survival. None of them could see, none of them could attack. Even the Capitol was forced to wait, the only thing they see is a wall of white. And it was all the tributes could see as well. But they can feel the piercing cold through their face. Through their extremities. Hoping for the two cannons, but none come. None come for a while. They wait, and wait. The Capitol wait, and wait. The Gamemakers wait, but they do not wait for long. As they are in control, and they have an array of choices to make, releasing mutts, causing an avalanche. Anything and everything is within the realm of possibility for them. But they choose one thing. That would cause the death of two boys.

And it all begins with a rumble. A swift echoing rumble. And at that exact moment, the ground shits. The before flat plains of the mountain top disappear, leaving a slope, the metal plates sink into the ground. Leaving all 4 boys teetering on a ledge, blinded, and about to fall. Kronos is the first to topple to the side, crashing over the edge, the tumbling to the ground, his arms flailing. But he is not gone, his hands grasp onto a rock, but this is only the beginning. This movement begins the chain, that sends the other three, Calculum, Courage and Charlie, tumbling behind him. This movement, begins the avalanche. His feet try to dig into the snow, but this just pushes it from its safe place, and forces it over the edge. A tumble, a wreckage. It was all a fight of who could stop themselves moving long enough, to let two others die. But with all of them blinded, none of them could know when they would reach the end, or where they even were.

Charlie is the first to go though, he tries to dig his way beneath the surface, hoping for safety, but this just causes an even more powerful avalanche. It tears down the side, swirling around, dragging Charlie with him, and pushing him over the edge. Toppling into the void, and crashing through the snow, and smashing into the row of rocks. The snow piles on top of him quickly though, drowning him beneath the ice, and crushing him against the rocks, and smothering the life out of him. Powerful and horrible, vicious and sick. BOOM. Sadly for Calculum though, this cannon, the death of the ally of his sister in his first game, was going to be the demise of him.

Calculum's hand was shoved beneath the snow, holding onto a root of a tree off to the left, but Calculum was to blind to see the tree coming uprooted by the force of the snow, from the cannon, and did not let go in time for it to drag him downwards, gaining the force of the snow, and taking his life swiftly and painfully. Just like Charlie's, the snow crushed him against the rocks, drawing tonnes of blood, and scarring this boys, this 12 year old boys body, ruining his life. And meaning that the Infinity family had watched two of their distant relatives pass away. BOOM. But like before with the vines, the moment the second cannon sounds, the snow stops. Astounding both Kronos and Courage, as they knew it was over. And they were safe, at least until they entered the arena again, with a much bigger price on their heads.

District 2 Female
4 vicious girls, 2 spots. None of them seem willing to concede victory. Matilda, Thalia, Marta and Courtney. Each of them are ready. And in the blazing sun, beating down on the salt dressed floor, dried out with the sun. A flame streaks across the sky, with the heat burning. This arena is just mad. A soft black floor, gritty and soiled, hard to run across, with a golden red sky, with random bursts of flame leaping around everywhere. The girls watch in awe, but this attraction forces the girls to waste their minute. They notice nothing of the weapons, or the lack of weapons as it is.

Little do they know, the real arena lies below. The black soil is little more than a cover to hide what is really below, but just for this minute. Just till they know that their lives are no longer safe. The girls all watch as a second cinder crashes to the earth drying out as it goes. But as they watch it, the Gamemakers prepare. Prepare for what, no one knows yet. But as the countdown breaks into its ending, the Capitol citizens realize they will find out, and that this will be the most brutal round yet.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The moment it sounds, the sheet disappears. The black sand like feature dissolves in a sharp and short snap. Leaving the the four podiums around about 4 feet off the ground, above an ocean of glorious, vicious, spectacular and elegant mutts. Their eyes, devils have been more forgiving. Their is a subtle triangle shape to the pupil, with the rainbow shaped iris. Each of them holds 4 eyelashes on each eye, that are like sharp dagger, that shift in the sun, creating glorious coloured patterns on the soft shelled skin. It lies across the snake like body, each one a completely different shade of the same shade of red, a rivered experience graces the eyes of the four girls that watch it, from the glorious safe face, to the base of the snake like complecture. The fins of a god, strong willed that push the serpent mutt through the air, and boosting towards the tributes.

And then there is the numbers. The numbers of these mutts is almost the worst thing. Alone, they are a mutt with 3 meters in length, but together they are a multitude of venomous beasts, sick for blood, and not caring who they hurt, or how. Through the powerful swing of the fin, and the strengthened bite of the fangs. And that is how the first tribute passes from this horrid world. The beast uses its powerful push to throw itself from the pit, and attach round the waist of Thalia. It tackles her to the ground, and crushes its grip. Splitting her directly down the waist, her legs disappearing down the throat of the mutt. Gone forever, while her body watches. Weirdly still alive, and waiting for her body the flow the final amount of blood. Pained stories of this happening before have been nothing like the real proof. Her pained expression, that will remark her face alive for a few seconds. BOOM. But will grace her face for the rest of her deceased life.

The three remaining tributes watch as the blood continues to flow onto the concrete Martian like ground. Thalia's body is slowly bitten away by the mutts, before finally being removed by a hovercraft, taken away to the Capitol. Leaving 3 tributes, and more mutts. Each of them know if they step off their podium, the mutts will tear them a part, but for the unluckiness of Courtney, they had chosen their next target. And the fin swings around, slicing directly though her chest. Taking her out within seconds, and sending her flowing down wards, into oblivion. They crash to the ground, the blood flowing. Pouring around, death was a swift thing to appear, and for the second time in this arena, the mutts have taken their victim. BOOM. Sadly for her, the hovercrafts cannot come soon enough, and the mutts overwhelm her, taking her from sight, and swallowing her whole, leaving nothing other than a burned out ground, and a patch of blood. The girl from District 2 was completely gone, and her family had nothing other than a few pictures, and a tape of her being murdered by some sick, muttants bred by the Capitol to create havoc, and kill anyone and everything they get their fins on. The hovercrafts appear in time to save the lives of Matilda and Marta though, even though in a few days they will be the same contraption that will dump them in a place they will die. As in the games their can only be one victor, and the odds are in the favor for neither, but blood flows, as wind blows. And can either of these girls see their home district ever again.

District 2 Male
The boys from District 2 glare at each other, four boys, each of them vicious and strong. Four boys, each of them prepared to fight. Prepared to kill. This arena is possibly the most basic, being a single grass field, low cut grass, with no flowers, no fence, no hills and nothing for miles and miles. Within sight, all it is, is a plain grass field, with four basic plates, and four tributes, and four weapons. Four brass axes, and that is it. Lying in the center, in a circle.

Four boys, Troy Ventura, almost 500 years since he was in the arena, lesser known in this current world. Louis "Lou" Salway, a threat in his own world, a threat here in the arena. Brass Sater, a brutal boy, came so close to victory previously, this time his only stop being the three boys in front of him. Blake Scarr, another natural threat, but strengthened in this arena due to its bareness, and ready to fight. Four boys, each of them a natural predator, and each of them ready to kill each other, with the only break in the case, the only thing stopping them from moving is the countdown. And that was ending, that was ending now. With only one last break in this case being the countdown ending, and ending faster and faster, as it reaches its end. The blood will be spread across the air.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

They all make the mad dash, quickly breaking across the bare patch of grass, and grabbing one of the brass axes, but the fastest ones are given a reward. Blake, who makes it to the center first, darts out of the way, grabbing two of the axes. Leaving Brass, who gets their last, without a weapon. And vulnerable to the axe that crashes into his face, blood pouring, skull crashed, murder. BOOM. This death is so quick, the others just span out. Not realising the prayers of the boy from 2. Brass' dead body lies in the center, and is retrieved by a hovercraft before anymore fighting occurs.

The three boys, none of them ready. They clash instantly, driving to the center. Axe's swings, axes smash. Everything whirls, metal burrows everywhere. The relentless speed of the swings is astonishing, swinging everywhere. The Capitol can only notice the harshness of everything and can notice no small details. Not even witnessing who makes the blows, and who takes the wounds. They all know blood will spill, but until the fighting grounds to a halt, they will have no clue who holds the wounds, and who gave them. The fighting seems to span over little time, but actually goes on for almost half an hour. Resounding screams, every few minutes, but some break swiftly. But one shriek announces a new slight job, that one tribute was dead, or dying.

As two of them back up, they reveal a dying tribute on the ground, the form of Louis, his chest split open by Troy, and dying with every second.

“So...so what pleasure do you get from killing me...” Louis' death mutters resound around the empty arena, simple and basic.

The two boys stand above him, but Blake mutters for Troy to answer. “We survive, I am sorry for this...”. He stares down at the dead body, and realizes he cannot say anything. “No. No I am not sorry, I am really sorry. But this is the games, we need to fight...and the weaker ones die”.

Louis lets out a slight breath of air, before his chest almost ending. “Huh...I came into this game with the idea of murder...and I guess...I guess...”

But he never finishes his sentence. His cannon sounds less than a minute later. BOOM. The two boys stand over the pained figure, but truly feel no remorse. They are Careers. People brought up to commit this murder. They are natural killers, and these two would be fighting in the arena, with no change. And they again, would feel nothing. As they are mutts, mutts not created by the Capitol. But created by the vicious insightful murder that the District 2, District 4 and District 1 families force them to feel. They are monsters. They are always the Capitols favorites. They are victors.

“Are you ready to fight in the arena...”. Troy's voice breaks the silence, despite the hovercraft zooming above. “I mean...I guess that is our next destination.”

Blake turns to face him. “How was it before, what happened...when you were in before...how did it feel to be paraded around, forced to kill...”

Troy turns to face the mentally disturbed boy, who could remember every detail of his games, but wanted to lose the memory, and would do anything to achieve that. “It was complete and utter hell...but the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life at the same time...”.

District 1 Female
The four girls from 1 circle around, waiting for the round to begin. Penny, Raquel, Kezaiah and Jade. Each of the girls is ready to fight, four Careers, with only two coming out of the glorious arena alive. The camera zooms off the four ladies, each resting their feet on a metal pedestal, and shows the full arena. Each of the girls is on a small island, less than two meters in length, with a series of rocks leading to the center. And around them, a fluid current dragging out to the edge of the main plinth, and over the crashing waterfalls, to the ocean like expanse below. Capitvating, but deadly at the same time. A voluptitude of acidic water pours over, leaving a glowing aura of dew floating in the air. Spotted around the pond on the top are tiny plants, making this place feel like a stunning elegant paradise. But this was only the setting to the murder, with a small pile of weapons, maybe 10 in total, this was just a place. The real drama would be between these four tributes, Kezaiah who placed fourth in her original games, preparing to fight a second time. Jade who was highly desired by the Capitol, but sent to oblivion by a boy from 10. Penny, an innocent looking girl, with a true desire ti strike, and to kill. And finally, Raquel. The common bitch, with make-up on her pristine face, ready to be ruined in the fight. With the only thing holding them back being the last 10 seconds in the countdown, they prepare to fight/ And they prepare to win.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Kezaiah leaps over her rocks, dashing in with an array of her speed. She grabs a bow from the pile, and has an arrow locked into the string before any of the other tributes even reach the centre platform. She spins around, choosing her enemy, and her eyes lock on the malicious glare of Raquel, who was trying to cross a decent gap between two of the rocks. The arrow is fired before the girls can even think, and arrow flies a lengthy distance, clashing with Raquel's head, and piercing through her skull, driving through her brain. BOOM. Kezaiah's bow arm lowers slowly, as Penny and Jade reach the center isle. Three girls, one with a weapon she has shown competent skill with multiple times before, and had taken her first life with now. Her hair is swept up in the resounding wind, that seems to clash with the swift background. Its deep red makes her stand out from the other two girls, both with luminous blonde hair that falls down their bodies, catching their curls. As Kezaiah was not the normal girl from 1, she was smart, and she held a pride that no one else could compare with. She was accurate, and a devil in disguise. And the Capitol knew at that point, this was a girl they would be seeing a lot more of. And with her second arrow locked in the bow, they knew, the Capitol knew, District 1 knew....the tributes knew. She would be the one to take the next kill, but the only resounding question that was left was...who was she going to choose to kill.

This arrow is a sleek metal wood bond, swirling up the end, and reaching its golden point. Such a simple yet deadly weapon, with so much skill placed into its making, being made to kill. Being made for these three tributes, for them to take the lives of each other. And these tributes knew that the bow would be to fast, if they made a mad dash to get a weapon, or tried to move, the arrow would be emerging from their heads with in a second.

Kezaiah's eyes lock with those of Penny, who has a trickle of tears forming. The utter most serenity oozing from them, which creates an instant bond between this duo. They knew before, if this had been a normal game, they would be working together as Careers, but due to the vicious twist, district allies had been forced to turn on each other, and some times even the weakest bond, the weakest moment can make a girl choose the decision between whether you die, or whether you enter the arena with her. And that momentary glimse between Penny and Kezaiah had created their bond, and decision had been made. And Jade knew this, and she knew this long before the arrow flies from the bow, and strikes into the heart of her body, ripping her second chance at life from clean under her nose, and handing the second place in the arena to Penny. The blood explodes, but is graceful, vicious and intelligent, just like the girl it had come from. She may have died today, but everyone knew if it had not been for this twist, for this speed test, Jade would have gone far. Jade could have won. But with this strength display from the golden red head, the Capitol had a knew idea. No longer that Jade could win, but that Kezaiah Bianca could win. BOOM.

District 1 Male
A golden sunrise blesses the soft mountain range. The final arena of these rounds, the four District 1 males surround the peeks. Each stare up to the top of this final peek, and watch the weapons glitter in the sunlight. It is about 20 meters high, with a steep path up to the top. Each of the tributes will be force to climb the mountain quickly, to reach the top, and claim a weapon to fight with the final 4 tributes to face this horror. Eros, Excalibur, Leroy and Aries. Four determined Careers, each strong, each vicious. Excalibur actually being so close to victory before, Eros, being from a game so hard to recall, lost in history. Then the two new tributes, Leroy and Aries, again, both highly prepared, and skilled. But none of them are going to be released until the countdown ends, and that was in almost 20 seconds.

They scan around the view, a low lying hill, viewing over a wide spread forest, that seems to spread for miles. But the only access to this place would be a steep climb down the cliffs, with a chance of almost certain death. A vicious fall, with sharp, cracked rocks lying in a formed shape down at the base of the mountain. Meaning the only place the tributes could really head once the end comes, is up the hill to the weapons, to the fight, to death.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Each of them tear off their podium as soon as the countdown ends. Fleeing up the hill, hoping they can be the first to grab the weapons, be the first to gain the chance to murder. Aries seems to be the fastest, and makes it up with not much struggle, grabbing a sword from the pile. Eros and Excalibur shoot in from the sides, both grabbing weapons, but Leroy was not doing well. Slowly climbing up the emerge of rock, but when he reaches the top he will find three fighting boys, and him, without a weapon, will be at a slight disadvantage.

But meanwhile the other three are not waiting for their fourth companion to begin the fighting. Aries holds a thick mace in one hand, while a short sword in the other. He swings out at Eros, but clashes with the golden flail he holds. Eros spins around, managing to tear the blade from her hand, and send it flying over the edge of the cliff below. Eros takes the momentary advantage and lunges at Aries, wrapping the chain around his neck. Slowly contracting around, tightening around. Excalibur watches, fearing his fate here while fighting Eros, he lunges down the hill, to where Leroy was standing watching.

But a top the hill, Aries was coming to the end of his life. He tries to push off Eros with his mace, but misses, and with the lack of control, the mace soars off, in the same direction as the sword. Leaving Aries alone, with a chain around his neck. Unable to be pried off with his hands, and a vicious man, Eros, ready to kill him. And he does. BOOM. Eros lets the chain fall to the ground, along with the body of Aries. He kicks him over, and walks back to the weapon pile, this time extracting a thin kama, to match the one that was held in the hand of Excalibur.

And just down the hill, Leroy and Excalibur were inter twined, with an all-together weak fight. Excalibur seemed to be torturing the new boy from 1, slashing away at the boys body with his kama, slashing everywhere, and anywhere. Blood pours to the ground, staining the clean rock, as he backs away. Trying to escape, but failing miserably. The pain exudes him, overwhelming, and entrancing. But in the end, he collapses to the ground, dead. Almost. Still a little life that pumps around his veins. But it was about to be pulled from his soul, as the action of Excalibur secures his fate. The kama graces his neck, and drags slowly across the cold skin, drawing the most vicious stream of blood, down the skin, and onto the ground. Death was clear, and iminenet. About to entrance the tribute, and take him home. BOOM.

Excalibur stands, turning away to face Eros. The duo from one. The final pair, and with their victory. The Capitol are given a full picture of the final array of tributes, those who would be entering the arena together. Some go through shining, Aquamarine, Kezaiah, while others lose so much, such as Dexter, lost a hand. Entering the arena crippled, but still with a fighting chance. And then Kyler, losing his own twin. Tyler is gone, but gives him a reason to win, a reason to keep going. Everyone was chosen. And it was time for the games to truly begin.

Alliances
Careers

District 1 – Excalibur Rose, Kezaiah Bianca, Eros Lujano, Penny Dawson-Tishler

District 2 – Matilda Mir, Troy Ventura, Blake Scarr, Marta Walbere

District 3 – Issabella Electrode

District 4 – Aquamarine Summerton, River Blue, Jeremy Al

District 5 – Kankri Makara

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 9 – Copper Overdeen

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 12 Alliance 1

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 12 – Piper Hope, Armstrong Shadows

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 11 - Jay Sparrow (Possibly)

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 12 Alliance 2

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 12 – Eucalyptus Collier, Kole Roch

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 10 Alliance

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 10 – Aliya Andropov, Chiara Bone

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">Female Alliance 1

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 4 – Cassandra Oracion

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 6 – Vixen Rhodes, Layla Calantha

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 8 – Quinberly Dane

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">Male Alliance 1

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 3 – Kronos Blade

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 7 – Currant Anders, Ventus Wrath

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 6 – Axl Lockhart, Sincius Seventius

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 11 – Tempesto Callops, Keegan Callaway

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">ThePsychoTribs

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 8 - Mystique Cirque

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 10 - Satan Lockwood

<h3 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">Solo

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 9 – Silver Evans, Allianna Whittle, Kyler Harte

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 7 – Mae Adele, Aurora Wilde

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 8 – Chase Locke, Dexter Howe

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 5 – Thias Feyuz, Poel Ania, Chiara Yami

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 3 – Maude Crow, Courage Blitz

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 10 – Kenny Bane

<p style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">District 11 – Hail Micro <h2 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">Death Chart

<h2 style="text-align: LEFT; margin-bottom: 0cm">The Hunger Games

Day 1
The final arena. One of the most basic arenas, but the length and size is the way it shines. The Cornucopia lies in the centre of a wide grass patch, that is surrounded by wide forests on three of the sides. With the fourth being the entrance to the steep mountain. It climbs for almost 400 metres, before rounding off. The side is dotted with many caves, and a few small mountain streams flow down the edges, filled with crystal clear water, shimmering in the rising sun. The forests though are vast, covering the main part of the arena. With the only exceptions being the Cornucopia clearing, the mountain and a small golden beach on the other side of the mountain. Not very large, quite small with satin rounds, and shells coating. With the ocean spreading for beyond.

The forest contains a wide variety of areas. A couple of small ponds filled with life, and surrounded by blooming plant life. The surrounding forest contains budding life, wide arrange of animals, for hunting and for fleeing from. Flocks of mockingjays soar within the sky, while hives of tracker jackers are attached to the trees. But the forests are not the only place to contain mutts, along the mountain side a vicious mutt lies deep in the caves, but the mutts are not the only dangers here. With sometimes the next animal being a few hours journey, and the next river being on the other side, you can starve up there.

This place was not for the light hearted, and this was all the camera sees. Hidden beneath the surface lies so much more, Gamemaker traps being ready to be set off at a moments notice, from the click of a button miles away. This was the tributes home for the next few weeks, and only one could survive the perils of each turn. The tributes were preparing themselves beneath the surface of this place right now, but any moment now they would rise from their glass tubes, and emerge onto their metal plate, ready to fight in the bloodbath, or die trying.

Each of the tributes rise in unison, slowly showing themselves. The camera zooms in on the face of Aquamarine, her shifting blonde hair, golden locks that flow down to her shoulders. The leader of the Careers, and the Capitols favorite. As she turns around to face Matilda, who stands in the podium beside her, the countdown begins.

60...

The ruffled rain coat that dresses the tributes shoulders shifts in the steady wind.

50...

In the middle of the Cornucopia, an array of weapons lie, everything a tribute could want.

40...

Tents, backpacks, blankets, medicine and sleeping bags. Anything that could keep you alive during the night.

30...

As the countdown graces its half way point, the camera flashes through the tributes, one by one, capturing the faces of the tributes.

20...

Meanwhile in Panem, in the Capitol, every ones breaths are held, waiting for the final 10 seconds to pass, with the beginning of the game to come, and show the first sign of blood.

10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The instant it sounds, the tributes are off. Some are faster than others, with the first people reaching the Cornucopia, being Matilda and Aquamarine. Both of them grab weapons, and try to locate their first prey. Aquamarine is holding a steel trident, with a plastic grip. While Matilda puts on a thick black jacket, lined with thick metal throwing knives. She is the first to make a move though, and her eyes lock onto a girl in the distance, about to break grab a bag from the ground. Her knife soars through the air, and clashes with the head of Jay. And Aquamrine's first kill follows right behind. She locks eyes with Ventus, and throws her trident, sending it hurtling towards the boy from 7, and striking him in the back. Two tributes down, with hardly a minute gone by in the arena.

These two girls retreat back to the Cornucopia, Aquamarine grabbing another weapon, while Matilda tackles Sincius to the ground, rolling around with him. But the boy from 6 manages to fight Matilda off, and flees into the forest. Not looking behind, not even waiting for the rest of his alliance. Luckily for him, he clashes with Keegan, one of his allies. Both of them tear into the forest, making sure they get far away from the Careers.

Back in the mouth of the tributes, most of the Careers have formed. Aquamarine and Matilda are still the only tributes to get a kill, and the Careers want to join them. They spread out, clashing with the tributes. Kezaiah loads her bow, and takes aim. Setting on the head off Dexter. She aims to kill, but is nudged by Excalibur as he moves past and his arrow shoots off into the distance, out of the way. Infuriated Kezaiah rallys another arrow, but this time aims for the head of another tribute from 8. Quinberly. Her arrow this time moves in a perfect arc, landing into her head. Cassandra, Vixen and Layla who were all around their ally, collecting supplies watch in horror as her body collapses, and in an effort of fear, each of them flee. But Vixen is just to slow, with Matilda's knife lodging into her back as she flees, ripping her life from her. Layla and Cassandra disappear up the side of the mountain, breaking into the distance, and into safety, for now.

Excalibur lashes out at Poel, just missing her chest. With Poel backing up on the ground, trying to move slowly. But Excalibur keeps coming. Moving forward to face this girl, the girl from 5. His sword swings, and misses for a second time, but Poel backs up into the Cornucopia, and had ran out of room. She pulls herself up, but Excalibur lets out a wicked smile, before throwing his sword down the chest of Poel, spilling her blood, intestines and organs flowing onto the ground. He backs up, admiring his work, before diving into the battle, looking for another kill to make.

On the other side of the clearing, Piper and Armstrong are stuffing supplies into a backpack, Piper doing the work, while Armstrong stands guard. They seem to be doing ok, when Eros dives into the fight. His sword clashes with the scythe of Armstrong. The two blades make a metallic scrape, before Armstrong swings up, sending Eros' sword flying backwards, landing somewhere up the mountain. Instantly the boy realizes his pain, and Eros tries to flee, but Armstrong is to fast. His scythe scrapes across the throat of the boy from 1, and he watches as the blood is drawn, and his lifeless body crashes onto the floor. Armstrong beckons for Piper, and the duo flee up the mountain, heading for a small cave about half the way up.

On the edge of the forest, three tributes from the same district clash, Kenny swinging a thick brass mace, while Chiara and Aliya cower in fear. He brings the mace down on the head of Aliya, and takes her down with that one move, leaving him and Chiara. But she is fast. She drops all she was carrying, and disappears into the forest, leaving Kenny with the dead body of his district partner. He stares down at the still figure, and turns away. Following Chiara into the forest, with no aim of allying, with the aim of murder.

Kronos, Tempesto, Axl and Currant are forming on the edge, each of them carrying supplies, and waiting to leave. Not knowing Sincius has already left, and Ventus has passed. But the thing that drives them out of their, is Aquamarine and Matilda are tearing forward towards the group. Kronos, Axl and Currant manage to make it through the line of the forest, but the same can not be said for Tempesto. A thick root catches his foot, and he slams his face into the ground. The career girls from 2 and 4 catch up to him, and stand over his body as he tries to flee. But Aquamarine is to quick. She drives her trident into his head, and stamps on the end of the blade. The blood coats the metal blade, and as he yanks it out blood goes everywhere. The two Careers run back into the Cornucopia, preparing to kill even more tributes.

Silver seems to be the only tribute not fighting another. She slinks into the centre, grabbing a bow and a couple of arrows, and some other basic supplies. As she flees out, she passes other tributes, Blake and Marta fighting with Allianna and Hail. Aquamarine working with Matilda to protect the supplies, and Copper. She collides with Copper, but manages to slip past him. And flees up the hill, not looking behind her, heading down and round back towards the beach she can just see in the distance.

Courage grabs a backpack from the edge, before taking off into the forest. Matilda throws a knife at him, but connects with tree. She stares after him, considering going in, but chooses to run back into the battle, trying to get another kill. Maude on the other side spins around, about to flee when Issabella clashes with her. Shoving her into the dirt. The girl from 3 tries to move, but Issabella pins her to the ground, and whips out a thick hammer, and slams it down into the head of Maude. Knocking her out, but denting her skull, forcing her to death. Issabella stands over her for a second, before running back in to get another kill before only Careers remain to fight.

Chiara, from 5, swings about with her knives. Easily tackling the two boys from 2. Her knives skim across their weapons, creating an echoing sound. Troy tries to defend with his mace, but Chiara makes a slice directly through his hand, sending him crumpling to the ground. She slams one of her knives into his head. It sinks in, taking his life. But Chiara is not done yet. Her leg kicks out, and smashes into the chest of Blake. Sending him tumbling over supplies, and smashing his head onto the soft metal of the Cornucopia. Chiara considers taking him out, but little did she know that blow to his head would do the job for her. She spins around, grabbing a bag of apples from a box, and another knife, and takes off through the fighting. Focusing in breaking into the forest, and into safety.

The reamaining tributes, Allianna, Hail, Mae, Dexter, Kyler and Aurora try to flee, but are surrounded by the many Careers. Mae is the first to try and break from the circle, but is tackled down by Jeremy. She manages to throw him off, but when trying to escape, throws her backpack. She darts over, trying to regain her supplies. Slipping on a patch of mud, she lands on her back, only to be pinned down by the boy from 4. He draws out his sickle, and slashes it across her throat. He leaves her body for dead, and darts back into the fight, pairing up with Kankri in the fight with Dexter.

Allianna darts out from her hidden position in the Cornucopia, streaking across the field. Copper darts out, leaping over, trying to tackle Allianna. He misses, and watches as she streaks into the forest. Aurora tries to follow Allie, but does not notice Copper sprawled in the dirt. Her feet make contact with the side of his chest, and he joins her lying in the muck. Marta and River who are standing near dart over to join their comrade, both armed with swords. River lashes out, and stabs it directly through the back of the 12 year old from 7. They stand over her as the life slowly drains out, while Marta helps Copper regain to his feet, leaving the Careers, and three tributes.

The Careers begin to swarm, circling in on the three remaining tributes. Each of them are armed, and they know they are not going to go down without a fight. Kyler holds a simple length of clear metal, in the shape of a knife, while Hail holds a bow. Dexter tries to back up with his sword, but Copper notices. He tries to defend him, but Dexter is faster. He swings up with his sword, and swiftly crashes the sword into the chest of the boy from 9. Kezaiah notices this, and her arrow soars from her bow, landing in the neck of Dexter. He stares down at it, before clashing to the floor, blood pouring from his wound, beside him, the boy from 9 with a slightly larger pool ever growing.

Kyler and Hail back up, both of them now hidden in the mouth of the Cornucopia, directly at the back. Issabella and Excalibur walk into the mouth, both laughing at the miserable duo. Pathetic in the way they stand. Excalibur holds a long bladed sword, while Issabella holds the same hammer she bludgened Maude to death with. They approach, but Kyler and Hail are prepared. He lashes out with his knife, and tries to slash down the chest of Excalibur, but misses. The brute from 1 grabs his arm, and twists it around, pulling Kyler towards him, and holds the sword to his neck, and yanks it across the soft skin, tearing it open.

Hail makes her move while Excalibur has his hands full with the body of the dead boy with 9. Her arrow flies from the string of the bow, and launches through the sheltered area. Clashing with the eye of Issabella, the shaft of the arrow protuding from the arrow, while Hail tries to take this as her time to escape. While Issabella clings to her face for the last time, before collapsing to the ground dead. As Hail dashes out, Matilda and Kezaiah notice her escaping. Matilda's arrow scratches her leg, but Kezaiah's arrows both find their position. One driving directily into her head, the other making its lock onto her heart. She runs another five meters before collapsing to the floor, concluding the bloodbath, with the final death from the girl from 11.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Nine careers remain, Copper, Issabella, Troy, Blake and Eros dead. The remaining Careers move together, each of them grabbing the basics they want. Arming themselves with the weapons. Aquamarine walks to the back, grabbing another trident. She slips tosses it from hand to hand, before moving out of the mouth, to where the others are forming a ring.

"How many others died". Her voice is soft but afirmative. All the Careers knew she was in charge, despite Kezaiah having the most kills.

The girl with the long red hair answers quickly, who emptying a second quiver of arrows into her own. "18, maybe more, but only 18 bodies lie here". Aquamarine nods, then her next question causes a riot.

"Who got kills, I took down 2". She looks round the tributes one by one.

"Same here". Excalibur is the first to answer, but Matilda responds next.

"2 aswell". Her eyes are scanning through the supplies, trying to find another set of throwing knives.

Kezaiah chirps in, breaking the formed silence. "I killed 3, and I know Issabella took down another before she was killed".

"River, Jeremy, Marta, Penny...any of you three". Aquamarine stares across at the four sitting in the corner.

"I killed 1". Jeremy and River both answer at the same time, while Marta and Penny both shake their heads.

The leader focuses on the ground for just a second, as if adding up the deaths. "So...that makes 12...meaning who were the other 6...".

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM

The cannons sound one by one, confirming what Kezaiah said earlier. "Ok, so it is 18. So Troy, Copper, Issabella, Eros and Blake were all killed, but that still only accounts for 17 deaths. "Guess one of them probably killed someone...".

Kezaiah rests on a thick black box while Aquamarine rests down n a black canvas chair. "Should we not focus on planning what we are gonna do tonight. With 18 dead there is still 29 more to die".

"And 21 that are running out there, getting further away as we talk. I say we go now, start the hunting early". Excalibur is resting his feet on the box, one of the 4 males in the Careers, with Eros, Troy, Blake and Copper dying. Leaving River, Jeremy, Kankri and him with 5 girls. 5 strong girls.

He stares around at Matilda and Kezaiah, who both nod in agreement, leaving the decision to Aquamarine. "Half of us should go, some of us should stay though, protect the supplies. Excalibur, River and I will go into the forest, while Kezaiah, Matilda and Jeremy will head up into the mountain, with Kankri, Penny and Marta defending the fort. Is that ok with everyone". Each of them nod in unison, before getting up to move, and within minutes, Excalibur, River and Aquamarine disappear into the forest, while Matilda, Kezaiah and Jeremy head up the mountain, to where many tributes lie hidden.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kole and Eucy continue on through the forest, slowly moving through. Kole has a single knife in his pocket, and a bag of oranges, while Eucy has a twine of wire, and four rolls. They are moving through the forest, along the bottom of the mountain. They are chatting away about things, while planning what to do in the arena.

"So should we just continue moving, or should we head back, try and take down some tributes". Kole speaks clear, stopping the conversation, and taking it down a more direct path.

Eucy answers almost instantly, as if she was waiting for this question. "I say we keep moving out of the way, at least for now. This is when the Careers will strike, so I reckon it will be better if we start moving now, and we know no one that died. It would be easier to plan ahead of we know those hwo have died". Kole agrees, and they continue moving. Away for the Careers camp, but little do they know, the Careers are getting closer to them with every second that passes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Satan and Mystique are standing strong beside a pond. Both of them are wearing backpacks, Mystique containing a bottle of iodine, and a pair of see in the dark glasses. While Satan's contains a bottle, and a thin bladed knife. He also holds a pack of crackers in his hand, that he found less than 10 meters from his podium. Both of them have been travelling since the games beginning of the games, and have planned to keep moving. Wanting to locate a steady supply of food, but also try and track down some tributes.

They fill up Satan's bottle, both taking a quick drink before they move on. They are heading towards the river that cuts through the forest, and leads down to the beach area. Neither of them trust eachother, but both know they are safer together, and are creating a plan to keep their lives for now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver is hidden up the mountain, continuing to climb up the place. On her back the bow is slung, with the quiver on the other shoulder. In her backpack she holds a basic supply of food, a small loaf of bread, a pack of dried fruit, and a canister filled with water she got with a small mountain stream. Along with a small knife and a pot of burn medicine.

She has her eyes locked on a cave about 100 meters upwards from where she stands, and she can clearly see the three Careers setting off in her direction, and decides to pick up her rate, and move slightly quicker. Breaking into a steady run. She has spotted some other tributes, but has decided to let them flee, knowing killing them could alert the Careers to her location, and risk her safety for now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The supplies of Kronos, Axl and Currant lie in a small pile, while the three boys survey what they had collected as a group. Kronos managed to save a thick axe, and a apack containing a box of matches, a pack of sweets and a canteen of water. On Axl's side he holds another pack, with some rope and a tent pack inside. He also managed to salvage a thin knife. Despite the others loft gains, Currant seems to have secured the most. He gained a large pack from deep inside the Cornucopia, containing a bag of apples, and a bag of chicken pieces. A set of matches, and a set of throwing knives, but also grabbed a club from a rock while escaping.

Once they compare stuff, each of them takes back what they had, and they continue to move. Their destination being the mountain, knowing it would probably be the safest place for them. Kronos seems to be taking the lead, despite his life before the games, that neither of the other tributes know about. They grouped together due to the fear of the Careers, and with Excalibur, Aquamarine and River getting closer, their fear may not be unjustified.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra and Layla are resting in a small cave about a third of the way up the mountain. It is shrouded by a series of bushes, so they feel safe for now. They are analysing their situation, and trying to work out who they saw die. Cassandra managed to get a thin plastic sheet from the far edge, while Layla dived slightly further in, and grabbed a large backpack, containing a small sleeping bag, an empty canteen and a coil of thick wire.

They pack all their supplies up, and contemplate their options, whether the continue moving, or to risk staying here. After a heated discussion, they decide to stay, risking the chance of the Careers stumbling upon their hiding place. They decide to split up the sleeping hours, and Layla slips into her sleeping bag, and crawls into a small indent, using her backpack as a pillow. while Cassandra squats at the mouth of the cave. Peering through an opening in the bush at the three Careers setting off up the hill. She recognises the flaming hair of Kezaiah easily, and the green hair of Jeremy, while has no clue that the dark hair belongs to Matilda. She follows their movements as they wrap round the other side of the mountain, prepared to hunt.

Once they disappear from sight she spots it. A small stream about 20 meters to the left, falling beneath the earth at that point, but above it a small clear pool. Cassandra rushes over to Layla's bag, exctracting the canteen, and moves back to the door. She stares around, and with the sight of no one, she darts out. Moving fast across the soft ground. Her feet slip a couple times on the ground, but she makes it to the pool with no trouble. As she is filling it though, that is when trouble strikes.

"Matilda, I heard something from back there, scuffled steps or something". The voice comes from close, just above her, just round the corner. Cassandra instantly screws the top back in the bottle, and moves backwards. "Yeh, there it is again".

The voice continues to speak, but it is joined by hurried footsteps. And just as Cassandra moves into the cave, the three Careers come round the bend. The where the small pool was. "Jeremy, are you sure". The soft voice of Matilda is clearly questioning his judgement, but does not seem sure enough.

"Yes, I am completely sure...it was decently loud, maybe they are hidden around, in one of these caves". Jeremy moves along slightly, crossing the small stream. "We should check them".

Kezaiah and Matilda look at each other, then nod. Breaking up. "Ok, Jeremy, you head up a bit, Kezaiah, you head down". The footsteps become more muffled, as they cross onto the grass. "Any of you seen anything".

The searching continues for about 5 minutes, and with each second that passes, Kezaiah comes closer to the cave. Cassandra tenses, and realizes she is going to be found. Her instant reaction may not be the best, but it is her decision. She darts to the side of Layla, and pushes her to the side. Waking her from her slumber.

"We have to go, the Careers are coming. Put the sleepingbag in the backpack, then come join me at the opening, and quickly". She dashes over while Layla packs up, and shoves her supplies into her bag. She peers out, and sees Kezaiah, little more than 5 feet away, and when their eyes meet, that is when the fun begins.

"Matilda, Jeremy, they are here, quickly". Kezaiah loads an arrow into her bow, and fires it directly at Layla who is just breaking from her cave. It catches into the backpack, that Layla knows she cant carry.

"Cassandra, help, can you get this". Cass nods, and catches as the rucksack flies at her. She throws it onto her shoulders, and tears down the hill. Aiming for the forest. Layla is not much faster without the rucksack though, and Kezaiah's second arrow flies right into her leg. She tumbles down the hill, her face landing in the dirt, and before she knows it Matilda, Jeremy and Kezaiah are standing above her. They roll her onto her side, and her eyes are focused directly on the point where Cassandra disappears into the forest.

"So, should we just kill her right now". Matilda withdraws one of her knives from her jacket, and bends down to the face of Layla.

Kezaiah pushes away her hand, and shakes her head. "No, I think we should take her back, give the kill to Penny or Marta. Or...". A malicious look appears on her face, and it spreads onto Jeremy and Matilda.

"Are you talking about...". Even before Matilda finishes, Kezaiah is nodding her head. "...torture".

"Give the Capitol something to talk about...". The three of them agree upon this statement, and Jeremy grabs the arms of Layla, and forces her down the hill. Matilda and Kezaiah follow them, both prepared to fight. Both prepared to defend their captured victim.

And from the edge of the forest Cassandra watches as her former alliance is dragged away by the most vicious people, ready to be tortured, and in the end killed. But she was just a tribute, and Cassandra had her long distance aims in mind, and with one less tribute in the game, she was not complaining.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thias ducks under a fallen log, and continues moving through the forest. Unlike most of the tributes, he has entered the slightly more marshy area of the forest. He leaps over the small bogs when he comes to them though, and steadily moves. He ran from the instance of the bloodbath, and gained no supplies. He has a destination set in mind, wanting to cover a couple of miles today, and break free from the Careers range. After a while, he slowly comes to a halt. Staring around where he stands. A small pond lies about 10 feet away, with a couple of plants around them, while a cluster of berries grows at the base of the tree. He walks over to them, and holds one in his hand. It is a soft red colour, with a glacious shine to its skin. He rolls it between his fingers, before crushing it. A deep red juice flows out, pouring onto his hand.

He throws the berry to the floor, and plucks another one, and throws it into his mouth. Crushing it with his tounge. He waits for a second, waiting for anything to happen. But nothing occurs, he slips it down his throat, and again, waiting for anything to happen. But after about 5 minutes he finds it safe, and picks the bush bare. Placing them in a leaf he picks up from the ground, and placing it in a zipped up pocket. His next objective is drink, and he walks over to the pool, stripping off his socks and shoes, and dipping his feet into the surface. He waits a second, letting out a sigh of relief. He settles down there for a night, pulling himself up into a tree. Perching on a branch about 6 meters up. He eats a couple more berries, before drifting into a broken sleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chiara has been unable to stop since she watched Aliya die. With Kenny chasing her, she has to move with risk of being killed. She has no supplies with her, having dropped everything after the death of her ally. And just behind her, Kenny chases through the lowered bows the tree. His bag full of key supplies, and the mace swinging in his hand. His bag contains a canteen filled to the brim with cold water, a bag of berries and a pack of fever medicine. Neither of these tributes seem like they are going to give up, but with the dark setting in, and the tributes slowing down, it is clear one of them will fall soon.

Chiara, from 10, finally grounds to a halt, after about 3 hours of on and off running, and stares around. Kenny is not in her instant sight, so she takes this time to grab a brance, and slowly moving up the branches. She breaks into a mad clamber, and finally rests, her back to where Kenny should appear to, pressed tight against the trunk, shrouded by the multitude of leaves. She slowly waits. Patiently waiting for Kenny to appear, and hoping he does not see her. And time passes, and as she assumes, Kenny comes tearing through. Staring around, his run turning into a slow jog. And to the horror of Chiara, he stops beside the tree next to the one she was climbing. Putting his back to it, and taking a drink from his canteen. She lets out a single breath, which sends Kenny's head flying to the side, over to where Chiara should have been heading. He stares in that direction for a second, before throwing his bottle into his pack, and following the path he was chasing. Chiara waits for a minute, letting him get his distance, before hopping out from the tree, and taking off in the complete opposite direction.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase crosses the river, splashing throught he stream. His feet now soaking, but giving him the coolness he needs. He had been walking for almost 4 hours, and covered around 9 miles. He waits for a moment, scooping a handful of water into his mouth. Sighing away. He managed to grab a single knife from the bloodbath, before Marta got to close for comfort, and he took off into the forest. He is the furthest from the Cornucopia of the tributes, and is almost reached the far end of the beach. The darkness is beginning to fall, so he decides to rest for the night. He uses the knife to climb high into a tree, driving it into the bark, then swinging his foot onto a branch. He hopes due to the dark, he will stay hidden, and move on in the early hours of the morning, before it has gained light. He swings himself onto a strong Y branch, and slips his knife into his belt. He stares up at the sky, and decides to wait for the faces to appear before heading to falling to sleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage rests down on the rock, his backpack sitting infront of him, the sleeping bag that was held within now wrapped around him. Also in his bag was a length of rope, an empty metal canteen and a small pack of dried fruit. He nibbled of a couple of them earlier, but was unable to locate a pond to fill his canteen. He has decided to rest until morning, and move out then, head towards the mountain. He knows he needs a weapon to stand a chance in these games, and knows the only way that was coming was through going back to the Cornucopia, or killing another tribute. But with no weapon, the latter was near impossible. He rests back, moving behind a small bush to provide at least some camouflage, but still with a clear sight of the sky above, waiting for the faces to appear.

But before this, he hears a noise coming from the otherside of the clearing of trees. A slight rustle, and then a flash of light. Torch beams from the Careers, Aquamarine, Excalibur and River. They walk a bit further, and with the wealthy supply of light, Courage slips further behind the bush, pulling his sleeping bag over his head.

"Aqua, we have gone far enough, it has been almost 6 hours, and we need to head back. Night has fallen". River's voice comes from directly behind the light beam, showing he was carrying the torch.

"He is right, we are not getting anywhere..." Excalibur chirps in, his sword shining in the light, his feet less than 5 meters from Courage. "Maybe the others will have had more luck".

"Have you heard any cannons, no I do not think so". Aquamarines voice is snappy, but is lacking in her normal brutality. "They have not made any kills".

River and Excalibur exchange a look, and then respond. "Aquamarine, River and I are heading back, they may have wounded someone, or have some important news". Aquamarines glowing blonde face turns away from Courage, and she nods with consent.

"Fine, we will go back, I guess it is still gonna be a couple hours walk". Courage lelts out a sigh of relief, and watches as the trio move off, back the way they came. But Courage does not relax yet, he waits until the three Careers are well gone, and no traces of light can be seen. And once that happened, he stands up, shoves his sleeping bag away, and continues moving, in the opposite way to Aqua, River and Excalibur.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Allianna Whittle is walking through the forest, deciding to move through the night. She managed to grab a large rucksack from the Cornucopia, and a bow with a full quiver of arrows. She has an arrow loaded into her bow, and is slowly moving through the forest, looking for any tributes. She rests at a small section of ground, that dips, the grate filled with plants. There is a small plant that protrudes, with small raspberries squirting off. She chucks one of them into her mouth, and pops the other into her pocket, and decides to wait a while. Catching her breath, and thinking about what she witnessed back at the Cornucopia.

Her eyes drift up to the sky, and the seal appears, with the anthem echoing throughout the arena. Acting as a wake up call, showing the faces of the dead once it was over. Allianna darts up a tree, and breaks onto the tops, and watches as the first face appears.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Wow, the boy from 1...and both boys from 2, that is 3 Careers down...". Sincius' voice resounds around the small clearing the boys were set in. "I expected both of them to make it further...".

Sincius and Keegan are resting on a rock, sitting by a pond. Neither of them got anything from the bloodbath, and both had split from the same alliance. They were currently staring at the sky, watching as Maude flashes up, followed by Isabella.

"She was a Career aswell, Sincius, not the best one, but still a Career...". His hands take the last berry they found, and pop it into his mouth. "None from District 4, as usual, and...huh...the girls from 5 and 6...". Poel and Vixen flash up, and pass.

"Vixen...she was acutally really nice, but quite young...". Sincius looks down at his hands, before turning away. "I just wish she had had at least a little longer...". Both of the girls from District 7 pass up, and neither of the boys seem to have anything to say about him, with Ventus appearing next. Which hits both of the duo slightly hard, one of their former ally, but also someone they saw pass away during the bloodbath.

"So that is...around half of them...probably less...meaning...". Keegan lets a tear fall down his face, fearing for the life of Hail. Who he had shared a small connection with during the Capitol, but for him, this was one fear that was deserved. "...it is the Hunger Games...I know, I should expect it...but she was nice, a link to home...". Keegan looks up into the eyes of Sincius. "I really miss her..."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chiara continues to stare up at the sky, as one by one, the faces of the tributes appear. As Tempesto's face shines bright, fading quickly, the anthem appears once more. And all the tributes now know the 18 that died today, and with no deaths after the bloodbath, everyone knows where their blood spilled. Chiara ties her bag of apples to her belt, and slips her two knives beside the knot. She pulls her jacket close around her chest, and takes off. Moving at a steady rate through the forest, with no plan, no idea where she is going. As in the arena, there really was no place to hide, the Gamemakers could find you, and they will find you.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Armstrong and Piper rest back in the cave, today both of them had witnessed to capture of Layla, and were fearing the Careers more than ever. In their previous games the Careers crumbled on almost day 1, and for them to see a vicious well formed pack like this, they fear for the worst. Neither of them are talking, but both of them are thinking about the plans for the games ahead. They managed to gain quite a lot of supplies from the Cornucopia, and have them lying in the corner of the cave. Beside the two rucksacks Armstrong's scythe lies, with his hammer tucked in one of the pockets.

But inside the bags was where the true treasure lay. Rolled up and shoved down at the bottom is a sleeping bag, and beside it a canteen full of water. Some berries and bread are tucked in the side pockets with the front pocket holding some burn medicine. With Piper's bag being beside it, slightly smaller than Armstrong, it holds some treasures aswell. She managed to salvage three knives, with a steady supply of dried fruits, cheese and thick crusted bread. With rope lying right at the bottom.

Both of them lie down at the back, and slowly Piper drifts into a slow slumber, with Armstrong moving to the front of the cave, after pushing the hair from Piper's eyes, and putting the sleeping bag over her cold body. He peers out over the arena, a blazing fire down at the bottom of the mountain, beside the Cornucopia, with three figures appearing from the forests. Layla's body lies in the edge, a net trapping her from any movement. His eyes turn to the rest of the arena, far to his left lies a small stretch of beach, that leads along the forest, the forest. This great beauty spreads for miles, never ending. He lets out a sigh, and remembers the death of Piper before. His eyes flash back to her body, her innocent petite body. And she thinks, what if she died again. Before him. How could he watch her slowly die away, without causing pain to himself. And as the stars glitter in the sky, he waits. Waits for day 2 to come around.

Day 2
The Careers role in their sleep. With Kankri and Jeremy standing guard, resting by the fire, warming their hands on the cold night. They mutter away to eachother, neither of them really knowing eachother. Matilda, Kezaiah and Aquamarine lie in the center of the Cornucopia, hidden away in the mouth, bunched together. Excalibur beside the fire, wrapped up in a sleeping bag. River lying beside Layla, his hand over the net, her trident lying beside. But Layla is not asleep. She stares over at the others, trying to keep still, taking this as her only chance to escape.

She stares around, looking for something to use to free herself, and this is when her eyes lock onto the trident, lying not less than 2 feet from where she is trapped. She silently reaches out, slipping the blue trident from River's hand, and loosening it through the gap of the net. Slowly, but surely she slashes through the strings of the net, allowing her to move out of her capture. She is about to dash off into the forest, or back up the mountain, when she feels the weight of the weapon in her hand. Staring at the two boys a head of her, and the trident has left her hand before she can even think.

It smashes into the back of Kankri, and knocks him forward into the fire, and this sudden movements sends Jeremy flying around to face her. And the knife was already lodged in Layla's hand, and was released from her grip before she could even think. BOOM. It collides with Jeremy's face, but he is still rolling on the ground, alive, meaning the cannon was signalling the death of Kankri. Before Kezaiah and the rest of the Careers can grab weapons, Layla is streaking across the field, about to make it into the forest, when Kezaiah's arrow is fired. It misses her vital areas, the dark clouding her vision. But it still makes a strike, hitting her leg, but this does not slow down Layla, and she continues moving. Bolting through the trees, and out of sight. The Careers consider moving after her, but Aqua and Matilda tell them to stop, knowing sleep is a much more important thing. River walks over to where Jeremy still falls around the floor, and stands over him as slowly but surely, the life drains out of him. BOOM.

Layla continues to move, dashing through the thin lining of trees. Deciding it was best she used this time to flee, fearing the Careers will begin to chase her. But after time, with her lack of sleep the previous night, due to the fear of death, she collapses behind a bush. The chill of the night is fridgid, but she does not care. Within seconds she falls into a deep sleep, which continues for hours, late into the day.

Back at the Career camp, River and Excalibur move the bodies of Kanrki and Jeremy off beside the woods, to allow them to be retrieved by the hovercraft. Meanwhile, in the center, the remaining tributes talk. With two more boys gone, the Careers are now almost unanimously woman, with 7 overall left, Kezaiah, Penny, Matilda, Marta and Aquamarine are easily comanding over River and Excalibur. They have sent them on guard, so they group at the back of the Cornucopia, while the two boys rest outside. Slowly, one by one, each of them fall asleep, Matilda is the first to go, with Aquamarine and Marta drifting off soon after, leaving Penny and Kezaiah to talk.

"Kez, what do you think of all this...I mean, this is not your first time in the arena...how was it before". Penny roles over to face the girl, who seem to have formed a quick bond with eachother since Kezaiah sparing her life in the selection round.

The girl with the red hair rolls onto her side, turning to face her district partner. "Well...last time it was cold, snow everywhere...trees, golden Cornucopia. The Careers were strong...but...I came so close, and I guess...it was just really not right...but here. Here, well...I feel stronger here, I feel like I have a chance to win, but I love it, and the excitement is just thrilling, and amazing...and it just replaces everything...and it feels like my previous games were just an imagination, and this is real...".

Penny shares a look with Kezaiah, and then lets out a small sigh. "I guess one of us is going to have to die...why are we being friendly...".

"Penny, the chances are neither of us survive, so if we work together, it is more likely at least one of us survives, and District 1 has another victor...". Kezaiah rolls over, and finishes their conversation. "Good night Penny, we need our sleep for tomorrow".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Mystique and Satan wander through the forest. Chatting away about their lives before they entered the arena, nibbling on some crackers, while looking for a place to refill the water canteen. "So, what is District 8 like". Satan crunches down on his cracker, shattering the crisp base.

"Its big, and built up. I mean, the first time I ever saw a forest was back in my other arena". Mystique swings her hands by her side, and then turns to Satan. "What about you...with District 10...".

He lets out a sigh before responding. "I actually struggle to rememeber, in my last games I was hit over the head with a rock, died of that wound a while later". He looks around at the forest, and catches sight of the same river they had been following the previous day. "Lets go fill up the canteen there, then I say we follow that". Mystique nods, and they cut through the forest, and rest at the river.

"I just could not imagine not knowing where I came from, it is just a concept I have never thought of". She pours a few tiny drops of iodine into the canteen, before closing the top and shaking it up. They continue talking about the past for the 30 minutes, and then share the bottle between them, and repeating the process. This time they place the bottle into her bag, before continuing walking down the river. The chat has turned around from the past, to talking about the future. "Satan, what is our aim for the next few days of the games...we really need to get moving, 20 people have died so far, but we need to start slimming down the tributes, otherwise they will start sending the mutts on us or something".

"What do you think we should do then, I mean we have not seen any other tributes". Satan grabs a small rock from the ground, and throws it into the river. "Anyways, two cannons went this morning, that should hold them for a while".

Mystique nods, and as they continue moving she mimics his action. The pebble sinking to the ground, before being dragged off with the current. Flowing down the river bed, and off round the corner. "I guess for a while, but in a while, maybe by tomorrow, if there is no more deaths by then, they will start to fight back". This drives both the tributes to silence, and slowly they leave the forest behind them, and after hours of moving, they break onto the beach. They walk for another few minutes, before reaching a large stone lying on the break between the greens of the forest, and the golden brown sands. Resting themselves, and staring over the view. Silent, watching the tide flowing in and out, leaving glittering patterns on the ground, ripples in the bay. Behind them the noises of the forest rumble away, while the quiet moans of the beach link with the other sounds. Almost relaxing, calming to the ear. But Satan and Mystique were not calm, both of them were thinking away about the pains that they would see in the arena, but also, the pains they had forced before.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chiara, from District 5, slowly rises from her tree. Leaping to the ground, and hitting it with a resounding thud. She sinks her teeth into a thick juicy apple, and swallows it down. The rest of her back attached to her belt, and the knives still slipped into the belt. She walks through the forest, slowly eating away at the apple, as she moves throughout the forest. Her feet are still sore from walking all of yesterday, she decides to take today slow, and just move through a part of the arena, searching for somewhere to rest, somewhere to relax. And a glorious pool pours into sight, shimmering in the hesitant light.

The river falls down the curves of the rocks, collapsing into a pool at the base of the mount. Small plants grow around the edges, bright colours. The light breaks through the tree tops, and clatters onto the face of the water, still like a mirror, despite the river flowing through it. In the swirls of the water small fishes swim around in the water, each of a dummed down brown colour, with a playful gleam to them. Chiara walks over, and removes her shoes, placing then on a small rock to the left. She hops over the river, and sits down, dipping her feet into the crystal water. The fish seem to flee at first, but as Chiara swirls them around, her red hair collapsing down her shoulders, and blinking in the glow. With her feet being cooled, and her face being struck by the sun, she knows that now will be one of the last moments of pure serenity she will occur before the end of her own life strikes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

In the early hours of the day, Kenny was attacked by a pack of wolves, but managed to escape with his mace, but losing the rest of his supplies. He now walks through the forest, swinging his mace by his side. He is moving through the bows of the tree, now absoloutely observent to everything he sees around him. Not willing to let himself be taken down by something roaming in the wild, determined to find Chiara, his district partner.

He enters a small clearing, with his hand tightening on the mace, recognising the surroundings, remembering them from before, remembering the wolves diving at him. He begins to run before him can even think, fleeing from the place, with his mind going round, trying to realize how he got back there, how did he go in a massive circle to reach back to this area, that he was at this morning. Mind circling, driving around. Pain. His body is warped, and all he can think about is the blaring fangs, not even a mutt. A normal animal driving into his body, almost taking him out of the competition, sending him home, stone cold and dead. But was this just a wound, that would keep haunting him for the rest of his life, or would it be the thing to end his life.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thias is still fast asleep in the tree, having dreams of his life before the games. But he cannot remember anything after it, just winning, watching Armstrong die...then. Nothing. Everything after that is blank. And this is what sends him over the edge, crashing down to the ground, waking him from his slumber. And sending pains streaking up his left leg, twisted behind him, in an angle it should never be allowed to look like. He slowly moves backwards, pushing himself up against the trunk, and waiting. The pain slowly dies down, only resurfacing when he moves.

He waits a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. Trying to move into the shadows, hide away. Her hands lock onto a bush, and slowly she pulls herself away. Trying to push down the searing pain of his leg, but finally, he crumples behind a small bush, hiding him from any quick passing enemy. And just lies in the ground, waiting. Waiting for the pain to end, and waiting for him to be able to join in the battle again.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Keegan and Sincius both crunch through the forest, the grass brushing at there legs. Neither of them know what they are doing, and with nothing to eat or drink, and with the temperature rising, both of them are getting scared. Dehydration is one of the most vicious killers in the games, and once it strikes, it can take you swiftly, and is unable to taken down. But the two boys were safe from dehydration for today, as a parachutr appears in the sky, and floats down into the outstretched hands of Sincius. He rips it open, throwing the top to Keegan, and downing a slog. Soon behind the canteen, a smaller bottle falls from the sky, and hits the hand of Keegan. He catches it, reading the lable, which clearly states "Iodine". He slips it into his pocket, and takes the canteen from Sincius, taking his share of the water. Sincius seals the bottle with the lid, and slips it into his pocket, before moving away. With a new hope on the games.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase, fearful for the coming day, walks through the forest. Moving at a slowed pace. He slept until about 2 hours ago, and was now progressing through the arena, his knife prepared, ready to fight. But luckily for him, his encounters with others seem limited. He hears a russtle of grass behind him earlier, but after diving behind a bush, he just saw a small doe leap from behind a tree, take a nibble at a patch of grass, before disappearing into the forest.

After another hour of moving, he takes a short break, resting beside the river that flows down to the beach. He splashes a handful into his face, before wiping it with his jacket. The sun beams down on the whole arena, not a cloud in the glorious translucent sky. He stares down a small frog that flows about the river, diving in, and chasing off a few fish. 27 fish to be precise, one predator, and 27 helpless pray. The arena, captured in a miniture version, and Chase only hoped one thing. That he would be the frog. As fish can kill fish, but a fish cannot slay the frog.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage descends into a small cave, with his feet now escalating the mountain side, having broken from the flat land of the forest earlier today. The cave is quite deep, pushing back almost 20 metres, and opening into a fair sized cavern. In one corner lies a small pool of water, funghi growing around the edge, and small drip collapsing from the roof, striking the ground. On the otherside is a bare wall, with a small cove descending into the wall, creating a small inclave.

He rests into this warmer area, slipping into his sleeping bag. With hardly a wink of sleep last night, having been disrupted by the Careers almost finding him, he decides to catch up now. With this cove being out of sight to someone just peering in the cave, he realizes this is the perfect place to take some shuteye. Using his backpack as a pillow, he drifts off quickly, and disappears from sight, knowing he is safe for now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chiara, from District 10, is another one suffering from her lack of supplies. With none at all, and a fading effort to do anything. The peak of the day has just passed, which has left her heat stricken, with no help of anything. But unlike the two boys, no sponsors seem to have chosen her. She wanders the forest, like a maze to her drifting body. The soul slowly pouring out along with her skeletle body, now am empty shell. And with each momentof time that passes, she gains closer to death. With no pools to be in sight, and the river on the otherside of the forest, the quickest path to it being directly through the Cornucopia. Into the path of the Careers. But that was a risk she was not going to take, she would rather die than face them, and let them lay their blades on her face. Her body.

She decides to collapse onto a rock, and slowly pants. With the constant walking, and swelling heat, her body has almost reached its capacity. And cannot go on much further. She lies back, staring into the skies. Resting her back on the cool rock face, trying to take her temperature down, but nothing seems to happen. The sweat pours down off her head, and her eyes dash closed, as her body passes out, in the wide open, with no defence. Just waiting for someone to come along.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Allianna is bounding through the forest. Her backpack is slunk across her shoulder, and held tight. Her movements are swird, and she is moving easily. Her feet bound across the floor, and collide with the ground. Her movements may not be swift for no reason though, as streaking behind her is a torrential swarm. Mosquitos not large in size, but in the numbers, and with each having a vicious bite. That causes insane pain. She has no idea how to get rid of them, and with the speed of these beasts, her only idea is to run.

She met these foul beasts back at the riverside, and has been unable to lose them since. Originally, her idea was to reach the mountain, but her mind is a bit ascue, and her body is unable to make it through the small gaps, and now she is just breaking anywhere she can to get away. Round and round, like a broken circle, slowly moving through tunnels and lines. Gaps and clearings. Passing small ponds, everything and anything she watches. But as time passes, she begins to slow. And the bugs swarm around her. Small streams of blood flow down her body, and streak dowm from the small gashes formed by the nibbles.

But finally, this girls end is caused as she topples over a root, tumbling over and over, her body scewed, her backpack slung from her body, but still attached by one strap. She lies there, trying to realize where she was, but then as the swarm of darkness, swallowing her whole. Attacking viciously, burning away at the skin. And slashing along the blood with the tiny teeth. Fangs. Slowly but surely, her body is coated with blood, her clothes ripped, and her eyes are burned out. Blinded from being attacked by the mutts. And with an everlasting pain, her life comes to a closed end. BOOM. The camera hovers over her body, showing the mutts fly off, showing the wounds. Small and deadly, that caused the life to go from this girl. A former victor, now taken by revenge.

Soon after, the hovercraft swoops down, and grasps down on the girl, scooping her up. For just a second, it looks like the rucksack is going to fall from her arm, leaving a full backpack on the ground, without any defence, but no. As she disappears into the method of transport, it follows with her. Ripping another healthy bow from the arena, and condemming them to the final 27.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kole and Eucy are still wandering around the forest. The cannon came as a pleasant suprise to them, knowing that there is only 25 tributes remaining other than them. But unfortunately, that cannon brings them one step closer to the real problem. Only one victor could be taken from this arena, and with their being two of them, the question was, who would win. WIth them discussing their orders before, talking about the attraction between them, both of them knew where they stood, but this just faced a vicious cycle.

"Kole...what are we gonna do...". Eucy slips a nibble of the roll into her mouth, before passing the remaining chunk to Kole. Leaving them with two rolls, and a half full bag of oranges.

"About what...". Kole knows what she means, but tries to push it off. Trying to avoid the topic till much later. "I mean...we could talk about that but...its depressing...".

She shakes her head, before replying. "It may be depressing, but we need to face it sooner or later, and if we do not we will just be hurt later on". Her hands reach out for Kole's but he moves them away, casually pretending to take a bite of the roll.

"Eucy, we are not talking about this". His voice is filled with security, but loosened with ever word. "What is going to hurt us, what if one of us dies without choosing, then having this topic will have ruined the last few days for us, do we want to remember this, or other things...the nights together...the talks...".

His eyes lock onto Eucy's, and she pulls him in close. "I am just scared".

Kole pulls her in closer, and whispers a few words. "Dont be, I am here". He rests her lips onto hers, then breathes out, tightening his hands around her waist, and they stay like this for a while, waiting, just enjoying eachothers company, while it was still theirs to enjoy.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The males from 3, 6 and 7 sit in a group. Axl, Kronos and Currant. Each of them just sits around, and with the fire raging. With the strength of the trio, they do not fear the attraction of other tributes, and actually hope others come, allowing them to take down more tributes. But with the slowly darkening night, and the prospect of seeing those who died today.

Kronos takes the first watch, resting against the back of a tree, while Currant and Axl take the sleep they need. His eyes grace over their bodies, with both of their backs towards him, neither of them can see the pain that goes through his mind. He was twisted, and sick. But so far, he had managed to hide that. But soon, soon he would have his purest revenge. His eyes glow a golden red, and the camera focuses on them deeply, with a sinister glow to his personality. Time passes by, slowly and slowly. Kronos' stare never gleaming from the two bodies, and as it gets darker, the anthem begins to play in the sky.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla crashes into bush, striking the ground. Her black hair tangles with the branches, but she knows she is not gonna be moving. She had spent all day running, from breaking from the Careers grasp to now. And finally it was her time to rest. Above her the faces appear in the sky, glowing brightly. The first showing is someone she already saw die, Jeremy, while just behind him glows Kankri. Once his face disappears, the final death of today is revealed to everyone. Allianna shines bright, her black hair flowing down her back.

After Allie's face vanishes, Layla resumes to her normal routine. Just lying in the bush, waiting to fall asleep. Her hair is still tangeled, and with no reason to break out until tomorrow. With her dark skin, she blends into the dark shadows behind the bush, and sees this as a good place to rest for the rest of the night. After around about 20 minutes, of just lying down she slowly drifts off, and with the time passing, the camera zooms off her, to go find her former ally, who is closer than she thinks.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra rests high up in a tree, the bag hanging from a branch next to her. She is kept up in the tree, trying to forget what happened yesterday. With all her allies dead apart from Layla, and with her still believing the Careers hold her in capture, just waiting for the right moment to strike, Cassandra holds a depression to her movements. Staring around, but little did she know, less than 20 metres from her, in a bush, fast asleep lay Layla. Her hair tangeled, but sadly for Cassandra, having used the day to relax. Is moving during the night.

She slides down, lightly hitting the floor before moving off at a steady run. Through the darkness of the forest, the rucksack on her back. Back in the Capitol though, Cassandra was a favorite. With her slight beauty, and her ruthlessness, shown by her dropping of her ally, without even a second look. Overshined by some of the stronger playes, her district partner Aquamarine, and her duo of girls, Kez and Matilda. And the tributes from 12, but with each passing moment her attraction grows stronger, as elsewhere in the arena, beside the Cornucopia, the Careers were swirling, and beginning to fight.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Three cannons today...and the Careers only had involvement with them stretched as far as two of them were deaths in our alliance...we killed no one today, and that is pathetic...". Aquamarine strolls round the fire, staring at each of the Careers in turn.

And with only Excalibur responding. "Aqua, it was just as much your fault as it was ours this morning, Kez was the only one to even try to attack Layla". He looks around to River, who seems to shuffle away, moving more towards where Aqua stands. His second glance is to Kez and Penny, who nod in turn with him. "Do not blame us for a mistake you made as much as we did...". Matilda and Marta seem to stay quiet between the fight between the two districts. 4 and 1 usually were the ones to do the following, with 2 shining, but this time 4 and 1 were causing the fight.

"Excalibur, I really dont care what you think, Jeremy died this morning, and he is not from District 1 is he...and it is actually Kez's fault we are in this situation, she brought that 6 girl back". "

"Hey, this was just as much Matilda and Jeremy's fault as it was mine, and I am not sorry he died, he seemed to be a right dick when we talked". Kez stares towards Matilda, as if wanting validation, but no responce comes.

"I agree with Kez...it was only Jeremy and Kankri's fault...they were supposed to be on guard...and they did not watch her enough, if it was not for the cannon we would probably all be dead...". Penny's voice is quiet, but comes with firm logic. "If they had just looked, they could have seen her coming...and killed her...".

This thought silences the group, but does not calm them down. The words that had been said were not going away, and tonight was only the beginning of the rift that would form over the next few days.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper and Armstrong are still in their cave, and are not moving. The camera focuses onto them, and just hovers over the two lifeless figures. With both of them being fast asleep, their safety may seem at risk, but with Armstrong being one of the most vicious tributes in the arena, both of them know they are safe until much later.

Slowly the sun fades, and second day of the game concludes. With a total of 21 tributes down, only 27 of them remain. District 1 holds 3 tributes, while 2 and 3 both still have 2. District 4, the final Career District, took its first death today, and holds 3, while 5 is down to its last two. 6 has 3 left, with only Vixen having died, and 7 again has only 1, but with Currant managing to survive the day, they still have a fighting chance. Both a boy and a girl from 8 surive, Chase fighting alone, and Mystique with Satan. Whereas 9 only has the one, Silver. 10 still has three, with two of them hunting eachother down though, and the other allying with a psycho, while being one himself. And then 11, with only Keegan and alive, and 12. With no tributes dead, the most successful district so far, but how long would this last. How long would Eucy and Kole be able to stay alone in the forest, and how long would this cave stay undisturbed. How long would these tributes be able to sleep. How long until the next cannon sounds.

Day 3
Cassandra hovers for a moment, staring before her. She had just met the marsh like section of the forest, and stares around. Trying to look for a way across this expance. After a few minutes of thinking, she skirts round the edge, and tries to see how large this is. After a while her mind drifts to her future in the arena. She had seen the face of Jeremy last night, her district partner, and felt nothing. Struggling to break from the normal District 4 scene, showing that non-careers can do just aswell as Careers. That they can get as far, even further.

After a while, she just decides to risk it. She walks over a fallen decomposing log, before leaping to the ground. Thumping down. Her feet sink deep into the marsh, and she slings her backpack onto another dry patch of land, before pulling herself up. She had sunk to her ankles in the muck, and stares down. Letting out a sigh. She contineus to move, every so often having to jump over the growths, or ducking under a fallen moss tree. Having gotten up early, she plans to travel another hour before finally stopping. This hour passes quickly though, and as she comes to a rest under a shaded tree, an area surrounded by a mass of marsh, she climbs up the tree, slipping into the sleeping bag before finally drifting off, just as the sun appears in the sky.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kronos, Axl and Currant have been moving for the full morning and now rest on the edge of the Cornucopia area, staring into the Careers. They try to listen in, but due to the distance they can only see who is talking. It seems they are all up, and the three boys presume they are planning their day, so they decide to do the same.

"So, are we actually going to attack them". Kronos mutters, trying to keep their location secret.

"I say we wait a while, some of them could leave, and we could be able to get some supplies, and take out some people". Currant sits down, staring to the two other boys.

Axl thinks for a moment before responding. "We could watch them for a few days, I mean get to know how they work, let nature take a few...as there is still 7 of them...even if half of them go fighting, we just make the cut".

"I suppose...but they could find us". Currant seems a bit anxious about the plan, but Axl knows he is not going to be the one to make the final decision.

Kronos would be. "Then we fight back, we can take them, they are weak, we are 10 times better than the".

"Fine I guess..". Currant responds at the same time as Axl nods, and the trio set camp in the section. Slipping their bags under a small bush, and ducking below. Gaining some needed rest.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny's mind is slowly warping, twisting. Breaking. Smashing. His run in with the wolves was only the beginning, a single sting on his knee now shows the true picture. A tracker jacket sting, unknown to him, is seeping into his body, and with the mental pain that is slowly overcoming him, he did not notice, and even now it is slowly growing. Forcing him to rolling on the ground, just managing to stop screening. But his pain was just beginning.

He stares around him, and the trees begin to melt, falling to the floor in a pool of silver water, like mercury. Burning his skin, disappearing beneath, and burning even more. His hands try to grab onto his sanity, but it is long gone. He tries to get up, but notices a girl in a dress, with long black hair. He crawls over to her, and tries to reach out, but she just keeps moving backwards, her face still hidden by her hair. Kenny knows his pain will end once he reaches out, when he touches her. But nothing. She does not stop moving, and his mind gets more frustrated, wanting to know who was behind the vail. Wanting to discover the solution to his pain.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Mystique and Satan are still resting on the beach. They are both hidden behind the rock, so you could only see them while approaching from the front. Neither of them are talking, and nothing seems to be happening at all. Both of them just stair out into the ocean, knowing that behind it is probably a field, or a forest. And that around here, was nothing. It was just a fake place, that was in the middle of somewhere completely different.

A small dolphin leaps from the surface of the water, allowing a smile to pour onto the face of Mystique. The creature looks so elegant as it leaps up again, sending ripples across the water. Waves smash around, and seconds later a pod of dolphins form. Around about 20 of them in total, weaving about in a playful manner. Capturing the mature atmosphere of the arena, and replacing it with a soft and kind feel. As the day moves on, both Mystique and Satan know the time they can stay allies is reducing.

Both of them watch as the dolphins move out of sight, and are replaced by the slow moving waves. Beautiful in a way, but with both Mystique and Satan focused on the games, they do not notice the natural beauty around them, and know that it is just a distraction to them, that will force them to be more allert. As anything around them could be a mutt, any of them could be a gamemaker trap. Everything and nothing is dangerous, and everything and nothing will be the thing that takes a life. As the arena takes lives everyday, no matter what the tool is. A tribute is driven mad by the arena. And that is the reason they throw the knife into the chest, or slash down with a sword. The games were one thing, but the arena was a completely different thing. That never ended, that never left the minds of even the victor.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sincius and Keegan have decided to stop moving. They know they are going to get as good as they get, and are beginning to realize that they have to face the tributes in the end. They rest down on a small series of rocks, staring down at the river that flows below them. Waiting for someone to come along. But times goes on...but nothing happens. They stare around, just thinking about what is going to happen, but they both know that they need to have a strategy.

With most tributes in the arena so far, just floating about. Planning things as they came, the time had come when plans were needed to survive. 21 tributes were gone, and with only 27 remaining each of them knew that the people they were with now, would be with them for a long time.

"Sincius...should we not come up with a plan...". Keegan stares across at his ally, before shaking his head.

"Plans hold people down, I say we just take things as they come". He takes another drink of water, before finishing his thought. "Maybe in the future...when less of us remain...final 15...".

"...do you wish you could talk to Layla...or Axl...". Keegan stares across to Sincius, not wanting to stop the conversation they had just begun.

Sincius shakes his head. "No. She would remind me of home. And I need to be reminded of here right now. And Axl...do you not think that alliance would want to kill us...I mean, in their eyes it could seem like we deserted them...and Kronos I really do not think is right in the head, he seemed a bit off in training".

" I noticed that too...I did not want to ally with him, it was kinda forced, I went with what Tempesto wanted...but he is dead...". Keegan lets out a sigh, knowing he was the only one his district could still support.

"Do you think we have a chance of victory with the Careers still out there...". Sincius' question comes out of the blue, but Keegan does not hesitate to answer.

"With Kronos alive...I am not sure the Careers will be around for much longer"...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Careers hesitate for a few minutes, before finally deciding to set off. They split into two groups, with Marta, Penny and River staying back at camp, while Excalibur and the three vixens from the Career districts head out in search of some blood to spill.

Aquamarine is leading the charge, and tears through the forest. Excalibur and Matilda holding the centre, while Kezaiah watches from behind. An arrow loaded into the bow, ready to fire. They walk for a while, moving stealthily through the forest. But no one seems to come into view. And after about 2 hours of walking away from their camp, they know that they need to head back to the Cornucopia soon, to make a new plan.

Kezaiah stares through the trees, staring through the forest, while behind her, Matilda washes her leg in a small pond. With Excalibur and Aquamarine sharpening their blades on a rock beside the pool. The tributes wait for a few minutes, just accessing the area, soaking in the beauty before making the second journey of the day, the walk back to the Cornucopia. And all that each of them hope is that on the way, or later in the night, they find someone. Someone to kill. Someone to show that the Careers are not weak, that the Careers can win.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thias is still writhing in pain, his bones aching away. Pain beyond pain. The light shimmers through the branches in the trees, shimmering on the ground. The golden plants surround his body, growing up, and wrapping round his bodies. Thias is still completely out, with his eyes shut, serenity hidden by the shield of the gracious flowing curls of the everlescent bush that speaks to itself forever more.

The grass that grows around them, with a glowing quality. A spiritual feel. Despite the complete and utter pain that hurts each tribute in this arena, each thing holds its own story. From the towering peaks of the trees, and growing bows of the mountain. The crashing rocks, that would flow down the side, tearing down anything that they meet. But this could all be interupted by the single step of a foot, the crack of a branch, that breaks the rolling, rubbing silence that commands this area of the forest, that commands the whole glorious arena that spreads for ages, and flies around the tributes. An ever growing, but shrinking civilisation that would never draw to a halt.

And this was commanded by Chiara, the district partner of the great Thias. And as she peers over the bush, staring down at the limp body of her friend. She bends her knees, and hovers over his body, and pushes him slightly, waking him from the pained sleep. The scream begins to moment he wakes, and he struggles up, pushing from Chiara, sure she was poised to kill him.

"No, no no..ally...". Her voice is clear, and she lets out her hand, almost wanting him to shake on their alliance, make this bond true.

Thias stares at it for a moment, before responding. "...O...OK...". He shakes her hand, then pushes off the bark, and almost collapses to the ground, almost dead with pain.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper and Armstrong decided to move throughout this day. They are currently climbing up the side of the mountain, hoping to reach the peak in the next few days. Armstrong is taking the lead, but despite this neither him or Piper are saying a word. Knowing that no matter what they talked about, no matter what they said it would all come back to the one thing. Pipers death. This event would have gone unoticed if it was not for this climatic event, this Hunger Games. When they were both brought back, and thrown into eachothers company.

As they rest on a group of rocks, staring across the forest, with the Cornucopia resting at the base of the hill. They stare down at the tiny figures walking about. Almost fascinating, exciting. The only drama they allow, and with few figures, their is even fewer things to watch. But they watch at the directly correct time. Their eyes scan around, and they see the cluttering figure before the Careers. Stumbling over their feet, and collapsing down, sending a suffering sound around.

Glittering blonde hair shimmers in the cascading light, and reflects the light of the sun. She steps forward, raising a duo of long thick knives, and darts towards the figure, expecting a fight. But nothing. The girl stands over, who Piper and Armstrong weirdly recognise as Penny, despite having only seen her few times. She stands over the figure, who is hidden by the shades of the trees, and watches as Penny rips up the head of figure, and drags the knife across her neck. She drops down, and her limp body spills across the place. BOOM. The cannon sounds about, and Penny stands up. Walking back to the Cornucopia, laughing away with her two allies.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Nice kill Penny". Marta and River walk over to meet Penny, laughing away at the pathetic girl. "Who was it".

Penny flicks her hair, before responding. "That girl from 10, Chloe or whatever her name is". She slips her knife into her belt, and ties back her hair in a ponytail. "Such an easy damn kill, I thought it would actually be hard to take someones life...".

"Why do you think she just walked in here, I mean most people would have enough sense to avoid us, they can hardly be blind or any-". River lets out a jovile statement, before stopping in his tracks. "You dont think...".

Marta and Penny share a look, before shugging off the theory. "Nah, she was probably just starving or something, hallucinating, probably thought it was empty and tried to sneak in".

River shakes his head. "Well, it does not really matter. They are gone, and only 26 tributes are left...we are doing pretty damn good...".

River, Penny and Marta all share a laugh, before resting down. They light a quick fire, and slowly but surely, the remaining Careers file back in, congratulating Penny on her kill, before planning the next few days of the games.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase turns away the pond, now holding only 26 fish. This arena was huge, but it was made to force people together, and Chase knew this. He feet are rich on the soil beneath him, and he makes steady progress through the day, deciding to begin heading up the slope that lies before him, the beginning of the mountain.

He ascends it quickly, but keeps to the section still coated in a few sparce trees, fearing if he ventures into the open areas, he will be seen by the Careers, resting down at the base of this mighty hill. After another 20 minutes of constant movement, he breaks onto a small spring. Using a scooped leaf to fish out the water, and pour it down his throat. The heat of the day was soaring up, and only one thing could solve the pouring heat, stop it from driving down into you, and causing damage. Chase knew this, and searched for a five more minutes, before taking up the tree, and falling fast asleep. He knew with over half the tributes gone, the competition was just beginning.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla has had an overall unproductive day. With her little food she found being consumed, she adored the fact a small rucksack sailed down from the sky, filling her with a small bit of hope that allowed her to feel like she had a chance. It was filled with a decent number of supplies, things she would need to survive the cold blistering nights, a thicker jacket, and a set of matches, but also some rope for hunting, and a few packs of food, to keep incase her hunting fails.

With day 3 drawing to an end, Layla rests for a while, and is not suprised when the first note of the anthem echoes around the vast arena. Followed by a playful tune, that announces the beginning of the only method of connection between most tributes, and those resting on the outside of the arena. Her hands fly up onto a tree branch, and she hauls herself up, with only a bit of struggle. She stares up, and watches as only one face takes up the space of the sky. Chiara flashes on for about a minute, before fading into the distance. Her flowing hair disappearing from the space of the sky forever.

With one more tribute down, Layla realizes what she is going to have to face over the next few days. The pain that will be suffered, and the emotions that will be damaged. These games were just beginning, and Layla was on the weaker side. The Careers were still lying strong, with 7 tributes. And they were not the only ones who were strong, both pairs from 12 were still going, and the male alliance was not budging. Mystique and Satan aswell, and alliances were not the only ones who were going to be a pain. Cassandra was getting stronger every day, and Chase was building up momentum...and then there was Silver...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver had stayed hidden throughout the games so far. Metres from the mouth of the cave lay a thin line of glowing aqueous water. Crimson in the setting sun. She had dashed to the river many times, as beside it lyed a thicket of golden berries, perfect for keeping her appetite down. She had all she could ever need metres from the mouth of her cave, meaning she was set for the games. Tucked away in the back of the cave, sleeping away, preparing for when the games get serious, for when the games get going.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kole and Eucalyptus have been almost completely silent since their conversation the day before. That had sent the games into perspective. Both of them know that one of them had to die for the other to survive, and they werent the only ones this was true for. With them seeing the face of Chiara in the sky, this had sent mixed feelings into their heads. Half of it had wanted to see someone they hardly knew, a Career, someone from 6, 8 or 11. But the other half had wanted something completely different, something that they even dreaded to think about. They had wanted to see the face of Piper. Or Armstrong. It did not really matter, all they wanted was to see one of the pair. This would allow them something that they havent had before, they could know that they were the only pair truly working together. The only pair that one of them was still to die.

They were still resting in the forest, but they really had not noticed their surroundings. The light is almost completely gone, and both of them are huddled under a canopy of a tall oak, that actually breaks above the surface of green, formed by the flurry of trees that spreads for miles. Eucy and Kole could not even contemplate what was out there, but aslong as they had eachother neither of them cared. Neither of them feared what they still had to face, as comfort was something to be enjoyed, something that must be considered.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla is currently striking along the edge of the forest. She really has not been doing much since she escaped the Careers, but with this experience came some sort of joy. It gave Layla something that no other tribute in the games had really ever faced. Or had a chance of experiencing. She had almost had to face death, she had seen her life go, and knew that the games were real. The Careers were the strongest force in the whole games, and it was reliant on them to make the kills. With her escaping, while taking down both Kankri and Jeremy. It had given her a perspective of a chance, if she could slay 2 of the Careers, the larger alliances could take out more. Slay the rest of the fowl beasts.

She stares into the darkened night, making sure not to make a sound as she moves through the thick sparce forests, trying to make her way through the arena. The Careers could be hunting right now, and she knows this. At night the forests were not safe, no where. But she needed to move, and she needed to take risks. She brushes her dark hair over her shoulder, before pushing onwards. Breaking onto a downward slant down a small ridge, and into a thick clearing of woods. She moves into the centre, and spins around. Drawing in her surroundings. Trying to work out what it was. A blurred movement between the eight trees that form the boundaries of this grass area. She walks over a step, and then recognises it from home. Thick, glowing spider silk. A web, a trap. The instant she realizes this, she tries to escape. But as she turns, a dark creature, the size of her face, larger, darts back into the bushes of the tree, the growing leaves. The way she just entered through now covered with a wall of white, and she was gone.

The scream goes for miles, and Layla knew she did not have much time to react. But the thing was, would she make the right decision. Could she survive this vicious beast, and make it through to day 4.

Day 4
Kole and Eucy moves quickly, their feet dashing along the ground. Kole bounds ahead, but is dragged back with the scream of Eucy. He stops for a second, before she catches up, and they link hands before darting off again. Not wanting to give the beast that follows them a chance to catch up. A black creature, that darts through the shadows of the trees, its composure elegant like a fox. Swift movements, all precise. But it is larger, much larger. Its appereance is more like a wolf, with soft black fur, but again. There is something strange about it, its body looks like a wolf, but it holds thick clubbed paws, with larger claws. More like bears, much too large for its body, but swift in moving. And then its teeth, they are long and dark, two protruding from the front, but the rest are soaked in the red of its last kill.

Kole and Eucy have not examined it before, as the moment they woke, found it towering above them, they decided to move, run and just go. But as the night is still heavy, this beast can move anywhere. Usually constricted to the darkness, to the shade of the trees. But with the night living for a few more hours, Eucy and Kole have no clue what to do, and with the speed not dropping of this monster, this mutt, Eucy and Kole cannot stop, without risking their own death. They decide to move out of the forest, and break onto the side of the hill, knowing the steep may slow them down, but it will also slow down the monster. They move up, and expect the beast to follow, but after a few minutes of climbing up, they turn around. Resting at the base, stood still, the monster. Its eyes locked on the pair, but it was not moving out of the forest. Eucy and Kole wait for a second, before realizing they were safe...for now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra has not made much movement during the day. She has been staring into the sky, and thinking about what would be happening back at home. It had been just over a week since she had left for the Capitol, and with day 4 dawning in the arena Cassandra had realized what was really happening. She was in the final section of the games, and with most of the tribute dead, only 26 remain. She stares around, her hair shifting beside her, the backpack heavy on her shoulders and continues to think about home, about District 4. By the faces in the shy, she knew that both River and Aquamarine remain alive, and both of them would still be wanting her death. She had been offered a postion in the Careers, and had denied it. But this was even more deadly than just being a normal tribute, both of them were strong, and both of them had a vendetta to be filled. Cassandra was strong, but the Careers were stronger. And Cass would have to watch out if she wanted to survive.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Satan is woken by the screams of Mystique. Both of them had rested on the body of the rock the night before, and both had drifted off quickly, but now Mystique was awake, and not for a good reason. During the night she had got restless, and rolled to the side, was perched on the edge of the rock, about to fall. But only this morning had she made the final movement, and rolled on the soft bed of sand. But this was her biggest regret.

"SATAN, HELP ME". She screams up, her arms flailing from the ground, but Satan was still slightly dazed. Having just woken up. "GRAB MY HAND".

"Wait...what...". As his eyes focus, they stare down onto the scene below him. The face of Mystique, tears streaked down its face. Only the torso above the surface of the sand, the rest gone. "Mystique...MYSTIQUE". He knew it was to late, but he throws out his hand, grabbing onto hers. He tries to pull up, but the force against him is too strong. Her hand is pulled from his, and he watches slowly as she is dragged under the surface, her torso disappearing. Leaving just her face.

"Satan...please...help...". She barely manages to get out the words. Her stomach being crushed by the sands. "Do not let me die...it is cold...". Her eyes flutter, flashing in the rising sun. And Satan lets out a tear.

"I wont...dont worry, just let me get something". He gets to his feet, and leaps off the rock, darting over to the forest, grabbing a tree, and yanking off a sheet of bark. Darting back over to the rock, holding his makeshift shovel. But when he looks over, nothing is there. No face. No Mystique. He stares at the place where she was less than a minute ago, and before he can force him to do anything, her fate is sealed. BOOM. Satan drops the sheet of bark, then backs away. He brings nothing as he darts through the forest. Not caring where he goes, or who he hurts. His feet crash through the shrubbery, and the only focus being to fleeing the beach, getting as far away as he can. And no matter where he goes...no matter who he meets...he wants revenge.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla shakes her head, the spider shell at the base of her feet. The stick she used to slaughter the vicious mutt in her hand. A battle between the girl from 6, and one of the most powerful muttations in the games. It was fast fought, but won by the tribute. With her having the area advantage, once she destroyed most of the webs, the spider was trapped, and with one swift blow to the back, it was dead. Layla has not moved for about an hour, just standing over the body. She has no idea what she is supposed to do, or where she is supposed to go now, but she heard the cannon while she was fighting, and the maths was going in her head as she tries to remember who was left, and who she still had to face. But as she finishes remembering the Careers, a voice knocks her mind out of focus. And she realizes she has a chance to watch many more tributes die.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Axl, Kronos and Currant are preparing to go in, they see about half of the Careers are asleep, with only Aquamarine and Excalibur still awake, but they are stopped in their tracks by a voice from the sky, telling them of a better option.

"Congratulations to the final 25 tributes, with the recent depature of our dear Mystique, the Gamemakers have decided to give the rest of the tributes a chance to show if they are truly daring. At noon tomorrow, at the Cornucucopia, there will be a feast. We must ask each tribute to refrain from killing till the feast, to add more drama. Another small request, is would the Careers please move to the base of the mountain, so we can set up. Oh yes, but this is a little bit more than a feast. It is actually mroe of a...dinner party, so when the clackson sounds, that is when you can begin to kill. But yes, if you do choose to break this little rule, we will be forced to take something from you, and a single shock of electricity should take that quite quickily. And one last thing, this is an invitation dinner party, and we would love it everyone did come down, or again...our friend electricity will do the job for us..."

The voice ends quickly, leaving a silence between the trio, but it is quickly broken with a coursing laugh of Kronos, quickly snuffled out by Currant. "Shut up Kronos, the Careers are right there".

"I know, but this is perfect...just perfect...". Kronos sniggers away, not caring about the stern looks from both his allies.

Currant nods, before Axl responds. "Still, if they find us now, our chances tomorrow will be ruined. We need to keep quieter than ever right now...".

Kronos nods, but then lets off a smile, which is replied with greater smiles from his two allies. "Our time has come, tomorrow the Careers will not know what hit them...".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Careers plan to move for the rest of the day. Shifting their supplies from the mouth of the Cornucopia, outwards to the base of the mountain. They are not going hunting today, and have decided to stock up for tomorrow. It may not be a fight at first, but a chance to refresh themselves, but as soon as that clackson goes, blood would be spilled, and the Careers wanted to be the strongest.

They are done quicker than they thought, and once they have scanned over the Cornucopia they move out. Resting around. Just sitting. All of them are wide awake, and they discuss one more little thing before splitting up the watches.

Aquamarine takes the lead of the conversation, turning to face the other 6, all resting on supplies. "We need to talk about tomorrow, I mean its a feast, and we cant kill until then. We will probably get near the table, then the gong will sound. We need to make sure we span out. Get near other tributes, so we can take down as many people as we can...the numbers are getting lower...much lower...".

"25 is still quite a lot". Marta chips in, staring around. "I mean, thats more than a usual game".

Aqua nods, but responds none the less. "Yes, but how many tributes were there originally...96, meaning 25 is actually in proportion to a normal game, we are in the final 6...".

"Well thats a weird way to look at it". Excalibur lets out a snort, before summing up. "So basically...you stopped us getting an extra 10 minutes of sleep...to say we need to...fight tomorrow...well done Aqua, amazingly done".

"Shut up Excalibur, if you think you can say anything better, go ahead". Aqua pushes back, and sits down onto a chair, looking to Excalibur expectantly.

"Thank you Aqua, but as you said, this is apparently...the final 6...and if you look at us, there is only actually 2 tributes left...now that makes us seem weak....really weak...everything has a downside Aqua, this is the Hunger Games, not a fucking practise in District 4...". His face is stern, but it stays in the direction of Aquamarine. "The Careers are getting weak...lets face it, we are not lasting much longer...".

The group stare around at eachother, Penny and Kezaiah sitting behind Excalibur, while Matilda, Marta and River stick on the side of Aquamarine. The Careers were splitting up, and tomorrow was a perfect oppertunity for them to break.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thias and Chiara have been moving ever since the announcement about the feast. Both of them have made considerable movement away from the Cornucopia ever since the beginning of the games, and now had great progress to make over night. It waa about a full days journey to reach their direction at the pace they were going, and they had just over 20 hours left. If they wanted to survive until the feast, they would be forced not only to pick up their pace, but also they would have to skip rest before the big event.

They have made it back to the area where they met the previous day, also where Thias broke his bones. This has also slowed their progress, but as they move his pain leaves him slowly, as this morning they recieved a package. Not something to completely heal him, but something to help him along the way. Push him in the direction of getting better, removing the pain. It had helped a bit, but with a fight coming on the horizon, Thias would need a lot more if he hoped to survive direct confrontation.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage does not move a muscle. Yesterday he spent the whole day retreating back, and back to where he now stands. Or more like crouched. Hidden away, scrumpled up in a bush, his head between his knees. His breaths slow, and steady. Basic, and broken. Paced, as with each one he risked giving up his position. As he was not on his own, the message in the sky caused him to almost die. And it was still a possibility, a very high possibility, as if you look where he is resting. Where he is standing, crouching. Less than five metres from where he rested, was the new camp of the Careers.

He could do nothing, as if he even moved he risked giving up his position. He could overhere everything the Careers were saying, well at least half of the Careers. Since their fight this morning, they seemed to have split down the middle. The three of then from District 1 were sitting in a circle just beside Courage, while the other four were clear on the other side, an alliance of District 2 and 4. And Courage could not do anything, well anything other than listen in, and hope for vital information.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The tributes were all migrating towards the Cornucopia, and Sincius and Keegan were no exceptions. They were walking slightly uphill towards the field, planning what they are going to do tomorrow, who to attack. And most importantly, and basically. How to get away.

"...so yeh, if you go in from the mountain side, and attack that girl from one, Kezaiah I think her name is, she seems like a threat. But can strike from a long way, so we need to get close to her before the buzzer sounds". Keegan nods to the commands of Sincius, while they move through the forest. "And I will aim for Matilda, and that 4 girl, Aquasubmarine or something".

"Ok then, but what about the other Careers. I doubt they will be working alone, the guys from 1 and 4 are left, and another girl from 1 and 2....". Sincius considers this, then waits for Keegan to finish before chipping in. "Also, we really need to get an idea of where to meet...at the end you know...".

"OK, good point. They said it was more like a dinner party though...so we could use that to our advantage...". Sincius lets out a little laugh, which seems to puzzle Keegan.

"What do you mean". Sincius bends down, and whispers in the ear of Keegan, and like clockwork a smile pops onto the face of the boy. "Oh my god, this is going to be epic...". And the ironic thing was, Keegan could not have been more wrong.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver darts down the hill. The announcement had come as a shock, but a welcome change to her. She did not care if anyone saw what she was doing, as they would have to allow their own life to go if they wished to take hers. And Silver knew that all the Careers would want to win, and would not risk such a trivial thing as a kill, for their future. Even if it was most likely they are not going to win anyways. She knows she is as likely as them to win, but all she knows is right now she is weaker. And this was her time to excel. She would use this feast to recover herself, and as soon as that buzzer goes, she was out of there. And there would be no seeing her until the final 5 came about.

She darts down the side, and dashes behind a tree at the edge. From this angle she has a clear sight into the mouth of the Cornucopia, most of the coverings of the tree, and the Careers camp in the middle of the mountain base. She could dash in and out, but she was safer here. Just waiting, preparing for tomorrow. As she waits, she climbs up into the tree, and grabs a few hours extra of sleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase is regretting what he has done over the past few days. He spent ages moving away from the Careers, and now he was being forced back towards them. Back into their grasp, for a second bloodbath basically. Another place that he would have to face everyone, and risk his own life. He broke through a thicket of branches, and is about to continue when his movement is broken with a noise coming from the sky. He turns his face upwards, and watches as the seal appears in the sky, and the anthem blares. He stops his movements for the day, and then rests. Knowing that tomorrow, the sky would be filled with faces, and not just the one it was tonight.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny stares up, crouched in a ball. His mind had driven him mad, and he was not like he normally was. He was nuts, and it was both helping and hindering him. He had a new air of light on the games, and he knew he could succeed if he really placed his mind to it. The anthem ends, and the only face that was going to grace the sky tonight appears slowly.

Mystiques face glows bright, her soft skin glowing on the base of the black. Her cascading red hair blanketed, and she was beautiful. But she was gone. Kenny had never really seen her before, never socialised. Unlike his only remaining district partner Satan, and was not hurt by the sight. But he did remember her as strong for what he had seen. She had been a fighter, and Kenny was not disappointed by her death. As with the feast coming tomorrow, he knew he would have to fight, and he was just convincing himself of this.

"Kenny, you can do this friend. We must win, people must die. Blood must flow over my hand, into my mouths. Wolves, wolves will run rampant from my touch. Kill, kill, kill. I am powerful, I will win. Win, win, win. We must do this, OK". He almost seems to switch once he finished.

"No, I will not agree with you, you foul beast, stinky, smelly. You are a wreck". His voice is cruel now, but is relaced by the original sinicle blast.

With a sweet smile on his face. "But...but I am winning, final 25 now...only 24 more to go, their blood will flow down my face...cascading dowm my throat. I win, we win".

With a twitch of his face, a jerk and shudder. He nods once with a smile on his face, and a second time, the grimase across it now. The camera zooms off his seconds later, as even the Gamemakers know when someone is going mental, and Kenny was a clear sight.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper and Armstrong emerge from their cave together, their hands linked. They stare at eachother, then out onto the arena. The moon high in the sky, glittering down. The canyon below them, holding the field where the fight would take place tomorrow. The duo know it is not going to be easy, but both of them had faced most of a game, Armstrong right until the end, and Piper only falling short on the final hurdle. Piper raises her hand, and wipes a tear from her eye before beginning.

"Armstrong, do you really think we can do it". They share a look, and Armstrongs face lets off a soft smile. He reaches round, and puts his arm around her head before answering.

"Piper, we have been with eachother since the beginning, if we cant do this...I fear to think who can"

Day 5
As the sun rises into the sky, Kole and Eucy make their way to the edge of the field. Staring into the centre. Where today they would partake in the feast. Both of them were prepared, and they knew, even if they could only see a few of the tributes, they knew that the others were just hidden away. And if they werent, they needed to be here soon, or they would be one of the first set of cannons to be let off into the sky. As this was compulsary, it was basically a second bloodbath.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Careers are beginning to split, Kezaiah stares over at Aqua and her group, then shakes her head. Their bags are packed, and along with Penny and Excalibur they set off, moving over and away. The Careers had officially split, and with the feast so soon. This could only bring even more fights. Aqua turns to her group, with both River and Marta asleep, meaning only her and Matilda watched the three remaining tributes leave. They set base on the otherside of the Cornucopia. Not to far away, but they were going to wait till the feast, and then. That would be where we would really see which side was stronger, District 1, or 2 and 4.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kronos, Axl and Currant prop up, and with only a few more hours till noon, they are getting prepared. Planning exactly what they do, listing the exact details of what their plan involves. They saw the Careers splitting this morning, and just believe they are wanting to cover more ground, but with them actually splitting, it means they need to take even more care. They have no exact idea who everyone is with, but they know that the only alliance that is bigger than them are the Careers, and now, that is only by 1 tribute.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage raises his head, the light pouring down. People are emerging, resting on the edges. But some moving further forward. The games were coming to a halt. As right now, almost all the tributes, with the sole exception of Thias and Chiara, were in the same area. And they could not kill eachother, they could not even fight. They just had to watch as they rested their bodies, let their wounds heal. Take a nibble of food, a quick drink. And Courage was no exception, he was preparing. As back in the Capitol the clock was clicking, the sponsors were rolling in. it was almost 10, and in less than 3 hours, the fight would begin.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra places her hand on the back of Layla, which causes a small reaction. Layla spins around, her arm out. Pushing Cassandra back, and even once she sees who it is, her hand does not retreat, and the horror on her face does not bend. "What are you doing here".

"Same reason as you, the feast". Cassandra brushes back her hair, and places her hand round the wrist of Layla, pushing it down. "Layla...we were great allies before, and I left you...I am so damn sorry...".

Layla questions her serenity, then asks a vital question. "Why should I trust you...".

Cassandra lets out a laugh, then walks away. "Layla, I am not asking for you to forgive me. I am just wanting some sort of equality between us, and my apology has given me that state of mind". She spins around again, her hair dazzling in the light. "I do not want to be your ally, I just want to warn you, that I am ready for what ever happens today...and you are number one on my hit list".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sincius and Keegan take one last look at eachother, and watch as infront of them a table rises. Completely set for dinner, with candles glowing bright. An elegant afair, thick cotton cloths across the table, with china dishes, all set with forks and knives, ready for dinner. Keegan stands up, and counts the chairs surrounding the thick mahogony table. 25 to be exact. one for each tribute. Keegan stares at Sincius, and they know it is nearing 12. They contemplate eachother, knowing they need to go forward, need to sit down. The first group to step forward though, are the Careers from District 1. Kezaiah and Penny rest down on seats near the middle, while Excalibur goes nearer the end. Slowly but surely other tributes step forward, the other Careers. Matilda and the pair from 4 at one end, and Marta beside Excalibur. Keegan and Sincius stare at eachother one last time, then step forward. Preparing for the fight.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase pulls out a chair, plush cushioned seats adressing the wood. He sits down, and pulls in. Around him, the tributes are forming, to his left, Kronos sits. Grimising away, while to his right Matilda laughs away with Aqua, just treating this like a normal afair in the Capitol. Chase stares around him, holding the knife. He slips it beneath the table, knowing it will be good for a weapon, and just keeps his eyes locked in front of him, where directly across, an chair still forms, waiting to be taken by another tribute, to allow someone for Chase to focus on.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thias and Chiara are the last people to come into the clearing. Everyone else is seated, and only two chairs remain untaken, both at different ends of the spectrum. Thias nearer the end beside the Cornucopia, while Chiara bresting beside Excalibur and Marta, Currant sitting on the otherside of the pair, along with Axl. The moment they sit down, the silence ends, but it is not filled with the voices of tributes, but by one single voice from above, that hands them over more details, reguarding what they were supposed to do, and why.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper and Armstrong stare up, grabbing for eachothers hands as the voice begins. Neither of them know what is happening, but they are together, and that is all that really matters. They had done much tougher things together, and this was just going to be a walk in the park for them.

"Well, this is the second time we have talked in the past while. But just some more details on today, and you cannot say we are mean. As today, we have decided to reward you with this great experience, and a lovely three course dinner. Just enjoy it...but remember, the buzzer will sound, and when it does. You can kill, and it is not going to happen at the end, well it could. But it may not, it could happen at any time during the meal, any time. Good luck, and just enjoy, but remember. If you do kill someone, your life is gone aswell. Good luck".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver rests down, staring around her. She has no clue what to do, but has a similar idea to Chase. The knife that is in front of her is sharp, and seems to be the only weapon she has. She grabs it, and places it in her hand below the table. Seconds later though, another china plate actually rises from below, despite nothing being below the table. Silver stares into the clear white sheet of china, and moves her spoon around in the thick creamy liquid that lies within. A thick chicken broth, warm and straight from the Captiol.

Silver waits for a second, and watches as her fellow tributes take their spoons, and move the soup into their mouths. She follows their lead, and is glad she did. It is thick and glorious, and amazing to the taste. Quickly Silver loses herself in the soup, and within minutes she is scraping the last drops from the bottom of the bowl, trying to get all she can, so that if she survives the day, she is prepared to fight for the remaining length in the games.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Once the soup is finished, Satan watches as the plate sinks below the wooden surface of the table. He stares around him, seeing who is actually talking. And it only seems to be alliances, and then one pair right at the end. Despite the fact the Careers have split, Marta and Excalibur are deep in conversation about something, maybe remembering their previous games, or maybe it is less pleasant. To do with the rift between the Careers that just became real.

About 5 minutes after the bowls had been removed, a second plate arises from the surface. Satan prepares eat, but his mind has not been cleared since the previous day. It was stilled filled with thoughts about Mystique, and how he had been forced to get to know her, to like her, to love her, and then she was just drawn from him, and thrown away. Satan had a driving force behind him, and this feast would give him a chance to show how he can work.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny stares down at the rich crisp beef strip, striking on the plate. It is coated in a light sauce, with some pan seared scallops on the side of the plate, dusted in a thin glaze of a mixture between cinnamon, and a fine nutmeg. Both sweet, and striking, as the soft contrast between the rich beef, and the seductive scallops entices even the most fine pallete. Kenny digs in, scooping up a scallop, and throwing it down his mouth. But the camera flips off him, as apparently, there is something much more exciting that has come to pass, as the camera instantly flashes directly towards the pair of opposite Careers talking at the other end of the table.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Excalibur, you know its the right decision...Seraphine, you and I worked so well together in the last games, who is to say it would not be better just us two, rather than us being on opposite sides, or an alliance that hates eachother". Marta rests her hand on the shoulder of Excalibur, ignoring her food completely.

He contemplates, a slightly bemused look on his face. "Yes...but...Kezaiah and Penny need me, they are from 1, they remind me of home".

"Yes, and Matilda reminds me of home, but I dislike her, she is crude, mean and cruel, I know we can work better together, than everyone else in this arena".

Excalibur grabs his fork, and takes a bite out of his beef. "I know, but still...people expect us to stick with eachother, and not turn on our allies".

"We are in the games, we need to care about what is best for us". Marta has a pleading look on her face, that seems to be working.

"But is this best for us, I mean last time you died...and I do not want that to happen again, I do not want to see it happen again".

Marta brushes her strong hair from her eyes, and sighs. She was only 13, but had the tactical mind of the devil. "Though if we stay on opposite sides of the Careers, your alliance may be the death of me". A dramatic tear slides down her cheek, but Excalibur does not notice at all.

"Yes...but...how do I know I can trust you, just yesterday you were siding with Aquamarine, I thought you were making it clear to me that our trust had broken, that our time was done".

All throguh the time Excalibur was saying this, Marta was shaking her head. "No, no no. I needed to say it, otherwise they would have killed me on the spot. You, if they attacked you Penny and Kezaiah would fight, but me. Who have I got".

Excalibur grasps her hand, and holds them tight. "You have m-". His mind is stopped, by the look on Marta's face. "Marta...what is wrong". But his question is answered, by the blood dripping down from her mouth. She topples to the side, dragging the table cloth with her. This movement sends the table into anarchy, as tributes struggle out of the way of the toppling glasses and plates. Marta on the otherhand is long gone, the blood flows from the stab wound in her back, from someone no one expected to commit the unrightful kill.

Currant stands above her, the knife in his hand. He knows what is coming, and will be happening as soon as Marta's cannon sounds. He turns round, to face both Axl and Kronos. "I knew I could not win it, but I guess I could go down helping one of you". He lets out a sinicle laugh, and then hears the sound that will secure his fate, and a scream from Excalibur. BOOM.

The arc of electricity streaks from the sky within moment, sending Currant flying backwards, an actual explosion of force, which also sends Axl crumping, and Excalibur diving to protect the lifeless body of Marta. The body of Currant smokes for a second, golden wafts of smoke pouring off it, in circular raises from the sky. And then it comes. BOOM. But with the second death, the Gamemakers decide to truly let the murder begin. And a swift screech from a buzzer secures that.

Eucy and Kole push off from the table. Both of them knew the plan, and they were not risking a thing. They had planned, that the moment the buzzer sounds, the moment they were allowed to leave, that would be their chance. That would be the moment people would be thinking. Some tributes would try to grab a weapon, may it be a plate or a candle stick, and those who came prepared with a weapon would be assessing the situation, so while they do that, Kole and Eucy lie hand in hand, darting off. They break into the forest only 2 minutes after the buzzer had sounded, being the first to escape the hands of the feast, and sadly, they seemed like the only safe pair from District 12.

Piper and Armstrong are trapped in the middle of the group, and with the Careers from 4 coming forward, the pair from 12 try to retreat over and under the table. Piper dives beneath, and crawls under, leaping to her feet, she waits for Armstrong, but when she turns round to face him, he is lying on the table. Matilda pinning him to the ground, Piper knows what has happened, as she spots the sauce from the beef, spilled right across the table. Armstrong slipped, and while he was crashing down, Matilda came from no where, and has gained the advantage. Piper stares for a second, but knows their is noting she can do to help him. Matilda is one of the strongest tributes left, and her knife was to his throat. Piper moves out, just managing to escape the swing of Penny as she goes, and disappears into the forest, but with no allies.

Armstrong though, was facing his second demise. In his last games, he had faced his own death, at his own hand. But now, the Career from 2 was to be his undoing. Matilda already knew she had the kill, and usually would have savoured the moment, from taking out someone so powerful as Armstrong, even if he has appeared to given up, but she knows with the battle still in its early hours, she should just get the job done, so she can gain other kills. And she does. Her knife slashes outwards, and the pool of sauce that was the real reason the mighty giant fell, is mixed with a pool of blood. BOOM.

The swarm has formed nearer the end by the Cornucopia, which has allowed Excalibur to consider his options. Kezaiah and Penny are fighting with the rest, and now he has a chance to run. Marta has basically convinced him that allying with her was the right option, and now he was alone again. Many people he recognised from his games had entered the actual process, but in the end it had been just him and Marta left, and now with her gone. He was alone again. He was actually officially the oldest tribute left, with none of the remaining tributes being in a game before him, and Kezaiah being the only one close, having entered the arena 3 years after he did. He knew he could relate to her, and then he felt sympathy for Penny, she was with so many people who were on their second chance, but she was still strong. And these two thoughs force him back into the fight, so he can defend his district allies.

Chiara and Thias try to regroup, but neither seem to be able to find eachother. Thias smashes into a running Casandra, who has her eyes locked on Layla, which sends him collapsing to the ground. His bones send pains streaking all around his body, and he struggles to even notice Aquamarine coming close to him. But once he does see her feet standing infront of him, he knows it is far too late. He looks up, and her cascading blonde hair shimmers around her face, capturing her blue eyes in a fierce glaze. She raises her trident, and slides it up the back of leg, and with each place it makes contact with his skin, a sprint of flames dart up, and fill his eyes with tears. She seems to be toying with him more than the other tributes are, as she knows she is taking the life of not only a tribute, but a victor. And this would actually be his first murder in an arena, and in all, Aquamarine is just a showgirl.

She bends down, and actually places her trident on the ground, removing a more agile weapon from the ground beside her, a knife that was thrown off the table, and lies in the ground beside the pair. She keeps her hand locked on the neck of Thias, so he does not try to escape, and lays the knife blade on his arms. Chiara on the otherhand though, is in enough trouble with Keziah. The glittering girl from 1 has trapped Chiara in the back of the Cornucopia, and has her cornered, without chance of escape. Chiara knows she will have to fight to reach Thias, but sadly. With Aquamarine continuing to cut open his limbs one by one, it does not look like their will be a Thias for her to meet up with. As the blood is flowing thick and fast, and like his screams, they resound through the clearing, but it seems only one thing can stop his screams, are his cannon. BOOM.

Kezaiah raises her bow, and is about to fire at Chiara, when another tribute catches her eye, someone she sees as a slightly larger threat in the long run. River is standing beside the mouth of the Cornucopia, his looming figure hovering over the body of Keegan. He holds his trident, and is about to attack when Kezaiah decides to commit the first real act of offence between the Careers, the securing action that seals the break up of the Careers. She sends the arrow flying out of her bow, but not at Chiara, at River. It strikes the unexpecting tribute directly in the side of the head, and causes an almost instant kill. Kezaiah only has a few seconds to fill with glee, and to watch the life drain from his eyes, before it is all over. BOOM. Chiara uses this time to dart past Kezaiah, and she just manages to escape round the side, befor Kez's second arrow is fired, but fired into the empty space beyond the table, where no tribute seems to be.

Courage darts out from under the table, but has no bother really escaping. He makes it to the base of the mountain with ease, and starts to climb without even having to think. He makes it decently far up before turning to stare at what was before him. He could see the burnt body of Currant, and the bloody spill from Marta, and then the bodies of River, Armstrong and Thias that were dotted around with the active tributes sitll fighting. This was just a place to get food, and now that was all gone, Courage was suprised to see more members than just Careers still fighting, but he knew that some of the tributes this year were even crazier than them.

Kronos and Axl have grouped together, and neither really seem that up to fighting. They just seem out of it, shocked. Moving back and forward, just standing there. But they know they need to either go, or begin to fight, as Currant had given up his life to allow them an extra push forward, and they were not going to waste it. Axl moves slightly forward, back towards the fight, but Kronos throws his arm infront of him, and shakes his head.

"It is not our fight, Currant gave up his life for us to live, and we should not go risking them less than 20 minutes after he died". Axl nods in agreement, and the pair stop moving towards the fight, like most of the sponsors back in the Capitol expected, and actually head back into the forest. Knowing they need time to recover from the death today.

Chiara collapses over a broken chair, and smashes into the dirt. Her face scratched by rocks lying about, and his clothes covered in a thick muck. She knows nothing is going well for her at all, and turns over, trying to get up. But the tribute numbers are getting lower, and Satan notices Chiara on the ground, unprepared. And he knows killing her will not get rid of his guilt for watching Mystique die, but he knows it will help even the smallest bit. He grabs a leg of a crashed chair, shattered at one end, and dives over to Chiara, and is on her before she even realizes. He throws his stake down, and pierces right in her chest. The girl from 5 lets out a massive whelp of air, before turning still. BOOM. Satan throws the stake away after he takes the kill, and gets off her body. Moving back into the battle, wanting to take more lives, and give himself a little bit more self forgiveness.

The tributes begin to clear, and one of the first to head is Layla. She knows Cass is going to be hot on her heels, and has got all she needs, and decides just to go. She follows the path of most of the tributes, and heads right into the forest, knowing it is the safest area. She breaks through the shadow, just as Cass, back at the Cornucopia, spots her go. She considers heading after her, but weighs the options between staying here to fight, and heading. But this is not the idea that secures her fate.

Aquamarine tears from no where, and tries to tackle Cass, but misses. Cass takes this time to dash off, over the table, and into the distance. She escapes the feast with little more than a scratch, but this vicious ploy has given her a new look on the games. Cassandra now knows it is not only Layla who she has a personal message to set at ease, but she also has one with her sole remaining district partner, as both the boys now have gone from 4. Aquamarine, one of the most cruel and powerful tributes in the arena, possibly the most powerful and cruel actually, wanted her dead, and was on the top of her kill list. All these thoughs part for a moment though, and Cass knows she is on the end of a hunt race, she needed to find Layla before Aqua could find her.

Chase is the next to find his footing. He knows where he needs to head, and he makes his way out. The remaining Careers do not notice him escaping, as he makes his way back round the side of the mountain, walking beside where the gracious forest meets the harsh rocky terrain. His footing is firm, and he moves quite quickly, but little did he know, the Gamemakers would not be keeping their nose out of the games for much longer after this second bloodbath.

Sincius and Keegan are still together, but with only 10 tributes remaining, their alliance is significantly strong. But Matilda and Aquamarine are another strong pairing. Sincius tries to make a smart move, and duck to the blow of Aquamarine, but his movements are not well hidden. Matilda easily predicts it, and throws her knife in a downwards arc. It does not deliver a fatal blow, but just scars the face, sending him collapsing backwards. Keegan is not a stupid teenager, and he knows both Matilda and Aqua are fast enough to be able to take down Sincius in hundreds of different ways, and takes a chance. He throws himself forward, hoping that this sudden movement would cause the duo of Careers to draw their eyes to him, but all that happens is they shun him, throwing him to the ground, beside Sincius.

The pair of allies, who had been together since the beginning were now both lying in the hands of the two most seductive females left in the games. The boys are both lying sprawled on the ground, facing eachother, and even though both of them know it is over, they stay strong. They were leaving the games the same way they entered it, together. Aqua makes the first blow, and sinks the blade of her trident into the chest of Keegan, but he is not the first to go. As he screams with pain, it is made worst, as he is forced to watch Matilda draw a long thin knife, and draw it along the neck of Sincius. BOOM.

The stabbing of the two boys from 11 and 6 seems to be the final point of the feast, as no one seems to attack afterwards. Keegan has not actually died yet, and just watches as around him the remaining tributes split. Both Satan and Silver run off into the forest, while the only remaining non-Career tribute, Kenny, darts up the mountain, in seek of some sort of relief from this hectic game. After this happens, the only tributes that remain are the 5 Careers, and Keegan.

Kezaiah, Excalibur and Penny have come off much better by the end of this feast. With Marta's sudden death at the beginning of the feast, and with Kezaiah taking the life of River, the alliance that used to be a firm foursome, now had shrunk to a devilish duo, while the three tributes from 1 were all remaining. They stand off for just a minute before Kezaiah fires her bow, and this was where it got strange. The girl who never missed seemed almost determined to miss this shot, and let it fly into the ground, a few metres infront of the pair. But it may have been an over-calculation in the girl from 1's mind, or she wanted to just warn them, and get them out of here, which happens. Matilda and Aquamarine both dart off into the forest, leaving the trio from 1 to grab all the supplies, and watch as Keegan finally bleeds to death. BOOM.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kezaiah, Excalibur and Penny are in charge of the Cornucopia. They spend the next few hours after the feast moving back the supplies to the mouth of the Cornucopia, clearing away the wreckage that the feast has delivered. Once they have finished, they are crash down in a circle, ready to discuss plans. They may not know it, but with River, Currant and Marta's deaths, now they are the largest alliance left in the arena. And they are planning on using this to their advantage.

"So...8 more dead..." Excalibur sighs, still not really over the death of Marta. To the girls it looks like an advantage to the alliance, but to him it was his last link to his old life gone.

Kezaiah lets off a smile. "Final 17 baby...we are so close to the end I can almost taste it...". She lets out a laugh, high fiving Penny. But Excalibur does not join in. He stays quiet, as the girls focus. "So...just 16 left to go...what are our plans over the next few days".

Penny pushes her hair over her shoulder, and smiles while responding. "Who should we target, I mean. Our first plan of action should be sort the weak from the strong, set our focus".

Excalibur sighs, and kneels on the ground, drawing 17 circles on the ground. "Well, you have us three". He marks three of the circles with small ones, and then moves over. "Matilda and Aquamarine". 2 and 4 make there way into the circles beside them.

"2 boys from 3 aswell, one of them is allying with that boy from 6". Kezaiah rests down beside him, and removes a knife, filling three more circles. "So that makes...8...".

"The other 9 are...". Penny thinks for a moment, before beginning a long list. "Well, I think there are two boys from 10, I saw neither of there bodies with the rest...makes 10, then another girl from 4, one from 9, and 6...so that is 13, and...the other 4 are...ehmmm...from...oh yeah, there are the three from 12. The guy died today, but that is only one of them...but I really cannot remember the last one...sorry...". For a pretty blonde, she has a weirdly good memory, but Excalibur is the one who finishes the list.

"The last tribute is a guy from 8, he is not that strong, he should be easy. The main threats are Aqua and Matilda obviously...". Kezaiah sort of snorts at this comment, causing Excalibur to stray from his thought. "Wait, do you think we have bigger threats...".

"The one thing we have over Matilda and Aquamarine is we know them, I think that if we think about way back in the Capitol...I remember three tributes still remaining who did well...Cassandra I think, the girl from 4...she must have trained, she got a 10 in training...and we do not know anything about her...then you have that 12 pair, both were good...I heard someone say she came 4th, and he died saving her, and they are together...and the final one is the boy from 3...Kronos...I just have not had him out of my mind since I entered the arena...just...just something about him...and he scored high aswell. I think we should be more scared about what we do not know, than what we do".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Beside a small pond, quite deep in the forest, Matilda and Aquamarine rest. They had not stopped moving since they left the feast, and were just now coming to a hault. They had already talked about the plan, and had decided to leave their attack on the trio from District one to much later on in the games, and they have decided to focus on 2 tributes. That they have seen, that they remember. Cassandra and Silver. Matilda remembers them both as strong minded, sly and vicious when she saw them in the Capitol, but Aqua just wanted to kill someone.

They are currently both sitting down, Aqua has her legs crossed, and is staring into the water while talking about her life back in District 4. Comparing her life to what Matilda was telling them as they moved to this spot. They continue to talk repeatadly, just watching the day pass. Neither of them really know they need to continue fast, as they reckon both of them can survive, and just push through the rest of the games, basically. Both of them are confident they can win.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage collapses into the bush, his legs just crumpling below him. He had seen some vicious things at the feast today, and his mind was collapsing in his head. Burning up. He had not got much sleep over the past few days, and decided this was his time to just relax. He knew he needed his strength if he had any hope in succeeding in these games, but right now he had almost no strength in him at all. And that is why his decision to fall fast asleep in the soft bush was one he hardly had to think about, that just came to him conciously. And as he drifts off, the arena around him begins to dip into night, but that in no way forces the tributes to sleep, as one pair are still as active as ever.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Can we...".

"No...we shouldnt...or should we".

"It will has something...a mutt...a trap...".

"Yeh...but...it is just so...so...".

"I know...but we cant trust it...".

"We should just...just...".

"No, dont go forward...come back...".

"Wait..what were you saying...Kronos, what was that".

"Axl, just come forward...no, no...GET OUT THE WAY".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cass brushes off her shoulder, and moves round the small pond. She had heard a scream about 20 minutes from behind her, and had just set off quickly. Sprinting through the forest. But little did she know, she had passed the very thing that had caused the drama between Kronos and Axl. A glorious cascading waterfall, with a small tree, coated with glorious suculent apples gracing the branches. But Cass had not been focused on that, with both Aquamarine and Layla having a personal feud with the broken Career, she had no choice but to keep on the move. And it was working for her.

She was prepared, and organsied. The games were clear ahead, and she knew she could fight. But her mind was still not as clear as it could be. She had seen things in the games she had wished she had not, and now it was fogging her judgement, making her always think a second time with every move she made, and the thing was. Would it be her undoing.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny stares out. Hidden by the bush. He had managed to escape the feast, but he had not gone very far. He had made it to the edge of the clearing, but that was as far as he went. He was currently resting on the edge, his eyes locked onto the trio who are currently resting beside a fire, laughing away. On the outside Kenny actually looked reasonably normal right now, his mind focused and just centred, but on the inside it was completely different. His mind was still working, he had seen blood. But as he walked up to it, the other side of the brain took over. It forced him away, and his mind was mad now. It had wanted to smell blood, taste it. And now...the normal side...who had just managed to keep enough control was gone...was dead...the madness had taken over fully, and it was good.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver and Satan move through the forest, chatting away. Satan was telling Silver about what he had seen in the arena, and about what happened with Mystique, and meanwhile, Silver just walks by his side. Nodding away, listening to every word he says. This was an ideal chance for both of them to learn about areas of the arena the others had not visited. The whole game Silver has spent up the mountain, and only now was she wading through the forest, but Satan had gone through the forest, and had experienced horror on the beach.

They duck below a low lying branch, and hop over a stream before pushing forward. Neither of them knew the true troubles that were made in that arena, that were focused on killing as many tributes as they could. With 48 tributes having been placed into the arena, the gamemakers knew they would need many methods of wiping out great numbers of tributes, and natural disasters, mutts and so much more were still in the bank. Being ready to be used, just waiting for the right moment. So far, the only real muttations revealed in the arena, to cause actual deaths were the sand mutts that lay on the beach, and took the life of Mystique, and the mosquito mutts that managed to kill Allianna, and the gamemakers were realizing in these games, they were fading into the background, and the main feature was actually the tributes. And with the gamemakers all being Capitol citizens, they do not like being forced into the background, and they knew they needed to do something big. And soon.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla is on her own. And is doing absoloutely nothing. She is just staring up into the sky, waiting for the faces of those who died today to show. She had heard many cannons today, but had no clue who had died. Everything at the feast just being a blur in her mind, with the last moment in her memory being that moment with Cassandra just before the beginning of the feast. It had stuck fast, and was all she could think of. She was strong, but Cass was stronger, and this terrified Layla. As she knew, there was not much she could do if Cass caught her. She knew she would win...if Lalya wasnt prepared.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper shakes her head, and pushes outwards. Her mind was beginning to go, as she had watched the only person she had left in this world die. She had seem Armstrong fall to the ground, bleeding away. And that look on Matilda's face appear. Her mind was beginning to bend, turning into Kenny. But all she cared about was Armstrong. Horror. But something she could not face was about to happen, the anthem began to ring. And that meant the face of her former ally would be shone bright in the sky, but she knew she could not see his face again. As it comes to an end, Piper buries her head into her lap, and just waits. Waits for it all to be over.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase stares into the sky, as the anthem begins to sound. He sighs, and rests for just a few moments, and the anthem rings out. Chase waits for a while, his eyes locked above. And the faces begin to flow through the sky, the casualties of the feast. The first face is the tribute that everyone knew died, one of the two. Marta smiles away, her face still shining bright, like it had when she was in this arena, and the one before. She is followed by River. Chase is slightly shocked to see his face, especially since this meant that two more Careers were down, and as he hoped for more. This was crushed as Chiara's face shines bright, replaced with Thias soon after. Sincius is the next one, but Chase was hardly looking. And did not notice as it changed to Currant, another one who they all knew had died. And then to Keegan. He is only really paying attention as the final face shows, the face of Armstrong. And again, this shocks him. Another strong competitor down...and this puts a smile on Chase's face, as he knows his chances have been increased greatly.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kole and Eucy are resting tight. They were in a tree, high above the ground. Eucy was fast asleep, and Kole was slowly stroking her hair. They were all prepared for tomorrow, but little did they know that tomorrow would bring more horror than anyone could have ever though. The stars twinkle in the sky, shining bright in the abyssal darkenss that cloaks the sky. The games were getting harsh, and now every district was at risk. With 5, 7 and 11 all gone. 2, 8 and 9 all resting on their final leg, 3, 4, 6 and 10 still having two, and with today Armstrong dying. District 12 joins 1 with having 3 tributes remaining. The games were heating up...literally.

Day 6
As the sun rises, the ground begins to shudder. The plan for the day had been to save the suprise till later, but with the power from Capitol citizens, the gamemakers had decided to push forward with the trial of the day. As it shudders, tributes begin to wake up. They hear the quakes beginning to break, and have no clue what is going on, but little do they know now. These events would be happening all day, and the number of cannons today would be just as strong as the days before it.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The first area to bend to the true secret of the quakes is the mountain. Down in the caves, deep in the twisting depths, that no other tribute had yet seen. In a small cavern, that actually resided below the Cornucopia, that was only accessable via the tunnels from the mountain, a split appeared in the ground. For a moment it appeared just to be a normal place, nothing that special about it yet. But slowly, as the camera zooms in, a red glow appears, with a glint of smoke, that shrouds up, pushing out. Burning magma pours out of the ground, and within minutes it fills the cavern full. Pouring out the side tunnels, pushing out. The heat souring. It would still take a few hours before it would affect the tributes on the surface, but they had had as much rest as they could, as the grouns were still quaking. Shaking around, keeping them all up and moving. And the first set of traps had been layed. As the miniature earthquakes had begun some disasters of there own. And the magma would not be the only trap to get a kill today.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Silver and Satan push through the trees collapsing around them. Their hands are linked, and they flee the trial behind them. The earthquake had affected the whole arena, and the arena contained more living things than just the tributes. Each and everyone of the muttations that had been living was currently terrified, and had no clue what was happening. So they fled from where they though trouble was coming from. And sadly for Satan and Silver were right infront of the swarm of wolves, bears, deer and every other living thing that had set foot in the arena.

Neither of them were that strong though, and both were trying to fight the urge to collapse, but they knew if they did give into the temptation, that they would have to give up with their own life. Even if none of the mutts would stop to take the life with their teeth, or claws. The hooves and paws would deal enough damage to take their life, or knock them out. Leaving them open for attack from the lava, or the trees around them, shifting in the moving ground.

But the one good thing that these tributes held, that none other did was the brain in their head. It did not just tell them to run, it told them to climb. Satan lept off a rock, and used that force to push him to the side, and allowed him to force himself up the tree. To a low hanging branch. He knew he was safe, and let out a sigh of relief. His brain was rushed with adrenaline, and just made him feel nothing. His heart was pumping, and slowly a small idea crept into his head. He began to think about what had just happened, and why and where he was. And then who..the mutts, himself...and Silver. He stares around him. The branches, everything. But sees no Silver, then he stares at the mutts storming below him. Hundreds upon hundreds. Lining up one after another, stretching for as far as he can see, and just between the gaps he could see a struggling figure. Trying to avoid the flurry of hooves and paws. But it was too late.

Satan waits for the animals to clear before he leaps down, and touches the ground. He lands in a crouch, and slowly rises up. Using his hand to keep his balance. But his eyes locked firmly ahead of him. Silver's body was lying across the ground. Curled up, sprayed across. No light in her eyes. Blood down her skin. Un-concious...no. BOOM. Dead. Satan crumples down, his hands infront up him, following his eyes. "No...no...wha-...why...". His body begins to shake uncontrolably, his limbs just flashing back and forward, moving around. Shaking. "Sil...Silv...no, god no. Why. Fuck...fuck everything...Silver...no...you...". His hands fly forward, and so does his body. He rolls her onto her back and stares into her eyes, pushing her hair behind her ears.

The camera tries to push in, to see the look on her face. But Satan leans in, pushing his forehead to hers, letting his tears out. "Why...just when I begin...to...why...first Mystique...now you...". He leans back, and screams out. Making his voice heard above all others. "Is this fun for you...do you enjoy throwing us together, forcing us to feel something. Anything. Then taking them away, but...but no. That is not enough, you have to do it again...Silver was different though...god no she wasnt...her and Mystique were both perfect...but of course...this is what you find fun, this is what you enjoy...it is just me who hates it...and I will probably be dead in 2 days so why should I matter...". He stands up, placing one last kiss on Silvers cold face, and then turns around. "Do you think you have broken me, cause I have died. I died in the last games, and be damned if I am gonna let that happen again. This is just the beginning for me, I am going to fight harder than anyone has before...be scared...as if I win...I am coming for you".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper darts down the hill, behind her the landslide tearing down the hill. Her feet crash across the hill, and she knows she cannot stop. With it being only a few metres behind her. She can see the Cornucopia in the near distance, and sets her eyes on reaching it, diving inside and using it as a shelter from the swift pounding rocks, that crash through everything that comes to her. She makes it to the plains, and knows that the flattened area will cause the landslide to slow down, but does not stop. As it still topples over itself, and this is not a natural event. It is still moving at the same pace, and with each step it gets closer and closer, she knows it is now or never, and she hopes that the later is wrong.

She leaps round the bend, hurtling round the corner, and diving into the back of the Cornucopia to safety. Piper covers her ears, and waiting for it all to end. Her mind was whirling around, spinning back and forth as the boulders crash into the side of the metal, bashing it in. Denting it firmly, and making sure that as the landslide moves along, Piper would here every movement. She is there for about an hour, just waiting for it all to stop, so she can climb out, and get on the move again. And this happens only a few hours after she dived into the cavern. She walks over, and clambers up a series of rocks. Making her way out onto the pile. She stares around, and in an instant wishes she had not. Her eyes drift around, as surrounding the Cornucopia, and the rocks that have formed around it, is a moat formed of bubbling lava.

She instantly backs off, moving further up the piles, and clambering onto the back of the Cornucopia. Her heart is pumping strong, and she knows that the lava is boiling. She backs up against the tip of the Cornucopia, and she feels the sweat pouring off her head, her hands rubbing against it. This was the beginning of the end for this arena, and for a lot of tributes. And Piper hopes she is not one of them.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage backs against the tree, struggling to hold his ground on the shrinking island. The sudden pour of lava had created a moat around Courage in seconds, and he had woken to the ground crumbling around him. The soaring heat burns into his face, and he knows he needs to do something fast. After the sudden shock, he was just beginning to resume control of his limbs, and his first idea was to move. He shakes round the tree, watching his footing, and to make sure he does not topple into the fiery lake. That would cause a burning sensation to pour through his veins, and to strike his life. Once he moves around, he sees he has a thin streak of land, and knows it is his only option.

Or was his only option, but he lays one foot onto the ground, and watches as it crumbles into the lava below, extending the sea around him. Within seconds he is resuming his position against the tree, his senses scattered again. His chest is pumping away, beating up and down, striking his chest, and sending shock waves through his body. The tree. One idea shoots into his head, climb the tree. It was the only option that remained to her, and maybe their would be some form of escape up there. Above the ground, where safety may ensue. He groans and he snorts, but he easily drags himself up. Even though his muscles were spasming, threatening to release any second. But as he breaks the surface of the trees, he knows that nothing will be alright, this was the beginning of the end in the arena. The victor was beginning to rise, which meant the others would have to fall.

And fall he did. The sight was just too horrible to bless his eyes, and as he topples the camera spans around, absorbing the new arena. As nothing was as it should be. The mountain seemed to have split, and the grounds were coated with lava, pouring down the sides. Tearing down the sides, causing streams like blood flowing from the open wounds. The forest was breaking up, the expance of green had been mutilated, and was now blood red, split up. Smashing around. And then on the beach, the water was bubbling away, shaking around. It was boiling hot, scorching about, with the lava pouring off the beach. It was crippled, and as Courage breaks beneath the surface of the lava he is the first to fall to the fiery fate. BOOM.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kezaiah, Excalibur and Penny push through the forwards. The ground behind the dissolving, collapsing away, revealing the burning hot lava. They had fled from the Cornucopia at the moment of trouble, and were trying to stick together. Excalibur takes the lead, checking the ground for any cracks, or anything that could risk their own lives. The heat surgest, and the trees collapse. Kezaiah links hands with Penny, and they cross a small gap. Landing on the other side, landing slightly askew. Waiting for a second to keep their balance, but as they rise. With the smoke pouring from the wounds of the ground, and the trees collapsing. The two girls from one see no Excalibur. They realized they were alone.

Excalibur had pushed through the smoke, not even waiting for the girls, and now he was on his own. He spins around, trying to see them. Hoping that they emerge from the wall of steam, hand in hand, uniting him with his alliances. But nothing happens. He had lost them, and now he was alone. He pushes forward, leaping over the small gap. Calling out the names of his former allies.

"Keziah, Penny...either of you out there". He had not heard any cannons, so he knew both of them were still alive. But that was not the only thing reassuring him of that fact. Something drifted into his ears, that shined bright.

"Excalibur, where are you...I need help...something happened to Penny...". Keziah's voice is calm, but determined. Excalibur tries to locate where it is from, but he finds himself moving in a circle. "Please, god please...Excalibur get here now...".

"I cannot find you, shout a bit louder...please, I want to help". Excalibur tries to see over the line, but it is just above his head. "Come on, slightly louder".

Excalibur pushes through a clearing, and stumbles on the edge of a river made of lava. He slowly makes his way over, before facing what he had dreaded ever since the beginning of the feast. "Excalibur...help us...". Kezaiah just manages to force the words out. With the knife lined against her throat, she wimpers wildly. Her eyes flitting from Excaliburs face, then to Penny's bloodied body on the ground. Coated in wounds, blood pouring out. Matilda stares maliciously into the eyes of her former ally, the knife digging deeper into her soft skin.

"Thank you Kez-Kez for getting the real deal here, hello Excalibur. Did you miss us...". Matilda chuckles away, throwing Kezaiah to the ground, and holding her knife against the temple of her head.

Excalibur looks for a second, his mind finally coming around to one detail. "Wait...us...but it is just you...meaning that...where is Aquamar-".

A cold whisper graces his ear, and he feels a sharp point placed against his back. Aquamarine moves forward, her golden locks pouring from her shoulders. The trident stiff in her hand, prepared to strike. "Hey Cali, I bet now you are regretting leaving us...and now...3 for the price of a Penny".

"Is...is she...". Excalibur tries to stay calm, but his mind was not located on his own wellbeing, but on the girl lying on the ground before him.

Kezaiah shakes her head, knowing what he is trying to say. "Matilda slashed her along the side...but...her cannon has not sounded". Matilda pressed the knife harder, a look on her face of utter distain.

"Shut up, or you will go first". Aqua stabs the trident deeper into the back of Excalibur. Sending him facing to the ground. This stab drew blood, and the develish duo were about to get back in the game. About to push forward, and strike out. If it was not for what was going on around them. Another raging quake is sent out, which damages the area they are lying on. "Wait...what was...". Aqua tries to reach out with pain, but Kezaiah's brain contemplate the options.

"Excalibur, just go". Her voice is soft, and filled with a true pain. "Grab Penny and strik-". BOOM. Kezaiah pushes forward. Her body toppling down, and striking the cold ground. Excalibur lets out a sharp grasp, and pushes backwards. Shoving Aquamarine to the ground. He dives to the side of Kezaiah, but the cannon had been hers.

Aquamarine had gone further than she expected, rolling to protect her body from damage. But with the quake little more than a minute before, the ground had crumbles. Meaning the island was much smaller than before. She scrabbles to hold her ground on the island, and just manages to stop her toppling into the lava, but her leg scraps the ground, stretching out, and slamming into the lava. "FUCKING HELL, WHAT THE HELL". Her screams break through everything else happening, the sounds of Matilda slipping into the smoke, using this time to get away on her own, but safely. With Penny's moans beginning as she finally vocally shows her pain, and Excalibur groaning to his feet, ready to seek his revenge.

Matilda had dropped the knife before going, and now he was prepared. Aqua was still trying to regain her footing, her foot crippled, burned to the bone. Lava, burning, soaking through the skin. She tries to pull herself out, but crumples. Excalibur was not without pain though, Penny was right behind him, and he made sure one of his eyes was locked on her, and then Kezaiah's body behind her. The flowing red hair blushing in the raging smoke. But physical wounds were not even stopping him, a spot on his back shot down his spine, sending pain throughout his whole body, meaning every step he made caused him imence pain. Two Careers. Both had been in games before, and both were strong. One armed with a trident, the other holding a knife. Neither of them were the oldest Careers, but over the proccess of the games both of them had pulled from the pack, the leaders. And now it was really time for them to fight.

Aquamarine though is a natural born fighter, she is stronger than most. And even with her mobility destroyed by her foot, she strikes first. Using her level to her advanatage, and Excalibur seems to instantly fall into her trap, as he moves forward. She roles to the side, pushing herself about a metre away, but swinging her leg upwards, to collide with the knees. He faceplants the ground, and slides along the mud. His body moving through the ground. He rolls into the lava, but grabs onto a root of a collapsed tree, and just manages to stop his body falling in, but Aquamarine was still ready to fight. She pushes herself over, and grabs the back of his head, thrusting it into the lava. Excalibur struggles, pushing upwards, trying to throw her off, he manages but not quick enough.

"FUCK YOU, MY FACE". His hands fly to his face, and he throws his knife into the air, sending it flying into the lava. Watching it sink below the surface. He removes his hand from his face, and the camera gets a look in at the formerly handsome boy from 1. Now his skin was burnt, crisped and wrinkled away. Black scorch marks lie along the top of his head, where there used to be a full head of hair. This body had been shoved to look horrible, like a mutt. One of his eyes has been burned out, but luckily only one side of his face has serious damage. The other has a few small burns, but his eye is working. And he easily locates the body of Aquamarine. And knows now, that he needs to win this fight more than ever.

Aquamarine still has her trident, but again. For the second time, the gamemakers seemed to be pushing the fight into the favour of the tributes from District 1. She manages to make her way onto her knees, holding her trident forward. While Excalibur only has his arms, and his full physical combat skills, while half blind.He swings his fist, and smashes into the trident blade, sending the point into his fist.

"SHIT, WHAT THE HELL". Aquamarine is slightly shocked with what just happened, and hears the screech of Excalibur. For a second she wonders why he punched it, but seconds later remembers something about being blind in one eye. For ages you would struggle to move, your balance would be off, sight would be wrong. Calculating distances from just looking, and a smile creeps onto her face. She may not be able to move, but Excalibur could hardly fight. He swings about, blood pouring from the end of his arm, down onto the ground. Pain beyond belief, and as she struggles to get slightly further backfards. But the gamemakers seem to not be enjoying this accept of the fight, and one of them in the Capitol slams their fist into a button. A button that is linked to a cave below the ground, the cave than began all of the lava. And now, sent another echoing chill through the arena, that rippled upwards. First sending more landslides down the mountain, but a few seconds later allows the ground around the fighting duo to crumble below the surface.

The island that they were resting on shrinks at a rapid pace, and Excalibur darts over to the body of Penny. He grabs her body, and throws it onto her back. As he is about to turn away, his eyes lock onto where Kezaiah's body had been before. Where she had died, but her body was no longer there. He realized that during his fight with Aquamarine, a hovercraft must have arived, taking her away from here. He lets off a small smile, and knows that his former ally was now finally happy. She had never wanted to be revived, and now she had a chance to go back to where she belonged. The Capitol never should have revived her for these games, she was happy where she was before, and now she was happy again.

He pushes against the tree in the middle, hoping that the island stops collapsing, and he will be able to formulate a plan without the risk of death, but he is not the one that the Capitol are punishing here, the blonde girl lying on the ground was. She struggles, but with her burned foot she is just not fast enough. She stares up at Excalibur, her hair exploding with the dirt tangled in it, and the humidity sending it up into flames. Her soft skin luminous red from the head, and her clothes in tatters. Once an unbroken beauty, now a smashed mirror. Never to be called the wonder from 4 again. Anyone who had wanted her to win had lost attraction from her since she and Matilda killed Kezaiah, and now she was alone.

She wimpers once, then reaches out her hand. "Pl...ple..please...". Her mouth just manages to get out the word, as her teeth chatter together in horror. Excalibur thinks for a moment, his eyes locked on the ground. Penny across his back. Still just coming around, not sure what was happening. But Excalibur was. He had allied with Aquamarine, but they had never gotten along. They were the complete opposites of eachother, Aqua wanted to win for the sake of winning, to get the fame. To get the kills, but Excalibur wanted to win to go home. To see his family. And this is why he knew if he let her survive, he would just be putting his own life at risk. He grabs the golden blue trident from the ground, beside where Aqua is. And then lays Penny on a low lying branch. And shakes his head.

As if the gamemakers were waiting for this exact signal, the moment Excalibur shakes his head, the ground beneath Aquamarine crumbles. She sinks downwards within seconds, and is gone from sight before you can even think. There is not even a scream, and Aquamarine is gone forever. Excalibur waits for a few seconds, and then the conclusive signal sounds. Drawing the end of the reign of Aqua. BOOM. But the end of her reign is not the only thing to end with the cannon, the quakes stop. With Aquamarine and Kezaiah dying today, that meant that two the most vicious, and highest betting odd tributes were gone, leaving Matilda of the three girls who were told to win. One died in honor, saving her ally. While the other died in pleasure, trying to take the life of her biggest threat. Both of these girls were amazing, and both would go down in history, just like this game.

Excalibur stands for a moment, and then swings Penny down, slowly laying her against the bark of the tree. "Penny...are you OK...". Excalibur rests on is knees, and brushes his hand along her face. "Can you feel anything". Excalibur's eye is locked on her face, and with it stained with blood he is unsure of her situation.

Her eyes flicker open, and she tries to move. But the pain is to much. "Your...your face...wha...what...what happened to it...".

With each word, inside Excalibur an ounce of horror is lifted, as he knows now he is not alone. "Aquamarine happened, she shoved my face into the lava...guess I am blind in one eye now, but it is not me we should be worrying about. How are you..."

Penny shakes her hair out of her eyes, before responding. "Yeh...it is not that bad a wound...but wait, where is Aqua, Matilda and Kezaiah".

"Matilda left shortly after...well...did you here the cannons...". Excalibur realizes Penny did not know about the death of her best friend in the arena, and realizes he is going to have to be the one who tells her. He lets out a sigh, and waits a second for an answer.

Her eyes shut, obviously being slightly too weak to put her full effort into it. "I...yes...I he...heard 2 cannons, whose were they...". Her hand moves to her wound on her side, and her eyes are open again, locking onto the eyes of Excalibur. As if she knows what he is going to say, what he is going to say, and what had just happened. "Please...do...do not say it was her...".

The tears begin to flow the exact moment she reads the expression in the eyes of Excalibur. "I am sorry Penny, but Matilda slashed her throat...but she gave her life to save us...you know as well as I do she was never happy since she came back". He grabs her, and hugs her tight. Rocking her back and forward.

"But...she...was...my...only...friend". Penny throws her hands against the ground, screaming away over the loss of Kezaiah.

Excalibur manages to calm her down after 5 or so minutes, and holds her against the tree. Realizing something he is missing from his run through of the story. A blank in the area after he lost the two girls, and before he found them captured. "Penny, I need to know something right now. And you have to tell me, what happened after I lost you. Do not leave out a single detail, anything could be really important to our future in the arena, and your victory in the games".

"What do you mean my victory...what about you...". Penny asks this question quietly, but Excalibur's responce is firm.

"We are not talking about this now, tell me what happened. Quickly, we do not have much time. The gamemakers could strike at any moment".

At first she does not answer, but after a bit of coaxing from Excalibur, she finally spills everything. "Well...we fell after lept over a small river thing, and when we got up we could not find you...we knew it would take ages to look, and we were scared if we yelled someone else would find us. So we moved out, and walked around a bit. But they found us, they cornered us against the lava, too large a gap to jump, and Matilda threw a knife which hit my side, and then flew into the lava. I staggered, and them crumpled beside Kezaiah. Aquamarine lashed out, and between them they got Kezaiah under control, heald a knife to her throat...a trident to my chest...and forced her to call you. They must have overheard us saying we lost you...but I doubt Kez would have called if it was her own life...but she wanted me to survive...so she called. When we heard you coming, Aqua dug into my wound, making it worse. Spread some of my blood on my face, and told me to shut up before hiding in the smoke...and then you arrived...and...and now Kezaiah is dead...and...who else...".

"Aqua, the ground crumbled where she was standing, and she fell in". He lets out a sigh, now knowing the full picture. But his mind was not at rest, he knew that now there was only two of them things would get a lot harder, the smoke was burning his only eye, and he knew this would cause more problems. And even if Aquamarine had dramatised Penny's wounds slightly, they were still bad. He had to make a plan to help her win.

"So what happened to Matilda...after she...she...killed Kezaiah". Penny was regaining health with each second, the wound looked back, but her strength was back after only about 20 minutes. "Did she just leave Aquamarine to fight you".

"I really do not think they heald a strong bond, they were just using eachother to get far. If the shoe was on the other foot, I reckon Aqua would have left Matilda. Aquamarine did not seem shocked either, she just kinda ignored it". The boy from 1 turns around, putting his back against the tree. And linking hands with Penny. "But do not worry, you need to rest. With 2 deaths they should be satisfied. We may actually be allowed to rest and relax for a while".

Penny rests down, and falls asleep in a few minutes. Excalibur on the other hand stays wide awake, watching out. Making sure everything is alright, and making sure nothing happens to Penny. His mind was focused, and he knew his idea that was blooming in his head would secure this fact if he could get the situation correct. The day was reaching night, and lava was still in full flow. Not as powerful as before, but still blooming. But in another area of the arena, the other side of the forest, the lava was prepared to burned bright. And take even more power and lives than it had, as the gamemakers had taken favorites. And for the other tributes, sadly, it was Excalibur and Penny.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cass was completely horrified, she had been hidden up the very tree that was not being used as the resting place for the pair from District 1. All through the fight she had tried to stay silent, but Matilda had spotted her. Luckily for Cassandra though, Matilda just killed Kezaiah before leaving. Meaning Cassandra was all alone, and forced to watch as her only remaining district partner was killed, and her enemies relaxed. She had nothing to do, and just wanted to move, but feared due to the heat, all the branches had dried out and were easy to snap, but also loud. Forcing Cassandra to stay still.

The only good thing about where she was though, was the fact of its altitude gave her two things that the pair below her did not have. She was above the smoke, so could see for slightly further than the others, and had a better chance of being able to flee from others. The people on the ground had one direction to go, as the lava restricted them, but Cassandra had branches interlinking with hers, giving her a way to go no matter where she desired to head. But her mind had already braced these facts, and was adressing something even more honoring. Layla. This time had given her a chance to access her situation with Layla, she knew that Aqua and Kez held two of the cannons, but the other two were still a mystery. And even though she wished that one of the cannons had been Layla, something inside of her had almost asured her that this was not the case. As if she knew the gamemakers would not settle with a normal death for either of them, and wanted a 1 on 1 fight to the death between the far past allies.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Chase lets out a sigh, he had been moving since the morning. And his heart was pounding out of his chest. When he had woken up, it had been to a storm of hoves from the deer, followed by the ground collapsing around him. Taking down most of the animals, forcing them below the surface. But luckily for Chase, he was not like these creatures. He managed to avoid it, but as he had moved it had caught up with him multiple times and he was forced to keep running, if he did not want to risk his own life. He collapses onto a rock, and the sweat pouring off his head blurs his vision for a moment. With the heat, all the ponds, rivers and water supplies had evaporates, only the stuff they had on then, or the stuff that sponsors would send would be drinkable for them.

Due to this fact, his body was beginning to collapse. He needed water, but his progression had not been strong enough during the games so far. No one was willing to risk enough money to give him a bottle of water, which was what sealed his fate. The lava was still smoking, and it was not going to relax for hours, meaning with his urgent need for the soft, flowing liquid. He was gone before his time. He just sat their, slowly waiting for something to happen. And the first sign is a stabbing pain in his back, followed by his vision blurring. His throat beginning to constrict, his lungs forcing out, slowly. He clutches to his throat, as if trying to rip it out, but his hands are to weak to even make a dent. With his final breath he collapses onto the rock, rolling onto the warm floor. His body sending one last beat, before going still. BOOM. Minutes after his demise, a hovercraft soars in. Grabbing his body from the ground, returning it to the Capitol. And with Chase's death, that leaves only 12 people fighting for victory.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"You fine up there".

"Yeh, thanks for doing this Kronos, I should have listened to you".

"No Axl, it was too late when I told you. Anyways, dont worry. The lava seems to have stopped".

"But still...if it had not been for me getting bitten by that mutt you would not have to carry me about".

"Axl. Do not worry, I have had this strength just sitting around. It is good to get it out".

"Sure you dont want me to walk...the ground seems to be calming down".

"Maybe in a minute, when we reach the mountain".

"Great then, how many cannons has it been now".

"I cannot remember, sorry".

"Well, we will find out soon".

"Should we stop before then, or stop during it".

"It should be another...10 minutes to the mountain, we will stop then. Hopefully someone will send something for that leg wound".

"Do not worry Axl, it seems to have stopped spreading. So what if you lost 3 toes, it is only the small ones".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Layla rests her head on a rock. A quiet panting came from behind her, but she was too tired to even turn around. She lets her eyes flutter closed, and just waits for the pain to come. For her life to end, as the smoke was circling inside her lungs, and she could do all to start coughing reluctantly, drawing her death 100 times closer. But the thing beside her seemed to have stopped for a moment, the breathing was much more paced, stressing slowly and surely. She still had no clue who it was, but luckily for her, with her darkened complecture, she was harder to distern from the burned trees, and shadow below the bushes. But still, she was not safe yet.

This tribute sitting just a few metres from her turned out to be Kenny Bane, the boy from 10. He had just avoided his own death, which had involved him hanging over the lava, grabbing a branch. Before slinging himself onto the land, crashing his head into a boulder. At first he had not seemed that alarmed. He kept calm with what he was doing, and managed to make it away from the lake of lava, and resumed his position on safe ground. But the stone had caused trouble. He mind was made up. He needed help, and an ally to help him. But who. He had not noticed Layla, and as he drifts off, and the girl in the bush follows his lead. The question remains, with either of them confront the other, will there be a pairing formed...or will a silent murder appear during the night.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Eucy and Kole crash through the forest. Kole almost passed out, Eucy dragging his body behind her, trying to keep them from the burning hot magma. Lava pulsing beneath the ground, cracking the ground, splintering the earth. Kole had burns all down his legs, and he was no help at this point. But Eucy was not leaving him behind. Even if it meant she was risking her life with every step. The trees were swirling around her, the mind buzzing. As she knew that the smoke was beginning to get to her head. The world was swirling aroujnd her, and her thoughts were getting blocked. She crumples with every step, struggling to get to her feet. Pain in her eyes, as she knows that she will only be able to save herself Kole was gone, but she could not force herself to leave him. She could not force herself to dump his body and run. She leans down, and rolls his body onto the ground. Standing over, getting her breath. But this moment of weakness, this momentry break in her steady pace cost her. The gamemakers had their minds set, and with a single click of a button they send a shake through the ground, that shatters the area around Eucy. She is sent flying to the ground, her head crashing into the soil. But when she gains her feet, she is welcomed by a pained site.

Eucy was no longer surrounded by solid ground, the circle of ground she had been on had been broken away, and sunk into the ground. Lava was pouring from the crust of the earth around them, like a waterfall, to a pool surrounding them. They were stuck, with no where to go. And Eucy had to think of somewhere to go, or a plan to save them. But she had one problem. Kole.

The boy from 12 chose this moment to regain his mind. With a cough, and a woosh of black soot emerging from his mouth, he manages to force out a word. "...Eucy....". She spins around, her mind dropping all plans she was thinking about, and turning all her attention onto Kole.

"I am here...do not worry Kole, we are OK now...we are together". Her voice is soft, and despite the fact she believed none of the words she was saying, she put across a calm exterior. For Kole. "You have to just stay calm, go back to sleep.". She brushes away some ash from his cheek, and hi arm wraps around hers. She nods quickly, and then pushes away. She knew that this time she wasted had done nothing for her safety, but had just pushed her that bit closer to death. But it had been a moment she would never forget, a moment she had cherished.

She spent 10 more minutes looking around, but there was no option for escape. This was a jail system put in place by the gamemakers to allow the citizens of Panem to witness the pain between this pair. She crumples to the ground, beside him. As due to the insulation, the heat was soaring in this trap location. Burning pain through his body, she knows there is nothing she can do but wait. Wait for the time to come, that this bit of land crumbles to pieces, shifting below the surface. Her hair was clumped together, tangled into knots upon knots. Sweat dripping off her body, soaking her clothes, causing them to stick to her body. But with the pain in her arms she does not care. Her eyes flitter close for a second, but when they flash open. She is no longer sitting up, and lies crumpled on the ground. With her arms wrapped around her body.

Time must have passed, but the heat had dropped. And the lava flow had seased. But that was not the only thing that had changed. Upon examinaiton, a tree had collapsed over the edge, and was now dangling over the edge. Within reach of Eucy. A way off this island. She walked over, and saw the closest brance was sturdy, but about 2 metres off the ground, and needed a strong grip to get yourself up. She lodged her arm beneath one of the branches, and managed to swing herself onto the main section of the trunk. She is about to shimmy up the rest, and reach solid ground when she remembers the person lying behind her, unconcious.

Kole. Her love, her district partner. If she wanted to survive...he could not. Her mind was filled with pain, as she realized the problem she had thrown herself into. She had to face a fact now, the Capitol wanted them split up...split up, or dead. She was in charge of both of their fates, would she allow herself to watch Kole sink beneath the lava, allowing herself to possibly live to the end. If she could compete against the other sick tributes. If she could live. Or would she live with him for the last parts of their life, killing both her and her love. Her eyes fog over with tears, and she raises her hand. Blisters from the heat, skin peeling. Was this a state she wanted to live, could she even survive long if she did not have her one true love. Would this just be causing her more pain than if she was to wait with him. Yes...it was. She could not do this, her reason for living was at the bottom of the crater. And if she was going to sacrifice him for love...she would never forgive her own mind.

She slides of the log, landing perfectly on her feet. The body of Kole only a few feet away. But she cannot bring herself to take another step forward, so perfect he looked as he lay on the ground. She moves the hair from her eyes, and smiles. Her feet regain their coordination, and she bounds across. Even though he was not concious, their lips meet. And as if with magic, sparks fly. They lock lips, and as if this is a signal that Eucy would never give up on love. The Gamemakers press another button, sending the island sinking below the surface. Bringing an end to this love affair. BOOM. BOOM.

Day 7
The faces had shone in the sky last night, and Layla was filled with glee. Some of her biggest competition had been taken out, and after a while of calculating...she realized it was now down to the final 10. Or so she thought. Just as she was about to get up and move, when she remembered the person resting near her. Kenny Bane was lying a few metres away, but she is put off her concentration when she sees him, falls backwards. Making a swift loud piercing crunch. Waking Kenny from his weak slumber. Layla is not fast enough though, and Kenny makes the first move. He dashes over, grabbing her around the neck. And pushing her back against the bark. He reaches around on the ground, looking for something to use as a weapon. And his hands grasp around a rock. Heavy, weight and powerful.

With one blow it is all over for the girl from 6. She crumples to the ground, and Kenny collapses down. He had not yet regained from last night, and this strenuous activity had caused severe pain to his chest. He was becoming dellusional due to a lack of water, but this was soon settled. As from the sky came a glowing package, a small bottle filled to the brim with rich water. The moment it touches the ground the cannon fires, signaling he was safe for now. BOOM. He takes a few sips, trying to save it. Before just downing the rest in a oner. There was nothing left of the previous nights tyrades, the splits in the ground had been healed. The springs were back and filled with water, and the temperature was a cool morning. Kenny had new hope in the game, as he was beginning to reckon it was final 9. Only 8 people left before he could go home, but the Capitol were not letting it be this easy. As despite it not being a full day since the last intrusion my the Capitol, a voice bellowed around the arena. Siganling another life changing alteration to his already mad game.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Well then...this was supposed to be at final 10, but with that quick and unexpected death, I guess we must settle for 9. But round the another twist, now. A lot of you are revived tributes, and you have fought off other revived tributes to get this far...so we decided to put it up a notch. Over the course of the new few hours, 5 brand new revived tributes will be placed into the arena. But also, a familiar face. Voted by the Capitol as a shock death of the game, all 6 of the tributes will be competing with you to win. And they have as much a chance as you, so congrats on making it to the final 15. And lets enter the first of our revived tributes, the fighter from the Capitol. Known for her strategic play, Shay Cobblestone".

Cassandra stares at the sky, letting the words roll over before they dig deep into her mind. 6 more competitors...and she thought she was lucky due to the amount of cannons yesterday, but it looked like all those deaths had just been replaced. But by brand new fighters, fit and healthy. Prepared. If she had to collide with one of them right now, she would have no choice but to run. I mean, they would be able to skin her alive in a fight without even batting an eyelid. She throws her singed hair over her shoulder, and continues forward. She hears a screeching birds song melodically pull out into the quiet soft air. This arena was truly a beauty, her hands brush over the soft browning bark. Most of the golden leaves burned away in the fire, but overnight they had all grown back. Lucious, filled with deep reds, to highlight the crisp fresh greens, and soft elegant yellows. How could something so soft be so vicious.

Her mind becomes fuzzy, filled with thoughts about who were the new tributes. She did not recognise Shay's name, it had been ages since the Capitol had submitted tributes into the game, but that meant that no one would know about her...unless there was someone from her game still here...who was left...with the faces in the sky last night, Layla and her were still alive. That pair from 1...that guy had been in a past game, he may have been with Shay. Matilda, and that guy from 3, oh and 6. Matilda and the 3 guy were both new, but maybe the boy from District 6, maybe it would be good tracking down him...an alliance could help at this point. And then even if he doesnt help, a simple knife to the throat. So that was 7 of the 10 accounted for, the guys from District 10 make 9, Satan I think his name was. He was revived...another one to watch out for, she struggled for a bit to lock onto the final name, but her tounge could not lock onto the words. So right now she had 3 people to watch out for, Satan, and the guys from 6 and 1. If Shay was gonna be a threat, hopefully one of them will know why.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Well then, Shay is in the arena. And it is time to brings in our next tributes joining us from the 171st Hunger Games, we have the infamous Blakeathon Whittle. Not as well remembered, but the last of the long line of Whittles that entered the game, including the victor of the 166th Hunger Games Allianna Whittle who played in this game before. I will see you in an hour or so to release the next of our returnees."

A flash of light, and a few startled birds later, Blake hits the ground. He stands up, staring around. Standing metres from him though, a small stump with a figure on it. The figure of Shay. "Hey". Blake mutters the words, he had seen Shay on the hovercraft before she was released, and knew she was not gonna be much of a threat. With a sword in his hand he knew he could take Shay easily at this range, her knives would only help her when the distance grew.

"Hey Blake". She steps from her stump, walks over to where Blake is standing. "So, I was thinking. With 15 people left, the other 9 are really going to be wanting us out very quickly". She takes another step closer, her hands brush down the side of Blake's face. "And you know, for protection, and eachothers sake sticking close will help us. I mean...2 are much, much, much stronger than a little Capitol born girl all on her own". Blake was still standing still, and he tries to get words out but nothing comes out. Shay on the otherhand was now behind Blake, her hands wrapping around his body. Her mouth directly beside his ear, she whispers a little secret. "And you know how lonely a girl can get in this big old arena".

"Well...". Blake finally manages to get one word out, but after word he seems stumped. His eyes are locked on Shay's face but the camera can see the sweat pouring down his head. "Eh...umm...I...I...". Shay's hands get further and further down his body, resting around his waist.

"Do not say anything yet, just let me...". Shay's hand slips further and further down, breaking beneath the waist of his trousers. A smile creeps onto her face, and she clenches her fist. And the look in Blake's face changes completely, his eyes open wide, shooting into Shay's soft golden arms. "So...what do you think, Blake...are we allies...or are we enemies...".

Blake blinks multiple times over and over, and then he just seems to drop. "Ohh...yeah, I guess...allies...allies is good for Blake...". Shay stands back after he says the word, her demeanour changes in an instance.

"Well, sadly for you I am strong enough on my own. And all you allowed me to do was unarm you". Shay swings Blake's sword up. "And now, I am given two choices. You can run and I can use my knives, or...you can stay, and we can use your sword. The choice is yours". Her smile is pleasant enough, but the way her hair flows down her body, and across her face, and the look in her eyes show her true goal. She pulls out one of her knives from the pocket, prepared for his choice. "So...what is it gonna be...death by knife, or death by sword...take your pick".

Blake hesitates for a second, before dashing into the forest. Weaving between the trees, trying to create a pattern that Shay could not predict, allowing him to get away. But this girl was much better than anyone had ever given her credit for. The knife flies through a single gap, and strikes him directly in the small of the back at the last possible moment. He keels over, face planting the ground. And Shay smiles, as with this move. She was officially back in the games. BOOM.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper hops down from the now cool metal structure where the game had all begun. Her feet hit the floor, and she stands up, stearing around. Just as the same voice that had released Blake and Shay into the arena, comes back to announce another entry.

''"Well then, that was not long for our new tributes to get the game going, but now it is time for our 3rd tribute...and our 4th, these two have requested to be put in together, so why deny them this if they want. So now, welcoming our two new tributes, Beauty Swann and Alodia Rickel into the arena. Alodia was considered a vicious threat in her games, managing to make it to the final fight, before just missing out on winning the game. Beauty on the otherhand was percieved as one of the biggest threats in the arena in her games, but was a rather early death, due to her falling from a cliff. Will either of these girls find a way to improve their game, well lets see". ''

Piper nods quietly, she recognised Beauty's name, and now she knew she was no longer the only District 12 tribute in the game. She walks forward, making her way to the edge of the clearing, when she heres the flash. Just on the otherside of the Cornucopia, Beauty and Alodia were dropped into the arena. Piper stood stone still, her brain rushing, she was still a good 100 metres from the edge of the clearing, and she would be easily caught by the pair of girls before she made it, so she spins round, and darts back to the side of the Cornucopia. Breathing heavily, waiting to see what the girls did.

Beauty has a soft voice, that Piper just manages to make out. "So Alodia, where do we go from here". She removes an arrow from her quiver, loading it up, and firing it at a rock about 10 metres from her while talking. Retrieving it as Alodia replies.

"I say we head upwards, scale the mountain, give ourselves a good view of the arena. We may be fitter and stronger physically than the others, but they have a better grasp on the arena. We need to suss it out before we make any bold moves". Beauty nods, her arrow back in the quiver with the rest, and walks back over.

"So you think that our biggest threat is not the tributes, but where we actually stand". The nod from Alodia answers her, but she is not finished. "Well, would it not be better to suss the arena by going into the forest, there is more forest than mountain".

Alodia lets out a pained laugh, and scoffs at the idea. "No, we have one threat to deal with, I mean Shay managed to kill Blake about after 2 minutes from being in the arena, she is in the forest. We need to avoid her at all costs".

Piper absorbs this information, Blake who had just entered the arena was dead, the cannon was his, even the revived tributes were turning on eachother. And she was in the forest, Piper instantly noted to keep constant watch, till she could escape back up the mountain. Where she felt much safer.

"Okay Alodia, lets head. We should move quickly, night is drawing closer. And we need to set camp before then. Should we make a fire tonight". Beauty's walks out from behind the Cornucopia, and Piper just catches a look of her before Piper scampers round again, avoiding being caught.

She had long crisp golden hair, and a simple black rucksack. A compacted bow, and a strong smile. Her clothes were simple, but she looked strong. But Piper could tell from the rasp of Alodia's voice, that she was in power, and Beauty was just a tool for now.

The two go further away, and Piper just manages to make out one last thing before they disappear out of sight. "Well Beauty, fire would be useful if we needed it, but without it, anyone listening to this conversation, will know if they enter the mountain, there is always a chance we are just around the corner". At that exact moment another one of Beauty's arrows strikes the ground 2 metres from Piper, and with a small shreak from the young girl from 12, she takes off, not looking back, and emerges into the forest, just as Beauty and Alodia begin to scale the mountain.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Satan was unable to stop at all, since his speech to all of Panem, the Gamemakers had been flooding him with traps and obstacles. He was just grabbing a quick breather, as another branch strikes the ground beside him. He leaps backwards from the log he was resting on, knowing this was the Gamemakers sign for him to move quickly out of the way. He takes a few hurrid steps backwards, and then turns. Walking through the forest. His mind on other things, but he just need to focus on one thing, and one thing only. Winning the game.

He brushes his hand through his hair, and spins around. He had heard a rustle in the bushes, and he had learned that he needed to look out for everything and anything. He stood stock still, trying to see what had caused it, but it seemed just to be the wind, or a rabbit. As when, after a few minutes of standing around, he went to check the bush, but nothing had been in there. Whatever it was, it was gone. Satan went back to moving, and now his mind was drifting to the 4 tributes had been entered into the arena. Beauty had been in his games, but he hardly remembered her. She had been quite pretty, and a fan favorite, but had not managed to cope in the arena at all, he hoped that it would be the same this time. And she would drop quickly. Alodia...Alodia, he did not even recognise her, but if she had been brought back she must have done something that got her brought back, same with Shay. And then...she could not even remember his name, he was related to the winner from these games, but other than that, there was nothing

Satan reached a small lake as the sun was beginning to descend. He walked around the edge, until he reached a small out reach of rock, that broke over the surface of the water. He moved till the end of the natural peer, and threw a small rock into the glowing lake. The ripples spread quickly, and slowly moved out over to the ends of the lake. His mind was about to drift away, but something caught his attention. A flash of blue scales beneath the surface of the water. It was quick...but that scared him even more, another Gamemaker trap. Satan just turned away, knowing his luck they could probably jump high enough to even get him from here. He stepped off the rock, and wandered into the forest. But sadly for him, the blue scaled creature dissappears into the forest right behind him. And it was not alone.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Axl lay flat on his back, slowly breathing. Beside him Kronos stood with a knife in his hand. Axl tries to sit up, but Kronos just pushes him down. "Axl, you know this is going to hurt. But we need to remove the stuff before we clean it up, it is going to hurt but...if I dont do it, I doubt you will be much help in a fight". Kornos' voice is calm, but intercut with the shrill aches of pain from Axl.

"I know...I know, but its just...what if it doesnt work...". Axl's voice is clearly filled with a strong pain, his breaths are rapid and clarified.

Kronos just shakes his head, before turning to face Axl. The knife just hovering above the wound in Axl's leg. "If this was not supposed to happen, why was I sent a knife, a shot filled with medicine and a pack of bandages. I think it is clear I need to clean the wound, this green stuff cannot be healthy. Now just be a big boy, and let me hack your leg open".

Axl winces as Kronos slides the knife beneath the first clump of puss and mold, mixed with dirt and leaves. His breaths continue to up in rapidity, before stopping. Once Kronos has slid it furth enough in, before flicking it up. "FUCK YOU YOU LITTLE SHIT HOLE". Axl's screams easily break out into the arena, the sound waves spreading as quickly as the wind flows. Covering the whole arena. Birds soar from the branches of the near by trees, taking off and circling in the sky. Tears flow down Axl's face, as he struggles to keep quiet after his outburst.

Kronos decides that keeping it slow is not the answer, he tears off the sleeve of his jacket, rolls it up and stuffs it into the mouth of Axl, before digging his knife in, and hacking away at the infection, Axl trying to scream but nothing is heard. Everything is muffled by the ball of cloth stuffed in his throat. Kronos tries to do it was quickly as he can, before pouring half a canteen of water over the wound. Washing away the open blood streams, and all the remaining puss. After a few minutes of scrubbing at it with half of the bandages, Kronos manages to get it into a state where it looks healthy. No green, brown or red. Just slightly rash covered skin, and some tiny droplets of blood. "We are almost finished, I just need to inject the shot, and then wrap it up. 5 minutes tops".

"Quickly, just quickly. Go, go, go". Kronos nods at Axl's words, and removes the shot from its casing, he holds it over the wound, before plunging it in. Axl lets out one last breath, before he knows it is all over. His breath returns to its normal pace, and Kronos removes the needle. Grabbing the clean bandages, and using them to cover up the wound the best that he can. Once finished, he pulls down Axl's trouser leg, and leans back, pulling himself onto his feet.

Axl tries to sit up, but there must have been something in the needle that caused him to drop into an almost dead state of sleep, his mind burning away. Kronos just turns and laughs at his ally, before grabbing Axl, throwing him over his shoulder. And moving back into the cave at the base of the mountain that they had spent most of the day in.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

At the top of the mountain, as a light shower of snow passes, leaving a fresh dusting on the ground. A herd of goats rest at the top, slowly munching on a patch of grass. A steady wind flows, moving the snow across the ground, splitting it apart. Just as the same voice echoes around the arena, announcing the newest tribute entering the arena.

"Well, lets get the fourth person in the arena. Everyone else seems to have settled in, and now we add to the drama. It is time to release Saber Falchion, a tribute from District 13, who was a strong fighter, and a loyal ally, but was taken of his chance to win at an early point in the game, as he was seen as a threat. Well, lets see if in this game he gets a chance to show his true ability in this game. So everyone welcome Saber into the arena".

The light strikes directly into the middle of the flock of goats, and they all run scampering off down the side of the mountain. Leaping over the rocks, leaving the top clear, apart from the tribute who had just been thrown onto the top of the hill. Saber raises to his feet. Looking around the arena. A smile stood across his face, and he chuckles. Glad to be back in the arena, and he moves out to the edge of the mountain. Taking no time to look about the arena, he had seen it all from the hovercraft, and knew where he was standing.

He reached the end of the clearing on the top of the mountain, and began to descend down, he could see the beach off in the distance, and decided to head that way. The forest was smallest on that side, and Saber felt slightly claustrophobic in this arena, especially in forests. Reaching the beach would mean there would be an open expance of area, clear of sight. Forests can restrict movement when fighting close range combat, it is much easier to fight with a sword when there is nothing to restrict the swings. He made quick time, and reached the base of the mountain within only a few hours. The sun had almost completely set, so he decided to rest there for the night. He find a few bushes close together, so he could be hidden, lay down between them, and drifted off. Preparing himself for the next day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny had been the only person to hardly be affected by the lava the previous day. He had been safely resting on the side of the mountain, with nothing really around. A few rocks tumbling past, but other than that it had been a quiet evening, as he watched the arena burn around him. But now he had the move. Just a few minutes had passed since he saw Saber running down the hill, he had been moving at a fast pace, so Kenny had easily hidden from him. But now he did not really trust sticking about.

He began hiking up the mountain, everything sitting on his back. His mind had began clearing, he was turning back into his normal self. All he needed now was a calm day to just relax, and allow the last bits of fear, and pain to drift from his mind. But this was the arena, and these were the Hunger Games. There was no time for a peaceful day, especially when if it gave an entertaining character a chance to become boring. As he clambered up onto a set of rocks, seeing it as the quickest way up. But it was the wrong decision, as little did he know the mutt that lay in the cracks of the rocks were getting bored after almost a week of nothing happening, and as the dark continued to descend, Kenny was in for a hellish ride.

He swings his arm up, and digs it into a small crevase, before pulling himself up onto a ledge, he was about 10 metres up from flat ground, and stared around for a few moments. His hands were still in the crevase, incase he fell. But this was a problem. as he sat, regaining his breath. Something small, with ruffled fur slowly emerged from the crack, its eyes a glowing yellow, its teeth the same shade. It moves out a bit more, nearly reaching the hand of Kenny. He breaths one more time, before the beast lashes out. It wraps its tail round his wrist, and digs his teeth into the back of his hand. Kenny exclaims with pain, whipping his hands out of the way, but it was no use at all. It was bound tight to his arm, and as he tried to fling it off it stayed tight, its teeth still dug fast, a small bit if venom leeking into his system. Kenny tries to remove it with his other arm, but becomes slightly off balance. After finally prying its teeth out, and ripping it from its tail, Kenny topples over the edge of the cliff. Smashing into the ground below. His still body rolls down the small hill for about 5 metres before coming to a rest, the tail still wrapped round his rist. the wound wide open, a mixture of puss and blood flowing out. Nothing approaches him from the cliffs, but hundreds of eyes can be seen peering from the heights. Nothing helps the unconcious boy from 10, as the day moves ever so closer to being over.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Matilda had just lost her closest ally in the game, but despite this she could not feel safer in the arena. With 6 new tributes, who were all healthy, and fan favorites, Matilda knew she would no longer be seen as the strongest. It may mean she does not get the sponsor gifts she would have wanted, but it does mean she would be a lot safer, and could be a lot less cautious. She could sleep without being under the certain idea she would be stabbed in the back. She may still be at risk though, the Gamemakers may throw another curve ball her way, as even though there were a whole bunch of new ones, she was one of the 3 Careers still in the arena. Possibly 4, depending on who entered the arena next.

Matilda kinda hoped it would be a former Career, who was killed in the heat of battle. There were a few people she certainly hoped it was not though, she had made 5 kills in the arena so far, 2 had been in the bloodbath, while 3 were more recent. And more likely to be brought back, Sincius and Armstrong, two strong guys who had been easier to take down, but both had loyal allies left. Who they could easily revert to. But Kezaiah was one of her two big worries, Kezaiah had been a great competitor in the games, only lost to a moment of doubt. People would have expected to see a massive fight to the end with her, but she just sizzled out. Matilda had a small instinct that she may be the one brought back, but even Kezaiah was not the worst option. Someone else would hate her even more. Aqua.

Her closest ally, who Matilda had just turned her back on. Aquamarine would definately be prepared to kill Matilda at the drop of a hat, she would do anything to get revenge on the person who had deserted her to further their own causes. Matilda was now terrified that her back was going to come back and haunt her, whoever came back came back because they were a favorite, a shock to the Capitol. And they needed to be taken down quickly. Sponsors would be lining up to go with them, and it was now Matilda's sole goal to take them down, to launch a knife into their head, or watch them be devoured by mutts. She slid down from the branch she was sitting on, her feet striking the ground just as the voice fills the arena, for the final time.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Now, here we are. Our final tribute about to be placed into the arena. There are 14 of you in their right now, but it is about to get a tiny bit fuller. As now we are about to reveal who the Capitol have chosen to revive, to see fight another day. The votes were very close, and in the end it seemed to come down to 4 tributes...but we have a winner. In 4th place, recieving 1,902,934 votes is...Aquamarine Summerton, in 3rd place, with 1,987,365 votes, you have Armstrong Shadows. And now...in 2nd place you have...Kezaiah Bianca, recieving a whopping, 2,856,102 votes, but beating her, recieving 2 votes more than Kezaiah, with 2,856,104, and in first place, you have Quinberly Dane. Yes, someone killed in the bloodbath was voted the favorite tribute so far...well, lets just say I am just as shocked as you, but enjoy the games guys. With the new...ish tribute, Quinberly Dane."

Quinberly is thrown into the arena. Unlike the other 5 who had been launched in, she was terrified. She had been killed in this very place, just a week ago. And now she was back, chosen as a favorite. She had a lot to live up to, and knew that this was her last chance. Her parents had probably been crushed, almost killed themselves over her death, and Quinberly knew that if she died again, that would be the finishing blow. It would all be over for them. She shakes her head, and begins to move. She had not actually seen any part of the arena in detail, so really did not know much about it. She was amazed by everything she saw, she had seen arenas before, on the television, but seeing it in real life was just amazing. Everything she saw flowed with life, the trees seemed to be pouring out the sun that struck them, and around each turn there was something scuttling across the path.

It was amazing, perfect. If only, only it was not filled with life, and glorious creatures. It was filled with pain driven creatures, whose only goal was to kill, and kill only. And then you have the tributes, only 14 others left. But some of them had been the most vicious, all of them were. Quinberly had had a few days in the Capitol before being placed in the arena, and she had studied the games so far. And memorised how each of the tributes had done. Piper, had 2 kills so far, but neither in the arena, Kenny had 2, one in the bloodbath, and one only this morning, Quinberly knew he would be a threat.

Quinberly rests on a rock, counting them off on her fingers. Satan, he was another large threat. He may have only had 2 kills again, one pre-game and one in the arena, but he had shown to be a rebel. And where rebels were, so was trouble. Axl, shown to be a strong presence in his alliance with Kronos, but even he had shown he could fight when it came to it. Both the kills in his first round had been from him, even if he had not done any in the arena. Kronos and Cassandra, the two tributes left to never have killed anyone, both knew, both still held their morals to their chests, and were fighting logically, more than physically...then, then you have Matilda. The complete polar opposite, she had been the strongest so far, her total kills of 5 were only beaten by her former ally Aquamarine, with 6, all in the arena, the largest threat. And Quinberly hoped she would never see Matilda, and one of the others would take her out first. And then, the strongest alliance in the arena, Penny and Excalibur, Excalibur having 3 kills, and Penny 1. Quinberly knew she would have to fight strong to win this game, but maybe she would take a leaf out of Kronos and Cassandra's books, and play smarter, wrather than stronger.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Penny and Excalibur were still coping with the death of Kezaiah, especially Penny. And it was even worse now, with Excalibur fast asleep, lying next to her. She had no one to talk to or anything, the only thing she had to entertain her was the faces that were beginning to appear in the sky. Only 2 faces were shining up there, and neither were the shocking. Layla from District 6, and Blake from District 9. Penny felt horrified though to see them, as it was finally beginning to set in. Those people whose faces appeared in the sky were gone, most were gone forever. Penny's eyes shift down to Excalibur, as she began to think about the 54 people who were given a second chance to live. Excalibur was one of them. His face had appeared in the sky, over 500 years ago. He had been born so long ago, it was almost impossible to compute. He may be her ally, but the only thing they shared was the district they were from. And District 1 had changed so radically in the past 5 centuries, they hardly shared that.

Penny moved to her feet, and began to walk away from Excalibur. She knew she would come back, but she just needed a few minutes to think about other things, this was final 14 now. And she needed to look at her gameplan, some of the tributes left were alone, but was that an advantage or a disadvantage. Would it help or hinder them. There were so many questions to be answered, and Penny hoped that Day 8 would bring some.

Day 8
The sun begins to rise in the arena, but none of the tributes seemed to be doing anything. Everyone had chosen to get a good sleep last night, and the Capitol were beginning to get bored. Dismayed with what was happening, the gamemakers decided to prepare their next twist. But luckily for them, it was put on delay as a sleepy Saber, raised his body from the ground, and began to move. He had one thought on his mind, and one only. Of the game. He was not fond of going through the forest, but wanted to reach the beach as quickly as he could, and decided to use the early hours of the morning, when it was not too hot to get a head start on the others.

He kept to the shade though, knowing there was a chance some people were hunting, and he could be caught in a fight. But luckily for him, as he got further in it seemed that this was not going to be much of a risk. He lowers his blade, but he keeps his eyes shifting between the darkest cracks of the trees, knowing that if the tributes were going to be anywhere, this would be where they were hidden. After about an hour of movement, he begins to hear the area around him waking, birds soaring from their nests, off to find food, foxes leaping from bush to bush, some carrying rabbits, others still looking for the food. Saber decides now would be a good time to stock up on food, as it was really the last chance before anyone woke, and before he reached the beach. He lies his backpack behind a bush, and places his sword in his hand.

He wanted something meaty, all he had been given by the gamemakers was his weapon, a bottle of iodine, some matches, a bag of food, and a canteen, without water. This would help him for a while, but he knew it was better to get food now, while he still had the other back to fall back on. He stood really still, just behind a bush. And waited for a while, he was not really thinking of anything, just keeping his eyes peeled. His reactions were quite quick, but not quick enough for the first three rabbits that zoomed by, each following by a fox, or something else. Each time they got away, and it wasnt till his fourth try that he sliced clean through the body of the animal. Quickly he wrapped up the corpse, and continued his track to the beach, grabbing dry sticks, and some kindling on the way, ready to prepare a fire on the beach, to cook his new food.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Beauty and Alodia had a quick sleep before moving. They had decided to abandon the hill, after being woken by a small rockslide, deciding that the risk was too high. After only moving for 10 minutes, they reach the forests. Dissapointed at how far they had managed to come during the night that they had been in the arena, neither of them are talking, and already the alliance was beginning to crumble. But that was not the only thing that was beginning to crumble.

Alodia was walking slightly ahead of Beauty, and was clambering over the edge of a slight cliff on the mountain. Using the grass to keep herself balanced. "Hey Alodia, are you sure this is safe. The ground looks a bit shaky". Beauty stands back, watching Alodia struggle slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, its fine. If I just put my foot here and the-". Alodia swings her foot round, trying to slide it onto a small ledge of rock, but inevitable happens, and it crumbles away as she places her force onto the stretch of earth. She begins to fall, and the tufts of grass prove as a weak grasping point, and she crashes down the cliff. Beauty hardly has time to think before Alodia smashes into the bottom, her body being smashed to pieces by the rocks, blood pouring, her bones crumbled. BOOM.

Beauty is about to express her pain, but quickly decides against it. Even if Alodia had been her ally, they had not been close. This alliance was just for conveniences sake, and now Beauty was given a free exit pass. Thinking logically though, she decides to retrace her steps, and ends up making it to the dead body of Alodia before it is removed, and manages to strip away the last of her supplies. Moving them into her own pack. She places it back on her shoulders, and moves out. Not filled with any regrets she makes her own way down the last part of the mountain, and easily breaks into the forest. Deciding it is best to relax for a bit, and gain her breath before entering the grasp of the forest.

Meanwhile, Alodia's body is quickly removed from the arena, striking off one of the most vicious threats left in the arena, but something is made perfectly clear as the camera zooms in on the scene of death. On the base of Alodia's shoes something was not right, at the hell they were covered in small bumps, to prevent slipping, while at the toe end...the bumbs seemed to have been removed by force. This reveal leaves the Capitol to ponder of Beauty innocence, and their opinion on her quickly changes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Penny, I think we should move out of the forest as quickly as we can. It is just gonna get even more active over the next few days, and I think getting to a flat area of ground will give us an advantage". Excalibur stuffs the blanket into his back, before swinging it onto his back.

Penny clambers off the rock she had been sitting on, her arms crossed. Her hair stuffed into a hair bobble. "Okay, so which way should we head".

"I am not sure, could you climb that tree, see if you can see where the mountain or Cornucopia is". Penny nods, and makes her way to the tree, beginning to climb up. Excalibur helps her onto the first branch, before watching her make her way up to the top.

Once she reaches the heights, she easily sees the gleaming Cornucopia only a few hundred metres away. "Excalibur, I can see the Cornucopia. It is actually really close, I say we head that way, then spend the night there. Before moving out in the morning".

Excalibur nods, and helps Penny down from the tree, before handing her her rucksack. They make their way through the forest, making sure they are armed. But progressing quickly. They mainly talk about what they had seen in the arena before, their focus on trying to imagine what else could happen to them. Each day had been filled with cannons, and twists. Each one completely blasting the hopes of some tributes, and giving a fighting chance to others.

They began to list tributes who had been seen as strong threats entering, but had gone. Obvious ones like Aquamarine, and Armstrong came up quick. When Excalibur finally mentioned the name they were both thinking, but had been trying to ignore, Kezaiah. They dropped the topic. They went back to walking in silence. Neither of them had gotten over the loss of their closest alliance, Kezaiah had been like a sister to Penny, and there had been more than met the eye to Excalibur and Kezaiah relationship. Something Penny had been completely oblivious about, despite her never being apart from Kez. But it was something that was going to shake the bond of these two tributes from District 1, right to the core.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Quinberly Dane struggles up from where she had been lying. Her head was aching, last night she had tried to rest on a branch in a tree, but struggled to stay stable, and slid off the branch. Hitting her head off a rock, knocking her out cold. This morning she realized she needed to do something quickly, the forest was way too rough for her. And she needed to get out of it. The whole forest was just making her feel a bit claustrophobic, and she knew she needed to get out as quickly as she could. She did not care who she ran into, or what she met. She just wanted to be in a wide, open space.

And the first location that leapt into her mind was the very location two other tributes had just began heading to, Quinberly had her mind set on the Cornucopia. It was the most open space in the arena, and probably one of the most deserted she believed. Usually the Cornucopia was seen as somewhere to fear, somewhere where the Careers would gather. Where they would command. And everyone other than her, and the other returnees, knew that the Cornucopia was actually completely empty. With a few people stopping in for a night or so, but during the day usually. No one was in sight.

As Quinberly moved through the forest, she was surprised at how much she saw. The smile cursed her lips as she moved. She had only been back in the arena a day, but her curly ginger locks were becoming tangled with sticks, and leaves. Mud coated her legs, she had come in with spotless clothes, but now no one could tell her apart. Her face was scratched, her eyes itching. A rash down the side of her neck, that spread across her back. Quinberly was already a mess, like every other tribute in the arena. And now she was forced to struggle through the forest, and she was just struggling. She was not prepared, the shock that struck her from the luxurious Capitol, to the opitomy of this. The arena. Quinberly was terrified to what she was gonna see as she progressed, but she knew that it would not be easy. As in the arena, if you are given a choice, you always know, no matter what, the choice you choose will be hundreds of times worse than the one you did not.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

By the time that Axl woke, Kronos had already moved almost 2 miles. With their supplies over one shoulder, Axl over the other. Kronos was easily striding through the forest. He had not wanted to wake Axl this morning, and chosen it was easier just to lift him around. All the boy from 6 can see, is the backside of his ally, and for a moment he is slightly confused. Before he drifts off to sleep again. Kronos on the other hand is enjoying the time just to think about his game plan. Kronos had not come here to play the game to let his allies win, he had come here to be crowned the victor. Axl was just one of his pawns, and even if they had appeared to have a strong alliance since the beginning, as the pool of tributes grew closer to the final 5, Kronos could taste the blood of Axl on his lips.

Kronos would admit to himself though, he now would not be able to deliver the blow, the blow that took Axl out of the game for good, for the second time. But he would just need to lead him into it somehow, whether it was by the hands of the Gamemakers, or by another tribute. Kronos did not mind, as long as he could keep his own hands clear of blood. So far he had been able to do that, he had witnessed fights and deaths, wounds and tears, but all of them had been on other people. His morals were strong, and he knew he may need to stretch his morals when it came to the end of the game, final 2 or 3, but until then. His weapons would be clear of any pain.

The man from District 3 began to think about where they could go, he had moved this morning because of someone he had seen. Shay Cobblestone, just walking on the edge of the forest. She had not headed up the mountain, but just further into the forest. But Kronos knew the mountain would attract a lot of attention, it was a place much easier to keep track of things. So the boy had set his mind on the only other place in the arena where they knew it was clear, the Cornucopia. But only did he realize, he actually had no clue where anything was in the arena. And while he thought with every step he took, the gleaming metal framework of the glorious Cornucopia was gaining closer to where he stood, it was actually reducing into the distance, and instead the soft sands of the golden beach, and the clapping waves of the stretch of water were getting closer and closer, holding a little surprise for both Kronos and his ally, a surprise that would come about a bit closer than the final 5.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun was plazing at the peak position in the sky, and Kenny was still out cold. On his body, the sweat was pouring down his back, and as the day progressed, some animals came up, poking their heads into his side, sniffing around, before walking away. His body had been completely broken, and if it wasnt for him being around the side of the mountain hidden from most, in an area no tribute had wondered but him, someone else would probably found him, and finished the deal. But he was still pushing through, and if only he would wake up, he would be saved. As lying beside him, a small package containing a quick fix, strong medicine, the most expensive gift given in the game so far. Would heal all his bones and wounds within 2 or 3 hours, and all it was was a simple pill.

But if Kenny did not wake up, he was at risk of letting the wounds take him before he took the pill, or even before something else took the pill for theirself. But luckily for Kenny, a few hours after the packages hit his side, he stumbles awake. But the pain that greets his wakening body is too much, he screeches as he tries to move his arm, but feels the soaring pain of the broken bone. Trying to move, his legs seem to try to drag him into the pits of hell, the cuts and scratches all across his chest, scraping against the rough fabric of his jacket. The tears streaming down his face, stinging as they passed over the scratches on his face. Bitter and salty they filled him with pain, and Kenny just could not do anything. He could feel the package behind him, resting on his back, but could not reach out without almost killing himself.

And at this moment, he knew he was not going to be able to get it, he was still in too much pain. Something had to change, he still needed to heal a bit, some wounds were just hurting him too much. He rocks back and forward slightly, trying to let it all out, but nothing was happening. Nothing at all, and he knew that it was going to get so hard in the future, if he wanted to win this game he needed to push through this pain, and just succeed. But his body was not ready, less than a minute after he had woken up, he drifts off into another forced, painless sleep, that he may never wake from.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Satan wakes to a fierce screech from beside him. He darts to his feet, his eyes shifting about, and they easily lock on the problem. Matilda Mir was standing a few feet from him, struggling with something hidden behind a tree. Satan scrambles back, but crashes into a tree. He crumples to the ground, his ankle giving a swift click. Matilda was in less struggle than Satan thought though, as the blue reptile lizard mutt is thrown to the ground by Matilda, blood pouring from the wound caused by Matilda. She stands strong, slipping her knife into her pocket, wiping her hair out of her eyes. Satan knew if she saw him, it would be a very one sided battle. And his cannon would sound very soon, but how could she not see him. He was sitting in plain sight. His only option was to fight, or try to look threatening.

Matilda was focusing on rumaging through her backpack, trying to find something. Giving Satan and chance to grow to his feet, holding a brance in his hand. Ignoring the shooting pain through ankle, trying to come off as fightening. "Hey, girl from 2, wanna come over here and show me some of those moves".

The sudden voice actually scares Matilda, her eyes dart up, and she backs up slightly. Before breaking off into a stiff run through the forest, expecting Satan to take off into a chase. But instead, he crumples back the ground. Breathing heavily, trying to stop the pain, force his mind to focus on other things. He was still not out of the clear, Matilda could easily recover and come back for him, well at least he thought this. But luckily for Satan, Matilda was set firmly on heading out towards the mountain, believing that Satan was much more threatening than he was. But this still left him in a position, where he wanted to get out of the forest. Not wanting to head back to where his past haunted him, and with the mountain being covered, that only left him with one option. He craned his neck to behind him, and knew that somewhere out there was the Cornucopia, and that was where he was going to head.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Piper had just made her way to the beginning of the mountain, having only begun to make it to there at this morning. Having been scared by Beauty and Alodia's threats the night before. But quickly she had decided not to be pushed about, and that this was a game she needed to win. She was making her way up, slowly moving, making sure not to make a silly mistake, that could end her life, allowing her to go tumbling down, smashing her bones, allowing blood to pour. After taking this time however, she notices something below her, a foot, the rest of the body hidden by a crag.

After a while, she slowly makes her way down, making sure to keep safe. But as she finally reaches th ground, she wanders over to see whose the body belonged to. The moment she sees the bruises on his face, the blood on the ground, she turns to caring mode. She dives to his side, rolling him over, making sure he is breathing. But as she does this, she realizes where she was, that this was the games. That she could not be kind and compassionate. She had to brutal, and play the game strong. She rests back on her knees, and just stares at him for a while. She had recognised him to be Kenny, not by name, but knew his face, so was unsure what to do. She had also discovered his medicine, and had reached a turning point.

This was when she decided if she was going to play this game by herself, for herself, or allow someone else to have a chance, who could help her...or who could kill her. She makes her mind up, she needed to win. Not anyone else, she did. She slips the box back in her pocket, and turns back to face the guy. She grabs a stone, sharp on one edge, and traces it across his neck. She quickly drops the stone, but watches in horror at the scene she had almost let happen. No, Piper wrips open the medicine, and forces the pill down his throat. She knew she was not a killer, and that these games were not just to win, but to inspire people in the districts, to make the right choice.

Her mind is now set on getting away, and escaping from this scene. She leaves the body behind her, and re-traces her steps, the ones she took to get down here. While this happens, the medicine kicks in, lifting the body of the boy from 10. Piper now sets her sets on getting up this mountain, but allows one quick look back, and a smile to set on her face. She swiftly climbs, her heart pumping from the experience she had just underwent. Behind her the sun was setting over the arena, revealing a beautiful night sky, that cast a dazzling light over everything it touched. Hiding the horrors  that had happened, the gruesome scenes that had touched every nook an cranny of this arena, but also reflecting on what was about to happen.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra throws her hair back, and sinks beneath the water. Allowing her hair to float in the spring. She had taken a small break, since she had been moving all afternoon. After stripping down to her underwear, she had slipped into a deep lagoon she had found, and was now floating about. The sun had set, so the water was cold, but in the dark, anyone standing by the pond would just assume she was a floating log, and since she had camouflaged her other supplies into the rock, she was decently sure she was safe.

The relaxation allowed her mind to drift. But it was swiftly brought back around when the anthem began to play. She shot out of the water, unable to see the sky from where she sat, and quickly ran into a small clearing. That allowed her to peer at the sky, and watch as the face of Alodia appeared high in the sky. Cassandra nodded, before walking back to the pond. The night had touched her body, and she was feeling a cold chill now, so dried herself off using her rucksack, before putting back on her clothes. She decided to rest again, knowing that she needed her sleep, so approached a small tree, and clambered up the bark, swinging herself onto a low hanging log. She jammed her supplies in a small hole in the tree beside her, using leaves as a cover. She slowly drifted off, not knowing what today was going to bring. _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Shay darted through the night. She had left behind the mountain, and was deep in the forest. Her plan was to spend the next few days hunting, and gatherine supplies, before returning back to her original game. Earlier she had watched Alodia's picture appear in the sky, and realized she was the only Capitol representative left. After running all day, she groaned to a halt, and began to set up a trap, using one of her knives. Thinking it was better to remain here, she formed a sort of camouflaged den using a few bushes, and allowed herself to rest behind, but she never managed to get to sleep that night.

Something haunted her, a memory that she could not put her mind on. Something that the Capitol had no wanted her to remember. She lay there, staring up at the dark night. No stars in the sky, a subtle reminded that they were not free. That they were not seeing the sky, but were just seeing a image created by the Capitol, that kept them trapped here. Like animals. With this thought, her hatred for the Capitol grew, and she briefly saw a flash of fire, glorious reds, dancing with the soft yellows that crept round the side of her body, she was in the games. The Capitol had revived her just for their pleasure. The golden fires, surrounding a crisp ceramic model...almost human shaped.

She lept up, breaking from the sleep she had drifted into. She tried to remember what she had seen, what the fire had been taking. Why that related to her, to the Capitol, why it made her hate them more than forcing her to enter the games twice. Less than a minute after she had woken though, that thought had shifted from her mind. She regained her footing, and saw her trap had already been sprung, by a large meal. A small deer was hanging dead, caught with the knife in its chest. She unhooked it, and quickly disected the beast, before dragging it to a nearby pond, and cleaning the steaks of meat. She knew she would have to find fire before she could eat this, but that was the least of her worries.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The camera gave one last look at each of the tributes. Satan had made it to the Cornucopia, and was resting directly at the back, fast asleep, unknowing that Excalibur and Penny were camping less than 20 metres from him, on the other side of the metal wall. In the forest Cassandra was fast asleep in a tree, while Shay moved through the arena, trying to find a secure place where she could light a quick fire, without it being too obvious. On the otherside of the forest though, another revived tribute, Beauty had just lit a small fire, not wanting to settle in with a chill in her bones. Her bow set, incase the smoke trail brought anyone too her, but it seemed she was safe. The closest tribute to her were Piper and Kenny, both who were in close range, in seperate caves high on the mountain, Piper wondering if the medicine had worked, Kenny wondering who had saved his life.

Matilda was much higher on the mountain, having just slaughtered a sheep, she was cutting off its wool, using it to add comfort to a small bed she hard formed from a few branches, and a small pile of leaves. Quinberly was much lower, near the Cornucopia, watching as the night grew around her. She could see the figures of Excalibur and Penny below her, but knew she would be unable to attack alone, and began to form a plan of how she was going to go about the next day. Axl and Kronos had just reached the beach, and were washing themselves in the water, getting the dirt out of their hair, laughing about something, despite the grim situation. Saber on the otherhand was fast asleep, hidden in a pile of rocks, using them to shelter him from the blasting wind.

An overall calm night, no one planning an attack, no one focusing on the game. Everyone had their heads in the clouds, but the gamemakers knew this needed to change. And decided that day 9 was not going to be as boring as today had been.

Day 9
Piper woke early, realizing what day it was. After spending 10 minutes counting on her fingers, checking, and double checking, she let a smile onto her face. "Happy birthday to me...happy birthday to me...happy birthday dear Piper...happy birthday to me...". She wiped the hair from her eyes, as the tears roled down her cheeks, remembering that it was 114 years since she had been born.

She decides not the waste the rest of the day, and gets up. Moving out of her cave. The sun had not even risen yet, and there was still a haunting chill in the air. That seemed to haunt her as she moved across the mountainside, keeping to safe sections. She finally found a small stream, that allowed her to wash her face, wiping the dirt from beneath her eyes. She did not feel up for much today, the past haunting her more.

With each step, she remembered more about her first games. Something that she had not dwelled on much, knowing it was too painful to remember. She thought about the people she had fought against, some had been revived for this game, Thias and Armstrong, Alodia, Silver. The only one of the final 6 that had not been brought back was Jeral, from 14. A guy who had fought with her, but someone who her ally this game had killed. Silver, last game had a painful death, excrutiating. Piper could not help but hope her death this game had been more peaceful. She began to then think of Alodia, who had been in this game for about a day. Was she depressed, Piper began to think, if Alodia had been willing to ally with Beauty, maybe she should have confronted them back at the Cornucopia, offered an alliance. Would that have helped her, having someone there who had been through what she had. But it was then Armstrong's face floated into her mind, but the moment she saw it she obliterated it from her thoughts. No, that was not something she could face. She needed to focus on the game, thinking of him would bring tears back to her eyes, tears she had just managed to shake off, tears that would be coming very soon.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Down at the Cornucopia, all three of the tributes there are fast asleep. Excalibur and Penny were resting with their backs on the cold metal, while Satan was inside, hidden behind a false panel he had discovered the night before. He had assumed it had once stored some extra hidden supplies, but that the Careers had wiped it all out. The area was silent, for all but a soft whisper of the birds from the forest. It seemed like it would be a simple day, but the Gamemakers had decided otherwise. As in an instance, their calm area, was turned in mayhem, a mayhem that may take their lives.

As the sun begins to dash the horizon, something in the sky above them, hurtling down towards the ground. Due to the way the suns light struck the arena, it was hard for the camera to see what it was, but even without getting the details, the audience knew it was vicious. But despite its size, it did not break the silence of the arena, and with all the awkake tributes being unable to see it, or just not looking, it seemed like this would be a surprise to everyone.

Time passes, but the object quickly gains speed, allowing the camera to get a closer view on it. It seemed to be a small rock, not much larger than a human, but it had golden flames hurtling behind it, and as it got closer small chunks of rock were flying off, allowing it to increase speed, zoom closer and closer to the ground. It had a clear objective now, the centre of the arena, the Cornucopia. Slowly the noise was increasing, getting louder and louder. A vibrating noise, low, vicious. The crackles from the flames could easily be heard, and awoke the tributes that were still sleeping.

Excalibur opened his one good eye, waving his arms as he yawned, waking up. One of his ears had been burned by the lava, and was just a fleshy stump, but the other was working. He was unsure where the noise was coming from, turning around in circles trying to see what it was. But it was not until Penny took to her feet, and stared up at the sky, did the pair see. Her screams pierced the area around them, shaking Satan to life inside the Cornucopia. The pair from one hardly had any time to think, as the projectile soared down.

They dived off to the side, trying to get as far from the Cornucopia as they can. Staring back, they see Satan stumble out, still in a groggy daze, wondering what the noise was, just to witness the lump of rock smash into the metal, exploding outwards. It shatters the Cornucopia into pieces, that litter the clearing. Small chunks rain over Excalibur and Penny, dashing their skin with cuts and gashes, blood flowing. The pair continue to move though, trailing across the grass, only to be stopped with a putrid scream from behind them. They spin around, and turn to see the body of Satan, lying down.

With the final pieces of metal having landed, the pair from 1 run over to see the wreckage. They watch in horror as Satan tries to move, only to grab at the chunk of metal, the size of a door lodged directly in his side. His screams are piercing, and Excalibur and Penny quickly move into action, yanking the metal from his body, not caring what pain it caused him. The pair knew that they needed to help, even though he was as good as dead. They needed to make his last few moments at life okay.

Penny removes her jacket, and uses it to stem the flow of blood, while Excalibur clears away a few more bits of metal, allowing a safe area for them to work in. Satan's face was paling, as the blood continued to flow, only being stopped a bit by the cloth blocking its flow.

He chokes out a few words, as the blood begins to pour out of his mouth, trickling down his cheeks. "Why...why are you..you helping me".

Penny wipes the sweat off his head, her hair getting in with the blood, giving it a reddish colour. "Because this game has shown me that people others".

Tears were flowing down her face. Even though she did not know Satan well, if at all. She could hardly control her tears. Excalibur had wandered off, heading back to their supplies, trying to get some water, leaving Penny and Satan alone.

"But you are a Career". A bit more blood peers on his cheeks, and his eyes flutter open. "You should be killing me, taking this kill as your own". Satan lifts his arm, struggling and pulls Penny's head close to his. "Why...why are you helping me".

She breaths in, before whispering into his ear. "This game has wrecked me. I came into this arena, and gained a best friend". The tears kept flowing, murmering her words, but Satan could still understand. "But I had to see her die, I have to live with that. That I did not help her, that I let them kill her". She wipes a tear from her eye, leaning back, but Satan was hooked on her words. "She had to die for me, and I am not going to let anyone else die, on their own, without someone to support them".

A smile appeared on his face, as he realized he was not the only one rebelling in this arena. He closed his eyes for the last time, leaning back, still breathing, muttering a few words. "Thank you so much, win this game, show the world that people care". BOOM.

Penny hung their for a moment, still holding Satan's body, before noticing Excalibur was standing beside her. "You were talking about Kez werent you".

Penny nodded. "I felt he needed something to distract him from the pain...". She drops his body, and stands up. Shaking off her tears. "We should probably get going, I doubt the Careers will be happy we both survived unscathed".

Excalibur places his arm around her, squeezing her tight. "Penny, Kezaiah is happy. And now Satan is too, the winner of these games was never meant to be one of the revived tributes. I bet if it came to it, any of them would give their lives to save someone who still has a family". They begin to walk away, heading back to their supplies. "We have no one, but you gave both Satan and Kez someone to care for, you made them returning a good thing, and Satan is right". Penny looks at him, realizing he must have overheard Satan's final words. "You can give the people a hero, show them that these games do not have to just be about murder, you can change everything". The pair reach their supplies, and pack up. Heading up towards the mountain, wanting to leave this place behind.

"I hope you are right, but there are still 10 others left in this game". She turns back, watching as Satan's body is lifted slowly by the hovercraft, a small trickle of blood still flowing from his gash, that had ruined his body. "And none of them are gonna lie down and let me win".

Their whole conversation had been in whispers, and as Penny walks away she hoped that the Gamemakers had not heard what Excalibur and Satan had said. There had been people who had shown that same thing before, and the Gamemakers had designed a whole game just to wipe them out. If they had heard what Excalibur had said, Excalibur may have cost her the game.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Saber splashed through the water, behind him a sleak blue seal darts through the ocean. Saber had gone out for a swim after being awoken by the explosion, just to be met by a pack of seals. Each was at least 4 metres in length, and dove through the ocean, sleak as could be. Saber had managed to kill 3 of them, but one was left, and with Saber's knife stuck in its fin, he had no choice but to run. Though Saber was at the disadvantage, he seemed to be able to outrun the seal, but a small rock stopped him in his tracks.

His toes smash into a rock, and he topples downwards. Sinking beneath the waves. He quickly manages to get back onto his feet, and keeps running. Pain surges up his leg, but he ignores it, as this brief delay had allowed the creature to get a step closer. Saber knew that he had an advantage, if he had been in the arena a few extra days, he would never be strong enough to put up this fight. The beach is now within his sights, and he knows that he will never make it. Seconds after, the seal sweeps around, smashing its head into Saber's legs.

The boy from 13 topples into the surf, disappearing beneath the sea, he finally gets a chance to look at his feet. Blood pours from a massive gash down the side of his foot, seeping into the salty water. The moment he sees it, the pain is amplified, and he watches in horror, as one of his toes hands on by a string of flesh. The salt burns as it creeps into the wound, but that is not even the worst thing. The seal comes swinging back around, its flesh rippling about as its skull strikes Saber's chest. He can hear the ribs shattering beneath the skin, and watches as the seal circles around, coming back for a second stab at the kill. Saber takes this chance, ignoring the pain, the bruising that was forming. And drags himself across the sand.

It was now shallow enough for him to crawl, but this seal was fast. His leg cripple, as the tail of the mutt crashes at them, sweeping him away, dunking him under the surface once again. But this was its last attack. Saber manages to drag himself shallow enough, and watches as the blue creature heads back out to the sea. But this did not leave Saber in a good position. He hung there, his foot mangled, bruises covering his body, shattered ribs. He hung there in limbo, slowly breathing, his body filled with pain. He could not do anything, but hang there and hope that no one would find him. One last breath, and he passes out, the water patting at his back, his body hanging there, fighting to stay alive.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Beauty pours the water over her head, allowing it to fall down, soaking over her body. She lowers her hands back into the water, sending fishes flying into the reeds. She finished washing up, before heading out. Beauty had a good nights sleep, having made a fire despite the risks, and it seemed it had payed off. She was ready to fight, so headed off towards the mountain, deciding it was best to just get away from the forest. After hearing the explosion this morning, she was assured the next place the Gamemakers would attack would be the forest, and knew she did not want to be in the middle of things.

All morning she made swift progress, continuing straight. She seemed to be alone, running into no muttations, or no other tributes. But she kept an arrow lodged in her bow just incase. As she moved she thought back to the cannon earlier. Since she entered the arena there had only been two deaths, Alodia and the one this morning. She could not help but hope it was one of the other new tributes in the arena, Shay, Saber or Quinberly. Knowing herself how powerful she felt with the extra energy she had, she knew that for others this must be the same. The only reason she had formed a bond with Alodia in the pre-game was so she could enter with her, and make sure she did not make it far.

She made quick progress, and began to head up hill quickly, but was still in the shadows of the trees. After a while, the trees fell behind, and she headed into the open. The sun was at its peak now, so she knew the risk of travelling in an open space, in the middle of the day, but decided to keep going up. Little did she know that there was somebody else heading down the exact same path.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny shakes his head. As he was moving, his mind pondered to the previous day. All he could really remember was the actual fall, and then a figure placing something in his mouth, before heading up the mountain. After that, he woke up, fully healed, with only a thought of the past few days in his head. He grabbed onto a rock, and pulled himself up. With his body healed, he was making his way up the mountain, keeping to a safe path, making sure he never ventured onto any cliffs.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">After about an hour of moving up, without any breaks, Kenny hears a scuffle from up ahead. He darts behind a rock, peering out to see what was causing the disturbance. The moment he looks out, his eyes lock on the face of Piper who was struggling with a rock, that had fallen, trapping her rucksack, and the whole incident with the medicine comes flooding back.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Without even thinking, Kenny steps out from the rock, confronting the girl. “You saved me, you saved my life”. Penny seems startled, taking a few steps back. "Why did you do that, why would you save me in a game where we are supposed to kill eachother".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Penny hesitantly regains her composure, realizing Kenny meant no harm to her. "I saw the medicine...and just...decided to, no other reason".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"That cannot be it. No one in these games just decides to help someone else" Kenny retorts.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"Well I did". Penny finally manages to remove her backpack, and swings it onto her back. "So, are we gonna fight or something".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny thinks for a second, before shaking his head. "No, I'm not gonna kill the person who just saved me, at least not when they still havent answered my question. Why did you save me".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Piper laughs, and rests onto the rock. "If we arent gonna fight, we may as well sit down". She pats on the rock beside her, and Kenny joins her. "So, you're Satan right?".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"No, I'm Kenny, Satan is the other 10 male left". After he had responded, something flitted into his head. "Wait, you didnt even know my name, yet you still saved me".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"Knowing their name is not compulsary for trying to save someones life". Penny takes a swig from her flask, offering it to Kenny. "You gonna wish me a happy birthday, 114 today".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny stares at her, unsure how to respond. "Happy birthday I guess..." he finally chokes out.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The pair continue to talk, at first it being kinda awkward. Large silences, but the longer they are in conversation with eachother, the more it seems to flow, but finally they come back to the question that had started it all.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"Piper, you still havent told me why you saved me". He wipes his hair out of his eyes, staring at Piper, knowing that this time he was going to get the answer.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">She hesitates for a moment, staring down at her feet, moving them around in the mud. "Well...the problem is, you dont realize how hard it is for me to be here. My first games were 100 years ago, everyone I know is dead, everything I love his dead, even District 12 is not going to be the same". Her eyes seem all dark, and cold, but she quickly shakes it off. "Well, yeh. Tell me about your home, your family. As payback, for the whole saving your life thing".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny laughs a bit, but it changes to confusion. "Wait, all you want is for me to do is tell you about my home...are you being serious".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"Yeh, I just need for my mind to be cemented. For my decision to be plausible". Piper smiles, as she says these words.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"Wait, what decision". Kenny asks the question, but Piper cuts him in the middle.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Piper shakes her head, waving her hands in the air. "That really does not matter in the slightest, please, tell me about your family, your home, your friends, anything, please...".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny nods, thinking for a moment before responding "...well...I live in District 10, my family has a small farm outside the main city. Its just me, my mum, my dad and my two sisters. Its a nice life, hard at times. We manage a pretty big flock of animals, means early mornings, late nights...but its really worth it for the benefits".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">"What are they called, your family, their names". Penny places her chin on her fist, smiling away, mesmorised by what Kenny was saying.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny, still kinda confused answers. "Well my dad is called Harold, he is a nice guy, really strict though. He spoils my sisters more than you can think, and treats me with an iron fist, but I still love him. Then theres my mum, she...she has cancer. Its not that bad, its slow growing, but I volunteered...if I win, I could probably get medicine to save her, oh and she is called Melody, originally from District 4".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Piper nodded, and the looks in her eyes made it clear she had made up her mind. "Kenny...the reason I saved you was...I have nothing to live for...and I want someone to win who has a reason, something to fight for...and you have a family, who you love...I will do anything to help you win this game...even if it means killing myself".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Kenny stares at Piper, caught by surprise at her sudden confession. "You being serious...you would kill yourself just to see my win...you have to be fucking mad".

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">She shakes her head, laughing. "Maybe a bit, but I would go to District 12, and live in a house by myself for years, no family, no friends. Even District 12 would hate me, I killed both their tributes from this year...and the sad thing is, I dont even know their names". Tears began to roll down her cheeks, as Kenny lept up, moving over to comfort her. "I killed two girls, who had families cheering for them, without even learning their names...and why...what did I gain from it, a slightly higher betting odds, a few extra days of life...and chance to see my best friend die...it wasnt worth it". She turns around a bit, looking directly into the eyes of Kenny. "I need to do something to cleanse my soul, and saving you would do it".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Shay screamed in her sleep. Rolling over, her body shaking. The flames burning in her head, tormenting her every move. She shook in horror, her dreams tearing her apart. But all she saw was the same figure, a figure in the flames, that danced around it, mesmorising the eyes of the watcher. The screams of the figure lost in the sounds of the fire. All of this in the head a girl, a girl from the Capitol. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, as she shook in a ball, trying to work it out. Trying to understand why this was in her head, what it meant to her.

The camera hung on her body, despite the fact all it was doing was showing was a girl, her mind being destroyed by the games piece by piece, trying to find something to grab hold of, to drag her back to reality. And it came in the form of an onslaught of rain, shooting down from the heaven, each droplet like a bullet being fired down into her skin. The pain screeched through, and she woke up, darting for a nearby cave to shelter her.

Once she reached it welcoming embrace, she rested. Her arms wrapped around her knees, as she shook back and forward. Her dark hair soaked, sticking to her skin. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the face of the girl, and despite knowing it was not someone she knew, it had familiarities she could not shake. The golden eyes, the soft pale skin, the dark hair. Something about it...reminded her of herself. When she was a child. Her eyes remained open for the as long as she could force them to, and even when they flashed shut, it was for only a moment, only to be widened again, to look out on the forest that was being destroyed by the rain. And as she sat their, a girl trying to hold onto her sanity, she muttered the same words, over and over, driving it into the minds of all watching.

"Its in my head, its all in my head"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The demon from 2 rested in her cave, staring out at the arena. The rain pouring over every inch of it. Matilda had not been caught in it, but had been awoken by its loud patter. But the moment she saw it, she could not help but wonder why it was raining. She knew the Gamemakers always made the weather sunny, unless to fix some problem, but this rain would just force people into caves, it would hault the drama. Nothing would happen. She thought back to a few days ago, when she had been attacked by the blue mutt. It had been some sort of water based creature, could mutts be the reason for this sudden change in weather.

After hovering at the mouth of the cave for a while, she headed back. The previous night she had no explored the cave, but on better inspection she noticed its size. It trailed back for quite a while, seeming to head downwards. She thought of heading back for a moment, but remembered a games a few years back, when a girl had been killed by some sort of bat creature deep in a cave, and instantly changed her mind.

Being slightly scared by what could come out of that passage, she decided to head out, and find another cave to shelter in. Though it stung at first, Matilda got used to the pain, and headed downwards, not feeling safe heading further up, with the rain causing the normally solid ground, to turn into a sort of mud slide, so she scrambled on her hands and knees down to a cave she had passed the day before. It was only about a 10 minute walk, extended by the face she had slipped right past it, coating her in mud from head to toe, but giving her a slight thrill. Once she finally got into the cave, she stripped to her basics, and found a small spring that flowed through the cave, using it to wipe off most of the mud from her body, and her clothes.

As soon as the basics were done, Matilda turned her thoughts back the game. She had no fears about anyone left, but knew it would not be an easy win. There were too many twists being thrown at them to class the tributes in any order. The situation with Aquamarine and Kezaiah had shown that. If anyone had seen the games up until then, Kezaiah and Aqua would have been probably their top guesses to win, but in one quick hour, both were dead. This scared Matilda more than any tribute left. With only 2 other real Careers left, and one other from 4 Matilda was looking like a serious threat. She had no other females to hide behind, and she needed to prove her being here was not a fluke.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Axl and Kronos had formed a make-shift shelter out of branches and a few rocks on the edge of the beach. It didnt protect them from getting wet, but kept the direct drops from striking their skin. It was a close confine in the area, and neither of them had managed to grab their clothes as they ran to the beach line, so were cowering their in just their underpants. Not knowing what to say, they just hang there, looking at eachother.

Kronos makes the first move, placing his hand on Axl's arm. Slowly moving it up, onto his shoulder. Axl moves in, his arm on Kronos' leg, as their lips plant on eachothers. With the background of the melody of the rain, the moment seems to last for ages. But it doesnt, Kronos quickly withdraws. Horror on his face. He wipes his lips, and stands up, heading out into the rain. Not even saying a word to Axl, who watches as he heads onto the beach.

The rain strikes his body, streaming down his face, as he stands in the middle of the beach, the sun setting behind him. He can see Axl remaining in the shelter, just staring at him. Neither of the guys no what to do, unsure how it happened. Kronos shakes his head once more, and walks out of sight. The camera follows him, seeing him walk over to their supplies. He grabs his own, and continues down the beach, heading away from Axl.

Axl dashes out, just in time to see him go. "So thats it, one moment and our alliance is over". He yells after Kronos, trying to get his attention.

And he gets a responce, but not the one he wanted. "Yep, its over. Be lucky I'm not killing you here and now, but if I see you again is over. Your life is done".

The two lock eye contact for a few more moments, before Kronos heads into the forest. Heading off, on his own for the first time in the games. Axl waits for a moment, letting the words sink in. The camera struggled to see if the droplets rolling down her cheeks were tears, or the rain. He walks over to their supplies, and grabs his own stuff. Unsure what he was going to do now, he just hangs there in limbo. He had gone from being a strong threat, to a guy on his own, with someone in the arena seeking his blood. And he didnt know how to cope.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Quinberly rested at the edge of her cave. She had been further back, but upon hearing the beginning of the anthem had moved out. She heard the final beat play, and stared up, watching the face of Satan appear for a moment, before fading out. Nothing surprising. Quinberly had hoped the cannon that had sounded earlier had belonged to Matilda, Shay or Beauty, but she would settle for another revived tribute. She was about to head back to where she had been earlier, when something collides with her back, attracting her attention.

She turns to see a small package sitting on the stone. She drags it inside, and uses a small stone to slice throught the tape. The moment she opens it, a smile pours onto her face. Inside the large box there was a vile filled with a golden liquid she recognised for being apple cider from District 11, a flask filled with warm clam soup from District 4, and a smooth chocolate pudding from the Capitol, all stuff she had enjoyed while in the Capitol. She smiles, as she pours this stuff out around her. At the bottom there are some other small things, another flask for water, a bit of rope to help her trap food and a knife. She knew that she was popular, since she had won the vote to be revived, but had no clue this popular.

As she chows down into the pudding and cider, keeping the soup for later, she wonders how much the meal will have cost. It would not have been cheap to send one of these things, but to send 3 good sized meals, and a bunch of smaller things, it must have cost thousands. Her mind drifted to wonder if anyone else had gotten sponsor gifts as big as this, or bigger. Food was decently expensive, but medicine, weapons and water all cost more. This feast would probably be only equal to a trident at this point in the game. Or some strong medicine. Or a flask of water, it was always the hardest thing to send.

If she had been a Capitol citizen she thought, her money would probably go to Shay to support the home team, or Matilda. Careers always drew a lot of attention. Once she grew full, having had about a third of the pudding, and most of the cider, she crawled into a corner, putting the remaining food in her rucksack. The chill spread through the cave, and she began to wish she had been sent a blanket, but as she drifted, using the warmth of the soup to keep the chill of, she knew she couldnt have everything.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra smiles. The rain was great for her, being from 4 water, any kind of water, suiter he perfectly. She could not even feel the pain on her back, as the water struck her skin. She took this time to move through the arena, in the dead of night, when most people would be asleep, or hidden away in a cave, or under a tree, trying to get protection. Cass was amazed by what she saw, around her the forest seemed to come to life with the rain, before the forest had been just a forest, bushes and trees, a lack of colours other than browns and greens, but now flowers were popping up, birds were soaring.

Cass knew this must have been the point of placing the rain, it gave lifeto a whole wide variety of life that none of the tributes had seen, and probably a shed load of new muttations. The flowers were all different colours, reds, yellows, blues, but Cass made sure to stay away from them. Sure that they would probably either eat her, or poison her, or some other wacky way the Gamemakers had found to kill her.

She kept moving as the day ended, and knew she was not gonna stop. A fear had built of the forest, and Cass had developed a new plan. She had not exploded much of the arena, so she wanted to keep going to a part no one in the games had seen yet, where the trees were taller, and mutts were much more vicious.

Day 10
Kronos had not had a great nights sleep. After seperating from Axl, he instantly regretted it. He had lived in the moment, and that had cost him. About 10 minutes afterwards, he had headed back to the beach, to try and find Axl, but he had already gone. No tears fell down his cheeks now, but they had all night. He had made the worst decision in the games, and he knew it. He gets to his feet, dragging a hefty hammer behind him. He had recieve it as a sponsor gift the night before, but coul hardly care.

The rain had died off a bit, it was still going, but it no longer felt like someone was stabbing you as you moved. He ran into a few obstacles as he moved, a stag mutt that tried to ram him with its horns, but Kronos swiftly avoided, before using its horns to get it trapped in amoungst a bunch of trees. He felt bad smashing it over the head, but did it anyways. The next one was when he was resting, he had been sitting their, recouperating, but as he got up he realize the moss on the rock had formed a sort of glue, and was infecting his skin. He did struggle with this one, having to leave his trousers behind, but once get got off, a new pair floated from the skies.

After all this drama, he rested again, only Axl on his mind. The last words he had said haunted him, he had told Axl if he ever saw him he would aim to kill. He knew it had been in the rush of the moment, he had not meant a single one. From the moment he allied with Axl, he knew he would never kill him, it was not his game plan. But now Axl would be avoiding him, and the chance that they ever reunite was gone. Kronos then begn to think about the game he had been playing, had he been relying on survival too much. His plan to come out of the game with no blood on his hands was still where he was planning on going, but was that stupid. Kronos raised to his feet, his situation causing him to completely change his game play. He was alone now, if he came face to face with someone he would need to kill them. He was no longer going anywhere with his morals in tact, he was going to play vicious and cruel, he was going to kill.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenny and Piper had decided that it would be best for them too stick together, and after spending the night in a cave, taking shifts to watch for anyone, both were ready to head out now. The rain had caused the side of the mountain to turn into mud slides, so neither of them fancied heading further up, incase their was a larger slide that took them both down, so headed down the hill, towards the ruined Cornucopia. It had not been fixed, but a lot of the smaller chunks had been removed, leading a half exploded Cornucopia, and about 5 or 6 chunks of metal lying about.

Both of them knew it would now be considered one of the safest areas in the arena, and that it still offered safety and security, due to the shelter over the heads. They help eachother move, making sure neither of them tumble, before reaching a spot that they both recognised. The moment they walked into the area, avoiding the massive wall that Kenny had fallen off, tears appear in his eyes.

He links hands with Piper before muttering something. "So this is where I almost died...". He turns to look into her eyes. "Are you still sure you dont want something else from me, I mean I'm in so much debt to you".

Piper smiles, but shakes her head. "No, you have done enough, we need to now focus on getting rid of everyone else, and dont mention this again...its obviously too hard for you to remember, lets just put it in the past, and focus on the actual game".

Kenny nods, and continues down the mountain. They quickly make it to the remains of the Cornucopia, and set up camp. The mutilated metal offers great hiding spots, so they quickly check some of the darker spots for any tributes, or surprises left by the Capitol, but once they see its clear they set up camp right at the back. They were concealed in 3 directions, with the third being mostly hidden by a lump of metal, but despite this they decide to keep a watch schedule. Piper rests her head down, having only gotten about 2 hours sleep the previous night, while Kenny hovers on a rock, staring out, waiting for an attack.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Quinberly waves her arms, yawning as she gets up. About 2 minutes after she rises though, she is off. Her backpack filled with all the supplies she got the previous day, minus the chocolate pudding which she quickly finishes this morning, not wanting to heave it about. She decides, unlike most, to keep going up the mountain, which quickly proves was a stupid decision. She reaches a small path, that leads round a cliff, and idiotically decides to take it.

She edges along, keeping close to the cliff. After making it about half way across, a problem strikes. The ground weakened by the rain crumbles, and drops down. The shock causes her to scream, and she just manages to grab the edge of a rock, keeping her standing, but her rucksack snaps off her back, and flies downwards. Taking all her supplies down with it, smashing into the ground below. Quinberly waits for a moment, her breathing heavy, as she tries to recover. Clambering back onto the path, and making it the rest of the way across decently quickly.

But this was not her main problem, literally the moment she lands on solid ground, crawling, before flopping onto the ground, her heart still pumping. A figure appears out of its cave, and without even thinking launches a series of 3 knives at Quinberly's body. BOOM. Matilda walks over to her body, removing the three knives from her head and chest. She does not even give the dead body of Quinberly a glance, as she heads off down into the forest. Blood pouring from the wound, a girl just revived. Taken from the world again. Quinberly's body is quickly removed by a hovercraft, it struggles to get her body, first knocking it over the edge of the cliff before finally being able to take it out. Putting a comedic spin on the sick situation, of a girl dying within a few seconds.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Saber downs the final of his 3 pills, and groans to his feet. The previous day he had recieved a sponsor gift for his wounds, one for bones, and one for the infections, before a final one to give him that extra boost, and with them finished, he knew he had to move. Early this morning he had seen Axl walk past his cave, but had been unfit to take off after him, so had slept a bit more, but now he knew this was his chance to catch up with the boy from 6, and get his first kill in the games.

He jogged through the forest, heading in the general direction that Axl had headed, and quickly finds what he was looking for. He darts behind a tree, preparing himself as out in the clearing ahead of him, Axl sat beside a pond, wiping the sand off of his body, that had been stuck their by the rain last night. Saber waits for a moment, getting the perfect point to ambush him, and as Axl bends over to get another scoop of water, Saber darts out. Swinging his sword over his head, and running forward to the awaiting back of Axl, who still had no clue what was happening. He brings it swinging down, and it collides with force.

Axl spins around, and stares across at Saber, who had been shoved back by a hulking figure, the same figure who had deflected the shot of Saber using his hammer. Kronos stands tall beside Axl, not looking at him, more focused on Saber. He swings his hammer at the guy, who ducks, using this time to dash away. Kronos finishes the swing, which smashes the tree, before spinning around to face Axl.

"You...you saved me". Axl stutters his words, still unsure what happened, no clue how they got from him washing his clothes, to his former ally chasing away the guy who was about to kill him.

Kronos does not answer, but takes a few steps forward, grabbing Axl in a hug. "How could you be such an idiot". He mutters into Axl's ears. "You almost died".

"Yeah, and you saved me". Axl pushes away Kronos. "What happened to you killing me if you ever saw me again". Even though Axl did not look that scared, he kept his hand on his knife that lay in his pocket just incase.

"Well...I thought about it, and since I have saved you so many times in this game, I didnt want them to have been a waste". A smile is on his face, but Axl's is still blank. "Come on, lighten up. I'm not gonna kill you, what I said on the beach...well, you know why I said it".

Axl nods, not wanting to admit that he would have probably said the same things if Kronos had not said it first. "But still you broke our alliance, you can't just come out of no where and demand it starts up again". Kronos looks down, unsure what to say. "Kronos, I am sorry but it just can't work li-".

Kronos does the one thing that he can think of, and grabs Axl, dragging him into a kiss. At first Axl pushes away, but he quickly softens, putting his arms on the back of Kronos. The pair stand their for a minute, and when they finally seperate Axl has a sort of giddy smile on his face. He stares up into Kronos' eyes, and they continue standing, just looking.

"Well then...my point still stands". Axl shakes off his face, and pushes away again. "This is a game, we cant both win. If we ally now things will just get complicated, and stupid".

"Axl, chances are neither of us are gonna win, but we can still work together now. Wouldnt you rather I won that someone you have no relation with". Kronos puts his hands on Axl's arms, looking deep into his eyes. "As I for sure know I would rather know you won if I couldn't".

Kronos' words seem to have some effect on Axl, as he is speechless for a moment, but he does compose himself. "Okay then, but you have to promise me this is till the end. Not till final 3, not till final 4, the end. Final 2".

The beheamouth from 3 instantly nods, a smile on his face. "Thanks Axl, I promise you I won't leave you again, I know how it feels to do that now".

The pair stand awkwardly for a moment, not really sure what to say or do, but Axl decides to just carry on what he was doing. He instructs Kronos to watch as he dives back in the pool, getting the last bit of dirt off, and just when Kronos was not looking, he allows tears to flow down his cheek, tears of joy, not pain.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Saber crashes through the trees, not caring what he hits. It was not for the fact he was scared of Kronos, but more the fact he had come out of no where. Saber had been sure that it was an easy kill, and for that to all be completely dragged from beneath him...to say it was a shock is an understatement. He reaches a slope, but is too late to stop, so goes crashing down, tangling in the ferns, and bushes. He rolls down, getting completely lost as he turns and tumbles, before finally rolling to stop, at the base of the slope, facing down into the mud.

He decides just to lie for a moment, not bothering to move. He had realized that Kronos was not chasing after him quite quickly, but still wanted to put up a sizable distance between himself and the boy from 3. By the lack of a cannon he guessed that the two boys must have been allies. Finally he groans to his feet, shaking some ferns off of his body. He stares around, and doesnt recognise the area. Deciding that it was better to head forward than back towards the guys, he starts walking ahead, deciding to get a few hours of movement before resting for the night again. His sword swinging beside him, just incase something decides to attack.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra is awoken by a screeching pain dashing up her arm. She rolls on the ground, grabbing her arm, feeling her way up till she reaches the fangs of the snake. About two feet in length, it was coated in hundereds of tiny black scales, that shimmed on the setting sun. The only dash of colour on the beast were a pair of vicious eyes, a dark red colour, with black slits through the middle of them. The fangs were long, and a deep ivory colour. Cassandra made a quick movement, and slashed her knife quickly through the neck of the beast, sending a dark red blood pouring on the ground.She

Cassandra quickly backed up against a tree, the head of the snake still attached to her arm. She slowly plucks out the fangs one by one, and throws the head over beside the dead carcass. She stares down at her wound. Four large indents in her skin, each leaking a deep pussy green liquid. Cass hesitates for a second, just staring down, unsure what to do. Finally after waiting for a few minutes, she grabs her jacket that she had been using as a blanket, and tears off its sleeve. Wrapping it tightly around her arm, trying to stop the venom from moving out of her arm. She takes the body of the snake, and shoves it into a bush, not wanting to attrack any animals. But also not wanting to move her camp.

She spends a while staring at the wound, wiping the blood from her arm as it continues to pour out. Tears were streaming down her face, but she just ignores them, focusing more on her wound. Her breathing was quickly getting worse, more due to panic, but she watched as her veins became clearer, a putrid green colour. She knew that was not a good thing, but had no clue how to clear it, so just trusted her body to fight out the venom.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Beauty hovers the edge of the forest, unsure if she wanted to head up to the mountains. Her hand hovers over her bow, as if she could sense that she would need it soon. Her eyes flit up the mountainside, and she notices a rustle in the bushes, and stares at it, but it seems quiet. After about 2 more minutes of looking about, she takes a single step out into the light, and the first knife comes flying by her face, slamming into a tree trunk behind her.

Matilda leaps from the very bush that Beauty had seen move before, and throws another knife. Beauty rolls off to the side, and slams into a bush, avoiding the knife which lands in another tree. She fires back an arrow but misses Matilda by a long shot. Beauty tries to regain her footing, but the crash had damaged her ankle, so she swings around, with her back against the trunk, she loads a second arrow, and locks onto Matilda who was descending the mountain, darting behind rocks. Beauty launches 3 more arrows in succession, but each misses by a fraction, as Matilda continues to move forward.

Beauty begins to panick, as she realizes how close Matilda was getting, but the more panicked she got, the more her hands shook, and the further the arrows missed by. She reaches for another arrow, but finds her quiver empty and realizes how screwed she is. Matilda was hidden just behind a rock, about 20 metres away, expecting Beauty to fire another arrow. Beauty took this chance to move even with her ankle, and hobbled off, leaving her quiver behind, but taking the rest of her supplies.

She crashes from tree to tree, and the noise alerts Matilda to the move, who darts from behind the rock, and makes the final distance down the hill, standing where Beauty had been before. She stares around, trying to lock onto where Beauty was. The girl from 12 on the other hand cowered in a bush, trying to stay as silent as she could, knowing that she would probably not make it out of here alive.

"Come on girl, lets face it. You are not gonna live, why not just cut down on my troubles, and reveal yourself". Matilda stood, looking around, a knife in both hands. Silence responds, and Matilda shrugs her shoulders. "So we do it the old fashioned way, no problem".

She takes off into the forest, slashing each bush out of the way. The way she moved had a slight skip to her step, as she moved throughout the forest. Beauty's breathing rate shoots up, as she hears the bushes near her being sliced open. Matilda steps into view, her back to Beauty, as she looks through a few of them in the trees near Beauty. As she bends over, pearing beneath a few bushes, Beauty realizes this is her chance. She pushes up, trying to leap onto Matilda's back, but her ankle gives out, and she slams into the mud.

Matilda whirls around, and kicks out her foot, which slams into the side of Beauty's head, knocking her over onto her back. She stares up at the cruel face, which bends closer, the knives both pressed against Beauty's chest. "Well, arent you a pretty one". Beauty tries to speak, but Matilda places a knife on her lips, and slashes down, slicing her lips up. Causing blood to pour down her lips. "No, you dont speak".

The girl from 2 moves around, and kneels beside Beauty. She runs the knives through Beauty's golden hair, before slicing through clumps of it. Throwing it to the side. But this was not it, Matilda continues to torcher, and slash the girls body, mutilating her face, her head, and her chest. But Beauty just lies there, not even crying. Just continuing to stare upwards, at the sky. Her face covered in shimmering blood, that gets into her eyes. Causing her to close them tight, her hair almost completely gone, her breathing reduced to intermitent patters.

"Well...I am surprised how long you have survived". Matilda bends down, wiping the face of Beauty, clearing her eyes. "But I am really bored now". Matilda spins around, slamming the knife down in the face of Beauty, stopping her cold. BOOM. Matilda hovers about for a moment, before turning her back and walking into the forest, leaving one last word on the wind. "Pathetic".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Shay wraps her hair around her shoulders, trying to build up that other barrier between herself, and the crisp chilling air that fled around her. For the night she had stopped, and was resting on a thicker branch, with a clear look up at the sky. She had hardly been able to do anything all day, with her mind working away, focusing on the image of the flames. And with each time she let her eyes fall shut, she saw the same image, over and over, each time getting a little clearer, but as of yet nothing had formed reguarding a solid answer.

Her mind was caught off guard, as the anthem begins to play. Two cannons had sounded today, so Shay watches eagerly as the seal fades from sight, and the first image appears. A ginger faced girl, with the words District 8 printed beneath. Shay nods, obviously not surprised by Quinberly's face being in the sky for a second time. As it begins to fade, Shay gives a quick thought to the family of the girl, who now had seen her die twice. The next picture appears in the sky, and this time no curt nod is given by Shay to confirm her expectation.

Beauty's perfect golden hair, round sparkling eyes, and soft full face stare down at Shay, with the words District 12 printed below. Shay swings her legs down, as if not trusting her eyes with what she had seen. With Beauty and Quinberly now gone, despite having just entered the arena about 3 days ago, 4 of the 6 revived tributes were gone. She just continues to stare out, unsure how to react now that she knew her kind were dropping like flies.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Matilda cups a bit of water in her hand, and throws it on a small gash on her leg. She had tripped when scrambling down a small series of rocks in a river, but the wound had hardly fazed her. The blood had stopped flowing, so she wiped off some dried blood, before rolling her trousers back down. She let out a massive yawn, and decided to call it quits for the night. Using her bag as a pillow, she lay beside the river, in the cover of a few bushes, and drifted off to sleep, a smile on her face as she remembered the faces of both the girls she had killed today.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Excalibur and Penny cower in a cave, the rain cascading down outside. Both of them wrapped their arms around eachother, holding tight. The cave was not that large, only about 3 meters deep, and outside they could see the ground slipping away, forming a mud coat on the mountain. They were both soaked to the head, having just scurried into the cavern to hide from the downpour. Excalibur dragged his bag from beside him, and threw it open.

He removed a flask of water, and took a swig, before offering it to Penny. She shook her head, not looking up into his eyes. Excalibur stuffs it back in the bag, and clambers to his feet, walking to the edge of the cave, looking out at the arena. His eyes started over at the beach, and across to the far side of the forest. His hands wipe some rain from his face, and he turns back. Penny was lying across the floor, using the rucksack as a pillow, fast asleep. A small smile appears on his face, and he takes another step forward.

Out of no where, a bat swoops from the roof of the cave, flying close down beside Excalibur's head. He swats at it, taking a small step back to avoid it hitting his face, but his foot strikes the softened mud. Within seconds he is on his back, rolling down the hill, the mud allowing him to slide down, without any chance of escaping. His body swirls in a blur, and he crashes into a set of rocks, his back crashing. His eyes can see where he fell from, but on contact he had smashed his head, meaning he drited into a dark sleep seconds later. High above him, still fast asleep in the cave, Penny slept, none the wiser about her ally lying hidden in a mixture of bushes and rocks, hidden from her sight, no chance of waking for now.

Day 11
The soft landscape is brushed by the rising sun, and the sky is quickly surged by an orray of hovercrafts. 8 in total, each spanning out to different areas of the arena. Two zoom side by side, heading to the mountain, to where the screams of Penny could be heard, yelling for her ally he had gone missing since she had slept. She stares up, as the two crafts hover above for a few seconds, before dropping down figures in white uniforms, covering all their skin, making them unidentifiable. Penny takes a few steps back, hitting a rock, watching as three land near her, another three just down the hill.

They were carrying large black briefcases, and were moving in a mannered fashion. They walked over to Penny, without saying a word, and started to look her over. Grabbing her arms, looking under them, flashing lights in her eyes. The girl from 1 hardly knew what to think, and just let them check over. One of them clicked open a case, removing a thin needle, and without even asking her, shoved it into the leg of Penny.

Pain seared up her leg, and she crumpled, being caught by the other two figures, slowly being placed on her back. Without any notice, they got up, and walked back to the ladder that they had been lowered from, climbing up. Penny stares at them, watching as the hovercraft soars off, unsure what just happened.

Her hands push her up, and the moment she sits up, a feeling she has not felt in days swells over her body. Pure health. There were no aches, no pains streaking through her body. It was as if the past 10 days in the arena had not even happened, she felt full, her throat was not dry. Her eyes werent strained, and her brain was not panicked. She felt completely fine. A smile made its way onto her face, the first one since she had been reaped. But it was quickly blocked out, as the thought of the other group of men surfaced to her mind. She lept to her feet, and stared over, where the 3 other men were still working away, and below them she could see the figure of Excalibur, still unconcious, but alive.

Relief swelled, and it was only then that she noticed that one of the white men had left their briefcase. She rested down beside it, and clicked open a small brash switch. The insides were lined with a black velvet, and just for a second Penny allowed herself to run her fingers up and down it, her eyes closed. The texture reminded her of her home, gave her the idea that she was still in District 1. But that was for just a moment, the realisation of the games came flooding back. And she noticed that there was only one thing inside the case. A small white tube.

She extracted it, and opened one of the ends, allowing a piece of silver paper to flow out, with a proud 1 emblazened on a seal, which she promptly broke. Revealing a small paragraph, written in cursive writing.

Dear Penny Dawson-Tishler,

''We must congratulate you on making the final 10 in this vicious game. Over 90 other tributes have met their demise, and you are one of the elite, competing with 4 other tributes from this time, and 5 from the past. As you must know, before entering the arena you performed for an audience of Gamemakers, to recieve a score that reflected your talent. You recieved a 7. All tributes, bar Shay Cobblestone and Saber Falchion, also recieved a score. We, the Gamemakers, feel that the games have shown not all our scores were accurate, and shall be holding a second scoring. You will be judged on not only what you show in this session, but the games as a whole. The two lowest scorers will be placed in a 1 on 1 fight, which one shall be named victorious. You have been given an injection to heal you to your former health, to make it equal. You must make your way to where the Cornucopia formerly resided, and wait for your name to be called. We must caution you, as currently the half of the score based on the games so far is not as high as others. You are at risk of being in the bottom two, but are not in the bottom two. A current standing is printed on the back, for your leisure to read.''

Yours sincerely,


 * The Gamemakers

Penny quickly flipped over the paper, revealing a small colour coded table, stating the tributes name, district, their last training score, and the score they had recieved for the games so far. Penny's eyes scanned the list, jumping to her name first, sitting in 7th, before flying to Excaliburs, up at 2nd. She smiled, walking over to where Excalibur was now sitting, in a dazed fashion.

"Hey, Excalibur". He turns around, looking for where the voice had come from. "We need to go down to the Cornucopia".

Excalibur hesitates for a moment, trying to focus his eyes on Penny's face. "But wasnt that...wasnt that destroyed yesterday, I thought we were there".

Penny nods, pulling Excalibur to his feet, before walking to where another brief case stood, for Excalibur. She pulls out his note, handing it to him. "Read this, it will explain on". There was a silence for a moment, while Excalibur read the small note, turning it over, before looking back up at Penny. She takes it from him, reading the front. "Lucky you, yours says you are doing well in the games so far, and probably will not be in trouble".

"Why, what did yours say". Excalibur waits a second, allowing Penny to pull her slip out of her pocket, before handing it to Excalibur. "This doesnt make sense, we have played the exact same game".

Penny nods, as the same thought had made it into her head. "I guess that is why I have a low score, the Gamemakers will think I have been hitching onto you, allowing you to get me this far".

"Oh...". There was a small awkward silence, as the two stared at eachother, finally to be broken by Excalibur. "At least you are not last, there are three people below you. If everyone gets the same score as last time you will be safe".

"Yeah, but still, there is a good chance I wont, and even if that happens. That leaves me 1 point ahead of Kenny. He got a good training score last time, I bet he will do better".

Excalibur quickly shakes his head, as if refusing to listen. "I dont want to hear you doubt yourself, Penny..". He grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "You are a strong tribute, even if you are in the bottom 2 there is a 1 on 1 fight, you are a Career, a born fighter. Believe in yourself".

Despite the words, no hope crept into Penny's eyes, the way she had felt 5 minutes prior had already gone, and she felt the same as she had been feeling for the past few days. "Whatever...we should probably head down...District 1 will probably first, give us a chance to practise". Her eyes were locked on her feet, but her tone of voice changed. "Anyways, would be nice to see you beat Matilda. Get that first place".

Excalibur let out a smile, wrapping his arm around Penny as they began to make their way down the mountain. "I dont care about that, all I care about is both of us getting through today".

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Matilda emerged from the forest, staring out at a polished glass building, taking up most of the clearing where the Cornucopia used to stand. There was no entrance on the side that she faced, so she began to walk around. A cluster of about 5 people appeared as she turned the 2nd corner, Excalibur and Penny sitting on a bench, chatting in the silence, beside them Kenny and Piper hovered, not really chatting. Leaving Shay to rest on her own, her eyes in her hands, her hair flowing down her back.

Matilda walks forward, resting herself on a bench away from the rest. Her eyes stared at a small steel plated door, which seemed like the only entrance to the building that had grown from the ground over the night, completely unatural, standing out like a sore thumb in the wooded arena.

The girl from 2 looked around, and her eyes locked with Excalibur's, just for a second. Before his flitted back to his last remaining district partner. There was a smile streaked across Matilda's face as she turned away, putting her back towards her former allies. She knew that it was going to be either Excalibur or herself to get the highest score, but hope was all hers. There was still a large lump on the side of Excalibur's head, that the injection had been unable to heal. Matilda knew that when push comes to shove, that bump could cause disasters for the boy from 1, and could easily send him out of the games, again.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The crystal structure shot the rays of the rising sun into the eyes of Cassandra, as she walked into the clearing. The benches were now full, for all but her. And she takes her place hesitantly. The last seat, right beside where Kronos and Axl were laughing, despite the tense atmosphere that surrounded them. Her eyes analysed every detail of the surroundings, including the people. She could see more looked okay, all but Axl, who had a sickly shade to his skin, and deep caverened out eyes, looking almost like hollow shells.

A slight bit of sympathy crept onto her face, as she grasped her arm. The injection this morning had come at a great time, the venom had been coarsing its way round her body, and beneath the tightly wound bandage was the remnants, that hadnt been healed. Deep scars, gaping holes in the skin, sores that were glistening red. Each one stinged as anything touched it, but at least it had been an improvement on the green seeping puss, mixing with the red blood pouring from her wounds, but also her mouth, ears and eyes. Minutes from death she had been, but a quick bath had hidden her pain from the other contestants, and to the others in the clearing, she looked perfectly healthy, and ready to fight for her life.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The pair of doors slide open, revealing a pair of Peacekeepers standing behind them. They step out, revealing a much smaller man, who was hidden behind their looming physiques. He hobbles out, using a golden gleaming staff to stay upright. With a slight cough and splutter, he chokes out a few words, before turning on his heels.

His low voice, matched with the sound of nature behind them, was drowned out, and one of the Peacekeepers repeats what he says, but in a slightly louder tone. "It will go in order of districts, starting with Excalibur Rose".

Excalibur and Penny share a quick look, before Excalibur stands up, walking over to the door, and disappearing as it slides shut. His eyes are blinded by white piercing light, and Excalibur slowly walks into the centre of the room. Around him there are all the stations that he remembered from back in the Capitol. Unsure what he was to do, he waits in horror, as his eyes adjust, and he finally focuses on a table of men, standing maybe 10 metres from him.

"Begin". One echoing voice reverberates around the room, and Excalibur instantly gets to work. "You have 5 minutes to impress us".

He grabs a long thin sword from a rack, and walks over to the line of dummies. Swinging the sword around him. Slashing them down the chest, beheading them. He tries to move as fast as possible, not making any mistakes, but as he spins to stab one behind him, his leg slips. He crashes to the ground, the sword skidding away from his reach. Hesitating, he hangs on the ground for a moment. Breathing heavily, behind him there is a series of mutters from the Gamemakers, as they point at him.

Excalibur waits, not wanting to get up, but as he heards the clock behind him tick away, he knows he has to redeem himself, and after catching his breath, pushes himself to his feet. He retrieves the sword, but knows he has to do something impressive to even have any chance of getting a score even slightly good. He stares at the two remaining dummies, and takes about 10 steps back, taking a small detour to replace his longer sword, with two slightly shorter, and sharper blades. Each with a golden handle. After taking his place, calmly breathing, and focusing his eyes he prepares for the last few moments of safety, before raising them both above his head.

They fly out of his hands, soaring through the air, the lights above them glittering off of the smooth silver blades, shining as they soar across the room, increasing it speed. A smile creeps onto the face of Excalibur as the blades get closer to the dummies, just to slide off as they pass them, a good distance away, crashing into the wall, shattering, sending pieces of shrapnel around the room. A look of horror emerges onto Excalibur's face, as two hands place down on his shoulders, signaling his time was up. He was lead slowly out by a seperate door to which he had entered, being shoved through the opening, hearing the murmers of distaste slide into silence as it shuts, sealing his hopes of getting the highest scores to a wild fantasy.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Penny stumbles as she enters through the door, her arms wrapped around her chest. She knew that this moment could save her or end her time in the game. Swiftly she walks into the centre of the hall, and upon the Gamemakers commanding her to begin, she stares around. Unlike her last remaining district partner, she hesitates for a moment, unsure where to go. After a minute of swaying back and forward, her eyes flitting around, she walks over to a rack of knives, differing in length of blade, thickness and colour, sharpness. In front of her there were more knives than Penny could count, but she quickly selected a medium length black and silver knife, possibly the most basic knife there. A carbon copy of the one that she had been using throughout the whole game.

She makes her way to a small protected arena, beckoning over two of the protected guards to go to combat with her. Once she sizes up her opponents, despite the fact by this time half of her time had been wasted. Her first move is quick, despite her initial doubts she reminds herself that the men are defended by the white suits they wear, and she rolls across the floor. Slashing at the legs of one of the guys, just missing. One of them tries to get his foot on her chest, but she uses to momentum to force him over, before slicing the knife down his back. The second guy gets in a bit close for comfort, and Penny instantly reacts, elbowing him in the chest, before smashing him in the nose with the blunt end of the knife. The third guard throws himself into the mix, leaping on top of the petite girl, wrestling the knife out of her hand, just to recieve a fist to the face.

He is thrown backwards, and quickly begins to run, but Penny does not waste a second, now firmly in the zone she scrambles for the dropped knife. Seconds to aim, she launches the knife, watching it collide with his back, sending him face front to the ground. But seconds later she realizes this was a mistake, the man she had smashed in the nose got up, wrapping his arm around her neck, holding it tight. Panic quickly filled Penny, flashbacks to being back in 1 filled her head, as she did the only thing that came to her. Smashing her foot into his crotch, causing her to be released.

Catching her breath, she backs away. Hoping that this was enough, but as the guy overcomes the pain she sees his size, and with her being weaponless, despite the safe situation, she fears for her life, more than she had ever felt in the arena. Embracing the situation, she charges forwards, yelling out. Knowing this plan would end in failure, but her heart knew she could not run. But she was safed, there was a small sigh of relief, as the hands she feels on her back hold her from the charge, escorting her to a slight rest, in this hectic mad game. And with one last look at the two men lying on the floor, the other just staring at her relentlessly, she entered the room to join Excalibur, in the wait to see if it had been enough.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The doors slide open, and Matilda strides confidently into the hall, shaking her hair down from a bun as she makes her way towards the same station where Penny had just been. Grabbing a handful of knives from a rack, without even having a look at the guys all staring at her. She strides over to the firing range, usually used for bow and arrows, but doesnt hesitate to take a try. Within a minute of her time, three of her three knives thrown had come in contact with figures, each making a fatal blow, one hitting the heart, the other two the head.

Matilda smiles, as when she takes a brief look over at the Gamemaker table, she sees smiles on all the faces. But despite this she knows she needs to do more. This had been exactly the same as what she had done in her first try, but with a bit more accuracy, and more knives. The drops the remaining knives, and bounds over to a thin wooden beam, used for balance training. Yanking herself up, she rests for a moment, knowing that this could be a risk. For a second she closes her eyes, trying to remember how she did this back in District 2. The competition, the stress, the precise movements.

A quick spin throws her into a handstand, quickly turning into a backflip, before she regained her footing. Gymnastics had been her childhood, and it was now proving more useful. She beckons for one of the assistants, and mutters a few words into his ears, and watches as he runs, grabbing 5 or 6 knives. He stands about 20 metres from Matilda, and begins to throw them.

Matilda smiles, performing a volley of tricks to avoid each blow. A small front flip to miss one slicing her leg. One set of splits to miss one beheading her there and then. Two flips in a row, before performing a quick finish, involving a double flip off the end, landing on her knees, due to a slight over balance. Despite this fault, there is a look of awe on all of the faces of each and every Gamemaker. She hid the slight scrape on her leg, by performing a curtsey, hiding the other leg behind hers, giving her time to wipe the blood off the wound, and roll her trousers down. The smile now on her face was of pure joy, she knew that she had put up a worthy fight, and would almost certainly claim the first place again.

The signal that ended her time went off, but no one seemed to care, no Peacekeepers came to take her away, no Gamemakers told her to leave, they just stared, smiled and muttered to themselves. Matilda waits a few more seconds, before getting slightly annoyed. "Where do I go...".

Finally two Peacekeepers step forward, still muttering about what they had just seen, each take hold of one of Matilda's arms, leading her slowly to the door. She pushes through herself, breaking free of their grips, and walks through the door. Breaking the calm situation that lay behind, pouring the tense air into the room as the pair from 1 stare at Matilda with distaste, muttering under their breath, but anyone could clearly see that Matilda did not care.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Peacekeepers step out of the door of the training area, walking over to Kronos and Axl. The pair share a quick look, before Kronos is escorted inside, the pair though do not lose eye contact until the doors close resoloutly in the face of the boy from 3. He just keeps facing the door for a moment, fearing turning around to see what he was to face. But in the end, he knows he must. Walking forward, avoiding the eyes of any of the Gamemakers, just obeying their comand to begin.

As the man from 3 moves, he seems sluggish, moving slowly. As if he is unsure why he is here, but moves towards a set of axes and maces. Knowing that heavier weapons are better suited to him. He moves through them one by one, showing his skills with axes, maces and clubs before turning back the Gamemakers. Upon realizing he still had about 2 minutes left, he stares around, and the station for rope climbing. Taking his time, he walks over, whistling under his breath. The station had ropes lying all over the table, each of different thicknesses, and lengths, but his eyes lie on the thing behind them. It was a thick rope, about the size of a normal person arms width, and hung from the roof, down to the floor, padding surrounding it.

He begins to set a goal, and walks round. Placing his arms solidly on the rope, closing his eyes and preparing his stunted breath. Slowly he hauls himself up, steadying himself before moving one of his hands further up, this continues on and on, as Kronos moves further and further up the rope, steadying himself every so often, but with the time on his back, he knows he has to keep churning on, while upping the pace.

When he was about half the way up, he cranes his neck, staring across the room at the clock behind the table, and sees only 30 seconds left on the clock he hurries up, moving his arms quicker, taking smaller strains, but making sure it was at a quicker pace. The ceiling almost mocks him as he stares up at it, trying to see how far it was. Closer and closer it gets, nearer to him, within touch. He reaches out his hands, covered in sweat, about 10 metres above the ground, a smile about to appear on his face, his hands slipping. All of a sudden he is tumbling through the air, toppling down towards the padded ground far below him.

Crashing down, his shoulders taking most of the blow, screams resonate around the room that he was standing in. The padding came into effect though, but it did not keep him completely safe. His arm ached as he rolled to his side, regaining his footing. Breathing heavily, cradling his arm as he was shoved out of the room, not even looking across at the table where the Gamemakers were deciding his fate in the game.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra smiles, as the guys move to the side, allowing her to walk in. She tugs her bandage down a bit, before walking through the door, into the training area. Trying to seem confident as she walked in, not letting her wound bother her. She smiles at the Gamemakers, shifting her hair out of her eyes, and waits in the middle of the room, before being commanded to begin. Knowing exactly what she was doing, having each step planned out in her head, each move and performence.

She began by heading towards the tridents, showing some basic skills. Throwing, close combat, anything that she could think of. Trying to keep it short and quick, not wanting to waste much time on this trivial thing that everyone knew, and assumed someone from District 4 would be a master at. Next she heads over to the nets, having not had time to flash her skills with this time, she makes sure to show a bit more drama with this, snagging weapons that she got thrown at her, catching the trainers, tripping them and making them doubt her. She spents about a minute doing this, before dropping the net, and walking away. She hoped that the Gamemakers had seen the minor slips that she had made, the mistakes that were not too serious, but serious enough to lower her score by a point or two.

At this stage in the game she knew that fighting skills mattered less and less, when there is only 10 people in the arena, you hardly ever meet with an opponent, so a lot of the survival at this time was based on surviving. She walks over to the fire making station, and rests down. She had less than 2 minutes remaining on the clock, but having spent so long in the arena she was confident in her skills at fire making, but hoped it did not fail her at this moment where it was so important.

She started with a skeleton, thin, brittle sticks forming a cone shape. Not that structured, but good enough for the time she had. Kindling beneath it, two stones. Smashing them together, over and over. Over and over. Her heart pumps, the clock ticking in the background. She just hoped that a spark appeared, and lit the clump of moss alight. And it did, a single spark flicked off, catching itself deep inside. She instantly bent down, having just checked the clock, seing only 20 seconds remaining, and begin to slowly breath, trying to spread the flame. It spread easily, taking control within seconds, and Cass just sat back. Watching the fire envelope the wood, and a smile enveloped her face.

So happy with what had happened, she got to her feet, and walked over to the door, despite not being escorted out by the Gamemakers. Confident with what she had shown, she knew that she would be safe, but maybe not the highest, but with only 10 left, she knew those with the top scores would be the ones who died in the fight. And she did not want that to be herself.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Axl confidently got to his feet, trying to put on a strong image, to hide the fear that struck his whole body. With him being solidly in last place, he knew he would have to pull off a miracle to avoid being placed in the duel of the weakest. But he also knew that his position gave him a slight advantage that no other person had here today. He could go no where but up.

After he had been commanded to start, he looked around the room. Last time he had not shown that much, sticking to very basic things, and he knew that right now there was not much more he could show them than what he had shown them last time. His heart was pumping rapidly, breathing heavily. He knew to begin with his signature weapon, the mace. Knowing that he could show skills maybe worthy of a 7 or 8 on this, but throughout his peformance he hesitated. Unsure what to do, his level of skill dropped through the show, missing a few easy shots, getting pulled off balance for a few moments, so after missing for a 2nd time he decides to place the mace on the ground, and move onto something slightly different.

Weapons wise he was not the strongest, having never really used any before entering the arena, so he avoided showing anything with them, and decided to head over to the weights. He was from a strong background, and it was something that he was confident he would not fail at, even if his time in the arena would have deterierated his strength. He sort of did a mix between run and walk over to the station, unsure if he should keep his cool or if he should just use his time given to the fullest extent.

When he gets to the station he starts with these large balls, each made of a solid metal, weighing a bunch of different weights, and each a different size. Knowing he needs to go strong, he skips the light and medium weight ones, and goes straight to the top four sized weights. Lifting them each once one by one, before pumping up the skills. Matching them up, two at a time, before three, before stopping for a breather. He knew that others would show more impressive things, and maybe if he had had more time he would have put up a better show for the Gamemakers but he had done the best that he could do, and he hoped it was enough as he walked out of the room.

He entered the waiting room with the other tributes, and upon seeing their faces the reality hit him. He had shown basic skills that people would do to get a score of 4 or 5. He had signed his own fate by not pushing the gauntlet. This sudden realization hit him hard, and standing in front of all of the others who had already done their session he bursts into tears, allowing them to pour down his face, and crashes into the waiting arms of Kronos, knowing that he was going to fight in the duel, and probably die in the duel.