To guest review who gave me the idea, thank you, and I tell you how happy I was that you liked the story! I was hoping you'd find it! Anyway, read on, read on and review!

"Johanna!"

I turn to the voice, my axe held loosely in my hand as I turn to the source of the noise. It doesn't appear to be an aggressive voice, so I don't raise the axe.

My District partner, Baum's here!

I run over and hug him, even though I feel slightly disgusted doing this, cuddling someone I might actually have to kill in coming days. And since I didn't feel that bad after the last person I killed, I can't believe I would hesitate that much about doing it either. He strokes my short blond hair, and I try to supress a shudder, and he releases me. His face has scars on it, new ones from the games. I sit down on the floor, beside my axe as Baum joins me. He's about a year older than me, but when I'm pretending to be 'Ickle Jowannakins' like now, I seem about 5 years younger than I am.

Jowannakins does seem more like 12 than 15.

Sometimes it's lucky I'm so short.

"How have you been doing?" he asks

'Despite being in a fight to the death with – what is it now? – 10 other people, all of whom think I'm weak, and all of whom want to kill me? Fine thanks.'

I supress my sarcastic comment, and give him a (fake) watery grin "I ran away at the start…"

He smiles at me, fingering a knife between his fingers. Odd. I didn't notice it before. Maybe he just got it out. "Been keeping yourself to yourself then? I'm glad you're still alive at any rate." He says, stabbing the dirt in front of him absent mindedly.

'Of course you are, you obviously want me to win the games, not you. It's so obvious now.'

I remain quiet, and offer him another watery grin in response

"I probably won't make it through the rest of the d-day" I say, pretending to stutter on the last word.

I got myself a 3 in training, though I know I could have got an 8 or even a 9 if I wasn't pretending to be 'Ickle Jowannakins' all the time. I messed up with a sword, cried a bit and 'accidentally' tried to eat some poisonous berries. I worked hard for that 3. Baum managed to get himself a 7, and I think it was due to his skills with a knife. And he's got one.

Is that blood?

Why does Baum have blood on his knife? Baum's one of the nicest people in our District! It's Baum who buys bread to give to everyone he knows, and people he doesn't, just because he feels that it's unfair he's rich while were not! Baum who hugged his little sisters so hard when their mother died. Baum who comforted me when my parents died! Baum who killed?

No.

But even if he is Baum, and he is a killer, I won't let him kill me. The past is the past and I can't change it. But I can use the present to change the future.

Before I have time to edge towards my axe, Baum jumps, pinning me to the ground, I reach for the axe, and feel my hand close around the handle, but I keep it still, wanting to know why.

But isn't it obvious?

I'm an obstacle in the games.

And he's removing me.

At least he looks slightly ashamed of himself.

But he stays there, and begins to mock me. "If you're going to die today, maybe I can just make it quicker for you. I don't want to waste your time." He smiles, and draws the knife nearer to my throat. "You know, I was surprised you survived this long, you're pretty dumb you know."

That's when I act. Using the element of surprise, I swing the axe into his back, and he gasps, dropping the knife.

I throw his dead weight off me, and pick the axe up again. I didn't have a proper hold of it before, and the axe has done little more than shock him and create rip in the back of his jumper. And blood. When the girl from 4 died, there wasn't any blood.

He gapes at me, gasping more, and I stand over him, anger at being betrayed pumping through my veins instead of blood.

"Stupid little Jowannakins" I say, with as much venom as I can muster "who's going to kill you"

I stand on his stomach to stop him moving as I bring the axe down, hard. He screams as the axe hits the dirt right next to his head, an evil sort of delight rising up inside me as he begins to sob. I want to see him suffer for what he was going to do to me. He was going to kill me! I trusted him! Trusting is never a good thing. Neither is caring for people. I realise this now. Or maybe, Johanna already knew it. Jo didn't

"Now which part of you don't you need anymore?" I ask, in a perversion of a tender manner. "Your head, you certainly don't have a brain taking up space in there. Maybe you could do without a leg or two, and I'll just leave you to die here, slowly and painfully"

I look at him, and smile evilly "But then you wouldn't get to see my wondrous face, would you? I know…"

I raise the axe up high, and he struggles to move, but I apply more pressure on his stomach, keeping him down.

"You don't have any guts, do you? Trying to kill a small girl, who trusted you completely to look after her like you promised! So an axe to the gut shouldn't kill you, should it?"

And I bring the axe down again. This time it is not a feint. A sickening squelch sounds, as he starts to coughs up blood. Feeling slightly nauseated, I bend down to examine my work. A knife wound would have been neater, but I don't think I would have the strength to do it. The axe has sort of exploded his stomach, but I can make out the pale pink ribbons of his guts. I hold back my vomit as I stand. Baum who comforted me is dead, and I killed him, and not in the nicest way wither

"Wow Baum, turns out you really do have guts. Where've you been hiding them? Maybe that's what's been taking up the space between your ears." I feel the urge to stalk away from him quickly, worried I will actually vomit, and lose the only food I could find today.

Before I go, I grab his pack, and wrench the knife from his slackening grip.

I trusted him!

Good thing I never told him my secret then.

I put my new pack on my shoulder and leave him, coughing blood still.

He'll be dead soon.

Killing is easy, too easy.

But I won't let myself die, whatever happens.

*BOOM*