Woo! Chapter 10! The big 1-0! Double Digits! ...10! So, as always - review, follow, let me know what you think and, of course, enjoy! Btw, I'd love to know how you think this story is progressing - who do you think are gonna go far, who's the next to go etc. :)

'What have you done?!' I scream at Ace.

This probably isn't a good idea, as the arena's so quiet that someone might hear me, but I can't hold it in.

'What?' she says softly, puzzled.

'Wh-? You killed her!'

I feel sick, but Ace just seems confused at my reaction. I stare at her in disgust for ages, until she speaks.

'Well, it's clear you and I have different views on what you have to do to win these games. It's a battle to the death, Connor. To the death. If you can't accept that, then I guess we should part now.'

She stands up, and walks over to our supplies. Her bow is already on her back. She picks up the tin of fruit, some matches and a few bandages, and shoves them all into her pockets. Looking at me finally, she turns and walks towards the entrance.

Just before her frame exits from my view, she turns.

'Here.' She tosses me the bloody knife, which lands in front of me. 'You'll need it.' She pauses. 'Good luck.'

And then she turns and leaves, and I'm all on my own. All on my own in the Hunger Games.

I can't stay here. Terra's body will have to be removed, and that may involve the roof of the building being ripped off. I pack everything into the bag. I consider not taking the knife, as it's coated in Terra's blood, but now is not the time to be sentimental, so I keep it in hand. Light is seeping in through the cracks in the wall, illuminating the dust particles in the air. Ace must have kept watch all night, as it's dawn now.

I make my way delicately down the stone steps. My aim at this point is to find Melissa. Assuming I haven't missed a cannon, she's still alive somewhere in the arena, but the arena's huge, and scattered with bloodthirsty tributes – finding her won't be easy. I reach the bottom of the staircase, and arrive at a walkway, about two floors high. It is a sandy stone, like the rest of the ruins, and has crumbling walls lining the sides, but with no roof.

Suddenly, a huge crash from where I've just come startles me. I turn back, and see the hovercraft punch through the roof with its claw. It disappears into the rubble and when it reappears seconds later, it's grasping onto Terra's lifeless body, like she was a piece of used metal from District 5's scrap heap. A lump emerges in my throat, but my attention is suddenly drawn away from the hovercraft, when I hear shouts from the courtyard below.

I freeze, then slowly edge towards a tiny crack in the wall, large enough for me to peek out from. I place my eye next to the hole and at first I see nothing. As my hearing readjusts after the hovercraft, I can hear a voice. Chant's voice.

My blood suddenly turns cold. The Career's are near. If they find me, I'm finished.

'If a tribute's died, that means someone must have killed them. Which means there's someone here.'

'Not necessarily.' Teal's voice. 'What if it was starvation or something?'

'After one day? No.' Chant dismisses Teals comment. It sounds like he's taken the dominant role in the pack. 'Right, us four will go and scout the buildings; you and Garnet can manage the courtyard.'

With that, Teal and the District 4 male appear from round a corner. So, the boy's called Garnet? He looked significantly older in the interviews and training. Now I see him without any make-up, he can't be much older than about fourteen. He has curly dark auburn hair of medium length that curls up into a small quiff, and he's about my height. His hand grasps a trident. Teal has a bow in one hand, with a quiver full of silver arrows on her back. She also has a knife holstered on her hip.

'Right, let's split up.' Teal states. 'You – that way. I'll go this way.'

Garnet shoots her a murderous glare, but does as she says. The pair separate, and Garnet is lost from my vision. Teal pulls out an arrow from her quiver and equips her bow, ready to shoot if she needs.

She begins stealthily patrolling the area. I consider leaving my spot, and I'm just about to when I see another tribute – a non-Career. It's the girl from 9 – the thirteen year old. She makes a dash for it, but Teal has heard her. I begin to sweat, she's going to run straight into the District 2 girl. Teal has her arrow pointing straight ahead, making her way swiftly to a position where she will be able to see her next victim.

They both turn a corner, and suddenly they're stood less than two metres apart. I can't watch, but my eyes refuse to move from the scene. I wait for the cannon, but it doesn't come. They just stand there for a few seconds, before Teal lowers her bow.

In a husky tone that I can only just understand, I hear her say one word to the terrified girl.

'Go!'

The girl doesn't need to be told twice, and before Teal has a second to change her mind, the District 9 tribute is at the other side of the courtyard. Teal has already left the scene.

I can't believe she'd do that. She's a Career. She's trained to kill. That's what they do.

And suddenly I can't look again, because my eyes have reverted back to the girl, who has just rounded a corner. But, unknowing to her, behind that corner were the rest of the Careers. She runs straight into them, and this time my eyes give me the mercy of not looking, but that's of no help – the cannon has already told me what happened.

When I turn back to the scene, the girl is on the floor, and Chant stands above her, a bloodstained sword in his hand. I recognise it as the weapon he used to kill the District 10 girl in the bloodbath, and I wonder how many other victims it's claimed. The Careers are very well stocked – they each carry magnificent weapons, and Bliss and the District 2 male have large rucksacks that are presumably filled with supplies.

'We got her!' Chant shouts.

Teal and Garnet hear and soon return to the rest of their pack. Chant clearly has no fear of anyone else hearing him. Bliss looks down on the limp body of the girl.

'Hm.' she begins, turning her mouth up at the thirteen year old, 'Wouldn't have thought she'd have been able to lift a weapon, let alone kill someone.'

She turns on the spot. 'Lucky.'

The District 1 girl leaves, her dark hair flowing behind her, and the others follow, leaving the girl alone in her death. I decide to stay where I am temporarily, but when the hovercraft arrives to pick up the girl, I use the noise as a smokescreen for my escape and I'm soon in the rocks around the castle, with the stony barricade out of sight. I decide I need to find Melissa, so I start looking for an area with plants and wildlife as I'm sure she'd feel safer in an area where she knows she can find food.

I travel along mountainous paths for a while. I pass the Cornucopia, which is now an empty shell, and looking at it, you would have never guessed the horrors that it hosted yesterday. Shuddering, I move past it, and it's not long before the ground beneath me begins to turn grassy. The grass is long and untamed, and it scratches at my legs.

Soon, trees begin to appear, scattered at first, but a walk through a field soon turns into a walk through a forest, and the trees start to block out some of the light. There's a lot of movement in the forests – small animals scurrying, leaves blowing in the wind, but each sound makes me flinch. My knife is in my hand, and my grip tightens as I head deeper into the sea of trees. The ground beneath my feet is still really grassy, and each step makes a sound, keeping me on edge.

I take a pause to view my surroundings. The trees are birch, with silvery skin peeling away at their trunks. Birds flit from tree to tree, natural tones blending into the leaves. Earlier, we were treated to blue skies, but now a light grey is leaking into the sky, accompanied with a breeze. This is somewhat relieving after the long walk, as it's taken the temperature down slightly.

Suddenly, I feel the cold, sharp point of a weapon on the back of my neck, and a male tribute speaks, his voice dripping with venom.

'Move and you're dead.'