I absolutely love it when you guys review, it really inspires me to write and get chapters up a lot faster! I already planned out the rest of the story, and it's only a matter of finding time to get the ideas out on paper!

To Jojowerid: I apologize for making you wait so long. BUT, I can't say I feel too bad about it! xD And yes, it is a coincidence that she went into the arena in chapter 7, but I guess it works out awesomely. Thanks for the review!

Big thanks to everyone else who reviewed so far, you guys rock. I know it's only 8 reviews, but they're all positive!

So yes, I did already upload Chapter Ten. But like a day later, I deleted it because I wasn't satisfied with the way I ended the chapter. So here it is again, and I hope you enjoy!

Ch. 10

The morning sun once again pierced through the trees, making me groggy in the heat as I woke up. The last of the dried fruit made its way down my stomach. If I didn't find food soon, I wouldn't make it far in the games. The container of nuts was the only thing I had left, and that would only be enough for a day. There was no point in making my food last as long as possible if I wouldn't have enough energy to fighgt off an attack.

I quickly pulled the straps of my backpack over my shoulders and began to make my descent. A few feet down, my body froze as I heard voices from below. My breath hitched as I attempted to hold my body as still as possible. It was too late to climb back up the tree, and facing the tributes head on was not a good idea. The only weapon I had was buried in the stomach of Layla, and her body had to have been taken away from the hovercraft by now. I could only hope that I was high enough that I was out of their immediate line of vision.

Unless, they looked up.

A distinctly female voice reached my ears as the tributes neared closer. The second tribute shushed the girl, and continued to speak in a low voice. I was unable to tell if it was male or female, but I was assuming it was male. Besides my alliance and the Careers, I didn't think any other tributes allied with someone from another district.

"I thought you said she would be in the forest! We've been walking for a day and we haven't found her."

"Calm down, Laurette. I doubt she would be in plain sight."

Cautiously, I clambered the rest of the way down the trunk, making my presence known by the muffled thump of my feet hitting the forest floor.

"Laurette? Hank?" I called out, hoping my suspicions were correct. I had been keeping an eye out for my alliance for the past two days.

I spotted their matching, light brown hair as they caught sight of me at the same time.

"Juliet!" Laurette grinned and rushed over, a spear clutched in her hand and a large bag on her back. Hank followed quickly behind, looking slightly less comfortable in our open position, but he shot me a grin nonetheless.

"Told you we would find her here." The corner of his mouth turned up in a proud smirk. Hank had as many supplies as Laurette, if not more. He also donned a large backpack, as well as a belt around his waist, filled with knives of all different sizes. In his hand he carried a long, silver sword, still shiny at the tip and clearly unused.

"We really need to talk." Laurette sighed, her eyes darting around the forest to make sure we were alone. "But first, Hank and I are really, really, hoping you have some water. We ran out yesterday."

I handed over the water canteen I had filled up yesterday, hoping that the three fourths that were left would be enough to satisfy the District Nine pair.

The three of us had finally settled down to talk after finding a small stream not far from the place we met up. Hank had handed me the knife belt, and I graciously clipped it around my waist, feeling much more secure now that I could defend myself. Our eyes shifted nervously around the secluded area by the water. We had decent coverage amongst the thick bushes that surrounded thin stream, but in a fight to the death, one couldn't be too careful.

Laurette split the supplies evenly among the three of us in the event that we were separated in the arena. I was shocked at the amount of food and weapons they got from the Cornucopia, so I suggested that they tell their story from the beginning.

"We just got lucky, I guess." Laurette started, popping a walnut into her mouth. "I was facing the mouth of the Cornucopia, and Hank was only a little ways to my right. We ran in while the Careers were chasing after the tributes. I was surprised that there wasn't anyone guarding the entrance, but I think some of the Careers were having a hard time getting up the side of the cliff."

Hank nodded in agreement, adding onto Laurette's previous statement. "District One. I noticed during training that they weren't very good at climbing. Obviously they made it up faster than some districts, but I still think they're the weak links of the Career pack. Which probably explains why we saw Layla's face in the sky last night."

I kept my face neutral, deciding to keep my first kill from my allies. It wasn't that I didn't trust them; I just wasn't ready to talk about it yet, and I knew Laurette would definitely have a lot of questions for me.

"Where did you go after you left the Cornucopia? I kept an eye out for you both, but I think I was more focused on getting away from the Careers." I confessed with a slight smile.

Hank explained how they ran along the beach and hid out in a small cave near a waterfall. "It was a risky spot and an obvious hiding place, but we were so tired we didn't care." He and Laurette shared a look, their eyes sparkling. I kept quiet, observing the two. It was obvious that they were hiding someone, but I didn't think it was something that would put me in danger. If it was something they preferred to keep quiet, I wasn't going to break their trust over something personal.

"We spent most of the second day walking, and then we found you." Laurette concluded, finishing the explanation of their uneventful few days in the arena.

"I have a basic idea of what the arena looks like." I offered, catching my allies' interested. "From what I could see from the top of one of the trees, the forest is right in the middle of the arena. The Cornucopia and the Cliff are on one side, and what seems to be a giant mountain is on the other. I'm pretty sure the beach surrounds the entire arena, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were islands out there."

Laurette praised me enthusiastically as she mapped out the arena on the forest floor.

"Tomorrow, let's head to the mountain." She pointed to the crudely drawn triangle in the dirt, earning a giggle from me and a smile from Hank. "But for now, let's go over which tributes are left."

As if on cue, a canon rang out, causing all three of us to jump in surprise.

"One less to count." Hank added solemnly. I held up my hands, silently ticking off fingers as we counted.

"The boy from District One, both from Two, and both from Four." Laurette named the Careers.

"Both from Three." I added, immediately thinking of Moe. I wondered if she partnered with her district partner, but I hoped she didn't. She would be better off on her own. "And the psychotic twelve-year-old from Five. She literally jumped me during the blood bath and probably would have killed me if I wasn't bigger than she was."

Laurette looked surprised, but Hank acted as if he knew all along. "It seemed like something was off with her. But I have to admit, she played a terrified twelve-year-old pretty well."

"Your district partner is still alive." Laurette changed the subject, causing me to frown. I stayed quiet, hoping they wouldn't ask anything more about Atlas. Which, thankfully, they didn't.

"The three of us, the boy from District Eight, and Johnny from Ten." Hank finished. "That's fourteen of us left, minus whoever's cannon we just heard."

"And I bet we aren't the only ones in the forest, either. We better get a move on it if we want to find a good spot to sleep before it gets dark." Laurette stood up and gathered her set of supplies into her backpack. The next moment, her posture stiffened and she whirled around, her spear held out in a menacing manner.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" She growled, crouching low. I glanced over at Hank and we shared a confused look. Nonetheless, we both readied our weapons.

After another thirty seconds, the fear that had been flooding through my veins began to dissipate and my muscles began to relax. Hank relaxed beside me and lowered his sword. Laurette bit her lip before turning to Hank and I with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry; I really thought someone was-"

Her apology was cut short as a flash of something dark, huge, and furry knocked her to the ground in less than a second.

"Laurette!" Hank shouted, rushing toward the animal with his sword drawn. In his furry, he was able to direct the mutt away from his district partner, giving me a chance to help her to her feet.

"Run!" I called to Hank, yanking on Laurette's arm as I pulled her away from the stream. Hank followed close behind, the mutt nipping at his heels.

"What is that?" Laurette called from behind me, her voice muffled by her heavy breaths.

"Some sort of wolf, maybe. I can't tell." I raced through the forest, dodging trees and hopping over roots. I didn't want to leave my allies, but they were slowly falling behind.

"We need to separate, it's the only way we'll be able to outrun it." Hank yelled from a few feet behind me. It was the most panicked I had ever heard him sound, and it definitely wasn't making me feel any better about our situation. "Juliet, run straight. Laurette, go left, and I'll go right. We'll loop back around eventually, but make sure you lose the mutt."

I did as Hank instructed, continuing my straight path through the woods. I wasn't a long distance runner, I ignored my waning stamina and kept my speed constant. Risking a glance to my left, I spotted Laurette's pony tail streaming behind her. I couldn't tell which one of us the mutt had followed, but I hoped it was me. I was probably the only one in the alliance who could outrun the mutt, and I wasn't ready to lose my allies yet.

I ran until my legs grew numb. I hadn't heard anything behind me for a while, but I wasn't taking any chances. The mutt definitely didn't follow me, because if it had I would be dead by now. No canons had gone off since I last saw Laurette and Hank, but that didn't mean they weren't hurt. I slowed down to a walk and took a swig from my water canteen. We wouldn't be going back to the stream anytime soon, so I tried to drink only what I absolutely needed. I had looped back around a while ago and I kept an eye out for my allies.

My eyes automatically adjusted to the darkening sky. It wasn't until I looked up and didn't see the sun that I realized it was night fall. I had yet to find my allies or a place to spend the night. My eyes scanned the distance for Hank or Laurette. If I waited any longer to find a place to sleep, it would be too dark to scale a tree or find a spot hidden on the ground. And it's not wise to sleep out in the open when everyone is trying to kill you.

To my left was a steep incline, with thick bushes and boulders lining the slope. Although it definitely wasn't the best hideout in the arena, it was my only chance at safety for the night.

I crawled up the incline, the rough ground irritating my bad knee through the thick bandage. The medical tape around my cut up palms was beginning to fall off, the edges frayed and black with mud. With carefully placed steps I was able to make it to the closest rock formation. The crack between rocks was a lot deeper than I thought. I squeezed my body into the small cave and brought my knees up to my chest.

I pulled the medical tape out of my backpack and rewrapped my hands. They were so dirty that the tape was probably making it worse, but it was too painful to throw knives or climb trees with the raw skin out in the open. I nibbled on a small portion of dried fruit, but it didn't make it last any longer.

The sound of leaves crunching outside my cave had me reaching for my knife. I stayed quiet and hoped the tribute would pass, but they stopped right outside the opening.

"Who's there?" I shouted, attempting to sound menacing. I hoped I would be able to scare whoever was out there away instead of drawing a fight.

A head stuck through the opening and the grip on my knife faltered.

"Juliet, is that you?" Hank's eyebrows were raised in surprise.

"What are the odds?" I laughed, relieved. I was having major déjà vu from the moment I first met them in the arena.

"Room for one more?" He interrupted my thoughts. I scooted over, pressing my side against the cool rock so he could squeeze in. I opened my mouth to ask about Laurette, but quickly shut it again when I saw the look on his face.

He ran a hand through his short hair, a distressed look on his face. "I went in circles for hours. I even left hints everywhere I went, which was something we had discussed on the first day. Either something happened to her, or she just lost all common sense."

"It's a big arena. No canons went off after we separated, so that can only mean good news, right?" I assured Hank, looking at his worried face in the dim light.

As I reached over to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, my fingers came in contact with something sticky. I held my fingers in front of my face to determine what was all over my hand.

The dark substance glistened in faint moonlight that glinted through the entrance to the cave.

"Shit, Hank, is that blood?" I pulled my hand away from my face, appalled by the amount of blood on my hand. My mind flashed back to second day in the arena, but I forced myself to stay in the moment.

Meanwhile, Hank had reached a hand up to his arm, as if he didn't believe me. "Yeah, I think so." He sounded dazed, as if he had just woken up from a long nap.

"Damnit, Hank!" I grumbled as I shifted my body around to face him, "I have absolutely no idea what to do. Why didn't you tell me before?" There was little to none medical supplies in my backpack, only the medical tape and a small roll of bandages.

"I didn't feel it before!" My ally protested, wincing as I gently prodded at the frayed material on his upper arm, "It must have been shock. Which means it might be a lot worse than we can tell."

I pulled away strips of his ripped arena suit, exposing the wound. Obviously, I wasn't a medical expert, but the wound was definitely bad. "What the hell happened? Did you get bit or something?"

Hank's breath hitched as I began to dab at the gaping wound, hoping I was doing something right. I wished Laurette was here. She was the one who knew the most about medical stuff, and she would be able to comfort Hank. He shook his head, unable to clearly recall what had happened.

"I couldn't out run it-I had to fight it. I thought I handled it pretty well with my sword but I guess he got a good bite in on my shoulder. I'm just glad it wasn't you or Laurette."

Hank was the most altruistic person I knew. There was only one winner in the games. The fact that he would risk his life for his district partner, as well as a tribute from another district was the most selfless act I had ever witnessed.

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but it wasn't nearly enough for me to properly address his wound. Still, I could tell that he wouldn't have much movement in his arm again unless he was seen by a professional. His upper arm was completely torn up and it was a miracle that he hadn't bled out or been affected by his injury until now.

"I wrapped it up as best as I can, but it's not good." I explained truthfully to Hank, "We're going to need a sponsor gift, we need to do whatever we can to keep it from being infected, and-"

My ally cut me off my gripping my wrist with his good arm. "Juliet. Listen to me. Thank you, for looking out for me. But honestly, I'm only worried about making sure that Laurette is okay. And you've been such a good friend to her these past few days, I owe you. So I'm going to keep you safe."

My eyes grew wide as I processed his words. "You don't care about yourself at all?" My voice wavered as I tried to keep back my tears.

"Only one person leaves this arena alive. I swore to myself that it would be Laurette. The only thing I'm asking you to do is stick with her until there aren't many people left. Split peacefully when the numbers get too low." He tugged on my hand as if that would help me agree to his request.

"Of course Hank, but don't forget that you'll be right there with us. When it gets time, I'll leave you to and hope that we won't meet again." My voice finally cracked and a tear ran down my face. I wasn't sure if our exchange would be projected onto the television, but if it was I assumed I would lose a few sponsors. None of the Capitalites want to see a weak tribute, and that's what I was becoming.

After my first kill, I was a mess. All the feelings I had bottled up over the past week had come pouring out. I thought I had let all my emotions out, but here I was again, except this time I was making a fool out of myself in front of another tribute.

I squeezed my hand in Hanks, a purely platonic gesture. "I guess you and Laurette knew each other before the Reapings after all." I laughed through my tears, my joke falling flat.

Hank explained how the two had been best friends since they were kids. "I love her, I do. I don't know if this experience gave me the guts to tell her, but it turns out she feels the same. We could have spent the past year together, but instead we were both too afraid to speak up. In a way, I'm almost thankful for having bad luck."

A single tear made its way down his cheek and he hastily wiped it away. It dawned on me that Hank had probably never shared this with anyone, and I didn't have anything to say in return. I squeezed his hand once again, hoping that it would show him I understood.

Everything going on with Luke was on the tip of my tongue, ready to come out. Hank and Laurette's relationship mirrored Luke and mine almost identically. I couldn't find the words to tell Hank, mainly because I knew how much trouble would come out if I revealed our relationship.

I helped Hank lay down as much as he could in the small cave. Lying with my backpack underneath my head, I curled up beside him. For Hank's sake as well as my own, I crossed my fingers and wished that we would find Laurette in the morning.