Hiya, I'm going to continue with the whole:

OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS ARE SO EPIC FOR REVIEWING THE LAST CHAPTER! I'M ON 160 REVIEWS! I'M SO HAPPY!

Thing that I've been doing the past few chapters because you are all AMAZING! And I really need to buy a thesaurus so I can continue my appraisal of your awesome reviewing/alerting/favouriting skills.

So, new chapter. YAY! And as promised, it is considerably longer than the last one and Cato is in it! Unfortunately, not until the end. But don't worry, he's in pretty much all of the next chapter. And the one after that, and the one after that and the one after that and... is there a chapter after that? Maybe, I'm not sure.

Speaking of not sure, THE POLL has so many votes on it, which is good, but it's closing soon! I'm keeping it up for the next few chapters and then down it goes and the fate of this story shall be decided!

I'm trying to make this all dramatic but I don't think it's working very well.

Either way, as per usual I don't own The Hunger Games, go look at the front cover of the book to see who does.

Chapter 10 - A New Alliance

"Hello brave tributes," the voice of Claudius Templesmith rings through the arena, "In congratulations for making it to the final seven you're all invited to a feast."

Of course we are, and we're on the menu.

"Now hold on," Claudius continues, "Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."

This catches my interest. Food, is my first thought. The food from Rue's pack only lasted me a few days and my memory of non-poisonous plants is already disappearing quickly. I'm starving and I'm certain the audience knows it. So I don't have much of an option about whether or not I go to the feast.

It'll be dangerous though. In fact, I probably have a better chance of surviving by taking my chances with starvation. Cato and the girl from his district will be there, that's certain. Thresh, from Rue's district, will probably be there as well. I'm not sure about the girl from Five, and Katniss or Peeta. I haven't seen or heard either of them since the announcement allowing for two tributes to win from the same district. Surely there's something that they need. But what would they want? Katniss has her bow so she's capable of both getting food and protecting themselves. Maybe the boy needs something? A weapon he can use? The Gamemakers gave him a score of 8 for a reason, right?

But that means that it'll be dangerous. If everyone has something to gain, then everyone will be there. Katniss, at least, I can rely on to not kill me unless we're forced into a direct confrontation. She won't kill me unless she has to. Peeta I'm not too sure about, from what I saw in training, he doesn't seem like the type who'd kill you if he didn't have to. But then again, he was the tribute who killed Kella, so I can't judge based on what I saw in the Training Center, where we were all aware that we were being judged by the other tributes.

I haven't seen Thresh since the first day at the Cornucopia, but I've no doubt that he'd kill me if I got too close. The girl from Five isn't much of a threat, I haven't seen her since Katniss and I blew up the Careers food and she doesn't seem like the type to run at you with a knife. Cato and the girl from his district are a completely different story, they're more of the kill first... and then kill some more types.

No. No way. Most of the tributes won't hesitate in attacking, Katniss and the girl from Five being the only possible exceptions. Risking a fight with Katniss would be dangerous. A fight with Thresh, even more perilous. A fight with Cato and the girl from Two, a death wish.

But then again, they were allies before the games even began, and now that they can both get win there's no reason for them not to share everything with each other. They can trust each other enough to have only one of them collect their item/s and not run off with it.

If only one of them were there, then I'd be far more likely to get out. I could dodge the knives of the girl if I ran fast enough, and if I timed it right and ran when Cato was using his sword to fight another tribute, I'd get away.

Katniss and Peeta will most likely do the same thing, have only one of them go. And since Katniss got the higher score in training and has the weapon of her favour it'll most likely be her going.

I have a chance.

I take my incredibly light pack and throw it over my shoulder as I make my way to the Cornucopia. It feels odd, not having any food in it after the days I spent with Rue lugging a pile of herbs and fruits from one place to another. Now all I have in there is my knife and empty canteen for water.

The clearing where so many tributes have died only days ago is completely empty, save for the Cornucopia itself. I see no sign that anyone has died here, no patches of blood on the grass or the smell of decaying bodies. Just an empty field.

I climb up a tree near the edge of the clearing. It's not so close to the Cornucopia that I'll be seen instantly, but it's not to far away that I'll have to run to even reach the clearing. It's a smart idea, my one, I can wait up here in my tree, see who's coming for their packs, and make my decision on whether or not I'll try and get mine or not. Genius.

As night slowly creeps up on the arena I see the first sign of another tribute coming. The girl from District Five sneaks into the Cornucopia, waiting for her item the Gamemakers promised. Good idea, but she's not going to be able to get out if someone sees her. But then again, the Cornucopia is so dark inside it that I can't even see her now.

I stay in my tree until small peaks of the sun starts to light up the arena, I readjust my pack so that it sits securely over one shoulder, then I climb down slowly and softly, careful not to make any noise to reveal my position. The Cornucopia is no different from last night, there are no packages waiting out in the open, labelling who they are for and what they contain, and no sign of where they might suddenly appear. Maybe they're going to be dropped from the sky by a hovercraft, falling somewhere random on the ground or over another tribute, so that we're all forced to fight each other for our own items. Or maybe they're hidden around the Cornucopia or up in the trees, so we have to find our items while simultaneously dodging the attacks from other tributes. Or perhaps I've stayed her to long, I've been up the tree, eagerly watching the Cornucopia for so long that the Gamemakers haven't had the chance to place everyone's items by the Cornucopia.

Or perhaps me and the girl from Five are the only ones here, the other tributes arriving haven't made any signs that they're here. I would've thought that that's what they would do. Especially Cato and his partnering tribute, all they'd have to do is start a fire somewhere near here, indicating there willingness to make a grab for their, and anyone else's, items. If they were both here I'd run a mile. One of them I can handle, both is just too much.

Without warning the ground near the mouth of the Cornucopia splits open, and an elegant table covered in a white tablecloth emerges from out of it.

White, how fitting, very easy for the blood to show on it.

There are five backpacks sitting on the table, waiting for one of us to make a move on them. The packs that have the numbers 2, 3 or 11 on them are the largest; the one for the girl from Five is considerably smaller than mine, Cato and the girl from his district, and Thresh's, but not nearly as tiny as Katniss', which is barely bigger than my hand.

Food. Food. Food. I chant a desperate prayer in my head as I think of how long the food that a pack that size could hold would last. Long enough for me to stay in hiding the remainder of the games...

If that pack was all food, then all I'd need to do is hide for the rest of the games, let the other tributes finish each other off and slit the last one's throat in their sleep. It'd be so easy... I have the knife. I'd have the food. I wouldn't be found. I wouldn't die. I could live. And all it'd take is that pack of food and the small amount of time it'd take for me to run my knife over a tributes neck, staining the once flawless and perfectly clean silver with red... And become a cold hearted murderer, just like the boy who killed Rue... The monster who killed Rue.

Maybe it isn't the best plan.

There's an unearthly silence around the arena now, no movement can be seen across the small clearing. For a moment I allow myself to foolishly think that I'm the only one who's bothered to collect their own pack, and that everyone else figured that it wasn't worth the bother. But then I look around and notice that while most of the bushes sway with the breeze, others don't move at all, as if someone's gripping onto them to make sure that they can't be seen.

I guess I'm not as alone as I thought.

I debate running for my pack, get to it before another tribute can, but I decide against it. It's too... empty out there. Katniss could send an arrow whizzing at my head without even leaving her hiding spot... assuming that she is here. And the girl from District Two, she could most certainly throw a knife with fatal aim and run for her own pack before anyone could stop her. And Cato... he's just dangerous. Full stop.

No, it's safer to wait until everyone else is distracted with chasing after someone else.

The girl from District Five is the first to make a run for her bag. I almost expect to see a knife or arrow come whizzing from the trees and stop her before she reaches her pack. But then again, she's the only tribute smart enough to have considered hiding in the actual Cornucopia, so their time to aim and throw has been halved. She's not a major threat anyway, probably not worth running out there and putting their own heads on the line when they could so easily hunt her down later, in their own time.

Not long after the girls' escape, Katniss appears from out of the trees, running across the clearing to her pack. She's almost there before the girl from Two runs out and throws the knife at her head. I gasp as Katniss narrowly dodges the throw, aiming her own weapon at the girl, managing to send an arrow into her shoulder.

I look around the trees nervously for any sign of Cato jumping out and helping his ally from the 'sure kill' that's certainly fighting back. When I see no sign of him I jump from my hiding place and make a beeline for my backpack, running as fast as I can to get out of there quickly, just in case District 2 decides to give up on Katniss and actually get her backpack like she came for.

I don't see Thresh crash through the clearing until I collide with him. He's obviously startled by my sudden appearance but he manages to stay standing, unlike myself who is sent to the ground. The boy from Rue's district is far scarier when you're seeing him loom over you while you lie helpless on the ground than you would think. I scramble backwards as he takes a step forward and fear fills my mind as I look helplessly over to Katniss to see if there's any last minute surge of pity running through her that will cause her to donate one of her precious arrows to Thresh's head.

No such luck. She's in a position as desperate as my own, trapped on the ground while the girl from District 2 leans over her, taunting her with the deadly array of knives she holds.

Thresh takes another step towards me and reaches out his hands. So this is it. I'm going to die. The only question is how. Is he going to strangle me? Snap my neck? – Going the same way as the boy from my district, oh how the audience would love that – Or is he going to... pick up a giant rock and...

Oh crap.

I desperately try to pick myself up off the ground while simultaneously never taking my eyes off the rock in his hand. It's not a good tactic. I'm flat on my back before Thresh even has to force me back down. I close my eyes and wait for the blow of the rock against my head. It doesn't come. I take a look and find Thresh still above me, rock in hand, eyes blazing with fury. But his gaze isn't directed at me; instead he's sending a piercing glare at the girl from District 2. I take the small moment to listen in on what she's saying to Katniss as Thresh moves away from me and over to the girl.

"What was her name again? The one who hopped around in trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" I can hear the girl say. I've missed most of their conversation but I'm burning with anger at the use of Rue to taunt Katniss. If I weren't so far away I'd be running at her, stealing one of her knives off her and trying to use them against her. But I don't bother to get up. Because Thresh is behind her now.

I watch transfixed as he picks her up off the ground and throws her back down to Earth as if she weighs no more than a rag doll. "What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" Thresh shouts so I don't have to strain my ears to hear him.

"No! No it wasn't me!" The girls reply is frantic as she scurries away from him, much like I had.

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her? You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?" Thresh asks, his voice menacing and I can see his hand which holds the rock twitching slightly, as if begging to be used.

"No! No I–" the girl begins but stops when Thresh's hand rises. "Cato!" she screams, "Cato!"

"Clove!" the reply is enough to snap me back to my senses and I turn and run for my pack before I see Thresh slam the rock against Clove's skull.

I feel a small tinge of sorrow for Cato. I know what it's like, hearing someone you care about beg for help and being to far away to help. I also know what it's like to lose the tribute from your district.

But the nice feelings of sympathy I have for him only last for a split second before they are squashed though with a bitter thought I have.

And that's his fault. Rue died by the hand of one of his Careers. Mikail's neck was snapped by Cato. Now he knows what it's like.

Karma's a bitch.

I sprint for my pack and throw it over my free shoulder and run for the trees, seeing Thresh run for his own pack and Cato enter the clearing. I send a quick look over my shoulder to see Cato leaning over Clove's motionless body, the most human expression that I've ever seen on his face as he begs her not to die.

I didn't get the chance to do that with Mikail... The again, we weren't close enough that I would've left his body with anything more than a few tears.

I guess I'm lucky that way.

Karma, Cato.

Karma. Karma. Karma.

I run for a few minutes until the cannon announcing Clove's death goes off. Then I stop. When Thresh took off he stole Cato's pack and left in a different direction to the one I went. Cato will be chasing after him, and even if he did choose to go after me, I already have a good head start.

I slide the backpack off my shoulder as I sit down against a small tree stump and open the zip.

Food. Food. Food. I chant as I look into the bags contents.

A scowl covers my face as I squeeze my eyes shut tightly before opening them once more, hoping that I wasn't looking at it right. The silver flail is identical to the one from the training – albeit, this one may be deadlier with the extra spikes and the lighter weight it has. I try not to scream in frustration as I pull out the weapon that helped me impress the Gamemakers and desperately search through the pack for anything else.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for. A note would be nice. A note saying:

'Dear Adelina,

Haha, almost got you there. A giant pack of food is being sent down to you in a parachute right now. You can keep the flail if you like, but what you really want is now on its way to you.

Lots of love, The Gamemakers.

P.s We've managed to poison all the other tributes, so you winning is a sure thing.'

To be fair, the weapon is good. Top of the range, perfect, even better than the one the trainer at the station had. I should be thankful for the gift. I could probably kill someone with this. Not Thresh or Cato, probably not even Katniss, but maybe the girl from Five or the boy from Twelve, if I got close enough.

Upon further inspection I find a small packet of crackers and small piece of raw meat. It's enough to keep me going maybe... two days? If I take only small pieces of the meat. It's barely anything, begrudgingly given by the Gamemakers so I actually survive long enough to use the weapon that they've so graciously given me, even thought it's clear that the food is what I need most. But I guess this is a push in the direction that they want me to go in. The fighting one. After all, my score from training indicates that I probably could fight. Almost everyone who received a score high enough has proved their deadliness: Thresh, Cato, and Katniss have already proved that they're capable of killing. Even Peeta, he was the one that finished off Kella, after all.

I shove the food and flail back into the backpack and hurriedly throw it over my shoulder when I hear the sound of footsteps and snapping twigs coming from the direction of the Cornucopia.

Stupid, I mentally slap myself as I run, Of course he wouldn't follow the exact path that Thresh took. You idiot! The bag jiggles around uncomfortably, the items in it bouncing up and down. I realise that I haven't put zipped up the back pack. It's a stupid worry to have at a time like this and shouldn't at all be a priority, but it slows down my running so that my gifts from the Gamemakers don't fall out onto the ground.

Because I am not stopping to pick them up.

I could probably swing my backpack over and zip it up while I run, but I don't. I could run faster than I currently am without risking my flail falling out, but I don't. I could ignore the burning in my legs from the constant running that I seem to be doing, but I don't.

The sound of footsteps coming closer should be enough to make me move faster, but it doesn't serve any motivation. I'm tired. Of everything. Running, seeing people die. I'm ready to give up. Let someone else win; let them keep on fighting against the horrible memories and the guilt. All the guilt. Clove didn't have to die, I could've stopped Thresh from killing her and given Katniss time to get her pack and escape. I could've run faster and stopped Rue from dying. I could've jumped out from my hiding place and stopped Mikail from getting his neck snapped. I could've picked Kella up off the ground and saved her from her terrible fate.

But I didn't. And just like I didn't save them, I won't save myself.

The second I stop running I'm tackled to the ground, my backpack flying across the ground, it's contents spreading everywhere, the flail just out of my reach. Cato's above me, pinning me down, holding his sword to my neck, ready to make the fatal cut. There's something different about him, when we were in the Training Center.

Then he was all confidence, the arrogant tribute with the skills and attitude that comes with someone who knows that they're going to win, the tribute that you only hope isn't going to be the one to kill you. Now he's lost most of that, his face is uncertain as he presses the sword down on my neck, his eyes have a reddish tinge to them, as if he's been crying over the death of the girl from his district, and they hold that scary touch of insanity that I've seen before in most of the previous victor's eyes when they made their final kill.

"Please," I beg. Make it quick. To my surprise he doesn't give me that horrid smirk and slice the sword across my neck, instead he eases up the pressure of his weapon on my neck.

"You were allies with District 12," he states.

I give a small nod, very wary of the consequences of pressing my neck against the sharp edge of the sword. "Y-yes, but not anymore," I stutter out, unsure of where he's going with this.

"But you were allies with her; you know what she can do." Cato's face shifts from the almost human look it had to the unreadable, cold one that had been on his face when he killed Kella.

I nod again.

Cato smirks, "And you know where she and Lover Boy are hiding."

No. Absolutely no idea.

"Maybe," I lie, "I have a rough idea."

Yup, and what are you going to do when he asks you where?

He lifts the sword from my neck and releases his hold on me, standing up "Then help me find her."

I'm faced with two options here: One: I could tell the truth and die. Or Two: I could lie, ally myself with one of the toughest competitors in the games, who's also a notorious jerk who helped me, kissed me then played some role in the deaths of almost every single tribute that I've allied myself with, or actually cared for. I'd live longer, but die what's certain to be a very painful death later.

Yes... Many could argue that I'm not very smart for choosing the latter of the two.

So there you go, they have an alliance.

So, review challenge!

Yes, be scared. So with my amazing mathematical skills *Cough: Story stats: Cough*, I have discovered that I got 37 reviews on the last chapter, 45 on the one before that, and 40 on the one before that...

If I got 40 reviews on this chapter...

Yes, that would bring me up to 200 hundred reviews... Big, scary number, I know, it's the stuff of nightmares.

So I promise that I'll update as soon as I get 200 hundred reviews. Literally the second I get up to 200 hundred reviews, I will update.

Do you think you can handle this mission? Yes? No? Well to bad, I'm giving it to you anyway.

Oh and vote on the poll. That's almost as important as reviewing.