Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, here's chapter eleven. It doesn't have much of Grey and Cato in it; it's mostly Clove's internal thoughts. It's my version of a one shot. I've been so busy this past week, but I made myself finish this so I could get it up. I hope you like it!

Chapter eleven - Clove

Capitol update starring Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith

Claudius: So what do you think of the games so far, Caesar?

Caesar: Well personally, I think this is going to be a very exciting Hunger Games. It's only the beginning of the second day in the arena and already there has been a battle between the two tributes with the highest chances of winning. I just know everyone here was on the edge of their seats during that scene.

Claudius: I certainly was. What do you think about this so called 'relationship' between the district 2 tribute Cato and the district 4 tribute Grey? I do remember them denying anything in their interviews.

Caesar: I wonder if we've been played Claudius! Even now there is no way to tell what they are making up and what is real. But what we do know is that the crowd is loving it!

Claudius: This is certainly going to make good television! I can't wait to see the final two battling it out. Will it be Cato and Spens fighting to the death?

Caesar: Keep watching and find out! After the break, we'll be back with our 24/7 74th annual Hunger Games coverage. I'm Caesar Flickerman and this is Claudius Templesmith coming to you on Capitol TVPN.

Clove's POV

I get to watch the sun go up for the first time in years. It's a bit weird coming to the conclusion that something artificially made by the Capitol can be so beautiful. The walls of the dome that make the arena are different shades of oranges and yellows as the sun slowly rises up. I figure that if he wanted to the Gamekeeper could instantly make it daytime by dragging the sun up with his finger or something, but I pretend for a second that they're doing it for me. In District 2, by the time the sun comes up I have already been training for at least an hour in order to get a few hours in before my first class started.

I had been attending school right up until I had been reaped; my parents thought it was important that I got a good education as well as a good training regime. I despised that they ran my life but being the good girl I am, I followed along like a puppy. Sometimes when I walked the route from school to the training center in the afternoon I would see girls my age with other hobbies; girls who didn't have to train every morning and every evening. Looking through the windows of houses along the street I could see people playing the piano, or kicking a ball around in the front yard. Girls like that got cell phones for their birthdays; I had received a knife instead. At least volunteering for the games had one advantage, I had been able to talk to Cato. In the evenings before the games we had talked together about our similar situations. Something I'd never been able to do before.

Cato had been forced out of school by his parents when he was younger than I am now. I remembered the day we signed up to volunteer together; it was only a few months ago. We were standing side by side filling out the forms and I noticed out of the corner of my eye just a little too much hesitation on his part as if he was struggling to piece the words together. I didn't dare help him, because I knew it would just make him feel pathetic.

Cato had been the one who persuaded me that I shouldn't just be a pawn in this harsh world. He told me that I should win the games for myself. That I should win to prove them all wrong. Why waste a good knife throwing talent? After that, every extra hour of training I put in was for my own benefit. Winning the games became a goal instead of a chore. Every few days, Cato's training schedule would coincide with mine and I'd catch him watching me with a proud expression. Together, we were going to stick it to all the people that tried to control us.

"How was the sunset?" A voice asked from behind me and I turned to see Marvel standing sleepily in the entrance of the cornucopia. I was about to tell him that he hadn't missed it when I realised that the sky was now high in the sky. I couldn't tell if I'd zoned out for longer than I thought or if someone in the control room had moved the sun up manually.

"I've never seen anything like it." I admitted to him and he grinned at me, tousling his hair with his hand.

"Ah, maybe I'll catch it tomorrow then." Marvel said, and I couldn't hide the smile that grew on my face. The way he had put it, that he'd even be alive to see the sunrise tomorrow made me feel happy for a moment.

"Now it's day two in the arena." He continued, coming and sitting down next to me. He was holding a package and he opened it to reveal a loaf of bread which he broke a piece off of.

"Mhm," I nodded as I chewed on the piece he gave to me, "We probably need to set up a permanent camp closer to the lake. Being right in the cornucopia like this isn't a good place to be, especially with Cato weakened." Not far from the cornucopia was a large lake and having it dominated by our career pack would be a move in the right direction.

"Speaking of Cato, I couldn't wake him up. Same with Grey, they must be exhausted from yesterday." Marvel said, standing up and brushing a few crumbs from his blood-splattered pants.

"Yes…" I quietly replied, thinking of Grey who had kept watch the entire night so Marvel and I could sleep. I admit I had been tired, but I would have willingly pulled my weight anyway. Sensing that I was thinking quietly to myself, Marvel disappeared for a few seconds into the cornucopia mouth.

He returned a few minutes later with a spear, one of my knives and a backpack on his back. Knowing better than to chuck a weapon; Marvel came over and handed my knife to me.

"I thought it might be nice to go out for a hunt this morning." He said, smirking and intentionally leaving out whether we'd be hunting for animals or tributes. I suppose it didn't matter either way.

Marvel and I headed off away from the camp and into the forest, but not before playing a prank on our two sleeping allies. Cato and Grey were sleeping quietly near the entrance of the cornucopia. One of them had pulled up their sleeping bag so they could lie next to each other but they weren't actually touching. Marvel put his finger to his lips signalling for me to be quiet as he snuck up to the sleeping tributes. I knew you'd have to be silent near Cato when he was sleeping, if you woke him up you'd have a blade in your stomach before you even had time to say 'good morning.' Marvel knelt beside Grey and pondered for a second his plan. Then he began to arrange their arms and legs so it looked like they'd been having fun the night before. Unbuttoning Cato's shirt as a final cherry on top, Marvel stood back to survey his work and cracked himself up.

"Oh I wish I had a camera… Hang on, we do!" He whispered humorously, gesturing around him to invisible Capitol cameras that were no doubt trained on them right now. I rolled my eyes at the immature District 1 tribute.

"You're so weird Marvel." I said and he smirked at me.

"Well you have to get some thrills in the arena, don't you?" He laughed as he followed me out of the structure. I could kind of see where he was coming from and I was glad that I had someone to make the games seem less solemn. But Cato was so going to kill him when he woke up.

The two of us trudged into the forest together, moving away from the cornucopia and the wheat-fields beyond it. We hadn't discussed it but it had gone without saying that we would avoid that area of the arena unless we absolutely had to. It was too easy to release dangerous animals like poisonous snakes into the tall plants and we'd easy be caught off guard. It was better not to talk about it though, revealing your weakness to the Capitol was basically rule number 1 in the guide to being a career.

We walked about an hour into the dense forest before we even heard movement. Well, Marvel heard movement. I just stood there uselessly as he concentrated on listening out for the sound of another tribute or animal. He eventually decided that he'd heard something coming from our right and began to run towards it, leaving me to hurry after him. Marvel may have been a better tracker than me, but I was definitely a better killer. No harm in a little competition, right?

I slowed down to a jog when I started hearing a rustling sound coming from in front of us. Marvel and I hid silently behind a cluster of trees as we surveyed what was happening. Not far ahead I could see someone with their back to us; they were crouching down fiddling with something on the ground. From the back all I could see was very light blonde hair that was shaved close to the scalp. Not muscular like Cato or tall and agile looking like Marvel, this tribute was tiny and scrawny; he didn't even look like he was old enough to train. I could see his tiny shoulder blades poking out of his jacket which made him look malnourished. Small but possibly quick, little or no training, weak. I couldn't help but analyse him like that, it was more of a habit than anything else. Sometimes in the training academy they would line you all up against the wall and the trainers would pick one tribute at random. They would stand in front of us and we would list attributes that might negatively affect them in the arena. Well that's how the trainers explained it. I viewed it more as a pop quiz of how you would kill someone. That boy has a weak left arm, she can't use a sword. While I was given pop quizzes on the history of Panem in school during the morning, I had pop quizzes about how to take advantage of people's weaknesses in the afternoon.

I remember seeing Cato being called up one day. Normally always ready to offer a weakness, I was unusually speechless. Cato was enormous, strong, fast; the perfect tribute. But it was his temper that was his downfall. Even as the other trainees pointed this particular flaw out to him, I could see his nostrils flaring in anger and his mouth curl into a mean sneer. What I learnt from that? Everyone has a weakness.

Back in the arena, my hand slipped down to my knife as I got ready to approach the tribute. Marvel put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head to me.

"Make it quick," He whispered, "Don't drag out your kills like I know you want to. It is way too dangerous with so many tributes still left in the arena. Situations change instantly." I was going to come up with a smart comment to shoot back but I realised that he was right. I needed to think about all the possibilities. Maybe that was my weakness? Thinking too rashly and ending up putting myself in way too much danger. Your opponent's allies could be mere seconds behind you. I quickly snuck a look backwards just to check that there wasn't anyone behind me, before I quickly aimed and threw my knife at the boy. It hit right on target, just a little left from the center of his back, and he fell face first onto the ground. He never even knew we were there. BOOM. 10 tributes left.

BOOM.

That gets my attention. It gets Marvel's too because before the second cannon has even finished going off we are staring at each other, worry written all over our faces. Who was the second cannon? Cato and Grey are probably the last people we should be worrying about but we still do, internally panicking that Spens has gone to the cornucopia and murdered one of them.

We start sprinting back the way we came, taking no notice of the loud noise we are making. I nearly trip up on a root that's grown up from the ground but I manage to right myself before falling face first. It's weird because we're running for a good half an hour, so it doesn't take long before the anxiety we had originally felt starts to fade away. And then once the fear has ebbed away it feels like we are just running for no purpose at all. We stumble for a little while longer until finally we come out into the clearing where the cornucopia is still standing strong. Relief floods over me when I see Cato and Grey standing guard together. They're both holding large weapons with hard looks on their faces. They look like the perfect billboard publicising the games. Except there's two of them and by standing together it's like they are directly rebelling against the Capitol.

"Clove!" Grey screams as she catches sight of me, her face broadening into a grin. I smile back at her and head towards her and Cato. Cato drops his sword and visibly sags, and for the first time I notice that he's cradling his bandaged up hand. Grey's gaze flicks to him for a second, and she quickly touches his arm. Marvel comes up so we're all standing together.

"We thought you were dead." Grey says to the two of us.

"We thought one of you were dead." I say back, and we all frown. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck prick up and I hurriedly look around, just waiting for someone to burst out of the trees and attack us. These games are driving me crazy.