Hey, to start I have an advertisement for skyline99's SYOT! They're currently seeking to gain tributes. Check it out, and if you submit one, be sure to root for my dear little tribute, Pandora. :)

Anyways, I ran out of ideas but at least three of you said you wanted to see a Cole chapter so I thought I'd just cater to you guys for this one. It's an AU of what could've happened if he and Channa had run away.

"Channa…what would you say if I asked you to come away with me?"

She should have said no. She knew the Careers would hunt them down for it. And she didn't want to betray Hip, her district partner. But something about Cole seemed so genuine when he told her she could be strong without them. His soft blue eyes contained no signs of guile. She couldn't turn him down.

"Okay," Channa whispered, excitement pulsing in her veins, "Let's go."

Cole's face practically lit up in the dark. Wordlessly, he pulled Channa close to him and hugged her. She tried to relax in his embrace, but her heart was pounding uncontrollably as she sorted through the implications of this plan in her head.

"Don't worry," He murmured, as if sensing her discomfort, "I'll look after you."

Together, they rose to their feet and trod silently towards the Cornucopia. The other three Careers were huddled on the sleeping bags, silent and unmoving. Cole spared a glance at them as he passed by. It would be dangerous to stay with them for much longer… He thought, eyeing the spear Sienna clutched in her little hand. Words couldn't begin describe his relief when Channa said she would come with him. As the most useless member of the group—at least, according to the others—then his demise couldn't be far off.

"GOTCHA!" A loud yelp nearly sent Cole fleeing into the dark.

But he paused, taking a moment to observe the source of the danger. It was Hip; he was flailing about in his sleep, mumbling incoherently. His voice rose in volume at random intervals. Cole could pick out a few words…from what he gathered, Hip was still murdering tributes in his sleep. A chill ran up his spine.

"Jeez, that scared me." Channa's breath tickled his ear, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Cole turned to look at her. She was standing there with three backpacks dangling off of her, and her sai gripped in her hands. Cole couldn't help but chuckle. "Here, let me help you." He offered, taking two of the backpacks from her.

Channa offered him a sweet smile. "Thanks. Do you have your knives?"

"Oh…those are kind of important." He spotted them at the edge of the sleeping mass of Careers. Quietly, he gathered them up and tucked them away, careful not to disturb any of the tributes.

Channa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, weapons are kind of important." She said sarcastically.

Cole felt a flash of hurt, though he tried not to show it. He hoped his blunder wouldn't affect Channa's decision.

He sighed gratefully when she began to move off, saying in a hushed voice, "Okay, now let's go! Before Hip's sleep-talking wakes them all up."

Cole nodded, catching up to Channa to walk in stride with her. Without a word, he reached out and grabbed her hand, twining his fingers with her. She didn't protest.

Together, they escaped into the darkness.


A minute after they left, Sienna got up and followed them. Unable to sleep, she had heard every last word. She could care less about their betrayal—if anything; the Games had just gotten more interesting. She could kill them without any repercussions now.

But not yet. Instead, she kept to the shadows, tracking them. They selected a building and disappeared inside. A small smirk crossed Sienna's face.

Trapped like rats.

Still, she would deal with them tomorrow, with the rest of her alliance. After all, in the words of Channa, a growing girl needed her rest…


"Wake up."

Hip groaned, trying to force open his eyes. Light flooded his vision and he immediately snapped them shut. "Five more minutes." He mumbled.

Bridon grunted an agreement from the far side of the sleeping bag.

Sienna gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Fine, maybe this will wake you up: Channa and Cole left last night and took three of our backpacks. They betrayed us."

Hip and Bridon were instantly awake. Bridon shot to his feet, looking furious. "WHAT?" He snarled, a vein throbbing at his temple.

Hip just sat there, looking dazed. "…Channa left?" He repeated in a quiet voice.

Bridon rounded on him. "Did you know anything about this?!" He demanded angrily.

Hip jumped to his feet, fearlessly facing up to Bridon, despite their dramatic height difference. "Of course not!" He growled, glaring at the older Career, "Use your head, why don't you? Why would I still be hanging around this joint if I were in cahoots with them?!"

Bridon glowered down at Hip, but said nothing. The answer was obvious.

"Calm down." Sienna said, smirking, "I saw the building they went into…we'll just hunt them down, kill them, and take back the stuff they stole." She shrugged, like there was nothing to it.

Bridon backed down. "All right," He agreed gruffly, "Let's get ready to go."

They woke up by splashing water on their faces and scarfed down breakfast in an odd silence. Sienna looked to Hip, who appeared to be sulking. "Don't worry about it, Hip. We'll all be dead soon enough." Except for me. She added silently.

"I'm not worried." Hip said in a light voice, avoiding eye contact, "I just think it's funny Channa would run off with some smelly District 5 kid."

Bridon snorted. "Smelly?"

"Well yeah…all District 5 kids smell." Hip said matter-of-factly.

"That's just a stereotype." Sienna pointed out.

Hip lifted his chin defiantly. "Well, there's a bit of truth behind every stereotype." He said in a superior tone of voice.

Bridon and Sienna exchanged a glance. "Even the District 1 stereotypes?"

"What are the District 1 stereotypes?" Hip asked curiously, lifting up his mace and slinging it over his shoulder. The three of them set off while Sienna tried to hold back a derisive laugh. Bridon remained silent, focused on what lay ahead. "Tell me!" Hip said, sounding insulted.

"Well, it's common knowledge in District 2 that everyone is District 1 is undeniably beautiful, but they have no brains to speak of…none, whatsoever." Sienna snickered.

Hip puffed out his chest. "Heh. I am pretty beautiful, aren't I?"


Channa woke up with her head resting on Cole's chest. After locating a safe place in the building, she had instantly fallen asleep, leaving Cole to watch over her. They switched off periodically during the night. Channa had spent her waking hours on edge, half-expecting the Careers to come barreling after them. But the night was calm.

Now, it was morning. The rising sun glinted on the skyscrapers, casting warmth and light down onto the arena. For some reason, this only heightened Channa's paranoia. The blanket of darkness that had enfolded them had also seemed to protect them during their escape. With the sun out, she felt extremely exposed.

But Cole was there to calm her. "We'll just stay here for the day," He told her soothingly, combing his fingers through her hair, "We have plenty of food and water…we're safe here."

"We can't just sit here." Channa murmured, feeling a flash of frustration.

"Yes we can," Cole laughed quietly.

Channa pushed herself up, tearing out of Cole's grasp. "I'm a Career." She said firmly.

Cole just looked at her blankly.

Working her magic, she pushed out her lower lip and batted her eyelashes. "Please, Cole. Just sitting here, waiting for them to find us…I don't like it." She said, adding just the right touch of sadness to her tone.

Cole was easily manipulated. "Okay," He agreed, "I've been wanting to explore the arena anyways. Can we go to the amusement park?"

"Of course we can." She smiled, "Now let's eat breakfast and get going…we should hide our stuff here so it doesn't weigh us down."

"Good idea!" Cole said, full of praise, "You always know what to do Channa!"

She gave a light laugh. Oh, Cole. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to leave with him…he does anything I ask, and he would never dream of hurting me. He's definitely more trustworthy than the others. Still, I feel bad for taking advantage of…no. No, I don't. Once again, she had to scold herself for caring.

After a quick meal, she secured her swords on her person as Cole picked out his sharpest knife. Then they set off for the amusement park. As they went, they held a cheerful conversation on which tribute they would most like to kill.

"Definitely Frederick or Abbadon…" Channa was saying as they tramped down the boardwalk, "But I'd like to stab that little District 11 brat too. She's escaped us twice now. Of course, third time's a charm…"

"I don't really have anyone I'd like to see dead." Cole said thoughtfully, "Except maybe Sienna. She scares me."

"…Me too." Channa admitted.

They both laughed, finding their mutual fear of the little girl to be rather entertaining. At this point, they reached the amusement park. Channa glanced around warily, on guard for any approaching Careers. Cole, however, was calm.

"Wow, look at all of this!" He said, motioning to the colorful array of rides and games, "What should we do first?"

Channa pulled a face. "Um, I don't know, find a tribute to kill?"

But Cole was already running off towards the games section, where each station was covered in blinking lights. He went straight to the crane game, with the Head Gamemaker's face hovering over it.

"Channa, come look at this!" He called, just a little bit too loud.

"Shut up!" She hissed, eyes darting side to side, "Don't forget where we are, Cole!"

His eyes widened apologetically. "You're right. I'm so sorry!"

Channa couldn't help but smirk. He reminded her of a golden retriever…eager to please, but terribly desolate at the smallest criticism. It made him all the more charming. "It's fine. But don't bother with that game…there's no way to pay for it. And you can't bust through it either. Hip already tried." She felt a pang of loss at the thought of Hip. Was he doing all right? Or had Bridon taken out his anger on him?

Cole turned back to the glass box, observing it. Then, without warning, he jammed his palm down onto a needle. Channa clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming as blood spurted forth. Cole slapped the hand down on some sort of scanner and the game came to life.

"Cole…!" Channa exclaimed, still feeling a bit unsettled by the sudden display of violence.

Cole grinned at her, clenching his bloody fist. "Any preference?" He asked, pointing to the prizes inside the case with his good hand.

"The grenade." Channa replied, putting on an angelic smile. "We can use it to blow up Sienna."

"Sounds like a plan." Cole took hold of the controls and began to move the claw to the correct position.

"I wonder what the others are up to…" Channa murmured, watching him go.

"They probably haven't even woken up yet." Cole said, lowering the claw. It scraped uselessly at the grenade, then rose back up, empty-handed. "Shoot! I'm gonna try again." He deposited more blood.

"You're right," Channa sighed, continuing their conversation, "They're always so slow to get started in the morning."

Cole nodded. "They won't start hunting for tributes until it's well past noon."

"Or maybe we got an early start today."

Cole flinched and Channa gave a small cry of surprise. They whipped around to see Bridon, Sienna, and Hip standing behind them, armed with their weapons. Hip was the one who had spoken. He was glaring at Cole with narrowed brown eyes. The other two were focused on Channa. A chill ran up her spine as she locked eyes with Sienna and her hands groped for the swords at her side. She secretly hoped the little devil hadn't heard her wisecrack about blowing her up.

She forced a smile and lied, "Hey guys! We just wanted to get an early start today…we were gonna come back right after-!"

"You're lying." Sienna said in a voice laced with ice, "I heard every word of your conversation and I saw you leave with the backpacks."

"The Careers don't take kindly to traitors." Bridon said fiercely, glowering at Channa.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. She definitely wasn't getting out of this one.

Cole felt as if his chest might burst from fear, but he forced himself to remain calm. Brushing against Channa, he murmured, "I'll protect you."

Hip let out a bark of laughter. "You protect her? You're not even a true Career! We should have just killed you back in the Bloodbath…"

Cole looked at Hip and recalled how they had fought side by side during the Bloodbath. Of course, that didn't seem to matter anymore. Hip turned his gaze to Channa, his eyes full of hostility, but the usual smirk planted on his face.

"It's too bad you made the mistake of running off with this loser, Channa. I was actually starting to like you…sadly, I still don't think I could kill you even if I tried." His grin broadened. "Good thing I have Sienna and Bridon here to do it for me."

Channa's eyes narrowed to slits, but before she could respond, Bridon spoke up.

"Enough talk," He growled, "Let's just get this over with."

"I call Cole!" Sienna piped up.

Hip turned and frowned at her. "Now wait a second. I just said…"

With a loud battle cry, Cole launched himself straight at Hip, knife raised high over his head. Hip gave a jerk of surprise and tried to dodge, but he was one second too slow. Cole dug the knife into the dark-haired boy's back and the terrible sound of ripping flesh filled the air.

In the same moment, Sienna lashed out with her spear and stabbed Cole's thigh. He cried out and released Hip, stumbling backwards. His knife slipped from his hand, remaining lodged in Hip's back. Channa jumped into the fray, going to Cole's aid. In the same instant, Bridon slashed his knife at her. She raised one of her swords, blocking him from doing any damage.

He drew back and drove he knife forward once more, but she dodged. She was faster than Bridon. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cole and Sienna wrestling for the little girl's spear. Hip was staggering to his feet, bringing the mace back to throw it.

"Cole, look out!" Channa shrieked. She flung herself forward, narrowly missing being impaled by Bridon's knife. She flew towards Hip, her twin swords whistling as they cut through air.

Hindered by the knife in his back, Hip couldn't get away in time. With a single swipe, Channa carved a neat red gash across his jugular. His eyes widened with hurt. Blood sprayed from the wound, coating him in sticky red liquid. Then he sunk to his knees, his face grim with defeat.

Channa gasped and felt tears spring to her eyes as she realized what she had done. "Hip…!" She choked out, "I'm so sorr-!"

In that instant, Bridon grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back. He pressed his blade to her throat and sliced it open before she could even scream.

"NO!" Cole shrieked, his voice raw with grief. He watched helplessly as Channa collapsed before his eyes, like a marionette without strings. He sunk to the ground, just staring at her, willing her to get up. Tears streamed down his face, but he hardly noticed. Please get up! You can't be dead…you just can't be!

The cannon sounded twice in a row, confirming that District 1 was out of the running for this year. Cole let out a sorrowful wail. Cursing, Bridon yanked him up by his hair, cutting off the pitiful sound. He shoved Cole forward so that he was face to face with the bodies of Hip and Channa.

"You see?" Bridon snarled, "You have only yourself to thank for this!"

Cole could only whimper in response. Channa looked beautiful even in death. Crimson blood pooled from her throat, mixing with Hip's, who was curled on the ground beside her. Cole could see the knife sticking out of the boy's back. At the sight of it, revenge burned in him like a flame, molding with the sorrow he felt.

He lunged forward, aiming to grab it, but Bridon yanked him backwards. Pain shot through the roots of his hair and he cried out. Letting loose another curse word, Bridon heaved him at the pavement. Cole hit the ground hard, smashing his forehead into it. Pain reverberated throughout his body and his vision blurred.

"Get out of here," Came Bridon's deep voice, "Go drown in your guilt…we'll kill you later."

Cole stumbled to his feet and ran for his life. Sobs ripped from his throat as he went, the image of Channa lying dead on the ground forever seared into his mind.

Bridon gave him five seconds head start. Then he looked to Sienna. "Kill him."

A cruel smile crossed her face as she brought her arm back to throw the spear.

I think it's safe to assume the District 2 Careers would've stolen the show from here. Also, I was listening to songs that suit Cole and Hip for this chapter. "Must Have Done Something Right" by Relient K for Cole and "Beg" by Evans Blue for Hip seemed pretty fitting. Uhh, let's see here, hint, hint…

Can't think of a good one so I'll just tell you the chapter title. Final Judgment: The 44th Hunger Games. Heh, doesn't tell you much, does it? Then again, maybe it does…