My solution to the cliff hanger in the last chapter is to...

... make more cliff hangers.

Twelve

(Dark)

Nel and I sonido as fast as we can away from the Cornucopia, and guilt flares through my stomach. This shouldn't be happening... he's just another tribute... if he dies then it shouldn't matter...

But it feels as if it was wrong to leave him.

While I was trying to help him, Nel was able to pick up a rucksack, hopefully with enough goodies inside to last us for a while. We haven't had a chance to examine the contents yet and I'm afraid that there might not be anything useful inside. It would just like the Sereitei to trick us.

We both finally run out of energy for sonido and we land on a patch of sand, quickly scanning the area to make sure no one followed us. Once we're sure we're safe (for now) Nel pulls the rucksack off her back and unzips it.

'Let's see what we've got in here,' I say eagerly, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Inside we find eight packets of dried fruit, a full up water bottle and a blanket. Considering it could have been a lot worse, I guess I'm kind of pleased with this. Although, it would have been nice to find medicine in here in case something bad happens to me or Nel.

Over in the distance from where we just came, I hear an explosion and I begin to think of the horrible things they might have done to Hollow... oh, hell...

'Hey... Dark...?' Nel's voice sounds scared.'You might want to see this...'

I glance in her direction to find her staring fearfully at her feet. I look down and notice she's ankle-deep in the white sand. I notice the same thing is happening to me, and as I watch we begin to sink deeper.

'Quicksand!' I swear under my breath. 'Don't struggle! You'll make it happen faster if you do!'

Nel whimpers, her eyes open wide in fear.

'Shit!' I mutter. 'We're gonna need to pull ourselves out onto the normal sand.'

'But how do we tell which sand is okay to stand on?' Nel cries, her voice very high. 'It all looks the same!'

I decide to ignore this and focus on the positives. About six feet away slightly behind and to my right is a dead tree. One of the branches is not too far for me to reach if I use my scythe. 'Grab my hand,' I instruct Nel, holding out my left hand for her. 'I'm gonna try and hook the scythe onto that branch.'

'But it's a dead tree! It could break easily!'

'It's our best shot.'

By now we're knee-deep and completely vulnerable if another tribute comes along. I consider trying to sonido out of it but this arena was designed by the Gamemakers so there's no way they'd let a tribute outsmart them. If anything, I would imagine trying to escape using that method would only make the situation worse.

I lift up the scythe and reach up for the branch. After a few swings, I manage to place the blade of the scythe on the branch. 'I think it's secure,' I say, and then I give the scythe a little tug to test the branch.

The branch snaps.

'No!' I shout as the scythe falls out of my hands. It lands on the quicksand and is quickly swallowed up.

'Oh, hell...' I might as well give up. Even if I do get out of the quicksand, what's the point of going on if I know I have no chance of winning? I am nothing without my scythe- I only ever managed to perform that one cero in my private session with the Gamemakers. And I have had that scythe for such a long time, so it feels as if it's a part of me. If I had a heart, I'm sure it would be broken. They say it's not possible for a Hollow to love. But then, when has anyone else been right about us?

I reach up with my hand to touch the piece of cloth wrapped around my neck, the part of Byakuya's scarf that was cut off as a token for me. I wonder what Byakuya and Rukia are thinking right now. Rukia will be panicking. Byakuya will probably be as emotionless as ever. And yet... before I left he told me he was proud of me, so this must be effecting him too.

'Dark! What are we going to do?!'

'We...' I take a deep breath. Even if I give up, this isn't fair on Nel. I try to shuffle towards her in the hope that maybe I can pull her out of the quicksand. But when I lay eyes on her, I find that she is up to her neck, and when I look down I can clearly see the sand has reached my waist. We're sinking at a rapid pace. Hyperventilating in panic, I try reaching out to Nel but as I watch, her face is covered in sand and she disappears.

'NO! NEL!'

I try digging around in the spot where she went under but it's too late- she's gone.

'NEL!' I scream, overwhelmed with horror and guilt. This can't be-

'Well, well, well, look who we have here!'

I look up to see a group of three, two girls and a boy. The boy and one of the girls are from Ten (Yammy and I can't remember the girl) and the other girl is from... Six, I think.

'Looks like you're a bit... stuck,' the girl from Six says and the other two roar with laughter. I pull my hands out of the sand after quite a bit of effort and lift them up, determined to perform my second ever cero. I picture sweet, innocent little Nel, who never deserved something so horrible to happen to her. I think of Hollow, who could still be alive but who is probably dead. And the last thing he did for me was to save me.

The anger swells up in me, and I release the cero. I hear them all yell in anger and when the smoke clears I can clearly see the tributes clutching various wounds on their bodies, all three glaring at me. But they'll never get the chance to kill me- the quicksand will take care of that. They take a few steps towards me, desperate to kill me before I disappear.

I send them one last mocking grin, knowing that I have at least left my mark. Many people flash through my mind as I descend into the sand. The Kurosaki family... Rangiku... Shinji... Byakuya... Rukia... Nel...

… Hollow...

I am swallowed by the sand.

XOXOXOX

[Hollow]

Lilinette and Starkk walk towards me, both of them readying their weapons in anticipation. I push myself to my feet, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. There are quite a few other tributes in the area, and they've all noticed that I am currently the weakest and most vulnerable tribute because of my injuries. I concentrate on the positives: Dark and Nel got away. It makes me feel a bit better but it's not removing the fear coursing through me. Holy crap... I've never been this scared before.

I guess this is what the Hollow Games does to you. If I do somehow magically win, I'm gonna be paranoid for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, there is a flash of blue and the next thing I know I am soaring through the air, watching an explosion from a blue cero just feet from where I once stood. Who it was intended for, I don't know. Probably all of us.

I hit the ground and all the air is knocked out of me. I lie winded on the sand, gasping for breath, feeling a horrible pain in my chest.

Get up... I have to get up!

Groaning as a load of new pains awaken, I push myself to my knees, and I'm relatively pleased to see that no one else has been blown in my direction. As the smoke clears from beside the Cornucopia, I see Grimmjow standing there, laughing like the maniac that he is. His bloody cero. Asshole.

Nevertheless, it did prevent my death. At least, temporarily.

I get onto my feet, immensely glad that I still have enough energy for sonido. I have no idea which direction Nel and Dark travelled in, but for now I'm gonna focus on leaving all other tributes behind. I guess I'm luckier than I thought- especially since I have such a fast sonido.

I don't stop until all energy leaves me. I collapse against a dead tree, breathing heavily, my head aching and my eardrums ringing from the explosion. My head is spinning and I close my eyes, knowing that doing that is a bad idea in the arena but doing it anyway. After a few minutes, I find the strength to open my eyes and survey my surroundings.

Behind the tree I'm leaning on is a forest of dead trees. Maybe further in there are some alive ones, but I seriously doubt it. With all these dead trees, and the fact that this is a desert tells me that... there is no water.

Oh no.

How are any of us supposed to last without water?

I decide that I'm going to enter the forest in the hope that I may find something useful there. I have no supplies and no weapon, so I can do a lot worse, decision-wise.

Just as I step between the first few trees, I hear two cannons fire.

... sorry. Really. I'll update as soon as possible. I owe you guys that.