Violet's POV

My head whips around to survey my surroundings while my feet stay frozen and rigid. I don't dare take a step lest I set off the bomb on my pedestal.

I can't tell what's a dead end and what's not. My heart pounds in my ears as anxiety and dread threatens to consume me. A sick feeling invades my stomach and I try to push it away.

Forcing myself to breathe, I scan the other tributes. They all look scared to. I lock eyes with Phoebe across the circle and she makes a subtle gesture with her head towards the cornucopia.

I follow her gaze and see, piled among the other weapons, some sort of grappling hooks. Perfect for climbing the walls of the maze. I give her a subtle nod and mouth, Where's Aza?

She cranes her neck to look around the cornucopia. On the other side, she mouths.

The screen above the cornucopia flashes and a the voice that has been counting down this entire time becomes louder.

"10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1!"

Aidan's POV

Still shaken from the ring, I stare at the walls of the maze, rising up into the mist above. A maze. It just had to be a maze. My mind wanders, knowing how many dead ends I'll run into.

I'm going to die anyway. I've known that for a long time. But something about Eddy's ring givesme a confidence I didn't have before.

Feeling sick and jittery, I make a decision. I'm going to go for the cornucopia. Maybe I can get my hands on a sword and then...well at least I'll die trying.

The final count goes off and the other tributes sprint off of their pedestals with a speed I wish I had. My leg pulses with pain with every step I take but I ignore it. I need to be faster.

The pain only gets worse as I force my body to speed up. I reach the cornucopia, searching the supplies desperately for a sword. I find one, grab it and start running away from the bloodbath.

Someone grabs me and I nearly fall but I shove them back and keep going. I duck down corners of the maze blindly, praying that I won't run into dead ends.

Violet's POV

Reaching the cornucopia, I head straight for the knives. Another girl goes for them too, but I shove her aside. Grabbing as many as I can, I clutch them tightly and search for a backpack. Anything that might have food in it.

Finding one, I slip it over one shoulder the best I can and feel someone grab it, trying to yank it off my back.

Whirling around, I stab them, hitting their arm. It's a boy. From what district, I don't know but just as soon as he stumbles back, he starts at me again.

"Duck!" someone yells. I do, out of instinct and hear a sickening noise as a spear tears through the boy's body. I flinch as drops of his blood land on my face.

Phoebe stands over me, seemingly unfazed. She pulls the spear out of his body and asks, "Have you seen Aza?"

I shake my head For a horrible moment, I wonder if she's been killed. But then I see her, weaving her way through the chaos and holding...three grappling hooks.

"Aza, you're a genius!" I shout. "How did you get those?"

"No time for chit chat," says Phoebe, slinging one of them over her shoulder. She starts to run and Aza and I follow.

"The...careers are looking...for..bigger weapons. Swords...knives...spears and such. Didn't...notice me grab these." Aza pants out every word, her tiny legs fighting to keep up with Phoebe's long strides.

We enter the maze, running down a few passages before we reach a dead end.

"Let's see how well these work," comments Phoebe, aiming the hook at the top of the wall. She presses a button and it shoots up, wrapping around the hedge.

"Nice," I gasp, trying mine as well.

We start to climb, the hooks making the process much easier and faster. The hedges sink slightly beneath our feet when we reach the top, but I can see stone in the distance. Perfect for running on top of.

I point it out to my friends and we make our way towards it as fast as we can. We can see other tributes darting in and out of the shadows down below.

After what feels like an eternity, we reach the stone part of the maze, finding we can run across it much easier.

"Look," Aza pants, bend over and holding her knees when we take a break. "Down there."

There's an opening in the maze with flower bushes and a statue of President Snow surrounded by four wooden benches.

I glance at Phoebe, she seems to be the leader of the group, and she grins. "Perfect."

We latch our hooks onto the wall and rappel down to the ground. There's only one entrance to this area and we're so far into the maze that it should be safe for now.

Phoebe sits on one of the benches and sighs. "Great work girls."

Plopping down beside her, I ask, "Should we look over out supplies? See what we've got?"

"Sounds good to me," Aza replies. She has a pack as well and so does Phoebe. We spread out what we have across the soft, perfect grass that covers the ground in this area.

I have a few containers of dried food and an empty water bottle, as well as a blanket and my knives.

Aza has medicine in her back and somehow managed to grab an arrow from the bow and arrows that I had seen on the weapons rack.

Phoebe has another blanket and a light, as well as a canteen that actually has water in it.

She takes a small, tentative sip and declares it safe to drink. So we do, trying not to drink too much. It's difficult. My throat is dry and a small sip doesn't help much.

"So I guess we should set up camp here," muses Aza, leaning back on her hands.

"Guess so," Phoebe replies. Then she sighs again. "I'm going to be honest here. I'm really glad you girls are alive. I'd hate to be alone right now."

"Definitely," I say. But then I start to wonder. Can we all trust each other? We all know that even if we all survive to the end, only one of us can win. I try to push away the thought that Phoebe would kill us in our sleep.

She's not a career, I tell myself sternly.

We eat some of the crackers from my backpack and have a little more water. Since there are only two blankets and Aza and I are the smaller ones, we share.

The night is cold and I'm grateful for the heat-reflecting jacket.

Thirteen tributes have died. Their faces flash across the sky. One of them was the boy who Phoebe killed. There are no careers. There is no Aidan.

Aidan's POV

I don't think I've ever run so much in my life. I find a small clearing with an artificial pond, but I don't drink the water. You never know what could be in it and it would be a stupid move to drink some, no matter how thirsty I am.

I wish I had gotten some food or water at the cornucopia. I slap myself on the forehead, cursing my stupidity.

My leg, now screaming with pain from running so much, gives out and I collapse to a sitting position beside the pond.

Maybe I can spend the night here. I have my sword to defend myself. But I'm already feeling the effects of not having any food. I've always had enough to eat and the rich food in the capitol didn't help.

My stomach growls and I glare at it. Shut up. I'll find food tomorrow.

Lying down on the mossy ground beside the pond, I close my eyes and am immediately taken over by exhaustion.