I know this update took longer than the others, but I've had a crazy month, with Camp NaNoWriMo and hospital visits and a wedding and an upcoming trip out of state and week of camp... So, I'm sorry for the delay.

I hope this chapter gets reviewed, because I've taken time out of my busy month to write it. I really love these characters and the story and my readers, and I want to know what you guys think!

Please remember to vote on my poll, as it plays a big role in how the rankings change from day to day.

Noelle Minerva, President

After a long night of searching, the Career pack finally found a tribute. Two, actually. Binary Richter and Aviary Starling. The pack was caught in the heavy rainfall just yards from the tree where the two girls spent the night. When the sun rose, the two guards, Giselle Lear and Terrian Cane, saw them climb down from their tree. And the chase began.

Binary, who had their bag and only weapon, took off immediately. Aviary's reaction time was a tad slower, and Alecsandra's knife landed in her right shoulder.

I watch now, glued to the screen like every citizen in the country, as the girls try desperately to flee their five pursuers. It's been only a few minutes now, but I can see the Careers already tire from the chase. They searched the woods for tributes most of the night, and are weighed down by heavy weapons.

All seven tributes run across the open plain, panting. Aviary is in pain, you can tell, but she doesn't ever stop following Binary, who runs straight for the Cornucopia. It still has lots of supplies in it, things the Careers have picked over and don't want. My guess is that Binary hopes she'll find some better form of defense among the left-overs.

There's a knock on the door of my study.

"What?" I snap, pulling my eyes off the television. A small man with neatly combed blond hair interrupts me. He clears his throat quietly.

"Who are you?" I ask, so wishing I could just return to watching my Games.

The man seems ofended. "Coriolanus Snow, ma'am. Your Head Advisor."

"Oh," I say, vaguely remembering my few exchanges with him. There hasn't been much for him to advise me on since he was hired. "What is it?"

"There's been an accident, ma'am."

"To what degree?"

"Julius Waxis underwent a breakthrough procedure designed to reverse the aging cycle of body cells, which would not only renew the patient's skin and appearance but extend life expectancy–"

"And...?"

"It... The procedure... it failed, ma'am. Went horribly wrong. Julius is irreparably crippled. It isn't likely he'll survive."

"So, you're telling me that in the middle of my Head Gamemaker's final Hunger Games, while I am already searching for her replacement, I have lost my familiar-faced interviewer as well?"

"Unfortunately, ma'am."

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Um..."

"Don't waste my time with this nonsense! Replace him. Conduct interviews and find a worthy replacement by this time tomorrow, or I'll see to it that we replace you as well!"

"Yes, ma'am."

My eyes have just returned to the screen when I hear the cannon boom. Aviary's body is slowly lifted from the arena, with Luciano Kellan's sword sticking out of her stomach.

Channing Keynes, District Twelve

The sound of the cannon jolts me awake. It's morning, finally. I thought that nightmare would never end.

I had won the Games, been crowned victor, and returned home. Everything was perfect, just as I imagined it being. Except one thing: Klara. The tiny thirteen year old from Ten. She was my first, perhaps my only kill. Unarmed, defenseless. So small. She haunted me, everywhere I went. Even though I killed her to avenge my girlfriend and best friend, she never left me.

I shudder, the memory of her last pleas still fresh in my mind. If I do win this thing, I have to make it count. I'll quit drinking, become a nice person again, and do everything in my power to bring home every tribute I have to mentor. And I'm not doing it just for Lili and Leon anymore, but for Klara, too.

I decide that I'm not going to kill anymore. If I die, I die. But I can't take another person's life, even if it means losing my own.

I spend the next few hours wandering through the woods until I come across a steep cliff rising before me. I settle here, setting down my things and leaning against the smooth rock. This is where I'll stay.

My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I haven't eaten since late afternoon yesterday, when I broke into my stash of crackers, eating four. I eat four more now, and two beef strips, telling myself that this will have to keep me satisfied until tonight.

Giles Jonesman, Games Announcer

"And the new rankings are in, folks!" I say cheerily. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of the monitor that shows what Panem is seeing. My face, which is sharing the screen with an ever-changing shot of what the tributes are up to, is replaced with the new list of tribute rankings, which is seven slots shorter. I study the sheet they gave me, which also has the rankings, and read:

"Luciano Kellan in first place, making quite the jump from the eleventh ranking, with Terrian Cane a close second. Alecsandra Sillago had been bumped down to third place. Channing Keynes, who used to be tied with Alecsandra for second, has moved all the way down to eleventh." I let the audience figure out how the rest of the rankings have changed.

1. Luciano Kellan, District Four

2. Terrian Cane, District Nine

3. Alecsandra Sillago, District Four

4. Terra Whiskart, District Eleven

4. Hunter Petrelli, District Six

5. Achilles Grate, District Two

5. Lupus Falkland, District One

6. Hazel Evans, District Eleven

7. James Roy, District Five

7. Wyatt Moore, District Three

8. Esthere Lumanti, District Eight

9. Crow Wynters, District Eight

9. Mira Andrelo, District Six

10. Giselle Lear, District One

11. Channing Keynes, District Twelve

12. Colleen Jane Colt, District Twelve

13. Binary Richter, District Three

"Well folks, those are your tribute rankings as of... 8:56 in the morning on the second day of the Games. Don't you go anywhere, because there is plenty more to watch as the rest of the day unfolds!"

"Cut!" my director yells, and I leave my seat. Announcing the Games is tiring work, so I try to catch a break whenever possible. Hopefully nobody will die before I eat my breakfast.