I apologize for the moderately long delay. I wanted to write this chapter a lot more quickly, but I had a really busy week. The next chapters should come faster. Anyway, here's the second part of the games and day 1.

RueThisDay: That was definitely one of the more surprising reviews I've ever received. I thought it was hilarious how impressed you were with how long the chapter was (yes, I meant LONG). I hope this isn't a determent from reading the fic, though. Trust me, you don't even really need to read the thing a whole chapter at a time. The chapters are formatted the same way and join in together so that they could really be split just about anywhere. It's more so the character sections that really matter (which are only 1,000 words, typically, or shorter). Anyway, thanks for that review and I hope that if you ever get the chance you will check into reading this story. ;) Thanks again.

ghostleon: First, thanks for the correction. I changed it, so hopefully there aren't a lot of confused people out there. Anyway, I'd also like to thank you for your comments on the acid pit and the altar. I wanted to throw in some unusual Capitol-created stuff, and I thought the acid pit would work. It would have been SO much less exciting if that was an actual pond. I hope to throw in some other surprising things as well, but I'll keep my mouth shut regarding the details. :p Thanks again for your awesome continued support and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Day 1 - Evening

Fetch Zimmer (District 14 Male)

What was that noise? What was all this blackness? Where was he? Fetch opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a few times to steady his vision and propped himself up with the elbows of his arms. He was in the grass. He looked around himself. The sun was beginning to set, offering a warm glow that seemed to make the arena just a tad more beautiful. In front of him stood the staircase that led up to the front porch of the house. As he glanced around his body, he noticed that he was concealed by much of a large bush, for it appeared he has landed next to it before he lost consciousness.

He began to recollect whatever he could. He was searching for his allies: Axem, Stark, and Angel. He was going back through the house when he heard a loud commotion and possible fighting, and was surprised to find a door flung into his face as someone ran outside. Whoever opened the door into his face mustn't have had time to stop and kill him. He was thankful for this. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but someone he managed to survive even in an asleep state.

Thinking of the door made his face hurt, though. As he touched his noise, he winced and shuddered at the pain. His hand seemed to hurt, too…yes, that was from when Jape had trapped it between the metal spokes on the gate. He grumbled and picked himself up. He needed to finish his mission, no matter what the cost might have been.

And so he snuck around the front of the house (along the bushes right next to its east wing) until he reached the side of the house that had the lake. He bypassed it quickly: the water was right out in the open, so he didn't want to risk getting seen. And anyway, the tribute only had a knife with which to defend himself. Everyone else probably has a bunch of weapons by now…

He moved to the forest, a place he had not yet explored. As he entered he immediately noticed all of the strange game-maker-created plants that infested the area. He ignored them and moved forward. The forest was thick at some points and created clearings at others. He avoided the clearings and stuck to sneaking around the populous trees and bushes and other plant life.

Thwip!

A thin and quick sound caught Fetch's ears. An arrow stuck out from the tree aside of him, mere inches from his head. The tribute gaped at his own unawareness and began to high-tail it away from the area. If a hunter was in the area, the last thing he wanted to do was try to fend them off with his knife. And so, he dashed.

But not before long, he heard, "Fetch! Wait, Fetch!"

The man knew that voice. He stopped his running (but kept walking away at a brisk pace, in case this was a trap) and turned around. He could see through the leaves that Axem was hobbling his way over to the tribute from district fourteen. When Fetch saw Axem, he nearly lost it. "You almost hit me!"

"I'm sorry," Axem said quickly. "I thought—"

"You were trying to kill me, weren't you?" Fetch said in disbelief. He drew his knife on the man with the bow and asked, "Weren't you?"

Axem said, "No, no! You see, I thought you were someone else. From behind, you kinda looked like Xion…"

"Xion?!" Fetch yelled. "Xion?!" Axem tried to quiet him down. "That guy? That guy's like…six inches taller than I am." He looked down at the ground. "And besides, I'm a lot tougher looking than he is." Once more he paused. "And, I have tattoos!"

Axem shifted uncomfortably. "I suppose that was a dire error. I…I won't make that mistake again."

"You better not."

Fetch put his knife in his pocket and turned away from the tribute. He thought in his mind how much he hated Axem. The man would only serve to slow him down. Why on Earth had two careers such as Angel and Stark agreed to let Axem join their alliance? Surely, they wanted to lose.

"You know," Axem said.

"Hmm?"

"Our camp isn't far from here. Angel's building a bomb and Stark's trying to find you. I…I had the duty of shooting down any infiltrators."

"And you sure didn't do that too well," Fetch commented. "You practically missed my head by ten feet!"

Axem asked, "Isn't that a good thing?"

Fetch snorted. "Even if you had hit me I would have lived. It takes more than one little arrow to take someone like me down. Please…" he said condescendingly. "Now, let's move. Take me to this little 'camp'." She shooed Axem to the front of the duo and made him lead. Fetch followed behind, uninterested, and eventually said, "Couldn't you walk any faster?"

"You know I have that leg…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Fetch said to the air. He rolled his eyes and walked behind Axem the rest of the way. He exuded complaints from time to time, but Axem was just thankful that Fetch wasn't out to kill him after the bow and arrow incident. And by the time Fetch was beginning to grow tired from walking, Axem had successfully led him to Angel and Stark.

"Huh," Fetch said. "I thought you were supposed to be looking for me." He pointed to Stark, who shrugged and swallowed awkwardly.

"I was," he said. "Where were you?"

"Never mind that," Fetch said quickly. He turned to Axem. "There are other matters to discuss. This man here tried to kill me earlier. With that very bow. He tried to shoot me from behind. I think…he is untrustworthy."

Angel looked uninterested. "Axem did that? Well, we told him to shoot down anyone he saw."

Fetch looked at her with bulged eyes. "And that included your own partner?"

The male career stepped in. "Now, we didn't know you were going to come walking into our campsite. Please, stop with the over dramatics. Axem didn't fire on you on purpose."

"And do you know that? Can you guarantee that? I don't want to be allying with people who are trying to kill me."

Angel rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Fetch, you complain a lot."

"What?" Fetch asked. "You think I'm complaining? I don't complain. I've been in prison for years now. I can take whatever kind of pain you throw at me. I don't complain. You don't know true suffering until you've been to district fourteen."

"If you're so strong, then why must you worry so much about an unintentional shot?" Angel asked. "Axem obviously wouldn't want to kill you. We need as big a party as we can get."

"Right," the male from district five said.

Fetch grumbled. "You wouldn't sound like that if he actually killed me."

Angel just turned and went back to her bomb-building.

Fox Berry (District 5 Female)

Nothing could touch her if she was locked away in a bedroom upstairs for the remainder of the Hunger Games. Fox had claimed a bedroom early on as her own and merely waited. She had done nothing. She had not looked for water, nor had she made a run on the cornucopia. She had immediately took off to the nearest room, which had taken her to a staircase. Once on the staircase, she took it up and up again until she found herself on the fourth floor of the mansion. She had been lying in her bedroom since the beginning of the Hunger Games and showed no signs of wanting to move.

As the hours dragged by, Fox began to wonder just how long she'd be able to stay in that room. The red flower wallpaper seemed like it was taunting her, and the ceiling fan in the room just wouldn't work. Worse yet, the room was stifling. The longer she remained, the less she thought she'd be able to fulfill her plan of waiting the games out.

She grew bored easily, and each time her mind tried to wander from the present to her life back at home, she snapped herself out of the memories. She couldn't succumb to homesickness. That would be the ultimate toll that would drive her over the edge of insanity. So, she kept her mind busy.

That wallpaper…it seemed to be saying something to her. On it were red flowers with unattractively vibrant green stems. They curled around in an art nouveau kind of manner, and by the time the tip of the flower reached the base of the stem, the entire thing just looked like some sort of distorted face. And that face was taunting her. Her mind heard whispers and her ears seemed to be ringing. It was like the wallpaper was telling her she could never win. It was like it was telling her her plan would never work out. She would need food, she learned from the face. The Hunger Games could last weeks. More important, the flower told her, she would need water.

Fox shivered a little bit. It was hot, yet she couldn't help but feel a cold chill run up and down her back. Her hands grew clammy and her mind began to race. She couldn't win, she realized. She'd have to leave. She shook her head a few times, and for a moment she began to think of home. But no…she couldn't do that. She couldn't let her homesickness escape the mental cage in which it was located. Fox tuned the thought out and went back to focusing on the room. She looked out the window and saw the garden and part of the left side of the graveyard. This made her shudder. A graveyard? In a game centered around death?

"You can never win." Fox pulled her head away from the window. It was happening again. She began to wonder if she would be able to stay even a minute longer in that room. Every time her mind tried to think of home, she forbade it. And when she forbade that thought, the wallpaper and its faces began to talk. And when it did, she began to worry. And then, when she worried, she tried to think of home. But…she couldn't let herself. She sighed and looked around the room. Perhaps, she thought, there would be something in there to keep her mind off her thoughts.

But as she explored the room and its emptiness, she realized she was alone. She and that face. She winced and tried to sleep. It was no use. It was too early. She was too hyperactive. And her mind…it wouldn't stop thinking.

Vyxsin Esher (District 7 Female)

Vyxsin was in the kitchen looking for a container. Ricco had sent her there after thinking it'd be best to split up. They were on the hunt for a container that they could possibly use to carry around the poisonous juices known as the Quell Drop. Even so much as a touch to the hand of the Quell Drop was enough to kill a person. The poison was activated through simple human contact, so injecting the Quell Drop was more than enough to kill a person. For this reason, she and Ricco would need to make sure they had this poison under control.

There was nothing she could find in the kitchen, though. There were a few cabinets just out of reach at the top of the room, but she didn't really care about those. She ventured out and tried looking for another room. There had to be something to contain the poison in. Perhaps they'd get sponsored?

Vyxsin found herself walking into the ballroom. At the end of the room were a few closets. She moved over to check inside them, but there seemed to be virtually nothing in each one. The final closet, she could tell, had something in it. Even from outside of the closet she could see that there was something inside. She walked quickly over to the doors and began to pull. At first the doors caught on something, but then she pulled harder and was able to open the doors.

And as she did, she felt two pairs of rough hands pull her away from the doors. She yelped out something and struggled to break free of their grasp, but the attempt was useless. Whoever was behind her was strong. They were probably careers.

"You're coming with us," A female said. It was Lilac, Vyxsin could tell. Lilac was vicious.

"Let's go." That was the voice of Xion. Xion was even worse. Vyxsin just screamed. She let out a blood curdling scream at the top of her lungs and tried kicking and flailing her legs and arms.

"Please! No!" She screamed some more as the two careers dragged her out of the room. She felt hot tears streaming down her face as she tried to break free from their grasp. But once again, she stayed where she was. There was no denying she'd never be able to break free from their hold.

"Let's just kill her now!"

"No!" Xion said harshly. "We need her alive. She needs to be a sacrifice!"

"So?"

"You can't sacrifice a dead body. That's why it's called a sacrifice." The two had pulled Vyxsin with them as they exited the room. The non-career was still screaming and yelling and screeching wildly for any kind of help to come. But, the longer she waited, the more she began to lose hope. And with no weapons to help her, she knew there was likely little chance she was going to survive.

The two careers were carrying her up some stairs. Vyxsin had no weapon, and so she resorted to trying to punch Xion and Lilac in their backs. Of course, the careers didn't so much as flinch when she made these attempts. Vyxsin continued to scream louder than ever, and soon the careers slowed to a stop.

They appeared to be at the top floor of the house, and Xion and Lilac were examining a button on the wall. All the while, Vyxsin was held between them and forced around rudely as the other two moved about. And then the wall opened up. Vyxsin looked on in confusion as she saw the elevator doors open. For a second she was calm and confused, but then she remembered Xion use the word "sacrifice". What…were they going to do?!

As the girl was pushed in the elevator, Xion and Lilac were pressing the button marked "B". Vyxsin held her breathe for a second. What was happening? Where was she going? Her heart was thumping and her mind was racing. "Come on," Xion said as the elevator doors closed. He took her roughly by the shoulder and led her into a dark room.

Lilac followed behind her. When Vyxsin saw the massive wall, she screamed. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew this wasn't good. She screamed and kicked and flailed and tried to punch Xion. Lilac came over and elbowed her in the head, quieting the girl to only a low whimper. "Shut up."

Xion took Vyxsin by the arms and began to drag her toward the wall. He spotted the hole at the bottom where the sacrifice needed to be placed, then glanced up at the oasis beyond the wall that always taunted them. He and Lilac both began forcing the screaming girl into the hole, who tried to do anything to ward off the two muscular tributes. She kicked Xion in the face once, but this only made him more angry.

All of Vyxsin's screaming masked what Xion and Lilac failed to hear: the elevator opened.

Thwack! Xion went toppling to the ground as he was clobbered on the head with a large and sturdy piece of wood. Lilac whirled around to meet the attacker and received a painful blow upside the face. She staggered backward into the wall, and in an instant Vyxsin was free. The girl looked up to see Ricco's worried face saying, "Run!"

Vyxsin sprang to her feet and darted for the elevator. She began pressing the button as quickly as she could, waiting for the doors to open. It seemed like they were taking years…

Xion was getting back on his feet. Ricco had not heard the doors reopened and so planned to stay with the careers until he'd be able to make a run for it. He swung and missed at Xion, and the career grabbed his sword and began to swing. He parried with Ricco's piece of wood for a second and finally slashed right at his stomach. The wooden board happened to be in the way, and so the sword went straight through the piece of wood, it's tip sticking out the other end mere inches from Ricco's chest.

Now Lilac was back up. She had a sickle in her hand and was screaming like a madwoman. Ricco caught sight of this and made a last ditch effort to keep her away. He flung the board with the sword's tip stuck through it at the girl. Xion, with his hand on the handle, was tossed toward Lilac, board and sword and all. The exposed tip of the blade caught Lilac on the cheek, and immediately she screamed. Xion wrestled with the sword to get it caught out of the wood, and in the meantime Ricco made a run for the elevator. The doors had opened and he and Vyxsin were eagerly waiting for them to close. Xion saw this and charged to the doors with Lilac close behind, but it was too late. The elevator had shut and was already taking them back up whence they came. Ricco put his hand over his heart and was breathing breathlessly. Vyxsin was shaking all over.

"We gotta run," Ricco said. "When these doors open. We gotta run for it."

"They could be coming for us…" Vyxsin realized. She was ready. She and her partner would need to hide until they were safely away from Xion and Lilac. They didn't know what to expect, but the longer they waited in the elevator the more nervous they felt. Finally, the doors to the elevator opened and the two were deposited into the room upstairs.

"Run!" Ricco said. The two made a mad dash for the nearest room, and then kept on running. They ran until they finally felt safe. They ran until they knew the careers wouldn't still be looking for them. Finally, they rested in a room full of wardrobes and closets. Ricco put his hand on Vyxsin's shoulder. "That was close…"

"Thanks."

Ricco looked at her. She looked scared. He was scared, but he knew she was genuinely afraid. He felt bad for her. They'd need to get some weapons. He said, "We need something better than a piece of wood to take on these guys."

Vyxsin looked at him curiously. "How…exactly did you get that piece of wood?"

"Loose floorboard," he laughed. Then he said, "I heard you scream and saw Lilac and Xion take you. I panicked and found the piece of wood. I'm lucky I did…" He thought about this. He was very lucky, indeed…

Terra Celeantra (District 8 Female)

Terra had finally gotten back on her feet. She had no weapon, but she was ready for anything the game could have thrown at her. She was using Cloud's death as the fuel for her victory, and she hoped that if she was the victor, her win would be enough to avenge Cloud's merciless death.

But still, the girl grew unstable with each step she took. She felt like she was slowly going insane, and the more she thought of Cloud the less she continued to move. Every once in awhile she would grow so sad she would need to stop to recover. Again and again this happened, until she felt like she could take it no more.

It was then she stumbled upon a room that took her interest off the thought of Cloud's death. It was a room on the second floor of the mansion that was tucked far into the back of its floor plan. From what she could tell, this room was the northernmost room in the entire house. And what she saw walking by the doorway caught her eye in an instant: inside, everything was made of gold. There were pillars inside this room leading up to the very high ceiling, and there were gold benches and chairs and ornate wall hangings. There were decorative items and an abundance of gold candelabras. But what caught her eye even more was what was in the middle of the room: an altar. And in front of this altar was a large gold slab. She walked over after closing the door (the room had no locks) to see what secrets this room held.

Terra incredulously looked on toward the altar and the slab. When she was close enough, she could read what was written on the large golden tablet: kneel, speak a name, watch. Beneath this text, written in a tinier font, were the words: once a person can see death, there is nothing that person can fear.

The girl from district eight didn't move. She just stared down at that slab. She didn't know what those words were supposed to mean, but she felt that she should do whatever this text wanted her to do before she left. And so, she kneeled.

The short bench onto which she kneeled was solid and uncomfortable. It hurt her knees to kneel there, but this did not deter her from what she knew she needed to do next. "Cloud McKnight," she said quietly. She looked solemnly down at the ground, and then around the chamber. A bright flash illuminated the entire room, and when the whiteness disappeared from her vision, she could see Cloud's face projected onto the side of a large gold temple that stood within the middle of the room. And then he began to move. It looked like he was searching for something. Indeed, he was underneath the cornucopia, looking around for a bag that could have helped him in surviving the Hunger Games.

The man then let out a battle cry, and with his mace, swung at the oncoming Xion. The two clashed and exchanged blows for a few short seconds. Xion held a massive sword and was wielding it like a professional. Cloud was on the ground. Terra knew she had been no farther than fifty feet away at that point. Couldn't she have jumped in to save him? She had no weapon, surely. But she just didn't move. She stood there. And then Xion was merciless. He brought the sword down into Cloud's back, and for a moment Terra's heart stopped. And then the career pushed the sword all the way through, leaving Cloud hunched and dead.

From the altar Terra watched with tears in her eyes. Couldn't she have done something to save him? Watching Cloud's death just made her angry. Xion was merciless, and now she would be merciless, too. She stood up and made for the door.

She didn't really have a plan, but she knew she couldn't keep crying like this. Is she went to leave the room, still sobbing, she thought she heard the sound of something metal turning. Yes…wait! It was the doorknob! She dove behind one of the pillars that kept the ceiling aloft and stood breathlessly behind it. As the door opened, she heard the sound of someone walking into the room.

"Terra, where'd you go?" someone asked. Her mind was whirling. Was that…Feyot's voice? How would he have known she was in there? She remained motionless. This was a trap, surely. Feyot always seemed so nice, but she knew for sure he was luring her into something. So she stood and waited. She was defenseless, but she was ready to give her fist fighting a whirl if it came down to it.

She heard him move. He was going closer to her position. She breathed heavily. And when she saw a shadow on the left loom up along side her, she quickly leapt out from behind the pillar and tackled the man who was waiting. As she pummeled him he screamed, "No! Wait!" Terra thought he seemed harmless enough, so she moved from him but kept her yes on him at all times.

"What…are you doing here? How did you know I was in here?"

Feyot looked tired. He sounded out of breath, too, and was. He looked at her and said, "I saw you walk in. I…I heard you crying." He sounded sad. "You…watched his death, didn't you?" Terra's angry expression turned into one of confusion. Then a tear began to run down her face. She nodded. Feyot sighed. "I knew it."

"How did you know?"

"Because…" he said quietly. "Before, I watched Katz's death."

Terra looked at him in shock. "Before? You…you used the altar, too?"

"Yeah…" he said sadly. "I don't even know why. I mean, I didn't even like Katz. She didn't even like me. Still, she was my partner. I…I had to watch her death one more time…" He looked at the ground with a pained expression on his face. As the female listened to his words, she began to grow confused. Something he said didn't seem to make sense…

" 'One more time?' " she asked. "You mean you saw it happen the first time? I though…you would have run…"

"No," Feyot said. "I actually…" He looked a little mortified. "I made a run for the cornucopia. And so, I was there to see Katz get killed by Moon. I was near the door. I was running out when I saw it happen. I had no time to save her."

Terra asked, "Would you have been able to? I mean, did you have a weapon?"

Feyot smiled a little bit. She had failed to notice the big sword he held by his side. When she finally understood, she looked at him in shock. "You…you have a sword?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, and…" He looked at Terra. "I'd like to give it to you." He held up the blade. "You're a great sword fighter." The girl looked like she was on the brink of tears again. She touched the blade and and let a few tears fall from her cheeks all the while.

"But…you'll have no weapon…"

"I can find one," Feyot said casually. "You can use this better than I can." He handed her the sword. She took it and tried wielding it. It was well made and heavy. She would put this to good use… "I…I just want one thing in return."

"What's that?"

"I want…to ally with you. I feel so unsafe."

Terra smiled. "I was hoping you would ask," she said. "Of course I'd like to ally with you. If I didn't, Cloud would be rolling over in his grave…" She realized this was probably true. She and Cloud had no quarrels with Feyot. She would do anything to protect him.

Watch Zayonia (District 11 Male)

"I am so thirsty," Rave whispered. It had only been a few hours and yet Rave's voice did sound mysteriously dry. Watch tried to ignore this, though. He had, as of that moment, no desire or need to drink something. If Rave kept on complaining, he knew soon enough that he would feel these same effects of dehydration. "We need to find water."

"Didn't you drink before the games? That's the first thing I did."

"It's just so hot…" That was true. The mansion and the outside were stiflingly hot. The air was moist and damp and the sun beat down over the arena like a giant candle flame in the sky. Luckily, though, the sun had almost set. They were in for a hopefully cool night that night…

"None of the faucets work," Watch said. "And…that pool of acid outside."

"Can't drink that."

The two were near the room with the cornucopia. They tried to avoid that room as much as possibly and cover enough ground as they possibly could. The house was like a large maze with many tiny hallways and hundreds of rooms. The entire building was so unrealistically expansive that it made Watch wonder how much money it took to build something that large.

Rave was twiddling with a spear. He was lucky he had found it, too. He and Watch had been exploring a dated-looking guard hall with many armored knight statues. Rave had spotted one of the statues clutching humorously a spear in its hand, and so the man quickly retrieved the weapon. It wasn't a sword or anything too destructive, but it was a weapon, nonetheless.

The two descended the back staircase and were creeping through the halls in the northern wing. "What's in here?" Watch asked as the two entered the dimly lit room that piqued his interest. The man realized that very few rooms seemed to have electricity. Many of the rooms in the mansion required candles, while others had no lights at all. At night, the mansion would be an entirely different place…

"It's a library," Rave realized, trying to squint to see. "Let's go in."

"I bet there's a message from the Capitol somewhere in here, you know?" Watch wondered. He entered the room and began to look around. Surely in one of those books was a page with the Capitol's seal on it. And if they found it, it would definitely provide a big and important clue. He thought back to the mysterious paper he and Rave had found and knew that the Captiol wanted someone to find their hidden clues. And so, Watch decided to take them up on that offer.

The two began to look through the books. Most of them were standard issue books written by some wealthy person from the Capitol, and several of them were old fiction classics that didn't really seem very interesting. The room really was a full-fledged library. Finally, Rave came upon a book that looked out of place. As he neared it to get a better look, a smile formed on his face. He reached for the book's spine and pulled it out, taking it over to Watch.

"What's this?" Watch took the book from him. He turned it to its cover: 201st Annual Hunger Games. "Wait a second. That means…this book was written for these Hunger Games. Which means…"

"There must be a clue inside," Rave said. He urged Watch to open it, and as the man did, the two looked down at the only words written in the entire book: "Don't sleep in the bedrooms at night."

" 'Don't sleep in the bedrooms?' " Rave repeated. He scrunched up his face and looked stupidly over at his friend. "Why? I mean…I wonder…"

"That…is good to know. I can't imagine what's going to happen to someone who sleeps there…"

Rave didn't have the answer, but a chill rushed up his spine. "So I guess we should sleep outside tonight, then."

"I…actually have a better idea," Watch said. He glanced around the dark room. "This room is…big. And it has a lot of bookcases, meaning its not easy to spot someone in here. I suggest we make this room our bedroom."

"And it's dark," Rave said.

"And…" Watch began. "The floor's made of wood, so it squeaks a lot. If someone tries to sneak in…" He trailed off and let Rave mentally piece together the rest of hi realization. The man from district nine nodded and admitted the library would make a better bedroom than most rooms would. "Than it's settled."

Rave looked around but still didn't seem satisfied. "But…what about water? We need to find water…" He made a pleading face that made Watch feel rather bad for the man. "If we explored the forest, there might be a little hidden spring."

"Yes, but…" Watch sighed. "We can't. The forest is…dangerous. I mean, there are probably a lot of people in the forest. And we don't have much fighting experience, so we really need to avoid any places that will force us to confront someone."

Rave wanted to object, but didn't. It was Watch who spoke next, and he promised Rave they would go hunting for water elsewhere later that day. Rave nodded incredulously. "Okay," he said, looking out the one and only window in the entire room. It was near the ceiling and was a large stained glass display that let many colorful hues of light into the room. But those lights were…going away. "It's getting dark."

"Good," Watch said. "It will make doing things easier."

"But," Rave whispered, "I don't think this'll be a good dark."

Hope Pearl (District 9 Female)

"We have no weapons, we have no food, we don't even have a place to sleep, and now we have no water!" Hope exclaimed. She was flailing her arms around as she spoke and was yelling in a rather conspicuous manner. She, Thea, and Jape were in a third-floor tea room that was in the very upper right corner of the house.

Jape stood there with a charred bucket. The acid-water had eaten the plastic away from the bucket and sent a certain surprise Jape's way. "I…I can't believe that whole pond is just a vat of acid. I think…someone's really going to get hurt in there."

"Indeed. Can you imagine if you had stuck your hand in there?" Thea asked. Her face looked concerned.

Hope didn't really care about the well-being of her non-coalitionists, though. If they had stuck their hands in a vat of acid, she couldn't care less. She merely paced around the room and constantly looked about in a worried manner.

"Hope, you should take a breath," Thea said wearily. "Please. You look…like you're hurt."

"I am hurt!" Hope said loudly. "I…I'm mentally scarred! And…I'm so scared! I can't believe I'm doing this!" She looked around the room worriedly. "But don't worry about me. I…I would give anything for you guys."

Jape and Thea thanked her. Then Jape spoke. "I…I'm going to go look for some water." He turned on his heels, and denied Thea's suggestion that she help him. He quickly opened and closed the door to the tea room and scurried out. He didn't go looking for water.

"I'm gonna die," Hope said quickly. "I…"

"Hope, please—"

"No! Thea, you don't know what it's like to have a family!" She said. Then she paused and looked at the other. She could tell Thea was hurt by what she said. She sighed and said, "That's…I'm sorry. I mean…"

"It's okay," Thea said quietly. She did seem rather offended and wanted to explain that she wanted anything more than to have a family. She had had a husband who died young. That was the only true family she had ever known after moving away from her parents. "It's okay, really."

Hope just looked angry at herself. "No, I am truly sorry. I…sometimes I say things…"

"Don't worry about it," Thea said. "You were right, after all. I don't have a family. I don't know what it will be like to leave my kids and my grandkids when I die. I don't know what it's like to have a husband who you know you'll never be able to see again."

Hope didn't say anything. She didn't want to. She had done so much complaining and worrying that day that she felt she didn't need to say anything more. Instead, she just thought about Thea's words. When she finally did speak again, she was changing the subject. "We…need a plan."

"And fast," Thea said. "But…I don't think I'll be able to do much fighting."

"Then it looks like we will not be of much help to Jape…"

Thea realized this and said, "Maybe we don't need a plan. Maybe…we just need to let things happen. The only plan I have formed is my plan to sacrifice myself to save either you or Jape if need be. I…I truly hope that doesn't need to happen."

Hope smiled warmly. "And you know I will stick by your side forever." She didn't say anything more. Her mind began to wander. As it did, she realized something: thanks to Thea's kind and supportive words, she was no longer screaming hysterically. So, maybe she'd be able to pull through after all…

Axem Jades (District 5 Male)

The wind was whipping up in the trees. That's where Axem was perched with his bow and arrow, ready to strike anyone who dare enter the vicinity. He waited and waited and the job became boring. He should have been used to being patient — given his past hunting expertise — but he found himself wanting to move. At first he thought he was beginning to get mind controlled by the games; shouldn't perching and doing nothing have been exactly what he wanted? Surely, he didn't want to kill, right?

Of course he didn't want to kill, he thought. He wasn't getting mind controlled at all, but merely didn't like exposing his only weaponry skills in a game so inhumane. He felt that by waiting in those trees, he was making a mockery of his talent and playing into the Capitol's game. He wanted to throw down his bow and wait for his death, but he knew he couldn't die. He had a family, and he was waiting for grandchildren. He couldn't just quit out on life yet. It would be uncourageous.

A sound caught him by the ears. He looked up. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Fetch coming up slowly from the bushes and trees. Fetch looked miserable and unhappy and seemed like he wanted nothing more than to die right then and there. But Fetch was strong. Surely he wasn't losing his mind.

Axem watched the man as he came mumbling over to the tree Axem was in. Fetch rolled his eyes and made a face as he approached the man. Axem just waited. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't going to question it.

"Axem," Fetch began, his voice miserable. "This is so stupid," he muttered. He looked up at the man in the trees. He shook his head, rubbed his temples and moaned something. Axem was just confused all the while, but still said not a word.

"What?"

"I guess I'm supposed to 'apologize'," Fetch mumbled. "For my behavior earlier."

Curious, Axem looked down at the man. He seemed miserable and as though he would rather be anywhere but there. Axem felt a little happy to hear that Fetch was willing to apologize, but then realized that it wasn't heartfelt at all. "Did Angel and Stark put you up to this?"

"You called it," Fetch said quickly. "Apparently we need a good team dynamic. I still think you're pretty useless — no offense — given your leg and you mediocre shooting, but I guess I'm willing to call you a friend." It looked like he had to go through some sort of mental torture to speak those words.

Axem smiled. "That…that means a lot, you know."

"Whatever," Fetch said quietly.

Silence hung in the air.

"Thanks," Axem added.

"C'mon down," Fetch said. "Stark said that a 'true man would shake hands on it'. That guys an idiot." Axem smiled at his comment. As angry as Fetch was, Axem couldn't help but laugh. Fetch was actually beginning to open up to him.

Axem got down from the tree and said to Fetch, "I know you'll still probably hate me, but I hope you know that I don't hate you."

Fetch looked around at anything but Axem. "Yeah…" he said quickly. "Let's get this over with…" He extended his hand a for a moment Axem felt like something truly good came out of the Hunger Games. In this world of chaos and pain, Axem felt like for once something good came out of something bad. He smiled and took Fetch's hand and gave it a firm handshake.

"Thanks," Axem said. The two exchanged a long and quiet handshake.

"Thank you," Fetch said. "You are too kind, Axem." And with that comment he plunged his knife into Axem's chest. For a moment Axem just stared at him. Nothing happened and the world seemed like it was on pause.

"Fetch…" Then the world caught up with the moment and Axem looked down at the wound. His chest was bleeding out and the knife was several inches deep into his skin. He didn't say another word, but merely crumbled under the weight of his now-weak body. He fell to his knees and looked up at Fetch as best as he could. The man from district fourteen didn't smile or say a word. He just looked disgusted.

And then, Fetch reached down and withdrew the knife from the man's chest. Axem let out a cough and crumbled even more underneath his weight. Then, his head struck the forest floor, and the picture of Fetch's shoes was the last thing Axem ever saw.

Boom!

September Realer (District 14 Female)

Neither Sapphire nor September spoke. They just walked. September drug the ball and chain around behind her leading the duo. Sapphire seemed rather confused as she walked behind. This wasn't her idea of the Hunger Games. September, as strong as she was, didn't really do much. Sapphire didn't really like this, and the more and more she followed the district fourteen girl, the more she felt that things weren't right.

September wasn't looking to kill just anybody, though. A life, September knew, was a very fragile thing that need not be broken with no cause. September was a killer. She knew it, as did everyone else. But she didn't kill for fun or for a sense of power. She killed because she thought she had to.

So, when Sapphire wanted to jump into the action, September wasn't interested. She wanted her kills to be worthwhile. She wasn't to seek revenge on those who needed to be dealt a heavy and painful blow. She wasn't going to just kill. Each kill had to be memorable, and each kill had to be worth her while. This is what she thought about as she walked.

"What shall we call her?"

"Call her…Cherish."

"Because we shall cherish her always?"

"Yes…"

…

"Won't you play today?"

"Not today."

"But…why not?"

"We've never played, September."

…

"Why…did you name her Cherish?"

"Because she is our third child, sweetie. And because she is our youngest and maybe our last. And the last one of anything needs to be cherished."

"And…why did you name me September?"

"Never mind that, dearie. The baby is crying. Go watch her."

…

"Your daughter is a terror."

"She's your daughter, too, you know."

"We ought to punish her again."

"Did she escape her room again?"

"She did, and it's annoying. September is…crazy. How does someone like her come about?"

"Every batch of kids has a bad one, I suppose. Then look at Cherish."

"What are we going to do with her?"

"She's escaped her bedroom countless times. How can you punish someone who escapes punishment?"

"What about the basement? It's got no windows and it's locked with a key and a latch."

"I'd like to see her escape that."

…

"Why, it is just so nice you could make it today!"

"Come say hi to Uncle Vipe, kids."

"My, look how they've grown! This must be Cherish. The last time I saw you you were a little baby!"

"You should visit district eight more often. Don't you think, kids?"

"Yes! Yes, please."

"You sound just like your mother, Cherish."

"And she acts like me, too!"

"Wait a second. Where's your third? September?"

"September is…away."

"With friends?"

"Friends? Yes…yes, she is."

…

"September, I just don't know what to do with you."

"I don't care, Dad."

"You should. You've been awful to your sister all day. And it's not just today. It's every day. And your brother days he hasn't spoken to you in a long time. Where do you go all day?"

"Cherish is a suck up. I'm not awful to her. She deserves it."

"She does not."

"Mom loves her too much."

"Your mother loves her because she is a good girl."

"That's not true. Mom always hated me. And you have, too."

"I do? We cook you dinner and we give you a place to sleep. I think spending a few nights in the basement would serve you well."

"What? N-no…"

"Yes—what's this?"

"A drawing, obviously."

"Of what? Who is this? Who are these people supposed to be? And…is that blood? Why is that person dead? And what's this thing…"

"Stop looking."

"Why are you drawing this?! Do you plan to kill someone? Speak!"

"No! They're my friends! The people in the picture."

"Imaginary friends? Your drawings are your friends? You don't have any living friends, because no one wants to be your friend!"

"Dad—"

"You call them your friends? All the people in this picture are dead!"

"Death isn't a bad thing!"

"I'm showing your mother!"

"Dad, there are good things in death. My friends are not dead, but alive in a—"

"Shut up! Now! Follow me! And bring your little drawings!"

September felt her hand cringe around her weapon's chain. She was moving a little bit faster; she was obviously riled up about something.

"September, we need to make a plan. There are bedrooms upstairs. We should—"

"Does Torque have a bedroom?"

"What? W-why?"

"Answer me."

Sapphire looked shyly at the other girl. She fidgeted around for a moment and then answered, "Yes, he does. Why does that matter?" She was afraid of what she was going to hear, but yet she listened as closely as she possibly could.

"We should…pay him a visit."

"Visit?" Sapphire asked.

"He is obviously going to be a problem. I think it would be better if we…took care of the problem."

"The problem?" she repeated. "No…he's not a problem. He's a good person."

"But didn't you say he had a problem with me? That he wouldn't ally with me? What does that tell you? He doesn't like me, or he plans on killing me."

"No…it…it just means that maybe he wants to hunt alone. He…"

"Don't defend him, Sapphire. If you were dying, would he defend you? He would not. You can't trust anyone in this game. There can only be one winner." As September spoke, Sapphire strained to hear every last word. The girl from district ten grew weary. She didn't particularly know what September's comment was supposed to tell her, but something about the girl just seemed rather odd. For the moment, Sapphire was hoping she had listened to Torque more.

"But…" She didn't speak any more. She paused and let her word die, and then walked in silence. September was giving her a cold glare as Sapphire tried to refute her statement, so Sapphire spent much of their seemingly endless exploration throughout the mansion not looking at September.

September didn't speak much more to Sapphire at that time. She was disappointed she wouldn't be able to kill Torque, but she thought that maybe someone would arrive who would be much more worthwhile killing.

Thhhump…

Thhhump…

Thhhump…

"I feel…alive."

"You are alive. You are alive in death."

"I…I didn't want to die."

"That is okay. Your death is not your fault."

"It is…I am too trusting."

"You see the good in people. You wanted to see what good might have come out of a person."

"But…isn't that a flaw? I died because of that."

"You died because you were lied to. You did nothing wrong…"

"I could have been more careful."

"You could have. And perhaps you would have lived. But…that wouldn't have removed the thought of murdering you out of your killer's mind. That thought and intention is not your fault."

"You know…you might be right."

"I believe I am."

"Thank you for your kind words."

"Thank you, as well. You are a good person to know."

"I appreciate that. But…I wish I was not dead."

"I am not surprised. But soon, you will learn to cope with death. You will learn that death is okay…"

"But I can't. Not without my wife…"

"Your wife will miss you, no doubt. But…you have two children to keep her company. Both of them always reminded her of you more than they did herself. And…perhaps they will have kids of their own."

"Grandchildren…"

"Indeed. Your wife will never be alone. She can't be while she's surrounded by so many loving and caring faces. And all of those faces remind her of you."

"But…if she remembers me, she'll be sad. She'll miss me."

"She might. She will also see the good in you, though. She will be ready and waiting to reunite with you some day. And until that day, she will live her years as a loving and caring mother and grandmother."

"You know a lot. Who are you?"

"I am a person you can trust."

" 'Trust…' "

"Yes. And you know, trust is very important. Even if it can lead to bad things, trust is more noble than deceit."

"Yes it is…"

"I hope you see now that your death, although premature, was not your own fault. I hope you can cope with your death."

"I…think I will. Thank you."

"I truly hope you will. Axem, you will always be remembered for your trusting nature and for your belief that all people—even those who don't seem so—are good. I also encourage you to walk around on your new leg. It may take getting used to, but in death there is truly a new life…"