Wow, Chapter 20 - thank you everyone who's reviewed, favourited, followed for your continued support :D So, the number of tributes is being whittled down - not long to go now, and I want to know what your predictions are for the top placings. Yeah, so - review and enjoy!

Her eyes. They're the first thing I notice. Before anything else, I see the light fade away from them, and I'm left staring, bewildered, into dark pools, void of any emotion. I just can't understand the situation. Melissa is dead. And I think I killed her.

Nightlock. The word roots up memories from something from my past – berries, I think they were. I'd seen them in the Games when I was younger. Maybe the 38th Games – perhaps the 37th. I remember it being one of the first games I was able to fully comprehend. The girl from 5 had picked a bunch of Nightlock berries, knowing of the fruit's deadly poison, and put them in a used parachute, hoping that one of the other hungry tributes would stumble upon them, and put her one step closer to victory. It didn't quite go to plan though, as her District partner and ally was unaware of the trap, and ended up eating them. I guess Nightlock has a habit of not killing who it's supposed to.

But, this whole ordeal begs the question – why did Melissa have poison? And, more importantly, why did she tell me it was painkiller? There are too many questions in my mind, and the emotions are taking a backseat as I try to work through this. I think practically, for the first time in an age, and decide to retrieve Melissa's knife. I feel around her coat, which rests on her eerily warm body, and begin to rummage through the pockets. The knife resides in one of the inner pockets, and I pull it out. However, a small piece of paper comes out with it.

It floats down to the floor, and when I pick it up, it reveals itself to be a label. The edges are torn so I guess it was ripped off of something prior to its placement in Melissa's coat. Picking it up, I examine the label:

Muscuclear Wince Cleanser

I recognise the words. I remember one of my prep team – Pollia, I think – mentioned that her boyfriend had just been winced. I had no idea what this meant at the time so, at risk of sounding rude, I played along and asked her about it.

'Aww, bless your heart – I suppose they don't really have wincing in District 5, now do they?' she had said, in the most unbelievably patronising tone. 'Well, basically they – well, I'm not exactly sure on the scientific front – but it seems like they completely cleanse your muscles of any bad bacterias, and replenish all the cells and things like that. Long story short, he's now ten times more muscular than before. Bless him though, he did have a tough few days after the treatment.'

At the time, I didn't understand this, but I've just noticed the small print at the bottom of the label:

CAUTION: May induce large amounts of pain surrounding the areas of injection. Muscuclear recommends using Muscuclear Pain Halter for 2-3 days after treatment to soothe any inflammation or stinging.

It suddenly clicks that this label must have fallen off of the syringe Melissa was using to inject me last night. So, she was trying to cause me pain, without me knowing? What would that accompl-

Suddenly, it all slots into place and it's clear to me. I'd wake up in agony and Melissa, being the good natured ally, would selflessly offer me the "painkiller", knowing of course that this would ultimately lead to my death. I wonder if Glynn told her to do this when she got a chance to talk to Melissa mentor-to-tribute. I guess she hadn't counted on me being the psychologically scarred freak I apparently am now. This is a despicable and cowardly plan, but I manage to see past this – after all, she's been a lifesaver in the arena, and only one of us can win.

Knowing the hovercraft will have to pick up Melissa's body, I gather up our – my – supplies and leave this area, taking one last look at the girl that was once my ally.

I travel for hours, breaking infrequently. I pass through the forest completely, entering the rocky pass where my steps become more cautious. Instead of one grieving explosion, my emotions are expressed through a constant trickle of tears as I walk. By the time I reach the rubble of the castle where I spent my first night, my tears have all but dried up.

I pause for a second, looking upon the ruins and remembering a time where sixteen tributes were still alive. I sit down on a large slab of stone, and look back upon my time in the arena. I remember the first death I really felt – that was Terra's, and it was caused by Ace. Now that I think of it, a cannon went off earlier, snapping me out of my trance – Ace could already be dead. Then I found Melissa. The cannons went off killing Cam, and a few others. Then, one by one, they all fell – Garnet and the boy from 2, then Rayne. And then Teal, I choke up at the thought, but push the tears back down – I doubt I've even got any left to cry – and of course, Melissa.

I get up and carry on past the rubble. A new forest begins shortly, but within maybe fifteen minutes of entering it, I find cause to turn back. After attempting to make camp at the base of a tree, a large bug, about the size of an arrowhead, scuttles onto my foot. I don't notice it at first, mistaking it for a rock. It soon makes its presence known though, as a large horn, that makes up about a third of it's length, jabs deep into my ankle.

I cry in pain, feeling as though someone's just pushed a spear into my leg. I rip the creature off, and hurl it at a nearby tree. To my horror, the tough shell of the insect fails to show even the smallest sign of any impact – if anything, the tree's damaged more. The valiant critter returns to finish the job. Plucking my slingshot from my bag, I pick up a rock and, aiming carefully, let the stone fly at the bug. It bounces straight of the insect's shell, allowing it to continue its journey towards me. I'm horrified when I see another one join it, and I pray that this is not the Capitol's plan to finish me off, and is just a lucky surprise for them.

My ankle is bleeding now, but lucky for me, these mutts are not the fastest creatures, so I have time to use the only tool I can think of – fire. I grab a match and light the closest bug on fire. I feel awful for this, as it's not a pleasant way to die, but nonetheless I repeat it on the second creature. I don't know why I feel so bad about killing to Capitol insects, when I've essentially murdered two people in the last three days.

When the fire dies out, I check and see neither of the bugs are moving. Cautiously I pick one up. I am certain of its death now that I can see the charred remains of its body through the small holes in its shell. I place them both in my bag. My bag is pretty empty and weightless, so along my journey I've been gathering random bits and pieces, on the off chance that they may come in handy, one way or another.

After the bug incident, I hastily retreat from the forest. Along my way, I notice several others, and am glad I discovered these before I properly made camp. By the time I reach the edge of the forest, the trees are free of bugs. I decide to make camp along the edge, as it is dark by now, and I need some form of shelter, but it's unlikely that I'll be able to reach the other forests without getting lost in the night environment.

For the first time since the bombings, tonight I hear the sound of bird hoots. After an hour or so, however, the Capitol anthem smashes through the night-time sounds of the arena. I'm intrigued to know who the other cannon was for. Whoever it is will be announced before Melissa, as her district, District 8, is the last numerically, of the surviving tributes. Or not surviving, as the case may be.

After the Capitol seal fades from view, the mystery victim appears in the form of Frizz, the District 3 tribute. I never knew here name, I just gave her that nickname to make identifying her easier. I wonder how she met her demise. Most likely, the Careers caught up with her, or possibly Ace was the one to kill her. I suppose she could have died of natural causes but, this late into the competition, the Gamemakers like to maximise the excitement of the deaths, so unless it's due to something like a fire or an avalanche, they tend to limit the natural deaths.

Of course, the next face shown is that of Melissa's. I look down, not wishing to see her again. I miss her, I'm not going to lie. She may have been trying to kill me, but this is the first night I've been alone, and I long for the comfort of human companionship. Not that that's likely to come along anytime soon. Ace and I parted a long time ago, and if I found the Careers, I don't think I'd live to tell the tale. And...

Wait, that's it. That's all of us. There're only two Districts left. It's District 1 versus District 5. So when, several hours later, I hear a rustling from the bushes behind me, I don't need to look to know who it is, but I turn to greet the figure anyway.

'Hello Ace' I say.