I'm not sure if anyone on here is still reading this story as I tend to update faster on AO3, but figured I'd still update jsut in case there's some stragglers. If so, thank you for still reading!

Time's Up

I wake up with Claire's arm lazily draped over my chest. I can't help but blush, I'm not used to t

I can see sunlight begin to filter into the cave. I grin as I hear her lightly snoring. If it weren't for the rock digging into my back and damp smell, it'd be lovely. This is the first night that I haven't had nightmares. It seems as though my brain's too confused and ecstatic to come up with anything

A couple of minutes pass and Claire wakes up, stretching her arms.

"Morning." She says, grinning sleepily. She rolls her shoulders and rubs her eyes as she sits up, sunlight hitting her face. She freezes, pointing outside. "Wait. It's morning."

"Yes that tends to happen after night." She hits my arm and points outside more aggressively, I don't see her reason for a moment- my mind's still pretty hazy from the reveal that we can both win.

"The Feast!" right, of course. I'm surprised we haven't already heard cannons.

"Are we going?" I'm apprehensive to go, it'll be dangerous. But the others took most of our supplies, we'll starve if we don't find something. "I don't want either of us to get hurt."

"We're a good team, we'll be able to fight off enemies."

"If you're quite certain…" She kisses my cheek and it's decided. We gather everything up, just as the last of the dawn fades into daylight. Claire loads up a crossbow, and in silhouetted in the cave entrance she looks like the heroine in the books I read as a child. She's beautiful.

For the first time, I don't feel awkward saying that. Claire Foley is beautiful.

We begin walking, and that familiar voice begins again.

"TRIBUTES. THE FEAST HAS NOW BEGUN." A large light shines at the top of the arena, I'm assuming it's highlighting the Cornucopia. Turns out we've been heading in totally the wrong direction. We head that way, weapons ready. I guarantee everybody is headed towards it.

We hang back a little, hoping the Careers will take their prizes and leave. I slip my hand into hers as we walk along, almost as if we're a young couple strolling through a park. It feels juvenile, but it's nice.

"So… Two winners?" Claire says, almost incredulously.

"Two winners." I confirm. We haven't really walked since it was announced, but we both know our plan. We're going to win this together. "Who else can win like that?"

"Barnham isn't dead, so he and Darklaw could take it."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did, They're two of the strongest here." I think for a moment, going through who's left. "District 2, Desmond and Aurora. I think they're the only others."

"What about Henry and Angela?" she asks.

"No, Angela was partners with..." I trail off, unable to get the name out but Claire seems to understand. "They can't win together."

"Oh." I think back to their conversations, in hindsight it's tragic. There was a chance for them and they never even got to realise. I bet that's where the Game makers got the idea.

When we reach the centre, it feels like the Cornucopia is facing a different direction to when we started, we must have looped round the arena without realising. It's like a Labyrinth in here. The area behind the Shelter is experiencing a huge flood that stops as it hits the edges. The point on the back of the shelter juts towards it, almost as if it's conducting the waves.

There's a table in the centre of the circle, bags labelled with numbers. A few are missing, I think Janice and Darklaw's, so I assume they've have already been. Luckily both the District 5 packs are still there, they aren't massive but they should have something we need.

I can see two tributes there, already holding their packs. Dimitri, who seems to be fiddling with something on the floor at the side across from the bags, and Bloom who sits atop the Cornucopia. As we wait for an opening to charge in, I see a blur across the path. Henry runs past, grabbing two bags. Bloom goes to aim for him but an arrow hits near his feet. I see Angela in the tree line where Henry is headed, bow in hand.

Smart move.

Nobody else makes attempt to go after them as they retreat, everybody is too focused on their own prizes. I whisper to Claire that we should move round the side.

"Are you going in or am I?"

"Ladies first." I answer, half jokingly. "But I can go if you'd prefer that."

"You're such a Gentleman." She laughs "I'll go in."

The Careers seem aware of the people in the bushes now. Barnham runs forward, though the Careers don't seem particularly ready to fight him. He's an intimidating guy. Someone in the trees aims a bow and fires an arrow at Barnham. It hits his arm but he seems impressively unphased, grabbing his bag and running with it still in him. I hope I never have to fight him.

Time is ticking. We need to go in or someone's going to take our supplies. We'll never survive against well replenished tributes while we have nothing. Claire realises this as well, she shifts into a position ready to sprint, tying her hair back into a ponytail.

"Wait for my move, then run. You've got this Hershel." She says, giving me a thumbs up. We wait until another tributes runs out and she makes a start while they're distracted by them. Claire runs at the bags, attempting to grab both of them and continue in that direction. I follow the tribute who ran past- Aurora. Bloom jumps down from the Cornucopia and moves towards her, who tries to defend herself with a spear. I slice at him with my sword but can't get a hit in. It seems enough to dissuade him from fighting Aurora, who sneaks past to grab her bag. I run in the direction of Claire, who's gathered ours.

There's two people who have run in to take the place of Aurora but I can't tell who they are. They seem to be winning as Bloom hastily climbs back onto the Cornucopia, beginning to throw knives again. He seems to spot me at the side, and throws one in my direction. I duck towards the Cornucopia, leaning up against it's wall.

I see Dimitri abandon whatever he was working on as Claire fires a bolt at him, and she gestures with her head that she's going that way. Dimitri rushes to join Bloom, seemingly counting something on his fingers. I make my way to follow Claire, but I'm not that close. And I've got Tributes with eagle eyes on me.

There's safety in the trees just behind the starting Podiums. We just need to get over there.

Claire runs towards them, and the ground rumbles. She seems unbothered, eyes on her goal, but everyone else stops.

The next thing that happens is extraordinary, and I'm fearful of what it may mean.

As we're stood there, the entire Cornucopia shifts. Whirring into action, it begins to twist as if on a turntable.

Bloom steadies himself as if he'd expected it, a confident pose as he stabs one knife into the top. Everyone stops to watch as it spins, the mechanism jutting and locking into a new position, facing towards the next area of the arena.

It's like a clock. Ticking from 12 to 1.

The Flood in one area, I'll call it 12, stops as the point of the Cornucopia stops pointing at it.

It's point now aims at a large tree behind where Dimitri was, 1. The area Claire is headed towards.

In a split second I understand the gift I got from District 11. I know what the traps are. And as a storm starts in that area, directly behind where Dimitri had been, I understand what he was fiddling with.

The puzzle weighs in my jacket, they tried to warn us.

Lighting strikes the ground and there's a loud crack as energy surges through his carefully hidden coils of wire into the Starting podiums. The Podiums that are specifically wired to explode if we step off them too early.

But I don't have time to warn her.

I run forwards, ignoring the other tributes. My eyes are directly on Claire. She's too close to the podium, too far from me. She hasn't noticed, I can't reach her. I see Bloom out the corner of my eye, but he isn't a priority. I just need to get to Claire.

I can't.

I pull to halt as the scene in front of me unfolds. I can't stand to watch it, but I can't pull my gaze away. It's quick and awful and terrifying.

Just as Claire nears the starting podiums, unaware of what's happened, they go off.

Her cannon fire gets lost amongst the explosion as she's thrown backwards into the metal wall of the Cornucopia.

Dead.

The next moments are a blur, as sword in hand I charge.

Dimitri is distracted as he climbs down from the shelter, and the next thing I know he's looking at me, inches from my face. My sword stabbed through him.

Claire's Dead.

My breath gets caught in my throat as Dimitri stutters, falling to the ground. I pull my sword back, and feel my knees give out. He coughs and I can see blood, he tries to keep his balance but falls.

He isn't dead, but he's hurt. And I hurt him.

I can see somebody running towards us. I can't tell who it is. My hands drop from the sword. I can't kill Dimitri, what was I thinking? He's playing the game just like me. He didn't plan to kill anyone specifically.

I back away, scrambling in the dirt, disgusted in myself. How on earth could I hurt someone like that?

But he hurt Claire.

The person runs closer to me, they have a sword in hand. Perhaps it's Dimitri's ally come to kill me. Maybe I should just let them kill me.

No. No, I have to survive.

I can't see Claire, but she must still be here. Or did the airship already take her?

I didn't get to say goodbye.

The person approaching starts to pull me away from the battle and I struggle against their grip. My vision's blurry and I'm exhausted. But they're strong, I can't get them off me. I kick my legs along the floor as the Cornucopia gets further away from me.

"We have to go, Hershel." I look to see Desmond, dragging me along. I stop pulling against him, realising he's not trying to hurt me. But I can't get my thoughts out. I can't leave, I need to go back.

"No… Claire, she.. we need to-" I see Aurora sprinting beside me, looking back in fear. Emmy brings up the rear, tears running down her face. Desmond speaks solemnly as we pass the treeline.

"She's dead Hershel, I'm trying to stop you from ending up the same way."

They're the last words I hear before I black out completely.