A/N: It's been a million centuries since I last updated. I figured that I would finish what I started, even though there might be no viewers. I've been backreading to the early chapters and found my descriptions very insensitive! To all my classmates, readers, I am extremely sorry for all those quite discriminating descriptions I wrote back then. As usual, enjoy this chapter and please review!

CHAPTER 21: DAY 3 PART II: Alone

I'm so alone, nothing feels like home
I'm so alone, trying to find my way back home to you
- Alone, Marshmello

The Arena
1000 Hours

Everything seemed like slow motion as she fell down. Her eyes were fixated on the blue sky and the white clouds that hung above her. She swung her arms in circular motions, hoping it would slow the fall. Her ears popped with the pressure, and her life flashed before her eyes. She remembered times with Leandro in the Ruins, how she forgot to give the love her family wanted from her, the care of her family… Her eyes welled up with tears as she freefell, waiting for her imminent death.

She then felt the rough particles of land as she entered the zone of red fog. She closed her eyes and just waited…A rough splash was heard and Hanna cried in pain as her back hit the water. She deeply sank, but managed to kick her legs and surface. She breathed hard as she looked around. The raging river swept her sideways and brought her farther from her spot of collision. She observed that the river was in a ravine. Blocks of land fell down at the river.

At first, Hanna couldn't believe she was alive. Her backpack was still intact, but she had lost her jacket. She searched for the jerk Aeron, but she couldn't find him. She kicked at the water, and a large piece of land fell on the spot where she once was. The water curved roughly and entered a cave. She could barely see anything.

Hanna touched the ground with her feet as the water became shallower and shallower. Sunlight streamed through the holes above the cave. It had a fairly low ceiling, and it was circular. The cave was large enough for ten people. There were three openings to the cave. The first was where she came from.

When she eyed the second opening, she saw a figure of a person waded through the shallow water and into the cave. "Who…who are you?!" asked an alarmed Hanna.

The figure remained quiet as he resumed wading through these wretched waters. However, the figure's stance and how restricted he walked. He limped toward Hanna. He gazed at his surroundings, perhaps trying to strategize on how to escape—or possibly wondering how he was still breathing. As the sunlight shone upon his face, her doubts about the figure's identity disappeared. Yep, it was District Three's Francis, his brother's ally.

"Well, if it isn't the Pixley brother." Hanna walked toward him. "You killed Leandro, you—"

"I didn't kill him, Eaton did!" Francis shouted. "I was there for him at times when you weren't at peace with him. You loathed him!"

Hanna tackled him and punched him. Francis doubled over and fell to the ground. He was about to charge her too, when a voice ominously reverberated in the cave.

"How interesting. You two go on and kill each other while I watch and eat popcorn."

"Aeron Sciron." Hanna gritted her teeth in rage, emphasizing each word with extreme disgust. "How nice of you to bring me to my death."

Aeron walked out of the shadows. The light shone on his dark hair. His eyes seemed to glint with madness. "It's the least I could do. I love bringing people to their deaths. What an amazing hobby, am I right?"

"Except you've killed no one in this arena," Francis quipped with a faint chortle.

With a snap of a finger, Aeron held a knife against Francis' neck. "Thanks for reminding, Pixley. Do you want to be first on the list?"

"That would be an honor, but unfortunately I'll pass," Francis replied as he swiftly slipped out of Aeron's grip. He grabbed Aeron's arm and twisted it. As Aeron fell and sat, the cave began to shake. Rocks started falling and the trio tried finding a way out. Another pathway opened up as the rocks shifted and shook. Aeron sprinted out, still holding his arm in pain. Hanna helped Francis up and together, they exited the cave in time. As they followed where the pathway led to, the cave completely collapsed. Grey smoke and dust particles made the two cough.

"I see the end of the path," Hanna said.

As they exited the dark pathway, sunlight blazed in their eyes and temporarily blinded them. It was swelteringly humid, and as Hanna opened her eyes, she saw that the landscape was all yellow. As far as her eye can see, the arena seemed like an endless field. It was the arena from yesterday. The earth shook once more and tall metal walls rose from the ground. There was only one visible exit, which was approximately two football fields away. Hanna looked at Aeron who was still observing the place. She then glanced at Francis, who nodded and signaled that they start running in three, two, one…

She sprinted as if her life depended on it. She looked ahead and saw that there were lights blinking under clumps of soil. She shouted at Francis to not step on those lights. She glanced at Aeron, who was now also running toward the exit. He was gaining on them fast. Unfortunately, he stepped on a clump of soil and the terrain inside the four metal walls changed. Metal spikes appeared randomly and disappeared, and refigured once again. It looked like a game, with the three of them as the Capitol's prized players.

Francis started hopping in order to avoid these spikes, but unfortunately he stepped on a clump once again. The metal spikes disappeared, but sharp human-sized rock spires started coming out from the four corners, closing in into the center. It left a clear circle with a four meter radius. The three tributes were forced to stay in the center. Humanoid mutts with pale flesh and bald heads started appearing from where the three came from. They had razor-sharp teeth with violet poison coming out of their mouths. Their bodies were thin and slimy. The mutts' arms were long, and they only had two fingers, both with claws as sharp as their teeth. Instead of toenails, their three toes' ends were blades. They moved quickly.

"How are we going to reach the exit?" Hanna whispered to Francis.

Francis looked at the exit, and surveyed the rock spires between him and their chance of survival. There were small spike-less spaces between two spikes, and only the tips of the spires were sharp enough to kill them. The rocks' slope's surfaces were not that pointed to pierce their bodies or hands. "Follow me." Francis answered as he swiftly began jumping onto one space to another.

"And Aeron—"

"Never mind him. He clearly doesn't know when to run and when to fight."

Hanna looked back as Aeron viciously fought one mutt after another. "Stupid, bloodthirsty Career."

Aeron knew he would lose from the moment he stabbed the first mutt. As he killed his fifth mutt, the other humanoids were quickly heading towards him. He looked at the other two, who were making their way towards the exit. Not on my watch. He kicked the sixth mutt and hurriedly sprinted to Hanna.

"Aeron's abandoned his spot, Francis. They're quickly gaining on us. We're going to die. We don't have any weapons, we're going to die so painfully!" Hanna exclaimed in fear.

"Shut up, Hanna, focus on what you're doing. Think of what you're fighting for, and fight. Win this for Leandro," Francis said. Suddenly, a humanoid mutt jumped on his shoulders and tackled him to the ground. He stood up and threw the mutt onto a spire which pierced its body. Violet liquid oozed out from its corpse.

"They're catching up!" shouted Hanna, as she struggled against a mutt holding her leg.

"I'm well aware of that." Francis grabbed a sharp rock fragment and dipped it in the violet liquid. He stabbed the mutt and its grip on her leg loosened. "Here, dip it in the liquid," Francis said as he handed Hanna another rock fragment.

"Do we fight, or do we run?" asked Hanna.

"Like in life, we fight as we go along," Francis replied as he dashed to the exit while an inordinate amount of humanoid mutts pursued them. One mutt gripped his left arm and the other pulled at his right arm. Francis swung his arms and the two mutts flew away to their deaths. Aeron saw that the two other tributes were near the exit. He sped up and blocked himself in front of the two.

"Move aside, Aeron! We all need to survive!" Hanna shouted as she stabbed another mutt.

"Only one lives in the Hunger Games!" Aeron replied.

"It's us versus the Capitol, don't you see? They will keep on playing with us. They will do this until each child from every family is dead. They will continue to rip us apart from our roots," Francis said. "Now, if you don't step aside—"

Aeron tackled him and knocked him out unconscious. "You're being chatty this time, Pixley. Not good for you."

"What did you do?!" Hanna exclaimed as she threw a small boulder at a cluster of mutts.

"So long, Tesla. I'm well aware I won't see you both soon," Aeron said as he sprinted out into the exit, which began to close.

The humanoid mutts were quickly recovering from Hanna's throw. Hanna carried Francis, who was quite heavy, as she ran for the exit. She felt the mutts' teeth snapping near her ankles. She gritted her teeth in pain as poison singed her left leg. Finally, they were a few feet from the entrance. Francis awoke but it took him a few seconds to come back to his senses. He was still cradled in Hanna's arms.

"Francis, I'm going to throw you out there before the door closes. Trust me," Hanna told him.

"How about you? You can't die, remember what you're fighting for—"

"The people I'm fighting for are dead. I won't—agh!" Hanna collapsed in pain as a mutt slashed at her back. "Go! Leave me! Live! Find Michelle, tell her!"

Francis stood and stared at Hanna in disbelief. He tried helping her, but she pushed her away. The mutts sank their teeth into her. Francis ran; he couldn't look at the horror. The door was closing and he could feel the mutts trying to slash him. With his energy almost depleted, he took one last jump as he exited the four-cornered murder cage. He glanced one last time at Hanna, but all that was left was blood and bones. He collapsed to the hot, dry ground.

()()

The trees were leafless and the sky was cloudless. There was no possible shelter to the hateful heat that seemed intent in killing them all to dehydration and heat stroke. Diana gazed at nothingness, staring off in space, as she leaned on a thin tree that offered no comfort. She stood up to find food and water—her mouth was parched and her throat extremely dry. For the past few days she drank her spit, but she thought she's running out. As she journeyed on a quest for her Holy Grail, she remembered the medieval saying in class, 'All roads lead to Rome.' She even wrote it on her notebook in calligraphy when she was in school. In the arena, however, there was no Rome. All roads led to death.

The saying proved true when Aidien and Chloe spotted her from their tree. Diana quickly sprinted away from them. She was miserably empty-handed, armed with only her wits. Aidien threw a knife at her but Diana was as fast as a fox. She swiftly dodged the knife, which clattered on the ground a few inches away from her. She took the weapon but unfortunately, Chloe got a hold of her wrist. Diana twisted her wrist and Chloe was now gripped by Diana. She pointed a knife to her throat.

"Give me a reason not to kill you," Diana said.

Aidien, in turn, also pointed a knife at Diana. "No, you give me a reason not to kill you."

Diana slowly retracted her arm and dropped her knife. Aidien smiled, however the grin on her face quickly disappeared as Diana crouched and swept Aidien off of her feet. Chloe kicked Diana who fell on the ground. Both Chloe and Aidien had knives pointed at Diana.

"Ceres has some spunk," Aidien remarked. "She could be a great ally."

"We'll be allies when hell freezes over!" Diana replied.

"We have food," Chloe looked at Aidien, then turned to Diana, "and water."

At the mention of water, Diana's throat throbbed in need. She turned to Chloe and Aidien, "Deal."

()()

Ace rested her back on a thin tree as Alliah lay on her shoulder asleep. Ace observed the tree opposite to them. It stood approximately a hundred meters from them. She looked up at their tree and saw that its branches extended and leaned to the opposite tree. She also observed that the bulging roots of their tree were fixated towards the same spot. As far as her eye can see, she deduced that the opposite tree pointed to their direction, also its roots. It seemed like they longed for each other's company in this hopeless and desolate landscape, reaching for one another in a last stand for survival.

Survival. The word echoed through her mind like a key to a hidden clue. She recalled some biology lessons she had learned back in elementary. As she remembered every detail of that day's lecture, the word survival clicked into her mind like a missing piece to a seemingly impossible puzzle. Ace woke Alliah up, who was visibly shaken. Alliah glanced left, right, and up, finding possible dangers.

"Alliah, look at the trees!" Ace exclaimed in vivid excitement.

"What about the trees?" Alliah replied cluelessly.

"Look how the branches bend toward that spot over there." Ace pointed to the ground a few meters from them. "The tree over there, it also points to that spot there."

"And?"

"We've had these lessons in botany, it is called tropism. It happens to plants in response to an environmental stimulus. Some examples are phototropism, hydrotropism, heliotropism, thigmotropism, electrotropism, and a lot more," Ace mumbled.

"Ace… These are genetically-engineered trees, they're simply not biology. These trees include codes, programs, databases," Alliah replied.

"Well, even though they're genetically-modified, even though they're programmed a bit differently from natural trees in a dry savanna, this phenomenon, I guess, is natural in trees, in plants. You can't just remove that." Ace stood up and walked slowly to the spot where the trees' roots point to. Alliah rose to follow as Ace began to discuss once again, "Now, it can't be phototropism or heliotropism, since the branches would only point up. Obviously not thigmotropism, or geotropism. Now, we're left with hydrotropism or electrotropism, meaning—"

"There's probably a reservoir of water, or an electric current," Alliah concluded. "Brilliant, Ace! But what do we do if it's an electric current?"

"We'll know. Mutts will be coming right at us if it's an electric current," Ace replied nonchalantly.

"Ace, it's risky. There's a fifty percent chance we'll die."

"No. Twenty-five percent, because there's a fifty percent chance it's electrotropism, and in that fifty percent, half is to life, half to death."

"But still…" Alliah stopped walking, her voice cracking.

Ace looked at her. "You want water or not?" Alliah didn't answer. Thus, Ace said, "I take that as a yes. So, let's start digging." Ace dismally unsheathed her sword and struck it to the ground.

()()

Cjay kept on walking in search for his missing ally. Was he still alive? He asked himself as he squinted his eyes finding his partner through the sweltering heat. Poor boy, he only had one knife with him. He truly missed companionship. Before, he craved for attention and companionship to benefit him, but now, he realized how badly he needed companionship. He was now aware of how insensitive and proud he was of himself before, and he was determined to change. Well, win first, and then change, he thought, but a part of him also wondered if he was already changing.

He sat down and gazed upon the cloudless sky and wondered if this sun ever felt lonely. It had the sky all to itself, with no one to share it to. It seemed like the sun was himself. He knew how it felt to be up there, but have it all to yourself. The victory was amazing, but there was always something lacking. He never really knew what true friends are. With his selfish desires, he consistently failed to produce a real, long-lasting friendship. Before the Games, friends were some sort of hindrance to victory for him. Friends needed to go extreme measures for each other, and he wasn't ready to sacrifice his own needs for that. But at that time, as he gazed at the sky, he was ready to sacrifice anything for his ally—for his friend.

He stood up and began walking aimlessly, but with a goal.

()()

District Five
1532 Hours

The district was in mourning. No person dared speak a word out loud, since noise gave off a vibe of celebration. Whispers were everything that was audible in the dismal and dreary district. People stayed in their homes with their holographic sets turned off. Household lights and lamps were also unlit. Candles were the only sources of hope in the mournful and melancholy lands. Their parents watched from atop a low tower in The Ruins as the train halted to a stop in front of the City Hall. The mother, her auburn hair tied up in a bun, helplessly wept on the father's shoulder as two caskets, a square one and a regular one, were delivered to the City Hall.

On the district loudspeakers, the Tesla parents were summoned by the town mayor. The mother looked at her husband, and as she descended the steps of the ladder, the husband told her that he will follow soon enough. As the mother unsteadily careened towards the mayor's home, people peered out the window to watch her every step. Will she trip and fall? Will she collapse in the middle of the walkway and sob? The miserable mother had reached the haunting hall's posh porch as the titanium train sped away, snaking its way back to the corrupt Capitol. The modest mayor welcomed her inside and led her to the conventional caskets of her dearly departed children.

"Where do you wish the burial to be held?" the mayor asked, his voice as hoarse as can be.

"In the Ruins. Ever since my children were young, they always liked taking walks to these ancient buildings. They loved everything about it. That's where we also found Leandro, our adopted son, who unknowingly became the glue to bring us closer together. We knew Hanna despised—" the mother broke down in tears.

"Oh sure, the Ruins, yes, I've caught that. I'll tell my men to bring the caskets—"

"I'd also like for the district to design their caskets with lively but subtle lights, my children loved the lights. We want to show them how much we cared for them, how much we loved them and appreciated them until death. They never really knew how much we loved them," the mother expressed.

"Yes, noted, Ma'am," The mayor said and scurried away.

The mother exited the hall and as she looked up to her husband, she gasped in disbelief, in joy, and in melancholy. The lights of the Ruins were lit by her husband.

()()

The Arena
1732 Hours

Michelle had no energy left to climb the towering tree for safety. All she could do was plop down and lean on the tree. She panted in exhaust and glanced everywhere for a sign of Hanna. She missed her so much that it ached. She remembered her strategy to not befriend anyone and to keep everything to herself. However, she began to realize that companionship and alliances gave her strength, determination, and will. She gained friends. Dead friends, her mind said. She shrugged the thought away and once again looked everywhere for a person's shadow, movement, anything. She suddenly remembered Lira, her friend back in District 11. Lira was one of the people that made Michelle fight to win. Michelle recalled when Lira begged to be taught self-defense, and so they would meet after class at the orchard. She distinctly remembered her first lesson, when Michelle said she would take it easy on Lira, who was quite the powerhouse. With a single but strong punch, Michelle fell to the ground with a groan.

Michelle smiled. It had been a long time since she genuinely did that. Her grin quickly faded as she saw an incoming figure limp towards her. She grabbed for a weapon, but forgot that she was miserably empty-handed. She hid behind the tree.

"Mi-michelle?" The figure said, their voice gruff. Michelle was sure it wasn't Hanna's, but part of her still hoped.

"Who is it? Don't go near me, I'm armed," Michelle lied.

"It's me, Pixley," the figure replied. "Hanna…Hanna and I, also Sciron, we all fell down. There were humanoid mutts and sharp rocks and everything. I'm sorry, Hanna's dead…"

The following words seemed to blur together. Michelle rejected hearing about it anymore and the silent sound overcame her. The ringing in her ears was deafening. Her throat thickened, she felt constricted by the weight of the news. Her chest tightened and became heavy. Michelle's hands trembled terribly. She lost balance and the world seemed to spin and twirl. She breathed hard. Her vision blurred as tears slowly began falling down. The first one dropped on her trembling hand, which she clasped. She stood up and aimlessly ran, leaving Pixley, away from the horror, away from it all. She collapsed and fell, still weeping. It's not possible, it's not possible. Michelle choked over a sob. I didn't have the chance to say goodbye. It's not possible. Why? Why? The tears kept falling, streaming down her face like a river. Rage boiled up in her. Her thirst, her hunger, her burns and injuries…those were incomparable to this immense pain. Her heart felt like it was ripped apart into pieces. Shredded. Teared up. Crushed. Stepped on. She cried out to the heavens and shouted in pain, rage, and melancholy. She cared not if the other tributes would attack her right here, right now. She felt unstoppable. Hanna seemed to be by her side, telling her she will stay and help her. She felt invincible.

() ()

He quickly looked at his watch, feeling the rugged, coaly surface of the wristband. Ryan was suddenly reminded of his district, how people of different complexions and personalities came together, smiling at each other, buying food from the market. It was nonetheless a cheery district at the surface. He loved it how these people smiled despite their numerous problems. As he remembered his home, he also recalled how people looked up to him and thought he was flawless and perfect. They seemed to be insensitive of his problems and failed to look behind his composed demeanor. He never felt perfect. He never felt problem-free. He knew he was flawed. He sighed.

He found himself thinking whether he really liked Elizabeth or whether it was his mind finding a replacement for Carissa. He shrugged it off, and assured himself that he never needed Elizabeth in his life. He did not need someone's life to depend on him for him to win. He was doing this for everyone back at Twelve. He was doing this for himself.

Ever since he entered the arena, he felt terrified. His hands were always shaking. He never slept soundly, thinking someone might creep up to him and slit his throat. When his ally died, Ryan became slightly paranoid. A slight noise and his hands would fly to his weapon shaken. His pounding heart would always seem to jump out of his chest.

A few more minutes and the arena would shift again. He had already treated his left arm which Macon wounded, however there was still a scar he doubt will go away. As expected, the arena started shaking as his watch made a small beep. He stood up, ready to find an exit or hole but suspiciously there were none. He heard a low groan, which seemed to emanate from the ground. Ryan saw a tribute running to his direction. Pursuing the tribute was a ten-foot human-tree hybrid. The trees were attacking them.

() ()

Alliah and Ace filled their empty thermoses with freshwater from the hole that they dug up. As Alliah praised Ace's botany skills, Ace shushed her. The earth seemed to groan, and the groundwater was terribly shaking. The two trees shifted and rose to ten feet. They formed thin arms and legs and stomped toward the two Careers. Ace haphazardly packed their things. When she finished, they dashed away as the trees quickly walked toward them. The earth shook with the trees' each step. There were two following them.

"I don't think we'd make it!" shouted Alliah.

"We will!" Ace replied.

Alliah looked back at the tree monsters. The right tree was quite far behind. As she stared at the left tree, she found a glowing blue-green stone at the center of its body where a heart should be if it were a person. She fell down as her foot bumped a pebble. She hurriedly grabbed an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at the stone. The tree's thin arm swiped at her and Alliah winced, but Ace came running as she slashed its arm with her sword. She looked at Alliah with pride in her face, and Alliah nodded at her in thanks. Ace was suddenly swiped away by the monster's other arm. Alliah screamed. The monster regrew its broken arm. Alliah stood up and aimed at its heart and let the arrow fly. It successfully pierced the stone. The monster fell down in a heap of twigs.

Alliah quickly ran to an unconscious Ace. Alliah shook her comrade vigorously until she woke. Ace shook her head and sat up with Alliah's help. The other tree monster sprinted at them and, as it neared, attempted kicking the duo. Ace and Alliah rolled in opposite directions and successfully dodged the attack. "Ace! Stall the monster, I'll kill it," Alliah shouted and Ace replied with a nod as she slashed the monster's foot. She threw a knife aimed at the monster's eye, but her throw lacked force for it lodged in the stomach part instead. Alliah aimed at the stone once more but waited for the right time and angle to let the arrow fly. The monster bowed and tried to grab Ace, who exerted much force in jumping to avoid the monster's hand. Ace ran to her ally. The monster turned and Alliah released her arrow. Her aim was true, and once again the monster broke to twigs.

Alliah told Ace to retrieve the monster's heart as she got the heart of the other one. They examined the glowing blue-green stones. The earth once again began shaking as rocks began popping out of nowhere. Trees sprouted one after the other like comical visual effects from an old movie. The temperature suddenly dropped what felt like a thousand degrees, and the sun quickly set. The arena was changing right before their eyes.

()()

Macon frantically looked up. It was raining rocks. She sprinted away as stones ranging from large boulders and tiny pebbles fell down from the sky. She gasped as her foot slipped on a slippery stone. Luckily she fell on the previous landscape's dry ground. A big rock then landed a few inches from her face. She jolted in surprise and felt her heart break out from her ribs. The rock shocked her tremendously it seemed like her heart wasn't beating anymore. She recovered and stood up. She dashed away while looking up at the sky, trying to avoid getting crushed by a boulder. As she finally steered clear from the falling rocks zone, she thought she was safe, but she was never so wrong.

She heard a faint sound of rushing waters, but she cannot locate it somehow. The sound was omnipresent. She tried walking toward where the sound was louder, until she saw a raging river quickly making its way toward her. She attempted to lunge sideways to prevent it from catching her, but she failed miserably. Macon was swept away into the river. She kicked her legs hard and tried to control where she was going. Alas, the river was too strong. It prevented her from swimming away or reaching for land. She gasped for air. Her throat seemed to constrict. She groped for her sheathed weapon and thanked the heavens it was still there. She spotted a large boulder blocking the way a few meters from where she was. However, before that, she saw a network of vines overhead that connected one tree to another across the river. Macon prayed to all the saints possible that she could summon all the energy to reach those vines. If she missed those vines, she would be dead. Hmm, no pressure, Macon thought.

She neared the vines. It was now or never. Life or death. She swung herself upward with all the force she could muster and desperately grabbed for that slippery stem. She caught it and smiled in triumph. She gripped it tightly and used both hands to transfer herself to shore. She heard a faint crack and saw the vine was close to breaking. Hurriedly she swung herself onto land.

Macon exhaled in relief as the grass hit her face. She wasn't aware she was holding her breath for so long. She was alive! Tears freely flew from her eyes and streamed down her face as she truly realized that she had survived. She felt euphoric. Macon vowed to win for Mom. For Dalton. For Sierra. For Dad.

()()

Aeron barely survived the tree attack. There was a shallow but quite long cut on his left arm. He knew that if left untreated, it would get infection. He had used his jacket to serve as a makeshift tourniquet, however he felt it had no effect on the wound. Thus, he had ripped out both his shirtsleeves to make a tighter and more effective bandage. He stood up and walked to find a source of water when suddenly the Panem anthem played and the sky lit up to display the faces of the dead tributes.

First was the District Three girl, Ysha. She was beaming in her tribute photo. It seemed like she had no problems and was not even in the Games. What followed was a face that Aeron deemed familiar. It was Hanna Tesla of District Five. He found himself grinning. She hadn't survived the mutts after all. The next was Forrest of District Seven. Aeron was quite surprised. He always thought Forrest would surely reach the last ten. He was once again taken aback when Kurt's face flashed across the night sky. What, or who, could have possibly killed him? Back at training, he felt Kurt's weakness and strength were the same: Macon. Aeron discovered Fred was dead too. The display ended and Aeron continued trudging on to find food and water. His throat was extremely dry to the extent that he couldn't speak anymore.

Aeron heard the sound of rushing waters nearby and followed the sound. It seemed like nature was calling him, giving him support, telling him to survive. As he spotted the river, he dashed toward it and knelt. He was extremely thirsty. He cupped his hands and drank water from it. The refreshing water made him feel alive and well. He made all sorts of sounds as the water freshened his throat and whole body. He fell to the ground, satisfied, breathing hard. Aeron never heard someone approaching him until the butcher knife glowered over his face.

"Step away from my territory or I'll behead you," the girl said feistily. Her fierceness made Aeron smile and she frowned.

"Your feistiness makes you prettier," Aeron replied.

Macon kicked his side in reply. She swung her large knife to strike Aeron, who rolled away to avoid the attack. He unsheathed his poison-tipped knife as he stood. "If I were you I wouldn't go nearer. My knife's poisoned."

"If I were you I'd go." Macon stepped forward.

"If I were you I'd kill me so that I wouldn't have to defeat me again later on, but I guess you wouldn't win if we dueled."

"Are you challenging me?" Macon laughed. "Don't kid yourself, you have a cut on your left arm that needs help."

"You've been checking me—"

"You disgust me! I'm not checking you out, I'm analyzing you…to win in case we fight."

"Well, you've got a few burns, and you have a cut that also needs help. I'm not checking you out though, I'm analyzing you," Aeron replied in a mocking tone.

"That's it!" Macon shouted as she advanced at Aeron, knife ready. Aeron ducked when she swung her knife to his head. He dropped his poison knife and pushed Macon's legs. She fell to the ground. Aeron offered her a hand, which she hesitantly took. He helped her up and Aeron, grinning, asked, "Allies?"

Macon sweetly smiled. "Ally your ass," she replied as she punched Aeron and quickly sprinted away.

()()

Chloe lay in between Diana and Aidien. All of them were still wide awake, eyes fixated at the starry night sky. The howling wind was piercingly cold, with its every blow making the hairs stand up at the backs of their necks. Chloe felt Diana slightly shivering. Aidien gently sat up and asked, "Do you guys think those stars are real, or are they just part of this wicked illusion?"

No one replied. The silence was too deafening that it pushed Chloe to reply. "I really think they're fake. I can't really make up the constellations we've studied in Twelve. I can't even find the North Star."

"I don't know the name. Hmm, Paloris, was it?" Aidien replied and suddenly burst into laughter. Hearing it was delightful and contagious for Chloe and even Diana also laughed. It felt good, laughing. Their joyous jests echoed through the noxious night. It gave Chloe the temporary and false feeling all was well.

"It's Polaris," Diana said in between laughs.

Aidien suddenly halted laughing and replied, "I was never good at school…I always felt like a disappointment every time I fail a test."

Diana spoke, "Yes, I used to feel the same. My parents…they divorced when I was six and every time I was with my mother I strived hard to please her. Everything I did was just for her and I felt like I wasn't living my life anymore. I always hear her words echo in my mind, how she would wish she never had a child."

"You're not disappointments, guys," Chloe said. "By reaching this far, you've proven that you're not weaklings, you're not disappointments. You guys are strong individuals who are worthy of living, and I thank the heavens that I found allies like you guys."

Aidien weakly smiled at Chloe, and Diana faintly nodded. Aidien bid the rest good night as Chloe and Diana slept. Aidien stayed on guard on this somewhat peaceful night. For now, all was well.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter!

12th - Hanna Tesla
13th – Kurt Caprin
14th – Forrest Oakley
15th – Ysha Integrato
16th – Fred Anden
17th –Joshua Combe
18th – Leandro Tesla
19th – Jameica Willow
20th – Christian Wright
21st – Francesca Pauline Velvet
22nd – Kyle Chrysler
23rd – Clyde Miller
24th – Fiske Clifford

Hanna Tesla... I never saw her winning the Games, but she didn't deserve to die, too. She should've lived a normal life and reconciled with Leandro, although now, they're reunited up above. Goodbye, Hanna.

I'll try to update sooner, I promise. This summer I'll try to finish this story!