OUR DAILY SONG INSPIRATION!

The whole world's scared so I swallow the fear
The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer
So cool in line, and we try try try, but we try too hard and it's a waste of my time
Done looking for the critics, cause they're everywhere
They dont like my jeans, they don't get my hair
Exchange ourselves, and we do it all the time
Why do we do that? Why do I do that?

-Fuckin' Perfect by P!nk

This chapter is dedicated to Miss Kathryn O'Connor who was only twenty-one when she died in a motor accident in London.

Kathryn, We love you and We Miss you every minute of every day.

You were Gone too Soon.

In loving memory of Kathryn O'Connor. IMTF (In My Thoughts Forever)

Jarrick Flint, District 10

The cannon booms and I listen for telltale screams but there's nothing. Still, I run quickly towards some caves which I had spotted earlier. If I was lucky, there would be some people there who would be kind enough to ally with me.

My coil of rope is hanging from my waist and my spear is strapped to my back. I had also managed to grab a dark green backpack which had a sleeping bag, a pair of socks, a pack of dried beef and a small bottle of iodine.

I grasp the rocky ledge and begin climbing. The air's damp so I don't sweat that much but it's still hard work. When I get to the top, a sword is immediately thrust under my chin.

"Who are you?" The girl had vivid orange hair and bright green eyes and she was…beautiful.

"Jarrick Flint, District 10." I say calmly, holding my hands up in the air

The girl surveys me. "Could be useful…" she mutters, "Can you handle your spear?" She speaks up

I nod fervently. "Yeah and also I can pretty much strangle someone with my rope."

The girl lowers her weapon. "Give me your spear and your rope and I'll let you inside, got that?"

"Yes, ma'm." I handed over my weapons and tripped after the girl. Way to go, Jarrick. Way to act stupid in front of a girl.

"Kessa? We've got another one." The girl calls out

A blonde-haired girl with dark eyes comes out form the shadows of the cave. She has a dozen knives strapped to her torso and also another one on her thigh. She comes toward me and looks me over.

"Name?" She demands

"Jarrick Flint, District 10." I repeat

She inclines her head towards the spear. "You can handle that?"

I nod.

The girl's stance softens. "I'm Kessa Noel, District 13 and this is Elyse Emmington from your district too."

I suddenly realize why that girl seemed so familiar. She was from my district! Okay, that was pretty stupid but still…

"Can you hunt?" Elyse asks abruptly

"Um…ah…yes" I say

"Good. Come with me and we're going to hunt. After that, we plan on moving out and do some scouting. See what's behind this swamp." She says, throwing me back my spear and my rope. She secures a bow and arrow to her back and looks at me expectantly. "Any questions?"

"So does this mean I'm an ally?" I ask stupidly

Elyse exchanges a look with Kessa, as if they couldn't believe how stupid I was. Four words: Blame. My. Lovesick. Hormones.

"Yes now are we going to get a move on or what?" Elyse says impatiently

"Sweeett…" I mutter under my breath as she leads me back out of the cave.

Lily van der Eemstra, Capitol Citizen

It was departure and I was alone in the library, headphones in my head and listening to my communiphone. Jev was away, doing extra credit for his History class.

"And now, we bring to you….The Hourly Hunger Games Updates!" Casimir Solomon appears on the screen.

"First of all, Dimitri Retnov from District 8 has already been killed by Rosekiss Guidsir from District 9 using…er…very amusing methods."

There's a short video clip, showing Rosekiss lowering the neckline of her top, talking with Dimitri who can't stop looking at her chest and then suddenly killing him, taking his game away with her.

Casimir Solomon comes back onscreen. "And Barley Dawson has also been killed by Karter Hall using his very initiative weapon!"

There's another video, taken last night, where Karter Hall strikes Barley Dawson using his rope which had two knives at each hand. You had to give the boy some credit. He did know how to make weapons.

"And our most recent death is from the career pack! Yes, Stephen Fray from District 1 has been killed by his own ally, Drendtis Hemlock Thorn!"

Drendtis was becoming hotter and hotter. I wonder if he would be the winner.

Aislinn Seraphina, District 5

Damn…A whole five minutes in the Cornucopia and I had nothing in my hands except a fucking sheet of plastic!

I take a couple of deep breaths and survey my surroundings. A swamp. The game makers must have run out of imagination for this year's arena. They must be on a roll if they expect a swamp monster to take us all out.

Except…what's that noise? It's like a sizzling kind of noise…And there's the scent of something burning.

The first fireball lands a little to my left side.

"Shit!" I scream, dropping the sheet of plastic. I start running, thankful that I don't have any baggage with me to slow down my escape.

Another fireball lands near me except its not really a fireball. More like a giant ball of ice the size of a deer. Great, if I'm not going to be fried alive by the flames, I'm going to be flattened by a giant piece of ice.

My breath is coming out in little puffs but the adrenaline soars through my body, making me run faster than ever. My only goal now is to reach whatever's at the edge of the swamp and get away from these balls.

They seem to be alternating. Fire then Ice, Fire then Ice, Fire then Ice. Then it stops. What?

I look around, not really believing that the fire and ice balls are stopping. But they are. Around me is just the scent of burned wood and the smell of cold? That was weird. But then I stop and look around.

I'm not in the darkness of the swamp. There are trees and bushes everywhere. It's light and airy and I can breathe freely. There are birds twittering and the sun shines. It's almost hard to believe that I'm still in the arena. It's almost as if I was thrown back in time. Back to the time when the world was still like this, when Panem didn't exist and the Hunger Games were just a dream.

It was almost as if I was transported to the place pictured in my history books. To the place and country once known as the United States of America.

Zooey Castiel, District 2

Stephen is dead…Our Career leader is dead, all because of Drendtis.

I'm on watch and I'm mulling over the events of this morning. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want Drendtis as our leader. He's too ruthless, like a trained assassin. Lucca's too busy protecting Lena to help and Brianna just follows whatever Drendtis says.

"You're thinking about running away." A cold and factual voice speaks. Brianna stirs, sitting up on her sleeping bag. Her hands are already on her sword and there's a weird glint in her eyes. Her jaw is set and she looks absolutely frightening in the dark.

"Of course not! That's rubbish." I try to persuade her. "Who would I ally myself then?"

Lena's sitting up now, watching us. Drendtis is stirring but he's keeping quiet. Lucca's awake too but I bet he won't help if Brianna strikes.

Brianna snorts. "Admit it, Castiel! You're not built to be a Career. You're right for those lowly tributes. That Flint guy? Or would you much rather prefer Dawson?"

"I am a Career." My voice is full of contempt. I try to keep my stance as relaxed as possible but I'm ready to run if given the chance.

"Not anymore." Brianna growls and launches herself, her sword aimed to strike. I duck and she crashes into a tree but she still comes after me. The others watch us as we roll in the ground. They don't bother to help.

Brianna sits on me, her eyes furious. "I'm going to give you a tattoo, Castiel…a permanent one." She says, her voice full of fake sweetness

I grunt as I try to push her away from me. But damn, she's too strong. Her sword comes crashing down into my shoulder blade and I scream in pain. She strikes again, making a deep wound in my forehead. I can feel the blood spurting out of me.

I close my eyes, playing dead.

"We have to move away so they can collect her." Drendtis says coldly

I can feel Brianna standing up and I take that opportunity to stand up and run. Brianna tries to go after me but Drendtis and Lucca holds her back.

"Don't bother! She'll be dead soon."

I limp away from them as fast as I could, leaving blood trails. I don't stop until I've reached the edge of the forest and I collapse in the border that separates the forest from the swamp.

Addie Cohen, District 7

It's dark when I reach the edge of the swamp. I've been traveling all day, keeping a sharp lookout for the other tributes. I had managed to get hold of a small bronze bow and a quiver full of a dozen arrows.

It's too dark and I almost don't see the body that's lying on the border. It's a girl and she's unrecognizable because of the blood that's covering almost every inch of her body. Her hair's fanned out and she's lying on her stomach.

I approach her and poke her, checking to see if she was still alive. She gasps and I rear back on my heels. The girl moans and rolls over, her eyes are open, the only color in her blood-covered face.

"Who are you?" I whisper,

"Z-Z-Zooey…Ca…Castiel…" She gasps for breath again

"I'm sorry,"

She shakes her head. "N-Not your…fault…Please…" She whispers. "It's so…cold…and…and…I w-want…t-t-to sleep…Please…do…do it...I-I'm de-de…desperate…"

I get the gist of what she wants me to do and I quietly take out one of my arrows. Raising it high above my head, I plunge it into her heart. She gasps again.

"Th-Th-Thank you," Zooey whispers as her eyes close and her body goes limp

I bow my head as the cannon booms and after a couple more seconds, I walk away from her dead body.

I walk a couple more meters, drawing shaky breaths to compose myself. The swamp air is hot and humid but I feel cold all over. I tremble and try to breathe in through my nose, the way my mother taught me to do whenever I was feeling panicked. My chest is tightening and it's beginning to squeeze. I can't get enough air to satisfy my needs.

I close my eyes and collapse on the thick undergrowth of the marsh. One arm is hugging myself while the other hand supports me. Visions of Zooey Castiel's body gushing blood flash through my mind as well as the bloodbath. Mangled bodies...streams of red...lifeless eyes looking at me, pleading with me to save them and then accusing me of standing helplessly there...Screams of terror, the last sounds any of them will make...

I clutch an arrow in my right hand and point the tip over my heart. Just one thrust would end this...all this pain and suffering. What did we do to deserve this? Nothing. We did nothing at all except live. This was the Capitol's fault. They stood by and watched as we suffered from starvation and from their cruel ways. They voted to let the Hunger Games continue and kill more innocent lives. They watched as their form of entertainment brutally killed each other while they were encased in their rich, extravagant lives.

We did nothing to deserve this yet they are making us pay.

What would I get if I become the winner of the Hunger Games? Nothing. Endless nights of nightmares of the mangled bodies I had seen and killed. A life of hatred from the families of the tributes who's last days were spent in the arena. An endless life of dodging the Capitol's moves to try and mold me as one of their own mutts. Countless apologies to the families and friends of the tributes I had killed that will surely fall on deaf ears.

My own district would spite me if Kale Teller got killed and I didn't do anything to save him.

A small thud surprises me and I suddenly drop the arrow. I open my eyes and see a silver parachute holding a large backpack a few inches away from where I was standing. I pick it up warily and slide open the zipper slowly. Inside are a dozen strips of beef, ten crackers, iodine, 2 packs dried fruit, gloves, sleeping bag, two pairs of socks and night-vision sunglasses.

"Thank you," I whisper to the heavens and smile, placing the arrow back in its proper place.

All earlier thoughts of ending my life disappear quickly from my mind as I shoulder the backpack. These might be the things that would help me win and get out of this death trap alive.

I would be the 213th Hunger Games Victor and no one can stop me, not even the Careers.

POINTS:

ThePrettyReckless: 230 points

MaryaBadicia: 85 points

zDarkAngels: 20 points

I . LOVE. ACTION: 145 points

PuppyLove2004: 85 points

Hungergames8: 230 points

DV Anime Productions: 35 points

carynnn: 35 points

Lovez Harry Potter: 125 points

ignorant . little . fluffy . tail: 85 points

icy . hearted . angel: 20 points

moonlightoftwilight: 190 points

Cloudy-TheNightMareQueen: 35 points

Ryan Dodge: 55 points

Retrak52-Nylasor52: 105 points

Jonas Remus: 55 points

xmiichelleyx: 180 points

LotsOfBooksLuver: 15 points

I am the FIRE: 95 points

Aylona: 25 points

chocolateorange123: 225 points

The unknown banana: 10 poiints

aireagle92: 10 points

Bibliophile1318: 75 points

I heart manga 89: 50 points

Marigold Dove: 160 points

Snowstorm XD: 30 points

Loves2ReadandStuff: 65 points

Hungergames-Chlerek-lover: 40 points

aliciamaybrandonjones: 15 points

Death Toll

Shimmerly Tark: District 1

Luke Farhills: District 2

Thomas Vesper: District 5

Daniel Cartham: District 9

Jacob Dunham: District 13

Dimitri Retnov, District 8

Feryl, District 11

Tomasia Everthorne, District 6

Barley Dawson, District 11

Stephen Fray, District 1

Zooey Castiel, District 2

Question for the day:

In the 75th Quarter Quell, who killed Wiress?

Answer to the previous question is:

Romulus Thread or just Thread

Follow me on Twitter: DestroyRomance

I just wanted to thank all of you guys for all your prayers and wishes for Kathryn. This chapter and the coming chapters will all be dedicated to Kathryn. Thank you to everyone for giving me time to mourn my friend.

Thank you and I love you all.

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