Death leaves a hole that nothing can fill

Those who can't go on getting trapped

Those who can move on

Corduroy Irvine, 15

District 9 Male

Doe hasn't entirely been the same since Perri died. She has this glazed over look on her face that seems to be a permanent expression that is forever engrained on her face. She cried for the first couple of hours, and now she just can't move from the looks of it. She's had her legs up to her chest staring at the same patch of grass since yesterday morning.

"We left him here," she finally whispers to me from where she sits. "We left him here, and because we left him here he died, and there is no way to get him back," she says. "It was supposed to be District 11 until the end, and then we saved you, and it was so.." she pauses trying to gather the words. "It felt so right."

"Does it not anymore?" I ask trying not to get insulted. I know that Doe doesn't owe me anything. She saved me from a plant in a game that requires everyone to die for you to live, and that my friends, was enough for me. This extra stuff that we have had between us has just been that. Extras that I didn't know that life could offer someone. The protective bubble that my parents set around me didn't allow for such a gift of life as someone to care for you. Like actually care, and not just wonder what will happen if I accidentally get a papercut.

"That's the thing," she says looking at me. For the first time since yesterday morning, she's moved. It was slight. Just a quick twist of the head, but that's all I need to feel better and more secure at this moment with her. "It feels completely right. Perri was amazing, and I'll miss him dearly." she pauses again and then uncoils her legs. "But I can't imagine the same thing happening to you."

She crawls over to me and places her head on my chest and wraps her arms around my waist. I'm not sure what to do at this moment. We've only ever kissed, and if you could call it a kiss, I don't think I was to good at it.

As if reading my mind she laughs and grabs my hands and places them on her shoulder, then returns to her spot that she initially started in. We sat like that for a long time. It was nice, and if you forgot about the fact we haven't showered in three days, been peeing in the same garden that we've been living in, and are pretty much hungry all the time, I would even go and call this romantic.

I drink this moment in as much as I can before I hear a noise that throws me off guard. It's a buzzing sound. A sound that almost sounds like a bug, but like a lot of bugs.

Almost like a swarm.

Both Doe and I look up and see a bunch of circular creatures flying towards us. We instantly get up and grab what we can, but I don't know what these things are, and I've worked too hard to stay alive to go out because a bug bit me.

I make sure the bag with my medicine in it is on my back as we run out of the maze. Doe yelps as one of the bugs bites her, and a round welt the size of a plum appears on her arm. She looks terrified but continues to run.

"The maze is closing!" she yells as she continues to run down the maze hall.

Sure enough, as we make our way through, the maze continues to close off, and new pathways are opening just a few yards ahead of us. I grab her hand and run as fast as we can through all of the leaves. We jump through the clearing just in time, and we both lay on the ground heaving from having to run so hard.

The welt on her arm is still huge, and it has now bruised over. It's a dark shade of purple. She grabs a bandage wrap from the medicine bag and wraps up the welt, and before I can process what is going on, she is sitting in my lap staring at me.

"I thought we were dead," she says quickly.

"Me too," I say honestly.

"Good thing we aren't," she says with a smile. "I am done not doing what I want though. Especially in a moment where everything can disappear and be taken from me. If Perri has taught me anything, it's don't take moments for granted."

"So what do you want to do?"

She leans down and kisses my lips. She grabs ahold of my face and then pulls away for a second. "Is that okay?" she asks looking at me a bit embarrassed.

I smile and wrap my arms around her waist and pull her in closer to me. "It's more than okay," I say as I initiate the kiss for the first time in this, well, I'm not sure what to call it. She moves her hands to the back of my head and begins to run her fingers through my hair as she kisses me.

I can't believe I missed this my whole life.

I'm just flying away

No heart could tame me

I was never the same

The second you walked in my life scared me

So baby I just flew away

James Brayley, 15

District 3 Male

Richard isn't awful, but he's not my favorite person either. My feelings for what I think of him are about as confusing what they were for Aplica. I hated her, just like I hate him, but the reasons for the hatred are silly. Especially given the fact that I've saved both of their lives at one point or another.

Only you didn't save Aplica, James.

A twinge of guilt fills my gut, and I quickly dismiss it, burying it in the deep parts of my brain. I can't focus on everything that is going in the arena. I can't focus on what is going to happen to Richard, or even what is going to happen to the other tributes.

I have a game to win.

To win, I can't look at these other tributes like they're people. They need to be mutts. They need to be devils. I can't acknowledge that each of them has people back home rooting for them. I can't admit that parents might be glued to the television screen hoping that their child can push through and beat the odds.

This is all just a simulation, and I'll deal with the feelings of guilt later.

"You're doing it again," says Richard.

"Doing what?" I ask him snapping back into reality.

"Staring off into space contemplating the deep dark secrets of life. Or at least that is what it looks like judging by your facial expression."

"Well, you think about a lot when death can get you at any moment," I say.

His face looks sad as I say that, but he quickly perks up in his annoying optimistic way. "You know I used to watch that television show with my parents where they would strand people on the island and they'd have to fight through everyone to get to the end and win money," he says. "I always thought that it would be so cool to play one day. This wasn't what I had in mind."

"Yeah, there's a big difference between losing a reality show and losing the Hunger Games."

"James," says Richard softly. "This is a reality show. They find entertainment in suffering."

I never processed that before now. When the Capitol first introduced the games, it was a punishment. I think they broadcasted it to keep everyone, including its citizens, in check. Along the way though, the people started to become excited about it. It was just like a super bowl, or even Christmas for some of them. Bets would be taken, tributes would be given unusual objects in the arena, and from there it was game over. If a tribute you liked died, it's okay; there was always another.

"I guess you're right," I say.

We sit there in silence, and then I get up and walk towards the "pee bush" as we have dubbed it. I thought having an ally would be a good idea for when I got into a tricky situation, but in all reality it's difficult. You don't want to have to consult someone else when it comes to playing a game with your own life, and I don't want to die because Richard doesn't agree with something I say.

What if he gets mad and tries to kill you?

Naw, Richard isn't that type of guy. He's very straightforward. I think he would understand if I just left, but am I going to be able just to leave. Because in a way I feel like I owe him something. Also weirdly, I think what I owe him might be a blade to the chest.

"Do you hear that?" he calls.

I quickly zip my pants back up and turn around. My eyes bulge out of my head as to my horror there's a giant swarm of bugs that are coming towards us. I run towards the exit, and Richard is close on my heels with both of the backpacks we've been carrying around. He throws one to me, and I put it on my back as we make our way through the maze.

The first thing I notice is the walls closing, and I'm not about to be squished when I'm so close to making it through to the end of this game, but there's no way I can get to the opening from how far back I am.

Looking at the wall, I brace myself as I am about to try something crazy and probably foolish, but if those girls can do it why can't I?

I keep running until the walls are close enough, and then using all my strength I jump to the right and then use the momentum to jump on the left, and I'm able to use the wall to push off and grab ahold of the top of the wall. I assume Richard is behind me as I pull myself up.

"Help!" he screams as he is dangling from the wall. I try to grab ahold of him and pull him up, but one of the bugs bites his arm, and he lets go. He falls into the maze wall, and it doesn't stop closing. He frantically tries to jump up and get to the top of the wall, but he can't reach. After standing attempting to climb, he finally stops and looks up at me.

"Good luck," he says as the stone walls close in on him and his cannon sounds.

Cause in a world of snakes and vipers

Goblins and Ghouls

The deadliest of them all

Is the face of a pretty girl

Callie Tyson, 15

District 8 Female

I'm starting to think that there is more to the plan that Hali and Holli are letting on. Hali seems to be very secretive about what she and Holli talk about, and she actively works to make sure that Mitt and I aren't around when they seem to be having the most intense conversations.

"Why are we always having to do the cooking, cleaning, and making sure everything is organized?" asks Mitt as he scrubs the pot we just cooked rice within the fountain. "They never pull their weight."

"That's because pretty girls have never had to pull their weight," I say begrudgingly as I scrub the soap scum off of the pot. "But I was thinking, Mitt, it might be better for us together if we make a break for it. Grab a couple of supplies as they scout their plan, and then just take off."

"That sounds dangerous. What if we get hit with that fog?"

"I think I've been listening to them enough to know where the system is. They've had a rock solid system, and they've been very boastful about it to anyone that will listen. I think we could even just tell them that we are leaving and they wouldn't be mad." I say honestly. "They owe us after all. Don't they? We saved their lives."

"Yeah, I would think that would be a thing," says Mitt as he puts his pots down. "Should we go and let them know? I'm down to do it now."

"Yeah," I say getting up from the side of the fountain. "That way we don't have to walk in the maze in the dark."

Holli and Hali are sitting on top of the wall. Hali continues to stare at the plant. She barely takes her eyes off the plant. It's almost captivating to her in a way.

"Hey guys," I say from down on the ground.

Holli looks down at us and gives us a bright smile. "Hey," says Holli. "What's up?"

"We think we need to leave the alliance," says Mitt harshly. "Not that you two haven't been great and all, but we need to go and try and survive on our own as numbers dwindle. I'm sure you'll understand."

Hali still hasn't looked away from the plant as we talked and nodded her head in agreement with Mitt before Holli could even respond. Finally taking her eyes off the plant, she smiles at Mitt and me. "You should head out that way now," she says pointing to the right. "The fog already went that way earlier. So you have a lot of time before it reappears. Good luck, guys."

Something seems off about how they handled this situation. Like this was almost to easy to get away from them. They don't strike me as the kind of girls that let things go off from their own plans.

"Mitt, that wasn't sketchy to you?" I ask him as we grab our backpacks and walk towards the exit. "Like did that seem to easy?"

"Don't question good things, Callie," says Mitt. "I know we are in a weird situation, but that doesn't always mean that people are out to get us. As we said, they owe us."

We begin our walk down the maze corridor, and a feeling of peace falls over me. Maybe Hali and Holli were trying to help us when we were leaving. Good things do happen to people sometimes, so perhaps it will all just come together. I hope we don't end up in the final 4.

As if there was a narrator that was listening to my thoughts that everything could potentially go right. Things began to go drastically wrong. Without any warning, a pink cloud started to come down the corridor. Both Mitt and I screamed and began to run, but it was too late. It quickly passed through us, and soon we were both lying on the ground trying to fight the comatose state that it is attempting to put us in.

"Sorry about the trickery, Callie," says Hali as she walks over and slits Mitt's throat right before my eyes. "It was time for our plan to be in action, but we need all three of us girls to stick together."

His cannon sounds, and I can't even react to how drowsy I'm feeling due to the fog. My eyes begin to fold, and I feel two pairs of hands grab ahold of my legs as I'm dragged throughout the corridor.

"Time for a girl to win this year," says Hali before I fade out.

Somethings are so obvious

It's hard to realize you never knew

Things can always slip by you

When you beg them not to be true

Darcy Hanning, 16

District 10 Female

I'm getting tired of this hot and cold game with Lirrius. I know exactly where I stand with Appache. He looks at me like a piece of meat, and that doesn't matter to me. For all I know that's all he thinks I'm capable of; which is precisely where I want him.

Lirrius is different. There's something about him that makes me vaguely interested in what he's viewing me in the games. Does he see me as the threat that I am? Is he trying to win?

And why the hell is he not interested in me.

I all but through myself at him this morning. He looked at me a little awkwardly, and then turned and walked away. I don't understand what's going on. I've never had this issue before. I'm not even interested in him romantically. I'm normally good at reading people. Lirrius is a blank book for me.

"I need to talk to you," I say as I grab his shirt and lead him away from Appache who is napping under the tree in the garden. We've been lucky and have been in one place remotely the whole games. I haven't had to do much.

"What is going on? Am I not pretty enough for you?" I ask him blatantly. "Am I not up to your standards of the big jock looking guy from District 2? I just don't get it, Lirrius. Please, explain it to me."

He looks awkward and then swallows hard as he's talking. The sun is setting, and I watch as it falls behind the maze, leaving the garden to be much smaller.

"Darcy, I need to be honest with you," he says slowly.

"About what?" I ask him. "Get on with it, boy."

"I'm gay."

"You're what?"

In a moment, life can stop

Things get messy

People become undone

Intentions are shown

Lirrius Technius, 18

District 2 Male

"You're what?"

Darcy's face looks a mix of complete understanding and honest embarrassment. "I had absolutely no idea!" she says as she looks up at the sky and throws her arms in the air. "Everything makes so much sense now! I'm happy you were finally able to tell me that, this whole thing must have been so awkward for you!" she says

"Yeah, it's been very-"

A sharp pain in my neck cuts my voice from continuing to talk. A warm sticky liquid begins pouring down my chest, and I realize that there is blood pouring down. It's a slow drizzle, and my breathing gets harder and harder the more it rises.

"Don't try to speak." she says as she helps me lean against the wall. "It'll only kill you faster. I need you to know something, Lirrius. I liked you, I liked you." she begins. "I didn't romantically like you. As a person though, you were someone that I found interesting. Mostly because I couldn't read everything about you. With Appache I knew exactly where I stood. I'm the pretty blonde girl that he wants to get some from, but you, Lirrius, you were a complicated person." The blood gushing out of my neck is starting to choke me, and it hurts to continue to try and pursue any form of breathing.

"You were an asset before I knew you were gay, Lirrius," she says softly. "I'm sorry it came down to this, but in actuality, it's to close to the end of the games for me to have someone that I don't have in my back pocket. I wish there were another way."

My eyes start to droop, and the world begins to fade as she continues to speak.

"Good luck wherever you end up, Lirrius. You deserved better than the hand you were dealt."

Well, that's that.

14th Place: Richard "RJ" Rocket, District 10 Male, Killed by Arena: Richard was one of my potential victors for a lonnnng time. The issue with all of this? He reminds me so much of me. Do I have what it takes to win the Hunger Games? No. So unfortunately for Richard, I think that severely impacted my writing of him. I think 14th place is where I would place in all of the Hunger Games mess, so I figured that was a good spot for him.

13th Place: Mitt O'Malley, District 8 Male, Killed by Hali Morgan: Pi, I always thought that Callie was more of your main subject, so when I was planning arcs I paid more attention to her than I did Mitt. I needed to take Mitt out to get her story going, but I didn't want to do it too early. I hope you liked how I wrote him. Super sweet tribute and I'm sorry he had to go out.

12th Place: Lirrius Technius, District 2 Male, Killed by Darcy Hanning: I DID NOT KILL RICHARD BECAUSE HE WAS GAY. HE DID NOT DIE BECAUSE HE WAS GAY. But at the same time, he died because he couldn't be a tool for Darcy. I've had this death planned awhile, and I was SCARED to post this because I didn't want people to see this and be like "Caleb hates gay people." I love everyone. Logically, like Darcy explained it in her monologue. She needed people she could control, and honestly, Lirrius wasn't someone she could.

Alliance Update:

We hate Men: Hali/Holiday/Callie

Serial Killer Barbie and Ken: Darcy/Appache

Graham is tied up?: Arwyn/Zuri/Graham?

Romeo/Juliette?: Doe/Roy

Loners: James