The end of Day Three and the beginning of Day Four XD

I hope you enjoy!

DISTRICT SIX MALE: KALEN RAM

I'm still jittery but it seems like my heart rate has finally slowed down since the fight. I wasn't expecting that- the bloodbath gave me false expectations. It was more fearful, cautious during that initial fight, but yesterday's battle was vicious in every way. There was anger, not fear. We were all more prepared, almost used to fighting.

Marlee's death doesn't bother me at all, I feel totally numb to everything now. Andras and Phi aren't showing any fear or anxiety, so I won't either. I refuse to let myself be weaker than my allies. There's one thing still nagging at my mind about the girl from Five's death- Damien was the killer. The outer-district Career. That was surprising. And we didn't manage a single kill. The three of us still alive are all angry about that. We're not as strong as they are now, not really.

At least they're injured more than we are. Phi and I only have minor bruises and cuts, Andras has a few more gashes but all our wounds are superficial. On the other hand, all of the Careers except for Sawyer have more major injuries. That will hopefully slow them down- Damien and Desire got stabbed during the most recent skirmish and Ainsley's been hurt since the bloodbath.

Who knows, with that cannon going off a few hours ago, our numbers might be even again. Andras is skeptical that it belonged to one of the Careers, as he said 'none of their injuries were life threatening', but I can at least be a little optimistic. Just a little bit. I want to be closer to home, closer to proving my worth and independence to my father. However, I can't even get back if we're not taking out the competition. But the fighting is scarier now, a tiny voice echoes in the back of my mind. I push it down, forcing away the thought that I might be afraid. Phi can probably smell fear.

Phi, the one who has killed before. Killed a Peacekeeper- he's not lying about it, I would know. Liars never can hold up their deceit for long. He said he killed the man for his other Peacekeeper friend who was feeling threatened. He believed his own story, but I've dealt with Peacekeepers. They work out their own problems, they don't use fifteen-year-old district citizens as hit men. If they want one of their own dead, they'll find a way to do it themselves. To me, it sounds like Phi got duped. And badly, too, if he was convinced to volunteer.

This 'Clementine'. She tricked him, I'm more certain of it the longer I think about it. She got him to kill a high-ranking Peacekeeper and then made him volunteer his way out of the district and into this death match. I know a bit about getting rid of the evidence and this sounds eerily similar.

"Phi," I blurt out thoughtlessly. Across the barricade, I see the boy's heavy brows lift and he turns toward me. Fumbling my words, I freeze up for a second. Do I want to tell him? I could use the theory against him later on, easily. He fell for the Peacekeeper's trick, I bet I could fool him as well.

"Yeah, what?"

"Um… uh… shouldn't we be doing something? Training, getting ready to go out again… something?"

Back in the café, Andras leans out the window. "That's a question for me, Kalen, not Phi. Remember who your leader is," he snarls, "And train if you want, but we wait longer before the next strike. Too soon and we'll not be able to hold out long enough to finish them. We're still tired from yesterday."

"He's right," Phi growls. I open my mouth to protest- Phi's on my side, not Andras's- but nothing comes out. They're agreeing now and I'm the dissenter. Phi's changed sides again- he goes with the highest bidder, not a 'friend'. What do I do now? Alone against these experienced fighters. I don't have a kill, they don't respect me. Andras probably cared more about Marlee than he does me, in any case.

"Well, all right then. I'll train a bit, if we're going to let the others collect themselves!"

I'm ashamed of the relief that flashes through my system. I want to go home, I want to win, but the fighting is less than desirable.

"Who are you going to train with?" Phi taunts.

I raise my eyebrows, shrugging awkwardly as I run my hand over my short red hair. I had been thinking him, since I don't want to look like I'm trying to be buddies with Andras.

"I'm not training with you, Six. Not today, there's no point. It'll just fatigue us more. Sleep over sparring." I scowl at him, sullenly retreating with the curved knife to the far end of the barricade. The only thing I can do is slash at the crates and chairs and barrels, maybe throw the dagger but it's not a throwing knife so it doesn't work well at all. The curved blade just goes clattering to the ground, time after time.

"Stop that, Six, or you'll blunt the weapon! We need that to kill people, not boxes," Andras shouts from his place. Phi lets out a short, guttural laugh.

I sit down and sulk. I want to do something, not stay here and be laughed at again and again. I'm the weak link now that Marlee's dead. When we go into another fight, they'll expect me to either kill or die horribly.

I have to keep up the victor's mentality here. I have to work harder than I've ever worked before to win. Show no weakness, show no mercy. That's the way to go.

I'm tired of taking cues from Phi and especially Andras. They've kept me alive thus far but I know I won't be of use to them for much longer.

Working alone doesn't scare me, so it might be a good idea to get out of here quickly? But where would I go? Running away isn't easy in the arena. It's pointless. I might as well be chained to the two guys.

That leaves me one option: show no weakness, show no mercy.

DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE: ALYX FAITH

"So, who's left?" I mumble, trying to do anything, say anything that will take my mind off the throbbing pain in my shoulder.

"It's the third time you've asked that," Rhain sighs, her eyes half-glazed with sleep. She's been taking half-hour naps all day, since she barely got any sleep last night. She kept crying to herself. Her eyes are still red-rimmed and there are purple bags underneath. Her silvery-blond hair is starting to tangle into thick mats. I'm sure I don't look much better.

"It's better than focusing on my shoulder," I shoot back. Rhain gives me a strange look, like she's taken aback. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was really snappy." I offer an attempt at a smile, and Rhain returns it feebly.

"It's okay. Um… District One is still alive, as far as we know." She bites her lip, like the simple thought of them makes her nervous.

"Ainsley and Desire. They're both alive if the cannon this morning wasn't them."

"Yeah. Andras is still alive. Well maybe, we will find out soon. It's getting dark." She motions to the windows, but we don't look at them. There are things out there still. "Uh, Phi is still here. Sawyer. Not Marlee, though. Kalen. Me, you. Shiloh Tyne, from Eight. Knox. District Ten, Aedan and Inez. Damien."

Considering the names makes the pain decrease just a little bit. "We've got to remember that one of them is dead. Not me or you, of course," I trail off as a sharp stab of pain flashes through my arm.

"I'm afraid it's Knox," Rhain pulls her legs up to her chest and rests her chin on her knees, "He's so young, the youngest here by two years. He's too quiet and kind, too. He's not a survivor."

"Rhain," I sigh, "You're kind and quiet too, and you're a survivor. Knox is fine, I'm sure of it."

"You're not a very good liar."

"Better than you think," I mutter, turning away from her. My parents never knew about my time in the poor neighborhoods until I was in the Games.

I can feel Rhain's eyes on the back of my neck; it's easy to imagine the exasperated look she's giving me. I'm not going to tell her. I can't, it's too much of an issue for me. It's torn me in half for years.

The guilt is eating me up, but it's not the same guilt that the fever talk gave me. Rhain's been through worse than I have, I can see it in her eyes. And she's stronger than me. She's still fighting, she's not letting it break her down and ruin her chances.

So as much as I want to curl up in a hole and die, I won't. Because I have no right to be unhappy as long as Rhain is still keeping her head up. I need to focus on the present, and the future, and winning the Games. I need to get over this stupid shoulder injury, not my double life. I need to worry about my possible demise instead of what my parents and friends think of me.

"Rhain, we need some sort of food now," I declare, "We're almost out."

"How are we supposed to get it?" she's taken aback by my change of mood, "You're hurt and the only good food supply is with the Careers."

I shrug. "We can raid them. They need to sleep too, and tomorrow, of course, they'll have to go fight. We can get stuff then, easy."

"We'll see," Rhain sounds unsure, but the tension in the air has mostly dissipated. She's smiling now, and I'm smiling too because of the recovered ease between us. I will move forward. I have to.

The last rays of the day are dying now, and the dark forest is hardly visible through the windows. I stand up gingerly, grabbing Rhain's hand and walking over to the shorter, more ornate table at the front of the room where our stuff is stashed. "Tomorrow will be a good day," I whisper, "I promise."

"Sure, Alyx, whatever you say," she replies quietly, "I don't know what sort of thought process you went through, but you went from one frame of mind to another super fast. I'm glad we're back on our feet."

The anthem scares off any thoughts I may have begun to think. The face in the sky is a boy's, and the name shimmers up soon after the picture. Aedan Arthur, from Ten.

The fact that tears don't immediately spring to my eyes sickens me. Aedan was a great guy, funny and kind. He always was smiling. His allies- Noalee, who died the first full day. Shiloh, who still lives. They were a good group.

So why am I not so emotional over his death? I've withdrawn. I'm too accustomed to seeing people fall now.

I want to cry for Aedan. I want to mourn him and be upset and wish that he were still alive. But I can't, I don't have any tears left for the others. Everything's been simplified to just Rhain and me.

"Knox made it," Rhain mutters mechanically. I nod, forgetting for a moment that she can't see the movement in the dark.

One of us still has to die. That hasn't become real yet for either of us. I can't imagine Rhain dying now. I can envision my own death better than hers. She's the only person I can see myself crying for at this point. She's the only one I've included in my introverted survival.

"So we know who we still have alive: District One, Andras, Phi, Sawyer, Kalen, me, you, Knox, Shiloh, Inez, and Damien."

"The best of luck to us," Rhain sighs, laying down under the table and closing her eyes.

DISTRICT NINE MALE: KNOX BLAKE

The night insects begin their cacophonous chatter, making it near impossible for me to sleep. It's hard enough to stay on the ground, and I've already moved to the trees. Anything to keep that stupid chant from thrumming through my whole body again. "Kill the Beast". It was disturbing at first, but now it's more irritating than anything else. "Kill the Beast". Why be afraid of something that hasn't bothered to come after me yet? What's the point of getting freaked out now when it's simply easier to keep my head?

"Kill the Beast". It doesn't even hold meaning for me. What Beast? There's been no beast yet. Although, I have moved closer to the entrance to the arena just in case something starts tonight. I'm ready to head out if the mood shifts again.

The insects shriek and chirp in the most annoying manner possible. I can't help but get fidgety. I want to sleep- my eyelids are drooping- but I can't manage to actually stay asleep. The moonlight filters through the upper branches, cooling the air that was scorching hot less than an hour ago. It feels good against the bright sunburn on my nose and cheeks. I've had to take my glasses off to keep the plastic frames from chafing at the burn.

I wrap my arms around the trunk of the tree I'm in, looking for a way to move around. The ground makes me upset and irritated, with the chant driving me half-mad.

Well, that might be the whole point, who knows?

I'm small and light, I may not even need the ground to move around. The trees are thick and their branches often tangle together. I quickly search out a relatively easy path and tentatively let go of my trunk. It's easy enough to keep my balance going out on the branch, as long as I go slowly. It gets harder as I move across the branches into another tree, but not by much. I can do this, I can manage.

There's a rustling in the underbrush somewhere in the distance. Do I hear voices? Voices, here? I slow down to a crawl in the branches, trying to figure out what that noise is. I might be imagining things. It's really late, and I'm stressed and exhausted. Not to mention that my life is at stake.

I leave the trunk I'm holding onto and lower myself onto my belly on a sturdy branch. Sure enough, there are voices in this jungle. They sound really young, maybe even younger than me. It can't be tributes, since I'm the youngest here. And there are several voices. All boys.

If they're not tributes, they have to be some sort of Capitol creation. The thought sends chills down my spine even in the warm arena. If I'm found, I doubt whatever the voices belong to will be merciful.

In the dim light I see some movement close below me. An arm pokes through the foliage, making me jump. My hands clutch so tightly onto the branch that the bark starts to cut into my palms.

"Where are we going, huh?" A voice, too far back to belong to the owner of the arm, whines.

The boy attached to the arm pushes into my field of sight. "We're night hunting. There's always the chance the Beast comes at night, so we need to look all the time." He's got his face painted with green and red paint and his hair is so dirty I can't tell what color it is.

"Aw, Merridew, we can't see a thing!" More boys, five or six, file through the brush behind this Merridew guy. All of them hold makeshift spears.

"Learn fast or die," he snaps at them. None of the boys look up even once as they stalk through the clearing beneath me. I hold my breath until the last one disappears into the jungle again. These are mutts? They're boys. My age, maybe younger.

My curiosity gets the better of me, and I slide down out of the tree to follow them. The drumming in the sand immediately starts to vibrate into my feet, but in my determination it doesn't bother me as much. I follow the boys.

"Merridew, the Beast won't be here. The Beast doesn't get found." That's the boys- much closer than I thought they were. I halt in a spray of soil, frantically trying to pinpoint their location. More murmuring among them lets me know they're basically right ahead of me.

"Keep moving. We're hunting, not whining."

"But Merridew!"

"I'm Chief, you gotta do what I say." Their footsteps move forward. I trot along behind, close on their heels.

Thinning trees tell me we're nearing the beach again. I push my dark hair away from my forehead, but that only makes it stick up everywhere from the sweat. The boys hurry on, leaving me behind. I'm done. I need to hide again- following them was stupid and my curiosity almost got me killed.

In retrospect, I'm lucky to be alive.

Suddenly, something on the forest floor shifts. I leap backwards, pressing my back against a tree. There's something alive there, who knows what- a mutt, some animal… or maybe Inez? The long black hair and coppery skin give her away. I lean down and shake her shoulder. "Inez!"

She rolls over and opens her eyes groggily. "Who's that? Wait… Knox?" As she comes to her senses she gets panicky.

"Inez, we're lucky. A group of boys just walked right past this place. I followed them. They didn't notice us."

She's confused for a moment. "Wait, the savages?"

"Sure?"

"Knox, you idiot, you could have died! Following them? They're mutts! They mean to kill us!"

"Maybe we should leave?" I suggest timidly. My stomach is twisted into knots. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Everything's making me think slow!

"I tried," Inez says darkly, "And there's some force field thing at the entrance to this island."

"So no one's coming in."

"Or leaving," she cries, "Knox, they won't get rid of it until one of us dies."

DISTRICT ONE MALE: AINSLEY JETT

Desire, once again, doesn't take anything for herself at breakfast. Sawyer either doesn't notice or doesn't care and who knows what Damien sees. I don't particularly care what the boy from Eleven notices, though. The main thing here is that I see my district partner starving herself in a place where lack of food kills.

I grab a piece of bread and some of the jam we still have, slathering it over the slice of bread before going over to Desire with it. "Hey, eat something."

She glances up at me, startled. "What? I ate."

"Don't lie. Starving yourself won't do anything here. Eat. We're going to need it today." The girl still doesn't take the proffered food, instead she picks at the edge of the bandage on her leg.

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you are. Stop lying and take your breakfast. It might be the last kind thing anyone does for you." Desire rolls her eyes but finally accepts the bread. "Your hands can't digest that, girl. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. Until it's gone. We don't need you collapsing during a fight."

"Fine, mom," she snarks at me, taking a dainty bite and swallowing it reluctantly, "So what are we doing today that's so important that you're practically force-feeding me?"

"Hunting, like always," I answer. What does she expect me to say, we're breaking out of the arena? Sacrificing her to President Riker?

"No, not 'like always'. You're too anxious for that. Your temper is even shorter than normal and you're checking up on all of us this morning."

She's too perceptive. If people understand the way you think, they basically know what you're going to do. They have power over you. I hate that. I want the power, and I want to be out of others' influence. "Fine. We could be striking back against Andras today. Retaliation for two days ago, and we've had enough time to recover. They lost that girl, they'll be weaker."

Desire's face pales. "Striking back against the alliance of three?"

"Yeah. Two and a half, really, Kalen's not worth that much." Desire glares at me. That's right- she and Kalen are about evenly matched. Oh well.

"We're all wounded. Damien's being a wimp about his side, but my leg is stiff and your arm is always sore. And Sawyer's pretty cut up, too."

"They're not in the best of condition either." Desire doesn't answer, she just takes another bite of her breakfast.

Sawyer, meanwhile, finishes cleaning up her stuff and starts absentmindedly toying with her favorite spear. When I catch her eye, she beckons me over. "Ainsley, we're definitely striking today before there's another chance one of us will die before we can take out that pesky alliance."

"That's good to know. We need specific targets if we're going to attack, so we can focus more on killing fast instead of just shedding blood." I crack my knuckles in preparation.

"The two of us can take Phi and Andras, it would be exhausting but in the end I think we are stronger. Damien can overpower Kalen easily. Desire can help us- she isn't exactly a powerhouse but the extra power could be the deciding factor."

"Makes sense. I agree."

"What sort of shape are we in to fight?" Sawyer asks briskly. She's ready to go. Desperate to finally take out her biggest opponent aside from her own alliance.

"Fair shape. I can hold out for a while with my bad arm now, and my other is just fine. Damien is just whining, a kick of adrenaline will get him into the battle. Desire's worse off, her wound is deep and moving the leg is difficult. She can manage, but she won't be as agile as she could be. And you?"

"Fine, just need to be careful about reopening the cuts. That sounds good enough for a fight. We'll give it just a few minutes more, I suppose. If it gets too late they'll be prepared."

"If they're not already," I counter, "If they didn't care that much about Marlee, they could be ready to go by now."

"We'll have surprise on our side." Sawyer is a bit overeager to do battle. I shrug in response to her statement- there's nothing important with which I can reply.

"Hey, Damien and Desire!" she calls.

"Yeah?" Desire calls. Damien stands up and meets us at the edge of the Cornucopia.

"We'll be fighting soon. Get armed." Damien turns halfway around before pulling a face, and Desire rolls her eyes as she struggles to her feet.

We've collected our weapons in just a few minutes, and Sawyer starts to the red curtain. "Sawyer, aren't you forgetting? Targets."

"Good call. Damien, go after Kalen. Um, I'll go after Andras-"

"Again?" Desire interrupts, "That hasn't been working for you."

Sawyer glares at my district partner. "I'll go after Andras, Ainsley go for Phi. Desire, which one of us do you want to fight with?" The blonde limps to my side without hesitation- we share a quick nod. "That's it, then. Let's go." A cloud of grim determination hangs over our pack as we pass through the red curtain.

Sawyer starts forward to the arena entrance, but Desire calls, "Wait!" We turn around. "There are two ways to go, which one do we follow?"

Two? We surround Desire, and she points out a narrower tunnel that branches off to the right. I hadn't even noticed it.

Sawyer fumes for a moment, her plan spoiled. "All right. District One, take that smaller tunnel. Damien, come with me, we'll go through the main one. Whoever finds them, call out. The others will hear. They have to connect somehow."

I nod, turning to the narrower corridor and striding down it. Desire follows, limping along behind me. The dark tunnel goes on for ages, until a door appears at the end.

I raise my sword and slam it open.

No deaths! Although it could be the last of those... perhaps. ;)

Nice cliffhanger, right? XD I'm sure you're all thrilled about the wait.

Tell me what you thought!