A/N: Ave, folks, we're finally here! Are you excited? I discovered t is in fact very hard deciding who lives and who dies. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I found doing the descriptions a bit hard. Why? I do not know.

"The air was filled with smoke and blood."

Caliah Cledyff-District Two

I barely slept at all last night. How was I supposed to? I'm so full of adrenaline I don't think I'll ever sleep again. I don't want to sleep; I want to fight. I've waited so damn long for this! This morning, when the hovercraft came to take us to the arena I was the first one on. The others took their sweet time, the cowards.

I've been waiting in the arena underbelly for what feels like hours. What the hell is keeping the Gamemakers? Don't they know I want to get out there and fight?

I figure I might as well eat something while I wait, so I take a couple cheese buns from the table next to me. They don't taste of anything much. My excitement is dulling the taste I think. I can't stop thinking about who I'm going to kill first. I want it to be Vincent or that fat kid from Eight.

While I'm eating, my stylist comes in holding a pile of clothes. My arena outfit! I throw a half-eaten bun over my shoulder and run over to her, snatching the clothes and examining them. The outfit consists of a dark hooded sweater and a matching long sleeved shirt, a pair of black combat pants and sturdy military-style boots.

I change into the outfit eagerly, not caring about the presence of the stylist. After I'm all changed she looks me up and down and beams at me.

"You look lovely!" She says happily.

"I don't care how look, I want to know what the clothes are made for," I say impatiently.

"Urban combat, I should think. The dark colors will help you blend into a city environment," She says.

I like the sound of fighting in a city. I could push Vincent off a building.

After hours and hours of waiting, a voice crackles over the PA system ordering the tributes to stand on their podiums. Here I go!

Titus Aguirre-District Four

My platform rises slowly through the darkness, cutting ever upwards towards the surface of the arena.

I have to admit, I am a bit scared. But there's nothing wrong with being scared, right? Fear is just a biological reaction to the possibility of death. That's all I'm feeling, biology, not actual terror. I imagine the other tributes, the ones who aren't trained, are feeling worse than I am. I might not be willing to kill, but at least I could hold my own against someone like Glitz.

With a jolt and a screech of metal, the darkness around me falls away, and I'm blinded by harsh white sunlight. I shut my eyes instinctively.

When I open them again, the glare has subsided, and I get a good look at my surroundings. The tribute platforms have emerged around the edge of a gigantic concrete square, a bit like the town square back home. All around the square are tall, grey buildings that stand out against the clear blue sky. In the distance, I can make out the shapes of similar towers above a mass of smaller buildings. This is a city-obviously, but not like the Capitol, or any of the Districts.

The cornucopia sits right in the middle of the square. It looks like the platforms run around it. I'm facing towards the tail end. It looks like there are lots of different streets exiting the arena, of varying sizes. Strangely, they are all painted red, white or blue. Maybe it means something.

Well, that's the arena, but what about my fellow competitors? I look left, and find Circe. Her eyes are wild with fear. She must be so scared. To my right, Glitz stands tall and proud.

I can't see Vincent, he must be on the other side. I need to find him quickly. And that means going through the middle…

Henry Green-District Six

Five…

This city seems familiar, like something out of one of my Grandfather's books.

Four…

I've got Aric two spaces to my right. I shoot him a furtive glance and he nods towards the cornucopia. He's reminding me of the plan.

Three…

Most of the careers are close to each other, over by the tail. I'm nearer the mouth of the horn than they are, so I should be able to get in and out without a fight. Hopefully. I can see the mouth is full of backpacks and other assorted survival gear. Most of the weapons are outside the horn.

Two…

I try to take a deep breath, to steady my hammering heart, but it doesn't work. I'm too wired to be calm.

One…

I brace myself to run…

Zero…

The sound of the gong rolls across the square.

I leap off my platform and dash towards the cornucopia. All of my being is focused on reaching the horn. Nothing matters now, except getting those supplies. I'm dimly aware of shapes moving at the edge of my vision. Some are vanishing into side streets, but most are moving parallel to me, towards the cornucopia.

I can feel someone behind me. I think it's the boy from Eight. Or it could be Borus. I hope to God it's not him. The figure lunges forward to tackle me, but I put on a burst of speed and he plows straight into the hard ground. I look around and see the boy from Eight in a heap, his face a bloody mess.

Someone in the distance shouts, "You're clear! Get the supplies, and get Rosemary. I'll find Cicero!" It must have been Aric.

I reach the cornucopia, snatch up a knife from the entrance and rush into the mouth, but there's already someone there, rummaging through a pile of bags. He looks up at me and puts a finger to his lips. I ready myself to fight, but he simply shoulders a pack and leaves the horn.

Cursing him silently for making me waste vital seconds, I start looking for likely looking bags. I pick two that seem heavy and make to leave.

Suddenly someone comes charging into the horn at lightning speed. I panic and raise my knife, but lower it almost immediately when I see that the person is Rosemary. She grins at me and holds up a short sword.

"Sorry I scared ya. I got this off the ground out there." She says, gesturing to the weapon. "The careers aren't here yet, they were at the back. I think Arc and Cicero are up by a street just ahead of us, so we better get there fast, or they'll probably start kissing or something," She laughs.

She darts out of the horn. She doesn't even make it two yards. An arrow hits her in the back of her head and she falls, splattering the ground with blood.

The careers are here.

Alyeska Derevine-District Four

"Alright, spread out!" Caliah orders. "Don't let any of them close to the horn!"

She knocks another arrow and sends it flying at Henry. It hits him in the back of the leg and he stumbles. Surprisingly, he doesn't fall. He just limps on! I have to admit, that's pretty impressive!

Caliah swears and throws down her bow, pulling out her sword. I guess we're going close range now.

Collette, Caliah and I approach the horn in a v formation, each taking a side. Caliah gets the front, of course, because she's our 'glorious leader'.

The boy from Eight is round my side, pathetically trying to hold against Granya, who is relentlessly persuing him in circles.. The boy is moving slower and slower, breathing so heavily I think he might have a heart attack. His face is all messed up, and he's limping.

The boy sees me and stops fighting. He smiles at me, showing broken teeth.

"Hey, beautiful! About time you showed up to help me. Why don't you-" He doesn't get to finish because Granya lops is head off.

I can't help but laugh. I wanted to kill him really, but at least he died amusingly.

Granya spit at the boy's crumpled corpse and runs at me, sword raised, slashing at me wildly.

I easily block her blow with my spear. I stab at her and she clumsily jumps back, barely missing the tip of the spear.

Again, she comes at me and again I block her easily. This is stupid! She can't even get close to me. All she can do is wildly flail her sword around! There's no way she can hit me. This is kinda boring…

When she strikes again, I do something a bit different; I grab her sword arm and wretch the weapon from her grip.

Her expression changes from concentration to anger.

"That was mine, you bitch!" She says coldly.

Instantly I feel anger boiling up inside me. I can't stand people being rude, even in situations like this!

"Well, it's mine now," I say angrily. I don't like being insulted, especially by someone from one of the outer Districts.

"I'll get another sword. And I'll kill you with it."

Granya runs. I react just in time, slashing at her leg with the sword. She screams in pain but hobbles away. I don't bother chasing her., because others are coming. And besides, I want her to try and get her sword back.

Gaime Turner-District Twelve

I run, and keep running, but there is someone behind me, getting closer and closer with every step I take. I'm so tired already, I can't keep this up. I'm going to die.

I chance a look over my shoulder, and see I'm being followed by Glitz. His bright blue eyes are locked on me, but his face is blank.

I try to find somewhere to hide, to escape to, but none of the buildings around the square have doors! I'm trapped. I feel sick and helpless. There's nothing I can do. Everything seems empty. I'm going to die. I was always going to die. Everyone knew it. They all probably were taking bets on how many minutes I last. What's the point of trying to run? If I don't die here, I'll die soon after anyway…

I just can't keep running. I stop and turn to face Glitz. He still shows no emotion.

"Just do it quickly," I mutter dejectedly.

"I will," he says.

He raises his sword.

Circe Ponty-District Five

Oh God, oh God, this is crazy! I can hear them all fighting at the cornucopia. The air is filled with screams and the sound of clashing metal.

The only thing keeping me from falling apart in a panicky mess is the presence of Katri and Dolly. We managed to get together by skirting around the edge of the tribute platforms away from all the fighting, but we haven't found Taniece yet. I'm worried about her.

We've been roaming around the edge of the city square, looking down the side roads and alleys trying to find her. It's slow going. I can't run very far without getting tired.

After looking down another empty street, we stop to take in the scene unfolding at the cornucopia. The careers are swarming around the horn, taking on any tributes that get too close. I can see Colette fighting a boy with black hair, and Caliah running after the tiny figure of the girl from Twelve. Another career girl is engaged in a swordfight with the District Four boy. In the midst of the battle, someone else rushes in and snatches and spear and a pack before running away. That was clever, using the confusion to their advantage.

Both the boy from Two and his ally seem to be losing their fights. Two breaks away from Colette and is closely followed by his friend from Four, who just manages to avoid being dissembled by Alyeska's spear.

I don't want me or my friends going anywhere near there…

Katri taps me on the shoulder, drawing me away from the fight.

"I've found her! Halfway down the blue street just ahead of us!"

I sigh with relief. She's safe! She probably decided it was better for us to wait down there than at the horn.

"Come on!" I shout.

I lead the others forward, we're almost at the mouth of the street, when someone moves in front of us, blocking our way. It's the boy from Five, and he's carrying a huge spiked mace. Oh no. I instinctively raise my arms to shield the others.

The boy grins at us wolfishly.

"Thought you could get away? Fucking idiots."

He raises his mace over his head, and takes a step in our direction. This is crazy, he's going to kill me, and my friends, and my baby. There's nothing I can do to protect them.

He must see the terror on my face because he laughs.

"How about if I kill your allies first, Five? I bet you'd like that. I could make you watch. I'll do it slow," he says gleefully.

Katri lets out a terrified scream. She ducks out from under my arm and tries to get past the boy.

She doesn't make it. Our captor sticks out a hand and grabs her by the throat. He holds her there, for a moment, with her feebly kicking, and then drops her onto the ground. In a single fluid motion he brings the mace down on her head with a sickening crunch. I shut my eyes. I don't want to see…

I can't believe he just killed her like that. She was scared! Just trying to get away! Dolly takes my hand and we stand ready. If I die, it'll be definitely. I won't show him I'm scared.

I open my eyes…

And Borus isn't there. He's writhing on the ground with a large shard of glass sticking out of his back. I don't understand…how did?

I don't have time to find out, because someone grabs my hand and pulls me and Dolly forward into the street. Taniece! She saved us!

We only look back when we're a safe distance down the street. Borus is up again, but he isn't following us. Thank God.

I look at Taniece, who's just standing there, staring wide-eyed at Katri's corpse. I try to speak, but the only sound I make is a horrible choked sob. Then I burst into tears.

Amanita Saxena-District Eleven

I got out of the cornucopia with a spear and a pack. Not bad. I'd have liked to stay, but as Ganik said, "It's called the bloodbath for a reason."

Annoyingly, I didn't manage to get away completely scot free. Collette saw me, and now she's hot on my trail.

She's fast, but so I am. And I've got my eye on a good escape route, a small alley in between two of the larger streets. It's thin enough to make combat difficult, and hopefully contains some areas to hide.

When I get closer to the alley, I realize that it isn't empty. There are two boys jogging slowly down it. Shit! Why is this never simple? It's too late to change direction now; I have to get past them.

Collette is hot on my trail as I proceed down the alley. There are no other passages on either side yet, so the only thing I can do is keeping running towards the two boys.

They must have heard the noise of my feet pounding against the concrete because they stop and turn. Now I recognize them. The one with the wild black hair is from Two and the pretty one is from Four. Both are holding swords. Great, more careers. They need to move or I'll bash straight into them!

"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!" I scream as I thunder towards them.

The black haired boy doesn't move, but his partner does. He drops his sword and raises his hands.

He's going to try to grab me so Collette can finish me off! I hate how the careers always work together!

I grit my teeth in anger. If he wants to stop me, I'll kill him.

I level out my spear so it's pointing straight towards him. His expression changes instantly. He rapidly shakes his head.

"No Amanita, I'm not going to kill you! Get behind me!" He says urgently.

"LIAR!" I scream.

Just before I'm about to crash into him, I leap and drive my spear downwards into his chest. He topples over backwards, his blood already soaking through his clothes.

I land right on his chest. That was a bad idea. I 'm thrown off balance, and fall right onto his body.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see his partner slash at me, and feel a sharp pain on my arm, but I'm away, scrambling to my feet before he can get me again. I keep running, holding my wounded arm. It's bleeding quite a lot.

Collette isn't following me anymore. She's too busy dealing with Two. I can't hear them fighting, but I know it's only a matter of time.

That was insane! I can't believe I actually survived that! I bet my Mom is so disappointed…

Odessia Tempesta-District Three

"We can stop here if you're tired Dessa, I don't mind waiting," says Luther.

I ignore him and keep walking. Tired? Who the hell does he think I am, some weak little girl? I'll keep going for as long as possible.

Luther sounds tired, but what do I care? We've both been running since we left the min square. The minute the gong sounded, we were out of there. Luther wanted to stay to get me supplies, but I didn't let him.

Our route away from the horn took us down a wide street, paved white, and then left at a crossroads. No one saw us. I made sure of it.

Now, we're walking down a long avenue shaded by cherry trees. The air is filled with thousands of floating petals. They drift along with us, sticking in our clothes and hair.

Behind the trees, at irregular points along the road are small one-storey buildings all painted brightly with tables and chairs out front. They look a bit like the cafes in the merchant's quarter of Three. Unlike the buildings in the square, these actually have doors.

This looks like a good place to cap for the night. Safe, a good location to raid the cornucopia from, and the perfect place to lay a trap. And there might even be food in one of the cafes…

A/N: if you are wondering "Where did my tribute go, where ae they now?" Do not fear. I'll focus on the tributes who ran from the bloodbath next.

Deceased

Rosemary Wolfe-District Nine

Cause of death-Killed by Caliah's arrow

You were nice, Rosemary. You had a good sense of humor. I was a bit reluctant to kill her off, because she had some survivability, but she wouldn't be able to win.

Eyealle Dye-District Eight male

Cause of death: Beheaded by Granya

Ha!

Gaime Turner-District Twelve male

Cause of death: Stabbed by Glitz

Sorry, Gaime. I think we all knew you wouldn't make it.

Katri Wiliford-District Seven female

Cause of death: Bludgeoned to death by Borus

Katri was kind and gentle. You were nice to write for, because you were just a normal, nice person. Your entire alliance was really nice. But I knew one of you would have to go in the bloodbath.

Titus Aguirre-District Four male

Cause of death: Speared in the chest by Amanita

Titus was always going to die. His reluctance to kill anyone put a great big x over his head the moment he stepped into the games. Sorry fella. I liked you.

Tributes remaining: 19

Questions:

Were any of the deaths sad for you?

Should I be approaching the deaths and things in a different way?

Have any of you picked a tribute to support yet?

Thanks for reading!