Day five:

Spyglys Dorn, District Eleven POV:

When the Games had started I had intended to enter the arena alone and I had intended to keep it that way, but then I had met Kieran. Me and Kieran were very similar in our views on people, we were both pretty cynical so I thought that it was only wise to go into an alliance; afterall, that way I had a better chance of surviving. Now that I was away from Kieran a small part of me missed him. A small part of me also missed Alec, because deep down I knew Alec wasn't a bad guy. Whether I missed Monk or not was debatable, but the silence that filled the arena was awkward now that there was no snappy Monk to break it.

Although whilst I was alone I did quite enjoy my new found solitude. There was no bickering or no-one telling me what to do now, which was definitely a blessing. In the Hunger Games, there was no time to feel sorry for yourself. In five days of the Hunger Games I had been attacked by a hurricane of coins, had my knuckles broken, been attacked by strange bat like creatures and almost drowned in a flood. I shivered when I remembered the intensity of the flood- the sound of everyone crying out in fear as we saw the water fill the caves up, the icy feel as jets of water hit my body and the way my hands had bled whilst I clung onto the cave walls, hoping I would get out alive.

I hoped my alliance were okay. They had clung onto the cave wall opposite me, praying for their lives. Before anything could be said or done the force of the water had knocked me away from them, and before I had drowned I had managed to cling onto a jagged rock, but that could have been miles away from where they were. Before I knew it I was alone, defenceless and I had nothing. Of course, compared to the likes of Alec I was hardly injured and I could defend myself even whilst weaponless. But when someone had a bow and arrow or even a sword, what use were my fists?

And there was a cannon fire. During the flood I could hear it ring out, and as it filled my ears I couldn't shake off the feeling of doom. Although in the Hunger Games doom was pretty inevitable. Every kid in the arena except one would die, and sometimes even the victor had gone out shaken and scarred for life. What would it be like if Kieran, Alec or even Metsey died? I remembered how Metsey had always wished me luck before the Games, despite the fact I made it clear we were enemies. When that cannon fired did it fire for any one of my allies? There were a load of tributes in the arena, and it could have fired for any one of them.

I walked down a corridor that was totally alien to me, because I spent a majority of my time in the Games walking around in dark, damp cave-like areas. The part of the corridor I walked down now had sand covering my feet instead of stone or moss. The corridors were lit by torches, and there was something about this part of the arena that seemed more alive. Maybe it was the hushed voices down the corridor.

"It wasn't a total failure." I heard a cold voice sneer. "I got the District Three girl, she'll be dead in a day." That voice was familiar, and some part of my brain was telling me that was a bad tribute, one that I shouldn't go near. I remembered the cold sneer- Maximotus Leprenzo. I felt like a coward, but my first instinct was to run away as I heard the cold voice begin to approach me from down the corridor. But that would be no use- he would find me one way or another, I was cornered.

"Do you ever think being a Career is... wrong?" I heard another sweeter voice ask. It was the District Two girl, who I had never labelled as a threat, but I still felt nervous.

"Of course it is, but you don't survive by being right." Maximotus' tone was strangely casual. I couldn't hear any footsteps, and as I stood in the deserted corridor, heart racing, I could tell that the Careers had stopped walking. "You had the District Six girl pinned to the ground. Why didn't you kill her?" There was an intense pause.

"I... She was stronger than I thought." The Two girl replied tentatively.

"Liar!" Maximotus accused angrily. "She's a shrimp, like most of the District kids. Tell me Katie, do you belong with the Careers?"

"I... Yes, you know I do." Katie had sounded adamant now. A part of me hoped that the two Careers would just finish each other- that would boost my chance of survival greatly.

"Prove it Katie, either you tell me you're not a Career and I'll shoot you now- I stick to my promises and I promise your death would be painless." Maximotus paused for a second. "Or you score a kill before the Final Twelve, otherwise I'll make you wish you were never born."

"Don't you threaten me!" Katie's voice quivered with anger, and for a brief second there was the sound of a blade being unsheathed. I slowly creeped around the corner, deciding to risk peering down the corridors. Were the Careers going to fight each other? If I had to bet on someone to win, it would be Maximotus, but it would be preferable if Katie had finished him off.

"So Katie isn't going to be a coward today!" Maximotus gave a wavering laugh. "I'm proud that you decided to point a blade at my throat Katie, maybe you could have been a Career, but nobody who puts a blade to my throat survives."

I heard Katie cry out in pain, her squeal almost puppy like, and I peeked around the corner ever so slightly to see that Maximotus had locked her into place, he held her arm securely behind her back, and Katie tried desperately to reach for her bow and arrows behind her back but it was useless. I could almost feel her fear, and despite being far away I could feel adrenaline surge through my body. The audience would definitely be entertained by this conflict.

"Let go of me!" Katie begged, and she stopped struggling for a second. She hung her head low and I could see her eyes glimmering with tears- tears that she refused to cry out. "Please... My sister is watching... just... just make it quick, please!"

I felt like I was pushed into a bit of a dilemma. I believed you had to fight to win the Games, but Maximotus wasn't fighting. He was just torturing the young girl who was practically a child and he was getting some kind of thrill from it. In his twisted joy, Maximotus didn't even seem to notice me, but I knew Katie had, because she looked up silently and she seemed surprised when she had seen me, but her mouth had silently mouthed something, and despite not being a good lip reader I knew what she was saying: Please.

Bethuny Binton, District Three POV:

All I could feel was pain. I couldn't breathe, move, or even see properly. Ever since Maximotus' storm of bullets had plummeted into me I felt what could only be described as a burning sensation flare all around my stomach, spreading all through my body like a raging fire. My vision was blurred, but I could see Rayann and Lyla's faces, looking down at me. They looked out of focus, kind of like the second hand cameras I once had to purchase for a photography project in school. I always loved photography- I really wanted to be a photographer at one point in my life, but a part of me knew that now that wasn't going to happen.

Blood seeped out of my stomach and neck. Where two bullets had hit my stomach I could feel nothing but agony, as if I was melting, and I was pretty good at biology, so I knew that if anything that was the acid in my stomach leaking out, probably very slowly and painfully killing me. A bullet had also lodged into my neck, and I found it incredibly difficult to breathe. My breaths were coming out in wheezes, which wasn't a good sign at all.

"This should help..." Rayann said, and I felt some kind of water pour all over my wounds. For a second the pain in my body was replaced by a tickling sensation, but that only lasted a brief moment, and the pain returned again. This time the pain was kind of like a dull aching one, and I still found it as hard to breathe as ever.

"I don't think it's going to work." I heard Lyla mutter. "I mean, it only heals skin wounds..."

"Of course it's going to work!" Rayann's voice was frantic. "Bethuny, you feel better don't you?"

I didn't want to lie, so summoning all the strength in my body I shook my head weakly. I kind of regretted it, because I heard Rayann give some kind of despairing howl, and looking up I could see her curled up, shaking with sobs and pounding her fists on the stone floor like a small child having some kind of a tantrum. I had never seen Rayann in this state, did I really mean that much to her? I wanted to get up and help her but I couldn't, and then realisation hit me- I was going to die. How long did I have? A day? A week? An hour?

"I'm sorry Rayann..." Lyla's voice cracked with emotion. "I'm trying, I really am..."

"You're not trying hard enough!" Rayann snapped, immediately gaining her composure and crawling over to me. I felt her hands stroke my cheek for a second, and I realised that they were soaked with tears. Rayann didn't look like she was in a perfect state herself- a long cut had crossed her face and her shoulder had been badly burnt. The fabric of the vest she wore had been obliterated on her right shoulder and the skin was blackened and burnt, with a red patch circling the wound it looked like a pretty irritating injury.

"You're hurt..." I croaked, moving my finger to trace Rayann's wound but not daring to touch it.

"This?" Rayann looked to her burnt shoulder and gave a weak laugh, her eyes still glistening with tears. "That's nothing Bethuny. You're much more important right now, I promise you that I'm going to get you out of this hellhole, and you're going to show Panem that you can be nice and win the Games! You're going to show them that big Careers don't-"

"Rayann," I interrupted her speech before she got more emotional, and she paused, surprised with the tone I spoke in. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I never do," Rayann whispered back.

"It'll take a miracle to heal my wounds." I gave a weak smile. "Nothing anybody could sponsor in these Games could save me- nothing. Only the Capitol surgeons could fix this and to get to them I have to win- I don't think I'm even going to last a day... I..."

"Don't say that!" Rayann sounded angry, but she kept her voice low. "Maximotus left his gun here. I'll shoot every tribute I see- Career or not. Then I'll keep you alive and when we're in the Final two I'll finish myself... If that's what it takes then I'm going to do that. I just can't stand here and watch you die!"

I had to admit I was pretty worried. Rayann had never shown any emotional part of herself- she was the cold hearted District Five girl. But here she was, in front of me, crying like a baby. The Games did funny things to people, it changed people, and sometimes it changed decent people into savages, but in rare cases like this it managed to show the Capitol that there was more to a person than what meets the eye. Some of those killers in the Games could have hearts and break down too.

"The chances of me getting to the Final twelve alone aren't worth thinking about..." Tears had escaped from my eyes and I felt my throat clog up; it wasn't anything to do with my wound, I was actually getting emotional. I was never scared of death, and in the Games I always kept my head up high. But I was worried about leaving my family behind- about leaving Rayann behind. But then again, if there was a heaven I was looking forward to that. I bet it had all the food and clothes in the world, and my grandparents...

"I'm going to try my best to get you through Bethuny." Rayann's voice was soaked in despair.

"Do you remember what you said when we first met in training?" I asked, out of the blue.

"My memory isn't like yours, Beth."

"I told you you if I died, I wanted to be the tribute that gave their life to save another..." I paused, allowing painful memories of mine and Rayann's old conversations fill my mind. The fact I had once said that was laced with irony, because I had jumped in front of that bullet to save Rayann. "And you said you didn't ever want to die. You just wanted to win."

"I was being stupid, Beth..." Rayann paused, lost for words.

"No, you were being Rayann. You're determined." I tried sighing, but it only came out as a weak croak, making Rayann come closer to me, worried I might die any second. "Me... I'm as good as dead. You can still win..."

"What are you trying to say?" Rayann said, trying to keep her face as expressionless as possible.

"Win." I moved my hand over and clung onto Rayann, scared to let go. "Because you're more skilled than you think and you stand a chance. If I wasn't going to win Rayann I'd have wanted you to win..."

Rayann's blubbery smile dropped, and for a second she looked reluctant. Then she paused and gave a determined nod. "If I can't get you through Bethuny, I am going to win. I promise you that... and I don't break promises. Ever."

Katie Susan Winters, District Two POV:

I looked over to the boy who was down the corridor from me. I tried to link him to a District, but he had kept fairly silent throughout the pre-Games entertainment. Then I remembered him as the District kid who had gotten the best score, discarding the Careers. The sullen District Eleven boy. And at that very moment I knew that I would never forget him- it was hard to forget the face of someone who was your only hope.

With Maximotus' blade poised right by my stomach and his arm wrapped around my neck like a deadly python it was pretty safe to assume that he was going to kill me. I had struggled and screamed, tried my best to fight back, but it was useless. Then as if some kind of miracle had happened the District Eleven boy was there. I saw him frown as he was stuck with the choice of saving me, so I closed my eyes and made a silent prayer.

"Any last words?" Maximotus hissed in my ear. "I'll tell your boyfriend, Tristan, how the District Five girl had overpowered you and stabbed a spear right into your stomach before you could do anything. Oh, how he'll cry. But he'll be willing to kill. Revenge would drive him mad... and that's always a bonus when it comes to being a Career. You need something to drive you to success."

I immediately thought of Tristan. How upset would he be if I died right here? And then I thought of the poor District Five girl, and how she'd suffer. Then I thought of Sally- she'd be so upset if I died, and perhaps a little dissapointed. Giving another pleading look to the Eleven boy I spoke to Maximotus. "What drives you then, Maxie?"

"Don't call me Maxie." Maximotus snarled, tightening his grip on my neck. If he didn't stab me soon I was pretty sure that I was going to suffocate to death. I glanced forward and saw Spyglys with a rock in hand, creeping towards me and Maximotus. Was he going to kill Maximotus or me? Maximotus continued babbling. "Enough messing about, you die now. I'm going to be nice and give you the chance to say any last words. So any last words little girl?"

My eyes snapped open, slightly insulted by Maximotus calling me a little girl. Spyglys was practically right in front of us now, but Maximotus' gave was directed at his blade which was caressing the fabric of my top. A small smirk crossed my lips. "Duck."

"Duck? What?" Maximotus frowned, puzzled.

"I said duck."

Maximotus glanced up to see Spyglys swing the rock in his direction, and though his eyes widened in surprise his reactions weren't quick enough to dodge the blow. The rock collided with Maximotus' nose, making a dull crunching noise and the impact of the blow had sent me and Maximotus tumbling to the hard ground, blood gushing out of his nose like a sickening waterfall. I glanced up to see Maximotus was already on his feet, about to drive his blade into Spyglys. Spyglys managed to grab onto the handle of the blade and the two had their faces scrunched up in determination as they tried to drive the blade into each others hearts. In terms of strength they seemed equally matched, but Maximotus had more skill with a blade, so I was betting on him to win. I just couldn't allow that to happen.

I immediately grappled for the blade in my belt and swished it out, jumping to my feet and charging for Maximotus. Maximotus saw me out of the corner of his eyes, and still clinging onto his blade, he sidestepped my wild swing. Spyglys was drove forward by Maximotus' momentum and grunted as he was forced into the stone wall, falling to the floor. Maximotus turned around to face me in unmistakable fury. He had lost too many kills in these Games, or on this day alone. I could feel his need to kill, and for the first time I was truly terrified.

Adrenaline guided me as I ducked Maximotus swinging his knife at me, and though I had dodged the worst of his blow the knife still cut into the flesh of my arm, leaving a jagged wound. I cried out, biting back tears. I must have sounded pathetic to him, trying not to cry like a little girl in the middle of a furious battle. Maximotus rummaged around his belt, instinctively looking for the gun he had lost. My frown had turned with a smirk with Maximotus' frustrated cry. In Maximotus' distraction, I managed to dive under his legs and cling onto the District Eleven boy's arm. The boy looked confused as I helped him onto his feet, but I considered him an ally now. We had both saved each other.

Then Maximotus held out his palm and I noticed the red glow around his wrist. He was using that gem of his. I gasped as a flood of memories had hit me- the way the gem had destroyed a courtyard in seconds, the way that the District Five girl had dropped down like a sack of bricks after being hit by the beam. Acting instinctively I shoved the Eleven boy out the way as a red hot blast was fired towards me, even though it had missed me by a couple of inches I could still feel an unbearable heat. Maximotus' face was scrunched up with concentration as he tried to re-direct the blast at me, but he had no control now; the red beam of light had made it's own path and moved so it blasted through the ceiling, and the last thing I could remember was rubble falling around me and Maximotus' evil laugh ringing in my head as my world went black.

Metsey Jazgo, District Eleven POV:

I had a feeling that today was an eventful day for the rest of the tributes. Though there had been no cannon fire apart from Ellis' I had managed to sit around in a deserted room covered in spider webs after the flood. The past few hours had been scarily silent and the lack of action only worried me. I wanted to hear a cannon soon- but the Gamemakers were probably satisfied. After all, there had been a death today. And not just a death, a murder. I could see the audience of Panem labelling me as an evil backstabber right now, but I wasn't. They didn't know how I felt when I had killed Ellis.

Ellis. That name sent shivers creeping up my spine; it was the name of the boy I had murdered after all. I felt bad for killing him; it wasn't like I was saving my own skin, because Ellis was my ally. He had seen me as someone who would help him, he may of even seen me as a friend. But I was the girl who would murder him. I had just been so terrified when I had seen him pick up that gem, to see him be able to control the flood that was supposed to kill him easily. He could have killed me without further thought.

Then the guilt that had followed when I saw his body, back down in the underground section of the pyramid. His pale white skin was even whiter in death, and his hair and clothes clung desperately onto his skin after he had been hit by the flood, and there was the sickening pool of blood. There had also been three tributes standing by him in a circle, all shaking their heads in disgust. The Nine boy intimidated me in particular- his senses were sharp and he had seen me. I remembered only barely managing to duck the knife he threw whilst what could only be described as anger flashed in his eyes. Did he know that I had killed the dead tribute in front of him? Probably not.

Of course Ellis wasn't a real threat. All the Careers had scored highly, and there were other tributes to look out for- the Five girl who could run almost as fast as I could, and had spear skills to match, the Six girl who had scored high in training, the boy who had almost killed me, with almost flawless knife skills. And then I remembered Spyglys. My District partner got the highest score out of all the lower District children, his score was probably Career worthy, he could've wrung Ellis' neck out without a second thought. Maybe when I had killed Ellis it was a mercy killing, and it still brought me one step closer to winning. I also had some food to myself, a weapon and various supplies.

But I still felt so guilty it made me want to throw up. Especially when Ellis' face had appeared on the ceilings which had turned into a painful white colour to show tributes who had died. He had been the only person to die that day. Ellis' brown eyes seemed to stare down at me accusingly, and not being able to stand the regret, I stood up and ran from the room. I was probably wasting my energy running but I needed to escape. Somewhere calm, like the star room. I sped down a small tunnel which lead to the underground section of the pyramid and ran as fast as my little legs would carry me.

The underground of the pyramid was much damper since it had been flooded, and there were various puddles scattered around the floor- remnants of the disaster that had helped to destroy the life of a boy. Finding the door of the star room I used all of my will to open the door and close myself into the dark room, shutting myself away from the dangerous world. Feeling like a lonely little girl I threw myself onto the floor and let the tears flow for a second, before I realised that something about this room was different.

The stars had stopped moving around the sun, and instead stood still in a formation. Or not even a formation- a poem.

Love is the ultimate affection, it lights up the darkest place. Some say it's the ultimate protection, found in time and space.

The stars let off an eerie glow that reflected the tears that had formed in my eyes. The words of the poem remained in my head to the point where I kept on muttering them under my breath continuously. This was confusing- the Gamemakers writing a poem about love? How would they know what love is when they shred children's lives into pieces and promote hate. But then it struck me, this wasn't a poem that the Gamemakers were throwing in to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. This was a riddle- some kind of test.

I wished Ellis was with me- he was probably great at little riddles. I wasn't as quick minded. Taking in a breath I closed my eyes, mentally trying to make some sense of the poem, and after a good fifteen minutes of thinking frustration had gotten the better of me and I spun around, closing my eyes when I had looked directly into the miniature, artificial sun that the Gamemakers had created. The bright light had dazzled me to the point where my eyes throbbed.

Even in the darkness of the room I couldn't recover from the dazzling light the sun had provided. Then a small smile had found it's way onto my face as I remembered a small part of the poem- it lights up the darkest of places. That's it! The Gamemakers had hidden something in the sun! Reminding myself to not look directly at the sun I craned my head slightly to look at the great orb of fire. What would happen if I put my hand in? Would it burn my hand off? Most probably.

Some say it's the ultimate protection. Could that mean there was something fireproof? Could I put my hand in and not feel a thing? Bracing myself I walked towards the large sun, feeling incredibly nervous as I felt a wave of heat hit me. Even inches away from it I could feel the heat so intensely that sweat had started to glisten across my face. Swallowing my fear, I plummeted my hand into the fiery sun. At first, a blazing agony had crept into my body, but it went as quickly as it had gone when I had clutched onto something.

I moved my hand away from the sun, glancing to my hand which was covered in a layer of sweat, but it looked fine. And in my palm lay a small necklace with a blue gem in it- some kind of sapphire. There was a small blue aura shining around the sapphire covering my hand. Whatever that necklace was, it was special, like the gem Ellis had. Whatever that necklace was, I could use it to win the Games.

Quick update, I know. I don't really have much to say- well, I do... let me be whiny... Pleaaaaase review! I don't bite. In fact, I like to think of myself as a lovely person. Hell, say that my story is the most rubbish, boring thing you've read. Just inform me that you've read it. I'm also sorry if the Rayann/Beth bit seemed a bit... icky. Emotional stuff isn't my strong point.

Question- What do you think about the gem Metsey has found? Excuse my awful attempt of poetry writing- don't tell me it was awful because, well, it was made up in 30 seconds.