Day Two

Aaron Vargas, District 4.

I jerk awake to the feel of sharp fingers prodding against my side and I snap my eyes open in annoyance, certain that it's Envee, come to wake me up in the same irritating way she always does – I've never been a morning person.

I start slightly as my eyes land on the small skinny figure of a young girl who stands over me with an amused expression on her face. Focus Aaron, I tell myself, you can't afford to zone out in this place. Probably end up with a knife between your ribs.

"What?" I snap as I force myself to sit up and survey our campsite; there's a mound of the supplies we managed to protect yesterday piled up beside the golden Cornucopia and a pile of black ash where we had lit our fire yesterday. Which was something I had turned out to be next to useless at, luckily Kye had had a bit of success and we'd eventually got the thing going.

"What are we doing today?" Lien demands, eyeing me impatiently, "I asked Kye but he was still half asleep, and sent me over to ask you instead." I can't help but feel slightly smug as it comes to my attention that they've clearly already chosen me as the leader of our little alliance. I guess it was a logical choice, because I'm the only one out of us who has experience with this kind of thing. Anyway, I did manage to take out three other tributes yesterday.

I clench my fists though, as I think of the one who managed to get away. Sasha. She'd resorted to a fairly cowardly technique, but it had done its job and probably left me looking like an idiot in front of the whole of Panem.

"Bring Kye over here," I tell her distractedly, "we'll discuss it over breakfast."

I push myself over to the supplies and begin searching through for anything remotely edible – I'm absolutely starving and my dry throat is grating on my nerves as well.

Once Lien has dragged a sleepy looking Kye over in my direction, I hand out some of the packets of dried fruit that I'd managed to locate and start forming a plan in my mind. "We need water," I tell them immediately, "and the lake seems like as good a source as any to find that."

Lien glances over her shoulder, to where the expanse of dark water is just about visible in the distance. "We need to leave someone to guard though," she points out, while Kye just nods and yawns.

"Fine, we'll decide that in a bit."

"We're going to go hunting as well, right?" Kye says, obviously having gathered his thoughts enough to be able to talk.

I glance over at the gloomy edge of the forest with distaste – ever since Kye described the death of the kid from six yesterday, my skin has started to crawl whenever my eyes land on the vast depths of the forest. Spiders have always bothered me for some reason. Something about their legs and...

I suck in a deep breath and force myself to think of Envee – what would she say to me now if she could see me panicking about a couple of stupid spiders? She'd give me a good whack and tell me to stop being such a wimp.

I snap back to attention as I realise that my allies are watching me with slightly confused expressions on their faces.

"Yes," I say suddenly, making them start, "of course we're going hunting. But we need water first." I survey my surroundings for a moment, watching the space between us and the lake warily and wondering who I should send.

"Right," Lien snaps impatiently, rolling her eyes in my direction and making me clench my fists, "we'll go to the lake," she says, gesturing at herself and Kye, "then we'll go looking for the other tributes."

She stands up, tapping her fingers against her side as she waits for Kye to do the same.

"Wait," he mutters, glancing between the two of us.

"What is it?" Lien demands, her face twisted in fury – and I can't help thinking, that despite the fact she's only a fairly skinny thirteen year old girl, she's actually quite a formidable person. Not that I'll have any problems taking her down when the time comes to break up this alliance. But I'm not planning to be complacent around her – I shall keep my eyes on Lien.

"I heard something last night," he says, his eyes meeting mine and he seems slightly afraid for some reason.

"It's a bit late to mention it now," I point out. Besides, what tribute would be stupid enough to take us on?

He ignores me, and continues talking, "When I was on watch – it was like a voice in the distance. And I swear I kept feeling something... I don't know – breathing on me or something."

I can't believe that this arena is already starting to get to him; I actually thought Kye was going to make quite a reliable ally. But then, I thought the same thing about Rocco and he somehow managed to let Sasha kill him.

"Something was breathing on you?" Lien asks scathingly, and she laughs mockingly at him. I guess I can admire her bravery up to a point for doing this – it's clear to me that Kye must be losing his mind slightly, but I'm not planning on alienating him as an ally. I have a strategy worked out, and I'm not going to ruin it on the first day.

"When you say you heard a voice..?" I ask, uncertain as to how to reply to his rather insane tale.

"I mean that I heard a voice," Kye says, and I see his eyes flicker nervously over to Lien for a moment. "It said... it was saying Lien's name," he mutters, so quietly that I have to lean in slightly to actually be able to hear him.

Lien doesn't even look remotely fazed by this announcement and she simply folds her arms tightly across her chest, and watches Kye with a distinctly unimpressed look etched across her face. "Did you really think you could scare me with some childish little story about ghosts and ghoulies?" she asks, in a sickly sweet voice and I can't help but think that she's completely destroyed the cute little girl image that she worked so hard to build up before the arena. It's different to my plan – I want to keep this aggressive, dangerous image for as long as I can. I reckon my actions yesterday will have helped me out in this respect.

"No Lien," Kye retorts angrily, "I was trying to warn you, because they clearly tried to send something after you yesterday and I-"

She cuts him off, "Save it," she snaps and grabs a rucksack from the pile and begins stuffing canteens into it, "now, are we getting water or what?"

Kye gathers a couple of empty bottles, and silence reigns in the camp until he's shoved them haphazardly into a bag and I suddenly notice something.

I hold out a knife towards Lien, "You'll need a weapon, just in case something happens," I tell her, having spotted a belt that's currently free of them.

"I don't want a weapon," she replies, glancing with distaste at the knife between my fingers, "it's not like something is going to happen between here and the lake."

"You don't know that," I start to tell her, but she cuts me off with a fierce look. "Lien you-"

"I'd leave it if I were you," Kye interjects firmly and plants a step in the direction of the lake.

"Good luck," I mutter sourly under my breath and turn my attention back to the supplies, not even bothering to keep an eye on them. I can't understand why Lien wouldn't take the knife that I had offered her. We're in the Hunger Games – not matter how strong her allies might be, she needs to pull her own weight.

Perhaps I'll let it pass for now, but I'm not happy about it. I learnt diplomacy taking care of my squad during the rebellion though, and so I know from experience that it's no good trying to push the issue too far. Let it go for today, then talk to her about it tomorrow.

I arrange my spears on a row on the ground and shove my knife into my belt. It's hard, always needing to do something to distract myself. Don't get me wrong – I knew what I was getting myself into when I volunteered and I'm not exactly a stranger to having to kill those who oppose the Capitol or myself. But there's something eerie about the atmosphere in this arena and I almost wish that I could bypass this part of the Hunger Games, and skip straight to the glory of winning bit.

Still, I have to admit that the familiar feeling of that adrenaline rush yesterday had surged into my bones and made me feel alive again.

I sit in silence for a few moments, hoping that I'm not boring the audience too much but hopefully we'll stumble across one of the other tributes later and that will provide a bit of entertainment.

I've just shifted my position so that my back is propped up against the side of the Cornucopia when a sudden scream slices through the almost peaceful air of the arena.

I start to my feet, and twist my head round, trying to locate the source of the noise. I bend and swipe up several of my spears from the ground when I finally find it.

Turns out, the Gamemakers must have been bored of our antics, because they decided to make some entertainment of their own.

I sprint across the wide expanse of lawn separating me from the lake where Lien and Kye are facing something that I have no words from.

Something has emerged from the depths of the lake – something pink, slimy and waving wide tentacles covered in suckers in the direction of my allies. As I begin to close the gap between me and them, I see that the creature holds Kye wrapped in one of its slimy limbs and he's slashing desperately at it with his knife. Lien, on the other hand, is jumping and swerving, trying to dodge the mass of tentacles that are attempting to swipe at her.

I've seen things like this back at home – squid and octopuses, but this certainly isn't natural. The fishermen would be shocked out of their minds if they had ever caught something of this vast size.

When I'm only a few paces away, I wrench out one of my spears and hurl it towards the largest fleshy part that I can lay my eyes on. I start to release a cheer of triumph as the spear heads straight towards my target, but this changes to a curse as the tip of the spear barely lodges itself into the creature before it shakes itself and the spear is knocked into the water.

How am I supposed to kill this thing?

I swear in annoyance as Kye unleashes a strangled cry, and the knife drops from his limp fingers down into the lake. I half expect a cannon to go off for a moment but I don't hear anything and I surge forward.

I'm knocked suddenly off my feet as one of the tentacles sweeps beneath me, and I land flat on my face in a pile of sloppy mud. Anger flares through me as my pride takes a serious knock and I push myself back to my feet and aim a fierce cry of rage towards the beast.

"Aaron!" I hear Lien yell from my left side and I whirl round just in time to see one of the tentacles begin to curl around her waist. She starts screaming, and clawing at it desperately as it attempts to lift her off the ground. "Get off me," she screams powerfully, her legs kicking wildly.

I stumble towards her, freeing my knife from my belt and I swipe viciously as the wide expanse of pink tentacle. I hack at it determinedly and the beast emits a strange rumbling sound as I finally manage to slice right through the tentacle clutching Lien.

She screams in victory as it begins to slide away from her, and flops back into the water, drenching us both with icy water, but also washing the mud from my face.

Now, for Kye.

It's easier to choose my target now that I'm closer, and I lob another spear towards what I'm assuming is the creatures head.

This time, the head of the spear is launched directly into its flesh and it releases another rumble that shakes the ground around us, and almost knocks Lien off her feet. I grasp at her arm, trying to steady her as the beast begins to shake Kye around.

I grit my teeth, and release another spear, launching it directly beside the other one.

A loud howl of pain makes me drop my two remaining spears and clasp my hands over my ears. Lien does the same, and her face twists into a grimace of pain as the noise reverberates through us.

The creature begins to slump forward, and I watch in horror as Kye is released from its grasp. He falls to the ground like a rag doll and lands with a thump that makes me wince, and I swear in anger as I realise that this may have taken out my strongest ally. Luckily, he wasn't too far up, but that fall will hardly have done anything good for him.

Lien starts towards him, but I continue to watch as the beast descends below the surface, released another loud rumble as it does so. Something tells me that I was nowhere near managing to kill it and we certainly can't use the lake to collect drinking water again. Which means that we'll have to waste time trying to find another source when we could be looking for tributes instead.

I walk over to where Lien is crouched over an unconscious Kye and sigh as I spot the pitiful amount of water they managed to collect before the beast had appeared. "How is he?" I ask, watching him uncertainly. His chest is rising and falling ever so slightly, but his face his pale and he doesn't look good.

"I'm not a doctor," Lien snaps viciously, "I don't know how he is, or how to help him."

I don't bother getting into an argument; merely glance back towards the now unguarded Cornucopia. "We need to take him back to the supplies. Look through the medical supplies and wait for him to wake up."

Lien nods, "And then what?"

"And then, once Kye is awake, we can leave him on guard while we go on the hunt."

Samura Nightshade, District 2.

I wake up with a groan, and press my fingers against my temple as if I can wipe away the headache throbbing in my forehead. I can feel blades of grass tickling my cheek and something about that seems mildly strange, but I'm not quite sure why.

Then I start awake as I remember. I was in a castle – there wouldn't be grass in a castle!

My jaw drops open in horror as I'm forced to take in my surroundings; I'm lying in the middle of a small clearing carpeted in downy grass, and the odd small white flower and everywhere I turn my head, all I can see are trees.

How did I end up here? I force my mind to answer this question because the last thing I remember is sitting in a vast open hall in the castle and I was with... Griffin.

I remember him in a sudden rush of emotion – remember him calling out my name as I crossed a room. I don't understand why his voice in my memory is high and panicked; I'm certain that we didn't come across another tribute and so why would he be so scared?

I'm aware that my mind is obviously skirting around the central point of last night – the point that will probably explain how I ended up lying in the middle of the forest when I'm fairly sure that I fell asleep in a castle last night.

I shut my eyes again, trying to call up images from last night.

Then it comes back to me.

I hear something whispering in the shadows of the room; something that's growing louder and stronger by the second. This something speaks with a voice that brings my heart to my mouth and makes my chest ache with longing. Mum.

My need for my mum takes over my common sense, and all I can think about is moving towards the sound of her voice. I need her to wrap her arms around me, and tell me that everything's going to be normal again.

And even though it makes no sense for her to be in the arena, I just need to see, and that voice gives me hope. As do the shadows that obscure her from my view. Maybe it really is her.

But something seems wrong as I step into the patch of shadow. I think, for a second, that I see my mother's face looming at me from the darkness. But it's something else entirely – something with anger etched onto its features. Something with empty eyes and hands that begin to move towards my neck.

A shudder ripples through my body, and my hands jerk to my neck. I wince as I press against the bruises that lay on my skin and I shut my eyes, as if by closing my lids I can keep the tears safely inside my eyes.

The moment that I had heard my mum's voice in that echoing room, I had allowed myself to feel hope again. There had been a second where I had thought that maybe, possibly, she was-

I don't let myself think that next bit, because I don't want the whole of Panem seeing my emotions. I don't want the Gamemakers to know that their plan had worked perfectly and they had chosen the one thing that had actually had the potential to break me in this arena.

But I can't be broken – it's only the first day and I have my ally to think of. Griffin! My memories still hadn't explained to me how I'd ended up in this place with no Griffin in sight.

Had something happened? Another tribute... No, I'm certain that I would remember if something like that had happened. I might resent Griffin at times, and he certainly can be irritating, but I know I would remember if anything had happened to him.

Because he means something to me, even though he probably shouldn't.

You shouldn't think like that, Samura, I remind myself urgently – it's dangerous to think that way in the arena. Anyway, it's not like I mean anything to Griffin – I'm a useful ally for him, especially after I got that ten as my training score, and that's all I am.

And all he is to me, no matter what my stray thoughts may try to tell me.

I press my hands against my eyes, and try to block all thoughts of my mum and Griffin from my mind. I need to focus on the problem as hand, which is figuring out how I actually ended up here. I draw my knees up to my chest and rest my forehead against them.

It had definitely happened when I had stepped into the shadow. There had been a moment where I had seen the face and felt the clammy hands locking around my neck, but then everything had changed. The shadow had disappeared, and I had seen grass and trees.

Then, I realise - somehow, that patch of shadow had taken me to a different patch of the arena. I stiffen as I really begin to comprehend what that means – I have no clue as to where I am, no supplies, no weapon and no Gr-... ally.

How can this have happened? I went from being safely holed away in the castle with enough supplies to last me for at least a little while, having my hands on a mace which is the weapon I had always used during Peacekeeper training and someone to watch my back, to being stranded in the middle of the forest.

It feels like cheating on the part of the Gamemakers. Surely this isn't fair – hadn't I earned my right to rest for night in the castle after being quite productive during the initial battle?

But by transporting me across the arena, causing me to lose everything I had gained yesterday... No, that can't possibly be right. It must be against the rules, if there even are any rules for this thing.

I glare into the sky, clenching my fists against my stomach. First they kill my mother just because she tried to help an innocent person, and now they do this?

That's when I realise something – I hate the Capitol, and I hate the fact that I volunteered myself to be nothing more than a pawn in their game. More than that, I hate the fact that I'm still prepared to play along because I need to kill Zack.

Maybe it is the Capitol who I should be blaming for her death, but Zack is someone accountable who I can actually get my hands on. And if that means playing the game for a little bit longer, then that's what I'm going to have to do.

But perhaps I can have hope in the fact that the brutality of these Hunger Games might unite the districts once more and perhaps they could actually turn out to be the downfall of the Capitol. That's probably just idle wishing though – but I just wish that I could do something to take revenge on them.

I groan, and push my hands back against my eyes. These aren't good thoughts for me first morning in the arena, when I need to be forming a plan to get back to Griffin and my supplies. They could have sent me right to the other end of the arena though, and I have no chance of making my way back without a weapon. If I run into another tribute them I'm a goner, seeing as I all I have are the clothes I'm wearing.

I stare around me for a moment, hoping that inspiration might strike because I don't think there's much point on holding out the hope that Griffin might somehow find me. I grimace – what are the chances of us just stumbling across one another in this vast arena?

Then I suddenly remember the sponsors. I wonder if there's any chance that I actually have any, if somehow I might have managed to stick in someone's head beyond the other tributes.

Well, it's worth a try I suppose because I need to find Griffin, and I need to take down Zack. Even if I don't quite know what's going to happen after I've done those things, it's all I've been hanging my future on recently – the idea of killing Zack – and I don't what else I'm supposed to do.

I glance up into the sky, hoping that I don't look too stupid and resenting the fact that I'm already having to ask for Capitol help. "I could really do with a weapon," I mutter towards the heavens, keeping my voice low in case there are any tributes around me.

The minutes stretch on, and though I keep glancing expectantly up at the sky, nothing appears. I'm not being conceited, but I would've thought that I'd have at least enough sponsors to be able to send me a slingshot, or something.

Anything, I think, slightly desperately, anything would be useful right now.

I can't help the slight smile that breaks out across my face as my eyes catch a glimpse of something silvery begin to float down from the sky.

It seems like a good omen to me that the parachute that carries my sponsor gift, whatever it might be, is silver because that's always been my favourite colour. Ever since I was little and I had like looking at shiny things. Not because I was vain or anything like that, but because I had liked the way that light had made patterns against the reflective surface.

Growing up however, I had realised that it was often the bad things that were silver, like weapons or metallic hovercrafts sent by the Capitol to destroy the districts. But maybe the fact that this parachute is silver proves that positive things can be too, and maybe it wasn't such a bad choice for a favourite colour.

As the parachute floats closer towards me, my smile widens as I realise that it isn't only carrying a weapon, but a fairly large green rucksack that is practically bulging at the seams. The moment that it lands with a thud on the ground, I rush towards it and tear the bag from the strings of the parachute.

I hurriedly undo the zip and peer inside. The first thing I spot is a knife with a serrated blade and I tuck it into my belt. I feel a lot safer now that I have something that I can use to protect myself. I delve deeper into the bag and find numerous packets of food, and also some bags that clearly have to be boiled in order to be eaten.

Lastly, a canteen lies at the bottom of the bag. The ones in the packs that we had taken from the Cornucopia yesterday had, much to our annoyance, been empty and so I feel like squeaking in excitement as I pick it up and find that it's heavy.

This is more than I had been hoping for – and certainly more than I really deserve. I can't help the hope that surges inside of me that Griffin will have received something as well, because what we had back in the castle wasn't enough to live on.

I force myself to take one controlled sip from the bottle to ease my parched throat, and then screw the lid back on tightly and shove it onto my bag. I place the parachute on the top of the food before I zip it back up, because something just feels lucky about it.

It turns out that I was right, because after I've been walking for around twenty minutes, I stumble across signs of a recently abandoned campsite. A still slightly smouldering pile of ash lies in the middle of the clearing, and the mud around the bottom of the trees is all churned up.

Then my heart lurches in my chest as my eyes spot something caught against a branch in the far corner of the clearing. A single blonde hair flutters in the slight breeze.

Salima – it has to be. It's too long to belong to the girl from District 12 or any of the boys, and the girl from District 3, although her hair is blonde, it's slightly darker than this.

And if this hair belongs to Salima, then that means that she and Zack must be somewhere around here. I know the damage I had done to his side – he won't be walking anywhere quickly.

My pulse begins to accelerate as I realise just how close he might be to my grasp, but then I remember Griffin. Shouldn't he be my priority right now? Surely it's more important to try and find my way back to him.

But my body clearly has other ideas – my blood burns within my veins and everything urges me to abandon thoughts of Griffin and instead I choose to go on the hunt.

Remember to keep voting; you can vote on the poll, PM me with a tributes name, put a tribute's name at the end of your review or PM me the answer to the question :)

Question: Which song are these lyrics from? Tonight the hunt for you, every night, every day, making plans for your escape