Hi guys!

Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! Almost 300! :D I really appreciate all the support, and you are all so lovely to review! A huge thank you!

- I plan on a sequel (maybe two) to this story. This story will revolve entirely around the Games, whereas the next story will be about the aftermath…and other things. I have a few ides for the sequel, but ultimately I plan on finishing this story first.

Please read on!

Chapter 24 – Battle

Marina

"Run!" I scream to Ella as the mutts race after us. I grab her hand, practically dragging her across the grass as my super speed kicks in. We need to get to the cornucopia now otherwise we're dead.

I can see other Loric sprinting to the same destination and I can see some already there, clambering on top at once. I watch as a young boy, not much older than Ella, trips up behind me. I don't watch as the mutts fall onto him, tearing into him. His screams echo around the field of grass, but I simply tighten my grip on Ella's wrist and continue to run.

A cannon booms in the distance and I feel sick to my stomach. Another Loric is dead. Killed in less than a second. Sometimes you forget just how easy it is to be killed.

My heart pounds and my hand is sweating in Ella's but I continue to drag her to the cornucopia. I can hear her sobbing as well as panting as she tries to keep up with me. I can practically feel the mutts' breath on my neck…feel their aching desire to kill. I can almost see them behind us, their jaws opening to bite, to kill…their claws reaching out to rake into us…

"Mar-marina…I…can't" Ella pants next to me, her face bright red. We're so close now and I won't give up on her, not this time. I won't abandon her like I did at the very beginning of Round 1.

"You can do it Ella!" I tell her fiercely. My grip on her hand is unforgivingly tight and I use a last spurt of speed to drag her along.

We finally reach the cornucopia and barely wasting any time, I lace my hands together into a cup shape, giving Ella a step to boost her onto the cornucopia. She lightly steps on; panic making us both act so quickly, and then I shove her up onto the top of the cornucopia, practically throwing her.

But she's so small and can't reach the top. Her hands scrabble on the metal surface, trying to grab a hold, when someone lunges down and grabs her, hoisting her up. Thank Lorien. Ella's lifted up onto the safety of the cornucopia, where she leans down, her desperate eyes trying to find me in the darkness.

"Here, quick!" a boy yells at me, reaching down to grab me. I lunge up to snatch at his hand when a terrible stabbing pain pierces my leg and I'm dragged back. I scream as the mutts drag me away from my safety, from my haven. From Ella. I hear her screams and another person shouting as I'm dragged a good few metres away from the cornucopia. I know there's no way for me to make it there to safety now. I'm as good as dead.

"Marina!" I hear Ella scream as the mutt shakes me roughly making the pain in my leg intensify. I'm snapped around and I close my eyes, imagining more mutts racing towards me, eager to kill. I think I'm crying from the pain.

There's a roar and then this huge lion creature looms in front of me. It must be a mutation because it has more than four legs and it's easily able to stand on its back legs. I scream, covering my head, as there are more howls from the mutts as well as yells from the Loric trying to escape too. This is chaos and in between it all I've been forgotten. This is a free-for-all.

"Marina!" I hear Ella scream again but nobody's listening to her. As far as everyone else is concerned I'm dead.

The lion creature in front of me roars again, a different sound to the mutts. It's full of fury and a challenge. And it looks different too. I watch as it raises a huge paw and then my mouth drops open as it lunges towards the mutt who's finally let go of my leg.

What is going on? Are they fighting over who should kill me? Are they really as mog-like that they want the glory all to themselves?

The two beasts tumble over and over on the ground, tearing and snapping at each other. For some reason this beast saved me and I watch in horrified fascination as they tear and fight and try to kill the other. The lion is winning, but only just. I wince as I watch the mutt tear part of it's shoulder out with its teeth and the lion roars in pain.

"Ella" I whisper to myself as I hobble to my feet. The pain is burning and sapping my energy but once I'm at the cornucopia I can heal myself. I stumble forwards, making it to the smooth metal edge of the cornucopia, but I can't reach up.

"Marina, grab my hand!" Ella bends down desperately but her arm is just too short. I'm about to try telekinesis, even though I'm not sure I have the strength, when a girl pushes Ella aside and shoves her hand down, gripping my hand.

I'm dragged upwards with astonishing speed; this girl is strong. I'm pulled over the side of the cornucopia and I lie on the flat surface, surprised at how large it actually is. This could fit all Loric on here; they just need to reach it and get on top.

"Better sort out that leg of yours before you bleed to death" the girl says and I'm stunned to see it's Maren Elizabeth. I shouldn't be; if anyone was going to survive, it was going to be her. She looks a lot harder and scarier than she did before but when she flashes me that sharp smile of hers, she reminds me of the girl who joked around with Joseph in the dining room.

"Thanks" I pant and she winks, before disappearing in front of me. I'm open-mouthed and am barely aware of Ella throwing her arms around me, laughing and sobbing. How did Maren just do that? How did she just disappear?

"Your leg! Heal it!" Ella says in a rush and I barely have the sense to do as I'm told. I press my hands to my leg, wincing as the icy feeling rushes through me but soon relaxing as the pain disappears, and the wound knots together to form smooth skin again.

I look around me in the dim light. There are about eight or so Loric up on here, all spread out. Some have huddled in the middle of the cornucopia, trying to block out the sound of the mutts, but others are crawling to the edges, trying to help others up.

There's the roaring sound again and I look over to see the lion creature that saved me staggering back, bleeding from vicious cuts. Two mutts begin to surround it, knowing there's going to be a kill. Then something astonishing happens. The lion begins to change from a massive beast until there's a shaking Loric boy standing there. He drops to his knees, blood pooling around him.

It's Joseph. I forgot that he could shape shift. And he just saved me. He saved my life when nobody else did and looking around at this scene right now, nobody apart from me is aware that he's going to die.

"No!" I yell and without thinking through what I'm doing I leap off the cornucopia. I fall to the ground, landing to my knees with my breath knocked out of me. I stumble to my feet when I see it in the corner of my vision. Piled up by the mouth of the cornucopia in a new supply of weapons for the Loric is a bow. A beautiful silver bow, just waiting to be used.

My mind races at once. The mogs must have given them to us to make this battle even better. Whatever the reasons, I don't care, and using telekinesis I grab the bow and arrow. I race forward, knocking an arrow to my bow as I aim at the first mutt. Let's hope my practice pays off.

Sensing the threat in me one of them charges towards me, it's eyes filled with nothing. They're blank and as they look at me I get this horrible feeling of no emotions. This mutt kills because it has nothing else to do and it has been taught nothing else except to kill.

"Marina, don't!" Joseph calls weakly but I ignore hm. "Go back to the cornucopia!" I raise the bow and then shoot, right at the beast.

The first arrow pierces its shoulder, not doing any damage. I refuse to let myself panic as that just enrages the mutt that is almost on me. Desperately, I knock another arrow and aim for the eye. If I get the eye, I can kill the thing.

The arrow speeds through the air and hits the mutt's eye, making it roar with fury and pain, Its running course is altered and it crashes into the cornucopia, blind in one eye. I grin in triumph and relief that I can still shoot, but my relief is short-lived. I can see the cornucopia shake and I hear a few screams, but the thing stands strong to my great relief.

I ready my bow and arrow, smiling grimly when I see the chest of the mutt is unprotected. Perfect. I need to hit the heart and that'll kill the mutt. I line up my arrow, take a deep breath and then let it fly towards the heart.

It falls to the ground, whining and snarling in pain as its life slowly fades away. I feel bad for a few seconds and then something crashes into me, a warm snarling body. The second mutt that was killing Joseph is on me and I don't have distance to do any damage.

But I forgot about Joseph.

The beast scratching and tearing at me suddenly rears back, a huge spear sprouting from its back. It shakes its body, trying to dislodge the weapon but Joseph's aim was good, despite the fact that he's half dead. Instinct pulsing through me, I ready another arrow and then send it flying to the mutt's throat.

Within seconds it lies next to the first mutt, dead.

Joseph makes a weird gasping noise and then collapses to his knees, blood still streaming down his chest from the wound on his shoulder. I rush over, pressing my hands to his shoulder as I look around, making sure there aren't any threats. There are plenty of other mutts but for now, they seem to have forgotten about us and are focusing on other targets.

"I can heal you" I pant, sweat dripping down my neck in the clammy air. I don't know who I'm trying to persuade more, him or me. Joseph makes a weird noise between a pant and a laugh and I take that as an agreement. I press my hands to his wound, focusing on my healing.

The icy feeling floods through me and Joseph stiffens, hissing through his teeth as my healing legacy finally kicks in. Energy seems to sap from me as his wound begins to heal up, but despite the dizziness, I keep my hands on his wounds. Joseph straightens up as the rest of his injuries disappear.

"I've…I've never felt anything like that before in my life…thank you" he pants, clutching my blood-spattered hand. I simply smile as I lean back, exhausted. I don't even think I can stand I'm that tired.

"We need to get onto the cornucopia" I say, weariness flooding through me. I could really do with a sleep actually. "Then we'll be safe"

Joseph looks around as mutts begin to creep towards us, sensing our weakness. Panic makes my head clear a little but before I can get up to outrun the mutts, the scene around us changes and then I'm on the cornucopia, safe for the time being.

"I can teleport remember" Joseph winks at me as he lets go of my hand. By now pretty much all of the Loric are on the cornucopia but there are those, including Maren Elizabeth, who look like they're about to fight back.

Joseph crouches next to me, his shirt ripped to shreds. I watch as he simply shrugs off the ruined shirt, not that worried about being half-naked in front of me. He's going to go back out there and fight some more mutts, even though he could get hurt.

"Stay here and heal the others" he says. I nod, as I watch those who are injured and trying to bandage their wounds. I'm better use up here than down on the ground. And besides, I have a bow and arrow now. I can shoot at the mutts.

"Stay safe," I tell Joseph, leaning forwards and lightly kissing his cheek. He blushes under the blood and grime on his cheek and then he grins at me, before teleporting away and onto the ground. I don't want him to get hurt and I know that I'll be keeping a special eye on him in case he needs healing again.

I head over to the first injured Loric as the howls of the mutts pierce the air and chill me to my very core. This is going to be a long night.

Xxx

Maren

Sam and I were lucky enough to already be in close vicinity to the cornucopia, so when we heard the announcement about the rule change and the feast, we could get here earlier. And thank god we did because looking at the vicious mutts desperately trying to scrabble their way up the cornucopia, there's no way that Sam would have outrun them.

"We have to kill them" Sam pants next to me, exhausted from trying to kill one of the mutts. I managed to sneak down the cornucopia, invisible of course, and grab as many weapons as I could before distributing them out amongst the Loric. Many have spears and are stabbing at the mutts but they're not being much use. Yet it's better than nothing.

"What do you think I'm trying to do then?" I pant, gripping my sword hard. It's already covered in blood and gore from a mutt I killed earlier. It had gotten too close to me and paid the price dearly.

"You know Maren, considering that we could be about to die, you could be nicer to me" Sam pants, his staff poised in his hand. He shoots me a grin though, to show me that he doesn't really mean it and is just trying to distract himself from the mogs.

There's a nearby scream and I watch as one of the girls jabbing at the mutts is knocked off by a large swipe of a paw. The boy near her lunges out to grab her as she tumbles off into the waiting claws of the mutt.

"Nia!" he yells in a panic, desperately trying to see where she fell. "NIA!"

I don't think twice.

I leap off the cornucopia, turning invisible as I race towards the mutt and the girl. Using telekinesis, I throw the mutt off the girl and letting her try to get away. But she's not moving and as I get closer I see a horrific wound in her stomach. If she's not healed soon, she'll die.

The mutt picks itself up and lumbers back towards the girl but I throw myself in front of her, turning visible. I glare at the mutt, making myself known to the beast. Let it come. Let it try to kill me.

The mutt snarls and then races forward, its claws throwing huge clumps of mud behind it as it sprints towards me. I break into a light jog, picking up my speed, as I get closer. I bend my knees, getting ready to jump.

The beast roars, so close that I can smell its foul breath. I throw myself up into the air, shooting over the mutt and then I land on its back. It howls and snarls in fury, twisting around and round as I wind my hand in its fur, staying on top.

As the mutt twists round and round, I watch a boy teleport to the fallen girl on the ground, Nia. He scoops her up and then teleports away, onto the cornucopia. I think of the brown-haired girl, Marina, who can heal. I allow myself a small smile; Nia will be ok.

I'm brought back to my present when the mutt beneath me snarls and makes a bucking motion with its body. I grip on tight and then raising my sword arm; I bring my sword down in a striking action. It slices through the back of the mutt and straight into its heart. The mutt makes an exhausted snarling noise and then buckles to the ground, its heart stopping and life fading from its broken body. I can't feel sorry for the thing though; mutts have nothing in their hearts but a desire to kill.

I look around me, trying to take in as much as I can. There are about 15 mutts still prowling around. Most are still attacking the cornucopia, their claws desperately scratching at the metal side as they try to get to the Loric on top.

They want a fight. Well they can have one.

I raise my hands to the sky, focusing on the clouds and pulling them together to form a storm. The clouds swirl together, quicker and quicker, and a wind picks up in the clearing as the mutts race towards me. The storm is picking up quickly now, just like I wanted and then I bring my hand down in a sharp sudden action.

A lightning bolt forks out of the sky and strikes one mutt right in the back. It tumbles to the ground, stunned, and two more lightning bolts hit it. It lumbers to its feet and then I strike the mutt for a final time with a lightning bolt.

It falls to the ground, dead, as rain begins to fall from the sky and begins to drench us all. I know this is a result of my storm but I can't stop it; I've let the storm rage by itself now.

"Maren!" it's Sam, waving his arms desperately. I barely have time to be aware of a threat and then something slams into me, sending me tumbling to the ground.

A mutt stands over me, saliva dribbling down its jaw. It opens its mouth to bury its teeth into my neck but I roll out of the way at once, my heart pounding. I stagger to my feet, turning to run and get some distance, when claws hook into my hair and drag me back. I cry out in pain as some of my hair is ripped from its roots and I'm sent tumbling to the ground again. I search around for my sword desperately, mud clogging under my fingernails as I'm aware of the beast behind me.

The beast lunges for me and I duck and roll, finally locating my sword. But it's quite far away from me and I don't know if I can get it in time. I jump to my feet, knowing I have only my legacies to help me.

The mutt snarls, hatred lighting its eyes up and then it leaps forward, claws outstretched to kill. I barely have time to duck and roll again, but this time closer to my sword. I sprint for it, aware of the mutt on my heels.

I'm so close. I can practically reach out and grab the sword when something hits me on my back and I tumble to the ground, maybe for the last time. The mutt stands over me, pinning my arms down with its paws. I try to get out of the way but I can't and the beast knows it.

I watch as the sky above me darkens more and more. I concentrate my powers on it and then a face starts to appear in the darkness and the rolling clouds, a face of an old man. Even though I've seen this before, it still creeps me out to see this come from my legacy. But I push that to the back of my mind and focus more on the storm. The mutt must be affected by my legacy because it looks up, whining when it sees the face in the clouds. There's another clap of thunder and the mutt yelps in shock, leaping off me in shock. I jump to my feet and grab my sword.

The mutt snarls at me, furious now, and then makes a last final charge. I race towards it too, sliding onto my knees as it leaps for me. I go skidding underneath it and then I raise my sword in a stabbing motion, hitting the heart of the mutt.

It falls to the ground behind me, instantly killed by my blow. I wipe my sword on the ground, looking around in the torrential rain as more mutts and Loric fight in the darkening sky. A nearby mutt sees me staring at it and begins to slink towards me, it's fangs bared in a smile.

"You want a fight," I whisper so quietly that only I can hear it. "Well you've got a fight"

I tighten my grip on my sword and then race towards my next target.

Xxx

Adam

I race through the woods, listening to the wolves howling in the distance. Well, wolves that have been changed to practically unbeatable mutts. But I know a way to kill them.

Mutts hate mogs above all other things. They can smell us a mile off, even if there are Loric right in front of them and you can bet the mutts will try and kill the mog first. If I use myself as a distraction, then maybe the Loric and Hannah can get away to safety.

I race towards the clearing with the cornucopia, my lungs on fire from my sprinting. I wonder whether Ivan and the other mogs are worried about me. To be honest, they probably won't have even realised that I've disappeared.

"Hannah!" I call out desperately but the wind and the rain have drowned my voice out. This isn't caused by the Gamemakers; there's some magical air about it. Maybe it's a legacy from one of the Loric. "Hannah!"

I'm desperate to save her as I tear through bushes and weave between trees. My heart pounds faster than humanly possible and my breaths come out in ragged bursts but I have to keep going. If not Hannah could be killed by one of the things.

I burst out between a line of trees and stop in horror. In front of me mutts and Loric face off, the Loric standing their ground, but not all of them can keep it. I watch in horror as one girl is gripped in the mouth of a mutt and snapped around by the thing.

A cannon fires in the distance, barely heard over the sound of the thunder and wind. The girl is tossed to the ground and I can barely see her blonde hair, drenched with blood and rain.

My heart stops. My chest contracts. No, that can't be Hannah… it can't be Hannah. But I just can't remember anyone else having such blonde hair in the arena. I can't remember any other tributes having that hair.

I stagger forward and then my knees give out, making me fall to my knees. If Hannah dies then everything I've done just now is for nothing. If she dies, then there's no point in me living.

I hear a howl and then the mutt that killed the girl begins to prowl towards me, snarling with delight. It can tell that I'm easy prey and that I won't put up a fight. I came here to protect Hannah, but in reality it was just too late.

No! I will not die cowering like a fool. I bet Hannah didn't die like a coward. She'll have died fighting.

Go out with a bang.

I stagger to my feet, wishing I had some type of decent weapon, instead of my pathetic little knife. But I have my wits and that's more than the mutt will have. I just have to use it.

"Come and get me" I say in a low voice. The mutt creeps towards me; hatred making its muzzle curl back from its teeth, displaying those huge fangs. I imagine those very fangs sinking into Hannah's body.

Fury pounds through me and then I set off at a run, determined to kill this mutt. I may not be as strong as Ivan but I've never been angrier in my life. The beast growls, as it races towards me, its paws pounding the earth. The rhythm matches my heartbeat.

The beast pounces for me and I'm knocked onto my back, my little knife knocked from my hand. I pound my fists into the mutt, strong enough to make it yelp a little. I know it's not a huge defence and I need my knife to really have a go at this thing.

I scrabble for my life, grabbing it desperately as the jaws snap closer and closer to my neck. I manage to grip my knife and then stab it randomly, hoping to catch the mutt. It howls in pain and I see that I managed to bury it in the mutt's paw. It shakes its paw desperately and I watch with horror as my tiny knife is sent flying away into the darkness.

I have nothing to fight with now; I'm defenceless. The mutt sniffs my neck and then howls, a delighted sound. The arena goes horribly silent and then all the other mutts take up the howl.

The mutts stop attacking the other Loric and then race towards me, their eyes eager. I'm terrified but at the same time, I know this is right. I've become bait for the mutts and now the Loric can get away. I'm glad in a way that my death will help some Loric. Maybe through this action of mine to come to Hannah I'll have done what she wanted me to do and I'll have saved some Loric kid. I'll have done this for Hannah.

I hope you're happy that I tried, I try to say to her, hoping she can hear me, even if she's dead.

The first mutt tears into me and then terrible pain takes over.

Xxx

John – A few minutes earlier

The rain pelts my back, chilling me to the bone as I stand on the cornucopia, surveying the area. Nearby a mutt throws itself against a side close to me and a young girl whimpers, crawling back even further. I pick the spear up in my hand and with a grunt I throw it right at the mutt.

It pierces the thing's neck and it falls back, thudding to the ground. It must be dead. If not I can go and finish it off in a minute.

Most Loric are up on this cornucopia by now except for a few. There's that Maren girl who's fighting a few mutts on the ground and doing a damn good job of it. There's also Joseph who is teleporting around, causing the mutts no end of problems.

I watch as Stanley zips across the clearing with his super speed and easily picks up a mutt by its scruff and tosses it into the Lake. There's a huge splash and then many more as the thing tries to keep its head above water but it seems that learning to swim wasn't that important for them.

Sarah is in the centre of the cornucopia, huddled with this little girl named Ella. I can see a girl named Marina shooting arrows at the mutts. They're not strong enough to really hurt these mutts but they're causing a good distraction, which helps the others on the ground finish the mutts off.

"Does anyone need healing?" I call out around the cornucopia. A few scared eyes watch me and then flitter away, watching the massacre.

I've been fighting back with many of the others and many of the mutts are dead now, mostly because of Maren and Stanley. Those two really are something else when it comes to fighting. But they're not the only ones; Hannah has been doing a decent job as well and so has Adira. I've also killed my fair share of mutts. We're doing a lot better than I thought we'd be doing.

There are only about five mutts left now and I'm proud to say that I've killed more than two in here. Before the rain started my Lumen was hugely useful but then the relentless rain soon put out the fire. I retreated to the cornucopia where I helped heal Loric as well as chucking spears and firing arrows at the mutts.

There's a sudden rumble in the ground and everything begins to shake, like an earthquake. I watch in shock and amazement as small plates begin to rise in the ground, until the cornucopia is surrounded by a circle of plates…just like the original circle of plates that was here for the beginning of Round 1. They're our way out of here.

"We have to get to the plates!" I shout to Sarah, who's nearby and comforting a young boy who's crying. That's how we win Round 1: by finishing where we started. That's what the announcement meant earlier when it meant you can't get out of the arena if you don't turn up here.

Sarah nods, understanding that she heard me, but guessing by the hopeless look on her face it won't be easy. Not only do we have the mutts to contend with, but something tells me the mogs are still very much involved.

"Get off, get off the cornucopia and go to the plates!" I urge the other Loric. Sam runs over to help as I jump off the cornucopia. I fall to my knees on the slippery grass but soon scramble to my feet, gently helping the kids get off the cornucopia.

I watch as the kid Sarah was comforting, Lukas his nametag says, tumbles off the cornucopia, racing for the plates. I get a horrible feeling in my stomach as I stumble towards him. It's like I've suddenly realised something is horrible wrong but I just don't know what.

"Lukas, don't!" I call, but he can't hear me. I watch as a dark shadow lurking by the edge of the cornucopia creeps out towards the desperate boy running for a plate. He jumps onto it, triumphant and happy that he's gotten there. He thinks he's safe.

But something is terribly wrong.

"LUKAS!" I scream but it's too late. The mutt leaps out and in one giant jump, he grabs Lukas. I hear the young boy's scream of pain, and then there's silence.

A cannon booms in the distance.

"The plates aren't working" I feel numb after what I've just seen. Why aren't they working? Do we have to kill all the mutts before we're allowed on the plates? I back away from the mutt who is now prowling towards us, bumping into a small kid.

"It's a trick," I mumble to myself. I don't know if the others notice this yet but I need to warn them now.

"Get back to the cornucopia!" I yell, having taking position of leader of our small rabble of terrified Loric as the warriors try to kill the rest of the mogs. "Get back!" I scream.

The mutt begins to lope towards us as Sarah, Sam and many others run back to the cornucopia. I watch as Ella helps drag a boy named Hannu to his feet after he trips over. I watch as Sam runs for the piles of weapons, grabbing a spear and chucking it to me.

"Get them on the cornucopia" I tell Marina and Sarah as I clutch my spear, turning to face the mutt. Marina nods, the bow and arrow clutched in her hand, and I know as soon as she's gotten everyone on top with telekinesis, she'll help me.

I step towards the mutt, fear making my bones feel like lead. I can hear Sarah ordering the kids into a line so they can be pulled or pushed back onto the cornucopia that is our haven now but I can't focus on her.

I grip my spear and then pull back my arm, hurtling it at the mutt. It's a good throw but the mutt just bats it away lightly, as though it's nothing. I pull my sword from my belt; this is my only weapon now.

The mutt bends down, getting ready to pounce. It's almost grinning with anticipation but I'm far from done yet. The thing pounces at me but then something in black zooms down from the sky, colliding with the mutt. There's a sickening crunching noise and a yelp from the mutt.

"Guess they don't like metal things flying at 80 miles an hour" someone lands next to me, brushing the mud and blood off their clothes. It's the strange boy, Cody, from the Training Centre. The one who rambled a lot. And he's just saved my life.

"You can fly?" I'm a little stumped. The guy nods and smiles that weird, unhinged smile of his but he just saved me so his heart is clearly in the right place.

"And you can create fire. I have an idea" he grins and then before I can ask him anything, he grabs me and we're shooting up in the air. I cry out in shock but I know he's doing this to fight the mutts so I'll have to play along.

His flight is smoother and a hell of a lot better than flight with telekinesis. I feel confident in his ability to zip around in the air so I just focus on forming fireballs and keeping them burning in this torrential rain.

I lob one at the unsuspecting mutt as it races to attack the children who are climbing the cornucopia. My heart goes in my mouth when I see that Sarah is still on the ground and instinct makes me react faster than I've ever done in my life. I lob fireball after fireball at the thing, until it's stuck in a burning circle of fire.

"Drop me!" I order Cody as we fly over the fly. He zooms down so the drop isn't too long and then he does as I say, dropping me right onto the thing's back. It's so startled and panicked by the flames that it doesn't take much energy for me to stab it, right through its back and into its heart.

The thing drops to the ground, dying, and I throw myself out of the circle of flames. I land heavily and I'm starting to get choked up from the smoke caused by the dwindling fire, so I head off and away from the fire. My lungs still ache from the smoke but at least I can breath properly now. I may be resistant to fire on the outside, but my insides can still very well be damaged by smoke.

The rest of the mutts have weirdly enough grouped in one place by the trees and I can see Stanley, Maren and Joseph running over to finish the mutts off as they're being distracted. I turn and hobble back to the cornucopia where the children are waiting.

I don't watch as the three fighters kill the rest of the mutts. I begin to get twinges of pity, of sadness when I hear the dying howls. They may be mutts but they were animals once and it hurts to see them getting killed. Instead, I focus on the Loric children who are sitting shell-shocked on the cornucopia.

"Its safe to come down" I call to them. By now Stanley and Maren have killed the remaining mutts with Joseph's help and I can see them running over with an injured Loric kid. Marina jumps down at once, her healing probably a lot more advance than mine, considering she was able to heal more kids than me.

"Who is it?" I call as they run over. The poor kid is covered in blood and is therefore unrecognisable and Marina wastes no time in healing the poor kid in Stanley's arms. It's amazing to watch the wounds disappear and-

"It's a mog" Marina stumbles back at once in shock, Joseph moving in front of her defensively, and Stanley grabs his pipe staff at once. The mog is dropped to the ground, moaning, as it tries to wake up. It must still be shocked from the mutt attack. Stanley raises his staff up to deliver the deathblow and we all watch on, knowing this is right. This mog has to die.

"Wait!" a regal voice rings out around us, and then a girl steps forward. It's Hannah, the blonde girl who was helping attack the mogs from the cornucopia.

"Don't kill him" she frowns. "He saved our lives. We can't kill him"

Xxx

Adam

"He looks pale. How is he?"

I'm dripping wet and lying on wet grass. I feel icy and cold all over but the terrible pain from the mutt's stabbing bites is gone, like it never existed. It feels amazing now that it's gone. I can hear murmuring voices around me, voices that are clearly Loric.

"Alive" a girl replies, her voice gentle but suspicious.

"That's better than being dead" someone else mutters. I can't hear any of the mutts but that doesn't mean I'm safe.

An iron grip suddenly grabs my arm and I'm dragged to my feet. My eyes fly open as I look around, the rain making it hard to see clearly. But I can tell that I'm surrounded by Loric and they're all very suspicious of me.

"What do you mean he saved us?" the guy holding me gives me a rough shake and I swear I can hear my bones rattle with the shake. A girl steps forward and then I see it's Hannah. She's alive!

I'm filled with relief and delight to see her, despite her technically being my enemy. I can feel her eyes running over me, making sure I'm all right, but she's trying to act like she doesn't care about me. It hurts a little but I understand why she's doing it. And to be honest I'm so happy that she's alive I don't really feel the gravity of this situation right now.

"Well, I'm not saying he's on our side" Hannah says, and I can a few of the Loric relax a little. They must have thought I'm a mog traitor…which I kind of am. But not only is Hannah trying to save me from the Loric here but she's trying to save me from my own people too.

"But he caused a distraction that probably saved us" Hannah continues. "So we should let him go. You know, repaying the debt and all that" she shrugs casually but I can tell she's worried.

A girl snorts derisively. She has black hair and her eyes are as hard and cold as ice. "We don't owe him anything. He's more likely to kill us than help us. If it was the other way round the mogs wouldn't hesitate to kill one of us," she mutters. She looks around the circle of suspicious, worried faces and I know there's no way I'm going to survive this battle. They're all nodding along with what the girl said; they agree with her.

"We can't trust him" the grip on my arm moves to my throat and I begin to choke as my air's cut off. Hannah's eyes widen in alarm but I think I'm the only one that notices.

"Kill him" one of the girls nods, gripping her sword hard.

"Let me take my time. This is what they'd do after all" the boy behind me says, a savage grin in his voice. Hannah looks startled, as though she never thought the others wouldn't listen to her. The boy behind me tightens his grip on my neck and black spots dance in front of my eyes.

I'm about to give up and accept defeat when there's a shout from a few Loric kids and then they take a few steps backward, fear on their faces. That can only mean one thing.

The boy behind me is pushed or something because he lets me go as he tumbles to the ground. A few more Loric take a few stumbling step backwards as the boy who tried to kill me lunges to his feet, pipe staff in hand. A few other Loric step forward, looking determined but scared.

"If you kill my brother" Ivan's voice echoes loudly in the quiet clearing. "I'll break you in half" he threatens, his eyes flashing with hatred and anticipation.

"I'd like to see you try" the Loric boy steps forward, a vicious smile on his face. This is what he's been waiting for the whole Games. This is his moment.

Get the Loric to the plates. They'll work now that the mogs are here, I tell Hannah, hoping our connection still works. I see her nod very slightly in the corner of my vision as she backs away from the two circling warriors ahead of me.

"Get to the plates" she says her voice low. That's when I see them coming. The rest of the mogs creep out from the trees in all directions, surrounding the Loric so that there's nowhere they can run now. They're effectively trapped between the cornucopia and the circle of mogs.

"Run" one boy says; his voice strained. I can see some small kids rooted to the spot, their eyes wide with terror. This is their worst nightmare, even worse than the mutts to some.

"Run!" someone else shouts. Then the mogs charge forwards and the arena erupts into screams as terrified Loric children run for their lives.

Dun dun dun! :D So part 2 will be up next week!

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