Meghan Garner-18(D4F)

I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to do now, I mean I know what the 'old' Meghan would have done but I don't know what the 'new' me is going to do. The old me would be halfway to Willock by now my anger barely checked as I closed the distance between us with a primal drive, the kind of push to see his body break beneath my onslaught as his miserable life comes to an agonizingly deserved end….I just wish I knew where that Meghan went.

"So which way did Marlowe head after you scared him off Quartz?"

"He was headed north, but I'm not sure he'd have kept that direction if he expected us to follow him, Aurelia."

"Maybe he did and maybe he didn't, but it's as good a place as any to start looking….Unless you have a better suggestion?"

This is bad, I mean tension is a big part of the games and in a way it's one of the factors that make the career alliance so strong every year, but after a point the tension becomes less beneficial and more disruptive than anything else. The sad part is we've probably already passed the expiration date on our alliance but we're trying to force it until Willock is dead, and if this is how Quartz and Aurelia are going to 'work together' I'm not sure how much longer we can expect to last.

"No I don't Aurelia, but that doesn't mean you have to be snarky about it either."

"I'm not trying to be snarky Quartz; I'm just trying to find a good starting point for the search. Maybe if you'd come down off your high horse you'd realize that."

"What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me Quartz, you're stuck-up not deaf."

"Just stop it, both of you. I mean how is this getting us any closer to finding Willock?"

"Well we're not going to find him if we don't start moving, and we can't even do that until we can agree on where to start. So if you really want to help Meghan I'd advise trying to convince Quartz to stop being a bitch, further, it might be better if she just shuts up completely. Do you think you can handle that?"

"What the hell Aurelia, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"I'm tired of standing around and waiting for things to happen, I'm fed up with having to take care of Meghan and stopping every five minutes to let her sulk, and I'm really tired of having to listen to Quartz critique everything I say without offering up an alternative."

"Come on Aurelia this isn't about me or Meghan and you know it."

"Oh, this should be good….What is it then Quartz? Please bless me with your incredible insight into human nature; please reveal to all of us just what my problem is."

"Quartz….Aurelia, please stop, this bickering isn't making any of us look good."

"No Meghan if Quartz has some illuminating insight I'd like to hear it, I mean she 'obviously' knows me better than I know myself."

"Your problem Aurelia is you don't think this is worth your time, some part of you is so insensitive to what happened to Meghan that you don't want to see Willock get what he deserves."

"That's not true Quartz, as a matter of fact it's a bald face lie and you know it is."

"Is it, though, I mean how much do you really care about seeing Willock pay for what he did to Meghan?"

"I'd wager about as much as you do Quartz, that's to say not at all."

"What do you mean Aurelia, are you saying…..I deserved what Willock did to me?"

"No Meghan I'm not, no one deserves to go through that. I'm just not going to coddle and lie to you, and in the end, that's all Quartz is doing."

"By caring about my friend, by wanting to see her get revenge on Willock?"

"You don't give two shits about that stuff Quartz; you're just playing it up for the sympathy boost from the sponsors."

"I haven't gotten anything from the sponsors Aurelia; none of us have for that matter."

"Not yet, but the later we get in the game the more the good will you build up with this can help you, and I find it despicable that you're trying to benefit from what happened to Meghan."

"You think I'm trying to benefit off this Aurelia?"

"What else do you call slamming the brakes on everything else in the games to hunt one person down? One person out of the seven remaining that could literally be anywhere in an arena we don't know the size of!"

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try Aurelia."

"Yes it does Quartz, or at the very least it means we should narrow or focus down to just one person. Hell, there are three other tributes besides him left out there and for one of us to win we'll have to kill them all. How does ignoring them to hunt Willock put any of us in a better position to win?"

"Because he's the biggest threat left Aurelia, and he's the most dangerous."

"Anyone who's survived this long is dangerous Quartz, and we absolutely can't just assume that they'll be easy to kill."

I don't know how much more of this I can take, I mean it's starting to get bad and quick. I mean I can see where Aurelia is coming from and in a different situation I might even agree with her, but for me the Willock thing is personal, that's why I agree with Quartz.

Then again what if Aurelia's right and Quartz is just using me to improve her own standing, I mean that's about as low as she could go without dropping below Willock in my regard, and it's exactly the kind of thing a cunning person like Quartz would do.

"My head hurts, and the two of you tearing at each other like dogs is only making it worse. So I'm begging you both, just drop this stupid argument and shut up, hell we've already wasted enough time as it is."

"Now you care about wasting time? Where the hell was this 'concern' when you were sulking in the cornucopia until midday?"

"Let it go, Aurelia, you sound more like a whiny child then a Hunger Games tribute."

"I've had just about enough of your shit Quartz, and if you don't shut your mouth I'll have to shut it for you."

"I'd love to see you try Aurelia, I really would."

"Will both of you please just SHUT UP!"

I can tell my outburst has caught them a little off-guard though whether that's from the anger in my voice or the simple fact that I thrust my spear between the two of them to drive home my point. In a flash, I see Aurelia's hand fly to the hilt of her knife while Quartz has a kunai out and cocked back before I even notice she's moved, and despite the tenseness of the standoff I can't help but marvel at just how deadly my companions truly are.

He tension is so thick I almost fear I'm going to need my spear just to cut through and get them to listen to me, but the only way that's happening is if I make the first move. With that in mind, I slowly lower my spear and bring it back to my side with the tip pointing toward the ground before finally thrusting it in and stepping into the middle of my two angry-looking allies.

"Look both of you needs to realize that the other has a valid point. I mean no one in the world wants to see Willock suffer more than I do, but at the same time, we can't let him become our sole focus. It's short sighted ideas like that, that's what had us running around like idiots in the beginning while other tributes racked up kills that rightfully should have been ours. So why don't the both of you lower your weapons and let's talk this through like adults, ok?"

For a moment, I think I might have gotten through to them as Quartz offers me an annoyed grunt even as she drops her hand and slips the kunai back into the small sheath on her belt. For a moment I let myself feel a sense of accomplishment at having talked the two of them down off the edge of a nasty fight, but I never really look to make sure both of them have backed down, and the last thing I ever see is the glint of light off the edge of Aurelia's knife as she brings it crashing down on the side of my head.

~BOOM~

Aurelia Saunders-17(D2F)

"What the hell are you doing Aurelia?!"

"Something both of us knows had to happen, I'm cutting the dead weight."

"My god Aurelia, hove you completely lost your mind?"

"Quite the contrary Quartz, I've reawakened the part of it that's most important, the part that's fed up with the weak shit we've been doing. I'm reawakening the part of me that's solely focused on winning, the part that realizes there are no 'friends' or 'allies' in the arena, just people to be used and discarded in turn."

"So that's it, you're just 'done' with the alliance, with Meghan and I?"

"It's like you told me on day one Quartz, 'you're only good to me when you're useful, after that you become expendable'."

"Well now….There's more to you then I though Aurelia. I thought I'd seen the limit of your willingness to toss honor aside when you killed Marlowe, but there's a whole other level to you, I like it."

"I'm glad you approve. So are we going to do this or are you hoping to talk me to death first?"

"I assume you mean the fight we've been destined to have since the beginning?"

"What else?"

"Don't suppose I can convince you to put this off until after we kill Willock?"

"So you can pick the place and time? Not a chance, but I commend your effort in trying."

"Well, that's a good 'consolation' I guess, can't blame me for trying, though."

She drops her eyes to her feet and for a moment she almost looks like she's about to cry, but it's all a ruse as seconds after the first tears drip off the end of her nose a kunai is screaming toward my head with deadly intent, and it's all I can do to drop down and roll out of the way as she barrels into me with a viciousness I didn't think she possessed, sending my knife sailing off toward Meghan's lifeless corpse.

"Have it your way Aurelia, personally, I was getting a little sick of playing the 'concerned' ally and I'm more than ready to get this out of the way. I didn't really plan on having your help killing Willock anyway."

"Your words tell a different story bitch!"

I sweep at her legs with my own but she effortlessly dances out of the way and quickly sends another kunai sailing toward my head. I roll again and try to put enough distance between the two of us to give me a chance to get back to my feet before she has the chance to attack again.

"Then I guess I played my part better than I thought I did."

She sends a volley of two screaming toward me this time and I'm forced to retreat ever farther away from my own knife and Meghan's discarded spear that now rest side by side almost half a world away from me.

"Is this your big plan Aurelia, rolling around like a ball?"

She follows up her smug quip with yet another kunai and, this time, I'm not fast enough to avoid its blade. I do manage to move enough that it misses my head but it burrows deep into my left shoulder and elicits a pained cry from my lips, and all but shatters my tough veneer.

"That's right Aurelia…..SING FOR ME!"

She lets loose her final kunai but in her exuberance she sends it high and right, causing it to embed itself in the tree a few feet behind me with a thud. She lets her temper flare ever so slightly at her inability to finish me off with her initial attack and at the fact that she's now just as weaponless as I am, well almost. I tear the kunai imbedded in my shoulder out with as precise and hard a tug as I can manage given its position and the fact that my dominate hand is useless in the effort, and despite an intense amount of pain I manage to get it out without doing too much more damage, at least,, I hope.

"What are you planning on doing with that Aurelia? We both know your aim is shit at its best, and without your dominate hand, it's practically laughable."

"I don't need to throw it Quartz, just burying it in your smug face is good enough for me."

I lunge towards her the small knife held high above me head as I bring it down with all my might, the center of her face my target. Unfortunately, she's more agile then she looks and it's easy for her to side step my off balanced strike and bring her elbow down in the middle of my back with a skull-rattling strike that sends me flailing to the ground in a heap.

"Thanks for that Quartz, don't think I could have done it without you."

"You're awfully smug for someone who just got her ass handed to her in more than one way."

I offer a small chuckle at her remark as I stare down into the blood covered lifeless eyes of Meghan as I wrap one hand around the shaft of her spear and the other around the hilt of my knife. I force myself to my feet and spin around to look back at her shocked face as I drop down into a combative stance the spear held forward in a defensive way.

"I didn't need to kill you with that strike, but getting ahold of my own weapon was my primary focus. Without your elbow I'd have fallen short, so thank you for the boost."

The shocked look on her face is as amusing as I'd hoped it would be, and when I lunge toward her my spear slicing through the air between us an almost whimsical sense of calm quickly overtakes me. No more pretending, no more fake smiles and false concern, I'm finally doing what I was born to do…..Winning the Hunger Games.

I spin around and bring my knife slashing through the spot Quartz occupied only moments prior, my blade missing a scalping shot by a few inches. She drops to her hunches and pops off a quick series of rolls, each one designed to bring her within reach of her discarded kunai and despite my best efforts, she's always rolling top her next target long before I can bring my spear to bear.

Before long I've tired myself out flailing about and trying to catch her and she's breathless but completely restocked on her deadly weapons.

"Well this was fun Aurelia, but I've got better things to do then play tag with you."

She offers me a coy smile and quickly darts off into the underbrush, my last strike spear throw falling far short of hitting her as a primal roar of anger escapes my lips.

Shapiro Havilliard-15(D3F)

I don't know how long it's been since Willock finally tired himself out and left me alone, all I can hope is he's finally tired of me and he'll kill me soon. If he doesn't I don't know how much more I can take, I mean I tried to be strong at the start but after almost an hour of continues assault he finally shattered my defenses.

"H-H-HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

I don't know why I'm bothering to try, if no one heard me screaming earlier they're not going to hear me now, but if I give up and wait for Willock to come back then he wins. I suck in air again and let out as loud as scream as I can muster and to my surprise it's almost enough to shake the walls of the little cave I'm being held in.

"HELP! PLEASE HELP!"

I scream until my voice is hoarse and it hurts to breathe but still no one comes to help, maybe I'm destined to die like this, helpless at the mercy of a…..A monster. I wish it was over, I wish I could go back and tell everyone back home everything I never did, I wish I could hold Oakley one more time. I quickly lose myself in the fantasy of playing with the one thing in this world that never judged me, the one furry little friend I had that I could tell all my secrets to, share all my hopes and dreams without the fear of being ridiculed, and despite my best efforts I quickly find myself losing control as the tears start to roll down my face, the salty sadness mixing with the remnants of my previously fear and pain-filled ones as the tiny streams quickly puddle on the tattered remnants of my shredded tunic that Willock so graciously covered me with when he went out to refill his canteens a little while ago.

"H-H-H-HE-HELP! P-P-PLEASE HELP ME!"

"It's no use Shapiro, no one can hear you and if they can they're going to assume it's a trap and avoid your calls like a plague."

My head snaps up as Willock walks back into the cave, his eyes almost glowing at the sight of me in the fading light of day. He unscrews the cap of his canteen and takes a long swig of water before offering me an exasperated sigh of relief as he playfully extends the bottle towards me.

"Care for some Shapiro? I know you must be positively parched what with all your screaming and all."

I don't dignify him with a response, instead I avert my gaze and stare intently at the floor beneath me. After a few seconds of silence he casually pulls his hand back and drops the canteen onto the pile of supplies he's got spread across the floor before calmly dropping into a sitting position and rummaging through the collection of food sitting before him.

"Suite yourself, but don't say I didn't offer."

I continue to stare at the ground as he hums a hauntingly beautiful tune to himself while he continues to sort through his food, almost as if there wasn't a half-naked girl hanging from the ceiling a few feet away. After a few minutes of sorting he finally pulls two different items out and hops to his feet and quickly makes his way over to me.

"Which one do you think I should try Shapiro, the one called tuna or the one called stew?"

Again I refuse to answer, my focus on the small rock on the floor below me so sharp I can almost feel its texture in my hand as Willock loses his cool and brings his fist crashing into my sternum knocking the wind clean out of me.

"This is the thanks you give me for letting you live? I could have snapped your pathetic neck without a second thought but I didn't, and this is how you show me gratitude?"

"It's not gratitude Willock, it's torture. Because we both know the only reason you've kept me alive is you're not done punishing me for everyone else's sins….You've still got a score to settle, nothing more."

"You know Shapiro you're right, and since you're right I might as well get started on round two now. After all I'll have plenty of time to eat after I'm finished, as long as this time's not as 'intense' as the last."

He tosses his food to the ground and within seconds his hands are wrapped around my neck as he leans in and continues his inhumane assault.

Celine Minos(Head Game Maker)

This is painful to watch, and the worst part is none of the other tributes are within range to stop it.

"This is worse than the girl who flayed a tribute last year, wouldn't you agree ma'am?"

"I'm not in the business of comparing the despicability of tributes Gregor, and neither are you for that matter."

"Of course not ma'am, but still it's hard to watch, and the sounds are just…."

"That will be quite enough Gregor….Go prepare the fallen tribute."

"Of course ma'am."

"I can't watch this anymore. Isn't there anything else going on in the arena we can see? Anything at all?"

"Unless the audience wants to see the girl from Nine doodle with her blade or the boy from Seven relieving himself in a bush not really."

"Come on people there has to be something. What about the girls from One and Two? They have to be searching for each other still."

"They are, but I'm not sure two tributes fumbling around in the dark is 'must see t.v.'."

"There has to be something….Centara where's the nearest mutt?"

"The Ventus mutt is maybe a half a mile away, but it's dormant right now."

"What about the Ignis mutt?"

"Stalking the area around the boy from Seven….Should I have it move towards them?"

"Not yet, but have the commands prepared incase we need them."

A flurry of activity to my right is almost enough to catch my attention, but I manage to keep my eyes on the arena map even as the activity level picks up and the noise rises to a pitch I haven't heard since the bloodbath. I'm about to call for silence when the hand of my aid gently taps my shoulder and snaps me back to reality.

"What is it?"

"Ma'am the President is in your office. She'd like to speak to you immediately."

"T-Thank you very much, Gregor start the tribute and don't have this on the screen when I get back."

He offers me a slight nod and the activity picks right back up as I quietly slip out of the room and into my office where a very upset looking Tyranna sits waiting for me.

"Celine we seem to have a problem on our hands."

"Madam President I assure you I'm taking every possible precaution to see this irritation dealt with, it won't be a problem for much longer."

"I'd hope not Celine, after all, it would be quite an 'embarrassment' if this boy were to walk out a victor. Not to mention that actions like this are absolutely intolerable events in the arena."

"I understand ma'am, and I assure you I'll deal with the problem long before it becomes an issue."

"I'm not sure you do Celine, at least not like you should."

"I'm not sure I follow ma'am."

"Celine there have only been two occasions where the game makers have had to get involved directly in the games, I'm sure you know the incidents I'm referring to."

"Yes ma'am, the cannibal Titus back in the sixties and damn break back in seventy."

"Exactly, and in each of those situations the decision was made to forgo the illusion of legitimate chance for the good of the games, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I….Yes ma'am I do."

"Good, now take care of this and let's see if we can salvage a respectable ending to this otherwise debacle of a year."

She quickly gets up and glides out of the office, my door barely making a sound as she exits. I hate this, I really don't like having to take a role in the outcome of the games, but if it's what I have to do to protect them, and myself then I will. I quickly straighten my closes and stride out into the command center where all eyes are on me the moment i enter the room.

"Ma'am the tribute is ready….Shall I start it?"

"Not yet Gregor. Felicity prep a pair of cannons, Aaron add the boy from two and the girl from three to the tribute and reconfigure it to go in five."

"Ma'am neither of those tributes are dead, though."

"Yes they are, Gregor….Collapse the cave."

No one says anything and for a momment I fear they might not do it, but slowly Gregor rises from his seat and punches in the necessary commands into the central computer, and within seconds the ground starts to shake arena-wide. A few seconds into the shaking he double taps the area currently occupied by the cave and within seconds the shaking in that area has increased tenfold. After a minute of this, he taps it again and the shaking stops, and the only trace of the cave or its former occupants is a pile of rubble and the crash of the cannons.

~BOOM~

~BOOM~

A/N: And so ends day 4, and not inconsequentially we're down to our final 4 of Quartz, Aurelia, James and Kimma. I hope you're all as excited as I am for the coming battle to crown a victor :) now then on to questions.

1. How was the chapter?

2. Of the remaining 4 who's the biggest surprise?

3. Who's the least surprising?

4. Who would you like to see win?

5. Who do you think WILL win?

6. Favorite POV?

*BONUS* If I do another SYOT who is anyone would be interested in submitting to it?

Other than that please review and let me know what you think of the story as a whole and the chapter in particular, and I hope to see all of you at the next update which should be out this weekend or early next week :D

Death Order/Cause/Place

24-Grese Heathers-17(D6F)-Killed by Aurelia

23-Evianna Queens-14(D12F)-Killed by Meghan

22-James Hart-16(D9M)-Killed by Quartz

21-Erier Bosen-15(D3M)-Killed by Quartz

20-Paisley Trellis-15(D8F)-Killed by Meghan

19-Carson Flint-18(D12M)-Killed by Kimma

18-Vera Naylor-18(D11F)-Killed by Cristian

17-Llyod Cardonell-18(D8M)-Killed by Cristian

16-Audrey Constatine-16(D5F)-Killed by Allia

15-Bruinen Salt-18(D4M)-Killed by Willock

14-Victor Tavion-17(D11M)-Killed by Willock

13-Allia Iris-18(D10F)-Killed by Dusk

12-Cristian Valtier-18(D6M)-Killed by Meghan

11-Marlowe Everett-18(D1M)-Killed by Aurelia

10-Dusk Wayvell-17(D10M)-Killed by Kimma

09-Embry Jordan-18(D5M)-Killed by Aqua Mutt

08-Susan Forest-15(D7F)-Killed by Ignis Mutt

07-Meghan Garner-18(D4F)-Killed by Aurelia

06-Willock Stanton-17(D2M)-Killed by Gamemakers

05-Shapiro Havilliard-15(D3F)-Killed by Gamemakers

Kill Total

3-Aurelia

2-Quartz

2-Willock

2-Kimma

1-Aqua Mutt

1-Ignis Mutt

3-Meghan

2-Cristian

1-Dusk

1-Allia

2-Gamemakers