District 9: Gavin Grey Pov-

I can't believe we didn't win the second challenge.

"At least we're all still alive." Lief says, after we've all woken up.

No one really answers him.

It's dawn in the arena. And this dawn, the sky is filled with dark purple clouds. The light is very dim, and there's a strange coolness in the air.

"Maybe we should find the group that won. We could steal a little of what they won; I'm sure if we just take a little they wouldn't notice." Scout says. She gets to her feet, and looks over at the huge tree right next to her. "I'll go see if I can tell where the other groups are." She zips up the tree, leaving the rest of us looking around the gloomy arena.

"Well, this bites." I say.

As if on queue there's a clap of thunder, and it's suddenly pouring with rain. The trees hardly even shelter us at all. I pull my sweater closer to my body. The rain is cold. It's freezing rain. Scout drops down from the tree, and she's smiling.

"Man, you can see everything from up there. Cole's group is probably like a half-hour that way." Scout points to my left. "I can't see what they have, but it certainly looks like something we could use."

So, Lief grabs the bag filled with water bottles, and we start off after Scout. She moves fast through the trees, and the rain plasters her dark hair over her eyes.

She stops rather suddenly, and turns spins around, facing me. It's the second time in the last few hours that our faces are about an inch from each other. Except this time she doesn't get all flustered. She brings her finger to her lips, signaling us to be quiet.

We all listen for a moment. And then I hear what sounds like someone breathing- someone who's breathing with a weird rattling sound.

And that's when I see that girl again. She's hiding behind one of the trees. She brings a tan hand to her hood, making sure it's covering her. I can still see her dark eyes staring at me.

It's that little red riding hood girl, again. Except, she doesn't really seem the same. It's the way she's looking at me. Her eyes seem full of hostility, and yet she's still smiling.

"Who is that?" Nadaline finally asks. The girl's head snaps to look at Nadaline. And then she opens her mouth, and at first I hear a rattle. Then, a soft, sweet voice comes out.

"I'm looking for my brother. You can help me find him?" Her eyes all of a sudden turn so innocent.

"Um…" Nadaline stares at the girl some more. Little kids aren't allowed into the games. "Who's your brother?" She asks. The girl opens her mouth to answer, but closes it again.

"I'm looking for my brother. You can help me find him?" Her words come out in the same, sweet tone. Although, now they seem a little forced.

Lief grabs Nadaline's arm, and I catch him whisper, "come on, let's go".

The five of us start walking briskly. I notice the girl following us. The weird thing is her feet don't make a sound as they move over the branches that litter the forest floor. No, she's completely silent. If it wasn't for her bright red coat, I wouldn't know she was behind us.

Soon we've turned our brisk walk into a run. I see the flash of red catching up with us. And that's when the flash of red passes me. She stops right in front of Nadaline, and crouches down, as though she's getting ready to pounce. She lets out a throaty growl- something very obviously not human. Her lips part, and I see her teeth look tiny and sharp. She licks her teeth, and Nadaline backs up a little.

She leaps up, and Nadaline ducks, the girl lands on one of the branches in the tree. She lets out a deep laugh, and crawls along the branch. I set off running as fast as I can through the forest. I don't care if I'm going in the direction opposite of where Cole's group is. All I know is that whatever that girl is, she's trying to kill us.

I hear her rattling breath right behind me. There's her laugh again. And then the next thing I know I'm stumbling over that girl from 1's legs. I trip, and land face first onto her lap. She hurls me off her, and I roll out of the way just before she slams her fist down right next to my head.

"Wait…wait…" I jump to my feet. Scout and Yuuki run up behind me.

"You guys probably want to run." Scout says.

"Oh please, I'm not letting another tribute get out of my hands. And you." Swift turns to Scout. "I have thought about killing you for a while. You and your annoying little laugh. And, I mean really, don't you see that you're a girl? You're not supposed to wear ties and suits. You're a freaking girl; why don't you just act like it-"

She stops speaking suddenly. Her brown eyes slowly widen, and I look down at her stomach which now has a hand sticking through it. A hand with the sharpest nails I've ever seen. Swift falls forward with a small whimper. Her cannon goes just as that little red riding hood girl wipes her bloody hand on her coat, and smiles as she stands on top of Swift.

No one dares move. No one dares even utter a word. And it seems as long as we don't move, the girl doesn't move either. She just looks around at us, and smiles.

Eventually Tyler gets onto his feet.

"Thea, what did you just do?" The girl turns to look at Tyler. She skips over to him. Ben jumps out of the way, as she leaps into Tyler's arms.

"Big brother, I've missed you. Can't you see I'm helping you?" she says, sweetly. Tyler doesn't answer. "Aren't you happy to see me, big brother? Aren't you happy to see me? Aren't you happy about how good I am at killing?"

Tyler's eyes roam over the girls face. The girl laughs and shakes her head. Her laugh isn't sweet anymore- it's deep and menacing.

She crouches, ready to pounce on him. But, Tyler is fast, and he ducks out of the way.

"Why are you running from me? I only want to kill you. It will be fun. I promise."

Tyler ducks again as she pounces. And the girl lets out a little frustrated cackle.

Lief drops the bag of water, and picks up one of the bottles. He unscrews the top. The girl has her back turned to him, and she's getting ready to pounce again. She licks her teeth again. Lief grabs the hood off her head, and pours the water on her. The girl stops laughing. Instead, she turns around to face Lief. Before she can do anything, she slowly starts shaking. She makes a rattling sound, and falls backwards. She remains shaking and making a strange clicking sound, before she becomes very still.

"I think she's dead." Ben finally says. I turn to look at Tyler. His normal, fearless expression has disappeared, and he looks really tired.

I wonder how many others there are like little red riding hood.

And I wonder which one I might know.

District 8: Alyss "Nikki" Liliana Fray Pov-

It takes a lot of work not too eat everything in front of me. But, I know not to eat too much. That will only make me sick. Besides, with the appetizer of spiders, I'm not starving anymore.

Salmon and Titan go through the bag filled with food, seeing everything we have.

Cole and I sit next to each other, leaning against one of the trees. We're having a competition as to who can catch the berries in our mouths in the most impressive way. Cole seems to be outdoing me.

"But, it's not really fair, you're the magician. I'm just a normal girl." I say. Cole looks at me, and smiles.

"Catching berries in your mouth isn't magic." He smirks. "Anyway…I'm normal. Or, at least, a normal guy from district 12."

"How do I know you're not a mutt the capitol made, and that's why you can do all those magic tricks?"

"Well, I could ask the same about you. I mean, you're not normal, either. How do I know you're not a mutt?"

"What do you mean I'm not normal?"

He shakes his head. It's as though he thinks I wouldn't understand, or something. But, I would. And I tell him I'll understand if he tells me.

"It's nothing…" he shakes his head again.

"What? You have to tell me." I plead. He smiles, and turns away from me.

"You're…prettier than normal." He addresses his shoes. I just stare at him. He's probably joking, right? I mean, someone like Cole would never find me pretty. He could probably get any girl his age in district 12 with his bright green eyes and nice smile. Guys never tell me I'm pretty. Or, at least, when they do they never act like they mean it.

I don't answer him, because I don't know what he's doing. Why would he lie to me?

Finally Cole looks up at me; his green eyes meet mine, and he smiles. It's a kind of nervous smile.

And then he does maybe the stupidest thing a boy can do in the arena; He leans in towards me, and kisses me.