.

Isa James, 15, District Six Female

She blinks as she stares up at the sky, staring back and forth at this, this meadow that the cornucopia's been placed it. Dingy, dull green grass surrounds the platforms whilst high walls of thorn bushes trap the tributes inside of this battleground. She can see only one way out, a dirty little path that enters a tunnel and out into the arena. She's here. She's in the Hunger Games. And the sun is beaming down on her with all of its might. It's hot in these clothes!

But she soon shivers when she sees the rest of the tributes rise up from the tubes and look towards the Cornucopia.

She swats at what might be a fly as the counter appears in front of the cornucopia, the loud, booming ticks starting to count down their final minute of peace as soon as the last tribute, the large boy from One, appears on his platform. She shakes her head in disbelief, putting her hands over her ears and quietly whimpering. Why is she here? What did she do that was so wrong, so cruel that she deserved to be thrown into this death match?

Nothing, a little voice whispers in the back of her head. But not even you are safe from the Games.

She doesn't know which is worse.

She takes in a deep breath and surveys her opponents, looking around to see whether it's safe for her to run in and get supplies or just run off. She's seen it done before, there's always been a few tributes who had ran away from the Cornucopia and off into the arena.

Of course, they had ran off to their death. But at least their deaths were hours after other tributes.

Did she have the courage to do the same?

She looks over at her side to see the boy from Five grinning weakly as he looks towards the Cornucopia, shaking his head nervously before gasping and poking at his eyes. He rubs them fiercely before yelling out into the air, followed by another scream from the other side of the cornucopia. By leaning to her right and peeking around the golden structure, she can see the girl from Eight doing the same thing. More screams follow from other tributes, all reacting to whatever's happening to them.

And then she goes blind.

Isa doesn't realize what's happening to her eyes at first, blinking slowly to open her eyes again. But when she doesn't regain her sight, she gasps before almost stumbling. But she holds firm as she looks up for any sign of light. A James doesn't cry. She's stronger than the rest of these scum.

She waits for her sight to return, tapping her foot against the bottom of the pedestal before she realizes that it might cause an eruption. Guiltily, she stops, feeling down to the bottom for a good sitting position. She can't see anything. It feels like as if she's floating, even though she's not.

And even if she can't see it, if she leans a little too far to any side, she'll fall over the side.

Just like that, her vision returns to her, and she turns to see the counter turn from 39 to 38, the massive booms of the counter rocking through the arena. And they're having an effect on the rest of the tributes, causing all those who are blind to stumble around and scream out into the air, hoping against hope that they don't topple down into the mines.

She looks over to her side to see her district partner drunkenly move around his platform, shaking his head and wincing from the pain of what must be a hangover. She can't help herself from laughing at the boy, shaking her head in mock indignation. But as he holds his hands to his eyes, she turns away from Tony, looking towards the cornucopia. She's got to plan it out. Should she go for that backpack to the side of the cornucopia? She might as well get something, she has no chance in the arena without it. After all, the disaster that was the interviews won't help her with sponsors anytime soon. She has to choose.

And then Tony explodes.

Hollister Cuero, 14, District Eight Female

She breathes another shaky breath as the sun streams down onto her pedestal, looking at the rest of the tributes with nervous eyes. She's so afraid. She's so afraid.

A piercing pain comes over her eyes, and she yells aloud as she tries to see what happened to the arena. Why is it so dark? Why can't she see anything? Why not?

Several shouts of similar discomfort come from tributes to her side, and she blinks her eyes to see if there's any difference. She's blind.

But why?

A massive booming sound begins counting down the minute before the Games start, the voice echoing throughout the meadow that she knows that they should still be in. But more voices start shouting at each other, screaming for help, for their allies. Why is this happening?

Another wave of slight pain comes again, and she looks at the golden metal of the cornucopia. She can see again. But others obviously can't, some huddling on their pedestals, rocking back and forth as they wait for the blindness to leave. Others scream and stumble around on their pedestals, causing her to suck in a sharp breath. Don't they realize that it's practically suicide to do so? Don't they realize that they have to stay still to not fall?

A cry of fear comes from her side, and Hollister turns to see the boy from Six trip and fall off of his pedestal. He falls slowly, fear written all over his face as he extends his arms towards the ground, instinctively trying to stop his fall.

A massive explosion rocks Hollister on her pedestal, and the boy seems to vanish as his remains splatter all over the tributes surrounding him. A young girl screams - the girl from Ten? - as she's hit with his blood, shivering furiously and trying to brush it off. But then she stops, realizing that anything that falls off of her pedestal could end up setting off her own mines, and bites her lip as she stands still. Hollister gasps, looking at the girl bravely standing still, and turns away as she sees the blood covering her outfit. She can't stand it anymore.

A career's standing right next to her, and they look over at her with nervous, ecstatic eyes as they prepare to run. Hollister watches them prepare to run and turns back to the counter, staring at the numbers.

"28… 27… 26..."

She shivers, tears silently streaming down her cheeks and onto her shirt as she tries to stay still. Another scream comes from her side, and she watches the career to the right of her shake their head furiously as they try to get rid of the blindness. They're weak. They're afraid, she realizes with a rush of nervous adrenaline, and she continues to stand still. She doesn't need to fall like the boy from Six. She's not going to die. She's not going to die.

But another spurt of blindness comes over her, and she screams as she sinks to the bottom of her pedestal. Why is it happening again? Why? Can't it just go away?

She feels cold now. It's almost as if she can't feel the sun, she can't feel it's light. Maybe it's just a breeze coming from the bushes that she knows are behind her, but she feels like she's in a different arena every time she goes blind. At least it's not only her. Having others suffering with her makes it feel a little better. She knows that it won't last forever. After all, the Game Makers can't keep them blind for the whole Games.

But what if they do?

Ajax Hollis, 17, District Two Male

He stumbles around his pedestal as he waits for this spurt of blindness to leave, shaking his head furiously. Why is it happening now, so close to the gong ringing? He can't fight like this!

Taffeta's right. None of them stand a chance.

But just as quickly as it comes, the blindness leaves him, and he blinks to see the counter ticking down in front of him, the gargantuan numbers flashing in front of the golden metal of the cornucopia.

"9… 8… 7..."

He's got no time to think. He has to go run, run and hope he can get a weapon before he's caught by this blindness. It's the only chance he'll have. He can't think about the fact that he's not even supposed to be here, that he had been randomly chosen to volunteer after those other guys fell sick, that he's not truly prepared for the Hunger Games, that he's going to die if he's not careful. All he needs to do is move.

The gong goes off - and oh he's going to die isn't he - Ajax rushes off of his pedestal and towards the cornucopia.

But then he stops and looks back at the girl from Eight, who's struck with horror as what seems to be a spout of blindness comes over her. Zora approaches her slowly, already holding a sword and ready to kill. But Ajax shakes his head and runs towards the girl, Zora nodding and running towards the cornucopia. There's killing to be done now.

Ajax leaps onto the pedestal and leans down to the girl, currently sobbing into her shirt as she hears him approach. "Ple-please - make it qu-quick."

"I will," he whispers, and quickly grabs her neck, his hands twisting her spine until he hears the snap. The girl crumbles down on the ground, a glazed look over her eyes, and he knows that she's dead. It was painless. He hadn't studied how to kill silently for nothing last year.

But she's dead and there's no time to waste, so he sprints to the cornucopia and pushes a screaming boy out of the way to grab daggers. They aren't a pair - a shame - but they'll have to do.

He stabs at the boy, causing him to reel away with a deep gash on his arm. But Ajax won't stick around to fight anymore. He's got to go find the rest of the careers.

He can see Zora fighting with the boy from Eight, viciously slicing his sides and legs with a pair of swords before sticking one through his heart. But she's too far away right now to get to, not with this blindness-thing. Keelan's the better bet right now.

Keelan's busy fighting with the girl from Seven, viciously slicing a spear around her as she ducks and weaves before running with the small pack that she's collected. Keelan curses and turns around before yelling out, covering his eyes and shaking his head furiously. He must be blind right now.

Ajax throws his dagger at the girl from Five as she approaches Keelan, who curses and runs off after wrenching it out of her leg. Ajax breathes a sigh of relief and helps Keelan up, putting him by the metal cornucopia. "Stay here."

Keelan nods and waits for the blindness to leave, waving his spear around in case anyone creeps up on him. Ajax breathes a sigh of relief before watching his vision leave him once more, leaving him blind. He stumbles back to Keelan, holding his daggers tightly. "Don't hit me! Don't hit me!"

Keelan helps him to his feet, the air turning cooler as they seemingly head into the cornucopia. "I'm good now. The spurts are getting shorter and further in-between."

Ajax nods, sitting down on what seems to be a crate. "Hopefully they'll finish soon."

Keelan suddenly yells, running away from Ajax and attacking another tribute. Ajax cringes and holds his daggers up, waving them anxiously at the air until Keelan comes back. "Boy from Five. He's taken care of."

Ajax blinks, looking up at Keelan's face as his vision returns. "Got it. I'm ready to go."

Paxton Webb, 13, District Nine Male

He had sprinted to the bottom of the meadow at the start of the bloodbath, racing anxiously to the little exit through the thick thorn bushes surrounding the tributes. The girl from Six is already ahead of him, surprisingly able to sprint through the tunnel with a backpack and little else before he reaches it. It's their only way out.

And that'll be just fine.

A wave of blindness comes over him - his second one so far - and he yells in anger as the thorns scratch at his face. He covers his eyes with his teddy bear before lowering it abruptly, tucking the bear to his side. He can't risk any injuries, especially with the bear. The bear's too dangerous.

He smirks when sight returns, hurrying through the opening towards the light at the end of this thorny tunnel. He's going to make it to the other side. And he does, gazing at the vast expanses of fields covered with amber wheat, ears of golden corn, everything that you could find in Nine and Eleven. On the edge of the field, he can see a large river and a red barn on the edge of the water, the vast structure almost blocking out the thick, gnarled trees behind it. But that dark forest is too large for the barn to conceal, and Pax can see the dark line of trees extend through the length of the arena.

But he's not in District Nine, is he now?

He turns back and patiently waits for tributes to run through the tunnel, holding his teddy bear up and clicking its eye. A switchblade pops out of the bear's stomach and Pax smiles, readying the blade. Mom and Dad would never let their little angel go into the Hunger Games without protection.

But now they'll see that their little boy is less than angelic. He's demonic.

The boy from Eleven - wait, the girl? - runs out of the tunnel with a panicked look on their face, and Pax steps out and stabs the switchblade into their neck before they even realize what's happened. They fall to the ground with a scream, shuddering as blood stains their outfit before lying still. Pax smirks, turning away from his first victim and to the next. He's ready to spill more blood.

He waits patiently, sitting down in the grass and waiting at the edge of the wheat fields for the next tribute to hurry through the tunnel. They'll all have to come through eventually. Maybe a few will get past him, but whoever's decided to run away from the bloodbath will have to face him. And he's not going down without a fight.

He hears another tribute running through the tunnel, their feet hitting against the dark, rich soil as they race towards the exit. Perfect.

He stands close to the exit of the tunnel, holding the bear to stab the tribute. Closer… closer…

Giovanna bursts out of the tunnel with a spear and a backpack, smiling when she sees Pax. "I've found you! We better hurry and find the others, the careers are starting to finish up in there. Come on! We've got to move, Pax!"

But then a dazed look comes over Giovanna, and she shakes her head violently. "I've lost my vision. Could you help me?"

Pax laughs, stepping closer to his district partner. She won't suspect a thing. And if he can stab her in the neck, she'll have no chance at all.

But Giovanna moves to the right as he stabs at her, and she yells out in pain as the switchblade scrapes down her arm. She whirls her spear around and smashes it into Pax, sending him flying into the wheat. "What was that for?"

He peeks out and she's still turning around madly, feeling out with her hand for him. She's still blind. And if he can creep up on her, he can take her supplies. He can see some food in her backpack. It would be good to have some food.

He steps towards her, the teddy bear discarded on the ground in favour of just the switchblade. She turns around but doesn't seem to notice him, her wide eyes searching around. He's going to kill her.

Giovanna stabs the spear into his chest, sending Pax straight into the ground as he starts to choke on blood pouring through his throat and up into his mouth. "I see you this time."

She grabs her spear and pulls it out, watching Pax fade away as blood gushes out of his wound and into the amber wheat. But she leaves before he dies, walking away into his fading vision. He must be going blind again.

Then why can't he feel pain anymore?

Ryker Underwood, 18, District Seven Male

He runs through the bloodbath for the ax in front of him, scooping it up and slashing at the girl in front of him. She yelps aloud and crumbles to the ground, her dark hair being stained by the blood pouring out of her skull.

He winces and turns away from the ugly wound, running towards a backpack. He's almost there…

But another boy reaches it first, tugging fiercely at the strap and narrowing his eyes as Ryker grabs the other strap. The two pull as hard as they can, Ryker straining to fight the weight of the other boy. But he lets go, letting the other guy crash into the grass with the backpack. Ryker picks up his ax, walking towards the boy and raising his ax.

"Ryker! Ryker, it's me!"

Ryker blinks and sees Marshall with the backpack, a strange look on his face. "You okay?"

Ryker nods, his brown hair waving in the wind as he turns towards the opening at the bottom of the meadow. "Yep, I'm totally fine. We should go."

Marshall agrees, nervously tugging at the back of his shirt. "Let's move fast. I don't want to go blind again."

Ryker cocks his head to the side, staring at Marshall curiously. "Blind?"

Marshall opens his eyes in awe, starting to jog down the slope to the row of thorns. "You haven't gone blind yet? I've had it happen to me twice so far. I think it's from the needle we all had to get. You did get it, right?"

Ryker nods, feeling the sore spot where the needle had sunk into his arm. "Next to my tracker. Maybe it's different for everyone."

Marshall shrugs, reaching the row of bushes and walking through the bushes. "Guess you're lucky for now."

But he's not.

Ryker stumbles as his vision leaves abruptly, putting his hands out as he falls into the dirt. He's blind. He's blind. He's blind.

Oh Panem, he's blind!

Seven always took every precaution in order to prevent blindness. When you worked with lumber, any splinter that flew off from the tree could easily go into your eye. Lumberjacks always wore safety glasses. Always. Being blind was out of the question there.

But here he is, with no vision to speak of whatsoever.

He turns around and puts his hand out, yelping out when he feels a sharp pain in his hand. He's been pierced by those damn thorns.

But he's stronger than a few thorns.

He grits his teeth and pushes away from the thorns, stepping back into the tunnel. Marshall sucks in his breath and turns around, and Ryker feels the worry radiating from his ally as he drops into a defensive position, his ax in front of him. He can hear a scream, a yelp from a boy, and then he can see the girl from Three lying prone on the ground, her district partner having already escaped through the tunnel and into the light. Marshall's standing in front of the girl, a spear stuck in her side. He wrenches it out and tosses it away, reaching for the arrows that he had collected from the bloodbath. "Killed her. Missed the boy."

Ryker turns back to see the boy vanished, having already escaped to wherever the arena leads. "Guess we won't be getting him anytime soon."

Marshall shrugs, jogging through the tunnel and into the light. "But we better hurry. The bloodbath won't last forever."

Ryker looks back towards the bloodbath, a lone figure hurrying down towards them with an armful of backpacks and weapons. "Who's that?"

Marshall squints towards the person, putting his hands over his eyes before he recognizes the tribute. "It's Aris. What should we do?"

Ryker spots food in Aris' bundle, as well as what promises to be a large stash of weapons and food. "I did say something about allying with her, and she's somewhat strong. I know she was the butcher's daughter in her town. Not that I knew her, she just mentioned it a lot."

Marshall nods, stepping towards the tunnel. "Then we should wait for her to hurry up and accept her. I don't think that she'll freak out and snap on us. And if she does..."

Ryker nods. If she attacks them, there's no doubt that she'll die first.

Aris hurries towards the tunnel before tripping, her supplies flying through the air and towards Ryker. He bends down and picks a few of the packages up, handing them back to the surprised girl. "Allies?"

Aris grins in relief, taking a few of the packages and letting Ryker hold the rest. "Allies. You won't believe what's happening in the bloodbath. I think we're losing a few strong tributes today!"

Marshall winces, putting his hands over his eyes and rubbing them anxiously. "I'm blind. Guide me out of here and towards wherever the arena leads. Better than getting trapped by any psycho careers."

Ryker grabs Marshall by the arm and leads him out of the tunnel, Aris hurrying ahead of them. "Oh, it's beautiful!"

Ryker squints to see huge expanses of amber grain, stalks of wheat swaying gently in the breeze. He can see a small house in the distance, right in the middle of what looks to be… a river? "Let's walk along the edge of the grain. We don't want to leave any trails in there unless we absolutely need to."

Marshall nods, stumbling over a root before Ryker helps the boy back up. "Yes, wheat and long grass leave easy trails for others to find. Right now, let's focus on getting to the edge of wherever it leads. Then we can walk through it on the side. You can let go of me now, Ryker."

Ryker lets Marshall go, and the dark boy from Ten leads the way between the thorn bushes and the fields of wheat. "I can see corn in the distance. If we're careful, we could get some for tonight."

Aris nods, patting one of her backpacks. "And if we do, we'll feast like Capitolites tonight."

Luxx Mortem, 18, District One Male

He swings the spear that he grabbed from the bloodbath around his head, trying to stab someone, anyone that he can manage to overtake. He's got to get a kill. A career without a kill can be a laughingstock in the bloodbath, especially when they're from One, the career district with only one victor.

He knows what they all say about One. A place for gems, sans brains, says Three when the boy from One gets electrocuted in Kaitlynn's Games. Glitter and precious little else, says Two when the final two between Natalia and the girl from Two leads to Natalia stepping over the stunning girl's corpse. Where is the district loyalty? asks Four when the boy from One abandons his partner in the Ninth Games.

They don't know that One is the most cunning of them all. And he'll prove it, no matter what his parents, his instructor, his district partner, even his brother might say.

The girl from Five slams her mace into the throat of the girl from Eleven, sending the tribute into the metal of the cornucopia, her corpse bruised by the impact. He stabs at the girl from Five before falling away, his eyes having gone blind once more. It had happened once in the countdown, but he had bet his whole attack in the bloodbath on the hope that he wouldn't go blind until he got a kill. And now he's dead meat.

He stumbles away with his spear in front of him, swinging it in the hopes that it hits anyone who attacks him. But as the noises of the bloodbath grow fainter, he realizes he might have avoided them altogether. He's away from the bloodbath.

He stumbles over what might be a pedestal and throws his hands out in front of him, the spear sticking in the ground and jabbing him in the stomach as he hurdles over the weapon. Tumbling down the steep hill, he finally jars to a halt when he crashes into the thorn bushes at the bottom of the hill.

Fuck.

He stands up slowly and feels for his eyes, opening them to see the bloodbath still continuing at the top of the hill. He's fallen to the bottom.

But is that such a bad thing?

He grimaces as he starts to jog up the hill and back to the melee, rubbing the spot where the spear had caught him. It feels bruised, maybe enough to have done something to the ribcage. Maybe he's being paranoid.

But being paranoid in the Hunger Games is sometimes the only way to win.

He grabs the spear and starts to run towards one of the girls fighting who seems to be Zora, ignoring the tributes sprinting down the hill and towards the tunnel. He doesn't have the time to deal with cowards right now. He's got to move!

He attacks the girl from Five from behind, throwing his spear through the air and towards her back. But she moves to the right before it stabs his, catching her in the shoulder instead. She swears angrily and reaches for the spear, trying to tug it out in vain. That's when he attacks again.

The bloodstained spear falls to the side as the girl from Five finally wrenches it out of her back, but she doesn't see Luxx running at her until he launches himself through the air and towards her eyes. He isn't fighting like the way District One should. He's fighting dirty, like an outlier. But why shouldn't he use tactics that'll win him his life?

He leaves bloody scrapes down her face as he grabs her raven-black hair, yanking a handful out of her scalp. She yells and slaps him, the sting of the blow sending him reeling away. The girl grabs her mace and runs away, leaving him running after her. He's going to get that tiny little girl and finally get a kill.

But then he faceplants into the ground, his chin stinging with the force of the fall. He's been tripped.

The tribute bends down towards him, their voice barely more than a whisper. "You know, none of the other tributes will notice, especially the careers. You're all alone, Luxx."

He gasps, trying to push up against Taffeta and towards freedom. But she's pinning him down and bringing out her weapon, turning it towards Luxx. He can hear the grin on her voice as she speaks again, it's practically dripping with satisfaction. "Maybe you should have stayed home and let Vexx play this game. Because you just lost, bitch."

He doesn't hear his own cannon. But he hears himself scream.

Ashrifah Keyaut, 16, District Five Female

She turns around just as the girl from One stabs her own partner, grinning with a hint of malice on her smile. It's good that he's gone. Her scalp still aches from his attack. And his death means that there are only so many tributes left before she can win the Games and go home.

Go home. It sounds simple, as if going back home a victor will fix everything. But what really needed to be fixed in the first place?

She turns and dodges as the girl from Four stabs at her neck with the golden trident in her arms, missing Ashrifah by inches. Ashrifah laughs coldly and pounces with her mace, hitting the girl on the side of her right leg. The girl yells and leaps away, the raw skin on her leg starting to ooze warm red blood. It drips down onto her shoe and into the ground, mixing with the dust to create a sticky, reddish-brown mud.

Ashrifah swings again, missing as the girl ducks and punches her sharply in the stomach. Ashrifah doubles back, clutching her stomach and yelling in rage. But the girl doesn't stop, leaping at her and hitting her in the nose before jumping away to grab her trident.

She slowly feels her own nose, letting her hand fall away to reveal the coat of blood starting to dry to its palm. The girl's spilled Ashrifah's blood. Her blood. Her rage starts to grow, erupting when the girl comes back and stabs back at Ashrifah. She doesn't even feel the prong enter her leg. All she feels is a cold anger filling her until she snaps.

The mace spirals through the air and slams into the girl's side, causing the girl to scream in pain and grab her ribs. Judging by the blood seeping through her outfit, Ashrifah's done some damage. But the girl doesn't pause for an instant, attacking again and grabbing her mace to swing over and over into the girl's chest. Then she starts to hit the girl's head, the mace smashing into the nose cartilage and through the skull. But she doesn't stop, blindly screaming in rage as she continues to hit the girl. She doesn't know if she's gone blind or if she's still attacking.

But then her vision seems to clear and she looks down in horror at the destroyed face of the career, struggling not to vomit as she glimpses at the shattered skull and the…

But a glimpse is all she takes before she runs out, away from the bloodbath. She can see the careers, the only other tributes left here, starting to run after her, but she's faster than them. She'll get away. She always does.

She runs down the hill, dodging when she hears the whistle of an arrow pass by her and harmlessly into the ground as she continues to sprint. Then a cry of pain rings through the air, and she glimpses behind her to see the careers having paused to help out the girl from Two. She must have gone blind.

All the better for Ashrifah.

She races through the tunnel and into the bright light, not pausing for even an instant to look around before she plunges into the amber wheat. Only when she runs for a minute she dares to stop, falling down to her side and heaving for breath. She killed. No, she didn't kill, she destroyed a girl. She's undoubtedly put a target on her own back.

But she doesn't feel sick anymore. All she can feel is something that she might even call…

Triumph.

Shawn Andersen, 14, District Three Male

He hurries through the wheat field, away from everyone in the bloodbath, everything that he's lost. He's got nothing. Nothing except the wire that Wyatt had died getting for them, that Shawn had grabbed off of his body before fleeing through the bloodbath and away to the tunnel, not even stopping when Mira was killed, and a small green backpack that he had found to the side of his pedestal.

But it's not the fact that he's got little supplies that are making him cry. It's because he's lost his only two allies in the arena because he was too much of a coward to stop and help them.

Coward. What an ugly sounding word. It makes him feel small, knowing that he's not the spy that he was hoping to be, the perfect rebel that would bring down the system and destroy the Capitol. He's just a lost, confused little boy trying to save his life with a huge coil of wire and a small green backpack. He doesn't deserve to escape the arena. No cowardly rebel deserves to be able to escape the Games when escape was won at such a great cause.

Why did he think he could ever manage to do something as great as escape the Capitol? And if he did, where would he go? He was stupid to think it up in the first place. It had sounded great in the training rooms with Mira and Wyatt, the perfect idea for the perfect escape, but now the plan sounds dull, bland. How can he remember to build the coil under such pressure? How can they even manage to get all of the supplies they need for the coil? There's no point. There's no way he's going to pull it off.

But he can still remember the plan. It's imprinted into his memories, there's no way he can't remember it.

Maybe he just needs to regroup his thoughts.

His parents always rethought out plans whenever they reached a dead end. If they couldn't figure out how to pull off even one portion of the plan, they'd look for another option. A rebel can't have a plan that has too many ways to fail. That leaves room for plans to fail. And when there's a chance for them to fail, plans always will.

He'll start with his backpack. He hasn't even opened the small green pack, only having shrugged it onto his thin shoulders before he had run to get the wire that Wyatt had in his arms. That Wyatt had died holding in the palm of his hand.

No, he can't think of that. He can only focus on the present right now. The past is too painful to even think of right now.

He stops running and crouches down in the shoulder-length stalks of wheat, looking behind him to see if anyone's pursued him. He can't see, much less hear anyone right now. He's all alone.

He zips open the pack and carefully brings the first item out, looking in awe at what seems to be… a capacitor for the Tesla coil?

No, it can be. The game makers would never put such a thing into his backpack, especially if they even had a thought that he might be planning an escape.

Unless the one who found out was the rebel mole.

He pulls out another wire, then a base for the coil, and finally a huge battery that evidently is the energy for the coil. And right below the sticker on the battery is a little note. He squints to see the writing on the note, his eyes straining to read the small print.

Now build.

They do know. And they're going to help him.

He stands up and puts his hands to the sky, saluting the rebels for their help in this. He doesn't know exactly who wants him to succeed, but someone does. And that's all he needs right now. He smiles and packs up the rest of the items, putting them carefully back into his backpack. Suddenly, the green fabric feels that much more valuable to him. It's not just a backpack, it's carrying his chance to escape the game makers and prove that the rebels are still strong.

A tear trickles down his cheek as he hears the first cannons in the wind, each boom resonating with his heart. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven cannons ring into the air before the arena falls silent once more. Eleven deaths. It's standard for the bloodbath, but the sounds hurt that much more now that he knows that Mira and Wyatt are two of them. He'll escape for them. He has to. He won't let himself get scared by the arena, only shrugging it off as he continues to live for his friends. He'll promise himself that.

That promise is broken as soon as the boy from Twelve, Bernard, appears in the stalks of wheat. The boy has a knife.

And he looks angry.

Blood has been shed today. This story will never be the same. And by the time the finale finishes, one of our remaining tributes will be a victor, forever broken.

But it's three updates in a row yassssssssssss!

I got to the bloodbath! Eeee! Albeit a rewrite of it this September when I tried to create it in June, (Don't ask) I think this version was good! I liked the twist, the writing felt smooth to me, and it was over 6K in story content itself! Score!

I am very happy that I finally managed to make it this far, especially considering the fact that I went MIA on this story for two months and over b/c I was working all summer and had writer's block. It sucked lol, but I'm still here! I didn't give up! And maybe I can finish this SYOT before 2019 ;) Just so you guys know, I was never giving up on this story, just trying to survive the summer. And I did, so now I get to navigate through school! (and that's SUCH fun, you know XDDD)

Now we're at the top thirteen, and if anyone is peeved over the fact that I killed so many tributes, consider the fact that, one, large bloodbaths are canon, and two, it is my story and I can do what I want with it. I'm not dodging around deaths, and I'm also digging the fact that I get to work with some great tributes for the arena! Before I go into the obituaries, I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed all of these tributes. Thanks so much for all of them guys, and I'm looking forward to revealing our victor! (In like twelve or more chapters lol) Also, the deaths might seem a little disjointed with the flow of the povs, but this is what happened chronologically, while the povs were not necessarily one after the other in time.

24th: Tony Dongalls, District Six Male; killed by mines. Created by 66samvr.

I really liked Tony, as did a lot of you readers. He was a bit of an underdog, someone who could have been shaped into a person who overrides his struggles to become a formidable tribute, even a victor. However, I somewhat struggled writing his sarcastic and cynical outlook on others, and I couldn't really relate with him in his povs. In the end, it was popping the bottle that did him in, causing him to have a hangover in the bloodbath. And that, my friends, is not what you want to have in the bloodbath. I think he is a very big surprise death, especially since he topped one of the polls I held for favourite characters! 66samvr, I hope you enjoyed him, and you still have Isa! Hooray! (And sorry for killing a legitimately good character)

23rd: Hollister Cuero, District Eight Female; killed by Ajax Hollis. Created by Kealimepie.

Holly was a sweet girl. She had a bit of fire, which I used in the riot of Eight and other parts of the story, but she mostly was a girl who was afraid of the Games, but pushed past it to attempt to help others, including Hem. When I received her, I was intrigued by her, and I liked pairing her up with Hem in training. I don't regret making that cinnamon roll alliance, and I'm sorry to see her go. Kealimepie, I have no idea if you're reading this (probably not lol) but if you are, thanks for Holly.

22nd: Nehemiah Bunting, District Eight Female; killed by Zora Stikander. Created by Elim9.

Elim9, when I received your forms along with Lincoln, I was astounded at how much detail could be put into characters. When I had started this story, my characters had three sentence personalities, and don't even get me started on backstory! It's safe to say that all of your characters really surprised me and made me very, very happy. Hem wasn't my favourite of your characters, but I liked his sweet attitude and how he just wanted to help people. Pairing him up with Holly seemed simple! But when I got to planning the bloodbath, I had to choose between letting cinnamon rolls move on and having a small bloodbath, or sucking it up and killing off some of my well-loved characters. So we lost Nehemiah, and thank you very much for an amazing character! Good luck to your remaining two ;)

21st: Wyatt Blink-Box, District Five Male; killed by Keelan Spinnaker. Created by iridescenteverdeen.

Wyatt… was made to be a bloodbath death, and a bloodbath death he became. He was actually a character I really enjoyed writing, with his nerdy and annoying persona and the way he was so curious with everything. But I did really like him! He was a fun guy who seemed like he could work well with an alliance, and Shawn immediately singled him out as someone to work with, as evidenced by the Tesla coil scene and the way he ran for the coil in the bloodbath. Unfortunately, he was killed, but he did better than his predicted placement! iridescenteverdeen, I hope you enjoyed him if you're still around, and I just want to let you know his interactions with Shawn will fuel some major subplot ;))

20th: Cornelia Fields, District Eleven 'Male'; killed by Paxton Webb. Created by AmericanPi.

Cornelia, Cornelia, Cornelia. I feel like I kind of let her down by killing you in the bloodbath. Cornelia could have gone further, yet her strength just wasn't big enough to beat Pax! She was a fun character, especially with a lot of her personality being tied up with her gender identity - maybe a little too much. I really liked that Cornelia was a dreamer and creative, and the fact that she were selfish - a part of her that might have slipped past a lot of you. In the end, I feel as if you slipped past a lot of us without much impact except towards the end, and I did struggle to write you. Pi, I hope that you're okay with this placement, and thank you for two amazing characters!

19th: Carol Farrier, District Ten Female; killed by Ryker Underwood. Created by Elim9.

Carol was actually one of my favourite characters in this story! I really loved how she was strong and didn't like change, and in general was a really good example of a stolid younger tribute. She started out strong with her intro, and I had a lot of high hopes for her in training, but the way she somewhat clashed with Marshall and how she didn't get much interaction with the other characters in training sabotaged her chances a bit. However, I really enjoyed her, and before this write of the bloodbath, had planned her to be moving on into the arena. However, I had reconsiderations with other characters moving on and others being bloodbath victims, making Carol one of the casualties of the rewrites. Elim9, thanks for a great character who I wish could have gone a bit further.

18th: Paxton Webb, District Nine Male; killed by Giovanna Fillinfini. Created by District9Tribute

Pax was a great example of a younger villain. Cocky, smart, and full of himself, the boy was a bit of a powerhouse throughout training, although he seemed quite the opposite to the Capitol with the melancholic persona he displayed them. I enjoyed him, and the twist of his token being a hidden weapon was amazing! He's the reason that we now have screening for tokens in my universe, and he really shaped a lot of relationships, including the largest outlier alliance in the arena. Because of his betrayal, Giovanna has left the alliance out of worry and hid in the arena, and we lost one of the great villains in this arena. District9Tribute, thanks for a great villain.

17th: Pepper Maywell, District Eleven Female; killed by Ashrifah Keyaut. Created by iridescenteverdeen.

Pepper was sweet, yet kind of fell under the radar due to two factors: she wasn't that exciting of a tribute, being overshadowed by flashier characters and Cornelia's reveal, and I failed to execute her better sides properly, relying more on her maternal instincts rather than her down-to-earth personality. She was fun to write for me, but she felt like a bit of a filler character in my eyes. And filler characters generally die in the bloodbath. Her big mistake was going for an item she thought she could get and being distracted by Ashrifah, who killed her rather quickly when you think about it. I hope that you, iridescenteverdeen, are okay with how she turned out, and thanks for being willing to sub to this story, although you may be gone by now :)

16th: Mira Bevoire, District Three Female; killed by Marshall Furr. Created by 66samvr

Mira was originally one of my picks for victor, no lie. She had a great personality that meshed well with other characters, and the fact that she was a magician was just really cool! I found her very unique and fun as a character, and I loved writing her. However, Shawn's alliance needed some shaking up, and the way Marshall's alliance met up with them left her dead. Mira was a great girl, and I'm sad that I can't expand her arc, which now feels a little cut short to me. 66samvr, sorry for killing another great character! I feel really really really really really bad that I'm killing her, but that was how the tributes would meet up in the bloodbath, and Mira got the short end of the straw. Hopefully, Isa can make it further! You'll have to rely on our lovely girl from Six from now on, which is a little… well, disturbing to say the least O.O

15th: Luxx Mortem, District One Male; killed by Taffeta Paisley. Created by TheBestGemini

Luxx was one of our big villains. He was a nice guy turned evil, corrupted by his jealousy towards his brother and the fact that he just wanted to impress his districts. Being cast out of the family due to his attacks didn't help him, thus he volunteered for the Games under the guise of Vexx. I enjoyed having him mesh and clash with the careers, specifically his dynamic with Taffeta. I feel that the pair from One fighting each other is a bit cliche, but I did like their rivalry! It ended due to the fact that Taffeta managed to surprise him, and I feel like her last words to him were pretty great ;) TheBestGemini, I hope you enjoyed your character's arc if you're still around, and cheer on Aris!

14th: Monique Rivera, District Four Female; killed by Ashrifah Keyaut. Created by Foxfaceisthebest

Monique, the second career death and definitely the most gory of the whole bloodbath, to say the least. She was a great character who's dynamic with a brother as victor was a bit Mary-Sueish, but I feel like she overcame that with her personality. I did enjoy writing her into this story, and had a lot of plans for her at the start, but they all started to fizzle into nothing by the train rides. She was another character who was somewhat overlooked, but I think that her death was a surprise, especially with how gory it was. Due to that, the career pack will be reeling in surprise - and looking for both blood and allies. Foxfaceisthebest, I know that you're gone, but I hope you enjoyed Monique if you ever look at this! She was a fun character, and I think that she could have gone further if it wasn't for Ashrifah.

And that's all of the bloodbath! I won't start the sponsoring until NEXT chapter, so be prepared for that to happen, with the current sponsor points being shown in that one so that we're all on the same page! I'm very excited to get into the arena, and I hope that you guys are all excited and prepared for a great Hunger Games!

KILL COUNT

(Italicized are deceased tributes)

Taffeta Paisley, District One Female - 1 Kill
Zora Stikander, District Two Female - 1 Kill
Ajax Hollis, District Two Male - 1 Kill
Keelan Spinnaker, District Four Male - 1 Kill
Ashrifah Keyaut, District Five Female - 2 Kills
Ryker Underwood, District Seven Male - 1 Kill
Paxton Webb, District Nine Male - 1 Kill
Giovanna Fillinfini, District Nine Female - 1 Kill
Marshall Furr, District Ten Male - 1 Kill
Arena - 1 Kill

DISTRICT PLACEMENTS

District One
District Two
District Three
District Four
District Five
District Six
District Seven
District Nine
District Ten
District Twelve
11th: District Eleven
12th: District Eight

Here are the alliances, so that we're all on the same page ;)

Careers: Taffeta, Zora, Ajax, Keelan

We've got backpacks!™: Aris, Marshall, Ryker

Loners: Shawn, Ashrifah, Isa, Giovanna, Moon, Bernard

The Dead: Lincoln, Tony, Hollister, Nehemiah, Wyatt, Cornelia, Carol, Paxton, Pepper, Mira, Luxx, Monique

And we're off to the races! What was the saddest death? Who do you think will die next? Predictions for victor? Review your thoughts, and hope you liked the chapter! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ