Short chapter, I know. It'll all lead up to the finale eventually.

I do not own The Hunger Games.

(Day 8)

Coal Eagle wandered through the swamp, desperately looking for something to eat. She hadn't seen any tributes in a while, but she wasn't surprised. The sky had told her that very few were left. Maybe about fifteen? This arena was built for seventy two, so surely there would be something to bring them all together soon. Except last night, there were six faces in the sky. About a third of everyone left. Had there been a mutt or a great battle? Maybe a natural disaster? Or at least as natural as there could be in the arena. Coal shivered at the thought of this mass death she narrowly missed. Maybe her luck would soon run out.

(Day 9)

Simon Carrier and Cougar Smelton cautiously made their way back to the cornucopia. Simon held the slingshot with the backpack across his shoulders. Cougar held their knife aloft, scanning the horizon for movement, frequently glancing over her shoulder.

They were going back to find food or weapons that could prepare them for the final days to come and perhaps the finale 'd spent most of their time in the field, trying to avoid killing, but now they felt their physical strength dwindling and decided to go looking for action. Every tribute down was one step closer to home, no matter how that tribute went down.

The two finally reached the cornucopia as the sun reached its peak and beat down on the sand. It took more work to look through the sand, from the sun's glare and the nine days of wind causing the sand to blow over smaller items. Through this intense search however, they only found a few particularly sharp shells, without any Capitol-made equipment.

They decided to keep the shells, as potential tools or weapons, but walked away disappointed.

Viztron Lightkeeper watched Simon and Cougar retreat. He contemplated his options. Two against one. And did he really want to kill? Of course not. He wasn't that kind of person. But he thought back to Lucille and the attack. Anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and everything else he didn't even know he could feel rushed through his body as he thought of October lying mangled on the ground. He pounced out, much in the style of Lucille, and plunged a short sword into Cougar's back. Her cannon fired and Simon turned around in shock, tears coming to his eyes.

Simon put a shell into his slingshot and pulled it back, aiming at Viztron's face. Viztron stabbed Simon before he could shoot, but as Simon collapsed, the slingshot released the shell, which rushed toward Viztron's neck. The shell lodged itself into Viztron's throat.

Viztron coughed and wheezed, trying to remove the shell or breathe properly. But somehow the shell had sliced through something vital, because Viztron couldn't seem to pull in a breathe. A painful minute later, Viztron found himself on the ground, starring into the sand, as the world went black.

-Theuglyduckling492