Okay, I'm not going to bother with drivel and excuses as to why this chapter is almost a month after the last one. I have simply not had the time and I know that makes it sound as if I have neglected this story, I promise you I have not. I have been working out a time to write it and what to write and who to put in and in amongst all my work. Two days after my last chapter I posted we had our school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (which was INCREDIBLE) and an absolute hit and I have the most HUMONGOUS exams over the next two weeks so I won't be writing really, at all. I may do the odd and be able to update once or something but it will be difficult.

Anway, this chapter sees three more deaths and I apologise to their creators. They were great tributes but just had to go. I hope you will forgive me. I'd like to see which tributes you would like to see more POVs from and so there should be a poll up on my profile within 5 minutes of my posting this. Go please and vote, I would love to know what you want!

ENJOY!

Day 4

Gamemaker – Beetee

To say that I was nervous about this new release into the Games was an understatement. I hadn't been the only Gamemaker with the reservations about it but, despite thinking that it could get a little out of hand, all mutts had the potential to do that, I should know best of all. The year I won the Hunger Games, there was a kid from D6, Titus, I can still remember him so well, he was so warped and twisted that they let some undeveloped mutts loose on him and he was torn to pieces. His was the smallest box sent home. And then, because they were so undeveloped, they couldn't control them and they nearly destroyed half the arena and wiped out extra five or six tributes before the Game makers realised their mistake and found a programme that had them wiped out. I've always wondered whether it really was an honest mistake or whether they had deliberately released them so that they would kill more tributes. There hadn't been a death in three days before that happened.

We're in the Gamemakers room and Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch are all there, looking at the new mutts. There are four different types and they will still be there once the arena changes again. Indeed, there is a different type of mutt for each of the arenas, each getting more and more brutal. These ones play mind games, mind games that will be interesting to see how the tributes cope with them.

I type in a few things to the computer that sits in front of me. Before my Games I wouldn't have believed anyone who told me that I would be able to see and touch this kind of equipment. Suddenly a hologram of one of the mutts for this arena appears on the bigger screen. It is almost like a human but definitely not. "What do you think?" I turn in my swivel chair to face the three head Gamemakers.

Haymitch frowns momentarily. "What kind of damage will it inflict? It looks like a doll those Capitolite kids would play with."

I point to the square that it halfway down its chest. "Do you see that?" they nod. "These aren't just ordinary mutts; those squares have a very special function."

I type further and their eyes widen in surprise and admittedly disgust at what the hologram appears to do, their form of self-defence as we call it. I let it play for a few seconds before I stop it. Haymitch has a disgusted look on his face and Peeta is looking a little green. Katniss is pursuing her lips, deep in thought.

Eventually she speaks, releasing the tension in the air. "They're perfect."

County 4 – Leander Denton (15)

This is it. This is the day that we find out what is in that hill. As per usual, it is Shark who wakes us up, is it bad of me to wish that he's going to die soon? Because at the moment he is REALLY annoying me, I think that applies to everyone in our alliance. But he is good, good with weapons, good with words. We know that he will attack us as soon as he smells the potential for treachery, betrayal. It is the one thing we all have in common, we cannot stand treachery.

"Come on you lot! Let's go and find out what that hill has inside it!" his enthusiasm is slightly nauseating, does he want to shout so loudly that the other tributes can hear us?

I wake up and rub my eyes, noticing that I am much closer to Melena than either Selena or Shark is. I don't want her to get the wrong idea and so I quickly stand up and brush myself off, there is no time to get changed out of or into anything, not that we have anything else anyway. We gather around the one backpack we have to share out this morning's breakfast. Today it is half a beef jerky strip each. The food issue is starting to get ridiculous. We have such little food and there is nothing that would be worth killing, except tributes and I am not really in the mood to suddenly turn to cannibalism.

After our meagre breakfast, we head off. Nothing seems to have changed overnight and the hill is still there. It takes the best part of an hour and a half to get there. The air is cool and there seem to be what looks like clouds in the air, but with the amount of fake in this arena, I wouldn't be surprised if they were simulated as well. The hill is smaller than I thought with an opening at the bottom which we hadn't seen before, hidden behind one of the smaller hills that make up the majority of the look of the arena. Shark has the spear now, he insisted seeing as he as self-styled himself as the leader of the pack and is the most proficient with it, and I have the mace. We share it with the girls but none of us are that useful with it.

The inside of the hill is dark and muddy. The only light that appears is that from the light in the arena that is behind us and fading fast. Suddenly, as we are about to turn a corner, I stop at the sound of a noise. A noise that does not sound good. "Did you hear that?" Selena stops in her tracks and nods fearfully.

Then suddenly, as if from nowhere, without any warning, we see the form of something running towards us. It looks about our height with a funny little squiggle on the top of its head. "RUN!" Shark doesn't need to order or prompt us; we all turn on our heels and run. But to our horror, we can see that the hole through which we came is getting progressively smaller. If we aren't careful, we could all falling prey to the mutt. Although I hate him, I do not want him to die and so I am relieved when I see Shark dash through the hole, hotly pursued by Melena who also disappears. But I can hear Selena slowing down behind me. Do I look back and try to help her? Or do I save my own life? The hole is getting smaller and I throw myself at it, hoping that she is right behind me.

County 14 – Apollo Alphaeus (17)

It has been an admittedly lonely four days. Being in such a small arena, I had thought I would have come across one tribute, had to confront one tribute and pray to the gods that they would keep me safe, but the gods seem to be looking favourably down on me today. I've managed to remain in the same place for the last day which I am sure is some crime against the Gamemakers who seem to like to pretend that they are the gods. Well no one can rule me, hopefully if the gods allow my winning of the Games; it will show them that they do not have a hold on those who believe otherwise.

I am fairly close to one of the hill at the edge of the arena. For the fact that I refused any alliances, not wanting to jeopardise the gods' plans, I believe the gods gave me luck at the Cornucopia as I managed to escape with a large rucksack and a sword without killing any other tributes. I may be better with a spear but I work with what the gods give me, whatever my personal opinion on it may be and I have already started to wield it properly, using one of the smaller hills as a practise place. I look up when I hear the heavy sound of feet pounding against the floor of the arena, definitely coming from the large hill. I duck and peek over the top to see what I can. It's an alliance of three, no wait, four. At least I think it might be four as the three of them keep looking back and I can see something that resembles a human trying to fight their way out of a very small hole. BOOM! I can see the three tributes stop as they see whatever it was flop suddenly.

I send a quick prayer up to Apollo, my namesake god that I may be spared whatever horrible fate that tribute just suffered. I can tell instinctively that she did not die by human hand but by some mutation that the Gamemakers have and I remind myself once more to offer up a prayer to Mnemosyne, the Greek god of memory and remembrance, I have vowed to do as much as I can to respect the memories those who die in these Games, they will not grow old as someone in this arena will.

The sound of the three pairs of feet are getting dangerously close to where I am and I grab myself, preparing myself mentally and sending another prayer to the gods. Running around the corner, quickly come the three people that I had seen coming out of the hill. They all freeze, with one backpack, two weapons and three people, I am easily outnumbered. But they all look shaken. The girl is crying and both boys look a little disturbed. I cannot fight them.

"Truce?" I speak softly. "Go."

I cannot say any more but they nod before running off. Their fourth ally must not have been in the favour of the gods. I just hope that it won't shake them too badly.

County 16 – Darius Whaldron (16)

It has been the most BORING four days ever. Neither of the girls satisfies my sexual desires which I have to admit has made me hungrier for more, they are just useless! We have come across no other tributes to maim and torture, and yet we have heard six cannons which none of us can lay claim to. Although, to our general delight, at least we have been able to tell that none of the Careers have been responsible for any of them either.

Then I sit up. The whole point of our alliance was to be the anti-Careers, the alliance that would get more kills, inflict more pain and torture than the Careers and replace them as the best alliance that the Hunger Games has ever seen. We disregard the fact that there are only four of us in comparison to the six Careers. We are not so stupid as to go and try to take them down now, although I know that it will be as easy as slicing a butter knife through butter, we cannot afford to lose anyone, we must wait until less tributes are alive. The bigger the drama the better.

"Right, we're going hunting." I declare and the other three look up at me. "I'm so bored here and we need to go and cut down as many tributes as possible."

A smile spreads across Nikki's face. "Can we make it as fun as possible?" This such childishly posed question makes me raise an eyebrow, what is she talking about? She coughs and amends her statement. "I mean, we can have some fun with the tributes. I'm sure a couple of the tributes would look rather pretty with blood patterns on their faces."

I lick my lips in satisfaction, now Nikki is talking. Some blood would be good; the bloodbath was not good enough. "Right."

"Um." Carter pipes up quickly. "I think one of us should stay back here with the stuff. We can't take all of it; there would just be no point. We'll need the knives at the most." We were lucky to get much from the Cornucopia as we mostly just ran, despite what some of us wanted. I was not satisfied with my single death, I need more.

I nod, he has a point. For once, that boy is actually being useful. He has been an added lump to the group, but the girls are adamant. "Fine, you stay 2. The girls and I will find a couple of unblemished tributes."

I grab the thin sword that is my pride and joy, other than my body of course, and twirl it in my fingers as the Fray sisters grab their respective preferred weapons and we go. There is no need to mess around, I NEED blood, how else am I supposed to live unless I can get pleasure out of someone else's pain. The arena is not very big and we are starting to become dehydrated from the lack of food and water in the arena. It is as if they are trying to kill us off by not giving us anything. How despicable and boring. People want blood, gore, action! That was the whole point of the Games.

It doesn't take us long to find someone. Yet another loner. I hear her heartbeat, the blood throbbing through her veins just calling me and I put a hand up to stop my fellow 'allies'. Looking around the corner, I see a girl who means nothing to me; she has grey eyes which are almost covered by her short, light-brown hair. I nod to the girls and step around the corner, she is going to be fun.

County 1 – Sofee Grinwood (16)

Four days. With an alliance and the fact that none of us have had any sponsor gifts or got away with much, just two backpacks and a bow and arrow, which no one can use but I've been learning. We have to be prepared for all actualities. We haven't come across any other tributes, just seeing the dead faces in the sky. It wasn't as if we killed very many tributes, yes I have Niko from 2's death upon my head and Cyan has Daphne from 7 but they weren't very hard kills and they were trying to kill us as much as we were trying to kill them so somehow it all evens out.

We're hunting at the moment. I mean not really hunting; the arena hasn't really given us anything to hunt except tributes. I suppose they are trying to draw us together so that we can kill or be killed. With 44 of us left, I think, there is still quite a way until the games are over and whilst most Games are over in two weeks, this will most likely be more with the rate of deaths a day. There has already been one today; it was what woke us from our place of rest. Although we may all be joined by a mutual hatred of the Capitol of leading us to where we are today and right now, we are pretty different and it was only after quite a few minutes of arguing did we reach the conclusion that we would go around the arena that we know of and see if we come across any tributes. We are not on the hunt, merely on the lookout.

Cyan is leading us with the bow and arrow; I don't really feel safe at all. If we come across any tributes, we are as helpless as the 12 year olds. Although then again, the 12 year olds in this competition weren't too bad this year, unlike Antoinette. I still don't understand why we accepted her into our alliance, she was useless and annoying.

"Please, please don't hurt me!" The loud whimper catches our attention and I rack my brains to remember who it is.

"Gina Rae, county 15." Kalli mutters, she has an incredible memory, although she did once tell me it was a condition. "Fellow female tribute from county 15 died in bloodbath, killed by Darius Whaldron, name Kora Arai. One other tribute from county 15 remaining, Giyran Leet aged 18."

She's like a walking encyclopaedia, its brilliant and I flash her one of my rare smiles which she readily returns. We split, the three of us, and I take a peek aorund the corner before pulling back in disgust. It's the same Whaldron guy and he's straddling the Rae girl. The Fray sisters, if my memory serves me correct, are either side of her, with knives drawn. I hate to think what they are doing to her. The screams suddenly ring out and I can tell it's her. Her back arches in pain but the threesome don't care. Indeed, Nikki starts to laugh and Alyss joins in, Darius simply smiling and straddling the girl higher on her body.

I want to go and help her, save her. But I know that the three torturers around the corner are far more capable and advanced than us; there is no way we can win. And we hadn't gone looking for trouble or death, just observations. But it all stops at the sound of a cannon. BOOM! A cannon that, by the looks on the three torturers faces, did not belong to Gina. They stopped and all watched as the hovercraft that was so common now, appeared and hovered over a spot that had the three standing with rage. I wonder…

County 12 – Alexis Steelsheen (15)

The swords plunge into the boy's back and he barely speaks before the cannon sounds. I know exactly where to hit someone in the body in order to kill them immediately. I turn to Liam, Vihn and Novin who all smile and Vihn gives me thumbs up. We step back to let the hovercraft take the body before attacking the camp.

"Hey, check out their food supplies!" Liam gives a delighted call and we all look over to see where, as he is correct, there is enough food to last us for several days.

"Take it." I command and he frowns momentarily.

"All of it? Shouldn't we be slightly more humane than that?" He asks, looking over the amount.

My eyes narrow, yet again he is trying to challenge my authority. "No of course I'm not suggesting that, 9. I have a feeling whatever happened to the arena three days ago is going to happen again. And the Gamemakers won't make it so it's another arena where quite a few of us could die from dehydration or starvation. That isn't fun." Sarcasm drips off my tongue on the word 'fun'; I never found this whole idea of the Hunger Games good.

He nods and once more I have control. Once we have taken our fill, which we have to do fairly quickly as we know that the other three allies of the boy will be here soon and we are not really up for a total confrontation. As we sneak away, I cannot help but feel slightly bad for killing the dude. I can't remember his name but he was in the way and it wasn't as if we had stabbed him in the back. We had come face to face with him but I had just killed him before he could grab his own weapon. That is how the Hunger Games works, you have to kill or be killed. It now just leaves 42 tributes left in this arena. That's 41 people who have to die before I can go home, including…him. We haven't come across his alliance yet and I cannot wait for the day when it comes. Suddenly we hear another cannon BOOM! And we look to each other before hurrying on our way. Night is falling and we have to get to a safe distance from their camp so that we can settle down for a few of us for the night. Its Novin's turn tonight and he better be up to it. He fell asleep on duty on the first night and we were nearly cornered by another alliance. The complete and utter idiot.

We find our old spot, I'm not quite sure how we recognise it seeing as everything looks the same, just as the anthem starts to play. We sit down and watch to see the three cannons. The first is the face of Selena Trei, county 3. I frown as I try to remember her but there is nothing. Below her name is something that sends a shiver down my spine, the word that we never want to see in an arena: mutation. Oh no, every tributes worst nightmare. But before I can think further, the familiar face of the boy we killed, Carter Bloom appears. That's right. I smile proudly as AS12 appears below his name and the boys give me a small smile in congratulations. That should get me a couple more sponsors, hopefully. The third cannon, as I suspected, is that of Gina Rae, county 15. Her small smiles lights up the sky and the anthem plays once more, the DW16 disappearing from beneath her as well as the face. Gone, forever.

Well, that's it. Another day, a few more deaths. Perhaps one day will actually bring a day with no deaths, just somehow a large degree of harmony. One day.

RIP to the following tributes:

SELENA TREI - 3, Muttations

CARTER BLOOM - 2, Alexis Steelsheen, 12

GINA RAE - 15, Darius Whaldron, 16

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