Wow, this is the longest chapter I've wrote so far...

Anyway, afternoon of day 3 of the games, enjoy!

Ever since his nightmare there on the second day, Murray was staying well away from the woods. It was beginning to get dark now, and the District 5 tribute had taken refuge in the valleys. Despite being from an urban district, Murray knew better than to hide out in the village. You were practically signing a suicide note if you were caught sleeping in one of the buildings by another tribute.

Murray walked across yet another grass-covered hill in the valleys, in search of some kind of food. The meagre supplies he had obtained on day 1 were dwindling, and his stomach ached from the pain of hunger. Other tributes may deal with going hungry better, but Murray was used to three meals a day, even if it wasn't the best quality food.

The boy sighed, and sat down for a rest. What was the use anyway? Even if he did find some kind of animal, he would have no idea how to hunt it effectively, let alone skin it or cook it. He'd eaten some berries and nuts that he had found lying around, but it wasn't enough.

He was also slightly irritated that he hadn't had any sponsors. The capitolites had clearly loved him in his interview, so why weren't they helping him? Maybe his mentor was holding back the gifts until he really needed them.

"I need them now!" Murray shouted up at the sky, as if hoping for a response. "C'mon, someone help me out!"

To his surprise, he got a response, in the form of a parachute floating down towards him. Murray got up excitedly, and caught it as it reached him. Upon opening it, he found three of the most delicious cupcakes he had ever seen, each topped with coloured, sugary, icing, with sprinkles also covering them. Murray found a piece of paper with the cakes.

From your adoring fangirls Cecelia, Rhondi, and Ava! You're so hot Murray, we love you!

Murray smiled with happiness. "Thank you so much!" He shouted up at the sky. "I love you too!"

He picked up the first cupcake, which was topped with red icing, and took a bite out of it. All the flavours in the cake melted together in his mouth beautifully, as he sighed in pleasure. This was more like it.

He devoured the rest of the first cake, before quickly eating the second. He contemplated saving the third and final cake, but couldn't resist it, as he took one look at it with its beautiful blue icing, before eating it as quickly as he could.

As he lay back, feeling the warmth of good food in his stomach, his mind turned to the events of Day 2. The whole thing with Bluebell had freaked him out completely. He had had horrible, horrible nightmares last night, the memory of killing the District 1 girl playing over and over in his mind, each time becoming more terrifying.

Then his thoughts turned to the lake. The gamemakers were clearly playing with him, putting a picture of Scarlette there, as well as the members of his alliance. He knew they were trying to break him, to see how he would react. They wanted a show, and Murray silently admitted to himself that he had given them one yesterday.

"Well I'm not going to let it happen again!" Murray said out loud, the words feeling comforting as he heard them. He decided then that he would stay away from the woods. The lake and the ghosts had been an awful experience, but it was over now.

"Hey Murray."

Murray spun around upon hearing the voice. Expecting another tribute, he found something much more shocking.

It was the spirit of Mimi, floating innocently, watching him. She looked mostly the same, but what scared Murray was that just like the spirit of Bluebell, Mimi's big blue eyes were gone, replaced by pure blackness.

"No… not again." Murray muttered.

"What's wrong Murray? Mimi smiled. "Not happy to see me?"

"No… yes, sorry, of course I'm happy to see you." Murray replied.

"How about a hug then?" Mimi asked.

Murray froze, not sure how to respond. "But… but… you're a ghost."

A black tear appeared from Mimi's eye, dropping onto the floor. "How can you be so offensive Murray?" She said, starting to cry. "I know I'm dead… you don't need to remind me."

Murray was bewildered. "Look, I'm sorry!" He shouted as he moved towards her awkwardly, his arms stretched out for a hug.

Suddenly, the spirit of Mimi snapped out of her crying, and laughed. "Haha! Gotcha!"

"Fuck's sake." Murray muttered.

"You wanted to hug a ghost Murray! That's so creepy!"

"I know, I didn't want to!" He replied angrily. "Stop playing games with me!

Mimi put a finger to her lips. "Ssshh Murray. The others are arriving."

Murray looked around him. "The… others?"

"The rest of your alliance? Have you forgotten them already?" Mimi laughed.

"I sure hope he hasn't." A voice growled.

Murray looked beyond Mimi, to see three more spirits floating towards him. The voice had come from the spirit of Nash, who was accompanied by the spirits of Morris and Karina. The three came to a stop next to Mimi, staring at Murray.

"Hey guys." Murray said with uncertainty.

"Hey yourself." Nash replied. "How's being alive treating you?"

The first thing Murray noticed about Nash was his teeth. They were sharper than usual, and he had an aggressive look on his face, almost snarling. This wasn't the Nash that Murray knew, the mellow and compassionate soul. The gamemakers had changed him.

Morris and Karina looked about the same as he remembered them, but just like Nash and the other spirits Murray had encountered, they all had one thing in common. The same black, empty eyes, devoid of any life or soul.

"C'mon Murray, at least have the courtesy to speak to us!" Nash said angrily.

"Hey.. hey Nash, cool it." Morris said.

"Stop trying to be the peacemaker!" Nash replied.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Murray pleaded.

"We're back." Nash said, as he floated closer towards him. "So fortunate that you managed to get out of the bloodbath Murray."

"The rest of us weren't so lucky." Karina said, speaking for the first time.

"What could I have done?" Murray asked. "It was chaos there!"

"I'm well aware." Nash replied. "I got my head bashed in by Runyon, remember?"

"Look… I'm sorry. I tried to help Mimi, but I didn't see the rest of you! We were all so separated!" Murray replied.

"Mimi?" Nash asked.

"It's true." Mimi said, her black eyes staring into Murray. "He avenged me… he was a bit late though."

"What?" Murry asked, shocked. "Mimi! How can you say that? I was trying to save you!"

"But you didn't though did you." Mimi replied quietly. "You didn't save me."

"Me neither." Morris said.

"Or me." Karina added. "I don't even know what happened…"

"In case you weren't clear, you didn't save me either." Nash growled.

"Please guys!" Murray begged. "I'm sorry, I think about you all the time! I miss you guys so much!"

"No matter. It's done now." Mimi said.

"The question is, what are you going to do now?" Nash asked.

"What do you mean?" Murray replied.

"Well we didn't die for nothing did we!" Nash shouted. "You're the only member left of our alliance, you must become victor!"

"Don't you think I wanna do that?" Murray replied.

"Well stop whinging then, and get off your ass and think about how you're gonna kill the next tribute!" Nash shouted.

"You must do it for us Murray." Mimi said. "You must do it for the alliance of five."

"The alliance of five." Morris and Karina both repeated in unison.

"The alliance of five?" Murray asked, a confused expression on his face.

"That's what we weren't we?" Mimi asked. "We had a special bond Murray."

"We never called ourselves that." Murray said.

"What does that matter?" Nash shouted, his voice rising in anger. "You must avenge us Murray. Honour the alliance of five."

Murray stood still, his head spinning with everything that was going on. He didn't know what to make of these spirits. They were clearly a trick by the gamemakers, but at the same time…. these were his friends. And he couldn't bring himself to go against them.

"So what do I have to do?" He asked.

The spirit of Nash smiled, for the first time since Murray had seen him, before replying.

"Well Murray… I think the gamemakers would like you to return to the lake…"

The newly formed alliance of districts 3 and 12 had, to the surprise of everyone, so far been relatively uneventful. After Orren's gesture of handing him his favourite weapon of a sickle, Alex had decided to keep the peace for now, although he hadn't spoken to Orren or Bree much. Natasha, on the other hand, had found herself getting on well with Bree once the district 3 girl had gotten over her shyness, and the two had chatted happily throughout most of the day. Natasha had also grown to like Orren, his jokey manner kept spirits in the alliance light.

As day 3 drew near to the closing hours of the afternoon, the alliance had decided to explore the valleys further. They had no need to head to the village due to their plentiful supplies, and everyone had voted decidedly against heading to the uninviting woods. Now, they were venturing deeper into the rolling hills of the valleys, Orren and Alex walking in the front row of the group, with Bree and Natasha slightly behind, who were still chatting happily.

"So what is life like back in District 12?" Bree asked, always curious to gain more knowledge about the other districts.

"Pretty shitty to be honest." Natasha replied.

"Understatement of the year." Alex said.

"Ignore him." Natasha laughed. "It's not so bad, considering… we're poor as shit, but having the gang helps."

"The gang?" Bree asked, wide-eyed. "You mean a criminal gang?"

Natasha laughed. "Let's just say we do what we have to do to get by."

"Why do you need to do those things?" Bree asked. "Where are your parents?"

"Well, me and Alex didn't have the best childhood…" Natasha replied.

"Natasha." Alex growled.

"But it's cool. We're all good now. We survive, and that's it." Natasha smiled.

"But, what about…?" Bree began, but Orren cut her off.

"Jeeze Bree, is this the Capitol interrogation room? How about letting her ask you some questions?" Orren laughed.

"Shut up Orren!" Bree replied in annoyance.

"Don't worry kid, it's cool." Natasha laughed. "How about District 3? Judging by your reactions you've had a pretty sheltered upbringing compared to me."

Bree's cheeks flushed. "I guess…" She replied. "I live with my Mother Mariam, and my Father Wilfred, although he works a lot."

"Happy families!" Alex snorted.

"Shut up Alex!" Natasha glared at him, before turning back to Bree. "That sounds really nice Bree. What's District 3 like then?"

"Very industrial. Full of buildings, we don't have much countryside."

"That's a shame." Natasha replied. "We have some lovely woods outside of District 12... they're supposed to be fenced off, but there's ways around it, isn't there Alex?"

"Yep." Alex replied.

"I'm not bothered about the countryside!" Orren said, as they walked over the top of another hill. "Give me the good old busy city life any day!"

"District 3 could hardly be defined as a city…" Bree said.

Orren, however, waved his hands. "Facts, facts, Bree… I love District 3."

"What's life like for you there Orren?" Natasha asked, enjoying this conversation.

"Pretty sweet." Orren replied. "My dad owns a bar, and I hang out there a lot. Beating all the drunks at cards."

"Bit of a hustler?" Alex asked, his interest perking up.

Orren tapped his nose, before pulling out his district token, a jack of diamonds card. "Maybe… maybe." He laughed.

"You must like a drink then. " Natasha said.

Orren's face sombered. "Na, not really to be honest… I don't see the point. I like to keep my mind sharp."

"That's impressive, considering you practically live in a bar." Natasha laughed.

"It's one of my worst fears to be honest…. becoming another loser who works long hours and spends all their wages on booze." Orren sighed. "I know I can be more than that."

"I agree with Orren." Bree said. "I've read about alcohol on several occasions, and it leads to long term damaging effects in several vital organs."

"Don't you just love her?" Orren asked Natasha, laughing as he gestured at Bree.

"Hey, what's that?" Alex asked, pointing further down the hill they were on.

The other tributes looked to where he was pointing. "I can't see anything." Bree said, squinting.

"I can see something too." Natasha said. "Shall we check it out?"

"Might as well." Orren shrugged. "We'd better do something interesting, or the gamemakers will send whatever freakish mutt they've got planned after us."

"I agree." Bree said.

"Enough chat." Alex growled, losing patience. "Let's go have a look!"

"Keep your hair on!" Orren laughed.

Alex spat on the ground, choosing to ignore the comment as he jogged down the hill. The other tributes followed quickly, to be greeted by a strange sight. It was a wooden table, with four chairs around it. Upon the table was a what appeared to be some kind of dispenser, with a deck of cards next to it.

"The fuck is this?" Alex asked.

"I have no idea." Natasha replied.

Orren approached the table. "It's a deck of cards… oh my god." He said, his eyes widening in happiness. "Hey, look! There's some words engraved onto the right side of the table."

He bent over to read it." It's instructions for… oh my god, blackjack!"

"What?" Alex asked, irritated.

"It's a card game." Orren replied, continuing to read the instructions.

Greetings tributes,

What you have in front of you is a table for the card game of Blackjack. If you choose to play against us, insert the pack of cards in the dispenser, and the game will begin.

Only one tribute need participate, and if you win three hands consecutively, you will win a selection of luxury prizes.

But if you lose, prepare to face the consequences.

Happy Hunger Games!

Head Gamemaker Elroy Criswell.

Orren looked up as he finished reading, smiling.

"What does it say?" Natasha asked.

"It's a game of blackjack." Orren said excitedly. "If one of us wins three hands, we can win luxury prizes!"

"And what are these luxury prizes?" Alex asked.

"It doesn't say." Orren replied. "But c'mon, it's got to be good!"

"And what if we lose?" Bree asked.

"Well… it says 'prepare to face the consequences'."

"Orren!" Bree said angrily. "That's got death written all over it!"

"Look Bree, i'm well aware that it's probably a trap." Orren said. "But I can win this, I have experience at this game!"

"From the bar?" Natasha said.

"Exactly." Orren replied.

"What are the rules? It'd be nice to know what's going on." Bree said.

Orren began talking enthusiastically. "Right… basically in each hand, or round, I'll get two cards, that we can all see. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer, or the card dispenser in this case, by getting nearer than it to 21 with your two cards."

"Right, got it." Natasha said.

"I'll be able to see one of the dealer's two cards, then i'll have a choice of whether I want to say I'm happy with the cards I've got, in which case I would say 'stand'. Or I can ask for another card, in which case I would say 'hit me', and I can ask for as many as I like until I'm satisfied with them. Then, the dealer will do the same with its cards. If I'm closer to the dealer than 21, I win the hand. If either of us goes over 21 with our cards, we 'bust' and the other player wins automatically."

"Seems fairly simple." Alex said.

"Oh it seems it… but blackjack has a lot of advanced techniques. But I won't bore you with those." Orren laughed. "Let's play."

Orren took a seat, as Natasha inserted the pack of cards into the dispenser. The dispenser flashed to life, making beeping noises, with a mechanical hand appearing suddenly from the left hand side of it.

"Greetings tribute!" The dispenser spoke. "Let's play Blackjack. If you win three hands consecutively, you will obtain the luxury prizes. Good luck."

"Let's do this!" Orren shouted.

The dispenser shot out two cards in front of Orren, and the game began. The visible card from the dealer was a 10. Orren had a 10 and a 9. "Stand." He said.

"A rather easy hand." Orren smiled. "I have 19, which is close to 21. So I should win, unless the dealer gets 20 or 21, which is unlikely."

The mechanical card turned over the other card, revealing a 3. It spat out another card, which was a 10.

"That makes 23, which means he's bust!" Orren said. "I win the hand!"

"Yes Orren, well done!" Natasha shouted.

"So glad you got good cards." Bree said in relief.

Alex stayed silent, observing the game, as the dispenser spat out the next two cards. Orren had a 6 and a 8, and the dealer's visible card was a 9.

"Hit me." Orren said, without hesitation.

"Orren! Isn't that risky?" Bree asked.

"It is. But he's got a 9. High chance of getting a good second card."

The tributes waited with baited breath, as the dispenser spat out a 7. "Yes!" Orren shouted. "That's 21, unless it gets the same I win!"

The mechanical hand turned over the second card, which was a 10. It spat out another card, as it had nothing to lose, which was a 4.

"Bust again!" Orren said in delight.

"Oh my god." Natasha said excitedly. "You might actually win this."

"Go on Orren!' Bree shouted.

The three of them crowded round Orren excitedly, even Alex was paying his full attention to the next hand.

The dispenser spat out a 10, and then an ace.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Orren screamed, jumping up from the chair in excitement.

"What Orren, what's happened?" Bree asked, looking around her as if something was about to attack them.

"Guys, I got a blackjack!"

"What is that?" Natasha asked, confused.

Orren was breathing deeply, overwhelmed. "If a player gets a 10 and an ace, it makes a perfect 21 because the ace is valued at 11, and this perfect 21 is called a blackjack! I automatically beat the dealer!"

"Who cares what it is?" Alex asked. "He won, that's the point!"

"Oh my god, Orren, you won!" Bree said, stunned.

"Congratulations tributes, you have beaten us in blackjack." The dispenser spoke again. "Your luxury prizes will be with you shortly. Happy Hunger Games."

"Yes, luxury prizes!" Natasha shouted. "Oh my god!" The four tributes danced around in delight at Orren's victory, with even Alex smiling and laughing. Then, they saw a parachute floating towards them.

"It's here!" Orren shouted.

As the crate attached to the parachute hit the ground, the tributes opened it eagerly. And what an amazing sight. The crate was full of all kinds of delicious food, amazing savoury rolls with every possible meat inside them, and a selection of huge sponge and chocolate cakes. Furthermore, the crate contained big coats and thick blankets, as well some luxury xl sleeping bags.

"Holy shit." Natasha said, staring at everything before them.

Alex didn't say a word, already devouring one of the huge chocolate cakes, his need for food overtaking him.

"Hey Alex, we should ration this stuff!" Bree said timidly.

"Fuck that!" Orren laughed. "This might be our last ever meal. I say we tuck in." He said happily as he took a bite out of one of the rolls. "Oh my, sausages. Thank you Capitol."

"Hey, what's that?" Natasha asked.

The other tributes turned, to see a black-feather bird, flapping its wings in the middle of the air.

"It's a jabberjay." Bree gasped.

"What's that?" Alex growled.

"You've never heard of them?" Bree asked, shocked. "They were a mutation used by the Capitol during the rebellion, and they were trained to memorise and repeat conversations."

"So what does it want?" Natasha asked nervously, with the jabberjay still not doing anything.

"Who cares? It's a dumb bird." Alex snorted. "Let's get back to eating."

But then, the jabberjay spoke. "Orren Noults from District 3." It spoke in a booming voice. "Are you aware of what you just did?

"Erm, won a game of blackjack?" Orren replied.

"Correct, tribute Orren." The jabberjay said. "And are you not aware that gambling is illegal?"

"Well, I guess… I mean.." Orren stuttered.

"What is going on? Laws in the arena?" Natasha asked, confused.

"Fuck this. Let's get away from this freak." Alex said, turning to leave.

But then, the jabberjay spoke again. "Tribute Orren Noults from District 3, you have been found guilty of gambling on Capitol property. You must now pay for your crimes." Upon finishing, the jabberjay flew off.

"What the hell…?" Alex asked, frustrated.

"I don't like this." Bree said, beginning to panic.

"Let's get out of here." Natasha said, as they began to move away. Orren, however, did not move.

"Orren?" Bree asked nervously.

"C'mon man, we should get out of here!" Alex shouted.

"Guys… look at the sky." Orren said, pointing upwards.

They looked up, to be greeted by a horrifying sight. A flock of five huge, red-feathered birds, were flying towards them. They were mutations created by the capitol, combing two ancient deadly birds of prey, the bearded vulture and the red-tailed hawk. They were terrifying creatures, with sharp, pointy beaks, and huge brown wings. As they all squawked loudly, and flew towards Orren, everyone became aware that he was their prey.

"Orren, RUN!" Bree screamed.

Orren snapped out of his state, and took off running with the others. The mutated birds squawked and shrilled, enjoying the chase.

"We can't outrun them!" Natasha shouted.

"I'm getting tired already!" Bree screamed, breathing heavily.

"We're not stopping!" Alex shouted.

But the birds didn't give them a choice. They caught up with the tributes easily, and circled them as they ran, at a lower altitude now, until they finally gave up.

"Looks like they want us to fight." Natasha said nervously.

Orren didn't waste any time, taking out one of his knives, and throwing it directly at one of the huge birds. The knife struck the bird's head, which squawked in pain as it fell out of the sky and hit the ground. The other birds began squawking loudly, gearing themselves up to attack.

"Bring it on." Alex smiled.

One of the birds dive-bombed towards Alex, but the boy was ready for it. As it reached him, he slashed his sickle through its neck, cutting its head off.

Two of the other mutts flew down towards Bree and Natasha at a great speed. Bree screamed, and barrel-rolled out of the way as the bird's beak narrowly missed her. Natasha, however, deftly dodged the bird's attack, before plunging her short sword straight into its torso. The mutt screamed, staggering around, before collapsing.

Orren then noticed something strange. The two remaining birds had landed on their feet, and were now charging towards them at an incredible speed.

"They're charging us!" He shouted at the rest of his alliance, as they recovered from their attacks.

"Oh god, I don't wanna die." Bree murmured, trying to steel herself, with a knife in her hand.

"C'mon Bree, you're not gonna die, we can do this!" Orren said, trying to sound encouraging, as the two huge birds got closer.

He screamed, and threw a knife at one of the mutts. However, this time, it was ready, deftly dodging the attack as it charged into Orren, knocking him aside.

"Fuck!" Alex shouted, as he charged towards the bird. It turned to snap its beak at him, but Alex ducked its attack, jumping backwards. The bird attacked again, but Alex was ready, bringing his sickle slicing across the mutt's neck. The bird screamed briefly, before falling to the ground.

Meanwhile, the last mutt was being more careful, watching Natasha and Bree. Bree was terrified, shaking with fear.

"We can do this Bree. Just be brave." Natasha said.

The bird screamed, and charged towards them, its yellow eyes glinting. As it swung its beak towards Bree, it also kicked a leg out at Natasha. She wasn't expecting this, and was struck in the chest, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"NATASHA!" Bree screamed, as the bird looked up at her, its beak almost forming what looked like a smile. As it ran towards her, Bree tried to block herself with her arms, preparing to die.

But then, the bird stopped, staggering on the spot, before collapsing. Bree looked up, to see a knife in the back of the mutt's head, with Orren standing behind it.

He walked towards her. "You alright?" He asked.

"Yes... Orren. I'm sorry for how I've behaved recently."

"Don't worry about it!" Orren said. "You're safe, that's the main thing."

"Orren… thank you. You saved my life." Bree said. "Is Natasha ok?

"No worries kid!" Orren said, trying to smile. "And yeah I think so." He looked over. "Looks like Alex is tending to her. It's getting dark anyway, let's see if we can recover some of the luxury prizes before we head back to camp…"

End of day 3! Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you thought!

THE FALLEN

Mimi Laven (D5) Killed by Bluebell Jamison on Day 1

Bluebell Jamison (D1) Killed by Murray Greene on Day 1

Nash Lockhart (D7) Killed by Runyon Greenlaw on Day 1

Karina Carr (D10) Killed by Azalea Tigris on Day 1

Runyon Greenlaw (D2) Killed by Azalea Tigris on Day 1

Morris Wayward Jr (D10) Killed by Alissa Crestwood on Day 1

Paddy Ackerman (D9) Killed by Salton Calder on Day 1

Vern Tillier (D11) Killed by Velour and Shimmer Gemine on Day 1

Fenella Reed (D9) Killed by Mutts on Day 1

Lily Star (D11) Killed by Velour and Shimmer Gemine on Day 2

Velour and Shimmer Gemine (D1) Killed by Lily Star/Suicide on Day 2

Alissa Crestwood (D4) Killed by Azalea Tigris on Day 3.