Attila Attard, D1

Nassor had barely said a word since we allied. He'd insisted on taking care of preparing food and gathering water, and he was always up at the crack of dawn to tidy our camp and get things ready for the day.

"What are you, a butler?" I finally asked, and he flinched a little.

"I just want to be a good ally," he said.

"I allied with you because I wanted an ally, not to trick you into thinking you were safe. I wouldn't have wasted all this time if I wanted to kill you," I said. He finally seemed to believe me, and he relaxed. He'd been knocking himself out trying to please me, and I kept telling him everything was fine. On the bright side, we had a great camp because of it. Nassor had designed and constructed a tripod-like shelter made of branches that interlocked so they all held each other steady, and we covered it with banana leaves. He'd placed a fire pit in the right spot so the air vented out and he made a spit so we could cook food. We were as comfortable as we could be outside the Cornucopia.

As far as it could be in the Arena, life was good. With the Careers, I'd always been suspicious and I couldn't ever trust them. I didn't have to worry about Nassor, and if I ever did worry, I could take him easily. The Arena was gorgeous, and I liked to sit outside and listen to all the birds as Nassor cooked or boiled water. We couldn't figure out how to make throwing knives out of wood, but we'd made a pair of spears. I sometimes caught birds or furry rodents. Nassor wasn't as lucky, but there were tons of fruit trees for him to shake or throw rocks at.

If things worked out, I wouldn't have to kill anyone else, but I knew it wouldn't be that easy. I'd hoped we'd be able to wait until everyone starved, but then I'd realized food was just as easy for them to find, too. The Career girls would take care of all they could, but they'd be looking for us as they did. I'd either have to fight them after everyone else was gone, or I'd have to fight them when they found us. Secretly, I hoped they'd take care of Nassor. I didn't want to kill anyone else, but a Career was easier. We all knew what we signed on for, and I knew they'd want to die by a fellow Career. We tended to be a pretentious lot.

Yara Warsaw, D12

It was raining again. It was only a fine, misty sort of rain, so it wasn't that bad. It made rolls of mist that hung in the air and moved like clouds, and the air had a lovely wet smell. A red and yellow bird hopped up and down a branch when I poked my head out of our shelter to greet the day. We still had three coconuts, and even though they were small and didn't have much water inside, we'd been getting by.

"How's it going?" I asked Niko, who was by the river trying to spear a fish.

"I caught one," he said. He said it like he should have done better, but the fish he showed me looked very yummy.

"I'll get some water to clean it," I said. I took half a coconut and walked to edge of the river. With all the rain, the river was even thicker. If it got much bigger, we'd have to move our camp back a few feet.

As I waded into the very edge of the river, a fish darted past my leg. I jumped in surprise and lost my balance, pitching forward into the water. Suddenly, the water was deeper than my head, and it pounded at me with more force than I thought possible. I shot down the river with frightening speed, and the half coconut was knocked from my grasp and floated by me.

"Nassor!" I cried as I swept past him. He dropped his spear and lunged at me, grasping for my outstretched hand. We missed by half a foot and the water shoved me past him in a heartbeat.

I tried to put my feet down and stand up, but the water sucked my limbs ahead of me and knocked me facedown in the water. I splashed at the surface as I tried to right myself, and soon I was tumbling like a leaf. It was hard to tell which way I was going, and I breathed in snatches, afraid I would suck in water mid-breath. When I was above the water, I tried to see which was it was to shore, but even when I could see, I couldn't make any headway against the current.

The river was even deeper now. The light filtering in from above the surface was just enough that I could see snatches of sky, but I couldn't control which way I turned. I started to take in water as well as air as I gasped, and the air was getting farther away. I could see the light above the water, dancing on the turgid surface. It sparkled as I reached for it. Someone once told me drowning was the least painful way to die. As far as I could see, it was also one of the prettiest.

Jayden Chadsey, D1

"Girl power forever," I noted wryly. Gator and Attila ditched us on day one. Hero straight up died, so I couldn't blame him for that. He was the only one I really missed. Attila seemed like an okay guy, but he didn't have the eye of the tiger. Gator was a circus clown. It was me, Chrome, and Eren for the Careers this year. It was too bad about the boys, but I was confident we could make up for it.

Chrome was guarding the supplies, leaving me and Eren to hunt. She preferred to use an axe, but that had so far proven beyond our primitive weapon-making capabilities, so she'd had to settle for a spear in the meantime. I had the brass knuckles someone had helpfully sent me, so we were covered for short and long distances. We'd been having a hard time finding Tributes in the dense undergrowth, so it had been a less than stellar showing as yet. I wasn't sure who was responsible for the cannon before the sun set, but it wasn't us.

At night, we had a huge advantage. There were night-vision glasses in the Cornucopia. If we were careful enough not to be heard, we were indetectable as we hunted. We stalked the darkness like a pair of cats, searching for any sign of the hiding prey.

Later, I couldn't have told what made Eren turn around. We didn't see anything, and we didn't hear anything. Maybe she smelled something. In any case, I felt her shift. I turned to follow her movement and saw two huge, green eyes coming at us like a lightning bolt.

Eren threw the instant before the leopard reached her. It landed on her, knocking her flat and screaming at the spear in its stomach. Her spear, painstakingly whittled from a stick, wasn't nearly enough to stop an animal that size. The leopard struck at Eren's throat. She crooked her arm across her throat and the leopard hunched forward as it mauled her.

It might have been smarter to leave her, but I was what I was. I ran to the cat and punched it full force in the eye with my brass knuckles. It spat out Eren's arm and spat at me, then shot forward and bit my leg. I toppled backwards, punching it on the way down. Eren leaped up and kicked it right where the spear hit, then grabbed the broken shaft and gouged at the cat's other eye. The leopard screamed and jumped back, dropping my leg. It turned a flexibly as a snake and darted away, disappearing in a flash.

Eren and I didn't even bother with useless questions. We were busted up something fierce. We had to get back to the Cornucopia immediately.

Eren Lindell, D4

Jayden and I were leaning against each other when we stumbled back to the Cornucopia. We forgot to give the signal, and Chrome came out with her bow aimed before she saw who it was.

"Did you two kill a bear?" she asked, dropping the bow and running to our aid.

"It was a leopard, and we didn't kill it," I said. I was glad for that. It was a beautiful animal, and it was just being a leopard.

"It didn't kill us either," Jayden bragged. "We got antiseptic, right?" Chrome opened a first aid kit and dumped its contents on the ground.

"Let me get that," she said, holding a tube of antiseptic by my arm.

"I can do it," I said. I took the tube and started applying it to my arm. It didn't look great. With the flashlights at the Cornucopia, I could clearly see the inch-wide gashes in my arm that laid bare muscle and a peek of bone. I held my breath as I smeared the cream on my arm. It would keep the wound clean as well as stabilize it as it healed, but the Capitol hadn't gotten rid of the awful sting yet. It was like pouring lemon juice on the raw flesh.

I wrapped a bandage around my arm and watched as Chrome helped Jayden patch up the hole in her leg. I felt silly for getting mad at Chrome when she tried to help. I hadn't wanted to owe anyone anything, but that was useless here. None of us would ever owe each other. We all wanted to kill each other in the end. If Chrome helped me, it was because she thought it would help her somehow.

"So you two fought a leopard. Wish I could have seen it," Chrome said.

Yeah, we did fight a leopard, I thought. Looking back, it had to have been five feet long. Cats that size could eat a man no problem. We didn't kill it, but it thought twice about messing with us. I was serious business. Maybe I could stop thinking about how long I could last and start thinking about winning. It was a serious thought, and it made me want to stop joking around. I could seriously win.

15th place: Yara Warsaw- drowned

I needed to kill some girls to even things out. Yara was going to die eventually, so I picked her. I try to include some natural deaths, and in a rainforest Arena, rivers can be treacherous. I gave her a less brutal death because she was young and sweet. I didn't look forward to killing her, and it feels too soon even though it's almost halfway through. Thanks you to Coruscanti for Yara. You all know by now I have a soft spot for young Tributes. Unlike most SYOT authors, I DO permit people younger than Finnick to win, just because I want to give everyone a chance. Yara was a unique young Tribute who wasn't just cute or spunky. She was sensitive and responsible, and she would have made a lovely woman.