Day 4, Part I: Desperate Times

Sereina Ampere, 16, District 3 Female.

When she woke up on the morning of her fourth day in the arena, the sky was still stained the color of a feathery raven's wing. She yawned and rolled over onto her side, hoping that she'd be able to go back to sleep again. The more time she was sleeping, the less time she was spending thinking about death, and right now—she'd do almost anything not to think about it.

However, her stomach had other plans. It rumbled louder then claps of thunder, twisting and turning inside her. Sereina had no choice but to submit to her gut's will and eat.

Flicking on a flashlight, she crawled out of her sleeping bag. A chill instantly ran down her spine, and she reached for her jacket. She had forgotten how cold mornings could be.

Shuffling across the dirty floor, she made her way towards her supply stash. It was dwindling, but she still had enough things to last her a few more days. After all, she had taken enough food and water for a week, and today was only day four. She had at least three more days to go before she ran out.

Yet, as she zipped and unzipped the bags, she couldn't find one crumb of food. All the bags were torn open, the contents missing. Puzzled, she stared hungrily at the empty bags, wondering what happened. How had all her food disappeared so quickly?

In the opposite corner of the barn, she heard a high-pitched squeak. Growling, she instantly recognized the sound from her mice-catching days back in her home district. Mice. The mice had eaten all of her food. She should have known better having dealt with them for the past few years of her life. Like her, they were thieves, stealing every morsel and drop they could get their greasy little paws on.

Her stomach rumbled again, and she sighed. If she wanted to eat, she would need to go get food outside. Sifting through a yellow backpack, she pulled out the tattered map of the arena, staring at it sadly in the dim light provided by her lantern. She didn't want to leave, as she was safe here in her booby-trapped barn. Yet, she couldn't stay here forever. She'd starve eventually. There was only one choice: she had to leave in search of food. The question was when.

If she moved as little as possible, she could probably stay here for another week without food. However, she knew the Capitol would coax her out before then anyway. This living situation was only temporary, and she'd have to leave sometime. Now was the best time, when it was still dark and no one could see her from a mile away. Plus, at this time in the morning, everyone was probably still fast asleep.

She slipped a knife she didn't know how to use in her pocket and scanned her map quickly for an area with food near the barn. In the District Eleven area, there was an orchard, and there was bound to be food there. Sereina decided that would be her first stop.

Deactivating the trap on the door, the young girl slid it open and slipped out into the cool night air. She didn't dare turn her flashlight on in case someone was near. For now, she'd have to go in the dark.

Walking across the long grass, something seemed a little bit off. A foul stench hung in the air, and the grass beneath her shoes felt wet. She assumed it was just dew, but when she bent down to tie her shoe, she realized it was coated with crimson blood.

She screamed. Her high-pitched voice echoed through the night, dying slowly as it disappeared into the chilly breeze. There was blood on her foot. Someone else's blood. Her gut was telling her to turn back—to run into hiding like she'd been doing for the past few days. But something else told her to keep walking; what if she didn't get another chance to get food? She kept going, her fingers tightly wrapped around the knife.

"Eris, is that you? You sound a little bit more feminine then I remember," a voice chuckled above her head. Sereina jumped in surprise, letting out another scream.

Her entire body began to shake, and her face turned white as freshly fallen snow. There was someone above her. Flicking on her flashlight, she angled it above her head and saw the dangling body of one of the careers trapped in her net.

"Oh, hello there," the boy greeted. Sereina's eyes widened. She hadn't expected her trap to actually catch someone, let alone a career who could kill her with one swipe of his sword.

"H—hi," Sereina stuttered, her entire body trembling like an earthquake. He can't hurt you. He can't hurt you, she repeated in her head. Looking down, she saw a blood coated sword lying in the grass. She screamed again. This day was just getting worse and worse.

Sereina didn't know what to do. She couldn't kill the boy—she didn't even know how to use a knife, let alone a sword or a bow that would do real damage. However, she couldn't let him go either, or he'd kill her the second she let him free. The only thing she could do was stare in awe that her trap actually worked.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you staring was impolite?" Alaric inquired, blinking at Sereina.

She glanced at him with a puzzled expression. "Uh—I guess so?"

In the distance, the sky was beginning to turn a purplish hue. She needed to hurry if she wanted to get the food and get back to her hideout by dawn. She looked up at the tangled boy once more before flicking off her flashlight and continuing on in the direction of the orchard.

"Wait!" He yelled at her. "You aren't going to kill me?"

"No," she replied, turning back in his direction.

"Are you going to let me down then?" He asked.

"No."

"Then what are you going to do, just leave me hanging here until I starve to death?"

"Yes."

Sereina turned back in the direction of the orchard. She started off again, her knife gripped tightly in her hand.

"Wait!" The boy called again, his tone urgent.

"What?" She asked, turning back to him. This was getting a bit annoying.

"I have a proposition for you," the boy declared.

"Well, whatever it is, the answer is no," Sereina replied. "I don't trust you."

"Just hear me out."

"Fine."

"If you cut me down, we can be allies," he proposed. "I watched you during training, and you basically sucked at everything, no offense. You need me in order to survive."

Seriena raised an eyebrow at him. "Insulting others isn't a good way to make friends," she retorted, a bit hurt that he made fun of her right to her face.

"Well it's true," Alaric replied. "I don't like telling lies. You were bad with a knife, and you failed the edible plants test like five different times. I can help you with all that. I trained for two years. I know which plants are edible and which ones aren't, and I certainly know how to use a knife. I can protect you."

Sereina scowled at him. "I can protect myself, thank you very much."

"By doing what?" Alaric asked. "Hiding until the games end? You need to fight at some point, and I can help you with that. I'll teach you some of my tricks."

"What tricks?" She retorted angrily. "Like how to get caught in a trap? I'm pretty sure I don't want that one."

"Fiesty," the career chuckled. "You already have the first quality that makes you a good fighter."

Sereina rolled her eyes, turning away from the boy in the net. "The answer is no," she replied. "You only need me to cut you down, and then after that, there is no use to the partnership anymore. You'll kill me."

Beginning to walk away, the boy called after her time and time again. However, she didn't turn back. She knew better than to trust someone as desperate as he was.

Lux Ward, 14, District 5 Female.

She wondered if anyone would miss her when she was gone.

Through the towering pine trees, the sun was slowly rising. It peaked out from the horizon line, illuminating the sky a variety of colors. Pinks, yellows, scarlets, oranges tainted what was once black, putting on a display for her tired eyes. If she wasn't bleeding out of her neck, maybe she would've had time to take in its beauty. Or not. She never liked to watch the sunrise back in Five, anyway.

Small goosebumps littered her pale skin, and in the dim light, she watched her shallow breaths leave her mouth and disappear into the air like smoke rising out of a chimney in the dead of winter. Her ripped clothes did little to protect her from the frigid air. What she needed was a fleece blanket, but what she had was nothing. If only she hadn't pushed her allies too hard—then maybe...

Maybe nothing. Lux didn't dwell on the past, she never did. Her decisions were the only things she had when she was stripped of everything else, and she'd stand by them until she died. Her choice to volunteer for the games may have been impulsive, but at least she had been in control of her own destiny. She wasn't going to wait until she worked herself to death in some factory in five anyway because that's what was going to happen if she stood back and did nothing. This way, at least she got to taste the capitol's food, be paraded around like a prize-winning horse and adored for once in her life. Back at home no one ever paid her any mind. No one ever showed her any love or kindness, they just looked at her like a she was a nameless body that could work for pennies a day; a body that could easily be replaced with the snap a finger in a single second. She was a nobody, unimportant to everyone but herself.

At least here, if she died in the games, someone would remember her. It didn't matter if she was the villain or the hero. She just wanted someone to see that she was something more than a measly factory worker, someone to see her value: her worth. That was all she wanted. Winning would have been an added bonus, a luxury that girls like her never got. She should have known better than to get cocky. People like her—nobodies—they had nothing to be cocky about.

The tips of the leaves shimmered gold in the early morning sun like jewels on a queen's crown. She thought of her parents, dead in a grave somewhere, stripped of the precious gold and jewels they killed themselves over. Lux, for the first time in her life, envied them.

At least they had each other's love. She had nothing, no blankets, no gold, no allies, no kindness, and no one to tell her that she was worth more than all of that combined.

Arilli Carr, 15, District 12 Female.

She walked through a city of steel and abandoned train cars with tracks going nowhere, the sun slowly rising in the sky. The morning had been a chilly one, but it was slowly getting warmer, and the frost on the roofs of some of the buildings was beginning to disappear. She thought she heard footsteps behind her, but when she whipped around, there was only an empty street filled with an eerie silence.

"Cinder?" She squeaked, her voice echoing off the grey buildings. There was no response. She hoped there would be. After what had happened last night, she expected that Cinder would turn on Lux and come and join her. Yet, there had been no cannon after she had fled. Most likely, they hadn't split, and Lux's grip on Cinder had only tightened.

However, Cinder had saved her. He turned on Lux to save her. That meant he still had some allegiance to her, whatever that was. He cared about her enough to warn her; he didn't want her to die. For Arilli, that was enough to get her through the night. He didn't think she was a monster like everyone else did.

Turning around, she continued to walk along the empty street. On the sides of them, next to the steel buildings standing as still as giant statues, cars were parked. Like everything else in the vicinity, they were empty and abandoned. Arilli felt a chill run down her spine. This place was eerie.

A few minutes later, she heard another pair of footsteps on the pavement. Whipping around, there was no one again, only skeletons of cars and still buildings. Her fingers traced the grip of her knife, yet she didn't take it out of her pocket. Her breathing quickened.

You're just hearing things, she told herself, turning around again. However, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched, a pair of eyes locked on her. It's just the cameras, they are everywhere, she tried to convince herself. It didn't work.

Even as she left the city, the feeling of being followed remained. She hoped it was Cinder, yet she knew it wasn't. Cinder wouldn't be sneaky like that, if he wanted to align with her he'd walk right up to her and say it. It had to be someone else.

It wasn't the careers either, they'd go straight for her if they spotted her. She wasn't a threat to them; they could take her down easy. And it couldn't be Jaxs, he and Cinder were attached at the hip like the twins from three. Who couldn't be following her either, their face had grassed the star-dotted sky a few nights prior.

That meant it was either the girl from three, the pair from six, the girl from seven, the girl from eight, or Lux. She hoped it wasn't the latter, but if it was, Arilli wouldn't miss the opportunity to kill her again.

Lux had taken everything from her, and now, she'd return the favor. An ally for a life. It didn't seem like a fair trade, but then again, life wasn't fair. If it was, she wouldn't be here.

No one would.

Raleigh Travers, 16, District 6 Male.

"We should have left earlier," Celeste muttered, glancing at the purplish-red sky. "The careers are probably up by now."

"Nah," Raleigh replied. "They're careers, and they live the life of luxury in the arena. All the food they can eat, plush pillows, warm sleeping bags. I'm guessing they probably sleep until noon."

Celeste nodded her head, yet didn't look convinced. "And are you sure they are going to be at the cornucopia? What if their camp is somewhere else?"

Raleigh rolled his eyes, giving his ally a comforting pat on the shoulder. "They are always at the cornucopia. Why would this year be any different? You need to stop worrying Celeste. Everything will work itself out in the end, okay?"

"Okay," Celeste responded, yet she didn't sound too convinced.

"Confidence, remember?" He grinned at her.

Grinning back, she nodded her head more forcefully this time. "Right, confidence."

They were in the orchard again, their pace swift with the hope that they'd reach the cornucopia before the sun had made its full ascent into the sky. Raleigh gripped his newly gifted spear in his hand tightly, his fingers wrapped around its wooden handle. This money wasn't going to go to waste; he was going to make his mentor proud.

Then, a few yards away, he saw a faint silhouette of a figure by one of the orange trees. They were picking low-hanging fruit of the tree, plopping it into some sort of sac they clutched in their hand.

"Look," Celeste whispered, pointing to the figure. Apparently, she had seen it too, for she was now tightly gripping her spear, ready to attack.

Raleigh nodded his head. As they got closer, he recognized the figure to be the girl from District Three. She looked weak—her limbs thin and her face pale. He and Celeste could win this fight handily.

"Celeste, I think we should attack," Raleigh blurted out.

"Why?" His ally asked, her eyes going wide. "She didn't do anything wrong—she's just picking fruit. I bet she wouldn't hurt us, so why should we hurt her?"

"We need to take out the competition," Raleigh replied. "The fewer tributes left—the better our chances of winning become."

"But she didn't do anything wrong!" Celeste protested. "She's innocent! And what if she's a good fighter? She got a seven in training for some reason, maybe she just wanted everyone to think she's weak on purpose, so they'd underestimate her like we are doing!"

Raleigh stopped, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Celeste, remember, no what-ifs. Confidence."

His ally shut her eyes tight, taking a deep breath in. "Confidence," she repeated, blinking them open. "Confidence. You can do it, Celeste. Just don't think about it. You can do it. You need to kill people if you want to win, she'd understand. She'd probably do the same thing to you if she were in your spot. Have confidence."

Raleigh nodded his head, ducking into the tall grass at the base of the rows of trees. Slowly, he and Celeste made their way forward as silently as possible. Sereina continued to pick her fruit, still oblivious to their presence.

Shuffling through the underbrush, the pair grew closer to their target. Then, when they were only a few feet away, Raleigh launched his spear at the girl. It soared through the air, hitting her shoulder with a silent thud. She let out a frightened shriek, stumbling backward and clutching her shoulder that was now oozing with shimmering blood.

Celeste then threw her spear at the girl, yet her aim wasn't as good as Raleigh's. It soared inches above Sereina's head and hit the tree behind her, digging into its rigid bark. Raleigh swore under his breath. That was all they had. What now?

Sereina, now alerted to where the pair was hiding, dropped her bag of oranges and began to run in the opposite direction. A trail of blood followed behind her, dripping from her impaled shoulder.

"Get the spear," he instructed Celeste. "I'll go after her."

Breaking into a sprint, Raleigh followed the trail of blood that Sereina was leaving in her wake. Normally, he was the one being chased, whether it was by the careers or the authorities back at home. It felt weird that he was on the other end now, the chaser instead of the chased.

Raleigh had no trouble catching up to the injured Sereina. When he was about a foot or so behind her he leaped into the air, tackling her to the ground. She let out another frightened shriek as their bodies thumped against the hard earth, bones cracking.

With a swift tug, he easily pulled his spear out of her shoulder. She was screaming and thrashing beneath him, trying desperately to get free. However, with her thin frame and little muscle, she had no luck, Raleigh's weight keeping her grounded. Blood was everywhere—on Serina's shoulder, on their clothes, on the tip of the spearhead, and all over Raleigh's hands. He thought he was going to be sick.

Holding her head down with one hand, Raleigh hovered the spearhead above her neck with the other. Sereina still wasn't giving up, screaming and kicking. Raleigh felt something hard hit his back, yet he didn't release his grip on her head. This was going to end now.

"Don't kill me! Please! I never did anything wrong to you!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs. Celeste had arrived now and was holding the girl's legs down so she couldn't kick him any longer.

"Raleigh, I'm not so sure about this," Celeste muttered, though Raleigh could barely hear her over Sereina's desperate screams. "She's just a kid."

"We're all just kids," Raleigh growled, pressing the spear down on her neck. Just a bit more pressure and he'd break the skin, and he'd be one more step closer to winning.

"But she didn't do anything wrong!" Celeste protested.

"And neither did we!" Raleigh retorted, pressing down harder. He was beginning to draw blood, which only made the girl scream louder.

"Please, don't kill me! I can help you!" Sereina pleaded.

"Oh yeah?" Raleigh asked. "The only way you'd be able to help us is if you know how to take down the careers."

"I can! Please! I swear I can!" She yelped loudly.

Raleigh raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. If she knew how to take down the careers—she could be of aid to them and worth their time. However, she was probably just saying anything to buy herself another second of life.

"How?" He asked, intrigued.

"I—I caught one of them this morning, he's in my trap!" She declared. "If—if you let me live, I can show you!"

Raleigh released his hold on her neck. Although it was very likely that she was lying, there was also a small chance that she was telling the truth. After all, she had to have gotten a seven in training for some reason, perhaps making traps was it. And if he wanted to win, he needed to take chances. This was one of them.

Raleigh slid off of her, giving her the chance to stand up. However, as soon as she did, she lunged forwards, trying to make a break for it. His reflexes were quick though, and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

He pointed his spear at her nose. She let out a squeak, her eyes widening.

"If you are lying, you're dead as a doornail," he growled.

"Raleigh!" Celeste yelped.

"I mean it," he hissed at Sereina. "If he's not there, I'll kill you before you have a chance to even cry out for help."

"O—okay," Sereina stuttered, her eyes still as wide as a child's. Then, the three of them set off together, the sky now stained the same shade as the blood that coated Sereina's shoulder and Raleigh's spear. The same shade of the blood that ran through his veins; a shade that he knew he'd have to see again before the games came to an end.

Tesserae Bird, 15, District 6 Female.

If she wasn't in the Hunger Games, maybe she could have pretended that she was a little kid again, making an angel in the thick snow.

Only this snow was black. Buried in a field of dark ash, she lay on the ground: unmoving. Her blistered body coated in oozing burns was strewn out on the ground like an old and tattered rug that should have been thrown out long ago. Her long hair was knotted and glazed with a thick layer of soot. Stained crimson with pain, she could see nothing but red.

Sometime last night, she had fallen down and hadn't bothered to get back up. It felt better laying here; standing wasted too much energy and resulted in too much agony. Her swollen feet hurt too much anyway. The rest of her body still felt like it was ablaze, a raging fire burning her skin for the rest of eternity. Was this what hell felt like? She didn't know.

A long time ago, she would have screamed. Now she no longer could, her voice dry and absent. Last night she cried and yelped for someone—anyone—to come save her. No one did. Maybe it was karma's way of paying her back for not saving Gadget and Gizmo when she had the chance. They cried and yelped for someone, anyone, to come save them. She had the chance, but she chose not to.

Now, there was no one left to save her.

She didn't regret it though, not even for a single second. She wished she did; she wished she could have regretted not saving the twins or Grace or the people at the bloodbath whose names she had never even bothered to learn. It would have been better that way if she regretted it; it would have shown that somewhere inside her, even if she was a coward, she was still a selfless one. She could pretend she was sorry, but what difference would that make? The only person she would be fooling would be herself.

Not saving her fellow tributes had bought her a few more days of life, and right now, that was all she cared about. In the last few days, she had come to realize that the only thing that she feared more than being a selfish coward was death. Her whole life she had convinced herself that if she was nice in this world, she would be rewarded handsomely in the next. But what if there was no next? What if there was only one world? What if she only had one shot to play the game of life? That was what scared her the most, a lifeless dark after death.

"Please," she croaked to a camera in one of the debris latent buildings beside her. Apparently, her voice hadn't completely forsaken her yet. "I don't want to die."

No response. She felt herself beginning to slip into a black unconsciousness.

"Please," she repeated, her tone slightly more urgent. "Don't let me die."

Only silence. She let out a whimper no louder than a that of a mouse, weak at best.

"I'll do anything, anything!" She pleaded, finding one last ounce of energy deep inside her that she thought was long gone. "If you let me live, I'll do whatever you want! I'll steal, I'll be mean, I'll even kill if I have to! Please, send me something, anything to help me, and I'll do whatever you want! I just don't want to die!"

A cool wind whistled in response, sending ashes twirling through the air like black snowflakes. Tesserae winced as they fell on her blistered skin, sending sharp pains shooting through her nerves.

"Please," she whimpered, her red stained vision beginning to fade to black. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on before submitting to the painless darkness that encircled her. "I don't want to die."

The camera didn't move, staring at her blankly. Instantly, she knew that no one was coming to save her. It didn't matter how loud she cried or what words she bargained with; nothing would work. She was alone, and there was no choice left but to submit to the ever-expanding darkness that was eating her alive.

Tesserae decided that in the face of death, heroes didn't exist. Even those who pretended that they were one-hundred percent brave or one-hundred percent selfless weren't. Despite thinking that they bleed gold, too pure for this world and too good to be corrupted by its sins, they bleed red like everyone else. There were no heroes.

At the end, there were only cowards, too afraid to save those that needed them most and too pathetic to even save themselves.

Eris Valliano, 18, District 1 Male.

When he returned to the cornucopia, he found it empty. All the supplies had vanished, and with it, whoever had taken them. He was alone in an empty square with no allies, little supplies, and no medicine for his wounds.

"Shit," he swore under his breath. How could he have been so ignorant as to leave it unguarded for days at a time? He should have known better. It seemed that that was a theme for these games. He should have known better than to let Lena take control of the alliance; he should have known better than to let Albert out of his sight for one measly second, and he should have known better than to let his guard down and trust the snake that was Alaric.

The city square was quiet save for a fountain bubbling on one of the far ends, near a glass building that stretched endlessly into the sky. Eris sighed, placing his blood-soaked sword on the hot pavement and heading over to the fountain. If nothing else, he could at least wash up before heading out again in search of a tribute to kill and take their supplies.

His skin and clothes were still stained with crimson blood from the wolf attack the previous night. When Alaric had abandoned him like a coward, Eris was left to fight three wolves alone. He had barely made it out with his life, scratches, and wounds festering from his body as reminders of the attack and betrayal of his ally. It made his nostrils flare just thinking about it.

At least Alaric was getting what he deserved. Killing him would be too decent a death for a coward like himself. No, Eris had to let him suffer. Right now, he was probably starving, thirsty, uncomfortable, and half-dead from all the blood he lost over the past few hours. Eris found himself smiling as he took off his red socks and torn-up shoes.

Then, he stepped into the shallow pool of water at the base of the fountain. A cloud of red blood surrounded his foot before slowly dispersing to the rest of the pool. The water was a clear pinkish hue now, like a baby girl's clothes or a blooming flower in spring. He sighed, bending down and slowly easing the rest of his cut and bruised body into the shallow pool.

By the time everything but his head was submerged, the water had turned scarlet. It shimmered in the bright midday sun, reminding Eris of Lena's decapitated body, Albert swimming in a pool of blood, and a new addition to the list: Alaric's twisted body tangled in a net, drops of red falling right into the mouth of a hungry wolf barking below.

Then, as soon as it had come it had passed, and his hatred for those that had wronged him returned.

It's nothing, he told himself, only half believing his own words.

Jaxs Williamson, 18, District 5 Male.

"We're free!" Cinder giggled, running across the sandy strip of beach. "Free at last!"

Jaxs smiled, watching as his ally twirled and skipped around like an energetic child who had been cooped up for his entire life. Picking up grains of sand, he tossed them into the air like confetti at a birthday party. They fluttered back down to the earth, dancing through the air.

After what had happened yesterday, they decided to head back to the beach where they had spent their first night. Jaxs and Cinder vowed to do everything that they had wanted to do in the past few days, especially things that Lux had said no to originally. That included swimming in the ocean, which Lux had been furious about Jaxs even bringing up a few nights prior.

Slipping off his shirt, Jaxs threw it onto the sandy ground. Cinder was still running around like a crazed maniac; however, Jaxs didn't stop him. After all, they were free now. They could do whatever they wanted, including running around a beach half-naked like a deranged lunatic.

"Freedom!" Jaxs roared, launching himself towards the water. He ripped across the sand, his feet tearing grains of sand into the air behind him. Then, when he was inches away from the lapping waves, he flung himself into the air, his body sailing towards the crystal blue ocean.

However, as soon as the tips of his toes slid into the clear liquid, he let out a scream. "Cold! Cold! Cold!" He yelped as his feet and part of his legs became submerged. The water lapped up against his skin, sending a shooting pain through his nerves. It was as if he'd just surrounded himself with frozen ice.

Instantly, he turned around and ran the other way. "It's cold! It's cold!" He screamed, sprinting back towards the warm, golden sand. How could the water be so cold, but at the same time, feel like fire? He didn't know.

Within seconds, he reached the warm sand once more. However, it only burned his feet further, the temperature difference sending sharp and shooting pains up his legs. "It hurts! It hurts!" He was screaming now. Cinder had stopped flinging sand in all directions and now was running towards him, and concerned expression plastered on his face.

"Jaxs!" He yelped, grabbing his friend's hand. "What happened?"

"The water was freezing," Jaxs whimpered, his feet beginning to feel a bit better now. His feet were beginning to adjust to the temperature of the sand—or rather, his feet had gone numb with pain. "I thought it would be warm."

Squinting his eyes, Cinder turned towards the shimmering ocean waters. "Well, you can't always read a book by its cover," he murmured. "The water does look warm, but you don't always know. Next time you should try it out before diving right into it."

Sighing, Jaxs nodded his head. Before now, he'd always had people to make decisions for him; they always tested things about before he did them. He had never had to try anything for himself. It was weird, having freedom like this. He didn't know if he liked it.

"Okay," Jaxs replied, nodding his head. "I'll try it out next time. Cinder gave him a weak smile, squeezing his hand.

"Do you need anything?" His ally asked, worry shimmering in his eyes.

Jaxs shook his head, watching as grey and white seagulls soared overhead. "I'm fine now, it was just a bit shocking is all." Then, he felt his lips curve into a smile.

"So, what's next on our list?" Jaxs asked.

Cinder giggled. "Eating all the food Lux told us was off limits!"

"Great, I was getting hungry anyway," he replied. "So, chef Cinder, what's on the menu?"

Celeste Agreste, 16, District 7 Female.

There was only silence as they walked.

The long prairie grass swayed in the morning breeze, tickling at Celeste's ankles. It was brisk but not too frigid, the temperature common to mid-spring and early fall when it was neither too hot nor cold. It reminded her of walking to school with her sister, a thin coat clinging to her arms. Sometimes they'd race, other times they'd just talk. She would have been laughing then, but not here.

Even Raleigh couldn't make her laugh here.

Sereina whimpered as her ally dragged the poor girl along, heading towards the tree she told them Alaric was dangling off of. She could see it in the distance, poking out of the green grass.

"So, Sereina, do you have anyone at home you want to see again?" Celeste asked, breaking the silence. She'd always hated silence; it frightened her more than anything else. If she was talking maybe she could pretend she was a little less afraid. Her own voice comforted her, it was a familiar in an arena full of the unknown.

The girl grunted. "I'll tell you if you let me go."

Raleigh snorted. "Nice try, Tiny," he chuckled. "I don't trust you for a second."

Celeste sighed. Despite what her ally thought, she didn't think Raleigh's tight grip on Sereina's wrist was necessary. In her state, Sereina couldn't get far if she tried to run. Plus, they were the ones with the weapons. Making a break for it would mean death for the girl, Celeste knew that. And Sereina was probably smart enough to know that too if she made it this far.

"I don't like being called Tiny," Sereina growled through gritted teeth.

"Then what do you want to be called? Shortie? Mouse? Squirt?" Raleigh asked, probably trying to be funny. However, neither of them laughed. After his joke, there was only silence. Celeste shuttered.

"I'd prefer to be called Sereina, thanks," she replied coolly. "Unless you want me to call you Moron, then I'd be okay if you called me Tiny."

Raleigh growled, tightening his grip on Sereina's wrist. "Watch your mouth," he hissed. She let out a frightened whimper, wincing. "Who is the one with the weapons here?"

"You," she squeaked weakly. Celeste looked away. She didn't need to see that.

They were nearing the tree now, only a few hundred yards away. However, something didn't look right. Sereina had said she had caught the career in the net, but as far as she could see, there was no net. The leaves of the tree undulated in the breeze, beckoning them closer. She held her breath, taking another reluctant step.

They continued on. When they were a good hundred or so feet away, Celeste heard Sereina gasp. She instantly felt her stomach drop. What's going on?

"What's going on?" Raleigh asked, echoing her thoughts. He squinted his eyes to try to see what Sereina was shocked about. However, Celeste already knew.

The net was empty, and the career had escaped.

That was if there had ever been one there in the first place.

Sereina screamed, her voice filling Celeste's ears, ringing like a church bell again and again, and again. They bounced the inside of her head, hitting different objects like a ball in a pinball machine. One hundred. Two hundred. Three hundred. The points kept racking up, and when she thought on the ball had fallen through the gate, another appeared. Then another. It didn't stop, the screams never leaving.

Maybe silence wasn't the scariest thing there was. At the end of the day, it wouldn't be the silence: the pauses between words, the periods in between sentences, the gaps between conversations that she'd remember. It'd be the screams.

A/N: Sorry that took so long, I had a bit of writer's block for a few of the sections, but I'm back now! Another long chapter should be worth the wait, I hope. This is my last update for 2017, so I guess happy new year to everyone, and with that, have a nice 2018. I hope you like that cliffhanger, and I'll leave you pondering what happened to Alaric and where he is.

The poll is still open, if anyone wants to know. The two people in first and last don't surprise me one bit, honestly. If that gives you a hint :)

11th: Tesserae Bird, District 6 Female. Killed by untreated burns.

Tesserae, you were an amazing tribute! I loved you so much, and you were such a cool character with your whole selfless rebel tesserae thing. I wanted to see how far your selflessness would go though, and I really enjoyed writing your arc, because as you said, I don't think anyone is 100% of anything. Everyone has grey, and I think you and your journey through the games really showed that, and I hope I didn't spoil her by making her a bit selfish at the end. Really, I just didn't think the capitol would let her die a martyr, and they had to ruin her somewhat to show that no one is stronger then them, even rebels like Grace and Tesserae. In the end, they broke her, and I think that was the most realistic way for her to go. You could never win due to the nature of being a rebel, but I had so much fun writing you and bringing you to life! FlyingHamburgerRider, I hope you enjoyed her journey and I hope you are happy with her placement! 11th is awesome!

Alliances:

Freedom is Sweet: Jaxs, Cinder

Tree Huggers: Raleigh, Celeste

Loners: Eris, Alaric, Sereina, Lux, Grace, Arilli

paper :)