Here we go, Day 7. It's been exactly one week since the tributes were first dropped off in the arena...let's see what kind of effects that will have on them.

Harper Winthrop, 15
District 8 Female Tribute

Things hadn't been the best between Thessaly and I. We were having a few more arguments than usual. While it was clear we weren't gonna be the best of friends, I wasn't ready to break apart the alliance just yet. I had to admit, having an ally made me feel a little more safer.

I could tell our day would be off to a bad start when we heard screaming. I couldn't quite place the voice, but the sound was horrible. Even Thessaly was surprised, but she gripped her spear and steadily crept towards the shouts. I followed after her.
What we saw was probably one of the worst sights ever. A mauled, bloodied, tired Caxton, hanging next to Valkner, who just chuckled and reached for his mace, covered in Caxton's blood.

"I may not like either of them, but this is just nuts," Thessaly hissed. "We better do something."
"Do what?" I asked in a low voice. "You want me to kill them? I can't. And if Valkner sees us, we're dead meat."
"Well..." Thessaly was lost in thought for a few seconds. "...okay, I have a plan."

"What is it?" I was all ears. Caxton had started screaming in pain again and I really wanted it to stop. "What do we do?"
"You need to distract Valkner for me. I don't care how. I'm sure you'll find a way. Direct his attention from Caxton onto you. In the meantime, I'll cut the poor guy free and then we escape. Everything will be fine. Caxton will just die off of injuries anyways. Better for him."

It sounded mean to rescue someone just to let them die, but Thessaly was right. Better to let Caxton have a final moment of peace then to leave him in Valkner's cruel clutches. I took a deep breath then confidentially stored over.
Valkner seemed surprised, but managed to cover it up. "Oh, look what we have here. Fresh meat."
"Can it buddy. I'm not here to hurt you or anything, but cut Caxton down. Now." My voice was firm, but I was a little nervous.

"Oh, silly tribute. I don't think you understand how it works with me. I'll only let him down when he's dead."
"Dead.." Caxton muttered, in a mid-conscious state. "Dead...it's better to be dead..." It was clear he couldn't understand what was happening or what Valkner would do to him next.
"Don't you understand? You're hurting him! This...this is horrible! Evil! How could you be so cruel to another human being!?"

"Cruel?" Valkner's grin was unlike any other I had seen before. "Oh, I'll show you cruel."
With that, he shot his hand out and his cold fingers wrapped around my throat.

Valkner Stross, 18
District 3 Male Tribute

The 8 girl squealed in horror as I tightened my grip. She stumbled backwards and tumbled over; I jumped on top of her. I tightened my grip on her as I reached for my axe. It was lying in the mud and it didn't much effort to pick up with my free hand.
"Stop squirming," I sneered. "It will only hurt more if you keep moving."

"You...you let me go...right NOW-"
Her cries were silenced when I brought the axe blade down on her neck. It took a second try before she finally went still and a cannon sounded.
BOOM!
Caxton had gotten a good view of the whole scene. He let out a shriek of terror and starting thrashing around, hoping to break free as fast as possible. He now had a good idea of what his near future would contain.

"Where are you going?" I chuckled. "I'm not done with you just yet."
"Too bad," someone replied, a completely new person. They sounded like they were behind me. "Because I think you've done enough."

I spun around. The girl from 5 shot her hand forward and her spear was sent through my body. A bloody, gory mess. She yanked it free and my legs felt weak, forcing me to fall over.
All I could do was lie on the muddy ground, turning red as blood continued to trickle from my body. I could hear her managing to get Caxton down from my trap. Great. Now I'd never get to finish him off.

I slowly drew my hand to my mouth and spit the thick blood into the palms of my hands, then watched as it dripped. It felt as if I was not myself, but one of those many boys I spent day and night torturing. This was what their breaking point might've felt like.

I may have not finished off Caxton, but it was interesting to see myself get finished off instead.
BOOM!

Caxton Beel II, 17
District 12 Male Tribute

Where was I?
I wasn't hanging upside down anymore. I was lying against a tree. Someone blurry was sitting nearby, holding a spear.
"H-hello?"

My voice was terrible. My throat felt as if it was one fire. All that screaming, all that pain that Valkner had caused me.
Was I dead? I hoped I was. Even if survival was the more desired alternative, I didn't want to see the light of day again if it meant facing Valkner's wrath. Perhaps this girl...she was my guardian angel? Was she dead too?

"Huh. You're actually not dead."
"You mean...I'm still alive?"
The girl shrugged. She obviously wasn't in the mood to talk. "Yeah. Be glad. I just lost an ally, all because we were saving your butt."

So I wasn't dead. Still in the arena. Still surrounded by tributes who wanted nothing to do with me.
"Cut me some slack. I've been tortured beaten, starved and pretty much ruined. Al because of him. But...why did you care?"

Silence. The girl finally looked me in the eye. "I didn't have to save you. I could've let you die. You would've anyway. But...that guy was a monster and...I don't know, it seemed wrong to just let him keep torturing someone. I may not be the best person to hang out with, but even my kind are against that."
"Oh. I'm Caxton, if you didn't know."
"Thessaly."

I just leaned back, careful not to bump my head. "Uh...thanks Thessaly, I guess. You know, I'll just be on my way now. Don't worry, I'm fine. Just let me get up...OW! My leg! On second thought...I think I'll stay here for now."
"Good idea."

Willow Harper, 15
District 11 Female Tribute

"Who do you think died today?" Dem asked me as we gnawed on some wildflowers I found. It tasted rather bland, but food was food and I was hungry.
"I don't know," she shrugged. Despite the fallout of our alliance, Dem was still trying to keep the smile on her face. I didn't mind. I needed something to help lift my spirits.

As the Sun began to set, we curled up next to each other. The arena got really chilly at night and sharing body heat helped keep us from freezing away. I rested my head on Dem's shoulder as we watched the Anthem light up the night sky.

The first face was Valkner's. Dem gasped and I turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. I just..." She stopped. "I don't know. It just hurts to see the face of someone I kinda know. It means they're dead."
It was probably a district partner thing. I didn't give it much thought as the next face was Harper's. Neither of us knew much about her, but she seemed like a nice girl.

Once the Anthem was over, Dem quickly counted everything down on her fingers. "Fourteen."
"What was that?"
"Fourteen of us are left. At least I think so. It's been a while."

Wow. I guessed the numbers did drop a bit faster than I thought. I could still remember being back in the Capitol, where everyone was still alive. Where our alliance was a happy six-person family that hadn't dropped down to a third of its original members.

Dem put a hand on my shoulder. "You can go rest. I'll take first watch."
"No, I'll do it. I always fall asleep when I do second watch anyways."
"If you insist."

Dem lay down beside me and I made myself comfortable. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Alliances:

Makeshift Careers: Carina, Adonis, Urijah

We're Fine...We Guess: Demara, Willow

The Twins: Dany, Anya

District 9: Terran, Pellia

Well...This is Award: Thessaly, Caxton

Loners: Foxy, Desmond, Equila

Kills:

Foxy: 1 (Bolte)

Carina: 1 (Tihi)

Valkner: 3 (Zander, Everly, Harper)

Thessaly: 1 (Valkner)

Terran: 1 (Florina)

Urijah: 1 (Fennel)

Arena-Based: 2 (Lena, Eywill)

16th place: Harper Winthrop, District 8. Throat sliced by Valkner.

Harper was as stubborn as she was kind. With her refusal to take life instead of giving it, it was obvious that soon, someone like Thessaly could use that to her advantage. Not that I didn't enjoy Harper. She was much different from the typical "good-willed" 8 girl and had a bit of spunk to her. Thanks for Harper, Tribute00, and you still have Carina and Dem, so the Games aren't yet over for you.

15th place: Valkner Stross, District 3. Speared in the stomach by Thessaly.

Whether he was seen as the misguided, bullied kid or a cruel sadistic killing machine, Valkner never had good intentions. He was always on the prowl and could never be satisfied with just one victim. However, even though he's no longer a tribute in the arena, he's certainly made his mark and caused havoc, forever affecting Caxton and Thessaly. Thank you hollowman96, for such a wonderful villain done right, as well as your other amazing tributes. They added some awesome qualities to the story.

Basically, if you're confused why Thessaly and Harper were willing to rescue Caxton, they just happened to stumble upon him. Harper is obviously against killing or torture of any kind and rebels who were captured in the rebellion were either killed or tortured for information. This is why Thessaly was against it, as it reminded her of the torturing of her own kind.

Bit of an interesting chapter here, now that the biggest villain is dead. But that doesn't mean we'll be short on action! See you all on Day 8!