Author's Note: Although they do not appear here, the circumstances surrounding Austria's and Gil's deaths have not changed. The POV of Russia Bragins is the same as it was in the original story.

Thew Canda, District 3

Sleep interrupted by a cannon, I woke up.

And I really wish I hadn't.

Because my headache is back. Although it's less than when I first came to consciousness after Alf had incurred it... It's still nothing to laugh at, for sure.

I flop over on my side in an attempt to keep my eyes away from the suddenly-blinding sun. Even in the boughs of the swamp crater trees, there don't seem to be enough leaves to temper it.

But that also means there's plenty of space to get a donation parachute through to me.

So where is it?

I stretch my neck to glance at the sky again, but I don't see any cloth billowing down toward me. I let my gaze drop back down to the rest of the bog.

I guess I'm not really in that convenient a place for donations. One little breeze, and the parachute'd probably just fall into the swamp mud.

So do I need to get out of here? I really don't feel like moving…

With a sigh, I start to shift my position in the hammock of branches. It doesn't help my headache, and I'm pretty sore from crouching over a bunch of wood all night, but I eventually have a foot on the next branch down. From there, I shuffle down carefully, finally putting a shoe on the ground with a muddy splat. I put my other foot down, trying to ignore the discomfort of the mud slinking back into my boots, and start to trudge to the outside of the crater.

The going seems awfully slow for such a short distance, but it's probably so because of my headache.

But, headache or not, I eventually make it to the crater's edge, and, with a grunt, just manage to pull myself over onto the rocks. I flop down immediately, repeatedly cursing Alf for the headache.

All right, sponsors, I'm available. In pain, but available. So, food, pain meds, whatever'll help, I'm ready.

I look up to try and locate a parachute.

And I find myself looking straight at Lude.

Lude Ermany, District 2

"Thew!" Ciano exclaims. Far from matching his enthusiasm, I just stare down at the other tribute.

Thew... is dead... I saw him fall, and I heard his cannon...

But here he is, meeting my gaze after stifling a flash of alarm in his eyes. Still with a feeling of unreality, I reach over and grab his shirt. It's solid. Not a hallucination.

Looking unnerved, Thew shuffles back a little, but his shirt doesn't escape my grasp.

"Thew!" Ciano chimes again, scrambling over to the apparent other tribute. "I'm so glad you're okay! I mean, I know I didn't see—" He cuts off, a bit confused, when Thew gives him a scared look and starts fervently shaking his head "no".

"...Didn't see what?" I ask slowly, turning to face Ciano but not relinquishing my grip.

"U-Um, I..." Distraught, my ally looks back and forth between Thew and me. "I-I didn't..." Tongue-tied, he looks at the both of us one last time before bursting into tears.

It takes me a minute to figure out why he's so distressed. He and Thew were allies; they were having a friendly chat when Alf and I showed up. So Ciano can't make himself betray him. So what would be betraying Thew?

Showing he's alive after all. Which means Ciano didn't see... Didn't see his face in the sky.

I guess I didn't, either. Alf's ghost terror show distracted us all from the death toll that day. I just assumed he was up there because I heard a cannon.

So he's not dead after all. No insanity on my part, no ghosts. Just a fluke that kept him alive.

And if he's alive, that means I need to kill him.

"Ciano, back up."

Still wailing, my ally looks at me with terror, not completely willing to move.

"Ciano, move!" I growl, raising my morningstar for warning. Trembling, he scoots back.

Now aware I know he's alive, Thew tries to back up and pull his shirt out of my hand, but he's too weak. Holding steady, I circle my weapon a few times high above before cracking it down hard on his skull. Dead before he can cry out in pain, Thew hits the ground, and a cannon fires.

Although there's plenty of blood, skull, and brains splattered on the ground to prove he's gone, I stick around for the hovercraft this time. In only a few seconds, the metal claw plucks him up and takes him away.

I take a moment to wipe some of the flesh off my weapon before I turn to check on Ciano.

He's just sitting in the corner, arms wrapped around his knees, still blubbering.

"Y-you killed him," he whimpers, sounding like someone's strangling him.

"Yes, I did. I'm a Career. That's what I do."

Ciano doesn't have anything else to say.

"Come on," I continue, gripping my weapon so it won't swing when I move. "We're going back to the top. To get some water and things."

Ciano just looks back at me, frightened. And just when I think I've doomed this friendship, he wobbles back to his feet and climbs on my back.

"Right. Let's go."

Russia Bragins, District 9

I can't believe I still haven't found anyone! I've been exploring all morning, but I haven't seen a single tribute. I mean, I know the arena's really big, but... The Gamemakers would want us to find each other, right? So why can't we?

I don't know. But things aren't that bad. I'm still kinda beat up from my fight with Gil, so I don't mind not running into anyone. It's no fun by myself, but I should be grateful that I get a little time to heal up.

I haven't gotten anything from my sponsors since... Well, since the knife, I think. Maybe things have just gotten too expensive. That's all right, though. I've figured out ways to get food and water the last couple of days.

Speaking of which, I'm starting to get a little hungry.

Leaning forward, away from the mountainside, I shift my weight back to my feet and look around. I'm a few metres away from the crater with the Cornucopia and all of the hedges. I've already checked them for food, but I didn't recognise any of the berries, so I didn't take any chances with them. I haven't seen any animals running around there, either.

So... What else is around? There's my crater, but that place definitely has no food. I remember seeing another crater with a bunch of grass, but I don't see how anything edible could be hiding there.

I guess I'll climb up, then. I think there was a forest somewhere around here, too...

Putting my hands over the stones and trying not to flinch when they scrape, I start to clamber upward.

In a few minutes, I've managed to find the forest—not hard, since it's the only crater really full of trees—and I get a grip on the ridge when I hear something. Letting go, I turn and look about curiously. I can't see anything despite the bright noontime sun, but... Ah! There!

I trot over the stones toward the animal, which continues to stare at me lazily.

"Hello!"

It blinks its dark eyes at me, but doesn't move its brown head at all. I take another step closer, but it still doesn't seem to mind.

"Would you make a good lunch?"

No flash of alarm comes from its face, though it leans in a little bit.

I wonder if it would make a good lunch. I've never had pony before, but I am pretty hungry...

Oh, well! First time for everything, right?

I slash out with my knife and take it down easily.

Well, there's that! Let's go find something to cook it with!

Nudging the carcass a little bit so it won't fall off the mountainside, I run back over to the forest crater, pick up an assortment of fallen branches, and scurry back out toward my lunch.

Now I have to carve it up. I look over the mound of hair curiously, poking it with the handle of my knife. I'm not from 10—I don't know where all I'm supposed to get the meat from.

Oh, well. I'll figure it out after a while.

I sit down and start to dig my knife under its skin.