District Ten, Bandit Lee Highland

"You think it's a good idea?" Bandit asked Sawyer as she carried one the packs full of supplies, while he carried the other. "Picking up and moving base camp like that, I mean."

"I don't see how it could hurt us." Sawyer said, not looking at her. He was staring straight ahead, his green eyes carefully taking in their surroundings. "The only thing that could be problem is giving up the high ground. Back in the day taking a hill during a battle was considered an advantage, because you could rain hell-fire down on your enemies."

Bandit walked up a mountain of rubble, the charred, dusty smell stinging her nose. Okay, it wasn't exactly a mountain, it was more of a mound, and from this height she was finally taller than the massive District Three tribute. "Look at that, I'm finally taller than you." She grinned in self-satisfaction. Sawyer made her feel small and meek. It wasn't something she was used to feeling, not even when she was working with the two thousand pound horses.

He turned to her, grinning slightly. He gently reached up and grabbed her waist, lifted her off the mound of rubble and back onto the pavement.

"What was that for?" She demanded, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. Why were they suddenly making an appearance?

"We have to keep moving." He said.

Bandit noticed the way had had dodged the question. Sure, he had given an answer, but it was somewhat vague. She didn't call him out on it, though. "What if we run into the Careers?" She asked him.

"Run like hell?" He suggested. "You are one of the faster tributes, aside from Cyril and Jacob…wait, you are the fastest tribute now."

"I was." She reminded. "Your little water trap messed up my knees."

He ran a hand through his sandy hair. "Uh, yeah. Remember, whoever fell in there wasn't supposed to come out alive."

"What makes me different?"

He ran his hand through his hair again, she figured it was a sign of embarrassment. "I don't know—honestly—I feel different about you than I've felt about anybody I've ever met before. You…interest me."

"Why?" She didn't understand.

"The first day I ever talked to you—do you remember?"

Despite herself, Bandit found herself grinning. "You hit on me and then I slapped you."

"Yeah, that day. I had never had a reaction like that from a girl before. I was used to flirting my way through everything back in District Three. I could charm my way through any situation, inside and out. I could have anyone I wanted. For some reason it didn't work on you, the strong cowgirl from District Ten. I couldn't have you."

Bandit stared up at him in amazement. Her heart was thudding in her chest so hard it was painful. She chewed on her bottom lip for a second, unsure of what to say. Finally, she said, "I—I don't understand. Nobody in my district ever paid attention to me before, nobody has ever told me that they liked me that way. I have never been told I was pretty, only that I'm a good ranch hand and horse trainer." She saw Sawyers look of unsettledness, but continued to ramble on anyway. "I think the reason nobody was interested in me is because I'm like one of the guys, or because I never spent much time off the ranch, I didn't ever get compliments—"

With quick, sure movements, he picked her up.

"What are you—"

Then his mouth was pressed against hers, hard at first, but then it was gentle. Bandit Lee stifled all of her fears about being a bad kisser, shoved away her doubts, and molded her lips against his.

District 6, Alex Flynn

"You did great." Alex told Ryan, as he looked up from stowing the majority of the stolen gear into as many packs as possible. "Lynette didn't see you come inside?" He asked again.

"No." Ryan said, shaking his brown head. "I shot an arrow at her, she was sprawled face-down on the pavement trying to shield herself. I slipped into the door and let it shut without it making a sound." He went back to staring out the window. "Uh oh," He said.

A cannon fired.

"What?" Alex whispered, moving over to peer out the window alongside his ally.

"Lynette just killed Virginia!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Slater looks ticked!"

Alex knew that the two tributes had had feelings for each other. Slater looked devastated. Alex wasn't sure if the red-head was going to kill Lynette on the spot, or if he was going to burst into tears. It was hard to tell with his polarized sunglasses on. "They're distracted." He said grabbing a pack and shouldering it, a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows on his back. "We should see if we can find a second exit."

As they slipped through the abandoned and reject hallways, Alex tried not to think about Jack. It was hard, because Jack was on his mind a lot of the time. What if Alex died? Would his love look as broken as Slater had?

Alex swallowed, he wasn't going to think about that.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked him, his brown eyes worried. "You look like you're going to puke."

Ryan was right, he may vomit. "I'm fine." Alex lied through his teeth.

They walked down the vacant hallways for what seemed to be eternity.

"Did you see that?" Ryan asked, clutching at Alex's arm. His brown eyes were wide and fear-stricken.

Alex pushed his glasses up his nose. "No. What was it?"

"I don't know, man, but it was huge! It was about the size of my dog!"

Alex's heart pounded in his chest. Muttations? Already? It was a little early in the games for the mutts to come out and play, but then again, it was a different series of games than any other. The best of the best competing proved that.

Something that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, or glass sounded in his ears. It hurt. But, it wasn't until he heard it again that he realized what it was. "A rodent?" He whispered to Ryan, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Rodent?"

"A rat most likely."

"The size of my dog?!"

Alex's mind started working at a mile a minute. How dangerous were rats to humans? Not very, if you didn't count the diseases they carried. What did rats eat? Whatever they could find. Bugs, garbage, smaller rodents, other rats. There were horror stories from the past where babies that were left alone would be eaten by hordes of large rats. "Oh no." Alex breathed.

"What?" Ryan hissed, his face pale.

"Rats are omnivores and scavengers."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Alex swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat with a little bit of difficulty. "There are old legends," He had to swallow again, "that babies would be found by their mothers, eaten by hordes of rats."

Ryan bolted down the hall, toward the door at the end.

Alex muttered a string of curses under his breath and caught up; the rats scrabbled against the tile behind them. He scrambled to put an arrow on the bow, he'd only shot a few times back in the capitol, and he hadn't done horribly…but he hadn't done excellent either. He took a shot at one of the rats, and hit it in the shoulder blade.

It squealed a horrible sound and sat up on its hind legs, its yellow eyes malicious. It lunged at Alex with its yellow teeth gnashing and he closed his eyes waiting for a bite.

There was a blur of movement and Ryan screamed in pain.

Alex opened his blue eyes to find his ally, clutching his right arm as it dangled pitifully at his side. He grabbed Ryan Mellark by the shoulders and pulled him through the exit, slamming the lock home. "Why did you do that?!" He demanded.

Ryan's face was quickly loosing color as he clutched at nearly severed limb, the blood pooled thickly on the floor around him. "We're allies." He groaned. "Besides, you have somebody who loves you at home. The girl I love doesn't even know I exist."

Alex forced Ryan's bloody hand away from the wound so he could look at it. "Let me look at it." He saw the severity of the damage and sucked in air through his teeth. It looked bad. "I don't know if I can repair the damage done to the muscle and the bone, but I can try to stop the bleeding." He said as he dug with determination into the first aid kit.

District 2, Lindsey Ardford

Lindsey stared from the crumpled, broken form of Virginia Hawthorne to Slater, who had Lynette by the shoulders and looked like he was going to explode. She didn't care if he killed the bitch, she deserved it for letting Ryan Mellark get their supplies.

Slater cocked his fist back, his face red, his body tense and obviously full of rage, he was ready to punch the District One tribute in the head.

Then, for the first time since the games had started, the wind began to pick up.

Lindsey looked through her red hair, which was whipping out of control in the breeze as a hovercraft emerged from the sky, brought out a crane and lifted Virginia's body away, vanishing instantly.

Slater, who had paused throttling the life out of Lynette, dropped his fist to his side, his face slack.

Lindsey knew that look, it was the look he got when he had hit rock bottom and didn't have a way to crawl back out. He was hopeless, helpless, and in this state of mind he was alone.

He sank to concrete in the ally, his back against the adjacent building; he put his head in his arms and sobbed.

"Do you know what you did?" Lindsey demanded, turning on Lynette, her rage flaring up so fast and so hot that she couldn't control it. "Do you have any idea what he has been through?!" Her fingers went to her knives. She pulled one out with a hand that was trembling with rage. "That boy has been literally, through hell and back! He has suffered more than you will ever know!"

Lynette's blue eyes flashed at the immediate thought of danger. "I didn't sign up for this game to lose."

"You didn't sign up for this at all!"

"Do you know what I had to do to make sure I got here?! To make sure that my name would be one remembered throughout Panem?" Lynette asked, making sure to keep her distance from the blade of Lindsey's knife. "I had to sleep with one of the judges to get that score!" She shouted at her.

"Then it isn't my fault you're a slut." Lindsey said, her voice dark. Then, with a well-practiced throw, the knife in her hand sailed through the air and imbedded itself in a blue eye.

Lynette was dead before she hit the ground.

R.I.P Lynette Flynn

Okay, I know somebody out there has to be reading this. I put a lot of time and effort into this story and these chapters. Please, be kind and review.

Who do you think is going to win the Hunger Games?