This chapter took me longer than I wanted it to, but here it is. Hope you enjoy.

Sycorax "Cora" Adherra

District 2 Female

18 Years Old

While Dom and Miracle are out having fun, the two of us are just sitting here in complete silence. Bliss isn't much of a conversationalist, which I'm thankful for, but the quietness is beginning to bore me. We had gone through all the supplies earlier and tallied up everything we found. It probably won't matter, since our mentors made an agreement to destroy the Cornucopia's supplies should we have to abandon it early on. This was Clove's idea originally, and it made perfect sense. Why let the others gain access to food and weapons when you can send it all up in smoke?

We finished hours ago, though, and we haven't had much to do since. Nobody's going to attack the Careers on the first night.

"I'm taking a walk," I tell Bliss.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Be back soon," I reply as I pick up my daggers, still covered in the now-dried blood of some kid.

With very little wind tonight, virtually the only sound I hear is my footsteps in the grass. No crickets, no owls, nothing. Come to think of it, I haven't actually seen any wildlife since arriving at the arena. Probably a Gamemaker gimmick, given the pathetic mess that was last year's Games. After all, a lack of food in the wild should mean more competition over the existing supplies. I wonder if it'll actually turn out that way.

My peaceful walk is interrupted by the blaring of the national anthem, accompanied by the Capitol's seal projected into the sky.

First up is Bean, by-far the most surprising death, followed by the boy from Six. Next is the boy from Eight, one of the lovebirds. How tragic. Then we have both tributes from Ten and Eleven, which is pretty common, although I'm somewhat surprised to see the Ten girl up there. And finally, the image of the tall guy from Twelve shows up. Despite his stature, I never felt that he would be a contender.

That's eight tributes dead on the first day, leaving only 15 that still stand in my way. Not bad, and I'll be looking to cut that number down some more tomorrow.

Amell Maeda

District 5 Male

13 Years Old

The rules are the same here: trust no one.

Last night, I saw the faces in the sky. Most of them were in an alliance if I remember what Hunter told me correctly. It can't save you. And anyway, how could you trust other people in a game where only one person can survive? I know I might still die, but at least I won't be stabbed in the back by some "ally" of mine.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't see Cassie's face up there. In fact, as I was leaving the Cornucopia area, I recall seeing her launch an arrow right into the Four girl's chest.

She killed a Career seconds into the Games. Aren't you glad you kept your distance from her?

Speaking of which, I left with only a small knife that I had spotted from my starting plate. The rest could be figured out later, but I definitely needed something to defend myself with right away.

Despite having the knife with me, I couldn't get much sleep last night. I'm now by the coast, following the tree-line to avoid being seen.

In the distance, a lighthouse comes into view, barely visible through the trees. As I get closer, I can see that there's a quaint little house at its base. Maybe I can find some food or water there.

To minimize my time in the open, I follow the woods until I'm as close as I can get to the lighthouse.

What if the door is locked? What if the whole place is a trap?

But it's been about 24 hours since I've had any food or water. I won't be able to defend myself in this state.

Stepping out from the forest, I scan to my left and right to see if there's anyone else on the beach. With the coast seemingly clear, I begin running towards the front door.

Roughly three-quarters of the way there, I check behind me and my heart sinks. Someone has followed me out of the woods and is walking directly towards me now. Worse – I know who he is. My district partner killed his sister.

There's no running now, and going into the lighthouse will only leave me trapped. I tighten my grip on the knife. This may just be it for me, but I won't be going down without a fight.

Daley Keen

District 3 Male

15 Years Old

"We're gonna go look for food," Audric announces.

"Might have to go vegetarian for a bit," I comment. "Haven't seen any wildlife since we got here."

Whitney shrugs and the two of them head off. As their footsteps fade, I'm left by myself and our gear, with Veranda having gone out to collect firewood. My crossbow is sitting right next to me in case anyone happens to stumble upon our site.

The two of them seem to have bought the theory of someone else poisoning the stream. Fair enough, since they don't know Veranda as I do. She's always resented me for bringing Hal and Nine into the alliance, and it wouldn't be beyond her to try and eliminate one of us early on, especially if nobody knows she did it.

After a short while, I notice that Veranda had left her backpack behind, leaning against a tree-trunk near the opposite edge of our camp. This could be a good chance to confirm my suspicions. If I'm correct, I can bring it to Audric and Whitney's attention when they return.

I check to make sure I'm still alone before walking over to where the backpack is. Once there, it doesn't take me long to find it – a tiny vial of blue liquid, labeled with an unimaginative skull-and-crossbones. And of course, the vial's half-empty. Where'd she get this stuff anyway? Items like these tend to cost sponsors an absolute fortune.

I'm suddenly hit with a sharp pain in my back that forces my breath out. Looking down, I see the tip of an arrow, covered in thick blood, protruding from my chest.

I vaguely hear Veranda speak. "Sorry it had to end this way, Daley."

But there are no witty remarks from me this time. As the world fades away, all I can think about is how I'd left my crossbow where I was sitting.

Alexei Tepes

District 7 Male

18 Years Old

Have you ever thought you'd be bored in the Hunger Games? Because it's hard to say we're anything but bored right now.

It's been two days since Jag was killed by one of the Careers. I only knew him for a few days, but he was someone I trusted as far as anyone in the Games could. Hopefully, his death was quick.

On the first day, after the Bloodbath, the three of us found this cabin by what I assume is the sea. Unbelievably enough, the place has food, running water, and even electricity. Its location on a large beach means that we could see someone coming from quite some distance away.

We've been living here ever since we found it. During this time, we encountered not a single soul. Maybe the Careers know we're here but aren't targeting us yet? They lost one of their own, and we're a relatively capable group, so perhaps they'd rather focus on the weaker, solo tributes first.

So, imagine my surprise when Lynn calls over to us, "Someone's coming!"

"How many?" I shout back, wondering if it's the Career group, or just a single tribute looking for a place to stay.

"One – a girl. I think she's from Eight."

"It's Ebony. What should we do?" asks Cher as we all gather around the window where Lynn was keeping watch.

"I doubt she's gonna take on all of us," I say. "Grab your bow just in case. I'll go talk to her."

"I'll be right behind you two," says Lynn with some shakiness in her voice. She only has a small folding knife, so it's probably best that she stays back.

I pick up my scythe-like weapon by the door and head out to meet our visitor.

She waves at us as she walks closer, then keeps both hands in the air, palms forward. Cher has the bow ready and pointed at her.

"I'm just here to talk," says Ebony.

"I heard the Hunger Games are more about killing," Cher quips.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"If we have to," I answer. "But what are you here to talk about? And why us?"

"I saw the Careers kill your friend back at the Cornucopia," replies the girl from Eight. "They killed Klein too… He was running away with supplies, and they sent a spear into his back. Look, it's not a fair fight against these assholes on our own. If anyone of us wants a good shot at winning this thing, we need to take them out first."

"You want to hunt down the Careers," Cher comments incredulously.

"I want us to hunt down the Careers. Four on four."

"Four? I only saw one of them in the sky," says Lynn.

"I've been watching them," Ebony replies. "The guy from Four left the group after the Bloodbath."

"Stand back and just give us a second," I tell her.

Turning to Lynn and Cher (who stills has the bow aimed at Ebony), I suggest that we add her to the group. "She does make us a group of four again."

"I'm not sure about this. We don't know her," says Lynn.

"She seems a little off. What's stopping her from killing us in our sleep?" Cher adds.

"We'll disarm her," I reply. "And we won't leave her alone on watch for now. But think about it – with the Careers gone, the likelihood of one of us winning goes way up."

"If we succeed," remarks Lynn. "We could all just die at their hands."

"Not if we play our cards right. It seems like she has a plan or at least info on the Careers that'll help us."

"Fine," says Cher, with Lynn not objecting any further.

Turning back to Ebony, I notify her of our decision. Admittedly, this may turn out to be a mess, but at least it gives us something to do.

AN: For some reason, I had a hard time getting this one done, so I apologize if it sounds a bit disjointed.

So now we have the Six-Seven-Eight alliance in the beachside cabin, plotting to take down the Careers. The Careers haven't seen much action since the Bloodbath, but they'll be hoping to change that. Our pair from Eleven will be returning to camp to find themselves one more ally short. Cassie is still in the lighthouse, able to see far away for any potential threats. And finally, Emberly is surviving and hiding all by herself.

If you're wondering what the island's "twist" is, all I can say is it's coming up.

Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope to see you soon with the next chapter.