That's right, no prolonged break this time. I've got more time on my hands now than ever, and inspiration is hitting me again.


Whitney Mendoza

District 9 Female

16 Years Old

With Veranda dead, I thought I'd feel some sense of accomplishment. But all I could think was, "Congrats, you killed someone in a game where you're supposed to do exactly that." There was no question she deserved it though. She poisoned Hal and murdered Daley while we all thought she was an ally. And right before I got to her, she had killed the little girl from Twelve as well.

There are only six others alive, though I don't really know who. I assume that at least one or two Careers are still roaming about. I've managed to hide from everyone else so far, but it's clear that most of us are down here. Through all the left-behind documents, I've gathered that this was an installation where the Capitol military developed and tested mutts for use in the Rebellion.

Maybe I should return to the surface now? If so, it could be a way to avoid others until there's only two or three of us left. I have Veranda's crossbow with me, along with two arrows.

And without further ado, I make my way back up to the living quarters before opting for the lighthouse entrance. I figure it'll allow me to get a peek of the surface conditions before just wandering out there. After all, I read reports of a defense mechanism that would release the facility's mutts onto the surface in the event of a rebel invasion.

Exiting into what must be the basement of the lighthouse, I climb the stairs up to the very top. The blast of fresh air as I step outside is beyond refreshing. That's when I see him – my district partner, sitting nonchalantly in a patio chair. He looks just as surprised to see me.

"Audric? What are you doing here? I lost you when we were out looking for food…"

"I fell asleep in the woods. When I woke up, I was all covered in leaves and whatnot, like someone wanted to hide me. These… creatures were all over the place. I had to run here," he explains.

"Veranda killed Daley, and Hal as well," I blurt out, unsure if he still cares about our old alliance.

"Can't say I'm too surprised."

"But I—I got her, just a few minutes ago," I tell him.

"So we won't have to worry about her coming for us too then."

"Have you been up here this whole time?" I ask.

"I figured everyone else was down in that facility, so I decided to stay up here," replies Audric. "The odds were never in my favor, Whitney. I realized that after I fell asleep in the forest. I need to play with the hand I'm dealt, and if that means staying up here, then so be it. I'm just surprised the Gamemakers haven't tried to kill me yet."

"Makes sense. Do you know who else is alive then? They don't show us anything down there."

"The girl from One, guy from Two, girl from Five, girl from Six, and guy from Seven," he recites.

"Hmm, two Careers still left. Anyway, I don't suppose you'll be rejoining me?"

"I can't. It's just too risky for both of us," he answers calmly.

I nod in understanding, but my disappointment is hard to hide. "Is the surface even safe?"

He shakes his head. "Take a look," he says, motioning toward the railing.

Peering over, I can see these bear-like creatures below, dotting the landscape. In the distance, several large birds are cruising about in the sky.

"What are those?" I ask Audric, pointing towards the birds.

"The papers in the office say they're Screambirds. They help direct the Cuttclaws—those bear things—to where they need to be. But they haven't bothered me in a while."

"I see… Are you sure about staying here? You'll be trapped if someone else decides to come up. Do you even have any weapons?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about me."

"Take this at least," I say as I pass him one of Veranda's arrows. "At least you can try to defend yourself with it if you need to."

"Thanks. It'll help."

"Guess I'll head back down now."

"Goodbye, Whitney. It was nice knowing you."

"Goodbye, Audric," is all I can manage to respond with. He seems so calm, so resigned. I wonder how hard he'll fight if someone else finds him up here.

I decide to head for the botanical garden down in the living quarters. I can probably hide among the plants and ambush someone. I just can't miss.

The garden itself is quite massive and features a simulated sky, bird sounds, and lively fountains. There's a winding walkway through the middle that's about five yards wide.

I'm only a few steps into the place when I hear leaves rustling to my right. As I bring my crossbow up, a girl emerges from the vegetation and starts charging at me with a furious cry. She has some sort of large metal sign in front of her like a shield, but in my panic, I fire an arrow at her anyway.

It gets lodged in the sign, which she throws to the side. The next thing I know, I'm flat on the ground, staring up at my attacker. It's the girl from Five. She begins to stab me with some sort of short icepick-like weapon, which I soon realize is an oddly colored tracker jacker.

Before long, my senses begin to fade away. My last thoughts are on the other arrow that I had.


Audric Bract

District 9 Male

15 Years Old

About an hour after Whitney left, there's another cannon blast. I hope she's still alive.

Not long after that, the iconic voice of Claudius Templesmith fills the arena.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to congratulate each one of you for making the final six of the 87th Hunger Games! In celebration, I am inviting all of you to a feast that will take place at the top of the Clifton Point Lighthouse. This is our first sponsorship window, meaning it is the first chance for all your accumulated sponsor money to be used. The gifts you'll find may very well swing the odds in your favor. Best of luck!"

And with that, I am returned to my previous silence.

Of course. The Gamemakers weren't going to let me sit on my ass up here forever. This is their way of getting me involved.

After a few minutes, I see six of the classic silver parachutes descend, each with a metallic container tied to it. They land in an arc on the catwalk, each labeled with a district number: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9.

Shit. That cannon must've been for Whitney then.

I begin walking over to mine just as I hear a voice behind me.

"Don't move."

I stop and turn around. It's the guy from Two, standing by the door with a spear in hand.

"I don't suppose you'll let me go," I say.

"Can't do that," he states.

I sigh. There's only one way this can end.

I turn away from my container and walk over to his.

"What are you doing?" he demands as he begins heading towards me.

Without any more thinking, I pick up his container and throw it right off the railing.

Spinning back around, I see that his anger has put him at a loss for words. He immediately charges me with the spear. I take out Whitney's arrow in a useless attempt to defend myself.

The spear buries itself into my abdomen before he takes it up and forces me over the side.


Dominic "Dom" Axton

District 2 Male

18 Years Old

The cannon sounds not long after his body disappears over the edge.

I lean back against the wall, the physical act of killing Nine leaving me completely exhausted. I am almost certain that my container held medicine, but now I'll probably never know.

Everything's gone to shit, and the idea of returning home a victor, returning to Stasia, continues to fade away. Not too long ago, three of us were still alive. We had plenty of supplies, good weapons, and a solid location to stay in. Then those outers hit us in the library, Cora died, Miracle left me, and my wound festered. And now this – my last shot goes flying off the lighthouse onto the cliffs below.

I hear the door opening and turn to see the guy from Seven along with the girl from Six – the pair I faced in the library, the last remaining pair of allies.

"We meet again," I say to them.

"You won't make it out of this one," Seven says.

"Very confident now that see me like this, huh," I retort, every word becoming a struggle.

"Oh please," says Six. "People like you torture and kill weak tributes every year. At least we'll make it quick."

"I wonder which one of you will turn on the other first," I reply as I ready myself.

Though I can barely stand up at this point, I'm not one to go down without a fight. Picking up my spear, I attack Seven first, but it's too easy for him. He deflects my spear with his scythe just as Six charges forward and buries a knife into my chest.


Alexei Tepes

District 7 Male

18 Years Old

With the boy from Two lying dead, I tell Lynn to open our containers while I search through the others. Interestingly, Two's was nowhere to be found.

"What have we got?" I ask.

"Some medicine for you. Guess they don't want that wound from the library to get infected," Lynn replies. "As for me, it looks like they gave me a nice dagger."

"Much better than that little pocketknife," I comment. "Although you have Two's spear as well."

"What's in that?" she asks, referring to One's container.

"Some water and dried food. We'll be taking that, of course."

I then step over to Five's. "Arrows," I tell Lynn as I fling the container over the railing. "So we know what weapon she has now."

Finally, there's Nine's container. I open it to find a small plastic jar with a note.

I pick it up and read it out loud: "To help you stay awake."


AN: Another death-heavy chapter. What did you think of the feast? Although only Lynn and Alexei got anything out of it, the feast did manage to bring some of the tributes together.

And just like that, we're down to our final four: Miracle, Cassie, Lynn, and Alexei. Who do you think will win?

Additional placement(s):

10th: Poco Olas (D4M), killed by Cassie

9th: Emberly Layden (D12F), killed by Veranda

8th: Veranda Quinton (D3F), killed by Whitney

7th: Whitney Mendoza (D9F), killed by Cassie

6th: Audric Bract (D9M), killed by Dom

5th: Dominic "Dom" Axton (D2M), killed by Alexei and Lynn