Stay Alive: The Story of the Second Quarter Quell

by ReadBooksWriteThings

Family, friendship, and fights to the death. The Second Quarter Quell is the most brutal Games yet. Follow Haymitch's journey for survival. But the Games don't end when you get back home. You always have to fight to stay alive. This is the story of the 50th Hunger Games and all that happens after. Told mostly from the POVs of Haymitch and Maysilee, although others' appear as well.

19. Battle and Betrayal

Chapter 19: Battle and Betrayal

Haymitch Abernathy

I frown at the pathetic amount of water left in my bottle. If I don't get any soon, I'll be in serious danger of dehydration.

Yesterday, after I figured out that half the stuff in my pack was gone, I decided to get moving. I had no way of figuring out when my stuff had been taken so getting away from whoever it had been was the best choice.

I wonder how someone managed to take my stuff without me realizing. It must have been after right after I watched Jack die, when I was asleep. A more pressing question is haunting me though.

How am I still alive?

Because surely whoever took half my supplies could have killed me as well. I would have been the easiest target. I was asleep!

I can hardly believe that anyone would ever be so generous.

Maybe it was one of the Careers. I wasn't watching my stuff while they were attacking Jack and there were so many of them, one of them could've easily swiped my things.

I decide that that's probably what happened and I'm angry at myself for not watching my stuff better. I know I only have a couple of things left and will probably run out of both food and water in a few days if I stretch it.

Then I'll really be dead.

They didn't bother taking anything that wasn't food or water so luckily I still have the matches, blanket, square cloth, rope, and poison-reverse capsules. Now I know for sure that the Careers must have taken my things. Who else would be dumb enough not to take poison-reverse tablets?

I only have one water bottle left, which is almost empty, and all that's left of my food is a bag of sliced apples and a pack of crackers. Pretty pathetic.

The dryness in my throat is more worrying because I can't even produce any saliva to wet it in the slightest. You can live three days without water and I know it's only been about two, but my mind seems to have the need to remind me that I'm in danger.

But I won't die of dehydration. I've come this far—survived the Bloodbath and made it in the top half of tributes—to die of dehydration.

There's no way I'd ever give up that quickly.

But Haymitch, a voice in my head feels the need to remind me. The top half of tributes don't go hone. Only one does.

I strongly tell the voice in my head to shut up.

I spent all of yesterday looking for a good shelter, since I obviously couldn't stay where I was before. At first, I decided to go in the same direction that I went in yesterday, but any clear path was blocked off by trees. In the end, I just tried to walk in what I hope was generally the same direction.

I look to my right and see the snow-capped mountain far in the distance, just barely visible. I decide to use it as a guide of sorts, I'll walk in the same direction starting now, keeping the mountain just in my sight. I want to see how far I can go in this Arena until I'm forced to turn around.

The less tributes I run into, the better.

My stomach growls loudly, reminding me that I haven't had breakfast. I curse, knowing that my body has become used to getting a large amount of food and is now suffering. Giving into my hunger, I swing my pack of my back, intending to indulge in a single sliced apple.

I never get to, because I quickly become aware of the weird chittering behind me.

As slowly as I can, I turn around, coming face-to-face with a large group of fluffy golden squirrels. My tense body relaxes slightly at the sight.

Just squirrels. Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Haymitch. They are remarkably cute if I'm being honest. Serena would be squealing right now.

Then I tense again. It seems odd that they are so many of them together. I quickly do a mental count in my head. 14. I didn't think that squirrels traveled in packs.

Unless.

A thrill of panic rushes over me as I quickly realize that these squirrels aren't the cure creatures I thought they were. My fears prove right when I see their pointy teeth as the now threatening squirrels give me some twisted grin.

These aren't harmless squirrels. These are mutts.

Funnily enough the only thought that goes through my head is, Looks like I can't go in the same direction now.

The first squirrel launches itself at me with such speed that I'm surprised enough to let it land on my arm. That's a mistake. I curse loudly as its pointy teeth sink into my wrist, the same one that got stung by the butterfly. My pain distracts me long enough for two others to jump on me.

A loud cry of surprise and pain rips from my throat and I swing my arm at a tree, letting the squirrel smash into the tree trunk. The action brings agony to my hand but gets two of the squirrels off me. A well-placed jab with my knife takes care of the third.

They may be carnivorous squirrels, but at least they're tiny.

I only get a second of relief before the rest of the mutts pounce. I turn around immediately, running as fast as I can. I know that I can't outmatch all these mutts and there is absolutely no way I'm about to be killed by some fluffy-looking squirrels.

It's only after I start sprinting through the Arena do I remember that my thigh has a huge gash in it. I can feel the wound reopening, the blood starting to drip down my thigh. The pain makes my leg buckle more than once but I know I can't afford to stop. I've got to push through it.

The aggravated chittering of the squirrels seems to only get louder as I run, adding to my anxiety. After about ten or fifteen minutes of flat out sprinting, my leg aches with every movement. A quick glance over my shoulder tells me that they are hot on my heels, although there seem to be less now than there were before.

Maybe they found some other tributes to hunt down.

Although I've been expecting to hear a scream since I started running, it's loud enough to make me stop momentarily. It's a shriek of pure terror and I can only wonder who is being eaten alive by these sadistic mutts.

A squirrel somehow gets up on my shoulder and I get the suspicion that it's been climbing up me for quite some time now. Just the knowledge of that makes me shudder. I try to keep running while jabbing my knife at the creature sitting on my shoulder. Since I'm looking beside me, I miss the giant tree stump in front of me and end up tripping, sprawling to the ground.

I hit the ground at an odd angle and the squirrel looses its grip. I stab it as it hits the ground beside me, killing it effectively. Immediately, I try and scrabble back to a standing position, but my leg has completely given out. I barely have enough time to cover my head before the rest of the mutts jump onto me, biting me wherever they can reach with their sharp teeth.

It feels like being struck by a hundred needles and a scream escapes me even though I try to suppress it. The last thing I want is to know I gave the Gamemakers the satisfaction of getting me to scream. But I can't help it. It hurts.

One of the mutts sinks its teeth right into the gash in my thigh and I bit my tongue so I don't scream again. A metallic taste fills my mouth and I gag, trying to spit out the blood.

Another mutt bites my ankle and I decide that I've had just about enough of these wretched creatures. Ignoring the way my leg seems to scream in protest, I launch myself to my feet, swinging my knife at the mutts. I notice that they're definitely aren't as many as they were before. The rest must have found some other tributes to hunt down as I ran.

It takes a while for me to take down the mutts, as they are determined not to go down without a fight. My body gains some more bites and one mutt actually manages to rake its teeth down my arm, opening a thin but long gash. That mutt gets a rather deep stab in retaliation.

By the time the last mutt has been hacked away by my knife, I'm shaking with exhaustion. I slump to the floor, using my nearly empty backpack as support, gasping through the dryness in my throat. I wonder why I'm so tired. Surely someone else was attacked by these mutts as well.

A canon goes off, proving me right.

I can't help but wonder who has been killed now. I count the number of faces I've seen in the sky for the past two days. 25 dead. Plus the one just now. 21 more will die before someone can win.

I frown when I see just how many mutt corpses are littered around me. I stand up, ready to leave this part of the Arena and find my way back to the path I followed before.

A wave of dizziness crashes over me and I stumble, grabbing at a tree trunk to ensure that I don't go toppling to the floor. I clench my free hand into a fist, waiting for the tress around me to stop spinning.

Why am I so out of it?

For a split second, I wonder if the mutts are poisoned somehow. I've got enough bites for it to be a problem if they were. Swinging my backpack from my bag, I pull out a capsule just in case.

The coating sticks to my dry tongue and I realize the true issue.

I'm dehydration. And hungry. And exhausted.

My water has run out by now and I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. That, combined with the fact that I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since entering the Arena, it's no wonder that I feel so awful. I think of the canon I heard just minutes ago. All things considered, I should consider myself lucky.

It's just hard when you're in an Arena with only a sole survivor.

Once the dizziness passes, I try and take a few steps, only to be reminded of reopened gash in my leg. Gritting my teeth, I pull the piece of cloth from my pack and wrap it firmly around the wound. This is not a time to be showing weakness. I don't know if that mutt attack lost me any sponsors—if I had any to begin with—but I do know I need to act strong.

For the potential sponsors. For Hayden and my mom. For Serena. And for myself.

Trying not to show how unsteady I am on my feet, I climb the nearest tree, intending to rest for a few hours before doing anything else. I haven't heard any other noises, so hopefully I'm far away from any remaining tributes.

My pack is disturbingly light as I climb, which might actually be helpful because I can barely pull myself up the branches, forget about trying to carry a full pack. I set it down in front of me and I look up at the sky, looking for a camera. Surely Reynald has noticed that I'm in terrible shape right now. Maybe he'll send me something.

Why would he do that? He hates you.

As much as I hate asking for things, it seems necessary now. I can't die, not after all this.

"Hey Reynald," I say into the sky, trying to keep my voice sounding as arrogant as possible. It's funny to be sounding arrogant when all I really feel right now is weak. But it'll keep my Capitol-shown persona the same. "I'd like some water, if you can spare the cash. Some food would be nice too."

A stinging in my arm reminds me of all the other minor injuries I've gotten in the past hour but I'm honestly too tired to assess myself right now. I've swallowed that capsule just in case those mutts are poisonous and that's really the best I can do right now.

Instead I try my best to get some sleep, hoping I'll have some food and water when I wake.

Maysilee Donner

"Miller, stop it!"

William and Ana try to restrain Miller, who's shrieking and crying out in pain. Ever since he woke up ten minutes ago, he's been wrapped up in a blanket, screaming. Someone is going to hear us.

I try to yank the blanket away, which is wrapped around him so tight it must be squeezing him. "What's he doing? Do you think he's hurt?"

Ana shakes her head. "But what could have hurt him? I've been awake all night and didn't even hear a whisper."

I look at Ana closely. It would be hard to miss the dark rings under her eyes. I feel guilty. "We'll watch tonight. You need some sleep."

She shakes her head. "I can't sleep here. It's too hard."

I understand. The only reason I'm able to sleep is because William is with me.

"It must have been the canon," William says after a few more minutes of us unsuccessfully trying to stop Miler's cries. "It must've freaked him out."

I think back to the canon that sounded ten minutes ago. Until then, the three of us had been eating our sadly small breakfasts. The canon had shocked all of us but positively freaked out Miller. His scream as he woke up had scared me more than the canon that caused the scream did.

"I don't think so," I frown. "Something's seriously wrong with him."

A sudden rustle makes the three of us freeze. Miller's cries turn to whimpers when he realizes we are all frozen.

"What was that?" Ana hisses, her hair whipping around her face as she spins around.

William seems to unconsciously place himself in front of me, which only makes me love him more. "No one move."

The four of us stay in perfect silence. Even Miller, after realizing how quiet we are, has stopped all noise.

I jump when a rustle comes from somewhere left to us. Ana points to a bush that surrounds our clearing. "Over there." The bush—like all the other vegetation here—is a lovely green which is disturbing because above us, the mountain is capped with snow. One must be artificial.

William uses his hands to shade his eyes, focusing on the bushes. "No one could possibly fit in there." His voice is hushed, like he isn't sure.

"Show yourself," Ana says, drawing a knife from her pants. "We're not afraid of you."

Nothing happens. Ana whips her hand back to throw her knife and I, finally seeing what's been making all the noise, grab at her hand. "Wait!"

William tells me to stop but I'm already on my feet and heading towards the bush.

I stick my hand into the bush and pull out a silver parachute. I smile. I was right.

"You guys!" I say, turning around and waving the parachute in the air. "We got something."

William hugs me when I get back to them. "You should have said you knew what was there. I was scared."

I kiss his cheek. "Don't worry."

Ana grabs the parachute from my hands and eagerly opens it. Her face turns to one of confusion as she holds whatever it is in her hands.

"What is it?" William asks, reaching for the object Ana has in her arms. "Who do you think sent it?"

It's a syringe. William turns it over in his hands. "Oh," I say, shocked that we've received medicine. "Maybe it's something for Miller's mind?" I can't believe we got something so expensive. I feel a wave of gratitude for our sponsors.

"No," William says slowly. "You can't cure something like what Miller's going through."

I knew that, of course. Iris had told me before. "But what else could it be?" I say, confused. "We don't need any other sort medicine."

"There isn't any medicine in there," Ana says flatly, speaking for the first time since we got the parachute. "It's empty."

There's a long silence as everyone thinks.

"Why do we need an empty syringe?" I ask, feeling frustrated that we don't know what our mentors mean. "There's no use for that.

"Our mentors are trying to help us," William says. "They wouldn't give us something unless we needed it."

"It must be from Miller's mentor. But what would we—"

My words are cut off as Miller starts to wail. Ana whips around and yanks the blanket around him as hard as she can, ripping it down the middle.

"Ana!" William cries.

Ana doesn't reply. Instead she pulls the shreds off Miller and tosses the scraps of cloth to the side, revealing what Miller had been hiding.

I don't know how loud I scream but it must have been loud, because William claps his hand over my mouth.

Miller's left arm, from his forearm to his elbow, is swelling and purple. The skin is bumpy in places and I can see dried patches of blood where Miller must've scratched at himself.

William gasps. "Oh no," he says, his voice hushed. "Miller!" His hand drops from my mouth. "What happened to him?"

"He must've gotten stung by the butterflies after all," Ana says slowly. "They must be poisonous."

I remember the way the butterflies swarmed him. I realize with a sinking feeling that she's right.

"Not Miller," I say softly. William grips my hand. "He's already suffered so much."

Miller's quiet, as though he can understand us. I find myself hoping he's still in the world inside his mind, I don't want him hearing this.

"Maybe that's what the syringe is for," William says, being hopeful like always. "They'll send us medicine once they can afford it."

"There's no point," Ana says flatly. "We can't save him now. I spent all my free time in Training at the poison station. There's no way we can undo this. Look at how far the poison has gone already."

I feel tears spring to my eyes. I can't imagine Miller dying slowly of poison. And we're helpless. Without medicine, we can't cure him.

Then I gasp, scrambling backwards once I finally understand the reason behind the seemingly useless gift in William's hand.

"Maysilee," William's eyes turn to me. He looks concerned. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"The syringe," I point to it with a shaking hand. "It's not meant to cure him."

Ana and William glance at each other. "What do you mean?"

I take a deep breath. I know I'm right but once I say it, there's no taking it back. "It's not meant to cure him," I repeat. "It's meant to end his suffering."

It's silent.

"What do you mean?"

I explain to the two of them as best I can. Iris had once told me that injecting air into someone's bloodstream could kill them in less than half an hour. She once had to do it after a mining accident where an old man was obviously not going to make it. Instead of letting him slowly die of his injuries, he and Iris's family decided that it would be better to end his suffering.

Injecting air into Miller's bloodstream would give him a better death than dying slowly of poison. Reynald must have known that.

William looks the angriest I've ever seen him. "No!" he says, his voice raising. "We can't do that. We can't kill our ally. It's wrong, it's—"

"It would give him a better death," I say quietly, tears springing to my eyes once again. It kills me to see William so upset. "The poison's already getting to him. We've seen the way he's been acting."

William's hand, still carrying the syringe, makes to throw it to the ground. I catch his wrist before he can destroy our chance at giving Miller a less painful death. "Don't, William. We may need it."

His breathing is harsh but his voice sounds broken. "How can we kill him, Maysilee? He's our ally, our friend."

"He doesn't deserve a painful death," Ana says. She looks conflicted. Finally, she holds her hand out to William. "Let me do it." Her eyes are troubled. "It's what I would've wanted if I was him."

"But it'll be a kill," I say.

"I've already killed in these Games," Ana says and I remember that she's killed twice already. Someone in the Bloodbath who tried to attack her and the boy from 3. I realize with a slight shock that William is the only alive one in our group who hasn't killed someone yet. Of course, he hasn't. He's too kind. "I can do it," she says. "He wouldn't want to suffer."

But William keeps the syringe in his hand. He glances over at Miller, who is staring off somewhere we can't see, and sighs. "Not now. We'll do it if he gets worse. I just—" he breaks off, taking a death breath. "I can't let that happen until it has to."

I wrap my arms around him. "He's right. Let's wait for a while. We'll stay here, there's no point in leaving."

Ana nods. "Okay."

The three of us simultaneously look at Miller again. His fate lies in our hands.

And as much as I hate to admit it, it would be a lot better for him if we ended his suffering now.

I just don't think any of us have it in us to kill without it being self defense.

I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Haymitch Abernathy

It's sometime in the evening when my stomach starts to growl uncontrollably. I glance up at the sky but I've honestly given up hope that Reynald will send me something a while ago. He doesn't seem to care that I'm starving.

I briefly wonder if he's sending things to Maysilee and William. I hope he is, instead of drinking all day. At least then they'll have something. Maybe District 12 will have one of us for victor this year.

It won't be me unless I get some water soon.

I run a tongue over my cracked lips but I can't even produce enough saliva to help soothe them. I don't even try to move, not wanting to waste any more energy than I already have this morning. I know that sponsor gifts get more expensive as the days pass but surely water and food would be cheaper this year. The only place with edible food and safe drinking water that I've encountered so far was the Cornucopia. And most tributes ran away from there. Is that the main plan here? Killing everyone off with the poisoned mutts and food? It makes sense, most tributes would become desperate for food and water within the first few days and just eat whatever they find near them, more likely poisonous than not.

Hayden's face comes to my mind. How many times had I saved us from near starvation? The number is too much to count.

Another canon, the second of today, goes off somewhere in the distance, making me jolt against my current tree. I still haven't gotten used to that sound. A weird feeling settles in my stomach as I watch the hovercraft float over somewhere on the mountain, descending to pick up a dead body.

20 left. 20 more people will die before these Games end.

As I watch the hovercraft rise again and leave the Arena, I'm even more fed up with my mentor. He's supposed to be helping me!

"Hey, Reynald," I snap, not bothering to lower my voice since I'm certain no one is around. "If you don't send me something soon, I'm going to end up exactly like whoever that was. I"ll be dead because you were too busy doing whatever you're doing to send me anything.

It's a risky move, I know it is. Reynald, like me, has a wicked temper. It's possible that I've just convinced him not to send me anything for the remainder of the Games.

I slap my hand against the tree in annoyance but the sting I feel makes me regret it. I've still got dozens of bites from the squirrel mutts. I had wrapped up the cut in my arm after I woke up but left the smaller ones to heal on their own. It wasn't like I had the luxury to bandage the rest.

A soft thud sounds beside me, making me jump. I almost lose my grip on the tree but catch myself just in time. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I look for the source of the noise.

I find it almost immediately and I can't stop the gleeful look that takes over my face.

It's my first sponsor gift.

Eagerly opening the parachute, I find a 2-liter bottle of water and a loaf of bread. To some, like the Careers, this would be hardly anything, but to me, this amount of food is precious.

I look up at the sky, finally appreciating my mentor.

"Reynald," I say. "Thank you."

Maysilee Donner

"Are you sure you want to take watch?" William asks Ana, his eyebrows creasing in concern. "You've hardly slept since we arrived in the Arena."

"I've told you already," she says. "I can't sleep here. You guys should get some rest."

I know William is reluctant to leave her alone. I feel the same way. Today's been slow compared to the past two days. Slow for the Capitol at least. There's only been two deaths. I think back to the anthem just ten minutes ago, the last girl from 5 and the last boy from 6.

I wonder who's crying right now, wishing that those two could still be alive. I wonder if Maylene and Iris are watching right now. They have school tomorrow but I'm sure that Maylene won't take her eyes of the screen of our little television set at home. In that moment, I miss my twin so much it feels like a physical ache in my chest.

"Maysilee, back me up," William says, bringing me back to the Arena with a start. He notices my expression and frowns. "You okay?"

I nod. "Yeah. Just thinking about home." I take in Ana's expression and give a frown myself. "What's going on?"

"Ana wants to guard tonight," William explains. "She should rest, in case we're attacked tomorrow. It's not like we'll be left alone forever."

William's right. We're not so lucky that someone isn't going to attack us soon. I remember Ana's words earlier, that she couldn't sleep in the Arena, and decide that it may be better if two of us are rested. "It's okay, William. Let her guard. We'll trade off with her sometime in the night." I look at Ana. "You'll wake us up if you get tired?"

She nods. "Okay."

William still looks skeptical. He glances at Miler, who's been staring silently for a while now, and relents. "Okay. Make sure Miller doesn't start screaming again. Or wander off anywhere."

"I can do that."

"And don't use the syringe. Not yet." I still haven't decided whether or not we should end Miller's suffering. He doesn't seem to bothered by the poison right now, or maybe he's too stuck in his head to tell us, so we decided to wait a while. No one really wants to kill their ally.

She nods again. "I won't."

William relaxes. "Okay. Good night, Ana."

"Night."

I grab a blanket and make to pull it over the both of us. William shakes his head. "I'm not cold. You can have it."

I want nothing more than to have William sleep next to me. "You sure?"

He nods. "It's too tight. I'll sleep next to you, though."

So, we lay down together, a little distance from Ana, and I pull the blanket over me. I reach my hand out to grip William's and he interlocks our fingers.

"I feel weird," he confesses to me in a whisper.

"How?"

"Like something bad is going to happen. Really bad."

"Something bad is always going to be happening in the Arena. I think we'll be okay, William. For now, at least. Besides, we have each other."

I didn't realize how tightly he was gripping my hand until he releases it. "I'm sure you're right. Good night."

"Good night."

I wouldn't realize until the next morning that I wasn't right. William was.

I wake up the next morning to loud shouts. Then a sharp scream.

I jolt awake, my eyes focusing in on the scene in front of me.

Ana is standing over Miller, who's asleep on the floor. William, with another shout, jumps on top of her, knocking her to the ground. She shrieks in surprise and I hear a clatter as something hits the floor. I squint through the darkness—it's very early in the morning—and can barely make out the syringe.

"I said not to do it!" William sounds so angry and I realize with a jolt that Ana was about to inject Miller. She was about to kill him.

I watch silently in horror as Ana grabs something else from the floor and swings her hand around. William loosens his grip on her and she immediately tackles him to the floor. I force myself not to make any noise. They don't know I'm awake yet.

"Why should I listen to you?" Ana's voice sounds weird. Different. Cruel. "You'll be dead soon anyway."

In the moment that it takes me to understand her words, I hear William scream. I jump to my feet and recoil when I see the knife embedded deeply into his thigh. It's Ana's knife. The one with the swirly arrangements.

Ana traps him on the floor with her knees and I hear William gasp as she digs the knife deeper.

"What are you talking about, Ana?" He says faintly. "What are you doing?"

"You don't really think that I would let myself ally with a bunch of kids, do you?" Ana's voice sounds cruel, so different from the Ana I know. She laughs. "You guys are so pathetic. Willing to trust me. You didn't even realize that I couldn't care less about you guys.

I'm about to yell when William catches my eye and shakes his head ever so slightly. I get the message immediately. I don't know what's going on. Don't let her see you.

But I can't stay silent as our former ally taunts him.

She laughs. It's a horrible, mirthless laugh instead of her usual bubbly one. "Think of your poor family." The words could sound kind if her tone wasn't so mocking. "Loosing two sons to the Games—" William struggles against her grip. "Was he just as useless as you?"

William jumps up, his eyes wild. "Don't say a word about my brother!" He shoves her, making her take a few steps back. I've never seen him so angry.

Ana looks taken aback, but only for a moment. Then, with a new vengeance, she kicks William's thigh, the one where her knife is still stuck in. He cries out, stumbling to one knee, and she yanks it out. The amount of blood that spurts from the wound makes me nauseous. William gasps shallowly, clutching his leg. His eyes meet mine in the dark and the amount of emotions swirling in there makes my heart clench.

"Stop!" I cry. I can't handle seeing William in so much pain. "What are you doing?"

Ana turns to me, a wide grin covering her face. She looks so much like Shimmer, the sadistic girl from 1, that I actually take a step back. "Good morning, Maysilee."

I'm confused. Did she always plan to betray us? Or did she just want to kill Miller, and William got in her way? "How could you hurt him?" I ask instead. "We're allies."

She makes to move towards me, her knife hand raising, but William lunges for the knife. "Leave her alone!"

Ana whips around, stabbing her knife into his already injured leg, this time dragging the knife down to create a jagged gash down his thigh. I scream and William makes a sound of pain that I don't think I'll ever forget. He crumples to the floor.

"William!" I cry, ignoring Ana and running for him. I'm so focused on his face that I don't notice Ana's foot. I fly over it and go sprawling to the ground.

She laughs and the sound makes a shiver run down my spine. She leans over me with her knife. I hear William shout but I'm frozen. She laughs again. "Did you really think I would ally with a bunch of useless kids. Nope. I just stuck around to get all this lovely stuff." She kicks at our backpacks, which are laying next to her. "Of course, now that you guys are becoming so useless, I have no need to stick around. I'm better off without you weaklings."

"Weaklings." I can hear the venom in my voice even though I'm so terrified I can hardly think straight. "We aren't weak."

"Really?" Her voice is a basically a purr now. "Weak, useless, and dumb I'd say. Who told you the fruit was poisoned? I did."

What?

No one told us the fruit was poisoned.

Oh no.

"You—" I choke out, horrified. "You knew." I hear William's weakened shout of anger as he too realizes the truth. "You told Leila to have the fruit knowing it would kill her."

"Come on, she was never going to win," She has a smirk playing on her lips.

I think of Leila. Her innocence and smiles. Those beautiful green eyes. We all trusted Ana, but Leila trusted her the most. And she's dead because of that trust.

The wave of anger that passes through me is overwhelming. Throwing all my fears out the window, I jump up and push at Ana so we're facing off. "How could you!"

Her knife twirls in her hand. I can see all of William's blood on it.

William.

I look over and see that he's still on the ground, gasping and breathing heavily. My stomach sinks. I have no idea how much blood he's losing.

Ana follows my gaze and cackles. "I did a pretty good job on that." I lunge for her but she blocks me easily. "Come on, Maysilee. I actually have a chance, Miller is basically dead now, given the poison in his veins and I think I just destroyed any chance William had at winning." My hands shake. She's right. "How about we strike a deal, you and me? You let me keep all the stuff and I'll let you go. You can walk off right now and I won't hunt you down."

I glare at her. "What about William? And Miller?"

She grins. "They're as good as dead."

"No." I plant my feet into the ground. "I won't leave without them."

"Then, I guess you'll die with them."

She raises her knife and moves toward me. I'm rooted to the ground with fear. She's almost reached me when she suddenly goes sprawling to the ground. I look up and see William behind her, his good foot out. He must've tripped her.

"Maysilee," his voice is raspy and he's swaying on his feet. "Run."

"No," I say as Ana jumps back to her feet. "I can't."

Ana growls and pushes at him. "You're going to pay for that." She laughs as he falls to the ground and kicks him as hard as she can. I hear a faint crack.

"Maysilee—" he gasps out, still on the ground. "Darts."

What?

I understand what he means a solid two seconds before Ana does. Her eyes widen and she lunges for my hands but by that time I've already grabbed my blowgun from the ground and sent a poisonous dart into her neck. A gasp escapes her lips as she collapses to the floor. She twitches for what feels like forever, blood spurting from her mouth. I stare at her, horrified by what I've done until the sound of her cannon brings me to my senses.

"William!" I cry running forward. He moans in pain. His face is ghostly pale and he seems only half conscious. His leg looks much worse than I thought. The cut is deep. Very deep. "William, we have to go." He closes his eyes and mumbles something I don't understand. "They have to get her body, we've got to move."

I sit him against my leg and wrap the piece of cloth from our pack around his cut. The pearly white turns red in a matter of moments. I feel my stomach clench. William doesn't deserve this. I layer the second strip on top. I can hear his shallow breathing in my ear.

"Don't cry," he mumbles. I touch my face, surprised to feel tears. "I'll be okay."

"She could have killed you!" I cry. "She almost did."

The faintest smile appears on his face but it turns to a grimace pretty quickly. "I guess that's the second time you killed someone to save me."

I'm about to reply when his eyes suddenly roll back and he slumps against me. "William!"

I grab a water bottle from our pack and throw it on him, not caring about the huge waste of water. He gasps a little and opens his eyes. I relax, but only a little.

Shoving his head between his knees, I go to wake Miller. I tell him that we have to move. Either he doesn't notice that Ana isn't here or he doesn't care. Careful to make sure he doesn't see her dead body, I pile all our stuff into his arms. I try not to shiver when I see that his entire arm is now purple.

I go back to William, who blinks up at me slowly, looking disorientated. "We have to move," I whisper, not wanting to cause him any more pain. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I think…I can…walk…if we go…slowly," he gasps out. His voice and tone mirrors that of Reynald when he's drunk.

Miller carries our stuff while I half-lead, half-drag William a up the mountain, moving at a diagonal. When I think he's going to pass out, I find the place with the best shelter and force his head between his knees again. He gasps softly, watching the blood trickle down his leg.

I watch as a hovercraft picks Ana's dead body up and out of the arena. She's gone. Forever.

And it's your fault, a nasty voice in my head says. You've already killed two people.

I sit next to William and put my head in my hands. "I can't believe that just happened." I whisper.

"We should have suspected her," his voice is faint yet thick with pain and something else too. Maybe anger. "She was so much older than us, of course we would seem like kids to her."

"I can't believe we didn't know. We let her words kill Leila."

"We didn't know. I can't believe she betrayed us."

I've watched the Games enough through the years to know that they change people. But I think Ana planned to betray us since the moment we met her. I just don't know how we didn't see it sooner.

"I'm glad you killed her," he says quietly. I whip around to stare at him. "She let Leila die. She tried to kill me and Miller." I look over at Miller. He's sitting on the ground near us. "Nothing good would've come from her being alive."

I sigh. "I know." I look down at his leg. The cloth is helping but it's not enough. "We'll need more bandages."

"I'll manage without them." His voice sounds frail. And scared.

I take his hand. "I won't let anything happen to us."

He smiles. "We'll protect each other. I promise."

Even with the terrible things that have happened, his words comfort me.

And I hope with all my might that his voice can continue to comfort me for as long as possible.

---

Alright, here's the next chapter! Wow, I've been waiting to drop that on you guys for the longest time. Did anyone see Ana's betrayal coming? I tried to be as discreet about it as possible but I did hint at it in like every chapter. Tell me your thoughts on that.

Also, second surprise. Miller got poisoned! Who was expecting that? Do you think he'll die of the poison or do you think William and Maysilee will kill him before then. Or do you think he'll die some other way? Although I had Ana's betrayal planned from the very start, I went through many ideas of how to kill off Miller before thinking off my current storyline for him. I guess you'll have to wait and see what it is :)

And yes, being injected with air can actually kill you. I did some research on it before putting it in here. It's called an air embolism for anyone who's interested.

If you enjoyed this chapter, I would love to see a review with your thoughts.

See you in the next chapter!