The first few minutes of the games were a blur. Simon tried to focus on what was happening on the screen, but he couldn't keep his mind focused on it. Neco was dead. One of the only people in the capital who he trusted. Was she even apart of what's going on with district thirteen. What even was going on with district thirteen?

Bram shook Simon, snapping Simon out of his thoughts. "Are you ok?" Bram asked.

"I'm trying to be," Simon said.

"It's ok not to be ok," Bram said, reaching for Simon's hand. Simon grabbed his hand and gave him a faint smile. They continued to watch the games. Simon was relieved to see that Nora had made it past the initial blood bath. She was staying with her team from training.

"I've gotten a few sponsors offers for my tributes," Bram said. "What about you?"

"Same here," Simon said. "I got more for Nora, but I also got a few for Chris as well. I have a meeting with some sponsors at around one to discuss what we should send for them and when."

Simon and Bram continued to watch the games. Nora and her team were hiking threw the jungle when Chris was shocked by an invisible force field. He fell back, and cannon fire was heard.

"No," Nora shrieked, but a helicopter never came to collect him. Nora put her fingers behind his neck to check for a pulse. "He still was a pulse," Nora shouted. She tried to perform CPR, but it wasn't working.

Alvin, the boy from district seven, pushed Nora aside. He took over the CPR session, and Chris woke up a few minutes later. Simon sighed in relief as Alvin helped him up. He leaned back onto the couch as the footage cut to the careers.

Simon finally exhaled the air that was stuck in his throat. His grip on Bram's hand became looser, but he still had a firm grip on his partner's hand. They didn't say another word as the games continued.

Nora and her team walked threw the jungle for the rest of the day. They were often shocked by the sound of cannon fire that happened every few hours. "I'm still not used to be surrounded by death," Nora muttered.

"Same," Chris said. A package then fell from the sky. It fell into the hands of Maya. It was a small bag that was covered in blue paper. Maya untied it, and inside was a bottle of medicine and a small note from Eacker, Maya's mentor.

"It says that there's going to be a thunderstorm on the third at twelve in the mourning," Maya explained. "I don't know why he would know this, or why he would tell us. I'm pretty sure this is cheating."

The other members of the alliance shared a look. They knew the storm was going to happen. They hade a game maker who was on their side, and the storm had a specific purpose. "We should use this to our advantage," Starr said. "We can use my rod to contract lighting to the lake. That way the tributes will be shocked when they try to drink from it."

"But that's cheating, and will make the capital mad," Maya opposed. They wished they could tell Maya what the bigger plan was, but they were informed they weren't allowed to do that until after the storm.

"We've already been sent here to die," Starr said. "And we know only one of us is potentially getting out of this. Mine as well make us memorable."

They then continue on their path, forming a plan for the next night.