Trigger Warning: Substance abuse, I'm not even sure how to accurately describe what's going on in Charon's head. It's pretty bad.

Charon Regatti, 18, District 2 Male POV

The moment the Grim Reaper tore his scythe through me, I fell in love with Death. She wrapped her ice-cold arms around me, drawing me into the dark places of the world. Twenty-one years, I spent in her embrace, her eyes like silver coins looking lovingly upon me.

Then the world called me back.

The Grim Reaper stands over my bed, wearing a threadbare, dark shirt instead of his usual cloak. Instead of a scythe, he holds a small, silver needle. His sunken eyes peer at me out of a gaunt, skeletal face.

"Take me back," I rasp, my voice hoarse with longing. I want to see Death again.

The Reaper takes my arm and slides the needle in with shaking hands.

I close my eyes and feel purple flowers bloom behind my eyelids. I can feel my senses spiralling out of my control. I drift away like a ghost, exploring all the forgotten places that smell like the dust of a thousand generations.

I see my grave. "Charon Regatti, 36 - 54. A worthy volunteer." It all means nothing to me. The only thing that matters is the woman standing over the grave.

Death.

"My love!" I cry.

She looks at me, midnight black hair streaming. Silver eyes full of fear.

Death is never afraid. She's the most powerful being in the universe.

So how did someone manage to wrap a chain around her neck?

"Charon!" She cries. "Help me!"

I shake off whatever fear that had kept me rooted to the spot and run to her. Death shrieks as something on the other side of the chain yanks her away from me. Another man with the chain in his hand pulls her into his arms. I can't see his face, only a pair of yellow, glowing eyes shrouded in a cloud of smoke. He leans in to whisper something in her ear and I catch the flicker of a forked tongue.

That man is pure evil.

I run, as fast as I can, only to find there are thorns wrapping around my legs, holding me back. I can only watch, helpless as the man caresses Death's cheek. She shudders.

Gently, the man tucks a flower behind Death's ear.

A white rose.

Lacquera Wake, 14, District 7 Female POV

The final day of the Sixty-Sixth Hunger Games...

This is the worst Hunger Games. Ever.

I try really, really, really hard to be positive. So that really nice yellow dress that I wanted to wear to the school dance was too expensive? I just took a few extra tesserae, spent my food money on the dress and hoped I wouldn't get reaped. So I got reaped? Well, Finnick Odair won last year and he was two months younger than I am now. Maybe I'd win and then I'd finally get to meet the hottest guy in Panem. We could be Panem's hottest power couple.

So the only weapons in the whole arena are maces...

I was a bit stumped on that one. It was only on day two, when most of the larger tributes had died, presumably from falling through the weak, rickety planks, into the lake, that I realised that the maces were a good thing. Sure, I couldn't use them. But neither could anyone else.

Now I've kind of lost track of time. I've kept track of who's left. It's just me and the girl from Six. I've seen her a few times. She's pretty fat. It means she's probably survived so long because it's harder for fat people to starve. It also means she's pretty slow. Every time she's spotted me, I've managed to escape her with my speed, while she's had to move slowly and carefully, to avoid falling in the water.

I'm sure that, eventually, Six will run out of energy or she'll fall in the lake and drown. That means I'll win.

I can't say the arena isn't taking its toll on me. I haven't showered in ages. My clothes are stiff with dirt. I go to sleep hungry every night and wake up aching from a night on the hard planks. I never know when I'll get my next meal.

So I find myself forced to tempt fate.

About three days ago, I realised that I only get sponsors after a narrow escape from Six. So whenever I get too hungry, I go looking for her. Then I run away. Then I get food. Or water. Or water purification tablets. I got a pack of those after the last Careers died and I was the most interesting tribute left. I'm running out.

I have no idea what Six is drinking. I don't think she has any sponsors. I don't think a Six has had sponsors since Royss Cardinal. I'm not old enough to remember his victory clearly but I've seen enough reruns to know about his iconic strategy. He pretended to be a statue for the whole games.

Finally, I see Six stumbling around, a plank covered with dark stains gripped in her hands. She looks really sick. Her face is blue but, somehow, she's still standing.

I'm amazed. I decide that, when I get to District 6 on my victory tour, I'll give an extra special speech. This girl deserves it after trying so hard.

She sees me and a wild, mad look creeps into her eyes. I'm shocked to find that I understand that look. When one of us dies, the nightmare will all be over.

Six takes a step towards me. I brace myself to run...

She sinks to the planks, too weak to stand.

I briefly wonder what to do. A dark thought creeps into my head. Could I kill her?

I look down at my hands, my empty hands. If I had an axe, it would be so easy. I could kill her in one chop, Sean Aspen style. Off with her head! But I just have my two hands. I suppose I could push her into the water and let her drown.

I walk towards her, a little dazed. I'm going to kill a girl. I'm going to kill a girl. I'm going to kill a girl.

Then she rears up, like a zombie, just as I'm getting close. I scream.

She was just playing weak to lure you in! Lacquera, you idiot!

Panicking, I run away from the other girl, as fast as I can. I leap into the water, knowing that she can't swim and I can. There are a lot of rivers and lakes in Seven. I've had plenty of practice.

I cut through the water like a knife. I can't look back. I can only swim away.

That's when I notice the dark shapes squirming in the water around me.

When the first tiny mouth sinks into my skin, I ignore it.

Keep swimming, Lacquera. Get out of the water.

But then there are more sharp pains all over my body. There are things attacking me. Leeches. I can feel the blood draining out of me. My limbs are getting heavy. It gets harder and harder to lift my face above the surface so I can take breaths.

I'm going to die.

Quick, Lacquera, I think, as my body begins to shut down. Think of a positive.

I find one.

At least someone gets to live. Sure, she's fat and nerdy and I never bothered to learn her name. She's just the kind of girl whose name I'd never bother to learn at school. But she tried really, really, really hard to survive.

I just threw my life away for a nice dress.

We all remember Charon for being the guy who got Grim Reapered. I struggled to think of a personality for him that wasn't just 'Career' so I just went completely off the wall. His little drug-fuelled interactions with Death are... probably the weirdest scenes I'll ever write. I hope you don't find them too weird.

We also get to see the finale of Mercedes' games (though Lacquera can't remember her final opponent's name). The gamemakers didn't send those leeches after Lacquera just to be mean. They did it because Mercedes had kills but she was too sick to finish off her final opponent. She made a much more suitable victor than Lacquera, who had no kills and was making no effort to finish off her final opponent.

Next chapter is District 7, which means we'll see a bit of a fan favourite. Finally, we get to see what's going on in Silver Oberst's head.