Day II

Chris Jones, 17, District 4

None of it made sense.

Not the abandoned cornucopia, not his district partner's face in the sky or her dead body still slumped beside the fountain. He hadn't expected Adria's death to hit him so hard, after all, they weren't particularly close, but something about her early demise seemed to resurface painful memories of the sister and best friend he lost to games past.

Now, only one thing was clear: the careers were over and Chris was on his own.

It had never been in Chris's plans to stick with the other careers for long, in fact he planned on taking them down himself, while watching guard. Still, he hadn't expected to be on his own this early.

There was always the option of tracking down Delcy and Hoffy, whom he could only assume had linked up, but voluntarily placing himself at the bottom of their duo, would be rather short-sighted. He liked the both of them well-enough, but they were still very much dangerous. In the past, tributes from District 4 had a tendency to underestimate the tributes from District 1. It had often led to their downfalls and Chris was determined not to repeat their mistakes.

If Chris's training had taught him anything, it was that in order to be a victor, you had to adapt quickly. Even though Chris had never wanted to volunteer for these games, with Adria gone, he was the last hope of his sisters, his girlfriend, and all of District 4.

He needed to bring this home.

With no one around, Chris took his time to select his supplies from what remained in the empty gazebo. There wasn't much to choose from, but he already had his spear and was able to scrounge up a few protein bars and a stray canteen full of water.

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Looking around, Chris knew he had to make a choice. He could stay and hide out at the gazebo, a structure that provided a decent amount of protection, but now that he was working alone, he needed to take action. Unlike Hoffy and Delcy or even the twins from Five, he couldn't rely on his relationship with another tribute to earn him sponsors, he had to make his own way.

Or did he?

Perhaps there was more than one way to make an emotional splash.

Looking around the gazebo, Chris finds what he's looking for, a small camera impressed into the wooden beam of the structure. Sitting in front of the camera, Chris taps the lens a few times, "Hi, Ariel. If you're seeing this, then I just want you to know that I'm missing you a lot…"

He had played the humor card at his interviews and now he needed to play up his sensitive side. After all, there was nothing the Capitol loved more than a multi-faceted Career.

Not so long ago, father had forced him into these Games, but now? Now, he was going to play the hell out of them.

Rudy Buckner, 14, District 9

It was hard not to like Bell.

From what Rudy could tell, she was smart, confident, and easy-going. She seemed like the kind of girl that would be popular at school, without being cruel or mean. Frankly, if Rudy was going to win these games, then she needed a partner. If it couldn't be Oswald, then she supposed Bell would be a good person to have on her side.

After all, the bloodbath had been brutal to them both.

"So, who do you think took down the girl from Four?" Rudy asks, doing her best to make conversation as she sits beside Bell on the bench.

The inside of the greenhouse was a bit like a maze and as far as she was concerned, they were pretty much lost. They had done a bit of aimless meandering around the immediate area, but with no real sense of direction, they decided to make the bench their homebase, crossing their fingers they weren't turning themselves into sitting ducks.

"Last I checked, they were still working together, so I honestly have no clue. Maybe the girls from Three and Eight managed it? They're pretty sneaky," Bell replies.

Rudy nods in agreement, "Not a bad guess. If they did, then good for them. I would give anything to be the one to take down Oswald's killer."

"I wouldn't be opposed to going after the boys who took down Eme and Aidan," Bell agrees, "I doubt we would be able to do it alone, though, especially with my lung issues and your age. We would need back up, for sure."

Truthfully, Rudy was yet to reveal to Bell the extent of her fighting skills. It wasn't that she didn't trust Bell, she merely hadn't found the right time to tell her. Not to mention, she's not sure Bell would actually believe her, based on how unsuspecting Bell seemed to be of her.

"Did you have anyone in mind? Your district partner?" Rudy asks, feeling a slight pang at her heart at the phrase: 'district partner'. Oswald's death had hit her hard, but what else could Rudy do but continue to move forward? These were the games and for now, Rudy had to be strong. Instead of dwelling on emotions, she needed to channel them.

Bell shakes her head, "Jesse? Nah. He's a softie, he couldn't hurt a fly. I was actually thinking about finding the twins. Something about them always struck me as rather fierce."

"The pair from Five?" Rudy frowns, "Have you talked to them at all?"

"Well, no...but they are the same age as me and based on the faces from last night, they seemed to escape the bloodbath with the boy from Six, too. Clearly, they're doing something right..."

"Can't argue there," Rudy chuckles humorlessly, "Do you think they'd be open to working with us?"

"This isn't based on anything solid, but I get the sense the most people are open to working against the Careers. They didn't exactly make any friends yesterday," Bell responds, "They took down a lot of good people."

Rudy nods, "Great, well, let's make a plan to find them and hope they're feeling friendly."

Aniela Atalycia, 17, District 5

Aniela was ready to saw off her arm.

As it turns out, being shot by an arrow was a rather unpleasant experience and though she was very much alive, El certainly didn't recommend it.

"How are you feeling, El? Do you want to rest?" asks her brother who's looking at her with a rather concerned gaze.

"I'm alright. Let's keep walking- if we stop, I'm afraid I won't want to start again," Aniela replies, hissing through her teeth as a stray branch grazes her injured shoulder. The arrow hadn't landed too deeply in her shoulder and they had managed to remove it last night, but needless to say, it did little to subside the throbbing pain.

"It's a shame none of our bags had any bandages or medicine," Mickey muses aloud, "I'm not an expert, but sometimes when the hospital was understaffed, I used to help redress Sara's burns. I'm worried that without any protection your arm might get infected."

Aniela shoots her ally a surprised look. For such a quiet, cynical person, it was surprising to hear Mickey be so expressive about his thoughts or past.

"Maybe Tessa can get us a sponsor?" Feroric suggests. For better or for worse, she and Feroric were sharing a mentor and the last thing Aniela wanted was to waste a sponsorship on herself, not when something could benefit her brother down the road. Arguably, between the three of them, they weren't the most popular tributes out there and they had to be stringent when it came to asking for help.

Not that she could tell Feroric that.

"No!" Aniela calls out rather loudly, causing both boys to stare, "I just mean that it's so early and it's just a flesh wound. We're in a garden...surely some of these plants have medicinal properties."

Mickey nods, "Fair enough, I just wouldn't know where to start, being from Six and all."

"Unfortunately, neither would Ferrin nor I," Aniela replies.

"I noticed that some of the plants have informational plaques attached to them. If we retrace our path we can go through them one-by-one and search for some kind of healing plants," Feroric says, thoughtfully.

They seem to wordlessly agree to the plan as they work their way backwards, slowly scanning each plant's information card. Feroric seems to excel, making his way through the endless amount of information quickly, but between her shorter attention span and throbbing arm, it isn't long before El knows she's in need of a break.

"Hey guys, I'm going to go take a brief break down there," Aniela calls out, pointing to a shaded bench in the distance. Her view of the bench is mostly obscured by a large tree, but as she approaches, she realizes the bench is all but empty as she picks up on a pair of voices.

Aniela's about to turn away and hope she hasn't been made, when she realizes the topic of conversation is rather personal.

"Even if we do manage to track them down, there's no guarantee they'll hear us out," says the first voice.

"The girl seems nice enough. She did volunteer for her twin brother, after all…" replies the other, "I guess we just have to figure out how to find their group. This arena is huge...it could take days."

Stepping out of the shadow as the vision of two girls becomes clear, Aniela takes this as her cue to make her presence known, "Hi. I take it you're looking for me?"

Tamica "Cacat" Catastrophe, 18, District 2

The days and nights seemed to blur together when everything was dark. There was no sense of time or surroundings, just educated guesses based on what she could hear and touch.

It made sleeping practically impossible.

"I can tell you're still awake, Cacat," chides Seth, "You really should rest, you've been through a lot and you haven't slept in almost two days. I promise I'm not going to kill you in your sleep."

Shifting into a sitting position, Tamica shakes her head, "It's not that. If you really wanted to kill me, you would have already tried."

"Then, what is it?" asks Seth.

"I'm used to lacking depth perception, but having no sense of light or dark is screwing with me. I can't sleep, even if I wanted to," Tamica admits, bitterly, "That's not to mention my raging headache and the fact that it's ridiculously hot in here."

It was these feelings of anger, frustration, and struggle that took her back to being a young child. She recalls how her father had tried to get her to use eye drops on her good eye to blur her vision and force her left eye to function, but she had refused, allowing her left eye to turn entirely dysfunctional.

Her competitiveness allowed her to overcome whatever struggles she faced while training, but now completely blind, even Tamica began to wonder if her childhood stubbornness might have marked the beginning of the end.

She doesn't allow herself to dwell on this thought for long, though, because if she could become the most feared tribute in all of District 2 with one eye, then she could certainly win these Games blind. Tamica was a competitor and she refused to let a little obstacle like losing her eye be the end of everything she trained for.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large thump cuts through her thoughts. She draws her weapon immediately, her killer instincts prepared to take on whatever threat they might face.

"Hey, Cacat," Seth calls out, "You can relax, I think we got a sponsor gift. It looks like it's for you."

Seth seems to shuffle around, seemingly opening a box, before he begins to read, "Tamica, get some rest. You'll be needing it. -Athena."

Tamica frowns, "What is it?"

"I think your mentor got you sleeping pills," Seth replies, shaking what sounds like a full bottle of pills, "The label says 1 pill should provide about 2 hours of rest…"

"What else does it say?" Tamica asks.

"Just that you shouldn't take more than 4 pills in 24 hours," Seth replies, "Look, if you want to try taking one, I think I can handle keeping watch for 2 hours. A blind, rested Cacat is more useful to me than a blind, exhausted one."

Tamica nods, "Give me the bottle."

Seth hands it to her along with a canteen of water. She's come to recognize the round, metallic feel of the canteen, that feels familiar in her hands. Unscrewing the lid of the bottle, she pulls out a single pill. It's tinier and far more delicate than she expected, but she places it on her tongue and takes a few sips of water, before returning the canteen to Seth and placing the rest of the pills in her bag.

And for the first time in nearly 48 hours, she sleeps.

Sabrina Davids, 16, District 8

Sabrina was starting to regret leaving the greenhouse.

Sure, they had found a small pool of fresh water and had begun growing their packet of bean sprout seeds, but as the sun set, it was growing chillier by the minute as the thin fabric of their jackets did little to protect against the bitter wind.

They had attempted to take shelter by a grove of trees, but the intensity of the wind seemed to snap one of the trees in half, so it seemed like making camp in an open field was the safest option. Unfortunately, this meant they were entirely exposed to the elements.

Enduring harsh weather and sleeping outside were just another series of new experiences to add to Sabrina's list things she never wanted to do again. Sure, Sabrina had never been fond of her father's work, but she had to admit she missed the comfort it provided.

"Are you as cold as I am?" Sarahlee asks, pulling her jacket tighter around her body.

"I'm freezing," Sabrina responds, through gritted teeth, "Maybe we should head back into the greenhouse."

"Too dangerous. There's still a lot of tributes in there and it's best to avoid combat as much as possible," Sarahlee describes, "If my instincts are right, without ventilation, it's only going to get warmer inside the greenhouse and eventually everyone is going to head outside. We now know where the water source is, so we'll have an advantage."

"That's true," Sabrina shivers, "I suppose we'll also have more time to explore the outdoor garden area tomorrow. When the wind dies down, we should be alright."

Sarahlee nods, "I think we'll be able to wait it out, then get some rest."

"What should we do in the meanwhile?" Sabrina asks.

"Tell me about District 8…" Sarahlee proposes much to Sabrina's surprise. They had both agreed to avoiding personal entanglements, but with little else to do, talking felt like a much needed distraction.

"District 8 is a lot of things. I love it and I hate it, but I guess at the end of the day, it's home," Sabrina explains, "As you already know, I'm not very popular there because of my dad."

"Honestly, hating someone based on their parents doesn't make a lot of sense to me," Sarahlee replies, "Every person is so different, you can't judge a person just based on their family. Even snap judgements have to be based on more than that."

"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I actually won the Games," Sabrina replies, "I think they would hate me even more."

"Honestly, I don't know how my district would feel if I won. I doubt much about my life would actually change," Sarahlee responds, "I suppose my parents wouldn't have to work and my brother, Seymour, wouldn't have to look after me as much, but in Three, victors tend to keep their heads down. They go back to work and life keeps moving on."

"I didn't know you had a brother," Sarahlee admits, quietly, "What's he like?"

Sarahlee suddenly looks away from her, not willing to look her in the eye, "Uh, I think the worst of the wind has passed. We could probably try to head to bed now, I can take the first watch."

"Oh, yeah...you're right," Sabrina nods in agreement, realizing she had stopped shivering and that the wind had seemed to subside, "Wake me up whenever you want to switch, I guess."

Lying on her side in the soft grass, the ground suddenly doesn't feel so hard.

Penny Harjo, 14, District 7

There were no faces in the sky tonight, which meant much to Penny's relief, Jesse was still out there. For the past two days, it had been just her and Lotus doing their best to survive.

During the day they had wandered into the section of the greenhouse labeled 'desert plants'. It was hot and dry, but thanks to their shared knowledge of edible plants, they had managed to keep themselves hydrated by breaking apart some stalks of aloe vera and drinking from the water collected in the interior of some cacti.

They had even managed to find some cacti fruit, which were surprisingly sweet.

"They may not be totally wild, but I think these greenhouse plants taste much better than the kind I collect from the forest at home," Penny admits, as she attempts to pull apart at a prickly pear before giving up and handing it to Lotus. It was difficult to eat without a knife, but Lotus's sharp fingernails seemed to be coming in handy.

"These fruits taste just like bubblegum," Lotus muses, as she broke through the fruit's tough skin and returned it back to Penny.

Taking a bite, Penny chuckles, "I've never tried bubblegum before, but it tastes just like watermelon to me…"

"Penny, are you sure about your plan for tomorrow?" Lotus suddenly asks, a certain level of trepidation cutting through the ease of their current conversation.

"I'm positive," Penny replies, confidently, "If we're going to make it to the end, then we can't doubt ourselves this early. We've made it this far, so now it's our turn to show the Careers and the rest of the tributes that we aren't going to be easy targets."

"I really do believe in us, I'm just worried that we don't have any weapons," Lotus replies.

"It's just like what I said in my interview- we can't fight the arena, we have to work with it," Penny replies, "This isn't just any garden, it's an arena designed for the games, so if you think about it, there are weapons everywhere. Consider how many poisonous plants we've passed or how spiky those cacti needles were...so many elements of this place are designed to kill, all we have to do is give them a little push in the right direction."

Maybe it was the fact that this arena was Penny's best case scenario, or the fact that she was still reeling from Levi and Maven's deaths, but now more than ever, Penny wanted to live. Out of all the wondrous worlds Penny created in her head, nothing could quite live up to the image she had in her head of actually winning these games.

After all, there was nothing quite like a fantasy rooted in reality.

"I guess you're right," Lotus agrees, "We should go back to collecting the needles. I have a feeling we'll be needing them sooner, rather than later."

"Sounds good, just be careful," Penny advises, "We're dealing with dangerous stuff now, real, dangerous stuff, and the last thing I want is for either of us to get hurt."

If Penny's books had taught her anything it was that even with her back pressed to the wall, there was always a way out...even if she had make it herself.

A/N: Ahhhh! Day 2 is here and luckily, no blood was shed. With that said, we do have some exciting movement with each of the alliances and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on how things are shaping up. Do you have a favorite pov of the chapter? A tribute you're really rooting for? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! -Anya

GAMES UPDATES

Eulogies:

None! - Yay! No deaths this chapter!

Kills List:

Tamica - 2 (Oswald, Adria)
Delcy - 1 (Nick)
Seth - 1 (Emerald)
Chris - 1 (Aidan)
Adria - 1 (Maven)
Daisy - 1 (Tomato)
Tomato - 1 (Daisy)
Arena - 1 (Levi)

Alliance Update:

The Ones: Hoffy, Delcy
The Twos: Tamica, Seth
The Rebels: Michael, Feroric, Aniela
The Mutual Mistrust: Sarahlee, Sabrina
The Alliance-less Alliance: Rudy, Bell
The Book Club: Lotus, Penny
Lone Wolves: Chris, Jesse