Author's Note:

I do not own the Hunger Games.

The path to the cliffs was familiar now, and they found their way down it with ease.

Since the trees were so thick and dense now, they planned to follow the treeline round to the edge of the arena. Once they reached the forcefield, then they could see.

Then they could be free.

The beach stank of anger and darkness. Nathaniel shuddered, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. It felt colder here, and black with hatred and rage. Luciente gazed out across the sand. The girl from Two stood at the edge of the sea, white tipped waves lapping around his boots, her red figure tainted by black and hatred. The boy from Four stood on the stony sand of the beach, arms folded across his chest, blue figure shot through by white, golden hair swirling about his face, his one eye gazing out to sea. Luciente fingered her warm stone. Nathaniel started and reached for his knife, jumping back towards the trees. "There are tributes down there!"

Bunny frowned. "No there isn't."

Nathaniel pointed, trembling, at the boy from Four. "But he's right there!"

"The dead can't hurt us."

Nathaniel shook his head. "But they can't- they can't actually be- She wants to hurt us."

"She can't," Luciente replied, even though she could still feel the water pressing down on her, pulling on her legs, dragging her down, dragging her under as the black anger swirled around and around and around her.

The dead can't hurt us.

Except, she thought bitterly, when they could.

The warm glow stones made her stronger; maybe they made the ghosts stronger too. She had never encountered anything like this, never felt anything like this. But the ghosts had led her to the stones, been drawn to them, and the girl from Two had been more powerful under the water than anything she had ever come across. Was that just because there was a lot of this stone at the seabed or would they be strengthened by those she and Nathaniel carried enough to cause harm as well?

And then there was the blackness, the darkness she had felt looming behind Hyperion, deep in the trees but nearing, dark and evil and pressing.

Luciente turned her stone over in her pocket. She could still feel Hyperion, following the stream with Ilenia, and the girl from Six not far behind their own little group, making her way towards the cliff.

There was a flicker, a pulse, and a canon rang out.

They all jumped, even Luciente who had half felt it. The sound seemed to echo around them, long and mournful, and then faded.

There was long silence for a moment. The arena felt hauntingly quiet and empty. Luciente was painfully aware of the ghosts waiting and watching on the beach.

Nathaniel gazed at the sky. "Who do you think it was?"

"Another Career, hopefully," Blossom said, adjusting the backpack against her shoulders and shifting the trident in her hand. "They're doing terribly this year, and the fewer we have to deal with the better."

Luciente held her stone a little tighter and leant down to bury her hand in the soft earth. The girl from Six — close behind them now, filling a canteen in the stream — Hyperion and Ilenia — upstream, finding their way, the darkness looming over them – the girl from Twelve, ahead, closer to the forcefield, the boy from Two, trying to force his way through the thick trees, burdened by his heavy backpack.

"Azrayk," she said simply.

Nathaniel turned to her. "Are you sure?"

Luciente straightened up. "I'm always sure."

He shrugged. "Wonder what happened."

"The Careers happened," Luciente replied, and that was that.

They followed the stretch of beach along, watching as they went for any sign of animals or prey. There was no sign of any rabbits or larger animals, but birds occasionally fluttered between the trees and squirrels darted across them. Luciente drew her slingshot and settled down just beyond the treeline to wait for some she could hunt, while Bunny and Nathaniel foraged for any edible berries or plants. After a long while of waiting a squirrel appeared, hurrying across a branch. Luciente lined up her shot and hit it in the eye. It wasn't much meat, but it was something, which was more than they had now.

As she waited and watched for more, she listened to the arena buzzing around her. She had never been able to feel quite so far before, and it was captivating, like seeing the world with different eyes. She didn't need to be herself anymore, didn't need to eat or drink or breathe; she was the earth and the trees and the air and the water. She gave the forcefield another nudge, felt it flicker and sensed the world beyond, trees and plants and animals and life.

Freedom.

Even as they moved Hyperion was deathly aware of the ice black cold evil that was trailing behind them. It wasn't coming any closer so far, not since his first acknowledgement of it, staying on the edge of his awareness, like a prickling, stinging headache at the edge of his skull.

After the canon, Ilenia had noted that there were now only eight of them left. Hyperion ran down the mental list in his head.

Himself and Luciente, Luciente's precious Nathaniel, the boy from Two, Ilenia, Arielle, Azrayk, and the girls from Nine and Twelve.

One less person to stand in their way.

He'd see who it was tonight.

There was a soft trilling, and a fluttering of white in the corner of his eye. He lifted his spear, catching sight of a white parachute floating down towards them. It snagged and tore on the branches, coming to an abrupt halt slightly above their heads and rocking there.

"We don't need their fucking gifts," Ilenia spat.

"Used their medicine didn't you?"

Ilenia scowled.

Hyperion lifted his spear and jabbed it through the strings holding it up. The white box clattered to the ground. It was maybe half a foot squared, with a black '4' printed across the top. He crouched down and fumbled for the latch, wrenching it open.

Inside was a fresh set of arena trousers and a t-shirt, both a pristine, clean white that were either going to make her a target for miles, very quickly get dirty, or, most likely, both.

"Looks like someone got tired of watching you prance about in your underwear Four."

She huffed and tossed her head. He shoved the box at her. She took it with some reluctance, scowled at the clothing within, and then tossed it aside into the stream. "Thanks but no thanks." She glared at the sky. "I don't need your fucking charity!"

Well, he could admire her dedication to the commitment if nothing else.

They continued to follow the stream down, picking their way along the shore. Hyperion paused as something caught his attention and crouched by the indentations in the soft ground by the stream.

"Footprints?" Ilenia asked.

He grunted.

"Animals, probably."

"Animals don't wear boots Four."

Only one person. Not Luciente and Nathaniel then, and something told him he'd have known if they were that close. That left plenty of other possibilities though.

"Could be Arielle."

She had been near the stream the last he knew of her.

Four raised an eyebrow. "Friend of yours?"

Hyperion grunted, pushing himself to his feet. "Keep moving."

He glanced back at the trees as they set off again. He could still feel it, sense it, somewhere back there.

They had run like cowards.

They had made themselves prey.

Hyperion held his own spear tight.

THE FALLEN

Nine male: Azrayk Blaze (16) Killed by Cairn Aphelion of District Two. Placed ninth.

Azrayk was one of the first characters submitted, and made it a long way with his alliance. He made for a steady ally with Hyperion and I enjoyed writing for him while he was there. Ultimately though, this is the Hunger Games, and my characters can't be everywhere at once to see all deaths. Thank you for him Pacecca.

CURRENT ALLIANCES:

UNSTEADY ALLIANCE: Ilenia Costello [D4F]; Hyperion Ripley [D10M].

STOLEN THE TITLE OF OMEGAS: Nathaniel Volkner [D5M]; Abundance Harper [D9F]; Luciente Ripley [D10F];

LONERS: Cairn Aphelion [D2M]; Arielle Wayne [D6F]; Tamika Tran [D12F]