Day 13 is scheduled for Wednesday

I've no idea why I'm saying anything about my hopeful schedule, but whatever.

Make sure you've read the previous chapter before going on to this one!

Huge thanks again to everyone who's keeping with the story! It's because of you that I press on!


Aran Quade, Age 17, District 6

District Six Male, Sixth Quarter Quell


Malaya seems to feel a lot better today, something evident in the smiles she offers as we climb through the thick underbrush of the Arena. We're loosely following the river, looking for a new sight to camp. We packed up last night, sleeping under the stars, and have been wandering all morning. The distraction seems to be doing wonders for her.

"How about here?" Malaya's voice stops me in my tracks, and I look up. Her orange hair shines like fire in the sun, and she's pointing to a small alcove nestled between two trees.

It's nothing like the openness of our previous camp, but it looks hidden enough. "Looks wonderful!" I praise. She grins and I stop, awestruck. Does everybody in her District have a smile that beautiful?

"I love you." I say before I can stop myself. She goes beet red, and I turn away, suddenly remembering myself. Had I really said that?

"Maybe we should set up." I try to recover, and she only nods, still blushing. We make quick work of it, silently clearing ground and concealing our hideaway. It isn't until we lay down in the darkness of the alcove nearly an hour later that she speaks to me.

"Do you mean it?" Is all she asks. I'm taken aback, choking slightly as I try to spit out an answer. "It's okay if you didn't." She says after a moment. "I killed a boy. I'm a monster."

"Yes." I breathe, and I see her shoulders stiffen. "No!" I cry, realizing my mistake. "I meant "yes, I meant what I said earlier." I gasp. "You are not a monster, Laya. You did what you had to do to survive. He attacked you, remember? It's not your fault."

"Yes it is." She says quietly. "I asked for this, Aran. I Volunteered, remember? I trained for the chance to kill Seven. I was trained to kill-" She doesn't finish her sentence, but I hear it anyway. I was trained to kill you.

"It's what you grew up with." I say, scooting closer. "You've known little outside of that training until now. There's nothing you can do about it now, so let's not stress, okay? Let's just try to get through this in one piece."

"You'll get through this in one piece." She says, and my stomach drops. "You have a reason to go home."

I think of Reyna, and I shake my head. "Yes, I do." I wrap an arm around her abdomen. "But that life seems dead without you in it." She's shaking, and I realize that she's crying. My heart breaks as I bury my nose in her fiery hair. Under the smells of sweat and dirt, it's sweet and warming. "It will be okay, Laya."

"Laya." Her breath catches. "I like it." I choose to stay nothing, and we sit in silence for a moment.

She cuddles up to me. "Aran?" She asks quietly.

"Mm?" I groan softly.

"I love you too."


Esmeralda Dawn, Age 18, District 4

District Four Female, Sixth Quarter Quell


Tracks. Up ahead. Already, my next kill is just out of my reach, but that should change soon enough.

The footfalls in the mud here indicate a smaller tribute, followed by larger boots. The larger prints are erratic, jumping through the trees while the smaller ones seem to scamper in a relatively straight line. The tribute, probably the girl from Ten or Eleven, walked uncaringly.

Up ahead, the small prints are broken by larger intervals, as though the little one was running. The larger ones have joined the straight trail, choosing speed over stealth.

Ten feet, and large, even gouges tear up the earth, definitely from the claw of a hovercraft. The larger prints stride away, while the smaller ones vanish.

Must have been Eleven, a few days ago.

There's an imprint in the ground, long and uniform. A staff? The tribute is armed then, and definitely took out the girl.

They've got a few days' head start, but I'll find them. Unless of course it was Seven or Blue, but in either case, I might be able to track whoever killed them. If I move fast enough, I'll add another head to my list before night falls.

The hunt begins now.


Henry Reynoso, Age 14, District 8

District Eight Male, Sixth Quarter Quell


Devon won't shut up. I mean, seriously, how can she expect me to sit by and listen to her talk about her friends and crap back home when she knows full well how much of a murderer she is?

Does she know how much I hate her? Is she trying to keep me from trying anything? No, of course not; I'm armed with a single knife, while she has like eight. If she was worried about me killing her, she'd have ended me by now. No, she must be freaking oblivious.

I made my decision earlier, and I plan to stick to it. I stand abruptly in the middle of a story about when her kid first learned to walk, and she pauses mid-sentence. Finally.

"I'm going to get something to eat." I say. "There are some frogs around here that Blue and I used to eat all the time, if they're cooked right."

"Aren't they poisonous?" She asks, sounding concerned. Bull.

"Only if you don't cook them right." I say, and that seems to satisfy her. After all, Blue and I clearly didn't die from poison up to this point.

The frogs are bright in color, and they really are poisonous if cooked wrong. I'm surprised Devon knows anything about them, but then again perhaps I shouldn't be. It was probably covered in training.

Killing her may be more difficult than I thought.

The amphibians are really easy to find, soaking in the sun around the riverbank. I catch them alive, knowing that their raw innards are really irritating for the skin. I only grab two, figuring I could always come back for more later.

I ask Devon to impale the frogs on some sticks while I make a fire. She does as I ask without question, and soon we're roasting them slowly. Her mouth seems to be watering at the smells, but mine is dry. Do I really want to do this? I can still back down.

One glance at the Five girl as she pokes at a frog with her knife, however, makes my mind back up. I have to.

I pull hers off first, wiggling the stick out and handing it to her. She looks at it skeptically. "That's it?"

"Yup" I say, hooking the poison glands with my own roasting stick. "Just eat it like a chicken leg." She hesitates, before digging in. I struggle a bit, but after a hard yank, the glands rip free of the frog's stomach.

Her teeth dig in to the belly, and I panic. The poison is slow acting, taking up to two days before taking full effect. A tea can be brewed to fight it off, but it only pushes back inevitable death. Am I really willing to feed her the antidote until I decide to let her just die?

I recall the look of Blue's face in the sky, and the answer comes easy. Yes, yes I can.


Thanatos Rize, Age 15, District 9

District Nine Male, Sixth Quarter Quell


I'm so bored.

What am I supposed to do at this point? I can't seem to find any tributes, the Gamemakers are refusing to lead me to one, and yet they seem to keep dying in other parts of the Arena. I haven't so much as heard anyone since I killed the Eleven girl like… three days ago? At least before that, I had the excitement of taking from the Careers to drive me on.

Now it's just… bleh.

I made my way back to camp after Eleven's death, and I've sat, waiting eagerly, ever since. Surely I've been more exciting than some of the other tributes? Sure, the Careers have gathered a few other kills, but I mean, they can drive someone my way. The boy from Three, for instance. Or the girl from Five. Haven't I proven I'm ready?

"I'm ready!" I call out into the jungle. Usually, taunting the Gamemakers isn't a good idea, but come on. I've got to be one of their best players by now, especially with the field growing smaller every day.

Nearby, a bird chirps, followed by another. Suddenly, all the feathered creatures in my area seem to be squawking angrily, and one swoops down toward me. Sitting as I am, I'm not ready when it bites hard into my hand. I cry out, readying my scythe.

Another dives toward me, and I cut it from the sky. More follow, and it quickly becomes apparent that I can't hold them off.

They're driving you somewhere. A voice in the back of my head whispers. I take the cue, running headlong into the jungle. The pursuit remains close, though the pecks from the sharp beaks become less frequent. I hesitantly glance over my shoulder as the sound of flapping wings fades, and I watch the flock fly away.

"So it must have been you who killed Eleven."

I whip around, raising my scythe. A woman steps out of the trees, sword in hand. I quickly recognize her as the Four girl, and my stomach fills with dread.

"I've been hunting you all day, Nine. I was worried I wouldn't find you before tomorrow. Thankfully, the Gamemakers have brought you to me."

I glare at her. "Where are your keepers, Four? Have the Twos finally let their bitch off her leash?"

I meant to anger her, and it works. I also meant to cloud her judgement. It doesn't work.

She's on me like a hound, her sword dancing in the evening sun. She lunges, and I dodge back. She swings at my head, and I parry. Over and over, she tries to land a killing blow, and I can only be on the defensive. This is not at all how I had imagined my first real fight to go in the Arena.

I'm not sure when exactly the balance shifts, but suddenly the older girl is screaming in frustration, and she falters slightly. I smile grimly, taking the opportunity to take the offensive. I land a small cut over her forearm, following through with a swing to her head. She ducks, though not before I catch the blade of her sword with my scythe. With a jerk, the blade flies from her grasp, landing in the hard earth behind me.

"What now?" I snarl. She looks at me, readying her stance.

"Bring it."

She grins widely as I swing over my head and down to her hip. She jumps, and I have no time to stop myself as she lands on the blade, hard. My arm wrenches as the blade snaps under her weight.

I'm thrown to the ground, my fighting arm red with pain. My vision swims, and I come to as I feel the pressure on my chest.

Four is straddling me, looking down. She's holding a knife to my throat, and suddenly I don't dare breathe.

"You fought well, for cannon fodder." She says. "Nine should remember your name with pride, Thanatos Rize." She brings the knife down into my chest, again and again, until my throat is raw from screaming and the pain becomes a bitter coldness.

I feel myself slipping away, and I realize why my mentor, Harvest, always warned me against calling out the Gamemakers.


Cheyenne Bruno, Age 13, District 10

District Ten Female, Sixth Quarter Quell


Final Nine, I think dimly as a cannon rings out. I wonder who it was; the most likely person to die this late in the Game is, well, myself. I think the next candidate would be the Eight boy, especially since his Ally died yesterday. For a moment, I hope that maybe one of the Careers died. That would certainly make my time in the Arena that much lighter, even if there are few things in here that could kill them.

Hopefully it was Esmeralda.

I won't know until later, when the Death Recap shines over us for the twelfth time. I'll know then which one of the poor souls I was sent here with was murdered by the Capitol for the sake of entertainment. Thankfully I wasn't there to witness it, like when Denny and Infiniti died. Even though I've spent more time alone than in the company of others, I'm not sure I could stand watching another tribute fall.

I should feel elated at having made it this far. Most children from my District would have died by now, but instead of hope I feel cold. It hurts, sure, not knowing which breath might be your last. It's horrible being so scared all the time. But of the other tributes left, the only ones I'd feel even the slightest bit of remorse over would be Eight or Five. Maybe Six. Certainly not One, the Twos, or the girl from Four, and the Nine boy honestly scares me.

I wonder how my mentor might feel if she knew about the change that had come over me the past few days. Might she be saddened, seeing what I have become? Tabitha Shearer is our most recent Victor, but as of yet she hasn't brought anyone home. Have I begun to give her hope? Does she sit in the Control Center, watching me, excitement building in her chest?

I suppose I'll have to ask her, if I make it home. First, however, I have to outlive eight tributes, at least half of which have trained to some degree. Less than a week, I hope, and I can go home.

One way or another.


Devon Rose, Age 17, District 5

District Five Female, Sixth Quarter Quell


Henry watches me critically as I drink my tea. He insisted he make some for us after he had cooked up the frogs, and while tea isn't my first choice of drink, I relented. He seemed so eager for me to try it, and I can honestly say that it's soothing. This is the third cup I've had since the cannon earlier, and I daresay it's the best thing I've had in this Arena.

It's a little cold, since Henry and I had to put out the fire some time ago. Don't want anybody sneaking up on us, of course, but even cold tea relieves some of the scratchiness in my throat. Henry assumes that it's due to dehydration, and I can't help but take his word for it. His grandmother is a doctor, after all.

Suddenly, the darkness closes upon us even further, before the sky lights in a dazzling show of pale white lines. The grid hovers for a moment, before fading as the anthem plays. The seal of Panem appears, then the solemn, pale face of today's fallen tribute.

The image of the boy from Nine makes me wonder, and I recall both the Nines getting particularly high scores this year. Unfortunately, somebody managed to take them both down, evidently. Just like that, District Nine becomes the fifth District out of the running, following Twelve, Thirteen, Eleven and Seven.

"What do you suppose happened to him?" My Ally asks, staring up at the sky. He seems so quiet, and I can't remember whether or not he was like that before the Games.

"The Careers, probably." I say quietly. "They're by far the strongest players left, and I doubt it was any of the other four."

He looks at me quizzically. "Four?" He asks, "It's just Three, Six and Ten out there, besides us and the Careers." He's confused, and I realize that the Alliance between Aran and Malaya isn't a factor he knows about. I keep this information to myself, however, not sure whether or not I may need it someday.

"You're right." I say offhandedly. "only three outliers, each probably on their own. Then the four Careers, and the two of us." I offer a smile, and he seems content.

We sleep in shifts again that night, and I notice Henry tossing and turning during my watch. I suspect he's plagued by nightmares, following the death of the Four boy.

Without realizing it, I start humming to myself in the darkness. Slowly, the humming becomes a soft lullaby, though I keep my tone low enough that only Henry can hear.

"Come little children, I'll take thee away

Into a land of enchantment.

Follow sweet children, the time's come to play

Here in my garden of shadows."

I stop to drink throughout my watch, but the itch in my throat refuses to go away.

I'll have to ask Henry for some more tea in the morning.


Deaths!

10th Place: Thanatos Rize, Age 15, District Nine Male

Stabbed Repeatedly by Esmeralda Dawn, District Four Female

Time in Arena: 11 days 9 hours 34 minutes 9 seconds

I was really excited when I received Thanatos. He was a strong tribute, perhaps the strongest of my outer Districts. He was my Maverick, something I was really hoping to have. But I just couldn't write for him. His segments were really difficult for me to write, and I just felt like I was doing him wrong. Huge thanks to Wolfie McCoy for Than, and I hope to see another wonderful tribute from you for my next Games!


Placings!

26th: Sparky Montgomery, Age 12, District Thirteen Male

25th: Kenzi Williams, Age 16, District Seven Female

24th: Tulle Salane, Age 15, District Eight Female

23rd: Thorn Ashbury, Age 13, District Eleven Male

22nd: Keola Foeba, Age 13, District Twelve Female

21st: Harvest Miller, Age 14, District Nine Female

20th: Rebelle Rine, Age 13, District Thirteen Female

19th: Soot Maloy, Age 13, District Twelve Male

18th: Denny Rico, Age 14, District Ten Male

17th: Marcus Caelum, Age 17, District One Male

16th: Jetta Carter, Age 17, District Six Female

15th: Darius Line, Age 17, District Five Male

14th: Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District Three Female

13th: Willow Orchids, Age 13, District Eleven Female

12th: Logan Woodson, Age 16, District Seven Male

11th: Jasper Blue, Age 16, District Four Male

10th: Thanatos Rize, Age 15, District Nine Male


Kills!

Malaya Garnet: 1 (Logan Woodson, D7M)

Marcus Caelum: 1 (Kenzi Williams, D7F)

Cassia Lyra Maurise: 2 (Thorn Ashbury, D11M; Sparky Montgomery, D13M)

Mason Lepodolite: 4 (Darius Line, D5M; Jetta Carter, D6F; Tulle Salane, D8F; Keola Foeba, D12F)

Esmeralda "Mera" Annalise Dawn: 4 (Infiniti Reagan, D3F; Thanatos Rize, D9M; Soot Maloy, D12M; Rebelle Sunflower Rine, D13F)

Devon Cynthia Rose: 1 (Jasper Blue, D4M)

Darius Line: 1 (Harvest Miller, D9F)

Thanatos Rize: 1 (Willow Orchids, D11F)

Other: 2 (Marcus Caelum, D1M (Sepsis); Denny Rico, D10M (Jaguar))


Alliances!

Malaran: Malaya (1) and Aran (6)

Glory for Two: Mason (2) and Cassia (2)

Poison: Devon (5) and Henry (8)


Loners!

Cordin (3)

Esmeralda (4)

Cheyenne (10)

I think it's sad that I'm just now noticing this, but the Placings list is growing quite extensive.


Questions!

Thanatos has passed on. What did you think of him?

Henry has made his first move of the Games. What do you think will become of it?

Is there any way that Devon can survive?

Malaya and Aran finally said the words! Am I the only one who feels like their ship's finally sailing?

What's up with Cheyenne?

I have somehow allowed 4 of the 5 Careers to survive to the Final Nine. Will Malaya, Cassia, Mason or Esmeralda win? Or are the outliers still viable for the crown?

Of the fallen Districts (7, 9, 11, 12 & 13), which was your favorite?

Any predictions for Day 13?