Love: The 75th Hunger Games (SYOT!)

by JStar14H

Every year in the Hunger Games brings Tributes a different set of challenges and produces a new story. But, this year's challenge will be especially cruel, this story especially compelling. But the Hunger Games are not all that's afoot. Rebellion and discontent is brewing, and may soon reach a Breaking Point. Open SYOT, and the penultimate story of my ongoing series. Come and read!

31. Day One

Breaking Point Sextet V

Love: The 75th Hunger Games

Chapter Thirty-One

Day One

A/N: The first day's here! How exciting! This chapter may or may not contain violence and death, you have been warned.

Lamè Lunzdior –18- -D1- POV

Once I finish getting Velvet's cuts cleaned and disinfected, and a couple bandaged, although most of them aren't that bad, I look over to the boys, where Foxtrot is still doing the same with Hal, who winces a bit at the disinfecting alcohol when it touches his face.

"That girl really cut you up, huh?" I ask.

He nods. "She – ah she fought – ow – dirty. And hard."

I nod. "Smart girl, then. Probably the only chance she had."

He just nods and goes back to wincing as Foxtrot cleans the cuts. "These should be fine once I disinfect them," Foxtrot says. "They're just nail cuts, they probably won't get infected – I could use bandages for more of a guarantee, but then you'd have a bunch of bandages all over your face."

Hal nods a bit. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, Foxtrot."

"No problem, Hal," he responds.

"So, what should we do?" I ask. "There are a lot of potential targets, most of them alliances."

Velvet nods. "We should focus on the biggest threat first."

"I agree," I respond. "The four-person alliance that still has all four, that's the biggest problem. The older Seven boy is strong, and the younger girls were trained by Diana, they'll be crafty. If we give them too much time to wait for us, we'll probably walk right into a trap."

Foxtrot considers, then nods. "And after that?"

"Well," Hal says, "the two girls we've left are threats, probably not to all of us, but to one or even two, they could be trouble."

"Yeah," I say. "They are trained, but I think we shouldn't worry about them too much – they might run into each other, or one of the other alliances, and any two versus one is probably not going to go well, even if it's one of them against weaker Tributes."

Hal nods. "Fair enough. So then, the alliance that's down to three people after that?"

I consider. The Twelve boy is dead, but the pair from Six and the Twelve girl are alive, and they all could be an amount of threat on their own. "If it's still around after we get those four, then yeah, sounds like a good second target."

I look over at Velvet, and she nods. "Yep, I'm fine with that."

"Sounds like a plan," Foxtrot says. "I think we should take today to go through all the stuff here, figure out what we want to take."

Velvet nods. "And we might see a fire in the night, I didn't notice where those four ran off too."

I nod. "We were a bit busy taking care of the Twelve boy."

"I'd like these to heal a little more before heading into the forest anyway," Hal says. "So no objections here."

Velvet nods. "Yeah, same here. And maybe see if they have a new shirt somewhere around here. D—n Twelve boy cut me all up."

"I'll help you look," I tell her. "You two… do whatever," I shrug. "See you later."

The boys nod as I walk off with Velvet into the Cornucopia in search of a new shirt.

Velvet Lunzdior –18- -D1- POV

I have to admit, it was fun to fight with Lamè, even if it hurt a bit, but, well, that's what fights do. And we won, despite the boy having help. In a fair fight, we're better than the competition. That's pretty awesome.

"You think it'll be easy to find the Three-Seven pair?" I ask Lamè as I toss open a bag to search through it.

She shrugs. "I don't know, they're probably smart enough not to make a terribly big fire or anything, but there are only so many places they could've gone. Worst case, if we don't find them quickly, somebody else probably will."

"True," I respond. "I wonder how much of a threat they really will be, I mean, I know you're right that Diana's training probably means they're going to set some traps, but if we can get past them, I don't think the girls will be hard kills at all, nor the younger boy."

"Yeah," she says, "I agree, the traps will be the hardest part. Once that's done, or if they don't do it, they're easy kills. Then we can move on to the Twelve-Six… also, does something feel off about them to you?"

"What's that?" I ask, curious.

"Well, the girl, when we were fighting the boy, she was shouting to help him… but she didn't come and do anything. Seems… a little weird for someone you Love, doesn't it?" She looks over at me, pausing her searching for a second.

I consider for a second, then nod. "If it were you, I'd come and help, even if it meant I might die."

She nods. "Exactly."

"But," I add, "maybe she was just scared. Cowardice is powerful."

"True," she says. "But that end strike… she called out the wrong thing. I don't know, it just feels weird to me."

I nod. "Yeah, you have a good point."

She shrugs. "Well, doesn't really matter. If they're still around after we take care of Three and Seven, we'll get them too. They're down one of their two stand-up fighters, after all."

"Yeah, three versus four is easy," I respond, "especially when two of those Three are as weak as the Six pair are. So who after that?"

"That depends on who's left," she says. "Probably any alliances first. So either the Five pair, the Ten boys, or the Eleven girls."

I nod. "Yeah. Any idea who will go first?"

She shrugs. "I dunno, the older Five girl definitely has some skills,"

"As I found out," I chuckle.

"Yeah," she says, "but the younger one really doesn't. Neither of the Ten boys seem much physically, but they probably have some good strategies. Both of the Eleven girls seem semi-capable physically, and probably mentally. I'd say they're all about the same, but if I had to pick one pair that would die first, probably the Ten boys."

I nod. I agree with her assessment, as I always do. "And only after taking out those alliances do we go for the two loners, if they're even around?"

She nods. "Yeah. After all, our 'allies' might decide to switch sides and fight with them if we have to kill them, so we might as well leave them til last."

"Yep," I respond. "Makes sense. And after that, it's just however many of the boys are still alive, and then…" I feel a lump forming in my throat. I look at Lamè, sorting through bags to try to find me a shirt, who just helped me patch up my cuts… who has been helping me to patch up my cuts since we were young… my sister. I can't say it, I won't say it.

"Yeah… and then… it just comes down to us," Lamè says.

"Right," I say, swallowing.

"Oh, hey, found a shirt for you!" Lamè smiles at me. "Well, probably, it looks your size. Here you go, put it on."

She hands me the simple cloth garment, and I take off my old, now cut-up shirt, and put on the new one. It's a little snug, but it's not cut up or bloody, so I'll take it. "Fits like a charm, thanks, sis."

She smiles again. "Of course, Velvet, no problem! Now let's go find the boys again."

Foxtrot Suevite –18- -D2- POV

"Okay, done," I say, finally getting the last of Hal's cuts disinfected. "You should be all good now, but try not to get into any more close fights like that. Or, like, smear dirt on your face."

"Thanks, Foxtrot," Hal says with a chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind. Guess we should look for some more supplies?"

I nod. "Probably, yep. Although if we're staying here all day, no big rush."

"True," he says. "We already got weapons, after all. Just need some secondaries, food, and survival gear."

I nod. "Yep. You should never underestimate the importance of survival gear, never know what the Gamemakers might decide to throw at you, from a forest fire to a cold snap to -" I cut myself off and chuckle. "Sorry, you know that. Force of habit."

Hal chuckles. "Ah, it's fine man, you were a trainer, right?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Well, technically, I'm going to become one, but it's basically what I've been doing, I haven't been training for myself, that's for sure, just helping the people who would actually volunteer. A lot this stressful than volunteering, that's for sure."

Hal nods. "I'd imagine so… I know the stress can be a lot, can get to some people. It got to Nerys."

"Yeah, I understand how she feels, I mean, it's a lot to think you're going to go into these Games, probably die, and if not, have to kill people," I sigh. "At least, unless you're… dedicated like Cadence. Or you, I suppose."

He nods. "Yeah… honestly, I wouldn't have minded Nerys dropping out… might have been nice, actually, I wouldn't have to worry about her in the Games. I mind the cheating."

"Yeah… I don't know though, she seemed pretty honest about regretting her mistake," I say before I can fully process that, honestly, Hal doesn't really need to get back with his girlfriend – not when we'll have to kill her.

"I mean… she always seems earnest," he says. "But how can I know that she wouldn't do it again? And how can she really love me, if she cheated on me?" Hmm, that's… a hard one. I love Justice, after all, I think, but I did cheat on her. And I… used to have feelings for Cadence… and she is pretty, and I… I married her sister. But I still care about both of them… "Ah, don't worry, Foxtrot," he says, he must have seen my thinking face, "I don't expect you to have the answer… not that it matters anyway. C'mon, let's get looking for supplies."

"Right," I say. "Yeah, right, supplies."

Halian "Hal" Maui –17- -D4- POV

I feel a little bad for mentioning all that to Foxtrot. Not like he needs to know, not like he should really care about my Nerys problems… which at this point are more rhetorical than anything. After all, if she lives more than the next few days, I die… I just really hope I don't have to kill her. Or see her die. She might be a cheater, but she doesn't deserve that… probably good she's not with us. In one way, I hope she just gets shot in the back by somebody she never even heard coming or accidentally walks off a cliff – something quick, she won't see it coming. I definitely don't want her to die like that girl Foxtrot killed, or even the boy I did – and definitely not like what happened to the Twelve boy, I saw the body before the Capitol took it, and it was… not pretty.

After Foxtrot and I have been searching for supplies a bit, the girls come back and help us search. We find a good bit of what we need, and by that time, the sun is getting low, so we make dinner and discuss watches. Foxtrot and I break the silence afterward by sharing some training stories, and eventually, we get the girls to chime in as well.

"-and that's how I developed my signature," Lamè finishes her story.

"She's really good," Velvet says. "If we ever need a ranged person, it should definitely be her."

"And that we do," I say. "I think the rest of us are melee fighters, I have more reach than you two," that directed at Velvet and Foxtrot, "but not a lot. Hopefully nobody got a bow."

"Yeah… that could be scary, remember Valencia?" Velvet asks.

We all nod. "She was terrifying," I say. "That whole fight must have been terrifying, on both sides."

"Yeah," Foxtrot says. "And the way she died… Aislie was a bit of a bully."

"Yep," I say. "But she got it in the end."

Lamè nods. "Shame that her and Blaze both died though."

Velvet nods. "They were strong contenders, we really thought we might have had a winner there."

I nod. "Well, unfortunately, a lot of people are strong contenders – and that year, that battle was crazy."

"Yeah," Lamè says. "Which is this year, we're hoping to avoid a repeat of that."

I nod along with everyone else. "Definitely. I'm rather attached to my head." That gets some grim chuckles from everyone.

Elara Sora –14- -D3- POV

"Think we've been walking long enough?" I ask Yuna. We've been walking for… a bit, certainly.

She shrugs. "Probably, but," she stops and listens, "we should go until we find a water source."

I nod. "Right, you're right, we should."

"Good point, Yuna," Cedar pipes up. "We need water."

"Particularly running water," I add. Hey, I know things too! "Still water is too likely to be contaminated with bacteria or algae."

"Of course, we'll need to boil any water we find anyway, assuming we can," Cedar says.

"Yes, Cedar, I was just about to say that," I say. Goodness, Cedar is annoying.

"Oh, sorry, Elara," he says, he must have picked up my annoyance. "Didn't mean to offend, I was just trying to be helpful." Yeah, sure.

"No, it's fine," I respond. He gives me a glance but shrugs it off as we continue walking.

Yuna Odalis –14- -D3- POV

As we continue walking, I hear a faint sound.

"Wait, stop," I say. "That sounds like… a river, yeah. C'mon, this way." It does indeed sound like a river's nearby, and after another couple of minutes of walking, we come out of the forest onto the lightly wooded riverbank. The river's not terribly wide or fast, which is probably good, but it is clear, running water. I smile. "Okay, let's see what supplies we have, set up camp, then get working on some traps." Elara and Cedar nod, as does Rowan. "Hmm, how about me and Cedar look around for good trap locations and useful plants, and Elara and Rowan, you two can look through our supplies, sound good?" I figure it'll be good to get a little time with Cedar alone, since I'm thinking I'll stay up with Elara tonight to talk to her, but I don't want Cedar to feel lonely either.

"I guess," Elara says. Yeah, something seems off, hence why I need to talk to her later.

Rowan shrugs. "Fine with me."

Cedar smiles. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

"Awesome," I say. "Let's get started, then." I drop the stuff I had grabbed, besides the throwing knives, as does Cedar, besides his dagger, and we walk back into the forest a bit.

Once we're out of earshot, Cedar turns to me to ask, "Are you sure you should've left Elara and Rowan together?"

I shrug. "I wanted some time alone with you, since I think Elara wants her friend tonight, why, do you think they won't get along?"

Cedar blushes a bit. "Oh, thanks… and, no, I suppose not, just thought you might want to be with Elara. And honestly, I don't know as much as I imagine she does about what we're looking for out here."

"Oh, she'll be fine, and that's easy, actually. Anything that could be used to make a trap, any kind of trap you could think of, and some plants that look like this," I describe some of the various poisonous flora that is usually found in the forested Arenas, "so we can make some poison."

Cedar nods. "Gotcha… I'll keep an eye out for that stuff, then."

I smile. "Awesome." I give him a little kiss on the cheek. "If you do see it, don't touch it though, let me handle it, some of those plants are toxic too, or attract dangerous animals."

"Right," he nods.

Cedar Mildberg –15- -D7- POV

Yuna is really sweet, wanting time alone with me like this, even if it is while we're looking for poisonous plants.

"So, are we just doing the half-circle between our campsite and the river?" I ask her.

She nods. "Yeah, then we'll follow the river until we get back."

"Ah, good idea," I smile at her. "You're definitely smart."

She blushes a little. "Thanks, Cedar… Elara's the smart one, though, she builds robots and stuff."

"You're smart too though," I respond. "You write after all, and you write well, that takes intelligence."

She blushes a bit more. "Maybe intelligence of grammar and what makes a good story, but not intelligence like Elara has. There's a big difference between being a good writer and a good engineer or inventor, and Elara is the second. That'll get her places in life, she already builds small robots, she can go on to build bigger and better things, make a lot of money… not that she doesn't already have a bit already…" she seems to get a bit nervous "I mean, not really too much or anything, she… uh, never mind. She has it rough at home too, but my point is that she's smarter than me."

Well, that's… concerning. I stop and wrap my arm around her in a hug. "She has it hard at home… too?"

"Oh," Yuna looks down and doesn't reciprocate the hug. "It's nothing, forget I mentioned it."

"No," I say, trying to look at her eyes, although given that she's looking down, that's hard. "If you want to… need to talk about it, you can."

"I… it's nothing, really," she says. "Can we please just, keep looking?" She seems almost… hurt.

"Oh, uh… sure, Yuna. Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep," I say, taking my arm away from her.

"It's… fine," she responds. "Sorry I mentioned anything. Oh!" She smiles and points down to right by my foot. "White baneberry! That's perfect!" I take a cautious step back.

"Is it… safe?" I ask.

"Well, not to eat," she says. "It'll give you a heart attack and kill you. Now, to touch…" she tears off a bit of her sleeve and very carefully uses it as a makeshift glove to pick the berries. "Not sure. But these will definitely be helpful."

"That's good," I say, as she ties up the scrap of cloth into a makeshift bag, then stands up. "You're kinda cute when you get excited about poisonous plants."

She snorts, and sarcastically says "Ooo, Cedar, you flatter me."

I blush a bit. "Sorry, Yuna, I didn't mean, I mean I just meant -"

She cuts me off with a chuckle. "I know, it's okay, you're lucky you're cute."

I smile. "Thanks, Yuna. Let's, keep going, I guess?"

She nods. "Yep."

A few minutes later, we've completed our small circle and find ourselves back at the river, although not yet back at camp.

"River's shallow here," I notice. "And the bank makes it look like you could walk right across."

She nods. "Yeah, we'll definitely want to put a trap here. Might as well make life a little harder for anyone trying to cross."

I nod. "Fair enough. I wonder if the water's cold."

She shrugs. "I dunno, are forest rivers normally cold?" She bumps her shoulder into me a little as she teases. "You're the one from the forest, after all."

"I dunno, never been in one," I shrug, pushing her back a little. "You're so smart, I thought you'd know."

"Why would I know?" She shoves me back a little. "Not like 'the temperature of forest rivers' is a bestselling book in Three, after all."

I laugh. "Fair enough, well, I know I way we can find out."

"What's that – wait!" But by the time she says 'wait', it's already too late, as I shove her, hard, over the small riverbank and into the river. She crashes into the water, but it's shallow enough here that once she stops flailing around, she can stand, although her clothes look soaked.

"Is it cold?" I ask, teasingly.

"Is it – you can find out for yourself!" She says, splashing river water at me as I come over to the bank. It is, in fact, cold.

"Oh! Cold!" I shout.

She giggles. "No s—t, Sherlock. Now get me outta here, I'm freezing."

"Right," I say, and offer her my hand from the bank. She takes it, and I start to pull her up – only to have her pull me down, into the cold river water. She laughs as I take a second to find my footing. "You…"

"Hey, now we're even!" She giggles.

"Not yet," I say, walking back a bit. "You still splashed me!" I splash her.

She giggles. "Oh, it's on!"

Elara Sora –14- -D3- POV

For a bit after Yuna and Cedar leave, Rowan and I sort through our supplies silently. In the backpack are a tent and a sleeping bag, with the survival kit, that brings us to two sleeping bags, and one tent. In the small bag are a couple of rations of water, which isn't great, nor terrible. Once we're done, Rowan speaks up. So, a total of a day of food, a bit more than that of water, tent, two sleeping bags, medical supplies, rope, and some various other useful things, like flint and steel.

"Let's get this tent set up, while they're out," he says.

"Yeah," I nod. "Let's."

A few minutes after we get to work on setting up the test, he speaks again. "Are you alright, Elara?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" I ask. I don't need to talk to him. I just want to talk to Yuna, that's it. But she's not here. She's with her boyfriend.

"You were so talkative when we met," he shrugs. "But you've been silent all day."

"Just want to focus," I say. "Don't need chitchat."

"If you say so," he shrugs, and we finish pitching the tent, just as I hear giggles and laughter coming from nearby – probably Elara and Cedar. A minute later, the two of them do come back, happy, lightly shoving each other – and completely soaked.

"Yuna! What happened?" I ask her. "You're soaked!"

She shrugs, and giggles. "We… had a bit of fun while we were out. And I see we have a tent now?" She points at the tent.

"Yeah," I say. "But I guess now we need a fire, you two need to dry off before it gets dark. Don't want hypothermia."

She sighs a little. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. Well, can you work on getting a fire started? I'm going to start… something."

"Yeah, sure," I respond. That's odd, she's clearly keeping a secret from me. Whatever. "Rowan, get your ax, we might need it, let's get some firewood."

Yuna Odalis –14- -D3- POV

"Why didn't you tell her what you're going to be doing?" Cedar asks me.

I shrug and look down a bit. "Well, uh… I didn't exactly tell her I was going to make poison. Seems a bit late to mention it now, and I'm not sure what she'd think."

"Oh…" Cedar says. "Well, just… make sure she doesn't eat it."

"Yeah, of course!" I respond.

Rowan Mildberg –18- -D7- POV

I have to admit, I am a bit worried about Elara. As we look for firewood, she's still clearly annoyed, even though she's trying to hide it. But she won't tell me… hopefully, she'll have a chance to open up to Yuna later because if she'd open up to anyone, it'd be that girl. Although, speaking of that girl, I… understand that Cedar and her are a thing now, and I'm happy that she makes him happy… but I'm worried that, well, she won't be able to make him happy forever. That's not the way this works – either she dies, or he does. And either way, he's going to be unhappy… possibly for the rest of his life. And I certainly don't want that to happen.

Although, for now, I think Elara trying to stab either I or Cedar is a bigger concern than Cedar's long-term psychological health… although, I do doubt Elara is that kind of person, even when she is upset. Although, she does seem upset. I think. I'm not sure, honestly. She's a bit hard to read. In the hour it takes for us to collect firewood, I try to crack a joke, start a conversation, a few times, but she never responds with anything but the bare minimum. So eventually I stop, and we work in silence.

Elara Sora –14- -D3- POV

It takes us another hour to get the fire started, and by the time we do, it's already getting dark. As I and Rowan cook dinner (and by that, I mean open the packets), I notice that both Yuna and Cedar are shivering.

"You two are shivering," I notice.

"Yeah, it's cold," Yuna says. "Clothes are still wet, they really didn't design these things to dry quickly, did they?"

"We saw evidence of that in the 72nd Games," Cedar points out. "But yeah, I'm freezing."

"Just take off the clothes," Rowan offers, "at least the shirts, it'll let your body dry quickly and equalize, with the fire you'll be warm in no time. Then you can let them dry apart from you, and you won't get hypothermia."

I nod. "Yeah, he's right. It's those clothes that are waterlogged and getting cold."

Cedar nods and strips his shirt off, putting it down on one of the sleeping bags and moving closer to the fire. "Oh, that is better, I feel warmer already." He's still shivering a bit, but he does look warmer. He looks over to Yuna, who's still holding her arms to herself, shivering. "Yuna?"

"I'm… fine," Yuna says. Well, she's clearly not.

"No, you're not," I say. "Yuna, you're cold." I scoot over to be next to her. "Just take the shirt off, don't think anyone cares. And I don't want you to get… too cold."

"Yeah, if you're worried about me, I can… go somewhere else, or you can go to the tent," Cedar shrugs. "And you don't need to be worried about Rowan."

"Yeah," Rowan chuckles. "You're a bit too young for me."

"No, it's… not that," Yuna says. "It's just… nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Yuna," I say, quietly. "If something's wrong, you can tell me… I promise."

"I…" she seems to consider, still shivering, then quietly sighs. "Fine, just… don't… get mad."

"Of course not," I respond, before realizing that might sound a little shallow considering how I acted earlier. Agh, I don't want to hurt her. I just… well, that's not important. I suppose I need to be a little more mature, more accepting… I'll try.

She softly nods and slips off the shirt, leaving only her bra, and scoots closer to the fire. I can see her bare back and – it's all scarred up. "Yuna!" I say, before remembering I promised not to get mad. But why wouldn't she tell me? The scars look to be from… whips. I take a deep breath, and lower my voice, as she looks down at her knees. "Sorry, I'm not mad, just… w-why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugs. "I… I didn't want you to worry, Elara… like you are, now."

"Of course I'm worried," I respond. "Your back is covered in scars… are those from your parents?" I'm sure I'd know if they were from the Peacekeepers.

She just gives a small nod.

"Are… this is why you never let me come over, isn't it?"

Another small nod.

"My goodness, Yuna, I… I… I would've helped you, you know."

"You… there's no way you could have," she mutters. "No way to wrangle my siblings, make Mom nicer… don't need you caught up in it anyway."

"Oh… oh my goodness, Yuna," I move over and hug her. She's stopped shivering, at least, and she puts her head on my shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.

"No," she says. "Not really… it doesn't really matter anyway, not now. Let's just… talk about a story or something, okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, sounds good." I look back over at the boys, who had been respectfully quiet for the past minute or so. "Well, Cedar, you have stories, right? Why don't you share one with all of us?" I don't want to make Yuna share one, and I'm not feeling like it right now either.

Cedar nods. "Yeah, sure… give me a minute."

"Of course," I say.

The four of us stay up listening to Cedar's story until it's done, then his clothes are more or less dry, so he and Rowan go to bed, but I and Yuna stay up for a bit, chatting about that story, and our stories, just like we used to until she finally falls asleep. I… enjoyed talking with her like in the old times, even if I wish it didn't take hours to get there. And I… definitely wish that her family didn't whip her, although a lot of things make a lot more sense now… I wish I had figured it out earlier, I'm sure there's some way I could've helped… well, at least if she wins, she'll be able to buy a house on her own, and she won't have to risk having her mom… hurt her like that, ever again. And, I suppose… if we get pulled out by those Rebels, she doesn't have to, can't for a while, go back home, so she'll get a bit of a break. Hopefully, a break without having to try to kill anyone.

Seras Axis –15- -D6- POV

Once we get a good distance from the Cornucopia, Avery holds up her hand. "I think this is a good place to set up camp, what do you think?"

I and Remington look around. We're standing in the middle of a fairly dense clump of trees, not too hard to climb, easy to put traps between, especially with the amount of undergrowth around. Easy to dart around and hide, if you have a few minutes to get familiar with the terrain so you don't trip. Yes, some of those advantages could be used by our enemy, but they'll benefit us as defenders more. "Looks good to me," I say.

Remington nods. "Fine by me as well."

"Outstanding, then let's get to setting up camp," Avery says.

I nod. "Right. So… if it's not too hard for you, mind telling us what exactly happened with Angelo?" I unsling my survival kit from my back and open it up.

"Oh," she tears up a little. Right on queue. "Well, uh… he went in to get something from the Cornucopia… but two careers… those evil girls from One, they surrounded him, and… I tried to get him out of there, gave him advice, but… but… they still got the better of him… I still… his head… her mace…" she lets out a single sob.

Hmm. So she watched her boyfriend fight two careers from the sidelines, and didn't try to help beyond providing advice? Interesting, either she's a coward or a liar. Or a bit of both. "Oh, I'm sorry," I respond. "That must have been hard for you to see."

"It… it was," she says. "Let's… talk about something else, please."

"Sure," Remington says. "We've got two sleeping bags, two things of flint and steel, two first aid kits, our weapons, of course, and two days of food and water for each of us."

Avery nods. "Lots of twos, that's a good amount of supplies, although we should probably go hunting tomorrow, save the food that won't spoil for later."

I nod. "A stockpile, in case it's hard to find food."

"Exactly," she says, now seemingly unworried about her boyfriend's apparently gruesome death just a couple of hours ago. "Same for the water, we'll want to find a source around."

"Right," Remington says. "Seras and I can go look for those things, you can watch the camp."

Remington Axis –18- -D6- POV

My reasoning for wanting Avery to stay and watch the camp is simple – I and Seras can get some time alone, and more importantly, I don't want just one of us to be around her at a time, lest she tries to separate us and kill us individually, which she will almost certainly do. And, her reaction to my suggestion will give me some information.

"Sure," she says. "We should also think about watches for tonight."

Interesting, she doesn't seem to care. I suppose either she's good at hiding emotions, or she has another plan. I'll need to assume she has another plan. "How about you take first watch?" I respond. "That way, when you sleep, you can just sleep."

She nods again. "Fine with me, do you want second?"

"Sure," I say. "Seras, you fine with third?"

"Yeah, sure," she says. I look her in the eye as she answers, and she gives me a slight nod. Good. We both know we won't be sleeping deeply while Avery's on watch.

Emilene Avery Osiria –18- -D12- POV

Well, they're both suspicious of me. That's fine though, I knew they would be. Luckily for me, I already got rid of the biggest threat to me, I don't think these two are going to think offensively, I'm useful to them, so they'll keep me around as long as possible, at least a few days. In my opinion, though, these two are the biggest risk to me, I might keep them around for a bit, but it need not be terribly long. I just need a plan to dispose of them, both of them, at the same time. After all, if I kill only one, the other will be extra-annoyed, and anger can do strange things to people, making them stronger and tougher, at least for a bit. And it doesn't particularly matter to me if I've fatally wounded somebody if they have the tenacity to fatally wound me as well.

And of course, I also need to sell why I'm betraying my allies to the cameras, all this is worthless if the Capitol kills me because I didn't play the Game right. So, I need to wait for them to do something I could, correctly or otherwise, interpret as an act of betrayal, and only then can I act. Of course, I can think of how to get rid of them before then. And this is all assuming we don't get into another fight anytime soon – if we do, I can use the same strategy that worked so well on Angelo. I wonder what Seras's head would look like as pulp from a mace. Probably not much different from Angelo's. From dust to dust, and all that.

Anyway, we get our camp set up, have some dinner, and I take the first watch. Not much interesting happens besides the Anthem showing the three dead before I go to sleep.

Harvey Miller –18- -D9- POV

I… I still can't believe it… Nira… Nira's dead. I… I mean, I knew she was going to die… she needed to die, for Mazie to live, but… to die… like that… she was trying to claw that boy's eyes out, and then she was… she was dead, and…

"Harvey?" Mazie's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Yeah, Mazie?" I ask, looking over at her."

"We've been walking for hours, this is a nice clearing, and it'll be dark soon," she says. "We should maybe set up camp?"

"Oh, uh… yeah, that'd be a good idea," I respond.

"Plus, I'm hungry," she says.

"Oh, yeah… that, that too," I say. "Hopefully there's some food in that bag you got."

"Yeah…" she says. "If it's stuffed with rocks, I'm throwing them at the next hovercraft I see. Nira died for this bag."

"R-right," I say. Darn it, I need to pull it together for Mazie's sake. "Well, let's open it up."

She nods and opens the bag. Inside, we find a dagger, a few days of food and water, and a large amount of tarp.

"Well, you should take the dagger," I say. "At least we've got provisions."

"Are you sure about that?" She asks. "The dagger, at least. I… shouldn't be trusted with weapons. You know that."

I shrug. "Well, you have the best pills ever, and we might actually need to stab people, so, yes, I want you to have something to defend yourself."

"O… okay," she says, taking the dagger and slipping it into her belt. "Wait, did you hear that?"

I cock my head, but there's nothing there. "Not funny, Mazie."

"I wasn't joking," she says. "I thought I heard something. We're like, sure, these pills are real, right?"

I… hadn't thought of that. Could they have given Mazie placebos, to up the entertainment, have her think she was sane until the moment she stabbed me, or herself? That… would be terrible… but even if they did, there's no way for me to know, and no way for me to stop it. I could take the dagger away from her, but then she'd be defenseless if she actually needed it – and, she'd probably just take it off me anyway, it's not like I can put it on a high shelf here. "I'm sure they're fine, Mazie," I lie. "After all, they could've just told us no if they wanted you to go crazy. But it has been a bit since you took your last pill, might as well take one now."

She shrugs. "Fair enough."

Mazie Miller –13- -D9- POV

I down the pill, a bit worried. I… I heard something. Not sure what, but I heard something. And by that, I mean I didn't hear anything, but I thought I did. I wonder if the Capitol is up to something more nefarious than not giving me any pills… making me think I'm crazy some other way. Or worse, some chemical trick to actually make me crazy, maybe whilst slowly poisoning me. That sounds like something the Capitol would like to see, actually "Watch Mazie pop the pills that will slowly kill her, and then watch her tear out her brother's throat right before she dies because they've also been slowly turning her into a mutt!"

Ah, well, nothing I can do about that if it's their plan. Anyway, I and Harvey get a fire started, then eat some dinner while watching the Anthem. Neither of us comments, but I know we both feel bad about Cambric and Nira. I mean… Nira died for me. And Cambric died for her. So by extension, I've killed two people… even if there's no physical blood on my hands… that said, I should talk to Harvey tomorrow. Let him know it's not his fault Nira died. But that's tomorrow, tonight, I sleep.

Daisy Brownstone –15- -D5- POV

"What do you think, Mattie?" I ask her as we reach a thicket on top of a hill that's taller than the surrounding terrain, but smaller than nearby hills. "Good place for a camp?"

She looks around and nods. "I'd say so. We should be able to see anyone coming, and that gives us the advantage."

"Exactly my thought," I respond. "Well, let's see what's in this small bag." I turn the contents of it out onto the forest floor. "Hmm, looks like a couple rations, not even a day full, and… huh, a chocolate bar," I comment as I look through them. "Well, I guess that's nice." I chuckle. "Maybe we can trade it to somebody for something actually useful. What have you got, Mattie?"

"This survival kit is definitely as stocked as we were led to believe," she says. "Let's see, a day and a half for the two of us of food and water, a sleeping bag, med kit, some survival stuff too. Let's get a fire started."

I nod. "Sounds good. Well, I'm glad those things were littered all around, then."

She chuckles as she grabs dry sticks off the ground. "Yeah, me too. It really does seem like they've shifted away from longer Games with starvation and such being too much of a concern, not that it's not still important."

I nod, picking up some larger pieces of lumber."Yeah, well, when that gives you battles like the 72nd Games, why wouldn't you shift to that model?"

"True," she says, arranging rocks in a circle."That year really was a Paradise, for betting at least."

"Mmm," I respond, arranging the large wood inside the circle. "I dunno, I prefer my beaches less stained with the blood of my enemies."

She laughs. "I don't know, I like mine with just a little enemy blood, for the flavor, you know?"

"True," I respond as she sets the sticks on top of the fire. "A little bit of blood really helps with that sand flavor, although as we saw, it doesn't have to be your enemies' blood." I strike the flint and steel together, and the fire lights!

"Woo!" She cheers as she sits down next to me. "And true. It could be your blood or your friend's blood."

"Exactly, any blood works," I respond.

"Yep," she says. "So anyway, dinner?"

I laugh. "Sure."

Matilda "Mattie" Edlington –17- -D5- POV

I hand Daisy one of the ration packs and open another. We continue our semi-joking conversation for a bit until the Anthem plays overhead.

"Three dead," she says.

"Yeah," I respond. "I imagine all in the Bloodbath."

"Yeah… so twenty-one left. Nineteen enemies," she says.

"Mmm, yeah, more or less," I say. "And all the careers are left."

"And those two rouge girls," she says.

"Yeah…" I chuckle. "Why couldn't the redhead have gone rouge? I know I can take her, without any help. Not so sure about either the Two girl or the Four girl. Especially the Two girl."

"She just couldn't stand the thought of losing to you again," Daisy teases. "Especially not if you have a knife."

I snort. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it. Not the fact that her twin is working with her."

Daisy doesn't respond for a second, and then, "Are they really sisters, though?"

I know what she means. Not are they biologically related, but they certainly look it. But… if Lamè could bring her own sister into the Arena really, are they… well, really sisters? "No, I wouldn't say so," I respond. "Not the biology that matters, after all, but the Love."

Daisy nods. "I agree… I mean, I Love you, and you're not technically my sister."

"Exactly," I say, then sigh. "I'm glad we weren't born into a career District."

"Oh?" Daisy asks.

"Well, if we were… I don't know, I feel like there's a chance I might have been trained as a volunteer, whether or not I wanted to… and the scary part isn't that, though, not even thinking that what happened to Nerys could have happened to me… it's thinking that I could've become a monster like Lamè. I could've been somebody who would accept my own sister's death, if it'd get me something."

"Ah," she says. "I don't think you would have ever become that person, Mattie."

"How can you be sure, though?" I ask.

"Because," she says, "you saw a girl being beaten by two guys, bigger than you and armed, and with no need to help, and with the option to just shout for help and run away, you didn't, you stayed and helped."

"I…" I smile a bit. "Thanks, Daisy." That… is nice, but doesn't really affect my point, which was that the career Districts pervert the minds of their kids so much. It's not like Lamè was born evil, after all… although, I suppose there might be something wrong with her brain. Maybe there's not with mine. Maybe I wouldn't have turned out like that… but the thought that I could've is scary.

I glance down at the sword I have, and the dagger. I really, really hope I never have to use those weapons… I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to become the kind of person who kills people… but if I don't, Daisy might die. I… I feel sympathetic for Nerys, honestly. She realized she didn't want to be a killer, didn't want to be that kind of person, just like I don't – and yet, just like me, the Games decided she would either be one or die. Or in my case, die, and watch the person I Love slaughtered. Yay.

Gage Padgett –17- -D10- POV

"Hmm, well, this might be the best water we find," I tell Simon, staring at the pond in front of us.

"Yeah," he sighs. "We should probably get a fire started and get something to eat anyway."

"Yeah," I nod. "And those kits are supposed to have water, right?"

He nods. "Three days for one person. So, one and half for us."

"Right," I say. "Um… I'll get the fire, you get stuff out of the bag?"

"Sure," he says. I set down the survival kit, and he starts looking through his bag. "A compass, a bit more food, not much."

"Well, hey, that's useful," I say, gathering some firewood. "Which direction are we from the Cornucopia?"

"Uh… Northwest, I think," he says. "I'm not a hundred percent sure of all the turns we took to get here."

"Fair enough," I respond, setting up the fire pit. "Well, that's… an interesting factoid, I suppose."

Simon chuckles. "Certainly is. I wonder if this is actually magnetized to the right direction?"

"Oh," I ask, putting wood in the fire pit.

"It could be magnetized to the forcefield that lines the inside of the dome," he says. "That field could also be producing a magnetic field, interfering with the real field of the compass, they could make us think any direction is North."

"Oh, huh," I say. "Would there be any benefit to doing that?"

He shrugs. "If somebody used a compass for navigation, they could throw off their navigation by altering which direction north was when they weren't looking, make them walk in circles. Or into an enemy."

"Right," I respond. "So, we never use that compass."

"Yep," he says, stuffing the thing in his pocket. "Could still find a use for the parts."

"Fair enough," I respond, striking the flint and steel together. No spark, so again. This time it catches, and fire!

"Good job, Gage," Simon slightly smiles at me.

"Thanks, Simon," I respond. I start digging through the survival kit. "Want some food?" I ask him.

"Sure," he says, and I toss him a ration, although as I start to eat mine, he just stares into the fire for a minute, before saying, "Gage, can I ask you a question?"

"Uhm… sure," I respond. "What's up?"

"What do you Love about me?" He asks.

Oh. That… is a question I should have expected, sooner or later. "Well, let's see… you're selfless, you're always trying to help somebody, you never hold a grudge, you're really smart, and of course, you're handsome."

"Oh…" he blushes a bit. "Uh, thanks, Gage… I'm not that smart, though."

I snort. "Please. Uh," I try to recall something that I don't know, then realize that's stupid, and try to recall something smart I can't do. "Oh, uh, I don't know, can you solve five x plus fifteen equals three-hundred-seventy-five over twenty?"

He thinks for a few seconds, doing hand motions in the air, then nods. "X equals zero point seven five, or three-fourths."

"I'll...take your word for that," I respond.

"Oh, come on, Gage, you could solve that," he says. "You get decent enough grades in school."

"Sure," I say. "If I had a piece of paper and five minutes. You're smart in a lot of other ways too, I just… don't know how to show it to you as obviously. Like, oh, I know, do you know how hovercraft engines work?"

"Yeah," he says. "It's simple, really, it's just -"

I cut him off. "I, don't want to know, thanks. But you do know."

He shrugs. "Well, still… maybe a little smart, but I'm not selfless, or anything."

"Yes, you are," I respond. "And apparently humble too… look, let's not continue this. What about me made you decide to give… us, a try?"

Simon Hazel –17- -D10- POV

I have to think about that question for a few moments. I… don't know Gage that well, but what did make me decide this was worth it? "Well, you're funny, to start. You're talkative too, which I'm… not. And you're a nice person too, you always seem to be trying to make friends with everybody."

Gage smiles a bit. "Thanks, Simon… it feels really nice to hear you say that."

He… he really does Love me, doesn't he? More than Nez ever did. "Well, it's true, Gage," I respond. "And… and, so far, you've only increased by reasons to like you since we came here."

"Oh," Gage smiles more. "Thanks, Simon."

"Of course," I respond, opening my ration. "Anyway, we should think about our plan for tomorrow."

"Of course," Gage says. "No, you're right, we should. You have ideas?"

"Yep," I respond. "First, probably some hunting, won't be fun, but we need to do it… then, maybe look for more water? I'm open to ideas."

"No, that sounds good to me," Gage says. "But we shouldn't go too far from here, this is a nice place."

I nod. "Yeah, not if we don't need too, we can always figure a way to boil this water."

"Exactly," Gage says.

We talk about our plans for a bit longer before the Anthem plays.

"Eight's out," Gage comments.

"Yeah," I say. "We were halfway between everyone who died."

"O-oh, you're right," Gage says. "Eight and Twelve."

"Yeah," I say. "Not turning out to be a good year for the lower Districts, so far."

He nods. "Hopefully that'll change."

"Hopefully," I respond. Hopefully with his win, that is… I'm not going to let Gage, no matter my… maybe forming feelings for him, I'm not going to let him die if I can help it. Especially not since he loves me. He's already given me a lot, after all, like getting me out of an abusive relationship, he doesn't need to give me his life as well.

Sage Hills –16- -D11- POV

"This spot look good?" I ask Evelyn as we stand in a small clearing by a river.

"I don't know," she says. "Maybe the other side of the river?"

I look at the semi-fast rushing water between us and the other bank. "Maybe… but we'd have to find a way to get across it."

"I could probably swim it," Evelyn says.

"No," I veto that idea. "I don't want you risking your life in that water, look at how fast it's going."

"Do you think I couldn't cross?" Evelyn asks, a little annoyed. I look at her, then I look at the river. Hmm. A lot of bad answers to this question.

"Well, maybe I'm a bit hasty," I admit. "Grab a rock, toss it in." She does so, and the rock travels downstream extremely quickly. "Yeah, Evelyn… I love you, but I don't think you can cross that river yourself. I mean, this spot here looks fine."

"I… don't know," she says. "I mean, if we crossed the river, we could have some protection for people coming from the Cornucopia."

"Sure," I respond. "But if we do, they can too, and honestly, I'm tired, and I don't want to try to walk longer to find a shallow part, or to… I dunno, make a tree bridge or something."

"Well, I'm not asking you to do anything," she says. "Just let me swim across, or at least try it."

"No," I say. "I don't want you risking your life…" I see on her face that she's still annoyed with me, as she crosses her arms. "Look, if it's important to you, we can make a bridge or something. I'm tired, but I'll live."

She sighs. "I don't want to make you more tired, Sage, I just want us to be safe."

"Me too, but I think we're safe enough, we've been walking for hours," I say.

"Maybe, but I still don't think -"

"Evelyn, won't you just listen to me!" Ooops, that was a mistake. Darn it, I didn't mean to yell at her. But I'm tired, tired of the day, tired of arguing with her, just to stop her from potentially drowning herself. "I'm sorry, Evelyn, I didn't mean -"

"No," she says. "I don't need to listen to you." She starts to stride toward the riverbank.

"No, Evelyn, I didn't -" I start to say, but she jumps into the river – and is immediately sucked away by the fast current. Like I said.

"Sage!" She shouts. Oh, s—t! Evelyn is in a river, and she's being washed away, and also possibly under, I realize, as her head seems to not be above the water level a hundred percent of the time. Okay, think, Sage, think. I take a second to look around, analyze the situation, and come up with a plan. Let's see, she's moving away from me that fast… I can run that fast. But the problem is getting to her. Hmm. There's a tree there, a flexible one, it can support my weight. And hers. And there's another tree, and – yes, it'll work!

"Evelyn! Put your hand up!" I shout as I take off in a sprint. "And grab mine when it's time!"

"Oka – ah!" She shouts back, and I see that she gets a bit of river water in her mouth as she does. D—n it, this is bad! I keep running, catching up to her, running alongside her. But she's in the middle of the river, and I can't reach her from here. That's fine though, I knew that.

The tree's coming up. I jump out over the river, grabbing a low-hanging branch of the flexible tree that grows where water is plentiful – like on riverbanks. It bends to support my weight, but it doesn't break. Not yet. "Now!" I shout to Evelyn, reaching one of my hands down to grab hers. She's rapidly approaching, her hand coming at me nearly as fast as I can process it. I hope I don't miss, but I look around, readying myself for another plan if I do – as I feel the smack of her hand into mine, and she closes her hand around my wrist in a death grip. Good. I pull up, using the tree as leverage. She comes out of the river, but the tree starts to groan.

"Sage, that branch is gonna -!"

"I know!" I shout, as I let go of the tree branch – switching my grasp as I fall to another, slightly lower, tree branch hanging on the other side of the river. This branch is not in danger of breaking, being much sturdier. "Now, we shimmy."

A minute of shimmying later, we're over land, and Evelyn carefully lets go of my hand to drop onto the opposite riverbank. I drop down next to her, looking at her completely soaked self, both of us breathing heavily from the near-death experience. "Evelyn… you're kinda sexy, all wet like that," I say.

She laughs, I laugh. We both just laugh for a good few minutes, then when we regain our composure, she looks at me, seriously, and gives me a hug, getting my clothes all wet. But, ah well, I love her. I hug her back. "Sorry for being stupid," she says.

"It's fine," I respond. "Sorry for snapping at you. I Love you, Evelyn, I should never have done that."

"And I shouldn't have done something stupid just because you did," she says, releasing me from the hug, and giving me a small kiss. "Let's say, we both made mistakes, and we won't do it again?"

I nod. "Sounds good to me."

She chuckles. "Although, maybe this was all part of my plan to get us to the other side of the river."

I laugh. "Yeah, right."

Evelyn Robbins –16- -D11- POV

A bit after what I shall now only refer to as the 'river incident', Sage and I had a camp set up, on my side of the river, thank you very much, and – yeah, I'm an idiot… I feel terrible for doing that. I almost got myself killed, and possibly Sage, because I was annoyed that she wanted to boss me around. And… I mean, I don't like being bossed around, but she… she was trying to do it out of Love. I really need to get better control of my emotions, I can't throw us into danger because I don't like taking orders… if Sage wants to give them, I should listen. And, like… she was right. She was right! I was being an idiot…

"Evelyn?" Sage asks me, with a kiss on my cheek. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah," I say. "Sorry, just… realizing I was really stupid. I'm… I'm sorry, Sage. Truly, truly, sorry. I… you could've died for me, which is the last thing I want."

As I look into her beautiful, dark green eyes, I see a couple of things in there – acceptance, pain, and fear. She's… already forgiven me for nearly getting her killed… and she's worried about me dying for her. "It's okay, Evelyn… if it's for you, I'd be more than happy to die." She swallows. "I love you, after all."

"I love you too, Sage," I respond. "Thank you for forgiving me."

"It's fine, Evelyn," she smiles at me, then blushes. "Wait, did you say…?"

"Yes," I smile at her, then give her a kiss. And not a small one. "I, uh…I realized it for sure last night. And waking up this morning, I knew it wasn't just… hormones or anything. I love you, Sage."

She turns a bright red. "Oh…" I can practically feel the happiness radiating off of her. "I… this… my goodness, this really is everything I've ever wanted."

I kiss her. "Happy to provide." She blushes more. Also, oh my goodness, I'm freezing. It's these clothes. Even with the fire, they're terrible to dry. I thought the slow-drying was just something to make the 72nd Games more fun, but nope, guess it's universal. Well, time to do the same thing Casca did. I strip off the clothes, setting them next to the fire to dry.

Sage looks at me. "Evelyn?" She asks, questioningly, but not unhappily. I mean, of course not.

"I'm cold," I explain. "And those clothes are still wet, feel them."

She does. "Yep, they're wet." She reaches a hand up to feel my hair. "So is your, ugh."

I chuckle. "At least skin dries fast, I'll be warm and dry in a few minutes. Those clothes, on the other hand…" I yawn. "At this rate, leave 'em til morning."

She nods. "Wanna sleep when you're dry?"

"Sounds good to me," I respond.

She leans into my shoulder. "Awesome, I'll just rest here until then… hey, if it's this late, shouldn't they be playing the -" The Anthem comes on in the sky.

"Well, speak of the devil," I chuckle.

"Yep," she says.

We watch in silence as it shows the three faces. "Well," I say. "Those… poor kids."

"Yeah," she says. "Especially Nira."

I nod. "Her, and Angelo. Maybe not Cambric. I hope Emilene's doing okay."

"Yeah," Sage says, then sighs. "I feel bad for them, but…"

"Yeah, I know," I respond. "Well… let's not think about that." I look at her, and give her a kiss, then yawn again. "Let's… get some sleep. I'm dry. And extremely tired, a day of walking followed by nearly drowning will do that."

She chuckles and yawns. "Yeah, me too."

We crawl inside the tend we had found in our bag, and I'm pretty sure Sage is still awake when I fall asleep.

Cadence Fellows –18- -D2- POV

I don't go far from the Cornucopia before stopping, but I do go in a direction no one else did. I'd prefer not to be a target for the other careers, but I want to keep an eye on them, at least until I know they're hunting, then I want to go as far away until they get themselves killed with either infighting or to some stupid lower-District trap, like a… rather alarming number of recent careers. That said, when they leave the Cornucopia area, I will too, going hunting for whoever's furthest away from where they will be. They'll probably pick on the alliances first, but even if they don't, and leave the bigger ones for later, I think I could handle any of the alliances, and I can certainly handle Nerys.

After all, most of the other Tributes who aren't careers – including Nerys – aren't exactly skilled. They might be okay, but honestly, the only alliance that ever gave me pause was the Six-Twelve group, but considering that one of them is dead (excellent kill, by the way), I don't think they'll be a problem. They're also probably unstable and might take care of themselves.

The rest, well – the Three-Seven isn't a threat, those girls are weak, and so is the one boy. The Ten boys and Eleven girls aren't even worth a second thought. And of course, will I know I couldn't take on four other careers by myself, by the time they're down to two, I think I could.

When the careers are down to two… I wonder who those two will be. I hope it's not Foxtrot. No, wait, I don't hope that. I hope it is Foxtrot. I know his capabilities. He'll be easier to kill than the rest of them… although for some reason, the thought of him dying to clear my path to victory gives me an… odd feeling in my stomach. Ah, whatever, I'm sure it's nothing.

I don't light any fire to give away my position, and I don't need it to eat rations or consume packaged water. Once dinner is done and the Anthem has played, I tuck my sleeping bag in an area that would be hard to see by anyone passing by and doesn't have any branches that could support a person overhanging it, lay twigs at every possible entrance to break and alert me if someone does come this way, and then go to sleep, safe and sound.

Nerys Pacifica –18- -D4- POV

I go… a medium distance from the Cornucopia before stopping. I… hmm. If, and by that, I mean when, the careers have their usual murder each other spree, and when Hal survives… he might decide he needs me for a little bit until every other Tribute is eliminated. Yes, that's how I can get to him. Although, of course, I'll need to know where he is to offer my services to him – I guess in the morning, I'll start trying to find him. I can follow him and the careers around for a bit until they inevitably split up, then I can swoop in and help. Sounds like as good a plan as any.

With that decided, I eat some quick dinner, take a look at a nearby tree, climb it, and fall asleep there.

Rebel Lt. Angel O'Heap –17- -D9 Rebel, Pilot- POV

"Package acquired, lifting off," Kylie reports from next to me. The radar console beeps at me as if I didn't already have my eyes glued to it.

"Two bogies on approach," I report. "Coming straight for us, 100 knots."

"Copy," Kylie says. "We're in the air, altitude 50 meters, beginning forward acceleration."

"Copy, Rescue One," Layna says. "Be warned, you only have one minute before your escape gets a lot trickier."

"Understood, Command," Kylie says. "Gunning it." She pushes the throttle forward, all the way forward.

"Bogies closing," I report. "Two Point Five kilometers, time to engage thirty seconds."

"Copy," Kylie says. "Airspeed now ninety knots. Ninety five. One hundred. One hundred five."

"Bogies accelerating," I report. "Enemy airspeed now one ten. One fifteen. Time to engage twenty seconds."

"Time remaining to get out of there, thirty-five seconds," Layna says. "Don't dogfight with them, get outta there!"

"I know, Command," Kylie says. "Time to target, O'Heap?"

"Time to exit, thirty seconds," I respond.

"We'll make it," Kylie says.

"Time to engage, ten seconds," I report, as the Capitol hovercraft close in on us. "Time to exit, twenty-one seconds."

"D-n," Kylie says. "Not as fast as before. Get ready to launch flares."

"Aye, Ma'am," I respond. "Time to engage, three, two, one, enemies launching missiles. Two bandits closing."

"Copy," Kylie says. "Launch flares on my mark, three, two… one, mark!"

I hit the flare button as fast as I can, hoping the force doesn't break it for later. "Flares away – scratch one bandit! Scratch two bandits!"

"And there's our exit. Overriding throttle safety!" Kylie says, pushing a button on the side of the throttle to… well, the effects explain themselves as I get pushed back in my seat by the acceleration, all four engines in full horizontal, whining as the blades rotate faster than they were designed to – well, at the very least, designed to regularly.

I look forward for a second and see that the exit to the Arena is indeed fast approaching – a port for hovercraft, built into the side of the forcefield-protected (although the forcefield doesn't cover the ports, for obvious reasons) dome. A port that is closing. Not rapidly by any means, these are doors that are supposed to close in case of rain or similar outside, so they don't really move fast – but in the time it's taken us to get here, the hole has gotten a lot smaller.

"Missile Warning!" The computer shouts. "Missile Warning!" I look down at the radar screen. S—t! They've launched more missiles! And we can't exactly evade, as Kylie attempts to fly us through the tiny slot, so – flares! I hit the button, and the flares launch – the missiles hitting them, exploding in what I imagine would be beautiful explosions if I could see them. Woo, now just to get out of the slot.

"Kylie, we're not gonna -"

"We'll make it!" She responds. The incredibly small gap in the incredibly crazy dome comes up incredibly fast – one hundred twenty knots fast, I see, and maybe we'll – the screen goes black. "D—mit!" Kylie shouts, smacking the console. "We almost had it!"

"Almost, but you were too slow," Layna says. "We try again."

Kylie sighs. "Yeah. Yeah, we try again. Layna, reset it. We're getting these Tributes."

A/N: Well, that was a fun one! And nobody died! Unless you count simulated Kylie and Angel, which I don't. But, perhaps not all will be the same tomorrow… lemme know what you think, please, and I'll see you all on Games Day Two!

Alliance Breakdown (Tributes listed by District):

Allied Tributes (19/21):

Careers (4/4): Lamè, Velvet, Foxtrot, & Hal.

4-Anti-Social People (4/4): Elara, Yuna, Rowan, & Cedar.

Definitely Not Criminals (3/4): Remington, Seras, & Avery. (Deceased: Angelo.)

The Girl With Two Older Siblings (2/3): Harvey & Mazie (Deceased: Mazie.)

Sisters (2/2): Daisy & Mattie

Gage Your Hazels (2/2): Gage & Simon

Sage And A Ginger (2/2): Sage & Evelyn

Loners (2/3):

Cadence

Nerys

Deceased: Cambric

The Fallen:

24th: Cambric Frymith, 17M, D8. Stabbed through the chest with a trident by Halian "Hal" Maui.

23rd: Nira Telatto, 17F, D8. Stabbed through the heart with a sword by Foxtrot Suevite.

22nd: Angelo Kilkenny, 17M, D12. Decapitated with a mace by Velvet Lunzdior.

Official Capitol-Published Odds, as they appeared at the end of Day One:

Lamè Lunzdior: 1:9

Velvet Lunzdior: 1:9

Cadence Fellows: 1:6

Foxtrot Suevite: 1:6

Elara Sora: 1:18

Yuna Odalis: 1:18

Nerys Pacifica: 1:9

Halian Maui: 1:6

Daisy Brownstone: 1:24

Matilda Edlington: 1:36

Seras Axis: 1:36

Remington Axis: 1:48

Rowan Mildberg: 1:36

Cedar Mildberg: 1:18

Harvey Miller: 1:72

Mazie Miller: 1:48

Gage Padgett: 1:24

Simon Hazel: 1:24

Sage Hills: 1:24

Evelyn Robbins: 1:24

Emilene Avery Osiria: 1:24

Tribute Kill Counts:

Velvet Lunzdior: 1

Foxtrot Suevite: 1

Hal Maui: 1