I never understood why I bothered keeping track of the days that went by in the arena. I could've focused on many, MANY other things. Keeping myself perfectly fed and staying hydrated. Both of which I did but at an inconsistent pace inbetween gasps of air and long daydreams of the days gone by.

As far as I know, it's the 14th day in the arena. Not much has changed since Alma caught up with me. We've been moving around and eating what we have to keep our energy up. There haven't been any deaths since my brother killed the District 4 boy. Since there are less of us, I can see why nothing has been going on. But still, I wish the tribute list would go down though. For a moment after I say this though, I feel guilty about the thought as this means I'm hoping for the death of other kids. I shake my head.

I decide to move my thoughts elsewhere. Soon, my head is filled with fantasies about winning the games and coming home to my mom. She'll have tears in her eyes, thankful that her son came out of the games alive and what not. I look over at my older brother. He's been quiet since we began moving yesterday.

"Actually... Hey, Alt. I'm gonna go... ya know. Behind that tree. I'll be right back." He quickly tells me. I nod, understanding that he has to go to the bathroom so I just sit down in front of another tree. I'm only alone for a few seconds but I'm quickly reminded of the loneliness I felt all the days ago when I was roaming the arena for 3 days. Days that felt like months if I'm going to be honest. I think for a moment, and eventually pull out a knife from my bag. I don't know whether to be shocked or happy that I haven't gone dry out of knives. I take a few moments to peak into my bag again and count off the amount I have.

Looking into it, I have a few more but if I'm not careful I'll probably run them out. I roll my eyes. Well...

I zip my backpack back up and yawn. It already seems to be getting late. Probably like... 4? 5? The sun isn't setting but it's on the verge of going down. As I question the time some more, I notice a few birds flying upwards. Almost as if they were flying away from something. Despite having no clue, I pull out my knife and hold my breath. I know I'm being a little paranoid. There isn't even any sound coming from that direction anyways. But despite feeling this way my paranoia gets the better of me and I start walking backwards. The sound of more birds catches me off guard, as now they're coming from the direction behind me. I sigh.

I should stop being such a paranoid loser...

I tuck my knife away in my pocket and look up at the now white pink sky. It's at this moment that I begin to hear heavy, fast footsteps. Running, no, charging in my direction from the left. I begin to take my knife out again but being in my pocket, I take forever to pull the darn thing out. By the time I almost have it completely out, I've been tackled to the floor, a knife is at my throat and someone is breathing heavily in my face. I should be surprised that I'm not panicking right away but it takes my brain getting a good look at this tributes face that my heart is shifted into overdrive. He's looks only a little different than he did all those days ago. He's got a few scars on his face, notably one that tears through the right side of his face but otherwise the boy from 9 is looking pretty pissed like he was last time I saw him.

"I caught him." He turns his head over to the right. I'm unable to see, but I hear voices all talking at once coming from that direction. The sound of shrubs moving makes it obvious that more than one person is with him now. I could've sworn the boy from 5 died last time we were in the same area...

"Good. Let's hurry up and take him out." The voice of a female draws near. This girl gets behind the 9 boy and pushes him off me. It's here that I see. The 9 boy met up with the other 9 and 5 alliance members. I was hoping they all would've been taken out by now as a big alliance like them would be a huge thorn in the neck but it seems they just kept going on. There seems to be one girl from 9 and another boy from 9 here too. The girl on top of me is from 5 it seems.

"What the heck do you want from me?" I cry out. I mean for it to be a very aggressive cry but it comes out as panicked instead. Even then, this question upsets the scar faced 9 boy who kicks my head in anger.

"Don't play dumb! You know why we're here!" He shouts at me. To be honest, he isn't wrong. I'm probably one of the only people currently in the Capitol to know that they're rebels here to sabotage the games as terrorist act. I have nothing against it aside from the fact that I know it won't work, but because I know that fact they need me dead. It's not like I plan on spilling those facts, but I completely understand why they'd wanna take me out as a precaution. However I know just as well that this doesn't mean I'm gonna allow them to kill me. But on the flipside I don't even know how to combat a girl with her shoe on my small chest. My mind then moves to my older brother. He said he'd be going to pee but he hasn't come back for quite some time. Because of that, I assume he's hiding in the bushes coming up with a strategy. As such, I choose my words wisely.

"Honestly you should be ashamed you actually just let him run away last time you were with him, Bran." The girl from 9 looks over at the boy from 9. Bran seems to be his name. I must've forgotten it.

"Well would you have expected such a kid to survive against all of those mutts?" He argues back. I hold back a smirk as he says this because it goes to show how much I've been underestimated in the games. I find it quite funny. I'm fast to push these thoughts back as my situation hastens.

I notice the kids and their weapons. Bran has a sickle. The other boy from 9 has a knife. The girl has a sword, but the girl from 5 has nothing. It's too early to make the assumption that my brother could take them all but it's in my best interest to hope he could.

The girl from 4 pushes downwards on my chest with her foot causing me to lose all the air in my system.

"I'm curious 11? Know any more about us?" She asks. I don't make eye contact, instead looking away in defiance. I honestly don't know much other than the fact that they have a plan.

"No." I tell them.

The girl then grabs my shirt and pulls my up, now aggravated.

"I don't exactly buy that." She then punches me in the nose, knocking me back and into a tree. Blood squirts out of my nostrils as I hit the floor.

Then comes a squeaker, more quiet voice. "You know... Why don't we have him join us?" The girl from 5 asks. All of the others look over at her and give an annoyed glance.

"And why would we allow him to do that?" Bran asks her. The girl from 5 scratches her head before pulling the 9 girl back.

"Well we clearly have no idea whether or not he's with us or against us, but considering he's just a child..." She begins.

"Ugh! You're such an moron Volva" The 9 girl calls her out before shoving her. Volva steps back, feeling quieted.

"She has a point. He could've sold us out a long time ago if he wanted. If he's known for as long as he has at least." The other boy from 9 begins to argue.

"Ugh, now you too Kona?" Bran then sighs, now starting to understand where his teamates are coming from. "Alright. I guess you've got a point. But even then wouldn't it just be better to close his mouth than feeding him more. He's a fucking 12 year old, he's not getting too far on his own." He continues to argue despite that though.

"Just a 12 year old? We've been in these games for 14 days and this kids been running around like this is a field trip. Somethings not right with the boy. That's what's concerning me." The 9 girl points at me.

"Well he's probably been in a few alliances or something. It'd make sense that he'd leach off of others. And even if that isn't true, he won't be able to stab us in the back. I'm 100% confident in that." Kona says, his voice slowly but shortly getting more angered. She

The group goes silent after he finishes, giving them time to think on it. Finally, the girl from 9 speaks up again. She's a lot quieter now but I can hear the hate in her voice.

"Why are you two so keen on protecting this kid." She sighs. Out of nowhere she throws her sword at my legs. It misses me but I still flinch. "It'd be better if we just kill him now and forget him." She relays to her allies.

"Look. I know, but again, it isn't like he's had any plans of spreading any word about our plans for the games. And hey our end game plan is pretty risky. Wouldn't it be worth having one more fighter to help us. We'll need all the help we can get." The Kona kid argues. After this he closes his eyes.

"Come on. He's just a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is low." He tells them.

As he silences, the whole area becomes silent aside from the chirping of birds and cricket noises that pop in every now and then.

"Maybe you've got a point... I guess we were a little... rash." The girl from 9 admits, only looking partially guilty.

"Whatever. I still don't trust him." Bran sighs. The others ignore him and lift me to my feet.

"You're gonna join us. You're going to help us with the plan." Kona tells me. "Oh god, sorry about your nose. That... oh..." He apologizes noticing my bleeding right nostril. It stings, but I try my hardest to ignore it. I speak up, and just like my situation when I first met Monica, my voice seems to come out more innocent and young then I want it to be. Well after that, I accept his apology.

For a few moments we're all standing around in the darkness of the shady forest silently, when out of nowhere we all catch wind of loud crashing sounds alongside the yelling of some girl. I believe I recognize it for a moment but I'm quickly pulled away by the 9 and 5 alliance.

"Hurry! We're pretty low on numbers. No need to waste our lives right away." And as suddenly as we'd found ourselves crossing paths, I'm dragged away from the safety of my older brother.

My heart is racing. I want to shout out for my brothers help but I was sure he'd have a plan to protect me and to get me out alive but it seems he isn't.

Oh god! So is he the one fighting off in the distance!

I want to stop and run in that direction but I know doing so wouldn't work. The alliance would just catch and kill me. I'm lucky these kids are even allowing me to be apart of their group.

Then again I don't even know if they aren't just planning on using me as a shield like last time.

I hold back tears, horrified that I don't even get the opportunity to be with my brother until death but I keep those tears at bay.

Alma... I'm so sorry...

As the Panem Anthem blasts through the entire arena I look up, wondering if the little skirmish we evaded ended with any deaths and if that death was Alma.

"Fourteen days and were not even that close to being done..." I groan, looking up at the fake sky.

"You've been keeping up with the days too? That's good." Volva smiles in my direction for whatever reason. I didn't realize counting off the days we've been alive was any accomplishment to any other tribute but I guess that's the case here in the 100th Hunger Games. I eventually respond.

"Yeah." Is all I muster. The fact that I was taken away from my brother still hasn't exited my mind. Honestly for much of the night its been all I've been thinking about. Now that I know he's officially alive, I'm 99% sure he's looking for a way to get me back...

I notice Volva is still looking my way. "You look sad-, I mean... Uh..." She shakes her head. I feel annoyed. Of course I'm sad, I'm in the middle of the Hunger Games. However I ignore that thought. At least she realized this immediately after saying this and backpedaled.

"Well... I can understand why. So much must've happened to you on top of my friends trying to... you know, kill you. Sorry about that it's just that... You know." And she continues to run her mouth on and on about how sorry she is for me. Honestly I can understand why but this apology isn't really needed. I accept of course and then lay on the ground.

When I lay down I end up noticing the boy from 9 who gives me a little glare. Considering my anger has been building up for quite a while I end up saying something without even really thinking.

And for the first time I feel like I sound a little older for once. "What? Think I'm going to run off or something 9 boy?" I say that last part mockingly. Bran just turns his head.

"I doubt you could. You may have said you could've gotten away from me a week ago but you're just talk." He claims. I reiterate what he says in a mocking tone before glaring.

"Turn you face the other way. I have nothing against you, like at all. Go do your stupid little stunt and win or whatever. I don't care."

"You know I only agreed to this because of one little detail." Bran squats down next to me, looking down on me.

"And what's that?" I ask him. He takes a deep breath.

"Info on the girl from your district and the girl from 10. I hear they're together and potentially dangerous. Any idea on what they're like?" He asks me. This causes my stomach to not instantly. Despite the danger they are, I've been forgetting that they're around at all. Ceres, my district partner and one of the most horrifying, cruel, twisted people I've ever met. At best, she's a rude, cynical little jerk with no concern for others. Give her a weapon, she's dangerous. A killer. On the flipside I don't know Bella all that much but from what I've seen in both training and the day she went ahead and killed my friends... I know she ain't any better.

I swallow my saliva and take a deep breath, trying to bring myself to say it. I explain to Bran that it's likely that they were the ones who took out the careers in the arena we both started in, alongside the fact that she killed a majority of the people I were in an alliance with. I didn't go into too much detail about Bella since I still don't know much about her but I gave him a good idea what to watch out for including her weapon and how she fought against Monica.

"Huh... The 4 girl is still alive... And against those two..." I can tell Bran is at a loss for words. Both on the skill that Ceres and Bella show but on top of that, Monica managing to hold both of them off herself. She's pretty tough for a non-career, I'll give her that. For sure. This kind of makes me curious though... I actually wonder where she is. She's alive, I know that. But I haven't seen her. The whole mess with Byke and Troy has left me in a broken state, god knows what it did to Monica. Her being the girl who wanted to protect us to the end and all.

I sit up as Bran relays this information to the currently awake allies. Of course, this is everyone aside from Volva who passed out a while ago.

"We should stay clear of the 4 girl though. She may have something up her sleeve, we can't trust her or let her into the alliance. After all, she's from the career district. For all we know... You know..." He turns to the side. I can assume he means she could be a Capitol spy but I completely doubt that. Bran is just paranoid as all heck. But that causes me to become curious. He spent a large amount of time chasing me down fearing I'd be the death of this alliance, what could've caused him to become to paranoid.

Eventually as the rest of the members start to fall asleep one by one leaving just me and Bran, I actually get myself to ask him. He shrugs and then looks up at the stars in the sky.

"Look kid, the best answer I can give you is to remember the 99th Hunger Games okay. That's all." He tells me. I just take that, as I know he isn't going to give me anything else. Putting the puzzle pieces together I see where he's coming from. Last year, there was a huge lower district alliance that resulted in pretty much a death every day. Each new one coming from either a mutt or some sort of arena event. It was horrific, though I'm pretty sure the Capitolites ate all of that up considering the amount of carnage they'd see. I lay back down on the ground.

By the time I accidentally ran into Bran and the 5 boy on the 5th day, everyone other alliance member had died. Eventually, so did the 5 boy. I guess that could be another understandable reason for his paranoia. Chances are, he could be next. Now with the rest of the members all together he could see the gamemakers pulling a repeat of the 99th Hunger Games.

"Okay, I see then." I say.

"Why don't you just sleep already. I'm the one who's going to watch us." He tells me. I tell him that it takes a while for me to sleep and not to worry about it which he nods his head to but I doubt he really believes that.

Night time passes by and soon enough the sun would begin to rear its head by. Of course, I only got roughly an hour of sleep and honestly I didn't even notice. I spent the entire night looking at the stars for no good reason. I also noticed Bran fell victim to exhaustion and so he fell asleep at the midway point. I did wake him up a few times since he probably wanted that but he kept going back to sleep. If he gets mad at me, he's got no one to blame but himself.

The girl from 9 is the first to wake up out of the group. She's surprised I was already up.

"How long have you been up?" She asks me. I give her an idea of how long I was up which makes her even morose surprised.

"I swear, someday you'll be the death of all of us. Don't try and pull and funny business next time. I'll be the one to kill you." She says aggressively. I sit back against a tree and sigh. She reminds me of Ceres when we hadn't been in the games. Though in this girls case she isn't sadistic or anything like that.

Anyways, eventually the other kids in the alliance begin to wake up. They don't really say much for the most part. Well, aside from Bran who's annoyed that I apparently didn't wake him up. I'm quick to remind him that he kept going back to sleep which he denies of course. To my surprise though, the others assume I'm in the right for once. Guess this isn't the first time anything like this has happened. After a few minutes of stretching and getting an idea of the current situation, the others begin packing their stuff up. As they do, Volva silently moves over to me.

"By the way? Didn't you have a brother? Have you found him yet?" She gets in my face. I squirm. I wasn't really counting on anyone to bring up my brother at all.

"No actually. The arena's so huge, I doubt I'll ever catch up to him at all." I make up a lie. To be fair, it was very coincidental that I ran into my brother at all in the games. Putting the size of the arena into consideration it should've been a 1/100 chance, but hey I guess I got real lucky.

"Maybe we can help you find him..." Volva kindly says to me. I tilt my head out of confusion.

"Yeah. Right. He'll cause us even more problems. The last thing we need is a lunatic like him taking us out to get his little brother back. And with everything he knows I'm no comfortable having him out of our site." The girl from 9 argues.

In response, the other boy from 9 gives a sigh. "You're too paranoid Zina. He's just a 12 year old." He tells her.

"12 year olds usually have quite big mouths. I'd hate for everything to go to shit because of just one boy, Kona." She shoves the other 9 boy. Kona in response only gives an eye roll.

After packing up, we all head out together as a group. Where to? I don't know. I imagine we're just running around assuming staying in one place will result in our end sooner or later.

"We're like a pack of sharks. We gotta keep moving on and on. If we stop, eventually we'll all come crashing down. We don't want that." Kona says to me. I listen closely, though honestly I have no idea what the heck a shark is but I assume these sharks can't stay still at all. I just nod at him like an obedient child. On the inside my heart starts to race again. My thoughts move at an unprecedented rate. It's my curiosity and my paranoia. Where the heck are we going and why are we going there? Where's my brother? Why hasn't he found me? He can't be dead so what could he be doing at the moment that's preventing him from catching up to me again? It almost makes me wanna cry again. However I'm quick to push the thought of my brother away and continue looking forward with the group.

I can only really hope for the best as I'm dragged on an adventure I had no consent to. Though to be fair, the whole games have been that for me. As I look on ahead... I'm kinda of reminded of Monica, Byke and Troy. Or... Maybe having a few more older siblings. All with their own secrets. I can assume that's why they lash out at me and the world around them.

I wonder what happens in places like District 5 or 9 for kids to be like this...

(Some Time Later...)

Hours upon hours of walking has taken a toll on our group. We've found ourselves outside of the familiar forest area we've all come to know and into a rocky wasteland. No trees in sight anymore. I'm curious as to where this part of the arena was...

On top of the lack of trees, there is also a lack of wildlife. Plants, animals. None of that. Nothing seems to wanna be in this area. It just makes everything more eerie.

"Fuck. It seems the sky is darkening up again. Another storm is coming." Bran grits his teeth as he looks up at the sky.

"Hope to god it isn't as bad as the last one..." Kona's head falls a little, worried. He looks over at me. "It makes me question. How did a kid like you survive such a horrible storm?" He asks me. My eyes widen a little, not expecting to be asked a question.

"Uh... I... I-I hid in the Cornucopia." I explain quickly. Everyone looks at me.

"Huh. Nobody was hanging around there?" Zina looks at me like I'm making up a fable. "Yeah. Since the careers were all wiped out early into the games. Since all the supplies emptied quickly, nobody bothered hanging around the cornucopia. I was already in that area so I just hung out there." I explain to them.

"Oooh. That makes sense." Kona nods. Bran rolls his eyes. "So that's where you went to after we were attacked by those mutts. I expected you to die back there." He tells me.

"Yeah but it turns out climbing the trees was actually a good idea." I remind him of when we made our escape. He shrugs.

"Whatever. I'm still alive so maybe just running away was a far greater plan in itself. Maybe pretending to be a Monkey isn't all that important." He jokes.

After this we fall into silence again. I guess after all that walking our brains needed to rest too. Not gonna lie, I'm tired of thinking as well.

Suddenly, the sound of crows flying above our heads catch our attention. It didn't seem like they were there before. I get up to my feet feeling threatened.

"What's your problem? There just a bunch of birds. You're acting like you're staring at ghosts." Kona laughs. I sit back down and apologize. Of course, I know the reason it caught me off guard. Bad memories...

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by a unusually loud but horrific sound.

"GUYS WATCH OUT!" Bran shouts as he points directly behind us. In the direction he's pointing is, is another mutt. This one being a large horned creature, steam coming out of its nose.

"It's a ram!" Zina shouts. Everyone else quickly grab there stuff and jump up before running off. I look all around before I eventually spot the mutt. It's aggressively charging in my direction.

"Crap!" I shout before I'm swiftly pulled out of its way by Kona. "Watch out!" He shouts at me as it rushes right past us. Zina is able to dodge the RAM and she rolls in our direction. The ram turns itself around and begins charging at us again.

"It's just like last year. Damn the gamemakers." Bran clenches his fist. Volva rushes behind me and puts her hands on my shoulders.

"I'll protect you." She whispers to me. Her saying this completely takes me out of my fear, making me look up at her. With my thoughts moving too quickly all I can do is give her a node. I'm inclined to grab my packet of throwing knives but I know I'll need to do it at a perfect opportunity, of course now not being that time.

"Zina and I will take care of this. You guys go on ahead." Bran steps forwards before assuring us calmly that he and Zina will be okay. Hesitantly, Volva nods. Kona doesn't even know how to react from the looks of it.

"I-I don't know-," He begins before he's quickly cut off by Zina.

"Kona! We need somebody... ANYBODY to get to the end. Just please!" She begs him to shut up. She closes her eyes before drawing her sword and opening them again.

"We'll catch up. That's a promise." She tells us. The ram then begins to angrily charge at the two who prepare to fight it off. We take off in the opposite direction, hoping that we'll be out of sight.

I take one look back and see that Zina and Bran are both doing an okay job fighting against the mutt.

"Don't bother looking back. I doubt they'll hold on much longer. It's best to bid our time." Kona suggests as I look ahead again. Volva shakes her head however.

"No... They'll take care of it. I just..." She stops herself. Kona groans.

"You're too naive Volva. That's a fact. Get real..." He says as we continue to run through the rocky roads ahead...

Currently Living Tributes

District 1 Male

District 1 Female

District 2 Male

District 4 Female (Monica)

District 5 Female (Circa)

District 9 Male (Bran)

District 9 Male

District 9 Female

District 10 Female (Bella)

District 11 Male (Altar)

District 11 Male (Alma)

District 11 Female (Ceres)

Sudden change of pace here. Altar has been forcibly recruited into the District 5/9 alliance due to his knowledge on their rebellion plan. Came up with the idea last second. Anyways, I'll see you all next time.

(Also I was re-reading some older chapters and Jesus. I really loved asking for reviews back then...)