Altaïr Muhammed, 12, District 9 Male

"Truth or dare?" Esther asks me, folding her arms playfully.

We've been playing this game for around fifteen minutes. Esther seems to want to establish the vibe as… a weird camping trip. We wake up, crack a few jokes to lighten the mood, but not a single one of us tries to paint the illusion that we are somewhere else.

I don't see the point. No sense in being delusional.

"Truth," I tell her. For the most part it's just Esther and I participating in the game. Indy still seems to be a little frazzled from nearly being smothered so he doesn't say much besides a one or two word response to the truths thrown at him. He always passes on the dares.

Esther leans back a bit on the mattress wall and smiles. "Okay, is it true that you've ever kissed anyone before?"

I blink rapidly. I'm caught slightly off-guard by the question but in essence it's probably a common one in this game.

"No, I haven't," I admit. "I mean, I'm only twelve, so I guess I'm not overdue or anything…" I look up at Esther, who is still smiling. "You aren't going to make me kiss you, are you?"

Her jaw drops. "What?! No! That's creepy!"

Shaking off her shock, she folds her legs and stares back down at her lap.

"I do remember this one time I kissed a fish, just for fun," she tells us. "I told one of my friends about it later, as we were having the fish for dinner at my dad's house, and he said 'I guess that was your first kiss, then!' I don't know why, but that kind of rubbed me the wrong way."

Esther scowls, obviously displeased to be bringing up an unpleasant memory in already unpleasant circumstances.

"So, I made up a lie on the spot. I said, 'No it's not, my first kiss was with a boy I knew when I was eight, before Mom died. We kissed on a field trip to a textile factory.' Dad immediately dropped his fork and started lecturing me about it. So, I got in trouble all because someone scorned me."

When she stops talking, she gazes at me sadly. I clear my throat to respond since she clearly wants me to give her some words of comfort. But I'm not too sure what to say.

"Well, that was a kind of mean thing for your friend to tell you… so your reaction makes sense."

Indy moves for the first time in what feels like forever, to grab his water bottle. Then he speaks up too.

"Do you ever feel like everyone else's life is like, ten times better than your own?"

Esther and I are surprised to hear him speak up after going so long in relative silence. He continues.

"Like, when you think about it, my life isn't bad. I have fun doing what I love to do the most. Yet it all feels kind of hollow when you think about it. How much does my old life matter now? It doesn't matter at all." Indy's expression is stony and serious. I had taken him to be a pretty laid-back and goofy kid. Is this what the Games does to ordinary people?

"And my mom, for instance. I needed her in my life for a lot of things but she simply wasn't there. And no, I wasn't better off because I had to fend for myself, there's instances where I would have greatly preferred for her to be there. And yet, she wasn't."

Indy sighs.

"The universe gives and the universe takes without a single care in the world. It's almost unfair."

Esther looks stunned into silence.

"So… this is all a tangent stemming from if Altaïr has been kissed or not. Come on, Indy. Think positive!" She's slightly shaking Indy's shoulder, trying to rouse him.

"You seem a little stir-crazy. Should we go for a walk? Let's go for a walk, all of us."

Esther has to practically haul up Indy from his place and we all exit the fort after gathering our things. The sky is starting to darken, so the faces must be coming soon.

As we make our way across what must be the most barren part of the arena, being only a field of blankets, pillow forts and plush toys, the blaring of the opening notes of the anthem causes me to jump for the third night in a row.

The girl from 5 and the boy from 12.

Indy's walking ahead of Esther and I. He still looks dejected and torn.

"Hey, Esther, truth or dare," I whisper to her as nightness envelops the area. She thinks for a moment.

"Dare."

"I dare you to go and hug Indy," I say to her. "He looks like he could use it."

Esther smirks, nodding. "Good idea."

She prances up to Indy and wraps her arms around him from behind. He freezes at the touch but then seems to embrace it a little. It's only a matter of time before I join the hug, too.

Azure Copenhagen, 18, District 4 Female

Everything hurts. I don't remember exactly when I fell, so I've been measuring time from how badly my chest has been hurting to when the pain began to turn into more of an unpleasant numbness. I got up a while ago, because despite how tight my chest felt and how broken every part of me was, I couldn't just lay down and die. The hole I fell through wasn't just a bottomless pit. It leads to a rather complicated system of tunnels, it's walls covered in red, plush velvet. It feels a little difficult to breathe in here but at least there's light coming in from above. Sadly, it's pretty much impossible to climb out of here. Scampering up the walls only to hopelessly slide back down gets irritating and exhausting, and only affirms my suspicion that there is a way out of here besides the way I came in.

I'm angry at myself, not only for being trapped down here, but also for letting that dumb firefighter get away. I replay the confrontation over and over again in my head, convincing myself that there's a million different ways it could have gone successfully and yet I came up empty.

The anthem played a while ago but I couldn't see it from down here. Whether Coilee actually died or not is somewhat of a mystery, still, though the Seven girl might be right. She could still be lingering. The others probably got back to the Cornucopia by now and found her alone. Hopefully she doesn't tell them that I abandoned her.

Though, considering their treatment of her, they might even side with me on that one…

Wait. Coilee's alone with the other Careers, and in her weakened state… if she did survive, there's no way they'd want to carry around dead weight like that. Did I do this to her?

No, probably not. If she hadn't joined the Career pack at all there's no chance she would have made it past the first few minutes. Not if Ash had anything to say about it. Still, I was the one vouching for her. I'm her only real ally. And here I am, stuck, not being any use to her. But, at the same time, do I really owe her anything?

I'm not bitter about her kissing Ash. How juvenile would that be? It's like a school-age girl being jealous that her crush actually likes someone else. But still, it seemed so… random! I can't believe I'm still letting this eat me up. Careers don't get fazed by things like this.

I keep wandering around the tunnels, but after a while it feels like I'm walking through the same corridors over and over. Getting frustrated, I plop to the floor. There must not be a way out of here.

"Bark bark!"

I hear a dog out of nowhere. At first my stomach drops, because I assume it must be one of those nasty mutts that tear you from limb to limb without a second thought. However, all I see is a small yellow puppy scampering into view.

"Cute, isn't it?"

A weird looking teddy bear steps out beside it.

"Do you like him?" the bear asks. I shrug.

"Not really."

The bear feigns offense, then picks up the dog and steps closer to me. I backpedal cautiously but the bear seems determined to shove the dog in my face.

"Look! Look how cute he is."

The dog's eyes are twinkly and it's slimy tongue soon meets with my cheek. I cringe and turn my neck to face away from it.

Setting the dog back down, a weird smile appears on the bear's stitched face.

"Want me to get you out of here?" it asks.

"Yes, please," I reply, trying to sound pleasant. The bear just giggles.

"Okay, but first, I want you to put this dog down." It points to the dog almost accusingly. "It injured a very good friend of mine, so he has to go." The small, puffy dog continues to stand passively, panting and smiling.

"You want me to kill the dog?"

The bear smiles. "Yes, if you would. I'm too lazy to take him to the shelter."

I roll my eyes. This seems so stupid and unnecessary, but if it'll get me out of these tunnels then I'm all for it. I take out my small pocket knife, an action that causes my arm to explode in pain. Biting my lip, I sink the blade into the dog's neck and swipe it across, slitting its throat cleanly. The dog makes a whimpering noise then flops to the ground.

"Okay, it's dead. Can I go now?" I ask, annoyed. The bear crosses its arms.

"Uhm… you were supposed to have way more trouble killing an innocent little puppy," the bear mutters.

"It's not a real dog. Who cares? Now let me out."

Sighing, the bear raises its paw and after a flash of light overtakes my vision, I'm right back at the area I was before I fell into the hole. Only difference now is that Magnolia is gone. I could go after them but instead I find myself jogging back to the Cornucopia. If Coilee's still there, I have a crazy story to tell her. Hopefully she won't be too mad.

Lilac Rafflesia, 16, District 12 Female

I'm not sure what I'm expecting to see when I wake up from the deep, dead slumber I emerge from, but I panic when the first thing my eyes register is a starry sky. What time was it when I went out? That dream I had about my brother dying seemed so real.

I rise tentatively, but my head immediately starts to throb.

"Ouch!"

I see Ryker in the distance, his image still blurry. He looks like he's a few hundred feet away but it only takes him a second to walk back over to me.

"You're awake. I was sure worried about you." His tone isn't quite right. It's got hints of hesitancy in it.

"I'm fine, I think," I tell him, rubbing my temples. Then it hits me. The cave. The weird Mutt throwing me against the wall.

"Wait, where's Damon?"

Ryker has a pained look on his face. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. There's no reassurance in his eyes. Instead, they only confirm what I already feared to be true. Unless Damon decided to go on a peaceful nighttime stroll there's no need to explain his absence.

"Lilac, I-"

"Don't tell me. Just don't tell me."

I don't want to hear him say those words.

"Did the anthem already…" I trail off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. Ryker stiffly nods.

At least I didn't have to see my own brother's face in the sky.

He's gone. He's actually gone. I was terrified it would happen, him dying before me. It would have happened to one of us, having to deal with our sibling dying, and I'm angry that it was me. I'm not as strong as Damon. He was always the one that carried most of the weight. Even when lifting bodies it seemed like he was doing most of the work and I was helping him just to seem dutiful. How did he even die? The Mutt probably killed him. I didn't even see it. I want to curl up into a ball and cry, but that would make me seem really weak. Part of me wants Ryker to think I'm strong, stronger than I really am.

"What are we going to do?" I ask him. Ryker sighs deeply.

"Well, it's obvious… I'm going to get you home."

I scoff and roll my eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. What reason do I have to go home? The only motivation I'd have is to see my brother again. But, of course…" I throw my hands in the air. "… he just had to be Reaped alongside me! I guess it was cool to have him in the chariot with me instead of a stranger, I guess, but now it doesn't even matter because he's dead!"

I don't remember the last time I've spoken with such emotion and intensity in my words. I suppose it's an appropriate time to do it.

"You aren't getting me home, Ryker. I'm getting you home," I tell him. Ryker shakes his head.

"Lilac…"

"You have a family. I barely have anything to get back to besides some undead corpses that need tending. It's like… what's the point?" It's a bit dejecting to be giving up on myself but at the same time it's almost a relief. Not having to worry about keeping both myself and my brother alive pretty much means I have nothing to lose. The feeling kind of resembles numbness but it's better than grief overtaking me.

Out of nowhere a small, yellow, furry dog walks out from behind the pink bushes Ryker and I are nestled in. It wanders over to the flat plate of rock I'm lying on. It looks like it's expecting something.

"What does he want?" I ask. "Does it want us to dance for him?"

"Probably hungry," Ryker guesses, before suddenly lighting up. "Oh, wait! I have something for you." He goes over to his bag and pulls out the box of dog treats, plucking a bone-shaped one from it.

"Here you go, doggy," he says in a sort of baby voice, which makes me laugh. He waves the treat around the dog's mouth as if to tease it before letting it chomp the biscuit out of Ryker's hand.

"Isn't that a Mutt? I thought Mutts were bad," I warn Ryker.

"It's not a mutt, from what I can tell. It looks purebred enough."

"No, I mean Mutt! The evil genetically engineered stuff that the Capitol makes!"

Ryker looks at me with wide eyes then bursts into laughter. "It looks friendly. Here, hold him."

I try to rapidly shake my head but it's no use, Ryker's already set the dog on my lap. It looks up at me with a happy expression.

"What's his name?" Ryker asks me. I tap my chin in thought for a moment.

"I was gonna call him Damon but that's really cheesy, not to mention I hate dogs with people names. So… Porridge." Porridge licks my face. Before long he turns away from us and runs off to some unknown area. Maybe I can enjoy these last few days. At least I'm not alone.

Kills

Vinna (2): Sixtine (assist), Garrett

Coilee (1): Ethan

Azure (1): Nerezza

Aslan (2): Sixtine, Sophia, Pontiki

DW (1): Armahni

Tributes remaining:

Vinna (1F), Coilee (2F), Albert (3M), Azure (4F), Aslan (4M), Aston (6F), Indy (6M), Magnolia (7F), Esther (8F), Altaïr (9M), Salalai (10F), Ryker (10M), Andrew (11M), Lilac (12F)