Chapter 10: Chasing Daybreak

A/N: It's time for a bit of action after the last chapter being a breather chapter, yeah. If any of you guys have any feedback or just want to chat, feel free to PM me. So let's get on with it!

LittleMermade - Thanks for all the reviews and speculations as to how the Career pack will fall apart! It's interesting to hear someone else's thoughts and perspective.

Day 7

Location: The Arena, Forest Sector

Time: 1:00 A.M.

Rain Orion's P.O.V.

I'm sleeping soundly when..

BOOM.

A cannon shot. I woke up immediately, wondering who went down. I barely have time to regain my bearings when...

Whizz.

THUNK.

I hear the sound of a throwing knife whizzing through the air, and sticking to the trunk of the tree I'm sleeping in. I also hear footsteps below, although they seem to be fading away.

Said knife was within arm's reach. I take it out; there's… a note attached.

"I want to talk to you. Meet me in the clearing. Come alone."

Sophia

Tch. Does Sophia really think I'm that stupid? She's probably waiting in an ambush with her alliancemates.

I glance over at Iris, who's sound asleep… and still alive, for that matter.

"Arrogance - a Career's weak point," says Katniss.

"How would you know that?", I ask in return.

"Everything and everyone has a weakness. You just need to find it and exploit it, kid."

I wake her up with forced whispers, making it as quiet as possible. She wakes up after a few moments.

"Wha…?", asks Iris, still half-asleep.

"Iris. I've got a note from Sophia."

She looks surprised, and asks if she could read it. I toss her the knife with the note still attached. She reads it with her eyes widening as she reads the note.

"Rain. I won't let you go it alone. It could be a trap."

"My thoughts exactly. So, you comin'?"

Iris looks at me through the shimmering moonlight.

"Of course."

Iris grabs her pack, and unites herself from the tree. I watch her slide down the tree's trunk, and she brandishes her axe.

Just like Jose. He's still out there.

I do the same, except I pull out my retractable spear, and drop my folding knife into the pocket of my arena pants.

"You ready?", Iris asks me.

No. I'm not ready.

"...Yeah. Let's go."

We creep silently through the dark woods, with the holographic moon shining down on us.

We reach the clearing, and I see a lone dark figure standing there. We're hidden from view by the bushes, and I'm about to go when Iris tugs the sleeve of my arena jacket.

"Rain…", she says in a very quiet whisper, nearly silent.

"...I know what you want to say. I'll stay alive, no matter what. Promise me you'll do that too…"

Iris glances up at me.

"Yeah."

I make my way out of the bushes, to an uncertain fate.

Sophia Kirhart's P.O.V

I gaze at the shimmering stars, dominated by the moon, whose light gives the trees a glow.

I know it's a fake glow, but it reminds me of something… no, someone.

Flashback, 4 years ago

Location: District 2, Victor's Village

"Dang it! Where is he?!"

I race through the rocky terrain surrounding Victor's Village, not like there was no rocky terrain in 2. We are the masonry district after all.

And known to be loyal to the Capitol.

"Linus? Where are you…?"

I peek around the corner, and someone grasps my shoulders from behind.

"Gotcha!"

I turn around to see a grinning Linus. Gods, his smile was practically glowing.

"Linus! You gotta stop that."

"Sorry, Soph. You're just so easy to catch off guard. That won't be good in the Games, you know."

I sigh.

"So, Soph… are we gonna head to the reaping?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Linus was four years older than me - not that it made a difference. I was proving to be perfectly capable in the Academy, in which all Career tributes trained for in preparation for the Games.

Sure, it was illegal… but the Capitol didn't seem to care, so long as we showed absolute loyalty to them.

Present time

I hear noises from the bushes. I whirl around, sword in hand. I see a figure emerge from the shadows. His features are clear to me, even in the darkness. He has messy black hair, sharp gray eyes, and has olive skin.

Linus.

No, not Linus. Rain.

I speak first, my eyes locking with his.

"I'm surprised you actually came."

Rain grunts, and is holding a cylinder-shaped object.

"What did you want to talk to me for? We're not allies, you know."

I find myself faltering before his harsh tongue. I watch, as he flicks his wrist. The cylinder-shaped object deploys into what looks like a spear.

So that's what it is…

Here he is, readying it to kill me.

"Rain… like I said, I just want to talk."

"If you want to talk about it… meet me on the roof. After the interviews."

Rain sighs, and he retracts his spear.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"What we talked about on the roof before the Games started… I'd like to elaborate on that."

"...OK."

"My best friend, Linus, as you already know him as… was killed by the victor of that year's Games."

"98th, right? And you volunteered to erase the shame that it brought to your district, I guess."

"That's right, and I volunteered for the Games, knowing I would be given closure - whether I won… or lost."

Rain looks at me, with an eyebrow raised.

I sigh. I'm going to have to elaborate further.

"If I won, great. If I lost… I could at least… see him again."

An uncomfortable silence permeates the air, and fortunately, Rain decides to break it by changing the subject.

"The 98th… wasn't that year's winner Onyx? District 1?

"Yeah… as much as I want to confine it in the deep recesses of my mind… I've been thinking about killing Vulcan and Velvet every night I'm on watch."

Rain tilts his head in confusion, and in shock.

"...You're telling me this, because…?"

"You're the only one I could tell that to…"

"And why, exactly? Why not anyone in your alliance?"

"I see my best friend in you… and the people in my alliance would've probably ratted me out if I told any of them."

Rain looks at me… shock can be seen… but if I look deeper, I can see anger, ready to burst. But what he says shocks me.

"Then what's the point of allying? If you can't trust the people watching your back, who can you trust?!"

I'm at a loss for words. I have honestly no idea what to say. Whether this time it was out of shock or admiration, I don't know.

Once again, he has turned my world upside down.

"I…"

I hear a laugh. And it's a familiar laugh, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.

"Iris!"

Rain turns to run back to his district partner's location, but he doesn't have to.

Cyrus and Aileen come out of the bushes. Cyrus is holding the struggling girl in by the neck, although giving her some room to breathe.

Aileen is armed with her trident, and despite its rather large size, she wields it with relative ease, odd for her stature.

"Ohh, sweet. You brought us the Twelvies too. I've been itching to sock this guy's face in for quite a while", Cyrus announces smugly.

I glance at Rain, and he looks back at me, with a look of sheer rage. Without him actually saying it, I already know what he's saying.

You're dead to me, you damn liar.

If looks could kill, I would be…

Dead.

All the moments I had with him?

Worthless.

Any possible chances I had with him?

Gone.

Dreams of reuniting with Linus?

About to become reality.

I can even see an apparition of Linus, shaking his head at me. I experience a brief migraine, and I look at Rain. He's deployed his spear, ready to fight.

Was he insane?! It was, by all means, impossible odds. They were even holding his district partner hostage. Then again, this same guy managed to find a way out of an impossible situation before.

"Whoa, whoa, Twelve. We've got your partner here. Move a muscle, and she's dead meat."

Iris manages to get a few words out…

"Rain… d-don't…"

Cyrus continues his speech, while Rain twitches with rage. I watch as Rain sighs and retracts his spear. Cyrus grins sadistically, still holding a still-struggling Iris.

"You moved, pal."

Rain Orion's P.O.V.

I watch in horror as Cyrus' axe goes right into Iris' stomach. She coughs up blood, and attempts to stop the blood flow, but Cyrus thwarts her.

I hear a shriek, then, a cannon.

BOOM.

I look at Iris, but she's still alive.

But not for much longer.

Sophia indirectly tells me who it is.

"Dang it… that's Velvet..!"

Cyrus points a finger at me. I see red, and as much as I want to kill him, I'm stuck to the ground.

"You're a lucky bastard, Twelve. Feel lucky that we care more about our supplies than you!"

With that, Cyrus tosses Iris to the ground and runs off.

Sophia and Aileen follow, with Sophia giving me one last glance.

I'm sorry.

I want to scream and curse at her for lying and tell her to not pity me, but I don't. I race to Iris, who's bleeding out.

I fall to my knees and grasp her hand, and I say the only one thing I can say.

"Iris… stay with me… please."

I reach for the healing ointment, but Iris grabs my arm. She's convulsing from the wound on her stomach.

"Rain… don't."

I sigh, and I feel guilt manifesting inside me. I know it was impossible to win with each other, but she… she was all I had in this God-forsaken place, now that Sophia's agenda was clear.

"Rain…"

"Yeah…?"

"Tell… Leo that I love him… and…"

"And…?"

"...stay alive."

I felt her grip loosening, and the rain started to fall. What I hear next couldn't be masked by it.

BOOM.

I stare at Iris' body. If I was more careful… more analytical… I would still have my ally. The person I trusted.

My friend.

With regrets clouding my mind, I left the clearing as the hovercraft descended. I ascended the tree Iris slept in, and retrieved her remaining belongings.

I then set out to find shelter from the rain, which I found in a cave. I couldn't sleep that night.

Location: The Capitol, Mentor's Bar

Katniss Everdeen's P.O.V.

I gripped the armrest of the chair I was sitting in.

Iris had just died.

I look over at Haymitch, who is quivering and growing red.

"Haymitch…?"

"Sweetheart… just leave me alone…"

Haymitch gets up, and immediately storms out of the Mentor's Bar. I eye Chaff, Haymitch's drinking buddy from 11, who's now in his early seventies.

He gives me a sympathetic look. I've gotten to know him over the years, and he admittedly grew on me.

Someone takes Haymitch's seat. It's the 49-year-old Finnick. He still looks as good as ever, with his radiant bronze hair and sea-green eyes

"I'm sorry, girl on fire."

He's not flirting with me this time.

Location: The Arena, Career Camp, near Cornucopia

Time: ~6:00 A.M.

Vulcan Prisma's P.O.V

I raced to the Career camp, where I met up with the others. Adrian and I found the boy from 8 on our search. Needless to say, he's now out of the Games.

To say the camp was a wreck was an understatement. I found Velvet dead inside of the Cornucopia, at the very back, which explains why the hovercraft couldn't reach her.

After once glance at her body, it seems she was killed by a well-placed arrow or by a javelin to the heart.

I brought her body out of the Cornucopia, placing it down just outside the camp, so the hovercraft could come and take the body.

I turn to Cyrus, Aileen, and Sophia. Sophia looks especially worse for wear.

"Did you guys find anything?"

"Yeah, we got the girl from 12. We were going to kill the boy from 12 too, who Sophia, here, somehow lured out," Cyrus replied.

Adrian interrupts again.

"Then why didn't you? Too scared?!"

"Because, Four, we were more concerned about our supplies than some piece of fodder we could crush later."

Speaking of supplies, Velvet's presumed killer took some of our best supplies, which included a majority of the food and water.

We were down to the supplies we each took on the hunt, which would last us for a bit longer - but not much.

We agree to spend the rest of the day recovering, and we reorganize our supplies.

When night falls, I'm the first on watch duty. The Capitol insignia appears, as well as the anthem. The faces of the fallen tributes start to show up.

Velvet.

The boy from 8.

And Iris, the girl from 12.

The Capitol emblem disappears from view, and all that's left is the darkness of night.

I gaze up at the night sky, feeling that the alliance will unravel sooner or later.

A/N: Whew, that was a doozy of a chapter. Now, let's recap who's still in this.

District 1 - Vulcan Prisma

District 2 - Cyrus Rankine & Sophia Kirhart

District 3 - Ellie Volicy

District 4 - Adrian Bismarck & Aileen Kendari

District 5 - (none)

District 6 - Vincent Crox

District 7 - Jose Aspen

District 8 - (none)

District 9 - (none)

District 10 - Robert Leiden

District 11 - Linde Huskor

District 12 - Rain Orion

Now, for the fallen…

Velvet Ritchson (District 1, killed by ?)

Roy Angora (District 8, fell to his death after Vulcan Prisma of D1 pushed him into a ravine)

Iris Nilo (District 12, bled out after taking an axe to the stomach courtesy of Cyrus Rankine of D2)

That's a wrap for today. Until next time!