Hi, all. Thanks for being patient. Sorry for the wait, but there's a lot going on in this chapter and it took a while to figure out how to make it all (mostly) make sense. Anything that still seems a bit out-of-character is just going to have to stay that way. You knew what you were submitting to, after all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And with that little disclaimer, let's get this game started!


Bloodbath
Fantasia


Fantasia: A musical composition with roots in improvisation. The fantasia seldom follows the textbook rules of any strict musical form.


Percy Allen, 12
District Six

Three, two, one.

As soon as the gong sounded, Percy took off running. Not as quickly as he could have if he'd taken one of his pills, but if one of the other tributes had seen him slipping a pill from his necklace, it could have given him away. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to realize what his pills could do. That would make him a target.

Right now, he wasn't. He was just a twelve-year-old kid running away from the bloodbath, just like everyone probably expected him to do. His shoes hit the concrete with a familiar rhythm. A city. At least the arena had turned out to be a city. He hadn't been expecting something so … familiar.

Except this city was cleaner than the one he was used to. There was no smoke rising from the factories. There didn't seem to be any factories. The streets weren't filled with garbage or shit or people begging or stealing or selling drugs or scrounging through the garbage cans for their next meal. This city was … nice.

Or at least, it would have been nice if he hadn't been running for his life.

Percy nearly jumped as someone came up alongside him. "Just me," Aloe gasped out, trying to keep up. Lucinda was close behind them, but—

"Where's Rose?" Lucinda called up to the pair of them.

Aloe turned to Percy. "I thought she would be with you. She was right beside you."

She had been right beside him. He hadn't even looked to make sure that she had run, too. He had just run – as fast as he could. Percy darted behind a building to let Lucinda catch up, glancing back at the cornucopia. But it was too far away now to see what was going on – and definitely too far to head back. Wherever Rose was, she was on her own.


Rose Thornton, 12
District Eleven

As soon as the gong sounded, Rose took off towards the cornucopia. Part of her was screaming that she should run, but there was a hatchet right there. She would be able to grab it and still have plenty of time to catch up with the others. And then at least they would have some way to defend themselves.

Suddenly, something struck her from behind. A boy, clinging onto her legs, dragging her to the ground. Rose kicked as hard as she could, but the boy didn't let go. A fist struck her in the stomach. Another blow landed on her forehead. Rose screamed, her hands over her face, trying to shield herself as a shoe connected with her ribs.

Then it was over. The boy was gone. Rose's vision was a bit blurry, but she could see the boy racing off towards the cornucopia. Maybe he'd found a better target. Maybe one of the weapons had caught his eye. Whatever the reason, she was alive.

Slowly, she tried to sit up, but her ribs ached where the boy had struck her, and she slumped back onto the ground. Maybe she could stay here – just for a moment. If she got up now, while everyone was running around, she would be an easy target. Maybe if she waited, pretended to be just another dead body, she would be able to slip away. It wasn't much of a plan, but right now, it was all she had.


Eddie Hyde, 14
District Three

He had to get to a weapon. That was the only thing that mattered right now. The girl he had left crying on the ground back there didn't matter. He could always come back and finish her off later. She wasn't likely to be going anywhere for quite a while. Hyde grinned as he raced towards the cornucopia. Finally, his hand closed around the hilt of a sword. He whirled around, looking for his next target.

Nearby, towards the edge of the cornucopia, two girls were gathering up supplies. Hyde charged in, sword swinging. One of the girls spotted him coming and called to the other. "Vicarys, look out!"

The closer girl – Vicarys, apparently – turned and let out a scream, then reached down for the only thing that was nearby – the backpack she had been about to grab. She swung it at him as he swung his sword. The sword sliced neatly through the bag. Hyde grinned, cackling madly, as he swung again. The girl dodged the first blow, but the second sliced across her stomach. The girl crumpled to the ground as the other one raced towards him, a club in her hand.

Hyde took off. The damage was done, and more tributes would be heading for the cornucopia soon. Besides, he could feel something in the back of his mind. Eddie. The fool was trying to take control. If he took over while they were still at the cornucopia, they would be done for. Didn't he know that? With one last glance at the blood pooling around his victim, Hyde turned and ran.


Vicarys Flask, 15
District Six

Blood. There was so much blood. Vicarys gasped for breath as Aura rolled her over onto her side, trying to staunch the bleeding with a rag she'd grabbed from … somewhere. It wasn't going to do any good. Blood was already pooling on the ground around her. Vicarys clenched her teeth. "Get out of here."

Aura shook her head. "I can't just leave you. You'll die."

"Yeah, and you'll live. Go."

"But—"

"No buts. Get out of here." She could hear her voice getting fainter. Aura's shape was getting blurrier, but finally, she nodded and disappeared from Vicarys' sight. Vicarys could only hope she'd had the sense to run.

Vicarys closed her eyes. Maybe this was for the best. If she was going to die anyway, maybe it was better that it had happened like this – quickly. Oh, it hurt like hell, but some part of her already knew it wasn't going to hurt much longer. Soon, it would be over. Soon…


Aurora Flash, 16
District Five

Boom. The sound of Vicarys' cannon echoed off the walls of the cornucopia. Aura huddled inside, hidden behind some of the larger bags. She'd meant to run; she really had. But there had been a boy standing between her and … well, anywhere she might have been able to run. He wasn't a Career – she was pretty sure he was the boy from Eight – but the boy who had killed Vicarys hadn't been a Career either. Now that the Games had started, it didn't really seem to matter who was a Career and who wasn't. Anyone could kill.

And anyone could die.

Aura shuddered. Just like that, Vicarys had been the first tribute to die in this year's Games. She hadn't been looking for a fight; she'd just wanted to grab some supplies on their way away from the cornucopia. It had seemed like a good idea, and Aura hadn't argued.

Maybe she should have.

Maybe if she had, Vicarys would still be alive. And maybe she wouldn't be stuck here, hiding inside the cornucopia, waiting for things to settle down. But she couldn't wait for them to settle down too much, or there would be a swarm of Careers wanting to rummage through everything inside the cornucopia. No, she couldn't stay here too long. She would have to pick just the right moment.


Opal Granite, 14
District One

It only took a moment for her to reach the mouth of the cornucopia. Immediately, Opal scooped up the first weapon she could find – a bow and a quiver of arrows. She slung the quiver across her back, chose an arrow, and took aim at one of the tributes who was running away from the cornucopia.

The arrow didn't even come close. Damn, it was hard to hit a moving target. Frustrated, she took aim at two boys who had reached for the same bag and were now pulling in different directions, each trying to yank the bag from the other one's grip. The arrow whizzed over their heads, but closer this time. Startled, the boy from Nine let go of the bag and took off running. The boy from Ten, who hadn't been expecting him to let go so suddenly, toppled over backwards, but quickly got to his feet and ran off with his district partner.

Opal grunted, annoyed, and fired another arrow blindly in the direction of some of the other tributes. It whizzed right by Quint, who had bent down to pick up a dagger from one of the piles of weapons. Quint whirled around, glancing frantically this way and that, trying to figure out where the arrow had come from.

It didn't take them long to work it out. Opal shrugged an apology, but Quint had already taken off in the opposite direction, away from the cornucopia.


Octavia Branshaw, 18
District Two

It didn't take long to catch up to Quint, who was still glancing back in the direction of the cornucopia, as if they were worried that maybe Opal was following them. She wasn't. She probably hadn't even meant to shoot that close to Quint, but it was too late to do anything about that now. The best thing she could do now was try to salvage the situation.

"Come on! We can still catch him!" she called to Quint, pointing at one of the boys who was headed in roughly the same direction as the pair of them.

Octavia could practically see Quint working out what she meant. If they pretended to be chasing someone, then they wouldn't look like a coward for running away from the bloodbath. They would look like they were trying to make a good impression by making a move early on, even if it meant chasing someone down rather than staying to fight at the cornucopia. A fight was a fight, wherever it happened.

Quint nodded gratefully. "Looks like he's headed for that building there." They pointed. "If you head around back, we can probably trap him in there."

Octavia grinned and took off, heading towards the far door. At least Quint caught on quickly, even if they were a little jumpy. Once they finished here, the two of them could decide whether they wanted to head back to the cornucopia or strike out on their own. Right now, they had a job to do.


Lark Lucas, 18
District Twelve

Lark watched, perplexed, as Octavia and Quint disappeared into the distance. What did they think they were doing? Maybe someone had run off that way, but there were plenty of other tributes who had stayed at the cornucopia. Plenty of other targets to choose from.

Unless they weren't chasing anyone. Maybe they were just running away. Lark glanced around. Opal had grabbed a bow and was shooting haphazardly in pretty much every direction. He couldn't see Sebastian or Corin. Maybe they were on the other side of the cornucopia.

Or maybe they were gone, too.

Lark turned and ran. It didn't matter where the others were, really, as long as Octavia and Quint had left. The two of them were the reason he'd been accepted into the pack in the first place. With them gone, without his family connection to Octavia to reassure the others that he was part of the pack, he was just another tribute from Twelve. Just another target.

Lark gasped for breath as he ran towards one of the closer buildings. Close enough that he could keep an eye on the cornucopia. Maybe Octavia and Quint would come back. If they did, he could head back with them, maybe claim that he'd been chasing one of the other tributes. Maybe—

"Finally came to your senses, Career boy?"

Lark whirled around. There, on the other side of the building that he quickly realized was a restaurant of some sort, was the boy from Five, leaning nonchalantly against the opposite wall. Lark swallowed hard, trying to gather his thoughts. The boy had spoken first rather than attacking. Did that mean he didn't want to fight? But then what did he want?


Dario Baretti, 18
District Five

"What do you want?" the boy from Twelve asked, his voice shaking a bit. But he hadn't run; Dario was impressed by that, at least. "And where are the other people you were working with? My district partner was supposed to be with you. What—"

Dario flicked the lighter he'd snatched from the edge of the pile of supplies. He'd grabbed a bit of rope, as well, which was already safely tucked away in one of his pockets. "She's fine. Had the sense to run away. Last I saw of her, she was high-tailing it with a couple of the others."

"But not you."

"One of the other little girls – the one from Eleven – rushed in to grab something. I couldn't even see what, but the boy from Three went after her. I didn't get there in time. I wanted to protect her, but—"

"But you were too slow, and now you don't want to admit to the others that you failed."

Dario's fist closed around the lighter. Damn, the boy was quick. But he also didn't seem to know when to keep his mouth shut. Still, if the Careers had thought he was useful enough to keep around…

Useful enough to keep around, yes, but not useful enough to come after. None of the others had followed him. "I see you left your group, too," Dario pointed out, changing the subject back. "Finally figured out the Careers were just using you?"

The boy shrugged. "That's what every alliance in the Games is, really – people using each other. They thought I would provide some drama. I thought they would provide some stability. Turns out I was wrong. The pack's already broken up."

Dario's ears perked up. "What?"


Sebastian Banks, 18
District Four

What were the others thinking? Sebastian glanced around the cornucopia as he snatched up a mace. Octavia and Quint were gone, and he could see Lark disappearing into the distance. Opal was still firing arrows, but nothing seemed to have hit a target yet. Maybe that was the idea, though. Maybe she was simply hoping to cause enough chaos that the other tributes would still run away, even though there wasn't much of a pack to run away from.

A couple of the other tributes seemed to be catching on to the idea that the pack wasn't exactly the sort of threat they usually were. Opal's district partner was leisurely gathering supplies into a bag nearby, completely unfazed by the occasional arrow that whizzed harmlessly by. The older tribute from Three was taking their sweet time shuffling through some of the supplies. Sebastian shook his head and charged at the closest tribute – the girl from Seven, who was reaching down to grab a bag.

Even as he swung his mace, however, someone else grabbed onto it, trying to wrench it from his grasp. More startled than anything, Sebastian let go, and the boy from Seven tumbled down on top of his district partner, clinging onto the mace for dear life. "You leave her alone!" he spat.

Sebastian reached down and took hold of the mace, using it to pull the boy to his feet. His eyes were full of terror, with the knowledge that Sebastian could probably kill him almost instantly if he wanted to.

But that was the problem. He didn't want to. He recognized this boy – the one he'd helped during training. It would be easy enough to let him go, but in order for that to play well with the audience...

Sebastian smiled. "You've got some spunk." He cocked his head. "How'd you like to join up?"


Ebony Timberough, 18
District Seven

For a moment, Ebony was certain she'd heard the boy wrong. He couldn't really be offering to let them join the Career pack, could he? A moment ago, he'd been about to smash her head in with a mace, and then—

And then Elemeno had saved her. That was almost as surprising as the Career's offer. She'd been friendly enough to Elemeno during training, but they hadn't been working together. She had her allies; he had his.

But where were they?

Ebony glanced around. She was sure she'd seen Arti and Whisper just a moment or two before. She'd only stopped to grab a few supplies. But now they were nowhere in sight. And the pair from Nine – the ones who had been working with Elemeno – also seemed to be gone. So right now the choice was between joining up with the Careers or…

Or what? The boy from Four was still holding onto his mace, but casually, as if curious whether Elemeno was going to try to swipe it away again. Slowly, Ebony got to her feet. "All right. We're in. What's the plan?"

There was no plan; that much was obvious. Until a moment or two ago, his plan had been to attack her. But the boy shrugged and waved a hand around at the other tributes. "Anyone who's left and wants to join up, recruit them. Anyone else, kill them if you can. Scare them away if you can't. Then we can sort out supplies and figure out our next move."

Our next move. Ebony nodded. That was all she really needed to worry about, too. She was alive. That was what mattered. That was the only thing that mattered. For now, there was nothing to do but play along and … what? Look for a good opportunity to leave. Maybe.

Or maybe not.


Whisper Collins, 16
District Ten

"Maybe we should have waited for her," Whisper hissed, trying to keep his voice down in case anyone was nearby. He hadn't seen anyone else running towards this particular building, but that didn't mean that someone else wouldn't come along. Of course, that someone could be Ebony. There had only been one cannon, after all, so chances were pretty good that she was still alive. Hell, most of the tributes were still alive. They could probably have afforded to wait a little longer.

But there was no way they could have known that. He'd grabbed a bag full of supplies – only briefly hindered by the boy from Nine – and Arti had grabbed a nearby axe. Then they had run. That was it. Both of them had assumed that Ebony would follow them. But she just … hadn't.

Maybe she'd seen something else she'd wanted to collect. Maybe someone had gone after her. He hadn't even bothered to look back. He had just run. His only comfort at the moment was that Arti had done the same thing. Maybe he had been too frightened to worry about what would happen to their ally, but so had she.

But that didn't make it any better.

But they were alive.

Whisper leaned back against the wall of the building, breathing hard. They were alive; that was the important thing. They could figure out the rest later. They could find Ebony later. With any luck, she'd just run in a slightly different direction and gotten lost. And if the one cannon had been hers … well, they would find out soon enough. Then they could figure out what to do next.


Baoba Pitblossom, 17
District One

"They really don't have any idea what they're doing, do they," Baoba chuckled, rolling his eyes at the pair from Seven's attempts to scare the remaining tributes away from the cornucopia. The few tributes who remained had had plenty of time to gather pretty much anything they'd wanted before high-tailing it out of there. He could have left, too, of course, but…

But he had no idea which way Nirel had gone. In the confusion, they'd lost track of each other. Nirel had probably just grabbed a few things and run, while Baoba had realized they would probably have time to grab a bit more than they'd thought. As it had turned out, a lot more than even he had thought. He'd packed a large bag to the brim with food and supplies, but now…

Now he was thinking of staying. The boy from Four seemed to have invited the pair from Seven into the pack without question. Well, what remained of the pack, at least. Octavia was gone, which probably meant the boy from Four was the only one with any actual training. Certainly Opal didn't have as much experience as she was pretending to. They weren't likely to turn him down if he asked to join them.

"Think you could use a bit of help?" Baoba asked when his previous remark garnered nothing but a shrug from Opal.

Opal raised an eyebrow. "You want to join the pack?"

Baoba shrugged. "Why not? Looks like Sebastian's recruiting, so no reason why you shouldn't do the same. At least then it'll look like you contributed something, even if you didn't manage to kill anyone."

Opal glared, but he knew that had done the trick. She did want to look like she'd accomplished something, and she was running out of other options. Most of the other tributes had already fled. She could try to attack him, of course, but instead, she lowered her bow and smirked. "Welcome to the pack, partner."


Nirel Jackson, 17
District Eleven

Nirel was gasping for breath as he ducked inside the nearest building. He hadn't gone too far; as long as Baoba had seen which way he'd run, he would probably be able to catch up. As long as the cannon hadn't been his. But there had only been one cannon. What were the chances that it was his?

One in twenty-four. Well, one in twenty-three, since Nirel knew that he was alive, at least. Nirel glanced around the building, trying to get his bearings. There was a counter of some sort, and lots of … balls. Smooth, round balls that each seemed to have three holes in them. Nirel picked one up, testing its weight. It was pretty heavy. Might be a good option for throwing if it came to that.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Nirel whirled around, the ball still in his hand. He hadn't even had the chance to check his backpack and see if there was anything in there he might be able to use as a weapon. But chances were whoever had just opened the door would be just as scared of him–

Oh, shit.

It was a Career.

And not just any Career. The girl from Two. One of the few Careers who probably actually knew what she was doing. But what was she doing here? Shouldn't she be back at the cornucopia? Had she really run all the way over here just to track him down? What had he done to her?

Nothing. But that was part of the Games. Careers hunted. The other tributes ran.

Fine.

Nirel took off out the door he had come through. Only when he felt the sharp pain in his chest did he realize that was a mistake. He'd run out the door closer to the cornucopia. Which meant the girl from Two had gone around the back. Which she would only do if…


Quint Delgado, 13
District Two

Quint stared, wide-eyed, as the boy from Eleven crumpled to the ground in front of them. Their dagger slid out of the boy's chest as he fell, and a stream of blood followed. Something rolled out of the boy's hand – a large, round ball. It bumped up against Quint's foot, and they sprang back. Was it an explosive of some sort?

Boom.

Quint jumped, but it wasn't the ball that had exploded. It was a cannon. The cannon belonging to the boy in front of them.

The boy they had killed.

Quint took a deep breath as Octavia clapped a hand on their shoulder. "Nice work. Quick, clean, easy. Couldn't have done it better myself."

Quint said nothing. She'd probably meant it as a compliment. Hell, coming from a trained Career, that was probably high praise. But they felt like they were going to be sick. A boy was dead because … what? Because he'd been running in the wrong direction, and Octavia had suggested going after him to cover for the fact that Quint had just run away from the cornucopia. Run away from the other Careers.

But Opal had been shooting at them…

Well, probably not at them, now that they had time to actually think about it. The chances that Opal had actually meant to shoot that close to them were pretty slim. Still, the fact that she may not have meant to wouldn't have mattered if she'd actually managed to hit them. All in all, they were probably better off here, with just Octavia, who was already sorting through the camping supplies she'd found in the boy's bag. At least she knew what she was doing.

And maybe they did, too.


Malachi Thorne, 18
District Nine

At least Squirrel had grabbed enough supplies for both of them. Malachi was still kicking himself for letting go of the bag, but that arrow had almost hit him. Whatever was in the bag, it wasn't worth dying for. Malachi breathed a sigh of relief as he and Squirrel ducked into the nearest building, which seemed to be a restaurant of sorts. They could get their bearings, figure out what supplies they had, and work out their next move. Besides, stopping for a moment would give Elemeno time to catch up.

If he was still alive. In the confusion, Malachi had lost track of him. It had been all he could do to keep up with Squirrel, who had immediately grabbed a bag and started to run. He just hoped neither of the cannons had been Elemeno's. Only two so far. Those were pretty good odds…

"P-p-please don't hurt m-me."

Malachi nearly jumped. The voice had come from the other side of the room. He hadn't even thought to check and see whether anyone else was in the building. He took a step closer to the boy standing in the shadows. There was something at the ground by his feet – something that looked like a sword, even from this distance. But he wasn't reaching for it…

"What's your name?" Squirrel asked, taking a step closer.

"Ed-Eddie."

"Would you like to join us, Eddie?"

"I d-d-don't w-want to h-hurt you."

Squirrel nodded. "I don't want to hurt you, either. So how about we work together, the three of us? Well, four, really. We've got another friend coming, and we can all–"

A giggle from behind interrupted her. "Oh, I don't think your friend's coming anytime soon."


Fermi Schoenberg, 15
District Three

The girl practically jumped out of her shoes, and the boy immediately turned to face her. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Where's Elemeno?"

Fermi chuckled. "Oh, he's fine, last I saw him. Made quite an impression on one of the Careers. They invited him to join up."

The boy's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "The Careers invited Elemeno to join them? The Careers?"

"Well, what's left of 'em, anyway," Fermi answered with a shrug. "Three of them already ran off, and the others are just letting anybody who's still at the cornucopia join up. They must really be desperate. Thought they were going to ask me for a moment or two, but I took off before they had a chance."

"G-g-good choice," Eddie stammered.

Fermi grinned. "Oh, I'm sure they would've been happy to have you after seeing what you did to that girl from Six."

The older boy raised an eyebrow. "You killed someone?"

Eddie shook his head. "N-n-not m-me. Hyde."

Fermi shrugged. "But the Careers don't know that. Two tributes dead, and you killed one of them." They smirked. "Wonder who killed the other." He turned back to the pair from Nine. "Anyway, we'll take you up on that offer, if it's still open."

"What offer?" the boy asked.

Fermi gestured towards the girl. "She said we could all work together while you're waiting for your friend to show up. I'd love to, if the offer's still on the table." She heaved a backpack off his back and pulled out a canteen full of water. "I've brought stuff."

Fermi could practically see the boy doing the math. Two of them. For all he knew, Fermi and Eddie were working together. And Eddie was armed, even if it wasn't doing him any good. Fermi had tucked a few knives in their pockets. The pair from Nine didn't seem to have any weapons, unless there was something in the girl's bag. Finally, the boy nodded. "Deal."


Squirrel Tail, 18
District Nine

Squirrel breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe these two weren't allies that she would have picked, but working with them was better than fighting them. The boy had a weapon, and there was no telling what could be in the other one's bag. For that matter, she still didn't know what was in her bag. She laid it on the ground next to the other one, and the pair of them started unpacking the supplies.

Her bag seemed to mostly be camping equipment – a tarp, a box of matches, a few packages of crackers, a bit of rope, and two extra shirts. Not bad, all things considered, but no weapons. The older tribute from Three, on the other hand, had apparently had plenty of time to stuff their bag full to the brim. There was plenty of food, several canteens of water, and even a handful of knives. She considered a moment, but then handed one to Squirrel and another to Malachi. "If we're working together, it's good for us all to be armed, after all," he pointed out.

Squirrel nodded. "Thanks."

"And it looks like Eddie's all set." They cocked their head. "I'm Fermi, by the way."

"I'm Squirrel, and this is Malachi."

"District Nine, right?"

"Yeah."

"So this must all be a bit … odd." They gestured to the arena.

Squirrel nodded. He was certainly right about that. The buildings, the concrete, the … well, the hardness of it all. From what Malachi had said about the Games, she'd been expecting something a bit more open, a bit more natural. But this was where they were, and they would just have to deal with it. And at least they wouldn't have to deal with it alone.


Elemeno Pereira, 12
District Seven

At least he wouldn't be alone. Sure, he'd never really thought about joining up with the Career pack, but the only other option right now seemed to be taking off on his own. He wasn't even sure which way Malachi and Squirrel had gone. Where would he even start looking? No. No, it was better to stay here a little while, get his hands on some supplies, and wait for a good moment to go … where?

Elemeno rubbed his hands together. The rest of the tributes were already gone. It seemed like everyone who was left around the cornucopia had joined up with the pack. The pair from Four and the pair from One were there, plus him and Ebony. The boy from Eight was leaning against the cornucopia, apparently completely unconcerned. And off to the other side—

He had thought it was a body. There had been two cannons, after all. Two cannons, two bodies. But this one was moving. The girl was getting up. Elemeno hurried over. "Are you all right?"

The girl sprang to her feet, but then staggered a little. Elemeno glanced around. No one was watching. He could just let her go, or…

He held out his hand. "Do you want to join us?"

The girl looked understandably puzzled. "Us? Us who?"

"The pack."

"You're part of the pack?"

"Yes. Do you want to join us, or do you want to fight?"

The girl cocked her head. "Well, when you put it like that…"


Corin Palmer, 14
District Four

At least Sebastian seemed to know what he was doing. Sure, this wasn't the Career pack they'd started out with, but at least they still had a good-sized group. Bigger, actually, then the one they'd had. Sure, most of them weren't trained Careers, but neither was she. But Sebastian was, which seemed to make him the default leader of the group that remained. He'd been the one who had thought to recruit the others, after all, but she…

She had watched. That was it, really. Opal had at least grabbed a weapon and started firing arrows, but she had just watched, too terrified to jump into the fray. Then again, it wasn't as if any of the others had killed, either. She hadn't seen who had killed the girl from Six, now that she came to think of it, but none of the others had blood on their weapons, and there was a lot of blood around the body.

And there had been another cannon. But there wasn't another body, so that meant someone had been killed after they had run. That ruled out anyone who was still at the cornucopia. Two deaths. Two deaths during the bloodbath. What would the Capitol think of that?

But what had they expected? What had they thought would happen with such an inexperienced Career pack? What had they expected once Octavia had decided to leave?

For that matter, why had Octavia left? Had she just decided she had a better chance on her own? Corin couldn't exactly blame her for that. Why stay and babysit the pack when a lone wolf strategy might serve her better? Then again, she was pretty sure she'd seen Quint running off in the same direction, so Octavia wasn't completely alone.

Corin shook her head. It didn't matter. Wherever Octavia was, chances were good now that she wasn't coming back. And Lark seemed to have split, as well. But maybe that was for the best. Maybe they'd have a better chance this way. She would just have to hope so.


Lucinda Tweed, 15
District Eight

They would just have to hope that Rose was still alive. Lucinda took a deep breath as she paced back and forth across the floor. She wasn't sure exactly what sort of building this was, but it was shelter, and it was still close to the cornucopia. As long as Rose was still alive, she should be able to find them. She knew which direction they'd been planning to run in, after all. She knew the plan.

So why hadn't she followed it?

"I'm really sorry," Percy apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I really thought she was right behind me."

Lucinda shook her head. "It's not your fault. We all thought she was with us. Hell, I thought Dario was coming with us, too. He said he was going to make sure you were okay, Aloe, but—"

"But I ran, too," Aloe agreed with just a hint of embarrassment. "Maybe I shouldn't have. If both of us had stayed, maybe…"

"I'm sure she's fine," Lucinda insisted. "There were only two cannons. That's it. Two tributes dead. What are the chances one of those was hers?"

"One out of twelve," Aloe muttered.

Lucinda bit her lip. Aloe was right. The fact that most of the tributes at the cornucopia wouldn't consider Rose much of a threat wasn't guaranteed to protect her, just like Dario wasn't safe simply because he was one of the older, stronger tributes. There were no guarantees. Anyone could be dead. They would just have to wait and see whether either of the others caught up with them.


Aloe Brittle, 13
District Twelve

Aloe shook her head as she peeked around the corner of the building again. There was still no one coming. How long were they supposed to wait? Maybe there wasn't any rush, but it didn't feel right – staying this close to the cornucopia. That hadn't been the plan.

The plan had been to stick together.

Still, she could hardly blame Rose for wanting to rush in and grab a weapon. She had thought about doing the same thing herself, after all. But then she had thought better of it. There would be time to find food and weapons and other supplies. It was more important to get away from the cornucopia alive than to get away with enough stuff.

Apparently, Rose had come to the opposite conclusion. Aloe shook her head as she glanced back at Lucinda. If Rose hadn't found them by now…

But how long had it really been? It felt like hours, but it probably hadn't been that long at all. They could afford to wait a little longer. Hell, maybe if they waited long enough, they could sneak back to the cornucopia when it got dark and grab a few things. Maybe the Careers would be gone by then.

Yes, that seemed like a good plan. A good reason to wait. That was all they needed, really – a reason. Or maybe an excuse. Either way, it was the start of a plan.


Arti Aveneuro, 16
District Ten

"Why didn't she stick with the plan?" Arti mumbled as she and Whisper sorted through the supplies from his bag. "She was supposed to follow us. I just assumed—"

"That she was right behind us," Whisper finished. "So did I. I didn't even look back. I just—"

"Ran. Yeah." Arti shook her head. She had done the same thing. She hadn't even thought about looking around for Ebony. She'd barely had the presence of mind to help Whisper to his feet before running. It had all been so … so distracting. Arrows flying everywhere, people running and shouting. She was just lucky she hadn't lost track of Whisper, too.

"What is this place, anyway?" Whisper asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Arti shrugged. It didn't matter, really. It was a building – one of the first ones she'd seen, and in a direction that none of the other tributes seemed to have been running. There wasn't much inside – just a couple piles of envelopes, and some empty cardboard boxes. Still, that might be useful for making a fire. And no one who was running from the cornucopia would spot them immediately.

Except that included Ebony.

Arti clenched her fists. How was Ebony supposed to find them now? The plan had been to stick together, find somewhere safe, and figure out their next move. Maybe two out of three wasn't bad, but now it seemed like their 'next move' had to be finding their ally – assuming she was still alive. And she had no idea where to start.


Fabrion Morrison, 16
District Eight

The Careers still had no idea what they were doing; that was obvious from the way they were just milling around outside the cornucopia. It looked like anyone who was still hanging around had simply been invited to join up with the pack, which had resulted in something of a ridiculous group. The pair from Four were trying to look like they were in charge, while the girl from One had apparently invited her district partner to join. Then there was the pair from Seven, and now the girl from Eleven, who had apparently been playing dead until just the right moment and was fiddling uncomfortably with a hatchet.

Fabrion adjusted the small backpack he'd slung over his shoulder. He'd packed some as much food as he could into it, expecting to have to run at any moment. But no one had come after him. A few of them had noticed him, but everyone seemed to assume that he was part of the pack, as well.

Maybe he was. No one had invited him, but that didn't really seem to matter. As long as he acted like he was supposed to be here, like someone had extended the offer, it wasn't likely that any of them would ask who, exactly, had decided that it was all right for him to stay. After all, most of them weren't really Careers, either.

Oh, he could run, of course. And he probably would, after a little while. But for now, the best move was probably to stay, to linger on the edges of the group, unnoticed but still protected by the pack's numbers, if not their training. For a little while. Until it suited him to leave.

Besides, he had a plan. Something that would gain him the attention of the audience, if not the rest of the pack. He had noticed something – something the rest of them seemed to have missed. Fabrion cleared his throat and sidled up to the nearest Career – the girl from One. Then he jerked his thumb at the cornucopia. "You know there's still someone in there, right?"


Aaaaand that's the bloodbath! The website has been updated with the chapter summary, and the map and tribute pages have been updated, as well. For the purposes of clarity, the people a tribute is currently physically with at the moment are listed under "current allies." Anyone else they were working with at any point is lumped under "former allies," even if they're still hoping to find each other again. If they find each other and are still working together, they'll get bumped back to the "current" section.

Here's where placements currently stand:

24th - Vicarys Flask, D6. Stomach sliced with a sword by Hyde.

23rd - Nirel Jackson, D11. Stabbed in the chest by Quint.