For the first time in a while, I sleep through the whole night. In the morning, Aurora shakes me awake.

"Time to get up," she says softly, and I can instantly tell something is wrong from her tone.

I slowly sit up, afraid that I'll look up to see Phoenix with his sword pointed at my head. When I look around, however, there are no dangers in sight.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, and she just gives me a tired look.

"Isabelle and Phoenix went looking for more tracks," Aurora sighs. "As if the three tributes we killed already weren't enough."

"I don't know why we're tiring ourselves out by following all these kids around," Axel grumbles, and I turn around to see him sitting with Vesta. I forgot they were here too.

"I feel like the others will die or kill each other if we let them," Vesta adds. "We're putting ourselves at risk."

"I don't know," I sigh. "Whatever Phoenix says, goes."

"Why, though?" Aurora says quietly. "Why don't you say something to him?"

"It's not that easy," I snap back. "I'm trying to stay alive."

"What if we ran off right now?" Axel suggests. "Go off on our own."

Vesta opens her mouth to respond, but we hear footsteps approaching from nearby. I grab my spear in preparation, but it's just Phoenix and Isabelle. Phoenix offers us a grin, lifting his sword in victory. "We found tracks!" he announces. "Two sets. Let's go."

Vesta and Axel glance at each other, and Vesta is the one to respond. "Count us out," she says. "We're exhausted. Why don't you and Isabelle go?"

Phoenix pauses for a moment, as if incredulous that Vesta would talk back to him. "We need backup," he explains passionately. "Who knows who the tracks belong to. Isabelle and I can't take the other tributes one-on-one without the risk of getting killed. If we outnumber them we'll be stronger."

"Why don't we just stay here?" I suggest. "Those two will probably die soon anyway. Or we'll see them at the Feast."

Phoenix steps forward very carefully, lowering his sword so the point is mere inches away from my throat. I swallow nervously, inching back a bit.

"Get up before we have a problem," Phoenix says, his eyes dark. "Now."

I stand, putting my hands in the air. "Fine," I concede. "I'll go. But Aurora stays here. She can guard all our supplies. That way we can run faster without our backpacks."

Phoenix mulls over the idea, eventually nodding. "Deal," he mutters.

"Same with Vesta," Axel says, catching on to my idea. "I'll come with."

Phoenix and Isabelle look at each other for a moment before nodding. "Let's go then," Isabelle says, and we follow them.

I glance back at Aurora and Vesta as we walk away. Both of them have the same message written across their faces. Come back alive. Please.

I was right - it's much easier to run without our bags. Hopefully, Phoenix and Isabelle can kill the other tributes quickly and we can go back to camp. At that point, Aurora and I can split from the others, with or without Axel and Vesta.

It only takes about thirty minutes to reach the set of green footprints. It's pretty straightforward since all we have to do is follow Phoenix and Isabelle's footprints from this morning.

Luckily, it only takes another hour to find the other tributes. Well, it's unlucky for them. But I want to get back to camp as fast as possible.

The tributes are the couple from District 7 - Vance and Willa. The two of them got pretty good Training scores, and they're some of the most skilled tributes outside of my alliance.

"Yes!" Phoenix cheers as the tributes come into sight. "Okay, here's the plan. Griff and I will attack the girl. Isabelle and Axel, you two take the boy. Try to catch them by surprise and take them out as fast as possible."

My heart is thumping. I stand next to Phoenix as we prepare our attack, and I've never felt so small. He towers over me and is covered in muscles. I mean, I'm strong, but I don't work out. I carry barrels of fish for a living. Phoenix is a trained militiaman.

We approach the tributes quietly. Once again, I can't help but feel bad for the two tributes, just like the District 10 tributes we killed. This time, though, I'm being forced to take part in the killings.

Luckily, Phoenix is my partner, and he's slightly insane, so I let him take the lead and hope that I won't be needed in killing the poor girl.

Just like I predicted, Phoenix takes the lead. He breaks into a sprint, approaching the girl from behind and leaving me in the dust. Before the girl has time to turn around and react, she's on the ground with a sword in her back. Phoenix wastes no time, whipping out his knife and getting to work as Willa screams.

Vance reacts quickly, pulling out a spear, but he is barely able to defend himself from Axel's attacks, which are admittedly a bit weak. After a moment, Isabelle shoves Axel away and takes charge. It looks like the boy has no chance, but he seems to steady himself and defend himself pretty well.

I watch in what seems like slow-motion as the boy jumps back, reaching back and plunging his spear into Isabelle's chest. Her knees buckle, and Axel retreats, unsure of what to do. Seeing his opportunity, the boy sprints away.

It takes me a few seconds to process what's happened, and I break into a jog. "Isabelle!" I shout.

"Is she breathing?" I ask Axel, dropping to the ground next to me.

"Barely," he says miserably. Isabelle is sobbing on the ground, and blood is gushing from her wound.

I pause. Where's Phoenix? Then I realize - he's still stabbing the girl from Seven.

I stand, running over to Phoenix. That psycho. The girl is clearly dead, as punctuated by the cannon shot that fires as I approach him. "Phoenix!" I shout, trying to get his attention without getting too close to him and his knife.

The boy pauses, glancing up at me, and I will never forget the look on his face. He looks like a rabid dog, his face and body entirely covered with blood.

"Isabelle is injured," I say as if I'm talking to a child. "Come on."

At the sound of Isabelle's name, Phoenix is at his feet. He practically throws Axel off of her as he examines her injury.

"Isabelle, can you hear me?" he says so quietly, he's almost whispering. The girl on the ground just nods.

"I'll save you, baby, I promise," he says desperately as he pants. "Do we have any healing cream or something?"

I shake my head. "We left everything at the camp."

Phoenix loses control, punching the ground and screaming in pain when he crushes his hand against the hard surface. He manages to pull himself together after a few moments. "It's okay," he pants. "They'll send us something. Right?"

I start to back away slightly. I don't know what's about to happen, but it isn't going to be pretty.

A cannon shot fires, and I look down to see Isabelle's eyes. They're glassed over, and I can tell she's gone.

Phoenix's face is frozen in complete shock. I glance down at his hands, which are violently shaking. "No..." he whispers. "What..."

He suddenly looks up, his eyes trained on Axel. "You," he pants. "You were supposed to protect her!"

"She shoved me out the way," Axel says defensively. "She didn't even let me."

"That's a lie and you know it," Phoenix says, pulling out his sword. At the sight of the blade, I instinctively back away from the two boys.

Axel stands, his hands shaking. "Don't do this, Phoenix," he begs. "It wasn't my fault."

I feel my legs moving backward, but I force myself to stop. Something is tugging at my heart to stay. I think of Vesta back at camp, and how she is waiting for me and Axel to return. I can't abandon Axel here with Phoenix. I open my mouth to call to Axel, to tell him to run.

Before I can even blink, Phoenix leaps forward, swinging his sword with full force. The blade passes through Axel's neck, and his head rolls in my direction as his body hits the ground.

I stand frozen in shock until I turn and sprint away as fast as I can as a cannon fires. I'm on the verge of hyperventilating, and the thought of Axel's head being separated from his body makes me nauseous, but I don't stop running. Phoenix could be after me, and I can't be his next victim.