A/N: I'm apologize for the lack of updates. My life has been really hectic and insane and I haven't had any time to write. However, things are starting to roll to a finish, as cross country just ended last week and marching band is over with States on Saturday :) I's just Night One, checking in on a tribute we didn't see in the Bloodbath and how some groups are functioning :) I also included eulogies at the start that will happen when a District is fully eliminated from the Games; just a little glimpse into the thoughts of a Mentor and how their deaths changed the District in the time between their deaths and the next Games. I'm hoping to keep things moving, as I really want to delve into these Games, and I also have an exciting next story idea that'll be released some time later. I hope you enjoy!

DISTRICT FIVE EULOGIES

Anneliese Petrova

I failed, again. I didn't have much hope this year of course, but it still makes tears bubble out of my eyes to be the only Mentor to be completely shutting down their District's station. Usually I stay with half of my monitors turned on, or I'm packing up with others like Eris and Unity. But now I'm the only one. I won't miss them all that much as individuals; Bernie put me through hell and back emotionally, and Jayce never connected with me. But I have to go back to Five with false smiles telling them I did my best when I couldn't even get a tribute out of the lower third. They should just really give my job to someone else, and let me hide away forever.

District Five

Bernie's absence is soon filled by her guardian's new child, who they named Karri Bernadette in her memory. Her legacy remains when they sell off a majority of her cats, who are spread throughout the District in due time. One of them even manages to find its way into the home of Jayce's heartbroken girlfriend, Delilah, who becomes an addict shortly after the Games. However, Jayce's grieving parents help her through their misery and she is able to recover and return to her life by the time of the next Reaping. Jayce's mother is immensely depressed for a long time after his death that he never told her about his illness, and she starts a fund in his memory for the sick of the District.

Calico D'Amboise, 14

District Eight Male

The dull ache in my muscles is like nothing I've ever felt before. I guess that's because I don't usually run hysterically for my life after almost being pulverized by debris from a tornado, but it still stings nonetheless. The adrenaline is starting to wear off just a tad as the sun descends and the temperatures go from a little uncomfortable to mild to almost chilly. The world around me is gradually darkening, making it harder to sea the endless flowing fields of wheat and tall grass that surround me. I walk hesitantly, worried I might step into a trap or on the foot of a sleeping tribute or, worse, on some squealing little rodent or crunchy beetle. One of my shoes is already torn from falling when the tornado hit, and my bare pinky toe probes the cool night air, quivering with fear.

The fear and worry that nibbles at me is more from my immediate situation than the Games themselves. The dark and the fear of stepping on some gross creature are pecking at me, but I'm so removed from the Games now that I don't really feel like my life is in danger. Even I gave myself zero chance of getting out of the Bloodbath in my head. I was going to got out spitfire, attacking one of the Careers and leaving even just a tiny scar for them to flaunt on their Victory Tour before they finished me off nice and easy as they should. Instead I freaked after the tornado swirled away, and I ran like crazy with only a windbreaker.

I pull the slick fabric of the windbreaker tighter around me, fiddling with the zipper as the jacket rustles with my movements. I don't dare take it off; it provides some warmth and comfort, and I feel like there's a chance it'll get colder as the night wears on. The sound it makes worries me, but then, should I really care? It's better if someone hears me, finds me, kills me. I have no food or water, and my family will only be able to send so much. I'd rather be murdered suddenly in the night, part of the highlight reel, than starve painfully for three weeks and be forgotten.

I start rustling the coat more. It creates some more noise, but nothing substantial. I unzip it and tear it off suddenly, crinkling it together in a large ball, rubbing it all together. The resulting noise isn't that loud either, but it still seems like it echoes in the nearly silent prairie. The only other sounds are the soft, far off buzz of nighttime bugs and a few soft gusts of breeze rippling the stalks of grass around me.

I jump when the trumpet's cries blast above me. I fall backwards onto my butt, sprawled out in the dirt. I scramble to my feet, shaking in shock and embarrassment. I quickly get in the salute they made us do at boarding school without even thinking. Halfway through The Horn of Plenty I start to drop my hand, but then I decide against it. Maybe I'll get an extra cracker if the Capitol thinks I'm a good little patriot. If it's going to be a few days until I get run through by Careers, I might as well not starve painfully, right?

The anthem fades, and then the first face flickers in the sky. I think for a split second that I see the face of the boy from One, but I soon realize it's not him. District Three floats beneath the guy's face, so both District 1 and 2 made it out clean. Of course. Next up is the petite girl from Five. Not a surprise, an obvious Bloodbath like myself, except she didn't beat her fate. That also means every Career's alive. How swell. Her District partner, the sick guy, is next. Not too surprising either. The next face is the mysterious boy from Seven. I thought he'd make it farther, but I guess not.

The next face is Gaia's, and my mind trips up for a moment. I squint, but my District, our District, is still illuminated clearly under the sky, and Gaia's sweetly smiling picture gazes down at me, jeering with its kindness. Gaia. I survived long than Gaia. How?! My heart beats a little faster and I sit down slowly as her face fades from the sky, replaced by that of her ally, the Nine girl. My shoulders shake with light sobs. I barely see the faces of another guy and another girl, not even making out the District, through my tears.

I outlived Gaia. That's not right. That was never meant to happen. She wasn't strong, but she was the one of us that was prepared to do what I have to do now: survive in the wilderness with next to nothing. She was the one Woof took, the one who deserved the good Mentor. And she's dead. And my ratty ass is still kicking.

Of course I've heard of survivor's guilt, but I never thought it would effect me, even on the first day of the Games. It's not intense or an end all stopping me and crippling me from doing anything else, but it lingers even after Gaia's face is long gone from the sky and my few spare tears have dried up. I stay there, on the ground among the stalks of grass. There's no viable shelter anywhere in sight; this entire place is just grass, grass, grass. Here is just as good as almost anywhere else in the arena to bed for the night. My legs are tired and I'm thirsty; it's better not to futilely search in the dark.

I don't have quite the imagination to make the flat earth beneath my head into a fluffy pillow, and the throes of anxious sleep take much too long to claim me. Just as I'm drifting off, a loud noise sends me reeling upright, blubbering groggily in fear. I look around at the pitch black around me, at the speckled starlit sky; nothing.

And then the sound fits together in my waking mind: loud noises in the arena either mean someone's near and coming for you, or a cannon just fired because someone died. Either way, I'm not going to be able to sleep anymore. Moving will make me feel better.

I crawl forward through the grass, not having the energy to jog or run, even to walk really, but not being tired enough to go to sleep now. I outlived another person it seems. Lady luck's favoring me still. I bet I can count the number of additional cannons I'll witness on one hand before I hear my own. I would start looking at my hands with some weird curiosity for some literary effect for the excited Capitolites to dissect and zoom in on, but I'm too busy hauling myself forward on my hands and knees. Ah who gives a fuck anyway? Survival instincts are taking hold, but fuck them. I'm starting to try and be rational for Snow's sake. Me, Calico D'Amboise. What a joke. Might as well give up now, eh? Scream my head off and sit here until Chavez barrels in and carves open my throat?

I keep crawling anyway. There's some things you just don't ignore.

Ivy Cross, 16

District Seven Female

We walked for a long while after meeting back up with Fuji. I didn't feel safe being so near the Cornucopia, as we were only about a mile out, and we managed to make quite the hike out into the darkening prairie before weariness overcame one of us. Fuji just sits down out of nowhere, looking distraught and worn out. Omri immediately pauses to sit beside her, but I keep walking for a few moments before realizing that we're not going anywhere. I restrain the urge to roll my eyes or sigh as I turn around and walk back towards where my allies are sitting on the ground, Omri comforting Fuji.

Omri hands over one of our two canteens that we got, and Fuji unscrews the cap, sucking down quite the draw from the container. My hair bristles and I just want to tell her to stop hoarding our things and to get out of here. She's falling apart and we can't have that, and she's squandering our supplies while she's brought nothing to the table except getting our fourth ally killed. I liked Millard; I had a strong bond with him and was certain he would never be a problem for me later down the road. I can't say the same about Fuji.

Fuji finally draws her face away from the canteen and puts the cap back on, handing it to Omri who takes a quick sip before handing it to me. I barely take anything before stuffing it in my pack, shooting the smallest of glances Fuji's way. It's too dark for her to notice.

"You doing alright?" Omri asks Fuji, huddling beside her and putting his arm around her as she shivers. It's cool and there's a slight breeze, but it's nothing major. She's probably shivering from fear and guilt. I still don't like for how nice and cozy Omri seems to be around Fuji.

Fuji just nods in response. Omri pats her on the back and removes his arm from around her, shrugging off his pack and laying back on the ground. Fuji does the same, her eyes locked on the starry skies.

"We're just sleeping here?" I ask. We're in the middle of nowhere with no protection besides the grass. It feels extremely unprotected and extremely dangerous.

"There's nowhere better," Fuji remarks quietly in response, her tone sprinkled with annoyance and something else. "We're in a prairie after all."

"Shouldn't we just keep looking? I don't feel safe here," I respond, my tone steely.

"We're not going to find anything in the dark, Ivy," Omri speaks up. "It's okay, just come lay down, we're fine."

I sigh softly, but I don't continue to argue. I walk over to Omri's side and let my pack, laden with supplies, slip off my back. It lands on the ground with a soft thud, and I'm right behind it, not so gracefully plopping down into the dirt. Things are pretty silent except for our breathing. I examine the stars above my head, knowing that they're fake. There's no consistent constellations in the sky, no north star, no Big or Little Dipper. The Gamemakers really want us to get lost this year, lost in this land of neverending grass that makes me want to tear my hair out. I was banking on trees and varied terrain, an arena with heights and drops and hard to reach places where I could maneuver and fight better than most. Out here, there's nothing to hide behind, no trees, no mountains, no caves, no valleys. It's just grass, grass, grass. This Games will be a true test of skill. I doubt any of us stand a chance against the Careers here.

Eventually I hear soft snores coming from where Fuji lays. Omri's gotten up and is sitting some distance away, on guard. He's been doing so for what seems like a while; or maybe it's just a little, and my inability to fall asleep at the moment is making time stretch out like a balloon being filled with helium. I get to my hands and knees and quietly crawl over to him, careful not to disturb the slumbering Fuji.

"Why are you awake?" Omri yawns softly, stretching his arms out into the night.

"Can't sleep. I feel...uncomfortable," I murmur, looking over at the steady rise and fall of Fuji's chest and her sealed eyes.

"I know Fuji's a mess right now, but imagine if you'd just seen me die and you thought you were alone and then it was just you with Fuji and Millard who had a great bond like we do. I'd be broken up about things as well. The pressure and emotions are just getting to her today, give her some time to recover," Omri tells me.

"She's going to fuck us over, Omri," I insist. "Maybe not today, or even next week, but she will at some point."

"She got a 5. We can take her. We'll get rid of her sooner than later if that makes you feel better. Just go back to bed, okay? Everything will be alright."

"Okay. Soon. She better be gone soon. You sure you don't need to switch out? You seem pretty tired," I say as I crawl back towards Fuji where we're all sleeping.

"I'll get you up in a few hours to switch out. Don't sweat it. Sleep; you need it," he replies. I just nod quickly before curling up in the grass. Omri's points are solid, and even though I still feel uncomfortable having Fuji around long term, I can last the night. Nothing bad's going to happen in the few hours between now and morning.

Omri Plower, 18

District Eleven Male

It was the first anniversary of my father's death. My mother was a mess all day, weepy and even quieter than usual, shrouded in black both literally and figuratively. All days consoling neighbors and our sparse number of distant family members from out of town stopped by to deliver small gifts of food or pottery or clothing to soothe my mother's bleeding heart, and my aching soul. We received them all with graciousness; all but one.

It wasn't even Elliotta Pearson's fault. She was new to town, she and her fiance having moved in from the nearby fruit boomtown of Charlet to start a more modest, calm life in our small village, Alahee. Her family back in Charlet was famous for their honeyed treats, and Elliotta had even brought a bee house to their new property from their family's farm. Elliotta Pearson brought a beautiful glass jar of fresh honey for my mother. Every move of hers was respectful before she revealed the treat, and the moment she did my mother began to scream. She threw the jar on the ground and screamed, screamed, screamed. Elliotta didn't know that my father died from stepping on a hornet's nest, that bees made my mother screech like a banshee and then weep until I thought she'd die from water loss. Elliotta started to scream in terror as well, and then I was yelling for them to stop it. Before I knew it, Elliotta was fleeing in fear and my mother was having a fit of grief and anger, screeching maniacally on the ground.

I jerk awake, the screams of my forlorn mother still echoing in my ears. I rub my eyes and look around, confused as more shouts and yelps and groans meet my ears even though I'm awake. That's when my eyes bug out and I gasp; I've fallen asleep on watch, and now someone nearby is screaming.

I jump to my feet, looking around wildly. The world is pitch black. I can barely see anything. I move quietly towards the sounds, and find them emanating from the grass where Ivy and Fuji were sleeping when I was supposed to be on guard. Oh fuck, I fell asleep. I fell asleep on watch.

My eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness, and now I'm close enough to make out the scene in front of me. I can't see Fuji anywhere, and Ivy...Ivy's laying in the grass, shuddering and shouting for help, trying in vain to move herself about, trying in vain to get to her feet and save herself. I quickly kneel beside Ivy, tapping her on the forehead. Her eyes meet mine and I can see tears streaking her pale cheeks. Her hands are cinched tight around her abdomen, and I slowly remove them.

The mass of blood and organs that is visible makes me almost throw up in my mouth. Her entire stomach is slashed open, and there's a few small cuts on one of her arms, all from a dagger. I can already tell she's probably past the point of no return; she can't make coherent noises besides from the inhuman yelps and titters and moans she's been making all along. I can still try; I'm pretty sure there was some gauze in one of our packs. I tell Ivy she'll be okay quickly before leaping to my feet and looking around behind Ivy for our packs. I find only one of them, and the only thing left inside is a pack of saltine crackers and a coil of rope. That's when it all clicks into place.

I knew Fuji was feeling uncomfortable, but I never thought it would come to this, at least not this early. Fuji really has lost it I guess, or maybe she's way more devious than we gave her credit for. Either way, she must've overheard us talking about cutting her soon and she cut Ivy open after I fell asleep on watch and ran away with all of our supplies. My heart clenches and I try to assuage the sudden barrage of guilt, but it's no use. If I had stayed awake, Ivy might not be in such a critical condition.

As I'm debating over if the coil of rope can be used in any way to help, there's a cannon that stills all movement and thought from me. I slowly look over at Ivy, and her chest is no longer shakily rising and falling erratically. I tumble over to her side, ignoring her blood drenched shirt and pressing my fingers against her neck. Nothing.

I may have fallen asleep on watch, but Ivy's death isn't my fault. I didn't take the knife that stabbed her open, the knife that killed her. Fuji did this. Fuji destroyed my chances in these Games, destroyed the lives of first Millard and now Ivy. That bitch, my "ally", my "friend", is going to get it. I'm going to destroy her chances, even if it takes everything I've got. There's no coming back from this; she's dead already. I just hope I get to be there when things fall apart for her.

A/N: I bet you weren't expecting that! I've had this scene stored up for a while and I've been wanting to get it out, and I'm happy that I'm able to share it with you all. Omri's POV is shorter so I'm going to leave some space between this and the obituary so you can't see it that well from the start of Omri's POV.

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16TH: IVY CROSS, 7F - Killed by Fuji

Shocker. Yes, I know. She was basically a Top 8 shoe-in. I loved Ivy's character and she was always going to be about 4th place at least until I started to really look into what I wanted my plot and character arcs to be like. The scenes surrounding her demise were great to write, and they'll trigger some major movement in the story. Ivy was never my Victor even though I liked her, and I realized she was only going far because she was popular, not because she had a spot in the conflicts of the story. I realized that this was the time to let go some characters that didn't manage to make it into the plot. I'm so so sorry she couldn't go further. But this is what needed to happen for my story :(

Kill Count:

Trinity Vegas: 2 (Rufus, Gaia)

Zircon O'Dile: 2 (Soya, Millard)

Chavez Belasco: 2 (Baron, Jayce)

Ardin Varnell: 1 (Sage)

Tyberios Palatium: 1 (Bernie)

Fuji LaMac: 1 (Ivy)

I did just do that. I'm sort of shocked, but this story is going to be hardcore and chock full of action. I originally had a 19 day Games planned out, but I think I might condense it somewhat so there aren't any slow chapters. The action is going to be up up up most of the time, and no one's really safe from my wicked ability to kill them off.

What did you think of this chapter? How will Calico fare? What do you think of the destruction of the Showstoppers alliance? What do you think will happen next?

Also, if you want to sponsor, just PM me with what you want to send. Please don't send me a barrage of sponsor gifts, but you can send some stuff. I just don't want anyone to get overpowered or have unrealistic amounts being sent out :)

Things are kicking now. I'm excited to finally be getting into the Games more and more!

P.S. Crazy. It's been over a year since I published this story. I can't even fathom it. Thanks for all the lovely support :)

Until Next Time,

Tracee