Reese Hastings, District 9, 16

The next morning, I woke up at sunrise as I always did. Old habits die hard. Journie was sitting beside me, his back up against the tree trunk. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I sat up, stretching away the stiffness of sleep.

"Good morning," Journie said pleasantly.

"Good morning," I replied.

"Now, before you freak out, everything is fine," he said.

"Wait, what?" I asked. My heart started to race. What was he about to say? Was he hurt? Had something happened?

"Just keep that in mind," he cautioned me. "So, ah, last night, I had a little run-in with Chaney here."

I looked over to where he was gesturing. On his other side, almost completely obscured by the tree trunk, sat a girl. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her. She had long brown hair, still partially braided from the first day, and wide, timid green eyes. The number 7 was stitched into her t-shirt pocket.

"Hello," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked. "I don't understand."

Journie hesitated. "Well, after a little talk," he said, glancing at Chaney, "we convinced each other to put our weapons down and join forces."

"Weapons?" I asked. "Join forces?"

"Well, she was thirsty, you see," he explained.

"There's a lake right over there," I said.

"She hadn't found it yet," he said. I glanced at Chaney, who nodded.

"So, then… how long will you be joining us?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Not very long, I think."

"Oh…" I said. I glanced back at Journie, who gave me a meaningful look. He clearly wanted me to accept Chaney into our alliance. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes," he said earnestly. "Think about it. It helps with sponsors, because we're building our characters, and also, it kept Chaney and I from trying to kill each other last night. There's safety in numbers. It's a win-win-win."

I hesitated. "I… I just don't know about this. No offense, but I don't know you that well, Chaney."

"Well, there's plenty of time to get to know each other," said Journie. "Honestly, what else is there to do?"

"I can help," Chaney said, her voice still soft. "The arena is a lot like Seven. I know how to find food, and how to hide, and how to climb trees, and other things. I won't be a burden."

"We can just try for today," said Journie. "If it isn't a good fit, we can part ways."

"I… I guess," I said. I looked Journie firm in the eye. "I trust your judgement on this. If anything bad happens, that'll be the end of it." I looked back at Chaney. "I'm sure you're a good person," I said. "It's just… you know…"

She nodded. "I understand," she said. "Hard to trust here."

"Exactly," I said. A small wave of relief hit me. She seemed like a normal, well-adjusted, understanding person. Hopefully the Games hadn't changed that too much.

"Thank you for not freaking out," said Journie. "Anyways, we're still good on food and water for a while. Probably won't need another lake trip until tomorrow. So that means we can spend today keeping watch, and maybe learn how to climb trees?"

"Sure," said Chaney. "I'm going to sleep for a little bit more, but sure. You guys get up early."

With that, she turned her back to us and laid back down.

Journie glanced at me. Thank you, he mouthed.

I gave him a small smile. This was Journie, after all. We hadn't known each other long, but I trusted him with my life. I knew he felt the same. If I couldn't win, I desperately hoped he would.

Still, I hoped we wouldn't come to regret this.

Ainsley Blare, District 5, 18

Around the middle of the day, maybe an hour or two past noon, I checked my water bottle. It was empty. Looked like it was time for another trip to the lake.

I began lowering myself down from the tree once again, careful not to get splinters. I'd gotten one yesterday and it wasn't fun at all. I'd become much better at tree-climbing since my first day in the arena, and the movements were much more natural to me now that I knew where the best handholds were. I dropped to the forest floor, landing silently, and peered around. I didn't hear or see anyone, so I headed towards the lake.

No one died yesterday. I'd been a little surprised about that, honestly. I'd spent much of the day napping to conserve my energy, and I could've sworn I'd heard a cannon at some point, but maybe that was just a dream. I'd definitely heard some wolves howling last night, though. I'd been up most of the night keeping watch with my night vision goggles from Albert. Luckily, they hadn't come anywhere near me. I wondered if that was because they'd been busy killing someone else. I guess I'd find out when I watched the faces in the sky tonight.

It was starting to get lonely in the arena. I'd always been a bit of a loner- I liked to do things myself and be independent- but this was true isolation. At least in Five, there were people around me. There were my classmates at school, and my teachers, and other people living in my apartment building, and people walking past me on the street. Here, I was truly, utterly alone. The only people I saw were the dead in the sky. Part of me knew that was a good thing- other people meant danger- but I was aching to see my sister again. I wondered how Lindsay was doing. Hopefully she was okay.

I crept forwards through the trees, pressing my back up against them every time I heard a noise. The nature noises were becoming more familiar to me by now, but I wasn't entirely used to them. Slowly, I made my way to the lake.

When I arrived, there was no one around. It looked as untouched and wild as my last visit, if you didn't pay attention to the paths circling it and disappearing back into the trees. I remembered seeing the Careers take it towards the pair from Nine a few days ago and shuddered. How they hadn't died, I had no idea. There was still no way I was going over there though.

I crossed the path and walked up to the lakeside, quickly filling up my bottle. As soon as the bubbles had stopped and it was full, I turned around and headed back towards the trees.

Whoosh.

I spun around, looking for the source of the noise. Nothing. My heart started to beat faster, and I quickened my pace towards the trees, busy looking over my shoulder.

I should've been looking down.

All of a sudden, the ground flew out from under me. Rope encased me, lifting me up into the air with a harsh yank. I gasped, flailing around and trying to free myself.

"It won't work."

I looked around wildly, looking to match a voice with a face. It didn't take me long.

Beneath me stood a girl. She was short and thin, with long dark hair that was in a braid and dark skin. What was truly striking, though, was her eyes. They were enormous and dark enough you could see your reflection in them when she was looking at you. They pierced through me as she studied me, tilting her head slightly. I looked down at her t-shirt: the number 11 was stitched into it. My breath caught at the sight of the knife in her hand.

"Please," I said, my voice tight. I tried to shift to a more comfortable position and face her. "Let me go."

She tilted her head the other way. "I'm afraid that won't be happening," she said, her voice calm.

My heart dropped. I decided that now was an appropriate time to start freaking out.

"Help!" I screamed. "Help!"

Virgil Amatore, District 1, 18

Around the middle of the day, Isla sashayed over, pure determination in her eyes.

"'Sup?" I asked.

She gave me a nod. That was the cue.

"Are we going out searching today?" I asked, making sure the others could hear me. Glowy was across the Cornucopia, and Sadie wasn't far off from her. Muir was doing some push-ups in the grass. I'd challenged him to a push-up contest yesterday and was still regretting it. My arms ached, even the next day.

"We should," said Glowy. "No one's died since we went out last. Let's get going again."

Muir looked over. "Well, who's going?" he asked, still doing his push-ups. He wasn't even breaking a sweat, it seemed, despite the heat. He'd once confessed to me that the intense summer heat reminded him of home.

"I need redemption for what happened on day two," said Sadie. "The Nines are probably still somewhere over there. Maybe they even went back to the cabin."

"I'll go with," I said.

Glowy and Sadie both looked over at me, shocked.

"You?" Glowy asked.

"Well, yeah," I said. "I haven't gotten to go yet. It's my turn."

"Fair enough," said Sadie.

"I'll come with," said Glowy.

"Me too," said Muir.

Isla and I exchanged a glance. That couldn't happen.

"No way," said Isla. "I'm not going to be left all alone here."

"Then one will stay behind, and the rest of us will go," said Sadie.

"Three people is too loud," I said. "Pairs are better. When we come back, Glowy and Muir can go out."

"Fine with me," said Muir.

Glowy shrugged. "Muir and I make a good team. That works for me," she said.

"Excellent," said Isla. "There's the plan. Now let's get to it, shall we?"

"You say 'we' like you're actually doing anything," Sadie muttered.

"It's a team effort," said Isla.

"Whatever," Sadie replied.

Sadie gathered her knives, and I went for a spear. When she wasn't looking, I tucked a dagger into my clothes. Just in case.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. "You okay with going that way?"

"Sure," I replied. "After you."

Sadie stepped forward, heading off towards the path. I followed, casting a backwards glance at Isla before we left. She gave me a nod.

The plan was underway.

Sadie Wilson, District 2, 18

Virgil and I walked down the path together, on the hunt for other tributes. I was hoping this trip would help me get my head back in the game and forget about Cal. Virgil was humming as we walked and poking trees with his spear.

"Would you stop that?" I hissed. "They might hear us coming."

"Stop what?" he asked.

I sighed. "The humming."

"Sure," he said.

We continued walking. It only took about ten seconds for him to find something else to do.

"Dude," I said, stopping in my tracks.

He stopped with me. "Yes?"

"You can't whistle while we look for tributes," I said. "Are you trying to literally chase them away? They'll hear us coming."

"Of course not," he replied. He glanced back down the path, down the way we came. The Cornucopia had disappeared into the trees.

"You know what?" I said. "I don't think I believe you."

"What?" he asked, looking back at me. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Before I could say anything else, a scream rang through the trees. We looked at each other and took off running down the path, heading towards the lake. The cries became louder and more intelligible as we drew closer.

"Help!" someone was screaming. "Please! Help me!"

"Keep up!" I whisper-shouted back to Virgil. After the first minute or so of running, he was seriously lagging behind.

"I'm trying," he replied, temporarily increasing his speed.

After another moment, we burst through the treeline. I looked around rapidly, taking in the scene.

Off to the left were two tributes. One was trapped in a rope net and hanging from a tree. They were clearly the one who had been screaming. The other, a small girl with a long braid, was standing beneath her, holding a knife. Looking closer at the knife, I realized it matched Glowla's set. Where had she gotten that?

The tribute in the net saw us and started screaming louder. They also began to sob.

"Go," I said to Virgil. "Now!"

The girl with the knife whirled around, spotting us. Her eyes widened as Virgil lunged towards her, raising his spear. I turned to the tribute in the net and prepared a knife. I had to be precise with this one- I didn't wait to hit the rope instead. That would basically give them a weapon to use against me. This throw needed to be perfect. I brought my arm back, squinted, and let the knife fly loose.

Boom.

I looked over at Virgil, pulling another knife out. He chucked his spear wildly just as the girl disappeared into the trees. It missed, clanging against a tree and falling to the ground. By the time he ran over to pick it up, the girl was gone, having run away into the trees. He grabbed it and walked back over to me, shaking his head.

"Why didn't you go after her?" I asked.

He shrugged. "No point."

"No point?" I asked. "Are you serious? This is the Hunger Games, Virgil! Do you think every tribute will be nice and tied up for us? How do you think Glowla and Muir got those kills the other day?"

He looked up at the tribute dead in the net, then back at me. He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to cut the net down and get my knife back. Then we're going to go after that girl. Got it?"

I walked over to the tree the tribute was in. I found the rope suspending them and used one of my knives to cut through it. The dead tribute fell to the ground with a heavy thump.

"Actually, no," said Virgil.

"Hmm?" I asked. I knelt down, trying to untangle the net. The dead tribute had really gotten themselves tied up. They had a backpack, too, which wasn't helping.

"That's not going to happen," he said calmly.

I laughed. "And why is that?"

"I'm going to go back and tell everyone what happened," he said.

"Oh, okay. Tell them how you let them get away again, they'll love hearing that," I said. I gave up on untangling the net and started hacking my way through it with my throwing knife.

"I'll tell them everything like this," he said. "We got here and there were two tributes fighting. I killed the one in the net, but the other one got away. And then you turned on me and tried to kill me, so I had to defend myself."

It took a moment for his words to sink in. "Virgil?" I asked, looking up at him.

He took a step closer to me. "Once you're gone, we'll get rid of Glowy next," he said. "We'll slit her throat tonight."

"We," I realized. "You and Isla?"

"None of your concern," he said, his voice smooth. He tightened his grip on his spear, pulling his arm back. I steadied myself with a quick deep breath, preparing myself to fight. One of us wasn't leaving this alive, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be me.

Virgil quickly brought his arm forward, about to throw the spear. In the knick of time, I tucked and rolled out of the way, jumping to my feet. The spear missed and landed on the ground behind me. He pulled a dagger from his jacket. I hadn't seen him grab it- how long had he been holding on to that? They had to have been planning this for a long time. At the realization, a cold, deep anger began to build in my chest. He wasn't going to get away with this.

Virgil advanced, dagger out. It glinted in the bright sunlight, blinding me for a second. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision. We circled each other slowly, each holding a knife.

"You were whistling on purpose, weren't you?" I asked. "You only wanted to come along so you could kill me. The other tributes were a happy accident."

He smirked. "Clever."

I lunged, throwing another knife at his head as I did so. He saw it coming and dipped out of the way. It landed in the grass, close to the lake's edge.

His smirk broadened. "Nice try."

Virgil chose that moment to charge, tackling me to the ground. I hit the ground hard, the breath flying out of my lungs. I gasped, trying to refill them. We rolled around for a moment, both trying to get the upper hand, until Virgil was on top of me, my arms pinned behind my back.

"Any last words?" he asked.

"Fuck you," I said, squirming, trying to get my hand on a weapon. I had a knife in each boot and another in my back pocket. The others had been thrown already, and were in the grass and the dead tribute's head. But my hand was close to my back pocket. If I could just reach it…

"I always knew you lacked class," he said.

"You sound like Isla," I said, still wriggling around. My fingertips touched cool metal. So close…

He laughed. "You should really be taking this as a compliment. We wouldn't have targeted you unless you were a threat."

"As if." I spat in his face.

His expression darkened. "You'll regret that."

Virgil raised the dagger high in the air just as my hand closed around the knife. "Goodbye, Sadie."

Boom.

Levi Viscose, District 8, 18

"How's fishing?" I asked.

Ianto, Sienna and I were at the lake. Sienna was sitting off to the side, watching Ianto fish. Ianto was shirtless and standing in the lake, his shorts rolled up to keep from getting wet. His shirt, boots, and socks were in the grass by Sienna.

Ianto turned over his shoulder, the water rippling around his legs as he did so. "Okay," he said.

"We got a sponsor gift," said Sienna. "Look!"

Sienna pulled out a small silver box.

"I wonder who it's from," I said.

"It's not from my Mentor, that's for sure," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Aurelia doesn't like me very much. She only likes Dale."

"It's probably from Senna, then," I said. "What's in it?"

She pulled a small bottle out of it. "I think it's for sun protection."

"Wait, what?" asked Ianto. "I really could've used that!"

"Sorry," called Sienna. "Do you want some now?"

"Yes!" said Ianto. He waded out of the lake, setting the net in the grass. Sienna handed him the bottle, and he promptly put the sun protection cream on his shoulders, back, and face. Now that he'd said something, I noticed he was definitely pretty red, especially on his shoulders and nose. At least his black eye had mostly faded at this point.

"Caught anything yet?" I asked.

"A few small ones," said Ianto.

"That's good," I said. "I'm not sure how we'll cook them, though. It's not like we can make fires out here. The smoke will give us away."

"Oh, I've got that covered," Sienna chimed in. "It's so hot out that the sun makes the rocks hot. We can put the fish on the rocks and I think they'll cook."

Ianto and I exchanged a glance.

"That's pretty smart," Ianto admitted.

"If you give me one, I'll test it," she said.

Ianto went over to the net and pulled out a small fish. He handed it to Sienna.

"It's very slimy," she commented.

"Gross," I said.

"Did you kill it?" she asked. "It's not moving."

"Yeah, I took care of that part," said Ianto. "Didn't think you'd want to do it."

"Thanks," she said. She stood, walking over to a large, smooth gray rock next to the side of the lake. She tested it very lightly with her finger and, seeming to approve, set the fish down.

"She seems to be doing better," I said to Ianto, keeping my voice low.

"Yeah," he agreed. "That's good."

"I'm glad she's still around," I said.

"Me too," he said. "She's got some decent ideas."

I nodded just as Sienna walked back up.

"If that doesn't work, we'll figure something else out," she said.

"Sounds good," I said.

"Well, I'm going to do some more fishing," said Ianto.

"Wait," said Sienna. She hesitated, glancing at the other side of the lake.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I… last night, I saw someone nearby," said Sienna.

"Wait, what?" asked Ianto.

"I was by the side of the lake when-"

"Why were you outside?" Ianto interrupted. "I thought we agreed we'd stay in at night."

"Jess needed water," she explained. "So I just went really quick. And when I went over, I saw someone else on the other side of the lake."

"Did you recognize them?" I asked.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah. It was him."

"Him?" Ianto asked.

"Oh, Sienna," I said, realizing what she meant.

"It was the boy from Two," she said. "He was alone. He almost saw me, but I hid."

"That must have been awful," I said. "Thank God he didn't see you."

"I know," she said, shuddering. "And then I ran back inside."

"You said he was alone?" asked Ianto. "That's weird."

"What if the Careers are camped out nearby?" I said. "Are we safe here?"

"We're not safe anywhere," Ianto pointed out. "But we know he's nearby. That's what's important. We can keep an eye out and, if he attacks, he'll be outnumbered."

"If the Careers are nearby, I don't know if I want to stay here," I said.

"She said it was just him," said Ianto. "I bet he's alone."

"Why would he be alone? Isn't he the Career's leader?" I asked. "You saw him during training. He was definitely in charge."

He shook his head. "Gut instinct. Why would he be here, at night, when he's got everything he needs at the Cornucopia? Maybe they had issues."

"Issues?" Sienna asked.

"Well, yeah," said Ianto. "Like me and my bandmates. Sometimes we fight, and the band has to go on a break. Maybe that's what happened here."

"Maybe," I said. "But we don't know for sure. In any case, we need to stay away from him." I turned to Sienna. "And no more nighttime lake trips."

She nodded.

Travis O'Quinn, District 7, 17

"You doing okay?" Dale asked.

I looked up. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Dale set the refilled water bottles on the ground and sat down next to me. One had come in the backpack, while the other had been a sponsor gift. "You sure?"

"I… yeah," I said.

In truth, the wolf incident from last night was still bothering me. I'm not the most emotional person, and I'd be the first to tell you that. I couldn't remember the last time I'd cried. In the Capitol, I'd kept my cool. Killing that boy in the Bloodbath hadn't even been enough to rattle me. But the wolves from last night, for some reason, had shaken me to my core. It was the first time I'd really felt like I could die.

I didn't like that feeling.

"If you say so," said Dale.

"How did you know we needed to climb those trees last night?" I asked.

"Oh, that?" he replied. "Some old advice from my brother."

"You have a brother?" I asked.

"I have four," he said.

"What are their names?" I asked.

He looked over at me, his eyebrows raised. "You're very interested all of a sudden," he said. "What changed?"

"Just chatting with my ally, that's all," I said.

He gave me a look that pretty clearly stated he didn't believe me, but he dropped it. I mentally thanked him for that.

"Their names are Leo, Woody, Roan, and Reed," he said. "They're all older than me. You?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "My sister Ashley. She's ten years older than me."

"Nice," he said, nodding.

"Dating anyone?" he asked.

I looked over at him. "What?"

"Just chatting with my ally, that's all," he said.

I groaned internally. Well played, throwing my words back at me to get me to do something. It's something I'd do.

"No, I'm not dating anyone," I said. "Why, are you?"

"Yeah," he said. He smiled a little.

"What's her name?"

"I can't say," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. Now this was interesting.

"It's just not something I can talk about," he replied. "Only my brother knows about it."

"So it's a secret, then," I said.

He gave me another look. "I don't get where this is coming from."

"What do you mean?"

"Two days ago, I tried to have a conversation with you, but you were more interested in eating a pinecone than talking to me," he said. "Now, all you want to do is talk. What happened?"

I considered that for a moment. He had a point. Until the wolf attack, I'd been keeping a distance between myself and Dale. And I was dying to know what his secret was.

"I guess the wolf attack changed my thinking," I finally said. "I thought we were going to die. I'd rather die with a friend than with a stranger, you know?"

"I know," he said, his voice soft. "I get that. I've kind of been thinking the same way."

"Really?"

"Yes," he said. "I don't want to die alone."

"Exactly," I said. "That's why I wanted to get to know you a little better. Secret girlfriend and all."

He sighed. "I don't know about that, Travis."

"I love secrets," I admitted. "They're my vice. And it's not like there's anyone I can tell, right?"

"What about the cameras?" he asked.

"Lean in and whisper it in my ear," I said. "I don't think they'd be able to hear that."

He hesitated. "Only if you tell a secret too."

"Oh, boy," I said. "I… I guess so."

"And you won't tell anyone?" he asked.

I nodded. "I won't."

He leaned in close, cupping his hand around my ear. "His name is Mr. Wolfe," he whispered. "He's my boss at the mine."

"Wait, what?" I asked, pulling away. "Isn't that…'' I looked around and lowered my voice. "Illegal?"

"No, it's fine," he assured me, also whispering. "He's very fit. He looks a lot younger than he is."

I stared at him, shocked. That wasn't at all what I was expecting. The idea made my skin crawl, and I was technically a murderer.

"Your turn," he said, unfazed by the bomb he'd just dropped on me.

"Um… okay," I said, pulling myself together. I leaned in, cupping my hand around his ear just as he'd done to me.

"I've been blackmailing Mayor Spano with government secrets," I whispered.

"What?" Dale asked, pulling away to stare at me. "What? How? What?!"

"Shhh," I said, still whispering. "My mother works there. I went to go get a file for her and accidentally found… well, everything."

"Why were you getting a file for her?" Dale whispered.

I shrugged. "Bring your kid to work day," I whispered. I leaned in again. "But that was just the start. Once I knew there was something there, I was curious, so I just kept going back. Eventually, the Mayor caught me. Turns out it only takes a few little threats to get him to cough up the cash. I'm not even the only one on his bankroll. They should really guard that place better. I love secrets."

"I… wow," he said. "What kind of secrets?"

"I can't tell you," I said.

He nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Wow. I think if that happened in Twelve, you'd be dead."

"Spano's not that kind of guy," I said. "And I have a lot of friends. Paying me off was the better option for him."

He let out a breath. "Huh."

Muir Jansen, District 4, 16

We'd heard two cannons go off a while ago, but there was still no sign of Sadie and Virgil.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," said Isla. She was sitting on one of the picnic tables and fanning herself with her hand.

"What if those cannons were theirs?" Glowla asked. "That would change everything."

"I doubt it," I said. "They might not even be related. They could still be out looking."

"I guess," said Glowla. "Still…"

"There have been deaths we haven't been responsible for," I said. "Could've been that."

"You seem very inclined to believe they're both all right," said Isla.

"Well, I'd prefer it if our allies didn't die, yes," I said.

Isla shrugged. "I suppose."

We continued to wait in the clearing. Glowla sharpened her knives while I checked the traps again. I liked working with them. They reminded me of training with my girlfriend Nineve. I missed her a lot. I'd had to move a few of the traps to make up for the gap, and I wanted to be sure they were still working properly. I was still wondering who'd stolen them. What were they going to do next? Had they taken anything else? When had it happened?

After another hour or so, Glowla perked up. "I think someone's coming," she said. "I hear footsteps."

"I don't hear anything," said Isla.

I listened for a moment. There was definitely a pair of footsteps nearby. "I hear it too."

I jogged back to the Cornucopia, standing next to Glowla. We watched the path Virgil and Sadie had walked down, looking for the source of the footsteps. And sure enough, after a moment, a figure emerged, alone.

It was Sadie.

She was walking towards us, knives dripping blood in each of her hands. Her braids, which she'd redone this morning, were a tangled, disorderly mess, with a few pieces falling out altogether. She had some scrapes and bruises on her arms and knees. Most notably, though, was the deep cut across her cheekbone, the blood still flowing down her face.

"Sadie?" called Glowla. "Are you okay?"

"Where's Virgil?" Isla asked.

Sadie arrived in front of us. "I'm fine," she said, her expression dark.

"Where's Virgil?" Isla repeated. "What happened?"

"As if you don't know," said Sadie, her voice ice cold. Glowla and I glanced at each other.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Isla innocently.

"Virgil tried to kill me," she said, practically spitting out the words. "You two have been conspiring from the beginning. He was going to kill me and pin it on another tribute. He told me himself." She turned to Glowla. "He said they were going to kill you next. They were planning on slitting your throat tonight."

"What?" asked Glowla. Everyone turned to look at Isla. "Is that true?"

"Of course not," said Isla. "Virgil's framing me, can't you see that? I can't believe you're falling for this. Muir, you're on my side, right?"

"No," I said quietly.

"What?" she shrieked. "Why not?"

"You're a liar," I said quietly. "I believe them."

Her innocent facade quickly turned into a sneer. "I'm not a liar," she said. "But you? You're nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Isla," Glowla interjected.

Isla ignored her. "You're a poor little nobody and you're not going to take this from me," she said, her voice low. She stared me down. "I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance."

"What does that mean?" asked Sadie.

An old, familiar feeling began to rise in me. Rage. And for the first time since I'd been Reaped, I didn't try to push it down.

"It means she wished she'd pushed me down the stairs like Thalassa," I said, glaring at her. "Isn't that right?"

"Who's Thalassa?" asked Glowla.

"The girl who should be here right now," I said. "Not Isla. She pushed her down the stairs so she could buy out her spot. She's only here because she has money."

"That's not true!" screeched Isla. "I earned my place, you little piece of shit!"

"Liar," I shot back, my voice rising.

Isla got off the picnic table and stomped over to me, her eyes full of fury. "You know what? I'm about to make you wish your pathetic bitch of a mother never bothered giving birth to you."

I snapped.

"Don't talk about my mother like that!" I shouted, the heat rising to my face.

"Make me," said Isla.

"Fine," I said. I took a step over to the picnic table, picking up a spear. I advanced towards her.

"What are you doing?" she snapped.

"I'm done with you," I said. "I'm ending this."

Her face went pale. "You can't kill me!" she shrieked. "You guys, stop him!"

Sadie and Glowla looked at each other, then shrugged.

"If he won't, I'll do it myself," said Sadie. She crossed her arms.

"Stop!" she shouted, backing away. Her arms were out in front of her. "You can't do this!"

"I can and I will," I said. I raised the spear in the air. "This has been a long time coming."

Isla screamed. I threw the spear. It landed true.

Boom.

"Good riddance," said Sadie.

Caligula Van Zandt, District 2, 18

As night fell, I looked towards the sky, interested to see who'd died. I'd heard at least three cannons today, bringing the total number of tributes to fourteen if I was counting correctly.

As it turned out, my count was correct. The first face in the sky was Virgil.

"Wow," I murmured. I wondered what happened. He was a cool dude, if not well trained. It was a shame to see him go.

The next face, to my shock, was Isla.

What on earth happened today? I had to imagine the Careers had finally turned on each other. Muir's face didn't pop up, so that meant just Sadie, Muir, and Glowla were holding down the fort now. Maybe they'd turned on the other two? Honestly, I was glad to have escaped that mess.

The last face was the other tribute from Five. Then, the anthem ended, and the sky went dark.

Marius Nero, District 9 Mentor, 28

I wandered over to Godric's desk. "How's it going?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "Fine," he said.

Godric and I knew each other pretty well. Besides both being from Two, as well as Mentoring together for a few years now, we saw each other around the Academy fairly often. He was a nice guy. Occasionally, we talked strategy together.

"That was a mess with the Careers today," I noted.

"Bound to happen eventually," said Braun, who was sitting at the next desk over. "I'm just glad the girl's okay."

"Shame about the boy," I said.

"I'm surprised he made it that long," said Braun. "The girl's the one I've got my money on."

I was long used to Braun's bluntness, so I didn't react to that. The man had been a Mentor for a long time. That did things to your mindset. I'd even experienced a little of it myself.

"How are yours doing?" Godric asked.

"They're both still kicking," I said. I rubbed my hands together eagerly. "I'm going for my second consecutive win this year."

"Are they that pair on the southwest side?" asked Godric.

"Yes," I confirmed. "They just picked up that ally as well."

"Oh, that group," said Braun. "That's an interesting one. Would've been dead if it weren't for Godric's boy going soft."

Godric grimaced. "Don't remind me."

"Well, they're still alive, and that's what's important," I said. "Even better odds now that some of your Careers are down."

"Fair enough," said Braun. "Good luck with that winning streak, eh?"

"Thanks," I said. "Good luck to you as well."

*Eulogies:

17th: Ainsley Blare, D5NB (netted by Alula and throwing knifed by Sadie): This was another case of extraordinarily bad luck. I went back and forth a lot between who was going to get caught up in this mess, and unfortunately it ended up being you. Ainsley was independent, tough, and always had some really interesting perspectives. They were a very human, realistic character, which I really liked. I have to think that if they'd been willing to make an alliance, they might not have fared so badly. Thank you to theflowercrowns for submitting Ainsley.

16th: Virgil Amatore, D1M (knifed by Sadie): I loved writing this guy. Virgil was such a fun mix of deviousness and comedic relief. He wasn't the most well-liked by every reviewer, but there's no denying Virgil was entertaining to read about. In a group of often high-strung individuals, his relaxed nature provided a nice balance to the group dynamic. Unfortunately, one of the things he was laid-back about was his training, and against Sadie, I couldn't see him coming out on top (although he clearly could). Thank you to TheWatcherofTheVoid for submitting Virgil.

15th: Isla Evenair, D4F (speared by Muir): Oh, Isla. It was certain your many, many, many schemes would collapse around you at some point, and that point ended up being Day 4. Virgil may have been a schemer, but you took that up another fifteen notches. Between your constant plotting, hypocritical beliefs, and your determination for world domination, you were so fun to write. I will miss the drama you were so adept at creating. Thank you to ParadigmofWriting for submitting Isla.

Kills:

Glowla- 1 (Ethan)

Caligula- 1 (Salome)

Sadie- 3 (Virgil, Ainsley, Deltro)

Damion- 1 (Halley)

Muir- 3 (Damion, Isla, Parker)

Travis- 1 (Samuel)

Alliances:

The Careers: Glowla, Sadie, Muir

(Salome's) Dream Team: Ianto, Levi, Sienna, Jess

Quiet/Secretive/Chill Bros: Travis, Dale

The Pacifists: Chaney, Journie, Reese

Loners: Caligula, Alula

Well, that's the chaos that is Day 4. Definitely a very eventful installment. Fourteen still standing, ten dead. I'd love to hear your thoughts and reactions to everything that happened here. Again, you guys leave some amazing reviews, I really love reading them :)

Also, if anyone is interested, the wonderful glimmerglint made a super cool mood board for this fic! The link will be on my profile if you want to check it out. Thank you again Anya 3

I'm probably going to stick to an update schedule of once a week, uploading every weekend, for a while. Maybe the occasional two-update week if I get the chance/bored enough. The blog will be updated in a few minutes, and I'll see you next time with Day 5!

-r-b*