Milly Lockwood, 13

District 3 3rd Female

It's safe to say that Fusae and I have been through a lot of shit together. First and foremost, I think she's an amazing friend. She was comforting to me on the train when I really needed it, and even after Katya and Gwenith joined our group I knew I trusted her the most.

We both almost died yesterday. That brings about a kind of camaraderie that not even the Hunger Games can shake.

The sun rises about six hours after the national anthem as usual. When I drop down from the mangrove tree where we spent the night, my feet strike the bottom much faster than I had anticipated. As I hiss in pain, Fusae does the same thing.

"The water's getting shallower," she says.

I nod solemnly. "Less space to hide now."

Fusae keeps proposing equally unpleasant outcomes.

"Imagine the water keeps draining away until there's just mud, but it's like quicksand, and it sucks you under."

"Don't give them any ideas."

"Or imagine there are mutts hidden under there that… why are you looking at me like that?"

I sigh a little. It's not like Fusae's childlike imagination is never annoying. "It's just sort of discouraging."

She tilts her head in apology. "Well, we need to be ready for anything."

"I guess so."

The water is so shallow by this point that it's hard to move without making noise. The loud splashes blend together until it almost sounds like three people instead of just two. Wait…

"Hi," someone says to my right.

I whip my head around so fast it hurts my neck. I fall back in Fusae's direction, my breath catching in my throat. A girl a few years older than us. Crying.

"Hi," her voice warbles again. "I… I haven't eaten in three days. Can you help me?"

I eye Fusae suspiciously. Her expression is hard to read.

"We don't have much food," Fusae says. "Uh… put your hands in the air."

The girl weakly raises her hands. If she's trying to kill us, she would have done it by now.

"Alright, put them down. We don't have much food, but…" Fusae turns her face toward me. "How much do we give her?"

The girl lunges forward. "Anything. Just a tiny amount. Please. Anything! I'm going to die if I go much longer without eating. I can feel it!"

I reach into my pack and pull out the bad of dinner rolls we were delivered last night. I hand two of them to the girl. Ten seconds later, they're both gone. She bursts into tears, thanking us again.

"What's your name?" I ask, figuring if there's anything I can do to make this girl feel like more than a dog begging for scraps it's to know who she is.

"Laurisa," she stammers.

I can't say I have any memory of her. I definitely recognize her face from the reaping, and maybe from the train, but if you asked me what her name was without telling me first I could never remember it.

"Well, welcome to the club, Laurisa," I say. "You want to join us, right?"

She nods quickly. "Yeah."

Her eyes are still wild with hunger.


Spurr Holwell, 16

District 3 12th Male

Now, it's just Telata and me. Just the two of us. Back on the train, we had seven members. Then we had four. Then Taure joined, and we had five. And yesterday, three of us had our faces projected onto the fake sky.

Being in such scant company is unnerving. It's terrifying. I'm sure the only reason I've survived as long as I have is because I've always been part of a group. On my own, I know I would have had no chance.

Well, I shouldn't celebrate too early. There are still sixteen tributes left, and only twelve of us can make it through the first stage.

Anxiety wakes me earlier than usual. I spend a while watching Telata's chest rise up and down in her sleep. Not that I particularly enjoy watching her sleep. I just think it's incredible that this girl I met last week is my only connection to the rest of the human race. I try to imagine floating alone through the swamp arena, waiting for death to find me. Her companionship has been an enormous privilege. It's kept me sane.

She wakes up about half an hour later, blinking hard once or twice just to make sure she's really still alive.

"Telata…" I stammer.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for… I guess for being my ally? Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem, Spurr," she says brightly. "Yeah, it's been real."

This kind of casual conversation feels super awkward, given the fact that we are now more heavily enticed to kill one another than ever before. But it feels just as amazing as ever to talk to somebody. To know for sure that I am in the presence of a human who isn't trying to kill me.

The day passes pretty uneventfully. The water level is now so low that everything higher than my hips is completely exposed. Soon, the water becomes a severe burden, an annoyance to trudge through. It used to be so easy to just wade along the bottom.

About half an hour before nightfall, we find a mammoth cluster of mangrove trees; the perfect nighttime hiding spot. There's an entire forest of room in there, enough for each of us to clear out a small space. The thick net of roots provides a surprisingly comfortable surface on which to sit, and before long I'm dozing off…

I snap back into wakefulness as I hear a high pitched shriek. Panicking, I try to find Telata through the network of trunks and branches. She appears to me quickly, staring back in fear, her eyes glowing like cats'.

The scream goes off again; without a doubt, the sound of someone being killed. Moving as quietly as possible, I turn around and gaze into the water through a gap in the mangrove branches.

It's Othello and Demi. Their knives glitter wickidly in the moonlight. A group of two girls scream at the same time as the strong tribute close in on them. It's hard to tell who the girls are until a cloud uncovers the moon, further illuminating the scene. One of them is Kaicee. I remember her from the reaping. The other is a girl from District 9, on the younger side. I don't remember her name but I remember how oddly stoic she looked during the chariot ride.

There's nothing I can do to stop it from happening. The girls are knifed down almost instantly. Two cannon shots fire in rapid succession, and Othello and Demi share a high five of triumph. Fourteen tributes left.

They begin to move in our direction. A realization hits me all at once, like a ton of bricks.

They see the mangrove trees. They're going to sleep here for the night. They're going to find us.

I whip my head around and briefly make eye contact with Telata. Her eyes glow with panic. If they find us here, we're dead – and there's no way we could escape quietly either.

A minute later, Othello and Demi reach the edge of the net of trees. My heart hammers in my chest so loudly I can hear it in my ears.

"I want to go to sleep," Othello complains. "Let's spend the night here."

Demi crosses her arms. "We can rest after this stage is over. Just two more deaths and we're out of here. We can't give up now."

A kind of danger gleams in Demi's voice. Othello is too smart to refute, so they splash away, leaving us untouched.

An hour passes. Then another. Then another.

I don't exchange a single word with Telata until the sunrises, and even then, we speak in whispers. Last night, we were so close to death I could feel it press down around me. Even now, it feels just as close. There could be a killer waiting in the mangrove trees right now.


Harvey Reynolds, 17

District 9 8th Male

I am lightly sleeping when the two cannon shots wake me up. By this point, I've become desensitized to the noise of cannons. All they mean is that another tribute is done. They mean that I'm just a little bit closer to victory.

My knife, a day-old sponsor gift, is my only companion. I don't want to give off the impression that I'm going crazy, but I treat it like a person sometimes. Without it, I would be completely alone. It's the only thing that makes me feel safe.

I try to fall back asleep, but I can't, so I set out on a search for land. Now that the water level is lower, there's a lot more land, and I find a sizable island quickly. I trudge to the center of the island, which is much drier and more solid, and lie on my back, watching the clouds until the anthem sounds.

Two girls appear in the sky. I don't really recognize either of them. Two more deaths and the first stage is over. Two more deaths and the twelve survivors will be off to the Capitol to be cleaned up until it's time to be thrown into the snake pit again.

Until then, I'll be asleep. Why worry about dying instead?


Kaicee Mitchell, District 3 4th Female

Elodie Pike, District 9 8th Female

Remaining Tributes (14): Cordaire, Socket, Milly, Oshea, Laurisa, Fusae, Telata, Spurr, Maizie, Sorghum, Bryony, Othello, Harvey, Demi