Yo, yo, yo, I'm back with another chapter! Hopefully this one is a little more exciting than the others. :D

Thank you to Ffesur and Lilah for reviewing! I appreciate your support more than you could ever know.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

District 4: Nemo Fisher, Age 18

Are you sure you want to do this?

I glance into the Cornucopia, where the Careers sleep blissfully. Juno's arm is bandaged up from when she got hit in the arm with Ariana's arrow, and Octavian's foot is burned from when he, Marine, and I went hunting during the fire this afternoon. My own leg is wound tightly in bandages, too. It hurts like crazy, but there's nothing I can do about it.

I have a pack of supplies slung over my shoulder; inside is everything I figure I need to survive out in the wild. I'm supposed to be keeping watch right now, but pretty soon the other Careers will be on their own. Tonight, I'm finally getting out of this messed up alliance. Tonight, I'm finally running away.

But what if I'm making the wrong decision?

I mean, being in the Career pack gives me safety in numbers. An outlier would have to be unbelievably stupid to think that they could take down the Careers. Besides, once Juno, Marine, and Octavian realize I've abandoned them and broke the pact, they'll surely try and hunt me down.

Even so, this alliance won't last forever. Sooner or later, we'll reach the final eight, and the pack will split. It's no secret to me that I'm the weakest of the Careers; if a fight breaks out between us, I'll almost certainly die. Besides, my allies are animals. They don't kill for a purpose- they kill because watching another human suffer brings them joy. I can't be around them anymore. I need to leave.

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves, glance behind me to make sure the other Careers are still sleeping, and then silently slip away from the Cornucopia into the darkness of the jungle.

I'm on my own now.

Drago Malik

I watch, smirking, as Nemo disappears into the jungle. That's sure to add some drama to the games.

"Sir, it's 11:30 p.m.," a Gamemaker says. "Should we release Project 99?"

A grin spreads over my face. "Yes, release it," I say. "Let's see how tough these Careers really are."

Iris Lasumi, Age 22

I yawn and pull my fluffy blanket closer around my body, leaning my head back on the couch. The Hunger Games blare on the television screen in front of me. Today was the second day in a row with no deaths. I'm beginning to get bored. What's the point of the Hunger Games if nobody ever gets killed?

Just as I'm beginning to nod off, a glint on the screen catches my eye. Something moves through the trees, edging towards the Cornucopia. I turn up the volume on the TV to hear what the announcers have to say about this strange occurrence.

"I can't tell what it is right now, but it's big," Flickerman states. "It appears to be some sort of mutt, and it's heading right for the Careers! Let's see if we can get a closer look at it here, and- oh my God. Look at that!"

The creature enters the clearing with the Cornucopia, and a sliver of moon illuminates it for all of Panem to see.

The mutt is a tiger. But it's huge, much bigger than any tiger I've ever heard of. Instead of normal fur, it's pelt is solid gold, and it's claws are sharp and deadly-looking. The tiger hisses, and fangs that look like glittering swords extend from its mouth.

The mutt stalks towards the Cornucopia, snarling viciously, and I sit up on the couch, suddenly feeling wide awake. The tiger comes closer and closer to the Careers, it's bolting yellow eyes locking onto Juno's sleeping form. It growls, licking its lips in anticipation.

"WATCH OUT!" I scream at the TV even though I know the tributes can't hear me.
And then the tiger pounces.

District 2: Juno Armstrong, Age 18

I wake up to indescribable pain.

I don't even have time to move before my vision begins to fade. I know with terrifying certainty that I'm dying. I don't even know what's killing me. I went through all those years of training and didn't even make it to the final eight. In the end it's all just a game of luck. I guess I was too stupid to understand that until now. If the games were fair, I'd win them no problem. But the best tributes don't always win.

District 2: Octavian Grimes, Age 18

Someone's screaming.

I bolt awake and whip my head towards the screams. When I see where they're coming from, my blood turns to ice.

Something huge and cat-like is clawing Juno to shreds. Her agonized crying is abruptly cut off a few seconds later and a cannon booms.

The cat turns its beady eyes on me and instinct takes over my body. I grab the weapon closest to me, a long knife, and fling it at the creature.

The knife hits its golden fur and bounces away with a small ping.

Ok. So this thing is immune to weapons. It figures the Capitol would pull a stupid stunt like that. Well, how am I supposed to kill it, then?

I don't have time to answer the question before the mutt leaps at me, and I roll out of the way. It's razorlike claws hit the ground a few inches from my face.

"Hey, kitty, over here!" Marine shouts. To be honest, I had forgotten she was even still here until she spoke. The cat turns and growls at Marine, who throws a knife. The knife clatters against the cat's skin before falling uselessly to the ground.

"What the-" Marine says, backing away towards the mouth of the Cornucopia.

"You can't kill it with weapons!" I shout at her.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she says. The mutt roars at her and rushes toward her, and she ducks to the side of the Cornucopia before leaping onto the lion's back and stabbing it repeatedly with another knife. The lion jerks around until Marine loses her grip and flies backward beside me in the Cornucopia.

"Why do you keep trying to kill it that way?" I ask, irritated.

"Well, tell me if you have any better ideas," she snaps. The giant cat advances on us slowly. We're trapped in the back of the Cornucopia. The only way out is to get past the golden mutt. The golden mutt that can't be killed with weapons.

"We are so dead," I mutter under my breath, brandishing my sword in front of me even though I know it won't be of any use. Beside me, I hear Marine gasp lightly, and suddenly she rushes towards the cat with a newfound purpose.

She's going to get herself killed, I think, watching as she rolls under the cat's massive claws and pops up beside it. She stabs down at it with her knife, and this time it lets out a cry of pain, backing away slightly.

"How did you do that?!" I ask incredulously.

"The gold stuff on it isn't fur, it's just armor," she explains quickly, ducking as the cat swipes at her with a huge paw. "There are chinks in the armor, see?"

I look closer at the mutt and suddenly see what she means. While most of its body is covered in armor, there are a few spots where I can see little splotches of fur sticking up in between the gold.

I grin and race towards the cat while it's distracted with Marine, sticking my sword into one of its weak spots. It roars in pain and turns to face me, but when it does, Marine goes back in with her knife, stabbing it repeatedly. The cat races away from us and pause at the edge of the jungle, glaring back at us with pure hatred, before disappearing into the undergrowth.

"YEAH!" I shout at it's retreating form. "Don't even think about coming back here!" I sneer and turn towards Marine, but she's no longer next to me. I look back at the Cornucopia and see her kneeling beside Juno, her head bowed.

I smirk. Now's the time to kill her, while she's distracted. I know that we haven't reached the final eight yet, so technically the pact still binds us as allies, but who cares about that anyway? I haven't seen Nemo anywhere- he obviously abandoned us. I think it's about time the Career pack comes to an end.

I sneak towards Marine silently. She's stupid for letting her guard her down; now she's going to pay the price for it. I come to a halt behind her back, raising my sword to cleave her skull in half, when I feel something cold and sharp enter my stomach.

District 4: Marine Gray, Age 16

That idiot thinks that I don't know he's behind me.

I feel my whole body tense up, and my grip tightens around the knife concealed against my chest. Not yet, I warn myself. Wait for it… wait… and…

Now.

I reel around and stab Octavian in the stomach. His eyes widen and he stumbles back, dropping his sword. "What, how…" he mumbles, looking down at the stain of red that soaks through the front of his shirt. Then he looks back up at me with murder in his eyes. "You broke the pact," he spits.

"Like you weren't planning on doing that anyway," I scoff. He lets out an enraged shout and stumbles towards me, throwing a punch at my face, but I dodge it easily and stab him a few more times for good measure. Octavian lets out a cry of pain and staggers away from me, leaning against the wall of the Cornucopia.

"No," he whispers, more to himself than to me. "I… I was supposed to win…"

"Yeah, well, we don't always get what we want," I sneer at him. Then I shove him out of the Cornucopia so that the hovercraft can collect his body. He takes a few aimless steps forward before falling to the ground. A cannon rings out, signaling his death.

I wonder if my father's watching now, I think with a grin. I turn away from Octavian and my eye catches on Juno's broken body. I suck in my breath and clear my face of any emotion. Even though she was really annoying at times, Juno was one of the first genuine friends I've ever had. But this is the Hunger Games. She's dead now, and it's up to me to win the games.

Who are the most powerful tributes left in the arena besides me? I think to myself. All the remaining outliers are pretty weak, so I doubt I need to worry too much about them. Blaze is definitely strong, and while I'm sure I could beat him in a fight, I should watch out for him. And then there's Nemo.

Nemo. He abandoned us. He was supposed to be keeping watch. If he had been at the Cornucopia when the golden cat came, maybe Juno would still be alive.

Juno was going to have to die at some point for you to come home, I remind myself. Still, Nemo was the reason for her death, and I need to avenge her.

So Blaze and Nemo are my two biggest targets. I'm going to hunt them down and kill them, and if I find anyone else along the way… well, I'll kill them too.

District 3: Scorpius Herin, Age 16

I hear the Capitol anthem and crawl outside of my little shelter, peering up at the sky. I heard two cannons just a few moments ago. I desperately hope that they belonged to the Careers.

After a moment the Capitol seal fades away and is replaced by Juno.

I have to restrain myself from letting out a shout of joy. Juno was one of the biggest threats in the arena, but now she's gone! I let out a breath of relief.

Juno's picture is replaced by Octavian.

I stare up at the sky for a moment, not quite able to believe my luck. Am I dreaming? I have to be dreaming. But this moment is real. District 2 is out of the running.

I'm in the final eight, I realize suddenly. Soon, some Capitol reporters will be on the train to District 3 to interview my parents about my work in the games. I wonder if they're proud of everything I've done so far. I bet they are. My choices have been logical so far, and that's all that matters. Fight smarter, not harder. All I have to do is keep playing these games safe, and I'll have a shot to win. Sure, there are still some strong tributes in this arena, but I've learned from past Hunger Games that being strong doesn't necessarily make you a victor. You need to have brains, too. And I have a lot of brains.

I just have to be careful not to mess anything up. Even the smallest mistake can be my death. I've come so far since the bloodbath. So I have to make sure I don't screw up now.

I told you this chapter was more exciting.

10th Place: Juno Armstrong- Ripped to shreds by Project 99

This death was probably a surprise for many of you. Juno was sort of, like… a horrible person, but I liked her regardless. She didn't try to be sneaky about her true personality. She was just kind of like, "This is who I am. Deal with it." She was never afraid to be herself, which I respected her for. But even though I liked her, I didn't ever plan on her winning. She was too reckless and cocky to make it to the end. RIP Juno.

9th Place: Octavian Grimes- Stabbed in the stomach by Marine Gray, District 4 female

Octavian was the tribute I think we all loved to hate. He actually wasn't that bad of a person in his form, but I needed an unlikable character for people to root against and Octavian fit the bill, so I ended up making him a jerk, especially in the later chapters. Obviously, Octavian was a bad person, but he was a human being, and I think that all people have at least a little bit of good inside them. District 2 will be disappointed this year. Rest in peace…?

Sorry to any of you looking forward to a Juno/Octavian showdown, I know that ended up being sort of anticlimactic, but I've had this chapter planned out in my head for a looong time now and I didn't want to scrap it.

Also I named the tiger Project 99 out of a lack of something better to name it that would still be somewhat ambiguous. It's basically the Nemean Lion, but Drago likes twisting ideas around a little and then pretending like he didn't steal them.

I might do a short chapter of final eight family interviews, but I haven't decided for sure whether I will or not.

See you guys later! Stay safe!