Yep, I'm posting this about an hour after Part 2. I can be lazy, but sometimes I'll spam your inbox.

District 7

Dara Bayard

As I try to fall asleep, I quietly curse Chance. And then I curse myself because I technically know it's not Chance's fault.

I want to be back home in District 7, but instead, I'm trying to fall asleep in the Capitol in this overly comfortable bed and trying to fall asleep to the celebration outside my window.

After Zaira died, I immediately packed up my things to return home to the Victor's Village. Mentors are allowed to stay in the Capitol until the crowning, but mostly leave after their tributes die. A lot of us can't stand being stuck in the Capitol this time of year, especially when we can no longer help our tribute. But right when I was about to leave, Chance came up to me and begged I stay and help him.

Surprised by his sudden humility, I caved in and decided to stay. I'm starting to regret it, though. Chance told me he needed help getting sponsors, but he's not having any trouble. People are lining up to sponsor the mysterious, attractive boy from District 7. It makes me question why he even insisted I stayed in the first place.

Sighing, I roll out of bed. I'm not even close to falling asleep, so I should probably just give up trying. It's not like I need to do anything tomorrow, anyway. I'll probably get a cup of tea or try to find a channel that isn't playing the Hunger Games live. I exit my room and step into the hallway. Chance's room is silent, which I find as odd. He's usually a very loud snorer. Perhaps he can't sleep either.

I consider entering and seeing whether he'd like me to make him a cup of tea as well, but decide against it.

I walk into the kitchen, which is completely empty. I quickly make myself a cup of herbal tea that's supposed to help with sleeping and curl up on the couch. I take heavy sips, not caring that it's scalding my tongue. I take the remote and begin flipping through the channels.

Every single channel shows the Hunger Games. I continue clicking through the channels, trying to find anything besides the Hunger Games.

Click. The Careers sleeping.

Click. Yael and Arabella sleeping.

Click. Lennox trying to sleep.

Click. Tristana and Rachel walking through the jungle.

Click. Dennis following Lennox's path.

Click. Hadley and Linen sleeping, Axel keeping watch.

Click. A map of the arena, showing where each tribute is.

Click. Back to the Careers.

I sigh and turn off the television. It doesn't look like I'll be able to find anything else, even though nothing interesting is even happening in the arena right now.

I swallow the rest of my tea in a single gulp. It hasn't helped me feel sleepy at all. I sit in silence on the couch for a moment, then decide to get some fresh air.

I'm technically allowed to go anywhere I want now that my tributes are no longer here, but I don't want to go out in the street. I'm not a super recent Victor, but with all of the Hunger Games fanatics running about the streets, I'm sure to get recognized. Instead, I head up to the only place of refuge in the Capitol - the roof.

I ride the elevator up and step out onto the roof. It's warm and I can smell all of the flowers. There isn't any wind today, which is nice. However, when the doors slide closed I hear mumbled chatting from somewhere on the roof.

Curious, I head toward the voices. I walk on my toes, nearly silent. It's a skill I picked up in my Hunger Games, and I haven't been able to drop it since. No one ever hears me approaching.

The voices are coming from behind a bunch of plants. I turn the corner and see two people whispering urgently.

"Chance?" I ask. Both jump in surprise. Chance is still wearing is 'pajamas', which for Chance, basically means just his underwear or occasionally flannel pants. Thankfully, he's wearing the flannel pants tonight. He still doesn't have a shirt on, though, and his tan chest is completely visible. He's talking to a disheveled woman who I've never seen before. I can see a small tattoo poking out from underneath her shirt and she has a purple streak in her hair, but that's the only alteration she seems to have. For some reason, I immediately dislike her. "What are you doing up here?" I ask suspiciously. Chance splutters, then looks to the woman for help.

"You're Dara Bayard, aren't you?" she asks. I nod suspiciously. She waves me over. "I suppose you should hear this as well. I'm Victoria Brade, and I know for a fact that both of you are in danger."

"What are you talking about?" I ask. I glance at Chance, who's standing much straighter now with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out. "Why are you standing like that?" I ask him.

"Standing like what?" he asks but drops his hands from his hips.

"What makes you think we're in danger?" I ask Victoria Brade.

"I work for Alexandros Divine," she explains. "My job is complicated, so I won't go into it, but I'm one of the people who have a lot of access to confidential information. I'm sure you both know about the rebel attack -" Chance and I both nod. "Well, Divine believes that more rebels are out there. The whole story is complicated, but long story short - he's been torturing people who he believes are rebels or have information regarding these so-called rebels. He has a list of people he's suspicious about, and it includes several notable Victors."

"But… Chance and I aren't rebels!" I exclaim.

"But he thinks you are. Or, he thinks you know who some rebels are," she says. "You weren't some of his higher targets at first, but he's been crossing more and more people off the list. You guys are approaching the top rapidly. I have the list in my pocket…" She begins digging around in her pocket for the list. I glance at Chance. He raises his eyebrows at me and shrugs. I don't think he's taking this seriously enough.

Victoria pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to Chance. I grab it before he can. He leans over my shoulder and watches carefully as I unfold it.

The list mostly contains a lot of names I don't recognize, but there are some familiar names. The list contains about forty people, but the top fifteen or so have been crossed off.

"He's been adding more people, so this isn't up to date, but you guys are in the same place," Victoria explains.

Chance's name is at number 29. I also see Malakai Mavericks (24), Klare Manner (30), and even Tiernan Briastos (38). But the most surprising name is Leda Dashlon, the Head Gamemaker. She's at 40th, but I'm surprised she'd cause some suspicion.

"Is Leda Dashlon really a rebel?" Chance asks.

Victoria shakes her head. "I doubt it."

"Where am I?" I ask, scanning the bottom of the list. Victoria points much higher than I've been looking, and my stomach drops. At 20 is Dara Bayard. "I thought you said I wasn't high on the list!'"

"20 isn't very high," she responds.

"It is when everyone less than sixteen has been crossed off!" I exclaim. Victoria shrugs. I look back at my name, alarmed. There are only four names higher than mine. The only one I recognize is Dakota Pollock, the mentor from District 10. She's one higher than me. I glance at Chance. It's not reassuring that he's taking this seriously now. "How fast do people get crossed off?"

"It depends," Victoria responds, very unhelpfully.

"How fast?" Chance shouts, angrily. Victoria looks surprised at his outburst.

"Well, I don't know exactly, but -" Chance glares at her. "But I'd predict you have about fifteen days before they come for you."

I gulp and look down at my feet nervously.

"What can we do?" Chance says.

"I'm planning something, I'll have to let you know," Victoria says. She snatches the list out of my hands and takes out a lighter. She quickly burns the list.

"Let's go inside," I say to Chance. He nods and gently places his hand on my back to guide me over to the elevator. My head's spinning in shock. I nearly trip over a vine, but Chance catches me.

I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight.

I'm assuming you understand that this is the woman who spoke to Malakai, but if not… this is the woman who spoke to Malakai.

Don't forget to review! Just because these chapters are shorter and don't feature tributes, they're still very important to read and review.

- Lilah