Thank you to all those who favorited this story, put it on alert, or reviewed it. You guys are getting this because I had most of the chapter already written ages ago. I did a couple of rewrites, but hopefully it comes out the way I wanted it. This story is already almost to the halfway point, and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. This story is honestly my baby, and it so nice to just have it out there, having people reading it and liking it.

Disclaimer: Sadly, Suzanne Collins owns the Hunger Games and everything involved with it, but I own my characters. So, don't steal them. Please? Thank you.

Feel it coming in the air
Hear the screams from everywhere
I'm addicted to the thrill
It's a dangerous love affair
Can't be scared when it goes down
Got a problem? Tell me now
Only thing that's on my mind
Is who's gonna run this town tonight?

Chapter 12: Let the Games Begin

I could see the countdown at the top of the Cornucopia, slowly but surely getting down to zero. Time felt like it passed like a snail. I looked to my right at some of the other tributes. Some were doing the same as me, assessing the competition; others had their eyes glued on the Cornucopia. I looked to my left and saw Cato's towering form next to mine. He had a determined look on his face, fists clenched at his side, surveying the Cornucopia for exactly what he would need. I probably should've been doing the same thing, but I couldn't look away from Cato. This boy would be the death of me.

I then realized that he was no longer looking at the Cornucopia. His eyes were now glued on me. I stared back at him, and he nodded toward the Cornucopia, his face demanding me to get my head together and focus. I nodded and turned back to the Cornucopia, now with only thirty seconds left. Scanning the Cornucopia for what I would need, I knew I wouldn't need a pack yet. Whatever the other tributes left, we, the Careers, would keep for ourselves.

I would need a weapon if I was going to survive the Bloodbath, though. I was the fastest person there, having proved that in the obstacle course, so all I needed was to locate the weapon I would use. A trident was what I would have preferred to use but was having trouble locating one. I hoped I had impressed the Gamemakers for them to put one in the arena. I had twenty seconds. If I couldn't find a trident, a spear would have to do. I located one easily, the Cornucopia adorned with so many of them. Only fifteen seconds to go. My heart was pounding so hard that I could practically feel it pounding against my ribs. I could be dead in a matter of seconds. Ten seconds, to be exact. A sigh of relief washed over me as I spotted a retractable trident leaning against a crate. I heard Merrick's voice in my head encouraging me, letting me know that I could beat everyone. Five seconds. I breathed a little easier. Three seconds. This is it. Two seconds. I can do this. One second. I can win. The timer was at zero.

I made a beeline for the trident, beating all the tributes to the Cornucopia, with Cato not far behind me. Lying next to the trident I had picked up and opened was a short sword. Picking it up quickly, I got Cato's attention and threw it to him. He caught it easily and killed the first tribute, the District Seven male, as he reached the Cornucopia. I turned away, bracing myself for the wave of chaos that was to come. Once the tributes were armed, I was using the trident to block attacks. As much as I wanted to make it through the Bloodbath, I was determined not to shed any blood until I had to.

I was tackled to the ground by the girl from District Nine, my trident getting knocked away from me in the process, and the girl raised a knife in her hand and started to bring it down. I moved my head, and she missed me by an inch. She raised it again, but I held her arm. I was not going down like this. I had a good chance of winning, and I would not let this girl end my life.

Suddenly, there was a spear sticking out of where her bellybutton should have been. She slumped over me, dropping the knife, and I pushed her off of me. I looked around to see who had been my savior but couldn't spot who might have thrown the spear. Screams were the only things to meet my ears. I pulled myself up but was only standing for a second when a force knocked me down from behind. I was being held down; whoever had knocked me down was sitting on my back. They were using my short ponytail to pull my head back, and their legs had my arms pinned down. A blade was put to my face and pulled down, slicing it a bit. The person holding me down leaned forward, their moth next to my ear. The voice that came from the mouth belonged to Glimmer.

"I told myself I'd be the one to end your life, and now I get to do it. You don't belong in our alliance! You think you can just waltz in and take all the-"

I cut her off by slamming my head back into hers, disorienting her enough to get her off of me. It did some damage to me as well, but ultimately saved me. I grabbed my trident that was laying by the girl from District Nine and started running toward to forest, grabbing the first pack I came to. There was no way I wouldn't be sticking around with the others.

Of course I had been stupid enough to believe I could be in with the Careers. Cato had assured me that I was a welcome member, but deep in the back of my mind, I knew he was the only one who had accepted me. Cato was the only one in the alliance that could stand me. Marvel hated me for pointing out that he wasn't as good as Cato. Glimmer's attack all but confirmed that she hated me for taking all of Cato's attention off of her, not that it had been on her to begin with. I knew that I couldn't be a part of that alliance, at least while Glimmer was around. Clove had shown no real hate toward me, but that didn't help me much. I was sure Clove, and maybe Marvel, would listen to Cato, but Glimmer genuinely hated my guts, even if she would love to see them spilled out somewhere.

I could see the safety and hiding places the forest offered. I was just hitting the tree line when I was rammed for a third time, colliding with a tree. Gathering myself quickly, I moved just as a sword came down where my head had been. Gripping my trident tightly in my hands, I turned to see who had tried to take me out. My eyes landed on the boy from District Six, who I had saved from Cato's wrath during training. Thanks, kid. I help you and this is what I get? I was suddenly wishing I'd let Cato attack him, and that wasn't a thought I would normally have.

He lunged at me again, and I blocked his attack with the prongs of my trident. He came at me again; his swinging was sloppy but ultimately knocked me back into the tree once more. He just kept coming and coming, and there was nothing more I could do than block his attacks. Finally, I slashed wildly quick with the trident and watched as the boy from District Six fell to the ground, blood spilling from the three gashes that were on his face and neck. My eyes widened at the sight. If I wanted to make it home, there was no way I was getting out of the arena without killing someone. I had just never expected it to be so soon. If I wanted to win, I couldn't exactly convince the last person left to kill themselves, unless it happened to be Crest. He was determined to get me home.

I still stood there, stunned, but knew I should be running. Standing there like an idiot was losing me sponsors and exposing me to the Bloodbath. I knew Merrick was probably yelling at the screen, his usually clear voice in my head, telling me to run, muted. My only motion was the heaving of my chest. If I started running, I would run out of steam too soon. I tried to concentrate on my breathing. In and out. In and out. That's all I focused on for the next few minutes; it was better than focusing on the dead body in front of me.

As the world around me came into focus, I finally heard the last victim of the Bloodbath scream, their life gone in an instant. Everything still felt so far away, and I was rooted to the spot. I knew I would have to move soon so the hovercraft could collect the boy, but I couldn't bring myself to move or look away from him.

I heard my name being called and I looked up to see Cato coming toward me, Marvel, Glimmer and Clove trailing behind him. Seeing three people who wanted nothing more to kill me at that moment and rid their alliance of me was enough to make my feet begin to move. I rolled around the tree, stumbling a bit. Cato continued calling for me, and my feet started to move just a bit faster. I wasn't very far from them, my legs only allowing me to move so much. The sound of Cato yelling at Glimmer floated through the forest. Though I couldn't understand what had been said, I knew it dripped from his mouth with anger, and then he yelled for me again. I tried to make my legs move faster, but they would only continue at their slow pace. I heard crunching leaves behind me and knew I could possibly meet my end.

My arm was grabbed and I was turned around, meeting Cato's icy blue eyes. "April, where are you going?"

Needing to conserve my energy, I pushed him away from me with little force. "I'm getting away from here. I don't need to be in an alliance where I'm not wanted. I can't be number five." I continued to walk away, my pace quickening. I heard him continue to call my name as I broke into a run.

It felt like I was running forever, but I knew it couldn't have been long. I made sure to keep my eyes open for any other tributes that were now in the forest with me. By the time I ran out of breath and needed rest, I'd made it to a waterfall that created a stream. I sat down and hit the button on the side of my trident, retracting it back into its smaller form. My pack was on the ground next, and I began to rummage through it to see what supplies I had to work with. There was a sleeping bag, a rope, a canteen with water, which I happily took a drink from, a couple of knives, enough dried meat and fruit for two days, if I rationed it correctly, and a pair of sunglasses. I put them on and was immediately blinded. I quickly removed them, realizing they were only meant to be used at night. I smiled to myself as I pushed everything back in my bag, thankful for the good luck I had received by picking up a random pack.

Reaching up to touch the cut on my cheek that Glimmer had given me, I pulled my hand back and saw blood on my fingers. I cupped my hands in the stream and splashed a bit of water on my face, hoping to clean the cut as much as I could. Once I was done, I placed everything back into my bag and grabbed my trident.

When I grabbed my trident, blood started trickling from the end where the prongs were supposed to come out. The blood was not my own and a wave of dizziness washed over me. The blood coming from my trident belonged to the boy from District Six, the boy that I had saved and the boy that I had just killed. My heart started beating rapidly again, my mind going back to the Bloodbath that had happened not long ago. As I rested my head on my knees, I dropped my pack and my trident.

I sat there, trying to calm myself down when the cannons started. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… I couldn't take this. So much death was contained in this arena, and I was forced to be a part of it. Nine… Ten… The only thing that was helping was the image of my brother telling me to do whatever I needed to do to come home. I knew exactly what that meant

I tried my best to suppress a scream when I felt a hand on my shoulder, but only partially succeeded as a slight screech crossed my lips. The prongs of my trident were out and pressed against the person's chest. I sighed both mentally and physically when I saw Crest looking at me sympathetically. Remembering what he, Merrick, and I had discussed, I kept them pressed against him until he slowly stepped back enough for me to put them down.

"I hope you're doing okay," he whispered. "I won't stay long. We need to keep a distance, as you know."

More than anything, I wished I could see what Crest was thinking. Even if he had no one back home, I couldn't understand why he was so willing to lay his life down for mine. If our places were reversed, I wasn't sure that I would have been able to do the same. "Crest…"

"I'll do my best to keep you safe," he interrupted before I could finish. He moved farther away, grabbing the spear I hadn't seen sitting against a tree. He turned back to me and pointed the spear in my direction. He was about to put on an act for Panem. "Next time I see you, you're mine, understand?"

I sighed before flashing a fake smirk, knowing I'd have to play along. "We'll see who gets who." He returned it before making his way into the depths of the forest, disappearing.

I drank a bit more of the water and thought about filling it back up. I could hope that the water was clean enough for me to drink, but with the Gamemakers, you could never tell. I didn't think I could chance it though. There was absolutely no way to clean it without a fire and attracting attention to myself. I grabbed my pack and trident and started to move out, needing to get as much distance as I could between myself and the other Careers. The less I had to deal with them, the better off I would be. I continued walking through the dense forest, wondering which of the tributes were in their home element. Katniss had talked about going hunting in the forest right outside District Twelve. I was surprised she had trusted me so quickly. I was glad that she had, though. If I were to find her in the Games, I'd have to propose a truce with her, for now, at least.

I made it to a big patch of willow trees before I decided to stop for the day. The sun would be setting soon and I couldn't risk walking in the dark, even if I did have those glasses. I found one that I felt I could climb, and, putting my trident in my pack and slinging the pack over my back, pulled myself up. It was difficult to do, with the trident hitting me in the head if I climbed to fast, but once I got to the top, I found where the tree shaped out into a bowl. I sighed in relief. I knew I wouldn't have to worry about falling out of the tree now. Once I had everything situated, I opened the pack and pulled out a couple of pieces of dried meat and one piece of dried fruit. I nibbled on my small meal as the sun began to set. I could've sworn I heard the leaves crunching below as I ate, but I knew I was concealed enough that no one could see me. If someone were to climb up here, my trident was at the ready.

The night sky had just made itself known when the anthem of Panem began to play. I knew they were about to show the fallen tributes of the day. A hovercraft appeared holding a screen that would project the faces of those who were killed. I tried to prepare myself for what I was about to see. I could feel my breathing pick up, so I try to calm it down before the first face is shown.

The pictures skipped directly to the girl from District Three. I wasn't surprised. I had seen Cato and the others not long before the cannons for the Bloodbath had gone off. The relief that flooded through me at not seeing his face was almost palpable, but I tried not to dwell on the thought. The boy from District Five appeared on the screen next, followed by the girl from District Six. The next face to appear was one that would haunt my dreams for a long time. I didn't even know the boy from District Six's name. The awful churning feeling in my stomach started once again, but I was able to push it away as the girl and boy from District Seven appeared on the screen, respectively. The boy from District Eight was next followed by both from District Nine. The last tribute to appear was the girl from District Ten. I sighed with relief as I saw that Katniss was still alive. I now really hoped that I could find her and create a temporary alliance. It was going to be hard enough to get through part of the Games alone.

I heard a rustling below me, much closer than the one earlier. I made myself creep over the edge that the bowl in the tree created. I stared down the tree, searching for whatever it was that had created the disturbance. I leaned back and grabbed the glasses out of my pack. I put them on and leaned back over, immediately spotting someone lying in the fork of some branches several feet below me. I stared a little harder when I caught sight of something sticking out of the hood of the jacket and instantly recognized the side braid. My prayers had been answered. I was staring at Katniss Everdeen.

I decided I'd make my way down there, grabbing my trident before I started descending the branches. I needed to be prepared just in case she had a weapon. I looked back over the edge and figured out which branches I'd use to get down to her. Once I'd calculated my path, I quickly made my way down and landed nimbly on the branch she was nestled in, startling her. I looked at her through my glasses and smiled at her.

"Hello, Katniss," I said in a low voice, sitting down as comfortably as I could on the branch.

I could see her squint through the darkness a bit. My voice finally clicked with her and she smiled wide. "April," she whispered.

"Kat, this branch can't be comfy," I said standing back up. I motioned for her to do the same, but she just continued to look at me. "Come up here. The tree goes into a bowl. We need to talk."

I didn't wait for her to follow me, turning around and climbing back the way I came. Once I was back in the bowl, I only had to wait for a few minutes before I heard the rustling of branches. Katniss quickly joined me up in my bowl. She took a look around in the darkness and saw that my trident was retracted and put to the side, hesitantly making her way to the opposite side of the bowl.

Though she couldn't see me very well, I still sent her a simple smile, one that told her I meant her no harm. I had hoped that we had befriended each other enough before the Games had officially started that she would be willing to be in an alliance with me for the time being. It was better than being alone, and they say two heads are better than one.

"I take it the other Careers abandoned you?" She spoke first, surprising me greatly. It made me think I may not have to do much to talk her into an alliance with me.

"What makes you say that?" I asked with a breathless chuckle.

The glasses lit up her smile like a candle. "Well, if you were with them, I doubt you would be in a tree by yourself," she said with a little sarcasm. "And I saw Glimmer try to slice your face off, so that was my first clue."

I managed to keep myself from laughing too loudly. It wouldn't do either of us any good to get discovered up in the tree. We would have nowhere to go. "Yeah. We never really saw eye to eye. Couldn't really say I was surprised." I had voiced my concerns to Cato the night before, allowing myself to believe him when he had said I was fully welcome by everyone.

Katniss was quiet for a few moments, and I could almost hear the thoughts going in her head. "Well," she said after a minute of silence, "if I don't bring it up, I'm sure you will. We get along well enough. I know the woods, you're a great fighter. Why don't we stick together for the time being?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that we were having the same thoughts. "You took the words right out of my mouth, Kat."

"So, you won't stab me in my sleep," she joked, visibly making herself comfortable, knowing what my answer would be.

"I'm not going to stab you in your sleep," I said, relaxing along with her. As long as we were up in the tree, we had a good chance of being safe for the night. "As long as you don't stab me."

"Not a chance."

I looked around the dark arena, unable to see extremely far, even with the glasses on. There was no wind, no rustling or crunching of leaves below us, just the slight hum of the fake sky above us. Before taking off my glasses, I looked back to Katniss once more and relaxed against the tree. "We should get as much rest as we can. Who knows how well we'll be able to sleep in here."

Katniss agreed, and before I knew it, I was completely swallowed by darkness. My entire body was more tired than I had realized, partially due to the fact of barely getting any sleep the night before. I tried to find a part of me that regretted spending that time with Cato, but I couldn't. It was the first time I had actually had fun since I had been picked to be in the Games. It was the part of me that didn't regret it that worried me, my unconscious mind lingering far too long on the thoughts for my liking. If I could find a way to ignore whatever was going on between us, I had a much better chance at winning the Games. And that's all I wanted, to go home and see my family again.

The snap and crackle of sticks a few feet away aroused me and Katniss. We looked around, searching for the source, knowing we were safe in the camouflage that the tree provided. I felt a tap on my shoulder and barely saw Katniss's finger point through the darkness. Just through the trees was the Orange glow of a fire.

"I guess we know who's going next," I whispered to her, to which she nodded in return. To start a fire at night was like placing a neon sign above your head, advertising yourself as the next kill.

I wasn't surprised when I heard a scream a few minutes later. Whoever it was had brought that fate on themselves. I felt a little sorry for them, for such a young person to die so soon, but I had to face the reality that it would happen to everyone else I was going to make it home. A few moments later, we heard multiple voices below us. Before I knew what I was doing, I was moving to look over the edge of the bowl, Katniss's arm shooting out to stop me.

"They might see us," she barely whispered.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" Glimmer asked, her voice floating up from below.

I shook my head to Katniss, reaching for the night vision glasses. "I think they're preoccupied." Sliding them on, I moved back to the edge, looking over the lip. I was immediately blinding, having not expected them to be carrying torches. Ripping the glasses back off, I moved to where I could barely see who was down below.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately," Clove chimed, directing her torch in the direction that we had seen the fire.

Marvel scoffed, looking pointedly at Cato. "Unless she isn't dead."

"She's dead," he said, the scowl evident on his face. He was the leader of the pack and didn't relish in being challenged openly like that. "I stuck her myself."

"Then where's the cannon?" Marvel said a little louder.

Cato took a small step toward him before Clove stuck her arm out in front of him, stopping his movement. "Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done."

"Yeah," Marvel agreed, chuckling slightly at the fact that Cato had been held back. "We don't want to have to track her down twice."

I could tell Cato's temper was clawing to get to the surface, to take Marvel by the neck and slam his face against a tree. "I said she's dead!"

There was suddenly more yelling than I could keep up with, Glimmer unable to decide whose side she was on and Clove obviously backing up Cato. Marvel and Cato continued to yell at each other, Cato's fists clenching at his sides over and over, trying to reign in his temper. It would have been bad to break his alliance so early in the Games, and he knew that. He was a brute, but he was smarter than everyone seemed to give him credit for.

"We're wasting time!" A fifth voice yelled. I hadn't even noticed him standing off to the side, and my heart immediately sank for the girl next to me. Peeta marched over, forcefully taking the spear from Marvel's hand. "I'll go finish her and let's move on!"

Unable to believe what I had seen below, I pulled myself back away from the edge. Peeta had seen like such a nice guy, but that just showed that the arena brought out anything in people. When my eyes landed on Katniss, my heart dropped. She and Peeta had seemed close, and after his admission of his affections, I knew it had to be a shock for her. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes.

Before I could open my mouth, I heard Glimmer's voice float up again, slightly hushed. "Why don't we just kill him now?"

"He's capable enough with a knife, but it'll be easy to take him out later. Besides," Cato said, his voice dropping just a bit more, as if he knew we were listening, "he's our best chance at finding her."

If it were possible, my heart dropped even more. They were looking for Katniss, and it seemed that Peeta was helping them. All I wanted to do was wrap her in a hug and pull her away from it all. "Katniss, I'm so sorry."

I could see that she was just as shocked as I was, and I hated that she was having to hear any of the conversation at all. It was evident that she was hurt by the revelation and was trying her hardest not to show it. There were cameras on us constantly, and after Peeta's confession to Caesar, there was no doubt the entire Capitol was waiting on baited breath to see what would happen next.

We heard the cannon fire, and when Peeta reappeared, he confirmed to the others that the girl they had been after was dead. He then told the Careers that they were on the right trail, having found some of Katniss's hunting snares. We both held our breaths, hoping that they didn't know they were right below us. After a few more moments, they began walking away from our tree, and we signed quietly.

"We have to get as far away from them as we can tomorrow," Katniss said. "At first light, we go that way." I followed her finger that was pointing in the opposite direction that the Careers and Peeta had gone.

Her voice sounded unaffected by it all, but I could tell what had happened had bothered her. I nodded nonetheless, not wanting to bring it up. It was bad enough knowing you were being watched while doing the simplest things, but having something so emotional happen was another matter entire.

"Get some rest, Katniss. I'll see you in the morning," I said, moving back into my sleeping bag. I could already feel sleep tugging at me, and before I knew it, I was gone.

CATO OC CATO OC CATO OC CATO OC CATO

I'm so sorry it has been taking me so long with this update. This chapter was first written a year and a half ago, and my writing style has drastically changed since then. But I think I bridged the gap and it came out really well. I'm also pulling almost 60 hours a week at work, so I'm really tired. I'll have more time off once November rolls around. But don't worry. This story is a priority to me because I love it and have wanted to share this story for so long. Don't forget to review! Love you all and see you soon!