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And now, on to the Games.

Chapter 31:

Night Two

Demarcus Pollock, 18, District Four

When Bell said she wanted to go hunting with him over Major, Demarcus was both a little shocked and also relieved. He has felt so unhelpful and…useless for the pack since the Games started… He's tried to keep doing his best to help them, but he knows they must be annoyed at always having to help him out. He can hear it in their voices when they have to guide him up the stairs to go out into the arena or tell him where certain supplies are. He even needs them to help guide him to the designated bathroom area so he doesn't step in something that would be rather unpleasant… He was the most afraid of losing his sight, yet it still happened to him. It's taken all of his willpower to keep from spiraling and letting his anxiety convince him that he won't be able to win. Not without his sight.

So when Bell said she wanted to go hunting with him… He finally felt like he was helpful and contributing to the alliance. She picked him over the other four options she had. Surely that must mean something? Yet as he stands there waiting for Bell to finish getting ready, he can't help the creeping feeling that despite there being no indication of it being true…he's dead weight in their alliance. He hasn't been itching to get out into the arena to find tributes. Killing in the bloodbath had been as terrible as he expected it to be and he can still feel the blood on his hands. It was so…so awful. He doesn't want to do that again, but he knows he has to.

If living with the guilt of killing for the rest of his life is the price he has to help his family get the treatment they so badly need…he will live with it. He has done this much so far for them and he cannot stop now.

"Alright Demarcus, let's go."

Demarcus turns in the direction of Bell and smiles at her. He listens for a few seconds as she starts walking before following after her, holding the bottom of his spear in front of him to watch for any obstacles that might be in front of him. He does not want to embarrass himself further by tripping while trying to leave their camp.

"About another ten feet to the steps," Bell tells him and Demarcus nods his head, focusing on his steps and trying to figure out how many steps of his equate to ten feet.

"Bell, wait!"

"Oh for fucks sake," Bell mutters under her breath before Demarcus runs into her outstretched arm. "Let's see what he wants."

"Wait, please," Odyssey calls as he runs over to them. Demarcus turns in his general direction before the little voice in the back of his mind reminds him that Odyssey was just calling after Bell, not him…

You're useless to them.

No, he is not useless… At least, he doesn't think he is…

"What do you want?" Bell asks her District partner as he stops near them.

"Can we please talk?" Odyssey asks her in return, concern in his voice that makes Demarcus feel like he shouldn't be overhearing this conversation. He turns away from them, looking up at the sky and pretending he isn't listening to them.

But he is. Hard not to when all he sees is darkness and he's so dependent on his hearing.

"I'm a little busy," Bell answers him with a huff before grabbing onto his arm, making Demarcus let out a little noise of surprise. "Come on, Demarcus."

Bell starts dragging Demarcus towards the stairs, making him stumble a little as he gets moving. "Stairs," she tells him a split second before they reach them and she lets go of his arm, leaving him to walk up them alone.

"Come on, Bell!" Odyssey calls after her, but she stays quiet, just walking ahead of Demarcus.

Demarcus cringes to himself at Bell ignoring Odyssey, feeling uncomfortable getting caught in the middle of…whatever is going on with them. It just reminds him of being back home and there always being some sort of argument going on with his family, most of the time stemming from an issue that can be traced back to their health. His parents were almost always fighting about something, most of the time money since neither of them could keep a job for long. Or his siblings would start some sort of argument over seemingly nothing…

All Demarcus knows is that he really doesn't want to be in the middle of another fight between people that care about each other.

"Hey Bell…" Demarcus starts quietly as she leads him to the staircase heading down to the underground level.

"What's up?" Bell asks him, her tone not sounding as nice as usual towards him, almost making him tense up and shut down, not wanting to get her mad at him.

But he pushes on, knowing he needs to count on her to help him out in the arena – even if that just makes him more anxious. "Is everything…okay with you two?"

Bell sighs at this and Demarcus immediately shuts his mouth, knowing that he messed up and should have stayed quiet. "It's fine, I just…don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," Demarcus agrees quickly before deciding to stay quiet so he doesn't mess things up with her further. But that just means he is left alone in his thoughts, which is never a good thing.

Demarcus still doesn't quite know how anyone can win the Games without their sight…yet he is trying to keep pushing forward, using the training Iona and now Muir has been teaching him.

I can do this. I am enough. I can win. I can-

Things were going great until in his distraction, he runs right into Bell having stopped in front of him. "I'm so sorry," Demarcus says quickly, reaching out for her shoulders to steady himself. Bell puts out her arm for him to grab and he smiles at her in appreciation until the nagging doubt starts to build in him that he is just hindering her. He can't even follow her down the stairs without messing that up.

He's never going to win these Games.

"Just trying to figure out what way to go," Bell says quietly before making a shushing noise at him. Demarcus stands absolutely still, afraid to even breath and make too much noise as they both listen for something, any sort of sign of which way they should go. But when he doesn't hear anything other than the sound of his own breathing, he just grows nervous that he's letting her down. "Do you hear anything?"

"I…" Demarcus hesitates, afraid of telling her the truth and having her get mad at him for not even being able to help with the sense he still haves. But lying to her would just make him worry even more. He shakes his head at her, "I do not."

"Neither do I," Bell says and lets out a little noise. "I guess we'll just pick a direction. Left or right?"

"Uh…right?" Demarcus answers slowly, afraid of answering wrong. What if there aren't any tributes this way and it will be his fault?

"Right it is," Bell says before starting to walk away from him. He listens for a moment before following after her, lightly tapping his spear on the ground in front of him.

They walk in silence, just the small tapping from Demarcus and Bell's quiet footsteps, leaving Demarcus trapped in his thoughts. He goes back to wondering why Bell picked him and not Major to go hunting with and he's just…confused. Major can see while Demarcus can't. Major has been so nice all throughout training and the Games so far, yet Bell still snapped quickly about not wanting to go with him. But why…? Major has been great to Demarcus and that's who he would have wanted as his hunting partner…

"Hey Bell?" Demarcus asks slowly, his anxiety both making him want to know and completely avoid the topic at the same time. But he just doesn't understand what she sees in him over Major… "Why did you pick me instead of Major?"

Bell's footsteps stop quickly and Demarcus at least has time to stop himself before running into her again. But this just makes him anxious as he waits for her reply. "I just like you better than him, okay?"

"Okay," Demarcus says slowly, not quite agreeing with that.

"Do I need a reason to not like him?" Bell asks him, accusatory tone in her voice that has Demarcus taking a cautionary step back from her. "And I do have a reason, but it's none of your business."

"I'm sorry!" Demarcus says quickly, terrified that he really did offend her. What if she just leaves him down here to struggle back on his own? Would she tell the career pack that he is useless and they are better off without him? "I shouldn't have asked and I'm sorry if-"

Demarcus is cut off by a hand over his mouth and he lets out a noise of surprise and tries to back up. "Be quiet!" Bell whispers harshly to him, keeping her hand over his mouth tightly as he nods his head quickly. "I heard something."

Demarcus raises his eyebrows in shock, even as he gets a little afraid of running towards something blindly. He strains to listen for what Bell might have heard and…

"That's definitely a tribute," Bell says as she takes her hand from covering his mouth and grabs his arm to start dragging him towards the tribute. "Let's go!"

Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five

Davy knew his odds going into the arena and they certainly weren't as good as the careers. He knew he would have to work harder than others to stay alive. His own allies…they were proof that tributes like him have lower odds. He's tried not to focus on the odds – after all, someone younger than him won last year – and instead focus on why he is fighting to get out of this arena alive. But in the middle of the night as he tries to sleep, he can't fight the thoughts that are always lingering in the back of his mind, reminders that all of the careers are still alive and he doesn't think he could take them on in a fight and win. He's trying to stay hopeful and brave, for Leandro's sake…

But it's just so very hard.

Davy lets out a small whimper as he fights back his tears, trying to hold it in so Leandro doesn't see him being anything less than okay. When he still feels his eyes watering up and unable to hold back the tears, he presses his face into the fur of the wolf he is curled up against for warmth as he tries to sleep. He feels a faint buzz of the hearing aid on his wrist before the wolf rubs her head against his before laying back down. But this only makes it harder for him to hold back a sob, reminded of being back home and his mother comforting him when he wasn't feeling well, or the nights in the Capitol when Mrs. Calder would stay up late with him when he couldn't sleep.

Who would have thought Davy would be curled up next to a wolf in the arena, let alone getting comforted by one? He certainly never expected this. But he never expected to be in the Games. He had expected that he would still have allies at this point. And no matter how nice the wolves are treating him, he cannot get rid of the small nagging in the back of his mind that they are still mutts created by the Gamemakers. They're only being nice because the Gamemakers want them to be and that could change at any time if they decide Davy isn't doing enough.

Which he isn't… He hasn't left the room at all since they first accepted him. Davy has been too scared to leave them and hasn't really had a need to leave them yet. He has somewhere to sleep that's warm. He has a knife. He has a device to notify him to noises. And he has water. The only thing missing is food…even though the wolves had nudged a piece of raw meat from their meals in his direction, he just has not grown desperate enough to reach that point. He's so very hungry already and there's a constant dull ache in his stomach, but he knows he can still survive a few more days without food. He made sure to load up on calories when in the Capitol. But…he will need food eventually and he would like to avoid raw meat if possible. Which means one thing…

Davy can't sleep anyways…so for the sake of keeping the Gamemakers happy…he might have to be brave and leave the room. But even just the thought of leaving this safety and finding another tribute has him shaking in fear. Davy slowly sits up, rubbing his arms as he tries to stop his shaking. His wolf lifts up her head to look at him curious and even though he knows he's talking to a wolf, there are Gamemakers – and more importantly, Leandro – listening to him. "I need to go find food… Will you come with me?"

The wolf stares at him for a few seconds before laying back down, giving him his answer. Davy blinks a few times to hold back his tears, knowing he has to go out into the arena alone. He sits there for a minute, taking deep breaths to try and slow his rapidly beating heart. He can do this. He has to do this…for Leandro.

Davy slowly picks up the knife sitting nearby and the folded up walking cane, swinging it to extend it to its full length. He doesn't know why the Gamemakers put this item in his room, but he will still use it, regardless of still having his sight. It would probably hurt if he hit someone with it or maybe he can even use it to bargain for his life…

"Okay, Davy," he says softly to himself as he stands up and faces the door. But he stays rooted in his spot for a couple minutes, still trying to find the bravery to leave the safety in here. But it won't stay safe if he doesn't do anything to keep himself in the Gamemakers' favor.

That's the last bit of motivation Davy needs to finally start taking slow steps towards the door. He can do this. He has a knife and a bargaining item. He can still have some sort of warning if someone approaches him, even without his hearing. There's a good chance he won't even find any tributes. After all, there's only thirteen of them left. And he doesn't have to fight anyone that he runs into, there's always the option of running away from them.

Davy knows he's stalling and he jumps when one of the wolf's nudges his back towards the door. Now he really can't decide to just stay put… He doesn't know what the nudge from the Gamemakers could mean but he's afraid of the possibilities. But to go against them now would mean almost certain death…

With a deep breath, Davy slowly cracks open the door before pausing, waiting for any sort of vibration from his wrist band. But there's nothing… He cracks the door a few more inches and pauses once more, but doesn't get any sign of a tribute nearby, and he repeats this until the door is halfway open, enough for him to comfortably slip through.

Davy's hands shake as he slowly starts to move his head through the door, quickly looking left and right up the hallway and then back down at his wrist to see if it is picking up on any noise. But there's nothing… Just Davy's heart beating rapidly in his chest as he takes a step out of his room before stopping again and looking around.

Once finally fully out of the room, Davy looks back at the door, trying to have some way of knowing this is his room. But the wood door is unmarked and one solid color, nothing to distinguish it. Davy stares at it for a minute before taking his knife and making a slash across the grain, trying not to make it anything that other tributes would stop and pause about, but still enough for him. He takes a step back to look at the door, knowing it's the best he can do.

And then he sets out into the arena.

Davy picks a direction and begins down the hallway, constantly glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one is sneaking up on him. But he is the only one there, which is making him more nervous than if there was a tribute in his sight. His steps are slow as he does his best to stay quiet, holding the knife and walking cane in front of him, trying not to focus on just how much they are shaking.

Davy doesn't know how far he made it before a tribute steps out of a door a short distance ahead of him and he quickly presses himself up against the wall, silently praying they do not notice him. Davy has no idea if his rapid breathing is audible and going to notify the girl stepping out of the door, biting into an apple. In the dark and in his panic, it takes a few seconds for Davy to recognize her and when he realizes it's someone also missing their hearing, a wave of relief passes through him. There's a chance Sky might not notice him.

Sky seems too preoccupied with the apple in her hand, scowling down at it as she spits out the bite before throwing the apple to the ground. Davy can feel his stomach rumble at the sight of the food and his hearing aid even picks up on the faint sound, both reassuring him to the sensitivity of it and making him paranoid that any other tribute that still has their hearing could hear him.

Davy waits, frozen in place against the wall and trying to press himself as close as possible, just watching Sky as her shoulders hunch over for a moment. Davy can feel his palms growing sweaty as he watches her use her arm to brush against her eyes, knowing he has weapons in his hands… He knows what the Gamemakers are expecting him to do… But he just can't attack her. He doesn't even know if he can attack out of defense… He is really hoping he doesn't have to get the answer now.

Sky looks back up and glances up and down the hallway. Davy tenses up and tries to shrink back into the wall, almost positive that Sky is going to see him. But she soon turns and starts heading in the opposite direction of Davy. Once her back is turned, Davy wastes no time in running away from her, back to the safety of his room. He knows he is making noise as his hearing aid buzzes with each step, but he doesn't care. He just needs to get back into his safety.

It seems to take much longer to get back to the door with the slash he made and Davy pushes it open, stepping inside right away and whimpering in fear as he shuts the door, bringing him back to safety. Davy is breathing heavy as he looks at the wolves, staring back at them and unable to read their body language. Part of him waits for them to attack, knowing that he couldn't even attack a tribute when he had the chance to. He had the chance to bring their numbers down to twelve, but didn't take it.

"Tomorrow," Davy slowly tells the wolves, still gripping onto his knife defensively as he tries to reason with the Gamemakers. "I will find food tomorrow."

Davy watches the wolves for a minute before they slowly start to relax once more and he does the same. But he can't fully relax, not when he knows what kind of promise he just made and what he just got himself into…

If Davy doesn't go through on his promise, the Gamemakers will take action.

Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six

All his life, Elias has had someone telling him what he should do. First his parents, forcing him to learn how to fight. But he did not want to do what they told him. Then they abandoned him…

But then he had Cecy who took him in off the streets when his parents left him behind. She was more of a family to him than his actual family ever was. She taught him that he can use what his parents trained him to do for something good and he liked bringing home money from the fighting pits for her. But he had to leave her…

He was so scared at first being with the victors, but Dampero was a good mentor. He was always coming up with ideas and suggestions for Elias. He was the one who told him he should have an ally. When Genesis offered the alliance…he was so happy. He felt worthwhile having someone to be with him in the arena. But then the careers took her away…

Elias does not understand what he has done to have had this much pain in his life. What did he do wrong that his parents forced him to fight to the point where he became permanently disabled? What did he do to be reaped when he was finally happy and had a good life with Cecy? They did not have a lot of money, but he had Cecy, and that was all he needed. When he found Genesis, he was so happy to have her as his ally…What did he do to deserve losing her? Did they find out he has not told them that he already does not have a sense of touch and damaged taste and smell and want to punish him for that? He has been so very careful to keep this secret…but they probably know… This is all his fault. He is to blame for Genesis being gone.

Elias has gone through a lot in his life, but he has never gone through loss like this. He never knew he could hurt this much. He does not know what physical pain is like…but if it is anything like this, he is glad he does not know. This pain…he does not know how to get past it.

Elias slumps down against the wall, staring blankly down the mostly dark hallway as he slides down to the floor. He just feels so…so empty. Before he had so many emotions that he did not know how to handle but now he just feels numb and empty. He does not know what to feel or what to even do next. He does not know what to do without someone here telling him what step he should take next.

He is just a mindless person, unable to even think for himself.

Elias has tried so hard to move on from what his parents did to him…but he has not changed. He still depends on someone giving him direction. And when the careers found him…he did exactly what they trained him to do. He fought back against them without even thinking about it. He did exactly what he does not want to do. And he is afraid.

He does not want to hurt anyone. But how can he do that when he must get home to Cecy? If he gets home to her, they can afford all the fixes to their shack. He can get her all the things she needs to make her crafts. Nothing would make him happier than being able to support her like that. But he is so afraid of turning into the monster his parents tried to make him.

"What am I supposed to do?" Elias whispers out loud, desperate for some sort of guidance. He does not know anymore what he should do. All he has done is stumbled around, trying to find his purpose. But what if there is no purpose for him in these Games? …Or what if his purpose is to do what his parents trained him for? "Please help me…"

Elias curls up into a ball, leaning against the wall and staring out into the darkness. He knows he should find somewhere to hide, but all he wants to do is cry, yet his eyes stay dry. "I am sorry I could not protect you…"

A door swings open right next to Elias and he jumps in surprise, not realizing he had stopped next to it. A tribute falls down to the floor, groaning in pain as he tries to push himself up but his arm gives out under him. Elias is frozen in shock, watching Arthur as he tries to get to his feet, his arms slashed up and blood covering the once white toga. A large roar sounds from the door behind him and Arthur quickly shuts it, struggling to find it.

Elias lets out a small whimper of fear at the mutt that made that sound and Arthur immediately turns his head in his direction, making him grow even more afraid as he faces the tribute only a couple feet away from there. "Who's there?" Arthur asks harshly, but his voice wavers as he stares blindly at Elias.

"E-Elias," he stutters out at the pressure of Arthur asking him who is there. Arthur's face pales under the blood on it and Elias starts scrambling to his feet, wanting to get away from him. He does not want to get hurt or hurt anyone and he does not know if anyone else in the arena will not attack first like him. But his prostheses slide on the smooth stone floor, sending him sliding into Arthur.

They both cry out as they are knocked to the floor and Elias tries to push himself away as he keeps trying to get his prostheses under him with a solid grip. One slips and strikes Arthur in the leg and the boy groans in pain before swinging his fist towards Elias.

Elias instinctively dodges the punch and quickly punches in return, sending Arthur's head back as he had no way to see the punch coming and avoid it. Arthur groans in pain loudly and tries to pull himself away from Elias, fear all over his face as he looks around to try and find him. Elias stares at him for a few seconds, terrified at the slow realization that he is the reason Arthur is afraid, before finally standing up and running away from him.

Elias runs blindly down the hallway, having no idea where he is going. All he knows is that he must get away from Arthur. He keeps looking back as he runs, afraid that Arthur will chase after him, but the only sound he can hear is the soft clinking of the metal prostheses against the stone floor.

Boom.

Elias stops suddenly, taking a shaky breath as he slowly looks back in the direction he ran from. His eyes begin to water as he stares back, knowing what he did. He caused that cannon to happen… He fought back against Arthur when he could have just ran away. Arthur could not see him. He was injured and did not have any weapons, yet Elias still fought back against him. He did not mean to hurt him…but he did. He hurt Arthur and now he is dead and it is Elias' fault.

Elias crumples down to the floor as he lets out a sob, terrified of himself. He puts his hands over his face and shakes his head, wishing he was not like this. He thought he was free from the influence of his parents. They were being investigated by the President. They were no longer near him. And yet…they still have so much control over what he does. He is still doing exactly what they wanted, no matter how much he wants to be his own person.

"What is wrong with me?"

Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two

Odyssey is starting to realize he probably should have listened to his mother more when she repeatedly told him to plan things better. They were always butting heads about him not planning his future out more. But he thought it was going to be straightforward: volunteer for the Games, win them, then become a successful drag queen. Easy – well, winning wouldn't exactly be easy – concept for getting the fame to pursue his dream and make a living from it.

It's only night two and things have been so much more complicated than he expected.

He didn't think he would be picked to lead the career pack. He doesn't mind it and he's happy they trusted him to lead them. Except…he's not very good at figuring out things for them to do. They haven't really been successful at finding the other tributes and making any kills, except for Delta killing Carameuse – but the Gamemakers put them together. And he did eventually kill Genesis…but he doesn't know how to feel about that. It was different in the adrenaline of the bloodbath to slip into the mindset of training and do precisely what Kat has been teaching him for years. Just fight and show the others he belongs here just as much as they do. But now…it's just different. And he isn't sure he likes this feeling.

Odyssey hasn't exactly been doing well at figuring out long term plans for the pack, just taking it one day at a time. They don't have an exact schedule for who goes out when and people just decide on a whim basically that they want to go hunting. Like Bell just deciding to go searching with Demarcus tonight.

Who is also a big part of why this is so complicated.

He really didn't expect the feelings…any of them. But now feels like an idiot for not seeing it so much sooner. All the signs were there and it's so painfully obvious to Odyssey now, looking back on everything that has happened. If he hadn't been in such denial and focused on the Games… He doesn't want to think about how everything would have been different. Not now that he is in the Games and he can't change that. He made the decision and now he has to follow through with it. But does he wish he didn't break his friend's heart and that he was back in Two with Misha right now? Absolutely.

Odyssey has been trying to do what Darach told him after the party, but he just…can't push aside the guilt in him. Not when every time he looks at Bell and can see how much she is clearly hurting, yet she refuses to talk to him more than the bare minimum required for their alliance. And while he so badly wants to avoid the confrontation of this and the blame and the pain from Bell that he caused, he knows they can't keep up like this. It's distracting both of them. And distractions get tributes killed in the Games. He just wants to be unified with Bell once more – as much as they can after what has happened. He needs someone to count on in the arena with him.

Odyssey holds back a yawn as he leans against the cornucopia, bow held loosely in his hand and an arrow notched, ready to fire if he needs to. He didn't want to take watch tonight because he'd like more sleep, but he knew he would just toss and turn, too worried about not sorting things out with Bell before something happens to one of them. The Trial by Combat has made him realize he needs to be taking this more seriously… He can't get through this with jokes and pushing things aside. He doesn't want to regret not trying to talk to her if something happens to her first…

So here he is, staying up for when Bell gets back. Surely they must be getting tired too and want to return soon…

Odyssey starts slipping against the cornucopia and jolts awake, blinking a few times before rubbing his eyes. Damn it, he needs to sleep soon. But he can't. Not until-

Odyssey has his bow raised and arrowed pulled back in a second when he sees a tribute start down the stairs towards the pit, but quickly relaxes when he sees another soon following. Bell looks up at him as he takes a few steps towards her when she reaches the pit before scowling a little and turning back to Demarcus, guiding him back to their camp. "How did it go?"

"Just fine, Demarcus got himself a kill," Bell answers coldly as she walks past him, not meeting his gaze. She starts taking off her bag, still avoiding him. "The boy from Eleven is dead. Found him already half dead. And now I'm going to sleep."

"Bell, wait," Odyssey reaches out and gently grabs her wrist, stopping her from storming off from him like she's done every time he's tried to talk to her alone. She glares down at the hand on her wrist, but he doesn't let go yet. He knows she'll just leave and they'll never have this conversation. "Please, I know you don't want to talk about what happened and I also hate conflict about myself and don't want to have this conversation, but we have to."

Bell finally meets his gaze and the sadness and anger and pain in her eyes makes Odyssey want to just go hide in the cornucopia and avoid ever talking about this, yet he forces himself to stand his ground, fear of regret overweighing his dislike of confrontation. "Can you please let go of my arm?"

"Not if you're going to run away," Odyssey answers right away and from the look on her face, he knows that is exactly what she was planning on doing. "Bell-"

"Don't 'Bell' me with that sad puppy look in your eyes," Bell holds up her hand to point at him in accusation and Odyssey holds up his other hand defensively. "It is not helping me."

"Guess we're at an impasse," Odyssey tells her and they stare at each other for a few long seconds, Odyssey pleading with her silently and Bell's expression going through a variety of emotions. "Please."

Bell lets out a loud sigh and Odyssey starts grinning, knowing she's giving in to the conversation. "Stop that," she tells him, still pointing at him accusingly. "That damn goofy smile is part of why we ended up in this mess in the first place."

Odyssey chuckles at this, happy she is at least talking to him. "I can't help my handsome looks," he jokes before realizing that maybe that isn't the best thing to joke about right now when the smile she had been fighting fades away.

Bell looks around at their allies nearby, Delta, Anastacia, and Major still sleeping while Demarcus sits at the fire, staring at it blindly in deep thought. "Not right here where some of them can hear."

Odyssey nods his head in all seriousness before finally letting go of her wrist now that she won't run away and gestures away from their allies. "Good idea. Lead the way."

Bell leads him over to the stands in silence and they both take a seat next to each other, staring back at their allies around the cornucopia. Odyssey tries to think about what to say but now that they're actually going to have the conversation, he's at a loss for words.

"Well?" Bell finally asks him and he glances over at her. "You're the one that wanted this conversation, so talk."

"I'm trying to figure out what to say," Odyssey says defensively before biting his lip, unhappy with sounding a little harsh towards her. "Sorry, I'm not good at this and talking about things regarding me. Look, I…" Odyssey hesitates once again and Bell briefly looks at him before turning away, her eyes watering already. "Shit, Bell, do you really think I wanted to do this to you? You're my friend. I would never intentionally hurt one of my friends."

"Yeah, well, you did," Bell tells him, voice dripping in bitterness and he can't blame her one bit. He looks down at his hands in his lap, sighing heavily as he tries to make her see that he's telling the truth.

"I promise you, Bell, I had absolutely no idea," Odyssey turns to face her, needing her to believe him.

"It was pretty damn obvious," Bell mutters under her breath before looking up at the sky and blinking rapidly to hold back tears. "But I guess I couldn't compete with a victor."

"Misha being a victor isn't why," Odyssey tells her right away. It's…a lot more than that that draws him towards Misha, but telling Bell these things probably won't help this situation. "I can't help that my feelings for you are just platonic. I don't know if that would have been different if we were in a different scenario… I just always knew that there was no possibility where more than one of us was making it out of the Games alive."

Bell turns to look at him, tears finally falling down her cheeks. "I know that, yet it didn't change things for me."

"I'm sorry, Bell," Odyssey says softly, trying to stop himself from feeling even worse at the sight of her crying. "But…it's going to be for the best that it ended up this way."

"That's what Glacia said," Bell grumbles as she crosses her arms.

"Well Glacia is a smart woman," Odyssey says with a smile. "But…there was no way things ever could have worked out with us so it's better this way… If you win, you can still find someone back home that you can actually be with," Odyssey tells her, even if the thought of not winning – and what that would do to Misha and his family – pains him. He gives her shoulder a bump with his own, cracking a little bit of a smile as he tries to lighten the mood. "And treat you like the queen that you are."

Bell lets out a bitter scoff at this. "And if you win, you can go run home to Misha who already treats you like the queen you are."

"I…" Odyssey sighs at how bitter she sounds. "Yes, I would go to him. I won't lie to you about that. I can't think of one instance where I have lied to you…"

Bell gives her own sigh at this. "It would be easier if you did so I could just hate you. But here we are, me stupidly talking to you when I knew it would just rip open my heart again."

"It's not stupid," Odyssey answers her, frowning a bit. "And that wasn't why I wanted to talk to you. I…we need to be working together, Bell. We made a pact that we would stick together to the end to make sure District Two won another Quell. And despite everything that has happened, I still want to keep that pact with you."

"Fighting with you in the end would completely destroy me," Bell says, barely above a whisper, and Odyssey immediately shakes his head at this, refusing to think about the scenario where he has to fight her. God, that would destroy him too. "But…"

"But what?" Odyssey asks when she pauses for a long time.

Bell turns to finally face him fully and she takes a deep breath as she shakes her head, "I really hope I don't regret this later on, but…despite everything, I'll still fight with you until the end."

Adam Vignola, 18, District Seven

Adam wakes up suddenly at the blinding lights and he blinks rapidly in fear, knowing that someone will be approaching him, but he has no clue since he can't hear anything. Two days…two days and he still doesn't have his hearing. They told him they don't know if they can restore it after they damaged his tracker in order to get him out of the arena. At least, that's what they say.

Adam is beginning to suspect that maybe they just have chosen not to restore his hearing as one more thing to hold over him. One more way to push him into revealing to them where his son is… He doesn't know how much more of this he can take, how much more he can keep telling these people that he doesn't know where in the Capitol they are keeping his son. But as much as never getting his hearing back terrifies him…there is no way he will tell them, even if he did know. Not after they have threatened and beaten him for the last two days. They didn't care about him, not really. Just the fact that he is the parent of Cedar's son. A son who is a descendent of the key rebel family in Seven.

That was why they came up with an elaborate plan to fake his death and sneak him away. Not because they wanted to save him. No…they thought he was still pregnant and they could snatch his baby away from him, raise him up to be rebellious with them and just cause more death.

Even if he knew the exact location, Adam is not going to tell them where Cain is. He will die before he lets his son get into harm's way. He doesn't want his son at risk of getting involved in this violence – violence he didn't know was a threat to the country until less than a week ago. And if he can keep his location and Tara safe…he'll take that information to the grave. He won't let anyone get hurt on his behalf.

Adam whimpers in fear as he moves into the corner of his cell, terrified of the new person approaching and what kind of torture they might inflict on him next. He thought they were done for the day, having questioned him earlier… Be strong, Adam.

He keeps his head down and just sees a set of footsteps stop in front of the bars keeping him locked up, refusing to look at them, until they crouch down and slide a cup of water and small loaf of bread into his cell. Then he slowly picks up his gaze and stares at the young woman staring back, squinting his eyes against the bright lights for a moment before recognizing her. "I know you."

Khaya smiles sadly at him as she takes the notepad tucked under her shoulder and writes a response to him. Adam waits in apprehension, arms wrapped tight around himself and not trusting her…not now that he knows she is with them. "I'm sorry this is happening to you," Khaya tells him before gesturing to the food and water. Adam makes no movement towards it, not trusting anything from these people, causing Khaya to frown at him as she sits down on the floor to write again. "Please believe me."

Adam shakes his head at this, "I'd like to, but you people haven't given me much reason to believe that you won't hurt me further…" Adam stares at the water, his throat growing scratchy and making him realize just how parched he is and wants to chug the water, but not trusting her. He stares at Khaya for a long moment, feeling a little betrayed that she approached him at Cedar's funeral knowing the people she is part of and who Adam was to Cedar.

"I didn't know they were going to do this to you," Khay tells him, her eyes watering up as she stares at him and gestures to his beat up body before flipping to a different page and writing for a long time. "I don't want violence, not to people who are innocent. I just want the Games to end. And I know this isn't what Cedar would want."

The mention of Cedar makes Adam's eyes start watering as he starts to feel…betrayed by the man he loved. He didn't know his family could do this to him…did he ever really know him? Adam shakes his head at her as he curls up further. "I don't even know anymore who he was."

Khaya presses her lips together at this and Adam turns away from her, hating that despite everything these people have done to him, he still is feeling pity for her being upset right now. He glances back when he sees movement from the corner of his eye as she turns the paper back towards him. "He wanted the Games to end."

"I know that," Adam answers, feeling so…broken by that knowledge. It was part of what led to them breaking up, all because Cedar couldn't handle Adam not wanting to take any action. Not when it would cause too much violence and loss of innocent lives.

Khaya stares at him for a long moment before her shoulders hunch over and she looks defeated as she keeps writing to him for a long time, leaving Adam alone in his thoughts about Cedar and where things went wrong before his death. "I don't know if he told you, but he cared about your son."

Adam tenses up at this, immediately on guard and protective for his son, believing this is just another way they are trying to get him to reveal Cain's location. "I really don't know where he is," Adam whispers as he turns away from her, trying to hide the tears forming in his eyes as he thinks about his son. He so desperately wants to hold him again… But he doesn't think that will ever happen again. "Please just leave me alone… He's safe in the Capitol, that's all I know…"

Adam stares facing the back wall for a long time, tears slowly starting to fall down his cheeks as he thinks about his baby. He knew being a parent was going to be difficult, but he never imagined it would be this tough…

Movement catches his attention and he turns to find Khaya has thrown the notepad into the cell near him since she can't just call for him. He slowly looks down at what she has written now, not wanting to fight again against another person questioning him. "I don't want to hurt you. The others don't know what they are doing and I don't think they would agree. Let me talk to them and see what we can do."

Adam glances back at her at this, confused and scared by what she wrote, yet wanting to believe she is telling the truth… That she might get them to stop hurting him. He wants to believe her…

Something in Adam believes her… He slides the notebook back to her before he slowly starts crawling over to the food and water, whimpering at the throbbing pain through his whole body. His hand shakes as he reaches for the water and he nearly spills it trying to bring the cup up to his mouth. He tries to take slow sips, but as soon as the water touches his dry throat, he chugs the glass in a few seconds. He wipes at his mouth using the tattered clothes they gave him and gives a small smile at her as he trades the cup for the bread and takes a small bite, cherishing the taste of food. "Thank you."

Khaya reaches through the bars, holding her palm up to him and waits for his response. He reaches towards her slowly and when he takes her hand, she gives his a gentle squeeze. She says something to him and he points at his ear, reminding her that he can't hear her, and she quickly writes out a note. "I'm going to get you out of this because I know Cedar would have done that."

Adam nods his head as he lets go of her hand, not wanting to upset her by telling her the truth. He doesn't know if Cedar would have done that…he couldn't even love Adam for who he truly is…

Khaya pats his hand a couple times before taking her arm and the cup out of his cell. She does her best to give him a reassuring smile. "Stay strong."

"I'll try," Adam whispers before taking another bite of bread, trying to hold back his tears. Khaya stands up and quietly walks away from him, leaving him there to be a sad crying mess as he eats his bread.

He's trying to be strong, he really is. But he just wants to be with his son so badly, yet he can't reveal who has Cain to these people. To keep him safe, Adam will never be able to see his baby again.

Eulogies:

Arthur Bramble [11], Ranked 13th, Killed by Demarcus [4]:

Ah Arthur. He was such a fun take on a tribute from Eleven and really could have gotten far in a different arena that was more plant based with the survival skills that he had. But he didn't get that and also got poor odds from losing his sense of sight. There was only so much he could do after literally getting trapped in a room with bear mutts until the Gamemakers let him go... But he still did his best. Thank you for sending him, Galactic Coach! RIP Arthur.

And with that, we are down to twelve already! Nearly halfway through the tributes already and it's only the end of Night Two. Better buckle up because things are just gonna keep getting crazy from here on out XD

Now we have finally heard from all of the tributes! So fun fact (not really fun lol), I had to completely rewrite Adam's POV because I forgot that he lost his hearing XD I knew it would happen eventually lol and I'm just glad I realized before posting the chapter. Now I bet you didn't expect that was what was going on with him and the rebels. There is still a lot more to be revealed with the rebels!

I guess all I'll ask with this chapter is who do you think will be death #12 that brings us to the official halfway point?

Well I will see you all soon with Day Three! It is going to be quite...chaotic XD