District 3: Pixel Watt (12) Pov-

The sun has already reached its peak in the sky when I wake up, filtering through the branches and throwing slender slits of light over my body like beams from a disco ball.

Surprisingly it takes me a few moments to recall my predicament. That's right. I'm in just about the most miserable spot a girl can be in the games. I have nothing. Sleeping bag—gone. Food and water—gone.

Two days ago Mavvi and I had a warm place to sleep and flowers to eat and a partridge in a pear tree.

I've made two alliances that have both failed within a day, which is disheartening to say the least.

I lie on the forest floor for what must be at least an hour. The birdsong grows louder. When it reaches you-should-be-up-and-working-you-lazy-bum o'clock, I finally slither out from under the leaves and get to my feet.

The beeping of a sponsor parachute makes my heart stop.

I whip around at the speed of light and see that my gift has already settled on the leafy forest floor. The parachute's carriage holds a wide silver tray. Inside the tray is the most delicious and complete meal I've ever seen. A cup of carrots and peas. A serving of pineapple slices. A square of orange cheese. A porcelain bowl of steaming-hot soup with creamy broth.

Pixel,

Make it count.

~C

Just looking at it makes my mouth water. I allow myself about half of the vegetable cup before setting the tray down. I really don't want to eat it all right now.

Something tells me I should thank my sponsor, but I think I'd feel weird thanking the thin air, so I decide against opening my mouth.

I don't have a doubt in my mind that I should be walking, and I don't have a doubt either about what I should be walking toward. The tall, fog-laden purple mountains draw me toward themselves as if by some hidden magic. They're the things that have been intriguing me since Day 1. I'm not going to die before I can investigate them at least a little bit.

District 5: Adelaide Hampton (16) Pov-

Loud alarm clocks have never been my thing. A faint buzz to introduce me to the new day? No problem. But an enormous alarm clock with a chime loud enough to wake the dead? Thanks but no thanks.

When I wake up there's a freezing cold sensation in my feet. For an instant my brain invents the delusional fantasy that some creature has wrapped its cold hands around my feet.

But my feet have just sunk into the healing river. Surprisingly the water seems to wake me right up, filling my bones with a kind of warmth that makes me want to spring to my feet.

A peek at my injury tells me it's coming along well. No more fresh blood-flow, which is an amazing sign. I clean off the chunks of dried blood and then dip my bandages into the tinkling magical water once more.

Clank!

Something heavy lands on my head, thudding against my skull. I reach upward and find the carriage of a sponsor parachute balanced precariously on my head. Too excited to feel embarrassed, I let it fall to the ground. The parachute only holds a single note:

Adelaide,

If you want to stay alive you've got to move around. Starting tomorrow it won't be safe to play a defensive game anymore.

~F

The note doesn't worry me. I'm pretty sure I'll be healed completely by tomorrow morning if not tonight, and then I can be on my merry way.

I hunker back down into my branch shelter, alone except for my blowgun and pack of darts, listening to the queer tinkling of the river and willing my body to heal itself.

District 9: Luc Everett (16) Pov-

The first thing I notice as I leave my shelter is the warmth. There's no way this isn't the warmest morning of the games so far. There is the occasional cool gust of wind, but other than that the sun shines down rather relentlessly, melting the frost around me and bringing the birds out of their hiding spots for the new day.

Taking only my two hunting knives with me, I travel east for about five minutes before reaching a small brook. It's not very large, and I can't guarantee that it's clean, but I don't want to risk travelling any further. I don't want to pose any risk of losing my shelter.

I kneel beside the brook and sip greedily from the water, pretty much sacrificing all manners in favor of gulping down as much water as possible.

I've just begun to get to my feet when red-hot pain explodes through my back.

I make an effort to stand but fall back down, my body making a loud thud against the mossy riverside. Towering over me is the enormous duo from 2. Both of their weapons are aimed toward me.

I glance behind me for some kind of escape, like a fallen branch over the brook. There isn't one.

The 2 boy falls on top of me and pins my wrists and ankles to the ground. Even though my brain commands that my limbs thrash in a futile effort to escape, I know in my heart of hearts that I'm not going to live past this encounter.

I try to force out my last goodbyes but my lips don't seem to be able to move. The 2 girl thrusts her sword into my torso and then it's all black.

District 11: Jaro Veldt (15) Pov-

The cannon shot wakes me up with a start. It takes my brain a couple of seconds to count up the number we've had so far, and then my heart leaps into my throat.

That cannon shot was the sixteenth of these games. That means there are only eight of us left.

For us final eight tributes, they'll be rushing to the homes of our families to squeeze some kind of decent interview out of them. They're always the same every year. I miss her. All I do is think about him. I wish my nephew would come home. I guess when someone you love is at such high stakes there's only so much you can say. Though I've never much been a person to believe in all that destiny stuff the rest is pretty much left to fate.

I've got a lot to be grateful for right now. With home closer than ever a fleeting memory comes back to me. Every night before bed my mother told me to count my blessings. I can't have left home more than a few weeks ago but it feels like a million years.

My sister being reaped into these games wasn't much of a blessing. But I've survived this long. I've got a decent stock of supplies and a good number of sponsors on my side. I'm not an orphan like the dude from District 6. I'm not so tiny I could be crushed like a soda can like the girl from 3.

Hey, higher power or whatever, if you're out there, thanks for everything.

I don't get a response but the prayer boosts my spirits a little.

Oh yeah. And I haven't seen that weird moving boulder in three days. Plus one to the blessing counter.

Deaths this Chapter (and last chapter because I forgot):

10th: Declan Benitoit, District 1 Male – Burned to death, by Jaehaera, to eliminate the Curse

This dude was a pretty dynamic character and I had good fun writing him. In the first few days I felt he was being overshadowed by Jaehaera and Nero, and before that by Sangria (remember her?) but lately I've tried to give his character a bit of depth. He was cool. Funny. Nice, even. Really makes you question the norms of the career districts, where even for the best kinds of people being able to kill without a second thought is the norm. Whether you see them as victims or villains career characters are always good fun to write. Happy trails bud.

9th: Luc Everett, District 9 Male – Skewered through torso, by Jaehaera

This guy was a good candidate for the win. If you've read 23 Cannons or pretty much any other Hunger Games fic you probably know good-looking ladies' men from the outlying districts is a sort of cliché, but I still hope I wrote this guy well for you all. He got dealt a bad set of cards by being reaped, then by sort of fading into the background and finally by being in the same region of the arena as the careers.

Alliances:

Careers: Jaehaera, Nero

Loners (For Now): Pixel, Adelaide, Lincoln, Cerise, Orford, Jaro

A/N: And another tribute falls! Sorry if there was confusion last chapter about Declan. Rest assured that he is completely, 100% dead and that creepy curse thing is out of the question for the rest of the story. Hope your lives are all going swell :D

Question: Do you have any skills/talents/quirks that would help you in the games? If so, what?

THE FINAL EIGHT:

District 2: Jaehaera Blackfyre (17)

District 2: Nero Ryker (18)

District 3: Pixel Watt (12)

District 5: Adelaide Hampton (16)

District 6: Lincoln Blitz (16)

District 7: Cerise Yew (15)

District 10: Orford Shaw (18)

District 11: Jaro Veldt (15)