Nicolette "Nikki" Anderson (17)- D4F

The next morning, I wake to the sounds of the pelicans and other water birds chirping happily as they return to the shore. I can see them diving down to catch fish and land on the sand to eat. It's a familiar sight that I've seen many times after storms in Four, but I know I'm never going to return there. The Gamemakers surely hope the threat of the monster in the water will surely loom over the tributes' heads, and I don't want to push it. I need to get as far inland as possible before it returns.

I make sure I still have my water before getting ready to leave. This place seems safe, but there's no food. Hopefully there will be some on the mountains, but everyone else will heading up there as well, and I don't have a weapon. I could go to the Cornucopia and try to nab one as well as some food, but I doubt that it's uninhabited right now. Tiffany is probably there, or one of the others. If I had my trident, I would gladly take on any of them, but it seems nothing is working out. I continue to contemplate my options as I stand up and take in my surroundings. I barely had time to look around the cave before I fell asleep last night, but now I see there are other caves leading off of this one. I doubt any of them have food, but it's good to know for later.

I emerge back out into the sunlight on the ledge, gauging how safe it would be to tiptoe my way over to the cliff. I decide it's too risky, and instead choose to take my chances in the cave system. I take the one heading west and hope for the best.

I chose wisely; the caves lead me out into the desert, where a great heat is making the air hazy and heavy. I step out a little farther and look up, horrified to see the mountain up in flames. The blaze is so great it must have burned everything edible that once existed on its slopes. I angrily realize that now my choice has been made for me. To the Cornucopia I go, with nothing but my bare hands.

I start on my journey after taking a large drink of water, fully aware that a heavily-armed tribute could be waiting for me at the golden horn. This might be my last battle, but if it is, I won't go down without a good fight.

Sebastian "Seb" Cassara (18)- D7M

I feel myself startle awake, shivering violently.

"Did you see it? Did it come to you?"

I look up, my eyes feeling heavy. "What?"

"Did he come to you?" my captor asks again, more slowly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I groan, feeling the sweat on my forehead drip down my face. The mountain above us is still ablaze, making the desert heat even worse. However, my new 'ally' doesn't seem affected. Her eyes are wide and glassy, apparently not uncomfortable at all in the intense heat. She slumps backward against the rock at my answer.

"It didn't come. I really thought it would."

"Well, I think we can agree that your thinking isn't exactly soundproof."

She doesn't recognize my sass, possibly because she's not paying attention at all. "Whatever," she says. "We'll stay here for a few more days. It will figure out where we are eventually."

"If we're going to stay here," I say through gritted teeth, "Can I at least have something to eat?"

"Not yet," she says, distracted. "I don't want to waste any of it on you if you're going to die in the next few days anyway."

That's reassuring. I glance down at where she holds the knife loosely in her right hand. She hasn't let go of it since we first met, even while she eats. I don't know if she slept, but she probably kept it in her grip then as well. Perhaps she isn't as crazy as she seems; she knows that I'll make a grab for the weapon if she lets her guard down. I'm too weak to wrestle it from ehr as is, or run away before she throws it into my leg and permanently incapacitates me.

As for the 'it' that she keeps talking about, it's probably a real threat. My captor has just lost her mind in the arena, something that isn't as rare as the Capitol tries to say.

"Whoever this is that's after you, they won't spare you just because you give me to them. They won't see it as a trade, just two kills instead of one," I try to talk sense into her, leaning closer and watching as she tenses up, eyes narrowing. "We could fight them off together, and then both have a better chance of winning."

"It doesn't want to win, it wants what its due," she says, her pupils wider than I've ever seen on a human. "A life for a life, that's how it works."

I gnash my teeth together. There's no point in reasoning with her. Considering that the girl from One was following us, it's most likely the only other remaining tribute: the girl from Four that left the Career alliance. She's the only other ten scorer still alive aside from me, and a definite beast. She'd take one me in two seconds in this state, then move on to my captor without a second thought. And there would be no help from the Capitol; I know that Tag and I are among their favorites, but there hasn't been a death in three days now. They would cheer on our killer as she slaughtered us. And while that would mean Tag was in the top three, that pins him up against two Career-trained tributes. He's smart and has supplies from the Cornucopia, but he won't be able to take on both of them at the same time if that's what it comes to. I have to survive this to help him.

However, if Tag does find us, then it will be him with a knife against a much larger, older, and crazed tribute with the same weapon. She'll take him out easily.

The only chance I have is to get out of this myself, and quickly.

Spool Nylon (12)- D8M

Once I noticed the sun going down last night, I figured it would be too late for me to head back to the Cornucopia. Someone might be there, and at any rate, I have the supplies that I need. I happily munch down on some dried fruit and meat that I retrieved from the golden horn as I listen to the running water flow nearby. I found a suitable place to rest for the night at the base of the eastern mountain, where the river bubbles up from under the rock and flows toward the sea. The large boulders surrounding it are enough cover to hide me, and I suspect that no one will be heading this close to the desert anytime soon due to the firestorm. However, I'm pretty confident that the fireballs won't be coming back unless we spread out too much again.

I keep my knife hidden in my sock as I sleep, and my crossbow, loaded, in my hands. Every now and then, I hear the distant howling of dogs from the barren desert. The last thing i need is to be torn apart by rabid animals.

I wake up the next morning with the remnants of a dream still lingering in my consciousness. I was with Tag and some of the other Sock Knights, playing in our backyard. We had a tire swing in the yard when we were younger, maybe seven of eight, until we accidentally broke it by trying to see if we could climb the ropes. In my dream, Tag and I were taking turns swinging on it while the other Knights tried to lay down underneath us and try not to get hit, another common game that we played. Then our mother called us for dinner from inside, and when Tag turned away to look toward the house, I struck him directly in the head with my feet. He fell to the ground and I immediately stopped swinging, hurrying to him, but he was just holding his head and laughing.

The dream brings a smile to my face. I've always been the one to protect Tag, even when we were younger. I had to protect him when he was Reaped, but what happens if I win? The Capitol will never kill their victor, even if I wasn't reaped, right? It's me that they love, and Tag was the one that was Reaped, so they can't kill him either, he has lex sacrata until his Games begin. I'm pretty sure nothing like this has happened in the history of the Games, unless they hid it well enough for the rest of their lives, so there's no precedent for the Capitol to follow.

It seems my only two options are to pretend to be Tag forever while he pretends to be me, or reveal our true identities and take our chances. Honestly, it might be worth it to tell everyone just to stick it to the Capitol; to show them that they're not infallible, and they were outsmarted by a twelve-year old. At the same time, they could end with not only my death, but also Tag's. Even our parents'.

And if I win, then that means I'll have lost Seb, too.

The thought of Seb brings me to my feet. I take a drink of water and eat a bite of food before preparing to leave. I can't let Seb die yet. I know he isn't dead; there were no faces in the sky yesterday, and no cannons since. He's out there somewhere, waiting for me to find him. He could be passed out somewhere in the desert, or held up by another tribute, or simple wandering in the desert, lost.

I determine he must not be among the dunes past the mountains; that's where the fireballs came from, and the sounds of howling dogs would discourage anyone. He's not on the shore or on the mountains, either. The only place I can think that he would go is the cave that we stayed in a few days ago. That's a long walk, but I'll be able to make it by about noon.

Tiffany Silk (18)- D1F

I run all throughout the night to get to the Cornucopia, and by the time I do, I'm too exhausted to do anything but collapse onto the ground. I pull a sleeping bag from one of the boxes and set myself up inside the horn, my sword at an arm's length away, and sleep for a few hours. I wake before noon, and immediately begin preparing for the others to arrive. I'm running low on food and water, so I stock up before taking in the rest of the supplies. Everything is still how I left it, except a few of the boxes that are open and disheveled. It makes me angry to think that another tribute was stealing from my supplies, but there's no telling who it was.

I ponder my hunting options as I pick out a new weapon for myself,finally able to leave Hadrian's giant broadsword behind. A wise choice might be to wait here for someone who comes looking for supplies, but that could take forever. There's a small window of the desert that all of the remaining tributes are in, so it would be best to go looking myself. The only question is where.

I finally find a wicked curved blade that's thin at the point and deadly sharp. It's perfect. As for where I'll be starting my search, I decide to simply scour the river near the eastern mountain. There will surely be lots of thirsty tributes hanging out there. With any luck, I'll find the pair that I was searching for on the beach. I strap my sword to my back, though it doesn't quite fit in the holster that was meant for a straight sword, and head out.

The sword rattles against my back as I jog toward the river, breathing heavily. It takes about two hours or so until the water comes into sight. My trainers at the Academy always told us that we would do more running in the Games than anything else whenever someone complained about the amount of running we had to do in training. I didn't quite believe them, but I trusted their tactics. But now that I'm here, I realize they were right all along.

I keep my eyes peeled for any signs of life. A few shrews and other small animals are scurrying around in the brush on the shores, but I don't bother to try to catch them; I have plenty of food. There could be tributes hiding in the same brush if they saw me coming, so I try to stay vigilant. I don't see anyone right now, so I decide to move towards the shore. I won't get too close, just follow the river to see if anyone didn't make it far from the monster before settling down for the night.

I keep at it for another few hours, making sure I always know where the sun is to tell time. The last thing I need is to get dehydrated because I keep forgetting to drink water. I don't find much, and I don't want to get too close to the shore in case I wake the sleeping monster, so I slow down as I reach the entrance to the cave system. The place looks as desolate as everywhere else, but who knows what could be hiding inside.

I'm a little hesitant to search the caves themselves, but then I see the barest outline of footprints just outside the entrance. I quickly run over to them and lean down to examine them closely. With each gust of wind, they disappear a little more, but they must have been here for an hour at least. They're heading from the cave outward, in a southwestern direction. Toward the Cornucopia.

I straighten back up, my heart beating fast as I grit my teeth. It's time to finally kill one of my enemies, after days of searching and running and tracking. I sprint back toward the Cornucopia with renewed fervor.

Filly Marcoffe (18)- D10F

The day hasn't been exactly eventful; I've spent most of it sitting in the same place and position for hours, watching as the sun drags overhead. The blaze above us has lessened considerably, but the air still smells like smoke and fire. The only thing that's missing is the scent of a slow-roasted skewer of meat, cooking over an open fire behind our house on the ranch.

"Why are you smiling? Seeing things again?"

My attention is brought back to the present. My companion here hasn't been making the day any easier. He's apparently so repellent that even the demon hasn't come to him in his sleep, which he's been doing a lot of. I simply narrow my eyes at him and take a bite out of my peach. My remaining fruits aren't exactly fresh anymore, but they're still edible. I lick up every ounce of juice that I can, hoping that it will be enough to keep me hydrated.

"At least I have a reason to smile. I'll be getting out of here alive."

"Is that what you think?" he scoffs and turns away, watching the sun over the mountain. It will disappear over it soon. "I keep telling you, this sacrifice thing isn't going to work. We should fight them off together."
"There's no fighting it," I say. "You haven't seen it yet, so you don't understand. But you will."

He grunts in the back of his throat, leaning back against the rock behind him. He probably thinks that I'm crazy, but it doesn't matter. Nothing will matter as long as I can get back home, to my father, Louie, and Buck. Buck and I will cook meat just like we used to before the Games in the summers, watching Louie round up the horses for the night and laugh as our dad as he tries to cut up carrots for a stew. He was never good with a knife. Then afterward, I'd go into the fields to say good night to Amber, her soft orange coat glistening in the moonlight as I pat her neck and kiss her nose, then head to bed. I pull my horse hair charm out of my pocket, feeling her softness even from so far away.

"Your name's Filly, right?"

I look up, immediately distrustful of the curious look on the guy's face. "What does it matter?"

"Just thought it would be nice to put a name to the face, that's all," he shrugs. "Do you know mine?"

I grunt noncommittally, not wanting to admit that I might have an inkling of a name in the back of my mind. I definitely remember his interview, where he admitted he killed his own father. I know everything I need to know.

"It's Seb," he says. "Short for Sebastian."

"Whatever."

He scoots a little closer to me, causing me to tighten my grip on my knife. "You know what it is that I've done. Do you think that I'll cower away when someone comes to kill us?"

I don't grant him an answer, staring straight ahead at the flocks of birds that are heading back to the sea.

"I scored a ten in training. The same as her. The two of us can take her on, especially because she doesn't know I'm here."

"Who do you think we're waiting for?" I ask sharply, meeting his eyes. She seems confused for a second, falling back. My gaze drifts back toward the sky. We sit for a while more in silence, but eventually I grow bored of that. I haven't been around people in so long that it seems I've forgotten what it's like to have a conversation, but the desire is still there. I can't help but feel the urge to talk more to my captive, even just about nothing.

"Have you killed anyone else besides your father?" There's a question that will surely get him talking.

He gives me a side eye and responds with a low, "...Yes."

"Who?"

"Just one of the little tributes. I don't know."

I hum in thought. "I've killed too. The girl from Five. I didn't understand it then, but she was like me. She'd seen what's coming for us. Anyway, I didn't have the stomach to do it at first. I wanted her be my ally, but she didn't listen. I had no choice, just like you did with your father. He killed your mother, didn't he?"

Seb stares at me for a long time and then says, "Yes."

"My mother died when I was young. I don't really remember a lot about her, but I'm sure I would have loved her. My father isn't anything like yours, though. He loved her too."

He's silent for so long that I start to think the conversation is over, but then he says, "I think my parents did love each other at first. They got married, they had me."

"It's too bad that you couldn't save her," I say. "But it's a life for a life. You understood that even before I did; you volunteered after all."

He looks at me strangely, like I've said something unexpected even though I've been telling him this since I first found him lying alone in the sand.

Then I hear a distant noise that sounds like people screaming. "Stay down," I tell him, slowly standing up while raising my knife. I can barely see a thing; it seems the Gamemakers were keen on giving us an early sundown. In the dim, bluish light from the sky, I scan the horizon but see nothing. Another feminine scream resounds off the mountain's walls.

"It must have found someone else before us. Maybe we could-"

I turn around to look at Seb, but already close to my feet as he harshly pulls on one and sends me toppling to the ground.

Nicolette "Nikki" Anderson (17)- D4F

My trek to the Cornucopia was a long one, especially in the intense heat of the fires combined with the sun. I'm sweating profusely by the time I reach the golden horn, even though the sun is starting to set. I approach carefully, keeping my hand behind my back as if I could be holding a weapon. No one comes out to meet me, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be someone waiting to ambush me inside, or even sleeping. My footsteps are thankfully muffled by the sand as I circle the Cornucopia before finally entering it, keeping my eyes peeled for any movement.

When I see nothing, I take a well-deserved break after running for nearly four hours, lying just inside the horn on the sand. After a few minutes, I pop back up and take in my surroundings. There is a sleeping bag near the back of the horn, looking rumpled and slept-in, but who knows how long that's been there. It also looks like it's been dragged back there, where the original sleeping place was probably closer to the mouth. It seems like typical Career behavior to me; sleep where you won't get backed into a corner, but hide the evidence afterward.

Some of the boxes have been opened recently, if the low amount of sand inside is any indication. The ones that have been open since the bloodbath are filled with the stuff. Most of the supplies are organized in the typical Career style, but some things look like they've been messed with since then. Perhaps I'm not the first person to come scouring for supplies.

The first thing I look for is food, which there is plenty of. Most of the fruits and vegetables that were packed are now rotten and wilted, but some are still edible, along with dried versions and some crackers. I take as many as I can carry and shove them into my pockets. Then I search for a weapon.

Unfortunately, the Gamemakers didn't think to provide me with two tridents. It's pretty typical to only give one for the Four tributes if they've shown prowess with them during their training, maybe two if both tributes are especially good. So now I'm left with the batch of "normal" weapons that the other tributes love to use. I find a set of throwing knives buried under a tarp, and take my favorites. Then on the back wall, I find a collection of spears and axes that might be to my taste. The axes remind me too much of Tiger's bad attitude during training, so I take a spear instead. Rufina wasn't exactly my friend, but at least she wasn't annoying. Plus, a spear has is used in many of the same ways as a trident, just with one prong instead of three or four.

I avoid the swords. Jason's was probably taken up with him in his hovercraft, then confiscated to be auctioned off to wealthy Capitol citizens who love collecting Hunger Games artifacts. I never want to see a sword again except for that one.

I'm lucky that I made it here before anyone else did, especially now that I can wait for the others to arrive so I can pick them off. The only ones I'm really worried about are Tiffany and the other ten-scorer, the one from Seven. The twelve-year old and the girl from Ten won't be much trouble, even if they scored high.

I sit in wait at the mouth of the Cornucopia, my spear in hand, waiting for anyone and anything. I try my hand at a few spear tosses, getting used to the decreased weight compared to a trident. I try to psych myself up for whatever encounter is to come; if it's the little one from EIght, I can't be picky and let him go, thinking that someone else will take him out. I already killed the little one from Eleven, so what does it matter if I take out one more child?

However, the person that arrives isn't the twelve-year old. I hear them coming before anything else, looking over my shoulder to see Tiffany barrelling towards me, here eyes filled with fire. She's still far away, but I take up my spear and get ready, feeling adrenaline course through my veins. The image of her slaughtering Jason comes unbidden to my mind, filling me with rage. I feel my blood pressure rising as she gets closer, a ringing noise filling my ears.

Tiffany slows down as she gets closer, approaching cautiously with her wicked curved sword raised and pointed at me. "Nikki!" she shouts. "Finally came to join the alliance, I see!"

I snort, gripping my spear harder and crouching closer to the ground. I'm the one with a ranged and close-range weapon, while her sword is limited in range. Plus she doesn't know about the knives strapped to my ankles and stomach.

"I'm afraid not," I respond coolly.

"But you're guarding the Cornucopia for me so nicely," she hisses, slowing to a stop a couple yards away from me. She starts to circle around me, and I can immediately tell what her game is: trap me against the Cornucopia and slice me apart. "But I'm afraid I can't accept your alliance. There's been too much animosity between us."

"And I wonder whose fault that is," I roll my eyes. I want to appear like the cool, unbothered one for the cameras, while Tiffany comes across as unhinged.

"We would have been allies from the start if you hadn't run off," she says, slowly getting closer to me like an animal cornering its prey. "Allied instead with that Peacekeeper and a little girl."

"I left your alliance because I knew none of you would last," I say, trying to sidestep her and get the Cornucopia behind her back instead. "And I was right, wasn't I? Here I am."

"And here I am," she snarls. I've succeeded in escaping from her trap, but she's not falling for it either. We stand on either side of the horn's mouth, sizing each other up.

"Here you are," I repeat. The sun is going down quickly. Apparently the Gamemakers want us to fight in the dim light of the sunset. A nice way to edit the scene without computers, I guess. "But not for long."

I run forward, holding my spear in the air and jumping up to throw it directly at her. She dodges of course, the sand billowing in the air where she skids over it. She returns with a slash of her sword that I barely duck to avoid, grabbing my spear. The curve of her sword really does give it an extra advantage, but I can tell the shape is unusual for her.

I hold up my spear with both hands to block another blow from her sword, the tip of it still threatening to touch my throat. I heave it away and hold the spear up over my shoulder, breathing heavily.

Tiffany Silk (18)- D1F

Nikki is pulling out the big guns for this fight, but I have the advantage. Rest and healthy meals for the entirety of my time here means that I'm stronger and more focused, while she's basically fighting for her life. I notice she doesn't have her trident either, making her even more vulnerable.

I feel a droplet of sweat trail down over my eye as we slowly circle around each other, like two predators stalking their prey. I see Nikki's crouching stance before she lunges, and I doge out of the way before she can nick me with the spearpoint. I jab at her with my sword, the sharp edge slicing her side. She pulls away with a yelp before I can get her again, the red blood soaking through her jacket. It's not a deep cut, not something that will even need treatment, but I smile to myself. I've rattled her, I can tell. She's angry that she's been injured, practically growling at me as we continue to circle each other.

Then she lunges again, this time throwing her spear at me, almost striking me in the leg. As I move out of the way, a knife comes out of nowhere, flying past my head. It nicks my ear, and I can feel blood trickling down the side of my head. Still, I feel my lips curl into a smile. She has nearly perfect aim with a trident, but other weapons are more difficult for her. The Four tributes are always so arrogant, thinking that because they have a fancy weapon choice they will always win against other Careers.

"Your parents won't help you now," I call over to her. "You might have been born into this, but I earned it myself, with my own sweat and blood. Hard work will always win over privilege."

"Is that so?" she pants, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "That must be why I got a higher training score than you."

I snort to myself. Of course I know why she got a higher training score; she's the daughter of two victors, who had a large chance of receiving tons of gifts from sponsors and having the supplies from the Career alliance. It didn't have anything to do with her skill at all. However, I don't dare say that out loud; I don't want to upset the Capitolites by taking the magic out of the secret training sessions and score-deciding process.

As Nikki slowly steps closer to me, another knife in hand as she tries to retrieve her spear, I suddenly get deja-vu. I remember my boyfriend Price and I engaging in a very similar battle exercise, where I had supposedly lost my weapon and was trying to get another one, or get my old one back, something like that. Price could have taken me out right then and there, but instead he kept me on my toes with light lunges and such until I was finally tired out, and all he had to do was get in a good swing of the sword but knock me off my feet.

"Sometimes I like to play with my food before I eat it," he had said as he helped me back up, his eyes sparkling as he smiled.

I feel myself grin as Nikki hesitantly approaches, and I slice at her with my sword. She dodges and ends up on her knees, but is up again in an instant. Her long braid swings behind her head as she dodges each of my light blows, managing to do my work for me. She pants heavily as she finally throws her knife at me, her aim impeccable but not quick enough, I lean backward to barely avoid it.

I grin at her as I stalk closer, holding my curved sword up high in triumph. The moonlight glints off the blade, the stars twinkling above us like Price's beautiful eyes. "Say hi to your brother, won't you?"

She lets out a shout and resists with the last of her strength, plummeting into me and grabbing me around the waist to bring us both to the ground. I spit out blood as she gets up and starts to run back to her spear, grabbing it and immediately getting into a fighting stance, just in time to block my sword's edge as I swing at her in fury. I had her! How could she have gotten away?
I spit blood into her face to try to blind her, but at that moment there is a horrible shriek that echoes off the mountains. We both instantly turn away from each other, staring off into the desert where the sound came from. The rest of the arena is deadly silent as the sound happens again, this time accompanied by a shadowy, disturbing figure that appears on the horizon, quickly floating past us.

I hear myself scream as the creature gets closer, even though it pays us no mind. I hear a clatter and look over to see that Nikki has already run off, her silhouette disappearing in the opposite direction. The creature passes the Cornucopia and looks me once before continuing on its path at an inhuman speed. All thoughts of the Games, Nikki, or anything else leave my mind as I run for my life, taking after Nikki and fleeing away from the golden horn.

Sebastian "Seb" Cassara (18)- D7M

I crawl on top of Filly, punching her across the face with all the strength I can muster, which isn't very much. Her survival instincts kick in as she knees me in the stomach and tries to jam the knife into my stomach, but I grab her wrist and keep the blade at bay, watching as it edges every nearer to me. She finally gets her other arm out from underneath herself and slaps me, then tries to stick me again with the knife, though I thankfully move out of the way just in time.

Panting, I roll over and stand up, my legs shaking. This didn't go exactly as planned, but she's definitely rattled. She roars in fury as she advances on me, swinging the knife in front of her as she spits blood out of her mouth. "You tried to kill me? After I talked to you about your parents?!"

"I was just trying to get away," I say in a small voice. "Not kill you."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" She tries to grab my sleeve and pull me back to the ground. I flinch away from her, figuring it's now or never to try to get away, but she grabs me harshly and pulls me down to the ground. I elbow her in the stomach unexpectedly, making her shout in pain and slap me again across the face, forcing my shoulders down. She backs away slowly, pointing her knife at me.

"Try any of that again and I won't be so merciful. It's your life that it wants, but maybe you could lose a finger or two in the meantime."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She turns around at the sound of a familiar voice. It's Tag, standing there shrouded in darkness, a little crossbow poised to shoot. I cry out in relief.

Filly turns back to look at me again. "You lied to me about having an ally."

"Of course I did," I say matter-of-factly.

"You had no reason to lie." She sounds genuinely puzzled, not even frightened.

"And you had no reason to keep me hostage," I snarl, trying to stand up again.

She growls and advances toward me again, knife in hand.

"Stop!" I hear Tag yell. Her face is stained with her own blood, but the fury in her eyes is unmistakable. She comes closer and suddenly it's not the girl from Ten who's trying to kill me, it's the shadowy figure of someone else who is wielding a kitchen knife.

As she steps closer, her face is briefly illuminated by the moonlight, and I swear I could see my own features in hers. Blood spurts out from her chest, and we both look down to see a tiny arrow point sticking out of her body. She coughs blood into my face, then falls to the ground, slowly bleeding into the sand.

Tag steps to my side with a grim expression. "I'm sorry, Seb. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"It wasn't your fault," I say. Filly is heaving in air at our feet, choking on her own blood. I kneel down beside her and gently place a hand on her back, wondering how long it will take for her to die. Tag leans down and picks up her knife, indifferently inspecting it and placing it in his boot alongside the other one.

"Mother?" Filly asks, blood bubbling out of her mouth.

Then I hear Tag gasp. "What is that?!"

I look up and see a horrific sight: a shadowy figure with a humanoid form, moving closer to us. Tag grabs my arm and pulls me away from Filly as it kneels down beside Filly and touches her. Filly makes a small laughing sound, not sounding frightened at all, as Tag tries to get me to run with him. I can't move very fast, but we need to get away before the creature turns its attention to us.

The cannon goes off as we run in the opposite direction.

Hello everyone! Finally an update that's on time. This chapter, we lost Filly.

5th) Filly Marcoffe (18)- D10F- created by OChirpO. Killed by Spool. Filly was an interesting character that I was attracted to right from the start, namely because her perspective on things was so different than most. Even as she lost her sanity, I don't think she ever lost what really made her stand out. She's been through a lot in her life and in the Games, but now she finally gets to rest. I'll certainly miss writing her as a character, and her family in District Ten will miss her as well.

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for more.