Nina Ricci's POV:

I'm sitting on my couch; eyes closed my head in my hands. I've been in this position for hours now, all night even, ever since I'd run home after the bomb.

The bomb I planted.

My breathing is deep and heavy and I feel light headed and woozy but manage to stay conscious with the few thoughts running through my head, scaring me into staying conscious.

They will find me of course they will, they'll have the best of the best out looking for me. And of course the moment they find me I'll be dead.

I think about contacting Nox but I wouldn't know what to say, how to tell her what needs to be said without alerting anyone who may be listening into mine or her calls.

I wonder if she died, the president, I saw the stage collapse in a cloud of dust and rubble, but was too busy running after that. At least I didn't look suspicious in my running, everyone was moving as fast as they could away from the scene of the explosion. No-one wanted to get caught up in any secondary explosions, we all just wanted to get home and feel safe again.

Yes that's right I realise, nothing I did after the bomb was suspicious at all. There must be days worth of video footage of the backstreets around the presidents stands for the peacekeepers and detectives to go through. And who would really be watching me, stupid old disgraced Nina Ricci, there must be loads of people out there who would also wish our glorious president harm. From her refusal to take a husband to continue her family line to her total disregard for some of her Father and Grandfathers most trusted advisors. She's made quite a few enemies if rumours are to be believed.

Feeling slightly more at ease with that thought after a night of panicking over all the suspicious things I've done over the last twenty four hours. I slowly raise my head towards my TV screen and grab for the remote and turn it on. I need to know if she survived, I need to know if I really was the one who killed our president.

"The parents of Orcus Waves released a statement in the early hours of this morning thanking people for their support at this difficult time and calling their son a 'lively and happy young man'"

There is an image of a laughing young boy on the screen; he's wearing bright green trousers and a t-shirt bearing the image of a young Roman Pike in his victor's crown. He looks to be about ten years old, for a moment it doesn't click why he is on the screen not the president but as the image cuts to the scene outside the centre, where rubble is being cleared, I realise.

That boy is dead.

That boy is dead because of me.

He was so young.

I killed him.

The clock in the corner of the screen tells me it's nine am; I've been awake for nearly twenty four hours now and am struggling to stay conscious.

The announcer on the news tells me that the president is still 'recovering' and with a deep breath of relief I fall asleep where I sit.

Tek Kilo's POV:

It seems ridiculous to me that they are still putting us through the torture of training sessions while outside there is a man hunt going on.

But here I am sitting in a corner of the training hall, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the other tributes as they begin to mingle and carefully try to start up alliances. Take the careers for instance, in the few times I've dared to peek up at them they've been standing quietly taking it in turns to try out the various weapons the Capitol has kindly provided us with to practice against one of the capitol trainers or the terrifying dummies. Each of them silently judging the rest.

I know where Mac is too, he's over with the pile of electric components that they probably only leave out to keep us District Three tributes happy. I'd probably be over there myself if he wasn't. He did promise not to kill me but I was still scared of him. Lanni would tell me I'm being stupid for avoiding training because I'm scared of the other tributes but it all seems pointless to me anyway. I'm going to die alone in the arena.

"Oy what you doing hiding over there" I pull myself into a tight ball as another tribute walks over towards me. I don't want to deal with people right now, please leave me alone I internally beg the girl. "You know you won't learn anything new hidden in that corner"

"I'm fine thanks" I whisper and after a minute or two of silence I decide she must be gone and un-curl myself from my ball. She's still there though, stood studying me.

"How old are you?" she asks

"Sixteen?"

She laughs "You're more of a baby than my little sister and she's ten" the girl tells me "Names Ari by the way District Nine, I'm thirteen."

"Tek, Three and no thank you"

"No thank you to what?"

"To your next question, I'm not looking for allies right now"

"Maybe I don't want an ally either" she replies "Maybe you just look smart and I thought I could pick your brain for some hints before the games and kill you later."

"Please go away" I whisper

"Fine" she sighs "See you later bloodbath" she skips away from me and I watch her for a moment, she's stupid I decide, young and stupid. Probably thinks she can win this thing, the sound of a career beheading a training dummy shock waves through the hall catching all of our attention. She'll never win, I'll never win, Mac will never win, like last year and like nearly every other year one of those Six will win and it sucks.

Cliona Irvette's POV:

I cheer and applaud as Hellios beheads that dumb training dummy with one swoop of his sword, these things are the real deal. Much better than the ones back home in that they have a more realistic thickness, if Hellios had just swung that sword at a real neck, the results would have been nearly identical.

"I just wish I had this cast off" Four buzzes in my ear for the fifteenth time that morning "Then I could show you what I can do with a sword"

"Shut up" I snap "or I'll break more than just that arm of yours once we get into the arena."

"Cliona" Hellios says, glaring at me begging me to 'play nice', those were the last words he'd said to me that morning before we'd stepped from the elevator and had to go back to pretending we were just cousins and not lovers. I glare back at him, daring him to say something else, he knows I'm the one who's going to win this thing and get home to my siblings, he's just here to help me win.

"Hey Lysandra, you tried the archery yet?" Olivia asks and Four looks at her dumbfounded.

"Of course I haven't, not with my arm" she says and I hold in the urge to punch her.

Olivia laughs "I learnt to do it with a broken arm two years ago" she says "come on I'll show you"

The two of them disappear off and I watch them carefully, I may be stronger and more skilled than the two of them put together but allies mean everything in the arena and even within the careers I know I'll have to trust Hellios to have my back.

"You need to be nicer to them cousin" he says placing the sword back on the rack "They could be the difference between life and death in there"

"As I keep saying, we don't need them" I reply "Let's just do this with the two of us; we can get the sponsors to keep us well supplied."

He shakes his head "No, that isn't how the game is played; it's a risky and stupid move. Just ignore the girls; I can sweet talk them if you focus on the other boys"

I shrug my shoulders "Fine" I say "I was meaning to have a little tet-a-tet with those two later anyway, find out what makes them tick."

"Good. Report back to me tonight?"

"Yes Sir" I reply with a little salute, he shakes his head as he turns away to return his sword before looking over to where Four and Olivia had gone.

"Play nice" he repeats as he runs over to join them. I turn and look at the two boys, Cy and Cassius. Cassius watches as Cy throws knives towards holographic figures that run around a large open space in front of them. His aim is sloppy and his stance is too stiff.

"Good job" I say as I approach them and Cy looks over.

"What do you want?" he asks me.

"Just socialising" I reply "We are to be allies after all"

"I suppose so" Cy says as he throws another knife, I must be getting to him already as he misses completely. Perfect.

Sussex Nuehern's POV:

The Silent Giant, I've heard them calling me that already, as they look over whispering as they watch me lift weights around. It's all I can really think to do as Corona told me to hide my talent till the private sessions "whatever it may be" she had added dismissively.

She'd then processed to take Ethel aside and speak to her for the rest of the evening, strategising without me. Ethel talks a lot, she's told me several times how she knows the silence is an act and how I'll have to say something eventually, Corona seems to agree.

My actual mentor Talon seems to get me though, we spent yesterday evening silently watching the two girls chatter amongst themselves, I figure Ethel must be pretty rich to be able to train for the games. As far as I knew we didn't even have a training centre in Ten.

Once we got down to the Capitol training centre though at least she had the politeness to leave me alone, I watched her hover around the careers for a moment before heading off on her own. She's over by the girl from Eleven now and the two of them are building fires and making small talk.

"You're observant aren't you?" a voice says beside me, it's got a slurred unsure sound like the speaker was drunk or just couldn't control their own voice. I look around to see the boy from Six looking up at me, "Names Axel" he says "You?"

I don't reply.

"You're from Eleven right?" he asks and I don't respond though he's wrong. I'm too busy watching his mouth and wondering why his speech sounds so strange "You'll know about plants and stuff, all I know is car parts". He looks at me as I hold up ten fingers and twist to show him the patch on my arm with my district seal. He frowns and looks around the room and I point over to where I can see the boy from Eleven running quickly over an assault course before tumbling to the floor from a high up point.

He smiles and points at his ears "I'm supposed to be deaf not blind" he says with a coughing sound that I presume to be a laugh. I nod understanding him better now, he's probably one of the few people here who doesn't mind that I won't talk back to him.

I turn to go back to my weight lifting, assuming he's done talking to me "oy" he says "I'm not done with you." I turn back to face him.

"Ten" he says "Do you kill animals?" I nod and he smiles "Welcome to the silent alliance" he says.

Hugh Kratis' POV:

I can't stop watching Demi although I should really be focussing on how to make the snare trap that I'm being shown by the capitol trainer. I just can't figure Demi out through she's here pretending to be her sister, not out of love or loyalty but some messed up suicidal mission to destroy her sisters life. To destroy her sisters life by forcing her to be herself while she dies in her sisters place. It's messed up.

I try to imagine hating myself that much, or thinking that my own life was that worthless that to live it would be a punishment worse than death. Yet to be brave enough to take a place in the games to fight in the games. Yes I think she's planning to fight, right now she's focussing on another tribute training with a sword and I can tell she's trying to stay friendly with some of the other females probably scoping out Allies.

"You're not listening" the trainer snaps at me whacking me on the head with a length of rope.

"Ouch" I cry "I am too" I'm usually really attentive in school, I'm not used to being scolded by teachers, this capitol woman isn't like my usual teachers though, she has a mean snarl on her face and seems excited at the prospect of scolding me.

"What knot is this then" she cries and I notice we've gained a small audience a couple of the careers and other various close by tributes are watching me, seeing what my next move will be. I start to shake and slowly begin to cry, it comes on quickly and before I know it I'm sobbing uncontrollably. My trainer laughs and drops the rope before walking away, shaking her head, the audience also disappear not wanting to watch me cry.

I sit on the floor and sob for a bit longer before with one final sniff I wipe my eyes look around the room again. Everyone has forgotten I exist, just as I thought they would. No one wants to think of tears right now or they would probably just fall into a ball of emotion themselves.

Turning back to the room, I decide to move away from the knot tying station and realising that their seems to be at least one tribute on each of the survival stations I decide to go join the lone boy on the electrics station. He's from three and I know that District Three and Five usually have a good record or alliances. So I walk slowly over to him and watch as he works, he lets me for a minute as he focuses on his creation before looking up.

"You're kind of distracting me kid" he says.

"Yeah I must be" I reply "You've installed the solar charger the wrong way round, it's trying to suck energy from the gun your making"

"How did you know what it was?" he asks

"Because what else would it be" I reply, he looks up at me and then back down at the solar panel as he begins to switch some wire around.

"Why you playing dumb kid?" he asks "You want a target on your back"

"They'll all forget me soon" I reply "No-one wants to think of the kid that cries all the time, makes them sad"

"That's kinda clever" he replies as I hear the pile of junk in his hands whirs into life.

"You know Three and Five have historically allied in the games" I say jumping straight to my point "Brains beating brawn and all that"

"I'm not after allies" I'm told "Just someone to morn at the end of the day"

"I know, but if it'll help us survive longer"

"What's the point though, we could come twenty third and twenty second or third and second and we'd still be dead at the end of the day"

"But one of us could win"

"You're persistent aren't you. Look give me a couple of days to think it through, I'll let you know before the interviews okay?"

"Okay." I nod and leave him alone, not wanting to appear desperate. It really does take a strong person to turn down an ally, to turn down a promise of companionship and support in the arena takes a lot of guts or maybe just insanity.

A/N: Oft, this has took so long to write, no real reason, I've been plugging away at it in the few free half hours I have at the moment. No promises for a date for the next chapter but I do promise I will finish this story (eventually).