A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

You said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war
If you can tell me something worth fighting for.

Melinoe Casra, 16, District Eight

"No, no. It's okay," I coo. In my arms, Colm has begun to fuss again for very likely the twelfth time tonight. My muscles already ache from the constant awakenings. It seems like every time I am just about to drop off into a deep sleep I feel Colm thrashing beside me.

"Why aren't you tired," I sigh, rocking him back and forth with the forest sounds seeming to magnify time a thousand around us. I flinch as I shift and break a twig with the sole of my boot. The migraines have gotten worse than the dull ache I am used to, sleep always seems to have this effect on them. Colm yawns and I can't help but smile as he closes his eyes and snuggles further into my chest.

"Is he up again?" Jetta whispers groggily from a couple feet away. Livena is wrapped in one of the emergency blankets and sleeping soundly between Jetta's arms. I can't help but feel like I was given a raw deal when Colm was assigned to me.

I nod before realizing that her eyes are still closed and she won't be able to see me. "Yes, he seems alright now though. At least I think so."

I grimace as Colm's eyes flash open once again. It's like he is having nightmares every time he closes his eyes. I have to feel horrible for the little guy when his lips tremble and tears begin to leak from between his eyelashes. I wish I knew how to make him sleep, for his sake and for my own.

"Here, give him to me." Jetta sits up and shifts Livena carefully off of her as to not wake her. I hand Colm, still wrapped tightly in the second blanket, to her and she yawns as she begins bouncing him in her arms.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong," I admit. "He's just been so unhappy. I think he's having bad dreams."

"Could you really blame him if he were?" she asks and for the first time tonight I can see the same exhaustion I feel in her eyes. I guess none of us really got any sleep tonight.

"He's two," I reason. "He's can't know what's going on. At least not well enough to be having nightmares about it."

"Sometimes kids just know," she says a-matter-a-factly. "Maybe he's hungry, did you try feeding him?"

"I gave him a couple pieces of fruit earlier, but really we don't have much to give."

"Later we will have to find more then," she decides as another yawn shakes her body. I feel terrible for keeping her up. Colm is supposed to be my problem, not hers.

"Well what can we do until then? He doesn't seem like he is going to cooperate anytime soon, though."

She looks down at him and sighs. "He'll have to tire out eventually."

"I guess," I whisper, but giving in and waiting him out doesn't seem like a very inviting option right now.

"It will be morning soon," she says. "Have you slept at all?"

"Not more than an hour or so," I say truthfully.

"Here," she says, getting up and motioning for me to lie down beside Livena as she positions herself against a tree trunk. "Keep her warm. She's been shivering all night. I'll wake you up in a couple hours and we can decide what to do next."

I am far too exhausted o argue so I do as she says, wrapping my arms around Livena and bringing my knees up to create a little nest for her. Sure enough, I can feel her tiny body shaking the very second we make contact. I fasten the blanket more snugly around her and do my best to block out the noise around me until daylight.

Violan Jadeth, 18, District Eight

I thrash awake at the crackling of speakers. I am upright in a matter of seconds, the noise feeling so loud and sudden that I swear it must have come from within my own mind.

It takes a couple more seconds before a voice comes back over the loudspeaker. "Attention tributes, if I could have your attention. First and foremost I would like to congratulate all of you on making it this far. All who are watching are incredibly proud of your bravery and courage."

I fall back down onto the grass, staring up at the top of grass stalks that cut the sky into pieces. If this is what they woke us up for they all need to go find something a whole lot more productive to do with their time. Like maybe jumping into a pit of venomous spiders. I hardly got any sleep at all last night, my main focus being on finding a place far enough away from the Cornucopia to spend the night. Was it too much for me to expect a few more hors rest before this rude awakening?

"Secondly, I would like to remind many of you of a rule you were told of before the Games began."

I groan, this definitely does not sound like good news. Not that I really expected to be woken up in the middle of the Hunger Games to be told that we had each won a million dollars.

"The rules state clearly that in the case of the death of an infant, said tribute's watcher will be allowed to continue the Games alone." There's a long pause. "However, each watcher must first retrieve their tribute for this rule to come into effect."

I can't help myself, I am on my feet and starring daggers up to the sky before the man even finishes. "Where the hell did this rule come from?!"

"At the end of this day, at sunset, any tributes remaining in the tubes will be disposed of. And, since the former rule would not yet be in effect for said tributes, their watchers will be considered ineligible to continue on."

They don't even have to expand on this point. The fact is, if you don't get your kid back from the Cornucopia by sunset both of you are as good as dead. I huff out a long string of swears. How could I forget the stupid kid?

I run my hands down my face in defeat. What other choice do I have but to undo everything I walked far into the night for and return to the Cornucopia? I forgot about the stupid kid and the stupid rule that the stupid Capitol made. Was this their plan all along? No, of course not. The Gamemakers never do anything just to simply inconvenience the tributes. There's got to e a deeper reason.

Of course. I slap myself, it's so obvious.

Bloodbath part two. That's what the Capitol is hoping for. My throat feels as dry as the dirt under my feet. And I'm heading right into the middle of it to save a stupid kid.

Erin Callahan, 17, District Nine

"Are you awake yet?" I hear Amita's gentle voice whisper along with the tapping on my shoulder. I groan and turn away from her voice. As I turn, the full extent of the soreness that has set in from yesterday hits me and I groan even louder. I can hear shuffling around me and then the tapping reappears on my arm, harder this time. I open my eyes.

"She's up, Amita," Briar says as I focus my eyes to the bright light darting through the trees.

Amita gives a slight giggle and the pressure on my arm stops finally. "Oops, sorry."

I sit up and rub my hand across the back of my neck. I cannot remember a time when I have felt this sore in my entire life. I feel like I have been tossed through the mill a couple thousand times and then given a double shift in the fields. My muscles all cry out in synchronized agony with every movement.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," I hear Ashidel chuckle from a few feet away. His eyes are framed by puffy, purplish skin and his short hair sticks up on one side from how he slept. I shoot him a look but say nothing in response. It looks like we both had a rough night's sleep.

"I'm surprised the announcement didn't wake you. You really can sleep through anything, you know that?" Briar notes, completely unaware of the tension emanating between Ashidel and I.

This news wakes me up a bit more. "What announcement?"

"One of the Capitol men, I think the same one as was on television," Amita responds first, offering up quite a useless statement. No one snaps at her, though, no matter how tired we are. It would be the equivalent of kicking a chipmunk, it's just simply not done.

"What was it about?" I urge, directing my eyes at Briar in hopes that she will actually tell me something about what is going on.

She takes the hint, speaking before anyone else can have the chance to. "Long story short, we have to go back to the Cornucopia."

"Why?" I ask, the question catching in my throat.

The Cornucopia is very likely the last place I would like to be right now. I just know that the guilt will thicken enough to drown me if I return there or even get anywhere close. It became manageable when I was able to think about other things, like finding Amita and Ashidel yesterday. Even night brought too much exhaustion to think about him much.

"Only you picked up your kid," she answers sheepishly.

I had basically forgotten about little Tread, but as his mention my eyes find him still sleeping soundly at my hip. He hasn't appeared to move at all from where I left him, tucked into my backpack to stay warm for the night.

I am the first to stand up and make my way towards Tread. When no one gets up, I call over my shoulder. "Not to be rude, but I can't imagine the Capitol will be too keen on waiting long if they went to the trouble of announcing it."

Amita and Briar scramble to their feet and join me in collecting our meger belongings. Before long, with little help from Ashidel might I add, we are on our way through the forest with Ashidel and Amita trailing behind Briar and I.

As we walk in silence it seems impossible to stop my mind from wandering. It takes a great amount of effort to bring myself back from the space between the tubes where I realized how very powerful fear could be. With his face, the little one with big eyes and shaggy hair, burned in my mind I can't help but ask my question aloud. "Do you remember the District Three boy?"

"The little one? Yeah I think so."

"Do you remember his name?"

She ponders for a moment before answering. "Dallon? That was it I think. Why?"

Dallon.

Cicero Lovett, 17, Capitol

Aquila has given us each a task in order to prepare for the next battle. The announcement this morning was clear, every tribute that had not already done so would have to collect their assigned child before sunset tonight. That means that before then, us Careers will have another chance to pick off the seven who would have to come. Either we keep them away from the tubes or we kill them ourselves, either way the numbers could be down seven by nigh fall.

The tubes containing the little kids are set up in a way that for a tribute to enter the area, they must do so through one of eight entrances. There are five of us so Aquila, Amstel, and Kilin are each to guard two entrances while Kiera and I take one each.

The five of us are geared up from head to toe with every weapon we could hold without being slowed down. And with the little ones left behind in the Cornucopia inside of a makeshift play pen, it looks like we are ready to see at least seven new faces in the sky tonight.

It's a real shame I don't plan on doing a damn thing to help with Aquila's little plan now isn't it?

I had several reservations from the very beginning about joining with these people. What happened yesterday did nothing, absolutely nothing, to disprove any of these notions.

Career tributes are notoriously ruthless and I very much understand that. But what I witnessed there yesterday was sheer cowardice. I house the least resentment, in fact, for Aquila whom held the weapon. The opposition to Arissa's early execution was clear and yet not one word was spoken against it. I can handle the anger about what Aquila did, not to say that I do not hold enough loathing towards her to ram that measly weapon straight through her neck. But not even my stony expression can hide the disgust I feel to be in the presence of such spineless beings.

"Hey," I hear a whispered voice from behind me, nearly causing me to jump in surprise. "Over here."

I look in the direction the voice seems to be coming from and it doesn't take me long to spot Kiera sitting between the hedges. "What are you doing away from your post?"

"What are you doing letting someone sneak up on you?" She fires back with the raise of an eyebrow.

I stand there and stare at her, nothing more to say. I, of course, want to ask more but it usually happens that the less one asks the more one will be able to find out. Clearly she wants to talk and I am going to let her.

She looks back at me for a while and then sighs. In that one movement her whole body seems to shift from Career girl into a single moment of vulnerability. I can't help but take a step closer to her.

"I have a problem," she begins, dropping her voice. "And I think you might have the same problem."

"I can't say I know what you mean."

"Aquila, she's out of control," she whispers and I have no choice but to lean in further so that I can hear her. "She is ruining everything we're supposed to be about."

Her words spit venom and I can see that in her eyes, but I won't give up my thoughts just yet. "I thought quite the opposite, really."

"The Career Pack is courageous, strong, but we're not like this. We don't kill our own until there is no other choice." By this point she is fuming, a fire of anger very similar to the one I can feel in the pit of my stomach. "I can't stay here with that. I thought maybe you felt the same way."

For the first time in my life I don't think before I speak. I don't overanalyze her motives or my own and I don't choose my words carefully. I simply stand and take one quick glance around to ensure no one is watching us. "Let's go."

Aquila Titurius, 18, District One

I keep my eyes trained on my surroundings, looking for any sign of the other tributes. This is it, right here and right now, a second chance at making a huge impact on the course of the Games. This could mean the world for my alliance. Another thing to pull us together into the strongest Career Pack that the Hunger Games has ever seen. Another thing to separate ourselves from the people that we must take out.

That is how I plan on playing this. All of us against all of them. The five of us- myself, Kilin, Amstel, Kiera, and Cicero- against the twelve of them that remain. It was never part of the plan to get rid of one of my own so soon, or at all before the final six, but she forced my hand. I have no regrets about taking out Arissa. She was never part of the initial plan anyways.

I shake my head to clear it. Now is not the time to consider strategy, that time is long gone. My plan is solidified and has been since even before the Reapings began. Thus far it has gone off without a hitch, but now is not the time to be reflecting on my early successes. Right now I need to focus on the task at hand just as the rest of my alliance is hopefully doing.

That's when I hear it, the footsteps I mean. My initial reaction is one of confusion, wondering who would be walking around when I had given them strict instructions to remain undetected not but an hour ago. I search around for any sign of movement, listening carefully for a vague idea of which direction the sound came from.

I mouth a curse when I realize the sound if coming from within the tubes. Whether it's an outside tribute that has gotten in or one of my alliance that is wandering outside of their domain, none of it is allowed to happen. Either way someone on my team messed up, and someone needs to own up to that. I hoped that Arissa would teach them to stay in line so my hand wouldn't be forced again. I guess that is out the door now.

I stand quickly from my squatting position camouflaged in tree branches. My legs protest the sudden movement and for a few seconds I can't even walk they are so shaky. Then I am running, pulling the two knives out of my sleeves as I do. I hear Kilin yell at me and then he is up as well, oddly enough I guess he didn't hear the steps in the tubes but saw me moving immediately. I mentally note to bring that up later.

With Kilin quick to catch up to me, I enter the tubes at the closest entrance just in the nick of time to see a trail of curly brown hair round a corner. I curse under my breathe again and take chase, following behind her and gaining ground quickly. They exit the tubes before I am ten feet behind them and I count three of them as they disappear into the forest. The District Five girl is easily placed by her frizzy mane and I am able to make a good guess that it's the District Seven pair that she is trailing behind.

"Shit, how'd they get in?" Kilin says between heavy breathes when he catches up to me.

"Someone's not watching," I say with clenched teeth. "Three out of seven got away without a scratch, it's disgraceful."

Amstel is running up to us from his place and as he gets closer I notice a long, bloody cut on his forehead. I let my eyes do the questioning as he collapses in front of us, bringing his sleeve up every couple seconds to wipe away the blood that's flowing towards his eyes. "They're gone, Kiera and Cicero."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

"They told me to tell you, um," he begins and then stops, biting his lip as if unsure whether to continue. When he sees the look I give him he does. "To have fun..."

Valerian Eldridge, 18, District Eleven

"Are you okay?" I ask her again and she nods.

"I'm fine as always, just try and find them quick."

I nod and go back to looking through the tubes. I had hoped that both of our kids would be in the first lineup but no such luck I guess. None of the names looks familiar to me, but at least there looks to be two names on each sign. That must mean my name will be on one of these tubes and that will be my assigned kid. I keep looking, wondering for a while why some of the tubes are closed off with a metal lining.

"I found him," she exclaims from behind me before shuffling off towards the right. I immediately feel sick, not being able to see her anymore. I hate that. I want her to always be right beside me so I can know exactly what she's doing. I can't protect her if she's off somewhere on her own. I abandon my own search for my kid and go in the direction she went.

"Fleur?" I whisper and there's no answer. I feel like my heart is racing a mile a minute and my eyes are too blurry now to read the signs even if I was still looking for mine.

"I found them both," she says calmly and I almost cry out in relief. She's okay, she's still okay. I haven't failed her and she found the kids. We can get out of here and I can go back to finding somewhere to tuck her away until the Games are over and we can get out.

I am smiling like an idiot and I don't even care, I take her hand in mine and follow her to my tube. She leaves me there as she goes a few places down to gather hers. Keeping her steady in the corner of my vision, I can now concentrate on figuring out how to get this thing out of here.

I see Fleur place her hand on something in front of her tube and I try the same. Almost instantly the glass lifts and I finally notice the little eyes staring up at me. His red hair and bright blue eyes stand out against the grey lining at the bottom of the tube and I kind of smile. He's kind of cute I guess.

"Are you ready to go now?" I say as I lift the kid out and spin around to where she was. Except she isn't there anymore. A bubble of panic swells up in the pit of my stomach until I see her again, almost directly behind me. Her wide eyes speak volumes and I turn back around to see that we're no longer alone in this place.

The District Eight male eyes us both for a moment before his eyes train on Fleur. In that instant, heat flashes on my face and I throw the kid on the ground by my feet before rushing at Eight. He is easily surprised and my lunge takes him to the ground with my body on top of him. Fleur screams behind me but I hardly take notice, I am only protecting her she has nothing to fear anymore.

I stop his struggles with a well placed stab of my knife and I get up calmly, starting towards Fleur with my arms open wide to hug her. I want to prove to her now more so than ever before that I will protect her with my life. Anyone who gets even remotely close to her is as good as dead.

"Run, Valerian!" She shrieks and scoops up her kid, hugging him tightly to her chest as she takes off around the corner. I remember the redhead kid and start back for him but I hardly get that far before a dagger stops me. I see it coming as if it's in slow motion and yet I have no hope of stopping it. Fae, please let Fae get away. Please let her be okay.

Arden Quaid, 16, District Five

Goran looks utterly lost, cradling the little blonde girl as far away from his body as possible. It's almost comedic, how awkward he is with her as if she had some kind of contagious infection. Not that I blame him much at all for not feeling very paternal towards her, Avalyn hasn't stopped crying since we grabbed her at the Bloodbath.

"I think you're doing it wrong," I smile, watching him struggle with her.

He looks hopeless, it'd almost be funny if it wasn't for the fact that her incessant crying was making it near impossible to camouflage ourselves. If anyone came anywhere near where we are now, we'd be as good as found. "Well I don't know what to do?"

"I can see that."

He shoots me a glare but I know he doesn't mean it. I tease him in good humor and I know he knows it. "Man, it's so not fair. He doesn't even do anything but she acts like she's been possessed by some crying demon."

I look down at Taitus who sits calmly in my lap. It's true, he hardly does anything at all besides eat and sleep and the only time he cries is when I put him down. Oddly enough Avalyn only cries when Goran holds her, but if he puts her down even for a moment she scampers off to Panem knows where. We both decided it's better to risk being detected through her crying than to lose her altogether. We don't know the kid but she's way too young to leave to her own devices. Plus, neither of us feel like chasing after her to find her.

"Did you hear that?" Goran says, glancing around the clearing. I follow his eyes and try to listen but I hear nothing.

"Nope, can't say I do?"

"Something's talking," he says with an uneasy frown.

"What's it saying?" I ask, deciding to humor him even if he is just going stir crazy from staying in one place so long.

"I don't know, it's too low. Like it's whispering."

"Well there's no one else here, and I'm not talking. Taitus, buddy, are you trying to tell me something?" I direct the question down at him but the curly-haired toddler only looks up at me with the same big-eyed look he always has. "Nope, it's not him either."

"This isn't funny," Goran scolds me, but his eyes are still dancing around and it's just too hard to take him seriously when he's implying that the trees are talking to him.

"I know, I know," I say, my lips just barely holding back a laugh. "The trees are talking to you, just like in The Whispering Woods."

"The...the what?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard that story!" I say in disbelief. When he just continues to stare at me blankly I bring my hand up to my forehead. "Must not have gotten to District Nine, I guess. It's a story about a magic forest, with trees that could whisper to anyone that entered it."

"That's it? Doesn't sound like a great story."

"It was, I used to make my mom tell me it every night before bed when I was little. Two brothers went into the forest one day and the trees whispered to the youngest one, telling him when any danger was close so they could avoid it. Are the trees telling you where the big bad wolf if hiding?"

"No," he says, straightening and suddenly avoiding my eyes. "That's ridiculous."

Violan Jadeth, District Eight + Tec, District Three

Valerian Eldridge, District Eleven + Casian, District Four

The artist theme for this story will be Coldplay.

Song: A Rush of Blood to the Head

The blog for this story can be found on my profile. Deaths will be notified here.

I am really sorry to those submitters that have lost their tributes. You all knew when you sent these beautiful characters in to me that they had a very slim chance of being the one to win. Nevertheless, I hope there are no hard feelings and I hope you will continue to read on to see where the story goes. Anyway, thank you for submitting and again, all decisions on deaths are very hard for me. Thanks again for your tribute.

Sorry Kitty and Immy, both of them were strong characters but I guess both of their plots just ran out. I really just didn't have anywhere to go with Violan being on his own and I see Fleur developing further without her bodyguard there.

A couple of questions will be asked at the end of each chapter, it would be great if you would answer them along with a general review of the chapter's writing. Much appreciated!

What predictions do you have for the arena so far?

Any thoughts on what is happening with Arden and Goran?

This took a while but the good news is that I am now on summer vacation with nothing better to do most days than sit at my computer and write. Hopefully updates will go a bit more smoothly, but I am not going to promise that.

Also for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I have started another SYOT called Pitfalls and I am now accepting submissions until July 18th! I hope all of you will consider submitting to it!