Sorry if the chapters aren't as good as they used to be. With school work and all that, I haven't had as much time to write as i used to. But i still hope you guys enjoy!

Kodi Nyquist

It was cold that night. Up in the pines, the wind flowed swiftly, blanketing every branch with its cold breath. And it made sure it didn't spare us.

I actually didn't realize how high we were until the middle of the night. It was a good thing our belts held, because if it didn't, we would have definitely been on our way down the hard way. If we didn't manage to kill ourselves by cracking our skull open, then the noise would have attracted anyone around us to finish us off.

Selene and I were huddled together for warmth, yet it was difficult because finding a branch big enough for the both of us wasn't an easy challenge.

I had an almost restless night. If the wind didn't keep me up, then my nightmares did. Probably only got two hours of complete sleep. And surprisingly, despite being next to my fidgeting and twitching, Lynn...wait, Selene, slept like a baby. Like…like a baby…

The boy and his sister, now teenagers, could only watch as mother lay in the hospital bed, screaming in agony. Her legs were spread, and by the opening was the nurse, encouraging their mother. After many minutes of contractions and pain, the nurse smiled happily. In her arms was a baby, no bigger than 6 pounds. When the nurse said it was a boy, the one in the beanie gave a small chuckle while the sister heaved a sigh. But the young man's smiles soon turned to anguish, when he saw the blood spreading on his mother's bed sheet. The blood…

"Wake up, Kodi. Wake up!"

I shoot up to see Lynn…no Selene staring down at me, her hand placed on my chest. "You were crying in your sleep, Kodi. I…I didn't know what to do. Are you okay?"

I try to take a deep breath to slow down my racing heart, and lie, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine."

She doesn't look like she believes me, and I am proven correct when she asks, "You were screaming 'Blood', Kodi. I don't think that's exactly good. I thought you'd wake up the whole arena"

"No, really, I'm…I'm fine," I reply. The two of us then unbuckle our belts and slide down the tree, holding our packs on our backs. We trudged through the woods, looking for edible plants and animals. Lynn…Selene is great with her javelin. She is able to spear three wild geese, which we attach to our belts.

Along the way, Selene questions, "Who's Leo?" I am actually caught off guard by this question, even though I should have expected it when she talked about the blood earlier. But this girl was my teammate, and I knew I shouldn't be keeping any secrets. So I draw in a deep breath, and begin with, "Leo is my baby brother. Right now he's two. And…I love him. A lot.

"He sounds cute," Selene remarks, her dimples showing in her smile.

"Yeah, well we call him the Miracle Kid," I say, readjusting my bracelet. Selene asks, "Why?"

I wish she hadn't asked that. Because memories once again began to flood my head. Leo. My little brother. The one who'd never see his father. The one who, at just 5 months, almost died.

The teenaged boy with the beanie was sprinting down the road at high speeds. In his arms he cradled a delicate bundle of flesh. But the baby in his arms was struggling to breathe. The boy's face was drawn in urgency. Inside, there was nothing but fear. But the boy could not look down. Because he had already seen it once. The thin trail of blood, running down his baby brother's smooth cheeks…

I clasped my head, clenching my teeth in agony. No more….please, I thought. But I fell to my knees, spilling the gooses wrapped around my belt. Voices kept running through my mind. My baby brother…my little sister.

"I'm older than you by a full minute!"
"You know how much I hate it when you say that, Kodi! It doesn't matter anyway, we're still twins!"
"Yeah, it matters 'cause that means I'm always first."

Not exactly true. She was the first to die. And I can't shake this feeling that I'm going to follow soon enough.

Marquette Tetra

They snore. Yes, that's right. They all snore, every single one of them. It's like hearing six sick elephants breathe in at the same time. If it wasn't for the fact that they were Careers, they probably would have been killed in a flash. But everyone else is afraid of them, so they live. For now.

It's finally my turn to take watch, which is good because now I can make my escape. But it's bad because, well, now I've got six burly Careers ready to kill me if I wake them up.

They had me station myself on top of the opening of the Cornucopia, which is inconvenient because they decided to sleep in a circle around it. I'm also only armed with a knife; my javelin is in the weapons pile a few yards away from the Cornucopia. I'm also going to need food if I'm going alone, which is located on the exact opposite side of the weapons pile. So I'll have to sneak off of the top of the Cornucopia, maneuver my way to the weapons pile, and then maneuver the opposite way to get my food. Maybe I should've thought this one out better.

Before I can convince myself to chicken out, I position myself right above the opening of the Cornucopia. No one is sleeping inside, so it's easy for me to just slip down undetected. Step 1: Check.

Step 2: Get my javelin from the weapon's pile. Gordon is closest to the pile, but if he's anything like when we shared a room at the Training Center, it should be easy to sneak past him.

I tip-toe my way around him, my knife held safely in my hands. I take a glance at his ugly face. He's like a hibernating walrus with chest hair. Well, actually, walruses are probably smarter than this oaf. I quietly chuckle at my own joke. It's sort of sad, I know. But it's how I manage to stay calm.

My javelin is right in the middle of the pile, underneath some bows and throwing knifes. If I was good at those weapons then believe me I would take them. But, unfortunately, I can't hit a target with either of them, so I will just have to pick my javelin from the pile.

My brother and I used to have this really old game called Jenga, where you have to slip out a block without tipping the entire tower over. Well this was kind of like it, except bigger and deadlier. It's a good thing I always won.

My hands delicately slip out the javelin without as much as a squeak. Step 2: Piece of cake. Time for the last step: the food.

This was the hardest part, because one of the Careers, a girl from 1, planted herself right next to the food. I maneuver past her to the other side of the stack. I grab one of the packs from the top and start plucking bits and pieces from the pile of food. I spy a tasty-looking can of clam chowder on the side of the pile, and, being from the sea, I can't resist trying to grab it.

Big mistake. I remember when Kory played Jenga, he would pick a piece that seemingly looked harmless, but when the entire block was out, the tower would slide and fall. That's what sort of happened when I took the soup.

The entire pile didn't fall, luckily. But a bag of apples teetering on the edge did. Right on the girl's head.

I held my breath, hoping she was a heavy sleeper like Gordon. But I would have no such luck. When I saw her eyes slip open, my instincts jumped in.

The girl opens her mouth to warn the others, but I quickly cover her mouth with my hand. Then I jerk my head away and close my eyes, bringing my javelin to her chest. "I'm so sorry," is all I whisper as my javelin pierces her lungs.

I don't stay around long enough to hear her air expelling from her chest. I don't need any more of those things clogging up my conscience.

Already I am running into the woods, away from this death trap town. The cameras are probably zooming in on me right now, capturing every detail of my terrified, guilt-ridden face. The entire time, I look down, thinking Oh God, I did it again. Another life taken because of me.

But I had to so I could survive, right? Am I really that selfish? That girl had family. And so did that boy from 6. Now they'll never see their beloved children again. And all you can think about is yourself?

I hate killing, just like how I hate the Capitol, and how I hate what I am becoming. That's what the Hunger Games do to you. They turn you into a monster. But I can't be a monster; I just came here to prove my father wrong.

If I had realized this was what I'd have to go through to prove him wrong, then I never would have stepped up to that platform. Never left my brother's comforting arms and soft blue eyes.

Out here, the cold wind on my back is all I'm getting.

Selene Maynard

One second we're having a small conversation in the woods. And the next second, by ally is on the ground, clutching his head, screaming through his teeth, "The blood! The blood!"

It's all I can do to try not to cry, but I can't help think that this was my fault. I shouldn't have asked him about Leo, or why they called him "The Miracle Kid". Something must have happened to him, something that scarred Kodi for life.

I knew we were sitting ducks out here, but I couldn't leave him here in agony. "Kodi! Kodi, stop it. You're scaring me!" I cry, shaking his shoulder. Yes, the tears have begun to fall. But I can't help it, seeing him like this.

But my ally doesn't respond. Instead, he sits there, rocking back and forth, chanting his baby brother's name. finally, I can't take it anymore. So I smack his face hard as I whimper out, "Kodi, snap out of it!"

It does the trick. Kodiak holds his cheek, which was now red from the slap. He is still breathing hard, but his eyes seem more clear and his face less troubled. Good, he's back. Relief floods my brain, and I hug him tight. Tears are still running down my cheek, but I manage to whisper, "Are you okay?"

He takes my shoulder and says, "Yeah, thanks Selene." He wipes a tear of his face before wiping one of my own, and says, a little embarrassed, "Listen, I'm…I'm really sorry for worrying you. It's just…just that…"

He pauses in mid-sentence, as if he's not sure what to say. So I try to muster up as much reassurance I can and reply, "It's fine Kodi. It's my fault for asking. Just…just don't do it again." The boy gives a sad half-grin and says, "I'll do my best Lyn-" Kodi takes a quick sigh and finishes, "Selene."

There was that name again. Lynn. I don't know who she was, or why Kodi thought of her so much. But I don't want to ask, because I don't want to see him like that ever again.

Even though it's only about two o'clock, the two of us take refuge once again in the trees. We don't get a chance to cook our geese, so instead we eat some hard bread I found by the Cornucopia.

As we lie in that tree, I can't help but worry for Kodiak. He looks like all his energy has drained out of him. finally, my worries get the best of me, and I ask, "Is something on your mind?"

He looks at me, gives a small grin and replies, "Nah. Nothin'"

I can't help but scoff and say, "C'mon Kodi. I know you're thinking about something."

Kodi laughs and ruffles my hair (I always like it when he does that) and says, "You're way too smart for a twelve year old, you know that?"

I give him that best smug look I can and say, "Yeah, I know. Say, would you feel a bit better if I tell you something about my family?"

"As long as you're okay with it," he whispers, shrugging his shoulders.

"Kay, so here goes. My dad works at one of the factories, no surprise there. There's me, my brother who is two years younger than me. Then there are the twins, Kam and Kym." I notice him bite his lip when I mention the twins, but I decide to continue because hopefully it'll get his mind off of whatever is bugging him.

"I've got one older brother who's twenty-one. He helps sell some television monitors to the ones over at the Capitol. He's got a family that he has to provide for, of course. But any spare change he can get, he sends to us. But, you know, we've got 6 mouths to feed in our house, so what my dad makes and what my brother makes isn't enough. So I try to chip in, selling used electronics to the other people in District 3." I pause, taking in a deep breath. I wait to see if Kodi says anything, but he just nods his head, concentrating intensely on the story. So I continue.

"And to make things worse, my mom…well she's not exactly in the best condition right now. See…" I try to finish the sentence, but the air catches in my throat. I've said this to my neighbors countless times before. And yet, now I can't get the words out. I already feel the tears coming on. But I can't cry anymore. I promised them I'd be brave. I promised that I would be strong so sponsors would help me win. But the words just won't come.

Luckily, they don't have to. Kodi waves his hand by my mouth and says, "You don't need to go on, Selene. I get it. and… I'm sorry for your mom."

"Yeah, thanks," I say half-heartedly. I guess he sees my downcast face, so he picks up my chin and says cheerfully, "How 'bout I tell some funny stories back home? We've got tons of sunlight left, might as well pass the time." Kodi somehow manages to cheer me up with that statement, and I nod quickly.

Kodi doesn't get very far into his story, which was about his friend Garl who liked to eat. Because we hear a snapping below us, followed by the sliding of a rope against the tree. We try to jump off the tree, but it's too late. Before we know it, we are strapped against the trunk, held by thick, strong rope, at the mercy of whoever sees us first.

Ohhhh...cliffhanger. Tough. So, anyway, what...is...up internet? The numbers in the title are for the head count after the current chapter, not before. So technically it's like a little sneak peak to see if any carnage happens. Anyways, thanks for reading this and please REVIEW!