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Damn Joel, why can't he just get himself killed? With each passing day, it becomes more likely I will have to kill him myself. I sigh. That is not what I want to do. But I do not want to die here, in the arena. I have Hima and her family to think about. How many have I killed? I count on my fingers. The tribute with the water, the girl from District Two, and the boy from District Four, that makes three I have killed myself. It has been a week since my last two kills and there are still only eight of us left. I've watched their food supply, they haven't touched it. Of course, they were not as stupid as she was. They would have noticed the green flecks I could not crush into oblivion. But now I have a sword which I can coat with poison if I want.

My thoughts return to Joel. Where has he hidden himself? Should I try to find him and kill him? I push the thought out of my mind. I am not going to kill him unless I absolutely have to. Even then, I am not going to be underhanded about it. In District Twelve, we have a code that we adhere to, an unspoken code that everyone down to the youngest child follows, even in the arena. If I do have to kill Joel, we will fight in open combat, miner against smith. That is what the people of our district would expect of us. But I know that it would haunt me for the rest of my life, if I had to be the one to kill him. I think back to that first day of training. It seems so long ago now. But there had been an unspoken sentence between me and Joel that Katniss and Lin did not see. I may not like it, but I know he would rather me be the one to kill him rather than anyone else, the same way I feel.

I sigh and crawl out of my thicket that has become my home. The Game-makers have yet to force us together, but they have to soon. With the final Eight, a week is too long with nothing happening. Not to mention that this is the Quarter Quell so I need to keep moving. I think about the weapons the Careers have as I walk down the mountain. They have refused to touch the two bows and the two sets of arrows, which is good for me. If they had wanted to use them, I would probably be dead now. So what do I do about those weapons that I made? I have one of the five swords that made it into the arena. The Careers have three others which means that one of the other girls or Joel has the fifth. I bite the inside of my cheek as I walk and think about what to do with the bows. I am going to steal one for sure. But what do I do about the other one. I have no idea until I go to take a drink. That's it. I'll toss it into the mountain river. The river is acid and it should destroy the bow. If it doesn't, the water is still dangerous and anyone who puts their hands in it will get burned.

I hurry to the meadow and hide in the bowl near their camp. They are all still there, but they are talking loud enough for me to hear.

"There are eight of us left. We don't even make up half." The boy from Two says sullenly. "We no longer have the numbers."

"You idiot!" The girl from One yells. "We are stronger than the lot of them."

"Then which one of us killed my partner?" The girl from Four asks suddenly. "If we are the strongest, then why is he dead as well as yours?" She directs the last comment to the girl from One. "If we were the strongest, it would have been the final six weeks ago. As it stands, there are eight of us left and the only full district still together is Twelve." I inch my way to the pile of weapons. The bows are off to the side along with their arrows. I grab the arrows first. Then a bow. They are yelling about which one of them killed the boy I killed. I grab the other bow. Shit, it's caught on something. I gently lift it and pull it close. The quick flash shines on them and they stop arguing. I inch away, back toward the mountain, as they walk to the weapons. I have just reached the edge of the bowl when they notice the bows gone. Their backs are still to me. I take a breath and jump back into the forest.

I hear a yell. Damn it, one of them saw me. I run quickly, the two bows slowing me down. They are going to follow me, I know. But I also know where the stream is that I can cross with a good running start like I have. I see it. It's not as far up as I would like, but the Careers are gaining on me. I reach my bank and jump. I land heavily on my left foot and collapse as sharp pain runs up my leg. I take the second bow and crawl back towards the stream. I reach it just as they get to the opposite bank. The boy from Two has arrows in his hand. I must have dropped them as I ran. I hold up the bow and gently lay it in the water, taking care not to touch it myself. After that, I stand, gather my things and walk down the opposite side of the mountain. When I am sure they are out of sight, I hide behind a rock formation and watch them.

The water did not destroy the bow like I had hoped. Otherwise they would have been trying to find a way to cross. I watch them. There are only three of them and I have a feeling that I am about to get a fourth kill. The girl from One sticks her hand into the water and starts screaming and pulls it out. The flesh is burned down to the bone. Then I notice something. The water is churning. The girl is too busy whimpering in pain as the acid continues to burn her skin away. The other two run back down the mountain. A fish jumps out of the water and then falls back in. That was no ordinary fish. I watch, horrified as a second fish jumps up and grabs hold of her jacket with its teeth. Now she notices and quickly strips out of her jacket. The fish and jacket fall into the water where the jacket is destroyed. Another fish jumps out and grows legs and advances on her. What the hell are these things?

The girl from One draws the sword she carries and tries to fight it off. Two more fish jump out of the river. This does not look like it is going to be an easy death for her. But will it be my kill or the arena's? I am the one who dropped the bow into the water. But the Capitol made these mutts. I look away as they jump on her. She starts screaming for her fellow tributes, but they are long gone. The mutts back into the water with their prey. I look away as blood fills the water. I think I am going to be sick. I knew that water was dangerous. A canon goes off. Seven left.

Lin's POV:

He watched in horrified disgust as the female tribute from District One was pulled into the water. "Those are new." He thought as the water filled with blood. He looked at the scoreboard. It was Septa's kill. She had laid the trap with the bow. The cameras switched to Septa as she looked away. To Lin, she looked like she was about to be sick. He smiled when she shook it off and stood. He grew concerned when she fell again. She looked at her left leg. She touched the calf and then her ankle. She stifled a cry of pain as she touched her ankle. He knew it had to be broken. She looked around and found a sturdy stick she could use to walk. She stood again and began walking along the stream, looking for a safe place to cross.

He looked away from the screen as someone tugged on his sleeve. It was an old man, somewhere in his sixties, with four scars along the right side of his face, including over the eye. "Can I help you, Sir?" Lin asked.

"I am looking for this girl's mentor. I want to sponsor her." Lin took in the clothes the man was wearing. It was a fairly old suit, but better suited to his old age than the newer ones. The fact that he even had one suggested he came from wealth. "On second thought, never mind. Don't want to waste my money on someone about to die." Lin looked back to the screen and saw that Septa and collapsed in a thicket, she was as white as a ghost. She clutched her ankle a moment before pulling herself into a sitting position. She found two sticks, both thick, and tore another piece from her jacket.

"She is not going to die." Lin said and walked away. "Oh," he said, turning back, "she is District Twelve."

Septa's POV:

I hold my breath as I lay my leg on the branch and place the other over it. I remember seeing a healer do this to one of the smiths a couple years ago. I hold back a scream as I tighten the strip of jacket. Slowly, I twist my leg so that it is bent at the knee and continue wrapping the brace. I tear another strip off my jacket and tie that around my leg as well. The throbbing goes away and I breathe a sigh of relief. I stand and test out the splint. My ankle throbs in protest but at least I can walk. I need to get off this mountain before the Gamemakers decide to blow it up like they did in the Fiftieth Hunger Games. Those were the Games that Haymitch Abernathy won and the second Quarter Quell. This being the fourth Quell and the Hundredth Hunger Games, anything can happen.

I flash back to the stream and the fish mutts in them. I shiver and crawl out of my thicket. It's going to be hard to fight with my ankle like this, but I don't know if it is broken or not. I breathe again and start walking down the mountain, using my bow as a cane until I find a thick branch to use. I hurry. Just hours ago, there were not this many dead branches on the ground. Did I trigger something with the stream? There are seven of us left. They are going to have to force us together at some point. Will it be today? I am not going to take the chance. There are only two Careers left. Right now, they are scared of what will happen to them.

I make it to the base of the mountain as the sun starts to set. I am not going to be able to kill them tonight. I'll have to wait. A canon shot startles me out of my thoughts just as the sun begins to set. I immediately think of Joel. Is he dead? I find a pretty good tree and climb into it. There is no cover on the ground. I make myself comfortable and secure myself with my belt and hang my water bag where it will catch the water that is sure to come tonight. I look at the sky as the anthem begins to play. The girl from One shows up first and then the girl from Eight. The seal appears and then the sky is dark. That leaves the boy from Two, the boy from Three, the girl from Four, the girl from Seven, me, and Joel. Six left. The girl from Seven, she's a threat. She's the one that got the lowest score in training. She's still alive. But where is she hiding?

Thanks all for reading and please review.

Any guess as to who the old man is?