Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Believe it or not.

The Internet lies! And doesn't work half of the time!

My eyes batted open, the task seeming unfamiliar since I hadn't done so for so long. The sun was just rising in the arena casting a warm haze over the opening. I have no idea how long I would have been stuck in my subconscious had it not been for the cannon. I also have no idea on how long I was stuck in my subconscious in the first place. I lie down for a few more seconds until I muster the strength to sit up. I look around. Everything was how it was left before I fainted. I felt an extreme dryness in my throat and an emptiness in my stomach. I stood up, but almost fell, I was uncertain on my feet. I took a few breaths, and then I went over to the supplies and dug out a few water bottles.

I chugged down a first one greedily in less than a minute, water sloshing out the side of my mouth. Before I knew it the bottle was dry, and I threw it aside and grabbed another. I took medium sips on the second, still unable to convince myself to slow down; my thirst was too great. I took small sips on the third, taking up twenty minutes. Once I had convinced myself that I had drunk enough water, I started to look for food. I found some bread, it was stale, but I ate it all without hesitation. I waited until I was sure it was going to stay down. I took a deep breath. I felt much better.

Now was the time to access damage. I looked down at my left hand. It was no longer swollen. It was a faded red, but I don't think it would give me any more trouble. I wish I knew what bug that was, and why I haven't been bitten until now. Maybe they had released it especially for the feast. I looked to my bandaged arms. They weren't swollen, they didn't appear to be infected, and the bandages were still dry, and they were clean enough. I don't need to change them.

Then I remember the cannon. Someone died, Allia! I could go home! I'm safe! But something felt…off. I pause the slight victory in my head, and analyze the situation. Wouldn't they have announced my victory yet? Wouldn't a hovercraft be here to bring me back to safety? I bite my lower lip in confusion. Then I realize with a crush of newfound depression. There was another tribute that I had forgotten. Blake.

I guess that he and Allia had run into each other. Or maybe one was eaten by an alligator. I shudder at the memory of the mangled girl in the alligator's mouth. I would have to wait until tonight until I would learn who didn't make it. Which one died. I didn't know which one I hoped to be dead. They both would be hard to kill. I guess it would be which way I would prefer to die.

Allia had those nasty curved knives that she handled so carefully and expertly. Not to forget viciously. She would give me a slow, painful, merciless death. Give a show as she so much loved to do. If I were to kill her, it would have to be by a surprise attack. Blake was from my district. I didn't know him well, but he was from home. He might be sympathetic and give me a quick death. I didn't even want to think about having to kill him.

Both of the possibilities were better fighters then myself. Larger, stronger and more skilled. Tannor had said that my aim wasn't the best. He was right. I needed to practice if I had any hope of beating them. If there was any hope left. I take my backpack and shrug it onto my shoulders. I check my belt to make sure my knife is still there. I then grab my bow, and head out.

The second I got outside, I noticed how different the arena was. The water had risen about a foot. I could tell that it no longer was rising, but it still surprised me once I saw it. You had to jump along the highest of the mangrove roots to get around. Maybe one was eaten by an alligator, the water was high enough now for them to be concealed completely. The humidity was also higher. It made the simplest tasks difficult. I splashed over to a tree that is easy to climb up to, careful not to get my bandages wet. Once there, I hauled myself up and started to jump along through the trees.

I spent the rest of the day up there. Hiding, practicing in the trees. Waiting to see who I was going to have to face. Waiting to see the person or thing that stood between me and District 9. Switching between anxious and apprehensive. I also alternated between my knife and bow.

When I saw a flock of birds, I picked a location on their body to shoot at. First, I just tried to hit the bird in general. Once I was able to hit the bird, I would move back down to the ground to retrieve the arrow, and the bird if I shot it. Each time I hit in the area that I had set for myself, I made it even smaller. I kept wandering the forest, looking for birds. Until I was able to hit the last one in the eye.

Then I moved to bigger and stronger targets. The alligators. I could see more of them. Well not exactly see, but I could sense their presence. Since the water level had risen, making everywhere an ideal place for the gators to hide. It also made them harder to find. Once I did find one, I shot it with an arrow, aiming for the eye. I couldn't pierce the tough armor on its back, so that was the only place I was able to hit.

If I missed, I had to take part in the dangerous task of removing the arrows from the water. After my recent experience with my infection, I was smarter than to stick my arms in the water. So I used my feet. I had to be extra careful though, because most of the time, an enraged gator was just below the surface. I almost got bitten twice. I lost an arrow to each. I only had nine left. But now I was able to use my feet almost as well as my hands.

After I was confident with a bow, I switched to my knife. I was already good enough with it, thanks to watching Glitch show off. I still could be better though. I pranced along in the trees, throwing the knife at different parts in the tree that stood out, such as a hollow or discoloration.

I twirled my knife in my hand, almost dropping it. How did Allia learn to handle them with such ease? She was District 4, the fishing district. Where would she find the time to master her weapons? I knew from something I heard in school that everyone worked in that district. From a young age. Unlike myself, I had a privileged life, and didn't need to work. I wasn't required to work. I still knew how to do the basics of my district's trade though. My father made sure that I learned.

Then a disturbing thought hit me. What about everyone's family? It hadn't occurred to me until now. The Victory Tour. I had to go to the districts, where they would pretend to love me, where I would have to look into the eyes of those who children I have killed, who I have watched be killed, and who I could have prevented from being killed. That is, I would only have to do that if I won.

A wave of emotion rushes over me. I didn't want to do this anymore. I wanted to escape, go far away and never come back. I kneeled down on the branch, my arms encircling my bent legs, keeping them close to my chest. I leaned against the trunk. I felt sick. Unlike I have ever felt before. A tear escapes my eye. "I want to go home," I moan, in a pathetic attempt that someone might listen and fulfill my wish. More tears escape me when I realize no one is coming. No one wanted to help. There wasn't anyone who cared.

A new emotion now enters my body. It wasn't anger. Anger was too weak of a word for what I felt. I felt rage. Rage directed at the Capitol, for making me do this. Rage at the Capitol for not caring about all of the children that they hurt. I heard a movement to my left. My brain was still fuzzed with fury. I stood up and threw my knife with inhuman speed. I turned to see that it was nothing. My knife stuck in a tree. I came back to my senses. I leaped over there to retrieve it.

It took fifteen minutes to work it out of the trunk. By the time I finally managed, I figured that I better head back to the hiding in the mangroves. Along with that, I assumed that all of Panem was laughing at my pour, pathetic display of strength. It took me one and a half hours to make it back. By the time I reached, the sun was just setting. And my fury had cooled back into wherever it had come from.

I set my bows and backpack down, and slump on the floor. I could see well enough from where I was at. Why should I care who I face now? Either way, it was still murder. Murder of teenagers that had a whole promising life ahead of them. Ended by a silly little game invented by the Capitol to keep the districts in line. Ended by the people whose lives were worth less than their own. Well it's not going to last forever. Someone will find a way to evade the rules of your stupid little game, I think in my head. It might not be me, but whoever manages, will have my undying respect.

As I finish my ranting in my head, the anthem begins to play. I look to the sky to see the image of the Capitol blurred by the tree branches above me. Once it is finished, I look down to my feet. This was the moment when I would see the final tribute that was left. I gulped down a sob that was sure to erupt. I had to look. If I didn't, I would have no idea who or what I was up against. And I tentatively raised my head to the sky, unsure if I was prepared to accept what I was about to see. The smiling face of Allia is what greeted me in the sky. She almost seemed…human. That would be because she is human, says the voice in back of my head. And for once, I agree with it without any resistance.

I sighed in relief, glad that it wasn't Blake. Then I remembered I was the only one left to take him out. No hope that any other competitor was left to finish him off. The tributes of District 9, fighting to the death. I'm sure Blake wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I was also sure the Capitol won't pull the plug and let us go back to District 9 as co-champions. No, this was as entertaining as it got. At least we were sure to have a victor. But how would they deal with the one that returned, the one that lived? Would they shun them, treat them as an outcast for the brutal murder of their own? Would they praise them for finally bringing victory, and all that came with it, to the districts? Would those of other districts learn to forgive them? I knew that all the victors were hated in nine. I remember when the girl victor from the year my brother died.

I was standing along the street that led to the town hall, the main one in District 9. There was a cluster of people in front of me, but at my short height I could still make out was happening by looking under their legs. The girl was smiling and waving, she was walking by foot, surrounded by Peacekeepers. I ran through the crowd and to the girl. Once I reached her, I started hitting her with my small fists. She looked down at me in surprise. It was clear I was unable to hurt her, but there was a look of shock on her face.

"Why? How could you do that? Didn't you ever think of who you were hurting?" I managed to shout between tears.

"W-w-what?" She had stumbled, not sure how to respond to my outburst. A peacekeeper moved forward, and shoved me off of her leg and onto the unforgiving ground. He took me by the ear and started to hit me. There were cries of surprise from the crowd. The girl looked at me pityingly, but was ushered forward, told by someone to keep moving. She kept my gaze for a second longer before continuing.

My father finally made his way through the crowd, his face without emotion. "Sir, excuses her. She is distraught from the recent loss of her brother and mother. Though it was months ago, she hasn't yet recovered. You shouldn't beat her for her ill state of mind." The Peacekeeper looked at him skeptically, hit me across the face one more time, and left. Tears were still streaking down my face, and I was gulping up sobs. My father scooped me up. My checks had been split open, and were now bleeding. I couldn't notice the pain.

As we passed by, people put flowers on me. Wild flowers that were meant for the victor. Instead they gave the flowers instead for the girl who lost her brother and mother because of the Games. Flowers for the girl who stood up. Flowers for the girl who had courage to unknowingly defied the Capitol.

Once my father brought me home, he scolded me. He told me I wasn't to do that. That he wouldn't be able to cover for me all the time. He told me to play by the rules. Advice that I had followed until the Games. My episode from the Victory Tour had remained unnoticed by the other districts, they had decided to cut that part when they aired it. I wasn't punished any more than my initial beating, for they recognized my act as grief, not rebellion.

Would any of the others act as I had? I don't know if I would be able to handle it. I knew what they felt. And why. Would I ever be any release from the torturing guilt I now house deep in my mind? I suppose the only way to find out would to be victor. And once again, I found myself needing a plan. Except none that I thought of could work. I fingered the shiny new clip that held back my loose strand of hair. I think back to what Mason said.

Ok, I really, really, really want to be in the Hunger Games movie. I'm 5'4, have dark brown hair, blue-green-grey-brown eyes (yeah, I have multicolored eyes, but they look grey from a distance.) I am awesome at climbing trees and weigh about 90 pounds. Who do you think I want to play? Katniss! The only problem is that I have no professional acting experience. Ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you I'm good at acting. Either that or they will tell you I look like an elf… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Read and Review! I'll try to post soon! Tell me if you know anything about auditions! You all are amazing! Well, most of you anyway. JK, you all are awesome. :D :D :D.