Welcome to Chapter Six! I'm so thankful for all of the views, follows, favorites, and reviews I've gotten so far! You guys are seriously awesome!

In this chapter, we see that Gloss can pretty much sleep in anything, the mentors are called in to help the tributes (because of mysterious causes), a cameo from the fabulous Finnick Odair, and the Careers are even more strained than ever.

Enjoy reading!

Thud. Thud. I hear the sounds of purposely heavy footsteps. I strain my eyes to see, but everything is dark. I can tell that I'm up higher, not on ground level. I run my hands around me, feeling the rough bark of a tree. I hold my breath as a torch comes into view, being held by a large figure.

"I know you're there, little dove. Won't you sing to me?" A voice belonging to the figure below me sneers out. It's rough and unpleasant, sounding like they've either been screaming or are dehydrated. It sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on who it belongs to. I press my back up against the tree, careful to make as little noise as I can.

"I killed everyone but you. Why do you keep running? I want to know how you bleed," the voice pants out. I can tell that they're tired, from whatever activity they were doing. I have the slight premonition that it was killing people.

"22 down, one to go. One more cannon and I can go home," they breathe out, voice raspy. I peer down, noting dark, spikey hair. My breath hitches and my heart pounds violently in my body.

Wyatt.

My hands desperately roam over my belongings, fighting to find a weapon of some sort. My hand comes across a blade and I hurriedly rip it out of where I find it, turning it over in my hand, feeling the weight of the handle. My brows furrow as the light from Wyatt's torch turns my way, the flame illuminating the weapon. It's the same knife I used to train with back home. There's no way they could've gotten this…

I further inspect it, seeing my initials carved in the hilt, the same wear and tear on the leather in the same exact places. I turn it over to inspect the other side when I see my reflection. Blood covers my face, and I can tell it's not mine. My eyes are silver and crazed, not my usual intellectual blue. In my shock, I drop the knife, disgusted.

Almost as if it was in slow motion, I watch it tumble through the air, getting closer and closer to the ground. I cringe as it hits the floor with a deafeningthud. Wyatt whips his head up, eyes meeting mine. His eyes are silver, much like mine. His lips curl into a snarl as he trips his way over to my tree. He's injured, but that doesn't stop him. I watch in hopeless horror as he makes his way up the tree, in a way that he shouldn't be able to, with his obvious injury.

And then the next thing I know, he's face to face with me, breath hitting me as he brings up a heavy rock that could easily crush my skull in just two hits, or maybe even one. "I told you I'd find you," he sneers, cranking his arm back to deliver my death.

My eyelids flitter open, my breath forcefully being pushed from my lungs. I sit up from my bed, rubbing my eyes roughly as I strain them, looking around in the dim light. I'm back in my quarters, and it's still dark out, the moonlight leaking through my window, providing just enough light. Just another nightmare, I tell myself as I look at my surroundings more closely. A small smile curls on my lips as I see Gloss, deeply asleep and sitting in the arm chair he seems to have claimed.

We'd stayed up a while, talking about life back home before we'd both fallen asleep. I'd just assumed that he would let himself out when he got tired. Talking about home was a common subject we seemed to happen upon when we talked, but I was always glad for it. Home was comforting, in any way it was delivered to me; from the people surrounding me to the materials that comforted me, made exclusively by my district.

I lean closer to him, kicking the blankets off as I gently touch his arm. He lazily opens an eye, a languid smile appearing on his full lips. My heart skips a beat as I blush, concealed by the darkness, thankfully. Good lord, he's gorgeous, I think to myself as he lets out a small yawn, stretching like a cat as he opens both of his eyes.

"I should probably be getting to bed," he says, voice deep and thick with sleep. I nod, biting my bottom lip as he gets up, walking towards the door. "I'm right down the hall," he adds in farewell as he leaves. His words make me feel safe as I whisper an unheard, "Thank you."

I lie back on my bed, closing my eyes. I sleep soundly for the remainder of that night.

"President Snow has decided that he wants the mentors to help you guys today. It'll be televised, so that'll be extra footage for the Capitol to eat up. There're certain…complications," Gloss says, struggling for the correct word as he stabs a piece of meat on his plate.

I quirk a brow. "We seem that bad?"

Gloss shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck as he shakes his head. "No, no, nothing like that. We've had worse crops of tributes. To be honest with you, I'd tell you if I knew what was going on, but I myself don't truly understand it."

The way he's speaking makes me tense as I push my plate of breakfast away, so I decide to change the topic of conversation. "What are you guys supposed to help us with?"

"Whatever you need help with, I suppose, although most of the mentors can't even walk upright, let alone wield a weapon," he replies, shaking his head in distaste.

"And what if their mentor isn't good at the things the tribute is, vice versa?" I ask, quirking a brow, mainly because the situation applies to us. I can't imagine Gloss using the patient and practiced technique of knife throwing and I can't imagine myself using brute force with a sword or mace.

His bad mood melts away as he shakes his head, cracking a small smile. "Then I guess it'll just be good entertainment for the Capitol."

We gather around Venus, tributes forming a front line while their mentors stand behind them. Our mentors wear similar garb to ours, and I can't help but imagine what Gloss looked like when he was actually a tribute, years ago. When he won, I was barely 10, so I can't remember his Games that well, but I can remember being star struck by him, even back then.

Venus goes onto explain that today is mainly for television, and it'll be another chance for us to show our skills for the sponsors. I zone out as I look behind me. I recognize some victors, but not all. There's Gloss and Cashmere, obviously, then the two killing machines from 2; Enobaria and Brutus. Then there's the technological genius from 3, Beetee Latier, and a woman I don't know to his side, who speaks in low, inane whispers that only her fellow mentor seems to understand.

To their left is the infamous Finnick Odair, a cavalier smile on his lips, dimples forming in his cheeks as he has his arms crossed, looking at everyone around him with an air of superiority. His eyes meet mine, and he sends a wink my way. I blush and pretend not to see it as I continue my search down the line.

I don't recognize them all, but for the most part, I do. From 7, there's the hot-headed Johanna Mason and her companion, Blight, who seems to be a man of few words. From 11, there's Seeder and Chaff, both of whom have been mentoring for a long time, and last but not least, there's Haymitch Abernathy, an obvious drunk and District 12's only surviving victor.

When we are dismissed to start training, the cameras immediately flicker on, and we are being broadcasted live to the districts and the Capitol. I avoid eye contact with them as I make my way over to Gloss. He glances around at the stations and his eyes settle on the knife throwing station.

He glances over at me, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I'd like to see what you can do with those knives."

I nod, following him as we make our way over to the station. He nods encouragingly as I pick up a blade, weighing it in my hand and getting a feel for it. I decide that I like the light weight and position myself in front of the target. Gloss comes closer to me, analyzing my form. I blush a little as he places a hand on my stomach.

"You should have a firmer middle. It'll help your aim," he says. With the obedience that I'd learned from all the years of training, I immediately listen to him, taking in a deep breath as I compose myself, holding my stomach firmer. His hand retreats as he gives me a nod, and with quick, deadly precision and accuracy, I let the knife fly, watching with satisfaction as it hits the target square on the dummy's chest, piercing where a heart would be; a deadly shot.

Slow claps come from behind me, and I turn around, seeing a cocky Finnick Odair standing there in all of his conceited glory, the claps coming from his hands. His tribute stands next to him, an average looking boy with sandy hair and tan skin, a popular occurrence in District 4. Finnick crosses his arms, cockily swaggering over to me.

"Beautiful and deadly, hm? It would appear we're two alike, you and I. The sponsors will eat you up," he says, a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

Gloss speaks up from behind me, his voice holding some warning to it. "Finnick. Did you need something?"

Finnick shrugs, that same, sly smile on his lips. "Oh, Gloss. You never change, do you?" I can sense the tension between the two. "I just wanted my tribute here to try out some knife throwing, seeing as the Careers didn't want a part of us this year. Again," Finnick adds bitterly, his smile faltering for a moment as he pushes past us, his own tribute trailing behind him.

Gloss grabs my hand and he leads me over to the food testing station. I busy myself with the test as Gloss stands to the side, fuming quietly. I know that the cameras had caught all of that, and were know following Finnick, so I decide to take the opportunity to question him.

"What was that all about?" I ask him quietly, not wanting to set him off or anything.

Thankfully, he just let out a sigh, shaking his head. "He's salty that District 4 was excluded from the Careers this year. And last year."

I give him a confused look. "Did you talk to District 2 about it or something?" I assumed that Gregor was the one who called the shots about who joins us.

Gloss scoffs, shaking his head once more. "It's a decision made by Cashmere, myself, Brutus, and Enobaria. District 4 doesn't get the training we do, so we exclude them from the pack often if the tributes don't look like they're good enough. Of course, it's not all up to the mentors. Once you're in the arena, it's out of our hands. Finnick doesn't like the system. He voices his opinion on the matter often."

I nod. "Are Sheen and I still considered Careers, then, what with Gregor's vendetta?"

Gloss glances around us. "Yes, but don't trust the others. Loyalty seems to be a fickle thing this year."

I finish the food test quickly, only missing a couple. The cameras turn back on us as I see Sheen and Cashmere approach us. Cashmere is forcing a smile and Sheen tries his best to look like he's not a train wreck. Cashmere and Gloss have a conversation to themselves as Sheen comes over to me.

"Gregor says it was just a joke," Sheen whispers to me as he tries his hand at the food test.

I give him a smile. "That's great," I reply, not wanting to tell him not to trust it.

I watch as he misses over half of the food testing, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He seems happy, actually. I come to realize that this truly is his whole life; the Hunger Games. He wants to be the Career he was trained to be. Something tells me that he would've volunteered for the Hunger Games if his name wasn't called.

"Tributes, please gather for the gauntlet," I hear Venus say. I inwardly groan. There was an obligatory gauntlet every year. It was sort of like public shaming and getting to know your enemies wrapped up in one. You got to see who was fast, who was slow, who was uncoordinated, etc.

We form a random line, the female from District 7 being the first to go and the male from District 5 being the last. The gauntlet is an obstacle course where trainers swing bats at us and we have to dodge them while climbing over platforms and running down slides.

I'm the third to go. The two before me failed miserably, tripping over their own feet, their biggest enemy being themselves. I see their mentors shaking their heads in disdain. I approach the course, and as soon as the whistle blows, I take off. I dodge bats and run as fast as I can, willing myself not to trip or fall. I make it out of the course in a fast time, heart pounding as I take deep breaths, joining Gloss, who intently watches Sheen go next, but not before he gives me a charming smile that makes my heart melt.

Sheen doesn't do too terribly, but still makes some mistakes. The rest of the tributes run terrible times, until we get to Ameda and Gregor. Ameda gets close to my time, but doesn't beat it. She gives me a nasty look as she passes me, roughly shoving her mentor, Enobaria. Gregor, however, despite his size, makes it through the course in nearly half my time. He doesn't bother with dodging the bats, he just knocks the trainers down, plowing through the whole thing. He lets out a tacky roar at the end, pounding his chest like a primitive.

He passes by me, giving me a cocky look. My stomach turns. I know that he still has Sheen marked as a kill, and something tells me that the story is the same for me. He wants me dead, and so does Ameda, and I'm sure they'll do whatever they can to kill me when the Games start. I just hope my parents aren't watching.

Another chapter down! What did you guys think? I personally like seeing insight on the Careers, and I for one don't think that it's always sunshine and rainbows for them. Quite the opposite, actually. I think that there's a lot of competitiveness and ego, so it's just natural that they would be after each other, especially when it comes down to the final tributes in the Games.

.92317: (Maybe one day I will be able to write your name out. Not really sure what's going on with it. I'm probably just stupid :p) I hope you like where I'm going with the Careers after this chapter, too! I pretty much squealed while writing the cuddling scene. So cute, haha! Thank you for your review!

abc500: Here's a new chapter for you! I'm glad you enjoy Jet and Gloss' relationship thus far. I always worry about sounding too cheesy or rushing it, so it looks like I'm on the right track for now! And here's some Finnick for you in this chapter! I thought it would make you happy! :D