District 14: Astrid Aelish's POV

I transfer the object from my right to left hand, wondering how any women could actually wear a necklace that weighs at least five pounds. It must be less, but it still feels like I am holding a small weight. I trace the smooth, blue stone with my finger tip, feeling the distinct cuts in the rock.

"What is that?"

It takes much of my control to not immediately snap my hand shut around the necklace and shout "Nothing!" I am trying this new thing where I trust Karter more with things involving the Games. I know he trusts my whole-heartedly and a bit of me feels guilty for not being the same way. We are partners after all.

Karter peers at the necklace in wonder and confusion. "Where did you find it?" he asks, reaching out to touch it. He seems oddly mesmerized by the thing. This makes me want to smile that I, the girl, am the one who couldn't care less about how pretty or most likely expensive it is and Karter looks at it like it is hypnotizing him.

"It was on the vanity over there," I say, motioning to the jewelry bow propped open. The necklace was the center piece in the box. It was also the only piece. I was drawn to it because it is the only small prop in this whole room. The first class cabin is nicely furnished, but it looks like no one is occupying it. The bed is made, but no pillows adorn it. The table has no lamps and the wardrobe does not even hold a single hanger. The necklace is the only thing anyone could pick up and hold in their hand with ease.

"How do you think it got here?" I roll my eyes at the stupid question. The Capitol obviously placed it here for someone to find. That is why it seems so unsettling to me. Something is wrong with the necklace, I can feel it. Karter must have answered his own question by now and asks another. "Should we take it with us?"

I don't immediately answer the question. The necklace could be extremely dangerous since it is so out of place in the room and so expertly placed for someone to find. We would also being doing the next tributes to come in a favor by taking it with us. It would cause less danger to them. Still, there is an off chance this is a helpful find.

"I think we should take it," Karter says, swiping the necklace from my hand and holding it up to the light. "It doesn't look like it could cause much harm."

"Looks can be deceiving," I mutter under my breath before snatching the necklace back. "We really don't know what it does." I gaze down at it. I can see what Karter means; the necklace does look pretty harmless. Yet, I still can't shake the feeling something bad will happen the moment we take it out of this room.

"You could wear it. It would look pretty on you," Karter suggests in a meek tone. The comment catches me off guard and I don't know how to respond. I can feel my cheeks becoming hot and immediately looks away from him. Despite the fact I usually try not conveying a lot of emotion around him and the cameras, I am still a girl and I still do occasionally like a compliment from a boy, even one as completely unsuitable for me as Karter. "So?"

For an answer, I walk over and place the necklace back, slamming the lid shut afterwards. The bang is a bit louder than I expected and we wait in silence for a moment to make sure no one heard it and is coming towards us. "We can't take it," I say once our period of silence is over. "There are too many calculated risks. Come one, we don't want to take any chances and stay here after that noise."

I grab our pack that I had dropped on the floor when I found the necklace and sling it over my shoulders. I slide past Karter who is still looking at the necklace and open the door that leads to the first class hallway. I begin walking down when I realize I don't hear Karter's footsteps behind me. "Karter!" I yell loud enough for him to hear me, but not loud enough to draw too much attention.

Karter walks out of the room a second later, looking a bit worried and anxious, but I assume he is worried I am going to yell at him for not following me in the first place. I try to give him my most reassuring smile, but it falls flat. Something seems off about him now and I can't tell what it is. "Come on," I say in a smaller voice. I let him walk ahead of me so I can take a few seconds to observe him.

Yes, something is off. I sigh inwardly and begin to walk behind him. I'm going to have to find out what it is.

District 10: Raze Tanner's POV

I always believed have a person wait was one of the best ways to control a person. You force them into one spot, knowing they will have to stay if you have something they want. How I became the one without the control, I don't know.

I have been, to my best efforts, braving the arena alone. It isn't as hard as I would have expected. The ship is small, but it has ample place to duck into if you almost run into another tribute. An arena outdoors has advantage, like the ability to get food that doesn't come from sponsors, but it is harder to keep away from other tributes. That's why I assume the Capitol will never being doing an arena like this again.

I tap my fingers lightly against the wall and think about leaving. I don't need a partnership or anything the person meeting me has to offer. At least, I hope I don't. But, you never know when someone has a trick up their sleeve. I learned that from my other brother since it is one of the only intelligent things he has ever said to me that doesn't have to do with training of any sort.

The door creaks open and I see a crop of bright red hair poking inside. The door opens a little further and Dexter peers in, his brown eyes looking a bit worried. However, when he sees I have arrived, he relaxes a bit and steps in. "I'm g-g-glad you showed up," Dexter says, extending his hand. I shake it and am immediately stroke by how easy it would be to just break it.

That is one of the reasons I agreed to meet with the boy. He is extremely scrawny and small that he does not pose a threat to me physically. However, I don't trust him, but at all. I have seen him smile and it is not a pretty sight. The boy also seems to have some sanity issues that have not been dealt with.

"I know you p-p-probably don't want an alliance," Dexter starts. "B-But I think we have some things in c-c-c…" He has trouble spitting out his last word, so I try to help the poor kid out.

"Common?"

Dexter smiles a bit and nods. "I know you h-hate the Career pack."

"Hate is a strong word," I say more to myself, but it is a bit true. The Career pack this year is weak, but still just as aggravating as they are every year. They are just missing their two central players.

"I have some d-d-d…disliking for them too," Dexter tells me. He proceeds to tell me how the girl from 4 made a fool out of him on the first day of training and how on the second day the boy from 1 mocked him constantly for his stuttering. The more I listen to Dexter's anger at the pack, the more I assume he had issues with this stuff in the past. Maybe that is partially the reason he seems so on guard all the time.

"What is your point?" I finally ask. We have been in this cramped, third class cabin for awhile and I am afraid of staying too much longer.

"I w-w-want to team up and end them," he tells me. Though I know this will not make him very happy, I shake my head after he says it.

"That is too risky and others will do it eventually. I'm sure they will die off soon enough," I tell him. "I'm not much for teaming up either. Don't you think it is a bit risky?"

"W-w-we don't have to d-destroy the pack, but we can still t-t-t-team up," Dexter says, his voice becoming a bit shaky, his hand balling into fists. My ideas of him being a bit mentally unstable are becoming more and more likely.

"Sorry, I don't see it happening. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of death soon and I don't want a partnership that end in betrayal and backstabbing," I tell him truthfully. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong place to stand. He is right by the door, so he has to leave first before I can get out of this small room.

"Of course," Dexter says through gritted teeth. I see anger boiling in his eyes, threatening to spill out in the form of angry tears. "But you'll pay. Everyone will," he mutters before yanking the door open. I watch as he storms out, continually mutter about revenge. I put my head against the wall and rub my forehead. There are enough maniacal people on this ship.

I fear I have awoken the worst one.

District 12: Azrael Lupin's POV

The Capitol hates me, I think in amusement. They have made it blatantly clear in the past thirty six hours they want me out of the Games, the sooner the better. I smirk as I think of their attempts: a ghost captain, a boiler room fire after I had killed Almond, and the latest interference, flying knives in the kitchen. I guess being subtle and classy no longer apply in killing me. They don't care to make it look like small involvement.

I kick the only knife remaining in the kitchen with my heel, sending it skidding across the kitchen floor before it strikes the base of the counter. Just as suspected, it vanishes upon contact. They must not want me to get my hands on another weapon. I know they would have had the knives disappear for anyone to make the game seem fair, but if they were to keep them for any tribute, it wouldn't be me.

I walk out of the kitchen before any knives or other dangerous kitchen appliances can come at my back. Anyway, I have lost valuable time during this incident. Almond has been dead for almost twenty four hours and boredom is causing my bones to ache. She herself hadn't been much of a joy killing anyhow. I need someone else to cure my case of restlessness.

I have made a list in my head of the surviving candidates. Eighteen of us are still playing; surprising considering it has been four days. Eight usually die the first day alone. Of those eighteen, only eight are girls. I can't and won't go after any of the male tributes. I would only be able to take two or three of them and of those few, not one could I have assurance of beating. I needed a female.

Of the eight girls remaining, three are Careers. The one who is not with the Career pack is neither stupid nor weak so she's out. The other two have two boys with them so they are out as well. The girl from 14 is with her District partner. I could take each separately with some chance, but not together and they seem inseparable. That leaves four.

I don't know the whereabouts of the girl from 3. She will be the easiest to take out, but not to find. The girl from 5 had a partner, but he has been on his own. The girl from 7 also had someone, but she too has split the ties. However, she is a bit too risky to go after by the looks of her character. The last possibility is a wild card. I have seen her lurking near the Career pack, but I don't know exactly where she is.

Who to choose, who to choose?

I decide not to decide right away. I will go where ever the wind takes me. I begin to walk around the ship, spying on the occasional alliance or solitary tribute. They are all bland at this point. Everyone is afraid of making the next risky move. It is too easy to find the person who killed another tribute. Everyone has their guard up. A major Capitol interference is on the brink if this continues for too long.

I am about to finish letting fate find my next girl when I find the girl. She looks scared and nervous, glancing behind and around every few seconds. It is hard being out on you own, I think to myself with a large smirk. I can't strike yet. There are too many tributes still hanging around the ship deck. I'll just do some close following. Wait until she is a simple, sitting duck.

District 14: Karter Neandra's POV

My eyes constantly flicker from Astrid to the bulge in the left pocket of my pants. I feel Astrid looking at me as well, trying to figure out why I am acting so strange. I don't know why either. I guess I feel a bit guilty for taking the necklace even after Astrid said not to, but it is not just guilt I am feeling. I think I'm…paranoid.

I don't know how I know that. I have never felt paranoid about anything in my whole life. Yet, something in the brain, the part that is still normal Karter, keeps whispering the word to me. What am I paranoid about? I can't quite grasp what is going on, but every time I look Astrid, the strange new part of me grows more nervous.

Astrid halts suddenly and I tense up. I turn to face her and watch as she crosses her arms, a rather annoyed look on her face. "I was just going to wait and observe you for awhile before I asked or came to a conclusion, but you are driving me crazy. What is going on with you? We have been walking around for the last hour or so and you can't stop glaring at me. Are you hiding something?"

I am prepared to just say nothing, but new Karter beats me to it. "Wouldn't you like to know," I snap at her. A quick flash of panic reaches her eyes at my answer. I know she has never seen me like this. No one has ever seen me like this because I am not like this. I don't know what just came over me.

"I really would," Astrid says with a nod. She doesn't look annoyed anymore. She looks startled, confused, and maybe even a little scared.

A thousand ways to say "I'm sorry!" enter my mind, but not one of them comes out. This does, "I see what you are trying to do. You are just playing me, trying to get close to me and my secrets so then you can use them against me later. It may have worked on tributes in the past, but it won't work on me!"

"Karter, you're scaring me," Astrid says. I can see her not trying to lose her cool, but she doesn't seem to know what to do for once. And that scares the real me. "I'm not trying to do anything. I just want to know why you are acting so weird."

"Why are you always acting so weird? You never let me do anything. I completely trust you, but you don't feel the same way. This isn't an alliance. This is just you telling me what to do and me being stupid enough to just do it. I have had enough!" I regret saying that immediately after. I had been feeling that in the beginning, but we have finally gotten to the point where we can rely on each other. And by the look on her face, I just blew.

"I think I have too," Astrid says in a small voice. "I don't trust a lot of people, Karter. It isn't worth it in the long run. The people you trust will either betray that trust or use it to use you. But, I did try to trust you and see, I was wrong to. Good luck, Karter." She turns around and walks away, leaving me angry only at myself and the wretched thing in my pocket.

I wait until she's far enough away to not be able to see me take it out of my pocket. I notice it was glowing before, but it slowly goes out in my hand. Astrid was right, as usual. You can't just take objects the Capitol leaves lying around. I take one last look at it before chucking it over the side of the ship.

I don't watch it go down because a little part of me will want to go get it back. I don't hear the sound of splashing water. I hear a dull thud as the necklace hits the ship's deck. I know I should go make sure it ends up in the water, but I can almost not see Astrid anymore. "Astrid!" I call and leave the necklace behind on the lower deck without a second thought. Someone else's problem, right?

…...

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I am trying to get this story back on track. So, Astrid and Karter's relationship now has suffered a setback. They are shaping up to be the most interesting pair. And Azrael is stalking someone, but who?

Capitol Question of the Day: Whose hands will the necklace get into next?

Reviews make my day. Peace, Love, and All That Jazz.

-Emma