Day 5: Amber's POV

I wake up with a start, and almost bump my head on the roof of my little tree room. I've just realized something. We're in the final eight. An interviewer will be talking to my family right now. I wonder if the bread is still sitting on the stovetop. I wonder what the whole nation is thinking about my family. They probably really like them, or at least I hope. Maybe my grandmother told a funny story from when I was a baby, or if my father played his violin for the camera. That's one more reason to get back home, so I can hear his music again. It's hard to believe that there still can be something as beautiful as music in a world like this. I just killed someone, and there's no way to get around that.

It was all impulse. She was going to kill me. I had no other choice. I trusted her and she betrayed me. If there was one worst thing about the Games for me, it was when a tribute betrayed their ally. I know she wanted to go home so she could afford medicine for her brother, but we weren't even in the final 10 yet. What she did was completely unnecessary, and just wrong, even in the Games. Still, her scrams will always remain in my mind. At least it was quick, and her little brother didn't have to watch her die a slow death by a sadistic Career. But there is one thought that will likely stay in my mind too. I can't help but think of her poor innocent brother. He did nothing wrong. Did I kill him too? If I do win, maybe I can find out about him somehow, and get him the medicine. No, I'll never be forgiven by Dayta's family, but it's one less life cut short.

I have to focus on the important things now though. I'm pretty hungry, after 5 days of living on just about nothing but fruits. I decide to take a few sips of precious water. Let's see, who's left? There's Chardonnay from 1. Okay, she uses a sword, but she isn't really the sharpest tool in the shed. I'm sure if it came to the two of us, I could easily lure her into some type of trap. Both from 2 are still left, Agate and Mason. Agate is probably one of the smartest ones in the arena. Usually Careers aren't too clever, but based on just what I've seen in training, she's smart and has a deadly aim with spears. As far as I can tell, she doesn't know much about plants. I might be able to set something up, maybe putting poisonous berries in a container to make it look like I was about to eat them. Mason is an absolute monster with swards, but he can't do anything involving long range weapons. Of course, there's Coral. I do think that if it was the two of us, she's the only person I could kill with just a little regret, instead of my usual guilt. She's ruthless, mentally off, sadistic and extremely dangerous. I'm thinking about how I could do it, when I hear noise coming from the trees. It sounds like multiple people are coming. I clutch my dart gun. It looks like the Careers have finally found me.

As it turns out, it's just Chase, Lyndon and Elana. I don't know what happened to Laurel and Bracken, but I saw their faces in the sky last night. I never knew them, but Laurel seemed nice. Lyndon is looking around now and points to the base of my tree. "I guess we could hide some stuff in there." He says. Oh no, they're going to make camp right beneath me. I couldn't possibly bring myself to kill any of them. I especially couldn't hurt Chase. He's my partner, and these are his allies. So I just stay as still and silent as possible. Elana sits down, and Chase fingers the berries on a nearby bush. I know they're poisonous. Half of me desperately wants to call out to him, but I remain silent. He doesn't eat them. Instead, he turns to Lyndon. "Hey Lyndon, I've been thinking. The small girl from my district is still alive." No. He's going to hunt me down. "If she's survived for this long, she must have something worth knowing. We should find her and let her join us." I let out a breath of air. So he's not trying to kill me, at least not yet. I do know that alliances are out of the question. Before Lyndon even has a chance to respond, Chase pops a handful of berries into his mouth.

His cannon boom sounds a split second after he crumples to the ground. He must have not been thinking. His mind would have been somewhere completely else when he ate the berries. He might have even already known they were poisonous, but he was so busy thinking about me, he didn't even think twice when he swallowed them. At least it was quick. I think to myself. Elana and Lyndon clear the area. They must not want to be somewhere a friend died. I guess it's safer for me anyway. I watch them clear out. How long will it take before they're dead too? Of course, it would mean that I'm one step closer to victory. I can't think like that though. I just can't.

I study my water bottle, wondering if I should take another sip. I decide against it. I'm really starting to miss Chase. I miss the way his arm felt around me, I miss the way I could close my eyes and pretend it was my father's arm instead. But what's done is done. I have to look forward, not back. He will be another person for me to fight for and another name to never let people forget if I win. I climb down from the tree with my dart gun in my hand. I'm running low on water. I'm feeling brave, so I think I'll go over to the spring Dayta showed me. I touch my feet lightly on the ground. Now I'm looking at the plants around me. They're all really bright, like nothing I've ever seen. Just by looking at them, I can tell that just about all of them are poisonous. I'm studying a bush full of promising red berries, when a trident whizzes past my leg. An instant searing pain fills my calf, but it's not deadly. I spot the source of the trident and send a dart through her throat.

Coral yanks the little thing out. "Oh 9, did you really think that could kill me? Oh right, you're just a little kid," she taunts in a whisper. She is sprinting over to get her trident out of a tree when she collapses into the ground. Unlike Dayta, she doesn't even have time to scream. I watch her in shock as she begins to foam at the mouth and go rigid. The last thing I see are her glassy eyes before her cannon sounds. The only person I've ever really hated is gone.

I grab some moss off a tree and press it onto the gash. It's definitely just a flesh wound. I got really lucky when I decided to move my leg just a fraction of an inch to the right as Coral threw the trident or it would have cut to the bone. The gash goes all the way across my thigh but it looks worse than it is. I really need to get some bandages on it to prevent infection. The beeping noise capable of literally bringing life pierces the air. In the parachute's container is a roll of bandages resting in top a small thermos of soup. It's a pretty expensive gift, so someone must have been impressed with my ability to take down a Career. I guess I really did prove a lot of people wrong, didn't I?

We've only gone through one day and we've gone from the final 8 to the final 6. It's only day 5. This must be some kind of record. I wrap the bandages around the wound. I begin to shovel the soup down my mouth. It's just so good that I can't stop. Within seconds, the thermos is drained. Suddenly, the voice of Claudius Templesmith, the announcer for the Games, comes on. "All tributes are required to attend a mandatory feast at dawn. There will be two…twists." My heart seems to rise to my throat. That can't be good. "The first is that once you arrive you may not kill or injure any other tributes. Trust me; you will need them in their best condition. The second twist will be announced upon arrival. May the odds be ever in your favor."

What could he mean? Why would I need the other tributes?

Still Alive:

1. Chardonnay (1)

2. Agate (2)

3. Mason (2)

4. Elana (7)

5. Lyndon (7)

6. Amber (9)

Injuries:

Amber-wound in calf