Sorry it took so long! I have many on the go at the moment, way too many :O I've got this and Pivotal, Pivoting, and a multi-author one on the go, not to mention a long one shot I'm writing on all the kills Johanna has made! After I've done that one, I'm starting a Harry Potter one too! And I'm on Holiday all the time as well! The next chapter won't be for a long time, maybe 2-3 weeks. Sorry!

I am writing more each chapter for these, did you notice that? The first chapter was 2,000 words, and that was around the minimum limit (barring The Informed), and from The Rising, all chapters have been getting longer and longer! Which length do you prefer? 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 or more words per chapter? I like long ones, because I hate having to continually press 'next chapter'! What length do you prefer? Tell me in your review!

Disclaimer – No.

Killing

Last time…

Sunset.

I'm waiting for the people to appear in the sky right now, as I can't enter the cave until then. (Can't see the sky in a cave, duh!) Two cannons went off today, and I'm hoping Kai and Dou aren't either of the dead.

The anthem starts, and the first face fills up the sky. Hermes, the boy from 6. The only survivor so far who wasn't on my side of the river at the Cornucopia. Turns out the Gamemakers are fortune tellers then. I allow myself a smile as I realise that Kai and Dou are not dead. Or at least, not both of them.

I begin to hold my breath again as I prepare for another face to light up the sky.

I look up to see…

Hang on.

That can't be right…

I stare up at the black sky, completely empty now.

Why was there only one face in the sky tonight? ONE FACE!

The maths is definitely off, two cannons, one face, just the boy from 6. I frown in confusement, looking at the sky like it has offended me personally. There were definitely 2 cannons right? The one last night, after the anthem, was real, especially to my bum, which is still throbbing with the memory of that particular fall.

The other one almost led to my death, and seemed real enough, especially after I swore to carry out my threat and disembowel the gamemakers. That meant two cannons, and so two deaths, right?

So why was there only one face in the sky tonight?

I close my eyes, and try to think, something that doesn't come naturally to me, despite what my dad and Meena tell me. (Don't say that darling, you're perfectly fine just how you are). The cannons go off when someone dies, right? So two people died, but only one person is dead. There are two explanations then.

Explanation 1 – Two people died today, and one of them recovered from death.

Explanation 2 – On person managed to die twice. Hard enough, even here in the arena, where death comes easily.

The first explanation could actually work, as from all my experience I think that the cannon goes off when the heart stops, and I think there's something called CSP, CSI, CPS or something similar which can restart hearts. However, if you're in a fight to the death, and a person dies, bringing them back to life isn't the sanest option.

'Then again, the Hunger Games isn't the sanest game…'

Dou might have done it for Demeter, and vice versa, but I can't really think of anyone else in the Arena who would help to resurrect another tribute, another enemy!

I don't think I would, for Kai or for Dou…

Explanation 2 is impossible, unless CSI-thingy was used and then the person was killed again. Even more insane, bring a person back to life to kill them all over again. My brain repeats the fact about the insanity of the whole of the Hunger Games as I frown. This place is mad, maybe the Capitol set off 2 cannons to alarm us? (A small part of my brain wonders whether they enjoyed me threatening the gamemakers, and did it to set me off again.) But isn't that against the rules? There's only one rule in this game (well, two if you count the not leaving the plinth rule), kill or be killed. The Capitol is definitely mad though, who else would set undead tributes on us anyway? Undead. Undead…

I slide myself into the cave, making sure the vines fall down and stop me seeing the sky completely before I begin to allow myself to ponder that particular enigma.

When I stabbed the undead thing, no Cannon went off, because they were already dead, weren't they? But the Careers saw some of the tributes die, and they must have been taken off on the hovercraft again, and the Capitol re-animated them or something. So they only died once. Maybe the bite sets off a Cannon, and then when they die…?

I shake my head, thinking so hard I'm actually getting a headache now. The only thing I can decide on is that it has something to do with the undead things. But that means…

I jump up and poke my head out the vines, checking around, my heart throwing itself against the walls of my chest. No moaning groans sound, and I start to calm down.

The undead things are still around, but they wouldn't set the same monster on me twice, unless they were desperate, it wouldn't be fun! Just because they're in this Arena somewhere doesn't mean they're necessarily near me. The Arena's massive. They shouldn't be anywhere near me.

I hope.

I shiver, and despite my reassurances, remain outside the cave, alert and awake now, despite my lack of sleep for some time. I don't want to wait here, shivering in a cave while there might be undead thingies about! I've only got one exit from the cave, and that's where they'd come in! I'll sleep in the day, or never, because I can't bring myself to do it now.

What to do then?

'I could go get some food…' my stomach gives a rumble of approval at this plan, as I have been surviving on nothing but raw fish so far. The fish I got after I arrived back have already begun to digest in my stomach too, so I have nothing left to eat. I had no idea how quickly I could go through food.

I breifly consider fishing over the edge of the cliff, but realise that I have no seaweed left for a rope, nor anything with which to make a hook. My mind drifts to an old victor, from the 7th Games, who could make hooks out of anything. I think her name was Mags, or Madge or something.

I sigh and rub my stomach, looking hopefully up at the sky. Maybe a sponsor will send me something to eat. Unless they think I'm weak…

When no silver package floats down, I come to the conclusion that I will have to go find food for myself, a conclusion I was both expecting and fearing. I dive back into the cave and open up the bag, drawing out the rope-ladder. I crawl out through the entrance again, leaving my rucksack behind. I have my spear with me too, as I don't think it's safe to wander around without a weapon here. I've been lucky, the only person I've seen is Dou, and he isn't exactly major competition. I rearrange the vines so that the cave is once again hidden, before tying the ladder to the same rock as before, and sliding down the ladder. The pain that shoots through my arm is definitely duller than it was yesterday, but I doubt I can do any heavy lifting with it.

Suddenly grateful that I'm not left-handed, I attempt to throw the ladder up in a way that it'll fall back down again.

"Damn… Stupid… KNOT!" I say, frustrated, as the ladder remains resolutely on the rock. Shimmying up the ladder again, I loosen it somewhat, hopefully not too much, or I'll fall off again. When I reach the bottom, I somehow manage to get the ladder loose, and it falls onto my head. I have no idea how seaweed can be that heavy!

I lift up the top, and wind the ropey ladder round my stomach, before pushing my top down again and checking it's secure. The rope serves 3 purposes. It makes me look less skinny and malnourished, so more intimidating. It also keeps the rope with me, while keeping my arms free, and finally, it might even work as a crude form of armour, stopping blades from piercing my already sun-burnt skin.

I walk off, congratulating myself inwardly at my brilliant idea. I came by the cliff path last time, and I ended up shouting, so I think the Careers could have heard me. I'm not really sure where I'm going, but the vague idea of swimming towards the forest is in my head. If I swim far enough out that the ranger weapons cannot reach me, no-one (except maybe Kai) would be able to swim out to kill me.

The water seems choppier, like the wind has increased, and small white specks are flying around, and I think I can see the beginnings of clouds in the sky.

'Great' I think to myself 'On top of all of this, rain. My life seems to be some sort of joke on the part of the universe'

Scowling at the clouds like they formed purposely to make me depressed, I dive into the water, and swim towards the Cornucopia and out towards sea. Hopefully the Career on guard won't be looking out here, or they'll think they've imagined me. It's a good thing the Capitol does everything related to District 4 in blue, good camouflage for me. And hopefully, no sharks will see me.

'Shut up about the sharks, there are no sharks. I hope'

I glance nervously at the water beneath me.

Swimming always made me feel awake, and even though I haven't slept for days, I still feel completely alert. I blame the adrenalin. The towering cliffs are behind me now, and I can see waves lashing against the base of the cliff. The sea is no longer the calm, mirror-smooth surface it was at the start. Maybe the Gamemakers are messing with the weather. Actually, scratch that, I'm sure the Gamemakers are messing with the weather, they do it every year! I just wish I could work out how bad they're going to make it, whether it'll keep getting worse until everyone apart from one person has been blown away, or if they'll just make it harder to survive.

I hope for the latter, and am suddenly glad for the blanket I got. What I'm not glad about is the fact that they gave us skimpy clothes, and I'll have to walk around in them.

Giving the sky another dirty look, I swim past the Cornucopia, and I can just make out a shadowy silhouette sitting atop it, facing away from me. Excellent. From the build I'd guess the person as one of the trolls. My theory is confirmed as he scratches his head dully, looking like a large gorilla.

I keep swimming until the cliffs have vanished from view, and the Cornucopia is a small, glinting speck in the distance. It manages to glint even in the dark of night. As soon as I can be certain no person there can see me, I beach myself. Panting slightly, I glance quickly around the general vicinity, noting (to my relief) that this part of the forest seems to be all but deserted. I straighten up, and clench my spear in my good arm again, but leave it at my side. It really wouldn't do if I tripped and managed to stab myself. Knowing me, I'll probably end up doing that.

I look around for some animals I can hunt and eat; that preferably won't try to eat me first. No luck. Nothing's easy for me, and I doubt the Capitol will help.

I sigh slightly, and gaze around the clearing, hoping a rabbit will lie down long enough for me to stab it.

No luck again.

I start forwards, realising I've been standing still too long, and make towards the denser part of the forest, complete with scrubby bushes and grass. Animals like grass, don't they?

I wish Dou could have allied with me, he'd probably know. I just know fish.

Are fish and rabbits really that different? Or squirrels, I'm really not fussy.

A rustle behind me causes me to whirl around, the spear no longer at my side but poised to strike. I edge my way closer, horribly aware of how loud my footsteps sound on the crunchy earth, hoping the darkness has shielded me from the gaze of prey, or predator.

I bend my knees, as the bush gives another, smaller rustle, before leaping onto it. My spear is held aloft, but I do not lower it. A small bit of my brain still refuses to kill until I know what – or who – I will be killing.

A scream wrenches the air, as I realise – with a lurch of my stomach that has nothing to do with eating raw meat – that I have caught my first tribute.

The small bush is no more than a pile of leaves and twigs now, revealing the terrified girl hiding beneath it, curled up.

I think she was sleeping.

Her mousy hair is thick with dirt, like Dou's was, but Dou has never looked at me with such terror in his eyes. Her brown eyes are wide in horror, and she seems to be trying hard not to cry. She thinks she's going to die.

Is she going to die?

I rearrange myself on top of her, into a kneeling position on her chest, causing her to panic even more, and increase her struggling.

It sickens me.

But I have to do this, don't I?

Don't I?

The spear is still held aloft, though I have no idea whether I have the strength to do anything other than let it fall to the ground with a clatter. I didn't feel tired earlier, but now the lack of sleep seems to have not only caught up with me, but tackle me to the ground and beat me over the head with the starting gun.

The girl from District 5, Din writhes underneath me, and I feel another stab of horror about what I am going to have to do, unless I think of something fast.

Very fast.

Cogs and nuts whirring in my brain, I try to stall, by talking to her in a voice that makes me sick, sick of having to do this. Sick of the whole freaking thing, sick of the Capitol and the stupid games they make us play.

"Hello there, having a little sleep?" I say, crooning slightly "would you like to go to sleep forever?"

She's beginning to cry now, struggling in vain underneath me,

I don't want to, I really don't, but I can't just let her go like that, not after Dou. Not again…

A clunk of an idea echoes through my brain, and I try to resist smiling in relief, though that would be a bit of a giveaway to the Capitol that I was planning something. I can let her go, just after a bit of acting, and making it seem like I didn't want it.

'You can't do this every time though' a timid but determined voice tells me 'you can't let everyone live. Not Kai, not Dou, not this girl. You can't. People have to die for you to live, and if you can't kill, the Capitol will kill you, even if you are an interesting person in the games'

I ignore the voice, as I put my plan into action.

"Well little girly" I say with a small, manic laugh "Do you know what I'm going to do? I'll tell you if you want, but you have to promise not to tell…"

She's stopped wriggling, and seems to be ready to accept, to embrace her death, though her eyes are still wide and damp. I bend my head down, my hair acting like some sort of greasy shield, preventing the cameras from seeing my lips move. I put my mouth so close to her ear, I can feel the heat radiating off them, and I'm sure I can hear her heart beat. I begin to whisper in a low, urgent voice.

"I am not going to kill you"

I hear a small gasping sigh of relief, and I feel like hitting myself in the face. How stupid could I get? Of course she's going to react, and spoil my image and my plan all inone swoop.

"You can't react though. You have to act your part, or I'm going to be utterly screwed. I am going to pretend to be about to stab you, and you are going to find some hidden reserves of strength and punch me in the stomach, throw me off and run away. I'll let you go, without THEM knowing it's on purpose. I'm NOT going to follow you. Do you understand?"

No sound.

I feel ready to hit myself again, of course she's not making a sound, I told her not to!

"Make a whimper or something, so I know you can hear me."

She whimpers, and I roll my eyes slightly (even in a situation like this, I can't help it). Her 'whimper' sounds less terrified, and more like a dog being squeezed slightly too tightly. At least she understands.

I move my head away from her ears, and it's just about possible to tell she's less afraid, though maybe that's just because I know she should be less frightened. There's still some real fear there, as if she fears I'm just toying with her, playing some kind of sick game.

Like the Hunger Games.

I lift my spear up, looking manically happy (hopefully just manic to the audiences though) and like the plan states, Din draws back her arm (hard to do when you're lying down) and thrusts it hard into my abdomen.

Did a train just crash into my stomach?

I roll onto my side, off Din, as I hear her scamper away; leaving me lying here with the vague sense that somebody set my stomach on fire.

I forgot to mention in the plan that it was to be a fake punch.

I gasp for air, but the oxygen seems to dance around out of my reach, leaving me feeling like I might faint. With a dry rattle, I manage to gulp some air down, before vomiting the contents of my stomach onto the earthy floor.

Half-digested raw fish reeks.

I lie on the ground, wheezing like crazy for a few minutes before I draw the will power to pull myself up into a sitting position.

I look murderous.

How can I know I'm looking murderous? Because I feel it. I couldn't follow her if I wanted to, and trust me; some small part of my brain really wants to follow her.

I stand up, though the world seems to be rocking around slightly, and I almost lose my balance. I use the spear to push me up, and lean myself on a nearby tree, getting my breath back.

Ungrateful arse!

I groan again, and wonder how an average girl like that learned to punch like that! Maybe she learnt it at the same place where she learnt to swing a mace? I'm probably never going to find out about that, unless I get the chance to meet her again, without the urge to kill.

I smother a laugh in my hand, and supress the urge to laugh some more.

'To be honest, it was a really good punch' I think reasonably, returning to normal now I can breathe again. I even feel happy, that I was able to let her go. I take a step forward (hoping my legs can support my weight) and stumble past the pile of vomit, trying hard not to smell it.

'Eurgh' is the only thought that goes through my head as I walk by, my stomach now complaining about the new emptiness.

I'll be eating raw fish again tonight then.

Maybe that had something to do with the vomiting.

I sigh, and determined not to give up my hunting yet, walk towards the ocean again. Do rabbits and squirrels like swimming?

I smile again, as I remember what I did. I'm in the Hunger Games, and I let someone live!

Marlin would be happy.

Marlin…

I stop so suddenly, I'm sure any cameras following me must have kept going without me.

Marlin saw all of that, and he didn't know what I said to Din. He didn't know that I planned it all out, that I wanted her to go! Hell, the whole of Panem thinks I wanted to kill her, and her escape was nothing more than a lucky accident! In the eyes of the District, I'm just another Career.

I curse softly under my breath, realising how badly that went. To the Districts, I'm a loony Career with no conscience. To the Capitol I'm a weakling who whinges and can't hold down a small girl!

A lose-lose situation if ever there was one.

I really can't let anyone else go. I'll have to kill the next person I see.

'I promise I'll make it quick'

Hunting, it seems, is not as easy as it seems when you're learning it at the training sessions. Sure, I could probably hit a rabbit from 20 feet away, but how do you find the freaking animals in the first place? The whole half of this forest seems to be a no-rabbit zone, and I'm sure that either rabbits are highly evolved and super intelligent, or fish are incredibly stupid. I'm guessing the latter.

I curse as another 'rabbit' I've seen turns out to be a rabbit-shaped bush. My stomach groans in annoyance, and I feel the urge to punch it into oblivion to remove my hunger (would that work?) Except Din Joules already did that, didn't she?

"Owww" I murmur, rubbing it gently, the pain half-hunger, half-punching.

I kick the rabbit shaped bush to relieve my aggression, and fail to note the tree behind it, causing me to yelp in pain as my foot makes contact with the aforementioned tree. Swearing under my breath again, and trying to rub my toe, I catch a glimpse of something in the tree behind the one I just kicked.

Or, more precisely someone.

Oh no, not this soon…

I can't let them go too, can I?

The cameras must have seen me notice her, and I stand up, and the person vanishes into the branches without moving. I duck down again, and she reappears. Standing up once more, I can't see her, though if I stare at it closely, I can just about tell that the branches are a bit too thick to be natural. I duck down again, and see the floaty girl from 7 sitting high up, like some nesting bird of paradise, and I realise how she must have got her high score. Camouflage. She is brilliant at it. If I hadn't stubbed my toe I would never have seen her.

But I did see her.

And I have to kill her now.

I raise the spear slightly, hoping the cameras won't be able to make out how it's shaking, along with most of the rest of my body.

'You can't do this, You can't do this, You can't do this, You can't do this' A high pitched, frantic voice is screaming in my head, and I feel inclined to agree with it, but the rest of my head is telling me that I have to. I have to.

I really don't want to die.

Not here.

Not now.

I shake myself, and look up at the tree again. From this distance I'm almost guaranteed a clean shot, though I might have to go up there to retrieve the spear.

A short burst of nausea overcomes me as I realise that I'll have to go up there, with her body.

I have to.

I pull my arm back, imagining that it isn't a real person. Maybe if she was just a training dummy, it wouldn't be this hard. If I can make myself believe she's a training dummy, maybe I can make myself go through with it.

The spear flies out of my grasp without me even thinking about it, soaring through the air like a shark, and piercing the tree like a bullet.

For a second I think I have missed, and relief begins to course through me.

Then a sharp 'CRACK' fills the area, the sound of a branch breaking, as the girl falls through the tree, quite obviously dead.

The quiet after the crack makes the Arena sound silent, like some parody of a moment of mourning. The world seems to have gone completely quiet, and I can barely feel the cold or the hunger any more. Everything seems to have gone numb, as I stare at the empty shell of Medeina, lying upon the sandy floor.

Except she wasn't, couldn't be dead.

No…

Hang on, she actually couldn't be dead, the cannon blast that sounded after the deaths failed to arrive.

She's alive.

Cautiously, I walk over to her, and place my hands on the top of the spear and pull lightly. It slides out with a soft'squelch' that should make me vomit again, but in my numb state; the sound is muffled, as though coming from a long distance away.

I step back instinctively, and turn around, determined not to look at the…

At her.

I walk towards the sea, vaguely hoping my blank expression will be read as emotionless.

I just killed someone in cold blood.

Why am I not feeling bad?

Apart from this numbness, I feel practically normal! I should be crying and rolling into a ball and weeping and wishing for death, and I'm not.

I'm cruel.

I sink into a state of not thinking for most of the way back, and it's a minor miracle I manage to make it up the cliff to my cave.

Daybreak has almost arrived.

The cave entrance is still covered, and I feel uneasy about entering.

It's strange, I didn't want to sleep, and now I crave nothing more than to sleep, and to feel nothing until the numbness goes.

In my state, I hear an echoing beep, like a reversing hovercraft.

I turn to see a silver parachute float down from the sky, and I give a hollow laugh in payment.

I'm being rewarded.

Rewarded for killing.

'Murderer'

I hold the large parachute in my arm, and stare at it blankly, like I don't know what to do with it.

I don't know what to do with it.

'Murderer'

I shake my head, trying to rid my brain of the hissing voice that fills it.

Doesn't work.

I push the silver package into the cave, and follow it through, trying not to break down.

What have I done today?

I almost killed one person, and killed another.

'Murderer' my brain hisses again, and I put my hands over my ears and attempt to sleep, but my brain keeps hissing at me, refusing to give me the pleasure of nothingness, 'killer of the defenceless, nothing better than them. You deserve this'

'Murderer'

'Murderer'

'MURDERER'

*BOOM*

I really am a murderer now.

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