Hey followers,

I feel like I'm not updating enough, you know?

I also feel like I've lost some of you since the summer. That's really sad - I hope you come back.

*In the Blink of an Eye

Stag Browning, District Ten

The action plays out so quickly, I barely register. Before I know it, the girl has the rifle pointed at the psychopath's brain. Was it planned? Is this all some elaborate trick? I don't know, because Jaysper is running towards the pair, screaming abuse. I don't know what she's thinking.

I don't think the other girl does either. Her eyes widen.

I blink and when I open my eyes a fraction of a second later, Jaysper has plunged her knife in up to the hilt into the boy's chest. I look down as the blood begins pouring out. Why did Jaysper stab the side? Her aim isn't that bad.

Then I realise the boy must have shifted to the side to avoid the worst wound. Clever, but the stab will still be fatal.

I'm standing here like a statue. What should I do?

The girl drops the boy onto the ground and steps back to avoid the pool of blood growing at her feet.

Jaysper turns, triumphant. Her first kill.

Kyle 'Animal' Lanyer, District Three

I can't speak, but if I would, I'd call that girl all the names under the sun. Every... single... dratted... one... of... them.

I can't really feel the stab anymore. It hurt like god knows, when she plunged it in. I wish I hadn't shrugged to the side. It would have been quicker if I hadn't. An easy sail out of this world and into the next.

There are faces above me, but they waver and change shape. I see my mum and my eyes prickle, then the girl who stabbed me. Then I see my granddad, the wrinkles on his face creasing into a worn smile. Then I see Michael and Dad staring down, no emotion on their faces. Dad fades out and Michael's face twitches into a smile before he morphs into my best friend, Mariya.

I try to reach out to them, to grab their hand, but for some reason, my arms are locked to my sides.

Someone's voice, which sounds so much like my mum's, floats though the smog of my mind. "He's going. Good job, Jaysper."

Who's Jaysper? I don't know a Jaysp-

The fog descends and the last person I see is Mum, her hand reaching out for me.

Coraline Rige, District Seven

I've seen so many people die recently, that I thought I'd be used to it. The thing that did it, was the boy moaning out for his mum. In his last moments, we saw that even the psychopath loves his family. The cannon goes, making me jump.

I don't cry. There is no point. I reckon he killed a few people. But right now, I just don't want to see the red stain creeping towards me. I feel like throwing up the meagre cheese, and although I was never in any danger, I still feel a little wobbly. I close my eyes and compose myself.

Bronte Pratt, District Six

I gasp with relief as the cannon sounds. I'm free. As long as these people let me go. I look hopefully at them. The two people standing in the clearing haven't moved since I got here, but they don't look too vicious. The girl has her eyes closed and the boy is the one who volunteered for his brother and had all those friends from the children's home.

The girl who stabbed Kyle, Jaysper, I think I heard the boy saying, is walking back to her allies. All safe. Phew.

But life is never safe in the arena. A small figure emerges from the side. Who? I can see it's a girl, and she walks forward purposefully until she reaches the body.

The little girl cocks her head and steps over the corpse, daintily avoiding the blood. She bends over, not taking her eyes off me, and yanks the knife out of the body. Then she wipes the drying blood on his trousers.

Crap, crap, crap. You should have run while you had the chance!

But something else in me stands upright. I'm sick of having to run away like a cowardly chicken every time there is danger. I should stand up for myself.

The girl, she must not be older than twelve, but she holds the knife tightly and I know she won't hesitate to use it.

"Natalie, what are you doing!?" The boy calls out, echoed by Jaysper. "We thought you'd gone!"

Her endless eyes are locked onto mine. I can't look away but I can hear her reply. "I thought I'd keep an eye on you, and it looks like you needed it."

She takes a step towards me, and I step back.

"Natalie!" The boy is desperate now. "That girl just stopped the psychopath from shooting us. Surely you remember Charms telling us that he had a rifle! She's on our side! Look, she's not even holding a weapon!"

I nod furiously. "He's right – I'm on your side!"

"Relax Stag, I'm doing you a favour. One less person to kill later." And then the little girl, so small, launches herself at me. I step to the side but Natalie obviously anticipates it. Her knife jabs up behind her even as she spins, but her aim is off. I dance away.

I. Won't. Run. Away. Again.

I take the small window of calm to pull the rifle around and hope it's loaded. Pull the trigger! Click. Empty. Surely Kyle must have loaded before he came to this clearing? What an idiot.

I look up from the useless gun and see Natalie's knife swooping down on me. Before I know what I'm doing, I shove the gun up and it clangs with the knife. Hmm. Not all useless then. I push the barrel up and to the side with both hands and Natalie is unbalanced. Her arms windmill and her eyes bulge. She wavers in that space between standing and falling.

I don't want to kill her.

In the end, I don't have to make the hard descision, because as Natalie topples to the ground, the back of her head collides with a rock. The thud is sickening. The crunch is even worse.

Now it's her blood mingling with Kyle's.

I turn around and my empty stomach heaves. Nothing comes up, except bitter bile.

The tears begin and I furiously wipe my eyes. But they don't stop so I sit on the ground and bury my face into my knees, rocking back and forth. It helps a bit.

I didn't mean to kill her.

The second cannon fires.

A Stranger, Panem

It's dark but the blood is darker against the rock. Two bodies lay, uncollected by the hovercraft. Why haven't they been taken?

Consult the Head Gamemaker. It's his newest trick. Last time I saw him, he was quite excited by it.

Oh look. The corpses are moving. What's that? They're dead? Oh no, don't be ridiculous.

You see, these are undead.

.

The Fallen:

Kyle 'Animal' Lanyer, District Three Boy [Cause of death: Stab in chest – Natalie Dismal]

Natalie Dismal, District Ten Girl [Cause of death: Smashed skull – Bronte Pratt]