Day 11: Early morning

Sheila Carwell, D7

The sun slowly over the trees and a rumbling overtook Sheila's body. Her stomach was signaling her to get some food and fast. She looked around her, making sure no one was around the tree where she camped out like in the first day of the Games. She put her sword in her mouth and slowly climbed from her nightly shelter. Her feet hit the ground and twigs snapped underneath her weight. Under paranoia, she looked all around her to see if she was alone. She concluded she was alone and slowly walked to her left, where she smelled something decaying. The rank oder snuck into her nose and she began to gag on the smell. With her sword in hand, she walked towards the terrible smell, trying to swallow the gags that keep sneaking into her throat.

Her steps became smaller as she approached the smell. Her grip tightened on the sword handle so much that her district seal became imprinted on her palm. She leaned in closer and realized that, in front of her, was a chewed to bits animal, rotting and decaying in the open. It took everything that she had to not scream in horror. She swallowed the screams and looked closer to examine the dead animal. This wasn't the leftovers of a tribute. The animal was destroyed, bite marks littered its body, flesh was completely ripped off... this was the work of a mutt and Sheila knew it. The Gamemakers must have unleashed a terrible mutt in the middle of the night. But, no cannons sounded to confirm her suspicions. She silently walked away from the mutilated animal, hoping to find a source of food that she can really eat.

As she walked away, she ticked off who was left in the Games. That 6 girl died in the night, so she's off. The siblings from 2 are still alive and the boy from 4. Who else is left? She racked her brain to figure out who is left in the Games with her. That District 9 boy! He survived longer than anyone thought he would, or longer than Sheila thought. She just hoped the mutts would get to him before she would get to him. After what happened with the 8 girl, Sheila can only stand to kill small animals for food. She would never kill another human being, unless she completely needed to.

A rustling in the bushes broke her from her thoughts. Was it a tribute? A small, gray rabbit jumped out, casually licking its paws and cleaning its face. It was so innocent, just like a little child in Panem, but once it caught sight of Sheila and her weapon, it sprinted away, in fear of death. Sheila chased after it, using all of her might and hunting it down. In one last attempt for breakfast, she slid on her stomach and grabbed the animal by its long and furry ears. It curled into a ball of fear, much like Sheila has done since she was Reaped into these Games. This rabbit reminded her of herself and all the other children who fear these Games; there is nothing that can be done to stop your fate. Against her wishes, she took her sword, sliced it against the rabbit's throat and ended its life right there. At least she can be full for a while.

Kleo Miller, D2

The make-shift bow lasted pretty well, considering Kleo caught her and her brother some breakfast of three squirrels. When she gets back to the Capitol, she will be eating all the Capitol food she can before she bursts. These little animals were cooked over the fire her brother made and she divided up the squirrels evenly; one for her, one for Caden, and they split one fifty-fifty. She handed Caden his first squirrel and he took it with no words. He ate silently, which is something Caden never does. She expelled some breath and dug into her squirel. Only three more tributes, minus Caden, until she goes home. Of course, the Capitol will be over taken with her selfless act of 'sacrifice' and let both her and her brother live. It's a fool-proof plan, after all.

As she ate through her first squirrel and began to eat her other half, she noticed Caden barely touched his food. She looked down and back at him. What was his problem? She touched his knee and he faced her with his big brown eyes and she smiled at him. "Hey, eat up. We need our strength so we can finish this Game together." He smiled slightly and went back to his food. Is this how Luna and Braxton acted in their Games? Caden took a deep breath and looked to Kleo.

"Yes, I'm sorry." He starts. "I am just a little...exhausted."

"You can rest when we get home." Kleo says, sounding a little more confident than her brother. Caden just stared at her. Did he hear right? We get home? Did she not understand the rules of the Games? Oh well, let her think what she wanted, just like when they were home.

As the siblings ate their breakfast, a low growling was heard deep in the forest. Kleo's head snapped to the direction of the growl and fear rippled through her body. She didn't show it, thought Caden knew she was terrified by that growl. He came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. A loud screech came from her throat, and she punched him in the shoulder. "Not funny, you asshole!" The growl turned into a howl, and the howl turned into a chorus of screeching. There is more than one, and they could be coming after them. Caden hugged Kleo from behind and handed her the make-shift bow and arrows. They could take these mutations together.

Rye Corn, D9

The growling has intensified and fear began to take over Rye's body as he jogged around the arena. What were the Gamemakers planning? Kill a tribute and take away the mutts? Would he be that tribute? He clutched his knife that Isadora's district gave him and began to take slow breaths. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched behind Rye...er...Farro and he realized that no tribute was with him. He was with the mutations, and he may not make it back to District 9.

A loud thump! was heard in front of Farro, and a large, cat-like mutt was in front of him. Its head was square-shaped, its ears has fur tips on top, its teeth were sharp, and its fur was a mix of white and gray. Farro has never seen one of these personally, but its looks were very similar to a lynx, a cat in his school books back home. The teeth of the lynx were bright and shiny, ready to spill his blood in order for the Capitol to be entertained. A terrible death awaited him, but he swallowed the fear and was determined to defeat this lynx. The mutt roared, making Farro's ears ring, and its green eyes began to glow. They literally glowed! Farro gripped his machete and charged for the animal.

The lynx swiped his paws and cut a gash on Farro's arm, blood oozing from his arm and staining his jacket. He let out a yell of agony as warm blood trickled down his arm. A burst of adrenaline gave him the strength of a District 2 Career Tribute, and he stabbed the lynx square in the heart, covering the machete with its blood. The lynx cried out, his glowing eyes flickering and he fell over, blood staining his fur. The lynx began to twitch, and it was slowly dying. Blood still flowed from his wound, and Farro fell back against a tree. A tiny whimper escaped from the nearly dead lynx, and Farro looked at it with disgust. The dead lynx's eyes flickered three times and, suddenly, four lynx mutts surrounded him.

Four mutts. All of their eyes glowed different colors of the rainbow and their teeth were barred. Their eyes must have been a tracker of some sort. As one mutts eyes flickered, two more surrounded him. The machete was still in the first lynx's heart, and he was weaponless. The adrenaline is long gone and he is only as strong as a typical District 9 tribute. He is no longer strong, and he was wounded. Farro closed his eyes and loudly screamed, "I am Farro!" One of the lynx's jumped him and sunk its teeth into his arm. A loud, painful scream escaped Farro's lips as the lynx ripped his flesh off of his bones. Another lynx bit down onto his foot, slowly chewing up his whole leg. Farro slowly let go of his life, his screams faded into nothing, and his vision turned into black. I'm glad I took Rye's place.

BOOM!

Predator Fazaysia, D4

Screams, howls, flickering eyes, and a cannon saved Predator from the lynx mutts. But, those stupid mutts left their mark on him. One took a bite out of his arm, and no one in the Academy taught him how to deal with mutt bites. Figures. Something about the mutts seemed off though. They all didn't kill him, but when their eyes flickered, they all ran the other way. Blood was all over Predator's arm and pain rippled from his arm and spread to his whole body. The pain made him forget about the mutts and look up in the sky as a last-ditch effort. He had to have some sponsors left. They couldn't turn their back on him now in the final four. Please!

He closed his eyes and tried to take his mind off of the pain. Training back at home, fishing with his father, swimming in the lake behind the Training Academy, seeing Paige for the first time, being given the honor of volunteering for glory, his first kill of the Games. Everything was a distant memory now as the pain became more and more unbearable. He dared not look at his wound in fear of seeing his bone underneath all the blood. Where are the sponsors? Ever since he got that crossbow, he knew he had sponsors wanting him to return to the Capitol. Maybe Indigo is holding the gift until it gets worse.

Beep! Beep! Beep! A small parachute with a small case attached floated down and landed on Predator's lap. He cracked it open with one hand and a small case of medicine, along with a note, was in his sponsor gift. Thank goodness his sponsors still wanted him to win. He picked up the note and read it quickly. The medicine needed to be put on fast.

Predator, this medicine will not completely heal you. Place on the open wounds and it will numb the pain until the Games are over. You are a favorite to win. Keep strong until only you come out on top. ~I

Predator did as his mentor instructed and placed the cool balm on the bloody areas. The clear medicine mixed with the cheery red blood, turning into a pink-ish color on his open wounds. He continued to rub the mixture on his open wounds as the sun settled high in the sun, signaling noon. It was only noon? Now that there is only four left, the Gamemakers would find a way to end this quickly. He now has a one in four chance of taking home the title. With his sponsor, he will take home that title and destroy anyone in his way.

Indigo Greenlaw, District 4 Mentor

As noon began to settle in the Capitol, Indigo watched his tribute apply his medicine. That bite looked very terrible to sit through and wait for the pain to go away. He could actually see some bone sticking out. Luckily, he was saved by that District 9 tribute, who set off the mutts to kill him. That was a brutal death, but very interesting to watch. Everyone heard what Rye... or should he say Farro... yelled before he died. Apparently, he switched places with his brother Rye back in 9, and died for him. Some people thought it was very sweet, others thought it was very stupid, and some people *cough* Gamemakers *cough* thought it was a sign of a rebellion. There are talks of reaping the real Rye Corn next year and killing him in next years Games, then slowly killing off the entire Corn family. See what happens when you defy the Capitol?

Dusk Shine and Chal Sherwood appeared on-screen, replaying Farro's brutal death and commenting on his final words before he let go of his life. Despite what he said during District 5's death, people were very surprised to hear who he really was. Maybe people weren't listening and only watched as the star-crossed lovers said their final goodbyes and watching him receive a gift from another district. Rye was a favorite, until he turned into Farro. "And Rye Corn placed fifth, dying at eleven days, eleven hours, two minutes and one second. And with Rye's death, we are now in our top four. Now Chal, were you expecting these tributes to be our top four?"

"Not exactly." Every word that comes out of his mouth is like a stab to Indigo's ears. "I was expecting the tributes from Two and Four, but Sheila Carwell surprised me the most. After last year's terrible death for little Faith, I wasn't expecting Seven to pull through. I see her being able to make it to the top two, but I'm not sure if she'll be able to take home the victor title."

"Your tribute put up quite a fight there, Indie." A deep voice said to Indigo as they watched a quick recap of deaths so far in the Games. Indigo turned his head and saw Braxton Lester, mentor of District 2, beside him with a flute of champagne. "I think it will come down to our tributes."

"I can see that." Indigo replied stiffly. "The sibling team you have is very strong. But, what happens when one of them dies? The other one might go insane, handing my tribute the title." Indigo was good at this. He has done this mind game for years, convincing mentors that their tributes weren't strong enough to take on his. However, Braxton has mentored very strong tributes and things look about even. Although, District 2's chances are doubled because they are the only team left.

"We'll just wait and see." Braxton says, shaking Indigo's hand. Yes we will.

The Fallen:

Rye Corn, District 9: Mauled by lynx mutts

A/N: Only four left! I am trying to wrap up this story so I can move onto the Eighth Quarter Quell, which is still in need of tributes. All the information is on that story, and the tribute list is on my profile if you wish to see it. If you want to send in a tribute, PM me for the form. Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday and I will update this story as fast as I can. :) I have a new poll on my profile if you wish to take it. :D

MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!