Aeron Swan

I change out of my dress and head back towards my district floor. Tonight will be my last night here. Tonight could be my last night alive.

I enter and am immediately confronted by Noah.

"So, it's true."

I should've expected that.

"Yes Noah. that is why I was throwing up and not feeling well on the train ride. I'm pregnant. I figured you knew something was up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Well, what now," he throws his arms down in frustration. This was not a part of our alliance.

"Nothing. Tomorrow I go into the arena and we fight. Baby or no baby."

"It can't be that easy. The Capitol is angry that the authority figures are letting you go in pregnant."

"Good, that was the point! They should be angry."

"No, Aeron! Don't you understand? They can't have that happen."

"Well they haven't given me permission to leave, so it doesn't matter what the Capitol citizens think."

"You're wrong Aeron. Part of these Games is for the entertainment of the Capitol citizens. Don't you realize that? The last thing they need on their hands is the Capitol citizens rebelling these Games. Something has to happen."

Like what?

Ashley Henns

Daryl stops me before I have time to run for my room.

He grabs my arm just before I'm about to dart away. "Hey Ash."

I stare at him because I have no idea what to say.

"Your interview went well." He says.

"Thanks," I pull from his grip, "can you let me go please?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He laughs because he doesn't believe me. "Seriously."

I turn away from him and gnaw on my bottom lip. "We aren't friends, so I don't have to tell you anything." I say.

"What?"

"On the interview you said you didn't care about anyone, but your sister. You told me before you cared about me and wanted me to do well."

"Is that why you're upset? Because I said that?"

I don't answer him.

"Ashley it was just an interview. Sometimes you play pretend on interviews. I wasn't even thinking about what I was saying. You can't take it personally."

"Well I did! I'm so confused Daryl. I don't know if I'm supposed to make friends or hate everybody. How do you kill someone you like? I can't even kill someone I don't like. Like Emma, she's my worst enemy at home, she came to see my mom and me because she broke her arm, and I helped mother fix it. Mom says we must put aside our differences to help others, but now I have to hurt them!"

I start crying. I went so long without crying and now I'm crying right before the day we go to the arena.

"You don't have to count on me, or anybody. I don't want to see you die, so I'm trying to help you Ash. I'm not trying to save myself. I'm trying to save you."

"What?"

"It's not right. You shouldn't be here. You're too young. If my sister were here, I would want somebody to look out for her. I'm just doing something that I would want somebody else to do for me. So you don't need to trust me, you don't need to decide who are your friends and enemies. Just look out for yourself. You're going to have to hurt others. Those are the rules, and that's how you win."

"You can't be helping me. What am I supposed to do to help you? It's not fair."

"Nothing is fair Ash. I'll be okay. I only ask for one thing."

"What is that?"

"How did you get a seven? On the day of the session. You haven't told me and I'm curious."

"I did what you told me to. I healed." I hold out my arm to show him. There's a long jagged line across it. I rub my finger across it. It's raised and bumpy, but it's healing nicely.

"You did that on purpose!" He looks shocked.

"Well what else was I supposed to heal? The dummy? I just took a knife and cut it open. It bled a lot, but I made a remedy to clot the blood, then I made a disinfectant, then I made something to seal the cut. And then the bleeding wouldn't stop… so I stitched it. It was mostly numb so I didn't feel much, but it felt funny."

"Ash, what if you would've died?" He yells and I don't know why. Iris told me not to tell people. I guess this is why.

"The Gamemakers wouldn't have allowed me to die, and it worked anyways. They were pretty shocked though."

Daryl shakes his head.

"I'm surprised they didn't give you a 12 for that one."

"It's probably because half of them thought I was crazy."

"No wonder," Daryl examines the cut again. "Wow. Just wow."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment."

Daryl looks over at the clock. "Ash you need to get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be… well it's going to be important."

I nod, and he pulls me into a hug.

"Good luck. Maybe I'll see you soon."

Kyra Valente

"So what's going to happen tomorrow?" Boxer looks at me.

I pretend to not know what he's talking about, but he's going to say something about the alliance. Could I tell him I was under the influence of too much wine when I proposed it?

"The alliance Kyra."

"I thought it was an unspoken agreement. You're with River and I'm with Dorien and Scout. It was fun while it lasted, but neither of us trusted one another and probably with good reason."

He doesn't bother to cover up the dirty look he shoots at me.

"Ouch," I say. "You aren't losing much."

"You really are a bitch, just like I thought." And he leaves the room, probably to plot my death.

"Good night to you too!" I yell.

I decide it will be wise to go to bed as well and I get myself showered and into new clothes. This could be my last night alive. By this time tomorrow I could be injured or dead or even something worse; a murderer.

My door slides open suddenly reveling a familiar figure. It's Colton.

I run to him and throw my arms around him and he hands me a slip.

Just wanted to wish you good luck. Can't stay long.

Of course he can't.

"If I make it back. I'm getting you out." It's the only thing I can think of to say to him.

He doesn't say anything and I wish that I could talk to my parents and tell them that he is okay. Would it help them, or would it kill them to know that we're both here? I can't decide, but Colton seems to think it'll be the latter.

He stays for a while. I talk to him about old memories and catch him up on the news from home. He makes the appropriate emotions. Colton does not need paper; he is my brother, and I know him well enough that he does not need to form words.

He covers me up in bed, and hums me a lullaby he used to sing when I was young and scared of monsters under the bed. The situation is the same now, except those monsters are not under the bed anymore. They are all around me, but as long as Colton can sing to me they will never get me.

Scout Calloway

Despite my attempts to stay away from River he has managed to corner me on the way to my room.

"I don't have anything to say to you," I say.

"Well I have something to say to you. I'm not asking to be friends I just need to get something off my chest."

"Take it to somebody who cares," my harsh words do not bother him and he stands unmoving.

"Come on Scout! Please."

I cross my arms. I'll hear him out so I don't seem like the bad guy.

"I want to say sorry," I can't help the sigh from escaping.

"No stop," he says, "I'm being serious. I've been doing some thinking the past few days. How I treated you was not fair. It's like the Capitolians. They look at me like I'm trash because I'm from District 10. It's the same for the other outlying districts. And you know what? I felt like I was being done such an injustice. They have no right to judge me because I'm from ten. Then I realized I was doing the same thing to you! I didn't even know you, but I belittled you just because you were different. And I couldn't… I couldn't die knowing I was such a hypocrite. I couldn't die knowing I wasn't any better than them. That's why I'm apologizing and I am truly, truly sorry."

"Thanks," I say. "I appreciate your apology. You will do fine tomorrow. You're strong and you know it, but thank you." I manage and smile and then go to my room.

I don't know whether to trust River's apology or not, but it doesn't matter. I'm still going to watch my back around him. If an apology was his way of bringing my guard down it will not work. If he was apologizing then I'm happy, but also pissed that it took him that realization to understand that he was in the wrong. Plus it was incredibly selfish. He apologizes to ease his guilt? Either way this doesn't change anything for me. If I get the opportunity to kill him I will kill him.

Audrey Carpenter

I am not scared of Rion. I am not scared of Rion. He cannot hurt me tonight. I keep repeating these words as I stare down into his empty eyes, eyes as empty as a barrel of a gun that's ready to go off. He's just trying to intimidate me.

The collar of my shirt is gripped in his hand and he throws me against the side of the wall again.

"Let go of me," I say. I must not look weak.

He stares at me, a sick smile growing on his face and he leans in towards me. I pull my face away, but there is nowhere to hide. Oh please don't.

"You think you're pretty tough little girl."

"Let me go," I grit through my teeth.

He laughs, and I start screaming.

"Shut the hell up," he puts his hand over my mouth and bite his finger. He screams and tries to rip his hand away, dropping me in the process. I taste something metallic and I spit it at him.

"You'll pay for that!"

I make a break for my room. I'm faster than Orion, his bulky size does not get him moving very fast, and I dart into my room and lock the door. He pounds for a good five minutes before finally giving up. The nightmare isn't over though; it won't be over until Orion lies dead on the ground beneath my feet.

Mikaela Northman

I wake up at one in the morning. I was having a nightmare about my parents being killed and I dreamt about living in the Capitol. I dreamt that they were making me over and putting me through surgery so I could be like them. My brother and sister-in-law stood there and told me it was for my own good.

I wipe the sweat from my face, and all I can think of is Shoal. I haven't spoken to him since the day I caught him stealing from our escort, but I miss him. Right now I just want to crawl into him and become apart of him. He would make this go away. He betrayed me though. I decide to swallow my pride and I find myself barefoot padding towards his bedroom. I'm about to knock, but the door opens for me and an empty bed lies before me. I jump into it, throwing the blankets, praying that he'll be there. His scent is not recognizable against the sheets, and the bed is cold. He has not been here tonight.

I am not going back to sleep so I decide to wait up for him. I pull an item I have not touched since I arrived: my sketchbook. Nobody knows about my obsession with drawing. I never had a camera, so I've spent my life capturing moments this way. It's like my journal.

I flip through the drawings of my parents, or war, or fire, of the ocean, or fishing, of my father's thoughtful face, of my best friend Mira, whose parents believe that this is right. I find tears coming to the surface, and I wipe them away. I cannot be sad, I must be angry.

Shoal decides to stroll in about thirty minutes later. He is whistling and I've had time to let my anger simmer.

"Where were you?" my voice comes out calmer than I expected and he freezes.

He runs a hand through his hair. He has no excuses. "You can guess."

"No, I want to hear you say it," I say.

"I was on… the District 7 floor."

"And what were you doing there?"

"Visiting Alice."

"Oh that's all it was? Just a visit. Was our time together just a visit too Shoal?"

"What are you talking about Mika? You set the boundaries, you said it couldn't mean anything, so we weren't even together."

"Oh really? Because I remember you saying specifically that 'we were in this together'. Or don't you remember?"

"We are in this together!"

"You said we weren't together!"

"I didn't mean that," he slaps his hand to his forehead in frustration.

"Then what is it Shoal? You can't have us both. You fool around with me and make me feel like you care and then you betray me! Have you told Alice you're in it together? Huh Shoal?" I find myself sobbing. I can't cry, I must be angry.

He doesn't speak. His lips stay tightly pursed together. "Mika," he steps towards me. I want to run, but my feet are glued to the ground. He reaches his arms out and encircles me.

I place my hands on his chest and force him back. "Go to hell!" I yell. I run back to my room. I fall on my bed with tears.

Why do I even care? Shoal and I cannot both live. But I cared about him. No, I wanted an alliance. Why would I ever let myself fall this deep this fast? I don't care about Shoal. He just broke a promise to me, that's why I'm mad. I don't need him, nor did I ever want him. It was just stupid.

I keep lying to myself until I fall asleep. Maybe I'll start believing it before tomorrow.

Aeron Swan

I am having a dream that I am holding my baby. It's a girl, and she's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I won the Games, and my baby lives.

Suddenly I am forced awake. Somebody covers my mouth and they hold me back. I try to scream, but I can't. I am dragged down the hallway and into the elevator. They take me to the ground floor where the entrance is and push me towards a door I have never entered.

What can I do? I cannot fight all these people. I can't even tell how many have their hands on me. I try to struggle, but it just makes things worse. Next thing I know I am lifted onto a table and strapped down.

Noah's words echo in my head. "Something has to happen."

As soon as the hand is lifted I begin screaming.

"Shut up!" A man in a white coat approaches me. "Nobody can hear you here."

"What are you doing?" I ask, but I already know the answer.

"You're pregnancy has thrown a wrench into plans. You know what you do when something ruins your plans?"

"No." Yes.

"You get rid of it."

"Don't you dare touch my baby!" I fight against the restraints, but it's pointless.

"If you keep that up the procedure won't need to be done. You'll miscarry the baby on your own."

I make myself calm down and breathe. Think Aeron think.

"You're going to abort my baby?" I'll stall for time.

"Yes, and then the Capitol is going to be under the impression that you either were lying, or you miscarried. It's your choice."

"No! I won't let you!"

"Sweetheart, you're in no position to argue."

"Why can't I just lie? Don't abort her please."

"Her?" He laughs. "And what if you are victor? They will know you lied. Besides this is better for your baby. Would you rather have her die with you in the arena?"

No I wouldn't, but I don't want it to happen this way. At least I have a chance, she has a chance. How can they expect me to lie? I won't do it.

"I'll tell them! I won't keep it a secret."

The doctor shoots me a look.

"I'm good as dead anyways. If you kill me for telling, you'll just add fuel to the fire. The Capitol can't have their games without 24 of us."

He can't kill me. I am a tribute. If I tell the secret the Capitol citizens will know. It's a lose-lose situation either way.

"Excuse me," he leaves the room. I imagine he is calling somebody, probably the president. I try to break through my restraints, but the only thing I accomplish is keeping my mind clear.

He steps back in a few minutes later. "I have another option to propose to you."

Heaven help me.