Ruben Jackson, D4

Ruben walked through the woods, on the hunt for tributes. He hadn't spoken since the last night he was with Ronan and Thalassa. He'd had no reason to, but he missed the conversation. It actually helped his hunting, not having to talk with other people. He was able to hear around him, at the rustling in the grasses and trees. He was able now to detect the sound of a rabbit trying to get away from the area, or a bird flying from a tree. He hadn't heard a tribute yet, though.

Until now. He saw two tributes darting from the area, taking off for the Cornucopia. He rushed after them. Ruben couldn't tell from this far away what district they were from, but he followed them anyway. Maybe he'd be able to take them both down. At this point, that would be ten percent of the remaining tributes in the arena.

Ruben couldn't believe it was almost over. Less than two weeks in the arena, ninety-six people thrown into a fight to the death, and there was only twenty left alive.

Ruben was gaining. He watched as the pair ran around a bend as the river came into view, and he followed them in hot pursuit. As he rounded the corner they took, however, Ruben was clotheslined by a strong arm. He hit the ground hard. His death was coming.

"Ruben?" asked a familiar voice. "What are you doing here?" He looked up to see Ronan and Thalssa standing over him, a confused look showing on both of their faces. Ruben rubbed at the spot on his chest where he'd been hit, and then realized what was going on. He jumped to his feet, and pointed his spear at the two of them.

"Seriously, Ruben. What are you doing?" asked an exasperated Thalassa. She looked genuinely afraid.

"I'm not going to die. I won't let you kill me."

"We're not going to kill you. But if you don't put that spear down, we will take it from you."

"Go a head and try." Ruben lunged. He watched Ronan push Thalassa out of the way, but his actions left no room to defend against Ruben's attacked. The tip of the spear cut through his arm, close to the elbow. Ronan fell, but as Ruben was about to finish the kill, he was pulled backward and off his feet.

His head hit the tree, stuck there by the weighted rope of the bolo around his neck. It choked off his air flow, and Ruben panicked in his struggle to free himself. He saw Thalassa lift Ronan to his feet and they took off leaving Ronan stuck to the tree. He fumbled with the rope until it was loose enough to escape, and he took off in a new hunt.

Cicenna Arlenos, D8

Cicenna helped Sarah up into their tree for the night. The girl hadn't spoken since they left Rachel back in their last tree. She just kept her head down and followed Cicenna's instructions.

"You hungry?" she asked Sarah when they'd reach a good height in the branches. Sarah simply shook her head, and Cicenna realized that she hadn't eaten anything, either. She pulled out the remaining berries from her bag and forced them into Sarah's hand. "Eat." she ordered. Sarah looked up at her, not saying anything, and threw the berries down to the ground below.

Cicenna heard the parachute, its beacon following her tracking device. Or maybe it was Sarah's because when she opened the container it was a steaming meal, fit for two. A note sat on top of the food.

Eat, Sarah. Do as she says. - Dad. Cicenna was thankful for the help. Sarah looked over the note for a good five minutes,holding back tears that were clearly forming just below the surface, and then started to eat the food. Cicenna made sure the little girl had her full before she began to eat the rest.

Cubic Zirconia, D1

"Calm down, Cassio. There's nothing to do. You need to accept that she's gone." She was nearly shaking him as she spoke. Cassio had come running back to camp the night of Star's death, just as Cubic had seen her in the sky. He'd been having these horrible anxiety attacks since it happened. Cubic wondered how close he and Star had really been? FInally he calmed down, but she figured he'd freak out again in a few hours. The mighty Cassio had fallen a few pedestals.

"Just try and rest, Cass." Said Luxe, and Cubic allowed him to pull her away. She had to admit that she'd been a bit saddened when he'd returned to camp. He and Star had been away for two days, and she though he might've decided to go it alone. It would have been easer, because now they were going to have to take him out themselves.

Cubic looked over at Luxe, who was starting up a fire for the night. She couldn't believe that, just a few weeks ago, she'd been back at home, looking at him as if he were this pathetic little dog looking for attention. He was so much more than that, and right now, it seemed, he was her lifeline.

Carsander Amell, D8

"What do you think they'll say? When we get back to Eight." He asked Guerard. They'd been talking like this all morning, about what life would be like back in Eight when they got back. Carsander knew he'd have a lot of explaining to do with his family. The both of them would.

"My dad will probably just ignore it. He'll pretend we are just friends. My mom won't really care."

"Mine either, but my sister will torment me. She probably say something along the line of 'what took you so long?'" Carsander mimicked his sister's voice. He missed her. He missed everyone back home in Eight

"I think all those girls will be a little disappointed when you get back."

"Ha. They don't stand a chance against you, Guer." He said, climbing over a fallen tree. His feet his the ground, and he heard a slight oof behind him. Guer probably needed help over the trunk. He turned to offer his hand to the boy but instead met the gaze of a massive boy, from Four by the dark blue of his shirt. Carsander saw Guerard on the ground, a knife in his chest.

"Go," he said, choking on the ground. "RUN!" Carsander was shaking, but he listened to Guerard, and took off at a sprint. He realized after a while that the boy from Four wasn't chasing him, and he decided to double back. He had to save Guerard. Unfortunately, the cannon sounded half-way back. Carsander fell to the ground, gripping a tree for support, and started gasping in horror.

The Fallen

Guerard Willam, District Eight. Killed by Ruben.

How'd you like this chapter. I literally didn't plan this, but the fact that each featured tribute is, in some way, dealing with a breakdown almost blew my mind. I named the chapter for Carander's breakdown at the end, but then I realized that Ruben, Cubic, and Cicenna are all dealing with breakdowns, too. Are the tributes losing their minds in the arena?

19 left. Unfortunately, Guerard is gone. It's going to be hard for me to kill off any tribute at this point, but it needs to happen. Sorry Guer.

Please Review. I'll be putting a new poll up tonight. We're one step closer to the finale, and three steps away from seeing the interviews and the mutts that Wayland has planned for the tributes. So excited. Are you? Review, lemme know what you think and where you think the story might be going?