Ruben Jackson, D4

Ruben was following the river. He wasn't really hunting, but he couldn't just let himself remain in one place. That would attract attention from the Gamemakers for sure. The current was moving against his path, which meant that at some point, he'd find himself back at the Cornucopia. Maybe he could camp out there for a day or two. Possibly wait for a tribute to wander through so he could attack. The sooner they were gone, the sooner he could go home.

Ruben jumped. He swore he'd just seen a flash of bland hair streak between two trees up ahead. He pulled his spear off of his back and went off to investigate. In his head, he tried picturing which tributes were left, and which had light hair. He thought of that girl from Two. The Capitol girl. There was also a girl from an outer district still in the games that had hit that color. Maybe Ruben would get an easy kill.

As he neared the tree, he could hear rustling. Whoever he'd seen was hiding in the bushes on the opposite side of the tree trunk. Ruben ready himself to attack, and sprung,

"P-Please. Please don't kill me." He froze at the sound of her voice. This was no tribute.

"Nikki?" He said, dropping the spear to the ground. He stared into the eyes of his girlfriend as she rose to her feet, freeing herself of the she realized who had found her, the girl jumped into Ruben's arms. "What? What are you doing here?" asked a confused Ruben.

"I don't know. One minute I'm back home in Four, watching you compete, and the next thing I know some Capitol person was injecting something into my arm. Sleep inducer, I'm guessing, because I can't remember anything after that point;" Ruben pulled her in close. Nikki wasn't a career. She didn't know how to survive out in this type of environment, where nearly every other person would kill her in a heartbeat.

Ruben took Nikki by the hand, suddenly back in his right mind, and dragged her along, looking for a shelter. This must be what the game makers planned for the finale.

Carsander Amell, D8

"Sander?" Carsander looked up to the voice calling him. He'd been expecting Cicenna again, but instead, to his horror, his eyes met Ronnie's. Carsander jumped to his feet. This couldn't be real. This had to be a trick of the gamemakers. But she reacher out her hand, slowly, to remove the weapon from his hands.

"Please, Sander. It's me."

"Why are you here?" He didn't know why he was asking this. He had a good feeling of what she was about to say.

"It's the finale. This was apparently their big plan for the best games ever. They took me right after the interviews."

"Do…do they expect you to fight?"

"Well, if I'm here, I'm not going to let them kill you. You've been through enough."

Haden Plutoran, D12

Haden woke up to a sound at the mouth of the cave. Someone was moving, rustling the grasses that covered their path. Evie was far enough in the shadows of the cave that she'd be safe. Whoever was out there would probably assume he was alone. Haden picked up his knife and tensed as he walked out of the cave.

The girl was wearing yellow. Not the golden color of the tributes from Nine, but bright yellow. She wasn't a tribute, and he recognized her.

Evie's sister, Elise.

Haden had seen her around school before, usually with her friends. He hadn't known who exactly she was, until Evie mentioned her.

"Elise?" he asked, voice quiet. She turned to face him, and she didn't seem to recognize him.

"Where is Evie-Ellen?" said the girl. Haden felt odd. Something didn't seem right. The girl didn't appreciate his hesitation, and she attacked. Haden knew immediately by her force and strength that this couldn't be Elise Corona. This wasn't Evie's sister. This was a mutt!

Haden flung the girl off of him, and she hit the ground hard, close to the edge of the cliff. If he could just push her over the edge, Evie would never know what had happened. She'd never have to know that Haden had killed what looked like her sister.

The mutt grabbed the rock closest to er and lobbed it in Haden's direction. It hit him in the shoulder, but it was rounded, and fell to the ground. He'd be in a lot of pain later, when the bruise started to form, but for right now, with the adrenaline pumping through his body, he felt fine. Haden moved in, swinging his blade towards the mutt's face. She backed away, and slowly but surely, she took one step too far and toppled over the edge of the cliff.

Haden saw the mutt girl disappear through the tree cover below. And then he heard the scream. It wasn't the mutt. It was Evie.

Haden bolted back into the cave to see Evie lying on the ground, a dark red stain beginning to form on her shirt. Next to her, clearly dead, was a girl with dark hair. Haden didn't need to see the face; he already knew who it was. He rolled Persepha over onto her back, but from what he'd just experienced, he knew that this was just a mutt, another trick of the Capitol. Evie must've gotten her blow in just after the mutt got her in the stomach. One clear swipe, right across the throat, enough to kill. Still, even though it wasn't really her, the sight of his little sister, dead in his arms, was enough to make Haden rock back and forth.

But he couldn't keep doing this. Evie was wounded, and probably dying. Haden pressed an ear up to her chest, and her breathing seemed shallow.

"Evie. Hey, hey Evie. No, no, no. You're staying with me," he cooed, trying to calm the girl. She was silent, but crying. He lifted her shirt gingerly, to check the wound right beneath the bottom hem. The mutt must have gotten a knife, because the wound was deep and clean. It wasn't something she could survive. Haden fought back the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"We'll get through this. We'll get through this, Evie." He just sat there and rocked the girl in his lap.

Mykal Duncan, D7

Mykal jumped at the sound of the cannon. Who did it belong to? She would find out when they showed the tribute's face in the sky that night. She continued what she had been doing, pulling roots from the edge of a small pond. She needed to finish so she could get back to her shelter. Some tribute had been in this area at some point, and had fashioned a platform high in the tree. Whoever it was, Mykal thanked them as she climbed up onto her perch, safe from the tributes running rampant on the forest floor. The roots she'd found were fine to eat raw, despite the horrible taste. At this point, Mykal didn't care about taste any more. She just wanted to stay alive.

As she was eating, she heard the noise. Either a tribute, or a large animal - possibly deer - was in the area, walking heavily on the branches and leaves she'd strewn around her tree. A signal device, she'd made. She readied her small axe in one hand, her knife in the other, ready to jump on whatever was about to walk below her. But instead, the person that came into view was, of all people, Caden.

Mykal stowed her weapons, and jumped from her perch to meet her brother. How had he gotten here? She was going to find out what was going on.

The Fallen

Evie-Ellen Corona, District Twelve. Killed by Mutts.

So, what did you guys think of the surprise the gamemakers have thrown the tributes? Did you expect these mutts? Will the other tributes figure it out before it's too late? Who will show up to greet the rest?

We're down to 15 tributes. Only a little while longer until we get to the big finale!

Please review. We're back to the games, and I love hearing from you guys.

I've got the sequel story basically planned out, the arena, the background plot, all I need is the tributes. I'll put a form on my profile later today, just fill it out and send it to me (THROUGH PM PLEASE). Submit as many as you like, but remember it will only be a regular year of games, with 24 tributes, so I may be selective in the next round of tributes (basically, no mary-sues, please. There were some Mary-Sueish characters in this story, and they were no fun to write for, and the were kill off rather quickly. Certain spots are already spoken for, so if you PM me with a certain spot and it's taken, I'll get back to you so you can change the form.)