Sloan Nyval, D9

"Damien. Damien!" Sloan whispered, keeping watch on the horn of the cornucopia. She'd seen a tribute run inside for shelter, but she wasn't sure which one it had been. At this point, what did it matter. They were the only two tributes still alive that weren't trained Careers. But Sloan had been with them for a few days in the beginning. And Damien had gone almost uninjured this entire time in the arena. If it hadn't been for that tribute from Twelve, he'd still be in near perfect health.

There was still no response from him. Sloan didn't want to take her eyes away from the Cornucopia, so instead she gently kicked the sleeping boy.

"Ow!" he cried. "That was my shoulder! What the hell, Sloan." Sloan pulled her leg back. She hadn't been thinking when she'd kicked.

"Sorry. I needed you awake. There's someone in the Cornucopia."

"So?"

"So, we can take him out. He's cornered in there, and we'd have the advantage. We have numbers."

"The Cornucopia is downhill. We'd be sitting ducks the second we reached the bottom. It's a stupid idea, Sloan."

"The Gamemakers are rounding everyone up for the final battle. We'll have to fight eventually."

"Eventually being the key word there. Save your strength for the final battle, when you'll need it." Sloan felt no further need to argue with him. She wanted these games over with, now, but at the same time, Damien had been able to keep her alive this long for a reason. It was in her own best interest to do as he said. She thought back, to those first few days in the arena, where she'd trained with the careers in the hopes to taking Damien's life herself. She'd been stupid and blinded. Damien had even said in his Capitol interview that he knew what it would take to survive. She should have listened two weeks ago when they first boarded those hovercrafts.

Paxton Luke, D2

"Are you okay?" asked Elle. Paxton only knew where she was because she'd placed her hands on his shoulders. He was sitting in the charred grass, with Jaclyn lying at his feet. He was hoping, now, that Elle was right. That these weren't their siblings after all, but rather a cruel joke being played by the gamemakers. Still, the sight of his little sister, shot through the heart by a poisoned arrow had rocked him. Maybe that's what the gamemakers were playing at. Maybe that's why Jaclyn had egged Elle on to kill her. They wanted to mess with the tributes, to make it more entertaining for those living in the Capitol.

"Paxton? You okay?" He snapped back to reality.

"Yeah." He said softly. "Yeah, I'm fine. We should go." He got up silently, and picked up their supplies. Elle quickly followed suit.

"Where are we heading, now?" she asked.

"The Cornucopia. Where else. That's where they usually stage the finale. We'll have to go there eventually, so why not now?"

"Are you sure that's safe?"

"NO, IT'S NOT SAFE. NOTHING IN HERE IS SAFE. NOT EVEN THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE SAFE!" Paxton regretted his words the moment he said them. He saw the shock register on Elle's face, the tears welling up behind her eyes that he knew she was trying to fight back. He pulled her in, holding her to his chest and cradling her head in his hands.

"Elle. Shantelle. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was." He heard her laugh slightly.

"No. You are strong."

"Look at me, Elle. How will my friends, my family, see me now. Me, this mighty warrior who trained years for this moment, only to betray them last minute and take my own path. I'm a lot like Lorena, in that sense. I've shamed them, in their eyes. I'm the weak one. You. You're the stronger one here. You were supposed to be safe. Everyone is supposed to be safe in Two." Paxton realized that the Capitol had probably stopped showing their conversation. They couldn't really 'allow' Two to train tributes. "You were whacked away from your home with no warning, no real time to prepare, and you're still here. You're still alive."

"Only because I've had you to keep me safe."

"No. I'm only alive because you've kept me safe."

Peter Cooper, D2

Peter jumped down from his place in the trees. He'd grown bored waiting for the others to show up to the fight. He dumped his bag at the base of the tree, letting it rest out in the open. He'd be able to see it just fine, and any tribute that decided to go through his food.

Peter stepped out into the open plain at the edge of the river and thrust his sword into the ground.

"Come on!" He screamed. "You can't win without taking me out! Who's brave enough to try?" He knew they were listening, all of them. The gamemakers had drawn them in with that fire. Now Peter just had to wait.

"Cassio would have been smarter to keep his voice down. Peter heard him yell as he came running up the hill. It gave him enough time to pull the sword from the dirt and make a clean spin. His sword met metal, Cassio's own blade, but Peter had been able to pull his knife as well. He stabbed the knife into Cassio's right shoulder, which caused him to drop his sword. Peter allowed the boy from District One one last glance around the arena before he slashed his sword across the boy's throat.

The cannon sounded before Cassio hit the grass.

"Anyone else?" He yelled into the trees.

The Fallen

Cassio Marony, District One. Killed by Peter.

Sooo, what did you guys think? it's getting harder to fit a good, varying amount of tributes in the chapters, because of the dwindling numbers. Sorry Cassio, game over. District One is out of the race. The first Career district to fall. DId you guys expect that? What did you think of Paxton and Elle's conversation? And of Peter's bravado out in the field. Are they mentally sound, those two?

Please review. Also, re-editted poll, every has another chance to vote.

- Sarah.

These are the remaining Tributes.

Peter Cooper, District Two

Paxton Luke, District Two

Shantelle 'Elle' Lester, District Two

Thalassa Pearl, District Four

Damien Greyson, District Nine

Sloan Nyval, District Nine.