It's like 12 a.m. here in Jakarta, Indonesia. And I'm updating my fanfic.

Responds to the reviewers:

To FalknerBlue - You mean Savannah right? I think you got the two mixed up haha.

To DauntlessClove - Yes there will be a sequel, hope you'll read it too!

To Ace - EXACTLY.

To TrueEricValdez - Is that the name of the fox demon from Naruto? If so then yes, the mutts were inspired from it.

Getting on with the story...


Fawn kneeled down beside Cyan's corpse long after the cannon shot, her expression distant. A few moments later, a beep was heard, and the ground beneath Cyan's lifeless body opened up. Fawn gave a strangled gasp of surprise as she watched the other girl fall into the seemingly bottomless pit. What Hazard will do to the bodies of the tributes, she did not know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to either. It hadn't been long since she had parted ways with Savannah, and she was already starting to think it was a bad idea. Without someone to watch her back, she had to be alert of any incoming attacks at all times. No more sleeping in peace, no more sense of safeness.

With a shudder, she thought of what would happen if she died, and how exactly will she die? Will she be hunted down by the remaining tributes? Or will she get killed by a deadly trap set up by the Gamemakers? Will her death be swift and painless, or would it be long and torturous?

As she pondered on these questions, her mind drifted to the thought of committing suicide. This wasn't the first time she had considered the option, but she wasn't sure if it would be the last. It had somehow become a game for her, thinking of ways to die. A fatal blow from her katana to her sternum would do, but that would surely be painful. There was the option of starving herself, but unfortunately, she hasn't been one who's good at refusing food. In fact, she had tried the method once, during her 6 years of captivity in Hazard's hideout. Within three days, her body had reacted on its own and had grabbed the food (which consists only of water and stale bread) and started stuffing herself.

Of course, she could poison herself, but with what? She didn't know which plants are poisonous and which aren't. She hadn't paid much attention to Devious when she explained which plants to avoid and which are safe to eat.

Also, she feared for her family. The Gamemakers used to hate tributes commiting suicide, back when the Hunger Games was still there. She knew, because of the 'story-telling' time her elder sister used to hold especially for her. Once, a male tribute from District 3, committed suicide in the arena by stabbing himself through the heart. He used a stick that he had sharpened day and night. The Gamemakers were far from happy. To them, it was some sort of rebellion in itself, for the tributes to decide when or when not to die. So, they took out their anger on his family. Within a week after his death, his whole family had been wiped out, found dead in their house. The Capitol claimed that it had been an 'accidental' food poisoning, but the citizens of Panem knew. Knew that it was more than just an 'accident'. It was a warning.

Would Hazard take out his anger on her family too? She wasn't sure, but she sure wouldn't like to take the risk. Fawn then remembered another tale of another Hunger Games. The second last one in history. A female tribute from District 5 had foolishly eaten nightlock berries and killed herself. They say her hair was the colour of a fiery fox's fur, her facial features sharp and angled resembling that of a fox's and her eyes shine with cunning and slyness.

Except people don't think it was accidental. The girl was too smart, too witty. One would expect her to know which plants are edible and which aren't. Maybe she had also committed suicide, to escape a painful death by the sword of a fellow tribute. The girl knew that her family's lives were at stake, but had decided she didn't want to live any longer. So she feinted idiocy, and ate the berries. She was intelligent, even till the end.

"Maybe I should follow her," Fawn thought. "I guess berries are my only choice." She did remember Devious talking about steering clear of berries. She stood up, stumbling a little. Now she just needs to find a berry bush, and hope that it's a poisonous one.

After a half hour trek, she finally found a scraggly little bush with black coloured berries by the river bank. Inspecting them in the sunlight, she found that the insides were blood-red. Is this the famous nightlock berries that had caused the spark of rebellion to ignite? Whatever. She doesn't need to know. She held some in her hand, about to bring it up to her mouth when suddenly she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. She cried out, the berries tumbling out of her palm. Something had stabbed her. With a twist of her body, she managed to reach the object and pulled it out of her shoulder blades. A dart.

Without warning, three more shoots out from somewhere behind her. Fawn, being too astonished, had no time to dodge. The darts buried themselves into her body. Fawn used her powers and shrank to the size of a mouse. Maybe this way, she could fool the darts into thinking she wasn't there. Somehow, she knew that these darts would never stop coming and will never hit her vital parts, so as to prolong her suffering.

She underestimated Hazard's creation. The darts still targeted her, and this time, they are two times bigger she is. Those berries, they're her only hope now. Quickly she scurried over to the berries that had rolled off her hand.

Whoosh. One of the darts missed her head by an inch. With a grunt, she caught the berry and wasted no time chomping into it. After finishing one whole berry, (remember, she's still the size of a mouse. So one whole berry is already quite big) she waited a while, waiting for the poison to take effect. When nothing happened, Fawn started panicking.

Maybe there was not enough poison? She rushed over to another berry, swerving to the side to dodge the humongous darts. 2 whole berries down, still nothing.

There was only one berry left on the ground. She scrambled to it, juice running down her mouth. With a start, she realized she was crying uncontrollably, whether from the shock, the confusion or the pain, she didn't know. She swallowed down the last bite and waited. 5 seconds, 10 seconds.

Nothing happened.

It took some time for the situation to dawn upon her. These berries aren't poisonous. Her knees gave way underneath her, and Fawn held her face on her hand. A dart flew straight and true towards her, and this time, she didn't bother to dodge.

BOOM! Fawn Albarn, District 12 Girl, eliminated

After the boom of the cannon, the sound of a trumpet being blown was heard. Both Alicia and Savannah, who were both still quite far from each other, jerked their heads up. The trumpet stopped, and Hazard's familiar voice was heard.

"Congratulations to our two finalists, Alicia Carstairs and Savannah White!" he boomed. "This is the final stage that will decide your fate. Now is the time to decide who wins and who loses. Now is the time to decide which one of you will survive. This is the fight to the death! Death Carnival, Final Stage Arena Mode, ACTIVATED!"

There was a rumble, and suddenly, the ground beneath them began to crumble.


Another cliffhanger ending.

To Clove from iDTCB - I updatteeddddd