A/N: Here's the next chapter. Sorry it's taking so long to write the rest of this story. Life has gotten really busy for me.

Anyways! Have a great summer!


Maxwell Hoover Demonico – District 3

I've lost track of the days now. I don't remember when I was thrown into this hellhole. Those days when I was at the Capitol seems so far away now. It feels like it's been days since Pietta died, but it's only been a few hours. It's been about an hour since Sapphire died. The first of the Careers has fallen. I don't really count Morgan. Even for a Career, she seemed too soft. So many tributes are dead now. Everyone is going to start dropping like flies now as we get closer and closer to the Feast. When we get to the final eight, allies will turn and it won't be long until there is a winner.

Lucien sits by me and looks up at the sky as the anthem begins to play. Two faces show up. Pietta's picture is of her smiling awkwardly at the camera. She looks unsure of something. Sapphire has a mysterious grin on her mouth as if to say, "You have no idea what I'm capable of." Lucien sighs softly, poking the points of his trident.

The other Careers are sitting away from us. Sorren stares at the ground blankly. Gabrielle is talking with Conrad. As much as she doesn't like him, she talks to him a lot. She acts as if the only person who could possibly understand even just a little bit of her is Conrad, her district partner. They're both killing machines. Of course, Sorren and Lucien are two, but at least they sometimes feel conflicted about it at times. Lucien never wanted to kill those younger girls, but when it comes to Ector, it's as if his soul was stolen by the devil. He wants to murder Ector as brutally as Ector killed Morgan.

"We need to leave. Now," Lucien says. I can tell he is sick of the Careers. He doesn't want anything to do with them. If I had a choice, I wouldn't stay with the Careers either.

"W-we can't just g-go. The Careers are going to be pissed," I stutter.

"Let them be pissed. What are they going to do? They're going to try and kill us anyway." Lucien has a point. He stands up, handing me a sword. It's heavy and I have no idea how to use it. I have to hold it with both hands.

I still wanted to know what we would do about food, water, and other supplies. We could steal from the rest of the Careers, but that could be certain death. If we steal from other tributes, we might be a bit luckier. Lucien could easily fight two tributes and beat them. As for me, I'm basically useless in a physical fight. All I have are my bombs and those are in the possession of Conrad and Gabrielle.

Sorren sits near a dead tree, handling the axe he pulled from Sapphire's body. It's covered in dried blood. There are some parts that are clean where you can see the bright silver from the Capitol. His face is a little red from crying, but he doesn't say a single word. He doesn't make a single sound. He runs a finger across the blade. He glances at me with cold, green eyes.

I turn back to Lucien and look around the arena. "We need to leave before Sorren goes on a psychotic rampage," I say softly. Lucien has first watch with me. I stand watching the other Careers. Lucien quietly packs a bag with a few supplies while Conrad, Gabrielle, and Sorren sleep. Lucien and I gather a couple knives.

It's not long until we can leave. Something crunches the dead leaves behind me. I turn around and don't see anything. It's too dark. The footsteps sound big and heavy. I think there's either multiple people or something that has more than two legs is walking towards us. I leave my post for a second to see if I can see whatever is walking our way.

When I come back, something is wrong. I watch the Careers. Conrad and Sorren are sleeping. But where's Gabrielle? And Lucien? Has Lucien left me? Did he betray me? My eyes search frantically for the familiar head of red hair.

A could, sharp point touches my neck. Blood dribbles down. When I see who is holding the sword, Gabrielle smirks at me. "Going somewhere, Maxie?" She brushes her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes. "You want to know what happens to people who betray me?" She raises a well sculpted eyebrow. She takes her sword and cuts something into my cheek. It felt like she carved a GD into my face.

Lucien comes up behind her. He's ready to strike when Sorren puts a blade to his back. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sorren says.

Gabrielle's smile grows. "See, Sorren is loyal to me. Even that pathetic ass, Conrad, is more loyal to me than you two." She steps even closer towards me. My heart beats fast, my face grows warm. My hands shake and feel clammy. Sweat drips down the side of my face. She points her sword at my heart. "You are going to be my example. This is what happens if you betray me."

Lucien gives me a sad look. I think I know what it means. I'm a goner. Lucien stands a chance. Gabrielle takes her sword and runs it through my stomach. I cough up blood and begin to gag. The pain burns. It's unbearable. I feel something glide across my throat. Blood immediately soaks my clothing. The warm liquid spills onto my fingers. I can't breathe. I sink to the ground with a thud.

I stare at Lucien, as if to beg for help. He's overpowered the sleep deprived Sorren. He's knocked Gabrielle to the ground. The last thing I see is Lucien sprinting through the woods. The world goes black.

Nayeli Morte – District 5

A canon goes off as Parrow and I walk through the forest. We glance at each other, curious to know who was dead. Mentally, I go through my list of who is still alive. It's probably the girl from District Six. As far as I know, she doesn't have any allies. We continue moving through the dark woods. It smells of ash and smoke. The Gamemakers must have set a fire earlier. The brittle branches crunch underneath our boots. The air is a bit cool, but we press on.

I hold my sword out in front of me in case anything pops out in front of us. Parrow has her bow with an arrow ready to be fired. Every sound makes us jump. As the number of tributes dwindles, the more desperate they will become because they know how close they are to going home. They just have to make one more kill and they are that much closer to winning.

Something cracks a branch and we stop in our tracks. I stick my arm out to stop Parrow from going any further. I put a finger to my lips to keep her quiet. I point towards the dry bush up ahead. There are so many dry leaves and I can't see through the branches. Everything is just so brittle, dry, and dead. It's hard to be stealthy in this kind of environment. I slowly step towards the brush. Parrow's has her back against mine to make sure no one sneaks up on us. Who knows what kind of devious traps these tributes could be setting up? There's still quite a few Careers left.

It's so quiet and all I can hear is my shallow breathing. My hair sticks to my sweaty forehead. I walk around the brush to face the possible threat. As I come closer, I realize it is only a small bear cub. "It's only a cub," I whisper with a tiny smile. Then I realize something. "It's only a cub…" My eyes widen and I stare at Parrow who understands.

"Where's the mother?" she asks in a panicked voice.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up. "Run!" I say. The mother bear can't be that far behind. We've barely gone ten yards and I can already hear the mother bear growling, and stomping her way towards us. When I glance back, I get a full observation of the bear. It's bigger than your average bear. It's claws are massive and much longer. It must be one of the Gamemakers' muttation. As it roars, saliva comes out of its mouth. That's when I see the insanely sharp canine teeth.

I push Parrow ahead of me. "Move faster!" I scream. I remember an old joke we used to say. If you and another person are running from a bear, trip the person in front of you so the bear will eat that person. It's not really a funny, haha joke. And at this moment, I will definitely not trip Parrow.

The bear crashes through the trees. Twigs cut up my arms, legs, and face. The wind whistles in my ears. Parrow and I scream at the tops of our lungs. We tried not to make so much noise, but with a mammoth sized bear chasing us, being loud was inevitable. We took twists and turns in attempt to lose the bear. Parrow tried to load and arrow and aim it at the bear. She turned around and fired an arrow, but it went straight over the bear.

"It's moving too fast for me to shoot it!" Parrow yells. The arrows are too small and narrow. I reach into my belt to get something else. A throwing knife. I bend my arm back and flick my wrist to release the knife. It plants itself in the bear's shoulder. That only makes it angrier.

We continue running, but we're also getting tired. All I can think is that I've survived this long and I'm going to die by being mauled by a bear. "Come on!" I shout as Parrow starts to slow down. We're both exhausted though. We're going to die. We're going to be mauled by a bear.

Suddenly, a knife comes out of nowhere. It goes straight past my head. I turn to see where the knife is going. It hits the bear in the eye. The bear roars in pain and stumbles, clawing at its face. It falls and crashes into nearby trees. The cracking of the branches echoes and the ground shakes as the bear falls on the hard ground. I stop and lean my back against a tree. Parrow does the same and loads an arrow. That knife was thrown by someone. I turn around and look to see where the knife came from, but the thrower was nowhere to be found.

After a few minutes, I approach the bear. The knife pierced the brain. Blood coats the fur and drenches the ground. I remove the knife and clean it. It can replace my other knife. "We can eat the meat," I tell Parrow.

Parrow nods. "I'll skin it. We need more water. Could you go and look for some?"

"Yeah. I'll be back. If the meat doesn't look good though, just leave it. Who knows what the Gamemakers have put in the muttations." I pick up our water canteens and begin walking through the forest. I listen for the sound of running water. It feels like it's been about forty five minutes or so before I hear something. I close my eyes and listen. I pull out my sword quietly and make my way towards the faint sound. As I get closer, I see the running water. A smile comes across my face.

I step from behind my tree and then I freeze when I see a tall guy standing next to the small creek. A tall, shirtless guy with blood covering his arms. He runs his hands over his toned arms. I duck back behind my tree as he turns his head. I press myself against the wood and hold my breath.

"You're that girl from training. Hit the bullseye every time when you threw a knife," the guys says. I close my eyes tightly. "It was a good plan I must say. Threw some of the Careers off guard." He's a Career. I put the canteens over my shoulder and take out a knife from my belt. I know I can hit him from this distance. When I lean a little to glance at the guy, he's gone. His belongings are there, but he isn't. I gasp when I realize he could be coming to kill me. I turn around and there he is. He grabs my wrist and takes the knife. I try to slash at him with my sword but he forces it out of my hand. He puts a hand to my mouth. "Shhh!"

I stare into his sad eyes. Despite how sad they look, he has a mysterious twinkle in his eye. The guy looks familiar. I can't remember his name, but he has a rather cocky personality. He doesn't look like he's prepared to kill me. "I'm going to remove my hand and you're not going to scream or anything. I know you're a smart girl, right?" I nod. He slowly removes his hand.

"Who the hell are you?" I scowl at him.

"Lucien. District Four. Now is that any way to thank the guy who saved your life from a vicious bear?" He raises an eyebrow and smirks. He was the one who threw the knife at the bear.

"Well…nice aim," I say. I take my sword back.

"Thanks."

I reach for my knife, but he pulls it back.

"I'm going to need this back," Lucien says.

I narrow my eyes at him. "What the hell do you want?"

"Where do fish keep their money?"

I cross my arms over my chest and roll my eyes. "Where?"

"The river-bank."

I scoff at him and sheath my sword. "Oh yeah, you're that guy with the lame jokes."

"Hey! They aren't that lame."

"Yeah, right. I heard them. They weren't funny." I pick up my canteens and take them to the creek to fill them up. "Where's your stupid pack?" It hadn't really occurred to me that the Careers could be right behind him, waiting for the opportunity to pounce and shank me. Lucien doesn't seem like the kind to really support the Careers though.

He shakes his head. "Ditched them."

"That means they'll want to hunt you down. At least that bitch from Two," I say. I stand up after filling up my canteens.

"Are you in need of another ally?" Lucien asks.

"And why would I say yes to a Career being my ally?" I raise a brown.

"One, I saved your life," he holds up one finger, "two, I haven't killed you yet, and three, I can hunt. Let's not forget I'm stronger and faster."

"Maybe not faster than I am, but definitely stronger." My hands rest on my hips. "Fine." I step towards him and stare at him straight in the eye. "But if you make a single move to hurt me or Parrow, I will cut you down and gut you like the fish you eat in District Four. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lucien says with a half-smile.

"And put your damn shirt on."

Wash Hayner – District 7

The guilt is killing me. It's eating me alive. I can't concentrate. I can't focus on anything. I can't think about sleeping or eating or even running. I can't do anything without this burning in my stomach. My body physically hurts from the guilt.

It's hard to breathe. It's like my lungs are closing up. Dustin continuously pushes me forward so that I don't stop. My tears blur my vision. Clara tugs on my arm to pull me in the right direction.

All I can see is my axe slamming into a young girl's chest. I can hear the crack as the blade splits bone. I can see the blood coat the dry, broken ground. My hands shake violently. I clench my fists as I run to keep them from shaking so much. Clara's face is full of concern. Her eyebrows furrow in worry.

"Come on," Clara says. "We just need to go a bit further. Right, Dustin?" She looks up at Dustin. He nods and takes a deep breath.

I follow his lead and take a deep breath as well. It helps calm me down a little. I wipe my face, smearing dirt on my forehead and neck. We continue to run for a while longer before finally settling down. Ector had been chasing us after we'd attacked the Careers, but then he just disappeared. It scares me not to know where he could be. He's stealthy and deadly.

We all sit down to catch our breaths. I run a hand through my hair. "I—I killed someone. I killed a girl…" I mutter over and over again.

"You killed a blood thirsty Career," Dustin says flatly. He stands up and takes out his sword. I don't understand how he could say it so bluntly. I killed someone. I took a life. I've never killed anyone in my life. I can barely stand killing insects and rodents in the orphanage. What did Miles see? Did he see me kill that girl? Did he see me throw the axe and all the blood that came from the girl's body? You never even know how much blood is in a person until they're bleeding out and dying.

"Dustin!" Clara scolds. "Obviously he's shaken up." She bends down and puts an arm around my shoulders. I attempt to smile at her in thanks for trying to comfort me.

"What? This is the game we're playing. This is what's going to happen sooner or later. It's kill or be killed," Dustin says, frowning. He's changed. I'm not sure how. He's a bit colder I guess. Perhaps he is trying to protect his emotions though. At one point, two of us or even all of us will die. I know he wants to get back to his girlfriend. He's trying not to get so attached to us.

Only one of us can win. It's scary to know that. There aren't as many tributes and they're getting more desperate. At one point, everyone will turn on each other. The audience will love that. When the feast takes place, it'll be another blood bath.

It worries me to know that our alliance will not be lasting much longer. I don't want to have to fight Dustin or Clara. I especially don't want to kill Clara. I'm hoping that when we separate that the Careers or someone else will kill them so I won't have to. It seems like such a terrible thought. I don't want to kill anyone else. I don't even know if I want to go home after this. I don't even know if I can face Miles. He will have known I killed that girl.

I didn't even mean to kill her. It was an accident. I was aiming at Gabrielle. I wanted her dead. I feel so terrible for wanting her dead. I just want to get home. My odds of going home are either in my favor or not in my favor. There aren't as many people to go through to win. But then again, the tributes are going to be more savage now.

"Wash. You can't shut down now," Clara tells me softly. "You're so close to coming home. Miles is going to be so proud of you."

I nod and close my eyes. "I just need to rest." I feel Clara nod and leave my side. I lean my head against the tree behind me.

Dustin sighs heavily and sits down next to me. I open my eyes and glance at him. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to sound cruel. I just really want to win," he says. He gives me a sad look. "Get some rest. I'm going to need your help with some hunting later on."

Dustin Proelia – District 9

Wash closes his eyes and falls asleep quickly. He has cold sweat running down his forehead. I know that killing that girl has been hard on him. I haven't killed anyone before so I have no idea how he's feeling. He seems to be going through a lot right now. I want to comfort him, but I can feel myself getting more and more emotionally attached to him and Clara. We're becoming closer friends each time we talk.

I don't want it to come down to the three of us. I don't want to kill them. However, I sadly admit that I am desperate enough to get home to my girlfriend and I just might have to take them out. Wash is still asleep while Clara is walking around collecting berries and other kinds of edible fruit. Everything in the arena is slowly dying though. It's getting harder to find food. The only way we'll be able to get food is hunting for it or getting it from sponsors. And we don't come by many sponsor gifts.

I stand next to a tree and keep an eye out on our little camp. We won't be starting a fire unless we want to attract other tributes. After a while, Clara returns with very little food. Wash wakes up after she comes back. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and stands up to stretch.

"We can't stay here long," I tell them. "We have to keep moving. I have no idea where that Ector kid is or where the Careers are. For all we know, they could be hunting us down."

Clara puts the food she found on a blanket. She's got a small selection of berries and nuts, but there isn't a lot. We'll have to share and have tiny portions. "What if we look for other tributes?" she asks. "For allies."

I shake my head. "We can't. That's too dangerous. They're probably not looking for allies."

"What about that girl from Ten? Or the girl from Six?" She furrows her eyebrows in thought.

"They'll probably just hold us back." The girl from Ten hasn't been seen in a while. I have no idea if she would stab us in the back or help us and I'm not willing to take that risk. The girl from Six—not trying to be mean—will not help us at all. She's small and she can't fight. Of course, neither can Clara. And Wash is out of commission now that he's all shaken up about killing that girl from One.

"If we form a big enough alliance though, maybe we can take down Ector and the other Careers," Clara says. She had a point, but I'm still not sure if I'm willing to take that risk. It's a big risk to trust other tributes this far in the game.

"I just don't feel safe doing that, Clara," I say.

"Neither do I," says Wash. "What happens when it comes down to just our alliance? I don't want to have to fight the girl from Ten or Six."

"I still think it's a good idea," Clara insists. "We can just split up after, right?"

I shrug. "Maybe we can consider it, but I still don't like the thought of forming a mass alliance."

We sit in silence after that. All I can hear is the cracking and crunching of nuts and berries being eaten. In no time, we have finished our small meal. I take out my sword and lightly run my finger across the blade. I faintly hear something. It sounds like a hiss. A soft hiss…and maybe a rattle?

I jump up and turn to Clara. "Did you hear that?" I ask in a low whisper.

She looks up at me and shakes her head. "I didn't hear anything. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" I snap. I take a deep breath. I'm beginning to get frustrated with this game, having to stay alert all the time and fearing the worst. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's okay."

I start to relax again when I hear another hiss, louder than the first time. "Did you hear that?" This time, I turn to Wash. He stands up slowly with his axe in his hand. He nods slightly and looks around. "It must be a snake."

"Probably a muttation," Wash says.

"Then we better get moving so we don't get attacked by whatever is out there," I say. We pick up our things and start to walk. The hissing gets louder and louder. I keep an eye on the ground to watch out for creatures crawling across the cracked ground. Suddenly, Clara shrieks. I look down and see that she's stepped on a snake. It hisses and draws back to strike. I slice its head off with my sword. "Come on. Go on ahead." I place a hand on her back and push her forward.

Wash walks ahead of me. I look back at the dead snake. It slowly begins to writhe. Where the head once was, two heads start to grow. Immediately, the story of the Hydra comes to mind. You cut off one head, two more grow. "Shit," I mutter. "Run!" The snake is alive once more and starts to slither towards us. I gawk at the massive fangs with venom dripping.

As we run, more snakes start to slither out in front of us. Clara screams and starts to cry as she tries to dodge snakes. Snakes seem like one of her biggest fears. Wash takes his axe and starts cutting off the heads of snakes. They go limp and after less than a minute, they come back to life with two heads.

"Wash! Stop!" I shout. "You cut off one head, two more grow back." By the time I tell him, he's cut off heads of multiple snakes. Some snakes have six and eight heads. They seem to be everywhere. They hiss and stare at us with beady red eyes.

One gets close to Clara and he runs in front of her to cut off its heads. He slices off one, but the other one dodges his blow and sinks its teeth into Wash's forearm. He cries out in pain and drops his axe. He clutches his arm and stumbles backwards.

"Washington!" Clara screams. Her eyes are wide with fear.

I tear a branch off a nearby tree and hit snakes backwards. Clara follows my lead and whacks snakes with thick branches. The snakes hiss and strike at us, but only end up sinking their teeth into wood. They finally begin to retreat.

As soon as the snakes disappear, Clara and I drag a groaning Wash. His arm is swelling up. I can see the veins in his arm, which is beginning to turn purple. The two puncture wounds are raw and red. We drag him to a small clearing in the forest. I take off my belt and tighten it around his arm, just above the crook of his elbow. Hopefully it will slow the poison from spreading to his heart.

"Wash, can you hear me?" I ask him.

Wash bites his lip and winces. He grips his arm in pain. "Y-yeah. I can. Everything's blurry though." He yells out in pain. "It burns!" He's pale, like a ghost, and sweating. He grimaces and then goes limp. I place two fingers to his neck. He still has a pulse, but it's faint.

Clara kneels down next to Wash. "We need an antidote or he'll die."


Dead:

Sapphire Princeps – D1

Pietta Carmelle – D3

Maxwell Hoover Demonico – D3

Morgan Colliet – D4

Kage Hatenn – D5

Tarragon Layland – D6

Corduroy Dowlas – D8

Rilly Jarson – D8

Gem Minx – D9

Trenton Cedar – D10

Maize Koranon – D11

Bailey Fera – D11

Larkspur Fisole – D12

Alive:

Sorren Princeps –D1

Conrad Avtlift – D2

Gabrielle Dictatrix – D2

Lucien Ritsert – D4

Nayeli Morte – D5

Sage Freedan – D6

Washington Hayner – D7

Clara Lignum – D7

Dustin Proelia – D9

Parrow Hosira – D10

Ector Cabot – D12


A/N: Again, I'm very sorry about the delay in the chapters. Now, question time!

What's Sage going to do now? What the heck is Lucien doing? Do you think Nayeli trusts Lucien? What's he planning? Do you think they have some chemistry or not? Do you feel bad for Wash? Is Dustin changing? Will they find an antidote for Wash? Should they form a mass alliance against Ector and the Careers?

Don't forget to check the forum.

I hope you have a great summer and I will update as soon as possible. It might be slow since I'm working on school work, college searches, and writing my other original works.

-AzianxPersuasion

P.S. How would you feel if I set up a small site for A Game of Chance? It'd be a tumblr page where I post graphics and posters and more. It'll be similar to the forum so you'd be able to message me and submit things. Or, would you rather keep the forum?