Jason wasn't stupid enough to actually fall asleep. Nico had allowed him to stay the night with his alliance, with pressure from Will and Hazel, but he was glaring at Jason anyway and demanded that he leave in the morning. Jason wasn't willing to hang around and let the angry boy snap.

The hallway that they had dragged themselves into to get away from the turtle carcass was thankfully dark. They had settled down about half an hour after the anthem had played, and then the sponsor gifts had started. Water, food. Even some bandages and pain medicine that Will had used to doctor himself up. Still, Jason knew that it couldn't last. The tension in the air was almost palpable, and the viewers would be bored if there wasn't more bloodshed soon. A cannon had gone off sometime in the night, and Jason knew that there were people dying out there, and that he could easily be one of them.

The hall that Jason was in was made of a dark wood—teak, Hazel had called it. The walls, ceiling, and floor met each other at perfect right angles. There was no source of light that Jason could see. The floorboards creaked painfully as he made his way across them, moving farther and farther from the others. Jason reached out a hand against the cold wood to steady himself. The darkness and his own fatigue gave everything a dreamlike, unbalanced feel. Jason could almost feel the ghosts swirling in the air. He imagined his mother, watching him from the ceiling, pressed against the wood. He imagined Piper, following him, eyes angry and betrayed. He imagined Leo, laughter forever silenced. He made himself stop imagining things. H had to get some distance on the others—well, Nico—before whatever counted as morning came.

It came to Jason that he could be wandering straight into the Careers. He forced that thought from his mind, too. He'd cross that bridge when he'd come to it.

"So you're leaving."

Jason's heart gave a jolt and began hammering. It was Nico's voice. Slowly, slowly, Jason turned hoping that he'd imagined it. But no, the boy stood there, his white skin almost glowing in the dark.

"Yes," Jason said, trying to keep his voice even.

"And you're stealing our supplies."

The backpack that Jason had suddenly got heavier. "No, they were mine, remember?"

"I should kill you now."

Jason understood the threat. By leaving, he had quit the alliance. Nico no longer had any reason to leave him alive. He could claim that Jason was simply gone when Will and Hazel woke up. Why was Jason such an idiot? Why on earth did he think that leaving would prolong his life? What would Thalia do? Jason wondered. Probably fight her way out of this. Jason's eyes were drawn to where Nico had a hand on the hilt of his sword. Jason was unarmed. Desperately grasping at straws, he started talking. "But you won't."

"Why not?"

Jason's breathing was heavy, uneven. "Because…because you think you're fighting for Hazel and Will. But once you kill me—I'm unarmed. I'm not a threat. Once you kill me, you're a murderer and you'll never be able to go back. You'll kill them too, just 'cause you can't see a reason not to." It was the stupidest thing that he had ever said, and he knew it. Still, there was something about Nico in this dark. He looked hesitant. Scared. He wasn't a killer, Jason knew that. "Besides, what would…Bianca…think?"

It was the wrong thing to say.

The change in Nico's demeanor was immediate. "Don't you talk about my sister," he hissed. "You didn't know here! You can't talk about her!"

Jason bit back an apology and started backing up, tense, ready to spring. But Nico…just…stopped. He bit back a sob. Jason had never felt so surprised. "This once, Grace," Nico snarled. "Just this once."

Jason turned and ran.

XXXXX

Frank's stomach didn't hurt any less when he woke up.

It was like he had gotten hit by a horse—no, by a stampede of horses followed by some cows and maybe one or two angry knife-bearing tributes. A horrible smell pervaded his nose. Forcing himself to turn his head, Frank saw the corpse of the wolf. Nancy was gone. She had either woken up or died, although if she'd been able to stand, Frank doubted that he would still be alive. She had looked pretty bad, too…Good riddance, a small, horrible part of him thought. She's the worst kind of person in this world.

A small slot in the wall opened, revealing a bottle of water! He and Hazel had shared some on the first night, but dehydration had already been starting to set it. "Thanks, Shen," Frank said, hoping that his mentor was watching. He forced himself to take small sips. He had to find Hazel. He wasn't sure of how he was going to do it, but he had to find her. He had come so close to death yesterday…Frank had realized that he didn't want to die. He didn't want to die with so many unfinished things left in his life. He didn't want to die alone.

A wave of nausea hit him, and Frank leaned against the wall, hoping it would pass. What time was it? It had been the second day of the Games when Nancy had hit him with a knife. It could have been any time after, now that he thought of it.

Surveying the room again, Frank saw Grover.

Grover was still alive.

He looked pretty bad, though. Frank really had to keep himself from throwing up as he got a look at Grover's arm. A whole chunk of skin had been cut off, down to the bone. In addition, Grover's other arm looked wounded. Still, the skin looked puffy and red. Infected.

Frank squeezed his eyes shut. What was he supposed to do? Should he kill Grover? But Grover could still survive, and Frank didn't want to kill anybody. Should he leave Grover here? Grover could live, right? But for how long? What if another tribute stumbled onto him? How long would it take for him to die of dehydration? What if he healed, and killed Frank or Hazel?
Another panel opened, and a knife fell out.

Shen wanted him to kill Grover. Was there another explanation? Please, let there be another explanation.

Frank's stomach churned. He had to kill Grover, didn't he? To prove his worth. To protect himself. To save Grover some suffering.

Approaching the older boy was hard. Frank felt like his feet had become lead, each step feeling heavy and impossible to take. Frank wanted to run in the opposite direction, but he knew that he couldn't stop. If he stopped, he would never get started again.

Be brave, Grandmother told him.

Grover's arm was definitely infected. It seemed to be oozing pus, and it was red and bloated and smelled awful. Frank hated himself for feeling glad that Grover would die anyway if he didn't do the deed himself.

You can be strong if you want to, little bear, his mother whispered in one of his only memories of her.

His mother would hate him, hate him…

But Frank wanted to live.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and brought the knife down.

XXXXX

Jason internally screamed as two tributes came around the bend of the cement pipe that he was resting in, coming into his view. He should have kept moving! He had told himself that with so many twists and turns, it was pointless to keep on plodding along. But this was just proof that the Gamemakers were heavily manipulating the maze, driving tributes together. The round, heavily graffitied cement pipe had seemed the least populated of all of the areas he'd been through. Honestly…it reminded him of home. It reminded him of the walls with all of their spray paint, acting as a constant reminder that even the Peacekeepers couldn't keep 5 safe from the gang violence. Jason had never thought that he would find graffiti comforting. He pushed his glasses farther up on his nose, terrified that he would miss some sort of movement and die.

The boy he recognized. It was Percy, from 4. A Career! Jason's heart went even faster than it had been going. Couldn't he get a break? But the girl traveling with him…Leo's district partner, Ann-something. What was Percy doing with her?

Jason stood, torn between running and fighting, but the two had already seen him. Percy's stance immediately changed. He straightened, drawing his sword. "Percy, no," the girl with him said.

"Annabeth, I have to do this."

"No, you don't."

"Only one person makes it home, Annabeth!"

"So should I kill you right now? You said you'd prove me wrong, Percy."

Thoughts swirled angrily through Percy's head. He had to kill Jason! If he was going to prove he was Career, a player in the Games, he had to kill Jason. But at the same time…Annabeth was right. He wasn't a Career anymore. His mother, Tyson—they shouldn't have to watch him kill an innocent boy.

Percy glared at Jason. "I'll give you five minutes to run."

Jason turned around and fled.

Annabeth found herself annoyed with Percy. It was hard to keep her emotions in check, too, with an arm that felt like it was on fire and a darkening vision and the pipe swirling around her. She didn't want to admit it, but Percy terrified her at that moment. He seemed like he could snap, and kill her! "I think that Tyson must have been proud of you," she tried. Percy's face softened.

"We're killing the next person we see," Percy said to her.

Annabeth tried to hide her surprise and fear at the notion, but honestly…for once, Percy might have been making the smart decision. Did she have to kill everyone else to come out alive?

(Didn't that include Percy?)

XXXXX

Hazel really hated the sound of cannons.

One had gone off just a few minutes ago. Nico and Will had both jolted in surprise. Hazel's first thought was of Frank. She never should have let them be separated! She should have found a way to stay with him! She shouldn't have stayed behind to help Will, she should have started searching for her district partner, with his sweet smile and kind eyes and…Shut up, Hazel told herself.

Her next thought was of Jason. He had been gone in the morning and Hazel had seen a shifty look on Nico's face. What had happened? Had Nico mortally injured him, and he only had died now? Or maybe it was from another cause. Maybe it was someone else entirely. Hazel reviewed the people left in the Arena. Nancy, Reyna, Annabeth, Percy, Clarisse, Jason, Grover, Ethan, Will, Frank, Katie, Nico, and his district partner…Zoe. With me makes 14. With two cannons having gone off since last Anthem, 12. Shit, is it really only the fourth day of the Games? 12 of us are dead already!

"Who do you think…" Will trailed off. Hazel almost envied him at times. His district partner had already died. He didn't have the same cause for alarm that they did when an anonymous cannon went off. Then she hated herself for thinking that. "Don't worry, guys. I'm sure it wasn't Frank. Or Zoe."

Yeah, not Zoe, Nico thought to himself. But his reason for not wanting Zoe dead was different from what the blond boy thought it was. He needed to kill Zoe, or at least confront her before she died. After all, that was why he had volunteered! Then, it was only a matter of getting himself home.

Though lately, getting himself home had expanded to include Will too. They had been doing a lot of talking lately. Will had told him about his family, his friends, his talents and what he had worried about back in District 9. Nico had listened, mostly, but had sometimes opened up about his own life. About Bianca. About his absent father and dead mother. About how he had no friends. About how he was sometimes terrified of going back to a district that had no love for him.

Nico's ears honed in on footsteps coming from down the plush hallway—muffled, for sure, but whoever it was had no idea what stealth meant. Nico drew his sword. Will tried to push himself up.

The person turned the corner. It was Hazel's district partner.

"Frank!" Hazel called, dropping her combative pose and running at him. She hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back. Hazel's cheeks almost went red. She was probably freaking him out, but Frank was so much to her, and hugging him just felt right even though they hadn't done it since they were much younger.

"Hazel, I am so glad that I found you." Hazel could sense the deep emotion in his voice and it almost made her tear up because it was proof that Frank cared, that he actually cared—

"Yeah." Hazel was embarrassed that her voice was thick with tears, and without thinking about it, she kissed him.

Instantly, Hazel drew back, surprised, scared that Frank would hate her. He was blushing. "H-Hazel," he started.

"I'm sorry," Hazel said.

"No, it's—I—well—that just, felt right."

Nico cleared his throat, annoyed that that his former ally and her district partner were now kissing without a care in the world. "This is where it ends, then."

Hazel pulled back, looking surprised. "No! I mean, we can all be an alliance."

"We aren't having an alliance of four."

Surprisingly, it was Frank who stood up and supported him. "Nico's right. I think that Nancy's dead, and that leaves three Careers—Reyna, Clarisse, and Percy. If we have four, then we're the new threat in the Games, and that makes us…the hunters, I guess."

"Listen to your boyfriend," Nico spat. "Go, before I kill you!"

"Nico." Will placed his hand on Nico's wrist. A friendly gesture. A restraining one. One that made blood rush to Nico's face.

"Nico, we can part peacefully!" Hazel insisted.

"Yeah, if you leave now," Nico said. "Otherwise, we fight."

"Nico—" Hazel started. Nico didn't want to listen to this. He had never felt so betrayed in his life. He had trusted Hazel and Will, but now they were going to leave with Frank and he could never get anyone in his life to stay with him, could he? He had to kill the pair from 10! They were a threat now that they weren't in an alliance with him, and he had to protect his life and Will's…

"GO!" Nico screamed.

"I'm sorry," Hazel said, and then she and Frank went back the way he had came.

"Well?" Nico asked Will. "Go."

"I'm staying with you."

And of course that was when tears welled up in Nico's eyes. He turned away from Will. "Fine."

Will placed a hand on his shoulder. Nico knew that the gesture was supposed to be comforting, and it was, although he couldn't help but read more into it. Nico forced his feelings down. "Come on." Nico said.

"Where?" Nico felt stupid, remembering the bandages on Will's (surprisingly muscular) stomach.

"One of us is making it home," Nico told him. "Okay?"

"I have no objections, but do you really want to do this?"

"We have to. We have to hunt."

"Nico, no. We're not becoming the killers of these Games," Will insisted.

Nico opened his mouth, ready to spit profanities and accusations and hate but all that came out was "fine."

And then, "What now?"

XXXXX

I really just can't get a break, Jason thought to himself. First Nico. Then Percy and Anna—Annabeth! Right. It would have been nice to sit down and stop being in perpetual fear all of the time.

Jason stopped for a few moments, catching his breath. He ached all over, and he was thirsty, but he couldn't dip into his meager supply of water yet. He had to stay strong. He had survived into the final twelve. That wasn't too bad. Turning around, Jason surveyed the new hallway segment he had entered. There were small alcoves in the stone walls with glowing rocks resting in them, which illuminated small parts of the hallway. Jason slowly touched the ground, unable to see because of the darkness in the hallway. It was cold. Stone, maybe, or cement. The glowing rocks continued a lot farther down, and went back, too, as far as he could see. There seemed to be a fork in the path up ahead. Jason continued down the hallway, now shivering. It was cold with all that stone, and now his sweat only served to make him colder. Jason turned left at the fork.

And stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with a pair of eyes.

Tributes:

D2: Reyna Ramirez-Arellano
D3: Annabeth Chase
D4: Percy Jackson; Clarisse La Rue
D5: Jason Grace
D8: Ethan Nakamura
D9: Will Solace
D10: Frank Zhang; Hazel Levesque
D11: Katie Gardner
D12: Nico di Angelo; Zoe Nightshade

I know that this was a very Jason-centric chapter, but...I had reasons. Reviews would be great. Seriously. And now we've hit the Final Twelve. Any recommendations for the Final Eight?