N/A- Hi everyone! Thanks for your continued support. I recently finished the book Divergent, and let's just say it took maybe two days for me to finish. It was amazing! So I'm thinking of making another story based off of that book. Also, I think I'm going to make this story have more consistent updating. So, every Thursday at 10:00 P.M (Central Time) you should be expecting a new chapter! I may be tardy in upcoming updates though, because I am filming an Independent Film soon (kinda freaking out). Yadda yadda yadda...blahblahblah...

I love you guys! Here is the next chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! (Any critics please PM me about)

Chapter 9- The Beast

Annie's P.O.V

Darkness scares me. No, it's not the darkness, it's the unanswerable question of what's inside it. So when I see the sun break over the horizon of the arena, my heart warms. A full night in the arena and I still live.

Demere looks peaceful when he sleeps. He and I switched as look out last night so that we could sleep soundly. We stand far away from the career camp, but the more distance we can get between us and them, the better chance we have.

It was difficult looking for a good place to rest. As we ran farther from the Cornucopia, the mud turned into soil and the trees multiplied in numbers. Demere couldn't climb trees, so we had to hope for the best and camp on the ground. He sleeps to the left of me, one hand holding the sword I got for him yesterday.

We need to keep moving. More people are going to span out into the arena and odds are they'll run into us. Demere has had enough sleep, at least two times what I got. We need to hunt and move.

Now you're thinking like a tribute, the silky voice says.

I clench my hands. This voice has to go away. One day in the arena and my sanity is already slipping out of my grasp. I can't put a name to the voice yet, but it does seem familiar. It scares me to think that I'm slowly walking towards madness and can't put a stop to it. The image of my knife sinking into the girl from 8 already haunted me in my nightmare last night. I can't seem as vulnerable as I am. This is what drives me to shake Demere quite violently until his eyes open.

"Jeez Annie, I'm awake," he says with a frown.

"We can't sleep all day. Get up," I demand.

He yawns. "Somebody is a bit cranky this morning."

"Yes well, I didn't get four solid hours of sleep."

"I told you to wake me up when you needed to rest!"

He slowly stands and takes a swig of water from his bottle.

"Forget it. I'm fine. But if you keep drinking that water, it'll be empty until we find another source to fill it."

"We'll find one, Annie." He puts a light hand on my shoulder, "It's all going to be okay."

His sympathetic eyes bring me to a stop. Demere's hand squeezes ever so slightly until he puts it back to his side. Maybe I am being a bit too harsh. I don't want him to fear me, and after him witnessing my first bloody kill yesterday, I should be thankful he didn't run away from me then.

I sigh, "Sorry. Let's just get as far away from here as quickly as possible."

Demere nods as I loop my arms through my backpack.

"Maybe we can pick up some food today?" he asks from behind me.

I smile. "Yeah, I think the local bakery should be opening in a couple minutes. We can pick up something there."

He laughs. "Don't make me hungrier."

"Let's just be as quiet as we can. And if we run into something, we'll get it."

We're silent for a while before he speaks again.

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" he asks.

I answer honestly, "No."

He sighs. "Well let's hope we aren't walking into a trap then."

I stop walking and turn around to face him. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that not everybody stopped for the night. I think a couple of them are ahead of us. These people are smart, and they probably set something up."

"What do you think we should do then? We can't go back to the Cornucopia because the Careers are there," I say.

Demere shrugs. "The Cornucopia has the only supplies in the Arena. If we need a weapon, or food, what will we do?"

I turn back around, facing forward. "We can't go back there. They know how strong we are and will kill us as soon as they see us."

I sense he's smiling behind me, "You mean they know how strong you are." He waits for a reaction, and continues without one. "Annie, you were amazing yesterday. Where did that even come from?"

I shrug and stay silent. He continues, "Well, whatever it was is the only reason I'm alive right now. You know you saved my life, right?"

I shake my head and mutter silently, "You would've done the same for me."

He walks faster to stand beside me as we tread deeper into the forest. "Yeah, but Annie, you threw a knife. And it landed right where you aimed it, in the back of her head-"

"Don't. Just stop. Please, Demere," I silently plead.

He looks up at me then, seeing how the memory pains me. Shocked at my reaction, he nods and stays silent.

Maybe one day in this Arena will be too much for me after all.

"They have to put a water source in here somewhere! If they didn't, we'll all be dead in a matter of days!" Demere cries.

"Calm down, it's got to be around here somewhere."

"Calm down? How can I calm down when we only have half a water bottle left and it's only the first day?"

"Demere, you have got to be quiet. Unless you want to scare away all of the game in a fifty yard radius, you have to shut up," I whisper.

He lowers his voice, but doesn't stop complaining. "But Annie, what are we going to do when we run out of water?"

"Sponsors," I say shortly. Hopefully Finnick paid attention to that.

Finnick.

My heart falls as his name registers in my mind. Guilt washes over me as I realize I haven't thought of him once this entire time. He's, of course, always present in my thoughts, but I haven't formed a thought of him or his well-being since we launched into the tubes.

Is he proud of me? He must be after yesterday. Then again, he might be ashamed of me because of yesterday. He might be ashamed that I killed that girl without a second thought. He might be ashamed that I ran right into the battle. Suddenly, the invisible cameras around me become very taunting. Finnick is watching right now. Finnick is watching. I have to make him proud. My shoulders go back automatically and I wipe the strands of hair from my eyes. When we find this water source, I should rinse off the mud and blood from my face. Might as well look as good as I possibly can.

"Annie? Annie, are you even listening to me?"

I snap back from my daze to find Demere standing in front of me.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He rolls his eyes and smirks. "I said that you shouldn't get your hopes up for sponsors on my end. I didn't impress them as much as you did. But we do need to keep moving, look behind you."

I turn my head slowly, and my eyes widen in surprise. Dark black clouds roll towards us at an unnatural pace. Strikes of lightning erupt within them, at least three at a time. Each time they spark in the sky, the sound of shattering glass emits from it. This is not some simple rainstorm like yesterday. This is something made by the Capitol. And as one lightning strike comes through the clouds in a blood red color, I know this will be deadly.

Suddenly, a thought lights in my mind.

"Demere! Don't you see? That," I point to the rolling thunder, "is our water source!"

He looks past my finger to the storm in the distance. A crooked smile slowly stretches across his face.

"Brilliant."

"Do you still have that clear wrap from your pack?" I ask. He nods and hands it to me.

"But don't we still need to keep moving?" he asks.

"Yes, but let's set up some water traps and come back to them when the storm stops."

He laughs. "Water traps?"

I can't help but smile too. "Got a better name?"

He shakes his head, still smiling. "Let's just set them up."

And with that, I give him instructions. It's simple really; you just dig a hole in the ground, line it with clear wrap, put a rock on the bottom so that the water trickles down, and weigh down the loose edges on top. I tell him to spread out so that we can have more distance and no one will be suspicious.

After making five in one spot, I decide I should move on. This is the last patch. The wind has started to pick up, and I can hear the echo of rain pattering in the distance. I stand up from my crouch to stretch my back, and look around. I catch sight of Demere's golden hair in the distance. I loop my arms through my backpack and walk over to him. We should definitely find some shelter.

"Alright Demere, I think we should move on or maybe-"

As I shove the branch that's blocking myself from him, I stop in my tracks. The stench of the thing in front of me leaches into my nostrils and I try not to gag. My eyes widen in shock as the hairy beast in front of me growls. In any other situation, I would have either run as fast as my feet could carry me or get my weapon. But what paralyzes me is that not only do I smell its odor, but the copper scent of blood. Its back is to me, crouching down over something. A thin blood trail meets my boots from whatever the thing is feasting upon.

Demere.

"No," I whisper aloud. I clasp a hand over my mouth as I realize my mistake. The beast turns to face me, and it takes everything in me to keep my scream inside.

To anyone else who sees it from afar, it looks like a gorilla with blonde hair, but I know better. Its eyes are blood red with a green pupil in the middle. Its teeth overlap his bottom lip and curve until they meet the middle of his neck. This is not a regular animal. This is a mutt. No doubt that the poison that drips from the fangs of the beast could kill you without proper treatment.

I catch sight of the prey at its feet and breathe a sigh of relief. The long red hair that is all that remains intact is not Demere's. Immediately I regret looking at the poor girl. The small amount of food I had today crawls up my throat to make a reappearance as I look at her mauled figure.

My body is numb as the animal moves closer to me, its stench growing in power with each step. My brain registers one and only command.

Run.

And to my surprise, I do. I turn around immediately, and curse as I twist my ankle in the process. I keep on running, though. I hesitate to scream Demere's name as I run far from where I left him. I can't run too far. I'm going to have to confront this beast sooner or later. It's a robot, in a way. It won't stop running until it lays dead or I do.

Fortunately, one of my knives is still in my pocket as I duck under a thick branch. I turn my head to focus on my target. I take in a sharp breath as I find the beast only two feet away. One reach of its claws, and my back would be in shreds. In a sudden wave of panic, I throw my knife blindly.

It emits a cry of anger from behind me. I don't know how I'm not tripping over the roots at my feet. I haven't even looked to the ground since I started running. I steal a quick glance behind me and am proud to see the thing has retreated a foot or two, and its eye is now replaced with a bloody and empty socket.

Crack.

The sound comes from above me. I look up and stop dead in my tracks as a branch the size of my body comes crashing down in front of me, blocking my one and only track. Now I'm forced to confront the animal sooner than I wanted to.

Congrats, Gamemakers, I think sarcastically. You're going to get a show now.

The animal grunts behind me and, to my satisfaction, seems out of breath. My ankle screams in pain as I try and put weight. Now that the adrenaline isn't numbing me anymore, the pain is crystal clear. With a shaky hand, I grab a knife from my pack and clench it tightly, waiting for the thing to attack.

In the back of my mind, I wonder where Demere is. I suddenly fear that he might have had the same fate that the red headed girl did. However, I didn't hear his cannon. But as the mutt lunges forward, all thoughts cease. I slice at its arm, and it cries out in surprise. The limb goes limp at its side, so I must have sliced some sort of nerve, paralyzing the thing.

I better have the upper hand at the next lunge, so I am the one that charges. Knife out, aimed for its throat, I sprint. He simply swings its head as I come close, and crushes his skull with mine. The world is white for a second. I stamp my feet in the ground, determined not to black out at the face of this killing machine. A warm liquid runs down behind my left ear, and I cringe. Blood. My blood.

The beast makes a blood curdling scream as it lurches towards me. I can't move, or else I'll black out for sure. My only resort is to lift my arms to cover my face. This is my only defense. Its talons pierce my side as it lifts me off my feet and throws me against a hard oak tree. It's as if I weighed no more than a rag doll. My shoulder screams in agony as I slide to the ground.

The voice in my head cries out in protest. What are you doing? Get up, stupid girl!

I can't move, I whine.

Of course you can. Get. Up.

It takes everything in me to lift my upper half forward. And when I do, bile rises in my throat. The beast in front of me looks amused by my weakness and seems to be waiting for me to stand. It really wants a fight. Might as well give him one while my heart still beats. I focus my strength in my feet and knees. Slowly, but surely, I rise. Leaning my body weight against the tree, a shaky hand gets a third knife from my pack. The ground rumbles from under my feet as the black cloud in the distance releases another round of thunder. This makes my balance falter ever so slightly, and I desperately cling to the tree.

Blood pouring from my sides, ankle and shoulder burning in pain, and my brain doing flips in my skull, I take every ounce of energy I have left, and run one last time towards the animal. Desperately tripping my own two feet, I point my knife forward. I catch the beast off guard. My knife jams into his hairy chest, and he roars in agony. I don't let go. I keep on pushing my knife deeper and deeper into the flesh. Its claws scratch at me, trying to shove me aside. I push harder. As the life starts to drain from the animal's eyes, it grabs my shoulder, and bites down on the skin with full force. I scream as the teeth break through the flesh, and with my other hand, punch the mutt's skull. That's when it goes limp.

I let go of my knife, and pull his teeth out of me. My limbs give out once and for all. I collapse on the ground. The puddle of blood I start to make underneath me warms my body. The sensation is quite comforting.

A voice screams my name, "Annie!"

I stay where I am. It could have been my imagination.

This time, the voice cries in desperation, "Annie!"

I close my eyes. This is how I will die. This is the sensation of a slow death. It's actually not as painful as I would have imagined. My limbs numb over, and my brain goes still. For once in my life, my thoughts cease. I can think freely. What is the last thought I want to have before I die?

The memories comes quickly. Finnick's arms wrapped around me as we dance to the old radio; my father's squeaky old wheelchair; the first time Finnick ever spoke to me; our first kiss; our oasis. President Snow can take away the future, but he cannot take away the past. He cannot touch the memories that I hold so dearly. Those are mine. No, those are Finnick's too. And as long as he and I both have them, we are as strong as ever.

This is what brings my heart to a steady thump. And suddenly, I'm floating in darkness.