Day Four, Morning

Pullox Shimmers, District 1, 18

"What the fuck?" Honora screeched as I approached the letter. "There's a fucking snake in the alliance?"

"It's the Careers," Lorelei said, a little annoyed. She was also nervous and I knew why - she didn't want others to know about her pregnancy. Looks like now would be the time to reveal it. "What do you expect?"

It seemed as if this day of secrets would be the ending of the Career alliance, which was fun. Lorelei was a secret holder herself, Jericho was going along on his merry way and Honora thought she had everything under control. Indeed, I liked to perpetuate this false notion of control so Honora was blissfully oblivious. But everyone's hopes were shattered once the letter seemed to fly out of nowhere and onto a desk which was lit by a gaslamp; the flame flickered through the room, illuminating the depth of everybody's face, showing the expression in their eyes.

I kept mine decidedly neutral. I had no idea how well this interesting day would slot into my grand scheme, but if things went wrong I needed to find a way to reshape my plan and twist the events to my advantage. If this plan were to reveal any of my secrets prematurely, I would have to think of something fast and not show anything awful. If it were to reveal Lorelei's pregnancy, I may take that as a sign from the Gamemakers that Lorelei was to be wiped off the board. I approached the letter, picking it between my fingers and raising it. Only... Something was interesting...

There was a band, tightly holding two letters together. Not that my allies could see.

The first name was clear: Lorelei.

"My, my, my," I sighed, sliding it away from the band and hoping the Careers didn't see the second letter. I was subtle and quick, so I don't think they did. Turning swiftly to keep it out of sight, I faced the Careers and gave my most malicious grin. "Seems as if there is somebody in the alliance who is hiding secrets," I turned it, so they could see the name that was scrawled across the envelope neatly. "What exactly are you hiding, Lorelei?"

Her face widened immediately with a terror I could just eat up. Honora, as pacifistic as ever, screamed with rage and lunged at Lorelei. I was sure that a cannon would've fired if Jericho didn't defiantly jump in front of Lorelei, shielding her from the beast of District Four.

"No," he said clearly. Looked like the gentle giant wasn't always so gentle; a clear anger burned in his eyes.

"I like you Jericho, don't make me cut you down!"

"I want to hear her out," Jericho turned to Honora. Lorelei was now visibly crying; an interesting sight. She tried to control her breaths as the tears spilled from her eyes rapidly, dyed with the eyeliner her stylists had applied days ago. I had to hold in my laughter. It was so fun to watch this alliance tear at the seams. "We need to know just what she's keeping from us."

"Fine," Honora said, turning to me. "Read out her secret. Then Jericho can kill her when we read about how she's ratting us out."

The reaction was immediate. Lorelei backed against the wall, not saying anything and shaking her head, sending tears to the floor like rain. Jericho looked mortified. It was delicious logic from Honora, and it was kind of punishing Jericho's defiance in the process. I tore the envelope away, letting it slip to the floor while I opened the letter. I already knew what secrets Lorelei concealed, and I didn't know how Honora would react to them. Murder was most possible, but if I lied and said that Lorelei was planning our downfall? Death was imminent. Thing was, I didn't know if Jericho would obey Honora and kill Lorelei. There was even a chance it would be two vs two. Honora and I would definitely win, but I didn't know if I would survive that. And if Jericho demanded he read the letter himself and proved to Honora I was the liar? I wouldn't want that possibility.

So I told the truth. I revealed Lorelei's secret to the whole alliance after clearing my throat:

"Dear Pullox, Jericho and Honora,

Lorelei is your ally, and being both competent, straightforward and somewhat kind, she wouldn't be the kind of ally who would hide a secret," Honora was already raising her knife, but I noticed Jericho's hand grip onto the hilt of his sword. It was weird... The way fate had so many roads ahead was weird. The next words from me could literally decide who lives and who dies. "But she has hidden a secret, and a rather powerful secret. Maybe some noticed it, but Lorelei is hiding a very small bump. She suffers from morning sickness and cravings. She recently had a messy breakup with her ex-boyfriend. Has it not fit together yet? Lorelei hasn't brought her own life into these Games, she has brought another with her.

Lorelei is pregnant.

Yours lovingly,

The Gamemakers."

I was expecting an immediate reaction. But there was stillness. I looked around at all of them, trying to divulge information from their features. At first, nothing really seemed to happen, but then the reactions stuck in. Lorelei, humiliated and scared, slid down the wall and cried harshly. Jericho didn't seem to react, he was probably waiting for Honora's reaction. And her reaction was surprising; she looked at her knife intently for a second, before sighing and then sliding it back into her belt. I tried to not act shocked, at the Four girl's reaction as Jericho let go of his sword's hilt.

"That is... A secret..." I feigned surprise, throwing the letter to the floor.

"Fucking hell..." Honora said quietly. Her features got angry and she kicked a chair so harshly it sped up the wall and fell into pieces. "Fuck this! I didn't ask for this!" She leaned against the wall, balancing her head against it. I remained in place, thinking about my plan and how this reaction meant I needed to shift my strategy completely. Jericho rushed over to Lorelei, comforting her while she sobbed into his chest. Cute.

"What does this mean?" I asked Honora, waiting for confirmation.

Honora turned around, brushing a tear from her eye. "I don't know, P. I really don't fucking know," she glared at Lorelei. "I didn't sign up for this. I signed up to kill kids who were aged between twelve and eighteen," she emphasised. "Kids who the Capitol had specifically chosen to face justice after their ancestors were stupid enough to revolt. Kids who were not innocent," she starting strolling, talking to herself with distress: "But babies? They're asking me to kill an innocent fucking baby now? I didn't train myself for this. I didn't want to do this."

"We're going to have to," I said to her. "If you want to survive, that baby is going to have to be killed. It's only a clump of cells, anyway."

"So are we," Honora snapped at me, turning to me. "We're all just a fucking clump of cells. And we all deserve to die, the Capitol has made that clear," she glared at every single one of us with accusation. "That fucking baby shouldn't be in this arena. I'm a killer, but I'm not a babykiller, no fucking way."

I pursed my lips. This is not what I expected. For once, I didn't have the ability to reason with Honora. For once, I accepted she was in charge and kept quiet.

"I'm sorry," Lorelei said to Jericho as he held her to this feet. Her voice was no more than a whisper: "I am so sorry I didn't tell you... I was..."

"Stop being such a pussy," Honora snapped. "How long gone are you?"

"I don't know," Lorelei said. "Two months? Three? Four? Maybe five?"

"Oh wow, you have been getting laid," Honora rolled her eyes. "Who was the guy, or were you a slut? That why your ex left you? Because you were a cheating slut?"

Lorelei flipped out a knife and pointed it right between Honora's eyes. Honora reacted a lot more peacefully than I presumed. She didn't even reach for a knife of her own. Lorelei hissed angrily at Honora: "I am not a cheat or a slut!"

Honora replied diplomatically: "So it's your ex's?"

"Yes," Lorelei sniffled, slipping the knife into the belt. "That was why he left me. He... He didn't want to be a dad, he told me he didn't think it was his, but I wasn't sleeping with anybody else. It's his."

"Low blow," Honora said blankly. "Well, looks like we have our secret out in the open. No traitors in the alliance is always how things should be," she smirked, glancing at me in a way what actually made me anxious. I hoped she didn't even catch a whiff of my plan, because Honora's allegiance was arguably my biggest asset. "And so we move on." She walked to the doorway and turned to Lorelei, who was still trying to keep her tears in. I wondered why she was crying. She wasn't going to die. Maybe this was just a catharsis which had built up in her. "But, L," she glanced at Lorelei. "I'm not fucking killing you, I'll let the Gamemakers or some other bastard do that," I smirked, my finger teasing my hilt. "Because I'm not a baby killer."

Looks like in some ways, Lorelei was a lucky charm against Honora. She nodded, sniffling.

"But that doesn't mean I'm your friend, that doesn't mean I respect you," she spat at Lorelei's feet. "Because there's nothing I hate more than a snake. What did you enter for, for victory? For riches? For daddy's approval?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Stupid bitch. You think the life of a child is worth that? And to think you've secretly been judging me for who I am when you've willingly thrown a baby's life at risk?" She sighed. "You're disgusting, Lorelei Draven, and I hope that when this is done you'll be burning in hell."

She stormed out of the room, her boots making an earthquake surround us. Lorelei burst into even more fierce tears, almost hyperventilating as an understanding Jericho tried to calm her down. Despite Honora's new dislike for Lorelei, Lorelei was still in this alliance. I watched them slowly leave the room, glaring into the back of their heads as Lorelei's sobs filled the air.

This was awful. I constructed a plan based on the assumption that Lorelei would be killed if her secret would ever be revealed to Honora. And I was wrong - sure, Honora and Lorelei now despise each other because of this outcome, but the stupid foetus that rested in Lorelei's womb was something that would protect her from Honora. This mean I needed to almost change my plan completely. I still had initiative, I still had Lexie alive and I still had plans for multiple traps spinning through my mind. The conclusion was still the same, but how did I get there now? Maybe I needed to take action more, maybe I needed to focus on someone else to manipulate, like Jericho or Lorelei herself. Ah. Lorelei. While pregnant, she'd definitely be easily influenced if I knew how to play on her hormones and her maternal instinct. I smirked. Today did not go as well as I liked, but I had a new plan and I was still alive and unfound.

I turned around, knowing the day could be a lot worse. It could have gone disastrously. Behind me was a nice little letter with my name scrawled across the envelope.

Pullox.

I scrunched it up and walked close to the lit fire across the room, launching the letter into the fire and watching my secrets be eaten away.

All was well.

Delilah Fauve, District 11, 16

It was perched there, on a plush chair as if it had always been there even though it seemed to appear from nowhere. Lexie's eyes on me, I picked the letter up with utmost horror. The moment the day of secrets was announced, I knew the Capitol had me in mind when they sent that letter down. They knew my secret, and they wanted Lexie to know it in the process. For defying them so clearly they wanted to make everything miserable for me.

I picked up the letter. It had yellowed slightly, as if it were hundreds of years old. My name was on there - or, to be more precise, the name I had given myself. Nate. I had gotten so used to responding to that name. Sometimes I forgot I was Delilah. Sometimes I forgot that Nate was the guy I was fighting for. In the times where this act seemed like reality, and not a scheme, I felt so much more at ease because even though I was in a fight to the death, the consequences were much simpler. And everytime I realised that this was an act, the horror would fill me. These consequences were... incomprehensible.

"Who is it?" Lexie crept closer to me, her voice shaking. She knew the answer.

I showed her the envelope, once.

"What secret are you keeping?" I let her pry it from my fingers. She noticed I didn't respond. I didn't even move. "Nate?"

What secret was in there? The secrets had accumulated over the past few days. There was definitely the details of me not being Nate, but being Delilah, I could almost recite what the Gamemakers had probably written. But the secrets didn't end there. What if they tried to use her to get details about my family's whereabouts after me? Thankfully, I didn't even know where Iopian had hidden them. What if they had given her the details of the time I kicked the tile underneath her, attempted to murder her, in order to keep my family alive? She'd never forgive me for it. Hell, I hadn't yet forgiven myself for it. I stared at the letter for a second as Lexie tore the folds of the envelope.

"No," I said suddenly, I was terrified of how she'd react. I was terrified that there were things in that letter about myself that I didn't want to hear. I'd knew I was going to die, I knew that my family were exposed, but for the first time I was truly scared and I didn't know why. "P-Please, don't open that letter."

"W-What are you hiding from me?" Lexie said, not opening it. "Are you planning to kill me?"

"No," I looked into her eyes, to prove I wasn't lying. "I would never kill you-" Not now. "Lexie, this isn't easy, but there's stuff inside there that I don't want you to see." I paused. "I told you I had secrets, remember? I told you that there was something I had to hide from you, and there's a reason for that, a reason I can't tell you because the consequences are too grave." I didn't even know if I was lying. I knew somebody in the Capitol knew my secret, the Gamemakers did, the secret police must have, the President definitely did. But the audiences? What would the Peacekeepers in District Eleven do if they heard it? Torture and interrogate my friends, or anybody who knew Nate? Would the Capitol be infuriated by the revelation and chant for my death? This had never happened before. I was placed in a one-in-a-million situation and because of it I had no idea what would happen if Lexie read those words. I didn't have a clear idea what was in there. And this unknown had given me fear. "I-I can't let you know."

"Just please tell me what you're hiding," Lexie said. "What if it gets me killed?"

Could I promise her it wouldn't? "I wouldn't let that happen," I said. Knowing I was going to die anyway, I said: "I'd let myself die before that happened."

I think Lexie knew that there was truth in my words. The letter shook in her hand. She scanned the envelope, her face not daring to react, though I think there was a glint in her eye due to tears.

"Do you trust me, Lexie?"

"I-I don't know..." Lexie said.

"Please, give me that letter," I held my hand out. Lexie slid the letter out of the envelope, almost about to unfold it. I burst into tears, suddenly scared. I tried to hold in my wails as the tears poured, but they still leaked out of my lips pathetically. Lexie was always caring, but even though she didn't know my circumstances, she thrust the letter into my hands. It was as if she understood me more than anybody else could, as if she felt my pain.

"Fine," she said. My sobs grew quieter as I held the letter. She looked down at me. "I shouldn't be doing this... This could kill me... Take it."

"R-Really?"

"Yes," she said. "You already told me that you had a secret, you were open enough to tell me you had a secret and that you had very specific reasons to not tell me. Because you were honest enough then, I can trust you now. You were open to me in that respect. If you weren't, I'd have read it," her hands gripped the letter again. I was startled, until I realised she was stuffing the folded letter into a backpack. She held it close. "But if you give me one more reason to distrust you, Nate, I will read it. And if I read something I don't like I'll..." She had to think of a threat. "I will kill you."

"Okay," I said. I wouldn't give her a reason to distrust me.

"From now on, I call the shots, because you owe me," Lexie said with an assertive voice I'd never seen her adopt before. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good," she smiled. "And I say we go forward and stop crying, yeah?"

Alexandria Tarsus, District 1, 15

We had been searching the library for two hours.

It wasn't really fruitful. Nate was on the opposite side of the library, which was a pretty good while away. I continued strolling around, looking for something. But I guess it was hard to find something when you didn't know what it was that you were supposed to find. It was even harder when your mind wasn't focused on the task at hand. I had Nate's secret right in my pocket. Had I made a mistake by choosing not to read it? What was I to do? I stared at the pack where the letter had been stuck longingly, but decided to stick to my promise. Hopefully Nate would, too.

And I was certain he would. As certain as you could be during the Hunger Games, anyway. Only a professional actor could pull out the depth and level of emotion Nate had shown, and to make me even more certain he didn't use crocodile tears, it was obvious in his face that he had tried to restrain said tears. I glanced at him again. He was standing up on his tip-toes, still not able to reach what he was seemingly interested in. For some reason I found myself staring at him. There was so much confusion. I thought these Games would be simple. I thought it was just go in, make allies, kill and try your best not to die. But there was so much uncertainty, so many secrets that were hidden away. And... A part of me knew that I'd figure it all out one day, assuming I didn't die.

But I didn't promise Nate I wouldn't try to work out his secret.

And, the more I thought about it, his secret was obvious. Not glaringly obvious, but if you thought on it hard enough, you could work it out. He initially was so weak he struggled to walk onto the stage when I initially saw him. Now he was able to climb, jump and throw knives like it was no-one's business. Sure, his heart apparently played up, but these bouts would be peculiarly small and he had been almost impossibly lucky when you took the whole medical flaw into perspective. This meant that he had cheated in some way, he'd snuck some medication into the Games or got his natural state altered. That was his secret, and because of it he would now be punished by the Capitol. But why couldn't he tell me? There were still holes in my theory...

And if my theory was correct, and the Gamemakers knew, he stood no chance of getting out of the arena. That made me feel incredibly sad. But I scolded myself for thinking that because that was a good thing, considering I wanted to get out of this arena to begin with. For that to happen, Nate had to die.

I liked to think I had a chance. I was only fifteen, but I knew I was mature. I had an ally with nothing to lose, I had food, I had weapons and I guess I could kind of use them. The chances were slim, I couldn't deny that, but I watched Nate and knew that unlike some people, my chances still existed.

"Hey!" Nate called out, his feet balanced on the first shelf of the bookshelf in order to adjust his height by a good few inches. He gripped the book, jumping off. I rushed over to him. It seemed like walking a mile; I swear libraries weren't supposed to be this big. "I found something cool."

"In a book?" I said. "They're all in different languages."

"Yeah, I haven't even read this one, but look," he pointed across the library again. "The symbol on this book is the same as the symbol on a tile I saw earlier."

I glanced at the cover of the book - imprinted on it was a clear symbol. It looked like swirling waves. A little perplexed, I followed Nate on a venture across the whole library, until we reached the point he was talking about. And when I saw it, I don't know how I didn't notice it: the wall was completely bare, showing stone beneath. Incredibly rare when you considered there was barely a spot of wall visible elsewhere. The large space had clear lines running through it, which was definitely interesting. On each corner of the Persian rug in front of us were four clear tiles, one of them showing a thunder bolt, the other showing the wave symbol Nate had remembered.

Nate stood on the tile and it sank. Nothing happened.

"I think that's the door," I said, pressing my foot down onto a blank tile. A part of me expected something to happen, but there was only the sound of a lock clicking. I glanced to the large wall which produced the noise.

"That's definitely the door," Nate said. When I stepped up the tile, it slowly rose and the sound of the lock clicking was heard again. "When you stepped on the tile, a part of the door unlocked. When you stepped off it, it locked again."

"There are four," I said. "We need to step on all four?"

"Yep," Nate sighed. "Well, too bad we don't have the Career pack with us. Maybe they'd give a helping hand." I glared at him, not finding that joke funny. He went to the tile with the symbol on it, stepping on it. "Looks like people don't unlock the weird tiles with symbols on them." He looked at the lightning bolt. "That said, I think I remember another book with a similar symbol on it."

"Do you have a photographic memory or something?" I quizzed him.

"That doesn't exist," Nate smirked. "I only remember it because it was really close to the book I picked up, guess I didn't see the other symbol."

"I guess you should get it," I told him. "I don't know what's behind this thing, but it's obviously worth getting." Maybe it was what Luster wanted me to get. "It'll probably help us figure out how we open this thing."

Nate nodded, walking away without a word. Looked like since I knew he was hiding a big, big secret, he was being a lot more obedient. I could use that to my advantage. I paused... Was I considering manipulating him to help me further myself into the Games? Maybe. I hadn't held any secrets, and Nate had. If he wanted his secret packed tightly away, I'd have to benefit from helping him doing that. Sighing, I moved the large book with the wave symbols onto the tile with the same symbol on it. The book was heavy enough to press the tile downwards, but nothing happened, no lock unclicked.

"What the hell do we do?" I said, frustrated. I'd never been good at puzzles back at home, even though my mother loved riddles and the like. Too bad that it was no secret that the current Head Gamemaker was some kind of puzzle freak himself, and got more pleasure watching tributes work out his riddles than watching them die. Well, confusion was better than death.

I decided to open the book, looking for any words that could help. I only found myself growing more and more frustrated - it seemed like your regular book, but the words were totally alien to me. I was certain it was another language, but even then I couldn't quite be sure because some of the words were similar to English, words like fantastique. Was this language made up, or was it a language that once existed and died? I frowned, carefully turning the delicate pages and observing an illustration of a large statue. It was of a man with a large trident and beard.

"Got the other one," Nate made me jump as he threw the book on the floor. It made a loud noise.

"You scared me!" I jumped.

He looked ready to protest, but frowned. "Sorry. Worked anything out?"

"I read through the book," I said, gripping the book Nate had. After stroking my hand across the engraved thunderbolt symbol, I opened the heavy book and noticed that it was also in a foreign tongue. But it was a very similar foreign tongue, probably the same one the other book was written in. "I don't think read is the right word because I don't understand a single word," I sighed. "I just need a-"

As I turned the page, I noticed that there was also the illustration of a statue. The statue was different to the one in the other book, but it had a similar air. This man was also bearded, and his face seemed similar, but it was different. He seemed to be controlling thunder. Suddenly something clicked and I lowered the book, noticing that the statue in the illustration was exactly the same as the decorative statues that lined either side of the wall we were trying to open. I wasn't good at puzzles, but once you had the right resources, this one seemed kind of easy. Everything clicked.

"I've worked it out," I said to Nate, marching over to the statue. He looked confused.

"What is the statue to do with it?" He asked.

"Everything, just help me get it onto the assigned tile," I said. "This one goes on the thunderbolt one."

I pushed on the statue and groaned as I exerted all my strength. Still, it didn't have much influence on the solid marble. Things were eased a little when Nate came over and pushed the statue too, both of us struggling to shift it closer and closer to the tile.

"Jesus," Nate said as we gave it an almighty push, getting closer and closer.

"Don't be such a girl," I said to him. His serious reaction was amusing.

Eventually we managed to push the statue onto its assigned tile, which resulted in the sound of a lock clicking. That was a satisfying noise. I smirked at Nate, just to show him that I was right. We then nodded at each other and proceeded to the second, which was close too. Seemed as if these were some kind of gods; the second statue appeared to be covered in seashells and other sea-related things. Wondered if that was of any relevance.

After a long struggle, we got the second statue onto its assigned tile. The second lock clicked and I slumped against the statue, careful not to topple it. My limbs ached and I was tired now.

"We go onto the empty tiles?" Nate asked.

"Yeah," I said.

He gave me a reassuring smile and moved onto one of the tiles. He wasn't heavy at all, but was heavy enough to get push his weight onto the tile. Following suite, I stood on the fourth blank tile. The last click of a lock seemed to have an instant effect on the door. I heard cogs whir from behind the wall, and bricks seemed to shift together in unison, moving away from the library wall and forming two parallel walls on either side, revealing a large wooden door which was hidden behind. I watched in awe as the door slipped off its hinges, smashing onto the ground in front of us and showing a room beneath.

Except I barely had any time to react.

"Oh my-" I screamed and turned around, feeling a claw snare my dress.

Whatever it was, it was an unnaturally sized mutt. I'd seen giant insects in the Hunger Games, but never had I seen a giant scorpion. It was only inches smaller than the towering doorway it ran through. Its pincers were the size of cars and its exoskeleton was black and armoured. When I turned around to give it the briefest glimpse, I swear I could see millions of tiny eyes staring at me. I'd never seen anything so terrifying before, even from Hunger Games standards. A cold sickness filled me as one of its pincers clawed harder at the hem of my dress, but I tore the hem away and continued to run. It continued to chase me, unnaturally fast. I think I'd have died, but a knife bounced off the mutt with ease.

"Lexie! Run!" Nate said. I was somewhat relieved, knowing that it had shifted its attention from me onto my ally. But even our fancy knives couldn't penetrate its night-black armour. That was not good at all.

I tried to think of some other way to kill it - what was there? Knives wouldn't work against it and we didn't have guns. Nate was quicker than I expected, but all the scorpion mutt had to do was turn around and its tail, which was as long as one of the bookshelves, send Nate crying out in pain and flying onto the floor. Nate's body propped against the bookshelf for a second, and he barely had any time to move before the mutt's sharp stinger blasted through the bookshelf and the wall behind, sending remains scattering around. Oh god. I did not want to think what that could do to a body and - even worse - there was probably poison inside the thing.

It was all armoured by an exoskeleton, which meant it would be impossible to kill. But its eyes didn't seemed armoured. Not all of it was armoured. But I wasn't skilled, and I didn't know how to reach that height. Immediately, my gaze shifted to the ladder, knowing that my plan could very well kill me. Nate ducked and managed to avoid the scorpion's sting, which smashed another chunk of the wall into oblivion again. I could run away and just let Nate die. I knew my way out. But...

No.

I rushed to the ladder, hearing Nate's screams and knowing that I could very well have acted too late.

"Hang in there!" I screamed, never hearing my voice sound so terrified before. There was no dress to restrict me now. I forced my way up the ladder, my head almost touching the top of the spiral staircase that led onto the floors above. When I turned around, I was so relieved to see that Nate was alive and relatively uninjured. He had the same idea as I had, climbing up one of the ladders. Unfortunately for him, he didn't climb high enough. The mutt gripped Nate's ankle with a pincer, and I immediately heard alarm bells go off in my head when blood leaked over the large pincer.

Remember what Lorelei said. Squint, aim, throw.

I only had two knives, and barely enough time to make them count. I squinted as Nate gasped in pain, launching the knife at the scorpion's set of eyes. At first, I thought my throw was flimsy, I was nervous and shaking. But the knife almost fell down onto the scorpion, exploding into its large, beady eyes and sending out green gunk. It didn't kill it like I expected, but it immediately withdrew away, its pincer releasing Nate and showing an extremely bloody but intact foot. The thing flailed about uselessly, blindly clawing at anything it could before the seemingly unbeatable creature rushed headfirst into a wall, sending piles of books scattering as it crumpled into nothingness.

"Nate?" I cried at him, he looked at me, his face drenched in sweat. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so," he said, beginning to climb down. I also started my descent on the floor.

The first thing Nate did was retrieve the knife he had thrown. He was practical like that. He hobbled slightly to the knife, picking it up and pocketing it straight away as I made myself towards him. When I reached him I hugged him close. I thought I was going to die, so I guess I just needed contact. I just needed to feel alive. Tears of relief spread down my face as I paid the massive scorpion corpse another glance.

"How the hell are we alive?" He said. "That was..."

"Terrifying," I finished his sentence, crouching down. "We need to look at your foot-"

Oh. When I first saw the scorpion's pincer surround my ally's foot, I thought the foot was done for. Nothing left to it when a giant claw, similar to a loader's scoop, had consumed your foot. When the scorpion moved away, I saw his foot was intact and kind of assumed it was okay. The foot was certainly intact, but I wouldn't use the word okay to describe the wound. Blood was pouring everywhere, and the gash that surrounded the foot was pretty deep. I knew that the consequences of this couldn't be good, especially if it all went untreated.

Nate hadn't had a good deal today. His secret had kind-of-but-not-really been exposed, he got his back a bit torn up and now this.

"I don't think you'll lose your leg," I told him, sadly. "But we really need medical supplies."

"Yeah," Nate grimaced. "You don't need to tell me."

"Does it hurt?"

"Feels pretty numb, but I know by tomorrow it is not going to be pretty. I'm just glad the thing's tail didn't get me. We have scorpions in District Eleven, if you get the stinger in you, you can expect to die. And they're only tiny."

Still suffering from the aftermath of adrenaline, I decided to pretend that the whole giant mutt thing didn't exist. "We'll see what's in that room, if it's as promising as I think, maybe we'll be able to do something," to support Nate's weight, I let his arm droop around my shoulder. He was actually pretty light, so it wasn't that bad. I managed to support his weight and we made our way into the room where the scorpion was kept, which, when I thought about it, wasn't a really good idea.

The room was made completely out of stone. It was really cool, and I felt the cool of the air slowly freeze the sweat that covered my skin. Nate also seemed to shake quite violently. I hoped his heart was okay, but I was suspecting that he'd somehow fixed his heart defect anyway. As I glanced around the room, I noticed broken chains of steel. They were pretty big. It once again reminded me of the strength of the mutt we had faced. I was pretty sure the Gamemakers were expecting one or both of us to die in that fight... I knew that if I waited ten seconds longer, that would've been the case.

"There's nothing in here," I sighed. "All that for... Nothing..."

"No," Nate said, glancing towards a book stand. It was a gold painted eagle, and its spread wings were what held the large book in place. "L-Look at that..."

Day Four, Afternoon

Willow Horvat, District 11, 13

"Surprised there were no more deaths," Tear said as we walked into a relatively large room.

There were toys and teddies everywhere - I saw building blocks, dolls, jack in the boxes and a large assortment of things that were for children. Drawings littered the room, as did tiny musical instruments. You'd have thought a room for children would be cute, or even reassuring, but there was something about it that I didn't like. We both stepped in the room and I glanced around, noting the paintings of stars and planets that littered the night coloured ceiling.

"Why? Because all those tributes were getting their secret revealed?" I paused. "Yeah, I guess I was holding on for a death."

"Means the Gamemakers will look elsewhere for one," Tear sighed. "No doubt there'll at least be one tomorrow, if not today."

Tear had taken on a depressing tone that I hadn't noticed in her before. I don't know how I felt about it. I guess bar me, everybody she had known through the Games was dead. Her District partner shot in the head, her ally had her stomach torn open and god only knows what happened to Luke. It was only me and her, and despite our heart-to-heart last night, there was definitely a distance between us that I couldn't quite explain.

At least we were in sync tactically and emotionally. We both agreed this morning it was best to take the pittance of food Luke's killer had left and decided to explore the mansion even deeper. We were okay with supplies, I guess, but more wouldn't hurt. We definitely weren't as privileged as we started off. But exploring had proven itself extremely boring. Up until now, it was all the same: corridors, studies, spare rooms, empty rooms, bathrooms and bedrooms. This room was a little different. It was some kind of nursery, or a room for children. I approached a toy box, opening it and gasping at all the toys in it.

Maybe I was a little too old for toys, but I never really got them. My mum got me crappy dolls for birthdays and sports accessories for Christmases, but that was it, and I hated dolls anyway. My hand automatically found itself lifting a cool looking wooden robot out of the box. It was cool, even by today's standards, though there was still an oldness to it. When I twisted a key that was jammed into its back, it started kicking its arms and legs. I watched it shift into motion as the guy behind it spun, feeling like a kid again in the first time in forever.

"Should we take some of this?" Tear asked. She was holding packs of powdered milk which had been stuffed underneath a cradle.

"Isn't that for babies?"

"In theory, but it has nutrients and everything we need," Tear shrugged, stuffing it into a rucksack. "Not going to taste pleasant, but if we run out of food..."

Eurgh. That wasn't supposed to happen. We started out with food that was supposed to last us forever. We definitely didn't have enough to just snack casually through the day, and Tear was starting to scold me for doing so. In the process, I was beginning to lose the puppy fat that filled my face. Kind of crappy. I guess we still had enough to last the both of us another week, but the Games lasted longer than eleven days, and if we both survived past then... It would start getting hard unless we found something fast. I didn't want to be living off baby milk. I watched the toy for another second, fascinated by it, and stuffed it into my rucksack. If I was ever bored, it would actually be kind of nice to have something to play with.

I started to observe the paintings on the walls. Tear smiled at me.

"Hey, look Will," she showed me a Jack-in-the-box, which was playing music. "How cool is that."

I shrugged. Maybe she expected me to be impressed, but I wasn't really. The haunting tune the Jack-in-the-box emitted filled the room as I looked at the cute children's drawings. Tear set the toy back in its place and began to walk towards me. But suddenly fear filled my gut. There was an ominous scrawling of a Jack-in-the-box that looked exactly like the one Tear had fiddled with. And even worse, another messy drawing beside it had shown the thing burst into flames...

The tune the Jack-in-the-box was playing began to reach its conclusion:

"Tear!" I didn't waste any time. Ensuring the supplies were secure around me, I turned around and grabbed Tear's hands. Her weight was hard to carry, but she didn't try to stay in place, she almost ran with me as we quickly rushed out of the nursery.

The last note from the Jack-in-the-box was filled with an ear-splitting explosion. I screamed and felt heat hit the back of my head, the force from the room sending Tear and I to the floor as I saw the flicker of orange flames fill the room. The stench of soot filled the air as I heard scraps of objects scatter along the floor. A nasty buzzing sound filled my ears. It hurt, and I definitely didn't like it. Tear brushed herself off and got to her feet, turning around to observe the chaos behind us. Maybe she was used to danger, but she didn't seem that affected anymore.

"The Gamemakers are definitely looking for blood," she concluded. I felt like such a girl, but I was crying.

"My ears hurt," I sniffled. I don't think there was permanent damage, but I couldn't be sure. Blood had leaked out of them, but I could still hear. Too bad everything was accompanied with an annoying buzz.

"Generally what happens when something explodes..."

She was right. There was worse out there, too. I couldn't let myself complain. Still holding in the tears, I shakily stood up and looked at the room behind. I didn't want to think about what would've happened if the Gamemakers hadn't left us hints that the toy was a trap. Looked like we had to be careful if we wanted a chance at surviving: the walls that surrounded the room had been blown off, forming rocks on our feet. Every piece of furniture had been obliterated. Beams which formed the ceiling hung like bats, some snapping to the floor uselessly, barely visible underneath the oppressive smokescreen that surrounded us. I glanced around, knowing that the Gamemakers were right when they said the Games were going to get more intense.

Sebastian Keating, District 6, 17

Everything had changed.

A week ago, I wouldn't have expected to be in this situation. I barely even knew that Trojan existed, I liked Brandy and I thought Aurochs, Carlie and I had a stable alliance that could've made it to the final twelve. But Brandy and Aurochs were dead, and Carlie had planned to betray me from the very start. The lack of her presence was weird. But it was best she were gone now. If she hadn't been exposed... I don't think I'd want to know what would have happened to me. But I couldn't pretend that I didn't miss her, or that I hated her the whole time. I found her funny, charming and sweet. That couldn't all have been a facade?

I'd never know. I left her to die out there, which was what she deserved.

Trojan had cooked one of the chickens I found. He held a large wing in his left hand, using his mouth to tear strips out of it. Personally, I wasn't really hungry. All I could think about was Carlie, about how she planned to kill me, about the fact she was wandering out there, how she swore revenge, how she basically ensured that Aurochs was savagely killed by Careers. It was all so brutal. I felt sick thinking about it. The thoughts ensured I couldn't pay attention to the task at hand.

Trojan wanted us to search the second floor in detail, just in case there was anything useful. All I was doing was wandering around aimlessly, the same revolving thoughts spinning around again and again in my mind, torturing me with their lack of conclusion and knowledge. Since finding out Carlie planned to betray me, everything fitted together. But when you decapitated one head from a monster, two more sprouted up. So many new questions arose. And I didn't know if what I did was right. Maybe I should have let Carlie stay, been totally merciful. Maybe I should've let Trojan kill her. But, despite me framing letting Carlie surviving as punishment, I couldn't help but acknowledge a part of me couldn't see her die. She was my only friend.

"You alright?" Trojan said, turning to me. He was brutally honest, which was always beneficial. But a friend? No.

"I just can't stop thinking-"

"It's the Hunger Games. It shouldn't surprise you," Trojan said, chewing the marrow out of spare chicken bone. "People are traitors. That's part of how the game is played. Why don't you search around for supplies, get some food down your throat and leave here with me?"

"Leave?" I questioned as Trojan inspected behind a statue. "Why?"

"We can't just hang around in one place, that paints a big target on our back," Trojan told me. "Surprised the Gamemakers left you guys alive. I guess if Carlie didn't dish the drama, they'd have sent something nasty. You can thank her."

"I won't thank her for anything," I snapped. "We aren't leaving. We've been here for four days."

"Exactly, four days in the same spot isn't good," Trojan paused. "You know, I came into the Games a loner and plan to stay that way. I'm only letting you tag along because I know you'll die if you don't," I glared at him. He had no supplies. How could he even be so arrogant? "Which suits me, really. So yeah, you can come if you want, but I'm leaving," Trojan inspected further behind a statue and I heard him grumble. "There's some kind of grate here. Looks accessible, but I don't know what the hell is down there. I'd rather take a conventional exit."

"Do you even like me?" I said. It felt a bit out of the blue.

Trojan emerged from behind the statue, moving to inspect the other one. I knew there wasn't anything up on the first floor to inspect, but he still felt compelled to comb the place anyway. He seemed to be a bit of a perfectionist.

"Like you?" He shrugged. "You seem like a sweet kid. Not that means anything in the long run."

"But you saved my life."

"Yeah, because it was either that or lose my own," Trojan said to me honestly. I was about to speak, but he turned around and rolled up his shirt. I paused when I noticed the purple bruising that literally covered his back. Looked like he'd taken a beating. "Your ally wasn't sweet or innocent. She beat the shit out of me when I was tied up, tried getting me to act all submissive." He let the shirt fall and showed me his arm, which had been clawed into. "This is what your ally is capable of when things didn't go her way. I needed to get rid of her, only way to do that was to save your life and expose her for the person she was."

"You don't sound resentful of her," I said to him. It was weird, because I was very resentful even though she didn't yet hurt me. And a part of me even resented Trojan - the bruises on my jaw and on the back of my knee did hurt, after all.

Trojan walked along the banister, noting where a large chunk of it had been torn away. He looked down at the pieces of smashed marble beneath. I wondered what he was thinking, but he was clearly deep in thought.

"I don't hate anyone. Life is too short for that," he told me. "But look at the statue beneath. Look at what I was willing to do to you days ago. Don't think I'm an angel just because I saved your life," he glared up at me. "Because I want to live. Angels are dead for a reason."

Trojan, without saying a word, moved towards the stairway and started to stroll down it. He had tried to escape from this room only days ago without any supplies. And without taking my supplies, he was leaving again. I didn't know what to think of him, and I didn't know if I was willing to just let him go and play these Games alone. Both seemed to have benefits and disadvantages. I guess he preferred playing it out alone, though, so I moved to the top of the stairway and watched him reach the bottom of the stairs. Only things went... weird.

Gas leaked through from underneath the panels. Or at least I think it was gas. It was air-like, thick and green, and filled the room while dancing around. It seemed to fill in from the perimeter of the ground floor, and I knew that whatever it was it wasn't good. Trojan paused at the bottom of the stairs when the doorway became clouded underneath the thick substance. Oh fuck. That meant that there was no way out. I looked around drastically for an exit, my panic growing when the gas started to rise and scrape the loose chandelier which Trojan had almost destroyed earlier today.

"Quick," Trojan rushed towards the top of the stairs, speeding past me. "I know a way out of here."

"What?" I said, following him as he moved into one of the crevices the first floor had to offer. Behind a statue was the grate he pulled away, which left a fairly large hole. I looked at it, puzzled. "Do we know what's behind there?"

"The Gamemakers want us to go down there, the only other option is death," Trojan said. I glanced behind me. The gas formed plumes not far away, but it seemed as if it wasn't going to reach us quite yet.

"They also sent it when you wanted to leave," I paused. "The Gamemakers obviously want to see us in an alliance."

That earned me a glare from Trojan, which was oddly satisfying. I held my gun and backpack closer as he slid through the grate as if he himself were gas that could seep through anything effortlessly. Noting the gas was getting ever so closer, I pushed myself onto my knees and realised that there would be a tight squeeze when I had supplies strapped to me. Hoping Trojan would get the hint, or wouldn't steal anything and run off, I shoved the supplies through the grate and heard them plummet through the air. Surprisingly calm, knowing I wouldn't die, I forced my legs through.

Ensuring I fell feet first, I kicked my legs through the space, struggling to get my body through. After gritting my teeth and pushing hard, I found myself falling through the air surprisingly gracefully. The first thing my senses picked up was the revolting smell, and after the brief fall I found myself ankle deep in something that was slimy and disgusting. We seemed to be in some kind of tunnel, a tunnel accompanied by a stream of revolting liquid; I could hear rats squeaking through the darkness as smudge and moss crept around the surrounding walls. Trojan was beside me, as enigmatic as ever. He only spared me a glance before walking forward. Following him, I picked up my sludge covered supplies and delved deeper into what appeared to be a sewer.

Magnus Carmine, District 5, 17

Leda had actually become fun company over the past couple of days. She joked a lot more and her jokes tended to be much more witty and less biting too. Ever since she had given me a heart to heart and patched me up, she just seemed to be a much more gracious and kind person. When we walked through a marble doorway which was adorned with sculptures of fish, I gave her a surprised look.

"Oh, wow," Leda paused. "What's this?"

It was like a colosseum: a large room, armoured completely with polished marble that always held a tint of light from the sun outside. The ceilings were high about our heads and rows upon rows of stairs descended beneath, forming a large pit like place that seemed to take up the majority of the room. In the centre of the pit, and the very centre of the room, was what I originally perceived to be a large column - but it was thicker that your average column. Sculptures of mermaids and aquatic creatures were carved across it, while occasionally large hunks of metal protruded out of it.

Oh, they were taps. Ones which released water. Leda seemed to catch on at the same time as me. She held her navy blue dress up slightly to prevent herself from tripping, moving down two steps and using one as a seat. She relaxed slightly.

"Looks like a fancy ass bath," she said.

"Really?" I paused.

"Try it," she shrugged simply, not taking my skepticism seriously.

"Keep your bulletproof vest tight under," I reminded her. Leda had stolen it as a prank, but didn't really like the feel of it on her, and had offered to give it back to me this morning. However, I decided that even though it was sponsored for me, Leda would be much better off with it. I could fight well. In fact, I was willing to bet I could fight a tribute with a gun and possibly get out of there alive if they had no allies and weren't Careers. Leda needed something to defend herself, and she certainly couldn't use a weapon, so a bulletproof vest was the next best thing.

There were about fifty stairs, and even though the pit looked deep, I soon realised it was deeper than I expected. I had always seen luxury, but I didn't know Kings and Queens bathed in large baths that were as big as whole houses back in the poorer areas of the poorer Districts. I was basically in a giant bath, which made me feel uncomfortably and a little bit giddy. I glanced up at Leda, whose silhouette was visible, and then glanced at the doorway we had entered through, which had been blocked by the towering stairways around us.

"What's it like?" Leda asked.

I didn't even reply. My finger moved itself across the copper of one of the taps, which was crafted to look like a seashell. When I twisted it, I was shocked to see a waterfall of pink soapy water slip onto the floor, immediately soaking my feet. I stepped back, in awe. Wow. So much water came out it was already forming a puddle by my shoes. It reminded me of the Capitol, though it was somehow even more grand. I shuffled around the circumference of the column, twisting more and more taps so a rainbow fountain of water poured around me and began to fill the pit which was supposed to be a royal bath.

It felt nice and warm, and in mere seconds the water had formed around my ankles. The colours that swirled around the liquid were beautiful, almost like the kind of colours you saw reflected in spilled oil. I was tempted to just drift around here forever. I'd always had baths when I lived with my affluent parents, I'd waste gallons of water that would have quenched the thirsts of poor children. But since prison I'd only been used to meagre trickles of water which were called showers. To be offered a proper bath was definitely liberating.

"The water is perfect," I shouted up to Leda. "Come in."

She shifted down a few stairs, more visible to me now, but she seemed tentative. "No."

"Why?" I asked as the water reached my waist.

"I hate water."

"You never told me that..." I said tentatively.

"Well, you know now," she said, almost snappy. "You don't want to stay in there long anyway, the water is reaching up to your waist. You'll get your bandages wet." She sighed. "We'll change them when you get out."

I wanted to talk, but only listened to her obediently. I wasn't used to her being so serious, and I wondered what had triggered her rotten attitude. The bath wouldn't stop filling unless I switched off all its taps. The water had gotten to my chest now, and I guess my bandages were loose now because I felt small jolts of pain. Tiny wisps of blood followed behind me as I waded towards all of the taps. I turned the first one off, gripping onto the side and splashing my way to the others, soon turning them off one by one until no more water was filling the ocean that surrounded me.

The water reached the top of my chest, meaning that moving had suddenly gotten really hard. I kicked to swim away, struggling to get to the stairways where Leda was waiting for me. Soon moving only got more difficult as I desperately kicked my way towards Leda. Soon I realised that swimming wasn't difficult because the water was thick, it was because there was a powerful force that was pulling me backwards. I saw water drag itself like a reverse tide. I desperately kicked against it, trying not to cry out desperately as the horror of what was coming sunk into me.

"Leda!" I cried. "Come in here, help me!"

"What is happening?" She suddenly looked worried, rushing down the stairs as I kicked forward.

I think she realised when she saw the water was pulling from opposite currents, threatening to drag me with it when it formed a furious vortex. Shit. It was forming a massive whirlpool, one capable of dragging a bulky, tall guy down with it. I managed to push myself forward, kicking and thrashing while Leda leaned forward, stretching her arm out as much as possible for me. I tried to grab it, but she was too far away.

"Get here!" I begged.

"I-I can't!" Leda said, almost slipping into the water.

"Leda, please..." I said, struggling and giving her a pleading look. Leda looked at me once, terrified, and then turned her head away whilst withdrawing her arm. Why wouldn't she help me? Why didn't she even go in the water in the first place? I helped her so much, and when I needed her...

Before I could reflect on Leda's abandonment, before I could observe her collect our supplies together, I stumbled; that loss of balance was all the water needed to sweep me away. I felt my clothes and hair float around me, feeling water gush into my mouth and nose and choke me as I was throttled around. I could barely see anything, only marble and the surrounding swirls of liquid colour. As I felt my body get dragged around in a thousand different directions, spinning around aimlessly into nothingness as the air was slowly dragged out of me. I didn't know if I was alive or dead, but after all the violence there was one thing I did feel...

Peace

First and foremost: A Christmas update followed by a new year update! :) I sincerely hope your new year is wonderful. I'm hoping to finish the fic by the end of this year, so yeah, it's all throwing itself into motion. That said, January exams are approaching so I may not update for a while, but I might also procrastinate, so we'll see.

Secondly, yeah, the day of secrets was possibly, maybe a tiny bit anticlimactic, but I have plot purposes. But don't worry, if it isn't obvious, the Gamemakers are going out in full force, as observed.

~Toxic

Capitol Commentator Question: Do you think Lexie will ever discover Lia's secret?

Interview Question: Do you prefer baths or showers? I much prefer showers. I think this chapter may have expressed an unconscious bath fear I have.