Not sure it will add to your reading experience, but I listened to 'The Ecstacy of Gold' by Ennio Morricone on a loop as I wrote Willow's POV, and it definitely influenced the vibe - particularly towards the end.

Added comment: And 'Don't Give Up' by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush for Mirane's POV.

Day Five, Night

Tear Nikuya, District 9, 16

"Tear!"

I must've fallen asleep by the fire. I almost regretted stirring, I was incredibly comfortable and the flames had given me a sense of security. But when I saw Willow looking down to me, her eyes open wide with panic, I immediately shot up. My adrenal glands were already going into overdrive. I had a bad feeling about this place, and now I knew that said feeling existed a reason.

"Willow?"

"They're here," was all Willow managed to squeak, sounding almost child like.

I was going to ask her who was here, but there were two very telling things: the absolute terror that filled her eyes was revealing enough, but an imbecile down the corridor seemed more than happy to make her presence known.

"If there are any tributes in here, come out!" Honora screamed down the corridor, kicking a door of its hinges effortlessly. "You're going to die anyway, you may as well make the process a whole load easier for yourselves!"

They seemed distracted; they were in another room down the corridor, squabbling about Honora's inability to stay quiet. Looked like the Careers were as dysfunctional as they were powerful, which could only benefit me. But they would only be in that room for so long, and they could only be distracted for so long. We had to get out of here before it's too late. Willow seemed to have temporarily lost her cool, and for the first time in days I remembered how young and fragile she was.

But I couldn't afford to act young and fragile. I removed two knives, preparing to throw them at a hopefully unsuspecting Career. I crept over to the door, peering out of it and noting that the corridor was empty. Great - that meant we had an opportunity to sneak away from here. Soon Willow was standing at my side cautiously, peering into the corridor too.

"We have to get out of here," I whispered, pointing towards the exit route. Willow only nodded once, knowing what had to be done.

"All I'm just saying is we could use stealth to get out of here..."

"Oh please, Jericho. Stealth? When has stealth won anybody a Games?"

"Multiple times!"

"Not without strength!"

I stepped forward, trying to sneak. But my weight pressed down onto the floorboards and I froze as they creaked eerily loud, almost drowning out the Careers' argument. Shit. I should've remembered that they creaked. If only Luke were here, he'd have remembered. Willow looked up at me, horrified at the noise that had been produced. Maybe the Careers wouldn't notice...

"I-"

"Wait, Jericho," Honora's voice changed into a more gleeful tone. "I'm pretty sure I just heard a rat. Isn't this fun?"

I didn't even have to tell Willow - we both sprung into action. Ignoring the noise produced, we rushed down the corridor, freezing for a vital millisecond when we saw that it was a dead end. Willow almost screamed, but before Honora could spot us I grabbed Willow by the collar and forced her into one of the available rooms, locking the door behind us. That would only keep Honora away for so long, and the sound of the door slamming probably told her where we were.

"Wh-what now?" Willow said.

"To the window," I snapped, smashing it open easily. There was a ridge lining the wall. We had to act fast.

Fortunately Willow seemed to know what she had to do. She slid out of the window, shimmying across the ridge when she saw the balcony a couple of metres to our right. I also clambered out of the window, forcing myself to the side when I heard the loud gunshot. Willow stumbled over the balcony's marble perimeter and when I heard footsteps storm towards the window I threw myself onto the balcony.

"Into the room!" I snapped, acting on instinct. Willow rushed into the room as I scrambled to my feet, feeling my heart pound. I couldn't let Willow die because of my stupid mistake. I couldn't die on Rita. I knew I had to act quickly.

Willow was thinking as quickly as I could. She rushed out into the corridor, trying to open a multitude of other doors that wouldn't budge. She managed to find a door that opened, rushing into it. I took a moment to collect my thoughts together and as I heard a storm of heavy footsteps behind me I pelted forward, managing to dodge a soaring knife as I slammed the door behind me. This room was a quaint bedroom with small tables filled with tea sets. There was no window, but there was another door that led into the next room and Willow was rushing through it.

I followed her, slamming the door behind me as the Careers flooded into the room. Before they could barge into the next room I rushed to what appeared to be a bookcase, shoving it so that it blocked the door. Willow looked at me once, terrified, while the door shook on its hinges. One of the girls was screaming insults angrily. There had to be a way out of here...

The room we were in was virtually bare. It had some oriental paintings and a very bare bed, but that was it. There was another door bar the one we had blocked. I approached it, noting that it was locked. Thankfully the brass key was already inserted, and with a quick hand movement the door would open. The Careers had also stopped trying to force their way into the room, which actually made me wearier.

When I opened the door I noticed that we were just led into the same corridor as before. I tried to hold in a breath when I realised the Careers were already heading our way.

"Tear..." Willow croaked as I slammed the door, locking it again and pressing my back against it. "What's happening?"

"We're trapped," I said as I felt a force slam into the door. The door shoved me forwards, though didn't break itself. Willow looked terrified. I, however, didn't give up and forced my body back against the door, trying to keep the Careers held off as long as possible. Willow rushed over to the blocked door, trying desperately to lift the bookshelf away from the door in the hope it would provide an additional escape again, but there was no hope - she wasn't strong enough.

"You can't do that," I whispered, hearing the door groan.

"Let us in and we'll make it quick!" The One boy said. I think there were only two Careers trying to break the door down. The boys. Where were the girls?

"Shall we ambush them?" Willow said, almost hugging her hatchet to her chest. "If we get them by surprise..."

I had a knife. Willow had a hatchet. And if they flung into the room we could use the element of surprise to severely weaken them. But even with that on our side I knew we had no chance. We'd be lucky if we could severely injure one of them. What was there to do? We had no time to escape. I promised Rita that I'd try everything I could survive. I held her ring close to my heart and tried to hold in sobs. The Careers were only seconds from breaking down the door.

I knew what I had to do… What Rita would want me to do.

"Willow," I snapped at her, letting my backpacks slip to my feet. "I want you to hide under the bed."

"What?!"

"They don't know you're here, they only know I am," I whispered as a knife pierced through the wood, almost hitting my head. I glanced at her seriously. "Keep our supplies safe, okay? Use them to cover you and hide you under the bed."

Willow was trying to talk through the tears. "But what about you-"

"Just do as I say, Willow!" I hissed. I knew I wouldn't be able to hide now. Maybe, despite all her potential and maturity, Willow was too young to know that happy ever afters and lucky escapes were very, very limited in the Hunger Games. Still, she was smart enough to do as I said. She rushed over and forced herself under the bed, forcing numerous backpacks in front of her like some kind of blockade. I knew it probably wouldn't be enough but maybe, just maybe, she'd be lucky. I couldn't see her underneath the bed and the Careers didn't know she was in the room with me.

It was surreal to think of everything that had happened in the past thirty seconds. I felt the door shake and force itself open with such a force I stumbled forwards and heard it break open.

I'm sorry Rita. Please understand why I have to do this.

I managed to grab the District One boy as he hurried towards me. I then saw the District Two boy was brandishing a gun and tried to keep the One boy in front of me despite the fact I had grabbed his wrists, trying to keep a knife from sinking into my gut. I eventually managed to fling him towards the wall, jumping forward and expecting the crack of the gunshot that missed me.

When the Two boy rushed towards me I knew I had no chance of overpowering him - he was stronger than I could ever hope to be. I thrust my elbow into his throat, and while he was stunned I tried to quickly prise the gun from his hand. He quickly regained himself and we desperately struggle for the gun. I started with the advantage and stumbled back, closer and closer towards the bed as I almost aimed the gun at his face. But the more he came to his senses, the more he was overpowering me. This was it; this was the moment it had to happen.

Just as more footsteps charged into the room I managed to push the end of the gun towards my temple.

And then I pulled the trigger.

Willow Horvat, District 11, 13

I didn't know what was happening - Tear was struggling with two Career boys, and considering they were Careers, who I had always viewed as near omnipotent entities, she was doing a pretty good job at holding them off. But then there was a struggle and a second gunshot. Unlike the first bang, the second bang followed with a ominous cannon. My heart leapt at the prospect of Tear managing to kill a Career, but I saw her legs slump and her bodies fell back onto the bed as if she were a puppet who'd had its strings cut. And just as my heart leapt high it fell, plummeting until it smashed into the concrete of my stomach.

At first I felt numb. At first it was as if I didn't just watch Tear die.

Granted, I didn't see any blood and gore. I could only see her legs - I could only watch them turn into jelly in that split second. And just as she fell onto the bed, her body falling out of sight, I saw two more pairs of legs - one of them muscular, the other sleek and slim.

"Oh, we have been doing a good job," I heard the Four girl mumble. I remembered her from the Cornucopia... Honora. She was the scariest... And she was still alive. "See, what did I tell you? We work together well and we do well."

"Yeah..." Jericho said numbly. I bit into my hand and sobbed so the Careers wouldn't hear me as I cried. I felt so weak. I felt like a girl. But then again, Tear was a girl. So maybe that wasn't a bad thing after all. But she was gone and it just felt so surreal. I was just tucked away, the Careers only metres away once again. And I didn't know what to do or how to think or how to feel.

"Great, so that's the Nine girl down," the other girl said. "She got a good score, too. I knew she'd be difficult."

"Yeah, we just need to keep an eye out," Honora said. "I swear I heard her talking to somebody."

"Maybe herself?" The Two girl said. "All tributes go loopy."

"It was just her," Jericho confirmed. "She was alone..." His sentence trailed off, almost as if he found that said.

"Well the slut and I will search the other rooms," Honora said. Was she referring to Lorelei in such a derogatory way? Nobody seemed to call her out for it too. "Just check over this room a bit. Not that there's anything to check over."

The girls were gone as quickly as they had appeared and I was left alone with the two boys - one of them, the Two boy, was the one who had killed Tear. And I was certain one of them had killed Luke too. At least that's what I think happened. They were wrestling and then there was a bang and she was gone. Maybe it was the One boy who killed her. Either way, I wished that both of them would die. I wanted to do it myself. But that prospect was extremely thin, especially now I was stuck in a room with them and they were probably searching for me.

"I'll get into this other room," Jericho said, moving over to the blockaded door and lifting the shelf away from it with ease. I heard him groan as he struggled and curled up tighter, feeling my cheeks grow damper by the second as tears pooled onto the floorboards below.

And then I almost jumped. How did he know I was here? The One boy wasn't as elegant looking as I remembered him - his face had a good few bruises on it and his hair was a lot less styled than I had remembered. His white clothes were completely stained red, probably with blood. His prominent eyes swept onto my face for a second, immediately widening with surprise. I hugged my hatchet even closer to my chest, almost preparing a very one-sided fight with him. I think he was staring at me for a few seconds, but I wasn't sure.

And then as if nothing had happened his eyes flickered elsewhere, scanning under the bed. Did he not see me through the wall of supplies Tear had used in an attempt to conceal me? I wasn't quite sure. But if so, why not move the supplies? The tears stopped as I remained terrified and confused, watching him get back to his feet and dust himself off.

"Anything under there?" Jericho asked.

There was a tense pause. "No."

"Thought as much. We should catch up to Honora, anyway."

I watched their feet trail away and lay there for a second. So much had happened again, I had been involved in a brush with the Careers again. And nothing I could've done could've got me out. I didn't survive because of wit or strength. I just struck lucky. Tear, however, didn't. But I was alive. I don't know if the joy of living of the sadness of death compelled me to lie down, crying numbly for about an hour on end until there was nothing left to cry. I was shaking as cold seeped into the room. My eyes were sore and I felt so empty.

But I had to persevere. Tear and I knew we would lose each other one-day. I didn't expect to lose someone so strong so soon. And I was terrified to see her corpse, to see the shell that was Tear. I managed to shove my supplies away, getting out from under the bed. The room was different to how I remembered it even though I had only hidden for an hour and a half. It was somehow emptier, somehow colder and somehow much more dark. There was no light bar the moon, which could be reflected in the wet blood that had stained the ceiling. Sucking in a breath, I turned.

Nothing could prepare me for Tear's corpse. It was so cold, and so lifeless. And yet she seemed so still, almost as if she were sleeping. She was pale and cold, though I couldn't see any visible wounds on her bar a tucked away spot of blood that soaked into her hair. I placed my hand onto hers, feeling my heat radiate onto it. In a way, I wished it were me who died and not her. She was probably stronger than I was... And, ultimately, kinder too. But she also had Rita back at home. My stomach lurched when I thought about how much pain Rita must have been in, seeing someone she loved get shot only an hour or so ago.

I noticed the ring Rita gave to Tear laying still on her finger. She'd get it back, but that would be no consolation. As I felt tears prickle into my eyes I tore away my sponsor gift, letting it lie on Tear's chest and knowing that the Gamemakers would have to take it from her body. Maybe they'll give it to Rita too. Maybe that will be my thanks to someone who died for me.

And then I picked up all the supplies we had, struggling under the immense weight as they almost plummeted me down. I was so small and weak I could barely carry a bunch of rucksacks. And yet I was alive. With some look, some brains and some strength I was here, constantly watching as kids older than me dropped like flies. And here I was, still standing and still alive somehow. I knew I could go far. I knew that if I played my hand of cards correctly I could even win.

I swept my hair behind my back, making sure it didn't obstruct my eyesight and then prepared my hatchet. I would use that to kill if I had to, and I had a feeling it'd be very soon. Deciding to be safe, I also stripped Tear's body of any knives.

This was it. I was alone, and somehow more prepared than ever.

Knowing the Careers were far away now, I stormed into the corridor, inspecting it briefly for any sign of tributes. And, after wiping away the last tears, I stormed into the night and prepared myself for victory.

Mirane Saffell, District 8, 17

"Mirane..." Darius looked at me as if I was insane as I carefully aimed the gun at the door. "We know this isn't going to work. And if we do break out, or are attacked by mutts or something, do you really think we can afford to waste anymore ammo?"

I glared at him for a second and he recoiled like a puppy who'd had a telling off from its owner. Then I turned back, glaring at the door and trying to see weak points in the steel frame. Once I think I identified it, I mercilessly aimed the gun at it and relentlessly pelted bullets towards their direction. I fired again, again and again. And then the noise faded and there was nothing there, the door was still intact and as strong as ever. It refused to break. It was almost as if Magnus had sealed our fate and there was absolutely nothing we could do.

"Fuck..." I muttered.

Darius expected the anti-climax, but I think he still had an ounce of hope. Sighing, he slumped onto the bed, looking at the floor for a second emptily. He was still shaken by Hadley's death and it showed on his face. I guess I was, really, as much I didn't want to admit it. Hadley didn't deserve this. But I wasn't going to stop in my stride because I had the misfortune of seeing a nice kid die - this was the Hunger Games and nice kids died everyday. Hadley wouldn't want to bring me down with him, and even if he did I was going to make sure that happened.

"You're not going to try again, are you?" Darius eventually asked.

I shook my head. "I guess we can't afford to waste anymore bullets. They barely dent anything. It's no use."

Darius silently nodded.

"There has to be some way out of here," I let a backpack slump onto the floor, leaning against the door and sighing. "The Gamemakers won't really just leave us to starve, would they?"

"In theory, no," Darius frowned. "But sometimes in the Hunger Games... bad things happen..." I looked at him quizzically and he sighed. "At least nothing can get into here, anyway. We still have some food and water. If we eat it sparingly..." He trailed off, distracted again and going pale. "I mean, better to die of hunger than to get caught by Magnus or the Careers, right?"

"What do you mean bad things happen?"

"It's the Hunger Games," Darius said bitterly. "You know what I mean."

"You're inferring something else."

Darius seemed as if he was about to answer, but halted. "No, it's nothing..."

"Tell me, Darius," I commanded stiffly.

The only sound I heard was the empty background noise that accompanied silence - the noise of noiselessness, like something nagging at the back of your ears, almost as if your senses were begging to pick up something and thus conjured up their own illusions. Darius played with his hands a bit, stuttering and apologising in the way Hadley used to. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm scared, Mirane," he said. "And truth be told, though we're trapped in here it's the safest I've ever felt. Locked away from everyone else with no way in and no way out - in some ways I think it's better than the alternative, to be out there and to be vulnerable. Don't you think that?" I didn't answer him. I looked him sharp in the eyes, prompting him to continue. "But it's not enough. And every time I get my guard down... Have you ever felt like you were sleeping, like you were drifting away into something resembling a dream and suddenly the slightest noise or movement wakes you up and you feel like you're falling? That's all this experience is for me. It's experiencing that over and over again. Because sometimes I forget this is the Hunger Games," he swallowed. "And something happens and suddenly it's all too much. And it just gets worse - the Bloodbath... and now Hadley?"

"This is the Games," I said emptily, turning away from his and facing the wall, wiping a small tear from my eye with my pinky and trying to keep composed. "You can't afford to fall asleep. Because falling asleep means losing, and you know what losing means." The memory of Hadley's lifeless, gutted body swinging from the tree, so lifeless and dead, was concrete in my memory and refused to leave. And then there were all those corpses slumped around the Cornucopia. Was that what was in store for me, for Darius?

"This isn't a game," Darius snapped. "I've played games before! You usually volunteer for games, and when you lose it's bad but at least you can mull around and be sad about it. At least you can live your life to win other games, to have a future!"

"Don't you think I know that?" I screamed, turning towards him in frustration. "Do you think I want this? What do you want from me Darius? You wanted my alliance and I gave you it! You wanted my affection and I gave you it! Do you want me to surrender, to be weak like Hadley?" My last sentence was like a slap in the face. Darius looked offended and I immediately felt bad for saying it. "I'm not giving you my weakness."

"I just want to know I'm not the only one here who is scared," Darius almost whispered, using his palms to try and cease the leaking from his eyes. "I'm scared and I'm fed up of it. And I feel alone. I can't be strong like you."

I slumped down on the bed next to him, smiling weakly and ceasing his hands. I pulled them away so I could see his face, wiping his tears myself.

"Of course I'm scared," I said, hushed. "If you're not scared you're either a robot or stupid. I bet even the Careers are scared," Darius smiled, nodding through the tears. "But I'm not going to mope around and feel bad. I want to keep strong, I'm not dying knowing there was something I could've done to avoid it." I swallowed. "And I know there's a chance I might die and you might survive. And if that happens you have to keep strong too. We both have to fight tooth and nail no matter what. Do you promise you'll always fight?"

"Even without you?"

"I care too much about you to know that if I go down you'll go with me," I whispered, holding his hands tightly. He looked up at me smiled, answering with little conviction:

"I promise."

Satisfied, I kissed him passionately.

Trojan Reid, District 3, 15

"Sebastian," I said, kicking him in the side lightly. He immediately jolted upwards, glaring at me as if I had kicked him really hard. The look he gave me was one that was supposed to still guilt or something - that didn't work. I looked back at him almost blankly.

"What?" He grumbled, getting up.

"We've had our rest," I told him. "Four hours, like you said. Another tribute has died too," Sebastian didn't know how to react to that news, whether to be happy or sad. I guess ultimately it was sad, but for me it could only be a good thing. He seemed to mutter to himself even more before standing while I observed the rows and rows of stone walls surrounding us. Whatever this dungeon was, it stretched for hours. It had iron cells, but all of them were empty bar the mould that crept across the walls. The cells were also inaccessible. But I knew that we had to search for something.

We'd searched for this gift the Gamemakers promised for a good hour or two, but with little success. Eventually Sebastian wanted to sleep. I needed sleep too, but knew we couldn't afford to let it drag us down for long. Four hours was an appropriate amount of rest and once I was satisfied with our security, we could find somewhere more comfortable to sleep and take turns to sleep whilst the other is kept on watch.

Sebastian was useful. I didn't like how useful he was, but he was useful. And I was definitely of use to him. I wasn't a fan of alliances, but if we both provided each other some mutual benefit I guess there were no complaints... In fact, an alliance with Sebastian was a pragmatic thing. He was more socially adept than me and much stronger too. To top it off, he wasn't as stupid or naive as I originally thought. He still had a lot to learn, but he wasn't an anchor to my success for now.

But soon he will be an anchor. Soon he will be a hindrance. When the other competition begins to crumble around us - assuming we both get that far - it will be a matter of time before we have to view each other as competitors. What could be done then?

I knew what had to be done. As Sebastian began searching around the dungeons, peering through the gaps in the iron bars, I realised I knew what had to be done. I knew I could do it, too. I just felt bad for Sebastian because I knew he wouldn't even try to kill me. It made things so much easier and harder.

"Hey," Sebastian eventually paused, peering through one of the jail cells. "There's a stairway through this jail cell."

Intrigued, I walked over to him, peering through and seeing he was right. It looked ominous, but also promising.

"What do we do?" Sebastian asked.

I pushed the cell door, noting that it was locked. But when I pushed it again I saw that a lock didn't jar it, it almost opened but rebounded due to it being held by some kind of latch. Interesting.

"There has to be something..." Sebastian kept mumbling, noting the observation I made. He turned around, pacing around in thought. "Maybe there's a key or something? Or a device we can use to break through?"

I noted that the bars in the cell weren't attached to the ceiling - it was very simple for me to squeeze through if I could get to the top. I smiled, quietly using my feet to push myself off the ground and using the burst of momentum to force myself higher up the bars, managing to grasp onto the top before I could fall. I was quick, silent and slick, sliding through the gap between the pointed bars and the ceiling and dropping so that I was at the other end of the room.

"Maybe I was wrong..." Sebastian concluded, turning around and looking shocked when he saw me in the cell.

"How did-"

"Magic," I grinned, sliding the latch and pulling the cell door open.

Sebastian sucked in some air, looking at me almost suspiciously. I kind of liked that I was an enigma to him, but I had always been an enigma. I was used to my life being in the shadows, but it was weird how the darkness could often attract more attention than the light everyone was used to. I wanted to avoid awkward questions so immediately hurried down the stone steps, observing the room it led us to before entering it and potentially throwing myself into some kind of danger.

And the room was certainly interesting. It was definitely the kind of room where something precious would be found, or where something eventful would take place. The centre of the room held a desk with scientific equipment such as vials, Bunsen burners and an array of chemicals, as well as scattered notes that piqued my interest. Bar cold stone walls, the room features a blackboard that was filled with untranslatable equations and four metallic shelves, one pushed against each wall, filled with vials.

"What's there?" Sebastian said, walking behind me. He stopped when he saw the room.

"This," was all I said. I didn't know how to explain it; there was something about it.

"Kind of creepy..."

"Yeah, seems safe for now. You search the shelves and I search the desk. That seem fair enough to you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sebastian shrugged, moving towards the first set of shelves.

I immediately started my duty, knowing that whatever the surprise the Gamemakers promised was, it would be on the desk. I heard Sebastian's footsteps guide him around the room and immediately glanced at the bubbling vials of chemicals, prodding the glass and noting how hot it was. They'd be labelled with one or two initials; sometimes said initials would be combined. If my basic chemistry knowledge was correct, which it was, they must have been elements or compounds. Some vials like oxygen or hydrogen appeared to have nothing in them, some were powders and others threatening looking liquids.

"Jesus!" Sebastian said, shocked.

I turned around, brandishing my knife quickly, though there was no danger. I didn't even say anything as Sebastian stared at jars filled with liquids, though I made sure to glare at him for crying wolf.

"Look at that!" Sebastian spluttered, pointing at a jar filled with liquid. "There's a baby in it!"

Oh, he was right. Kind of. Though babies were born creatures - the jar had a tiny, red, curled up foetus in it. No doubt it would be dead. It was creepy, I guess, but it was hardly anything to lose your mind about. These were visual effects you should expect from the Gamemakers. Sighing, I slid my knife back into my belt.

"Dead foetuses aren't going to help us," I told him, trying to keep the sharpness out of my tone. He moved over to other shelves, picking another jar up. "Now, if you see anything useful or dangerous, please do alert me."

"There's more..."

I ignored him, moving from the chemicals to what seemed to be a cauldron. It was strange to see an instrument of fantasy accompany all these scientific devices and chemicals. Maybe the notes had something interesting. I skimmed over them, pushing the ones I had read to the floor. They were mostly in a dead or made up language, words that were so strange and alien to me. Some were filled with equations that may have been useful, but were equally illegible for me. Some pages were wet and the ink across them smudged into obscurity, though eventually I found a torn piece of paper that caught my eye.

The Victor's Vial.

A vial for a victor? Now that's something I wanted.

The instructions were strange, but I followed them, pouring some of the elements and funny chemicals into the cauldron. I even stirred it as instructed, three times clockwise, nine times anti-clockwise. I wondered if this was useless or not, and I caught Sebastian glancing at me strangely, though he continued searching and didn't say anything: he knew I did everything for a reason.

"For goodness sake," I said as my finger went to the next instruction.

"What?" Sebastian said.

"This page instructs me to make some kind of... concoction," I said, lazily waving my hand at the cauldron and sitting down on the desk. "Only it asks for rosemary. The rest of the ingredients seem to ask for elements," I read through the instructions again. "Things I have here, but now it's asking for some kind of herb."

"Rosemary, like this stuff?" Sebastian said, grabbing a jar from the shelf and shaking it. Whatever was in it was a powdered lilac substance, but it was labelled clearly. I leapt up, snatching the jar from him before he could react and pouring as much of it into the bowl as possible. It never specified amounts, so I was guessing as much as possible was the best approach. Sebastian watched me curiously, trying to read the instructions I had scrolled through a second ago. Despite never throwing in any water, the concoction we had created was now liquefied.

"It's like potion making," Sebastian observed as I threw in a pinch of calcium nitrate.

"It's certainly not a formula I've made before," I mumbled, putting the mixture over the Bunsen burner. "I don't know if it even works, what it does. Maybe it's a poison, maybe it does something."

After boiling for a few minutes, there was only one last ingredient needed: blood. Sebastian, oblivious as ever, looked affronted when I removed my dagger and sliced it neatly across his finger.

"Ow," he said. Before he moved his finger to his mouth to suck the blood away I seized his hand, letting it hover over the cauldron. I watched as blots of blood fell into the mixture, swirling into nothingness. "What the hell was that for?"

"We needed a few drops of blood," I said. "Rather you than me."

"Well thanks."

I smirked, switching the Bunsen burner off and waiting for the cauldron to lose its heat so that I could pick it up. There were a few minutes of awkward silence before I gripped the cauldron, feeling its warmth. There was a nice empty vial to pour the strange, purple mixture into. Then all of that was done... What now? I guess I could potentially drink it and find out.

"We have no idea what this Victory Vial will do," Sebastian frowned.

"Take a drink from it if you're so desperate to find out."

"What if it poisons me?"

"That's why I'm avoiding it," I shrugged. "But if you really want to find out... You don't have to, but it's your choice if you really want to put your life at risk..."

Ah, reverse psychology really did work wonders. Seb grabbed it and let a few drops of it fall onto his tongue, sparingly, probably out of fear and because the vial we had was extremely small and if it were precious nothing could be wasted. He put the vial back onto the table and looked nervous to the point of sickness. That said, it didn't look like he was dying.

"Feel different?"

"I feel..." Seb tried to think for words.

But he didn't have the opportunity. Smashing noises came from all shelves and I felt glass hit my back. I barely had time to turn around and note the embryos in the jars were growing. Growing in milliseconds, smashing the jars that once contained them and growing so much bigger into reptile like monsters. In seconds their skin was covered in an armour of scale, in another split second they were suddenly twice my height.

Seb stepped up to try to stop one that charged towards me, but then it had seized his throat. I heard him cry out but there was a horrific snapping sound as the creature's hand closed in on his throat. I stepped back in horror as four of them slowly circled around me, hissing and flicking their tongue around hungrily. So Seb was dead. That was shit. The creature launched Seb into one of the shelves, which smashed. Chemicals, herbs and metal fell in a pile over Seb's corpse, masking him out of sight

I didn't have time to mourn. It was just a sad reality, and it wasn't as bad as watching Liz die either, somehow. I removed my knife as the first creature ran towards me, leaping to the side and trying to plunge the blade into its neck. But the scales were as strong as steel and I watched with horror as my knife was bent into scrap metal, not even scratching the creature. Before it could make a grab at me I leapt over the desk desperately in a bed to escape

I felt another hand grasp around my ankles and tried to remain composed. Keeping my wits about me I fumbled for the Bunsen burner, turning it on and kicking it so that the flame immediately fell onto the oxygen and the hydrogen.

The minor explosion immediately killed whatever was grabbed me. I felt myself get freed as blood and acid rained onto me. I think my leg was burnt. This was definitely not good, and I had to go to such lengths to kill one of those creatures. What could I do now?

I had to make a run for it.

I charged forward to the collapsed shelf Sebastian had fallen into, deciding to use a large metal pole as a weapon, because I had anything else. My hand brushed against Seb's lifeless one as I stood up. There were still three of the creatures that were desperate to kill me. Two were trying to charge into me and the third was blocking the doorway. They must have been more intelligent than I anticipated, then. I tried to keep calm. Death was only a natural biological state, anyway. I had prepared myself for this moment... This was how things worked.

Still, refusing to give up, I launched the metal pole at the nearest reptile. It was more successful than I anticipated; it span through the air before finally reaching its destination and impaling the creature through the eye. It slumped into death, shaking the ground. It was a short lived victory before I felt the other monster swoop towards me, its arm gripping me and slamming me into the wall so hard I felt stars burst into my vision and blood trickle down my back.

And I slumped to the ground dizzily as the creature was forced off me, thrown onto the floor as if were a cushion. I was convinced I was hallucinating when I saw that it was Sebastian standing in its place. He gently reached to me, his hand hovering over my throat to check for a pulse. I tried to croak something - how was he alive? I saw that thing snap his neck like he was a toothpick. His cannon didn't fire, but I assumed it would have eventually. I was too disorientated to think things through rationally.

The angered two creatures didn't display shock; they just went to eliminate the threat that was Sebastian. But he rushed around them, almost taunting them as he moved at immense speeds. He was a literal blur, rushing around them and taking them out with such strength and precision I barely acknowledged what he had done. One slumped to the ground as its head rolled off its body and Sebastian forced his hand through the other's chest, leaving an explosive hole. Both collapsed, joining their allies on the floor as corpses as I tried to stand.

I think something was broken, I wasn't quite sure. I held in a whimper of pain and Sebastian turned to me, concerned.

"Wh-What?" Was all I could say.

Sebastian looked at his bloodied hands, almost shocked that he was alive. He pursed his lips.

"I... I don't know," he said, picking up the near filled vial that he'd placed onto the table moments earlier. Thank god it hadn't been caught in the explosion. I looked for traces of injury, especially around his neck. There was light bruising, but little else. "All I know is that we need to give you this."

Why did I choose to write such a miserable story?! :( I won't say much else :(

Also, no, anonymous Dirrane shippers, there will not be sex scenes. I'm perfectly happy to make it clear when characters have had sex, especially if it's important to the plot or character(s), like Ross or Luster, but I won't go straight into the scene and it will usually be a cutscene. Hem hem, read above.

The reason? I don't feel qualified to write sex scenes, it feels way too cringey. And also this story is rated T - I think it well oversteps the line enough with the gore, violence and sexual references, with a sex scene I'd rush over the line way too much. So yeah, we'll save the sex scenes for corny vampire novellas or for erotica :p

~Toxic