Grey, 19 - Three months after the games ended.

An electric pulse of energy bounces through my veins and into my feet, hurtling me at a million miles an hour through the corridor of the underground safe house. Kate is in an all-important meeting with the First Renegades which, I wasn't invited to, of course. However, it can wait, this is much more important! She has to come and see this!

At the end of the corridor is a thick, metal door, through which loud raised voices echo from the other side. I don't care, I burst through the door into the grey- gloomy room!

Kate doesn't even take notice of me at first. Her back is turned to me with her palms on the table, and she's in the middle of an intense, heated debate, with some people dressed in officers' uniforms.

"Kate!" I yell, shaking her sleeve. "I mean - Ma'am, sorry."

She ignores me at first but after several more shakes and nags, she finally shoots daggers at me!

"Put a sock in it!" She orders. "Can't you see, I'm busy?!"

The meeting room is suddenly filled with an awkward silence, as the eyes of these important rebels are all on me.

"Sorry but, you're gonna wanna see this, now!"

She finally turns to me, seizing me by my jacket!

"What?" She growls.

"He's awake… Conrad," I answer, sheepishly.

She glances back momentarily at the First Renegades. "Excuse me," she tells them and then proceeds to follow me out of the meeting room.

"Has he said anything?" She asks, hurriedly.

"No," I answer, trying to keep up with her pace through the corridor.

We stroll into the hospital room to find him sitting up on his bed, slowly rubbing the back of his head, and looking extremely disorientated. He's only wearing a pair of black slacks, but the bruises and cuts on his torso are mostly faded. Although, the two gashes that were over his eye socket and cheek have transformed into deep scars. He looks so pale, as a corpse that's just been resurrected.

Automatically, I hand him a cup of water. His shaking hand accepts it and he takes a big gulp. Meanwhile, Kate scrapes a wooden chair across the floor, sitting beside me to face him.

"W-where am I… w-who are you?" He croaks, so meekly that it could have been missed completely.

"We found you outside the arena… then we brought you here… you've been out for three months," I tell him.

Kate shoots me a glance. "Yeah, and we were gonna break it to you slowly…" she sighs.

"Oops."

Then, I reach my arm out to him.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," I say, rubbing his shoulder.

But, Kate shoots me another irritated glance. Yeah, we're fighting a war. So, he's probably not safe and he's a wanted man, so he may never be safe again, but he doesn't need to hear that right now.

"I'm Kate Wakai," she says, pointing to herself. "I know who you are," he responds, bluntly. He tucks his hands under his bare arms and begins shivering.

"Grey, get him a shirt," Kate orders, shifting to me.

"Oops… yeah… sorry!" I beam, darting off to fetch a long-sleeve sweater. When I return, he takes it, and sluggishly pulls it over his head, wincing as he fits it on his body.

Kate immediately continues the questioning. "Do you… know who you are?" She asks.

He furrows his eyebrows as if he's been asked an extremely difficult exam question and, after some contemplating, he finally answers.

"C-Conrad… Conrad Martell?" his tone is almost questioning; he's waiting for us to confirm. However, we only need to do it non-verbally, causing his eyes to sink downwards in dread. He is realizing that the hell he went through actually did happen, it wasn't some terrible nightmare. It's all happening in a split second before my eyes. The sight of the memories all flooding back to him is one of the worst horrors I've ever seen in my life.

His face falls into his hands and he goes silent again.

"We… understand this must be strange for you," Kate adds.

"I think, maybe we should give him a minute," I suggest, shifting closer to Kate.

She nods, pushing herself up from the chair. "Grey will watch over you. Let him know if you need anything," she states.

And after giving him one last smile, I turn away with Kate. But just as we're leaving, in the corner of my ear, I catch him muttering something half to himself and half to whoever can hear - "Why didn't you let me die?"

I wish I hadn't heard that. My stomach suddenly feels like it's been squished from all angles.

So, I pick up the pace, skipping to catch up with Kate on the other side of the door.

"What was that about back in the meeting room anyway?" I question. She pauses, turning back to me. "You remember that data chip that you left in The Capitol?"

A gulp slides down my throat, my eyes fall downwards. "Oh… yeah…"

She tilts her head, smirking jovially. "So, it seems, we have a need to return there," she says, flipping a shuriken in her hand.

Darrah Arinori, 12, District 7

My dreams are filled with vivid imagery of the last two weeks of my life. There are moments with El, as we took shelter in the fortress. There are moments with Harrison, a few moments where I wasn't fearful of my life. I even saw Adelina, and the few times she smiled.

What would be the first thing you do, if you return home? El asks me, snapping me out of my trance. I wonder how long I've been staring at the ceiling.

I push myself up to a seated position and throw my legs over the side of the cot. El leans against the wall directly in front of me, but her eyes are wandering elsewhere.

I'd hug my parents. I laugh to avoid crying. El looks over at me, but I'm already staring at my shoes.

That's sweet. Her voice is soft, and I can almost feel a sense of regret.

What about you?

I don't know. I don't really have anyone at home I can hug. She lets out an exasperated sigh, telling me more in a few seconds than she could using her words. I came into the arena angry. I wanted revenge. And it's sent me down a long rabbit hole of distress. I'd like to amend, if I can.

I understand. I tell her. I mean, I'll never truly understand her pain. The pain of losing her parents, of watching their killer live without repercussions. But a life unlived, that's a pain I understand. I mean, I'm not even a teenager yet, and the Capitol wants to take away the rest of my life.

Will you promise you won't forget me? El's request takes me off guard. She must sense this, because she adds, If you win. Please don't forget me.

I won't. I don't clarify which part I'm answering; remembering her or winning. It's no secret when it comes down to it, El and I won't both make it out of here alive. But we can do the best we can to raise the odds of that significantly. Plus, with her map, we're doing significantly better than I'm sure people expected…

I stand up to join El, but she fades away.

I'm frozen in place as the world around me shifts to the forest. No longer is El in front of me, no, not as she shifts into Harrison's tall shape.

What? I hear myself say. The illusions are fuzzy, the colors just a little too bright.

I said I want to help you get as far as we can. The tributes that are left, the Careers, you're not a match for them. Harrison explains with no shame.

What happens if we do that? We get to the end and we're the last two? I hear my own voice, but it's not me speaking. Is this reality? A dream? Memory? God I can't tell.

I wouldn't worry about that. He says so nonchalantly.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. It feels like my throat is closing. Air becomes harder and harder to acquire as I claw at my neck desperately.

Suddenly, I'm on my back and Marissa is standing over me, bloodied sword in hand. Her foot kicks my hands away from my neck, and that's when the screams start.

I jolt awake still screaming. My hands are bound to something, and I start thrashing around. A man rushes over to me, I assume to calm me, but his words are drowned out by my screaming. I see a woman on my other side with a needle in hand. I don't even feel the jab, only the quiet of my own voice as I fade back out.

When I fade back into consciousness, there are no screams. The room is bright, and many minutes pass before my eyes adjust to it.

The bright light reveals a white room with various medical machines, supplies, and cabinets. I try to sit up, but resistance stops me. I glance down and both of my wrists are in shackles.

I'm not dead. I don't know why I'm not dead, let alone where I am, but I know I'm still alive. Although I'm not familiar with the Capitol's procedures after a Victor is declared, I highly doubt shackling them to a medical bed is common practice.

What happened? Fuzzy memories circle my brain and I struggle to separate the dreams from the reality. I remember a dark tunnel. I remember flying creatures chasing after Harrison and me. Harrison…I remember his screams. I remember his screams too vaguely. Then there was an explosion. And gunshots?

I don't know. All I know is I don't want to be in this room any longer.

"Hello?" My body knows it's me speaking, but the croak in my voice is almost indistinguishable as my own. My throat is incredibly parched, and I've never felt hunger this bad before. My body has thinned from the arena alone, but however long I've been trapped in this bed has clearly not been favorable to me.

It's eerily silent for way too long. So long that whatever drugs I was on have faded away completely, allowing for the anxiety to resume. So I do what anyone in my situation would do: I try to escape.

I don't do more than damage the skin around the cuffs before someone I don't recognize walks in. He's wearing all white, with thick glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose. The confusion plastered on his face doesn't ease any of the anxiety inside me.

"Huh. You weren't supposed to wake up yet." He walks over and examines the machines hooked up to me.

"Where am I?"

"Strange, it seems you've been fading in and out of consciousness for the past few hours-"

"What are you going to do with me?" My voice raises and he finally realizes he can't continue to ignore me.

"It's not I who will do anything with you. You must discuss that with Saskia." He starts to walk towards the exit again, and the anxiety continues to build. He can't leave me here alone again.

"Wait! Who is that?"

"She will come meet you when she can. Unfortunately, the President of Panem has quite a full schedule." He must enjoy screwing with me, because my confusion clearly entertains him.

"Okay…well can you take off the handcuffs?" I raise up my wrists as high as I can. He's silent for a moment, eyes wandering from me to the medical equipment surrounding me.

"You know what? I think that's a good idea. You no longer need medical care. We can take you to…. another holding area." He pulls the key out of his pocket, but the tone of his voice and the eagerness to get rid of me…concerns me for where he wants to take me.

Darrah, what have you gotten yourself into?

…

Something awful, as it turns out. The next day, they dragged me to this "other" holding area, and the doctor began fiddling with some even sharper needles, flicking them as though they are his play toys.

With a grin on his face, he turns back to me, beginning to stride forward steadily. I gasp, stumbling back towards the edge of the cage.

But something else suddenly catches his attention! The whistling of a missile and then…

BOOM

The entire building shakes! Gunfire follows! It echoes through the corridors. He hectically begins darting around the room. Although, he only becomes more panicked when the gunfire moves closer.

Suddenly, the door bursts open! Followed by a tall, fierce-looking girl with a shotgun coxed firmly in her hands! The doctor is about to open his mouth to speak but, even as he parts his lips, she blasts a shot straight through his head, promptly exploding it! Pieces of his brain fly all over the place!

As the doctor's decapitated body sinks to the floor, the young woman rushes to slam her fist on the button outside of my cage! The thin bars keeping me trapped slide open!

"I'm Kate Wakai!" She announces, standing tall with a horde of irate fighters behind her. "If you want to survive any longer, follow me!"

For the first time in a long while, a sense of freedom runs through my heart. A simple choice. I'm free to make my own choice. I had almost forgotten what that felt like, trapped in here. I have no idea how many weeks or months have gone by - all I know is, that this girl standing before me, is the only bit of protection that I've felt since I was reaped. This choice may get me killed but, it's a choice, and that's what matters.

So, I follow her out, into the lab. They don't appear to be in the mood to wait for my small, frail, weary legs to catch up - legs that are now running on backup fuel.

"Wait…" I croak, doubtful anyone heard me.

However, Kate's attention is diverted to a cloaked figure hurrying up a flight of stairs to the roof. She clenches her jaw, and tightens her grip around her shotgun, about to charge after the figure!

"Wait! A girl's voice calls from across the room, her voice is softer and more fearful. All our gazes turn back to our left… to the girl… the victor. Tatiana Emery. She's stood amongst the crowd of freed rebels but, she stands out like a firefly in the night. Her eyes are as sharp and piercing as ever.

"He's dangerous," she murmurs. It's only then that I catch the fresh blood dripping down her face, on top of fresh bruises.

Conrad Martell, 18 - Three days later.

I keep seeing his face. Every night. Every day. In the reflection, in the darkness, and even in the light, sometimes. No, not Beckett... Bloodtide. His poisonous smile is stuck in my mind like a sickness refusing to go away, and his cackle keeps bouncing around the inside of my head, a ghostly echo from the past.

Last night, I had that dream again. The one that seems to be playing on repeat over the last three days. I always know what's coming, yet no matter what I do, I can't stop it.

I'm always running through the deep, encroaching snow towards that house, my legs getting trapped in the thick of it. I'm scrambling towards the wooden manor in the dark, but every time, I'm too late. Nadia's body is lying there, her eyes empty. Then, I stumble towards that room…

Then… the venomous voice follows.

"Conrad. Conrad. Conrad. Did I not warn you? I always win,"

"Get out of my head!" I yell, kicking myself up from my metal bed.

Did he win? That question still remains. I destroyed him, yes, but not before he destroyed me, not before he made me become him…

I'm underground - under the safe house, in my bunker. Kate's rebels gave me all the necessities: A bed, a desk, food, water, and a bathroom. The only thing I want to know about Kate is - did she know about that monster? The District Four mentor. She was undercover, I know. But she still must have known.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Conrad?"

It's Grey. At first, I don't answer, but he continues to persist. So finally, I mutter to him a response "Yeah?"

The young Capitolite pushes the door open, a big, excited smile on his face, as always. He's wearing his usual grey jacket, which matches his almost platinum hair.

"How ya holding up?" He asks.

"Fantastic," I reply sarcastically, glancing up at where he's standing.

He glimpses briefly at my smashed mirror (yes, I slammed my fist into it a few days ago), then, he moves off from the door frame and pulls up the chair from the desk to face me.

Gently, he's observing me, especially the big bags under my eyes.

"You not sleeping?" He questions.

"I try not to," I respond, blankly, my gaze falling from his eyes to the dirty floor.

A deep sigh from him follows. "I wish I could help you. I really do. I've lost people before… but nothing compared to what you went through," he says.

My eyes return to his. I know he's doing his best, and I appreciate that.

"Sorry about the mirror," I mutter, managing a slight smile.

He chuckles, bringing me the first bit of joy I've felt in a long while. Enough to allow me to stand up, and stumble over to the mirror. Under the smashed glass, my reflection looks less pale than it did before. Colour has returned to it. The scars on my face seem to have deepened though, in a pinky-red colour.

"Anyway, I came to tell you that Kate has returned from the Capitol… with a few familiar faces," he mentions, now standing at the door again.

Familiar faces? The other survivors? Is that what he means? However, before I can question him any further, he has already vanished into the corridor.

So, I hastily splash some water over my eyes from the sink, throw on an old, brown jacket, and head out into the underground corridor.

It is brimming and bustling with people all of a sudden, rebels and freed prisoners, darting about frantically all over the place. I'm pushed and shoved as people try to get on their way.

That's when she appears again. The girl from Two, standing a few meters down the corridor. I'm I imagining it? No, she doesn't look like Bloodtide, if I've been imagining him.

Time around the two of us seems to freeze dead, and all the other people are suddenly just background noise, blurs, if anything. All the sounds of the corridor become nothing more than faint mumbles. She's simply staring at me, still, as a statue, her eyes are wide, and her cheeks red. She seems to be as frozen in the moment as I am.

A hand touches my shoulder from behind!

My heart jumps! The chattering and echoes of the people around return to normal volume, and I spin to see who it is, almost raising my fist to strike out - a reflex I have developed since the arena!

It's Kate. She's observing me diligently and sternly. My lungs inhale a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," She says, raising an eyebrow. "Glad to see you on your own two feet."

I'm unable to respond.

"Good news, our mission to the Capitol was a success. We rescued Tatiana and Darrah, and got what we needed but, now everybody here is in danger, they'll find us… most of us are leaving in a few hours with the First Renegades…" Her voice trails off into nothingness, simply a background muffle like everyone else…

Kate Wakai. District Four… District Four. When I see her, my stomach turns a little. It's wrong of me, I know, however, I can't help but associate her with Bloodtide; every time I see her, I see him. His lifeless body dangling above me from that rope.

"I know what you're thinking," she says sharply, snapping me out of my daydream. "I wasn't his mentor. I was Marissa's…"

And I killed her… the elephant in the room between the two of us.

"Anyway, I knew who he was from the beginning, but they didn't listen to me." "Forget it," I mutter, cutting her off. If this conversation goes on any longer then I'm sure she'll utter his name, a name that I can't bear to hear.

Nodding, she hastily changes the subject.

"Grey went to great efforts to make sure you were brought back… next time I recommend he brings you some flowers," she smirks, tilting her head playfully.

In turn, I let out a small chuckle. "He has a nice smile… but I doubt he'd want my emotional baggage," I say.

A few moments later, her hand goes to her pocket, as something jolts at her memory.

"The clothes you were wearing in the arena… we found something on them… I thought it might be important to you," she recalls, retrieving a small object from her pocket.

The heart freezes, not skipping one beat, but many. In her palm, she holds out Beckett's bee necklace. I can't speak! Every single memory of the arena is attached to that thing, a mountain of pain is crushing down on me, and my emotions are whirling around like a tornado. Everything - anger, despair, anguish, confusion… even happiness.

"I…I…thank you," I swallow, slowly taking it from her, and keeping my eyes fixed on it

"Oh, and Conrad…" My eyes flutter back to her from the necklace. "It's good to have you back," she says, sending me a reassuring nod.

After slipping the necklace into my pocket and trying as best as I can to wipe it from my mind, I shift back around. The girl from Two is now gone, vanished in the crowd of scrambling people, like a spectre. I think I'm gonna need eyes in the back of my head for her…

…

I managed to get through the rest of the day. That's the advice Grey gave me, anyway. Just try to survive each day - I guess as if I'm still in the arena. I survived today, so I suppose that's an accomplishment, in a way.

I've been sitting on a log by the lake for the past couple of hours, on my own. On my own has become my new comfort.

The sun is setting across the water, turning it a dark, sparkling purple. The chilly evening air is blowing autumn leaves into my hair. The leaves rustle beneath my feet with the peaceful sound of the cicadas in the background.

Suddenly, a twig crunches underneath someone's boot behind me! A shadow of a girl appears on the twilight lake. My heart jumps in my chest!

I'm up to my feet again in a heartbeat. Tatiana strolls next to me, wearing a warm, winter coat and a black beanie on her head to keep her warm. Her hands are calmly behind her back, and she faces off toward the lake, whistling to herself.

She was there. The night in the fortress when she tripped me over, and then randomly spared my life and… the final day - my memory of that is foggy but, I recall that she had her sword pointed at my chest.

"You again! What is it with you? What do you want from me?" I blurt, my arms now shaking.

She turns back to face me.

"I'm sorry about that little facade back in the arena… for obvious reasons, I-I had to up appearances," she explains, suddenly chuckling a little. "But give me a break… pretending to be a career was never the easiest job in the world."

"Keeping up appearances? Pretending to be a career? What are you talking about?" I question, breathing heavily.

She raises an eyebrow "You didn't watch the footage?" But the frown I give her causes her to quickly shake her head. "Sorry, of course you didn't"

"Yeah… wasn't overly keen on it, hope you'll forgive me," I remark, sarcastically.

She takes a deep breath and leans on her back against the tree to my right.

"Kate's late boss… I was working for him. It was between me and him which, when he died, put me in a bit of a difficult position," she begins.

"Kate doesn't trust me," she sighs, tracing her boot in the fallen orange leaves. "She's not the only one," I reply. Her foot pauses and her eyes shoot me a glare of irritation.

She has fresh bruises on her face, suggesting that there was a struggle to escape, but beyond that… somehow, I feel she's telling the truth.

"My memory isn't that bad… back in the arena… you tried to kill me," I stammer. "And you tried to kill me," she retorts, folding her arms.

"I guess that makes us even then," I shrug, with a smirk. She returns the smile and finally, we appear to have found some common ground.

"Anyway…" she begins, pushing herself off the tree. "Thought I'd just clear the air, given that we aren't being forced to kill each other anymore," She smiles, strolling past me - back to the safe house.

The air is cleared for now. But it was only yesterday that Grey informed me that there was a double agent in Kate's organization, and now he's a high-ranking member of this new Capitol.

Still, relief fills my lungs. My body sinks back onto the log, to watch the sun finish setting...

Hey! So new epi! Catching up with our survivors again. They are not doing well. Sorry about that. Next Epi will be the next chapter of Town of Shade! Wrapping up this story for good! I hope you're all ready!

Povs written by Nautics: Grey, Conrad

Povs written by Team-Shadow: Darrah