Noah Brimms, 17

District 11 Male

Noah was getting frustrated and antsy. Every hunt he'd been on was unsuccessful, and no one had died since the bloodbath. This was shaping up to be the most pathetic Hunger Games ever. When he won, he wouldn't be seen as a cool victor unless the Games ramped up.

Maybe he could kill Blitz and blame it on another tribute? The two of them were assigned as hunting buddies, and Noah was fairly sick of the boy from 2. He never said anything, but Noah always felt like Blitz was judging him. He'd caught the taller boy staring at him more than once, and it hadn't seemed friendly. Besides, he'd invited Wyler to join them, and Wyler was useless.

The boy from 3 spent most of the day in the Cornucopia, treating Regina's wound and generally being lazy. And in the middle of the night last night, he received a sponsor gift. Wyler, of all people, was being sponsored. And he refused to tell anyone but Blitz and Regina what it was.

Noah stepped on a stick, which cracked loudly, and Blitz turned to him, frowning.

"You have to be quieter," he said. Noah rolled his eyes, and pictured Blitz with no head. It was how he'd been keeping himself sane around his incompetent allies.

A cannon fired, making both boys look up. A startled bird took flight, and Blitz cursed as poop landed on his shoulder. Noah snickered. Serves him right, he thought with a grin.

"Who do you think it was?" Noah asked as Blitz tried to use a stick to scrape the poop from his poncho.

"The killer? Probably one of us," he responded, not bothering to look away from his task.

Noah sighed. Someone had gotten a kill, and it wasn't him. He selfishly hoped it wasn't the girls from 7 or 8. He wanted to kill them himself, and he wanted their deaths to be long and painful.

Gaia's death in the bloodbath was his one arena success. That little brat deserved everything she got, and Noah was proud to be the one who gave it to her. But why couldn't he have kept his streak up?

It began to rain harder, and another cannon fired. Blitz blinked the rain away and raised his hood.

"Shall we head back? I want to check on Wyler."

"Of course you do," Noah grumbled. He wanted to hunt more, but his feet were hurting and he was tired of the rain. "Let's go."

The rain continued to fall as they walked back, and soon it was nearly impossible to see. Noah managed to stumble over every stick and rock in his path, and grew more and more annoyed as they went.

The ease with which Blitz navigated the forest was infuriating. The temptation to stick a knife into the other boy's back was growing with every passing second. Who did he think he was? Just because he was representing District 2 didn't mean he was better than Noah. He was just as worthy of volunteering as Blitz was. Noah's fingers itched to reach for a knife, and it took all his effort to restrain himself. This wasn't the time. They had more tributes to kill before the Career Pack fell apart.

Finally, they reached the camp. Everyone was huddled just inside the mouth of the Cornucopia to shelter from the rain. Noah frowned. Someone was missing. And Blitz spoke up.

"Where is Helios?"

Helios Carnegie, 18

District 1 Male

Helios was sick of rain. It didn't rain much in District 1, and when it did, it was never this intense. It had been pouring since before it was light, and now he and Adelind were stuck trudging through a cold, wet, muddy forest.

"This sucks," he said, cringing as a raindrop slid down the back of his neck. Adelind looked back at him.

"The rain?" they asked. Helios nodded, squinting.

"I guess," they said with a shrug. "I don't really mind the water."

Sighing, Helios wiped the water from his eyes and tugged his hood further over his head. How Adelind could enjoy this weather was beyond him. The trees creaked in the wind and a branch cracked in the distance, making him jump. Adelind snorted, but hid their smile behind their hand.

But the next sound made them both pause. It sounded like someone was snoring. Adelind drew her sword and began to slowly creep across the mossy ground. Gripping his ax tightly, Helios followed.

They went around a clump of trees and found the girl from 6 asleep amongst the roots of a massive tree. Adelind hesitated, glancing back at Helios. He nodded to her. In all honesty, he didn't want to kill a defenseless girl. Or any girl. Or any person. Getting Adelind to do it was better.

But Adelind seemed to be hesitating too. Finally, they stepped forward, their foot breaking a stick with a sharp snap. It looked intentional, and Helios filed that information away for later.

The sound made the girl from 6 jolt awake. She sat up, brandishing a knife, and gasped when she saw the two of them. Scrambling to her feet, she narrowed her eyes at them.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked. Adelind glanced back at Helios. And in that moment, Ellie lunged.

Her knife slashed through Adelind's poncho, cutting into her upper arm. The girl from 4 cried out, and Helios rushed forward. He swung his ax, but Ellie darted back, just out of reach. She slashed wildly with her knife, keeping him from approaching.

Adrenaline crackled through his body like lightning, and Helios's training instincts kicked in. He kicked the knife from Ellie's hand, hearing her wrist crack in the process. She cried out, barely dodging his killing blow. Still, his ax cut through the front of her clothing and into her skin, making her yelp.

She darted past him, ducking under his next ax swing, but ran straight into Adelind, who punched her in the face. Helios turned around, striking again with his weapon, but Ellie slipped in the mud, landing on her back, and he just sliced through the air.

Ellie lay on the ground panting, mud in her hair and blood on her chest. She looked up at him, and as he watched, her expression changed from terrified to determined.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Are you going to kill me or not?"

Taking a deep breath, he raised his ax and was about to bring it down when she spoke again.

"I can't believe you chose this. You chose the Games. You're just a killer. That's all you'll ever be."

Ellie propped herself up on her elbows, not trying to run, but just continuing her speech.

"I saved a life. I saved two lives. My niece or nephew will be born because of me. A family will lose a child because of you."

Hector's bloodied face flashed in his mind, followed by Hector's parents. He remembered their faces when the trainers told them what had happened. He'd never seen such devastation. And it was his fault.

Anger flooded Helios's mind and he brought his ax down on Ellie's triumphant face. Adelind winced, and Helios's weapon slipped from his hands. He fell to his knees in front of Ellie's body as her cannon fired. She was right. He was a murderous monster.

Tears pricked in his eyes and his throat burned as he choked back a sob. Adelind put a tentative hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"Kill me," he croaked, looking up at them. Raindrops dripped into his eyes, mixing with his tears.

"What?" Adelind asked, looking stunned. "Helios, are you okay?"

"No," he mumbled. "I don't want to be this person. I don't want to be a killer."

Adelind was quiet, just watching him as he cried. Finally, she nodded.

"Okay," she said. Helios tilted his head back, giving her easy access to his throat. She placed a hand on his head, and he felt cold steel open a wound. He expected it to hurt, but he just felt numb. Heat spread across his chest and he laid down, with Adelind's help. Closing his eyes, he held Adelind's hand until the heat consumed him.

Lana Rose, 17

District 3 Female

Lana was stressed. Stressed and cold and miserable. She'd been lucky enough to get a sleeping bag in her backpack from the bloodbath, but it took up most of the space in the bag. Now she only had a few crackers left, despite her rationing. She'd been living mostly off of berries and rain water.

Something heavy hit the ground behind a clump of bushes and Lana jumped in surprise. Her heart began to beat faster as she grabbed her sword. Leaving her small camp behind her, she crept forward, ready to strike if it was another tribute.

She carefully slipped around the bushes, jumping out to see the boy from 10 eating blackberries. A large backpack was lying on the ground beside him. It must have been what made the noise.

As soon as he saw her, Ray jumped to his feet and drew a knife. Lana stepped back.

"We don't have to fight," she said quietly. "You can just leave."

"Only one of us can win," Ray said. "And I can take you." His voice was smug, and it made Lana's skin prickle. This kid was too cocky for his own good.

Ray struck first, lunging forward to stab Lana in the stomach. She parried with her sword and pushed him back. He growled in frustration and rushed forward again. This time, she was slower to block his strike, and his knife scraped off her sword and cut her side. Hissing in pain, Lana brought a foot up and kicked him in the gut.

As Ray stumbled back again, she glanced at her side. He'd cut through the poncho near the bottom, and there was a bloody cut just under her ribs. The sight of her own blood made her dizzy, but the adrenaline in her veins kept her going.

Ray came forward to stab Lana again, and she made a very poor and reckless decision. She stopped the blade with her free hand, crying out as it slashed across her palm, but fought through the pain to sink her own weapon into Ray's chest.

A gurgling cry escaped his mouth as she pulled it back. The knife he was holding dropped to the ground, and he quickly followed it. Lana gasped, dropping her sword and kneeling next to him.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "I- I didn't-"

She wasn't sure what she was going to say next, but Ray cut her off.

"Go away," he spat, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"I can help," Lana murmured, reaching towards the wound. But Ray just spat in her face. She moved away quickly, wiping the blood and spit from her forehead. She could feel tears welling in her eyes, but she rubbed them away and grabbed his knife.

"Fine," she whispered. Then she grabbed his backpack, slung it over her shoulder, picked up her sword, and left him.

As she made her way back to her small camp, she heard Ray's cannon fire, and had to fight harder not to cry. Yes, he was trying to kill her. But she had taken another life. Who was she becoming?

Hey everyone! Welcome to the third day in the arena! And three deaths! It was tough to kill these guys, but it had to be done. And I'm sorry we haven't had POVs from a few other tributes, like Mozu and Colette. I promise they will be featured soon. Also, related to that; I think I'll be switching to 3 POVs per chapter. It's easier for me to get chapters out this way. And if something big happens on a certain day, I can split it up into two chapters more easily. And we do have some big events coming up.

Questions:

1) Whose POV was your favorite? Why?

2) Which death in this chapter was your favorite?

3) Which tribute do you want to get a POV next?

Eulogies

18th: Ellie Porter (killed by Helios)

RIP Ellie. I really loved you. Actually, you were my planned victor for a very long time. But Helios needed someone to shake him up, and I thought you were perfect. You discovered your self-worth before you died, and I'm proud. Thank you AmericanPi.

17th: Helios Carnegie (killed by Adelind)

RIP Helios. You were originally going to die in Adelind's attack, but I realized that wasn't doing you justice. You were a troubled boy who suffered the trauma of training, and it hurt you. I wanted to show how deep that hurt went. I hope this death did you justice. Thank you Willuna.

16th: Ray Phillips (killed by Lana)

RIP Ray. You were a very unique tribute, but I didn't have much of an arc planned for you. I loved your backstory, your relation to Thalia, and you being such a good villain despite only being 14. I'm sorry you couldn't go farther. Thank you wiifan2002.

Current Alliances

Careers:
- Regina
- Mozu
- Blitz
- Wyler
- Adelind
- Sam
- Noah

Adelind's Secret Gang:
- Adelind
- Fritz
- Theo
- Thalia

Small But Mighty:
- Danse
- Colette

Loners:
- Lana
- Alrik
- Saoirse

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona