Flint Kenyte- No Way Down D2M

Not everyone who worked in a hospital was a doctor or nurse. There were also the janitors, and the laundry people, and the security guards, and all those sorts of things. I would hazard a guess that the office I'd settled into- though it was more of just a room than an office- belonged to a security guard. I would guess it because of the taser holster on the wall- empty, unfortunately- and the complete lack of anything hospital-related. What our security guard did have, though, was a mini fridge. It was another clue the phantom occupant was a security guard, since I doubted a doctor would fill their fridge with energy drinks, twinkies, and frozen burritos for the microwave on top of the fridge. I could only assume this person was really, really large, since I couldn't imagine needing an entirely full fridge for my shifts, even if it was small. Or maybe the guy just didn't like shopping a lot.

One would think a security guard office would have a huge array of cameras covering the wall, but such was not the case. There was a single tiny screen showing only the hallway directly outside the room. I could only guess the former occupant was usually on patrol and only used the room for snack breaks. It wouldn't do, though, to have a crazed patient (or burned-out doctor?) storming the room and making off with the taser, so we had the one screen.

The door was already locked when I saw the first boy at the edge of the camera screen, so I didn't panic, even when more boys filed after him. The door was thicker than the others- hence why I picked it- and I was pretty sure an alarm would go off if he tried to force it, and that would probably scare them off.

It didn't take long, based on the first boy's size and confident bearing, to identify Jay. I didn't know most of the names of his friends, but I was pretty sure the only girl was named Mati. Unfortunately, they seemed to have picked up Brad along the way. I'd crossed paths with Brad only once in the Capitol. It was enough to know I didn't like him.

The others, though… I'd seen enough tapes to know Jay was a stand-up guy. His friends tended to be as well. They were often one of the latest alliances to fall. As for me, I was alone in a very, very large Arena, with only my reflection in the camera to talk to. Simply put, I was lonely. People were often fooled by my job, but I really was a touchy-feely sort of guy. I liked to have friends around to joke with or just sit around with. I hadn't had human contact since the Games began two days ago, and it was already too long.

I waited for Jay and the others to pass by, not wanting to spook them by opening the door in one of their faces. Once the last of them- Marcus or something, I thought- passed by, I gave them enough rom for me to bolt if things went south, then opened the door.

"Hey," I said, as Jay fell into a fighting stance, Brad darted to the back of the group, and Marcus threw out an arm in front of Mati.

There was a second of confusion. "What's up?" Marcus finally blurted.

"You all looking for food?" It was a safe guess, based on the Arena.

"Yeah," Jay said.

"You like twinkies and burritos?"

Arleen Limera- Res D1F

My lover boy picked the room, so of course it was the right one. He said he liked the smell. It was a sharp sort of smell, like the chemistry set I had when I was little. It said you could make an explosion, but really it just meant baking soda and vinegar. Lame. This stuff was clearly much stronger. I didn't know most of the words as I browsed through the labels, but there were certainly some strong acids. If I was remembering right, some of them were definitely controlled substances.

"Check this out!" Majesty popped a cork out of one of the tubes and lifted it up. As I gasped for him to be careful, he swallowed it in one go.

"Lovey!" I wailed. "What if it was poison?"

Majesty didn't seem to hear me. He stood still, like he'd turned to stone. There was a faraway look in his eyes. I grabbed the bottle from his hand, hoping I could maybe find an antidote.

XNAPIERI, the bottle read. Nothing else- no composition, no effects, just a useless name.

I looked back at Majesty, already starting to hyperventilate. What if he dies? I can't go on if he dies! It's so unfair- I just got him after all this time, and my darling's going to DIE!

Something clicked in Majesty's eyes. He looked at me with more focus than ever before, sending butterflies through my stomach.

"Are you okay?" My voice was tremulous as I wiped the tears from my cheek.

"Never better," he said. He turned to the shelves of bottles. "Now which one for you?"

"What?" I asked. Surely Majesty knew best, but we didn't know what was in any of these. I shivered as I thought of confidently tossing back a bottle of acid.

Majesty's face fell and my fear was overwhelmed with guilt. I never wanted to do anything that would make him sad.

"You wouldn't do it for me?" he asked. His face scrunched up and he wiped at his eyes.

"Of course I will! I love you!" I turned to the shelves with wholehearted urgency. "Are the any more of the one you drank?" Of course I wanted to be just like him. When I didn't see any, I picked another one at random. My stomach clenched a little when I saw it was unlabeled, but it didn't matter. It couldn't be worse than letting Majesty down. Finally he was seeing how much I loved him. This was my chance to prove it forever.

The liquid had no taste. It was a bit of a relief, since I thought I remembered acids usually tasted sour. But even if I died, it was worth it. Everyone would know forever how much I loved Majesty. In fact… I loved him so much I'd drink two.

Isleytope ii, Co2(4)C tetraoxide diflourinate, version 3.0

The green liquid tasted a little like grass. I tossed the bottle over my shoulder and grinned at Majesty.

"To us," I toasted.

Elise Delacroix- Touch the Sky D4F

It was nice finally having some time with Arno. The Cabellos and Jayden were reluctant to let us stand watch together, for obvious reasons, and for just as obvious reasons we felt the same way about them. Every night was a slog as either Arno or I were up every other watch, neither of us trusting the others enough for that vulnerable duty. Usually we got along just fine- I'd even started to look forward to Fable's evening episodic stories- but letting someone watch us sleep was just too much.

It was the fourth night, after Fable had finished her latest installment, that I finally got a moment to talk to Arno. We were all milling about in the last few minutes before bed, and we'd separated naturally across the room so we couldn't hear each other if we talked quietly. We weren't even trying to keep secrets. Jessie and her friends just had things to talk about that Arno and I wouldn't get, and the same in reverse. Then there was Jayden, the odd duck out except for her sliver of friendship with Chrome. It seemed once two people killed each other, they got a bit of mutual regard from it.

"What you thinking about?" Arno asked as I sat leaned against the wall, a table of supplies forming almost a little room for us.

My head was tilted back and the fluorescent blue lights were slowly burning themselves into my eyes. "We're never going to know the answer," I said. If a murder didn't give solved quickly, it usually didn't get solved at all. And now years had gone by, and the Capitol had every reason not to care, and the only people still searching would be dead in a few weeks anyway. There would just always be this hole in my heart. I didn't even have the pain of knowing what my father's last minutes were like. It would just always be nothing.

"Is that all you think about?"

I looked over sharply at Arno. He sat leaned close to me, but there was frustration in his voice. I got the feeling he wished he hadn't asked my thoughts.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked indignantly. There was a flash of fear at the thought that he'd gotten sick of me, that he was abandoning me.

"Nothing." Arno sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's just, there's more in life than this. Of course you'll never be the same after what happened, but you can still be." I saw the pain leaking through Arno's averted gaze. "I guess I thought maybe you were thinking about me."

I knew he was right. Guilt bloomed in me as I laid my hand on his. "I have been distracted, haven't I?" I said.

"We might not have long together. We've lost so much. You're the best thing I have left," Arno said.

I leaned my head on his chest. "I wish you weren't here," I started, not needing to explain what I meant, "but I'm glad you're with me." I couldn't claim to know what Arno was going through. I'd lost my father, but in the eyes of the entire world, he'd lost not only his life, but his honor. Somewhere out there was the person who did all this, and they were living their own free life. It wasn't fair we were the ones who had to hurt for what they did.

"I love you," Arno said.

"I love you too," I said back. I really meant it, but there was the tiniest prick in my heart. I hadn't told Arno, and I didn't think I ever would, which made me a liar as well as selfish. The truth was, I did love him, but I wouldn't die for him. I wanted to live, and a probably passing boyfriend- or even a lifelong lover- wasn't more valuable to me than that. I'd often wondered if he felt the same. The romantic in me wanted to wish he didn't, but wasn't it more romantic for me to hope he'd save himself? That would meant I loved him, and not just what he was to me. Maybe that was too much for anyone to ask.

Vulpes Kerr- No Way Down D9M

It took four days to find Linden alone, probably because he quite accurately thought I had it out for him. I didn't actively want to kill him, despite his suspicions, but he very much was my least favorite person in the alliance. There was nothing at all wrong with him- he was polite, he didn't make waves, and he never took more than his share of food or shirked his duties. Most of the time he didn't even talk. It was quite by default that he was my least favorite ally. Visenya and I went way back, and she was the only one I'd perhaps consider even endangering myself for. She was a gem of a woman and I wasn't craven enough to destroy one of the only good people I'd met. Walcott was wrapped around my finger and I had nothing to be afraid of from her. Tyler and Deciduous were involved and would no doubt get themselves killed trying to kill the other, plus they could both be used against each other. Linden was the only one without a reason to follow me and who seemed to remember my background.

In the end, it took subterfuge. I took Walcott out to hunt and asked her to "keep watch" while I set up some very long and complicated traps around our hideout. Really I was just making enough noise that she thought I was doing something. All the while, I waited for Linden. When he finally came out to use the restroom down the hall, I slipped after him.

"Got a minute?" I asked, standing in the doorway. Linden whipped around at my voice, the color draining from his face. He tried to decide whether to scream.

"Go ahead," I said, not moving from the door.

"What do you want?" Linden settled for.

"You know I don't like you," I said.

"No," Linden said.

"I might change my mind," I said, leaning against the doorway.

"Oh, really?" Linden asked sarcastically.

"I might. I just need one thing," I said.

"My undying loyalty?" Linden snarked.

"I know that would be a lie. No, I want Jay," I said.

"Well you better go kill him then, because you know I can't," Linden said.

"I'll take care of that," I said. "I just want you to find him."

"Why don't we all look for him?" Linden's eyes were narrowed.

"It would be pretty dangerous," I said.

"But not too dangerous for me," Linden said.

"Exactly," I said. "Besides, an alliance this big, he might just as well see us first. But one lone Tribute, he might even welcome. Goodness knows he's soft like that."

"And if I don't?" Linden asked, tensing.

I shrugged. "I'll find you alone again."

I could see the numbers running through Linden's head and responded to them. "That's right. You could just run away. That would be entirely fine with me. I'm just saying you should go. If you come back with Jay's location, we'll all go kill him and split the spoils, and we'll be friends. If you don't come back at all, that's quite all right. I'll have the alliance and you'll have nothing. If you sell us out to Jay, he'll either ignore us, or come right to us. If he brings us a fight, a lot of people will die. But it won't be me."

"So I just walk right out of here, just like that?" Linden asked, his voice hard.

"That would be rather suspicious, wouldn't it?" I asked. "No, go when you're on watch."

Linden's eyes burned at me. There was nothing lower than a Tribute abandoning their allies on watch. The rest of the alliance wouldn't waste a second's worry on him.

"No need to decide now," I said, moving out of the doorway. "No need to decide until fourth watch. If I see you then, I'll see you later."