Vasir Lamar, 13

District 9 Male

I woke up to the sound of Hugo's light snores. He was definitely the loudest sleeper out of the three of us, but compared to Tenji he was an angel. My brother sounded like a truck at night.

Stretching my neck a little and sitting up, I winced when I tried to open my good eye. My eyelid felt heavy and numb, and even my head felt foggy. The medicine Hugo had been applying to my bad idea had ceased to sting. In fact, the entire left side of my face had no feeling.

Suddenly worried, I nudged Zeppelina with my foot. She startled awake, blinking a few times before turning to look at me.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice as cool and neutral as ever.

"Everything feels numb," I slurred. Even my mouth was struggling to form words. Something was definitely wrong.

"You might have slept funny," she suggested with a shrug.

"No. It's coming from my eye."

Was it just me, or did Zeppelina's eyes flash with excitement? A sick feeling washed over me.

"It's funny," I mused. "I didn't realize I was popular enough to be sponsored medication that strong."

"District 9 has done really well the past few years," she said. "I'm sure your district has lots of fans."

"Maybe…"

I never trusted Zeppelina, and now I was regretting letting my guard down. She'd done something. I was sure of it. But the sponsor gift had a '9' on it! Were they even allowed to mislabel sponsor gifts?

I sulked in silence as Zeppelina ate a few pieces of beef jerky. We were running low on food, but still had a bit. Hugo was planning on doing some foraging today, if I recalled correctly. My brain felt too fuzzy to remember the details.

I shifted my position and a wave of dizziness rushed over me. My blood pounded in my ears. I choked out a gasp and doubled over, but that made more pain pound in my head.

Hugo was by my side a moment later.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"I don't feel good," I panted. Zeppelina was just looking at us, a cold expression on my face.

My heartbeat was slowing and darkness was creeping at the edge of my at the edge of my vision. Anger and frustration welled up in my chest and I wanted to yell, but I didn't have the energy. Somehow, Zeppelina had poisoned me. I was sure of it. I had to let Hugo know!

Even if my time in the arena was coming to an end, his didn't have to. There was nothing that rubbed me more wrong than being outsmarted, and Zeppelina had played me. I wasn't sure how, but I was certain of it.

Still dizzy, I sank back into the moss and reached for Hugo. I grabbed his arm and tried to squeeze, but my fingers scrabbled weakly. He took my hand, a panicked expression on his face.

My eyes flashed between him and Zeppelina. I couldn't form words anymore. My throat was too dry and I couldn't produce a coherent thought. But Hugo had to know what was coming his way.

Gently, Hugo grasped my hand, stilling my still-twitching fingers. What I thought was tears prickled at the corner of my good eye, but I could barely feel the wetness. With one last desperate gasp, I jerked my head in Zeppelina's direction, silently begging Hugo to understand me. His eyes widened just as the darkness closed in.

'I'm sorry Tenji. I failed you'.

Hugo Firewall, 14

District 3 Male

As Vasir's body went limp, a ragged gasp tore from my throat. Zeppelina was still hovering nearby, a cold look of curiosity on their face.

"Is he gone?" they asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but the boom of a cannon cut me off. I suddenly scrambled backwards, nearly knocking my remaining ally over.

"Yes," I croaked, confirming the now-answered question. Zeppelina sighed.

"It's how the Games are," they said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I continued to stare at Vasir. The bandages still covered his left eye, but they were dirty around the edges. How had I not noticed that they hadn't been changed? Wasn't Zeppelina in charge of that?

My ally's last painful moments kept flickering through my head, like a broken film. He looked desperate and afraid… of Zeppelina. Sudden horror rushed over me. My entire life, I'd struggled to read facial expressions. I didn't pick up the nuances of a conversation. I was autistic; it was to be expected. And I lived with it proudly. But there was no mistaking the fearful, accusatory look in Vasir's eye.

"Zeppelina…" I croaked, turning to blink at the dark-haired girl. "Did you kill him?"

"What?" she asked. "How would I even do that? You've been administering all his medication."

"You said it was powerful medication. You didn't say it would heal him," I pointed out. "If you did this, I don't want to be your ally anymore. I won't kill you, but I'm leaving."

As I went to stand up, Zeppelina lunged forward. She grabbed my ankle and pulled, yanking me off-balance. I fell backwards, nearly onto Vasir's corpse, and fiery pain flashed through the back of my heel.

Due to my sudden awakening, I hadn't had the chance to put on my socks or boots. My feet were bare against the mossy jungle floor. And Zeppelina had taken advantage of that. I stared in shocked horror as she used the small, sharp pocketknife to sever the tendon on the back of my ankle.

A scream was torn from my mouth and I tried to kick her with my other foot, but she caught that one too and cut deep into the same spot. I twisted and flailed, sobbing into the moss, but she had a firm grip on my legs.

"Calm down!" she finally snapped. "I'm not going to kill you!" But the panic was overwhelming me and I continued to struggle. Finally, Zeppelina smacked the back of my head.

"Stop right now," she ordered. "Or I'll cut your toes off."

Breathing hard, I forced myself to still. The pain in my legs was unbearable, but now I had no doubt Zeppelina would follow up on her promise.

"Good," she soothed, patting me on the head like one would pat a dog. "Now, let's get you patched up."

Shocked, I twisted over and watched as Zeppelina used our first-aid kit to clean and bandage the wounds. When she was done, she grabbed me by the collar and shoved me down in the moss.

"I'm going to move Vasir's body," they said. "And then we're going to see just how rich your sponsors are. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Let's put it to good use."

Evelyne Hope, 18

District 3 Female

The sound of a cannon firing greeted us first thing in the morning. Only Ebony was up, as she'd been on guard, but the early death brought the rest of us to consciousness.

"I wonder who it was?" Ebony mused. She had a frown on her face, but didn't seem overly bothered.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out tonight," Marino replied. He too seemed to keeping his cool, which frustrated me.

I felt that I'd been handling my time in the arena fairly well, but there was anger boiling up. It was so unfair that kids this innocent were forced to fight in this hellish arena. Victor, who had just begun a new life with his adopted moms. Jackson, who'd already lost a sister to this barbaric event. Ebony and Marino, who both had thriving careers and wonderful lives back in their districts. And me. Losing Lana, being forced to work for and appeal to the government I learned to hate, and now fighting for my own life for the amusement of people who'd never suffered a day in their lives.

The anger was going to boil over soon. I knew it. There wasn't much more I could do to conceal it. Nearly every tree in the vicinity was riddled with holes from my arrows. I'd even practiced with a quarterstaff alongside Ebony yesterday.

But I had to try to stay calm. This was a reality show. A barbaric one, yes, but one meant to entertain the Capitol. And that's who I needed to please, yet again. How Ebony and Marino were so calm was beyond me. Either they were very good actors, or they were genuinely unfazed. Jackson was definitely nervous, maybe even more than I was, and Victor just seemed… numb.

I felt bad for the poor kid. He was the same age as my brother and the thought of a child that young being forced into the arena made me sick. But then again, we were all too young. We all had full lives ahead of us. And the Capitol stole them for their own sick entertainment.

I was going in circles again. Suddenly unable to sit still for a moment longer, I jumped to my feet and grabbed my bow.

"Going to attack some more trees?" Ebony was teasing, but there was a gentleness to her voice.

"Maybe. I just need a little bit of air."

She flashed me a thumbs up as I made my way around the Cornucopia.

"Don't go far!" Jackson called, but I didn't respond. Following the point of the horn, I walked a bit into the jungle, just listening to the sounds around me.

There wasn't any nature in District 3, besides a small park with some stubby grass and a few stunted trees near my school. It was beautiful here, with the bright colors and birdsong. But it was all a facade; a distraction from the death that awaited us.

'Stop', I told myself angrily. I needed to get out of my head. I was only riling myself up, and I wouldn't be useful to anybody that way. Sighing, I drew an arrow, nocked it, and aimed for a tree trunk. Might as well practice a bit more.

Lumine Bellerose, 18

District 1 Female

The wound in my thigh was bad. Ronald was a powerful opponent, and I shuddered to think of what he could have done to Mira if I hadn't heard her screams. And Mira was worrying me as well. She was always snappy, but now she was sullen and silent. At the moment she was picking seeds from a tropical fruit she recognized as a papaya. The orange flesh was tangy and it wasn't my favorite flavor, but we needed all the sustenance we could get.

Awkwardly tearing off a chunk of the fruit, Mira handed it to me without looking. I took it with a whisper of thanks, which she didn't respond to. She was worrying me. Was revealing my religious affiliation off-putting to her?

I was feeling strange about it. I never talked about The Sacrament to anyone who wasn't a Sacramite. Spreading our ideas got my father killed. It didn't feel safe sharing the teachings. But for some reason, I trusted Mira. She was surly and mean, but I was beginning to consider her a friend.

Maybe I was just lonely. I missed Takara and Borrealis, my mother and my sisters. I thought I was ready for Games; I thought the Holy One would see my strength and bless my district in reward. But if I were to return home, I'd have taken lives. Would He forgive me?

'Yes', my gut told me. 'He wants you to bring glory and peace to District 1'. And I had to trust in that, or else all hope would be lost. And I could never lose hope. It was one of the most powerful assets a person could have.

"How's the leg?" Mira said gruffly, speaking for the first time since I'd revealed my beliefs.

"Not too bad," I lied. In all honesty, it ached like crazy and I had a worrying feeling it wouldn't be able to hold my weight. I hadn't tried it yet.

Mira narrowed her eyes, as if she didn't believe me, but she didn't press. She just swallowed down her last bite of papaya and stared out across our small pond.

"Ronald will probably come back," she finally said.

"Probably," I agreed. I'd learned with Mira that it was better to match my tone and energy to hers.

"But will we be ready for him?" Her voice sounded strained now.

"I hope so," I answered, because it was the truth. My leg was injured, Mira was concussed, and we only had one weapon between us.

"We won't give up without a fight though," she announced.

"And we'll give as good as we'll get," I added. A small smile spread across her face.

"We'll make that asshole regret attacking us in the first place."

Beria Campbell, 17

District 12 Female

I was strongly debating leaving the pyramid. Every day, like clockwork, the little people would appear from seemingly nowhere to wage war on my makeshift camp. I could cut them down with my ax, where they'd promptly turn to dust, but more just kept coming. And I had a sneaking suspicion they were stealing my supplies. When they first showed up, the crackers in my backpack were all crumbled up. Next, the lid to my water bottle was missing. And every time I left the temple-like room, my bedroll was in a different place.

And when I brought my backpack with me, it felt unbelievably heavy. It was infuriating. But I knew there wouldn't be a better location to keep me protected from the other tributes. Most of the Careers were gone, but the girl from 1 and both tributes from 4 were still alive. For all I knew, they could be out hunting right now.

But as frustrated and worried as I was, I knew I wasn't as angry as I could be. Every time I should have been emotional, it was pressed down. The most anger and sadness I'd ever felt was on Day 1, when I learned about Livia's death. The emotions were still there, but they were already duller.

It was sad. My sister was dead and I was already numb to it. While I didn't want to suffer heartbreak, I wanted to feel something. Being able to cry and rage at Livia's death had been a relief I didn't know I needed.

A high-pitched war cry jerked me from my thoughts. I grabbed my ax and jumped to my feet, preparing myself for the daily onslaught. Little warriors charged me, their colorful clothing fluttering around them. I already had scrapes all over my ankles and shins from their weapons, though they were no more painful than the scratches from bramble bushes I'd get when I used to play in the meadow with Livia and Bran.

I stomped on the leader, crushing him to dust. Then I swung my ax and cut through a row of them. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I panted in the afternoon heat. But I kept up my efforts. I would not succumb to these strange mutts.

Finally, about twenty minutes later, the attack ceased. The creatures seemed to simply fade into the walls, vanishing for the rest of the day. I sank down on my bedroll, but there was nothing soft beneath me.

Jumping to my feet again, I let out several loud curses. How could they have taken my entire bedroll? That was it - the final straw. I grabbed my too-heavy backpack and slung it over my shoulder, wincing at the pull.

Picking up my ax, I began the tiring climb down the side of the pyramid. As I walked, my bag got heavier and heavier and my back began to ache. But I pushed through. Finally, I reached the shade of the orange trees. I drank greedily from the stream, still sweating profusely.

Once I caught my breath, I picked several oranges and greedily ate the sweet fruit. That cursed pyramid wasn't going to be the death of me. I was going to win these Games!

Hi everyone! I know I said this last time, but I'm sorry I'm moving through this story so quickly. I've just been really excited to write it. Also, another Organized Chaos collab is coming up and I plan to set it during the 59th Games. So it'd be nice to finish up Death before I begin that collab; both so I can feature the victor without worrying about spoilers and just to tie things up nice and neatly.

Also, I know I post questions in the chapter, but still feel free to comment on stuff that isn't in the questions. I love any and all feedback! That being said… here they are!

Questions

1) Did you expect Vasir to figure out Zeppelina's betrayal?

2) Did you think Hugo would figure out what Vasir was trying to tell him?

3) Will Evelyne be able to hold it together?

4) If you could choose one person to survive the Lumine/Mira/Ronald fight, who would it be?

5) What will Rain do now that Beria is gone?

6) Should I include a feast in this story?

Eulogies

14th: Vasir Lamar (killed by Zeppelina Skansen)

Vasir was an awesome character, and while I struggled with him at first, I really got into the groove of writing him these last few POVs. He was a loyal kid who put this whole heart into what he did, and I am sad to kill him off. But Zeppelina was too much for him. Thank you ladyqueerfoot for such an awesome character.

Alliances

Save Me:
- Lumine
- Mira

Captor & Inventor:
- Hugo
- Zeppelina

Cornucopia Gang:
- Evelyne
- Marino
- Jackson
- Ebony
- Victor

Loners:
- Rain
- Ronald
- Ada
- Beria

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