Author's Note

I do not own the Hunger Games.

Luminescence Sterling, 17

The compass arrow had spent the night spinning round and round, clattering against the metal. Luminescence had watched it with wide eyes, expecting a cannon at any moment - Phoenix's cannon, Phoenix's death - but none ever came.

And yet something had happened. It must have done, to affect the compass that way.

He held the thing against his chest as he slept, almost afraid it might fall asleep in his hands, but it was still in one piece when he woke, though now pointing another direction.

Radiance grumbled and swore when he saw it. "Fuck damn! Can't it make its mind up?"

Luminescence turned the compass over. "Maybe Phoenix has changed direction." He glanced around them. "This is the Hunger Games. They did have mutts in this arena, didn't they? And there are other players still around."

Other players that would be all too happier to take out a smaller and weaker competitor. Of which Phoenix had to be the smallest. Luminescence wasn't sure any players younger than her had entered this round. Which made her easy pickings.

They continued to follow the arrow through the fog, twigs and leaves crunching underfoot.

"Which players are left?" Radiance asked, clearly a desire to break the silence.

"Twenty seven of us," Etheria said softly. "That's still more than a normal Hunger Games."

"That had to be deliberate," said Luminescence.

"What?" Etheria asked.

"Them using the Fiftieth. They wanted more kids in. Probably intended to take out as many Capital kids as they could."

Brutal - but effective. If the aim was to give Capitalites a taste of what the Districts went through, then they would want to hit as many families as they could. Forty eight players. Forty eight tragedies. Some of those here were siblings, so there wouldn't quite be forty eight families - but that would only worsen the tragedy, to know that some couples would have lost all their children in one terrible strike.

"Makes sense," Radiance agreed.

"That's awful!" Etheria protested.

Luminescence shrugged - and froze as a sound met his ears.

There was a whoosh, the sound of something flying through the air. He grabbed at Radiance and yanked him back as the spear flew between them. It where Radiance's feet would have been, the tip burying itself in the ground. The wooden shaft quivered at the impact.

"What?" Etheria cried again.

Luminescence grabbed for her arm. "Come on!"

Whoever the other player was, they were between them and the direction the arrow of the compass was pointing, which meant they'd have to take a detour. A detour was worth their lives. They could still loop around and get back on track if they were alive. They couldn't if they were dead.

Radiance slowed and pulled his arm from Luminescence's grasp, darting back.

"What are you doing?" Etheria shouted.

Radiance grabbed the spear and wrenched it from the ground before picking up speed to catch up with them. Two black shadows appeared in the fog, too close for comfort. But for them to see anything in this fog, they would have to be too close for their liking.

"Taking a weapon away from them," Radiance replied, waggling the spear at Etheria. Luminescence groaned and waved him on.

"Looks too big to be the Gilmores!" Luminescence yelled. And they'd seen Apollo's face in the sky last night. Artemis and Ares mightn't want to tackle an alliance of three the night after their brother died.

But there were other players in this arena. Plenty of other people and things that might kill them before the Gilmores did.

"I don't think that should be our concern right now!" Etheria shouted back.

One of the shadows veered off, but the other continued to shoot towards them, brandishing a sword. Luminescence spun his own spear in his hands and planted himself, striking out at the sword as the other player approached. The blow knocked the weapon aside, though failed to take it from his hands.

Radiance leapt forward with the spear he'd taken from the other boy, bringing it forward into his chest and knocking his already damaged armour down to four. He toppled to the ground and Etheria jumped forward to grab at his legs, pinning him there.

"I'm sorry!" blubbered the boy. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks. "Please- Please don't kill me!"

"What's your name?" Luminescence asked.

"Ignatius Dayne," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, Ignatius," Luminescence replied. They'd killed the other girl in a fight, but this would be an execution, an execution for the sake of furthering them, so that their family had a better chance of living.

Their family had to have a better chance at living.

Luminescence drew his spear back and slammed it into the smaller boy's chest again. His armour dropped to zero.

Radiance thrust his stolen spear through Ignatius's throat. Blood spurted from the wound. A canon boomed across the arena.

And then they were quiet, the three of them looking at each other as they considered what they had become.

Calpurnia Catallus, 16

"And you're really set on following this freak?" Calpurnia asked Marcellina as they finished packing up their camp. This fog was worse than the long grass, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. "I mean, we can't see a thing out here. And we don't even know if she's right! Or sane!"

"But what if she is?" Marcellina replied, her eyes wide.

"'What if she is,' she's a lunatic! She ought to have been put in a hospital before now!"

Zephyr glared at them. He must have heard.

"Look," Calpurnia said, taking Marcellina's arm. "I just think we need to consider the possibility of Sorcha being right before. We don't know Celeste, we don't know who she is, we don't know that we can trust her. She could be working with whoever's running this Game, that would explain why she knows so much!"

"I don't think that's right," was all Marcellina said in reply.

Calpurnia wanted to argue, wanted to drag her away - but what would they do then? And she couldn't leave without her, Marcellina was her best friend! There weren't many people that had stayed by her side. Most were unbearable backstabbing bitches. Like Lysandra.

Sorcha stopped suddenly, frowning into the fog.

"What is it now?" Luminita asked.

"Footsteps," Sorcha replied.

Zephyr glanced at Celeste, who now looked a little nervous herself, an odd look on her face.

"Did you two do this?" Calpurnia demanded, striding towards them. "Are you signalling to someone out there?"

"What? No!"

"Then how did they know?"

He flung his hands up. "I don't know, maybe they don't!"

"Don't be ridiculous, they're coming right for us–!"

"Then maybe we should stop arguing and move!" Emeria shouted. She was already prepared to bolt, her bow in one hand and her backpack on her back. "Come on!"

She took off in what looked like a random direction, disappearing into the fog. Zephyr startled, grabbing Celeste and pulling her after Emeria. "Emeria! Wait!"

"Come on!" Marcellina said, reaching for Calpurnia's arm.

She drew away. "Let's split."

"What?"

Calpurnia grabbed the strap of her backpack. "Come on, this way!"

"No, we have to-"

Something heavy slammed into her shoulder, sending her sprawling across the ground. She yelled, snatching up her sword and struggling to roll to her feet.

Laughter echoed around her.

"Oh look. We came chasing one piece of Capital scum and we find another group," said a girl in a heavy, amused drawl. "Well, you know what we do with them."