Author's Note

I do not own The Hunger Games.

Vivaldi Perlman, 16

He wasn't quite sure what made him do it - Vivaldi had never been the hero - but as the bigger boy brought his fan contraption slashing for the younger player's throat, Vivaldi sprang forward and brought his epee up between them. The impact of the bladed fan colliding with the blade echoed up and down Vivaldi's arms, setting his teeth on edge. The other player was so much bigger, taller and broader than him, which gave him the strength by far. Vivaldi stumbled, staggering backwards. A small hand caught his elbow, steadying him as another boy came rushing in with a heavy looking sword.

He shouldn't have involved himself in this.

He ducked under the sword, but the boy with the bladed fans still caught the back of his heel with one, knocking a node from his armour.

"Come on!" shouted a girl's voice. The hand still holding his arm tugged him to the left as the roaring in his ears intensified. Another strike came from the boy with the sword, and Vivaldi was forced to pull away from the girl to avoid taking the entire strike across his chest. She took off away from him. So much for honour. Where was Thorin in all this? Could he see him, was he watching Vivaldi hold his own? He couldn't see him from his pedestal, but he could have run around the cornucopia since then.

A booming rush filled his skull. Something large and black came charging down from the platform above the cornucopia, following the embedded track that had been near Vivaldi's pedestal. A streak of red ram for it. The girl he'd rescued, the one that had tried to encourage him to follow. Another call was coming from the other side of the track, from a boy with purple hair. Vivaldi ducked around the boy with the sword again, taking another impact from the one with the fans. "Thorin!"

Where was he? Couldn't he hear him?

The girl grabbed a rail on the little train and pulled herself aboard. That would be a way away from the bloodbath. Except he'd be leaving Thorin behind, leaving him to this madness.

The girl looked back at him as the purple haired boy joined her, waving a hand for Vivaldi.

He ran for her.

He'd have to find Thorin later, but if he stayed here he would die.

He needed to go.

The train was moving faster now, beginning to pick up speed. The girl leant from the opening in the side and held a hand out to him. He grabbed it and they locked fingers f.

"Phoenix!" shouted a boy from somewhere a long way away. "Phoenix, no! Get off that thing!"

Vivaldi jumped and got one foot on the metal step of the train. For a moment he wobbled, and then the girl pulled him inside and they tumbled to the wooden floor in a tangle of arms and legs, laughing as the train continued to pick up speed.

Silverie Erilea Amarendaje, 14

They had snatched the spear in front of their pedestal, but the backpacks were further away. Designed to force the players to fight, most likely. Silverie hesitated a moment, and had considered risking leaving without one and hoping Emeria had got something, but what if the same thing happened to her?

They needed a backpack.

They rushed towards one of the smaller ones, which at least weren't right against the golden horn, and grabbed the strap. A scream came from somewhere behind them as they pulled the strap over their shoulders. Turning, they found a taller boy had caught the lash of a whip around a smaller boy's throat and was now choking the life out of him, ticking his armour points down point by point. Silverie clutched their spear a little tighter. It was solid, cool, and smooth, and now strange was that, to actually properly feel the weapon instead of just the cold of the palm of the sensory gloves?

They were actually fighting for their life here.

They didn't want to pass the boy with the whip, who had finally brought the armour of the boy he'd caught down to zero and was preparing to bring his boot down on his neck, so they skittered around the shape of the great golden horn, passing the mouth of it. Inside, weapons were hung on racks along the side and food spilled from crates and containers stacked at the back. So much of it! But the Fiftieth was all poison, perhaps extra supplies had been given. Silverie reached inside and grabbed another backpack, slinging it over their shoulder. They could always repack all the supplies into one backpack later.

The edge of another spear came sweeping at their skull and they ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow. The weapon slammed into the wall of the cornucopia with a resounding bang. Silverie raised their own weapon, facing the girl that had come at them. She looked about their age, with garish green hair drawn into a mohawk. Silverie brought their spear back and drove it into the girl's chest, bringing her armour down to seven. She brought her own weapon round and the two danced around each other. If Silverie wanted to live, they had to fight, even if it was during the mayhem of their bloodbath. They brought their spear round again and took another three points from the girl's armour, but that left them open to a strike and their own armour dropped to six.

A fine black arrow flew from somewhere, catching the girl in the chest. Her armour fell to one. She turned and bolted, evidently realising how useless she now was in a fight. Silverie turned as Emeria sprinted to join them and grabbed their arm.

"Time to go!"

Zephyr Almon, 13

He skirted the edges of the bloodbath, clutching the dagger tightly in his hands. It was the only thing he'd managed to grab so far, as he'd been too afraid to try and pass the all out brawl between three of the older boys and the little redheaded girl around his age. That would've been asking for trouble when all he needed to do was find Celeste. Assuming she hadn't managed to get herself killed in a similar brawl already. She could be the only chance of every single still living player in this Game.

"Celeste!" he shouted, scanning the chaos around him. Where was she? He caught a glimpse of a dark haired figure on the ground beneath a brown haired girl and for a moment panic gripped him, until he recognised it was a boy and far too boy to be Celeste.

But it was nasty encouragement to keep going and find her. The other players really were killing each other, and he even caught a glimpse of scarlet blood leaking from that boy's head. Had that happened during the other Game Zephyr played in? He couldn't remember, he'd only made it four days.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of her dark hair and small figure, only just Sterling down from her pedestal. Had she only just made it out of her tube, or had she been standing there waiting for him? Could be either, could be neither, knowing Celeste. She reached down to take whatever weapon had been left for her. Lucky. Someone else could have swiped that by now. She wandered forwards to take one of the medium sized backpacks and in usual Celeste fashion, no one bothered her.

"Celeste!" he shouted, pushing his sprint onwards to reach her.

She turned and smiled. "Oh. Did you get what you wanted?"

As though they were at the fucking shop!

"I've been looking for you!"

"Oh." She lifted the backpack. "Do you want this?"

Zephyr grabbed her arm, pushing her in front of him. "Come on!"

Luminita Summerfield, 17

The cornucopia had well and truly erupted into chaotic violence. There were players fighting over backpacks, fighters striking at each other with the weapons that had been left in front of their pedestals, players grappling and punching and kicking at each other like animals.

And they were meant to be children of the Capitol.

Fortunately, she had been relatively close to Sorcha, and once she grabbed the knife in front of her pedestal and the tiny backpack nearby, Luminita set off towards her sister at a jog. She was one of those still stuck in her tube as the gong rang – knowing Sorcha, she'd probably forgotten the order the code went in – which slowed her down in getting out to do something stupid.

Luminita grabbed a medium backpack worn bright orange canvas as she ran towards her sister. A whip cracked over her, catching her shoulder and knocking her armour down a node. She shrieked, raising the backpack over her head as the whip came down again. The lash caught around the fabric, nearly wrenching it from her hands. Luminita raised her knife and hacked the lash in half, cutting the bag free.

There was a thick, entrenched track between her and Sorcha, which a small black train went rushing down as she neared it. One boy screamed as he realised he was trapped in front of the thing and the vehicle bore down on him. His agonised howls were dreadful, ringing in Luminita's ears. To her right, the boy with the whip was now choking a girl with the remains of it.

Sorcha's tube opened as the train finished passing, and she grabbed the sword in front of her as she rushed towards the cornucopia.

"Sorcha!" Luminita screamed, skidding to a halt at the edge of the track. Sorcha glanced in her direction before focusing again on the ring of backpacks.

Luminita looked down at the track. Could she jump it? What if another train came? She didn't want to die like that poor boy. But Sorcha had already started a fight, trying to take a large backpack from a smaller boy with striped hair.

"Sorcha!" Luminita called, exasperated. Sorcha ignored her, singing her sword at the boy and screaming when he retaliated with his knife. She shrieked as her armour dropped to eight. He wrenched the backpack away and took off. Luminita glanced either way up and down the trap, took a step back, and jumped across it. Sorcha dated forward to snatch a different backpack. Luminita's boots hit the green grass on Sorcha's side of the track. She steadied herself and ran to grab her sister's arm. "Come on! You've got what you need!"

Sorcha looked like she was going to argue, but soon closed her mouth again and turned and started to run from the fighting. As they fled, Luminita caught sight of familiar white and purple haired figures. She waved her arms at them. "Calpurnia! Marcellina! Here!"

The two sprinted towards them, hesitating a moment at something that they had to jump over. Sorcha grabbed Luminita's arm and dragged her towards them. It looked like they all had weapons and backpacks, which was good. Beyond the circle of pedestals, there was open green grass, but a building in the distance. Sorcha pointed it out. "We're going there. Come on!"

Well, at least it was away from the bloodbath.