Prince Middleton, 17

District 1 Male

Prince couldn't sleep. All night, he was plagued by nightmares. Of his death at Queenie or Iago's hands, of Ali dying, and of his parents hurting him and Ali. After waking up, he tossed and turned for hours before giving up on sleep all together. He got a small fire going and began to prepare a simple breakfast of porridge for him and his allies as the sun rose.

It was a beautiful sight; the sunrise. It painted the savanna pink and orange, warming the landscape. Birds began to sing and insects began to buzz. And then Cadmus began to stir.

"Good morning," he said through a yawn.

"Good morning," Prince mumbled.

"How'd you sleep?" Cadmus asked and Prince winced.

"Not great," he admitted.

"Bad dreams?"

"...Yeah."

"Sorry to hear that," Cadmus said and Prince felt himself relax. Cadmus was too close to Ada to be considered trustworthy, but he was a chill guy. Prince could afford to let his guard down a little.

As the other Careers woke up, Prince poured the porridge into bowls and dug around in their supplies for a bit of honey. He added a small amount to everyone's serving before picking up his own bowl and taking a bite. It was too hot, but the food was comforting. He remembered Ali's mother making them porridge the first time he slept over at Ali's house, before they were even dating.

"What's the plan for today?" Tulio asked Ada through a mouthful of oats.

"Same as yesterday. We hunt until we find someone to kill," she replied.

"Who's staying behind?" Prince asked. Honestly, he was hoping he'd be selected. He needed time to rest and gather his thoughts.

"Tulio is," Ada said, dashing his hopes. "It's better to have a ranged fighter guarding the Cornucopia. You can go out with Iago and Cadmus will come with me."

"Great," Prince grumbled. "Sounds perfect."

About ten minutes later, he and Iago were off. The boy from 12 seemed unusually chipper, even going so far as to hum softly as they walked.

"Someone's going to hear us coming," Prince eventually griped. Iago just shrugged one shoulder, but he did stop humming.

By noon, it was absolutely sweltering and Prince wanted nothing more than to go back to the Cornucopia. But that wasn't an option. He'd finished off his first water bottle and was already about halfway through the second. They needed to rest.

"How about we head for those trees?" Iago suggested, breaking the silence that had engulfed them for hours.

"Alright," Prince agreed, his eyes following Iago's finger. He was pointing towards a distant line of tall trees that would definitely provide a decent amount of shade.

As they got closer, Prince began to feel uneasy. These woods seemed darker than they should be… the trees seemed to close in around them, their branches reaching towards the boys. But Iago was unfazed.

A branch snapped somewhere and both Careers froze. Prince slowly drew his sword, looking around.

"There!" Iago said suddenly. He turned to see the muscular boy from 5 reach for a branch and begin to haul himself up into a tree.

Both of them charged forward. Iago threw his pickaxe, which sunk into the boy's calf. He cried out in pain and released the branch, crashing to the forest floor. Prince and Iago reached him moments later and Iago dug his weapon deeper into the boy's leg.

"Go on," he said.

"What?" Prince asked. Iago turned to look at him.

"Kill him," he said, his voice cold and hard. "You killed one pathetic little girl in the bloodbath and have done nothing since. So, kill him. Or are you too scared?"

"I'm not scared," Prince snapped. "You caught him though. Why don't you kill him?"

The boy tried to heave himself up but Iago stomped a foot down on his chest. He groaned as some of his ribs snapped.

"You are a coward, Prince," Iago growled. "Kill him now, or you won't be returning to camp with me."

Prince gaped at Iago. The boy seemed completely serious. And if Prince was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure if he could take on Iago in a fight. He drew in a deep, rattling breath and stepped forward, raising his sword. The boy from 5 glared up at him, a determined look on his face. Prince averted his gaze and focused on the roots of a tree nearby. Then he plunged his sword down into the boy's chest.

Boom.

Indigo Li, 13

District 8 Female

"Indigo! Did you hear that?" Blythe hissed, shaking her shoulder roughly. Indigo looked up from the supplies she was organizing and looked around nervously.

"No," she whispered back. "What is it?"

"I think someone is nearby," Blythe murmured. She reached for her hatchet and Indigo scrambled to grab her knife. For a few moments, they waited in silence. Then, with a yell, someone cut through their tent.

Indigo scrambled back, tripping over a backpack and falling on her butt. Jasmine, the mean girl from 7, was standing over them, an ax in her hands. She swiped at Indigo but she frantically rolled sideways and out of the way.

Blythe struck at Jasmine with her hatchet, swiping the blade across the girl's hand. Jasmine cried out, but retaliated with a strike of her own. The ax cut deep into Blythe's shoulder as Indigo scrambled to her feet.

She moved around to Jasmine's other side, effectively trapping the older girl between Indigo and her ally. Blythe swiped with the hatchet again, but she was using her off hand and Jasmine easily dodged out of the way. Indigo plunged her knife deep into Jasmine's back and shoved the girl forward. Blythe barely managed to sidestep the falling girl.

As Jasmine hit the ground, Blythe swung her hatchet down and sank it deep into the back of her neck. After a heartbeat, a cannon fired. Blythe looked up at Indigo with wide eyes. She was breathing hard and had blood dripping down her arm.

Indigo looked down at Jasmine's body. Carefully, she extracted the knife from her back and backed away from Blythe. It was twice now that her ally had mercilessly killed. A sick feeling rose in Indigo's stomach and without thinking, she lunged.

Blythe screamed as Indigo stabbed her in the gut.

"What are you doing?" she cried out, staggering back and clutching her stomach. Indigo didn't answer. She just stabbed again, this time in Blythe's chest. Her ally fell back, landing hard. There were tears in her eyes as she scooted away from Indigo.

A sudden chill ran up Indigo's spine. She felt tears on her cheeks but was barely able to register that she was crying. Blythe curled up on her side, blood pooling all around her. Indigo frantically grabbed their backpacks and took off in the other direction. As Blythe's cannon fired, her brisk walk became a sprint.

Finally, her legs and lungs gave out and she collapsed in the shade of a wide-reaching tree. The memory of Blythe's terrified face flashed through her mind. What had she done?

Dakota Grangerford, 12

District 9 Female

Dakota laid on her side, watching the clouds pass by as Mars rifled through their supplies. He'd been organizing them tirelessly for the past little while, probably out of boredom. Dakota was definitely bored. Now she was looking for interestingly-shaped clouds. So far, a rabbit cloud stuck out the most.

"We're almost out of water," Mars reported, pulling her out of her head.

"So go get some," she grumbled. "The lake isn't that far away."

"It's far enough to make me nervous about leaving you," Mars said with a frown. Dakota shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm certainly not going anywhere."

"But what if someone finds you?"

"Then I use this," Dakota said, holding up the knife Mars had given her. "We need water more than we need to worry about me."

"Alright, fine," Mars sighed. "Just… be quiet and don't draw attention to yourself."

"Yes, sir." She saluted him mockingly and he rolled his eyes.

Dakota listened to his footsteps in the dry grass as she examined the sky again. One cloud looked a bit like a dog. That was pretty cool. She continued to absentmindedly observe, shaded from the sun by the boulders they were camped behind.

She must have drifted off because she was startled awake by the sound of something scraping against the rocks. Stiffening, Dakota looked around. The shadow of some sort of beast was atop the boulders and she grabbed her blade.

Looking around wildly, Dakota spotted a crevice between two boulders. She awkwardly inched backwards, lowering herself into the crack. Her legs bunched up strangely, but she couldn't feel the pressure. She supported herself on her elbows and watched the shadow.

After a moment, whatever it was leaped down into their campsite and Dakota barely held back a gasp. It was a cat-like creature with a thick head of hair. Its fur was golden-brown and it was absolutely massive. She'd only seen kids drawings of this creature before, but she recognized it. This was a lion.

It prowled back and forth, sniffing at their bags and pawing at the blanket they'd laid out on the grass. Dakota tried to quiet her breathing and hold as still as possible, but the lion was coming towards her.

Then its golden eyes met hers and it pounced. She squeaked and recoiled deeper into the crevice as the lion slammed against the rocks. It didn't fit! It shoved its paw down into the hole and Dakota tightened her grip on her dagger.

When the paw got close enough, she stabbed deep down into the lion's foot. It roared in pain and drew back, pacing again. After a moment, it stuck its other paw down. She stabbed it again.

They continued like that for a few more minutes before the angry beast forced its muzzle down the hole. Wincing at the thought of the pain she was about to inflict, Dakota plunged her blade deep into the lion's left nostril.

The roar that echoed in the small space was deafening. She had to fight the urge to drop the dagger and cover her ears. The lion reared back, pawing at its face before shaking its massive head and scattering droplets of blood across the campsite.

It paced angrily for another moment before turning and running off across the grasslands. Dakota waited until it was out of sight for several minutes to allow herself to relax.

'That was the closest I've ever come to dying', she realized. Her heart was still pounding and she suddenly felt dizzy.

"Holy shit," she whispered, shock running through her veins. She just fought a lion. And somehow, she survived.

Hey everyone! Here's Day 3 of Dakota's Games, and lots of action! I had this Dakota/lion scene in my head for a while, so I hope it came off as realistic and well-done. I was excited about it. I also enjoyed writing the culmination of Indigo's paranoia. Will she spiral from here? Who knows!

Eulogies

11th: Nikolas Lopez (5M) - killed by Prince
Nikolas was a strong contender, but unfortunately he never got featured. He was brave as he died, and we'll remember him for that. Maybe. Prince will certainly remember though. RIP.

10th: Jasmine Hooper (7F) - killed by Blythe
Jasmine... you were a self-absorbed jerk and I always knew you'd die facing off with Indigo and Blythe. Thanks for contributing to Indigo's character arc. Every story needs a jerk, and you filled your role well. RIP.

9th: Blythe Pruitt (12F) - killed by Indigo
Blythe was a sweetheart who never would have betrayed Indigo. She didn't deserve such a neurotic ally. She was loyal and kind until the end, and did whatever she could to protect Indigo. I'm sorry she had to die this way. RIP.

Alliances

Careers:
- Prince
- Cadmus
- Ada
- Tulio
- Iago

Kindness:
- Dakota
- Mars

Loners:
- Indigo

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

- Fiona