Thanks to owlthewriter, FrostyShadow, ladyqueerfoot, goldie031, Very New To This, Paradigm of Writing, Dani H. Danvers, and Tubelancia for the reviews. Seriously everyone, it means a lot so I really appreciate. Again, sorry the review responses were short. I didn't want to give anything away for the Bloodbath!

Alright everyone. It's been a long time coming, but it's here. The Bloodbath. I'm going to give the same reminder I gave when I wrote the 76th and 77th SYOTs: Let's all breathe and remember that this is the Hunger Games! There can only be one Victor (unless you're hot shit like Katniss/Peeta), which means twenty-three tributes will be dying. It has to start sometime and the Bloodbath is that time. Since I've submitted to other SYOTs and have written two before, I understand how emotional it can be to lose your tribute and I've felt that shock too. If your tribute dies, I'd love if you stuck with the story till the end! Plus, it isn't the last word for that Tribute. I do the Victory Tour chapters as well from the POV of the people your Tribute left behind.

So, with that said, let's do this! I'll repost the guide to the alliances below and update it as the story goes on:

Career Pack: Lana (D1), Reko (D1), Estelle (D2), Valdez (D2), Mara (D4), & Chase (D8)

Olivia's Alliance: Eddie (D3), Olivia (D5), Aleko (D5), Sarah (D6), & Amadeus (D6)

Oddball Alliance (the name stuck lol): David (D7), Millie (D9), & Daisy (D11)

District 10 Partners: Hayley & Buck

District 12 Partners: Marianna & Pan

Lone Wolves or Unable to Get an Alliance: Poe (D3), Cean (D4), Ola (D7), Cara (D8), Alice (D9), & Ruddy (D11)

Enjoy.

Chapter XIX The Bloodbath

While the Capitol slept, the twenty-four Tributes were woken before dawn by the rough hands of the Peacekeepers. Those that resisted were dragged from their beds and forced into clothing.

It was time for the Hunger Games.

A final meal was prepared for the Tributes, pitiful compared to the delicacies they had been eating the past five days. A bowl of cinnamon oatmeal, some fruit, and water was all they were allowed. Some like David were too nervous to eat while others realized it was their last guaranteed meal and devoured it.

Once they were done, the Tributes were herded downstairs and loaded onto buses. As the first rays of dawn began to break, the buses hurried them outside the Capitol to the airfields, where a hovercraft and Honor Guard waited for them.

"Tributes!" A hoarse voiced Peacekeeper shouted upon their arrival. "Form up! Boys on one side, girls on the other! District 12 upfront, District 1 back of the line!"

They complied and were quickly boarded onto the hovercraft, all of them uncomfortable with it. Even the Careers were a bit nervous about flying for the first time. The Tributes were led on in two lines and put in seats along the interior walls of the hovercraft facing in. Once seated, restraints collapsed down, locking them in. The Peacekeepers paid no mind to the anxious Tributes, the leader of the party heading to the cockpit for information.

"Should be just shy of two hours." The pilot said.

"Better than last year's flight time." The Peacekeeper muttered. He looked back, noticing the Gamemakers walking up the hovercraft ramp for one final examination of the Tributes. One of them with purple skin and yellow eyes approached Lana, closest to the hangar door, and made a request.

"Your arm, Ms. Rose." She said, her accent thick on the 's'. Lana complied and was rewarded with a sharp jab to the arm.

"Nice and easy. Love it." The Gamemaker commented, the injector still in her hand. Lana recoiled from the shock of it and again as the Gamemaker poured some sort of solution on the injection sight to close up the wound.

"What was that?" She asked.

"A tracker. Just want to keep an eye on your pretty little head in the arena.." The Gamemaker said with a wink. Soon, all the Tributes had a tracker and the Gamemakers were gone, leaving just the Tributes and the Peacekeepers. A voice came over the hovercraft's intercom, informing everyone they were cleared for takeoff. Once the voice cut out, the doors began to close and a few Tributes began to panic.

"You don't have to take us to the Games!" Ruddy insisted, pleading with a nearby Peacekeeper. "Just let us go!"

The Peacekeeper tilted his head, bemused. He didn't bother to respond to such a dumb request. Across the hovercraft, Daisy stared at him with anger. She wasn't sure why she was so angry with him. Maybe it was just fear. Was this why Jenna was so furious all the time?

"Hunger Games, let's go!" Reko shouted, pumping his fist up in the air. Lana rolled her eyes, though was excited as well. Estelle was positively giddy and Valdez, usually stoic, couldn't keep a smile off his face.

The engines whirred to life, shaking the entire hovercraft and causing a little bit a , the hovercraft ascended, the aircraft shuddering as it adjusted to the altitude. Eddie was struggling to adjust too. His entire life he had thought flying would be a magical experience. Instead it turned out to be cold and horrifying. He was struggling to shake the feeling he was just flying in a large metal box with flammable liquid powering it, with miles of open air beneath him and a very hard ground.

"Hey! Look at me Eddie!"

He opened his eyes, finding Olivia. She smiled at him, folding her hand into a fist for solidarity. "You're doing great!" She said. "Just stay strong!"

Eddie nodded, gripping the restraint with one hand and making a fist with the other. After a couple minutes the shaking of the craft stopped and they hit a cruising altitude. An all clear sign was given for the Peacekeepers to move about freely. The Tributes remained locked into their seats.

"What do you think the arena is going to be?" Cean asked Aleko who sat next to him. Aleko was surprised the boy was speaking with him, but the nerves on his face showed he needed a distraction.

"Don't know. Probably something pretty to look at." Aleko said. The Games in recent years had been like that. Apparently Capitolites paid a lot of money to tour the arenas afterwards. Nobody would want to pay to tour a dump.

"I hope there aren't mutts. Or at least really bad mutts." Cean whispered.

"There are. And they're coming for you." Mara hissed from across the craft, making Cean flinch in fear. She smiled smugly, trying to ignore Poe right next to her. The District 3 girl hadn't stopped giggling since take off. It was creeping her out, but nothing to worry about. She'd be able to give Poe some pay back for her insult during the interviews soon.

As the flight progressed, a couple of Tributes actually dozed off. Alice sat comfortably in his seat, head against the seat back, dreaming peacefully of what was to come. Across the way, David woke up from a nightmare, breathing heavily.

"You going to pee yourself?" His neighbor Chase mocked. David tried to ignore him but there was nowhere to go. He had to deal with the insults for the rest of the flight, eventually pretending to fall asleep again.

Time passed. Occasionally a Career would make a comment or Chase an insult, but eventually there wasn't anything else to say. Before too long, they arrived.

The hovercraft descended quickly and landed with a heavy thud. The sound of the cabin decompressing spooked some Tributes, as did the hangar doors opening. A sharp artificial light from outside illuminated the interior of the hovercraft and Gamemaker entered. Behind him stood two dozen Peacekeepers, all dressed in Honor Guard gold.

"Welcome Tributes to the 58th Arena!" The Gamemaker announced. He was dressed in the purple robes of a Gamemaker, which clashed heavily with his bright red Mohawk and eyes. "This will be real simple. When your name is called you are to exit the hovercraft and head with two Peacekeepers to your assigned launch room. Your stylists will be there to dress you and explain the next steps. First up, Lana Rose of District 1!"

The Gamemaker clicked a few buttons on an electronic pad he carried and the restraints around Lana disengaged. Eagerly, she leapt from her seat and exited the hovercraft. Reko followed next, then District 2, and then Poe, who actually skipped out of the hovercraft.

Eddie's name was called and the restraint disengaged, setting him free. He didn't move though. His legs suddenly felt very heavy and his head too light. "Tribute Kotlin, move." The Gamemaker ordered, impatient.

He couldn't. He couldn't do this. He was going to die. He'd get a starting plate next to a Career or Poe or Chase or some awful mutt and he'd be dead in seconds! He wasn't going home, this arena was going to be his and twenty-two other Tributes' grave.

"Please don't make me go!" Eddie begged, tears forming in his eyes.

"Last chance, Tribute." A Peacekeeper said, voice dangerously low.

"Eddie, look at me!" Olivia called out. "Come on look at me!"

Slowly he turned to Olivia, his teeth clattering. She looked nervous too but was trying to mask it, like his dad had when he told him mom was paralyzed. "Eddie I want you to breath, ok?" Olivia asked.

He shook his head violently. He didn't want to breath. He wanted to go home.

"Eddie, you have to do it, ok? Breath in and out! Breath in now, Eddie! With me! Breathing in!"

Olivia inhaled sharply and so did Eddie. He breathed in until his lungs were full and felt like they might burst.

"And now breathing out!" Olivia commanded, exhaling. Eddie followed, feeling his heart rate lower. "Just keep doing that, ok? And when you're in the arena, find me. Come directly to me and we'll get out together!"

He nodded, but still couldn't move. A Peacekeeper had to drag him off the hovercraft and force him to his feet. He was then led by two gold cloaked and helmed Peacekeepers across a massive hangar. His legs were heavy, and he felt like he would collapse, but he kept breathing like Olivia said. In and out, in and out.

He exited the hangar with the Peacekeepers, entering a brightly lit hallway. It curved around slightly with twenty-four matching doors lining the wall in front of him. There were no distinguishing marks on the doors, nothing to indicate which rooms the five Tributes before him were in. The Peacekeepers led him to the door three to the left of center and, typing in a code on the keypad, opened it. Inside was his stylist, looking jubilant. The Peacekeepers pushed him into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Eddie, we're here! The Hunger Games are finally here!" His stylist squealed. "Look at you, crying tears of joy!"

Eddie didn't reply, taking in his surrounding as his stylist took his hand and led him into the room. It was a simple rectangular room with white walls and a silver metallic ceiling and floor. In one corner was a toilet and sink, another a three panel dressing mirror, and then a large metal locker. Eddie eyes lingered on the most prominent part of the room, the literal center of it. A silver starting plate waited for him, encapsulated in a glass tube that shot up into the ceiling to carry him up in the arena.

"Now, I have to say, the fashion for the arena this year is a little… uninspired." His stylist criticized. "Sure, practically is needed I guess… but why would you dress people poorly when all of Panem is going to be watching?"

Eddie kind of liked the arena outfit. It was better than some of the odder ones from previous years, especially the revealing wetsuits Tributes had to wear for water arenas. The outfit was a light long sleeve with cargo pants and combat boots, perfectly designed for climbing and running. A pair of gloves came with it too, along with a heavy belt that had the number "3" on the buckle and some accessories attached. The escort began to pull them off to explain.

"A little flashlight, a lighter, and some kind of scope? You can only look through it out of one eye and they told me it's for night-vision, but it doesn't seem to work. I already tried it." The stylist said, before blinking and laughing. "Oh, silly me. I guess I only tried it in here with the lights on. Hopefully it works fine for you!"

Privacy wasn't a thing with Tributes, so Eddie had to strip down and change in front of his stylist. When he was done he took a look at himself in the mirror. While the outfit was mostly black, a single stripe colored pink went down his pants leg. His gloves were also the same color. He didn't think it was a flattering look.

"Same color you wore for the Parade and the Interviews! I guess each District will have a little something extra to distinguish yourselves besides your District number being stitched into everything." His stylist commented, still critical.

That was true though. Every piece of clothing had the number '3' stitched or ironed into it. Even his underwear had '3" on them. The stylist then took the time to show Eddie all the zippers and pockets he had but he was hardly listening. His eyes were fixed on the starting plate. Above the entrance to it was a holographic timer, indicating less than three minutes to launch. The time went by too fast.

"Ok! So… you going to hop on in and get this started?"

His stylist had finished explaining things and was urging him into the capsule. He couldn't believe he was actually walking into it willingly. The timer was now at less than a minute and and as soon as both of his feet were on the starting plate the capsule door hissed shut. He was shaking again, wishing he had gone to the bathroom before stepping on the plate. Outside the capsule, his stylist was waving frantically at her, a smile on her face.

"Fight hard!" She said. "And happy, happy Hunger Games!"

The timer ran out and a sharp click sounded. Gears beneath Eddie began to turn and the plate started to rise. Eddie heart was pounding so hard it felt as though his chest would explode. He kept trying to breath, to force himself to calm down, but to no avail. A scream escaped his lips, but his voice just bounced off the tube, echoing through his ears. Nobody heard him.

And then, he was out of the darkness and in the open arena.

He looked around and was confused.

An arc of Tribute starting plates rested on gravel, forming a half circle around the golden Cornucopia. There was no paradise looking arena to greet them, nor was there some sort of nightmare landscape awaiting them.

In fact, the location felt very mundane.

They were in what looked like the central hub of a subway station.

Twenty-four Tributes waited on their plates, taking in their surroundings and making plans. As they did, a holographic timer materialized above the Cornucopia. Speakers from some invisible location blared on and the sounds of the Capitol cheering in excitement and Caesar Flickerman's voice echoed throughout the massive domed room.

"May the odd be ever in your favor, Tributes! Let the 58th annual Hunger Games begin!"

The timer began, a digitized sixty turning to fifty-nine with a deep, computerized voice counting down the seconds.

… 60…

… 59…

… 58…

From where the Tributes stood, the massive domed room didn't offer much cover. Besides the Cornucopia, the only other notable features were some train tracks covered with gravel and a metal ladder that led up to an elevated metal structure with tinted windows. There was some old construction equipment lying around too, bits of pipes and rebar and concrete blocks. On opposite sides of the room were two large empty basins, purpose unknown. High above them was a domed roof with a fresco of an old symbol of the Capitol's superiority: a bronzed armored woman with a piercing gaze and two crossed swords raised over her head, her face filled with indifference for those below.

… 51…

… 50…

… 49…

What was more intriguing was what lied beyond the domed room. Five tunnels burrowed into walls on opposite ends of each other. Each one was lit a different color: blue, red, green, yellow, and orange. Train tracks went into each tunnel, but there was no indication of what lay down each.

… 43…

… 42…

… 41…

In the center of the room sat the golden Cornucopia, its mouth facing away from the majority of the Tributes. Scattered around it were backpacks and other items. The packs were all brightly colored and gave no indication as to what was inside of them.

… 37…

… 36…

… 35…

There were plenty of goodies and packs for the Tributes to pick up, but nobody was able to spot any weapons. No doubt they were inside the Cornucopia, as they usually were in previous years. The Tributes all eyed each other suspiciously, distinctly aware of how close they were to one another. Usually the Gamemakers would have them in a circle around the Cornucopia, allowing a little breathing room between the starting plates. Not this year. Hayley was at one end of the arc, nearest to the mouth of the Cornucopia, while Cara was on opposite end, furthest from it.

… 31…

… 30…

… 29…

Cara felt a flood of relief as she looked around. Furthest from the Cornucopia meant furthest from the action. She could run away easily. Next to her was Ruddy, not a threat at all.

… 28…

Ruddy was panicking, legs shaking violently. He had no intention of running in and was thankful to be on the edge of things. Ola was next to him, imposing and looking angry. Hopefully, she'd leave him alone!

… 27…

Ola huffed in anger. She had hoped for a forested arena. What did she know about subway stations? One thing was for sure, there wouldn't be any wildlife or nature to live off of. 'Damn it.' She thought, 'I have to run in for a pack.'

… 26…

Alice was thrilled. An underground arena meant darkness he could hide in. 'It's all coming together.' He thought. The Gamemakers must have realized his skill and be favoring him. A plan came to him, along with a crooked smile.

… 25…

Marianna's heart felt like it was about to burst. Still, she had nabbed a good spot, far from the Careers who were on the other end of the arc. But with them was Pan. 'How am I going to reach him?' she fretted.

… 24…

Amadeus knew he had to run in. They had all agreed on it, and he wasn't going to let the alliance down. Uneasily, he looked at his twitchy neighbor to his left, hoping she wouldn't set her eyes on him.

… 23…

Poe had her eyes set on the bitch. She wasn't even looking at her, eyes locked onto the Cornucopia and the weapons it no doubt held. Poe sneered, 'What a dumb blonde.' She thought.

… 22…

Olivia wasn't thrilled with her placement next to Poe, but it was better than being next to a Career. Forcing the fear from her mind, she tried to get Eddie's attention, but the poor boy was lost in his own thoughts. She was going to have to rescue him and regroup with the others.

… 21…

Daisy felt like she was going to hurl. The timer was going down so fast. Careers would be flying everywhere in a minute! And David and Millie were right next to them!

… 20…

Cean was stuck on what to do. Run in or flee? He didn't think Mara or the other Careers would kill him. Maybe. 'Better run.' He thought bleakly, not liking those odds.

… 19…

Reko was almost smack dab in the middle of the arc and thus the action. 'Just how I like it.' He thought. He figured some dumbass Outlier would run for the Cornucopia. That's exactly where he wanted to be when they did.

… 19…

Mara was humming with excitement. A prettier arena would have been nice, but it hardly mattered. She was running to the Cornucopia, nabbing a weapon, and getting to work. Her dad had killed two Tributes in his Games. She could top that easily.

… 18…

Sarah was mashed between Careers. She'd have to run away from the Cornucopia and try to circle around to meet up with Amadeus and the others. Hopefully the fact that the Careers were unarmed meant they'd leave her alone.

… 17…

Chase let out a triumphant shout, eager to show the Capitol his lack of fear. His voice echoed across the domed ceiling, music to his ears. Two plates to his left, the pathetic little boy from 3. A perfect first target.

… 16…

Buck kept his sights on the Cornucopia. Every instinct in his body was telling him not to run in, but Hayley and him had already agreed on the plan. Nervously, he looked over to her, wishing she was closer.

… 15…

Eddie's eyes were wide as saucers. He just had to get to Olivia… Olivia would protect him!

… 14…

David couldn't believe his horrible luck. He was right next to Valdez, the martial arts expert! He wouldn't need weapons from the Cornucopia to kill him! 'Oh no, I'm dead! I'm so dead!'

… 13…

Valdez also couldn't believe his luck. To his right the guy from 7 who scored a two and on the left the raving Capitol fan girl from 9. Not exactly worthy enemies for him, but good for racking up some early kills. 'Let's do this.' He thought.

… 12…

Millie was on the edge of her starting plate, ready to bounce off and start the Games. All of Panem was watching her representing District 9! 'Hurry up!' she pleaded with the countdown clock.

… 11…

Lana was eyeing the Cornucopia eagerly. 'Eyes on the prize.' She thought. 'Grab a weapon and get going! I'll show Aunt Katie how great I am!'

… 10…

Estelle's doubt that had built up over the past forty-eight hours melted away as the countdown entered the final ten seconds. She was in the Hunger Games representing District 2. Pride filled her. This is what she had spent her whole life getting ready for. She was ready.

… 9…

Pan couldn't believe the Hunger Games were about to start. Less than ten seconds and the killing would begin. He had to run past every Career to get to Marianna too! 'Please, please ignore me!' he silently begged.

… 8…

Aleko had spent a long time living under the shadow of death, but even so was feeling nervous. Dying itself wasn't scary to him, but how he died matter. A Career slicing him to pieces was still a horrifying thought, and literally every single one was in his path to his alliance! He scanned the arc of Tributes, trying to find an angle, his eyes stopping on Millie's plate. 'She's so close to the edge!'

… 7…

Hayley, at the very end of the Tribute arc, had a clear view of the interior of the Cornucopia. 'No way!' she thought, shocked by the interior. Desperately, she looked around for a substitute, eyes landing on some left behind construction equipment.

… 6…

… 5…

… 4…

… 3…

'This is it!' Millie thought, legs ready to jump.

… 2…

… 1…

Millie leapt from her starting plate.

Nobody heard the sound of the gong, signaling the official start of the Hunger Games. Instead, the Tributes were deafened by the ripping sound of an explosion.

A ball of flame and smoke had engulfed Millie's starting plate, Millie herself was lost in the fire. A shock wave followed and reverberated across the room, but its effects were felt most keenly by the Tributes next to it.

Valdez and Lana, the closest, were sent flying back. Valdez's body was sent spinning, his vision blurring and ears ringing as he landed face first in the gravel below. Lana smashed into Estelle's starting plate, hitting her head hard on the metal and crumpling to the ground. Estelle, meanwhile, went flying back too, smashing into Pan who tried to flee, and they collapsed into a pile. David was also knocked off balance, tripping on his plate and smashing his face into it, a noisy crack following as his nose broke and spurt out blood.

Many of the Tributes stood by in shock. From her plate, Daisy shrieked for her ally. "Millie!"

A disgusting plopping sound replied. Parts of Millie were dropping from the sky and splattering across the ground.

Other Tributes didn't remain still. Hayley dashed off her plate to her new goal. Cara fled, running towards the blue lit tunnel. Ruddy and Alice fled too, escaping down the red and orange tunnels respectively. Ola sprinted to the nearest pack, snatching it up and taking off. Buck ran in too, panting heavily from fear as he made his way to the Cornucopia. Soon, Tributes were darting every direction, the sound of boots on gravel everywhere.

Mara shook off her surprise, willing herself to focus. Reko was running into the Cornucopia and she had to join him. The rest of the Pack would get up when they could. She launched herself off her plate and began running.

The air was knocked out of Mara and she was down on the gravel, face first. In a flash, a sharp pain erupted in the back of her skull. Someone was pulling her hair. Hard. With a feral scream, they ripped her hair from the scalp and Mara let out a guttural cry of her own. Suddenly she was flipped over and face to face with Poe, holding a bloody clump of Mara's hair in her hand.

"Told you I'd get you bitch!" Poe raved. Mara was dizzy from the pain and caught off guard again as Poe slammed a fist into her face. Mara now saw stars, and again when Poe struck again. Before long, Poe was battering her entire body, griping Mara's hair again to keep control. "I told you! I told you!" Poe continued to scream as she continued her attack.

Cean watched his District partner's assault, barking out a laugh at her misfortune. He scooped up the nearest pack and ran from the Cornucopia, escaping down the orange tunnel, leaving behind his screaming District partner.

Buck heard the screams but didn't turn around. He had a mission and knew if he deviated he wouldn't keep going. The mouth of the Cornucopia was before him and as he rounded it to look inside, his jaw dropped.

It was empty.

"There's no weapons!" Buck screamed, turning to try and find Hayley.

She wasn't around. But Reko was. Buck felt his blood drain from his face and he backed up unsteadily. Other Tributes, having heard his warning, were fleeing already. But Reko wasn't.

"No weapons, no problem? Valdez isn't the only one good with his hands." Reko said, unclipping his belt. Loose from its loops, Reko wrapped the belt in his hands, making a noose. He gave Buck a sneer. "So, you going to fight or…?"

Buck chose to fight. He screamed in terror, unable to believe he was doing this, but launched himself at the Career all the same. Reko easily dodged Buck's undisciplined attacks and then tripped him, collapsing his prey to the ground. Buck was on his stomach and in a flash Reko was on top of him, his knee digging into Buck's back and pinning him down.

"Stay still!" Reko commanded, wrapping the belt around Buck's neck before crossing his wrists to choke out the other boy. The belt tightened and Buck's eyes bulged, air immediately cut off from his lungs. He struggled, his vision blurring. His energy depleted, he began seeing black spots. Behind him, Reko was laughing. "First kill of the Games!" He shouted, leaning down to Buck's ear. "Hey, should I keep going with the belt or do you want me to strangle you with your ponytail?"

The fight left Buck. The end was coming. A thick crunching sound echoed throughout the room, over the noise of the other Tributes. A body collapsed into the gravel, defeated.

Buck desperately gasped for air, the tension of the belt gone. He spun around, free to find his attacker laying in the gravel, bleeding out. Above them, wielding a bloody piece of rebar, was Hayley. Reko looked at the pair from 10, shock in his eyes as he gasped out, blood spurting from the wound in his neck and dripping from his mouth.

"Hayley!" Buck choked out, vision clearing.

"Get up!" Hayley commanded, forcing him to his feet. He was unsteady but compliant, following her as they retreated from the Cornucopia with a bag on Hayley's back and kill under her belt.

Meanwhile, the other Careers were in disarray. Lana remained out cold, Valdez struggling to shake off the shock wave, and Estelle groaned in pain. Pan, further from, the blast, struggled out from underneath Estelle. He almost escaped when Estelle grabbed hold of him.

"Stop!" She shouted, gripping Pan's shirt tightly. Pan screamed, struggling to get away. Even dazed, Estelle was stronger than him and held on tightly, trying to compose herself.

"Let go!" Pan begged. Estelle didn't listen, looking wild with her hair blown out and eyes wide. She was going to get a kill!

Until Marianna ran over. With a bag in hand, she slammed it into the back of Estelle's head, stunning her again. "Get off of him!" She shouted, kicking Estelle and finally getting her off. Marianna grabbed Pan, got him to his feet, and ran down the blue tunnel. Nearby, Daisy was doing the same, leading a bleeding David from the starting plate and fleeing down the orange line.

Across the room, Eddie was sprinting towards Olivia. He had seen Tributes running all directions and he couldn't keep track of where people were, but he knew where Olivia was. That's all that mattered. Once he was with her, he'd be safe.

Someone slammed into him, knocking him down into the gravel. The little bits of rock cut into his fingers, but the gloves protected him. He struggled to his feet, spotting his attacker.

"Where you going, pinky?" Chase asked, walking slowly towards him like a lion about to devour its prey. Behind him, someone shouted angrily.

"Hey, asshole!"

Chase didn't even get to spin around. A steel toed combat boot materialized between his legs, kicking him in his manhood. Hard. The Giant of 8 collapsed to his knees, rolling over in pain and revealed Olivia behind him. "Pick on someone your own size!" She shouted, rushing over to Eddie and taking his hand to lead him towards the others.

The others in their alliance had had already seized bags. "No weapons!" Aleko told them, tossing a bag to Olivia and a smaller one to Eddie.

"The Careers are getting up!" Sarah warned, voice steady despite her nerves. Sure enough, Valdez was standing on two legs, shaking off the explosion. He scanned the area, eyes settling on them.

Even with five of them, nobody was dumb enough to suggest fighting Valdez. "We gotta go and we gotta go now!" Olivia ordered, slinging both her's and Eddie's bag over her back. "Eddie, you gotta hold my hand and keep up, ok? Do not fall behind!"

The group took off, running towards the nearby yellow tunnel. The yellow light seemed to be calling to them, urging them on. Eddie struggled but managed to keep up with his older, longer legged allies. Aleko however began to cough, causing Amadeus to shoot him a concerned look. Thankfully, Aleko managed to suppress it and the group continued on.

Valdez was on them, until a shriek distracted him. Next to one of the starting plates, the girl from 3 was on top of Mara, biting into her flesh. The girl had pulled back Mara's shirt and was tearing into his ally's, the force hard enough to draw blood. The girl's eyes looked crazed and full of delight as Mara screamed in agony, face and hair bloodied.

His ally was in trouble. Valdez cut off his pursuit of the group of five and rushed to Mara.

Poe saw him coming and tore away from Mara, blood and saliva dripping from her mouth. Barking out a laugh, Poe fled off towards the blue tunnel. As the distance between them grew, Valdez once again cut off his pursuit of a Tribute and rushed to Mara's side, trying to assess the damage.

Finally, Estelle managed to stay steady on her feet, the ringing in her ears fading. She looked around frantically, trying to find a target for her first kill. An empty room, save the Pack, was all that she saw.

It was over. The Bloodbath was done.

Estelle looked around at the mess in shock. Lana was out cold next to her. Valdez was trying to help Mara, who was still on the ground shrieking and bleeding. Chase was limping toward them, face contorted in pain and hands between his legs nursing an injury.

And further away, at the mouth of the Cornucopia, Reko lay dead. A spurt of blood escaped his body, splattering against the gravel, the sound echoing softy across the high ceiling of the atrium.

This was the Career Pack.

Her Career Pack…. How had this happened?

A cannon fired, signaling a death. Then another.

No more followed.

'Two? We only killed two in the Bloodbath?' Estelle agonized, only to realize she was wrong. One Tribute got blown up and the second was one of their own. The Career Pack was responsible for no deaths. It was humiliating. And it couldn't stand. Estelle straightened up and took control. They had to turn things around and fast. "Chase! Go check to make sure Reko is dead." She ordered.

Chase shot her a glance, "You serious?" He questioned, voice laced with pain.

"Yes!"

He looked at her with apathy before glancing at Reko's body. "Yep, he's dead." He confirmed.

Estelle huffed in anger. She'd deal with him and his insubordination later. She stormed over to Lana and grabbed hold of her. "Get up!" She commanded, roughly pulling Lana to her feet. Lana started to come too and Estelle leaned in to whisper. "You are a Tribute of District 1, a favorite of the Capitol after 2, and they are watching. Pull yourself together!"

Lana was standing, her eyes glaze but coming into focus. She looked around and spotted Reko's corpse. At first she thought he was joking around, but one look at those listless eyes and the blood around him cleared that up.

'My District partner is dead… in the Bloodbath!' She though in shock.

Estelle left her to adjust and went to Valdez and Mara, the latter of whom had stopped her wails and was laborious breathing, trying to control the pain. Estelle kneeled down to get a look at the wound herself, assessing the situation and if a certain decision needed to be made.

The bite didn't look pretty, but Estelle thought it could have been a lot worse. Poe's teeth had broken skin and muscle, but she hadn't taken a chunk out of Mara. It was fixable. At least, Estelle thought. Nobody at the Academy had bothered to teach them first aid. "Mara, are you going to be alright?" She asked.

"I'm going to gut her!" Mara shrieked, face red with rage and her own blood. Already Estelle could spot bruising on her face, and a nasty bump forming where a chunk of her hair had been pulled out. Mara's ego had been wounded as well as her body, but Estelle could guess which of those Mara felt worse about.

"Good. There should be some first aid in these packs, go and find some. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to get hunting."

Valdez shot her a look. "We need to treat her first."

"Mara's a big girl, she can take care of it herself."

"Estelle come on-"

"Valdez! Think! Just look around and think for a second!"

He already had. They had given the Capitol what could only be described as a piss poor showing of a Bloodbath. They needed to redeem themselves and quickly. And he also understood that if there were no weapons in the Cornucopia, suddenly he became the most skilled fighter in the arena unless they were sponsored some weapons – some of the most expensive sponsor gifts besides medicine. And nobody would send them anything unless they racked up a few kills.

And yet…

"Mara's is our ally. We aren't leaving her to take care of herself. I'll help her search for some Morphling or something and then go out hunting."

Estelle wanted to punch him. Valdez and his stupid honor. Couldn't he see that she needed him? District 2 needed him? With a growl, she turned to Lana. "You and me, Lana. We're going out hunting."

"What about me?" Chase asked, indigent. "You two can't possibly handle it yourselves!"

In that moment, with that condescending tone, Estelle couldn't believe they had allied with Chase. But the Capitol liked him, for whatever reason, so she couldn't act on it. Yet. "You're staying here to guard the loot. Don't let anyone take it, or else."

"You don't even have weapons." Chase whined.

"Neither do they!"

"Except for that chick from District 10! Did she see how she smoked Reko?"

With an annoyed growl, Estelle copied Hayley and ran to the construction equipment to grab a loose rebar. It broke in two easily and she handed one part to Lana and kept one for herself.

"Break some off for yourselves and guard the loot. And please, if it's not too much to ask, if you see a Tribute can you kill them?"

And with that, Lana and Estelle were off.

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The Games continue next chapter. As an FYI, I do rankings and obituaries for each Tribute who dies but I write them the chapter after they die.