Author's Note

I do not own the Hunger Games.

For the next few weeks, updates will be posted on a Sunday and Tuesday.

District Ten Female, Aiolin Kalene, 12

Her hands were still bleeding from where she'd forced the hatch open, beads welling up from under her fingernails and leaving streaks as she crawled down the tunnel. She was in the middle of the group, with Ariel and Diego ahead while Laika and Hunter were behind.

Ariel was still trying to work things out in her head. They probably weren't too far apart from the other tributes at the moment, time-wise. She didn't feel like they'd lost too much when their screen died.

But they could use it to get ahead.

If Ariel could kill the electronics in the area, then so long as they stayed hidden from any other tributes that might be close by, they might be able to enter the next part of the arena early. And with less other tributes to compete with, there was more of a chance of them all getting alive.

"Guys? Can we stop a moment?"

"Not for long. This position's killing me," grumbled Hunter.

"It won't take long. We just need to talk before we end up back in an area with functioning microphones."

"You don't think they work here?" asked Laika.

"I don't think anything works here. You came through the barbed wire, and over the rollers. There's probably meant to be other traps, but Ariel's killed the signal."

"Gotcha."

"But listen. We can use that. Ariel, how well can you control it?"

"How well can anyone control a storm in a teacup?"

"Useful. But whatever. Look, whatever the next challenge is, we just need to get close to the door, or whatever it is the next time, and have Ariel fry the electronics."

"Do you think that'll work?" asked Diego.

"Worth a try."

Anything that might pull an advantage to their side had to be worth a try in the Hunger Games.

District Seven Female, Phoebe Farley, 18

They had hoped to get away by themselves, but had still found themselves trapped with a boy from Eleven. He had only glowered at them and refused to introduce himself. Falcon had warned him partway into the resting period that if he tried anything, there were two of them and only one of him.

Phoebe still suspected he might have tried something, but Falcon hadn't wanted to start a fight if he didn't have to. There were two of them, but he was bigger and stronger looking. Prison had taken a toll on them own.

They had devoured half the food from the bloodbath and stored the rest for later, but the axes they kept at their waists. They might still need them.

Phoebe had been locked up for two years.

She wasn't dying in a box.

So far, the tunnel had been long and suffocating, but nothing deadly. She was trailing behind Falcon, but there had been no talk of her taking a different route and ending up somewhere else. The boy from Eleven had done that, and she hoped he ended up somewhere else.

"There's a turn!" Falcon called. Phoebe banged three times on the tunnel. Wait for me. As if he'd get too far ahead.

It was dangerous out there alone.

There were coyotes in the woods.

They were here, too. Phoebe had heard them last night, stalking the metal halls, their claws clicking in the darkness. Falcon didn't believe her when she told him, but she knew they were out there.

"Can't see much ahead, but there's a light at the end. Looks like the tunnels might join together ahead."

Did that mean they might end up running into the boy from Eleven anyway? Ugh. Phoebe didn't like the boy from Eleven.

Maybe they'd get lucky and the coyotes would eat him.

District Ten Male, Callum Tanner, 15

Ugh.

Callum hated this.

Not because he was crawling, though he hated that too, he shouldn't be crawling. He was better than crawling.

No, Callum hated this because he was still being kept separate from the rest of the tributes.

If they'd allow him close to them, let him run into one, he'd show them what he was here for. To take revenge against those that killed the family he never knew. How could he do that if they wouldn't let him engage?

"Put me with another tribute," he whispered, clutching his knife in one hand. "Let me show you what else I can do."

He'd taken out the girl from One, but he needed more from that. The murderer was on his list, but there had been other rebels in that recording played in the hall. A girl from Six and another from Five, the boy from Nine and one of the girls from Eight.

They were behind that abomination of a hacking.

Callum was going to make sure each and every of them died.

He turned the corner of the tunnel and found himself facing a light ahead. Almost there, wherever he was. He'd almost expected more from this level. After the last one, this was almost boring.

The metal cooled around him until it was so cold it burned. The collar of his shirt chafed against his frozen neck. He forced himself onwards, between a pair of rollers littered with spikes, to where his tunnel joined with another. A dim green light hung in the intersection, which had been what he'd seen from back there.

Callum glanced back up the adjoining tunnel, but he couldn't see anyone else coming from back there. Nor could he hear anyone.

"Man, screw this," he muttered as he continued. They really couldn't push anyone towards him? Here he was, ready to do their dirty work for them, and he wasn't getting a chance!

This part of the tunnel was sloping downwards now, and the first sign of danger he received was a saw blade rising from the floor. Callum slowed and waited, but it didn't go away. He'd have to get over it.

District Six Male, Mercury Jezyk, 15

He couldn't calm the girl from Twelve.

She was just too wound up at the thought of having to enter the tunnels and refused to do so.

"It's strange!" she complained.

"You don't have to if you don't want to!" declared Millie.

"Right! Who says we need to play their death games?" cheered the girl from Five.

The screen flashed red. 'ATTENTION TRIBUTES.'

Something buzzed above them.

'If you do not enter the hatches, you will be eliminated from the Game due to rule breaking. In one hour, the oxygen supply to this room will be removed. Good look, tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor.'

For a moment they were silent, and then Millie exploded.

"Those bastards! They can't force us to do this! You hear me up there?" She picked up the knife she'd gained from the bloodbath and slammed it into the screen, shattering the glass. "YOU CAN'T FORCE US!"

"Yeah, but maybe we should just… go."

Judas and the girl from Seven, whose name he'd never even learned, were already gone. They should have time to all enter the tunnels and get out before the oxygen ran out.

Except there was Sally.

"I won't do it! I don't like this game!" she complained, flapping her hands.

Mercury caught her arms. "Please, listen to me! You don't have to like it! But if you don't enter one of the tunnels, you will die."

"DOWN WITH THE PIGS!" shouted the girl from Five, kicking the broken screen and scattering shattered glass across the floor.

Sally cried harder.

"Look, I know none of you want to play, but if we don't get out of here, we are all going to die," said Mercury.

The girl from Four signed something with her hands. Unfortunately, with Sage gone, no one spoke sign.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means," he muttered.

She rolled her eyes and crouched to peer into one of the tunnels, pointing ahead.

"You want to go through?"

"Don't abandon the cause!" protested Rusudan.

Nixxie shook her head, signing something else. One might have thought the Capitol could have been kind and given her a notebook, or a chalkboard, or something.

"I won't do it, I won't do it, I won't do it!" cried Sally.

"But you'll die!" protested Mercury.

"I won't play this game! I don't like it! I don't wanna!"

And if he stayed here with her, he would die.

Mercury chewed his lip. There was nothing he could do here. Not if he wanted to live.

"I'm sorry," he said, crouching by the tunnel Sage had used. The light a little way in had turned green, which he hoped meant she'd gone far enough for him to enter. "If you change your mind, use this tunnel. I'll wait for you."

Sally's screams echoed behind him as he crawled through the hatch. Sage was already far enough ahead that he couldn't see her. Mercury called out, but she didn't answer.

He took a final glance back and began to crawl forward.

District Nine Female, Wren Willows, 18

Wolf had waited while she caught up with him, and then the two of them had gone ahead together. The tunnel was tight around them, and in several places her clothing had been torn open by one of the traps. But she had never been truly threatened in here. There was nothing that would kill her.

Their tunnel ended with a grate where it connected with another, a red light glowing above them. Wolf rattled the bars. "There must be a release mechanism. Can you see a button? Or a lever?"

Wren ran her hands over the metal of the tunnel. "I can't find anything."

He leaned against the bars, peering through them. "Back up. I think there's someone coming from down there."

Wren wrinkled her nose. "Why should we hide?"

"Because we don't have any advantage through these bars."

Wren grumbled as she backed up. Stupid grill. They ought to be able to put a knife through these interlopers.

"We'll get them another time," Wolf whispered.

Wren bared her teeth. She felt like a caged animal in here. Could they get out and chase these assholes down once they'd passed, or would they have to go all the way back to the start? Ugh. That would slow them down so much.

It might have been good they had the grill though, because the approaching tribute was one of the boys from Four, narrowly followed by one from Three. He would have been an easy target, but the one from Four… less so.

"Are you two interested in an alliance?" asked the boy from Four.

Wolf scowled. "Fuck off."

He shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask."

With that, they were gone and the two of them were waiting alone in the darkness.

District Three Male, Andrew Preston Howard, 16

He still wasn't sure whether he should have stayed with Toshiro and Rhea. The boy from Four – Zale – he'd ended up with was a much more valuable ally, being older, stronger, and a career.

But he was also a career.

They weren't exactly known for being trustworthy. He could easily stab Andrew in the back if he thought he wasn't strong enough. Or just leave him behind. And while Andrew was confident in his intelligence, he was less sure about his physical prowess. He wouldn't want to end up fighting the other boy.

But he also wouldn't want to end up alone with the pair from Nine, who he was sure were close behind. They had killed that boy from Eleven and never even looked back.

Andrew was pretty sure they'd do the same to him.

He was intelligent enough to know he'd lose that fight.

"Another light up ahead," said Zale.

Andrew attempted to peer round him, but couldn't see much. Behind him, however, it sounded like the Nines had finally managed to enter the joined tunnel.

"Is it blocked?"

"Not sure."

"Please say it isn't."

He was between Zale and the Nines, and they couldn't change positions for Zale to shield him.

Then again, if the Nines killed him here and now, it would be stupidity on their own end. They'd never get past his body to continue down the tunnel. Maybe he'd be able to convince them of that instead of letting them kill him.

Maybe.

"How close are they?" asked Zale.

Andrew glanced back. "I can't see them. But I can hear them."

"Great." Zale picked up the speed slightly, flattening himself to the tunnel floor to fit under a spinning saw blade. "Listen. If I don't get out of here, someone has to know. There's something going on with the District Two tributes. I don't know if they're just untrustworthy, or spies for someone, or something else, but there's something wrong with them. They're up to something."

"Noted."

That was useful info to have.

He'd just have to figure out something to do with it.

District Eight Female, Meredith Singer, 18

So far, Iris had proven herself pretty good at counting down the time before a trap would go off or finding the button to temporarily disable it. She'd waited for Meredith to catch up, and then only crawled a little further ahead, to where the floor must have been burning beneath her, so Terro could catch up.

"Are you sure you're alright waiting on that?" Meredith asked as Iris shifted and shuffled uncomfortably.

"It's hot," she replied.

"I know. That's why I'm checking."

"I can't go without Terro."

Well. At least there was that. The two barely seemed to tolerate each other, but they must want to keep together.

"But surely you could crawl a bit further up, where you're not being burned alive?"

"They don't want us to cook," Iris replied confidently. As if she knew that for certain.

"I hope you're right."

Terro had more difficulty than herself and Iris, being bigger and broader, and by the time he reached them, he was streaked with blood. Droplets trickled down his jaw.

"You two not keep going?"

"Not without you," replied Iris firmly.

"Well, you best get moving now, before you burn all the skin from your hands and knees," said Meredith.

Iris scoffed. "I'm tougher than that."

They continued down the tunnel, pushing their way past more traps under Iris's direction.

"Anyone would think you've done this before!" Meredith laughed.

"Not this specifically." Iris raised her hand to signal a wait. "But this kind of activity, sure."

"Iris likes to try and break her neck," said Terro from behind her.

"And Terro likes to play the big hero, what else is new?" called Iris.

"Do you two ever do anything other than argue?"

"No. Oh, there's a join up here. I guess all the tunnels run together eventually."

"You don't think it's some kind of maze and we've got to go back?" asked Meredith.

"Nah. Instructions said the exit was on the other side, right? So we're going onwards." Iris flashed a grin back at her. "That's my reasoning, anyway."

Meredith hoped she was right.

District Ten Female, Laika Bergfalk, 18

She could certainly see the advantages in doing things the way Aiolin had suggested. It could get all of them out alive. Assuming Ariel was right, of course, and that the electronics would die around her. She could just be crazy, and taking advantage of some malfunction in the arena.

But anything must be worth a try. Three kids were already dead; they didn't need to add their own names and faces to the list of the dead tonight.

A sickly green light flickered through the tunnel.

"What is that?" asked Aiolin.

"There's another tunnel. Ours connects to it," said Ariel.

"There anyone coming from the other tunnel?" asked Diego.

"No."

The light flickered brighter and then dimmer.

"Can you see anything ahead?" asked Aiolin.

"Nothing alive."

"What about not alive things?"

"The traps are active here, I think."

"Great."

But they could hardly complain. They'd had an advantage coming this far. Ariel's ability to make everything malfunction probably only extended so far.

"Do you want to back into the other tunnel and change places?" asked Diego.

"No. I can keep going," she replied.

Hunter made a critical noise. Laika nudged him with her foot. "She's been okay so far."

"So far," he muttered.

"She's from Ten, and we agreed to the alliance."

And so long as they stayed together, they could still hold the advantage over most of the other tributes. Many of them had clumped together in the main hall, but with so many of different Districts and ages, how long would that last? Besides, it wasn't like the two alliances had to fight. Just stay out of each other's way.

There was a click, and a blade rose from the floor, narrowly missing Laika's hand. She yelled and snatched it back.

"You alright?" asked Hunter.

Laika watched, wide-eyed, as the blade sank back into the floor. "Trap." Carefully, she swept her hand over the ground in front of her. "Be careful what you touch."

"Sorry," Ariel called, slowing slightly. "I'm trying to fry what I can, but I can't stop anything."

"Still think she's on our side?" asked Hunter.

"Dunno what she'd get from leading us to our deaths."

District Eight Female, Nadine Stitcher, 16

So far, she'd passed two intersections where her tunnel merged with others, but seen no other tributes. All she'd received for all her effort scrambling through these filthy tunnels was burned hands and wounded shoulders.

Ugh.

When she met back up with the others, she was going to find a way to have them safety check everything for her first. She hated this.

A clatter echoed up the metal tunnel. Nadine froze. For a moment she wondered if she'd knocked something, or had a door close behind her, but then the sound came again.

There was definitely someone else.

Well, many of the tributes had agreed to join Meredith's big alliances. And what were the chances those that hadn't were all murderers?

"Who's there– Who's there– Who's there?" came a girl's voice, echoing around her and bouncing in the tunnel.

Nadine froze, glancing back. She couldn't see anyone, but the tunnel was too dark for her to see much.

"I know you're there– I know you're there. I can hear you– hear you– you."

Nadine bit her lip. She could reply, or she could run and hide in this darkness.

But if the other girl was violent…

"I'm Nadine!" she shouted back.

Nadine– Nadine– Nadine– said the echo.

"District Eight! Who are you?"

"Venus! District Six!"

There had been a couple of District Six kids with Meredith, hadn't there? Nadine hadn't paid much attention to their names. There had been too many of them, and they were all busy trying not to die.

"Want me to wait for you to catch up?" asked Nadine.

She'd not be on her own at least. It'd be someone else to use.

"Will you?" asked the girl from Six.

Nadine grinned. "Sure."

Having someone else to work with would give her someone to push into the blade if it came to that.

District Seven Male, Micah Bradley, 14

Kings shouldn't be crawling.

They didn't mind working hard, or getting their hands dirty, in the name of taking care of their subjects, but they shouldn't be crawling through tiny tunnels, pushing their way through things that kept hurting them.

Micah didn't even understand why he was here.

Cali had tried to explain it was a punishment, but he didn't feel he'd done anything to be punished for. He hadn't broken any of the rules!

"Are we near the end?" he asked. Marcellus and Daisy were ahead, but then it was him, with everyone else behind.

"I cannot say," replied Marcellus.

"Try?" asked Micah.

"We can't see anything!" snapped Daisy.

Micah winced at her tone, drawing his head down to avoid a cruel swinging blade set into the top of the tunnel.

Daisy sighed and looked back at him. "I'm really sorry. That was harsh. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just scared."

"It's okay," Micah replied. She hadn't meant any harm by it, and the Harvest King was good and understanding. Micah had to be that way too.

"We'll tell you when there's something coming up ahead, okay?" said Daisy.

Micah nodded. That was fair, really. He shouldn't have kept hassling her.

He just really hated this all. He wanted to go home to his kingdom and his parents.

Cali poked him in the back. "Apologise."

"What?"

"You've annoyed her. Apologise."

Micah sighed and poked Daisy's foot. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have kept asking."

A good King knew when to stop.

But Micah didn't know if he could be a good King in here.

District Seven Female, Adrianna Orita, 17

The heated metal had seared away her lower sleeves and burned much of the skin from her hands. She pulled up the collar of her jacket and stuffed it into her mouth to chew on so she wouldn't grunt or whimper. It hurt, but she'd not betray that to the others.

They passed several place where their tunnel merged with another, each marked with a red light and locks on the floor for a grill to be fixed down. Maybe if two tributes approached at the same time, something was meant to happen.

"Anything up there?" called Terro.

"Not yet."

But that was why she was so sure there must be something else coming up. There was no entertainment value in watching tributes crawl through these tunnels. The traps were nasty and would cut them up, but nothing was deadly.

This whole thing was a trap of a different kind.

"How close do you think the other tributes are?" asked Meredith.

"Dunno. But anyone on their own'll be ahead of us."

They'd been slowed down by waiting for each other, which meant anyone who hadn't done that would have shot ahead. The Macedon twins certainly would have done. Though it still felt there was something strange about them being here. Back in Two, the pair had been ardent Capitol supporters. And while it seemed that many in this arena had been chosen at random, per the recording of the 'interviews,' many had not been.

For the Macedons to both be here, they had to have been chosen via the latter reason, but there must be a reason for it. Unless their parents had done something.

Another light flickered up ahead. Adrianna paused to refocus herself. "Something up ahead."

"Another intersection, or the exit?" asked Terro.

Adrianna squinted against the shadows, attempting to make out anything ahead, but it was still nothing but a patch of light.

"Can't tell."

But there was nowhere else to go, which meant they'd find out.

District Eleven Female, Cashew Murphey, 12

Toshiro hadn't waited and had disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel ahead. Cash was small enough that she could squeeze through some of the traps without being affected, but there were still tears in her eyes.

If she had any supplies, she could disable so many of these things. A little acid to take out the electronics, foam to disable the cameras, putty to clam up the blades. She could see it now; it would work so well!

But she had nothing to work with.

Maybe she could get some supplies at some point in the arena. Or request something from sponsors. They liked to see impressive attempts, right? Would they lend her a few things?

Cash tapped her fist against the base of the tunnel. "Um, so, yeah. I'm really good at science and chemicals and shit, and I know it's kinda a big ask, but if anyone wants to send me some, I could put them to good use and it would be awesome. Pretty please?"

She wouldn't receive anything down here in the tunnels, but once she was out they could send her something. It would be handy for future traps and challenges.

As though in response, a panel opened under her right hand and her arm slammed through. Sharp spikes cut into her fingers and palm, sinking deep into the flesh. Cash tried to swallow her scream, but it still came out as a whimper.

"You alright?" shouted Toshiro.

Cash grumbled and whimpered, carefully extracting her hand from the pit. "Trap."

"Can you keep going?"

"Yeah," she muttered. If she stopped or had to go back, that would impact Kai too, which seemed unfair. She took the small pocketknife she'd obtained from the one bubble she'd grabbed at the bloodbath and hacked off the end of her sleeve, wrapping it tightly around her hand. "I'm good."

"Great, because I think there's something ahead!"

District Ten Male, Diego Butcher, 17

"You couldn't have turned the rest of these traps off?" he grumbled, pausing as a blade slowly cut a route across the flood of the tunnel.

Ariel hummed. The blade made a terrible grinding, dying sound, its movements slowing until it came to a complete stop.

"Thanks," muttered Diego.

"It wasn't deliberate."

Somehow, he doubted that. He wasn't sure what level of command she had over this strange power of hers, but it seemed to be skilled enough.

"There's something up ahead," she said.

"Another intersection?"

They'd passed several of those, but no other tributes. Either they were behind or ahead. Diego knew which possibility he'd prefer.

"We can't get a timer or something in here?" he grumbled.

Aiolin poked him in the leg. "Ariel would break it."

He supposed she probably would. Still, it would have been useful. They didn't even know whether there was supposed to be a time limit in this thing.

Ariel stopped. He saw her tense.

"Another trap?" he asked.

"No," she murmured, her voice soft, as though she were listening and expecting something.

"What then?"

"A message from my sister. She's waiting for me."