Caspian Reef’s POV:

‘’ We need to find proper shelter soon, it’s getting dark.’’ I suggest as we begin at a steady pace from a small river we had been resting at.

We almost drank it, but Lilly noticed the lack of aqua flora and fauna, there were none at all. The water was undrinkable, poisonous.

‘’ Good job back there.’’ Exclaims Ethan as we run, almost reading my thoughts.

‘’ It was nothing. What else do you expect a tribute from Four to be useful for if not water.’’ She grins.

‘’ I didn’t know!’’ I add. ‘’ I’d certainly be dead if it wasn’t for you.’’

We continue on for about thirty minutes and then reach a large slope, leading up a hill to where a cluster of what appear to be houses are located. We quickly decide that the houses are our best bet and we make our way toward them cautiously.

There are five rather large houses before us – all of them are abandoned looking, with busted windows, broken doors, and roofs that don’t look to sturdy. However we spend a further ten minutes inspecting them and conclude it is best to take shelter in the house in the second best condition – just in case any other tributes do wander this way. We crawl in through a hole in the back wall and cautiously creep along the hallway, the sun is beginning to go down outside and the sky is a brilliant amber colour.

‘’ We should go through our supplies before we lose the light of the sun. It’s already going down.’’ Suggests Ellie.

We sprawl all our gear in a giant pile on the floor before us, our collective earnings from our perilous trek to the cornucopia are quite surprising. I lay down my trident on the floor beside me; this is the first time it has left my hand since I picked it up. It feels so good to have one in my hand again.

There are three daggers before us and a pouch of small throwing knives – we all have weapons to defend ourselves with when the time comes. There is also two day packs, some food, a torch, bandages, a full first aid kit, some bottles of water and some matches. We did pretty well for ourselves.

‘’ Who do you think is dead?’’ I ask.

‘’ Couldn’t tell, hopefully Brutis. He’s an asshole.’’ Mutters Lilly and I stifle a laugh.

‘’ Agreed.’’ I say, and the twins nod their heads – they too believe it apparently.

‘’ Realistically though, he’s probably alive.’’ Adds Ellie.

‘’ It was probably the really young ones, it’s probably for the best though because they don’t have to slowly starve to death, or die of thirst.’’ Explains Ethan and I nod with agreement.

‘’ Or worse, get chased down by the likes of Brutis or Ravina.’’ Adds Lilly.

‘’ Let’s just hope that the young ones that do die are put out of their misery quick and painlessly. I know how harsh that sounds, but we won’t be able to get out of here until all are dead, and I’d rather not have to kill one of them to be quite honest.’’ I say and the others give another nod.

What nobody brings up is the fact that not all four of us will be making it out of here. I don’t plan on surviving this, I will make sure we are the last two pairs and then I will let Lilly win by killing myself, but Ethan won’t allow that to happen because it would kill Ellie. I’m sure he too wants the same for his sister as I want for my lover. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Gauze Weaver’s POV:

‘’ Don’t move.’’ I warn threateningly, holding my bow out before me with Bliss hiding behind me.

Alistair and Arianna stand before me, Arianna has a throwing knife in her grasp – trained on us – and Alistair has a dagger gripped in his hand meaning Echo got the only bow in the arena. Both look as ready as I feel with my weapon. In a game like this, you can’t afford to take any chances.

‘’ Easy there Gauze. We don’t want any trouble. In fact, we were hoping to make a truce with you.’’ Begins Alistair in a calm voice, I want to trust him, but can I?

‘’ Why would I believe you? How do I know that you won’t kill us the first chance you get?’’ I question, Bliss remains hiding behind me, gripping me by my shirt fearfully.

‘’ Because we’ve been trailing you for the past thirty minutes waiting for an opportunity to approach you. If we wanted you dead, you’d be dead. Trust me.’’ Explains Arianna, and I smile at her. I like this girl.

‘’ What would be the conditions of this truce?’’ I question.

They whisper to each other quietly, and although Arianna has her knives trained on me, she isn’t paying enough attention to fire it accurately. If I wanted to, I could easily end them with the flick of a switch, it would be too easy. But that’s not the kind of person I am.

‘’ We stay together until day three. We will act as if the four of us are connected, no cheating, no lies, no betrayal. When day three comes, we will go our separate ways. We will not kill each other then, we will honour each other’s trust.’’ Explains Alistair and I reply with a curt nod of the head.

‘’ Deal.’’ I say, and lower my crossbow – the two before me stow their weapons away also.

We walk for what must be an hour in the darkness, the sun has crept over the horizon for the night and the cloudy sky blocks the moon’s light, surprisingly though, we manage to find our way through a forest located on the south western side of the island and set up camp in a huge cluster of tightly packed trees. Eventually our eyes adjust to the darkness and it is easier to see each other.

‘’ Why us?’’ I ask.

‘’ What?’’ Questions Alistair, clearly confused.

‘’ Why did you want to team with us of all people?’’ I ask again, rephrasing slightly.

Alistair remains quiet for a moment, then glances at Bliss. ‘’ It was probably Bliss over there. We can relate to her.’’

‘’ Oh yeah, you two were forced in as well. You’re pretty brave to try escaping the District like that.’’ I say.

‘’ Or stupid. We picked the wrong day to run. If we hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t have been picked, and you could have been sitting here with two completely different people.’’ Smiles Arianna.

‘’ You were put here as punishment for breaking the law, I did nothing.’’ Exclaims Bliss, speaking for the first time since the arrival of our two new comrades.

‘’ Oh yeah, I didn’t hear your side of the story. What actually happened?’’ She asks.

‘’ I don’t really want to talk about it, the Capitol probably wouldn’t want it either, but basically I was sent here for ‘terrorism’ because I ran out onto the streets screaming for help as my father was beating my sister.’’ She replies sadly and I feel a pang of guilt.

None of these people deserve to be here – not that the rest of us do, but – they are all here because they have been ‘punished’ for things they can’t really help. Bliss was only trying to protect her sister, and the two from Twelve wanted to run away from all the violence and actually live and love in peace. This truly is a cruel world we live in.

‘’ That’s terrible.’’ Gasps Arianna in shock. ‘’ You poor thing.’’

I sense genuine pity in her voice, these two will not betray us. Perhaps Bliss wasn’t as useless as everyone thought at the beginning. I need her as much as she needs me.

Before anyone has a chance to respond, there is a rustling noise in the tree above us, causing us all to jump to our feet, weapons already in hand and ready to be used. Although we are standing, neither of us move further and we all remain quiet – waiting for a sound none of us wants to hear, the sound of another tribute pair. The seconds drag by in silence, and then Bliss speaks.

‘’ Look! It’s a parachute!’’

‘’ Sponsors.’’ I realise aloud.

It is too dark to see what is attached to the parachute, the only thing visible is the white parachute itself, glowing slightly in the tree above us.

‘’ I’ll get it.’’ Says Bliss, and without waiting for a response, she scales the tree.

She is a lot more skilled than I would have thought, and she reaches the parachute in no more than ten seconds and unwraps it from the branches.

‘’ It’s a weapon.’’ Explains Bliss as she carefully descends the tree with the parachute and parcel in her hand. ‘’ A bow.’’

I glance at Alistair, the package is for him. Although I feel slightly disappointed that it is no for me, I am quite glad that Alistair is now armed, he is very skilful with a bow – I’ve seen him – and it’s somewhat comforting to know that he will be using it to help protect me.

As Bliss hands him the package, he opens it excitedly and his eyes enlarge in awe as he lays his eyes on the bow. He grins and takes it out of the packaging, then he throws the quiver of arrows over his shoulder and grins broadly.

‘’ Look, there’s a note.’’ Explains Arianna, picking up a small white piece of paper from the ground, also glowing slightly to help us read it in the dark.

Arianna is silent for a few seconds as she reads it, then Alistair takes it off her and chuckles as he does. Next he passes it to me, and I read it aloud so Bliss can hear.

‘’ Alistair, stay with G and Bliss, they are good allies to have. Use this bow wisely and please; put an arrow through Brutis’ heart with it! Enjoy and good luck. No hard feelings over the bots you destroyed by the way!’’

I don’t really get the last part, but I smile at the line about Brutis. Nobody seems to like his cockiness.

‘’ I agree with that, the sooner the better Brutis is dead. I just hope I get to see it happen.’’ I reply honestly. ‘’ That boy has serious problems.’’

The others nod in agreement, even Bliss surprisingly and the words of the sponsor run through my mind, ‘stay with G and Bliss’. Thank God we are liked by whoever sponsored them, or else we may be dead despite the truce we formed with them.

‘’ So what’s our plan?’’ I ask. ‘’ For tomorrow and the day after I mean.’’

‘’ I suppose we will just move around and hunt. If we see tributes that are a threat, we will kill them. If the tributes are not a threat to us, we will leave them and hope somebody else sorts them out because I’m not killing anyone I don’t have to.’’ Explains Arianna.

‘’ Agreed.’’ Says Alistair and I nod my head.

‘’ Maybe we should find somewhere to sleep in the trees, we’d be safer up there.’’ I suggest and the others soon agree. Bliss leads the way up into a cluster of tightly packed trees with intertwining branches and we find a spot where we can see the sky clearly, still dark and cloudy.

I glance from Bliss to our new allies and smile; maybe we have a chance after all.

Brutis Glaze’s POV:

I lead the way through the forest at the north of the island, after a few hours of fishing I decided that it was time for us to go hunting. We need to get a kill on the first day to be remembered. Pious had been totally against it, but I just started walking and he had no choice but to follow because of the collar around his throat.

We walk for about ten solid minutes into the forest, talking our time to get through the trees, low branches and thick roots protruding out of the ground to make sure we keep our balance and avoid falling. It is not until we hear two voices talking at a very casual level that we both stop.

‘’ Is that who I think it is?’’ I whisper. with a huge grin across his face.

He doesn’t respond, he just stares at me in horror, lost in his own thoughts.

‘’ It’s Belle.’’ I mutter. ‘’ C’mon, let’s go.’’

‘’ No Brutis. Not now, not at night. We should wait until morning.’’ Suggests Pious but I shake my head and begin towards the voices. He has no choice but to follow.

I lead the way closer to their voices, following the sound of their chatting with my sword in hand and ready to use. I rush into it however, and a branch snaps underfoot, causing the two to silence momentarily. Both myself and Pious freeze, but Belle calls out anyway, she knows we’re here.

‘’ Get back!’’ She shouts. ‘’ We are both armed, if you turn back now we won’t pursue you. Come any closer and you will die.’’

I glance at Pious for a second; he shakes his head at me. I smile and step forward.

‘’ Relax Belle, it’s just us. We wanted to team with you.’’ I begin and as soon as my voice sounds, a throwing knife whizzes through the air and implants itself in the trunk of a tree beside us.

‘’ Easy there.’’ I say again.

‘’ Get back! We will kill you!’’ She screams and tosses another knife at us.

This one is more on target, it whips straight for me however I manage to step to the side and avoid it. I glance forward to the clearly Belle is standing with Margo and take a step forwards. I freeze again though when footsteps don’t follow from behind.

I turn and see Pious on his knees, a throwing knife protruding from his shoulder, his shirt already drowned in blood. I curse and sprint into the clearing towards Belle and Margo. I’m going to have to fight them myself.

Margo Mead’s POV:

As Brutis jumps into the clearing with his sword wielded, myself and Belle dash forwards with our weapons. I swing my sword through the air and it clashes loudly again Brutis’ sword. Belle fights with a throwing knife in each hand, using them as close combat daggers. She swipes them through the air however somehow he manages to block both of our shots at once.

Belle curses at Brutis every time she swings her weapon against him, he simply laughs as if it is a game.

‘’ Come on Belle, it doesn’t have to be this way, I don’t want to kill you.’’

‘’ You wouldn’t be able to if you tried.’’ She spits back and he laughs again.

‘’ Really?’’ He smiles.

‘’ Really.’’ She repeats, then she looks at me. ‘’ Stand back Margo, I want this to be one on one.’’

I stand back, not really sure if I want to risk this. If she screws up and he somehow manages to get a decent shot in, it’s over for both of us. Then again, if it looks that way, I can just step in and intervene.

She continues to battle him, her throwing knives – that are now acting as dual wielding daggers – clang as they smack off his sword. He lets out little laughs with each impact, she glares at him furiously – she really does hate him.

I take my eyes off the fight momentarily and glance at Pious who has just left the tree line and is crawling along the ground on his bum, dragging himself by his arms with his legs dangling along after him. There is a dagger stuck into his shoulder, his clothes are permeated with blood. He is dying. If Belle can keep Brutis fighting, Pious will bleed out and Brutis’ collar will take care of the rest.

The grinding sound of metal against metal clangs and I snap back to the fight before me, Belle has just knocked Brutis’ sword from his hand. There is a look of complete horror spread across his face.

‘’ Die you sexist prick.’’ She spits in hatred, she really wants him dead.

She swipes her throwing knife at him but he dodges the blow and turns to run, she acts quickly and sends both her throwing knives at him consecutively. The first lodges in the back of his shoulder and the second impales the back of his neck. He roars in pain and falls to the ground before us – lying beside Pious.

I glance at Belle and she nods her head at Pious who is staring at us.

‘’ Please...kill me...’’ He begs and I look to Belle. Again she nods her head.

I approach him with my sword in my hand, I stand above him – feeling like some sort of medieval executioner.

‘’ I’m sorry Pious. You just got unlucky with being paired with Brutis. Rest in paradise man.’’ I say and bring the sword down over him; slicing through his head and chopping it clean off. As the sword swipes through him, there is a loud cannon fire. He is dead.

BOOM!

As the cannon sounds through the arena, the collar around Brutis’ throat begins to beep. Belle grins. He sobs.

‘’ You stupid bitch. I was going to win this. We could have had something special. The four of us could have won.’’ He mutters as the beeping quickens.

‘’ Oh shut it.’’ I say, taking the sword from him and inspecting it.

Then, as the beeps getting so fast it almost seems like one steady beep, the collar around his throat silences and it explodes. Both myself and Belle are thrown backwards as his insides and pieces of his brain soar through the air.

BOOM!

There is a smell of burning flesh. I curse that we didn’t remove the gear bag from him quick enough to save it from the blast, now we must do without, but at least we are two kills closer to getting out of here.

Stitch Gable’s POV:

‘’ I wonder what time it is. That is a very late kill.’’ I say.

‘’ Unless it was another suicide.’’ Suggests Min from the tree we are sitting in, staring up at the sky.

I almost fall from the tree as the Capitol Seal appears in the sky above us and the anthem begins blaring throughout the arena. When it silences, the faces of the dead appear before us in the sky.

The first face that appears in the sky causes my jaw to drop with complete and utter shock, Brutis Glaze from District One, someone I would have put money on to either win this, or at least come second.

He is shortly followed Odhan Tyrell, from District Six – no real surprise there – as well as Acacia Frost from the same District. The girl that commit suicide at the beginning of the Games. I wonder how the Capitol will react to this.

Next is District Seven’s Cricket Wakely, Min’s fellow tribute. She doesn’t say anything about him when his face appears.

Ike Nash, Acacia’s partner from District Nine follows. The boy who was so unfairly taken because the girl he was paired with gave up. Another child not going home to his friends and family. Another innocent child slaughtered as part of the Capitol’s ‘Game’.

The final face to appear in the sky is Pious Carrington, from District Ten – Brutis’ partner. I wonder who took care of them. Probably Ravina, or one of the other strong pairings. The Capitol Seal appears in the sky once more, and then the arena is once again plunged into darkness.

‘’ Six deaths.’’ I say.

‘’ I can’t believe Phox and Blossom lasted longer than Brutis. I wonder who killed him.’’ Replies Min. I shrug my shoulders, although she cannot see this in the dark.

One day down, God only knows how many to go until – and if – we get out of here!