Lilly Cullen’s POV:

I glance around the room of the small house we are holed up in, Caspian and the twins are lying on the floor beside me – completely conked out. It is still quite dark outside; the sun has yet to appear on the horizon. I creep out of the room, down the hall and out the door. As I move, the warnings issued to us about the collar’s reaction when we leave a certain distance rings through my mind.

I have no choice; I’m not bringing Ethan with me to pee. It’s different when there are four of us because the others can talk amongst themselves while we are doing our business. However, I am not waking the other three up to come with me and I certainly don’t want Ethan with me alone – that would be quite awkward. I just have to make sure to stay close to the house.

I creep outside, feeling along in the dark with my hands – my eyes slowly but surely getting used to the darkness. I pull back some long grass and climb into the centre of a clump, pulling my pants down around my ankles and squat, getting ready to pee. As soon as the trickling begins, I hear a voice.

‘’ Crap!’’ I mutter in a half whisper, half shout and force myself to hold my pee in – as impossibly difficult as it is.

The voices draw closer until they are upon me. A boy and a girl – Stitch and Min. I stay as silent as I can as they pass just a few meters beside me. They are talking quite casually, either unaware of my presence or trying to trick me into thinking that. I cover my mouth with my hand and force myself to breathe through my nose, despite how loud I sound to myself I hope it will be quiet enough to go unnoticed.

‘’ Where are we going to go?’’ Asks Stitch.

‘’ I didn’t like staying in that house, I’d prefer the woods.’’ Replies Min and it occurs to me that they were in one of the houses near us! They too chose to rest there overnight. It was down to luck that we didn’t choose the same house, and even more so lucky that the Capitol didn’t intervene to make us.

‘’ Agreed.’’ Replies Stitch and the two disappear from earshot.

Despite how much I want to move, how much I want to dash back into the house and alert the others so we can take the foes out to help us get one step closer to the end I cannot. If I get up, they will hear me and we will lose the element of surprise. I just have to stay as silent as-

‘’ Lilly!’’ Screams a voice from inside the house, interrupting my train of thought and I gasp aloud. Caspian, he sounds worried.

The two other tributes that have just passed by also gasp, there goes our advantage over them. They know we are here now.

‘’ Lilly!’’ Yells a second voice, Ethan – sounding just as worried, although I can tell that this is more so because I am tethered to him through the collars, if I die then so does he.

‘’ Shit!’’ Yells Min a few feet away. ‘’ C’mon, let’s get out of here!’’

No more than three seconds pass when Caspian and the twins burst from the house.

‘’ Lilly!’’ Screams Caspian again and I quickly pull up my trousers, jumping from the bushes as he exits the house.

I run to him and as he sees me his eyes light up. He grabs me around the waist and grabs me close to him.

‘’ It’s OK.’’ I assure. ‘’ I’m here.’’

‘’ Oh God. I thought I’d lost you! What are you doing out here? Why are you alone’’ He says, firing questions at me before I have a chance to answer any.

‘’ I had to pee.’’ I explain. ‘’ I saw Min and Stitch.’’

‘’ Where?’’ Asks Caspian as the twins grab their weapons.

‘’ They’re gone now.’’ I say and Caspian sighs.

‘’ Damn.’’

Osmo Overton’s POV:

‘’ C’mon, just a bit further!’’ Calls Echo as we swim towards the lighthouse.

We really underestimated the effort it takes to swim with clothes on and bags of gear over our backs. The water seems to soak into every possible nook and cranny of our outfits and it adds greatly to the weight. If not for the tide moving out, helping me to move towards the lighthouse, I’m sure I’d have had to turn back.

As Echo pulls herself up and I swim closer and closer to the lighthouse, I feel myself beginning to tire. I won’t make it.

‘’ Almost there Osmo! Keep going!’’ She calls, lying on her stomach and stretching out her arms towards me.

I kick my legs in no clear pattern, switching between different strokes every few seconds, doing what I can to simply keep my head above the water. I continue forwards though, and feel Echo’s hand grab me by the wrist. While she pulls, I climb and join her outside the lighthouse.

‘’ This thing better be open!’’ She says, only half joking.

Before I can reply, the sound of the President booms throughout the arena.

‘’ Good morning tributes and happy Hunger Games to you all! Day two has just started and I have a huge surprise for you all. Like it has been done the past twenty five years, the Capitol has been voting on special attractions to make these Games more interesting. There will be three special attractions, each spread out over three days and today marks the start of the first.’’

I glance at Echo, she looks both frightened but also ready for whatever the Capitol have to throw at us.

‘’ The Capitol have been voting like crazy, and I can now announce the first of three special attractions. Entering the arena right now, are mermaid sirens! May the odds be ever in your favour. Until tomorrow!’’

As he finishes, his words echo until they vanish completely. The two of us wait in anticipation for something both of us are silently hoping doesn’t come.

‘’ Mermaids?’’ Echo finally utters. I simply shrug my shoulders.

The door to the lighthouse is unlocked, we step inside and enter what seems to be a small hallway. The place looks empty, as if nobody has set foot inside it for weeks at least. Echo leads the way and we cautiously scale the stairs, there is a small kitchen on the next floor. There is a gas stove in the centre with pipes leading upwards to the next floor. There are shelves lining the walls, however none have anything edible in them. On the third floor, there is a small living quarters, a bed and drawers and the pipe from downstairs stretches around the side of the room and out by a window.

‘’ This is great.’’ Smiles Echo cheerfully. ‘’ This swim was worth it!’’

I do not respond to her, I hear a noise outside. Singing. It is beautiful, more beautiful than Echo herself, or my mother or anything else in the world. I begin to walk from the room. Nothing is important anymore. Except this music, this voice.

‘’ Osmo?’’

I walk down the stairs, push open the door and stare into the water. The voices are coming from there. I slowly approach the edge of the small island and glance into the water. I step forward.

Ravina Quill’s POV:

‘’ Shh.’’ I order as myself and Adaline hide behind a tree on the edge of a clearing. Belle and Margo are in the clearing in front of us, standing beside the pond looking down into it.

We edge closer to try and hear what they are saying.

‘’ Don’t you hear it?’’ Asks Margo.

‘’ Hear what?’’ Questions Belle, as confused as we are.

‘’ It’s beautiful...’’ He says, as if he isn’t fully here in mind.

‘’ What is?’’ She asks again.

‘’ The singing.’’ He explains, bending down towards the water and glancing into the pond.

I glance at Adaline.

‘’ What is he talking about?’’

She shrugs her shoulders at me. I glance back at the pair. Margo is bending down into the water, Belle is kneeling beside him. Without warning, an arm rises from the water and grips Margo around his neck. He has no time to react, because instantly he is ripped into the pond. He disappears beneath the surface in a crashing of water.

‘’ Margo!’’ Cries Belle in horror and gets down to her knees and glares into the pond. She doesn’t wait even for a moment to think; she just dives forwards and plunges into the pond, also disappearing under the water.

Myself and Adaline stare at the pond, waiting for something to happen. For a few moments, there is nothing. Then, bubbles float to the surface and Belle re-emerges, gasping desperately for air. She screams Margo’s name but silences when the collar around her throat begins to beep.

I grin and I step out from the tree-line. Adaline follows cautiously. We approach the pond as Belle swims to the edge of the lake and tries to pull herself onto the land. She stares at us sorrowfully as we block her path.

‘’ Stay where you are Belle. That’s far enough.’’ I order.

She glares at me with hatred but stays where she is. The beeping sounding from the collar around her throat quickens and then stops. Belle begins to convulse in the water madly, as if she is having a seizure and then she goes still. Her face falls down in the water and she floats to the surface, her back facing the sky.

‘’ What happened to her?’’ Questions Adaline.

‘’ Electrocution.’’ I suggest, although I am not entirely sure.

We both silence as more bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pond beside us and Margo’s body floats to the surface. He is facing upwards, although I think I would prefer if he was hidden as Belle is. His face is blue, and there is seaweed wrapped around his throat in knots. His eyes are open, but he is dead. Adaline gasps and clamps her hands over her mouth. I simply stare.

‘’ Look!’’ She says suddenly, pointing to the pond.

The things that dragged Margo into the water emerge from the water, floating before us and staring with hatred. They look almost human, however their skin is slightly green and it appears scaly. They have gills on the side of their throats and their ears are pointed at the top. They have hair that resembles seaweed, and their eyes are a deep green colour. We both glance at them in confusion. They observe us for a moment, hiss and then disappear back under the water.

‘’ What was that about?’’ I question.

‘’ We’re girls.’’ She replies.

‘’ And?’’

‘’ They’re only interested in guys, isn’t it obvious?’’ She answers.

‘’ We should go through their stuff, see if there’s anything we can take.’’ I suggest and she nods.

We kneel down and open up the bag on the ground. I try not to look at the two bodies floating on the water a few feet away from us, but it is quite hard. Two more down, we’re closer to the end. It’s a pity I didn’t get to finish them though.

Alistair Balentine’s POV:

‘’ Did you see that?’’ I ask in a hushed whisper as both myself and Arianna crouch behind a tree.

‘’ It looked like people, tributes.’’ She replies and I nod.

‘’ Let’s go.’’ I say, loading my bow as I run.

We move quickly but quietly after the two tributes, still unsure of exactly who it is. We had been hunting for food when we first heard them, now we have abandoned that and are hunting the tributes, just in case they could prove dangerous to us later.

It takes us no more than two minutes to catch up with the tributes. The two girls I see shocks me, I would have thought they would have died on day one. It’s a surprise to see the two of them alive. Phox and Blossom, the twelve year olds.

‘’ What do we do?’’ Whispers Arianna.

I have my bow trained on them, if I release my finger, I am sure they will die. The arrow will whiz across and impale Phox and she will be dead before she even hits the ground. Blossom will then be taken care of by her collar.

‘’ I don’t know.’’ I admit.

The two keep walking; they have no gear and no supplies. It’s crazy to think they’ve survived at all! We follow, I keep the bow trained on them.

‘’ We can’t. Not them. They’re so defenceless.’’ Says Arianna, and although I want to disagree with her, I know she is right.

I lower my bow and remove the arrow. I will not be part of their Games. I will not murder unless necessary.

‘’ You’re right.’’ I say and I stop where I stand, letting the girls get away from us before I am forced to change my mind. Arianna sits on the ground, resting her back against a tree and fiddling with her throwing knives.

‘’ They’re not gonna be happy with us.’’ She whispers.

‘’ Well we need to give them something to talk about.’’ I smirk, she stares in confusion.

I smile and crawl over to her, taking the knives from her hands and placing them on the ground. I grab her by the waist and pull her close to me – locking my lips around hers. It begins soft at first, almost as if we are afraid to hurt each other, but after a few seconds it gets more passionate.

I place my hand on the side of her face and the other just below her spine. She places both of hers around the back of my neck and presses her forehead against mine. I grin again and continue to kiss her.

‘’ I love you.’’ She smiles.

I return the smile. ‘’ I love you too.’’

Her smile fades and tears begin to trickle down her face. ‘’ Why did we do it?’’

‘’ No.’’ I begin, not wanting her to bring it up again. She was happy. She deserves to stay that way. ‘’ Please no Arianna.’’

‘’ If we had of just waited.’’ She begins. ‘’ We wouldn’t be here. We’re so stupid!’’

‘’ No, if we had of waited we still would have been captured, they just would have killed us straight away.’’ I find it hard to formulate my words, I am holding back crying because I know she is right. I regret it too.

‘’ We are going to die in here. They won’t let us leave.’’ She sobs.

‘’ No. They can’t let us die here if we win fairly. That goes against everything they’ve ever said. We can still live, we can still go home.’’

‘’ But where is home?’’ She questions.

‘’ I don’t know Arianna, but anywhere is better than here.’’

Phox Halebrooks’ POV:

‘’ We have to keep moving.’’ Orders Blossom.

‘’ I can’t, I’m too tired.’’ I reply. ‘’ I need water and food.’’

‘’ I’ weak too.’’ She responds. ‘’ We do need some food.’’

We have eaten so little since getting here; we managed to find a rat already picked at on the ground. We were able to cook it but the fire nearly got us killed. It was disgusting. Not to mention that, we drank the last of our water this morning – we got it from the body of fallen tributes that weren’t identifiable.

Suddenly I stop. ‘’ Do you hear that?’’

‘’ Hear what?’’

‘’ Water.’’ I explain and laugh aloud.

‘’ Where?’’

‘’ This way!’’ I call and begin running towards the source of the sound.

Minutes later, we are standing at the edge of a small stream, leaning over it and soaking our faces in the water. It feels good, both the moisture and the cleanliness of it all. I grab a handful and pour it into my dry mouth, it feels great. We spend the next hour sitting by the stream, washing the sweat and dirt from ourselves and filling our stomachs with the water.

The happiness is quite brief however; our rumbling stomachs quickly snap us back to the reality of our situation. We are dying of hunger.

‘’ We need to find food.’’ I say again. ‘’ We won’t make it to the end of the day at this rate.’’

‘’ I don’t feel well.’’

I stare at Blossom; this truly is a horrible way to go. I sit on the ground beside her, staring at the water beside us, slowly trickling by. Only now do I notice how dirty the water is.

‘’ Do you think that is safe to drink, look at it, closely.’’ I say and Blossom lies on her stomach, her head a few feet from the water.

Almost on cue, I feel vomit forcing its way up my throat. I puke out the little contents of an empty stomach and lie back on my back. My throat stings, as if I have just swallowed acid. We won’t make it through the night. We won’t make it to the night.

‘’ Look!’’ Gasps Blossom suddenly, pointing up towards the trees above us. ‘’ A sponsor gift.’’

My face lights up, they’re giving us food! They’re feeding us! We’re going to live! I laugh aloud as the package slowly descends to us, smiling widely as it falls.

‘’ I hope it’s bread.’’ I say excitedly as I pull the package from the air as soon as it is within grasp.

‘’ I don’t care what it is!’’ Laughs Blossom, sitting forward as I open it to see what awaits us.

However both our smiles vanish instantly when I get the package open. Inside is nothing of use to us – an empty bag that should contain a load of bread, now only has a few crumbs, there is an apple core and some grape vines less the grapes. I route through it, hoping there is something, anything we could eat. I pull everything from it, chicken bones without a pick of meat on them and the crust of a piece of bread.

I fight a sob – to no avail – and feel tears trickling down my face. ‘’ Why would they do this to us.’’

‘’ Because it’s the Capitol, it’s what they do...’’