↔↔↔ = Character Change

◐◑◐◑ = Time-Skip(with same character)

~~~

"Are you sure you'd like to activate the event in the middle of the night?" she heard from behind. "There will always be the chance that NO ONE survives..."

She turned on her heel and swung the back of her hand into the face of the person who'd spoken.

"It's a risk we have to take. Do it."

"Activating... Event number 8 is a go..."

"Good luck, Tributes. You'll need it for this one..."

↔↔↔ 

Clara had been just about to go to sleep in a tree when the crack came.

She was seated at the top of a tree, and she was very far from the cornucopia.

And never had a chance.

She remembered seeing a wall of black, moving towards her far faster than she could ever run. It tore trees from the ground, destroying everything in it's path.

She heard the sound of sloshing.

A small crack could be heard, only if you were nearby.

And then a cannon fire, but all around the arena.

↔↔↔ 

Jackson was done. He couldn't find himself wanting to fight any longer.

He knew in his heart that Evie would want him to carry on, but he wasn't strong enough.

Which only made his guilt worse.

He had practically welcomed the waves with warm arms.

"Here I come, Evie..."

A second cannon.

↔↔↔

Link was asleep.

Johd was on watch.

Johd saw the waves coming.

His first instinct, of course, had been to run and leave Link behind.

But he couldn't find himself able to do that. For a reason he couldn't explain.

"Link, wake up!" Johd snapped, glancing up at the waves, which rapidly approached. He was pretty sure they would die on contact, but if they survived, they definitely wouldn't swim long enough to survive.

Link did not wake up.

"Link--!" Johd was panicking now. But Link did not wake up.

Johd slapped Link across the face.

Link shot awake, leaping to his feet.

"Wh--?!"

"We need to go now!"

"Where?"

"Cornucopia."

Link said no more, and the two ran.

↔↔↔ 

"Rhys, come on!" Louis protested.

"No, you have to leave me behind," Rhys said, tears streaming down her face.

"No!!" Louis persisted.

"Rhys!" Kimi said, "We can all get out of this!"

"No, I can't. But you can!"

Kimi was shaking her head rapidly, breathing heavily.

"Louis..." she started.

"No! I-- We can't leave her!"

Kimi glance down, water ran past their feet, just to her ankles.

"We have to! She can't run!"

"Carry her then!"

"No... We can't. And you know that."

Louis said nothing, but shook his head vigorously.

The water was to the middle of Kimi's thighs, and to the waists of Rhys and Louis. The biggest wave was still coming. The most deadly wave. It would kill on contact, and Rhys knew that.

"Run!! Just run!!" Rhys cried.

Kimi grabbed onto Louis, holding him at the stomach. She hurriedly dragged him away from the water, towards the Cornucopia.

"Kimi!" Louis screamed, "Let me go!! Rhys!"

Louis flailed, kicked and screamed, but Kimi didn't let go.

Rhys turned around, facing the waves head on.

"Oh my God," Kimi muttered. She then screamed out, "Rhys!! I'm so sorry!"

Kimi eyes closed. She couldn't bare to watch.

Her eyes opened when a cannon fired.

Rhys was gone.

And Kimi hadn't seen what had happened.

But Louis had seen it all...

Louis went limp, silent, in Kimi's arms, but she continued to drag him away from the water.

Kimi stumbled into the clearing with the Cornucopia, Louis falling down just next to her.

Louis sat up, eyes wide with shock, panic, fear, despair, hopelessness.

All the emotions you should never see in a 12-year-old's eyes.

Louis turned to face Kimi slowly.

"L-Louis, I--"

Kimi was interrupted by Louis, who screeched at her with a voice with so much fury, rage, and hatred.

"You let her die!"

↔↔↔ 

Kefira ran, with Marisa in front of her and Zane a few feet behind her.

She wasn't sure they would make it to safety, but they were going to try.

"Run, run, run!" Kefira snapped.

No one responded. They tried to keep their breath. They needed to run both fast and far.

A wave splashed against Kefira's back, and suddenly she couldn't run anymore. She had to wade through water that was to the middle of her chest. 

And Marisa had to swim. Her feet could no longer touch the ground.

Kefira turned around, but Zane was not right behind her.

He had been separated by the waves.

"Zane!"

Kefira and Marisa tried to swim towards Zane, and he to them. But the waves only pushed them further apart.

Zane was a very strong swimmer, but even he could not move against the will of the waves.

They were so close, yet so far.

The water had risen up, and Kefira now had to swim to avoid drowning.

Marisa seemed tired. Kefira wasn't sure how much longer she could go on...

But they wouldn't have to swim towards Zane much longer.

"Zane! Look out!" Kefira screamed.

A grinning boy, about age 17, was directly behind Zane.

Rachett.

Zane turned around right as Rachett pounced.

Rachett grabbed onto Zane and pulled him underneath the water.

Kefira could not see what happened, but she turned to Marisa, who sank underneath the water as she turned.

Kefira gasped and swam over to her.

Kefira attempted to grab Marisa, but Marisa slipped between her fingers.

Kefira dived beneath the water.

She swam towards Marisa, who only sank deeper.

Kefira vaguely remembered hearing what might've been a cannon-fire, but it was so muted by the water that she couldn't tell.

Kefira finger's locked around Marisa's collar.

Kefira started to swim up, pushing off the ground as she did so.

She held on to Marisa so tightly, her knuckles turned white and her fingernails dug into Marisa's skin.

But Kefira was so desperate to make it back to the surface, she did not care.

Kefira's lungs screamed for air, black dots starting to invade her vision.

Kefira broke through the surface, heaving Marisa upwards as well.

But she wasn't done yet.

Overworking herself to almost death, Kefira kept herself and Marisa above the water.

Her eyes scanned as quickly as possible for Zane or Rachett.

She just spotted out of the corner of her eye that Rachett was swimming away, but generally towards the Cornucopia.

Zane was nowhere to be found.

Kefira was devastated, but now was not the time to grieve. She had to get her and Marisa to safety.

Coughing up some water, Kefira swam. She swam and swam.

To the only place she thought might possibly be safe.

The Cornucopia.

Far slower than Kefira would've liked, she landed in the Cornucopia-Clearing.

The water stopped, seeming to just be sucked underneath the ground, just before the line where the trees stopped.

Kefira knew that all the living tributes would be gathered in one place.

Here.

Kefira's chest heaved. She gasped for air, coughed up water, and cried all at the same time.

"Marisa! M-Marisa, wake up!" Kefira snapped.

Marisa did not wake up.

But, Kefira knew she was still alive.

Barely.

"Marisa!"

Kefira didn't know what to do.

She couldn't make it if she lost both Zane and Marisa, but what could she do to help!?

Kefira was desperate, shaking Marisa and doing anything she thought might help in any way, shape, or form.

 ↔↔↔  

She laughed, watching over the tributes.

"What did I tell you all? The strong will always prevail, my dears."