Northern Male 1: Troy Quillion:

"Ok, let's win this thing. Troy, you are going after the flag, your agility could really help us, also, there are lots of rivers, so you can easily manipulate them. Mitchie, can you help this... "

I stopped listening as soon as Kian finished talking about what I was doing. This water thing was really cool, especially the fact that I can change it from water to ice. The only thing that sucks is I only have about 30 minutes of power in total. That means I have to be really careful with my powers.

"Ok, positions," someone shouts from afar of distance. I quickly run over to my team and examine the arena. It is very dense with an almost unnatural green leaf filled trees, which recreate the smell of autumn. There are small brooks weaving in and out of the trees. Tree roots stick up here and there, creating disturbances in the dirt and grass floor.

BANG

The gunshot goes off, which leads to all the people on offense to run into the thick brush of trees. I quickly dash to a brook and brush my hair to the right, which activates my water abilities. I summon around a gallon of water and bend it into a small pouch hanging loosely from my small waist. Now that I am prepared, I slowly creep off to the left, waiting for my time to pounce. After about 5 minutes of dropping to the ground when hearing something, and staining my ocean blue shirt, I had slowly gotten used to the situation.

"Hey, planning to grab our flag, I think not!" I jumped, looking up and gulping. There standing in front of me was the biggest girl I have ever seen. She was like 200 pounds and had muscles the size of my waist. She gave me a menacing look, and then her hands controlled thousands of big boulders out if the ground. My eyes widened in shock, which only made her more terrifying. "Well, I see the little baby is scared. Did you forget your bottle?" She taunted, her rocks in the air, flying closer to me. I looked around for a way out. All I could see was a river, and trees. The river! If I guide her to the river, I could try and freeze the water around her so that she can't get out. "If you want me, you gotta catch me!" I yelled and ran towards the river. "You won't get away that easily, punk." She yelled sprinting, making sure I couldn't get away. My feet were almost crushed into the ground several times, but somehow I managed to dodge them. I swiftly changed direction, and darted to the right, watching her run straight into the river. My hand swiped my hair, and I started to get to work on freezing her. My arms became alive of their own, my hands twisting and turning, willing the water to my advantage. Her hands would be a problem, so willing the nutrients inside a couple leaves, I tied them to a root that was poking out. When I was done, Her eyeballs were bulging out of her skull, and her mouth was twisted into one of the most evilest looks I have ever seen. "Bitch" I muttered to myself. I willed my pouch that had somehow fallen off during the fight and walked back in search of the flag.

The wind blasted the left side of my face, causing me to shiver abruptly. The game must be close to finished. I stop and take a 360-degree turn, admiring the towering trees. In the far left corner of my eyes, I saw a scarlet flag blowing in the wind. As my eyes follow the trunk of the tree, I see 3 people with binoculars, hanging around in the branches, making sure to protect the flag. I creep closer to the tree, trying to avoid stepping on the fallen branches. How am I going to get that flag? It's practically surrounded from all sides. I try to climb the tree, but I just ended up on the floor. Don't leaves have water inside? If there is enough water, I could use it to carry the flag. Or if I take the guardians out, I could just channel a tidal wave from the rivers and just grab it myself.

Now that I had a plan, I tried to feel the leaves. I had to feel the water inside. I felt a tug in my gut, and I believed. The leaves all ripped from their branches and shot straight at 3 guardians. They used their air abilities to blow them out of the way. I was going to win. I will not let them defeat me. I channeled the water from my pouch, and it levitated in the air. My fists drove the water at the 4 guardians, and one it hit them, I froze it, trapping their arms and legs to the trees. My next move was to use the leaves and have them plaster the guardian's eyes so that they couldn't see me. I took in a deep breath as I summoned a whole lakes worth of water, and used it to propel myself towards the flag, which I grabbed with the swiftness of a cat. When my feet lightly hit the ground, I instantly ran towards the river, to which I summoned to carry me over the border of the 2 teams. Or at least that was the plan until I saw the earth people running towards the border. I instantly shot water at them, surrounding them and their flag, which delayed me enough time to leap over the border and claim victory for my team.

"Great job Troy! I knew you had it in you." Kian congratulated. "Well, it did take a lot of effort," I said as I tried to capture my breath. Man, that was energy draining. "Hey, does anyone have any coffee...?"

~~~

Northern Male 2: Tristan Starling:

Nerves crept along Tristan's body like a second skin, tiny crackling shocks that kept his eyes wide and heart beating just shy of too fast. He forced himself to breathe slowly, following the girl in front of him silently. The faintest hint of wind brushed past Tristan, a breeze that would have been imperceptible to him three days before, but now seemed obvious. Tristan closed his eyes briefly, and he swore he could feel the air particles around him, hear the wind that was to come. He even imagined he could see it, a shining gossamer cloud surrounding everything in sight. A grin spread across his face as the realization hit him again—he was special now. He could control the air around him.

"Tristan, this way." A soft voice broke through his thoughts, and Tristan flinched in surprise. The girl, Aeryn, he thought she'd introduced herself as, didn't seem to notice, for which he was grateful. She jerked her head to the side, and he nodded, padding silently behind the older girl. He knew where they were going - to the other team's flag - but he was content to let her lead.

They walked in a companionable silence, Tristan going through the hasty plan his team had managed to concoct in his head, hoping the repetitions would calm his nerves. Before splitting up, someone on his team had flown into the air to look at where they were. When Tristan had seen them rise into the air, albeit shakily, jealousy had twisted his insides, even as he promised himself he too would soon be able to do so.

He'd listened to their description with his head down, staring at the dirt. The forest they were in was split in half by a thick, zigzagging strip of what seemed to be purple sand. On one side were hundreds of different kinds of trees, with one that towered above the rest. On the other side, trees were scattered sparsely, taking up what room wasn't occupied by the giant lake in the center. Arguments over what to do had erupted until someone took control, giving out commands and silencing others so effectively it reminded Tristan of his last teacher, whom no one had ever disobeyed.

Half of them would go after the other team's flag, half would guard their own. He and Aeryn were two of four sent to get the actual flag, while the rest were supposed to be distractions. He still had no idea how they were supposed to accomplish that, his brain drawing a blank when he tried to think of something. He hoped Aeryn would be able to. Before he could bring himself to ask her, the other team came into sight.

For a second, Tristan stood, frozen in place. The lake was a writhing, seething mess of people and water mixed with earth. White foam flecked with mud and pebbles skimmed the water's surface, while some of the trees seemed to have caught on fire from an errant flame. A single white pillar rose towards the sky, surrounded by a group of three people. It reminded him of a once beautiful photograph that a child had painted over. Shrieks of laughter punctuated the air, and Tristan glanced over at Aeryn with wide eyes. She shrugged, but a hint of smile played across her lips.

"Let's go," she said, and before he could ask her what she meant, she dived into the water.

Tristan swallowed. He wasn't a very good swimmer; he had rarely needed to and the dirty water was unappealing. But he didn't have a choice; he was supposed to be helping his team. Squeezing his eyes shut, Tristan drew in a quick, deep breath and then jumped into the water.

He immediately wished he hadn't. The water was freezing cold, and the jacket that had seemed so warm earlier was now dragging him under. Panic shot through him, and he thrashed wildly until his arms were free. Some of his fear abated, and he floated in the water, searching for Aeryn. He scanned the murky water through slitted eyes, heart thumping to a staccato beat, but there was no sign of the blonde haired girl.

Where are you? Tristan's eyes stung in the water, and he wandered if he was only imagining the water seeping through his skin and into his blood. His lungs started to burn in his chest, the need for oxygen eclipsing all other thoughts. For several seconds, he tried to hold his breath, but eventually he was forced to open his mouth. Immediately, water rushed in, and he choked, flailing wildly as he tried to stop himself from swallowing the lake water. Pain, bright and sharp, started to erupt in his head. Panic started to fill him again.

Tristan struggled to breathe, his hands instinctively going to his chest, as though he was attempting to pull oxygen into his lungs with his bare hands. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when the burning sensation in his lungs began to dissipate, water forcing itself out of his throat as air replaced it.

For a split second, Tristan was confused. Then he sa what position his hands were in—they were curled inwards, as if dragging the air towards him and into his lungs. His lips spread in a wide smile as he realized what he'd done. He'd used his ability, really used it for the first time. Euphoria and a warm glow of pride filled Tristan—he was special, just like he'd always wanted to be. Who cared about a stutter when he could control the air people breathed?

Tristan let himself bask in the new feeling of pride for a minute before he forced himself to concentrate on the game. A surge of confidence filled him now, and he wandered briefly if he could actually take the other teams' flag. After all, the other team was expecting an attack they could easily see, not one from underwater.

A small voice in his head argued that surely someone would expect him, but Tristan ignored it, drunk on the idea that he could be the star for once. He swam towards the flag clumsily, careful to keep himself far enough below that it would be hard to spot him and occasionally making sure he had enough oxygen to breathe comfortably. In spite of his subpar swimming skills, Tristan made it to the pillar fairly quickly. He hesitated a few feet away, unsure of what to do next. He could surface and try to grab the flag, but he didn't think that would work very well. No other ideas seemed to come to him, and he floated in the water, frustrated with himself. There was a blonde flash of hair in the corner of his eye, and Tristan whirled around. Aeryn was back.

Relief and disappointment mixed within Tristan at the sight of her. Now, he had someone whom he could rely on for instructions, but his chances of getting the flag himself were gone. Aeryn pointed towards the surface, mimicking jumping and then drawing what he assumed to be a flag the water. When she was done she looked at him expectantly, and after a moment he nodded in agreement, though he wasn't quite sure what she meant. She flashed him a reassuring smile and then started towards the surface; Tristan hurried after her. In a matter of seconds, their heads broke the surface of the water. Aeryn made a quick slashing gesture with her hand, knocking the three teens guarding the flag off balance.

"What n-now?" he asked, cheeks burning at the sound of his stutter.

"Now we fly," Aeryn said, grinning. She grabbed his hand and made the slashing motion with her hand again, using the wind and air to lift them towards the top of the pillar. It was like going up in an elevator twenty times too fast before stopping abruptly and then rising again, and Tristan felt his stomach churn. Luckily, they reached the flag before he could do something really embarrassing, like puke in front of everyone.

Aeryn reached for the flag, and Tristan felt disappointment well up in him. He'd wanted to be the one to take the flag, but he forced the feeling down, willing it to not show on his face. Instead, he glanced down below, where a dark haired girl was glaring at the pair of them. He swallowed. On the other hand, maybe it wasn't so bad Aeryn would get all the attention.

Tristan was jerked out of his thoughts as he and Aeryn rushed towards the ground, and he closed his eyes tightly, half expecting to slam into the ground and shatter the bones in his legs. Instead, he ended up being doused in icy water once more; Aeryn had chosen to head straight into the water again. The blue flag seemed to blend with the water in some places, hypnotizing Tristan as it moved with the currents.

A sharp tug on his arm alerted Tristan to the two teens swimming closer to him, and he started to swim away. In front of him, Aeryn took off, clearly much more familiar with swimming than he was. Bitterness blended with anger at the sight, and a scowl decorated Tristan's face as the two behind him caught up. He stayed silent, cheeks burning with embarrassment as one of them, a girl a few years younger than him, led him towards the small section for those who had been caught as he had. As he walked, his shoes made wet slapping noises as water dripped from his clothes. Five people were already there, but that did nothing to soothe the sting of embarrassment. Tristan sat in a sullen silence until the game ended and everyone congregated once more in the middle of the forest.

Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Tristan watched in confusion as some of the others approached a table which hadn't been there before, picking something up and then moving away. Was there something I was supposed to know about after the game? Again, that crippling sense of confusion and self-doubt consumed him, and he bit his lip as he moved slowly towards the table.

He hastily shoved his hands into his still soaked pockets and looked at the objects on the table. One was a basket, filled with what looked like small blocks of wood, emblazoned with the word 'love' on some, and 'hate' on others. A small note was carved into the table.

Choose one.

Tristan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he glanced around him. Everyone else was holding one of the small pieces of wood, but he couldn't see what theirs said. He licked his lips, staring at the blocks. Was this some kind of trick? He bit his lip again and then slowly picked out a block labeled 'love.'

He hoped he'd made the right choice. 

~~~

Northern Male 3: Kian:

I want you to imagine fear, imagine a shudder working down your body as the hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand up. Think about how your heart suddenly pulses and leaps as sweat begins to form on your forehead. Your hands are shaking and you can't stop them, neither can you stop your breath from rising sharply and catching in your throat. Everything you see speeds up, but your own movements are slowed down. Your stomach begins to sink as you realise you are going to fail.

Fear is complex and there are several different kinds. Fear of the unknown. Fear for someone else. The fear of helplessness. Fear for death itself. Yet fear is an instinct, a simple alarm to warn someone that they are in danger, and you are feeling it now.

Now imagine yourself running, the fear and heat of the chase combined making your heart pound hard and fast and your breath to come in gasps. Your legs are aching from the constant pounding against the unforgiving floor as you run, the soft breeze in your face cooling the sweat of fear and exertion.

You hold in your arms a scrap of cloth, its red and you can almost imagine it being that colour as it was stained in blood but then you don't want to think about it because it could come true.

The around you are shouts of rage as you try to run over the moving ground, it rolls and tosses as if it were alive. You heard it being called "earthquake simulator" and as you fall, your ankle twists in pain and a yelp leaves your mouth. The flag goes tumbling to the ground as shooting pain courses up your leg and you clutch at the flesh.

This had all gone wrong, the team that you were put into the "fire and water" team were being beaten, the four different sections if the mini-arena where beating you down. The only one you could beat was fire.

Fire, this section was cruel for the flames kept spurting out their inferno from hidden and knocking the screaming people to their feet. But the flames didn't seem to bother you as you jumped over the orange blaze as it flared up over you.

But water, you hated that for you could not swim and at any time on this section might collapse and leave you spluttering in the water, arms flailing and lungs screaming for air until the platforms slowly rose around you. Scrambling back onto them, your whole body trembling from the fright.

Next was Earth, rolling ground and hidden roots with which you might fall over as indeed you had done. That was the furthest you had ever gotten with the flag but as you fell you saw the opposing team duck into the last section of water for them.

You can see out of the corner of your eye one boy with brown hair and leaves seemingly growing out of his hands approach you to take to back to the start but that can't happen, you've only one section to go and you could win this.

Wondering where all your team mates are slowly you clamber to your feet, feeling your ankle scream with pain. But the boy was already there, and the flag was taken away.

Back at the start, you faced the fire again, looking forward to the air section where the wind rose to hurricane strengths and hoping that this time, maybe you could make it.

But then a shout rose up and you watch to see your own flag captured and taken and the opposing team shouting with joy at their victory and as the flames slowly begin to die down around you something rises up.

This emotion could be named hatred, but it wasn't. It was power and all you had to do was kneel down and caress the flames with your bare hands. Then with a whispered word of love, you directed the flame upwards and towards the blue flag.

All throughout this game you had not been able to do this. While all around you people were getting used to their new powers of water, air, fire and earth, you were stuck with you small frame and powerless hands to try and capture a flag on what seems to be your own.

It wouldn't come, even as you had sprained your ankle, even as you had been tackled before it had not come.

But now, now it burst forth with it seemed a ball of magic and utter rage and power, the flames licking at your hand and up your arm, setting your clothes alight but your skin remained unburnt.

Now it was touching the flag even as they were lifting it high with laughter in their eyes and excited chatting on their lips. It started to melt in their hands and they dropped it, silence falling as they looked towards you.

Standing with flames all around you as you did not let them die away, your chest heaving with gasps and your face almost glowing in the golden light.

Until suddenly it was all gone and you had to collapse, the flames dying away suddenly and your body shaking from what had just happened and what you had just seen yourself do.

I want you to imagine assurance, confidence, your heart no longer racing as your know that you can no longer be afraid. Now you walk with a soft smile on your face as you know what this day you have conquered fear.

~~~

Southern Male 1: Sodi Razon:

No Entry

~~~

Southern Male 2: Damon Ellis:

You glanced at the twelve-year-old before looking up at the sky. It was snowing at first and now it was sunny. The sun shined brightly above all of you, as if mocking all of you of your fate.Everyone decided to strip off their thick clothing, including you, and would instead, carry it around, in the scenario if it starts to snow again. After getting rid of the heavy pieces of clothing, you felt a little better, there less weight on your shoulders, meaning more ways than one. You looked around the arena to take a good look at it because you weren't able to see the full forest in the snow. Somehow, all the snow on the ground vanished straight away as the snowstorm stopped and when the sun came up.Colourful little balls take over your sight. The colourful balls were everywhere. Some hanging on the trees, some around the bushes and some littering the floor. Birds could also be heard from a distance and there were a few small animals in the forest. You've always loved children. But if there was anything that you loved more than that, that would be animals. Despite your hard exterior, it was just all mush inside, as you would quote your younger siblings.You suddenly stopped in your tracks. Maddox. Olivia.They were your everything and they were the bridge between you and your parents. If they didn't leave you-"Focus Damon." You mumbled to yourself before running up to catch up with your teammates, who haven't noticed that you were very distracted.Then, as all of you were walking, a girl you didn't know started talking about battle strategies. How to defeat the opposing team, how to get the flag and many other things. However, as expected, you were too distracted to listen. You were mesmerised by the beauty of the forest. The forest was full of pine trees, lush patches of green covered the forest ground. The sky had a few fluffy white clouds and the sun just shined brightly. Nothing seemed wrong about the forest except for the fact it was littered with colourful balls of powder. And maybe the fact that one of the clouds strangely resembled a clown with an overgrown nose. "Damon." Fingers snapping."Damon!" You turn to see the girl who was talking about battle strategies having an irritated look on her face. She looked about 17, though you knew she wasn't. She was most likely the same age as you."Um... Yes?" You answered uncertainly as you thought about how she knew your name."Were you even listening to me?" She asked, her face showing absolute annoyance. She didn't seem to be in a good mood. Who put a squirrel in her pants today?You nodded reluctantly, giving her a smile, which was just as fake as her hair.Okay, you were just kidding. Seriously, her hair was nice.She looked away from you, annoyance still not leaving her face, as she addressed everyone. She clapped her hands before saying, "Okay, break up now. We'll be going to start the plan now. Do your best!" Then she ran off with a couple of people chasing after her.Being the clueless person you were, you just stood rooted to your spot, trying to remember what your role was. You kept trying to recall what she had said while you were in Lala-land dancing around with big rhinoceroses and unicorns. Nope, nothing. Just then, something tugged your hand. You looked down to see the thing, or rather, the person tugging your hand turned out to be Tristan. He was the only person whom you had bothered to remember, his name and his face, since Tristan was the only one who bothered to greet you."Damon, come on! Let's go!" He said excitedly.As the both of you were walking through the forest, you got Tristan to tell you whatever the girl, Aeryn (who's name you found out from him), told everyone. The plan was pretty simple for the both of you as you only had one goal which Aeryn didn't bother to elaborate."Steal the flag and get back safely. This is the most important part and I'm trusting the both of you to do this properly." Tristan quoted Aeryn proudly while putting a fist to his chest. The only reply he got was an amused look from you.'Steal the flag'.You roll your eyes. No, you were going to steal a leaf from its mamma tree and bring it back to her. Then leave the flag there alone. In a scary, dark place left to fend for its own safety against the scary fire and water monsters.Well, nope.You didn't bother to continue to continue making conversations with Tristan as you were too busy observing your surroundings again. It was a annoying habit you've always had since young. As you looked around, you realised that there was this nest on the tree, the home to three little baby birds and its mother. However, that wasn't the strange thing.On the mother bird's feathers, were bright colourful stains of all colours. Blue, yellow, red, green and many other colours. You could see tints of brown and white on the bird which was its original colour. Giving the baby birds' a look, you realised they were still pink, as they haven't grown much feathers, but the small amount of feathers grown on it were brown and white, the same shade of colours as those tints seen on the other bird's back. You wanted to go and take a closer look but knowing that your team would not be happy with you getting sidetracked, you forced yourself to look away. What a weird place.You continued to trudge pass the forest with Tristan, still thinking about the birds. Being lost in thought was what you always did and could never stop doing. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard. The rustling of the tall grass didn't help keep the person's or people's presence there unknown either."Bro, you're definitely going to be a great ninja one day!" You whispered sarcastically while pulling Tristan's hand, nudging him to walk faster. The statement got a giggle out of the boy.You continued to walk and was about to break into a run when Tristan halted.You gave him a questioning look before asking, "What's up Tristan?" He let go of your hand and whispering to you grimly. "I'm sorry Damon, but from here on you need to go alone. The people following us will most likely try to intercept us from getting the flag. I need you to run as fast as you can while I distract them. You're stronger and you'll have a higher change of getting the flag. I'll try to take them down. Go. Run to the lake." His eyes held so much determination it was almost impossible to refuse. Slowly, you nod your head."Stay safe." You whispered to him and passing the coat that was in your hand to him.Then you ran.•••'Plop'. "What's taking them so long?" You heard the little boy whine. He was throwing stones into the water while complaining to the older girl next to him."Keep quiet Finn. Didn't your parents ever teach you that patience was a virtue?" The older girl retorted."Nope. But they taught me not to listen to strangers. So I won't listen to you, Apanie." He emphasised on the name 'Apanie', in an especially whiny voice.The older girl, Apanie, casted him a distasteful look before proceeding to continue patrolling the lake.You were hiding behind a few trees, trying to be out of sight of the two people defending the lake. You could see the flag on an iceberg in the lake. Surrounding it was fire, covering every loophole, making sure no one could get the flag by using force without getting burnt. "Doesn't this defy the laws of science? Fire on ice? Huh, weird." You think to yourself.What do you have to do? You tried to think. Those two over there looked pretty smart, plus the defence from the opposing team was quite fool proof. "I need a plan."Suddenly, as if your request was answered, thunder could be heard. Cold air started to blow in your face, though you weren't affected. Lightning could be spotted. The white fluffy clouds (including clown-shaped one) was replaced with grey cake-shaped clouds.Soon it was going to rain and the opposing team would surely have an advantage if it did. Rain, water. "This place needs to choose a weather it's happy with." You sighed. You glanced around trying to think of a way to get pass the two when you realised a squirrel running up the tree you were leaning against. Being the animal-obsessed person you were, you just stared at it as it ran up the tree. You just couldn't help it. The wind was getting stronger and it seemed as if the squirrel was losing its balance too.It clutched one of the colourful balls that was on the tree and hung on it for dear life. Just as it clutched too tight, the ball exploded. The squirrel almost got blown away if you didn't catch it in time. When you caught it, you realised there was red powder on the squirrel, the colour of the ball it was clutching onto just now.The birds...Everything made sense now. You let the squirrel go before looking up at the sky and grinned from ear to ear. "I've finally got a plan and I don't plan to disappoint." And you calculated everything well.It was going to work. It had to.•••You still remained behind to tree, remaining unseen. You couldn't let the opposing team know you were here. The wind was already very strong but it wasn't strong enough. You willed for the wind to be stronger and faster, so that it would guarantee that your plan will work.Soon, the colourful balls that were dangling on the trees started to get blown off, the thin twigs holding it to the tree snapping. The wind was already powerful in the beginning, so it didn't take up much of your energy, since you were just adding on to the wind that was already there. "I'm so sorry. Normally, I wouldn't hurt kids but today is different. I'll make it up to the both of you." You muttered.Sneakily, you slowly changed the wind direction, so that it would be blowing towards the two people guarding the flag. Or more specifically, in the direction of their eyes.The colourful balls on the trees, forest floor and bushes were now all blowing towards them. In addition, so were some leaves and twigs. The balls of powder exploded in their faces and they were still in shock, not processing the situation well.Finn, as he was called by Apanie, was yelling the phrase 'Owww! My eyes!' for a few times and it made your heart hurt. You didn't like hurting people, especially children.Ignoring the guilt you felt, you took the chance to run to the lake while they were blinded. "Please don't rain yet." You prayed. Once it rained, the powder would be washed off and they'd have the upper hand.Remembering some of your sixth grade science about oxygen supporting burning and whatnot, you did something your sleazy and perverted (he tried to do things he shouldn't do) chemistry teacher would be proud of. You absorbed the oxygen from the surrounding air around the fire, so that the fire would stop burning. Which surprisingly worked.However, you could already start feeling the fatigue that was starting to kick in because of the stunt. Absorbing a specific type of air took up a lot of energy.Yet, you had to finish this. For your team and of course, for Tristan who helped you, though probably because it was under strict Aeryn's instructions.Looking back to see Apanie and Finn still blinded, trying to get the powder out of their eyes, you changed the wind direction again. Despite the exhaustion, you couldn't take the risk of getting into the water, since both of them could be under the water element. So you'd just settle for using your powers and changing the direction of the wind. This time, from the flag to you.The flag was blown a little above your head and you caught it before it could fly away. Time for you to take your leave. Before you ran back towards your group, you stopped in front of the two, who were still rubbing their eyes. Apanie was more successful in getting more powder out of her eyes than Finn."Hi. I'm really sorry about this." You told them quietly. "I hope I'll be able to make it up to you after this."Before you could leave, you heard Finn's voice, saying, "You better. Even if I don't know how you look, I can recognise your voice. Remember that." You smiled a little and your eyes watered a little. He reminded you of your brother. The cheekiness. If he was still alive, he would've been around his age by now.You gave them one last look before running off back to where you came from. You used the remaining energy you had to get back to your team. On the way back, you saw Tristan lying on the forest floor, knocked out. He looked like he was having a good dream, in spite of the fact that there were a few bruises on his face.You picked him up and put the flag in between your teeth, getting back as fast as you can.As expected, your team won and everything was fine. But not for long."Maddox, Olivia, wherever you are, I want you to know that if I don't make it out of the games alive, I'm gonna go find you guys and never leave you guys again." You murmured, your hand clenching onto the last of their existence. A little bottle of their ashes hanging around your neck by a chain.You wiped the tears that you didn't notice until then before walking to find your teammates who were celebrating.This victory wouldn't last long and you knew it.You couldn't kill and that would be your downfall. You stopped at your tracks and glanced at your teammates again before turning away. They weren't your teammates anymore, they were now your enemies.

~~~

Southern Male 3: Blayke Yale Alter:

Blayke often understood many things. He understood that he was injected with a serum that gave him supernatural powers, and he understood that they were going to go through experiments that would push them to their limits, physically and mentally. What he did not understand was the reason they were playing Capture the Flag.

Yes, it was true that the small boy was a natural at games, some could even call him a fanatic about them, but the situation just felt wrong to him. This game did not seem like an experiment. It seemed like a test. He looked at his teammates before they departed, and from what he could tell, they did not see the strangeness of the situation.

Might as well have fun while doing it. A voice echoed in his head, who he knew was a friend that he could only see.

And Blayke took his friend's advice, and tried to smile and get lost in the moment. Yet, that was hard when his teammates practically forced him and four others to stand guard around the tree in which the flag bearing the Air and Earth symbols hung, flying in the wind. Most of the defenders looked young, and it was almost clear that his teammates had no plan what so ever. They placed the smaller and almost invisible players on defense, and the larger and easily seen players on offense. It was absolutely insane.

And the defense was a small, young girl, a stuttering boy, a blonde girl with blue eyes, and another kid who seemed too sarcastic for his good. In fact, the only reason Blayke was even still there was that he did not want to have no backup. He hated sitting there, and he knew that his team had little chance of victory. But, this seemed to change after five minutes of unbearable silence and boredom from defending the flag.

"Okay, who wants to go get the flag ourselves? "The oldest boy stated, getting up off of the ground.

Blayke blinked. They couldn't leave their post, could they? He did not know the exact rules of the game, but leaving their post seemed to be on the line of breaking them. The others stood in place, almost certain that if they did leave, their flag would be taken, and because of them, the game would be lost.

But, Blayke knew it was a slim chance of victory due to the rest of his companions who went on offense, oblivious to the fact that this is a stealth game. So, the young boy walked up, volunteering to go out and find the piece of cloth that could represent their victory.

"Great! "the lanky, tall boy spoke, and started walking away from the defense, "I was kinda hoping the blonde girl would come along though, but, oh well. "

Blayke wasn't surprised at the boy's statement. While standing guard, the older boy failed at flirting with the girl, and the shorter boy had a hunch that this kid would not give up on it.

"I'm Ren."His brunette companion said once they were surrounded by trees, and nothing more,"Who are you? "

The younger boy walked in silence, wondering if he should speak. Deep inside, he yearned for social interaction, yet another part of him felt as if he was in danger, as if trusting the boy would harm him. Eventually, the decision was to speak. After all, they were in the same situation.

"Alter. Blayke Alter. "He whispered as he walked around a tree.

"Ah, the James Bond guy, I get ya."Ren said.

"Who? "

His companion just shook his head, muttering about how Blayke lived under a rock.

As both of them hid behind the tall trees, the stunning silence seemed to be the only thing that was heard. The clouds blocked the sun, causing shadows to coat the land. The green forestry spread as far as they could see, and only one could assume that it was an illusion. Vines hung off of the branches like snakes, hunting for prey. Yet, the most frightening thing of all was the utter silence. Yes, a conversation struck up occasionally, but the silence killed it sooner rather than later. A feeling of isolation crept into the young boy's heart, a fear that always has been in his soul. But, he was never truly alone. He had a friend no one else could see. That meant for something, right?

But, a terrifying voice could be heard, replacing the silence and isolation with a new fear. He did not know who it was, or why they said what they said. But the words that echoed throughout the forest were frightening words, causing Blayke to tremble in fear at just a voice.

"Isn't scary knowing that at any time could be the last time you talk to someone?"The feminine voice eerily said, and it soon disappeared, fading into the darkness.

The two boys looked at one another, trying to wrap their minds around what was said. Blayke did not recognize the voice from anyone he has saw, and the voice sounded too mature to be any of the players of the game they are playing.

"In a couple of hundred of years, no one will know who you are or even if you existed. "Another voice, a harsh and deep voice, spoke as the boys tried to walk on, to try to find the other team's flag in this vast forest where human life seemed non-existent.

They soon stumbled across a lake, the water still and calm. Fog draped on top of it like a blanket, as if water was the mattress of a bed. It was a peaceful place. A small island seemed to rise from the depths of the water, and the symbol of victory, the enemy's flag, flew on the top of the hill, almost invisible with the fog, hiding the secrets of the land.

"I can't drown my demons. They know how to swim. "A teenage voice, a scratchy voice, whispered.

Blayke slowly turned around, seeing an absolute nightmare. There was a reason why the flag was unguarded. It was already haunted by terrifying creatures that went through a frightening life of battle. Every creature wore a military uniform, despite their age or gender, and every single one of them had blood stained on their clothing, dripping off of their face. Tears formed in Blayke's eyes as he saw their eyes, full of sorrow and pain, seeing him and his new companions as new victims.

"We are saving you from our fate. "The teenage Navy boy spoke.

"Battle is too scarring for young youth like you to give through. "The man in his forties, the man with a burnt face, warned.

The Marine woman walked up to them, and put a hand on Blayke's shoulder. She muttered about how he was too young to suffer, and about how people could volunteer for a life threatening experience at such a young age.

Before he could register it in his mind, the girl punched him in the face, pain flickering throughout his body. He stumbled back, looking at the woman, seeing that she was crying.

"Why would you throw your life away like we did?! We had reasons to fight, to die for our countries! What about you! You have no reason to go through torture! None at all! "She yelled.

Pain triggered everything after that. The pain, the hurt caused the ground to shake slightly, and dust fly into the air. Dirt particles from mud separated from the water, and tiny pieces of rock circled around the tiny boy. Pain caused this array, this speckle against nature to occur. And, almost as soon as it started, it stopped.

He stood there, stunned. He understood what these people, dead or just illusions, were saying. Something about fighting caused the warrior to change forever. They will never be the same, light hearted person they once were, despite the fake smiles they wear on their faces. Whatever a soldier sees or does on the battlefield stays with them forever.

Some wounds never show, and those are the ones that hurt the most. These people were warning him about his future, if he fought. They were right. He was too young to make this decision on his own.

"I can not back out of it now. I-I am sorry, but I must go on. "Blayke spoke.
"We already have the serum, so we really can't get out now. "Ren spoke.

All three of the dead warriors nodded. The teenage boy and the Navy woman faded away, becoming one with the fog that surrounded the area. The burnt man looked at the two young boys, shaking his head. It was as if he pitied them, or as if he could not prevent a tradegy.

The burnt Army man pointed towards the flag, the symbol of victory for the boys. It now seemed like a dark image, something that they did not want to face. It loomed over the water as a king, a dictator, that caused pain and famine.

"If you get the victory, you will be hated by them, by your playful opponents. In turn, you will learn to hate them too, and this is the first step into a path of sorrow and negativity. "He sighed, "If you leave it, your teammates will never know that you found it, and everyone will learn to love and live in peace. In turn, so will you. In one choice, victory and joy will be the reward. In the other, not so much. Don't choose my path. "

And with that, the scared Army man disappeared, fading away into the fog.

Blayke complemented on whether to get the flag. The man's words echoed through his mind like a song being played on repeat. He timidly put his foot in the water, but then stopped. He turned, and the two boys walked away, despite the stubbornness and determination of victory, their stubbornness of love prevailed.

And, when the walked back to their post, the game lasted another long time, but neither team retrieved the flag, not because of fighting, but because of the warning of love and hate.

~~~

Western Male 1: Shark Finn:

You put your bare legs into the water, into the familiar feel of the element you knew since you were born. You dip your fingers in, surprised you feel something almost like... a connection. As if you can communicate with it. You draw it out and immediately can't suppress the urge to dip it in again. The water feels like a magnet, gently tugging at you to cradle it. Slowly, a smile makes its way up your face as you begin to draw ripples in that lake of an element. An abrupt, distant splash causes your senses to perk up. You strain your ears, relying on your sense of sound rather than sight, to hear more. But a blanket of silence greets you.


You idly run your fingers through the water once more and are startled by a yell. "Shark!" Your eyes narrow. Who could that be? You frown in confusion. The voice is low, too low for it to belong to Apanie. Maybe someone from your team overheard Apanie giving you instructions.

You respond with a "Here!" when the shout rings out once more. There is a moment of silence before the person speaks again.

"Damon, turn around! There's a shark in the water!" To you, he calls out, "Have you gotten tagged or do you have the flag with you?" What is he talking about? Surely he is aware of the strategy if he knows your name. He would know you are supposed to be guarding the flag. How could you have captured the flag from the opposing team? There is a splash as someone is pulled out from the water on the other side.

That is when realisation dawns upon you. As if it couldn't have been a more appropriate time, the sky lights up with flames, forming the letters 'S-O-S'. You warn Kian to stay silent beside you and quietly tell him to guard the flag, because a plan is already forming in your mind.

"Yeah, you go ahead and cover for me. I'll be right behind you," you say to your opponents, jumping into the lake without hesitation. The cool water that washes over your body calms you down, almost making you want to stay in there forever, but you can't. You have teammates out there depending on you. You need to get that flag. It's been thirty minutes into the game, yet no one has been able to retrieve the flag from either side.

You close your eyes and remain submerged for a little longer. Surprise overcomes you when you realise you're not holding your breath. You take in another breath, sweet air instead of liquid filling your mouth. The air tastes fresher underwater, without pollutants like smoke from the forest battle to contaminate it.

A gentle nudge startles you. You run your hands cautiously along the creature's pelt. It feels smooth and rubbery. A grin lights up on your face. You have your favourite animal to accompany you on your journey across the lake. You hold back laughter threatening to bubble out of your mouth. Your opponents must have thought its movement belonged to a shark!

Swinging your leg over its back, you let it carry you onto the opposite bank to meet your opponents. As your head lifts out of the water, it amazes you how different air can taste. Now that you've tasted the air in the water, you realise something about the element you've taken for granted all your life. The element that surrounds you. The element you walk in and breathe in every day since you were born. It has a slightly bitter tang to it, its purity ruined by mankind. Your new control of your favourite element, you realise, has also caused you to be more aware of your surroundings. You feel as if you can sense every single drop of vapour out there and which part of the air is more humid than others. Your senses are sharpened, all tuned towards one element: water.

The creature slowly pulls up to the shore and you gently stroke its head, expressing your gratitude as you slide off. Your opponents are already some distance away and you hurry after them, careful not to get too close. The thin sliver of the moon that decorates the sheet of darkness humans call 'sky' only allows clear vision within a small range. If you get too near, they'll know you're not really on their team. You could tag them now, but there's a chance your team may never manage to capture the flag. 'S-O-S' was a code to be used when almost everyone had been tagged and there really was no hope of getting the flag anymore.

On the other hand, leaving that island means you'll be leaving the flag to Kian. It's not that you don't trust him – you're worried that he won't be able to take down a big group of opponents on his own. You need to hurry, because you don't want anything serious to happen to him.

Absorbed in your thoughts, you don't notice the booby trap in front of you before it's too late. Before you can stop yourself, a cry of surprise more than pain escapes your lips as you are hauled upwards by your ankle. As your cry echoes into the night, you are left dangling by one leg from a tree, blood rushing into your face. You hear the footsteps ahead pause for a moment, then get louder as its source starts to make its way towards you.

"Hey, you alright?" one of them – Damon's friend – calls out. They sound close and you can already make out their silhouettes in the moonlight. Panic seizes you and your heart starts to pound, causing more blood to rush into your head at an increasing rate. You close your eyes, hoping your mind will be clearer when the world isn't upside down. When nothing seems to be working, you open your eyes. That is when you hear a scream. It sounds so distant and there is no way you will be able to help that desperate soul that is screaming for help, but it refreshes your mind. Suddenly, everything is clearer than before. Something within you that has been waiting to be unleashed wanders out uncertainly. You stare up at the sky (in your case, stare down), and your mind clicks together as if a missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle has been discovered.

Closing your eyes once more, you place all your concentration on the clouds in the sky. You slowly direct the untamed beast within you towards them, willing it to move the water droplets that are surrounding the moon. It almost saps all the energy out of you, but you, by some miracle, still manage to hold on. Despite the cold night, sweat starts forming on your brow. The footsteps that are getting louder still just increase your doubts. What if it doesn't work? What if they discover you're not on their team? What if –

Gasping, your eyes fly open as the beast thunders back towards you. You don't have enough energy to control it anymore and it slams into your body, its cage door clanging shut. It sits there quietly, waiting to be unleashed again. Your breaths are shallow as fear clouds your eyes. For a few moments you think this has blinded you, but Damon's words bring you back to your senses.

"What happened here? Did you really not notice this booby trap we created? We even had a briefing before this to tell you where all the traps were located!" he exclaims. You remain silent, too shaken to respond. Damon sighs and starts to feel around for the rope that prevents you from escaping. He can't see anything either. Despite all the darkness and fear, a smile starts to creep up your face. It grows wider as Pearl's words come to your mind. Always smiling even in the direst situations.

Then the weight of it all comes crashing down on you. How much you're in control of. What you can do. You begin to feel afraid of yourself. If an eight-year-old can do this, how much destruction can he cause? You can feel Damon and his friend still trying to undo the knot at your ankle. Your thoughts go back to how you felt when you were trying to control that beast to move the clouds, so that the moon would be covered. It seemed to have been sapping your energy at an increasing rate. This causes you to be even more afraid. You don't know your limits. How far can you go before you collapse – or even die – from the amount of energy it's robbing you of?

With a final grunt of effort from Damon's partner, you go crashing down towards the ground. You get to your feet, trying to orientate yourself, but it's kind of hard when you're shrouded in darkness. You rub the bruise already forming on your forehead, wincing.

"Thanks guys. You can go ahead, I'll be fine," you assure them, worried the moon will show her silver face soon, revealing your identity.

"Just make sure you don't fall into anymore traps." You can already sense a hint of suspicion in Damon's partner's voice, so you urge them to continue forward before it can grow. A few minutes after feeling your way around in the dark, the moon starts to peek out from behind the silver lining of clouds in the sky. You smile and utter a silent word of thanks to fate, grinning madly at how your faithful companion, luck, seems to be by your side as always.

This time, you make sure to examine the ground carefully before every step. After a few stumbles, you notice the two older boys slow down to a stop in front of a tree which seems to be heavily guarded. Immediately, a wall of dirt rises up in front of the three of you, blocking your path to continue forward.

"Password: A-I-R-T-H. Yes, two of them are with me," Damon says, responding to the questions asked. You hear a scream as your teammates are discovered and tagged. Your heart sinks but soars almost immediately after, realising that the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

As the dirt around you slowly sinks back into the earth, you take the time to push the clouds back over the moon. This time, it tires you out more than ever. Before it even moves an inch, you're already on your knees, trembling from the effort. The monster pulls at your grasp, begging for you to let go, but you persevere on. For Kian. For Apanie. For your team. By leaving Kian to guard the flag alone, you're simply betraying your teammates. You need to prove to your teammates that you are capable of doing something and it has to happen before your opponents discover the flag. For all you know, a huge group of your opponents could be swimming up to the island right now while you're still trying to test the limit of your powers. This could be the last time during the night your powers can be activated. It could also take up most of your energy, but it's worth it.

"I want to go with you."

You remember the disbelief that flared up in everyone's eyes. The stunned silence, before a girl with greyish-brown eyes – naturally the leader, being the most mature-looking – stepped forward. She didn't stoop down like how most people would talk to you. Yes, she had to look down to meet your defiant gaze, but she spoke to you as if you were her age. In other words, she actually made an effort not to belittle you. You remember her very words as if she were here right now, whispering them in your ear.

"Shark, I don't doubt your skills. In fact, I think you are more capable than anyone else here. With your small size, you could easily sneak up behind enemies to tag them. That's why we need you, someone with the advantage of size, to stay here and guard the flag. You have the most important job of all. I know you won't let us down."

However, you are doing exactly what she told you not to. You left your guarding post. The only way not to let them down is to grab that flag, since there's no going back now. That small memory provides you with a burst of energy. Within seconds, the moon is completely hidden once again. You crumple to the ground, exhausted. Before anyone can question you, you hurriedly get to your feet. At the perfect moment, there is a cry of warning. A huge team from side has discovered the flag.

"I'll guard the flag!" you shout. Hopefully, in all the confusion, everyone will be so occupied by trying to tag your team that Damon and his friend won't sense how you just contradicted your words. Feeling your way around, you manage to scale up the tree. It's a good thing you have photographic memory. You remember every single detail of the tree before the moon was covered. Unfortunately, you don't have the luxury of time because there's no telling when the moon will show her beautiful yet deadly face again. She will be the one to decide the fate of the game.

Without hesitation, you grab the red flag from its position and slide down the tree trunk, landing with a soft thud on the ground. However, you don't take off immediately into the night. You make your way towards the area where your teammates have been tagged. Now you realise why guarding the flag would have been more suitable for you. It wasn't because of your size – it had been your hair. Even in the dimmest of lighting, your hair can still be spotted from a distance. It's red. Fiery red.

The moon still hasn't revealed herself yet, but you remember the exact same spot where the person you're looking for is. After you 'free' her by 'un-tagging' her, you thrust the flag into her hands.

"Quick, Apanie. Run all the way back. No questions," you instruct solemnly. She makes a strangled sound as if she were going to ask something, but changes her mind at the last minute and takes off running with a whoosh. You grin. Her ebony-black hair makes her almost invisible in the darkness of the night.

You take off too, but in the opposite direction. Not long after, you hear a shout. Feet come thundering after you. You want to duck behind a tree and stay hidden from their sight, but you know it will just increase their chances of tagging Apanie. Your aim is to keep them occupied for as long as possible.

The energy used to move the clouds has really exhausted you. Even though your lungs are burning and your muscles are screaming in protest, you force yourself to keep going forward until you can't feel your legs anymore. All you care about is putting one foot in front of the other. You can feel yourself slowing down, so you're not surprised when a hand grabs you from behind and pins you to the ground. You struggle a little just for show, but let them push you down.

"Here's the betrayer!" Damon shouts. "Give us back the flag!"

"I don't have it," you try to deny.

"Then where is it?" You refuse to answer this question. You need to hold them back for as long as you can to put them off Apanie's trail, even if it means enduring suffering.

"Tell me!" You can see Damon shaking with rage. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before. No one on our team has red hair!" When you still refuse, he locks gazes with you. Sweat starts trickling down his brow.

That is when the air begins to travel in the wrong direction. Every time you try to inhale, air just escapes from your nose instead of going in. Desperately, you try to inhale again but end up choking. You claw at your throat, rolling around on the ground. Black spots begin to dance in front of your eyes. You can feel your face turning first red, then purple. You struggle on the ground, knowing it won't help at all. Finally, Damon's friend intervenes.

"Stop it, Damon! It's just a game! Can't you see he's merely a child?" Something flickers in Damon's eyes. Immediately, the blaze in them extinguishes. Air comes rushing back into your lungs.

Damon opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, the sky lights up. Stars start to rearrange themselves to form a shape of a woman. When she speaks, it is like a whisper in your mind, clear but unheard.

"Congratulations to the blue team. The game is over. Now choose, dear tributes. Love or hate?"

You think of how you helped your team to retrieve the flag. How you managed to keep going even at your weakest. How, without hesitation, you passed the flag to Apanie.

"Love," you choke out. It strengthened you. It encouraged you. The choice couldn't have been more obvious.

"I... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I choose... love," Damon says softly, placing his hand on your shoulder, gentler this time. That is the last thing you hear as the world fades from your view.

~~~

Western Male 2: Cyrus Martin:

  A soft breeze brushed against your freckled cheeks.Rubbing them to get rid of the sudden sting of cold air, you let out a quiet sigh. The woods were silent, the ever present smell of pine and syrup more notable than you had experienced in a long time. It was nice if not a little nauseating. Green grass as vibrant as the sun itself brushed your sneakers. Normally you would have smiled from old memories of you and your brother wrestling during late spring, but now you smiled for a different reason; you smiled because you knew with one hand motion you could've reached down and scorched the earth beneath your feet. It might have been more power than someone of ten should have yielded but it was intoxicating nonetheless.

 A quick glance behind you revealed a small lake, a large stone tower erected in the middle of it. The tower was a faded beige like that of marble and carved into it were crashing waves and burning flames. Erected above it was a blue flag that waved heavily in the breeze which held a white symbol for fire and water in the middle of it. To get to it there were several stone pathways that were constructed of five stepping stones each. You knew anyone who could even slightly harvest their water ability would be able to send kids crashing into the lake below and confidence swelled in your chest. This would be a walk in the park no matter where the other flag was hidden. You assumed it would be in the forest, the area in front of you covered with pine trees. As long as it wasn't buried six feet underground it wouldn't be that hard to find. 

 The woman who had been standing near the edge of the lake finally spoke up, her voice carrying across the clearing. "Everyone on your mark, get set..." you widened your stance, one of the tributes next to you bending down so she was touching the grass. The tributes that were guarding the flag all took a step back just to be safe and you saw a few exchange nervous glances. "Go!" 

 A grin spread across your face as you took off running. Branches whipped past you as you dashed in between one tree trunk and the next. All the other tributes racing for the flag dove into the forest as well and you quickly lost them among the trees. It made no difference to you, you didn't want a group attracting the other team to you anyway. A low hanging branch appeared before you and you ducked swiftly, the feeling of pine needles in your hair scratchy and unpleasant. Thankfully the forest was not so dense that it caused all light to vanish, which meant you could hold off on your powers just a little longer. 

 Pausing at the beginning of a clearing, you peered out from behind the tree closest to you. The clearing was small, the next line of trees only ten to fifteen feet away. It stretched left and right as far as you could see and a large red line had been painted straight through it. The spray paint was supposed to show where the teams' territories ended and crossed into each other. As you watched a boy from your team sprinted across the clearing, his brown hair slicked back and his stature much taller than your own. Almost immediately once he had crossed the line a sharp whistle sounded and a vine snaked up from the earth, catching his legs and winding up his ankles which caused him to bite the dust. 

 Hoping the other boy would work as a distraction, you took your chances and ran like hell. The wind pushed against you and your feet almost tripped over a tuft of grass but you made it. Once safe in the trees again you moved slower. There was no telling where anyone was or whose team they were on. Putting one foot in front of the other was difficult when everything inside was screaming at you to run like Hell for it, but you managed. Every breath you took came out a little quieter like an extreme game of hide and seek and yet a small smile stuck to your lips. It had been a long while since you had got to play anything so intense.

Rustling sounded to your left and you head whipped around as fast as it could on your small shoulders. The noise came from a small bush and you readied yourself by placing your thumb against your index finger. When you pushed the brush aside and looked behind it however, you found no one there. Fearing a trick you hurried forward till you had made it a safe distance. The trees were less thick here and you could see the next few feet in all direction easily.

A small scream set the back of your neck hair on edge and you stopped dead. Looking straight up for where you heard the sound you found a girl managing to fly. Her blonde hair had been whipped around her head haphazardly and you couldn't imagine her pale skin staying as pale if she were to stay up by the sun much longer. Knowing that if she were able to fly fast enough she would be able to grab your flag and get back without anyone even seeing her, you decided to make a move.

Flicking your thumb against the side of you index finger twice, a fire sparked within your hand. Crouching down and using your other arm to hold your hand steady, you aimed. Fire shot like a flame thrower out of your palm, the force knocking you to the ground. Frantically searching the sky, triumph flared when you realized your shot caused the girl to lose her concentration. She plummeted like a rock and you grimaced from the thump that sounded when she landed. Even though she laid a ways away you could tell she was knocked out cold.

Afraid of losing more time, you hurried onward. There was the sound of yelling ahead and as you snuck forward you came up to older boys fighting. One was on your team, a lanky blonde haired boy with the eye color of a rock and the other a girl who you quickly figured knew earth when you were forced to duck from a stray flying rock. The boy retaliated by holding up his hand and clenching it into a fist. Horror sunk into your gut as you watched the girl begin to cough up water the only explanation being that he was controlling her body fluids.

In hopes of not getting involved, you dipped behind another patch of trees and slipped past the fighting. A heavy breath left your chest as soon as you did, an unknown weight seeming to lift away. As you continued through the soft underbrush you began to notice a shape looming in the distance. Jogging forward until it came into focus, you let out a small excited noise. A tree ten times the size of you loomed ahead and at the top of it was a red flag, finally, you had found it.

 When you reached the clearing though you found several others already in a battle over it. As you watched a small ginger boy that looked even younger than you was sent crashing to the ground by a giant chunk of rock. Once he didn't move again, the earth wielder moved on and you swallowed a lump in your throat. Despite the fearsome odds, a plan began to form at the back of your mind. Stepping farther back into the shadows of the trees, you began to hike around the edge of the clearing. Every few feet the turn of a head or the snap of a branch between your feet would call for a sudden stop before you carried on even more warily than before. 

Reaching the area just behind the humungous tree, you checked for any guards but no one was there. The only person that could possibly see you now was a young girl who had placed herself in one of the branches and was currently facing the other way. Smirking, you knelt down and used your trigger from before to spark a small fire. Focusing all of that energy into your index finger, you pointed it at the tree and slowly cut through it as finely as a laser would have. Admitably, your hand was shaky, your job a little less than perfect but nonetheless the tree was tipping over all too soon.

It landed with a crash that must have shaken the entire forest. Everyone had managed to scramble out of the way though their shell-shocked faces showed that no one had expected someone to befall the tree. Wasting no time in using their surprise to your advantage, you leaped over the fallen trunk and ripped the red flag from where it had been hanging. As soon as the fabric was balled up in your fist you took off through the trees. 

Shouts followed behind you, both those of victory and those of anger. You didn't stop, you couldn't risk it until you had crossed the line. Behind you, trees began to tumble down. Some were uprooted by impossibly strong winds and others by the ground disappearing below them. Dodging moving trees was much harder than ones that had stayed still and you found yourself losing oxygen. Ahead of you, a bright light guided the way and you discovered a fire had begun to blaze on their side of the border. A vine wrapped around your leg but you dove forward, the thing burned off as the fire consumed you.

 Opening your eyes in surprise, you found yourself on the other side of the blaze unscathed. A few team members stood in front of you, eyeing you uncertainty. Realizing what they wanted, however, you simply grinned and held up the cloth clutched in your left hand. You had claimed the flag and therefore claimed a victory. 

 After the initial shock had worn off and the flag been handed off to someone else, you stood watching the fire get doused until it was nothing more than a small patch of scarred earth. You still felt sweaty and exhausted but the pride overweighed either of those feelings. To your surprise, you looked up to see the girl from before approaching, the one you had knocked down to earth midflight. 

 Instead of slapping you across the face, she held out her hand. You blinked at her in surprise taking a moment to notice the red burn that now marked her check. Noticing you had seen it, she simply shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I just wanted to say good game."She was older than you by a good few years and now that she was up close you were able to take in her eye color, which was a blue as the sky itself. For a moment you pondered declining her handshake, you had been the one to win not her. That decision wasn't wise, though, for now, everyone was supposed to get a long and hating someone would get you a lot more enemies than pretending to be nice would. So you took her hand and took it with a gracious smile. 

 "Good game to you too."  

~~~

Western Male 3: Artemis Leiß:

No Entry

~~~

Eastern Male 1: Abraham Marcello:

You felt lied to, honestly.

You sat, focused, trying to flex and bend and twist your mind into ways you didn't even know were physically possible, trying to do something, anything, to get that dang pile of dirt to move. Nothing,

You'd been trying to get it to do something for the last couple of hours, partially because you thought it would be a lot easier to move a pile of dirt (even if it was with your mind), but mainly to keep your thoughts from wandering to... darker subjects. You rubbed the bruise on your arm, the one right above where the needle had been inserted to inject the serum which was supposed to give you your powers.

You gritted your teeth with frustration and flopped onto your bed, the springs squeaking as you did so, the torturous noise echoing through the room. It is one of your massive pet peeves. Seriously, they were running this contest for millions upon millions of dollars, but was it possible to change the springs on the bed? Nah, that would be impossible! Who could bear to harbor the thought of wasting, you don't know, $1000? That would be sooo-

You were thought-ranting again, weren't you?

As you sat on the bed, you tried to keep your mind from the dark thoughts brewing in the back of your head, the ones based off of anger, fear, but most of all, revenge. Little tidbits of half-forgotten memories hiding in the darkest corners of your mind, the place where all mental demons live. You tried your hardest to keep them back, but of course, they came pouring through your mental barriers like water through a failed levee. Unfortunately, this memory was still fresh.

* * *

Your dad walked into the kitchen. The sound of water hitting metal pots and pans rang throughout the room, and you saw your mother at the center of the noise. You peeked around the corner so you could see what was going on.

"I'm not letting Abraham into the lab," your father said, glaring at her.

"He volunteered to do it, sweetie," she said, absentmindedly, her focus more on the pans than her husband.

"I don't care. It's dangerous in there. He could actually be killed." He looked at your mother with pleading eyes. "Please."

"I don't care what you think, Lucas! He's no son of mine, and he's going into the lab whether you like it or not!"

His pleading visage melted.

"Screw you, Lucinda!"

She then swung the pan. Your dad collapsed to the ground, soapy water and grease dripping down his face. You cried out, and stormed towards your mother. She turned to look at you, eyes sparkling, but not with love, with hatred. She swung the pan. The last thing you heard that night was your little brother screaming.

* * *

The tickle of a tear running down your cheek woke you from your trance. You realized that you didn't care about winning for your mother anymore. She was as dead to you as you were to her. You had a new motive. Revenge. You wouldn't let your mom see you die. You promised yourself that.

You were ushered out of your room by a large man in a suit. You walked down the hallway, accompanied by the other volunteers. You arrived at a door labeled "Training Room". You walked in and waited.

In about two minutes, everyone was in the training room. There were two doors on either side, one with a blue flag over the door, and one with a red flag. You were given a red shirt, along with all the rest of the air and earth elementals. The others were given blue shirts.

You were led out the door with the red flag, biting your nails, even though you knew how you'd curse your past self when you saw how damaged they'd become. Nail care is nothing to smirk at, kids.

On the other side was a forest, just like the ones by your home in the East, with towering pines and spruce trees, and some miscellaneous deciduous trees scattered there as well. You thought you could hear a river running on the other side of the woods. Your flag was hanging from a branch on one of the pines.

The loudspeaker turned on again, but this time it was Arianna talking. "Hello, volunteers! Today we have a special game for you guys to play. We're going to do Capture the Flag, I'm sure you've all heard of it, so this shouldn't take very long. Basically, your team needs to find the other team's flag. Water and fire elementals will be the blue team, and the Air and Earth elementals will be the Red team. The first team to get the other team's flag wins! The game will begin in 30 seconds. Good luck!"

"Soooo, who wants to be captain?" asked Nina.

Seeing your opportunity to make an impression, you raised your hand, "I'll do it! Does anyone want to get the flag with me, or do y'all want to stay and play defense?"

"Sure, I'll go with you," said Aurelie. "Do you have a plan on where you want to go?"

"We should probably go around the edge of the woods, so no one sees us, and then we can sneak up behind the other team and grab their flag," you said.

"Ok, let's go with that," she said. "Does anyone else want to help get the flag or will you all be defending it, because I'm pretty sure that we're not going to be able to do this on our own."

"I'll do it," said a small voice from the back of the group. It was Melina. Artemis and Blayke also decided to help.

"Perfect, that leave us with a good amount of offense and defense. Do you guys have a plan?" you asked.

"Nah, we'll just play it by ear," said Damon.

The gong rang out, and the five of them ran into the forest. Damon and Artemis ran around the other side of the forest, while Blayke just charged head-on into the woods.

It took about two minutes of walking before you or Aurelie saw anybody. At first you thought it was a small deer or something, but the noises became very close very fast.

The two of you ducked under a large rock, trying to make sure that there was no way that whoever was talking could see you. The longer they stayed under the rock, however, you realized it was two people. They sounded female. You peeked out from the rock as much as you dared, and got a glimpse of a blue shirt. Damn it.

"I swear Melody, I heard people over here," said one voice. So one of them was Melody.

"You've said that so many times, Dakota. Are you absolutely sure?"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. Let's just keep going, we're gonna find someone eventually."

You and Aurelie stayed still for another 30 seconds before you dared to even breathe. When you were absolutely sure that there was no one there, you were about to peek your head out from the rock before a voice cracked through the silence.

"C'mon guys, you need to hurry up. Troy told me that the flag was over here somewhere."

Crap. Sodi, Chryss/Ash and Mitchie were walking right towards you.

"Ok, I really need you to focus and come up with a plan. We're gonna be outnumbered three to two if we don't think up something in the next 15 seconds, so let's get those gears churning up there," you said, tapping your head.

For an agonizing three seconds, Aurelie was silent, but suddenly she perked up, and explained the plan in a rushed whisper. You got into your position, and on the count of three, bolted out from behind the rock.

The plan had its desired effect. The group of three wasn't prepared for anyone to be there, and they scattered trying to find you and Aurelie. Hopefully she could get the hang of her powers quickly enough to get the plan to work.

Fortunately, Mitchie and Chryss (or Ash, you didn't know, and didn't particularly care, since one of them was chasing after you) weren't very fast, and they began to tire very quickly. On the other hand, the most vicious one was still right behind you.

Until Aurelie's blast of wind knocked him to the ground.

It bought you some time, but within a couple of seconds, Sodi was right back up, his coal-black eyes sparkling demonically.

You began to panic, and your mind began to spin with all the possibilities of the pain that a maniac with fire would inflict upon you, until Aurelie's voice snapped your mind back to reality.

"Abraham, get ready! Jump on my count! One! Two! Three!"

You jumped, not sure what to expect, and then it happened.

As you reached the peak of your jump, you stopped falling, and began to float up. The experience was like being lifted by an invisible pillow. You could feel the air circulating beneath you, pushing you upwards towards the trees. You were almost close enough to reach one of the branches, but suddenly, the air current faltered, and you dropped a couple inches. Below you, you could see Aurelie with one arm extended towards you, and the other towards Sodi, both of them blasting currents of air, one keeping you up and the other keeping Sodi away. Sweat was dripping down her face, and you could tell she was getting tired very quickly.

With the last of her strength, she shot out a blast of air, enough to push you to the height of the branch. You pulled yourself up, and in horror, watched what happened next.

The barrier that kept Sodi out was now gone, he surged towards her, and spear-tackled her to the ground. Within seconds, Mitchie and Ash (who you could now tell apart now, because this one was smiling like a madman) were there too. Ash was pinning her down, while Sodi smiled sadistically, and attempted to burn Aurelie's arm while she screamed and writhed around on the dirt. Mitchie screamed and yanked Sodi by the collar, trying to get them to stop. Sodi sent a blast of fire, sending her flying into a nearby boulder. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The whole scene made you angry, so incredibly angry. You wanted to scream, claw and kick and bite, you wanted to do anything to make them stop. You tried to trigger your powers, tried to shout, tried to do something that would help, but your mind and your body were completely disconnected. You just sat there, silent tears running down your face. You closed your eyes, curled your fingers into a fist, and-

THWACK!

"Ow! What in the hell was that?" That was Sodi.

You looked down. A smooth, fist-sized rock was hovering about three feet above the ground. You moved your fist. The rock moved accordingly. You moved your first up. The rock moved up as well. You uncurled your hand, and the rock fell to the ground.

Your eyes widened, and you realized what you had to do.

Beat that bitch with pebbles.

You concentrated all your anger into two nearby rocks. You lived your hands up. Bingo. Time to shine.

In the time you spent beating Sodi and Ash with rocks, you learned you could control smaller rocks with your fingers, and larger rocks by using your whole arm. Sodi and Ash, unfortunately, did not yield the reactions you were expecting. They were mainly just annoyed with trying to find where you were, but most importantly, they were still holding Aurelie. Time to bring out the big guns.

You focused all of the anger of the past couple of days. You thought of your mother, Sodi, and how they treated you and your friends. You lifted both of your arms, and it felt like you were trying to carry 100 pound weights with each arm, the weight growing by the second. With all the strength you could muster, you lifted the boulder, stained with Mitchie's blood. You cringed as Mitchie's body slumped even further to the ground. You hurled the hovering rock towards Sodi and Ash.

This time the reaction was perfect this time. Sodi crumpled on top of Aurelie, unconscious, while Ash managed to wiggle out and run back into the forest, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hahaha! That's what I'm talking about! Take that sodium raisin!" you said, somewhat hoping that Sodi could hear you say that.

With the rest of your strength, you lifted the boulder off of her, and she squirmed out. She stared at you, dumbfounded.

"Ok then. It looks like you found out how to use your powers," she said.

You couldn't help but smile goofily. "Yea, I guess so. Anyway, I think it would be better if we split up. I'm already at a vantage point, so I'll go find the other team's flag. Try and find our base and protect the flag? 'Kay?"

"Okay, sure."

And with that, she ran back into the woods.

It turned out that your vantage point was very hard to navigate. Apparently, climbing trees is easy, but trying to jump from branch to branch isn't very efficient unless you're a monkey. Somehow, you made it over to the other team's area without being noticed. You had some close calls, though. Troy almost looked up and saw you when a pinecone decided it was the most opportune time to fall on his head.

After about ten minutes of searching, you saw the lake. It seemed impossibly big to be in the lab, but there it was, clear as day. There was an metal pole in the middle of the lake, with the flag resting atop it. You knew exactly what you had to do.

You hopped around until you were at you decided to be the best spot for it to work. There were five or six people below you, guarding the lake. You could see Ashlynn and Rye, and maybe Apanie. None of them were facing the lake. Perfect. You saw Rye turn around and say something to Ashlynn, You could barely make it out, but it sounded something like this:

Rye began with, "Do you think... they found it?"

Ashlynn responded, "Nah... morons don't know... doing. I wish... chance to use fire... stupid little kids..."

You scowled. Whose idiotic decision was it to include a pyromaniac in these tests?

You remembered the task at hand and looked back at the pillar.

You hadn't tried to move dirt yet, but now was your chance. You focused on the little granules of silt and rock and fragments of bones long forgotten, and lifted them. The pillar moved up, but just slightly.

This time you focused on a bigger area. A three foot ring of dirt around the pillar began to rise from the lake, taking the pillar with it. You lifted more and more, and the pillar rose, foot by foot, yard by yard, until it was almost grabbing distance. You could feel yourself tiring, the weight of hundreds of pounds of dirt pulling on you. It felt like the very cells that made your arm were ripping apart, and all you could really do was register the pain. You grasped once, but you might as well have been flailing a rubber arm at it. You tried again, almost brushing the pillar. You tried once more, and snatched it. The flag was finally in your hands.

The pop of the loudspeaker echoed throughout the forest, "Congratulations to the Earth and Air elementals! You have won the game! You will be escorted back to your rooms momentarily."

Snap!

You silently cursed the gods of cliche as you plummeted from the tree into the water, the coolness of the water soothing the burning in your arms. As you emerged, through the blurriness of the water in your eyes, you could see the other team came to the shore and stare at you, some with admiration and awe, like some with hatred. You could see Sodi, rubbing a bump on the back of his head. You absolutely loathed him for what he did to Aurelie and Mitchie. Someone like him, Ash, or even Ashlynn, who could hurt and kill with no remorse had no right to be soldiers, someone meant to protect. You promised yourself you wouldn't let people like that make it out of the lab. If you were going to die, you were going to die with dignity.

Speaking of dignity, you were soaking wet in the middle of the lake with the eyes of at least ten people right on you. You thought it would be a good idea to maybe preserve that dignity for at least another two days.

"Game over," you said.

Sassy yet intimidating. Yup. That should do it for the day.

~~~

Eastern Male 2: Chryss Cardinal:

Chryss stared at the ocean below- miles upon miles of nothing but turquoise water and light blue sky. It was, he reflected, quite possibly the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, having not even left the Eastern District before the draft. And yet, as he watched a dolphin (a dolphin!) jumping in the water below, he was fighting a lump in his throat that refused to leave.

This was for more than the obvious reason- sure, he missed his family. Sure, he was scared of what was going to happen. But now, two days after the serum had been injected into his arm by the masked scientists, he was starting to realize what he had gotten himself into.

Even the stunning view unnerved him. Where were these people taking him? A place with clear skies and clean water? He had had no idea that those existed anymore; as far as he had known a week ago, the entire world was surrounded by the same brownish-gray that he'd grown up under. As far as he had known a week ago, water in nature had always been a nasty shade of yellow, and only after it was extensively purified could it be safely drunk.

Apparently not.

The rest of the helicopter fell silent. The few kids who had been talking (mainly Dakota and Melody, who maintained a steady stream of chatter while the others contemplated their fates) quieted immediately.

"Hello, children!" a startlingly cheerful male voice resonated from the speaker. "We hope you're all as excited about this first game as we are! I'm your pilot,and I just wanted to introduce Arianna and Liali, who are up here in the cockpit with me. Arianna's the boss around here, so if you're planning to cause any trouble, make sure it's not on her watch." He laughed, as though the very idea of anyone wanting to mess with Arianna was ludicrous. "Anyway, I'll let them do the rest of the talking."

"Thank you, Danijel," a slightly annoyed female voice sounded. "I'll be going over the rules of the game now. It's a simple one- capture the flag. I'll explain how to play. The people around you are your team of fire and water elementals, and you'll be playing against earth and air. The purpose of the game is to retrieve the other team's flag, which will be in a tree, and to do this before they have the opportunity to steal yours. Now," the voice turned steely, "I want to make it perfectly clear that there will be absolutely no killing, maiming, or causing permanent psychological damage to any person, whether they are on your team or not.

"Each one of the shots that you received cost upward of ten million dollars; if you die, that's an automatic loss. We will be monitoring you with drones at all time to ensure your safety, but remember, the purpose of this task is to exercise your power and impress us; having to be rescued five minutes into the game isn't exactly awe-inspiring.

"Finally, you are not allowed to move your team's flag from its current position. Doing so will result in automatic disqualification. If you have any questions, please keep them to yourselves. This is a science experiment, not a preschool. Good luck."

Click. The announcement was over. Chryss gulped and wondered how he had gotten himself in this situation.

**************************************************************************************

Ash watched the helicopter fly away, the sound of its engine fading as it rose into the sky.

The group of twelve had been deposited on a marble column in the middle of a frozen lake that was ringed by a deep green forest. The platform was circular, around 50 feet in diameter, and it felt smooth, almost slippery, beneath Ash's shoes.

"Do we have a plan?" asked Dakota.

Ash rolled his eyes. "No, we don't have a plan. We're going to go marching into enemy territory without any idea of what to do."

"What?"

"Yes, we have a plan!" Ash yelled. "I'm going to try and find their flag." He pointed at Apanie and Mitchie. "You're coming with me. You," he nodded at Ashlynn, "are going to be behind us at all times. If you think you hear a fight, you can be our surprise reinforcement, but otherwise, try to remain unnoticed. We'll be going clockwise around the lake. Let's make another group, same size, that can go counterclockwise. The remaining four stay behind and guard the flag. Questions?"

"Yes," Mitchie snapped. "Why do we have to do what you tell us?"

"If you have any better ideas, go ahead!" Ash wondered how he'd ended up on the same team as these idiots. Couldn't they realize that they were wasting valuable time that could be used to begin their offensive strategy?

Mitchie sighed and glared, but remained silent.

Ash, Apanie, Mitchie, and Ashlynn jumped down from the marble column, slipped on the thick ice, and began their slow, treacherous way across the iced lake.

*********************************************************************

"La, la, la-la-la la, la la la la-la! " a cheerful voice sang out.

Mitchie, Apanie, and Ash exchanged surprise looks.

"I bet it's a trap," Mitchie said immediately.

"And it it's not? We could take whoever that person is hostage!" Ash challenged, his mind alive with ways to take advantage of the situation. "Everyone hide. If it's one person, we capture them. It two, we try to fight. But if it's a crowd, stay quiet and hope they don't notice you."

He dove behind a bush, and the rest did the same, Apanie scrambling up a tree.

A minute later, a small, dark-haired boy, who Ash recognized as Blayke, skipped out from behind the trees. He was whistling loudly, and seemed to be doing his best to make as much noise as possible: stepping on fallen leaves, crashing through the undergrowth...

Ash began to straighten up from his crouch. No doubt this would be an easy target. He lit his finger on fire, and was about to confront the boy, when-

*****************************************************************************

Chryss shoved his finger into the ground and hurriedly sat down. Stupid Ash. Why hadn't he realized that it was obviously a trap?

Chryss was willing to bet that there were at least two other fighters right behind Blayke, ready to turn an ambush the other way. He wondered what to do.

They could wander this forest for days and never find the flag, but Chryss hated the thought of a fight, where someone could get hurt, or maybe even die. After all, no one could really control their powers yet, and he doubted that Arianna could intervene fast enough to stop bloodshed.

Making his decision, he stepped out of the bush, hands raised high above his head.

Immediately, he was surrounded. Four- four!- Earth and Air elementals had emerged silently from the woods, looking grim.

"We've got you surrounded, Fire scum!" Junji cried, summoning little whirlwinds in her open palms. "Now, put your hands up to heaven or you'll be heading there pront-"

"No, no, no!" Abraham interjected. "Nina was supposed to say that. You have the next line, remember?"

"Yeah, but Nina wasn't saying anything, so-"

"I'm sorry..." Nina mumbled.

"Alright, nevermind. So we're not going to intimidate the enemy with our fearsome banter, or whatever it's called." Abraham looked at Chryss, who was trying to not laugh. "You're still outnumbered five to one. Now, there are two ways to do this- the easy way and the hard way. Either you tell us where your flag is, or we're all going to be very unhappy."

He's watched way too many action movies, Chryss thought. But if he wants to play by the script, why not let him?

"You think you can scare me?" Chryss snorted. "You're really the ones who are surrounded. I, too, brought backup. Come on out, guys."

Nothing happened. Chryss waited impatiently, growing nervous as the seconds ticked by and no one appeared.

"He's lying!" Junji stated. "I knew it."

Just then, Mitchie and Ashlynn stood up from their hiding places, and Apanie dropped from her tree.

"Cut out the stupid talk and just get to the point," Mitchie flared. "Chryss, why'd you expose our hiding places?"

Chryss nodded. Now he could explain himself, at long last. "Look, guys," he began, "let's start over. This forest is huge; we could all search it for hours and never find the flags. "Here's what I propose: We tell you guys the direction of the la- I mean, our flag- you tell us the direction of wherever you put your flag, and we leave on good terms. Or," Chryss glanced at Junji, "we could fight. We'd all get hurt, and in the end nothing will have changed. What do you say?"

"I say you know you'll lose!" Artemis proclaimed. "That's why you're trying to weasel your way out of a fight."

Abraham nodded. "Too true."

And before Chryss had a chance to defend himself, Abraham thrust a hand up and the ground underneath Chryss rose up into a mount, throwing him back several feet and slamming him into a tree.

************************************************

Ash forced his eyes open. His head throbbed, but he couldn't just sit there and contemplate life awhile- Abraham was advancing on him, fast.

Eyes watering, he stood up.

"Not so cocky now, are you, Chryss?" Abraham asked, smirking.

Ash grinned suddenly. A fight, finally. A way to expel his energy without getting expelled from school.

"Three things to say to you," he corrected. "First, drop the stupid James Bond dialogue. Second, I'm not Chryss. Third, you're going down."

Suddenly, Ash knew what to do. He pressed his hands together and intertwined his fingers. An unknown energy source pounded through his veins, and he felt a tingling in his fingers. They heated up for a second, then became cool. He felt calm, an emotion usually foreign to him. His headache vanished.

His hands separated, revealing a glowing ball of fire hovering around an inch above each palm, slightly illuminating the darkening woods around him.

Watching Abraham's stunned expression with delight, he considered saying something cool, confident, and memorable, but decided against it, on the grounds of not knowing what to say.

Then it was time to act. He pushed his right arm out, sending the ball of flame rocketing towards Abraham, who ducked, but not fast enough to avoid a stylish new haircut.

"Dammit, Chryss!" Abraham swore, then looked guilty, presumably about the cussing. "When'd you learn to use your powers?"

"I already told you: my name is Ash, and I'm done with this conversation."

With those words, Ash shot the second fiery blob at Abraham, who this time met the flare head-on and collapsed from the heat and pain.

Chryss would've felt sorry for him, Ash reflected. But he started it, really. And anyway, I'm nothing like Chryss.

Ash looked around him for the first time since he'd been knocked into the tree.

Mitchie had, abandoning her powers, socked Junji hard in the face, and the latter was lying, stunned, on the ground. Apanie, her hair full of leaves, dirt, and pebbles, was holding Nina in a headlock.

Ashlynn was nursing a long scrape that ran along her right arm, from elbow to wrist. Blayke had disappeared, and Artemis was cowering on the ground.

"So..." Apanie said, surveying the area. "Who wants to tell us where the flag is first?"

**************************************************

"I swear she lied," Mitchie grumbled.

"No, she didn't," Ashlynn replied. The fight seemed to have broken a barrier in her, and now she she was humming something under her breath and almost skipping along. "It was my idea to separate them and then ask the questions, remember? And they both pointed the same way."

Ash said nothing. He was worn out from confrontation; controlling fire had taken more out of him than he had expected, which was disappointing. Such short bursts of power, followed by periods of exhaustion, didn't spell well for the future. What if a battle took as much as an hour? He wouldn't last that long, with the current state of his abilities. Still, hopefully it was possible to get better at elemental manipulation, just like any other skill.

They walked on for another few minutes, tripping over sticks and rocks in the bleak light that filtered through the leaves of the trees as the day came to a close until Ashlynn spun in place and lit up her pinkie finger, keeping the flames small so they couldn't be spotted by the other team.

Ash was beginning to doubt the credibility of their source; the earth and fire group may have decided beforehand on a fake location for just this scenario.

"Where did they say the flag was again?" he asked.

It was Ashlynn who answered. "20 minutes forward, then look for a tall birch with no leaves on the branches that's on a random mound. There isn't going to be anybody guarding it, since according to Nina, everyone went offense, but she could have been lying about that."

"She could have been lying about everything!" Mitchie argued, turning to glare at Ashlynn and forgetting to look where she was going.

Oof! Mitchie stumbled over the root of a tall birch with no leaves on the branches that was on a random mound.
"Oh!" squealed Ashlynn. "We found it!"

Mitchie and Ash cheered, and even Apanie smiled.

They peered up among the branches, squinting and trying to spot the red flag that would signify their arrival at the long sought-after destination.

"There it is!" Ash declared. He had recovered from the scuffle and was now once again eager to experiment with his fire. "Any ideas on how to get it down?"

Solemn stillness. The banner was at least thirty feet up, and birches weren't exactly the easiest to climb.

Ash found himself wishing that Chryss was there instead of him.

Chryss is pretty creative, even if he is too-

*************************************************

Whoa. Chryss blinked. What had just happened? Usually it was a fight for power between him and Ash, but now Ash had willing abdicated control.

It was a mystery for another time, as his mother used to say. Now, for the more immediate problem- the tree.

If only they had an axe, or even a knife. Birches were, as a rule, rather slim, so it wouldn't be too hard to-

"Let's burn it down," Chryss decided.

The others stared at him, confused.

"You're saying," Mitchie began, "that you want to burn down the thing that we spent hours looking for? Is that what you're saying, or am I hard of hearing?"

"Neither. Sorry about that; I should've been clearer. I was saying that we could burn a sort of ring around the trunk of the tree. I mean, if we could stop the fire getting out of control. That would make the tree fall."

"That... is actually a decent idea," Mitchie conceded.

"Could I do the burning?" Chryss asked. "I mean, if no one minds."

Ashlynn considered it.

"Fine," she acknowledged. "And I can help with making sure it doesn't burn the rest of the tree."

They set to work. Chryss learned that keeping fire restrained was much harder than shooting it at people: fire wanted to burn, to devour, to destroy; Chryss felt like he was walking a huge Rottweiler on a short leash: as much as he thought he had the power, the Rottweiler was really the one in charge.

After ten minutes, he was wiping sweat from his brow. They were almost there, but keeping the flames at bay was getting harder and harder, or maybe he was just tiring.

Some more time passed in tense silence, Ashlynn now working as well as Chryss, quieting the fire when it seemed to shoot up.

Finally, the tree was hanging by a thread.

"Everyone out of the way," Chryss grunted, then slammed into the wobbly trunk. It teetered for a second, then fell to the ground with a thump that resonated through the forest.

They ran towards where the highest point would normally be, exhilarated but also fearful. What if the flag wasn't there? What if it was a trick of the light, or, even worse, a false trail left by the other team?

They reached it.

It was there.

Mitchie got to it first, picking it up and waving it triumphantly above her head.

"I found it!" she screamed, no longer caring if others heard her. The game was won. They had won.

Chryss smiled so hard he thought his face would fall off, and hugged the rest of his team, who were similarly elated.

Then a thought occurred to him, and he stopped smiling. Earlier in the day, Ash had nearly killed a kid. Given him first-degree burns on his face, at least. Abraham had knocked Chryss into a tree hard enough to cause a concussion. Mitchie would have seriously injured Junji if the latter hadn't fallen after the first blow. What was happening to them?

Why were they prepared to kill because of a game?

Chryss wanted to stop thinking. Of course, anything could turn into a competition, and he had played many games that had turned ugly, but this was different.

Was it possible that the mutation that gave him (and all the rest) powers had also done something else to them? Could it had affected their brains?

Maybe it was another part of the experiment. A way to see who would turn psychopathic if prodded in the right direction, and who would retain their sanity.

Chryss wondered if he would be willing to kill. The thought frightened him.

Could he murder someone else, another living, breathing, thinking, loving human being like himself, if it meant he would survive himself?

He announced his answer, loud and clear, to the helicopter that was arriving to take them back to the campus, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in the deep navy sky.

"No!"

~~~

Eastern Male 3: Ren Hewitt:

The dark blue flag hung on the flagpole above the water like fruit hanging from a withered tree, the small gusts of wind making it flap and ripple like a pebble being dropped into a still ocean. Ren looks down at it from the dark bushes that sit upon the giant hill, his body concealed by the darkness. He crouches down and tries to get a better look at the flag and the tributes surrounding it.

The flag hangs upon a rusty pole that towers above a dark and murky water. A massive lake surrounds the flag pole. Tributes are standing around, almost as if they don't know what to do with themselves, nobody has tried to attack at the flag yet so they are obviously waiting for something to happen. A good handful of the other tributes have gone off in search for the other flag. But Ren grins as he think of all the tributes on his team that chose to stay behind and make sure that the other team don't get their hands on the flag.

Ren's sneakers are starting to soak through and his black socks are getting uncomfortably soggy, all because of the saturated ground.

"So what are we going to do ?"A small voice from beside him whispers.

Ren turns his head look into the bright blue eyes of Blayke, Ren had automatically gravitated himself towards Blayke. Because to put it simply..he's a little odd. But thats not a bad thing, in fact it's a very good thing. It means that he is interesting enough for Ren to like him. And smart enough to know how to survive in the Games.

Ren looks into the stormy blue eyes that lay upon Blayke's young face, the glint in his eyes softens Ren's heart but he shouldn't undermine this kid, he could probably wipe the floor with Ren if he wanted to.

"Erm, I vote that we cause a distraction and then just run as fast as we can for the flag"

Blayke's brows crash together "What about the fact that the flag is meters above deepwater"He whispers and move's hands in a 'seriously' kind of way.

"We can swim can't we ?" Ren says and rolls his eyes, trying to cover up the fact that his plan sucks.

"We need more people"Blayke sighs and looks to the ground, he starts to fiddle with a loose thread on his coat.

"Or we can just cause a big distraction, one that might make to other team very confused and hopefully very scared, I kinda wanna see that Blonde girl crap herself, she looks like that type of girl who's a stuck up princess"

"What distraction were you thinking of ?"Blayke asks, ignoring the snide remark.

"Well either both of us sneak behind Barbie over there, or one of us causes a distraction and the other get's the flag and hope that the other members of our team find us and help."

"Or we both cause the distraction, make it even bigger and then while they are confused we sneak towards the flag"

Ren grins "Yep I think I like that plan better, which is odd because I am normally the guy that makes the plan"

"Someone's cocky"

"Whatever"

Ren looks down at the flag again and he gulps as his nerves consume him, they are really high up, its not big enough to be a cliff but its not small enough to be a hill. It's a weird in between. And it freaks him out. He's never been a fan of heights and he never will be. Ever.

"Hey !" an unknown voice speaks up from behind them, causing Ren to freak out.

Ren suddenly whips around and Blayke gasps in shock.

It's another tribute, and he has fire glowing in his hands.

"Crap.."Ren mutters and side glances at Blayke.

"Get up, or I swear to god I will burn your freaking face off"The tribute threatens, but he looks kind of unsure of himself.

"There's something so deeply wrong with that."Ren says awkwardly while holding his hands up in a surrender position.

"Shut up"

"Look there doesn't have to be any face burning tonight okay, because i'm totally down with not having my face burn into little chunks of Ren"

"I said shut up !"

"Okay shutting up now"

"If i hear another word I swear to god !"

Charming.

Ren slowly crouches, his hand moves down to hover over a big fallen branch. He slowly raises his body. Then when he stands up, as quick as lightning he bends down and grabs the fallen branch. He brings it up like a katana and swings it like a baseball bat. The branch hits the tribute directly in the face. It connects to his face with a painful 'thunk' and Ren winces as a spray of blood flies out of the tributes mouth. That's gotta sting.

The tribute moans in pain but quickly recovers, he moves his face to the side and angrily spits out blood. Then he raises his hands, fire floats and heats up in his palm.

Ren widens his eyes and draws the energy into his body, his feels to power sucking into his bones, sweat trickles from his forehead and he brings his hands up. He then focuses the energy onto one point on the ground. He channels the energy and releases it onto the floor.

The forest floor groans and then splits open, a crack widening right onto the tributes feet. The tributes eyes widen and his feet get wedged into the split on the ground, The ground almost swallows his legs whole, his ankle awkwardly getting trapped like a rusty bear trap.

The fire fades from his hands and he struggles to get out of the tight wedge in the solid ground. Ren grins and sees that his plan has worked.

"You're not getting that flag !" The tribute screams and his hands burn red.

Then there's a fireball flying their way.

"Get down !"Ren screams and grabs Blayke's arm, pulling him to the ground. Blayke stumbles backwards, narrowly dodging the fire. But then he trips, and falls backwards, pulling Ren as he goes. Ren feels the drag on his arm.

"Oh Shi....!"He yells

Then it all happens quickly.

Suddenly he felt a pain burst through his foot and he stumbles, knees crashing against the solid ground and his body collapses to the slanted floor. But his body doesn't stop moving. He screams as his body gets thrown down the incredibly steep hill. He closes his eyes as he feels his body plummeting to the lower ground, he almost feels like he is in mid air for a second before he feel more pain of him uncontrollably crashing down the hill. Rocks and sticks dig into all parts of his body and he moans in pain. He can feel parts of his skin getting scratched away and it hurts like a mother.

It was the freezing cold that hit him next, shock from the impact of his body hitting the water coming second. The realisation that he couldn't breath coming third.

His body struggles to move and he starts flailing around in the pitch black water, eyes wide in shock as they try to find some source of light. Bubbles stream out of his mouth as he screams when seaweed gets caught on his wrist, he struggles to shake it off.

He manages to shake it off but he is far from safe. His hands manage to break the surface of the water and he pulls his body up. He greedily sucks in a sweet breath.

"Blayke...!"He shouts before his head falls beneath the surface again.

His legs are getting tired, and the shock of the cold stabbing him in his body thousands of times like frozen shards of icicles. His whole body trembling with the freezing cold. Water flows into his mouth and he thrashes around, shivering from fear and coldness. He blindly tumbles around, searching frantically for a breath of fresh air.

His pale white fingers manage to break the surface of the muddy water again and Rean manages to lift his head that feels like a weighs ten pounds out of the water. He sucks in the air greedily and treads water. He starts coughing and spluttering, his body trying to rid of the water that has filled his lungs.

"Ren !"

Ren turns his head to see Blayke's small head bobbing up from the water a couple of meters away from him, relief washes over him as he see's that he's okay. His hacking coughs start to fade as he recovers.

"The flag ! Get the flag !"He shouts, frantically pointing at the flag. While spluttering more water out of his mouth Ren turns around to see that the flagpole is only about a meter away from him.

So he swims. As quickly as his bruised body would take him, adrenaline consuming his system. But that's when a beautiful girl pops her perfect head out of the water directly in front of him. Her eyes wide and caring, yet they still hold that fiery spark that leaves Ren with no doubt that she could most definitely kick his ass if she wanted to. He doesn't really want to take that risk.

"Are you okay, it looked like you took quite a fall ?"She asks.

Ren looks at her weirdly, as if to say 'Why the hell do you care ?'. She's probably just doing this to distract him.

"Whatever, I just need to get that flag !" He says and ducks away and tries to swim past her.

She looks him deadly in the eyes "Can't let you do that" she says and that is when he is blinded by water flying in his eyes.

"Argh you bastard !" he yells and stats flailing around in the water.

Instead of trying to get the water out of his eyes, he decides it would be better to focus getting himself out of the water. He feels the elemental energy burning in his bones once again. He points the energy to ground that lays beneath the water's surface, And very slowly a small part of it starts to raise. He can feel some of the energy leaving his body, making him feel weaker with every second but that doesn't stop him. He keeps going until he feels the raised part of the ground reach his feet beneath him.

That's all he needs. He stops growing the earth, and stands upon the ground that he has raised in the water, he looks at the flagpole that is now directly in front of him. While narrowly dodging a spray of water that a red headed kid squirted at him, he reaches up. His hands connect with pole. He tries to reach his body up but he cannot reach the stupid thing, and he doesn't have enough energy to use his elemental powers. So he leans back and prepares himself to jump.

"Someone stop him !"A tribute screams and the beautiful girl in the water tries to grab his leg. Whereas the Redhead kid stares at him in awe.

He avoids her and bends his knees and just jumps. He outstretches his arms as much as he can and his fingers manage to scrap the material of the crimson flag. Then a sudden gust of wind manages to move the flag a little lower, Probably one of the air tributes on his team doing it to help him.

He grabs it. He never ever thought that grabbing a flag would give him so much relief.

He feels the material get dragged away from the pole and detaches itself when Ren crashes into the water.

And this time when he re-surfaces from the water he does it with a smile.