Modern table and chairs had been set up throughout Gamecenter.

Sponsors, escorts, and mentors were seated around them and talking, discussing business. Screens were built into the table top so one could search statistics and watch the Games. You could select a specific camera or watch the footage that was being projected throughout Panem. I kept my screen focused on a wide view of the Cornucopia.

It was still early in the morning so Maia and Vine were asleep, cuddled up together in the structure.

District 9 was on night-watch. They were talking quietly. I zoomed in on them and turned on the mic.

"Why did they save us?" the girl asked.

"I don't know," he said. "But I think we should go. Or they'll kill us."

"We should take some stuff and go now," she said.

I shook my head.

I had to alert Maia and Vine somehow.

So far, we had collected enough money to send something into the arena. That would have to do.

I pulled up the request form on the screen. Usually once a form was sent in an item would enter the arena within minutes.

Intended Tribute: Maia Luxeri

District: 1

Gender: Female

Item: Lamb Salami

Message (limit 75 characters): Good so far. Eliminate 9. Find new allies if you must. Protect Cornucopia. Kisses, Cassia

I sent in the form and kept my eyes on my personal screen.

The tributes from 9 had stood up and begun wandering the Cornucopia, probably looking for something to carry some things in.

There was a tinkling noise and the main screen went to the Cornucopia.

I could only beg that they didn't show a shot of the note. Then there would a be a mutiny in here.

Maia sat up, walking over to where a silver parachute had landed. A cylindrical case was attached to it. "1" was painted on the cylinder.

"I believe that's for me," Maia said. She pressed a button on the case and it opened. I could tell that her eyes were scanning the note. She smiled.

"Salami," Maia laughed. Vine had woken up. She tossed the stick of meat to him and dropped the case back down to the ground. "Lamb salami so it's probably for you, love."

There was an "aww" throughout the room.

My sister was very good at this.

She wandered casually over to a weapons rack, fingers brushing across an assortment of knives.

She picked one up spinning it.

"Anything happen last night?" she asked.

"Not really," the girl from 9 said. But her voice sounded nervous. "The boy from 8 is dead."

"Oh?" Cassie asked. "That's good. I was thinking we go find the loser from 12."

"That's a good idea," the boy said.

She was playing with her food before she ate it.

The knife was still in her hand as she wandered back to the pile of sleeping bags where Vine was still sitting. She sat beside him and put her chin on his shoulder, whispering into his ear.

Every tribute had a mic embedded in their clothing so no whispers could be secret.

The main camera zoomed in on their conversation.

"I want them gone, my love," Maia whispered. Vine glanced over at her, a twisted smile on his face.

"All or just one?" he asked, softly.

"Nine," she whispered, viciously. She kissed his cheek. "Get the boy."

There was a gasp throughout Gamecenter. I could feel all eyes on me. They all knew it wasn't Maia's idea to take out District 9.

A second later, knives were sunk in both of the tributes' from 9's chests. They were gasping for air on the ground. There were two booms.

The two from 11 were scrambling for the weapon's rack.

Vine pulled a bow out from under his pillow and Maia casually handed him an arrow. He fired and the boy went down. The girl had a knife in her hand. Maia had a knife in her hand but she was the faster one. The girl's knife hit the ground only seconds before her body did. Two cannons went off.

"Now we're screwed," Vine noted.

"No, now we decided whether we want to play defense or offense," Maia said.

"Does defense mean we get to sit back and relax?" Vine asked.

"Offense is our best chance. We pack up what we need. Our very presence will scare the life out of them," she said. "We pack what we need and burn the rest."

"Burn it? Burn the Cornucopia?"

A twisted smile stretched across Maia's face.

"It'll be fun," she said. "So let's get packing."

I stood up, relieved that the number of tributes had dropped significantly.

They finally had a fighting chance.

I wandered over to the bar and ordered a glass of wine, sitting down to watch the Games on the big screen. They were showing shots of the tributes from 3 and 5, struggling to make a fire.

An Avox placed a glass in front of me and I took a rather large sip.

It killed me that I had to sit here for the next couple of days, acting like I cared about the stupid Games and the Capitol.

An hour later, Maia and Vine were packed and ready to go. They each carried quite the arsenal. Vine carried the tent and sleeping bags while Maia managed food and other survival gear. They wouldn't be fast moving but they would be capable for surviving for awhile.

Maia held the box of matches in her hand.

A message appeared on my personal screen.

Forgive me but I can't allow this to happen.

My eyes went wide and I jumped out of my seat.

Maia lit the match and suddenly there was a low growl out of nowhere.

"Not good," Vine said.

"Drop the stuff," Maia said. She blew the match out. They both slipped their backpacks off. They readied their bows and stood back to back, walking in a circle.

"What do you think it was?" Vine asked.

"I think it is bear," Maia said.

"Is it gone?"

"It's never gone," she said. "They obviously don't want us to light the Cornucopia on fire."

"So what do we do?"

"We light the Cornucopia on fire," Maia laughed. In a split-second, she had lit a new match and thrown it towards the Cornucopia.

It went up in a glorious blue flame.

There was another growl, this time much more violent and louder.

Something big and brown rushed at the from the dense forest.

Vine screamed but Maia began firing a volley of arrows at the beast.

I tried to hold back my own screams.

She needed to run. Why wasn't she running.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't watch anymore. I had failed her.

The crowd gasped and cheered. They were disgusting people. How could they enjoy this?

Eventually there was a silence.

"Protect the Cornucopia," my sister's voice said, loud and clear.

I opened my eyes. She was scratched up pretty bad but she was alive. There were three bleeding cuts rushing down the side of her face.

All I could think about was how much trouble I was in.

But she was alive.

Vine, however, was dead.

A cannon went off, and she fell to her knees beside him.

She started crying and whispering things to him.

The crowd was oohing and awwing.

I rolled my eyes. She needed to find the other tributes before nightfall and take at least two of them out.

This could possibly be the shortest Games.

We weren't even a day in and only 5 tributes remained.

After awhile, she got up, vowing to avenge his death. She removed some of the food from her pack and took the one of the sleeping bags and tent out of Vine's bag.

With her new backpack shouldered and one last kiss on Vine's cheek, she pulled out the box of matches. She lit one and was about to drop it on what stuff she no longer needed when she stopped.

She must have gotten idea because she blew the match out.

She stood there, thinking for a moment.

Then she pulled out a new match and lit it, tossing it into the woods. A small fire started amongst the dead pine needles.

She took a few steps and lit another one tossing it into the woods again. It didn't take me long to figure out what she was doing.

She was going to burn the arena.