Kaya Willow's P.O.V. (D12)

"Kaya," Dean says when he returns to the campsite, "We gotta go."

His words strike a wave of fear through me. Does that mean there are tributes? Are we going to fight them? I can't fight without a weapon or with my hand like this.

As if he was reading my mind, Dean answers, "Mason and Brenda are passing through, but if we don't move quickly, they will be right on top of us soon."

Mason and Brenda? That's weird. I thought they were on the jungle island.

I stand up quickly and Dean ties the food pouch to his belt whispering, "Let's go."

As we start to walk briskly in the opposite direction of the two tributes, an idea comes to my mind.

"Dean," I whisper, "Why don't we ask Mason and Brenda to be our allies? At least for a little bit of the Games."

He glances over his shoulder while saying, "I don't think they would let us."

"Why not? It's not like I could kill them with my hand in this state. Plus, I'm sure they are good people to team up with."

Dean stops, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I nod, "Absolutely."

He sighs and turns around, "Alright then. Let's just hope this doesn't go the wrong way."

When Mason and Brenda come into the clearing, Brenda immediately loads her bow and points it at me after I step on a twig, alerting her of my presence. Mason finds his throwing axe at his belt and holds it behind his shoulder, prepared to throw it. Dean holds his blowgun out in front of him and drops it. I can tell this is something he didn't want to do.

Mason glances at Brenda in confusion, then he looks back at us, "What do you want?"

"Team?" Dean offers.

Mason looks at Brenda again and she lowers her bow a little. They whisper a few things to each other, glancing our way several times. Then Mason turns back to us.

"Alright, but not for too long. We can't risk any betrayals."

Dean and I nod in sync, understanding what he was saying. I guess this means we will only be with them for a little while, but at least we got out of being attacked by them...for now.

Nathan Brooke's P.O.V. (D9)

I wake up from what feels like a long nights sleep, yet my mind feels exhausted. I am lying on the ground in our campsite, but Jason is nowhere to be seen. Both of our packs are still here though, and a small fire is lit.

Then I notice the ropes around my hands and feet. Did someone ambush us and capture me? Where are they?

I look around, but there is nobody. Just me. I consider calling for Jason, but I decide against it when I realize somebody else might hear me. I wouldn't want that.

I start trying to get out of the ropes, but they are really tight. I continue to struggle with them until I hear a crack from the surrounding woods.

"Who-what was that?" I call nervously. If it's another tribute or even a mutt, I won't be able to do anything but let them kill me.

I sigh in relief when Jason comes into the clearing holding two squirrels.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes!" he says, smiling.

"What do you mean, what time is it?" I ask in confusion.

Jason places the squirrels on the ground by the fire and looks up at the sun, "Uhhh, some time in the afternoon I'd say."

"Of what day?"

"Day four."

"Day four!" I repeat, "What happened to day three? And the rest of day two?"

Jason gives a dismissing gesture, "Long behind us. No need to worry."

I look down at the ropes again, "And why am I tied up?!"

Jason sighs as he cuts open one of the squirrels, "Sorry about that. I had to do it so you wouldn't run away."

"Why would I run away?"

"Because you were going crazy from the Tracker-Jacker venom," he replies plainly, then he adds while pointing the knife at me, "By the way, you owe me for depriving me of a good nights sleep. And half of another night!"

"Tracker-Jacker venom?!" I exclaim. Suddenly all the memories of the past day come flooding back. I remember seeing Lisa, my friend back in District Nine, coming at me during the night with a knife, screaming that I killed her brother. I didn't even know she had a brother. No matter what I did, she wouldn't stop chasing me with the knife. I remember seeing all the hate and fury in her eyes as she stabbed the knife into me over and over again.  Then it all ended when a thick blue fluid came into the horrible nightmare and washed it all away. I thought I was dead. It felt so real...

"Yeah, you heard me. You were screaming and running and rolling on the ground. I thought I was going to need to kill you, but then a parachute came last night. It had an antidote in it. You're lucky you got it. It must've been a fortune for some sponsor to send it to you. You've been asleep ever since then."

I look down at the ropes, "Can you take  these off now? They are unbearably tight."

"Are you going to punch me again?"

I shake my head, "I don't even remember that. Sorry about anything I did."

"I'll probably get you back for it later," Jason says as he comes over and cuts through the ropes on my hands and feet.

"Thanks," I say with a sigh.

I sit up and my head feels like it's filled with water. I use my hands to keep me balanced. I stare at the ground and thoughts of Lisa with the knife and hateful eyes flash through my mind again. My heartbeat quickens as I think about it.

"You alright, man?" Jason asks.

I blink out of the vision and look at him, "U-uh, yeah, I'm fine..."

"Ok, well, let me know if you need anything. Meanwhile, eat these," he tosses a bag of apples at me.

"You can't expect me to eat all of these?!"

"You can eat most of them. You haven't eaten for two days!" Jason scolds, "Now, no more talking. Eat!"

I roll my eyes and take a bite from an apple.

Liam Fledger's P.O.V. (D2)

My eyes flutter open. I'm confused as to where I am exactly. The ground is cool dirt, and there is a smooth, golden, metal wall in front of me. Then I realize I'm in the cornucopia when I see the crates and bins of supples and weapons.

My whole body aches. Especially my ribs and head. I try to stand up, but then I notice the rope around my waist and the back of Brendan's head behind my own. His back is leaning against mine. Then I hear other voices. I strain to hear who the voices belong to. After a few more sentences of their conversation, I learn that it is Jarus and Iona. Oh no, they're still here. We must've lost the fight...Where is Jean?

"Brendan," I whisper, "Brendan, wake up."

Brendan's head is dropped forward and his shoulders are slumped. He's still unconscious. I hope he's alright. I can't see all of him.

"Oh, look who's awake!" Jarus says. His voice sounds closer. He stands right in front of me, "We were just talking about you two."

"Where's Jean? What did you do with her?" I ask quickly, looking around the inside of the horn.

"Oh, I made sure Jean wouldn't be coming back," Jarus says, smiling, "The hovercraft picked her up a little while ago. We are deciding whether or not we should let you two have your little ride in the hovercraft too."

I jerk towards him, but the ropes retrain me, "You little-"

"Woah! You don't wanna blow your chance, kid. We might just let you live."

"I'm not a kid!" I correct, "I'm seventeen."

"Ooh, sorry," Jarus says, pretending to sound mistaken. Just because he's eighteen and I'm seventeen doesn't mean I'm a kid compared to him.

"So," Iona speaks up, "Why don't we tell him what we think we should do, Jarus?"

"Alright," he turns back to me, "So, we propose that you two can be our allies, and help us out until there aren't that many tributes left."

"And what makes you think we would agree to that?"

"Because I'll just kill you now if you refuse. Besides, you and Brendan were going to kill Jean anyways, so wouldn't you want new allies?" Jarus points out.

I glance from Jarus to Iona, then back at Jarus. I can't trust them. How can I know if they are going to go against their word and just kill us anyways? Maybe I should just take their offer. It's the only way to keep us both alive for at least a little longer.

Jarus points the tip of one of his swords at Brendan's neck, "Time to choose, kid."

"Don't!" I jerk against the ropes again, "We'll join the alliance!"

"Are you sure you're friend will agree?" Jarus presses the blade harder against Brendan's neck.

"Yes, he will! And even if he doesn't at first, I will convince him to!" I answer as I watch a drop of blood trickle down the side of Brendan's neck.

Jarus looks back at Iona, who nods once, then he looks back at me and draws his sword away.

"We have a deal then. But if any of you try to rebel, I won't hesitate to kill you both," he says with a warning tone in his voice as he walks over to Iona, leaving me with Brendan.