Brenda Long's P.O.V. (D7)

"Mason?"

Mason stops walking immediately after I speak, "What's wrong?"

"Umm, do we have anymore water? This thick jungle air is making me thirsty."

He releases my hand and I hear him opening his pack. He sighs. I hear the sloshing of water, meaning he found the water bottle. He places it in my hands.

"There isn't a lot, so don't drink that much. We need to find a water source soon," Mason says. I can hear the exhaustion in his voice. We haven't stopped to rest since we ran into Kierra and Blake.

I take a small sip from the water bottle and hand it back to him, "Now you have some."

He takes it, but I hear him put it right back in his pack, "Im fine."

"No, you need to drink something," I order.

He sighs, "There's no arguing with you. Fine, if it pleases you so, I'll drink some."

I smile in satisfaction as I hear him take the water bottle back out of his pack and take a sip.

"Happy now?"

I nod, "Sorta, can we take a little rest though?"

"I'm sorry, but we need to find a water source, fast. We just finished off the water."

I frown as I feel him take my sweaty hand and start walking. My legs feel like noodles. I just want to sit down for a bit.

The more we walk, the harder it is for me to keep up with Mason. In fact, he seems to be moving faster and faster. I can tell he's tired though. His breathing is heavy, and he keeps stumbling.

I want to stop so badly, but Mason won't let me. I get the feeling that even if I decided to stop walking and sit down right now, he would still drag me along with him.

The humidity is going to kill me. I'm sweating so much, it's like I just came out of the shower, and it's hard to breathe. I'm already thirsty again too, but I know I can't ask for more water, because Mason said we ran out.

Just when I think we were going to give up, Mason suddenly releases my hand again. I hear him drop to the ground and start rummaging through his pack.

"Mason? Mason, what's wrong?" I ask, worried that maybe he saw someone.

"We've found a river!" he says excitedly.

I pause and tilt my head to the side to listen. My ears immediately pick up the whooshing sound of running water. I don't know how I didn't hear it before. It's close too.

I smile and laugh in relief, "Bring me over to it!"

"I will, I will!" he says as he stands up and grabs my sticky hand again, "It's this way!"

We trip over roots and vines on our way to the river, but we get right back up and keep going as if it never happened. I can't stop smiling as I hear the roaring of the river growing louder.

Mason stops finally, and I hear a splash and Mason's laughs. I bend down and reach my hand out. I sigh as my hand finds the cool water.

"Drink up!" Mason says happily. I hear something land on the ground beside my feet.

I reach for where I heard the sound, and find the water bottle. It's a lot heavier than before, filled with fresh water. I screw off the lid and gulp it all down.

I hear Mason swim closer to the edge of the river. Suddenly, his hand shoots out and grabs my own. I'm helpless as he pulls me into the water with him.

I splash in beside him, but he never let's go of my hand. The cool water pushes past us as we stand in the river, the water reaching just a little over my waist.

I am so happy in this moment. And I am so grateful to have Mason as my ally. I never really told him how grateful I am for everything he's done. He didn't have to be my ally, but he chose to. He went into the Bloodbath to get a bow and pack for me. He has held my hand and guided me for three days in the arena, and I'm sure he will do it for many more. His first concern was to get me hidden when we ran into Kierra, Blake and Flora. And best of all, he hasn't turned his back on me yet. He could've killed me already or even just left me alone somewhere for someone else to find me and kill me, but he didn't. I don't think he's the kind of person that would ever do that either.

"Hey, Mason?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you...thanks being my ally. And thanks for staying with me through all of this."

"It's no big deal. Although, you can try pulling some of your weight for me. I've had to drag you pretty much everywhere, and let me tell you, you're not the lightest person in the world," he says playfully.

I chuckle, "Well, I'm sorry, it's not my fault you're so fast!"

There is a pause, then Mason says, "I take that as a compliment, I guess."

In a more serious voice I say, "You know, you don't need to stay with me. I know I am probably a burden for you."

He takes my other hand and says, "No! I would never leave you behind! You're not a burden. In fact, I wouldn't want to have anyone else as an ally, but you."

I can't help smiling a little, "Really?"

"Yes. I realized recently, that I always felt on edge in the last arena because I didn't trust my allies one bit. But here, I feel relaxed and calm with you. And I know I can trust you."

"What makes you think so?"

"Because you haven't done anything to make me think otherwise yet. Completely the opposite," he replies.

"Thanks."

The fact that he didn't say that he felt bad for me because of my blindness made me feel good. I don't want him doing this just because he thinks I'm weak.

Brendan Hankson's P.O.V. (D2)

Liam and I wince as Jean kicks the wall of the cornucopia again, and knocks over a pile of weapons, for the millionth time today.

"Argh! Why did she die?!" she shouts to the sky.

Liam and I just look at each other and sigh. She has been like this all day. I guess Jean is just mad that things haven't gone as planned.

"Would you maybe feel better if you and I went on another hunt?" Liam suggests, "Brendan can stay here."

Jean breathes heavily in anger, "No, I don't want to hunt right now! That's what got Clarice killed! The last thing I need is one of you two getting killed too!"

Liam takes a step back with his hands in the air, "Alright, I was just making a suggestion. Clearly you need to blow off some steam."

She glares angrily at Liam. Maybe he shouldn't have said that last part.

"Ya think so? Maybe I should use you as my target for throwing knives next time huh?"

Liam chuckles, "Well, I shouldn't have much to worry about in that case. You won't even be able to hit me from a yard away."

Ooh burn. Jean's face shows nothing but rage and embarrassment. Although, he is partly right. She has terrible aiming, but I'm sure she'd still be able to hit him from a yard away. Hopefully Liam didn't just make a terrible mistake. He can never keep his mouth shut. Leave it to Liam to find a perfect insult.

I watch Liam glare back at Jean. They both look like they're about to pounce on each other. That's when I step in.

"Alright, that's enough, you two. The last thing we need is for you two to kill one another," I say while pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Yeah, Jean, just relax," Liam says, still glaring at her.

I sigh in irritation and roll my eyes to heaven. I don't want this to turn into something ugly. I walk over to Liam and pull him away by his arm.

"Dude, what are you thinking?" I say when we're far enough for Jean not to hear us.

He shrugs, "She's driving me nuts! I'm tired of it and I want her gone."

I look over my shoulder to see if Jean is watching or not. She is pacing back in forth at the mouth of the golden horn, staring at the ground. Then I turn back to Liam.

"Maybe we should take her out."

He glances at Jean, then back at me, "I agree, but when?"

"I think we should wait until there are less tributes. I don't want to get attacked by any of the big tributes without at least a little more back up."

Liam nods, "Alright then. I say we wait until there are about ten tributes left."

"Agreed."

Cally Blue's P.O.V. (D5)

Vance and I trudge through the thick vines and brush of the jungle island. It's been a tiresome day of walking. We are working on getting to the edge of the island, where the fresh air is. We walked right past Mason and Brenda earlier, but they were just standing in the river talking. I guess they didn't notice us.

I look up at the tall, vine-covered trees around us as we walk. I smile and stop when I notice bananas in one of them.

"Vance look," I point to the bananas, "Let's get some."

We run over and Vance bends down and presses the red buttons on his boots. Immediately, he rises into the air. It was just this morning when we found out what our boots could do.

I bend down and do the same. I slowly start to rise beneath Vance. We both latch onto the tree to keep ourselves from flying off into nowhere. It's almost the same as climbing a tree normally, but without the gravity, it's a lot easier. And funner.

I grab onto a branch and launch myself towards a higher branch, laughing as I do so. I fly past Vance and up to the higher branch, which I latch onto. I smile down at Vance, who has a defeated look on his face. I have beaten him to the top.

He pushes off his branch and flys up next to me and catches hold of the same branch I'm holding.

"That was fun!" he says as he pulls a bright yellow banana from a bushel. He hands it to me.

"Sure was. We should pick a lot of these," I say.

"Alright," he picks three more and I stuff them in my pack.

"Let's go back down now," I say, nodding downwards.

"Race you down!" Vance shouts as he pushes off the tree with his feet. He soars towards the ground.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!" I call as I push off the same way he did.

It takes much less time to reach the ground than it did to go up. When I get close to the ground, I press the green buttons on both boots and crash face first into the soft ground. I spit out a mouthful of dirt as I sit up.

"I guess I've gotta work on my landing," I say to myself as I brush the dirt off my jacket. I also have to pull several twigs and leaves out of my hair. When I look up, Vance is gone.

"Vance?" I call.

I hear some leaves rustle behind me and I spin around. I gasp when I see Blake and Kierra standing there, looking at me.

"Where is Vance, Cally?" Kierra asks, smiling.

I glare at them, "What did you do to him?"

"Not a thing," Kierra answers, "He took off."

I shake my head in disbelief, "He wouldn't just leave me."

Kierra smirks, "But he did."

I take two steps back as they take a step forward. My eyes shift from their faces to the weapons in their hands. Both of them are holding daggers and twisting them in their hands.

Vance wouldn't leave me.

My hand reaches for the knife attached to my belt. I take it and hold it in front of me.

"Stay back!" I warn them.

"Why?" Kierra asks.

Kierra seems to have changed a bit since she came into this arena. Something about her is...off. It's like she's slowly going crazy. She acts like she is enjoying this moment.

I think of a quick answer to her question, "Because you don't have to kill me."

Kierra scoffs, "Of course I do! If I don't, someone else is bound to do it anyways. This is the Hunger Games, Cally, and I'm playing along with it."

"But why?"

"We don't really have a choice, now do we?" she snaps, "Now stop stalling, I'm getting this over with, whether you like it or not."

With that, she runs forward and throws herself at me. She grabs my shoulders firmly and smashes my head against her own. A wave of dizziness rushes through me, but I shake myself out of it. I regain my balance and prepare to strike.

Kierra slashes her dagger at me. It comes dangerously close to my neck, but it never pierces the skin. I duck low and stab my knife at her legs repeatedly, but she's quick. She jumps back and kicks me under my chin with her boot.

I fall back. Kierra climbs onto my stomach, but I roll over. Now I'm on her stomach, holding her down as best as I can.

"Blake, help!" she calls.

Blake's footsteps pound on the ground behind me, but they suddenly stop. Someone yells and there is a whack, followed by a thud. No canon.

I whip around to see Blake's limp form laying on the ground several meters away. Vance stands over him with a thick branch in his hands. He tosses it aside and starts to run over to us.

I can't help but smile once I lay eyes on him, "Vance, I'm so glad you came ba-"

Kierra's hand escapes my grasp and hits me across the face. My cheek immediately starts to feel hot and stingy and becomes red.

Kierra's hands find my throat and start to squeeze. She rolls over, making me the one under her again.

She smiles like a maniac as I kick and wriggle under her.

Suddenly, she is shoved harshly off me by Vance. Now they are rolling around, trying to get on top of the other. I slowly sit up, gasping for air.

I watch Vance throw a punch at Kierra's face. He does it again and again, until she gives up trying to fight back. Then, while he holds her in place, he tells me to press the red buttons on her boots.

I obediently stand up and walk over to them. I crouch down and press the red buttons on each boot.

Vance then lifts her up and gives her a hard kick in the chest, sending her flying upwards. She rises through the air at an incredible speed. She moves right through the trees and far above them, screaming the whole time and wailing her arms, trying to find something to hold on to.

We watch her go higher and higher in the sky. She must reach the top of the arena at some point. Suddenly, she disappears into one of the light-green clouds. Nothing but screaming could be heard after that. Then it stopped and a canon goes off.

BOOM!

Vance and I look at each other, now knowing what the strange colored clouds actually do. They must be some sort of poison or something, not clouds. They were probably put there in case any of the tributes accidentally fly away from the arena, like what had just happened. Except that wasn't an accident.

I run over to Vance and give him a tight hug, "I thought you wouldn't come back!"

"It's alright. I just wanted to confuse them and maybe get behind them so I could attack," he explains.

"Please don't do that again."

"I won't."

I look at Blake, "So should we kill him too?"

Vance shakes his head, "Let's just get out of here before he wakes up. We've done enough here."