IT WAS the morning after Fletcher had died, and Dottie was incomplete. Losing her twin was the equivalent to losing herself, unable to find her way back to who she once was. A piece of Dorothy died with her brother, forever stuck in this arena.

"Here," Frankie offered kindly, sitting next to Cherry and offering out a handful of nuts. She added, "Did you get anything from the Cornucopia?"

"We ran straight for the trees," Cherry explained gently, "I can swim, but Auggie can't. I promised I wouldn't leave him behind, so we planned to take shelter in the trees until the fighting cleared up."

"You can take anything you need from the bags we have," Frankie nodded, "A machete, an axe, daggers."

"Thank you, Francesca," Cherry gave a smile, chewing on the food, "I'll take a dagger, if that's okay."

"Sure," She smiled back, unzipping a black bag and handing her a silver dagger. She hesitated, "That song you sang last night... I haven't heard it before."

"It's a song my mother sings at funerals back in 12," Cherry explained, "I didn't know Fletcher, though I still think that everybody in here deserves to be remembered."

Frankie cocked an eyebrow, "Even the Careers?"

"We're all victims here, aren't we?" Cherry said softly, "Pawns in a game we didn't ask to play. They might have trained their whole lives for this, but they're still just kids, Frankie. Just like us."

Kipper sat up suddenly, making everybody's heart skip a beat; that's what the arena did to a person. The boy gestured to Nico, "Guys— hey."

Nico, who looked as though he was sleeping from afar, was gasping for urgent breaths. He was paler than usual, and looked almost green from the sudden sickness that plagued him. Kipper and August helped the boy to sit up, patting his back as Nico repeatedly coughed. His voice was dry and hoarse, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

Kipper exclaimed, "I think it's the mosquito bite on his neck."

"Like, a Mutt?" Cherry questioned.

"It makes sense," Kipper nodded, "As soon as he got bit, he's been getting more sick."

Frankie frowned in concern, rushing towards them with a bottle of water from the bags. She bent down in front of the boy, slowly placing the bottle to his lips, "Drink." Frankie's voice was soft as she nurtured the boy, "Nico, come on. Here."

However, Nico was shivering now as a sudden coldness drowned the boy. He couldn't hold the bottle, or swallow the water without it dripping out the sides of his quivering lips. August, Kipper, and Frankie were all struggling to get the job done; what had happened to him?

"We could find some echinacea," Cherry suggested helpfully, crouching beside Frankie to take a closer look at Nico's condition.

Frankie questioned, "What's that?"

"A plant that my Pa used to shorten the duration of a fever," Cherry explained with a nod, "If we find it, it could reduce his symptoms."

"If we find it." The voice of Dorothy joined in, monotone and filled with upset from the recent passing of her brother. She hadn't spoken a word; this disagreement was her first conversation since it had happened, "I don't think the Game-makers would scatter some flowers around to help us. They don't care about us. Any of us."

Frankie shot a look at Dorothy, though didn't say anything because she knew that the girl was grieving her twin brother. She looked back at Cherry, kindly, "That's smart, Cherry. You and Dorothy could look for plants, whilst the rest of us take him to the Cornucopia."

"Cornucopia?" Kipper cocked an eyebrow, "Have you forgotten the big, hungry alligator part?"

Frankie continued, "We can leave Nico and August at the tree line. Since we're the best swimmers, we can quickly grab any medicine that could've been left behind."

Kipper stared at her helplessly, before feeling obliged to agree as Nico's condition was getting worse. The boy sighed, standing up, "Okay, okay. August, help me get him up."

The two boys hauled Nico to his feet, wrapping both of his arms around their shoulders to support his stumbling steps. Frankie turned to face the two girls,

"Good luck," she gave a small smile, "Meet us back here, okay?"

"Yeah," Cherry nodded, "Of course." She grabbed a bag from the floor and shouldered it onto her back; she started walking to get a head start.

Frankie looked at Dorothy, who was sighing loudly as she took a bite of her apple. Frankie stared at her, before surprisingly embracing her in a hug; Dorothy, taken aback by this sudden act of kindness, took a few seconds to relax into her arms. The hug translated to I'm sorry about Fletcher, and both girls knew that.

"Thanks, Frankie." Dorothy muttered quietly.

"Be nice to her, alright?" Frankie squinted her eyes at her like a mother would to her child. She added, "Just smile and nod when she talks about flowers."

"Okay, mom." Dorothy flashed her eyes in surrender, "Be careful out there."

Francesca lead the way towards the swamp, the three boys following close behind. Nico's condition was worsening; he could barely form sentences. The girl was still unsure of how he had gotten so sick, though the positive outcomes were vanishing slowly as time went on.

The swamp seemed quiet from the tree line; there were no signs of any Tributes. Francesca's biggest concern was the alligator, though there were no ripples in the water so she assumed the mutt was asleep— if mutts could sleep. She decided to stay as positive as possible because she happened to like Nico; he was cool, smart, and kind. She wished they had met in a different scenario, because then they could've been lifelong friends.

"Okay," Kipper explained, crouching down within the bushes of the tree line, "It looks quiet. Frankie and I will swim to the Cornucopia. Stay here with Nico, okay? There's water and daggers in the bag. Just shout if someone shows up."

"Okay." August nodded, kneeling down and holding Nico's weak body in his lap. He looked between the two, "Be safe."

Frankie looked at the boy, breathing out a breath of motivation, "Ready?"

The two from Four made it to the beginning of the swamp. It reminded Frankie of when she first arrived at the arena; the scene seemed a lot more real now, as a few days ago the girl could barely comprehend where she was.

Kipper tapped his foot in the thick water, sending small waves further in towards the deeper end. They were both nervous, mainly due to the possibility of being swallowed whole in a matter of seconds by a giant beast.

The two Tributes stepped out towards the metal platforms, each climbing onto their own so they could dive in and have more momentum to swim. Frankie shivered from the cold breeze and the nerves that suddenly hit her; she held onto her necklace tightly, before hiding it underneath her clothes.

Kipper looked at her, his expression filled with worry and doubt, "On 3?"

"Okay." Frankie took a shaky breath, "3... 2... 1." She hesitated, "Now!"

And suddenly, the two Tributes dived into the thick water. Frankie's eyes remained shut tightly, as she remembered the sting that resulted in trying to open them before. She swam quickly, refusing to stop until she reached the wooden deck in the centre of the swamp. Her body was drowned in adrenaline and fear, anxiety putting in her stomach at the thought of a giant mutt being right below her.

Kipper reached the deck before she did, as two abrupt hands were pulling her body out of the water quickly. Frankie gasped out a breath for oxygen, her whole body shaking at thought of being alive, though also the fear of having to swim back.

"You alright?" Kipper helped the girl to her feet, wiping off the thick residue from the swamp that was left on his clothes.

"Yeah." Frankie panted, before she found herself looking at the multiple bags left on the wooden deck, "Why have none of these bags been taken?"

"I don't know," Kipper shrugged slightly, before making his way towards a supply bag. He unzipped it with a small smirk, "More for us, I gues— Fuck!"

"What?" Frankie flinched at the boys sudden shout, rushing towards him quickly. Kipper was staring into the black bag with his eyes wide, an expression of horror on his face. So, Francesca followed his eye line, shifting her gaze towards the inside of the bag.

"Oh, fuck." Frankie sucked in a shaky breath.

Buried within the bag, a mutated body part. An arm had been sliced off from the elbow; a pool of blood oozed from the limb and puddled at the bottom of the bag. A fucking arm. A human arm, and the stench was horrible. The limb had been torn off, rather messily, from the body because it was jagged and rushed. A fucking arm— Finnick didn't think to tell her about this.

"What the..." Kipper trailed off, quickly zipping the bag and swallowing a gag in disgust.

"Why the fuck is there an arm laying in a bag?" Frankie was pacing up and down the deck in distress, "Finnick said that the bags are supplies from the Capitol."

"I don't think they're from the Capitol." Kipper shook his head, before crouching down to open a different bag.

The girl frowned, "What are you—" she trailed off, watching as Kipper peeked inside of the bag. The boy pushed the bag away from him, and Frankie could only assume that it contained another body part. The smell was suffocating them, and knowing they were surrounded by mangled body parts were making Frankie and Kipper feel violently sick.

"Why is there no medicine?" Frankie stressed quickly, "Nico— he's..."

"I know," Kipper nodded seriously, "I know. He needs medicine, but whoever's done this... this is bad, Frankie. I mean, who spends their time doing this?"

And, answering his question, the two Tributes seemed to figure it out. Who would leave body parts in supply bags? Who would willingly cut off the body parts of dead Tributes? Who hadn't they seen since the bloodbath?

Frankie looked at the boy, her voice merely a whisper, "The Careers. Do you think they did thi—"

And, abruptly, a sudden whistle interrupted their conversation. An arrow flew past Francesca's head, cutting her ear as it travelled past; the girl winced, ducking down, and holding her bleeding ear. The arrow had sliced through the edge of her ear, and Frankie couldn't help but think about how close the arrow had been to killing her. If Francesca had moved to the left slightly, the arrow would've imbedded itself straight through the back of her skull.

"Shit!" Kipper crouched down too, holding onto Frankie's arm tightly and staring at her cut ear. Being in the cornucopia was dangerous, as the deck was open to almost everything; whoever was shooting at them, and Frankie had a good idea of who, had a great shot to kill them both.

And there, on the shoreline, was the Career pack (and Kaidan, from 10). Suddenly, Francesca caught a glimpse of movement in the water, her eyes meeting with Edwin, who was already swimming towards the deck himself. He was a fast swimmer, the training academy probably taught him since he was young, and Edwin was dangerously close the cornucopia.

Kipper and Frankie didn't have a bow and arrow for long distance kills, so Francesca waited until Edwin arrived closer to the deck. She stood on the edge of the wood, gripping tightly on her trident; Edwin reached out towards the deck, pulling himself up, though Frankie's trident was already piercing through his body. The boy gasped suddenly.

BOOM! The canon echoed almost immediately, as Frankie pulled her weapon out of Edwin's dead body. The Career slipped into the water, as Kipper attempted to throw his spare knives at the Career pack swimming towards them.

Kipper shouted, grabbing ahold of Frankie's arm, "Come on!"

The only thing protecting them was the swamp below, causing the two Tributes to dive back into the thick waters. Francesca hadn't even thought about the alligator mutt, her mind racing with the thought of swimming away from the Careers.

Francesca's body ached, though the adrenaline kept her swimming towards the shore. She had inhaled the swamp water by accident, trying to gasp for breaths, as she swam frantically. It would only be a matter of time before the Careers reached the deck, then they would follow them back through the waters and into the forest. Francesca and Kipper had to reach the shoreline before the Careers could reach them.

BOOM! Francesca kept swimming.

And suddenly, arrows were flying into the water around the girl, stabbing ripples into the swamp as she swam quicker. It was obviously Kaidan who owned the arrows, since his shots were awful compared to the Careers; Frankie could hear their arguing which was muffled from the thick water which clogged her ears.

BOOM!

Francesca gasped out a breath of relief as her feet touched the bottom of the swamp. She was now running through the thick water, past the metal podiums, and towards the tree line. Unexpectedly, she was being helped ashore by a pair of hands— August.

Francesca panted heavily, looking at the boy in momentary confusion; he was supposed to be with Nico, "What— What are you doing?"

The girl looked back to the Cornucopia, looking at the growling Careers who stayed on the deck. They watched from afar, sinister grins on their faces. Had she beaten the Careers? She had gotten away. They had gotten... Frankie's breath was caught in her throat, her mind trailing off and her eyes shifting to the water.

August was talking to her, but his voice was muffled and nothing made any sense. He was trying to drag Francesca back towards the trees for protection from the Careers, though the girl was focused on the water. Where was he?

"No..." Francesca's eyes met with a limp body in the swamp, face down and moving with the small ripples of chaos, "No, no, no!" She had attempted to run back to water, though August was pulling her away more harder now. Tears swelled in her big eyes, and when she spoke, she realised she was screaming in agony, "Kipper!"

An axe was planted in his back. Blood was staining the thick swamp. His blood. That's what the Careers were laughing about. They had hit Kipper whilst he was swimming; that was why the canon went off, and that's why Francesca had kept on swimming. She should've stopped swimming; she could've rescued him...

"Kipper!" Francesca was crying loudly, her voice hoarse and the taste of her mouth was just a reminder of the swamp water she had consumed whilst swimming. August had managed to pull her back behind the trees, pulling her down behind a thick bush. She attempted to fight back, but she was weakened by exhaustion, "Get off! Get off me—"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." August kept repeating, his giant hands so gentle as he held Frankie's hands tightly. Francesca sniffed, her whole body shaking in shock and grief and she finally understood what Dorothy had felt last night. Frankie's eyes lowered from August's brown eyes and, in the distance, she saw a body laying on the ground. A boy, pale, black hair, dark blood leaking from his mouth. Nico.

"It was too late," August said gently, "He started... vomiting blood. He was seizing. He begged me to kill him, but I couldn't." He paused, his eyes tearing, "I held him as he died."

Nico was the second canon.

a/n:
i wrote this chapter like a couple months ago... I DIDN'T REALISE HOW EVIL THIS WAS