AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sick plus Computer= Update! This will be the last update of the year! *Tear* But don't worry, you'll hear from me in 2013! Umm... for the people who are still reading this, I present the bloodbath! My characters will die in the bloodbath (with one exception) but that one will not win... I just have plans for that character. Honestly, I don't care about reviews anymore; I just want to finish the story for you, especially The Head Gamemaker, who has been reading this story from the get-go. I hope it's not too unoriginal... I'll keep up a death list at the bottom of each chapter.

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Lindia Elmswood, 14, District Ten POV:

I'm shaking so much I can't even tie my own shoes- my stylist, Halla, has to tie them for me.

"Thirty seconds," The cool female voice is the only sound that fills the otherwise silent room. "Tributes, please proceed to your launching pads."

I'm frozen, unable to move. This is it, the moment I have been dreading since my name was called.

I make my way over to my tube and step inside. The doors seal around me, and my chest seizes up. I was never a fan of enclosed spaces; I can't breathe, and I start hyperventilating as I start moving up.

"Mom," I whisper, closing my eyes as tears threaten to spill over. "Mommy, Daddy." I know they can't save me- no one can. I know it's horrible, but all I want is to be home, to be in their arms, watching someone else die instead of me.

Samuel Sellers, 16, District Three POV:

My eyes dart around, drinking in my surroundings as quickly as my brain can comprehend them.

On all sides, we are surrounded by walls. With a start, I realize that they are not walls- not in the true sense of the word, anyway. The correct word would be a maze.

Directly across from me, behind the cornucopia, is what looks like a hedge. The bush is giant and deep green. The branches are studded with what look at first like colorful little beads, but upon further observation are identified as berries. A food source.

Or poison.

To my left is a tunnel-like opening; the inside is wood, and it is the only opening that has a roof, which could be useful if a storm comes along. However, it is completely dark inside, which means it could hold anything.

In the opening to my right is a thin river, which winds off into the distance. The "walls" are actually really tall trees, standing trunk-to-trunk. The ground is a soft dirt. The river looks safe, which means it probably isn't...

I turn around. At first I'm confused, because the wall is made completely of stone. I look closer, but I don't find anything else that sets it apart. The walls are ridged and have what appear to be hand and foot holds, so the walls could be easily scaled by someone who could climb. It looks simple enough.

But things are never that simple.

Folton Gray, 13, POV:

I have two choices:

Die now or die later.

It seems like I never had much of a choice- ever since my older siblings were each Reaped at thirteen, I knew what fate awaited me. I also knew that they would never let a Gray child survive.

I can either live for awhile longer but have a cruel, painful death later, or I can die now, quickly and painlessly.

The choice is simple.

I am going to do what no tribute before me has ever done before.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before stepping off my launch pad.

Acacia Andalu, 18, District Twelve POV:

I am nearly blown off my pedestal by the shockwave of the explosion that rocks through the arena now.

At first, I can't comprehend what has happened- because surely this is impossible, right? No tribute has ever jumped off their platform before the gong rang... it was always the unspoken rule, the one everyone always understood.

But, amazingly, the boy from District Six has.

And, unfortunately, I am standing next to him.

A wave of body matter crashes down on me- I can't even identify what parts they are. Body parts fall from the sky like demented rain, and I hear the startled shrieks of the other tributes around me as though from a distance.

I am coated in a layer of blood and skin from a dead boy.

And the Games haven't even started yet.

The gong rings, but everyone is too shocked to move. Only the girl from Eleven and the Careers get off their pedestals. I turn my head and throw up on the ground, trembling as a thin sheen of sweat beads up on my forehead. I can't stop; everything I had managed to eat this morning comes up as I fall to my knees. I can't stop heaving even after my stomach is empty.

I don't know how long I have been there, but a low laugh from behind reaches my ears, and my body tenses. I turn around slowly.

"Say goodbye, District Twelve," Cecilla says, smiling cruelly at me before she throws her knife.

Talon Striker, 18, District Two POV:

As soon as the gong sounds, I lunge forward.

The death of some puny little lower District boy isn't going to slow me down; his death was inevitable anyway.

I sprint forward, running by all of the useless stuff around the edges. I need the good stuff.

I'm one of the first tributes there. I see Cecilla grab- one throwing knife? There don't appear to be any others... Hunter loads up a bow. I should take her out now, but I decide against the idea. She could be useful to me, and I need to take out the others before they can get away.

I grab a spiked mace and spot my first target. The little blonde girl- I think she was the mayor's daughter in her district-is frantically trying to grab a backpack, but it's staked to the ground. Clever- I realize with a start that everything is staked to the ground so the tributes can't just run away before the fun can begin.

I run out at her- she sees me coming and screams. "PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" she shrieks, too scared to even run. I grin at her, and tears fall down her face.

I lift my mace and bring it down on her head. She screams, and blood pours down from the wound. She falls to the ground, clutching her head and rolling around in agony. I bring down my mace again, over and over.

By the time I'm finished, her face is nothing more than a bloody pulp. I draw out my mace for the last time- to my disgust, I see that one blue eyeball has stuck to one of the spikes. I pull it off and throw it to the ground beside her. Hopefully it'll be picked up with her body.

She was weak- she was bound to die anyway.

Hunter Blackthorne, 17, District Four POV:

A bow.

I grab the silver bow and load an arrow onto it. It feels so smooth and light in my hands, like it was crafter just for me.

I turn and spot my target- it's Samuel, the boy from Three. He's running, but it's simple enough to calculate where he will be when my arrow reaches him; I shift my bow ever-so-slightly to the right and release my arrow. It pierces him in the neck, and he falls to the ground. He pulls out the arrow, drowning himself in his own blood.

I look away, my eyes searching for my next victim. I see Talon beating a girl with his mace. Even though I'm supposed to be a bloodthirsty Career, the sight disgusts me, and I turn away.

My eyes lock with Sven's, who is holding a spear in his hand. He nods to me before grabbing another spear.

I survey the other tributes- the older boy from District Twelve has a pickaxe, and he's running towards the entrance with the river. A girl with curly brown hair that I recognize from District Six is also going that way; they stare at each other for several seconds before the girl turns and starts to run away. The boy is faster, though; he catches up to her and swings the pickaxe with all his might, digging the point into her chest. She coughs up some blood before falling to the ground, dead. The boy sprints into the section with the river, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one is following him.

My eyes lock on someone else, and I draw back my arm, preparing to release my arrow.

Pip Curry, 15, District Seven POV:

After the initial shock of the suicide of the boy from Six wore off, I sprinted into the Cornucopia.

My head whips around, searching for any tributes coming up behind me with a knife. I grab at a backpack and start to straighten, but the backpack won't budge. My brows furrow together, and I tug at it again before I realize that it's staked to the ground.

The Capital wants to guarantee fights.

I grab at the stake and use all of my strength to pull it out. I fall back and land on my butt- a sharp pain shoots through me, but I get to my feet and grab the green backpack along with an axe.

My breath catches in my throat- the boy from Eleven, Cobalt, is standing in front of me with a sword. I see regret in his light eyes, but I know he won't hesitate to kill me.

The axe feels chunky in my hands; I'm used to much smaller weapons. He draws his sword around in an arc; it slices my arm, and a gush of blood starts flowing from the gash. I yell out in pain and grab my arm, which is burning with pain. He moves to come at me again, and I stumble back, trying to staunch the flow of blood and hold my axe up at the same time. It's not working- he's about to plunge his sword into my heart and end my chances of getting Basil out alive.

A streak of silver shoots right by my ear- I can actually feel it brush my hair. It sticks in the right shoulder of the boy- he groans in pain and yanks the arrow out. He looks up at me and growls, "Goodbye for now," and runs into the darkness of the covered entrance, holding his shoulder and grimacing in pain.

I turn around just in time to see another arrow flying at me- I duck out of the way just in time. I dropped my axe during the fight, but I don't have time to look for it.

"Pip!" My head whips to the side- Basil is standing at the berry bushes, beckoning for me and holding two small throwing axes. I clutch my arm and run to her, shouldering my backpack. At least she's still alive.

Esther Glade, 12, District Ten POV:

I search the mass of bodies for a small, familiar one- he is nowhere to be seen. Almost everyone else is gone, running into the mazes or already dead. But I don't see him among the bodies- where is he?

I want to run away, but I can't leave without Marck. I don't know how long I'd survive without him.

"Esther!" he runs toward me, clutching a slingshot and a loaf of bread. Not much, but the two of us need to get out of here fast.

Something small and silver falls from his pocket, and he turns around to grab it. I shout a warning at him, but it's too late- the boy from Two has already caught up to him. He easily scoops Marck's small body into his arms and snaps his thin neck without a second of hesitation. He throws Marck's toothpick body to the side and grabs the shiny rectangle, examining it.

I stifle a sob and turn to run, but I freeze up instantly. The big boy from One is standing there, holding a bloody axe in his hands. It's just like a scene from a nightmare.

I stumble back, but I can see Cecilla coming at me with a bloody knife.

I have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

"Stand still- it'll be over quickly," Haliun says. He grunts and swings his axe.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I scream in pain as the axe cuts through my stomach. It hasn't cut all the way through- he yanks it out, pulling out a rope of something pink and squishy. The edges of my vision are covered with black spots- I think I'm going to pass out from the pain as my insides spill out of me.

Thwak!

Another sharp pain, and then everything fades.

Rika Tiell, 17, District One POV:

One minute into the Games, and I'm already covered in blood and guts.

I was completely coated in Folton's insides after he jumped off his pedestal. I pick a small rope out of my hair and fling it to the side with a shriek- it's a piece of his small intestine.

I search through the piles of supplies and stacks of crates, trying to find a knife. But there are none to be seen- Cecilla has the only knife in the arena.

Oh crap.

I see the small girl from Three frantically trying to pull a pack from the ground, but it's stuck. I glance around- next to me is a second bow. Not my preferred weapon, but I could easily hit her from this distance. I pull it off the crate it's on and string it, aiming at Ophlidia. I'm about to release the string, but for some reason I can't.

I've never killed before- the trainers back home always talked about it and I've practiced over and over, but it's different from actually killing someone. Even though I'm supposed to be a big, bad Career, I can't bring myself to kill this little girl.

But apparently someone else is willing to.

Talon marches back, grinning. He's also covered in blood, but not because he was standing near Folton. I shudder. He's already killed two people.

"Oh, look who we have here," Talon growls. Ophlidia looks up and squeals in panic. "You better run, girl!" Talon snarls playfully, making a lunge at her to get her to run.

He likes playing with his food.

Ohplidia jumps to her feet and sprints, but Talon, with his long legs, will be too fast for her. Even I know it as I stand by, watching helplessly.

But then she does something I didn't expect her to do.

She runs to the cornucopia and starts to climb it. The rest of the Careers and I stand by, watching in awe as she scrambles to the top easily.

Talon doesn't hesitate- he climbs up after her. I'm worried for her- there is nowhere for her to go, she's trapped.

But for once, Talon's weight will be his downfall.

Literally.

He makes it about halfway up before falling to the ground. For one hopeful second, I think he might have broken his neck, but he shakes himself and stands. "Oh, so you want to play Games, huh?" Talon growls, not playing this time. "Hunter, give me your bow."

"Oh, just leave her up there!" the words are out of my mouth before I can stop myself. "It's not like she's leaving any time soon."

Talon glares at me for a minute, considering. Then, "You're right. I want a guard watching her round-the-clock. If- and when- she decides to come down, you are to get me. I want to finish this."

I nod along with the others. When they return to picking through the supplies, I glance up at the girl. She looks small and scared, but for the briefest second, I'm sure she smiles at me.

Aria Franks, 18, District Five POV:

I turn a corner and lean against the stone, stopping for a second to catch my breath.

My heart is pounding like a drum, and adrenaline is shooting through my veins. Everything seems clearer- my senses are sharper. I rest my head against the cold gray stone behind me.

I hear footsteps, and I'm instantly on alert again. I don't see anyone else- they must be right next to me, only separated by a few feet of stone. I settle back against the stone, casting a weary eye around me.

I don't know how many people died at the bloodbath- I ran in, grabbed a canteen and a pack of jerky, and ran out as fast as I could. Sure, I prolonged my life a bit longer, but now I have no weapon to defend myself. I can only hope that I pick a weapon up from a dead tribute or that no one ever finds me. (Yeah, right).

BOOM!

My whole body stiffens- the fighting at the Cornucopia must finally be over. I count in my head as more cannon booms go off.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Seven.

Seven cannon booms.

Seven lives ended.

These seven cannon boos will be the final memory of the seven dead children who will never leave the arena.

It's completely different- being in the arena hearing the cannons and sitting at home. It seemed less real at home, like it was fake death happening to children far, far away. But being here, and knowing the other children... it's hard to hear every cannon boom. Even though I didn't kill them, even though their blood isn't on my hands, I still feel wrong, like I personally killed every one of them. It's so wrong.

And yet, the worst part is, I feel a small sense of relief and even some happiness with each cannon boom.

...

THE DECEASED (IN ORDER OF DEATH):

1. Folton Gray, 13, District Six- Jumped off his pedestal before the gong, blown up by land mines.

2. Acacia Andalu, 18, District Twelve- Knife through the heart by Cecilla.

3. Samuel Sellers, 16, District Three- Shot in the nexk with an arrow by Hunter.

4. Lindia Elmswood, 14, District Ten- Beaten to death with a spinked mace by Talon.

5. Valentina Morocco, 16, District Six- Pickaxe through the chest by Tai.

6. Marck Seymour, 12, District Five- Neck snapped by Talon.

7. Esther Glade, 12, District Ten- Chopped in half with an axe by Hunter.