Chapter 1 - Cameron Mason

Katniss POV

Lana, Rue, Cameron and I made quite the alliance. We actually had some of the highest scores. Rue with her eight, Lana with her nine, Cami with her ten, and myself with an eleven.

As soon as that gong went off, I managed to get my bow and a backpack. As I was running away from the Cornucopia, I met Cami and Rue, who had apparently made an alliance. We ran into the woods. Cami got an axe, and Rue had a sling, as well as a pack. We decided to sleep in the trees.

There were eleven bloodbath deaths. Two more later.

Halfway through the night, I heard the sound of people running. I woke Cami and Rue, who were in the branches below me.

"Careers." I whispered. They nodded.

"Well, well, well. It looks like we found our young alliance. The only three tributes who scored equal scores with the pack." Said Cato, the eighteen - year - old leader of the pack. He was from District 2. Behind him was Clove, Glimmer, Marvel, and Lana. The boy from 4 died in the bloodbath. The only tributes left were five careers, the three of us, Foxface, Thresh, and the boy from District 3.

"I seem to remember," I called down, not bothering to disguise the snarkiness in my voice "That I scored an eleven. I believe that was higher than your ten." Cato considered my words for a minute.

"Get them." Clove threw a knife up at us, missing Rue by an inch or two.

"Oh, come on, guys. We're never going to hit them at this rate. Let's just wait them out. They have to come down at some point." Lana said. Cato glared for a second.

"Fine. But you get first watch. Someone make a fire."

The Careers surrounded our tree. As soon as the last one dozed off, Lana climbed our tree.

"We need to go. Now." She said.

"No!" Argued Rue. "Look up." We did as she said, just to see a nest of Tracker Jackers.

"We need to saw them down. We could kill some Careers. You're the best climber, Katniss. You should go." Cami said. I hesitated.

"Fine. But you guys need to leave first. Go north, to the river. I'll meet you there." I said. The three of them climbed down the tree and headed north. I gave them a three minute head start before I began sawing through the the tree with the knife Clove threw at Rue.

I felt the first sting. I screamed. It did really hurt. Haymitch wasn't kidding. Clove was the first up. She didn't think anything of my scream. She just yelled

"Shut up. We're giving you a privilege of not sending Lana up after you." None of the others woke up. I sawed most of the way through, then pushed it down.

The Careers were fully awake and screaming. Cato, Clove, and Marvel were gone before I could react, along with most of their supplies. Most.

Glimmer, on the other hand, screamed, ran, but the Tracker Jackers were too much. She collapsed and was swallowed up by the mutts. When they were all gone, I climbed down and looked at Glimmer. Her once beautiful features were badly damaged and swollen. I didn't hear a cannon, so I assumed she was in some sort of coma. I gather the remaining Career supplies and headed after Rue, Lana, and Cami. I heard a cannon, finally. My first kill.

I get there around dinner. I set out the crackers and dried fruit I stole from the Careers. We eat it all, as we still had enough of Rue, Lana, and my personal supply that we took from the Cornucopia at the beginning.

Glimmer was the only death. Fourteen down, nine to go. Three of them were my friends.

Over the next few days, I learned more about my allies. Rue was talented and musical. Cami was a thief. Her normal attire was a leather jacket, fingerless leather gloves, ripped jeans and a black T-shirt. Lana was artistic.

Rue was stealthy. Cami could fight with an axe. Lana used a sword and throwing knives.

No one died in those days. The Capitol has to be getting very restless.

Our fifth day of hiding in a cave, we put together a was only a few tributes left. Thresh from eleven, the Fox Faced girl from five, us and the careers.

I had Rue and Lana start a fire as I left. It should attract the Careers. They had two other fires they would start, and then we would meet up at our cave. In the meantime, I would be going to the Cornucopia with Cami.

We got there about the same time they started the fire. We hid at the edge of the woods, before I saw Foxface run out of the woods as the Careers left, with the boy from three watching. I fired my arrow. He was dead before he hit the ground. My second kill. Foxface hesitated.

"Run!" I screamed. "Take what you can while you have the chance. I won't kill you if you bring out supplies for me and three other girls, too."

She turned at my voice. I stepped out of the woods. Foxface nodded. She hopped through the pyramid of supplies, carefully picking through and taking enough stuff for the five of us to last a month. She dumped it on the ground and packed her stuff in a backpack.

"Thanks." She said. I nodded.

"It's basically us against the Careers, isn't it?" I asked. She nodded.

"I'm Eva." She said, sticking her hand out.

"Katniss." We shook. She turned to leave

"Eva!" I called. She turned.

"What's the trap?" She frowned

"Landmines."

"Take what you need. I'm here to blow it up."

"Thanks, Katniss, but I'm fine with this." I saw a figure coming towards us and I sucked in a breath before running into the woods. It was Thresh. His rock went into Eva's head with way more force than necessary. I gasped, grateful for the cover of the trees. He bent down to pick up our supplies, but I sent an arrow through his leg. He looked up, realizing there was someone else present. No, duh. He left the supplies and ran back to his wheat field. I gathered my supplies once he was gone and went into the woods.

I noticed a bag of apples, hanging over the pyramid. Domino effect. I thought. I selected an arrow, set it on my string and fired. The apples poured out of the bag. I didn't wait to see what happened. I ran.

"Cami!" I called

"Let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the first fire. It had died out, as had the second. The third had Clove and Cato standing next to it, so we avoided it. Where's Marvel? I thought.

"Lana!" We heard the piercing scream.

"Rue." Cami said. We took off running. No! Marvel! He wasn't with the others!

"Rue!" I called

"Katniss!" We found Rue in a net. I began sawing through the rope. Lana came out of the woods.

"I'm fine." Rue said. I hugged her. I felt a small jab and heard Lana scream. I looked down and saw the spear sticking out of Rue's back. I looked up frantically, and saw Marvel. Another spear in hand. Before he could throw it, he had an arrow in his throat. My third kill.

"Search him." I said briefly. Cami took his jacket, for extra warmth and his pack. The hovercraft came.

I layed Rue on the ground. we crowded around her.

"One of you has to win." She whispered. I nodded.

"We will. I promise." I said. She relaxed a little.

"Sing." She said, tears welling up in her eyes. I nodded again

"Deep in the meadow, Under the Willow;

A bed of grass,A soft, green, pillow.

Lay down your head, and close your eyes;

And when you wake, the sun will rise."

I didn't finish the song, because she was already dead. I sighed and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Asked Cami.

"Burying her."

Lana smiled. She knew what I was thinking.

"Let me." She stood up and guided me back to Rue. I sat down and cried a few silent tears before getting up and screaming and throwing Marvel's spear. Cami went through his supplies, as well as Rue's, splitting it up between us. Lana came back and buried Rue in flowers.

"Who's left?" I asked. My voice sounded hollow.

"Cato. Clove. Us. Thresh." Cami said. I was about to respond when I heard Claudius Templesmith's voice.

"Attention, Tributes, attention. Tomorrow, we will be having a feast at the Cornucopia. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something. Desperately. And we plan on being generous hosts." I snorted.

"What could we possibly need?" I asked.

"Water. Medicine. Food. Wire. Weapons. Maybe a pot." Lana answered.

"Fine. We'll leave right now and hide out in the Cornucopia. As soon as the packs come, we take what we need and run." Cami said.

That night, there was Marvel, the boy from 3, Foxface, and Rue.

The packs appeared about eight o'clock in the morning. I ran out with Cami and Lana. We grabbed our backpacks. All hell let loose when Clove figured us out. She threw her knife, scraping Cami's head. Lana stopped to help her, but was hit in the leg with another knife.

"Run, Lana. I'll get her!" I screamed, as Thresh, Cato, and Clove came out of the woods. I helped Cami to her feet, only to be knocked down by Clove. We wrestled for a few seconds, until I realized it's hard to fight with a knife against your neck.

"Where's your flame, Fire Girl?" She asked, tauntingly.

"About to consume you." She laughed.

"Cato said I could kill you if I made it slow. And believe me, I was more than happy to comply. I here you have an alliance of little girls. You and Cameron and Lana. She betrayed us. More's the pity. There was another one, wasn't there? Another little girl from eleven? What was her name again?"

"Rue." I spat. Literally.

"Oh, whatever. We killed her. And now we'll kill you. I think I'll let nature take care of Lana and Cameron. They won't last five days. Then I'll claim the victory, along with Cato. Thresh will be easy, as long as we do it together." She began to cut into my forehead, when she was lifted off of me.

"Did you kill her?" Thresh asked.

"No! No! She's right there!"

"Not her! Rue. You killed her. I heard you say it."

"No! I didn't! I didn't! Cato! Cato!" Clove screamed. I stood up and noticed the knife still in her hand. I fired an arrow, hitting her.

" You're welcome. One request, though. Make it fast, okay Thresh? I have a little sister watching." I begged quietly.

"I'll let you go. Just this once, twelve. For Rue." He said, taking his pack along with Cato's and heading back into his field. I helped Cami to her feet and ran into the woods with all three of our packs. I could hear Cato begging Clove to stay with him. If he liked her so much, why did he volunteer? Then, reality slapped me in the face. Kill number four. I'm a murderer.

On the way to our cave, we find Lana, dead. Written in her blood was:

I tried. I promise, Finnick. Katniss. Cameron. Mom. Kai. Rue.

I held back a sob.

"Two deaths today. We should get going. There's only two of us now. Cato or Thresh could come after us now." I said, my voice once again hollow.

That night, the first face to appear was Clove, followed by Lana. I looked back down at my snare when Cami nudged me.

"It's Thresh." She said.

"Thresh?" I asked.

"Yes. Thresh." I looked and saw Thresh in the sky before the Panem Seal came up one last time. I sighed.

"We should split up, Cami. There's only Cato left. I don't want to kill you." Cami wasn't looking at me, but behind me.

"Run." She whispered. I turned and saw huge, ugly mutts coming up out of the ground. I followed her, racing through the trees. We met up with Cato, who was also running.

I climbed the Cornucopia, helping Cami up with me. Cato followed soon after. I aimed my arrow, ready to shoot when he did something I wasn't expecting. He grabbed Cameron by the wrist and pulled her towards him.

"Kill us." He spat. "I never stood a chance. I didn't know that until now, of course. Just shoot me. Take precious little Cameron, too. We all know. We were just obstacles in your game. You probably don't care about Cameron. Just like you didn't care about Caleb, Lana, Rue. You probably didn't even care about that sister of yours. The one who was sobbing when your name was pulled."

"Prim. And yes, I do care for her. I don't expect you to understand."

"Katniss." Cami Said. I turned to her. She tapped Cato's hand. Of course! I drew back my arrow.

"Before you shoot, Girl on Fire, you might want to know. Cameron volunteered to save her twin sister." Cato said. I gasped before letting go of the string and watching the arrow fly into his hand. He roared and released Cami, who drew her axe.

Cato growled, grabbed Cami once more, and jumped off the Cornucopia. Into the sea of mutts. I crawled down and dragged her back into the Cornucopia. Her clothes were ragged and her features were cut and bruises. Very badly.

"Katniss," she gasped.

"Shh."

"No. No. My sister. She swore, if I died, she would go into the arena when she turned eighteen. Please. When she wins, I want you to be the best friend you can be to her." Cami said. I nodded.

"I'll certainly try."

Cami's features relaxed.

"Don't die, Cami."

She laughed darkly.

"Everyone goes sometime. Do it, Katniss. Make it fast." There were tears brining her eyes.

"Cami…" I said. I was sobbing, too.

"Do it, Katniss." She urged. It's better to die quickly and painless than slowly, in pain. She told me that, once. I shook my head.

"Fine." She whispered. She took an arrow out of my quiver.

"Any last words?" I asked.

"Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."

"Karl Marx?" I asked through my tears.

"Forgive her, Johanna. Even if she knows what she's doing." With that, she took my arrow and stabbed it just above her heart. I gasped. She would be in more pain now. I took it out of her chest and dove it in lower, so it was in her heart.

"I'm sorry, alright?!" I asked no one in particular. Below me, I saw Cato, whimpering. I sighed and with my last arrow, shot him through his heart. I did my District's three finger salute, for Cami. Three hovercrafts appeared, two caging Cato and Cami's dead bodies. A ladder dropped down from the third. I killed six children. Glimmer. Three. Marvel. Clove. Cato. Cameron.

When I woke up from my heavy sedation, Haymitch was arguing with another Victor. I opened my eyes and saw Finnick Odair.

"Relax, Haymitch. They won't do it until she's sixteen. I don't even start for another year. Even Snow wouldn't go to that extreme."

I saw a small group of people standing around my bed. Haymitch, Finnick, Effie, Cinna, my prep team, and some more Victors I didn't know.

"Welcome home, sweetheart." Haymitch said dryly.

"Congratulations, Everdeen. You're a Victor." Finnick said.

"Congratulations? For what?" I snapped. "I don't think you realized that I just killed six teenagers in the span of about two weeks. I murdered them. I'm no better than Cato. Killing in cold blood."

"No. You're much better than Cato. Tell me why you killed each of them."

"Glimmer: so I could get home. Three: so I could blow up the Career's stuff. Marvel: revenge. Clove: so she wouldn't kill Thresh, who I knew would make my death quicker. Cato: Mercy. No one deserves to die slowly. Cami: because she missed her mark and missed her heart." Finnick shook his head.

"No. You killed Glimmer because got in the way. You killed three (his name was actually Isaiah.) Because he betrayed the outlier districts to the Careers. You killed the rest out of revenge, mercy, or to save someone else. Those are what we call justified kills."

"She also has the second highest kill count." Muttered another Victor.

"Enobaria!" Haymitch snapped. "Later. She's not ready to hear that."

Tears pricked my eyes. "Is it true?" I asked. Finnick nodded.

"Then who had the highest?"

"I did. With twelve." Finnick said. "The rest have around four or five."

I spun around in the mirror. This time, Cinna made me candle light.

I stepped into the elevator, and then ended up backstage.

"Please welcome Katniss Everdeen, the Girl in Fire!" Caesar said. The Capitol audience cheered and screamed as I stepped onto the stage.

"Now, Katniss, your games were the strangest I've seen in the longest time. It was very, very emotional, and yet you have the second highest kill count, next to District 4's Finnick Odair, from last year. Anything you'd like to say?"

I nodded. "For Lana, I'd like to say she was my first real friend here, in the Capitol. In the opening ceremonies, she was struggling with her dress, and her stylist ditched her. I helped her, and we liked each other immediately. I miss her." There were tears in my eyes.

"For Rue, she was an amazing person. And when she died, it tore me in two. She reminded me of an older version of my sister, Prim. I miss her." The tears were making their way down my face.

"And for Cameron. She was my best friend. When she asked me to kill her, I couldn't do it, even as I knew she wouldn't make it. I killed her in the end, as I knew it would be better than the slow death she gave herself. I want to apologize to Cami's twin sister. I never caught her name, but I want to make sure you know that Cami loved you. I look forward to meeting you someday. I apologize to the families of Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, Cato, Isaiah, and Cami. I didn't want to kill your child. I really didn't they could've been amazing people…" I was bawling now. "I'm sorry I couldn't save them."

Caesar put a comforting arm around me.

"Unfortunately, that speech took up all our question time. It's time to watch the replays."

After the recaps were played, it was time for the Victory Banquet. I stood next to Haymitch, and autographed whatever was thrust at me, took pictures with whoever wanted to, and talked to literally everyone.

Finnick approached me.

"Would you like to dance, Katniss?"

"I'd prefer not to, but I will because otherwise, I think my hand will fall off from the amount I'm signing."

He laughed and lead me to the center of the room.

"So, you have eleven months between the games, as always, so the next games will be in September. You have the Victory Tour between now and then, so that will be about two and three quarter months. So from mid June to August. You have about eight months to spend with your family. If I were you, I'd meet some Victors. It will help a lot when the games come around."

The waltz we were dancing to ended. Finnick pressed something in my hand.

"I'll see you for the Victory tour. My house is number five in Victor's Village."

When he was gone, I opened the napkin he gave to me.

Here's a list of friendly Victors to shoot a phone call to.

Finnick Odair - 4

Cashmere Rosnam - 1

Gloss Rosnam - 1

Mags Vande - 4

Blight Discora - 7

Cecelia Avlis - 8

Seeder Daniels - 11

Chaff Birch - 11

Lyme Cordana - 2

You'll need these tonight. Trust me.

With love,

Finnick Odair

Finnick. What was his deal with me? And why would I need a list of phone numbers tonight?

When I got back to my district, moved into my new house, I saw a book on the table with the phone. In the book, printed in Effie's perfect handwriting, were phone numbers. Haymitch, Venia, Octavia, Flavius, Cinna, President Snow, Effie Trinket. The last one makes me drop the book.

Johanna Mason. That name is haunting me. I thought as I added the numbers Finnick gave me. Oh, well. Tonight I'll call Effie maybe. Ask her why she put that number there. Maybe I can figure out what Finnick meant about tonight while I'm at it.