ITS HERE!!! I've been away at a summer camp for a few weeks, but I got back yesterday and immediately finished this chapter. Please react as you read, it's always so fun to see your comments!
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Two faces are seen in the sky tonight.

Niles Crosby

(Bum bum baaaa)

Asriel Ayase

Manny looked at the names in disgust. Asriel had been carrying food in his pack, and all of it was destroyed by the red wave that still lingered in the lower parts of the arena. The cornucopia was still flooded, along with a portion of the grasslands and the forest. It's sticky tang burned his throat.

A small whimper escaped Vire. She seemed to be taking this harder than anyone else. It was clear she had wanted Niles to escape. Clenching his fist, Manny turned to her.

"Is something wrong, girl?" He asked icily. The little brat's eyes were shimmering with unshed tears in the moonlight. Resisting the urge to slap her across the face, he grabbed his remaining bag and pretended to look through it.

She will pay.

<——<< +[\|/]+ >>——>

Amber was not amused.

She was soaked from the knee down in crusting blood, her clothes were torn to rags, her hair was a mess and she hadn't eaten in three days.

Other than that, life was great.

Her stomach grumbled as she slopped through the bloody marsh. What had once been a forest was now a bog, it's waters red and uninviting. A metallic tang invaded her nostrils, and she wrinkled up her nose to block the smell. Finding a fairly dry spot, she collapsed on a fallen log next to a patch of dull green lichen.

Staring up, she watched the stars as they appeared one by one in the sky. They were the same constellations as home, ones she had memorized during sleepless nights. When she was little, she would clamber onto the roof and gaze up into the universe almost every night.

Tonight, it almost seemed like the universe gazed back.

<——<<   >>——>

Julian stumbled on a rock, catching himself before he fell. His hands wrapped around his mutt's neck, feeling the smooth fur. "Good kitty" He mumbled, the world spinning. Those berries really weren't good. "Who's a good kitty?"

The mutt gazed straight ahead, focused on something in the darkness. Unlike her delirious companion, she could sense an approaching figure. The stench of blood had clouded her sense of smell, but she could tell it carried something that had recently died.

Julian mumbled something incomprehensible, but she ignored him. Her human would not be the next victim of this creature. Roaring, she sprang towards the figure, her oversized claws unsheathing.

A high pitched scream rose from the form, who dropped the corpse and ran. Heart pumping, the mutt sprang, her paws hitting the figure and bringing it down. A quick bite to the throat ended the threat. Stalking back to her wobbly human, she allowed him to balance on her as she led him to her kill.

He made a strange choking noise and fell, gasping. Confused, the mutt was moving to lift him when a thunderous boom filled the forest. She started, searching for the source of the noise, but stopped short when she beheld her human. He was shaking her prey, trying to stop the blood from leaving its throat.

The mutt licked her fangs. This creature's blood was still sweet and warm. Ignoring the screams of her human, she bit into her prey and began to feast.

<——<<  >>——>>

Merris started when she heard a cannon shot. Who's next? She wondered grimly, pulling up another cattail. She had been living off the plant and some sprouting mint she had found nearby. The watery taste of cattails was getting old, but at least she was alive.

Pull up. Peel away the outside. Eat only the white part. Pull up. Peel... Her thoughts were limited only to to next bite, the next swallow and her impending death.

Although she had enough food and water, Merris was terrified of each day. Tomorrow could be the day she would have her throat ripped out by a mutt. Tomorrow she could receive a dagger in her stomach or have her head sawed off of her body.

Silently cursing the little orphan Annie, Merris was pulling up another cattail when she heard the crunch of a twig. Dropping to a crouch, the girl attempted to silence her breathing. Staying as still as possible, she waited until whatever had been there walked away, not bothering to hide their footsteps. Shaking, Merris stayed huddled in the reeds for the rest of the night, never daring to leave.