Karofsky finally cornered his prey. He'd tracked Lauren down and after a brief chase he caught up with her and trapped the girl in a dead end. She was armed only with a bow and arrow. It was virtually useless for someone on the run. Karofsky had taken an arrow in the shoulder, but Lauren ran out of arrows trying to hit him again. When he advanced on her, Lauren desperately grabbed at the arrow lodged in his shoulder and twisted it hard causing him to yell out in fury and pain. He shoved her hard against the wall and yanked the arrow out of his arm. Karofsky attacked using only his fists as he hit the large girl over and over again. Lauren fought back, hearing the satisfying crunch as she hit him hard in the nose, breaking it. Howling with rage, Karofsky wrapped his meaty hands around her throat and slammed her head against the wall as hard as he could. She went limp in his grip and her skull was crushed by the impact. Karofsky repeatedly bashed her head into the wall, continuing for several minutes after the boom of the cannon told him she was dead. Only 3 more until he reached his goal.

Blaine felt Kurt flinch in his arms when the cannon fired, telling them there were only 5 tributes left alive. As the arena grew darker, Blaine held Kurt close to him. They were in the same position they had sat in the night before the Games. It was a position that was comforting and familiar to the boys, despite the change in circumstances. This time, they were  waiting for the Capitol broadcast that would confirm who their final adversaries were.

“You're hurt.” Kurt held Blaine's hands in his, gently running his thumbs over the deep rope burns he had sustained pulling Kurt over the wall. The skin was torn away down to the muscle. His hands were raw and caked with dried blood. Blaine would have a difficult time fighting the other tributes with his hands like this. Kurt poured some water over his boyfriend's hands, trying to soothe the damaged skin and muscle.

Blaine winced as the cool water splashed over his palms. “I'll be okay.” Truthfully his hands were killing him. In the adrenaline rush of reuniting with Kurt, he hadn't realized how badly they were hurt. The rope had shredded several layers of skin and severely damaged the muscle. Where the skin was still intact, his hands were red and swollen. If another tribute attacked them, he didn't know if he'd even be able to hold a weapon to protect Kurt. It wouldn't stop him from trying though. He kissed Kurt on his forehead, cheeks, and the tip of his nose before he pressed their lips together. It started out sweet and gentle, then Blaine felt a spark ignite in his heart and deepened the kiss. They kissed until they had to come up for air, and even then they stopped only long enough to catch their breath, their foreheads resting against one another. Kurt initiated the next kiss, his fingers wound tightly in Blaine's hair. Both boys had tears running down their faces when they finally broke apart.

“There's only 5 of us left.” Kurt was crying. Reality had finally sunk in that probably within the next 24 hours one or both of them would be dead. Winning the Games meant losing the love of his life.

Before Blaine could offer a comforting reply, the Capitol anthem began playing and the nightly broadcast appeared overhead. Both tributes from District 1 were still alive. Blaine wasn't surprised. District 1 almost always has at least one tribute who makes it to the final 5. He knew it was going to take all of his strength and energy to take on Karofsky, and there was almost no chance of the larger boy being killed by someone else now. Blaine shook his head sadly when he saw Sebastian's picture appear above them. The boy might have won in any other year. He certainly would have had the most Capitol sponsors trying to help him. Blaine also noted with a twinge of worry that Sam had survived the day. Maybe he had underestimated the boy's survival instinct.

Kurt felt a brief pang of sadness when he learned that the disabled girl from 9 was named Becky. She hadn't made it through the day. Kurt didn't expect the small girl to win the Games, or even to make it beyond the first few hours, but he still felt sympathy for the girl's family. For all of their families.

Back in 12 the cameras were rolling as the Capitol audience was introduced to the families of the remaining 5 tributes. Carole and Finn had been joined by Devon Anderson in the lounge of the Justice Building where they had been answering questions from the Capitol for the last hour or so. It was uncomfortable sitting in the room with Blaine's father. Not because he was Head Peacekeeper, but because he was an extremely unlikable person. Since the reaping he had been all around the District taking bets against the boys and predicting when and how they would be killed. Even the people of 12 had some human decency and considered it bad form to bet against their own tributes.

Surprisingly, their neighbors had been unusually supportive of the Hudson-Hummels since the reaping. Finn talked about how people would come up to him and tell him they were proud of Kurt and Blaine and hoped they would be able to stay together now until the end of the Games. Carole told the reporter about the collection she had started in the District to help sponsor the boys. She was surprised when the contributions had far exceeded her expectations considering the way her stepson had been treated his whole life and how the boys ended up in the arena in the first place. The donations she collected certainly weren't in the range of wealth the Capitol sponsors had provided, but Carole was touched by the gesture and in the Games, every little bit can mean the difference between life and death. The reporter asked Finn several questions about how he felt when Blaine volunteered in his place. Finn had tears in his eyes when he told them he would be indebted to Blaine for the rest of his life. Not only for volunteering in his stead, but for keeping his little brother safe and his family whole.

Blaine's father appeared bored throughout the interview. When it was his turn to answer questions, he told the reporter he was surprised that his son had survived thus far, but he was even more shocked that the Capitol bought into his little forbidden love act. Of course the reporter wanted to know what he meant by that.

“My son may have everyone else fooled with this tortured romance, but I'm not buying it. Sure he's been fooling around with that other little faggot since we got here, but even my failure of a son can do better than that boy. Hummel's nothing but trash and this District was right to try and get rid of him. If you ask me the fool threw his life away on a worthless homo who's more than likely going to die anyway.”

At this, Carole and Finn had to be escorted from the room before they attacked Blaine's father on live television. Even the Capitol reporter seemed eager to end the interview as soon as he could. The audience back in the Capitol couldn't believe what they were hearing. No one could have imagined that this is what Blaine's home life had been, even before they moved to District 12. All Blaine's father had done was create more sympathy for the boys.