A/N: A little bit of gruesomeness in this chapter. Not much, just a brief mention of it. You have been warned.

***

A scream ripped itself through Leonardo's throat as he turned tail and fled, kicking up snow in his wake. Twenty-two zombified teenagers tore after him, letting loose snarls and low growls. Leo was shocked to find that they moved nothing like real zombies would–they didn't stagger and move slowly like zombies in movies. Instead, they were quite fast, almost as fast as a living person. And they were gaining on him quickly. Their moans rang in Leo's ears, and they were all he could hear as he tore through the woods.

Ahead of him, the trees came to an abrupt halt, and Leonardo knew he'd reached the edge of the forest. He knew there was a slope up ahead, leading down into the snowy plain where the Bloodbath had taken place. Forcing himself to speed up, he dashed forward and broke the cover of the trees, emerging out into the area near the Cornucopia. The mutant turtle's feet skidded as he found himself unable to slow down in time, and he fell down the slope, his skin bruising as he was dragged painfully against the ground. Leonardo shrieked as he tumbled down the slope, rolling a little before landing with a thump in the middle of the plain.

The wind was knocked from his chest as he landed. He could barely breathe as he lifted his head to survey his surroundings. The Cornucopia stood a few feet ahead of him, glistening in the last of the daylight. Michelangelo was perched on top of it, his eyes huge as he stared down at Leonardo lying in the snow.

"C'mon, dude!" he shouted anxiously. "Hurry up and get on this thing! Before the zombies get you!"

A snarl from behind Leo told him he didn't have much time. He turned his head to see the last of the zombies pouring down the slope, while the rest were almost upon him. Fighting to catch his breath, the mutant turtle scrambled to his feet, leaping out of the way just as Sofie's sharp claws swung at him. He dashed toward the Cornucopia, reaching the base of the shimmering structure and trying desperately to leap up on it. Michelangelo grabbed his arms mid-jump, grunting with effort as he heaved the older turtle up with him.

The two turtles watched, eyes huge, as the zombies rapidly approached them. In seconds, the Cornucopia was surrounded by a writhing, snarling mass of undead teenagers, all with the same goal: to devour the flesh of the living, and to let only one Tribute remain. Leonardo's stomach did flips as he looked at their claws caked with bloody flesh, the skin peeling from their bones, the exposed bones and limbs hanging to bodies by a thread.

He looked at all the familiar faces and wanted to vomit. Piper, her fur ratty and matted and covered with dried blood, her teeth turned into dripping fangs. Scarlet, once bright and innocent, now a snarling monster, her long hair frayed and messy, blood encrusted around her mouth. Sarina, her face a mangled mess of wires and circuits, her once-smooth hair now grimy and missing in some places. Marcus, half of his face completely stripped of flesh, with parts of his tail and ears missing. Hazel, her long hair scraggly and unkempt, her ribcage exposed and sunken in. Seeing it all made Leonardo want to vomit.

Please, someone take me away from all this. Please!

Michelangelo didn't seem to be doing much better. His horrified gaze was fixed on two girls near the front of the horde, who were standing together as they clawed at the Cornucopia. Winter, whose jaw had gone slack at an unnatural angle, and now had skin missing from her face. And Shelby, whose lengthy hair had become bedraggled and coarse, foam bubbling at her lips as she snarled up at him. Tears welled in the young turtle's eyes as he watched his former friends try to kill him.

I'm sorry, you two, he thought mournfully. You guys deserve to rip me apart.

"What now?" Leo had to shout over all the growls and shrieks. "We're trapped on all sides...if we try to run, there's no way we'll make it!"

Michelangelo looked at him with sad eyes, Leonardo was taken back by the look of complete misery on the younger mutant's face.

"Well, you've got swords," he said. "Why don't you use 'em?"

"Are you suggesting I kill you? No way! I couldn't do that!"

"Why not?"

"I just..." Leo stammered, then sighed, hanging his head. "I just can't. It's because I'm a coward."

Mikey's eyes widened as even more moisture began to form in his eyes.

"You're the coward?" he spat. "Are you the one who abandoned his allies?"

"What? Michelangelo, I–"

"Are you the one who left his teammates to be killed while you ran?" the orange-clad turtle's voice started out sharp, but then broke with sorrow. "Are you the one who just let your friends die instead of staying there to help? Which one of us is the coward here, Leonardo?"

For a moment, there was silence. Leonardo's mind was instantly flooded with memories of the avalanche–how he'd been so concerned about saving himself, so scared that he would die, that he'd forgotten all about his allies and allowed them to perish. He remembered watching Marcus fatally wound Destiny–he remembered how he'd been so scared to help that he'd let another one of his allies die.

"...I guess we're both cowards," Leo said at last. "I...I forgot about my allies too. I let my fear get the better of me...more than once...and I let them die."

He sighed, hanging his head as a wave of despair washed over him.

"I'll never forgive myself for that. Those other Tributes should be alive, not me."

There was more silence. Michelangelo stared at the older turtle in shock, his mouth dangling open. Then, at long last, he narrowed his eyes in determination. Leonardo looked over at him as he stood up. As Mikey rose to his feet, the roaring of the zombies grew louder and more crazed, as if the beasts were excited that he would leap down and let them devour him.

"Let's jump together," said Michelangelo.

"What?"

"You said it yourself–we're both cowards. Those other Tributes should be alive, not us. So...let's face our fears and the allies we left behind, and jump."

Leonardo stared up at the younger turtle in surprise for a moment.

I can't say I'm against that idea. If we jump, the Capitol won't have a victor at all. It'll be like a huge slap to the face.

He smirked.

And they deserve it.

He nodded decisively, standing up.

"Let's do this."

The two of them joined hands, readying their muscles and bracing themselves for the leap.

"On three," said Michelangelo. "One..."

To everyone I've ever disgraced. Father, Monica, Destiny, Galaxy...

"Two..."

Hazel, Piper, Penelope, Madison...I'm sorry.

"Three!"

See you guys in heaven.

He closed his eyes.

With that, the two mutants leaped from the Cornucopia, plunging themselves toward the sea of deadly claws and teeth below.

But right before the zombies could touch them, an invisible force caught the mutant turtle's in midair. Leonardo's eyes flew open, and Michelangelo shrieked in surprise as they were rocketed up into the sky, leaving the snarling of the monsters far behind them. Up, up, up they went–away from the zombies, away from the Cornucopia, away from the Arena; away from it all. Leonardo's head shot up.

Hovercraft!

That was the last thing he saw before all his senses left him, and he blacked out.