Chapter 1

The anthem begins, but there isn't a single face in the sky tonight. I picture the audience, bored and restless. After a while, Katniss and Finnick determine that we should start to head to the twelve-o'clock wedge. The moonlight is our guide as we follow the edge of the forest to where the lightning strikes twice each day.

We make it to the tree where Beetee requests assistance from Finnick, the rest of us guarding their backs. Beete unrolls what seems to be an unnecessary amount of wire from the coil, but I don't question it. He is brilliant enough to know what he is doing. It's his plan, not mine, and I have no room to step in.

Finnick secures the coil tightly around a broken branch before laying it on the group. Passing the coil back and forth, Beetee and Finnick wrap the wire around the trunk. Just as it's completed, we hear the tenth wave begin.

The plan seemed very vague when Beetee was explaining it to us, but now I guess he is deciding to tell us the rest of the details. He proceeds to suggest that Katniss and Johanna take the coil down through the jungle and to the beach, making sure the wire sinks in the water. I am not fond of being separated.

"I want to go with them as a guard," I say immediately. I don't think I could bare the thought of being separated from Katniss.

"You're too slow. Besides, I'll need you on this end. Katniss will guard," says Beetee, not willing to negotiate. "There's no time to debate this. I'm sorry. If the girls are to get out of there alive, they need to move now." He proceeds to hand the coil to Johanna.

I look over my shoulder at Katniss, seeing that she doesn't agree to this plan any more than I do. How will I be able to protect her from a distance? My leg would slow them down drastically but there's no way I'm leaving her side. Plus, I wouldn't trust Johanna for a second with her.

"It's okay," Katniss tells me, seeing the concern in my eyes. "We'll just drop the coil and come straight back up."

"Not into the lightning zone," Beetee reminds her. "Head for the tree in the one-to-two-o'clock sector. If you find you're running out of time, move over one more. Don't even think about going back on the beach, though, until I can assess the damage."

I decide that it is better for her to go on without me, because I will just slow them down and create more problems. I feel the soft touch of Katniss as she takes my face in her hands. "Don't worry. I'll see you at midnight," she whispers. I'm about to object when her lips press against mine.

When the contact breaks, I stare into those gray Seam eyes I've grown to admire. I shake my head and turn back to Beetee. "There's no way I'm leaving her," I say simply.

He looks up from his work with the wire, unsure of how to respond. "I'm going to go whether you allow me to or not," I add. He looks back at his wire.

"If you think it will be best for the group, then I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you," he responds after a short pause. Finnick doesn't make eye contact with me but I can tell that he's unsure of this change in plan.

I look over at Johanna and see a dramatic eye roll. "Well, if you two lovebirds can't stand to be a second apart then I guess we can drag you along. You better not slow us down or I'll leave you behind like that," she grumbles, snapping her fingers.

I'd like to think she was kidding but considering her character, it's highly unlikely. It doesn't reassure me that we're safe with her, but if she tries to attack it'll be two against one.

The three of us leave Beetee and Finnick to figure out their end of the plan. Together we head down the slope through the thick foliage, neither of us wanting to start a discussion. That's okay with me because there's no reason to alert any tributes that may be on our path.

Despite the slight delay with my artificial leg, we seem to be making good progress. After a while the clicking begins to rise in the wedge over, indicating it's after eleven.

My heart drops because that indicates we don't have much time to get this done. I don't even know how close we are to the shore.

"Better hurry," Johanna says. "I want to put a lot of distance between me and that water before the lightning hits. Just in case Volts miscalculated something in this whole plan of his."

"I'll take the coil for awhile," Katniss suggests. Johanna seems to agree with this as she looks tired from dragging the coil this entire way.

Shortly after passing her the coil, the thin golden wire moves with a slight vibration. We stop in our tracks simultaneously. Suddenly the wire springs back, bunching in tangled curls around our wrists. We look up at each other unable.

It only takes a second, though, for us to register this rapid turn of events. It becomes obvious that the wire has been cut, and it's highly likely that a tribute will be on us any moment now.

My heart drops, realizing the predicament we are now in. We are all vulnerable but I have to protect Katniss from the danger.

I carefully release the wire and listen carefully for any signs of another tribute. I hear rustling of leaves from a short distance away. I run in the general direction, lacking any grace whatsoever.

I am determined to at least delay them enough to give Katniss and Johanna a chance to escape, even if it results in my death. I came here with the intent of protecting Katniss, and I plan on keeping that promise.

I peer around a bush to assess the situation and find Brutus just a few feet ahead of me. I'm surprised he hasn't heard me over the ruckus I seem to be making.

Before he can come any closer I hear a loud yelling coming from an area behind Brutus. I identify the voice as belonging to Chaff.

I turn my attention back to Brutus but he isn't stopping. Chaff yells again, louder this time, and Brutus finally turns around abruptly. He gives in and runs in the direction of the outburst.

But it's not long before chaos breaks out. The boom of the cannon breaks through the air. I assume that Brutus must have killed Chaff. Why would he sacrifice himself for someone he barely knew, let alone cared about? I thought it was every tribute for themselves in these games.

I think back to the night of the Opening Ceremony. We were all holding hands, raising them together in unity. It seemed like a simple act, but it was enough to show that we don't agree with this.

There is only one real enemy in which we are fighting against. That action of unity must have been enough for Chaff to be willing to make that kind of risk.

I'm suddenly angry at the Capital for putting us in this damned arena. I'm angry that our lives are being taken for entertainment. This whole thing is a nightmare for us and a daydream for the Capital.

I shake myself back to reality and turn around. Johanna and Katniss are nowhere in sight. I should be relieved. They are probably safer away from here.

But I feel an emptiness inside me. I feel like a piece of me is already gone. I have a strong gut feeling that something isn't right, and the feeling consumes me entirely.

My mind begins to panic. My heart aches for Katniss, already feeling the pain of loneliness. It feels like I've already lost her and I have no idea where she might be.

I remember the kiss we shared on the beach, but it seems like a lifetime ago. I just want to feel her presence at my side, we are there to protect each other from this living nightmare.

I shake my head. I don't have time to be thinking like this. She is strong enough to survive on her own if she has to. I need her to know that.

I am supposed to protect her. But maybe it's not over yet. "Katniss!" I cry out, not caring if anyone hears me. Let Brutus hear me. Let him hunt me down.

"Katniss!" I call out again. I don't hear a reply. I break down into a ball of my own emotions. I need to be strong. I need to be strong for Katniss. I want to call out for her but shouting her name isn't going to get either of us anywhere.

A loud crack of lightning breaks me out of my thoughts and I feel myself being blown back by an invisible force. The world is collapsing around me, a deafening sound ringing in my ears

The forcefield shines a brilliant blue, then a dead gray. I lay on my back unable to move in this state of shock. I watch as a Capitol hovercraft breaks violently through the forcefield.

I must be dreaming because this all seems too unreal. I tell myself that it's okay if they come and take me away. I have no idea why the arena exploded or if Katniss is even still alive. I still have that ache of loss deep within myself. Is this the end?

We were put in here for the simple entertainment of the Capitol. For the humorous enjoyment of Snow himself. I think back to the first games, the trick with the berries.

They insisted on having a victor that year. Will it be different this year? Will they let anyone survive? Maybe this was just a plot to kill off the victors to prove once again we are nothing compared to them.

I think back to the announcement of the Quarter Quell, when President Snow read from that unfortunate card. What was it that he said?

". . . a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol . . ."

There is never a winner of these games. By the end, only survivors remain. The Capitol wants to remain stronger than us. They made that clear by establishing these games in the first place.

I feel a cold metal claw clasp around my body. I try to thrash around, anything that'll let me escape. But it's hopeless. My body is frozen and doesn't intend on moving.

Katniss I think to myself. I don't even know why the arena exploded. Maybe the gamemakers decided they don't want a victor this year. I have a strong feeling I'll never see her again, though.

With the strength I have left in me I feel a tear roll down my cheek and fall into the warm air behind me. I didn't know that this is what dying felt like. But am I really dying? Maybe this is all just one of those cursed nightmares I'm all too familiar with.

But if Katniss is in fact dead, like I imagine she is, I want to be dead too. At least then I won't have to live with the fact that this is all my fault.

If I had just stayed at the tree with Finnick and Beetee... Would be different? The plan might have worked. But what would have happened after that?

It's hard to imagine that not long ago we were standing hand-in-hand up on that stage. Unified. Together. But that's gone, now. It's all gone. And I think, once again, that this is a victory in the eyes of President Snow.

I knew how he felt about Katniss. He could see how strong and capable she was. He was so determined to kill that poor girl and now he's done it. How could he be so selfish?

Thinking about all of this is wearing me down. I don't know what is going to happen once I reach that hovercraft but I am dreading every second of it

My eyelids suddenly feel heavy. I can't give up now. I have to . . . protect . . . Katniss . . . I feel myself slowly falling into a state of unconsciousness.

I was so determined to prove to Snow that I wasn't just a piece in their games. That they didn't have the power to change who I was. But it's impossible to win this game.

I feel myself slipping further and further away into the darkness and I think of Katniss. Her Seam gray eyes matched the rest but there was something that made her special. Everything made her special.

From that day in kindergarten I had a hope that someday I'd have the courage to speak to her. I was given more time than I had ever imagined possible with that girl. I tell myself I shouldn't be so selfish.

But I can't help it. Katniss is my weakness and my strength. Without her I am just the boy from the bakery. Without Katniss. . . The world becomes entirely dark and I let myself slip away completely, unable to complete my thought.