Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. They belong to Suzanne Collins.

Note: Sorry for the wait with this (and all my other stories)! It's been a very busy month for me with not as much time, or drive, for writing as I have wanted. I'm not certain when things will pick back up to the normal update frequency, but hopefully it will not be much longer until they do. Not really anything else to say this time, as all relevant news to the delays is either on my DeviantArt profile or strictly personal, so read on and enjoy. :)


It's dark out. Dark and raining. I can hear the rain shower hitting against the river, making many sloshy sounds. Back home, the sound of rain on the sea always relaxes me. The water hitting water, the fish coming to the surface, the rocking of the anchored boats...I don't know why, but I always just loved to listen.

Listening. It's what I did a lot of. For fish, for my friends and family...you can learn a lot when you sit quietly and listen. I remember one time I was sitting by the dock and observing some krill in the water. I was so quiet and still, that two Peacekeepers began to talk in casual voices near me. By the end of their conversation I knew their entire patrols through the night. I came back to the dock later that night and I was able to do some midnight fishing. Imagine that, midnight fishing in District 4! Naturally, I could not tell anybody, lest the 'peace be kept'...but it was like a very tiny, small, personal rebellion.

Of course, as I sit in the dark cave, I cannot get any of the relaxation from listening that I would in District 4. It's just...not the same. I mean, well, the rain on the water is the same...it's just everything else. The death arena, the bloodied sword I got from Cato...win or lose, it won't be the same anymore, I suppose. But for now, with sleep alluding me, I'll just sit...sit and listen.

Rue mumbles in her sleep. At least one of us has managed to find a moment of relief. She rolls a little, coming to a stop next to me. I cannot help but smile a little as she nuzzles against my shoulder. She looks kinda cute. I wonder what I look like asleep? Mum says I look like a sweet sea bass...uh, it's more flattering in District 4, trust me.

"Will this rain ever stop," says Katniss, a short distance away.

The Girl on Fire is now the Girl being Rained Upon, as she sits near the mouth of the cave. She still has an arrow notched as she stares out into the rain. Is it just me, or is she not blinking? Maybe it's the lack of light?

"You can come sleep with us," I offer.

"I'll be fine," she says. She turns back to the mouth of the cave.

"Without sleep, you won't be able to fire arrows properly. I think so at least, I'm not an archery expert," I say. I had no way of knowing if a bow would be in the arena after all, so I did not train with one. At most, previous games have only had two in at any one time.

"...Maybe you have a point. But, I don't want to doze off and then wake to find the careers with a knife at my neck," says Katniss, lowering her bow somewhat. "Oh, they love their knives."

Katniss then turns to face me. She's looking at me with a strange expression...it almost seems sly on some way?

"Though, I saw you training with knives a lot," chuckles Katniss. "Trying to join with the careers were you?"

"A-a-actually, I noticed that knives are a commonly included weapon, so, uh..." I trail off awkwardly. Me working with the career pack? Yeah, that'll be the day. A day like a birthday, except the exact opposite.

"Not social? Me neither," continues Katniss. "...It's so hard, you know. I love kids...I always protect kids. With Prim being twelve now, it's my nature to. But for me to see her again, well..."

I nod. The unspoken topic is pretty obvious. One way or the other Katniss and Rue are gonna be dead, by my hand or not, if I'm gonna get out of here. I idly feel my starfish token nervously. Later, later, it's not time yet.

"Guess it's lucky for me and Rue that we were not born too soon, huh?" I say, trying to chuckle. "...Thank you."

"It's fine," says Katniss. Hm, maybe praise makes her feel awkward? "I'm here to protect my sister, and while I am here I'll try to protect you two."

"...It was noble you know, doing what you did for your sister," I say, unable to not feel admiration.

Volunteering for anybody...not sure if I'd be able to do it, honestly. I mean, as I am twelve most people reaped would do better than I would, but...I just do not know if I could do it for anybody if they were weaker than me, either. After all, those who are not reaped or who do not volunteer in place of another tend to survive The Hunger Games. But, I guess there is one person I'd volunteer for if I could.

"I did what any older sibling would," says Katniss modestly. "Makes me wonder if anybody else here volunteered besides the Careers."

I am silent. I'm not sure if any of them did, and saying so just feels redundant. I glance at the rain. The river might be deeper now.

"Can your sister swim?" I ask.

"Nope. I'm not great either. Not much water back in District 12," says Katniss shrugging. "We have rocks. And starvation."

What am I supposed to say in response to that!?

"...My district has water and nice bread," I say, awkwardly. "Um, uh...you know, the reason twelve year olds never win...maybe it's less our size, and more the limited life experience?"

"I don't talk to people much," says Katniss. She looks back out at the rain. "Just Prim and Gale, mainly."

"I guess I'm the same. These games...I tried not to get attached in case a friend got reaped. Mainly just my family and Ula, my little sister," I say, agreeing. In Panem, being objective is safer. We all know it, even if not all of us agree with it. "You know...I wonder if I would have volunteered for Ula if her name was pulled, if she was old enough."

"You wouldn't be able to. She's a girl, and you're a boy," says Katniss. I realise she is right, and I now feel rather awkward.

"Well, um..I meant if I could, maybe I would...oh, what I would give for a distraction," I say with a groan. Making myself look foolish won't win any sponsors!

Footsteps. A splash in a puddle. Outside the cave. Somebody is nearby!

"Get back," says Katniss, picking up her bow. "I'll keep watch, you get back there with Rue."

"Already done," I say. The second I heard a sound I was at the back of the cave, like lightning.

Though, if lightning struck the cave...hm, would the Game-Makers do that? They control every bit of the arena, so it does make me wonder what they can do, and how much of it we may not even see. That forest fire didn't strike me as the limit. Who knows what may be underneath me right now...a mutt of some kind? Ever since the Scorpion mutts in the games five years ago I've always been wary of animals that have more than two legs.

"Don't shoot! Please!" pleads a voice from outside.

That voice, it sounds familiar. Ok, which of the remaining tributes is that? Maybe it's somebody who does not hate me? It's a girl, and not one of the careers...not Foxface either. So, who's left?

A figure walks up, arms raised. Oh, wait, I remember now. It's the girl from 8. She looks...not good. Her hair is all messed up, her tribute outfit is torn and ripped in some places and her eyes are darting left and right, looking afraid. Seeing her so nervous, it's like watching myself if I were a thirteen year old girl...and I would like the part of my brain that created that image lobotomised, please…

"Ah, you again," says Katniss. "Please tell me you have not lit anymore fires."

"Nope! Y-you made quite clear how dumb I was the first n-night," says the 8 girl nervously. "No fires here!"

Hmmm, I think I recall seeing the 8 girl the other night. Oh yeah! Katniss had spoken to her about starting a fire, or something? And now we're all here...guess it's a small world after all.

"Are you alone," asks the 8 girl, wringing her hands a little bit, "I need shelter. The storm is….wet! And cold! ...And wet..."

"I have Rue and Urchin with me," says Katniss, slowly lowering her bow. As she does this, I grip the knife in my pocket just a little tighter.

"Oh, that's good! I'm good with children!" exclaims the 8 girl. "I-I-I have corn! Kids like corn, right?!"

"Whuhh..." mumbles Rue from beside me. "What's going on…?"

"We have a guest," I say. I relax a little though, because our 'guard' seems to be ok with this girl. And if she is wrong...three on one, the odds are in our favour.

"...Come on in Lacey," says Katniss, making a slow beckoning gesture.

Lacey. So that's her name. That's a pretty name. But as she crawls into the cave I can see that, well, beauty can be tarnished. She looks like she's had even less fun than me these past few days. She seems cold, that's for sure. Hmmm...well, my sleeping bag has dried off by now, so what harm could it do giving it to Lacey so she can have a cosy night?

"Here, you can use this," I say, gesturing to my rolled up sleeping bag. Hmm...hope she doesn't have any allergies to the leaves stuck on it.

"Thanks! Thank you! Thanks muchly!" Exclaims Lacey. She quickly gets herself into it and wraps herself up, like some kind of worm.

For a few moments all is silent as everybody relaxes. There are four of us in here, so if somebody were to run in we should be able to take them on. But, could we though? Lacey seems out of it, and myself and Rue are not brilliant fighters. Girl on Fire, leading the charge…

It looks like the rain is coming down a little bit harder now, but I don't feel worried. We're in here and the rain is out there. Rue is starting to settle down again, lightly leaning against me. It...feels kinda nice. Lacey giggles at us for a moment, before settling down. Judging by her nerves though, I don't think she'll be sleeping easy. But then, will any of us? Well, I can hope. They say hope is stronger than fear...though right now, I'm only seeing evidence for the opposite. Eheheheh…

Eleven of us left. That means seven of the others are still out there. The careers are dangerous of course, but what about the other four? Hmmm...are there any of them that, uh, don't want to slit my throat right now? I mean, they'd have to to get home, but how willing would they be? ...Besides Foxface, not great odds. I wonder if any of them are nearby right now?

The tracker in my arm. Almost forgot it was there...it doesn't feel like anything is off, so it must slot in just fine, somehow. I fish, I don't operate. But, it makes me wonder...where in the arena are the other tributes? By the Cornucopia? Near the edge of the arena? If only the forcefield could be beaten, then I could run and run and...whatever comes next. Heh, if only it was as simple as digging under it.

"So, we got a plan for tomorrow?!" asks Lacey suddenly. "We gonna hunt? Hunting is good! I can track people! Well, uh, as long as they don't cover up their tracks! Eheheh! I can also find food! And water! I saw water over there! ...Please don't kill me, I'll be good!"

Rue awakens, looking tired. Katniss frowns, looking annoyed at the noise...is she gonna kill Lacey for this? I'm not really that bothered by Lacey's panicking, as I do that too...key difference though is that I tend to just panic silently.

"Be quiet, we need sleep," says Katniss. She shakes her head and turns away, trying to get comfy.

"I can do quiet! Quiet is good! Zipping it!" chatters Lacey, nodding her head rapidly.

"I have five younger siblings...and I still am not used to this kind of noise..." groans Rue sighing.

Six children. With the Hunger Games looming over our heads, imagine how that must be for Rue's parents. The thought makes me sick...what if it's not just Rue, but each of the other five as well…?

Soon enough though, even Lacey goes quiet and we all start to relax. I bet we won't even get two hours of sleep, but every little helps.

"Peaceful night..." I say to myself, yawning a little.

I feel myself nodding off a few moments later. When you are truly exhausted, a comfy bed is unneeded.


(A while later…)


Still dark. Guess I was right, I won't be getting very much sleep. Looks like the rain is still going, though it seems a lot lighter than it had been before. Still not gonna go out in it though.

The girls are all sleeping. Rue lays against my shoulder, very slightly drooling. Katniss lays a distance away, not making a sound. Lacey is curled up in my sleeping bag in the centre of the cave, letting out a small squeak every now and then. Is she dreaming of being a mouse or something?

Wait...what was that? For a moment there I thought I heard something…

"Something out there…?" I say, getting up and slowly making my way to the mouth of the cave, knife in hand. Upon reflection, maybe the sword would be of more use if danger is near...but then again, it's a few sizes too big for me.

Out of the cave I cannot see very far. Just a moderate drizzle in all directions along with some fog. I can't make out anything nearby, nor can I hear more than the drizzling rain hitting the river. Looks to be all clear...maybe being tired is making my mind play tricks on me? Or maybe the tracker-jacker venom isn't quite gone yet. I hate bugs, it must be said.

"Guess it was nothing," I say, shrugging my small shoulders.

But, once I turn back to return to resting I see that it, in fact, is actually something. Something bad! The walls of the cave appear to have now grown stone spikes...and they are closing in!

"Wake up! Wake up!" I yell as loud as I can, quickly grabbing all of my gear as I do so.

Katniss sits bolt upright, a clear light sleeper, and quickly sees what is going on. Grabbing her bow, she hurriedly awakens Rue and both run out of the cave. Lacey has now awoken and is squirming in my sleeping bag. I can't leave her like this...horrific and messy…

"C'mon, we gotta get out of here," I say urgently, grabbing the sleeping bag and dragging her with it. Thankfully, Lacey is not a particularly heavy person, so even with my small frame I am able to drag her out to safety.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" chants Lacey in a jittery tone. Clearly, like myself, she did not appreciate the Game-Makers wake-up call.

A few seconds after we are out of the cave the stone spikes all close in, sealing off the cave and with it the shelter it provided...and also the sword Cato had.

Crap…

At least it can't be used against me now, and I still have the rest of my supplies.

"...Everybody still alive?" I ask, as what else is there to say, really?

"I'm ok," says Katniss. She grips her bow tightly.

"I'm good," nods Rue.

Lacey stands up shakily, and huddles the sleeping bag.

"No blood here! Nope!" says Lacey, wide eyed.

The four of us stand in silence for a while. I glance at the river...it seems deeper now. Looks like thirst won't be a problem for a while.

"So, what do we now?" I ask. "We have no shelter, and it's raining. Anybody...got a friend who could sponsor us an umbrella?"

Silence greets me. Looks like we're in for a wet night. I may love the water, but it's not like I can sleep when I'm being soaked by rainwater.

"We need to keep moving," says Katniss, notching an arrow on her bow. "Somewhere less out in the open, we need to find it."

"Oh! Maybe inside the Cornucopia? It'd be safe from the rain," Rue suggests. Have to say, that's not a bad idea.

"But it's probably infested with Careers. Eheheheh, not fun!" murmurs Lacey, gulping.

"Then let's go this way. Good a way as any," says Katniss, heading downstream, keeping her distance from the edge of the river.

We all make to follow, as if we have any other options...but it quickly becomes apparent this is not the direction the Game-Makers want us to go. A tree falls over just up ahead of us. Nobody is hurt, thankfully, but the loud noise and the impact it makes in the ground makes us all stop in our tracks.

"...Maybe there are better ways to go," says Rue, wringing her hands slightly.

An explosion emits from the river, sending a blast of water and pebble fragments at us. Ack, one just got my ear! Ok, no blood, that's good.

Another explosion quickly follows, except now it's on the bank. Katniss sprints off in the opposite direction of the river and I waste no time in following. Being quick on my feet on the land, not just water, gives me little trouble with mostly keeping pace with her and staying away from the Game-Makers' explosions behind me. I constantly glance back, making sure Rue and Lacey are keeping pace. Thankfully, aside brief stumbles, they are doing fine.

"When do...we stop…?" I ask, between deep gasps after several minutes.

"When the explosions do!" replies Katniss, looking straight ahead and running fast.

I dearly hope that happens soon.


(Not very much later…)


The explosions have ended, and we can finally catch our breaths back. I drink every last drop of the water in my bottle...so good. It's a few minutes before any of us have the ability to speak back, but soon enough Rue speaks up.

"So, where are we now?" asks Rue, gazing around. "I've not been in this area before."

Looking around, I can say that I've not been here either. The arena may all look kind of similar, but this area is a new one to me. We're at a large hilltop, with a deep and long bank leading to the lake. The moonlight glows off the surface of the water. Huh, pretty. I guess that means the Cornucopia is roughly...that direction, just there? Not certain, but what I can see is that the grass around here is rather tall. Kind of like in the field Thresh almost killed me, but I think a different variety. An apple tree is also nearby...until it's proven not poisonous, I'm not going near it.

"We're at camp," says Katniss. "Unless you all want to keep moving?"

"Here is good," yelps Lacey, her eyes darting around. "No more running! Danger...danger is bad!"

Rue gently hugs Lacey.

"Calm down," says Rue, gentle in tone. "Nobody will get us here, for now."

Rue then golds up her hand and grins.

"Not while I, Mr Sockosaurus, am here to save the day!" declares Rue in a goofy tone of voice. Heh...that's cute.

Lacey seems a little more relaxed now. A little. Katniss has moved over to some long grass and laid down in it, back facing up. From where I stand, she'd be very hard to see if I had not seen her moving over there.

I lay down in a separate patch of long grass, and a moment later Rue and Lacey do the same. It's a bit ticklish on me, but at least it's soft. More importantly, it conceals me from plain sight. I think I'm small enough that, in this darkness, nobody that could come by will see me. Same for Rue.

"Well...goodnight then," I say, settling down.

The girls give a few quiet words in response, and soon all is silent. Though, things are still loud within my mind. I just can't get something out of my mind...something that strikes me as important.

Why did we get sent in this direction?

Clearly, the Game-Makers were herding us here...but there's nothing here to cause chaos. That strikes me as strange. Is...somebody, or something, nearby?

I don't have much time to consider this, because the point proves itself. Footsteps! Somebody is running this way!

Breathing very quietly, I lay still as a statue, as though frozen solid. My knife is tightly held in my hand, though I do hope whoever this is won't see us and we can avoid more trouble. With how dark it is, maybe they will not see us?

The footsteps reach their peak of sound, and a moment later Foxface runs out of the woods. She looks short of breath...of crud, she's being chased, isn't she? Please not the Careers, please not the Careers, please not the Careers!

"Urrrgh...I think I lost him..." says Foxface, panting as she leans over, hands on her knees. "He's persistent...all because of the bread..."

Something shoots over Foxface's shoulder, making her yelp. She sprints off towards the shore of the lake and, I think, away in the roughly opposite direction of the Cornucopia?

My eyes are quickly drawn to a nearby tree where the object that nearly hit her has become embedded. An arrow...wait, I thought Katniss has the only bow in the games. Did somebody get sponsored a bow? Well, it is an early day so I guess sponsor gifts are not overly expensive yet. But, who would be doing so well as to be given a bow this early?

...Bread? ...Oh...oh

From the forest line walks the boy from District 3. His sleeves are ripped and seem to be used as makeshift bandages on his arms. Thankfully, he has no giant sword or anything like that. ...Unfortunately, he is holding what appears to be a very well made bow-gun...what!? How could he get such a great sponsor already!? He must have really impressed the Capital somehow...well...at least it's dark, so if I lie still he is not likely to see me.

...Wait, what are those goggles he's wearing? They look strange…

"Come on out, you're around here somewhere," says the 3 boy, aiming his bow-gun in every direction. "Can't hide in the dark, I can see you..."

Night vision goggles...no, no, no! I don't make a sound, keeping myself quiet as the 3 boy walks near, still aiming his bow-gun, being fast in his movement. No way could anybody sneak up on him right now. If we all keep quiet until he moves on, we'll be fine. If he cannot hear us, he won't look towards us.

"Huh, guess she got away," says the 3 boy, shrugging. "Well, might as well go back to the Cornucopia."

The 3 boy walks over to the tree, and plucks the arrow out of it, putting it into the quiver with the rest of them. I can't count from here how many he has, but I am sure he's got enough to kill everybody left if his aim was good enough. I lower myself down into the grass further as he loads another arrow in the bow-gun.

I almost sigh in relief as he starts to walk away, but I catch myself. It's just as well that I did as he stops in place. A moment later he crouches down and picks something up. What is that? It looks...like a bead necklace? What's one of those doing here?

"...Tribute token," says the 3 boy, now alert and turning on his heel, aiming his bow-gun in the direction of myself and the others. Oh boy… "I know you're there. Come on! One way or the other, it's gonna happen. Either now, or the 'finale'. Let's get this over with."

The 3 boy walks close. He's coming near me...I hold my breath, my lungs and stomach tightening. I could get his ankle...but he could easily shoot me, and I'd have no escape. I can only stay quiet, and hope he will not see me.

Whose token was that anyway? Not mine, that much I know.

The 3 boy walks past me, and I very quietly exhale. But then, I hear him yelp. He seems to have tripped on something, a root perhaps, and...fires off an arrow as he falls.

Lacey screams, shrieking as she leaps up and flees...with my sleeping bag!

"Leave me alone! Keep my token! Keep it!" wails Lacey, vanishing into the forest.

The 3 boy quickly loads another arrow and makes to run after Lacey, but he steps on Rue's arm. She squeals from the force, and the 3 boy aims his bow-gun down at her in an instant. No!

"Get off her!" yells Katniss grabbing the three boy and fighting with him over the bow-gun.

As the two began struggling against each other, Rue grabs the left leg of the 3 boy and grapples it, seeming to try and bring him to the ground. As I lay still, watching this unfold before me, it gives me flashbacks to the Cornucopia Bloodbath, even if this is on a much smaller scale.

"Enough!" yells the three boy, kicking Rue upside the chin and butting his head backwards at Katniss' own, knocking them both down.

I can't just lay here and do nothing. As though I am on auto-pilot, I leap to my feet and charge forwards. In just a matter of seconds I have lunged at the 3 boy, grabbing him around his neck and holding onto his back with my legs around his torso. He grunts, wheezing a little, and tries to headbutt me like he did to Katniss. Due to my position I am able to get myself just barely out of range. Just a few more moments, that's all I need to bring him to the ground.

His bow-gun may be loaded, but he cannot shoot me from this angle. We both stumble backwards, trampling on Katniss as we do so, and towards the apple tree. The 3 boy flings himself backwards. Pain courses through me from the impact and I lose my hold, falling to the ground. I try to take out my knife quickly, but the 3 boy is faster and fires an arrow. It pierces right into my shoulder.

I scream from the pain, my voice cracking as some blood oozes out. It feels like my arm is on fire, like my skin is crawling. The pain...it hurts so, so much...I grit my teeth, trying to pull out the arrow, but it is jammed, it is one with my shoulder. I can barely make a sound, except heaves, gasps and moans of pain.

The 3 boy loads another arrow and aims his bow-gun back at me.

"Only one can win," says the 3 boy.

Before he can pull the trigger and, literally, break my heart...with an arrow...he roars in pain. Rue has gotten behind him and, just in time, stabbed him in his back with her sharp rock. She may be as young as me, maybe even slightly younger, but during a fight she can really do what needs to be done. With the 3 boy howling, I aim a kick at his leg, making him stumble.

By now, Katniss has gotten back to her feet and is quickly going for her bow. Seeing this, the 3 boy beats a retreat as fast as he can. He runs into the forest, the cover of darkness quickly taking him from our sight. He is soon gone, and Katniss lowers her bow.

"We need better shelter," mutters Katniss. "Urchin, you ok?"

"...I'd like to say I'll live, but I'm not certain," I reply, my face red from the pain coursing through my body. "C-c-can...can one of you get this arrow out?"

Katniss steps away, looking down. She mutters something inaudible. Luckily for me, Rue kneels next to me.

"This is going to hurt," she warns me.

"Can't be much worse than it is now," I say, whimpering slightly.

Rue gives a small smile and studies the wound, maybe judging how much force to use.

"Think Lacey is coming back?" asks Rue as she takes a gentle hold on the arrow.

"I doubt it," mutters Katniss, frowning in the direction Lacey ran off.

"I'd like it if she did. She did take my sleeping bag." I say, trying not to sound too bitter. "You gonna pull it out?"

"I am now," says Rue. "On three. One...two...three!"

I was wrong! It's even worse now! I scream and yell and writhe, sobbing in agony. The arrow may be gone from my shoulder, but the pain is tenfold! AAARRRGGH!

I scream for a few more moments, and then all goes dark…


(A fair while later…)


My face feels warm. Is it sunlight? But, it was dark and rainy a few minutes ago.

With a groan, I open my eyes and slowly sit up. It's daytime, and the sun is shining. All signs of the rain, aside from some damp grass, are gone. I wince from the throbbing in my left shoulder, but at least the searing agony is gone now.

How long was I out...and where are Katniss and Rue?

"Is anybody there?" I ask, slowly rising to my feet and holding my knife tightly in my right hand. "Katniss? Rue?"

"Oh, you're awake! Yay! I was getting worried," says a voice from above me.

I look up, and see that Rue is perched in the apple tree. Several apple cores lay at the base of the tree trunk. Even with my distaste for fruit, I can't help but long for some apples of my own.

Rue carefully climbs down from the tree and passes me an apple.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away...though, with your injury, do you wanna risk it?" asks Rue, a cheeky little grin on her face.

"I think I'm hungry enough to," I reply with a small chuckle, biting into the apple. It tastes so...off, but I'll pick this over starving. "How long was I knocked out for?"

"Well, it's about four in the afternoon I think, so I'd say over twelve hours," says Rue, looking at the sky. "You didn't miss much. Katniss went off two hours ago to scout out the area."

"I'm amazed I didn't get stabbed when I was passed out," I say, surprise in my tone. "Nobody came by?"

"Thresh did," says Rue. "I gave him a bunch of apples and asked him nicely to not murder you to death. He seems to like me, as he is quite the protective big guy, so he agreed to leave you alone this one time."

"He's still angry at me, isn't he?" I say. Maybe just to confirm what I already know?

"Like you wouldn't believe," says Rue, a look of sympathy on her face.

I focus on the apple more than I was before. Maybe the taste will take my mind off of Thresh.

"...Thank you," I say gratefully. If Thresh had found me and Rue was not here… "You always seem to help me a lot when I'm unconscious."

"Well, we all have habits we can't help," says Rue with a giggle.

"...Strangely, I'd rather not make a habit of being unconscious from injury," I say casually. I rub my arm awkwardly. "Think Katniss will be back soon?"

"I'd say so," says Rue, nodding. "She probably won't have gone too far. We need to stick together."

"I'd hate to be outnumbered," I concur, dropping the apple core. "Any cannons go off while I was out?"

"Nope. Still eleven of us left," says Rue, looking at the clouds.

We sit silently for a few moments. As we sit, Rue softly whistles a four note tune. A moment later some birds within the forest trees repeat the tune back. It sounds relaxing.

"What was that?" I ask.

"A whistle. Back in District 11, it's how we communicate over long distance in the fields," explains Rue, looking at me. "Hmm...maybe if we get separated we could use it to find each other?"

I nod in agreement. This sounds like a really good plan. A lot less obvious than screaming for help, that's for sure.

"Ok, repeat after me," says Rue with a smile, before once again whistling the four note sequence. As before, the birds repeat her action.

I try to whistle as well, softly whistling the same tune Rue did at a slightly quieter volume. The birds mimic my call. I smile a little bit...looks like getting separated just became less of an issue, if it ever happens.

Back in District 4 if we get separated out at sea, via boats going too far apart, we have our own way of finding each other again. We send off a lit lantern into the sky attached to a large balloon. Works like a charm. Of course, I know that's a bad idea here. Yes, Rue and Katniss would find me, but so would everybody else. A second Bloodbath does not sound like much fun, honestly.

Plus, where would I get the lantern and balloon? Sponsors? ...I'd rather be sponsored something better, like full body armour.

"...Somebody's coming," says Rue suddenly.

"Think it might be Katniss?" I ask.

"Into the grass, just to be safe," says Rue, making a dive into the deepest part of the grass.

I quickly follow Rue's lead, and we lay side by side, silent and concealed by the tall grass. Even in the sunlight, it'd be difficult to spot us if somebody was just passing through the area.

A few seconds pass, and then Glimmer walks up from the river bank. It looks like if we'd taken a few more seconds to move, she would have seen us. She shakes her head a little, swishing her hair and wipes her forehead. Glimmer drinks from a bottle, and then glances around the area, holding a heavy hand axe.

"I heard you! Come on out~!" calls Glimmer, giggling to herself. "I'll make it quick! ...Well, relatively. C'mon, fight me!"

Glimmer walks forwards, lightly passing her axe from hand to hand as she look around. She walks right past us, none the wiser. I reach for my knife...maybe I could stab her in the legs and stop her from being able to chase us?

Rue lightly puts a hand to my shoulder and shakes her head. Hmm...yeah, she's right. Too risky.

Glimmer looks annoyed, stomping her foot.

"Shit! They bolted!" curses Glimmer, stomping her foot a few more times. "I did not join these games for days full of nothing! I joined for blood and glory! Urrrgh!"

Glimmer scowls as she gathers a few apples from the low hanging branches of the tree, and then storms away. She seems to be going in the direction of, I assume, the Cornucopia. Looks like I know exactly where I will not be going any time soon.

After Glimmer is gone Rue eventually sits up and speaks.

"She's going to be trouble..." says Rue with a nervous mumble.

"Odds are somebody else might kill her before we'd have no choice but to fight her," I say as I sit up. I'm not sure if I believe my own words, but I really want them to be true.

"May the odds be ever in our favour," says Rue, twirling her sharp stab-rock in her hand.

"And if not, may our deaths be painless," I add. "So...we wait. We sit here and wait for Katniss?"

"We do," says Rue.

All is silent for a few moments, except the sound of a light breeze through the forest. I really hope the Game-Makers do not get bored. They get murderous when they do. Grandpa says one game was boring enough that the capital unleashed mutts as big as trees to force some excitement. That year's games ended quickly.

"...Want to hear a fabulous story?" asks Rue in a goofy voice, holding up her sock puppet hand once more.

I laugh and nod. Sounds like a harmless way to spend the afternoon.


(A while later...)


It's evening now. It's not dark yet, but it will be sooner than later. The setting sun cast over the lake looks...beautiful. Katniss is not back yet, so we've been hiding for the past few hours. No cannons have gone off, so we know Katniss is alright, which helps us relax.

Rue has used some leaves to make something resembling a bandage for my arrow wound. It still hurts, but...it's slowly getting better. The bleeding and agony have stopped ages ago, so now I just have to contend with a dull throbbing.

"Katniss is taking a while," I say, to break the silence.

"Think we should go looking for her?" asks Rue.

"Does she know about the whistling like we do?" I reply.

"...Not yet," says Rue after a few moments. "We'll tell her once she gets back...you going to be ok without your sleeping bag?"

"Well the way I see it, at least I don't also have to put up with the arrow still being in my shoulder," I reply, shrugging a little. Aaahhh, that stings. Note to self, no more shrugging. "Oh, there she is!"

Katniss walks up, looking rather tired. She sits down with us silently, and takes a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" asks Rue, hugging Katniss.

"I'm fine. Been scouting out the area, and got into two fights," says Katniss. "I got away without any injury, thankfully. Be careful you two, if we get separated."

"Who did you find?" I ask.

"The Careers and the three boy are at the Cornucopia. They have a ton of supplies...something feels odd though, how they are letting the three boy be so casual with them. He's not a career," says Katniss, frowning in suspicion. "The boy from ten also tried to axe me. Nearly got me too...I stabbed him in the arm and ran while he was writhing. I wasn't followed."

Katniss gets up and takes an apple for the tree, biting into it. I'm more focused on the fact Rammy got stabbed. After he tried to kill me with the tracker-jackers, a small smirk appears on my face. I can't help it.

"We saw people too. Thresh, my district partner, came this way. I got him to leave, just this one time," says Rue, still holding onto Katniss. "Glimmer also came by, but she didn't see us."

"...Hang on, if the careers have tons of supplies then why did Glimmer take a bunch of apples?" I ask. This doesn't add up...Glimmer does not in any way need the apples. None of the Careers, or the 3 boy, do.

"...Greed," scowls Katniss. "Taking it all, so the rest of us have none. So we'll get weaker and hungrier...so we'll be easy pickings."

That's a nasty plan...and yet, effective. The weaker we are, the easier they can win. Hopefully sponsors can keep us well fed.

"So, what do we do now?" asks Rue quietly. "Do we wait for sponsors from our districts, or the capital?"

That was my idea moments ago, but suddenly...I have a new, reckless idea!

"Let's blow up their supplies!" I say eagerly, a light in my eyes. "Show them the literal meaning of The Hunger Games!"

Katniss and Rue stare at me, and my bravado quickly disappears. They're right, it is a pretty ridiculous plan. I mean, as if anybody would agree to that plan.

"That's a good idea. I'm in," says Katniss, smirking.

"Me too!" agrees Rue, smirking as well.

I silently groan, but try to keep up a confident face. What catastrophe have I just created...?


(Later…)


It is now dark. I shiver a little, longing for my sleeping bag back, but I try to endure. If we find Lacey again, I can try to get it back. Until then, I'll just try to make the best of what I have, and get through the night.

Rue and Katniss lie in the tall grass nearby. Like me, they are waiting for the Capital Anthem before settling down. I swear, that music could wake up somebody in a coma. No point trying to sleep when it'd just wake us up anyway.

"Think it'll start soon," asks Rue.

"Probably. No cannons went off, so it won't last long," replies Katniss.

I just nod to myself and look up at the sky, waiting. Most of them are probably artificial, but the stars look really nice. The stars always seem to change each year. The Game-Makers love detail; one year the clouds constantly spelled out words. Stuff like 'hopeless', 'death', 'trapped' and that sort of thing. The message was clear to all who saw it, tribute or not…

After a few more seconds the anthem starts to play. The logo of the Capital appears in the sky for a couple of moments and then, as we all knew, the words 'No Tributes Fallen' appear afterwards. The words stay visible for about five seconds, before all is quiet once again.

"The audience won't like that," I say. When the audience gets bored, things tend to get worse for us tributes. If nobody dies tomorrow...please no scorpion mutts…

"I don't give one about what the audience like," replies Katniss, trying to get comfy. She has nerve to say that...I approve. "We'll give them a show tomorrow, one way or the other."

"A show even better than a sockpuppet show," adds Rue, giggling.

"...I look forward to it," I say, settling down.

Soon we are all quiet, drifting off to sleep. Obviously, I am not looking forward to tomorrow. An assault on the careers...that could easily go very wrong. But if it goes right...my odds of getting home could rocket up! Maybe taking a risk is the right thing to do here…

I soon find myself gently tracing my hand on my starfish tribute token in my pocket. Four days survived, thirteen tributes dead...and I've been bashed about, puked hard, stung by tracker-jackers and shot by a bow-gun. A very eventful week thus far, no matter how you look at it.

As I drift off to sleep, I can only find myself thinking of one particular thing.

Why did I once, long ago, want to be in these games? Why?


END OF DAY 4...


REMAINING TRIBUTES

Marvel (District 1 Male)

Glimmer (District 1 Female)

Clove (District 2 Female)

Weldar (District 3 Male)

Urchin (District 4 Male)

Cinder / Foxface (District 5 Female)

Lacey (District 8 Female)

Rammy (District 10 Male)

Thresh (District 11 Male)

Rue (District 11 Female)

Katniss (District 12 Female)


THE FALLEN

12th- Peeta (District 12 Male) - Leg cut by Cato with a sword, and then bled out over time

13th- Cato (District 2 Male) - Stabbed with a throwing knife covered in nightlock juice.

14th- Marina (District 4 Female) - Beaten by careers and neck crushed by Glimmer

15th- Jason (District 6 Male) - Tripped and then slashed to death with a scythe by Cato.

16th- Nettle (District 7 Female) - Speared in the heart with a spear by Marvel

17th- Sparky (District 5 Male) - Pinned to a crate and stabbed in the abdomen with a knife by Glimmer.

18th- Sickle (District 9 Female) - Knife to the lung by Clove.

19th- Wood (District 7 Male) - Slashed in the throat with a crescent sword by Thresh

20th- Miller (District 9 Male) - Knife thrown into back by Clove

21st- Tamora (District 6 Female) - Stabbed with a knife by Glimmer

22nd- Gadget (District 3 Female) - Slashed in the forehead with a sickle by Sparky.

23rd- Sable (District 10 Female) - Skull hit with an axe by Cato.

24th- Callico (District 8 Male) - Stabbed with a kukri by Marvel.


TRIBUTE NOTES

No tributes died this time, but we can see how things are starting to change more and more, not just for Urchin and company, but also for other tributes in the game. With Cato dead and his influence being gone, Glimmer is starting to step up and become a more active Career, and Weldar (no official name!) is not as easily threatened or overshadowed, and so has more power among the careers and more sway to the sponsors. We'll see more changes soon, but until then...4 days down, and 11 tributes remain...