"You're killing me slow

But I ain't ready to die."

-Skillet


Ocean water enters my nose as I dive under. Stroke after stroke, I see the Cornucopia grow closer to me.

My hands touch stone. I push up onto the pathway, wary of slipping on wet rocks, and head for weapons. I don't get far before I realize that somebody's already on guard at the Cornucopia. Katniss Everdeen has her bow raised for attack. From another direction, she shoots Gloss in the leg, and he falls backwards with a splash. Her next target… is me. But I almost don't notice this until her arrow takes flight.

What did I tell you? Wicked fast archer. She's not stupid, I'll confess. She knows what a threat I am. Instinct has me plunging into water again. When I surface alongside the Cornucopia, I don't hesitate. I scramble inside its steel walls to see what it holds. There are weapons and supplies galore, but-crap- I look everywhere, and there's no food! Of course they'd make us hunt. The Hunger Games just got more complicated for me. I could snag fish in a net, though… right. That's the solution. Thank you, ocean. Thank you, District 4 childhood.

I know exactly what I'm picking up first. One of the dozen swords that glisten in front of me. Another woman has her eye on them, too: Cecelia Sanchez, from District 8. As she grabs a sword, I shove her aside. Cecelia pushes me in return. I try again, harder, and she lands on a supply crate. Our blades screech together like nails on a chalkboard. But I don't let the awful noise distract me. Rather, I strike Cecelia's sword right out of her fingers. I transfer my foot onto her stomach, which leaves her pinned down and unarmed.

"Please, don't!" she screams.

I raise the sword, aiming for her heart, and I bend my elbows backwards. A stabbing position. "Goodbye."

Then I make my first kill in seventeen years. To my credit, I take Cecelia's life quickly. No prolonged torture. I can at least grant her this mercy. Never mind that she leaves behind three children. I seem to remember her saying once, at a mentor's meeting, that her husband died a few years back.

Her poor kids…

No! No way can I start thinking about this right now. I'm not supposed to care. I'm just a robot. There aren't any other tributes around here yet, so I use the break to save my energy, grab a couple knives. Screams erupt outside.

I guess I've found them.

Some retreat into the Cornucopia, unaware that I lie in wait. There's Beetee. Crawling to his beloved wires. While he's got his back turned, I toss one knife in his direction, and he slumps over. I don't bother sticking around to finish him off. Let's see him figure his way out of this.

My eyes just capture the image of a tribute running up behind me. The girl from District 10. She won within the last decade or so, I think. What was her name again? Tiffany? It doesn't matter anymore. She's a nameless face as far as I'm concerned. I spin around, and my sword makes contact with her chest. Only then do I notice Tiffany was injured before our encounter. Crimson stains bloom around her left thigh. Right at a major artery, from what my basic knowledge of human anatomy tells me. I technically just gave her a scratch in comparison.

It's the earlier wound that kills her seconds later.

Next priority: I look for Brutus. He's probably killing somebody right about now. When I leave the Cornucopia, I find Seeder, District 11's female. Dead. Judging by her wound, she received a knife in her neck. Cashmere's doing, I bet. She throws with deadly accuracy. One toss is all it took.

Gloss appears in my peripheral vision, launching his own knives at running tributes. He gets the District 6 man clean through the back.

"Remember the plan," he whispers to me. "See you soon, hopefully."

"All right. Good luck."

We'd talked over our strategy in training: Brutus and I are supposed to team up to find water, while Gloss and Cashmere will hold off tributes until every person's either fled from the Cornucopia or dead; then, they'll collect extra weapons for our group. In theory, the siblings are gonna meet back with me and Brutus tonight.

Speaking of him- I was right. I discover him just as he's released a spear, which plunges through the woman from District 9. Our eyes cross paths. He yanks the spear out fast, and I get the hint. Now is when we'll make an escape.

I try counting the cannons along our run. Eight, I think. And- unless I'm hallucinating- a bolt of lightning flashes somewhere across my peripheral vision. Those Gamemakers can hardly stand being assigned to a Quarter Quell without revving their engines immediately.

Man, breathing gets difficult after ten minutes of running deep inside the jungle. There are rocks by the dozen in our current location, some flat enough to sit on. They look so tempting right now.

"Why don't we rest for a bit?" I ask Brutus.

He nods, slowing to a walk. "Sounds good. Feeling pretty worn-out… especially after yesterday…"

"Oh really?' I tease; and we settle into comfy positions on the rocks we've chosen. Where we should go next, I haven't the slightest clue. But water's our primary necessity. Can't go without it in such humidity. Lazy Pants Woman here refuses to move off her butt yet.

Come on, Enobaria. Don't let your guard down. Well. I suppose I can still look around me. No matter where my eyes land, I just can't find any sign of water. Every jungle has streams, waterfalls, or some kind of oasis, right?

"Heads up," Brutus suddenly says. "I see a parachute coming down."

"Maybe we'll get a clue about where to find water."

He stands and catches the parachute in mid-air. "Would be nice, wouldn't it? This heat could kill us before anything else does."

Inside this parachute, he uncovers a bag of cheese and bread (Yum, snack time!), along with a note.

"What does it say?" I ask him.

"It's from Phoebe. She wrote, 'look to the trees.'"

I peer to my right, where a host of palm trees are planted. "Hmm. Wonder what would happen if I stab one?"

"Let's give it a try."

As I rise, rocks begin to fall out from under me.