About an hour later, I manage to shoot another squirrel and wait the agonizing minutes for it to cook. It feels so good when the hunger subsides and I notice it's because this is my first real meal since that squirrel my second day in the arena, and today is the... fourth... or fifth... day. I feel quite good now, at peace again, because of my new alliance with Peeta. It's nice not to have to watch my back all of the time, especially now that we finally aren't being pursued by wind storms and angry bees. I'm already hungry again by the time the sun is in the middle of the sky, so Peeta and I hunt for berries and nuts in the woods by our little stream-side camp. I recognize some from the apothecary shop and from gathering them with Julietta in the meadow. Thinking of home stirs up unhappy feelings in my stomach, so I shake it off and focus on the task at hand.

"So... did you look at all that grain in the fields?" I ask.

"No I didn't get the chance. The Careers don't focus to much on little details like that when they've got a plethora of food all for themselves by the lake. I'd like to though." So that's where the careers get their food? And from their abundance of sponsors probably. Being from the wealthier districts, they probably didn't have to face hunger ever. And I hardly should complain. I live in the town. We almost always have plenty of food on the table, though it might be stale.

"I was in there for the first couple days but I didn't recognize much of it, but then again, I'm hardly ever in the bakery so I don't know much about it. That would be funny to bake a nice loaf of bread during the games." Peeta chuckles.

"Ya. It'd be nice to be able to do something. I'm not too good at shooting things or even knowing what plants are edible." He says as he examines a dark, roundish berry. Images of darkness and death pass through my mind for a moment and then the premonition passes.

"Don't eat that." I warn him. He blushes and tosses it into the woods. I laugh because if I wasn't a total freak I probably would've eaten it too.

"What is it?" he asks. I have to think for a moment because I don't exactly know what it is.

"I don't remember... it's called... something having to do with darkness..." and then I wing it because I'm not being very believable. "Julietta and I found some once and my father warned us not to eat them; it kills you as soon as it goes down your throat." Peeta swallows and looks frightened.

When the sun finally retreats over horizon, we return to the rocky shore of our campground and divide up our pretty meager supply of collected roots and berries and such. I add in some dried fruit and beef and we have a quaint but sufficient dinner. The anthem plays and lights up the sky. There are no deaths today. That's calming. But also troubling. If they don't get some action soon, then the viewers will get bored. I groan because I'm finally getting settled somewhere so of course we'll get kicked out soon.

I throw my sleeping bag and pack over my shoulder and Peeta does the same. We scale a tree and set up a nice roost up in the branches. I'm surprised to find that I'm quite a good climber despite the fact I don't do it that often, besides the big tree in our yard back home. I'm surprisingly nimble for someone who is on the taller side of the height spectrum. Peeta on the other hand, is not exactly clumsy, but isn't very swift. Nevertheless, we both make it up to the top. It feels good to be off the ground in a good look out spot. Peeta offers to take the first watch, and I agree. I can feel something is coming tomorrow and I want to have the morning sift, because Peeta probably can't feel it coming the way I can.

"You have to wake me up before dawn though. You have to."

"Okay, okay." Peeta nods. He puts on a pair of sunglasses and I look at him questioningly.

"They're night vision glasses." he says. "They're the Careers'. I was wearing them when I found you on the ground. I hoped they wouldn't mind."

I close my eyes and can't help thinking of how much I wish I could just tell Peeta about my abilities. That would make things so much easier. If the whole the world could just know about it, then I could save Peeta! Heck, I could even save myself! No one, even the Capitol, could get to us! Their dangerous machines and explosives can't stand up to my impenetrable force fields... I can't explain how much I long for that freedom to show my whole self, but I know I can't do that. Slowly, I drift off to sleep.

I'm lying in the meadow, lying next to Julietta. The sky is a perfect, cloudless blue, the sun is bright up in the middle of the sky, a cool spring breeze tickles my face and makes the tall grasses sway back and forth. I look over at Julietta. She's smiling, her eyes closed, her breath coming slowly, smoothly, and steadily. A crown of wildflowers is strung and braided through her hair, the flowers painted in beautiful reds and purples and even baby blue. I close my eyes and absorb the nutrients of the sun, feel its warmth on my skin. Gradually, it gets warmer, and warmer, and warmer and all of a sudden it's burning hot. I open my eyes and flames are licking at my arms, scorching my face, Julietta is screaming, the meadow is completely on fire around us.

My eyelids fly open and I sit erect on the tree branch, almost losing my balance and falling off. The sun is already over the horizon. There's no sign of fire, but I know that it's coming.

"Arg..." I groan.

"What? What?" Peeta says confused at my sudden awakening.

"I told you to wake me up before dawn!"

"...but everything was fine?" Peeta seriously seems confused now. I'm frozen and more images of fire burn a path through my mind.

"We have to go." I say, worming my way out of my sleeping bag and throwing it in my pack, then sliding down the tree trunk and landing with an inaudible thump.

"Wait... why?" Peeta struggles his way out of his own sleeping bag, almost falling from the branch but catching himself just in time.

"I don't know... I... thought I heard something. I think somethings coming." I breathe a sigh of relief as he raises his eyebrows and nods. I thought he wasn't going to believe me for a moment.

"Whatever you say, Oh Great Psychic." I laugh and he slides down the tree. I can actually see my family cringing on our overstuffed living room couch, crammed in front of the old dusty tv set.

My stomach is filled with knots as we make our way back towards the lake. I keep the pace as fast as I can, but Peeta hasn't slept all night so he's a bit sluggish and tired. I check behind us periodically and I think Peeta is starting to think I'm psychotic. Gradually, the feeling in my stomach is starting to improve. By then, Peeta is almost panting with exhaustion. Just to be safe, we go a good twenty yards farther, and my stomach is completely fine feeling, so we stop in a covered area at the foot of a tree.

"Sleep." I demand. Peeta doesn't reject this offer. He obediently curls up and immediately succumbs to unconsciousness.

I keep watch from a branch about half way up the tree while Peeta sleeps. About an hour later, I begin to feel the warmth and see a dull orange glow hundreds of yards back the way we came. As it inches closer, I get nervous and clamber back down the tree. As trees burn, they fall, making a loud ruckus. Peeta awakens groggily at the noise.

"What... what's going on?" he asks me because I'm now hovering frantically over him, wondering whether we should move farther away. But I don't have to answer him. A ball of fire whizzes twenty-five yards away from us, making him sit up, quite alert now. "How did you know? How could..." If I'm not more careful, I'm going to blow the whole secret. But I weigh my options. Get myself and the boy I love killed, or blow the secret... it actually seems about equal. Maybe I should let us die. At least that would save my family. But as I look back over at Peeta's frightened features, I know I could never let this boy die, even if it meant blowing our secrets. So as long as we're a team, my main focus will be keeping him alive.

"I don't know... I guess we just got lucky." Maybe the Capitol already knows about us. Is my blood different? Does my body heal differently? Is my family already being taken into custody? No. If they were, they would purposely blow me up right here on the spot.

"Come on!" Peeta is pulling me by my shirt sleeve, which is, by now torn and dirty. I've just been staring at the encroaching licks of flames for half a minute, thinking about my family. "We've got to get out of here!" I'd almost forgotten that Peeta doesn't know we're safe here. Either that or my premonitions are getting less accurate. But I've already risked my family's safety enough by just spontaneously deciding to leave and it would probably make it worse by deciding to take our chances and stay right where the wall of fire ends, so I go with him, and we escape farther into the woods.