In the morning, I woke at dawn, then sat on the edge of my bed giving myself mental instructions. Don't step off the platform until the gong sounds. Get a sword first; it'll be best for the close-quarters fighting of the bloodbath. Let the girl from Ten go, but take the pack to hunt her down as soon as possible. Establish yourself as the pack leader during the bloodbath.

I looked up when my door opened, revealing Varius' grim face.

"Time to go, Neera," he said. He hadn't called me by my first name since my training started for real when I was twelve.

I got to my feet. "Any last-minute advice?" I asked as we took the elevator to the roof, where the hovercraft would be waiting.

That earned me a brief smile. "Don't trust the other Careers. Not even Tiziano. Especially not Tiziano. Make sure you dissolve the alliance on your own terms – it'll give you the element of surprise. Always carry water, food and weapons. And don't underestimate anyone once you're in the arena. Fear of dying galvanizes some people."

We had reached the roof. Above our heads, the belly of the silver hovercraft yawned open.

I gave my mentor a silent hug and turned walked up the ramp, careful not to look back. This part was harder than I'd anticipated.

Once all the tributes had ascended to the shuttle and taken their seats in two long, facing rows, we took off. Shortly thereafter, two women in medical blue appeared to inject us with our trackers.

We sat in silence for the flight, which only lasted about half an hour. The hovercraft alit with a hiss of pneumatic landing gear, and the big loading door opened, allowing us to disembark.

I nodded a goodbye to Quintus, sidestepping a Peacekeeper – transportation for Three, I assumed – to walk down the ramp to my waiting prep team.

I tried to tune out the vapid conversation of my stylists as they ushered me to one of the belowground launch rooms. They combed my hair and returned it to its original pinned-up braid, then helped me into a lightweight jumpsuit in pale beige.

Thalia and Tenobia waved tearfully to me as I stepped onto the circular platform that would lift me into the arena. I forced myself to give each of them a small smile.

And then the platform was rising, lifting me slowly into blinding daylight and dryly oppressive heat. Now the beige clothing made sense.

The arena was a desert.

A large electronic board over the golden Cornucopia began to count down from sixty. I looked at the tributes arrayed around me, discovering that we had been split into boys and girls, then arranged by district. Chenille was to my left, the girl from Three to my right.

The countdown had reached thirty. I surveyed the treasures arranged around the Cornucopia, spotting several swords I thought would suit my purpose near the mouth.

Ten seconds.

I looked to my left, seeing Chenille staring at the golden horn, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The gong sounded, and I was off my platform in a flash, speeding toward the Cornucopia a step ahead of Chenille. I saw Mari racing up on my right.

The hilt of the sword was cool in my palm.

I spun around, putting my back to the Cornucopia. My sword flashed in the bright sunlight, daring anyone to come within striking distance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mari pick up a bandolier of throwing knives. On my other side, Chenille was reaching for a sword that matched my own.

I scanned the area in front of me for targets, then froze.

The girl from District Three was still standing on her platform. All the other tributes had either lunged for the supplies around the Cornucopia or bolted, hoping to avoid the bloodbath, but she didn't have either option.

A wave of pure rage crashed over me, gluing my feet to the ground for a fraction of a second. Then I raced toward the girl, leaning down to grab a large backpack from the ground as I went.

I was almost there when a tribute loomed in front of me. He was facing the girl from Three, and didn't see me coming. I drove my sword through his heart an instant before he could crush her with his mace, pushing him off my sword and away from Three.

Her eyes met mine. They were wide and green. And calm. She should have been panicked, begging for her life, but she was calm.

Behind me, I heard Mari calling my name, then Quintus'. I turned to see my district partner charging around the tail of the Cornucopia, dripping spear in hand.

"What are you doing, Neera?" he shouted.

I shook my head mutely. I was sure my expression was every bit as puzzled as his.

What are you doing, Neera? I asked myself.

I turned back to Three. Dropping my sword, I picked her up in both arms and sprinted away from the Cornucopia.

I heard renewed shouting behind me. Both Quintus' and Glint's voices were recognizable in the mix. Then Chenille – at least, I thought it was Chenille, but maybe that was wishful thinking – screamed. Footsteps pounded after me, and I ran faster, adrenaline making the girl weightless in my arms.

Ahead, the desert stretched as far as I could see. There were no trees or rocks for cover, no place to hide. I'd have to outrun whoever was chasing me, and pray they weren't carrying knives or a bow.

After about ten minutes, I slowed, unable to hear anything behind me. I glanced over my shoulder: nothing but a few cacti. Abruptly, I realized the tribute I carried had been dangerously silent throughout this. What if she'd had some wound I'd missed, and had bled out as I ran?

I carefully set her on the sand, eyes searching for any sign of injury. I certainly couldn't see anything wrong with her.

"Hey, District Three," I said, my voice hoarse from running. "You alive down there?"

She blinked once. "Why?" she asked.

"I'm taking that as a yes," I informed her. "Now, we need to put a few more miles between us and the Careers before we stop for good. Can you climb on my back? It'll be easier to run."

She nodded expressionlessly.

"Good. Hang on while I rearrange some stuff…"

I shrugged the backpack off, unzipping it and rifling quickly through the contents. I stopped when I reached two full gallon jugs at the bottom. I unscrewed one of the lids, sniffing it to determine that it was indeed full of water. No wonder the thing was so heavy.

I repacked the contents before shrugging the pack on so it was situated over my chest, then reached down to lift the girl to her feet. At my instruction, she stood behind me, allowing me to heave her awkwardly onto my back.

"You okay?" I asked. She might have nodded. "Hold on, then."

She wound her arms tentatively around my neck. I started off at a light jog, a pace I could maintain for hours – especially now that my arms were free again.

Just as I hit my stride, the sound of cannons made me falter. The bloodbath must've ended already. I counted the shots. One. Two. Three. Four. Then silence.

That was more that a little odd. Usually, almost half the competition was eliminated in the first gory hour of the Games. I felt like I was missing something important, but I ignored it and ran on.

The sky was growing darker by the time I decided it was safe to stop. By my estimate, we'd covered about seven miles. I'd seen no sign of the other tributes, no animals, and no water. Nothing but endless sand flats and a variety of cacti.

I lowered the girl to the ground and tossed the backpack down beside her.

"Water?" I offered an open jug to Three.

She took it wordlessly, staring at me with wide eyes. After taking a few quick sips, she asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"I wish I knew." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. And once I started talking, I couldn't seem to shut myself up. "You know what I'm supposed to be doing right now?"

Three just shook her head, possibly wondering if I was insane. I was kind of wondering that too.

"I'm supposed to be establishing myself as the leader of the Career alliance. I'm supposed to be inventorying all our food and supplies. Then I'm supposed to convince everyone that our first job in the morning is to kill the girl from Ten." I sank to the ground. "Varius is going to murder me."

"Who's Varius?"

"Varius de Luca, my mentor. Seriously, I'd have it easier if I died in this arena."

"Oh, right. I've heard of him. Is he really that bad? I always thought the mentors for your district – and One and Four – were the best. My mentor is usually too drunk to move."

The speech was so long that I stared at her in awe. It was the most she'd said in my hearing since her interview in the Capitol.

"No, he is the best, that's the problem. He expects me to be just like him. I was doing so well! I got an eleven in training…" My voice trailed off as unwelcome realization dawned. The Careers would eliminate their most threatening opponent first, which was why Ten had been at the top of my kill list. But now that I wasn't in the alliance, the score I'd been so proud of was like a target painted on my chest.

Suddenly, the sound of the anthem shattered the desert calm, and the Capitol seal appeared in the sky. I guess this is as dark as it's going to get, I thought. I swore the sun had set, but it was light enough for early evening.

The first dead tribute shown was the boy from Three. A shame – it seemed Chenille had survived whatever caused her to scream as I fled the Cornucopia. I heard the girl beside my catch her breath.

"Cody was only thirteen! He was a child! He tried to take care of me." She sounded on the verge of tears.

I tried to ignore her quiet sobs as I watched the next dead tribute appear in the sky. It was the boy from six, the one I'd stabbed. Then the little boy from eleven – Bran? – was shown, followed by the girl from Twelve. Four down, nineteen to go.

Beside me, Three had gone quiet, appearing lost in thought.

"You ended the bloodbath early!" she exclaimed, comprehension lighting her eyes.

"I-" What? "What?"

"Only four tributes died today. That's incredibly low compared to the past few years." Compared to every year, I thought. "I've been thinking about it all day, and now I see what happened. When you ran off, all the Careers must've followed you, and by the time they'd gotten back, everyone else was gone."

Fantastic. Not only had I unthinkingly gone rogue, I'd altered the fundamental structure of the Games. If my former allies had chased after me and left the Cornucopia unguarded, not only would I be dealing with a larger field of survivors than usual, they'd be better fed and better armed.

"Tesla was right, Three," I said. "You're smart."

She snorted. "Yeah. Too bad my giant brain won't do me any good in here."

No, but it'll do me plenty of good. I hadn't done myself any favors by trading five strong allies for one invalid, but as long as I kept her alive, I'd make sure to use any advantage she gave me.

I started pulling items from the pack, taking stock of my meager collection. Besides the two jugs of water, there was a roll of bandaging, a blanket, a package of biscuits and one of dried beef, and – oh, thank God! – a knife.

I was indescribably glad to have a weapon in my hand again. Since dropping my sword – I still had a hard time believing I'd actually done that – I'd felt vulnerable. I could kill without weapons, certainly, but it was still reassuring to be able to rely on cold steel instead.

Having confirmed the availability of food, water and a weapon, I allowed myself to feel the fatigue weighing on my body. Once I'd acknowledged the tiredness, it hit me like a sledgehammer, trying to glue my eyelids shut. I forced my hands to reload the backpack in case I needed to make a fast getaway, and then collapsed on the warm sand, knife in my hand.

"Aren't you going to kill me now?" Three asked suddenly. I started briefly upright, having nearly forgotten she was there.

"Maybe in the morning. Get some rest. And stay away from me while I'm sleeping," I grunted, turning over and immediately falling asleep.