Disclaimer - I do not own the Hunger Games.

Chapter 7

We seem to settle into a routine for the next three days. Two more faces appear in the sky at night and I find myself surprisingly relieved that Izak isn't one of them. This means the career pack is still out in full force.

It's the morning of the fourth day, the artificial sun rises as I manage to peel my eyes open. I blush when I see Flux watching me.

"It's my turn to go fill up the water bottle." He states as he gets up, grabbing the metal container. "I won't be long."

I nod as he gets up, turning my attention to the pack beside me and fetching out the left-overs from dinner last night. Berries.

We haven't managed to catch any meat yet so we've been relying on our knowledge of plants to keep us from starving. It hadn't taken us long to find a source of water, but we had decided not to stay too near as it may attract other tributes, hence the long walk to get there.

The berries are slightly mushy now but I am too tired (and honestly too scared) to go looking for more on my own.

I pick two large leaves from the nearest bush and place half of the berries on each. My mind is occupied, but I freeze when I hear a rustle near by.

Be calm. It could be anything.

Or anyone.

Slowly, I reach for the knife in the pack, relieved when my fingers wrap around the black handle. Part of me wants to call out, to see if it is actually Flux and I have nothing to be afraid of. But the other part knows that it's stupid.

She is on top of me before I can move again. I recognise her easily.

Prine.

She is holding up a knife, about to bring it down. I have to think fast.

Move!

I bring my knee up to connect with her stomach and she is caught off guard, giving me long enough to pull up my knife.

She shoves my hand to the ground, and climbs on top of me. She larger than me and heavier but I wriggle and kick as hard as I can, sinking my teeth into her wrist.

Prine yelps, automatically cupping her arm and I reach up, yanking her head backwards by her hair. She squeals and waves her knife around and it catches me on the arm but I manage to flip her over so I'm on top, pinning her down.

I raise the knife when I feel myself being lifted up in the air by strong arms around my waist.

"Get off her!" The voice growls. He shoves me back down to the ground and Prine is on top of me again before he can do anything. The knife is still in my hand and I twist it up so that it is facing her stomach.

She smiles and raises up her knife, ready to bring it down and completely unaware of the knife so dangerously close to her skin.

Just do it.

One push.

It'll be over.

"Goodbye Iris." I hear Izak call from somewhere in the distance. There is a sneer in his voice that I can make out even though my minds seems to be blocking out a lot of sound.

Do it.

I am in the position where I can win. I can live. All I have to do is push the knife into her stomach. All I have to do is kill her.

I'm doing it.

Her eyes go wide as she appears to stare into some point in the distance. She is so close that her last gasp of air tickles my cheeks. So close that I think I see the life leave her eyes.

She collapses by my side, I look down at the knife in my hand. Preparing to accept the fact that I have just killed someone.

The cannon goes off.

But my knife is clean, there is not a drop of blood on it and it certainly hasn't been plunged into anyone's stomach.

My eyes flick to the left.

Flux.

He is emerging from the bushes, arm shaking and a confused look in his eye as he stares at the body at my side.

His face turns pale as he takes in the shape of the knife in her back. The blood leaking around the edges, almost invisible against the black of her tshirt.

"No."

The sound is barely a whisper, but it is laden with disbelief.

"No. No. No."

I had almost forgotten he was there. Izak.

His attention is focused on the dead girl, eyes already glazed over with tears. I roll out of the way quickly, grabbing the packs and walking up to Flux. He barely sees me as I place a hand on his arm.

"Let's go." I whisper, and he nods. We turn to move but I catch myself looking back at the scene we are leaving.

I have never seen him like this. I didn't think he was capable of something like this. Of feeling.

For a second I pity him. He is leaning over her body, hands running through her hair and a single tear running down his cheek. His voice is so quiet I have to strain to hear.

"No no no! No please come back. Please. Come back to me."

I thought he was messing around with her, I didn't think it was anything serious. I certainly didn't think it was love as that was always something that Izak had seemed incapable of feeling in the past.

There is nothing he can do. She is not coming back.

Anger blazes in my heart against the people who force this upon us. The people that have done this.

Yes Prine was a career, but she was victim just the same.

She had a family, she had people who loved her.

It isn't fair.

Flux is quiet for the rest of the day. We keep walking, picking berries as we go. I stop to look at the cut on my arm.

It's not deep. I'll survive.

The parachute comes down before the light goes completely. I catch it, suddenly exited at the prospect that one of us might have a sponsor.

My heart leaps when I see the contents. A basic first aid kit!

For your arm. Keep going. - F

I smile as I read the note from my mentor. Mouthing a quick thank you.

"What is it?"

His voice startles me as he has barely spoken all day.

"A small first aid kit. I can bandage my arm now. Or do you think we should save it?" I ask, feeling ashamed at the thought of using it know when we could need it more later on. There is a chance the cut will get infected but that's a chance I could take.

"No, it'll get infected," he says smiling sadly, did he read my mind? "Come here, I'll help."

I am quiet as I settle in front of him, handing him the kit and listening for the click as he opens it.

"I didn't even notice this. I'm sorry." He says.

My mind is bursting with questions, I want to ask him how he's doing. If he's okay. Instead I stay silent.

Minutes pass as he gently wraps a bandage around my arm. It doesn't hurt, fortunately.

The anthem brings my mind back to the present. Another cannon had blown earlier. That's two dead in one day.

I feel Flux's hand tighten around my arm when Prine's face appears in the sky. Gently I place my hand on top of his, eyes never leaving the sky.

District 4?

A face from District 6 appears and I feel myself let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Izak is still alive, for some reason I don't want him to die. Not just yet. He has just lost someone that was apparently very close to him. Perhaps I want to know that he is suffering.

I doubt that. I have never been one to revel in other people's misery.

We are all victims, and knowing that he is suffering just as much as I have in the past, that he is capable of feeling hurt, of caring, makes it impossible for me to hate him.

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