I could not sleep.

I have not been able to, ever since the Games started—or, to be more precise, ever since they carted me off from District Twelve and away from Maribelle. I remember the room we shared—the two beds with only a table to separate them. I push the thought away, though, as it brings tears to my eyes.

So I try to think of something happier. But sleeping in a tree does not help much.

It is impossible. I can only remember the bloody deaths of Terry and Lorie. How the Career from Four speared through Lorie's body, like Lorie was just another dummy in the Training Center. How Terry was stabbed with a dagger when he was reaching for a backpack near the Cornucopia.

Suddenly, I hear leaves rustling.

"Who's there!" I ask, loading my dart gun and pointing at the leaves above me. "Show yourself!" I demand bravely. Inwardly, though, I was whimpering and cowering. But I cannot afford to do that now. For all I know, it might be a Career above me, waiting for the right moment to kill me.

The leaves rustle some more. A human's leg sticks out. Then I hear a scream. "Aah!" cries the person above me. The person is clearly a girl, from the scream to the appearance of the leg.

I do not dare scream, though. "Holy Snow!" I say softly. I pull the leg, and the girl drops down to my branch "Who are you?" I ask her, not impolitely. The girl has tangled dark brown hair and sea-green eyes. It is clear she is from District Four. But she doesn't look like a Career…

"My name is Mary," says the girl. "Mary Cresta. From District Four."

"Maysilee. Maysilee Donner." I introduce myself. "A—Are you a Career?" I ask, just to be sure. Mary shakes her head, and I sigh in relief. "That's good."

"I—I'm running from the Careers, actually." Mary informs me. "It was very tiring. Good thing you've got no one to run from, Maysilee. But that Haymitch Abernathy looks kind of scary." I nod and smile, but in truth, I am studying Mary's face. She looks to be about thirteen, and as she just told me, she is not a Career.

"So tell me about yourself." I say.

And she does. Mary is thirteen, just like I suspected. She has an older sister, Amy, an older brother, Todd, and a twin sister, Mimi. She has a twin too. Wow. Coincidence, I guess. "Oh, I have a twin too!" I exclaim. "Her name is Maribelle."

"Maribelle…" Mary says quietly. "It's such a pretty name."

I agree with her completely.

And after a few minutes of talking, I go to sleep. This time, though, I am not alone anymore. Little did I know that the next day, I would no longer be an ally; I would be alone again.


That's right. Mary is related to Annie. Todd is Annie's dad. It was just something that popped into my head all of a sudden.