A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter up! A bit later of an update than I had intended, but this chapter's the longest one yet to make up for it. I definitely enjoyed writing this, I had myself crying while doing it (that sounds really lame...) so I hope you wonderful readers like it too!


Our meal is spent mostly in silence. Vivian's eyes are red, and I can tell she's been crying; she must actually be fond of us, or maybe just Rue.

"So," Chaff says, finally breaking the silence, "tomorrow's the big day. This may be our last conversation together."

I nod solemnly. "Any last bits of advice?"

"Don't get caught up in the bloodbath," he says instantly. "You may be strong, Thresh, but the so are the Careers, and there are more of them than you. Put some distance between yourself and the other tributes. Find somewhere to set up camp that will give you the upper hand."

Vivian bursts into tears at this. She rushes towards us and embraces Rue in a hug. "I'm going to miss you so much! You've been the best District 11 tributes I've ever had!" She turns to me, instinctively reaching her arms out for a hug, but then pauses and draws back, unsure of what to do.

I bring her into a hug anyways, which clearly surprises her. "Thanks for everything, Vivian," I say, and mean it. She nods, sniffs, and pulls away.

Chaff reaches out his hand and I take it in a firm shake, "It's been an honor mentoring you, Thresh." He gives me a wink and smiles confidently. "I'll see you soon."

I give a bit of a smile at his words. Maybe he really does believe in me. Then I notice Seeder drawing back from the others. She has this strange look on her face, almost like she's in a daze.

"Seeder," I say.

She fixes her eyes on me for a sad moment and then throws her arms around me in a tight embrace. "Good luck, Thresh," she breathes.

"Thanks," I reply. Seeder pulls away sharply, and then walks over to Chaff, turning her back on us.

I turn to Rue, and our eyes lock. More passes between us in this one look than a thousand words could express.

She wraps her small arms around my neck. I gently hug her back, and stroke her hair like I used to do to my younger sister.

"Whatever happens, Rue, I'm very glad I met you," I say softly. "I'll see you in the Games."


I lie in bed, unable to go to sleep. My mind is swimming with too many thoughts for it to let fatigue settle in. At this time tomorrow I will be in the arena, spending my first night there. Will I have killed someone by then? What about Rue? My mind wanders to the young girl who has become a second sister to me. Will I be able to protect her, or will she die in the bloodbath?

I look at the clock by my bed. Eleven forty-five p.m. I sit up and rub my forehead; maybe a walk will do me good.

I get out of my bed and leave my room. As I'm walking down the hall I pass Rue's room. Quietly, I open the door and peek in. She's lying in her bed, asleep and safe. I smile to myself and close the door.

"Thresh?"

I whip around, muscles tensing instinctively for a fight. Then I relax, and blush. I'm acting like I'm already in the Games.

"You should be asleep," Seeder says softly. "You'll need your rest for tomorrow."

"I can't," I reply, "Every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is the Games."

There is a silence. Seeder looks at me for a moment, and then says astutely, "Come on; let's go into the sitting room so we don't wake anyone."

I follow her into the sitting room and settle down into a couch across from her.

"How do you do it?" I ask, finally.

She looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Survive with the night-terrors. I haven't even been in the Games yet and I'm already having nightmares about them. How can you sleep? How do you cope with them?"

Seeder looks away from me, and I can see a shadow pass across her face. "I'll tell you this, Thresh. When you win the Games, something in you dies along with the other tributes. I thought the horror would end after I won, but the Capitol..." She hesitates. "They don't waste their victors."

Her words don't make any sense to me, and I sit there confused. "What do you mean?"

She shakes her head. "I've already said too much." She pauses and draws in a shaky breath. "The nightmares never stop, Thresh, but eventually you get used to them. You learn to sleep through them, to sort out dreams from reality. The pain doesn't go away; it just dulls with time. Many victors try to dull the pain even more with drugs, pleasurable company-"

"Alcohol," I add. It makes sense to me now, why Chaff would drink all the time. He tries to drown out his memories. When I first met him, I was disgusted by him; now I wonder if I wouldn't do the same thing in his situation.

Seeder looks at me sadly. "Chaff lost more than his hand in the Games. I remember when I mentored him; he was a lot like you. He couldn't back away from a fight. He was anxious to show the Careers he was not to be trifled with. He was focused, determined, proud-maybe even a little blood-thirsty-but honorable.

" I was so proud when he won. I was proud that I'd finally mentored someone to victory and I was relieved that I didn't have to cope with another death. I didn't notice how much he'd changed until later. When he went into the Games, he held his head up high, but when he came out he was a wreck. He kept looking over his shoulder, and he'd eye everyone as if they were a threat. He was paranoid, and he had nightmares. Back in District 11, our houses are beside each other, and I could hear him screaming in the middle of the night. Soon he started drinking, and once he started, he never stopped."

Seeder looked dazed, staring into the distance, as though she could see Chaff's deterioration all over again. "When he started mentoring, he was so cold and gruff. He hardly spoke to the tributes, treated them harshly, acted like they were beneath him-"

"Why wouldn't he show them a little compassion?" I can't help interrupting.

"He did it so he wouldn't grow attached to them," she says, her voice tremulous, "so he wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing someone close to him every year."

Seeder's composure cracks, and she starts sobbing. Her entire body shakes, and she buries her face in her hands as tears stream down her cheeks. I feel a pain in my chest. Quietly, I sit down beside her, and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Seeder," I murmur to her. I don't really know what else to say. This woman has been through more than any human being should have to endure.

"I've mentored so many children," Seeder chokes out. "Every year I swear that I won't grow attached to them, but I fail. I can't help but care about them, and they all mean so much to me, and then they-they're taken away."

She closes her eyes, and another sob escapes her. "Chaff sees how devastated I am when our tributes are killed, and he's learned from it. He's been able to do what I never could: to shut them out, to not let them affect him the way they affect me."

I don't want to be insensitive, but something nags me. "But Chaff wasn't like that to me. I mean, he was gruff, but he wasn't distant."

Seeder sits up straight and wipes the tears away from her eyes. "When he met you, he didn't intend to become so fond of you, but you remind him of himself. He's invested so much in you, he doesn't want to see you killed."

She looks into the distance. "Maybe it would be better to be dead. All the tributes I've mentored who died in the Games... maybe they're better off than us."

I can't imagine what it must be like for her: to become attached to these tributes, only to watch them get killed brutally, but knowing that if they did win, they would become a wreck.

"Seeder," I say firmly, "I'm going to try to win. I have to, for my sister and grandmother."

She pats my hand softly. "I know, Thresh. I wouldn't have you throw your life away. I just-I just hope the Games don't change you, or Rue..."

"I'll do my best to help Rue, I promise."

Seeder starts crying softly again. "I've never mentored anyone like her before, Thresh, someone so innocent. It tears me apart to look at her. The Capitol takes children like her, and turns them into murderous monsters."

"That won't happen to Rue," I assure her.

Seeder nods, unable to speak. She wipes the tears from her eyes and smiles bravely at me. "Just promise me that you won't become like them-the Careers."

"I won't. I promise."

We sit in silence for a few minutes after that. Fear grips my heart and my stomach clenches up. Seeder has always been so calm and collected, but now I can see a glimpse of the broken woman inside of her. She's so strong; she's never turned to drugs or alcohol, and I admire her for it, but I also pity her. She has to put on a mask and carry on, even with all the tragedy around her.

I give a dry laugh. "You know, it's funny. Everyone thinks that I'm this fearless, deadly tribute, but really I'm actually terrified."

"Thresh, listen to me," Seeder says, her eyes serious, "Being brave doesn't mean that you don't feel any fear. It means you don't let the fear hold you back. You keep going despite the fear."

I look into her golden brown eyes and I feel calm. She takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. We don't say anything because we don't need to. Both of us understand the seriousness of what is going to happen tomorrow. Both of us know just how terrible the Games will be.

"Seeder, thank you," I whisper.

She smiles understandingly. "You should get some sleep, Thresh." She gives my hand one last squeeze. "I'll never forget you."

As I leave, I glance over my shoulder and give a final smile to the bravest person I'll ever meet.


Watrock comes to my room early the next morning. "Ready for the main event?"

I nod stoically and follow her out.

She leads me to the roof, and I follow in a bit of a daze. A hovercraft picks us up and a tracking chip is placed in my arm with a syringe. We are led to a room with breakfast laid out, and I eat as much as I can; after all, this might be my last real meal.

After about half an hour the hovercraft finally lands and I leave with Watrock. We enter the launch room and she hands me my outfit. As I put the jacket on, she hands me something else: my father's dog-tag.

I hang it around my neck and smile. "Thank you."

She nods and embraces me tightly. "You can do it; I know you can. Just remember everything Chaff told you and you'll be fine."

"Do you know how Rue is?" I ask.

"I saw her before we left," Watrock says with a joyless smile. "She's with Aelius. He'll make sure she's alright."

At that moment I hear an announcer say that it is time to prepare for launch. I feel my stomach clench up as I pull away from Watrock and step onto the metal plate.

"Good bye, Watrock."

"Good bye, Thresh," she says, choking slightly.

A glass cylinder starts to lower around me.

"Thresh, just know that whatever happens, you've made me proud to design for District 11," Watrock calls as the cylinder encloses around me.

It's the last thing I hear before I'm lifted up out of the room, and my eyes are met with blinding sunlight.