Chapter 10

I'm awakened in the middle of the night by a shrill scream.

I sit bolt upright and Vick does the same. "What's going on?" he says tiredly.

Carlisa answers immediately. "Pine's gone and Emmalynn's covered in blood."

Emmalynn is unconscious, her eyes closed. The blanket wrapped around her is soaked with blood, and the tips of her pale blonde hair are dyed red. I order Vick to get me the first-aid kit as I carefully, gently unwrap the blanket. This injury is on the other side of her body than the gash she got on our first day in the arena. The blood on that side is dried while the scarlet seeping from her new wound is slowly inching towards it. I slowly lift up her shirt to reveal the injury.

It's a clean cut, made with precision. Deep and long. Whoever attacked couldn't have been in too big of a hurry. Vick places the first-aid kit on the ground next to me and I get to work. The flow of blood is slowing and when it stops completely, I carefully cleanse Emmalynn's body of blood and bandage her up. I fill one of the water bottles with water from the lake and drop in the correct amount of iodine for when Emmalynn wakes up.

"Now, what's going on with Pine?" I ask, turning to Carlisa.

"He's gone," she says simply. "All of the things that belonged to him are gone, too."

"Do you think he's the one that attacked Emmalynn?" inquires Vick.

I shrug. "I don't know. I don't want to think that he would, but in the Games you never know, right? Pine's very cautious. He may have realized last night - remember, when we were talking about how many tributes are left - that he would have to break off from the group. He might have thought that maybe we might turn on him any second. Maybe he decided to turn on us first..."

I hear a sigh and look around to see Emmalynn opening her eyes.

"Don't sit up," I warn. "Here, have some water."

"What happened?" she asks.

"Somebody attacked you," replies Vick. "We don't know who, but Pine's gone."

"Pine wouldn't," Emmalynn decides after a moment.

"You never know," answers Carlisa, echoing my words. "The point is, he's gone, and someone attacked you. It makes sense to have been Pine."

"He wouldn't do that," insists Emmalynn, reaching up with the arm on her uninjured side and taking the water bottle I hand to her. "He just wouldn't."

I sigh. "How do you know?"

Emmalynn frowns. "I don't know. I just don't think he would do that to me. Or anyone."

"Appearances can be deceiving," says Carlisa mysteriously. "Just because he seems like a very shy, innocent guy doesn't mean that he is. In the Games, people have all kinds of strategies."

"Well," says Emmalynn stubbornly, "the only way to find out is to track him down and ask him."

"And just how do you suggest we do that?" asks Vick skeptically.

Emmalynn closes her eyes. "I'm not sure. Wait until morning, then we'll see." Within seconds, she's asleep again.

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long! A month and a half... But again, I've had writer's block. You can thank Rabidfangfan for the creation of this chapter because she gave me the idea. Well, kinda. I switched it around a little with who got injured and what exactly happened and stuff... But the point is, she also sent me a message practically begging for an update, and that really gave me the kick in the butt I needed. So thanks to her. :) Now... For anyone reading "Summer" or "Paisley," I've put those two on a temporary hold because I'd like to get SOME writing done and as I said, I have/had writers' block. I will probably update all of my stories (hopefully including those two) a lot more during the summer, when I'll have more free time. :) Now, thanks to anyone who's stuck with this story through all the long-in-between updates and short chapters and all... And thank you to my newest reviewers who reviewed chapter 2 (so long ago...): amixdeuxkpthxgirl and Meow (anonymous). Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter despite its pitiful length: HPobsessssssed7 (thank you for the lovely/not-so-lovely review), hungergameslaura31 (who has also accepted my ongoing KC obsession), hockeygirlxox ("Both the Copycats are dead! Teehee!"), AnaStasia (who is my most frequent anonymous reviewer), LoatheTheBoyWithTheBread (LOVE your name), Gee (anonymous - thanks for the compliments, they made my day), Meova (I'm glad that Prim is in character for you), meea123 (thank you for the suggestion to throw a brick at the girl who was talking about me and my friends behind our backs... I'll try to find a decent-sized brick), Emily Cha (glad you're liking the story still), Rabidfangfan (like I said before, you're the one who got me to write this chapter!), It was all a PUZZLE (yes, you is funnier), and Torizzle (anonymous - but only 'cause you were "too lazy to log in"). I'll try not to take as long to update this time... If I do, please give me a gentle-ish kick in the butt. ;)