"Sir, it would seem that she is almost at the edge," said a Gamemaker to Seneca Crane. "And it seems that the District Two female is heading in the opposite direction, putting her two kilometers from the nearest tribute."
Seneca Crane looked at his monitor and pondered this. Maybe their alliance has ended, Seneca thought, still watching the girl on fire. "Well, let's turn her around…"
The next morning, Katniss waited dutifully for Clove to show, and occupied her time by looking for food and water near the base of her tree. She allowed herself a clearance of twenty feet from the tree. Again, she was tired, and she hadn't had a drink of water in over twelve hours. Her time was of the essence, as was her vitality. Shouldn't Clove be here by now? Katniss thought.
But she didn't ponder on that too much when she heard a snapping sound. What was that? She heard again, but it was more like a… crackling sound. Like the roaring sound of a raging fire! She looked around and then she saw it: a wall of fire was tearing through the forest, destroying everything in its path! Katniss ran, she moved as quickly as she could, but the fire consumed everything around her. She watched as the animals around her leapt and scampered to safety and tried to keep up. It took no time for her to realize that this was no tribute's campfire gone out of control. It was uniform, it was planned, it was… man-made, machine-made. Gamemaker-made.
Katniss choked on the smoke hanging above her. It blinded her and burned her insides. Katniss fell on her hands and knees and vomited everything she had in her stomach. She couldn't have felt more hopeless and empty. She had nothing left from the food she'd eaten the previous day. She looked up in time to see a light, growing brighter and hotter, zooming toward her at light-speed. She managed to duck out of the way as the fireball exploded with a POW! just above her head. She ran further and further through the burning trees. Where was she? Which way was which? Where was she headed?! Another light grew closer and faster, and she slid away. POW! She ducked under a ledge, but not fast enough as another fireball skimmed her calf. Katniss screamed in pain. She looked at her leg. This injury was beyond her skill to heal and the sight and smell of burning skin alone was almost enough to make her vomit again. The pain was unbearable. Unbearable. She heard as another fireball hurled toward her. She moved and—POW!— it exploded as she rolled away. I have to get out of this zone! Katniss staggered to her feet and stumbled away. She heard fire hissing and exploding around her but she had no idea where to go. She was nearly blinded by this soul-sucking smoke. The animals that were once her compass were now long gone, she only ran. It was the only way to keep from falling down and becoming one with the flames. Another fireball approached; she didn't hear it until it was up close—