Hey guys, guess what? It was my birthday on Wednesday! Whoot-whoot! Anyways, here's your chapter, I hope I don't disappoint. By the way, before you ask me about anything in the chapter, read the A/N at the end.

"Peeta…"

I stay locked in my crouching position, staring down at Peeta. He makes no move to wake the Careers, instead he just sits there, staring at me. I stay on the branch for another minute, unsure of what to do, when Peeta moves. I pull out a knife, ready to attack if the others are woken, but it's not needed. All he does is raise his arm, pressing a finger to his lips before dropping it again. I experimentally climb to another branch, further from the group, and look back at him. He's still watching me, but he hasn't moved.

He's not going to kill me? Is he really letting me go? I think to myself. Why..? Would I do the same for him?

I hop further away and climb down to the ground; I turn back to look at him again. "Thank you…" I whisper, then turn, sprinting away on light feet.

I'm wheezing by the time I get to the edge of the forest. I stop in my tracks, surprised. It's a camp, probably for the Careers. A pile of supplies and food is about thirty yards away from the lake. There's nobody in sight, but I don't feel right about it. Feeling a little silly, I dig through my pack, pulling out the sunglasses and get down on my hands and knees, staring at the ground surrounding the pile. The sunglasses actually enhance my vision. I don't even know why I decided to put them on in the first place.

It's been turned up. The soil is fresh and loose, which sets off alarm bells in my mind. The Careers have set traps.

My head snaps up suddenly. Heavy footsteps are coming in the direction of the camp. I duck into some nearby bushes, peeking through the leaves. I don't see any Careers coming near me. I see a large figure. It's coming not from the forest, but from the unknown, the place I couldn't see when the games began. It's Thresh. The boy from District Eleven.

He is limping slightly, and he doesn't seem to stop and notice that something isn't right about leaving supplies out in the open. He charges right through towards the pile.

"Don't!" I say, before covering my mouth. He looks up, surprised at my outburst, but he doesn't heed my advice in time. There's a snap near him, and the soil gives away. The bottom half of Thresh disappears, and he lets out a small shout of pain.

I leap from the bushes, running over to him. I slow down when I near the supplies, following in Thresh's footsteps. The Careers are smarter than I gave them credit for. They dug a hole and filled it with sharp rocks and other weapons they either don't need or can't use properly. They seemed to have covered the hole with thin branches and leaves, then scattered dirt over them as camouflage. It's pretty smart.

"Thresh, it's me, Alicia. I'm from District Twelve," I say in breathless whisper. He stares at me, almost confused. "I'm gonna try and help you out, are you hurt?"

He stares at me for a minute, as if he is deciding whether I'm trustworthy. "My leg," he says. I nod in understanding.

"Um…" I look around, before jogging over to the edge of the forest. I grab the first good looking fallen branch I see and walk back to Thresh. I dump all of my belongings on the ground and tie the end of it around the branch. "Alright, hold onto this. I'm going to try and pull you out."

"How do I know you aren't gonna kill me with those knives there, huh?" He snarls, staring at my weapons.

"You're going to have to trust me," I reply, kicking the knives as far away as possible without being too far. "Please, Thresh," I whisper.

He locks eyes with me, holding my gaze. His eyes are so dark, but I can see a hint of fear. He knows I can kill him, in such a vulnerable position. But I'm not going to. He grabs then end of my sleeping bag, and I smile at him slightly, before beginning to pull.

It's hard, he is so much bigger than me, but I'm not starving or dehydrated right now, so I'm not as weak as before. It's a long process, but I slowly start to drag him out of the hole. After quite a while, I've got Thresh out of the hole. I collapse on the ground, panting. My ribs are throbbing from the exertion.

"Thank you," he breaths. I nod, panting.

"It's fine. They have this place booby trapped. There's no reason to stick around here, they'll probably be back soon."

I pick myself up from the ground and pack my things back into the sleeping bag. I turn and look at Thresh, he's staring at me.

"Why didn't you just kill me?" He asks.

I shrug slightly. "Killing you while you're trapped in the ground isn't my style. I wouldn't take advantage of you like that."

"You're hurt, too," He observes.

My head shoots up, listening intently. "Footsteps…" I mutter. "They're coming!"

Before I know what's happening, Thresh as scooped me up and thrown my sleeping bag in my lap. He sprints away, slowing when we get near a field of long grass. He pushes us through the grass until we come to a small camp that I guess he has step up.

Thresh places me down carefully, sitting down across from me on the flattened grass. I look around. There isn't much here. Some food, the remains of a fire long ago died down and a small woven grass basket with dirty water in it. A breeze flutters through the grass, sending a shiver down my spine. It's cold, and in the early morning.

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask after a few minutes. "Wouldn't it have been easier to let me fiend for myself?"

He's paying little attention to me, playing with a piece of the straw-like grass. "You saved me first."

I open the sleeping bag, taking out my things. He tenses when I pull the knives out, but I put them down quickly, moving on. I grab my flask, checking the amount. It's still almost full. I scrawl over to Thresh, screwing the cap off. I take a sip to prove I haven't poisoned it or anything, then I hand it to Thresh. "Drink up," I order him softly.

I pull out the crackers and beef I have, offering the boy some. He gratefully takes a cracker and tears a strip of beef in half, giving back the other half. I bite into my half and grin at him. Thresh gives me an almost-smile back.

"Does anybody else come in here?" I ask, looking around.

"No, I haven't seen anyone. That group of kids, they almost did once, but they backed out."

"Do you think… I could take a nap?" I ask. He nods.

I unzip the sleeping bag the rest of the way. I throw it over the two of us, using it like a blanket. He looks at me, confused. "This place is cold, and the sleeping bag is big enough for both of us. I'm not letting you go cold while I stay all toasty."

"I guess we're…allies now?" He mutters, looking at his large hands.

I smile, shrugging at him, lying down. "I guess we are. Don't kill me in my sleep, okay, Thresh?" I mumble, looking up at him.

He looks away, scowling at the sky. "Right."

Okay!

First, no, this isn't a Thresh/Alicia thing. You'll see why soon, but Thresh sees her more like a sister than anything later on.

Next, there were no landmines because in the book, Katniss releases the Tracker Jackers on the Careers, but they target the District 3 boy as well, and he runs into the Careers, and then they make a deal to spare him if he guards the stuff. Alicia didn't do anything with the Tracker Jackers, so he didn't run into them. HA! LOGIC!

Chifuyuu: Hee-hee! Dramatic music FTW! Thank you, lovely!

VampWolf92: Thank you!

Sarah Jackson – The Other: I shall, my dear, I shall.

Aihart and asha74: I haven't seen you two in my reviews before. Welcome to hell!

Later!

-Shinigami