The gong sounded. Daphne knew what she had to do.
In a split second, she jumped off of her podium and started for the three backpacks that were not too far ahead of her.
She was almost there when she felt someone grab her shoulders from behind and spin her around. It was the male tribute from District 3, with a knife in his hand. With all of her strength, Daphne tried to push the knife away from her as it inched closer and closer to her chest.
It was no more than a centimeter away when Niles appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and his fist collided with the other tribute's face, and the unknown boy was on the ground, unconscious.
"Niles!" Daphne heard herself exclaiming.
Her mind snapped into place like a rubber band after this and she ran for the backpacks, which were surprisingly still untouched. She picked up two and yelled for Niles to get the other one. He obeyed her words and snagged the last pack, finding a bow and a set of arrows under this and taking those as well.
The two ran for the woods as fast as they could and did not stop for minutes, until they could not move any longer. Daphne was the first to lay her head in the ankle-deep snow, and Niles followed her example.
"Did I kill that man back there?" he asked.
"I don't know, but you knocked him out cold, that's for sure."
It was then that the cannons sounded, five in a row coming from somewhere off in the distance.
"We survived the bloodbath, Niles," Daphne said, smiling.
"Yes, we certainly did!"
"We should go through these packs and see what we need and what we don't. Hopefully there won't be a need for us to carry around three bags."
They immediately were glad they had managed to get all three bags. They found food, two empty water containers, three knives, a pair of gloves, three sleeping bags, some flint, coiled wire, and extra pair of wool socks, and three small, round pots.
"What on earth are these for?" asked Niles, holding up one of the pots.
"Cooking, I suppose," Daphne answered. "Although I don't know what we'd warm up in it."
They consolidated the three bags into two, then began moving.
"I guess we need to look for water," Niles said.
"Yes, that would be a good idea. Then we can relax for a little bit!"
This confused Niles somewhat. He wondered how it was possible for one to relax when there were seventeen people nearby wanting to kill you.
"Relax how?" he asked.
"Oh, I don't know, but I love this snow. You know what, we should make a snowman!"
"A snowman?"
"Yes! Oh, my brothers and I love making them on a snowy day after our work is done."
"I don't know if I've ever made a snowman before."
"Well, once we've found water, I'll teach you."
They kept silent for a little while as they walked, looking and listening for a creek or a pond through the embrace of the trees. After about fifteen minutes, snow began to fall.
"It's beautiful!" Daphne exclaimed.
She smiled up at the sky as snowflakes caught in her dark hair. "Yes it is," Niles said, though not referring to the snow.
They walked for another quarter of an hour until finally they found a small stretch of a creek, though it was thickly frozen.
Daphne picked up a rock and tried to break the ice, but it was so thick that only small chunks broke off.
"How on earth do we get water? Everywhere we go it's going to be frozen like this."
"Can't we melt it somehow?" Niles asked.
"That's the only thing we can do, I suppose, but how? We could set it by a fire, but how would we collect the water if we did that?"
An idea sparked inside Niles' mind. "Daphne, those pots! Could they be to melt the ice in?"
"Yes, that must be it, then. Smarty pants," she said, giving him a playful shove. Niles smiled and shoved her back, though being as careful as he could not to hurt her.
They collected some chunks of ice, put them in the pans, and started walking to a someplace away from the water.
Daphne started a small fire because she knew how, and then she placed a stone in the middle of the flames. "We'll set the pan on the rock when it gets all heated up."
"Great idea," he said.
"I'm not looking forward to nighttime," Daphne began. "It's cold now, think of how it will be when the sun goes down. We won't be able to have a fire then, either."
"At least we have those sleeping bags. They look like they're made of the same material as these coats, so they should keep us pretty warm."
"You're right, it could be worse. I feel sorry for all those people who didn't get anything at the cornucopia. They'll be freezing tonight. You know, I think we're better off than most all of the tributes. I mean, we've got everything we need. Food, water, weapons, things to keep us warm…"
"And I've got you." Niles heard the words before he knew they were coming out of his mouth. Immediately he felt heat spread across his face like a growing flame, and he closed his eyes for just a second.
"I'm so glad you're here," Daphne whispered, and the light from the fire set her smiling face aglow.
Niles heart fluttered in his chest. "Daphne, I have to tell you something, and-"
"Oh, the rock!" She said before Niles could say anything. She found two long sticks and fished it out of the center of the fire. "Hand me a pan please, Niles," she instructed. Niles fulfilled her request silently.
"I'm sorry, Niles, were you going to say something?" Daphne asked.
"Nothing that can't wait," he said. He had lost all courage just like before.
A few minutes later, both of the tribute's water bottles were filled with enough water to last them for at least another day if they were prudent.
"Now," Daphne began, "to make that snowman."