Chills. Thick, dank air. Nothing guiding me forward but Tatsuya's touch. It went on like that for hours and hours. At some point, we even heard the Panem National Anthem play, announcing the The Fallen for the fourth day of the Games. We obviously couldn't see anything from where we were.

We stopped and rested every few hours, but after twenty minutes or so Tatsuya would drag me onward.

"Every minute could be a minute Alesta gets killed somehow," he reminded me, almost sounding obsessed. Part of me felt a pang of jealously for this Alesta.

My fear never subsided under those streets. Long hours just wandering east in pitch black uncertainty. My vision went hazy. My ears buzzed. I felt nauseated. I began to sway as I stepped, losing my balance. Tatsuya stopped and said something to me that I couldn't hear over the noisy hums. My mind retreated into itself...

...suddenly, I was home again!

I could see, feel, smell, hear District Three. I was wearing one of my modest dresses and carrying a textbook against my chest, walking down the hallways of Daddy's dental office. The hall smelled of mouthwash and toothpaste. It was a sterile smell, one that I was never fond of but gradually had gotten used to over the years of summers spent there. The fluroescent lights irritated my eyes, but it was a welcome brightness compared to the bleak tunnels of the Arena.

I turned a corner, and in front of me was a doorway with a sign mounted beside it: Exam Room B. The big red dental chair sat parallel to the doorframe. My Daddy wasn't in there. The only occupant of the room was the patient, lying backwards in the chair, the overhead lamp shining on his face. A young man...Beetee!

I was so happy to see him! It was as if I'd just been reassured I was no longer in the Arena fighting for my life. He did say he was Daddy's patient, after all. I sighed in overwhelming relief and threw my book aside, running into the room to the place beside him.

"Beetee! Oh God, Beetee! They're gone! The nightmare is gone!" I threw myself onto his lap, and he chuckled lightly as I curled up on top of him and let a river of tears out of my eyes. "Death, darkness, and so much pain! I was in the Arena! Oh, help me!"

Beetee wrapped his arms around me and held me close. He then offered to me the corner of the paper bib clipped around his neck to dry my eyes, but I refused. Instead, I took his hand in mine and guided it to my cheek, imploring him to wipe the tears away, which he did, moaning softly and comfortably to me.

"I am with you, but you should be on your own," he mumbled. "I am coaching you through this. You will come home if you heed my messages."

Sitting up on his lap, I told him I was confused. "What messages?"

"Leave the tunnel. Leave Tatsuya. He is not genuine. He is not faithful to you. His alliance is with Alesta. He wants you as his human shield," Beetee warned.

I shook my head. "No." I didn't believe what I was hearing. "Beetee, no!"

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. Whipping my head around, I saw Intel, dressed in a white suit, looking at me and smiling his crooked smile.

"He's right, Wiress," he implored to me. "Beetee is protecting you. Tatsuya protects himself."

"But...we're alone...in the dark..."

"He won't kill you outright," Beetee said. "He is too weak for that. But he will not hesitate to sacrifice you to further his own life."

"Oh, Beetee, I can't go back!" I whined.

"Yes, Wiress. You will be home in Three with me very soon. I love you," Beetee said.

I love you...

"When you get home, tell my parents not to cry over me anymore. I felt little pain, and I'm feeling peaceful now. Will you tell them?" Intel asked. I nod my head in trembling silence, and suddenly the dental chair fell backward, Beetee and Intel disappearing. I tumbled over and began falling into the black...the light left, the darkness returned.

I was jolted awake, cradled in Tatsuya's arms. He'd sat up against one of the tunnel walls to support my body.

"Tat...Tatsu?" I whispered weakly. Tatsuya shook his head and whispered.

"You passed out, cold," he replied. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty," I said. "Hungry. Dizzy."

"You don't have a fever, so there is some good news," he said. "We will stop at the next station and get some rations out. It may even be daylight again."

"Let me try to walk-"

"-Oh no, Wiress. Please let me carry you. It won't be too far, and you're light as a feather to me," Tatsuya replied. Gently, he rose to his feet without even adjusting my position in his arms. Tenderly, I leaned against him and let him bear my weight, all while Beetee's words scrambled themselves in my head over and over. Be wary of Tatsuya, he had said. And also...that he...

It only took approximately half an hour before we came to the next station in the tunnel system.

"I...I can stand," I said firmly. Tatsuya conceded silently and put me on my feet. It took me a moment to regain my balance.

"I can see the light from here," he remarked. "Only about three-hundred feet from here, Wiress."

No sooner did those words leave his mouth than an ear-shattering scream echoed through the tunnel, coming from ahead of us. Someone was waiting for us at the stop...someone bad.

"Oh no," Tatsuya muttered. "You have a blade, right?"

I was suddenly too afraid to say anything. It was as if my vocal cords were paralyzed. All I could do was hum the affirmative, and I reached into my back pocket, where I had stashed the switch knife my pack provided. Tatsuya, in turn, reached into his own pocket, producing three smaller blades...throwing knives.

"Be prepared. We need to claim that space," he mumbled.

"Wait...can't we hide here where it will be safe?" I asked.

Tatsuya looked at me indignantly. "No. No. We need to defend ourselves. Show them we're a threat."

"No we don't! We can defend ourself by hiding!" I protested. I really did not want to go towards the screaming. That was like taking a bath in gasoline and walking towards a campfire. If my thoughts were correct, the odds of those down there being to least one Career preying on another Tribute were too high to mess with. Not to mention, I was still recovering from fainting...I'd be particularly vulnerable.

The screaming returned. "Oh God! No!"

Tatsuya skipped a breath. "Oh my God. It's Alesta, I know it."

He didn't even bother to wait for me reply this time. He began running down towards the light. I hesitated, realizing something.

Beetee, in my fever-dream, had told me to get away from him. This was my shot. I could linger, stay hidden and wait. I could run back the other way and wait it out, whatever was about to happen.

The screaming got louder...then cut off abruptly. Tatsuya was running at top speed towards the source of the screams. I was frozen where I stood, not being able to move either way.

"ALESTAAAAA!"

To this day, I don't know why I chose to run towards the scream, but I did. I didn't bolt as Tatsuya had, but I did rush as fast as I could without disorienting myself. I ran on the balls of my feet, as if it would help inhibit the sound of footsteps.

I stopped short of the opening to the station. Instead, I ducked under the platform, only peeking my head up to observe.

A headless, bleeding body lied strewn by the base of the stairwell leading up and outside. The body's head was covered in blood as well, and lied some distance away from the body. A tangle of dark brown hair covered the face. I ducked back beneath the platform and struggled not to retch. My legs shook as I worked to hold it down. Just the sight of the beheaded girl was almost enough to motivate me to call it quits and run off on my own.

Tatsuya was behind the body, struggling with one of two assailants. I recognized them both. The male Careers that remained, Janus Gorge and Sheen Rhodes, circled Tatsuya as he broke down over his district partner's body, like a pair of vultures. Janus' shirt was spattered with blood, and he held a katana in his hand. Sheen held a dagger.

"It was easy," Janus mocked. "Like ripping the head off a dandelion."

"Don't worry, she didn't feel it," Sheen added.

I knew Beetee would tell me to run and not care that Tatsuya was marked for death. But I was in no capacity to think rationally. I quietly climbed the platform and ducked behind a turnstile, clutching my knife. I went unnoticed, as both boys were concentrated on Tatsuya as they closed in on him. Sheen had his back to where I was hiding. I noted how he was a bit thin and peaky for a Career.

"Your turn, Sheen," Janus bade.

As Sheen raised his dagger to strike Tatsuya, I bolted out from behind the turnstile, a noise from my throat uttering high and loud...a screech. One even I didn't recognize. It was like I was possessed by someone else.

I leapt onto Sheen's back with my knife in my grip. I held it to his throat and leaned back. The element of surprise was what made him stagger and lean back.

Like at the Cornucopia five days prior, events after that moment became blurry as they rushed before me. That always happened when I let some animal instinct take over my body, letting my mind (by far the strongest part of me) fall by the wayside.

Sheen flailed, trying to get me off of his back. Somewhere in the struggle, Janus must have tried to get me, because I felt a sharp slashing pain across my right shoulder. I couldn't get my knife in position to stab him before he fell over backwards, falling onto a turnstile and crushing me under him as he landed. He rolled away, and I dived through the turnstile back by the track. Sheen followed, raising his dagger as he attacked. I was on my back at the edge of the platform. Frozen in fear, I couldn't move.

It looked hopeless. I squinted my eyes as I braced for death.

I heard a brief shout from in front of me. Opening my eyes, all I could see was Tatsuya's back turned to me. Sheen wasn't moving...had Tatsuya done something?

No, Sheen brushed Tatsuya aside...he fell like a dead tree trunk with a gaping wound in his stomach. The dagger in Sheen's grip was dripping with fresh blood.

I screamed, and Sheen kept advancing on me. But Tatsuya coming between us had given me a split second of time to re-establish my mind enough to position myself for defense. Sheen was lightweight...and easy to throw off balance.

As he came at me, I bucked. My feet flew up above me and caught Sheen's hips in his final lunge. I threw my feet up and used them to hurl him over the edge and down onto the track below. I barely managed to hang on to the platform, but somehow managed to.

"SHEEN!" Janus hollered from behind the row of turnstiles.

I looked down below me, and suddenly my head felt like it was swimming. Sheen didn't stir below. He'd landed on the crown of his head first, and he'd hit one of the rusted metal rails on the ground. His skull was gashed open, his neck bent at a dramatic angle. His eyes were wide and blank.

He'd died. I threw him off the platform in defense...and he died. Sheen Rhodes. District One. Career.

"FUCK!" Janus yelled, leaping over the turnstiles.

I rolled away in time, but Janus ran past where I had been anyways to see if Sheen had made it. Leaping down into the pit, he began to examine the body. I didn't have to think about why he wasn't acting like a real Career and using the moment to seek revenge on his ally by killing me with his katana. Meanwhile, I took the moment as a gift and got to my feet, making my way to where Tatsuya was writhing.

Suddenly, a low rumble began to echo from down the tunnel, and Janus looked up with an odd expression on his face.

Water, rushing at a rapid pace, flooded the tunnel and came at Janus and Sheen like a tsunami. Janus was brushed off his feet, and his struggle against the oncoming current was futile. I wasn't looking, but Janus was likely washed clean away with Sheen's body by the raging water.

I knew Tatsuya and I were going to be next if I didn't move him. I knew lifting a body was going to be impossible for me, but, with every ounce of might I could muster, I began inching him towards the steps leading up and out into the open air. I had to step over Alesta's limp body, and I heard a moan from the load I was carrying as we passed her. By the time I got Tatsuya to the stairwell, the water had overflown and was quickly rushing towards us. It was lapping at my feet.

Tatsuya's body was heavy (not to mention his clothes were water-logged) as I dragged him up the steps. The sounds of Janus and Sheen screaming, trying to fight off the rushing tide of floodwater were abruptly stopped. I couldn't hear very well, but I did sense the deep bass-like sound of two cannons firing, one after another.

Two less Tributes. Two Careers. If I survived today, my odds would probably double…if not triple.

Tatsuya moaned as I did my best to keep him still as I brought him up into the open air. I hoped there would be sun, but the stupid rain had come back, heavy. The Gamemakers were beginning to get obsessed with floods and water in this place.

I couldn't hold on to Tatsuya much longer, especially as the pain in my shoulder caught up with me. The adrenaline was still surging, but slowly wearing off. Once I was on stable ground, I let him lie on the pavement, his face sopping wet. The blood from the knife in his stomach spilled onto the ground and mixed with the puddles, creating an almost beautiful cloud-like effect.

He was gasping and panicking. So was I.

"Atta girl, Wiress," he whispered.

"I'm so, so sorry," I sighed. "I should have trusted you."

"No," he sighed. "You were being smart. I...I...just didn't know how much stronger than me you are. If I couldn't save Alesta...you're more than worth my life."

I shook my head. "No. We're all worth the same."

"I...I'm not. I lied to you about my feelings for you. To get you to come with me."

"Why?"

My suspicions were correct. This broke my heart, and the tears began to well up behind my eyes.

"How could you?" I asked.

"I didn't just target you. You fascinate me, Wiress. You're d...different," he said softly. "You have more strength in you than anyone else here. And you sense things...see things differently. Panem needs you still. You can create a whole new world if you win."

I shook my head. "But-"

"-sh!" He hushed me. "I don't have much longer to say this. Let me say it."

The rain was beginning to lighten up, but it was still coming down in sheets. It was becoming the kind of rain that pricked my cheeks like needles when the wind blew at it. I took my parka off and put it over Tatsuya's chest like a blanket (as if it was going to do much good).

"I do have feelings for you, Wiress. They just...just didn't get a chance to blossom," he said. "I'm sorry I used the word 'love.' It...it wasn't fair. But, I think you...you are beautiful. I just regret thinking so much of myself when I was with you."

My chest was about to implode. He couldn't be admitting this. Not now. Worse off, he had no reason to lie to me anymore. He really did like me.

"You couldn't help-"

"-kiss me, Wiress. Please. I betrayed you. Let my last act here be an act of love."

It was reflexive. I didn't hesitate for a moment after he requested my first kiss. I caressed his rapidly-cooling cheek with my overheated hand. I leaned down over him and touched his lips with mine, tenderly. He kissed back, and I could tell he was pooling the last of his energy into it. It was natural and instinctive. I began to put some passion into it.

My first kiss, forged in the aftermath of battle, for all of Panem to see.

I pulled away as Tatsuya began shaking. I grabbed his hand and held it to my face as I watched him expire without another word...just a smile. The smile froze on his face as he died.

I didn't let go of his hand as it became heavier in my grip. I bowed my head and did something I'd never done before and would never do again...I prayed. Silently, of course. I prayed that there was an afterlife that would receive Tatsuya's consciousness, whatever it was, and that it was peaceful, and that Alesta would be there to embrace him as he arrived. That Intel would be there to shake his hand. And that, perhaps, he would be able to protect me from up there.

The Gamemakers wouldn't pick up his body until I cleared the area. Well, tough on them. I was in no rush to get out of the rain.

I kept vigil over his body for nearly half an hour before I cleared out and left him behind.

Beetee's Journal

Day 5, 44th Games

Wiress' odds are skyrocketing tonight. Two of the Careers are dead, one directly because of her attempts to defend herself. Four died, including her ally. Caesar's on-location reporting team is heading to Three tonight to interview her family, as they do with the Tributes who make it past the Top Ten.

Her ally, the Boy from Six, saved her life. She kissed him as he died in her arms. I couldn't help but feel a sensation in my chest, as if my heart had been sucked inward, leaving a hollow space. It was a beautiful kiss, to be sure. Immediately after, sponsors began approaching me left and right, throwing vouchers and money at me to send her a gift. It's expensive at this stage to send elaborate gifts, but with the response I'm getting thanks to that kiss, I can send her a feast tonight. Any maybe some disguised aid as well, as long as I'm careful.

Perhaps, if I'm smart in what I tell her next...I can bring her home.

I must bring her home.

I will bring her home.