A/N

Hello lovelies! I hope you guys are as excited for this chapter as I am! To be honest, I don't even know what is going to happen. But oh well. Here we go!

Chapter Ten: Alliances

Cato POV:

"Welp..." I shrug, my eyes scanning the newly formed rock wall with absolutely no interest. In all honesty, it didn't surprise me that this happened. The Gamemakers would do something like this. It only makes the Games even more entertaining. Or even more boring. But to me, this was just a minor setback. It couldn't take anymore than a day to dig our way out. I wasn't about to freak out like little miss 'we're going to die cause there is no way out'.

Katniss was pacing back and forth, throwing a fit. She couldn't really think that we were stuck here, could she? I mean, I did get all those supplies to keep us alive in this cave for a few days. We should be able to make it a day or two. Unless I strangle her out of annoyance. She won't shut up. And the way she is so negative about it just upsets me. I have no problem with this. But to the Girl on Fire, it's the end of the world.

"Welp? What does that mean? We are stuck here, mister high-and-mighty. We might not ever get out! And you are over here acting as if someone had just thrown a pebble at you feet! Look around!" She slammed her hand on the cold cave wall, then kicked at the rocks at the entrance. "There is no way out!"

I chuckle, walking over to the bag that was sent to me. Katniss didn't really know that I had this new tool, because I hadn't gotten a chance to show it to her. After all, the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up was leave. But whatever, she never really had to know. I didn't even think I would need it.

"Relax, Fire Girl," Katniss scowled at the name as I spoke, my words coming out harsher than expected, "I got your back."

With that, I pull the iron pick-ax from the bag and hold it high above my head. "Cato has all the answers."

Smirking, I instruct Katniss to go and collect firewood in a deeper part of the cave while I work, but she insists that I join her. Apparently, it could be dangerous going alone. As if. It's just a bunch of rock. What harm could it really do? Other than blocking us off from the world. And of course, that's not even permanent. So in all honesty, nothing bad could really happen to us in here. We're safe.

But to Katniss, this was the end of the world.

I never understood why she worried so much. She was always so serious and freaked out when something went wrong. Even I wasn't that bad, and when things didn't go my way, I was furious. Especially when I've been working my butt off for something. But that's not the point. The point is, Katniss is just weird.

I don't even know if I mean that in a good way or not. It was oh so confusing to me. I never really knew what to think of this girl, and I still don't know what to think. She's just different. I've never met anyone like her.

Ever since I started to be around her more in these Games, I've noticed something about her. No matter how vicious she is, there is always a reason behind it. Although, I'm never quite sure what the reason is. She's definitely not an open book. But perhaps it's better that way. There are probably things that I don't need to know about her.

At her request, I grab the flashlight from her, earning me another scowl. Katniss is not really the take charge type of girl that I thought she was. It confused the heck out of me when she acted like this.

"Let's do this as quick as humanly possible. I want to get out of here." And yet another mood swing, Katniss Everdeen was whining. However, like I expected, it didn't last long.

Peeta POV:

Hunger.

Thirst.

Blood.

Exhaustion.

Fatigue.

No parachutes. No sponsors.

And to add to that, I was responsible for another life. Rue's.

From the very beginning I knew I was going to ally with her. I was going to get her as far as I possibly could. Maybe even get her to win. She doesn't deserve this. I couldn't imagine Katniss' sister being in the Games. It horrified me just to think about it. But I didn't know what to do. How was I supposed to protect her if I can't protect myself?

Rue scavenged for food most of the time, and occasionally a loaf of bread would appear at our feet from the generous hands of an on-again-off-again ally. I appreciated all the help I could get, and when a threat came, I did my best to protect Rue. But for the most part, I just made peace with the tribute. Most of the tributes left in the arena are on my side in one way or the other. Rue, Foxface, and Thresh are the main sources.

Thresh doesn't necessarily come around. He prefers to stay in the tall grasses to the east of the lake near the Cornucopia. And I'm fine with that. He can do what he wants. As long as he is no threat to me or Rue. And of course, why would he harm the one that's keeping his district partner alive? It wouldn't really make much sense if he did. So I'm not the least bit worried about him.

Foxface is harmless. No one's blood has ever touched her hands. She never stays in one spot for longer than a night. The stealthy girl is quick and cunning. She's one of the smartest people I've ever met. I wouldn't be surprised if she won just by waiting out the Games and letting everyone kill each other. Foxface is also fairly good at stealing, as well. She could take a chair right out from under a Career and they wouldn't even know it. Smart girl.

All in all, my allies are the best they get. And really, they're better than the Careers. We don't kill. We survive. And isn't that what these games are about? Surviving? They never said that we had to kill anyone. So why should we?

I'm just glad that I am still alive. That's what matters most.

"Peeta, I found some berries! Look!" A small, cheerful voice is heard behind me, resulting in a wide grin spreading across my features. Swiveling around, my blue eyes set on the tiny dark-skinned girl from Eleven. Her moussy brown eyes beamed brightly, light bursting from them as she presented a handful of red berries to me.

Her arms were extended towards me with palms facing up, almost shoving the new-found food in my face. "They're cherries! Don't worry, I tested them to make sure they weren't poisonous."

"How did you do that, Rue?" I ask with curiosity, sitting down on a rather soggy log. It had been raining for a while now, but Foxface had managed to snatch an unprotected tent from the Career's base camp. And honestly, the rain didn't bother me. It just meant that tributes will be trying to wait it out.

Rue sits down beside me, pulling her jacket tighter around her as a gust of bone rattling wind blew through our camp. "I fed some to a squirrel. It didn't die."

I nod in understanding, admiring her smart ideas. The little girl was right when she had said not to count her out. She was one tough cookie.

Not wanting her to be cold, I usher Rue into the tent and hand her the bag of food. We didn't have a lot, but just enough to keep us alive for the rest of the Games. Couldn't be long now. Of course, there hadn't been a lot of canons going off. I heard one last night, but that was it, really. But hopefully things will pick up again.

"Peeta?" Rue looks up at me with wide curious eyes, something obviously on her mind, "Do you love Katniss?"

My brows furrow at her question. I hadn't even given much thought to it lately. Of course, I had said I did. But do I really? Maybe I did before the Games, but now I wasn't sure. After all, she was a Career now. She was dangerous. my enemy. The predator in these Games. Maybe I could convince her to join our alliance instead. But the strongest in the arena were on her side. How would I even get to her?

Besides, she probably likes it there. Katniss knows they will get her to the end, then all she has to do is take them out. After all, that's what she's good at. Lying to people. Gaining trust. Then shooting them down. How could I even be around her anymore?

"I...I don't know, Rue. It's a lot more complicated than I thought." A frown aligns my once happy face, eyes lowering ever-so-slightly.

Rue lifts her small hand to my shoulder, sensing my inner battle. "If it makes you feel any better, she saved me today."

My eyes automatically shift to look at her, hope blinding me. It sounds like something she would do. Maybe she hasn't changed as much as I want to think.

"The Careers were going to kill me. They saw me while I was scavenging in the trees. But Katniss helped me escape. The others didn't even notice."

Her words struck me hard, but not in a bad way. It was almost as if I had been hit in the face by joy. A jovial feeling washed over me, despite my stolid appearance. Katniss was still on my side. To an extent. The point was, she hadn't changed at all.

Foxface POV:

Thresh was right. Perhaps it wasn't best to go scavenging in the rain. I could hardly see a thing. How exactly was I supposed to find my way back to the others? It was all cold and wet, too. Two things that I just couldn't stand.

I let a huff escape my lips, pushing my strawberry colored hair out of my eyes. It had been a long night. I couldn't find a camp as unprotected as I needed. Of course, there was always the Career base, but I had robbed that clean forever ago. So really, that would be useless.

All the food I have collected was packed tightly into my backpack and wrapped in a waterproof fabric to keep it dry. Thresh tries to take credit for the idea, but in all reality, I had thought about that before it even started raining. I merely did it after the rain had started to pour.

I'm a rather smart girl.

What can I say? My parents are the top engineers in District Five. They once designed an entire power plant by themselves, and they aren't even arcitechs. Long story short, I get pretty much anything I want. But that doesn't mean I'm a stuck up rich kid with frilly clothes like those barbies for One. It only means that I get more food. And with more food, I can donate more to the orphanage. Everybody wins.

My feet slosh through puddles of water, the boots I wore now soaking wet. If anything, I should get out of the rain before I catch a cold. But in a place like this, getting a cold was the last thing on my mind. I was in the Hunger Games for goodness sake. How could it get any worse?

And of course, the Gamemakers could read me like an open book.

A bolt of lightning struck right in front of my feet, causing me to fall back with a loud thud. Fire immediatly ripped up from the ground, heat blazing wildly. A fire in the middle of a downpour was not very realistic, but in the arena, anything is possible.

I quickly get up, the flames spreading rappidly across the wet grass and lapping furiously at my exposed skin. There was no time to think. I had one goal and one goal only. To live. I turned quickly on my heals and sprinted through the opening in the fire, droplets of water evaporating off of my heated skin before I could even blink. However, the rain kept pouring, and the fire raged on.

Dodging fallen trees and leaping over shrubbery I make my way towards the lake, a look of despiration written all over my face. My breathing quickened and my heart soared, but all I could do was keep running. I knew if I just avoided the worst of the flames that I would live. It was all I could do.

Rain hit the ground like hail, sizzling and splashing up into my face.

Tree branches smacked me brutally as I ran by, leaving a new wound for me to worry about later.

The water proof tarp over my bag fell away, exposing my food-filled pack to the rain.

I didn't hesitate to pick it back up and swing my backpack off as I neared the lake, wrapping the remains of it around my source of food. Sweat drizzled down my brow only to disappear seconds later under then intense heat. This was too much for me. At least, I was thinking so. I didn't have a lot of sponsors though, so obviously the Capitol didn't think I could handle the Games either. But what choice did I have? I couldn't really sit around and wait for everyone to die. I was prepared. My plan is to wait, but when the time comes, I will show the world what I'm made of. Nothing can get past me. Not unless I want it to. And so far, I've only wanted that.

With a loud splash, I entered the cool water, clutching my bag to my chest. My breathing slowed slightly, a sigh of relief washing over me like a title wave. I made it, and the only things even close to burns were a few scrapes from the trees.

Turning my head up to the sky, I narrow my emerald hues, giving the Gamemakers a death glare that I took a lot of pride in, "Gee, thanks a lot."

A/N

Sorry for the long wait and such a short chapter. I've been having trouble keeping up with school work. Hopefully once summer rolls around, I'll have more time to write for you guys. Much love, and thanks for reading. Feel free to review.

- Charlotte :)