"Easy now. Hands where I can see 'em!"

Raising our hands, Ivee and I slowly turn around to face a boy standing only a few feet away with a bow and an arrow trained on my heart. He is dressed only in his underclothes, but his whole body is covered in mud and green stuff that looks like moss. No wonder we didn't see him coming.

His face is completely obscured, but his Southern accent sounds very familiar. This can only be "Funny Farmer Boy", Rufe Avery. Only he is not in a particularly jolly mood right now. Ivee has recognized him as well.

"Rufe? Rufe, is that you? I'm Ivee, remember? From District 3. We had a nice chat that night after the big dinner in the Capitol. And this is Corvin, also from 3. We pose no threat to you."

"Oh really? Then pray tell me, sweetheart, why is he all covered in blood?"

"We didn't harm anybody! Please, you've got to believe me!" Ivee pleads, suddenly all vulnerable little girl.

Because I have seen her switch before, I can now tell that this is just an act, but the other boy's expression softens a little. He still doesn't lower his weapon, though.

"Explain."

I start to stammer something, but Ivee is way ahead of me, talking very quickly.

"This girl who was with us, Lace, she was caught in a trap back at the temple. There was blood all over the place. But it wasn't our fault, I swear! She was our friend!"

She begins to sob, and it sounds real, even to me. His eyes dart from me to her and back to me. I do my best to look as harmless and downtrodden as possible, just in case she hasn't convinced him completely. Finally he relaxes a bit and lowers his bow, but still holds it at the ready.

"Alright, let's assume I believe you. D'you folks honestly expect me to jus' let you go?"

"You could join our group! There's two more of us, waiting at our hide-out. A boy and a girl, real nice, both of them. No careers. And we've got lots of food, you know. You look like you could use something to eat."

I don't know how she can tell either way under all that dirt. And "lots of food" is a bit of an exaggeration, but anything to keep that arrowhead off me is fine by me.

To my intense relief, it works. He puts away his bow and agrees to come with us, after collecting his clothes which he had used to set up the dummy that fooled us pretty good. From one moment to the other, Rufe's manner changes completely, just like Ivee's did earlier. In an instant he goes back to being the easy-going, friendly farmer boy with the big smile. Only with him, I feel I am looking at his real self now and not a show.

As we walk him back to our clubhouse, we chat about this and that, and he regales us with a story about how earlier that day he tricked two career boys into fighting each other while he stole the bow and some food right out from under them. For the first time in what feels like ages, I find myself smiling.

#

I am in such a light mood when we reach the cave that I have almost forgotten about Lace. Only when I see Thaniel's confused and worried face do I remember the sad news we bear. The joy over the arrival of a new companion is tainted by the loss of another. Pearl makes a brave effort to hide her tears and to give Rufe a warm welcome. He quickly picks up on the dark mood that is settling over the group and does his best to cheer everyone up. Thaniel is very quiet for the rest of the evening, tidying and re-tidying the small pile of things his friend left behind.

We dine listlessly on leftover fish and crawl outside when it is time for the evening announcement. We all know who today's only fallen will be. Nobody says a word when Lace's face appears in the sky and then fades away again like she never existed.

Next to me, very softly, Pearl begins to sing. Her voice is clear and sweet, it fills our cave and seems to keep the darkness settling around us at bay. The song is a sad lullaby, slow and melancholy, yet beautiful at the same time. The words are about a child whose father has gone away to war and may never come back. There hasn't been a war for a very long time now. And supposedly, us dying in the arena is somehow going to keep it that way.

After the song is over, Pearl gives the tiniest of snuffles, and without thinking I pull her into my arms. She presses her head against my shoulder and I hold her while her slender body is racked by a series of silent little sobs.

After a while of sitting around in silence, we crawl back inside and go to sleep. All of us except Thaniel. As I leave I still see him sitting there, staring up at the stars that seem almost real.

#

The next morning we find ourselves in the middle of a downpour of biblical proportions, which forces us to stay in the cave. Ivee is the most restless of us and briefly ventures outside, only to return soon afterwards, soaked to the skin and in an even worse mood than before.

It wouldn't be so bad, spending the day in our clubhouse, if it weren't for the heat. The humidity has settled on top of us like a leaden blanket, making it difficult to breathe, let alone move. Nobody talks much. Once or twice, Rufe attempts to get a conversation going, but each time it quickly fades away. I lie on my mat for most of the day, too exhausted to do anything but to toss and turn uncomfortably, but I can't get any sleep either. The others mostly sit around, staring at the walls, listening to the pounding of the rain, watching the water as it trickles down through the sky-holes and collects in little pools on the floor, before seeping into the sandy floor. I see tired, sweaty faces all around.

Pearl is off even worse than the rest of us, for she has spiked a bad fever and is barely conscious most of the time. Every couple of hours, I fill a jug with fresh rainwater and bathe her with it, but it doesn't seem to cool her down at all. I notice several swollen mosquito bites on her arm, and think of my neighbor back home, Dr. Saunders, mentioning that mosquitoes can carry dangerous diseases. He and his wife were wonderful people, always had a kind word for me. They had a daughter who was sent to the Hunger Games a few years back. They were never the same again after that.

Ivee crawls over to us and helps me cool Pearl's burning face with a bit of cloth.

"She looks so frail, doesn't she? She is such a sweet girl, and so brave," she says quietly. "I just... I just wish we could do more to help her."

She casts her eyes down for a moment, as if overcome with emotion, then shoots me a pointed look. She doesn't say anything more out loud, but I understand what she is doing. I had almost forgotten that all this, our struggle for survival, is just a show for the people in the Capitol. And Ivee is appealing to the audience's feelings. I resist the impulse to look around for hidden cameras. Of course the Gamemakers would have installed monitoring equipment even in caves like this one, so as not to miss anything that goes on within the arena. And Ivee might be right in assuming that a young, cute girl like Pearl will spark a lot of sympathy. So I play along as best I can.

"Yeah, me too. But without any medicine, there is nothing more we can do for her."

I don't have to fake being afraid for Pearl's life, because I really am.

Ivee's strategy plays out again. Less than an hour later, a regular beeping sound informs us a gift from the sponsors has arrived. The rain has also finally stopped. Ivee and I hastily crawl outside and find the small silver parachute caught in a bush right next to the entrance to our cave. Attached to it is a metal cylinder the size of my palm. Ivee begins to disentangle the parachute strings from the branches.

And that's just when a tomahawk whirs out of the bushes and takes her thumb off.