It's been awhile, so a quick list of characters and a little plot summary to get you caught up. If you remember it all, feel free to skip.

Corran Skirata- The main character, originally from District 13, from where he fled during the rebellion. His mother was killed in the bombing of District 13, while his father was a rebel leader who was captured and killed by the Capitol. Sixteen years old. Scored a ten before the Gamemakers. Was picked for the first Hunger Games as the male tribute of District 12.

Selena Mellark- The female tribute of District 12. Sixteen years old. Professed to be weak at first, but then scored a twelve. Has made an alliance with Loque, and now Corran.

Loque- The male tribute of District 5. He is twelve years old, small, and timid. Scored a six. Has allied with Selena. Died at Arrista's hands.

Jaing Katarn- Corran and Selena's mentor. Worked for the Capitol during the rebellion, tortured Corran's father to death. Understandably, he is not the kindest of mentors to Corran.

Arrista- Born of Jaing's wife and Corran's father. This scandal is also partly why Jaing hates Corran so much. Female tribute of District 1. Scored a ten. She is Corran's half-sister, and allied with him in the Games, only to turn on him later. She flew a fighter jet that dropped nuclear bombs on District 13.

Decius- Male tribute of District 1. Corran's main rival. Scored a ten.

Telleo- District 12 escort. Rather airheaded, though she bears no harm towards Corran.

Casca/Cleia- stylists of Corran and Selena, respectively.

Uncle Dane- Corran's uncle. Corran came to stay with him in District 12 after District 13 was bombed.

Aden- Corran's cousin.

Milla- Corran's closest friend back in District 12. Made the journey with him from District 13 to District 12.

Emery- Male tribute of District 11. Scored a two.

District 6 Girl- Scored an eight.

The arena is a re-creation of pre-devastation District 13. Corran has just escaped from Arrista and Decius, formed a new alliance with Selena, an earthquake has just begun to rock the arena. And so here we go...

"Run!" I yell.

Selena and I scramble to get everything together, and begin to sprint away from the newly-formed fissure in the earth. Deeper into the woods we run, jumping over fallen branches, hopping other such debris. But dodging the natural obstacles of the forest is not our only concern.

Every few seconds, a new crack would appear in the earth's surface, and we'd have to choose a new direction to run in. Not to mention the loud, distracting sound of crashing, rumbling, as the earth split itself apart causing heavy tree branches and rocks to rain down on us from above. In these hazardous conditions, it is not hard to tell will happen next.

As we ran, a new fissure appears right next to Selena's foot. She stumbles, teetering, tottering and tip-toeing to maintain her balance in order not to fall into the inky blackness that has just appeared in the surface. Reflexively, I grab her by the waist and pull her back from the yawning chasm. But even that action of mine can not prevent what happens next.

A heavy branch, dislodged from its tree trunk rockets down seemingly from nowhere to strike Selena a crushing blow to the temple. She crumples instantly in my arms, blood suddenly flowing from her wound onto my clothes.

"Selena!" I shout. I pause temporarily in order to evaluate her condition. "Selena, can you hear me?"

It's to no avail. Her head is lolling back and forth, her mouth open, her body limp, an unrelenting stream of blood still pouring from the cut on her head.

I grit my teeth against it all, and simply let instinct take over. I lay Selena down on the ground, and lean over her to offer some meager protection against the falling objects. Keeping an eye out for any new fissures forming in the earth, I quickly strip off my shirt and tie a knot around her wound. Not tight enough to cause any blood circulation damage, but enough so that the blood should be staunched for the moment.

I grimace privately. It seems that one of the skills I thought most useless at the beginning, knot-tying, has just possibly become the difference between life and death for Selena.

I quickly shake that thought away. We're not out of this yet.

When I am done tending to the wound, I stand over Selena's unconscious form, and for a moment, the falling branches and rocks seem to fade away into the background. Time appears to slow down as I gaze upon her prostrate body.

Leave her.

The words come from nowhere and yet from everywhere as I continue to struggle with my decision.

She'll only slow you down. You'll get yourself killed trying to carry her now, and who knows? She may even turn on you later, just like Arrista did.

"No!" I exclaim aloud. Moving fast now, I bend down and scoop Selena into my arms. She weighs less than I thought she would; another toll of the Hunger Games, I suppose. I hoist her over my shoulder, pack and all, and quickly arrange our position so that I have the best maneuverability. Clearing my head to dispel the inappropriate thoughts that understandably arise in my mind, I make my best effort to focus on the task at hand.

Staying alive.

Suit yourself. Get yourself killed.

I will suit myself. Because I am not so cruel as to leave an innocent behind to suffer certain death. I would prefer to die rather than commit such an unspeakable crime.

With, I once more dart forward on my flight to safety. But I pull up short as I come across something that I somehow never expected to see again.

Another tribute.

This one is unfamiliar, a small girl whose name I do not know. Quickly running through my mental tally, I realize that this must the female from District 3. She must have kept to herself throughout this time in the arena, afraid of the Elites and other such predators. The earthquake must have finally forced her to reveal herself.

Her reaction to the sight of me confirms my thought process. Her eyes go wide, and her face fills with an expression of raw, pure fear. "Please," she whimpers. "Don't hurt me."

I'd have raised my hands in order to show I mean no harm, but that is impossible at the moment with Selena on my back. Instead, I put all the reassurance I can gather into my voice as I tell the girl, "There's no need to worry. I'm not going to harm you."

From the way she looks at me, I can tell something about how I said this got through to her. Her expression of fear softens as I hold her regard. "You don't look like the killer type anyway," she says.

If only she knew…

An earsplitting crash brings us both back to our senses. The girl gives me a brief smile and turns to spring away in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" I call.

She looks back for an instant, wondering why I would even say anything to her, a complete stranger. In this type of mistrustful environment. And I'm wondering as well. I don't know where the words come from, but come they do.

"You want to come with us?"

Her initial reaction is one that suggests I've lost my mind. In her position, I would be inclined to agree. Then, her features change into contemplation as she carefully considers the idea.

"Sure," she agrees at last. "You look strong. It'd be nice to have a protector."

"Let's get moving then," I declare. As we start to make our way from the forest, running about two feet away from each other, I continue, "My name is Corran."

The girl from District 3 responds politely, "Nice to meet you Corran. I'm-"

Her name is lost as the ground suddenly drops out from under her, and she begins to plummet into an endless abyss. Her reflexes are lightning fast, however, and she does manage to catch hold of a nearby tree's branch. Though from the looks of it, the branch is about to break any second.

Her eyes are lit up with terror as she screams, "Corran!"

"Coming!" I shout back.

I hastily find a spot to set Selena down underneath a tree that will offer some shelter and dash back over to where the District 3 girl's life is hanging in the balance. Literally.

And not a moment too soon, as the branch she had been clutching for dear life snaps off of its home tree. The girl lets out a bloodcurdling scream as she begins to free-fall, one that ends quickly as I grab her right hand with my own.

And there we are. Me, still shirtless because there had been no time to retrieve my jacket from my pack. I am leaning down on all fours, with my right hand clasped tightly with this terrified young girl's hand, the only thing keeping her from certain death. My left hand is the stabilizing force that is keeping me anchored on the ground, keeping me from sliding over the edge as well.

"Don't you let go!" the girl pleads.

I swallow. "I won't. I promise," I answer as calmly as I can.

An uncomfortable pause.

"Can you pull yourself up?" I ask her.

She tries. She really does. But I can see from the effort she is expending to hoist herself up that its all for naught. She simply isn't strong enough to pull herself up from her predicament.

Trying not to let my panic show, I try and come up with possible solutions to save this girl. But my mind comes up blank. It's all I can do just to hold on.

And then I am given something else to deal with. The area where I thought I had so intelligently placed Selena is now showing signs of cracks appearing. It seems that fissures are appearing in a direct circle around her prone form, offering a direct conclusion for what will happen next.

Selena will be the next to fall to an unpleasant death. And from the looks of those fissures, it will happen soon. Within seconds.

I look back at the District 3 girl. I turn my attention back to Selena. And one more time to the little girl.

And I make up my mind.

I hold eye contact with the girl dangling below me, and then turn my stare to the ground. My cheeks flush red with shame with what thoughts are going through my mind.

The girl must sense that something is up. "Corran? What are you doing?"

The two simple words come, my voice cracking on the second one. "I'm sorry."

I let go.

The tribute from District 3 falls away into the chasm, her last word not one of hate, bitterness, or even sorrow. Just one of puzzlement.

"Why?"

That broke my heart. All she wanted to know was why.

And what had my own words been, merely minutes ago?

"I am not so cruel as to leave an innocent behind to suffer certain death. I would prefer to die rather than commit such an unspeakable crime."

Obviously, I don't know myself as well as I had thought.

Forcing this whole unpleasantness to the back of mind for the short-term, I hurry back over to Selena, pick her up again, and rush out of the area where the fissures were beginning to appear. And not a minute too soon, for as soon as I was clear, the ground collapsed where I had just been.

And then something happened which I certainly did not see coming.

The earthquake ended.

I stopped running briefly, just to make sure that yes indeed, the rumbling of the ground had ceased. That debris had stopped falling. That holes had stopped forming in the earth, placing those around in extreme peril.

And yes. The earthquake was most definitely over. A few minutes of a natural act that is a synonym for unbearable torture. But why did it even occur?

From behind me, I hear a series of muffled groans and noises. I tense up, my hand immediately straying to my sheathed knives, but I stop when I realize that it's just Selena, waking up from her coma.

I halt, and gently put her down. The first thing that she does after groggily opening her eyes and getting a feel for her surroundings is give me a look that is somewhere between appraising and coy. "You work out a lot, don't you Corran?"

"Uh…" I stammer. Turning my back to hide my blush, I root around in my pack to the find my jacket in order to cover the still-naked top half of my body.

I also locate my water canteen and give it to Selena. "Here. Drink."

She complies, and while she is greedily quenching her thirst, I ask her, "How are you feeling?"

"I don't think I'll be sprinting anytime soon," Selena replies. She dabs a bit of water of her hand, unwraps my makeshift bandage, and applies the water to her wound. She almost immediately lets out a gasp of pain and winces involuntarily.

"Here, let me," I say. I kneel down next to her and sponge the non-bloodied section of my shirt with fresh water, and then wipe the part of her wound that is still bleeding.

As I am doing so, our eyes meet for a fraction of a second. Something passes between us, something that scares and excites me at the same time. Then I have to avert my gaze, for fear of saying something that would make me look like an idiot.

"All better," I announce, trying to appear professional. I stow away my understandably revolting shirt in an obscure pocket of my pack, not wanting to contaminate the rest of my supplies. Maybe I'll get around to washing it. Maybe. "Well, at least the wound is clean."

"Thank you," Selena remarks graciously. She then fixes me with a wry look. "So, are you over the fact that I got a twelve for my score yet?"

"Ask me again later," I answer, equally wry. "But let me ask you something. What caused that earthquake?"

"The Gamemakers," she answers. "As if watching us fight and kill each other is not enough, the Gamemakers are obliged to periodically provide entertainment for the lovely Capitol citizens." As one could easily be able to tell, the last three words of her statement were absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

"It just suddenly…stopped," I say.

"Probably because someone died," Selena muses. "That would fulfill the requirements for the Capitol."

I just nod in assent, not trusting myself to speak. Later, I would tell her. Later, I would dwell upon my second kill.

But not now.

"But what I can't believe," Selena continues, "Is how we made it out of there alive. How did you manage to rescue the both of us, especially when I was unconscious?"

"Uh…" I stutter for the second time in as many minutes. "It was nothing. When you blacked out, I just carried you the rest of the way. Easy as cake."

Selena smiles, a smile of pure gratitude. She leans forward slightly and plants a small kiss on my cheek. "Thank you for saving my life, Corran."

"You would have done the same for me," I quickly respond. Not letting any opportunity arise for any other displays of…whatever, I abruptly get up and say, "I'm going out to look for a stream. We used up all of our water just now. Holler if you need anything; I won't go far, OK?"

"OK," Selena answers.

I practically sprint into the cover of the woods, happy for a plausible excuse to exit that awkward setting. As I search for a source of water, I rub my cheek where Selena had kissed it. Now, why would she do that?

Memories of home begin to rush at me, all at once. Memories of my mother and father, memories of Uncle Dane and my cousin Aden, memories of Milla.

Milla.

I feel an enormous guilt pressing down upon me. What would she think, watching this on the screen back in District 12?

I also feel ashamed that I haven't thought of her practically at all since entering the arena, our last kiss before my departure a fleeting memory at this point. Ashamed that I haven't given one flicker of a thought to Uncle Dane or Aden either.

I've forgotten who I'm striving to win for. My motivation. But now I am reminded once more.

~/~/~/~/~/

Before long, I come across a wide freshwater stream, which I use to quench my own thirst. I then fill up my canteen to the brim, and make my way back towards where I left Selena.

But when I arrive at our temporary campsite, I find nothing. My pack is still there, but Selena and her pack is nowhere to be found.

I rush over to where I had laid Selena down, to where my pack is. Definitely no Selena. Where could she have gone? Or…

Or did someone kidnap her?

I take one step farther to scrutinize the ground for any clue and then-

I am suddenly dangling in the air, upside-down, my left ankle attached to some sort of snare that had been cleverly laid in an overhanging tree.

I curse under my breath. How could I have been so stupid?

And then a male tribute is there before me, seemingly materializing out of thin air. It takes me a second to place him, but then it clicks.

Emery. District 11.

But I have to admit, I am not all that favorably disposed towards him at the moment. Because Emery is currently brandishing a fine silver sword at me, while I am completely defenseless.

Never lowering his sword, Emery then regards me with an air of distrust and aggressively says, "Now, Corran of District 12, tell me one good reason why I should allow you to live."

So I'll do my best to get this story done, but a quick question. Would you prefer a longer, drawn out story, or a sort of quick conclusion? Please respond in a review.