Apparently, the Capitol was unhappy with the tributes' ability to stay alive, because when the fourth day came and went, a rustling came from the trees. In the distance, Rema could make out two distinct screams of pain while the group was packing up. "More mutts," she mumbled to Chirler, who had also heard the screams. The cannon fired twice.

"Better them than us," he replied, taking some of the water bottles over to the stream to fill them up. He was putting iodine in the bottles when Rema heard a light growling. "Sorry," Chirler said softly. "I'm so hungry."

Rema grabbed the food bag from Chelmot and looked through it. It was empty. The rabbit from the first day was gone. They had no more crackers. There were no berry bushes around. "Mitch?" she asked tentatively, looking up at the clouds. "Some bread, or something would be nice." As if on cue, two silver parachutes materialized in the sky. When they landed, Rema saw that one carried a loaf of bread, and the other a basket full of soup cans. Rema grinned widely and looked back up at the clouds, silently thanking Haymitch and the sponsors that had bought them these gifts.

"I think you made a great impression," Metelle told Rema, a small smile on her face. "Your interview was really good." She pulled back her knife once more, finishing the twelfth arrow she'd done today. Placing it carefully in a quiver, she handed it to Metyse, before pulling out another branch of wood to work on Chelmot's.

Rema shrugged. "Glad you thought so." She handed a piece of the bread to Chirler. "Eat as much as you can. You're going to need your strength."

"No," Chirler protested. "Haymitch sent it to you. He paid for it with your sponsors' money. It's your food."

"Chir," Rema said patiently, "I'm giving it to you. You're hungry. Eat it."

Chirler took the bread apprehensively, as if expecting it to burst into flames the moment he touched it. When it didn't, Chirler bit into the bread happily. "It's still warm!" he gushed. Rema smiled, making a mental note to thank Haymitch for fresh bread.

Chirler finished the loaf of bread while they were walking, attempting to help the rest of the group find a new place to camp. Metyse climbed up a tree in order to find a source of water near something that would suit as a campsite. "Hey, guys, look at this cute little guy!" she called down. Rema looked up and saw a tiny grey bear crawling across the branch toward Metyse. From below, Rema could see a malicious look on its down turned face.

"Metyse, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Rema yelled just as the bear lunged at the small girl.

Rema heard her friend scream and an arrow whiz up into the tree before she saw what was going on. Chelmot, with his cat-like reflexes, had drawn his bow and shot an arrow at Metyse's would-be killer. Chelmot shot two other mutts crawling across the tree branches, buying Metyse more time to look around. When she was done inspecting the landscape, Metyse collected Chelmot's spent arrows and climbed down the tree.

She hugged Chelmot tightly as if hanging on to her life. It was now twice that Chelmot had killed to save a member of the alliance. Perhaps he was more invaluable than Rema had initially believed. The cannon fired for a third time that day and Rema looked around, making sure the koala bears had not come back to life. Seeing that all her friends were fine, she continued hiking, following Metyse's directions. Chelmot carried three of the dead bears behind them, intending to use them as a main course. Two hours before sunset, the group stopped at a cave near a lake that sat not even ten feet from a huge drop-off. Learning from Haymitch, Rema threw a rock down the gorge. Much to her dismay, the rock did not bounce back to her. She heard a loud 'zap' and knew that it had been disintegrated. So much for using Haymitch's way of winning to their advantage. "Welcome to the edge," she told Metyse and Chelmot, who were watching her curiously. The cannon sounded yet again. "Four in one day. I think that's a new record for us," she joked drily. Chelmot rolled his eyes and finished skinning the bears.

An hour later, Chelmot sent Kelid and Rema to go find edible plants. He was making this meal a feast since it was going to be one of the last they shared together. Their alliance was to break up when it was down to the final eight. The two foragers returned to the campsite with a bagful of plump raspberries. Chelmot extinguished the fire and it was time to eat. Rema forced Chirler to eat her share of the berries since he was so much more undernourished than she was. She would have made him eat her portion of the bear, too, but she was hungry. Berries were insignificant when you were raised on meat.

They had just packed up their food for the night when the Capitol's insignia shone brightly in the sky. The ritual was the same—anthem then victims—but the people were always different. Tonight, the death count was up to thirteen. There were only eleven left. Chirler volunteered to take the first watch.

Rema awoke early the next morning to muffled screams and a cannon shot. Shooting out of the cave, she saw Kelid lying on the ground, blood pouring from his stomach. He was dead. Standing over his body was Untian Yellred, the Career tribute from District 2. He had a knife in his hand and was preparing to throw it at Chirler, who was kneeling over Kelid's body, trying to staunch the bleeding. Like a shot, Chelmot was blocking the knife's trajectory and he took it square in the shoulder. Rema cringed as Chelmot went to the ground, clearly in pain. The tribute pulled a knife of his own and stabbed at Untian, catching his wrist. Now both men had knives in very painful, very vital joints. Chelmot sunk to the ground in pain, allowing Untian to escape. Rema immediately rushed forward. She helped her friend to lie down and pulled the knife out carefully. "Chirler! Wake the others. Have Metelle help you carry Kelid's body a safe distance away so they can come and pick it up," she commanded, her father's no-nonsense tone coming into her voice. Chirler nodded and scurried away.

Rema managed to patch Chelmot up well—he was no longer bleeding—but he still felt extreme pain. Closing her eyes and hoping for a miracle, she looked to the sky and into what she hoped was Haymitch's grey Seam eyes. "Please," she pleaded. "If not from you, then from District 6. Please, Haymitch." She stared up at the sky for a few minutes. The sun was beginning to rise, causing the sky to lighten significantly. Chelmot passed out minutes after her ill-fated plea. She gave up hope for the morphling when Chirler and Metelle returned from collecting more berries.

"What's that?" Chirler asked, pointing across the lake to a parachute stuck in a tree branch.

"Morphling," Rema said hopefully. Metelle circumnavigated the lake and was back in less than five minutes. Sure enough, a syringe sat in the box. Knowing that this one tiny syringe had probably cost all of she and Chelmot's sponsor money combined, Rema injected the contents into Chelmot's arm, praying that it would help. When Chelmot began to regain consciousness, Rema called Metyse over to watch him and to make sure he didn't try to get up. A scream and cannon shot. Not bothering to turn around, Rema called out, "Metyse?"

"None of us," she replied. Rema sighed going about preparing the morning's breakfast of berries and left over koala.

The group sat in the protection of the cave silently, eating their koala. Finally, Metelle spoke up. "What do we do next? Do we move, or do we stay here?"

"We stay," Chelmot said finitely. "Untian knows where we are. He's our biggest competition right now. If we take him out, then all we have to compete with are some lower district wannabes and each other." Rema realized how close they all were to winning and how much she loathed having Chelmot as an enemy; he killed relentlessly and without emotion, a trait Rema wished she possessed.

"Then stay we will, if only for a little while," Rema said, calculating the number of tributes still alive. "Four more people and we split up." She heard cannon shot. "Make that three."

"So what do we do today?" Chirler asked, yawning.

"You will sleep," Rema told him. "We'll wake you up for meals and such."

"But what if you need me?" Chirler protested.

"If I promise to only let you sleep for three hours, will you go to sleep?" Rema asked, practically pleading. Chirler needed his rest. He nodded and walked into the cave.

Rema let Chirler sleep as long as possible. The day was quiet, so why shouldn't he sleep? She was considering taking a nap herself when she heard another cannon shot. That made three people today, sixteen total, and eight left alive. Chirler awoke angrily, and it took a while for the group to get him to calm down. They ate the last of the bread Haymitch sent and a few cans of soup that night for dinner. When the Capitol's seal appeared in the sky that night, they all look up solemnly. Kelid's face appeared first and Rema felt a sob catch in her throat. She refused to cry. She would not give the Capitol the satisfaction. Kelid was better off. He didn't have to worry about the Games or the Capitol any more. The other two pictures flashed across the sky and the night fell quickly and silently.

The seventh day passed with little incident. Chelmot was completely healed; his knife wound no longer paining him. Untian was nowhere to be found, though. Rema knew he was still out there when two consecutive cannon shots sounded. There were only six of them left and it was time for the alliance to break into groups of two. Determining that it would be easier to just split apart in the morning, they stayed one last night at the cave.