Disclaimer: Despite all odds, I do not own the Hunger Games.


I look at my arm, examining the damage that is done. I thought that it would make me sick to look at it; I normally had an uneasy stomach for these things. I guess I had gotten used to these sorts of scenes. It has pus oozing out of the cuts that run down the length of my right arm. It has turned a sickly yellow color. It's twice as large as my left. I suppose that my left hasn't been infected; it is still normal sized. I should have changed the bandage, I chastise myself. I lightly touch one of the inflated cuts with my left hand. I wince. It stings, even with the slightest contact. I needed someone to help me. I didn't know anything about medicine. The infection could spread. I didn't even want to think if it could kill me. I needed to find Mason.

After much struggle, I managed to shove my sleeping bag into my pack with one arm. I wasn't hungry, but I figured that I needed to eat. I finished the rest of the bird and alligator. There was still some food, but I was going to have to hunt soon. Great. I hope that Glitch was right when she said that I would get better with the weapons. I sneezed, first once, than again. My throat was sore. I was becoming ill. Maybe your nose is just irritated by something in the air, suggest the voice in the back of my head. Maybe, but I'm pretty sure my arm isn't irritated by something in the air, I think back to myself. I needed to find Mason. He was my only hope. What was the chance that he would help me again though? He helped me the first time out of pity. I needed something to trade with him. But what did I have?

I rummaged in my pack until I found my first aid kit. I hadn't had the need to look at it until now. It had fever pills, extra gauze, tweezers, band-aids, and some other supplies I didn't know the name of. I raised my left hand to my forehead. It was radiating heat. I took one of the fever pills, and swallowed it down with some water. I continued to sip the water until my throat stopped stinging. I take the gauze and painfully wrap it around my swollen arm. I didn't want it to get any more infected than it already was. If that was even possible. I put the kit back into my pack.

It was hard to slip the pack back onto my shoulders. It hurt when I even moved my infected arm; none the less shove it through a strap. I used my left arm to stretch the strap as wide as possible, and used my shoulder to shove my infected arm through. I accidently brushed against the fabric. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. I couldn't stop a few streaks of water from being released down my face.

Once I accomplished the painful task of putting on the backpack, I stood up, held my arm as close as I could to my body without making it touch, and started down the tree. It really isn't the easiest and most pleasant task to climb down a tree with one arm. I was able to though. I almost lost my balance a lot though.

It probably wasn't smart of me to travel on the ground in my condition, but I needed to find Mason, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to be hanging out in the trees. Maybe if he spotted me wandering through the forest he would drag me into some cover before I was spotted by anyone else. He would probably be following the Careers. Well, those that are left. I took out my knife as a precaution. I gripped it in my left hand as if it were the only thing keeping me alive.

I walked through the forest for what seemed to be hours. I was careful not to get wet, or lose my balance. I managed to avoid contact with alligators. My temperature seemed to stabilize, but I kept sneezing, and my arm kept swelling. My throat wasn't as sore. I was getting tired even though I was only walking. I was about to sit down and rest against a cypress tree, when I heard talking. As far as I could tell it was two people. I moved closer. I leaned against the back of a cypress tree. I could now make out that the voices belonged to a girl and boy.

I knew there was only one other girl in the arena beside myself. Allia. I place the knife back through my belt. I peek from behind the cypress tree I had my back pressed against. I see them talking. They seem irritated, as if something they were expecting something that hadn't happened. Allia was shaking her fist at Alec, like a little kid displaying great anger.

Alec's voice was just above a whisper. "I know, Allia. It should have happened. I don't know why they haven't called for it yet." It? What is it?

"We destroyed the supplies; I don't know about the others, but I'm getting pretty hungry." The supplies? What did that have to do with anything? She said that she was hungry…it should have been a good thing for me, but the way she said it, she made it sound like a good thing for her.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have killed Demetri. There would be a longer time without events. They would want something interesting." Ok, I think there talking about the Gamemakers, something that they are able to do.

"You were the one who killed him." Way to blame Demetri's murder on Alec, Allia. Even though you would have done the same exact thing had he not held you back. "Anyway, I don't think it would have made a difference. The feast still wouldn't have been called." What is a feast?

An arm slips around my right side, covering my mouth. It jostles my swollen arm and I have to bite my tongue not to cry out in pain. Another hand is placed on my left shoulder. Why did I put my knife back? I was scolding myself for my stupidity and unawareness. The person leads me backwards, through the trees. I would squirm, try to escape, but I'm scared to by doing so I will hurt my arm even more.

After we are about a hundred yards away from where Alec and Allia where arguing, the person spins me around. The hand is still over my mouth. The person lifts up one finger over his mouth, as if to warn me to be quiet. Then he motions me to follow. He starts to walk. I think about running. When he sees I don't follow, he comes back and grabs my left hand. Why did I hesitate? That is going to get me killed. I don't think I have much of a choice now but to follow Tannor.

After surviving so long in the arena, it seemed a shame to be killed by Glitch's idiotic, twelve-year-old hating, ex-boyfriend. Then again, my life seemed to be filled with disappointment. About two hundred more yards of walking, Tannor lets go of my hand. He quickly looks me over, and winces when he sees my swollen arm. "What all did you hear?" Yeah, sure, you just kidnap me and expect me to cooperate. Not going to happen.

I shake my head. "I'm not saying. You don't have anything for me. I need to find Mason. I think he can fix my arm." He hasn't killed me yet. I guess that that is a good thing. Just need to keep him talking.

Tannor looks over his shoulder and leans to look behind me. He was checking to see if anyone overheard. "I know where Mason is. I can take you to him. Can you tell me what you heard, please?" He asks in the sweetest voice he can muster. I don't buy it. I look over him quizzically. How did he know were Mason was?

I shook my head. "Take me to Mason first."

Tannor narrowed his eyes. "For a twelve-year-old, you sure are a tough negotiator." Then he takes my arm and starts to lead me through the forest again. Along the way I have a smug smile of victory plastered onto my face. After fifteen minutes of travel, we stop in front of a thick cluster of trees. There is a small gap between the trees, concealed by branches of others. My smile disappears. Tannor leads me through the gap.

Inside the mangroves is a clearing, sheltered on the top and the sides. A perfect hide away, I thought. It would only be found by those who knew where it was. Or those clever enough to find it. I knew the Careers weren't clever, and they didn't know where it was. The cleverest person in the arena sat in the middle of the alcove, fiddling with his sword. He looked up when we entered.

Shock spread on his face. "Glynn, w-what are you doing here?" He looks to my side. Still stuttering I see. "What happened to your arm?" You should know. You're the one who said to stay out of water.

I shrugged, like it was no big deal. "I fell into a puddle. I didn't want to take of the bandages. I thought you could fix it." Mason looked to Tannor for further explanation.

"I found her eavesdropping on Careers." Mason nodded. He looked like every fiber in his body wanted to help me. Apparently his brain didn't listen to them.

His head turned to the ground, unable to look me in the eye. "I can't. You have to go." Tannor looks at Mason. Mason's head rises, and meets Tannor's eyes. Tannor nods and starts to lead me out. Mason looks back down towards the ground.

I thought back to this morning. He would want something in exchange for helping me, what do I have that he wants? Then I have it. "Wait! I can give you something; knowledge." There was desperation in my voice.

Mason looks up. His face confused. "Knowledge? What kind of knowledge?"

This was my last chance. I needed to word everything right. "A-about the Careers. I've been eavesdropping on some of their conversations, as the idiot just mentioned." Tannor's mouth drops into a slight gap, like he cannot believe I just called him an idiot so openly to his face.

Mason's grins and his eyes lit up. I don't know if he was relieved that he had a reason to fix my arm, or have a chance to obtain information. "Ok, I'll fix your arm, but you have to answer my questions first." Not going to happen, mister.

I shake my head. "No, you have to fix my arm first." Tannor laughed behind me.

"The kid did the very thing with me. You better just listen to her. It'll save you time and a lot of trouble. She is insanely stubborn." Stubborn? Who was he calling stubborn? The idiot forgot that I said that I would give him the information. Perhaps he wanted to help me…?

Mason rolled his eyes. "Alright, how about I fix your arm while I question you?" He held out his right hand, to shake on the agreement. I guess that would be fair for both of us.

"Deal." I hold out my left arm. Mason looks confused for a few seconds, then realizes why I hold out my left hand. He drops his right and shakes my arm with his left. When he drops my arm, I let it swing to my side.

Mason claps his hands together, like he was sizing up his situation. "Right. So Tannor, can you get me my kit?" Tannor heads off to a corner in the right side of the room. I just noticed the set up. Supplies in the front right, water and food in the back right. Weapons are in the front left. The back left is a free corner. Probably where they sleep. Mason calls me back to the present. "Glynn, can you sit right here?" He gestures to a thick root that was raised above the ground. I had a feeling it was more of a command than a question. I go to sit on the root, I'm facing the back of the opening. It is surprisingly comfortable. Tannor brings back the kit.

Mason takes a deep breath and removes the bandages I placed on my arm this morning. The bandages were already tinted a different color. My swollen, pus infested arm is revealed. Tannor gags behind me. "What don't like pus?" Mason laughs at his joke. I look to see Tannor's expression, and he shakes his head. Mason turns back to me. "Ok, this is easy enough to fix. I had a patient with a similar problem back in District 5."

"You were a doctor?" That would explain why he was able to fix almost every injury. Tannor moves from behind me to face the operation. I think he felt he would get over his distaste by looking it straight forward.

"I'm an apprentice to one actually." Mason said, eyes distant, like he was remembering past events.

Tannor looks at him skeptically. "You mean used to? Because last time I checked you were in a humid, bug infested arena, forced to fight to the death." I looked at Tannor's face. It was completely serious.

Mason gives a look of false shock. "What? Why didn't anyone tell me? Gee, you would think that someone would have told me that. Kind of an important detail." The last sentence reeked of sarcasm. We all crack up laughing. I'm the first to stop, because Mason is squeezing the pus out of my arm. I bite my lip from yelling out in agony. Yellow was pouring from my arm. I didn't even know that much could fit in it.

Tannor's face was turning a greenish color. "Holy shit, think I'm going to get sick!" With that he turned around, ran over to the free corner of the opening and knelt down, head in his hands.

"Watch your language, dumb ass. There is a twelve-year-old present." I giggle. Mason laughs under his breath. "Don't worry about him. He is a good fighter, but has a weak stomach." He got a towel from the kit. I looked at my arm. It wasn't as swollen as it was before, and it looked a good deal better. At least it wasn't hurting as much now. There was still a puddle of pus by my foot.

"At least I will have lots of practice if I get back." Mason whispers to me. He was trying to point out the bright side. But he wasn't quiet enough so Tannor didn't hear.

Tannor managed to find an error in Mason's statement. "The Key word in that statement is 'if'." He was turned around in his corner now, facing us.

"Just shut up, Tannor! No one wants to hear you be all negative!" Mason is ticked now. His brow is scrunched together. There is a frown on his almost always straight face.

Tannor held up his hands in defense. "Geez, fine. Just trying to be funny. It's like a morgue in hear. No sense of humor." He mutters the last part under his breath.

"How did Demetri die?" I looked up, surprised. Then I remembered. I was supposed to give him information in payment for the treatment.

"A basic summary would be he was arguing with Alec. He said something insulting to Allia, and Alec killed him with his sword." I shudder at the unpleasant and recent memory.

"Wow. Can't believe they destroyed each other. Actually, I sort of can. How?" Ok, I really don't want to say. It was bad enough to watch the first time.

"Um, decapitation." My voice dropped to a whisper as I said decapitation. Like making the word quieter will make the reality smaller. Mason winced.

I looked over to the corner where Tannor was huddled. "When did you and Tannor team up?" Mason seemed surprised by that question. So did Tannor.

"Um, before the Games began. We asked Blake if he wanted to join up, but he said that he had other plans." Blake? Who in their right mind would team up with that idiot? Then again, he teamed up with the twelve-year-old hater.

"Why are you still teamed up? Why not split?" There wasn't much left now. I would have split with Glitch if she was still alive. I wouldn't want to be the last one left with my partner. I guess it was better if those I cared about were dead. That way they can't get hurt. I only need to worry about those who are still alive.

Mason hesitated before answering my question. His voice dropped to a whisper. "We have a plan. But we need to get those who wouldn't follow it out of the way. What would happen if those who were left didn't want to kill each other? Then they would have to end the Game at that. No one else would have to die." His voice, which had been hopeful, possessed a mournful tone to it when he said that last part.

Another question popped into my head from that question. "Who was the girl from your district?"

"Her name was Valirie. She was a good friend of mine." He didn't even attempt to cover the mournful tone to his voice, or the look of despair on his face.

"More like your would-be girlfriend," called Tannor from his corner. I admit, Tannor was funny at points, but that comment was heartless. After being teamed with Mason so long, he had to have noticed that he cared for the girl.

Mason shot him a look of complete and utter loathing, and then returned his attention to me. I wonder why he didn't say anything to Tannor. I thought he was about to kill him. "I had asked her if she wanted to take part in my plan. She said that she just wanted to make it home alive. She ended up dying in the first hour." His voice hadn't recovered from its mournful tone.

I look at him pityingly, but then resume a straight face. I don't know what I should be feeling. All that I know is that it would totally suck if I were him. I couldn't think of anything to comfort him, so I just sat there in silence. I guess that Mason finished with my arm because he wrapped it in gauze. He did it quickly and expertly. He started to unwrap the other one. He seemed to recover somewhat because he continued his questioning.

"Tannor said something about you listening in to a conversation just before he found you. What were they talking about?" He was applying more of the stinging lotion that was supposed to keep out infection. I waited until he stopped to answer. Not because I didn't want to interrupt him, it's just that I didn't want to call out in pain if I tried to answer.

He started to wrap up my arm once he finished putting on the lotion. "Didn't Tannor hear anything?" Mason looked over to the corner.

"No. I had just gotten there when I saw you." He said that in an annoyed way, like it was the most obvious thing in the world to know.

I took a breath, and recollect the conversation that I had heard. "They said something about…a feast." Mason looked up surprised.

"A feast?" He and Tannor asked in unison. Their voices were filled with none other than shock.

"Yeah, they have been trying to get one called. They were arguing on why one hadn't been called yet." Mason looked at Tannor. I felt like I was being left out of some unheard conversation. "Why, is a feast something bad?"

Tannor answers. "No. It is a way to draw tributes together, a sure to be blood bath." What he said sounded pretty bad to me. I look at him like he was insane. Then I remind myself that he isn't insane, he is just an idiot.

Mason grins. "A perfect time to take out the Careers. Oh, and get some decent free food and supplies." I smile. I like the sound of that.

"So do we want a feast?" I was wondering if for once I had the same motive as the Careers. Except for that of trying to keep alive.

"Yeah." Mason and Tannor say in unison. Then they look at each other with false anger. Like they were mad that the other had copied them. I giggled at their attempts to keep a straight face.

We are interrupted by the sound of trumpets. I stand up, by habit. I found myself doing that a lot, if I heard an unfamiliar sound. I look up and hear the male voice that announced the Hunger Games on the first day. He was inviting us to a feast. It was tomorrow at noon. In front of the Cornucopia, a place that all tributes knew the location, so they had no excuse for not showing. Unless they weren't hungry. But they were hungry, I remember, thinking of the conversation that I had spied on.

Mason nods, a grin spread onto his face. "Looks like they got what they wanted. Come on, we need to think of a plan. Glynn, you can help." Tannor laughs. I shoot him a look of loathing. That only makes him laugh harder.


Catching Fire comes out the day after tomorrow! But I got an ARC, so I already read it. It's pretty good, but I like the Hunger Games more. And I learned that District 7 is lumber. :'(. Oh well, I'll get over it. Oh, if you have questions about information of the tributes, I'm going to post a statistic page with ages, districts, kill count, and kill order on it. Also, I will probably edit the whole story once I post the whole thing. Enjoy the chapter. Read and Review. :D.