Morning came and I found that Ben hadn't left during the night, Fish hadn't been killed and I was still half alive. Odds are, he really wasn't planning on picking us off anytime soon; if he had been, we would be dead right now. Well, actually, Ben would probably be dead. I watched as both Ben and Fish slowly woke from their much needed slumber.

Should I try to save Ben? He had tried to kill me, but did that really matter? My parents hunted me on a regular basis and I held nothing against them. It wouldn't really be fair to penalize the boy just because he had tried to survive; he'd turned against me to survive, not because he wanted to. Actually, it might be rather amusing to save the boy just to show the Capitol that I really didn't give a shit what they wanted out of me, I was going to act on my own will. I'm sure they were expecting me to just kill Ben, but I was going to save him, partially out of spite and partially out of the hero complex I'll admit I might just have a little bit of in certain situations. Not all the time, just in times like now.

We had picked up what few things we had and started moving again when there was a rustle amongst the leaves. I turned in time to see Loki racing through the trees, he didn't pay us any mind, he probably hadn't seen us. We kept walking, staying on a slightly different course than the way from which we saw Loki running. It was a good thing two because minutes later, there was a loud snap not even ten yards away from us as what was bound to be one of Loki's traps sprung to life and impaled Jessica as she was trying to make a run for her life from Miguel.

Fish drew her knives out again and watched as Miguel ran towards us. Seconds later, dual cannon shots fired as Miguel fell to the ground, as lifeless as the others that had fallen before him. It was then that it hit me how few of us were left. Other than myself, Fish and Ben, there were only four other tributes running around. I needed to get these two out of here soon.

"Fish, can you only aim knives, or are could you shoot a gun too?" If Fish could shoot a gun, then it wouldn't take much for me to get at least her to a point where she could survive the Ghost Zone for a little while.

"I think. I prefer knives, but I could probably shoot a gun if I had to. I really hate those things though."

"Why do you hate guns?" I was actually curious to see what she would say.

"Because they can backfire and kill you, but the only way a knife will backfire is if you're just an idiot all together." I burst out laughing at that. It really wasn't quite funny enough for me to laugh quite as much as I did, but I was in desperate need of a good laugh and I took what I could get. "I'd have throwing spoons if I could. I think it's be quite amusing to kill someone with a spoon. Wouldn't that be embarrassing, trying to explain that a spoon had ended your life?" She smirked, and I knew as well as she did that she had only added the last bit to help give me the laugh I so desperately needed right now.

"How the hell is it that you're the demented one and I'm the one that tried to kill him?" Ben's comment sounded so familiar, why? Probably because I had said something very similar to Tucker during the Lunch Lady's first attack.

"Simple, I'm the weirdo who wants to be a zombie, and you're the normal one that wants to actually survive the zombie apocalypse." I'm not quite sure what it was, but the new company seemed to make Fish more willing to be the goofy kid I knew she really was even if she had spent most of the Games trying to hide that. Maybe it was just the fact that Ben seemed to have found that perfect balance between being a kid and being mature, not something that a lot of people managed, and she was just quickly learning it.

The rest of the day went peacefully and I even allowed myself to indulge in a small spark of happiness until the evening began to set in. Actually, I was even happy when it did set in, well I was until that stupid gift came for us.

The artificial stars in the sky were just starting to come out when the annoying beeping of an approaching gift made itself heard.

At first, I thought it was my parents trying to send me a message again, then the little gift floated right in front of Fish. Her eyes widened in surprise, something told me that she knew her family wouldn't be able to afford to send her a gift unless it was an absolute emergency.

She slowly opened it, moving as if she were afraid of what was inside. When she finally opened it and read the note that accompanied what I assumed was meant to be comfort food, she promptly broke down in tears. She dropped the note and curled up into a little ball as she cried. Something was horribly wrong.

I picked up the dropped note and it didn't take long to realize why she was so broken up. I nearly cried myself when I read it.

Fish, there's been a fishing accident. Your sister's boat turned over in the lake. She was trapped beneath it and drowned. W

The note was cut off there, as it exceeded the allotted space.

I moved to the ball that was now Fish and reached to put a hand on her shoulder, though as soon as I touched her, her head shot up. Her eyes were still red and the tear stains on her cheeks were hard to miss, but the sobbing stopped as soon as she realized she was being watched. She wasn't one to show her emotions, and even the few tears that still leaked from her eyes in silence were a massive emotional display for her.

Ben stood back in silence, knowing that while she might seem calm now, his interference might set her over the edge. Not in a 'curl back up into a little ball' way, more of a 'I'll strangle you in your sleep' way. Fish may keep her emotions under control and usually only mean her threats in a joking manner, but I knew both from my own experience and years of dealing with Sam that once such an emotionally stable person loses their control to something, all hell can break loose from the simplest of things.

Yes, I'm evil. Deal with it. :P

Comments and feedback are welcome as always! :D

Invisible One