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Kas forces me to rest for most of the morning. I try telling him that I'm fine and that we can't waste any second, but he ignores me and sits me down. My shoulder hurts, but it's just another bit of pain I numb out. The wounds my body endure mean nothing compared to those of my mind and heart.

When I'm finally allowed to move, Kas helps me walk through the mountainous terrain. We head north and even farther away from the breaking dam. The quake most likely caused more damage to it, and its collapse would be eminent.

"Do you hear that?'' Kas asks.

I stop walking and try to hear what he is, and at first I hear nothing but then the sound of a stream fills my senses.

"Water," I smile and so does he.

Following the gentle sound, we carefully make it up to a beautiful stream. Flowers, berry bushes, and rabbits that scurry into their hiding place make up this part of the arena. I would call it beautiful, but nothing is beautiful in this hell. Birds chirp happily, up above our heads and the fish swim to lovely tune.

"You would think this is some kind of paradise," Kas mumbles, sarcastically.

"But we know better," I reply back.

"Well, let's make the most of it, shall we?'' He loosens his grip on his axe and sits next to the crystal clear waters. He takes some water into his hands and pours it over his head, washing away the sweat and grime.

I follow his lead and kneel next to him on the grassy land, dipping the hand that isn't wrapped up into the stream. The water is fresh and soothing on my skin, and I can almost picture my beautiful district. I can almost see my home.

Kas and I, respectively clean off our weapons and purify some of the water for us to drink. He whistles alongside the birds, and I can't help but to hum alongside him. We create a soft melody and I can picture a different world: A world where we can sing and play, and not be afraid. Where children don't have to die. It's a beautiful world, but it's not real. Maybe someday but not today.

"Here," Kas says, handing me a flower.

I take it from and twirl it between my fingers, "It's lovely, what flower is it?"

"It's called Katniss. They usually grow somewhere around District 12."

I smile at the strange but radiant flower. I didn't know it now but one day, this name would be the cry of a rebellion. She would lead it five years later and I would stand beside her, together. The mermaid of Panem and the girl on fire. Water and fire. Together.

"They're aquatic flowers," he adds, smiling when he places the crown he had made out of the flowers, on top my head, "A fitting crown for the mermaid."

I smile shyly at his words, and try to forget about that other crown. The crown that I will wear after being crowned victor. The crown meant for those that survived over the others. Some victors didn't kill in their games, but I did. My crown will be made of blood, the blood of those that I killed. I'm not innocent. I chose to kill.

Sighing, I rest my head on Kas's shoulder and look out towards the setting sun. This peaceful moment won't last, but for now we can try. We both knew there was only one victor, but we had won each other's trust and the thought of one of us dead-it was just too hard. I hated how the Gamemakers had created this bit of the arena, this false sense of peace and beauty.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" He asks so only I can hear.

"A pearl,'' I reply after a while.

He laughs at my strange reply, but then asks: "Why?''

"Pearls aren't easy to find. If I were a pearl, I could hide and live in the water," I say, softly.

"But they could find you," he whispers back.

"They'd have to crack open a lot of oysters.''

"I hope they never find you, small fish. You're too kind to be found."

"I think they've already found me," I whisper back.

….

….

….

Kas and I feast on roots and raw fish, later in the day. After our heart to heart, I had decided to use my district skills and catch us dinner. He had been surprised at how easy I had caught the fish with only a dagger in hand, and a bit disgusted when I had gutted it.

"Still want to throw up?'' I tease him.

"Don't make me throw my axe at you,'' he jokes, taking another bite of his fish.

I give him a soft laugh and continue to munch on my own dinner, and lock away this memory. The memory of his laugh. The memory of this moment. I'll keep this memory in my heart, even years after his death.

….

….

….

It's not a quake that startles me up this time, but a burning sensation on my cheek. Lifting my head off of Kas's chest, and touch my burning skin but I don't find a bite or anything. Suddenly, I feel another burn and I let out a yelp that awakens Kas.

"What is it?'' He asks, his axe poised to kill.

I don't respond back, as I look up at the now cloudy sky. When the rain begins to fall, I slowly put out my hand.

"Anwyn, what is it?'' Kas asks once more.

A drop of rain lands on my skin, creating boils and I immediately yell out to Kas, "Run! The rain is poison!"

Grabbing our supplies, he takes my hand and we race off, away from the rain that is chasing us. We stumble a few times, but we don't fall. Kas grips onto my hand, tightly and I do the same. This can't be the end! Rain can't be our death!

"It's not our death," I mumble, "They aren't trying to kill us."

As the dam comes into view, I know what the rain is for. The gamemakers are chasing us back towards the other tributes, towards the beast! Kas, sees it too.

"We need to get to the caves!'' He shouts, over the muffling sound of thunder.

When we head towards the caves, a lightning bolt strikes, causing a tree to light up in flames and blocking our way immediately.

"Now what?'' Kas asks, as he pulls us away from the falling tree.

"The woods," I answer, "They're pushing us into the woods."

This meant one thing: the games are almost over. They're chasing us out of our hiding places and out to fight.

"Damn it," Kas growls and leads us into the woods.

Once we make it, the storms stops. There's no other sound in the woods, besides our heavy breathing. Darkness surrounds us and the night feels colder than usual, and I'm shivering like crazy but it's not because of the cold.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll be okay," Kas whispers to me, but I can hear the fear in his voice. He knows we're not okay.

"It's not okay. I'm not okay," I finally say out loud, dropping to the ground and wrapping my arms around my knees. Kas falls next to me and we stare out towards where the rain is still falling, warning us that if we head to the caves it would kill us.

"What if we go back? What if we let the rain kills us?'' I ask into the darkness.

"Then, we let them win," Kas answers back.

"We've already have," I say, softy. "We chose to kill. We played by their rules. They've won."

"We have to keep fighting."

"For what?'' I ask.

He doesn't say anything. He knows that if we fight, if we win, we're the ones that have really lost. There is no bright future out of this arena, only destruction. There is no victor. Nobody ever wins.

"I just want to go to sleep," I mumble, "To sleep and never wake up."

"Me too, me too,'' he says softly, and when I turn to look at him I see a tear roll down his cheek.

Nobody decent ever wins the games, maybe that's why I did and he didn't.

….

….

….

Tomorrow, he would get his wish. He would fall asleep and never wake up. His death would spark the first sign of a revolt, and years later a girl named: Rue would light up the next fire. Their deaths would mark a new beginning.

….

.…

….

I would fight, just like he wanted. I would fight against the Capitol. I would no longer be afraid.

A mermaid doesn't believe in hope but later on, she'll learn to have it.

Small chapter but it's better than nothing. Next chapter marks the end of the games and Anwyn's victory, stay tuned.