Night hadn't crept up on the forest so much as ambushed it. When Mar opened his eyes, the rainforest was immersed in darkness, penetrated only by the little moonlight that managed to pierce the thick canopy. He knew he couldn't have slept much; it had been late afternoon when he stopped to sleep, and in the few hours he'd rested, he hadn't been able to fall asleep completely. His resting place was rough and uncomfortable, and the leaves and sticks that camouflaged him also trapped his body heat; within minutes, he'd been covered in sweat. On top of that, not long after he'd settled in, a heavy rain had begun pounding his little body, quickly waking him every time he managed to drift off to sleep.

Camouflaging himself wasn't a bad idea, especially since he was now cold from the rain rather than hot. He decided to seek out a more comfortable place to sleep. With a sigh, he got up and looked around. The forest was just bright enough for him to make out shadows and shapes, the vast majority of which were plants. As he squinted at a figure in the distance, a crimson light burst forth from behind him, bathing the forest in its bloody hue. Mar spun around, startled, to see a familiar symbol projected onto the trunk of a tree. It faded out, and in its place appeared the face of the girl from District 11, the one with short red hair. After her was the girl from District 12; at twelve years old, she was the only person in the Games younger than Mar, although she was a little bigger than he was. Not even she had been spared. Mar wasn't surprised; he'd seen a few twelve-year-olds die in previous Hunger Games.

But the other one… the image of the girl from District 11 haunted him. Why had he rejected her offer to team up? Why had he been so afraid of her? He wondered what would have happened if they had teamed up. Would she still be alive? There was no way of knowing. Mar just hoped that he hadn't caused her death. The idea of ending another tribute's life, even accidentally, was horrible enough; but she hadn't attacked him or tried to cause him harm in any way. He sighed and pushed her out of his mind, occupying himself with thoughts of finding a place to sleep.

Mar spent the next half hour wandering amongst the trees, looking for a decent spot to rest. He made slow progress, partially because he couldn't quite see where he was going and partially because he saw danger lurking in every shadow. He considered giving up on comfort and just picking a nearby spot, after thoroughly checking it for anything that might harm him. Then he saw it: in the dim moonlight, he could make out a sizeable pile of leaves, sticks, and underbrush. It was more than enough to cover him completely. He quickly made his way over to it, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him so he wouldn't trip. When glanced looked back up at the pile, something caught his eye. He froze.

All was still. For a moment, he convinced himself that he was just seeing things. Then a section of the pile rose, as if something beneath it was swelling. It fell, then rose again. Mar was beginning to notice a rhythm to its movements. It was breathing, he realized. Or rather, a tribute beneath it was. Someone else had thought to use underbrush as camouflage just as he had.

For almost a minute, he watched the rise and fall of the pile, too terrified to move. He took a tiny, careful step back. Stay calm, he urged himself. I just need to get away as quietly… as…. possible.

He took another step back without turning around, then another. His foot hit something on the dark forest floor, and before he could stop himself, he crashed to the ground. He immediately raised his head to look at the sleeping tribute. The pile was beginning to stir. Panicking, he scrambled to his feet. He turned to run, but he realized there was no way he could dash through the forest at night without falling and injuring himself. And an injury now could mean certain death later. He froze in place, watching the shifting pile of underbrush. To his horror, the tribute underneath sat up and reached for something.

Mar immediately shot toward the nearest tree and hid behind it, trembling. "Who's there?" the tribute's voiced called out. It was a male. Mar desperately hoped it wasn't a Career. He heard a quiet hiss, which turned into the crackle of flame as soft orange light bathed the area. The light started to grow brighter as the tribute approached his tree. Mar clenched his teeth tight to prevent himself from screaming. Please don't come here. Please, please look somewhere else…

But the tribute kept moving closer, and Mar quickly realized that he would round the tree in seconds. Using the light to approximate the tribute's position, Mar slowly, carefully moved around the trunk of the tree. The crackle of the source of light was unnervingly loud. The tribute walked all the way around the tree, with Mar moving to keep the tree between them the entire way. When Mar reached his original spot behind the trunk, the light stopped moving. Slowly, the light started to grow dimmer as the tribute moved away.

For a second, Mar clenched his jaw and eyes shut, gathering his courage. Then he carefully peeked out from behind the tree. The tribute was facing away from him, holding a torch aloft. Mar recognized him as the boy from District 10. Not a Career, but still a potential danger. Mar quietly slipped to a tree that was slightly farther away from the boy. Then he moved to another tree, and another, until the dim light of the torch was no longer in view. When he thought he was safe, Mar collapsed, his face in his hands. Then, with a sigh, he began to gather leaves and other underbrush into a pile. He'd had enough searching.