Discarding the remains of the carcass and transporting the meat back to our base takes a while, but thanks to our early start it's still only mid-afternoon by the time we've finally finished. I sit by the entrance to the shelter, cleaning the blades of my knives and watching as Caleb stows the meat bundles in the stream, weighing them down in the fast flowing water. The cold will keep it fresh, meaning we'll be eating well for at least the next few days, and whilst this is a comfort it also makes me question what Caleb actually intends for us to do. As much as I understand his motivations for not wanting to hunt down the other tributes, it's really all that there is to do in here.

I run my head back over my own actions for the last few days and acknowledge that, despite being unsuccessful, hunting is what's occupied most of my time since the games began. Attempting to kill, or hiding from those trying to kill me, is how I've filled my hours, and since I now no longer need to find food or a place to sleep, if I were alone hunting is what I would be doing. But I'm not alone.

I glance up as Caleb walks back towards me, flashing me a grin as he shakes droplets of icy water from his fingers and laughing at my reaction as I feel them shower over my skin.

"There's enough down there to feed us until the end of time."

He grins, scooting down beside me and leaning back on his elbows, proudly nodding his head towards the stream.

"Those Allerics are the best food source ever."

"Allerics?" I tilt my head questioningly and he nods.

"I see them wild now and again at home. Always means you eat well for a while if you can land one. And without Kirin to feed they'll last even longer. He ate like a horse!"

I have no idea how to respond to this casual reference to the boy whose name is the most recent on my kill list, so I say nothing. If Caleb notices the shift in the air he doesn't say it, simply smiles lightly and begins brushing away the dirt that has stuck to his stream-soaked fingers. I watch him for a moment, and as the unease from the mention of Kirin's name slips away curiosity sneaks in. I've barely heard a word about his time with his other alliance, and given the intensity with which he refused to hunt earlier I find myself wondering how he occupied his time with them. It certainly seemed like them were hunting when I found them. I allow my eyes to shift to Caleb's face, watching him absentmindedly as I try to figure out how to turn his reference to my victim into the question I've been contemplating.

After a moment Caleb looks up suddenly, and my stomach jumps as his dark eyes look into mine. I wait for the easy smile, a shift in his expression that means I can look away, but he simply holds my gaze, his face unchanging as he stares back at me. I feel the tell-tale rise in my heart rate as we hold each other's eyes, and eventually give up on trying to word things delicately as I blurt out exactly what's in my head in an attempt to fill the strange silence.

"So if you weren't hunting then what exactly where you doing? With Kirin and Lisbeth?"

His eyes widen a fraction and he lets out a quick huff of surprise.

"Umm..." He trails off, wrinkling his nose slightly, and I get the feeling he thinks I'm not going to like the answer.

"Not necessarily, I'm just not sure if you'll get it."

He laughs a little, nudging me, and I start, surprised that I have spoken my thoughts out loud. Clearly Caleb is having an effect on me, as the line between what I think and what I say is blurring. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but either way it gets me what I want as he begins to explain.

"Me and Kirin, we had a kind of understanding. I never told him what I told you, but he just kind of knew. He knew I didn't want to...he saw me kill Leon, but it was like that was what made him see it. After that, there was kind of this understanding that I would stick with them, but that Kirin was the hunter, not me."

Listening to his words, I'm suddenly furious with myself. Like he says, he had already told me how much the idea of killing disturbed him, and even then I was clueless. Kirin, on the other hand, despite knowing nothing and seeing Caleb take down Leon himself, still managed to sense what I needed spelling out for me. Caleb misreads the distress in my face as he leans forward, placing his hand on my knee.

"It wasn't like I did it with them and not you, honestly Ty. Kirin knew that I wouldn't. He was the hunter, and I was always a little way back, 'bringing up the rear' he called it. That's why I was apart from them when I got caught in that net. I was with them but not."

He pauses for a moment, running his free hand through his hair as he searches for words. I want to tell him that I get it, that the fact that Kirin's understanding of Caleb was better than mine is what's caused my anguish, but I also don't want him to move his hand from my knee. I'm not sure why, but it's like a compulsion, and so I find myself staring blankly at him, willing him to continue as the warmth from his palm seeps through my body.

"I know it sounds weird that I was there, but I promise it didn't feel like I was hunting. I wouldn't have been there at all if it weren't for Lisbeth."

This catches my attention, and I tilt my head questioningly.

"Lisbeth?"

Clearly pleased to have a reply, Caleb latches on, nodding quickly.

"Yea. We took her on when there were more of us, strength in numbers you know. But after Jaya and Rhona were gone...we never trusted her. There was something not quite right with her, so as long as Lisbeth was around the three of us stuck together. Another unspoken agreement."

He laughs a little, shaking his head.

"I know it sounds nuts, and to be honest it was, but it worked. Kirin didn't want to hunt alone with her and I wouldn't have wanted to stay at camp with her, so we just stayed together at all times. That's the reason I was out there with them, but Kirin knew I wasn't hunting. Like I said, we had an understanding."

I nod slowly, frowning as Caleb wrinkles up his nose. "I don't think I explained it well," he says, but I shake my head, because that's not what has caused me to frown- his explanation has tugged a memory back from the recess of my brain, and now I've remembered it it's all I can think about.

"This understanding, is that the agreement you had with Kirin?"

Caleb looks confused. "Uh...yea, maybe, kind of an agreement I guess, but it really was more like an unspoken understanding..."

I shake my head, cutting him off.

"No, I mean...before, when I found you, with Kirin and Lisbeth...What did you mean? When you told Kirin to remember what you had agreed?"

I see a flash of understanding in Caleb's eyes and he shrinks back a little, pulling a face.

"Oh. Just a contingency plan we had. Didn't work out, obviously."

I glance down at my knee, uncomfortably cold from where he's removed his hand, and then back at his face.

"What was it?"

He shrugs awkwardly, picking at a blade of grass between us.

"Doesn't matter."

He falls silent but I'm unwilling to let it drop, and continue to fix my stare on him, waiting. Eventually he glances up at me, sighing when he sees my expectant gaze.

"We agreed…back in the Capitol, in the training gym, me and Kirin agreed that if one of the others tried to turn on any of us then that meant we couldn't trust them and we would…get rid of them."

I feel a cold chill start to prickle at the base of my neck, creeping down my spine as the impact of his words slowly dawns on me, as I realise what I might have done.

"So that's what was going to happen? Kirin was going to kill Lisbeth? It would have been just the two of you."

Caleb shakes his head firmly, dropping the grass and turning to me.

"No, Tyla, you heard what he said. He was gonna kill me, not her."

I want to believe him but I just can't; from what he's just told me, the truth is clear. They had already made an agreement which proves Kirin valued trust and loyalty; he had agreed to get rid of any deserters, and that means he would never have trusted Lisbeth after her suggesting it, especially when he distrusted her enough that he didn't want to be alone with her for a second.

"You know he wouldn't have. He didn't trust Lisbeth. He trusted you. He would have killed her, not you."

Caleb sighs in exasperation, shaking his head.

"If he was going to let me go he would have done it. He would have killed Lisbeth right away. Why talk like that, like he agreed with her?"

I let out a long, slow breath, shrugging dismissively.

"So she didn't see it coming? To put on a good show? Who knows? The point is he would have. He was going to honour the agreement."

The realisation hits me again, like a pain in the gut.

"I killed the wrong person."

Caleb grabs my wrist, clutching it firmly as if trying to emphasise his words.

"You didn't. Of course you didn't."

He sounds like he's trying to convince me as much as him, which is less than encouraging, and I continue to stare at the ground as he takes a deep breath.

"Look, I knew Kirin, knew what he was like, and he had a look on his face I've never seen. He was probably going to kill both of us. You saved me, Tyla. If you hadn't killed Kirin, he would have killed me, I'm sure of it."

He doesn't sound sure, though, and nor am I. I know now why he didn't want to tell me- killing Kirin was a terrible mistake. I glance up at him, and my face must show my disbelief as he suddenly grabs my shoulders.

"Ok, let's say you're right. That he was gonna kill Lisbeth. I would still rather be here, with you."

I swallow, looking at the ground again, but despite myself I can feel my guilt lessen somewhat at his words. I'm desperate to believe him.

"Really?" I say, hating how small and pathetic my voice sounds, and he nods vehemently, cupping my chin in his hand and tilting my face up so I'm forced to look at him.

"Really Tyla. It was always you I wanted. Only you."

This time the certainty in his voice is unmistakable, his eyes unwavering as they lock onto mine, and I know he's telling the truth. I also know nothing will stop me regretting that I killed Kirin and not Lisbeth. Knowing as I do now that of the two he was the one with the more honourable intentions, I doubt I will ever stop regretting that I threw my knife at him and not her. But it's also true that Kirin would have died eventually anyway; either that or he would eventually have killed Caleb, and that I don't even want to imagine. So whilst I'll always feel a tug of guilt about Kirin, it's hard to regret any action that saved Caleb, any action that resulted in him sitting here with me, even for a second. The only thing I really know in all certainty is that I will never regret anything I do in order to keep Caleb with me, and as I realise this a weight lifts from my shoulders, replaced immediately by an altogether different feeling.

Caleb's eyes are still fixed on mine, and he's sitting close enough that I can feel his breath fluttering across my lashes. His fingers are still lightly cupping my face, and even as I think this one of his fingers curls slightly, tracing the path of my pulse as it pounds through my throat. I feel a shiver run through me as his fingertips brush against my skin, unable to tear my eyes away from his, but also unable to take the unbearable tension that's suddenly crept into the air. His gaze drops to follow his hand as he lets it slip slightly, his fingers gently trailing behind my neck, the dry pad of his thumb tracing the lump in my throat as I swallow hard. He glances back up at me and suddenly all I can hear is the soft sound of his breathing, the brush of his hand against my skin, the thumping of my heart in my chest. And footsteps.

We both turn at the same time, our heads swinging sharply to the right as wear hear the unmistakable sound of feet, approaching from the ledge above our shelter and closing in fast.