Author's Note: I kind of forced my way through some of this chapter to get it up before I leave Sunday. Sorry if it's not the usual quality.

Warning - some swearing.

Although they do not appear here, the circumstances surrounding Rome and Ania's combatting the rockslide have not changed.


Lovi Vargas, District 3

I shuffle my fingers through the ashy ground. I don't have anything better to do. I'm on watch, but I can't see anyone coming for us.

I glance over at Spain. My ally. The only person in these Games I've let myself count on.

And he's a murderer.

What am I supposed to do about that? We're late enough in the Games... I could kill him... It's not like I wouldn't have to eventually. He's fast asleep. He couldn't fight back. Now is the perfect time to do it.

But how? What am I planning on doing? Would I just sit on him and hope he suffocates before he wakes up? Go grab a pointy rock and try to cut his neck open. Nothing seems like it would actually work.

So I... just don't kill him? I... I guess so.. I wouldn't want to murder him, anyway... He's been too nice to me...

But what else am I supposed to do? I can't just stay buddy-buddy with him! He's killed people! By accident! How easy is it going to be for him to kill me on purpose, when the time comes? I can't just be right next to him.

Spain suddenly shifts position next to me, and I jump in alarm. But he doesn't wake up, so I let myself calm down some.

...Should I run away? He can't hurt me if I'm not there. I'd have a great head start. There's plenty of room in the jungle to hide. I don't have any more beef jerky left, but I could easily take some of his—I mean our—tomatoes. I'd survive just fine by myself.

What if he finds me anyway? Well, then I'd just... I'd just have to... I'd figure something out. And if someone else comes, I can... fend them off somehow.

Oh, who am I kidding? If I can't kill Spain while he's asleep, how can I fight anybody else? I can't. I know I can't. I can't do anything here by myself. And who else would ally with me? It's too far in the Games. No one makes new allies this late. No one would have a reason to ally with me, anyway. I'm not strong. I can't do anything useful. I don't know why Spain ever allied with me to begin with. I don't know why he bothers to put up with me.

Why am I trying to give this up? I finally find someone who actually cares about me, and I just want to steal his things and run off. No wonder no one ever likes me.

I... I should just stay. I can't survive on my own.

And I don't think I want to.

Igris Kirkland, District 5

We only made it as far as the jungle crater yesterday. So today starts off with another headache and another tepid breakfast.

We're all preparing our own breakfasts now. It's not as if we have any proper cooking supplies at this point. We're just splitting up what we have left and making sure no one else takes too much. We get to climbing shortly afterward.

It's not pleasant. We're a bit worn down from the waning food supply, and China can't climb well. Her whole hand is dead now. Any hopes we had of cutting it off at the wrist are long gone. The grey has crept a centimetre into her forearm. But if she honestly thinks she doesn't need to chop anything off, fine. I'm not going to go out of my way to help her if she's so stubborn she won't admit I'm right. Let her rot. I tried, and she rejected. There's nothing more I can do.

Our clambering is devoid of speech. We're breathing a bit too hard, and there's not much of a point to making noise when we have nowhere to run from other tributes.

Finally, late in the morning, we arrive at the pine crater. No sooner have I hauled myself over the wall than I've started scuttling for the nearest tree. The boughs are strangely high, but I manage to bend down the lowest branch and pluck a few handfuls of fresh needles. I vaguely register one of my allies coming over the wall while I pick up a fallen branch and break it up for firewood. I start a fire after an infuriating series of failures, throw some needles into a canteen, and position the future tea over the feeble flames.

Waiting for the water to boil takes long enough to make my eyelid start twitching, and waiting again for it to cool down to a manageable temperature nearly drives me mad. I still end up taking my first sip when the concoction is too hot. I burn my tongue a bit, but at this point I hardly care. I take a few more sips before the tea—which really doesn't taste that pleasant but is tea nonetheless—cools enough, and then just gulp it.

"Is the addict feeling better now?" Fronce starts. I'm not sure when he sat down next to me.

"A bit," I reply, pushing my tongue to the top of my mouth to try and get rid of the burnt taste. Eyeing the green needles next to the fire, I go on, "Where did the supplies end up?"

"You dumped them at the edge of the crater," China says disapprovingly, pointing behind me with her still-yellow hand.

"Ah." I turn around, seize the first parachute I see, and start loading the needles into it.

"So..." Fronce leans against the crater wall. "Ready to go back?"

"Back?" China echoes. "Why do we need to go back? I don't see anything wrong with this crater."

"Yet," Fronce finishes. "We at least know the prairie crater is mostly safe. Here, we have no idea."

"I agree with her," I put in, tying the cloth package closed. "It takes a lot of climbing to get from here to there, so if we don't have immediate danger here, we shouldn't leave."

Fronce looks at me for a second before raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you packing up those leaves?"

"Eh?" I look down at my hands and the little container they hold. "Er... W-well, just in case, ah, something happens to the rest of the needles?" I sound about as convincing as I would sound trying to get them to believe that I'm a tiny, purple elephant.

Fronce makes a low whistling noise. "Exactly how addicted do you have to be to something to go brain-dead without it?" He pauses. "Well, more brain-dead than usual, at least."

"Oh, so I'm brain-dead? Who was it that wanted to break the thermostat at work to see how much clothing the female workers would take off in the heat?"

"You did what?" China responds, pivoting to glare at Fronce.

"I didn't actually do it! I was just saying that as a joke—!"

"Oh, sure," I interrupt. "And it contributed so much to the joke that you spent half the workday trying to figure out how to get the child restraints off the thing."

"Well, a-at least I recognise feminine beauty!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I respond.

"It means that, unlike you, I express interest in females."

"...Excuse me?" I deadpan.

Fronce shrugs. "All I'm saying is, I've never seen you chasing any girls. Seems to me you might just be hiding in a certain small room—"

"What the bloody hell?" I interject, turning toward Fronce to make it easier to punch him. "If any of us is gay, it's you! You know half the traders there are male! I bet you just wanted everybody to start stripping down!"

"Hm, is that so?" Fronce responds, flashing a grin. "I don't believe that's what you were saying a moment ago. It sounds to me like you're changing your story to make yourself look better."

"I didn't change a word of my story! I just brought up another detail!"

"Mmm-hmm, sure you did."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot that, in your book, not being a total pervert means you have no love interest!"

"I am not a total pervert! It's not like I was planning on seeing them stark naked or anything—"

"You're disgusting!" China interjects. Fronce now receives death glares from two sides.

"What? I never actually did anything!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," I respond. "But I could say you're not doing much of anything now but making sure everyone on the mountain can hear us."

"Oh, please. You're much louder than I am."

"But I'm being loud about your faults. So, your fault."

"So it's my fault you don't know how to control your voice."

"I am perfectly capable of controlling my voice!"

"You're shouting again."

"...Shut up."