Unfortunately, Peeta was doing worse than Katniss. The food that Heather sent him was finished. His leg didn't look any better. The only bright side was that he was hiding beside a stream. At least, he had a water source. Starvation was better than dehydration.

"Are you okay?" Johanna asked Heather.

"Yea," Heather said, confused at the sudden question. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Doesn't the little girl remind you of that boy?"

Heather smiled weakly and slumped against the couch. "Of course, she does. But, Rue isn't Todd, I know that."

"I don't think it's going to end well," Finnick said.

"Me too," Johanna agreed.

"Me three," Heather said. "Who knows, though. Maybe something good will come out of this."

"I doubt it," Haymitch, ever the optimist, said. Heather wasn't bothered by his remark as one would expect. She knew that he was thinking back to his alliance with Maysilee Donner.

"How many days has it been?" Heather asked.

"Six," Johanna answered.

Heather frowned. Usually, the Hunger Games would last for a week. But it didn't look like it wasn't going to end soon at this rate. She could tell that the 74th Hunger Games were going to be long. Heather had a bad feeling about this. She never liked it when things dragged on.

Finnick got up and walked towards her. All of a sudden, he picked Heather up and threw her over his shoulder. Johanna barely glanced at them and Haymitch just had a blank expression on his face. They both didn't seem to be bothered with what Finnick was doing and that irked her

"Hey!" Heather pounded on his back. "Put me down!"

"Why should I?" Finnick retorted. "You're just going to stare all night at the screen and look like a zombie in the morning. Put some trust in us, Mildbreeze. We'll tell you if something alarming happens."

Heather opened her mouth to argue but found that she didn't have any points to fight with. Finnick was right, but that didn't mean that she gave up. Heather sent a pleading look to Haymitch and Johanna for help. However, it was all in vain as they were already waving her good night.

"Fine, you win," Heather admitted as they walked to her room. "But don't bask in your victory, Odair for a day will come where I shall return the favour!"

Finnick laughed at her exaggerated fancy claim and laid her down on her bed. "Do whatever you want, Mildbreeze," he looked at her with a mischievous glint. "I'm not going down."

"We'll see about that," Heather wrapped the blanket around herself. "Good night, Finn."

"Night, Heather."

Heather woke up to the sound of a cannon firing. She sat up startled, placing a hand on her heart as she recalled being woken up similarly on the third day of her games. As soon as her mind processed what the meaning behind the sound was, Heather ran out of the room. Fear crept at her. The image of Peeta's corpse and Katniss's corpse that flashed in her mind nearly made her kneel down and vomit her dinner. But she held it and didn't slow down until she reached the sitting room.

"It's not them," Johanna immediately told her upon her entrance.

"It's not?" Heather asked in a begging tone, her voice high-pitched from emotion.

"No," she confirmed. Her eyes were sad at seeing Heather in this hysterical state. Johanna rushed to her side when Heather fell to the ground. She kept holding her chest, thankful that nothing serious happened to her tributes.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Heather assured Johanna who still didn't listen to her and remained by her side.

"Why don't you go clean up?" Johanna suggested as she rubbed Heather's back gently.

"Alright," Heather said gloomily, still not recovered from her false assumption.

During breakfast, Heather kept picking at her food and didn't eat much, even though Haymitch ordered her favourite breakfast to be set on the table. It was weird, usually Heather stuffed her face with cheese rolls as soon as she saw them. The only reason she even took a bite of the food was because she saw Katniss eat.

"Ready to do it?" Katniss asked. They looked up at the screen upon hearing her speak.

"Do what?" Rue said, bouncing up from excitement for what Katniss was about to tell her.

"Today we take out the Careers' food," Katniss announced.

"Really? How?" Rue asked excitedly. Heather was hit hard as to how she resembled Prim at that moment.

"No idea. Come on, we'll figure out a plan while we hunt," Katniss said.

Heather sighed and set down her eating utensils, "I'm not hungry anymore."

Finnick poked her stomach. "Yea, I don't do this so. Your stomach is clearly empty."

"How would you know?" Heather held the spot he poked at.

"Your full plate," Johanna mentioned sarcastically.

"Whatever. I don't want to eat," Heather frowned and left before they could say anything else.

Johanna and Finnick looked at Haymitch expectedly, "Aren't you going to do anything?"

"Leave her be," he told them. "She's not in a good mood and pushing her isn't going to make it likely for her to listen to us. We'll get her during lunchtime."

They didn't like the idea but at the same time, they couldn't argue with his knowledge.

Meanwhile, Heather was watching Katniss and Rue as they talked about the careers' base. Really though, it was Katniss questioning Rue intensely regarding the matter. Heather was surprised when she heard that the boy from District 3 watched over their supplies.

"The boy from District Three?" Katniss said in surprise. "He's working with them?"

"Yes, he stays at the camp full-time. He got stung, too, when they drew the tracker jackers in by the lake," Rue explained. "I guess they agreed to let him live if he acted as their guard. But he's not very big."

"What weapons does he have?" Katniss asked.

"Not much that I could see. A spear. He might be able to hold a few of us off with that, but Thresh could kill him easily."

"And the food's just out in the open?" Katniss asked. Rue nodded. "Something's not quite right about that whole setup."

"I know. But I couldn't tell what exactly," Rue agreed. "Katniss, even if you could get to the food, how would you get rid of it?"

"Burn it. Dump it in the lake. Soak it in fuel." Katniss poked Rue in the belly. "Eat it!" Rue giggled. "Don't worry, I'll think of something. Destroying things is much easier than making them."

Driven by curiosity, Heather glanced at the highlights screen and saw a scene with Thresh in it.

Mentally exhausted, Heather leaned back to the couch and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was hard to describe why she was feeling this way. The best way to gon about it was to compare it to a rollercoaster. One moment, she was all worried and anxious about things going wrong then the next moment, they were nothing to be concerned about and she had no idea where to spend her feelings.

Not to mention, she didn't get much sleep last night and combined with the fact that she missed precious hours of sleep the nights before, she was tired.

Heather felt the couch deepen and she smelled Finnick's scent. Without thinking, she leaned it on him and before she knew it, Heather fell asleep.

By the time she woke up, Heather found herself in her bed. No doubt, Finnick carried her in here. Slowly sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit drowsy. Twenty minutes later, Heather was refreshed from her shower. She was dressed in loose clothing and her hair was braided to the side.

Glancing at the clock in her room, Heather saw that it was the afternoon. In the sitting room, there was only Finnick and Haymitch. It was weird, seeing the two of them together like this alone. They weren't fans of each other and she could tell by the atmosphere of the room that things were still awkward. Still, it was touching that they tolerated the other's presence for her.

When he saw her, Haymitch went to the kitchen, probably to get her some food, leaving her and Finnick alone. Finnick looked up at her and gave a tight-lipped smile.

"Where's Johanna?" Heather asked.

"She's down in the gym," Finnick told her.

"Did something happen?" Heather sat down beside him. Although there was a chance that Johanna went there to blow off some steam, she had a feeling that there was something else going on.

Her hunch seemed to be correct as Finnick avoided looking at her eyes. "I'm waiting," Heather said in a sing-song voice.

"We may or may not have a fight," Finnick confessed.

"About what?"

"Annie," Finnick answered tentatively.

Quickly, Heather straightened her posture and zeroed her eyes at him. The feeling inside her chest that told her something wrong was going on continued to increase. To the victors, Annie and other mentally unstable victors were such a sensitive topic that no one talked about them.

For Heather, it was complicated as she understood both sides of the story. The mental issues that came with winning the games weren't really worth it. No one wanted to wonder, let alone talk, about what could've happened to their mental state if their minds had not been able to handle the trauma they've been through. But, at the same time, the victors were the closest people to understand what it's like for the others.

"What did she say?" Heather didn't want to know the answer, but she had to ask.

"She said that I'm soft on her," Finnick said harshly, angry at recalling Johanna's words. "That I need to help her control her emotions so she can rejoin society."

"And how did she word it?" Heather asked softly. She knew to some extent that Johanna was right, but she was also wrong at the same time. Annie shouldn't get over her trauma but she should be able to manage it better by now. However, everyone had their own path and it was Annie's decision to deal with her issues.

"Badly," he looked down at his lap and shame showed on his handsome features. "I-I wanted to hit her, Heather."

Heather pressed her lips together tightly. She couldn't think of anything to say to him. The thought of Finnick hitting Johanna left a bad taste on her own but it wasn't right for her to scold Finnick for something he couldn't control. On the bright side, he was able to hold onto his anger and not act upon it.

After some more thinking, Heather concluded that it was better that they spend some time apart to cool down. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to her. For now, I think, it's best that you don't see her."

Finnick sighed. "Yea, I think so too. Maybe I should go see Caleb. It was his tribute that died this morning."

"Oh, well, send my condolences," Heather said.

Finnick nodded then stood up and went into his room to grab his stuff. At the same moment, Finnick got out, Haymitch entered the room and a plate full of food for her. Heather gave him a smile of appreciation and kissed him on the cheek as he sat down next to her.

"Finnick is going to see Caleb," Heather told him.

"Is this about the night terror Johanna had?"Haymitch asked.

"Night terror?" Finnick didn't say anything about a night terror. It was all too confusing for Heather to comprehend as she tried to link the night terror to Finnick's story. Reachin no proper resolution, Heather decided to enquire more about this matter. "W-wait, what happened?"

"Well, Johanna had a night terror and Odair went in to help her. Then later, they had a fight of some sort. That's why Johanna is in the gym," Haymitch raised an eyebrow at her, "Didn't Odair tell you about that?"

"He told me about the fight, but not about Johanna having a night terror," Heather said, placing her chin between her thumb and index finger as she thought over this matter.

Haymitch shrugged, not interested. One would assume that Heather would at him for not being helpful to her. But Haymitch had nothing to do with this as he wasn't close with Johanna and Finnick as Heather was.

When Finnick came to say goodbye, Heather didn't mention anything about the night terror and hugged him back. There was a reason why he didn't say anything about this and she was going to find it out through Johanna.

"So, what did I miss?" Heather asked as she began to eat, much to the relief of Haymitch.

"Sweetheart and the little girl developed a plan to destroy the Careers' supplies. It's better that you see the plan in action than have me explain it."

"Is there any chance of it going wrong?"

"Other than the fact that they could get caught, no."

Heather turned her attention to the screen and saw Katniss in the shallow stretch of water where she took a bath the day before. She refilled her water bottle and added a layer of mud to her backpack. Heather munched her food as she watched Katniss's moves become sharper and her face more focused with each step she took. No doubt, Katniss was getting near the Careers' camp.

As she neared the plain ground where the cornucopia resided, Katniss stopped at a particular tree and began to climb. The camera switched to show another angle. If they didn't already know where she was, Heather and Haymitch couldn't have been able to tell her whereabouts. The tree was at the edge of the woods, but from Katniss's point of view, the bushy foliage was so thick down low anyone could easily observe the Career camp without being spotted.

At the base, there were four tributes. Marvel, Cato and Clove, and the boy from District 3. The boy from District 3 was fiddling with a plastic box. Heather scouted her mind for the name of the boy. She was usually good with names but the boy from District 3 was easily forgettable. One thing she could recall though was that it started with a 'v'.

All four tributes seemed to be recovering from the tracker jacker attack. The large swollen lumps on their bodies were evident. Additionally, they didn't have the sense to remove the stingers, or if they did, they didn't know about the leaves that healed them. Obviously, whatever medicines they found in the Cornucopia was ineffective.

The Cornucopia was empty. Most of the supplies were held in crates, burlap sacks, and plastic bins, and piled up neatly in a pyramid, a distance away from the camp. A canopy of netting covered the pyramid itself. This whole setup was confusing and worrying. It was clearly a bobby-trap, but what kind?

The gears in Heather's mind began to work as she tried to connect the dots. Then she noticed the dug up around the platforms where the tributes immerged from. When she finally figured out the situation, Heather accidentally bit her tongue as she was chewing her food at the time of her discovery. Before she could help, Heather let out a moan of pain.

Haymitch instantly tore his eyes from the screen and trained them on her. He frowned at her pained face, "What's wrong?''

"I bet my tong," Heather told him in a muffled voice.

Haymitch blinked at her before an amused smile blossomed on his face. He obviously found her embarrassing mistake funny. Heather glared at him for a bit, but she couldn't hold onto her anger as she too broke into a smile.

"Can you get me a popsicle?" Heather asked.

Haymitch nodded, getting up. He later returned with a popsicle in hand. As if she was a child, he removed the wrapper from it then handed it to her. Heather merely scoffed at him and took it. After making sure that her tongue injury was numb so she could speak perfectly, Heather said, "The booby-trap around the pyramid. I think it's the land mines."

Haymitch turned his attention to her.

"They must've forced the boy from District 3, … Vector!" Yes, that was his name. Heather smiled at her accomplishment. "To dig up the land mines from around the land mines and install it around their supplies so no one can steal from them."

Haymitch thought over Heather's theory before deeming it as a high chance possibility. "That does make some sense," Haymitch said.

"Yes!" Heather cheered then looked pointedly at her man. "See? You're not the only smart one."

Haymitch chuckled and kissed her in the temple, "I never said that you weren't smart."

"I know," Heather said. "I just wanted to say that."

"If it makes you feel better, you're the smartest person I know," he said.

Heather beamed, "Really?"

He nodded and they did their thing where they would gaze into each other's eyes endlessly with smiles decorating their faces. Unfortunately, their romantic moment was interrupted when they heard Cato shout. He was pointing up to the woods where smoke was rising into the sky. Without thinking, Heather knew that it was Rue who set up the fire as bait.

The Careers began to arm themselves. Soon, an argument broke out. They were concerned about whether or not the boy from District 3 should stay or accompany them.

"He's coming. We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway. No one can touch those supplies," Cato said.

"What about Lover Boy?" Marvel asked.

"I keep telling you, forget about him. I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us," Cato said. Heather frowned at that remark.

"Come on," Cato said. He thrusted a spear into the hands of Vector, and they went off in the direction of the fire. As they entered the woods, Cato added, "When we find her, I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes."

For some reason, Heather knew that he was talking about Katniss.

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the apartment. A second later, Johanna entered the sitting room with a tired expression.

"I saw everything in the gym, you don't need to tell me," Johanna said. "I need to take a shower."

"Alright," Heather waved her off. It wasn't the right time to talk to her, anyway.

Katniss remained in her spot even after they left. Heather couldn't decide if it was out of caution or because Katniss didn't know how to get rid of the supplies. It was a shame that Heather couldn't communicate with her and tell her about the landmines. Heather was then reminded of her Hunger Games. When the gong sounded, signalling the start of the games, Heather ran away from the Cornucopia. If her arena was a forest then that would've been a wise choice but alas her arena was a burning desert with no vegetation whatsoever. Still, Heather ran away, knowing that her chances at surviving the bloodbath was slim even though she was a fast runner with good reflexes.

Back then, Heather stole some supplies from the Careers when they were hunting for prey tributes. They set up traps that were concealed with sand but Heather was able to get through them by feeling their presence through her feet. A tactic that she developed when she used to be blind.

Suddenly, the girl from District 5 emerged from the woods, creeping out onto the plain. When she decided it was safe, she ran for the pyramid, with quick, small steps. Just before she reached the circle of supplies that have been littered around the pyramid, she stopped and searched the ground, carefully placing her feet on a spot. Then she began to approach the pyramid with strange little hops, sometimes landing on one foot, teetering slightly, sometimes risking a few steps. It was a no brainer that she was avoiding the land mines.

Smart girl, Heather thought. Haymitch was thinking the same thing.

When she reached the supplies, the girl filled her pack, taking a few items from a variety of containers. But only a handful from each, not enough to tip-off that the food was missing or to cause suspicion. Soon, she got out of the circle of supplies and scampered into the woods once again.

Shortly, after she left, it seemed that Katniss figured out what was going on as she slipped out of the bushes and crossed to one of the round metal plates that lifted the tributes into the arena. The ground around it was dug up and patted back down.

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows, contemplating on what to do. She glanced up at the woods where smoke rose towards the sky from a different location from the first. By now, the Careers probably were beginning to suspect some sort of trick. Time was running out.

She stared once again at the pyramid. For a moment, she was confused as to what to do before her eyes lightened up. She had found a solution. By now, Johanna has re-joined them in the sitting room.

"What is she going to do?" Johanna asked.

"No idea," Heather answered as they watched Katniss move into range and take out three arrows.

She placed her feet firmly, as she took a meticulous aim, The first arrow tore through the side of the bag of apples near the top, leaving a split in the burlap. By the time, the second arrow widened it to a gaping hole, Heather understood Katniss's plan. An apple escaped the confinement of the bag when the third arrow went and caught the torn flap of burlap, ripping it from the bag.

For a moment, everything seemed frozen in time. Then the apples spilled to the ground and a huge explosion went off.

With her ears being sensitive, Heather instantly covered her ears, trying to block the sound out. This position was similar to the time where she hid behind a dune of sand in her arena and tried to deafen the sounds of people dying in cold blood. Still, her hands weren't pressed hard enough; she was still able to hear the loud impact of the landmines as the ground shook with explosions.

After about a minute, Haymitch gently convinced her that the explosions were over. She looked up and saw acrid smoke fill the air in the arena. Her eyes searched for Katniss and found her on the ground, struggling to breathe properly. Her ear was bloody and Heather feared that it had gone deaf. She silently willed Katniss to get up or at least, give a reaction of the sort that would indicate her well-being.

A few minutes later, Heather got her to wish as Katniss got up and escaped. But she was dizzy from the impact of the explosion that she was only able to take a few steps before wounding up on her knees.

She stayed on the ground then placed her hand on her bloody ear. Heather could see the fear in her eyes. She pulled her hood up over her head, tied the cord under her chin with fidgety fingers. Realizing that she can't walk, Katniss decided to crawl. She tentatively moved forward towards her earlier hideout.

Seeing how desperate Katniss was brought Heather melancholy. The fact that she couldn't help her with anything made her feel useless and angry at the same time.

Unfortunately, another blast knocked Katniss on her face. It was a stray mine, set off by a collapsing crate. Haymitch attempted to shield her sight as this happened two more times. However, the thought of Heather not appreciating this made him hesitate. Not knowing things were worse than seeing horrific scenes.

Luckily, Katniss made it in time to her hideout just as Cato came barreling onto the plain, followed by his companions. His face was comically red from rage.

Vector threw stones into the ruins and declared that all the mines were activated. They approached the wreckage and Cato took out his anger by kicking various open containers. The others poked around in the mess, looking for anything to salvage, but there was nothing.

Cato turned on Vector and started shouting at him. Vector tried to turn and run but Cato caught him in a headlock from behind. Heather stilled as he jerked Vector's head to the side. A cannon fired.

Clove and Marvel tried to calm Cato down. He wanted to return to the woods, but they pointed at the sky. Since they didn't know about the arrows and apples, they thought whoever set off the explosions was dead. If there was a cannon shot, it could have been easily lost in the subsequent explosions. The shattered remains of the thief removed by hovercraft. They retired to the far side of the lake to allow the Gamemakers to retrieve the Vector's body.

"Well, that was lovely," Johanna said, trying to break the ice.

Heather turned to her and gave her a blank stare with pursed lips before glaring at her. Johanna slightly flinched. She had long before figured out that Finnick told her about what happened. It wasn't that she was scared of what Heather was going to do. Though she should because Heather had a knack for delivering harsh truths to a person's face.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Heather asked Haymitch.

He stared at her then looked at Johanna before nodding. Heather watched him disappear into the corridor then turned to Johanna.

Surprisingly, Heather regarded her with a gentle look. She didn't say anything at first, just continued to stare at her. "You had a night terror."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Johanna scowled, avoiding to look at Heather's face. "Yea, what about it?"

Heather didn't bother asking her about her feelings. "You're not okay."

Again, it was a statement. Johanna didn't say anything and continued to frown.

"Why are you here, Johanna?"

Johanna jostled. "What do you mean? I'm here for you, of course."

"And I appreciated it," Heather reassured. "But you can't help me if you can't help yourself first."

Standing up, Heather moved to sit next to Johanna and took one of her hands. "You don't have to be strong all the time. You're sad, and that's okay. You're not fine, and that's okay. You're not alone, anymore. I'm here for you. So is Blight, so is Eero, and Finnick as well."

It was a low blow to mention Finnick last, but Johanna still needed to be responsible for her hurtful actions. Johanna leaned her head against Heather's shoulder. One of Heather's hands reached out and began to gently stroke her dark hair. "Go back to your home. You need rest. Don't worry about me, I have Finnick and Haymitch and they're more than enough."

Johanna stayed silent. The only sound coming out of her was her slow breaths.

A strong urged to push Heather away and run to hide in her room resided inside of Johanna's chest. From the start, Johanna perceived Heather as dangerous which was ridiculous of course. Heather was so inviting and everything about her screamed kindness and safety. At that time, Johanna wanted neither of these things. She wanted to remain sad and bitter, fearing that if she wasn't, she would be dishonouring the remembrance of her family.

But up until now, Johanna listened to her heart more than to her mind. And no matter how much her mind fought against her heart, her heart always longed for Heather, for that sense of comfort that she bought with her.

And right now, as she laid her head on Heather's shoulder, she let have feelings come out. She decided to become emotionally naked in front of Heather.

It wasn't long before you would tears escaped her eyes and stroll down her cheeks. "I'm just... so tired," Johanna breathed out as she slightly trembled.

"I know." Heather just said these two simple words but in the context, there were so kind and incomparable any other words when Johanna heard before.

Heather didn't say anything else and let Johanna silently cry. She didn't try to say any comforting words and just continued to help her in a gentle manner. However, those little actions that can be identified as insignificant were more than enough for Johanna and comforted her beyond words.

The following day, Johanna left. Before she did though, she pulled aside Finnick and Heather guessed that she was apologizing to them. Afterwards, things were still awkward between them but better.

Heather wanted to go with Johanna to the train station but Johanna stopped her. She reminded her that she would be swarmed by people and would only delay her. Heather didn't even bother to come up with a contradiction as she knew this to be true.

After breakfast, Heather checked up first on Peeta and was relieved that he was fine. He was still out of food but he at least had a stream to drink from. She then switched to Katniss who was walking by the stream. She ate some food and refilled her water bottle. She washed, but not like last time where she stripped to her underclothes.

Eventually, she stopped at an open land and didn't move from that spot. "Why is she standing here?" Finnick asked.

"Perhaps this is the spot where she was supposed to meet Rue," Heather guessed.

Katniss continued to wait for Rue all morning and noon. Heather went to her channel to check on the little girl and saw that she was hiding from the Careers, who were hounding in her area. Around the afternoon, Katniss stopped what she was doing for a moment. She stared blankly as if she was listening intently for something. Then they heard it, a four-note tune coming out of a mockingjay's mouth. The one that Rue taught Katniss about.

Katniss grinned and began to move. She seemed to be depending on the tune sung by the mockingjays on which way to go. She stopped walking and her eyes lifted up into the trees, searching for her. For some reason, Heather started to have a bad feeling in her chest. Something bad was going to happen, she knew it.

Haymitch noticed the shift of atmosphere around her. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't have a good feeling about what's about to happen," Heather told him. Haymitch pursed his lips but didn't try to console her. No sense in giving a false sense of security.

Katniss started to sing softly, a way to reach out for Rue. Heather felt wistful at hearing Katniss's singing voice. She hasn't heard it since Mr. Everdeen's death. A mockingjay repeated the melody before a scream cut through it.

It was a child's scream, a young girl's scream, there was no one in the arena capable of making that sound except Rue. heather's heart fell. With no hesitation, Katniss ran rapidly towards the source of the scream. There was another high-pitched crying, "Katniss! Katniss!"

"Rue!" Katniss shouted back, not caring that the Careers might hear her. "Rue! I'm coming!"

When Katniss reached the clearing, Rue was on the ground, hopelessly entangled in a net. She held her hand through the mesh and called out Katniss's name one more time before the spear entered her body.

Katniss killed Marvel before he could pull out the spear. The arrow was too deep in the center of his neck for him to recover from this injury. He fell to his knees and yanked out the arrow, a bad move that resulted in drowning in his own blood. Katniss reloaded, aiming at all sides, "Are there more? Are there more?"

After Rue assured her that there wasn't anyone else, Katniss moved to her side, shoving Marvel away to free Rue from the net. She looked so hopeless, knowing that she wouldn't be able to heal her wound. She crouched before her and clutched her hand tightly in her hand.

"You blew up the food?" Rue asked in a low voice.

"Every last bit," Katniss answered firmly.

"You have to win," Rue said.

"I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now," Katniss promised. A cannon fired for Marvel.

"Don't go," Rue begged.

"Course not. Staying right here," Katniss assured, moving in closer to her and pulling her head onto my lap.

"Sing," Rue requested.

Katniss hesitated. Heather knew that it was hard for her to sing. Singing reminded her of her father. She let out a small cough and began:

Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.

Heather started to cry, both from the nostalgia of hearing Katniss's singing voice and the sad scene that was unfolding before her. She knew that song. She would sing it every other night for Luke. Without realizing it, she began to sing alongside Katniss too.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.

Everything was still and quiet. Then, almost eerily, the mockingjays picked up the song.

Rue's cannon fired. Katniss leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her temple. Slowly, she laid her head back on the ground and released her hand. Heather sniffed and wiped away some stray tears. Her heart was heavy in her chest as she recalled Todd's death and the pain it brought with it.

She looked at Finnick who had his face in his hand and Haymitch whom eyes were so empty, it scared her. At that moment, she knew that they were all reminiscing the deaths of their allies back during their time in the arena.

Heather was reminded yet again of the cruelty of the games, but not just the physical ones but the inhumane emotional acts it brought on. Tributes weren't meant to be seen as people. They weren't supposed to be mourned. Sure, one was allowed to be sad at their loss but it was the kind of sat one would express after losing a precious item. But tributes weren't items or objects, they were people. They were human.

There was absolutely no difference between the Capitol citizens and the Districts citizens. In the end, they all breathed the same air and ate the same food.

Katniss rolled Marvel onto his face and took his pack, retrieving the arrow that ended his life. She cut Rue's pack from her back as well but left the spear in her stomach. After doing all of this, Katniss didn't clear out. Heather couldn't read the emotions on her face.

She seemed to be thinking hard about something, but what?

Finally, Katniss got up and started to gather a handful of wildflowers that was a few steps away from her. They were really weeds, but they blossomed in beautiful shades of violet and yellow and white. She went back to Rue's side. Slowly, she began to decorate her body in the flowers. Covering the ugly wound. Wreathing her face. Weaving her hair with bright colours.

Heather's eyes widened. With the flowers, Katniss brought beauty out of the ugliness, giving Rue some dignity in her death. They showed that Rue was important, and anger at the capitol and the games. They showed respect for Rue and that the Gamemakers didn't own them. They showed that the tributes are more than a piece in their games.

This was an indirect act of rebellion against the Capitol.

Heather didn't know how to feel about this as she slumped against the couch.

"This isn't going to end well," Finnick stated the obvious, he too seemed to figure out the meaning before the flowers and what they meant.

"No, it's not," Heather agreed. Beside her, Haymitch didn't say a word. Not caring that Finnick was in the room, Heather reached out for Haymitch's hand and held it. She wondered how Parry was feeling about this. Probably having a mixed reaction like her.

"Bye, Rue," Katniss whispered. She pressed the three middle fingers of her hand against her lips and held them out in her direction. Then she walked away without looking back and continued to wander aimlessly until sunset.

A silver parachute floated down and landed in front of Katniss. Like Heather, she seemed confused about it. Heather exchanged a look with Haymitch to confirm that neither sent her anything. They didn't.

Katniss opened it and found a small loaf of bread. It was made of dark ration grain and shaped in a crescent, sprinkled with seeds. Immediately, Heather recognized the bread from District 11.

Heather's eyes widened at this realization. Foods was more sacred at District 11 more than it was in District 12. It was unlikely for them to send bread, no matter how grand the gesture was. The only way it made sense was if Chaff chipped in.

Katniss cautiously lifted the loaf then looked up and stepped into the last falling rays of sunlight. "My thanks to the people of District Eleven," she proclaimed before climbing in the tree.

Soon the anthem started to play, then the faces of Marvel and Rue were shown. There were only six of them left.

Yet, even though there were only a few tributes left, something told Heather that things were far from over and she didn't like it.

The next day, Heather was in a cranky mood as her period had started. Knowing how violent she could get during her time of the month, both Haymitch and Finnick stirred clear of her. They had a silent amendment that they would behave as to not worsen Heather's mood even more.

Meanwhile, Katniss was forcing herself to go on as she gave herself a series of commands to follow, like "Now you have to sit up, Katniss. Now you have to drink water, Katniss." She acted on the orders with slow, robotic motions. "Now you have to sort the packs, Katniss."

It would have been funny if not for the serious situation she was in. Thankfully, Finnick refrained from making jokes about this. After checking her supplies, Katniss decided to hunt. Halfway through she discovered a flock of grooslings and took out three of them.

At nightfall, she climbed on a tree to rest for the day.

It's been an uneventful day. No deaths. Heather wondered how long before the Gamemakers decide to gather up the tributes in some way or another. She stared at the soft orange yarn and the unfinished sock she was knitting.

Suddenly, trumpets are blown. They were going to declare an announcement. Heather thought that this was a call for a feast since the Hunger Games were dragging for a long time and the Cornucopia's supplies were destroyed, making food more scarce.

Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed, congratulating the six tributes who remained. However, he wasn't inviting them to a feast. He was talking about a rule change in the Games. A rule change! Something that was basically unheard of.

Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive. Heather and Finnick looked at each other in shock, both wondering if what they heard was true. A second later, they got their answer as Claudius repeated the change again in clarification.

All it took was a minute before Katniss started calling out Peeta's name.