That was the longest, most unneeded hiatus in the history of a fic. I'm back though!

LET THE 68th HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!

I'm dressed in light tan, sturdy pants, and a light green tank top. A light jacket the same colour as my pants. Tall, tight, leather boots with hard rubber soles. A leather belt with a small pouch attached, and a lot of loops for weapons and other things.

"My best guess is heat." Tigris taps the bottom of the soles before handing them to me. "These won't melt on hot surfaces, it's the same rubber used on cooking supplies. Your jacket is designed to reflect heat off your body and keep you cool. You're dressed in desert colours."

This could go better than I planned. Niyu may have a fighting chance too: not every tribute knows how to get water out of a cactus as well as we do.

My hair is in a braided bun on top of my head and I give it another pat, but Tigris is good. It's about as sturdy as concrete. My hair will not be budging for at least the rest of the day.

"Good luck, Miss Tause." Tigris hands me my token, and I tuck it under my shirt. I had to give Niyu's token back, but he made it seem like he'd be giving it to me again in the arena.

I step into the glass tube, trying to control my breathing. Panic is beginning to set in, the same panic I felt when my horse was running away in the desert and I had no choice but to walk back. Tigris stares at me, motioning for me to lift my chin, so I do.

The platform below me begins to rise, and the roof above me opens. It's cloudy, but not raining, and I don't have to squint to see like so many tributes have to do in past Games.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the sixty-eighth Hunger Games!" Cladius Templesmith booms over our heads and I flinch but regain my composure enough to see it.

The Cornucopia is about fifty yards away from me, golden and dull. I see weapons piled past the mouth and several big packs right outside of it. Between the Cornucopia and I are other, less valuable things, lying on hard-packed dirt.

30 seconds left.

I look around, and it's dry dirt as far as I can see. Behind me, the arena is half wooded, separated by a rushing river.

I look for Glinter, who is three tributes to my left. He motions for me to run to the Cornucopia. He thinks it's my best chance of survival.

I'm not so sure.

I shake my head, jerking it backwards. He motions to the river, shaking his head.

10 seconds.

Glinter can argue all he likes, I know I can swim through it. Other Tributes can't, though, and so that's why I'd be safest.

The gong sounds and I hightail it to the river. I don't hear anyone following me, the wind picking up. It's hot.

I wade as far as I can before diving in, taking care to stay towards the top. This is how I learned to swim, in a rushing river, although the water is much colder here.

I only end up getting pushed a few yards downstream once I pull myself onto the bank, sopping wet and panting heavily. I get up, noticing another male tribute almost near me, so I turn and sprint as quickly as I can into the woods. The sand from the river bank fades into tree roots and plants, and the wind quiets down.

I think I'll be able to make it to a hiding spot when I'm hit from behind, tackled to the ground. I try to roll away but someone heavy is on my back, making it hard to breathe. Of course, it's even harder when my necklace is pulled taut against my neck, effectively strangling me.

I try as hard as I can to buck my attacker off. This is not how I planned to die, not in the first few minutes of the Games. It's no use though, they're so much bigger than I am and the cord is strong, there's no way out of this.

I'm starting to see stars, my vision blackening, my attempts to get away much more subdued. I've almost given in.

The pressure on my neck goes away with a loud, wet thud, and I feel a spray of something warm in my hair, on my neck. I cough like I'm dying, heaving and my eyes are watering, but I force myself to roll over.

Niyu is standing over me, a large butcher's knife in his hands, his hair glistening with water droplets. I cough at him, waiting for the knife to come down, but all he does is throw his token at me and sprints away.

I get onto my knees, still coughing, and pick it up, shoving it in the pouch on my belt and clasping it shut.

I look at the dead boy who tried to kill me. The boy from 6. Truly a boy when I look at his pale face. He was 14 if I remember correctly, his interview mainly about the girl he had a crush on at home and how he would ask her out if he made it back.

I wonder how the girl is doing now. I wonder if she hates me. If she wishes I was dead.

There are still screams coming from across the river, so I wander slowly around and try to find a good hiding place near the edge of the forest. I finally find a tree with a semi-low branch, so I heave myself up and go still, silent. I should be able to hear if someone sneaks up on me in the woods, so I turn out to the Cornucopia. Through the leaves, I can see several figures fighting, but I make out the hulking figure of Glinter and the lithe form of Irene stabbing someone. They'll get the area under control soon, and I can go join them again.

Unless I ditch them. But woods is not my forte, and to get to the desert half I would have to risk crossing paths with them.

Better to ditch them in the place I know like the back of my hand.

I sit there rubbing my neck for a few more minutes, blood trickling down my shirt when the cannon begins going off. Five tributes down.

It's a measly bloodbath, which makes the rest of the Games much more dangerous. I must be on guard.

Four figures are standing by the Cornucopia still, and a fifth is coming up in the distance. I clamber back down the tree, coughing once more for good measure, before emerging from the forest. I swim back across the river, before walking quickly to the Cornucopia.

"You already look like shit." Irene raises her brow at me, and I wave her off.

Flayre seems to be more concerned, looking up from the golden bow in her hands. "Someone already tried to kill you?"

"With my token." I gesture to my neck, though I'm sure there's already a bruise forming with a line of raw skin.

"But you're alive and that's all that matters." Glinter goes into the Cornucopia, and

I follow him.

I don't think a single one of us is thinking of betrayal yet. There are still too many enemies.

I search and search, but there's no whip.

"Looking for something?" Irene has come in with us, and I see she has three different swords strapped to her body, a viciously sharp hooked one in her hand. "What did you use to get a ten anyway?"

"Doesn't matter." I frown, looking over the weapons once more. "It's not here."

I grab a few things that I can do alright with, a butcher blade like the one Niyu had, and a few throwing knives. I'll have to disappear quickly to start making my whip if I want to last long.

I begin to comb through the other supplies. A few tents, bags of different foods, a couple of canteens of water, a bottle of iodine.

There's something that catches my eye when nobody else is looking. A small pouch of different coloured bottles, some as big as an orange and others as small as a cherry seed. I find a small pack and put iodine, some dried meat, another knife, and the bag of vials in. On second thought I grab a first aid kit and some more food.

Everyone else loads up on items: weapons, some food, more weapons, tents. I see Jax put a heat-resistant sleeping bag in his large pack, and I try not to scoff at how sheltered they are.

Jax finds sunscreen and they all pass around the bottle, but Marina and I refuse politely. I'm used to the desert, and she has been under the sun her whole life. Plus, it's still cloudy out so I don't really see the point in the protection, though the Careers aren't built for outdoor survival. More like killing.

"Who should we go after first?" Jax has a vicious look in his eye that I don't like. "Sable, didn't your friend go into the woods?"

"He did." My words are careful, cold. The tension between everyone ratchets up, but Marina scowls at Jax.

"My partner went into the Desert." Clearly, she doesn't like him singling me out, because when I shoot her a relieved look she gives a small smile. "I think he's the bigger threat. He's deadly, and he's a bit … unstable."

"Yeah, but we know where your loyalties lie." He waves a hand, stepping closer to me. "There's never been an alliance between District Two and Ten."

"Well, looks like we're breaking records." Flayre rolls her eyes, shouldering the two sheaths of arrows. "Can we just go now?"

He relents, following Irene out of the Cornucopia. She turns to scowl at me, probably thinking it's my fault her partner is such a moron, before turning away.

District 2 does not like me. That's fine, I can't say I'm a fan either.

"What was that about?" Flayre looks out at the two, and I shrug.

"Beats me."

"We shouldn't trust Two." Glinter crosses his arms, and I nod.

"Clearly," Marina mutters under her breath. We walk over to the pair. Irene has sheathed her swords, but Jax's spiked mace is ready to swing. "I meant what I said. March is … he's always been cruel to sea creatures. I'm sure he thinks of humans as one and the same."

"We go into the woods." Jax's voice isn't leaving room for debate, and nobody puts up much fight, though I look longingly towards the familiar expanse of cracked dirt and Marina seems unhappy.

The sun is behind us, going down quicker than I thought was possible.

It's nightfall by the time we set up a camp. We haven't run into any stragglers, though it wouldn't be hard to hear us coming. Jax and Irene aren't exactly quiet talkers, and their footsteps are loud in the quiet forest. I'm not exactly silent either, but years of trying not to startle scared sheep on cliff sides have left my feet careful and light.

They don't fear any attacks. Sure, we were loud enough that anyone could track us with ease, but I blamed that on their basic inability to lighten their tread. It's when Glinter begins to make a fire and nobody moves to stop him that I realize they truly have no fear of being killed.

The anthem begins to play, and I see the five faces in the sky. Both tributes from 3, the boy from 6 who tried to kill me, the boy from 9, the girl from 12.

When the sky goes dark, everything is quiet but the sounds of eating. I don't break into my dried meat yet, I ate a nice enough breakfast, and I've certainly had enough practice at being hungry.

I let someone else take the first watch, trying to show my trust. The others fall asleep, Marina and Flayre staying awake, but I'm restless.

I try to stay still, but I can feel Marina's eyes on me as I roll over again.

Flayre has nodded off, making little whimpering noises in her sleep. I sit up, and Marina invites me to sit with her.

"Not used to the woods either?"

"No." I frown at the dying fire, at how cool the air has gotten. Even in the drastic changes between night and day in District Ten, they're never like this. I can almost see my breath. "I don't like it."

"Me either."

Right. 4. Water and sand.

"You should sleep if you can. I can watch." She begins to protest, but yawns, and I give her a pointed look. "Sleep Marina. You're better to us if you can function in the morning."

She stills minutes later, and I make sure everyone is asleep before opening the pouch with the vials. I figured they were poison, and the little skulls on the bottle labels prove that theory to be correct. The largest is red, and the smallest is clear. I'm sure their size corresponds to how deadly they are, but I wish they were labelled with what plant they came from. It would be nice to know how fast they acted.

I zip it back up carefully, though the poisons seem to be contained in a strong material, and put it back in my pack. On second thought, I pull out the smallest vial and put it in my belt pouch. Now if I get separated from my pack I'll have a tiny awl to get water, Niyu's figurine, and a bottle of the deadliest poison available in the Capitol.

The night is quiet. It reminds me of a night I would spend ranging, except the foliage is dense enough to hide most of the stars from me. I can't start on the whip now, it makes too much noise.

I resign myself to listening for animals rustling around. Before long, I'm hearing little critters everywhere.

I could switch off and get some rest, but I know sleep won't come to me tonight.

Morning comes slowly, but the sky does begin to lighten and I stand. I suppose we'll be hunting today. Glinter is the first to wake up, coming to stand by me quietly as I look in the direction of the desert. The others wake up shortly after, and we all wander around the woods. Then we see something interesting. A still-smoldering fire. Evidence of another soul in the vicinity.

Jax turns to me. "Better make yourself useful, cow girl."

Of course. I can do this. It's just like tracking a herd of goats to go to the slaughterhouse.

I follow the trail the person made. They're smart, avoiding soft spots and leaving plants untrampled, but it's not hard to find broken sticks and crushed leaves.

I'm so caught up in searching for signs of disturbance though, that Jax sees her before me. He's running at the young girl from 5 before she knows what's happening, mace raised to strike, but there's an arrow through her throat before he can bring down the killing blow.

The cannon blows when he reaches her, but he bludgeons her head anyway. I flinch at the spurt of blood, the cracking noise. To think that last night she was so beautiful, so pure. She was so young.

"I had her, Flayre."

Flayre glares at him, motioning to her dead body. There's a small knife in her hand.

"Wouldn't have killed me." He scoffs but seems mollified.

We all pretend not to notice as Marina reaches down and closes the girl's eyes. A sweet gesture, but showing tenderness in the Games does not gain you sponsors. Clyde showed mercy several times, and look where he ended up.

I like her all the more for it, though. Even though I pretend to ignore it.

I notice more disturbances leading away from the area, not returning. "There's another person out there."

I don't look at the body again, leading them away. Jax is right behind me, out for blood, but I try not to pay attention to how one swing from that horrible mace could split my head open like an egg.

I wonder if he likes it because of the Games a few years ago. Spiked maces were the only weapons available. If I remember, Brutus from District 2 was the Victor that year, which explains why Jax is using one.

We reach a small hill with a cave in it. Glinter walks in, and moments later there's frantic scuffling and yelling as a boy pleads for his life. A wet thud echoes with scream, and everything goes silent, Jax emerging shortly after. "The boy from five."

I nod, uneasily, at the blood dripping down on the ground from Jax's arm. There's a tear in his jacket material. "Should we look at that?"

"No." He shrugs me off and walks away, though he doesn't seem irritated. We follow him, and everyone is quiet for once.

It's not until we walk for about an hour or so that I realize why it seems so quiet. I never heard a cannon signaling death.

I stare at Jax, who is totally unbothered, at the crusted blood on his weapon. Wherever he struck the boy is vital enough that he could be left, but ensured a slow and painful death. I shudder but don't say anything.

It's nightfall by the time we hear the cannon. Marina looks up sharply as if there's an imminent threat upon us, but as I make eye contact with Flayre and Glinter I realize I'm not the only one who reached the unpleasant conclusion a while ago.

Marina said March was sadistic, but she hasn't realized her alliance includes another one. I spare a glance at Jax, who is smiling, and at Irene who seems indifferent.

I wonder how I ended up with them.

At this point, though, I've been awake for too long and I can barely keep my eyes open when the anthem begins to play. I know there were only two cannons today, and I know the faces that will show up in the sky. I do not want to see the little girl from 5 staring down at me, so I let myself drift off into sleep.

Did ya like it? Did ya? Did ya?