The False Fate of Mallory Catelli

by rising-balloons

District Ten has never believed in Mallory Catelli, especially not when she's Reaped for the 94th Games. They should have. Anya's Victor Exchange 2022.

thank you to cee (moonweaver) for mallory: she's an absolute dream and i hope you enjoy her victory.

mallorycatelli. weebly. co m

---

Mallory Catelli has always been a stranger to the future.

In District Ten, destiny runs deep through old country roads. The further you get from the outskirts, where train lines run and towns are large enough to call themselves towns instead of villages, the further you get from the facade. In Ten's interior, the outside world falls away, and the rules change. Power shifts. Ten twists until it's hard to believe you did more than walk down the road.

Few are interested in rural District Ten outside of those who live there. That's how both sides like it. The outside likes to leave them alone, and the inside likes to be left alone. That way, their rural truths go unquestioned.

For Mallory, that truth is that her seventeenth birthday is her last.

It's been hammered in ever since she was two weeks old: Mallory would not live to be eighteen years old. The village elders declared her fate, and it's been sealed ever since. They didn't say how or when, just that it would be. She could get sick, or be involved in a terrible accident. Most children were cooed over, told of bright futures and long lives. Not Mallory. They saw something fearsome in her dark eyes and wispy baby hair, and they decided she was doomed. And once that fate was spoken, it became an accepted truth. The elders are usually right about these things.

So when Mallory spends more days out of school than in it, teachers don't mind. When she was twelve and went through a spray paint phase, no Peacekeepers came to her house. Her parents never told her off, but no one her age was interested in a long-lasting friendship- because why would they be? Who knew if Mallory's certain demise would drag them down with her. She didn't blame them.

So Mallory spent much of her life alone, her freedom at first thrilling. She liked not being told what to do or being controlled. But she grew older, and year after year, she kept living. Her fate weighed heavier and heavier on her shoulders, crushing her. Time was running out. She could feel it in the bags under her parent's fearful eyes and the way people didn't even bother whispering around her anymore.

It wasn't a question of if, but when.

So when she made the trip, like she did every year, to the Reapings, no one was surprised to hear her name pass the escort's lips.

Least of all Mallory herself.

---

After saying goodbye to her parents, Mallory is put on the train, where she finds herself seated at a table with two other people.

One is a boy close to her age. He has red hair and a round nose. Freckles splatter his face, and his green eyes are thoughtful. Right now he is calm except for his right index finger, which taps the table without a rhythm. He watches her cautiously, just as she watches him.

Across from them is a man with light brown hair and thick dark eyebrows. His light eyes pierce into her unapologetically, sizing her up as he rubs the stubble on his jaw. From under his shirt, she can see the edges of a tattoo peeking out at the light. She's seen him several times, but only from afar. He shoos the escort out of the car and turns to them.

"My name is Dimitri Volkov. Call me Dimitri," he says. He gestures to each of them, clearly expecting more introductions.

She and the boy exchange a glance. He nods, and Mallory turns back to Dimitri. "Mallory Catelli. Call me Mallory," she tells him.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

He nods approvingly, shifting his gaze to the boy. "And you?"

"Sixteen," he says. His voice is quiet but articulate. "My name is Rory Hutchinson."

Dimitri stops rubbing his jaw. "Hutchinson?"

"Yes."

"You're fucking kidding me. Were you Reaped?"

"Yes, I was."

"Am I missing something?" Mallory asks, looking from Dimitri to Rory. The name Hutchinson sounds vaguely familiar, but she can't place it. "Do you guys already know each other or something?"

"We've never met," Dimitri says. "But I knew, uh, what was he? Your brother?"

Rory shrugs. "Close enough."

"Oh, shoot," Mallory says. "You knew him? As in…"

"As in Newt Volunteered for the Games when he was twelve years old, so yes, I Mentored him," Dimitri answers. "I could never forget that kid. God, he drove me fucking crazy. He wouldn't tell me why he Volunteered, and he was so serious, and I thought, fuck, this is another Ethan Hart situation. A dumb kid who didn't know what he was doing. But then he did that fuckin' interview… yeah, I knew him. He was a good kid." He looks at Rory for that last part, his voice firm.

"I mean," Rory says, shifting in his seat, "he wasn't technically my brother. We all have the same last name is all it is. But we were sort of a big family in that house, I guess."

Mallory remembers this now. She was eleven at the time, marveling at how a kid only a year older than her could be brave enough to do something like that. Really, given her whole doomed-ness, she'd wondered if the Games would be what got her. Then the whole interview came out with the truth of Newt's orphanage, and while Ten was shocked… who was really surprised? An orphanage run by cannibals is really just another kind of farm if you squint hard enough. And this was Ten.

Everyone knows how it is: the deeper you get into Ten, the more the rules change. Pretty open fields and wide sunny skies don't mean the people are good. Orphanages can hold horrors, and town elders tell baby girls they will die before adulthood. Mallory knows for a fact several gangs operated in Ten, and based on that tattoo, suspects Dimitri knew it as well.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Mallory tells Rory. "He was really brave."

"Yeah, he was."

"He was," Dimitri agrees. "But that's enough of that. I'm Dimitri. I'm here to help you guys in the Games. The better I know you, the better I can help you, so we can either do this chat separately or together, but tell me more about yourselves. Physical activities especially. Are you both active?"

"I'm fine talking all together," Mallory says, and Rory shrugs again. Mallory takes that as an invitation to keep talking. "I don't know, I guess I'm pretty active. My mom says I have way too much energy. Actually, my dad says that too. I really like being outside. There's a lot of places you can get to if you walk long enough, and a lot of stuff to climb when you get bored."

"I… see…" Dimitri says, raising his eyebrows. "That's good. Rory?"

"I'm, uh, less of an outside person. More of an inside person," Rory says. "But I go to school, and I do chores and things like that. I don't do nothing."

"Fair enough," Dimitri nods. "No chance of any weapon experience?"

"I used to carry a pocketknife around with me, but the Peacekeepers took it at the train station," Rory says.

"Do big sticks count?" Mallory asks.

"Better than nothing," Dimitri says. He checks his watch. "All right. The Reapings will be on soon. Let's go see who we're up against, okay?"

Mallory's heart beats faster, but she nods. "Okay."

---

After watching the Reapings, followed by dinner, Dimitri sends her and Rory off to bed. He claims they need a good night's sleep. Once she finishes marveling at how fancy her room is, and changes into a comfy t-shirt and sweatpants, she hops in bed, burrowing under the big covers.

She stares at the ceiling.

I'm going to die in the Hunger Games.

The village elders were right- she wouldn't live to see eighteen, because she would die in the arena. That little spark in her chest, the one that wondered if maybe they'd made a mistake about Mallory, died the second her name was called. She has no shot of winning. It doesn't even seem worth trying- if she, by some miracle, wins, she will die in less than a year anyway.

Her fingers twitch along the seams of her comforter, and she tries closing her eyes, but she can tell she's nowhere near sleep. She throws the covers back and walks to the window, pulling back the curtain. It's too dark to see anything other than dark blobs rushing past. Mallory lets the curtain fall, turning around as she does so.

Her eyes land on the door.

Dimitri never said she had to stay in her room, did he?

She walks over and tests the handle. It moves freely- she hasn't been locked in or anything. As quietly as she can, she eases it open, heading off to explore the other cars in the dark.

The dining car is empty, only chairs and a table, illuminated by lowlights where the wall meets the floor. Dark and devoid of people, it feels like an entirely new room. Mallory traces a finger along the sleek wallpaper, searching for grooves, but it was applied so flawlessly that she feels none. She lets her hand drop and continues into the next car. They'd watched the Reapings in here only a few hours ago, and she wonders how it'll be different this time. Maybe she'll jump on the couch-

"Hi."

She nearly leaps out of her skin. Rory is sitting inside, light from the television on his face, green eyes turned to look at her. "Sorry," he says, his voice hushed. "Couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Mallory stammers. "Sorry- I'll leave-"

"It's fine," he reassures her. "I, um, I won't make you leave."

"Oh. I mean, I was just exploring the train, so I can go look somewhere else."

"Exploring?"

"It all looks different at night," she says, feeling a bit silly. "Like… eerie. I don't know."

"Nah, I kinda get it," Rory says. "Our old house was like that. During the daytime, it was great, but at night… wow, it was creepy. Like, at the time it was fine, but looking back, wow. Spooky. I guess knowing what was actually going on there makes it worse, but still. Spooky."

"The orphanage," Mallory recalls. "Where you lived with your brother?"

"Yep."

"How many kids were there?"

"Oh, a ton. There were a bunch of us in each bedroom, and it was a big country house, you know? Who knows how many kids were there, honestly…" he trails off. Mallory gets the sense he's not looking at her anymore, but after a moment, he's back. "But yeah, I lived there. With Newt and a bunch of other kids. When I was ten it all got shut down, though."

"Do you still live in the house?"

"Oh, no. We all got moved out of there pretty quick. They shuffled us around into different orphanages and foster cares," he explains. "I think they just… wanted to forget it ever happened. I think most people did."

"That's probably good that you moved. Since the house was creepy and all."

"Right," he agrees. "And since we didn't want to be eaten."

She stares at him, her lips parted, until he cracks a smile. "I'm kidding."

"Oh. Holy shit. Is that the kind of thing you can joke about?"

"As someone who was supposed to be eaten, I think so."

She grins back at him this time. His face lights up when he smiles, making his freckles crease and his green eyes twinkle. He's been rather solemn up until now- Mallory can't blame him for that- but he does look nicer when he smiles.

But her own smile drops when he asks, "What about you? Where are you from?"

"Oh. I, uh… you know. One of those towns in the middle of nowhere. I didn't have a bunch of siblings like you, though. Just me and my parents."

"Oh, okay. Did you… did you like it there?"

"It was okay," she says, her voice quieter.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay," he rushes. "Like, you already know this, but I didn't have the greatest time in Ten either, and just because people wanted to eat me doesn't mean that other people don't have a hard time there. It's okay."

"No," she says. She's a bit surprised with herself, how ready she is to be open with Rory, but she really wants him to like her. He's so nice, and he's funny, and Mallory can't remember the last time she's talked to someone her age for this long. "It's fine. I just, uh… where was your orphanage? The child-eating one?"

He smiles for a moment. "Pretty far out there, why?"

"I don't know about your town-"

"I didn't either," Rory interrupts. "We were pretty much kept on her land until we were thirteen. No field trips."

"Oh."

"But I've been in a few towns since then, so maybe I do," he says.

"Okay. So you know how, like, towns get small. And so people are really close-knit and everything, and like… I've been to the outside of Ten, and everything is really different. There's way more people, and there's Peacekeepers around, and it just isn't like that in the rural parts."

"Right."

"So the outside has doctors and things, but my town didn't have one. We had one we shared with three other towns. So instead of taking babies to the doctor, you took them to village elders?"

"...Okay."

"And they said if the baby was healthy or not."

"Sure."

"And for me… they, um, they basically said there was something wrong with me."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry."

"Not like health-wise or anything like that," Mallory says. "Just like, that I was okay for now, but that I would die before I turned eighteen."

"Holy shit. For real?"

Mallory nods.

"I'm sorry," Rory says. He presses his lips together, watching her sympathetically, and in that moment Mallory can tell: Rory gets it. Rory knows what it's like for Ten to rip away the future. "So that's why everything was just 'okay,' I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," Mallory says. "I mean, I got to do whatever I wanted for the most part, so that was really fun. No one tried to tell me what to do, because who really cared, right? 'Let her live while she can' sort of thing. But it's not nice to know. Well, maybe it's better that I know, but it's still sort of… a lot. If that makes sense."

"It does," Rory says slowly. "That's really intense."

"I guess so."

Rory looks at her again, and she sees his eyes widen. "So… you, in the Games…"

"Yeah," she whispers. "They were right. I mean, they always were- I always believed them- but it's one thing to know, and another to live it."

"Shit," he says, his most emphatic curse yet. He watches her closely.

"I know."

"That really, really sucks."

Mallory shrugs. "I've always known it."

"It still sucks, though."

She hates the pity she sees in him- the knowledge that while he may have only a slim chance, Mallory's fate is sealed, and that he feels bad for her because of it. "Don't worry about it."

He nods. "Well, um, you're still here, right?"

"I'm still alive," she confirms. "For now."

"Then we'll just have to make sure to have fun while we can," he says, a smile slowly stretching across his cheeks.

"'We?'"

"If you'll have me."

Mallory nods fiercely. "That sounds great," she says, her curly hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Yeah. That's cool."

"Awesome," he grins. "Guess that means we're allies."

"I guess so!"

---

The train arrives at the Capitol the next day, where Mallory and Rory are immediately escorted to their prep teams. They've been put in the usual Tribute Parade outfit- cowboys- but their stylists have tried to put a spin on the idea by covering everything with sequins. Their shirts, pants, boots, hats- all sequins. Mallory finds the whole getup very scratchy.

Really, this entire experience so far- being ushered from place to place, told what to wear, how to smile and wave- is more confining than anything Mallory has ever known. The freedom of her doomed fate has always been a cage in itself, but her world is shrinking, and her autonomy is being ripped from her hands. It puts her on edge, and every time a sequin pokes her, she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from losing it altogether.

Rory notices her tension. "You good?"

"Fine," she mutters. They're both standing on the chariot, waiting to be paraded out.

"This is kind of a lot."

"We look insane," she says. "Are people going to take this seriously?"

Rory snorts. "I hope so. I do like the cowboy hats, though." He tips his hat at her grandly, earning a scoff. Before she can reply, the chariot jerks forward, leaving them to scramble for handholds. Her lifetime of getting into what should have been trouble- what would have been, if not for her fate- has given her quick enough reflexes to grab on tight. Rory stumbles, and she shoots out her other arm to steady him. He offers her a grateful smile, and she returns it, her heart racing.

Sure, she's going to die, and maybe she's only known him a day, but she's made a friend. She's told him all about her misfortunes and he wants to be her friend in spite of them. That's never happened before. So Rory's jokes and easy camaraderie… it's wonderful. She might have fully snapped today if he wasn't there to round out the edges of her tension.

But there isn't time to think about that right now, because suddenly, the whole world is looking right at her.

She squints in the daylight, finding stands full of more people than Mallory has ever seen screaming right at her. Light catches on her sequins, and Rory's, too, making everything even brighter. She's never experienced so much excitement before, and it's invigorating. She smiles and waves, and once she gets bored of that, she starts tipping her cowboy hat at the crowd, which they seem to like. At the end of the runway, the president makes a brief speech, and then they turn back. She goes back to tipping her hat at everyone, which gives her an idea.

"Rory," she says, straining to be heard over the crowd, "I have an idea."

He catches the glint in her eye. "What?"

She pulls the sequined cowboy hat off her head, curling her arm around it like a frisbee. She winds up and tosses it out to the crowd as hard as she can, watching as it soars into the sea of people. She waves at them, excited to see someone catch the hat, and an entire section of the crowd is now cheering for her.

Rory grins. "Holy shit!"

He follows suit, letting his hat fly out from his hand to the stands on the other side. This time, the crowd isn't nearly as surprised, but they're twice as enthusiastic. Mallory thinks she sees people fighting over Rory's blue-sequined hat. When he turns back to her, whooping, she high fives him. He isn't ready, so she misses the first time, which only makes them both laugh: the second time, they nail it, leaving her palm stinging. They're still laughing when the chariot pulls back into the loading cavern.

Dimitri walks up to meet them. "The fuck happened to your hats?"

"We lost them," Mallory says, breathless. Rory starts laughing again.

Dimitri scowls, but he doesn't really seem to mind. "Alright. Let's head to the tenth floor."

---

The tenth floor is larger than Mallory's entire house.

The idea makes her throat pang with the realization that she'll never be home again. Ten may have been a cage, but home was home, and there was nothing like a familiar pillow against her head or worn floorboards beneath her feet. But she shoves that down. It's just like Rory said- she's going to have fun while she still can. She can end her life miserable about something she's always known, or she can enjoy what is left.

She will gladly choose the latter.

---

She and Rory spend the rest of the day talking with Dimitri and stuffing themselves with the endless array of food. It's the best she's ever tasted, and from Rory's appetite, he clearly agrees.

The next morning, Dimitri sends them to the basement, where the Training Center awaits. The Head Trainer gives them the rundown- they can do what they wish with their time, meals occur at their convenience, no maiming or killing the other tributes until the arena- and then sets them loose. It eases some of the tension Mallory's been carrying in her chest, to be given free reign.

Rory looks over at her. "What do you want to do?"

Mallory takes in the options- every weapon she could think of and more, survival skills, obstacle courses… she would love to run amok in this place, but Rory's waiting for an answer. "There's so many possibilities," she says. "I don't even know where to start. Do you have something you want to do?"

Rory considers. "Maybe we should start with some weapons?"

Mallory follows his gaze- there's a station nearby with knives, not the throwing kind, and it's empty. She nods. "I've never used a weapon before. That sounds smart."

So that's where they begin. The station has all sizes and shapes of knives, and the trainer takes them through everything, showing them how to hold them carefully and, once they've mastered that, some defensive moves. Mallory prefers the longer, heavier dagger- the trainer calls it a dirk- liking how it feels in her hand. It almost feels like a sword, but it's not so long and unwieldy that a beginner can't handle it. Rory, on the other hand, likes the smaller, lighter blades. He starts inching towards the throwing knives, and Mallory lets him go, enthralled by the dirk. The weapon makes her feel safer, more secure. The trainer says she's a natural, and Mallory starts to wonder if she could have a chance before she remembers her fate. The realization sinks back into her shoulders, souring her mood, just as Rory comes to get her for lunch.

"That was productive," he says as they sit down. "I was thinking- maybe we could do some survival research after this? Balance out the day? Little bit of everything?"

"Sure."

Rory catches her eye, but she looks away. He's noticed her bad mood and she knows it, and she hates that she's upset over a fact of life she's always known. It's her own fault for letting herself get her hopes up. She forces herself to look back at him, pushing down her fear.

"Sorry, yeah. That sounds good."

"I mean…" he trails off. "We can always split up. I saw you looking at the obstacle course. Almost looks fun, yeah?"

"Only if you're sure," she replies.

He nods, giving her a small smile. "I like reading and stuff like that. I'll be fine with edible plants."

They finish their food quickly, Rory giving her a goofy wave as she jaunts off to the obstacle course. She doesn't see any tributes there, just the trainers.

"If you'd like, we can time you," says a dark-haired trainer as she walks up.

"Okay," she says. She turns and sizes up the course: lots of climbing, lots of dodging. Rory had been right: it does look like fun. She finds the mark on the floor where she's supposed to start and bends her knees, readying herself.

"Three, two, one-!"

And she's flying.

Mallory tears into the course, leaping from platform to platform, her dark curls streaming out behind her. She runs so fast it's all she can think about, the freedom of it all clearing every other thought from her mind. She sucks down air as she swings across a foam pit on a dangling rope. She leaps over one barrier, ducks under another. She throws her body into the rope net, climbing up and over. She sprints the final distance, her chest heaving as she crosses the finish line.

Her hair is sticking to her brow, and her legs burn just a bit, but god was it worth it for that tiny bit of freedom.

She jogs back over to the start, grinning. The male trainer she'd seen before stood by a screen showing her time.

"Well done," he says. "Would you like to run it again?"

"Is it okay if I come back later?" she asks. "I should probably go find Rory."

"Of course. The course isn't going anywhere," he replies.

She smiles and turns to leave, looking out at all the other stations. The obstacle course is at the end of the room, and she has a good view of much of the Training Center from here. She spots Rory's red hair all the way on the other side of the cavern and decides to swing by the cafeteria for some water before she meets back up with him.

She pushes open the double doors.

"-you can't hurt me before the Games, it's not allowed-"

"I don't see any trainers in here, though. Do you?"

"-get away from me-"

"Hey!" Mallory calls. "Who's over there?"

Just as she realizes that might have been a bad idea, she sees the group in the corner. A few tall, bulky tributes- she recognizes them as Careers- surround a smaller, shorter girl, her frown fierce. One of the boys has a hand on her wrist. Another, shorter boy stands off to the side, which confuses Mallory, because she's pretty sure he isn't a Career.

"Leave," one of the girls says. The number 1 is stitched into her black training jumpsuit. There are six of them total, the Careers and the boy and Mallory and the other girl.

"What are you doing?"

"Training," one of the boys says. He's the one holding the small girl's arm, and he has a 2 on his shirt. The other Career boy, who wears a 1, snickers at his response, and the girl from One grins.

Mallory looks at the smaller girl. She remains stiff in Two's grip, but her eyes are wide, and she's looking back at Mallory.

"Let her go," Mallory says.

"Or what?" the One girl smirks. "Here's what you're going to do: turn around, walk back out into the Training Center, and forget what you saw here. If you do, we won't make it our personal mission to kill you the second the Games begin. How does that sound?"

"Or she'll tell the trainers what she saw and you'll all get banned from the private sessions," the small girl says.

The other boy, the one from One, frowns at this. "Guys, I need to get a good score. This is stupid."

"But our plan-" the One girl starts.

"-isn't going to work. Clearly. Mars, let her go, come on."

"What about the deal?" the non-Career asks.

"Too bad. Mars, let her go."

The Two boy drops her arm, and the small girl darts toward Mallory. The non-Career starts cursing. Mallory and the girl head back out of the cafeteria together, but the One girl calls out after them one last time.

"Your odds just got a little bit worse, Ten."

Mallory rolls her eyes. The odds have never been in her favor, and they've never been worse than they are now. The threat is useless against her.

Once they're outside, the girl turns to talk to her.

"Thanks," she says. Without the Careers surrounding her, Mallory can finally get a good look at what she looks like. She has green eyes, darker and warmer than Rory's, and dark brown hair. Her face is ovular, and her bottom lip is bigger than the top one, and her nose is straight and wide at the top, pushing her eyebrows further apart.

"Oh, no problem," Mallory says, still looking at the girl. There's something… enchanting about her, and Mallory can't stop looking at her face.

The girl tilts her head. "Do you have a name?"

"Oh. Yeah. Mallory. I'm from District Ten."

The girl considers this for a moment and nods, sticking her hand out. "Astrid Galilei. District Five."

Mallory shakes it- the girl's hand is firm and cool. "I've never met anyone from another district before."

"I have, but they tried to assault me in a cafeteria," Astrid replies, her voice level. It occurs to Mallory that her words have remained calm, rational, throughout their entire conversation- if had been Mallory in the cafeteria, she would've been freaking out.

"That's not good."

"No, it isn't," Astrid agrees. "Thank you, though."

"No problem," Mallory repeats. She looks back at the stations- Rory is still by the edible plants. "I was going to meet up with my district partner, if you wanted to come with."

Astrid casts a glance at the cafeteria. Mallory can hear faint voices inside, and it sounds like they're arguing. "I would like that."

Mallory's heart skips a little beat in her chest as she leads Astrid towards Rory. As he hears them walking up, Rory perks up, giving Mallory a small wave.

"Hey!" he greets her. "How was the obstacle course?"

"Oh, it was great!" Mallory replies. "It was so fun. I'll probably run it again later if we have time."

Rory turns to Astrid. "I'm Rory," he says. "I'm also from Ten."

Astrid repeats the handshaking process as she introduces herself. Rory glances back at Mallory, a clear question in his eyes.

"We met in the cafeteria," Mallory says. "I went in for some water… and, uh…"

"My district partner tried to trade me to the Careers in exchange for joining their alliance. They agreed, and he tricked me into entering the cafeteria. Before Mallory walked in, they were discussing the best way to break my ribs without anyone noticing," Astrid says, her voice as detached as ever.

Rory's eyes widen. "Oh, fuck."

"Wait, for real?" Mallory asks. "I didn't hear that part."

Astrid nods once. "Correct."

"Well, uh, feel free to hang out with us instead," Rory offers. "That's awful. I'm sorry."

Astrid considers for a moment. "If that is acceptable to both of you, I would like that. To spend the afternoon with you, that is."

"Of course!" Mallory says.

Astrid smiles. "Excellent."

Mallory smiles back, excited at the potential for another new friend. Rory flashes a goofy thumbs-up to signal his approval, and just like that, their group of two has grown to three.

---

Over the course of the afternoon, Mallory learns several things about Astrid Galilei.

The first, which Astrid offers up as they join Rory at the edible plants station, is that she has an eidetic memory. When Mallory doesn't recognize the term, she explains, "Some people call it a photographic memory. I remember everything I see. Quite useful for school, although it's been helpful here as well." She then proceeds to ace the edible plants test, which she had apparently taken once that morning.

Mallory's jaw drops just watching her. "That's crazy."

"No, it's an eidetic memory."

That's the second thing Mallory learns about Astrid: she takes what Mallory and Rory say very literally. Their jokes tend to go over her head, or confuse her, which means it takes them a while to get into a rhythm with her. Mallory is afraid the jokes will drive her away, but Astrid doesn't seem to mind them.

"You gonna go run the obstacle course again, Mal?" Rory asks about halfway through the afternoon. "I kind of want to watch this time."

"It's fun," Mallory replies. "You should run it with me."

"I'll watch you first."

So Mallory runs the course for the second time that day, and Rory and Astrid come along to watch. When she finishes, her cheeks hot and her chest heaving, Rory jogs over to meet her. "Holy shit! You were, like, a freaking cheetah on that thing! Or a monkey, I don't know! But that was really good."

Astrid walks up behind him. "She was much slower than a cheetah," she observes. "Cheetahs are incredibly fast mammals. Mallory is a human."

"How about a monkey, though?"

"Doubtful, but it is a closer comparison."

Mallory grins. "I'll take it."

Astrid smiles back, suddenly shy. Mallory searches for her warm green eyes, but Astrid is looking anywhere other than at Mallory.

"You think I could get anywhere near that time?" Rory asks, eyeing the course.

"You should try it anyway," Mallory says. "Just for fun."

"Really?"

"We said we were going to have fun, didn't we?" Mallory asks, elbowing him lightly. Rory laughs and swats her away, heading off to the start of the course.

Once he's out of earshot, Astrid asks, "Are you good friends?"

"We met on the train, but I like to think so," Mallory replies, watching Rory talk to the trainer.

"Oh." Astrid glances away.

"But we're just friends," Mallory rushes. "In case that's what you were thinking. Nothing more than that, I mean. Yeah. He just- I don't have a lot of friends at home, in Ten, for… reasons. But I have Rory as my friend now."

"I see."

"And I'd like to think you and I are friends, too."

Rory's timer goes off, and he's sprinting through the course. Neither girl is watching him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Mallory says, a bit too quickly.

Astrid smiles. "Okay."

"Cool."

They look back at Rory just in time to see him hurl himself over the rope net and land awkwardly on the other side, tripping and falling on his face. He pops back up and flashes the girls another thumbs-up, and he's off again. Mallory stifles a laugh.

"That looked painful," Astrid mutters, trying to hold back a smile.

"It's okay to laugh," Mallory murmurs back. "He won't mind. Besides, it was funny."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Astrid breaks out in a grin, and Mallory learns a third fact about her new friend: her smile is maybe the best Mallory has ever seen.

---

The rest of training goes by in a flash. Other than avoiding the Careers and Astrid's partner, and trying not to think about the upcoming Games, Mallory really enjoys her time in training. Somehow, despite everything else going on, it's the most normal she has ever felt. She's spending her days running around with two friends, like a normal teenager, and it's freeing. She finds it so easy to turn away from the danger on the horizon and look at Rory, look at Astrid, and feel okay.

Training goes well. Their private sessions are okay- Mallory runs the obstacle course and stabs a dummy with her dirk, and scores decently well for it. Her interview isn't the most memorable, but she's okay with that. She talks about her parents, avoiding mention of Ten or her hometown, and says some nice things about Rory and Astrid, too.

"They're really great allies. I wouldn't want to be in the Hunger Games with anyone else."

After the interviews, she and Rory ride the elevator back to the tenth floor together and change out of their fancy clothes. Just as she's finished pulling on her pajamas, there's a knock at the door. She opens it to see Rory.

"We should have a sleepover," he says.

"Oh, sure! I've never had a sleepover before."

He shakes his head. "We need to fix that immediately. Let's invite Astrid, too."

"Good idea."

They head toward the elevator. On the way they pass Dimitri, who is sitting at the dining room table, tapping away on a large tablet.

"Where are you going?"

"We're gonna go get Astrid," Mallory calls, still walking through.

"Sleepover!" Rory says at the same time.

Dimitri raises his eyebrows. "What if I say no?"

They freeze.

Dimitri smirks. "I don't give a shit. Just make sure you stay out of the Peacekeeper's way."

Mallory and Rory relax. It had never occurred to Mallory to ask for permission- she never had back home- and Rory hadn't said anything about it, either. Dimitri rolls his eyes, though he doesn't seem annoyed, and returns to his tablet. As soon as he goes back to his device, they make a run for the elevators.

"I really thought he was going to say no," Mallory says, leaning against the wall as the elevator begins to descend.

"I did too," Rory confesses, his eyes wide. His eyes are so big that Mallory starts laughing again, which makes Rory pretend to pout, which only makes Mallory laugh harder. She's still laughing when the elevator arrives on the fifth floor, so much so that Rory leaves her behind to go knock on the door.

It opens to reveal a man several years older than Dimitri, with black hair and deep bags under his eyes. He looks from Rory to Mallory, who's still calming down. "Good evening."

"We're here to get Astrid for a sleepover," Rory says, holding his hands behind his back and giving the District Five Mentor a huge grin.

He glances back into his apartment, considering. "She needs to be back here by nine," he says.

Rory bobs his head fiercely. "Absolutely!"

"It may be for the best that she gets away from Damiel," he mutters to himself. "Here- come in. She's in her room."

Mallory finishes collecting herself enough to follow the Mentor and Rory into Five's apartments. The layout is similar to Ten's, although the color scheme and decorations have been changed to reflect Five's industry. He leads them down a hallway before knocking on the door on the left.

"Astrid," he says, "your friends are here to invite you to a sleepover."

The door immediately opens. Astrid has also changed out of her fancy interview dress and removed her makeup. She stares at the group of three outside her room. "A… sleepover."

Her Mentor nods. "If you like, you'll spend the night with them."

"I understand. Thank you. Will I see you in the morning?"

"I'd like you to be back by nine, okay?"

"I will."

"You guys can head back up whenever you're ready," her Mentor says. "Have fun."

He turns to and heads back down the hall, leaving Mallory and Rory with just Astrid.

"What do I need to bring?" she asks.

Mallory shrugs. "A toothbrush?" she says. "Whatever you want."

"Do I need to bring a blanket and/or a pillow? I do not have a sleeping bag here, or else I would bring that. Also, from my understanding of sleepovers, there may be an expectation to bring snacks to eat, and I'd like to know if that expectation applies here. And if there is alcohol, I would prefer not to participate."

"We aren't drinking," Rory says. "I think we have enough snacks, too, so no worries about that. A toothbrush, a blanket, a pillow… yeah, that sounds good. Mallory?"

Mallory shrugs again, because she's never been to a sleepover, either, and is actually very relieved that Rory answered Astrid's questions. "Sounds good."

So Astrid ducks back inside her room, retrieving a pillow and a folded blanket and her toothbrush, before stepping into the hallway and shutting the door behind her. The trio heads right back up to the tenth floor from there. Most of the lights are off, and Rory doesn't bother turning them on. Mallory assumes he knows what he's doing.

"Where should I put my things?"

"The living room."

"There aren't any beds in there," Mallory says, confused.

"Yeah, but there are couches," Rory says. He looks at Mallory. "Have you been to a sleepover? You have, right?"

"I, uh…"

"Holy shit. We're doing this," he says, running into the living room. Mallory dashes after him, and Astrid hurries along behind. Rory launches himself at the nearest couch, tossing aside pillows and cushions haphazardly.

"What is he doing?" Astrid whispers, transfixed by Rory's chaos.

"Don't know. Rory, what are you-"

"Mal, are there sheets in your room?"

"Probably?"

"Go grab them," he says. Mallory looks through her closets until she finds queen-sized bed sheets and brings them back to Rory. He then sends her back to his room to get more. When she gets back, she finds that Astrid has set down her stuff and joined Rory in rearranging the cushions.

"This one should go over there," she says, pointing across the room.

"What? Why?"

"For maximum support. If you keep it here, I am nearly certain this portion of the wall will cave in. Unless the 'blanket fort' is meant to do so?"

"No, no, that's a good idea. Let's do that then." He sees Mallory come in with a fresh load of blankets. "Hell yeah. Once we get this side set up, we'll pull the sheets over the top for a ceiling."

"Should I get pillows, too?"

"Yeah!"

Astrid steps back, eyeballing the pillows she's just finished adjusting. "Is this acceptable?"

"I think it looks good," Mallory offers. Astrid glances up at Mallory, a timid smile playing at her lips. As the heat rushes to her cheeks, Mallory turns and runs back to her room to get more pillows so Astrid can't see.

The pillow run takes multiple trips. By the time she's finished, Rory and Astrid have almost finished building the blanket fort. Mallory crawls inside, lining the edges of the space with the extra pillows.

"Do we need anything else?" she asks.

Rory runs a hand through his reddish hair. "I'm gonna look for a flashlight so we can see. Do you guys want to get snacks?"

"Sure," Mallory replies. She heads into the kitchen, Astrid only a few steps behind. Inside the pantry, there's all manner of chips and candy and crackers, and Mallory starts to load up her arms with everything she can carry.

"I can take some," Astrid says.

Mallory nods and starts handing her some of the packages. "So you've never had a sleepover, either?" she asks.

"I have not," Astrid says. "I assume from your question that you have also never had one."

Mallory shrugs. "Never got invited." No one in Ten was interested in befriending a dead girl walking. What was the point, when she would be gone so soon? But here, preparing for the Games, others had suddenly become much more willing to take that risk.

"Myself as well," Astrid says.

"Weird."

Astrid cocks her head. "What do you mean by that?"

Mallory suddenly struggles to look at Astrid. "I… I don't get why they wouldn't want to hang out with you."

"Oh." Mallory can feel the weight of Astrid's eyes on her, and she focuses on piling more snacks into her arms. "I see."

"Yeah."

Astrid is silent for a moment before she speaks again. "I agree. I also think it is strange that other people would not have sleepovers with you."

Mallory never turned the lights on, trying to follow Rory's lead, so when she looks back at Astrid she can't entirely tell if she's seeing right. But in the shadows of the District Ten kitchen, Mallory could swear Astrid is blushing. "Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Mallory finishes her stack, and the pair heads back into the living room. Rory has evidently found a flashlight, because the tent is glowing from the inside.

"Rory," she calls, "we got the snacks."

His head pops out from between two blankets. "Awesome. Throw them in!"

"Throw them?" Astrid asks, but Mallory has already thrown her armful of snacks at Rory's face. He falls back into the tent with a laugh, and Mallory crawls in after him, holding the blanket open for Astrid. Astrid drops her armfuls into much neater piles as she follows. Rory shakes the different packets and bags off of himself as they all settle in.

"So what happens now?" Mallory asks.

Rory shrugs. "Whatever we want."

"You're the sleepover genius," Mallory says.

Astrid nods. "It is true. You are the only one here who has attended a sleepover."

"Well, yeah," he says. "Every day of my life used to be a sleepover. And with a bazillion kids in one house, you get pretty creative with blanket forts." He rips open a bag of sour candy, popping one in his mouth and making a face. "Sometimes Mrs. Hutchinson would let us build forts instead of doing school stuff. She was never big on math…"

"Bazillion is not a real number," Astrid mumbles. Their newest ally has spent enough time with Rory and Mallory to know about Hutchinson Orphanage, although neither of them have mentioned the certainty that Mallory will die. Somehow, Mallory doesn't think Astrid would understand. Rory, who's from Ten- he knows. But Astrid is from a different world, one of smoggy skies and tall buildings and ever-present heat. Maybe it would be kinder to tell her now, but she's already shown willingness to be Mallory's friend. She doesn't want to ruin it.

"I wouldn't know," Rory teases. "Like I said, she was never big on math."

Astrid smiles. "Well, now you do."

"I do!" he says. "I mean, I've been in a real, not-run-by-a-cannibal school for a while now. I've been busy making up for lost time."

"Understandable," Astrid says. "Do you enjoy school?"

"'Course," he replies. "School is a great time. I always liked reading and learning and stuff like that anyway, so it all worked out."

"I don't get it," Mallory says, reaching for a bag of crackers. "School isn't bad, but it's not a great time. Wouldn't you rather- I don't know- spray paint a bridge? Or climb a tree? Or a roof?"

Rory wrinkles his nose. "No."

Astrid stares at Mallory. "Spray paint?" she asks. "Is that not illegal in Ten?"

"No, it is," she says. "But like… there's so much more to life than a classroom."

"Maybe for you," Rory says. "Me and Astrid are very happy with our classrooms, thank you very much."

"Did you actually do that?" Astrid asks, still looking at Mallory.

"Yeah."

"What else did you do?"

Mallory launches into an account of her escapades. In her unsupervised childhood, she'd climbed things she shouldn't have, explored places she wasn't supposed to go, taken things that didn't belong to her, and she'd never faced consequences. Not all of it was recent- much of her rebellious streak had died off after she hit fourteen and matured a bit- but she told the stories nonetheless. Both Rory and Astrid, who had grown up as law-abiding citizens, listened to each story with wide eyes. From what Mallory knew of Astrid, her life had been fairly mundane before being Reaped, but Rory had spent most of his childhood under an adult's watchful attention. Mallory's misbehavior was a whole new world for both of them.

Once she's finished, Rory starts telling stories. Some are about Hutchinson Orphanage, but he tells some about more recent years, too: many about how hard he had to work to catch up to other students, spending hours speeding through the reading and math and science Mrs. Hutchinson had neglected. He talks about other kids not knowing how to talk to him once they found out who had raised him. He tells them about the only family he's ever known, the other orphans, being scattered across the district and out of his reach.

Astrid eventually joins in, too, and most of her stories are academic. Mallory already knows Astrid is smart, but it becomes obvious that Astrid is more than just smart as she recounts math competitions and science olympiads and fairs: she might just be a genius. And as according to Astrid, her parents have always been extremely invested in her education, As Mallory learns more about her parents, she starts to understand why Astrid has never had a sleepover. Where Mallory's life was too much freedom, Astrid's every moment was scheduled, and mistakes were not allowed. To Mallory, it sounds exhausting.

They spend the rest of the night just like that, talking about home and eating snacks. Eventually, Mallory's eyelids get heavy, and Rory starts yawning, and Astrid is rubbing her eyes, so Rory switches off the flashlight.

"Goodnight," he says.

"G'night," Mallory replies.

"Good night," Astrid answers.

And just like that, Mallory has experienced her first sleepover.

---

The next morning, she and Rory eat breakfast before leaving the Training Center via hovercraft. The tension is thick: not between them, but their hopes and their future. Mallory can see Rory struggling to hold onto his nerves. Meanwhile, Mallory is picturing her entire hometown watching the Games. Oh, what a shame. The town elders are always right, though, aren't they? She was doomed from the start.

Underneath the arena, they're separated and styled one more time. Mallory is dressed in a pair of faded denim overalls, a loose, green long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black boots. Her curls are forced into braids, and the stylists cover her face in sunscreen. As a finishing touch, they pull a green scarf over the top of her head, tying it so the extra bits tickle the back of her neck. She sees it's been embroidered with little acorns and leaves.

The whole time, she's thinking:

This is it. This is the end. They were right all along.

Mallory Catelli, born to die too soon.

They put her on her pedestal, shutting the door of the glass tube behind her.

Then she goes up, up, up…

…and she's in the arena.

---

Mallory Catelli has never felt so small.

It's as though she's been shrunk to the size of an ant. Before her lies what she can only describe as an enormous garden: flower petals blooming far overhead, tomatoes the size of tractors, leaves so big Mallory could use them as a blanket at night. Once upon a time, Mallory would have towered over this place without a second thought.

But just like the elders, the Gamemakers had managed to crush her hope.

Behind her, what would have been a small fountain is now the size of a rushing waterfall. The tribute pedestals ring the fountain, facing the garden, and supply bags and weapons are scattered in the dirt before them. She looks around for her allies- she can see Rory scanning the terrain, but Astrid must be somewhere behind the fountain.

That's when her minute runs out.

It's immediate pandemonium as all twenty-four tributes run for the supplies. Some of the Careers don't even bother with the weapons and go straight for the other tributes instead. Mallory grabs a backpack as she sprints towards Rory.

"Rory!" she screams. She swerves around the body of a small girl, already dead, and keeps running. Rory turns his head at the sound of his name.

"Where's Astrid?" she shouts.

Rory's eyes are wide, just as they were in the elevator last night, but Mallory no longer finds it funny. "I don't know-"

Mallory grabs his hand and takes off again, dragging him along with her. They make their way to the other side of the fountain- the bodies are everywhere, more than Mallory remembers seeing in old Games- until they finally spot Astrid struggling against one of the Careers. The girl from One is swinging a knife at her, and Astrid keeps stumbling back, trying to stay out of her way-

"Get away from her!" Mallory shouts, running at One and tackling her. Rory makes a noise that is either a scream or a cheer, but she doesn't care, because she quickly has bigger problems. One sinks the knife into Mallory's shoulder, and Mallory has never been in so much pain. Her vision blurs with tears, but she keeps swinging at One until Rory and Astrid drag the Career off her. Rory kicks her in the nose as she sprawls back into the dirt, and Astrid helps Mallory up, her cheeks wet.

"Why did you do that?"

Mallory winces as a new wave of blood bursts from her shoulder. "She was trying to kill you!"

"But-"

"Come on!" Rory shouts. "Before she gets up! This way!"

Rory takes off, running for the forest of flowers. Mallory and Astrid follow as fast as they can.

The whole time, Astrid doesn't let go of Mallory's hand.

---

That night, after patching up Mallory's stab wound, the trio settles in for their second sleepover.

"Does it hurt?" Astrid frets, looking at Mallory's bandages.

"It's fine," Mallory assures her, not for the first time. "You did a really good job."

Astrid nods, but she doesn't look away from Mallory. Mallory leans her head against the flower stem she's propped up against, staring up through the sunflower petals at the stars beyond.

Rory finishes his inventory. "We didn't get a lot of food, but I'm not super worried," he says. "We're in a garden. Most of this stuff should be edible. I definitely saw some giant carrots back there."

"I saw tomatoes," Mallory offers.

Before they can say anything else, the Capitol's anthem begins to play, and faces light up the sky. First there's both from Three, then the Four boy. There's the boy from Six, both Sevens, both Nines, both Elevens, and both tributes from Twelve, and then, mercifully, the night fades to black.

Mallory's mouth is hanging open by the end. "Was that eleven tributes?"

"Twelve," Astrid quietly corrects her.

"That's insane," Rory says.

"That's not normal, right?" Mallory asks.

"It is not," Astrid answers. "But I have a theory."

"What is it?" she asks.

"You recall how we met in the cafeteria, right?" Astrid says. "From my understanding, although they were unable to break my ribs, my district partner did manage to ally with the Careers. It seems likely that if he procured another victim, he would have secured his place with them."

"Okay…" Rory says.

"But it also seemed to me," she continues, "that they had no intention of stopping after sabotaging my chances. They could have easily moved on to other tributes, weakening them, in order to increase their kill counts during the Bloodbath. Injuries would mean tributes are slower and easier for them to fight."

Mallory buries her face in her hands. "I hate that," she says.

"That's so shitty," Rory mutters.

"If you had not intervened that day, Mallory," Astrid says, "I would almost certainly have died today."

Mallory raises her head to find Astrid's studious green eyes still watching her. "Well, I'm glad I did," she says fiercely. "I'd do it again in a second."

"Thank you." Astrid blushes, and Mallory can't look away, entranced by the pink in her cheeks.

"You're welcome."

Rory coughs. "It's shitty, but we all made it out, and we're already halfway through the Games. It sucks, but at least there's that, right?"

Mallory blinks. "Yeah. Yes. There's that."

"Should we sleep soon?" Astrid asks. "If so, I think we should establish a schedule where one person is always awake to look out for danger."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Rory says. "I can go first."

"I will go second," Astrid quickly says. "Mallory should rest."

"I can still keep lookout," Mallory argues. "I'll just go last."

"If you are sure."

"Yeah, Mal, it's okay if you wanna sleep," Rory says.

"Nah, it's fine," she says. She pushes up off the flower stem, gritting her teeth as a fresh burn starts up in her shoulder.

"Mallory-"

"It's fine," she insists. "Really."

She sees Astrid and Rory exchange a glance, but they drop it. Mallory pulls one of their backpacks under her head and settles in for the night, quickly falling asleep.

---

She dreams that she's in her room back in Ten, but she's still as tiny as she is in the arena. Her parents come in, frantic, looking for her, but she's so small that they can't find her.

She's so small that no one sees her at all.

---

The next morning, the trio decides to keep moving through the flower forest (or, as Rory has coined it, the "florest"). The others start worrying about her stabbed shoulder again, but Mallory argues that it's her shoulder that was stabbed, not her leg, and they eventually drop it.

"In a strange way," Astrid says, "this place is sort of beautiful."

Mallory glances up- they've passed under a cluster of daffodils, and bright yellow petals are blooming overhead. "It is," she replies. "There are definitely worse places to die."

"Yeah, yeah, Mal, you're doomed, now let's keep moving," Rory says.

"Rory-"

"Mallory is doomed?" Astrid asks.

"Aren't we all?" Rory says, covering his mistake. Mallory shoots him a look- she still hasn't told Astrid about her death sentence, and she doesn't intend to.

(It's been nice, spending time with friends. She doesn't want to burst Astrid's bubble. She just wants to enjoy what time she has left. They're already worrying too much about her injury, and she doesn't need to cause them more concern.)

"No," Astrid answers. "One of us will survive. Those are the rules. It could very well be Mallory."

Before Mallory can respond, the ground shakes below their feet.

Thud. Thud.

Rory spins over his shoulder, looking behind them. "Fuck!"

Mallory looks over her shoulder and sees an ant. Normally, an ant would be fine. But unlike the tributes, ant is not its typical size. This ant remains proportional to the garden, stomping six feet in a rhythmic thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud as it marches toward them. On instinct, she grabs Astrid's hand, and all three begin to run for their lives once again. They swerve around stems and duck under leaves as the ant tears after them, hearts pounding in their chests.

After a few minutes, the ant still on their tail, they find themselves running through enormous rosebushes. A thorn leaves a gash in Rory's arm, but he doesn't stop.

What does make them stop is running face-first into a pair of Careers.

The pair of Ones stand before them- Mallory recognizes them from the cafeteria, and the girl was the Career who stabbed her shoulder. Both are carrying machetes and start to grin until they realize there's a mutt coming after all five of them. They join the chase, but instead of just running from the mutt, they slice at the trio, too.

The boy slashes out at Astrid, nearly hitting her arm. He would have, too, if Mallory hadn't yanked her out of the way. Astrid bounces off of Mallory's shoulder, but keeps running.

"Leave us alone!" Mallory screams, but the only response is the girl's machete. It catches the end of her hair, shaving off a few loose strands before Mallory ducks out of the way. Rory is far ahead, easily in the lead. Mallory lets go of Astrid's hand just long enough to reach past the machete and punch her in the nose. She shrieks and stumbles.

"Olympia!" the boy cries out. Mallory latches back onto Astrid's hand, taking advantage of the boy's distraction to sprint even harder, getting out of his reach. The girl- Olympia- keeps falling behind, and the ant alters its course to prey on the weak. It jabs out at her, and she screams again. On the second attempt, it clamps down on her shoulder, yanking her up into the air.

"Olympia!" he screams.

"Come on!" Mallory shouts, still running. Her shoulder is burning, and any healing she's done was definitely unmade by that punch. Ahead of them, Rory escapes the roses.

Boom.

Mallory spares a glance over her shoulder just in time to see Olympia crash back to earth, effectively breaking her neck. Her district partner has made the mistake of slowing down, hoping to help her, and now the ant has set its sights on him. It lunges at him, and One tries fighting it back with his machete, but the ant is too big. It opens its mandibles around the boy's head-

Boom.

Mallory and Astrid burst through the rosebushes and are immediately confronted with a house-sized pumpkin.

"Over here!"

They look over to see Rory crouching behind a gourd. He gestures towards them. "Hide here!"

They dash over to them, their chests heaving.

"Everything okay?" he asks, searching their faces.

"I am fine," Astrid nods.

Mallory winces. "I think I tore my shoulder wound open again." Sure enough, blood has begun to seep through her fresh bandages. "Are you okay?"

"I just got a scratch," he shrugs. "The Ones?"

"Dead," Mallory answers.

"Good. Serves them right for stabbing you."

The ant pokes its head out from the rosebushes bordering the pumpkin patch. The trio drops down behind their gourd, hearts racing- but to their relief, the ant doesn't venture beyond the thorns. It stomps off into the florest instead, its thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud gradually fading in the distance.

---

They make it through the rest of the second day with no incidents. At nightfall, both Ones appear in the sky, as well as the boy from Two.

The next morning, they decide to try and forage for more food.

"Is there a way to cut these things open?" Rory asks, squinting at a pumpkin.

"It seems unwise," Astrid says. "If the pumpkin is proportional, then its shell will be incredibly thick. It seems more sensible to search for a more accessible meal."

"Is that what you call the outside of a pumpkin? I thought it was, like, a rind or something."

"Yes. It is a shell."

"That logic makes sense to me," Mallory says. Her shoulder is stiff, and it aches, but she's trying to keep her spirits up. "If we keep walking, maybe we'll find something else that's easier to eat."

So they continue walking, climbing over the vines that block their way, until they find a new section of the garden. The vines and enormous pumpkins transition into towering trellises and plump red tomatoes, and Mallory's mouth starts to water at the sight of them. She remembers seeing a flash of them at the Cornucopia. Some of them are lower to the ground, and she steps toward one, pressing her hand against it.

"That one isn't ripe yet," Rory points out. "Let's spread out? Look for good ones?"

"Not too far, though," Mallory says. "And shout if you need help."

Rory flashes her a thumbs-up and wanders off among the tomatoes. Mallory starts to walk in the other direction, and Astrid follows.

"I would prefer not to split up," she mumbles. "If that is all right with you."

"Oh. Yeah, that sounds good," Mallory says.

They walk together for a moment, silently looking for a ripe tomato.

"Mallory."

"Yeah?"

Astrid stops. "I, um. I think I should… tell you something."

Mallory tries to keep her breathing even. "What is it?"

"I," Astrid says, slowly and carefully, "may have… information, which may be… of interest, and actionable, to you. However, that information comes with, um, conditions."

"Conditions?"

"Yes."

"What are the conditions?"

"That you will not judge me in any way once you hear this information," Astrid says. "Or make any assumptions, or think negatively of me, once you… hear this information. Those are the conditions."

Mallory nods, a bit confused. "Okay," she says. "I, um, I accept the conditions."

"Excellent." Astrid takes a moment to pull her thoughts together. "My information is this. If you had, at any point in the last three days, from the time of the sleepover onwards, excluding moments of danger… attempted to… kiss me on the mouth, that would have been received favorably by me. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to make any assumptions about my feelings, as those were the conditions of learning the information."

"I… okay…" Mallory says, trying to stay collected. "I, um, I… yeah. In, um, in that case, I also may have information for you, under the same conditions and everything."

"I agree to your terms."

Astrid is less than two feet away. Mallory closes that distance in a second, pressing her lips against Astrid's. Astrid closes her eyes and kisses back, and Mallory has done this once or twice before but oh, never like this.

(Astrid is logic. Astrid is reason. Astrid wants to kiss her because she likes Mallory, not because their friends dared them to kiss the doomed girl. Astrid is sincere, and Astrid cares, and Astrid… Astrid.)

When they finally pull apart, Mallory is grinning. "I really, really like you," she says.

"I am glad you did not make fun of me," Astrid replies. "I was nervous."

"I would never," Mallory says.

Astrid tilts her head. "Can we do that again?"

Mallory leans in without hesitation, and Astrid reaches for her, slipping her hands up behind Mallory's ears and burying them in her hair. Mallory winds her arms around Astrid's waist, pulling her closer-

"I knew it!"

They break apart to see Rory with his hands on his hips, grinning like a madman. "I knew it I knew it I knew it!"

"Rory-"

"Thank god you guys finally made out, it's been ridiculous-"

Mallory glances at Astrid. "Excuse me."

"For what?"

Mallory dashes after Rory. Rory sees the look in her eyes and knows well enough to start running. Astrid sprints after them with a smile. They chase each other through the enlarged tomato garden until they lose their breaths, laughing and swatting at each other, and for that moment, everything is good.

---

That night, she wakes up to Rory shaking her uninjured shoulder.

"Mal," he says, "I can't find Astrid."

That gets her awake immediately. "What?"

"I woke up for my watch and she was gone."

"We have to look for her!"

"I know, come on-"

They start jogging through the tomato vines. While they were bright and beckoning during the day, under the moonlight, they turn threatening, twisting through the air and casting strange shadows across the ground. Mallory heads left, and Rory goes right, searching searching searching until-

"Over here!"

Mallory turns and runs without a second thought, finding Rory crouching next to Astrid's crumpled form. Tears gather in her eyes as she assumes the worst.

"What happened?" she asks. "Are you hurt?"

To her relief, Astrid's eyes are open and alert. "I thought I heard something," she whispers, "and I went to go make sure it was not another ant, or some other type of muttation, when someone attacked me."

"Attacked you? Who?"

"I do not know. I did not see them."

Rory's face is pale. "They could be nearby."

"Come on, let's take you back," Mallory says.

"I may need some assistance," Astrid says. "When they pushed me, something happened to my ankle."

"We'll look at it when we get back, okay?" Mallory says. "Come on, Rory, help me."

The Tens help Astrid up. Mallory loops her arm under Astrid's shoulders, and together, they limp back toward their campsite for the night. Thankfully, none of their supplies have been taken by Astrid's attacker.

However, when they unlace her boots, her ankle is clearly broken. It's already beginning to swell, and Astrid has trouble moving it. When they ask her if it hurts, Astrid can't deny it.

"You should sleep," Mallory says. "Both of you. It's my turn on watch anyway." And it isn't as though she can fall back asleep anytime soon.

Rory, who's having a hard time looking at Astrid's ankle, follows Mallory's orders, settling in and falling asleep once more. Astrid, however, struggles.

"It hurts very much," Astrid says, her jaw clenched. She's propped up against a tomato vine. Mallory sits next to her, unwilling to leave her alone after what happened.

"Yeah, I bet," she says softly. She reaches for Astrid's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Anything I could do to distract you?"

"We do not have any pain medication, unfortunately."

"I meant more, like… talking."

Astrid considers this. "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"As you initiated the first kiss, would it make sense if I initiated it on the second occasion?"

Mallory starts to smile. "Well, yeah-"

Astrid reaches for Mallory's coveralls and pulls Mallory's lips to hers. Mallory is smiling, enjoying Astrid's boldness. She kisses back fiercely, trying to keep Astrid's attention on Mallory instead of her broken ankle, doing her best to take the pain away for as long as she can.

Under the stars, with Astrid, Mallory thinks she has never been happier.

---

The next morning, Mallory sends Rory off in search of a cherry tomato to bring back for lunch. Since Astrid's ankle has swollen considerably, she stays behind with her, nervous that yesterday's attacker is still nearby.

"May I ask you something?"

Mallory stops trying to make a splint out of sticks and looks over. "Yeah?"

"If we had similar feelings about each other, why did it take us so long to act on them?"

Mallory thinks about that. "Well, sometimes if you like someone, you get nervous, you know?" she replies. "I know I did."

"I did as well."

"And, you know… it's the Games."

"That was a factor in my thinking as well," Astrid says.

"What changed your mind?"

Astrid sighs. "I suppose I decided that… as the odds were, decisively, not in my favor… perhaps it made sense to allow myself to do something I wanted. For once, my logic and my emotional state were both acting in my best interest."

"Rory said something like that the day we met," Mallory replies. "If we're gonna die, let's have fun first, right? Make the best of what we have left?"

Astrid nods. "Yes. Did you come to the same conclusion?"

"Yeah…"

She furrows her brow. "You are hesitating."

"What?"

"Is there something else on your mind?"

Mallory looks at Astrid. She looks at Astrid's welcoming green eyes, and the curls peeking out from under her scarf, and the freckles that have begun to appear after four days in the sun.

She looks at Astrid, and she does not want to lie any more.

"Do you remember," she says slowly, "the other day, when Rory joked about how we're doomed?"

"I… think so."

"He wasn't totally joking."

"What?"

"Well, not about me," Mallory says. "I'm not going to win the Games."

Astrid's eyes are wide. "Why not?"

Mallory tells her everything. She recounts the story secondhand: her parents bring her in for blessings, and she instead receives a death sentence. She tells her that she's not going to make it to her eighteenth birthday. She explains that this is why she got away with every broken rule- no one had the heart to punish her.

Once Mallory is done, she expects to see maybe solemn acceptance, like Rory, or maybe tears, like her mother, or maybe something in between.

What she doesn't expect is confusion.

"I do not understand."

"What do you mean?"

"It does not make sense to me. How did they know you would die before you turned eighteen?"

Mallory has never thought about this. "They're the town elders, Astrid. They know everything."

"Did they consult a doctor?"

"Our doctor rotates between three towns. He was busy."

"Did they run any tests?"

"I don't know."

"Is there any scientific data or diagnoses that can confirm their prediction?"

"Astrid…"

"There is no evidence to support their claim," Astrid says. "How did they come to that conclusion?"

"They saw something wrong with me, Astrid," Mallory says. "Okay?"

"No."

"You can't just deny-"

"I believe in science," Astrid says firmly. "But I also believe in you."

Mallory stares at her, taken aback.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Mallory," she says. "You are brave, and kind, and beautiful. There is no reason to think you could not win. If I am being honest, I thought you would win from the moment I saw you in the cafeteria."

"But… the town elders…"

"I mean no disrespect," Astrid says. "But I believe their conclusion is misguided."

Mallory's cheeks are wet. She doesn't know when she started crying.

"Are you guys okay?"

Rory stands over them, holding a cherry tomato the size of a large watermelon.

Mallory wipes her face with her sleeve. "Everything's fine," she answers.

Rory gives her a long look, clearly not believing her. "If you're sure."

"Yeah," she says softly. "I'm sure."

---

That night, after the faces in the sky- there are six of them left now, down from eight the previous day- Mallory struggles to fall asleep.

There is nothing wrong with you, Mallory.

Could Astrid be right?

Could she actually have a chance?

There is a new sensation blossoming in her chest, so foreign that Mallory doesn't know what it is. But as she wrestles with the questions Astrid has posited, she holds on to it as tight as she can.

(It's hope.)

---

The next day passes without incident. At night, one more face is in the sky: the girl from Two. She was the last Career standing, which is a relief. Now there are five, and Mallory, Astrid, and Rory are all among them. Mallory doesn't want to think about what will happen when it's down to the three of them.

That future, however, never comes.

That night, Mallory wakes up with a scream ringing in her ears. She bolts up, her heart racing, just as the cannon fires.

Boom.

She looks around wildly, but neither of her allies are anywhere to be seen. She leaps to her feet and starts running, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

"Astrid!" she shouts, even though she knows she should stay quiet. "Rory! Astrid! Rory!"

She runs through vines, nearly tripping more than once, but can't find them. Were they attacked? What if they're running from a mutt, right now? What if they've already-

"Astrid! Rory!"

She loops around, continuing to call her allies' names. Her boots thud against the packed soil, kicking up dirt in her wake, and loose curls float in front of her eyes. They're here- they have to be here somewhere.

And then she finds them.

"Rory!" she shouts, running toward him. "Rory, oh my god, I thought- I was terrified-"

But then she sees the crumpled body at his feet.

She slows. "...Rory?"

He turns to look at her, pale under the moonlight. "Mal," he says, quietly. "She's dead."

"...What?"

"Astrid is dead."

Immediately, a sob begins to claw its way up through her throat. "No!"

Rory steps toward her. "Yes."

"What- what happened-"

"I'm really sorry," he says.

That's when she sees the dagger in his hand, wet with blood.

"R-rory…"

"But the elders are always right," he says. "Astrid was an outsider. She didn't know what she was talking about. She doesn't know how things are in Ten."

"Wait-"

"You are doomed, Mallory," he continues. He keeps stepping toward her. "Because I can't waste the chance Newt gave me. Don't you get it? He freed us, Mal. He died so he could tell the world the truth about Mrs. Hutchinson. And if I win, his sacrifice means something."

"His sacrifice does mean something," Mallory says, trying to stall. Rory has a weapon, and Mallory ran from their campsite with nothing.

"If you knew anything about sacrifice," Rory says, "then you'll remember what your elders said and hold still."

Rory raises the dagger. Mallory runs toward him, tears in her eyes. She will not stand still and die- she might be doomed, but Rory has betrayed Astrid, and Mallory can't stand for that. He slices at her, and she sidesteps, using the same maneuver from the Bloodbath to tackle him to the ground. They roll through the dirt, fighting over the knife, a blur of elbows and knees and fists. Rory manages to stab into her already wounded shoulder, making Mallory scream in agony.

(The longer she thinks about it, the more she should have seen this coming. The pieces fit together too well- he was Astrid's attacker. He'd said he woke up for his shift, but Rory always went first, so he must have lied. He hadn't been able to look at her broken ankle. Even during their fight with the Ones, he'd been far ahead, ready to save himself. He'd been so quick to accept Mallory's fate- after all, it brought him one step closer to winning.

But he'd been her real first friend, and his betrayal hurt more than any dagger.)

Mallory reaches for the dagger, crying out as she rips it from her own shoulder. She slashes at Rory, who is scrambling to get the dagger back. She strikes once, twice, and then the third attempt slices right through his windpipe. He coughs, blood running down his throat like a waterfall, falling from his lips like summer rain. Mallory pushes him off of her, crying.

And as he hits the dirt:

Boom.

Mallory is wracked with sobs. Rory's green eyes stare at her vacantly, and she cannot meet them. Her hands are shaking so much that she drops the dagger. She pulls herself up to a sitting position, the pain too unbearable to fully stand up, and she crawls toward Astrid.

"Astrid," she sobs. Blood drips down her front, in time with the tears down her cheeks. "Astrid, please… I'm so sorry-"

Astrid is curled in on herself. Mallory reaches out, touching her shoulder, and sees that she's curled around a dark puddle. Astrid's head rolls toward her. Her lips are parted slightly, and her green eyes are closed. Her hair scarf is askew, letting loose brown curls fan out across her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," Mallory whispers. She reaches for Astrid's hand, which has already begun to cool. When she squeezes, Astrid doesn't squeeze back. Mallory presses a kiss to Astrid's forehead with trembling lips. Her tears fall onto Astrid's face, painting a sheen over her freckles. "I'm so sorry…"

But it's too late for goodbyes.

Astrid is already gone.

---

When she's all out of tears, she stumbles away from Astrid and Rory, pressing one hand into her shoulder. After some wandering, she finds their campsite, takes what supplies they have left, and walks until she's not among the tomatoes any longer. She tucks herself away underneath a bush of carrot tops, and she falls asleep.

Mercifully, she has no dreams.

---

Once again, she wakes to the sound of a cannon.

Boom.

She does some quick math. If there were five left after the faces in the sky last night, and Rory and Astrid have died, and someone else has just died too…

…there are two of them left.

I believe in science. But I also believe in you.

So while the loss of her allies weighs heavily on her shoulders, Mallory dares to let that small little piece of herself believe Astrid. She pulls off her hair scarf, retying the green fabric around her braids to keep her hair at bay. She takes off her overshirt so she can bandage her stab wound properly- and given the state of the overshirt, opts to just wear her tank top. She uses the spare fabric to clean off her dagger.

Then, she's off.

She walks past carrot tops and trellises, heads of lettuce and zucchini flowers, sweet peas and an oversized shovel, until she hears the fountain. She walks toward the rushing water. Mallory thinks back, remembering some of Dimitri's advice- if you're lucky enough to get to the end, go to the Cornucopia. The 'Makers like to bring everything full circle like that. Idiots. She feels fairly confident that she's in the right place.

Then, she waits.

Around noon, when the sun is high overhead, a lone figure emerges from the herb garden across the way. He's limping and covered in blood, and he wears a scowl. In one hand he has a spear. Mallory recognizes him: it's the boy from Five. Astrid's district partner. The one who tried to trade her chances for a place with the Careers.

He sees Mallory and raises his eyebrows. "You killed Astrid?" he calls.

"No," Mallory says. It's the first thing she's said since last night, and she can't help but recognize the hollowness in her own voice. "Rory did."

"Huh." The boy- Damiel, if she's remembering correctly- rests the end of his spear against the ground. "Well then. Let's get this over with, yeah?"

"Fine with me."

They don't waste time with words. Mallory and Damiel run at each other, Mallory with her dagger, Damiel with his spear. Damiel lashes out at her, forcing her to tuck and roll. Her shoulder burns, but she grits her teeth and pops back up, kicking at his knees. She lands a blow, but he doesn't fall. Instead, he hits her wounded shoulder with the shaft of his spear. Mallory cries out, falling back. He advances, stabbing at her with the spearhead, but she continues to dodge.

This is just like the obstacle course, Mallory, she tells herself. Just keep moving.

He lashes out again, and again, and again, and Mallory bides her time, waiting for him to get sloppy. Her shoulder burns, but it's a familiar pain; Damiel wears far more injuries, and she lets him wear himself out, knowing this must pain them both.

Finally, she sees it. Her opportunity.

Damiel lashes out at her thigh. Mallory sidesteps and stabs at his chest with the dagger, drawing blood. He screams and falls back, stumbling on his limp. Mallory goes for his arm next, forcing him to drop his spear. He cries out, releasing it, and tries to step back- but his limp impairs him, and he falls. He tries to scramble back in the dirt, but Mallory doesn't let him get away.

You are doomed, Mallory. (Rory.)

Their conclusion is misguided. (Astrid.)

Mallory decides to believe in the girl who believed in her.

She inhales a deep breath. She tightens her grip on the handle. Damiel kicks out at her, but he misses. She doesn't give him another chance.

Mallory Catelli plunges the dagger into his heart.

Damiel's eyes widen, then roll back, as his head falls against the dirt.

Boom.

Mallory steps back, overwhelmed. Her shoulder is screaming in pain, and her heart aches with loss, but she is alive.

She has won.

---

Once the Capitol has patched up her shoulder wound, she gets to see Dimitri again. Mallory is his first Victor, and he's determined to make sure she's taken care of. The rest of her stay in the Capitol is smooth as can be- other than the recap. That, of course, is painful.

The Bloodbath is a massacre. The Careers and Damiel are on the top of their game, and some of the outer district tributes make kills as well. But it's obvious that the tributes are dying too easily. And when the insect mutts descend on the Careers soon after, it's clear who the Gamemakers blame.

(Dimitri explains it to her later, once they're out of the Capitol. "The Careers cheated," he says. "Rumor has it the GMs are in a shitload of trouble. They didn't figure out what they were doing to the other tributes fast enough. But yeah, that's why they all got eaten like that. The ant wasn't sent after you guys- it was after the Ones, and you guys were just nearby.")

She watches the Careers disintegrate, with only Damiel and the Two girl lasting beyond the first few days. But most of the footage is about Mallory and her allies, especially Astrid. Mallory cringes as she watches herself from the week prior. The way they look at each other makes it so obvious. The entire audience explodes in applause when they finally kiss.

But Rory.

She finally sees the attack. The mystery attacker is confirmed to be Rory. He shoves Astrid into the dirt and stomps on her ankle before running to Mallory for "help." She sees him lure her away from Mallory on the fifth day, asking if they can talk, only to turn on Astrid. Her scream wakes Mallory, and she watches herself tear through the tomato vines, arriving too late. During her entire fight with Rory, and the mourning that comes after, Mallory stares at the floor. The finale is easier to watch, and then it's over.

Only six days. Less time than they were in the Capitol preparing. It feels like it's been a lifetime. But Mallory has emerged victorious on the other side.

---

She arrives home to find her parents a wreck. They wait for her in the Victor's Village, and their reunion is full of tears and joy and sorrow and lots of things Mallory can't even begin to describe.

Since her birthday is in mid-May, it requires nearly a year for Astrid's hypothesis to be proven false. But Mallory keeps believing. Astrid believed in Mallory, and Mallory believes in Astrid.

However, there are many who disagree.

Thankfully for Mallory, she has the Victor's Village. She has a fancy new home to hide in, far from her old hometown. But that doesn't stop visitors.

"Congratulations," they say, eyeing her with disdain. They flood her home, their judgment leaching into the air and making Mallory feel sick. They don't have to say what they're thinking: Mallory already knows.

(How dare she. How dare Mallory Catelli leave twenty-three souls in ruin just for- for what? A few more hours, days, weeks, months? She'd spoken her fate aloud in the arena, when she'd told Astrid, and all of Ten scorns her lack of sacrifice. Another could have lived a long life after the Games. Mallory's survival denies them that.)

Under their gaze, Mallory can't help but agree. Others deserve to live more than she does. She still thinks of her friends constantly, and when she's left alone with her memories, she weeps. Astrid, who set her free. Rory, who used her destiny against her. She can't help but ache for them both, wondering if the elders were right all along. At least in that case, she'll see them soon, right? Their words ring in her ears. So do their screams.

But her new neighbor Dimitri, who doesn't give a flying fuck about destiny or fate or any of the elder's nonsense, chases them away. He comes by every few days, then once a week, like clockwork. Mallory has always liked Dimitri, who says what he means and is firmly "anti-bullshit." His presence is exactly what she needs as she puts distance between herself and the Games.

---

Months pass. Mallory clings desperately to Astrid's certainty. Ten watches and bides its time with her, expecting her death to be another stain on its already-sullied reputation. Every moment is a victory, and Mallory survives millions of them.

About eleven months of them, to be precise.

It's next May. She closes her eyes, thinking of a wish.

She thinks of something better.

I hope you know you saved my life, Astrid. I would have let myself die back there without you. But you were right all along.

And Rory… I'm so sorry. I hope you know that, too. But you were wrong about me, and so was the rest of Ten.

Mallory Catelli opens her eyes and blows out eighteen birthday candles.