Greetings, readers! Now it's time to see what'll happen next for our protagonists. Can Effie get back to Panem before it's too late? And will Nessa be able to find a tribute she can trust with valuable information? This chapter will hopefully reveal it all. :)

Imperfect Alliances

Things weren't too eventful for a while after that. Effie, who had by this point grown accustomed to the plane that had once been the park bench, eventually left Brasília with Golias, Bongo, Wish-Trish, and Objectiva. Yet they still had many cities to travel past before reaching the continent's top edge—and this realization soon caused the tribute escort to realize the terrible truth: it would take at least several hours for them to reach Panem, which meant she wouldn't be able to switch back into her body and get to the Games Headquarters in time for the Cornucopia bloodbath. Now all she could do was hope Katniss and Peeta would be able to survive during her absence, and that they'd arrive in the Capitol by the time the remaining tributes camped out for the night.

Because of how long the journey to the Capitol took, there was little chatter between the airplane's riders. The only times they'd say anything were when Effie would give them new information regarding their flight and destination, or when Golias would decide to lighten the mood by telling a joke or doing something funny—which would make his companions laugh, but also himself sigh in sadness. The elephant loved making others laugh, but it just wasn't the same without Yuri there to share the moment with them.

Speaking of Yuri, a few minutes after his Big Big Friend and company left in the plane, he, Matt, and Lili went back to Lili's house with her dad. They arrived at the exact same time as the boys' parents, all of whom were relieved to see the group was okay—and anxious to hear about where the Big Big Friends had come from. Matt's obnoxious big sister Nina, who had also come to the scene, was the one who asked why she and everyone else in town hadn't been able to see and hear the animals until today; and Matt was the one who explained everything that Golias and the Freaky Friday Fairies had explained earlier.

As all this was happening, Lili kept glancing around for her mother, who still hadn't returned from work yet. This was such a big moment for everyone—how could she be missing it? And then a very strange thing happened. She overheard her dad telling the boys' parents and Nina about how Effie was from Panem, and Yuri's mom asked, "Panem? The continent where all those people are being forced to play a…scary game every year?"

When Lili's father nodded reluctantly and started to say something else, Matt's father shook his head and said, "I hope this body switch finally puts an end to those games. I'm so tired of hearing about how selfish that one city's being…what was it called again, the Captain's Pole?"

Lili noticed Matt's mom and both of Yuri's parents were just as confused as Matt's dad was when he tried to remember the name of "that one city." Clearly these four adults (not to mention Nina) didn't know that much about Panem, which wasn't surprising because of how the Freaky Friday Fairies had described it. Yet if Matt and Yuri's families didn't know the names of that country's cities, then why did Lili's dad know them? The fact that he knew what at least some of those cities were called was the reason why he had realized Effie was from Panem—as soon as she'd mentioned the city names, he'd figured it out. But Panem was a city-filled continent just like America, so even if its existence had been kept secret from Lili and her friends, shouldn't all the adults have at least known everything about it? Right down to all of its cities' names?

Lili looked at her father to ask him about this, and then saw a nervous look in his eyes as he told Matt's father that the city he was talking about was actually named the Capitol. That confirmed it; Lili's dad knew things about Panem that nobody else in Brasília was supposed to know—not even the adults. He was hiding something from everyone. And she was going to find out what it was, whether he liked it or not.

Nessa, meanwhile, spent the rest of the day wandering around the forest, searching for someone who could give her the information she needed. Which didn't go as easily as she'd hoped—the forest was HUGE, and there was no one in sight. Once or twice she would happen to come across a game player around 13 or 14 years old—including the freckled orange-haired girl with braids resembling Bongo's ears—but every time they'd see her, they would panic, grab their things, and run away. At first she thought they'd just seen something scary behind her, but when the panicking game player scene happened the third time, Nessa realized it was her they were afraid of. Why, however, she couldn't figure out.

The sun eventually began to set, and Nessa's stomach growled. Thankfully, she happened to come across one of the game players she'd tried to talk to earlier at that moment: a girl with curly strawberry blonde hair, who was now about to munch on an apple. She was also carrying a lunch box in her other hand, which smelled like it had more food in it.

"Um, excuse me," Nessa said. "I'm not trying to scare you. I was just wondering if we could share your dinner—"

The girl fearfully thrust her apple and the lunch box into Nessa's hands before running off, shouting, "Take it all, just don't hurt me! Please!"

Nessa stared at the girl in confusion. She'd only wanted some of the food, not all of it. Why were all the game players (aside from Cato and his friends) she tried to talk to so scared of her? Nevertheless, she ate the meal she'd been given, then continued her search for a game player that could help her. Which was still anything but easy.

Finally, at 7:00 PM, Effie and her companions reached the outskirts of the Capitol. "Here we are," the escort announced. "Now we just need to find a place to land."

Bongo frowned. "I don't know, Ness—I mean, Effie. What if someone sees us and tries to lock us in the zoo again?"

Golias nervously nodded in agreement, and Effie stared at the distant ground (all the while trying unsuccessfully to fight off a wave of nervousness as she once again saw how distant it was), where one of the arenas was standing. A hovercraft was idling just above the top of it, which meant this was the arena where Katniss, Peeta, and their fellow tributes were competing in this year's Hunger Games. It wasn't doing much at the moment; it was just waiting there, waiting for someone to die in the arena so it could scoop up that tribute's corpse.

Wish-Trish shuddered. "Nessa had better be close by. We haven't even reached the ground yet, and already I am receiving awful flashbacks!"

"Easy, dear cousin," advised Objectiva. "We must go through with this step by step. First Effie needs to decide where we should land, and then we must all work together to make sure we land the right way. One mistake in any of those steps, and we could end up exactly like Starpoint…or, if we're lucky, prisoners of a zoo."

"But getting locked up in a zoo forever and ever is bad too!" Golias exclaimed. "How can that make us lucky?"

"Because what happened to Starpoint was even worse than getting locked away in a zoo," Wish-Trish impatiently stated.

Effie turned back towards the others, gesturing toward the arena in front of them. "We'll have to land near one of the other arenas. If we land near this one or in the city, someone will undoubtedly spot us. They are all here to see the 74th Hunger Games…"

"Hunger Games?" Bongo and Golias asked in unison.

"Okay, then where's one of the other arenas?" Objectiva said, in an obvious attempt to steer the conversation away from the Games.

"We'll have to search more areas outside the Capitol," decided Effie. "But it shouldn't take long. New arenas are made every year, for each of the Games, so…there should be at least dozens of them around here."

Bongo nodded. "Okay…here comes the Bongo bounceroo!" And with that, the kangaroo pulled on the control panel's red knobs, quickly steering them forward.

Lili finished eating her dinner, and as she pushed her plate aside, she wistfully gazed around the table at her father and brothers. Matt, Yuri, and their families had gone home two hours ago, and her mom still wasn't back yet. She wasn't sure what was taking her so long; usually she was back from work by now! There was so much she wanted to tell her about today. Including the very thing she was currently telling her dad: "I hope Nessa's okay. Objectiva said there were unfriendly people in Panem…"

"I know. That was why I didn't want you to know about it," affirmed Lili's father. "Panem's a very unfriendly place, and because of it, it's also a scary place. It would have given you really bad dreams if I'd told you about it."

"Was that also why you didn't want Matt and Yuri's parents to know about Panem? Because I know they knew some things about it before you told them about what happened this morning."

The same nervous look from earlier reappeared in Lili's dad's eyes. "Well, um…"

"Dad, why are you trying to keep Panem a secret from everyone in town?!" Lili shouted in frustration. She stood on her chair and clenched her fists to show how upset she was. "I understand why you didn't want Matt, Yuri, and me to know about it, but grownups don't get scared enough to have bad dreams! Everyone knows that!"

Her dad glanced at her brothers, hoping Lili's outburst hadn't scared them enough to make them cry (which it quite miraculously hadn't), and then sighed deeply. "Lili, the truth is…some grownups do get scared enough to have bad dreams. But they only have them if they spend a long time having to deal with something really bad…like um…like being in Panem."

Lili gasped in surprise. "You mean…you went to Panem once?"

"No, but…oh, I hope she forgives me for saying this…" Lili's dad swallowed hard, and then finally admitted, "…Lili, your mom has been in Panem. In fact…it was where she grew up. In one of the districts. But she made me promise not to tell you."

"Mommy grew up in Panem?!" Lili exclaimed.

"Yes…and even though she was able to sneak out and into America without getting caught, she still doesn't want to think about how scary it was being there. She told me to promise never to talk about it, especially after you were born."

"But why didn't you have her tell Bongo, Golias, Effie, and the fairies? She could have told them about Panem's cities, and that could have helped them find Nessa!"

"She just doesn't want to think about it anymore. So, Lili…I would really appreciate it if, when Mom comes home, you don't tell her about the body switch. I know it impacted Nessa in a horrible way, but you can't say anything to her. Promise?"

Lili sat back down in disappointment. "Okay, Dad…I promise."

And then suddenly, they heard the front door open. "Sorry I'm late," came the voice of Lili's mother. "I went shopping on my way back here, and I got caught in a traffic jam twice. Apparently a lot of people in town say they saw an elephant, a kangaroo, and a giraffe flying above them in an airplane, and it distracted some drivers. I know it sounds crazy, but they insist it's true."

Lili's father looked his daughter in the eyes, and she understood the message clearly. She could tell her mom that her so-called imaginary friend actually wasn't imaginary, but she absolutely could not bring up the body switch.

"Hey, there's another arena!" Bongo remarked. "And there's no giant flying thing floating above it."

"Excellent," said Effie. "Now, see if you can land us in that parking area in front of that arena, but make sure we stay well away from that hole. If we fall in there, we could end up in the arena's catacombs, which last year's District 12 stylists said are filled with cameras!"

Bongo nodded. "Okay! Now…which of these buttons and knobs makes the plane land?"

"Uh, you have to pull on the red knobs to land too," said Golias.

"Really?" Bongo asked. "But those are how we steer! They can't be how we land too. That would be too confusing!" He then noticed a red button in the middle of the control panel that was bigger than the other buttons. "Ah! See this button? I'll bet that's what's supposed to help us land."

"Bongo, no! Don't push that one!" Golias yelled, suddenly going wide-eyed with fear—but it was too late. The green kangaroo gave a charming, knowing smile before pushing the big red button, and the plane suddenly shot forward, faster than a cheetah could run. Effie screamed as her neck flew backwards, tilting her head a great distance back, which only made the experience more overwhelming for her.

As Wish-Trish and Objectiva struggled to keep up with the plane, which twisted and turned sharply and uncontrollably as it zoomed around the sky, Bongo yelled, "WHAT DID I JUST DO?"

"The same thing I did wrong when Yuri and I flew this plane," Golias anxiously replied, covering his eyes with his ears. "He told me that big red button was the worst button you could push, and I pressed it! Then the plane flew around so fast, we lost control! And that was why we needed your help to land!"

"Was that also why you accidentally got me, Matt, Lili, and Nessa covered in the sandbox sand?" Bongo shouted.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT THE LAST TIME YOU FLEW THIS PLANE!" Effie shrilled. "HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO LAND IT?!"

"Hold on, everyone!" Wish-Trish yelled, finally catching up to the vehicle. "I can guide you to a safe spot on the ground. Just grab the knobs you used to steer us here, then focus on me and where I am going!"

"I can't focus on anything! We're spinning and turning too fast!" yelled Bongo.

"Bongo, you have to try focusing on her!" pleaded Golias. "PLEASE! If Yuri could focus on Lili and Nessa when they helped us land the first time, I'm sure you can do it!"

Bongo anxiously clenched his teeth, but grabbed the red knobs and said, "Ready! I'm ready!" Upon hearing this, Effie sighed with relief.

"Alright," replied Wish-Trish. She flew downward, and Bongo steered the plane after her. The purple-haired fairy then glided towards the parking area Effie had pointed out to them as fast as she could, and as Bongo followed her, Golias stretched his trunk over his shoulder and pressed a different button, causing the round bench stands to reappear underneath the plane. As soon as the stands emerged into view, Bongo pulled the red knobs back harder than ever, and the plane touched down but kept going forward. It swiftly and uncontrollably drove right off the parking area, heading straight for the hole leading to the arena catacombs, with nothing Bongo or Golias did at the control panel being able to stop it or slow it down. As for Wish-Trish, she was no longer guiding them to the right location; now she was flying for her life.

"Make a left, make a left!" Objectiva frantically shouted.

Before Bongo could obey her though, the front bench stand of the plane passed the edge of the hole, causing the vehicle to slope downward. Luckily, because the hole wasn't wide enough for the plane to fit through it, the propeller and an inch of the wood it was attached to were the only parts of the contraption that went into the hole before the plane got stuck in it, stopping the plane in its tracks.

The moment the vehicle stopped, Golias leapt out of it and onto the ground, which he immediately gave several kisses. "Oh, I really love the ground!"

Effie rolled her eyes and tried to climb out too, but because she still hadn't learned how to properly use Nessa's body, she ended up clumsily tumbling onto the pavement.

"Oopsie," said Bongo, seeing her fall. "I forgot you still needed help with walking."

"It's alright," sighed Effie. "I think I might as well learn how to do it now."

Bongo jumped out of the plane, and then gasped in realization. Quickly, he pushed the plane out of the hole, allowing Wish-Trish to fly out of it and back into sight. Once she was out, she stared at her cousin in disbelief. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"I did do something! I told them to make a left! Twice, to be precise!" Objectiva said.

"Never mind that now," interrupted Effie. "We must find Nessa and make sure we are swapped back! Which means we'll have to find a way to search the Capitol without being spotted and imprisoned in a zoo."

Objectiva thought for a bit and then sighed. "Wish-Trish…I know you are still experiencing anxiety over what happened to Starpoint, but…I feel the two of us must sneak into the Capitol and bring back material to disguise our friends with. Then all of us may search together."

"No," gasped Wish-Trish, instantly beginning to tremble. "I cannot, I really cannot! We cannot! I mean, what if someone spots us and ambushes us exactly like the Knife Witch did? Or worse…what if the Knife Witch herself is in that city?!"

"She isn't," reassured Objectiva. "It is not her home. She is either back in the district where we first encountered her, or in the arena with the flying vehicle hovering over it. That depends on whether or not she was nominated for this year's Games. But Wish-Trish, my dearest cousin, I can assure you. The horrible, cruel Knife Witch is not in the Capitol."

Wish-Trish closed her eyes, and Objectiva fluttered toward her, taking her hands in hers. "You don't know she is not there, Objectiva. There is always a chance that the unexpected is in store for us…"

"Oh it's okay, Wish-Trish," reassured Golias, also coming over to comfort her. "Even if the Knife Witch is there, it'll be so much easier if you stay brave!"

"Yeah," said Bongo. "Telling ourselves there was nothing to be afraid of was how my friends and I found our way into Yuri's basement! Even though we were all afraid of it."

Taking a deep breath, Wish-Trish nodded and opened her eyes. "You are right," she whispered, "you are right. That awful monster may have done something terrible to my beloved twin sister…but I mustn't let that hold me back. If I let myself be restrained by my emotions, she could do the same thing to Nessa. I cannot let such a thing happen."

"That is the spirit," declared Objectiva. "Now, let us fly into Effie's hometown, hopefully unseen, and see what kind of disguises we can find for our friends."

"Precisely," Wish-Trish added. Turning to the others, she said, "Farewell, dear friends. We will hopefully return soon."

As the Freaky Friday Fairies flew away together with Bongo waving to them, Effie groaned, trying unsuccessfully to stand up. Hearing her, Golias trotted over and wrapped his trunk around her body. "Okay, Effie," he gently instructed, "just…feel your left front leg. Then lift it up, and um, and bend your knee."

"Alright. Wait, do you mean left from your perspective, or left from my perspective?"

Golias thought it over, then tooted his trunk. "Whatever's easier for you, I think…"

Sighing, Effie chose her left leg (the one that was left in her perspective), and focused on it with all her might. Then, albeit shakily, she lifted it, bent its knee, and slowly placed its hoof on the ground.

"Good!" Golias said, smiling, encouragingly. "Now do the same thing with your other front leg, and then pull yourself up."

Effie slowly but surely managed to repeat the process with her other front leg. Then she put pressure on both of the front legs so she could pull her back ones into a standing position, but she wasn't used to this sensation and ended up falling forward. Yelping a little, she landed on the ground, on the front of her neck.

"Effie!" Golias cried out in worry.

"I'm alright," she said.

Bongo bounced over to them, frowning. "Eh, I'm starting to think it's gonna take a really really really long time to get you through this."

It had been at least two hours since Nessa's awkward food-related encounter with the female game player. She hadn't seen anyone at all since that moment, and the sky had now gotten so dark, she could barely see anything.

At this point, the former giraffe was starting to wonder if she was ever going to find a game player that she could trust. There were still many players she had yet to at least try asking for help—the teenage girl with the pretty braid in her brown hair, a dark-skinned and very strong-looking teenage boy she'd barely glimpsed in the pedestal circle just before her wig slid in front of her face, the slightly younger girl who looked similar to Lili…but she hadn't seen any of them since she'd heard the gong. So, Nessa did what she always did to keep herself going in a tough search like this: sing about it, in a tune similar to that of Ring Around The Rosie.

"Find a player and see where you are," she sang. "Find a player and see where you are! Find a player and see where you are!"

Almost instantly, a smile formed on Nessa's face. She could do this. It would just take a little more searching…

"Find a player and see where you are," she continued singing, her walk turning into a skip. "Find a player and see where you are! Find a player and see where you are!"

Suddenly loud music began to play from out of nowhere, and a pale blue symbol that looked like some kind of bird appeared in the sky. Underneath read two words: THE FALLEN.

Startled by the sudden spectacle in the sky, Nessa screeched to a stop, in the process almost falling into a ditch in front of her. She stepped back just in time, and then observed the symbol above her. The music continued to play as the picture faded, making way for a picture of a girl; one of the girls from the pedestal circle, Nessa realized. Underneath her read the words, DISTRICT 3. Then a new picture appeared: a boy, also a game player, and the words DISTRICT 4.

One by one, eleven more game players appeared on the screen after the boy: a girl, also with the words District 4 underneath her picture, a boy with District 5, a boy and a girl with District 6, a boy and a girl with District 7, a boy with District 8, a boy and a girl with District 9, and a boy and a girl with District 10. Then suddenly the music stopped, the screen displaying the pictures disappeared, and all Nessa could hear now was silence.

The fallen? And so many numbered districts? What did all that mean? Her gaze wandered toward her right, and then Nessa jumped. There was something standing next to her that hadn't been there before; a silhouette about a centimetre shorter than her, facing the ditch she'd almost fallen into. It was still and silent, so Nessa thought it was a tall, amazingly-shaped rock at first and came toward it. Yet when she touched the top of it to feel how smooth it was, she was startled when she felt not rock, but hair. Suddenly the silhouette yelped and stumbled, and the next thing she knew, the game player she'd accidentally startled was tumbling down the ditch, screaming in fear and pain.

Nessa gasped in horror. "I'm sorry! I-I thought you were a rock! I didn't mean to scare you!"

She heard the game player, whom she could tell by their voice was a girl, roll to a stop at the bottom of the ditch. The girl started softly moaning in pain, and Nessa felt an instant wave of guilt and worry. Had she made one of the game players get a booboo? A big one? Carefully, she climbed into the ditch and went to find the girl, hoping the booboo she'd received wasn't too big.

The girl instantly saw Nessa approaching her and tried to get up so she could run away, but she couldn't do so without succumbing to the pain she felt and falling down again. "It's okay," Nessa tried to reassure her, "I'm here to help you feel better."

"You don't know who you're messing with," the girl told her. Her voice was trembling, but she was clearly trying her best to sound defensive.

"I'm not trying to mess with you," insisted Nessa. "I just thought you were a rock! I never wanted you to get a booboo."

"Booboo?" the girl asked, now surprised and confused. She stared at Nessa, looking as though the former giraffe had said something ridiculous.

"Yeah. You were screaming, so I know you got one. I'm so sorry…"

The girl reached into her backpack, pulled out a flashlight, and turned it on. As she observed her through the device's light, Nessa could see the player she'd accidentally startled was the freckled orange-haired girl with the braids resembling Bongo's ears. She could tell by her expression that, despite obviously having gotten a painful booboo, she seemed very confused upon discovering it was the only non-player that had startled her.

Finally, the girl spoke again. "You entered the arena by accident too, didn't you."

Now Nessa was the one confused. "The arena? We can't be in there! We're outside…right?"

The girl studied her expression for a full minute, and when she saw Nessa meant what she'd said, she shook her head. "This can't be right. A Capitol resident with mismatched clothing, a variety of makeup all in the wrong places, a childish term for getting a scraped leg and a twisted ankle all at once…and an apparently genuine unawareness that this so-called outdoor space is the arena? Not to mention the very fact that you were launched here, when one of the tributes should have been. And this can't be a Quarter Quell addition, because the soonest Quarter Quell isn't until next year's Hunger Games."

Nessa fell to her knees, overwhelmed by the entire situation she was still struggling to understand. "Please don't run away! I need your help. I switched bodies with a woman named Effie, and I don't know anything about her life, or where I am, or how I can switch back! Please, please, please don't be afraid of me. I've been looking for someone who can help me all day, and everyone I talked to was either scared of me or looked like they wanted to hurt me!"

The girl turned off the flashlight and, after a moment of silence, sighed with reluctance. "Alright…I suppose I have no choice but to trust you. But keep this in mind: I am only doing this because I am hurt, and my injuries are serious enough to have myself exposed to the wrong people. Once I get better, if I am lucky enough to heal easily, our alliance may be finished. But if I don't get healed, you will have to help me survive until we're the only ones left. Do we have a deal?"

"Um…yes?" Nessa replied, not quite sure how to respond to the girl's decision.

Turning the flashlight back on, the girl said, "Alright, now tell me everything that happened leading to your accidental arena entrance."

"Uh…do you think you can tell me everything you know about the city we're in first? What are sponsors? And tributes? And districts? And when the screen in the sky said 'the fallen,' did it mean anyone who fell down? Or into the ditch? I mean, before we did."

The girl stared at her. "You really don't know anything about the Games."

"I know, and that's why I need you to help me. So I can know enough about where I am to find my way back to Brasília and get back with my best friend!"

"Okay, clearly you are not from Panem," said the girl. She then seemed to realize Nessa was about to ask her about Panem, so she continued, "I don't know where Brasília is, but I know it is not in our continent."

Nessa gasped. "So I'm not even in America?!"

The girl groaned. She definitely didn't like having to do the talking part during conversations. "The continent closest to Panem? No. You see, we're in another continent, known as Panem. Its cities are all districts with different numbers, except for the Capitol, which is the city that we're in now. And every year, the Capitol makes one boy and one girl from each district go to it so they can play a game together. The game is called the Hunger Games, and it is something that everyone who lives in the Capitol loves to watch. However, the boys and girls playing the game, who are each called tributes, don't like the game at all."

"Is it because of the big maze?" Nessa asked.

"No," sighed the girl, "it is because the game is all about the tributes having to fight one another. To the point where, um…I'll rephrase that. The tributes have to um…give each other a lot of booboos, until there's only one tribute left who doesn't have any. Then that tribute wins the Games, and they are allowed to leave the arena while the others…I guess you could say they stay here forever, in a way. And, as crazy as it may sound to you, everything that appears to be outdoor scenery…it's the inside of the arena where the game takes place."

Nessa gulped. Now it made sense. The screen she'd seen in the sky, her rising onto a pedestal into a strange outdoor area…but there was something she still didn't understand. "But if none of the tributes like the Games, why was Clove mad when I accidentally got into the arena instead of her?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Clove? The girl from District 2? You replaced her?" When Nessa nodded, the girl explained, "Well, actually, there are a few exceptions. Everyone from Districts 1 and 2 love the Games, but that is simply because they were trained to win them for their entire lives. Because of it, they are known as Careers. Tributes that are stronger and more selfish than the rest, who haven't trained beforehand at all."

"Oh," said Nessa. "So, what are sponsors?"

"People who live in the Capitol. See, while watching the Games happen, they like to send gifts into the arena that can help any tribute they want heal from any…booboos…they get. Usually they are gathered by mentors, escorts, and stylists. Those are people who are supposed to help specific tributes get ready for the arena."

"Oh no," Nessa moaned. Effie was one of the sponsor collectors—she had to be! Why else would the boy from last night had mentioned sponsors to her? She really had made a mistake; a horrible one!

"So…is there any way to get out of the arena without anyone having to get a booboo first?"

"I wish," muttered the girl. "But no one has ever found a way. You can't climb out because there's a dangerous unbreakable force field blocking the way. And don't even think about taking the hovercrafts. Those large vehicles appear and disappear without showing any trace of how they got in and out of the arena, and they only arrive to take away the tributes who, um…got too many booboos. If a tribute that's still in the Games tries to escape the arena using the hovercraft, they are simply brought back into the arena. Then once more, there's no escape."

"But I have to get back to Lili!" Nessa exclaimed. "She's my best friend. She needs me!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but by taking Clove's place, you shattered your chances of reuniting with your friend," the girl said. "Only one person can win the Hunger Games, and I doubt either of us will be that person. Clove may not be in any position to hurt us, but that doesn't mean the other Careers won't try to do it instead. And even if they lose the Games, there is still the Girl on Fire, and that extremely muscular boy from District 11. The only thing you can do is help me outsmart the other tributes, and then see if you can beat me either when we are the only ones left, or when you least expect it. Neither of which I can guarantee will be a success. Especially now that I can't walk."

Nessa sighed in defeat. Based on everything that had happened, the girl had to be right. If she wanted to leave the arena and reunite with Lili, she would have to win the Games first. And since she was still new to Panem's environment despite now knowing more about it, she wouldn't be able to win without helping the tribute she'd startled get the other tributes eliminated. Which could only be done by giving them booboos, or indirectly making it easier for them to get some—neither of which she wanted to do. Yet she didn't have a choice…or did she? An idea for a possible loophole began to form in the former giraffe's mind; but first, she had another important question.

"Hey, what's your name?" Nessa asked.

"Why do you want to know if our alliance is only temporary?"

Nessa awkwardly stared at the ground. "Because we still have to help each other. And I don't want to call you Tribute if that's not really your name. So…what is it?"

The girl rolled her eyes, but said, "Finch. But since no one bothered to look up my name on the Training Centre board, they gave me the nickname 'Foxface.'"

"Foxface?"

"Partly because I have the furtive methods of a fox, partly because my hair matches the colour of a fox's fur. Now what is your name?"

"Nessa. And I just had an idea…what if we didn't have to give anyone a booboo, or let someone else hurt them? What if we brought together everyone who wants to leave the arena, and find a way to use the hovercrafts?"

"That won't work," Finch said. "I already explained why."

"But what if we did it without the hovercrafts knowing we were there?"

"They would know we were there! There is always someone driving the hovercraft, and by their side stand several Peacekeepers, which are men in white uniforms and helmets that stop tributes from doing anything the Capitol does not want them to do. There are also cameras hidden in the trees around the arena, so even if we could get away with such a plan, the Capitol would overhear us talking about it and know how to handle us. We'd never escape unseen."

"Maybe we could…if other tributes helped us."

"Which they wouldn't," insisted Finch. "They all want to win the Games and leave the arena just as much as I do. They wouldn't trust us if their lives depended on it."

"You're trusting me, even though I know you don't want to. Maybe they would too, if you gave them a chance."

Finch narrowed her eyes and looked away, and silence filled the ditch. Nessa grew nervous and gulped. Her companion had to agree to her plan. She just had to. She didn't seem to realize how much the former giraffe didn't want to let anyone get any booboos—or how hard it would be for her to actually give them to anyone! That was simply the kind of person Nessa was. She could act as tough and stubborn as Lili when she needed to, but she could never hurt anyone. Even if they were as mean as Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel.

Finally, Finch spoke up. "Fine, we will give it a try. But if we don't receive any allies by tomorrow night, my plan is our only option."

"Don't worry," Nessa assured her. "There's still a lot of tributes left to talk to. One of them will be sure to join our team!"

To be continued…in the next chapter. Will Nessa's plan to unite as many tributes as possible prove successful, or is there truly only one way to leave the arena? And can Wish-Trish and Objectiva survive in the Capitol without encountering the Knife Witch (whoever she may be)? Stay tuned to find out.