[27] - Rochelle

Mandy screams as she tumbles down the steep face of the sand dune ahead of me. I look back to see Zinnia's hand grasp the dune's peak, and I waste no time before diving off of the summit after Mandy.

My body slams against the side of the dune, and I have no choice but to keep rolling and hope for the best. I can feel myself rolling faster and faster down the slope; eventually, even small bumps in the sand send me flying off the ground, and I grunt as I'm slammed back against the dune further down.

Princess screams as I roll down the dune, and I can barely make out her voice as I tumble down the slope.

"Zinnia, stop!" she cries. "I can't roll down!"

My chest tightens at the sound of Princess' voice - Zinnia must be rolling down after us. I'm so dizzy that I definitely won't be able to run when I reach the bottom of the dune; if Zinnia is chasing after us, we'll be dead for sure.

"Let's go, Princess!" Zinnia calls; she sounds much farther away now. "Run!"

Relief washes over my body - Zinnia and Princess are taking the slower way down. There's hope. Princess probably doesn't want to get sand in her hair, and her selfishness probably just saved my life.

By the time I reach the bottom of the hill, I feel thoroughly rattled. When I reach the base of the dune, I feel like I've just been beaten up in an alleyway of District Eight. The world spins around me as I scramble to my feet, and my knees buckle beneath me, forcing me back to the ground.

Mandy doesn't look much better - when I finally catch my bearings, I see her curled in a ball, her eyes tightly shut.

"Come on, Mandy," I say as soothingly as I can, resting a hand on her back. "We need to go."

I glance behind me to check on Princess and Zinnia - they're about halfway down the dune now, but it looks like the girls are struggling to descend the steep hill without falling.

I hear the sound of someone vomiting behind me, and I turn back to see Mandy wiping her mouth against her hand.

"Okay, let's go," she says, wobbling a bit as she rises to her feet. She still has a dazed look in her eyes, but I can tell that she's spotted the other girls and knows the danger we're in.

Mandy pulls out her canteen as we set off at a brisk pace. "You shouldn't have done that, Rochelle," she scolds me. "You could've killed me."

"I had to," I insist. "The Careers were right there, Mandy. One more second and we would've been dead."

"Well, you could've just warned me," Mandy says hotly. "I could've dived with you. But thank you for saving me."

I just nod. "Where did we see Pollux again?"

"Straight ahead," Mandy says. "Let's go."

I glance back as we begin to walk - Zinnia and Princess seem to have slowed a bit. Hopefully, we can get far enough away from here that they won't be able to follow us when they reach the bottom.

The sun begins to set over the horizon, casting shadows over the desert as we walk. I'm starting to get nervous about the boy we spotted from the top of the dune - he didn't seem to be too far away from up high, but he's nowhere to be found down here. He must've been farther out than we thought.

I have to hope that the boy we spotted earlier wasn't Pollux - if it's him, who knows where August could be. If I run into Pollux, I might have to do something I don't want to do, and I might end up regretting it later.

Mandy and I reach the crest of the next dune, and my heart drops as the boy finally comes into view. Somehow, Mandy was right - it's Pollux.

I know what I have to do now. Like it or not, there's no turning back - I have to do what's necessary to stay alive in here.

I grab Mandy's arm, holding her back as she opens her mouth to call to Pollux.

"Stay close to me," I mutter to her. "If Pollux is out here by himself, something fishy is going on."

Gullible as ever, Mandy just nods as she follows me down the dune. We get closer and closer to the boy, and it's not until we're in speaking range that Pollux glances back at us.

Pollux's body convulses as he whirls around, blade in hand. As he turns, I grab Mandy, bringing my dagger to her neck. Mandy yelps in surprise at the feeling of my blade; ahead of me, Pollux freezes.

"Move and she gets it," I snarl. Pollux's eyes dart between Mandy and me.

"Where's August?" I ask slowly, examining the boy ahead of me.

"He's not here," Pollux says, his voice shaking slightly. I can tell that he's trying not to let his fear show, but his false confidence isn't fooling me. "I tried to kill him yesterday and he ran away. So did Calder."

"And you know where he ran?" I ask. Pollux frantically nods, pointing directly behind him.

"He went that way," he says. His whole body is twitching - he looks like a nervous wreck.

I sigh with relief. Finally, a hint that could help me find August after all this time. I have to hope that Pollux is telling me the truth right now - his word is all I have.

I see the gears turning in Pollux's head; he licks his lips and nervously readjusts his blade in his hands. I know what he's thinking: if he can just kill me now, August will be out of this Arena for good. Once August and I are out of the picture, Pollux can protect Mandy until the pairs are released; at that point, she'll be the next to go. It's a foolproof plan, really. Too bad I'm one step ahead of him.

"Put your blade down," Mandy begs Pollux. "Rochelle won't hurt me, I promise. Just let her go, okay?"

Pollux stares at me for a moment before realizing that this is his only option. I've outsmarted him; right now, I hold all the power at the tip of my blade. Pollux knows that I have nothing to lose, and if he tries to kill me, I'd gladly take the opportunity to drag him down with me.

Pollux slowly lowers his blade to face the ground, but he doesn't release his grip from it. A tear escapes my eye and rolls down my face; I can feel my throat closing in, making it harder to breathe. I know this is the best thing for me to do, the best thing to make sure that I have a chance, but it's so despicable...

"I'm so sorry," I whisper into Mandy's ear, and I truly am. I'm not a monster; well, maybe I am now. Not a monster by character, but a monster by circumstance.

Pollux realizes what I'm doing a moment too late; I can see it in his eyes. He raises his blade, but there's nothing he can do now. Before I have any more time to stop myself, I slide my dagger across Mandy's throat, and she collapses to the ground.