[31] - August

"One more pair," Rochelle sighs.

One more pair. Just one more pair - just one more tribute - needs to die until this is all over.

I'm nearly there now. If I can outlive just one more tribute, I'm almost guaranteed to win the Games. After all these years of preparation, my dreams are finally becoming reality. Even when the odds were stacked against me, when I had lost all hope, I persevered. And here I stand, over a week into the Games, and I'm not going anywhere.

I'm not standing alone, though - to say that would be a disservice to my partner. I'm with Rochelle now; who would've thought that she would become my best ally in this Arena. If I would've known that sooner, I wouldn't have treated her so poorly when we first met. Rather than being my downfall like I expected her to, she became my motivator and my inspiration, and she's the reason I'm still here right now.

"One more pair," I echo Rochelle's words. There's an odd tension between us this morning - we both know that it's only a matter of time before we're no longer tethered together, and neither of us knows what that scenario will hold for us. I've never encountered Rochelle outside of this twist that has thrust us together - will things be different once we're separated? No longer tied to one another through life and death, will we become immediately expendable to each other?

"It's going to be weird not being your partner anymore," Rochelle sighs, voicing my thoughts aloud. "What are you planning to do when it's all over? Find Princess, maybe?"

I'm not sure if I'm walking into a trick question; Rochelle's expression gives nothing away, but I think she's being genuine.

"I don't know," I groan, taking the neutral route. "After all we talked about, who knows if Princess can be trusted anymore. She's major competition, too. We need to stick together, though. I know that much. We've worked well as a team so far, so we should stick with it as far as we can."

Thankfully, Rochelle looks thrilled at the idea. "Sounds like a plan," she says with a laugh. "Promise we'll stick together?"

I shake her hand. "Promise."

"Good," Rochelle says, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Let's not get too comfortable yet, though. There's one pair left… if you had your pick, who would be the next to go?"

"Well, there aren't many options," I admit. "But Zinnia has to go, and now's the best time to catch her while she's weak."

"The key's finding Jasper," Rochelle muses. "That might be tricky."

"He's a clever one," I nod. "Not that we're going to be hunting for him, anyway. Someone'll probably die from dehydration soon, anyway, and the pairs will be released."

"Hopefully it'll be Jasper," Rochelle says, unscrewing her canteen. "Actually, it could be us, August. We're nearly out."

Rochelle's right - I've been noticing my bag getting lighter and lighter as my water supply has drained. Saving Rochelle yesterday definitely didn't help me save any water, either.

"The sooner we head out, the better," I say, rising to my feet. "Where was the last place you found water?"

"At the oasis," Rochelle says, packing up her bag, "but that was on the other side of the Arena."

"There's some water by the Cornucopia," I tell her, "but that could be a few days away."

"We have no other choice," Rochelle calls, already walking away. "Let's go!"

I struggle to catch up to the small girl - she clearly wants to get to the water as fast as possible. I don't blame her - she almost died from dehydration yesterday, after all.

"I never got the chance to ask you," I say as I walk alongside Rochelle. "You were delirious when I found you yesterday, so I don't know the whole story of what happened to you. You said you were with Mandy and Pollux when they died?"

"I don't even remember what I told you," Rochelle says with a laugh. "Should I just start from the beginning?"

"Please," I say with a nod. I don't know why, but part of me wants to be certain that Rochelle's telling me the truth, especially about Princess' behavior.

"I joined the Careers right at the Bloodbath," Rochelle says. "I figured that they would care about you enough to protect me. Especially Princess. I thought that if they could carry me to you, we'd be able to work as a team like we're doing now."

"Clearly, I was wrong. I overheard Princess and Zinnia plotting to kill Mandy and me, and I knew I had to get out of there as soon as possible. Thankfully, I overheard them before they attacked, and I was able to defend myself."

"Good girl," I interject. I'm relieved that something I taught Rochelle in training was actually useful in the long run.

"Anyway, I was able to fend them off long enough to grab my supplies and flee with Mandy," Rochelle sighs. "And that's all, pretty much. Mandy and I went looking for you and Pollux; we found Pollux, and we both know how that turned out."

"Pollux was paranoid," I say with a nod. "He went crazy when I was with him, especially after Valentina and Venia announced that the pairs would be released. With Calder and I close by, he turned on us and tried to kill us so that he would be separated from Mandy."

"The fact that he took the first opportunity to strike at you is very telling," Rochelle tells me. "He never cared about you or Calder, really. Only himself."

"It's just frustrating," I vent. "It seems like everyone is out to get us. Almost all of our allies have tried to kill you to get rid of me."

"You can't trust anyone in here except me, August," Rochelle reminds me. "It's just you and me now. Until the end."

Just Rochelle and I now. Everyone else who I've depended on in here has stabbed me in the back, except Calder, I guess. Rochelle's right; she's the only person I can trust to be in my corner until the very end. And if I come across any of the others, even Princess, they'll be having a very rude awakening. I'm here to win the Games, and none of them will be stopping me if I have anything to say about it.