Aurum Niteo, District One (15?)

I didn't think Ruby was going to die in the Bloodbath, and it hit me really hard. There was nothing I could do when Nero barreled toward her. After what he did, I was actually grateful to Eltara for ending it. I got away in the confusion, and then I was on my own.

Really, though, I didn't get far away. I knew the only supplies in the Arena were in the Cornucopia. I knew I had to do something absolutely crazy if I wanted to live, and something absolutely crazy is what I did.

In the far back of the Cornucopia, there was a pile of thick blankets. There were softer blankets near the front, and it wasn't very cold in the Arena. As the Careers fought, I darted into the Cornucopia and hid underneath the blankets. As soon as I did it, I realized exactly how harebrained the scheme was, but the stars must have aligned, because none of them saw me. They went through the supplies, but no one bothered to look at a bunch of scratchy-looking blankets.

That night, I waited impatiently while the Careers split up and settled down. Most of them went off to look for victims, leaving Nero as a guard. That pleased me greatly, because I knew there was no way Nero would do his job. Sure enough, as soon as Eltara was out of sight, Nero took off looking for someone to kill. I shed my sweaty, itchy cocoon and helped myself to supplies, focusing on water and dehydrated foods. I slipped out into the night without so much as a how-do-you-do.

Great, I have water and food. Now what?

I was doing fine until the dogs came. We must have all been running like maniacs, and they must have seen someone else before they saw me. I hadn't known I was so close to someone else until I heard the girl scream.

It was Eltara's face in the sky that night. That was a huge break for the rest of us. I couldn't rely on luck forever, though. I had to get to somewhere they couldn't find me before night fell.

I had only one option. When I reached the rocky cliffs, I started to scramble down, scraping my legs on the sharp rocks. I wedged myself into a crack out of sight and spent a long three days cowering like a dog.

Hah, cowering like a dog from a bunch of dogs.

The dogs turned out to be my best allies. Two days into my rocky exile, they ate Nero. Since Beth got herself killed at the Bloodbath, the only huge threat left was Mist. Then she died four days in, and that was when the sky starting lighting up with faces. People started dropping of dehydration, and once it started, it spread like wildfire. I clung to my backpack full of water bottles and tried to make them last.

The Gamemakers don't like Tributes that don't move around. I pretended to be moving around the cliffs, and every night I moved back to the same spot. But then something terrible happened: I ran out of water.

I had two options: stay out and die in a few days, or go back to the Cornucopia and see how good a pickpocket I was. There were only two other Tributes left, but obviously they had something going, since they weren't dead yet. I couldn't be sure I would outlast them.

When I got to the Cornucopia, Dath was guarding it. I crouched down by some scrubby grass, trying to make a plan. Then I saw someone else coming at the Cornucopia from behind. It looked like Laeila, and she must have had the same idea as I did. It didn't take a genius to add up the numbers.

As Laeila neared the Cornucopia, I started to crawl forward, still hidden in the grass. Laeila stopped behind the Cornucopia and threw something out diagonally in front of it. Dath heard the noise and got up to investigate. Laeila threw another rock and Dath ventured out. Laeila crept around the Cornucopia and grabbed something. She darted away, managing a three-second head start before Dath turned, saw her, and gave chase.

There's my cue. As Dath ran after Laeila, I ran to the Cornucopia. I felt terribly exposed, even if Dath wasn't looking. I grabbed a water bottle in each had and turned around to flee. I looked over my shoulder as I went, but no one was coming.

I heard a single cannon, and I sped up. Then, fifteen seconds later, I heard another cannon. I stopped.

What do you think of that? I thought. She must have killed him back. I looked at the water bottles I held. I don't think it counts as good pickpocketing if no one was there while I took it.