I want to start out by apologizing for having not updated in so long. In all honesty, I spent a lot of time creating Ramsey's backstory and figuring out how to connect everything and reveal it how I wanted. From this point I feel like we can definitely move on with a much faster pace! I want to thank everyone who has followed this story so far, those who favorite, those who review (especially those who review!) and simply those who just read. Thank you again, and I hope you continue to watch as things evolve!

"Prim! Prim!" Katniss wailed, her sister's cries sending bursts of worry and fear through her body. She took off in the direction of the screams. They grew louder and she grew anxious, begging to find her sister, begging to know how she too had been thrown into the games.

The jungle beat against her, tearing into her flesh and drawing blood instantly. She had to find her sister.

But she never did.

Katniss soon realized that they were jabberjays creating the screams and as she shot one down with an arrow, another replaced it. A wave of relief overtook her as she steadied her breathing- it was just a mutt.

"Katniss?"

Ramsey's small body burst through the brush, her breathing labored and her face pained as more cuts adorned her gently tanned skin. Katniss had been cleaning her bow, only looking up when Ramsey's voice gained her attention.

"It's okay! I'm okay, too. I thought I heard Prim, but-"

And then another scream broke out and cut her off. But this time it wasn't Prim, or her mother, or Gale, or anyone she knew, for that matter. It was a man, his voice much smoother than that gruff of Gale's.

Ramsey's face drained of color once more and her eyes grew wide with terror. Her body went rigid and her entire demeanor changed.

She looked weak and helpless and petrified- something Katniss had never seen on her.

The man's scream cried out again. Even in pain it was soft like silk and something about it seemed oddly familiar.

"No!" Ramsey's voice cracked as she shrieked, her face crumpling as she took off through the jungle.

"Ramsey?"

But she was gone. Her movements were agile and sharp as she fled through the greenery. She was sloppier than her typical self, though, entirely thrown off in terror and fear by whatever person that scream belonged to.

Katniss wracked her brain, but she couldn't think of who it could be.

She followed her, regardless, she knew she couldn't leave her at the moment. Despite her hatred, it was obvious that Ramsey wasn't okay.

Even at one of her weakest points, Ramsey could still sprint circles around her. By the time that Katniss had rediscovered the small blonde, she was standing beneath a tree, circling the thick trunk as the tears poured down her face uncontrollably.

"No, no, no, no!" Ramsey was bawling, her eyes searching wildly in the branches for something, having obviously not figured out they were just mutts.

"Ramsey, it's-" Another scream tore through the clearing and Ramsey's body collapsed to the ground, her knees curling up to her face and her hands gripping the sides of her head. It was louder than before, the birds directly above them.

There was still something so horribly familiar about that voice, Katniss had to have heard it somewhere. And then it clicked.

Katniss hadn't heard the man's voice before. But she had heard its relative. It belonged to someone in Ramsey's family- close enough family that they both possessed that silky sweetness in their tone, even whilst screaming in agony.

"Zane," Ramsey's voice was a barely audible whisper as she rocked herself back and forth, the tears gushing from her stormy eyes.

Katniss could only watch in horror as the once wily and ferrel mystery of a blonde completely shattered at just a voice. Her curiosity was running wild, who could possibly have that strong of an effect on the once cold hearted killing machine?

She couldn't take it anymore, Katniss climbed up a branch and shot down two or three birds from the tree above Ramsey. They dropped around her and Ramsey froze. She uncovered her ears and stared at the dead birds, her mind slowly processing what was going on.

It wasn't him, it wasn't Zane, he wasn't here.

The birds were making the sounds.

"Ramsey, it's, it's just the jabberjays. The gamemakers are playing another trick on us."

Ramsey slowly turned to face her, carefully picking herself up from the ground and staring at the younger girl.

"It's alright. It's not- it's not Zane."

His name was foreign on her tongue but she knew it should help to soothe Ramsey.

Her cheeks were tearstained, her eyes rimmed red and her lips swollen. Her hair was disbelieved from the running through the jungle and her body still quivered with upset.

And yet Katniss couldn't deny the fact that she was still jaw dropping with beauty.

"No, of course it's not Zane, Katniss." She shook her head and wiped her face with the back of her hand, "But that was his scream. Jabberjays don't just make up sounds, Katniss, they only replay what they've heard. They had to have gotten those screams somehow, don't you think?" Her voice was cold as she spoke, her eyes set firmly on Katniss' face.

For a moment they only stared at each other.

And then another man's scream erupted from a bird, but this time Katniss knew exactly who it was- Gale.

But it really wasn't him, she knew that. It couldn't be him, it just couldn't be.

Zane's voice returned and Ramsey cringed, her eyes begging to squeeze shut.

"Ramsey, let's get out of here." She gripped the smaller girl's arm and began pulling her towards where she knew the beach would be. Where she hoped the birds wouldn't be.

It had to be a part of the arena's clock. Another trick used to break them.

Ramsey's small body jerked in protest, she knew Katniss didn't like her and she knew that the gamemakers were thirsty for a good show and to add to it all, she was moments from giving up. She hadn't heard his screams in what felt like years, only in the nightmares that sometimes dared to haunt her.

How dare they have the audacity to bring him into these putrid games of theirs?

But she allowed for Katniss to pull her through the jungle, the tears still silently dribbling down her cheeks.

Finnick, Peeta, and Johanna came into view in the distance, standing just behind the tree line. Anger washed through Katniss, frustrated that Peeta didn't come to her relief when he heard her screaming out for Prim. And why didn't Finnick come for Ramsey? Or even Johanna? They adored her, why would they leave her to suffer through what the gamemakers had done?

Katniss released Ramsey and took off towards Peeta, pushing her anger down and seizing the relief of being with him once again.

But there was an invisible wall, snapping her back into the jungle with a grunt. She couldn't hear Peeta, nor touch him.

They were trapped in that section of the clock.

And then the birds appeared again, releasing cries of everyone that Katniss knew. And then she could make out that strange cry of agony, the one that belonged to Zane, whoever he was.

Though Katniss allowed Peeta to comfort her as much as he physically could, their hands pressed against the wall together, his lips moving in some reassuring way, Ramsey searched for no solstice in Finnick or Johanna. She turned her back towards the group, her small body dropping to the jungle floor once more and folding into a ball. The sobs burst from her mouth, the tears erupting from her eyes and her entire being trembling.

She was heartbroken over this.

Finnick watched on, helpless as he watched a side of Ramsey in which he never imagined existing. Her small body vibrated with sobs and tears, and he couldn't do anything about it. He looked to Johanna in question and she pursed her lips, sighing, and turning her head away.

"Johanna, there-"

"There's nothing to do, Finnick. Not until the hour is over."

"But-"

"Sh!"

He sighed, his eyes roaming back towards Ramsey's shuddering form. If he found just the right angle and watched closely enough he could faintly make out her lips moving, whispering the word "no" over and over again.

Soon enough the hour was over and the forcefield dropped, Peeta rushing to Katniss' side and taking her into his arms.

She relished in his touch and comfort, knowing that she was safe with him for the moment.

"It's all right, Katniss."

"You didn't hear them, you didn't see her."Her head jerked towards Ramsey as she slowly stood up and gathered herself. Peeta eyed her hesitantly, thrown off entirely by her recent behavior.

Though he brought his attention back to Katniss, reassuring her of Prim's safety.

"Ramsey, are you-"

"Don't touch me, Finnick! I'm fine!"

Ramsey hands shot out to smack him away from her, flinging herself away from him and towards the beach. She didn't even batt an eye as she marched into the salty water, submersing herself entirely.

The others watched on with timid eyes as she 'cleansed' herself, scrubbing at her skin harshly, re-opening previous wounds and even managing to create new ones. She needed to stop hearing him, she couldn't bear the sound ringing in her mind.

As she drenched herself in sea water, Katniss couldn't help but notice the salty tears that ran down her cheeks, spiting her every attempt to fix them.

It was hours later when the group had settled down into the sand that Ramsey remained in the shallows, sitting and allowing the waves to wash over her shoulders and onto her face. Her back remained facing the group, the tears still escaping her eyes every now and then.

They had gotten to her.

At one point Finnick dared to wander towards her, though she knew he was near her she never turned to address him and he fought his better instincts and never spoke to her. He only rested behind her in the sand, giving her at least five feet to herself.

After being thoroughly neglected, he meandered back towards their small group.

"Johanna," Katniss began her eyes slowly wandering towards her. Johanna's hard stare met her, an eyebrow raised.

"What?" Her voice was quiet, she knew almost exactly what Katniss was going to ask and she knew how poorly Ramsey would react if she heard.

"Who's Zane?"

And there was the question.

Johanna sighed.

It wasn't her story to tell, but she knew Ramsey would never speak a word about it.

"Zane was her big brother. They were only a few years apart, he'd be about twenty one now."

"What happened to him?"

She sighed again.

"He tried to run from the games. The reaping was coming up and he couldn't take the stress of it. So he ran. Ramsey begged him not to go, she was just a kid- they both were. He begged her to come with him, she was too scared. But she followed him to the edge of the district and hugged him one last time before he took off."

She paused for a minute, the information sinking into everyone's minds.

"He only made it a couple hundred feet before they got him. She saw it all. The next year, she miraculously got reaped for the games."

They fell silent, the only sound being Ramsey crashing around in the water.

She knew they were talking about her, it was inevitable after the scene she had made.

But the thick ball still rested in her throat and the salty tears still overflowed as her mind had its way with her. She could see him, vividly, as if it had only happened the day before. She could hear him yelling to her, yelling to run, yelling to fight.

She knew he was dead. There was no way he wasn't. And every time she saw the scene unfold in her head once again she choked back more sobs.

They had to make it out of that arena and to District 13. They had to fight.

She had promised Zane that she would fight and she wouldn't stop. His whole existence had fueled her fury in the arena during her first games. The animal inside of her had been awakened by the grief, it had overcome all of her senses, driven her to menace.

It wasn't something she was proud of. But she had survived, and she would continue to survive- for Zane.

"It was all a trick, Katniss. The gamemakers did it to get inside of your heads. They just messed with some sounds to create it, it wasn't really any of those people." Peeta had continued to comfort Katniss, her unease growing as Ramsey continued to suffer.

"Do you really believe that?"

"I really do."

They fell silent again.

"Could they do that, Beetee? Take someone's voice and make it-"

"Oh yes, absolutely. It wouldn't be that difficult at all." He nodded, his wise eyes grazing across the group and towards the small blonde in the water still. She had stopped dousing herself in it, finally beginning to settle down.

"I guess you're right." Katniss mumbled, her eyes falling to the sand, willing herself to not watch Ramsey.

"Of course they're right. The whole country adores Katniss's little sister. If they really killed her like this, they'd probably have an uprising on their hands," Johanna began, the fire beginning to course through her veins, "They don't want that, do they?"

Her eyes flew to the sky, her arms stretching out wide in aggression, "The whole country in rebellion? Wouldn't want anything like that!" She was yelling at this point, her face flaming red and her pity for her best friend taking control.

She breathed out for a moment before snatching a handful of shells from the sand, storming towards the jungle.

"Don't go in there! The birds-" Katniss began, her hand shooting out to stop her.

"They can't hurt me. Ramsey's the only person I love anymore, and she's right there." She shooed Katniss' hands from her and continued into the dense thicket.