Nezumi crawled through blackness. His breaths came in gasps. His heart rapped against his ribs so hard it sent a shooting pain through his chest. He had no idea where he was or how he arrived there. The only thing he knew was the slice of cold, damp rock under his knees and palms. He kept his head down as he dragged his body through the dark, flinching at the sharp caress of rocks against his face and sides.

His hand slid forward and met something soft and squishy. Nezumi froze and drew his eyes from the floor. A face stared back at him, eyes large and frightened in the eerie glow of the luminescent mushrooms.

"Kal?" Nezumi breathed.

Fissure loomed behind them, club raised and determination etched into his stony face. Nezumi threw up his arms and opened his mouth to shout as the club fell with a terrible crash.

Nezumi bolted upright as lightening lit the inside of the train car. Thunder rumbled outside, chasing every bolt with an irritable crack. Shion crouched by the door. He had pulled it partially open, and was staring out at the sluicing rain.

He was so fixated on the storm, it didn't seem he noticed Nezumi's nightmare. Nezumi shook his head and tried to dislodge Kal's frightened face from his mind. He forced his ears to absorb the sound of rain and thunder so the echo of the final blow would be overwritten.

Carefully, Nezumi moved across the compartment. Shion glanced over as he came up beside him and his face went from contemplative to purposeful. He pulled his pad out of his pocket and showed it to Nezumi.

We entered District 12 a few miles back.

If they had entered 12, then it wouldn't be long before the train would make its scheduled stop and they their escape.

A peal of thunder shook the sky, louder and more furious than any before. Their compartment bucked as the train braked suddenly, sending Nezumi, Shion, and several of the pastry boxes skidding across the floor. The train shrieked along the rain slickened tracks for a full minute before finally coming to a stop.

The door to the car had been thrown wide open by the force. A spasm of fear writhed in Nezumi's stomach as his and Shion's eyes met. They didn't move for a moment, expecting to hear the thump of boots interspersed between the sounds of the storm. But there was nothing. The world outside was a grey-green watercolor, split by an occasional bolt of lightning.

Nezumi slunk back to the open door, but there were no enemies, only wreckage. Felled trees lay along the tracks: massive, ancient, and blackened by bad luck.

"I think it was the storm," he shouted over the wind. "Something probably fell on the tracks."

Shion nodded and swiped his dampened bangs out of his eyes. He came to stand at Nezumi's side, face drawn and hands curled tightly around his notepad.

If a tree fell on the tracks, then someone will come to clear it. The thought sent a jolt of panic skittering up Nezumi's throat. The train was expected; Yoming would have to call for help. Even if he didn't, District 12 would eventually contact him and offer it, and he couldn't very well refuse without seeming suspicious. And why would he jeopardize himself for a couple of strangers he could easily claim were stowaways?

We're sitting ducks.

"We have to jump out."

Shion mashed his lips together and looked up at the sky, then down at the broken trees and branches around them. His expression indicated that he had arrived at a similar conclusion. Shion sat down, scooted himself to the edge of the door, and dropped into the muddy grass with the same nonchalance with which he faced plummeting into the sewer tunnels. A half smile flitted across Nezumi's lips. For a Capitol citizen, Shion seemed to have a knack for taking things in stride.

Nezumi searched through the upturned boxes on the floor and pulled out the pack Karan had made up for them. He slung it over his shoulder and hopped out of the train.

Shion tucked his notepad in his pocket to keep it as best he could from becoming a sodden wad. He gestured for Nezumi to lead the way. Nezumi glanced around, trying to find his bearings. They should be heading northeast. He oriented their location in his mind's compass and then forged ahead, Shion following closely.

"We can't get far in this storm," Nezumi called over his shoulder. "We need to find shelter and wait it out."

The weather was horrendous. Nezumi couldn't remember the last time he had experienced a rainstorm this ferocious, and he doubted a sheltered Capitol citizen had either. The wind was so brutal Nezumi felt for a moment he was back in the arena, fighting through the Gamemakers' cruelty for life itself.

Eventually, they found an outcropping of rocks among the trees, and one section where the rocks created an overhang large enough for two runaways to shelter under with a bit of room to spare.

Shion plopped onto the dirt and shivered in his wet clothes. The temperature wasn't cold enough to threaten hypothermia, but just cool enough that it was uncomfortable to be wet in. Nezumi cast a look at the black skies and decided it would be safe enough to attempt a fire. No one should be near enough to discover them, and besides, the weather was bad enough to mask the light.

He collected some twigs and branches, doing his best to find drier ones hidden close to the rock face or beneath felled trees. Shion watched dubiously as Nezumi constructed a decent tepee of the kindling and began trying to light it with the friction of stick against rock. But there was a strain of hope in Shion's eyes despite his doubt, and Nezumi was determined to deliver.

Nezumi smirked as a small fire flared to life under his hands. He sat back and nodded his head to it. "Thank the Capitol for making me practice my survival skills, eh?"

Shion snorted and graced Nezumi with a fleeting congratulatory smile. Nezumi started on warming up his hands, and setting Shion's notepad out to dry. He wouldn't be writing anything tonight, that was for certain.

Shion returned to watching the storm. He seemed to have an unusual fascination with it. He leaned toward every lightening bolt and perked at every thunderclap.

Nezumi opened his mouth to comment, but Shion stood abruptly. His face looked so intense, for a moment Nezumi worried he sensed some kind of danger. But then Shion marched out into the rain, stood boldly before the thunder and lightening, and screamed. Nezumi sat frozen, watching as Shion emptied his lungs to the heavens and then drew in another breath to loose a second shout against the gales.

Shion's hands were fisted at his sides, legs hip width apart, face determined. Nezumi had never seen someone look so angry and so free at the same time. Shion screamed until his voice gave way to coughing. Only then did his hands unfurl at his sides and his shoulders drop. He looked back, and Nezumi's heart sputtered.

Shion was grinning. The smile was so sudden and dazzling that Nezumi felt confused in the face of it. Shion strode back to the shelter of the overhang and stood before Nezumi, sopping wet and grinning like a fool.

"You're insane." Nezumi tried to be teasing and dismissive, but his tone sounded awed in spite of his intentions.

Shion laughed. He looked so pleased with himself, Nezumi couldn't help but split into a smile too. A mischievous light flashed in Shion's eye, and Nezumi flinched as Shion's cold hands wrapped around his wrists and tugged at him to stand.

"Whoa! Hey, no, absolutely not!"

Nezumi tried to use his weight to keep himself seated, but Shion was unexpectedly strong. Nezumi ended up relenting in order to save his arms dislocation. Shion released his one arm and slipped his hand into Nezumi's, pulling him along into the rain.

With his free arm, Shion gestured grandly at the sky. Nezumi made an exasperated noise.

"Shion," he started, glancing uneasily at his companion. Shion wasn't beaming anymore, but his mouth still held laughter in the corners, and his eyes sparkled with a fevered light.

"…Okay, fine. I'll do it once."

Shion's grin returned, brighter than before, it seemed, because he had won against Nezumi's reticence. Shion drew in a theatrical breath and Nezumi followed suit and together they screamed. When he finished, Nezumi felt lightheaded, and stupidly light hearted. He laughed at himself for how silly this all was, and for how good it felt.

Everything was suddenly new: the rain's soft pecks, the cacophony of the elements, the ecstatic thump of his heart. Nezumi couldn't remember the last time he felt so powerful or fearless. The Capitol was thousands of miles away, and, for the moment, not a single responsibility weighed on him. No one to protect, no one to woo, no threats hanging over his head.

For the first time in his life, he felt free.

Shion's fingers tightened around his and Nezumi turned to him. His bangs were flattened and smeared against his forehead like white paint. Water dripped off his nose and chin like a waterfall. Nezumi had never seen anyone look so happy, and ridiculous, and beautiful, and alive.

Nezumi cupped the back of Shion's neck with his free hand and pulled his mouth to his. Shion melted seamlessly into the kiss, as though they had done this a thousand times before. Their mouths moved gently at first. Then Shion's hands found Nezumi's waist and Nezumi's hands found the collar of Shion's shirt and everything became a little fuzzy. Nezumi swore he could hear his heart in his ears. The air around him vibrated.

Nezumi pulled back abruptly. Shion blinked at him in confusion, but Nezumi's eyes were fixed on the sky. The air was humming. With a sickening sinking feeling, Nezumi realized that the thumping in his ears wasn't his heartbeat, or even the storm.

It was the sound of engines.

They bolted for the overhang. Nezumi stomped the fire out as quickly as he could, cursing himself for making it. It's Hunger Games 101: don't build a fire at night unless you want to die!

Shion huddled as far back as he could against the rock face, and when Nezumi stooped to join him, he gripped Nezumi's hand hard enough to hurt.

The hovercraft was close enough now to see it, blacker than the clouds and trailing a faint blue pulse. A bolt of lightening hit the exterior but the hovercraft continued unconcerned. Its searchlights sliced through the rain to comb the forest floor.

Shion shivered beside him, and Nezumi felt his body grow cold as the hovercraft crept closer. The lights skimmed the lip of the overhang. He and Shion pressed themselves against the rock until their skulls felt they would crack. The light probed, and stretched, reaching the remains of his fire. Nezumi felt ill.

The light swept past. The hovercraft flew on. Shion drew in a ragged breath and Nezumi released the one he was holding.