Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Thalia's POV

I walk a little behind the others as they journey through the woods in search for Luke. I feel like an outcast, if that makes any sense. Nico gives me look of jealousy (which I find stupid, because, frankly, he's making me out to be a bad person. What does he have to be jealous about?), Percy just shrugs whenever he looks at me, and Annabeth gives me sad looks. Katniss doesn't look at me, and Peeta just smiles when he does. No one really says anything to me, and I'm fine with that. If they want to believe that I'm desperate enough to have feelings for a guy who sided against the camp that I love, then so be it. I guess the arena not only brings out the worst in people, but how they truly see one another. And my friends see me as a traitor.

"Maybe we shouldn't get so close to the tree line," Annabeth suggests, looking over at Percy.

"Why not? That's where Luke's supposed to be," Nico says, looking confused. "Do you think he's somewhere else?"

"No, but… I just think it's a bad idea. Something could go wrong," Annabeth says as she avoids tripping over a large log.

"It'll be okay, Annabeth," Percy interjects, taking Annabeth's hand. She smiles, but doesn't look convinced.

"I don't think it's a good idea either," I blurt out, instantly regretting saying anything. Everyone's head turns to me, their movement stopping. I take a deep breath and decide that I don't care if they think I'm disloyal or untrustworthy. "We don't know what we're going to find when we reach the center and we're groundlessly entrusting our safety and plan into the hope that Luke is still near the Cornucopia. He could be anywhere."

Everyone was silent for a minute until Katniss says, "You've got to admit it- she's got a point. He could've easily decided that being out in the open wasn't the best move. He, like Thalia said, could be anywhere."

"So what do we do? Just wait around for him to find us?" Nico asks, looking at Annabeth. She's become the decision maker of the group, coming up with plans and ideas to keep each other safe in the arena. While she was gone, Percy was in her place, most likely because he's a natural leader. I don't know him like Annabeth does, but I know that Percy doesn't give up on anything or anyone. It's just who he is.

"No," Percy says, "No, we're not going to do that. I think what they're saying is that we shouldn't just stroll into the open looking for a tribute. We should come up with some other approach at finding Luke. Maybe we could try—." The sound of a cannon interrupts Percy, leaving us in a dead silence. After a moment, another cannon sounds. There are only, if I've remembered the amount of fallen tributes correctly, 14 of us left.

No one says anything for a minute. Every time a cannon sounds, I feel a little piece of my sanity drain. Images of teenagers killing each other rise in my mind and I just can't stand it. I can't possibly imagine how people could find this entertaining.

Percy's POV

After the silence from the cannon subsides, I say, "Okay, how about we just head to the center of the arena, see if anyone is there, and, if anyone isn't, leave? We could hide in the trees like we did when we got Annabeth back. By the time we get there, it'll already be dark. No one'll see us."

Katniss nods, "I don't see why not. I mean, it's something. If we don't run into any problems on the way, we could get to the center and see what's there. If we don't see anything, we can head back into the woods unnoticed."

"Then it's settled. The center should be north of here," Annabeth says, looking around, analyzing her surroundings, figuring out directions and locations. She takes a quick breath and says, "We really should get going if we want to get this over with quickly." And with that, she begins to walk north, swiftly avoiding trees and rocks and branches.

We all follow after a minute, walking quickly in a comfortable silence, the tweeting of birds and the rustling of leaves being the only thing we hear. As Annabeth trails ahead and leads us, Thalia walks next to me, keeping my pace, Nico walks behind Annabeth, and Katniss and Peeta walk closely together in front of me, looking like they're speaking to each other with their eyes. It's odd how much time those two have spent together since they reunited. But then again, Peeta did call them "star crossed lovers."

After a while, Nico stops and says, heavy breathed, "Stop. Woo. Man, I'm tired. Can we take a short break?"

"Sure," Katniss says, sitting down on a log. Peeta sits next to her, turning his sword over in his hands. Thalia and Nico sit together on the ground, their shoulders touching. Annabeth and I go and sit by a tree, not talking to each other but, at the same time, understanding and knowing how the other person feels. After everything Annabeth and I have been through, we've learned how the other person thinks like we know the back of our hand. It's something that really helps when we're fighting a monster.

When I look over at Nico and Thalia, I wonder what's going on with them. They're not talking to or looking at each other and it's obvious that it's intentional. When Nico told Annabeth and me about Thalia writing Luke's name in the ground, I could tell he was jealous- you could see it in his eyes. I don't believe that Thalia's a traitor nor do I believe that she has feelings for Luke. I just think that stress is getting to the best of Thalia and Nico accusing her of not being loyal didn't help lessen the stress. Those two just need to acknowledge their feelings for each other and end this unnecessary drama.

As I'm about to start up a conversation with Annabeth, the sound of something tapping a microphone interrupts me. "Is this working?" A voice says distantly, tapping the microphone again. A loud screeching erupts from the microphone, sounding like a nail being scraped against a chalkboard. The voice starts up again, "Oh. Sorry about that. Tributes, I have an offer for you. You do not have to accept it. At tomorrow's dawn, there will be bags for each tribute containing items that could decide your fate at the Cornucopia. These bags could contain food, medicine, water, or even small weapons. May the odds be ever in your favor." And just like that, the announcement cut and the voice silenced.