It's around midday and the sun is hanging high in the sky, beating down on me, yet I don't take off my jacket. How long have I been in this arena? I try and work it out. There was that first, freezing night, and two nights after that… This must be my fourth day in the arena, or even the fifth. Yes, I think it must be the fifth day.

I've eaten the rest of the rabbit and it's only made me thirstier. The few drops I had from that canteen did not ease my thirst in any way. My head is spinning and I need water soon. Five days with minimal water. To try and keep myself focused, I think of what the survival instructors were saying in the Training Centre.

'Remember the four threes; you can live three minutes without air, three hours in extreme conditions without shelter, three days without water and three weeks without food.'

Okay, that's a start. At the time, I had thought that three weeks seemed awfully long without food, but now I realise food is not my main priority. I have air and the conditions aren't extreme, so my next objective is water. The fact that it's sweltering just adds to my discomfort. I've made an agreement with myself; if I can walk for fifteen minutes, I get a five minute rest. I don't cover much ground this way, but it's all I can handle.

The earth is soft beneath my feet, thick and spongy with moss. I listen to the low hum of bees as they lazily exit their hive and travel back and forth from a patch of brightly coloured flowers. I lick my lips and swallow thickly, trying to moisten my throat. Bees rarely have hives more than a few miles from water. I must be close. I will myself to keep plodding on.

In these woods, there's nothing I can use. The tree bark is thick. The berries are poisonous. The skies are clear and blue, without a drop of moisture to be seen. Not a chance in hell it's going to rain. The trees are too tall to climb, extending far higher than they should. Or am I just going crazy? Thirst can do that to you.

As I walk, I notice more and more wildlife around me. Where the hell are these animals drinking from!? I must be close, I must be close. It becomes a mantra I get lost in. That's when I fall head over heels on a slippery rock, soaking the front of my shirt and pants. My initial reaction is to wipe my wet hair out of my face. My clothes would dry in the hot sun if I- wait. Wait!

I almost can't believe my eyes. A small, bubbling brook runs thinly through the rocks. It has clear, unsoiled water that I cup in my hands and drink. I'm still lying where I fell, just letting the water run over my face and drinking all I can. I spend ages in the brook, using the feeble stream flow to wet my hair and tie it back into its buns, smoothing back the loose hairs. Fox ears. I wasn't much like a fox at all, now. I'm almost completely lost and useless in this wild.

I scrub the dirt out of my nails and off my face. Slowly, the life returns to me. I feel replenished, except for the gnawing pain in my stomach from my ever-growing hunger. I let the canteen fill with the bubbling water. If you can even call it that, it's so tiny. It can easily fit in my hand. I'm not sure if this water can make me sick, but at this point I don't really care. I would rather die of poisoning than of thirst.

It was a definite disadvantage growing up in Five, having no real need to hunt. I usually gathered berries and greens from the meadow at the far edge of the district. In spring, our people would climb over one another to strip the bushes of their berries, leaving them bare until the next time spring came. I stumble through the undergrowth in the trees, tendrils of vine and branches catching my boots, slipping on the moss.

In front of me I can see a clearing; the cornucopia. The cornucopia! Have I really travelled in a circle? In the stretch, I see movement; I assume it's the Careers.

Swiftly, I scale a tree and peek through the foliage, staying where I can see but not be seen. I watch the girl from Two argue with the boy from One. The boy from her district holds her back, trying to reason with her. I can't clearly catch what they're saying, although I hear the girl saying something's 'not a good idea'. Looking around, I notice something is definitely off. Their supplies are piled high in a pyramid about thirty metres from where they stand. The hard-packed earth around the pedestals has been dug up and patted down. The girl from One and the girl from Four are not with them, either.

Were they those two consecutive cannons this morning, or were they just out hunting? There are so many variables and what ifs? that it drives me insane.

I draw my gaze higher, to where the District Three boy is talking to the careers. Wait, District Three? Something is definitely off. He gestures to their supplies, a very tempting pyramid of items that could mean the difference between life and death. He jumps, no that's not the right word… he dances around the different items which have been carefully scattered around the pyramid itself.

It reminds me of the setup of the cornucopia, as I watch him jumping barrels and crates of cooking oil, food, water and other precious items of the Careers' lifeline. He completes the sequence before hastily retreating the same way. The cautious way he moves, tapping on a spot lightly before stepping there for real… it's almost as if… he's going to blow up. Slowly, I make the connection between the disturbed earth and the boy from Three with the little dance the boy had demonstrated around the supplies…

"It's mined," I whisper to myself.

·

I clap my hand over my mouth. Did I really just say that out loud? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Way to go, Finch. Luckily they're too busy arguing to notice me. I think back to when he was showing the others the sequence to the supplies and realise he must have been the person to reactivate the mines. It all makes sense. District Three, technology. He must've arranged them so there is no chain reaction, so if somebody attempted to loot their stuff they'd be blown to bits, but their supplies would be salvaged.

I know the cameras must be all over my face right now. Slowly, my mouth stretches into a sly, knowing smile. Oh, how the Capitol will eat this all up! Is there a possibility I could get sponsors? Surely they have to see some kind of potential in me now. Vincent must be having a fit because I've lived so long. How many people are left? I think eleven died on the first day, no, twelve. The two consecutive cannons this morning… fourteen dead. Ten left to play.

I try and think of who exactly I'm facing up against. There's the Career pack. I watch them talking in the clearing. The boy from One, both from Two and the boy from Three. That's four; and who are the other five? There's the boy from Ten and the girl from Twelve. Did the little girl from Eleven live? I don't remember seeing her in the sky. Add her to the list, and there's two left. I assume they are the girls from One and Four. Probably out hunting. But what about the huge hulking boy from Eleven? I know for sure he's alive. He's the only one they consider a threat, as they had actually invited him into their pack. I see the way the Careers look nervously into the drop off behind them, where the fields are. He has to be there, so perhaps one or even both of those girls are dead.

The constant pain in my stomach grows more intense as the minutes go by. The small, dark-haired girl from Two notices something in the opposite direction to where I am located and alerts the others with an urgent point. The Career pack debate bringing the District Three boy.

"We should have someone on guard." The muscular blonde boy from Two argues.

"But if anybody tries to steal from us they'd be blown up," The girl counters, confirming my suspicions.

"Come on, we're wasting time," The boy from One says, shoving a spear into the hands of the District Three boy. "He's coming with us."

I wait a few minutes to make sure they aren't coming back from a false alarm. When the coast is clear, I make my move. It's risky, but it's something I have to do. Making sure my pack is tight on my back, I get ready to move.

Quietly, I emerge from the trees and into the clearing, making a beeline for the pyramid of supplies. I scan the ground for scuffs in the dirt, making sure to stand on only these spots. I stand on a small, careful square of soil, then another, continually pausing to see if my legs come off. They don't. I step onto a water container, springing off as to avoid a spot I suspect is mined. I manoeuvre my body around scattered supplies of low worth to reach my main goal; the pyramid. Suddenly, I hear the boom of a cannon. I freeze; no, it wasn't me, I didn't blow myself up. It must have been who the Careers saw. Make that nine left to play. I try not to think about who it was and focus on figuring out this booby-trap. I'll find out tonight.

Knowing I don't have much time before they come back, I swing my bag off my back. Taking only a small amount from each bag or container, I work quickly, filling my tiny pack with food and medicine. A water bottle that I doubt the careers even knew they had; surely an upgrade from that tiny canteen. A short-handled knife. Two apples from a burlap sack. I take a small amount of each item as to not be noticed, but enough to survive. Satisfied, I zip the bag up and sling it over my shoulder. For once, I feel I have a one-up on the Careers. 'Finch Emerson from District Five,' I hear them saying. 'The girl who out-smarted the Careers.'

I have barely retreated from the complex pyramid death-trap and blended into the trees when I hear the voices in the distance. I walk as far as my legs can carry me before I finally cave in, finding a tree to climb. I ascend the mossy branches of a particularly low-hanging tree, one that cascades with deep green vines, allowing me decent coverage for the night.

With fumbling hands, I break into my resources, eating an entire apple and packet of dried fruit. Afterwards, I am still famished but don't dare break into the rest of my precious food supply. I crack open the metal water bottle, but it's empty. Just my luck. I tell myself I need to go back to the stream tomorrow to fill it up. All I need to do is follow the bees.

Night cloaks the arena, once again bringing forth those artificial stars. The anthem plays, and the fallen show in the sky. The girl from One, the girl from Four and the boy from Ten. That surprises me; so it was the girls from One and Four. They hadn't even turned on each other yet, I knew that much. Plus, I had seen at least three of them together just a few hours ago. I knew the boy from Ten was as good as dead with his bad foot and no supplies. So at least one of the other outliers is a threat. I shiver, knowing this is not often the case. Probably the boy from Eleven, or maybe even the Girl from Twelve, considering her eleven in training. She's a small girl, like me, but I can't forget how dangerous she is. So, so dangerous, considering I don't even know what her skill or weapon is. She could come out swinging some kind of pickaxe for all I know; she is from the coal mining district.

Perhaps I have a good thing going here. I can stay close to the Careers, and if I am careful enough, I can survive by scavenging off them. And for the first time in two weeks, I feel the playing field levelling. Maybe I have a chance in these Games. The underdog;I like that.


Slightly out of time alignment to keep things going.